Yes, this year's monsoon season in the Phoenix area was an active one - just ask the SRP-MIC

For the uninitiated, "SRP-MIC" means "Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community".

From O'odham Action News, dated August 4,2022 -

Severe Storm Ravages the Community, Causes Widespread Damage

A severe monsoon storm struck the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in the late evening between 8 and 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 17. Several homes, power lines and pieces of infrastructure were damaged or completely destroyed by high winds, prompting the Community to make a formal disaster declaration. 

In the wake of the storm, the Salt River Fire Department, Public Works Department  Salt River Police Department, Salt River Health & Human Services (HHS) sprang into action to assess the damage. For Community members left without power and unable to find comfort at home due to the warm temperatures, cooling stations were set up at SRFD Fire Station 294 and the Lehi Community Building. Individuals whom were significantly impacted by the storms were provided short-term housing solutions through Salt River HHS. 

Certain people in Washington, D.C. were paying attention.

From the White House -

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Disaster Declaration for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Disaster Declaration for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and ordered federal aid to supplement the Tribe’s efforts in the areas affected by severe storms from July 17-18, 2022.

The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is also available to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storms.

Finally, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

Deanne Criswell, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Andrew F. Grant as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas. 

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the Tribe and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.  The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@FEMA.DHS.GOV.

Cheeto would have sent paper towels.  If that.

In 2016, the Community did NOT vote for Cheeto (note: while the SRP-MIC has its own precincts for its own elections, in terms of Maricopa County elections, they have one precinct - Honda.)

In 2016, Puerto Rico didn't vote for Cheeto, in fact, they *couldn't*.  They couldn't vote for any presidential candidate.  Yet, after their disaster, Cheeto embraced his inner petty bigot, and they got rolls of paper towels.

The people of the SRP-MIC *could* have voted for Cheeto, but didn't.

He didn't impress the voters there in 2020. 

A tale of two speeches, GOP view: Trump's speech helps Democrats; Biden's speech helps GQPers become snowflakes

From The Hill -

Former GOP rep: Trump gave Democrats ‘major gift’ with speech in Pennsylvania

Former Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent on Saturday said former President Trump’s speech at a rally on Saturday night in the Keystone State was a “major gift” for Democrats. 

“Most Republican candidates don’t want anything to do with Donald Trump in this general election. They want this to be about Joe Biden and the Democrats, but to the extent Trump inserts himself into this conversation, he’s giving the Democrats a major gift right now,” Dent said on CNN. 

That's the "helping Democrats" part.  The going "snowflake" part?

Also from The Hill -

McCaul: A lot of Republicans were ‘very offended’ by Biden speech

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said many Republicans were “very offended” by President Biden’s primetime speech last week that called out former President Trump and MAGA Republicans as extremists and a threat to democracy.

McCaul told ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that Biden’s Philadelphia address from Independence Hall on Thursday night had the “opposite effect” of unifying the nation because calling Republicans “a threat to democracy is really a slap in the face.”

Actually, Biden made it clear that he wasn't talking about *all* Republicans, notwithstanding McCaul's pouting.

From the White House -

[snip]

Now, I want to be very clear — (applause) — very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans.  Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology.

Joe Biden embraces his inner statesman, criticizing political extremism; Kari Lake responds by embracing her inner extremist

From The Atlantic -

The Speech No President Should Have to Give

We’re all parsing The Speech, Joe Biden’s “Soul of the Nation” address about the growing anti-constitutionalism of Republican extremism. But we should first consider how hard it is to evaluate a speech that no president should have to give.

Joe Biden told us last night that American democracy is under attack. He did so in plain language and left no doubt about either the dire nature, or the source, of the threat. Most important, he named names—including, finally, Donald Trump. The president took a political risk and spoke the hard truth: that a significant number of citizens of the United States of America, concentrated in the rotted-out shell of the Republican Party, have become extremists who are engaged in anti-constitutional opposition to our system of government.

Whenever a president gives a speech, pundits, analysts, and citizens all jump to grade the exercise. Was it a great speech or just a good speech? Did it hit the right marks? Did it serve the right constituency? Did it help or hurt his party?

This speech, however, defies such analysis. (I have some serious complaints about the optics and staging. I’ll get to those.) Instead, we should be deeply troubled that Joe Biden had to give this speech at all.

The President was blunt but honest; the response of Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, was [ahem] less diplomatic.

From RedState.com (the things I read so that others don't have to.  I may need new eyes after this one, though :) ) -

Kari Lake Reacts to Biden's Speech: 'Most Absurd and Frankly, Obscene Address'

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake criticized President Joe Biden’s address to the nation as divisive at a press conference in Phoenix on Thursday.

“I watched the most absurd, frankly, obscene address I’ve ever seen a president give to the American people,” Lake said at a press conference at her campaign headquarters in Phoenix Thursday night.

“What I saw was someone who’s trying to divide this country. I’m not sure what’s wrong with Joe Biden, I know that he may have problems that we don’t know about, but what I saw was somebody who carries in his heart a great deal of disdain for a whole lot of really good American people,” Lake continued.

"Obscene"?  Really?  

More like Lake is working to shore up her right-wing bona fides when she doesn't need to, kind of like when John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his VP running mate during his 2008 presidential run.

How'd that work out for McCain?

 Anyway, the transcript of Biden's speech, courtesy the White House -

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BIDEN ON THE CONTINUED BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE NATION

8:03 P.M. EDT
 
THE PRESIDENT:  My fellow Americans, please, if you have a seat, take it.  I speak to you tonight from sacred ground in America: Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 
This is where America made its Declaration of Independence to the world more than two centuries ago with an idea, unique among nations, that in America, we’re all created equal.
 
This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated.
 
This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self-government the world has ever known with three simple words: “We, the People.”  “We, the People.”
 
These two documents and the ideas they embody — equality and democracy — are the rock upon which this nation is built.  They are how we became the greatest nation on Earth.  They are why, for more than two centuries, America has been a beacon to the world.
 
But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault.  We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.
 
So tonight, I have come this place where it all began to speak as plainly as I can to the nation about the threats we face, about the power we have in our own hands to meet these threats, and about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it.
 
We must never forget: We, the people, are the true heirs of the American experiment that began more than two centuries ago.
 
We, the people, have burning inside each of us the flame of liberty that was lit here at Independence Hall — a flame that lit our way through abolition, the Civil War, Suffrage, the Great Depression, world wars, Civil Rights.
 
That sacred flame still burns now in our time as we build an America that is more prosperous, free, and just.
 
That is the work of my presidency, a mission I believe in with my whole soul.
 
But first, we must be honest with each other and with ourselves. 
 
Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal.
 
Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.
 
Now, I want to be very clear — (applause) — very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans.  Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology.
 
I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.
 
But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.
 
These are hard things. 
 
But I’m an American President — not the President of red America or blue America, but of all America.
 
And I believe it is my duty — my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful.
 
And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution.  They do not believe in the rule of law.  They do not recognize the will of the people. 
 
They refuse to accept the results of a free election.  And they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.
 
MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards — backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.
 
They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.
 
They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th — brutally attacking law enforcement — not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots.
 
And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
 
They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million people.  This time, they’re determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people.
 
That’s why respected conservatives, like Federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig, has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans, quote, a “clear and present danger” to our democracy.
 
But while the threat to American democracy is real, I want to say as clearly as we can: We are not powerless in the face of these threats.  We are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy.
 
There are far more Americans — far more Americans from every — from every background and belief who reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those that accept it.  (Applause.)
 
And, folks, it is within our power, it’s in our hands — yours and mine — to stop the assault on American democracy.
 
I believe America is at an inflection point — one of those moments that determine the shape of everything that’s to come after.
 
And now America must choose: to move forward or to move backwards?  To build the future or obsess about the past?  To be a nation of hope and unity and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness?
 
MAGA Republicans have made their choice.  They embrace anger.  They thrive on chaos.  They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.
 
But together — together, we can choose a different path.  We can choose a better path.  Forward, to the future.  A future of possibility.  A future to build and dream and hope.
 
And we’re on that path, moving ahead.
 
I know this nation.  I know you, the American people.  I know your courage.  I know your hearts.  And I know our history.
 
This is a nation that honors our Constitution.  We do not reject it.  (Applause.)
 
This is a nation that believes in the rule of law.  We do not repudiate it.  (Applause.)
 
This is a nation that respects free and fair elections.  We honor the will of the people.  We do not deny it.  (Applause.)
 
And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool.  We do not encourage violence.
 
We are still an America that believes in honesty and decency and respect for others, patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities. 
 
We are still, at our core, a democracy.  (Applause.)

And yet history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy.
 
For a long time, we’ve told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed, but it’s not.
 
We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it — each and every one of us.

That’s why tonight I’m asking our nation to come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your ideology.  (Applause.)

We’re all called, by duty and conscience, to confront extremists who will put their own pursuit of power above all else. 
 
Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans: We must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving American democracy than MAGA Republicans are to — to destroying American democracy. 
 
We, the people, will not let anyone or anything tear us apart.  Today, there are dangers around us we cannot allow to prevail.   We hear — you’ve heard it — more and more talk about violence as an acceptable political tool in this country.  It’s not.  It can never be an acceptable tool. 
 
So I want to say this plain and simple: There is no place for political violence in America.  Period.  None.  Ever.  (Applause.)

We saw law enforcement brutally attacked on January the 6th.  We’ve seen election officials, poll workers — many of them volunteers of both parties — subjected to intimidation and death threats.  And — can you believe it? — FBI agents just doing their job as directed, facing threats to their own lives from their own fellow citizens. 
 
On top of that, there are public figures — today, yesterday, and the day before — predicting and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in the streets.

This is inflammatory.  It’s dangerous.  It’s against the rule of law.  And we, the people, must say: This is not who we are.  (Applause.) 
 
Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t be pro-ex- — pro-ex- — pro-insurrectionist and pro-American.  They’re incompatible.  (Applause.)

We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country.  It’s wrong.  We each have to reject political violence with — with all the moral clarity and conviction this nation can muster.  Now.
 
We can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined, for that is a path to chaos. 
 
Look, I know poli- — politics can be fierce and mean and nasty in America.  I get it.  I believe in the give-and-take of politics, in disagreement and debate and dissent.
 
We’re a big, complicated country.  But democracy endures only if we, the people, respect the guardrails of the republic.  Only if we, the people, accept the results of free and fair elections.  (Applause.)  Only if we, the people, see politics not as total war but mediation of our differences. 
 
Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated.  And that’s where MAGA Republicans are today.  (Applause.)
 
They don’t understand what every patriotic American knows: You can’t love your country only when you win.  (Applause.)  It’s fundamental. 
 
American democracy only works only if we choose to respect the rule of law and the institutions that were set up in this chamber behind me, only if we respect our legitimate political differences.  
 
I will not stand by and watch — I will not — the will of the American people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless, evidence-free claims of fraud. 
 
I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost.  (Applause.) 
 
I will not stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this country — the freedom to vote and have your vote counted — and — be taken from you and the American people.  (Applause.) 
 
Look, as your President, I will defend our democracy with every fiber of my being, and I’m asking every American to join me.  (Applause.)
 
(A protestor disruption can be heard.)
 
Throughout our history, America has often made the greatest progress coming out of some of our darkest moments, like you’re hearing in that bullhorn. 
 
I believe we can and we must do that again, and we are. 
 
MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair.  They spread fear and lies –- lies told for profit and power. 
 
But I see a very different America — an America with an unlimited future, an America that is about to take off.  I hope you see it as well.  Just look around.
 
I believed we could lift America from the depths of COVID, so we passed the largest economic recovery package since Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  And today, America’s economy is faster, stronger than any other advanced nation in the world.  (Applause.)  We have more to go.
 
I believed we could build a better America, so we passed the biggest infrastructure investment since President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  And we’ve now embarked on a decade of rebuilding
the nation’s roads, bridges, highways, ports, water systems, high-speed Internet, railroads.  (Applause.)
 
I believed we could make America safer, so we passed the most significant gun safety law since President Clinton.  (Applause.)
 
I believed we could go from being the highest cost of prescriptions in the world to making prescription drugs and healthcare more affordable, so we passed the most significant healthcare reforms since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act.  (Applause.)
 
And I believed we could create — we could create a clean energy future and save the planet, so we passed the most important climate initiative ever, ever, ever.  (Applause.)
 
The cynics and the critics tell us nothing can get done, but they are wrong.  There is not a single thing America cannot do — not a single thing beyond our capacity if we do it together.
 
It’s never easy.  But we’re proving that in America, no matter how long the road, progress does come.  (Applause.)
 
Look, I know the last year — few years have been tough.  But today, COVID no longer controls our lives.  More Americans are working than ever.  Businesses are growing.  Our schools are open.  Millions of Americans have been lifted out of poverty.  Millions of veterans once exposed to toxic burn pits will now get what they deserve for their families and the compa- — compensation.  (Applause.) 
 
American manufacturing has come alive across the Heartland, and the future will be made in America — (applause) — no matter what the white supremacists and the extremists say. 
 
I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is paying off.  Proving that from darkness — the darkness of Charlottesville, of COVID, of gun violence, of insurrection — we can see the light.  Light is now visible.  (Applause.)
 
Light that will guide us forward not only in words, but in actions — actions for you, for your children, for your grandchildren, for America.
 
Even in this moment, with all the challenges we face, I give you my word as a Biden: I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.  Not because of me, but because of who you are.
 
We’re going to end cancer as we know it.  Mark my words.  (Applause.)
 
We are going to create millions of new jobs in a clean energy economy.
 
We’re going to think big.  We’re going to make the 21st century another American century because the world needs us to.  (Applause.)
 
That’s where we need to focus our energy — not in the past, not on divisive culture wars, not on the politics of grievance, but on a future we can build together.
 
The MAGA Republicans believe that for them to succeed, everyone else has to fail.  They believe America — not like I believe about America. 
 
I believe America is big enough for all of us to succeed, and that is the nation we’re building: a nation where no one is left behind.
 
I ran for President because I believed we were in a battle for the soul of this nation.  I still believe that to be true.  I believe the soul is the breath, the life, and the essence of who we are.  The soul is what makes us “us.”
 
The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition that all are created equal in the image of God.  That all are entitled to be treated with decency, dignity, and respect.  That all deserve justice and a shot at lives of prosperity and consequence.  And that democracy — democracy must be defended, for democracy makes all these things possible.  (Applause.)  Folks, and it’s up to us.
 
Democracy begins and will be preserved in we, the people’s, habits of heart, in our character: optimism that is tested
yet endures, courage that digs deep when we need it, empathy that fuels democracy, the willingness to see each other not as enemies but as fellow Americans.

Look, our democracy is imperfect.  It always has been.
 
Notwithstanding those folks you hear on the other side there.  They’re entitled to be outrageous.  This is a democracy.  But history and common sense — (applause) — good manners is nothing they’ve ever suffered from. 
 
But history and common sense tell us that opportunity, liberty, and justice for all are most likely to come to pass in a democracy.
 
We have never fully realized the aspirations of our founding, but every generation has opened those doors a little wider to include more people who have been excluded before.
 
My fellow Americans, America is an idea — the most powerful idea in the history of the world.  And it beats in the hearts of the people of this country.  It beats in all of our hearts.  It unites America.  It is the American creed.
 
The idea that America guarantees that everyone be treated with dignity.  It gives hate no safe harbor.  It installs in everyone the belief that no matter where you start in life, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.
 
That’s who we are.  That’s what we stand for.  That’s what we believe.  And that is precisely what we are doing: opening doors, creating new possibilities, focusing on the future.  And we’re only just beginning.  (Applause.)
 
Our task is to make our nation free and fair, just and strong, noble and whole.
 
And this work is the work of democracy — the work of this generation.  It is the work of our time, for all time.
 n’t afford to have — leave anyone on the sidelines.  We need everyone to do their part.  So speak up.  Speak out.  Get engaged.  Vote, vote, vote.  (Applause.)

And if we all do our duty — if we do our duty in 2022 and beyond, then ages still to come will say we — all of us here — we kept the faith.  We preserved democracy.  (Applause.)  We heeded our wor- — we — we heeded not our worst instincts but our better angels.  And we proved that, for all its imperfections, America is still the beacon to the world, an ideal to be realized, a promise to be kept.
 
There is nothing more important, nothing more sacred, nothing more American.  That’s our soul.  That’s who we truly are.  And that’s who must — we must always be.
 
And I have no doubt — none –– that this is who we will be and that we’ll come together as a nation.  That we’ll secure our democracy.  That for the next 200 years, we’ll have what we had the past 200 years: the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. 
 
We just need to remember who we are.  We are the United States of America.  The United States of America.  (Applause.)
 
And may God protect our nation.  And may God protect all those who stand watch over our democracy.  God bless you all.  (Applause.)  Democracy.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

8:27 P.M. EDT

When a GOPer describes joe Biden as be "not helpful", he means "not joining us in dancing on the graves of the victims of gun violence"

From The Hill -

Toomey says Biden not ‘helpful’ amid negotiations on gun legislation

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) said on Sunday that President Biden has not been “helpful” amid congressional negotiations on gun reform in the wake of a string mass shootings in the U.S. 

“I think the president might have been a president who would reach across the aisle try to bring people together,” Toomey told moderator Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“But he’s chosen not to take that approach,” Toomey added. “Since day one, he has sided with the far left of his party and really not reached out to Republicans.”

Joe Biden shows that he isn't just President of the United States, but master of the oxymoron

Pointed at this by Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

From Business Insider -

Biden insists McConnell is a 'rational Republican' who may come around on gun control, even as the GOP blocks legislation

President Joe Biden insisted Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is "rational" and could agree to gun control, despite the party's longtime refusal to seriously entertain policy changes on firearms. 

On Monday, Biden told reporters that he was unsure of whether Republicans would compromise, noting that he has "not been negotiating with any of the Republicans yet." 

"Rational Republican"?  In reference to Mitch McConnell?  Really?

See: Garland, Merrick.

McConnell may (or may not) be "rational," but that doesn't preclude him from being "evil."

Not by a long shot.

Expect future White House speeches and press releases to be littered with words and phrases like "jumbo shrimp," "working vacation," and/or "accurate estimate."

The AZGOP may some need some lessons on both history and delivering insults

From Twitter -

Two points here:

1. Equating Joe Biden to an underrated president (and the best ex-president ever) isn't necessarily a bad thing for Biden.

2. Don Rickles may not be available for "insult" lessons (he died in 2017) but journalist Robert Caro *is* available for "history" lessons; of course, the AZGOP may not be willing to hear from him - as far as I can tell, he never worked for the Washington Examiner (the source of the story in their tweet).

Note: the linked video is from 2003, but I loved his LBJ books, so I'm including it.

The First Lady will visit AZ on Monday, so AZ's average IQ will go up Monday.

Actually, while I don't know that she is the most intelligent FLOTUS ever (there have been some very smart First Ladies), she is almost inarguably the best educated one ever.

From AZFamily (Channels 3 & 5 in Phoenix) -

First Lady Jill Biden visiting Phoenix, Tucson on Monday

The White House says First Lady Jill Biden is coming to Phoenix and Tucson on Monday to promote the President’s policies that were showcased during this year’s State of the Union address.

Officials say Biden is scheduled to arrive in Phoenix around 12:30 p.m. She will be joined by Angela Hanks, the Assistant Secretary of Employment & Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor. Biden and Hanks are scheduled to tour Intel’s campus in Chandler later that afternoon, where they are expected to talk about the company’s investment in community colleges to strengthen the workforce. Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, is slated to attend the news conference.

The last day has seen some epic pushbacks against the Big Lie

Let's start off with President Biden's speech on the first anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

From CNN -

Biden condemns Trump as a threat to democracy in speech marking one year since January 6 attack

President Joe Biden on Thursday marked the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by forcefully calling out former President Donald Trump for attempting to undo American democracy, saying such an insurrection must never happen again.

Biden vowed to defend the nation's founding ideals from the threats posed by the violent mob that stormed the Capitol one year ago and the prevailing lies that Trump and his allies continue to repeat about the 2020 election. An animated Biden made one of the most passionate addresses of his still-young presidency as he harkened back to critical moments from the nation's past, casting the assault as a living symbol of the inflection point in American history he so often speaks about.

[snip]

Biden has typically avoided speaking directly about his predecessor since taking office, and pointedly did not say his name on Thursday -- instead making more than a dozen references to "the former President."

[snip]

"A former President of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He's done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interest as more important than his country's interest and America's interest," Biden said.

[snip]

After his speech, Biden defended calling out Trump in such a direct way when asked by a reporter if he believed going after the former President would "divide more than it heals."

The President responded: "The way you have to heal, you have to recognize the extent of the wound. You can't pretend. This is serious stuff."

"You've got to face it. That's what great nations do. They face the truth, deal with it and move on," Biden said.

Trump responded to the criticism in the manner most usual for him, with more lies.

From The Hill (my emphasis added) -

Trump lashes out at Biden over Jan. 6 speech

Former President Trump on Thursday responded to President Biden's fiery speech on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol saying the remarks alluding to Trump's role in the riot deepened political divides in the country.

Trump, in a statement released just as Biden wrapped up his speech in Statuary Hall, called the remarks "political theater."

[snip]

Trump said that Biden "used my name today to try to further divide America." While Biden indirectly blamed Trump for the insurrection and referred to the former president multiple times during the speech, he did not call Trump out by name.

Edited to add:

Also from CNN -

The single most important -- and powerful -- line from Joe Biden's 1/6 speech

"You can't love your country only when you win."

{/end edit]

The pushback wasn't just from President Biden.

Yesterday, the Maricopa County Elections Department and Office of the Recorder issued a report about the 2020 election.

From the response (the full report is available at the link) -

The in-depth analysis and review of the reports and presentations issued by the Senate’s contractors found that nearly every finding included faulty analysis, inaccurate claims, misleading conclusions, and a lack of understanding of federal and state election laws. Our review of the claims made by Cyber Ninjas, CyFIR, EchoMail, and the Senate’s Audit Liaisons found:

• 22 were misleading. The claims lead the reader to assume a conclusion that is not supported by the evidence.
• 41 were inaccurate. The claims include flawed or misstated analysis.
• 13 were false. The claims are demonstrably false and can be proven false using materials provided to the Senate.

From the full report ("UOCAVA " is an abbreviation for "Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act") (my emphasis added) -

Maricopa County is the second largest voting jurisdiction in the United States. With more than 2.6 million registered voters, Maricopa County represents more than 60 percent of Arizona’s registered voters. The Elections Department reports to both the County Board of Supervisors and the County Recorder and administers city, town, school district, special district, county, state, and federal elections in Maricopa County. 

Transparency, accuracy, and accountability are paramount to Maricopa County and its Elections Department. Maricopa County’s election staff are trained and Certified Election Officers with knowledge of state and federal election laws and the Arizona Election Procedures Manual. Our role as election administrators is guided by statute and our team follows those laws and procedures so that every eligible vote is counted. 

On November 23, 2020, Maricopa County delivered the November General Election certified canvass results to the Arizona Secretary of State. The Elections Department stands by these certified results. 

Many allegations about the November 2020 General Election made their way to court and Maricopa County clearly presented the facts to judges at both the state and federal level. Fourteen different times complaints alleged election fraud, manipulation, or tampering in Maricopa County’s 2020 General Election. No claim succeeded. For a complete listing of all court cases, see Exhibit – COURT CASES. 

The County welcomes objective and unbiased scrutiny and reviews of its elections processes. Following the August 2018 Primary Election, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors enlisted both the County’s internal audit department and an external auditing company to conduct a review of the County’s election processes. Those professional, non-partisan reviews yielded many positive changes to the County’s elections. 

After the November 2020 General Election, the County hired two federally certified Voting System Test Laboratories to conduct an audit of the tabulation equipment used to count ballots for all five of the elections administered in 2020. Both certified laboratories found no anomalies in the tabulation equipment and confirmed that: 

• All tested software, systems, and equipment were using certified software

• No malicious malware or hardware was installed 

• No evidence of internet connectivity was found 

• The 2020 General Election program and tabulation equipment was accurate (test completed by only one Voting System Test Laboratory) 

Despite all evidence to the contrary, false allegations continue to persist and damage voter confidence. Many falsehoods have been perpetuated through the Senate’s review of Maricopa County’s ballots, equipment and data, which were subpoenaed by Arizona Senate President Karen Fann and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Warren Petersen. 

[snip]

[snip]

5.6.7 (Audit UOCAVA Count Does Not Match the EAC Count) When performing this review, Cyber Ninjas used the incorrect data set from the Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) Report, a state-by-state report that covers data on various topics related to the administration of federal elections published by the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission. On page 30 of Cyber Ninjas report they state that there were 10,408 UOCAVA ballots cast in Maricopa County during the 2020 General Election as reported by the EAVS report. It appears Cyber Ninjas pulled data from the wrong section.

[snip]

5.7.7 (Inaccurate Identification of UOCAVA Ballots) Cyber Ninjas include a finding where they state that the manifest the County used to transfer the ballots to the Senate does not identify which boxes contain UOCAVA ballots. The County had no operational need or statutory requirement to identify this information when the ballots were boxed and labeled, which occurred prior to the creation of the manifests.

Edited to add:

From the White House -

Remarks By President Biden To Mark One Year Since The January 6th Deadly Assault On The U.S. Capitol

THE PRESIDENT:  Madam Vice President, my fellow Americans: To state the obvious, one year ago today, in this sacred place, democracy was attacked — simply attacked.  The will of the people was under assault.  The Constitution — our Constitution — faced the gravest of threats.

Outnumbered and in the face of a brutal attack, the Capitol Police, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, the National Guard, and other brave law enforcement officials saved the rule of law.

Our democracy held.  We the people endured.  And we the people prevailed.

For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol.

But they failed.  They failed.

And on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again.

I’m speaking to you today from Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.  This is where the House of Representatives met for 50 years in the decades leading up to the Civil War.  This is — on this floor is where a young congressman of Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, sat at desk 191. 

Above him — above us, over that door leading into the Rotunda — is a sculpture depicting Clio, the muse of history.  In her hands, an open book in which she records the events taking place in this chamber below.

Clio stood watch over this hall one year ago today, as she has for more than 200 years.  She recorded what took place.  The real history.  The real facts.  The real truth.  The facts
and the truth that Vice President Harris just shared and that you and I and the whole world saw with our own eyes.

The Bible tells us that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free.  We shall know the truth.

Well, here is the God’s truth about January 6th, 2021:

Close your eyes.  Go back to that day.  What do you see? Rioters rampaging, waving for the first time inside this Capitol a Confederate flag that symbolized the cause to destroy America, to rip us apart.

Even during the Civil War, that never, ever happened.  But it happened here in 2021.

What else do you see?  A mob breaking windows, kicking in doors, breaching the Capitol.  American flags on poles being used as weapons, as spears.  Fire extinguishers being thrown at the heads of police officers. 

A crowd that professes their love for law enforcement assaulted those police officers, dragged them, sprayed them, stomped on them.

Over 140 police officers were injured.

We’ve all heard the police officers who were there that day testify to what happened.  One officer called it, quote, a med- — “medieval” battle, and that he was more afraid that day than he was fighting the war in Iraq.

They’ve repeatedly asked since that day: How dare anyone — anyone — diminish, belittle, or deny the hell they were put through?

We saw it with our own eyes.  Rioters menaced these halls, threatening the life of the Speaker of the House, literally erecting gallows to hang the Vice President of the United States of America.

But what did we not see?

We didn’t see a former president, who had just rallied the mob to attack — sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House, watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, and the nation’s capital under siege.

This wasn’t a group of tourists.  This was an armed insurrection.

They weren’t looking to uphold the will of the people.  They were looking to deny the will of the people.

They were looking to uphold — they weren’t looking to uphold a free and fair election.  They were looking to overturn one.

They weren’t looking to save the cause of America.  They were looking to subvert the Constitution.

This isn’t about being bogged down in the past.  This is about making sure the past isn’t buried.

That’s the only way forward.  That’s what great nations do.  They don’t bury the truth, they face up to it.  Sounds like hyperbole, but that’s the truth: They face up to it.

We are a great nation.

My fellow Americans, in life, there’s truth and,
tragically, there are lies — lies conceived and spread for profit and power.

We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie.

And here is the truth: The former president of the
United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election.  He’s done so because he values power over principle, because he sees his own interests as more important than his country’s interests and America’s interests, and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy or our Constitution.

He can’t accept he lost, even though that’s what 93 United States senators, his own Attorney General, his own Vice President, governors and state officials in every battleground state have all said: He lost.

That’s what 81 million of you did as you voted for a new way forward.

He has done what no president in American history — the history of this country — has ever, ever done: He refused to accept the results of an election and the will of the American people.

While some courageous men and women in the Republican Party are standing against it, trying to uphold the principles of that party, too many others are transforming that party into something else.  They seem no longer to want to be the party — the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan, the Bushes.

But whatever my other disagreements are with Republicans who support the rule of law and not the rule of a single man, I will always seek to work together with them to find shared solutions where possible.  Because if we have a shared belief in democracy, then anything is possible — anything.

And so, at this moment, we must decide: What kind of nation are we going to be?

Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?

Are we going to be a nation where we allow partisan election officials to overturn the legally expressed will of the people?

Are we going to be a nation that lives not by the light of the truth but in the shadow of lies?

We cannot allow ourselves to be that kind of nation.  The way forward is to recognize the truth and to live by it.

The Big Lie being told by the former president and many Republicans who fear his wrath is that the insurrection in this country actually took place on Election Day — November 3rd, 2020.

Think about that.  Is that what you thought?  Is that what you thought when you voted that day?  Taking part in an insurrection?  Is that what you thought you were doing?  Or did you think you were carrying out your highest duty as a citizen and voting?

The former president and his supporters are trying to rewrite history.  They want you to see Election Day as the day of insurrection and the riot that took place here on January 6th as the true expression of the will of the people.

Can you think of a more twisted way to look at this country — to look at America?  I cannot.

Here’s the truth: The election of 2020 was the greatest demonstration of democracy in the history of this country.

More of you voted in that election than have ever voted in all of American history.  Over 150 million Americans went to the polls and voted that day in a pandemic — some at grea- — great risk to their lives.  They should be applauded, not attacked.

Right now, in state after state, new laws are being written — not to protect the vote, but to deny it; not only to suppress the vote, but to subvert it; not to strengthen or protect our democracy, but because the former president lost.

Instead of looking at the election results from 2020 and saying they need new ideas or better ideas to win more votes, the former president and his supporters have decided the only way for them to win is to suppress your vote and subvert our elections. 

It’s wrong.  It’s undemocratic.  And frankly, it’s un-American.

The second Big Lie being told by the former President and his supporters is that the results of the election of 2020 can’t be trusted.

The truth is that no election — no election in American history has been more closely scrutinized or more carefully counted.

Every legal challenge questioning the results in every court in this country that could have been made was made and was rejected — often rejected by Republican-appointed judges, including judges appointed by the former president himself, from state courts to the United States Supreme Court.

Recounts were undertaken in state after state.  Georgia — Georgia counted its results three times, with one recount by hand.

Phony partisan audits were undertaken long after the election in several states.  None changed the results.  And in some of them, the irony is the margin of victory actually grew slightly.

So, let’s speak plainly about what happened in 2020.  Even before the first ballot was cast, the former president was preemptively sowing doubt about the election results.  He built his lie over months.  It wasn’t based on any facts.  He was just looking for an excuse — a pretext — to cover for the truth.

He’s not just a former president.  He’s a defeated former president — defeated by a margin of over 7 million of your votes in a full and free and fair election.

There is simply zero proof the election results were inaccurate.  In fact, in every venue where evidence had to be produced and an oath to tell the truth had to be taken, the former president failed to make his case.

Just think about this: The former president and his supporters have never been able to explain how they accept as accurate the other election results that took place on November 3rd — the elections for governor, United States Senate, the House of Representatives — elections in which they closed the gap in the House.

They challenge none of that.  The President’s name was first, then we went down the line — governors, senators, House of Representatives.  Somehow, those results were accurate on the same ballot, but the presidential race was flawed?

And on the same ballot, the same day, cast by the same voters.

The only difference: The former President didn’t lose those races; he just lost the one that was his own.

Finally, the third Big Lie being told by a former President and his supporters is that the mob who sought to impose their will through violence are the nation’s true patriots.

Is that what you thought when you looked at the mob ransacking the Capitol, destroying property, literally defecating in the hallways, rifling through desks of senators and representatives, hunting down members of congress?  Patriots?  Not in my view.

To me, the true patriots were the more than 150 [million] Americans who peacefully expressed their vote at the ballot box, the election workers who protected the integrity of the vote, and the heroes who defended this Capitol.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

You can’t obey the law only when it’s convenient.

You can’t be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies.

Those who stormed this Capitol and those who instigated and incited and those who called on them to do so held a dagger at the throat of America — at American democracy.

They didn’t come here out of patriotism or principle.  They came here in rage — not in service of America, but rather in service of one man.

Those who incited the mob — the real plotters — who were desperate to deny the certification of the election and defy the will of the voters.

But their plot was foiled.  Congressmen — Democrats and Republicans — stayed.  Senators, representatives, staff — they finished their work the Constitution demanded.  They honored their oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Look, folks, now it’s up to all of us — to “We the People” — to stand for the rule of law, to preserve the flame of democracy, to keep the promise of America alive.

That promise is at risk, targeted by the forces that value brute strength over the sanctity of democracy, fear over hope, personal gain over public good.

Make no mistake about it: We’re living at an inflection point in history.

Both at home and abroad, we’re engaged anew in a struggle between democracy and autocracy, between the aspirations of the many and the greed of the few, between the people’s right of self-determination and self- — the self-seeking autocrat. 

From China to Russia and beyond, they’re betting that democracy’s days are numbered.  They’ve actually told me democracy is too slow, too bogged down by division to succeed in today’s rapidly changing, complicated world.

And they’re betting — they’re betting America will become more like them and less like us.  They’re betting that America is a place for the autocrat, the dictator, the strongman.

I do not believe that.  That is not who we are.  That is not who we have ever been.  And that is not who we should ever, ever be.

Our Founding Fathers, as imperfect as they were, set in motion an experiment that changed the world — literally changed the world.

Here in America, the people would rule, power would be transferred peacefully — never at the tip of a spear or the barrel of a gun.

And they committed to paper an idea that couldn’t live up to — they couldn’t live up to but an idea that couldn’t be constrained: Yes, in America all people are created equal.

We reject the view that if you succeed, I fail; if you get ahead, I fall behind; if I hold you down, I somehow lift myself up.

The former President, who lies about this election, and the mob that attacked this Capitol could not be further away from the core American values.

They want to rule or they will ruin — ruin what our country fought for at Lexington and Concord; at Gettysburg; at Omaha Beach; Seneca Falls; Selma, Alabama.  What — and what we were fighting for: the right to vote, the right to govern ourselves, the right to determine our own destiny.

And with rights come responsibilities: the responsibility to see each other as neighbors — maybe we disagree with that neighbor, but they’re not an adversary; the responsibility to accept defeat then get back in the arena and try again the next time to make your case; the responsibility to see that America is an idea — an idea that requires vigilant stewardship.

As we stand here today — one year since January 6th, 2021 — the lies that drove the anger and madness we saw in this place, they have not abated.

So, we have to be firm, resolute, and unyielding in our defense of the right to vote and to have that vote counted.

Some have already made the ultimate sacrifice in this sacred effort.

Jill and I have mourned police officers in this Capitol Rotunda not once but twice in the wake of January 6th: once to honor Officer Brian Sicknick, who lost his life the day after the attack, and a second time to honor Officer Billy Evans, who lost his life defending this Capitol as well.

We think about the others who lost their lives and were injured and everyone living with the trauma of that day — from those defending this Capitol to members of Congress in both parties and their staffs, to reporters, cafeteria workers, custodial workers, and their families.

Don’t kid yourself: The pain and scars from that day run deep.

I said it many times and it’s no more true or real than when we think about the events of January 6th: We are in a battle for the soul of America.  A battle that, by the grace of God and the goodness and gracious — and greatness of this nation, we will win.

Believe me, I know how difficult democracy is.  And I’m crystal clear about the threats America faces.  But I also know that our darkest days can lead to light and hope.

From the death and destruction, as the Vice President referenced, in Pearl Harbor came the triumph over the forces of fascism.

From the brutality of Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettus Bridge came historic voting rights legislation.

So, now let us step up, write the next chapter in American history where January 6th marks not the end of democracy, but the beginning of a renaissance of liberty and fair play.

I did not seek this fight brought to this Capitol one year ago today, but I will not shrink from it either.

I will stand in this breach.  I will defend this nation.  And I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of our democracy. 

We will make sure the will of the people is heard; that the ballot prevails, not violence; that authority in this nation will always be peacefully transferred.

I believe the power of the presidency and the purpose is to unite this nation, not divide it; to lift us up, not tear us apart; to be about us — about us, not about “me.”

Deep in the heart of America burns a flame lit almost 250 years ago — of liberty, freedom, and equality.

This is not a land of kings or dictators or autocrats.  We’re a nation of laws; of order, not chaos; of peace, not violence.

Here in America, the people rule through the ballot, and their will prevails.

So, let us remember: Together, we’re one nation, under God, indivisible; that today, tomorrow, and forever, at our best, we are the United States of America.

God bless you all.  May God protect our troops.  And may God bless those who stand watch over our democracy.

                              END