President Joe Biden

[legomaster00156]

With a new administration rolling in, I think it's a lovely idea to move discussions of White House goings-on to a brand new thread. Be the change you want to see in the world, right? Anything regarding the current administration can be spoken of in this thread.

[Haibane]

Right now I just want to say "Yay!"

[Beguile's Mistress]

*breathes a sigh of relief*

[Regina Minx]

I for one am happy to be here.

[Aiden]

I am looking forward to Biden essentially retconning a lot of Trump's policies.

I.E

Rejoin the Paris Agreement
WHO
Iran deal
Closing of the children concentration camps

[legomaster00156]

Unfortunately, it's a lot easier to say those things than do them. I am especially concerned that Iran will not so easily let the deal stand again ("And what if the next administration changes its mind again?") and the closure of the concentration camps (What do we do with the kids, now? Especially when we lost their parents?).

[Aiden]

A few weeks ago Iran mentioned they would be open again to rejoining.


The way you asked about the concentration camps seems like you are pro keeping concentration camps...

As to what we do, we try to make it fucking right. Plain and simple.

[legomaster00156]

Oh, I am absolutely not pro-concentration camps. I am in complete agreement that they must be closed. We need a system to take the children back to their parents, though, including a way to reunite those whose parents got lost in the shuffle of kidnappings. Even if we close the camps today, what do we do with the kids until we are able to reunite the families?

[Regina Minx]

Oh, I am absolutely not pro-concentration camps.

Thanks for clarifying? Do we all have to go on record with this or can we just take it for granted?

[Beguile's Mistress]

As of October 2020:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/21/family-separation-parents-border-covid/

[Aiden]

49.5% of (voting) people are either for it or don't care.

So one can never be sure where they stand on concentration camps.

[HannibalBarca]

Uncle Joe is a step in the right direction (towards the left), but there's a long, long way to go.  Undoing the crap Trump executive orders, getting rid of Trumpists in the bureaucracy, lifting the Muslim ban and draconian immigration rules...

I want Biden to direct his Justice Department to look into the validity of Trump's pardons of convicted felons who are associated with him.  Can those pardons be overturned if Trump is found guilty of crimes connected to them?  Do his dual impeachments have any bearing on his ability to give out those pardons?

I hope NY puts out a warrant for Trump's arrest today.  Florida law enforcement can apprehend him when his plane touches down, put him on another to New York, and AGNY Letitia James can get to work putting his narcissistic criminal ass in prison where it belongs.

[Fox Lokison]

49.5% of (voting) people are either for it or don't care.

So one can never be sure where they stand on concentration camps.

I should be more surprised that the number is that large.

I really should.

Uncle Joe is a step in the right direction (towards the left), but there's a long, long way to go.  Undoing the crap Trump executive orders, getting rid of Trumpists in the bureaucracy, lifting the Muslim ban and draconian immigration rules...

I want Biden to direct his Justice Department to look into the validity of Trump's pardons of convicted felons who are associated with him.  Can those pardons be overturned if Trump is found guilty of crimes connected to them?  Do his dual impeachments have any bearing on his ability to give out those pardons?

I hope NY puts out a warrant for Trump's arrest today.  Florida law enforcement can apprehend him when his plane touches down, put him on another to New York, and AGNY Letitia James can get to work putting his narcissistic criminal ass in prison where it belongs.

Hard agree. Trump basically told a lot of nasties that they were safe to come out of their hidey-holes and start setting up roots. They're not about to dig those up and go back into their pits.

[Regina Minx]

Can those pardons be overturned if Trump is found guilty of crimes connected to them?  Do his dual impeachments have any bearing on his ability to give out those pardons?

No and no.

There is no mechanism in US Law for overturning a presidential pardon. Being impeached once, twice, thrice, or not at all has no impact on the ability of the President to use the pardon power. I dedicated a post to this yesterday.

[Oniya]

The pardons can't be overturned, but some of them were narrowly issued.  This leaves the recipients open for prosecution on other charges.

Manafort's pardon, for example, only refers to 'for his conviction' - there were 10 counts in VA that the jury hung on, and two that were dropped in exchange for his plea deal (which he then broke.)

[Beguile's Mistress]

Looks like everyone is celebrating!

[Beguile's Mistress]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz4YuEvJ3y4

I'm so happy we could experience this today.  She is simply amazing.

[Blythe]

Biden is staring out with a bang in office. Excellent.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/20/2010716/-PRES-BIDEN-signs-17-exec-orders-Wall-GONE-Paris-Accord-YES-Muslim-Ban-GONE-WHO-YES?pm_source=story_sidebar&pm_medium=web&pm_campaign=recommended

Seventeen executive orders already. He's working hard already to undo the damage of the prior presidency, and I am delighted.

It's hard to say which order is my favorite, but 'USA rejoining the World Health Organization with Dr. Fauci as our delegate' is REALLY high up there.

[Fox Lokison]

Biden is staring out with a bang in office. Excellent.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/20/2010716/-PRES-BIDEN-signs-17-exec-orders-Wall-GONE-Paris-Accord-YES-Muslim-Ban-GONE-WHO-YES?pm_source=story_sidebar&pm_medium=web&pm_campaign=recommended

Seventeen executive orders already. He's working hard already to undo the damage of the prior presidency, and I am delighted.

It's hard to say which order is my favorite, but 'USA rejoining the World Health Organization with Dr. Fauci as our delegate' is REALLY high up there.

I saw that, and I am THRILLED.

Plus rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and reversing the Muslim ban are good wins.

[Blythe]

I saw that, and I am THRILLED.

Plus rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and reversing the Muslim ban are good wins.

Yes, so much yes. 

His effort to extend the eviction moratorium is also a big one for me; it's a terrifying issue facing a huge amount of the populace, so I was excited to see Biden address that.

[Fox Lokison]

My only hope is that he keeps up this momentum. Big gestures at the beginning are grand, and I'm definitely not knocking them, but I wouldn't want them to be the first and last things done.

[Blythe]

My only hope is that he keeps up this momentum. Big gestures at the beginning are grand, and I'm definitely not knocking them, but I wouldn't want them to be the first and last things done.

I do think we'll see more momentum for the first year in particular. Biden will need to take advantage of the Democrat controlled House and the fact Harris is now the Senate tie-breaker for a Dem majority (since two independents caucused with the Dems this round). He'd be foolish to lose momentum while he has a golden opportunity to do so. I think we'll see him try his damndest to push through as much as he can, in particular because I think the Senate is volatile and could easily swing back to a Republican majority in two years.

[Beguile's Mistress]

Jen Psaki is wonderful!  It is such a treat watching a press briefing at all but watching one now as well.

[Aiden]

[Humble Scribe]

I'm not an American, but before the current Unpleasantness I spent a lot of time there due to work. I have plenty of American friends and contacts and colleagues.
So I know that it's in many ways not my business - I know that when people from outside the UK take a point of view on our politics I tend to think: "yeah, but you don't have to live with it, butt out."
But major powers are important internationally. We know that that's true of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, and it's doubly true of the president of the US. That person can set a tone for the way that the world conducts its affairs. And by God this has been the worst four years I can remember (and I'm getting on now. I remember Carter and Ford). I remember when we thought Reagan was the greatest threat to world peace we had ever seen, or when Dubya was the pawn of neocons who didn't understand how the world worked and just wanted to stomp around planting flags. But Trump is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime - an actual threat to US democracy itself. That shit is scary. Don't do it again, I beg you.
From where I sit, Biden looks like a geriatric with too much on his plate, and probably not enough levers to do what he hopes to. But he's a normal, functioning chief executive, and by God that'll do for now.
Stay safe, and we're glad you're back.
Scribe