Rehash of CNN Reporting on Biden’s Agenda
President Biden could have spared us his speech last night and told everyone in America to pick up the newspaper or tune in to CNN for the past 100 days. The media have been saying everything he said last night for about that long.
In terms of speeches it was so-so. There was no high idyllic language, no original zingers (the “Axis of Evil” from President Bush 43’s State of the Union speech nearly 20 years ago still resonates). The speech deserves a B-.
The one takeaway from Biden’s hour-long talk is what we’ve all known about Democrats for eons: “Let’s spend money!” Things like infrastructure do require money of course. However, since the start of the new millennium, our country has been through quite a bit. The events of 9/11, two wars, The Great Recession, and a global epidemic that has had chilling effects on every generation in America. It has changed our lives. And the answer coming from the President and his party is to spend lots of money to make it all better.
Again, all of this has been laid out in the media narrative since Biden’s inauguration. At least the media have done a better job talking about the immigration crisis at our Southern border than Biden did last night. There was no mention of it at all from our president’s lips. There was no concrete plan or idea to grab on to. Nothing to dream for. Nothing to pull out of the speech to feel like America is ready for the world and will lead it as she always has. Will the real leaders please stand up?
--Bryan Williams
Small Annoyances & Flag Waving
It’s a little like picking nits. A grand, sweeping vision picked at.
But let’s face it: the term “nitpicking” goes back to the process of removing lice eggs from one’s scalp, and although lice are tiny little buggers compared to the person they’re living on, the consequences can be highly annoying.
Or it is like coming out against “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.”
But according to Stanford Children’s Health, “Baseball. . .has the highest fatality rate among sports for children 5 to 14.” Hot dogs typically contain nitrates that aren’t exactly good for you. The sugar and fat in a slice of pie contribute to obesity (according to the CDC, 42.8% of U.S. adults are overweight). And while Chevy makes some good vehicles, according to Consumer Reports, “In terms of reliability, Chevrolet remains in the bottom half of our rankings.”
Some things are nits: small but problematic. Some things sound good: but the lingering echo can have negative reverberations.
Here’s an issue:
“Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan do not require a college degree. Seventy-five percent do not require an associate’s degree. The American Jobs Plan is a blue-collar blueprint to build America.”
So why the huge investment in community college? Why not a focus on trade schools and apprenticeship programs?
Another:
“And all the investments in the American Jobs Plan will be guided by one principle: ‘Buy American.’”
Superficially, good. But didn’t we discover from the last administration that this is a global economy and while we might not like to discover that PPE and microprocessors aren’t readily available, what about things like, oh, Canadian lumber or aluminum, which can be used to “Build Back Better”?
Even small things need to be thought through.
--Stephen Macaulay