All Things Biden: Is It Over Yet?

[Sean Hayden]

More Than 100,000 Migrants Encountered At Border In February

United States law enforcement agents encountered more than 100,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in February, which is the highest monthly total since a historic surge in mid-2019 and evidence of a mounting crisis, despite the current administration's hesitancy to characterize it as such.

...

After criticizing the Trump Administration's handling of border security over the past four years, partially in the run-up to the 2020 election, President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats pledged to implement more humane and compassionate policies toward those seeking admission into the United States. However, the number of migrant children in custody at HHS shelters is rising at an alarming rate. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged this week that the numbers were "overwhelming." Furthermore, peak migration season typically arrives in May, and the 2021 pace now exceeds that of 2019 (In February of 2019, fewer than 77,000 migrants were encountered). And, according to the New York Times, more than 19,000 migrants were detained by border agents over just the first week of March. During a Tuesday press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki refused to call it a crisis. "I don't think we need to put new labels on what we have already conveyed is challenging," Psaki said.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/ ... 46d6e7217b

[Sean Hayden]

Biden Administration to Expand COVID-19 Vaccine Program to 950 Community Health Centers

As part of President Biden’s commitment to ensure the nation’s underserved communities and those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 are equitably vaccinated, this week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is announcing that an additional 700 HRSA-supported health centers will be invited to join the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program. These health centers will have the opportunity to join the program over the next six weeks, increasing the total number of invited health center participants to 950.

HRSA-funded health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver affordable, accessible, quality, and cost-effective primary health care. Over 91% of health center patients are individuals or families living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and nearly 63% are racial/ethnic minorities. Health centers across the nation are playing vital roles in supporting local community responses to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/03/ ... ch-11-2021

[Sean Hayden]

Energy Secretary Granholm says US needs to produce more EV minerals

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday said the United States needs to boost domestic production of the minerals used to make electric vehicles, so long as it is done sustainably.

The United States has been trying to wean its automobile supply chain off of China and other countries for years, with mixed results.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order last month requiring greater coordination among federal agencies on supply chain issues, but many environmentalists have vowed to oppose new US mines.

Still, the United States is reliant on China for lithium, rare earths and other EV minerals, a situation that Biden and Granholm have called untenable.

https://www.miningweekly.com/article/en ... 2021-03-10

--what kind of environmentalist would oppose this? Are these the people that want us to go back to living in huts? (but seriously, those people exist)

[Sean Hayden]

U.S. will speak out forcefully against China committing ‘genocide’ against Uyghur Muslims: Antony Blinken

...

“We have a number of steps that we have taken or can take going forward, to include for those directly responsible for acts of genocide, gross human rights violations, sanctions, visa restrictions, etc. I think it would be very important, if China claims that there is nothing going on, that it gives access to the international community, to the United Nations.

“If they have nothing to hide, show it to us, show the world. And so, we’ll be calling for that,” he said. “Then there are a series of practical things that are very important. For example, we should make sure that we are not exporting and others are not exporting to China any products that can be used for the repression of their people and their minorities,” he said.

Similarly, America shouldn’t be importing products that are created by forced labour, including from Xinjiang. “So, those are some of the practical things that we can and should do, but for short we’re going to start by speaking out forcefully on this,” Mr. Blinken said.

...

...one for crumple

https://www.thehindu.com/news/internati ... 042572.ece

[JimC]

Energy Secretary Granholm says US needs to produce more EV minerals

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday said the United States needs to boost domestic production of the minerals used to make electric vehicles, so long as it is done sustainably.

The United States has been trying to wean its automobile supply chain off of China and other countries for years, with mixed results.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order last month requiring greater coordination among federal agencies on supply chain issues, but many environmentalists have vowed to oppose new US mines.

Still, the United States is reliant on China for lithium, rare earths and other EV minerals, a situation that Biden and Granholm have called untenable.

https://www.miningweekly.com/article/en ... 2021-03-10

--what kind of environmentalist would oppose this? Are these the people that want us to go back to living in huts? (but seriously, those people exist)

You would need to look very carefully at the mining processes involved, that they did not cause excessive environmental damage (as I believe happens in some parts of China). New, environmentally friendly renewable energy technologies definitely needs theses elements, but they must be extracted in a way that is not hypocritical.

Australia has large deposits of many of these minerals, but so far we've been slow of the mark to make use of them, except in small scale ways. Getting them from Oz would reduce the world's dependency on China, a good thing in itself.

[Tero]

Trump: we have a virus, but it's nothing and if it is, it was Chinese. Not my fault.
Press: we are screwed
Biden: We are going to beat this thing. But I need enough of you to help and cooperate.
Press: how can we help? Anyway, book Fauci.
Fox/Ted Cruz: we must protect those that do not want to be vaccinated.

[rainbow]

Fox/Ted Cruz: we must protect those that do not want to be vaccinated.

Can't they just be sent to an island, say Guam?

Eventually they will all die, or the virus will burn out. Also their votes won't count.

[Tero]

Here we go, tax and spend!
https://fox8.com/news/first-major-tax-h ... eport/amp/
Or, maybe more correctly spend and tax this time.

[Cunt]

Do Fauci fans know that he is the highest paid employee of the Federal government?

I guess he IS on TV a lot...

[JimC]

Pay peanuts, get monkeys...

Who would have produced just as much useful medical advice as Trump...

[Cunt]

By that logic, Trump would get no salary, and Fauci would need to double-dip

[Hermit]

Do Fauci fans know that he is the highest paid employee of the Federal government?

O noes! He obviously gets paid this much to spread lies. You know, scientists lie to get paid, don't you? Of course you do.

I shall resign from the Fauci fan club immediately and never again trust a word he says.

[Brian Peacock]

There's nothing wrong with being sensitive to Fauci.

[Hermit]

There's nothing wrong with being sensitive to Fauci.

There is now! Scientists are paid to lie. Since Fauci gets paid more than Trump, who claims to be an expert about the Corona virus, he is required to lie even more about it than the ex-president.

[JimC]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-17/ ... /100014898

US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has warned of a "scorched earth" landscape if Democrats use their new majority to bring an end to the Senate filibuster in hopes of muscling legislation supporting President Joe Biden's agenda past GOP opposition.

Mr McConnell unleashed the dire forecast of a Senate that would all but cease to function, implying that Republicans would grind business to a halt by refusing to give consent for routine operations — from the start time for sessions, to the reading of long legislative texts, to quorum call votes.

"Let me say this very clearly for all 99 of my colleagues: Nobody serving in this chamber can even begin — can even begin to imagine — what a completely scorched earth Senate would look like," Mr McConnell said in a Senate speech.

Mr McConnell said the partisan gridlock of the Trump and Obama eras would look like "child's play" compared to what's to come.

Go for it Joe, and fuck off, Mitch.