Tag: 2020 Election

Part 130- Biden Cabinet Members

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Politics , , , ,

Today’s post is on the members of Mr. Biden’s Cabinet. Below is a table of all the Cabinet members and my opinion on them. ( I know this is not yet completed, but this is what I have so far. I had to finish since it’s getting late and because I’m really exhausted. Like, my brain isn’t even helping me process my thoughts properly and I’m spacing out. I’ll update this tomorrow, and have the full, completed list ready. Bye!  )


Cabinet member

Info/opinion

Secretary of State: Antony Blinken

Bio: Mr. Blinken has held senior foreign policy positions in two administrations over the two decades. He has a recurring mantra: the U.S. should work with its allies and within international treaties and organizations. He also views U.S. leadership in multilateral institutions as essential. He has spent a 6-year term in the Senate with Mr. Biden and has strong ties to other, close Biden advisors.

Opinion:

https://www.politico.eu/article/nine-things-to-think-about-antony-blinken/

Secretary of Treasury: Janet Yellen

Bio: https://www.federalreservehistory.org/people/janet-l-yellen

Secretary of Defense: Lloyd Austin

Bio: Mr. Austin is a retired American four-star Army general who served as the 12th commander of United States Central Command. He was greatly involved in the internal U.S. discussions and the negotiations with the Iraqi Government leading up to the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement. The would-be the first Black defense secretary. 

Opinion: 

Attorney General: Merrick Garland

Bio:  Mr. Garland is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The New York Times reported, “Mr. Biden’s choice reflects his respect for Mr. Garland’s reputation as a centrist and his belief that he can restore the Justice Department’s independence and inspire a deeply demoralized workforce.”

Opinion:

Secretary of Interior: Deb Haaland

Bio: Ms. Haaland is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District. In a press release, Biden’s office said, “Haaland is a barrier-breaking public servant who has spent her career fighting for families, including in Tribal Nations, rural communities, and communities of color…”If confirmed, she will be the first Native American Cabinet secretary.

Opinion: I’m not sure if Ms. Haaland is the right nominee for Secretary of Interior. Yes, she has spent her career fighting for families of rural communities and of color, but I’m not sure if that is enough experience for this. 

 

Secretary of Agriculture: Tim Vilsack

Bio: Mr. Vilsack has held 0m

.this position before in the Obama administration from 2009-2017. As head of the USDA, Mr. Vilsack was responsible for implementing programs that provided “leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management.”

Opinion: Mr. Vilsack has indeed put as much as he can into supporting programs that provide food, agriculture, natural resources, etc., and has really dedicated a lot to it. I think he is the right nominee for this. 

Secretary of Commerce: Gina Raimondo

Bio: Ms. Raimondo served as the general partner of Point Judith Capital, a venture capital firm headquartered in Rhode Island. The New York Times reported that Ms. Raimondo “is seen as a relatively traditional choice for commerce secretary, a post that oversees relations with the business community but also technology regulation, weather monitoring and the gathering of economic data, among other duties.”

Opinion: To be honest, currently I am not sure what to expect from Ms. Raimondo. I don’t have enough information/ evidence to actually make an opinion so, for now, only time will tell. 

Secretary of Labor: Martin Walsh

Bio: Mr. Walsh was previously a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving in that office from 1997 until 2014 and representing the Thirteenth Suffolk district. He was the Chairman of the Committee on Ethics and served as a Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party Labor Caucus.

Opinion: 

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Xavier Becerre

Bio:Mr. Becerre is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 33rd and current Attorney General of California since 2017. He previously was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Downtown Los Angeles in Congress from 1993 to 2017. 

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Marcia Fudge

Bio: Ms. Fudge is a member of the U.S. House, representing Ohio’s 11th Congressional District. Ms. Fudge has also served as chief of staff to U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones during Jones’s first term in Congress. 

Opinion:

Secretary of Transportation: Pete Buttigieg

Bio: Mr. Buttigieg is an American politician and former U.S. Navy intelligence officer. Mr. Biden said in a statement, “Jobs, infrastructure, equity, and climate all come together at the DOT, the site of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better. I trust Mayor Pete to lead this work with focus, decency, and a bold vision — he will bring people together to get big things done.”

Opinion:

Secretary of Energy: Jennifer Granholm

Bio: Ms. Ganholm is a Canadian-born American politician, lawyer, educator, author, and political commentator. She clerked for U.S. Judge Damon Keith on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1990 she became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. In 1994, she was appointed Wayne County Corporation Counsel. 

Opinion: 

Secretary of Education: Miguel Cardona

Bio: Mr. Cardona is an American educator who has served as the Connecticut Commissioner of education since 2019. He began his career in education as an elementary school teacher. Mr. Cardona then became the youngest principal in Connecticut at the age of 28. 

Opinion: I think that Mr. Biden made a good decision in nominating Mr. Cardona to be Secretary of education. Even though he may or may not have a lot of knowledge and experience in politics, he was an education” figure”. To know how to do something is different from experiencing it. This is similar to Mr. Cardona. Even though he may or may not be as experienced as the other members in politics, he knows schools and what it is like being a teacher, and how things will affect kids.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Denis McDonough

Bio: Mr. McDonough is a former White House chief of staff, serving in the Obama administration.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas

https://ballotpedia.org/Joe_Biden_presidential_transition

Part 128- Ethically vs. Legally ( Again again again again)

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Law and Justice , ,

If you remember, maybe or maybe not, I wrote a post on legally vs. ethically, and another one shortly after. This goes back to that post, so if you haven’t checked it out, here’s the link. ( ICE link and My voice. – both also relate to this topic) 

Anyway, I want to talk about ethically vs. legally vs. morally because it plays a key factor in the Capitol riots and in the company firings. People are being fired for participating in the riots or even for agreeing with the riots. But why?  This is where these three parts come in. Let’s first go to the start of all this. When President Trump told people to go to the Capitol. People have the right to excise their first amendment as much as they want, but there’s a line to this. There’s a line to everything. Let’s ask: Why is President Trump wrong in this? President Trump is, well, the president. He’s a public figure which everyone knows and has an influence on others. People will listen to him. People look up to him or even other public figures and look to their influence. It would have been fine if President Trump wasn’t a public figure, but because he is, it was wrong of him to tell people to go to the Capitol. Think of it this way. ( WW2 reference)
During WW2, were all the Germans at fault for their heinous crimes and actions? No. In a battle, soldiers are only following the order given by their superiors such as generals or commanders. They aren’t doing anything wrong, just following the order given by someone who has an influence. This is the same as the Germans. They only did these things under the influence of Adolf Hitler. He was a public figure and had quite a way with words, which heavily influenced a lot of the actions committed by the Germans. Don’t read this wrong. I’m saying that the influence President Trump has as a public figure is strong, and people will listen and will follow him. His responsibility as a public figure was “broken”. But also, it is the people who are also at fault. President Trump should have been stopped possibly years ago before he became a public figure. We don’t know the future or what could happen, but we should have stopped him long ago. 
Why are the rioters also at fault? It’s because they crossed the line of their First Amendment. Of course, they were LEGALLy allowed to exercise their rights, but ethically it was wrong. They made the wrong decision in following what President Trump said. What they did was disrespectful and incredibly shocking. People stormed the Capitol and disrupted the electoral vote counting. They threw desks and pedestals over and vandalized the building. Here is the line they have crossed. The line that when crossed, does not protect them.
” Speech provoking actions that would harm others-true incitement and/or threats- is also not protected, but again determining what words have qualified as true incitement was been decided on a case-by-case basis.”

 This is exactly what happened. Let’s move on to businesses. Businesses have been firing people because of their morales. When companies hire someone, they look at their morals and intentions. They want to hire people with the right intentions and morals when doing something. A Texas attorney was fired because he made a post supporting what the rioters did. Legally he did nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all. he stayed within the limits of his first amendment, but he got fired because he should NOT have said it. It was not right to make that post. If the companies kept the peopel who did something like this, people would question their morals. They would wonder what company would hire people who would riot the Capitol. Not many peopel would come to work for them. And so, that is why they would fire the workers. Not because of the legal acts or not, but the morales. ( Well, maybe legal acts. They can’t just hire someone who was in prison for getting away with murder or something.) Everything is a question between legally or ethically. Is it legal to do this, and even, is it right? Is it the right morale or not?

Part 127- The country of geniuses…

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment General Topics , ,

 It’s been about a day, since the Capitol riots and there have been millions or even thousands of Twitter and Facebook and social media posts about the event. Even though it’s such a serious matter and topic, people have been making “jokes” about it which I have to agree with. On Twitter people have been starting lists of what is more heavily protected than the Capitol. Some examples were: Black Haircare products, Password Journals, baby formula, etc. Even though it’s a serious topic, it is true. Black Haircare products are protected well and not the Capitol, an important government building? Well, the Capitol IS protected. It’s just that they were not prepared during the attack. I find it perplexing and ridiculous. 

During BLM there were officers and military guards standing outside the Capitol, each step shadowed by an officer. They had their defense up. They were ready. They were prepared. What happened this time? Maybe they were off guard by the sudden attack from their fellow Americans. Maybe this was one of the least expected scenarios though. But why? When handicapped people were protesting about health care teh officers and guards dragged them out of the Capitol. Why didn’t they do that this time? 

The amount of disrespect during the riot is unbelievable! A man was wearing a sweatshirt about Camp Auschwitz, a jew concentration camp, INSIDE the Capitol. Not only that, people brought a  CONFEDERATE flag into the Capitol. This is the first time the Confederate flag has appeared in the Capitol in U.S. History. Hundreds of years ago, lives were lost in an attempt to make sure this flag never appeared in the Capitol, and now it has. The FBI has already started finding the people who were part of this shocking event. And this is where the geniuses of our country come in. I think the ones who will get found first are the ones who made themselves the most noticeable. The crazy bull-horn guy who painted his face the American flag, the guy wearing the Camp Auschwitz hoodie, and even the guy who wore his WORK ID there. Seriously?! I mean, sir, it feels like you are making yourself get caught. 

Apart from all of that, the most shocking part of this is President Trump’s actions. He has tweeted 3 posts that say he loves those rioters for doing this and told the rioters in the first place to go do this. There are tweets and posts on President Trump’s term and how he was first given and now left the Capitol. 

Twitter post: https://mobile.twitter.com/liddiebajiggie/status/1347053549230944260/photo/1?ref_url=https%3a%2f%2ftwitter.com%2f

Here are the photos.

This is a before picture of the Capitol when President Trump was inaugurated.

And now, here is the after photo of how he has left it.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-significance-of-the-confederate-flag-waved-inside-the-us-capitol-7137213/

Part 126- Breach in the Capitol!

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Law and Justice, Politics, Social Responsibilities , , ,

On Wednesday, January 6th, and January 5th, 2021, there has been a breach in the capital. A breach. In the U.S. CAPITOL. Riots from pro-Trump supporters made their way into the United States Capitol. A place where the House of Representatives and Senate seat. Where they come together to discuss, debate and consider national policy. 

The motivation of these supporters was to prevent the inauguration of President-elect Biden and to prevent the electoral count. They want to resist Mr. Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. 

The President himself told the mob himself to march up to Capitol Hill and stop them from counting the electoral votes. A building with levels and floors and corners heavily secured and protected by the police was raided and stormed into by Americans. They had not only breached into the Capitol but made their way to teh Chamber where the votes were being counted. People were hanging from the building walls, climbing into the Capitol, barging through rooms, pushing pedestals, and even putting their feet up on desks. It’s incredibly disrespectful and terrifying. Why weren’t the security and police expecting this? Why weren’t they prepared? What went wrong?! Shouldn’t it be their job to prevent things like this from happening? The Senate floor, a sacred room for handling legislative work, heavily guarded by security was stormed into. It’s madness and unbelievable. It’s an attack on democracy! 

A woman was shot and lost her life from this whilst others have been wounded. Tear gas has once again been released as an effort to clear the mob. If this keeps going on more lives will be lost. More Americans will be injured. Members of our government almost were injured today as they tried to evacuate the building. Senate representatives and House members were told to wear gas masks and needed to get out of the building safely. They were told to stay in rooms and studios, away from windows that could shatter any minute by protestors, and remained there for almost an hour and a half. Please, listen! 

Yes, you’ve lost the election. Yes, President Trump lost and will not be the next president. Yes, you are upset, but please get over it. This is not right! An innocent life has been lost from this and many others have been badly injured and wounded. This is utter chaos and madness! This is not right at all. President Trump, please listen to those around you. Your family members and advisors. Please listen to the ones who are trying to convince you to call this off. These protestors are believing in everything you say. They are following you, and this is not ta all right! Mr. President this is not the right leadership. Please, stop! Yes, you are upset and believe that the election was rigged, but how much longer will you say this?! It has been proven many times. Mr. Biden will be the next President of the United States. This has gone too far! Way too far! Calling a mob of protestors, believing in you, and supporting you when you say that the election was fake and telling them to storm Capitol Hill is not at all right. Not at all!

President Trump has been tweeting about this, thanking the supporters and saying that they love them. Twitter has even locked President Trump’s account for 12 hours. 

 

It’s an attack on democracy. It’s outrageous! This is not American. This is not the way to do things! It is very dishonorable, disrespectful, shocking, and outrageous. 

Senate and House chambers raided:

https://www.msnbc.com/mtp-daily/watch/watch-protesters-reach-the-floor-of-the-house-and-senate-chambers-98943557849

Live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f437y6UVjD8

President Trump’s message:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_JxN9CwIMU

Part 123- After elections

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Politics ,

It’s been some time since I’ve talked about the 2020 elections, and I’ve decided to bring this up. I’ve mentioned this, maybe once or twice, and I feel like it should really be talked about. So, as we all know, President-elect Biden won the 2020 elections, and President Trump has been very upset about this. He has been suing state after state after the result rolled in and constantly has been tweeting about voter fraud and how the elections were rigged. This may be in an attempt to somehow deny that President-elect Biden didn’t win and that he was the one who actually won the election. 

But, just a few days ago, the electoral votes were counted and Mr. Biden will be the next president of the United States. It’s confirmed. I’m not sure if President Trump is still claiming voter fraud even when the result has been confirmed, but I believe that he should just stop. At the start, it didn’t do a lot, and now, after the result confirmation, it still won’t do anything. However, there is actually one thing he could do.

There is actually an amendment- the 22nd Amendment- in the Constitution which states that “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”. This means that President Trump is technically ALLOWED to run again, in 2024 since he has only been elected once. This is a big opportunity for President Trump. Despite that he lost the 2020 elections, he could win the 2024 elections. But before he does so, I think President Trump should consider what he does during this term before he runs. Think about it like this. 

Everything that happens either has a consequence or something good comes from it. During a job interview, something you did a couple years ago as a college student may affect your chances of getting a job.  In this case, I think President Trump should get over the results and just accept that he will not be the next president. His behavior right now after losing may affect his chances of winning/being the final candidate in the future. So, this being said I think that President Trump should calm down, accept President-elect Biden as being the next president, and get ready for the 2024 elections.

So, despite that this blog was a little shorter than the others, I hope it explains what happened after the elections. I hope you have a great day, and I will see you next week. Bye!

Election Day 5- Final Post ( Congratulations to President-elect Biden and VP-elect Harris!)

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Law and Justice, Politics

 Mr. Biden just won the U.S. Presidency with 284 electoral votes. He flipped Pennsylvania, a while ago- I’m just publishing this-and just won. This is unbelievable.  I have to admit, I actually thought President Trump would win, but after seeing the results get updated over time, it was slightly obvious that our next President was going to be Mr. Biden. Plus, Vp-elect Harris has made history. Not only is she the very FIRST FEMALE VP ( or VP-elect at the moment) but she is also Indian and African American. This means, that our first female VP is an Indian, African American,  amazing and inspiring woman. President- elect Biden has a total of 290 electoral votes- as per the recent updates of winning Nevada- and despite that he is leading in Georgia, I think that it is too close to call whether he will get 306 votes in total or whether it will go to President Trump. Before a President-elect actually becomes President, he has to get approved by the current President. In this case, I think that President Trump may sue all of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin, before actually agreeing. President Trump has been continuously claiming that there is major voter fraud. I can’t help but say, he’s been claiming this over and over again without even TELLING US or even actually PROVING that there is voter fraud. I don’t really believe him when he is saying this but, maybe he is actually right, and there is a voter fraud that we just don’t realize. But, in order for us to realize, Mr. President, we need you to please prove it.

Live Blogging is one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. I’m really proud of myself. I had so much fun- on the actual Election Day, not the days after- and I loved following the news so much. Every morning after that, when I woke up, I had to pull up the news. I had to know what was happening, what states turned blue or red, or something. I had to know. It’s too bad that I’ll have to wait another 4 years to do this again. But, until then I will research and be more ready for 2024. I hope that next term I will be able to write better and post better. Anyway, this is the last blog for the 2020 election, and if there are any more updates, I’ll post. Signing off for the actual, last time, bye!

Election Day 4- 4 states are now blue, President must be infuriated ( 8:15 am)

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Law and Justice, Politics

Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona are all blue. Georgia is 99% into reporting, and Mr. Biden is 1,097 votes ahead, Pennsylvania 98% in and 5,587, Nevada is 84% in and 11,438 votes ahead, and Arizona is 90% in and 47,052 votes ahead. It is an extremely narrow race is Pennsylvania and Georgia. North Carolina is still red, but it doesn’t really matter anymore. 

Source: The Guardian ( Ignore Arizona)

Election Day 4- Just 2 States to Biden Presidency ( 6:54 am)

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Law and Justice, Politics

I woke up around 20 minutes ago to see that, Georgia, a state we all thought would go to President Trump, has just turned blue. The race is extremely close, as Mr. Biden is leading with about 1,000 votes. 3 states are now in Mr. Biden’s favor, and only 2 of any of them, would get him to the presidency. He could get Nevada and Arizona and win Arizona and Georgia and win, or even, Georgia and Nevada to win. 

Eelction Day 3- Georgia is the other swing ( 4:26 pm)

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Law and Justice, Politics

Georgia is 99% into reporting, and I have just checked where each candidate stands. President Trump is ONLY 0.2% AHEAD of Mr. Biden. In votes, he is only 9,000 votes ahead of Mr. Biden.  I know that it may not be possible, but seeing how long Georgia has been 99% in reporting, and close of a race it is, Georgia may be another key state Mr. Biden needs for winning. He might not even need Nevada if he gets Georgia. Georgia has 16 electoral votes,  and if Mr. Biden wins them, he can have a total of 280 electoral votes. So, the two states we should count on, even though one is less likely, is Nevada, and Georgia. ( And possibly Arizona, if it is still, is unannounced.)

Election Day 3- Sorry! ( 11:14 am)

Rovija Khapre 0 Comment Law and Justice, Politics

 Hi! Sorry about the late post. I am currently in school- online school- and have just finished enough of my work to get a few minutes of break. So far, there aren’t any new updates on Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, or Pennsylvania. One thing, though, is that, apparently, Arizona hasn’t been called yet. Fox announced it was for Mr. Biden first and CNN as well. This is because the AP had announced it. I am actually not very sure if Mr. Biden has gotten Arizona yet, or not. I am really confused about what is right and wrong for the electoral votes, and who has gotten it or not. But, if that is the case, Mr. Biden has only 253 votes, not 264. Most LIKELY, Arizona will be a flip state, like I may have said before without knowing it may be false and will get Mr. Biden up to 264 electoral votes.