Tuesday, I skipped Biden Bits so we could celebrate “Arraignment Day“. Because of my skipping class we are back with Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday Bits! Like with Monday’s Biden Bits, I’m gonna attempt to place similar tweets together.
The Economy/Manufacturing/Jobs/Investing In America Tweets
From Monday…
The YouTube is 29 minutes and 46 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.
Friday is Jobs Report Day.
From Tuesday…
Semi-related …
“His” 184 paged searchable PDF budget can be found here.
As of 03/22/2023 the R’s in the House had still not released their budget. According to my googling and USA TODAY that still hold true today.
USA TODAY: The clock is ticking for House Republicans to present a rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s budget proposal with one of their own. With a scheduled two-week recess next month, Congress has only seven days in session to introduce their budget before the looming statutory deadline April 15.
They go on to say: Majority Leader Steve Scalise previously told reporters in February that Republicans were working to release a budget in mid-April. The Biden administration missed its own statutory deadline by about a month. There is no penalty for Congress or the administration for missing the deadline, and it is not uncommon for administrations and Congresses to do so.
From Wednesday…
American Rescue Plan.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Inflation Reduction Act.
CHIPS and Science Act.
From the White House; Biden-Harris Administration Releases Inflation Reduction Act Guidebook for Tribes (04/04/2023):
Today, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the White House released the first edition of a new resource, “Guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act’s Clean Energy and Climate Investments in Indian Country,” which provides clear descriptions of the law’s tax incentives and funding programs for which Tribes are eligible.
“Indigenous communities are on the front lines of the intensifying and unique impacts of the climate crisis. It is critical that Tribes have access to the benefits of the transformational investments from the Inflation Reduction Act for the benefit of their people,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “As the Biden-Harris administration continues to implement this historic law, we will ensure that Tribes have the opportunity to provide meaningful and pre-decisional feedback to ensure they can leverage all of the opportunities presented by this once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
In keeping with the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision of achieving prosperity and resilience for all Tribal nations, the Inflation Reduction Act provides more than $720 million for programs dedicated to Tribal lands and Native communities. These programs will ensure more Tribal households have access to affordable and clean electricity, make Native communities more resilient to the growing threats posed by climate change, and bring the benefits of clean energy to Indian Country.In addition to these dedicated programs, the Guidebook outlines Tribal eligibility for other aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act, including billions in grant and loan programs and clean energy tax incentives. As non-taxable entities, Tribes generally have not benefited from clean energy tax credits designed to incentivize clean energy deployment. Now, the Inflation Reduction Act allows Tribes to receive direct payments in lieu of tax credits, allowing them to get money back on their clean energy investments.
“For far too long, federal programs and resources to develop clean, affordable, and reliable energy have been inaccessible to Native communities,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. “Today’s guidebook will help tribes navigate all of the opportunities available to them through President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act as part of his Investing in America agenda.”
Since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act more than seven months ago, his administration has been working quickly to design, develop, and implement its programs. This Guidebook provides information on current and prospective clean energy and climate programs. In the coming weeks and months, new developments will be published on www.CleanEnergy.gov to keep stakeholders and potential beneficiaries up to date on the latest deadlines and details.The Inflation Reduction Act is a cornerstone of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda centered on workers, families, and communities. President Biden has made transparent communication and open engagement top priorities as a means to ensure successful implementation and to fully unlock the unprecedented benefits of the law. This Guidebook is critical step toward delivering on that vision.
To view the Guidebook in full, click here.
White House.gov. 04/04/2023.
From the White House; FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Clean Energy Projects to Revitalize Energy Communities, Support Coal Workers, and Reduce Reliance on Competitors Like China
President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is Creating Jobs, Lowering Costs, and Driving Historic Economic Growth and More Than $14 Billion in Federal Investments in Energy Communities
Today, at a White House convening with energy communities, the Biden-Harris Administration will announce historic new actions to create jobs, lower costs, and invest in the energy communities that powered this nation for generations.
President Biden came to the White House to end years of big words but little action to help energy-producing parts of the country, who for decades saw jobs exported out and products imported in, all while other countries surpassed the United States in critical sectors like infrastructure, clean energy, and semiconductors. President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is already turning the tide, bringing manufacturing jobs back home and ensuring we rebuild our economy from the bottom-up and the middle-out, not top-down, so that no community is left behind.
The actions announced today will drive new investments in energy communities to support their economic revitalization, strengthen American supply chains, and help ensure coal, oil, and gas workers benefit from the new clean energy economy.
These investments build on the more than $14 billion from across federal agencies that the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization has driven to the hardest-hit energy communities across the country. They also build on the more than $7.4 billion that companies have invested in energy communities to spur clean energy manufacturing, steel production, and critical minerals processing.
The actions announced today will:
White House.gov. 04/04/2023.
- Drive New Opportunities to Coal Communities.
- The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today is releasing detailed guidance that will allow developers of clean energy projects and facilities to take advantage of billions in bonuses on top of the investment and production tax credits through the Inflation Reduction Act for locating projects in an energy community. These bonuses will incentivize more clean energy investment in energy communities, particularly coal communities.
- As part of this release, Treasury and IRS have partnered with the Interagency Working Group on Energy Communities to provide a searchable mapping tool that helps identify areas that may be eligible for the energy community bonus.
- The Energy Communities IWG today is also releasing a Memorandum of Understanding between 11 federal agencies to work together to get new resources into energy communities. Agencies will support Rapid Response Teams, which provide more targeted, on-the-ground assistance, resources, and technical guidance to communities and regions facing acute and unique challenges.
- Additionally, the Department of Energy announced the release of a Coal Power Plant Redevelopment Visualization Tool enabling stakeholders to identify opportunities for redevelopment of shuttered coal power plants and community reinvestment.
- These multi-agency efforts demonstrate the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to partnering with energy communities to build stronger local economies.
- Deploy New Clean Energy Project on Mine Lands. The Department of Energy announced it is making $450 million available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance clean energy demonstration projects on current and former mine land, providing new economic opportunities for historic coal and mining communities. Approximately 17,750 mine land sites are located across 1.5 million acres in the United States, which expose local populations to harmful pollutants and contaminate the air, land, and water quality in the surrounding areas. Repurposing this extensive area of land for clean energy projects is estimated to generate up to 90 GW of clean energy—enough to power nearly 30 million American homes.
- Bring Critical Mineral Supply Chains to America. The Department of Energy announced it is making $16 million available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to the University of North Dakota and West Virginia University to complete design studies for the first-ever full-scale domestic demonstration refinery that will extract and separate rare earth elements and other critical minerals from coal ash, acid mine drainage, and other mine waste. This project will help strengthen American supply chains, revitalize energy communities, and reduce reliance on competitors like China.
Today’s actions build on two years of historic investment in energy communities through the Energy Communities IWG:
Building on these historic investments, today the Energy Communities IWG released a new public report, Revitalizing Energy Communities: Two-Year Report to the President, to mark two years of meaningful partnership with energy communities and the Administration’s continued momentum in building a clean energy future made in America and by American workers.To date, the Energy Communities IWG has driven more than $14.1 billion in federal investment to energy communities, including $480 million in American Rescue Plan funds for economic development, $877 million for abandoned mine land reclamation, and $134 million in the largest-ever Appalachian Regional Commission awards to coal communities. The President’s economic agenda has also helped drive more than $7.4 billion in private sector investments to spur the creation and retention of good-paying jobs, strengthen our energy security, and lower energy costs for families. These investments include:
White House.gov. 04/04/2023.
- Berkshire Hathaway Energy recently broke ground on a new solar energy microgrid in Jackson County, West Virginia that will power a new aerospace manufacturing hub on the site of a former aluminum plant. Precision Castparts Corp., a Berkshire Hathaway business, will build a $500m state-of-the-art titanium melt plant powered by 100% renewable energy, which will bring 200 jobs to the site. Additionally, Our Next Energy, a Michigan-based battery manufacturer, will locate a $22m factory on the site that will produce large-scale batteries and employ about 100 people.
- TerraPower intends to invest $2 billion, in addition to $1.5 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations, to build an advanced nuclear reactor on a retiring coal plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. This first-of-a-kind reactor will create an expected 2,000 construction jobs and 250 full-time jobs.
- Novelis recently started construction on its $365 million investment into an advanced aluminum recycling center in Todd County, Kentucky, that is projected to create 140 quality jobs for Kentucky residents.
The Energy Communities IWG maintains a searchable clearinghouse of federal funding opportunities at EnergyCommunities.Gov which has identified over $500 billion in relevant or targeted funding opportunities for energy communities – up from $38 billion in April of 2021.
White House.gov. 04/04/2023.
The Science and Technology/Space/AI Tweets
From Monday…
The 2 minute and 16 second video features a phone call between President Biden and the four astronauts who will venture around the moon.
From NASA; NASA Names Astronauts to Next Moon Mission, First Crew Under Artemis (04/03/2023):
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed mission on NASA’s path to establishing a long-term presence at the Moon for science and exploration through Artemis. The agencies revealed the crew members Monday during an event at Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“The Artemis II crew represents thousands of people working tirelessly to bring us to the stars. This is their crew, this is our crew, this is humanity’s crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, each has their own story, but, together, they represent our creed: E pluribus unum – out of many, one. Together, we are ushering in a new era of exploration for a new generation of star sailors and dreamers – the Artemis Generation.”
The crew assignments are as follows: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch, and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen. They will work as a team to execute an ambitious set of demonstrations during the flight test.
The approximately 10-day Artemis II flight test will launch on the agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket, prove the Orion spacecraft’s life-support systems, and validate the capabilities and techniques needed for humans to live and work in deep space.
“We are going back to the Moon and Canada is at the center of this exciting journey,” said the Honorable François-Philippe Champagne, the minister responsible for the Canadian Space Agency. “Thanks to our longstanding collaboration with NASA, a Canadian astronaut will fly on this historic mission. On behalf of all Canadians, I want to congratulate Jeremy for being at the forefront of one of the most ambitious human endeavors ever undertaken. Canada’s participation in the Artemis program is not only a defining chapter of our history in space, but also a testament to the friendship and close partnership between our two nations.”
The flight, set to build upon the successful uncrewed Artemis I mission completed in December, will set the stage for the first woman and first person of color on the Moon through the Artemis program, paving the way for future for long-term human exploration missions to the Moon, and eventually Mars. This is the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.
“For the first time in more than 50 years, these individuals – the Artemis II crew – will be the first humans to fly to the vicinity of the Moon. Among the crew are the first woman, first person of color, and first Canadian on a lunar mission, and all four astronauts will represent the best of humanity as they explore for the benefit of all,” said Director Vanessa Wyche, NASA Johnson. “This mission paves the way for the expansion of human deep space exploration and presents new opportunities for scientific discoveries, commercial, industry and academic partnerships and the Artemis Generation.”
NASA.gov. 04/03/2023.
Meet Artemis II Astronauts
This will be Wiseman’s second trip into space, serving previously as a flight engineer aboard the International Station for Expedition 41 from May through November 2014. Wiseman has logged more than 165 days in space, including almost 13 hours as lead spacewalker during two trips outside the orbital complex. Prior to his assignment, Wiseman served as chief of the Astronaut Office from December 2020 until November 2022.
The mission will be Glover’s second spaceflight, serving previously as pilot on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, which landed May 2, 2021, after 168 days in space. As a flight engineer aboard the space station for Expedition 64, he contributed to scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, and participated in four spacewalks.
Koch also will be making her second flight into space on the Artemis II mission. She served as flight engineer aboard the space station for Expedition 59, 60, and 61. Koch set a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman with a total of 328 days in space and participated in the first all-female spacewalks.
Representing Canada, Hansen is making his first flight to space. A colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and former fighter pilot, Hansen holds a Bachelor of Science in space science from Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and a Master of Science in physics from the same institution in 2000, with a research focus on Wide Field of View Satellite Tracking. He was one of two recruits selected by CSA in May 2009 through the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign and has served as Capcom in NASA’s Mission Control Center at Johnson and, in 2017, became the first Canadian to be entrusted with leading a NASA astronaut class, leading the training of astronaut candidates from the United States and Canada.
“I could not be prouder that these brave four will kickstart our journeys to the Moon and beyond,” said Director of Flight Operations Norm Knight, NASA Johnson. “They represent exactly what an astronaut corps should be: a mix of highly capable and accomplished individuals with the skills and determination to take on any trial as a team. The Artemis II mission will be challenging, and we’ll test our limits as we prepare to put future astronauts on the Moon. With Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy at the controls, I have no doubt we’re ready to face every challenge that comes our way.”
Through Artemis missions, NASA will use innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.
For more information about the crew, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-ii
NASA.gov. 04/03/2023.
From Tuesday…
I searched AI Bill of Rights at White House.gov.
These were my results…
From the Office of Science and Technology Policy
10/22/2021; ICYMI: WIRED (Opinion): Americans Need a Bill of Rights for an AI-Powered World (blog post)
No Date Given; What is the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights?
No Date Given; Applying the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights
10/04/2022; Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights: A Vision for Protecting Our Civil Rights in the Algorithmic Age (blog post)
10/31/2022; Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights–Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights can be found here.
This link takes us to White House.gov/OSTP/AI Bill of Rights; it’s a breakdown over everything blueprint related.
Prior to the meeting with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, President Biden offered short remarks. The YouTube is 2 minutes and 45 seconds long.
His full remarks:
(To press.) You’re being so calm today.
I think they think it’s all the artificial intelligence watching them. (Laughter.)
Anyway, thank you for being here. And I want to thank our — our panel here today — our panel — our guests, including Arati and Dr. Arnold and Dr. Zuber.
And this has always been, over the years, one of my favorite meetings. We used to have these — this — the PCAST would meet downstairs in the past —
(Checks microphone.) Is that — does go that off?
— downstairs in the past, and — when I was in Barack’s administration. And I’d always keep them later, and they always wondered why I wanted to stay around to learn more. But at any rate, thank you.
You know, America is the only nation in the world that can be defined, in my view, by a single word: possibilities. I was in the Tibetan Plateau with Xi Jinping, and he asked if I could define America. I said, “Yeah, in one word: possibilities.” We believe about anything is possible if we put our mind to it. And that’s what you all represent: the enormous possibilities that exist.
And today we’re going to discuss the opportunities and the risks of artificial intelligence. AI can help deal with some very difficult challenges like disease and climate change, but we also have to address the potential risks to our society, to our economy, to our national security.
Last October, we proposed a bill of rights — a bill of rights to ensure the important protections are built into the AI systems from the start, not have to go back to do it. And I look forward to today’s discussion about ensuring responsible innovation and appropriate guardrails to protect America’s rights and safety, and protecting their privacy, and to address the bias and disinformation that is possible as well.
And so, tech companies have a responsibility, in my view, to make sure their products are safe before making them public.
Social media has already shown us the harm that powerful technologies can do without the right safeguards in place. Absent safeguards, we see the impact on the mental health and self-images and feelings and hopelessness, especially among young people.
And as I said in the State of the Union Address to Congress, Congress needs to pass bi- — (coughs) — excuse me, my — for my cold — bipartisan privacy legislation that, one, impose strict limits on personal data that tech companies collect on all of us; two, ban advertising directed — targeted advertising to children; and three, require companies to put health and safety first in the products that they build.
So with that, I’m going to, as my mother would say, “hush up,” and let’s get this meeting started.
Thank you all very much.
Q Mr. President, do you think AI is dangerous? Do you think — do you think AI is dangerous?
THE PRESIDENT: It remains to be seen. It could be.
White House.gov. 04/04/2023.
The One is Not Like the Other Tweets
From Tuesday…
Bank Bazaar says; Mahavir Jayanti is one of the most significant festivals among the Jain community and is celebrated with splendour in India and across the world. The festival commemorates the birth of Lord Mahavira. As per Jain mythology, Lord Mahavira is the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism. In 2023, Mahavir Jayanti will be celebrated on the 4th of April.
Office Holidays has the history of the celebration writing in part; According to the legend, Devananda, wife of a Brahmin named Rishabhdeva, conceived him, but the gods transferred the embryo to the womb of Trisala. According to Swetambara sect, the expectant mother was believed to have seen 14 auspicious dreams. (According to Digambara sect it was 16 dreams). Astrologers interpreted these dreams and predicted that the child would be either an emperor or a Teerthankar. For over a decade, he was an ascetic, wandering about, begging for food, and wearing little. Then he found enlightenment, became a Tirthankara and taught for 30 years before his death. The present-day ascetic religion of Jainism revers Mahavira as their key prophet. Practised by over 3.5 million people, Jainism. They follow a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Some may wear face masks to prevent the chance of inadvertently killing an insect while breathing in.
His full statement:
Today, I am proud to welcome Finland as NATO’s 31st Ally.
Seventy-four years ago today—as the United States and 11 other nations came together to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—President Truman said, “if there is anything inevitable in the future, it is the will of the people of the world for freedom and for peace.” Today, that will is stronger than ever with the addition of Finland to NATO.
In May 2022, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership. Both countries are strong democracies with highly capable militaries, who share our values and vision for the world. Less than a year later, we are welcoming Finland as a member—the fastest ratification process in NATO’s modern history. I look forward to welcoming Sweden as a NATO member as soon as possible, and encourage Turkiye and Hungary to conclude their ratification processes without delay.
When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could divide Europe and NATO. He was wrong. Today, we are more united than ever. And together—strengthened by our newest Ally Finland—we will continue to preserve transatlantic security, defend every inch of NATO territory, and meet any and all challenges we face.
White House.gov. 04/04/2023.
Halodoc shared the below tweet in yesterday’s Note.
From Wednesday…
From the White House; ICYMI: President Joe Biden Op-Ed: “To fight antisemitism, we must remember, speak out and act”
Read full story below:
CNN: To fight antisemitism, we must remember, speak out and act
[President Joe Biden, 04/05/23]Tonight, Jews around the world will gather around the seder table to celebrate Passover. They will recount the miraculous story of the Jewish people’s exodus from slavery in Egypt to freedom. It is a timeless, powerful story of faith, hope and redemption that has inspired oppressed people everywhere for generations.
But Passover is more than just a recounting of the past. It is also a cautionary tale of the present and our future as a democracy. As Jews read from the Haggadah about how evil in every generation has tried to destroy them, antisemitism is rising to record levels today.
According to the FBI, more than half of religious hate crimes in America in 2021 targeted Jews and were motivated by antisemitism. The Anti-Defamation League similarly found that in 2022 antisemitic incidents in America reached their highest levels on record since it started tracking incidents more than 40 years ago.
We see this evil across society. Terrorist attacks on synagogues. Bricks thrown through windows of Jewish businesses. Antisemitic flyers left on the front lawns of Jewish homes. Swastikas on cars and cemeteries.Antisemitic graffiti and acts in elementary, middle and high schools. Jewish students harassed on college campuses.
Jews wearing religious attire beaten and shot on streets.
Antisemitic conspiracy theories rampant online. Antisemitic tropes treated as honest public debate. Celebrities spouting antisemitic hate. All of it – flagrant embraces of extremism in public life.These acts are unconscionable and despicable. They carry in them terrifying echoes of the worst chapters in human history. And they’re not only a strike against Jews, they’re also a threat to other minority communities and a stain on the soul of our nation.
To the Jewish community, I want you to know that I see your fear, your hurt and your concern that this venom is being normalized. I decided to run for President after I saw it in Charlottesville, when neo-Nazis marched from the shadows spewing the same antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the 1930s.
Rest assured that I am committed to the safety of the Jewish people. I stand with you. America stands with you. Under my presidency, we continue to condemn antisemitism at every turn. Failure to call out hate is complicity. Silence is complicity. And we will not be silent.As the Passover holiday teaches, our work starts with the sacred duty to remember. Last year, I visited Israel once again to reaffirm America’s unshakeable commitment to its security. I returned to Yad Vashem to honor the 6 million murdered Jews, to keep alive the truth and horror of the Holocaust and to remind us all of our shared responsibility to make real the promise of “Never Again.”
It was a promise my father first instilled in me at our family dinner table, educating my siblings and me about the horrors of the Shoah.
It’s a lesson I’ve passed on to my own children and grandchildren by taking them to Dachau, a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, to understand for themselves the depths of this evil and the culpability of indifference.
And it’s a message that Jill and I have continued, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, by bringing Holocaust survivors to the White House and to the State of the Union – so the entire nation bears witness.But Passover teaches that remembering is not enough; we must also speak out. The word “Haggadah” means “telling” – and it reminds us of our moral obligation to state clearly and forcefully that this scourge of antisemitism must stop.
That’s why I appointed Deborah Lipstadt – a Holocaust expert – as our first Ambassador-level Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism around the world. The Second Gentleman – the first Jewish spouse of a vice president in our history – has also been a leading voice against antisemitism and visited Poland and Germany to promote Holocaust awareness. And I hosted the first United We Stand Summit at the White House, convening governmental and non-governmental leaders from across the country to declare that hate-fueled violence can have no safe harbor in America.But as we speak out, we must also act. Central to the seder are actions, rituals and reenactments that help us feel the exodus experience and collectively reinforce the truth that words alone are insufficient.
That’s why I signed a bipartisan law to help state and local law enforcement better identify and respond to hate crimes. And the Justice Department has made combating hate crimes one of its top priorities. My administration also secured the largest-ever increase in funding for the physical security of nonprofits, including synagogues, Jewish community centers and Jewish day schools. Because nobody should have to fear walking down the street wearing symbols of their faith.
We’ll also be releasing the first-ever national strategy to counter antisemitism, which will outline comprehensive actions the federal government will undertake, and that reflects input from over a thousand Jewish community stakeholders, faith and civil rights leaders, state and local officials and more.
Taking action also means reinforcing that Jewish culture and values are essential to the fabric of America. That’s why we hosted the first High Holiday reception at the White House and lit the first permanent White House Hanukkah menorah in our nation’s history.But government alone cannot root out antisemitism and hate. All Americans, including businesses and community leaders, educators, students, athletes, entertainers and influencers must help confront bigotry in all its forms. We must each do our part to create a culture of respect in our workplaces, in our schools, on our social media and in our homes.
Because hate never goes away, it only hides until it is given just a little oxygen. And it is our obligation to ensure that hate doesn’t grow or become normalized. It is our duty to preserve and protect the sacred ideals enshrined in our Constitution: religious freedom, equality, dignity and respect. That is the promise of America.
And that is the story of Passover – a story of redemption, resilience and unity. A story of people coming together with a shared faith, a shared hope for a better tomorrow and a shared resolve to reach the Promised Land.
We were reminded of this enduring story in the aftermath of the hostage-taking at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, last year. Hate did not pierce a community’s goodness and grace. Heroic law enforcement officials were joined by local faith leaders, including an imam and Baptist minister who offered their help. The nearby Catholic Church opened its doors to the hostages’ families. At sunset, a group of Muslim women, friends of the rabbi’s wife, arrived with the rabbi’s favorite foods. They hugged and wept and held strong together.
That’s the America that I know. From darkness, we find joy and hope and light. Rather than driving us apart, faith can move us together. Not just faith in a higher power, but faith to see each other as we should – as fellow human beings.
As we celebrate Passover, let us reflect that like the four children in the Haggadah, despite our differences we sit at the same table, as one people, one nation, one America. Let us join hands across faiths, races, and backgrounds to make clear that evil will not win; hate will not prevail; and antisemitism will not be the story of our time.
Let us remember, speak out and act to restore the soul of America together.
White House.gov. 04/05/2023.
President Biden’s public schedule for Wednesday 04/05/2023:
| 9:30 AM | The President receives the President’s Daily Briefing The White House Closed Press |
| 10:00 AM | In-Town Pool Call Time The White House In-Town Pool |
| 12:00 PM | The President and The Vice President have lunch The White House Closed Press |
| 2:00 PM Press Briefing | Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre James S. Brady Press Briefing Room |
Press briefing:
This is an Open Thread.
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