“Ensuring a peaceful and orderly transition of power is of paramount importance to our nation,” said Governor Chris Sununu in announcing that New Hampshire National Guardsmen will be going to Washington, D.C., for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. “With this authorization, the men and women of our New Hampshire National Guard will be deployed to our Nation’s Capital to protect and defend democracy. The NHNG is among the best of the best — and I join the people of New Hampshire in praying for them as they take on this critical mission.”
Thousands of police and military troops have arrived in the nation's capital to prevent further mob violence, with security officials saying they had never been so concerned about violence in Washington, including in the days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
For citizens planning to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration, there is a mixture of apprehension and excitement. Charlie St. Clair of Laconia, a former state representative and director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, said he still plans to attend, even though things have changed dramatically since he purchased his train ticket to Washington before the November election.
St. Clair told the Laconia Daily Sun that he hopes to see Biden arrive at Union Station for the inauguration, although security efforts may prevent him from getting close. St. Clair had met Biden when both attended Amtrak Customer Advisory Board meetings outside Wilmington, Delaware, two decades ago. St. Clair said Biden plans to travel to Washington by train on the 20th.
St. Clair, who co-hosts “Today In Focus” on Lakes Region Public Access Television, plans to take a video camera to record the events of the day from whatever vantage point he has. He hopes press credentials will help, but also told us that he will be wearing a leather jacket and motorcycle t-shirt so he can fit in with the crowds he may encounter.
Washington area officials have warned the public to stay away because of the possibility of armed protests and threats of violence that have appeared on social media.
Pandemic Relief
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has said that, in his new role as chair of the Senate Budget Committee, he will consider using the process known as “reconciliation” to address the nation’s health and economy. The maneuver allows legislators to pass bills on a simple majority vote, rather than the super-majority normally required.
“Understanding that my Republican colleagues have in the past — both under Bush and certainly under Trump — used reconciliation for massive tax breaks for the rich and large corporations, and they’ve also used reconciliation to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act, I’m going to use reconciliation too, but in a very different way,” Sanders said in an interview. “I’m going to use reconciliation in as aggressive a way as I possibly can to address the terrible health and economic crises facing working people today.”
He has suggested that some of the money to meet progressive goals can be found in wasteful defense spending. “It goes without saying that we want a strong military. It goes without saying we want to make sure that our troops are well taken care of, that they’re adequately paid, adequately housed, that they’re provided health care, child care for their kids, etc. But it also means that the military, the Pentagon, cannot be exempt from a hard look at fraud, crossover funds. I think if you check the record, you’ll find that every major defense contractor has been found guilty of collusion and fraud.”
Trade Deficit
President Donald Trump has focused on the nation’s trade deficit with China, imposing tariff’s on imports from the country as a means of leveling the discrepancy. Yet figures show that, after shrinking in 2015 and 2016, China’s total shipments grew each year after Trump took office, including in 2019 when exports to the U.S. fell.
Meanwhile, U.S. direct investment into China increased from $12.9 billion in 2016 to $13.3 billion in 2019, according to Rhodium Group data.
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