The Commentariat -- March 22, 2021

Afternoon Update:

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday said it would review an appeals court's decision that threw out the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted of helping carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Last year, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in Boston, upheld Mr. Tsarnaev's convictions on 27 counts. But the appeals court ruled that his death sentence should be overturned because the trial judge had not questioned jurors closely enough about their exposure to pretrial publicity and had excluded evidence concerning Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar's older brother and accomplice.... Lawyers for the federal government urged the Supreme Court to hear the case even though it did not satisfy some of the usual criteria for review.... Nancy Gertner, a retired federal judge who now teaches at Harvard Law School, said the Biden administration should consider whether it wants to pursue the appeal, noting that the Trump administration had sought Supreme Court review."

~~~~~~~~~~

Justine Coleman of the Hill: "President Biden said on Sunday that he will visit the U.S.-Mexican border 'at some point' as his administration struggles with a surge of migrants, especially unaccompanied minors, at the southern border. Biden was asked by reporters at The White House upon his return from Camp David whether the president was thinking about going to the border...." ~~~

~~~ Devan Cole of CNN: "Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declined Sunday to provide a timeline for when the Biden administration will open new facilities capable of handling the surge of unaccompanied children at the southern border. 'We established three new facilities last week. ... We are working on the system from beginning to end. We are working around the clock 24/7,' Mayorkas told CNN's Dana Bash on 'State of the Union' when pressed on the administration's timeline.... The comments from Mayorkas, who insisted the southern border is currently closed to migrants even though the administration is making an exception for unaccompanied minors, come as the situation there worsens amid a surge in unaccompanied children in US custody." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

John Ismay of the New York Times: "Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III landed in Afghanistan's capital Sunday morning, becoming the first member of President Biden's cabinet to set foot in the country that is home to America's longest war. The United States is tentatively set to withdraw American forces from the country on May 1, the date set in an agreement signed by the Trump administration and the Taliban more than a year ago.... Mr. Austin's trip to Kabul was kept secret, and was to remain confidential until two hours after he left, but local reporters broke news of his visit after he met with President Ashraf Ghani.... The defense secretary's visit came at the end of more than a week of travel across the Pacific during which he reassured allies that they would have the United States' support in countering potential threats from China.... Flying ... to Japan and South Korea, Mr. Austin joined Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken for talks with the foreign and defense ministers of both nations.... In New Delhi, where Mr. Austin met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the defense minister, Rajnath Singh, senior U.S. defense officials said that Indian leaders spoke mostly about their concerns regarding China." An NPR story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** How to Get a Trillion Dollars in Tax Revenue -- Without Raising Taxes. New York Times Editors: "The [income tax] withholding system [-- begun during World War II --] remains the cornerstone of income taxation, effectively preventing Americans from lying about wage income.... But the burden of taxation is increasingly warped because the government has no comparable system for verifying income from businesses. The result is that most wage earners pay their fair share while many business owners engage in blatant fraud at public expense.... Billions of dollars in business profits, rent and royalties are hidden from the government each year. By contrast, more than 95 percent of wage income is reported.... Charles Rossotti, who led the I.R.S. from 1997 to 2002.... The core of Mr. Rossotti's clever proposal is to obtain that information from banks.says that Congress needs to change the rules, by creating a third-party verification system for business income, too.... The proposal would not increase the amount anyone owes in taxes. It would, instead, increase the amount paid in taxes by those who are currently cheating." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

James Laporta of the AP: "Iran has made threats against Fort McNair, an Army base in the nation's capital, and against the Army's vice chief of staff, two senior U.S. intelligence officials said. They said communications intercepted by the National Security Agency in January showed that Iran's Revolutionary Guard discussed mounting 'USS Cole-style attacks' against the base, referring to the October 2000 suicide attack in which a small boat pulled up alongside the Navy destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden and exploded, killing 17 sailors. The intelligence also revealed threats to kill Gen. Joseph M. Martin and plans to infiltrate and surveil the base, according to the officials.... The base, one of the oldest in the country, is Martin's official residence. The threats are one reason the Army has been pushing for more security around Fort McNair, which sits alongside Washington's bustling newly developed Waterfront District." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Evidence the government obtained in the investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol most likely meets the bar necessary to charge some of the suspects with sedition, Michael R. Sherwin, the federal prosecutor who had been leading the Justice Department's inquiry, said in an interview that aired on Sunday. The department has rarely brought charges of sedition, the crime of conspiring to overthrow the government. But in an interview with '60 Minutes,' Mr. Sherwin said prosecutors had evidence that most likely proved such a charge.... Mr. Sherwin oversaw the investigation as the acting U.S. attorney in Washington, a role that he ceded to a new interim leader in early March.... Mr. Sherwin witnessed the crime as it unfolded. After he dressed in his running clothes and entered the crowd at the rally near the White House, he observed a 'carnival environment' of people listening to speeches and selling T-shirts and snacks. 'I noticed there were some people in tactical gear. They were tacked up with Kevlar vests. They had the military helmets on,' he said in the '60 Minutes' interview. 'Those individuals, I noticed, left the speeches early.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Justine Coleman of the Hill: "Michael Sherwin, the federal prosecutor who previously led the criminal investigation into the Capitol riot, said former President Trump could be culpable for his role in the raid. Sherwin told CBS News's '60 Minutes' in an interview that aired Sunday that it was 'unequivocal' that the former president was 'the magnet that brought the people to D.C. on the 6th' before his supporters stormed the Capitol building. 'Now the question is he criminally culpable for everything that happened during the siege, during the breach?' Sherwin said after Scott Pelley asked if Trump's role has been part of the probe." ~~~

     ~~~ The CBS News story is here. The page includes "60 Minutes"'s interview of Sherwin. The transcript of the segment, via CBS News, is here; this page also includes the video.

Raphael Warnock Black-splains Hate Crimes to Chris Wray. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Law enforcement officials including the director of the FBI have said the shootings in Atlanta in which eight people were killed do not appear to have been racially motivated, but the Georgia senator Raphael Warnock said on Sunday: 'We all know hate when we see it.'... Speaking to NPR on Thursday, the FBI director, Christopher Wray, said: 'While the motive remains still under investigation at the moment, it does not appear that the motive was racially motivated.' But such conclusions are rejected by protesters who see a link to rising attacks on Asian Americans in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which originated in China, and racially charged rhetoric from ... Donald Trump and others.... On Saturday [Warnock] and his fellow Democratic senator Jon Ossoff spoke to protesters near the state capitol in Atlanta.&" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When, on Friday, I first read Wray's comment, I considered it naive & premature. But my thinking has evolved to see the broader tragic irony: in the USA, the people who decide what a hate crime is tend to be old, white, nominally-Christian, supposedly-straight guys; that is, people who have seldom or never experienced any sort of bias because of their sex, race, religion or sexual orientation. Some of the states' legal definitions of sexual harassment, for instance, pretty much mean the CEO has to rape an employee on the dais at a stockholder's meeting before he can be charged. And good luck when the case goes before a judge.

Spotlight on the Stupidest Senator. Trip Gabriel & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Senator Ron Johnson ... has become the Republican Party's foremost amplifier of conspiracy theories and disinformation now that Donald Trump himself is banned from social media and largely avoiding appearances on cable television. Mr. Johnson is an all-access purveyor of misinformation on serious issues such as the pandemic and the legitimacy of American democracy, as well as invoking the etymology of Greenland as a way to downplay the effects of climate change. In recent months, Mr. Johnson has sown doubts about President Biden's victory, argued that the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was not an armed insurrection, promoted discredited Covid-19 treatments, said he saw no need to get the coronavirus vaccine himself and claimed that the United States could have ended the pandemic a year ago with the development of a generic drug if the government had wanted that to happen. Last year, he spent months as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee seeking evidence that Mr. Biden had tried to pressure Ukrainian officials to aid his son Hunter, which an Intelligence Community report released on Monday said was misinformation that was spread by Russia to help Mr. Trump's re-election.... His continuing assault on the truth, often under the guise of simply 'asking questions' about established facts, is helping to diminish confidence in American institutions at a perilous moment...." ~~~

~~~ Aaron Pellish of CNN: "Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson falsely claimed there was no violence on the Senate side of the US Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, the latest in his continued attempts to downplay the severity of the attack. Johnson described the events of January 6 to a group of conservative Wisconsin residents at a local political event on Saturday and falsely stated the rioters were more active on the House side of the Capitol than the Senate side. Johnson also repeated he did not feel threatened that day, even after learning rioters had breached the Capitol building.... Security cameras and videos from witnesses showed insurrectionists broke windows on the Senate side of the Capitol and stormed through the halls near the Senate chamber shortly after. One video showed Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman confronting protesters just outside the Senate chamber and leading them away from the room while senators were sheltering in place inside." MB: Plus, there were those oft-rerun videos of insurrectionists going through the papers on Ted Cruz's Senate chamber desk. Is Johnson on mind-altering drugs, or what?

Wasteful Spending as a Necessary Evil. Paul Kane, et al., of the Washington Post: "After years of outcry about corruption and wasteful spending, Congress took a major step a decade ago by banning earmarks -- special budget items that allow members to funnel money to projects in their districts. But now, amid a narrowly divided Congress and President Biden's desire to pursue a sweeping legislative agenda, earmarks are back. Leaders in both parties took steps this month to allow limited earmarks on spending legislation, opening the door to the sort of horse-trading that Democrats hope could lead to GOP support for Biden initiatives on issues ranging from infrastructure to the annual federal agency funding bill."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "New coronavirus infections are rising in several U.S. states, despite record vaccinations -- an increase experts attribute to the growing reach of new variants and widespread pandemic fatigue after a year of public health restrictions. The seven-day average of newly reported cases climbed 2.6 percent on Sunday, even as overall hospitalizations and deaths remain down."

Rebecca Robbins & Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "The coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford provided strong protection against Covid-19 in a large clinical trial in the United States, offering complete protection against the worst outcomes from the disease while causing no serious side effects, according to data released on Monday. The findings, announced in a news release from AstraZeneca, may help shore up global confidence in the vaccine. But the fresh data may not make a difference in the United States, where the vaccine is not yet authorized and may not be needed. If AstraZeneca wins authorization for emergency use in the U.S. based on the new results, the vaccine will likely not become available until May, when federal officials predict that three other authorized vaccine manufacturers will be producing enough doses for all the nation's adults. The announcement comes at a deeply fraught moment for AstraZeneca. More than a dozen countries this month briefly suspended inoculations with the shot over concerns about possible rare side effects, the latest in a series of problems for AstraZeneca that have undermined confidence among both the public and some government officials."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post: "Pregnant women who receive a coronavirus vaccine not only acquire protective antibodies against the virus for themselves but also may pass along immunity to their babies, emerging research shows. Several preliminary studies suggest that women who received an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) during pregnancy had covid-19 antibodies in their umbilical cord blood. Another study also detected antibodies in their breastmilk, indicating that at least some immunity could be transferred to babies both before and after birth." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Older people, who represent the vast majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, are emerging this spring with the daffodils, tilting their faces to the sunlight outdoors. They are filling restaurants, hugging grandchildren and booking flights.... For now, about two-thirds of Americans over 65 have started the vaccination process and nearly 38 percent are fully vaccinated, compared with 12 percent of the overall population, giving the rest of the nation a glimpse into the after times." A related AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Christopher Rowland, et al., of the Washington Post: "The drug companies that developed and won authorization for coronavirus vaccines in record time have agreed to sell most of the first doses coming off production lines to the United States, European countries and a few other wealthy nations.... Billions of people are left with an uncertain wait, with most of Africa and parts of South America and Asia not expected to achieve widespread vaccination coverage until 2023, according to some estimates. But drug companies have rebuffed entreaties to face the emergency by sharing their proprietary technology more freely with companies in developing nations. They cite the rapid development of new vaccines as evidence that the drug industry's traditional business model, based on exclusive patents and know-how, is working. The companies are lobbying the Biden administration and other members of the World Trade Organization against any erosion of their monopolies on individual coronavirus vaccines that are worth billions of dollars in annual sales. The debate about how to immunize more people overseas is picking up greater steam in the United States now that President Biden has promised that most Americans will be vaccinated by July. Some Democrats in Congress, fresh off approving Biden's $1.9 trillion pandemic rescue package, are determined to make sure Americans don't forget about the rest of the world...." ~~~

~~~ Selam Gebrekidan & Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "The rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines, achieved at record speed and financed by massive public funding in the United States, the European Union and Britain, represents a great triumph of the pandemic. Governments partnered with drugmakers, pouring in billions of dollars to procure raw materials, finance clinical trials and retrofit factories. Billions more were committed to buy the finished product. But this Western success has created stark inequity. Residents of wealthy and middle-income countries have received about 90 percent of the nearly 400 million vaccines delivered so far. Under current projections, many of the rest will have to wait years.... By partnering with drug companies, Western leaders bought their way to the front of the line. But they also ignored years of warnings -- and explicit calls from the World Health Organization -- to include contract language that would have guaranteed doses for poor countries or encouraged companies to share their knowledge and the patents they control.... President Biden and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union's executive branch, are reluctant to change course." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Besides being mean & selfish, the West's policies are incredibly shortsighted and self-defeating. Do they think new, possibly vaccine-resistant, strains of the coronavirus won't develop over the next several years in countries where the disease runs rampant?

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Brittany Shammas of the Washington Post: "Miami Beach officials declared a state of emergency and implemented a curfew Saturday in response to large and unruly crowds of spring break visitors. Speaking during a news conference, Mayor Dan Gelber said the crush of vacationers in the city's entertainment district had overwhelmed law enforcement, even with reinforcements from other local agencies. He said city leaders wanted to act preemptively.... The first night of the curfew saw large crowds lingering on Ocean Drive, according to footage captured by local reporters. As squad cars attempted to clear the road, some people danced and twerked on cars. One man tossed money into the crowd. Pepper balls were shot at the revelers, briefly prompting a stampede, the Miami Herald reported. About an hour and a half after the curfew went into effect, the Miami Beach Police Department shared photographs showing an empty Ocean Drive." A CNN story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Neil Vigdor, et al., of the New York Times: "One day after the spring break oasis of South Beach descended into chaos, with the police struggling to control overwhelming crowds and making scores of arrests, officials in Miami Beach decided on Sunday to extend an emergency curfew for up to three weeks. The officials there went so far as to approve closing the famed Ocean Drive to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. -- the hours of the curfew -- for four nights a week through April 12. Residents, hotel guests and employees of local businesses are exempt from the closure."

New York. Catie Edmondson & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "Representative Tom Reed, Republican of New York, apologized on Sunday to a woman who accused him of touching her inappropriately and said that he would not run for any political office in 2022, including governor. In a lengthy statement, Mr. Reed apologized to a former lobbyist, Nicolette Davis, whose allegation that the congressman groped her during a 2017 political trip was reported on Friday by The Washington Post. Mr. Reed said that he took 'full responsibility' for the episode and that it 'occurred at a time in my life in which I was struggling' wit an alcohol addiction.... Before Ms. Davis's allegation, Mr. Reed was publicly mulling a run for governor in 2022, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, was besieged by a wave of accusations of sexual harassment and other misconduct." The Hill's story is here.

Way Beyond

Turkey. Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: "President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a surprise decree early Saturday withdrawing Turkey from a landmark European treaty that women's rights groups said had played a critical role in protecting Turkish women from gender-based violence. The treaty, the Istanbul Convention, sought in part to ensure equal legal protections against abuse for women across Europe. Turkey was the first country to sign the convention, in 2011, when Erdogan was prime minister. But some conservative Muslims who form a critical bloc of support for the Turkish leader had criticized the treaty from the start, framing it as part of a Western plot aimed at harming the country's traditional notions of family and encouraging divorce.... President Biden on Sunday harshly criticized the decision by Turkey, a NATO ally, calling the withdrawal 'sudden and unwarranted' and 'deeply disappointing.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

AP: "Authorities in Colorado responded to a shooting at a supermarket Monday. A man who had just left the store in Boulder, Dean Schiller, told The Associated Press that he heard gunshots and saw three people [lying] face down, two in the parking lot and one near the doorway. He said he 'couldn't tell if they were breathing.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "A shooting at a Colorado supermarket killed 10 people Monday, including a police officer who was the first to respond to the scene, authorities said. Police arrested a suspect, but didn't reveal his name or any details about the shooting at an evening news conference where Boulder police Chief Maris Herold fought back tears."

Comments

[Jeanne]

Those of us getting the vaccine may be happy about it, and looking forward to things becoming easier should not forget that this country is awash in idiots. Morons like Ron Johnson grab the microphone whenever possible, committing "misinformation" (lies) about everything possible. In our area, there was a story yesterday about the Amish/Mennonite communities not embracing the vaccines at all. We have walked out of numerous businesses where the workers are wearing masks but the customers are not, or vice versa. The fight over masks has severe consequences-- look at the hordes in Miama--in each others' laps and mostly maskless. They are the ones who are last in line to get vaccines, so I do not anticipate a rousing end to all this soon.
Our son and his girlfriend came to visit, first time we have seen him in person in over a year-- Mostly we managed with distance and masks and no hugs, and we spent a lot of time outdoors. However, it is hard to be foolproof with entertaining, with dishes etc. in use. I hope they and our daughter remain covid-free, but who can say for sure about any of it. They stayed in a hotel, too-- just thinking through things was jarring. I can't imagine the youngs actually listen to Ron Johnson, but the stuff filters through from winger media etc. I hate to be pessimistic now that us "elders" are actually feeling safer with antibodies and vaccines, but Miami and congress are the faces of idiocy.

[PD Pepe]

Last night on 60 minutes Loyd Austin, our new secretary of defense, the first black to hold that position in our history, was interviewed. I found his words deeply moving and once again they revealed the base racism that is just as American as that apple pie and the military is not exempt. Austin said he wakes up every morning with the reminder that he is a black man–--every morning! Since the Spa shootings there is much coverage of the Asian racism that has spiked since Fatty spouted his "Kung Foo" and China virus crap but we know this racism is like a blanket that has covered this country for centuries. White supremacy writ large is showing us how virulent and common place it has always been.

But given all that I see a glimmer of at least acknowledgement –-a facing of facts that cannot be disputed. Will we see a change in perceptions? Will those who harbor that evil be the ones who will be vilified? What will change now that blanket has been shown to be a deterrent?

Here's the interview:
https://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/20210321221645-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-sits-down-with-60-minutes-to-discuss-how-he-dealt-with-racism-and-bigotry-while-serving-in-the-u-s-milit/#x

[Jeanne]

Okay, it would be nice if I would proofread what I wrote-- please excuse the weird sentence that squashes two thoughts together without proper subject/verb care... Also, Miama sounds like a mashup of the city in Florida and the little Mazda sports car-- also it should be "we elders," not us elders. Yikes. Apologies!!

[Akhilleus]

Jeanne,

I thought you might have been going for “miasma”, which these days in DeSantis World would be entirely appropriate.

How anyone thought that self-absorbed college kids who live to party on spring break wouldn’t behave like selfish, immature, ignorant clowns is a mystery. Cops and city officials were unprepared? Is this their first time seeing the ravening horde this time of year?

[Marie Burns]

@Jeanne, when I was growing up in the Miami area, Southerners pronounced Miami My-AM-ah, so Miama looked good to me.

[RAS]

"Want to see the true potential impact of ignoring social distancing?"
These guys tracked just one stretch of beach in Florida during spring break and followed the data back across the country.