Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Monday February 22, 2021
1.) THE DAILY SIGNAL
February 22 2021
Good morning from Washington, which looks and sounds woker by the day. The current French resistance to the trend on their soil is inspiring, Jarrett Stepman writes. On the podcast, an Atlanta pastor scouts a path through America’s political turmoil. Plus: Scott Walker’s new youth leadership role; the Justice Department’s quiet agreement in an election integrity case; and Biden charms the fact-checkers. On this date in 1732, George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia; within 44 years, he will lead the Continental Army in the American Revolution on his way to becoming the new nation’s first president.
French historian Pierre-André Taguieff says the French people are exasperated by phrases such as “systemic racism’’ and “white privilege,” which he says are an “artificial importation” from America.
Appearing at a friendly CNN town hall, President Biden drops a string of untruths on issues both large and small. But the fact-checkers don’t seem worried.
Racial tensions, the ongoing pandemic, and fierce political discord have left many Americans asking how the nation can move forward in unity. Bishop Garland Hunt seeks to answer that question.
The ban on ballot harvesting makes it a felony punishable by prison and a $150,000 fine for someone other than a person’s family, caregivers, mail carriers, and election officials to collect ballots.
SARS escaped from a Beijing lab twice in 2004. If SARS 1.0 leaked from a Chinese lab twice, why is it a conspiracy theory to question whether SARS 2.0 could have escaped from a Chinese lab?
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2.) THE EPOCH TIMES
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3.) DAYBREAK
Your First Look at Today’s Top Stories – Daybreak Insider
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Democrats Prep for Party-Line Vote on $1.9 Trillion Pandemic Bill
From the story: House Democrats aren’t expecting to get a single GOP vote for their aid package, which they’re taking up with the procedural maneuver known as reconciliation in order to win Senate passage without the threat of a filibuster. The House Budget Committee will meet Monday afternoon to tee up the legislation for floor passage on Friday or Saturday, with Senate action as soon as the following week (Politico). So why are Republicans refusing to vote for this thing? From the Wall Street Journal: The Biden White House is pointing to polls showing that its $1.9 trillion spending bill is popular, and the press corps is cheering. Yet we wonder how much public support there’d be if Americans understood that most of the blowout is a list of longtime Democratic spending priorities flying under the false flag of Covid-19 relief (WSJ).
2.
South Carolina Passes Heartbeat Bill, Judge Immediately Halts It
The story notes “U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis placed a two-week temporary restraining order on the law ahead of a March 9 hearing that will determine a preliminary injunction” (Washington Examiner). The bill was signed into law by Governor Henry McMaster Thursday (Life News). From Dr. Albert Mohler: Thank you, Gov. McMaster — and SC legislature. The opponents of this bill show their hostility to the unborn in their opposition. This is a monumental clash over human dignity. Choose life (Twitter).
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3.
Coca-Cola Tells Employees “Try to be Less White”
According to a whistleblower who exposed the training video (The Federalist). From Bari Weiss: Every day… I get calls from people working in corporate America forced to go to trainings in which they learn that they carry collective, race-based guilt — or benefit from collective, race-based virtue. I get calls from young people just launching their careers telling me that they feel they have no choice but to profess fealty to this ideology in order to keep their jobs. Almost no one who calls me is willing to go public. And I understand why. To go public with what’s happening is to risk their jobs and their reputations (Bari Weiss).
4.
Amazon Removes Ryan Anderson Book “When Harry Became Sally”
What you now get is the page, seen above (Twitter). From Rachel Bovard: If you still think this is merely about a private company making decisions – & not about one of the world’s biggest corporations (& largest book retailer) deciding what constitutes “appropriate” thought & information – I’m not sure I can help you anymore (Twitter). From Philip Klein: Just a reminder that not only does @amazon sell Mein Kampf — but it gets 4.5 stars (Twitter). From Christina Sommers: One can buy Valerie Solanas’ SCUM (Society for Cutting Up Men) Manifesto, Ted Kaczynski’s Unabomber Manifesto, and Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf on @amazon@amazonbooks , but not Ryan T. Anderson’s new book critiquing the transgender movement? Please explain @AmazonHelp (Twitter).
5.
College Offers Free Tuition for Blacks and Native Americans
Wayfinding Academy, out of Washington, says they are doing this because these two groups “have been disproportionately impacted by [the state’s] white supremacist history and because college debt is a major factor in the racial wealth gap in this country.”
She told Ben Shapiro “I’ve been through so much, and I’ve seen so much now, clearly, of the bullying that’s been taking place, and I saw it before … I’m not the only one that’s ever been bullied by this company, and I know that so deeply. I could share a story which would turn things around in the media, but I can’t because it would sell out a friend … Everyone is afraid of losing their job” (Washington Examiner). More on the conversation (Daily Wire).
7.
Businesses Begging New York to Stop the Bleeding Before They Die Off
From the story: As of this month, more than 47 percent of small businesses citywide remain closed, while revenue for those that are open has dropped nearly 60 percent, according to TrackTheRecovery.org, a Harvard University-run database tracing the virus’ economic impact. In Lower Manhattan, commercial office leasing dropped nearly 70 percent in 2020, while a staggering 12 percent of businesses — ranging from hotels to department stores to restaurants — closed for good, data from the Downtown Alliance shows.
Disney Warns Some Muppets Episodes Contain “Offensive Content”
From the disclaimer: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.”
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Ballard Partners will hold onto the crown for another year.
With 2020 in the books, the firm founded by Brian Ballard once again took the top spot overall lobbying incomes, collecting an estimated $9.4 million in the Legislature and $8 million in the executive branch.
The grand total: $17.5 million.
Despite the economic strain of the pandemic, the overall tally compares favorably with recent years. And since Florida lobbyists report their earnings in ranges, the haul could much higher — 2020s upper limit was $24.25 million.
Brian Ballard remains on top. Image via Bloomberg.
The Southern Group again posted the second-fattest reports in the state. The firm earned $8 million in the Legislature and $7.1 million in the executive for an overall score of $15.1 million.
The Southern Group’s range reports top out at $22.9 million.
Capital City Consulting was about $900,000 back from No. 2 with median earnings of $14.2 million, including $7.9 million in legislative pay and $6.3 million in executive pay. It could have earned as much as $20.1 million.
The 2020 reports set a new high watermark for the firm. Last year, CCC reported median earnings of $12.5 million and maximum earnings of $17.5 million.
There’s a rankings scuffle between two other perennial top-5ers: Ron Book and GrayRobinson.
Book notched $7.4 million in legislative pay — the clear No. 4 — but his $1.85 million in executive branch earnings left the door open for GrayRobinson to make a claim.
All told, Book posted median earnings of $9.2 million with a $12.5 million ceiling. Meanwhile, GrayRobinson reported median earnings of $8 million with a top end of $13.1 million.
Either way you slice it, Dean Cannon and the GrayRobinson team are no longer in a dogfight with Greenberg Traurig for fifth place.
After falling just short in 2019, GrayRobinson has created some separation between it and GTLaw, which earned an estimated $7.5 million last year.
Greenberg Traurig could have earned as much as $11 million.
🦠 — COVID-19 began with just one dot, and turned into blackout of grief: The New York Times’ Sunday front page looks, at first glance, like a gradient growing from white to gray to almost solid black. The grayscale is a collection of black dots, each representing a person who has died from COVID-19. The image is as dark figuratively as it is literally and represents the nearly 500,000 Americans who have lost their lives to an unyielding pandemic. The dots become more prevalent on the Times’ visual timeline in late spring when the virus first spiked. They get fewer and hence appear lighter gray in the fall, but the image darkens again around Thanksgiving, the death toll becoming so rampant that by early January, the dots form almost a solid blotch of black ink, and as of late Saturday, the blackness persists.
— Plaza level insights, too many to blurb: DeSantis’ administration has many moves ahead of it, including filling positions for his chief of staff and communications director. The opportunities are endless, and the options robust. I contemplated the various contenders for Gov. Ron DeSantis-world last week and what those hires could mean for DeSantis as he stares down the barrel of a potentially tough reelection campaign next year. Read more about that here.
— Connecting the dots: Where political giving to Ron DeSantis helped get no-bid vaccine business: Publix was the first company to get DeSanits’ nod to begin distributing vaccines to Florida. Publix received its contract to receive vaccines five days after donating $100,000 to DeSantis’ Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee. Further, Florida Bulldog reports DeSantis handed out $4 million in no-bid contracts to a New York City-based social media startup founded by the son of a South Florida billionaire who supported former President Donald Trump, with whom DeSantis is a close ally. Read more about the connections here.
— Check out my blog post, in which I castigate the alive and well patriarchy in Winter Park: Winter Park’s local elections don’t typically grab my attention, but a recent debacle reporter Scott Powers reported highlighted a cringeworthy back and forth in which a male candidate verbally assaulted a female chamber president over a question she didn’t even ask. No one said anything. The Orlando Sentinel endorsed the berating man, failing even to mention his outburst. Queue my Shakespeare reference. Read about it here.
Situational awareness
—@BSFarrington: One of the greatest things in my professional life during the pandemic has been @floridachannel.
—@GrayRohrer: Spring is coming Tallahassee — the first pollen mist has descended
—@Oneunderscore: All of this great vaccine news is making me so excited for the summer when everyone reveals the unique way they are now socially broken. Will I sporadically talk like Dracula around friends because I’ve been doing that to the cat for some unknown reason? You bet.
—@DaveWeigel: Taylor Swift is older now than any of the Beatles were when they broke up. Enjoy your Sunday.
—@CFFernandez: If you do what you love for a living, you’ll never have the Sunday Scaries.
Days until
The CW’s ‘Superman & Lois’ premieres — 1; the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference begins — 3; Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, with exhibition games starting — 5; 2021 Legislative Session begins — 8; Florida TaxWatch 2021 State of the Taxpayer virtual event — 10; ‘Coming 2 America’ premieres on Amazon Prime — 11; the NBA All-Star Game — 13; municipal elections in Broward and south Palm Beach County — 15; ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ premieres — 18; 2021 Grammys — 20; Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’ premieres on HBO Max — 24; ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ premieres — 32; 2021 Florida Derby — 33; MLB Opening Day — 38; ‘No Time to Die’ premieres (rescheduled) — 39; ‘Black Widow’ rescheduled premiere — 74; Florida Chamber Safety Council’s inaugural Southeastern Leadership Conference on Safety, Health and Sustainability — 77; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ rescheduled premiere — 130; Disney’s ‘Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings’ premieres — 139; MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta — 141; new start date for 2021 Olympics — 151; ‘Jungle Cruise’ premieres — 159; St. Petersburg Primary Election — 183; ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ rescheduled premiere — 207; ‘Dune’ premieres — 221; MLB regular season ends — 223; World Series Game 1 — 246; St. Petersburg Municipal Elections — 253; Disney’s ‘Eternals’ premieres — 256; Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ premieres — 291; ‘Spider-Man Far From Home’ sequel premieres — 298; ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 396; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 438; ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 592.
Dateline Tallahassee
“Vaccines for votes: Ron DeSantis’ shot-in-the-arm strategy” via Steve Bousquet of the Sun-Sentinel — DeSantis dishes out COVID-19 vaccines to voters the way Florida politicians used to serve up barbecue. His travel schedule, typically released long after he lands someplace, shows just how deeply the state’s pandemic response is intertwined with his own political agenda. DeSantis has been to Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, Kings Point in Delray Beach and Sun City Center near Tampa, all home to high-priority 65-and-up residents at the front of the vaccination line who happen to be reliable voters. He has personally offered shots in the arm to Holocaust survivors, Bay of Pigs veterans, and elderly widows in Little Havana.
“Legislative package expediting storage north of Lake Okeechobee introduced in Florida Senate” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics — A plan that would boost water storage projects north of Lake Okeechobee, a key priority of Senate President Wilton Simpson, has been introduced in the Florida Senate. Senate Bill 94, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, would require the South Florida Water Management District to request the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to seek congressional approval by a certain date and expedite the construction of aquifer storage and recovery wells along with the implementation of a science plan to accompany the project. The project was originally developed as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan approved bipartisanly by Congress and with environmental groups’ support in 2000.
“Medical pot sparking problems again?” via Christine Sexton of The News Service of Florida — Members of the Joint Committee on Medical Marijuana met to begin developing the practice standards that physicians must follow when ordering smokable pot. And they weren’t happy. Committee member Jorge Lopez said smoking is toxic and that the medical boards shouldn’t be able to condone the behavior. But committee chairwoman Sandra Schwemmer tried to assuage the concerns by noting that the boards could use the rules to discipline rogue doctors who don’t abide by the standards that ultimately are adopted. As members of the joint committee grapple with the rules, Simpson dropped a medical-marijuana bombshell — the Senate may be willing to place a cap on the amount of allowable euphoria-inducing THC.
“Kelli Stargel refiles proposal to exempt legislators’ personal information from public record” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Sen. Stargel has refiled legislation that seeks to exempt personal information belonging to state legislators and members of the Governor’s Cabinet from Florida’s public record laws. The bill, SB 1488, would shield from public disclosure the home addresses, telephone numbers and dates of birth of current legislators and Cabinet members. The exemption would also apply to their spouses and children, and would extend the public disclosure exemption to family members’ names, places of employment and locations of schools and daycare facilities attended by children. The bill would also create a criminal penalty for anyone who “knowingly and maliciously” publishes or disseminates the protected identifying information.
Kelli Stargel looks to keep lawmakers out of the sunshine. Image via Colin Hackley.
“Jason Pizzo proposes student loan repayment for assistant state attorneys, public defenders” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics — Sen. Pizzo filed a proposal on Friday that would create a student loan repayment program for Assistant State Attorneys and Assistant Public Defenders. The bill, SB 1472, would establish the repayment program under the Department of Education and provide participants an annual payment to offset costs. Under the proposal, a program participant would receive $3,000 for at least four years of service. Meanwhile, participants with more than 7 years of continuous service would receive a $5,000 annual payment. “Each payment shall be made directly to the financial institution that services the program participant’s student loan,” the legislation reads.
“Mike Beltran files Constitution Revision Commission repeal in the House” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — A proposal that could lead to the end of the Constitution Revision Commission now has a House partner after Rep. Beltran filed that resolution Friday afternoon. The Lithia Republican’s legislation would put the question of whether to eliminate the commission before voters on the 2022 General Election ballot. St. Petersburg Republican Brandes‘ version passed its second and final Senate committee on Thursday and now awaits a floor vote. The CRC is one of five methods in Florida to amend the state constitution. It meets every 20 years to place proposed amendments directly on the ballot.
Brian Ballard, Michael Abrams, Brady Benford, Jose Diaz, Christopher Hansen, Monica Rodriguez, Abigail Vail, Ballard Partners: Automated Healthcare Solutions, NATO of Florida, Prescient Medicine, Walgreen Company
Matt Bryan, David Daniel, Thomas Griffin, Jeff Hartley, Lisa Hurley, Teye Reeves, Smith Bryan & Myers: National Football League
Alexia Dawes: Northrop Grumman Corporation
Shawn Foster, Sunrise Consulting Group: JPA
Bill Helmich, Helmich Consulting: Florida Smoke-Free Association
Frank Huth: Stetson University
Nick Iarossi, Andrew Ketchel, Capital City Consulting: AT&T Services
Erik Kirk, PooleMcKinley: Teva Pharmaceuticals
Mark Kruse, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney: Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida
Toni Large, Large Strategies: Orange County Medical Society
Chelsea Murphy: Texas Public Policy Foundation
Eric Ross: Anti-Defamation League
Jonathan Setzer, Florida Alliance Consulting: Floridians Advocating Consumer Transparency
Joshua Smith: Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
Jonathan Steverson, Foley & Lardner: Lloyd’s America
Statewide
“Jeanette Núñez, Enterprise Florida to launch webinar program promoting STEM careers” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Lt. Gov. Núñezis joining with Enterprise Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and other organizations to help advocate science and engineering studies inside the Sunshine State. Nuñez will join Enterprise Florida Jamal Sowell on Wednesday, Feb. 24, to kick off a new webinar series. That session will be held at 2:30 p.m. and will focus on Florida’s aerospace industry. “Ensuring that Florida continues to grow our skilled workforce to meet the demands of the aerospace industry is one of the most important challenges ahead of us,” Nuñez said. “I look forward to joining this event to discuss Florida’s future in space.”
A new webinar is part of Jeanette Núñez’s effort to grow the state’s skilled workforce. Image via Colin Hackley.
“Chamber safety conference to show how Florida can stay safe, healthy” via Haley Brown of Florida Politics — Leaders in the environmental health and safety industry will meet to discuss ways Florida businesses can keep employees and customers safe during the coronavirus era. Hosted by the Florida Chamber Safety Council (FCSC), a state chapter of the National Safety Council, the Southeastern Leadership Conference on Safety, Health and Sustainability is scheduled for May 10-12 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. For the in-person conference, the FCSC expects to attract business leaders in the environmental health and safety sector from across the Southeast.
What Max Goodman is reading — “Vern Buchanan already gearing up to protect seat after tough votes early in the cycle” via Zac Anderson of The Sarasota Herald-Tribune — Sarasota Democrats keep raising larger and larger sums to take on U.S. Rep. Buchanan and the Longboat Key Republican keeps winning by larger and larger margins, raising the question of whether he is really vulnerable. Buchanan won his first race against Sarasota banker Christine Jennings by just 369 votes in 2006. In 2012, he beat New College professor Keith Fitzgerald, who raised $1.5 million, by seven percentage points, and in 2018 he beat attorney David Shapiro, who raised $2.6 million, by nine points. Last year Buchanan beat attorney Margaret Good, who raised $3.5 million, by 11 points. But even as he keeps running up the score on his opponents, Buchanan isn’t taking anything for granted.
Is Vern Buchanan vulnerable? Elections seem to prove he’s not. Image via the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
“Second candidate emerges for Cord Byrd’s House seat” via News Service of Florida — With Rep. Byrd planning to run for the Senate in 2022, a second candidate has emerged to seek his Northeast Florida House seat. Hilliard Republican Bo Wade Hodges opened a campaign account this week to run in what is now House District 11 in Duval and Nassau counties. The filing came a week after Jacksonville Beach Republican Heath Brockwell opened an account for the race. The district boundaries — and potentially the number — will change before the 2022 elections because of the once-a-decade reapportionment process. Also this week, Rep. Anika Omphroy opened an account to run for reelection in 2022. Omphroy won a second term last year in Broward County’s House District 95.
First on the revamped #FlaPol — Attorney Hillary Cassel joins Democratic primary in HD 99 — Cassel is entering the race to replace Democratic Rep. Evan Jenne in House District 99. Cassel and her husband, Michael, co-founded their law firm, Cassel & Cassel, P.A. The firm focuses on property damage lawsuits, representing individuals seeking insurance payouts after dealing with catastrophic events. Cassel also serves on the Florida Bar’s Mental Health & Wellness of Florida Lawyers Committee, aiming to assist struggling attorneys. “I have spent years fighting for consumers against the big insurance companies and advocating for those struggling with mental health issues,” Cassel said in a Monday statement announcing her candidacy. “In the Florida Legislature, I want to bring my experience and this same level of commitment to the issues facing our community.”
Corona Florida
“Florida reports 5,065 new coronavirus cases, 93 deaths, down from Saturday” via Austen Erblat of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Florida on Sunday reported slightly fewer new cases and deaths than the previous day. Florida reported 5,065 new coronavirus cases on Sunday and another 93 new resident deaths linked to COVID-19. The state has now reported 1,868,772 cases since the pandemic began. South Florida reported 2,164 new cases and 26 deaths on Sunday. Public health experts say the virus is considered under control when the COVID-19 test positivity rate is under 5%. Since Oct. 29, Florida has exceeded 5% in its widely publicized calculation for assessing the rate for testing of residents.
Tweet, tweet:
“Media ignore DeSantis’s minority outreach to smear Florida vaccine effort” via Ryan Mills of National Review — Democrats charged that DeSantis was playing politics with vaccine distribution and favoring white, wealthy Republicans. State Rep. Michele Rayner, a St. Petersburg Democrat, accused the governor of prioritizing “affluent neighborhoods in Manatee County over our underserved populations.” Nikki Fried accused DeSantis of “rationing vaccines based on political influence.” With his pugnacious style, DeSantis fired back that the community should be “thankful” that it was receiving an additional 3,000 vaccine doses on top of its regular allocation. State and national media jumped on the Democrats’ complaints and amplified the controversy.
“Charlie Crist asks DOJ to investigate DeSantis’ pop-up vaccine sites for wealthy Florida neighborhoods” via WFLA — Crist announced Sunday he has sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson, asking that the US Department of Justice investigate concerns surrounding DeSantis’ decision to establish vaccination sites in wealthy neighborhoods, such as Lakewood Ranch. A release from Crist’s office says DeSantis has established “coronavirus vaccine distribution and administration sites to benefit political allies and donors, over the needs of higher-risk communities and existing county waitlists.” Crist says the governor is prioritizing COVID-19 vaccines for “Republican-leaning communities,” causing him to turn “his back on communities with higher COVID-19 infection and death rates.”
“Who is getting the vaccine? Disparities persist.” via David Fleshler and Cindy Krischer Goodman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel — The COVID-19 vaccination rate remains low among Black and Hispanic Floridians despite initiatives announced by DeSantis to bring more shots to underserved communities. Now, the federal government has stepped in. The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to open four mass vaccination sites in Florida, with one at Miami Dade College’s North Campus and the others in Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville. Two mobile units will go into nearby underserved areas around each site and give out 500 vaccinations a day. With about 2.5 million vaccines given so far, 10% of white Floridians have been vaccinated compared to just 4% of Blacks and 4% of Hispanics.
“Florida among five states to receive federal COVID-19 vaccination centers” via Jeffrey Schweers of The Tallahassee Democrat — DeSantis and the White House’s COVID-19 Response Team have announced a partnership to build four mass community vaccination centers capable of immunizing 12,000 people a day. The centers will be in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando and Tampa. The White House also announced Pennsylvania would receive a vaccination site. They join three other states to get FEMA vaccination sites: California, Texas and New York. Choosing Florida to get federal vaccination centers signals a relationship between the Joe Biden White House and DeSantis administration not seen before.
FEMA camps? Federal vaccination centers will soon be popping up in Florida. Image via AP.
“Hotel issued warning after hosting DeSantis event with maskless attendees” via Hannah Morse of The Palm Beach Post — A West Palm Beach hotel violated the county’s mask rules after it hosted an event for DeSantis where few people sported masks. On Australian Avenue, the Hilton Palm Beach Airport was issued a warning Friday afternoon by the COVID-19 Education Compliance Team, Assistant County Administrator Patrick Rutter told The Palm Beach Post. At least 150 people were in attendance to hear DeSantis’ announcement on proposed election legislation, many of them not following the county’s mask mandate. Any future violation may lead to a special magistrate hearing “where there may be imposed against you a fine of up to $15,000 per violation,” the letter said.
Corona local
“Jacksonville senior centers revert from COVID-19 vaccinations to testing” via David Bauerlein of The Florida Times-Union — Two Jacksonville senior centers that vaccinated almost 1,100 people are going to revert to their previous role of COVID-19 test sites on Monday. The testing will be done Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The city launched vaccinations at the Mandarin Senior Center and the Lane Wiley Senior Center in January. Still, the nationwide scarcity of vaccine supplies halted vaccinations less than two weeks later. The city provided second doses this month and has said it stands ready to do more vaccinations if it can get more of the vaccines, which are controlled by the federal government and shipped by the state to local sites.
Jacksonville senior vaccination centers are changing roles. Image via Twitter.
“At FIU, and across Florida, workers have a right to fear going back to the office amid COVID-19” via The Miami Herald editorial board — When Florida International University announced this month that more employees would be returning to work on campus, President Mark Rosenberg framed it as a rallying cry to “take back our university” and “liberate us” from the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. FIU, which shut down quickly last spring and then partially reopened in the fall, has gone to great lengths to prevent transmission: installing plexiglass barriers, improving air filtration, contact tracing, training COVID-sniffing dogs and creating an app to help students and employees decide if they should stay home. All of that is in addition to the regular requirements of masks and sanitizing.
“Doctors decry inequities in COVID-19 antibody treatment for minorities” via Sonja Isger and Jane Musgrave of The Palm Beach Post — Even as county leaders seek to remedy a lack of COVID-19 vaccine availability in poor, minority communities, a group of local physicians is calling attention to what they say is another glaring inequity, this one in the treatment of those who do catch the virus. They are decrying the lack of access to what’s called “monoclonal antibodies” in their neighborhood hospitals and health centers. These antibodies are laboratory-designed to mimic the body’s defense against infection by glomming on to their target and preventing it from anchoring in human cells.
“Outrage follows Sarasota mask mandate decision” via Timothy Fanning of The Sarasota Herald-Tribune — Since Sarasota City Commissioners announced this week that face masks would soon be no longer mandatory in public, their inboxes have been flooded with emails from angry citizens. Seniors, essential workers and mothers of immunocompromised children criticized the Commission for letting the mask mandate ordinance expire. Some expressed outrage: others, disappointment. One woman suggested that elected officials had abdicated their leadership responsibilities and outright ignored medical experts’ advice, who strongly urged them to keep it in place. The Commission ultimately decided to draft a resolution that would “strongly encourage” face masks in city limits.
Corona nation
“Joe Biden to hold moment of silence for COVID victims” via Hans Nichols of Axios — Biden will mark the expected confirmation of 500,000 Americans who have died from coronavirus with remarks Monday evening, followed by a moment of silence and a candle-lighting ceremony at sundown. The milestone, expected to be crossed Monday, will tally more American deaths than in World War II and the Vietnam War. The new president has worked to ramp up vaccinations and economic stimulus to accelerate recovery from the pandemic. The President will be joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
“‘This is our generation’s D-Day’: As U.S. nears 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, weary health care workers fight on amid the heartbreak” via Jorge Ortiz of USA Today — Nearly a year into a life-altering pandemic, many Americans are fed up with wearing masks, desperate for a return to normalcy and numb to the relentless stream of grim numbers, such as the 500,000 COVID-19 deaths the USA is about to surpass. Health care workers don’t want to hear any of that. They have been working endless hours amid constant death and suffering, forsaking time off and exposing themselves to the disease, leaving them exhausted and with no real indication of when the pandemic will relent. The toil has taken a toll. The CDC has recorded nearly 409,000 coronavirus cases and 1,438 deaths among health care personnel nationwide.
The COVID-19 toll is taking a toll on health care workers. Image via AP.
“Beyond 100M: Biden team aiming for bigger vaccine numbers” via Zeke Miller of The Associated Press — One month into his presidency, Biden is on a glide path to attain that goal and pitching well beyond it to the far more ambitious and daunting mission of vaccinating all eligible adults against the coronavirus by the end of the summer. Limited supply of the two approved COVID-19 vaccines has hampered the pace of vaccinations and that was before extreme winter weather delayed the delivery of about 6 million doses this past week. But the United States is on the verge of a supply breakthrough as manufacturing ramps up and with the expectation of a third vaccine becoming available in the coming weeks.
“U.S. sticking with two-dose COVID-19 vaccine schedule, though study suggests one shot provides good short-term protection” via Karen Weintraub of USA Today — A new study out of Israel reignited the public debate about the spacing between the two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, but the U.S. government isn’t budging in its commitment to the original schedule. According to the new study from Israel, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine might be just as effective if the gap between doses is wider than the recommended 21 days. If the doses could be given further apart, more people could be protected faster. Vaccine supplies, which remain quite limited now, are expected to ramp up in late spring. But government officials want to stick with the dosing schedule that has been scientifically proven to be effective.
“Some COVID-19 vaccines are effective after one dose, can be stored in normal freezers, data show” via Jared S. Hopkins and Bojan Pancevski of The Wall Street Journal — Efforts to vaccinate the world’s population against COVID-19 got a boost after research showed that some vaccines provide strong, one-dose protection and that one of the vaccines can now be stored in normal freezers instead of ultra-cold ones. According to new research out of Israel, the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE generates robust immunity after one dose, and further data showed that the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca PLC vaccine similarly prevented COVID-19 when doses were spaced three months apart.
“Pfizer, BioNTech ask FDA to approve easier vaccine storage” via Jason Gale and Naomi Kresge of Bloomberg — Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow their COVID-19 vaccine to be stored for two weeks at temperatures found in normal pharmaceutical freezers, a change that could simplify distribution for the shot. The partners submitted new data showing stability when the vaccine is stored at minus-25 to minus-15 degrees Celsius (-13°F to 5°F), they said in a statement on Friday. Current protocol is for storage for up to six months in an ultra-cold freezer at temperatures of minus-80ºC to minus-60ºC and shipping in a special thermal container.
Pfizer is asking to ease up on its storage requirements. Image via Bloomberg.
“America’s vaccine rollout has been among the best in the world” via Dave Lawler of Axios — America’s much-maligned vaccine rollout is actually going relatively well, at least compared to other wealthy countries. The U.S. has carried out more vaccinations than any country in the world and given the first dose to a higher percentage of its population (12%) than all but five countries: Israel, Seychelles, the UAE, the U.K. and Bahrain. In fact, the U.S. is distributing doses three times as quickly as the EU, adjusted for population, and nearly five times as quickly as Canada. The U.S. has some major advantages over most of the world. Not only does America have the money to reserve more doses than it could possibly use, but it also has the capacity to manufacture them domestically.
“Short of vaccine, states find hidden stashes in their own backyards” via Sharon LaFraniere, Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Abby Goodnough of The New York Times — When tiny glass vials of coronavirus vaccine began rolling off production lines late last year, federal health officials set aside a big stash for nursing homes being ravaged by the virus. Health providers around the country figured that it was prudent to squirrel away vials to ensure that everyone who got the first dose of vaccine got a second one. Two months later, it is clear both strategies went overboard. Millions of doses wound up trapped in logistical limbo, either set aside for nursing homes that did not need them or stockpiled while Americans clamored in vain for their first doses.
“Anthony Fauci says we could be wearing masks in 2022; Hopkins expert says pandemic could be ‘mostly gone’ by April” via John Bacon and Jordan Colver of USA Today — When the pandemic will end remains a mystery. Dr. Fauci says it’s “possible” that Americans will still be wearing masks in 2022. Marty Makary, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, doesn’t see it that way. Meanwhile, the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation warns that the world may never reach herd immunity. The good news is the institute projects that deaths could drop to fewer than 500 per day by the end of May.
Anthony Fauci warns that we may be wearing masks through next year. Image via AP.
“The youngest victims of a national calamity, and the people they left behind” via Marc Fisher, Ariana Eunjung Cha, Annie Gowen, Arelis Hernández and Lori Rozsa of The Washington Post — As the nation reaches the milestone of a half-million deaths about a year after the first American succumbed to the coronavirus, the number of children killed by the disease remains relatively small. The necropolis of COVID-19 has grown into a city of sorrow the size of Atlanta or Sacramento, a death toll larger than the combined American losses in combat from the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. In this new national graveyard of virus victims, the section set aside for the young held 271 children as of early February. Each death represents a shattered family and a trauma deepened, parents say, by the rampant belief that kids can’t get COVID-19 or that it doesn’t much harm them when they do.
Corona economics
“U.S. is poised to beat China’s V-shaped recovery, JPMorgan says” via Brett Miller of Bloomberg — The U.S. recovery is accelerating, putting it on course to outperform China’s V-shaped rebound, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. economists. Indications of resilience in global industry, a surge in American retail spending, along with fiscal stimulus around the world, especially from the Biden administration, point to higher growth in the U.S., according to projections from JPMorgan economists led by Bruce Kasman. “We now expect the U.S. to outpace China, moving on a path that raises GDP well above its pre-crisis trajectory,” the economists wrote in a note. The alignment of U.S. fiscal stimulus and rebound from COVID-19 in Europe will help bring a 7.6% surge in world GDP around midyear, they said.
JPMorgan is bullish on a U.S. recovery.
“U.S. economy may have its best chance in years to break from era of subpar growth” via David J. Lynch of The Washington Post — As increasingly widespread COVID-19 vaccinations signal a possible return to normal life, the United States is moving toward an unusual experiment that could produce an economy many Americans will not recognize, for better or for worse. Factories are humming and consumers are spending again, signs that the United States could emerge from the current health crisis with its strongest growth in decades. Goldman Sachs expects the economy to expand this year at an annual rate of 7%, the fastest pace since President Ronald Reagan proclaimed “morning again in America” in 1984.
“White House reiterates teacher vaccinations ‘not a prerequisite’ to reopening schools” via Amy B Wang and Peter Whoriskey of The Washington Post — The White House reiterated that teachers do not need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus before schools can reopen, a stance Biden administration officials say is in line with scientific guidelines but that puts them at odds with some teachers unions that have insisted members will not return to the classroom until they receive the vaccine. Whether teachers must be vaccinated before in-person lessons resume has become another inflection point in heated debates about when and how schools should safely reopen, as the United States nears its one-year mark grappling with the pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 people here.
Pressure is building on school systems around the U.S. to reopen classrooms. Image via AP.
Shot — “COVID-19 variant found in U.K. spreads ‘like wildfire.’ British experts fear what will happen if U.S. won’t lock down” via Kim Hjelmgaard of USA Today — On Jan. 4, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made yet another somber coronavirus-related address to the nation: A variant first identified in Kent, England, was thought to be 50%-70% more infectious. In little more than a week, hospital admissions had increased by nearly a third. Deaths had risen by 20%. Johnson ordered the country’s third full lockdown since the start of the pandemic. Monday, amid a dramatic drop in coronavirus infections, Britain’s leader will unveil his plan for unwinding one of the world’s strictest COVID-19 lockdowns. Only Cuba has tougher restrictions in place, according to an index of government measures compiled by Our World in Data, a research unit attached to Oxford University.
Chaser — “When could the United States reach herd immunity? It’s complicated.” via Matthew Conlen and Charlie Smart of The New York Times — With the vaccine rollout underway and coronavirus cases declining after a dark winter surge, it may seem as if the end of the pandemic is in sight. In reality, how soon could we get there? More than 15 million people have been fully vaccinated, and the U.S. is currently administering about 1.7 million shots per day. Some experts say we could nearly double that pace by April as new vaccines are approved. Precautions remain especially important as new variants of the virus emerge. If social distancing measures aren’t followed, a stronger virus could rapidly infect and kill hundreds of thousands of people before they can be vaccinated.
“Facebook political ad ban blocks pro-vaccine messages” via Darius Tahir of POLITICO — Facebook’s efforts to police online ads for vaccine misinformation are unintentionally blocking messages from cities, health care providers, and community and faith-based groups promoting COVID-19 shots. Paid-for messages from at least 110 groups aimed at raising awareness of how the vaccines work or where to get inoculated were flagged and sent to Facebook’s register of political messages, a POLITICO review of barred ads dating from last September shows. Sponsors of the ads have the option of appealing but say the process may prove too burdensome while they deal with the halting distribution of vaccines and respond to new, more contagious strains of the virus.
Among Facebook’s political ad ban — pro-vaccine posts. Image via AP.
“Why we’re still waiting for rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests” via Bryan Walsh of Axios — Rapid at-home COVID-19 tests are fast, but the regulatory approval needed to get them in the hands of Americans has been slow to come. Quick, fully at-home COVID-19 tests could make a vital contribution to stemming the pandemic, but old assumptions about how diagnostics should be used are holding them back. On Wednesday, the Biden administration unveiled a $1.6 billion plan to accelerate COVID-19 testing in schools and other settings, bolster the supply chains for testing materials, and enhance genetic sequencing surveillance. “We still don’t have enough testing, and we don’t have enough testing in all the places it needs to be,” Biden testing coordinator Carole Johnson told reporters.
Presidential
“Biden’s 1st month was about erasing the mark of ‘former guy’” via Jonathan Lemire and Calvin Woodward of The Associated Press — When Biden walked into the Oval Office for the first time as President a month ago, his pens were ready. Already. Lining a fine wooden box, they bore the presidential seal and an imprint of his signature; a micro-mission accomplished in advance of his swearing-in. Four years ago, pens were just one more little drama in Trump’s White House. The gold-plated signature pens he favored had to be placed on rush order in his opening days. Over time, he came to favor Sharpies over the government-issued pens. On matters far more profound than a pen, Biden is out to demonstrate that the days of a seat-of-the-pants presidency are over.
Joe Biden came to the Oval Office with pens ready. Image via AP.
“Biden squeezed between promises to go green and bolster unions” via Eric Wolff and Rebecca Rainey of POLITICO — Biden’s green energy agenda is in danger of being engulfed in a fight between organized labor and industry over unionization, wages and other workplace issues. As the renewable energy industry expands, unions and their allies in Congress are determined to unionize more of the jobs or, at the very least, require the payment of union-equivalent wages. But the industry says such moves would cripple some of their operations. Disagreements will test Biden’s vow to be both the greenest and the most pro-union President in history.
“Black, female and high-profile, Kamala Harris is a top target in online fever swamps” via Noah Bierman of Yahoo! News — Soon after Biden announced last year that he would pick a woman as his running mate, Democratic congresswoman Jackie Speier began warning Facebook executives: Female politicians receive the vilest online attacks, and the company’s filters were failing to stop them. Speier’s concerns that the first female Vice President would attract outsize assaults and venomous lies from social media’s ugliest players have now been validated. It’s not just the amount but the type of harassment that makes the Harris slurs stand out. Those directed at Harris tend to reference sex, violence or misogynistic accusations that she does not deserve her position.
“Merrick Garland says that as Attorney General he will fight discrimination, domestic terrorism” via Devlin Barrett of The Washington Post — Garland plans to tell the Senate on Monday that if confirmed to become the nation’s top law enforcement official, he will strive to lead an agency committed to battling discrimination in American life and extremist attacks on democracy. In written remarks prepared for delivery at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Garland highlighted the Justice Department’s history, noting that the agency was formed in the aftermath of the Civil War. Many of the issues it confronted then remain pressing concerns today. Garland spent the past two decades as a federal appellate judge in D.C.
As AG, Merrick Garland has an ambitious to-do list. Image via AP.
“Joe Manchin to oppose Neera Tanden for OMB, imperiling major Biden nomination” via Marianne Levine and Caitlin Emma of POLITICO — Manchin will oppose Tanden‘s nomination to lead the White House budget office, casting serious doubt on her ability to get confirmed and making her Biden’s first pick who could fall short in the Senate. Manchin’s opposition presents a major problem for Tanden, given that Democrats only hold a 50-seat majority in the Senate. Without Manchin’s vote, Tanden likely would need at least one Senate Republican to back her to win approval to lead Biden’s Office of Management and Budget. Manchin said that he had reviewed Tanden’s previous tweets criticizing his colleagues, including Bernie Sanders and Mitch McConnell.
“Biden administration suggests it will add “X” gender markers to federal documents” via Kate Sosin of 19thNews.org — After years of lobbying and lawsuits, nonbinary and intersex people may finally be getting passports that reflect who they are: LGBTQ+ advocates have been in talks with the Biden administration about executive action to add “X” gender markers to all federal documents, including passports and social security cards. The White House declined to offer a timeline for the rollout or comment on how the policy might be implemented. Advocates hope that in the long run, gender can be stricken from IDs unless it’s necessary, such as passports where international law requires gender markers.
Epilogue: Trump
“Trump gears up for war with his own party” via Gabby Orr and Meredith McGraw of POLITICO — For weeks now, Trump has rejected meetings with everyone from former South Carolina governor and 2024 hopeful Nikki Haley to House and Senate GOP candidates vying for his ear, preferring to spend his days leisurely calling friends, binging cable news, golfing with a rotating cast of partners and basking in standing ovations whenever he arrives for dinner on Mar-a-Lago’s outdoor patio. One person close to the ex-President said he’s become “unreachable” to anyone outside his limited circle of loyal aides, longtime friends, and die-hard political allies. Trump will soon begin vetting candidates at Mar-a-Lago who are eager to fulfill his promise to exact vengeance upon incumbent Republicans who’ve scorned him.
Donald Trump wages war against his own Party.
“Trump to speak at CPAC” via Alayna Treene of Axios — Trump will speak at next week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) conference in Florida, his first public appearance since leaving office, a source with direct knowledge tells Axios. Trump plans to directly attack Biden’s new immigration plan and talk about the future of the Republican Party, a source familiar with his speech said. The former President will criticize what he’ll argue is the Biden administration’s “disastrous” amnesty and border policies, vowing to remain a key leader in the conservative movement to fight against Biden.
“Trump can still be the Republican party’s future. Just look to Arizona.” via Rosie Gray of BuzzFeed — The Trump era strengthened the Arizonan right’s already established appetite for intraparty fights at the same time that it tied Republicans everywhere to Trump’s unpopular presidency. This hasn’t been a recipe for success. But although moderate Republicans see Arizona’s hard right as a conduit of failure, they’re not the ones dictating the terms of the debate. They’re the ones being pushed out, as Doug Ducey, Jeff Flake, and Cindy McCain found when the state party censured them in January at the same meeting where Ward was reelected. And it doesn’t seem to matter that the figure demanding obedience is gone.
“‘This is my country.’ Pro-Trump Miami doctor charged with hate crime for attacking Hispanic man” via David Ovalle of The Miami Herald — A Mount Sinai Medical Center anesthesiologist has been arrested and charged with a hate crime after police say she attacked a Hispanic man at a Hialeah Publix, vandalizing his car, calling him a racial slur and vowing to “get rid of every single one of you.” She became enraged, police say, after the man asked her to maintain social distancing while in line at the supermarket. Dr. Jennifer Susan Wright, a white ardent supporter of Trump, has been charged with criminal mischief, tampering with a victim, and battery with prejudice, a “hate crime” enhancement that upgraded the charge to a felony.
D.C. matters
“‘Nakedly partisan’: Charlie Crist blasts DeSantis proposal to alter Florida voting laws” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Crist is condemning DeSantis’ recently announced proposal to make sweeping changes to Florida’s election laws. The Governor announced the proposed measures Friday, which included everything from dropbox watchers to election observers and more, in an effort he believes would increase election security. Crist called the proposed election changes a form of voter suppression. Some measures put forward by the Governor Friday included establishing a law against mailing unsolicited ballots, as well as strengthening the signature verification process. It should be noted current Florida law only allows election offices to mail absentee ballots to voters upon their requests.
Crisis
“U.S. alleges wider Oath Keepers conspiracy, adds more defendants in Jan. 6 Capitol riot” via Spencer S. Hsu and Rachel Weiner of The Washington Post — U.S. authorities on Friday alleged a broader conspiracy by Oath Keepers to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, charging six new individuals who appeared to be members or associates of the right-wing group. One self-described leader in the group, which recruits among military and law enforcement, sent a Facebook message claiming at least 50 to 100 Oath Keepers planned to travel to D.C. with him on Jan. 6 and that they would “make it wild,” echoing a comment Trump made on Twitter rallying supporters to the Capitol.
Oath Keepers had a bigger role in The Capitol riots than originally thought.
“FBI and intel agencies hand over first documents to lawmakers ahead of Capitol attack hearings next week” via Zachary Cohen of CNN — House investigators have received the first batch of documents they requested from the FBI and intelligence agencies as part of their ongoing probe into security failures around the January 6 US Capitol attack, according to an official from one of the committees investigating the matter. The FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center provided materials in response to a detailed request from January 16 made by four House committees conducting a joint investigation of the events surrounding the attack. The review is focused on three main questions: what did federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies know before, during and after the attack? How did foreign adversaries seek to exploit the event? And what’s been done to address domestic terror threats in the weeks since?
“U.S. investigating possible ties between Roger Stone, Alex Jones and Capitol rioters” via Spencer S. Hsu and Devlin Barrett of The Washington Post — The Justice Department and FBI are investigating whether high-profile right-wing figures may have played a role in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach as part of a broader look into the mindset of those who committed violence and their apparent paths to radicalization, according to people familiar with the investigation. The investigation into potential ties between key figures in the riot and those who promoted Trump’s false assertions that the election was stolen from him does not mean those who may have influenced rioters will face criminal charges, particularly given U.S. case law surrounding incitement and free speech, the people said.
“‘Mark Zuckerberg changed the rules’: How Facebook went easy on Jones and other right-wing figures” via Ryan Mac and Craig Silverman of BuzzFeed News — Jones had gained infamy for claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre was a “giant hoax,” and that the teenage survivors of the 2018 Parkland shooting were “crisis actors.” But Zuckerberg didn’t consider the Infowars founder to be a hate figure, so he overruled his own internal experts and opened a gaping loophole: Facebook would permanently ban Jones and his company but would not touch posts of praise and support for them from other Facebook users. Zuckerberg’s “more nuanced policy” set off a cascading effect.
“The Capitol rioters speak just like the Islamist terrorists I reported on” via Jim Sciutto of The Washington Post — I’m not equating the Jan. 6 rioters with those fighting to unite the world under a caliphate via a global campaign of terrorism. But domestic radicalism has deep parallels to jihadi terrorism: Both movements are driven by alienation from the political system and a resulting breakdown in social norms. For some groups and individuals, this breakdown leads to violence they see as justified to achieve political ends. Law enforcement officials are taking notice. At least in recent years, violent acts by right-wing extremists have exceeded those of Islamist terrorists. Since 9/11, 114 people have been killed in attacks by right-wing terrorists in the United States vs. 107 by jihadi terrorists.
Tweet, tweet:
“Former North Miami Beach cop went live on Facebook from inside The Capitol during riot” via Aaron Leibowitz and Charles Rabin of the Miami Herald — In the video, Nicholes Lentz, an officer with North Miami Beach from June 2016 until last August, discusses the insurrection as he stands inside the Capitol building with hundreds of other Trump supporters. “America has spoken,” Lentz says in the video, which has since been removed from his Facebook page. Lentz, a former U.S. Marine, is seen wearing a red baseball cap and a black vest. “You cannot stop millions of people, you cannot stop it. You can’t. It’s impossible,” he says. “America has a voice, we give them the power, we give the power, the people give the power. And we’re here to take it back.”
“Federal grand jury indicts man accused in Florida Capitol threat case” via Jeff Burlew of The Tallahassee Democrat — A federal grand jury indicted a Tallahassee man on charges that he issued violent threats against right-wing protesters he thought would attack the Florida Capitol. The grand jury charged Daniel Baker on Thursday with two counts involving the transmission of a threat to kidnap or injure. He has been held at the Federal Detention Center in Tallahassee since his arrest on Jan. 15. FBI agents arrested Baker at his High Road apartment after he posted a flyer online and handed copies out to strangers calling for Tallahassee residents to “rise up” with “every caliber available” against “terrorists” at the Capitol.
“Feds: Florida woman threatened agents probing Capitol riot” via The Associated Press — A Florida woman was arrested on charges she threatened to kill FBI agents who were investigating a tip that she was at the U.S. Capitol during the January insurrection, federal prosecutors said. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Suzanne Kaye was contacted by the FBI last month, but she denied having traveled to Washington. Authorities had received a tip with information Kaye had made Facebook posts saying she was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Kaye posted a video on her Facebook page days after the FBI called her, saying she would not speak to the agents without counsel and that she would exercise her Second Amendment rights and shoot them if they went to her house, the criminal complaint says.
Local notes
“Miami’s beaches ‘will be all gone,’ Bill Gates warns, and corrective action must be drastic” via Andres Oppenheimer of The Miami Herald — When I recently interviewed Gates about his new book on global warming, I didn’t expect him to use Miami as his first example of what may become a climate change “catastrophe.” But that’s exactly what he did. “There will be places near the ocean [that] the sea-level rise will completely wipe out,” Gates told me. “You know, like Miami won’t look anything like it does today. Those beaches will be all gone.” Gates’ new book, “How to avoid a climate disaster,” makes dire predictions not just for Miami but also for the world.
Unless we act quickly, Bill Gates says we can kiss Miami beaches goodbye. Image via AP.
“Miami reintroduces electric scooter rentals, again. Here are the new rules” via Rob Wile of The Miami Herald — Miami has reintroduced electric scooter rentals in its District 2 urban core region following a December suspension after residents complained about clutter and large, youthful crowds. The scooter program was initially suspended in March due to Miami-Dade County’s COVID-19 emergency order. No one under the age of 18 will be permitted to use a scooter, and this time, companies will face fines of up to $250 if an underage rider is found on their product. Companies will also be restricted to no more than four of their scooters on a given city block.
“Delray bans ‘aggressive panhandling’ but won’t enforce it immediately” via Mike Diamond of The Palm Beach Post — City Commission Thursday adopted an ordinance to stop aggressive panhandling but agreed not to enforce it until the community is made aware of the measure’s details. Commissioner Shirley Johnson cast the lone vote against the measure. She argued that the crackdown was not warranted when the pandemic had made it much more difficult for people to earn a living. For nearly three hours, the commission heard speaker after speaker label the ordinance as an unconstitutional attack on the homeless. Summer Barnes, an area attorney, said she has represented clients arrested and jailed for panhandling.
“Ex-PBC clerk took favors from a vendor, boosted his business” via Andrew Marra of The Palm Beach Post — In the years before his indictment on federal bribery charges, debt-collection magnate Donald Donagher showered Florida’s clerks of court with money and attention in a push to expand his business. But one public official drew particularly attentive treatment: longtime Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock. Donagher bankrolled Bock’s political campaigns, invited her to dinners and special events, chauffeured her on his private helicopter — even helped her find a diamond for her engagement ring. Meanwhile, Bock’s office gave his collection agency hundreds of thousands of dollars in business each year.
“Lenny Curry: Jacksonville to receive federal funding for rent, utility assistance” via Matthew Copeland of First Coast News — Curry announced on Twitter Sunday afternoon the city will receive federal funds for rent and utility assistance. Mayor Curry’s tweet said Jacksonville residents must meet “certain federal qualifications” to receive assistance. Curry said he would hold a news conference Monday at noon to discuss the city’s funds.
Lenny Curry is touting federal cash for rental aid. Image via Jacksonville Daily Record.
“New Town could get faster trips to grocery stores after Times-Union report on food deserts” via David Bauerlein of The Florida Times-Union — City leaders will look at expanding a transportation service to grocery stores so it will take in the New Town neighborhood where residents face long bus rides to shop for food items they cannot buy in their own community. City Council member Ron Salem asked for the review after a story about food deserts in the Florida Times-Union quoted New Town residents expressing frustration about how difficult it is to get to grocery stores and purchase items such as fresh produce. “It’s just heartbreaking, and if we can explore that, I would sure appreciate it,” Salem said during a meeting of the council’s Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee.
“Military jet en route to Tallahassee crashes in Montgomery, Alabama; two pilots killed” via Melissa Brown of The Montgomery Advertiser — A military jet flying out of Mississippi’s Columbus Air Force Base and en route to Tallahassee crashed in Montgomery Friday evening, killing both pilots aboard. The passengers were a U.S. Air Force instructor pilot and a pilot trainee, a military official confirmed Saturday. The official declined to identify the two victims, though he said the families had been notified. The two pilots were based at Mississippi’s Columbus Air Force Base, where the jet departed from Friday on a flight path to Tallahassee, Florida. The base is home to an undergraduate pilot training course.
SCOFLA briefs due next month in Scot Strems Florida Bar case — Briefs are due to the state Supreme Court next month in a case surrounding the Florida Bar’s emergency suspension of Strems, a Coral Gables-based attorney. Strems headed the Strems Law Firm — now The Property Advocates — until last year, when a Bar complaint resulted in his immediate suspension. The Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether that decision will hold. Strems’ firm handled a huge volume of insurance claims cases before the suspension, such as work on behalf of homeowners who suffered storm damage. In contesting the suspension, Strems and his attorneys have pointed, in part, to potential conflicts regarding the origins of the Bar’s disciplinary measure. On May 4, Judge Gregory Holder approved an affidavit recommending Strems’ suspension.
Congrats — Mario Bailey chosen as chair of South Florida Regional Planning Council — The South Florida Regional Planning Council (SFRPC) has selected Bailey as chair of its 19-member organization. The group is one of 10 regional planning councils in the state. Established in 1974, it assists Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties in developing growth plans in the region. Bailey joined the SFRPC in 2013, following an appointment by then-Gov. Rick Scott. “I am honored to lead the council in addressing long-term issues impacting our communities, such as sea-level rise, climate change, economic development, housing, and the impacts of COVID-19,” Bailey said. “I look forward to continuing the successes of my predecessors and our executive director.”
Top opinion
“A quite possibly wonderful summer” via James Hamblin of The Atlantic — After months of soaring deaths and infections, COVID-19 cases across the United States are declining even more sharply than experts anticipated. This is expected to continue, and serious illness and death rates will plummet even faster than cases, as high-risk populations are vaccinated. Even academics who have spent the pandemic delivering ominous warnings have shifted their tone to cautiously optimistic now that vaccination rates are exploding. Until very recently, Fauci had been citing August as the month by which the U.S. could vaccinate 70 to 80% of the population and reach herd immunity. Last week, he suddenly threw out May or early June as a window for when most Americans could have access to vaccines.
Opinions
“As a long-term care worker, proposed COVID-19 liability legislation is an insult” via Christina Chiger for The Tampa Bay Times — As a longtime caregiver in a Tampa Bay nursing home, I’ve been on the front lines of this historic and deadly pandemic. Fighting COVID-19 has taken a very real physical, mental and emotional toll on me and fellow workers. We take care of those who can’t take care of themselves, and are exposed daily to this terrible threat. We work in fear of getting sick and spreading the virus to our own families, loved ones and friends. I contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic and still experience many of the “long-haul” effects of the disease. And now to add insult to injury, Florida politicians and industry lobbyists are using our plight as a cynical smoke screen to protect big companies against COVID-related lawsuits.
“DeSantis did not threaten to use vaccine to punish critics” via Bill Cotterell of The Tallahassee Democrat — DeSantis got a little irritated when asked why he arranged 3,000 COVID shots for Lakewood Ranch, where a bunch of wealthy white people lives. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that owners of the company that built the planned community gave $900,000 to DeSantis’ political committee in 2018 and 2019. “If Manatee County doesn’t like us doing this, then we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want it,” DeSantis said. DeSantis did not threaten to divert vaccines away from cities or counties where his rollout is criticized. What he said was more like, “Hey, we’re getting shots to people who need them — and you’re complaining?
“A powerful, powerless reminder from Texas” via Mark Woods of The Florida Times-Union — Imagine asking Floridians this question now: Do you want to follow a Texas model for electricity? After everything else that happened in 2020, it’s easy to forget that we almost ended up voting on that question last November. It wasn’t worded quite like that, but a proposed constitutional amendment would have deregulated the state’s energy market, allowing Floridians to choose their electric provider. The amendment never made it onto the ballot. The state Supreme Court ruled that the amendment’s summary was misleading. But it’s worth going back and remembering how the plan was described by one of its leading proponents: “We’re unabashedly copying Texas.”
“Physician anesthesiologists were made for this moment” via Dr. Frank Rosemeier for The Tallahassee Democrat — We, physician anesthesiologists, are the medical doctors who keep you and your family comfortable and alive during surgeries. We make the difference between life and death in the operating room. We reduce unnecessary testing, same-day cancellations, operating room emergencies and surgical complications, enhancing patients’ recovery and reduce their hospital stays. No greater example exists to highlight the skill level and commitment to patient care of physician anesthesiologists than their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with a challenge to administer safe care with the critical delicacy and attention to detail needed for this crisis, anesthesiologists stepped up.
“Paul Sirmons: Film industry legislation can do more with less” via Florida Politics — I’ve heard the arguments against ‘incentive’ programs. As a conservative Republican, I understand them. But what if one truly benefits Floridians? What if a program ensures the state receives more than $1 of state tax revenues for each $1 in rebates while creating more than $5 of spending? What if one helps Florida’s economic recovery after a global pandemic? That’s exactly what Rep. Dana Trabulsy’s HB 757 does, and it mirrors Sen. Joe Gruters’ SB 704. The bills create a modest but effective “targeted rebate program” to entice film, television and digital media companies to bring projects, jobs and money to Florida. How is it different from other programs attracting business to Florida?
On today’s Sunrise
The Florida Department of Health reports 95 more COVID-19 fatalities, only the second time this year, the daily death toll has been under 100.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— Gov. DeSantis lashes out at Biden again, saying he’ll fight any effort by the White House to impose limits on travel to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But can you recall when DeSantis wanted Trump to ban New Yorkers from flying to Florida? Like Pepperidge Farm, Sunrise remembers.
— The Governor said that last March. Trump never did impose limits, so DeSantis set up checkpoints on interstates and sent National Guard soldiers to airports to screen new arrivals from New York. And now he says travel limits are a bad idea.
— DeSantis says Florida’s election last year was an example for the rest of the nation on how to do it right. So, the first thing he wants to do now is to change it.
— Most changes will affect the voting by mail process — preferred by Democrats. They say this is another example of the voter suppression nonsense the GOP has employed for years.
— Same-sex marriage has been legal in Florida since 2015 when the Supreme Court threw out all state bans and declared marriage equality as the law of the land. But Florida law still includes a ban on same-sex marriage passed in 1977; there’s a bill to repeal it.
— And finally, a Florida Woman drank Tennessee Fire straight from the bottle while recording a video threatening to shoot any FBI agents who showed up at her door — and posting it on social media.
“Could Florida freeze like Texas did? From the north, maybe. But really, no.” via Josh Fiallo of The Tampa Bay Times — Texas was battered this month by Winter Storm Uri, which spanned a majority of the mainland U.S. and brought subzero temperatures from Minneapolis to Houston. Tampa Bay, meantime, experienced temperatures into the 80s from Feb. 13 to 17, the coldest days of the storm, records from the National Weather Service show. We have the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean to thank, said Dan Sobien of the National Weather Service’s Ruskin office. The water, which stays in the 70s on both sides of the peninsula even during the winter, warms cold air as it passes above, neutralizing devastating storms before they reach the coasts of the Sunshine State.
Could this happen in Florida?
“‘Snake-pocalypse? Florida plans ban on owning pythons and other risky reptiles” via Jim Waymer of Florida Today — If wildlife officials get their way later this month, Florida will ban owning or breeding six types of pythons, the green anaconda and nine other “high-risk” reptiles. Serpent lovers say the move is nothing less than a state-orchestrated snake-pocalypse targeting their pets and businesses. Biologists say the scaly subjects of their prohibition wreak ecological mayhem by swallowing native birds, mammals as large as deer, and in the Burmese python’s case, also spread a foreign parasite that chokes native pygmy rattlesnakes to death. But critics of the proposal say the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission lacks science to justify the ban, is biased against their trade, and has much bigger exotic fish and invasive species to fry than snakes kept by hobbyists.
“Mickey’s flashy dress, glowing castle mark Disney World 50th” via Mike Schneider of The Associated Press — Walt Disney World in Florida turns 50 in October. To help celebrate, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will be wearing flashier threads, and iconic structures such as the Cinderella Castle and the golf-ball-like Spaceship Earth are getting new lighting, Disney officials said Friday while unveiling the first details of how the massive theme park resort will mark its milestone anniversary. Plans for the 18-month celebration, which starts in October, are being made amid one of the toughest stretches the resort the size of the city of San Francisco has faced in its nearly 50 years. Last spring, Disney World closed for two months to help stop the new coronavirus spread, leading to the temporary furlough of 43,000 workers.
Happy birthday
Best wishes to Nelson Diaz of The Southern Group and Courtney Veatch.
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Good morning. For those of you passionate about the “Is NYC dead?” argument, we’ve got some new data from the NY Post: About 105,000 people/day are walking through Times Square to do…well, that’s actually a great question.
105k is a 65% decline from pre-Covid days, but far more than the 35,000 daily Time Square visitors at the beginning of the pandemic.
Covid: More great news on the vaccine front. New data from Israel shows that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine effectively prevents the transmission of Covid-19. Although it’s not yet peer-reviewed, the study is the first sign that vaccines can stop asymptomatic carriers from passing on the coronavirus.
Markets: The S&P hopes to hop back on the winning train after posting its first weekly loss in three. Financials, industrials, and airlines have been standouts even as the broader market couldn’t find its legs.
If we had a dollar for every economic prediction that didn’t pan out last year, we could single-handedly fund President Biden’s stimulus plan.
Still, the latest wave of economic data has some experts hoping that the US is not only on the rebound, but ahead of schedule.
The growing signs for optimism
When investors are nervous about what’s ahead, they typically buy US Treasury bonds, which sends bond prices higher and yields down. But last week, yields on the 10-year note climbed to a one-year high, a sign that investors are bullish about a quicker rebound.
So are CEOs, whose confidence is at a 17-year high. Execs are predicting fewer layoffs and a positive wage outlook, according to a recent Conference Board survey.
On the consumer front…
Retail sales jumped 5.3% in January, aided by the latest round of stimulus checks.
Households are sitting on ~$1.5 trillion in extra savings.
Employment in several blue-collar sectors—residential construction, delivery, and warehousing—surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Retail and restaurant jobs are also recovering.
Zoom out: Goldman Sachs recently upped its 2021 GDP forecast to 7%, but economists are still concerned about the K-shaped recovery. 10 million fewer people are working now compared to last February, continuing unemployment claims are still elevated at 18.3 million, and consumer sentiment for those earning
What does this mean for more stimulus?
The US government has spent $3.7 trillion since March, and Biden wants another $1.9 trillion. Given indicators of economic improvement, some experts are divided on whether more spending will trigger inflation or get the US out of a 20-year “low-growth rut.”
Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen thinks we’re still in “a deep hole.” And when he testifies to the Senate and House finance committees this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to continue pressing for more action.
Most Texans have their lights back on following a harrowing week in which frigid temperatures + energy grid failures contributed to prolonged blackouts. But now, some are facing a whole new disaster: astronomical electricity bills. A few examples:
An HR director was charged $2,739 this month after paying $130 in January.
A retired Army vet is stuck with a $16,752 electric bill, 70x what he typically pays for utilities.
How could that happen? Many Texans facing exorbitant charges were customers of power supplier Griddy, whose prices fluctuate with the wholesale energy market. When energy prices skyrocketed last weekend, Griddy knew its customers were in for a painful surprise and even encouraged them to switch providers if they could.
Looking ahead…Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held an emergency meeting on Saturday to see what lawmakers could do to provide relief. And Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the state of Texas should “bear the responsibility” of paying the egregiously high bills.
The best news bites you missed this weekend in the form of one stat, one quote, and one read.
Stat: The Chinese box office generated $1.2 billion in ticket sales over the recent Lunar New Year holiday, a record haul and equivalent to about 10% of the total global box office last year. Detective Chinatown 3 had the biggest opening ever for a film in a single market, topping even Avengers: Endgame.
Quote: “BTC & ETH do seem high lol”—Elon Musk, despite being a crypto bull, tweeted that surging bitcoin and ethereum prices might be overdoing it a little. For once, though, his tweets went ignored: Both cryptocurrencies hit record highs this weekend.
Read: A financial crisis is heading for the legendary soccer club, Barcelona. (New York Times)
When we heard that now through the end of February, Chobani is giving fans the opportunity to for a chance to win $75,000, we immediately did two things:
Began our Coffee Creamer flavor brainstorm
Built a time machine to travel to the Yukon Territory in 1898 and tell Great Great Great Grandpa Harold that there’s an easier way to make his fortune
We couldn’t sit around making our fortune by dreaming up Coffee Creamer flavors while Harold broke his back panning for gold. No, we drove that time machine straight to Harold and told him, “Hop in, Gramps. We got some Coffee Creamer flavors to dream up.”
Now we’re all sittin’ around the table at Brew HQ, dreaming up and live on shelves IRL.
Nothing against the ox, but two of Silicon Valley’s mega-startups are getting ready for their Wall Street cotillion, and new reports say they’re already commanding nine-figure valuations.
First up, Coinbase
Ahead of its planned direct listing, investors are valuing Coinbase at $100+ billion, which would make it the biggest US tech listing since Facebook, per Axios. As the first US-based crypto exchange to go public, it’ll also confer major legitimacy to digital currencies.
Coinbase has licenses to operate in over 40 states and 100+ countries. And in the first nine months of 2020, it did $141 million in profit…
…and that was before bitcoin started shooting up like bamboo. The crypto has risen ~96% YTD and is pushing $58k.
Next is Stripe
Thanks to the pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom, Stripe processed an estimated 50% more payments last year. Investors are valuing the company at $115 billion in the secondary market, more than 3x its valuation from last April.
This weekend, Stripe announced that former Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney is joining the board.
Zoom out: With Ant Group’s IPO blocked by Chinese regulators, American fintechs may steal the show. SoFi is going public via SPAC, and while Robinhood is…working through some things…it hasn’t ruled out a 2021 IPO.
Stimulus: The House could vote on Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package this week, per House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As a reminder, the bill includes direct payments of up to $1,400 and $400/week in extra unemployment benefits.
Powell testimony: Fed Chair Jerome Powell will try for a Roaring Kitty-like performance when he testifies on Capitol Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday about the state of the economy.
Earnings: Should be a fun week, with lots of big retail names (Home Depot, Etsy, Lowe’s, TJX, Best Buy) and plenty of others (Nvidia, Square, Salesforce). On Thursday, Airbnb and DoorDash will deliver their first earnings reports since going public.
Everything else:
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) starts Wednesday. Former President Trump is expected to deliver a speech on Sunday.
Warren Buffett will release his famous annual shareholder letter on Saturday.
Chag sameach to our Jewish readers celebrating Purim Thursday night. Let us know if you’ve got any fun costumes planned.
WHAT ELSE IS BREWING
A United Airlines Boeing 777 safely returned to Denver after suffering an engine failure post-takeoff, raining debris on a town below. United is taking 24 planes out of service temporarily, and Boeing has called for all 777s with a specific Pratt & Whitney engine model to be grounded until the FAA inspects them.
Activist investors have acquired a 9.5% stake in Kohl’s and are attempting to take control of the retailer’s board, according to the WSJ.
Merrick Garland’s confirmation hearing for US Attorney General is today.
The UK sped up its timeline for administering vaccines, pledging that every adult would get a first dose by July 31.
You don’t need diamond hands to take your investments to the moon. The real money gets made outside of the stock market in exclusive asset classes like blue-chip art. Masterworks lets you invest in big-name artists—like Banksy—at a fraction of the price. Skip their 19,500-person waitlist here.*
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Sometime this week, the US will surpass 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus. For much of January, the US reported well over 3,000 Covid-19 deaths each day. Overall case numbers also exploded: Since early December, 14 million more people have tested positive for the virus, doubling the total number of US cases.
…
According to the Johns Hopkins Covid-19 dashboard, the US has almost twice as many Covid-19 deaths as Brazil, which is second in deaths, and over 17 million more total confirmed cases than India, which is second in cases.
…
Vaccine availability should also begin to open up in the late spring or summer, [leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci] said earlier this week, and by July, the country would “likely have all 600 million doses that we contracted for to vaccinate 300 million people.” As vaccinations pick up, case numbers in the US are also falling dramatically.
All votes are anonymous. This poll closes at: 9:00 PST
YESTERDAY’S POLLDoes the Republican party’s future lie in the platform Donald Trump ran on?
Yes
24%
No
62%
Unsure
14%
410 votes, 226 comments
BEST COMMENTS“Yes – Despite all the turmoil of the last year, millions of Americans voted for him and turned out in large crowds to hear him speak. Though it was underreported by the media, his policies kept us out of war, and our economy from crashing. He also attracted a wide range of voters across the country, and as the new administration’s policies unfold, the contrast to Trump is even greater.”
“No – I voted “no” in the hopes that my former party wakes up. I voted “no” in the hope…”
“Unsure – I’m not sure how many Republicans want Trump. I was willing to vote for…”
Should the legal concept of “harm” be expanded to include damages suffered from bad privacy practices? Treating the values associated with privacy as distinct issues — and even keeping some out of courts — might be a better solution.
Professor Frank Gunter has learned that, the next time Lehigh University asks him to talk about poverty, he should keep his mouth shut. For doing what Lehigh had asked, Gunter was attacked by students and faculty who seem to believe that certain thoughts need to be carefully “contextualized” — and others don’t.
Janet Yellen is pursuing a budget policy that will force US interest rates higher. She is unlikely to deliver us the weaker US dollar that she seems to desire.
“President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats proposed a major immigration overhaul [last] Thursday that would offer an eight-year pathway to citizenship to the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally… The bill Democrats introduced Thursday would immediately provide green cards to farm workers, immigrants with temporary protected status and young people who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. For others living in the U.S. as of Jan. 1, 2021, the plan establishes a five-year path to temporary legal status. If they pass background checks, pay taxes and fulfill other basic requirements, then, after three years, they can pursue citizenship.” AP News
“Immigration enforcement in the U.S. would be more targeted under President Joe Biden than under his predecessor, with authorities directed to focus on people in the country illegally who pose a threat, according to guidelines released [last] Thursday… ICE [will] primarily apprehend and remove people who pose a threat to national security, committed crimes designated as ‘aggravated’ felonies or recently crossed the border.” AP News
In January, Biden “ordered a ‘pause’ on all [border] wall construction… Biden, seeking to fulfill a pledge not to build ‘another foot,’ gave his administration two months to determine how much it would cost to cancel contracts and whether money could be spent elsewhere.” AP News
From the Left
The left is generally supportive of both the bill and Biden’s immigration policies.
“A statute of limitations precludes criminal prosecution after a set period of time. Other than for the most serious federal crimes, U.S. law puts that limit at five years. That limit reflects the practical difficulties of collecting evidence and mounting a defense years after an alleged offense has occurred. It also reflects that it would be unfair to disrupt people’s lives long after they’ve allegedly committed an offense. The government is expected to address crimes within a reasonable time or to let things lie. No one seriously claims that this endpoint for criminal liability encourages more crimes. Most deportations of immigrants involve civil rather than criminal proceedings, but similar equitable considerations come into play.” Kenneth Roth, Los Angeles Times
“The fact is that the undocumented are not going away. They are not going to ‘self-deport,’ as Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) famously suggested when he was running for president in 2012. They perform necessary jobs, they pay all kinds of taxes, they are at least as law-abiding as full-fledged citizens, and they are woven into the fabric of communities from coast to coast. In all but the formal sense, they are Americans. If they were all to somehow disappear tomorrow, the nation would suffer from their absence…
“Rather than nibble at the edges of the problem, Biden calls for a global solution — analogous to the sweeping amnesty President Ronald Reagan engineered in 1986. Whatever you think about the new president and his team, no one can accuse them of thinking small. Republicans are going to ridicule the idea and will likely declare it dead on arrival. But they would subject a more modest proposal to the exact same treatment. Biden is right to start by demanding the reforms the country actually needs, rather than make some sort of tentative opening bid that leaves the situation of most resident noncitizens unaddressed.” Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Regarding the new immigration enforcement guidance, “As matters stand, the U.S. government doesn’t have enough immigration judges and attorneys to evaluate asylum claims, and existing Border Patrol stations and other facilities are inadequate for processing applicants during a pandemic. People who are fleeing persecution and violence deserve refuge, but not every border crosser qualifies for asylum. Determining who is eligible takes effort and resources…
“Under Trump, the federal government failed to build up its own capacity to manage migration surges and arbitrate individual cases… The Biden administration needs to buy time, communicating to potential new migrants that the border is still controlled and keeping the CDC order [to expel any border crossers] in place for now. Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is also warning against false rumors that ‘the doors are open’ in the United States. At the same time, the U.S. has to make better preparations for how to handle those who do arrive at the border.” Juliette Kayyem, The Atlantic
“Over the past three-plus decades, the federal government has spent tens of billions of dollars constructing more than 700 miles of border fencing. It has been a bipartisan exercise, beginning in the Clinton years, ramping up in the Bush era, continuing apace in the Obama era, and shifting into warp speed during Trump’s presidency… Every day the barriers stay up, the damage to people, ecosystems, and communities continues to accrue…
“[A 2005 law] granted the president, through the secretary of Homeland Security, broad powers to bypass environmental laws through waivers to expedite border fence construction… Existing federal laws prohibit the destruction of Indigenous graves, for instance. But an O’odham burial ground called Monument Hill was blasted during construction that had been fast-tracked with a waiver. The Endangered Species Act exists to protect animals like the lone jaguar recently spotted in Arizona’s Sky Islands—except that law was waived to allow fencing to go up in the mountains, cutting off the big cat from much of its habitat and food supply…
The right is critical of both the bill and Biden’s immigration policies.
“Besides being an insult to everyone who spent the time, money, and effort to immigrate legally and become naturalized citizens, it’s an open invitation to every other prospective border jumper to head for the border with all due haste… previous efforts at immigration reform at least included a few sweeteners in the form of enhanced border security to tempt a few Republicans into supporting them. This bill has nothing of the sort. It’s just straight-up open amnesty and the Democrats are clearly saying it’s their way or the highway. How they expect to get sixty votes in the Senate for something like this is a mystery.” Jazz Shaw, Hot Air“The plan excludes requiring employers to use the E-Verify system, which screens the employment eligibility of a potential new hire. Even the laxest mandatory E-Verify provisions, which would exempt current hires from the screening requirement, are not included in the legislation. While Biden’s advisers tout the plan’s increased penalties for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens over Americans, the annual prosecutions for employers and businesses tend to be exceptionally low…“Even as at least eight million illegal aliens hold jobs in the U.S. labor market, only 11 employers and no businesses were prosecuted in 2018. Even fewer, just three of those employers received prison time… A weekly survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports shows that more than seven-in-ten likely voters agree that mandatory E-Verify should become law to protect the U.S. labor market. This includes 74 percent of Hispanic likely voters. Less than 20 percent of likely voters oppose mandatory E-Verify.” John Binder, Breitbart“Immigration offers Mr. Biden an opportunity to claim a political victory that has eluded his predecessors. But he’s going to have to work with Republicans and risk disappointing the left to get it… The better political path is to look for small wins such as modernizing the farm guest-worker program and legalizing Dreamers, both of which have drawn GOP support. This week Mr. Biden said he’s open to piecemeal bills, which is recognizing political reality.” Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal“The ‘piecemeal’ amnesties would not be small. The pieces of the larger bill that Democrats are likely to push separately include the Dream Act (for illegal immigrants who came as minors), the Promise Act (for illegal immigrants granted ‘Temporary’ Protected Status), and the Agricultural Workers Adjustment Act (‘adjustment’ meaning amnesty). Based on CBO and other estimates, these three ‘piecemeal’ measures could amnesty some 3.5 million people, maybe more. That’s more than the 2.7 million amnestied by the notorious 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act…
“The millions benefitting from those piecemeal amnesties would get green cards immediately and be able to apply for citizenship in three years, instead of the usual five years for most green-card holders. I think many immigration hawks exaggerate the role of political calculation in the Left’s support for de facto unlimited immigration, but not here — the three-year citizenship plan is a transparent attempt to create new voters, especially in Texas and Florida, to help drag Kamala Harris over the finish line in 2024.” Mark Krikorian, National Review
Rep. John Katko (R-NY) writes, “From pausing deportations, to halting border wall construction and ending the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, the president slapped an ‘open’ sign on our border – during a global pandemic. Chastising commonsense policies that maintained the integrity of our territorial borders, while implementing sweeping executive actions to roll back these effective programs and policies, has reinvigorated irregular migration…
“We don’t have to guess why they are coming. They have told us why. The very migrants who are traveling toward our southwest border and are poised to enter the country illegally have said in recent media interviews they were encouraged by Biden’s rhetoric and relaxing of Trump era policies… Jeh Johnson, former secretary of Homeland Security under President [Barack] Obama, said that during his tenure, 1,000 apprehensions a day was a ‘bad number.’ According to CBP, family unit apprehensions have more than quadrupled in just the past two weeks and are trending upward…
“Since the start of the Biden administration, more than 1,500 migrants have been released into border communities without any information on whether they had COVID-19… We are calling on President Biden to put politics aside, reevaluate his border and immigration policy rollbacks, and consider the consequences of any further actions that adversely impact border security and immigration policy.” John Katko, Fox News
🔔 Good Monday morning, and happy launch dayto Axios Closer, a weeknight newsletter by markets reporter Courtenay Brown — a one-stop shop to bring you up to speed on the day’s biggest business news. Sign up here.
Today’s Smart Brevity™ count: 1,185 words … 4½ minutes.
1 big thing … Scoop: Trump to claim total control of GOP
Former President Trump is driven past supporters in West Palm Beach on Feb. 15. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In his first post-presidential appearance, Donald Trump plans to send the message next weekend that he is Republicans’ “presumptive 2024 nominee” with a vise grip on the party’s base, top Trump allies tell me.
A longtime adviser called Trump’s speech a “show of force,” and said the message will be: “I may not have Twitter or the Oval Office, but I’m still in charge.” Payback is his chief obsession.
I’ve learned that Trump advisers will meet with him at Mar-a-Lago this week to plan his next political moves, and to set up the machinery for kingmaking in the 2022 midterms.
Trump is expected to stoke primary challenges for some of those who have crossed him, and shower money and endorsements on the Trumpiest candidates.
State-level officials, fresh off censuring Trump critics, stand ready to back him up.
Why it matters: Trump’s speech Sunday at CPAC in Orlando is designed to show that he controls the party, whether or not he runs in 2024.
His advisers argue that his power within the GOP runs deeper and broader than ever, and that no force can temper him.
“Trump effectively is the Republican Party,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told me. “The only chasm is between Beltway insiders and grassroots Republicans around the country. When you attack President Trump, you’re attacking the Republican grassroots.”
The big picture: The few Republicans who have spoken ill of Trump since the election — including House members who voted to impeach him, and senators who voted to convict — have found themselves censured, challenged and vilified by the parties in their home states.
The long game: Many Trump confidants think he’ll pretend to run but ultimately pass. He knows the possibility — or threat — gives him leverage and attention.
Trump’s leadership PAC, Save America, has $75 million on hand, and he has a database of tens of millions of names.
A Trump source said some Republicans have told him: “If you endorse me, I’ll run.”
But advisers say that’s not how it’ll work. This week’s meeting will aim to tap the brakes.
Instead, Trump is going to set up a formal process for vetting potential endorsees, including a requirement that they raise money and put together an organization.
What we’re watching: Trump plans to argue in the CPAC speech that many of his predictions about President Biden have already come true.
Look for Trump to lay into “the swamp” and Beltway insiders in a big way.
The Trump source said: “Much like 2016, we’re taking on Washington again.”
The politicization of mask-wearing may have led to the deaths of “tens of thousands” of Americans, NIH director Francis Collins told Axios editor-in-chief Nicholas Johnston on “Axios on HBO.”
“The evidence was pretty compelling by last March or April that uniform wearing of masks would reduce transmission of this disease,” Collins said. “And yet … mask wearing became a statement about your political party or an invasion of your personal freedom.”
Watch another clip: Fauci’s boss gives Trump team credit for “breathtaking” speed of Operation Warp Speed.
3. Great expectations for economy
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Expectations for U.S. growth — in the first quarter, for the year, and for ’22 — are roaring higher as economists price in big government spending, vaccinations and rising prices, Dion Rabouin writes in Axios Markets.
Why it matters: These bullish expectations are unusual. They’re historically high, even given the large contraction the country suffered in 2020. And they seem to disregard fears that the weak U.S. labor market, or rising prices, will get in the way.
Bank of America chief economist Michelle Meyer was the latest to raise her GDP targets, increasing it to 6% for 2021 and 4.5% for 2022.
Meyer’s bullish prediction is even rosier than the latest from the exceptionally exuberant Goldman Sachs, which raised GDP expectations to 7% for this year.
The catch: The jobs recovery has come to a screeching halt. Over the past few months, an increasing number of businesses are citing reasons other than the pandemic for pullbacks in hiring and rising layoffs.
An increasing number of companies, especially small businesses, are again noting the difficulty of finding workers — despite an unemployment rate that both Fed chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen say is at a real rate of 10%, and a labor force participation rate at its lowest level since 1975.
4. AGs fight hate crimes — while facing hate
Karl Racine in his office last year. Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, a Haitian immigrant, is leading one of history’s most diverse sets of attorneys general on a campaign against hate crimes — while they face hateful rhetoric and threats themselves, Axios race and justice reporter Russell Contreras writes.
Why it matters: The U.S. electorate is becoming more diverse, yet hate crimes jumped to record levels last year. And the problem may even be worse: Most police departments don’t bother reporting hate crimes.
Racine is the first immigrant president of the National Association of Attorneys General, and one of the first Black presidents to lead the nonpartisan organization of 56 states and territories.
During public fights with President Trump, Racine was bombarded with racist and hateful messages. And he’s not the only attorney general who has experienced this.
The U.S. is on the brink of a once-unthinkable tally: 500,000 people lost to the coronavirus.
That’s roughly the population of Kansas City, Mo., and Atlanta (the cities, not the metro areas).
The toll surpasses the number of people who died in 2019 of chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, flu and pneumonia — combined, AP reports.
6. Some vaccine trials lack diversity
Study covers 230 U.S. vaccine trials, 2011-2020, with 219,555 participants. Data: JAMA Network Open. Chart: Michelle McGhee/Axios
U.S. vaccine trials over the past decade haven’t included enough seniors and Hispanic and Black adults, Axios’ Eileen Drage O’Reilly writes from a study in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Why it matters: By not capturing a representative sample of Americans, vaccine trials can’t fully demonstrate safety and effectiveness for all people — and miss an opportunity to build trust.
COVID trials can serve as a model, says study co-author Steven Pergam:
“[T]he Moderna trial did slow down enrollment to make sure they had adequate enrollment of underrepresented minorities” — putting in time and money, and meeting with community groups.
Fitbit, which started out trying to make us take a few extra steps, now can help detect COVID and even spot signs of depression, CEO James Park told Ina Fried on “Axios on HBO.”
Park says a new algorithm uses Fitbit data, including heart rate fluctuations, to spot COVID a day or two before symptoms appear.
Security fencing surrounding the U.S. Capitol as the sun set yesterday. Photo: Al Drago/Reuters
Look for Judge Merrick Garland, President Biden’s nominee for attorney general, to use his confirmation hearing today to emphasize the Justice Department’s civil-rights tools.
Why it matters: The hearing, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, begins 4 years, 11 months after President Obama nominated Garland for the Supreme Court, only to have the pick thwarted by Republicans.
I’m told Garland’s four priorities will be civil rights, independence, integrity and keeping Americans safe.
“Independence” reflects Biden’s instruction when he introduced Garland in Wilmington last month: “Your loyalty is not to me. It’s to the law.”
Hayley Arceneaux in front of a SpaceX rocket. Photo: Inspiration4
Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant and childhood cancer survivor, is the second crew member for an all-civilian mission to space expected to launch later this year, Axios Space author Miriam Kramer reports.
The mission — Inspiration4 — is partly a fundraiser for Memphis-based St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which treated Arceneaux when she was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 10.
10. Parting shots
Photo: Noah Berger/AP
After 139 years at 807 Franklin St. in San Francisco, a two-story Victorian house lurched six blocks — down the street, around the corner — to a new home on Fulton Street yesterday, the S.F. Chronicle reports (subscription).
The 600-ish onlookers were “like a golf gallery with ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ accompanying every moment of peril.”
The morning’s most important stories, curated by Post editors.
Kimmie Lynum’s school picture rests beneath a tree outside her home in Hawthorne, Fla. No one knew the 9-year-old had covid until after she had died. (Nydia Blas for The Post)
The children who have died of covid-19 are, even more than among adults, disproportionately children of color — about three-quarters of those who’ve succumbed to covid so far, according to CDC data.
By Marc Fisher, Ariana Eunjung Cha, Annie Gowen, Arelis Hernández and Lori Rozsa ● Read more »
More than two-thirds of President Biden’s Cabinet nominees are stuck in a procedural bottleneck as they wait to be considered by the Democratic-run chamber.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney says the next COVID-19 relief package should be used in part to pay down New York’s local debts, appearing to confirm a frequent GOP criticism of the proposal.
A teacher from the Bronx said she was fired after refusing to make the cross-arm “Wakanda forever” salute to black power during a school superintendent meeting.
Former President Donald Trump’s deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger argued the “circumstantial evidence” that COVID-19 originated through human error, such as an accidental Wuhan lab escape, “far outweighs” the evidence that it was a natural outbreak as he criticized the Chinese government and the World Health Organization.
Cincinnati-based grocery chain Kroger is investigating a recent hack that affected a small amount of its pharmacy customer data, including healthcare and Social Security information.
Over the weekend, Facebook removed the main page for Myanmar’s military, also known as the Tatmadaw, following violent clashes between the armed force and civilian protesters after a government coup earlier in the month.
The editor in chief of fact-checking website PolitiFact said there are “no clear-cut answers” on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus in light of allegations his office covered up nursing home deaths.
Former President Donald Trump’s postmaster general reportedly directly ordered cuts to overtime pay for USPS workers, contradicting his congressional testimony.
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The figure surpasses the number of people who died in 2019 of chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s, flu and pneumonia combined.
“It’s nothing like we have ever been through in the last 102 years, since the 1918 influenza pandemic,” the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said.
That bleak toll is expected later today and you can find coverage here.
President Joe Biden will mark the somber occasion with a moment of silence and a candle lighting ceremony at the White House.
U.S. Vaccination Push: One month into the Biden presidency, the government is on a glide path to reach his initial goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office. Now comes the far more ambitious and daunting mission of vaccinating all eligible adults against the coronavirus by the end of the summer. Limited supply of the two approved vaccines has hampered the pace of vaccinations, and that was before extreme winter weather delayed the delivery of about 6 million doses this past week.
But the U.S. is on the verge of a supply breakthrough as manufacturing ramps up and with the expectation of a third vaccine becoming available in the coming weeks, Zeke Miller reports.
Black Ministers: Health officials in the nation’s capital are hoping religious leaders will serve as community influencers to overcome what they say is a persistent vaccine reluctance in the Black community. Several Black ministers recently received their first vaccine shots. Black residents make up a little under half of Washington’s population, but constitute nearly three-fourths of virus deaths.
The city is now offering vaccinations to any resident over age 65, but numbers show that seniors in the poorest and Blackest parts of the District of Columbia are lagging behind, The government responded by giving priority status for vaccine registration to predominantly Black ZIP codes, Ashraf Khalil and Hilary Powell report.
AP PHOTO/DMITRI LOVETSKY
Russia speeds up vaccination drive; In Israel and beyond in Mideast, vaccines bring political power; With heavy hearts, Italians mark year of outbreak, pay tribute to dead
Russia’s rollout of its coronavirus vaccine is beginning to pick up speed in some of its more remote regions, but experts say the campaign is still moving slowly.
The region was hit hard by the virus in December. Experts blame the slow rollout on limited supplies of the vaccine, logistical difficulties in distribution and continued hesitance among some Russians.
The country doesn’t regularly release data on its vaccination rates, but the number who have gotten at least the first shot appears to be between 2 million and 3.2 million.
Israel Vaccines: Moving on from oil and arms? Vaccines are emerging as the newest currency of choice in the Middle East. The reopening of Israel’s economy, an Israeli government prisoner swap with Syria and the arrival of vaccines in Gaza all illustrate how those with access to vaccines have political power in the turbulent region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been at the forefront of this trend, using his vaccination campaign to win over voters and punish those who refuse to get inoculated, Josef Federman reports from Jerusalem.
The disparities between Israel’s successful vaccination push with its own population and the Palestinians have drawn criticism from U.N. officials and rights groups. They contend that Israel, as the occupying power, is responsible for vaccinating the Palestinians, while Israel has argued that under interim peace agreements it is not responsible. Israel’s vaccination campaign has included its own Arab population.
Britain Vaccinations: The government has said it’s aiming to give every adult in the country a first dose of vaccine by July 31, as it prepared to set out a “cautious” plan to ease the U.K.’s lockdown. In addition, the goal is for everyone over 50 or with an underlying health condition to get a shot by April 15, rather than the previous target of May 1. More than 17.2 million people in Britain have been given the first of two doses of vaccine. Britain has had more than 120,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. Jill Lawless reports from London.
Italy One Year Later: ”It was like a war film. We were completely alone,” the mayor of Vo, a wine-making town in the Veneto region, recalls. It was where the first known fatality from a locally transmitted case of the virus in the West occurred on Feb. 21, 2020, setting off alarm bells far and wide. In the days and weeks that followed, densely populated Lombardy would become the epicenter of Italy’s outbreak and, by the end of March, countries the world over would be under lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus that has now taken 2.4 million lives.
But Vo, from where Colleen Barry reports, as one of the first towns in the West to be isolated, has a unique story, providing some of the first scientific insights into the deadly virus. A year on, Italy has so far seen more than 95,000 known virus dead, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain.
Iraq’s New Surge: Doctors are confounded by widespread shirking of precautions even as cases surge dramatically in Iraq. The country is now under a new, government-imposed curfew. A month ago, new infections in Iraq were as low as 600 a day but have now surged, reaching nearly 4,000 and approaching the peak from last September. Many defy hospital rules requiring masks, putting their faith, they say, in God instead. And for weeks, markets, malls and stores have been packed with people. A sociologist says that after years of facing war, violence and instability, COVID-19 “may not stack up as a major problem” in the minds of many Iraqis. Abdulrahman Zeyad reports from Baghdad.
Asia-Pacific Vaccines: Australia has started its COVID-19 inoculation program days after its neighbor New Zealand, with both governments deciding their pandemic experiences did not require the fast tracking of vaccine rollouts that occurred in many parts of the world. Other countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have dealt relatively well with the pandemic either only recently started vaccinating or are about to, including Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore.
AP PHOTO/LM OTERO
Power failure: How a winter storm pushed Texas into an acute crisis; Hospitals in US South confront water shortages in aftermath
Two days before the winter storm began, Houston’s chief elected official warned her constituents to prepare as they would for a major hurricane.
Many took heed: Texans who could stocked up on food and water, while nonprofits and government agencies set out to help those who couldn’t.
As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state, much of Texas’ power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems.
Tens of millions huddled in frigid homes that slowly grew colder, or fled for safety.
Images of desperate Texans circulated worldwide. To some, they evoked a less wealthy or self-regarding place. To others, they laid bare problems that have long festered.
More than 35 people in Texas have been confirmed dead. That number is expected to rise as roads cleared and relatives and first responders could check on missing loved ones.
How could this happen in a state that is the nation’s biggest energy producer and home to several of the world’s biggest energy companies?
The disaster can be traced to mistakes by Texas’ leadership and faults created by decades of opposition to more regulations and preparation.
Basically, the state is an island in the U.S. electrical system. There is one large grid covering the Eastern half of the country, another for the West, with Texas wedged between them.
Hospitals in U.S. South: They are grappling with water shortages as the region carries on with recovery efforts in the wake of the devastating winter storm. At the height of the storm, hospitals were left scrambling to care for patients amid record cold, snow and ice. The storm was especially damaging in parts of the country more accustomed to going through winter with light jackets and short sleeves. The icy blast ruptured water mains, knocked out power to millions of utility customers and contributed to at least 76 deaths. Juan Lozano, Jonathan Matisse and Adrian Sainz report.
EXPLAINER: Why some Texans are getting sky-high energy bills. The surge in pricing is hitting people who have chosen to pay wholesale prices for their power, which is typically cheaper than paying fixed rates during good weather, but can spike when there’s high demand for electricity. Many of those who have reported receiving huge bills are customers of electricity provider Griddy, which only operates in Texas.
That began on his first day, when Biden appeared at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office wearing a mask.
The Democrat framed his first month as a time to start to “heal the soul” of the nation and restore the White House as a symbol of stability and credibility.
Biden has set out to demonstrate that the days of a seat-of-the-pants presidency are over.
He wants to show that the inflationary cycle of outrage can be contained. That things can get done by the book. That the new guy can erase the legacy of the “former guy.”
From the Earth’s climate and the Iran nuclear deal to what’s not on his desk (Trump’s button to summon a Diet Coke), Biden has been purging Trumpism however he can in an opening stretch that is wholly unlike the turmoil and trouble of his predecessor’s first month.
Protesters gathered in Myanmar’s biggest city despite the ruling junta’s thinly veiled threat to use lethal force if people answered a call for a general strike opposing the military takeover. Hundreds had gathered at a major intersection in Yangon after a group advocating civil disobedience called for people to unite for a “Spring Revolution.” Roads were blocked in front of landmarks like the Myanmar Central Bank and U.S. Embassy, and trucks overnight blared warnings against public gatherings. A junta statement carried on state TV said the protesters were carrying people “to a confrontation path where they will suffer the loss of life.”
U.S. federal aviation regulators ordered United Airlines to step up inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the type of engine that suffered a catastrophic failure over Denver Saturday. Pieces of the casing of the engine rained down on suburban neighborhoods. United says it is temporarily removing those aircraft from service. Boeing has recommended aircraft with the engines be grounded pending a decision on inspections. The announcements came after United Airlines Flight 328 had to make an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after its right engine blew apart just after takeoff.
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says that Iran will begin offering its inspectors “less access” but will still allow the agency to monitor its atomic program. Rafael Grossi made the comments on arrival in Vienna late last night. He was careful to say that there still would be the same number of inspectors, but there would be “things we lose.” He did not offer many specifics, but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that would include blocking the International Atomic Energy Agency from accessing footage on its cameras at nuclear sites.
New Zealand lowered its flags and made special note of those who couldn’t travel as it marked the 10th anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake that killed 185 people. Hundreds of people attended an outdoor service in Christchurch, which continues to rebuild from the magnitude 6.3 quake that destroyed much of the downtown. A separate service was also held in the northern Japanese city of Toyama, home to 12 students who died in the quake. Speaking at the Christchurch ceremony, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it was important to remember that 87 of the victims were foreigners and many of their families couldn’t be there because of coronavirus travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, as the pandemic has evolved over the last year, so has the data that we use to try and understand it.
At the Tribune we have a group of reporters, programmers and graphics folks who work to present the best data to show the impact of the coronavirus in the Chicago area and Illinois. We use sources like the Illinois Department of Public Health, the CDC, Johns Hopkins University and the COVID Tracking Project. We also use data that the New York Times and Associated Press collect on cases and vaccinations. We recently revamped some key features in our data pages and wanted to share that with you here.
We are still working through first iterations of our vaccine tracker. Given the issues with vaccine supply, we added a chart that shows daily deliveries to Illinois. The data shows it’s up and down. We also added two charts that look at race and ethnicity, given the ongoing efforts at making equity a priority.
In our pages on deaths, cases and tests we updated our ZIP Code map to emphasize new cases. We made similar changes to our county map on our state data page. We updated our region metrics page to reflect the new mitigation levels from the state. We also recently added a page that looks at the state of the virus in the U.S. and world.
We hear a lot from you when you have questions but we’d always love to hear more. If you have a question, you can submit it here.
— Jonathon Berlin, director of content for data and graphics
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
With COVID-19 vaccine in short supply, more locals are turning to social media for help as they scour the internet for available immunizations. Sites like Chicago Vaccine Hunters on Facebook and tips on Reddit are helping people in Chicago and across the country snag coveted vaccination openings.
Suburbanites are getting COVID-19 vaccine appointments on Chicago’s South and West sides. But should they?
Former Speaker Michael Madigan said Sunday he hasn’t made a decision on how long he will continue as state Democratic Party chairman as he installed a 26-year-old constituent services worker as his successor for the Illinois House seat he vacated Thursday.
Madigan, who was deposed last month by his Democratic colleagues after 36 years as speaker, also said that after a 50-year legislative career, he didn’t believe he had stayed around too long.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants to close $932 million of what he called “corporate tax loopholes” to help Illinois balance its budget after the fiscal ruins of COVID-19, but the controversial proposal comes as cities and states gear up to attract jobs and strengthen an economy battered by the pandemic. Trade groups spoke out against Pritzker’s plan after it was announced Wednesday, saying businesses are struggling even without new costs.
At 17, Kendall Jackson has found her way into history books as one of the first Black female Scouts to earn the prestigious Eagle Scout rank from the Boy Scouts of America.
Part of the inaugural class of more than 1,000 female Scouts nationwide since the organization opened to girls in 2019, the Schererville resident is one of 14 young women in the Chicago metropolitan area’s Pathway to Adventure Council to earn the Eagle Scout designation. She is the lone Black female in the council to do so. Nationally, Jackson is one of 21 Black females to join the elite rank.
Mardi Gras came, went and left a Palatine bakery with a problem: too many ingredients for paczki, the traditional Polish doughnuts Americans eat on Fat Tuesday, and not enough customers. So, some employees to put out a call for help on Facebook Thursday afternoon. Since then, the store has gone through as many as 10,000 baked goods.
Earlier this month as Karen Lewis clung to life, the former Chicago Teachers Union president feared Mayor Lori Lightfoot would derail the negotiations to reopen Chicago Public Schools during the pandemic.
Lewis’ husband, John Lewis, noted during a virtual memorial Sunday that the contentious reopening talks — and ultimately the fate of public school teachers and students — remained the legendary union chief’s key concern as her condition deteriorated. Tom Schuba has the story…
It’s difficult to say how many Latino-owned businesses have shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic, but there are signs of growth in some parts of the city — even some new businesses are set to open.
Senate Republicans blocked the Lincolnwood-raised Garland from getting a hearing when former President Obama nominated him for the Supreme Court in 2016.
Verano Holdings, based on the Near North Side, is now one of the largest marijuana companies in the country after it started trading publicly in Canada last week.
Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Today is Monday! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe!
Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported this morning 498,901. The president will hold a moment of silence this evening for those who have died.
As of this morning, 13.1 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 5.7 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the Bloomberg News global vaccine tracker.
House Democrats are on the verge this week of passing President Biden’s nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 rescue plan at the same time the country surpasses half a million coronavirus deaths, a body count many dismissed just a year ago as the stuff of science fiction.
Lawmakers today return to work, diving into a 591-page relief bill in the Democratic-controlled House Budget Committee while both chambers also plan oversight hearings and senators weigh remaining Cabinet nominees, including several facing turbulence in a 50-50 Senate.
House Democrats face their biggest unity test as they work to send a virus relief bill to the Senate, where it will undergo major alterations in search of at least 50 supporters. The Hill’s Cristina Marcos writes that the majority party has little room for error among fractious centrists and progressives. A proposed federal increase in the minimum wage, favored by liberals, is unlikely to survive in the Senate, for example.
Conservative lawmakers dismiss suggestions that voters — who favor Biden’s plan, according to recent polls — would punish Republicans for bucking the new president during a pandemic. The House relief measure is expected to attract few, if any, GOP votes (The Hill).
“The Senate is on track to send a robust $1.9 trillion package to the president’s desk before the March 14 expiration of unemployment insurance benefits” from the last round of stimulus, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told colleagues last week. “We will meet this deadline.”
Bloomberg News: Biden’s plan enters three-week Congress dash.
Politico: Dems prepare for party-line House vote on president’s pandemic aid bill.
CNN: How the COVID-19 relief bill was put on a glide path to passage.
The Hill: House progressives and Senate centrists are not on the same page with direct federal payments proposed in a rescue plan.
The Wall Street Journal: Paycheck Protection Program to offer an exclusive loan application window for smallest businesses.
On March 30, 2020, Anthony Fauci (pictured below that day) helped unveil a COVID-19 chart at the White House forecasting what at the time seemed to be a mind-boggling number of possible fatalities in the United States — 200,000, a total that is very much in the rearview.
Even as Democrats speed toward more than $1 trillion in new spending to alleviate the pandemic’s hardships, the worst of the public health crisis may be abating. Even faced with 500,000 deaths, the rates of new infections and hospitalizations nationwide are falling and the rate of vaccinations each day is climbing, with good news on the way, according to experts.
The Hill: Fauci: 500,000 coronavirus deaths are “devastating.”
Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said on Sunday that the continued downward trend of cases is likely to continue, especially as seasons change from winter to spring and warmer temperatures take hold. The former FDA chief added that emerging variants originating in Great Britain, South Africa and Brazil are unlikely to do much to reverse the daily case totals.
“This has taken a tragic toll on the United States, but we should be optimistic, in my view,” Gottlieb told “Face the Nation.” “I think we’re going to continue to see infection rates decline into the spring and the summer. Right now, they’re falling quite dramatically. I think these trends are likely to continue.”
“I think it’s too little, too late in most parts of the country,” Gottlieb said. “With rising vaccination rates and also the fact that we’ve infected about a third of the public, that’s enough protective immunity that we’re likely to see these trends continue” (CBS News).
CBS New York: COVID-19 positivity rates In New York drop, new vaccination sites continue to open.
The Hill: Israel: Pfizer vaccine prevents 98.9 percent of COVID-19 deaths.
The Associated Press: United Kingdom speeds up vaccinations: All adults get 1st jab by July 31.
Reuters: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to plot path out of lockdown on Monday.
According to The Washington Post’s latest tracking totals, the U.S. reported 58,000 new infections on Sunday and the seven-day average sits at 65,000 — the lowest total since late October.
There is, however, more work to do in the U.S. Fauci said on Sunday that it’s “possible” that mask-wearing could be necessary into 2022 (CNN). The Biden administration is also looking beyond its goal of administering 100 million shots of COVID-19 vaccine, with the U.S. averaging 1.3 vaccinations per day (Bloomberg News).
The Associated Press: Washington taps pastors to overcome racial divide on vaccine.
The Hill: Teachers union president: “No perfect solution” to reopening schools.
The Hill: COVID-19 vaccine FAQ: Here’s everything you need to know.
ADMINISTRATION: Nearly five years after Senate Republicans refused to grant Merrick Garland a hearing when he was a nominee to join the Supreme Court, the appeals court judge will appear today before the Senate Judiciary Committee as the president’s choice to be attorney general. He is one of Biden’s top Cabinet nominees and is expected to be confirmed with bipartisan support (The Hill).
Former President Obama nominated Garland in 2016 to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked Garland’s nomination for eight months in a presidential election year.
Biden’s choice of Garland reflects a goal of restoring the department’s reputation as an independent body following the tenures of former attorneys general Jeff Sessions and William Barr under former President Trump (The Associated Press).
Garland says the role of attorney general is meant to “serve the Rule of Law and to ensure equal justice under the law,” according to an advance copy of his testimony (CNN).
“The mission remains urgent because we do not yet have equal justice,” he wrote. “Communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment, and the criminal justice system.”
In his statement, Garland said, “If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6 — a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.”
McConnell and Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) voted against Garland’s nomination in 1997 when he joined the D.C. Circuit, while Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, among those still serving in the Senate, voted for him.
The Hill: The Senate has to date taken up fewer than half Biden’s Cabinet picks.
> Office of Management and Budget: Biden nominee Neera Tanden faces severe headwinds for confirmation as budget director following this morning’s announcement from Collins that she opposes Tanden to lead OMB, plus the surprise announcement by fellow Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) that the president’s nominee is an “overly partisan” pick for the job (The Hill and The Washington Post). Tanden, who heads the left-leaning Center for American Progress, is unlikely to win confirmation, potentially becoming the first miscue for Biden among his Cabinet selections.
The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said over the weekend that he was working to find votes to confirm Tanden.
> Health and Agriculture departments: Also facing potential confirmation hurdles: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Biden’s nominee to lead the Health and Human Services Department, who goes before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday (CNN). … Expected to win Senate confirmation on Tuesday: Tom Vilsack to be Agriculture secretary (for the second time).
> Ambassador? Rahm Emanuel has a reputation over a long political career for aggressive Democratic advocacy and a short fuse. Some observers are surprised that Biden appears ready to name the 61-year-old former Chicago mayor, former congressman, former White House chief of staff and former West Wing adviser as his nominee to join the diplomatic corps (as ambassador to Japan, no less) (The Hill).
More White House news: Biden would like to visit weather-ravaged Texas, perhaps midweek if a visit is not disruptive to recovery from blackouts and contaminated water supplies (The Hill). … First lady Jill Biden is picking up where she left off (The Hill). … Biden is pursuing new talks with Iran, a test for his diplomacy-first agenda (The Hill and The Hill). … The president and congressional Democrats have a new approach to lowering prescription drug prices (The Hill). … Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet virtually on Tuesday (Toronto Star). … Vivek Murthy, an internist and Biden’s nominee to be U.S. surgeon general (a job he held once before), earned $2 million in speaking and consultant fees last year as a pandemic adviser. His confirmation hearing is scheduled on Thursday (The Washington Post).
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
POLITICS: Trump, fresh off his first round of interviews since leaving the White House, has lined up his first post-presidency public appearance — what is expected to be a long speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which meets on Sunday in Florida.
Trump aides and event organizers confirmed that the 45th president is expected to speak. His address is expected to be focused on the future of the GOP and to lob criticisms at the Biden White House, including over his immigration position.
The annual right-wing confab will be held in Orlando, Fla., this year instead of Oxon Hill, Md., where it usually takes place. Trump has spoken consistently at CPAC over the past decade, including his 2011 appearance that helped kick-start his career in the GOP and throughout his presidency.
Fox News: Former Vice President Mike Pence declined CPAC invitation.
Politico: Trump gears up for war with his own party.
With Trump reemerging vocally, The Hill’s Jonathan Easley writes that many within the GOP worry that infighting could imperil the party’s chances of retaking the Senate and House next year as a divide between the two sides escalates.
The Democrats have the smallest majority in the lower chamber in modern times, along with a 50-50 split in the Senate, putting both chambers well within reach for Republicans, as the party out of power usually gains seats during a president’s first term. However, the nasty feud between Trump and McConnell has Republicans concerned that fundraising and turnout could both be affected. It also could bring more competitive primary contests to the forefront as they look to win back swing voters who bolted on the party in recent years.
WHO said what about Wuhan? by Scott Gottlieb, opinion contributor, The Wall Street Journal. https://on.wsj.com/3umflOU
What this wave of anti-Asian violence reveals about America, by Anne Anlin Cheng, opinion contributor, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3qJxaVL
WHERE AND WHEN
The House meets at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session and returns to legislative work on Tuesday. The House Budget Committee at 1 p.m. will mark up a COVID-19 relief bill that embodies the Biden plan.
TheSenate convenes at 3 p.m. and resumes consideration of the nomination of Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold two days of hearings beginning today at 9:30 a.m. and Tuesday at 10 a.m. to consider Garland’s nomination to lead the Justice Department.
The president receives the President’s Daily Brief at 9:45 a.m. Biden will make an announcement related to small businesses at 12:05 p.m. in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Biden at 6 p.m. will speak about the lives lost to COVID-19, joined by the first lady, Vice President Harris and Doug Emhoff. They will hold a moment of silence and candle lighting in the White House.
The White House press briefing is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. The COVID-19 response team will brief reporters at 3 p.m.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will speak with New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin during a virtual event at 9 a.m. ET. Information is HERE. [Sorkin will interview Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Information HERE.]
👉INVITATION to The Hill’s Virtually Live “Race and Justice Imperative” event on Thursday, Feb. 25, for two blocks of conversation beginning at 11:30 a.m. Participants from government, civil rights and social justice organizations who work to end systemic racism will include Montgomery, Ala., Mayor Steven Reed; St. Paul, Minn., Mayor Melvin Carter; Ferguson, Mo., Mayor Ella Jones; Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial; Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch; CNN commentator and Dream Corps founder Van Jones, and many others. Information and registration HERE.
👉 The Hill’s senior correspondent Amie Parnes and co-author Jonathan Allen of NBC News have written a political book to follow their 2017 best-seller, “Shattered.” Biden’s roller-coaster 2020 campaign and nail-biting victory against a crowded primary field and then former President Trump are revealed with deep reporting, analysis and new anecdotes in “Lucky,” which is in bookstores March 2 and available for pre-order with Penguin Random House HERE and on Amazon HERE.
➔ TECH: Clubhouse, an emerging social media platform born during the coronavirus-driven lockdowns, has given users a chance to connect through intimate conversations with virtual strangers even while isolated at home. Clubhouse’s chat room conversations are not recorded by the app, making it more difficult to discern the spread of false information or harassment (The Hill).
➔ ECONOMY: Women, a key voting bloc for candidates in both parties, have been among the hardest-hit employment groups in a recession that has devastated hospitality and service industries, where women make up a large part of the workforce, and shuttered schools, adding to family responsibilities (The Hill). … The Washington Post reports that the U.S. economy could have its best chance in years to break from an era of subpar growth, while skeptics debate the risks of inflation. … Lawmakers this week will question Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell about COVID-19 relief spending making its way through Congress, the U.S. employment picture and inflation fears when he testifies at 10 a.m. on Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee and again on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to the House Financial Services Committee (PBS). … Economists see a potential post-COVID boom (The New York Times).
➔ INTERNATIONAL: Protests against the military takeover in Myanmar swelled today as roughly 1,000 protesters come together in Yangon despite threats of lethal force by the military three weeks after a coup. The demonstrators reportedly dispersed as they sought to avoid a showdown when 20 military trucks featuring riot police arrived to clamp down in response to a nationwide worker strike. The protesters’ goal is to return to power longtime leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she was detained with others early this month (The Associated Press).
THE CLOSER
And finally … Rock stars and bands, including Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Neil Young, Blondie and the Beach Boys, are making fortunes selling stakes in their songs and their music catalogs, cashing in on decades of artistry to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Industry executives cite the emergence of aggressive buyers, low interest rates and COVID-19, which prevents musicians from touring, which has been their primary source of income. Songwriters have more ways than ever to make money. In addition to radio, commercials, and TV, they collect royalties from streaming services, social media companies, video games and fitness apps. As streaming services reinvigorated the industry, investors tiptoed back in.
Another factor behind the catalog cash-ins: Biden campaigned to increase capital gains taxes and wealthy talents in music want to reach agreements before taxes go up (Bloomberg News).
“These artists are all in their early 70s, mid-70s, and at that age you should be thinking about estate planning,” says Josh Gruss, chief executive officer of Round Hill Music, a fund that owns rights to songs by artists including the Beatles.
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25.) POLITICO PLAYBOOK
POLITICO Playbook: Collins comes out against Tanden
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
BREAKING: Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) will vote against NEERA TANDEN.Tweet this
Her statement:
“The Director of OMB is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the federal budget and plays a significant role in any Administration’s fiscal and regulatory agenda. Congress has to be able to trust the OMB director to make countless decisions in an impartial manner, carrying out the letter of the law and congressional intent. Neera Tanden has neither the experience nor the temperament to lead this critical agency. Her past actions have demonstrated exactly the kind of animosity that President Biden has pledged to transcend.
“In addition, Ms. Tanden’s decision to delete more than a thousand tweets in the days before her nomination was announced raises concerns about her commitment to transparency. Should Congress need to review documents or actions taken by OMB, we must have confidence that the Director will be forthcoming.
“The OMB needs steady, experienced, responsive leadership. I will vote against confirming Ms. Tanden.”
This may be a death blow to the nomination of Tanden, who once tweeted that Collins is “the worst.” On Friday, Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) came out against her. That left the White House scrambling to find a single Republican to back Tanden (assuming she maintains support from the remaining 49 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus).
Collins is close to Manchin, who endorsed her 2020 reelection and worked with her to pass the most recent Covid relief bill. Manchin has also entertained Collins and other moderates on his houseboat — “Almost Heaven” — docked in the Potomac.
Tanden’s best hope for confirmation now lies with finding support from MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah) or LISA MURKOWSKI (R-Alaska). There are two reasons they might step forward. Tanden is close to White House chief of staff RON KLAIN, and her defeat would be seen not just as a defeat for President JOE BIDEN but as a personal rebuke to Klain. If Biden and Klain want to go all-out to save Tanden, they could offer Romney or Murkowski or — less likely — another Republican something significant in return.
But the more intriguing motive for Romney or Murkowski to back Tanden has to do with the internal dynamics of the 50-50 Senate, where there’s a budding competition among centrists for primacy. If Tanden is defeated, Manchin will get credit for it.
As several Senate sources noted to us Sunday night, a true power move now — though one that’s still not likely — would be for a Republican moderate such as Romney or Murkowski to swoop in and save Tanden to show Manchin that he doesn’t actually run the Senate.
YOUR GUIDE TO THE MINIMUM WAGE FIGHT THIS WEEK — House Democrats are slated to vote late this week on Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief package, and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER is promising the Senate will clear it by the looming March 14 unemployment benefits deadline. But there’s one big kink: the minimum wage debate.
Our sources say the Senate parliamentarian will rule as soon as Tuesday on whether a nationwide boost to $15 an hour is allowed under reconciliation. Depending on how that goes, you can expect one of the following scenarios to play out:
1) If the parliamentarian rules the hike is allowed, the likelihood it will be included skyrockets. But that does not mean it will survive, since Sen. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) and Manchin have vocally opposed adding the minimum wage increase to pandemic relief. It’s possible a ruling by the parliamentarian that it’s kosher would change their minds. But if not, Democratic leaders would have to decide whether to dare them to back down by putting the bill, minimum wage and all, on the floor for a vote.
Or, we could see a compromise. Roll Call’s Paul Krawzak scooped last week that Democratic leaders are talking about sweetening the pot for moderates by adding a small-business tax break to offset any added burden on mom-and-pop shops dealing with the wage increases. We’ve also heard chatter about a smaller minimum wage hike to, say, $11 or $12. Notably, Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.) and Romney last week announced they’ll be introducing their own minimum wage hike, making it politically difficult for any Senate Democrats to oppose a smaller increase. Manchin has also said he backs an $11 minimum wage.
2) If the parliamentarian says the provision breaks Senate rules, you’d think that would be the end of it. But we could see a situation in which liberal lawmakers rebel and try to push Senate leadership to overrule the parliamentarian. This is where things could get messy: Do House progressives use their leverage to force Speaker NANCY PELOSI to keep the minimum wage hike in the bill even if it won’t clear the Senate? Does Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), the Budget Committee chair, also demand it?
Senior Democratic aides are skeptical that progressives would risk tanking stimulus checks, child tax credits and money for state and local governments over the minimum wage.
One last possibility if the minimum wage is struck is to hold a separate vote on it to appease progressives. It wouldn’t pass the Senate, but Democrats could at least say they tried.
— Meanwhile, top Republicans, who have had trouble organizing against the Covid bill, are seizing on CBO’s analysis of the minimum wage proposal to make their case against the overall package. During the markup of the bill later today, Rep. JASON SMITH (R-Mo.), ranking member of the House Budget Committee, will say the following, according to prepared remarks obtained by Playbook:
“[T]his policy would destroy millions of jobs — at least 1.4 million according to the Congressional Budget Office — and disproportionately harm low-wage workers, disabled workers, and less educated workers. … [I]t will raise consumer prices — hurting millions of working-class Americans and those living on fixed incomes, especially the 31 million seniors who get half or more of their income from Social Security.”
BIDEN’S MONDAY — The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9:45 a.m. He’ll make a small business-focused announcement at 12:05 p.m. in the South Court Auditorium. At 6 p.m., he’ll deliver remarks from Cross Hall commemorating the lives lost to Covid-19, as the nation reaches the milestone of 500,000 dead. And at 6:15 p.m., he and first lady JILL BIDEN will have a moment of silence and candle-lighting ceremony on the South Porticowith VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF, who are returning from Los Angeles.
— Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 12:30 p.m.
— The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 3 p.m.
THE WEEK AHEAD — On Tuesday, Biden will meet virtually with essential workers and Canadian PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU (not at the same time). On Wednesday, Biden will sign an executive order on the economy and get a Covid briefing. On Thursday, he’ll take part in a vaccination event and speak virtually to the National Governors Association Winter Meeting.
THE SENATE returns at 3 p.m. to take up the nomination of LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Cloture vote expected at 5:30 p.m.
THE HOUSE is out until Tuesday.
PLAYBOOK READS
THE BIDEN CABINET
GARLAND GETS HIS HEARING — It took five years, but MERRICK GARLAND is finally getting a congressional hearing. The Senate Judiciary Committee meets at 9:30 a.m. to take up his nomination for A.G.
Garland’s team is releasing additional endorsements this morning, including the two sons of former A.G. EDWARD H. LEVI, who took over the department after RICHARD NIXON resigned and restored confidence in it post-Watergate. Democrats see parallels between that moment and now, coming off DONALD TRUMP’S yearslong effort to bend the department to his will, culminating with the failed push to pressure DOJ to overturn the election results. USA Today has more
This morning, Marianne LeVine has an interesting read up about how four potential GOP contenders in 2024 — JOSH HAWLEY, TED CRUZ, BEN SASSE and Cotton — could use the Garland confirmation to “catapult their national brands.” Count on it. As Marianne notes, “now-Vice President Kamala Harris rose to national prominence thanks in part to her incisive questioning of former President Donald Trump’s nominees.”
INSIDE BECERRA’S QUEST TO INSURE THE UNDOCUMENTED: Maggie Severns has a deep dive this morning on XAVIER BECERRA’S push to extend federal health benefits to undocumented immigrants. Expect this to become a lightning rod issue for the HHS secretary nominee during his confirmation hearings, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
CONGRESS
H.R. 1 NEWS THIS MORNING — Amid all the talk of infrastructure, immigration and what else might follow the big Covid relief bill, Rep. JOHN SARBANES (D-Md.) will announce today that every House Democrat has signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which focuses on voting rights, money in politics and ethics laws. It’ll be on the House floor next week. Quite the turnaround from a few weeks ago, when Democrats were divided over parts of the bill and had to scuttle plans for an early vote.
JOIN US! Democrats held the House in November but lost seats when they were expected to gain them — leaving the party little cushion to pass Biden’s agenda. Rep. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY (D-N.Y.), the DCCC chair, joins RACHAEL and EUGENE on Wednesday at noon to discuss his plans for protecting Democrats’ slim majority in 2022, lessons learned from the last campaign and the continued fallout from the Jan. 6 attack. Register here
THE WHITE HOUSE
PUTTING THE PRESSURE ON, via Josh Gerstein: “When President Joe Biden was sworn in last month, he signed 17 executive orders and other directives. None was focused on transparency. Now, a coalition of advocates for more access to government information and deliberations are urging Biden to make such openness a higher priority and to reverse what they contend was a deterioration in public access to the inner workings of government under former President Donald Trump. …
“Although Biden’s presidency is now more than a month old, the groups urge Biden to issue a ‘Day 1’ memo stressing to officials across the federal government that transparency is ‘a pillar of democratic governance and the responsibility of all federal employees, particularly agency heads.’”The letter
2022 WATCH
— “Trump aide preps primary against Ohio impeachment supporter,”by Alex Isenstadt: “Former Trump White House aide Max Miller is expected to wage a primary challenge against GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, the latest opponent to take on a House Republican who supported the former president’s impeachment.
“Miller, who hails from northeastern Ohio, has been in talks with top Republican donors in the state and other party leaders since leaving the White House last month, according to a person familiar with the plans. He recently purchased a house in Rocky River, inside Gonzalez’s 16th District.”
JAN. 6 FALLOUT
NYT RECONSTRUCTION — “The Lost Hours: How Confusion and Inaction at the Capitol Delayed a Troop Deployment”: “New details about what transpired over those 115 minutes on that dark, violent day — revealed in interviews and documents — tell a story of how chaotic decision-making among political and military leaders burned precious time as the rioting at the Capitol spiraled out of control.
“Communication breakdowns, inaction and confusion over who had authority to call for the National Guard delayed a deployment of hundreds of troops who might have helped quell the violence that raged for hours.”
— “Incitement Case Against Trump for Capitol Riot Would Present Challenges,” WSJ: “Prosecutors would face clear challenges in bringing any case, according to former prosecutors and experts. Tom Firestone, a lawyer with Baker & McKenzie LLP and former assistant U.S. attorney in New York, said prosecutors would have to consider several factors, including whether Mr. Trump was engaged in constitutionally protected political speech or instead crossed a line that prompted supporters to commit violence. ‘If you look at his speech, there’s evidence that both sides could use,’ said Mr. Firestone, who spent 14 years with the Justice Department.”
PANDEMIC
A HORRIBLE MILESTONE: “U.S. reaches 500,000 deaths from the coronavirus,” NBC: “The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 500,000 on Sunday,according to an NBC News tally — a milestone that underscores the grave threat the virus still poses nationwide even as more Americans get vaccinated.
“The coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 2,462,000 people worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll in the U.S. is the highest in the world, even though the country has less than 5 percent of the global population.”
TRACKER: The U.S. reported 1,286 Covid-19 deaths and 58,000 new coronavirus cases Sunday.
— “Beyond 100M: Biden team aiming for bigger vaccine numbers,”AP: “[T]he act of delivering injections will soon be the dominant constraint, and it’s prompting the Biden administration to push to dramatically expand the universe of those who will deliver injections and where Americans will meet them to get their shots. …
“The daily inoculation average climbed to 1.7 million shots per day last week, but as many as double that number of doses are soon expected to be available on average each day. The focus of Biden’s team is now quickly shifting to ensuring those doses can get used, though the administration has resisted the calls of some health experts to publicly set a ‘moonshot’ target for how many daily doses it hopes to deliver.”
DISASTER IN TEXAS
GREG JOINS TED IN THE DOGHOUSE —“‘Where is Greg Abbott?’ Anger grows at Texas governor in deadly storm’s wake,” WaPo: “Critics have charged that the Abbott administration’s response to the storm has at times resembled the government failures after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. … The anger was palpable, with petitions circulating online demanding the resignations of Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) … Citizens across the state posted angry memes on social media about the governor, crafting basketball-sized snowballs they wanted to aim at him and superimposing ‘Where is Greg Abbott?’ over a hellscape.”
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — POLITICO’s Alex Thompson has signed with Simon & Schuster to write a comprehensive book on Biden’s presidency. The book is expected in early 2024 and will be filled with fresh reporting and informed by his work covering the president and the White House transition. Thompson was represented in the deal by the Javelin literary agency.
BREAKING THROUGH THE ICE — “Ice Skating Ends at Central Park After New York City Rift With Trump,”NYT: “The two ice rinks in Central Park, memory-makers for generations of New Yorkers, are set to close Sunday after the city moved to end contracts with the Trump Organization following the Capitol riot. …
“Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink, which the Trump Organization has operated since the 1980s, were to close at the end of business Sunday, the company said in a notice sent to parents of students in skating programs and posted at Wollman. The Trump Organization blamed the city for giving the company a Feb. 26 deadline to clear out and said it needed to shut a few days earlier. Bids are not due until March 19 in the competitive process to select a new operator for Wollman.”
CLICKER — “The eclectic estate of Roberta McCain — John McCain’s mother — went up for auction. So did a piece of Old Washington,”WaPo: “Roberta McCain didn’t have one string of pearls, she had a dozen. Not one or two cocktail rings, but scores of them — enough to match every outfit. She was a fashionable woman who lived a fashionable life, complete with jewelry, antiques and art acquired throughout her well-traveled life. By the time she died last year at 108 years old, her grand apartment in Washington was packed with a lifetime of memories.
“And stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. A tiny portion of her things went up for auction Friday … All of McCain’s 107 lots sold and brought in a tad more than $97,000. But it was more than just a dispersion of things. A piece of Old Washington was up for bid; her life represented a certain era when women were mostly defined by their husbands’ careers and burnished that reflected glory with a beautiful home and well-behaved children.”
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Veteran GOP operatives Joe Pounder, Michael Fortney, Andy George and Luke Marchant are launching Franklin Creative Group, a new national mail firm, based in Colorado with representatives in Dallas and D.C.
— Jenna Valle-Riestra is now press secretary for the Senate Judiciary Committee under Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). She previously was digital assistant for Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.).
MEDIAWATCH — Erin Banco is joining POLITICO as a reporter covering the Covid-19 response and the CDC. She most recently has been a national security reporter at The Daily Beast. … Mike Spies is returning to The Trace as a senior staff writer. He previously was a reporter at ProPublica.
TRANSITIONS — Anne Wall is joining Google’s government affairs and public policy team as head of strategy and external affairs. She most recently was a partner at the Duberstein Group, and is an Obama Treasury and White House alum. … Sydney Rachael Levin-Epstein is now finance director for the Jewish Democratic Council of America. She previously was national events director for Jon Ossoff’s campaign during the runoff and deputy finance director for Ed Markey’s campaign. …
… Noah Sadlier will be digital strategist at FlexPoint Media. He previously was political director and spokesperson for Peter Meijer’s campaign. … Coalter Baker is now deputy director of the office of state-federal relations for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. He most recently was deputy COS at HUD. … Robert Butora is now a director of federal government affairs for CVS Health. He previously was a health policy adviser for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) … David Axelrod … Bob Bauer … Rodney Hood … Alex Slater … MPA’s John Gibson …AARP’s Martha Boudreau … former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist … Kristen Soltis Anderson … Peter Siegal of Norton Rose Fulbright … Jennifer Poersch … POLITICO’s Heidi Sommer … Chris Crawford … Ed Brookover … Randy Levine … Viet Dinh … Netflix’s Rachel Whetstone … NBC’s Keir Simmons … Jim Friedlich … former Rep. John Bryant (D-Texas) … Danielle Bella Ellison … Becky Beland McNaught … Andrew Nixon … MSNBC’s Dan Holway … CNN’s Laurie Ure … Liz Glover … Alyssa Mastromonaco … Hugh Hewitt … eBay’s Elizabeth Oblinger … AP’s Michael Biesecker and Dorothy Abernathy … Jon Markman … Ryan Eaton … Jennifer Poersch, partner at HLP&R Advocacy … Michael Peterman
Nancy Pelosi recently told the nation that she and her Democrat House members are under constant danger of assassination by gun-carrying Republican members of the House. Miss Nancy’s lie is just an extension of her barrage of lies of how threatening and dangerous Republicans who voted for Donald Trump are, and the CNN lie of …
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration released the first photos taken by its Perseverance rover on Mars after it became just the fifth rover to ever successfully complete the landing. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) photos released Saturday showed Mars’s vast landscape and rocky terrain. On Thursday, Perseverance successfully completed its landing on …
Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Sunday that he doesn’t believe “we’re ever going to reach true herd immunity.” “I don’t think we’re ever gonna reach true herd immunity. This is isn’t gonna like measles or smallpox where it just sort of goes away. COVID’s gonna continue to circulate at a low level,” Gottlieb …
I was not sure where this post would take me today but I felt I needed to write something positive and uplifting after such a tumultuous few weeks. Being Sunday, I began to think about how the Church has struggled to keep up with their mission during this seemingly never ending Pandemic. Sadly, it appears …
In this installment of our weekly conversation, PF Whalen and Parker Beauregard of The Blue State Conservative consider what’s next for Former President Donald Trump. With impeachment complete, and as the book is closed on his presidency, how should Trump proceed? PF: There are really two fascinating questions to consider regarding Trump’s future: What will …
Trump Derangement Syndrome Has New Symptoms Every Day
Happy Monday, my dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Wardrobe and makeup are just down the hall and we begin full dress rehearsal for the apocalypse in an hour.
I hope that many of you were able to enjoy the weekend. I ordered ammo online on Friday and grilled a couple filet mignon steaks to perfection and washed them down with a nice Cabernet Sauvignon on Saturday. Gulag that, Democrats.
We’re going to lead off today with somewhat of a continuation of last Friday’s Briefing. Or it’s a variation on a theme. It’s something that I fear we’ll have plenty of opportunity to talk more about in the coming months because the mental health of the Democrats is in irrevocable decline.
On Friday I highlighted a specific incident that sought to cancel President Trump even in death. Today we’ll look at the pathological mental deterioration behind that, as well as some more petty and ignorant manifestations of this metastasizing Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Shortly after Joe Biden and his asterisk (shout out to VodkaPundit for that one) moved into the White House I wrote that it seemed that his puppet masters were solely motivated by a desire to merely undo everything that President Trump had done. When one isn’t peering through the fog of hatred, one clearly understands that there is a lot of stuff that Trump did that a sane successor would leave in place.
Joe Biden is neither sane nor insane, he simply isn’t there anymore.
The people controlling him, however, are bat you-know-what loony tunes.
We will get back to all of that in a moment. I’d first like to point out how badly the “cancel Trump” fever is spreading throughout the Democratic party.
I wrote a post yesterday about Bill de Blasio gleefully shutting down ice rinks in New York a month early simply because the Trump Organization runs them and Hizzoner wants to score some political points while employing the familiar Democratic tactic of using kids as pawns. Never forget that Democrats hate your kids. They probably hate their own kids too.
The pettiness shown by de Blasio and the way he handled it were beyond embarrassing:
At a time when Americans have been cooped up for a year and in desperate need of any kind of outdoor activity with fresh air, Bill de Blasio and his administration have decided that it’s more important to fill their diapers, stomp their feet, and have a loud ORANGE MAN BAD fit.
Worse yet, they announced it like a drunk college kid trying to dunk on someone on social media. A de Blasio spokesman said, “Trump has been impeached from operating the ice rink,” and he no doubt felt like the most clever boy in kindergarten after that.
The kids who are getting to spend time outdoors to keep from going crazy while not being in school are completely screwed now but, hey, Mayor Bill got to cheat Trump out of a few bucks for a month.
Back to Biden. His fervor to cancel Trump has taken on a “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” vibe now.
Stacey wrote yesterday about disturbing casualty of Biden’s first month executive order frenzy:
When President Biden signed his executive order for a review and update to ICE enforcement procedures, he also put Operation Talon on hold. Operation Talon is a nationwide ICE operation that arrests and removes convicted sex offenders illegally in the United States. The effects of this order have been immediate, with the cancellation of a joint operation to arrest at-large sex offenders:
All this is being done to appease the woke open borders lobby that’s been working in tandem with Big Green to control Grandpa Gropes’ brain during his first four weeks in office. “ICE” is a trigger word for the already unstable left and the mere mention of the agency plunges them further into madness. Sometimes the madness makes them do stupid things. As Stacey notes, this time it’s making them do dangerous things:
As Biden has essentially thrown open the border to migrant caravans and the cartels that traffic human beings over the border, reducing the enforcement in this area is appalling. His executive order halted most immigration enforcement, with “aggravated felons” being the notable exceptions—but only if their aggravated felony occurred in the last ten years. According to a list compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies, illegal immigrants with the following convictions and in the following numbers will no longer meet the criteria for deportation:
Sexual Assault: 1,478
Sex Offense: 825
Smuggling Aliens: 603
Lewd or Lascivious Acts with a Minor: 505
Kidnapping: 305
Sexual Exploitation of a Minor: 231
The Democrats are in control of the federal government right now and they have no clear vision for the United States of America other than hating Donald Trump. That would be myopic and stupid in the best of times. With the pandemic still upon us and the economy in dire need of a comeback, it’s a recipe for long term disaster.
And they don’t care. The tantrum is the priority and it shows no signs of letting up.
Almost half of Republicans would join Trump party: poll . . .
The Suffolk University-USA Today poll was taken among 1,000 Trump voters, identified from 2020 polls, between Feb. 15 and Feb. 19. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points. “We feel like Republicans don’t fight enough for us, and we all see Donald Trump fighting for us as hard as he can, every single day,” a Republican and small-business owner from Milwaukee told the newspaper. “But then you have establishment Republicans who just agree with establishment Democrats and everything, and they don’t ever push back.” Trump’s top advisers have said they are focused on helping elect conservatives to Congress. “Our goal is to win back the House and Senate,” Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, told The Hill this week. The Hill
Anti-Trumpers are bolting the GOP but they have no place to go . . . Scores of Republicans are leaving the party in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. But they’re discovering there’s really no place to go. The Democratic Party, which continues to move leftward, isn’t a good ideological fit. Those who want to fight to recapture the GOP from within are vastly outnumbered. Building a third party from scratch requires gigantic sums of money and overcoming a thicket of daunting state laws designed in large part by the two major parties. Politico
Lara Trump Says Donald Trump ‘Probably’ Interested in 2024 Presidential Run . . . Former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law and former senior adviser Lara Trump indicated that he is “probably” interested in running for office in 2024. “He has told us to stay tuned and that this is not over for him, and he has indicated that he probably would be interested in running again in 2024,” she told Fox News on Sunday. In discussing the former president’s scheduled appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida this week—his first public appearance since leaving the White House—Lara Trump called him the “head of the Republican Party.” Epoch Times
Coronavirus
Publix offers employees who get COVID-19 vaccine a $125 store gift card . . . Publix will give employees a $125 gift card to the store if they get a COVID-19 vaccine, the grocery store announced last week. “We care about our associates and customers and believe getting vaccinated can help us take one step closer to getting back to normal,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a Friday statement. “We’re encouraging our associates to get vaccinated when they become eligible and doses are available.” The Hill
Pfizer vaccine stops COVID-19 spread: Israeli study . . . An Israeli study indicated Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine for the coronavirus was 89.4 percent effective in stemming the spread of COVID-19. While early evidence had indicated that the coronavirus vaccines have cut transmission of the virus in addition to preventing illness, experts have been cautioning that the question required further study. The study by Pfizer, BioNTech and Israel’s health ministry was the first decisive indication that a vaccine did indeed curb transmission. The Hill
Wuhan Lab Kept NIH Funding Despite Trump Crackdown . . . Federal records show the U.S. government is partnering with the Wuhan Institute of Virology even though the Trump administration pledged to ban funding for the Chinese laboratory located at the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. President Donald Trump promised that he would “end” public funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology during an April 17 press conference. Despite his promise, the National Institutes of Health has left untouched a 2019 neuroscience research grant that disbursed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Chinese laboratory, according to a federal expenditure database. Washington Free Beacon
Scientists Doubt China’s Story Of COVID-19 . . . The World Health Organization recently concluded its six-week investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, but some of its conclusions, including that the virus did not jump to humans before December 2019 and that it was “extremely unlikely” that it originated in a lab, have solicited skepticism from scientists. Some of the scientific doubt, however, was not in response to the WHO, but to China’s unwillingness to provide holistic data regarding the appearance and early spread of the virus throughout Wuhan. Daily Caller
Politics
Trump’s CPAC Speech to Focus Laying out positive vision for America . . . President Donald Trump in his first public appearance since leaving the White House will lay out an optimistic vision for America and focus on standing up to China, reviving U.S. manufacturing, dismantling the monopoly of Big Tech, reopening schools, and securing the border, among other topics, according to former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller. Miller, who has recently spoken to the president, outlined Trump’s upcoming speech in an interview aired on Sunday in response to a question about Trump’s potential run for the White House in 2024 and his first speech after leaving office. The President is “very excited to make his upcoming address to CPAC, where you will hear him lay out his positive vision for the future of this country,” Miller said. Epoch Times
Pence Declined Invitation To Speak At CPAC: report . . . Former Vice President Mike Pence reportedly declined an invitation to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Despite slated appearances by former President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, and former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, Pence will not be in attendance, according to Politico’s Gabby Orr. Daily Caller
Sarah Palin eyed as Murkowski primary challenger after impeachment vote . . . Alaska Republican Party officials are looking to former governor and tea party favorite Sarah Palin as a potential primary challenger to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has drawn their ire for her vote to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Mr. Trump, Ms. Murkowski is the only one up for reelection in 2022. It puts a mama bear-size bull’s-eye on the three-term senator. Washington Times
Biden’s $2 trillion plan for infrastructure focuses on fighting climate change . . . President Biden plans to spend at least $2 trillion on infrastructure over the next four years, a proposal that will focus heavily on his goal of combating climate change through stricter environmental regulations, higher fuel-efficiency standards and limiting the expansion of fossil fuel production. At his confirmation hearing last month, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told senators that the administration will use climate change policy to spur economic development. Mr. Buttigieg said efforts to limit greenhouse gases will feature prominently in Mr. Biden‘s plans to rebuild roads and bridges, expand mass transit and develop electric car infrastructure. Washington Times
Biden admin announces reforms to PPP to assist small businesses . . . The Biden administration announced Monday plans to deliver “equitable relief” to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, with a focus on those that may have had difficulty obtaining forgivable loans and minority-owned businesses.
The White House released a statement saying that it built upon last year’s Paycheck Protection Program. The PPP program, which started a month ago increased funding to businesses with fewer than 10 employees by 60% as well as rural businesses that have experienced a 30% increase. Fox News
Biden team colluded with Iran to foil Trump diplomacy . . .
President Trump in 2019 sought to open a back channel of communication with top Iranian officials and saw the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September as a potential opportunity to defuse escalating tension with Tehran, but the effort failed. Two months earlier, however, a different back channel was thriving in New York. Iran’s smooth, English-speaking foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, met with Robert Malley, who was President Obama’s Middle East adviser, in an apparent bid to undermine the Trump team and lay the groundwork for post-Trump relations. The attempt at counterdiplomacy offers a window into the deep relationships Mr. Zarif forged with influential U.S. liberals over the past decade. Washington Times
Will Biden’s advisors be Logan Act axed like Trump’s first national security advisor General Flynn was?
Nancy Pelosi Funnels $300,000 to Democratic Gerrymandering Group . . . After calling for an end to partisan gerrymandering, House speaker Nancy Pelosi quietly funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to former attorney general Eric Holder’s effort to redraw electoral maps in favor of Democrats, filings show. Pelosi’s leadership PAC, PAC to the Future, pushed $300,000 to Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee late last year. In 2019, Pelosi said partisan gerrymandering efforts “compromise the integrity of our democracy.” Holder’s group is gearing up for a once-a-decade redistricting process that significantly influences which party controls Congress. Washington Free Beacon
Psaki sidesteps questions on Cuomo’s leadership during pandemic. . . White House press secretary Jen Psaki avoided answering questions on Sunday on whether President Biden still believes New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) represents the “gold standard” when it comes to leadership during the coronavirus pandemic. When asked if Biden still believes Cuomo represents the “gold standard,” Psaki insisted that Biden would continue to work with Cuomo, as he would with all governors. “He plays an important role in ensuring that we’re coordinating closely in getting assistance out to people in his state and to states across the country, and we’ll continue to do that,” Psaki said The Hill
Google to evaluate executives on diversity and inclusion . . . Alphabet Inc’s Google will evaluate the performance of its vice presidents and above on team diversity and inclusion starting this year, the company said on Friday in one of several responses to concerns about its treatment of a Black scientist. Timnit Gebru, co-leader of Google’s ethical artificial intelligence research team, said in December that Google abruptly fired her after she criticized its diversity efforts and threatened to resign. Alphabet and Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai ordered a review of the situation. Pichai in June said that by 2025, Google aims to have 30% more of its leaders come from underrepresented groups, with a focus on Black, Latinx and Native American leaders in the United States and female technical leaders globally. About 96% of Google’s U.S. leaders at the time were white or Asian, and 73% globally were men. Fox Business
National Security
DoD Budget ‘Bloodletting’ Inches Closer To Reality . . . The head of the House Armed Services influential seapower subcommittee just stepped closer to the position of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs that the Navy might be in line for a funding boost — and other services will have to pay the bill. The Pentagon is at an “inflection point” in terms of how to split the military budget between the services, Rep. Joe Courtney said, suggesting that when the 2022 budget is delivered later this spring a big strategic question will be “whether or not, frankly, naval and air and cyber are going to take a larger portion of the pie…that conversation has to happen.” The issue of changing the traditional one-third of the budget allocation each going to the Army, Air Force and Navy has been increasingly front-of-mind in Washington, particularly after Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley last year predicted a “bloodletting” at DoD when the expected changes are debated. Breaking Defense
Kroger is latest victim of cyber attack by way of third-party software data breach . . . Kroger Co. says it was among the multiple victims of a data breach involving a third-party vendor’s file-transfer service and is notifying potentially impacted customers. The Cincinnati-based grocery and pharmacy chain said in a statement Friday that it believes less than 1% of its customers were affected as well as some current and former employees because a number of personnel records were apparently viewed. Kroger also was among victims of the December hack of a file-transfer product called FTA developed by Accellion, a California-based company, whose other prominent affected customer is Jones Day. Former President Donald Trump is among Jones Day clients but the criminals told The Associated Press via email that none of the data was related to him. Associated Press
And when the criminals tell you something, you can be sure they mean it.
International
China calls for reset in relations with Washington . . . Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Monday the United States and China could work together on issues like climate change and the coronavirus pandemic if they repaired their damaged bilateral relationship. Wang, a Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, said Beijing stood ready to reopen constructive dialogue with Washington after relations between the two countries sank to their lowest in decades under former president Donald Trump. Reuters
Money
OPEC, US oil firms expect subdued shale rebound . . . OPEC and U.S. oil companies see a limited rebound in shale oil supply this year as top U.S. producers freeze output despite rising prices, a decision that would help OPEC and its allies. OPEC this month cut its 2021 forecast for U.S. tight crude, another term for shale, and expects production to decline by 140,000 barrels per day to 7.16 million bpd. The U.S. government expects shale output in March to fall about 78,000 bpd to 7.5 million bpd. Reuters
New York City businesses are barely hanging on . . . Nearly one year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York, parts of the Big Apple look more like ghost towns, lined with shuttered storefronts, empty office buildings and businesses teetering on the edge of closure. Now industry leaders and struggling store owners are calling on the city and state to turn things around — before it’s too late. As of this month, more than 47 percent of small businesses citywide remain closed, while revenue for those that are open has dropped nearly 60 percent, according to TrackTheRecovery.org, a Harvard University-run database tracing the virus’ economic impact. New York Post
You should also know
Dozens of Boeing 777 aircraft grounded after engine failure . . . Dozens of Boeing 777 aircraft have been grounded in the US and Japan after an engine failure that caused debris to be strewn across a Denver suburb. The US Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday ordered inspections of the Boeing 777 planes with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines after the incident that resulted in an emergency landing of a United Airlines flight the day before. United flight 328 had to return quickly to Denver airport on Saturday after debris, which appeared to be an engine cover, fell from the aircraft on to a suburban yard shortly after take-off. Financial Times
Mars rover beams back selfie before landing . . . NASA scientists on Friday presented striking early images from the picture-perfect landing of the Mars rover Perseverance, including a selfie of the six-wheeled vehicle dangling just above the surface of the Red Planet moments before touchdown. The color photograph, likely to become an instant classic among memorable images from the history of spaceflight, was snapped by a camera mounted on the rocket-powered “sky crane” descent-stage just above the rover as the car-sized space vehicle was being lowered on Thursday to Martian soil. Reuters
Guilty Pleasures
Media Stops Covering Ted Cruz Story After He Puts On Andrew Cuomo Mask . . . Senator Ted Cruz found himself in some hot water this week after he traveled to Cancun in the middle of a Texas cold snap that left many without power. The media was hammering him relentlessly for the bad optics of flying out on vacation while his state suffered.
But Cruz was one step ahead of the purported scandal, landing back in the Houston airport while wearing an Andrew Cuomo mask. As soon as the media saw him, they were all of them deceived, and immediately started apologizing for ever criticizing his trip in the first place. “Greetings, journalists, I’m Governor Andrew Cuomo, and I’m here to, uh, kill some senior citizens!” he said in his best New York-Italian accent. “Just gonna head off to some senior homes and make sure everyone there gets infected and dies. Pay me no heed!” Babylon Bee
This is satire.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.)
Happy Monday! Be grateful that a bunch of plane debris didn’t fall from the sky and burst through your kitchen ceiling over the weekend while you were making your daughter a sandwich.
Unless, of course, you are that man in Broomfield, Colorado. If so: We’re glad you and your family are safe, and thank you for being a member of The Dispatch.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
A preliminary report from Pfizer, BioNTech, and Israel’s Health Ministry found the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine was not only 99 percent effective at preventing death from SARS-CoV-2, but 89 percent effective at preventing infections as well. The data are not yet peer-reviewed, but would indicate that the vaccine blocks most asymptomatic transmission of the virus.
President Joe Biden over the weekend issued a major disaster declaration for Texas, granting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s request for federal public assistance in all 254 counties in the state and individual assistance in 77 counties. Power has been restored for most Texans—and Houston lifted its boil-water advisory yesterday—but millions continue to deal with the aftermath of last week’s storms.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced Friday he will vote against confirming Neera Tanden, President Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget. The move throws Tanden’s confirmation into question, as she will now need support from at least one Republican.
The United States confirmed 57,819 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 4.8 percent of the 1,199,359 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 1,305 deaths were attributed to the virus on Sunday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 498,879. According to the COVID Tracking Project, 56,159 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1,801,134 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, bringing the nationwide total to 63,090,634.
Biden to Pursue Diplomacy with Iran
The Biden administration has signaled its eagerness to reengage with Iran on reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), the Obama-era nuclear deal that President Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018, despite continuing provocation from the longtime U.S. enemy.
In recent days: a) international inspectors have found evidence of illicit nuclear activity at two sites not declared by Iran as involved in the country’s past nuclear weapons programs and Iranian officials have provided “implausible answers” about the presence of uranium at the sites, engaging in what diplomats described to Reuters as “typical delaying tactics;” b) Iran has continued its detention of U.S. citizens and dual nationals, a practice condemned yesterday by Biden’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, as an “utter outrage;” c) an Iranian-backed militia has claimed responsibility for rocket attacks that injured several Americans last week in northern Iraq, leading a State Department spokesman to promise “consequences for any group responsible.”
Despite this provocative behavior, the Biden administration announced late last week its willingness to discuss “a diplomatic way forward on Iran’s nuclear program,” in the words of State Department spokesman Ned Price. The comments came hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a video call on the subject with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
“The E3 and the United States affirmed their shared objective of Iran’s return to full compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA,” a joint statement from the leaders read. “Secretary Blinken reiterated that, as President Biden has said, if Iran comes back into strict compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, the United States will do the same and is prepared to engage in discussions with Iran toward that end.”
The Department of Justice announced on Saturday that 95-year-old Tennessee resident Friedrich Karl Berger had been deported to Germany. The reason? He served as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp in 1945. Berger’s story first came to light last year, when DOJ prosecutors brought the case before a federal judge. “It is perhaps fitting that the decades-long search for Nazi collaborators living on United States soil may have reached its conclusion—or something close to it—in a small city, in an unremarkable ranch house on an equally unremarkable cul-de-sac,” Rick Rojas and Richard Fausset wrote at the time. The investigation into Berger “was aided by a kind of miracle: a set of SS cards that identified guards in the Neuengamme camps, discovered in 1950 in a German ship that had been sunk by the Allies five years earlier.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, China has attempted to downplay its own role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and deflect blame elsewhere. The Communist Party’s latest gambit? The virus didn’t actually originate in Wuhan—it was imported there from Europe via frozen food. Dr. Scott Gottlieb takes this theory to the woodshed in his latest Wall Street Journal column and heaps scorn on the World Health Organization for even humoring it. “More than 100 million cases of Covid have been diagnosed world-wide and, outside China, not a single case has been traced to food or food packaging,” he writes. “The virus most likely emerged from nature, bouncing between animals and humans before it finally broke out. It’s also possible that the virus escaped from a lab where it was being studied. … The WHO team said the lab-escape theory is so remote that it doesn’t merit any further investigation. But frozen salmon does? By giving weight to the food theory, the WHO is making itself less credible, which is a pity.”
A young Republican policy wonk in DC recently wrote to David Brooks, asking if he’d made a mistake with his career choices, thinking that “government is not where vital, meaningful work will take place over the next decades.” Brooks used the man’s uncertainty as the basis of his most recent column. “Destiny has placed you, all of you young Republicans, at the crucial spot in the line. We either have two responsible political parties in this country or we do not. And it will be reforming Republicans, with your energies and ideas, that determine the outcome,” Brooks writes. “The party that moved from Theodore Roosevelt, to Calvin Coolidge to Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump is going to eventually move on once again. That future is waiting to be created. It’s not my struggle, and maybe it’s not your struggle. But it is certainly a noble way for the right people to spend their lives.”
Thomas Joscelyn joined Steve and Sarah on the Dispatch Podcast last week to talk all things foreign policy. Is it time to bring troops home from Afghanistan? Should the United States restart nuclear talks with Iran? Why aren’t government and corporate actors doing more to stop China’s genocide in Xingjiang?
In his Sunday French Press, David attempts to answer a question on the mind of many: “A person I love is deeply committed to conspiracies. What can I do?” It’s tricky: Conspiracy theories can provide believers a “sense of enduring purpose” and become a “source of community.” But David argues these conspiracies can be replaced by healthy relationships. “The fierce anger and furious purpose of the conspiracy mindset is a hollow replacement for the peace and faith found not just in truth, but in truth communicated by a loving and empathetic family and friends.”
Jonah went full Jonah in his latest G-File, written from Terminal B of the Houston airport after days of trying to escape Texas. Coffee, barstools, the etymology of the “man bites dog” phrase—this “news”letter has it all.
In Friday’s Mop-Up, Sarah spoke with Stanford University’s Lanhee Chen—alum of four presidential campaigns—about the role policy does (or does not) play in elections today. “There is this push and pull that happens on a campaign between those who are thinking about how to communicate on policy, how to strategize about policy, and then the person responsible for keeping the campaign promises and the person responsible for formulating policy,” he said. “What I often tried to do was to identify for my colleagues, ‘here are the three or four most politically salient points that I would draw out from our policy.’ And that really helped to set the conversation in the right direction, as opposed to being reactive.”
What’s Next for Texas?
In a press conference yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, “The ability for power to be generated in the state of Texas is at full capacity.” He said that he expects power will be back for residents by last night and this morning. Regarding water service, Governor Abbott said, “We’re working with cities as cities and localities work to get their water power back up and running.”
A week after the snowstorm, President Biden said on Friday that he would be meeting with FEMA to discuss disaster relief efforts. Jordan Davidson at The Federalist reports:
“After millions of Texans struggled for days to survive record subzero temperatures and widespread disaster, Biden pledged to sign the declaration allowing the state access to more federal disaster relief funds soon.‘I’m going to sign [that] declaration once that’s in front of me,’ which ‘God-willing will bring relief to a lot of Texans,’ Biden said, noting that his approval is required to financially support aid and cleanup efforts in the wake of the deadly and dangerous weather.
Biden also said he might visit Texas if he can do it without stirring up what he believes to be inevitable crowds. ‘I had planned on being in Texas the middle of next week, but what I don’t want to be is a burden. When the President lands in any city in America, it has a long tail,’ he said.”
Inevitable, maybe. But I wonder if the White House is more worried about whether there will be cheers or jeers.
My Last Letter to Rush Limbaugh
As many pay tribute to Rush, you may have seen video of his first “Address to the Nation” in 2009. I was fortunate to introduce him and be on stage for the speech. Just over a month ago, I sent him and James Golden (aka Snerdley) an email to thank them for once again being a beacon of light during a difficult time for conservatives. However, the letter wasn’t political at all. It was to thank Rush for saving my life. Read here.
Biden Order Protects Illegal Immigrants From Arrest, Deportation
Late last week, new guidance was issued by Biden’s Department of Homeland Security that ICE will no longer arrest or deport illegal immigrants unless they have been convicted of aggravated felonies. From John Binder at Breitbart:
“The orders require ICE agents prioritize convicted illegal alien aggravated felons, a fraction of the United States’ illegal alien population which totals anywhere between 11 to 22 million today. The orders ensure that in cases where an illegal alien is charged with murder, rape, or child sexual abuse, they are not prioritized for arrest and deportation.
Should ICE agents try to arrest an illegal alien who is not a convicted aggravated felon — or a known or suspected terrorist or gang member — they must first get approval through an arduous chain of command process where a field director or a special agent in charge greenlights the effort.
“Forget sanctuary cities — this turns America into a sanctuary country. Prominent Leftists have spent the past months calling to ‘abolish ICE.’ The Biden administration effectively just made their wish come true,” former DHS official, now with the Heritage Foundation, Lora Ries said in a statement.
Analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies has revealed the DHS orders “will prevent the arrest and removal of nearly all of ICE’s caseload of criminals — including many aliens who have been convicted of the most serious crimes on the books.”
Most significantly, the orders are likely to prevent 9-in-10 deportations that would have otherwise received authorization from ICE officials.”
What I’m Reading This Week
As we learn more and more about how Governor Andrew Cuomo handled the COVID-19 crisis in New York (and that the White House refuses to address it), I’m reading a new book out this week with the perfect title — Dumb and Dumber: How Cuomo and de Blasio Ruined New York by Matt Palumbo. From the description:
“In America’s early days, most immigrants entered America through New York. For many, New York was synonymous with America and the American dream itself—a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. Now, for the first time ever, people are fleeing New York by the millions. Plagued by high taxes, big government, excessive regulations, and other obstacles to liberty, there are few reasons for one to want to remain in the state under Governor Andrew Cuomo’s leadership. And in New York City, which houses nearly half of the state’s population, Mayor Bill de Blasio has been doing everything in his power to accelerate the decline and bring the city back to its pre–Rudy-Giuliani days.”
You may also want to check out this interview with Palumbo with The Political Insider’s Brett R. Smith.
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Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
While we expected that a Biden presidency would have nothing to do with Joe Biden, we certainly didn’t expect it to look like this. Read More…
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
So here we are, not following the science on whether masks provide a clinically significant benefit based on mask type and circumstances of use, how many are necessary, or when multiple masks morph from virtue signaling to suffocation. And ignoring the environmental science as well. Read More…
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
Bureaucracy is the pillar our government uses to oppress us. Lucky for us it’s made out of glass and easy to bring down. Read More…
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
A disturbing interaction at a Portland hair salon shows that small businesses are not always the good guy in the time of COVID. Read More…
Biden’s cultural norms
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
How far does the kind of tolerance and inclusion that progressives favor go? Read more…
The real secret of Rush Limbaugh’s success
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
For many years I thought this excerpt from Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism” (circa 1705 – 1711) summed up the allure of Rush Limbaugh’s radio show to millions of people. Read more…
The death of free speech
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
For conservatives, free speech in America is vanishing with frightening speed. Read more…
Reopening America is going to bring a reckoning
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
The lockdowns broke things but also hid what they broke. When America finally opens again, we’ll see the full scope of the damage the lockdowns caused. Read more…
A nuclear truth
Feb 22, 2021 01:00 am
We already know how to make virtually limitless, clean, and extremely safe nuclear energy. What’s missing is the political will to do so. Read more…
Harry Reid International Airport?
Feb 21, 2021 01:00 am
The sour former senator known as “Dingy Harry” doesn’t exactly live up to the vibrant, colorful, Las Vegas image. Read more…
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California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna essentially argued Sunday that Democrats believe no jobs are better than “underpaying” jobs — those that pay less than $15 per hour. What happened? During an appearance on CNN’s “Inside Politics,” host Abby Phillip asked Khanna whether Democrats should be pushing for an increased federal minimum wage as the pan … Read more
By seeking to keep the positive publicity and public platform of royal celebrities while rejecting the responsibilities of monarchy, Harry and Meghan are missing the point of their station.
Turning great-power competition into a simplistic struggle between good and evil defies basic realism. Naturally, Biden chose to do so in his first major foreign policy speech.
If any single platform can be fingered as the favorite of the rioters, it appears to be Facebook. Yet Facebook remains unmolested by app stores and untargeted by opportunistic politicians.
If these sanctimonious businesses truly believe in law and order, why did they not announce they’re pulling the funding of Democrats who openly supported disturbing violence?
While Democrats present the Equality Act as legislation designed to protect LGTBQ people from discrimination, if passed the law would prove devasting to girls and women.
‘When the state was asking nursing homes to take in COVID patients…We don’t see hard evidence that that made a significant difference in COVID deaths.”
It’s not fundamentalist Christians trying to erase lesbians and chop off children’s genitals, it’s self-described progressive Democrats. Don’t let them.
It seems that rather than attempt to hold Rush Limbaugh eternally accountable for his sins, this one in particular, what should matter most is the context and his apology.
Hearings for president Joe Biden’s attorney general nominee, former federal Judge Merrick Garland, will launch Monday. He has some conflicts of interest.
The Transom is a daily email newsletter written by publisher of The Federalist Ben Domenech for political and media insiders, which arrives in your inbox each morning, collecting news, notes, and thoughts from around the web.
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Boeing has urged airlines to suspend the use of 777 jets with the same type of engine that shed debris over Denver at the weekend after U.S. regulators announced extra inspections and Japan suspended their use.
Meanwhile, an incident involving a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane that dropped engine parts shortly after take-off in the Netherlands on Saturday is under investigation.
Texas utility regulators will temporarily ban power companies from billing customers or disconnecting them for non-payment, after the deadly winter storm that caused widespread blackouts.
Some Texans who were still able to turn on lights or keep their fridge running found themselves with bills of $5,000 for just a five-day period.
World shares have tumbled as expectations for faster economic growth and inflation batter bonds and boost commodities, while rising real yields make equity valuations look more stretched in comparison.
↑ United Airlines flight UA328 returns to Denver International Airport with its starboard engine on fire, February 20, 2021
WORLD
↑ A Buddhist monk holds a flag during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 22, 2021
Myanmar police moved to disperse pro-democracy protesters as businesses around the country shut in a general strike called to oppose the military coup despite a threat from authorities that confrontation could cost lives.
Chinese spies used code first developed by the U.S. National Security Agency to support their hacking operations, Israeli researchers say, another indication of how malicious software developed by governments can boomerang against their creators.
The leaders of Britain and Germany are facing some tough decisions as they try to navigate a path out of coronavirus lockdown.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce plans today to reopen England’s schools and allow people to see family and friends, while Chancellor Angela Merkel wants a staggered plan to lift Germany’s restrictions that is linked to increased testing.
And farmers fight back – making animal feed from a locust plague in Kenya. Take a look at a photo essay on bringing “hope to the hopeless”.
BUSINESS
With Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell due to deliver his semi-annual testimony before Congress this week, has he done enough to earn four more years as head of the central bank?
Athens Voulgaridis and his family have run their Greek gyro stand in Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market since 1984, but now their customer base “has just disappeared”. We take a look at how merchants in the historic market are grappling with the pandemic.
Roblox has revived plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange, benefiting from a surge in the popularity of video games during the pandemic.
As Big Tech continues to expand its control over all things on the internet, a new alarm is being sounded over what’s purported to be its next targets: the human body and soul. The warning is coming from Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab.com, a free-speech alternative to the likes of Facebook and Twitter.
During an appearance Saturday on “War Room” with former President Trump aide Steve Bannon, Torba, an outspoken Christian, asserted the tech giants are looking at creating a “post-human race.”
“They’re talking about ascending the human race biologically,” Torba said. “They’re talking about chips in your brain or altering your DNA all sorts of things that apply technology to the human biology and try to take it to, I guess in their minds, the next level, essentially making them gods and having all of us, the rest of us, under their control. It’s fundamentally destroying our humanity by appending technology to our bodies and, they believe, to our souls. They want to live forever. They want to be gods, which, of course, God is not going to take lightly to and God will pass judgment on.” WATCH A CLIP:
He said Christians need to recognize this is going on.
“This is not a conspiracy theory, this is not some sci-fi movie,” Torba explained. “This is the future that these guys are focused on bringing into power is consolidating their power, consolidating all the wealth to them, consolidating all the data to them.”
When Bannon asked if the Big Tech powers were looking to create a post-homo-sapien race, Torba responded, “Post-human, and they make themselves gods with this technology and they enslave the rest of is with this.”
He said in actuality, people have been enslaved to some extent already. “They have us enslaved via these devices, via what we’re putting on our phone, where we’re putting our data, where we’re trusting our private communications,” he indicated.
“We don’t know it, but we’re enslaved digitally and our minds are enslaved to these things, whether the TV or whether it’s the phone, the oligarchs have us mind-slaved right now. But where they want to take it next is they want to enslave our biology, they want to enslave our bodies by implanting chips or altering our DNA or whatever it is they have to do to control us and make us complacent while also using that same technology to lift them up as gods and make them live forever and control the rest of us as digital serfs essentially. That’s what’s happening right now and people need to be aware of it.”
The term “transhuman” has been discussed for years about intentionally altering human beings to reach a higher, superhuman, physical level, and Torba stressed the leaders of Big Tech consider themselves as powerful as divine beings.
“These people in Silicon Valley, when you talk about this transhumanism, this mindset that they have, they truly believe that they are God,” Torba said. “Mark Zuckerberg believes that is he superior to the rest of us and he has the ability to say what we can talk about, who has a voice on the internet, what we’re allowed to talk about, what links we can share. I don’t think any one person should have that power.”
Torba repeated his urging for Christians to “exit the system” that’s currently running the financial world.
“You will be banned from your bank. You will be banned from the internet,” he warned. “What you need to do is start building on alternative platforms like Gab, open up another bank account with a local bank or a Christian credit union. They do exist, you need to find them and more need to be built immediately.”
“Deeply analyze the companies, the businesses, the services that you are supporting and exit their system. If we collectively as Christians exit this system and start building our own right now, the whole system will collapse on itself. Their wicked system will collapse to ash. We won’t need to raise a finger. We won’t need to get violent. We just have to realize the power that we have with the purchasing power and where we’re spending our time.”
“The amount of purchasing power, the amount of power Christians have in the economy, especially in the United States, is tremendous. So my question to Christians is, ‘Why are you giving your money, why are you giving your time, why are you giving your data to these people who hate you, who want to enslave you?’”
“We need to work together right now and support one another and build this alternative economy that is free from the grasp of these tyrants in Silicon Valley and these tyrants in D.C. and the oligarchs in general.”
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
It’s been a while since I wrote anything. Much of my research over the last month has taken me down rabbit holes that led to quagmires beneath the surface, prompting concern for my friends and family members who are heavily plugged into the system. I’ve always been concerned about liked and loved ones who are in the dark, but until this last month my sense of urgency wasn’t there. Now it is, so I’ve been systematically trying to get them off the government teat, out of the Facebook trap, away from the Google data-collection ring, and out of the vaccine-or-bust mentality, among others. I was met with much more success than I expected; some of the friends and family I assumed were “normies” were much more open to my suggestions and aware of the dangers.
Then, there were the “militant normies” in my circle of influence who invariably labeled me as a “conspiracy theorist.” Their most common argument against my pleas was the fact that tens of millions of Americans are in the same mindset and they can’t all be wrong. They wouldn’t listen when I pointed out the circular nature of confirmation bias in America that exists in government confirming Big Tech reports, Big Tech confirming mainstream media reports, and mainstream media confirming government reports. They simply couldn’t believe that such a conspiracy could possibly get past them and most everyone else. Thus, their label of “conspiracy theorist” stuck simply because I was pointing out actual conspiracies.
It’s understandable that so many Americans have been programmed to use the term as a pejorative. After all, there have been many conspiracy theories that prompted actions and events which proved to be disastrous. A couple of my naysayer friends pointed to the Comet Ping Pong incident where an armed man showed up to free the children. I’m not going to go into the flaws in the Comet Ping Pong theory, nor am I going to disavow the whole thing based on those flaws. But the short of it is this: They were onto something, then turned in the wrong direction after they were fed false information. Had they kept going in the right direction, they could have exposed this massive child-sex-ring to the world. But alas, too many were focused on the details and missed the big picture being snuck out the back door. I’ll dig into that another time.
Nobody in America gets the gaslighting treatment as much as those who try to learn about or expose conspiracy theories. A certain percentage of them are quite true or are on the right track towards revealing the truth, yet they all get lumped into the same category as those who believe Paul McCartney was killed in the 1960s and replaced by a doppelganger. If you do not believe the mainstream media narrative, you’re a conspiracy theorist and they’re not using the label as a positive.
We need more conspiracy theorists. We need more people to alert the world that the NSA was (is) spying on us. That was considered to be a conspiracy theory before Edward Snowden revealed it to not only be true but to be much worse than the old theories postulated. And we need these conspiracy theorists to be less like Alex Jones. I have no problem with Jones as an entertainer and a patriot but he often makes a mockery of actual conspiracies to the point that some have accused him of being part of the controlled opposition. I don’t believe that. I think he’s just a good self-promoter with a brand to pump up. It’s a business and he’s very good at it, but he should not be the role model of budding conspiracy theorists.
What we need more than anything else is a venue or multiple venues where discussions can happen openly. We’ve experienced the “purge” of people who rightly believe the 2020 presidential election was rigged from the start, stolen from the people, and covered up by the aforementioned circle of disinformation in government, Big Tech, and mainstream media. We’re experiencing the same purge now of people who are concerned about the efficacy, necessity, and dangers of Covid vaccines. It has long been taboo on social media to be an “anti-vaxxer” but this newfound concern over the Covid vaccines is legitimate even if you believe old anti-vaxxer arguments were not. I personally believe vaccines of the past had risks, but the Covid vaccines are exponentially worse. They are untested and use technology that has never been effective before. Why should be believe they’re all of a sudden safe for the sake of scientific expediency? Answer: We shouldn’t.
But you can’t say that on social media. You can’t mention it if you’re interviewed by mainstream media. You won’t find information about it on Google. The triumvirate arbiters of truth are actively and aggressively pushing the Covid vaccines as hard as they’ve pushed climate change hysteria for years. But the climate change push was about bad policies that affected the masses long term. Covid vaccines can affect individuals in the short term, which makes this particular propaganda push even more nefarious.
Can we build a “safe space” for alternative perspectives on the world? Some will point to Parler and Gab and others who have become good venues for such discussions, but they lack the innovation to make them anything other than alternatives to Big Tech. We need our own version of Big Tech with the reach to hit normies with the truth. Without that, being in an exclusive club of people in-the-know will never have the power to allow that knowledge to exact real change. Without a bigger platform where “conspiracy theories” are allowed, the gaslighting will continue to subvert the truth.
It all starts with a choice. Those of us who have embraced alternative perspectives can and should ignore the use of “conspiracy theorist” as a pejorative, but we need to remove the stigma associated with it if there’s any hope of mass adoption. Some will say we do not need mass adoption, but I’m not ready to abandon the bulk of Americans to their fate simply because we wanted to be conspiracy snobs in a select group. We’ve seen on multiple occasions how the people behind the conspiracies are able to make them acceptable. News stories of government spying on its own citizens or Big Tech companies utilizing truly evil tactics against their own user bases would have shocked us a few years ago. Today, they’re blips in the news feed and yawns from the masses who have already accepted they can’t change the status quo.
The abnormal is going to be normalized whether we participate or not. The only question is whether the targets of conspiracy theories will be allowed to rewrite the abnormality narrative or if the truth will be allowed to come to light.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
It’s a strange situation when I find myself the optimist in a situation but that is precisely what happened in reference to Donald Trump in a recent live discussion with my colleague, JD Rucker. When setting out to discuss the legacy of Donald Trump, I did so not to navel gaze but to understand the current political climate and how we should move forward. I did not anticipate agreeing with JD on everything which is why I wanted to have him on to discuss, yet I found myself much more optimistic about the conservative movement moving forward.
Prior to this stream, I was, and still am frustrated with Donald Trump. He peddled panic porn that locked the country down and ultimately enable severe violations of liberty as well as Trump’s own downfall. I see a conservative movement that must clean up the mess we are left with. JD, in contrast, views Trump as a viable political force in the years to come and perhaps the only chance the movement has.
In evaluating the Republican Party, I think we are better off now, because people are more awake to bad Republicans. I would also believe that certain RINOs are waiting to declare a dramatic exit in the Washington Post whereas JD was more cynical about the establishment’s grip on the party. He even articulated that a left of center Republican like Larry Hogan could be the 2024 nominee. In contrast, I do not think that he could win his own state (Maryland) in a contested primary.
Towards the end of the video, we discuss conservative media, most notably Fox News. It’s worth noting that all of the outlets that JD called out are outlets that promote transgenderism. JD still believes that Fox News has a firm grip on the industry as well as establishment outlets. We conclude the video going through a list of potential candidates for 2024.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
Everything about the “new norm” in America is modeled after Communist China. Most Americans think it’s all about protection from Covid-19, but that’s just the cover story, just like 9/11 was a cover story for the Patriot Act to enable the US government to spy on every American and disable constitutional rights. Under a communist regime, the people are not allowed to have personalities, businesses, religion, healthy social interactions, or more money than each other. Everyone is poor so everyone is the same – subservient to a tyrannical government that ends creativity, entrepreneurship, believing in God, speaking your mind, and printing opinions about the government.
That’s why Covid is the perfect front for the installation of communism in America. With masks on, we can’t see each other’s expressions, or smiles, or even have normal conversations. With social distancing, we are not united or organically working together. Instead we are virtual. We eat GMOs. We are being genetically mutated with vaccines, and it can never be undone. The corporations are running small and medium-sized businesses out of business, and the plandemic is the perfect storm as the excuse, so Americans won’t rise up and overthrow the regime, before it’s too late.
What’s the deadliest virus in the world? Communism
Has school for American children become nearly worthless? That’s the plan folks, coming down from the election-stealing Biden Regime. Is there more friction at home now, with everybody on “virtual” lockdown? That’s the plan folks, coming down from the Globalist Regime. Are kids literally attending school, sitting alone in their own classroom, while teachers teach virtually from home on their computers? Yes. That is happening right now in America. It’s about communism, not disease mitigation.
Wondering why there’s no flu going around this winter, only Covid? It’s a plandemic, which means it was planned.
Did you know communism has killed more people than famine, nuclear weapons, or disease? Communism is the deadliest ‘virus’ in the world and socialism is what spreads it. Socialism systematically eliminates the middle class. Citizens are either filthy rich or deadly poor. There’s nothing in the middle. We are being trained, corralled and ostracized like huge herds of cattle or sheep. The masks, social distancing, and virtual “distance learning” keeps us isolated and stripped from thinking as a group. No more planning for the peons. No critical thinking. We’ll all be too weak, poor and isolated from each other to rebel.
That’s what Hitler did with the Jews in the concentration camps. Then he put fluoride in their water. Sound familiar? America is under a communist umbrella right now, it’s just not so obvious yet, because almost everyone has bought into the pandemic narrative. It’s fear-based rule, but get ready.
Fear-based rule is underway in the USA, also known as the NPCA – New Plandemic Communist Amerika.
Under socialism (communism), nobody owns land, or their own business, or guns. Criticize the leaders or politicians in general and you find yourself in jail with your organs being removed to be sold on the black market, one by one. Wondering why there’s a fake race war going on, led by Antifa? Because upheaval convinces the masses to accept martial law for ‘protection,’ and that is the end of our Republic. All of social media, television news, and every newspaper is in on it — sold out to Communism, the new highest bidder.
America is in debt about $25 trillion, and that’s going up fast under the Biden Communist Regime. Mass inflation and skyrocketing interest rates are just around the bend, along with another housing bubble burst. This time, there won’t be a recession. It will be a depression beyond comprehension.
Get ready for very long food lines and forced vaccination at all jobs. Be prepared for mass surveillance, NATO police (communist mercenaries), drones and robots controlling every metropolitan city. There was a Holocaust in Russia before Germany, in case you didn’t know, and it was a very dark, cruel world. So realize and remember this: Masks, social distancing and virtual learning are really about the installation of COMMUNISM in America.
Tune your internet dial to FakeScience.news for updates on the NPCA – New Plandemic Communist Amerika.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
We all remember very clearly the way mainstream media covered Donald Trump. From the moment he had officially won the Republican nomination for president in 2016 until today, the “unbiased” press treated him like the spawn of Satan. It was all Trump-hate, 24/7, with nary a mention of the tremendous good that he brought to America and the world.
What some may not remember is that the same press treated Barack Obama like he was a messiah. As he carried this nation down slippery slope after slippery slope in his quest for national failure, mainstream media pretended those slopes were tantamount to him walking on water. It was a disgusting display of partisanship unlike anything we’d seen from American media as they became Obama’s Pravda.
Many of us—and I’m included in this group—expected the same “thrill going up my leg” coverage of Joe Biden that Obama received. Thus far, that has been far from the case. It isn’t for lack of action as Biden has already done more of the radical progressives’ bidding in his first month in office than Obama did in his first three. One would think the press would be clamoring over him as he rolls out hyper-radical executive order after hyper-radical executive order. They’re not. Instead, they’re basically ignoring him.
After reflection and consultation with some insiders who were just as baffled, I came to a realization about why this is, and it’s worrisome. The obvious answer is that Biden simply doesn’t lead the same cult of personality that Obama (and if we’re being honest, Trump as well) ignited in the nation. Biden isn’t as interesting as his predecessors and therefore doesn’t demand the same level of coverage. That obvious answer fell short when I dug deeper with my insider friends. The press is wont to follow policies regardless of how milquetoast the source of the policies are.
No, the real reason is much more troubling. They aren’t covering Biden or his policies because they’re being instructed to keep it all off the public’s radar by their handlers. Go ahead and put on your tinfoil hats if you’d like to at this point, but it’s as crystal clear to me now as anything I’ve written about in weeks. Whoever is pulling the various strings of their mainstream media puppets, they do not want the public to know the direction the Biden administration is taking the nation.
Joe Biden is not a leader. He’s a tool for the powers and principalities to quietly usher in their nefarious plans. Whether it’s the Chinese Communist Party, the United Nations, George Soros, Bill Gates, the New World Order, the Deep State, or a combination of all-of-the-above, they groomed Biden’s entire candidacy and force-fed him to the American people through the most massive voter fraud the nation, and possibly the world, has ever seen.
There’s a reason their initial attacks were against Bernie Sanders. For all of his shortcomings, he’s still an ideologue who is more beholden to his skewed principles than to the master plan of the forces of evil. His ideology and their plans are often aligned, but not always. He could not be controlled as easily as Biden. But Sanders brought another problem to the table that kept him from being their ideal vessel to usher in their machinations. He makes headlines nearly as naturally as Trump or Obama did. They don’t want headlines. They want their plans to be buried by bored reporters who are too lazy to dig deeper. Since covering Biden is about as interesting as reading a phone book, he was the hand-picked choice of the forces of evil to deliver the nation to them while we pay more attention to literally anything else.
Sleepy Joe Biden is the perfect vessel through which The Great Reset and the other plans of the globalist elites can be brought to America unnoticed. His plan to “build back better” is not and never has been his plan at all. He’s a pawn, and that should terrify us all.
Before 2020, conspiracy theories weren’t really my thing. But if we learned anything over the last year, it’s that many of the craziest ideas about how things are run in this world are more real than the “facts” we’re forced to accept.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
Will someone please think of the children…in Congress! It’s not fair that “mostly peaceful protesters” should show up at their doors and run through their halls! If you feel like causing a little mayhem, go shatter the storefront windows of some local mom-and-pop shop in Seattle or Portland or cause a couple billion dollars worth of fire damage in places like Minneapolis, Kenosha, or St. Louis. Just keep your massive political rallies far from the capital. D.C. belongs to the politicians!
In the Second Public Inquisition of Donald Trump, D.C. relished playing the victim — its favorite role.
“Yes, officer, I saw the whole thing. These monster MAGA people came out of nowhere and streaked half-naked through my office. At first I thought it was just those Antifa pranksters having a little fun, but then I noticed the Capitol stormtroopers carried American flags — American flags! — Those racist barbarians! Nothing ever scared me so much. It was boogeyman Trump’s fault. He sent them! He did this! Hang him for treason! Hunt down his lawyers! And burn his voters at the stake!”
Now that the first theatrical performance of Congress: Perpetual Victims of the People has come to an end, Speaker Pelosi had no other choice but to turn it into a long-running spectacle by announcing an “outside, independent 9/11-type Commission” that can entertain D.C. audiences for years to come. In a powerful aria, she said a continuing operatic investigation into the events of January 6 was necessary “[t]o protect our security, our security, our security…,” no doubt repeating the need for “security” enough times in crescendo to remind Americans that Congress is more precious than the peasants in flyover country. Designating what happened after President Trump’s political rally that day a “domestic terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol Complex,” Pelosi vowed to “investigate” and “get to the truth of how this happened.”
Spoiler alert: the final multi-volume masterpiece timely released for optimum political impact will find all Trump-supporters traitors and terrorists. For D.C., the MAGA president has become the Phantom of the Swamp, except no redemption for the detested villain will be found in the end.
Framing 75 million Trump-voters as terrorists:
The reality distortion field enveloping Washington must be exquisite. From the cheap seats out here in America, impeaching and endlessly investigating the former president for exercising his free speech at a political rally and labeling all his voters as “domestic terrorists” because of the actions of a small number of actual rioters seem absurdly un-American. If political speech is now beyond the protections of the First Amendment, not much worth saying out loud can be said at all. And if an entire population of Americans can be punished for the actions of a few, then the legal system is not punishing crimes; it’s policing thought. Only Congress could embrace the injustice of a Soviet show trial in the name of “protecting democracy.” And only D.C. politicians could turn around after calling President Trump and his supporters every vile name imaginable for years and pretend that the words expressed at a political rally must be punished for the sake of “national unity.”
Members of Congress responded to Hillary Clinton’s election loss by encouraging the physical harassment of Trump administration members and supporters wherever they could be found — in restaurants, at their homes, no refuge was off limits. House Speaker Pelosi promised to drag President Trump out of the White House by his hair. Majority Leader Schumer threatened judicially conservative members of the Supreme Court in an attempt to influence their rulings just last year. And Vice President Harris ran for office while raising bail funds for arsonists and looters who “protested” for their civil rights by devastating neighborhoods and burning local businesses to the ground. The message from Democrats to Trump-voters has been clear: “Make them pay.” If Democrat leaders can explicitly support mob violence against government officials and ordinary Americans and excuse the destruction of private property when it does not affect them directly, then surely they’ve forfeited any moral legitimacy for denouncing the mob when it turns on them instead. And if the grounds of the Capitol are worthy of protection while those of private homes and businesses are not, then property rights in America are dead for all but the politicians. Forget Black Lives Matter; in D.C., only the lives and office spaces of members of Congress really matter at all.
Walls work (except not at the border):
What was the first response of the political class to finding undocumented tourists within its own halls? Congress built itself its very own wall. What a marvelous idea! If only Congress had as much concern for the lives and property of ordinary Americans. “Walls don’t Work!” has been the mantra of every politico — Democrat or Republican — insisting that America’s borders remain relatively unprotected against illegal immigration. Yet as soon as the Capitol was breached — Bam! — walls went up within the week, and “shock and awe” troops flooded the zone.
This is a crazy idea, but what if D.C. lawmakers cared as much for the victims of violent crimes committed by the citizens of foreign nations sneaking into the United States as they care for their own safety? After decades of lawlessness at the southern border, would they finally see the wisdom of protecting Americans with some kind of physical barrier just as they’ve given themselves? Here’s an even crazier idea: what if Congress worried as much about struggling blue collar families trying to stay financially afloat as they did about their own jobs? If more illegal immigrants ran for Congress instead of undercutting the labor market for American workers scraping to get by, would Congress finally find enough empathy for ordinary Americans to see the benefits of walls more generally? If only Congress prioritized Americans’ well being as much as it does its own. In D.C., it seems, Capitol incursions bring walls; country incursions just bring silence.
The boomerang effect (or how to get more Trump):
One thing’s for sure: Congress no longer finds “resistance” against the national government the “height of patriotism” as it has these last four years. Now it’s seditious and treasonous! Gone are the days when setting fires across from the White House or breaking car windows indiscriminately was given a pass because it was done with “good intentions.” An army of Jefferson and Washington statue-topplers causing mayhem on the capital’s streets when President Trump was in office is one thing. Families showing up in D.C. armed with smiles and MAGA flags are another. Some political causes just don’t get the full benefits of the Constitution’s protections, it seems. If Trump-supporters can’t understand that dual standard, well, they can always add their names to the list of Americans banned from commercial flights and hotel stays and denied simple banking services or even jobs. Some viewpoints — even if held by 75 million Americans — simply cannot be tolerated by Congress anymore. Better to designate half the voters as “domestic terrorists” than to take their grievances seriously.
The strange thing is that ever since we began our twenty-year “War on Terror” in the Middle East and Asia, anti-war opponents have decried the endeavor as a misguided recruitment tool for creating more terrorists than it stops. Now that D.C. has slapped the label of “terrorist” on ordinary Americans and declared war on Trump-supporters, though, members of Congress don’t expect it to have the same effect. That seems like whistling past the graveyard, or maybe how you get a lot more Trump.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
The latest trend in Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) fashion is to wear not just one but two masks over the nose and mouth, which the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims provides improved protection against infection. The CDC “evidence” that supposedly proves this, however, is based on mask experiments that were conducted on mannequins.
As revealed by journalist Jordan Schachtel, writing for The Dossier on Substack, the CDC basically slapped different mask configurations on lifeless dolls, sprayed aerosols at them, and declared wearing multiple masks to help decrease the spread of Chinese virus by “about 95%.”
Presenting this junk “science” on Twitter, which did not bother to fact-check any of it, the CDC alleges that wearing a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask, or covering a mask with pantyhose, may “potentially” help to reduce infectious aerosols from going into the mouth or nose.
“The ‘study,’ which occurred in January, was nothing more than a handful of experiments on mannequins in a contained environment,” Schachtel notes. “No human beings were involved in this study. And yes, it was that simple. The CDC sprayed aerosols at mannequins and slapped a science label on their experiments.
CDC admits double masking can “impede breathing” and “obstruct peripheral vision”
Among the many problems with this so-called study is the fact that it directly contradicts the Danish mask study, an actual study involving actual human beings that found masks to be completely useless at preventing the spread of viruses.
“A proper study on the efficacy of masks needs to be a randomized controlled trial involving human beings in their normal settings – such as the Danish mask study that showed there is no evidence that masks do anything to prevent COVID-19 – and not mannequins in a laboratory,” Schachtel says.
Another problem with the CDC’s “study” is that the mannequin wearing a double mask, as seen in photos, was barely able to “see” over the top of the masks. Had that configuration been put on the face of a real human in a real-life scenario, he or she likely would not have been able to function, let alone see.
The most obvious problem with the “findings” is that the more barriers one puts over the mouth and nose, the harder it becomes to breathe in oxygen. Those who wear two or more masks for prolonged periods of time can expect to suffer serious oxygen deficiency in the form of hypoxia.
Unlike mannequins, real human beings have to both see and breathe in order to function. Had real humans been used in the CDC experiment, they likely would have passed out from oxygen deprivation, and possibly suffered permanent health damage from suffocation.
“It’s already been downloaded to the NPCs,” lamented one commenter on Schachtel’s article. “It’s only a matter of time until it’s full-blown policy in most places.”
“I’ve already seen a handful of people at my workplace donning them. Just ridiculous, this is never going to end, they are going to keep pushing us to see how far we’ll let them go. And it’s clear we’re going to let them take everything – our freedom, livelihood, and dignity.”
Another pointed out that the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) has not even been isolated in such a way as to prove its existence, let alone proven to spread via aerosols. The whole thing is bizarrely nonsensical and based on blind faith in what the “authorities” claim is true, and increasingly more people are starting to see through the sham.
More breaking news about the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) and mask worship can be found at Pandemic.news.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
Senate Minority Leader and lying RINO Trump-hater Mitch McConnell wants nothing more than to move the party away from Donald Trump. His actions since winning his own reelection—notably with President Trump’s help—have revealed his true standing among the NeverTrump crowd. But of all the despicable things he’s done since election night, fundraising for his PAC using Donald Trump’s name may be the worst.
Mitch McConnell has been bashing President Trump but when it comes time to raise money, how does he go about it? By using his name to get people to open their wallets to a group he is the head of. After all, who would give a three-dollar bill and a dozen wooden nickels to someone named Mitch? As in Schumer’s biotch. Personally, I would rather flush a few hundred down the toilet before I would give a dime to McConnell. Here is the fundraising letter:
Democrats have tried to convict Trump through two sham impeachment trials.
And now that they have failed, the Far Left’s new priority will be to go erase every achievement President Trump and Republicans achieved over the last four years.
McConnell, who was official chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 1997 to 2001, has enjoyed unofficial control of the funds for over two decades. He determines, almost solely, which Republican candidates get PAC support and which ones do not. This is how he has been able to hold onto power for so long and why he is still able to bully Republican Senators to do his will. Cross McConnell and the faucet runs dry.
But his power within the PAC goes well beyond his allocation of money. He uses it as a tool to coerce GOP megadonors who want backroom deals with Republicans on Capitol Hill, Senate or House. It’s as powerful of an organization as any in Republican circles and acts as a “club” through which special interest groups can quietly lobby without having to report it. The NRSC is a fixture of The Swamp that helps maintain the status quo in DC.
Mitch McConnell treats Donald Trump the same way he treats Republican voters. Both Trump and his supporters are only useful for raising funds. Otherwise, he wants nothing to do with us. We should have nothing to do with him or his PAC.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 11,000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive this newsletter on the RedState.com network OR a friend forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy. If this newsletter no longer meets your needs we will be happy to remove your address immediately.
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47.) ABC
February 22, 2021 – Having trouble viewing this email? Open it in your browser.
Morning Rundown
US inches closer to half a million COVID-19 deaths: Nearly one year after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first American COVID-19 death in the U.S., the nation is approaching a grim milestone, with the number of deaths from the disease inching closer to half a million. That number is equivalent to the population of Sacramento, California, and is more than the number of soldiers that died in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War combined. Worldwide, the U.S. leads in deaths from COVID-19, as well as cases. Over the weekend, President Joe Biden said he doesn’t know when the COVID-19 crisis will end, but relief may be on the way for Americans across the country. On Friday, House Democrats unveiled their massive $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package. It includes an increase to the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, $1,400 direct payments to Americans making $75,000 or less, as well as an extension of $400 federal unemployment benefits. The full House is expected to pass the bill by the end of the week before it heads to the Senate. Meanwhile, as the winter weather continues to move across the U.S., vaccination sites are being hit hard as delayed COVID-19 vaccine deliveries forced many sites to close. Watch “Good Morning America” at 7 a.m. for an interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci for the latest on the pandemic.
FAA issues emergency order after jet’s engine falls apart at 10,000 feet: Following a terrifying emergency landing for a United flight over the weekend, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency airworthiness directive Sunday calling for “immediate or stepped-up inspections” on certain Boeing 777s. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said the order “will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service.” Around 1 p.m. on Saturday, United Flight 328, a Boeing 777-200 jet, experienced issues midair when its right engine failed shortly after takeoff for a flight from Denver to Honolulu, according to the FAA. Parts of the engine began to strip off as it was engulfed in flames and debris dropped midair and landed in several locations in Broomfield, Colorado. Although there were no reported injuries or deaths, residents and passengers told ABC News they are still shaken up. “The plane was shaking pretty hard,” Brett Guy, who was a passenger aboard United Flight 328, told ABC News. “It didn’t stop, and nobody really knew. The plane returned to Denver International Airport, and all 231 passengers and 10 crew exited without any major injuries, but the engine debris caused massive damage to homes and streets with parts of the plane falling on roofs, sidewalks and trees.
Janet Jackson surprises UCLA gymnast after viral performance to singer’s tunes: College gymnast Margzetta Frazier of the University of California, Los Angeles’ gymnastics team is wowing many on social media with her floor routine to some of Janet Jackson’s popular tunes — including the singer herself. Over the weekend before her meet against Utah, Jackson surprised Frazier with a FaceTime call. “You’re incredible,” Jackson told the 20-year-old gymnast in their call, which was shared on Jackson’s Instagram. “The routine you did was excellent.” Frazier’s dazzling floor routine, which she debuted in January, incorporates moves from the singer’s music videos of hit songs including “If” and “Nasty.” Earlier this month, the routine earned a 9.925 out of 10 during a competition against Brigham Young University’s gymnastics team. The performance was so good, it moved Jackson to tears. “Keep doing it,” Jackson told Frazier. The singer’s good luck wishes worked, as Frazier earned a 9.925 on the balance beam and a career-high vault score of 9.875 during UCLA’s meet against Utah, which helped the team finish with a season-best total of 197.100.
Mom dresses 5-year-old as Black trailblazers so she’ll ‘learn to love all of herself’: A Michigan mother is hoping to instill confidence in her child by helping her dress as people who have broken barriers in honor of Black History Month. Taylor Trotter, of Grand Rapids, and her 5-year-old daughter Paisley have made it an annual project for Paisley to portray an influential person of color every day in the month of February. “I’m white and she’s biracial and I need to make a conscious effort for her to love all of who she is,” Trotter told “GMA.” “I need her to love how God created her and for her to love all of herself.” Some of the Black trailblazers Paisley has dressed up as include LeBron James, abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth, actress Viola Davis and Vice President Kamala Harris. Trotter shares the photos on Instagram with a description of who each person was and what characteristics she hopes Paisley takes away from each leader.
GMA Must-Watch
This morning on “GMA,” Tory Johnson has a special Monday edition of Deals & Steals featuring small businesses from across the country. Plus, Arsenio Hall joins us to talk about the highly anticipated film, “Coming 2 America.” Also, IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima discusses her new book, “Believe It.” All this and more only on “GMA.”
The country passed another once unfathomable milestone in the fight against Covid-19 Sunday with more than half a million people now killed by the virus.
This morning we’re taking a look at what President Joe Biden is doing to level the playing field in terms of vaccine distribution and changes to one of the major pandemic relief loan programs.
Here’s what’s happening this Monday morning.
‘We’re doing the opposite’: Biden is upending Trump’s calculation of who gets federal vaccination help
In the little more than a month since taking office, President Joe Biden has not only made halting the spread ofCovid-19his top priority, but he’s upended the politics of the fight, NBC News’ senior political analyst Jonathan Allen writes.
Biden has moved to strengthen the federal government’s hand in coordinating vaccination efforts across the country — particularly by empowering the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the lead response agency.
In contrast, former President Donald Trump used his power over federal resources and contracting dollars to reward governors, senators and business leaders who praised him privately and publicly as he sought re-election, Allen writes.
Now, Biden has prioritized vaccinating people who are both vulnerable and representative of his political coalition.
“Heavy emphasis on communities of color, minority communities, economically and socially disadvantaged,” one FEMA official said. “Anything Trump did, we’re doing the opposite.”
The moves come as Biden is also expected to announce changes Monday to the Paycheck Protection Program aimed at ensuring that more small and minority-owned businesses are able to qualify for federal assistance as a result of the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic.
Biden had previously criticized the small-business loan program, which started during the Trump administration, for having helped larger businesses with existing banking relationships while smaller businesses struggled to obtain relief.
The changes are aimed specifically at helping minority-, woman- and veteran-owned businesses, as well as those in rural areas, administration officials said.
The move comes after an engine on a United Airlines flight from Denver caught fire and fell apart Saturday, scattering debris in a Colorado neighborhood before the plane landed safely.
A pilot on United Flight 328 to Honolulu reported a “mayday” and told air traffic control that the plane had had an “engine failure,” authorities said.
The Boeing suspensions apply to the airplane model used in Saturday’s flight to Hawaii, the 777 powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines, the company said in a statement.
Want to receive the Morning Rundown in your inbox? Sign up here.
Plus
Judge Merrick Garland, Biden’s nominee for attorney general, is expected to face tough questionsduring his confirmation hearing Monday on issues including investigations into Hunter Biden and former President Donald Trump and his allies.
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55.) REALCLEARPOLITICS MORNING NOTE
02/22/2021
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Carl Cannon’s Morning Note
Neera Tanden; Clubhouse Rules; Zoomed Out
By Carl M. Cannon on Feb 22, 2021 09:22 am
Good morning, it’s Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. In political news over the weekend, the national press corps decided that Ted Cruz’s abortive Cancun getaway was the most important story in the Western Hemisphere. Personally, I was more focused on the technology-challenged school board in Oakley, Calif.
In case you missed the latest episode of “Elected Officials and TV Pundits Behind the Curtain,” four months after Jeffrey Toobin immolated his career with inappropriate Zoom activity, all four trustees of the Oakley Union Elementary School District did the same thing.
Across the United States, first-graders and second-graders have learned in the last year that when a conference call is public, they have to be on their best behavior. Not these Bay Area bozos. As viewers in the Contra Costa County town watched with increasing irritation, the members of the school board disparaged parents who wanted the schools open. One board member said it was because the parents wanted to smoke weed at home. The board president claimed parents just wanted their “babysitters” back. A third member lashed out at a parent who called her out on social media for attending a local party while insisting it wasn’t safe to reopen the schools.
“I wasn’t doing anything bad,” she told her fellow board members, adding, “Bitch, if you call me out, I’m going to f— you up.”
Actually, this woman f—– herself. Facing an instant recall effort after an outraged parent recorded the session and downloaded it to YouTube, she and the other three members resigned Friday night. The school superintendent issued an apology. I feel for the parents in that city, but also for these hapless school board members. Ted Cruz, too. As the United States passes half-a-million fatalities from COVID-19, well, we all need a break.
With that, I’ll steer you to RCP’s front page, which presents our poll averages, videos, breaking news stories, and aggregated opinion columns spanning the political spectrum. We also offer original material from our own reporters, columnists, and contributors, including the following:
* * *
Biden Team Hopes All Is Forgiven in Neera Tanden OMB Push. Phil Wegmann reports on the White House effort to muster support for the nominee, whose prospects are imperiled by her caustic criticisms of the very senators who will decide her fate.
Clubhouse Discourse Isn’t Recorded. That Upsets Some Journalists. Mark Hemingway considers response to the social media app that leaves no footprints of conversations.
RCP Takeaway. In the latest podcast episode, RealClearHealth editor Jerry Rogers joins Andy Walworth, Tom Bevan and me to discuss Andrew Cuomo, Texas and Biden’s first month in office.
Pennsylvania Doesn’t Have a Friend in Tom Wolf. Nathan Benefield takes issue with the governor’s handling of the COVID crisis and related matters.
Maryland’s Digital Advertising Tax. At RealClearMarkets, Andrew Wilford argues that the levy will simply pass the increased cost on to consumers.
Celebrating George Washington’s Remarkable Life. At RealClear’s American Civics portal, Michael Warren highlights one of America’s greatest statesman.
New Possibilities for the U.S.-Poland Relationship. At RealClearWorld, Michael Baranowski writes that two areas of policy opportunity concern Europe’s Eastern Partnership countries and climate change.
“Why Nation-Building Matters.” At RealClearDefense, Bryan Matthews reviews Keith W. Mines’ new book on the much-debated topic.
A Glorious Amendment — the 14th. RealClearBooks has this adaptation of Ilan Wurman’s “The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment.”
Revisiting Mackinder and Sea Power. At RealClearHistory, Francis Sempa sees current relevance in Halford Mackinder’s 1901 book, “Britain and the British Seas,” as China challenges U.S. naval dominance.
Good morning. It’s Monday, Feb. 22, and we’re covering Israel’s reopening, an in-flight emergency over Denver, and more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.
Israel took a large step toward normalcy yesterday, lifting COVID-19 restrictions on a wide range of businesses. The reopening comes with a catch: Only those with a “green passport”—a certificate showing a person has been vaccinated or has recovered from infection—will be allowed entry to gyms, theaters, hotels, concerts, and most synagogues.
The certificate itself, which relies on a QR code, has been criticized for being easy to forge. Israel has administered at least one vaccine dose to almost half of its population.
In related news, two studies of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Israel showed the treatment reduced transmission of the virus by about 90%, with the majority of the protection coming two weeks after the first shot. Additionally, data released by Pfizer revealed the drug can be stored at normal freezer temperatures, as opposed to the currently required ultracold storage. If approved, the new storage guidelines would dramatically simplify the logistics of vaccine distribution.
Elsewhere, the United Kingdom revealed it is on track to have all adults receive their first vaccine dose by July 31, one month ahead of schedule. The country has opted to extend the time period between doses to 12 weeks rather than the recommended three to four weeks. Some experts worry the strategy will spur dangerous mutations in people with partial immunity.
In the US, about 70,000 new COVID-19 cases are being reported per day (see data), down from roughly 250,000 in mid-January. The country has reported 498,897 deaths in total, while almost 44 million people have received at least one vaccine dose.
‘I Thought We Were Going Down’
Debris was scattered across a Colorado town Saturday after a United Airlines plane from Denver to Honolulu suffered a complete failure of its right engine. The event occurred shortly after takeoff, creating a debris field nearly 1 mile wide over the city of Broomfield.
All 241 people aboard the flight were unharmed, with the plane safely returning to Denver International Airport. Reports as of this morning suggest no deaths or injuries occurred from debris falling from the plane. However, the incident made for harrowing footage, which quickly spread across social media. One motorist captured the moment of explosion from his vehicle’s dashcam, while passengers onboard shared video of the engine on fire with its outer casing gone. On the ground, a rather large piece of the casing appeared to come within 10 feet of crashing through a house (see photos).
The aircraft was a Boeing 777 equipped with a Pratt & Whitney engine—US regulators ordered an emergency review of similar planes.
Winter Death Toll Mounts
The reported death toll from a series of expansive winter storms that swept across the county last week has approached 70, with at least a dozen deaths attributed to hypothermia. Back-to-back storms left the southern Plains and parts of the Deep South under multiple inches of snow, with temperatures only returning to average by Sunday. The receding temperatures allowed rescue crews to assess the extent of the storms’ impact. While temperatures returned to normal, many households lacked access to clean water, with frozen pipes leading to a boil-water advisory for more than 14 million people.
Editor’s note: In Friday’s newsletter we referred to the Ark of the Covenant as Christian—we meant to say Judeo-Christian. Thanks to our readers for flagging the error!
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It’s hard to believe we’re already nearing the end of February 2021 … and with that comes one of February’s most common side effects. Because it’s the shortest month, our February to-do list always feels extra long.
>Kim Kardashian files for divorce from Kanye West after nearly seven years of marriage and four children together; the couple had been separated since early January (More)
>Japan’s Naomi Osaka cruises to victory over American Jennifer Brady, winning her second Australian Open and fourth major title(More) | Novak Djokovic tops Daniil Medvedev to win his ninth Australian Open and 18th major title of his career(More)
> Buckingham Palace announces Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will not return as working members of the royal family; Prince Harry to give up honorary military titles (More) | Read Queen Elizabeth’s full statement (More)
From our partners:Dream it, wear it.Vuori’s DreamKnit fabric is like nothing you’ve worn before. An unnamed 1440 employee describes it as “the only thing I wear anymore,” thanks to its light weight and buttery smooth feel. Check out the Ponto Performance Shorts and (NEW) Performance Half Zip, and take 20% off your first order today.
Science & Technology
>Margaret Mitchell, the co-lead of Google’s Ethical AI team, fired two months after the controversial firing of her colleague Timnit Gebru; reports suggest Mitchell was fired for violating company policy while investigating the ouster of Gebru (More)
>Researchers link the color of coral reefs to their ability to withstand thermal stress and bleaching from higher water temperatures (More)
>Physicists move an atom between two locations without altering its state in the shortest possible time; achievement has implications for quantum communications (More)
Business & Markets
>UK Supreme Court upholds ruling that Uber’s drivers should be classified as employees rather than contractors; decision may have ripple effects through the gig economy (More)
>US existing home sales up 0.6% in January, a 24% increase over last year; median home price of $303K is up 14% over last year (More)
>Bitcoin continues surge as total value passes $1T, sees high of more than $58K (More)
Politics & World Affairs
>Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) to oppose Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the Office of Budget and Management, making her confirmation unlikely in an evenly divided Senate (More)
>Three dead and two injured after gunman opens fire in a Louisiana gun shop; reports say armed bystanders intervened and killed shooter (More) | One dead, four injured in shooting at an American Legion club in southeast Missouri (More)
>Nationwide strike shuts down businesses in Myanmar; strikes part of larger protests against Feb. 1 military coup in the country (More)
Policygenius’ licensed experts work for you, not the insurance companies. That means you can trust them every step of the way, from shopping to buying life insurance. What’s more, they’ll handle all the red tape so you can sit back and relax.
Historybook: President George Washington born (1732); Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin born (1962); HBD Drew Barrymore (1975); “Miracle on Ice” as US defeats Soviet Union in hockey at Winter Olympics (1980); RIP artist Andy Warhol (1987).
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
– Andy Warhol
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On the menu today: Can you believe we start the week with . . . good news on several fronts? At least one Sunday morning talk show is now taking the lab-leak theory seriously, the country had a pretty good pace of vaccinations last week despite miserable weather, the stockpile of unused vaccines is slowly whittling down, and former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb says certain parts of the country have reached not quite herd immunity, but an infection rate that slows down the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Trump’s Deputy National-Security Adviser: Human Error More Likely Than Natural Outbreak
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65.) POLITICAL WIRE
66.) RASMUSSEN REPORTS
67.) ZEROHEDGE
68.) GATEWAY PUNDIT
69.) FRONTPAGE MAG
70.) HOOVER INSTITUTE
71.) DAILY INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
Daily Intelligence Brief.
The Death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick
Good morning, it’s February 22, 2021.
Since the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riots, the authorities have charged 260 people with crimes. Notably absent is any charge of murder in the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
Sicknick responded to the Capitol Hill riots, with the New York Times reporting Sicknick had been struck in the head with a fire extinguisher, resulting in his death. The NY Times’ sources for their claims were unnamed law enforcement officials. The New York Times report titled: “Capitol Police Officer Dies from Injuries in Pro-Trump Rampage” claimed Sicknick died from injuries he sustained while “physically engaging with pro-Trump rioters.”
The narrative from the New York Times about the fire extinguisher was picked up by media outlets nationwide, which include:
The Associated Press
News One
The Denver Post
The Chicago Tribune
The Wall Street Journal
New York Daily News
USA Today
Yahoo! News
ProPublica
Slate
The Huffington Post
Newsweek
CNN
The Boston Herald
With some of the country’s largest publications sharing the report, the New York Times’ narrative reached millions of Americans outside its own audience. As a result, politicians, celebrities, and other public figures pushed the narrative that Sicknick had been murdered. Also, House Impeachment managers cited the report in the Second Impeachment proceedings of former President Donald Trump.
However, on Sunday, February 14, 2021, the New York Times posted an update to its report, writing, “Law enforcement officials initially said Mr. Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher, but weeks later, police sources and investigators were at odds over whether he was hit. Medical experts have said he did not die of blunt force trauma, according to one law enforcement official.”
Further review of the New York Times’ reporting on Officer Sicknick dying from blunt force trauma suggests the paper did not perform due diligence with its report.
For example, on January 8, 2021, KHOU 11 reported that Sicknick died of a stroke, citing U.S. Capitol Police.
On January 8, 2021, one day after Sicknick died, his family released a statement that the direct cause of his death was currently unknown. The statement reads, “Many details regarding Wednesday’s events and the direct causes of Brian’s injuries remain unknown, and our family asks the public and the press to respect our wishes in not making Brian’s passing a political issue.”
Additionally, eleven days before the New York Times edited its report on Sicknick, CNN reported that investigators struggled with building a murder case.
CNN explained, “Authorities have reviewed video and photographs that show Sicknick engaging with rioters amid the siege but have yet to identify a moment in which he suffered his fatal injuries, law enforcement officials familiar with the matter said.”
Then on February 8, 2021, Fox 5 reported that the cause of death for Officer Sicknick remained “undetermined.”
Sicknick’s cause of death remains unclear currently. Searches for public sources of information regarding Officer Sicknick’s death only return news articles about a pending autopsy report. It remains unknown when that autopsy report will be available.
Based on the New York Times’ correction and previous reporting about Sicknick not dying from blunt force trauma, DIB analysts rate the theory of the fire extinguisher as false.
The Daily Intelligence Brief, The DIB as we call it, is curated by a hard working team with a diverse background of experience including government intelligence, investigative journalism, high-risk missionary work and marketing.
This team has more than 68 years of combined experience in the intelligence community, 35 years of combined experience in combat and high-risk areas, and have visited more than 65 countries. We have more than 22 years of investigative reporting and marketing experience. Daily, we scour and verify more than 600 social media sites using more than 200 analytic tools in the process. Leveraging the tools and methods available to us, we uncover facts and provide analysis that would take an average person years of networking and research to uncover. We are doing it for you every 24 hours.
From All Things Possible, the Victor Marx Group and Echo Analytics Group, we aim to provide you with a daily intelligence brief collected from trusted sources and analysts.
Sources for the DIB include local and national media outlets, state and government websites, proprietary sources, in addition to social media networks. State reporting of COVID-19 deaths includes probable cases and probable deaths from COVID-19, in accordance with each state’s guidelines.
Thank you for joining us today. Be safe, be healthy and
In mid-January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved requests from two southern states (Georgia and Tennessee) asking for an emergency exemption that would allow them to aerosolize selected indoor spaces with an antiviral “air treatment” called Grignard Pure.
Two reactors at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan have begun leaking cooling water following last weekend’s 7.3 magnitude earthquake, indicating that the existing damage to TEPCO’s Unit 1 and 3 reactors has worsened, according to AP, citing spokesman Keisuke Matsuo.
Americans who don’t support “forever wars” in the Middle East in service of the “liberal world order” are simply showing their “intolerance,” so says PNAC co-founder Robert Kagan in Foreign Affairs magazine.
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Welcome to Monday morning’s Internet Insider, where we dissect the weekend online. Today:
‘American heroes’: People are stanning the neighbors who leaked Heidi Cruz’s Cancún texts
Man screams ‘get a f*cking job’ at families in food drive line—his company took a loan from the government
Will Comic-Con 2021 be canceled due to the pandemic?
BREAK THE INTERNET
‘American heroes’: People are stanning the neighbors who leaked Heidi Cruz’s Cancún texts
Leaked text messages from Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) wife Heidi Cruz put a dent in the senator’s explanation of their controversial Cancún trip, which took place as millions of fellow Texans suffered from a historic winter storm and its fallout.
After losing power, Heidi texted friends and neighbors to ask them if they wanted to stay at a Ritz-Carlton in Cancún for the week. “Anyone can or want to leave for the week?” she asked in a group chat. “We may go to Cancún.”
At least two people in the chat notified the New York Times of the texts. One reportedly sent the conversation to the newspaper, while the other merely confirmed its existence. People online are now lauding the leakers as “American heroes.”
“I love that one of Heidi Cruz’s neighbors saw that text and thought to herself ‘You know what, I’m going to take my place with the great whistleblowers in history: Deep Throat, Edward Snowden, Karen from the River Oaks Neighborhood Watch groupchat,'” one joked online.
Read more here and catch up on what else you may have missed below.
After a year of living through a deadly pandemic, we can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines are finally being distributed and daily cases reported are down by 69%. But just because safety is just around the corner doesn’t mean you should slouch on wearing your mask. In fact, double masking may be the way to go, and we’ll tell you why.
Man screams ‘get a f*cking job’ at families in food drive line—his company took a loan from the government
An Arizona man was arrested after being caught on video berating people at a food drive.
As families waited in line to receive assistance at a church in Buckeye, Ryan Bryson pulled up alongside them in a white pickup truck bearing the name of his company, High Side Electric, LLC.
“Get a f*cking job!” he screams in the short clip. Someone responds, to which he yells back: “Then why are you waiting in line for free food?”
But publicly available records show that Bryson had no problem with assistance when it benefited him. A Buckeye company operating under the name High Side Electric, LLC received a forgivable government loan of over $86,000 related to COVID-19 relief.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office received several complaints about the incident, and Bryson was ultimately arrested for disorderly conduct on Friday.
Will Comic-Con 2021 be canceled due to the pandemic?
With the U.S. slowly inching its way out of a crisis, people are wondering if Comic-Con 2021 will be canceled this year.
When Comic-Con announced that its planned July 2020 convention was canceled, organizers also announced the convention’s planned 2021 dates. If things go off as intended, the San Diego Comic-Con will take place between July 22-25, 2021.
Assuming Comic-Con 2021 proceeds, people who lost out on the experience in 2020 have a chance to recoup their losses. Anyone who purchased a badge for last year’s event were provided the option to request a refund or transfer their badges to Comic-Con 2021.
But exhibitors and attendees can likely expect a change from Comic-Cons of the past. Chief Communications and Strategy Officer for Comic-Con International David Glanzer anticipates a partially virtual, partially in-person event.
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77.) NATURAL NEWS
15 hard lessons I learned from the Texas blackouts and infrastructure failures
Thank you for your support and prayers as we clawed our way through a serious infrastructure collapse that hit Texas especially hard last week. It was much like living through a post-EMP apocalypse collapse.
Everything was failing: Food, electricity, water systems, cell towers, roads and transportation, internet bandwidth and more. And even though people often call me “the most prepared person” they know, it turns out I learned some very hard lessons and suffered prepping failures of my own.
In today’s feature podcast (and short story summary), I lay out the 15 hard lessons I learned from the “Texageddon” collapse.
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While airlines, Amtrak and transit have struggled to stay solvent during the coronavirus pandemic, truckers face a different crisis: There simply aren’t enough places to park. Read more…
Opponents of President Joe Biden’s pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands point to billions in tax revenues generated for things like K-12 education. But the moratorium is likely to have less-than-dire consequences for school funding in the short term. Read more…
In his first major address to European allies, President Joe Biden on Friday sought to reassure them of the U.S. commitment to mutual defense while also acknowledging the long-term challenges to democracies throughout Europe and America, which he said were facing “an inflection point.” Read more…
House Democrats have renewed a push for a federal hate crimes tracking law, amid an increase in assaults on members of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more…
Lauren Boebert and Jared Huffman had a back-and-forth about her gun-filled virtual meeting background, while in Texas, Eddie Bernice Johnson’s laptop “froze,” Sylvia R. Garcia found a new use for rainwater and Ted Cruz caught flak for an ill-timed trip to Mexico. All that and more in the latest Congressional Hits and Misses. Read more…
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