Bisitamtam's Blog – February 2021 Archive (15)

As President Joe Biden becomes the fourth consecutive U.S. president to assume the mantle of wartime leadership in the Middle East, his foreign policy decisions inevitably are viewed in relation to those of his predecessors—and none so much as those of the man to whom he once reported, former President Barack Obama.

In perhaps no country is this more clear than in Iraq, where U.S. troops remain, albeit in smaller numbers, despite Obama's announcement of a full withdrawal nearly a…

The message emblazoned on the bright pink sweater Sen. Kyrsten Sinema wore presiding over the Senate this week may not have been intended specifically for the White House, but the words could still offer fair warning to the West Wing.

"DANGEROUS CREATURE," the Arizona Democrat's sweater blared in all-capital letters.

The sartorial choice…

A senior Republican House leader has refused to admit Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump.

Congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House minority whip, appeared on ABC’s This Week more than three months after Biden won the electoral college 306-232 and the popular vote by more than 7m ballots and just over a month after the Democrat was sworn into office.…

It came last week at a CNN town hall in Milwaukee in response to a question about how he will bring Americans together. “I take issue with what everybody says about the division,” he replied. “The nation is not divided. You go out there and take a look and talk to people, you have fringes on both ends, but it’s not nearly as divided as we make it out to be.”…

Whether you’re chatting with co-workers, watching TV or engaging online, one thing is clear: Americans are in a funk.

A recent poll confirms the obvious. In this year’s “Mood of the Nation” survey, Gallup discovered Americans feel worse about their country than they have in the two decades they’ve asked the question.

Just 39% of…

As our friends from the left remain irrationally fixated on President Donald Trump, I’d like to move on with what’s happening now with the current president.

In his first week in office, Joe Biden managed to offend just about every group in America with his fury of orders by government fiat, including long-time allies of the Democratic Party.…

On Inauguration Day President Biden signed 16 proclamations and executive actions, including several related to immigration, the border wall and deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA).

Rep. Ashley Hinson, the Republican from Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, voiced her opposition to Biden’s immigration approach in a tweet on Jan. 23. It read:

"President Biden’s day one approach to immigration is radical— it will make our country less safe and disadvantage us…

Sorrow reverberated across the country Sunday as Americans, including President Joe Biden, joined a Florida community in remembering the 17 lives lost three years ago in the Parkland school shooting massacre.

“In seconds, the lives of dozens of families, and the life of an American community, were changed forever,” Biden said in a statement released Sunday.…

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:

CLAIM: Photo shows President Joe Biden asleep in his seat at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office with a stack of executive orders in front of him.…

The claim: Joe Biden canceled all student loan debt

On the campaign trail, now-President Joe Biden pledged to act on federal student loan debt forgiveness and wipe out $10,000 for all borrowers. One student loan borrower claimed on Facebook that the president has already acted on that promise.

"My student loans are gone," reads a Feb. 2…

Yemen’s long, bloody “civil war” — which has essentially become a proxy war between Iran and Gulf Arabs — is correctly seen as a humanitarian tragedy. Too many, however, including President Joe Biden, mistakenly think that solving the tragedy requires blaming the wrong side, effectively exonerating the real culprits and their surrogates.

Biden…

U.S. President Joe Biden recently gave his first address on foreign policy in a symbolic visit to the U.S. State Department. For anyone watching the speech, the message was clear. Biden acknowledged that the United States had receded from the global stage and that former U.S. President Donald Trump was to blame. While his speech did little in outlining policy – except for proclaiming an end to U.S. support for the Saudi campaign in Yemen – it summed up the gloomy mood in the Biden White…

President Joe Biden delivered a message to African leaders meeting virtually this weekend at the African Union Summit 2021, hosted from Addis Ababa.

“The United States stands ready now to be your partner in solidarity, support and mutual respect,” Biden said in a video address, his first speech to an international forum as U.S. president.…

Senior voters helped deliver a decisive victory for President Joe Biden last November. That’s why I did 110 virtual events during this campaign. Now, Biden must deliver for seniors and make our interests, including expanding Social Security, a top priority in his new administration.

Biden campaigned on expanding Social Security, lowering drug…

United States President Joe Biden is set to meet on Monday with a group of 10 Republican senators who have proposed $618bn in coronavirus relief, about a third of the $1.9 trillion he is seeking as congressional Democrats are poised to move ahead without Republican support.

The Republicans propose slimmer benefits, including $1,000 in direct payments to individuals earning up to $40,000 a year, or $80,000 for couples, according to a draft obtained by The Associated Press.…