DON JONES INDEX…

GAINS POSTED in GREEN

LOSSES POSTED in RED

3/12/21… 13,932.67 03/5/21… 13,926.57

6/27/13… 15,000.00

DOW JONES INDEX: 3/12/21…32,640.11; 3/5/21…30,924.14; 6/27/13…15,000.00)

LESSON for March 12, 2021 – “UNHAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU!”

Like it or don’t, Donald Trump is no longer President of the United States. Joe Biden is.

The carnival ride is over. The bumper cars have rolled to a stop at the bottom of the roller coaster, the men in uniforms are releasing the restraining bars… the ones that never quite worked in the first place… and the passengers are standing up, stretching… yawning perhaps… gathering their possessions and leaving while a new round of customers wait in line to be escorted onto the crazy ride.

Ozzy bids you farewell. Sharon condemned 45’s use of “Crazy Train” to describe the left, but stood up for her friend Piers Morgan in the wake of backlash following remarks he made about Meghan Markle. (See Attachment Two)

The Talk co-host said that she's been accused of being racist for supporting Morgan, 55, after his controversial response to Meghan Markle's recent interview with Oprah Winfrey.

"Did I like everything he said? Did I agree with what he said? No," Osbourne, 68, said. "Because it's his opinion. It's not my opinion...I support him for his freedom of speech, and he's my friend."

All but lynched for her support by what Morgan called “bullies” Sharon fell into line with the cancel culture, leaving only Johnny Rotten as an unapologetic MAGA (MGBGA?) Man. “It makes complete sense to me to vote for a person who actually talks about my kind of people,” Lydon told Good Morning Britain after the election. “Trump is not a politician. He’s never claimed to be. How unusually exceptionally wonderful is that for people like me, working class people.”

“We’re bored of ‘intellectual’ left-wing ideas,” Lydon continued. “We can’t take much of you. You talk twaddle. Everything you do – you just miss the point of who the general population are.”

The interview then took an awkward turn when Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid asked Lydon about Trump’s behavior on the world stage. “Let me finish!” Lydon screamed. “It does nothing for these people! Nothing! And this is why they now support him so loyally because he is the only hope.”

The world has moved on to stranger things and newfangled curiosities and cruelties… Mario Cuomo’s kiss, half a million American corpses’ plague and its vaxxes (or the lack of them), Mister Potato Head.

In any event, the semi-official starting point for any U.S. President is his (not hers, yet) State of the Union. And President Joe took a sort of semi-semi official kickoff last night in a short but primetime address to his subjects… er… fellow Americans, on network television, no less, and after a similar left-wing (sort of) intellectual discourse cum anti-plague cheering rally. Neither was billed as a State of the Union… that spider has not yet been summoned up from the depths to weave a web of soft lies and feel good threads and wrap them round the squirming insect that is the public… it was something other. Perhaps Joe and Kamala are afraid to semi-officially claim the prize of the Presidency because a third of the Republic hates them and the mob still stands ready to do considerable damage (political to themselves, physical… if they can put one foot in front of the other as they failed to do on the one-six… to their enemies). Of which Joe, now, has become Number One.

After a bit of flailing, the FBI, the Capitol Police and National Guard have finally read their twitters, put one and two and three together, and started rounding up the unusual suspects… disgruntled militia sorts, lone wolves and paramilitary vigilantes – primarily, as it seems, the Oath Keepers (the Proud Boys apparently boyish enough that their leadership can be set free on bail, the Boogaloo Boys, shivering in their Hawaiian shirts on the day appointed were a non factor). But the threats and the prophecies still emerge… dissolute and disparate… on darker and darker corners of the social media as Facebook and Twitter and dozens of wannabees purge their unassimilated elements and, while cooling the national temperature some even as spring looms, denying the Deep State their window into the disloyal opposition and preventing them from executing the last roundup, after which America will be cleansed, scrubbed, shown off to an formerly admiringly world as a bastion of democracy (and economic comfort and joy), suitable for emulation and open for emigration.

Just in case, the SOU has been pushed back, pushed back again and nobody now knows whether it will ever emerge… not in 2021, not in 2022, not until 2025 or ever. An abundance of caution exists, all it takes is one explosives expert with the expertise to not blow himself up, hide in the crowded ambience of crowd of political junkies, and manufacture mayhem.

Perhaps the National Security will deem President Joe’s S.O.U. deliverable next week, or month, or year. Until that happens, however, the most that Don Jones can expected from his (now, likely, legitimate) leader are episodes like Thursday’s discourse on the plague, among other stuff, a sort of Sneek Peek rollouts by an administration wary of seeming like a fixed, slow target for anybody with a grudge and a truckful of fertilizer. Thus, the celebration of his signing of Stim Three… otherwise: The American Rescue Plan… even as Joe’s newly acquired rescue dog was being shipped off to Coventry (or Delaware) for biting one of the Secret Service agents entrusted with his safety and security.

It’s what we have to accept now… perhaps a punishment the American people have to endure for their folly in electing a madman as their 45^th President and the promise of $1,400 givebacks (like many others, the M.E. here is still waiting for Djonald’s paltry six hundred) is the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down.

So, as we did a couple of weeks ago, let’s have a glance at the evening’s speech… in toto, courtesy of ABC… with some of the more brazen commentaries and fact checkings inserted in various colorful colors of text or of shading, and further commentaries by pundits and peanuts from Hell’s peanut gallery which is, of course, the Internet. For the rosier Rose Garden remarks, see Attachment One.

The New York Times offered only a short, sharp, succinct three-issue fact check which, in honor of their long and sometimes lethargic pedigree as the “great gray lady” of the Fifth Estate, we have highlighted in gray.

CNN, that mysterious monolith of media, has never declined to accept the designation of caution and, so, for this alternate pedigree, their fact checks are highlighted in yellow. (And its opinionator Chris Cillizza contributed his own Seven Takeaways – see Attachment Four)

USA’s fact checkers also checked the facts… in green.

And the Democrat-friendly WashPost? Of course, they’re in blue.

And for every blue Democrat, there’s a red, red Republican – even the fact checkers for the National Review (who just days ago seemed to have become “NeverTrumpers”. Now, they seem to have pivoted back to “NeverBideners” (or Bideneers) and their comments are highlighted in red.

FROM ABC News - Joe Biden delivers remarks on 1-year anniversary of pandemic

The coronavirus outbreak was officially declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

March 11, 2021, 8:44 PM

President Joe Biden delivered his first prime-time address on the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus outbreak officially being declared a pandemic.

Here is the full transcript of Biden's remarks on Thursday night from the White House. (And here are what the fact checkers responded.)

"Good evening my fellow Americans. Tonight, I'd like to talk to you about where we are as we mark one year since everything stopped because of this pandemic. A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks, then months.

WHAT MR. BIDEN SAID

“A year ago we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks, then months.”

This is exaggerated. It is true that President Donald J. Trump downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic for months. But he was not exactly silent and did not fail to respond completely. One year ago, on March 12, 2020, Mr. Trump delivered an address from the Oval Office acknowledging the threat and announced new travel restrictions on much of Europe.

In the opening moments of his speech, Biden said, "A year ago we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked. Denials for days, weeks, then months. That led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, and more loneliness."

Facts First: Biden didn't say who he was talking about here. If these remarks were intended as a shot at former President Donald Trump and his administration, Biden was correct about "denials" -- Trump spent months downplaying the severity of the pandemic -- but Biden was exaggerating about "silence." Trump himself and Trump-era government officials were speaking publicly about the virus, and taking at least some action to combat it, as of January 2020.

In late January 2020, the White House announced a coronavirus task force, declared a public health emergency, and imposed travel restrictions on China. Trump spoke of the threat of the virus at a campaign rally in late January 2020 and in his State of the Union address in early February 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided January updates about the virus.

Biden could have accurately said that many of Trump's early remarks about the virus were dismissive, perfunctory or inaccurate; Trump repeatedly declared, into March 2020, that the out-of-control situation was under control. But it's not true that Trump wasn't talking about the virus at all, and certainly not true that the government as a whole wasn't talking about it.

Biden takes swipe at Trump

President Joe Biden began his address marking the one-year anniversary of the COVID shutdown by taking a veiled swipe at his predecessor, Donald Trump.

“A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked,” Biden said in a prime time speech from the White House. “Denials for days, weeks, and months. That led to more deaths. More infections, more stress and more loneliness.”

Trump initially played down the seriousness of the virus, telling Americans it would go away and refusing to wear a face mask in public.

— Michael Collins

"That led to more deaths, more infections, more stress, and more loneliness. Photos and videos from 2019 feel like they were taken in another era. The last vacation, the last birthday with friends, the last holiday with extended family.

"While it was different for everyone, we all lost something -- a collective suffering, a collective sacrifice, a year filled with the loss of life and the loss of living for all of us. But in the loss, we saw how much there was to gain in appreciation, respect, and gratitude. Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do.

"In fact, it may be the most American thing we do. And that's what we've done. We've seen frontline and essential workers risking their lives, sometimes losing them, to save and help others. Researchers and scientists racing for a vaccine. And so many of you, as [Ernest] Hemingway wrote, "Being strong in all the broken places."

Biden combines pain and healing

After talking about what everyone lost in the past year, Biden quickly pivoted to a hopeful message.

“In the loss, we saw how much there was to gain,” he said.

Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do, he continued, and may be the “most American” thing we’ve done.

Quoting Ernest Hemingway, Biden combined pain and healing saying, so many are now strong in all the broken places.

"I know it's been hard. I truly know. As I've told you before, I carry a card in my pocket with the number of Americans who have died from COVID to date. It's on the back of my schedule. As of now, total deaths in America, 527,726. That's more deaths than in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined.

WHAT MR. BIDEN SAID

“As of now, total deaths in America, 527,726. That’s more deaths than in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined.”

This is exaggerated. According to estimates from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a total of 392,393 died in combat in those three wars. Combined with the 2,977 people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, that figure would be indeed smaller than the coronavirus death toll Mr. Biden cited. It would also be lower than the 529,000 death figure tracked by The New York Times. But factoring in deaths that occurred in service but outside of combat, the toll from the three wars (more than 610,000) would be higher than the current total number of virus-related deaths Mr. Biden cited.

Covid-19 deaths

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of March 11, 527,726 Americans have died from Covid-19. Biden claimed "[t]hat's more deaths than in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined."

Facts First: This is misleading. If Biden had said that there have been more American Covid-19 deaths than American battlefield casualties from those wars, this would have been true. But it's incorrect that that there have been more American Covid-19 deaths than all kinds of deaths from those wars, including non-battlefield deaths.

A total of 53,402 Americans died in battle during WWI, 291,557 in WWII and 47,434 in the Vietnam War. Combined with the 2,977 people who died as a result of the 9/11 crashes, that's a total of 395,370 deaths.

When non-battle deaths, including those from war-related disease, are added to the tally, the number of Americans who died as a result of those wars and 9/11 rises to 583,112. And with non-American war deaths factored in, the death totals far exceed the current American coronavirus death toll.

"They were husbands, wives, sons and daughters, grandparents, friends, neighbors, young and old. They leave behind loved ones, unable to truly grieve or to heal, even to have a funeral. But I'm also thinking about everyone else who lost this past year to natural causes, by cruel fate of accident or other disease. They, too, died alone. They, too, leave behind loved ones who are hurting badly.

Biden displays card he carries with number of American deaths

President Joe Biden showed a card he carries around daily that lists the current number of American deaths.

There are “more deaths in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and 9/11 combined. They are husbands, wives, sons and daughters, grandparents, friends,” Biden said.

The virus has left more than 530,000 in the United States dead.

— Savannah Behrmann

"You know, you've often heard me say before, I talk about the longest walk any parent can make is up a short flight of stairs to his child's bedroom to say, I'm sorry, but I lost my job, I can't be here anymore. Like my dad told me when he lost his job in Scranton. So many of you have had to make that same walk this past year.

"You lost your job, you closed your business, facing eviction, homelessness, hunger, a loss of control. Maybe worst of all a loss of hope. Watching a generation of children who may be set back up to a year or more because they've not been in school because of their loss of learning. It's the details of life that matter the most, and we miss those details, the big details and the small moments, weddings, birthdays, graduations, all of the things that needed to happen but didn't.

"The first date, the family reunions, the Sunday night rituals. It's all has exacted a terrible cost on the psyche of so many of us. For we are fundamentally a people who want to be with others, to talk, to laugh, to hug, to hold one another. But this virus has kept us apart. Grandparents haven't seen their children or grandchildren. Parents haven't seen their kids. Kids haven't seen their friends.

"The things we used to do that always filled us with joy have become things we couldn't do and broke our hearts. Too often, we've turned against one another. A mask, the easiest thing to do to save lives, sometimes it divides us. States pitted against one another instead of working with each other. Vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed, and scapegoated.

"At this very moment, so many of them, our fellow Americans, they're on the front lines of this pandemic trying to save lives, and still, still, they are forced to live in fear for their lives, just walking down streets in America. It's wrong, it's un-American, and it must stop.

Biden denounces attacks on Asian Americans

Biden used his prime-time address to denounce what he called “vicious hate crimes” against Asian Americans.

Asian Americans have been “attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated” for the COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in China, Biden said.

“So many of them are fellow Americans, are on the frontlines of this pandemic trying to save lives – and still are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America,” he said. “It's wrong. It's un-American. And it must stop.”

— Michael Collins

"Look, we know what we need to do to beat this virus. Tell the truth. Follow the scientists and the science. Work together. Put trust and faith in our government to fulfill its most important function, which is protecting the American people. No function more important. We need to remember the government isn't some foreign force in a distant capital. No, it's us. All of us. We, the people.

"For you and I, that America thrives when we give our hearts, when we turn our hands to common purpose. And right now, my friends, we're doing just that. And I have to say, as your president, I am grateful to you. Last summer, I was in Philadelphia, and I met a small business owner, a woman. I asked her, I said, "what do you need most?" I will never forget what she said to me. She said, looking me in the eye, and she said, "I just want the truth. The truth. Just tell me the truth."

"Think of that. My fellow Americans, you're owed nothing less than the truth. And for all of you asking when things will get back to normal, here is the truth. The only way to get our lives back, to get our economy back on track, is to beat the virus. You've been hearing me say that for -- while I was running and the last 50 days I've been president. But this is one of the most complex operations we've ever undertaken as a nation in a long time.

Biden says Americans 'owed nothing less than the truth'

Biden harkened back to the emphasis he put during his campaign on being straight with Americans.

He recalled asking a small business owner in Philadelphia what she needed most.

“I just want the truth. Just tell me the truth,” Biden said the woman told him.

The president told Americans listening: “You’re owed nothing less than the truth.”

And that truth, he said, is that the only way to get the economy back on track is to beat the coronavirus.

— Maureen Groppe

"That's why I'm using every power I have as the president of the United States to put us on a war footing to get the job done. Sounds like hyperbole, but I mean it, a war footing. And thank god we're making some real progress now. In my first full day in office, I outlined for you a comprehensive strategy to beat this pandemic. We've spent every day since attempting to carry it out.

"Two months ago, the country -- this country didn't have nearly enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all or anywhere near all of the American public, but soon we will. We've been working with vaccine manufacturers, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, to manufacture and purchase hundreds of millions of doses of these three safe, effective vaccines.

WHAT MR. BIDEN SAID

“Two months ago this country didn’t have nearly enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all or anywhere near all of the American public. But soon we will.”

This is misleading. By the end of last year, the Trump administration had ordered at least 800 million vaccine doses that were expected for delivery by July 31, 2021, the Government Accountability Office reported. That included vaccines undergoing clinical trials as well as those not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. According to Kaiser Health News, that would have been enough to vaccinate 200 million people with authorized vaccines, and more than enough for 400 million once all the vaccines were cleared for use. The current U.S. population is roughly 330 million. And, contrary to Mr. Biden’s suggestions, both administrations deserve credit for the current state of the vaccine supply.

Vaccine Supply

Describing his administration's efforts to respond to the pandemic, Biden claimed, "Two months ago, this country didn't have nearly enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all or even near all of the American public. But soon we will."

Facts First: This needs context and depends on how the vaccine supply is being defined. If vaccine supply is measured by doses ordered or under contract, then that amount exceeded the US population prior to Biden's inauguration. But if it consists of the amount of doses distributed, then the vaccine supply two months ago was not enough to vaccinate all of the American public.

As of January 2021, "[u]pdates from DOD officials and company representatives indicate there are at least one billion vaccine doses under contract," according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. This includes 100 million doses each for the three vaccines currently authorized in the US: Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. However, as of January 20, only around 36 million vaccine doses had been distributed and were available to be administered. According to the CDC, as of March 11, 131,131,470 vaccine doses have been delivered, which is more than when Biden took office two months ago but only enough for about 40% of the US population or a little more than half the amount of all American adults to receive one dose.

"And now, at the direction and with the assistance of my administration, Johnson & Johnson is working together with a competitor, Merck, to speed up and increase the capacity to manufacture new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is one shot. In fact, just yesterday, I announced, and I met with the CEOs of both companies. I announced our plan to buy an additional 100 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

"These two companies, competitors, have come together for the good of the nation, and they should be applauded for it. It's truly a national effort, just like we saw during World War II. Now because all the work we've done, we'll have enough vaccine supply for all adults in America by the end of May. That's months ahead of schedule. And we're mobilizing thousands of vaccinators to put the vaccine in one's arm. Calling active duty military, FEMA, retired doctors and nurses, administrators, and those to administer the shots.

"And we've been creating more places to get the shots. We've made it possible for you to get a vaccine at nearly one -- any one of 10,000 pharmacies across the country. Just like you get your flu shot. We're also working with governors and mayors in red states and blue states to set up and support nearly 600 federally supported vaccination centers that administrators hundreds of thousands of shots per day.

"You can drive up to a stadium or a large parking lot, get your shot, and never leave your car, and drive home in less than an hour. We've been sending vaccines to hundreds of community health centers all across America, located in underserved areas. And we've been deploying and we will deploy more mobile vehicles and pop-up clinics to meet you where you live so those who are the least able to get the vaccine are able to get it.

"We continue to work on making at-home testing available, and we've been focused on serving people in the hardest hit communities of this pandemic, Black, Latino, Native American, and rural communities. So what does all of this add up to? When I took office 50 days ago, only 8% of Americans after months, only 8% of those over the age of 65 had gotten their first vaccination. Today that number is 65%.

WHAT MR. BIDEN SAID

“When I took office 50 days ago, only 8 percent of Americans after months, only 8 percent of those over the age of 65 had gotten their first vaccination. Today, that number is 65 percent.”

This is misleading. When Mr. Biden took office on Jan. 20, the vaccination effort had just begun, after the F.D.A. authorized Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in mid-December.

Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people between ages 65 and 74 receive the vaccine only after it has been administered to health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities, frontline essential workers and people over the age of 75.

It’s also worth noting that about 62.4 percent of people over 65 have received one vaccine dose, but just 32.2 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the C.D.C.

Vaccinations for 65 and older

"When I took office 50 days ago, only 8% of Americans -- after months -- only 8% of those over the age of 65 had gotten their first vaccination," Biden said. "Today that number is 65%."

Facts First: This is misleading and needs context. In the US, the first person received a vaccination dose outside of a clinical trial on December 14 and Biden took office on January 20 -- so the vaccine was not available for "months" beforehand as the President implied, though that may have been a reference to the length of the pandemic.

As for Biden's claim that 65% of Americans over the age of 65 having received their first shot, it's unclear if Biden was citing different data, but according to data from the CDC, as of Thursday 62.4% of those 65 and older had received at least one does of the vaccine, not 65%.

Previously, as the Associated Press reported, an adviser on the administration's virus task force had incorrectly claimed on Wednesday that 60% of this age group had been fully vaccinated, whereas Biden correctly noted that this number only refers to those who have received at least one dose.

"Just 14% of Americans over the age of 75 -- 50 days ago had gotten their first shot. Today, that number is well over 70%. With new guidance from the centers of disease control and prevention, the CDC, that came out on Monday, it means simply this. Millions and millions of grandparents who went months without being able to hug their grandkids can now do so and the more people who are fully vaccinated the CDC will provide additional guidance on what you can do in the workplace, places of worship with your friends as well as travel. When I came into office you may recall I set a goal that many of you said was kind of way over the top. I said I intended to get 100 million shots in people's arms in my first 100 days in office.

The response to Biden's goal

Biden said, "When I came into office, you may recall, I set a goal that many of you said was kind of way over the top. I said I intended to get 100 million shots in people's arms in my first 100 days in office."

Facts First: Biden's vague claim -- that "many of you" said his goal was "kind of way over the top" -- is, at least, a more defensible assertion than his inaccurate January assertion that "you all said" his goal was "not possible." It's worth noting, though, that much of the media coverage of Biden's goal quoted experts who said the goal was achievable, although ambitious.

We don't know who Biden was talking about when he referred to the "many of you" who doubted his goal, but some of the media coverage did indeed convey doubts. CNN reported in January that state officials were skeptical that Biden could meet the goal. A Politico article in January cited concerns from members of Biden's own team about their ability to meet the goal. A USA Today article called it a "lofty goal" and an "ambitious timeline."

Bottom of Form

Biden’s attempted co-opting of our national holiday celebrating freedom from government bears an eerie resemblance to this culture of state worship across the pond. But the peril of identifying freedom as something the government gives you is forgetting that it can just as easily take things away. Indeed, Biden hinted at this last night:

. . . if we don’t stay vigilant and the conditions change, then we may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track. And please, we don’t want to do that again. We’ve made so much progress. This is not the time to let up.

Just as we were emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules.

This doesn’t sound very American to me. Joe Biden should leave the Fourth of July alone, or at least leave it to presidents who know how to use it to motivate people during a crisis properly:

"Tonight, I can say we're not only going to meet that goal, we're going to beat that goal. Because we're actually on track to reach this goal of 100 million shots in arms on my 60th day in office. No other country in the world has done this, none. And I want to talk about the next steps we're thinking about.

US vaccinations

Biden touted the number of people vaccinated in the US during his speech noting that the country is "on track to reach this goal of 100 million shots in arms on my 60th day in office."

"No other country in the world has done this. None," Biden added.

Facts First: It's true that no country has vaccinated more total people than the US, though it's worth noting that there are some smaller countries that have vaccinated a larger share of their total population. So far, the US has administered vaccines to more than 95 million people, a higher number than any other country in the world. However, 14 countries including Chile, Israel and the United Kingdom have vaccinated more people per capita. It should be noted that these countries have much smaller populations.

"First, tonight, I'm announcing that I will direct all states, tribes, and territories to make all adults, people 18 and over, eligible to be vaccinated no later than May 1. Let me say that again. All adult Americans will be eligible to get a vaccine no later than May 1. That's much earlier than expected.

"And let me be clear. That doesn't mean everyone's going to have that shot immediately, but it means you'll be able to get in line beginning May 1. Every adult will be eligible to get their shot. And to do this, we're going to go from a million shots a day that I promised in December before I was sworn in, to maintaining, beating our current pace of 2 million shots a day, outpacing the rest of the world.

Vaccine eligibility to open to all by May

Biden announced that he is directing states to open vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1.

Alaska became the first state to do so on its own on Tuesday.

The White House’s COVID19 task force determined that vaccinations of the prioritized populations should be far enough along by the end of April that restrictions can be lifted.

“That means you’ll be able to get in line beginning May 1,” Biden said.

He called that “much earlier than expected.”

Biden also said he will exceed his goal of administering 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days of office. That initial marker will be achieved on day 60, he said.

“No other country in the world has done this,” he said.

— Maureen Groppe

Biden denounces attacks

"Secondly, at the time every adult is eligible in may we will launch with our partners new tools to make it easier for you to find the vaccine and where to get the shot including a new website that will help you first find the place to get vaccinated and the one nearest you. No more searching day and night for an appointment for you and your loved ones. Thirdly, with the passage of the American Rescue Plan, and I thank, again, the house and senate for passing it, and my announcement last month of a plan to vaccinate teachers and school staff, including bus drivers, we can accelerate massive nationwide effort to reopen our schools safely. And meet my goal that I stated at the same time about 100 million shots of opening the majority of K-8 schools in my first 100 days in office. This is going to be the No. 1 priority of my new secretary of education, Miguel Cardona.

"Fourth, in the coming weeks, we will issue further guidance on what you can and cannot do once fully vaccinated to lessen the confusion, to keep people safe, and encourage more people to get vaccinated. And, finally, fifth, and maybe most importantly, I promise I will do everything in my power. I will not relent until we beat this virus.

CDC to issue guidelines for post-vaccination

Biden said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue guidance in the coming weeks on what Americans can do once they’ve been fully vaccinated.

The new guidelines will “lessen the confusion, keep people safe and encourage more people to get vaccinated,” he said.

— Michael Collins

"But I need you, the American people. I need you. I need every American to do their part. And that's not hyperbole. I need you. I need you to get vaccinated when it's your turn and when you can find an opportunity. And to help your family, your friends, your neighbors get vaccinated as well. Because here's the point.

Biden pleads with Americans to 'do their part'

President Joe Biden pleaded with Americans to do “their parts” and get vaccinated.

"I need you, the American people. I need you. I need every American to do their part. That's not hyperbole. I need you. I need you to get vaccinated when it's your turn and when you can find an opportunity," Biden said.

He continued that if Americans do their parts, stay safe, and get vaccinated, there can be small Fourth of July celebrations “where we not only mark our independence as a nation, but we also begin to mark our independence from this virus.”

— Savannah Behrmann

"If we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4, there's a good chance you, your families and friends, will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day. That doesn't mean large events with lots of people together, but it does mean small groups will be able to get together.

My colleagues John McCormack and Isaac Schorr have already noted the dishonesty and the hopelessness, respectively, of Joe Biden’s speech on one year of coronavirus last night. Isaac zeroed in on one selection from Biden’s speech:

If we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the Fourth there’s a good chance that you, your families and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout and a barbeque and celebrate Independence Day. That doesn’t mean large events with lots of people together, but it does mean small groups will be able to get together.

Isaac rightly noted in response:

Set aside the conceit and misunderstanding of his constitutional role — the president doesn’t have the power to stop or allow us from gathering or barbecuing together — it seems inconceivable that Biden is this unaware of conditions on the ground around the country. People have been gathering in small groups in their backyards since late last April, and by last Fourth of July, they were already celebrating not in small pods, but in the large groups that Biden says will still be off-limits nearly three and a half months from now. . . . It speaks to a fundamental disconnect with the people of this country that Biden believes he can sell a kind of half celebration of a major holiday as some kind of victory or even an accomplishment of his administration.

All true. But there’s another aspect of Biden’s Fourth of July promise that really bothers me. Since our country’s Founding, we have used the Fourth to celebrate not only our national independence, but also to assert our rejection of government authority generally. It is an essential part of the American character to bristle at government imposition. So it’s very strange for Biden to choose this date as a benchmark. And there’s something very odd, and a bit un-American, about Biden’s saying that returning to (something like) normal life by then “will make this Independence Day something truly special, where we not only mark our independence as a nation but we begin to mark our independence from this virus.”

Set aside that it will also mark our independence from over-intrusive government regulations (again), and that, in the course of his speech, Biden again lapses into some decadent Obama-era bromides about how we are the government:

We need to remember, the government isn’t some foreign force in a distant capital. No, it’s us, all of us, we the people. For you and I, that America thrives when we give our hearts, when we turn our hands to common purpose.

The most egregious part of all this is the seeming attempt by the president to use the somewhat-suspect aegis of “public health” to encroach upon the fundamentally American spirit of liberty, to mix up positive liberty (goods granted by the state) and negative liberty (freedom inherent in all of us) in such a way as to render them difficult to distinguish.

It actually reminds me a bit of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service. Over the course of the pandemic, the U.K.’s government-run health-care system has taken on an even more religious character for many citizens there than it had before (and that’s saying something; recall its prominent and worshipful place in the 2012 Olympic opening ceremonies). It just so happens that the NHS was founded on July 5, a date that this year Britons were urged to celebrate as a kind of holiday.

"After this long hard year, that will make this Independence Day something truly special, where we not only mark our independence as a nation, but we begin to mark our independence from this virus.

"But to get there we can't let our guard down. This fight is far from over, as I told the woman in Pennsylvania, I will tell you the truth. On July 4, with your loved ones, is the goal. A lot can happen. Conditions can change. The scientists have made clear the things may get worse again, new variants of the virus spread, we have work to do to ensure everyone has confidence so our message is this. Listen to Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, one of the most distinguished and trusted voices in the world. He's assured us the vaccines are safe and Jun went through a rigorous scientific review. I know they're safe. Vice President [Kamala] Harris and I know they're safe.

Biden to say small gatherings possible by July 4

In his address to the nation, President Joe Biden will announce new steps to speed up vaccinations while directing states to make all adults eligible for a COVID-19 shot no later than May 1.

If everyone does his or her part, Biden is expected to say, it’s likely that Americans will be able to gather in small groups to celebrate the Fourth of July, according to a senior administration official.

More:Biden

to direct states to make all adults eligible for COVID vaccine by May 1, official says

The new initiatives Biden will announce include:

· Expanding the pool of those qualified to administer vaccines to include dentists, paramedics, veterinarians, physician assistants, medical students and others. A new website will make it easier for those qualified to volunteer.

· Creating by May 1 a federally supported website and a call center to help people make vaccinations appointments.

· Providing technical support to state-run websites for vaccinations.

· Deploying an additional more than 4,000 active duty troops to help run vaccination sites, bringing the total to more than 6,000.

· Increasing the number of community health centers and pharmacies where vaccines are available.

· Directing pharmacies to expand mobile operations to reach hard hit communities.

· More than doubling the number of federally run, mass vaccination centers.

· Helping schools implement regular COVID testing.

· Expanding the ability to test for COVID-19 variants.

— Maureen Groppe

Biden: Listen to Fauci

President Joe Biden urged Americans to listen to Dr. Anthony Fauci on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.

"My message to you is this: Listen to Dr. Fauci,” Biden said, adding that he’s one of the “most distinguished and trusted voices in the world.”

“He’s assured us that vaccines are safe,” the president said. “I know they’re safe.

— Rebecca Morin

"That's why we got the vaccine publicly in front of cameras for the world to see so you could see us do it. The first lady and second gentleman also got vaccinated. Talk to your family, friends, neighbors, the people you know best who have gotten the vaccine. We need everyone to get vaccinated. We need everyone to keep washing their hands, stay socially distanced and keep wearing the mask as recommended by the CDC. Even if we devote every resource we have beating this virus and getting back to normal depends on national unity. And national unity it isn't just how politicians vote in Washington. What the loudest voices say on cable or online. Unity is what we do together as fellow Americans. Because if we don't stay vigilant and the conditions change and we may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track, please, we don't want to do that again. We've made so much progress.

Just as we were emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules.

This doesn’t sound very American to me. Joe Biden should leave the Fourth of July alone, or at least leave it to presidents who know how to use it to motivate people during a crisis properly:

"This is not the time to let up. Just as we were emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules. I'll close with this, we've lost so much over the last year. We've lost family and friends. We've lost businesses and dreams we spent years building. We've lost time, time with each other. And our children have lost so much time with their friends, time with their schools.

Biden: 'Stick with the rules'

President Joe Biden urged Americans to “stick with the rules” so the recovery doesn’t stall.

“We’ve made so much progress,” he said. “This is not the time to let up.”

Biden didn’t mention them, but several GOP governors have been lifting mask mandates against the advice of national health officials.

Biden said the nation has to stay vigilant. Conditions can change, which could require reinstating restrictions, he said.

— Maureen Groppe

"No graduation ceremonies this spring, no graduations from college or high school, moving up ceremonies. You know, and there's something else we lost. We lost faith in whether our government and our democracy can deliver on really hard things for the American people. But as I stand here tonight, we're proving once again something I've said time and time again, probably tired of hearing me say it.

'America is coming back,' Biden says

President Joe Biden mentioned one of the seldom talked-about casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic: the loss of faith in government.

“We lost faith in whether our government and our democracy can deliver on really hard things for the American people,” he said.

But, he said, the nation’s response to the deadly disease is proving something he has stressed over and over again to foreign and U.S. leaders.

“It's never, ever a good bet to bet against the American people,” he said. “America is coming back.”

— Michael Collins

"I say it to foreign leaders and domestic alike. It's never, ever a good bet to bet against the American people. America is coming back. The development, manufacturing, and distribution of vaccines in record time is a true miracle of science. It's one of the most extraordinary achievements any country has ever accomplished. And we all just saw the Perseverance Rover land on Mars. Stunning images of our dreams that are now reality.

"Another example of the extraordinary American ingenuity, commitment, and belief in science and one another. And today, I signed into law the American Rescue Plan, an historic piece of legislation that delivers immediate relief to millions of people. It includes $1,400 in direct rescue checks, payments. That means a typical family of four earning about $110,000 will get checks for $5,600 deposited if they have direct deposit or in a check, a treasury check.

"It extends unemployment benefits. It helps small businesses. It lowers health care premiums for many. It provides food and nutrition and will cut child poverty in half according to the experts. It creates millions of jobs. In the coming weeks and months I'll be traveling along with the first lady, the vice president, the second gentleman and members of my cabinet to speak directly to you to tell you the truth about how the American rescue plan meets the moment, and if it fails, I will acknowledge that it failed but it will not. After long, dark years, one whole year there is light and hope of better days ahead if we all do our part. This country will be vaccinated soon. Our economy will be on the mend, our kids will be back in school.

Child poverty

Biden said the new law "will cut child poverty in this country in half, according to the experts."

Facts First: Biden was correct about the experts' predictions, at least with regard to child poverty in 2021. Scholars at the Urban Institute think tank and Columbia University's Center on Poverty and Social Policy separately estimated Thursday that certain key elements of the American Rescue Plan Act would reduce child poverty by more than half in 2021. It's worth noting that the long-term impact of the law on child poverty is unclear, since the key anti-poverty provisions are currently scheduled to exist only for this year.

Other scholars told CNN in January that the Columbia scholars' preliminary estimates on the impact of the law on poverty, which were similar to the final estimates they released on Thursday, made sense. Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, said in January: "The Biden plan has several provisions that would substantially increase the incomes of low-income households. You would expect this to have a significant impact on child poverty rates, and the estimates produced in this report are very reasonable."

You can click here for a look at some of the most notable anti-poverty provisions of the new law, including a major temporary expansion of the child tax credit.

"This country can do anything, hard things, big things, important things. Over a year ago no one could have imagined what we were about to go through. But now we're coming through it. And it's a shared experience that binds us together as a nation. We are bound together by the loss and the pain of the days that have gone by. We're also bound together by the hope and the possibilities of the days in front of us. My fervent prayer for our country after all we've been through will come together as one people, one nation, one America. I believe we can and we will. We're seizing this moment and history, I believe, will record, we faced and overcame one of the toughest and darkest periods in this nation's history. The darkest we've ever known. I promise you we'll come out stronger with a renewed faith in ourselves, a renewed commitment to one another to our communities and country.

"This is the United States of America and there's nothing, I believe this from the bottom of my heart, nothing we can't do when we do it together.

"God bless you all and please, god, give solace to all those people who lost someone. And may god protect our troops. Thank you for taking the time and listening. I look forward to seeing you."

Of course there were other boosters and bombers.

Some waxed psychological. A New York Times briefing warned: “Overoptimism isn’t the only type of error in public health. Pessimism can also do damage. And at our current stage in the pandemic — as the United States finishes its first year of life dominated by Covid-19 — pessimism has become as much of a problem as optimism.”

Columnist Ezra Klein suggested that some politicians, especially in liberal parts of the country, are undermining their own pandemic response by being so negative: “They’re not giving people a way out of this they can hold on to.” And numerous talking heads and keypunching finger brought up the black lack of vaccinations attributable to the Tuskegee syphilis scandals two generations ago.

President Joe tried to balance realism and hope - first a somber recitation of Covid’s costs, including job loss, loneliness, canceled gatherings, missed time in school and, most of all, death, but when it came time for Biden to tell Americans what he wanted them to do — to wear masks, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated — he did not use darkness as motivation. He used July 4.

“If we do all this, if we do our part, if we do this together, by July the 4th, there’s a good chance you, your families and friends, will be able to get together in your backyard or in your neighborhood and have a cookout or a barbecue and celebrate Independence Day,” he said. “Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do.”

He spoke of “ rebuilding the backbone of this country,” to reporters who had gathered in the Oval Office on Thursday, “and giving people in this nation, working people, the middle-class folks, people who built the country, a fighting chance.” But first, the DJI replies, we need to GROW a backbone – or insert a plastic one.

Republicans, meanwhile, denounced the bill as “the most progressive domestic legislation in a generation,” calling it a spending spree that amounted to “a massive expansion of the entitlement system,” funds a longstanding “list of liberal priorities” and was muscled through on a party-line vote by Democrats unwilling to lower its price tag in drawn-out negotiations with Republicans. Democrats proudly and loudly exclaimed “Here! Here!” while the now-minority party, even the RINOS, shrugged off polls saying nearly half the G.O.P voters supported Stim 3... obviously still terrified of the Wrath of Trump (who, another Times reporter alleged declared that now there are five… 5, count ‘em) Trumpish tribes… See Attachment Three.)

And, because politics... like everything else... is a business, Deadline.com noted that the TV cable ratings winner for broadcasting the speech was Rupert Murdoch's Fox News. Some Republicans may be hostile, but they’re not indifferent.

MARCH 5^th to MARCH 11^th

Friday, March 5, 2021

Infected: 28,889,907

Dead: 522,761

Dow: 31,498.30

Gov. Abbott (R-Tx) joins the ranks of mask and social distancing denialists. Apes in the San Diego shove to the head of the vax line ahead of humans. Hospital death rates falling… 20% down to 6% over six months. Dutch test strange plague measuring tactic – infectees go into a sealed box and scream, allowing doctors to measure the plague droplets so released.

Pope Francis visits birthplace of Prophet Abraham and meets with Shiite cleric Ali Sistani. He tours ISIS-desecrated churches and commentators comment upon the fact that dead terrorist Al Baghdadi vowed ISIS would conquer Rome, but Rome has trampled over ISIS strongholds.

A Trump State Department aide arrested for Capitol rioting. Washington will be militarized until at least May. Banned Dr. Seuss books become Amazon best sellers – get ‘em while you can.

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Infected: 28,952,157

Dead: 524,319

More good news: new CV cases at 60K/day, lowest since October. Another daily record – 2.9M vaxxes on Friday. The Dalai Lama gets shot. TV Dr. Braunstein calls the difference between three vaxxes negligible; advises Don Jones to get what he can.

More bad: Maskless spring break party season starts. Florida beaches banning foreigners (from other states) under 21, fake ID business thrives.

Senate passes Stim 3 on straight party-line vote after balky Dems like Joe Manchin and Kristin Sinema eliminate minwage reform, cut stimcheck income cap from 80 to 70K and unemployment handouts from $400 to $300 wk.

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Infected: 28,987,905

Dead: 524,319

Stim 3 heads to House “reconciliation” after Senate passes it on strict party line vote. On the Sunday talkshows, Sen. Manchin says minwage was linked to inflation, thus should be $11/hr.

Mass vaxxing sites open as angry MAGgots burn masks in Idaho, unvaxxed teachers protest the re-opening of schools. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Oh) cheers improvements; says American medicine “is on the offensive” against the plague. But UK variant is now 20% of cases nationwide; 30% in spring break Florida. NBA all-star game held without fans, but more all-stars get it.

A fourth woman accuses Gov. Andrew “Kissy” Cuomo of offensive conduct as New York Democrats desert him for fomenting “distractions”.

Monday, March 8, 2021

Infected: 28,993,873

Dead: 525,033

Dow: 31,930.42

It’s International Women’s Day! Duchess (not Princess, see above) Meghan goes on Oprah saying royals were mean to her, but not the Queen, not a mean Queen. Nor ailing 99 year old Prince Philip. So… hint, hint… who worried about Andrew’s skin color? Who? There are peo[le surrounding the Queen, Oprah opines, who have “influence”. A commentator says being among the Royal Family is like exposure to kryptonite.

“The Crown” wins best picture at second-tier awards night. Gov. Cuomo waxes defiant as a fifth woman joins the pervert party, saying that the married Guv told her “he was lonely.”

Russians wage a war of vaccine disinfo… in order to promote their own Sputnik Five in the West.

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Infected: 29,043,986

Dead: 525,752

Dow: 31,832.74

600 page Stim Three sent to a partisan House for “reconciliation”. With 60% of over 65s vaxxed, CDC declares Third Wave is over. But U.K. variant is now dominant and Texas leads in eliminating restrictions, masks and opens up the bars while blacks call “The Eyes of Texas” a racist tribute to Robert E. Lee. California croods rip off Uber driver’s mask and cough on him. “I don’t see why people resist wearing masks,” says Bill Gates, “don’t we all wear pants?”

Midwest heat wave gives Minneapolis record 66° high as jury chosen for George Floyd strangulation case. Prosecutor demands killer cop Chauvin be burdened with more charges; calls rejection of black jurors racist.

QE2 calls accusations of racism “concerning”. Oprah backlash fascinates U.K. Prince Charles is chased from a vax photo op by hungry tabloids. Anti Meghan Piers Morgan walks off show, claiming suppression of his freedom of speech. International cancel culture takes down Pepe le Peu. (No correlation intended.)

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Infected: 29,206,737

Dead: 527K (m/l)

Dow: 32,354.50

Senate confirms appointees Garland (@) and Fudge (HUD). President Joe’s promise of 100 million doses in 100 days ahead of schedule but poor, rural and elderly still live in “vaccine deserts”. Unlike E-POTUS Donald, he declines to personally sign Stim Three checks but reaps abuse for repurposing Camp Trump “cages” for immigrant children. And his dog, Major, bites a Secret Service agent and is sent back to Delaware for punishment.

“Freedom is the hill I’m prepared to die on,” Piers Morgan proclaims as Tucker Carlson him, calling Meghan “manipulative” and Harry “weak and unhappy” but NBC’s Seth scolds Piers for supporting a “decayed monarchy,” while Steve Colbert (CBS) calls Trump an “irrelevant stranger”. Everybody ridicules President Joe’s dog. Gov. Cuomo deeper in the doghouse after Woman #6 accuses him of groping and even Mayor DiBlasio calls for his resignation. W.H.O. reports that one in three women have experienced domestic violence.

Russia and China reported colluding on a moon base (from which to aim deadly lasers at Chicago?).

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Infected: 29,236,778

Dead: 529,264

Dow: 32,485.59

President Joe to “celebrate” the one year anniversary of CV-19 being declared a pandemic by the W.H.O. (or was it yesterday, or tomorrow?) with an inspirational speech that is not the oft-delayed State of the Union. Dr. Fauci advocates measured response, not “turning the light switch off and on”, but Texas sues liberal Austin for supporting masks.

The plague means frustrated, bored Americans are buying more (Chinese) stuff (on credit), so cargo ships stuck in L.A. ports. TV doctors reminisce: Helen Chu recalls hoping it would not become like 1918, ex-Trump corona czar Brett Giroir calls his boss’ response “a sick care, not a health care system.”

After complaints, immigrant children being moved to a NASA base (thence, to the moon?) as Space X launches another rocket to seed more satellites among the Starnet network for speedier social trolling. 77 year old Pepe LePeu fired from Lebron James’ “Space Jam” sequel; Whoopi Goldberg scolds: “It’s not OK for him to be jumping on other (younger) skunks.” Also into the Cancelled dustbin go Speedy Gonzalez (anti-Mexican) and Lola Bunny (too… uh… provocative?).

Johnson & Johnson vaxxes are finally on the way, giving the index a 100 point boost (without which, we’d be in the red, again). There was a slight improvement in employment, but pretty much everything was down – so those who hope should hope for better things to come. Better weather, for example. A better means of vaccination scheduling.

Its only two weeks ‘til spring.

THE DON JONES INDEX

CHART of CATEGORIES w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000

(REFLECTING… approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013)

See a further explanation of categories here…

ECONOMIC INDICES (60%)

DON JONES’ PERSONAL ECONOMIC INDEX (45% of TOTAL INDEX POINTS)

CATEGORY

VALUE

BASE

RESULTS

SCORE

OUR SOURCE(S) and COMMENTS

INCOME

(24%)

6/27/13

LAST

CHANGE

NEXT

3/5/21

SOURCE

Wages (hourly, per capita)

1350 pts.

3/5/21

+0.04%

3/19/21

1,428.61

1,429.18

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages 25.19

Median Income (yearly)

600

3/5/21

+0.03%

3/19/21

668.13

668.32

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 35,375

Unempl. (BLS – in millions

600

12/1/20

+1.61%

3/19/21

323.48

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 6.2%

Official (DC – in millions)

300

3/5/21

+1.75%

3/19/21

382.91

389.59

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 9,969

Total. (DC – in millions)

300

3/5/21

+4.03%

3/19/21

313.56

326.18

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 17,737

Workforce Participation

Number (in millions)

Percentage (DC)

300

3/5/21

+0.011%

+0.004%

3/19/21

311.56

311.59

In 150,273 Out 100,758 Total: 251,031

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 59.86

WP Percentage (ycharts)*

150

12/1/20

-0.16%

3/19/21

151.74

http://ycharts.com/indicators/labor_force_participation_rate 61.40

OUTGO

(15%)

Total Inflation

1050

3/5/21

+0.4%

3/19/21

1,018.32

1,014.25

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.4

Food

300

3/5/21

+0.2%

3/19/21

283.84

283.27

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.2

Gasoline

300

3/5/21

+6.4%

3/19/21

317.33

297.02

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +6.4

Medical Costs

300

3/5/21

+0.5%

3/19/21

288.50

287.06

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.5

Shelter

300

3/5/21

+0.2%

3/19/21

294.91

294.32

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm +0.2

WEALTH

(6%)

Dow Jones Index

300

3/5/21

+5.55%

3/19/21

339.29

358.12

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/DJIA 32,640.11

Sales (homes)

Valuation (homes)

150

3/5/21

-1.04%

-1.90%

3/19/21

196.44

165.43

196.44

165.43

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics

Sales (M): 6.76 Valuations (K): 309.8

Debt (Personal)

300

3/5/21

+0.07%

3/19/21

274.64

274.45

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 64,105

AMERICAN ECONOMIC INDEX (15% of TOTAL INDEX POINTS)

NATIONAL

(10%)

Revenues (in trillions)

300

3/5/21

+0.06%

3/19/21

296.80

296.97

debtclock.org/ 3,471

Expenditures (in tr.)

300

3/5/21

-0.09%

3/19/21

222.18

221.98

debtclock.org/ 6,698

National Debt (tr.)

450

3/5/21

+0.10%

3/19/21

330.80

330.48

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 28,040

Aggregate Debt (tr.)

450

3/5/21

+0.07%

3/19/21

382.73

382.47

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 82,636

GLOBAL

(5%)

Foreign Debt (tr.)

300

3/5/21

+0.06%

3/19/21

291.15

290.97

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 7,118

Exports (in billions – bl.)

150

3/5/21

+1.00%

3/19/21

158.05

159.63

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html 191.9

Imports (bl.)

150

3/5/21

-1.38%

3/19/21

136.82

134.93

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html 260.2

Trade Deficit (bl.)

150

3/5/21

+2.35%

3/19/21

108.68

106.13

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html 68.2

SOCIAL INDICES (40%)

ACTS of MAN

(12%)

World Peace

450

3/5/21

+0.1%

3/19/21

399.08

399.48

Pope Francis visits Iraq, meets #1 Shia cleric, gets home safely. Switzerland approves mask ban. Plague variants spiking in Brazil, France and Italy. Chinese dictatorship cracks down on Hong Kong.

Terrorism

300

3/5/21

+0.4%

3/19/21

245.56

244.58

Terrorist bombing sprees migrate from Nigeria to Equatorial Guinea. Yemenese bomb Saudi ports causing rise in oil prices. Nationwide search launch to replace acting Capitol police chief who bungled the one-six (with a little help from King Trump).

Politics

450

3/5/21

+0.1%

3/19/21

434.26

434.69

Governor Abbott (R-Tx) joins the ranks of mask and social distancing denialists as ABC poll states 68% of Americans approve of President Joe’s plague policy. Senator Johnson (R-Wi) stalls relief for plague unemployed by forcing his peers to listen to a clerk read all 698 pages of the bill. It passes anyway on party line vote.

Economics

450

3/5/21

-0.1%

3/19/21

397.93

397.53

Texas freeze and Saudi terror drive gas prices up. WalMart pledges to carry more American-made sh*t. Crypto-collectibles and Top-Shot (hi-res NBA clips) are the new Game Stop… people buy that sh*t? Apparently: it’s a “counterintuitive way to think about possession,” say crypto-bugs. Sales also spiking for chairs made by ex-Brady Bunch child star, used on Oprah’s Meghan interview.

Crime

150

3/5/21

+0.2%

3/19/21

258.31

257.79

Street party at U. of Col. turns riotous – cops beaten, cars and buildings burned. No apparent motive. NY doctor charged with murder for prescribing overdose-level opioids. FBI intensifies search for D.C.’s dud bomber.

ACTS of GOD

(6%)

(with, in some cases, a little… or lots of… help from men, and a few women)

Environment/Weather

450

3/5/21

-0.1%

3/19/21

415.62

415.22

“Pineapple Express” brings flooding and landslides from Hawaii to California. Early spring warmth heads north for wintertime relief.

Natural/Unnatural Disaster

450

3/5/21

-0.3%

3/19/21

415.58

414.33

Failed 777 flight blamed on “fatigue fracture”. Bitter cold and floods in Kentucky create potholes and an ambulance falls into one. Tenth anniversary of Japanese quake that killed 18,000 and shut Fukushima nuclear plant.

LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX (15%)

Science, Tech, Education

600

3/5/21

-0.1%

3/19/21

651.55

650.90

Robocalls up 15% in Feb., scams up 26%. Most annoying – those auto warranty calls. Airlines ask Federal Government to issue standard vax passport because statewide rules are too chaotic. CDC calls for in-person school reopening.

Equality (econ./social)

600

3/5/21

-0.3%

3/19/21

568.78

567.07

Gov. Cuomo pilloried for asking for a kiss (and concealing nursing home deaths). Arkansas bans nearly all abortions – next stop, the courts. 253 bills introduced in 43 state legislatures to suppress voting by the wrong people.

Health

600

3/5/21

-0.1%

3/19/21

507.82

507.31

UN scolds rich members for wasting 17% of food supply. KIA recalls 379,000 cars that tend to catch on fire. Psychologists attribute fear of Zoon to Americans’ “primate response” to having to look at people.

Plague

+0.1%

- 102.21

- 102.11

CDC colluding with Dollar General in shooting Americans; says overweight and obese people are at risk for plague, but “allows” small home gatherings for the vaxxed, maybe even hugging your grandparents. How white of them! President Joe’s plague queen Walensky advises: “people are emerging from international places.”

Freedom and Justice

450

3/5/21

+0.2%

3/19/21

449.34

450.20

Trial of George Floyd killer postponed by plague and publicity; jury selection then resumes with sharp racial questions. Judge allows more charges to be brought. A newspaper reporter is acquitted of writing words about the incident that authorities do not like. Oath Keepers’ founder indicted for the one-six.

MISCELLANEOUS and TRANSIENT INDEX (7%)

Cultural incidents	3%	450	3/5/21	+0.1%	3/19/21	488.35	488.84	Team Lebron wins NBA all star game 170-150 as plague plucks the players. Ben Roethlisberger re-signs with Pittsburgh. Tom Brady card sold for 1.32M, more, even, than banned Seuss books! RIP anchor Roger Mudd, highwire matriarch Carla Wallenda.

Miscellaneous incidents	4%	450	3/5/21	+0.1%	3/19/21	472.11	472.58	Bezos rich ex-wife marries lucky Seattle schoolteacher. Jeffrey Epstein’s NYC townhouse sold for 51 million. 4.5 billion year old meteorite found in British driveway. Romanian bear chases skiers, just the way his brother did in January.


The Don Jones Index for the week of February 26th through March 4th, 2021 was UP 6.10 points. The Don Jones Index is sponsored by the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman and Independent Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian Doohan, Managing Editor. The CNC denies, emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well as any of its officers (including former Congressman Parnell, environmentalist/America-Firster Austin Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna Finch) and references to Parnell’s works, “Entropy and Renaissance” and “The Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best, mere pawns in the web-serial “Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective legal action against parties promulgating this and/or other such slanders. Comments, complaints, donations (especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com

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See further indicators at Economist – https://www.economist.com/economic-and inancialndicators/2019/02/02/economic-data-commodities-and-markets

ATTACHMENT ONE – from the New York Times (from the Rose Garden, the afternoon before his televised address) and Rev Transcripts

· March 11, 2021

WASHINGTON — Seeking to comfort Americans bound together by a year of suffering but also by “hope and the possibilities,” President Biden made a case to the nation Thursday night that it could soon put the worst of the pandemic behind it and promised that all adults would be eligible for the vaccine by May 1.

During a 24-minute speech from the East Room, Mr. Biden laced his somber script with references to Hemingway and personal ruminations on loss as he reflected on a “collective suffering, a collective sacrifice, a year filled with the loss of life, and the loss of living, for all of us.”

Speaking on the anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring a pandemic and the moment at which the virus began tightening its grip, the president offered a turning point of sorts after one of the darkest years in recent history, one that would lead to more than half a million deaths in the country, the loss of millions of jobs and disruptions to nearly every aspect of society and politics.

With the stimulus bill about to give the economy a kick, the pace of vaccinations increasing and death rates down, Mr. Biden said Americans were on track to return to a semblance of normal life by July 4 as long as they took the chance to get vaccinated and did not prematurely abandon mask wearing, social distancing and other measures to contain the virus.

In putting a date, however cautiously, on the calendar, Mr. Biden also offered something intangible: hope for a summer with barbecues, family gatherings and hugs for grandparents.

“July 4th with your loved ones is the goal,” he said.

Mr. Biden did not mention his predecessor, Donald J. Trump, but his address drew sharp contrasts to him, repeatedly citing the need to tell the American people the truth, appealing for unity, celebrating the accomplishments of science and calling for continued vigilance against a virus that he said could still come roaring back.

“Just as we were emerging from a dark winter into a hopeful spring and summer is not the time to not stick with the rules,” Mr. Biden said. “This is not the time to let up.”

Mr. Biden set out concrete steps to build on the progress so far, starting with a requirement that states act by May 1 to make all adults eligible to be vaccinated. The administration had already announced last week that it would have enough doses to begin inoculating every adult by the end of May. Mr. Biden said that Americans should expect to get in line for a vaccine by May 1, but not to expect to have been vaccinated.

He said the federal government would also create a website that would allow Americans to search for available vaccines, make the vaccine available at more pharmacies, double the number of mass vaccination sites and certify more people — including dentists, paramedics, veterinarians and physician assistants — to deliver shots into arms.

“I’m using every power I have as president of the United States to put us on a war footing to get the job done,” Mr. Biden said. And after reminding Americans that the initial spread of the virus last year was met with “silence” and “denials,” the president stressed that a government stepping in to help its hardest-hit citizens was a powerful positive force.

“We need to remember the government isn’t some foreign force in a distant capital,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s us, all of us.”

The speech, which advisers said the president had line-edited for the better part of a week, followed Mr. Biden’s signing of the stimulus package, the American Rescue Plan, into law, setting off a huge disbursement of federal funds to individuals, states and struggling businesses through legislation that also amounted to a down payment on an expansive Democratic agenda.

Among its many other provisions, the plan provides some $130 billion to assist in reopening schools.

“This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country,” Mr. Biden said to reporters who had gathered in the Oval Office, “and giving people in this nation, working people, the middle-class folks, people who built the country, a fighting chance.”

Mr. Biden signed the landmark legislation and scheduled his speech a year to the day after Mr. Trump declared from the Oval Office, in an early indication of what became a catastrophically misguided pattern of denying the reality of what faced the United States and the world, that a “low risk” coronavirus pandemic would amount to nothing more than “a temporary moment in time.”

Hoping to build political support for the rest of his agenda, including a large infrastructure program and an expansion of health care, Mr. Biden now intends to begin a campaign to sell the benefits of the stimulus legislation to voters.

One of the most easily digestible parts of the plan will take effect in days. Direct payments of up to $1,400 per individual are scheduled to hit the bank accounts of Americans as early as this weekend, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said. Expanded federal unemployment benefits will be extended.

The legislation provides the largest federal infusion of aid to the poor in generations, substantially expands the child tax credit and increases subsidies for health insurance. Restaurants will get financial help and state governments will get an infusion of aid.

This week, about halfway through Mr. Biden’s first 100 days, the new administration has celebrated not just the passage of the stimulus plan but also progress in filling out the president’s cabinet. On Wednesday alone, the Senate confirmed three of his picks: Merrick B. Garland as attorney general, Marcia L. Fudge as secretary of housing and urban development and Michael Regan as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

But, just as the vote had been, the reaction to the relief bill in Washington was split along party lines, even though it is widely popular in national polling. Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, hailed the package as “the most consequential legislation many of us will ever vote for,” and chastised Republicans who, she said, “vote no and take the dough.”

Frequently Asked Questions About the New Stimulus Package

How big are the stimulus payments in the bill, and who is eligible?

The stimulus payments would be $1,400 for most recipients. Those who are eligible would also receive an identical payment for each of their children. To qualify for the full $1,400, a single person would need an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or below. For heads of household, adjusted gross income would need to be $112,500 or below, and for married couples filing jointly that number would need to be $150,000 or below. To be eligible for a payment, a person must have a Social Security number. Read more.

What would the relief bill do about health insurance?

What would the bill change about the child and dependent care tax credit?

What student loan changes are included in the bill?

What would the bill do to help people with housing?

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, dismissed the relief package as “far-left legislation that was passed after the tide had already turned.”

The president and his advisers said that the urgency of getting direct payments into the hands of low- and middle-income Americans, reopening schools and lifting children out of poverty was worth the cost, financially and also politically. Mr. Biden, whose early message of political unity was quickly overtaken by a need to “go big” on the stimulus plan with only Democratic votes, has been determined to lay out a more hopeful vision, and reframe the virus as an opportunity to come back stronger.

There are significant challenges. The country remains deeply divided, politically and culturally. In his speech Mr. Biden condemned a spate of anti-Asian American violence as “un-American” scapegoating over the cause of the virus.

A substantial number of people remain hesitant about getting vaccinated even as supplies grow, and the administration is directing federal funds to campaigns to convince skeptical Americans that the shots are safe.

“I know they’re safe,” Mr. Biden said in his address. “We need everyone to get vaccinated.”

Mr. Biden and his advisers say they know it is not enough to help the nation emerge from the pandemic and are planning to use the stimulus legislation and the positive trends in containing the virus to build support for further initiatives.

On Thursday, the White House underscored the importance of the plan by delivering the bill to Mr. Biden’s desk ahead of schedule and summoning journalists to the Oval Office at the last minute to witness the signing. A celebration of the bill with congressional leaders was still scheduled for Friday. Ms. Psaki told reporters that the celebration would be “bicameral” but not “bipartisan.”

The White House’s decision to go out and sell the stimulus package after its passage reflects a lesson from the early months of the Obama administration. In 2009, fighting to help the economy recover from a crippling financial crisis, President Barack Obama never succeeded in building durable popular support for a similar stimulus bill and allowed Republicans to define it on their terms, fueling a partisan backlash and the rise of the Tea Party movement.

This time, Mr. Biden and some of his most high-profile administration members, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Jill Biden, the first lady, will crisscross the country to sell the plan to bipartisan audiences, betting that Republican support for pandemic aid exists in individual districts, even if politicians in Washington have refused to cooperate. Mr. Biden will visit Pennsylvania and Georgia next week.

Biden, Harris, Schumer, Pelosi Rose Garden Speech on American Rescue Plan

Transcript March 12 (from Rev Transcripts)

President Joe Biden, VP Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a Rose Garden event on March 12, 2021 to discuss the American Rescue Plan. Read the transcript of the speech remarks here.

Chuck Schumer: (09:58)
Thank you. Well thank you. Thank you to our great President, Joe Biden. Our great-

Chuck Schumer: (10:03)
Great President, Joe Biden. Our great speaker, Nancy Pelosi. And a special round of applause to all the Senate and House members who are here, and those who are not. It couldn’t have happened without all of you working as a team. So thank you very much. Now, it’s been a long and difficult year in America. We’ve lost so many in so short of time. But finally, hope is on the horizon and help is on the way. What do we say to America? We say to America, “Help is on the way.” Help is on the way. You will receive your $1,400 checks in a few weeks. Help is on the way. People are being vaccinated more quickly and more effectively than we ever imagined. Help is on the way. Half the children in America will no longer be in poverty. And help is on the way. Our schools will open more quickly and more safely than anyone has ever thought.

Chuck Schumer: (11:11)
We, Democrats, made promises. We made promises in Georgia. We made promises in the country. We said, if we gained the Senate, kept the House, and elected the President, we would finally get things done and get us out of this COVID crisis. And we are on the road to success. Help is on the way. This is a wonderful day for America. This is the most significant piece of legislation, in so many ways, in decades. And we are just getting started. Help is on the way. Thank you everybody.

Nancy Pelosi: (12:05)
Thank you so much. Good afternoon. Good afternoon in the Rose Garden. Thank you Mr. President, Madam Vice President, an the honor to be with you want to be with the Majority Leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer. I join him in acknowledging our members who are here, many chairs of committees, members of our leadership. Because without all of you, this would not have happened. And it certainly would not have happened without Joe Biden as President of the United States. Mr. President, everybody is complimenting us. And every time we get a compliment, I say, “I accept on behalf of the House Democrats, and of the staff of the House Democrats.” And I know of the Senate staff as well. They worked so very, very hard.

Nancy Pelosi: (12:59)
But let me say this about my members. Our chairs were dazzling, in their own work, intellect, integrity, imagination for the American people, working with their Senate colleagues. I say their beautiful diversity of our members. And I say to them, “Our diversity is our strength. Our unity is our power.” And in this bill, our diversity to protect everyone in our country, to end the disparity and access to everything that the bill presents, our diversity was reflected in the House, in the Senate, in that policy.

Nancy Pelosi: (13:39)
But our unity on behalf of all of the American people is what made this such a triumph, whatever differences there may have been, shall we say, as I said to the chairman, exuberance, the leader, certain exuberances here and there, we all knew our purpose. We were unified on behalf of the American people, for the children, for their health, for their education, for the economic security of their families. Yes, this is a great day to be in the Rose Garden and all to have us be able to fulfill the promise that President Biden has made all along, that help is on the way. Promise made, promise fulfilled. Thank you, Mr. President.

Kamala Harris: (14:27)
Thank you, Madam Speaker and Mr. Majority Leader, and America. The President promised help is on the way. And today, help has arrived. Help has arrived for the workers who lost their jobs. Help has arrived for the students who have been stuck at home. Help has arrived for the families that have struggled to put food on their table, and for the small businesses that have struggled to keep their doors open. Help has arrived, America. This landmark legislation will get relief to families, get support to communities, and make sure more shots get in arms. And I want to thank the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, and all of the members of Congress who voted for this legislation and help lead to its success. And of course, we would not be here today were it not for the leadership of our President, Joe Biden.

Kamala Harris: (15:51)
And I just want to say something about the President. From the beginning of this, Joe said, “We’ve got to tell the stories. We got to tell the stories. We got to show that we understand what the people are experiencing and what they need.” And I’ve been in rooms with Joe when it’s just he and I. I’ve been in rooms with Joe when it’s just a small group of our team or when the cameras are there, and he’s the same person every time. And he’s always talking about, “What do the people need?” And when the President and I were preparing to take office, we knew what we were up against. So we started working on a plan, this plan, the American Rescue Plan.

Kamala Harris: (16:37)
And Mr. President, from the very start, you sought the people out, you asked them, as only Joe can do, “How are you doing?” You listened to what they said, and you remembered what they said. And every day, in every meeting, you reminded us who we were doing this for, the American people. And in particular, the American people who were hurting the most. The workers who have been out of a job for six months to a year, the families that lost a loved one, the communities that have been torn apart by this deadly virus. You, Mr. President, have carried a card in your breast pocket with the number of those Americans who have died from COVID-19. Every day, he carries that card, literally keeping their memory close to your heart. You have grieved, Mr. President, out loud with our nation, mourning the loss of so many extraordinary Americans. Your empathy has become a trademark of your presidency and can be found on each and every page of the American Rescue Plan.

Kamala Harris: (17:58)
Joe Biden, Mr. President, you had a vision, you had a purpose and you had faith that the American people, regardless of who they voted for, would support this plan, simply because it will help. You had faith that Congress would pass this plan, simply because it is the best thing for the American people. And you put in the work to make it happen, to get relief directly to the American people. And we’ve both served in the Senate, so we know there’s rarely been a bill that’s so concrete and tangible. Mr. President, people will feel and they will see what we all did here. They will see the checks in their bank accounts. They will see the child tax credits when they file their taxes, when they return to work, when they return to school, when they reopen their businesses, when they hug their grandchildren for the first time in a year. Americans will see what we did here, what you did, Mr. President, and they will feel the impact of this bill for generations to come.

Kamala Harris: (19:16)
And that’s what happens when you make historic investments in communities of color and tribal communities and rural communities. That’s what happens when you lift half of those children living in poverty out of poverty. Because of you, Mr. President, help has arrived. And on behalf of our nation, thank you. And it is now my great, great honor to introduce the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden.

President Joe Biden: (20:13)
Good afternoon. Thank you, Kamala.

President Joe Biden: (20:21)
When I look out over what happened the last 50 days, when Jill and I first got a chance to move into this magnificent building behind you, I promised the American people, and I guess it’s becoming an overused phrase, that help was on the way. But today with the American Rescue Plan now signed into law, we’ve delivered on that promise. I don’t mean I’ve delivered. We’ve delivered.

President Joe Biden: (20:54)
Look out there on all of you. Patty, there’d still be people, kids in poverty, were it not for all the work you did all those years. I want to say to Bernie, Bernie stepping up and making the case why this was so transformational made a big difference in how a lot of people voted. I look out at all of you, the House members as well, who have made the case to the American people. Why this is so important. I watched my buddy Jim down in South Carolina stand up and talk about how it’s going to affect individual people. My inclination is to mention every single one of you, because I think I’ve called most of you and thanked you already for what you did. I even called Pallone. He wasn’t there though. He was on the other side of the river. We joke all the time. He’s in New Jersey. I’m in Delaware. I keep reminding him, Delaware owns the Delaware River up to the high watermark in New Jersey. But all kidding aside, I want to thank you all.

President Joe Biden: (21:54)
I want to thank particularly the Speaker who from day one, from the very first day I got the nomination, was supportive in ways that are hard for me to describe. I served a long time in the United States Senate, longer than anybody if I was still there at the time other than Pat. If I were still in the Senate, I’d be Senate Pro Temp because I was two years ahead of Pat. But all kidding aside, we’ve still had a lot of great Majority Leaders, but I never saw anybody handle such a controversial, consequential piece of legislation that was right on the edge than Chuck Schumer. I owe you, Chuck. You did an incredible job.

President Joe Biden: (22:40)
Look, to the members of the House and the Senate, thanks for making this happen. You made it happen. As I said, I served 36 years in the Senate, I know how hard it is to pass major, consequential legislation, particularly when we only have such minor, small majorities in both houses. Steny, you’ve done an incredible job.

President Joe Biden: (23:03)
Nancy and Chuck, I have to say that I agree with many of the columnists that have commented on this legislation. What you shepherded through the Congress, not only meets the moment, it does even more. It’s historical and they call it transformational. It really is.

President Joe Biden: (23:23)
The bill was overwhelmingly by the American people. Democrats, independents, and Republicans. It had a strong support of governors and mayors across the country, in both parties, red states and blues. Over 430 mayors contacted me, many of them Republicans supporting the bill. Here’s why, because what you all did with it and the refinements you made, it directly addressed the emergency in this country because it focuses on what people need most.

President Joe Biden: (23:54)
Debbie and I often talked about, you got to tell people in plain simple, straightforward language, what it is you’re doing to help. You’ve got to be able to tell a story, tell the story of what you’re about to do and why it matters because it’s going to make a difference in the lives of millions of people and in very concrete, specific ways.

President Joe Biden: (24:15)
This legislation, everybody’s already mentioned, will provide $1,400 in direct payments, which we all promised. Well, that means for a typical family of four, a middle-class family, husband and wife working, making $110,000 a year, that means $ 5,600 check they’re going to get. 85% of the households in America will be getting this money. A lot of you know, because of the way you came up like I did and others, what that can mean.

President Joe Biden: (24:47)
Think of the millions of people going to sleep at night, staring at the ceiling thinking, “My God, what am I going to do tomorrow? I’ve lost my healthcare. Don’t have a job. Unemployment runs out. I’m behind in my mortgage. What am I going to do?” Well, guess what? They’re going to be getting that check soon, either by direct deposit or a check from the treasury. Some are going to get it as early as this weekend.

President Joe Biden: (25:14)
This legislation provides resources needed to open our schools. How many of you have dealt, not only in your own home or with your children and grandchildren, if you have them, with how difficult it is? The mental pressure and stress that are on so many families. So many people needing help if they had access to counseling because it’s caused an enormous, enormous stress.

President Joe Biden: (25:43)
This legislation extends unemployment insurance by $300 a week until September. It’s going to help 11 million Americans who were days from losing that benefit.

President Joe Biden: (25:58)
This legislation includes the biggest investment in childcare since World War II, that’s not hyperbole. That’s just the fact. It’s a fact.

President Joe Biden: (26:07)
It provides help for small businesses to stay open. So many have had to close because the first time around you all worked and did a great piece of work in the House, passing significant legislation. What’s the first thing the last president did? He fired the folks who were supposed to watch and make sure it got in fact distributed the way it was supposed to be. We find out so much of it went to people who didn’t need it. You all took care of that.

President Joe Biden: (26:39)
It extends coverage and lowers healthcare costs for so many Americans. So many Americans. And it’s a big number for people.

President Joe Biden: (26:49)
It provides for food and nutrition because people knew and you all were out there handing out food like many of us were, but you saw people who were in car lines that were literally miles long. You’d see four lanes of cars that went back for a half a mile each, just to get a box of food. Again, through no fault of their own.

President Joe Biden: (27:12)
It’s going to help people keep a roof over their heads. Half a million haven’t been able to make their mortgage payments, about to be thrown out of their apartments. They have to make up all that they owe. And those mom and pop realtors are in real trouble. It’s going to cut child poverty in half with, and I’ve talked to so many of you. Rosa, you and I have spent so much time on this. But you guys, you, Patty and others are the ones who have been leading this for so long. It’s finally coming to fruition and the American people understand it.

President Joe Biden: (27:49)
It pays for many of the steps we’ve taken to vaccinate Americans. We’re going to be in a position where, because of what you all did and passed, we had the money to go out and literally purchased hundreds of millions of vaccines and then go out and make sure we had enough vaccinators. Vaccines one thing, to get the vaccine in a vial out of that vial and into a needle and a needle into someone’s arm took tens of thousands of people. And because of you, we were able to mobilize the military. We were able to mobilize FEMA. I was able by executive order to allow former docs and nurses to come back and be able to engage in this activity.

President Joe Biden: (28:35)
One of the things that we said at the beginning, no one thought that I was being straight about was I said, we have to spend this money to make sure we have economic growth, unrelated to how much it’s going to help people. Well, guess what? Every single major economist out there, left, right and center, supported this plan. Even Wall Street agreed. According to Moody’s, for example, by the end of this year, this law alone will create seven million new jobs. Seven million.

President Joe Biden: (29:14)
The bill does one more thing which I think is really important, it changes the paradigm. For the first time in a long time, this bill puts working people in this nation first. It’s not hyperbole. It’s a fact. For too long it’s been the folks at the top. They’re not bad folks. A significant number of them know they shouldn’t be getting the tax breaks they had. But it put the richest Americans first, who benefited the most. The theory was, we’ve all heard it, especially the last 15 years, the theory was cut taxes on those at the top and the benefits they get will trickle down to everyone. Well, you saw what trickled down does. We’ve known it for a long time, but this is the first time we’ve been able to, since the Johnson administra-

President Joe Biden: (30:03)
… for a long time, but this is the first time we’ve been able to since the Johnson administration, and maybe even before that, to begin to change the paradigm. We’ve seen time and time again that that trickled down does not work. And by the way, we don’t have anything against wealthy people. You got a great idea, you’re going to go out and make millions of dollars, that’s fine. I have no problem with that. But guess what? You got to pay your fair share. You got to pay something because guess what folks who are living on the edge they’re paying. And so again, all it’s done is make those at the top richer in the past and everyone else fallen behind. This time, it’s time that we build an economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out, the middle out.

President Joe Biden: (30:52)
And this bill shows that when you do that, everybody does better, the wealthy do better, everybody does better across the board. If that’s our foundation, then everything we build upon will be strong, a strong foundation. Our competitiveness around the world, the jobs here at home, the health and quality our lives. That’s what the American Rescue Plan represents. It’s all about rebuilding. What I’ve been saying, and Bernie, and a lot of others are saying, the backbone of this country, the backbone of this country are hard working folks, hard working folks, middle-class folks, people who built the country. And I might add, I think unions built the middle class. It’s about creating opportunity and giving people a fair shot. That’s really all and everything it’s about. In the coming weeks, Jill and I, and Kamal and Doug, and our cabinet, with all of you, members of Congress, we’re going to be traveling the country to speak directly to the American people about how this law is going to make a real difference in their lives, and how help is here for them.

Biden goes on 'Help is Here' tour

In the days and weeks after Biden's speech, he and other members of his administration will be fanning out across the country in what the White House is calling a "Help is Here" tour to explain the aid package.

Biden himself will go first to Pennsylvania, his home state as well as one that was critical to his 2020 victory.

After that Tuesday trip, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will go to Georgia on Friday.

Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rapheal Warnock won Georgia's two runoff Senate races in January, giving Democrats control of the Senate. That allowed them to pass the COVID relief bill without any support from Republicans.

“We keep bowing to Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock," Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told reporters after the Senate approved the bill Saturday.

During those Senate races, Biden – the first Democrat presidential candidate to carry Georgia since 1992 – told voters that they wouldn't get additional stimulus checks unless they elected the Democrats.

"That's a place where that message really resonated," Psaki said. "It's a place also close to his heart."

Also traveling is first lady Jill Biden, who heads to New Jersey on Monday.

Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will go to Nevada on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday. Emhoff will visit New Mexico on Wednesday.

Psaki said Biden will be visiting states dominated by Democrats and by Republicans, as well swing states, in the "blitz around the country" that will also include members of the Cabinet.

President Joe Biden: (32:03)
Almost every single aspect would be significant. If you took this bill and broke it into all the pieces, every one of those pieces standing alone would be viewed as a significant accomplishment, but it’s all the work you’ve done for years to try to get us there. This law is not the end of our efforts though. I view it as only a beginning. Look, one of the things that I’ve been most worried about, and I think you all have to, especially those of us who’ve been around for a hundred years like me, is you’ve watched people lose confidence in government, just lose confidence in that we tell the truth. That’s why when I announced I quoted a Franklin Roosevelt, he said, “I’ll give it to you straight from the shoulder. The American people can handle anything if you tell them the truth.” And they really can, just give it straight from the shoulder. And when we do something right, we’re going to make a case for it. And when I make a mistake, I’m going to own up to it and say, “It was me. I made a mistake.” And I said last night, “This is not over.” Conditions can change. We’re not finished yet. Conditions can change. The scientists have warned us about new variants of this virus, and the devil is in the details of implementing this legislation. I know from experience and the president turned to me like I haven’t done to the vice-president yet and said, “Take care of it. You take care of implementing the plan.” I mean she could do it, but I remember being given the dubious distinction of having to implement the recovery act back when we came into office, Barack and I.

President Joe Biden: (33:54)
I spent literally four or five hours a day for six months. I talked to over 160 mayors, probably more than two or three times, every governor save one who was looking at it from Alaska to Russia, and making sure that we’re in a situation where we talked to everybody. But the devil’s in the details. It’s one thing to pass the American Rescue Plan, it’s going to be another thing to implement it. It’s going to require fastidious oversight to make sure there’s no waste or fraud, and the law does what it’s designed to do. And I mean it, we have to get this right. Details matter because we have to continue to build confidence in the American people that their government can function for them and deliver.

President Joe Biden: (34:45)
So it was a lot of work for all of us left to do, but I know we’ll do it. To every American watching, help is here and we will not stop working for you. Together with you we are showing it’s possible to get big, important things done. That’s what America does, it tackles hard problems and how we do… Look, it’s how we do have it within ourselves to come out of this moment, which a lot of us have been saying for a long time, more prosperous, more united, and stronger than we went in. That’s where we have a chance to be. That’s what we’re going to be able to do.

President Joe Biden: (35:28)
And it’s really critical, it’s really critical to demonstrate, not Democrat, Republican. It’s critical to demonstrate that government can function; can function and deliver prosperity, security, and opportunity for the people in this country. And as my grandfather used to kiddingly say with the grace of God, the goodwill neighbors and the creek not rising, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

President Joe Biden: (35:57)
God bless you all. Thanks for all you did and may God protect our troops. Thank you. I wish I could come out and shake hands with every one of you but next time, it won’t be so far apart. Thank you. Appreciate it.

ATTACHMENT TWO – from UK Express

PIERS MORGAN BREAKS SILENCE ON PETITIONS DEMANDING HIS GMB RETURN: ‘I WON’T BE GOING BACK'

PIERS MORGAN has taken to Twitter to thank his fans for creating petitions demanding that ITV reinstate him in his hosting role on Good Morning Britain.

By KATHRYN INGATE

PUBLISHED: 21:35, Thu, Mar 11, 2021 | UPDATED: 22:22, Thu, Mar 11, 2021

Piers Morgan, 55, has broken his silence on petitions objecting to his exit from Good Morning Britain amassing nearly 200,000 signatures. It comes after the broadcaster decided to quit the ITV show after his comments about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sparked outrage from viewers.

Piers shared a disappointing message with those who had supported him by signing various petitions on Twitter.

He wrote in view of his 7.8million followers this evening: “I won’t be going back, but thanks to everyone who has signed these petitions.

“Normally, people start petitions to have me fired or deported, so this is a pleasant surprise.”

Alongside his adamant statement about staying away from GMB, he shared a link to an article reporting on some of his fans’ pleas for him to be reinstated as host.

AND from cnn

SHARON OSBOURNE DEFENDS SUPPORTING PIERS MORGAN

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Updated 3:35 PM ET, Thu March 11, 2021

(CNN)Things got a bit intense Wednesday on "The Talk" when the discussion turned to Piers Morgan and his comments about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Co-host Sharon Osbourne is a longtime friend of Morgan, who stormed off the set and left his job on ITV's "Good Morning Britain" in the wake of allegations that comments he made following Prince Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey were rooted in racism.

Earlier Osbourne had tweeted her support of Morgan.

. @piersmorgan I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you're paid for your opinion and that you're just speaking your truth.

— Sharon Osbourne (@MrsSOsbourne) March 9, 2021

". @piersmorgan I am with you. I stand by you," she wrote. "People forget that you're paid for your opinion and that you're just speaking your truth."

On her CBS show Wednesday she sought to clarify her stance, saying she neither liked nor agreed with everything Morgan said. "It's not my opinion," she said. "Support him for his freedom of speech, and he's my friend."

Her co-host Sheryl Underwood, who is Black, pushed back.

"What would you say to people who may feel that while you're standing by your friend, it appears that you give validation or safe haven to something that he has uttered that is racist, even if you don't agree?" Underwood asked Osbourne.

That caused Osbourne to get tearful, saying she felt like she was "about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend," and ask that Underwood tell her what Morgan said that was racist.

"Educate me, tell me," Osbourne said.

"It is not the exact words of racism, it's the implication and the reaction to it," Underwood said. "To not want to address that because she is a Black woman, and to try to dismiss it or to make it seem less than what it is, that's what makes it racist."

Underwood added that Osbourne is her friend and she didn't want the audience to think they were attacking her as a racist.

Morgan tweeted his appreciation of Osbourne with whom he appeared as a judge on "America's Got Talent."

When stuff like this happens, true friends run towards you, fake friends run away. I love Sharon Osbourne because she always stays true to herself.
She knew she would get abused by the woke brigade for tweeting this - but did it anyway because it what she believes.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 10, 2021

"When stuff like this happens, true friends run towards you, fake friends run away. I love Sharon Osbourne because she always stays true to herself," he tweeted Wednesday. "She knew she would get abused by the woke brigade for tweeting this - but did it anyway because it what she believes."

Piers Morgan called Meghan ‘perfect princess material.’ Then he targeted her with relentless attacks.

Piers Morgan maintained on March 10 that he did not believe Meghan Markle's responses during an Oprah Winfrey interview with her husband, Prince Harry. (Reuters)

Jennifer Hassan

March 10, 2021 at 1:10 p.m. EST

LONDON — As Piers Morgan made yet another attack on Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, this week after her two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in the United Kingdom on Monday, many on social media demanded to know what the TV presenter’s problem with the former “Suits” star was — and why he appears to carry deep-rooted hatred for a woman he alleges was a friend he spoke to regularly online and with whom he once went out for drinks.

In a string of tweets to his 7.8 million followers, televised statements and articles written for MailOnline, the former tabloid editor continued to take aim at the duchess this week, branding the interview she gave with her husband, Prince Harry, “nauseating cynical race-baiting propaganda,” and accused her of lying about her mental health struggles.

In Britain, Morgan is known as an outspoken and polarizing figure — yet his persistent attacks on the duchess became too much for about 41,000 people who complained to broadcaster ITV this week. He left his position as morning host Tuesday amid the controversy.

‘They’ve trashed everything the Queen has worked so hard for and we’re supposed to believe they’re compassionate?’

‘They felt they were trashed and lied about.’@piersmorgan and @susannareid100 discuss Harry and Meghan’s explosive Oprah interview. pic.twitter.com/gI6QfbTfA0

— Good Morning Britain (GMB) March 8, 2021

“Piers Morgan’s fixation with Meghan Markle began when they went for a drink and she ignored him afterward. His rant on GMB yesterday was the psychic unraveling of a man unable to deal with the fact he was rejected by a woman, and obsessed with destroying her to restore his ego,” journalist Sirin Kale tweeted Tuesday — a statement that was widely shared online by those who deemed that he had crossed a line.

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Morgan has spent decades in journalism and became editor of News of the World, a tabloid newspaper, at 28. From there, he went on to edit the Daily Mirror from 1996 until 2004 — when he was fired after the newspaper published photos of British troops apparently abusing Iraqi detainees. The British government said the images were forged — a statement Morgan disputed.

The 55-year-old also has served as a judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” and “America’s Got Talent” and is known for holding deeply personal interviews with celebrities on his show “Life Stories,” which has featured an array of high-profile celebrities.

Piers Morgan doubles down on criticism of Meghan — and promises to return

For the past six years, he has presented breakfast-time show “Good Morning Britain,” often starting the mornings with his outspoken opinions on various topics. On Tuesday, his colleague Alex Beresford stepped in to defend the duchess — which resulted in Morgan storming off the set. The confrontational clip has been viewed millions of times on Twitter.

So @alexberesfordTV defends Meghan on @gmb and criticises @piersmorgan for what he’d said about Meghan’s mental health.
Piers walks off the set.
Surely Piers knows if you give it, you gotta be able to take it?

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 9, 2021

Shortly after it emerged that Meghan was dating Harry, Morgan wrote in the Daily Mail that he thought she was “perfect princess material,” explaining that he had once met her for a drink in London in 2016 — shortly before she began dating Harry.

“I found her to be a very smart, focused, thoughtful, feisty and confident woman,” he wrote. Although he later told RTE One: “Meghan Markle ghosted me. I really liked her, this is why it hurts,” he said.

In 2017, he said Meghan would make the “perfect modern bride,” while congratulating her and Harry on their engagement.

But with Harry’s then-girlfriend seemingly placing the brakes on their friendship, Morgan has spent the past few years U-turning on his past praise and instead using television and social media to criticize her.

In January 2020, after the pair announced that they would be stepping back from royal duties and splitting their time between the United Kingdom and North America, Morgan branded the duchess a “shameless piece of work” and accused her of stealing Harry away from the royal family. He later applauded the queen for stripping the pair of their “royal highness” titles.

Only surprised it took her so long to get Harry to ditch his family, the Monarchy, the military and his country. What a piece of work. — Piers Morgan @piersmorgan) January 18, 2020

Updated March 9, 2021

ATTACHMENT THREE – From the NEW YORK TIMES

A SURVEY OF REPUBLICANS SHOWS 5 FACTIONS HAVE EMERGED AFTER TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY

Maggie Haberman, 3/12/21

The Republican Party in the era following Donald J. Trump’s presidency is comprised of five “tribes” that have ranging affinity for the former president and different desires when it comes to seeing him continue to lead the party, according to a new survey by Mr. Trump’s former pollster.

The survey of 1,264 voters, who are registered Republicans or identify as Republicans, is the first comprehensive one conducted about G.O.P. voter sentiment since Mr. Trump left office, and as he considers running again in 2024. It was conducted by the Republican polling firm Fabrizio and Lee — which worked for Mr. Trump in his 2020 campaign but does not any longer.

The former president “still wields tremendous influence over the party, yet it is not universal or homogeneous,” the pollsters wrote in their summary. “We found that there are clear and distinct ‘tribes’ of Trump supporters within the G.O.P. and, not surprisingly, a small Never Trump group.”

Those “tribes” were identified as “Trump Boosters,” “Die-hard Trumpers,” “Post-Trump G.O.P.,” “Never Trump,” and “Infowars G.O.P.” The latter group, among other things, was described as viewing QAnon conspiracy theories favorably and believing in many of them.

According to the data, some 57 percent of Republicans polled said they would support Mr. Trump in an election again. That’s a strong majority, but nowhere near the job approval that he enjoys among all Republicans polled, which was 88 percent.

Among the groups, according to the survey, there were some distinctions in terms of how they viewed Trump.

The group identified as “Die-hard Trumpers” — supporters of the former president who would back him in a hypothetical primary regardless of who else was running but who don’t believe in QAnon conspiracy theories — comprised 27 percent of the Republican voters surveyed. Another 28 percent comprised the “Trump Boosters,” Republicans who said they approve of how Mr. Trump did his job, but only a slight majority of them support him being the nominee again, and they are more supportive of the Republican Party than Mr. Trump personally.

The “Never Trump” Republicans comprised 15 percent of the Republicans surveyed. Another 20 percent were described as “Post-Trump G.O.P.,” who like Mr. Trump but want to see someone else as the party’s nominee.

The “Infowars G.O.P.” voters, named for the conspiracy-laden news outlet that was founded by Alex Jones, comprised 10 percent of the voters surveyed, far from a majority but a significant enough portion of voters that, in a multicandidate primary, could play a factor. Only 13 percent of all the voters surveyed believed in QAnon conspiracy theories, the poll showed, but 69 percent of the “Infowars G.O.P.” voters backed those theories.

ATTACHMENT FOUR – FROM CNN

(CNN) President Joe Biden marked a year since the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the country with his first prime-time address -- a speech in which he mixed hard numbers on vaccine distribution with appeals to unity and a deep-seated belief in the power of America to overcome any challenge.

My takeaways from Biden's speech, which ran just over 20 minutes, are below. They're in no other order than the order that I jotted them down while watching the speech.

1. Donald Trump dug the hole: Biden didn't mention his predecessor by name, but especially in the early moments of his speech, it was very clear that the current President lays much of the blame for the country's struggles with the coronavirus pandemic at the feet of the last President. "A year ago, we were hit with a virus that was met with silence and spread unchecked, denials for days, weeks, then months," Biden said at one point. "That led to more deaths, more infections, more stress and more loneliness." At another point, Biden pulled out his mask and expressed amazement that it had been turned into some sort of political statement.

2. The return of empathy: Biden made a single gesture in the speech that demonstrated the empathy he operates with vis a vis the lives lost to this pandemic. He pulled a card out of his jacket pocket -- which he said he keeps with him wherever he goes -- and read off the exact, up-to-date number of Americans who have died from the coronavirus. (That number is more than 527,000.) Yes, of course, Biden did that for dramatic effect. But it worked. And it drove home the idea that this is a leader who keeps those who have died from the pandemic close to his heart -- literally. It also provided a not-so-subtle contrast with Trump's overt politicization of the virus and those who succumbed to it.

3. At war with the virus: In the language he chose -- and the comparisons he made -- Biden clearly wanted to make Americans understand that we are at war with Covid-19. He said the country was on "war footing." He noted that Covid-19 had now killed more Americans than World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. Even in quoting "Farewell to Arms" -- "many are strong in the broken places" -- Biden was invoking Ernest Hemingway's novel about World War I. The message was clear: This isn't an enemy like the United States is used to battling. But it is an enemy nonetheless, and the need for sacrifice and unity is as great as it was when America was fighting the Axis powers.

4. Truth matters: Again, per No. 1, Trump wasn't mentioned by name in this speech, but he was all over it. "We know what we need to do to beat this virus; tell the truth, follow the science, work together," Biden said at one point, a direct rebuke to Trump's rejection of facts and science about the coronavirus during the course of the 2020 campaign. "You're owed nothing less than the truth," Biden said at another point. And even while sounding a mostly optimistic note about a return to normal -- more on that below -- Biden was open and transparent that things could go sideways, that variants of the virus are out there, and that if proper mitigation practices were not followed we could be in for another surge.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

5. U-N-I-T-Y: In the most remarkable moment of the night, the President of the United States stared into the camera lens and told the American people, "I need you." Then he said it again: "I need you." (The Washington Post's Scott Wilson called it the "most memorable and unusual appeal in prime-time presidential speech making.") Time and again in the speech, Biden talked about the power of the "we" in overcoming Covid-19. He talked about the need to find a "common purpose." He said that "beating this virus and getting back to normal depends on national unity." And that "I need every American to do their part." The idea of America coming together to do this stood in stark contrast to the Trump presidency, in which the 45th President sought -- on the coronavirus to immigration to race -- to emphasize what divides us rather than our common humanity. "This is the United States of America and there's nothing we can't do when we do it together," Biden said in the closing moments of his speech.

6. Circle July 4: Biden said that by Independence Day, "there's a good chance ... you'll be able to get together and have a cookout or a BBQ in your backyard." Never did hanging out in my backyard with a few friends on a likely sweltering summer day in DC sound better! As NBC's Craig Melvin noted: "Well it seems July 4th, Independence Day, takes on new meaning. It's a marker now." That's exactly right. July 4 is now the day -- or around the day -- when the country will begin to return to some semblance of normal, at least according to Biden. Now he needs to make good on that pledge or have the date hung around his neck like a political anchor -- a la Trump's ridiculous pledge that we would start to return to normal on Easter Sunday 2020.

7. "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things": That line -- spoken by Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) to Red (Morgan Freeman) in "The Shawshank Redemption" kept popping into my head throughout Biden's speech. (Maybe it's because "Shawshank" was trending on Twitter around the same time Biden spoke!) Biden used his speech, yes, to detail the losses we have suffered -- singularly and collectively -- from Covid-19. But he also pointed toward a hopeful future that was within our grasp as long as we continued to work together. "There is hope and light and better days ahead," Biden said near the end of the address -- and the image that popped into my mind was Red walking on that beach in Zihuatanejo as Andy works on his boat. What a beautiful moment.

ATTACHMENT FIVE – from Deadline

JOE BIDEN’S FIRST PRIMETIME ADDRESS VIEWERSHIP RISES TO 31M; FOX NEWS LEADS CABLE PACK, ABC TOPS ALL

By Dominic Patten

March 12, 2021 1:35pm

2nd UPDATE, 1:35 PM: The President of the United States of America had a good night last night.

Besides his much praised speech on the last year of the coronavirus and reinvigorated efforts to combat the pandemic, Joe Biden also had the nation’s attention.

More numbers from Nielsen have pushed viewership for POTUS’ first primetime address to the Nation up to 32 million. That’s accounting for eyeballs on the 14 networks of ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax, Newsnation & NEWSY. There is no data yet of how many people watched Biden’s 20-minute speech online.

If and when we get our hands on that data, we’ll update again.

UPDATE, 11:31 AM: Joe Biden may not be a favorite of Fox News viewers, but fans of the Rupert Murdoch-owned cabler newser sure tuned in bigly to the President’s first primetime address last night.

A touch over 4 million watched Biden’s 8 PM ET 20-minute speech on FNC last night, according to Nielsen. While that doesn’t top ABC’s 6.24 million for the biggest POTUS overall on Thursday, it does have Fox as the leader of the pack among the cable news outlets – at least in terms of total audience.

CNN was third with 2.7 million viewers, but first in the news demo of adults 25-54 with 667,000 tuning in. FNC had a demo draw of 613,00 and MSNBC snagged 395,000. However, in overall viewership, the Comncast-owned and progressive leaning outlet won the silver with 3 million viewers.

When you add the cabler newsers to the haul that the Big had for Biden’s speech, the total is 28 million. That’s just a hair more than what Donald Trump garnered in his first primetime presidential address in August 2017.. However, add in Univision, and that result goes up to 29.3 million, a nice win for the 46th POTUS over the his bombastic predecessor.

And in politics, like life, a win is always a win.

PREVIOUSLY, 8:48 AM: “Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do,” President Joe Biden said Thursday night in his first presidential primetime address. “In fact, it may be the most American thing we do,” the 46th POTUS added on the first anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdown hitting the country.

Commemorating the nearly 530,000 Americans dead and the widespread economic devastation that has dominated the last year and condemning assaults on Asian-Americans, Biden’s just-over-20-minute speech from the White House’s East Room came mere hours after he signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act into law. Poised as the opening salvo in a coast-to-coast political pitch to further sell the already-popular initiative to the public, Biden’s 8 PM ET remarks were covered live on all four broadcast networks and Univision as well as all of the cabler newsers and online.

The result might have shuffled the primetime schedule around a bit, but the well-received speech looks to have been was a hit with viewers, at least in the early numbers.

On ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, the Presidential Address to the Nation snared an audience of 18.2 million in fast affiliates. When you add in Univision numbers, that viewership rises to almost 20 million.

Or put this way — and this will sting a certain resident of Mar-a-Lago — that’s better than Donald Trump’s first primetime presidential address did on August 21, 2017. That speech on the ongoing war in Afghanistan drew under 18 million on the Big 4 with NBC logging 6.2 million viewers as the most-watched net of the address. Trump’s numbers went up to about 28 million when the likes of Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC were factored in later.

We will update with such data for Biden’s speech as it comes in later.

Right now, ABC is the winner of the viewership derby with 6.24 million viewers. With 6.2 million watching, CBS is a close second, followed by NBC, Fox and Univision.

Among adults 18-49, POTUS’ speech delivered a 0.8 to both the Disney-owned network and its ViacomCBS-owned rival, while NBC and the Murdoch-owned Fox pulled in a 0.5 rating each. Univision was just behind with a 0.4 in the primetime demo.

Biden may have beat Trump in terms of their respective first Presidential Address to the Nation. However, when it came to coronavirus speeches, the 46^th POTUS was behind the 45^th POTUS.

Coming on the dramatic day that the World Health Organization officially declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, Tom Hanks announced he had the virus and the NBA shut down its season, the former Celebrity Apprentice host’s March 11, 2020 error-packed and xenophobic 15-minute 9 PM ET speech drew just over 22 million viewers on the Big 4. A number that grew when CNN, FNC and MSNBC numbers were added in afterwards.

Again, in Covid-to-Covid speeches over the span of a harsh year, we’ll update Biden’s results when more information comes in.