Lovely Day One in the White House
That’s a beautiful picture of President Joe Biden (below), standing next to the new First Lady and holding his youngest grandchild, eight-month-old Beau (named after his dead oldest son). The Bidens seemed at home right away in the White House. (I hope it was properly fumigated to get rid of Covid contamination and exorcise the sulfurous fumes of the Trump cabal.) The nation’s first grandparents didn’t seem to miss the round of canceled inaugural balls; they didn’t need to slow dance like the sexy Obamas on their inaugural night. It was reassuring enough to have old Joe and Jill in the people’s house where they belong.
President Biden immediately signaled the reversal of the Trump reign by signing a flurry of executive orders and declarations aimed at ending “the Trump policies that were deeply inhumane and did not reflect our country’s values,” in the crisp words of new national security advisor, Jake Sullivan. Together, these 17 new presidential commands state that grandpa Joe actually cares about little Beau and the next generations of humanity. That singular lack of concern about future generations has been the dark hallmark not only of Donald Trump, but of Mitch McConnell and the entire Koch brothers’ corporate sponsorship of Republican rule. These rich and powerful men just don’t give a damn about future life on the planet, even their own flesh and blood, only their bottom lines and reelections.
So let’s take a minute to celebrate President Joe Biden’s day one, history-making flurry of proclamations — and the dawn of a new day in the United States and the world.
Here’s a partial list of what Biden accomplished yesterday with a wave of his presidential pen:
Returned the U.S. to the Paris climate accord; terminated the Keystone XL pipeline carrying dirty shale oil from Canada; rescinded Trump rollbacks to auto emission standards; imposed a moratorium on oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; reestablished a working group on the social costs of greenhouse gasses.
Established more coordination for federal response to the coronavirus pandemic; restored the directorate eliminated by Trump that oversaw global health threats; terminated Trump’s efforts to leave the World Health Organization, sending Dr. Anthony Fauci to a WHO executive board meeting today.
Overturned Trump’s ban on travelers from Muslim countries; protected DACA “Dreamers” from deportation and established a path to citizenship for other immigrants; reversed Trump order to exclude noncitizens from the census count; stopped construction of Trump’s Mexican border wall.
Directed federal agencies to make equity a top priority and eliminate systematic racism; canceled Trump’s 1776 Commission, which attempted to rewrite American history and whitewash the national stain of slavery.
Extended a federal ban on evictions and foreclosures; called for Congress to cancel up to $10,000 in individual student debt.
Now it’s our job to continue pushing the Biden-Harris administration to keep doing the right thing — against the iron resistance of the GOP-corporate lobby that has already begun the fight. We have to win — for all of our little Beaus.
