;)
The Commentariat -- April 1, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Daniel Lippman of Politico: "The White House is removing the Interior Department's chief of staff, Jennifer Van der Heide, who recently planned a 50-person indoor party at the agency that the White House ordered canceled, and is moving her to a senior counselor job at the agency, according to two Biden administration officials. The White House's Cabinet affairs office ordered that party, which was intended to celebrate Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's confirmation, to be called off amid fears it could become a superspreader event, as Politico first reported late last week." MB: Van der Heide said she thought the fact that the agency was called the Interior Department meant they could party in the interior of the building. She's pretty bright, and we're all sure she'll make a great "senior counselor."
Thomas Moore of the Hill: "Fox News has confirmed it has no plans to hire Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for a job at the network. 'No one with any level of authority has had conversations with Matt Gaetz for any of our platforms, and we have no interest in hiring him,' the network said in a statement. The statement was issued after a report in The Daily Beast Wednesday that Gaetz was talking with people at Fox News, One America News Network and Newsmax about possible jobs. Axios first reported Tuesday that Gaetz was considering retiring from Congress and possibly working at Newsmax."
Yin. Texas. Jane Timm of NBC News: "The Texas Senate in the early morning hours Thursday passed a package of election bills that would put new restrictions on voting in the state. The final version of the Senate Bill 7 is not yet online for review, but the original bill banned overnight early voting hours and drive-thru early voting, while restricting how election officials handle mail voting."
~~~ And Yang. Virginia. Gregory Schneider of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court of Virginia has cleared the way for the city of Charlottesville to take down the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that was the focus of 2017's deadly Unite the Right rally, and the ruling appears to open the door for statue removals around the state. The Charlottesville City Council voted to take down both the Lee and a nearby statue of Stonewall Jackson shortly after the rally in which white supremacists defended Confederate iconography, with one of them driving his car through a crowd of counterprotesters and killing a young woman. But several local residents sued to prevent the statues from coming down. They argued that a state law passed in 1997 prohibited localities from removing Confederate war memorials."
The New York Times is liveblogging Day 4 of Derek Chauvin's trial here. The Washington Post's live updates are here.
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Jonathan Lemire, et al., of the AP: "President Joe Biden outlined a huge $2.3 trillion plan Wednesday to reengineer the nation's infrastructure in what he billed as 'a once-in-a-generation investment in America' that would undo his predecessor's signature legislative achievement -- giant tax cuts for corporations -- in the process. Speaking at a carpenters union training center in Pittsburgh, Biden drew comparisons between his hard-hatted proposed transformation of the U.S. economy and the space race -- and promised results as grand in scale as the New Deal or Great Society programs that shaped the 20th century. 'It's not a plan that tinkers around the edges,' Biden said. 'It's a once-in-a-generation investment in America unlike anything we've seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago. In fact, it's the largest American jobs investment since World War II. It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs.'... [Biden's] infrastructure projects would be financed by higher corporate taxes -- a trade-off that could lead to fierce resistance from the business community and thwart attempts to work with Republican lawmakers. Biden hopes to pass an infrastructure plan by summer, which could mean relying solely on the slim Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate." ~~~
~~~ Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out that in choosing Pittsburgh as the site for his infrastructure announcement, Biden was choosing the city that has the greatest number of bridges in the world, three more than Venice, Italy.
Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The Defense Department on Wednesday reversed a Trump-era ban restricting transgender troops from serving openly, outlining new policies that include greater access to medical care resources to help people transition while in uniform. The new Pentagon guidelines roll back 2019 Trump administration restrictions that severely limited how transgender people could enlist and serve. Soon after taking office, President Biden issued an executive order offering immediate protection for troops at risk of being forced out of the military, with the White House saying in a statement that 'America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't know why Horton repeatedly invokes a "Trump-era ban." This was Donald Trump's ban. His personal order. In July 2017, "... Donald Trump used Twitter to announce that the U.S. Military will no longer allow transgender people to serve 'in any capacity,' reversing Obama-era policy." The Pentagon, under then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, initially resisted Trump's Twitter rant.
So Long, Trump "Experts." Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will purge more than 40 outside experts appointed under ... Donald Trump from two key advisory panels, a move he says will help restore the role of science at the agency and reduce the heavy influence of industry over environmental regulations. The unusual decision, announced Wednesday, will sweep away outside researchers picked under the previous administration whose expert advice helped the agency craft regulations related to air pollution, the oil-and-gas extraction method known as fracking and other issues. Critics say that, under Trump, membership of the two panels -- the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) -- tilted too heavily in favor of regulated industries and that their positions sometimes contradicted scientific consensus."
Tracy Connor, et al., of the Daily Beast: "The scandal swirling around Rep. Matt Gaetz took a stunning turn Wednesday with the news that a former Air Force intelligence official and a Florida lawyer tried to get the congressman's dad to cough up $25 million that would be used to free American Bob Levinson from Iranian custody -- and somehow release Gaetz from a federal sex-crimes investigation. And if that wasn't enough, here's one more strange fact: Levinson was declared dead last year. The Washington Examiner obtained a document that was allegedly presented to Don Gaetz [-- Matt's father --] by the ex-military official, Bob Kent, that laid out the purported scheme. The site also obtained an email sent to Don Gaetz's lawyer by federal prosecutors that suggests they were looking into whether a crime was under way. The document ... stipulated that Gaetz would deposit money for Levinson's ransom in an account connected to the firm of Florida lawyer David McGee, who has represented the Levinson family for years. Also named in the scheme: Stephen Alford, a convicted fraudster who McGee has represented -- both in court and in business matters." ~~~
~~~ Matt Dixon & Betsy Swan of Politico: "Rep. Matt Gaetz's father, Don, a former Florida Senate president, said he is working with the FBI, including wearing a wire on more than one occasion as part of an investigation into an alleged extortion plot that the pair said was organized by former federal prosecutor David McGee. 'The FBI asked me to try and get that information for Matt and an indication we would transfer money to Mr. David McGee,' Don Gaetz said in an interview late Tuesday, without specifying what information he was referring to.... [Former AG Bill] Barr ... received multiple briefings on the Gaetz probe, beginning in the summer of 2020.... The briefing was important because -- among other reasons -- Barr didn't want to accidentally appear anywhere with Gaetz.... At one point, Barr was scheduled for a meet-and-greet with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee. But DOJ canceled his appearance at the event when they saw that Gaetz, a member of that committee, had RSVP'd for it." ~~~
~~~ His Dinner with Matt. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Fox News host Tucker Carlson was angered after Congressman Matt Gaetz attempted to rope him into a scandal involving allegations related to sex trafficking of a minor, a person familiar with the matter said.... Gaetz, who has strongly denied allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her travel with him, seemed to attempt to draw Carlson into the controversy during a bizarre Tuesday night interview.... Gaetz suggested Carlson had met a woman involved in the recent controversy related to the sex allegations. Gaetz said that woman was threatened by the FBI to tell people he was involved in a 'pay to play scheme.'... 'You and I went to dinner about two years ago,' Gaetz told Carlson. 'Your wife was there, and I brought a friend of mine, you'll remember her.' Carlson immediately denied knowledge of the dinner." ~~~
~~~ Marie: BTW, we'll never know who's lying without the receipts. I would not hazard to opine on who's less credible, Gaetz or Carlson. ~~~
~~~ They Caught the Wrong Guy! David Gilbert of Vice: QAnon followers think the Gaetz investigation is all part of The Plan. "For more than three years, QAnon followers have been waiting for the Storm, the moment when high-profile [Democratic] lawmakers and other elites would be made to answer for their crimes of child sex trafficking. On Tuesday it sure seemed like the Storm had arrived, when the New York Times broke a bombshell story that Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, 38, was being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him. But in the hours after the news broke, QAnon followers ... frantically scrambled to explain why he couldn't possibly have done what he's accused of doing...." Because winger Gaetz doesn't fit QAnon's sex-trafficker profile, the theory now is that he is working with the FBI to thwart the child sex ring. ~~~
~~~ Friend of Matt Indicted on More Charges. Christopher Heath of WFTV Orlando: "Already facing charges of sex trafficking a child, stalking and identity theft, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg is now facing new charges related to Small Business Administration pandemic loans he received after resigning from his office. According to federal court documents, in early 2020, Greenberg dissolved two companies he owned: DG3 Network and Greenberg Media. However, after his arrest and subsequent resignation as tax collector, the feds say Greenberg restarted both companies in order to obtain pandemic SBA loans.... [According to the indictment, Greenberg submitted] false documents stating that the companies were in business prior to February 2020, that they each had revenues in the 12 months prior, and making false claims about the number of employees.... Greenberg now faces 33 federal charges." ~~~
~~~ Marie: What an enterprising young man is Joel. Whereas I might be challenged by the tasks a county tax collector is required to do, not so Joel. He spent his entire tenure coming up with one jaw-dropping crooked scheme after another. And some of Joel's activities were uniquely inventive; I mean, who would have thought to use a tax collector's badge to pull over a woman who might -- or might not -- have been driving over the speed limit? Let's see how inventive he is at designing a defense.
Ryan Heath of Politico: "The Government Accountability Office has issued a damning report about the implementation of legislation supporting Ivanka Trump's signature women's empowerment initiative.... As Ivanka Trump traveled the world talking up the whole-of-government Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, deep problems were developing in [the] roll out of the... [law]."
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood admitted to federal prosecutors that he intentionally excluded from his financial disclosures a $50,000 loan he obtained while in office from a billionaire foreign donor, a document released by the Justice Department said Wednesday. During an interview with the FBI in 2017, LaHood [-- an Obama appointee --] initially denied receiving the loan, but later acknowledged the payment after being shown a copy of the $50,000 check he received in 2012, according to a non-prosecution agreement LaHood signed with federal prosecutors in Los Angeles. Under the deal struck in 2019, federal prosecutors agreed not to file criminal charges over the omissions and misstatement, while LaHood agreed to pay a $40,000 fine and to repay the loan." ~~~
~~~ Marie: LaHood is a Republican. President Obama hired too many Republicans (Jim Comey).
Lauren Feiner of CNBC: "Facebook removed a video featuring ... Donald Trump, a company spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday, citing his indefinite suspension from the platform.... The video featuring Trump was posted by his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who was interviewing the former president. Lara Trump had teased the interview in an Instagram photo of the sit-down on Tuesday."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here.
Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "A top adviser privately urged ... Donald Trump to acquire critical medical supplies in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak -- and after the warning was ignored, pursued his own ad hoc strategy that committed more than $1 billion in federal funds and has since prompted multiple probes, according to newly released documents from congressional investigators. Peter Navarro, who served as Trump's trade adviser, warned the president on March 1, 2020, to 'MOVE IN "TRUMP TIME"' to invest in ingredients for drugs, handheld coronavirus tests and other supplies to fight the virus, according to a memo obtained by the House's select subcommittee on the coronavirus outbreak. Navarro also said that he'd been trying to acquire more protective gear like masks, critiquing the administration's pace.... [In dodgy deals,] Navarro ... steered a $765 million loan to Eastman Kodak to produce ingredients for generic drugs, a $354 million sole-source contract for pharmaceutical ingredients to a start-up called Phlow, and a $96 million sole-source contract for powered respirators and filters from AirBoss Defense Group." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. ProPublica's story, by David McSwane, is more damning: "A top adviser to ... Donald Trump pressured agency officials to reward politically connected or otherwise untested companies with hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts as part of a chaotic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the early findings of an inquiry led by House Democrats. Peter Navarro ... essentially verbally awarded a $96 million deal for respirators to a company with White House connections. Later, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were pressured to sign the contract after the fact, according to correspondence obtained by congressional investigators."
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "State prosecutors in Manhattan investigating ... Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization have subpoenaed the personal bank records of the company's chief financial officer and are questioning gifts he and his family received from Mr. Trump, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In recent weeks, the prosecutors have trained their focus on the executive, Allen H. Weisselberg, in what appears to be a determined effort to gain his cooperation. Mr. Weisselberg, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, has overseen the Trump Organization's finances for decades and may hold the key to any possible criminal case in New York against the former president and his family business."
Beyond the Beltway
Minnesota. They Were Witnesses; They Were Victims. John Eligon, et al., of the New York Times: "In surveillance footage played for the first time in a Minneapolis courtroom on Wednesday, the world got to see George Floyd as it never had before: He was just another customer in a corner store.... On the third day of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with murdering Mr. Floyd, a clearer picture emerged of the events preceding Mr. Floyd's death, with witness after witness agonizing over whether they could have done anything to stop what would soon unfold.... Mr. Floyd's death last May left a trail of agony for the people who were part of the unfolding tragedy -- the weight of what they had witnessed plain to see in the form of tears, long pauses and deep breaths during their testimony."
Arizona. This Should Go Well. Jeremy Duda & Jim Small of the Arizona Mirror: "The audit team that Senate President Karen Fann [R] selected to examine the 2020 general election in Maricopa County will be led by a company owned by an advocate of the 'Stop the Steal' movement who repeatedly alleged on social media that the election was rigged against ... Donald Trump. Fann announced on Wednesday that she'd selected four companies to participate in an extensive audit and recount of the election, led by Cyber Ninjas, [a] Florida-based cybersecurity company. Cyber Ninjas is owned by Doug Logan, who has been an active promoter of baseless conspiracy theories alleging widespread election fraud last year, including in Arizona."
Georgia. David Gelles of the New York Times: "Companies that remained silent last week as Georgia Republicans rushed to pass a law to restrict voting access reversed course on Wednesday in the face of mounting outrage from activists, customers and a coalition of powerful Black executives. Delta Air Lines, Georgia's largest employer, had made only general statements in support of voting rights last week and had declined to take a position on the legislation. That muted response drew fierce criticism, as well as protests at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and calls for a boycott. But on Wednesday, Ed Bastian, Delta's chief executive, made a stark reversal. 'I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta's values,' he wrote in an internal memo.... Coca-Cola, another of Georgia's largest companies, which had also declined to take a position on the legislation before it passed, made a similarly worded statement." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Okay, so maybe capitalism really isn't awesome, but democracy is. Those protesters, who took time out of their own lives to fight for the fundamental right to vote, get all the credit for Bastian's "stark reversal." We all owe them our thanks. ~~~
~~~ Hannah Denham & Jena McGregor of the Washington Post: "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) hit back at [Delta CEO Ed] Bastian, saying that the airline executive had worked closely with state officials in drafting the law.... And two Atlanta sports teams -- the Falcons professional football team and the Hawks basketball team -- issued statements [against] the bill within the past day."
New York. Michael Gold & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “A homeless man who was out on parole for killing his mother was arrested and charged with a hate crime early Wednesday morning in connection with a violent attack on a Filipino immigrant near Times Square, the police said. The man, Brandon Elliot, 38, was living at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan that has been serving as a homeless shelter, the police said. He was seen on security footage brutally assaulting Vilma Kari, 65, as she was walking to church on Monday morning, the police said.... 'Mr. Elliot is accused of brutally shoving, kicking and stomping a 65-year-old mother to the ground after telling her that she didn't belong here,' [Manhattan D.A. Cyrus] Vance [Jr.] said at a joint news conference with the city's police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. 'So let me join the commissioner in being clear: This brave woman belongs here. Asian-American New Yorkers belong here. Everyone belongs here.'"
Way Beyond
Russia. Andrew Roth of the Guardian: "Alexei Navalny has gone on hunger strike after saying he was denied urgent medical treatment in prison. The Russian opposition leader has complained of a 'sharp deterioration' in his health since his transfer to a prison colony in the Vladimir region to serve a two-and-a-half year sentence on embezzlement charges. The colony, which is 60 miles from Moscow, is notoriously strict and said to excel at isolating inmates from the outside world."
News Lede
AP: "A child was among four people killed Wednesday in a shooting at a Southern California office building that left a fifth victim and the gunman critically wounded, police said. The violence in the city of Orange southeast of Los Angeles was the nation's third mass shooting in just over two weeks."
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Reader Comments (17)
Is this Gaetz affair the tip of the T**** Komprimat iceberg? We know that T admires how Vlad runs his country.
It seems plausible that donnie set up his own komprimat network to get the other Rs on his side (looking at you, lindsay graham). The fact that the Gaetz investigation was being handled in the Justice Department makes me wonder how far the komprimat collecting service extended into the federal government.
"Trump era". For so many reasons, that's the last time I ever use that phrase. More appropriate, to quote my son, "Fuckface von Clownstick era". Thanks Jon Stewart.
Any phrase constructed along the lines of “the something or someone era, or age” is typically used as an historical marker, a shorthand way to refer to a specific period marked by particular traits. The Augustan Age calls to mind the literature of the early 18th century in Britain dominated by the classical stylings of Swift and Pope. The Neronian Era refers to the sleazy debauchery and corruption rampant during the reign of Nero.
Another era of debauchery and corruption can be ascribed to the reign of little king donnie, but referring to those years as the Trump Era dilutes (and even, in a weird way, normalizes) his personal responsibility for the horrors of the last four or five years, the calamitous effects of which will be with us for decades.
In this respect, Marie’s observation is well made. “Trump Era” seems to put him at a remove so that any number of acts of corruption, illegality, greed, hatred, aggressive racism, and anti-democratic incursions, up to and including outright treason, can be seen as stuff that happened while Trump was president, but all—every one—stem directly from the Orange Monster. It’s not just a long list of bad shit that happened while his fat ass soiled the White House cushions, it’s a list of bad shit that he is personally responsible for.
We need to be careful with our approach to history. Since historiography graduated from a kind of advanced storytelling (sometimes very entertaining storytelling—thanks, Herodotus!) to a more orderly “science” of history, the way historians describe moments and individuals has a huge effect on how we understand the events and personalities that collectively comprise our history.
The Great Man approach deeded too much of the historical moment to a single individual while relegating vitally important elements of those periods to anecdotal footnotes. The Annales school and post-modern approaches swung too far the other way. I remember talking to a professor preparing a class using post-modern techniques to teach the American Revolution. I half jokingly asked what a post-modern George Washington would look like. He said “Oh, I doubt we’ll have time for George Washington”. Yikes!
History, if it’s to be useful at all, must try to be as accurate as possible (which, admittedly, can change over time). A term like “Trump Era” waters down the effects of a single horrible person, the worst president in history, a scumbag who allowed hundreds of thousands of Americans to die a painful death because he thought it would improve his re-election chances. Without a doubt, he was helped immensely by the essential amoral, unethical, democracy hating cowards in the party he led, but without Donald Trump, it would have been a hugely different four year period.
And if, in the future, some new fangled history class attempts to tell the story of the “Trump Era”, but doesn’t have time to talk about the Fat Fascist, I will personally bombard the teacher’s inbox with a litany of Trump’s tweets, on an hourly basis.
"IF ONLY I HAD LET IT GO":
Words said by the 19 yr-old clerk who waited on George Floyd in the grocery store on that fateful day. This clerk, Chris, had been having a conversation with Floyd about sports–-because of his halting speech Chris was pretty sure George was high so when he handed Chris the $20 dollar bill for a pack of cigarettes, Chris held it up to the light and knew instantly it was fake. He wasn't sure Floyd was aware that it was fake and thought he'd "let it go"–-put it on his tab–-it wasn't worth making a fuss about. But then––he changes his mind and tells his boss who tells Chris to go outside –-by this time Floyd is in the car–- and ask him to return into the store, When Floyd refuses, another manager calls the police.
And now Chris blames himself for Floyd's death–-"if only I had let it go"–––
I found this testimony ––and there were many witnesses to this crime who have been effected––the one that moved me the most.
It's being reported this morning by the Miami Post that former-president Donald Trump was seen being escorted from Mar-a-Lardo by Federal Marshalls at around 6am EDT. He was observed being handcuffed and wearing only a bathrobe and fluffy pink bunny slippers, with some sort of feathery mass hanging from the right side of his head to below his shoulder. Witnesses noted that it appeared that Melania Trump held the doors open as her husband and the officers exited the building before getting into a large dark-colored SUV with tinted windows. No reason for his apprehension was provided at this time.
PD,
One of the saddest phrases in the English language.
If only she loved me...
If only I could kick this habit
If only I hadn’t done that...
If only I had let it go...
Unwashed,
If only it were true...
(The bunny slippers bit is a nice touch.)
@AK: Enjoyed your treatise on eras and I agree––never, never a "Trump Era"––-perhaps we could coin it the Abattoirian Era or how about the Era of Cockalorums –--such fun to try and describe the utter malevolence and slaughter of the past four years.
" I remember talking to a professor preparing a class using post-modern techniques to teach the American Revolution. I half jokingly asked what a post-modern George Washington would look like. He said “Oh, I doubt we’ll have time for George Washington”. Yikes!"
Laughed out loud at this–-"yikes" is right.
... they were actual dead bunnies
So, @unwashed, you mean that's like an April Fool's joke and not actually true? Woe is me! You did get my hopes up.
Living Alone in the Age of Coronavirus.
Since I moved states, most of my friends have been long-distance. Some have died, so I guess that's really long-distance. I did get out and about somewhat in my new area, so I had made acquaintances here, but probably none I would describe as a "close friend." Rather, they are nice people I enjoy chatting with when the occasion arises. But the occasion didn't arise that often, so it's safe to say I was more accustomed to being alone when the coronavirus hit that are most people.
There is a restaurant across the lake from me, and this weekend I saw a couple embracing outside the restaurant. They were so far away I couldn't tell if they were two women or a man and a woman. But what made the moment striking for me was that I realized that in the past 13 or 14 months, I had not seen two people embracing. Ever. That's a long time to go without seeing such an overt expression of joy or love. (Up until a week ago, when the ice melted, families and teenaged friends did come to skate, so at least I have seen people having fun together.)
Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment, and while awaiting the doctor to perform a minor surgical procedure, three of her aides were in the room with me, and we began chatting & laughing about subjects unrelated to the task at hand. When the doctor came in, she joined in, too. It was, you know, fun! And the first time I had been in a room chatting with a group of people since at least January 2020.
Isolation has been much less difficult more me than it has for millions of people. But I realized yesterday that it has been a hardship.
Marie,
Your hopes? Shit! I almost spilled my tea til I remembered what day it was.
Mother Jones put out some information about the cost of gun violence in America.
"The average cost to taxpayers for a single gun homicide in America is about $400,000. And we pay for 32 of them every single day.
Divvied up among every man, woman, and child in the United States, the cost of gun violence comes out to more than $700 per person annually.
In collaboration with Miller, Mother Jones crunched data from 2012 and found that the annual cost of gun violence in America exceeds $229 billion."
Unwashed: the Feds should appear at YOUR house for getting our hopes up, then dashing them to the unforgiving ground...but it was pretty darn cute! I loved the imagery of a yellow pelt hanging down the side of his head. When the Feds DO decide to take him away, at least it won't terrify the animals, a la Roger Stone, as the wretched piece of human flesh in the bunny slippers doesn't have any. I have dreams about picnic-ing at a public humiliation, a la early 20th century southern towns-- but that is not very nice of me...
Even more significant Yang from Virginia:
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/545801-governor-signs-voting-rights-act-of-virginia
@Marie...
I haven't finished all the comments, but I feel a need to respond to yours about the missing human touch during the plague year. I know exactly what you mean. I'm about your age, and I live alone and work from home, for a company that has been M&A'd twice since 2018. I know a handful of people (exactly five) from my original company, out of over 5,000+ employees worldwide.
My daughter and two of her grown children live in Florida, so contact is via text or email (they have smart phones; I don't -- and I don't want one) so I have minimal human contact. The last time I touched another human being was March 6, 2020. I had lunch with a friend, who asked me if I could drop him off at another friend's (my best friend and his wife) house, and when I left there were hugs all around. Then...nothing. For a year.
Forward to 2021: this friend had his first vaccination shot a couple weeks ago, my best friend got his last Sunday, his wife gets hers on Saturday, and I get mine next Wednesday. We'll all be double-inoculated and past the two-week waiting period by May 12, a whole week before my 75th birthday. I've already told my friends that I want a celebration at their house (they have a lovely old home with a massive old-fashioned front porch to die for) with chocolate cake and this wonderful bourbon-ice cream cocktail that we had a couple years ago on my birthday. The only other thing I want is a group hug. I just want to hug my friends again.
This is April 1st.
And more than unwashed's wonderful contribution and the calendar told me so.
Essayed first long trip south of Seattle today since Covid times began.
Had my shots and was ready for an adventure. Wished to recycle a pick up load of styrofoam rather than dumping it in a landfill. Only place is seventy miles away, but what the hell! I'm vaccinated.
Sure had an adventure. Lost in the Kent Valley south of SeaTac, sixty-seventy years ago the truck garden mecca for Seattle and Tacoma, now a mass of industrial and commercial buildings.
Later a flat tire (with more adventures I won't detail), and a broken gas cap which I had to remove with a tire iron (still ready to hand) in order to gas up.
One joke after another. I'm still laughing and thinking maybe this staying home business has its upside.
Bu I did keep the styrofoam out of a landfill.
@Rose.
Happy birthday. Here's wishing you a fine one.
My wife and I will beat you by a week or so. I think we'll stay home.