So, I learned something this morning. One of my favorite sadder but optimistic Christmas songs is…
Some how even though I’ve seen the movie more than once, I had blocked this…
I’m not 100 percent sure I’m glad I found it…
But it is Dolly, so there is that!
President Biden’s public schedule for Thursday, December 22nd 2022:
| 9:00 AM | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing Closed Press |
| 12:00 PM | In-Town Pool Call Time FPPO / OFF THE RECORD: Additional details will follow if there are updates to the schedule |
Until about 10 minutes ish ago the above schedule was accurate. It’s not now, now it’s wrong.
| 9:00 AM | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing Closed Press |
| 12:00 PM | In-Town Pool Call Time In-Town Pool |
| 4:00 PM | The President delivers a Christmas address focused on what unites us as Americans, his optimism for the year ahead, and wishing Americans joy in the coming year by 1:00 pm] Cross Hall In-Town Pool |
His Christmas remarks…
President Biden has tweeted…
It’s one tweet so far for Thursday.
Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 321 AM EST Thu Dec 22 2022
Valid 12Z Thu Dec 22 2022 – 12Z Sat Dec 24 2022 …
Powerful winter storm to produce widespread disruptive and potentially crippling impacts across the central and eastern United States… …
Record-breaking cold and life-threatening wind chills over the Great Plains to overspread the eastern half of the Nation by Friday… …
Significant freezing rain possible across parts of western Oregon and Washington beginning tonight…
A major and anomalous storm system is forecast to produce a multitude of weather hazards through early this weekend, as heavy snowfall, strong winds, and dangerously cold temperatures span from the northern Great Basin through the Plains, Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and the northern/central Appalachians.
At the forefront of the impressive weather pattern is a dangerous and record-breaking cold air mass in the wake of a strong arctic cold front diving southward across the southern Plains today and eastward into the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys by tonight.
Behind the front, temperatures across the central High Plains have already plummeted 50 degrees F in just a few hours, with widespread subzero readings extending throughout much of the central/northern Plains and northern Rockies/Great Basin. These temperatures combined with sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph and higher wind gusts of up to 60 mph will continue to lead to wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees across a large swath of the Intermountain West and northern/central Plains, with more localized areas of minus 50 to minus 70 possible through the end of the week. Wind chills of this magnitude can cause frostbite in less than 5 minutes if precautions are not taken, with hypothermia and death also possible from prolonged exposure to the cold. Livestock interests will also be severely impacted and dangers could be exacerbated if power outages occur.
Consequently, widespread Wind Chill Warnings, Watches and Advisories span across over 30 states from Washington to Florida. Daytime temperatures across the central Plains will struggle to get above 0 degrees, while areas further south in Texas and the Gulf Coast will experience temperatures in the single digits and teens Thursday evening. Furthermore, snow squalls, or a brief burst of moderate to heavy snow (lasting 1 to 2 hours), are likely to occur immediately behind the arctic front as it treks from the mid-Mississippi Valley to the East Coast.
Developing snow squalls could lead to extremely hazardous travel conditions at times, as they will be accompanied by gusts to 40 mph and the potential for sudden whiteout conditions. Lastly, areas with standing water ahead of the approaching cold front, particularly throughout the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys, could experience a flash freeze this afternoon and evening. Roadways that were wet beforehand could freeze within a short period of time and lead to slick travel spots.
For areas across the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and Interior Northeast, a rapidly deepening low-pressure center that forms along the frontal boundary this evening and swings into the Great Lakes on Friday will have the potential to create potentially crippling conditions. Widespread light-to-moderate snowfall is expected for this region, along with localized totals over a foot to the south and east of the Great Lakes where lake effect snow is forecast to linger into Saturday. The snowfall totals may not seem all that impressive with this storm, but combined with very strong winds over an extended period of time will create blizzard conditions that can bring travel to a halt and strain infrastructure. These widespread wind gusts over 40 mph and potentially up over 60 mph are due to a very tight pressure gradient developing between the eventual low over the Great Lakes and the strong high pressure system over the northern Plains. The abrupt deepening of this low pressure system will also aid in the increasingly large and powerful wind field. Heavy snowfall rates of 1-2″/hour, along with wind gusts of over 50 mph will result in near-zero visibility and considerable blowing and drifting of snow. This will lead to dangerous, to at times impossible, land and air travel leading up to the holiday weekend. The combination of heavy snow and strong wind gusts could lead to significant infrastructure impacts, including scattered tree damage and power outages. Extreme cold entering the region could make conditions even more dangerous for locations that do lose power.
Residents are advised to avoid travel if possible as the situation will become life-threatening if vehicles are stranded. Blizzard Warnings and Winter Storm Warnings have been issued. Further east in the warm sector of the strengthening storm system, moisture surging northward along and ahead of a coastal boundary situated off the Southeast coast will lead to moderate to heavy rainfall across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through early Friday. Rainfall totals of 1-3″ are forecast. As the wave of moisture tracks northward tonight, strong southerly winds ahead of the center of the storm, combined with the new moon-tide cycle, may lead to dangerous coastal flooding from the Delmarva Peninsula to Maine.
Furthermore, heavy rain over a fresh snowpack could also create scattered flooding concerns for much of Vermont and Maine on Friday, which has prompted a Slight Risk (level 2/4) of Excessive Rainfall to be issued. Lastly, at the leading edge of the northward surging precipitation over the Mid-Atlantic during the first half of the day today, light freezing rain and locally heavy snowfall could impact parts of the central Appalachians. A lingering cold air damming environment will likely keep this brief punch of wintry weather confined to the higher terrain and near the Blue Ridge mountains, but could still lead to snowfall totals of up to six inches in some spots. Moreover, strong westerly winds will spread into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday as the powerful arctic cold front completes its trek across the Nation.
A separate storm system is set to impact the Pacific Northwest beginning tonight and is anticipated to spread precipitation and gusty winds onshore ahead of an approaching warm front. After initially starting as snow, sleet and freezing rain is likely to develop and could linger for an extended amount of time over parts of western Washington and northwestern Oregon. This changeover to freezing rain is due to a dense arctic airmass remaining in place at the surface while warmer air surges over the region in the upper levels. Localized ice accretion of a half inch could create the potential for dangerous travel conditions and scattered power outages by Friday. Snell Graphics available at https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php
Weather.gov. 12/22/2022.
Y’all take care of yourselves. This storm is not gonna be pretty.
When the post was posted for Wednesday, President Biden had tweeted 3 times. He added 9 tweets giving him a Wednesday Tweeting Total of 12 tweets and 0 retweets.
President Biden’s full statement:
Say the name Franco Harris and most everyone talks about the catch, the Super Bowls, and the glory he brought to the game of football. But in the fifty years we bonded as friends, I always talked about his character and compassion.
White House.gov. 12/21/2022.
Fifty years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had just finished a dominant regular season with their first division title. They celebrated Christmas just days after beating the Oakland Raiders on one of the most famous plays in NFL history – the last-second Immaculate Reception by their rookie running back, Franco Harris. While the Steelers would barely lose the conference championship game to the undefeated Miami Dolphins, Franco went on to a Hall of Fame career that led the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in six years as the dominant team of the 1970’s.
But that’s not why the Pittsburgh Steelers – and Franco – are close to my heart.
It was this week fifty years ago when my first wife and infant daughter were killed and my two young sons were badly injured in a car accident while they were out getting a Christmas tree. I had just been elected to the U.S. Senate and I was in Washington when I got the call and rushed home to Delaware.
I rarely left my boys’ bedside until they got better. But one day I did to go shopping for them. When I returned, they were smiling for the first time since the accident. Art Rooney, the generous and honorable owner of the Steelers, had flown out with a couple of players, including Franco, and the tough as nails Rocky Bleier. Busy with their own lives, they took the time to be with my boys, sign footballs, and then left with no publicity. A small act of kindness that meant the world to us.
Sports have a powerful way of bringing people together. As families gather for Christmas this weekend, there will be countless Pittsburgh Steeler and Penn State fans sharing stories of Franco with their children and grandchildren who will discover his greatness on the field. But I know there will also be countless families like mine that will remember him for all that he did to lift our spirits when we needed it – in the most quiet, personal, and American of ways. We don’t have to ask. We show up. We reach out. We share a compassion that is a source of our enduring strength as a nation.
The last few times I saw Franco were in September and November of 2020 on the campaign trail in Latrobe and Pittsburgh. This week of all weeks, my family remembers him and keeps him close to our hearts.
May God bless, Franco Harris – a dear friend, a good man, and a great American.
May God bless the love of his life Dana, their family, and all of Steeler Nation.
Franco Harris was 72 years old.
The YouTube is 36 minutes and 20 seconds long. Their full remarks can be found here.
President Biden: Today, I’m announcing the next tranche of our security assistance to Ukraine: $1.85 billion package of security assistance that includes both direct transfers of equipment to — that Ukraine needs, as well as contracts to supply ammunition Ukraine will need in the months ahead for its artillery, its tanks, and its rocket launchers.
The full release:
On December 21, as part of President Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced $1.85 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine. This includes the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $1 billion, as well as $850 million in assistance via the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).
The Presidential Drawdown is the twenty-eighth such drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine that the Biden Administration has authorized since August 2021. Capabilities in this package include:
Defense.gov. 12/21/2022.
- One Patriot air defense battery and munitions;
- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
- 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds;
- 10 120mm mortar systems and 10,000 120mm mortar rounds;
- 10 82mm mortar systems;
- 10 60mm mortar systems;
- 37 Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles;
- 120 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs);
- Six armored utility trucks;
- High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
- Precision aerial munitions;
- Over 2,700 grenade launchers and small arms;
- Claymore anti-personnel munitions;
- Demolition munitions and equipment;
- Night vision devices and optics;
- Tactical secure communications systems;
- Body armor and other field equipment.
Under USAI, the DoD will also provide Ukraine with:
- 45,000 152mm artillery rounds;
- 20,000 122mm artillery rounds;
- 50,000 122mm GRAD rockets;
- 100,000 rounds of 125mm tank ammunition;
- SATCOM terminals and services;
- Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment.
Unlike Presidential Drawdown, USAI is an authority under which the United States procures capabilities from industry rather than delivering equipment that is drawn down from DoD stocks. This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide additional capabilities to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
Russia’s unrelenting and brutal air attacks against critical infrastructure have only reinforced the need to provide Ukraine with sophisticated air defense capabilities. At President Biden’s direction, the United States has prioritized the provision of air defense systems to help Ukraine defend its people from Russian aggression. The Patriot air defense system in this security assistance package is one of the world’s most advanced air defense capabilities. Once operational, it will add to a layered defense to counter the full range of threats currently menacing Ukraine’s cities and civilians. The Patriot system will augment previous air defense capabilities the United States has provided Ukraine, which include NASAMs, missiles for HAWK air defense systems, Stingers, and equipment to counter the Russian use of unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, the United States has now committed more than $21.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration. Since 2014, the United States has committed approximately $24 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and approximately $21.2 billion since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion on February 24. Through PDA and USAI, DoD continues to work with Ukraine to meet both its immediate as well as its longer-term security assistance needs.
To meet Ukraine’s evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities.
Defense.gov. 12/21/2022.
The video snip is 21 seconds long. It’s a gif; there is no sound. The below tweet is a different angle of their walk to the Oval Office.
From the joint-press conference remarks:
President Biden: President Zelenskyy, I’m honored to welcome you back to the White House. We’ve spent an awful lot of time on the telephone as well as on video, but it’s good to see you in person again. And we’ve been in close and frequent communication throughout this conflict from the very beginning, but particularly — it’s particularly meaningful to talk with one another in person — look each other in the eye, because leadership through this terrible crisis has inspired the Ukrainian people — as you have done, Mr. President — and the American people and the entire world.
From the joint-press conference remarks:
President Biden: This visit also falls on the 300-day mark of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Three hundred days since Putin launched an unprovoked, unjustified, all-out assault on the free people of Ukraine. Three hundred days of Ukrainian people showing Russia and the world their steel backbone, their love of country, and their unbreakable determination — and I emphasize “unbreakable determination” — to choose their own path.
President Biden: What you’re doing, what you have achieved, it matters not just to Ukraine but to the entire world. And together, I have no doubt we’ll keep the flame of liberty burning bright, and the light will remain and prevail over the darkness.
The above video is 1 minute and 9 seconds long.
President Biden: Let me close with this: Tonight is the fourth nights of — night of Hanukkah, a time when Jewish people around the world — President Zelenskyy and many of the families among them — honor the timeless miracle of a small band of warriors fighting for their values and their freedom against a much larger foe, and how they endured and how they overcame; how the flame of faith, with only enough oil for one day, burned brightly for eight days. A story of survival and resilience that reminds us that the coldest days of the year, that light will always prevail over darkness, and hope drives away despair; and that the human spirit is unconquerable as long as there are good people willing to do what is right. This year has brought so much needless suffering and loss to the Ukrainian people. But I want you to know, President Zelenskyy — I want you to know that — all the people of Ukraine to know as well: The American people have been with you every step of the way, and we will stay with you. We will stay with you for as long as it takes.
Before their press conference President Biden and President Zelenskyy held a Oval Office pool spray. The YouTube is 6 minutes and 1 second long. Their full remarks can be found here.
After their meeting, President Zelenskyy offered an address to Congress.
This is an Open Thread.
