The Commentariat -- March 14, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

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

A Florida Man/Nowhere Man. Gabby Orr & Meredith McGraw of Politico: "... Donald Trump finds himself adrift while in political exile. And Republicans, and even some allies, say he is disorganized, torn between playing the role of antagonist and party leader.... He backed away from creating a third party and has soured on the costly prospect of launching his own TV empire or social media startup. His vow to target disloyal Republicans with personally-recruited primary challengers has taken a backseat to conventional endorsements of senators who refused to indulge his quest to overturn the 2020 election. And though he was supposed to build a massive political apparatus to keep his MAGA movement afloat, it's unclear to Republicans what his PAC is actually doing, beyond entangling itself in disputes with Republican icons and the party's fundraising arms." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sure we're not surprised. The only things Donald Trump has ever done in the last 40 years is collect money from suckers and tell lies about himself & people he doesn't like. He's just keeping up the tradition.

A Texas Man. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A Texas man who joined a mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6 told two rioters he had set up a security company as a front to access law enforcement-grade weaponry that could be used to 'take back our country,' according to private, encrypted messages revealed Saturday by prosecutors. Guy Reffitt, who drove from Texas to Washington, D.C., also said in recorded conversations that he and others were carrying firearms during the siege of the Capitol. He also encouraged his two associates to join the 'Texas Three Percenters' militia, according to the messages posted to Telegram.... Prosecutors described the arrangement in an effort to persuade a judge that Reffitt is too dangerous to be released before his trial on charges related to the Capitol assault. Reffitt is a self-described Three Percenter, which prosecutors describe as an ideology rooted in the notion that the current government is the equivalent of British oppressors and can be overthrown by armed militias. They noted that Reffitt misled the FBI about his company -- TTP Security, LLC -- telling them it had no connection to the Texas Three Percenters. Rather, he said, it stood for 'Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures.'"

I forgot! It's National Pi(e) Day! ~~~

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An Awakening. Marie: What with most Americans losing an hour of sleep time last night (except those living in Arizona or Hawaii), and what with a discussion in yesterday's Comments thread about "Nessun Dorma" ("let no one sleep") AND about "reaction" videos, it seemed like a good time to publish this guy's reactions to what he calls "Nissan Dorma" (precisely what I told the Italian rental company when my hired car wouldn't start). You probably won't want to watch the whole thing, but the guy's reactions are priceless:

Griff Witte, et al., of the Washington Post: "Compared with its developed-world peers, America has always been a study in contrasts, a paradox of exceptional achievement and jaw-dropping deprivation. Rarely have the disparities been rendered as vividly as in recent weeks and months. Historic breakthroughs in science, medicine and technology coexist intimately -- and uneasily -- alongside monumental failures of infrastructure, public health and equitable access to basic human needs. America can put a rover on Mars, but it can't keep the lights on and water running in the city that birthed the modern space program. It can develop vaccines, in record time, to combat a world-altering illness, but suffers one of the developed world's highest death rates due to lack of prevention and care. It spins out endless entertainment to keep millions preoccupied during lockdown -- and keep tech shares riding high on Wall Street -- but leaves kids disconnected from the access they need to do their schoolwork."

By R. Bolling. If you find the dialog balloons hard to read, you can click on the picture to increase the size. Thanks to PD Pepe for sending the cartoon my way.

Rosa Flores, et al., of CNN: "Children detained in an overcrowded government-run tent facility at the US-Mexico border say they haven't been able to shower for days or contact their parents, according to lawyers who interviewed them this week. Lawyers from the National Center for Youth Law spoke with about a dozen children in Donna, Texas, this week.... The children were terrified, crying and worried about not being able to speak with family members..., said [the director of the National Center for Youth Law].... The allegations ... come as concerns mount over the growing number of children in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. Earlier this week, CNN reported that there were more than 3,700 unaccompanied migrant children in the agency's custody -- a record high. On Saturday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced he is directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support efforts for 90 days to shelter unaccompanied minors who have crossed the border." ~~~

~~~ Update. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is deploying the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Mexico border to help care for thousands of unaccompanied migrant teens and children who are arriving in overwhelming numbers and being packed into detention cells and tent shelters, the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday evening. The deployment marks another escalation in the administration's response to the growing crisis at the border. It is part of what DHS said would be a 90-day government-wide effort at the border, where an unprecedented number of minors are arriving without their parents each day and must be sheltered and cared for until they can be placed with a vetted sponsor, usually a parent or relative already living in the United States. About 8,500 teens and children are living in shelters run by Health and Human Services, and unaccompanied minors are arriving more quickly than HHS officials can place children with sponsors."

David Kirkpatrick & Allen Feuer of the New York Times: An examination of the histories of Proud Boys Joseph Biggs & Ethan Nordean "shows that local and federal law enforcement agencies passed up several opportunities to take action against them and their fellow Proud Boys long before they breached the Capitol.... Local police officers have appeared at times to side with the Proud Boys, especially when they have squared off against leftists openly critical of law enforcement.... The Proud Boys have made little effort to hide violent intentions.... Yet the Proud Boys' belligerence fit the definition of terrorism, other officials said: unlawful violence and intimidation for political aims. Members raised money to travel across state lines to dozens of rallies with the intent of street fighting, at least once explicitly targeting a Muslim community in upstate New York for harassment -- activities that could have justified the scrutiny of federal law enforcement." The details are disturbing. When these guys each attacked someone else, the victim was arrested, but the Proud Boys weren't. When police contacted Proud Boys in anticipation of expected violence, it was to help them out, not to warn them against attacking adversaries.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A U.S. Army reservist who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was widely known as a white supremacist and regularly discussed his hatred of Jews while working at a New Jersey-based naval facility, according to new evidence revealed by federal prosecutors late Friday. The reservist, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who worked as a security contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle and held a secret-level security clearance, was arrested and charged Jan. 15 for allegedly breaching the Capitol. At the time, prosecutors described him as an 'avowed white supremacist' and Nazi sympathizer, a determination based in part on evidence provided by a confidential source to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and a YouTube channel in which Hale-Cusanelli expressed those views." MB: Or, as Sen. Ron Johnson would put it, a patriot "that loved this country." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Katie Lobosco & Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "Some Americans are already seeing the latest round of stimulus payments hit their bank accounts, as the first batch of funds is rolled out.... The White House on Thursday had announced that payments would go out as soon as this weekend for those who have their direct deposit information on hand at Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. Processing of the first batch of stimulus payments began on Friday and more will roll out in the 'coming weeks,' an official with the Treasury Department told reporters on a Friday call. By Saturday morning, several people had posted on social media about seeing their stimulus payments pending in their bank accounts." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Americans waiting to get their stimulus checks were growing increasingly frustrated Saturday after discovering some banks won't make checks available to them for days, even if they've already been deposited by the federal government. The official payment date for the 'Economic Impact Payments' is March 17, but millions of dollars in checks had already landed in countless bank accounts by Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported.... Chase, however, issued a statement that it will release the payments beginning March 17, apparently even if the money lands in accounts earlier. Wells Fargo said the same: that it will treat all checks as arriving March 17, whether they arrive earlier or not." MB: It's worth noting that big banks can make millions off use of the money for the days they hold these checks.

Amanda Burke of the Berkshire Eagle: "After Yo-Yo Ma received his second jab of a COVID-19 vaccine at Berkshire Community College Saturday, he transformed his 15-minute observation period into a concert for the newly inoculated. The world-famous cellist and part-time Berkshires resident completed his vaccination course at the field house clinic, and he 'wanted to give something back,' Richard Hall of the Berkshire COVID-19 Vaccine Collaborative told The Eagle. Yo-Yo Ma took a seat along the wall of the observation area, masked and socially distanced away from the others. He went on to pass 15 minutes in observation playing cello for an applauding audience, in what Hall called a 'very special' concert that capped the day's vaccination event." ~~~

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

A Message from the Former Guy. I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn't President, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful 'shot' for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers! -- Donald Trump, in a racist statement released Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Conservative Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post has the correct response. Thanks to Ken. W. for the link. Also too, in today's Comments, Akhilleus gets it so right. Marie: I used to compare Trump to Nero's fiddling while Rome burned, but as Akhilleus's analogy makes clear, Trump is way worse than Nero. (Also linked yesterday.)

S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "A dog rescue charity with links to Lara Trump has spent as much as $1.9 million at ... Donald Trump's properties over the last seven years and will drop an additional quarter-million at his Mar-a-Lago country club this weekend. According to a permit filed with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, Big Dog Ranch Rescue estimates it will spend $225,000 at the club where Donald Trump has taken up full-time residence since leaving the White House. All the profit from that spending winds up in his pocket. Internal Revenue Service filings show that the group has spent as much as $1,883,160 on fundraising costs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump's golf course 18 miles north in Jupiter starting in 2014. Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, started being listed as a chairwoman for charity events in 2018, and the group's president, Lauren Simmons, visited the White House in 2019 for the signing of a bill addressing animal cruelty." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ See also Akhilleus' comment below. I'll have Akhilleus know, however, that according to a report I didn't read & won't link, Donald made a "surprise appearance" at Lara's Mar-a-Lardo doggie scamapalooza.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. How Fox "News" Could Kill You. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Republican men are a central part of coronavirus vaccine resistance," and Republican men are the group most likely to get their "news" from Fox "News," which often features anti-vaxxers & other vaccine skeptics. For instance, right after Fox aired President Biden's address to the nation Thursday in Tucker Carlson's time slot (the TuckerCam incident!), Carlson interviewed vaccine skeptic Alex Berenson. The message: "the oppressive government was mandating that you do this scary thing [-- get vaccinated --], because this is what leftist government does." Coincidence or cause-and-effect??? ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While it's acceptable, if stupid, to oppose the stimulus because the deficit! or lazy, mooching poor people! But it's unacceptable to oppose life-saving healthcare initiatives because Joe Biden. Fox "News" doesn't know the difference. BTW, even if the so-called "fairness doctrine" (-- which required broadcast networks to air opposing views --) were re-imposed, I don't think it would apply to Fox "News," which is a cable, not a broadcast, network. The basis for the fairness doctrine was the broadcast networks were granted rights to use "public" airwaves; cable networks use privately-owned cables to air their content. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I would like to ask Tucker Carlson who he thinks is the better citizen, he or Yo Yo Ma.

Beyond the Beltway

Kentucky. Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The boyfriend of Breonna Taylor on Friday filed a federal lawsuit against the Louisville government and the police officers involved in the botched raid in which his girlfriend was killed, alleging law enforcement made false claims to get a warrant to search Taylor's apartment and violated his constitutional rights. The 38-page lawsuit by Kenneth Walker casts Taylor's death as preventable and alleges broad, problematic practices of the Louisville Metro Police Department: nighttime raids and a failure by officers to clearly identify themselves."

New York. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: The popularity Gov. Andrew Cuomo garnered from his daily coronavirus briefings represented "the apex of an Icarus-like arc for a leader convinced of his own hype and indestructibility. Less than a year later, Mr. Cuomo's governorship is imperiled, as he faces allegations of groping, sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior made by six women; an independent investigation into those accusations; an impeachment inquiry by state legislators; a federal investigation into his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic; and collapsing support from leaders in his own party.... [In] his self-regard, his disdain for fellow Democrats [and] his imperious demeanor, Mr. Cuomo alienated allies and enemies alike on his way up in politics, and [he] now finds himself sliding from hero-level worship to pariah-like status with the kind of astonishing speed that only the friendless suffer." ~~~

~~~ Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "A former Albany reporter on Friday became the seventh woman to accuse Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment, adding to a growing pile of allegations against the embattled New York governor. Jessica Bakeman, who worked as a statehouse reporter, detailed a number of instances in New York Magazine in which she says Cuomo harassed her. Bakeman prefaced her accounts by saying that Cuomo had put his hands 'on my arms, my shoulders, the small of my back, my waist' throughout her time as a reporter in the capital.... She [said] that she did not believe Cuomo was interested in her sexually but was asserting his power as governor." MB: Read the accounts Axelrod repeats & you're apt to agree with Bakeman's assessment. (Also linked yesterday.)

West Virginia. Ken Ward of the Mountain State Spotlight, published by ProPublica: "The federal government is seeking to collect nearly $3.2 million in fines from coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after the firms violated the terms of a major water pollution settlement, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys said in their filing that Southern Coal Corp. and two related companies failed to renew required water pollution permits, leading to unauthorized discharges at three mining sites in Tennessee and one in Alabama. Those permits are required so regulators can limit the runoff of everything from mud to toxic metals from coal operations. The companies' actions triggered fines under the terms of a 2016 settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency.... Justice, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the richest person in the state, owns a vast empire of businesses, including coal mines, resort hotels and agricultural interests, many of them regulated by the state agencies that report to him. While Justice's adult children have day-to-day control over the family's business operations, the governor has continued to guide the empire." Justice was a Democrat. In 2017, he became a Republican. MB: I'm sure that has nothing to do with how mean the EPA is under Democratic presidents. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

U.K. Laura Smith-Spark, et al., of CNN: "A London Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with the kidnap and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, whose disappearance on a walk home has reignited a national debate in Britain on women's safety and sexual assault. Wayne Couzens, 48, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday for his first hearing. He has been remanded in custody and will next appear in court at the Old Bailey in London on March 16, according to Met Police. Everard disappeared on March 3 while walking in Clapham, south London, prompting an extensive police search in the area." ~~~

~~~ David Milliken & Natalie Thomas of Reuters: "Police in London clashed with mourners and protesters on Saturday after more than a thousand people gathered to mark the killing of a 33-year-old woman, hours after the police officer charged with her murder appeared in court.... Early on Saturday an impromptu memorial with flowers and candles sprang up around the bandstand on Clapham Common in southwest London, near where Everard was last seen alive. Kate, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, was among those who paid their respects.... By late Saturday around a thousand people - mostly women - gathered at the site to pay their respects and protest at the lack of security they felt when out alone. Some chanted 'shame on you' at police who were present. Campaign groups had wanted to organise a formal vigil, but London's Metropolitan Police said people should not gather due to coronavirus restrictions. The head of the force, Cressida Dick, said any vigil 'would be unlawful and would be unsafe'. As tensions mounted, Reuters witnesses saw police drag several women away from the gathering on Clapham Common."

U.K. If you wonder why Harry & Meghan's son is not a prince, it isn't because the royals are racists; it's because the current palace rules, adopted in 1917, limit the number of princes & princesses. Queen Elizabeth can change the rules, and in fact she did, to grant princely titles to Prince William's younger children, who didn't qualify under George V's 1917 rules.

The Commentariat -- March 13, 2021

Late Morning Update:

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

I hope everyone remembers when they're getting the COVID-19 (often referred to as the China Virus) Vaccine, that if I wasn't President, you wouldn't be getting that beautiful 'shot' for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn't be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers! -- Donald Trump, in a racist statement released Wednesday ~~~

~~~ Conservative Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post has the correct response. Thanks to Ken. W. for the link. Also too, in today's Comments, Akhilleus gets it so right. Marie: I used to compare Trump to Nero's fiddling while Rome burned, but as Akhilleus's analogy makes clear, Trump is way worse than Nero.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A U.S. Army reservist who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was widely known as a white supremacist and regularly discussed his hatred of Jews while working at a New Jersey-based naval facility, according to new evidence revealed by federal prosecutors late Friday. The reservist, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who worked as a security contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle and held a secret-level security clearance, was arrested and charged Jan. 15 for allegedly breaching the Capitol. At the time, prosecutors described him as an 'avowed white supremacist' and Nazi sympathizer, a determination based in part on evidence provided by a confidential source to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and a YouTube channel in which Hale-Cusanelli expressed those views." MB: Or, as Sen. Ron Johnson would put it, a patriot "that loved this country."

S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "A dog rescue charity with links to Lara Trump has spent as much as $1.9 million at ... Donald Trump's properties over the last seven years and will drop an additional quarter-million at his Mar-a-Lago country club this weekend. According to a permit filed with the town of Palm Beach, Florida, Big Dog Ranch Rescue estimates it will spend $225,000 at the club where Donald Trump has taken up full-time residence since leaving the White House. All the profit from that spending winds up in his pocket. Internal Revenue Service filings show that the group has spent as much as $1,883,160 on fundraising costs at Mar-a-Lago and Trump's golf course 18 miles north in Jupiter starting in 2014. Lara Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, started being listed as a chairwoman for charity events in 2018, and the group's president, Lauren Simmons, visited the White House in 2019 for the signing of a bill addressing animal cruelty."

New York. Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "A former Albany reporter on Friday became the seventh woman to accuse Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment, adding to a growing pile of allegations against the embattled New York governor. Jessica Bakeman, who worked as a statehouse reporter, detailed a number of instances in New York Magazine in which she says Cuomo harassed her. Bakeman prefaced her accounts by saying that Cuomo had put his hands 'on my arms, my shoulders, the small of my back, my waist' throughout her time as a reporter in the capital.... She [said] that she did not believe Cuomo was interested in her sexually but was asserting his power as governor." MB: Read the accounts Axelrod repeats & you're apt to agree with Bakeman's assessment.

West Virginia. Ken Ward of the Mountain State Spotlight, published by ProPublica: "The federal government is seeking to collect nearly $3.2 million in fines from coal companies owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after the firms violated the terms of a major water pollution settlement, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys said in their filing that Southern Coal Corp. and two related companies failed to renew required water pollution permits, leading to unauthorized discharges at three mining sites in Tennessee and one in Alabama. Those permits are required so regulators can limit the runoff of everything from mud to toxic metals from coal operations. The companies' actions triggered fines under the terms of a 2016 settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency.... Justice, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the richest person in the state, owns a vast empire of businesses, including coal mines, resort hotels and agricultural interests, many of them regulated by the state agencies that report to him. While Justice's adult children have day-to-day control over the family's business operations, the governor has continued to guide the empire." Justice was a Democrat. In 2017, he became a Republican. MB: I'm sure that has nothing to do with how mean the EPA is under Democratic presidents.

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Chloee Weiner & Brandon Carter of NPR: "President Biden and Vice President Harris spoke at the White House Rose Garden Friday afternoon in a ceremony celebrating the passage of the administration's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package earlier this week. The joint event with congressional Democratic leaders marks the start of a concerted push by the White House to promote the American Rescue Plan around the country.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attended, alongside a number of Democratic House and Senate committee chairs."

Morgan Chalfant & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The White House is mounting an all-out push to sell President Biden's newly signed coronavirus relief bill to the public, starting with trips to multiple states in the coming week.... Administration officials say Democrats fell short during the Obama era of selling the 2009 economic recovery bill.... The trips across the country -- many of them targeting swing states -- are the center point of the White House's campaign to highlight the tangible deliverables of the American Rescue Plan Act, including the $1,400 direct payments going to the majority of Americans and funding for vaccine distribution and school reopenings.

Peter Alexander: Biden Should Give Trump More Credit. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "NBC News White House correspondent Peter Alexander took the initiative to compose a statement that President Joe Biden could use in order to give ... Donald Trump some credit for the success of the vaccination program that's currently underway. Several news outlets, including ABC News and The New York Times, criticized President Biden's address to the nation on the anniversary of the Covid pandemic shutdown for failing to credit Trump. At Friday's White House daily briefing, Alexander asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki about that aspect of the speech, and went a step further by reading his own version of what Biden could have said to credit Trump." MB: Yeesh!

Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "The United States, India, Japan and Australia pledged Friday to jointly manufacture and distribute up to 1 billion doses of coronavirus vaccine before the end of next year, as the Biden administration comes under increased pressure to provide more vaccine help to poorer nations. The vaccine would be supplied to Southeast Asian nations and potentially elsewhere as act of charity that represents a workaround for President Biden, who has said he cannot yet divert any U.S. supply despite a projected surplus, given that many Americans are still urgently awaiting their immunizations."

Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The coronavirus has been running rampant for months through Immigration and Customs Enforcement's network of jails holding civil immigration detainees fighting deportation -- but the agency has no vaccination program and, unlike the Bureau of Prisons, is relying on state and local health departments to procure vaccine doses. Nobody can say how many detainees have been vaccinated. The Biden administration says it wants to make every adult in the United States eligible for vaccination by May -- and immigration agents have said they would not interfere with efforts to vaccinate undocumented immigrants outside of detention. But lawyers for immigrants who are detained say there is no urgency to vaccinate those in federal custody against a deadly pathogen that can spread fast in confined spaces."

California. Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd., When the Boss Is a Careless Tyrant. Faiz Siddiqui of the Washington Post: "Tesla's Bay Area production plant recorded hundreds of covid-19 cases following CEO Elon Musk's defiant reopening of the plant in May, according to county-level data obtained by a legal transparency website.... The data, covering the months between May and December, showed there were around 450 total reported cases. Roughly 10,000 people work at the plant.... Musk fought vigorously against the county-mandated shutdown, arguing Tesla should be allowed to continue producing cars despite the stay-at-home orders. In late April, he railed against the government mandates, hurling expletives during an earnings call and calling them 'fascist.' By May 11, he said Tesla was reopening, ultimately drawing support from anti-shutdown crowds and ... Donald Trump."

Texas. Wes Wilson of KXAN Austin: "A Texas District Court judge refused to grant the State of Texas an emergency, temporary injunction on Friday, meaning the mask mandate from Austin and Travis County will stay in place for at least two more weeks.... Judge Lora Livingston said she wanted more time for each side to make their case. She set another hearing for March 26. But this means Austin and Travis County will be able to enforce its mask mandate through spring break, which starts this weekend."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "U.S. prosecutors on Friday sketched out the gargantuan scope of the investigation in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, asking for courts to delay most cases by at least two months after being pressed by a handful of defendants and some judges to speed up trials and plea offers. 'The investigation and prosecution of the Capitol Attack will likely be one of the largest in American history, both in terms of the number of defendants prosecuted and the nature and volume of the evidence,' the U.S. attorney's office in D.C. wrote in morning court filings in seeking a delay before turning over evidence to defendants.... Charges have been brought against 312 people and are expected against at least 100 more, according to court officials and prosecutors." NPR's story is here.

Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post: "A New York man arrested Friday for assaulting a D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol confessed to the FBI that he buried the officer's badge in his backyard after he returned home. Thomas Sibick was arrested Friday in Buffalo, New York, according to court records. Sibick faces five charges, including obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, assaulting or impeding officers, and taking a thing of value by force or intimidation. Sibick was caught on video assaulting MPD Officer Mike Fanone, who was tasered and assaulted by rioters, who dragged him into the mob as they tried to get into the Capitol.... Fanone's body camera footage shows his police radio and badge being ripped from his vest by Sibick, according to the affidavit. After the riot, Sibick posted images of himself holding a U.S. Capitol Police shield and attempting to enter the building with the mob." MB: Sibick is one of the people Sen. RonAnon describes as among those who "truly respect law enforcement." ~~~

... mainly because I knew that even though those thousands of people that were marching the Capitol were trying to pressure people like me to vote the way they wanted me to vote, I knew those were people that loved this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break a law, and so I wasn't concerned.... Now had the tables been turned..., and President Trump won the election and those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been a little concerned. -- Sen. RonAnon Johnson (R-Wis.) in a radio interview Friday ~~~

~~~ Stupidest Senator: I'm Afraid of Peaceful Black Protesters, Not Violent White Terrorists. Dartunorro Clark of NBC News (republished in Yahoo! News): “Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., described the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 as people who 'truly respect law enforcement' and 'loved this country' in a radio interview Friday and expressed worry if the mob had been Black Lives Matter protesters or Antifa members. Johnson said he 'never felt threatened' as thousands of rioters broke through barricades, forcing Congress to evacuate parts of the building and abruptly pause a ceremonial event affirming that President-elect Joe Biden won the November election."

Jill Filipovic in a Washington Post op-ed: "Senate Republicans are suddenly social media critics, particularly fussy about what they consider out of bounds for the raucous public square of Twitter. They sank Neera Tanden, President Biden's first choice to run the Office of Management and Budget, over what they deemed to be mean tweets.... Republicans are recycling the mean-tweets attack on Biden nominees whose tweets aren't even mean -- they're just harsh truths.... For example, Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have criticized Vanita Gupta, Biden's nominee for associate attorney general, for tweeting her reaction to the 2020 GOP convention: 'Don't know if I can take three more nights of racism, xenophobia, and outrageous lies.' But her tweet was right on the merits, and the language appropriate.... Let's face it: Tweets aren't the issue. This is about the mirror being held up to Republican failures." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Defense Department's internal watchdog has concluded a long-delayed investigation into Michael Flynn, defense officials said Friday, sending its findings to the Army in a case that could bring tens of thousands of dollars in financial penalties for ... Donald Trump's first national security adviser. The investigation focuses on Flynn's acceptance of money from Russian and Turkish interests before joining the Trump administration, a potential violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause. With few exceptions, U.S. officials, including retired service members like Flynn, are prohibited from accepting money or gifts from foreign governments.... The inspector general's investigation, opened in April 2017, was put on hold for more than three years amid a broader scandal that included a criminal investigation of Flynn by the Justice Department...."

Remembering the Former Guy. How Not to Show Your Respects. Cnaan Liphshiz of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: "Donald Trump showed off photos of naked women posing with him on a yacht to mourners at the shiva for an associate's mother, The New Yorker reported. Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter-in-law of the Trump organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, recalled the incident in a profile of Cyrus Vance Jr., the Manhattan prosecutor who is considering charging the former president and real estate mogul on tax, insurance and banking fraud charges. The incident took place before her 2004 wedding to Barry Weisselberg. Trump arrived at the shiva at a modest Long Island home and declared,'This is where my C.F.O. lives? It's embarrassing!' He then showed the photos of the women. 'After that, he starts hitting on me,' Jennifer Weisselberg said of Trump, and complained that her future father-in-law 'didn't stand up for me.'"

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. TuckerCam! Phil Owen of the the Wrap: "President Joe Biden gave a speech during Tucker Carlson's time slot on Thursday night, and Fox News tried something new, and strange: having a live feed of Tucker's face throughout, so viewers could enjoy watching him stare blankly into the camera while listening to the president. The 'Live Tucker Reaction' inlay may have been improvised on the fly -- the box initially appeared a couple minutes into the speech, and then disappeared after about 30 seconds. A couple minutes after that it came back, and stayed up for seven minutes before disappearing again. It came and went two more times before the speech ended.... Right after Biden said that it's wrong to be racist against Asian Americans, we got one of Tucker's most obvious reactions of the speech: he raised his eyebrows at that moment.... A reminder that Fox News argued in court last year that Tucker Carlson should not to be treated like a credible news person." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In the still photos I've seen, Tucker was scowling, which I think is his idea of looking pensive. I feel sort of jealous of Joe Biden; I wish I had a TuckerCam following me around & scowling at my every action & word. Maybe my opthalmologist can rig something up in a corner of my glasses.

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Shaquille Brewster & Janelle Griffith of NBC News: "The city of Minneapolis has reached a $27 million settlement with George Floyd's family just weeks before the trial is scheduled to begin for the former officer charged with murder in his death. The City Council unanimously approved the settlement Friday after adding the matter to its agenda for a closed session[.] Floyd's family filed a federal lawsuit in July against the city and the four officers involved in the arrest that led to his death. The lawsuit took issue with neck restraints and police policies and training, among other things." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times' story is here.

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "Facing a deluge of calls to resign from New York's U.S. senators and the majority of its House Democrats, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made clear on Friday he had no intention of quitting, deriding the mounting pressure from his own party as 'cancel culture' and insisting he would not bow to it." A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) late Friday called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign amid growing sexual harassment allegations against him. In a joint statement, the two senators, who had come under pressure themselves to call on Cuomo to resign after other state officials and House lawmakers from New York had done so, said it would be difficult for him to continue to govern given the controversies." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Brian M. Rosenthal & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "In interviews over the past week, more than 35 people who have worked in [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo's executive chamber described the office as deeply chaotic, unprofessional and toxic, especially for young women. It is a workplace, the current and former employees said, where tasks are assigned not based on job titles, but on who is liked by Mr. Cuomo and his top aides. Those interviewed described an environment where the senior executive staff regularly deride junior workers, test their dedication to the governor and make them compete to earn his affection and avoid his wrath.... Many said they believed that Mr. Cuomo and other officials seemed to focus on how employees looked and how they dressed. Twelve young women said they felt pressured to wear makeup, dresses and heels, because, it was rumored, that was what the governor liked.... Mr. Cuomo's office denied many of the issues raised by the employees...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Get Out! Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "A raft of powerful Democratic members of New York's congressional delegation, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jerrold Nadler, called on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to resign on Friday, saying Mr. Cuomo had lost the capacity to govern amid a series of multiplying scandals. In a cascade of separate and joint statements, at least 12 House members said Mr. Cuomo should leave office following a string of sexual harassment allegations and controversy over his administration's handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. 'Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York,' said Mr. Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the highest-ranking members of Congress. 'Governor Cuomo must resign.'" A Politico story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Zoe Richards of TPM: "Aides to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called former employees to glean information about potential conversations they had with Lindsey Boylan a former aide who first accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in December, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. 'I felt intimidated, and I felt bewildered,' Ana Liss, a former aide to the governor who received one of the calls in December, told WSJ. The governor's office made calls to Liss and at least five other former employees either to find out if they had heard from Boylan or to gather information about her in conversations that some said they saw as attempts to intimidate them, WSJ said.... One said a caller encouraged them to give reporters any information that would discredit the former aide, who worked for the Cuomo administration between 2015 and 2018 and alleged in tweets that he 'sexually harassed me for years,' and that 'many saw it, and watched.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Russia. Reuters: "Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been moved from a jail where he had been held in quarantine for the past several weeks, and the TASS news agency said he was now at the penal colony where he is meant to serve out a two-and-a-half year sentence. One of Navalny's lawyers confirmed that Navalny was no longer being held at the Kolchugino jail in the Vladimir region northeast of Moscow, but said the legal team had not been told where he had been taken." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- March 12, 2021

Afternoon Update:

New York. Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) late Friday called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign amid growing sexual harassment allegations against him. In a joint statement, the two senators, who had come under pressure themselves to call on Cuomo to resign after other state officials and House lawmakers from New York had done so, said it would be difficult for him to continue to govern given the controversies."

President Biden & Vice President Harris will speak at 2:30 pm ET at a White House ceremony celebrating passage of the American Rescue Plan.

Jill Filipovic in a Washington Post op-ed: "Senate Republicans are suddenly social media critics, particularly fussy about what they consider out of bounds for the raucous public square of Twitter. They sank Neera Tanden, President Biden's first choice to run the Office of Management and Budget, over what they deemed to be mean tweets.... Republicans are recycling the mean-tweets attack on Biden nominees whose tweets aren't even mean -- they're just harsh truths.... For example, Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have criticized Vanita Gupta, Biden's nominee for associate attorney general, for tweeting her reaction to the 2020 GOP convention: 'Don't know if I can take three more nights of racism, xenophobia, and outrageous lies.' But her tweet was right on the merits, and the language appropriate.... Let's face it: Tweets aren't the issue. This is about the mirror being held up to Republican failures."

Minnesota. Shaquille Brewster & Janelle Griffith of NBC News: "The city of Minneapolis has reached a $27 million settlement with George Floyd's family just weeks before the trial is scheduled to begin for the former officer charged with murder in his death. The City Council unanimously approved the settlement Friday after adding the matter to its agenda for a closed session[.] Floyd's family filed a federal lawsuit in July against the city and the four officers involved in the arrest that led to his death. The lawsuit took issue with neck restraints and police policies and training, among other things."

New York. Brian M. Rosenthal & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "In interviews over the past week, more than 35 people who have worked in [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo's executive chamber described the office as deeply chaotic, unprofessional and toxic, especially for young women. It is a workplace, the current and former employees said, where tasks are assigned not based on job titles, but on who is liked by Mr. Cuomo and his top aides. Those interviewed described an environment where the senior executive staff regularly deride junior workers, test their dedication to the governor and make them compete to earn his affection and avoid his wrath.... Many said they believed that Mr. Cuomo and other officials seemed to focus on how employees looked and how they dressed. Twelve young women said they felt pressured to wear makeup, dresses and heels, because, it was rumored, that was what the governor liked.... Mr. Cuomo's office denied many of the issues raised by the employees...." ~~~

~~~ Get Out! Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "A raft of powerful Democratic members of New York's congressional delegation, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jerrold Nadler, called on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to resign on Friday, saying Mr. Cuomo had lost the capacity to govern amid a series of multiplying scandals. In a cascade of separate and joint statements, at least 12 House members said Mr. Cuomo should leave office following a string of sexual harassment allegations and controversy over his administration's handling of nursing homes during the pandemic. 'Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York,' said Mr. Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the highest-ranking members of Congress. 'Governor Cuomo must resign.'" A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Zoe Richards of TPM: "Aides to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called former employees to glean information about potential conversations they had with Lindsey Boylan a former aide who first accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in December, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. 'I felt intimidated, and I felt bewildered,' Ana Liss, a former aide to the governor who received one of the calls in December, told WSJ. The governor's office made calls to Liss and at least five other former employees either to find out if they had heard from Boylan or to gather information about her in conversations that some said they saw as attempts to intimidate them, WSJ said.... One said a caller encouraged them to give reporters any information that would discredit the former aide, who worked for the Cuomo administration between 2015 and 2018 and alleged in tweets that he 'sexually harassed me for years,' and that 'many saw it, and watched.'"

Russia. Reuters: "Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been moved from a jail where he had been held in quarantine for the past several weeks, and the TASS news agency said he was now at the penal colony where he is meant to serve out a two-and-a-half year sentence. One of Navalny's lawyers confirmed that Navalny was no longer being held at the Kolchugino jail in the Vladimir region northeast of Moscow, but said the legal team had not been told where he had been taken."

~~~~~~~~~~

Brett Samuels & Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Biden on Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of pandemic restrictions, urging Americans to come together, do their part and remain vigilant against the coronavirus in order to return to a semblance of normalcy by summer. In his first primetime address as president, Biden made an emotional appeal to Americans who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 and those grappling with economic and personal hardships after a year of isolation. The president balanced his look back at the grim year by offering a sense of optimism. He outlined steps his administration is taking to ramp up vaccine distribution, including a call for states to make all adults eligible to receive a shot by May 1." ~~~

     ~~~ Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Thursday directed states to ensure that all adults are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine by May 1, and he declared a goal of allowing small celebrations on July 4, setting up significant landmarks in the effort to return to normalcy after the devastating pandemic. Speaking from the East Room of the White House in his first prime-time address, Biden sought to hit hopeful notes as he ticked through a series of new actions he intends to take to combat the virus in the spring and summer, including creating a new 'find a vaccination' website and allowing dentists, veterinarians and other health professionals to administer doses." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a full transcript of President Biden's remarks. Not sure if this is as-delivered or as-prepared.

Kate Sullivan of CNN: "President Joe Biden signed his sweeping $1.9 trillion Covid-19 economic relief package into law on Thursday afternoon.... Biden had originally been expected to sign the bill on Friday. White House chief of staff Ron Klain said the enrolled bill arrived at the White House on Wednesday night, 'so @POTUS is signing it today -- we want to move as fast as possible.' Klain added: 'We will hold our celebration of the signing on Friday, as planned, with Congressional leaders!'" ~~~

Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "The first 50 days of Biden's presidency have offered examples of his leadership style -- and how it differs so dramatically from that of... Donald Trump. Thursday's speech from the White House provided another revealing glimpse. Instead of a president saying, 'I alone can fix it,' Biden said he can only succeed with the help of others.... Mixing empathy with hard realities, he provided a blueprint for returning the country to some sense of normalcy by summer, while appealing to all Americans to help him make it happen."

Alyssa Fowers, et al., of the Washington Post: "In contrast with the emergency bills passed last year, the Democratic [Covid-19 stimulus] bill focuses the vast majority of aid on households, states and cities, and vaccine distribution. There is little money directed this time toward businesses.... Over half the money -- 54 percent -- in the bill goes toward households. In addition to the popular $1,400 checks, there is also funding for extra unemployment insurance through Labor Day, expanded tax credits, and various programs to make rent, food and health insurance more affordable.... Economists say low- and moderate-income Americans will benefit the most from this aid, especially individuals earning $75,000 or less and couples earning $150,000 or less. The number of Americans living in poverty is predicted to drop in 2021 by as much as a third because of this legislation." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Friday are here.

Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "States with Democratic governors had the highest incidence and death rates from Covid-19 in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, but states with Republican governors surpassed those rates as the crisis dragged on, a study released Tuesday found.... The researchers theorized that one reason for the change is that Democrats were in charge of states where people who had the virus first arrived in the country -- but Republicans were less stringent about safeguards, which could have contributed to their states' ultimately higher incidence and death rates."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: Joe "Biden telegraphed his F.D.R.-size ambition throughout [2020]. And the first major bill of his administration is in fact an F.D.R-size piece of legislation.... I would even say that the American Rescue Plan compares favorably with the signature legislation of F.D.R.'s first 100 days, in that its $1.9 trillion price tag dwarfs the mere tens of billions (in inflation-adjusted dollars) spent by Congress during the earliest period of the New Deal.... Indeed, the story of this bill may be the story of how Biden has repudiated the austerity politics of much of the last decade, as well as the anti-assistance paradigm he himself helped forge when, as a senator, he warned in 1988 of 'welfare mothers driving luxury cars' and voted, in 1996, to make so-called welfare reform a reality."

"Joe Biden Is a Transformational President." David Brooks, Facebook Salesman & Occasional New York Times Columnist: "This has been one of the most quietly consequential weeks in recent American politics. The Covid-19 relief law that was just enacted is one of the most important pieces of legislation of our lifetimes. As Eric Levitz writes in New York magazine, the poorest fifth of households will see their income rise by 20 percent; a family of four with one working and one unemployed parent will receive $12,460 in benefits. Child poverty will be cut in half.... There's a billion for national service programs. Black farmers will receive over $4 billion in what looks like a step toward reparations. There's a huge expansion of health insurance subsidies. Many of these changes, like the child tax credit, may well become permanent.... It's not just that government is heading in a new direction, it's that the whole paradigm of the role of government in American life is shifting. Biden is not causing these tectonic plates to shift, but he is riding them.... Income inequality, widespread child poverty and economic precarity are the problems of our time. It's worth taking a risk to tackle all this."

** The Former Guy. Trump's Defense Secretary Says Trump Instigated Insurrection. Seb Walker of Vice: "... Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller has told VICE on Showtime that he believes the speech made by ... Donald Trump on the morning of January 6 was responsible for causing the mob to violently attack the Capitol later that day. Trump installed Miller after firing his predecessor Mark Esper in the days after the election. Speaking exclusively to VICE on Showtime, Miller said, 'Would anybody have marched on the Capitol, and tried to overrun the Capitol, without the president's speech? I think it's pretty much definitive that wouldn't have happened.'... 'It seems cause-and-effect,' Miller said, referring to Trump's speech and the violent riot that left five people dead. 'The question is, did he know he was enraging people to do that? I don't know.' As the acting defense secretary that day, Miller was ultimately in charge of the military's response. His comments are significant in that they tie directly to the incitement of insurrection charge that former President Trump was acquitted of at his second impeachment trial in February.... The response is currently under intense scrutiny, with Senate committees examining the timeline of decisions taken by Trump administration officials." ~~~

~~~ Marie: One thing I did not notice because the CNN report I linked didn't mention it and because I couldn't bring myself to listen to Six Minutes of Donald Trump, is that in his late December phone call to urge Georgia investigator Frances Watson, Trump further implicated himself in the January 6 insurrection. As this NPR report by Stephen Fowler details, "Trump also asked whether the audit would run through Christmas, noting the upcoming Electoral College tally in Congress on Jan. 6 as a 'very important date.'"

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department and FBI are gathering evidence to try to build a large conspiracy indictment against members of the Oath Keepers for their roles in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to people familiar with the matter, but the group's sometimes fractious and fantasy-laden internal workings may complicate efforts to bring such a case.... The Oath Keepers is the most high-profile self-styled militia group in the country. While members use the jargon and trappings of a paramilitary organization, in daily practice the group is often more akin to a collection of local chapters with a similar, conspiracy-theory-fueled ideology about what they view as the inevitable collapse of the U.S. government.... The Oath Keepers group is a major target of the sprawling FBI investigation into the riot at the U.S. Capitol, along with another militant group, the Proud Boys, according to the people familiar with the matter.... Twelve alleged Oath Keepers members or associates have already been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 riot. In court documents, the group's founder, Stewart Rhodes, is usually referred to not by name but as 'Person One.' The people familiar with the case said agents are working to see if a conspiracy case can be made against Rhodes and other senior members of the group."

Chutzpah! Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asked congressional appropriators for more money Thursday to support his still-unreleased strategic plan for the nation's mail agency and tried to reset expectations for slower but more consistent service. Testifying before the House Appropriations subcommittee on financial service, DeJoy said the U.S. Postal Service needs to 'recast that expectation of what it is that we're able to do' to stem financial losses." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: DeJoy is accustomed to rolling the feds, so it's no surprise he has the audacity to tell Congress he needs more money to do a lousier job.

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The House approved a pair of bills on Thursday aimed at expanding and strengthening background checks for gun buyers, as Democrats pushed past Republican opposition to advance major gun safety measures after decades of congressional inaction. In two votes that fell largely along party lines, the House passed legislation that would require background checks for all gun buyers, and extend the time the F.B.I. has to vet those flagged by the national instant check system. Despite being widely popular with voters, the measures face what is expected to be insurmountable opposition in the Senate, where Republicans have resisted imposing any limits on guns, including stricter background check requirements. The House voted 227 to 203 to approve the expansion of background checks, and 219 to 210 to give federal law enforcement more time to vet gun buyers."

Dear Americans: Republicans Despise You. Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: "The GOP's national push to enact hundreds of new election restrictions could strain every available method of voting for tens of millions of Americans, potentially amounting to the most sweeping contraction of ballot access in the United States since the end of Reconstruction, when Southern states curtailed the voting rights of formerly enslaved Black men, a Washington Post analysis has found. In 43 states across the country, Republican lawmakers have proposed at least 250 laws that would limit mail, early in-person and Election Day voting with such constraints as stricter ID requirements, limited hours or narrower eligibility to vote absentee, according to data compiled as of Feb. 19 by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. Even more proposals have been introduced since then." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Arizona. "Everybody Shouldn't Be Voting." Eric Bradner & Dianne Gallagher of CNN: "Months after ... Donald Trump and his allies in Congress attempted to overturn Arizona's election results, Republicans in the state's legislature are trying to make it harder for some residents to vote, targeting different elements of the system with almost two dozen separate measures. A handful of the bills -- including two that would impose new restrictions on Arizona's popular vote-by-mail system and one that would limit its narrow voting window -- have gained momentum and could pass.... Rep. John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican who chairs the Government and Elections Committee..., [said,] 'There's a fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans.... Democrats value as many people as possible voting, and they're willing to risk fraud. Republicans are more concerned about fraud, so we don't mind putting security measures in that won't let everybody vote -- but everybody shouldn't be voting.'"

Ezra Klein of the New York Times lays out the main components of two voting rights bills, the For the People Act & the John Lewis Voting Rights Act (both of which I think have passed the House).... Neither is a budget bill, and so -- unlike the American Rescue Plan -- neither can use budget reconciliation to pass with 51 votes.... I've always been partial to the proposal of former Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, who would have ratcheted the votes required to end the filibuster down every few days: It would start at 60, then fall, after a few days of debate, to 57, and then, after a few more, to 54, and finally, after eight days of deliberation, to 51. I'd pair it with reforms to guarantee that senators of all parties could offer amendments on all bills and weaken the majority leader's control of the floor schedule.... It would be obscene to let the Republican Party use the language of minority rights to deprive actual minorities of the right to vote." (Also linked yesterday.)

Amazon Makes It Harder to Buy Bigot Books. Jeffrey Trachtenberg of the Wall Street Journal: "Amazon . com Inc. said it recently removed a three-year-old book about transgender issues from its platforms because it decided not to sell books that frame transgender and other sexual identities as mental illnesses. The company explained its decision in a letter Thursday to Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Mike Lee of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana and Josh Hawley of Missouri, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The senators had written last month to Chief Executive Jeff Bezos requesting an explanation of why 'When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment' was no longer available on Amazon nor on its Kindle and Audible platforms." The article is firewalled, but non-subscribers can read the first several grafs at the link. Funny how GOP senators are so upset about not being able to get hold of copies of their favorite "literature."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Tucker Leans into His Misogyny; Pentagon Hits Back. Oliver Darcy & Barbara Starr of CNN: "In an extraordinary rebuke, the Pentagon and several senior members of the US military called out Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday for a sexist segment in which he mocked women serving in the armed forces. Carlson, who is effectively the face of Fox and hosts the top show on the right-wing channel, ridiculed President Joe Biden Tuesday for saying that the US military had created uniforms to fit women properly, created maternity flight suits for those who are pregnant, and updated requirements for hairstyles. 'So we've got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits,' Carlson snarked. 'Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It's a mockery of the US military.' Carlson's comments have prompted severe backlash from some of the most senior members of the US military who took to Twitter on Wednesday and Thursday to call Carlson out for what they described as harmful and divisive rhetoric. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shared the same 'revulsion' that many military leaders have expressed about the comments Carlson made." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In furtherance of its defense of women serving in the military, the Pentagon even put out a "news report"/press release touting Kirby's response to Carlson. (It's possible these releases are common, but it's the first one I recall seeing and is certainly the first calling out a Fox "News" personality.) Update: See also Akhilleus' commentary below.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Vivian Ho of the Guardian & Agencies: "The Los Angeles police department has been criticised over its handling of the widespread protests that broke out over the summer after the death of George Floyd, with an independent review finding that poor planning led to chaos and mass arrests. The review, commissioned by the city council following nationwide demonstrations last year, was released on Thursday as the trial opens in Minneapolis for Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with killing Floyd on 25 May 2020.... The review, headed by the criminal defense attorney Gerald Chaleff, found that LAPD commanders failed to establish a clear command structure for directing its response to the outbreak of violence, leading to a 'chaos of command' that left officers unsure of who was in charge as events unfolded." The New York Times' report is here.

Minnesota. Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "The judge overseeing the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd reinstated a third-degree murder charge in the case Thursday, paving the way for the trial to proceed as scheduled. The decision was a victory for prosecutors who had sought to reinstate the charge against Derek Chauvin, the White officer filmed with his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during a police investigation last May. He is already charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the Black man's death. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to take up the appeal filed by Eric Nelson, Chauvin's attorney, seeking to overturn a state Court of Appeals ruling that ordered [Judge Peter] Cahill to reconsider a third-degree murder charge in the case. The appellate court issued a final judgment in the case and then sent the issue back to ... Judge ... Cahill, who is overseeing the trial and heard arguments on the issue Thursday morning." (Also linked yesterday.)

** New York. Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, announced on Friday that he would not run for re-election, setting off a wide-open race to lead one of the most important crime-fighting offices in the country and making it highly likely that any potential case against ... Donald J. Trump will be left in a newcomer's hands. Mr. Vance made the long-expected announcement in a memo to his staff early Friday morning, just weeks before the filing deadline for the race. The many candidates clamoring to replace him are, with few exceptions, seeking to fundamentally reshape the office." CNN's story is here. Dear Manhattan Voters: Please choose the person most likely to lock up Donald Trump. -- Your friend & former neighbor, Marie

New York. Jesse McKinley & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "Albany Police Department officials said on Thursday that they had been notified by the New York State Police and the governor's office about an alleged incident at the Executive Mansion involving Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a female aide that may have risen 'to the level of a crime.'... This does not mean, [police spokesperson Steve] Smith said, that the department has opened a criminal investigation, but it has offered its services to the alleged victim, 'as we would do with any other report or incident.'"

~~~ Luis Ferré-Sadurní, et al., of the New York Times"New York State lawmakers on Thursday opened an impeachment inquiry into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the surest sign yet that the governor was seeing his party turn against him amid growing scrutiny of a recent series of sexual harassment accusations. After a three-hour emergency meeting, the State Assembly announced that it would give its judiciary committee broad jurisdiction to investigate allegations of misconduct against Mr. Cuomo, including the sexual harassment claims and his administration's handling of virus-related deaths of nursing home patients. The decision set the stage for what could be the state's first impeachment effort in more than a century." ~~~

~~~ Marina Villeneuve of the AP: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's grip on power appeared increasingly threatened Thursday as a majority of state legislators called for his resignation, Democrats launched an impeachment investigation and police in the state capital said they stood ready to investigate a groping allegation."

Texas. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "An arrest warrant has been issued charging a police officer in Austin, Texas, with murder in the shooting death of a man last year that touched off protests against police violence in the state capital, the authorities said on Wednesday. The Travis County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a warrant had been issued for the officer, Christopher Taylor [in the shooting death of Michael Ramos]...." The story reports the details of the incident, which was complicated. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

U.K. Isabella Kwai of the New York Times: "Prince William on Thursday denied that Britain's royal family was racist, in his first public comments after his brother, Prince Harry, and Harry's wife, Meghan, alleged in a bombshell interview that a family member had raised concerns about their child's skin tone and shared revelations about a rift in the usually tight-lipped institution." MB: A reporter asked William if the family was racist, and he said no. This is one of those dumb reporter questions where there's only one possible answer. (Also linked yesterday.)