The Commentariat -- March 23, 2021

Afternoon Update:

After January 6, nothing seems impossible. -- Jeanne, in today's Comments

President Biden speaks about the mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado (first 6:27 min. of video):

Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "The city of Boulder, Colo., barred assault weapons in 2018, as a way to prevent mass shootings like the one that killed 17 at a high school in Parkland., Fla., earlier that year. But 10 days after that ban was blocked in court, the city was rocked by its own tragedy: Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed at a supermarket in the city's south end on Monday after a gunman opened fire, law enforcement officials said.... With unanimous support from the council, the law banned the possession, transfer and sale of most shotguns and certain pistols and semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips, a thumbhole stock, or any protruding grip that allows a weapon to be stabilized with the non-trigger hand.... On March 12, Boulder County District Judge Andrew Hartman ... [ruled] that, according to a 2003 Colorado state law, cities and counties cannot restrict guns that are otherwise legal under federal and state law.... The National Rifle Association cheered the ruling on Twitter last week, noting that its lobbying arm had supported the lawsuit against the ban." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah, the "thoughts and prayers" cliche makes me sick, too. Here's another one that's even more insidious, because its purpose is to shut up gun-control advocates masked behind the calculated pretext of expressing respect for the victims of gun violence. We hear this after every mass shooting:

There will be a time for the debate on gun laws. There will be a time for the discussion on motives. There will be a time for a conversation on how this could have been prevented. But today is not the time. -- Colorado State Shooting Association, a plaintiff in the Boulder assault weapons ban, in a statement

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Senators quickly splintered along partisan lines over gun control measures on Tuesday as Democrats demanded action in the wake of two mass shootings in the past week and Republicans denounced their calls, highlighting the political divide that has fueled a decades-long cycle of inaction on gun violence. At a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee that was scheduled before shootings in Atlanta and Boulder that left at least 18 people dead, Democrats argued that the latest carnage left Congress no choice but to enact stricter policies. They lamented the grim pattern of anguish and outrage followed by partisanship and paralysis had become the norm following mass shootings.... Even before the recent shootings, Democrats had already begun advancing stricter gun control measures that face long odds in the 50-50 Senate."

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Marie: When I wrote a couple of days ago that the country was getting back to normal, I didn't fully comprehend that "normal" meant two mass murders within a week.

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden's economic advisers are pulling together a sweeping $3 trillion package to boost the economy, reduce carbon emissions and narrow economic inequality, beginning with a giant infrastructure plan that may be financed in part through tax increases on corporations and the rich. After months of internal debate, Mr. Biden's advisers are expected to present the spending proposal to the president and congressional leaders this week, as well as begin outreach to industry and labor groups. On Monday, Mr. Biden's national climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, discussed his infrastructure plans -- and their role in combating climate change -- in a meeting with oil and gas industry executives. Administration officials caution that details remain in flux." An AP story is here.

Sean Sullivan & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is searching for new ways to stem the surge of migrants at the southern border, dispatching officials to Mexico and Guatemala to seek their governments' help, sending sterner warnings to would-be migrants not to come, and devising alternative pathways to apply for legal entry without showing up in person. The strategies, which administration officials outlined Monday, reflect the growing pressure on President Biden and his advisers to slow the increase in illegal crossings that has accelerated since he took office. Biden is navigating sometimes competing demands: pleas from border lawmakers to more aggressively dissuade would-be migrants, and exhortations from human rights advocates to treat them humanely. The sharpest challenge is how to deal with thousands of children taken into custody under a policy of not turning away unaccompanied minors." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know the problems seem insurmountable, but it is such a comfort & relief that we have an administration that is trying to the right thing in the right ways instead of what we experience for four years with an administration that knocked itself out to do everything wrong -- and the crueler the better. ~~~

~~~ Stef Kight of Axios: "Exclusive photos from inside a U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary overflow facility in Donna, Texas, reveal the crowded, makeshift conditions at the border as the government's longer-term child shelters and family detention centers fill up.... Each of eight 'pods' in the so-called soft-sided facility has a 260-person occupancy, said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who provided the photos to Axios to raise awareness about the situation. But as of Sunday, he said, one pod held more than 400 unaccompanied male minors. Because the Biden administration has restricted media coverage at housing facilities, images like these offer a rare window into conditions." Includes photos. ~~~

~~~ Julia Ainsley, et al., of NBC News: "Border agents in the Rio Grande Valley, the center of the migrant surge, were authorized Saturday to begin releasing adult migrants and families from custody before they have been given dates to appear in court, according to an internal document obtained by NBC News. The move is 'intended to mitigate operational challenges, including risk to national security, during significant surges of illegal migration as currently exist in the Rio Grande Valley' by reducing the time immigrants spend in custody, according to the document. Some immigrants said they were being released without knowing how they would be contacted."

Rebecca Rainey of Politico: "The Senate on Monday confirmed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as Secretary of Labor, clearing him to take the helm of the agency amid historic unemployment and economic uncertainty.... The Chamber voted 68-29 to approve Walsh, a former union leader who enjoyed Republican support for his commitment to working with the business community.... Walsh said during the Monday press conference that he would be traveling to Washington on Tuesday to be sworn in and was officially resigning as Boston mayor that evening.... Unions hailed Walsh's confirmation as a transition to a more worker-friendly Labor Department.... Walsh is the last Cabinet-level official to be confirmed, and the vote followed a blitz of Senate action on Biden's Cabinet nominees in the last few weeks...." ~~~

~~~ Kevin Liptak of CNN: "President Joe Biden is the first president in more than 30 years to have all of his original Cabinet secretary nominees confirmed to their posts.... While Biden did withdraw one nominee that he had designated Cabinet-level -- Neera Tanden, who he had selected as his budget chief -- the people now serving atop all the major administration agencies are his first pick." ~~~

~~~ BUT.  Ben LeFebvre of Politico: "The White House has withdrawn its nomination of Elizabeth Klein to become the Interior Department's deputy secretary, as the Biden administration faced push back from Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, sources familiar with the situation said Monday.... Klein is a former Obama administration official and deputy director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at the New York University School of Law who focused on renewable energy and climate change issues. The Biden administration pulled her nomination after hearing of opposition coming from Murkowski, a moderate Republican whose vote is crucial to Biden's legislative agenda and who has sought to expand the oil and gas industry in her state, one of the sources familiar with the matter said."

Washington Post Editors: "After Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the regime of Xi Jinping as a 'threat to global stability' and criticized its repression in Hong Kong and Xinjiang province, China's Yang Jiechi responded with a 17-minute tirade that, among other things, advised the United States to 'stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world.'... Mr. Blinken's speech and other tough opening moves by the Biden team were exactly the reset that was needed after the Trump administration's confused and often contradictory treatment of China.... The administration has made clear that its strong opposition to China's human rights abuses and belligerence toward Taiwan and other neighbors does not preclude cooperation on matters of mutual interest.... China and the United States lead opposing camps in a global contest over the future of human governance."

We Are Not Amused. Evan Perez of CNN: "Attorney General Merrick Garland is quietly ushering in a change in tone at the Justice Department, making few public comments and staying out of sight -- and unlike his predecessor -- eschewing commentary about ongoing investigations. That's one reason why an interview by Michael Sherwin, the former acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, discussing his push to use a rarely used sedition law to charge January 6 rioters and the possible culpability of ... Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection, reverberated in the new no-drama Justice Department.... David Laufman, a former Justice prosecutor echoed some of the internal criticism, saying, 'It's flat out improper,' adding 'I don't think it's OK for an [assistant US attorney] to be talking to the media about what charges are appropriate in a case under investigation.' Sherwin didn't get prior approval from his Justice Department bosses before the 60 Minutes interview, according to people briefed on the matter, a break with protocol." See yesterday's Commentariat for links to stories re: Sherwin's remarks. MB: Neal Katyal pointed out on MSNBC that Sherwin was a Trump appointee.

The New York Times synced audio & video of the Capitol insurrection:

Spencer Hsu & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Two months into one of the biggest criminal investigations in U.S. history, prosecutors are preparing to start plea discussions as early as this week with many of the more than 300 suspects charged in the U.S. Capitol riot -- even as investigators race to piece together larger conspiracy cases against those suspected of the most serious crimes, according to people familiar with the discussions. The planned plea talks follow efforts by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which is overseeing the prosecutions, to first create a system for efficiently organizing what they expect will be upward of 400 criminal cases and the growing pile of associated evidence, these people said. Like others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Although investigators continue to bump into [Roger] Stone as they probe members of the Oath Keepers and of the Proud Boys..., it remains unclear what that means as prosecutors review what, if any, influence Stone, other high-profile right-wing figures or Trump associates had on them.... Five Oath Keepers in ... [recently-filed] photos and court filings are among 10 members and associates charged with conspiring to obstruct Congress's confirmation of the 2020 presidential election results. The Justice Department and FBI are now weighing whether a larger conspiracy case can be made.... Stone, who has consistently said he was not involved in the Capitol riot and did not have advance knowledge of the breach, is not charged and has not been accused of any crime." The article details some of the "cameos" in which Stone has appeared with Proud Boys & Oath Keepers. MB: Because Stone's face is blocked out of some court-filed photos, they have presented a sort of "Is That Roger?" game for reporters.

Divorce in the Time of Sedition. Carly Roman of the Washington Examiner: "Detective Michael Heinl, a 30-year member of the Shaler Township Police Department, filed for divorce from his wife, Jennifer, in February in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, according to records cited by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.... Jennifer Heinl, 55, told the FBI that she traveled to Washington, D.C., alone and participated in the Stop the Steal' rally..., but she denied involvement in the storming of Capitol Hill.... [But] agents reviewing security footage from inside the Capitol Rotunda saw Heinl [there and charged her].... [The man she apparently accompanied to D.C., Kenneth] Grayson was arrested on Jan. 26 on charges of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building; disorderly conduct impeding government business; disruptive conduct in the Capitol building; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in the Capitol; and obstructing an official proceeding."

Louis DeJoy's Ten-Year Fail Plan. Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will unveil the largest rollback of consumer mail services in a generation as part of his 10-year plan for the U.S. Postal Service..., including longer first-class delivery windows, reduced post office hours and higher postage prices.... DeJoy is expected to emphasize the need for austerity to ensure more consistent delivery and rein in billions of dollars in financial losses, according to the people.... The plan, which he told the panel was eight months in the making, is meant to reset expectations for the Postal Service and its place in the express-shipping market." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There is one thing that in retrospect, we may thank DeJoy for. His "vision" is so grim that it could force Congress to stop making impossible demands of the USPS and start treating the postal service as a vital, Constitutionally-mandated government service. It's true that subsidizing the USPS could put private carriers at a disadvantage they don't currently suffer. But how bad is that? After all, the USPS has obligations these private companies don't have: a stamp costs the same whether you're sending a letter from Brooklyn to Brooklyn or from Brooklyn to an island in Alaska. And by developing partnerships with private carriers, the postal service might not hurt these private entities at all. A USPB board & postmaster general with actual vision could work it all out.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Of all Donald Trump's prophecies and predictions ... at least one wasn't entirely wrong. 'Newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I'm not there,' he augured in 2017, 'because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes.' Barely two months into the post-Trump era, news outlets are indeed losing much of the audience and readership they gained during his chaotic presidency.... After a record-setting January, traffic to the nation's most popular mainstream news sites, including The Washington Post, plummeted in February, according to the audience tracking firm ComScore. The top sites were also generally doing worse than in February of last year, when the pandemic became a major international news story.... Yet news organizations plainly benefited from a 'Trump effect' long before the pandemic set in." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now, if only there were some way to gauge Americans' anxiety level. I can tell you that even though I remain essentially locked in my house after more than a year (tho I'll be getting out more soon) and have the same sort of personal difficulties that we all have over the course of life, I feel so much more relaxed and hopeful than I did for the entire four years Trump had access to the Oval Office. People were reading & watching the news so much for the same reason they slow down to gawk at an accident. Whether a dumpster fire, an auto crash or a train wreck, it's a lot like Donald Trump. ~~~

~~~ Marie BTW: If you are interested in learning about Donald Trump's big plans to start his own social media network, there have been stories about it here and there over the past two days. I guess you could Google them. Because I don't care enough to look 'em up.

Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel & Caitlin Moniz of CREW: "Betsy DeVos[..., Donald Trump's wealthiest cabinet member...,] reported at least $225 million -- and potentially well over $414 million -- in outside income while working as Donald Trump's education secretary, according to an analysis of DeVos's financial disclosures by CREW.... [While a big chuck of Betsy's cash haul came from her family's pyramid scheme Amway,] she maintained a stake in Neurocore, a brain performance company targeting children, and failed to recuse from matters related to the company despite the potential for conflicts of interest. She pledged that her husband would stop making political donations for the duration of her tenure, but he continued to donate throughout the 2018 and 2020 election cycles."

"The Substance of Their Cause." Michael Gerson of the Washington Post faces one true thing about his political party of preference: &"... the case of Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) remains ... instructive and disturbing. Johnson is a Republican who prefers his racism raw...: : Whites who propagate a destructive lie, attack the democratic process and commit violence are Johnson's kind of people; African Americans who protest a history of injustice are a scary horde.... But... Johnson did not face the hygienic repudiation of his party.... Republicans have abolished their ideological police. The reason is simple. After four years of Donald Trump, Johnson's sentiments are not out of the Republican mainstream. They are an application of the prevailing Republican ideology -- that the 'real' America is under assault by the dangerous other.... Under Trump's cover, this has been revealed as the majority position of Republicans.... One of the United States' venerable, powerful political parties has been overtaken by people who make resentment against outsiders the central element of their appeal. Inciting fear is not an excess of their zeal; it is the substance of their cause." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have felt a little slimy for repeatedly calling the Republican party "the party of racists," even though the evidence is there. There are white Republicans who are not particularly racist, even if few of that ilk hold public office. So I'd like to thank Gerson for giving me "permission" to keep up the slimy work.

Senate Races 2022

Alabama. As If to Make Gerson's Point. Isaac Arnsdorf of ProPublica: "... in hours of right-wing media interviews before and after the deadly insurrection on Jan. 6..., Mo Brooks, the Alabama congressman who is about to launch a campaign for Senate..., repeatedly raised the prospect of violence as a possible response to Donald Trump losing the 2020 presidential election. 'This is pretty much it for our country,' Brooks said in a December podcast interview that has not been previously reported. 'In my judgment, it rivals the election of 1860,' he added, referring to the election of Abraham Lincoln, 'and we saw what ensued from that' -- meaning the Civil War.... Brooks was outspoken in baselessly accusing Democrats of 'stealing' the presidential election and seeking ways to keep Donald Trump in power.... Brooks is set to make his announcement alongside Stephen Miller, the former White House adviser who drove Trump's hardline immigration policies, including family separation. As an aide to then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, Miller frequently drew from white nationalist and white supremacist websites.... On Dec. 2, Brooks became the first member of Congress to say he would object to the Electoral College votes from key states that delivered Biden's victory." MB: I wonder if JeffBo will lend MoBro his Confederate army uniform to set the desired tone from Mo's campaign.

Missouri, Too, Has Choices! Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "Nearly three years ago, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens left the state capitol in disgrace as he faced down two criminal charges, an ethics probe and public fallout over reports that he'd had an affair with a hairdresser and then allegedly tried to blackmail her with nude photos. Now, the criminal charges have been dropped, the ethics case has been closed and Greitens is aiming for a Lazarus-esque comeback. The Republican announced on Fox News on Monday that he will run for the U.S. Senate seat opening next year with the retirement of Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) -- a move that quickly froze out some other GOP figures angling for the seat." MB: Remember that Missouri dumped the solidly middle-of-road Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill for the seditionist Repubican brat Josh Hawley, so we know how this could go.

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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.: "Federal health officials said early Tuesday that results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine may have relied on 'outdated information' that 'may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data,' casting doubt on an announcement on Monday that had been seen as good news for the British-Swedish company as well as the global vaccination drive. In a highly unusual statement released after midnight, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that the data and safety monitoring board, an independent panel of medical experts under the National Institutes of Health that has been helping to oversee AstraZeneca’s U.S. trial, had notified government agencies and AstraZeneca late Monday that it was 'concerned' by information the company had released that morning." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Colorado. Richard Lyons of the New York Times: "Colorado has been the scene of a number of multiple fatal shootings in recent years, including these that made national headlines[.]" More on the Boulder mass murder under today's and yesterday's News Ledes.

Georgia. Kate Brumback of the AP: "A man who survived the shooting that killed his wife at an Atlanta-area massage business last week said police detained him in handcuffs for four hours after the attack. Mario Gonzalez said he was held in a patrol car outside the spa. The revelation, in an interview with Mundo Hispanico, a Spanish-language news website, follows other criticism of Cherokee County officials investigating the March 16 attack, which killed four people. Four others were killed about an hour later at two spas in Atlanta. Gonzalez's accusation would also mean that he remained detained after police released security video images of the suspected gunman and after authorities captured that suspect about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Atlanta. Gonzalez questioned whether his treatment by authorities was because he's Mexican."

Illinois. Julie Bosman of the New York Times: "The proposal in Evanston, a lakefront suburb of Chicago, on Monday was both pioneering and rare: a blueprint to begin distributing $10 million in reparations to Black residents of the city in the form of housing grants.... But as the details of how the money would be distributed are beginning to take shape, elected officials, residents and activists for racial equity in the city say they are far from united on the specifics.... In Evanston, the housing grants are more narrowly targeted to residents who can show that they or their ancestors were victims of redlining and other discriminatory 20th-century housing practices in the city that limited the neighborhoods where Black people could live. Eligible applicants could be descendants of an Evanston resident who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969; or they could have experienced housing discrimination because of city policies after 1969." MB: This is the kind of reparations I can support, as it targets specific, provable instances of racist discrimination. So naturally, people don't like it. ~~~

~~~ Dorothy Brown in a New York Times op-ed (March 20): "Black Americans are often unable to build wealth from homeownership in the same way their white peers are, in large part because home prices are generally set by the people who make up the majority of buyers: white Americans. White families typically prefer to live in predominantly white neighborhoods with very few or no Black neighbors. Homes in these neighborhoods tend to have the highest market values because most prospective purchasers -- who happen to be white -- find them most desirable. Black Americans, on the other hand, tend to prefer to live in racially diverse or all-Black neighborhoods.... 'There's a carry-over of the redlining and steering days, before the fair housing laws were passed. So the difference in property values almost tracks 100 percent with the demographics of the area,' said Wayne Early, an Atlanta-based realtor and community economic activist." A CBS News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In 2000 and again in 2014, I was house-shopping. (A big difference in the two searches was that in the first, I was looking for a fairly large house and in the second for a small house.) My choice location was pretty broad: East Coast. In both instances, my ideal find would have been (1) a stone house (real stone-built, not a stone facade), (2) with some kind of water view, (3) in a racially-diverse neighborhood.In both searches, I could find only two out of three.

News Ledes

The New York Times' live updates of news developments about the mass shooting in a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket are here: "The Boulder Police chief said on Tuesday that a 21-year-old man from a Denver suburb had been charged with 10 counts of murder in the shooting on Monday at a grocery store in Boulder, Colo., that left 10 people dead. Police Chief Maris Herold identified the suspect as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa of Arvada, a suburb of Denver about 20 miles from Boulder. Michael Dougherty, the district attorney in Boulder County, said he had 'lived most of his life in the United States.' Chief Herold said the suspect had been taken into custody with a leg injury but was in stable condition and was expected to be taken to jail later on Tuesday."

New York Times: "Elgin Baylor, the Lakers' Hall of Fame forward who became one of the N.B.A.'s greatest players, displaying acrobatic brilliance that foreshadowed the athleticism of later generations of stars, died on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 86."

New York Times: "George Segal, whose long career began in serious drama but who became one of America's most reliable and familiar comic actors, first in the movies and later on television, died on Tuesday in Santa Rosa, Calif. He was 87."

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."

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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."

The Commentariat -- March 21, 2021

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

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.

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."

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.

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 ... 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."

** How to Get a Trillion Dollars -- 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..., 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."

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.

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."

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.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

It's Springtime in America. Today is another day we are inching our way back to living in a normal country. The Scourge of the 21st Century is isolated on an island not unlike Elba (though with more rich people), and the president in the White House is once again a normal person who knows the job but won't always do it right because normal presidents are human -- and humane. The people are getting shots in their arms & emerging from their homes just as daffodil shoots begin to emerge from muddy ground in parts of the country. The idiots will always be with us, and these days they are wearing their ignorance with a certain pride we shall smack down with glee.

Priscilla Alvarez of CNN: "The Biden administration is preparing to expand the phased entry of migrants who were forced to stay in Mexico under a Trump-era policy to two additional ports of entry, the Department of Homeland Security told CNN on Friday. 'Beginning next week, after registering virtually and being tested for COVID-19 at staging sites in Mexico, approved individuals with active (Migrant Protection Protocol) cases will be processed at the Hidalgo, TX port of entry,' the department said in a statement, adding that processing will also start in Laredo, Texas, thereafter.... Three other locations have already been allowing the entry of migrants under the program.... President Joe Biden ended the [Trump] program, formally known as Migrant Protection Protocols, and kick-started the process of allowing gradual entry of those subject to the policy. For months, officials meticulously planned the rollback of the policy and engaged with immigrant advocacy organizations along the border that have directly worked with migrants. The Biden administration has since estimated that some 25,000 migrants still have active cases. That group will be eligible for the first phase of the rollback. The administration started the gradual entry of migrants at three ports of entry -- in San Diego and in El Paso and Brownsville, Texas -- last month." ~~~

~~~ Dan Balz of the Washington Post: President "Biden and his team now face what every administration eventually confronts: the unforeseen events that can disrupt the best-laid plans and choreography of a White House. The surge of undocumented immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has done just that -- and amplified an issue that long has been a vulnerability for the Democrats.... The Biden administration has found itself with a humanitarian emergency and a political mess-in-the-making that it is ill-prepared to handle... Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this past week said the country is on pace for the highest number of individuals crossing the border in 20 years. Administration officials have blamed the Trump administration for some of its problems, claiming they inherited a broken and punitive system. But they have come face-to-face with the issue that has long nettled many Democrats: What to do when someone crosses the border illegally?... Biden has had little to say about the matter, and administration officials have, so far, not allowed reporters to get a firsthand look at conditions for the children in custody.... Republicans ... have seized on the surge of migration to pummel Biden as favoring open borders." ~~~

~~~ David Smith of the Guardian writes a fairly comprehensive overview of the severity of the problem. For instance, "when 100,441 migrants were reported attempting to cross the border last month, it was the highest level since March 2019 and included a particular rise in unaccompanied children." MB: If I knew of a magical fix, I would share it. But I can't think of one that doesn't have an Emma Lazarus ring to it.

HOWEVER. Biden Dares to Outperform Expectations. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "With a boost from Black Democrats, if not the most famous one, [Joe] Biden achieved what pretty much no one -- especially bratty Obama disciples -- had thought possible. At 78, nearly half a century after he arrived in D.C. as a senator, he became the oldest man ever sworn in as president. So now comes a delicious twist: President Biden is being hailed as a transformational, once-in-a-generation progressive champion, with comparisons to L.B.J. and F.D.R. aplenty, while Obama has become a cautionary tale about what happens when Democrats get the keys to the car but don't put their foot on the gas.... Creaky, old-fashioned Joe moved fast and broke things. Unlike the sleek, modern Obama, who kept trying to work with obstructionist Republicans, Biden blew them off, calling it 'an easy choice.'... Democrats think [Biden is] really kind of cool. Imagine that."

Biden's Advisors Are Rich! Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "President Joe Biden's closest advisors have ties to big business and Wall Street, with some making millions of dollars in their careers leading up to entering the White House, new financial disclosures show. The senior Biden aides listed in the disclosures include chief of staff Ron Klain, deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley Dillon, senior advisor Mike Donilon, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeffrey Zients, and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese. These disclosures show that many of the president's closest aides have deep ties to the business world and have made more money in their past corporate careers than previously known."

There's a New Education Sheriff in Town. Carole Feldman of the AP (March 18): "Thousands of students defrauded by for-profit schools will have their federal loans fully erased, the Biden administration announced Thursday, reversing a Trump administration policy that had given them only partial relief. The change could lead to $1 billion in loans being canceled for 72,000 borrowers, all of whom attended for-profit schools, the Education Department said.... The department said it was rescinding the formula used by the Trump administration to determine partial relief and putting in place 'a streamlined path to receiving full loan discharges.' The decision applies to students who already had their claims approved and received only partial relief, the department said. A senior department official briefing reporters said the agency was continuing to review both the backlog of claims yet to be decided and those that have been denied. The department described Thursday's action as 'a first step' and said it would be looking at rewriting the regulations down the road."

Ian Millhiser of Vox: "Last fall, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) appeared as adamantly opposed to filibuster reform as any Democrat.... But ... in a statement released Friday night, Feinstein now says she's 'open' to changing the Senate's filibuster rules, if necessary to pass legislation such as expanded background checks for firearm purchases, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, or a voting rights bill.... Even Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a senator who has repeatedly said that he wants to keep the filibuster alive in some form, has indicated that he's open to requiring talking filibusters -- although Manchin's been reluctant to open the door to other kinds of filibuster reform. That leaves Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), who said last month that she'd even support strengthening the filibuster by rolling back previous reforms, as the primary Democratic holdout on filibuster reform." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

What the Senate Needs Is More Honest Problem-Solvers Like Ted Cruz. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Claiming Democrats want to expand voting rights to 'illegal aliens' and 'child molesters', the Texas senator Ted Cruz warned that if Republicans do not block the For the People Act, major legislation now before the Senate, they will be out of power for years." MB: I should have read the full bill the House passed. I was completely unaware of the "aliens & molesters" clause. The Senate should just remove the clause & pass the bill by voice vote.

The Detritus of the Former Guy

Ken Vogel & Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times: "The efforts to seek clemency [from Donald Trump] for [certain] wealthy or well-connected people benefited from their social, political, or financial ties to a loose collection of lawyers, lobbyists, activists and Orthodox Jewish leaders who had worked with Trump administration officials on criminal justice legislation championed by Jared Kushner. That network revolved around a pair of influential Jewish organizations that focus on criminal justice issues.... Mr Kushner ... had become interested in criminal justice and developed ties to members of the loose network of allies on the issue after his father, Charles Kushner, was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison.... The overwhelming majority of Mr. Trump's pardons and commutations bypassed [the Justice Department's selection] process, and were instead awarded through an ad hoc system run by a handful of White House aides, with assistance from outside advisers."

The Policing of American Protests -- Proved the Point of the Protests. Kim Barker, et al., of the New York Times: "For many long weeks last summer, protesters in American cities faced off against their own police forces in what proved to be, for major law enforcement agencies across the country, a startling display of violence and disarray. In Philadelphia, police sprayed tear gas on a crowd of mainly peaceful protesters trapped on an interstate who had nowhere to go and no way to breathe. In Chicago, officers were given arrest kits so old that the plastic handcuffs were decayed or broken. Los Angeles officers were issued highly technical foam-projectile launchers for crowd control, but many of them had only two hours of training; one of the projectiles bloodied the eye of a homeless man in a wheelchair. Nationally, at least eight people were blinded after being hit with police projectiles. Now, months after the demonstrations that followed the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police in May, the full scope of the country's policing response is becoming clearer.... From midsize departments like the one in Indianapolis to big-city forces like New York City's, from top commanders to officers on the beat, police officers nationwide were unprepared to calm the summer's unrest, and their approaches consistently did the opposite. In many ways, the problems highlighted in the reports are fundamental to modern American policing, a demonstration of the aggressive tactics that had infuriated many of the protesters to begin with." ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times: New York City Police said they used restraint during last year's protests. That's not what the videos show.

Ginia Bellafante of the New York Times: "... despite dramatic transformations in our collective understanding of sexual harassment at work, recent polling around Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's current scandals suggests a lingering confusion -- the reality that we are not merely arguing about consequences but, 30 years after Anita Hill, about the nature and substance of misconduct itself.... New York State's Labor Department supplies a sample training video on harassment meant to convey the bare minimum of what should be offered. In it, the labor commissioner, Roberta Reardon, explains that sexual harassment falls essentially under two large umbrellas, one in the form of quid quo pro exchanges (If you want that new job, you really ought to consider coming over for strip steak), the other in the creation of what has long been known as a hostile work environment. It is here that popular clarity seems to fade.... In August 2019..., Governor Cuomo signed legislation that strengthened protections against discrimination and harassment."

The 51st State. Another Reason to Dump the Filibuster. Mike DeBonis & Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "... a fast-evolving political landscape has propelled D.C. statehood up the Democratic priority list after it passed the House for the first time last year. The issue, once a fanciful dream of local activists, now enjoys near-unanimity inside the Democratic Party.... D.C. statehood would probably result in two additional Democratic senators.... GOP leaders are mobilizing against the statehood push, labeling it a partisan 'power grab' by Democrats.... The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Monday will convene a hearing on a statehood bill, and Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said in an interview that he expects that the bill will pass the House before summer. Statehood advocates still face major obstacles: They do not yet have 51 allies inside the Senate, and as long as the body's filibuster rule requiring a supermajority margin for most legislation remains intact, it will take even more support than that."

Congressional Primary Race. Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "The first competitive special congressional election of the Biden era is most likely heading to a runoff next month, but the battle lines are already drawn ahead of the initial balloting on Saturday in the race to succeed former Representative Cedric L. Richmond of Louisiana. At the center of the debate: which of two New Orleans Democrats positioned to face off in April can better leverage their connections to lift a South Louisiana district hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Louisiana voters will nominate candidates in two open House seats Saturday, as Democrats battle over a safe seat in the New Orleans area and Republicans decide whether the widow of a 2020 candidate should take the seat he won last year. The special election in the 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, became necessary after Cedric L. Richmond (D) resigned from the seat to become an adviser to President Biden.... If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers will head to an April 24 runoff. The same is true in the 5th Congressional District, where Republican candidate Julia Letlow is running to 'pick up that torch' after her late husband, Luke, won the seat in November and died of covid-19 complications before his swearing-in." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. The New York Times has Louisiana's primary election results here. ~~~

     ~~~ Ally Mutnick of Politico: "Republican Julia Letlow won a special election Saturday to fill the seat won last year by her now-late husband, who died in December from Covid. She took 62 percent of the vote in the 12-way race, a commanding victory that cleared the majority threshold needed to avoid a runoff." MB: Letlow looks like a nice, intelligent woman. Appearances can be deceiving: "Letlow campaigned on a vow to uphold conservative Christian values and protect unborn children and the right to bear arms." ~~~

     ~~~ Danny Monteverde of WWL New Orleans: "Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter, who sought to replace former U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond in the state's 2nd Congressional District, will face each other once more in a run-off April 24, according to WWL-TV projections. With 646 of 657 precincts reporting late Saturday night, Troy Carter had 36 percent of the vote to Karen Carter Peterson's 23 percent and Gary Chambers with 21 percent."

May Jeong of Vanity Fair writes an op-ed piece in the New York Times on the nexus of race, gender and class in the Atlanta murders. (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

AP: "Kent Taylor, founder and CEO of the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain, has died. He was 65. His family and the company say he took his own life after suffering from symptoms related to COVID-19, including severe tinnitus."