It’s Tuesday.
This Tuesday marks President Biden’s 90th day in office.
For day 90–President Biden will receive his daily brief. At 11:15 a.m. D.C., time he and Vice President Harris will have met with the leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. This afternoon President Biden will receive a virtual tour of the Proterra electric battery facility located in South Carolina and deliver remarks.
At the time Monday’s Open Thread was posted President Biden had tweeted 2 times and retweeted 0 times. He finished Monday with 4 more tweets and 0 retweets giving him a Monday total of 6 tweets and 0 retweets.
2:40 p.m. D.C., time he says “Go and get ’em, folks.”
4:04 p.m. D.C., time he says the same this time with a 1 minute and 31 second video clip.
On Sunday NBC aired a hour long event called Roll Up Your Sleeves. The special presented by Wallgreens was designed to encourage Americans to get vaccinated. The 1 minute and 31 second clip shared via Twitter by President Biden are his full remarks featured in the Sunday special.
President Biden: For months I’ve been telling Americans to get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Well, it’s your turn now. Starting tomorrow, all adults are eligible to get their shot. It’s free, it’s convenient, and it’s the most important thing you can do to protect yourself from COVID-19, including the new variants we’re seeing. To protect your loved ones, to help our economy recover, and to help get things back to normal. If you’ve been fully vaccinated, thank you.
President Biden con’t: If you’re planning to get vaccinated make sure you follow through, please. If you have a friend, a family member, a neighbor who needs a hand or a ride getting to the site to help them out, well, help them out. Offer to give them a ride. If you know someone who’s uncertain about whether to get the vaccine, let them know that these vaccines are safe and effective.
President Biden con’t: Look, we’re making tremendous progress, but we’re still in the race against this virus, and we need to vaccinate tens of millions of more Americans. I’ve said it before, we can have a safe and happy 4th of July with your family and friends in small groups in your backyard, but that’s going to take everyone doing their part. Get vaccinated. Wash your hands. Stay socially distanced. Mask up, as recommended by the CDC. Now is the time to take care of ourselves and each other, so we can get back to normal. We can do this. We will do this. But don’t let up now. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the show.
5:29 p.m. D.C., time he says “NASA proved once again that with relentless determination and power of American’s best minds, anything is possible.”
On Monday NASA released statement marking the first helicopter flight on Mar’s.
Snips from the press release:
Monday, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. The Ingenuity team at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed the flight succeeded after receiving data from the helicopter via NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover at 6:46 a.m. EDT (3:46 a.m. PDT).
The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) – 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) – a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds. It then descended, touching back down on the surface of Mars after logging a total of 39.1 seconds of flight. Additional details on the test are expected in upcoming downlinks.
This first flight was full of unknowns. The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight. The helicopter contains unique components, as well as off-the-shelf-commercial parts – many from the smartphone industry – that were tested in deep space for the first time with this mission.
Perseverance touched down with Ingenuity attached to its belly on Feb. 18. Deployed to the surface of Jezero Crater on April 3, Ingenuity is currently on the 16th sol, or Martian day, of its 30-sol (31-Earth day) flight test window. Over the next three sols, the helicopter team will receive and analyze all data and imagery from the test and formulate a plan for the second experimental test flight, scheduled for no earlier than April 22. If the helicopter survives the second flight test, the Ingenuity team will consider how best to expand the flight profile.
NASA.gov. 04/19/2021.
Included in the statement is a 57 second YouTube video of take off and landing.
NASA also live streamed the event. The video is 47 minutes and 20 seconds long.
Marina Jurica with the JPL news and media office, explains in the opening minutes of the live stream that the team was awaiting word as to whether or not Ingenuity successfully took off and landed. Monday’s event she goes on to explain marks the Month of Ingenuity in which the team will have a month to study data provided by Ingenuity.
8:22 p.m. D.C., time he shares a photo from his bipartisan Oval Office meeting with members of Congress to discuss the American Jobs Plan.
The White House posted the following readout of the meeting:
Today, President Joe Biden hosted Members of Congress and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the Oval Office to discuss the need for the historic investments laid out in the American Jobs Plan. A bipartisan, bicameral group of Members of Congress—all former governors and mayors—participated in the meeting. These Members have a unique understanding of the impact of and need for federal investment in rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure from their time as state and local executives.
The President and Secretary Buttigieg shared their vision in the American Jobs Plan to create millions of good jobs, rebuild our country’s infrastructure, and position the United States to out-compete China. The Members of Congress engaged in a productive exchange of ideas, including components of the plan and how to pay for them. President Biden asked for their feedback and follow-up on proposals discussed in the meeting, while underscoring that inaction is not an option.
This is the latest in a series of meetings led by the Biden-Harris Administration to engage Members of Congress and key stakeholders on the American Jobs Plan.
White House.gov. 04/19/2021.
Before the meeting President Biden offered remarks.
The video is 1 minute and 38 seconds long.
His full remarks:
Thanks for coming in, guys. I want to thank my colleagues — they’re still my colleagues; I’m more of a member of Congress than I’ve been here. And — but I’m glad you all came down.
We’re going to talk about our infrastructure package. And as I indicated earlier, I am prepared to compromise, prepared to see what we can do and what we can get together on. It’s a big package, but there’s a lot of needs.
And so we’re going to be talking about, number one, what should be included in the package — obviously, I put a lot in the package; I think it all should be included — and how to pay for it. And there are two issues.
I’ve noticed everybody is for infrastructure. The question is: Who’s going to pay for it? And — and that’s what we’re going to try to work out today, at least in this bipartisan group of members of the House and Senate.
And a little — a little secret here, we’re going to — in full disclosure, I asked senators and congressmen who had either been governors or mayors because they know what it’s like to make things work, to make sure that you get things done and deal with infrastructure and the needs of your community.
So that’s why we’re here. We — hopefully, we’ll be able to reach some kind of consensus, at least in broad terms.
So thank you all for coming in. And we’ll be talking to you later.
Reporter Q: Mr. President, what do you think about the idea of paying for it with user fees?
The Answer: That’s what we’re going to talk about. We’re going to talk about all that right now. Thank you very much. Thank you.
White House.gov. 04/19/2021.
For Tuesday President Biden has tweeted 1 time and retweeted 0 times so far.
9:12 a.m. D.C., time he marks the passing of former Vice President Walter Mondale.
Mondale passed away on Monday at the age of 93, his family announced his passing saying that it was “with profound sadness that we share the news that our beloved dad passed away today.”
The President offered the following statement on Monday posted by the White House.
It’s with great sadness that Jill and I learned of the passing of Vice President Walter Mondale, but great gratitude that we were able to call one of our nation’s most dedicated patriots and public servants a dear friend and mentor.
Jill and I had the opportunity to speak to Fritz and his family over the weekend, to reflect on the years of friendship we shared, and how much we learned from and leaned on each other.
When I arrived in the United States Senate in 1973, Walter Mondale was one of the first people to greet me. Through his work as a Senator, he showed me what was possible. He may have been modest and unassuming in manner, but he was unwavering in his pursuit of progress; instrumental in passing laws like the Fair Housing Act to prevent racial discrimination in housing, Title IX to provide more opportunities for women, and laws to protect our environment. There have been few senators, before or since, who commanded such universal respect.
When President Obama asked me to consider being his Vice President, Fritz was my first call and trusted guide. He not only took my call, he wrote me a memo. It was Walter Mondale who defined the vice presidency as a full partnership, and helped provide a model for my service.
And Joan did the same for Jill, helping her carve out a role for herself as our nation’s Second Lady.
He not only created a path for himself, he helped others do the same. Walter Mondale was the first presidential nominee of either party to select a woman as his running mate, and I know how pleased he was to be able to see Kamala Harris become Vice President.
In accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for President, he described the values he was taught to live by: “to play by the rules; to tell the truth; to obey the law; to care for others; to love our country; to cherish our faith.”As a Senator, an Ambassador, a Vice President, and a candidate for President, he lived and spread those values.
White House.gov. 04/19/2021.
Our hearts go out to the Mondale family. And we take some comfort in the fact that he is with Joan and Eleanor now.
Former President Jimmy Carter released the following statement:
C-SPAN has a few tweets regarding Mondale with photos. The following tweets are two videos posted by them.
White House daily press briefing is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. D.C., time.
President Biden’s virtual tour of the Proterra Electric Battery Facility and his remarks is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. D.C., time.
This is an Open Thread.
