@TheAmandaGorman – The text and video of this magnificent poem – via The Hill:
“Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Emhoff, Americans and the world, when day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We braved the belly of the beast.
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace and the norms and notions of what just is, isn’t always justice. And yet the dawn is hours before we knew it, somehow we do it, somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and a time, where a skinny black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn’t mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge our union with purpose, to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man. And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know to put our future first. We must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true, that even as we grieved, we grew. That even as we hurt, we hoped…”
As I walk through
this wicked world
searching for light in the darkness of insanity
I ask myself
Is all hope gone?
Is there only pain, hatred and misery?
And as I walk on
through troubled times
my spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
So where are the strong?
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
What’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding?
https://youtu.be/NRngTUqldH4
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Monthly Child Tax Credit Would Be a Train Wreck Matt Bruenig, People’s Policy Project
Biden’s Stimulus Plan Will Bring Relief, but There’s One Flaw Editorial Board, NYT. “But there is one lesson that apparently still needs to be learned. Mr. Biden is proposing to repeat a mistake made by the last two administrations by setting an arbitrary end date for economic aid programs rather than tying the benefits to the duration of need.”
The Obama do-over is about to begin Politico
BuzzFeedNews – text and Video: “”We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”…
- See also The New Yorker – “Joe Biden’s Love Letter to the Truth – On Wednesday, Joe Biden’s presence where pro-Trump rioters had recently smashed and looted was a victory for democracy and a rebuke of his predecessor…”
- See also the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) – “The custom of delivering an address on Inauguration Day started with the very first Inauguration—George Washington’s—on April 30, 1789. After taking his oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, Washington proceeded to the Senate chamber where he read a speech before members of Congress and other dignitaries. His second Inauguration took place in Philadelphia on March 4, 1793, in the Senate chamber of Congress Hall. There, Washington gave the shortest Inaugural address on record—just 135 words —before repeating the oath of office…”
- See also C-SPAN coverage of the swearing-in ceremonies and related events for the inauguration of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president of the United States.
- See also – “The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) today launched the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library website, which provides information on archived White House websites and social media accounts, as well as information on access to the records of the Trump Administration…”
