President Joe Biden did something that his three predecessors failed to do during their nearly twenty years of presiding over America’s longest war. Biden leveled with the American people and told them that the war that they were fighting in Afghanistan was one which they were not going to win. That was Truth to Power, something that rarely comes from the mouth of someone in Power. He said that he was taking action to forthwith remove American troops, contractors and support personnel from Afghanistan.

It was time for a president to acknowledge to American and global citizens that if there had been a good time for the United States to extricate itself from Afghanistan, it would have been shortly after air strikes flattened key Al Qaeda positions in 2002-2003. Since then, any chance of “winning” the war had long since passed. No matter how many corners could be turned in the future, America and its allies were not going to win a war in Afghanistan.

Biden’s willingness to say that the United States was leaving Afghanistan; his courage to follow through on this pledge indicate how remarkable both he and his actions have been. This is particularly so in comparison to American presidents of the recent past.

Biden’s courage to take responsibility for a final resolution of this chapter of American conflict with Afghanistan is the headline. It should remain that way for weeks, months, even years to come. It is difficult to think of any action by any American president since the 1960s when Lyndon Johnson chose to fight for human and economic rights for minorities and poor white people in America that matched what Biden did.

However, as well received as Biden’s decision has been by most of the American people, there has not been a concurrent “trickle down” of support reaching many of the fine men and women in the American media.

No sooner had President Biden delivered his remarkable speech on August 16 than MSNBC cable journalists Nicolle Wallace and Brian Williams agreed that “95% of the American people will love the speech, and 95% of the press will hate it.” Kudos to them for being so spot on and brutally honest about their colleagues in the media.

The response of most of the media to the Biden speeches in many ways reflects the theater of the absurd. Prior to the speeches, if you could have gathered leading media commentators around in an informal gathering and asked them what they would suggest that the United States do about Afghanistan, it almost a sure bet that most would have said that the United States has to get out of Afghanistan. They might further add that the U.S. has to analyze the wars in which it has engaged since its last “victory” in 1945 in World War II and learn how to avoid going to wars which have “loser” written all over them. Finally, should the U.S. once again become involved in a war in which it has no way out other than formally or informally turning tail and leaving, it needs to rehearse Biden’s script on how to say “enough is enough.”

Members of the media seem to suffer from the same malady as other well-educated people who take their particular profession too seriously. Journalists lock themselves into the norms and standards of their profession and remove themselves from the grounding that comes from seeing oneself first as a human being and a reporter second.

No sooner had Biden delivered his seminal speech than they criticized the president with nit-picky questions and comments about the American extrication. There is legitimate grounding to many of their questions, particularly about the strategy and logistics of the final days in Kabul. However, the tone expressed by many of the journalists is snarky and absent of praise for the bold and thoughtful actions taken by Biden.

This is not to imply that no critical questions should be allowed in a press conference when journalists speak “Truth to Power” as clearly as Joe Biden did. Biden spoke the “Truth” about America’s presence in Afghanistan. He may have overlooked some of the smaller “truths” about the difficulties that American forces were facing in the final extrication.

For example, when he stated that there was no way for him and his advisors to know that the Taliban might be able to seize the capital city of Kabul and the area surrounding the Hamid Karzai Airport, that simply does not jibe with the on-the-ground reporting that we have seen and the video that accompanies it. When Biden was not straight about events that both the media and citizens could clearly see, then it undermined the credibility of his assertions about the wisdom of terminating the presence of American troops in Afghanistan immediately.

Media tends to consistently give itself a free pass. This is unfair for so many reasons. When vitriol is directed at Joe Biden as if he were Donald Trump, then the media’s checks and balances on Trump are undermined. The way for the media to enhance its credibility, and to gain more support from the American people, is for journalists to operate as human beings first and reporters second. We tend to admire politicians who speak to us as if they were across the table from us in our kitchen; the same holds true for journalists. The media is the lens through which we learn so much about what is going on in the world, our country, our regions and our localities. No need for grandstanding; just some low-drama honesty and truthfulness.

The post When a President Hits a Home Run, don’t criticize him for wearing the wrong color shoelaces. appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Biden’s Cabinet and Cabinet-level nominations and appointments are complete. He didn’t ask me, but I think overall he gets a ‘B+.’ An ‘A’ for diversity (especially if you include Vice President Kamala Harris!), and definitely an ‘A+’ in categories we should be able to take for granted, like honesty, intelligence, experience, commitment to the citizens and not the president, and, actually understanding the mission of the agency or position. (It is unbelievable that has to be pointed out, isn’t it?)

Were it up to me, I’d name a cabinet full of people from the Sanders-Warren-Brown-Merkley wing of the party.  But I never expected him to name a whole team of progressives, so I tempered my expectations, and am trying to be realistic in my review.

Least favorite picks

I am most troubled by him putting a general in charge of the Pentagon (George Austin), which I think is a terrible idea, and also puts Democratic senators who opposed Trump’s appointment of a general there in an awkward position. I also dislike the nomination of Tom Vilsack at Agriculture. He is competent and experienced, but is not what is needed right now. A more dynamic appointment, such as Congresswoman Marcia Fudge would have been an excellent choice. She has served on the House Agriculture Committee and would give much needed attention to the often-overlooked nutrition-related responsibilities of the department. She also is Black, which Black farmers had been understandably hoping for.  Instead, Biden pigeon-holed Fudge into HUD, where she has little relevant experience.

Good choices that could have been better

I was rooting for Julie Su, California’s Secretary of Labor, for the Labor Department because the United Farm Workers supported her, and it would be nice to see more prominent Asian Americans, who will be under-represented in the Biden Administration. Biden appointed Boston Mayor Martin Walsh instead.  Walsh does have a strong labor background and was supported by the AFL-CIO, so at least he will be strongly pro-labor, which is so much needed after four years of Trump’s anti-labor goons who headed that department.

It is great to see a classroom teacher, Connecticut commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona, nominated to lead the Department of Education. I would have preferred a Black person like former Massachusetts Governor Patrick Duval as Attorney General at the Justice Department, although Judge Merrick Garland will be excellent, too. “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg at Transportation is sort of a weird choice, but I guess Biden thinks he will be a good salesperson for his infrastructure plan. I thought Buttigieg would have been better for Veterans Affairs, where Biden appointed non-veteran Denis McDonough.

Foreign policy and security: Solid

Biden’s foreign policy and security team at the State Department, United Nations, Homeland Security, and intelligence and trade agencies all seem well-qualified and extremely knowledgeable and are a diverse demographic group— all in contrast to the destructive group that reigned under Trump. Most importantly, they are all committed to Biden’s determination to bring the United States back into the world community. It is critical for the US to once again be a leader in peace treaties, trade agreements, and international alliances, instead of the globe-wrecking embarrassment we have been for the past four years.

Financial team: On the watch list

The Biden financial team is OK—some Wall Streeters but apparently they are reform types, and Janet Yellen at Treasury and Jared Bernstein on the Council of Economic Advisors are particularly good. But that’s the group I am most wary of. I hope that Biden does not follow Obama’s pattern of being too friendly to Wall Street and corporate interests, and I am depending on Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and others in Congress to keep him on the right path.

The best

I saved the best nominations for last: environment and health. The inauguration will bring with it a lifesaving, critical breath of fresh air. What a change! A president who places supreme importance on science, and medicine, and the environment. This may be Biden’s most important legacy.

Biden’s environment and climate team is excellent.  John Kerry, Jennifer Granholm, Michael Regan, Gina McCarthy, and Brenda Mallory are all strong and proven environmentalists and will make fighting climate change and reversing the disastrous war on the environment of the past four years the highest priority. Especially notable is Rep. Deb Haaland leading the Interior Department—which is exciting and groundbreaking. As the first Native American to be Interior Secretary, she will restore respect for our national parks and wilderness areas, and certainly will make the Bureau of Indian Affairs an honorable and respected agency that will earn the trust of American Indians.

I don’t expect his healthcare team to push for single-payer or Medicare for All but I hope they will implement major improvements. Xavier Becerra, a former Congressman and currently the California Attorney General, seems like a good choice at Health and Human Services. He has worked on healthcare issues and will also be the first Latino to direct the department.

The most exciting appointees

Going hand in hand with environment and health care are science and medicine, and this is perhaps the best and most exciting area of Biden’s nominations.  It is clear we will have an administration that actually believes in science!  Biden announced he is making his science advisor, Eric Lander, a member of his Cabinet.  The group he has appointed to lead the critical medical team that will take on Covid-19 are all respected doctors with literally decades of experience fighting epidemics. Doctors Anthony Fauci, David Kessler, Vivek Murthy, Marcella Nunez-Smith, and Rochelle Walensky, will all ensure that our government finally has a plan to stop and reverse the spread. Along with Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients and Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who both have experience on the administrative side of health crises, Biden has a team that will address the pandemic for the public health emergency that it is. Hundreds of thousands of lives will be saved, quite literally.

And at the DNC..

Not in the realm of government, but related to Biden appointments, is his pick to head the Democratic National Committee. I think Jaime Harrison is an excellent choice. Stacy Abrams would have been great, too, but I am sure she will be doing her desperately needed thing wherever she is!

The post The Incoming Biden Team: A Review appeared first on Occasional Planet.

January 20^th is just nine days from the writing of this post. That day and the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris cannot come soon enough. A Democratically controlled Senate cannot come soon enough.

For now, however, take a deep breath. Try to stay calm and hope that the days between now and the inauguration won’t spew forth anything more shocking than what we’ve already experienced in the past four years. The list of shocks and insults to the American soul is long and shameful: The daily onslaught of self-serving lies that has cost America its reputation and Americans their lives and livelihoods. The lawlessness. The denials, institutional chaos, and irresponsibility in the face of a deadly pandemic. And, of course, the violent, tragically predictable result of the accumulation of all of those lies and deceptions on the never-to-be-forgotten storming on January 6 of the Capitol Building and the devastating loss of life on that day.

But the day before inauguration day, a less publicized, but equally important event, will take place. The January 19^th event is intended to begin a process to right the wrongs of the Trump administration’s depraved abdication of its solemn duty to recognize and remember those Americans who died of COVID-19 on their watch and to acknowledge the grief of their loved ones.

On January 19^th, at 5:30pm (ET), the Presidential Inaugural Committee will host a memorial for the 373,000 Americans who have lost their lives in the pandemic. In recognition of the need not just for a national memorial but also for individuals, families, and neighbors to remember together the lives lost closer to home in their own communities, the Inaugural Committee is inviting cities and towns and neighborhoods across the country to light up buildings and ring bells in “a moment of unity and remembrance.”

Here is how Presidential Inaugural Committee Communications Director Pili Tobar describes the event: “. . . in the midst of a pandemic – when so many Americans are grieving the loss of family, friends, and neighbors – it is important that we honor those who have died, reflect on what has been one of the more challenging periods in the nation’s history, and renew our commitment to coming together to end the pandemic and rebuild our nation.”

Presidential Inaugural Committee Announces Memorial and Nationwide Tribute to Remember and Honor the Lives Lost to COVID-19

01/05/2021

Today, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) announced that it will host a memorial to remember and honor the lives lost to COVID-19 in cities and towns across the country on January 19, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. ET. A Washington, D.C. ceremony will feature a lighting around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. It will be the first-ever lighting around the Reflecting Pool to memorialize American lives lost.

PIC is inviting cities and towns around the country to join Washington, D.C. in illuminating buildings and ringing church bells at 5:30 p.m. ET in a national moment of unity and remembrance.

The post Biden announces Jan. 19, 2021 national memorial for COVID victims appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Three hours before the first presidential “debate” debacle kicked off, as I was blithely sautéing a batch of mushrooms, my kitchen sink inexplicably plunged—with a loud thunk—to the bottom of the cabinet beneath it. Slightly more than a year earlier, the pricey stainless steel sink had been one of the final finishes to a long overdue, professional kitchen renovation. But, somehow, over the course of 12 months, it had worked its way loose from its moorings.

Then I witnessed a much worse disaster: Donald Trump’s off-the-rails performance at the presidential debate. He was unhinged, out of control, unmoored, unglued, unbolted. Just like my kitchen sink. But with vastly more dangerous consequences.

Minutes after the sink sank, I put in a desperate call to the kitchen renovators. They were shocked. This doesn’t happen, they said. We’ll be out to fix it in the morning, they promised. And they were. When they arrived and assessed the situation, they blamed the problem on the original installers, who, they said, didn’t seem to know what they were doing and did a half-assed job.

Again, I was struck by the parallel with Donald Trump’s presidency. Voters apparently didn’t know what they were doing when they installed him. And he has demonstrated repeatedly that he doesn’t know what he is doing as the “leader of the free world.” Also, he’s not a half-ass, he’s the full Monty.  (One aspect of this comparison that doesn’t work is that, unlike the minority of the American electorate who voted for Trump, I didn’t buy a product that was obviously damaged goods from the get-go.)

The repair squad showed up as promised, their truck stocked with every tool, part, and adhesive product they needed to re-instate my sink to its proper condition. It took them a while to figure out what had happened (the sink had not been correctly braced). And they had to jerry-rig a solution (shoring up the sink with wooden supports). But they got the job done, and I feel  confident that my sink is more stable than it was before.

And despite the emotional hangover I was suffering post-debate, I saw another, convenient metaphorical connection. With Donald Trump as America’s know-nothing, incompetent contractor-in-chief, the underpinnings of our democracy are coming undone, falling apart at the seams.

Can Joe Biden do for American democracy what the repair guys did for my kitchen? I hope so. But he damage is already deep. Trump and his cohort of greedy, corrupt, and anti-democracy cronies have subverted our agencies, our institutions, our traditions and even our hopes and expectations. It’s going to take a lot of work, and more than a metaphorical morning, to shore us back up and restore stability. Even if  we manage to elect Biden, take back the Senate, and keep the House majority, we’re going to need a truckload of good ideas and willing workers. We’ll have to throw everything at the job—including the kitchen sink.

The post My kitchen sink: A 2020 Election Metaphor appeared first on Occasional Planet.

The first of the much-anticipated three debates-that-aren’t-debates is now thankfully behind us. And make no mistake. The whole world was watching. The day-after reactions from allies and adversaries alike should render thoughtful Americans not only terrified and outraged but also more determined than ever to turn out the most massive vote in recent memory to oust a man and a party that have debased the presidency, the Constitution, and America’s standing in the world.

Here’s what the world is saying.

Britain

“This dark, horrifying, unwatchable fever dream will surely be the first line of America’s obituary.”

“A national humiliation.”

“The rest of the world – and future historians will presumably look at it and weep.”

India

“Never had American politics sunk so low.”

“U.S. embarrassed itself before the world for 100 minutes.”

France

“Chaotic, childish, grueling.”

Germany

“America sinks lower.”

“Clearest loser was America.

China

“The recession of U.S. national power.”

“ Division, anxiety of U.S. society and the accelerating loss of advantages of the U.S. political system.”

Spain

“Chaotic and virulent.”

Kenya

“This debate would be sheer comedy if it wasn’t such a pitiful and tragic advertisement for U.S. dysfunction.”

Australia

“America faces a dangerous several weeks.”

“A debate swamped by the rancor engulfing America.”

The post The whole world watched the Trump-Biden “debate.” And they were horrified. appeared first on Occasional Planet.