Monitoring Biden and other Contemporary Events

Today, [John] Matze claims he was terminated by a board led by Rebekah Mercer (of the Mercer family, who are prominent conservative donors), and suggested he was fired due to his “strong belief in free speech” and his product vision, including “what I believe is a more effective approach to content moderation.”

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it was still uncertain how to grapple with the problem of extremism in its ranks and announced a military-wide pause to allow troops and commanders a chance to focus on the issue.

Lloyd Austin, the first Black secretary of defense who recently took over at the Pentagon, ordered each branch of the military to stand-down at some point over the next 60 days to discuss the threat posed by white supremacy and similar extremism, said Pentagon press secretary John Kirby.

The Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the building and attacked police, was “a wake-up call” for the Department of Defense, Kirby said. Current and former members of the military took part in the siege, and the Pentagon is under scrutiny over how it vets recruits and tracks extremism within the ranks.

none exist.

only a racist would say that's black people's intentions..

House Democrats voted Wednesday to set the stage for party-line approval of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, heeding the president’s calls for swift action on his first big agenda item — but without the bipartisan unity he promised.

The 218-to-212 nearly party-line vote approved a budget bill that would unlock special rules in the Senate allowing Biden’s relief package to pass with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes usually needed. The Senate is expected to take action on the same legislation later in the week.

With the budget resolutions in place, Democrats would be able to get to work in earnest on writing Biden’s proposed relief bill into law — and ultimately pass it without any Republican votes if necessary, though they continued to insist that is not their preference.
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Despite the GOP criticism of the partisan “budget reconciliation” approach, it’s a tool both parties have used. Republicans used budget reconciliation to pass their big tax-cut bill after President Donald Trump took office. And Obama used it for key legislation to amend the Affordable Care Act, after months of fruitless negotiations with Republicans yielded no GOP support for the ACA — another lesson for Biden from the Obama years.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived at the US Capitol late Tuesday night to pay their respects to fallen US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, whose remains are lying in honor in the building's famous Rotunda, less than four weeks after he died after responding to the riot that erupted in the building.

In an appearance lasting a few minutes, the President and first lady entered the Rotunda, where several US Capitol police officers were stationed including two officers flanking Sicknick's remains.

Biden placed his hand on the table displaying Sicknick's remains before he and the first lady each placed their hands over their hearts and Biden crossed himself. The Bidens then stood in front of memorial wreaths before again placing their hands over their hearts and exiting the Rotunda.

The somber ceremonial arrival began at 9:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday at the East Front of the Capitol with Sicknick's remains arriving in a hearse. A Capitol Police officer carried the box containing his remains up the steps as police officers stood at attention outside the building that had been ransacked by insurrectionists almost a month before.

The viewing for Sicknick began at 10 p.m. and was set to last overnight. A ceremony is set to take place on Wednesday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Friday that Sicknick would lie in honor under the historic dome.

Prosecutors say Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse skipped out on his bond by not updating the court with his new address—but Rittenhouse’s former lawyer says police told him to purposefully mislead the court as to where Rittenhouse is living.

Prosecutors are seeking a new arrest warrant and want a $200,000 increase in the bond for the teenage Trump fan from Illinois accused of shooting and killing two people last summer during an uprising in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after he didn’t provide an updated address where he’s staying.

Sixty-one percent of Americans said in a new poll that they approve of the job President Biden is doing two weeks after being sworn in, and a majority believes he’s up to the task of tackling an array of crises.

According to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey released Thursday, 35 percent of Americans strongly approve of the job Biden is doing, and 26 percent somewhat approve. Another 26 percent strongly disapprove, and 11 percent somewhat disapprove.

The results are sharply divided by partisan lines, with 97 percent of Democrats approving along with 58 percent of independents and 23 percent of Republicans.

The results indicate Biden may enjoy a honeymoon period in the early days of his presidency even as the country remains fiercely divided. Presidents in modern history enjoyed approval ratings of at least 50 percent at the start of their administrations, though former President Trump never broke that threshold in most mainstream polling.
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Seventy-four percent (74%) of Americans in the new poll said they have some or “a great deal” of confidence in Biden to handle the coronavirus outbreak, and 65 percent said they have confidence in him to improve the economy.

Only 20 percent of Americans said they have “a great deal” of confidence that Biden will work with Republicans to accomplish his goals, but another 45 percent said they have “some” confidence.