One For The Road

Here's EVERYTHING The Biden Administration Has Accomplished During His Term As President

2024-07-11T18:20:00.001-05:00

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What President Biden Has Done - Year One

Restores daily press briefings

Cancel Keystone Pipeline

Reverse Trump's Muslim ban

Require masks on federal property

Rejoins the Paris Climate agreement

Extend Student Loan payment freeze

Extend eviction freeze

Historic stimulus bill passed: - Click to see who was helped
Created nearly 8 million jobs, 200 million Americans fully vaccinated, and unemployment claims are the lowest on average since 1969. It also re-opened 99% of schools and sparked the fastest economic growth in decades

Ends funding for Border wall

Orders agencies to reunite families separated at border by Trump

Orders strengthening of DACA

Rejoins The World Health Organization

Requires non-citizens to be included in the Census

Creates the position of Covid-19 Response Coordinator

Rescinds Trump's 1776 Commission and directs agencies to review actions to ensure racial equity

Prohibits administration members from lobbying or registering as foreign agents for two years after leaving

Invokes defense production act to produce masks, PPE and vaccines

Provide funding to local and state officials to create vaccination sites

Ends transgender military ban

Ends Federal Contracts With Private Prisons

Restores Aid To Palestinians

Suspends new leases for oil & natural gas development on federal land

Restores access to healthcare.gov

Extends fair housing protections to include LGBTQ Americans

Ends support for Saudi Arabia led campaign in Yemen

Withdraws UN sanctions on Iran

Daily Covid deaths reduced in half after one month

Secured enough vaccinations for the entire US population

Historic stimulus bill passed: - Click to see who was helped
Increases poorest 20% of Americans' income by 20% permanently
85% of households receiving stimulus payments
Four provisions which lower Americans’ 2021 tax bills by an average of $3,360
Reduces backlog of Veterans compensation and pension claims by more than half
Created 8 million jobs
200,000,000 Americans vaccinated
Unemployment claims at the lowest levels since 1969
1/3 of America vaccinated in his first 60 days

1/2 million added to Obamacare healthcare rolls in 6 weeks

Extends universal free school lunch through 2022

Commits to cutting U.S. emissions in half by 2030 as part of Paris climate pact

Reverses Trump's Anti-Trans Shelter Rule

Officially recognizes massacre of Armenians in World War I as genocide

Raises Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors and Federal Employees to $15

Cancels all border wall contracts using funds intended for military missions

Creates new operation to crack down on human smuggling

-- END OF FIRST 100 DAYS --

Reverses Trump effort to loosen Arctic drilling restrictions

Restores Transgender Health Protections

Lifts Secrecy of Visitor Logs Cloaked by Trump

Suspends oil and gas leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Restores $1 billion in federal funding for California high speed rail Trump had cut

Grows US Economy 6.4% in 1st quarter - 2021

In first six months regained job numbers lost under Trump administration. (3 million)

Prohibits payday lenders from charging interests rates above that of what individual states allow

Reinstalls rules removed by Trump limiting methane emissions from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells

Enacts massive EO that provides 76 distinct actions to increase competition, reduce monopolies, and provide eliminate laws the unfairly treat workers. Including:
Eliminating non-compete clauses
Stop businesses from collaborating to reduce wages/benefits
Stop big tech companies purchasing competitors to unfairly compete with small businesses
Importation of prescription drugs from Canada and increase support for generics
Hearing aids to be sold over-the-counter
Requiring airlines to refund consumer fees when bags are late or Wi-Fi doesn't work
Crack down on railroads and ocean shipping to reduce costs of transporting goods
Other anti-monopoly legislation with agriculture, banking and internet
2nd quarter 2021 economy grows 6.5% - Economy surpasses pre-pandemic levels.

Achieves historic 45% reduction of poverty levels in first six months

Achieves historic 61% reduction of child poverty in first six months

Reaches goal of vaccinating 70% of adult Americans

Cut Obamacare premiums by 40%

Bans the pesticide chlorpyrifos, linked to neurological damage in young children

PAWS Act, allowing VA to pay for service dogs for veterans

Student Loan Forgiveness:
Round One: Cancels $1 Billion in student Loan Debt
Round Two: Cancels another $1.3 billion in student loan debt
Round Three: Cancels another $500 Million In Student Loan Debt (6/16/21)
Round Four: Erases student debt for students with disabilities - ($5.8 Billion)
Round Five: $1.1 billion in student debt for 115,000 ITT students
(Three more rounds have occurred in 2022)

Forms new Indo-Pacific alliance with UK, Australia allowing for greater sharing of defense capabilities

Adds measles to list of quarantinable diseases

LGBTQ veterans discharged dishonorably for sexual orientation get full benefits

Lifts abortion referral ban on family planning clinics

Ended the 20 Year War in Afghanistan - The longest war in American History

Global leadership bounce back from record lows

Secures agreement of G20 to block corporations from moving jobs or profits overseas in order to avoid paying taxes by establishing a world minimum tax for corporations of 15%

Passes largest infrastructure improvement bill in history:
$11 billion in transportation safety programs
$7.5 billion for electric vehicles and EV charging
$2.5 billion in zero-emission buses
$2.5 billion in low-emission buses and $2.5 billion for ferries
$21 billion in environmental remediation
$47 billion for flooding & coastal resiliency and "climate resiliency," including protections against fires
$39 billion to modernize transit, largest federal investment in public transit in history
$25 billion for airports
$17 billion in port infrastructure
$11 billion in transportation safety programs
$11O billion for roads, bridges and other much-needed infrastructure
$40 billion for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation
$17.5 billion is for other major projects
$73 billion for electric grid and power structures
$66 billion for rail services
$65 billion for broadband

$1.47B in loans for forgiveness through PSLF program updates, and $2.82B with employer verification

52 year low in unemployment after one year as president

Returns land to Texas family seized for Trump's border wall

Imposes Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in Global Illicit Drug Trade

Aside from one Afghanistan strike early on, Biden has ended drone strikes

2.7% average across the board pay raise for federal employees

Ban goods made by Uyghur slave labor

Accelerated Access to Critical Therapies for ALS

Distributes $1.5 Billion to Strengthen School Meal Program

Formally ends combat mission in Iraq

Requiring autos to get 55 MPG by 2026 - Reversing Trump rollbacks - up from 37 MPG we now have

Job growth in Biden's first year tops 6.4 million - Sharpest one year drop in US history

Requires insurance companies to cover cost of at-home covid tests

$14 billion for over 500 projects for 2022 to strengthen supply chain and waterways

Order to fight malicious cyber activity, from both nation-state actors and cyber criminals

Small Business Applications Are 30 Percent Above Pre-Pandemic Levels

Farmers flourish under Biden, see recovery from Trump-era trade wars

RECORD FIRSTS IN PRESIDENT BIDEN'S FIRST YEAR

President Biden and Vice President Harris delivered results for the American people in their first year in office. The President and Vice President made history growing our economy, addressing the climate crisis, and building a judiciary and government that represents America. Despite unprecedented challenges, 2021 was a year of record progress for working families.

Jobs: President Biden’s first year was the greatest year of job creation in American history, with more than 8 million jobs created.

Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate dropped from 6.2% when Biden took office to 3.9%, the biggest single year drop in American history.

Unemployment Claims: The average number of Americans filing for unemployment has been near its lowest level since 1969. When the President took office, over 18 million were receiving unemployment benefits, today only 2 million are—also the biggest single year drop in history.

Economic Legislation Passed: Most significant by economic impact of any first-year president.

Economy growth is faster than China's for first time in 20 years - Strongest economic growth since 1984

Child Poverty: Experts estimate the lowest child poverty rate ever in 2021.

Expanded Access to Health Care: Nearly 5 million Americans have newly gained health insurance coverage.

Reduced Hunger: The number of households reporting that they sometimes or often did not have enough food to eat dropped by 32%.

Judges Confirmed: More judges confirmed to lower federal courts than any president since President Kennedy.

Judges That Reflect Our Nation: More Black women appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals than any president – even over 8 years – in history.

Cabinet: First majority non-white Cabinet in history, with most women in the Cabinet, including first woman Treasury Secretary, first LGBTQ+ and Native American Cabinet officials, and first woman Director of National Intelligence.

Climate Investments: Largest investments ever in the power grid, electric vehicle chargers, and climate resilience.

Clean Water: Largest investment and national, bipartisan plan to get safe and clean drinking water to all Americans.

Cleaner Cars: Strongest vehicle emissions standards ever to save drivers money at the pump and reduce pollution.

Wind: First-ever approvals of large-scale offshore wind projects.

Personnel: Most diverse Administration in history – most women, people of color, disability, LGBTQ+, first generation American, and first-generation college graduates

Drone airstrikes fell 54% compared to Trump

Worker's Rights: 70% of first year executive orders protect worker's rights

Bankruptcy Filings: Plunged to Lowest Number Since 1985

Agricultural Exports Shattered Records in 2021

Global approval of US up 15 points during Biden's first year

5.4 million new small business applications: 20 percent higher than any previous year on record

Tripled installation of of offshore wind turbines

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Year Two

Makes sexual harassment in the military a crime

Economy grows faster than China's for 1st time in 20 years - Strongest economic growth since 1984

Limits the release of mercury from coal-burning power plants

Kills ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi

$5 billion for electric vehicle chargers

Gives $7 billion in frozen Afghanistan funds to compensate 9/11 victims and provide humanitarian aid

Posts $119 billion budget surplus in January; first in over 2 years

Unites world against Russia aggression

Imposes stiff sanctions to stifle Russian economy

Led the Western world in defending Ukraine against Russia's invasion

Ends forced arbitration in sexual assault cases in the workplace

Reinstates California authority to set pollution standards for cars

Ends asylum restrictions for children traveling alone

Clarifies the role of podiatric medicine for Veterans

Reauthorizes and strengthens the Violence Against Women Act

Creates Amache National Historic Site as America’s newest national park

Makes lynching a federal crime

Initiates "use it, or lose it" policy on drilling on public lands to force oil companies to increase production

Releases one million barrels of oil a day for 6 months from strategic reserves to ease gas prices

Rescinds Trump-era policy allowing rapid expulsion of migrants at border and blocks them from seeking asylum

Expunges student loan defaults

Overhauled the US Postal Service's finances to allow the agency to modernize its service

Requires federal dollars spent on infrastructure to use materials made in America

Restores environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects

Launches $6 billion effort to save distressed nuclear plants

Provides $385 million to help families and individuals with home energy costs through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program -- This is in addition to $4.5 billion provided in the American Rescue Plan

Establishes national registry of police officers who are fired for misconduct

Lifts sanctions on the Rojava and other opposition-held territory in Syria

Tightens restrictions on chokeholds, no-knock warrants, and transfer of military equipment to police departments

Requires all federal Law enforcement officers to wear body cameras

$265 million for South Florida reservoir, key component of Everglades restoration

Major wind farm project off West coast to provide electricity for 1.5 million homes

Continues Obama administration's practice of posting log records of visitors to White House

Devotes $2.1 billion to strengthen US food supply chain

Round 6 student loan debt cancelation: $5.8 billion - This is in addition to $20.7 billion previously cancelled

Invokes Defense Production Act to rapidly expand domestic production of critical clean energy technologies

Enacts two-year pause of anti-circumvention tariffs on solar

Allocates funds to federal agencies to counter 300-plus anti-LGBTQ laws by state lawmakers this year alone

Round 7 of student loan cancellation: $6 billion to 200,000 defrauded borrowers - Bringing total to $31 billion

Relaunches cancer 'moonshot' initiative to help cut death rate

Expands access to emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception

Prevents states from banning Mifepristone -- a medication used to end early pregnancy that has FDA approval

Steps to ensure the safety of those seeking and providing abortion care, including by protecting mobile clinics

Protecting privacy, safety and security of patients, providers and clinics

21 executive actions to reduce gun violence

Climate Smart Buildings Initiative: Creates public-private partnerships to modernize Federal buildings to meet agencies’ missions, create good-paying jobs, and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions - Paying for today’s needed renovations with tomorrow’s energy savings without requiring upfront taxpayer funding

Safeguards access to health care, including the right to choose and contraception

Oversees effort to admit Finland and Sweden to NATO

Ends Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy

Operation Fly-Formula bringing needed baby formula – (19 missions to date)

Executive order protecting travel for abortion

Kills Al Qaeda leader and 9/11 architect Al-Zawahiri with no civilian casualties

Invested more in crime control and prevention than any president in history

As of August 2022, unemployment at 3.5% (50 year low)

Gas Prices drop below $4 a gallon

Provides death, disability, and education benefits to public safety officers and survivors who are killed or injured in the line of duty

Round 8 of student loan cancellation: $3.4 Billion dollars of defrauded IT student loans have been cancelled

Reunites 400 migrant families separated under Trump

$1.66 billion in grants to transit agencies, territories, and states to invest in 150 bus fleets and facilities

Brokers joint US/Mexico infrastructure project - Mexico to pay $1.5 billion for US border security and processing source says

Blocked 4 hospital mergers that would've driven up prices and is poised to thwart more anti-competition consolidation attempts

Gets $1.5 billion in new border control security at the border and got Mexico to pay for it

Historic Police Reform

FIRST MAJOR GUN LEGISLATION IN 30 YEARS:
$750 million to implement and run crisis intervention programs
Ended boyfriend loophole – Previously only married people convicted of domestic abuse were banned from owning firearms. The new law extends it to people who are dating
Requires gun sellers to register as Federally Licensed Firearm Dealers
More thorough reviews of people ages 18-21 who want to buy guns
New statutes against gun trafficking and straw trafficking
Increases funding for mental health programs and school security

THE PACT ACT:
Ensures high-quality health care screenings and services to veterans exposed to potential toxic exposure
Extends period of time veterans have to enroll in VA health care from 5 to 10 years post discharge
Codifies VA’s new process for evaluating and determining exposure and service connection for various chronic conditions
Removes need for certain veterans and their survivors to prove service connection if diagnosed with one of 23 specific conditions
Requires VA to conduct new studies of veterans health trends
Provides critical resources to VA to ensure delivery of [word missing in original post]
Invests in VA health care facilities by authorizing 31 major medical health clinics and research facilities in 19 states

THE CHIPS ACT:
Provides $52.7 billion to secure domestic supply of American made semi-conductor chips, create tens of thousands of good-paying, union construction jobs and thousands more high-skilled manufacturing jobs, and catalyze hundreds of billions more in private
$39 billion in manufacturing incentives
$2 billion for the legacy chips used in automobiles and defense systems
$13.2 billion in R&D and workforce development
$500 million to provide international information communications technology security and semiconductor supply chain activities
Provides a 25 percent investment tax credit for capital expenses for manufacturing of semiconductors and related equipment

THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OF 2022

Climate:
Largest climate investment in history - Will reduce 40% amount of carbon released into atmosphere by 2030
Defines greenhouse gases as a pollutant making them subjected to pollution laws
$370 billion for U.S. energy security and fighting climate change
Tax incentives for switching to electricity to power homes and vehicles
$60 billion invested creating millions of new domestic clean manufacturing jobs and 550,000 new clean energy jobs
Will quadruple the number of solar panels over the next 8 years
Cuts energy bills by $500 to $1,000 per year
Doubles battery storage on the grid
Invests in disadvantaged communities

Health:
$62 billion to extend subsidies for health insurance under the ACA
Provides free vaccines (2023), $35/month insulin for Medicare patients, (2023) and caps out-of-pocket drug costs to an estimated $4,000 or less in 2024 and settling at $2,000 in 2025
Lowers health care costs of the average enrollee $800/year in the ACA marketplace
Allows Medicare to negotiate 100 drugs over the next decade, and requires drug companies to rebate price increases higher than inflation

Inflation Reduction:
Significantly Lowers energy and health care costs for families
Reduces Deficit by $313,000,000,000
Closes tax loopholes used by wealthy: a 15% corporate minimum tax, a 1% fee on stock buybacks and enhanced IRS enforcement
Protects families and small business making under $400,000 a year
The Cost: $485 billion of new costs would be offset with $790 billion of additional revenue and savings over a decade

Total Revenue Raised: $737 billion
15% Minimum tax on corporations with profits exceeding $1 billion
Prescription Drug Pricing Reform: $265 billion
IRS Tax Enforcement: $124 billion
1% Stock Buybacks Fee: $74 billion
Loss Limitation extension: $ 52 billion

Deficit Reduction: $313 billion dollars

STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS (Round 8, and by far the largest):
$20,000 for everyone with Pell Grants
$10,000 for everyone else making less than $125,000 for individuals & $250,000 married couples
Payments again paused until the end of 2022
Payments for undergrad loans capped at 5% of your income (previously was 10%)
This is addition to the 8 previous rounds of debt cancellation totally $35 billion
20-40 million people will benefit

Codifies DACA into law - Allows dreamers (children of immigrants born in US) ability to work and stay in US

Declares Moonshot Style Effort to Cure Cancer:
Hires Dr. Renee Wegrzyn as the inaugural Director of ARPA-H, a new agency to drive biomedical innovation
Launches National Biotechnology and Manufacturing Initiative
Cancer Cabinet’s progress towards delivering cancer detection tech and support for researchers across US

Infrastructure Projects in Individual States Created by Infrastructure Bill

All-Time Low Uninsured rate

10 million jobs—more than ever created before at this point of a presidency

3.5% unemployment rate—a near record low in the history of this country

Best Economic growth in over two decades (yes that has been adjusted for inflation)

More than 220 million Americans were vaccinated

Record small business creation

Round nine of student loan forgiveness - $1.5 Billion for defrauded college borrowers

Biden created DOJ task force dismantles human smuggling organization near Texas-American border

Intervened to prevent nation-wide rail strike which would have caused national economic disaster

Blocks Chinese investments in US tech

Eliminates statute of limitations for civil suits for people who were sexually abused as minors

Pardons thousands for simple possession of marijuana

Reevaluating how cannabis is classified. Currently it is schedule I like heroin - Meth & coke are schedule II

Reunited over 500 families separated at the border by Trump policies

Puts new limits on drone strikes including requiring the presidential approval

Brokered deal between Israel and Lebanon ending maritime boundary dispute and establish a permanent maritime boundary between them

PAWS Act: Requires zoos, commercial animal dealers, and research facilities to have contingency plans in place to evacuate and care for animals in an emergency or disaster situation

Increases veterans’' life insurance benefit coverage to $500,000. First increase in 17 years

Ensures US is not funding or participating in human trafficking of 3rd world-country workers through our contracts overseas

Enacts aggressive steps to improve quality of nursing homes

Codifies Gay Marriage into law - Protects Same-Sex and Interracial Marriage

Prohibits private possession of big cats and prohibits exhibitors from allowing direct contact with cubs

Electrifies US Postal trucks by 2026

Stops the forcing out of pregnant workers, or denying reasonable accommodations

Extended health care funding for the 9/11 first-responders and survivors

Streamlined Veterans home loans, provided way to transfer GI Bill benefits to new school, and provided support for survivors of military sexual trauma

Year Two Accomplishments:

4.5 million jobs added in year two - Over 11 million jobs added in first two years

Unemployment rate at 50 year low

Cuts budget deficit in half - $1.4 trillion deficit reduction is the largest single-year reduction in US history

Greatest year in history for new small business applications - (over 10 million new businesses created)

Record number of Americans having health insurance

This Senate has confirmed 97 federal judges

Limit China’s technological development breaking decades of federal policy and represents most aggressive American action yet to curtail Beijing’s economic and military rise

Appointed more black women to the court than any president in history

Brokers deal with 13 Indo-Pacific countries to coordinate supply chains to reduce dependence on China

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Year Three

Got republicans to publicly take Social Security and Medicare cuts off the table

Reduced unemployment from 18 million when he took office, down to less than 2 million now

Banned Tik Tok on government sites

Vaccines for tetanus, whooping cough, and shingles (costing up to $200) are now free for seniors on Medicare

Requires utilities to remove perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) from drinking water

Makes $450 million available for solar farms and other clean energy projects at current or former coal mines

732-mile high-voltage transmission line across the Western U.S. that will help transport renewable energy

Directs federal agencies to find ways to make child care cheaper and more accessible

IRS answered 2.4 million more taxpayer calls for assistance due to new funding

$197 million for 100 communities across our nation to invest in wildfire resilience

Safeguard mature and old-growth forests on federal lands, in a science-based approach to reduce wildfire risk

Strengthen reforestation partnerships to support local economies and retain forest ecosystems and sustainable supplies of forest products for years to come

Combat global deforestation to deliver on key COP26 commitments

Comprehensive efforts to deploy nature-based solutions that reduce emissions and build resilience

Added threat of detention and kidnapping to risk factors of travel warnings

Increased consequences to terrorists who engage in the practice of kidnapping

Rail companies grant paid sick days after administration pressure in win for unions

$4 billion effort to electrify U.S. ports and cut emissions

Average job creation almost double any recent president

To date has forgiven $42 billion of student loan debt to borrowers of public service

Record 10.5 million new business applications were filed in first two years of Biden administration

Invests $11 billion for renewable energy in rural areas

US is now building factories at a wildly fast rate

Construction spending by US manufacturers more than doubled from last year

Offered billions of dollars in subsidies in the electric vehicles, semiconductor, and solar panels industries

Added 800,000 jobs in manufacturing in last two years to compete with countries such as China

Got Ticketmaster and Seat Geek to dump junk fees

The Inflation Reduction Act will provide one million solar and wind jobs by 2035

Doubled previous all-time high of new manufacturing construction

Continues negotiations and gets paid sick days for rail workers

Executive order to guarantee women access to contraception - (more will need to be done to make it permanent)

Eliminates US stockpile of chemical weapons

Largest offshore wind project in the US

Round 10 of student loan cancellation: $39 billion for over 800,00 borrowers

Gets big tech commitments to voluntary follow AI guidelines (Including Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon)

Stock Market gains in 2023 are the best in decades

Creates Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument - One million acres

Construction of manufacturing facilities in real terms (adjusted for inflation) has more than doubled since 2021

Launches "Saving on a Valuable Education" (SAVE): An income-driven repayment plan cutting borrowers’ payments in half, and some with no monthly bill

Creates bilateral collaboration helping Vietnam develop high tech in semiconductor production and artificial intelligence, countering Chinese efforts to do the same in the region

$800 Million to Strengthen Rural Infrastructure and Create Jobs

Round 11 of student debt forgiveness: 12,000 Wisconsinite Student Loans Forgiven

Siemens Kenosha factory to produce solar using tax incentives and will create a half million clean energy jobs

Suspends Trump-era authorization to ship natural gas by rail

Cancels oil and gas leases in Alaskan wildlife refuge that were allowed by Trump administration

Restores power of states and tribes to review projects to protect waterways

Creates 9-state offshore wind supply chain pact while funding $72m towards manufacturing

American Climate Corps launched

DOD to review DADT discharges

At-home COVID tests return

EPA announces $4.6B climate grants

TPS redesignated for Venezuela, protecting additional 450k migrants

$37M University of Phoenix debt forgiven

EO for East Palestine recovery

Prohibits Americans from investing in some Chinese companies

Directs Agencies to Account for Climate Change in Budgets

Creates new office of gun violence prevention

Commits $200 million to reintroduce salmon in Columbia River

$230 million for suicide prevention and behavioral are programs for at risk communities

Cuts funding to college programs leaving grads with unaffordable loans and/or low pay

All schools must provide prospective students with a framework outlining actual costs to get a degree and financial outcomes students can expect

Today’s announcement brings the total approved debt cancellation by the Biden-Harris Administration to $127 billion for nearly 3.6 million Americans

Round 12 of student loan forgiveness of $5.2 billion bring total to $127 billion

Updated federal prevailing wage for first time in decades, raising wages by thousands of dollars

During very tense times, visits Israel and gets them allow humanitarian aid to Gaza

Creates the largest ever offshore windfarm of Virginia's coast

Supports UAW strike resulting in a 30% increase of wages

October economics report shows stunning improvement
---34th consecutive month of job growth (150,000 jobs in October)
---Longest stretch of unemployment below 4% since the 1960s
---GDP surged this past quarter 5% (seasonally adjusted)
---Federal Reserve announces interest rates are holding steady
---Auto Strike over! Workers get substantial pay raises (30%)

Eliminates co-payments, enrollment fees and monthly premiums for WWII veterans

Climate Corps sees 42,000 sign-ups since inception

Establishes White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research

Reestablishes open and direct communication with China

Brokers deal with Israel & Hamas for release of hostages

Brokers deal to allow Humanitarian aid into Gaza

Child poverty rates fall from 12.6% to 5.8% due to Biden's Expanded Child Tax Credits

2.9 million kids escape poverty

Another 813,000 people have their student loan debt wiped out

Supply chain backlogs are now at the lowest levels in 25 years

Inflation is at the lowest rate since Biden took office early 2021

New small business applications continue at record rates: https://i.redd.it/ppmxb6z0bq3c1.png

Delivered largest economic recovery plan since Roosevelt

Delivered the largest infrastructure plan since Eisenhower

Confirmed the most judges since Kennedy

Delivered with Obama the second-largest healthcare bill since Johnson

Delivered the largest climate change bill in history

Dow Jones hits 37k for the first time in US history

Authorizes biggest pay raise for troops in more than two decades, despite objections from many conservatives

Brokers ceasefire between Congo and Rwanda, averting major humanitarian crisis

5.2% pay raise for military and federal workers - largest since carter administration

Pardons thousands who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands

Provides $1 billion for low-emission school buses

$623m in funding to boost electric vehicle charging points

Provides summer grocery money to 21 million kids

Rescinds much of Trump ‘conscience’ rule for health workers

Reached Conservation Records in 2023 - Safeguarding public lands at a record rate

$1B in awards for clean school buses

Boots Uganda from trade deal over their "Kill the Gays" law

Awards $162M to expand computer chip factories in Colorado and Oregon

Round 13 of student loan forgiveness: Borrowers receiving less than $12,000 in federal loans and have been paying off balances will get remaining student debt cancelled immediately

Round 14 of student debt forgiveness: Another 74,000 have their student loans forgiven

Third year accomplishments:

World's best post-pandemic recovery by far: Doubles all nations except Japan

Job creation at 40 times the rate of the last 3 republican presidents - More than double Clinton and Obama

Longest period of under 4% unemployment since 1969

Created 14 million jobs since he took office - More than any president in history did in four years

16 million applications filed to start small businesses

3.7% unemployment - numbers we have not seen since 1960's

Wages are up more than inflation

Economy grew by 5% in the last quarter

Lowest inflation rate of any major economy in the world

Oil production reaches its largest volume in recorded history

Majority of Biden’s appointed judges are women, racial or ethnic minorities – a first for any president

Growth shatters expectations: GDP expands 3.1% - a year beginning with heavy odds of a recession

Black unemployment rate lower under Biden than any other administration (4.7%) - Compared to black unemployment under Trump was 2nd worst number in history, reaching over 16%

Added a record-setting 32.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in 2023

Largest one year decline in homicides in 50 years

Energy production exceeds consumption at levels not seen in 70 years

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YEAR FOUR:

Growth shatters expectations: GDP expands 3.1% - a year beginning with heavy odds of a recession

Job creation 40 times rate of last 3 republican presidents - More than double Clinton and Obama

Black unemployment rate lower under Biden than any other administration (4.7%) - Compared to black unemployment under Trump was 2nd worst number in history, reaching over 16%

$1 Billion to replace the Blatnik Bridge connecting WI - MN

$600 million to replace the I-5 Bridge between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, with an earthquake-resistant, multimodal bridge.

$427 million to establish the first offshore wind terminal on the West Coast, off California.

$372 million to replace Cape Cod's nearly 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge.

$300 million for a new container terminal for the Port of New Orleans.

$95 million to widen a 10-mile section of I-10 through the Gila River in Arizona.

$142 million to fix the I-376 corridor in Pittsburgh, including an area infamously known as "the bathtub" due to its regular flooding.

$150 million to reconnect communities divided by the Cross Bronx Expressway in New York built in the mid-1900s.

Modernizes American port infrastructure

$3B investment for high speed internet for rural communities

$623 million to build EV charging network

Awards nearly $163 billion in federal contracts to small businesses

$426 million for Northern California offshore wind farm

Post-pandemics recovery is by far the most successful in the world

US oil production hits all-time high

Rescinds Trump-era "Denial of Care" rule that allowed health care workers to deny medical care to patients because of their personal religious or moral belief

Launches $11 billion on semiconductor-related research and development including $5 billion National Semiconductor Technology Center

US Trade Deficit With China Narrows to Lowest Since 2010

$250 million to modernize airports in 37 states

$4.4 million to upgrade Maine's power grid

Violent crime drop significantly since 2020

$5.8 billion to clean up nation’s drinking water and upgrade infrastructure

Round 15 of student loan forgiveness: $1.2 billion of federal student loans

Orders cybersecurity regulations for port operators similar to standardized safety regulations preventing injury and damage to people and infrastructure

$500 million to combat wildfire and improve resilience

$1 billion deal with Oregon, Washington, and 4 Columbia River tribes to revive Northwest salmon population

$1.7 billion package to fund initiatives aimed at ending hunger across the United States by 2030

$1 billion toward cleaning up 110 contaminated sites

$28 billion towards substance abuse treatment

$366 million to accelerate clean energy deployment in rural and remote areas

Implemented new rule that cuts credit card late fees $32 to $8

Allows student loan borrowers to repay based on income providing affordable payments and eventual student loan forgiveness

Directs DOJ to issue regulations giving clear protections of sensitive data from access by countries of concern

Bans asbestos

Funds program to fund coast-to-coast bicycle path without hitting a road

Commits $6B to cut emissions from high-carbon industries

Lends $1.5B to restart Michigan nuclear power plant

Allocates $750 million for hydrogen research and development

Restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump

Blocks mining on more than 221,000 acres of federal land in Colorado

First National standard ever for reducing harmful chemicals in drinking water

"Last resort" program keeps tens of thousands of American veterans who were in danger of losing their homes

America's economy growing at double the rate of all other G7 countries

Adds Title IX protections for LGBT students, forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity

Shields millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness from drilling and mining

$7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households

Extends rule requiring overtime pay to workers making under $58,000 annually

Requires airlines to give cash refunds for canceled and significantly delayed flights

Establishes standards to eliminate emissions from new federal buildings by 2030

Lays out conditions for national goal to cut emissions from freight shipping down to zero

Bans most noncompete employment agreements preventing workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own

Reinstates net neutrality

Prohibits federally funded health providers & insurers from discriminating on basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

Canadian Solar, one of the largest solar manufacturing companies in the world coming back to the US, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act

Round 16 of student debt forgiveness: Clears $6 billion in debt for closed art school’s students

In 2021 only three states supplied 12 months of post partum care - Three years later 46 states now do

Online platforms and social media companies required to report child sex trafficking and online enticement to NCMEC’s tip line

Bans Russian uranium imports

$16 billion investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Round 17 of student debt forgiveness: $7.7 billion for over 160,000 borrowers

Free online tax filing program piloted this year made permanent and scope will be expanded

Executive action ordering the closure of border cutting asylum claims in half (according to FOX News)

Prohibits medical debt from being reported on credit reports

Pardons US Service Members convicted because they were gay

Enacts plan to end Parkinson’s disease

Codifies same-sex and interracial marriage

Bolsters nation’s nuclear power by speeding timeline for licensing new nuclear reactors and cut fees that companies have to pay to do so

RESULTS:

COVID-19 vaccination program saved $732 billion, averting illness and related costs during the Delta and Omicron variant waves, with a return of nearly $90 for every dollar spent

Black unemployment at 4.7% - The lowest in US history

Stock market at record highs - Above 40,000 for the first time in history

13.2 million jobs added

Record number of states with unemployment rates at or below 3%

National unemployment rate below 4% for the longest stretch in more than 50 years

First Quarter Crime Statistics

Murder: Down 26.4%
Rape down: Down 25.7%
Robbery down: Down 17.8%
Aggravated Assault: Down 12.5%
Property Crime: Down 15.1%
Domestic manufacturing up 279% since Biden took office
Average hourly earnings up 22.28% since February 2020, surpassing the rate of inflation
He also will be getting the Civilian Climate Corp up and going this summer -- (u/prohb)

Original Source (with TONS more info and links)

Alice in Chains - Phantom Limb

2023-03-12T08:01:00.002-05:00

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Type O Negative - White Slavery

2023-03-12T07:47:00.002-05:00

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Type O Negative - World Coming Down

2023-03-12T07:44:00.003-05:00

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Ghost - Devil Church / Cirice

2023-03-12T07:00:00.020-05:00

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My recording:

Mine

..AND.. THIS was the setlist that October night in 2016: It was an amazing concert, but I didn't get to see the last HALF of it, b/c my wife wanted to leave.

Killswitch Engage - Always

2023-03-12T06:32:00.006-05:00

Via

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The Best Metallica Song in 27 Years

2023-03-12T06:27:00.007-05:00

If Darkness Had a Son

Via

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Alter Bridge - Words Darker than their Wings

2023-03-12T06:24:00.003-05:00

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Tremonti - Marching in Time

2023-03-12T06:08:00.008-05:00

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Dream Theater - Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ -- March 9, 2022 Full Show

2022-03-14T03:48:00.010-05:00

Via

I have tickets for March 21st! But I just don't think it's a risk that needs to be taken now. The $78 can be a tip to the band for all they've done FOR ME for THIRTY-ONE years. See that's nothing. The band gets about half. But for my generosity (all Ticketmaster fees being 100% irrelevant) JP gets 5, JM gets 5, Labrie gets 4, JR gets 5, Mangini gets 5... About 100 other people get a few dollars, and so on and on.. and then the venue gets the rest. Sound guy might get the most! Lights guy is in the conversation as well. No one makes less money because I won't actually be there, except for maybe where my $17 beverage cost goes.

Many tickets are also still available, so there's that, too..

I also buy all their albums.

"The moment that you recognize
Just where your limits lie.
Hanging on the brink of death
You're never more alive.
When you reach the pinnacle
The world is at your feet.
Welcome to the mind unleashed."

Dream Theater Live in 2006

2022-03-10T01:00:00.011-06:00

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~OCTAVARIUM~

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The Dream Theater of 2010

2022-03-10T00:40:00.005-06:00

Via

Preparation

2021-07-23T03:44:00.016-05:00

Image source

As a child I remember hundreds of games, educational challenges, and sports, as well as other activities that challenged me as a young boy. No basketball player I knew would ever want to begin any game before anyone has dribbled and, of course, taken some shots. It's kinda like playing catch. With a baseball, and gloves, you throw it around a bit, and toss the football back & forth. Enter your own activity!

Nor in golf! As with anything else, it's important to get warmed-up first. Physically, in that you loosen your muscles, and in particular, in that you hit a few golf balls. Mentally, in that you've gained some confidence in your results during your preparation. Things are different on different courses. Your abilities and physicalities and mentalities are different at certain times (certain days, certain ages, and certain times of the day). Bad conditions = bad results. And by the way: Gain some confidence!

Same thing with blackjack. The last thing I want to happen when I sit down at a blackjack table is to have to get right back up in 10 minutes. The lowest minimum table at your bad-ass casinos don't have to be $15. I had the most fun at blackjack tables that were $5 minimum tables, and even $1 tables. That is how you allow all people to fall in love with the game. And why do you have to deal so fast? What's the fucking rush? We're all here to have a good time, and enjoy ourselves, right? Don't make prepared players feel like they aren't!

One of the only things I hated while playing golf in the mornings with my Dad is looking back towards the group behind us, and there were so-o-o many rounds that I'd see them, standing with their hands on their hips, infuriated by our pace of play - too slow for them. Why would they get mad that we were preventing them from getting this over with as quickly as possible? Why would anyone get upset that they couldn't complete that which they most enjoy sooner?? Must. Get. It. Over. With!! It's also not about beating your friends. They're also trying to beat the course. Just like in blackjack, your oponent is the dealer's dealt hand.

Music!! Soccer.. darts.. cornhole.. disc golf.. staying awake or getting up early.. any challenge.. great conversation...

And it's totally the same way with a ton of aspects of life: Friendship, creativity, marriage, grief, finances, life memories with loved ones -- Prepare, and then do it! Do what they don't expect, and as long as you're prepared, you're solid.. Just like you felt when you sank those 11 free throws in a row. Or those six straight 6-foot putts. Or that one phrase you uttered that made her laugh. But you must follow through!

Stop fighting proper preparation!

Cases Per Capita

2020-03-26T00:26:00.001-05:00

Mine

Right and Wrong

2018-07-03T05:28:00.002-05:00

No matter what side of the story you remember having been partial to, I can be pretty certain it will be easy to see that the proper side of the story (issue) is very clear today.

The truth will set you free.

I want to begin with Napster. And it doesn't matter whether or not you were either a fan of Metallica or not, or whether or not you illegally downloaded music. Napster provided a service that allowed thousands of people to obtain digital files that contained music. Songs that we all wanted. The Internet was in its infancy. Musicians everywhere depend upon the revenue that comes from the original artwork that they create, right? Of course! As bad as it made Metallica, and more specifically drummer Lars Ulrich appear - at that time, they did the right thing. Now we have many services that allow the same types of musical downloads, but you must pay. Those artists deserve some money!

Interracial marriage was made legal in the United States a little more than 50 years ago - in 1967's Loving vs. Virginia, even though several states had not created, and have yet to create, any such law. Today dozens of nations worldwide view this as an illegal act. Legal or not racism is as rampant today as it was 50, 100, even hundreds of years ago. More on this later.

Leading up to 1920, there were movements, protests, and a considerable amount of disagreement abroad regarding the rights of women to vote. Many countries, to this day, still do not allow its female citizens to vote. USA made it law with an Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. Recently women will be allowed to drive for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Let that sink in for a minute!

The right of a woman to end her own pregnancy has long been a touchy one. But in 1973, the landmark Roe vs. Wade 7–2 Supreme Court decision declared it legal, that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion. Like many of the laws of mankind, this one will likely always be challenged. In the USA no less than 11 major court decisions, following Rose vs. Wade, are still very relevant.

Slavery.

Did you know that six of our 27 Amendments to the Constitution were ratified between 1913 and 1933? Did you know that only six have been ratified since 1933? Did you know that the 17th Amendment established the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote? Did you know there are six Amendments that were unratified? Four of them, the first four, could still be ratified today. Two of them are still actually relevant today! The Congressional Apportionment Amendment tried to regulate the size of congressional districts for representation in the House. And the CHild Labor Amendment would allow the Federal Government to limit, regulate, and prohibit shild labor. One of the Amendments nullified a prior one, so there really are only 26 still standing. That one is the repeal of a prior Amendment prohibiting alcohol.

I'll get back to Amendments later, but it is at this time that I will say this. The fact that our Constitution has 26 Amendments should reveal something. Our founding fathers are unifiably regarded very highly, right? What child isn't taught that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are the father figures they should all look up to? ...Or Franklin, Adams, or Madison, or later, Teddy Roosevelt for that matter? These "geniuses" did exactly what they thought they should do. And that which they began was very noteworthy. Having just established a new government on a foreign land, you've gotta give them the credit they deserve for their progressiveness. They had no idea what would happen in the next 200+ years! But they obviously made a few mistakes, or else we wouldn't have the Amendments we have. No one can predict the future.

This brings me to a certain topic, in which science HAS predicted the future. Throughout the time that humans have inhabited our lovely planet, it has been proven that temperatures are rising. Glaciers are melting faster and faster. Weather anomalies are happening more and more often. Carbon Dioxide emissions are rising. The earth needs more trees, and much less deforestation. Climate change has been scientifically PROVEN!

Terminating nuclear proliferation.

I mentioned to my family, "did you know that thousands of immigrants seeking asylum have no idea where their children are?" There are effectively missing children. This was over 2 weeks ago. Two weeks later the media is finally reporting the inhumane, unnecessary, cruel "policy" of the new administration. Yeah surely it's been done before. But nowhere near the scope of May & June, 2018. It is not a crime to enter a border crossing seeking asylum from devastating circumstances in another place. In case people don't remember, it was "rule of thumb" adopted as "rule of law" long ago: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Unnecessary war or involvement in conflicts in many, many third-world countries. For the sake of money, exponentially increased military defense budgets, and oil. It's been going on for 50+ years! It has to stop.

Stats don't lie regarding the types of people who have recently been committing mass murder (mass shootings). Virtually none of them are illegal immigrants. Almost all of them are white males. Most of them owned their weapons legally - others did not. Almost all of them, in mass shootings, used a weapon that is unnecessary for the average US citizen to own. If you think you need a weapon of war to protect yourself or your household, you've got another thing coming. Are you also going to expect to own a tank? Perhaps a fighter jet, or a minigun? Nothing you own will help win a war against government tyranny.

Aside: Just a creation of one of my favorite songwriters:

The night is black, without a moon. The air is thick and still.
The vigilantes gather on the lonely torchlit hill.
Features distorted in the flickering light, the faces are twisted and grotesque.
Silent and stern in the sweltering night, the mob moves like demons possessed.
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right; confident their ways are best.
The righteous rise with burning eyes of hatred and ill-will.
Madmen fed on fear and lies to beat, and burn, and kill.
They say there are strangers, who threaten us, in our immigrants and infidels.
They say there is strangeness, too dangerous, in our theatres and bookstore shelves.
That those who know what’s best for us must rise and save us from ourselves.
Quick to judge, quick to anger.. Slow to understand.
Ignorance and prejudice.. And fear walk hand in hand! --Neil Peart, 1980.

Did you know our grand ol' country used to have open borders? Illegal immigration is nothing new. But before I proceed, why is it even a necessary concept? Many politicians over the course of 245 years have done one thing or another to try to define it. Yet no one really understands the issue at all. Just as an example, try going to a location, far away from a preferred United States port of entry, and take a look at what is preventing you from going into Mexico. It's more difficult to get into Canada, but they'll certainly let you visit. If you intend to stay a while, and maybe get a job, you actually would probably be successful. That's the way it used to be in the USA. Obviously when our nation was in its infancy, populating the vast area was something the founding fathers not only wanted, but saw as a necessity. How strong could our young country become without strength in numbers?

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Theodore Roosevelt - 1904 Mounted Watchmen
Calvin Coolidge - 1924 Official Border Patrol
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Roosevelt
Dwight Eisenhower - 1954 Operation Wetback
Bill Clinton - 1994 NAFTA, Operation Gatekeeper
George W. Bush - 2002 HHS
Barack Obama
Donald Trump

All of them had a hand in what is known today as "illegal or legal" immigration. It's a battle that has gotten increasingly worse. Because obviously in the beginning of our country, immigrants helped our cause. Yet Washington and Jefferson maintained their tight restrictions. Once the Roosevelt Mounted Watchmen, and World War I happened, the country was suddenly in a collective fear of invasion by Axis powers. This never happened then. And Coolodge's border patrol of about 1500 workers helped ease American's worry.

Throughout the next 12 years until FDR was elected, our citizens were much more focused on regrouping from a war that we knew was unnecessary. As with most wars, a recession followed, and this one was the worst in our history. But it was also addressed and brought quickly to an end by our new very progressive president, Franklin Roosevelt. He would soon produce some of the best ideas for the recovering nation. The New Deal, new Amendments to the Constitution - he recognized that many were aging beyond their scope of creation. But after much American success, he was bombarded by another unnecessary war. No other president was elected 4 times. That says something. FDR was a special man, and had some of the best interests and ideas for the people of America.

Clinton and Obama were two of the most loved, and appreciated presidents in the last 50 years. The fact that we had to endure Bush II, and 9/11 on his watch just dragged us down. Sure - Patriotism was very high following 9/11, but his presidency, and everything that surrounded it, was borderline horrendous. I cried my eyes out in November of 2000 when the powers that be declared him the winner over Al Gore, and then again in 2004. The last 4 years of Bush 2's tenure were some of the worst in our history.

Enter Barack Obama! As far as American HOPE was concerned, it was amazing to see. The man has gone down in history as a top-15 POTUS, and that cannot be denied. Especially as far as immigration is concerned. He deported more illegals than any prior president, and yet allowed just about every family seeking asylum, who applied for it. One of the classiest presidential families in American history helped millions of underpriveledged find their way towards a better life here - in our country of acceptance. If the man could have been elected to a 3rd term, it would've been an overwhelming win.

Donald Trump. Admitted bigot. Admitted misogynist. Admitted xenophobic. Admitted to sexual assault. The list goes on, and on, and on. He lies nearly all of the time that he actually speaks for himself. His pawns lie even more when expected to address the media - the media that he calls the enemy of the people. As a freelance journalist, myself, I find this absolutely reprehensible. The old man is 100% incompetent to serve the highest office in the land. He is forcing dozens of our own allies, and many other world nations to frankly laugh at us. They are laughing at us! The sooner he is gone - the better. Now he declines to lower flags at half-staff for victims of the Annapolis Capital Gazette shooting. This idiot hasn't a clue! Nor does he comprehend the concept of compassion.

We already have 650+ miles of WALL. There are cities all over the world which are split among two countries. But there are a few on the US-Mexico border, which have a giant steel wall splitting the city in two. Yes, just like Berlin, Germany used to. Hmmm... I think China also did this a long time ago? Some of these border cities are said to be "dying," or "dead" on the US side, but just across the wall, there is a happy little flourishing Mexican town. Nogales is one of them. Please go check it out sometime. This is a country with which we haven't been at war since 1848! The increase in border patrol agents, just in Arizona, has increased from about 3500 in 1970 to over 17000 today. What? So the longer the nation is in existence, the fewer immigrants we are supposed to welcome? MOST of these people who are trying to get into the country, are hoping to work for a living wage, and provide a safe life for their children. MOST are also coming from many areas other than Mexico. Go watch "United Shades of America: The Border" from 4/29/2018 (season 3, episode 1). You'll learn something.

Issues here, and issues there. We eventually find out what is right and what is wrong. People die trying indirectly to let us know. Anthony Bourdain.. JFK, RFK, MLK Jr., George Carlin - to name a few.

A hundred years ago, it was commonplace for members of the clergy to disapprove of things like dancing, smoking, parties, and even gambling. It's generational.. Nowadays millions of people can't accept the fact that homosexuals deserve the right to be happy. Love who you want. It is no one's business BUT theirs. There are dozens of millions of gay people all over the world. Most of them have found it very difficult to "come out." YOU don't understand how big of an ordeal that process is for them. I'm sure it would be a very life-changing, depressing, series of events to do what they most want to do -- to show you that they are not ashamed of their sexuality. It's not a choice.. It's a biological thing that one can equate with the love and affection for your best buddy, or your pet, or your career: Love is dependent upon the interpretation of the person.. and is absolutely not anyone's business but his/her own.

Racism.

In this life, there are but two kinds of people. Those who support the HUMAN race, and those who strictly support their own race. The race that they think is superior to all others. White, especially. I doubt many people of other ethnicities feel that way, although all minorities would have much more justification in almost all cases. All of our ancestors were immigrants to the US of A. They stole this land from Native Americans, for goodness sake. How do you think they feel?

Marijuana legalization. It cures diseases, it makes people feel better, as opposed to many prescription drugs, and other legal stuff like alcohol and nicotine -- it's ridiculous that it's illegal in half the states. Progress is being made, though!

Open your eyes. There are tons of issues that need support. Don't follow a particular party just because you were told, or brought-up to think it's "the right way to think." It's not about left or right.. It's about WHAT IS RIGHT.

Go find out what is right!!!!

My original content

Imagine If You Will

2018-02-28T00:34:00.000-06:00

Image Source

Just for a moment - I'd like everyone to imagine what would have happened at the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, had 4 or 5 THOUSAND of those 20,000 concert attendees pulled out their handguns and began firing.

(Towards the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Towards the Luxor. Towards helicopters... towards each other...)

An Amazing New Band

2017-03-21T02:09:00.001-05:00

It was August 31, 2016 (Stephanie's birthday). We had just finished our fantasy football draft. Mike Matney sent me an amazing song.. "Ether" by Bloody Hammers, and I think it might have been the 2nd time he'd sent it to me. Mike is amazing, and has turned me onto quite a few new bands. "Ether" is fantastic, by the way, as is a lot of their other stuff.

I had just prior to that shown him "Anesthetize" by Porcupine Tree, the Gavin Harrison drum-cam version. Upon reading a bunch of the comments under Bloody Hammers' "Ether," I figured out that in addition to them being one of Sweden's most popular bands, someone mentioned that this band called GHOST is too.

Not even 15 minutes later I was listening to this live version of Ghost's recently Grammy award-winning song, "Cirice", and this was my very first exposure to Ghost. The rest is history. . .

Saw them live in October, 2016. They have a ton of history, and have also entangled themselves within a lot of mystery surrounding band members' identities, and such.. But their music is so good that the negative publicity is worthless. They've toured the world, drawn millions of fans, and are currently venturing out on a tour along with IRON MAIDEN.

They are also currently working on their next studio album.

I'm Back

2017-02-08T01:44:00.000-06:00

I'm coming back. I just have way too much to say, and no way to say it. You know - other than liking and sharing crap on Facebook.

This Is How To Fix The Electoral College

2016-11-28T01:05:00.001-06:00

We all know its purpose. It's to "even-out" the vote, so that all of the giant metropolitan areas across the country don't dominate the election.. blah blah blah.

Rolling Stone is certainly not a source I would usually cite, and/nor proudly expect positive consequences for pretty much anything - especially rock 'n' roll - but here's a good article from them I ran across a week or two ago... and I'll quote the most important part below, you know, for the lazy.

"Wyoming, the nation's lowest population state, has just over 560,000 people. Those people get three electoral votes, or one per 186,000 people. California, our most populous state, has more than 37 million people. Those Californians have 55 electoral votes, or one per 670,000 people. Comparatively, people in Wyoming have nearly four times the power in the Electoral College as people in California. Put another way, if California had the same proportion of electoral votes per person as Wyoming, it would have about 200 electoral votes." (Source)

Yep, it's just simple math, people. Each state's electoral vote total needs to be proportional to the population of each state. That was the intention some 240 years ago, anyway. However the simple fact that each state (regardless of population) has exactly two senators, and that the number TWO helps to determine the number of electoral college votes for each state, is absurd!

So here's the fix:
Click it to enlarge!

Original Content (Data from Wikipedia)

And it needs to be edited before every election. I'm pretty sure the government has several statisticians employed, who can accurately project the population growth of each state based on the last census each time. If not, there are probably a few available. It's not that difficult.

By the way, with that fix I also just created 1,105 extra jobs (and growing).

A Tribute to Jay Howard, Voice of the San Antonio Spurs

2016-04-20T01:32:00.000-05:00

Image Source

I've been wanting to write this article for many years now, but for some reason, I simply haven't taken the time. But there's no reason why I can't take 30 minutes and get it done! By the way.. Absolutely no offense whatsoever is intended to Bill Schoening! Bill does such a fantastic job that I would rather mute the TV whenever there's no Bill Land & Sean Elliott Spurs' TV broadcast, and listen to Bill, than most of the scrubs we're "forced" to listen to on ESPN & TNT.

A lot of people in my circle of NBA basketball fans absolutely cannot stand the NBA announcing trio of Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Mike Breen, who call games for ESPN & ABC. There are also a lot of people who like them, and surely a ton who don't care. I have written about my opinion of these three before! But this post isn't directed at the blabbering of both Van Gundy and Jackson, as it is towards Mike Breen.

Of the three Mike Breen is the one guy who actually does a halfway decent job calling the play-by-play. While JVG and Jackson continue to argue over irrelevant ideas, and disregard the fact that the fans are listening to their banter, while trying to FOLLOW a game they're interested in, they haven't a clue that they aren't doing the job they've been hired for. As an aside -- Does ESPN get (or acknowledge) any customer feedback in this regard??

OK OK, I said this post wasn't about how much I can't stand Van Gundy & Jackson. This post is to give some long-overdue credit to a guy who used to call Spurs' games back in the day. And also to let Mike Breen know that, although he does a "decent" job as a play-by-play basketball announcer (and bonus points for enduring JVG & Jackson), he needs to know something he probably doesn't know.

Jay Howard was yelling "BANG" LONG BEFORE Breen was!

Click to enlarge! - Image Source

Here is good ol' Jay calling our 1999 Championship!

Bernie: Beyond March 15th

2016-03-28T01:16:00.000-05:00

There's a LOT left.

Source

2015-16 NBA Standings Thru Feb. 5

2016-02-05T23:29:00.000-06:00

Another amazing season is shaping up - in case you haven't been paying attention!

Here are the NBA standings through Feb. 5, 2016:

Click to enlarge! -- (Source)

Just a RANT about Anti-Smoking Commercials

2016-02-04T05:19:00.000-06:00

You know what really makes me SICK?

Several DECADES ago, our government put their foot down, and decided to no longer allow cigarette advertisements on TV. None whatsoever.

So now that it's 2016, why in the hell do I have to watch commercials showing a guy explaining how much it sucks to live his life when he has a hole in his throat? I won't watch, but I also mute the TV, because the last thing anyone wants to hear is a guy having to hold a machine against his larynx to be able to talk, and I don't want to hear it. And it's not only him. This company has launched several anti-smoking advertisements recently, with a few different "victims". Some of them have recently died, and they are sure to let us know that.

source

Not only that, but now we also have to see tons of new anti-smoking commercials, such as these.

I'm a smoker, and I have been since I was about 21. Most of the past 23 years I enjoyed smoking a few cigarettes a day. Some of those days I smoke wayy tooo much. People enjoy smoking. Cigarettes.. Pipes.. Cigars.. Marijuana.... But I stray from the point.

I used to pay $3.25 for a pack of smokes back in the 90's. These days a pack is at least $6. Sometimes they're $7.50.

You're not allowed to advertise cigarette sales. Please stop advertising only the worst possible scenarios that result from smoking!

Mushrooms

2016-02-04T05:13:00.000-06:00

We've all been there. Standing in front of the spices in the grocery store.

Why is there no dried mushroom spice/flavor? I mean they can come up with a ton of different stuff, most of which most of us have never heard of. But mushrooms are delicious in everything from spaghetti, pizza, most other pastas, and a ton of other stuff, but we always have to buy mushrooms (which go bad quickly) for this addition. McDonalds even puts freeze-dried onions on some of their "fresh" burgers. Yeah.

Fixing The American Election Process

2016-02-02T00:10:00.001-06:00

Image Source

Long-time No-see!

Well, with these stupid cauci going on, I had to bring this up one more time. I'll explain to you later why caucuses (cauci) are stupid, but for right now, I wanna show you how we fix one of the main flaws of our government -- the voting process.

(Aside: Many forms of proof that American elections are, in fact, rigged, have been produced for years. That computer programmers can do it with ease is believable. If you're interested, watch this, or at least acknowledge it for a few minutes.. I just happened to run across that video today.)

Anyway on to the point!

I. First Past The Post

Here is the Wikipedia entry for First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). I'm pretty sure I have posted CGP Grey's explanation of FPTP voting before. The United States and several other nations have exclusively "used" this system for many years. The reason for the parentheses in the prior sentence is that FPTP is more of a phenomenon than a method, much less a chosen or preferred method. (And it's even more far-fetched to claim that it is a GOOD method.) Anyway, ^^^watch it again. It's a great video, and it's only 6:30.

I'll go let the dog out while you do.

II. Gerrymandering

Moving on.. One of the main problems (cheats) with FPTP voting, as he pointed out, is Gerrymandering. "In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries to create partisan-advantaged districts." (Source) Continuing: "The resulting district apportionment is known as a gerrymander; however, that word can also refer to the process. When used to allege that a given party is gaining disproportionate power, the term gerrymandering has negative connotations."

A recent Chicago electoral districts map:

(Image Source) ^^^..A perfect example of bogus alignment.

Here is CGP Grey's awesome explanation of gerrymandering. Once again it is a fantastic video, and is also only 5:26.

III. Shortest Splitline

Now (drumroll), here is how you fix it! But first I must say that in order for this FIX to work, it is imperative that those who draw such lines of electoral districts, do so under absolutely no influence of any party-affiliation. Centrist mathematicians with a strong knowledge of geography (like myself) would be perfect for the job! Seriously though.. it's definitely not rocket surgery, nor brain science, so I'm pretty sure each and every electoral district in the United States, is able to find 1 (ONE) person to perform this task. There are 435 of these districts in the United States!!

This concept is called Shortest Splitline, and it's a concept most of us probably learned before fourth grade. Granted there are some high school freshman level mathematics in progress here, but again, we're talking about just 435 people. The U.S. population (as of 2014) is approximately 320 million people. I would think it would be pretty easy to find these 435 qualified individuals among a population of 320,000,000. Wouldn't you?

Finally, here you go. This is CGP Grey's 3-minute explanation of Shortest Splitline (3:37).

-- By the way, the "Iowa Caucus is an electoral event in which residents of the U.S. state of Iowa meet in precinct caucuses in all of Iowa's 1,681 precincts,* and elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions. There are 99 counties in Iowa, and thus there are 99 conventions. These county conventions then select delegates for both Iowa's Congressional District Convention and the State Convention, which eventually choose the delegates for the presidential nominating conventions. About 1% of the nation's delegates are chosen by the Iowa State Convention." (Source)

* Seriously? The population of Iowa is 3.107 million (again 2014) ...I wonder how many dozens of these precincts' cauci contain about 11 people?

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