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Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, John Kerry, and Gina McCarthy, January 27, 2021
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Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice, January 26, 2021
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, John Kerry, and Gina McCarthy (2021)
Jennifer Rene Psaki, John Forbes Kerry, and Regina McCarthy
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, January 28, 2021
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James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
12:31 P.M. EST
MS. PSAKI: Good afternoon. President Biden is continuing to follow through on his key promise to take swift and bold action that addresses the climate crisis, building on his day-one actions of rejoining the Paris Agreement and strengthening our clean air and water protections and holding polluters accountable.
Today, he will take executive action to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad, while creating good-paying union jobs, building sustainable infrastructure, and delivering environmental justice.
I'm thrilled today, as a part of our effort to bring policy experts into the briefing room, we're joined by two very special guests who are going to talk you — talk to you all about today's executive orders and take a few questions as well. And I will always — as always play the role of bad cop when they have to go: National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate — and my former boss — former Secretary of State John Kerry. And a big day for Boston in the briefing room, so — (laughter).
Okay, with that, go ahead.
ADMINISTRATOR MCCARTHY: Thank you. It's a big day for Boston every day. Thank you, everybody.
Today, President Biden will build on the actions he took on day one, and he'll take more steps to fulfill commitments he made to tackle the climate crisis, while creating good-paying union jobs and achieving environmental justice.
In his campaign, he and Vice President Harris put forward the most ambitious climate vision that any presidential ticket had ever embraced, and he spent more time campaigning on climate than we have ever seen.
The President also has consistently identified the climate crisis as one of four interrelated existential crises that are gripping our nation all at once, and he's demanding answers that can address all four. And he's not waiting to take action, getting us started on his first day in office, because science is telling us that we don't have a moment to lose to fight against all four of these crises in a way that recognizes their intersectionality.
He's always committed the U.S. to reenter — I'm sorry, he's already committed the U.S. to reenter the Paris Climate Agreement. And he committed us, as well, to start undoing the assault on our environment that has occurred over the past four years. And he is now taking additional action to really target the challenge of climate change.
So today, for me, is a very good day. Just one week into his administration, President Biden is continuing to move us forward at the breadth and the pace that climate science demands.
Today's executive order starts by saying, "It is the policy of this administration that climate considerations shall be an essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security." That's where the big guy comes in. It gives my colleague, John Kerry — the first-ever international climate envoy — the authority to really drive forward a process that will restore American leadership on climate throughout the world. And you will see and hear more about that from Secretary Kerry.
But, here at home, we have to do our part or we will not be able to make the kind of worldwide change that climate change demands.
So this executive order establishes a White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, and it directs everyone who works for the President to use every tool available at our disposal to solve the climate crisis, because we're going to take a whole-of-government approach. We're going to power our economy with clean energy. We're going to do that in a way that will produce millions of American jobs that are going to be good-paying, that are going to be jobs that have the opportunity for workers to join a union.
Because, as President Biden has often told us, when he thinks of climate change, his first thought is about jobs. And it should be, because people in this country need a job, and this is about making that happen in the most creative and significant way that the federal government can move forward. And we're going to make sure that nobody is left behind, and I'm not just talking about communities, in terms of environmental justice, but workers as well.
This order takes historic strides to address environmental injustice. It creates both a White House interagency task force to address environmental justice, as well as an advisory council. It directs the Department of Health and Human Services to create an Office of Climate Change and Health Equity because, after all, climate change is the most significant public health challenge of our time.
And it tasks the Department of Justice with establishing an Office of Climate Justice because we know the communities who are being hurt, and we know we have to start enforcing the standards today and ensuring that they are part of the solution and in places that we can invest. In fact, it commits 40 percent of our investment in clean energy towards disadvantaged communities so they can benefit from the new jobs that are available and see that better future.
President Biden's order establishes a Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities because we have to make sure that, in this transition, every agency in government is using every tool at their disposal to drive resources to those communities. And it fulfills longstanding commitments to leverage our vast natural resources to contribute to our clean energy future.
It places a pause and review on new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and waters, consistent with a promise President Biden has repeatedly made and has been very clear in the face of efforts to distort his promise. And it sets a goal of doubling offshore wind production by 2030.
In addition, he plans to sign a presidential memorandum that aims to restore scientific integrity across the federal government and earn back the public's trust, making a commitment to base solutions on the best available science and data.
So today is a very big day for science and for our efforts to power our economy with good-paying union jobs.
SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. It's great to be here. Let me say, first of all, what a pleasure it is to be here with Gina. I'm a big fan of Gina's. Gina and I worked very, very closely together during the campaign, when we sat down to bring the Bernie Sanders folks together around the Biden climate plan. And she is the perfect person to be tackling the domestic side of this equation, which is complicated. And nobody knows the details better than she does, and nobody is going to be more effective in corralling everybody to move in the same direction.
It's also an enormous pleasure for me to be here with Jen Psaki. She mentioned that — nobody was her boss, but I had the privilege of working with her. And she — seven years ago, we gathered in the State Department briefing room. She's traded up, obviously, but she has not given away any of her fundamental principles and commitment to telling you all the truth, telling the American people the truth, and doing so with great candor and transparency. And I'm very happy to be here with her.
The stakes on climate change just simply couldn't be any higher than they are right now. It is existential. We use that word too easily, and we throw it away. But we have a big agenda in front of us on a global basis, and President Biden is deeply committed — totally seized by this issue, as you can tell by this executive order and by the other — the initiative for getting back into Paris immediately. That's why he rejoined the Paris agreement so quickly, because he knows it is urgent.
He also knows that Paris alone is not enough — not when almost 90 percent of all of the planet's emissions — global emissions — come from outside of U.S. borders. We could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn't solved.
So that's why today, one week into the job, President Biden will sign this additional executive set of orders to help move us down the road, ensuring that ambitious climate action is global in scope and scale, as well as national, here at home.
Today, in the order that he will sign — that Gina has described to you — he makes climate central to foreign policy planning, to diplomacy, and to national security preparedness. It creates new platforms to coordinate climate action across the federal agencies and departments sorely needed. And most importantly, it commissions a National Intelligence Estimate on the security implications of climate change to give all of us an even deeper understanding of the challenges.
This is the first time a president has ever done that. And our 17 intelligence agencies are going to come together and assess exactly what the danger and damage and potential risks are.
The order directs the State Department to prepare a transmittal package, seeking Senate advice and consent on the Kigali Amendment, to the Montreal Protocol — an amendment that by itself, if ratified and fully enforced globally, could hold the Earth's temperature by 0.5 of an entire degree — not insignificant.
And it sets forth a process for us to develop an ambitious new Paris target, as well as a U.S. climate finance plan, both of which are essential to our being able to bring countries of the world together to raise ambition and meet this moment when we go to Glasgow for the follow-on agreement to Paris.
So that's the only way for the world to succeed together, my friends. And so, again, this is an issue where failure literally is not an option.
As he committed to doing on the campaign trail, the President is announcing that he will host a Leaders Summit on Climate Change less than three months from now, on April 22nd, Earth Day, which will include a leader-level reconvening of the Major Economies Forum. We'll have specifics to lay out over time.
But the convening of this — of this summit is essential to ensuring that 2021 is going to be the year that really makes up for the lost time of the last four years and that the U.N. Climate Conference — COP26, as it's called, which the UK is hosting in November — to make sure that it is an unqualified success.
The Road to Glasgow will be marked not just by promises, but by progress, at a pace that we can all be proud of. And Gina is going to be putting her efforts into making certain that that is true. The world will measure us by what we can do here at home.
So with these executive actions today, we believe we're steps further down that journey.
MS. PSAKI: All right. Let's start with Nancy.
Q Thank you so much. Secretary Kerry, a question for you and then for Administrator McCarthy. You talked about the fact that it won't really matter what we do very much if the rest of the world doesn't do the same thing. But the U.S. has had a fairly rocky relationship with China recently. How do you plan to try to bring both China and India to the table on this issue?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, before I — before I answer that, let me just say that the issue of making a difference — i.e. what we do at home — what I'm saying is you can't solve the problem alone, but our doing things makes an enormous difference. What Gina succeeds in pulling together is essential to our ability to have credibility in the world.
Now, with respect to China, obviously we have serious differences with China on some very, very important issues. And I am as mindful of that as anybody, having served as Secretary of State and in the Senate, the issues of theft of intellectual property and access to market, the South China Sea. I mean, run the list; we all know them. Those issues will never be traded for anything that has to do with climate. That's not going to happen.
But climate is a critical standalone issue that we have to deal on in the sense that China is 30 percent of the emissions of the world; we're about 15 percent of the emissions of the world. You add the EU to that, and you got three entities that are more than 55 percent or so.
So it's urgent that we find a way to compartmentalize, to move forward. And we'll wait and see.
But President Biden is very, very clear about the need to address the other issues with China. And I know some people have been concerned. Nothing is going to be siphoned off into one area from another.
Q And then a question for either of you on coal. Your executive order talks about oil and gas on federal lands, but it doesn't really say much about coal. What is this administration's policy when it comes to coal?
ADMINISTRATOR MCCARTHY: Well, in terms of the oil and gas decision, it was to — is to make sure that we take a little pause and review the entire strategy of we're looking at public lands. So it will include looking at what new leases ought to be approved and sold; it's looking at our ability also to look at coal in that mix.
So the program review is going to look at how we manage public lands — consistent with climate, but also consistent with the marriage between climate and really growing jobs of the future. So it will be in the mix to be looked at, but it is — it is not, at this point, included. It was not part of the commitments on the campaign, but we're going to take a close look at all of it.
And can I just add on your comment about China, which — I'm not going to speak to the international dynamic, but I am going to say that part of the challenge that we face here is a challenge that President Biden has already started to address with his Buy American Pledge. We have to start, not just going — shifting to clean energy, but it has to be manufactured in the United States of America — you know, not in other countries. And there is going to be a large discussion about how we make sure that a lot of the investment is about building up our manufacturing base again. That's great jobs. That's often, hopefully, union jobs. But it is also a wonderful opportunity for us to recoup the benefits of that manufacturing and lower the costs of clean energy.
Part of the way we're going to get there is by making sure the federal government buys American and that the federal government looks at its procurement across every agency so that the breadth of what we spend is spent — designed to advance job growth in the United States, to advance health benefits for environmental justice communities, and to begin to tackle the very challenge — the existential challenge of climate change.
MS. PSAKI: Jeff Mason.
Q Thank you. Jeff Mason with Reuters. Question for both of you: Can you give us a sense of when you expect to have the so-called "NDC" or U.S. target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions as part of the Paris Accord? And can you also give us a sense of how ambitious you plan to make that number? Will it be 40 percent, 50 percent — higher than that?
ADMINISTRATOR MCCARTHY: Well —
SECRETARY KERRY: We're united in this, so —
ADMINISTRATOR MCCARTHY: Yeah, I'm the dude who's supposed to deliver this in a timely way — (laughter) — and he sets the timing. So, basically, we want to make sure that the NDC is something that can be announced before the summit on Earth Day. And so we're going to be, out of the gate, working with the agencies to see what kind of reductions and mitigation opportunities there are and also, again, to look at our public lands to make sure that we can continue to store carbon in our soil, to work with agriculture and others to look at how we better manage our forests so we're not seeing the devastating forest fires that we've been having before.
So, all across the federal government, every agency — and you'll see many of them specifically tasked in this executive order — will participate in the task force that we're going to have to actually develop the most aggressive NDC that we can to deliver the kind of boost that Secretary Kerry is looking for to be able to ensure that our international efforts are robust and sufficient to address the challenge internationally.
Q And just a follow-up on that, perhaps, for Secretary Kerry: How do you assure international partners that the U.S. will stick to whatever you propose after having seen the Trump administration take the U.S. out of the Paris Accord?
SECRETARY KERRY: That's precisely why we're going to stick by it, and I think our word is strong. I've been on the phone for the last few days, talking to our allies in Europe, elsewhere around the world. And they are welcoming us back. They know that this administration already had a significant part of what has brought us to — will bring us to Glasgow, which was the Paris Agreement.
The Obama—Biden administration had great credibility on this issue, and having President Biden be the person now who is driving this forward is enormously meaningful to the folks there. And they also know that I was deeply involved in the negotiations in Paris and am now asked by the President — by President Biden — to make certain that we do the same in Glasgow, if not more.
So I — I have had no one question our credibility at this point in time. Someone probably will, and the answer will be that I think we can achieve things in the course of the next four years that will move the marketplace, the private sector, global finance, innovation, and research that, in fact, no — no one, no political person in the future would be able to undo what the planet is going to be organizing over these next months and years.
This is the start of something new. I don't know if you read Larry Fink's letter, of BlackRock, the other day — yesterday. But there's a new — new awareness among major asset managers and commercial banks and others about the need to be putting resources into this endeavor because it is — it is major in investment demand.
So I think the proof will be in what we do. Neither Gina nor I are going to start, you know, throwing around a lot of big promises, but you heard what she just said, and we will work very closely. Because we're going to try to bring to the table, to help inform her and the folks she's working with, what we're picking up abroad and what people are doing abroad and the steps that they're taking and how we now have to measure ourselves against them, and they will measure themselves against us. We are well aware of that.
ADMINISTRATOR MCCARTHY: Can I just add something? I just want to call attention to the fact that cities and states have really picked up the initiative to move forward on clean energy because the solutions are cheap. The solutions compete effectively against fossil fuels.
We are talking about solutions that we're not asking anybody to sacrifice, but are to their advantage. And if you look at the record over the past four years, while the prior administration might have wanted energy — clean energy to head in a different direction, it's gone faster and farther than anyone ever expected.
And the idea that we could, with this new work that we're doing together, send signals to the marketplace, who are purchasing at the federal level and are re-looking at different ways of having on-the-ground change — we can build that demand. We can actually grow, significantly, millions of clean energy jobs. And all of a sudden, the question won't be whether the private sector is going to buy into it; the private sector is going to drive it.
And so this is going to be a signal setter, the way the federal government ought to set, on what our values are, what we think the future needs to be. And that's — it's — this is a value-lading [sic] — -laden effort that President Biden has undertaken, with full knowledge that is going to benefit jobs, it's going to benefit our health, and it's going to lead to that future we want to hand to our children.
MS. PSAKI: We'll just do these two in the front, and then they will come back, I promise. So, go ahead.
Q Thank you. Mr. Secretary, if you would, there's — there certainly are oil and gas industry workers who are watching you both right now who will hear the message that's — that the takeaway to them is that they are seeing an end to their livelihoods. What do you say to them, particularly those people who President Trump struck a chord with on the campaign trail when he promised to save their jobs? What is your message to them right now?
And also, to the oil industry executives who are listening — are you putting them on notice today?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, we didn't come here to put anybody on notice, except to the seriousness of President Biden's intent to do what needs to be done to deal with this crisis, and it is a crisis.
With respect to those workers, no — no two people are more — in this room, are more concerned about it. And the President of the United States has expressed, in every comment he has made about climate, the need to grow the new jobs that pay better, that are cleaner, that —
I mean, you know, you look at the consequences of black lung for a miner, for instance, and measure that against the fastest-growing job in the United States before COVID was solar power technician. The same people can do those jobs, but the choice of doing the solar power one now is a better choice. And similarly, you have the second-fastest-growing job pre-COVID was wind turbine technician.
This is happening. Seventy-five percent, seventy percent of all the electricity that's come on line in the United States in the last few years came from renewables, not — you know, coal plants have been closing over the last 20 years.
So what President Biden wants to do is make sure those folks have better choices, that they have alternatives, that they can be the people who go to work to make the solar panels — that we're making them here at home. That is going to be a particular focus of the Build Back Better agenda.
And I think that, unfortunately, workers have been fed a false narrative. No surprise, right? For the last few years, they've been fed the notion that, somehow, dealing with climate is coming at their expense. No, it's not. What's happening to them is happening because of other market forces already taking place.
And what the — what the — what the financiers, the big banks, the asset managers, private investors, venture capital are all discovering is: There's a lot of money to be made in the creation of these new jobs in these sectors. So whether it's green hydrogen that is going to come, whether it is geothermal heat, or whether it — whatever it's going to be, those are jobs.
The same worker who works in South Carolina today putting together a BMW, which happens to be made there, and — and is currently an internal combustion engine, can put together a car, but it's electric.
So this is not a choice between having jobs, having good jobs, having the quality of life. Quality of life will be better when Gina has put her team together that produces choices for us that are healthier, less cancer, cleaner air. The greatest — the greatest cost in America, the greatest cause of children being hospitalized every summer in the United States — we spent $55 billion a year on it — is environmentally induced asthma. That will change as we begin to rein in what we used to call "pollution" in this country, because it is pollution.
And I think that workers are going to see that, with the efforts of the Biden administration, they're going to have a much better set of choices, and, frankly, it will create more jobs than stuck where we were.
ADMINISTRATOR MCCARTHY: Could I just add by pointing out a couple of things in the executive order that I want you to just call to your attention?
We talked about the Civilian Conservation Corps. That is an opportunity to put younger people into work in vitally important efforts. But if you look at this, it also has set up a task force that is looking at these coal communities — communities that are really reliant on their local energy and utility, and it talks about how do we revitalize those economies. And it talks about how we can put people to work, using the skills they currently have, where they are, to start looking at those old abandoned oil and gas wells that are spewing out methane or all of the coal that that is — mines that haven't been properly closed that are doing the same.
That has great impact on climate, but also will keep an opportunity for those — for those individual workers to have work in their own communities. We're not going to ask people to go from the middle of Ohio or Pennsylvania and ship out to the coast to have solar jobs. You know, solar jobs will be everywhere, but we need to put people to work in their own communities. That's where their home is. That's where their vision is.
So we're creatively looking at those opportunities for investment, so that we can get people understanding that we are not trying to take away jobs. Remember when — when we say "climate change," eventually, people are going to think "jobs," just like President Biden when he hears the words "climate change."
And so we'll do everything we can to recognize that revitalization is necessary in these communities, to find creative ways to put them to work. And then we're going to do, as Secretary Kerry says, and start investing in new technologies and new manufacturing, and that includes the large manufacturing, like cement and steel. That's work that we should be doing here. That's work that inevitably is going to be necessary to rebuild our infrastructure, which is also one of the biggest opportunities we have for job growth moving forward.
Q Two quick questions?
MS. PSAKI: Kick us off, Peter.
Q Sure. Administrator, one to you, and one to the Secretary, if I may. What you may hear from some corners of criticism is: Why are we doing this now, when we're already in an economic crisis? You look at the state of New Mexico, where one third of the state's budget is funded by oil and gas. So why not let the country get back on its feet before we do this?
ADMINISTRATOR MCCARTHY: Well, the issue in New Mexico is that somebody reported — a bit incorrectly, or maybe not as precisely enough — that this wasn't about impacting existing permits and fracking; this was about new leases on federal lands.
So I think that the opportunity for the states to continue to accrue the royalties from — from both coal and oil and natural gas that is properly done on federal lands is going to continue, and there's even an opportunity in the review of that program to look at the royalty issues, look at the job growth opportunities, look at a variety of things to make sure that public lands are being properly managed.
Now, in terms of the job issue, we're explicitly doing this because our economy is right now stagnant. We have millions of people out of work, out of jobs; millions of people that are afraid they can't feed their families. If you're faced with that, what do you do? You boost the economy, and you grow jobs.
But why, at the same time, aren't we thinking about the weaknesses of our current economy, in terms of the number of environmental justice communities that have been left behind, the number of people that are breathing dirty air, and that kids are getting asthma?
So, instead, let's think about all of it at the same time. I know it's a crazy idea. In a bureaucracy, you're only supposed to do one thing, but we're going to do and think about all of it, because people need to have jobs. This is all about building the jobs of the future we want, not continuing to niddle at an economy that is no longer going to be where our future lies.
Q And, Mr. Secretary, to you: Right now, over the course of this first week, there are a lot of big priorities here. There's COVID, the economy, immigration, racial justice, now climate change. As a veteran of Congress, of the Senate, what is the priority? And how quickly do you need legislation to make this permanent?
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Peter, the priority is precisely what the President has set out: all of them, all six of the major crises that he faces. And he's addressing every single one of them, and he knows that the United States, all of us, have the ability to be able to do that. And the reason that has to be done is: Every single one of them are life and death. Every single one of them represent a challenge to the very fiber of our society.
And the other reason — obviously, everything — I agree with everything Gina said, but I'd simply add that the other reason for doing it now is the science tells us we have to. And that's one of the things the President is restoring today in the executive order is respect for science and the science office.
So, I mean —
Q And $2 trillion price tag — $2 trillion for COVID, $2 trillion for this — is a lot of money to a lot of Americans.
SECRETARY KERRY: It is real money, and yes, it's a lot of money. But you know what? It costs a lot more if you don't do the things we need to do. It costs a lot more. There are countless economic analyses now that show that it is now cheaper to deal with the crisis of climate than it is to ignore it.
We spent $265 billion, two years ago, on three — three storms: Irma, Harvey, and Maria. Maria destroyed Puerto Rico. Harvey dropped more water on Houston in five days than goes over Niagara Falls in a year. And Irma had the first recorded winds at 185 miles an hour for 24 sustained hours. Last year we had one storm — $55 billion.
So we're spending the money, folks. We're just not doing it smart, and we're not doing it in a way that would actually sustain us for the long term.
So this is critical. We're — the goal of the Paris Agreement was to hold the Earth's temperature increase to two degrees centigrade. Even if you did everything that was in Paris, we're going up to 3.7 or 4. That's catastrophic. What President Biden is trying to do is listen to science, listen to facts, and make tough decisions about what we need to do to take the world to a better place, and particularly our own country. And that is what he is committed to doing.
So, yes, there are a lot of challenges right now, which, sadly, all of them were exacerbated by the last four years. Now we have to try to make up for that. And that is a hard pull, but this President is capable of doing it, and he's putting together a great team that I think can help him do that.
Q Thank you, sir.
MS. PSAKI: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Gina McCarthy. Thank you, Secretary Kerry, for joining us. You're free to go —
ADMINISTRATION MCCARTHY: Thank you.
MS. PSAKI: — to go see the President.
So you can all see they're both experienced and passionate and tenacious, having worked with both of them in the past. So the crisis is in good hands.
I know we have a short period of time here, but I just wanted to provide an update on a question that you all have been asking a bit about, which is what some of the outreach our teams are doing as it relates to the COVID package. That is a top priority for President Biden.
As we have talked about almost every day in here — probably every day — our team continues to build support for the American Rescue Plan as more and more voices across the country recognize the urgent need to get American families the help they need.
We've obviously seen a broad coalition of support emerge, from the Chamber of Commerce, to Senator Sanders and organized labor, to hundreds of mayors and local public health officials. The President and Vice President are engaged directly with members and have had a number of productive conversations. That will continue through the course of the week and will only pick up in the days ahead.
Senior White House officials are also engaging with not just congressional leaders, but also state and local officials, key constituency groups, and others to gather feedback on the proposal and move the package forward.
So let me give you a couple of examples from just yesterday:
Chief of Staff Ron Klain engaged with members directly throughout the day, as did Senior Advisor Anita Dunn, which they will both continue to do moving forward. Counselor to the President Steve Ricchetti and Office of Legislative Affairs Director Louisa Terrell are quarterbacking the team's broader legislative outreach and have had dozens of conversations with individual members to understand their priorities and receive their feedback.
In addition to ongoing conversations with leadership on both sides of the aisle, already this week, members of the National Economic Council and Domestic Policy Council and staff from Treasury have met with the relevant committees, including Senate Banking Committee, Senate Finance Committee, House Ways and Means, House Financial Services, House Education and Labor, and the bicameral Small Business Committee.
NEC Director Brian Deese is doing one-on-one briefings with members of Congress and meetings with caucuses, including yesterday's meeting, which I believe has been reported, with the Problem Solvers Caucus to discuss the proposal.
Hill engagement will continue, with Jeff Zients and Brian Deese meeting with the New Dem Coalition, along with several other briefings that are scheduled.
Also, our outreach isn't limited to Congress, which is vitally important. This isn't just about speaking to elected officials; this is also about speaking to the country, and building support, and educating and engaging with leaders across the country.
So, yesterday, Jeff Zients and his team spoke with bipartisan governors — as you all know, they talked about the COVID package — by the National Governors Association — organized by them. And administration officials briefed tribal leaders and a number of mayors yesterday as well. And the Office of Public Engagement, led by Cedric Richmond, briefed civil rights groups yesterday, including the NAACP, the National Action Network, Justice Action Network, Urban League, Coalition of Black Civic Participation, and Black Women's Roundtable. Today they have meetings with labor leaders, advocates for young people, as well as organizations dedicated to building wealth in the black community.
On Friday, OP will also — the Office of Public Engagement, I should say; I hate acronyms — will convene 100 presidents of historically black colleges and universities also to discuss this proposal.
And the only other thing I wanted to mention before we get to your questions is that, as you all know, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was just confirmed. The President will be meeting with his economic team on Friday, including Secretary Yellen, for a briefing on the impact of delay and moving forward with the additional economic relief.
And now, with that, let's get your questions. Alex, it's your first day in the White House Briefing Room.
Q Thank you.
MS. PSAKI: And Alex's first day. Two Alexs' first days.
Q It's good to be here.
MS. PSAKI: There's an initiation afterward that the press corps will conduct.
Q Hazing? I'm ready for it.
MS. PSAKI: Yes, go ahead.
Q Yeah, I'll make it quick because I know you have a pretty hard out in a few minutes.
MS. PSAKI: I think you all have a hard out too. But, yes.
Q Absolutely.
I wanted to ask about one of your favorite topics: impeachment. Nearly every Republican senator last night voted to throw out the impeachment trial against President Trump. Does President Biden have a reaction to that? Does he trust Congress to hold President Trump accountable for the insurrection against the Capitol? And does he see censure against former President Trump as a viable alternative to convictions, since it looks unlikely at this point?
MS. PSAKI: Well, the President certainly respects the role that Congress has — senators, of course — the Senate — as they're overseeing the trial moving forward, in determining the pace and the path forward for holding the former President accountable. That continues to be his belief.
In all of his conversations that he's been having with members about the recovery plan, he has — they have said they expect from him that his focus will be on COVID relief. That's how he will use the bully pulpit. That's how he will speak to the American people. And they are eager to work with him on that. So that's where his focus remains. And what steps they take to hold the former President accountable, he'll leave it to them.
Q Why the resistance on weighing in on the issue?
MS. PSAKI: We've weighed in many times. The President has been asked about the issue. We put out a statement when the House put out a vote — voted on impeachment, I should say.
But his focus is on doing — delivering on what the American people elected him to do, which is to get relief to the American people, to get the pandemic under control, to ensure working families can put food on the table. And that's where he feels his efforts should be to remain.
Okay, go ahead.
Q Thanks, Jen. Does the White House have a comment on this social media profile that has emerged of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene? And is there a response to whether any disciplinary action should be taken against her, given everything that's come out?
MS. PSAKI: We don't. And I'm not going to speak further about her, I think, in this briefing room.
Q Okay. And —
MS. PSAKI: Oh, go ahead.
Q One more, if you don't mind. Just kind of — a little bit of a housekeeping.
MS. PSAKI: Sure.
Q The last administration had suggested that — on the origins of the COVID-19 virus — that it may have originated in a lab in China. It was never definitive. Do you have an update on that — on the origin or where we are on an investigation?
MS. PSAKI: Well, first, obviously the misinformation, of course, that has — we've seen also come out of some sources in China is of great concern to us. It's imperative that we get to the bottom of the early days of the pandemic in China, and we've been supportive of an international investigation that we feel should be robust and clear.
We — our view is that we must prepare to draw on information collected and analyzed by our intelligence community, which is something that is ongoing, and to work — and also to continue to work with our allies to evaluate the report's credibility on the investigation once it's done.
In addition, as you all know, the Secretary of State was just — Tony Blinken was just sworn in yesterday, and one of his priorities is, of course, ensuring that our staffing on the ground in Beijing — which is something that fell back in the last administration — is returned to what it was prior, which means we want to have science experts, policy experts on the ground in the roles that they should be serving in to ensure that, you know, we're also there representing, you know, our interests from the United States, on the ground in China.
Go ahead, Peter.
Q A couple quick ones that I still don't think I fully understand. I know the executive order that was signed, but has this White House invoked the DPA? And how soon until we'll actually see companies compelled to produce supplies or vaccine or whatever else that impacts Americans?
MS. PSAKI: We — it was invoked the day it was signed — within 24 hours of it being signed.
Q But you said that jumpstarted the process. So I guess that meant it was invoked?
MS. PSAKI: Yes. And I confirmed that when it was — the next day — the following day in the briefing room, which I realize everybody can't be here every day because of COVID.
But it was invoked, and it means that our work is ongoing with companies to ensure that we are expediting the manufacturing of materials to ensure that we can get 100 million shots in the arms of Americans. And I know there's been some confusion about this and what exactly it is, what does the DPA mean.
There are a few examples that our team has cited, including, on vaccine supply; low dead space syringes, which means it allows for the ability to get an extra dose into the Pfizer vial, which is important to getting more doses out there; help — additional N95 — the production of additional N95 masks; isolation gowns; gloves; pipette tips; and high absorbency foam swabs. So we're really talking about very specific materials that can be used by vaccinators to get these shots in the arms of Americans.
Q Thanks for clarifying. There was some confusion on the earlier call, which is why I repeated it here.
Let me ask one other question. Yesterday, you deflected this to the USOC, but my question is a little bit different today. We're now hearing from the organizers of this year's Summer Games in Japan, and the head of Japan's Olympics Committee is seeking public reassurances from President Biden himself — given that the U.S., of course, is the largest contingent of athletes — that the Games should be able to go on. As the world's — as the world is dealing with the pandemic right now, based on where we are now with the vaccine, does President Biden believe the Games in Japan can safely go on?
MS. PSAKI: Well, the President — and I'm not sure if this readout had gone out yet — but he had spoken with the Prime Minister of Japan earlier this morning, and a readout was going out as we were coming out to the briefing. I'm not sure if they spoke about the Olympics. I'm happy to check with our national security team on that, to follow up with, but I don't have any more assessment of the Olympics at this point in time.
Q Whether he has — so it hasn't been discussed whether he has a position on whether it would safely be able to go on yet?
MS. PSAKI: I don't have anything more, other than — I haven't had much on it, but I don't have anything more than I've had on other days on it.
Q Japan is asking, so we asked. So we'll follow up with (inaudible).
MS. PSAKI: Understood. And they just had a call this morning, but I haven't had a chance to talk to him specifically about it.
Go ahead, Jen.
Thank you, Jen.
Q Thanks, Jen. Two vaccine questions. First of all, this came up on the COVID call earlier, but how seriously is the White House considering using the Defense Production Act to compel other pharmaceutical companies to produce the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to do supply?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I didn't hear the entirety of the call because we were doing some preparation for the event this afternoon. But from listening to our team talk about it, there are obviously manufacturing facilities that have the capacity and the ability to get these vaccine doses out. And we don't want to get our — get behind the pace of — and start from scratch, I should say, and ensuring that they're ready to do that.
I don't think our concern at this point is whether or not we're going to have the vaccine doses. Obviously, the President announced yesterday the intention to purchase doches [sic] — additional doses, the — our confidence in the manufacturers to have those doses available.
The concerns we have are, one, contingency planning and all of the different things that can happen, because this is a herculean task that has never been done before, but also ensuring we have vaccinators, we have vaccine sites, et cetera, available.
So I have not heard from our team plans to seek other manufacturers at this point in time. And I'm happy to follow up with them and see if there's anything additional.
Q And then, on the 200 million doses, the President said he's ordering them.
MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
Q What is the status of that order? Have Pfizer and Moderna agreed to produce 100 million doses each? And how quickly do they say they can do it?
MS. PSAKI: Well, we expect to get the doses by mid to late summer. The majority of doses by mid to late summer, some earlier than that. So we are confident that we'll be able to get those from the manufacturers. Yes.
Go ahead, Karen.
Q Jen, a couple of questions on schools. Does the administration plan to develop metrics or standards for what a safe reopening of schools will look like?
MS. PSAKI: We do. And our CDC director — and I'm not sure, again, if she was asked about this important question — I know as a fellow mother — but we will have specifics that we'll defer to the CDC on, on the safe reopening of schools. As you know, the President talked about — has talked about his commitment and his goal of reopening most K-8 schools within 100 days. There are obviously a number of steps that will need to be taken in order for that to be possible. But he has directed the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services to provide guidance on safe reopening and operating for schools, childcare providers, and institutions of higher education.
But as our COVID team has outlined, that's going to require testing materials, support for contact tracing, vaccinations for teachers and ensuring they're equitably provided. But our CDC director and team will be looking into putting together some specific guidelines so there can be clarity on that front, which I know a lot of districts are looking for.
Q And to follow on that: Those things you mentioned all cost a lot of money, and a big part of the COVID relief package is a lot of money to go to school reopening.
Q If Congress doesn't approve the money you want, and schools don't have what they need to pay for things to open safely, would the President support teachers staying at home and support virtual learning continuing through this entire school year?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I think the President recognizes, as we all do, the value of having children in schools and doing that in a safe way, which is one of the reasons he set this ambitious goal of reopening most K-8 schools within 100 days.
But one of the reasons that this — the funding for safe reopening, for getting schools the equipment, the testing, the ventilation, in some cases, that they need is because nobody wants to be having a conversation in May or June about why schools are not reopened.
So this goes back to the argument that our team has been making, and all of these calls and engagements and meetings that I outlined, about the importance and vital nature of each component of the package. So we won't get into a hypothetical. We're confident that Congress will move forward with a package.
Let me just go — oh, we got to wrap up soon. Okay, I'm sorry. We'll do more questions tomorrow, but we had two such great guests.
Jen, go ahead.
Q Thanks. I just have two quick questions. One is just on the climate actions today. They leave out Treasury's Financial Stability Oversight Council, which experts say could play an influential role in addressing climate risks. Does the administration have plans to take action on climate finance? And should FSOC direct agencies and regulators to address climate change?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I'm going to use a reference that my friend and colleague, Ambassador Susan Rice, used yesterday, which is: There are 1,453 days left in this administration, and addressing climate and the crisis of climate is an issue that the President has conveyed to members of his Cabinet and members of his senior team as an absolute priority.
So, Secretary Yellen has been in her role for one day, but certainly I'd send you to them for any more specifics. But this is the beginning, not the end, of our work on climate.
Nadia.
Q And just another question —
Q Is the White House concerned about the stock market activity we're seeing around GameStop and now with some other stocks as well, including the subsidiary — or whatever — the company that was Blockbuster? And have there been any conversations with the SEC about how to proceed?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I'm also happy to repeat that we have the first female Treasury Secretary and a team that's surrounding her. And, often, questions about market we'll send to them. But our team is, of course — our economic team, including Secretary Yellen and others, are monitoring the situation. It's a good reminder, though, that the stock market isn't the only measure of the health of our econom- — of our economy. It doesn't reflect how working and middle-class families are doing.
As you all know from covering this, we're in the midst of a K-shaped recovery. America's workers are struggling to make ends meet, which is why the President has introduced this urgent package to get immediate relief to families.
All right, I'm going to go Nadia, and then we'll be totally done because everybody has to go.
Q Thank you, Jen. Good to see you on a different podium. I have two questions: one about COVID and one about China.
MS. PSAKI: Okay.
Q Regarding COVID, the President promised to increase supply to states by 10 million doses, yet statistics shows that 47 percent of Americans are hesitant to take the vaccine, despite that the President and the Vice President took it publicly. What is the administration doing to convince Americans to take it to reach the herd immunity by, say, 70 percent by the fall?
MS. PSAKI: You're absolutely right, Nadia, that this is one of the biggest challenges we face. And for anyone who tuned in to the briefing that our health team led this morning, it was one of the first issues that CDC Director Dr. Walensky raised.
And one of the things we're doing is prioritizing — providing correct information about it. And the vaccines — and one — so I'll take the opportunity: The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are safe and effective. That's one of the things she said today. They were tested in large clinical trials to make sure they meet safety standards. About 30 percent of U.S. participants in those trials were Hispanic, African American, Asian, or Native American; about half were older adults.
And so we want to provide clear data, as I just did, but also we want to meet people where they are, communicate directly with communities of color, people who have concerns, and use medical and health professionals to do exactly that.
Okay, you had a China question, and then you really have to go, but go ahead.
Q And, second, many welcomed your rejoining of the WHO, yet some want to push for a transparent investigation into the relationship between China and WHO. And also, yesterday, in her hearing in the Senate, Governor Raimondo declined to blacklist Huawei technology in the U.S. Is this some kind of caving into China, or is it a nuanced way to deal with China?
MS. PSAKI: So, I think your — the second reference, I think, was to Huawei, right? And then —
Q Right.
MS. PSAKI: Yes.
So let me just convey clearly our position on this. Let us be clear: Telecommunications equipment made by untrusted vendors, including Huawei, is a threat to the security of the U.S. and our allies. We'll ensure that the American telecommunications network do not use equipment from untrusted vendors, and we'll work with allies to secure their telecommunications networks and make investments to expand the production of telecommunications equipment by trusted U.S. and allied companies.
Again, we'll take many more questions tomorrow. Thank you all. Have a great rest of your day.
END1:24 P.M. EST
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Today - Cloudy with a high of 76 °F (24.4 °C). Winds from SSE to S at 8 to 12 mph (12.9 to 19.3 kph).
Tonight - Rain with a 80% chance of precipitation. Winds variable at 6 to 17 mph (9.7 to 27.4 kph). The overnight low will be 60 °F (15.6 °C).


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Tiffany & Co releases £945 tin can as part of Everyday Objects collection
India Block
New York jewellers Tiffany & Co has created a line of everyday items re-imagined in expensive materials, including a gold and silver tin can and a ball of yarn recreated in handspun silver for £6,840.
The shapes of common or oft-discarded objects have been cast in precious metals, expensive wood and fine porcelain for the Everyday Objects collection.
Tiffany & Co "upgraded" a 11.5-centimetre-tall can, giving it a sterling silver exterior, gold vermeil interior and an enamel stripe in trademark Tiffany Blue.
The jewellers decided to elevate these utilitarian objects to luxury status because "beautiful things should not be limited to special occasions".
"I think what makes the collection unique is that it incorporates the best quality, craftsmanship and design with a level of functionality that allows you to use these things every day," Reed Krakoff, chief artistic officer at Tiffany & Co said in a statement.
All of the items are fully functional and campaign shots show them being used to serve drinks, hold pencils, and scattered casually over desks and tables.
A set of two paper cups, inspired by the disposable vessels used to serve coffee in the Tiffany & Co shops, are available in sterling silver for £540.
A less pricey version in dishwasher-safe bone china realised in Tiffany & Co's signature teal can be purchased for £90. They could be paired with a sterling silver "paper plate" for £722.
A set of 10 stackable building bricks made from silver and walnut are priced at £1,140 and marketed as a "playful desk accessory".
Also for the desk, there is a silver, walnut and enamel-accented ruler (£425), protractor (£400), and triangle (£375).
The most expensive item in the collection is the £6,840 "ball of yarn", made from hand-spun strands of sterling silver.
A pair of table tennis bats crafted from reclaimed American walnut and black and blue leather can be acquired for £650, and a Tiffany & Co-branded ping-pong ball is also included in the set.
The "crazy straw" is a spiral drinking straw with a blue enamel band available in silver for £235, or a £330 version in either gold or rose gold.
The luxury design house said the designs are all "tongue-in-cheek" and pay homage to Gene Moore, the designer and window dresser who displayed Tiffany & Co jewels in paint cans with splashes of neon paint.
The paint can is referenced in the centimetre-tall lead crystal ice bucket with a sterling silver handle for £912. Engraving is available on most of the items.
Reimagining common or garden objects in opulent materials is a favourite trope of designers.
London designer Christopher Jenner recently collaborated with British heritage brand Elkington and Co to create a 24-piece set of everyday items such as tea pots and salad servers in luxury materials including silver and hand blown crystal.
Christopher Jenner updates traditional silverware with contemporary shapes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A 20-year-old man accused of ramming his car into a crowd of protesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia has appeared in court via video from jail.
James Alex Fields was denied bail as he was arraigned for second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and one count of hit and run.
Heather Heyer, 32, died and 19 were injured when a car hit demonstrators in Charlottesville on Saturday.
President Donald Trump has been criticised for not specifically denouncing the far-right elements in the weekend's march.
But the White House has defended his remarks as explicitly condemning the white supremacy groups involved.
Ken Frazier, CEO of drugs giant Merck, announced on Monday he would resign from the president's American Manufacturing Council over Mr Trump's response to Charlottesville.
Mr Frazier, who is African American, tweeted he had "a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism".
James Alex Fields looked nervous and listless on the small monitor in the corner of the courtroom. Mostly he kept his head down, his eyes darting occasionally up towards the camera.
He was wearing a striped jumpsuit and had the neat, buzzcut hairstyle favoured by many white supremacists and neo-nazis who have united under the banner of the so-called "alt-right".
Judge Robert Downer read his charges - one count of murder, one count of hit and run, three counts of malicious wounding.
Alex Fields spoke briefly to say he was employed by Securitas and Omni Ohio, could not afford a lawyer, and had no ties to Charlottesville. Judge Robert Downer denied him bail, and revealed he could not be appointed a public defender because someone in the public defender's office was directly affected by the crime.
His appointed lawyer, Charles Webster, named in court by the judge, had yet to be contacted to inform him of his latest client.
In 10 minutes it was over. Outside the court, known white nationalist Matthew Heimbach was shouting that the death of Heather Heyer was the fault of the police.
"Nazis go home," the crowd chanted back at him. "I think I like it in Charlottesville," he said. "I think I'll stay."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday said the deadly violence met "the definition of domestic terrorism", adding that the Justice Department was opening a civil rights investigation into the event.
"You can be sure we will charge and advance the investigation towards the most serious charges that can be brought because this is unequivocally an unacceptable evil attack," he said on ABC News' Good Morning America.
He told the television programme that FBI agents from the terrorism and civil rights divisions were also investigating the matter.
Hundreds of white nationalists convened in Charlottesville on Saturday to protest against the removal of a statue of a general who had fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War.
Media captionMarissa Blair, friend of Heather Heyer: "It was an act of terror"
Protests and vigils in support of Charlottesville were held in many US cities on Sunday. In Seattle, police used pepper spray to stop protesters approaching a pro-Trump rally.
Are right-wing groups on the rise?
How did Trump initially respond?
Hours after the violence erupted, Mr Trump said he condemned "in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides".
"The hate and the division must stop right now," he told reporters in New Jersey, where he is on a working holiday. "We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation."
But his comments did not explicitly condemn the white extremist groups involved in the rally, an omission that was strongly criticised by Republicans and Democrats alike.
Many, including senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, echoed the sentiment of Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, who tweeted: "Mr President - we must call evil by its name. These were white supremacists and this was domestic terrorism."
The president's national security adviser, HR McMaster, went further by commenting: "Anytime that you commit an attack against people to incite fear, it meets the definition of terrorism."
The mayor of Charlottesville, Democrat Mike Signer, drew a link between the events and the rhetoric of Mr Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, saying that "these anti-Semites, racists, Aryans, neo-Nazis, KKK" had come out of the shadows after having "been given a key and a reason to come into the light".
In response to the criticism, the White House issued a statement on Sunday clarifying that Mr Trump's condemnation had included white supremacists.
"The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred. Of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-Nazi and all extremist groups," a spokesperson said.
Mr Sessions also came to the president's defence on Monday, saying he "explicitly condemned the kind of ideology behind these movements of Nazism, white supremacy, the KKK."
That is his unequivocal position," Mr Sessions said, "He totally opposes those kind of values".


Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued guidance on the legality of cannabidiol (CBD) last week, though local law enforcement says the products haven't been a big focus in Mobile.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a derivative of marijuana, though it does not contain the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that gives the plant its psychoactive effects. In recent years, Alabama has loosened its laws to allow CBD oils to be used in the treatment of epilepsy and severe seizures.
Carly's Law and Leni's Law were passed in 2014 and 2016, respectively, named after patients championing alternative treatments. The laws created a very limited window for a small number of designated patients to treat epilepsy and other specified illnesses with CBD.
In practice, the laws simply created a path to excuse what state law would otherwise consider to be possession of marijuana, and even those patients can only use products containing no more than 3 percent THC.
According to Marshall, neither law legalized the possession or use of CBD in Alabama.
Yet, spokesperson Mike Lewis said there have been "an increasing number of public questions about the legality of CBD product sales" in stores and online. In a public notice on Nov. 20, Marshall's office issued guidance on the legality of CBD oils in a joint effort of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Office of Prosecution Services and the Department of Forensic Sciences.
The most recent change in Alabama law governing CBD products came less than a month ago when the Alabama Department of Public Health adopted a rule allowing for the medical use of FDA-approved drugs containing CBD, which of there is only one: Epidiolex.
With the change, doctors in Alabama can now prescribe Epidiolex to patients being treated for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome, rare but severe forms of epilepsy.
The maker of Epidiolex, GW Pharmaceuticals, has undertaken substantial lobbying efforts in several states evaluating CBD regulations in recent years — often working ensure that only CBD products approved by federal regulators are legally sold in those states. Alabama is no exception.
According to the Ethics Commission, the company is registered as a principal lobbyist in Alabama and works through Windom, Galliher & Associates — a prominent lobbying firm founded by former Republican Lt. Gov. Steve Windom.
According to the Fair Campaign Practices filings, Windom, Galliher & Associates contributed to several political action committees and Republican candidates including Marshall, who received at least $7,500 from the firm in two separate contributions in August and October.
However, most laws concerning CBD products were passed years ago, and there has indeed been some confusion surrounding them. According to statewide media reports, law enforcement officials in Jefferson County were under the impression products containing no THC were legal to sell and possess as recently as September.
A few days before those reports were published, prosecutors in Lauderdale County were telling reporters all CBD products were illegal in Alabama and announced a local effort to crack down on convenience stores and distributors selling them in that area.
Targeting those selling or using CBD oils illegally doesn't seem to have been a primary focus of local law enforcement, though the Mobile Police Department is aware of the attorney general's memo.
"We have not made any recent arrests, but this is on our radar," an MPD representative said.
According to MPD's narcotics unit, only The University of Alabama at Birmingham is allowed to dispense CBD under state law, and only those with "a diagnosed neurological disorder that produces debilitating or life-threatening seizures" can legally possess CBD products.
However, MPD has previously seized CBD products as part of larger enforcement efforts aimed at curtailing the sale of drug paraphernalia in convenience stores. In March 2017, officers seized pipes, bongs, CBD oils and other substances during organized raids at 10 businesses.
At the time, Mobile Public Safety Director James Barber said some of those products had tested positive for THC. Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich did not immediately respond to requests seeking information about the number of cases her office has prosecuted against those possessing or selling CBD.


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Mel Blanc
Known in Hollywood as "The Man of a Thousand Voices," Mel Blanc (1908-1989) was the versatile cartoon voice creator of such unforgettable characters as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck.
Blanc's voices have become standard-bearers for American popular culture throughout the world, heard, by some estimates, by more than 20 million people every day. Each of his characters is distinctive and many developed a trademark line that became famous, like "I tawt I taw a puddy tat!" (Tweety), "What's up, Doc?" (Bugs Bunny), "Thhhhufferin' Thhhhuccotash!" (Sylvester), and "Beep-beep!" (Road Runner). Blanc did the majority of his work for Warner Bros., performing in over 3,000 cartoons for that studio in a career that spanned more than 50 years, but he also worked for other animated film makers and as a memorable radio actor.
Porky Born
Born in 1908 and growing up in Portland, Oregon, Blanc studied music, becoming proficient on the bass, violin, and sousaphone. But he discovered a more amazing instrument in his own voice. "I used to look at animals and wonder, how would that kitten sound if it could talk," he said in the New York Times. " I'd tighten up my throat and make a very small voice, not realizing I was rehearsing." After marrying and working for a short time as a radio actor, Blanc moved to Los Angeles and joined Leon Schlesinger Productions, a cartoon workshop that eventually developed the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies characters for Warner Bros. While playing the part of a drunken bull in "Porky Picador," Blanc relates in his autobiography That's Not All Folks, the actor who was then portraying Porky actually did stutter. When Blanc was later asked to play Porky, he left the stutter in the act, and his first major character was born. Blanc next developed the character who was to become his favorite, Happy Hare, in another Warner Bros. short. He lent a brash, Bronx accent to the wiseguy rabbit that eventually became Bugs Bunny. "He's a little stinker," Blanc told the New York Times. "That's why people love him. He does what most people would like to do but don't have the guts to do." More famous characters followed, including Pepe LePew, Wile E. Coyote, Elmer Fudd, Speedy Gonzales, and Yosemite Sam.
Branches Out
Despite his proficiency, Blanc did not own the rights to any of his characters and never earned more than $20,000 in a single year from Warner Bros., so he, was forced to pursue other activities. In the 1960s he was co-producer and voice animator for ABC's "The Bugs Bunny Show," a Saturday morning series that featured Looney Tunes characters in new cartoons designed for television. He also provided the voices for Barney Rubble and Fred Flintstone's pet dinosaur, Dino, for the first prime-time cartoon series, "The Flintstones." Through the years, Blanc also kept up his work in radio, primarily as an actor and special effects creator for "The Jack Benny Show," on which he portrayed Benny's mexican gardener, Sy; his violin teacher, Mr. LeBlanc; his wise-cracking parrot; and his pet polar bear. Blanc also formed his own company to produce radio and television advertising. His last cartoon contribution came in the popular 1988 mixed-animation film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," in which he performed the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, and Porky Pig. In assessing why his characters have become so endearing to all age-groups, Blanc told the New York Times: " What we tried to do was amuse ourselves. We didn't make pictures for children. We didn't make pictures for adults. We made them for ourselves." Mel Blanc died in 1989.
Further Reading on Mel Blanc
Chicago Tribune, July 11, 1989.
New York Times, July 11, 1989.


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Thomas Uwins  (24 February 1782, in London – 26 August 1857) was a British portrait, subject, genre and landscape painter in watercolour and oil, and a book illustrator. He became a full member of the Old Watercolour Society and a Royal Academician, and held a number of high-profile art appointments including the librarian of the Royal Academy, Surveyor of Pictures to Queen Victoria and the Keeper of the National Gallery.

Life and work

Early years and training

Uwins was born at Hermes Hill, Pentonville in London, the youngest of the four children of Thomas Uwins, a clerk in the Bank of England. David Uwins (c. 1780-1837), physician and medical writer, was his elder brother. Thomas showed talent as an artist from an early age, and had some instruction from the drawing-master at his sister's school. He was a day scholar at Mr. Crole's school in Queen's Head Lane, Islington, for 6 years, and in 1797, at the age of 15, was apprenticed to the engraver Benjamin Smith (d. 1833). While with Smith he engraved part of a plate for John Boydell's editions of 'Shakespeare' but had an attack of jaundice, said to have been caused by overwork and dislike of the drudgery of engraving, and left without completing the apprenticeship.

In 1798, Uwins entered the schools of the Royal Academy, London, and joined Sir Charles Bell's anatomical class, supporting himself mainly by painting portrait miniature. He exhibited a portrait of a "Mr. G. Meyers" at the academy in 1799. He also - now or later - gave lessons in drawing, and about 1808 began to design frontispieces and vignettes to Thomas Day's "The History of Sandford and Merton", 'Robinson Crusoe' and others, for J. Walker of Paternoster Row. He also designed for bookseller Thomas Tegg (1776–1845), drew engravers' outlines for Charles Warren the engraver, and produced work for Rudolph Ackermann's 'Repository of Fashions' for which he also wrote articles signed 'Arbiter Elegantiarum'. One of his drawings exhibited at the academy in 1808 was a portrait of Charles Warren's daughter, Mrs. Luke Clennell, as Belphoebe in Spenser's 'Faerie Queene'.

Watercolour Society and travels to France

In 1809 Uwins joined the "Old Watercolour Society" as associate member, and in 1813 became a full member. From 1809 to 1818 he was a constant contributor to the society's exhibitions, sending illustrations of works by Henry Fielding, John Bunyan, Shakespeare, Laurence Sterne, and other authors, besides numerous pastoral scenes and figures. He served as secretary of the society in 1813–14 and 1816–17. In 1811 he stayed at Farnham, Surrey, studying the hopfields, and in 1815 visited the Lake District, where he met Wordsworth.

In 1817, after the Napoleonic wars, he went to France to paint vintage scenes. He stayed for a short while at Paris, and, provided with letters of introduction, passed through the Burgundy country to Bordeaux, where he stayed with the Cabareuss family, and visited the chateaux of all the principal growers. The result was seen in two drawings sent to the 'Old Watercolour' Society's exhibition of 1818. Some of his sketches later became the basis for the oil painting The Vintage (1847; Tate, London).

Life in Scotland
In 1818 Uwins resigned from the Old watercolour society to concentrate on paying off a debt relating to a security given to the Society of Arts. Continual work on miniatures seriously injured his eyesight, and in 1820 he went to Scotland to make topographical drawings to illustrate works by Sir Walter Scott, with whom he became well acquainted. He spent two years in Edinburgh painting and drawing portraits with much success, and on the occasion of the visit of George IV to Edinburgh in 1822, be executed two transparencies, one of which was twelve feet high.

Seven years in Italy
In 1824 Uwins travelled to Italy for his health. There he settled for the winter in Rome where he met a number of English artists, including Charles Eastlake and Joseph Severn. The following spring he visited Naples and met Richard Acton who commissioned him to paint a number of Italian scenes. He remained in Naples for several years painting portraits of British and Austrian visitors. While in Italy he kept up a correspondence with his two brothers Zechariah and David, which was published after his death in A memoir of Thomas Uwins.

From 1829–30 Uwins sent his pictures of Italian subjects to the exhibitions of the British Institution and Royal Academy. In 1830 he exhibited "Neapolitans dancing the Tarantella", and, in 1832, The Neapolitan Saint Manufactury proved a great success in the RA exhibition. At about this time he returned to England and became gradually more involved in arts administration. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1833, and a full academician (RA) in 1838.

Later work
In 1839 he exhibited one of his best pictures, Le Chapeau de Brigand. The little girl depicted was a daughter of a friend named Joseph, with whom he lived for some time. In 1843 he painted a fresco of the lady in John Milton's 'Comus' for the Queen's Pavilion in Buckingham Palace Gardens. In 1844 he was made librarian of the Royal Academy, and Surveyor of pictures to Queen Victoria (completing the first catalogue raisonné of the Royal Collection), and from 1847–55, keeper of the National Gallery - succeeding Sir Charles Eastlake.

In 1850 he married Sarah Kirby, and though without issue, the union was said to be a happy one. In 1854 he had a serious illness, and in 1855 gave up his various offices and retired to Staines, in Middlesex, an invalid. He carried on painting, however, until his death on 26 August 1857.

References

Further reading
Sarah Uwins. A Memoir of Thomas Uwins": Volume 1, Volume 2 (London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans & Roberts, 1858).
 J. F. C. Phillips, Thomas Uwins, R.A., 1782–1857'' (The Gallery Downstairs, 1989).

External links

Thomas Uwins online (ArtCyclopedia)
An Italian Mother Teaching her Child the Tarantella (1842 oil on panel - V&A)
A Neapolitan boy decorating the head of his inamorata (1840 oil on panel - V&A)
Returning from school (Watercolour - Christie's)
Portraits of Thomas Uwins (National Portrait Gallery, London)
 , an engraving of the painting by S. Sangster for The Amulet annual, 1835 with poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.
 Painted for Flowers of Loveliness, 1838, with poetical illustrations by Letitia Elizabeth Landon:
 , engraved by Henry Robinson.
 , engraved by W. H. Egleton.
 , engraved by James Thomson.

19th-century English painters
English male painters
British genre painters
English portrait painters
English watercolourists
Surveyors of the Queen's Pictures
English illustrators
Landscape artists
Royal Academicians
1782 births
1857 deaths
19th-century English male artists

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Sense8 finale changed how we see queer relationships
We are so distrusting on the concept of love nowadays. It's easy to blame the political climate worldwide. Locally, we can easily blame "hugot culture" and its romanticization of unrequited love. It gets worse for members of the LGBTQ+ community and how media portrays love stories under the rainbow flag by having most of it end in death. It happens so often that it gave birth to the trope called "Bury Your Gays", which honestly, doesn't need further explanation. Not all queer love ends in tragedy. That's why the beloved Netflix's sci-fi serial Sense8 ended more than just their show in their series finale last week —they also buried that toxic trope six feet underground.
Their finale entitled "Amor Vincit Omnia" comes from a quote by the poet Virgil. This is also a line uttered in the episode by Hernando Fuentes as he pretended to be a tour guide alongside our favorite cluster pretending to be wide-eyed tourists in Naples. He translates the phrase into English as "love conquers all things." This just made the title for the show's last adventure perfect to a tee. People have a lot of mixed emotions with the show's final bow. But what they cannot deny is how the creators gave their characters, especially their queer characters, a happy ending they had worked hard to get. Mind you —their happy endings didn't even feel forced.
After defeating the evil men who overtook BPO, an organization that originally existed to protect the Sensates kind, they closed the gruesome chapter behind them by having a wedding on the top of The Eiffel Tower of all places. Is there anything more romantic than The Eiffel Tower? And the wedding that was held there was none other than queer hackers extraordinaire Nomi Marks and Amanita Caplan. Nomi, arguably, had the most difficult coming out arc in the series. A huge factor was her bigoted parents remaining to deny her identity by continuing to call her Michael. There was no bigger f' you to all her struggles and harassment than marrying the woman she loves in a place everyone fantasized of.
Other queer characters like Lito, and apparently, Riley had their happy endings with their respective partners too. It didn't even stop showing us positive polyamorous relationships. In the previous episodes, we saw Amanita's dads and her mother living healthily. The finale introduced us to Kala, Wolfgang, and Rajan having entered in one. The wedding wraps up in a huge celebration with an amazing remix of "Nothing Matters When We're Dancing" by The Magnetic Fields. And we can't forget about the orgy scene that might be lost to people who haven't seen the show. But to those who are fans of the show, they couldn't have ended the show better than that rainbow strapon as the last frame.
Rainbow strapons aside, Sense8's finale is a love letter to love's broad spectrum. "We live in a world that distrusts feelings," says Amanita as she recites her vows to Nomi. The most rebellious act that the show imparts us to trusts those feelings and see where they lead. Not all love ends in a sad, Facebook status. This goes especially for queer love stories —fictional or not. We don't know about you guys, but Sense8 burying that toxic trope defines 20gayteen for us.
Did the finale make you say 'yaas' or pass? @ us @scoutmagph
20gayteen
Rogin Losa
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Agathe Veeber's solo exhibition will be held in the Kumu Project Space
On Wednesday, 19 December, a new exhibition called Agathe Veeber. Well-known, but Still Unknown Estonian Printmaker will open in the Project Space on the 4th floor of the Kumu Art Museum. The presentation of the book accompanying the exhibition will take place on 20 December at 6 pm.
100 Years of Art: The anniversary year of the Art Museum of Estonia
On Thursday, 6 December at 6 pm, the Kadriorg Art Museum will open the exhibition In the Beginning There Were... Köler and Weizenberg. The exhibition on the oeuvres of the two founders of professional national Estonian art, Johann Köler (1826–1899) and August Weizenberg (1837–1921), in the Kadriorg Art Museum, takes place in the year of the centennial of the Republic of Estonia and right before the 100th anniversary of the Art Museum of Estonia, launching a series of exhibitions dedicated to the centennial. These two grand masters contributed to the birth of independent Estonia both with their works and their participation in the national movement.
Exhibition Linking Art and Money in the Art of Money
The exhibition Art of Money, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Eesti Pank, explores the design of the currencies – marks, kroons, roubles and euros – which have been in use during the 100 years of the Republic of Estonia. The exhibition opens at 5 pm on Friday, 30 November at the Mikkel Museum, Tallinn, Estonia. The launch of the book The Art of Money and Estonia 1918–2018 will be held together with the opening of the exhibition.
The Art Museum of Estonia will open an exhibition of Kaljo Põllu's oeuvre in Japan.
On Thursday, 15 November, an exhibition of graphic art by the Estonian artist Kaljo Põllu opened in the Okuni Shrine in Japan, as part of the international programme to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Estonian Republic. The fascinating display arranged jointly by the Art Museum of Estonia, the Okuni Shrine, the city of Saku and the Saku Municipal Museum of Modern Art in Japan gives an extraordinarily revealing glimpse of the ancient world of the Estonians' ancestors, as well as of Estonian legends, beliefs and relations with nature.
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The exhibition Border Poetics. Estonian Art 1918–2018 will open at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
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Estonian Jewellery through the Millennia
On Thursday, 8 November at 4 pm, the exhibition Estonian Jewellery through the Millennia will open at the Adamson-Eric Museum. The exhibition marks the 35th year of the museum's operation and acknowledges the earlier generations who have lived on the territory of our country. The exhibition is an enchanting combination of our archaeological heritage, the masterly oeuvre of Adamson-Eric, and unique local jewellery.
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Ascending from the Liquid Horizon
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ELLIE HOLCOMB DEBUTS FIRST SOLO ALBUM IN FEBRUARY DUE TO SUCCESSFUL KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN
Goal Reached In Three Days, Is 4th Overall Top Christian Kickstarter Campaign
NEWS SOURCE: Merge PR
Nashville, Tenn - 7 January 2014 - Artist, songwriter and storyteller Ellie Holcomb, who releases her anticipated first solo project on February 18, As Sure As The Sun (Full Heart Music), just can't hold in her excitement. Setting out in November with a Kickstarter campaign to garner support for the making of her album, Holcomb set a goal of $40,000 to be raised in 50 days, which was met in just three days. At the end of the campaign, Holcomb raised over $108,000 with 1,756 backers. This Kickstarter campaign placed her 4th overall top Christian Kickstarter Campaign as well as placing in the Top 30 Most Funded Kickstarter Music campaigns of all time.
"I'm not sure that I could be more grateful or humbled by the success that our Kickstarter campaign has had," Holcomb shares. "It still feels like a dream in some ways. I think my favorite thing about Kickstarter is that I'm beginning my journey as an artist with a team of people who believe in me, with a team of people who want to be a part of my story and the songs I've written. I've got 1,756 people who quite literally have my back, and who have spoken life into me along the way. I couldn't think of a better way to release my first full length record and what a beautiful thing for a community of people to make music together."
Holcomb continues, "I keep thanking God that I've seen a little glimpse of His faithfulness and provision. I'm looking forward to all that's ahead, but I'll never stop looking back to this season of seeing people surround and support me and my music. I think it will always be one of my fondest memories as an artist, and I'm hoping that when my backers hear this album, they'll be thrilled that they were a part of it all from the beginning."
As Sure As The Sun, which is the follow up to her summer EP side-project With You Now, features eleven songs, all written by Holcomb and each carefully woven with scripture into the lyrics. Encouraged for quite some time by her husband to record her own music, Holcomb's hope with her new collection of songs is that they will be reminders of truth by refreshing, encouraging, and blessing all who hear them. Ellie Holcomb, a Nashville native, is a seasoned artist, as well as a wife and a mother and a former schoolteacher and for the past seven years, she's been part of her husband's band, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors. This past December, she was the special guest on Andrew Peterson's annual "Behold The Lamb of God" Christmas Tour. To find out more about Ellie Holcomb, please click on the links below.
EllieHolcomb.com


On May 7, 2011 Members of Local Union's 31 and 526 of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania gathered with our families at the OP&CMIA Western Pennsylvania Training Facility for an afternoon of fun, food and services. The afternoon was filled with games for the kids, benefits and services for families, and good friends that we haven't seen in a while.
UPMC Health Care provided a non-fasting prostate cancer screening, Mobile Medical Corporation was on hand to allow Members to update their drug free certification, Cowden & Associates and the Pittsburgh Pirates raffled 3 sets of tickets to upcoming Pirates baseball games, American Income Life provided information on free and low cost benefits available to Union Members, the Allegheny County Sherriff's office was on hand providing child ID and fingerprinting crime prevention services and Tracey & Associates provided health insurance information and options.
The kids (even the adult kids) played t-ball, tried their hand at the football toss and even had an opportunity to "Dunk the Agent".
We all enjoyed a picnic style lunch catered by Tommy's Catering.
While a good time was had by all, the emphasis was on Unity, from top to bottom, Plasterers and Cement Masons unified with each other. In the days after the event we have received several phone calls from Members to tell us what a great time they had and to request that we pass along their gratitude to General President Finley, Secretary Treasurer Hurd and Executive Vice-President Stepano for taking time out of their busy schedules to enjoy the day with us.
The effort was organized by the Local's and paid for with donations from our vendors. In the end the Members who attended will receive more than $3,000.00 in gift cards and prizes thanks to the enormous generosity of those who donated. Monetary Donations were received from: American Income Life (local), Business Systems Consultants, Cowden & Associates, Domenic A. Bellisario Esq., Employees of Highmark BCBS, Fifth Third Retirement Services, Greco Advertising, Kramer & DiClaudio PC, National Vision Administrators, PNC Bank, Prescription Solutions, Shiloh Service Inc., and UPMC Healthcare.