;)
The Commentariat -- March 8, 2021
Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. They include news of the new CDC guidelines for vaccinated people.
** Lena Sun & Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post: "Federal health officials released guidance Monday that gives fully vaccinated Americans more freedom to socialize and pursue routine daily activities, providing a pandemic-weary nation a first glimpse of what a new normal may look like in coming months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who are two weeks past their final shot face little risk if they visit indoors with unvaccinated members of a single household at low risk of severe disease, without wearing masks or distancing. That would free many vaccinated grandparents who live near their unvaccinated children and grandchildren to gather for the first time in a year. Long-distance travel is still discouraged, however. The CDC also said fully vaccinated people can gather indoors with those who are also fully vaccinated. And they do not need to quarantine, or be tested after exposure to the coronavirus, if they have no symptoms." This article is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~
~~~ The CDC's new guidelines for vaccinated people are here.
Tony Romm & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "House lawmakers are set to vote as soon as Tuesday on a roughly $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, putting President Biden on track to sign his first major legislative accomplishment into law by the end of the week. Democrats in the chamber are expected to approve the bill -- which includes a dramatic expansion of pandemic aid and federal safety net programs -- despite changes to critical elements of the stimulus adopted by the Senate over the weekend."
~~~~~~~~~~
Aamer Madhani of the AP: "A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access. His plan was announced during a recorded address on the 56th commemoration of 'Bloody Sunday,' the 1965 incident in which some 600 civil rights activists were viciously beaten by state troopers as they tried to march for voting rights in Selma, Alabama. 'Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have it counted,' Biden said in his remarks to Sunday's Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast before signing the order. 'If you have the best ideas, you have nothing to hide. Let the people vote.'" The text of President Biden's order is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Worried that Afghan peace talks are going nowhere, and facing a May 1 deadline for the possible withdrawal of all U.S. troops, the Biden administration has proposed sweeping plans for an interim power-sharing government between the Taliban and Afghan leaders, and stepped-up involvement by Afghanistan's neighbors -- including Iran -- in the peace process. Along with the proposal, shared with both sides over the past week by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that a U.S. departure remains under active consideration and could lead to 'rapid territorial gains' by the Taliban." An AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Whatever you may think of the plan, it's impossible not to notice we have a real President now, one who does not send his callow, dimwitted son-and-law out with a young sidekick to negotiate a so-called "Middle-East Peace Plan," then whine about not getting the Nobel Peace Prize for the effort.
Justine Coleman of the Hill: "President Biden nominated two female generals for promotions on Saturday, months after former President Trump's Pentagon officials reportedly delayed recommending they be promoted out of a concern the former president would reject them because they are women. The Pentagon issued two announcements declaring that Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson will take on new assignments to four-star commands if approved by the Senate as expected."
Manchin Okay with Forcing "Talking Filibuster." Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "Sen. Joe Manchin said Sunday he is open to altering the Senate filibuster to make it more 'painful' for the minority party to wield, while reiterating his opposition to ending the procedural hurdle altogether. 'The filibuster should be painful, it really should be painful and we've made it more comfortable over the years,' he said on 'Fox News Sunday.'... Manchin (D-W.Va.) has previously supported efforts to require senators to filibuster by talking on the chamber floor in order to hold up a bill, an idea he raised on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'If you want to make it a little bit more painful, make him stand there and talk,' Manchin said. 'I'm willing to look at any way we can, but I'm not willing to take away the involvement of the minority.'... Manchin did not rule out using the budget reconciliation process to pass a voting rights bill with a simple majority, keeping the door open to a potential workaround for Democrats to push through a voting overhaul while preserving the filibuster." (Also linked yesterday.)
Barrasso Sticks His Neck Out. A Little. John Bowden of the Hill: "A GOP senator who opposed both impeachments of former President Trump said Sunday that he believes impeachment-supporting Republicans such as Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) still have a place in the party. In an interview with Chuck Todd on NBC's 'Meet the Press,' Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) pushed back against Trump's call this week for Republicans to replace both Cheney and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the latter of whom the former president vowed to personally campaign against, while not addressing Trump's criticism. 'I want to always make sure we nominate somebody who can win in November. Lisa Murkowski knows Alaska better than anybody, and she's an incredible fighter for American energy. She hasn't made an announcement if she's even going to run again. If she does, I'm going to support her,' Barrasso said. 'With regard to Liz Cheney in Wyoming, we work closely together fighting the Biden administration,' he added...."
Eric Dolan of the Raw Story: Apparently to demonstrate his outrage at Dr. Seuss Enterprises for ending the publication of six Dr. Seuss children's books deemed racist, "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) ... posted a video of himself reading 'Green Eggs and Ham.'... 'It's such bad faith behavior from an already bad faith party," MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan said Sunday. 'Key fact, [there are] six books being withdrawn for racist anti-Chinese and anti-African imagery from the past -- not "Green Eggs and Ham." What's so fascinating is Fox News and Republicans have been obsessing about this for a week now while many Americans are hurting needing a COVID relief bill and they aren't even upset about it.'"
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jason DeParle of the New York Times: "Obscured by other parts of President Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package, which won Senate approval on Saturday, the child benefit has the makings of a policy revolution. Though framed in technocratic terms as an expansion of an existing tax credit, it is essentially a guaranteed income for families with children, akin to children's allowances that are common in other rich countries. The plan establishes the benefit for a single year. But if it becomes permanent, as Democrats intend, it will greatly enlarge the safety net for the poor and the middle class at a time when the volatile modern economy often leaves families moving between those groups. More than 93 percent of children -- 69 million -- would receive benefits under the plan, at a one-year cost of more than $100 billion. The bill, which is likely to pass the House and be signed by Mr. Biden this week, raises the maximum benefit most families will receive by up to 80 percent per child and extends it to millions of families whose earnings are too low to fully qualify under existing law. Currently, a quarter of children get a partial benefit, and the poorest 10 percent get nothing." ~~~
~~~ Marie: DeParle does mention Mitt Romney's "proposed a child benefit that is even larger, though it would be financed through other safety net cuts." But what DeParle doesn't tell us is that child welfare benefits are very much favored by the Ross Douthat brand of conservatism, which makes it all the more surprising that Biden's stimulus bill didn't get a single GOP Congressional vote.
Dying for Donald. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "The 100 U.S. counties with the highest death rates from COVID-19 voted for ... Donald Trump by 18 points, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.... Read the entire report here."
Idaho Potato Heads. Teach Your Children Well. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "Cheering parents watched as children tossed surgical masks into a fire outside the Idaho Capitol in Boise on Saturday as more than 100 people gathered to protest mask mandates as an affront to their civil liberties. The rally was one of several held statewide in opposition to the coronavirus-related requirements, which health experts have said remain crucial even as vaccines are distributed and the number of new reported cases has dropped. Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) has never implemented a statewide mask requirement, though nearly a dozen areas of the state have local restrictions, including Boise. For months, Little has been at odds with Lt. Gov Janice McGeachin (R) over pandemic restrictions (in Idaho, the governor and lieutenant governor run on separate tickets). McGeachin vehemently opposes any mask mandates. McGeachin, who appeared in a video last fall that suggested the pandemic 'may or may not be occurring,' was photographed speaking at the Boise protest Saturday.... Idaho has tallied more than 173,000 cases of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and at least 1,800 deaths." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
~~~ Marie: I suppose it should be noted that the individuals tossing the masks -- children -- have few civil liberties. So making children burn masks as an affront to civil liberties doesn't make a lot of sense. The next time any of those kids gets in trouble for staying out past dinnertime or whatever, maybe he'll tell Mom & Dad their punishment is an affront to his civil liberties. See how far that gets you, Kid.
Texas Boneheads. Customers Punish Restaurateurs for Trying to Save Their Lives. Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "This week, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott R) said Tuesday that he would rescind the statewide mask mandate while the vast majority of residents remain unvaccinated, the tough choice to enforce public health guidance fell to business owners, and Picos [-- a Mexican restaurant in Houston --] announced it would continue requiring masks. But ... co-owner Monica Richards said: Several people sent hateful messages through social media and called the restaurant, threatening to report staffers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Beyond the Beltway
Colorado. Life in a Lovely College Town. Matthew Brown of the AP: "Authorities promised Sunday to pursue criminal charges after a massive party near the University of Colorado in Boulder devolved into a violent confrontation with police that left three officers injured. Hundreds of people flooded the streets in an area known as the Hill on Saturday night and when told to leave threw bottles, rocks and other objects at police and firefighters, police said. At least one car was damaged when the mob flipped it over, and police brought in a SWAT team and used tear gas to break up the crowd that numbered 500 to 800 people at its peak, said Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold."
New York. "There Is No Way I Resign." -- Cuomo. Jesse McKinley & David Goodman of the New York Times: "In a potentially crippling defection in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's efforts to maintain power amid a sexual harassment scandal, the leader of the New York State Senate declared on Sunday that the governor should resign 'for the good of the state.' The leader of the Senate, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat from Westchester County, said that New York was facing multiple challenges -- including the ongoing pandemic -- and had been buffeted by allegations about Mr. Cuomo's behavior, his administration's 'toxic work environment,' and handling of the state's nursing homes.... Carl E. Heastie of the Bronx, [a Democrat & the Assembly's leader,] issued a statement shortly after his Senate counterpart on Sunday that expressed concerns about 'the governor's ability to continue to lead this state.... I think it is time for the governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York,' Mr. Heastie said in a statement. The legislative leaders' remarks came just moments after Mr. Cuomo [said] ... in a conference call with reporters..., that he would not be distracted by the accusations, arguing that he was elected by the people, not 'by politicians.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Cuomo is apparently unaware that impeachment & conviction are political actions, and that he, too, is a "politician."
North Carolina. Methodists Accidentally Sell Their Church to the Devil. Billy Ball of the Washington Post: "Parkers Grove United Methodist Church has stood for a century along the road into tiny Linden.... The church's wood exterior is cracked, its steeple weathered, its sign broken. Its congregation, which had struggled to fill the 18 pews, held the final service several years ago. Parkers Grove was sold in early 2020.... The buyer was the Asatru Folk Assembly, an obscure white supremacist group. 'It's appalling,' Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, who leads the United Methodist Church in North Carolina, said recently. 'But we have no control over it. It's a reminder that hate groups are closer at hand than we think.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
AP: "Pope Francis urged Iraq's Christians on Sunday to forgive the injustices against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild as he visited the wrecked shells of churches and met ecstatic crowds in the community's historic heartland, which was nearly erased by the Islamic State group's horrific reign." ~~~
~~~ Jason Horowitz & Jane Arraf of the New York Times: "In an extraordinary moment on the last full day of the first papal trip to Iraq, [Pope] Francis went to the wounded heart of the country, [Mosul,] directly addressing the suffering, persecution and sectarian conflict that have torn the nation apart.... In [visiting Iraq], he has sought to protect an ancient but battered and shrunken Christian community, build relations with the Muslim world and reassert himself on the global stage after being grounded for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Following a prayer in Mosul for the dead, Francis went to the northern towns where many Christians now live, visiting a church packed with jubilant -- and often unmasked -- faithful in Qaraqosh, home of the country's largest Christian population. He crossed into Iraqi Kurdistan in a long and heavily armed convoy protected by helicopters. It raced past sprawling refugee camps toward Erbil, where he ended the day celebrating a Mass for thousands in a stadium. There too, the flouting of social distancing restrictions raised concerns that the pope's efforts to be close to his flock might endanger them." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
U.K. (Sort of). Fairytale Revisited. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "A year after Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in a fairy-tale wedding, she said in an extraordinary interview broadcast on Sunday night, her life as a member of the British royal family had become so emotionally desolate that she contemplated suicide. At another point, members of the family told Harry and Meghan, a biracial former actress from the United States, that they did not want the couple's unborn child, Archie, to be a prince or princess, and expressed concerns about how dark the color of the baby's skin would be.... Meghan, 39, made the disclosures in an eagerly anticipated, and at times incendiary, interview on CBS with Oprah Winfrey that aired in the United States in prime time. In describing a royal life that began as a fairy tale but quickly turned cruel, her blunt answers raised the combustible issues of race and privilege in the most rarefied echelon of British society." A Washington Post story is here. The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Here are what the AP calls "memorable quotes" from the interview.
Marie: For a lively discussion of nothing of consequence (for the most part; exceptions noted), I recommend yesterday's short Comments thread.
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Reader Comments (21)
“No way I resign” (per Guv Playful Questions About Your Sex Life), is usually the precursor to, um, resigning.
Or should be.
Still and all, I find it hilarious to read about the outrage of confederates over Cuomo’s indiscretions who gleefully and without exception supported (and still support) a serial sexual predator. Cuomo’s actions are bad, but they in no way sound as vicious and violent as Donald Pussy Grabber’s many, many assaults on women.
But IOKIYATrump, I guess.
Can’t wait for the upcoming episode of “The Crown”, wherein Elizabeth informs her grandson and his wife that the royal family has serious melatonin concerns with their baby, and therefore no title for him. Rule, Britannia!
Sorry...melanin concerns, not melatonin. Haha. Although the queen might need plenty of melatonin if she’s losing sleep over all of this.
@Akhilleus: Meghan's experience sure sounds a lot like Princess Diana's, doesn't it? I always thought Diana was exaggerating about much of it because her husband was an insensitive, faithless douche, but it would appear she was not. I have to wonder how Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of something, I think, is treated. She is, after all, "just a commoner," so even if she is the future queen, it's easy to imagine she is getting the "outsider" treatment, too.
"Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste” came up in our Poetaster round last night" said my son David (in Germany) "and I located an article from her that could serve as a good introduction to the book. I thought you would find it interesting:"
I am passing his response or "snippet", as he calls it, because it addresses our deep concern re: rogue groups, cults, and GOP persons of interest that infiltrate our democracy.
Here's a snippet:
History has shown that nations and groups will conquer, colonize, enslave and kill to maintain the illusion of their primacy. Their investment in this illusion gives them as much of a stake in the inferiority of those deemed beneath them as in their own presumed superiority. “The survival of a group,” [Eric] Fromm wrote, “depends to some extent on the fact that its members consider its importance as great as or greater than that of their own lives.”
Thus, when under threat, they are willing to sacrifice themselves and their ideals for the survival of the group from which they draw their self-esteem. The political theorist Takamichi Sakurai, in his 2018 examination of Western and Eastern perspectives on the topic, and channeling Fromm, wrote bluntly: “Group narcissism leads people to fascism.” He went on, “An extreme form of group narcissism means malignant narcissism, which gives to rise to a fanatical fascist politics, an extreme racialism and so on.”
Fromm identified this kind of group narcissism in two nations in particular: “the racial narcissism which existed in Hitler’s Germany, and which is found in the American South,” he wrote in 1964, at the height of the civil rights era. In both instances, Fromm found the working class to be among the most susceptible, harboring an “inflated image of itself as the most admirable group in the world, and of being superior to another racial group that is singled out as inferior,” he wrote. A person in this group “feels: ‘Even though I am poor and uncultured, I am somebody important because I belong to the most admirable group in the world — I am white’; or ‘I am an Aryan.’”
A group whipped into narcissistic fervor “is eager to have a leader with whom it can identify,” Fromm wrote. “The leader is then admired by the group which projects its narcissism onto him.” The right kind of leader can inspire a symbiotic connection that supplants logic. The susceptible group, Fromm teaches us, sees itself in the narcissistic leader, becomes one with the leader, sees his fortunes and his fate as their own.
PD,
Interesting snippet, indeed. Thanks. Been a long time since I heard from Herr Fromm.
On the 1.9 trillion giveaway:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/opinion/romney-republicans-child-allowance.html?
This NYTimes op-ed suggesting the child allowance element splits the R's across generations. Found the argument very sensible.
Sensible because it's telling us that younger Republicans, who have grown up and tried to raise families post-Reagan years, have come to recognize that our economy is unworkable for the majority. They may not want to think too deeply about the reasons for the situation we're in, and not wish to put the blame where it belongs--which rests largely on their own corporate-owed and -operated political party--but they know "something's gotta be done," and they are so convinced of that that they're willing (horrors!) to accept a government "bailout."
The irony here, of course, is that the vast wealth they don't have and that a relatively small number of others do is the consequence of their own party's anti-union activities, its tax policies and its corporate socialism.
It's a long way around, but wouldn't it be nice if we actually managed to tax and stop subsidizing those who don't need it in order to support those who do?
More complicated than actually paying workers what they're worth to begin with, I know, but it would come to much the same thing in the end..and maybe be easier for some to swallow.
For the doubters of Harry and Meghan's story: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a14481097/princess-michael-of-kent-racist-brooch/. Proof that money and status can not supersede in-breeding. Americans just had a 4 year tutorial in sycophancy and it's devastating effects on educated and independent thoughts: Buckingham palace wrote the playbook on the subject.
This morning during the local-ish section of Morning Edition, there was a report of virulent racism accusations at an area high school, and people were weighing in on their own experiences when they were at the school-- apparently much of this is on Facebook, social media being the preferred crapping spot... How anyone can deny the existence of racism and bullying is beyond me. The interview last night was sad. A young royal couple had to leave the country to avoid the horrible "press" and supposedly hide-bound traditions of the royals... it is pathetic. I came out of it feeling badly for them, although they will surely land on their feet. And, although I know it is fictionalized, The Crown paints an ugly picture of the lives of these people-- Maybe Charles will never get over being made to marry someone that experienced the brutality herself, and he is simply passing it along as families do-- we won't find out who is the biggest offender. I can't speculate on Kate and William-- it seemed that she was accepted, and of course she has babies of the right color...
Back to thinking about our own country's foibles and facts...
Another sign that Manchin (the Decider?) is tip-toeing into sanity?
https://news.yahoo.com/joe-manchin-pledges-block-bidens-120433439.html
We will see.
Don't much mind his "conditions" for infrastructure cooperation with the GOP, as now stated. His comments on climate issues are particularly interesting, considering where he hails from.
Or is he thinking he'll not run again, so this is his last hurrah and he's. just having fun in the limelight?
@PD Pepe: My thanks, too, for the "snippet." Growing up in Florida, which was part of the segregated South, I heard of Fromm's theory of racism while I was in high school, so before Fromm's book was published. I don't know who told me, and I don't know that I read it, but it made sense to me then, when I was surrounded by young people who were (oddly, IMO) "proud" of being white.
I don't think that then I specifically connected Southern-style racism to fascism, but that too makes sense. My group has a right to conquer & dominate others because my group is better than their group(s). I think this is the way Republicans feel (and without question, the way Donald Trump thinks). That's why they seem like hypocrites but don't believe they are hypocrites. Rather, they believe they have a right to dominate, and to take extraordinary, undemocratic means to do so. Almost by definition, if your own group is "better," it is bound to be smaller than the aggregate of the other, inferior groups. So members & leaders of the "best people" -- elite Republicans -- will always have to manipulate a quasi-democratic system to maintain their primacy.
This mask burning bullshit in Idaho is classic confederate snowflake mishegas. First, Idaho doesn’t even have a mask mandate! So what’s the problem? What’s the lesson here? “Cmon kids, let’s all go to the State House and set a fire (illegal, by the way, according to state laws) to protest something that doesn’t exist.” “Um...okay mom, but why?” “Why??? Freeeedom!!!!”
Jesus Christ. These people are so far around the bend they’re in Möbius strip land. What if they were mandated to do something that was even a tiny bit onerous? Revolution? Murder? Mayhem?
Fucking weenie-ass snowflakes. They have no clue about what to do about anything. Not a goddam clue about a single fucking thing. People are trying to keep them alive, a goal that is looking less and less like a good idea. So what do they do? Set a fire and dance around screaming about frreeedooom! Are they all retarded? Oh wait...they’re Republicans. Of course they are.
And it wouldn’t be so bad if it were just a few people doing this. It’d be like those stories you read about snake handlers. A small group of more than slightly unhinged weirdos that you’ll forget about as soon as you finish your tea. But not these imbeciles. These knuckleheads are in congress and live in governors’ mansions.
And because they’re ignorant lemmings who have no idea about anything, they do whatever will put them in the wingnut hall of stupidity.
It would be one thing if they were only intent on killing themselves. A collective Darwin Award would be in order to celebrate their removing such dangerous genes from the pool. But no, their actions kill other people too. People who aren’t stupid.
Selfish assholes.
Marie,
Nice summary of Ayn Rand's "philosophy."
Watch Greta Thunberg stand her ground––the one she says Biden must address as a Climate Crisis––although she says, humbly, she shouldn't be the one to speak out to him when asked if she would address him on this matter. This teenage girl is our young Casandra warning us of the peril of putting off this matter of impending doom on our planet––tackling it as just something like this pandemic that will finally be eradicated––we have almost passed the end game here and if you think viruses are scary, the prospect of what is in store for the future generations will be a major death knoll.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HUzN9PTQn0
@Marie:––"So members & leaders of the "best people" -- elite Republicans -- will always have to manipulate a quasi-democratic system to maintain their primacy." You bet your bippy! Thanks so much for your comments.
There's never been a bra mandate either, that I know of,
but I remember in the sixties, groups of mostly flat
chested women burning them. Must have stolen them
from mom. I thought what a waste, I could make dozens
of slingshots and get rich.
An aghast classmate sent along today's NYTimes profile of Senator Hawley (why does Lord Haw-Haw come to mind every time I see his name?)
Won't bother to link the piece, but his assault on "the woke" made me think of its obvious antonym, "the sleeping."
It sure fits.
Dave suggests a little tweek on the checks before the Democrats send them out the door.
Dave Johnson
@dcjohnson
"On the checks, in BIG LETTERS, print: "EVERY REPUBLICAN VOTED AGAINST SENDING YOU THIS CHECK!"
And then, above where they sign it, they have to write out "Every Republican voted against sending me this check" to make the check valid."
I'm curious about the Orange Turd's return visit to NYC. It's pure speculation on my part but here are a few ideas:
1. He had to appear in-person for depositions about one of the many law suits or investigations involving him.
2. He had to surreptitiously remove any potentially incriminating evidence (e.g. photos, pee pee tapes, second set of books...) he stashed earlier in hidey-holes inside TT.
3. He wanted to do a little one-on-one witness tampering with Allen Weisselberg to avoid a phone log or other electronic record of the conversation.
4. Retrieve some secret, unrecorded cash $$.
5. ??
Nosey people want to know.
@Ken Winkes. I think "the comatose" would be closer to the truth.
@Bobby Lee
Thanks.
I'd go with that...
Patrick may be no attorney? But...
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/03/08/rnc-trump-cease-and-desist-474412
Cont'd,
5. He came up to kick Michael Cohen in the balls for ratting on him
(as though he could lift his leg up high enough. )