Category: General Politics

Joe Biden, the 80-year-old President of the United States, ambled through the House gallery at the beginning of his address. Despite his advanced age, he looked as energetic as ever and was ready to engage with the audience. Biden is not known for his formal speaking skills, and his address was a mix of garbled phrases and sentence fragments. Nevertheless, he quickly turned the mood of the evening from painful to entertaining with his humor and wit.

Biden accused some Republicans of wanting to sunset Social Security and Medicare, drawing audible protests from the crowd. He responded to the accusations with a smile and a challenge, asking anyone who doubted his claims to contact his office for proof. Biden showed that he was able to unify different wings of his party, despite some opinions to the contrary. He introduced the parents of Tyre Nichols, who was killed in a police beating in Memphis, and spoke about his proposals to reduce police violence.

Despite the Republicans’ irritation, Biden maintained a positive and humorous tone throughout the evening. He congratulated the new House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and joked that he looked forward to working with him, even though he knew that Republicans would have little interest in his proposals to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

The whole evening was a demonstration of the power and influence of the President of the United States, even with low approval ratings. It also showed that standards of decorum are highly fluid and have changed over time. In 2009, Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, interrupted President Obama’s speech to Congress by shouting “You lie.” This incident caused embarrassment, even among Republicans, and Wilson was forced to apologize.

Trump has called for a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over Montana to be shot down. He made the statement through his Truth Social website, saying “SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!”.

The Pentagon announced that they are tracking a “high-altitude surveillance balloon” that entered Montana airspace after flying over Canada and Alaska. They are confident that it belongs to China.

President Biden was reportedly advised against military options regarding the balloon by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of the United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM). A senior defense official stated at a briefing that President Biden was “briefed and asked for military options” but it was the “strong recommendation” of the Joint Chiefs and NORTHCOM commander “not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field.”

NORTHCOM, which was formed in 2002, is responsible for homeland defense and has the mission to “plan, organize, and execute homeland defense” as stated on its website.

The bill introduced by Senator Josh Hawley, known as the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act or the PELOSI Act, is aimed at preventing members of Congress and their spouses from engaging in insider trading or conflicts of interest while in office. The bill was introduced in response to recent allegations of insider trading involving Representative Nancy Pelosi, who sold $3 million in Google stocks before the DOJ announced an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant. This is not the first time Pelosi has faced accusations of insider trading, as her husband sold up to $5 million worth of a computer chipmaker ahead of a House vote on domestic chip manufacturing.

The introduction of the PELOSI Act has garnered support from both sides of the political spectrum, with some Democrats and progressives agreeing with the bill’s intention to prevent conflicts of interest and insider trading. Progressive firebrand and former Ohio state Senator Nina Turner, who typically disagrees with Hawley, publicly supported the bill, stating that “we should not fall so in love with politicians that we do not hold them accountable.”

The bill has also received support from advocacy groups and organizations that promote ethics and transparency in government. They argue that prohibiting members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading stocks while in office would help prevent conflicts of interest and ensure that elected officials are making decisions in the best interest of their constituents, rather than their own financial gain.

However, the bill has also faced criticism, with some arguing that it would place unnecessary restrictions on the personal financial choices of members of Congress and their spouses. Additionally, some have argued that the bill does not address the underlying problem of money in politics and that more comprehensive reform is needed to address issues of corruption and influence in government.

Overall, the PELOSI Act introduced by Senator Josh Hawley has sparked a debate on the ethics of insider trading and conflicts of interest in government, with support and criticism coming from various sides. The bill will now go through the legislative process, where it will be subject to further debate and discussion before a vote is taken.