3/11/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 11, 2021

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Best Books of 2018 --The Economist
Fascism: A Warning
A personal and urgent examination of Fascism in the twentieth century and how its legacy shapes today’s world, written by one of America’s most admired public servants, the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of state

A Fascist, observes Madeleine Albright, “is someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have.” 

The twentieth century was defined by the clash between democracy and Fascism, a struggle that created uncertainty about the survival of human freedom and left millions dead. Given the horrors of that experience, one might expect the world to reject the spiritual successors to Hitler and Mussolini should they arise in our era. In Fascism: A Warning, Madeleine Albright draws on her experiences as a child in war-torn Europe and her distinguished career as a diplomat to question that assumption.

Fascism, as she shows, not only endured through the twentieth century but now presents a more virulent threat to peace and justice than at any time since the end of World War II.  The momentum toward democracy that swept the world when the Berlin Wall fell has gone into reverse.  The United States, which historically championed the free world, is led by a president who exacerbates division and heaps scorn on democratic institutions.  In many countries, economic, technological, and cultural factors are weakening the political center and empowering the extremes of right and left.  Contemporary leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are employing many of the tactics used by Fascists in the 1920s and 30s.


Fascism: A Warning is a book for our times that is relevant to all times.  Written  by someone who has not only studied history but helped to shape it, this call to arms teaches us the lessons we must understand and the questions we must answer if we are to save ourselves from repeating the tragic errors of the past.     source

March 10, 2021
President Biden Hosts Event with Johnson & Johnson and Merck CEOs
President Biden, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, and Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier spoke about the two companies' partnership to produce additional supply of the newly-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The president thanked the CEOs of the rival pharmaceutical companies for coming together and “putting patriotism and public health first.” He announced the federal government would be purchasing an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for “maximum flexibility” and the need to be prepared for the unexpected. President Biden told reporters the U.S. would share its potential vaccine surplus with the rest of the world once Americans are “taken care of first.” He also previewed his primetime address planned for the following night, saying he would lay out the next phase of his administration’s COVID-19 response and what he would ask of the American people.
Biden announces plans to purchase 100 million more Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine doses

Mar. 11 - Washington (CNN)President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he is directing the US Department of Health and Human Services to purchase an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.


The administration and the pharmaceutical giant still need to negotiate when these 100 million doses will be available but it will likely happen later this year as Johnson & Johnson works to ramp up production.

"There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of this past year, but we cannot let our guard down now or assume victory is inevitable. Together we're going to get through this pandemic and usher in a healthier and more hopeful future," Biden said alongside the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck, which is helping to manufacture the Johnson & Johnson's vaccine under a deal brokered by the White House.     continue to read

March 10, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, held a briefing with reporters to discuss news of the day and other policy topics, including the American Rescue Plan, vaccine distribution, and the president’s upcoming meetings with Asian leaders. At the top of the briefing, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico and now White House Southern Border Coordinator Roberta Jacobson updated reporters on the president’s immigration policy and on border security.


National Security Council Coordinator for the U.S. Southern Border Roberta Jacobson speaks at a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday
Biden administration says it’s struggling for right message on immigration
“I will certainly agree that we are trying to walk and chew gum at the same time,” said Ambassador Roberta Jacobson.


Mar. 11 - President Joe Biden’s coordinator for the southern border acknowledged on Wednesday that the administration sometimes struggled to convey an ultimately promising message to migrants while also urging them not to travel to the U.S. until the country’s immigration system was better equipped.

The remarks from Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, a special assistant to the president who previously served as the U.S. envoy to Mexico, come as the southern border is experiencing a rapid influx of unaccompanied migrant children — provoking criticism from Republicans and some Democrats of the administration’s handling of the situation.

“I think, when you look at the issue of mixed messages, it is difficult at times to convey both hope in the future and the danger that is now. And that is what we’re trying to do,” Jacobson told reporters at a White House press briefing.

“I will certainly agree that we are trying to walk and chew gum at the same time. We are trying to convey to everybody in the region that we will have legal processes for people in the future, and we’re standing those up as soon as we can,” Jacobson said.
“But at the same time, you cannot come through irregular means,” she added. “It’s dangerous, and the majority of people will be sent out of the United States, because that is the truth of it. We want to be honest with people. And so we are trying to send both messages.”

Smugglers, however, are only propagating the message that the U.S. southern border is ready for a surge of migrants, Jacobson warned, which is not the case. “It’s really important that that message get out, because the perception is not the same as the reality,” she said.

Although numerous administration officials have emphasized in recent weeks that now is not the time for migrants to seek entry to the U.S., conservative critics of Biden’s current immigration policy have blamed the president for not more forcefully discouraging people from Central American countries from traveling north.     continue to read

3/10/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 10, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)

Change: How to Make Big Things Happen

Most of what we know about how ideas spread comes from bestselling authors who give us a compelling picture of a world, in which "influencers" are king, "sticky" ideas "go viral," and good behavior is "nudged" forward. The problem is that the world they describe is a world where information spreads, but beliefs and behaviors stay the same.
 
When it comes to lasting change in what we think or the way we live, the dynamics are different: beliefs and behaviors are not transmitted from person to person in the simple way that a virus is. The real story of social change is more complex. When we are exposed to a new idea, our social networks guide our responses in striking and surprising ways.
 
Drawing on deep-yet-accessible research and fascinating examples from the spread of coronavirus to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement, the failure of Google+, and the rise of political polarization, Change presents groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting new science for understanding what drives change, and how we can change the world around us.     source

MARCH 9, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, fielded questions on news of the day and the president’s agenda, including immigration policy, the president’s economic relief plan, and the possibility of a vaccine passport. She also responded to a question on the incident at the White House involving the Bidens younger dog, Major, that resulted in a “minor injury” of a guest. Press Secretary Psaki was joined by White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti gave brief remarks at the top of the briefing and answered a few questions on economic relief for small businesses
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Bharat Ramamurti, March 9, 2021 

​MR. RAMAMURTI:  Good afternoon.  Earlier today, the President had the chance to visit a couple of small businesses here in town.  One is a locally owned hardware store that’s been around for 150 years.  The other, which leases part of the same space, is an urban farm that was founded just eight years ago.

 
Like other small businesses across the country, these companies help serve their communities.  The hardware store sponsors Little League teams and holds events with the Cub Scouts.  The urban farm serves hundreds of local households and supplies food for local farmers markets. 
 
Unfortunately, a lot of companies like this, with fewer than 20 employees, were left out of previous rounds of small-business relief.  Too many mom-and-pop businesses and too many minority-owned businesses were left behind, while larger, well-connected businesses got funds quickly.
 
The President and the Vice President have made it a top priority to ensure that this round of small business relief is distributed more equitably and that the companies that may not have gotten relief before have a shot at getting relief now.  So, today we want to share some early results of how this administration is already making good on that commitment.      quoted from


Banning Major and Champ from the White House is a bunch of malarkey

Mar. 10 - (CNN)Come on, man! The first shelter dog to live in the White House, Major the German Shepherd, has entered and exited as if through a revolving door. As someone in one of the nearly 60% (depending on who you ask) US households that own a pet, I'm not happy with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden's decision to send Major and his older companion, Champ, back to Delaware after an apparent "biting incident."     continue to read



President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Mar 8, 2021.
In message to China, Biden to meet Australia, India, Japan PMs


Mar. 10 - WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will hold first-ever joint talks on Friday (Mar 12) with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan, boosting an emerging four-way alliance often cast as a bulwark against China.

It will be one of the first summits, albeit in virtual format, for Biden, who has vowed to revive US alliances in the wake of the disarray of Donald Trump's administration.

"That President Biden has made this one of his earliest multilateral engagements speaks to the importance that we place on close cooperation with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.

Amid rising tensions with China, it will mark the first meeting at the leaders' level of the so-called "Quad".

Both Psaki and India, which earlier announced the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the talks would take up climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic - two key priorities for Biden.     continue to read

Related Article:
The US’ greatest asset in East Asia may be Japan
Biden administration singles out China as 'biggest geopolitical test' for USIndia, China foreign ministers to set up hotline as border crisis eases

3/09/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 9, 2021

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President Biden after delivering remarks on the Affordable Care Actin November. The changes to the health law would cover 1.3 million more Americans

Pandemic Relief Bill Fulfills Biden’s Promise to Expand Obamacare, for Two Years

With its expanded subsidies for health plans under the Affordable Care Act, the coronavirus relief bill makes insurance more affordable, and puts health care on the ballot in 2022.

Mar. 9 - WASHINGTON — President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill will fulfill one of his central campaign promises, to fill the holes in the Affordable Care Act and make health insurance affordable for more than a million middle-class Americans who could not afford insurance under the original law.

The bill, which will most likely go to the House for a final vote on Wednesday, includes a significant, albeit temporary, expansion of subsidies for health insurance purchased under the act. Under the changes, the signature domestic achievement of the Obama administration will reach middle-income families who have been discouraged from buying health plans on the federal marketplace because they come with high premiums and little or no help from the government.     continue to read

MARCH 8, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was joined by Gender Policy Co-Chairs Julissa Reynoso and Jenn Klein to discuss two executive orders signed by President Biden addressing gender equality. The press secretary went onto discuss future bipartisan legislation and increased border crossings of unaccompanied minors. 


President Joe Biden walks with Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, left, and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson before speaking at an event to mark International Women's Day, Monday, March 8, 2021, in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
President Joe Biden on Monday announced the nomination of two women to lead US military commands, who will be only the second and third women to hold such senior military positions in the United States.


US Air Force General Jacqueline Van Ovost, the only woman to have reached the rank of four-star general, the military’s highest, was nominated to head Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM).

Mar. 9 - Three-star army general Laura Richardson was nominated to lead Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which covers Central and Latin America. She will also receive her fourth star.

If the Senate confirms their nominations, then Van Ovost and Richardson will follow Lori Robinson, who was the first woman to helm a military command. She led Northern Command (NORTHCOM) before retiring in 2018.

​“Each of these women have led careers demonstrating incomparable skill, integrity and duty to country,” Biden said while presenting the two generals during a short speech at the White House.

“Today is International Women’s Day, and we all need to see and to recognize the barrier-breaking accomplishments of these women,” he added.     continue to read


US President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, March 4.
How Dr. Seuss explains Biden's big win on Covid bill

Mar. 9 - (CNN)The Republican Party's inability to ignite a grassroots backlash against the $1.9 trillion Democratic Covid relief bill moving toward final passage underscores the GOP's transformation into a coalition energized primarily by cultural and racial grievance -- and the opportunity that opens for President Joe Biden to advance his economic priorities.

Although every House and Senate Republican voted against the rescue plan, it has not generated anything like the uprisings against new government spending and programs that engulfed Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama during each man's first year in office. Indeed, throughout the legislative fight, congressional Republicans and conservative media outlets like Fox News appeared more interested in focusing attention on peripheral cultural issues, like whether Dr. Seuss had become a victim of liberal "cancel culture."

That stress on cultural complaints reflects the shifting source of motivation inside the GOP coalition, with fewer voters responding to the warnings against "big government" once central to the party's appeal and more viscerally responding to alarms that Democrats intend to transform "our country," as former President Donald Trump often calls it, into something culturally unrecognizable.     continue to read

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First dogs Champ and Major Biden are seen on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2021
From the White House to the dog house: Biden's pooches sent home after 'biting incident'

​Mar. 9 - President Joe Biden has sent his two dogs back to his family home in Wilmington, Delaware, after the younger of the two German Shepherds was involved in a "biting incident" with a White House security agent, US media said Monday.

Three-year-old Major, whom Biden and his wife Jill adopted in November 2018 from an animal shelter, had been displaying aggressive behavior including jumping, barking and charging at White House staff and security, CNN reported, citing two anonymous sources.

The sources described a "biting incident" involving a member of the security services but did not specify if the person was injured. The episode was, however, seen as serious enough for both dogs, including 13-year-old Champ, to be returned to the Bidens' home in Wilmington last week.

Major is the first rescue dog to have lived in the White House, having moved in after Biden's inauguration in January.
Biden's predecessor Donald Trump did not have any pets at the White House.

It was not immediately clear when -- or if -- the dogs would be allowed to return.


First Lady Jill Biden said in an interview last month she had been focused on getting the dogs settled into their new home in Washington.


"They have to take the elevator, they're not used to that, and they have to go out on the South Lawn with lots of people watching them. So that's what I've been obsessed with, getting everybody settled and calm," she said on "The Kelly Clarkson Show."     source from

Major, bad dog: Biden's German Shepherds sent back to Delaware
The return of dogs to the White House may be short-lived after a recent incident.


Mar. 9 - "The two German Shepherds belonging to President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were returned to the Biden family home in Delaware last week after aggressive behavior at the White House involving Major Biden, two sources with knowledge tell CNN. Major, who was adopted by Biden in November 2018 from a Delaware animal shelter, had what one of the people described as a 'biting incident' with a member of White House security. The exact condition of the victim is unknown, however, the episode was serious enough that the dogs were subsequently moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where they remain," CNN's Kate Bennett reported Monday.

"Major, who is 3 years old, is the younger of the two Biden dogs, and has been known to display agitated behavior on multiple occasions, including jumping, barking, and 'charging' at staff and security, according to the people CNN spoke with about the dog's demeanor at the White House. The older of Biden's German Shepherds, Champ, is approximately 13 and has slowed down physically due to his advanced age," CNN explained.

Champ and Major were the first White House dogs since Bo and Sunny during the Obama administration as Donald Trump did not have any pets.     source from


DOGS BOOTED FROM WHITE HOUSE ...
Once Bitten, Go Back To Delaware

Mar. 9 - ​President Biden's dogs just got the old heave-ho from the White House ... sounds like they were too aggressive for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The Bidens' 2 German Shepherds, Major and Champ, were shipped back to the family home in Delaware last week following some un-doglike (or maybe doglike) behavior at the White House, including a biting incident.

Major, the 3-year-old pooch Biden adopted from a Delaware animal shelter in 2019, reportedly got his chompers on a member of White House security.

Major's also said to have been pretty agitated around the residence ... allegedly charging, jumping and barking at staff and security.

Champ, meanwhile, seems to be getting the short end of the stick ... he's been sent back to Wilmington too ... even though he's about 13 years old and has slowed down considerably due to his age.

With the German Shepherds out of the White House, the place is going back to how it was under Donald Trump ... a no-pet zone.     source from
PBS NewsHour full episode, Mar. 8, 2021
Mar 9, 2021
Monday on the NewsHour, the CDC issued new guidelines recommending that fully vaccinated Americans be allowed to resume some pre-pandemic activities, President Biden's COVID relief bill is on track to clear one last hurdle before he can sign it into law, and Meghan Markle paints some in the British royal family as racist and details her struggles wrought by the pressures of palace life.

3/08/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 8, 2021

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Senator Chuck Schumer of New York speaking to the media in Washington
US Senate passes pared-back COVID relief bill

Mar. 8 - On Saturday, the US Senate passed the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, following two days of Republican stalling and negotiations between the Democratic leadership and right-wing Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (West Virginia), which resulted in further cuts in proposed government aid.

The so-called “American Rescue Plan” was adopted by a strict 50-49 party-line vote, setting the stage for the expected passage of the pared-back measure by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, followed shortly thereafter by President Joe Biden’s signing the measure into law.

The major provisions of the Senate bill include:

* $400 billion for $1,400 per person stipends

* $350 billion for state and local governments, which have already laid off tens of thousands of educators and other public service workers

* $300 billion for the $300-a-week supplemental unemployment benefit through September 6 and a tax exemption for the first $10,200 in 2020 benefits for unemployed workers     continue to read

MARCH 6, 2021
President Biden on Passage of COVID-19 Relief Bill
President Biden spoke at the White House about the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which passed 50-49 in the Senate this afternoon. The Senate began work on the bill yesterday, with a marathon voting session on amendments to the bill. The bill heads to the House this Tuesday for a final vote.

The long and winding roads – to the White House

Mar. 8 - A
s Joe Biden assumed the presidency, Scribe reissued his 2008 campaign biography, Promises to Keep. It’s a very smart publishing decision because it brings to us the true bedrock of Biden in public life. We get the raw Biden as he matures from his young days, before becoming Barack Obama’s vice-president, before fulfilling his promise to his dying son not to give up, but to go on, lovingly recounted in Promise Me (2017).

Biden is a regular guy. An American story of a kid propelled in life on the back of the middle class that surged after World War II. He loved football and girls; was a good but lazy student; did law; and fell in love – twice – at first sight. He trained his brain and mouth to overcome a terrible stutter, echoes of which you can still hear today, if you listen closely, as he gives speeches. He stands always with working people. And with people of colour who face racism every day; he was a lifeguard in the summer at the pools where black kids would swim. He quit a corporate law firm in Delaware to become a public defender.     continue to read



3/06/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 6, 2021

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 US says it will reduce detention of immigrant families


​Mar. 6 - U.S. immigration authorities will no longer use a small Pennsylvania detention center to hold parents and children seeking asylum, part of a broader shift by President Joe Biden's administration to reduce the use of family detention.
In a court filing Friday, the U.S. government said it had released all families detained at the 96-bed Berks County family detention center in Leesport, Pennsylvania. The detention center will instead be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold adults, the government said.

Families will still be detained at larger detention centers in Karnes City and Dilley in Texas, but the government intends to hold people at those sites for three days or less, the court filing said.

Lawyers who work with detained immigrant families welcomed the news and credited the Biden administration for announcing the shift. But they noted that even shorter detention stays could be harmful to children.

“Family detention will never truly be over until the facilities are closed and the contracts with ICE end,” said Bridget Cambria, executive director of the legal group Aldea - The People's Justice Center.     continue to read

MARCH 5, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on the Biden administration’s priorities. She answered multiple questions on recent increases of illegal border crossings, particularly unaccompanied minors and how the administration is responding to the situation. She also commented on the February jobs report saying, “while it shows some progress, it also shows the long road ahead” and went on to explain how the American Rescue Plan would help create job growth.
White House press secretary slams reporter who masked Trump attack: ‘We don’t take our advice or counsel from former President Trump’

Mar. 6 - White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday defended President Joe Biden's immigration policies that are working to reverse former President Trump's "immoral" and "inhumane" acts against migrant children, and criticized a reporter who tried to mask an attack from the ex-president by referring to them as "a lot of Americans."


Speaking about unaccompanied immigrant children coming to the U.S. southern border, a reporter told Psaki that "a lot of Americans are saying that, you know, the surges are happening under President Biden's watch, after he reversed some previous policies."

"Does the administration take any accountability for what's happening?" the reporter asked.

"Who are the Americans?" Psaki knowingly pressed.

"Well, I know you don't want to answer to him but, the former president just released a statement saying that the Biden administration must act immediately to end the border nightmare that they have unleashed on our nation."

"Former President Trump?" Psaki asked.

"Yes," the reporter, caught in obfuscation, replied.

"We don't take our advice or counsel from former President Trump on immigration policy which was not only inhumane, but ineffective over the last four years," Psaki declared. "We're going to chart our own path forward, and that includes treating children with humanity and respect and ensuring they're safe when they cross our borders."     source from

US President Joe Biden has appointed two more Indian-Americans in key administrative positions.
Biden appoints two more Indian-Americans to key administration position

US President Joe Biden has appointed two more Indian-Americans in key administrative positions, according to the latest list announced by the White House on Friday.


Mar. 6 - US President Joe Biden has appointed two more Indian-Americans in key administrative positions, according to the latest list announced by the White House on Friday.
Chiraag Bains has been appointed as Special Assistant to the President for Criminal Justice and Pronita Gupta has been named Special Assistant to the President for Labour and Workers.

The announcement for appointing Bains and Gupta was part of more than 20 appointments of additional policy staff who will serve with the White House COVID Response Team, Domestic Climate Policy Office, Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council.

“These qualified, impressive, and dedicated individuals reflect the diversity and strength of America and will play critical roles advancing the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to tackling the crises we face and building back our country better,” the White House said.

The Biden administration has so far appointed more than 55 Indian-Americans to key administrative position.     continue to read