The Commentariat -- March 27, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Richard Paddock of the New York Times: "At a military parade on Saturday, the general who led the overthrow of Myanmar's civilian government last month said the army was determined 'to protect people from all danger.' Before the day was over, the security forces under his command had shot and killed a 5-year-old boy, two 13-year-old boys and a 14-year-old girl. A baby girl in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, was struck in the eye with a rubber bullet, although her parents said she was expected to live. The slain children were among dozens of people killed on Saturday as the security forces cracked down on protests across Myanmar, in what appeared to be one of the deadliest days since the Feb. 1 coup led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, commander of the Tatmadaw, as the military is known. One news outlet, Myanmar Now, put Saturday's death toll as high as 100." The AP's story is here.

James Walker of Newsweek: "Republican Senator Ted Cruz posted a video from the Rio Grande river [link fixed] that runs along the U.S.-Mexico border on social media Thursday night as President Joe Biden spoke about the border crisis at his first press briefing. The Texas Republican said he and other senators had seen 'overrun' detention facilities on their trip to the border, and witnessed migrant mothers and infants sleeping on the floor. He also claimed that traffickers on the Mexican side of the border could be seen taunting U.S. border officials with flashlights." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. See also her commentary in today's thread.

     ~~~ Marie: Newsweek's "Ted Talks" video wouldn't load for me, so I had to go to the YouTubes to find a comparable video. The one I found cuts off the part where Ted, speaking in hushed tones amid the rushes on the U.S. banks of the Rio Grande, finds the baby Moses among the reeds. Cliffhanger: does Ted (a) rescue the infant and raise him as his own so Pharaoh Joe can't deport him, or (b) turn little Moses over to a gruff, gun-toting Border Patrolman?

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AFP: "Joe Biden has invited 40 world leaders to a virtual summit on the climate crisis, the White House said in a statement on Friday. Heads of state, including Xi Jinping of China and Russia's Vladimir Putin, have been asked to attend the two-day meeting meant to mark Washington's return to the front lines of the fight against human-caused climate change, after Donald Trump disengaged from the process. 'They know they're invited,' Biden said of Xi and Putin. 'But I haven't spoken to either one of them yet.' The start of the summit on 22 April coincides with Earth Day, and it will come ahead of a major UN meeting on the crisis, scheduled for November in Glasgow, Scotland."

Guardian: "Joe Biden has said the US is looking at what it can do to help free the 400-metre container ship Ever Given from its position blocking the Suez canal as the trade route crisis stretched into a fifth day. We have equipment and capacity that most countries don't have. And we are seeing what help we can be,' the US president said on Friday in Delaware. His comments came after a US official said the navy was prepared to send a team of dredging experts to the canal, but was awaiting approval from local authorities. Meanwhile, as the latest effort to dislodge the ship with tug boats was suspended late on Friday, shipping companies began to reroute cargoes elsewhere to avoid worsening the huge logjam that has built up at either end of the crucial trade artery." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Pardon my simple-mindedness, but reports make it seem the super-barge is stuck in the sand (i.e., essentially run aground) because it is so heavy, what with its being loaded with cargo. So, um, maybe offload the cargo? The equipment needed may be a few of those big ole cranes that move shipping containers.

"Scandal! Horror!" Poppy Noor of the Guardian: "Joe Biden's first press conference has caused some strong reactions [link fixed] from the conservative side of the aisle after he was caught ... reading notes.... 'New photos show cheat sheets used by Biden during his first press conference,' a New York Post headline read last night.... It is customary for politicians to speak using notes.... [For instance,] there was the time [Donald Trump] used cue cards to remind him to listen to shooting survivors."

Ben Leonard of Politico: "President Joe Biden slammed Georgia's new voting restrictions, calling them 21st-century 'Jim Crow' and urging Congress to pass election reform bills. 'This law, like so many others being pursued by Republicans in statehouses across the country is a blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience,' Biden said in a statement Friday afternoon. 'This is Jim Crow in the 21st Century. It must end. We have a moral and Constitutional obligation to act.'" The President's full statement is here.

** Still Longing for the Old Plantation. Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Sometimes America’s legacy of white supremacy is hiding in plain sight, literally. When Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a hastily passed voter suppression law that many are calling the new, new Jim Crow on Thursday night, surrounded by a half-dozen white men, he did so in front of a painting of a plantation where more than 100 Black people had been enslaved. The fitting symbolism is somehow both shocking and unsurprising. In using the antebellum image of the notorious Callaway Plantation -- in a region where enslaved Black people seeking freedom were hunted with hounds -- in Wilkes County, Ga., as the backdrop for signing a bill that would make it a crime to hand water to a thirsty voter waiting on Georgia's sometimes hours-long voter lines, the GOP governor was sending a clear message about race and human rights in the American South.... At the very moment that Kemp was signing the law with his all-white posse, a Black female Georgia lawmaker -- Rep. Park Cannon -- who'd knocked on the governor's door in the hopes of watching the bill signing was instead dragged away and arrested by state troopers, in a scene that probably had the Deep South's racist sheriffs of yesteryear like Bull Connor or Jim Clark smiling in whatever fiery hellhole they now inhabit." Subscriber-firewalled. MB: I happily spent one of my few Inquirer freebies on this classic. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bunch suggests Kemp knew what he was doing. But I doubt it. People like Kemp are such knee-jerk racists that screaming symbols of racism don't even register with them. That Callaway Plantation picture just seems right. In fact, Bunch lets us know that Brian & his lovely wife Marty especially picked it out for a place of prominence in Brian's office. I'll bet "Gone with the Wind" is Brian Kemp's favorite movie.

Maria Sacchetti & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas fired most members of the department's independent advisory council on Friday, a purge that included several allies of ... Donald Trump and veteran officials who served under both parties. Former Department of Homeland Security officials and advisory board members who worked under Democratic and Republican administrations said they could not remember so many members being dismissed at once.... The council is unpaid and includes leaders from state and local government, law enforcement, the private sector and academia who advise the agency on issues such as immigration, terrorism, crime and national disasters. Members serve one- to three-year terms and meet about four times a year.... DHS officials said Mayorkas would conduct an assessment of the council and reconstitute it with bipartisan members who better reflect the diversity of the United States and the people DHS serves."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "A fatal cocktail of factors resulted in the deaths of eight Marines and a Navy sailor last summer after their 35-year-old armored vehicle sank off the coast of California, according to the results of a Marine Corps investigation. Insufficient training and maintenance, complacency by Marine officers, and a delayed, chaotic rescue effort contributed to the crisis after the 26-ton amphibious assault vehicle (AAV) sprung numerous leaks. Pumps on the vehicle did not work quickly enough, some Marines aboard did not know how to respond, and there were no safety boats, the investigation said. In the absence of required precautions, a second AAV crew attempted to rescue the first group of Marines. But in heavy surf, their vehicle collided with the first, turning it on its side with an open hatch. A wave swept over the first vehicle, water rushed inside, and it quickly sank.... The disaster, one of several during training in recent years, has prompted hard questions about whether the U.S. military has done enough to prioritize the welfare of its people over training requirements."

Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "A group of House Democrats on Friday introduced legislation to prohibit the Postal Service from lengthening mail-delivery windows and require it to adhere to present service expectations. They named the bill the Delivering Envelopes Judiciously On-time Year-round Act, or DEJOY Act."

Paul Sonne, et al., of the Washington Post: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has tapped the commander of the D.C. National Guard to become the next House sergeant-at-arms, selecting the first African American for the post that is responsible for the chamber's safety, as Congress overhauls its security arrangements in the wake of the Capitol riot. Pelosi asked Maj. Gen. William J. Walker to take the job in recent days, according to people familiar with the discussions. The previous holder resigned in the wake of the insurrection on Jan. 6.... If confirmed by a majority of the House, Walker will be tasked with all security and logistical planning of the House chamber, its wing of the Capitol and all associated office buildings." Walker is a registered Republican; Donald Trump appointed him to his current job.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The familiarity of [Donald Trump's claim that the Capitol insurrection was really a harmless love-in with nice visitors hugging & kissing police] ... can blur how dangerous it is. When coupled with other developments on Thursday, it becomes much more difficult to ignore the risk posed by a president rationalizing a violent attack on his political opponents." In Missouri, Republican legislators have blocked a voter-approved referendum because a majority of Republican/rural voters voted against it, thus rendering the total favorable vote not really "the will of the people." Meanwhile, in Georgia, legislators are doing their best to make sure the will of the people is never revealed. Oh, and Tucker Carlson says Hunter Biden causes fascism -- we won't even try to unpack that "logic." ~~~

     ~~~ Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "Fox News host Laura Ingraham had to awkwardly interrupt ... Donald Trump during an interview on The Ingraham Angle, as he launched into a rant about the 2020 election being stolen -- some of the same rhetoric that got Fox News and several of their on-air personalities sued for defamation earlier this year. The $2.7 billion lawsuit by Smartmatic Voting Systems accused Fox News, Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, as well as pro-Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, of engaging in a 'disinformation campaign' that defamed their company." Part-way into his rant, Trump began hammering the Supreme Court: "'... the numbers were vastly in favor of us in the presidential election. It was disgraceful that they were able to get away -- the Supreme Court did not have the courage to do what they had to do.' 'Mr. ...yeah, well...' Ingraham began broke in, as Trump began to re-up his election fraud claims and hammer the Court. 'Speaking as a lawyer, we are not going to relitigate the past tonight,' the Fox host ... added."

The Grifter Next Door. Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department has charged 474 people over the past year with trying to swipe more than $569 million by using criminal fraud schemes connected to the covid-19 pandemic and seized at least $580 million in civil proceedings, officials announced Friday, demonstrating how taxpayer-funded programs meant to ease the economic burden of the crisis have become susceptible to scammers. The department said it has seen fraud attempts connected to several government aid programs. The Criminal Division's Fraud Section, for example, has charged at least 120 people in connection with fraud of the Paycheck Protection Program, a taxpayer-subsidized loan program regulated by the Small Business Administration which has long been of concern because of how funds were disbursed with relatively little oversight. The department said it had also seen immense fraud in connection with the Economic Injury Disaster Loans program, and, along with the Secret Service and U.S. attorney's office in Colorado, had seized $580 million of possibly stolen money from that program through administrative procedures." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Looks like people who didn't have much to do because they were stuck at home decided to go into the federal fraud business. Idle hands are the devil's tools. As for me, I stuck to Netflix.

Spencer Hsu & Emily Davies of the Washington Post: "A Proud Boys member and his brother from Oregon have been ordered jailed pending trial on federal charges of conspiring to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, including by allegedly wrenching open a door and impeding police using a pole with a 'Don't Tread on Me' flag. The arrests Tuesday of Jonathanpeter Allen Klein, 21, of Heppner, Ore., and Matthew Leland Klein, 24, of Sherwood, Ore., bring to at least 25 the number of Proud Boys members and associates charged in the rioting that ... led to assaults on nearly 140 police officers. Prosecutors have alleged that four leaders communicated with as many 60 users of an encrypted 'Boots on the Ground' channel to coordinate actions in Washington that day by members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a history of violence. On Friday, a federal magistrate released one of the four, Zach Rehl, 35, of Philadelphia, to house arrest from jail pending trial, but stayed his order pending any appeal."

Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "If the so-called Stop the Steal movement appeared to be chasing a lost cause once President Biden was inaugurated, its supporters among extremist organizations are now adopting a new agenda from the anti-vaccination campaign to try to undermine the government.... Adherents of far-right groups who cluster online have turned repeatedly to one particular website in recent weeks -- the federal database showing deaths and adverse reactions nationwide among people who have received Covid-19 vaccinations. Although negative reactions have been relatively rare, the numbers are used by many extremist groups to try to bolster a rash of false and alarmist disinformation in articles and videos with titles like 'Covid-19 Vaccines Are Weapons of Mass Destruction -- and Could Wipe out the Human Race' or 'Doctors and Nurses Giving the Covid-19 Vaccine Will be Tried as War Criminals.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We should get over the idea that these extremists are well-meaning but deluded nutjobs & dimwits who read too many Trump tweets & QAnon posts, and face the fact that they are malevolent perpetrators of anti-American hoaxes whose aim is to bring down the U.S. government. While a percentage of them are violent insurrectionists, most are probably armchair terrorists. And we should bear in mind that these traitors have supporters who hold high government posts, like Sens. Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley & Rand Paul.

Devin Nunes' Mom. Roger Sollenberger of the Daily Beast: "Two political committees belonging to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) have spent the past two days filing amended FEC reports to correct errors and omissions by their treasurer: his mom. The fundraising committees -- Nunes Victory Fund, and his leadership PAC, NEW PAC -- have also removed Nunes' mother's email address and replaced them with an unspecified 'Treasurer 1' and 'Treasurer 2.'... All but one of the campaign's 2020 FEC reports filed by Nunes' mom contain material errors, according to the [Requests for Additional Information]." MB: The report goes on to cite a lawsuit Nunes brought in which he complained that journalist Ryan Lizza falsely claimed that Mom there had tailed Lizza while Lizza was working on a story about the Nunes family. Don't sue me, Devin, but I'll bet your mom did tail Lizza, in the manner of your hiding in the White House bushes at midnight. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You folks are about one episode away from Season 1 of a madcap NBC sitcom.

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "The New York attorney general's office has partnered with Manhattan's district attorney to investigate Stephen K. Bannon for the alleged fundraising scam that prompted his federal pardon in the waning hours of Donald Trump's presidency, according to people familiar with the matter. The move adds prosecutorial firepower to a criminal case widely seen as an attempted end-run around the former president's bid to protect a political ally. Investigators employed by the state attorney general were deputized to work as prosecutors with the team led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. (D), whose investigation of Bannon began shortly after his pardon was announced in January, these people said." (Also linked yesterday.)

A Florida Man Analyzes Capitol Insurrection. Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump falsely claimed Thursday that his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 posed 'zero threat' -- despite the fact that five people died as a result of the violent insurrection, including a Capitol Police officer. 'It was zero threat. Right from the start, it was zero threat,' Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. 'Look, they went in -- they shouldn't have done it -- some of them went in, and they're hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know? They had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in, and they walked out.' The former president's remarks represent perhaps his most serious distortion yet of the events of Jan. 6.... Prosecutors have arrested more than 300 participants in the Capitol attack, and ... the head of the Capitol Police officers' union has indicated that roughly 140 officers were injured in the insurrection." Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead. MB: Yeah, it was like a kindergarten field trip, wasn't it? (Also linked yesterday.)

Colleen Long of the AP: "Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Friday, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election. The lawsuit is part of a growing body of legal action filed by the voting company and other targets of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by ... Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of Trump's election loss to Joe Biden." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Axios: "The U.S. broke its previous record for most COVID-19 vaccines administered in a single day, with 3.4 million doses reported on Friday, according to the White House.... States have reported a total of 133.3 million vaccine doses, with about 117 million administered since [President] Biden was inaugurated, according to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "States are racing to vaccinate as many people as possible as the United States' coronavirus infection curve continues its plateau for a third week at more than 55,000 new cases per day, a level that health experts warn could rapidly escalate into a new wave.... At least 31 states have pledged to make vaccines universally available to their adult populations by mid-April, and many more have announced plans to expand eligibility on or before May 1, a goal set by President Biden." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Arkansas. Another Southern State Proudly Leans toward the Dark Ages. Andrew DeMillo of the AP: "Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Friday signed into law legislation allowing doctors to refuse to treat someone because of religious or moral objections, a move opponents have said will give providers broad powers to turn away LGBTQ patients and others. The measure says health care workers and institutions have the right to not participate in non-emergency treatments that violate their conscience. The new law won't take effect until late this summer. Opponents of the law, including the Human Rights Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union, have said it will allow doctors to refuse to offer a host of services for LGBTQ patients. The state Chamber of Commerce also opposed the measure, saying it sends the wrong message about the state."

News Lede

CNN: "Two people are dead and at least eight injured after shootings near the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Virginia, police said Saturday. Police found at least eight victims at 'the original crime scene' when they arrived shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said at a press briefing. While police were investigating, shots were fired about a block away, resulting in 'an individual being confronted by a uniform Virginia Beach police officer,' Neudigate said. The officer shot and killed the person in what the chief described as a 'police intervention shooting.' A second person was killed in a separate nearby shooting, Neudigate said. He said police do not believe it was related to the first two shootings."

The Commentariat -- March 26, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

A Florida Man Analyzes Capitol Insurrection. Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump falsely claimed Thursday that his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 posed 'zero threat' -- despite the fact that five people died as a result of the violent insurrection, including a Capitol Police officer. 'It was zero threat. Right from the start, it was zero threat,' Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. 'Look, they went in -- they shouldn't have done it -- some of them went in, and they're hugging and kissing the police and the guards, you know? They had great relationships. A lot of the people were waved in, and then they walked in, and they walked out.' The former president's remarks represent perhaps his most serious distortion yet of the events of Jan. 6.... Prosecutors have arrested more than 300 participants in the Capitol attack, and ... the head of the Capitol Police officers' union has indicated that roughly 140 officers were injured in the insurrection." Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead. MB: Yeah, just like a kindergarten field trip.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "States are racing to vaccinate as many people as possible as the United States coronavirus infection curve continues its plateau for a third week at more than 55,000 new cases per day, a level that health experts warn could rapidly escalate into a new wave.... At least 31 states have pledged to make vaccines universally available to their adult populations by mid-April, and many more have announced plans to expand eligibility on or before May 1, a goal set by President Biden." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Friday are here.

The Grifter Next Door. Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department has charged 474 people over the past year with trying to swipe more than $569 million by using criminal fraud schemes connected to the covid-19 pandemic and seized at least $580 million in civil proceedings, officials announced Friday, demonstrating how taxpayer-funded programs meant to ease the economic burden of the crisis have become susceptible to scammers. The department said it has seen fraud attempts connected to several government aid programs. The Criminal Division's Fraud Section, for example, has charged at least 120 people in connection with fraud of the Paycheck Protection Program, a taxpayer-subsidized loan program regulated by the Small Business Administration which has long been of concern because of how funds were disbursed with relatively little oversight. The department said it had also seen immense fraud in connection with the Economic Injury Disaster Loans program, and, along with the Secret Service and U.S. attorney's office in Colorado, had seized $580 million of possibly stolen money from that program through administrative procedures." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Looks like people who didn't have much to do because they were stuck at home decided to go into the federal fraud business. Idle hands are the devil's tools. As for me, I stuck to Netflix.

Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "If the so-called Stop the Steal movement appeared to be chasing a lost cause once President Biden was inaugurated, its supporters among extremist organizations are now adopting a new agenda from the anti-vaccination campaign to try to undermine the government.... Adherents of far-right groups who cluster online have turned repeatedly to one particular website in recent weeks -- the federal database showing deaths and adverse reactions nationwide among people who have received Covid-19 vaccinations. Although negative reactions have been relatively rare, the numbers are used by many extremist groups to try to bolster a rash of false and alarmist disinformation in articles and videos with titles like 'Covid-19 Vaccines Are Weapons of Mass Destruction -- and Could Wipe out the Human Race' or 'Doctors and Nurses Giving the Covid-19 Vaccine Will be Tried as War Criminals.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We should get over the idea that these extremists are well-meaning but deluded nutjobs & dimwits who read too many Trump tweets & QAnon posts, and face the fact that they are malevolent perpetrators of anti-American hoaxes whose aim is to bring down the U.S. government. While a percentage of them are violent insurrectionists, most are probably armchair terrorists. And we should bear in mind that these traitors have supporters who hold high government posts, like Sens. Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley & Rand Paul.

Colleen Long of the AP: "Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Friday, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election. The lawsuit is part of a growing body of legal action filed by the voting company and other targets of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by ... Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of Trump's election loss to Joe Biden."

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "The New York attorney general's office has partnered with Manhattan's district attorney to investigate Stephen K. Bannon for the alleged fundraising scam that prompted his federal pardon in the waning hours of Donald Trump's presidency, according to people familiar with the matter. The move adds prosecutorial firepower to a criminal case widely seen as an attempted end-run around the former president's bid to protect a political ally. Investigators employed by the state attorney general were deputized to work as prosecutors with the team led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. (D), whose investigation of Bannon began shortly after his pardon was announced in January, these people said."

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** Welcome Back, Jim Crow. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Georgia Republicans on Thursday passed a sweeping law to restrict voting access in the state, introducing more rigid voter identification requirements for absentee balloting, limiting drop boxes and expanding the Legislature's power over elections.... The law is less stringent than the initial iterations of the bill, it introduces a raft of new restrictions for voting and elections in the state..., stripping the secretary of state of some of his authority, imposing new oversight of county election boards, restricting who can vote with provisional ballots, and making it a crime to offer food or water to voters waiting in lines.... The law passed the Georgia House on Thursday morning by a party-line vote of 100 to 75, and was approved by the Senate in the evening on a 34-to-20 vote before being signed by Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican.... The new measures make Georgia the first major battleground to overhaul its election system since the turmoil of last year's presidential contest.... Seeking to appease a conservative base that remains incensed about the results of the 2020 election, Republicans have already passed a similar law in Iowa, and are moving forward with efforts to restrict voting in states including Arizona, Florida and Texas.... [President] Biden joined Georgia Democrats on Thursday in denouncing efforts to limit voting, calling Republicans' push around the country 'the most pernicious thing.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Shear & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Thursday that Republican efforts to limit voting rights were 'sick' and 'un-American,' vowing to prevent states from taking what he called 'despicable' actions that undermine democracy by making it harder for people to cast ballots.... But when asked about ending the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to approve most legislation -- one of the biggest obstacles to the voting rights bill and much of the rest of his agenda -- the president was more cautious, suggesting he was open to change but not committing himself to it.... But he also signaled more directly than he has previously that he might eventually back more far-reaching proposals to limit or abolish the filibuster if doing so turned out to be essential for passage of a voting rights measure and other key elements of his agenda...." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's story is here. CNN's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Ari Berman of Mother Jones: "During the 2020 election cycle in Georgia, Donald Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to 'find 11,780 votes' to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the state. His efforts to manipulate the electoral process failed after Raffensperger stood up to the president.... But if the Georgia legislature has its way, Republicans could have a much easier time overturning the will of voters in future elections. The Georgia House of Representatives passed a major power grab on Thursday on a party-line vote that would remove Raffensperger as the chair and a voting member of the state election board ... and instead allow the GOP-controlled legislature to appoint a majority of the board's members, including the chair.... The state board, in turn, would have extraordinary power under the bill to take over county election boards..., raising the possibility that elections officials appointed by and beholden to the heavily gerrymandered Republican legislature could take over election operations in Democratic strongholds.... UPDATE: The Georgia Senate passed the House bill on Thursday afternoon. It was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp a few hours later." ~~~

     ~~~ As Rachel Maddow put it, the new law sanctions what Trump tried, and failed, to do. Other Republican-led states plan to do the same. ~~~

~~~ Adding Injury to Insult. Shades of Bull Connor. Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "A Democratic Georgia state lawmaker was arrested by state troopers and charged on Thursday after she knocked on Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) door multiple times as he signed a controversial voting bill into law. Police told The Hill that Rep. Park Cannon (D) was taken to the Fulton County Jail, where she was charged with obstruction of law enforcement, as well as 'Preventing or disrupting General Assembly sessions or other meetings of members.' Late Thursday night, NAACP Attorney Gerald Griggs confirmed to reporters that the representative had been released during an impromptu press gaggle outside the jail. He added that Cannon sustained bruises during her arrest." ~~~

     ~~~ Pamela Kirkland, et al., of CNN: "Georgia US Sen. Raphael Warnock, who has slammed the bill signed Thursday for restricting voter access, visited [Rep. Park] Cannon at the jail. His office said in a statement that Cannon is a parishioner at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Warnock has served as senior pastor. Cannon faces two felony charges -- felony obstruction and preventing or disrupting general assembly session, according to an arrest affidavit seen by CNN. The affidavit states that Cannon was charged with disrupting General Assembly session because she 'knowingly and intentionally did by knocking the governor's door during session of singing [sic] a bill.'" MB: I do wish Kemp had been required to sing the bill.

     ~~~ Marie: Officials acts of racism did not end well for the racists in the 1860s nor in the 1960s. It took a long time then and it could take a long time now, but I don't think white racists are going to win this recidivist fight, either.

Jonathan Lemire & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden at his first news conference Thursday left the door open to pushing for fundamental changes in Senate procedures to muscle key elements of his agenda such as immigration and voting rights past firm Republican opposition 'if there's complete lockdown and chaos.' The 78-year-old president also, for the first time, said his 'plan is to run for reelection, that is my expectation.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Sean Sullivan & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Thursday set a hierarchy for the country's numerous crises, pledging to administer 200 million coronavirus vaccine shots by the end of April, repair the country's infrastructure and move aggressively to expand voting rights -- while presenting guns and immigration as secondary priorities. In his first presidential news conference, Biden outlined a sort of triage, signaling that his focus for now is chiefly on addressing the pandemic and embarking on a push to rebuild roads, bridges and technology.... Much of the hour-long session was taken up with a discussion of the border, heated at times.... He blamed the Trump administration's policies, saying they left him at a disadvantage, and said he has not traveled to the border because he felt it would be a distraction." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Biden & Schumer should be prioritizing passage of the For the People bill because time is of the essence. Passage of the bill would mean that most states would have to revise their election laws to conform to the new federal law. Plus, there will certainly be a lot of lawsuits challenging both the federal law & nonconforming state laws. ~~~

~~~ Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "President Biden used [his first presidential news conference] to pledge that 200 million covid-19 vaccinations would be administered by the end of his first 100 days, double his original goal.... He also announced that a survey showed nearly half of K-12 schools are open full-time for in-person learning.... Certainly, that should be near the top of any news coverage.... On immigration, he made clear that crowded facilities at the southern border are not the result of a policy change from his administration or the fact that migrants see him as a 'nice guy.' He pointed out that there was a higher surge under his predecessor last spring, which certainly was not because migrants believed the former president was a 'nice' guy.... Try as they might to seem 'tough,' the media did not succeed in knocking Biden off message. Biden spoke in great detail and length to show not only his mastery of the issues but also to suck tension and conflict out of the room.... The media did not distinguish themselves. They pleaded for a news conference and then showed themselves to be unserious." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I agree with Rubin. Most reporters were looking for gotcha questions, and they figured immigration was the place to pounce. Therefore, they asked overlapping questions; after many questions -- asked & answered -- of a similar vein, one reporter cited a horror story of a 9-year-old walking from Honduras to the U.S.-Mexican border, & what would he do about that child?Biden's answer, BTW, was spot on: since the reporter mentioned the child's mother in Honduras, Biden said he would send the child back to his mother. ~~~

     ~~~ A reporter asked President Biden if he agreed with President Obama that the filibuster was a relic of the Jim Crow era. Biden said "Yes." Zack Beauchamp of Vox explains that "the modern version [of the filibuster], created in 1917, really does have a racist history.... The defenders of Jim Crow pioneered this new filibuster, successfully deploying it again and again to block civil rights bills.... 'It's been a tool used overwhelmingly by racists,' says Kevin Kruse, a historian of race and American politics...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Dan Froomkin of Press Watch: "The White House press corps' abysmal failure to ask important questions about pressing issues during President Biden's first news conference on Thursday was the clearest demonstration yet of the contrast between what the political media cares about and what is real.... The questions reflected the insider, horse-racy obsessions of the political press corps. There were repeated questions about the filibuster, and about the 2024 election(!). There were several contentious questions about the situation at the border, which the right-wing is intent on turning into a cause for hysteria -- with the mainstream media's collaboration. The first border question, from PBS's Yamiche Alcindor, contained such a false and loaded assumption -- direct from far-right talking points -- that Biden actually fact-checked it. That's right, after four years of the media desperately needing to fact-check the president (and often failing), now the president has to fact-check the media.... [White House reporters] should all be replaced with people who care about governing, not politics...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Froomkin is right. Watching the presser was like listening to a high-school teacher parrying with a classful of smartass, callow students.

Ellen Knickmeyer of the AP: "The United States on Thursday imposed what it calls its most significant sanctions to date over the military coup in Myanmar, restricting American dealings with two giant Myanmar military holding companies that dominate much of that country's economy. The sanctions are the latest that the Biden administration and Europea governments have laid on Myanmar since Feb. 1, when the country's generals seized power on the day a newly elected parliament was due to be sworn in. Security forces since then have killed and detained street protesters amid demands for a return to civilian government." (Also linked yesterday.)

Zach Montellaro & Eugene Daniels of Politico: "Black civil rights leaders, voting rights advocates and elected officials are ramping up their lobbying of Senate Democrats to nix the filibuster, arguing that they can keep the rule in place or pass voting rights legislation, but not both. In a half-dozen interviews, top officials framed the choice as existential for a party that depends on Black and brown voters -- and they are planning pressure campaigns privately and publicly to make that clear.... 'The pressure that we are going to put on [Sens.] Sinema and Manchin is calling [the filibuster] racist and saying that they are, in effect, supporting racism,' Sharpton said. 'Why would they be wedded to something that has those results? Their voters need to know that.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The conservative social network Parler informed the FBI of 'specific threats of violence being planned at the Capitol' in advance of the Jan. 6 riot there, the company asserted in a letter to lawmakers Thursday, deepening questions about why the bureau did not muster a more aggressive response. In a lengthy letter to Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, lawyers for Parler wrote that the company referred violent content from its platform to the FBI more than 50 times, and those referrals included specific threats to the U.S. Capitol.... FBI officials have since said it can be challenging to distinguish aspirational boasts from actual threats in the massive amount of incendiary chatter online, though FBI Director Christopher A. Wray has conceded that what happened at the Capitol was not 'an acceptable result.'" MB: If the content of the Parler letter is true -- and it appears Parler has the receipts -- Chris Wray should fall on his sword & resign. To do less is not "an acceptable result."

John Tedesco of the Houston Chronicle, et al., published in the Texas Tribune: "The Texas attorney general's office is attempting to withhold all messages [AG] Ken Paxton sent or received while in Washington for the pro-Donald Trump rally that devolved into a riot at the U.S. Capitol. Several news organizations in Texas have requested copies of the attorney general's work-related communications. The Texas Public Information Act guarantees the public's right to government records -- even if those records are stored on personal devices or online accounts of public officials. After Paxton's office refused to release copies of his emails and text messages, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, The Austin American-Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, and The San Antonio Express-News are working together in an effort to obtain the documents and review Paxton's open-records practices."

Brian Fung of CNN: "The chief executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter faced withering criticism from members of Congress on Thursday about their handling of misinformation and online extremism during their first appearance before lawmakers since the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee pressed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey about their platforms' efforts to stem baseless election fraud claims and vaccine skepticism. Opaque algorithms that prioritize user engagement and promote misinformation also came under scrutiny.... In his introductory remarks, Zuckerberg rejected responsibility for fomenting the riots, pinning the blame squarely on Trump and a 'political and media environment that drives Americans apart.' Zuckerberg said Facebook 'did our part to secure the integrity of the election. And then on Jan. 6, President Trump gave a speech ... calling on people to fight.'" The Washington Post's story -- a sort-of liveblog -- is here.

Politico has a story about a 2018 incident involving Hunter Biden, a fight with his wife Hallie, a gun his wife tossed in a trash can but then went missing, and some mysterious Secret Service agents. In case you want to read it. ~~~

~~~ U.S. Senate Race, Ohio. AND for anyone who would like to be reminded of Ways of Donald Trump, Alex Isenstadt of Politico describes a surprise meeting Trump called before a fundraising reception in West Palm Beach among four GOP candidates for the open Ohio U.S. Senate seat. Trump, according to the report, forced the candidates into a "Hunger Games"/"Apprentice"-style contest. One of the candidates, a snarky twerp named Josh Mandel who is the Ohio state treasurer, said at one point, "Mr. President I only know two ways to do things: either not at all, or balls to the wall. I hired a bunch of killers on my team. I'm a killer, and we're going to win the primary and then the general."; So if you want a homicidal maniac as your U.S. senator, Josh is your guy.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Isaac Stanley-Becker & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "President Biden's first vaccine promise -- 100 million shots in his first 100 days -- was met 42 days early. So on Thursday he doubled it, saying 200 million doses will have been administered under his presidency by April 30. The nation is already poised to meet the revised target, as the seven-day average of daily vaccinations surpasses 2.5 million. Vaccine supply is also expected to expand in April, prompting numerous states to throw open eligibility to everyone 16 and older.... 'I know it's ambitious -- twice our original goal -- but no other country in the world has even come close, not even close, to what we're doing,' Biden said as part of introductory remarks before his first formal news conference. 'I believe we can do it.'"

Howard Schneider of Reuters: "The United States squandered both money and lives in its response to the coronavirus pandemic, and it could have avoided nearly 400,000 deaths with a more effective health strategy and trimmed federal spending by hundreds of billions of dollars while still supporting those who needed it. That is the conclusion of a group of research papers released at a Brookings Institution conference this week, offering an early and broad start to what will likely be an intense effort in coming years to assess the response to the worst pandemic in a century. U.S. COVID-19 fatalities could have stayed under 300,000, versus a death toll of 540,000 and rising, if by last May the country had adopted widespread mask, social distancing, and testing protocols while awaiting a vaccine, estimated Andrew Atkeson, economics professor at University of California, Los Angeles."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Shawn Hubler, et al., of the New York Times: "The University of Southern California on Thursday announced that it will pay more than $1.1 billion to the former patients of a campus gynecologist accused of preying sexually on hundreds of patients.... The staggering sum -- a combination of three sets of settlements with thousands of alleged victims of Dr. George Tyndall -- sets a record for collegiate sex abuse payouts, compensating a generation of young U.S.C. women. The U.S.C. claims -- which arose from only one of several scandals to engulf the university in recent years -- reflected a 2018 federal class action settled earlier for $215 million, a second group of several dozen cases in which the amount of the settlement was not made public and a third settlement for $852 million with about 700 plaintiffs, which the university said was reached with the aid of a private mediator and a Los Angeles Superior Court judge."

Georgia. Lateshia Beachum of the Washington Post: A Peachtree City auto mechanics shop paid a former employee his last paycheck in 91,515 greasy pennies left at the end of his driveway, after the employee repeatedly demanded payment. the ex-employee, Andreas Flaten, "said the working relationship soured when the business's owner, Miles Walker, didn't honor their agreement that Flaten could pick up his child from day-care at 5 p.m. each day." Flaten quit, giving two weeks' notice & returning his laundered uniform in a box. "Allegations of dysfunction have dogged the auto shop.... One former employee told CBS 46 that Walker has ripped up final paychecks in front of employees before, and another former employee alleged that he pulled down her pants in a lobby as a joke.... Flaten probably doesn't have any legal options to pursue because being paid in greasy pennies for work isn't exactly illegal, a spokesperson for the Labor Department told the New York Times." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm not sure that's true. Since the pennies were dropped on Flaten's driveway without his consent, he did not "accept" them. Federal law does not require that a business or individual accept the particular legal tender offered. For instance, you've probably seen signs in convenience stores advising that the store won't accept, say, $50 bills & higher. Plus the fact that Walker had the pennies dumped on Flaten's driveway suggests that Walker obstructed Flaten's full use of his property: he couldn't get vehicles in and out; that could breach some local nuisance law.

New York. David Goodman & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "An impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo widened on Thursday to include revelations that the governor's family and other influential people were given special access to state-run coronavirus tests early in the pandemic. The judiciary committee of the New York State Assembly has been looking into several allegations of sexual harassment made in recent weeks against Mr. Cuomo, as well as the manipulation by his senior staff of data related to nursing home deaths. On Thursday, the chair of the committee, Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine, said the preferential access for Mr. Cuomo's family to hard-to-get tests in the beginning of the pandemic would also become part of the inquiry. Those who got tests, mostly during last March when few were available, included the governor's brother, the CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, their mother, Matilda Cuomo, and at least one of their sisters." MB: Things are not looking good for our own Prince Randy Andy. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Ted Johnson of Deadline: "CNN is defending anchor Chris Cuomo in the wake of a report that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo secured access to Covid-19 testing for family members.... Chris Cuomo tested positive for the virus almost a year ago and publicly talked about his symptoms and recovery process on the show. [CNN made an excuse for that, too.] Earlier this month, Cuomo said that he would not cover controversies surrounding his brother, including sexual harassment allegations that have led to calls for his resignation."

~~~ David Goodman, et al., of the New York Times: “The president of Regeneron, a pharmaceutical company with longstanding ties to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, received special access to coronavirus testing last year as the first wave of the pandemic tore through New York and tests were severely limited. The company requested tests from the state for its president, Dr. George Yancopoulos, and his family after a 'member of his household became infected with Covid-19,' a company spokeswoman said. State officials granted the request and tested the family at home in March."

New York. We Do Smoke Marijuana in Oswego. Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "New York State officials finalized a deal on Thursday to legalize recreational marijuana in the state, paving the way for a potential $4.2 billion industry that could create tens of thousands of jobs and become one of the largest markets in the country. Following several failed attempts, lawmakers in Albany struck an agreement with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, a move that officials hope will help end years of racially disproportionate policing that saw Black and Hispanic people arrested on low-level marijuana charges far more frequently than white people."

Way Beyond

Egypt. Vivian Yee of the New York Times: "As tugboats strained against the weight of the mammoth ship and dredgers worked to clear sand and mud, a salvage company working on the operation warned on Thursday that releasing the container vessel blocking traffic in the Suez Canal could take days or even weeks. Dozens of ships laden with oil and goods destined for ports around the world are stranded in the canal, and with each passing hour, the economic cost of the disruption grows more consequential. The stuck ship, the Ever Given, has been wedged in the canal since running aground amid the heavy winds of a sandstorm on Tuesday. Its bow is lodged in the canal's eastern bank and its stern in the western bank." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Israel. Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fallen short of securing the parliamentary majority he needs to stay in office, according to the official election count announced Thursday, raising the possibility that Israel's political gridlock will continue. The results of Tuesday's election confirm that Netanyahu's Likud party won the most seats in the Israeli Knesset. But the bloc of parties that are certain to support him has only won 52 seats, nine shy of the number needed for a majority in the parliament. His opponents, too, failed to garner a majority, with the disparate group of anti-Netanyahu parties securing 57 seats."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Larry McMurtry, a prolific novelist and screenwriter who demythologized the American West with his unromantic depictions of life on the 19th-century frontier and in contemporary small-town Texas, died on Thursday at home in Archer City, Texas. He was 84."

New York Times: "Beverly Cleary, who enthralled tens of millions of young readers with the adventures and mishaps of Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, the bratty Ramona Quimby and her older sister Beezus, and other residents of Klickitat Street, died on Thursday in Carmel, Calif. She was 104."

Weather Channel: "Severe storms that left at least five people dead in Alabama continued to cause damage early Friday after moving into Georgia. The National Weather Service declared a tornado emergency for Newnan, Georgia, shortly after midnight. The city, about 35 miles southwest of Atlanta, experienced heavy damage in and around its historic downtown, according to a tweet from city officials."

The Commentariat -- March 25, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Jonathan Lemire & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden at his first news conference Thursday left the door open to pushing for fundamental changes in Senate procedures to muscle key elements of his agenda such as immigration and voting rights past firm Republican opposition 'if there's complete lockdown and chaos.' The 78-year-old president also, for the first time, said his 'plan is to run for reelection, that is my expectation.'" ~~~

~~~ Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "President Biden used [his first presidential news conference] to pledge that 200 million covid-19 vaccinations would be administered by the end of his first 100 days, double his original goal.... He also announced that a survey showed nearly half of K-12 schools are open full-time for in-person learning.... Certainly, that should be near the top of any news coverage.... On immigration, he made clear that crowded facilities at the southern border are not the result of a policy change from his administration or the fact that migrants see him as a 'nice guy.' He pointed out that there was a higher surge under his predecessor last spring, which certainly was not because migrants believed the former president was a 'nice' guy.... Try as they might to seem 'tough,' the media did not succeed in knocking Biden off message. Biden spoke in great detail and length to show not only his mastery of the issues but also to suck tension and conflict out of the room.... The media did not distinguish themselves. They pleaded for a news conference and then showed themselves to be unserious." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I agree with Rubin. Most reporters were looking for gotcha questions, and they figured immigration was the best place to pounce. Therefore, they asked overlapping questions; after many questions -- asked & answered -- of a similar vein, one reporter cited a horror story of a 9-year-old walking from Honduras to the U.S.-Mexican border, & what would he do about that child? Biden's answer, BTW, was spot on: since the reporter mentioned the child's mother in Honduras, Biden said he would send the child back to mom. ~~~

     ~~~ A reporter asked President Biden if he agreed with President Obama that the filibuster was a relic of the Jim Crow era. Biden said "Yes." Zack Beauchamp of Vox explains that "the modern version [of the filibuster], created in 1917, really does have a racist history.... The defenders of Jim Crow pioneered this new filibuster, successfully deploying it again and again to block civil rights bills.... 'It's been a tool used overwhelmingly by racists,' says Kevin Kruse, a historian of race and American politics...."

David Goodman & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "An impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo widened on Thursday to include revelations that the governor's family and other influential people were given special access to state-run coronavirus tests early in the pandemic. The judiciary committee of the New York State Assembly has been looking into several allegations of sexual harassment made in recent weeks against Mr. Cuomo, as well as the manipulation by his senior staff of data related to nursing home deaths. On Thursday, the chair of the committee, Assemblyman Charles D. Lavine, said the preferential access for Mr. Cuomo's family to hard-to-get tests in the beginning of the pandemic would also become part of the inquiry. Those who got tests, mostly during last March when few were available, included the governor's brother, the CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, their mother, Matilda Cuomo, and at least one of their sisters." MB: Things are not looking good for our own Randy Andy.

Ellen Knickmeyer of the AP: "The United States on Thursday imposed what it calls its most significant sanctions to date over the military coup in Myanmar, restricting American dealings with two giant Myanmar military holding companies that dominate much of that country's economy. The sanctions are the latest that the Biden administration and European governments have laid on Myanmar since Feb. 1, when the country's generals seized power on the day a newly elected parliament was due to be sworn in. Security forces since then have killed and detained street protesters amid demands for a return to civilian government."

Zach Montellaro & Eugene Daniels of Politico: "Black civil rights leaders, voting rights advocates and elected officials are ramping up their lobbying of Senate Democrats to nix the filibuster, arguing that they can keep the rule in place or pass voting rights legislation, but not both. In a half-dozen interviews, top officials framed the choice as existential for a party that depends on Black and brown voters -- and they are planning pressure campaigns privately and publicly to make that clear.... 'The pressure that we are going to put on [Sens.] Sinema and Manchin is calling [the filibuster] racist and saying that they are, in effect, supporting racism,' Sharpton said. 'Why would they be wedded to something that has those results? Their voters need to know that.'"

Vivian Yee of the New York Times: "As tugboats strained against the weight of the mammoth ship and dredgers worked to clear sand and mud, a salvage company working on the operation warned on Thursday that releasing the container vessel blocking traffic in the Suez Canal could take days or even weeks. Dozens of ships laden with oil and goods destined for ports around the world are stranded in the canal, and with each passing hour, the economic cost of the disruption grows more consequential. The stuck ship, the Ever Given, has been wedged in the canal since running aground amid the heavy winds of a sandstorm on Tuesday. Its bow is lodged in the canal's eastern bank and its stern in the western bank." The AP's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

** Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Democrats began pushing on Wednesday for the most substantial expansion of voting rights in a half-century, laying the groundwork in the Senate for what would be a fundamental change to the ways voters get to the polls and elections are run. At a contentious hearing on Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders made a passionate case for a bill that would mandate automatic voter registration nationwide, expand early and mail-in voting, end gerrymandering that skews congressional districts for maximum partisan advantage and curb the influence of money in politics.... Republicans have introduced more than 250 bills to restrict voting in 43 states and have continued to spread false accusations of fraud and impropriety in the 2020 election.... Conceding that allowing more people to vote would probably hurt their candidates, [Senate Republicans] denounced the legislation, passed by the House this month, as a power grab by Democrats intent on federalizing elections to give themselves a permanent political advantage.... ~~~

"'Any American who thinks that the fight for a full and fair democracy is over is sadly and sorely mistaken,' said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader. 'Today, in the 21st century, there is a concerted, nationwide effort to limit the rights of citizens to vote and to truly have a voice in their own government.' Mr. Schumer's rare appearance at a committee meeting underscored the stakes, not just for the election process but for his party's own political future. He called the proposed voting rollbacks in dozens of states ... an 'existential threat to our democracy' reminiscent of the Jim Crow segregationist laws of the past. He chanted 'Shame! Shame! Shame!' at Republicans who were promoting them." ~~~

An ABC News "both sides" story is here.

This is a solution in search of problem. States are not engaging in trying to suppress voters whatsoever. This is clearly an effort by one party to rewrite the rules of our political system.... With all [due] respect, this is nonsense. This is a power grab. This is all about taking over the American election system. -- Sen. Mitch McConnell, lying through his teeth at a Senate Rules Committee hearing ~~~

~~~ Hannah Maio of CNBC: "Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell skirmished over election reform during a Senate Rules Committee hearing on a bill that Democrats argue would strengthen voting rights.... McConnell shot back [at Schumer]: 'Talk about shame. If anybody ought to be feeling any shame around here, it's turning the FEC into a partisan prosecutor. The majority controlled by the president's party to harass and intimidate the other side -- that's what you ought to be ashamed about.' The legislation would reform the Federal Election Commission to have five commissioners, down from the current six, 'in order to break gridlock,' according to a Democratic description of the legislation." ~~~

~~~ Jim Spencer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The debate over a massive federal voting rights act erupted in tense exchanges Wednesday as Sen. Amy Klobuchar faced withering GOP criticism that the changes would cause chaos and undermine states' rights. The Minnesota Democrat, a lead sponsor of the For the People Act, said at a hearing of the Rules Committee she chairs that the measure is essential as GOP legislators in states across the country have drafted more than 250 measures to restrict voting access. She pointed to the chaos of hourslong waits at polling places, new limitations on early voting and new restrictions on who can cast mail-in ballots. 'The bill simply tries to make it easier to vote,' Klobuchar said. 'The For the People Act is the best chance to stop the rollback of voting rights.' Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the ranking Republican on the Senate Rules ... Committee..., insisted, repeatedly, that many of the proposals to restrict voting access will not pass. He called allegations of voter suppression by Klobuchar and other Democrats 'a false narrative.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So the GOP pushback is "But, but, these Republican state bills are so bad they won't pass"? First, many will pass in GOP-controlled states, and second, that's a pretty stupid argument.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris would lead the administration's efforts to deter migration to the southwestern border by working to improve conditions in Central America, plunging her into one of the most politically fraught issues facing the White House. The president said he had directed Ms. Harris to oversee the administration's plans to pump billions of dollars into the ravaged economies of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. She will work with the leaders of Central American governments to bolster the region's economy in the hopes of reducing the violence and poverty that often drive families in those countries to seek refuge in the United States.... The announcement underscores the sense of urgency at the border, where the administration has struggled to move thousands of young migrants from detention centers meant for adults into shelters managed by the Department of Health and Human Services.... Ms. Harris acknowledged on Wednesday that 'no question this is a challenging situation,' but said that she was looking forward to engaging in discussions with leaders of Central American countries." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While the appointment of the Vice President signals the importance of the effort, it would have been easier for a person who was fluent in Spanish to "engage in discussions." Harris does not speak Spanish.

Des Bieler & Cindy Boren of the Washington Post: "Megan Rapinoe took the U.S. women's national soccer team's battle for equal pay to the White House on Wednesday, declaring while on a stage with President Biden and first lady Jill Biden that, despite her enormous success with the team, 'I have been devalued, I've been disrespected and dismissed because I am a woman.' Speaking at an event marking Equal Pay Day, Rapinoe declared: 'Despite all of the wins, I am still paid less than men who do the same job that I do. For each trophy -- of which there are many -- for each win, each tie and for each time that we play, it's less.' Rapinoe, who testified earlier in the day about gender discrimination at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, introduced President Biden as 'one of our greatest allies.' In his remarks, Biden spoke of how the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated inequalities for women in the workplace, touted the benefits of the American Rescue Plan and called on Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act."

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Dr. Rachel Levine, President Biden's pick to be assistant secretary for health, made history on Wednesday by becoming the first openly transgender person confirmed by the Senate to a federal position, and immediately vowed to 'promote policies that advance the health and well-being of all Americans' and to fight for transgender youth. The Senate vote, 52 to 48, followed a contentious confirmation hearing that became a flash point in the battle over transgender rights." An AP story is here.

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is taking the unusual step of making a public accounting of the Trump administration's political interference in science, drawing up a list of dozens of regulatory decisions that may have been warped by political interference in objective research. The effort could buttress efforts to unwind pro-business regulations of the past four years, while uplifting science staff battered by four years of disregard. It is particularly explicit at the Environmental Protection Agency, where President Biden's political appointees said they felt that an honest accounting of past problems was necessary to assure career scientists that their findings would no longer be buried or manipulated. In a blunt memo this month, one senior Biden appointee said political tampering under the Trump administration had 'compromised the integrity' of some agency science." (Also linked yesterday.)

Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: "Millions of disabled and retired Americans are still waiting for their $1,400 stimulus payments because of a holdup at the Social Security Administration, House Democrats said Wednesday. Social Security hasn't handed over payment information that the Internal Revenue Service needs to send the coronavirus relief checks to nearly 30 million people receiving retirement or disability benefits, Democrats said." The Social Security Commissione is Andrew Saul, a Trump appointee.

Laura Reiley of the Washington Post: "A tiny fraction of the Trump administration's coronavirus relief for American farmers -- just 0.1 percent of the overall package -- went to Black farmers, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.... In an interview with The Washington Post, Vilsack for the first time noted the extent to which the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated existing disparities across the American economy. The distribution of coronavirus relief increased those gaps, he said.... 'We saw 99 percent of the money going to White farmers and 1 percent going to socially disadvantaged farmers and if you break that down to how much went to Black farmers, it's 0.1 percent,' he said. 'Look at it another way: The top 10 percent of farmers in the country received 60 percent of the value of the covid payments. And the bottom 10 percent received 0.26 percent.'"

Wait for the 6th when we are all in DC to insurrection.... Tell your friend this isn't a Rally!! -- Kelly Meggs, Oath Keepers leader, to recruits, December 19, 2020 & January 3, coining an infinitive verb, "to insurrection" ~~~

~~~ Rachel Weiner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal investigators have been building conspiracy cases against associates of two organized right-wing groups accused of breaking into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 -- the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. Now, they say members of the two groups coordinated beforehand, preparing for violence. 'This week I organized an alliance between Oath Keepers, Florida 3%ers, and Proud Boys,' Oath Keepers leader Kelly Meggs wrote Dec. 19, in one of a string of Facebook communications included by prosecutors in a detention memo filed Tuesday in his case. 'We have decided to work together and shut this [expletive] ... down.'... A week later, Meggs allegedly said he had 'orchestrated a plan with the proud boys' for Jan. 6.... The discussion centered not on invading the Capitol but on attacking left-wing 'antifa' supporters in case ... Donald Trump called in the military or Republican lawmakers otherwise blocked the certification of Joe Biden's victory as president."

Ariane de Vogue of CNN: "Sidney Powell..., Donald Trump's former lawyer, filed an eye-popping brief this week that could potentially doom her chances of dismissing a $1.3 billion defamation suit and provide ammunition in a separate lawsuit seeking her disbarment. Powell, who repeatedly pressed unfounded claims of voter fraud on the airwaves and in court, now says that 'reasonable' people would not accept her statements as 'fact' because the legal process hadn't yet played out. It was a stunning admission from a woman who served for a time as one of Trump's top legal lieutenants. It could also put her in real legal jeopardy as she fights the defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems -- a manufacturer that provides election equipment used by more than 40% of US voters -- as well as a motion for sanctions in Michigan as a part of a case she brought there alleging election fraud."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Defense Department's top watchdog has found that a senior Navy official sexually harassed women in his office for years, a pattern of behavior that employees described to investigators as an 'open secret,' according to a new report released Wednesday. Several women said that Ronnie J. Booth, the former auditor general of the Navy, propositioned them sexually, and one employee said she had a years-long sexual relationship with him. Seven women said they either transferred out from under his supervision or requested to do so.... On Wednesday, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks also announced the beginning of a 90-day review of sexual assault and harassment in the military by a new,independent commission established by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin."

Sabrina Rodriguez, et al., of Politico: "As Senate Republicans continued to torch the Biden administration over its handling of the border situation this week..., a bipartisan group of senators met to discuss immigration reform. The meeting, convened Wednesday by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, was the first time this Congress that Democrats and Republicans have actually sat in the same room to discuss the issue.... And while Democrats have long pushed for legislation to offer permanent legal protections to undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children, Republicans are making it clear that they won't support anything without additional border security."

Congressmen, Heal Thyselves. Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: “A Washington Post analysis found that seven Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who are scheduled to grill the chief executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter about election misinformation on Thursday sent tweets that advanced baseless narratives of election fraud, or otherwise supported ... Donald Trump's efforts to challenge the results of the presidential election. They were among 15 of the 26 Republican members of the committee who voted to overturn President Biden's election victory.... 'It would be very difficult to call what will happen tomorrow oversight, given that any number of those involved in oversight were actively spreading disinformation and misinformation on the platforms they're theoretically overseeing,' [Graham] Brookie [of the Atlantic Council] said in an interview.... These lawmakers' posts remain available on Twitter, despite promises from the tech companies to crack down on posts that challenge the integrity of the election." A Raw Story summary report is here.

GOP Buffoon of the Day. Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "As the House Armed Services Committee met Wednesday to consider extreism in the U.S. military, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Tex.) tried to push back on the credibility of the hate-group researcher testifying before the lawmakers. 'Has your organization named the American Legion as a hate group?' Fallon asked a puzzled Lecia Brooks, chief of staff at the Southern Poverty Law Center. 'Were you aware that the organization named the VFW, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, as a hate group?' he continued. 'You had in the past.' A spokesperson for the SPLC confirmed to The Washington Post that it has never listed either veterans organization on its 'hate map,' a much-cited, sometimes challenged list of extremist groups. But as Brooks pointed out later in the hearing, Fallon's claim wasn't just false -- it had been fabricated by a satirical news site, Duffel Blog, that lampoons the U.S. military.... The fake Duffel Blog story on the SPLC, which appeared under the byline 'Dick Scuttlebutt'..., said [the former president of the SPLC] had been interviewed in 'his corporate think-tank steam room, where Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Moscow) was seen relaxing in the nude.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, you'd have to be really stupid not to recognize the story as a spoof even if you had never heard of Duffel Blog. In fairness to Fallon, he is an exemplary Republican. Most of them seldom "consider the source," and even when they do, they don't choose the most reliable sources. For instance, on the topic of election fraud, millions of Republicans believed the Liar-in-Chief, but not, say, the New York Times. Or they believe the guy at the diner over a report in the Topeka Capital-Journal. They just don't know any better. ~~~

     ~~~ A Task & Purpose story is here. Duffel Blog is a satirical site run by the editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "An updated company analysis of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford showed that the two-shot regimen was robustly effective -- 76 percent a preventing symptomatic illness -- according to a news release from the drugmaker late Wednesday. The finding, only slightly lower than results announced days earlier, underscores that the vaccine being widely used by many countries appears to be a powerful tool to help end the pandemic. No severe cases of illness were reported in study volunteers who received the vaccine. Among people 65 and older, the vaccine was 85 percent effective, the company reported."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Illinois. David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "The chief operating officer of a small Chicago hospital resigned on Wednesday after reports that he used coronavirus vaccines meant for low-income residents to vaccinate employees at his luxury wristwatch dealer, his regular steakhouse and his condo building -- which is former president Donald Trump's Chicago tower. The resignation of Anosh Ahmed was announced late Wednesday by Loretto Hospital, a hospital serving a majority-Black neighborhood on Chicago's West Side. Ahmed's actions -- reported over the past week by the news site Block Club Chicago -- had raised concerns that Loretto executives were putting their friends ahead of their patients. The city of Chicago had already cut off Loretto's supply of new vaccines while it investigated."

Christopher Rowland & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "Moncef Slaoui, the pharmaceutical industry veteran and vaccine specialist who led ... Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed, was fired from the board of a medical company Wednesday over allegations of sexual misconduct. GlaxoSmithKline, the majority shareholder of Galvani Bioelectronics and Slaoui's former longtime employer where he led vaccine development, announced it terminated Slaoui as Galvani chairman following an investigation triggered by a letter sent last month detailing alleged `sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct." The alleged misconduct occurred `several years ago' and was aimed at another employee of GlaxoSmithKline while Slaoui also worked for the pharmaceutical giant, the company said in a statement." A USA Today story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. David Goodman & Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration arranged special access to government-run coronavirus testing for members of his family and other influential people as the pandemic descended on New York last year, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The move to make testing of people closely tied to Mr. Cuomo a priority was carried out by high-ranking state health officials, one of the people said. It came as the seriousness of the virus was still becoming clear to the broader public and testing was not widely available to most people. Among those who benefited from the special treatment was the governor's brother, the CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, and his family, who were tested several times in the pandemic's early phase, this person said. The governor's mother, Matilda Cuomo, and at least one of his sisters were also able to take advantage of the state-administered tests, the two people said." The Albany Times Union story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "Charles Russell was shopping ... inside a Publix supermarket in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon when he saw a man with a rifle walking into a bathroom. 'I saw an AR-15,' Russell told WSB-TV, referring to a similar style of semiautomatic weapon that a gunman used to kill 10 in a Boulder, Colo., supermarket on Monday.... Russell told a store manager about the gun, and an employee phoned police, who arrested Rico Marley, 22, after he exited the bathroom, the Atlanta Police Department said in a news release on Wednesday. Officers found at least five firearms in Marley's possession, including two long guns and three pistols, police said. They also found body armor, ammunition and a knife, according to a police photo of the weapons, WSB-TV reported."

New York. Amy Harris of the New York Times: "The former head of one of the largest homeless shelter networks in New York was arrested Wednesday on federal charges that he pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from contractors working with his organization. The arrest of the executive, Victor Rivera, the former president and founder of the Bronx Parent Housing Network, came less than two months after a New York Times investigation found that he had engaged in a long pattern of sexual abuse and financial impropriety that stretched back almost a decade. Mr. Rivera was fired by the nonprofit last month, following The Times report. The organization is one of dozens of nonprofit groups that operate the city's $2 billion system to shelter the homeless, whose numbers have reached record levels."

Virginia. Hailey Fuchs of the New York Times: "Gov. Ralph S. Northam on Wednesday signed a bill that abolished the death penalty in Virginia, making it the first Southern state and the 23rd overall to end capital punishment amid rising opposition to the practice. Before signing the bill, Mr. Northam pointed to Virginia's 413-year history of capital punishment, during which it executed more than 1,300 inmates more than any other state. He also noted racial disparities in the use of the death penalty: During the 20th century, he said, 296 of the 377 inmates Virginia executed for murder -- or about 79 percent -- were Black."

Way Beyond

Egypt. Martin Farrer & Michael Safi of the Guardian: "One of the largest container ships in the world has been partially refloated after it ran aground in the Suez canal, causing a huge jam of vessels at either end of the vital international trade artery. The 220,000-ton, 400-metre-long Ever Given -- a so-called megaship operated by the Taiwan-based firm Evergreen -- became stuck near the southern end of the canal on Tuesday. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said it had lost the ability to steer amid high winds and a dust storm. Eight tugboats were working to free the vessel, blocking a lane key to Asia-Europe trade through which about 50 ships a day passed in 2019, according to Egyptian government statistics." (Also linked yesterday.)

Israel. Laurie Kellman of the AP: "Uncertainty hovered over the outcome of Israel's parliamentary election Wednesday, with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sworn political rivals determined to depose him apparently lacking a clear path to a governing coalition. Deadlock in the 120-seat parliament was a real possibility a day after the election, which had been dominated by Netanyahu's polarizing leadership. With about 90% of the vote counted by Wednesday morning, Netanyahu's Likud party and its ultra-Orthodox and far-right allies fell short of a 61-seat majority -- even if the Yamina party of Netanyahu ally-turned-critic Naftali Bennett were to join a Netanyahu-led government. Bennett has refused to endorse either side." A Washington Post story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Myanmar. AP: "Hundreds of people imprisoned for demonstrating against last month's coup in Myanmar were released Wednesday, a rare conciliatory gesture by the military that appeared aimed at placating the protest movement. Witnesses outside Insein Prison in Yangon saw busloads of mostly young people, looking happy with some flashing the three-finger gesture of defiance adopted by protesters. State-run TV said a total of 628 were freed. Also Wednesday, Thein Zaw, a journalist for The Associated Press who was arrested last month while covering an anti-coup protest, was released." (Also linked yesterday.)

North Korea. Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Thursday, in its first significant provocation against the United States under President Biden, United States and Japanese officials said. South Korea confirmed North Korea had launched two unidentified projectiles, but Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan was the first regional leader to identify them as 'ballistic missiles.' A senior United States official also confirmed that the projectiles were ballistic missiles. 'It threatens the peace and security of Japan and the region, and is a violation of United Nations resolutions,' the Japanese leader said on Twitter, referring to the United Nations Security Council's ban on the North's developing and testing ballistic missile technologies. 'I strongly protest and strongly condemn it.'"

News Ledes

CNBC: "First-time claims for unemployment insurance unexpectedly fell sharply last week amid signs that hiring has picked up in the U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Claims totaled 684,000 for the week ended March 20, the first time the number has been below 700,000 during the Covid-19 era. The level was a substantial decline from the 781,000 from a week earlier and was the lowest since March 14, 2020, just as the pandemic had begun."

AP: "Three days after he was led away in handcuffs from a Boulder supermarket where 10 people were fatally shot, the suspect appeared in court Thursday for the first time and his defense lawyer asked for a health assessment 'to address his mental illness.'... During the brief hearing, Alissa appeared in court wearing a mask. He didn't speak other than to say 'yes' to a question from the judge and was advised of the 10 charges of first-degree murder he faces. He did not enter a plea, which will come later in the judicial process."