'Now is the time to go big'

President Biden took center stage at Milwaukee's Pabst Theater last night to make the case for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and to encourage Americans to remain vigilant against the pandemic. Biden vowed that he was committed to passing the relief legislation, claiming it would create "7 million jobs this year." He also said a COVID-19 vaccine would be available to every American by the end of July, and his administration will focus on returning K-8 students to school five days per week by May.

• — Other big issues. Biden defended his push to get a $15-an-hour minimum wage and stressed that he wants to increase wages gradually. He rejected a $50,000 student loan debt cancelation proposal, saying he prefers a $10,000 plan. He urged that there be "a reasonable path to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants. And, he called for the country to confront systemic racism as well as the rise of white supremacy. —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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• — A misstep on China. Biden received some criticism for his response addressing how he would respond to China's many human rights abuses, including concentration camps for Uighur Muslims in the country's Xinjiang region. Specifically, he said, "Culturally, there are different norms" that leaders are expected to follow. However, he indicated that he will reassert the U.S.'s global leadership role by working with the international community to force China to comply with human rights laws. —Al Jazeera
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• — No more you-know-who. When asked whether Donald Trump will face legal ramifications for the Jan. 6 insurrection, Biden emphasized that his Justice Department will not be politicized and will make independent decisions. But he tried to avoid dwelling on his predecessor at all. "I don't want to talk about him anymore," he said. "For four years, all that's been in the news is Trump. For the next four years, I wanna make sure the news is the American people." Sounds good to us. —CNBC

Rubin: Government is for governing

"When politics is engrossing and highly emotional, there is a good chance things have gone terribly wrong. One need only look at the vaccine debacle in California and the recall effort mounted against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom or the horrendous power outage in frigid Texas weather to understand that high emotion and governing disaster often go hand in hand. By contrast, quiet and competent governance that does not dominate our psyche is neither the cause of all our emotional turmoil nor the source of our tribal identity." —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post

Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at The Washington Post

Crisis in Texas

Millions of Texas residents are without power as the state is experiencing unusually harsh winter weather, with a number of areas recording temperatures in the single digits. Under intense scrutiny over his handling of the mass outages, Gov. Greg Abbott has cast blame on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, calling for state lawmakers to launch an investigation into the council. Others say it's not that simple. The outages this week can be tied at least in part to the fact that Texas, by choice, has a power grid contained in the state—cutting it off from help from other parts of the country when there is a power shortage or outage. —The Hill

Romney's got a plan for that

As Democrats try to plot a way forward to raise the minimum wage to $15-an-hour, Sen. Mitt Romney announced yesterday that he's working on a separate bill to increase the minimum wage while "ensuring businesses cannot hire illegal immigrants." In a tweet, Romney said, "Congress hasn't raised the minimum wage in more than a decade, leaving many Americans behind. Our proposal gradually raises the minimum wage without costing jobs, setting it to increase automatically with inflation, and requires employers to verify the legal status of workers." Stay tuned. —NBC News

MORE: U.S. workers go on strike in 15 cities to demand $15-an-hour minimum wage —The Guardian

Zin: High stakes for democracy in Myanmar

"Many young protesters I have talked to say the military takeover will lead the country into 'a dark age' and destroy their future, much as the 1988 coup did to my generation. The [Myanmar military], they say, didn't only stage a coup; it also declared war against the youth of Myanmar. They see the current face-off as the final battle between democracy and dictatorship." —Min Zin in The New York Times

Min Zin is a political scientist and the executive director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar, a think tank in Yangon.

MORE: UN warns Myanmar military as generals defend power grab —Al Jazeera

Focus on global democracy

India's democracy is suffering. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has resorted to arrests and blocking access to the internet to activists protesting various policies, including citizenship laws that worked against Muslims, a clampdown on the disputed Kashmir region, and new laws impacting farmers. The arrest of a climate activist earlier this week has alarmed opposition politicians and others, who say the government is using its law enforcement agencies to stifle dissent, in line with a broader deterioration of free speech in India. —The New York Times

• — Kosovo. Kosovo's left-wing main opposition party registered a clear victory in the country's election, held on Sunday amid the coronavirus pandemic, economic downturn, and stalled negotiations with wartime foe Serbia. Determination Movement leader Albin Kurti, who is expected to become the next prime minister, made it clear there would be no coalition with the main losing opponents. —Al Jazeera
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• — Peru. Prosecutors in Peru have opened an investigation after nearly 500 officials took advantage of their positions to secretly receive early doses of China's Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine. The revelations have forced the foreign minister, health minister, and two vice ministers to step down. Peru's former president, Martin Vizcarre, who was removed by Congress in November over a corruption allegation, confirmed that he and two family members also received vaccinations before his removal. —Independent
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• — Thailand. Activists protesting the arrest of four leading opposition figures in Thailand last week clashed with police over the weekend after draping Bangkok's Democracy Monument in red cloth. The arrests were made under the "lese majeste" law, which forbids insult to Thailand's powerful king and carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison. Activists say the law has been abused for decades to crush political opposition to the country's military-royalist establishment. —The Guardian

Rubin: US democracy is on the line

"Over the next year, we will see whether the GOP splits and the U.S. political system can reform. But one thing is certain: Unless GOP legislators recognize what is at stake in global terms, and raise their thinking above personal interests, America will remain a 'flawed democracy'—at best." —Trudy Rubin in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Trudy Rubin is the foreign affairs columnist and a member of the editorial board at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

MORE: Secretary of State Blinken: 'No doubt' U.S. diplomacy 'tarnished by recent events' —NPR

I've seen a lot here about forming a new party. But what do we learn from the Lincoln Project? Even though the Lincoln Project isn't a new party, I think it's clear that just because you form a new party doesn't mean that it won't be used by opportunists for their own self-interests. The party may be started with pure ideals, but the more clout it has, the more it will attract opportunists. Political parties are not allowed to limit membership, and there is nothing to prevent them from corruption. We need to support candidates who have a higher allegiance than to a political party. —Greg N., California

I am a long-time labor Democrat, but I vote for the best candidates regardless of party. I just want to thank Evan and all the staff at THE TOPLINE for helping me keep a perspective on the events of the day. I am a full-time RV'er, traveling our magnificent country. I listen on my Sirius XM radio to the BBC, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, and even Fox News. I do not listen to the talking heads on Fox, but to the news. I have no time in my life for conspiracy theories. Thanks again for telling it straight. —William C., Washington

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.