The Commentariat -- March 2, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Jaclyn Diaz of NPR: "Without naming [Amazon] specifically, President Biden said in a video posted late Sunday that he supports the organizing drive in Bessemer, Ala. 'Today and over the next few days and weeks, workers in Alabama and all across America are voting on whether to organize a union in their workplace,' Biden said in a video shared on Twitter. 'This is vitally important -- a vitally important choice, as America grapples with the deadly pandemic, the economic crisis and the reckoning on race -- what it reveals is the deep disparities that still exist in our country.'... More than 5,800 warehouse workers at the facility are voting this month whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The mail-in ballot election runs through March 29 and could be the first Amazon warehouse union in the United States. If successful, it would also be a major victory for labor organizing in the South, a region difficult for union success."

Devlin Barrett & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said Tuesday that his agents are pursuing roughly 2,000 domestic terrorism cases -- a huge spike as the FBI tries to show it is taking the threat of such attacks seriously in the wake of January-s pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol.... Wray also defended the bureau's handling of intelligence in advance of the attack on the Capitol, asserting that agents rapidly shared what they were learning with other law enforcement agencies, but conceding that FBI officials will review internal practices because Jan. 6, was not an 'acceptable result.'

"Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee chairman, pressed Wray on how the bureau shared a situation report, prepared by the FBI's Norfolk field office a day before the riot, which warned of specific appeals for violence -- including a call for 'war' at the Capitol.... Wray said the report was shared in three ways -- sent by email to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes the D.C. and Capitol Police; posted on a law enforcement web portal; and mentioned in a command center briefing in D.C....Wray ... said that he had not been briefed on the information before Jan. 6 either. Wray said he believed the report was handled in accordance with standard FBI practice." See also Jeanne's & Anonymous's commentary below. ~~~

~~~ Kyle Cheney of Politico: "FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday that the Jan. 6 insurrection has been 'an inspiration to a number of terrorist extremists' -- foreign and domestic -- and that the bureau is still eyeing whether any foreign actors might seek to infiltrate domestic groups to exploit vulnerabilities. Wray also said he considers the siege 'domestic terrorism' and is deploying intensive resources in every field office to pursue perpetrators.... Wray declined to disclose the cause of death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died following the insurrection, and he evaded saying whether a cause of death had been determined."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "U.S. prosecutors alleged for the first time that a Washington state leader of the Proud Boys was nominated by members of the group to take charge of the U.S. Capitol breach on Jan. 6 and carried out a plan to split into groups to break into the building from as many points as possible. In a 24-page filing Monday, U.S. prosecutors asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to keep Ethan Nordean, 30, of Seattle, in jail pending trial, appealing a lower court's Feb. 8 release order. Nordean was 'nominated from within to have "war powers"' to lead activities at the Capitol after the group's chairman, Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio, was arrested by D.C. police upon arriving in the city two days earlier, Assistant U.S. Attorneys James B. Nelson and Jason B.A. McCullough alleged. They do not state whether Nordean and/or others were formally selected to lead events that day."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court seemed poised on Tuesday to uphold two Arizona voting restrictions, one requiring election officials to discard ballots cast at the wrong precinct and the other making it a crime for campaign workers, community activists and most other people to collect ballots for delivery to polling places, a practice critics call 'ballot harvesting.' Several members of the court's conservative majority said the restrictions were sensible, commonplace and at least partly endorsed by a bipartisan consensus reflected in a 2005 report signed by former President Jimmy Carter and James A. Baker III, who served as secretary of state under President George Bush. The Biden administration, too, told the justices in an unusual letter two weeks ago that the Arizona measures appeared to be lawful." MB: Yeah, making black people guess the correct number of jellybeans was "lawful" in some places, too, but that doesn't make it right.

Jaclyn Diaz of NPR: "The largest power cooperative in Texas filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, citing a massive bill from the state's electricity grid operator following last month's winter storm that left millions of residents without power for days. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, according to court documents reviewed by NPR. The company in court documents says it received an essentially unpayable $1.8 billion bill from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the entity that maintains and operates much of the state's electricity grid. Brazos Electric is the wholesale energy provider for its 16-member cooperative.... Brazos said in court documents that the company was in solid financial shape leading up to the late February cold storm.... Dozens of other energy providers face enormous charges for electricity and other fees during February's freak winter storm in Texas. Many others may also face bills that list billions of dollars in charges." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

~~~ Evidently Gov. Greg doesn't want Texas voters to think about the energy fiasco, so he's changing the subject -- and of course making matters worse for Texans, and for the rest of us: ~~~

Amir Vera of CNN: Texas "Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday he's lifting the mask mandate in Texas, even as health officials warn not to ease safety restrictions. Abbott made the announcement during a Lubbock Chamber of Commerce event where he issued an executive order rescinding most of his earlier executive orders like the mask mandate. Also announced Tuesday, Abbott said businesses of any type will be allowed to open 100% beginning March 10. Abbott's announcement comes as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to drop across the country. However, health experts say relaxing restrictions now could lead to another surge, especially with the variants spreading." Thanks to RAS for the link.

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

Laurie McGinley & Christopher Rowland of the Washington Post: "President Biden will announce Tuesday that pharmaceutical giant Merck will help make Johnson & Johnson's single-shot coronavirus vaccine -- an unusual pact between fierce competitors that could sharply boost the supply of the newly authorized vaccine, according to senior administration officials." Politico's story is here.

Anne Gearan & Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration on Tuesday announced punitive sanctions on senior Russian government figures over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and reiterated a demand that Navalny be released from detention. The sanctions block access to financial or other assets in the United States for seven top figures around Russian President Vladimir Putin. They are largely symbolic, but represent the first Biden administration action against Russia. U.S. officials who described the measures said they are a signal that the new administration will treat Russia differently than the Trump administration did." A CNN story is here.

Hey, you know all those Antifa guys we've been hearing about who were masquerading as Trump supporters in the January 6 insurrection? Well, there is this guy: ~~~

~~~ Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "The day before a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, William Robert Norwood III texted a group of friends and family to boast he had traveled to D.C. with a plan to fool the police. 'I'm dressing in all black,' Norwood texted a group chat on Jan. 5, according to images included in a federal criminal complaint filed last week. 'I'll look just like ANTIFA. I'll get away with anything.' Then, after joining in the mob, assaulting police officers and storming the Capitol rotunda, federal agents said, Norwood texted the group again to boast that his ploy had been a success. 'It worked,' Norwood texted, along with photos of himself wearing a police officer's vest that he allegedly took from the Capitol. 'I got away with things that others were shot or arrested for.' Norwood was arrested in Greer, S.C., on Feb. 25 and charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of justice and Congress, theft of government property and other charges."

Amanda Watts & Leah Asmelash of CNN: "Six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published because they 'portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,' the business that preserves the author's legacy said. The titles are: 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street'; 'If I Ran the Zoo'; 'McElligot's Pool'; 'On Beyond Zebra!'; 'Scrambled Eggs Super!'; 'The Cat's Quizzer'.... Dr. Seuss Enterprises said it made the decision after consulting educators and reviewing its catalog.... Dr. Seuss had a long history of publishing racist and anti-Semitic work, spanning back to the 1920s when he was a student at Dartmouth College. There, Dr. Seuss once drew Black boxers as gorillas and perpetuated Jewish stereotypes by portraying Jewish characters as financially stingy, according to a study published in the journal 'Research on Diversity in Youth Literature.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When I was a toddler, my favorite book was "And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street." I do recall a blatantly stereotypical Chinese guy in it. I just took a look at the book again. And there's more. There is also an Italian guy, I presume, dressed in Roman garb; some Inuits, I guess, in furry snowsuits; a presumably Indian 'rajah" in a turban, fancy shirt & pointy-toed shoes; and cops, at least one of whom ("Sergeant Mulvaney") is Irish. All of the people are the same color -- white. There are zebras, but no African characters. And here's something: I don't think the book made me even slightly racist. If anything, I thought people in different parts of the world wore different kinds of clothing and rode on different kinds of conveyances (like chariots & sleds & elephants). I guess if the reader (my father, in this case) isn't racist, the little hearer & viewer of "Mulberry Street" won't be, either.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mark Stevenson, et al., of the AP: "As President Joe Biden looks to dismantle the last administration's hardline immigration agenda, he worked Monday to build a partnership with someone who found an unexpected understanding with Donald Trump: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Biden and López Obrador met for a virtual bilateral meeting, with immigration, the coronavirus pandemic and climate issues on the agenda. Looming large was how the two leaders would get along in what has become an increasingly complicated relationship.... Lopez Obrador came to the meeting with his own checklist of priorities, including pressing Biden to give pharmaceutical company Pfizer permission to sell his country vaccine produced in the United States, something that Canada has also requested from the White House." ~~~

     ~~~ Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden on Monday sought help from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico in averting a new crisis at the border, hoping for diplomatic cooperation from one of the key supporters of the harsh tactics imposed by Mr. Biden's predecessor to choke off immigration.... Facing an uptick of illegal migrant crossings at some parts of the southwestern border, Mr. Biden is now hoping that Mr. López Obrador wil become a partner in preventing another cycle of out-of-control migration from Central America, but that he will do so without resorting to the full range of policies Mr. Trump embraced. The Mexican president appeared open to collaboration, issuing a joint statement committing to address climate change, the pandemic and migration north."

Michael Stratford of Politico: "The Senate confirmed Miguel Cardona to lead the Education Department on Monday, adding to President Joe Biden's Cabinet a key official who will help lead the administration's efforts to reopen schools amid the pandemic. Cardona, the commissioner of education in Connecticut, becomes the 12th person to be confirmed as secretary of Education. He takes on the role at a time of unprecedented tumult and disruption in the nation's schools and colleges, which have been roiled for nearly a full year by the pandemic.... The Senate voted 64-33 in favor of the nomination, with 14 Republicans joining Democrats to back Cardona."

Brian Slodysko of the AP: "As Congress begins debate this week on sweeping voting and ethics legislation, Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: If signed into law, it would usher in the biggest overhaul of U.S. elections law in at least a generation. House Resolution 1, Democrats' 791-page bill, would touch virtually every aspect of the electoral process -- striking down hurdles to voting erected in the name of election security, curbing partisan gerrymandering and curtailing the influence of big money in politics. Republicans see those very measures as threats that would both limit the power of states to conduct elections and ultimately benefit Democrats, notably with higher turnout among minority voters.... Despite staunch GOP opposition, the bill is all but certain to pass the House when it's scheduled for a floor vote Wednesday. But challenges lie ahead in the Senate...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rashad Robinson, in a USA Today op-ed: "The nature of the filibuster, its rules and norms ... has changed and adapted greatly over the years since it first became popular in the civil rights era. But what hasn't changed is its enduring connection to racism. The filibuster has always stood in the way of racial progress, whether employed by Southern Democrats of the Jim Crow era or the Republican Party today after a major shift in the party's stance on racial equality. When you understand the filibuster's racist past, it becomes clear that it has a racist present as well -- and that we need to get rid of it.... The Republican Party decades ago launched a four-part strategy to hijack government to the will of the minority. The filibuster is the prime (but not only) example of the first part, which is changing and abusing the rules of representative government to give more and more power to fewer and fewer people."

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, introduced legislation on Monday that would tax the net worth of the wealthiest people in America, a proposal aimed at persuading President Biden and other Democrats to fund sweeping new federal spending programs by taxing the richest Americans. Ms. Warren's wealth tax would apply a 2 percent tax to individual net worth -- including the value of stocks, houses, boats and anything else a person owns, after subtracting out any debts -- above $50 million. It would add an additional 1 percent surcharge for net worth above $1 billion. It is co-sponsored in the House by two Democratic representatives, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, a moderate." (Also linked yesterday.)

Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "Just eight weeks after the Capitol riot, some of the most prominent groups that participated are fracturing amid a torrent of backbiting and finger-pointing. The fallout will determine the future of some of the most high-profile far-right organizations and raises the specter of splinter groups that could make the movement even more dangerous.... The shake-up is driven in part by the large number of arrests in the aftermath of the Capitol riot and the subsequent crackdown on some groups by law enforcement.... After the Capitol siege..., accusations about informants and undercover agents have been particularly pointed." MB: What? What? You mean radical, grievance-driven nutjobs can't get along?

Big Lie No. 2. Michael Grynbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "At 1:51 p.m. on Jan. 6, a right-wing radio host named Michael D. Brown wrote on Twitter that rioters had breached the United States Capitol -- and immediately speculated..., 'Antifa or BLM or other insurgents could be doing it disguised as Trump supporters,' Mr. Brown wrote.... What happened over the next 12 hours illustrated the speed and the scale of a right-wing disinformation machine primed to seize on a lie that served its political interests and quickly spread it as truth to a receptive audience. The weekslong fiction about a stolen election that ... Donald J. Trump pushed to his millions of supporters had set the stage for a new and equally false iteration: that left-wing agitators were responsible for the attack on the Capitol.... History was being rewritten in real time.... Nearly two months after the attack, the claim that antifa was involved has been repeatedly debunked by federal authorities, but it has hardened into gospel among hard-line Trump supporters, by voters and sanctified by elected officials in the party."

I requested ... I definitely gave the number of 10,000 National Guardsmen, and [said] I think you should have 10,000 of the National Guard ready.... From what I understand, they gave it to the people at the Capitol, which is controlled by Pelosi. And I heard they rejected it because they didn't think it would look good. So, you know, that was a big mistake. -- Donald Trump, February 28

On the day before the Jan. 6 rally, Trump appears to have mentioned 10,000 National Guard troops at a White House meeting on an unrelated matter. Contrary to his statement, he did not make a request or any sort of order to dispatch the troops.... Trump goes further afield when he claims that his number was raised with the Capitol Police and that Pelosi, in 'a big mistake,' rejected the offer of so many troops. That's just fantasy. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

Vance Plays Squeeze the Accountant. Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "State prosecutors in Manhattan who are investigating ... Donald J. Trump and his family business are sharpening their focus on the company's long-serving chief financial officer, asking witnesses questions about his dealings at the company, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The increased focus on the executive, Allen H. Weisselberg, could step up pressure on him to cooperate with the investigation if the prosecutors unearth evidence of wrongdoing on his part. He has served as the Trump Organization's financial gatekeeper for more than two decades and could be a vital source of information for the government about the inner workings of the company. In recent weeks, the prosecutors working for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., have been interviewing witnesses who know Mr. Weisselberg and have asked at least one witness about Mr. Weisselberg's sons, Barry and Jack Weisselberg, according to two of the people with knowledge of the matter. Barry Weisselberg has been the property manager of Trump Wollman Rink in Central Park, and Jack works at Ladder Capital, one of Mr. Trump's biggest lenders."

Reed Richardson of Mediaite: "The Fulton County (GA) district attorney's office will appear before a grand jury starting this week to begin seeking subpoenas for evidence about ... Donald Trump's alleged solicitation of election fraud in January." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution story is here.

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: “Amid the stream of delusion, depravity, malevolence and megalomania that characterized Donald Trump's speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Sunday, one message should be regarded as arguably more important than all the others combined.... The former president told his audience that the Republican Party's success in coming years depends, in no small part, on its commitment to being an anti-democracy party.... As expected, Trump's CPAC speech doubled down on the big lie that the election was stolen from him.... But embedded in that big lie was an unintentional truth. It was revealed when Trump uncorked an extended riff suggesting that the GOP's future prospects depend on what he called 'election reforms.' By 'election reforms,' Trump actually meant a redoubled commitment to making it harder to vote.... We know this, because he said so: He went on to declare that Democrats had used the 'China virus' as an 'excuse' to make vote-by-mail easier." ~~~

~~~ Jim Crow Goes Nationwide. Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "The Republican Party's biggest problem is that too many people of color are exercising their right to vote. The party's solution is a massive push for voter suppression that would make old-time Jim Crow segregationists proud.... The GOP may have lost the White House and the Senate, but it remains strong in most state capitols. So far this year, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, Republicans in 33 states 'have introduced, prefiled, or carried over 165 bills to restrict voting access.' The thrust of virtually all these measures is to make it more difficult for African Americans and other minorities to vote."

Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "Images of the CPAC stage went viral this weekend as many noted a resemblance to the Odal or Othala Rune, a symbol emblazoned on some Nazi uniforms. The Anti-Defamation League has classified the insignia as a hate symbol that has been adopted by modern day white supremacists. CPAC's organizers vehemently denied any link between the stage design and the Nazi symbology, calling the criticism 'outrageous and slanderous.'... As the controversy continued on Sunday, Hyatt Hotels said in a statement that it had addressed the concerns with the conference and denounced any use of hate symbols.... The blowback comes after CPAC organizers disinvited a scheduled speaker, social media figure Young Pharaoh, after liberal media watchdog Media Matters for America reported he had made antisemitic comments on Twitter. Pharaoh tweeted that Judaism is a 'complete lie' and 'made up for political gain,' and said Jews are 'thieving.'... Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, claimed that the shape is an 'antifa symbol.'" ~~~

~~~ Nur Ibrahim of Snopes says claims that CPAC intentionally set the stage, so to speak, in the form of the Nazi symbol is "unproven."

Bushie Michael Gerson of the Washington Post: "The [Republican] party has been swiftly repositioned as an instrument of white grievance. It refuses to condemn racists within its congressional ranks. Its main national legislative agenda seems to be the suppression of minority voting. Trumpism is defined by the belief that real Americans are beset by internal threats from migrants, Muslims, multiculturalists, Black Lives Matter activists, antifa militants and various thugs, gangbangers and whiners.... The largest single group within the new GOP coalition is comprised of people who claim to be evangelical Christians. And the view of human beings implied by Trumpism is a direct negation of Christian teaching (as well as many other systems of belief)."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Alayna Treene of Axios: "Former President Trump and former first lady Melania Trump were both vaccinated at the White House in January, a Trump adviser tells Axios..... Trump declared at CPAC on Sunday that "everybody" should get the coronavirus vaccine -- the first time he's encouraged his supporters, who have been more skeptical of getting vaccinated, to do so." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) MB: Obviously, any real president would have made a big public show of getting a life-saving vaccine to encourage his vaccine-averse base to save their own lives, if only so they might live to vote for him again. ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The secret approach by Mr. Trump came as a number of his supporters have expressed resistance to the vaccine, and as other officials have tried setting an example by getting the shot in public.... Mr. Trump's concern about the vaccine has generally been about whether he is getting credit for its development while he was president. He never publicly encouraged people to take it while he was in office; the first vaccines were approved shortly after Election Day." MB: In fairness to Trump, he didn't want to disappoint fans of his "strongman" image when they saw him bawl like a baby as the needle penetrated his fat arm.

~~~ "A Number of Supporters" Indeed. Tim O'Donnell of Yahoo! News: "As the United States adds another COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal and ramps up its distribution drive, potentially pushing the country closer toward herd immunity, concerns about vaccine hesitancy among the population remain. But overall, it seems, people are growing increasingly comfortable with getting a shot.... Additionally, while much has been made about hesitancy, driven by historical distrust in the U.S. health care system, among communities of color, Black and Latino Americans have rapidly and consistently joined the ranks of people who want a shot, polling conducted by Civiqs between November and February shows, per Axios. Overall, white Americans are now less likely to get vaccinated, and the stance is largely split along party lines. [As Deen Freelon tweeted,] 'Black vax hesitancy makes headlines, but the most reluctant group by far is white Republicans -- a much larger group.'" Emphasis added. MB: How many more Trumpists would get vaccines if Donzo & Melanie had made a show of getting their shots?

Beyond the Beltway

Louisiana. Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "The George Washington Carver High School basketball team had built a huge early lead in its playoff game in New Orleans on Saturday when John Shallerhorn tried to walk into the gym. But Shallerhorn, 35, wasn't wearing a mask, so a staffer blocked his way, police said. When Shallerhorn punched the staffer, Tulane University police officer Martinus Mitchum, who was working security for the team, rushed to help. That's when Shallerhorn pulled a gun, police said, and fatally shot Mitchum, 38, in the chest, sending players and fans scurrying for safety.... Other deputies on the scene quickly arrested Shallerhorn.... Shallerhorn ... was ... charged with multiple felonies including murder of a police officer, had also robbed someone outside the game before coming inside, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by nola.com. He confessed to the killing, police said, and was ordered held without bail."

New York. Close Encounters of the Creepy Kind. Matt Flegenheimer & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "Anna Ruch ... met Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ... at a crowded New York City wedding reception in September 2019.... The governor was working the room after toasting the newlyweds, and when he came upon Ms. Ruch, now 33..., Mr. Cuomo put his hand on Ms. Ruch's bare lower back, she said in an interview on Monday. When she removed his hand with her own, Ms. Ruch recalled, the governor remarked that she seemed 'aggressive' and placed his hands on her cheeks. He asked if he could kiss her, loudly enough for a friend standing nearby to hear. Ms. Ruch was bewildered by the entreaty, she said, and pulled away as the governor drew closer.... 'It's the act of impunity that strikes me,' Ms. Ruch said. 'I didn't have a choice in that matter. I didn't have a choice in his physical dominance over me at that moment....'... The initial stages of a pending investigation into Mr. Cuomo's actions [are] underway inside the offices of the state attorney general, Letitia James, who was evaluating options [Monday] for an outside investigator." A photo of the encounter accompanies the article. MB: It's clear from the photo Ruch is telling the truth, that Cuomo was bullying her into submission. The Hill has a summary report here. ~~~

~~~ Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "A former aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo who has accused the governor of sexual harassment said on Monday that the governor 'has refused to acknowledge or take responsibility for his predatory behavior' and encouraged other women with similar experiences to step forward. The aide, Charlotte Bennett, said in a statement on Monday that Mr. Cuomo's response to her claims, and that of another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, indicated that he did not actually want the truth of his actions to be reported. 'As we know, abusers -- particularly those with tremendous amounts of power -- are often repeat offenders who engage in manipulative tactics to diminish allegations, blame victims, deny wrongdoing and escape consequences,' Ms. Bennett said. 'It took the governor 24 hours and significant backlash to allow for a truly independent investigation. These are not the actions of someone who simply feels misunderstood; they are the actions of an individual who wields his power to avoid justice.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Huh. So Bennett doesn't think claiming you were just "being playful" is "taking responsibility for predatory behavior." Imagine that. ~~~

~~~ Sonia Moghe & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "... as New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she could move forward with an independent investigation on the same day one of [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo's accusers cast him as an abuser who 'wields his power to avoid justice.' Following concerns about Cuomo's role in shaping the probe, James announced that she has received the letter she needs to launch an independent investigation. The letter was sent to James' office by Beth Garvey, special counsel and senior adviser to Cuomo on Monday, and asks James to select an independent law firm to conduct an inquiry into 'allegations of and circumstances surrounding sexual harassment claims made against the Governor.' The letter also directs all New York state employees to cooperate fully with the review and notes that Cuomo will forgo weekly updates on the investigation, to which he would otherwise be entitled."

The Commentariat -- March 1, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Brian Slodysko of the AP: "As Congress begins debate this week on sweeping voting and ethics legislation, Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: If signed into law, it would usher in the biggest overhaul of U.S. elections law in at least a generation. House Resolution 1, Democrats' 791-page bill, would touch virtually every aspect of the electoral process -- striking down hurdles to voting erected in the name of election security, curbing partisan gerrymandering and curtailing the influence of big money in politics. Republicans see those very measures as threats that would both limit the power of states to conduct elections and ultimately benefit Democrats, notably wit higher turnout among minority voters.... Despite staunch GOP opposition, the bill is all but certain to pass the House when it's scheduled for a floor vote Wednesday. But challenges lie ahead in the Senate...."

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, introduced legislation on Monday that would tax the net worth of the wealthiest people in America, a proposal aimed at persuading President Biden and other Democrats to fund sweeping new federal spending programs by taxing the richest Americans. Ms. Warren's wealth tax would apply a 2 percent tax to individual net worth -- including the value of stocks, houses, boats and anything else a person owns, after subtracting out any debts -- above $50 million. It would add an additional 1 percent surcharge for net worth above $1 billion. It is co-sponsored in the House by two Democratic representatives, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, a moderate."

Alayna Treene of Axios: "Former President Trump and former first lady Melania Trump were both vaccinated at the White House in January, a Trump adviser tells Axios..... Trump declared at CPAC on Sunday that "everybody" should get the coronavirus vaccine -- the first time he's encouraged his supporters, who have been more skeptical of getting vaccinated, to do so."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Senior Democrats are abandoning a backup plan to increase the minimum wage through a corporate tax penalty, after encountering numerous practical and political challenges in drafting their proposal over the weekend, according to two people familiar with the internal deliberations. On Thursday, the Senate parliamentarian said that the $15-an-hour minimum wage included in President Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan was inadmissible under the rules Democrats are using to pass the bill through the Senate. After that decision, Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said they would instead seek to add tax penalties on large corporations that fail to pay $15 an hour -- an idea viewed as less likely to be struck down by the parliamentarian and still helpful to some minimum-wage workers. But now senior Democrats -- including Wyden and Sanders -- are walking away from that backup effort.... Economists and tax experts have said that the tax outlined by Sanders and Wyden could be easily avoided and difficult to implement, with large corporations able to reclassify workers as contractors to avoid potential penalties."

Alex Marquardt of CNN: "Shortly after the US intelligence community published its long-awaited report on Friday afternoon on the Saudis who were responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi, it was taken down without explanation and replaced with another version that removed the names of three men it had initially said were complicit. The quiet switch by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence went largely unnoticed as the outcry grew that the Biden administration was failing to punish the prince in any way, despite having just declared in no uncertain terms that MBS was responsible. The first link to the report that was sent out by ODNI went dead. It was then replaced with a second version that removed three of the men it had just announced 'participated in, ordered, or were otherwise complicit in or responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi.' The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to clarify why the names were originally on the list and what roles, if any, they may have had in Khashoggi's killing."

Marshall Cohen of CNN: "The Justice Department has charged a Texas man who was allegedly caught on video attacking a dozen police officers with a chemical spray during the Capitol insurrection, according to court records. Federal prosecutors say Daniel Caldwell, 49, used a chemical spray against a line of officers that were blocking rioters from entering the Capitol. It happened amid a massive melee with police, who used batons and pepper spray to fend off the crowd, according to footage of the incident that was cited in court filings.... He has been charged with four crimes: assaulting federal officers, obstructing law enforcement, knowingly entering a restricted building, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds."

Let's See if This New Story Holds Up. Edmund DeMarche of Fox "News": "Former President Trump told Fox News late Sunday that he expressed concern over the crowd size near the Capitol days before last month's deadly riots and personally requested 10,000 National Guard troops be deployed in response. Trump told 'The Next Revolution With Steve Hilton' that his team alerted the Department of Defense days before the rally that crowds might be larger than anticipated and 10,000 national guardsmen should be ready to deploy. He said that -- from what he understands -- the warning was passed along to leaders at the Capitol, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- and he heard that the request was rejected because these leaders did not like the optics of 10,000 troops at the Capitol.... Trump told Steve Hilton, the show's host, that he "hated" to see what unfolded on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol." ~~~

~~~ Maybe this is the inspiration for Trump's new story: ~~~

Capitol Police requested National Guard help prior to January 6th. That request was denied by Speaker Pelosi and her Sergeant at Arms. -- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), in a tweet, Feb. 15

Without evidence, Jordan asserted that House Speaker Pelosi had denied a request for National Guard troops two days before the insurrection. Instead, public testimony shows she did not even hear about the request until two days later. Jordan also tried to pin the blame on the House sergeant-at-arms, but testimony shows the Senate sergeant-at-arms also was not keen about the idea. We will keep an eye on this issue in case new information emerges that would result in a new rating. But ... speculation is not the same as evidence. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

Elaina Plott & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: Donald Trump "captured the 2024 presidential straw poll of the Conservative Political Action Conference, while Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida finished first in a second 2024 straw poll covering a field of potential candidates that did not include Mr. Trump. But in a surprise bit of downbeat news for Mr. Trump, only 68 percent of those at the conference said they wanted the former president to run again in 2024." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: CPAC is just about as Trumpy a bunch of Republicans as you'll find. CNN had some pundit on who said that 68% figure was a shocker; he would have expected Trump to get 95% on the question of whether or not he should run again. The pundit also said he watched Trump's speech & felt he was in some kind of time warp because it was just a regurgitation of earlier Trump speeches (aren't they all?). I thought I recognized the pundit's voice so I went to see who he was: well, he was John Bolton. ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Martin & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Sunday used his first public appearance since leaving office and moving to Florida to lash President Biden and insist that there are no divisions within the Republican Party -- before he proceeded to name every Republican who voted in support of his second impeachment and call for their ouster from office." Politico's report, by David Siders, is here.

Whistlin' Dixie. Casey Michel in an NBC News opinion piece: "For the past few months, a long-buried idea has been creeping from the fringe into mainstream Republican discourse: secession.... In the wake of the failed pro-Trump insurrection in Washington, far-right American militias, buoyed by ... Donald Trump's empty claims that the election was 'stolen,' have increasingly agitated for the break-up of the U.S. As the head of one paramilitary group that has worked closely with conspiratorial Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., recently revealed, they'd formed alliances with other far-right groups to advocate for Georgia's secession.'... One-third of Republicans said they support secession.... Half of Republicans across the former Confederacy (plus Kentucky and Oklahoma) are now willing to break off to form a newly independent country. Perhaps not surprisingly, Texas is leading this charge.... Just like so much of Trumpian America, secession in places like Texas is rooted in a combination of nativism, xenophobia and white racial grievance.... But this month's disastrous winter storm in Texas also points to how idiotic such secessionist dreams truly are."

Oh, Lordy, Steve Inskeep of NPR, a prince of both-siderism, lets on that Joe Biden won the presidential election, claims to the contrary are "false," and Republicans are "fixing" election laws that were not broken "in ways that could make it harder to vote." Way down in Para. 17, he even gives space to a representative of the Brennan Center, who lets the cat out of the bag at least for anyone who reads that far: "'There was very little attempt to hide the racialized nature' of the attacks on mail balloting in 2020, [Myrna Pérez] said, noting that Trump allies constantly claimed corruption in big diverse cities such as Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit." MB: Inskeep of the mellifluous, upbeat voice, is the reason I can't listen to NPR.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "As Republican state lawmakers around the nation are working furiously to enact laws making it harder to vote, the Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear its most important election case in almost a decade, one that will determine what sort of judicial scrutiny those restrictions will face. The case centers on a crucial remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race. Civil rights groups are nervous that the court, now with a six-justice conservative majority, will use the opportunity to render that provision, Section 2, toothless. The provision has taken on greater importance in election disputes since 2013, when the court effectively struck down the heart of the 1965 law, its Section 5, which required prior federal approval of changes to voting procedures in parts of the country with a history of racial and other discrimination." Section 2 allows "litigation after the fact." ~~~

     ~~~ Robert Barnes has the Washington Post story here.

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Iran has rejected an early meeting with the United States and the other signatories to the Iran nuclear deal, according to Iranian and Western officials. Because of 'recent positions and actions of the U.S. and three European countries,' Iran 'does not deem the time suitable for holding' the proposed meeting, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement Sunday. Western officials, however, said that Iran's private response late last week to the invitation, extended through the European Union, was more 'nuanced' than an outright refusal and that it sought assurances that the talks would be limited to the nuclear deal called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, it signed in 2015 with the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. On the occasion of Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron's retirement, Sarah Ellision of the Washington Post (here) and Marc Tracy of the New York Times (here) examine the evolution of the Post during the time Baron was running the Post & Jeff Bezos was publishing and financing it.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "The chaotic vaccine rollout has come with a maze of confusing registration pages and clunky health care websites. And the technological savvy required to navigate the text alerts, push notifications and email reminders that are second nature to the digital generation has put older adults..., who need the vaccine the most, at a disadvantage. As a result, seniors who lack tech skills are missing out on potentially lifesaving shots.... Advocates for older Americans, 22 million of whom lack wired broadband access at home, say it is ridiculous that a program mostly aimed at vaccinating vulnerable seniors is so dependent on internet know-how, Twitter announcements and online event pages." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It doesn't help that some states messed up their vaccination registration systems. New Hampshire is one of them. Not only did I have to fill out the same very long questionnaire twice -- once for the state & once for the CDC -- the CDC also sent me misinformation about my second vaccination. The CDC never corrected the misinformation: I found out only because a friend told me about it, and I then double-checked with the state to make sure the friend was right. If I didn't surf the Web all day and do a lot of shopping & other business online, I would have found completing the application quite challenging (especially because, as Browning writes, the Websites are "clunky." And, as Browning adds, the state sends a lot of follow-up notices, some of which must be answered to maintain your appointment. I'm sure the challenges are equally frustrating & tedious in other states.

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Dana Rubinstein of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday retreated from his plan to have a former federal judge who has close ties to one of the governor's closest allies investigate sexual harassment claims against him. Mr. Cuomo said that he would ask Letitia James, New York's attorney general, and Janet DiFiore, the chief judge on New York State's highest court, to jointly pick someone to investigate sexual harassment accusations lodged by two women who worked in the Cuomo administration.... [Ms. James] rejected the governor's proposal, publicly demanding that Mr. Cuomo give her what's known as a 'referral,' so that she could vest an investigator with subpoena power and begin an inquiry.... The political fallout followed a New York Times article that detailed the accusations of Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide to the governor." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Karen Matthews & Marina Villeneuve of the AP: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledged for the first time Sunday that some of his behavior with women 'may have been insensitive or too personal,' and said he would cooperate with a sexual harassment investigation led by the state's attorney general. In a statement released amid mounting criticism from within his own party, the Democrat maintained he had never inappropriately touched or propositioned anyone. But he said he had teased people about their personal lives in an attempt to be 'playful.'" MB: Uh-huh.

Way Beyond

France. Kim Willsher of the Guardian: "A court has found Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced the former French president to three years in prison with two of them suspended. The former president was said to have forged a 'corruption pact' with his lawyer and a senior magistrate. Judges said there was 'serious evidence' of collaboration between the three men to break the law. The court had heard how Sarkozy instructed his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, to offer the magistrate a cushy job on the Côte d'Azur in return for information on a separate investigation centred on the rightwing politician. It is unlikely the former president will spend a day in jail. The one-year prison sentence can be served with certain conditions, including the wearing of an electronic bracelet, or limited home confinement. Sarkozy is expected to appeal against the conviction." The New York Times' story is here. Thanks to RockyGirl for the lead. "Could it happen here??," she asks. "We can only hope." MB: Except we do want WhozIt to do hard time in a cold, damp cell with no TV & only a pot to piss in.

Myanmar. AP: "Police in Myanmar's biggest city on Monday fired tear gas at defiant crowds who returned to the streets to protest the military's seizure of power a month ago, despite reports that security forces had killed at least 18 people around the country a day earlier. The protesters in Yangon were chased as they tried to gather at their usual meeting spot at the Hledan Center intersection. Demonstrators scattered and sought to rinse their faces with water in vain attempts to ease the irritating effects of the gas. In the capital, Naypyitaw, the country's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi made a court appearance Monday via videoconference, the independent Myanmar Now online news agency reported. It said she received a charge under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for allegedly inciting unrest. Further details of the court appearance were not immediately available."

Russia. Irina Reznik & Henry Meyer of Bloomberg News, republished in the Day: "Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived a chemical poisoning last year that he called a Kremlin attempt to kill him, has begun serving his two-and-a-half-year sentence at a notorious penal camp. Navalny, who was removed from his Moscow jail cell Thursday, is being held at a detention facility in the prison in the Vladimir region, about 60 miles east of the Russian capital, Alexey Melnikov, secretary of the civil oversight commission of Moscow, told Bloomberg.... The jail, where inmates are housed in barracks and typically do manual labor, is classified as a 'red zone' where the administration controls every aspect of life. 'It's a tough penal camp with very strict rules, to put it mildly,' said Eva Merkacheva, a member of a civic-oversight group for the prison system."

The Commentariat -- February 28, 2021

Bethan McKernan of the Guardian & Agencies: "Joe Biden has carried out his first military action as president, with airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed fighters in Syria, in what the Pentagon said was retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops. The overnight strikes killed 22 people after hitting three trucks loaded with munitions near the border town of Abu Kamal, a war monitor said on Friday." MB: A report I ran Friday said at least one person was killed. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"These People Are Dangerous." Mike Lillis & Scott Wong of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said her proposal to install a Democratic majority on the investigative Jan. 6 commission is rooted in historic precedent and the simple prerogatives of sitting presidents. But rank-and-file Democrats are citing a very different reason they don't want the panel's power split evenly between the parties: They simply don't trust Republicans to investigate an attack on the Capitol that, in the eyes of livid Democrats, was kindled by those same GOP lawmakers. 'We do not owe delusional deniers a role or a platform in a commission designed to try to ferret out extremism and violence to prevent its recurrence,' said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), who had predicted the Jan. 6 violence based on the rhetoric from then-President Trump and his GOP allies. 'These people are dangerous.'"

Helaine Olen of the Washington Post: "Bernie Sanders wants you to know the high cost of our low minimum wage.... Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) [held] his debut hearing [Thursday] as chairman of the powerful Budget Committee. Sanders, a longtime champion of the Fight for $15, made the consequences of our much-too-low federal minimum wage, set at $7.25 an hour since 2009, his focus.... All too many Americans work full-time, but are paid so little that they still need to rely on such government benefits as food stamps and Medicaid to get by. In his view, that amounts to corporate welfare.... Last year, the Government Accountability Office -- at Sanders's behest -- released a survey showing that Walmart employees were the largest group of employees using safety-net benefits in the 11 states it studied. McDonald's came in second.... Sanders invited the chief executives of McDonald's and Walmart to testify at the hearing and talk the issue out. Both turned the invitation down."

Right Wing World

The Great GOP Plot Against Democracy, Ctd. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "Led by loyalists who embrace ... Donald J. Trump's baseless claims of a stolen election, Republicans in state legislatures nationwide are mounting extraordinary efforts to change the rules of voting and representation -- and enhance their own political clout. At the top of those efforts is a slew of bills raising new barriers to casting votes, particularly the mail ballots that Democrats flocked to in the 2020 election. But other measures go well beyond that, including tweaking Electoral College and judicial election rules for the benefit of Republicans; clamping down on citizen-led ballot initiatives; and outlawing private donations that provide resources for administering elections, which were crucial to the smooth November vote. And although the decennial redrawing of political maps has been pushed to the fall because of delays in delivering 2020 census totals, there are already signs of an aggressive drive to further gerrymander political districts, particularly in states under complete Republican control."

Trump de Oro: Hecho en Mexico. Guardian: "A golden statue of Donald Trump that has caused a stir at the annual US gathering of conservatives was made in Mexico -- a country the former president frequently demonized. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "A former chair of the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday slammed what the event has now become.... Mickey Edwards -- who led the American Conservative Union, which organizes the event, for five years until 1983 -- ripped Republicans attending this year's CPAC in Orlando for their devotion to ... Donald Trump. In an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett, Edwards likened the GOP to a cult whose members are living in an alternate reality. Edwards served as a GOP representative for Oklahoma for 16 years until 1993 but quit the GOP in January following the deadly U.S. Capitol riot." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "The Republican Party on display at CPAC this weekend was anti-monopoly, anti-free trade, skeptical of foreign wars, girded for economic conflict with China -- and frequently invested in things that aren't true. Election myths were mentioned often, though rarely the damage they'd led to on Jan. 6, when hordes of Trump supporters fueled by the falsehoods and seeking to block Joe Biden's election stormed the Capitol.... They suggested that the election had not been honest -- a topic that spilled from panel to panel, fact or no fact."

Worse Than CPAC. Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "A sitting member of Congress appeared at a white nationalist convention Friday night, marking new GOP support for the racist movement. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) spoke in Orlando, Florida, at the America First Political Action conference, a far-right event meant to mimic the establishment Republican Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). After Gosar's speech, AFPAC organizer Nick Fuentes, who marched in the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and was outside the Capitol with his supporters during the Jan. 6 riot, took the podium that warned that 'white people are done being bullied.' Fuentes praised the fatal riot as 'awesome,' describing it as 'light-hearted mischief.' He also mocked Gosar's colleague, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), for needing a wheelchair, saying Cawthorn couldn't 'stand up' for his constituents." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "... an examination by The Post of how [Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.)] ascended so quickly shows how even one of the most neophyte elected Republicans is adopting the Trump playbook, making false statements about his background, issuing baseless allegations about voter fraud and demonizing his political opponents.... [He told multiple lies about an auto accident that left him wheelchair-bound.] A campaign video ad repeated his false claim that the car wreck had derailed his plans to attend the Naval Academy. He promptly used his newfound fame to push baseless allegations about voting fraud on Twitter in a video viewed 4 million times, which... Donald Trump retweeted, saying, 'Thank you Madison!' Then Cawthorn spoke at the Jan. 6 rally where a mob was incited to storm the U.S. Capitol, again alleging fraud and extolling the crowd's courage in comparison with the 'cowards' in Congress. He returned to the Capitol, where he falsely claimed that insurrectionists had been 'paid by the Democratic machine.' Cawthorn won his campaign with a brief résumé that included working at a Chick-fil-A, a part-time role in a congressional office, the single semester of college [where his grades were mostly D's,] and fledgling work as a real estate investor.... Republican House leaders, meanwhile, rewarded Cawthorn with assignments that belied his background of a single college semester of mostly D's and rejection by the Naval Academy. He now serves on the Education Committee and the Veterans' Affairs Committee." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A good deal of what Kranish has put together about Cawthorn cam out before the 2020 general election. So if you'd like to know what to think of the voters of Western North Carolina, here's the Wiki page on Cawthorn's general election opponent, Democrat Moe Davis.

~~~ Addy Baird & Brianna Sacks of BuzzFeed News: Former students former Patrick Henry College, a small, Christian school in Northern Virginia, "aid it didn't take long for women on campus to start warning one another: You don't want to be alone with [fellow student Madison Cawthorn], especially in his car. BuzzFeed News spoke with more than three dozen people ... who described or corroborated instances of sexual harassment and misconduct on campus, in Cawthorn's car, and at his house near campus. Four women told BuzzFeed News that Cawthorn, now a rising Republican star, was aggressive, misogynistic, or predatory toward them. Their allegations include calling them derogatory names in public in front of their peers, including calling one woman 'slutty,' asking them inappropriate questions about their sex lives, grabbing their thighs, forcing them to sit in his lap, and kissing and touching them without their consent.... According to more than a dozen people ... Cawthorn often used his car as a way to entrap and harass his women classmates, taking them on what he could call 'fun drives' off campus. Two said he would drive recklessly and ask them about their virginity and sexual experiences while they were locked in the moving vehicle." Madison became a student at the college when he was 21, so older than most of the women he allegedly harassed. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Keith Coffman of Reuters: "An avowed white supremacist was sentenced on Friday to 19-1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty months ago to a federal hate-crimes case stemming from a botched plot to bomb a historic Colorado synagogue in 2019. Richard Holzer, 28, appeared in a federal courtroom in Denver for a sentencing that capped an undercover FBI investigation of a plan to blow up Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colorado, the second-oldest synagogue in the state. Although the plot was thwarted, U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore said Holzer had sought 'to terrorize the Jewish community' of Pueblo...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Lauran Neergaard & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways. The FDA said J&J's vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death. One dose was 85% protective against the most severe COVID-19 illness, in a massive study that spanned three continents -- protection that remained strong even in countries such as South Africa, where the variants of most concern are spreading."

Matt Egan of CNN: "A former Republican operative who now leads one of the nation's most powerful business groups is praising President Joe Biden's efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic. 'It is fantastic to have a partner in the White House,' Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, told CNN Business. 'We felt like we were fighting this fight, frankly, all alone for the last year.' NAM, which represents more than 130,000 manufacturers, announced Friday it is planning to partner with the Biden administration to help fight the pandemic. Timmons, who said his father died from Covid, criticized the Trump administration's track record on the health crisis." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "A second former aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is accusing him of sexual harassment, saying that he asked her questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men. The aide, Charlotte Bennett, who was an executive assistant and health policy adviser in the Cuomo administration until she left in November, told The New York Times that the governor had harassed her late last spring, during the height of the state's fight against the coronavirus. Ms. Bennett, 25, said the most unsettling episode occurred on June 5, when she was alone with Mr. Cuomo in his State Capitol office. In a series of interviews this week, she said the governor had asked her numerous questions about her personal life, including whether she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, and had said that he was open to relationships with women in their 20s -- comments she interpreted as clear overtures to a sexual relationship. Mr. Cuomo said in a statement to The Times on Saturday that he believed he had been acting as a mentor and had 'never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. He said he had requested an independent review of the matter and asked that New Yorkers await the findings 'before making any judgments.'" The Daily Beast has a summary report here. The AP's story relies on the NYT reporting, but adds some content.

New York. Paul Liotta of the Staten Island Advance: "Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate and current frontrunner in the race for NYC mayor, came to the rescue of a photojournalist who was attacked Friday on the Staten Island Ferry.... When a ferry passenger carrying what appeared to be a metal pole approached the photographer, shoved him, and threateningly raised the implement, Yang sprang into action.... The man recognized Yang, who engaged and calmed him, speaking with him briefly and allowing the photographer to get away from the tense situation.... The incident happened at about 11:15 a.m., on an outdoor portion of the ferry's top deck. [Spencer] Platt, the photographer, expressed gratitude to Yang and his team." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas. Will Englund & Neena Satija of the Washington Post: "As millions of Texans went days without heat, light or water, as store shelves were emptied, as deaths blamed on the cold began to add up, Texas' frenzied and deregulated electricity market opened the door for some companies to reap windfalls that may mount into the billions of dollars. The nation's most deregulated energy economy was supposed to be a win for consumers and for energy companies nimble enough to do business in a bustling, cacophonous market. But the cold snap -- rare but by no means unprecedented -- shattered it last week, plunging consumers into misery and leaving a badly prepared and dislocated energy sector in pieces. Wholesale prices for electricity spiked 300-fold, and for natural gas almost as much, and when supplies dwindled firms that had some of either commodity to sell were in line for tremendous short-term profits. But other companies are looking at stupendous losses." ~~~

~~~ Return of the Sea Turtles/Best Waterslide. Thanks to RAS for the lead: