Beltway Insider: Biden, Gun Control, COVID/Vaccine Totals, China, Russia, Prince Philip, Bernie Madoff

Details: Category: Beltway Insider; Published on Sunday, 18 April 2021 12:35; Written by Janet Walker

President Biden lashed out against gun control critics, after the Fed-Ex mass shooting, calling this epidemic of gun violence "a national embarrassment." His words fell on a deaf America as two attempted mass casualty shootings followed immediately.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending April 17, 2021, decreased by 0.4% to 53.2% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness increased by 1.0% percentage points to 40.6%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Beltway Insider: Biden, American Jobs Plan, SCOTUS, COVID/Vaccine, Immigration Costs, Prince Philip

Biden's Continues to Reshape America

President Biden moved this week into the more difficult areas of his America's Rescue Plan as gun violence exploded again in the national conversation with another mass shooting, and two others intercepted before mass casualty could be inflicted.

Gun Violence - A National Embarrassment

Over the past month, from March 16, 2021, the day of the Atlanta Spa Shootings, Americans have experienced the trauma of a nation on edge, the reality that returning to normal means returning to gun violence, and epidemic within a pandemic which can strike anyone anywhere.

"It's a national embarrassment. It is a national embarrassment what's going on. And it's not only these mass shootings that are occurring. Every single day — every single day, there's a mass shooting in this United — in the United States if you count all those who are killed out on the streets of our cities and our rural areas. It's a national embarrassment and must come to an end," President Biden said during a press conference.

The March 16, 2021 Atlanta Spa shootings, which left eight dead, were followed one week later, March 22, 2021 by the Kings Sooper Supermarket shooting, which left ten dead. Another mass shooting followed one week later, March 29, 2021, by a California Office shooting in Orange County, which left four dead, and now two weeks later, the Fed-Ex shooting, on April 15, 2021, which left eight dead.

Sandwiched between these mass shootings are the carelessness of lethal police involved shootings. The quick trigger, the instantaneous life or death moment when police officers are forced into decisions, has become problematic as erring on the side of caution does not equate to killing a suspect.

With 150 mass shootings, beginning January 1, 2021 through April 18, 2021, has left 287 people dead and 579 injured totaling 767 victims of gun violence over the last 108 days, according to Wikipedia.

Two additional intended mass shootings were thwarted Saturday, April 17, 2021. The first in NYC when an 18-year-old armed with an AK-47 entered the subway system and began spewing hate rhetoric. The second, at the West Roads Mall, in Nebraska, where two innocent bystanders were injured. Both incidents were stopped before they could escalate into the criteria which defines a mass shooting.

Another Day; Another Shooting; Another List; Another Lost

Commonsense Gun Reform (Again)

"Gun violence is an epidemic in America. But we should not accept it. We must act. Last week, I called on the Justice Department to better protect Americans from gun violence. I also urged Congress to hear the call of the American people – including the vast majority of gun owners – to enact commonsense gun violence prevention legislation, like universal background checks and a ban of weapons of war and high-capacity magazines. Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation," President Biden said in released statement.

Biden Announces Troop Withdrawal

After September 11, 2001, The United States responded to the act of war facilitated by the attacks on the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and the fourth plane intended for an additional target in Washington, DC, which Americans determined to fight for the cause of freedom and democracy took over the plane and at the cost of their own lives crashed it in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

We, as a nation, promised "we would never forget."

"I'm now the fourth United States President to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan: two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth. After consulting closely with our allies and partners, with our military leaders and intelligence personnel, with our diplomats and our development experts, with the Congress and the Vice President, as well as with Mr. Ghani and many others around the world, I have concluded that it's time to end America's longest war. It's time for American troops to come home," President Biden said this week.

Vaccine Totals

Globally the vaccine total distribution has increased by more than 120million over the past week. That daily distribution rate fell by 1million.

Bloomberg.com has built a vaccine tracker which can be seen here. "More than 888 million doses have been administered across 155 countries, according to data collected by Bloomberg. The latest rate was roughly 17.4 million doses a day."

"So far, 209 million doses have been given. In the last week, an average of 3.19 million doses per day were administered," Bloomberg.com reported.

"In the U.S., the latest vaccination rate is 3,194,240 doses per day, on average. At this pace, it will take another three months to cover 75% of the population," reported Bloomberg.com.

Pfizer Announces Probability of a Booster

Pfizer announced this week the probability of Americans needing a annual booster to combat the coronavirus. The likelihood is that the booster will become the same two shot, three weeks apart, dosage provided annually to citizens utilizing the Pfizer vaccine.

The CDC has suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson "Jansen" Vaccine due to blood-clots reported in several individuals who opted for the single dose vaccine. The adverse side effects were reported up to three weeks post dosage and caused one fatality.

Coronavirus Totals

While the infection rates of the coronavirus have continued to decline around the world. A new strain, a mutation, has created global concern for leaders around the world are determining the best direction for the protection of the population. The importance of maintaining personal protective practices is imperative to controlling the spread.

For the week ending April 17, 2021, coronavirus cases globally, to 5,195,400 confirmed cases, bringing the total of confirmed cases worldwide to 140,427,700 people with a total worldwide death toll of 3,007,900 deaths, a weekly increase of 81,500. (Data from The New York Times).

COVID US Totals

Infections rates in the United States are also on the rise. For the week ending April 17, 2021, the total confirmed cases rose to 31,171,400 people with new confirmed cases increasing by 479,000 with an average of 68,428 cases daily over a seven-day period. The coronavirus has claimed 566,400 total deaths, a one week increase to 5,200 deaths. (Data from The New York Times).

Russia Faces Diplomatic Expulsion

President Biden has announced this week, after speaking with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, a series of measured responses in accordance with furthered determinations from the state department's final clarification of influence and involvement in the 2016 Presidential election and the SolarWinds hack.

"When we spoke again this week, I told him that we would shortly be responding in a measured and proportionate way because we had concluded that they had interfered in the election and SolarWinds was totally inappropriate. Today, I've approved several steps, including expulsion of several Russian officials, as a consequence of their actions. I've also signed an executive order authorizing new measures, including sanctions to address specific harmful actions that Russia has taken against U.S. interests," President Biden said.

"The Solarwinds hack which occurred had been addressed in February 2021, "The administration is casting the SolarWinds operation, in which government agencies and private companies were hacked, as "indiscriminate" and potentially "disruptive." That would allow officials to claim that the Russian hacking was not equivalent to the kind of espionage the United States also conducts and to sanction those responsible for the operation," reported The Washington Post.

State Department Releases COVID Report

China remains Number 1 Threat to U.S.

The annual Intelligence report issued by the United State the unclassified report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has listed China as the Number 1 threat to U.S. Security, citing it's continued pursuit to undermine the United States in several key areas including defense, technology, economics, and Intellectual Property.

"China's Communist Party, the report says, "will continue its whole-of-government efforts to spread China's influence, undercut that of the United States, drive wedges between Washington and its allies and partners, and foster new international norms that favor the authoritarian Chinese system," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Chinese President Xi-Jinping has pressed neighboring nation Taiwan to rejoin China to create a stronger unified China.

A recent Wall Street Journal Opinion piece from former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe clearly presented the informed and knowledgeable belief gathered from Intelligence and sensitive information available that the threat from China is present, current, and multi-tiered.

"The intelligence is clear: Beijing intends to dominate the U.S. and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically," Ratcliffe wrote. "[T]he People's Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II," he added. Ratcliffe wrote that China was seeking to spy on U.S. and other companies to strengthen its economy, an effort to "rob, replicate and replace" U.S. businesses. He faulted Beijing for stealing intellectual property, replicating the product or service and then selling it as a competitor on the global marketplace," reported TheHill.com.

Funeral Held for Prince Philip, Husband of Queen Elizabeth II

His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, husband to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was mourned and remembered in a scaled down and stately funeral.

Queen Elizabeth II sat alone in St. George's Chapel. As the late Duke of Edinburgh had planned the funeral himself, even down to the design of the Land Rover which would carry his coffin, the scaled down version due to COVID restrictions created a more personal feeling.

With the members of the Royal Family, HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwell, HRH Anne, Princess Royal, HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, as well as Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and their cousin Peter Philips, walked behind the casket draped with a flag representing his Danish and Greek heritage, the Duke's Admirals cap, flowers, a personal note from Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the Royal Navy sword he was presented on his wedding day, November 20, 1947.

Nine pillows were arranged with various honors HRH Prince Philip received throughout his life.

More than 13million worldwide watched the procession and memorial service.

Justice Watch: And They Got Away With It (Part 4)

Bernie Madoff, Architect of a Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme, Dies in Prison

Bernie Madoff, the architect of the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. History which bilked celebrities, sports organizations, and other high-profile investors, died this week in a North Carolina prison. He was 82.

"Mr. Madoff's thousands of victims collectively lost $64.8 billion on paper and saw their lives upended and left in financial ruin following his arrest in 2008. At least two of his victims died by suicide, while others lost their homes. And though they were far from alone in being taken in by the financier, many blamed themselves for their losses," The New York Times reported.

As with most con artists, Madoff used his reputation, his personality, even his ethnicity to prey on potential investors. Many of those have never recovered, others lost millions, and others who remained careful and watchful managed to catch the fraud before financial ruin.

While presenting a solid false front, he flaunted a portfolio filled with celebrities and affluent, wealthy, clients as well as recognizable sports organizations, which acted as sedative to calm the fears, smart and cautious investors would have had when vetting potential wealth management companies and investment opportunities, Madoff was able to skillfully secure billions throughout his reign of terror.

"Burt Ross, 78, a former mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., who lost millions of dollars investing with Mr. Madoff, said that betrayal of trust was part of what had damned Mr. Madoff in his eyes. "An evil man died," said Mr. Ross, adding that it was hard to calculate precisely how much Mr. Madoff's Ponzi scheme cost him. "An old man who was evil died in jail. It's certainly where he deserved to die," The New York Times reported.

For more information on President Joe Biden w ww.whitehouse.gov.