Yay! Biden/Harris WIN

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Dayum, he's not wasting any time. It's still the FIRST DAY!

I think keeping a critical eye on Biden, and all of our leaders, is healthy.

But....oh man, this is shaping up to be a really, really good start.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

I think keeping a critical eye on Biden, and all of our leaders, is healthy.

But....oh man, this is shaping up to be a really, really good start.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Biden has already fired three of Trump's worst appointees

First, Biden terminated Michael Pack, who was confirmed to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media in June. Pack sought to transform the agency, which oversees the international broadcaster Voice of America, into a propaganda outlet for Trump—despite a statutory mandate that prohibits such political interference. He purged the staff of VOA and its sister networks, replaced them with Trump loyalists, demanded pro-Trump coverage, and unconstitutionally punished remaining journalists who did actual reporting on the administration. In a perverse move, he refused to renew visas for foreign reporters who covered their home countries, subjecting them to retribution by authoritarian regimes. Pack also illegally fired the board of the Open Technology Fund, which promotes international internet freedom, and replaced them with Republican activists.

Second, Biden sacked Kathleen Kraninger, who was confirmed as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2018. Kraninger, who had no previous experience in consumer protection, immediately tried to undermine the agency’s role as a watchdog for the financial sector. She scrapped a landmark rule that restricted predatory payday lending, pressuring staff to downplay the resulting harm to consumers. And she refused to enforce a federal law that protected military personnel against a broad range of predatory lending. Her decision yanked federal support from military families who were defrauded by lenders. In the midst of the pandemic, Kraninger also approved a rule that allows debt collectors to harass Americans with limitless texts and emails demanding repayment.

Third, Biden demanded the resignation of Peter Robb, who was confirmed as the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel in 2017. The NLRB was created to enforce federal laws that guarantee workers the right to form a union and bargain collectively. Yet Robb is vehemently anti-union; during his tenure, he tried to limit employees’ free speech, give managers more leeway to engage in wage theft, hobble unions’ ability to collect dues, and prevent employers from helping workers organize. He also tried to seize near-total control of the agency by demoting every regional director and consolidating power in his office. If successful, this gambit would’ve given him unprecedented authority to bust existing unions and prevent new ones from forming.

Of the three, only Robb refused to resign; so as Beebo posted a bit ago, Biden terminated him.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Michael Ellis put on administrative leave amid inspector-general probe

(CNN)National Security Agency General Counsel Michael Ellis, who was installed by former President Donald Trump during his final days in office, was put on administrative leave Wednesday because his appointment is now the subject of a Department of Defense inspector general investigation, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

The last-minute installation of Ellis drew considerable scrutiny because the role of general counsel at the country's largest intelligence agency is a civil service position, not a political role, meaning it could be difficult for the Biden administration to remove Ellis.

The strategy of trying to install political loyalists into career positions is known as "burrowing" in the government.

Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Jack Reed had requested an investigation from the Pentagon's acting inspector general within days of Ellis being picked for the job in November, which came shortly after Trump fired then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper via Twitter.

"The combination of timing, comparative lack of experience of the candidate, the reported qualifications of the other finalists, and press accounts of White House involvement create a perception that political influence or considerations may have played an undue role in a merit-based civil service selection process," they wrote in a letter at the time.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

The future liberals want

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Today was amazing. Many tears, many smiles, a weight lifted off shoulders. I'm so very pleased that honor was shown to all of those we've lost and to the everyday Americans who do good in this world.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Biden's Oval so far. The portrait and bust changes have been mentioned earlier; but as for the decor, it looks like the only thing different is the rug; it's Clinton's navy blue rug. It replaces the sunburst rug from Reagan's second term that Trump used. I've heard some mistakenly refer to it as Bush W's rug - Bush W had an extremely similar sunburst pattern rug, but the one Trump used was definitely Reagan's.

Biden hasn't changed the drapes. Maybe makes sense, as they're also Clinton's drapes. Yes, Trump used Clinton's drapes, lol - I don't know whether he realized that or not.

It remains to be seen whether Biden will have the wallpaper and the seating changed. The couches are W's, and the wallpaper is a Trump addition.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Where that desk came from: HMS Resolute (1850) - Wikipedia

Fun history.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

 

[Sid]

I would have replaced Jackson with this picture of Trump:

 

[Free]

Lady Gaga does tend to do that.

 

[Free]

 

[detrius]

Biden's Oval so far. The portrait and bust changes have been mentioned earlier; but as for the decor, it looks like the only thing different is the rug; it's Clinton's navy blue rug. It replaces the sunburst rug from Reagan's second term that Trump used. I've heard some mistakenly refer to it as Bush W's rug - Bush W had an extremely similar sunburst pattern rug, but the one Trump used was definitely Reagan's.

Biden hasn't changed the drapes. Maybe makes sense, as they're also Clinton's drapes. Yes, Trump used Clinton's drapes, lol - I don't know whether he realized that or not.

It remains to be seen whether Biden will have the wallpaper and the seating changed. The couches are W's, and the wallpaper is a Trump addition.

I really hope he replaces those drapes.

I'll never not associate that mustard color with Trump's awfully tacky art preferences.

And the couches make that place look like someone's living room, not an office where work gets done.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I don't mind the drapes - they more look gold, but that wallpaper does -not- go with anything else there....

ETA: Also, I think the couches are for when people are visiting the oval office, so they are comfortable and feel more at home?

 

[Free]

ETA: Also, I think the couches are for when people are visiting the oval office, so they are comfortable and feel more at home?

 

[Jolene Benoir]

Those couches are often used when the president is meeting with advisors. There are a few famous images of both Kennedy and Nixon doing so.

There are a few photos of important meetings such as the leadup/reaction to the Bay of Pigs. Here is a meeting, though not one of those, I don't believe.

Here is one where Nixon is meeting with Governor Reagan and others. There are others of Nixon, some around the time of Watergate.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

And the couches make that place look like someone's living room, not an office where work gets done.

There have always been couches of some kind there - well, going back pretty far at least.

You don't want to know what Clinton's couches looked like.