Also on today’s menu:
Judge Rejects Trump Request For More Time To Pay
Change To Daylight Saving Time Coming On Sunday
President Joe Biden Jr. addressed a joint session of Congress in a State of the Union Address that sounded very much like a campaign speech: “My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy; a future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality; to respect everyone; to give everyone a fair shot; to give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see it differently: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
Avoiding use of Donald Trump’s name, Biden made repeated references to “my predecessor” as he contrasted his own accomplishments — 15 million new jobs, unemployment at 50-year lows, 16 million new businesses, 800,000 new manufacturing jobs, more people with health insurance, rising wages, falling inflation — with the boasts but lack of follow-through of the previous administration. He referred to Trump’s recent statements praising Russian president Vladimir Putin and saying that Putin should be able to do “whatever the hell he wants” — as well as Trump’s opposition to the passage of a bill to address border security — as dangerous to national and international security.
Arriving at the dais after a slow walk down the aisle of the House chamber as he entered, shaking hands with well-wishers along the way, Biden said before starting his address, “Good evening! If I were smart, I’d go home now.” He repeatedly broke away from his prepared speech to address Republican hecklers. When he was booed while speaking of the bipartisan border-security bill that Republicans killed at Trump’s behest, he smiled and, looking at the Republican hecklers, said, “Oh, you don’t like that bill? I’ll be darned.”
Before declaring, “The state of our union is strong and getting stronger,” Biden said, “My purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment. Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today.” Speaking of the insurrection of January 6, 2021, he said that members of Congress who feared for their lives are now denying the facts. “You can’t love your country only when you win,” he said.
Discussion: Like all presidents, Biden claimed credit for more than he had control over, but he took on criticism with humor, including the arguments about his age (making sure to note that Trump also is old). He noted that he was criticized as being too young when he entered Congress. “Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures,” he said: “The very idea of America, that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either, and I won’t walk away from it now.”
Judge Rejects Trump Request For More Time To Pay
Judge Lewis Kaplan has rejected Donald Trump’s request for more time to post an $83 million bond to cover damages awarded to to E. Jean Carroll after he was convicted of sexual assault against the former Elle Magazine columnist.
Carroll’s lawyers had opposed the request, writing that Trump “asks the Court to ‘trust me’ and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers”.
Although Trump also has been ordered to pay $355 million plus interest, totaling more than $450 million, for fraudulently inflating his assets to secure better loan deals, Trump has continued to boast, “I have a lot of money. I can do what I want to do.”
Discussion: The damage awards are high because of Trump’s claims to immense wealth and his inability to admit to wrongdoing, but now he is having a hard time coming up with the money. He is hoping to have the Republican National Committee and foreign despots like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cover his legal debts so he can continue his campaign to end democracy and assume authoritarian control over the United States.
Change To Daylight Saving Time Coming On Sunday
On Sunday at 2 a.m., most of the United States will be switching to Daylight Saving Time, depriving people of an hour of sleep unless they live in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of which remain on Standard Time.
The spring time change has been associated with an increase in fatal car crashes, heart attacks, and strokes, as people’s circadian rhythm is disrupted. The brain aligns with exposure to sunlight and darkness, with morning light resetting the rhythm. By evening, melatonin levels begin rising, triggering drowsiness. Several health groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, say that remaining on Standard Time year-round better aligns the human body with the sun.
To overcome the disruption, people are advised to go to bed a little earlier on Friday and Saturday nights, and move up daily routines, including meals. Avoid afternoon naps and caffeine, as well as evening light from cell phones and other electronic devices, which can make it more difficult to adjust to an earlier bedtime.
Discussion: Most of Benjamin Franklin’s ideas were responsible for great advances, but his advocacy for Daylight Saving Time was a really bad idea. His reason was to save the amount of oil burned in lamps, but its continuing use today is unnecessary and burdensome. An easier solution for those who want to take advantage of the increased hours of sunlight is to adjust their routines without making it a universal order affecting those who find no advantage in the change.