A quarter of a year into the Presidency of Joe Biden is perhaps a choice moment to take stock of where we are going as a country.
There is much to be hopeful about as well from the happy influence of not being subjected to daily rehash by the corporate press of the spew of one Donald J. Trump, . . . every day without mention of him is like a day of vacation in a sunny clime. I believe that January 6th allowed the country to stamp his account Paid & Full, regardless of any ruminations by his supporters and the Republican Party.
The Democratic Party and President Joseph Biden present more difficult subjects for assessment. Even as we caution patience in reviewing the state of play and evaluating the direction and purpose of action so far, questions as to intent, strategy and commitment come to mind. By passing nearly $2 Trillion in additional relief the administration has allowed millions of American families to take a much-needed deep breath; and, it was done with a paper thin majority which showed skill, imagination, and pluck. The difficulty of getting a Senate to acquiesce in which former Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell still wields disproportionate power highlights the central quandary of being governed by a national legislature that is not representative of the general will. We will have to see if those that desire programs to save our nation and planet can put together an agenda that beats back the reactionary elements that still wish to pursue the line of the Ronald Reagan Republicans, namely low taxes for the corporations and the rich and few regulations to protect citizens and the environment. Tax reform and fiscal spending, especially the new infrastructure proposals and obtaining greater revenues from those that benefit the most from today’s freewheeling casino capitalism, appear to be the front lines in the fight against special interest and two party hegemony in our political system.
That does not mean that the fight for social and racial justice and the economic welfare of all isn’t primary, but that tactically we need another force to motivate the Democratic and Republican Parties and their deep-pocket sponsors away from their calcareous level of complacency and a support for the status quo that safe-district, safe-state representatives have managed to lock into a system of perpetual incumbency and the exacerbation of income inequality. That should be in the forefront of campaigns in the 2022 midterm elections.
20 Years in Afghanistan: Americas Longest War. CLICK HERE.
The Biden administration also deserves commendations for moving forward an end to the War in Afghanistan and a reassessment of big American commitments worldwide. Saying that 20 years and over Two Trillion Dollars spent is enough should convince most people that a declaration of “This needs to end” is courageous & necessary. Re-engagement with our friends and allies over climate issues and Iran is an important reset of critical international objectives. It remains to be seen if Mr. Biden will do anything about the most notorious failures of the Obama years, the inability to curb US arms sales and the complete failure to address the larger issues of nuclear weapons and the neglect of the United States to lead on the matter of the nuclear non-proliferation treaties. Even as the world presents more troublesome and intractable challenges, a renewed strong willingness to participate positively has to be applauded as a worthy and useful goal. Anyone who has followed the massive increase in illicit drug importation from the war zones, amounting to thousands of tons, be it cocaine from Latin America or heroin from Southwest Asia, will have to wonder if the Biden administration has any will at all to square up on that deadly and lucrative issue that is so intimately intertwined in the workings of late-stage capitalism and contemporary politics.
Finally, after the complete debacle of the Trump Administration over the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we can thank Joe Biden and his people for being responsible adults and role models . . . Now, if ‘they’ could just get public health and national single-payer healthcare up on their screens . . . and, yes, homelessness, and madness & mayhem, and addiction & mental health afflictions which are also all part of our unfolding national public health disaster, and while not unrelated, so too are the pouring of millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the spoiling of our water & topsoil resources, and the dumping of huge amounts of plastic into the ocean. We need more than a vaccination program for Covid; we need a prescription for greed and stupidity that includes a demand for dramatic action by the United States’ Congress, courageous leadership, and an energized and informed electorate.
Joe Biden will need a lot more help from all of us to pull this off.