The Commentariat -- April 6, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Day 7 of Derek Chauvin's murder trial are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "The United States and Iran agreed through intermediaries on Tuesday to establish two working groups to try to ge both countries back into compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. In a meeting of the current members of the deal in Vienna, all parties agreed to establish one working group to focus on how to get the United States back to the deal by lifting harsh economic sanctions imposed or reimposed after ... Donald J. Trump pulled out of the accord in May 2018. The other working group will focus on how to get Iran back into compliance with the accord's limitations on nuclear enrichment and stockpiles of enriched uranium."

Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "President Joe Biden plans to announce Tuesday that he is moving up his deadline for states to make all American adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by almost two weeks. With all states having opened eligibility to the public or at least having announced when they plan to do so, Biden will announce that every adult in the country will be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19, according to an administration official, instead of Biden's original deadline of May 1. Biden announced last week that 90% of adults will be eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine by April 19, as well as have a vaccination site within five miles of where they live. Biden said the number of pharmacies participating in the federal pharmacy vaccination program was increasing from the current 17,000 locations to 40,000."

Meet the Insurrectionists. Robert Pape in a Washington Post op-ed: "... by far the most interesting characteristic common to the insurrectionists' backgrounds has to do with changes in their local demographics: Counties with the most significant declines in the non-Hispanic White population are the most likely to produce insurrectionists who now face charges.... Put another way, the people alleged by authorities to have taken the law into their hands on Jan. 6 typically hail from places where non-White populations are growing fastest.... Great Replacement theory has achieved iconic status with white nationalists and holds that minorities are progressively replacing White populations due to mass immigration policies and low birthrates. Extensive social media exposure is the second-biggest driver of this view, our surveys found." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Alan Feuer of the New York Times writes a news report based on Pape's findings: "'If you look back in history, there has always been a series of far-right extremist movements responding to new waves of immigration to the United States or to movements for civil rights by minority groups,' Mr. Pape said. 'You see a common pattern in the Capitol insurrectionists. They are mainly middle-class to upper-middle-class whites who are worried that, as social changes occur around them, they will see a decline in their status in the future.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Jim Tankersley & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The Biden administration and top Democrats in Congress began detailing plans for significant changes to how the United States and other countries tax multinational corporations as they look for ways to raise revenues and finance President Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure proposal. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen threw her support behind an international effort to create a global minimum tax that would apply to multinational corporations, regardless of where they locate their headquarters. Such a global tax, she said, could help prevent a 'race to the bottom' in which countries cut their tax rates in order to entice companies to move headquarters and profits across borders.... At the same time, Democrats in Congress released their own proposal to add teeth to the de facto minimum tax that the United States already imposes on income earned abroad -- one that would apply to American multinational companies regardless of what the rest of the world does. The proposal could raise as much as $1 trillion over the next 15 years from large companies by requiring that they pay higher taxes on profits they earn overseas, according to analyses of similar plans."

Kelsey Snell of NPR: "A new decision from the U.S. Senate's nonpartisan parliamentarian means Democrats could advance more of President Biden's agenda without the support of Republicans. The official's interpretation of Senate budget rules would allow the use of the reconciliation process more than once in a fiscal year, and it is viewed by Democrats as a possible strategy for moving top policy priorities with a simple majority, since getting the needed 10 Republican votes in a 50-50 Senate has proved difficult. Details are still unclear as to how Democratic leaders might use the additional chance to pass budget-related policies.... The ruling appears to mean a majority party could revise budgets more than once in a fiscal year -- each time giving them access to reconciliation instructions. The decision comes as Democrats take up Biden's more than $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, which he unveiled last week." A Vox explanation is here.

The Most Powerful Joe in D.C. May Not Be Biden. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Joe Manchin wants his party's leaders and President Joe Biden to make significant changes to their sweeping new tax-and-spend legislation -- and he's got other Democratic senators with him.... It's just the latest power move from Manchin, who has become Democrats' squeakiest wheel in the early days of Biden's presidency.... Manchin said he would be comfortable raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 25 percent but said the United States has 'to be competitive and we're not going to throw caution to the wind.'... Manchin is no outlier. A few hours later at the Capitol, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Monday that he needs to have more input into the White House's plan than he's received so far...." MB: With 50 Senate votes (+ Harris), every Democratic senator can play the prima donna.

Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: The Matt Gaetz story that most sticks in my head "is the report that the Florida Republican used to wander around and show his colleagues nude photos of people he had slept with.... I keep hearing the uncomfortable laughter of Billy Bush. I keep coming back to the fact that it takes two to make a locker room.... This wasn't something Matt Gaetz did a single time, but repeatedly. Because if it happened more than once -- if it happened twice, even -- that is because the first time went better than it should have." Petri appeals to Matt's Congressional colleagues to call out such egregious behavior. MB: Does she mean the same guys who support (alleged) serial sex abuser (and liar, grifter and traitor) Donald Trump? Get real, Alex.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court ruling that ... Donald J. Trump had violated the First Amendment by blocking people from his Twitter account after they posted critical comments. A unanimous three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled in 2019 that Mr. Trump's account was a public forum from which he was powerless to exclude people based on their viewpoints. The Supreme Court's move was expected, as Mr. Trump is no longer president and Twitter has permanently suspended his account. More surprising was a 12-page concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas musing on what he called the dangerous power a few private companies have over free speech.... His opinion reflected widespread frustration, particularly among conservatives, about letting private companies decide what the public may read and see." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

The joke that begins at 9:20 min. in is especially good:

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. U.S. Corporations Back Lying Liars. Brian Slodysko of the AP: "State legislators across the country who have pushed for new voting restrictions, and also seized on ... Donald Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, have reaped more than $50 million in corporate donations in recent years, according to a new report by Public Citizen, a Washington-based government watchdog group. Telecom giant AT&T was the most prolific, donating over $800,000 since 2015 to authors of proposed restrictions, cosponsors of such measures, or those who voted in favor of the bills, the report found. Other top donors during the same period include Comcast, Philip Morris USA, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, Verizon, General Motors and Pfizer.... More than 120 companies detailed in the report previously said they would rethink their donations to members of Congress who, acting on the same falsehoods as the state lawmakers, objected to the certification of President Joe Biden's win following the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

~~~ So Then Mitch Says ... Richard Cowan of the Reuters: "U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell lashed out at corporate America on Monday, warning CEOs to stay out of the debate over a new voting law in Georgia that has been criticized as restricting votes among minorities and the poor. In a sign of a growing rift in the decades-old alliance between the conservative party and U.S. corporations, McConnell said: 'My advice to the corporate CEOs of America is to stay out of politics. Don't pick sides in these big fights.' McConnell warned companies there could be risks for turning on the party, but he did not elaborate. 'Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country from outside the constitutional order,' McConnell told a news conference in his home state of Kentucky." The Washington Post story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Dear Awesome CEOs, Please do as Mitch demands and stay out of Republican politics. Step 1: Quit contributing to Republican political campaigns. Step 2: Contribute to Democratic political campaigns. Your new friend, Marie ~~~

~~~ Republicans' Unique View of the First Amendment. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is second to none in protecting First Amendment rights of corporations -- at least when the subject is money. McConnell, a longtime opponent of limits on campaign donations as a form of speech, has often defended unlimited dark money in lofty terms.... McConnell has even filed multiple amicus curiae briefs in campaign cases insisting the rights of free speech and association implicit in corporate campaign donations are 'fundamental' and 'of central importance.' But when it comes to actual speech from corporations -- specifically, speech denouncing Republicans' voter suppression efforts -- McConnell becomes irate." So money for Mitch is "free speech"; verbal support for voters is taboo.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today: "Major League Baseball is scheduled to announce Tuesday that this year's All-Star Game will be moved to Coors Field in Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told USA TODAY Sports.... Government officials in Colorado and Denver immediately began lobbying MLB for the All-Star Game once Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the league was moving the game out of Atlanta because of the voting laws passed in Georgia in March that potentially can restrict voting access for people of color."

Yeah, We Can Afford to Pay Fair Wages, But That Would Be Wrong. Julia Rock & Andrew Perez of Newsweek: "Big restaurant chains are telling investors that a national minimum wage hike wouldn't be a big deal == even as their corporate lobbying groups in Washington fight plans for a $15 minimum wage. 'We share your view that a national discussion on wage issues for working Americans is needed -- but the Raise the Wage Act is the wrong bill at the wrong time for our nation's restaurants,' the National Restaurant Association wrote in a letter to congressional leaders in February.... The following day, a top executive at Denny's, one of the association's members, told investors that gradual increases in the minimum wage haven't been a problem for the company at all. In fact, California's law raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2023 has actually been good for the diner chain's business, according to Denny's chief financial officer, Robert Verostek."

James Oliphant & Chris Kahn of Reuters: "Since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol..., Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed false and misleading accounts to downplay the event that left five dead and scores of others wounded. His supporters appear to have listened.... About half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists 'trying to make Trump look bad,' a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found. Six in 10 Republicans also believe the false claim put out by Trump that November's presidential election 'was stolen' from him due to widespread voter fraud, and the same proportion of Republicans think he should run again in 2024, the March 30-31 poll showed." (Also linked yesterday.)

Drew Harwell & Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "The identity of Q, the supposed top-secret government operative and prophet of the extremist ideology QAnon, has for years been a fiercely debated mystery. But a possible slip-up in a new documentary suggests the answer was always the most obvious one: Ron Watkins, the longtime administrator of the message board 8kun, the conspiratorial movement's online home.... Watkins has long denied his involvement, saying he was merely a neutral backroom operator of the site and never a participant." This is the supposed slip-up: at the end of the documentary, Watkins said in an interview, "It was basically three years of intelligence training, teaching normies how to do intelligence work. It was basically what I was doing anonymously before, but never as Q." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: And here I thought there wasn't any big news Monday. What a disappointment to find out Q is just some incel jerk & not the greatest prophet of all time. But it turns out most QAnon supporters are way ahead of me: according to Harwell & Timberg, "... the movement in many ways has outgrown Q, by having elevated a widespread corps of QAnon promoters, merchandisers and social media influencers who offer their audiences a flurry of absurd baseless claims and far-right talking points.... Nearly all of the most popular QAnon discussion boards and Telegram channels ignored the Watkins interview, instead focusing on the movement's latest topics of interest, mostly involving false claims about coronavirus vaccines, President Biden and the Suez Canal."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "The Navajo Nation, which once had one of the worst coronavirus case rates in the United States, recently reached an extraordinary milestone: zero cases and zero deaths in a 24-hour period. The nation, which has over 300,000 enrolled members, is averaging about 11 new cases a day, far below its peak of 250 in late November, according to the latest data from the Navajo Department of Health. And it has vaccinated more of its population than any state, with more than half of its 170,000 residents living on tribal lands fully vaccinated." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "More than four million people in the United States received a coronavirus vaccine on Saturday -- the nation's highest one-day total since the shots began rolling out in December -- amid a rising caseload and increase in hospitalizations. An average of 3.1 million shots were administered each day over the past seven days, and nearly 1 in 4 adults are now fully vaccinated, said Andy Slavitt, the White House's senior adviser for covid-19 response, speaking at a news briefing." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday called for speeding up the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine in poorer nations, arguing the U.S. and global economies are threatened by the impact of covid-19 on the developing world. While the United States and other rich countries are hoping for a return to normalcy as soon as this fall, many parts of the developing world are not on pace to have widespread vaccination of their populations until 2023 or 2024.... Yellen called on richer countries to step up both economic and public health assistance to poorer nations reeling from covid. She noted as many as 150 million people across the world risk falling into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis." MB: Maybe it's just coincidental, but I can't help notice that the first female Treasury Secretary also seems to be first at tying U.S. economic policy to humanitarian needs around the globe. Somehow, Steve Munchkin never thought of that. (Also linked yesterday.)

Elizabeth Dias & Ruth Graham of the New York Times: "... across white evangelical America, reasons not to get vaccinated have spread as quickly as the virus that public health officials are hoping to overcome through herd immunity. The opposition is rooted in a mix of religious faith and a longstanding wariness of mainstream science, and it is fueled by broader cultural distrust of institutions and gravitation to online conspiracy theories. The sheer size of the community poses a major problem for the country's ability to recover from a pandemic that has resulted in the deaths of half a million Americans.... There are about 41 million white evangelical adults in the U.S. About 45 percent said in late February that they would not get vaccinated against Covid-19, making them among the least likely demographic groups to do so, according to the Pew Research Center."

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.

Let us root, root, root cheek to cheek,
I don't care if I die in a week. ~~~

~~~ Texas. Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times: "... the Texas Rangers hosted the Toronto Blue Jays in front of the largest crowd at a sporting event in the United States in more than a year.... The state's lifting of capacity restrictions made the enormous crowd possible.... Rangers fans ... were shoulder-to-shoulder in the team's fairly intimate retractable-roofed stadium. M.L.B. requires all fans over age 2 to wear masks at games this season, but a large percentage of the fans in Arlington went maskless. That will undoubtedly raise fears of the event resulting in a spike in coronavirus cases.... Before Monday's game started, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, publicly announced that he had sent a letter to the Rangers to decline throwing out a ceremonial first pitch. Abbott, who had previously agreed to participate at the event, said the decision was made as a reaction to M.L.B. adopting what he called a 'false narrative' in moving the All-Star Game away from Atlanta in response to Georgia's new elections rules. He said that ... he will not participate in any M.L.B. events and that his state will not seek to host any of the league's special events in the future."

Beyond the Beltway

Arkansas. Brianna Kwasnik & Rachel Herzog of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette: "Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Monday afternoon he vetoed a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Hutchinson, a Republican, said he believed House Bill 1570 interfered with the relationship between doctors and patients. The GOP-sponsored legislation prohibits health care providers from administering gender transition treatments, which can include surgery and hormone therapy, to people under 18. Had Hutchinson signed the bill, Arkansas would have been the first state to enact such a measure.... The governor referred to the bill as a 'product of the cultural war in America' and said the measure is 'overbroad, extreme and does not grandfather young people currently on hormone treatment.'" MB: Every once in awhile, Hutchinson does something right. (Also linked yesterday.)

Georgia. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The laws that disenfranchised Black Americans in the South and established Jim Crow did not actually say they were disenfranchising Black Americans and creating a one-party racist state.... There was no statute that said, 'Black people cannot vote.' Instead, Southern lawmakers spun a web of restrictions and regulations meant to catch most Blacks (as well as many whites) and keep them out of the electorate.... The ... argument of conservatives and Republicans asks us to ignore context and extend good faith to lawmakers who overhauled their state's election laws because their party lost an election."

Minnesota. Holly Bailey & Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "Derek Chauvin 'absolutely' violated Minneapolis Police Department policies and his sworn oath to serve and protect when he knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, the city's police chief testified Monday. During one of the most anticipated moments in the trial, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo unequivocally told the court that Chauvin had failed to follow policies on de-escalation, use of force and offering medical aid to those in need when he ignored Floyd's cries for help while the man lay pinned beneath his knee. The use of force should have ended as soon as Floyd stopped resisting, the chief said.... The day began with testimony from Bradford Langenfeld, an emergency medicine physician who spent at least a half-hour trying to revive Floyd when he was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. It was Langenfeld who later pronounced Floyd dead. Langenfeld ... testified that Floyd arrived at the hospital in cardiac arrest and upon further examination was showing 'pulseless electrical activity.'... The doctor testified that he was told by paramedics that they had tried to revive the man for about 30 minutes before he was brought to the hospital, but heard of no other lifesaving efforts at the scene, including by police."

The Commentariat -- April 5, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Day 6 of Derek Chauvin's murder trial are here. The Washington Post's live trial updates are here.CNN's live updates are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "The Navajo Nation, which once had one of the worst coronavirus case rates in the United States, recently reached an extraordinary milestone: zero cases and zero deaths in a 24-hour period. The nation, which has over 300,000 enrolled members, is averaging about 11 new cases a day, far below its peak of 250 in late November, according to the latest data from the Navajo Department of Health. And it has vaccinated more of its population than any state, with more than half of its 170,000 residents living on tribal lands fully vaccinated." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "More than four million people in the United States received a coronavirus vaccine on Saturday -- the nation's highest one-day total since the shots began rolling out in December -- amid a rising caseload and increase in hospitalizations. An average of 3.1 million shots were administered each day over the past seven days, and nearly 1 in 4 adults are now fully vaccinated, said Andy Slavitt, the White House’s senior adviser for covid-19 response, speaking at a news briefing."

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday called for speeding up the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine in poorer nations, arguing the U.S. and global economies are threatened by the impact of covid-19 on the developing world. While the United States and other rich countries are hoping for a return to normalcy as soon as this fall, many parts of the developing world are not on pace to have widespread vaccination of their populations until 2023 or 2024.... Yellen called on richer countries to step up both economic and public health assistance to poorer nations reeling from covid. She noted as many as 150 million people across the world risk falling into extreme poverty as a result of the crisis." MB: Maybe it's just coincidental, but I can't help notice that the first female Treasury Secretary also seems to be first at tying U.S. economic policy to humanitarian needs around the globe. Somehow, Steve Munchkin never thought of that.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court ruling that ... Donald J. Trump had violated the First Amendment by blocking people from his Twitter account after they posted critical comments. A unanimous three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled in 2019 that Mr. Trump's account was a public forum from which he was powerless to exclude people based on their viewpoints. The Supreme Court's move was expected, as Mr. Trump is no longer president and Twitter has permanently suspended his account. More surprising was a 12-page concurring opinion from Justice Clarence Thomas musing on what he called the dangerous power a few private companies have over free speech.... His opinion reflected widespread frustration, particularly among conservatives, about letting private companies decide what the public may read and see." An AP story is here.

James Oliphant & Chris Kahn of Reuters: "Since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol..., Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed false and misleading accounts to downplay the event that left five dead and scores of others wounded. His supporters appear to have listened.... About half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists 'trying to make Trump look bad,' a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found. Six in 10 Republicans also believe the false claim put out by Trump that November's presidential election 'was stolen' from him due to widespread voter fraud, and the same proportion of Republicans think he should run again in 2024, the March 30-31 poll showed."

Drew Harwell & Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "The identity of Q, the supposed top-secret government operative and prophet of the extremist ideology QAnon, has for years been a fiercely debated mystery. But a possible slip-up in a new documentary suggests the answer was always the most obvious one: Ron Watkins, the longtime administrator of the message board 8kun, the conspiratorial movement's online home.... Watkins has long denied his involvement, saying he was merely a neutral backroom operator of the site and never a participant." This is the supposed slip-up: at the end of the documentary, Watkins said in an interview, "It was basically three years of intelligence training, teaching normies how to do intelligence work. It was basically what I was doing anonymously before, but never as Q." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: And here I thought there wasn't any big news today. What a disappointment to find out Q is just some incel jerk & not the greatest prophet of all time. But it turns out most QAnon supporters are way ahead of me: according to Harwell & Timberg, "... the movement in many ways has outgrown Q, by having elevated a widespread corps of QAnon promoters, merchandisers and social media influencers who offer their audiences a flurry of absurd baseless claims and far-right talking points.... Nearly all of the most popular QAnon discussion boards and Telegram channels ignored the Watkins interview, instead focusing on the movement’s latest topics of interest, mostly involving false claims about coronavirus vaccines, President Biden and the Suez Canal."

Arkansas. Brianna Kwasnik & Rachel Herzog of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette: "Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Monday afternoon he vetoed a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Hutchinson, a Republican, said he believed House Bill 1570 interfered with the relationship between doctors and patients. The GOP-sponsored legislation prohibits health care providers from administering gender transition treatments, which can include surgery and hormone therapy, to people under 18. Had Hutchinson signed the bill, Arkansas would have been the first state to enact such a measure.... The governor referred to the bill as a 'product of the cultural war in America' and said the measure is 'overbroad, extreme and does not grandfather young people currently on hormone treatment.'" MB: Every once in awhile, Hutchinson does something right.

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: From slow news to no news, the Monday after Easter is a dud. Enjoy it.

Jason DeParle of the New York Times: "With more than one in 10 households reporting that they lack enough to eat, the Biden administration is accelerating a vast campaign of hunger relief that will temporarily increase assistance by tens of billions of dollars and set the stage for what officials envision as lasting expansions of aid.... The push reflects an extraordinary shift in the politics of poverty -- driven, paradoxically, both by the spread of hardship to more working-class and white families and the growing recognition of poverty's disproportionate toll on minorities. With hunger especially pronounced among Black and Latino households, vital to the Democrats' coalition, the administration is framing its efforts not just as a response to pandemic needs but as part of a campaign for racial justice."

Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "U.S. military guards have moved Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other former C.I.A. prisoners to the main part of the prison compound at Guantánamo Bay from a failing secret facility, in a consolidation of detention operations that could cut costs and reduce the troop presence at the base in Cuba, the military said on Sunday.... As of Sunday, the military said, all 40 so-called war on terror detainees -- the 11 men who have been charged with war crimes, as well as others who are held as indefinite detainees -- were housed in a compound ringed with razor wire and containing two prison buildings, called Camps 5 and 6. The plan to consolidate the prisoners was devised during the Trump administration, when their former compound, Camp 7, was failing. Raw sewage sloshed through the tiers, the power sometimes went out and some cell doors would not close at the site."

An Easter Message from the Pope. Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Pope Francis delivered his annual 'Urbi et Orbi' ('To the City and to the World') Easter message to a small group of the faithful inside St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday.... The pope delivered the message after presiding over Easter Mass in the presence of about 200 worshipers. Francis spoke of the economic and social hardships that many people, and especially the poor, are experiencing because of the pandemic.... He also addressed the continuing armed conflicts, unrest and increased military spending in Myanmar, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and other regions and nations. As he has in the past, the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics called on the international community 'in a spirit of global responsibility' to ensure that everyone has access to vaccines, which he called 'an essential tool' in the fight against the pandemic. Delivery delays had to be overcome to 'facilitate their distribution, especially in the poorest countries,' Francis said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marie: I purposely have not linked reports on What Donald Trump Said Today, but here's one to sum it all up in one fell foul swoop: ~~~

     ~~~ An Easter Message from the Dope. David Jackson of USA Today: "... Donald Trump marked Easter weekend by attacking his political enemies, repeating false claims about the election, and calling for a boycott of Major League Baseball and other corporations that oppose Georgia's new election law. 'Happy Easter to ALL, including the Radical Left CRAZIES who rigged our Presidential Election, and want to destroy our Country!' Trump said in a written statement early Sunday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peter Jamison of the Washington Post: "... the family and friends of Thomas 'Tommy' Bloom Raskin, son of Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), came together Saturday morning to remember the young man, who died by suicide. The memorial service was tailored to prevent communicable disease: Eulogists stood by turns on a stage in a parking lot outside RFK Stadium, dwarfed by a pair of screens that alternately displayed the speakers and family photos. Guests sat in parked cars that they had been asked not to leave...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Weiyi Cai, et al., of the New York Times: "Over the last year, in an unrelenting series of episodes with clear racial animus, people of Asian descent have been pushed, beaten, kicked, spit on and called slurs. Homes and businesses have been vandalized. The violence has known no boundaries, spanning generations, income brackets and regions. The New York Times attempted to capture a sense of the rising tide of anti-Asian bias nationwide. Using media reports from across the country, The Times found more than 110 episodes since March 2020 in which there was clear evidence of race-based hate.... [In] assaults in which the assailants expressed explicit racial hostility..., nearly half included a reference to the coronavirus...." MB: Another Trump effect, IMO. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

More Bicycles, Better Health. Veronica Penney of the New York Times: "Adding bike lanes to urban streets can increase the number of cyclists across an entire city, not just on the streets with new bike lanes, according to a new study. The finding adds to a growing body of research indicating that investments in cycling infrastructure can encourage more people to commute by bike, which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health.... The research, published online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that in cities where bike infrastructure was added, cycling had increased up to 48 percent more than in cities that did not add bike lanes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Capitalism Is Still Awesome, Ctd. and Jeff Bezos Is Still a Ruthless Prick. Karen Weise of the New York Times: "Amazon illegally retaliated against two of its most prominent internal critics when it fired them last year, the National Labor Relations Board has determined. The employees, Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, had publicly pushed the company to reduce its impact on climate change and address concerns about its warehouse workers. The agency told Ms. Cunningham and Ms. Costa that it would accuse Amazon of unfair labor practices if the company did not settle the case, according to correspondence that Ms. Cunningham shared with The New York Times.... The two women were among dozens of Amazon workers who in the last year told the labor board about company retaliations, but in most other cases the workers had complained about pandemic safety."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Ask not for whom the world's tiniest violin plays -- it plays for Fox News. Three months ago the network's hosts enjoyed unprecedented political power and privileged access to ... Donald Trump, the subject of their propaganda. Now its employees are reduced to whining about President Joe Biden not calling on their correspondent during Thursday's press conference, as their lies on behalf of his predecessor's effort to steal the election draw a $1.6 billion lawsuit. Fox's pity party launched roughly two minutes after the press conference concluded and remained a regular facet of the network's coverage of the event into Friday morning. Eleven different programs have combined to mention how Biden did not call on Fox White House correspondent Peter Doocy at least 24 times as of 10 a.m. ET, according to a Media Matters review." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "Vaccinations against Covid-19 may be accelerating in the United States, but the Biden administration's intervention at a troubled plant that ruined millions of vaccine doses, along with the continuing threat of dangerous variants of the coronavirus, suggest that the road to defeating the virus is likely to take many unpredictable twists and turns. Saturday marked the first time the country reported more than four million Covid-19 doses in a single day, bringing the average to higher than three million people for the first time, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On the same day, the fallout continued over a debacle at a Baltimore contract plant that ruined 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Biden administration put Johnson & Johnson in charge of the facility and moved to stop the facility from making another vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca...." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Little White Card -- and More. Concepción de León of the New York Times: "Here's everything you need to know about your vaccine record, why it's important and how to keep it safe." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "Work crews were pumping millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater into an ecologically sensitive Florida bay on Sunday, as they tried to prevent the 'imminent' collapse of a storage reservoir at an old phosphate mine. Officials in Manatee county extended an evacuation zone overnight and warned that up to 340m gallons could engulf the area in 'a 20ft wall of water' if they could not repair the breach at the Piney Point reservoir in the Tampa Bay area, north of Bradenton. Aerial images aired on local television showed water pouring from leaks in the walls of the retention pond. [Gov.] Ron DeSantis ... declared a state of emergency.... He toured the scene by helicopter and said at a press conference engineers were still attempting to plug breaches in the reservoir wall with rocks and other materials, and that other mitigation efforts included the controlled release of 35m gallons daily at Port Manatee.... In a statement, the [activist group Mana-Sota 88 said]: 'The current crisis can be traced back to the absurd 2006 decision to allow dredged material from Port Manatee to be placed into one of the gyp stacks at Piney Point, something the stack was never designed for and should have never been allowed.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: My recollection was that dodgy phosphate mines were a Jeb Bush legacy. Sure enough, guess who was governor of Florida in 2006 -- why, JEB!

The Commentariat -- April 4, 2021

Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "Vaccinations against Covid-19 may be accelerating in the United States, but the Biden administration's intervention at a troubled plant that ruined millions of vaccine doses, along with the continuing threat of dangerous variants of the coronavirus, suggest that the road to defeating the virus is likely to take many unpredictable twists and turns. Saturday marked the first time the country reported more than four million Covid-19 doses in a single day, bringing the average to higher than three million people for the first time, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On the same day, the fallout continued over a debacle at a Baltimore contract plant that ruined 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Biden administration put Johnson & Johnson in charge of the facility and moved to stop the facility from making another vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca...."

The Little White Card -- and More. Concepción de León of the New York Times: "Here's everything you need to know about your vaccine record, why it';s important and how to keep it safe."

An Easter Message from the Pope. Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Pope Francis delivered his annual 'Urbi et Orbi' ('To the City and to the World') Easter message to a small group of the faithful inside St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday.... The pope delivered the message after presiding over Easter Mass in the presence of about 200 worshipers. Francis spoke of the economic and social hardships that many people, and especially the poor, are experiencing because of the pandemic.... He also addressed the continuing armed conflicts, unrest and increased military spending in Myanmar, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and other regions and nations. As he has in the past, the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics called on the international community 'in a spirit of global responsibility' to ensure that everyone has access to vaccines, which he called 'an essential tool' in the fight against the pandemic. Delivery delays had to be overcome to 'facilitate their distribution, especially in the poorest countries,' Francis said."

Marie: I purposely have not linked reports on What Donald Trump Said Today, but here's one to sum it all up in one fell foul swoop: ~~~

     ~~~ An Easter Message from the Dope. David Jackson of USA Today: "... Donald Trump marked Easter weekend by attacking his political enemies, repeating false claims about the election, and calling for a boycott of Major League Baseball and other corporations that oppose Georgia's new election law. 'Happy Easter to ALL, including the Radical Left CRAZIES who rigged our Presidential Election, and want to destroy our Country!' Trump said in a written statement early Sunday."

Peter Jamison of the Washington Post: "... the family and friends of Thomas 'Tommy' Bloom Raskin, son of Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), came together Saturday morning to remember the young man, who died by suicide. The memorial service was tailored to prevent communicable disease: Eulogists stood by turns on a stage in a parking lot outside RFK Stadium, dwarfed by a pair of screens that alternately displayed the speakers and family photos. Guests sat in parked cars that they had been asked not to leave, except for visits to a row of yellow portable toilets."

Weiyi Cai, et al., of the New York Times: "Over the last year, in an unrelenting series of episodes with clear racial animus, people of Asian descent have been pushed, beaten, kicked, spit on and called slurs. Homes and businesses have been vandalized. The violence has known no boundaries, spanning generations, income brackets and regions. The New York Times attempted to capture a sense of the rising tide of anti-Asian bias nationwide. Using media reports from across the country, The Times found more than 110 episodes since March 2020 in which there was clear evidence of race-based hate.... [In] assaults in which the assailants expressed explicit racial hostility..., nearly half included a reference to the coronavirus...." MB: Another Trump effect, IMO.

More Bicycles, Better Health. Veronica Penney of the New York Times: "Adding bike lanes to urban streets can increase the number of cyclists across an entire city, not just on the streets with new bike lanes, according to a new study. The finding adds to a growing body of research indicating that investments in cycling infrastructure can encourage more people to commute by bike, which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve health.... The research, published online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that in cities where bike infrastructure was added, cycling had increased up to 48 percent more than in cities that did not add bike lanes."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Ask not for whom the world's tiniest violin plays -- it plays for Fox News. Three months ago the network's hosts enjoyed unprecedented political power and privileged access to ... Donald Trump, the subject of their propaganda. Now its employees are reduced to whining about President Joe Biden not calling on their correspondent during Thursday's press conference, as their lies on behalf of his predecessor's effort to steal the election draw a $1.6 billion lawsuit. Fox's pity party launched roughly two minutes after the press conference concluded and remained a regular facet of the network's coverage of the event into Friday morning. Eleven different programs have combined to mention how Biden did not call on Fox White House correspondent Peter Doocy at least 24 times as of 10 a.m. ET, according to a Media Matters review.

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Black Votes Matter. Gillian Friedman of the New York Times: "More large companies have voiced their opposition to Republican-led efforts to restrict voting, this time in Texas. On Thursday, American Airlines and Dell Technologies declared their objections to proposals in the state that would restrict local measures intended to make voting easier, such as by extending early voting hours. The pushback in Texas came just a day after Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola spoke out against similar efforts in Georgia, though both companies waited until after Georgia's governor had already signed the law to criticize it.... Those comments came a day after a group of Black executives, led by the former chief executive of American Express and the current chief executive of the drugmaker Merck, called on companies to oppose proposed bills making it more difficult to vote across the country -- saying that they would particularly impact the voting rights of Black Americans." ~~~

~~~ Hannah Denham & Jena McGregor of the Washington Post: "Nearly 200 companies on Friday joined in a strong statement against proposals that threaten to restrict voting access in dozens of states, in a further sign of corporate willingness to speak out on social justice issues. As Major League Baseball announced that it will be moving this summer's All-Star Game out of Atlanta in response to the passage of Georgia's restrictive voting law, executives from at least 193 companies -- including Dow, HP, Twitter and Estée Lauder -- urged the protection of voting rights across the country." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ In yesterday's Comments, Bobby Lee has a great suggestion: "Why not award the [MLB's All-Star] game to the District of Columbia?" ~~~

~~~ In presumably less-great commentary, some guy writing an opinion piece on Fox "News"' site is very upset that the MLB requires photo IDs at its ticket will-call centers (so not just any dude can claim to be you & walk away with the game tickets you bought) but opposes Georgia's voter suppression law. No link. ~~~

~~~ Mike Huckabee Is Not Dead. Blake Montgomery of the Daily Beast: "Mike Huckabee joked on Saturday that he would now 'identify' as Chinese, mocking both LGBTQ people and Asian-Americans simultaneously. The Fox News contributor wrote, 'I've decided to "identify" as Chinese. Coke will like me, Delta will agree with my "values" and I'll probably get shoes from Nike & tickets to @MLB games. Ain't America great?'

Haley Britzky of Task & Purpose: "The Army has suspended several instructors at Fort Sill over allegations they sexually assaulted a female soldier going through initial training at the Oklahoma base.... According to The Intercept, the trainee reported multiple assaults by 22 service members, including several drill sergeants. The trainee's report 'identified seven of the 22 members she said assaulted her,' according to The Intercept." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Ken Klippenstein & Matthew Cole of the Intercept: "The Army is investigating a possible series of sexual assaults of a female soldier at the Army training base in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, a commander at the base told press yesterday. The investigation, according to a military official with direct knowledge, is scrutinizing allegations of multiple assaults against the soldier by 22 service members. Video of one incident under investigation involving several drill sergeants was circulating at the base and was obtained by Army investigators, the official said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The nature of the assaults is not specified in either of the reports linked. It seems odd that nearly two dozen men would assault one particular trainee. So is she one of many who were assaulted but the only one to report the assaults? Surely there is more to the story.

Another Treasonous "Law Enforcement Officer." Sara Tabin & Scott Pierce of the Salt Lake Tribune: "A Kaysville[, Utah,] man who formerly worked as a Salt Lake City police officer has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly taking part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Michael Lee Hardin, 50, was taken into custody without incident by members of the FBI's joint terrorism task force, with assistance from the Utah's State Bureau of Investigation, for 'crimes committed at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.,' according to a news release from the FBI's Utah office.... According to charging documents, [Hardin] was caught on video as part of a crowd pushing its way past police officers and yelling that he had a knife.... The FBI caught Hardin by following up on tips from two people who know him.... '[The first tipster] further claimed that Hardin had sent ... text messages on January 6, 2021, stating, "We stormed the Capitol, I am in here now!" "I know you don't like [Donald] Trump, but He is the rightful President!;" and "We will return until we win!"' the [DOJ] statement reads. The second tipster ... gave authorities a photo of Hardin standing next to a bust of Abraham Lincoln, 'in what appears to be the Capitol Crypt,' according to the statement." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wait, wait! The Capitol has a crypt? Yes, it does. It is not, however, a real crypt holding the remains of American political figures. Rather, it holds statues of these people, one from each of the 13 colonies (except for Virginia, which removed the statue of Robert E. Lee last December. A statue of civil rights leader Barbara Johns will replace the statue of Lee.) AND it leads to Washington's Tomb. What? George Washington is buried in the Capitol basement? Well, no. That didn't work out. BUT photos of the tomb of no one suggest to me it is a ready-made holding cell for the Capitol's sergeants-at-arms could use to temporarily jail misbehaving senators & reps before transferring them to more permanent digs in federal pens. ~~~

     ~~~ A Washington Post story about Michael Hardin's arrest is here: "More than a dozen current and former law enforcement officers have been arrested and charged in connection with the insurrection at the Capitol.... The arrests have raised alarms about the presence of right-wing extremists among the rank-and-file of police departments across the country. Police leaders, long reluctant to scrutinize their own officers' extremist ties, are now facing intense pressure to root out staff with links to white supremacist and armed far-right groups."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times writes in shades of our Comments thread yesterday: "A Twitter wag summed it up best: Matt Gaetz is everything the Republicans were looking for in Hunter Biden.'... A federal investigation [of Gaetz] ... has set off a scandal worthy of a pulp paperback, one swirling with claims of extortion, Ecstasy, an orgy, a hula hoop and sex trafficking, along with an Iranian hostage and, of course, a cameo by Roger Stone." Dowd goes on to review Hunter Biden's memoir. ~~~

~~~ Marie's rating of last night's Weekend Update: funnier than usual, and it's usually pretty funny (tho last week it wasn't funny enough for me to embed). In fairness, when the main topic is Matt Gaetz, there's a built-in Yuk and Eew:

Remembering the Extraordinary Grifter. How Trump Scammed a Dying Man -- and Many Other Supporters. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: Last September, when the Trump campaign was strapped for cash, Donald Trump & a for-profit donation-processing company devised "an intentional scheme to boost revenues.... [They] set up recurring donations by default for online donors, for every week until the election. Contributors had to wade through a fine-print disclaimer and manually uncheck a box to opt out. As the election neared, the Trump team made that disclaimer increasingly opaque.... It introduced a second prechecked box, known internally as a 'money bomb,' that doubled a person's contribution. Eventually its solicitations featured lines of text in bold and capital letters that overwhelmed the opt-out language. The tactic ensnared scores of unsuspecting Trump loyalists -- retirees, military veterans, nurses and even experienced political operatives.... The recurring donations swelled Mr. Trump's treasury in September and October, just as his finances were deteriorating." The campaign was forced to return millions of dollars to the supporters it bilked, but "in effect, the money that Mr. Trump eventually had to refund amounted to an interest-free loan from unwitting supporters at the most important juncture of the 2020 race." The Guardian has a summary story here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For the umpteenth time, a major newspaper has published a front-page story on how Donald Trump deceived his own supporters, and it will scarcely matter. Millions of bona fide American dimwits believe Trump's claim that legitimate news outlets publish nothing but "fake news," and they will continue to support him. I'll bet even some of the marks in this particular scam remain his fans & didn't even ask for their money back: they probably gave only small amounts initially and blame themselves for not noticing they had signed on to a recurring donation. ~~~

     ~~~ If you don't have a NYT subscription, Shakezula of LG&$ republishes some of the Times story's details (or what you might call "the fine print.") Plus commentary. Like this: "... Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell both use the platform and I'm sure they'll eventually come up with a formula that satisfies Republican politicians need to rip off their voters and outstrips refund demands. Or maybe they'll get back in power and make campaign refund demands a capital crime."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd.

Marie: Shortly before Christmas, I ordered something thru Amazon. I definitely ordered it to be sent by standard delivery. I was surprised when it showed up within 24 hours of my ordering it. Now I know why: ~~~

     ~~~ Too. Much. Information. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Last week, in an unusually combative tweet response to a congressman, Amazon insisted that its workers did not urinate in bottles. If that were true, nobody would work for us,' wrote the e-commerce giant, which employs more than 1 million people worldwide. Disbelief, derision and fact-checking ensued as journalists weighed in with reported memos and contractor policies suggesting otherwise: 'Documents show Amazon is aware drivers pee in bottles and even defecate en route,' the Intercept reported, citing workers who described intense pressure to hit their quotas. Now Amazon says it was wrong. '[We] know that drivers can and do have trouble finding restrooms because of traffic or sometimes rural routes, and this has been especially the case during Covid when many public restrooms have been closed,' the retail giant wrote in a Friday blog post, apologizing to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) for its 'incorrect' response to him.... ~~~

"Pocan rebuffed Amazon's apology Saturday, tweeting that it is 'not about me' but about Amazon's workers 'who you don't treat with enough respect or dignity. Start by acknowledging the inadequate working conditions you've created for ALL your workers, then fix that for everyone & finally, let them unionize without interference,'... Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post."

     ~~~ Marie: There is only one house on my road, and it's mine. On the other side of the road, there's a public park, which has no full-time employees on site. I have often wondered why delivery trucks so often drive past my house and return moments later, yet they leave me no gifts. Mystery solved. There's a Porta Potty on the park grounds. If you live long enough, all truth and wisdom will come to you.

AP: "Details from more than 500 million Facebook users have been found available on a website for hackers. The information appears to be several years old, but it is another example of the vast amount of information collected by Facebook and other social media sites, and the limits to how secure that information is. The availability of the data set was first reported by Business Insider. According to that publication, it has information from 106 countries including phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, and email addresses." MB: This is one of those genies that can't be stuffed back in the bottle.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.: "As President Biden enters the homestretch of his first 100 days in office, the general declines in new virus cases, deaths and hospitalizations since January offer signs of hope for a weary nation. But the average number of new cases has risen 19 percent over the past two weeks, and federal health officials say that complacency about the coronavirus could bring on another severe wave of infections." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Joby Warrick, et al., of the Washington Post: "Jordanian authorities on Saturday arrested as many as 20 people and sought to restrain the movement of a former crown prince amid what officials called a threat to the 'security and stability' of a country long regarded as a vital U.S. ally in the Middle East. Prince Hamzeh bin Hussein, the eldest son of the late King Hussein and his American-born fourth wife, Queen Noor, was told to remain at his Amman palace amid an investigation into an alleged plot to unseat his older half brother, King Abdullah II, according to a senior Middle Eastern intelligence official briefed on the events. The move followed the discovery of what officials described as a complex and far-reaching plot that included at least one other Jordanian royal as well as tribal leaders and members of the country's political and security establishment. One official cited unspecified evidence of 'foreign' backing for the plan." The BBC's story is here. An AP story is here.