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Today, President Biden signed an executive order re-establishing the President's Council of Advisors on Science & Technology. The council will advise Biden on policy that affects science, technology and innovation. The previous President did not believe in science. Not at all. Meanwhile, Retrumplicans are objecting to Biden's pick to head the Department of Homeland Security, even though the Senate's Homeland Security Committee held an extensive hearing into the man's qualifications and voted yesterday to move his nomination forward.
GOP threatens filibuster for Alejandro Mayorkas nomination to be DHS secretary
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/27/polit...dhs/index.html
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Trump spent four years trying to undo everything Obama did. Biden is now trying to undo everything Trump did.
DOJ pulls Trump administration's harsh charging and sentencing policy
HuffPost, Jan 29 2021 10:00 AM
Monty Wilkinson, the acting attorney general under President Joe Biden, has pulled the Trump administration’s charging and sentencing policy, which mandated that federal prosecutors almost always pursue the harshest charges and stiffest penalties.
Wilkinson rescinded a May 10, 2017 memo from then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. At the time, Sessions told federal prosecutors across the country to always pursue the harshest charges and penalties possible unless they received specific permission from their supervisors. “The goal of this interim step is to ensure that decisions about charging, plea agreements, and advocacy at sentencing are based on the merits of each case and reflect an individualized assessment of relevant facts while longer-term policy is formulated,” Wilkinson wrote.
For now, the Justice Department is reverting back to a 2010 charing and sentencing policy issued by former Attorney General Eric Holder. Under Holder’s guidelines, federal prosecutors were encouraged to focus on “individualized justice” and decision-making based on “the merits of each case.”
https://www.aol.com/news/doj-pulls-t...180009419.html
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Only four of Biden's 23 Cabinet-level nominees have been confirmed by the Senate so far. Hey, Senators, you need to speed up these confirmations!
Senate confirms Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/02/polit...ote/index.html
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Capital punishment – the death penalty – can be imposed for treason, espionage, murder or large-scale drug trafficking. Capital punishment is legal in 28 states, American Samoa, the federal government and the military. There are now 49 US inmates who have been sentenced to death, each for aggravated murder. They may wind up getting a reprieve.
Biden is pressed to end federal death penalty
Joe Biden, the first sitting US President to openly oppose the death penalty, has discussed the possibility of instructing the Department of Justice to stop scheduling new executions.
https://www.aol.com/news/big-challen...181351759.html
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When Donald Trump took office in January 2017, 145,600,000 Americans were employed. By the time Trump left office four years later, the number of employed had fallen by three million. Trump is the first President since Herbert Hoover to see employment fall during his Presidency. Biden hopes to bring back full employment. Good luck, Joe.
Yellen: Biden's plan could restore full employment by 2022
The Associated Press, Feb 8 2021 6:26 AM
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday the country was still in a “deep hole” with millions of lost jobs but President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief plan could generate enough growth to restore full employment by next year. The House and Senate approved the legislation necessary to pass Biden’s package through a process known as reconciliation, which requires only 51 votes in the Senate. The Senate is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she hopes to approve the specific budget details of the Biden proposal over the next two weeks, aiming to get the measure through Congress before current unemployment benefits run out in mid-March.
https://www.aol.com/finance/yellen-b...142636322.html
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In a new Politico/Morning Consult poll of registered voters, 62% approve of Joe Biden's performance as President while 33% disapprove. He obviously is winning the support of many who voted for Trump.
Joe Biden reaches higher approval rating than Trump ever had
https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-...d-101120581661
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When Democrats talk about "green," they're referring to environmenal programs and policies. When Republicans talk about "green," they're referring to the money they can make by allowing drilling on public lands.
GOP Senators attack Biden’s Interior Secretary pick for wanting to protect land, air
Deb Haaland, a Native American lawmaker determined to tackle climate change, scares Republicans bankrolled by the oil and gas industry.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-s...b6f38d06e77a24
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Newsmax, Fox News and One America News spend much of their broadcast day attacking Democrats – but attacking President Biden's dog? That is really despicable.
Newsmax airs whole segment attacking Biden’s senior dog, Champ
A host on the pro-Trump network said the 12-year-old canine looked like a “junkyard” dog.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/newsm...b66da5dba1b64a
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White nationalist and white supremacist Donald Trump truly enjoyed watching news coverage of the insurrectionists at the Capitol on January 6. After all, they were supporting him – and they believed his lie that he won the election but it was "stolen" from him. After they had rioted for three hours, Trump told them, "We love you." As for the protests against racial injustice in three cities with Democratic mayors, white nationalist and white supremacist Donald Trump strongly condemned the "anarchy, violence and destruction" and attempted to cut off federal funding. In Trumpworld, white pro-Trump rioters are good. Black Lives Matter protesters are bad. It's that simple.
Joe Biden revokes Donald Trump’s order designating Democratic cities ‘anarchist’
After racial justice protests erupted in New York, Seattle and Portland, Trump attempted to cut the cities’ federal funding by labeling them “anarchist.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden...b69ac3d35c55b1
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In 2016, President Obama nominated Garland to serve as a Supreme Court justice. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans blocked his nomination. Today, 20 Senate Republicans joined Democrats in approving Garland's nomination as attorney general.
Senate confirms Merrick Garland as attorney general
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/10/polit...ote/index.html
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Haaland was confirmed by the Senate 51-40. Four Republicans joined Democrats in voting to confirm. Haaland chaired the New Mexico Democratic Party, 2015-17, and was a member of the US House of Representatives, 2019-21.
Deb Haaland makes history as first Native American Cabinet secretary
The Senate confirmed the Congresswoman to lead the Interior Department, putting an Indigenous woman in charge of stewarding America’s public lands.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/deb-h...b617a7e40db174
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In the 1932 movie Horse Feathers, Groucho Marx plays the dean of a college. He sings, "I don't know what they have to say. It makes no difference anyway. Whatever it is, I'm against it. No matter what it is or who commenced it, I'm against it." That perfectly sums up the Retrumplicans' feelings toward President Biden and the Democrats. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Senate Republican to vote to confirm Becerra as Health & Human Services secretary.
Xavier Becerra confirmed as HHS secretary over Republican opposition
GOP Senators complained Becerra, California attorney general, was too partisan.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/xavi...ry?id=76518625
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Statehood for the District of Columbia would require 60 votes in the Senate – and no Retrumplicans will ever vote for statehood. They know DC is heavily Democratic. The "taxation without representation": will continue.
Congressional Democrats push for DC statehood at key House committee hearing
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/22/polit...ing/index.html
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Walsh was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1997 until 2014 when he was elected mayor of Boston. With his confirmation as Secretary of Labor, Biden's Cabinet is now complete.
Senate confirms Marty Walsh as next labor secretary in union win
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN2BE33L
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Very predictably, the Republicans – who respond to every mass shooting by doing absolutely nothing except saying their "thoughts and prayers" are with the victims and their families – are pushing back against Biden's proposals. The National Rifle Association makes huge donations to Republicans and, in turn, Republicans do the NRA's bidding. That means being opposed to any and all proposals to place restrictions and limitations on ownership of guns and high-capacity ammo magazines.
Biden calls for tighter gun control measures after Colorado shooting
Reuters, Mar 23 2021 10:54 AM
President Joe Biden today called for a ban on assault weapons and tighter gun control measures as he stepped into the familiar role of grief counselor for a traumatized nation after a mass shooting left 10 people dead in Colorado. "I don't need to wait another minute, let alone another hour, to take common sense steps that will save lives in the future," Biden said. "This is not and should not be a partisan issue. It's an American issue that will save lives, American lives. We must act. We can ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines." The mass shooting in Boulder followed a gunman's killing the previous week of eight people at spas in Atlanta, bringing new attention to US gun violence.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN2BF168
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Republicans are also opposed to stronger background checks that might keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. They value guns above human life.
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The National Rifle Association makes huge donations to Republicans and, in turn, Republicans do the NRA's bidding. Republicans oppose any and all efforts to place limits and restrictions on ownership of guns, assault weapons and high-capacity ammo magazines. Whatever President Biden can do to reduce gun violence, he will have to do it without any Republican support. They value guns more than they value human life.
Biden announces steps to limit 'ghost' guns, plans to tackle assault weapons
Reuters, Apr 8 2021
President Joe Biden and his Attorney General Merrick Garland today announced limited measures to tackle gun violence in the United States in what the White House described as a first step to curb mass shootings, community bloodshed and suicides. The new measures include plans for the Justice Department to crack down on self-assembled "ghost gun"” and make "stabilizing braces" – which effectively turn pistols into rifles – subject to registration under the National Firearms Act.
Biden said he will ask the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives to release an annual report on firearms trafficking in the United States and make it easier for states to adopt “red flag” laws that flag at-risk individuals who own guns. Biden also outlined more ambitious goals that he needs the support of Congress to accomplish, including reintroducing a ban on assault weapons, lifting an exemption on lawsuits against gun manufacturers and passing a nationwide red flag law.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN2BV2F2
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Lawmakers are divided over Biden's plan. Many Democrats say it is time to end the "Forever War" but Republicans and some Democrats say the troop withdrawal could embolden the Taliban. Since the war began in October 2001, 2,312 US military personnel have died in Afghanistan.
Biden announces September 11 Afghanistan withdrawal deadline, says it's time for troops 'to come home'
It would be 20 years since the 9/11 attacks.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bid...al-troops-home
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A huge majority of Retrumplicans continue to believe "The Big Lie" that Donald Trump won the 2020 Presidential election, the election was "rigged" and the victory was "stolen" from him – so of course they will also believe other lies, such as this completely made-up story that appeared in the New York Post:
GOP politicians won’t delete tweets about debunked Kamala Harris story
HuffPost, Apr 28 2021 4:14 PM ET
A number of Republican lawmakers have refused to remove their tweets promoting a discredited news story about Vice President Kamala Harris, even after the reporter who wrote the piece said it was made up. The controversy centers on an article the New York Post published on its front page Saturday, claiming that migrant children at a facility in Long Beach, California, were receiving “welcome kits” containing copies of Harris’ 2019 book Superheroes Are Everywhere.
The story was quickly picked up by the right-wing echo chamber, which eagerly claimed that Harris was profiting off of unaccompanied minors at the southern border. “The Biden administration’s weakness caused a surge of illegal immigration,” tweeted Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. “Now they’re forcing taxpayers to buy Kamala Harris’ book to give to those illegal immigrants?”
The story was a fabrication, as Laura Italiano, the reporter who wrote the story, admitted in a statement revealing that she had resigned from the paper because of it. The story now has an editor’s note reading, “The original version of this article said migrant kids were getting Harris’ book in a welcome kit but has been updated to note that only one known copy of the book was given to a child.” Despite the admission that the original story was false, Republican lawmakers – as well as the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee – have largely kept up their tweets promoting the fake controversy.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-k...b0c15313eee3c5
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Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell accuses the Biden administration of wanting "to turn America into a socialist country." Hey, Mitch, are you aware that Medicare, Social Security, the Affordable Care Act, minimum wage laws, child labor laws and government subsidies for agriculture are socialist programs? No, probably not. This is the same Mitch McConnell who said on October 23, 2010, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term President." McConnell is a typical Retrumplican. He worships Donald Trump and he automatically opposes everything a Democratic President wants to do. How sad for our nation.
McConnell says he's '100 percent' focused on 'stopping' Biden's administration
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe...den-s-n1266443
