Dec. 4, 2020

Now that it is clear that Biden is in for Jan. 20, I can start to grow my fingernails again.

Here are some personal things for a change. Most or many of you know that my birthday is the 28^th of November. That was in 1935, so I am now past 85 heading for 86 (When I was up in Johannesburg last year, I was staying with a couple whose wedding I had performed and as I returned from moving around town I came to the gate of their gated complex and forgot the magic entry number. The guard asked for my driver’s licence ---it had nothing to do with me getting into the complex, but I have learned that it is easier to just go along with it rather than to challenge it---so when he say my date of birth he said “Usaquba na?” Are you still driving? Ha. I found out it is much easier than walking.

Getting back to my birthday, a friend whom I met 53 yrs, ago in St. Mary’s hospital when I was chaplain (1967, 68,

69) 1967 When  she was giving birth to her lastborn son, offered to supply a lunch for me on my birthday (a custom evolved that when it is her birthday, I take her to lunch, and when it is my birthday, I take her to lunch) I of course accepted, but at her house rather than at a restaurant. However, I asked that it be on Friday the 27^th, because it is a tradition at our old folks home that on one’s birth or feast day, there is a cake and a glass of wine, I wanted to be home for lunch on Saturday the 28^th. No problem. She had ordered Prawn (shrimp) curry which is a favorite of mine. She also invited a nun friend of hers as well as her parish priest (pastor), a youngish Indian named Michael Ndaraju, one of the nicest priests I know in the Durban diocese. It  was a great time that we had lasting from before lunch to after 5pm when we really had to head back to our homes.

Then, of course, there was the celebration at lunch at Mater Dolorosa (MD) with all my old brothers. Only retired bishop Fritz Lobinger is older than I (He is 92 and still pushing nicely). I was told that I am now the oldest member of the Mariannhill community in the Mariannhill and Mthatha provinces. Hard to believe. I don’t feel that old. Ha.

Another friend and his wife also invited me to a lunch at their house, at 2:30 in the afternoon (that was after the lunch with the old timers). Well, we took it in stages, and the last stage , after the Briyanni, was some ice cream. Ha. I was stuffed. I really overate and had trouble sleeping that night as it was not settling well, but I survived.

Then, on Sunday the 29^th of Nov., I was at Savannah Park, as usual, for the 8am Mass and had been warned not to rush off after Mass, so I knew that there was something cooking.(But I didin’t know that there was much more after Mass somewhere else). So, after Mass there was some soft drink and cupcakes for the community and the traditional singing of happy birthday.

I usually go up to the house of the leader of the community (Mike Pillay, a Indian leading a mostly Zulu community…we are very integrated) where his wife, Annetta, usually prepares a lunch, but this time,  I was told, there is going to be a braai (a cookout). The Braai is a kind of traditional was of celebrating anything. It means, lots of meat (beef, pork, and sausage.) They said the Braai would be at 1pm (this was about 10am) and I knew that they meant 1pm African time, not world time. Ha. So, Annetta was kind enough to feed me a bit before the actual braai. Then the people whom they had invited began to arrive. Most of them were family members of Mike whose family is a mini united nations, with all colors under the sun. There were also some young seminarians and a deacon from Madagascar who had been at Mass with us earlier in the morning.

But the frosting on the cake was that the parish priest (I am only the hired hand) also came and brought a retired archbishop with him, Slattery, who is spending time here in our diocese trying to get things better organised. I knew him from years before when he was the bishop of a neighboring diocese where I used to pop in from time to time to have a chat and a cup of coffee. I was happy to see him. Then one of my Provincials came as well and  after some eating and drinking, the speeches started. I won’t have to wait for canonization because they did it there. Eventually they gave me a chance to get in a few words of thanks and appreciation too. Among other things, They gave me a beautiful birthday candle with the number 85 on it. It is too nice to burn but I have a secret way of preserving it.

I made it back in time for supper (6pm) but I skipped supper because I was stuffed again.

On Monday I had an appointment with a neurologist. I wanted to have him check out my back which is very crooked (again---scoliosis they call it) to see if (which I dreaded) I might have to have another back op. However, he just knocked on my back, going down the spine, vertebra by vertebra, asking is there was pain, which there wasn’t, so he said no need to think of an op, at least not now. Because my left leg never got straight at the knee, my left leg is a bit shorter than the right and, I guess, the muscles pull a little bit to the other side which pulls the spine a bit out of being straight. He didn’t seem to think that there was a big problem, and I breathed  a sigh of relief.

That was Monday, Dec. 1. On Tuesday I drove (thank the Lord I can drive an the spasms don’t bother me)

Bishop Lobingrer to the bank In the morning. In the afternoon I went to Sr. Amanda to fetch a baptism candle for a friend and his wife for the young daughter whose baptism we are preparing.

On Wednesday evening I took the candle over to their house and brought a nice baptismal certificate to be kept as a kind of keepsake of that important day.

Thursday, The house doctor came to check us out (he does this on his own time) and I gave him the information about my back. I then went to the  pharmacy to get my monthly supply of pills (I have become a pilleater, drug addict). They gave me something to calm down the spasms (they use it for epilepsy) and it is working like a charm. I still have the spasms but they are able to be dealt with now.

I am going to stop now as I am going to the hospital for a noon service. I am going to play a song for them on my computer and use that as a way to stimulate some thinking about what we want to pray about. See you later. 

 

 

 

 

Dec. 2, 2020

The U.S. prepares for the Biden administration

In a further affirmation of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory and a major repudiation of President Trump’s baseless claims that he was defrauded in last month’s election, Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department had not uncovered significant voting fraud, while Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, referred for the first time to a “new administration,” seemingly a tacit acknowledgment of Mr. Biden’s win.

 

As the U.S. prepares for the transition to the Biden administration, its economy hangs in limbo. Mr. Biden has called for Congress to come together to pass a “robust” relief package to help households and businesses.

The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, backed Mr. Biden’s reach-across-the-aisle approach, warning Congress that “the outlook for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain” without an effort to smooth the transition.

 Nov. 27, 2020

On the front lines: Doctors and nurses are running on empty. “This is my job, what I wanted to do for a living,” said a critical-care physician in Houston who brought the virus home with him, sickening his whole family. “And it could have killed my children, could have killed my wife — all this, because of me.”

 Nov. 18, 2020

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, asked the president’s campaign to pay him $20,000 a day for legal work challenging the election results. The campaign appears to have said no, though it is unclear how much Mr. Giuliani will ultimately be compensated.

Wow, what a friend? Do you really think that he is worth $20,000 a day???

 

Nov. 18, 2020

(CNN)For all of the words that have been written and spoken about -- and by -- Donald Trump, it's often difficult to put a finger on what makes his presidency so incredibly abnormal.

Yes, he says (and tweets) things that no past president would ever utter publicly. Yes, he operates without any sort of blueprint or plan, choosing instead to wing it. Yes, he takes credit for everything and blame for nothing. Yes, he has upended decades' worth of carefully crafted relationships with friends -- and enemies -- around the world.

But there's just SO much to say about the radicalness of Trump that it all sort of cancels itself out.

(It reminds me of a Simpsons episode where ancient tycoon Monty Burns decides to get a physical. A set of tests is run. And the doctor informs Burns he is "the sickest man in the entire United States. You have everything." And yet, Mr. Burns is healthy. Why? Because all of the diseases in his body are jamming each other up as they try to attack his body. "We call it 'Three Stooges Syndrome,'" the doctor tells Mr. Burns. Watch it here.)

Every once in a while, however, someone is able to break through the clutter -- and nail exactly what it is that makes Trump so unorthodox as president. Over the weekend, Steve Schmidt, who ran John McCain's 2008 campaign for president, was that person in an interview on MSNBC.

Here's his analysis of Trump, which ran almost exactly two minutes (and special shout-out to CNN's Allison Gordon for the transcription!):

"Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And I don't say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.

"When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don't use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We've never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of the country whose ever been charged with substantial responsibilities.

"It's just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as something that he never was. A successful businessman. Well, he's the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again. And he's brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale. And let's be clear. This isn't happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you're the most likely to die from this disease. We're the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk."

Like I said: It's brutal. But it's also a decidedly succinct assessment of what Trump's conduct in office -- from coronavirus to protests over police brutality and back -- have meant to the Republican Party and the country.

Now, Schmidt is without question a leading voice in the "Never Trump" movement. He is a founder of The Lincoln Project, an effort aimed at beating Trump in November.

 

Let me be cynical for a moment. I hear that some people are saying that forcing them to wear a mask and subjecting them to lockdowns is against their constitutional rights. I think that I have to agree. There are so many ways that this government has gotten away with controlling my life that I really never took notice of, for example,

Forcing me to wear a safety belt and threatening me with a fine if I don’t . I will wear a safety belt if I like and won’t wear one if I don’t.

Another silly thing about driving on the right side of the road that I am told to do. I will drive wherever I like. I am tired of being pushed around.

Also, those stupid traffic lights,  green go, red stop. More control. I will go or stop when I feel like it. Why are they trying to control my life.

I could go on with many more examples, but I think you get the idea. We have been forced against our constitutional rights to do exactly what they say to control us or we will have to pay a penalty. I have had enough of this stupid control. But that is enough for now. You get my point with all these stupid masks, and physical distancing and washing hands all the time. It’s time to put a stop to this. If people have to die, they just have to die. That’s it.

 Nov. 1, 2020   Know who you are voting for

The wounded warrior comes back to win his final battle

By J Brooks Spector• 6 November 2020

 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden takes his face mask off as he arrives to speak one day after America voted in the presidential election, on November 04, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden spoke as votes are still being counted in his tight race against incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump which remains too close to call. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)  Less

By the time you read this, it is possible that former vice-president Joseph Robinette Biden Jr will have gone from being presumed winner of the 2020 race to becoming president-elect of the United States. He would be inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president on 20 January 2021, and, at 78, the oldest leader ever.

He was born on 20 November 1942 into a working-class family and lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then Wilmington, Delaware. Educated at the University of Delaware and the Syracuse University law school, he married his first wife, Neilia Hunter, several years after they met in the Bahamas where they were both on holiday during the spring university break.

Graduating from law school in 1968, Biden moved to Wilmington to practise law, but soon became active in the Democratic Party. Two years later, he was elected to the New Castle County Council, before running and winning his Senate seat in 1972.

In 1972, still just 29 years old, and months before he was actually eligible to become a senator (the Constitution stipulates a senator must be at least 30), he waged an unlikely but successful campaign against the long-serving, popular senator, J Caleb Boggs. Before he took the oath of office, however, Neilia and their daughter Naomi were killed in a traffic accident, leaving Biden to care for his two surviving sons as he began his Senate career.

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Biden says of that time: “I began to understand how despair led people to just cash in; how suicide wasn’t just an option but a rational option … I felt God had played a horrible trick on me, and I was angry.”

Following the tragedy, and unlike most members of Congress, he continued to live in Wilmington, He commuted to Washington, DC, by train, returning home at night to care for his sons.

Joe Biden, right, a Democratic senator from Delaware and vice presidential running mate of presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, walks with his son Joseph “Beau” Biden, attorney general of Delaware, on day three of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver, Colorado, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008. The DNC ends on Aug. 28. (Photo by Matthew Staver/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Biden has regularly credited his parents with instilling in him an inner toughness, a belief in hard work, and perseverance. He says his father told him: “Champ, the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up.” Coming home after a fight with other students, he says his mother told him: “Bloody their nose so you can walk down the street the next day!”

As a child, Biden struggled with a stutter, which he tamed by memorising long poems  and repeating them to himself in front of a mirror. One of the most affecting moments at the 2020 Democratic National Convention came when a young man, also a stutterer, explained on national television how he had drawn inspiration in dealing with the problem from a meeting with the former vice-president.

Biden attended Archmere Academy, a private high school, on a scholarship. He was too small to excel at American football, but  his coach described him as “one of the best pass receivers I had in 16 years as a coach”.

In speaking about his early university years, Biden admits to having been a mediocre student, but says he became more assiduous after meeting Neilia.

He has also said that like so many others of his generation, he had been encouraged to think about a political career from John F Kennedy’s 1961 inauguration speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden share a laugh as the US Senior Men’s National Team and Brazil play during a pre-Olympic exhibition basketball game at the Verizon Center on July 16, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

In the Senate, he was a member (and chair for some years) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which, among other things, supported passage of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act. It also advocated strategic arms limitation agreements with the then Soviet Union, encouraged efforts towards peace and stability in the Balkans and opposed the First Gulf War.

Later, Biden urged US action to help end the Darfur genocide and criticised George W Bush’s handling of the Iraq War, including  the US troop surge of 2007.

During his Senate career, he was an advocate of tougher crime legislation. The failure of Robert Bork’s 1987 nomination by Ronald Reagan to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court was a result of Biden’s tough questioning as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Seven years later, Biden sponsored the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act to add 100,000 police officers in police departments across the nation and to increase sentences for a wide range of crimes. His 1991 questioning of Anita Hill, however, during her testimony against the nomination of Clarence Thomas, was sharply criticised for its tone and aggressiveness for decades afterwards.

Biden has acknowledged he failed a class in law school because he did not include the proper citation of a law review article in his written course work. In 1987 he borrowed part of a Neil Kinnock speech to use as his own, which contributed to the collapse of his first attempt to contest the presidency.

After dropping out of the race for the Democratic Party nomination for the 1988 election, Biden learnt he had two brain aneurysms. Complications from surgery meant he had to take an extended break from his Senate activities, and after his convalescence he had to undergo lung surgery.

In 2007, he made a second try for his party’s nomination, but gave up after gaining less than a percentage point of the vote in the Iowa caucus, in the face of strong efforts by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Once the Illinois senator had secured the nomination, Obama asked Biden to be his running mate in 2008. Observers believe Biden, with his working-class background, helped the ticket with important blue collar voters in the swing states of Ohio and

Pennsylvania.

As vice-president, Biden was a behind-the-scenes adviser to Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan and he used his Senate ties to help gain passage for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the US and the Russian Federation.

After the 2008 electoral victory, Biden said: “This is an historic moment. I started my career fighting for civil rights, and to be a part of what is both a moment in American history where the best people, the best ideas, the — how can I say it? — the single best reflection of the American people can be called upon, to be at that moment, with a guy who has such incredible talent and who is also a breakthrough figure in multiple ways — I genuinely find that exciting. It’s a new America. It’s the reflection of a new America.”

 

Nov. 7, 2020

 

I put the kind of history of Biden on the blog only to say that this is the one, who, if elected (which seems to be the case) will have lots on his plate. He has lots of experience, after so many years of public service as senator for 30 years and vice president for 8 yrs. to help him which Trump never had, to his disadvantage and to our advantage.   If he wins, it is my hope that because of his years of experience in government, he will be able to connect more easily with the non-democrats and try to bring some progress through compromise. That seems to be the normal way of inching forward rather than going nowhere by sticking by whatever your view was. We have had that experience for the past 4 yrs. not only of not going forward, but of going backward in so many ways, because Trump was unfamiliar with foreign relations, that relies not just on big money deals, but more on relationships that come in handy when problems crop up that need the support or understanding of our friends and allies in other countries.

I may be naïve, but it is my hope that Biden has more skill in that department than Trump, who was more like a bull in a china shop, or the bully who, if you don’t want to play the game his way says ok I am taking my ball and going home.

 Nov. 7, 2020   (A well known Republican)

My party is destroying itself on the altar of Trump

A man casts his ballot on the floor of the Forum arena in Inglewood, Calif., on Saturday. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

Opinion by Benjamin L. Ginsberg

November 1, 2020 at 11:35 p.m. GMT+2

Benjamin L. Ginsberg practiced election law for 38 years. He co-chaired the bipartisan 2013 Presidential Commission on Election Administration.

President Trump has failed the test of leadership. His bid for reelection is foundering. And his only solution has been to launch an all-out, multimillion-dollar effort to disenfranchise voters — first by seeking to block state laws to ease voting during the pandemic, and now, in the final stages of the campaign, by challenging the ballots of individual voters unlikely to support him.

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This is as un-American as it gets. It returns the Republican Party to the bad old days of “voter suppression” that landed it under a court order to stop such tactics — an order lifted before this election. It puts the party on the wrong side of demographic changes in this country that threaten to make the GOP a permanent minority.

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These are painful words for me to write. I spent four decades in the Republican trenches, representing GOP presidential and congressional campaigns, working on Election Day operations, recounts, redistricting and other issues, including trying to lift the consent decree.

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Opinion | Trump has changed the GOP. Its future looks more like Tucker Carlson than Larry Hogan.

The jockeying for the post-Trump future of the Republican Party has started, says Post columnist Max Boot. (Video: Joy Sharon Yi, Kate Woodsome/Photo: Johnathan Newton/Danielle Kunitz/The Washington Post)

Nearly every Election Day since 1984 I’ve worked with Republican poll watchers, observers and lawyers to record and litigate any fraud or election irregularities discovered.

The truth is that over all those years Republicans found only isolated incidents of fraud. Proof of systematic fraud has become the Loch Ness Monster of the Republican Party. People have spent a lot of time looking for it, but it doesn’t exist.

As he confronts losing, Trump has devoted his campaign and the Republican Party to this myth of voter fraud. Absent being able to articulate a cogent plan for a second term or find an attack against Joe Biden that will stick, disenfranchising enough voters has become key to his reelection strategy.

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Perhaps this was the plan all along. The president’s unsubstantiated talk about “rigged” elections caused by absentee ballot “fraud” and “cheating” has been around since 2016; it’s just increased in recent weeks.

Trump has enlisted a compliant Republican Party in this shameful effort. The Trump campaign and Republican entities engaged in more than 40 voting and ballot court cases around the country this year. In exactly none — zero — are they trying to make it easier for citizens to vote. In many, they are seeking to erect barriers.

Opinion | The U.S. election is under attack — from Trump

Wendy Weiser of the Brennan Center warns that the president is doing the work of our foreign adversaries by undermining the legitimacy of the U.S. election. (Video: Joy Sharon Yi, Kate Woodsome, Danielle Kunitz/Photo: Evan Vucci/AP/The Washington Post)

All of the suits include the mythical fraud claim. Many are efforts to disqualify absentee ballots, which have surged in the pandemic. The grounds range from supposedly inadequate signature matches to burdensome witness requirements. Others concern excluding absentee ballots postmarked on Election Day but received later, as permitted under state deadlines. Voter-convenience devices such as drop boxes and curbside voting have been attacked.

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Texas Republicans even thought it was a good idea to challenge 100,000 ballots already cast at a Harris County drive-through voting center that they want retroactively declared illegal. Perhaps they forgot the Republican expressions of outrage in Florida in 2000 when Democrats sought unsuccessfully to exclude 25,000 absentee ballots in GOP counties because of administrative error, not voter fault.

I was there, and I haven’t.

The GOP lawyers managing these lawsuits may have tactical reasons for bringing each. But taken as a whole, they shout the unmistakable message that an expanded electorate means Trump loses.

This attempted disenfranchisement of voters cannot be justified by the unproven Republican dogma about widespread fraud. Challenging voters at the polls or disputing the legitimacy of mail-in ballots isn’t about fraud. Rather than producing conservative policies that appeal to suburban women, young voters or racial minorities, Republicans are trying to exclude their votes.

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“We have volunteers, attorneys and staff in place to ensure that election officials are following the law and counting every lawful ballot,” Justin Riemer, chief counsel for the Republican National Committee, said Friday.

That’s not precisely true. The Republican challenging effort is focused almost exclusively in heavily Democratic areas. Signature mismatches will go unheeded by Trump forces in friendly precincts. This is not about finding fraud and irregularities. It’s about suppressing the number of votes not cast for Trump.

Maybe the president foreshadowed his real purpose at a Pennsylvania rally Saturday night, predicting “bedlam” if the results aren’t known Nov. 3. In fact, challenged ballots aren’t reviewed until days later. So in a tight race, Trump’s demands for a quick result could cause the very bedlam he rails against. Or allow him to claim a false election night victory based on bad-faith challenges.

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How sad it is to recall that just seven years ago the Grand Old Party conducted an “autopsy” that emphasized the urgency of building a big tent to reach communities of color, women and young voters. Now it is erecting voting barriers for those very groups. Instead of enlarging the tent, the party has taken a chain saw to its center pole.

My party is destroying itself on the Altar of Trump. Republican elected officials, party leaders and voters must recognize how harmful this is to the party’s long-term prospects.

My fellow Republicans, look what we’ve become. It is we who must fix this. Trump should not be reelected. Vote, but not for him.

 Nov, 8, 2020

My fellow Americans, the people of this nation have spoken. They have delivered us a clear victory. A convincing victory. A victory for “We the People.” We have won with the most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket in the history of this nation -- 74 million. I am humbled by the trust and confidence you have placed in me. I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but to unify. Who doesn’t see Red and Blue states, but a United States. And who will work with all my heart to win the confidence of the whole people. For that is what America is about: The people. And that is what our Administration will be about. I sought this office to restore the soul of America. To rebuild the backbone of the nation -- the middle class. To make America respected around the world again and to unite us here at home. It is the honor of my lifetime that so many millions of Americans have voted for this vision. And now the work of making this vision real is the task of our time. As I said many times before, I’m Jill’s husband. I would not be here without the love and tireless support of my wife, Jill, Hunter, Ashley, all of our grandchildren and their spouses, and all our family. They are my heart. Jill’s a mom -- a military mom -- and an educator. She has dedicated her life to education, but teaching isn’t just what she does -- it’s who she is. For America’s educators, this is a great day: You’re going to have one of your own in the White House, and Jill is going to make a great First Lady. And I will be honored to be serving with a fantastic vice president -- Kamala Harris -- who will make history as the first woman, first Black woman, first woman of South Asian descent, and first daughter of immigrants ever elected to national office in this country. It’s long overdue, and we’re reminded tonight of all those who fought so hard for so many years to make this happen. But once again, America has bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice. Kamala, Doug -- like it or not -- you’re family. You’ve become honorary Bidens. To all those who volunteered, worked the polls, local election officials -- you deserve a special thanks from this nation. To my campaign team, to all the volunteers, to all those who gave so much of themselves to make this moment possible, I thank you for everything. And to all those who supported us: I am proud of the campaign we built and ran. I am proud of the coalition we built, the broadest and most diverse in history. Democrats and Republicans and Independents. Progressives, moderates and conservatives. Young and old. Urban, suburban and rural. Gay, straight, transgender. White. Latino. Asian. Native American. And especially for those moments when this campaign was at its lowest -- the African American community. I said from the outset I wanted a campaign that represented America, and I think we did that. And to those who voted for President Trump, I understand your disappointment tonight. I’ve lost a couple of elections myself. But now, let’s give each other a chance. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again. To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans. The Bible tells us that to everything there is a season -- a time to build, a time to reap, a time to sow. And a time to heal. This is that time for America. A time to heal. Now that the campaign is over -- what is the people’s will? What is our mandate? I believe it is this: Americans have called on us to marshal the forces of decency and the forces of fairness. To marshal the forces of science and the forces of hope in the great battles of our time. The battle to control the virus. The battle to build prosperity. The battle to secure your family’s health care. The battle to achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country. The battle to save the climate. The battle to restore decency, defend democracy, and give everybody in this country a fair shot. Our work begins with getting COVID under control. We cannot repair our economy, restore our vitality, or relish life’s most precious moments -- hugging a grandchild, birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter most to us -- until we get this virus under control. On Monday, I will name a group of leading scientists and experts as Transition Advisors to help take the Biden-Harris COVID plan and convert it into an action blueprint that starts on January 20th, 2021. That plan will be built on a bedrock of science. It will be constructed out of compassion, empathy, and concern. I will spare no effort -- or commitment -- to turn this pandemic around. I ran as a proud Democrat. I will now be an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn’t vote for me -- as I will for those who did. Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end -- here and now. The refusal of Democrats and Republicans to cooperate with one another is not due to some mysterious force beyond our control. It’s a decision. It’s a choice we make. And if we can decide not to cooperate, then we can decide to cooperate. And I believe that is part of the mandate from the American people. They want us to cooperate. That’s the choice I’ll make. And I call on the Congress -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- to make that choice with me. America’s story is about the slow, yet steady widening of opportunity. Make no mistake: Too many dreams have been deferred for too long. We must make the promise of the country real for everybody -- no matter their race, their identity, their ethnicity, their faith. America has always been shaped by inflection points -- by moments in time where we’ve made hard decisions about who we are and what we want to be. Lincoln in 1860 -- coming to save the Union. FDR in 1932 -- promising a beleaguered country a New Deal. JFK in 1960 -- pledging a New Frontier. And twelve years ago -- when Barack Obama made history -- and told us, “Yes, we can.” We stand again at an inflection point. We have the opportunity to defeat despair and to build a nation of prosperity and purpose. We can do it. I know we can. I’ve long talked about the battle for the soul of America. Now we must restore the soul of America. Our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses. It is time for our better angels to prevail. Tonight, the whole world is watching. I believe at our best America is a beacon for the globe. And we lead not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. I’ve always believed we can define America in one word: Possibilities. That in America everyone should be given the opportunity to go as far as their dreams and God-given ability will take them. You see, I believe in the possibility of this country. We’re always looking ahead. Ahead to an America that’s freer and more just. Ahead to an America that creates jobs with dignity and respect. Ahead to an America that cures disease -- like cancer and Alzheimers. Ahead to an America that never leaves anyone behind. Ahead to an America that never gives up. This is a great nation. And we are a good people. This is the United States of America. And there has never been anything we haven’t been able to do when we’ve done it together. In the last days of the campaign, I’ve been thinking about a hymn that means a lot to me and to my family. It captures the faith that sustains me and which I believe sustains America. And I hope it can provide some comfort and solace to the more than 230,000 families who have lost a loved one to this terrible virus this year. My heart goes out to each and every one of you. “And He will raise you up on eagle's wings, Bear you on the breath of dawn, Make you to shine like the sun, And hold you in the palm of His Hand.” And now, together -- on eagle’s wings -- we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do. With full hearts and steady hands, with faith in America and in each other, with a love of country -- and a thirst for justice -- let us be the nation that we know we can be. A nation united. A nation strengthened. A nation healed. God bless you. And may God protect our troops. Joe Biden