Mitch McConnell’s Floor Speech Congratulating President-Elect Biden

This was an excellent speech by Senator Mitch . The transcript was posted on CNN. While a majority of Americans had enough of Donald Trump’s bad behavior, Mitch McConnell makes some valid points listing Trump accomplishments. Democrats need to read this speech.

Updated 12:11 PM ET, Tue December 15, 2020

(CNN) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recognized Joe Biden’s victory on Tuesday in a floor speech, where he congratulated the President-elect but also praised Donald Trump’s presidency.

Below is the text of the Kentucky Republican’s floor speech provided by McConnell’s office:

“Over the last four years, our country has benefited from a presidential term filled with major accomplishments.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly surprised the skeptics, confounded his critics, and delivered significant policy victories that have strengthened our country.

Case in point: Back in May, when the President set the goal of finding a pandemic-ending vaccine by the end of this year, his timeline was dismissed by people who assumed they knew better.

Quote: ‘Trump promises coronavirus vaccine by end of the year,’ scoffed one headline, ‘but his own experts temper expectations.’ ‘Fact check,’ complained another headline, ‘Coronavirus vaccine could come this year, Trump says. Experts say he needs a ‘miracle’ to be right.’ End quote.

Well, with the genius of science, support from Congress, and the bold leadership of the Trump administration, that medical miracle arrived right on schedule.

Americans on the front lines are receiving vaccinations as we speak.

This episode offers a kind of microcosm of the last four years.

On so many subjects — from economic prosperity to foreign policy to protecting American families — the skeptics doubted him, the critics derided him, but President Trump has delivered.

When President Trump ran for office, he promised to help open a new chapter for working families.

After eight years of failed policies that concentrated wealth and optimism And that is exactly what happened.

Before this pandemic spread from China and the world had to slam on the brakes, the American people had the best job market in living memory.

With help from the policies of President Trump and Republicans in Congress, American workers dynamited the stagnation that experts had said was “the new normal.”

Unemployment hit a 50-year low. Capital markets hit record highs. And this time, all kinds of Americans got to share in the gains.

We saw earnings grow faster for workers than for managers; faster for the bottom 25% than for the top 25%.

This success was fueled in part by the policy leadership of President Trump.

His administration pursued bold regulatory changes.

Once-in-a-generation tax reform had eluded prior leaders. This President signed it into law in his first year.

And together we repealed the worst part of Obamacare. The unfair individual mandate was zeroed out.

President Trump also took historic steps to strengthen the future of our trade with the world.

He secured the historic United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and bilateral tax treaties with partners in Europe and Asia.

A nation this productive needs plenty of energy to keep it going. Fortunately, President Trump and his administration ended the ideological war on fossil fuels and hit the accelerator on all-of-the-above American energy dominance.

In the last four years we surpassed Saudi Arabia in oil production. We saw energy exports exceed energy imports for the first year in almost 70 years.

That energy independence has dramatically strengthened our hand with respect to the rest of the world, particularly the Middle East.

Speaking of the Middle East, President Trump wasted little time pulling back from the prior administration’s disastrous ‘Iran deal.’

His team eliminated daylight between us and Israel and repaired our relationships with Arab partners.

And he aligned these relationships around our common shared interests — countering threats like radical Islamic terrorists and Iranian aggression.

Under President Trump’s command, our forces took terrorist leaders like Al-Baghdadi and Soleimani off the battlefield.

The physical caliphate that ISIS established on the previous president’s watch was destroyed.

All this paved the way for the Abraham Accords — the historic normalization of relationships between Israel and the (United Arab Emirates), Bahrain, Sudan, and most recently Morocco, with the potential for more on the horizon.

Now, the Middle East isn’t the only place where the Trump administration has shored up our footing on the world stage.

Our 45th commander-in-chief set out to rebuild and modernize our military, and to move our foreign policy from a chapter of weakness and apology into a renewed posture of strength.

Four years later, we have a new National Defense Strategy to compete with and deter adversaries like Russia and China.

We have rebuilt the military and invested in new technologies to ensure America keeps our edge in everything from cyber to space to advanced weapons systems.

And the President’s leadership has not stopped with those who are currently serving.

He also signed into law the historic VA MISSION Act, to ensure our dedication to our men and women in uniform does not end when their tours conclude.

Clearly, the list of American accomplishments since 2016 is nearly endless.

There are the many miles of new protections on our southern border. At one point apprehensions at the border hit their lowest level since the 1970s.

Essential causes like religious liberty and the most vulnerable, the unborn, have had a champion in this administration, instead of an adversary.

There have been historic new steps to conserve our national treasures, like the Great American Outdoors Act.

And perhaps most important of all, President Trump nominated — and this Senate confirmed — three outstanding Supreme Court justices along with more than 220 more Article III federal judges.

These are brilliant, young, constitutionalist men and women in lifetime appointments who will renew the judiciary for a generation.

All because President Trump knows we need judges who respect the essential but limited job description the framers wrote for our third branch of government.

As you can see, it would take far more than one speech to catalog all the major wins the Trump administration has helped deliver for the American people.

The outsider who swore he would shake up Washington and lead our country to new accomplishments both at home and abroad proceeded to do exactly that.

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence deserve our thanks and our gratitude for their tireless work — and their essential roles in all these victories and many more.

Six weeks ago, Americans voted in this year’s general election. The legal and constitutional processes have continued to play out.

Yesterday, electors met in all 50 states. So, as of this morning, our country officially has a President-elect and a Vice President-elect.

Many millions of us had hoped the presidential election would yield a different result. But our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on January the 20th.

The Electoral College has spoken.

So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The President-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He has devoted himself to public service for many years.

I also congratulate the Vice President-elect, our colleague from California, Senator Harris. Beyond our differences, all Americans can take pride that our nation has a female Vice President-elect for the first time.

I look forward to finishing out the next 36 days strong with President Trump. Our nation needs us to add another bipartisan chapter to this record of achievement.”

A Sad Ending to the Trump Presidency

Knowing that his presidency will end on January 20, I would have expected Donald Trump to crow about his accomplishments. There are many things that are positive accomplishments that he can point to and they ought to pointed out to historians and others who criticized his administration.

The most important was brining a covid-19 vaccine into use in less than one year. Of course it was the scientists who found the medication but it was Mr. Trump who provided the funding to make it happen. Strangely he was not to be seen as the first vaccination were given at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Trump has battled the military in his desire to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. That never ending war has resulted in 2,372 U.S. military deaths and 20,320 American servicemembers have also been wounded in action during the war.

Previous administrations have not confronted China’s theft of our technology and they have taken thousands of American jobs. The tariffs Trump imposed on China was good first step in supporting America’s manufacturing sector.

Rocket Man has come to understand that the United States will take military action if necessary to counter North Korea’s nuclear weapons development.

Improved relations between Israel and it Muslim neighbors has reduced the chance of war in the Middle East was all brought about by negotiations prompted by the United States.

If it has not been for the virus the unemployment rate would still be at 3.5%. His adjustment to tax rates has been a boon to business and has raised the Dow Jones and S&P 500 to its highest value in history,

If I was Donald Trump I would be advertising all of his administrations accomplishments. Sadly, instead, he has chosen to try to overturn America’s greatest gift to the world. Democracy. So his effort to destroy America’s democracy will likely be his legacy.

Is Secession a Solution?

Is it time to split the United States apart?

Rush Limbaugh, conservative bigot and Medal of Freedom recipient, dropped a little bomb on his listeners the other day.

Bemoaning the fact that Republicans have not only lost the presidency but the culture wars as well, he said, “I actually think that we’re trending toward secession. I see more and more people asking what in the world do we have in common with the people who live in, say, New York? … There cannot be a peaceful coexistence of two completely different theories of life, theories of government, theories of how we manage our affairs. We can’t be in this dire a conflict without something giving somewhere along the way.”

I have been asking the same question that Limbaugh is asking for years. What in the world do Angelinos have in common with the people who live in places like Kansas or Oklahoma? I live in Los Angeles and have more in common with the people in San Francisco and NYC. Wheat fields and corn fields are important but my concerns are totally different then farmers. Farmers and ranchers aren’t concerned with homelessness and sufficient wages to pay the rent.

From abortion rights, to LGBTQ rights, to use of the death penalty, to gun ownership rights, Blue and Red states hold diametrically opposite views.

As to the Civil War, Lincoln may have kept the country together but at what price? Did the North really win? Southerners still resent the Yankees (Northerners). Jefferson Davis’ birthday is a state holiday in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The Confederate battle flag is still flown in Southern states.

California’s relationship with the federal government has been a non-stop battle on issues from immigration to air pollution.

States like Wyoming and the Dakotas with populations less than the San Fernando Valley have an equal voice in the Senate with the 40 million population California. People in Idaho, western Washington state, and parts of California and Oregon have dreams of a new state with laws that would conform with their social values.

So yes, there are so many things dividing us and that this really is the Un-United States of America. Splitting this nation apart doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

Impact of Legal Immigration on the United States

President Donald Trump has slowed immigration to the United States to a trickle.

As reported in Forbes magazine. Legal Immigration Cut in Half, Most Categories Blocked: By 2021, Donald Trump will have reduced legal immigration by 49% since becoming president – without any change in U.S. immigration law, according to a National Foundation for American Policy analysis. An April presidential proclamation blocked the entry of legal immigrants to the United States in almost all categories.

Reducing legal immigration most harms refugees, employers and Americans who want to live with their spouses, parents or children, but it also affects the country’s future labor force and economic growth: “Average annual labor force growth, a key component of the nation’s economic growth, will be approximately 59% lower as a result of the administration’s immigration policies, if the policies continue,” according to the National Foundation for American Policy.

Who are some of the immigrants that have made America a success?

Dr. Ugur Sahin and his company, BioNTech, were little known outside the small world of European biotechnology start-ups. BioNTech, which Dr. Sahin founded with his wife, Dr. Özlem Türeci, was mostly focused on cancer treatments. It had never brought a product to market. Dr. Sahin, 55, was born in Iskenderun, Turkey. They along with Albert Bourla, the Greek chief executive of Pfizer brought America a COVID-19 vaccine.

Hamdi Ulukaya – CEO of the Chobani Greek Yoghurt Empire. He is a Turkish billionaire, philantropist and activist of Kurdish ancestry based in the United States.

Sergey Brin – Founder of Google, Inventor and Engineer. Co-founder of Google with Larry Page was born in Moscow, Soviet Union.

Levi Strauss – Creator of Levis Jeans was a German-born, Jewish American businessman, who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.

Arianna Huffington – Co-Founder and Editor in Chief at Huffington Post ) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist, and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of The Huffington Post, the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of fifteen books.

David Ho – AIDS Researcher. Ho’s work caused the introduction of the use of a “cocktail” of drugs, including protease inhibitors, to retard the advance of the virus upon the detection of HIV in the patient. David’s discoveries have raised hope that one day the AIDS virus will be eliminated altogether. He was chosen by Time Magazine as its 1996 “Man of the Year” for his discoveries.

Joseph Pulitzer – Journalist and Publisher. Born in Hungary, Joseph Pulitzer emigrated to America in 1864 where he would become the most powerful journalist of his time. He established the Pulitzer Prizes, which recognize excellence and achievement in journalism, literature and the arts. The Pulitzer Prizes are still highly revered today.

Patrick Soon-Shiong is a South African-American, born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman, bioscientist, and media proprietor. He is the inventor of the drug Abraxane, which became known for its efficacy against lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer. Los Angeles Times owner.

President Joe Biden can reverse the impact of Trump’s actions. Will he?

Happy Hanukkah!

My Mom always had a party for every occasion. Hanukkah, Christmas and every other holiday was a reason to invite friend and family to her home.

The Loser’s Lament

New York Daily News Editorial Board, December 9, 2020

Trump continues to lie, and his allies continue to try to disenfranchise American voters.

Tuesday, as the “safe harbor” deadline cementing Joe Biden’s win as president came and went, finalizing the slates of electors chosen by states, Donald Trump dug himself deeper into a delusional hole.

“We’re going to have to see who the next administration is,” he said while discussing vaccine distribution. “Because we won in those swing states,” adding, “You can’t steal hundreds of thousands of votes.”

But stealing hundreds of thousands of votes is precisely what Trump and his desperate band of denialists attempt, as they try to invalidate tallies that went for Biden.

Trump’s furious court challenges have failed spectacularly in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania. The only state to miss the safe harbor deadline was Wisconsin, due to a Thursday court hearing — meaning that Badger State electors will be the only ones subject to congressional challenge.

Tuesday, even as the Supreme Court declined an attempt by Trump allies to overturn Pennsylvania’s results, Texas’ attorney general asked the high court to block four other states from filing their Electoral College votes because they adjusted their voting procedures to enfranchise people during the COVID pandemic. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad, and so damaging to America’s status as a paragon of democracy worldwide.

The shenanigans will continue. The man who used a racist lie about foreign birth to claim his predecessor was illegitimate will use essentially racist lies about intrinsically illegitimate urban votes to claim his successor is illegitimate.

Nearly 90% of Republicans in Congress refuse to acknowledge Biden’s victory. Two outright insist Trump won. And one, Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia, is floating a resolution to formally condemn members who call on the president to concede.

Four years drunk on a demagogue’s lies have brought Republicans to a rock bottom of servility and humiliation.

Metric System Vs. Imperial (British) System

One of the age-old arguments a majority of the world has with the United States is why the country insists on staying with the imperial system of measurement. Aside from Liberia and Myanmar, the rest of the world, as you can see by the gray masses, use the metric system.

In America’s defense, they can actually blame the British on the unit of measurement. Hundreds of years ago, when the British colonized America, they brought with them the imperial system. Ever since, Americans have used that system. Great Britain developed that Imperial system of measurement. A formal UK government policy to support metrication was agreed by 1965.

But change is slowly happening in the United States.

Some U.S. consumer products come in rounded metric sizes. This appears to be increasing because of the international nature of manufacturing, distribution, and sales. Many items are produced in rounded metric quantities and some manufacturers opt to display the metric quantity first or more prominently (e.g., Oral-B Glide dental floss is available in 35-, 40-, and 50-meter packages).

Perhaps the most common metric item sold is the two-liter bottle. Some supermarket chains also make their store brand soft drinks available in 3-liter sizes. Soft drink containers of 1 and 0.5 liters (and more recently 1.25 liter bottles) are increasingly sold alongside 12 fl oz, 16 fl oz, 20 fl oz, and 24 fl oz (355, 473, 591 and 710 mL) sizes.

The half-liter water bottle (16.9 fl oz) has nearly replaced the 16 ounce size. 700 mL (23.6 fl oz) and one-liter sizes are also common, though 20 fl oz, and 24 fl oz sizes remain popular, particularly in vending machines.

People are stubborn. 30% of the world’s population drives on the left side of the road with steering wheels on the right side of their cars. They are not likely to change their cars and Americans are not likely to give up the Imperial measurement system.

Vaccine Concerns

First let me say I am not an anti-vaxxer.

We are anxious to be vaccinated against COVID-19. My question is how safe is a vaccine that has been rushed to be approved? Today’s LA Times brings up some of my issues about taking the vaccine.

The Covid-19 vaccines have not been tested in the frail elderly, many of whom are residents of long-term care facilities.

Dr. Kelly Moore, associate director of the Immunization Action Coalition, is supporting frontline workers who will administer Covid-19 vaccinations to be first in line for a vaccination. Moore said, “There’s a question about the direct benefit of the vaccine, if given to people who live in those facilities, because we haven’t studied how well it works in that group yet.” That concern led Dr. Helen “Keipp” Talbot, of Vanderbilt University to vote against giving them a priority to obtain a vaccination.

That concern leads me (I am not an epidemiologist) to ask what groups of people were included in the phase 3 testing of the vaccines? What were the side effects and how many of the vaccine’s recipients experienced those effects?

Until I get the answers to those questions go ahead and push your way in front of me as we stand waiting for an injection. Call me in a week or two and tell me how you feel. Thank you.