The Commentariat -- April 2, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Peter Hermann, et al., of the Washington Post: "One Capitol police officer was killed and another injured Friday when a vehicle rammed into them near the U.S. Capitol, the department's chief said at a news conference. Chief Yogananda Pittman said a person exited the vehicle with a knife and started lunging. She said police opened fire, killing the suspect." The New York Times story is here. CNN's story is here. CNN has live updates here.
~~~ 1:30 pm ET: The U.S. Capitol is on lockdown, with little info available. The cable networks have showed videos of a blue sedan which apparently rammed into a big concrete Jersey steel barricade. It's surrounded by law enforcement officials. The vehicle reportedly slammed into two officers, injuring them. They have been hospitalized. The driver is said to have exited the vehicle brandishing a knife, and police shot him/her. S/he is in custody & has been taken to a hospital. Updates: according to Pete Williams of NBC News, the driver has died. Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman confirmed that the suspect died. She said one of the injured officers also died. She indicated the deceased suspect was a male. Nancy Pelosi has ordered Capitol flags flown at half-staff to honor the fallen officer. At about 3 pm ET, police lifted the lockdown.
The New York Times is liveblogging Day 5 the murder trial of Derek Chauvin here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. CNN's liveblog is here. All linked pages also include livefeeds of courtroom proceedings.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here.
Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: "Just as the Biden administration is pushing to raise taxes on corporations, a new study finds that at least 55 of America's largest paid no taxes last year on billions of dollars in profits. The sweeping tax bill passed in 2017 by a Republican Congress and signed into law by ... Donald J. Trump reduced the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent. But dozens of Fortune 500 companies were able to further shrink their tax bill -- sometimes to zero -- thanks to a range of legal deductions and exemptions that have become staples of the tax code, according to the analysis. Salesforce, Archer-Daniels-Midland and Consolidated Edison were among those named in the report, which was done by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning research group in Washington."
Politico Magazine has published an adapted excerpt from an upcoming book by former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). It's quite entertaining. Really.
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Darlene Superville & Zeke Miller of the AP: President Joe "Biden's full Cabinet met Thursday in the spacious White House East Room, not the comparatively cramped West Wing room that bears the group's name, to allow for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. Many smaller tables were pushed together to create one gigantic square. Department secretaries and other participants wore face masks. And the portion of the meeting opened to press coverage lacked the over-the-top, hail-to-the chief tributes that came to define Donald Trump's Cabinet meetings. Biden immediately pointed out the diversity of his Cabinet, which includes the first Black defense secretary in Lloyd Austin, the first openly gay Cabinet member in Pete Buttigieg at transportation, the first Native American secretary in Deb Halaand at Interior and the first female treasury secretary in Janet Yellen, among others. Vice President Kamala Harris is the first woman, Black person and Indian American elected to her office. Biden declared the group 'looks like America.'... Trump's Cabinet was largely white and male. Thursday's meeting came a week after the Senate confirmed the final Cabinet member...." ~~~
~~~ Molly Nagle of ABC News: "One day after announcing his massive infrastructure plan, President Joe Biden held his first in-person Cabinet meeting Thursday afternoon at the White House, tasking five members of his Cabinet to take the lead on selling the proposal to the American people -- and Congress. In brief remarks at the top of the meeting, Biden announced that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo would take on the additional responsibility." ~~~
~~~ Josh Boak & Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "But the enormity of his task was clear as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's vowed to oppose the plan 'every step of the way.' Speaking in Kentucky, McConnell said he personally likes [President] Biden and they've been friends a long time. But the president will get no cooperation from the GOP, which objects to the corporate tax increases in the plan.... White House chief of staff Ron Klain said the key to any outreach is that the proposal's ideas are already popular.... 'We're happy to have a conversation with people, less about the price tag, more about what are the elements that should be in the plan that people think are missing.' Those conversations could be limited to Democrats...." MB: That's fine, Rachel Maddow pointed out Thursday night. Now Democrats don't have to do a Kabuki dance with Republicans pretending to have an interest in shaping the bill.
Aimee Picchi of CBS News: "A Trump-era plan to cut food stamps is now off the table after the Biden administration said it is abandoning a previous plan to tighten work requirements for working-age adults without children. Those restrictions were projected to deny federal food assistance benefits to 700,000 adults, a proposal that had had drawn strong condemnation from anti-hunger advocates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 24 said it is withdrawing a Trump administration appeal of a federal court ruling that had blocked the planned restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps. Trump officials had filed the appeal in May, two months after the coronavirus pandemic had shuttered the economy and caused millions of people to lose their jobs."
Sam Mintz of Politico: "President Joe Biden's Department of Transportation is invoking the Civil Rights Act to pause a highway project near Houston, a rare move that offers an early test of the administration's willingness to wield federal power to address a long history of government-driven racial inequities. DOT's intervention follows complaints from local activists that the state's proposed widening of Interstate 45 would displace an overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic community, including schools, places of worship and more than 1,000 homes and businesses. It also comes as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has identified racial equity as a major priority for his department -- after decades in which federal highway money has paid for projects that leveled minority and low-income communities."
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 quite bright, and we're sure she'll make a great senior counselor. (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: Looks as if Matt Gaetz may resign his Congressional seat soon to spend more time with his (wealthy) family -- and his lawyer. It appears the DOJ already has collected a pile of receipts. ~~~
Katie Benner & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "A Justice Department investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz and an indicted Florida politician is focusing on their involvement with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments, according to people close to the investigation and text messages and payment receipts reviewed by The New York Times. Investigators believe Joel Greenberg, the former tax collector in Seminole County, Fla., who was indicted last year on a federal sex trafficking charge and other crimes, initially met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances, according to three people with knowledge of the encounters. Mr. Greenberg introduced the women to Mr. Gaetz, who also had sex with them, the people said.... In encounters during 2019 and 2020, Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg instructed the women to meet at certain times and places, often at hotels around Florida, and would tell them the amount of money they were willing to pay, according to the messages and interviews. One person said that the men also paid in cash.... Some of the men and women took ecstasy, an illegal hallucinogenic drug...." The Hill has a summary report here. ~~~
~~~ Evan Perez, et al., of CNN: "Federal investigators looking into Rep. Matt Gaetz's relationships with young women have examined whether any federal campaign money was involved in paying for travel and expenses for the women, a person briefed on the matter said. Investigators are examining whether the Florida Republican engaged in a relationship with a woman that began when she was 17 years old and whether his involvement with other young women broke federal sex trafficking and prostitution laws, according to that source and another person briefed on the matter. Investigators are also pursuing allegations from witnesses and other evidence that Gaetz may have used cash and drugs in his dealings with young women, the sources said.... Information that may connect Gaetz to a fake ID scheme at the center of the case against [a] second Florida politician, Joel Greenberg, was presented to federal investigators in a meeting early last year, according to two other people.... According to one of the people familiar with the matter, an employee at the tax collector's office saw Greenberg and Gaetz on internal office surveillance video looking through driver licenses on a weekend evening." ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Herb, et al., of CNN: "Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican being investigated by the Justice Department over sex trafficking allegations..., gained a reputation in Congress over his relationships with women and bragging about his sexual escapades to his colleagues, multiple sources told CNN. Gaetz allegedly showed off to other lawmakers photos and videos of nude women he said he had slept with, the sources told CNN, including while on the House floor. The sources, including two people directly shown the material, said Gaetz displayed the images of women on his phone and talked about having sex with them. One of the videos showed a naked woman with a hula hoop, according to one source." MB: The thing is, Matt, we now know you paid for it. So no bragging rights, you slimy, twisted creep. ~~~
~~~ 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." (Also linked yesterday.)
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Near the end of yesterday's Comments thread, Rose in Michigan made a wonderful contribution.
Beyond the Beltway
Minnesota. Steve Karnowski, et al., of the AP: "A Minneapolis police supervisory sergeant who was on duty the night George Floyd died testified that he believes the officers who restrained Floyd could have ended it after he stopped resisting. David Pleoger testified Thursday at the trial of since-fired officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death. He noted that officers are trained to roll people on their side to help with their breathing after they have been restrained in the prone position.... Thursday's testimony began with Floyd's girlfriend tearfully telling the jury how they met in 2017 -- at a Salvation Army shelter where he was a security guard with 'this great, deep Southern voice, raspy' -- and how they both struggled with an addiction to painkillers." The Washington Post's story is here.
Georgia. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "The Georgia State House passed a bill that would eliminate tax breaks for Delta Airlines for jet fuel. The vote was 97-73 and moves onto the state Senate. In a memo Wednesday, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told employees that Georgia's new voter suppression law was 'unacceptable' and 'based on a lie' of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election." MB: Looks as if Georgia Republicans have learned from Donald Trump how to misuse their positions to exact retribution.
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." (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~ And Yang. Virginia. John Kruzel of the Hill: "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed into law Wednesday a measure that fills some of the gaps in voter protections created nearly a decade ago when the Supreme Court gutted federal voting rights oversight. A key piece of the Virginia law is a requirement that state election officials get prior approval -- or preclearance -- before making changes to voting rules, a provision that aims to blunt would-be voter suppression efforts." Thanks to RockyGirl for the link. ~~~
~~~ Reid Epstein & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "As states across the South race to establish new voting restrictions, Virginia is bolting in the opposite direction. The Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, this week capped a multiyear liberal movement for greater ballot access by signing off on sweeping legislation to recreate pivotal elements of the federal Voting Rights Act that were struck down by the Supreme Court's conservative majority in 2013. Alone among the states of the former Confederacy, Virginia has become a voting rights bastion, increasingly encouraging its citizens -- especially people of color -- to exercise their democratic rights. Virginia, which for nearly 50 years had to submit changes to its elections to the federal government for approval under the Voting Rights Act's preclearance requirements, has now effectively imposed the same covenants on itself, an extraordinary step for a state with a long history of segregation and racially targeted voting laws." ~~~
~~~ 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." (Also linked yesterday.)
Wisconsin. Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order ... Donald Trump to reimburse the city [state??] for attorneys' fees and court costs associated with his unsuccessful attempts to overturn the state's 2020 election results through 'frivolous' legal action. The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin by attorneys for the Democratic governor. They said that Trump's claims were 'bereft of legal or factual basis,' but the state still had no choice but to spend taxpayer dollars to defend against the 'scattershot litigation tactics' employed by Trump's legal team. The state is now seeking to recoup $145,174.90 in legal expenditures associated with the case."
Way Beyond
Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on a hunger strike after being denied medical care, has been hoping for a visit from a doctor. Instead he got a less welcome visitor Thursday: Maria Butina, the Russian agent convicted and jailed for conspiring to infiltrate political organizations in the United States without registering with authorities. According to a post by Navalny's team on his Twitter account, Butina was reporting for the Kremlin-funded RT television network, formerly Russia Today.... 'Instead of a doctor, Butina, a wretched propagandist from RT channel, arrived today accompanied by video cameras,' said a post Thursday on Navalny's Twitter account. She was 'shouting that this is the best and most comfortable prison.' The account said Navalny lectured her for 15 minutes in front of the other prisoners, calling her 'a parasite and a servant of thieves.' Posts on Navalny's social media are made in his name by members of his team since he has no access to the Internet."
News Lede
CNBC: "Job growth boomed in March at the fastest pace since last summer, as stronger economic growth and an aggressive vaccination effort contributed to a surge in hospitality and construction jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 916,000 for the month while the unemployment rate fell to 6%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 675,000...."
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Reader Comments (8)
Biden has a plan to improve the country, create jobs, and even save lives. Mitch McConnell will oppose it every step of the way.
What a surprise.
Jennifer Van der Heide - former chief of staff of former congresscritter Mike Honda. https://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/investigative-reports/hondas-staff-campaigned-on-the-clock-email-shows/: "Honda’s team defended the message as a chief of staff’s use of her personal time—even as she discussed trading access to a U.S. government event for campaign support." What do you want to bet she was doing the same thing with this event at Interior? Bicoastal. Elite. Sure.
Joe B. is being really smart IMHO by not focussing on this and 'small' stuff and keeping attention trained on the prize: infrastructure spending. My flyover state has had the same cell phone dead zones for going on 20 years. Verizon and all these companies will never invest out here unless they are compelled to invest. 'Capitalism' and the 'free market' doesn't work without competition. 'Compeltition' is exactly what big non-tax paying companies need. Now. (see story above)
I rarely read David Brooks, but today I saw his this headline from his column:
"How Covid Can change your Personality"
and I immediately thought of Marie and Rose who both wrote moving personal comments about how they are faring with the kind of isolation this pandemic has wrought. We humans are social creatures for the most part–-the loss of touch alone can be devastating.
"This is the loss of emotional nutrition. It manifests socially as loneliness."
I think David's column worth reading.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/opinion/covid-lockdown.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
What a delight to read story after story this morning of nothing but good news and even when we get to the dirty dealings of Matt G. and other Republican schnattergans, the fact that we are moving in the right direction is a breath of this fine Spring air that will be easier to breathe in years to come if we can do what must be done.
But I can't help remembering, after seeing Biden's first cabinet meeting–- the one from the previous party where Cole Porter's "You're the Tops" was playing full stop. MSNBC showed clips of this sorry ass procedure last night–-one by one around the table had to tell the King how absolutely spectacular he was and thank him for choosing them to partake in his disastrous run on our country.
And where are they now? and the one who was most euphoriant was Mike Pence who was ready to be hanged by thugs loyal to the King whose days of glory are coming to an end and in the end the only praise he'll get are from the guards when he finishes his peas.
Quite a lot of smoke with the accusations against the odious Mr. Gaetz. It is always so satisfactory to read that a snake must always be a snake, and I am happy he had very little to do with the running of the country. Yes, he rattled endlessly (hello, Wyoming-- I bet you were happy he flew out there to damage Liz and she ignored him-- NOT that I don't welcome opponents to her-- but at least she was honest--) He will disappear into the smoke and FL remains the craziest state in the USA.
I know that Marie and Rose have weathered this well, and that, with the end in sight, improvements are coming which will provide us all with better lives. We are contemplating moving closer to the baby grands, since life is short. Meanwhile, vacations/interludes can happen, at least on smaller scale. And, as the south gets redder in attitudes, it is lovely to see the changes in VA... I am heartened.
Happy bunnies, birds and daffodils! (It is 28 degrees today...)
Regarding thoughts of isolation, I seem to be having issues with resocialization. I have remained an early morning shadow at the grocery store. I am in a very high risk area now, due to the B117 variant, but I only visit my post office one time per week to pick up my mail despite being completely vaccinated. The worst was when I got my second shot. It was very crowded despite social distancing, and everyone was talking and breathing too much for me to tolerate. I did not exactly have a panic attack, but I still had to get out of there after 3 minutes. I've decided it's not really a phobia -- but definitely an inhibition for sure.
@Victoria: I don't think your reactions to your situation are phobic or paranoid or any negative connotation that might be suggested. Even tho you've had your vaccinations, you're still in danger of contracting the virus or spreading it to others. Although preliminary research seems to show that if you do get the virus, you will have much less severe symptoms than a non-vaccinated person with a similar risk profile, it's still by far the most sensible thing to take precautions to avoid being a carrier.
I'm sorry you find yourself in a location where the B117 variant is prevalent & people seem rather blase about it, but you're doing the right thing, IMO.
Sweet surprise: Disguised Jill Biden passes out ice cream
"US First Lady Jill Biden pranked reporters and staff flying back from a trip with her on Thursday, disguising herself as a flight attendant to pass out ice cream bars for April Fool's.
The ice cream bar incident is not the first time Biden has tricked fellow travelers aboard her plane.
She once stuffed herself in an overhead compartment on Air Force Two when her husband Joe Biden was vice president, shouting "Boo!" at the first person to open the bin, according to US media."
A feel good story from Minnesota for a change: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/04/02/paige-bueckers-jalen-suggs-friendship/