Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Thursday March 4, 2021
1.) THE DAILY SIGNAL
March 4 2021
Good morning from Washington, where President Biden doesn’t see the surge of illegal immigrants across the southern border as a crisis. Heritage Foundation national security expert Jim Carafano has a clearer view. On the podcast, Rep. Devin Nunes accuses the Biden administration of having the most “extreme” agenda in U.S. history. Plus: silencing mean ol’ Dr. Seuss; a misguided fight to raise the minimum wage; and “Problematic Women” sizes up the Equality Act. On this date in 1789, Congress convenes in New York for its first session under the Constitution—although only nine senators out of 22 and 13 representatives out of 59 show up.
“The Prince and the Dressmaker” is about a prince who secretly wears dresses at night. “Americanized: Rebel Without a Greencard,” is about an illegal immigrant from Iran.
“The China threat every day gets more and more serious just with the growth of their economy, their unwillingness to come clean … on the Wuhan labs issue,” says Rep. Devin Nunes.
Describing an incident involving alleged racism, The New York Times reported, “The story highlights the tensions between a student’s deeply felt sense of personal truth and facts that are at odds with…
It’s the season of new beginnings—and we want to help you start spring off right.
Get your full access digital subscription at the price of $1 for four months.
View the world through a fresh pair of eyes with unlimited access to all of our content on any device. Be the first to know about our breaking news. Find hope and inspiration with our uplifting features.
And the best part? Every cent of your subscription will be a stand against big tech censorship and the legacy narrative in our media. Because we’ll keep reporting truthfully as long as readers like you are out there, no matter what may try to silence us.
Let’s face it: There’s a lot to worry about these days if you hope to protect your hard-earned savings and retire comfortably.…In 2021, the question is—what will the IRA’s, 401(k)’s, savings, pensions and retirement plans look like when the dust settles? Retirement accounts, savings accounts, and financial portfolios are at the mercy of ever-growing global turmoil and dramatic political change. The good news: Gold dramatically outperformed other safe havens in 2020 and has officially become, “the currency of last resort.” Help Protect Your Retirement with a Home Delivery Gold IRA.
This is a must-read for every freedom-loving individual. The book reveals the ways in which the communist specter has burrowed into the minds of today’s people. It charts communism’s global advance and explains how this specter has embedded itself in nearly every facet of today’s society — from education to the judicial system — and the path humanity must take to escape its grip.
You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive newsletter communications from The Epoch Times.
The Epoch Times. 229 W. 28 St. Fl. 5 New York, NY 10001
With social media censorship sidelining many important headlines, our Morning Brief email is how we make sure you get the latest developments that our reporters have curated from around the world. It’s our way of keeping you truly informed so that you can make the decisions that align with your values. We hope you enjoy our coverage. Manage your email preferences here.
3.) DAYBREAK
Your First Look at Today’s Top Stories – Daybreak Insider
Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.
House Democrats Pass Bill that Will Force Police to Cut Officers
From the story: Championed by civil rights groups, the wide-ranging bill would overhaul standards for police tactics and conduct at the federal level. Prominent measures include a federal ban on no-knock warrants and chokeholds, limits on qualified immunity shielding police from civil lawsuits, a framework to prevent racial profiling and the establishment of a national registry on allegations of police misconduct (Fox News). From another story: “Democrats just voted to defund the police,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said in a statement. “The unfunded mandates in their bill, H.R. 1280, would cost police departments hundreds of millions of dollars—the equivalent of taking 3,000 cops or more off the streets. Our men and women in uniform deserve better” (Daily Wire).
2.
Cuomo: Sorry I Made People Uncomfortable
From the story: “I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it,” Cuomo said. The governor insisted that he “never touched anyone inappropriately” and “certainly never ever meant to hurt anyone….That is the last thing that I would have wanted.”
Biden Accuses Texas and Mississippi of “Neanderthal Thinking”
To which Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves responded “I just think we should trust Americans, not insult them” (The Blaze). The White House, with an assist here from Politico, worries residents of Mississippi and Texas will cause “a resurgence of the virus” (Politico). Beto O’Rourke took it up a notch claiming it is “not hyperbole” to say the governor is “sacrificing the lives of our fellow Texans … for political gain” (RedState). From Mark Hemingway: Is there a reason why Texas removing the mask mandate now is somehow more irresponsible than New York allowing indoor concerts with a 100 people a few weeks from now? I don’t honestly know, but it seems curious people don’t seem to see this as alarming (Twitter). Major stores in Texas and Mississippi still plan to require masks (Washington Examiner).
4.
Dr. Suess Tops Charts at Amazon
11 of the top 12, 22 of the top 26 as of this entry (Amazon). From Bethany Mandel on a certain collection of books: Dr. Seuss Enterprises has essentially banned these books and made them completely unavailable for the average family. While Dr. Seuss Enterprises has every legal right to pull these books from circulation, it has stolen a part of our collective culture and history by removing these books from shelves. This is not, of course, the end of our “reevaluation” of Dr. Seuss. No, when these book banning parties start, they don’t stop (Washington Examiner).
5.
Washington Football Team Replacing Cheerleaders with Coed Dance Team
From the story: The move is part of the organization’s rebranding effort and not related to a confidential settlement reached with members of the 2008 and 2010 cheerleading teams. Lawyers for the team and those cheerleaders told The Associated Press last month that “the matter has been resolved” but would not say when the settlement was reached.
California Governor Newsom Says MLB Fans Can Return in April
The recall seems to have changed his view of the pandemic (Politico). Meanwhile, the recall effort now has surpassed 1.9 million signatures (Fox News).
7.
Americans View of China Plummets
At a record low and sinking fast (Gallup). Meanwhile, China has destroyed the economic freedom of Hong Kong (WSJ).
8.
California City Votes to Ban New Gas Stations
The Petaluma City Council believes banning new gas stations in their town will magically cause the world to have fewer carbon emissions.
From the story: “Just 6.9 million people tuned in to the Golden Globes on Sunday, according to Nielsen ratings,” The Associated Press reported Tuesday, noting that the anemic viewership “barely beat the year when a writer’s strike forced NBC to show a news conference announcing the winners.”
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It is only sent to people who signed up from one of the Salem Media Group network of websites OR a friend might have forwarded it to you. We respect and value your time and privacy.
Unsubscribe from The Daybreak Insider
OR Send postal mail to:
The Daybreak Insider Unsubscribe
6400 N. Belt Line Rd., Suite 200, Irving, TX 75063
Publix, the most prominent private partner in Florida’s vaccine distribution network, strongly disputed a news report insinuating the company had been allowed to operate with little oversight.
The company’s corporate office offered strong words in response to a Miami Herald report regarding the supermarket’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
“From the beginning of the vaccination rollout at Publix pharmacies, Publix has been in direct and constant contact with the state, requesting direction and frequently detailing vaccination plans at our stores,” reads a statement from the Lakeland-based grocery chain.
Publix pushes back on claims it makes it’s own vaccination rules, with little oversight by the Ron DeSantis administration. Image via Twitter.
The Herald on Tuesday published an article entitled: “Publix makes its own vaccine distribution plan. Officials don’t know where shots will go.” Reporting in the piece said the state had shipped 70,000 doses a week to Publix’s central distribution hub in Lakeland, but that the government was not kept abreast on where doses ended up from there.
The report also noted Publix and individuals connected to the company have financially supported Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The article was also published in the Tampa Bay Times.
But the article drew an immediate response from Director of Emergency Management Jared Moskowitz, the most prominent Democrat in the Republican Governor’s administration, dismissed inferences of favoritism.
“This idea (about) why Publix was picked has been utter nonsense,” Moskowitz tweeted. “We reached out to all pharmacies and they were the only one who at the time could execute on the mission. The federal government delayed the federal pharmacy program and we yet again stepped up first to serve more seniors.”
Now, Publix has forcefully condemned the claims published in the news articles as “indisputably false.”
The articles “falsely claimed that Publix’s vaccination program — begun at the direct request of the State of Florida on January 7, 2021 — has been implemented without direction, consultation and coordination with the Governor’s Office, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Health,” according to the Publix statement.
The company also criticized the reporting practices of the outlets, saying the company was not contacted about specific allegations.
“It is unfortunate that Publix was not given the opportunity to directly dispute these obviously false claims before they were published,” the statement reads. “From the onset of the pandemic, Publix has made the safety and the well-being of our associates, customers, and communities our priority. As the vaccine became available, we and other retailers were approached to help in the distribution efforts of the state. Without hesitation, we answered the call to serve as a distribution hub for communities across the state. We are proud of our role in administering more than 575,000 vaccine doses in Florida.
“Publix will continue to coordinate the distribution of vaccine throughout the State of Florida, as directed by, and in direct consultation with, the Governor’s office, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and the Florida Department of Health.”
Florida Politics has reached out to reporters at the Miami Herald and officials with the Department of Health.
___
“Joe Henderson: Wilton Simpson’s speech heavy on unity, devoid of cheap shots” via Florida Politics — The speech by Simpson at the opening of the 2021 Legislative Session didn’t have any snark. Refreshing. The Trilby Republican didn’t take shots at the “radical” left. He didn’t include slams at the media nor dire warnings that anyone who doesn’t think like a Republican is a threat to the American way of life. A leader gives that kind of speech — measured, compassionate, focused, and forward-thinking. He directed the speech at everyone, not just the Republican base. Consider the tone Simpson — a conservative’s conservative, to be sure — struck with his words. It’s also worth noting that traditionally the Senate leader’s tone on these occasions is less strident than the House Speaker. Maybe it’s something in the drinking water.
Situational awareness
Tweet, tweet:
— @nikkifried: Vaccines for political dollars is corruption at its worst — costing lives, time, and trust. We need an independent investigation now.
Tweet, tweet:
— @AaronPBean: Raising a glass of NyQuil to my friend and my Senator Jim King. Truly larger than life.
— @ShevrinJones: We just sent a letter to @GovRonDeSantis urging him to extend COVID-19 vaccinations to school bus drivers, early learning educators, and ALL medical professionals. Our educational support staff and medical professionals are also essential, and should be considered.
— @AnnaForFlorida: I’m super curious if other states are seeing their Governors give priority access to the #COVID19 vaccine to their political donors or is this just a Florida thing?
— @OmariJHardy: Want to see systemic racism in data? Look at the vaccination rates by race for senior citizens in my county. 67% of white seniors. 34% of Black seniors. 31% of Hispanic seniors. It’s hard to survive a pandemic while being Black or Hispanic in Ron DeSantis’s Florida.
— @MaryEllenKlas: NEW: As most of Florida was waiting for COVID vaccines in January, the wealthy Keys enclave of Ocean Reef was vaccinating more than 1,200 residents. A month later, a prominent resident sent @GovRonDeSantis a $250,000 check.
— @doug_hanks: Barely a line at the Miami Dade College North vaccination site. *No* appointment needed. Plenty of parking. Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson available — you can come here & be done. “We have golf carts that will take you to your car if you need help” FEMA spox Marty Bahamonde.
Tweet, tweet:
Days until
Florida TaxWatch 2021 State of the Taxpayer virtual event — 1; ‘Coming 2 America’ premieres on Amazon Prime — 1; the NBA All-Star Game — 3; municipal elections in Broward and south Palm Beach County — 5; ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ premieres — 8; 2021 Grammys — 10; Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’ premieres on HBO Max — 14; ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ premieres — 22; 2021 Florida Virtual Hemp Conference — 22; 2021 Florida Derby — 23; MLB Opening Day — 28; ‘No Time to Die’ premieres (rescheduled) — 29; RNC spring donor summit — 36; ‘Black Widow’ rescheduled premiere — 64; Florida Chamber Safety Council’s inaugural Southeastern Leadership Conference on Safety, Health and Sustainability — 67; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ rescheduled premiere — 120; Disney’s ‘Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings’ premieres — 129; MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta — 131; new start date for 2021 Olympics — 141; ‘Jungle Cruise’ premieres — 149; St. Petersburg Primary Election — 173; ‘A Quiet Place Part II’ rescheduled premiere — 197; ‘Dune’ premieres — 211; MLB regular season ends — 213; World Series Game 1 — 236; St. Petersburg Municipal Elections — 243; Disney’s ‘Eternals’ premieres — 246; Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ premieres — 281; ‘Spider-Man Far From Home’ sequel premieres — 288; ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 386; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 428; ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 582.
Dateline Tallahassee
“Jeff Brandes bill to shield health care providers from COVID-19 liability passes second test” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — The Health Policy Committee approved St. Petersburg Republican Brandes‘ bill (SB 74) on a 5-4 party-line vote, advancing a measure that could make Florida one of a few dozen states to extend temporary provisional immunity to providers for COVID-19 infections. Brandes’ proposal would raise the bar for lawsuits related to COVID-19 against health care providers by asking plaintiffs to prove providers acted with “gross negligence.” Questions remain surrounding the legal definition of gross negligence, which state courts have defined as an action a “reasonably prudent person knows will probably and most likely result in injury to another.” Ultimately it is up to a judge or jury to determine whether a health care provider’s actions constitute gross negligence.
Jeff Brandes’ COVID-19 liability shield bill barely moves ahead, though with many kudos. Image via Colin Hackley.
___
Capitol reax: Health care liability protections
Jimmy Patronis cheers Senate committee win — CFO Patronis lauded the Senate after the Health Policy Committee advanced SB 74, which provides COVID-19 liability protections to health care providers. “Several months ago, I made it my mission to fight for COVID-19 liability protections for Florida’s health care workers, who have been on the front lines for nearly a year fighting to protect us. During these challenging times, they have stepped up more than ever and risked their own health to protect others from this serious virus. Thank you to the Florida Senate for taking action today to move this legislation forward,” he said. The bill moves next to its final committee stop in the Senate Rules Committee.
FHCA lauds Senate Health Policy Committee — The Florida Health Care Association, which represents more than 600 nursing centers and assisted living communities, applauded the Senate Health Policy Committee for passing SB 74. “The COVID pandemic has been one of the most challenging experiences for my team members. We worked behind N95 masks and several layers of personal protective equipment to protect the most vulnerable people in our state,” Kim Biegasiewicz, Chief Nursing Officer of the Avante Group, told the committee before the Wednesday vote. “It’s been a long year, and my staff are physically and mentally weary. The last thing they need is the added anxiety of having our decisions second-guessed by attorneys and others who can’t imagine the pressures we’ve had to endure.”
___
“End of the road(s)? Repeal of Florida toll roads project clears first stop in Legislature” via Jeffrey Schweers of The Tallahassee Democrat — A massive public works proposal to build three new toll roads through three separate rural corridors of Florida is heading for the nearest exit ramp. A proposal to repeal the state law that created what’s known as M-CORES cleared its first legislative panel, the Senate Transportation Committee, on a 5-3 party-line vote Wednesday. The bill would redirect some $132 million tapped for the new highways to create alternate paths for expanding rural trucking routes and improving intersections. “We really had to address the fiscal impact and feasibility” of the project, said committee Chair Gayle Harrell, who filed the measure.
“Scaled-back bill targets port regulations” via Jim Turner of The News Service of Florida — The House Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee voted 12-6 to approve a revised measure (HB 267) that would only block local regulations at municipal-run ports in Pensacola, Panama City, Key West and St. Petersburg. In the decision to remove other ports from the bill, Rep. Rick Roth, a West Palm Beach Republican whose district is just north of the Port of Palm Beach, said lawmakers were trying to solve the issue “more with a scalpel than with a sledgehammer.” Port of Pensacola Director Amy Miller warned that prohibiting a port governing body or city council from a say on types of cargo could endanger communities.
Rick Roth prefers a scalpel — and not a sledgehammer — for port regulations. Image via Colin Hackley.
“Opponents of short-term vacation rental bill fear it would strip local control” via Emma Kennedy of the Pensacola News Journal — A bill aiming to bring short-term rentals under state regulation rather than that of local counties or cities is making its way through the Legislature, prompting a debate over whether the measure is a win for property rights or a detriment to neighborhoods. The argument for state regulation is one of upholding property rights and instituting accountability, according to state Rep. Alex Andrade, who is in favor of the bill. However, local and tourism officials worry the bill would overlook the nuances of the short-term rental industry and exacerbate problems like “party houses.” Currently in Escambia County, there isn’t any kind of permit or inspection process that happens to ensure the property meets any standards.
Tally 2
Assignment editors — House Speaker Chris Sprowls will join U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States Carlos Trujillo, the Victims of Communism Foundation and other guests for a news conference, 9 a.m., steps of the Historic Capitol Building facing the Capitol Complex Courtyard.
“Senators back hearing aid coverage for children” via News Service of Florida — The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Wednesday approved a proposal that would require individual health-insurance policies to cover the costs of hearing aids for children who have been diagnosed with hearing loss. The measure, SB 1268, is sponsored by Ocala Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley. It would require a minimum coverage of $3,500 per ear over 24-month periods. It would take effect on Jan. 1 and apply to individual policies, not group or employer-sponsored coverage. Baxley said that children being able to hear “changes their whole life.” Rep. Chuck Brannan, a Macclenny Republican, has filed a similar bill (HB 373) in the House.
Dennis Baxley gets thumbs-up for his bill for insurance to cover kids’ hearing aids. Image via Colin Hackley.
“Building design measure supported in House” via News Service of Florida — The House Local Administration & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee voted 12-6 along party lines to approve a bill sponsored by Rep. Toby Overdorf that would prevent local governments from placing restrictions on a variety of design issues on new single-family and two-family residences in what Overdorf described as “open lots.” For example, HB 55 would prevent local restrictions on building colors, locations of garages and locations of windows and doors, according to a House staff analysis. The bill would be ready to go to the full House if it passes the House Commerce Committee. Sen. Keith Perry, a Gainesville Republican, has filed a similar bill (SB 284) in the Senate.
“‘Grandparent tuition waiver’ gets House go-ahead” via Ryan Dailey of The News Service of Florida — A proposal is advancing in the House that would allow high-performing students who live outside of Florida to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities if their grandparents reside in the Sunshine State. The measure (HB 1273) is dubbed the “grandparent tuition waiver bill” by House sponsor Patt Maney. It would let out-of-state students scoring in the 89th percentile or higher on the ACT or SAT exams enroll as full-time students at Florida universities and pay cheaper in-state tuition. The proposal was approved Wednesday by the House Post-Secondary Education and Lifelong Learning Subcommittee in an 11-3 vote, with three Democrats opposed.
“Judge refuses to dismiss Ronald Rubin defamation case” via The News Service of Florida — Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a decision denying a request by Rubin to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Kimberly Grippa, though Walker narrowed the allegations in the case. Grippa sought in 2019 to be hired as general counsel of the Office of Financial Regulation but reported what she considered inappropriate comments by Rubin during an interview, according to the lawsuit. Rubin was later removed as commissioner after an investigation that involved allegations about his treatment of women. Grippa filed the lawsuit in January 2020 alleging that Rubin had defamed her in a separate lawsuit; in emails that were part of an investigation by DeSantis’ inspector general; and in a letter provided to state investigators.
Liability polls
COVID-19 liability protections are popular with voters, according to a new survey conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy.
The poll found business and health care liability protections with 72% and 74%, respectively. Notably, support transcended party affiliation, age, gender, race, ethnicity and region.
Nearly two-thirds of Democrats backed protections for businesses, while 76% support protecting health care providers. Republicans’ support for business protections was higher, at 81%, with another 71% supporting health care protections. About seven in 10 independents favor both proposals.
Florida TaxWatch, which released the results, said it was further evidence that lawmakers should keep the legislation on the fast track.
Liability shields for COVID-19 lawsuits is popular with a majority of Floridians — except seniors.
“Florida TaxWatch has been a longtime advocate of this issue and, clearly, we hit the mark. Through this survey, we confirmed that the vast majority of taxpayers want to shield responsible, hardworking business owners and dedicated health care workers from frivolous COVID-19 liability lawsuits,” FTW President and CEO Dominic Calabro said.
“Make no mistake — we must ensure that good actors are protected, and bad actors are punished, but Floridians recognize that if this legislation does not pass, we are headed down a slippery slope that has the potential to destroy our economy by as much as $27.6 billion with an annual job loss of more than 356,000.”
The poll was conducted Feb. 24-28 via landline and cellphone. It has a sample size of 625 registered Florida voters and a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
___
Bills to shield health care providers from coronavirus lawsuits may have many fans in the Legislature, but older Floridians aren’t sold on the idea.
A new poll from AARP Florida shows Florida voters over 50, by an overwhelming margin, would rather keep the right to seek damages from nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Party affiliation made little impact — 96% of Republicans, 95% of Democrats and 95% of independents agreed.
Rather than protecting facilities, 86% of those surveyed said they would prefer the state focus on ensuring state funding for nursing homes goes toward residents’ health and safety.
“Florida’s 50+ voters have spoken loud and clear. Our survey results show that Floridians strongly support policies that hold nursing homes accountable, fund adequate staffing and safety in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and ensure quality care for our most vulnerable,” AARP Florida state director Jeff Johnson said.
“Florida lawmakers should listen to their constituents and the citizens of our state. Destructive legislation that protects nursing home industry executives over Florida’s families is a shameful attempt to further degrade the quality of Florida’s long-term care system and let nursing homes off the hook. AARP Florida will continue to be a strong voice for our members and all Floridians who demand and deserve better.”
The poll also found 89% of voters over 50 believe caregivers who work in long-term care facilities should be paid a living wage. At 97%, Democrats were the most amenable, followed by independents at 88% and Republicans at 83%.
Lobby regs
New and renewed lobbying registrations:
Laura Adams: Office of the State Attorney Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida
Alexander Barrera: City of Miami
Frank Bernardino, Natalie Fausel, Anfield Consulting: C-PACE Alliance, Florida Association of Property Appraisers, UnidosUS
Jacqueline Carmona, Rubin Turnbull & Associates: Hatzalah of South Florida
David Clark, Allegiant Strategies Group: Precision Building & Renovating
James Daughton, Douglas Bell, Patricia Greene, Warren Husband, Allison Liby-Schoonover, Aimee Lyon, Andrew Palmer, Metz Husband & Daughton: Ancestry.com
Laura Donaldson, Manson Bolves Donaldson Varn: Lealman Special Fire Control District
Peter Dunbar, Dean Mead: Step Up for Students
Tonyaa Fargason: State University System Board of Governors
The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee meets, 1 p.m., Room 404, House Office Building.
The House Public Integrity and Elections Committee meets, 1 p.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building.
The House Rules Committee meets 15 minutes after the end of the House floor Session.
Statewide
“Nearly 62,000 get health coverage in Florida” via The News Service of Florida — Nearly 62,000 people in Florida enrolled in Obamacare health plans during the first two weeks of a special enrollment period, according to information by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In all, 206,236 people in 36 states that use a federal health-insurance exchange enrolled in plans. With 61,737 people enrolling in Florida from Feb. 15 to Feb. 28, the state accounted for nearly 30% of the new enrollment and far outpaced other states.
Tom Brady backs Casey DeSantis’ student resiliency initiative — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady is backing First Lady DeSantis’ new resiliency initiative for students. The curriculum, announced last week, is focused on helping kids learn to deal with adversity by boosting problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. In a video, Brady said it’s easy for him to keep on track right now, fresh off a Super Bowl win, but “what about when things happen in life that are very difficult when things are tough at home or a loved one’s sick? Life’s always going to present us with incredible challenges … but these moments are true opportunities and tests for us to grow.”
“Business groups wade into permitting fight” via Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida — The Florida Chamber of Commerce and a major developers’ group are seeking to intervene in a high-stakes lawsuit over a move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to shift permitting authority to the state for projects that affect wetlands. Attorneys for the Florida Chamber and the Association of Florida Community Developers filed documents Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, as they seek to help defend the EPA’s decision. A coalition of environmental groups filed the lawsuit in January, contending that the EPA and other federal agencies did not comply with a series of laws in making Florida the third state to have such permitting authority.
2022 (and beyond)
“First Republican enters race to succeed Jay Trumbull in HD 6” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — Panama City businessman Grey Dodge has filed to run for House District 6. Dodge, a Republican, is the first candidate for the seat. Rep. Trumbull currently holds the seat but he cannot run for reelection next year due to term limits. “The Panhandle needs strong leadership that will fight for us and our conservative values in the state Capitol,” Dodge said. “I will put all my experience to work fighting to support Bay County’s small businesses, to limit excessive government regulation, to improve our infrastructure, and to strengthen our local economy.” HD 6 covers all of coastal Bay County, including Panama City, Panama City Beach, Lynn Haven and Mexico Beach. It has a heavy Republican advantage.
Grey Dodge is gunning for Jay Trumbull in HD 6.
“Alen Tomczak enters race for HD 66” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — St. Petersburg Republican Alen Tomczak on Wednesday launched a campaign to succeed Rep. Nick DiCeglie in House District 66. The seat is open following DiCeglie’s recent announcement that he would not seek reelection in the Pinellas County district and would instead run for Senate. Tomczak was born in Clearwater to Polish immigrants. He serves in the Army National Guard and was deployed as a platoon leader in the Horn of Africa. “Our community deserves a voice who isn’t afraid to fight on the front lines to get our children back in the classroom, to put an end to runaway government regulations, to secure our borders, and to protect our constitutional rights. I’m ready to fight for the America First Agenda,” he said.
“Jacksonville Democrats implode, and Republican ’23 mayoral candidates cash in” via Nate Monroe of The Florida Times-Union — The Duval Democratic Party is imploding right on cue: Just as Republican candidates are gathering strength for an open mayoral race in 2023, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions, including some from known Democrats, the city’s left-of-center party is, not for the first time in recent years, eating itself alive. There is a widening chasm between the way Jacksonville votes in high-turnout statewide races and how it behaves in lower-turnout but still incredibly important citywide races. Most of the energy and talent left in the local party is focused on power struggles over the deep blue City Council, legislative and congressional seats concentrated in and around Northwest Jacksonville, rather than citywide offices — particularly Mayor.
“Facebook to lift political ad ban imposed after November election” via Sara Fischer of Axios — Facebook will finally allow advertisers to resume running political and social issue ads in the U.S. on Thursday, according to a company update. Facebook and rival Google instituted political ad bans to slow the spread of misinformation and curb confusion around the presidential election and its aftermath. Google and Facebook both implemented political ad bans following poll closures on Nov. 3. Google lifted its political ad ban on Dec. 10, allowing campaigns to run ads around the Georgia runoff election in January. It reinstated its political ad ban following the Capitol siege and then lifted it in late February.
Corona Florida
“6,014 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Wednesday; 132 new deaths” via Fox 13 News — According to the state’s daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 1,924,114. The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 31,267, an increase of 132 since Tuesday’s update. In addition, a total of 562 non-Floridians died in the state. As of Wednesday, the number of Floridians currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 was 3,597, with the state reporting a total of 80,024 hospitalized for treatment at some point. Vaccination efforts continue across the state. The number of new cases had generally been trending down in the fall, mirroring the number of tests being given. It began to increase again in the winter but has again started to drop.
“Ron DeSantis says doctors will decide which people under 65 can get COVID-19 vaccines” via Steven Lemongello, Kate Santich and Richard Tribou of The Orlando Sentinel — It will be up to doctors to decide which “extremely vulnerable” people under age 65 will be allowed to get COVID-19 vaccinations in Florida, DeSantis said Wednesday, clearing up confusion over how newly eligible residents will prove they qualify. “[Doctors] have seen how this virus is impacting different folks,” DeSantis said. DeSantis’ executive order allowing Floridians with medical conditions under 65 to get vaccines from doctors, pharmacists and advanced nurse practitioners with a doctor’s note was issued Friday without any fanfare. A second order issued Monday required doctors to fill out a state-mandated form.
Ron DeSantis is leaving the decisions of those under 65 who get a vaccine to doctors. Image via Colin Hackley.
“Superintendents seek flexibility on assessments” via The News Service of Florida — School superintendents urged Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to ask the federal government for waivers related to student assessments and accountability. Pinellas County Superintendent Michael Grego, president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, said in a letter to Corcoran that the U.S. Department of Education “has determined that students must be given assessments to understand the impact of COVID-19 on student learning.” But Grego wrote that the federal government is “inviting states to seek certain waivers to be as flexible as possible in both the administration of those assessments and the ways in which the results are used.” Grego urged Corcoran to seek such waivers because of how the pandemic has interfered with learning.
Corona local
“‘A melting pot for variants.’ U.K., Brazilian, New York COVID-19 strains found in Miami” via Ben Conarck of the Miami Herald — Taking a deeper look at the types of COVID-19 viruses circulating in some hospital patients, researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine have identified a scattering of genetic footprints, with one viral culprit out-competing the others and surging to become the predominant strain. That version of the virus, called B.1.1.7, or the “U.K. variant,” has been in Florida since late last year, scientists agree, and is destined to become the main strain here, perhaps as soon as this month. Researchers at UM examined nearly 500 samples of the COVID-19 virus, the bulk of them from patients at Miami-Dade County’s Jackson Health public hospital facilities.
“Wealthy Keys enclave received COVID-19 vaccines in January before much of the state” via David Goodhue and Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald — As Florida’s eldest residents struggled to sign up to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, nearly all those aged 65 years and older in a wealthy gated enclave in the Florida Keys had been vaccinated by mid-January, according to an emailed newsletter obtained by the Miami Herald. The management of Ocean Reef Club, located in north Key Largo, also acknowledged in the Jan. 22 message to residents that the rest of the state was grappling to get its hands on the vaccine. Neither Ocean Reef’s media relations representative nor officials from its medical center immediately returned phone and emailed messages to answer questions about how it received so many vaccines before much of the rest of the state.
The exclusive and wealthy Ocean Reef Club was able to swing some early vaccines. Image via Facebook.
“Northwest Florida teachers, law officers and firefighters over 50 now eligible” via Tom McLaughlin of the Northwest Florida Daily News — Seasoned educators, law enforcement officers and firefighters across Northwest Florida have begun lining up this week to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. DeSantis made vaccinations possible for employees over the age of 50 of those essential professions through a couple of executive orders issued in recent days. The first DeSantis order, issued last Friday, expanded the range of medical professionals available to vaccinate individuals under the age of 65 who had been determined to be “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19, according to Okaloosa County Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox. At least one hospital, North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview, is working with local health care partners to support access to the vaccine in the primary care setting.
“Bay County COVID-19 vaccine milestone reached: 50% of seniors vaccinated” via The Panama City News Herald — Bay County has vaccinated 50% of its senior population from the COVID-19 virus, health officials announced Tuesday. According to the Florida Department of Health in Bay County, the milestone was reached last week for residents 65 years old and older. “Last week we reached a significant milestone in our vaccination effort … 50% of our 65 and older residents have received the vaccine,” said Sandon S. Speedling, the health department’s administrator and health officer. “This would not have been possible without our valued community partners to whom I am thankful.” To date, 22,639 county residents have received the COVID-19 vaccine, with 15,714 of them being 65 years old and older.
“Letter sent to thousands of struggling Duval HomeRoom students to return to brick-and-mortar” via Troy Kless of First Coast News — Thousands of students are falling behind with online learning. Duval County Public Schools is sending letters strongly encouraging students struggling with Duval HomeRoom to come back to the classroom. DCPS says students who received that letter met at least one of these three criteria: they received a D or F in English, Language Arts or Reading; a D or F in Mathematics, an Achievement Level 1 score on the district’s Progress Monitoring Assessment test in Math or English/Language Arts; or an attendance rate less than 90%. According to the letter, parents must choose one of three options: notify their school they already decided to go back to brick-and-mortar, cancel Duval HomeRoom and move to brick-and-mortar on March 23, or stay in online classes.
“As federal coronavirus vaccine site opens in Tampa, some get Johnson & Johnson shots” via Allison Ross of The Tampa Bay Times — Some Tampa Bay residents were among the first in the state to get a Johnson & Johnson coronavirus shot Wednesday at the new federal vaccine site in Tampa. The new site, at the Tampa Greyhound Track, 755 E. Waters Ave., is offering first- and second-dose Pfizer shots as well as some doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines, said Hallie Anderson, external affairs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Anderson said the walk-up site, which is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, had administered about 400 shots by 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Tampa gets a FEMA vaccination site, complete with the one-and-done J&J vaccine. Image via AP.
“Florida says the Super Bowl led to ‘low numbers’ of COVID-19 cases.” via Patricia Mazzei of The New York Times — When the Super Bowl was held in Tampa, last month, with tens of thousands of fans in attendance, there was wide concern that the big game and the hoopla surrounding it would result in mass spread of the coronavirus. Experts in Florida have been trying since then to gauge to what extent those fears became reality, and the early signs are that the effect was fairly limited. A public health official said on Wednesday that the state had tracked 57 cases of COVID-19 to official Super Bowl activities. Case tracking began the week before the Feb. 7 game and continued for two weeks after the Feb. 10 parade.
“Commissioner Misty Servia asks DeSantis to vaccinate more seniors in her district” via Ryan Callihan of the Bradenton Herald — In a letter to Gov. DeSantis, Servia urged state leaders to provide additional vaccines for senior citizens in her district. The letter highlighted several opportunities for the health officials to partner with Manatee to distribute vaccines by tapping into the county’s Vaccine Standby Pool or working with a large neighborhood. Servia thanked the Governor for his leadership throughout the pandemic before asking him to consider inoculating older residents in her district, which is home to several mobile home parks and an older population.
Corona nation
“Joe Biden prepares blitz of action to prod schools to reopen” via Natasha Korecki and Michael Stratford of POLITICO — Biden is tapping a federal agency to help vaccinate teachers and child care workers. He is using his bully pulpit to push states to get shots into teachers’ arms by the end of the month. The administration is even considering creating a “school reopening” czar. And newly-minted Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will launch his tenure on Wednesday with a visit to middle schools that have successfully reopened, in a high-profile event with First Lady Jill Biden. The blitz is part of an intensified administration-wide push to reopen schools, as the Biden White House hurtles toward a 100-day self-imposed deadline to return children to the classroom.
Joe Biden is doing a full-court press to get schools back open. Image via AP.
“A national system to prioritize COVID-19 vaccines has largely failed as states rely on their own systems” via Aleszu Bajak and David Heath of USA Today — Operation Warp Speed thought it had a futuristic solution to help ration COVID-19 vaccines so those most at risk would get doses first. It spent $16 million on Tiberius, a high-tech system meant to not only track the shipments of the vaccines but guide local decisions of where to send them. For many states, Tiberius proved either so irrelevant or so complicated that the only incentive for them to log on each week is to check the most basic of numbers: how many doses of vaccine they’re getting. The Donald Trump administration’s embrace of Tiberius was one part of its broader effort to project competence and planning expertise.
“U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says to avoid Johnson & Johnson vaccine if possible” via Jaclyn Peiser and Michelle Boorstein of The Washington Post — On Tuesday, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Catholics to avoid taking the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine and to choose alternatives from Pfizer or Moderna instead because Johnson & Johnson used cells derived decades ago from an abortion to create the vaccine. The bishops’ recommendation follows a similar one from the Archdiocese of New Orleans last week and a recommendation from a Food and Drug Administration expert panel over the weekend approving the Johnson & Johnson shot.
Corona economics
“$1,400 checks in COVID-19 relief bill would phase out at $80,000 instead of $100,000, according to deal between Biden and Dems” via Nicholas Wu of USA Today — Senate Democrats reached a deal with Biden to limit the eligibility for $1,400 checks in his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, phasing the payments out for Americans earning more than $80,000, according to two sources familiar with the deliberations not authorized to speak on the record. The tweak is a goal of moderates who did not want the checks to go to wealthier Americans. The checks would start to phase out at $75,000 and phase out entirely at $80,000 of income for individuals, as opposed to about $100,000 in the version of the legislation passed by the House last week.
Joe Biden and congressional Democrats agree to an income cap for relief checks at $80K. Image via Getty.
“COVID-19 relief bill sets $365 million for Hillsborough, Tampa” via C.T. Bowen of the Tampa Bay Times — The bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives includes about $285 million in relief for Hillsborough County and a separate $80 million allocation for the city of Tampa, Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, said. Castor, speaking remotely from Washington D.C. to the Hillsborough County Commission, complimented the county government on how it handled its earlier allocation. “Because it was so transparent and because it was so impactful on the lives of our neighbors, it made it easy for me to say to my colleagues here in Washington, ‘Yes, we need to sustain another round of emergency support for our community,’” Castor said.
“Unemployment you didn’t ask for: former Florida business regulation head got a check” via The Tallahassee Democrat staff reports — Jonathan Zachem, former head of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, has joined the ranks of Floridians who received an unwanted unemployment payment. Senate President Wilton Simpson mentioned the need to address fraud in the unemployment system. DEO director Dane Eagle told a panel of lawmakers this week unemployment systems across the country have been deluged with claims. Call centers in all 50 states were overwhelmed, he said, and delays in processing applications happened in 47 states. Zachem, who led DBPR in 2017-18, said in his post he had “been working without interruption the last few years and was told I needed to call back. Then hung up on!”
More corona
“COVID-19 can derange the immune system in complex ways, research shows. Here’s how.” via Liz Szabo of Kaiser Health News — Immune cells, which protect the body from infections, need to be “educated” to recognize bad guys — and to hold their fire around civilians. In some COVID-19 patients, this education may be cut short. Scientists say unprepared immune cells appear to be responding to the coronavirus with a devastating release of chemicals, inflicting damage that may endure long after the threat has been eliminated. “If you have a brand-new virus and the virus is winning, the immune system may go into an ‘all hands on deck’ response,” said Dr. Nina Luning Prak, co-author of a January study on COVID-19 and the immune system.
“The surprising key to combating vaccine refusal” via Derek Thompson of The Atlantic — Why wouldn’t someone want a COVID-19 vaccine? Staring at the raw numbers, it doesn’t seem like a hard choice. Thousands of people are dying of COVID-19 every day. Meanwhile, out of the 75,000 people who received a shot in the vaccine trials from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax, zero died and none were hospitalized after four weeks. As the United States screams past 500,000 fatalities, the choice between a deadly disease and a shot in the arm might seem like the easiest decision in the world. Or not. One-third of American adults said this month that they don’t want the vaccine or are undecided about whether they’ll get one. That figure has declined in some polls.
Resistance to vaccinations are dropping, but there are holdouts.
“Many Republicans don’t want the coronavirus vaccine. Donald Trump could change that.” via Olivier Knox of The Washington Post — In the campaign to get Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus, especially those aimed at populations skeptical of getting inoculated, Trump has missed his chance to be Elvis Presley. The former President quietly got vaccinated in January before leaving the White House instead of getting his shot in public — as Presley did in 1956 to encourage people to take what was then the relatively new polio vaccine. But the former President’s rock-star status among Republicans could still help overcome deep GOP skepticism about immunizations. On Sunday, Trump devoted a significant section of his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference to the effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine in record time, and declared: “Everybody go get your shot.”
“Most of us put our lives on hold the past year. But some decided to make a big change.” via Amanda Long of The Washington Post — On March 11, 2020, the coronavirus outbreak was officially declared a pandemic. The 12 months since have been filled with undeniable, ubiquitous reminders that life is short and unpredictable. Somewhere between “How could this be happening?” and “Is this what I want my life to be?” some people went ahead with life-changing decisions. Despite the global health crisis they didn’t tread water. Instead, they created the lives they’ve always wanted. In our year of waiting, here are stories of people who didn’t wait.
“How the coronavirus devastated a generation“ via Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli of The Washington Post — In one of the hardest-hit parts of the West’s most aged nation, the coronavirus blitzed through a generation in a matter of weeks. It killed more than 100 of 400 residents in the local nursing home. It forced this city to rush-order eight refrigerated trailers to hold the corpses. It created a horrifying landscape of ambulances racing to the private homes of seniors, who were dying at a rate 400% above the norm. All the while, the very measures designed to keep the elderly safe have erected a wall around them.
Presidential
“Biden’s Cabinet half-empty after slow start in confirmations” via Alexandra Jaffe of The Associated Press — Biden’s Cabinet is taking shape at the slowest pace of any in modern history, with just over a dozen nominees for top posts confirmed more than a month into his tenure. Among Biden’s 23 nominees with Cabinet rank, just 13 have been confirmed by the Senate, or a little over half. And among the 15 core nominees to lead federal agencies, 10 have been confirmed, or about two-thirds. According to the Center for Presidential Transition, about a month into their first terms, the previous four Presidents had 84% of their core Cabinet picks confirmed. On Tuesday, Biden’s cabinet was thrown into further uncertainty when his nominee to lead the White House budget office, Neera Tanden, withdrew from consideration.
Joe Biden’s Cabinet is half empty. Image via AP.
“‘They just were not all in’: How the White House convinced two pharmaceutical giants to collaborate on a vaccine” via Jeremy Diamond of CNN — Biden’s coronavirus response team learned two things his first week in office: Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot coronavirus vaccine was highly effective; but the company was millions of doses behind its production schedule. Preliminary conversations that began under the Trump administration about a vaccine manufacturing partnership between the pharmaceutical giant and its competitor, Merck, whose own vaccine attempt had failed, were “incremental” and going nowhere fast, according to two senior administration officials. And Johnson & Johnson seemed reluctant to commit to a large-scale deal with Merck, the officials said.
“White House taps insurers to boost vaccinations among vulnerable communities” via Susannah Luthi of POLITICO — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new initiative with health insurers to ensure some of their most high-risk customers get vaccinated against COVID-19, as the White House tries to energize lagging efforts to distribute the shots equitably. The effort, organized by White House coronavirus adviser Andy Slavitt and led by major lobby America’s Health Insurance Plans, is aiming to fully vaccinate 2 million people 65 and older from vulnerable communities over the next 100 days. The program is essentially leveraging the work health plans already perform with high-risk patients, such as helping them book appointments, reminding them about follow-ups and arranging transportation.
Energy poll
As the next COVID-19 relief bill nears Senate passage, a new poll shows voters want action on clean energy.
The poll, commissioned by Climate Power and the League of Conservation Voters, found including clean energy investments as part of Biden’s Build Back Better Recovery plan is overwhelmingly popular among American voters.
American voters want clean energy to be part of Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Recovery plan. Image via AP.
The poll found 60% hold a favorable view of Biden’s plan, while just 23% hold an unfavorable view. The remaining 17% are neutral.
The approval rating rises to 68% in battleground states, including Florida. The cost has an impact on support, though net approval stayed in the positive even with a $4 trillion price tag.
At that level, 56% of battleground state voters favor the bill compared to 23% who don’t. The balance were unsure.
Epilogue: Trump
“The real post-Trump GOP divide: House vs. Senate” via Burgess Everett and Melanie Zanona of POLITICO — Technically they belong to the same Party. But on a growing number of issues, House and Senate Republicans might as well live on different political planets. And much of the intraparty strain revolves around the aftermath of Trump’s presidency. The Senate GOP is firmly behind Alaskan Lisa Murkowski’s reelection bid even after she voted to convict the former President of inciting an insurrection. But across the Capitol, House Republicans are largely leaving Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez on his own following his impeachment vote as Trump endorses his primary challenger. Even that division goes deeper than Trump, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee largely backing incumbents while the National Republican Congressional Committee doesn’t get involved in primary races.
D.C. matters
“K9s for Warriors backs PAWS Act to get service dogs to veterans” via Florida Politics — K9s For Warriors on Wednesday announced its support for a federal bill to provide service dogs to veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health conditions. The bill, known as the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers Act of 2021, is sponsored by Northeast Florida Republican U.S. Rep. John Rutherford. If passed it would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a grant program that will pay for and provide service dogs to eligible veterans.
The K9s For Warriors PAWS Act has the backing of John Rutherford. Image via Facebook.
“Michael Waltz honors fellow Green Beret with bipartisan immigration legislation” via Jim Thompson of the Northwest Florida Daily News — A retired Green Beret now serving Florida in Congress is working to honor a fellow Green Beret killed in combat in Afghanistan last year while serving with the Eglin Air Force Base-headquartered Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). U.S. Rep. Waltz, a Republican who represents part of Florida’s northeast Atlantic Coast, is sponsoring immigration-related legislation moving through Congress as the Sergeant First Class Javier J. Gutierrez Purple Heart Survivor Naturalization Fee Relief Act of 2021. The legislation would waive naturalization fees for parents, spouses and children of military personnel who have earned the Purple Heart while serving the United States. Additionally, the legislation would waive those fees for Gold Star families, comprising the families of fallen service members.
Crisis
“General: Pentagon hesitated on sending Guard to Capitol riot” via Eric Tucker and Mary Clare Jalonick of The Associated Press — Defense Department leaders placed unusual restrictions on the National Guard for the day of The Capitol riot and delayed sending help for hours despite an urgent plea from police for reinforcement, according to testimony Wednesday that added to the finger-pointing about the government response. Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, told Senators that the then-chief of the Capitol Police requested military support in a “voice cracking with emotion” in a 1:49 p.m. call as rioters began pushing toward The Capitol.
William Walker testifies that the Pentagon slow walked support for police during The Capitol riot. Image via AP.
“Police uncover ‘possible plot’ by militia to breach Capitol” via Michael Balsamo of The Associated Press — Capitol Police say they have uncovered intelligence of a “possible plot” by a militia group to breach the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, nearly two months after a mob of supporters of then-President Trump stormed the iconic building to try to stop Congress from certifying now-President Biden’s victory. The threat appears to be connected to a far-right conspiracy theory, mainly promoted by supporters of QAnon, that Trump will rise again to power on March 4. That was the original presidential inauguration day until 1933, when it was moved to Jan. 20.
“Tampa police union will fight firing of Black officer who used racial slur” via Tony Marrero of the Tampa Bay Times — The Tampa Police Benevolent Association agrees Officer Delvin White, a school resource officer at Middleton High School, should be punished for using the N-word on two occasions, said spokesman Danny Alvarez. But the union calls firing him too harsh a penalty. “We, including Officer White, believe he should have been punished because we all agree no officer should speak that way, but the punishment does not fit the allegations,” Alvarez said. In one of the cases, Dugan said, White called a Black student at Middleton the N-word as he was arresting him.
“Douglas Anderson school cancels race-separated student diversity meetings after outcry” via Emily Bloch of The Florida Times-Union — A school meeting that was supposed to focus on diversity and inclusion was billed as segregated. It drew so much criticism in a matter of hours that administrators were forced to cancel. It all started Tuesday evening when Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Principal Melanie Hammer sent an email to the school’s families with the subject line: Student Cultural Meetings. The email said the school would be hosting two meetings to discuss “cultural issues that have arisen” on campus. The meetings were scheduled for Thursday for high school juniors and seniors, with the first time slot reserved for students of color and the second for White students.
Local notes
“Sanibel election results: Scott Crater, John Henshaw, Mike Miller win city council seats” via Karl Schneider of the Fort Myers News-Press — Sanibel residents voted in three new city council members Tuesday. The nonpartisan election filled the vacancies left by Mayor Mick Denham and council members Chauncey Goss and Jerry Muench, who were temporarily appointed to fill vacancies when Kevin Ruane and Jason Maughan left to run campaigns for other offices. Unofficial election results posted at 8 p.m. Tuesday show just under half the registered voters cast ballots for the council members. Preliminary results show Crater, Henshaw, and Miller won the majority of votes.
“Joel Greenberg to stay in jail after arrest on curfew violation” via Martin Comas of the Orlando Sentinel — Former Seminole County Tax Collector Greenberg — who faces several federal felony charges, including stalking, identity theft and sex trafficking of a minor — was ordered by a federal magistrate Wednesday to remain in the Seminole County Jail after he was arrested for a bond violation a day earlier. U.S. Magistrate Embry Kidd said Greenberg violated his 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew early Sunday when he left Central Florida and was later stopped by Jupiter police during an unspecified incident.
Joel Greenberg is staying behind bars.
“Orlando International Airport should keep its name — but ditch the scandals” via Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel — State Attorney Phil Archer’s office recently wrapped up a yearlong investigation into shady shenanigans at OIA from 2019 when a handful of gubernatorial appointees tried to ram through a lucrative, no-bid and unannounced legal contract. The short version is that prosecutors couldn’t find evidence board members secretly communicated with each other in a failed attempt to steer an unadvertised legal contract to a couple of local attorneys. Instead, Archer’s office found that board members had been individually communicating with a lobbyist, Chris Dorworth, and the board’s executive director, Phil Brown, which isn’t illegal.
“Tampa Bay to get two new Trulieve medical cannabis dispensaries” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — Trulieve Cannabis Co. will be opening two new dispensaries in the Tampa Bay area for patients to access medical cannabis products. The additional stores make for 77 Florida Trulieve dispensaries, joining several other nearby locations throughout the Tampa Bay area. To celebrate the opening of the two new dispensaries, patients will be eligible for a 25% in-store discount at each dispensary on opening day only. The Clearwater store at 2794 Gulf to Bay Blvd. will open Thursday, and the Tampa store, located at 3126 W. Gandy Blvd., will hold its grand opening Friday. Only patients and their state-approved caregivers will be allowed inside the waiting room and dispensary.
“Fourth grader at North Naples elementary school arrested” via Jake Allen of the Naples Daily News — An 11-year-old Osceola Elementary School student was arrested Tuesday after bringing an unloaded gun to school, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. The student is facing a felony charge after he brought the weapon to school one day after threatening to shoot two classmates, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies learned of the threats Tuesday morning. The fourth grade student was charged with carrying a concealed weapon on school grounds.
“Florida Commission on Ethics to vote on sheriff’s alleged violation” via Anna Bryson of The Charlotte Daily Sun — Sheriff Bill Prummell came under investigation by The Florida Commission on Ethics last June. Ahead of the election for Charlotte County Sheriff last year, one of Prummell’s opponents, Andrew Sheets, filed an ethics complaint against Prummell. The complaint accuses Prummell of nepotism for how the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office handled a vehicle crash involving Prummell’s son-in-law, Deputy Peter DiPiazza. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Friday in Tallahassee to evaluate the results of the Florida Commission of Ethics’ preliminary investigation.
Bill Prummell is accused of nepotism at the Charlotte County Sheriffs Office.
“Lee, Collier counties may seek to patch rift over water district funds” via Bill Smith of the Fort Myers News-Press — Lee and Collier county commissioners, at odds over proposed changes in control of the region’s water management, may try to work things out in a brewing political clash over legislation pending in Tallahassee. A bill filed by Sen. Ray Rodrigues, an Estero Republican, would add areas in southern Lee County, including Estero and Bonita Springs, to the Big Cypress Basin. Currently, Lee County is considered to be in another part of the South Florida Water Management District known as the Okeechobee Basin.
Top opinion
“Operation Warp Speed’s triumph” via The Wall Street Journal editorial board — American governments, federal and state, have made many mistakes in the COVID-19 pandemic. But the great success — the saving grace — was making a financial bet in collaboration with private American industry on the development of vaccines. That effort is now letting the country see the possibility of a return to relatively normal life as early as the spring. Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. should have enough vaccine supply for every American adult by the end of May. Last week the Food and Drug Administration finally approved Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, and this week J&J struck a deal with Merck to manufacture the single-shot J&J vaccine as well.
Opinions
“Here’s our wish list for Florida lawmakers” via the Miami Herald editorial board — It’s become normal practice for lawmakers to raid Florida’s affordable-housing trust fund to plug holes in the state budget. That fund, which comes from taxes levied on real estate transactions, builds new homes, helps low-income people buy their own homes and repair existing ones. More than 275,000 renters in South Florida were considered “cost-burdened” in 2019, meaning they spend more than 40% of their income on housing. They, and so many others, need relief. And the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need to keep the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund reserved solely for its intended purpose, and Senate Bill 510, which has cleared two committees, would ensure that.
“Here is my five-point plan to get students back in school full time” via Miguel Cardona of USA Today — The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest and most complex challenge our education system has experienced. It has been extraordinary to see schools, educators and families face this challenge head-on and continue to educate our students. But despite heroic work by educators and staff, the yearlong pandemic has led to fewer learning opportunities, more kids going hungry, greater stress, and a growing sense of social isolation. The disruption in school has taken the heaviest toll on students of color, students from families with low-incomes, English learners, students in rural communities, and students with disabilities impacting their social, emotional and mental health and academic well-being.
“Marco Rubio deserves praise for media diversity stance” via the Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial board — Now more than ever America needs to widen the range of voices that are heard during our national conversations — and broaden the perspectives that are shared from across the spectrum of responsible and constructive ideologies. And make no mistake: this also applies to America’s media, which must continue to make room for more chairs at the table when it comes to diversity. A 2018 report by the Columbia Journalism Review found that while minorities were nearly 40% of America’s total population, they made up less than 17% of the staff in print and online newsrooms across the country.
“Voters will punish GOP in midterms for lack of COVID-19 support” via Kevin Walling in The Hill — Morning Consult and Politico last week published new polling data indicating that 76% of voters back the current $1.9 trillion plan, including more than 60% of Republican voters. Congressional handicappers would be hard-pressed to find another bill of this magnitude that has enjoyed this kind of sustained public support — a testament to the Biden administration’s laserlike focus on tackling the COVID-19 crisis and economic fallout. With a 2022 senate map filled with opportunities for Team Blue to flip key states — including open seats in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s “political risk” seems sure to backfire in the face of this kind of public support behind COVID-19 relief.
On today’s Sunrise
Gov. DeSantis clarifies the rules for people under 65 who want a vaccine because of medical conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID-19. You just have to get your doctor to sign a one-page form from the health department; they don’t even have to say why you qualify … just that you do.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— A Senate committee debates a bill protecting the health care industry from COVID-19 liability lawsuits. Democratic Sen. Gary Farmer says the health care heroes may deserve it … but not the bad apples of the nursing home industry.
— The bill passed … but it was close.
— The Senate Transportation Committee votes to end M-CORES — also known as the “Roads to Nowhere.”
— The Senate Agriculture Committee approves a bill to ban tethering of cats and dogs. Sen. Annette Taddeo says it’s cruel to the animals and can be fatal for kids who get too close. Taddeo’s bill ran into opposition from the Florida Dog Hunters Association, but it was amended to address their concerns.
— A discussion about sea-level rise in Florida with Alec Bogdanoff with the American Flood Coalition. He’s heading up their efforts in Florida.
— And finally, a Florida Man is now in jail thanks to his fondness for power tools.
“SpaceX Starship prototype rocket explodes after successful landing in high-altitude flight test” via Michael Sheetz of CNBC — The cause of the explosion, or whether it was intentional, was not immediately clear. Elon Musk alternatively refers to explosions as “RUDs,” or Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly. The company test flew Starship rocket Serial No. 10, or SN10. SpaceX aimed to launch the prototype as high as 10 kilometers, or about 32,800 feet altitude. There were no passengers on board the rocket, as it is a development vehicle and flies autonomously. Musk remains “highly confident” that Starship “will be safe enough for human transport by 2023″ — an ambitious goal given the company began the rocket’s development and testing in earnest in early 2019.
Despite exploding a few minutes after a hard landing, SpaceX’s latest Starship prototype high-altitude flight test was considered a great success. Image via SpaceX.
“Blue Angels debut ‘Super Delta’ formation with Thunderbirds, announce Memorial Day virtual flight” via Jake Newby of the Pensacola News Journal — The Blue Angels announced Tuesday night that the iconic U.S. Navy flight demonstration team will conduct a virtual flight this Memorial Day weekend as part of the 16th annual National Memorial Day Parade: America Stands Tall event. It was actually a two-headed announcement for the Blue Angels, which also revealed on their Instagram page that the Blues and Thunderbirds debuted an F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Super Hornet flight formation known as the “Super Delta” during a joint training evolution Tuesday over the Imperial Valley in southeastern California. The team is finishing up winter training in El Centro, California, and is tentatively scheduled to return to Pensacola later this month.
“Brady ‘was not thinking’ when he threw the Lombardi Trophy during Buccaneers’ boat parade” via Cindy Boren of The Washington Post — Slowly and increasingly vividly, the memories of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl boat parade are coming into focus, particularly the moment when the tequila-sodden quarterback reared back and heaved the Lombardi Trophy across the water. The moment, captured on endless-loop social media, is one that Brady admitted on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” that he “doesn’t remember that quite as well” as the rest of the universe. At least he had the sense to heave it toward a boat occupied by receivers.
Happy birthday
Best wishes to Trent Muntz, an aide to former Senate Majority Leader Kathleen Passidomo.
Unsubscribe Having trouble viewing this email? View in browser
Good morning. Many of you have been asking, “Hey, Brew, where’s the snow plow coverage?” We have heard your feedback loud and clear. Here are the latest industry updates.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation released the winners of a contest to name its snow plow fleet. The most popular names include Plowy McPlowFace, Snowbi Wan Kenobi, Plow Bunyan, and The Truck Formerly Known As Plow.
Let’s zip to Scotland, which has been naming its snow plow fleet since 2006 and recently released some new monikers. Our favorites: License to Chill, William Wall-Ice, and Sweet Child O’Brine.
Markets: The Nasdaq got clobbered (again) as investors pulled out of Big Tech and other stocks that boomed during the pandemic, such as Etsy. Today’s main event is Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who will likely address investors’ growing concerns over inflation at a WSJ summit.
Stimulus: With Senate negotiations ongoing, President Biden agreed to lower income caps for the $1,400 direct payments included in his stimulus bill. The cap for receiving some amount of payment is now $80,000 for individual filers.
Covid: The vaccine floodgates are opening little by little. As Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot gets distributed, more states are expanding eligibility to people of younger ages.
Yesterday, Google announced the biggest shakeup in advertising strategy since Verizon’s “can you hear me now” guy joined Sprint.
First, it confirmed that it plans to phase out the practice of letting companies track users across the web using cookies by next year. Then, it pinky promised not to create an equally invasive workaround despite the potential hit to its money-printing advertising businesses.
Why it’s a big deal: Cookies are little crumbs of digital information that companies, advertisers, and websites have used to track your movement across the web. To a certain extent, the modern advertising businesses of internet giants like Google and Facebook are built on the buttery backs of cookies.
But in recent years, browsers including Safari and Firefox have restricted the use of cookies out of growing concern over user privacy. Google’s uber-popular web browser, Chrome, was one of the last major browsers to still support the practice. But now that Chrome (with its 60% market share) is phasing out cookies for good, the one-time tracking snack of choice is heading down the garbage disposal.
You’re still going to get targeted ads
But the mechanisms that power them are changing. Currently, using cookies, Google can see that a user was shopping for a new golf bag on Amazon, then later serve them a Callaway ad next to a Golf.com article. This online Sherlock Holmes-ing is the reason why it can feel like a product is following you around the internet.
Now, through a program called “Privacy Sandbox,” Google is testing a way for companies to target ads to groups of users with similar interests instead of directly to individuals. That way, businesses can still serve targeted ads, but your specific user data is a little more private since Google is essentially hiding it in a crowd.
Zoom out: One of the biggest challenges of phasing out third-party cookies was finding a suitable replacement for them. Yesterday’s announcement shows that Google feels comfortable enough with the new castles it’s building in Privacy Sandbox to destroy the old ones.
On Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott scrapped the state’s mask mandate and said that businesses of any kind would be allowed to operate at full capacity beginning March 10—next Wednesday. The fallout is splitting the Texas business community like burnt orange versus maroon and white barbecue.
Retailers including gym operator Life Time Fitness, grocer Albertsons, and some local restaurants have dropped mask requirements, plan to return to normal capacity, or both.
Others, including Hyatt, Target, Starbucks, and CVS, say they’ll keep mask requirements in place.
Many health experts argue the moves could lead to a resurgence of the virus, and some business owners say they’re worried because the statewide mask mandate gave them cover when dealing with mask-resistant customers. But especially hard-hit sectors such as gyms and food services are desperate for normal operations to resume.
Zoom out: In the last week, other governors have also said they’ll ease restrictions, including in Mississippi, Iowa, and Montana.
In the energy biz, attention is turning toward an expensive but enticing way to reduce emissions: carbon capture, a process where pollution is…captured, then stored underground.
Industry giant Exxon Mobil said yesterday it plans to increase investment in carbon capture tech, which it pegs to be a $2 trillion market by 2040. Exxon Mobil has, up until now, resisted carbon capture, but it’s recently come under pressure by an activist investor to reduce its CO2 output.
Axios notes that, despite emission-reducing initiatives, fossil fuels remain the meat and potatoes of Exxon’s and other oil majors’ operations.
Newly minted US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also delivered a tough-love message to fossil fuel companies in her first official speech yesterday, emphasizing that a transition to clean energy will happen come hell or high water—because climate scientists predict both. The Biden administration aims to purge all carbon emissions from the economy by 2050.
Zoom out: Last month, Elon Musk launched a contest to identify promising carbon-capture projects, offering a $100 million prize for the best.
You bust your butt working all year in anticipation of receiving your tax refund—and all the different ways you can spend it. But what if you turned the tables on that tax cash and made the money work for you?
We’re talkin’ about investing in the preferred asset class of the wealthy: Private market real estate.
makes diversifying your platform easy peasy lemon squeezy. WIth as little as $500, you can be investing in asset classes that are traditionally reserved for the 1%.
Unlike the stock market, private real estate is a time-tested asset with way less daily volatility. DiversyFund works as a partner—not a broker—so you can avoid broker fees and invest in million-dollar deals without writing million-dollar checks.
Now get this: DiversyFund is . New customers who fund an account using the promo code WIN25K will be entered in a raffle to win $25k.
NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang told Bloomberg he was depressed after learning that Goldman Sachs was opening up a branch down in Tampa. If it feels any better, Mr. Yang, Bill Belichick said the same thing last year.
Stat: The NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves have the worst winning percentage in the history of US sports, according to calculations from the Reddit user u/TheRatPatrol. The Timberwolves winning percentage dropped to 0.393 this week, falling below the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (whose win-loss record is 278-429-1) as the most unsuccessful active sports franchise in the country.
Read: How to build an artificial heart. (The New Yorker)
In the all-out war for your eyeballs and thumbs, Netflix just brought in some surprise reinforcements. Yesterday, the streaming giant launched “Fast Laughs,” a TikTok-esque mobile feature that allows iOS users in some countries to scroll through comedy-focused short clips of Netflix shows.
For example: Fast Laughs might surface a funny scene from Big Mouth. The clip serves the purpose of 1) being entertaining to watch and 2) reminding you that you might not have finished the first season because watching with your parents was getting a little uncomfortable, but now you’re ready to dive back in.
And Netflix makes the diving-back-in very easy. Fast Laughs users can send the clip to their friends, add the show to a watch list, or, most importantly, start watching a full episode immediately.
Bottom line: Netflix isn’t trying to create the next Ocean Spray-skateboarder moment. But it does want to convince users to spend more time on its app by giving them something different and “Netflix-y” to scroll through on their phones.
WHAT ELSE IS BREWING
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he plans to remain in office following multiple allegations of sexual harassment. “I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” he said.
US infrastructure earned a C- grade from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Hey, at least that’s better than the D+ in 2017.
SpaceX’s Starship prototype stuck the landing in its third flight test…but then blew up while sitting on the landing pad a few minutes later.
Facebook is lifting its ban on political advertising today.
Amazon is in talks with the NFL to air a “significant number” of Thursday night games exclusively on Prime Video, per the WSJ.
Alamo Drafthouse, the movie theater chain known for its dine-in service, filed for bankruptcy.
BREW’S BETS
Save five hundo on your next trip-o. For the next 48 hours, try Dollar Flight Club for just $1. That means Hawaii from $109. Greece from $247. Or Costa Rica from $167. And all on airlines with flexible change policies. Join over 1 million members saving on adventures this year.*
Lock it up and leave the rest to the best.SimpliSafe is the home security system that’s customized to your needs. Order online, find it delivered at your door, and set it up in under an hour. Protect your space with SimpliSafe.*
Two videos that are pleasing to the eye: Watch 1) how cats walk to reduce noise and maximize stealth and 2) the perfect marriage of Bugs Bunny and classical music.
If you liked SimCity...moonlight as a city planner and build your perfect street, or create the most chaotic street you can dream up.
For when sriracha gets old: 30 epic condiments to spice up your cabinet.
Giving back. Specifically, spending a virtual week with some brilliant high school students to show them what a career in media can look like (see above) and how to build a successful product.
If your company is interested in meeting the next generation of business leaders (and maybe even inspiring them to come work with you), check out SuitUp. The Brew recently partnered with the nonprofit on a week-long mentorship program and business case competition, and all our volunteers and students walked away having learned something.
Like Salvador Dalí, our headline quiz specializes in serving up the surreal. Let’s put your grasp of reality to the test: Three of the following news headlines are real, but one is made up. Can you spot the fake?
“Easter Peeps from thirteen years ago found for sale in Iowa grocery store”
“Surly seal spotted on Charlottetown sidewalk apprehended by police”
“Reese’s is launching a new all-peanut butter cup”
“A ‘space hurricane’ hovered above the North Pole for about 8 hours, study says”
H.R. 1, known as the “For the People Act,” would overhaul government ethics and campaign finance laws, and seek to strengthen voting rights by creating automatic voter registration and expanding access to early and absentee voting. The vote on the bill comes as Republican-controlled state legislatures seek to restrict voting rights, including measures to limit mail-in voting and impose stricter voter identification requirements.
…
H.R. 1 passed by a vote of 220-210. No Republicans voted to pass the bill, which is unsurprising, as most Republicans have been vocally opposed to it, saying they believe it amounts to federal overreach and a Democratic power grab. Democrats now have a narrow 50-seat majority in the Senate, but most legislation requires 60 votes to advance. The bills are unlikely to gain support from ten Republican senators.
…
Progressives have argued that the Senate should eliminate the filibuster, which would allow legislation to advance with a simple majority, in order to pass their key priorities. However, Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have expressed opposition to eliminating the filibuster. Manchin on Monday said that he would “never” change his mind about ending the filibuster.
All votes are anonymous. This poll closes at: 9:00 PST
YESTERDAY’S POLLWill your next car be an electric vehicle?
Yes
27%
No
38%
Maybe
35%
531 votes, 245 comments
BEST COMMENTS“Yes – My current car is electric. My prior car was electric. The three cars before that were all hybrids. I didn’t buy any of these cars for environmental reasons. I bought them all for economic reasons (and, they are just great cars). I save over $1,000 a year compared to a gas car.”
“No – The area I live in has zero charging stations. Electric cars …”
“Maybe – Now that charging infrastructure is adequate (still a lot of room for improvement), average ranges have increased to around 300 miles per charge, and quick charging has cut charging time down to …”
The House has passed HR. 1, the For the People bill, strictly along party lines. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) says that “It is an unparalleled political grab.” He argued during the debate that “It is not designed to protect Americans’ vote — it is designed to put a thumb on the scale in every election in America, so that Democrats can turn a temporary majority into permanent control.”
Opening America – States Hit the Gas on COVID Freedoms
The media has let Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slide on comments about Danish fast-food employees and their equivalent $22 per hour wage. Failing to fact-check statements from the “favored party” has become a ubiquitous sin by the Fourth Estate. Is it any wonder that confidence in the media continues to fall?
Votes in the House are canceled today due to reports of a security threat. The Capitol police said in a statement, “We have obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol by an identified militia group on Thursday, March 4.”
With a number of states setting to completely re-open, President Biden accused the governors of “Neanderthal thinking.” Studies based on population and COVID rates show little difference in outcomes between those with strict lockdowns and those with virtually none.
Activists in Ferguson, Missouri, are demanding that Black Lives Matter hands over $20 million to local organizers after news broke that the global brand had collected more than $90 million in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
No, AOC, McDonald’s Employees in Denmark Aren’t Better Off
Something political to ponder as you enjoy your morning coffee.
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) was the only Republican to vote for the Democrat-backed bill that would seek to reform and defund the police. He said that he pressed the wrong button when voting and later had the record set straight. This occurs at the same time as House Dems are pushing the For the People bill that would increase online practices for voting. If a member of Congress can make a mistake, how many regular folks will have the same issue?
President Joe Biden said during his campaign that he wanted to build on the Affordable Care Act rather than initiate an entirely new plan, such as Medicare for All. The bill now working its way through Congress is consistent with that pledge.
In continuing the Donald Trump administration’s use of the national security exception to World Trade Organization rules, the nexus of trade, security, and technology will be a confounding challenge for the Joe Biden administration.
“President Joe Biden and Democrats agreed to tighten eligibility limits for stimulus checks Wednesday… Under the legislation, individuals earning up to $75,000, and couples up to $150,000, would get $1,400 checks per person. The House-approved version would gradually phase down that amount, with individuals making $100,000 and couples earning $200,000 receiving nothing. Under Wednesday’s agreement, the Senate bill would instead halt the payments completely for individuals making $80,000 and couples earning $160,000.” AP News
Last Thursday, “the Senate parliamentarian ruled the chamber cannot include President Joe Biden’s proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage in a $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill the party aims to pass without Republican votes.” Reuters
The left supports the bill but urges Democrats to continue pushing for progressive priorities, which are popular with the public.
“A major argument from Republican critics of the House rescue plan is that the states and localities do not need $350 billion in aid… [but] revenue statistics are meaningless without knowing outlays — especially outlays needed to make up for the economic hit and dislocation associated with the dual crises of the pandemic and recession…
“Considering that lack of in-person schooling has set many students back, especially those already at an education deficit, it is not unreasonable for states to seek summer school, year-round school or tutoring. How are they going to pay for that? In other words, the cost of making states and their residents ‘whole’ is more than the gap between revenue and expenditures…
“‘Public-sector employment hasn’t recovered. There are 1.3 million fewer state and local government employees than when the pandemic began.’… If Republican senators think local and state finances are fine, they should talk to their home-state mayors and governors.” Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post
“Overall, 62 percent of people back passing the $1.9 trillion stimulus package as soon as possible, while 31 percent said they supported a targeted bipartisan option. Similarly, 83 percent of people said it was more important to get people the help they need than for lawmakers to find consensus on a stimulus package. Only 12 percent said getting to a bipartisan package was a bigger priority. Democrats and independents were more likely to favor swift passage of the $1.9 trillion plan, while Republicans were more divided, with 47 percent for doing so and 47 percent for a smaller option… These results suggest there’s broad support for Democrats’ larger stimulus proposal.” Li Zhou, Vox
“Winning three Senate Republicans for the recovery bill in 2009 bought President Barack Obama and the Democrats exactly zero bipartisanship points with the media or the public; the same would have been true now had a smaller bill passed 53-47 instead of the likely 51-50 outcome… Meanwhile, the real headline here — again, assuming that the bill passes — is that this will be a major win on substance for the Democrats.” Jonathan Bernstein, Bloomberg
Regarding the compromise on the stimulus checks, “[Multiple Democratic sources] told me that, aside from pressure by moderates, party leaders agreed to cut the checks for procedural reasons having to do with the rules of budget reconciliation, the maddeningly byzantine parliamentary procedure lawmakers are using to get around the Senate filibuster…
“Thanks to the whims of a couple of moderate lawmakers and the bizarre jetties of Senate procedure, Democrats are having to make a politically unpopular choice that will probably antagonize a modest but vocal number of voters without saving a substantial amount of money that could be put to better use. The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body is at it again.” Jordan Weissmann, Slate
Similarly, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) states that “The $15 minimum wage is an incredibly popular and populist policy. It’s popular with Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. It has won every time it’s been put on the ballot, including in red states and in Florida, it passed with a supermajority of voters. It is something that we ran on as Democrats. We said, ‘Listen, if you give us the House, the Senate, and the White House, we’re going to deliver a raise for 32 million workers.’ We can’t go back to voters and say that the parliamentarian, procedural rules stopped us from doing this. We just have to figure out a way to get it done.” Bridget Read, The Cut
“Twenty-five million people have fallen sick in the United States and 500,000 have died in the past year; 19 million are collecting unemployment; 25 million are facing hunger; and 30 to 40 million are facing evictions. While politicians debate raising the minimum wage, 30 percent of people in households with incomes of less than $25,000 a year report not having enough to eat. More than one of five people in households with incomes of less than $50,000 reported not having enough to eat in February. This is the moment to raise wages for all workers living in all communities.” Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, The Nation
From the Right
The right is critical of the stimulus bill, arguing that it includes wasteful spending and is not targeted towards those who truly need help.
“The measure allocates $350 billion in aid to states, cities and counties, supposedly to address pandemic-created revenue shortfalls. New data, however, shows that state budgets have been much less affected by the pandemic than had been expected, with some even showing an increase in revenue from the year before…
“The bill currently includes $170 billion for K-12 schools and higher education, purportedly to enact measures that would enable distance learning or an earlier return to in-person instruction. Nearly $60 billion in previously enacted aid for schools remains unspent, however…
“The fact is that the pandemic has not seriously financially harmed most Americans, and many of those who have been harmed found relief in earlier measures. Savings rates are at a record high, and personal income as a whole is up, not down, since the pandemic struck. This is also true for average and low-income households. A December report from the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that checking account balances were up by as much as 40 percent for all income groups.” Henry Olsen, Washington Post
Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) writes, “It is disappointing that the new Democratic Senate Majority has decided to move forward with a budget resolution to quickly pass proposals that have failed to garner broad bipartisan support in the past, rather than focusing on policies that will boost vaccine distribution and help get people back to work and our kids safely back to school. The proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill comes just a few short months after a $900 billion package was signed into law, and ignores estimates that roughly $1 trillion in enacted stimulus funding remains unspent.” Mike Crapo, Fox News
“The media have mobilized to warn us about the devastating fallout if the GOP opposes the Dems’ plan; not only for the future of the country, but for their own party. Do you remember when the Republican resistance to President Barack Obama’s partisan slush-fund ‘stimulus’ bill sunk them in the 2010 midterms? Nor do I. Although polls told us that a majority of Americans supported Obama’s efforts, not a single House Republican voted for the 2009 stimulus bill. By the next year, a majority had turned against the plan, and the GOP picked up a historic 63 seats, the biggest victory by a party in the midterm elections since 1938…
“The Congressional Budget Office’s recent analysis of Biden’s plan found that more than a third of proposed funding, around $700 billion, wouldn’t be spent until 2022 or later…
“With the pandemic likely to recede, the best stimulus will be a return to normalcy, accompanied by a handful of narrow, targeted bills designed to assist those who were the most adversely affected by the government-induced shutdowns. Before long, there will be a backlash over the government’s zealous and ineffective behavior during the pandemic, and Republicans should make sure they’re on the right side of it.” David Harsanyi, New York Post
“Under the guise of pandemic relief, the federal government would give a nonworking single parent with two preschool-age children and one in grade school $850 a month [for one year]. This would come on top of other government benefits, including $680 a month in food stamps, amounting to $18,360 in combined annual income. That’s the equivalent, without accounting for taxes, of working 28 hours a week at $12.50 an hour. On top of that, the family would receive health insurance from Medicaid, and it may also receive housing and child-care assistance…
“If all this sounds vaguely familiar, it should. Sending monthly checks to nonworking parents was exactly how welfare used to work until 1996, when President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, for which Sen. Joe Biden voted. That law requires parents to work or train in exchange for welfare benefits and offered additional child care and other support to help them go to work. Once UBI for parents is here, calls for UBI for everyone will follow…
“After the 1996 welfare reform, child poverty declined as single mothers increasingly worked and received benefits that supplemented their earnings. This combination of work plus aid made work pay, as Mr. Clinton used to say, and it allowed people to have the dignity that comes with earning one’s own living. Monthly welfare benefits with no expectation of work would reduce employment and earnings, establish lifelong government dependency for millions of Americans, and increase unwed childbearing.” Robert Doar and Matt Weidinger, Wall Street Journal
☕ Good Thursday morning.Smart Brevity™ count: 966 words … < 4 minutes.
⚡ At 11 p.m., House Democrats passed sweeping election and anti-corruption legislation with no Republican votes, sending the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of U.S. election law in at least a generation.Go deeper.
The House also passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Go deeper.
The U.S. may be on the verge of another surge in coronavirus cases, despite weeks of good news, Axios health care editor Sam Baker writes.
Nationwide, progress against the virus has stalled.
Where it stands: The U.S. averaged just under 65,000 new cases per day over the past week. That’s essentially unchanged from the week before, ending a six-week streak of double-digit improvements.
Although the U.S. has been moving in the right direction, 65,000 cases per day is not a number that indicates the virus is under control. It’s the same caseload the U.S. was seeing last July, at the height of the summer surge.
What we’re watching: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday rescinded the state’s mask mandate and declared that businesses will be able to operate at full capacity.
But the risk in Texas is far from over. In fact, its outbreak is growing: New cases in the state rose by 27% over the past week.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves also scrapped all business restrictions, along with the state’s mask mandate. New cases in Mississippi were up 62% over the past week — the biggest jump of any state.
“We’ve got about 1,000 of them running around out there,” Ryan Tuohy of Starship tells Axios. Photo courtesy of Starship Technologies
As small robots proliferate on sidewalks and city streets, so does legislation that grants them generous access rights and even classifies them, in the case of Pennsylvania, as “pedestrians,” Axios Cities author Jennifer A. Kingson writes.
Why it matters: Fears of a dystopian urban world where people dodge heavy, fast-moving droids are colliding with the aims of robot developers — including Amazon and FedEx — to deploy delivery fleets.
The laws are a boon to Amazon’s Scout delivery robot and FedEx’s Roxo, which are being tested in urban and suburban settings.
The other side: The National Association of City Transportation Officials says: “Drone delivery could significantly increase noise pollution and add a new dimension of chaos to urban streets.”
Taxing the rich is an idea that’s back, Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon writes:
An “ultra-millionaire tax” introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other left-wing Democrats this week would raise more than $3 trillion over 10 years, they say, while making the tax system more fair.
Why it matters: New taxes would be a necessary part of any Democratic plan to redistribute wealth. But President Biden has more urgent priorities — and Warren’s wealth tax faces constitutional obstacles.
How it works: Warren’s tax would exempt the first $50 million of wealth for everybody. After that, individuals and households would have to pay a tax of 2% on their wealth over $50 million.
Billionaires would face an extra 1% surcharge on wealth over $1 billion.
The catch: Conservative scholars claim that such a tax would be unconstitutional.
Even some proponents of a wealth tax, such as French economist Thomas Piketty, worry about its constitutionality. “I realize that this is unconstitutional, but constitutions have been changed throughout history,” he said in 2014.
💰Sign up for Felix Salmon’s weekly newsletter, Axios Capital.
4. Musk’s Mars ship landed but didn’t last
Photo: SpaceX via AP
A prototype of a next-generation SpaceX rocket soared more than six miles over the southern tip of Texas for a test flight that included an elegant flip turn and successful touchdown, before the rocket exploded on the landing pad, Axios Space author Miriam Kramer writes.
Elon Musktweeted: “Starship SN10 landed in one piece!”
Sign up for Miriam Kramer’s weekly Axios Space newsletter.
5. Cuomo: “Embarrassed” but won’t resign
Photos: Office of the New York Governor via AP (Upper left: @NYGovCuomo)
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the end of a COVID update. “It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize.”
But he added: “I never touched anyone inappropriately. … I wasn’t elected by politicians, I was elected by the people of the state of New York. I’m not going to resign.”
6. Blinken: “Real strength isn’t bluster or bullying”
Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP
Secretary of State Tony Blinken said yesterday in his first major speech, “A Foreign Policy for the American People,” that the U.S. relationship with China is “the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century”:
“Our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be. The common denominator is the need to engage China from a position of strength.”
Blinken also said: “Shoring up our democracy is a foreign policy imperative.”
A 24-pagenational security strategy rolled out by the administration warns that China “has rapidly become more assertive”:
“It is the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system.”
8. Pandemic jeopardizes tens of thousands of nonprofits
Staff Sgt. Mike Schuster loads produce boxes for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Photo: Tony Dejak/AP
More than one-third of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the pandemic, according to a study by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, AP reports.
The researchers analyzed how roughly 300,000 nonprofits would fare under 20 scenarios of varying severity. The worst-case scenario led to the closings of 38%. Even the scenarios seen as more realistic resulted in closures well into double-digit percentages.
Among the most vulnerable are those involved in arts and entertainment, which depend on ticket sales.
9. Paramount+ launches amid streaming bonanza
Data: Axios Research. Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios
Paramount+, from ViacomCBS, debuts today — the last launch of a major streaming service for the foreseeable future, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer writes.
Why it matters: Data shows that most consumers are likely to pay for at most 3-4 services per month.
Catch up quick: Paramount+, Disney+, Discovery+, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, AT&T’s HBO Max, and AppleTV all launched in the past year and a half, in an effort to catch up to Netflix’s dominance.
Disney’s Hulu got a head start, launching more than a decade ago.
Paramount+ launches in the U.S. and Latin America for $9.99 monthly without ads. Come this summer, an ad-supported tier will be available for $4.99 per month.
11 of the top 12 books on Amazon’s bestseller list — and half of the top 50 — are Dr. Seuss books, following news that six of his titles will no longer be published because of racist and insensitive imagery.
President Biden may be the Democratic standard-bearer, but his party is taking fewer cues from him than Republicans are from his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
Supporters of Kamala Harris are pushing back as pressure mounts on the vice president to override the Senate parliamentarian and advance a federal minimum wage increase, viewing this as an unrealistic liberal litmus test that could stunt the proposal’s enactment into law.
The Democratic $1.9 trillion spending bill would dedicate tens of billions in temporary subsidies for Obamacare plans, a measure meant to address a long-running complaint about the program: that coverage is unaffordable for many in the middle class.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sparked a debate this week when he said that the situation on the southern border is not a crisis but a “challenge.”
The Democrats’ proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage is on the ropes, but an unlikely group could revive it: populist and nationalist Republicans loyal to former President Donald Trump.
The House passed Democrats’ massive election reform bill, the “For the People Act,” on Wednesday in the wake of lingering bitterness over the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
The New York City prosecutor in charge of the criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s company and finances reportedly has his sights set on the Republican’s chief financial officer.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sympathized with the women who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of inappropriate sexual behavior and said she herself was a victim of workplace harassment, adding that such behavior “cannot be tolerated.”
You received this email because you are subscribed to Examiner Today from The Washington Examiner.
Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive.We respect your right to privacy – View our Policy
Unsubscribe
18.) ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 04, 2021
View in browser
AP Morning Wire
Beginning next week, we offer something new: As dawn approaches in the United States, some of The Associated Press’ top journalists across Europe will be alternating each weekday to create your Morning Wire. They’ll scour our global news report for the most significant and most relevant stories and imagery – and a few unexpected things as well.
Until then, please enjoy this selection of stories from the AP’s global news report. And thank you for reading.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S…….Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Many questions remain unanswered about the failure to prevent the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But after six congressional hearings, it’s clear that the Capitol….Read More
Demonstrators in Myanmar protesting last month’s military coup returned to the streets Thursday, undaunted by the killing of at least 38 people the previous day by security forces. New… …Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress are jamming their agenda forward with a sense of urgency, an unapologetically partisan approach based on the calculation that i…Read More
LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says Prince Philip has had a successful heart procedure in a London hospital. The palace says the 99-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen… …Read More
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will begin setting aside 40% of all vaccine doses for the state’s most vulnerable neighborhoods in an effort to inoculate people m…Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — The world’s hopes for curbing climate change hinge on action by two giant nations whose relations are deteriorating: China and the United States. The…Read More
LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace said Wednesday it was launching an investigation after a newspaper reported that a former aide had made a bullying allegation against t…Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — When will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines? It depends on the child’s age, but some teenagers could be rolling up their sleeves before too lon…Read More
“There are only two forces that can carry light to all the corners of the globe … the sun in the heavens and The Associated Press down here.”
Mark Twain
GET THE APP
Download the AP News app to get breaking news alerts from AP on your phone, tablet or watch.
Illinois Democratic leaders on Wednesday night selected U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson as their new state party chairman and the successor to embattled former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who held the post for 23 years.
In a vote of the 36-member Democratic State Central Committee, with each member’s ballot weighted by the number of votes cast in the 2020 March primary, Kelly got 52% to 48% for Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris, 8th. Harris’ loss was a blow to first-term Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who sought to consolidate power in the party with Madigan leaving the political scene.
Despite efforts by the city to make the shots available to every resident of areas most affected by COVID-19, regardless of whether they meet other standards to be vaccinated, some Latinos are still having trouble getting the vaccine while those in other hard-hit communities continue to wait for it.
Community leaders say hesitancy about the vaccine plays a role in keeping some Latinos from getting inoculated even where it is available. But language and technology barriers also are discouraging people from seeking an appointment or even learning more about the vaccine.
Illinois COVID-19 questions answered: Who can get a vaccine at the United Center? Are vaccine doses being wasted? Should I see an eye doctor if I had COVID-19?
Former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner made a $250,000 campaign contribution to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week after seniors in the uber-wealthy Florida Keys enclave where Rauner owns a home were among the first in the state to receive COVID-19 vaccinations in January.
ABC-7 sportscaster Mark Giangreco, a Chicago TV fixture for nearly 40 years, has been off the air since joking on a January newscast that anchor Cheryl Burton could play a “ditzy, combative interior decorator” on a reality TV series.
Whether Giangreco, 68, will return is not certain despite 18 months remaining on the contract renewal he signed in 2019 that reportedly kept him as the nation’s highest-paid local sportscaster.
A former senior executive at United Airlines who disappeared in August sold his four-bedroom, 2,136-square-foot house in Elmhurst for $523,000 on Nov. 5 — three months after he vanished. At the time of his disappearance Aug. 7, Jake Cefolia was senior vice president of worldwide sales for the airline, overseeing 725 people.
Families and educators hoping to unwind this summer after a stressful, unprecedented school year may get an ever so slightly shorter break than expected.
For the first time in years, Chicago Public Schools officials are proposing an Aug. 30 start date for the 2021-22 school year, a week earlier than the usual Tuesday after Labor Day. Nader Issa has the story…
“Should we FIGHT or LET COVID win?!” The lament by the owners of a tiny fried chicken, burgers and shrimp joint in the Uptown neighborhood is that of a large segment of Small Business America.
The move — which hasn’t been finalized and will still need board approval — would be a departure for a district that has long been one of the few in the state to stick with a September start.
ABC7 is working on a separation agreement with the longtime sports anchor after he jokingly referred to news anchor Cheryl Burton as “ditzy” on a newscast Jan. 28, according to sources.
During a hearing last month, Joseph D. Jones apologized to the judge and his family. He said he’d made a “grave mistake that has changed my life and the life of my family.”
Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Today is Thursday! 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 each morning this week: Monday, 513,091; Tuesday, 514,657; Wednesday, 516,608; Thursday, 518,453.
Senate Democrats on Wednesday took a scalpel to President Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill hoping to surgically ensure enough support from centrists this week to clear the measure, already passed by the House.
Biden and Senate allies say they’re willing to be less generous with the bill’s income cutoffs for proposed $1,400 federal direct payments to higher-income individuals and families (The Hill and The New York Times).
The Hill: Senate Democrats cut deals to gain votes for COVID-19 relief measure.
The Senate is moving with the pace of a cooling saucer and hopes for a final vote later this week (Reuters), while the House on Wednesday suddenly accelerated its floor schedule to approve sweeping voting and police reform bills and canceled plans for votes today amid new security threats involving the Capitol (The Hill). Law enforcement and intelligence officials warned that extremists threaten to attack the Capitol today based on a convoluted and false belief that former President Trump will be reinstalled in office (The Hill).
The Associated Press: House Democrats late Wednesday voted 220-212 to overhaul policing nationwide with national standards.
The Capitol Police force is preparing for another assault on the Capitol building after obtaining intelligence of a potential plot by a militia group, just two months after a mob of Trump loyalists and extremists attacked the building, leaving five dead and hundreds injured (The New York Times).
Senate conservatives, including Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) (pictured below), have their own ideas about how to slow a Senate bill they believe is partisan and too bloated, especially in the context of $4 trillion previously enacted as COVID-19 relief. They vowed on Wednesday to gum up the works by asking the clerk this week to read the entire bill aloud, which Johnson estimated could take 10 hours.
“We need to keep this process going,” Johnson told reporters, adding that he has readied “plenty” of amendments to slow momentum.
Republican senators are plotting how they can score political points as the bill moves through the Senate. The process known as vote-a-rama gives the minority party opportunities to force Democrats to go on the record with each vote ahead of 2022 elections, reports The Hill’s Jordain Carney.
The Hill: Senate’s GOP will force clerks to read bill to delay COVID-19 relief bill vote.
The Hill: In addition to a voting rights measure, the House on Wednesday passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, seen by progressives as a landmark police reform bill named after the Minneapolis victim of a police killing last summer. Biden has said he would sign both measures, but the bills face long odds in the Senate (Reuters).
SECURITY: The U.S. Capitol Police Department is bracing for a second attempted assault on the Capitol today, a day after the commanding officer of the Washington, D.C., Guard lamented the delayed response to activate troops on Jan. 6 until hours after the Capitol had been breached by pro-Trump supporters.
The Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday that it has “obtained intelligence that shows a possible plot to breach the Capitol.”
“We have already made significant security upgrades to include establishing a physical structure and increasing manpower to ensure the protection of Congress, the public and our police officers,” it added.
The Capitol complex has been fortified by a fence that includes barbed wire and National Guard troops that are expected to remain in the coming weeks. As The Hill’s Chris Mills Rodrigo notes, March 4 has been circled on law enforcement’s calendars for months because some QAnon adherents believe Trump will be reinaugurated that day. That was the date for presidential swearing-ins until 1933.
On Wednesday, Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the D.C. Guard, testified to lawmakers that top Pentagon officials approved deploying the National Guard to the Capitol more than three hours after then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund placed a “frantic” call to him asking for help on Jan. 6.
“At 1:49pm I received a frantic call from then Chief of U.S. Capitol Police, Steven Sund, where he informed me that the security perimeter at the Capitol had been breached by hostile rioters. Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and requested the immediate assistance of as many Guardsmen as I could muster,” Walker said in written testimony released ahead of a Senate hearing Wednesday morning.
“Immediately after the 1:49pm call with Chief Sund, I alerted the Army Senior Leadership of the request. The approval for Chief Sund’s request would eventually come from the Acting Secretary of Defense and be relayed to me by Army Senior Leaders at 5:08pm — 3 hours and 19 minutes later,” he added (The Hill).
The Hill: Five takeaways from dramatic Capitol security hearing.
The Hill: Threats to lawmakers up 93.5 percent in last two months.
The Associated Press: Takeaways: What hearings have revealed about Jan. 6 failures.
POLITICS: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said on Wednesday that he won’t resign after three women accused him in recent days of sexual harassment or unwanted sexual advances.
“Some politicians will always play politics. That’s the nature of the beast. I don’t think today is a day for politics. I wasn’t elected by politicians, I was elected by the people of the state of New York. I’m not going to resign. I work for the people of the state of New York, they elected me, and I’m going to serve the people of the state of New York,” Cuomo said at a press conference.
The remarks came during Cuomo’s first public appearance since allegations of sexual improprieties first surfaced. He added that he was “embarrassed” by his actions, but maintained that he never touched anyone “inappropriately.”
“First, I fully support a woman’s right to come forward. And I think it should be encouraged in every way. I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it, and frankly, I am embarrassed by it. And that’s not easy to say. But that’s the truth,” Cuomo said. “I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable. … And I certainly never ever meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone or cause anyone any pain.”
Letitia James, New York’s Democratic attorney general, has opened up an independent investigation into the claims (The Hill).
The Associated Press: Double standard? Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the spotlight after Cuomo scandal.
> 2024: Trump is reportedly seriously considering a 2024 presidential bid, but it isn’t expected to happen with a key cog in his two previous campaigns.
According to Bloomberg News, any bid is unlikely to happen with former Vice President Mike Pence on the ticket as Trump believes he was disloyal to him by not attempting to overturn the election results on Jan. 6, with advisers suggesting that other candidates could be more effective overall.
The Hill: Pence said in an op-ed published in the Daily Signal that there were “significant voting irregularities” and “numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law” in the 2020 presidential contest. Pence wrote the opinion piece for the Heritage Foundation’s publication to criticize the voting rights legislation, HR 1, supported by House Democrats and on the floor this week. Pence argued that if enacted, the bill would “increase opportunities for election fraud.”
> Midterms: Rep. Tom Emmer (Minn.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), issued a warning to Trump on Wednesday, saying that he hopes he does not meddle in primary contests and attempt to oust lawmakers who supported his impeachment in January.
Speaking at an event hosted by Politico, Emmer said he has not spoken to Trump directly about staying out of primary races involving the 10 House Republicans that voted in favor of impeachment. However, he said that he believes Trump will listen to Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and other GOP leaders telling him “that’s not going to be helpful.”
“I imagine we’ll have a conversation at some point,” Emmer said. “He can do whatever he wants. Any citizen can do whatever he wants. But I’d tell him it’s better for us that we keep these people and have a majority that can be sustained going forward.”
Don’t bet any amount of money that Trump is going to heed Emmer’s advice.
Emmer said the NRCC will not intervene in primaries, including to support incumbents (The Hill).
The Hill: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) caught in middle of opposing GOP factions.
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
CORONAVIRUS: Biden on Wednesday panned the decisions by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) to reopen their states fully, saying the pair of governors were making a “big mistake” and labeling it “Neanderthal thinking.”
“I hope everybody’s realized by now these masks make a difference,” Biden said, referring to the rollback of mask mandates in the two states. “We are on the cusp of being able to fundamentally change the nature of this disease because of the way we’re able to get vaccines in people’s arms.”
Biden’s comments came a day after he bumped up the timeline for all Americans to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by two months, saying that there will be enough vaccines by the end of May instead of the end of July. As Morgan Chalfant and Jonathan Easley write, the announcement sets a new bar that could carry risks for an administration that is likely to be judged on its handling of a once-in-a-century pandemic.
> Everlasting contagion? Eighteen specialists who closely track the pandemic or are working to curb its impact, interviewed by Reuters, say they now believe data about SARS-CoV-2 variants indicates the virus will remain as endemic, continuing to circulate in communities and globally and will likely cause a significant burden of illness and death for years to come.
The Hill: Experts warn the United States risks delaying “normal” summer.
Niall Stanage: The Memo: Biden’s COVID-19 bet comes with deep risks.
The Wall Street Journal: Support for COVID-19 vaccine passports grows, with European, Chinese backing.
> Mask fight: Retailers and grocery stores are fearing a resurgence of the mask wars from earlier in the pandemic as states start scaling back coronavirus restrictions.
As The Hill’s Alex Gangitano writes, nationwide chains that have COVID-19 rules in place for both employees and customers are worried about the confusion that’s likely to ensue as some states lift mask mandates for indoor spaces but stores keep them in place. Industry groups and major companies with operations in Texas are already saying they plan to stick with their own coronavirus mitigation measures, regardless of changes at the state level.
The Wall Street Journal: Starbucks, Target among companies to still mandate masks in Texas despite lift on COVID-19 restrictions.
The Hill: Antibodies from South African coronavirus variant may offer cross-protection, researchers find.
*****
MORE ADMINISTRATION: Merrick Garland, Biden’s nominee to be attorney general, hit GOP Senate roadblocks that will likely delay until next week his expected confirmation to lead the Justice Department. Senate Judiciary Committee member Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said he has additional questions he wants Garland to answer and will block efforts by his colleagues to expedite a vote on the nominee this week (The Hill).
> Following enactment of 2001’s war powers authorization in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks by al Qaeda, successive presidents have found themselves embroiled in debate with Congress about whether the legislative branch must sign off on all new U.S. military operations. The surgical strikes Biden recently ordered in Syria reawakened misgivings in Congress that the commander in chief’s interpretation of his constitutional authority to order military operations without consultation and pre-approval from lawmakers is too broad. But Democrats, like Republicans before them, struggle to find consensus around proposals to rein in the president in times of international emergency (The Hill).
> Shalanda Young, nominated to be deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, could become the president’s escape hatch after Neera Tanden withdrew her nomination on Tuesday to be budget director. Young will testify before a Senate panel today in a bid for confirmation for the No. 2 job, but already Democratic leaders and the Congressional Black Caucus are encouraging Biden to elevate Young to director. The White House says the president will not decide on a new OMB nominee this week (The Hill).
OPINION
The Iran nuclear deal needs to be fixed and rewritten, not just revived, by Russell A. Berman, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/309VNzl
Capitol Police begged for help. For 199 minutes, Trump’s Pentagon stalled, by Dana Milbank, columnist, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2OpvRNG
Don’t refuse a COVID-19 vaccine, by Joseph Chamie, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/3v0zXg3
A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK
Internet regulations need an update
It’s been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations were passed.
But a lot has changed since 1996. We support updated regulations to set clear guidelines for protecting people’s privacy, enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms and more.
The president and Vice President Harris will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10:30 a.m. Biden and Harris will meet in the Oval Office at 2 p.m. with a bipartisan group of House lawmakers to discuss legislative plans for infrastructure, joined by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. At 5 p.m., Biden will offer congratulations to NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory during a virtual hookup to discuss the Mars rover landing.
The White House press briefing is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. and will include Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough.
Economic indicator: The Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. will report on claims for jobless benefits filed in the week ending Feb. 27. The report is expected to show elevated unemployment and a labor market that has not recovered from effects of the pandemic.
➔ INTERNATIONAL: Prince Philip, 99, on Wednesday was treated for an unspecified pre-existing heart condition with what Buckingham Palace described as “a successful procedure” and remains hospitalized (BBC).
➔ CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY: Texas’s power grid manager, Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, was fired by the council’s board on Wednesday in the wake of one of the worst blackouts in U.S. history. ERCOT is under investigation in the state and by the House Oversight Committee (CNBC).
➔ CULTURE: Carlos Tavares, the chief executive of Stellantis — the owner of Jeep, said on Wednesday that the company is open to dropping the Cherokee name from its line of sport utility vehicles. Tavares added that Stellantis is in talks with the Cherokee Nation about the potential change for the line of cars. “We are ready to go to any point, up to the point where we decide with the appropriate people and with no intermediaries,” Tavares said. “At this stage, I don’t know if there is a real problem. But if there is one, well, of course we will solve it” (The Hill). … What’s behind the decision to halt publication of Dr. Seuss’s “If I Ran the Zoo,” “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer” (NBC News).
➔ JOLENE VACCINE: Country music legend Dolly Parton got a taste of her own medicine on Tuesday when she received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine whose research she helped fund. Parton, 75, documented the moment in a video posted to social media on Tuesday in which she encouraged eligible viewers to get the shot and broke into a modified rendition of “Jolene.” “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate,” she sang. “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, ‘cause once you’re dead then that’s a bit too late.” Parton last spring announced a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University. That money helped fund three pandemic-related research projects, including a test used in Moderna vaccine trials. She said last month that she was going to wait her turn to be inoculated. “Hopefully it’ll encourage people. I’m not going to jump the line just because I could” (NPR).
THE CLOSER
And finally … It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Alert to the FBI’s alarm about the rise in domestic terrorism, we’re eager for some smart guesses about U.S. extremists in the news.
Email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and/or aweaver@thehill.com, and please add “Quiz” to subject lines. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.
Adherents of which group believe that events today, March 4, will result in Trump’s return to office?
The Federalist Society
QAnon
Three Percenters
Groyper Army
Who warned senators on Tuesday that domestic terrorism is “metastasizing across the country?”
Rudy Giuliani
Tucker Carlson
Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland
FBI Director Christopher Wray
Conservative conspiracists, refuting contradictory evidence gathered by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials, claim that ______ was responsible for attacks on the Capitol on Jan. 6.
National Organization for Women
Antifa, or left-wing anti-fascists
International Revolutionary Front
Democratic National Committee
Since 9/11, white supremacists and other far-right extremists have been responsible for almost three times as many violent attacks on U.S. soil as Islamic terrorists, according to federal data. Which of these homegrown hate groups espouse racial superiority of whites?
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@thehill.com and aweaver@thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
TO VIEW PAST EDITIONS OF THE HILL’S MORNING REPORT CLICK HERE
TO RECEIVE THE HILL’S MORNING REPORT IN YOUR INBOX SIGN UP HERE
Via The Hill’s Cristina Marcos and Rebecca Beitsch, “Alarming revelations of threats to the Capitol and members of Congress prompted House Democratic leaders to wrap up their legislative work for the week on Wednesday night, underscoring the security concerns that remain nearly two months after the Jan. 6 insurrection.” https://bit.ly/3e64nqT
Why today: March 4 was the date of presidential inaugurations until 1933. QAnon conspiracy theorists believe that former President Trump will return to office today.
It’s Thursday. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.
Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn
A MESSAGE FROM EXXONMOBIL
ExxonMobil sets emission reduction plans for 2025
We’ve announced plans to reduce the intensity of our emissions, which we expect to reduce our absolute upstream greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 30%, compared to 2016 levels.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted with Democrats on The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to advance Rep. Deb Haaland’s (D-N.M.) nomination to lead the Interior Department. https://bit.ly/3kLwVHE
The vote: 11-9
Why this is newsy : “The nomination has been contentious, with Republicans taking aim at Haaland’s stances on fossil fuels and pledging to try to defeat her. GOP senators could also potentially delay her confirmation through procedural hurdles.”
What now: Haaland’s nomination heads to the Senate floor. She is expected to be confirmed unless any Democrats defect.
The House passed a major voting rights and election reform bill last night along party lines. https://bit.ly/3uU0sUd
The vote: 220-210. Every Republican voted against the bill, and just one Democrat — House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (Miss.) — voted ‘no.’ “It’s unclear why Thompson, who co-sponsored the bill last month, voted no.”
What the bill would do:
– Require states to offer mail-in ballots and allows for 15 days of early voting
– Allow online voter registration and same-day voter registration
– Creates an independent commission to draw congressional districts — to stop partisan gerrymandering
– Make Election Day a national holiday for the federal government
Why Republicans voted against the bill: “Republicans have blasted the measure as a power grab by Democrats, arguing that the provision allowing for voters to designate a person to return their ballot equates to ballot harvesting and opens the door for election fraud. They have also slammed language allowing felons to vote.”
What happens next — ehhh, it’s a tough fight in the Senate: “While Democrats are expected to bring the legislation to the floor, it is highly unlikely to garner the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.”
Via The Hill’s Niall Stanage, “President Biden is boosting the nation’s hopes that an end to the worst of the coronavirus pandemic could be close at hand. It’s a gambit that will pay big political dividends for the new president if he is proven right — but one that carries serious risks if anything goes awry.” https://bit.ly/3bgQpAN
Biden’s big promise: That there will be enough COVID vaccine doses to vaccinate every American adult by the end of July.
Why we should take that timeline seriously: “The White House has been careful about managing expectations on the coronavirus, and it is unlikely Biden would have made the pledge without a high degree of confidence that it could be fulfilled. A new deal for Merck to help manufacture additional doses of the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine has helped speed up the timeline.”
Some experts are still nervous, though: “Some experts worry the president may be too optimistic, even as he cautioned that challenges lie ahead and made the distinction between the total number of vaccinations that would be available and whether those shots would actually be in Americans’ arms by spring.”
White House senior adviser on COVID-19 response Andy Slavitt told reporters in response to a question from The Hill: “We are not in a habit of overpromising, and therefore even as of several weeks ago, before such time as the approval of Johnson & Johnson, the president was talking about moving up the date until the end of July … Everybody got together and found ways to bring forward the timeline so we can get Americans fully vaccinated and into a very different place and a very different part of the pandemic.” https://bit.ly/3egwXWy
We are in the homestretch. Be careful and vigilant for just a little while longer!:
Via The Hill’s Peter Sullivan, “President Biden’s announcement that there will be enough vaccines for all adults by May is raising hopes for a return to normal soon. But the next few months in the pandemic are critical.” https://bit.ly/38cMvai
Health officials are begging — we are *almost* there: “Health officials are urging restrictions to remain in place for the final stretch, saying that it will not be much longer before the situation markedly improves, and it does not make sense to lift all restrictions when widespread vaccinations are in sight.”
Timing: “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky on Wednesday put the time frame at three months until the country could be vaccinated. ‘The next three months are pivotal,’ she said.”
We’ve announced plans to reduce the intensity of our emissions, which we expect to reduce our absolute upstream greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 30%, compared to 2016 levels.
The House is out. The Senate is in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.
Noon: Senators are prepared for a vote on the motion to proceed to the American Rescue Plan Act. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3ecmtrk
10:30 a.m. EST: President Biden and Vice President Harris received the President’s Daily Brief.
2 p.m. EST: President Biden, Vice President Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg meet with a bipartisan group of House members to discuss infrastructure.
5 p.m. EST: President Biden holds a virtual meeting to congratulate the NASA JPL Perseverance team on the successful Mars landing.
WHAT TO WATCH:
This morning: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held her weekly press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2MOQORC
12:45 p.m. EST: White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough hold a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2NRPRsl
You’re invited — 1 p.m. EST: The Hill is hosting a virtual event on the COVID-19 vaccines, “Trust and Communication. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3kL49GX
NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…:
Today is National Pound Cake Day.
I laughed out loud for this entire clip — wow, love you, Leslie Jones!:
Even with Tuesday night’s withdrawal of Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget, the Senate is still generally showing deference to President Joe Biden’s prerogative to name his Cabinet. Still, it’s taking longer than other presidents have had to wait, historically. Read more…
House Democrats are planning by the end of the month to again pass at least 10 bills that languished in the Republican-controlled Senate last Congress, but the measures still face long odds to become law this session despite unified Democratic control. Read more…
OPINION — Even if you don’t like or have never seen the 1992 film, you can probably recite Jack Nicholson’s signature outburst from “A Few Good Men,” with appropriate volume: “You can’t handle the truth!” Say it louder, Jack. I don’t think the Republicans present and represented at CPAC can hear you. Read more…
Click here to subscribe to Fintech Beat for the latest market and regulatory developmentsin finance and financial technology.
A new version of Senate Democrats’ coronavirus relief plan would put new restrictions on some $350 billion in aid to states and localities while diverting $10 billion of the money for cities and counties to “critical capital projects” like broadband access. Read more…
A group backing Democratic candidates with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math is looking to raise and spend $50 million in the 2022 midterms, listing two open Senate seats as top priorities. Read more…
Republicans greeted climate legislation from their Democratic peers with a cold embrace. Nevertheless, some elements of the bill have a shot at bipartisan support, including electricity standards, carbon-trapping technology, toxic chemicals, a diesel emissions program and controls on methane. Read more…
Cups & Company plans to reopen in early April, says owner Kathy Chung. The beloved cafe located in the basement hallways under the Russell Senate Office Building has been closed much of the past year, with brief exceptions. The exact date will be announced soon, Chung wrote in an email to Heard on the Hill. Read more…
CQ Roll Call is a part of FiscalNote, the leading technology innovator at the intersection of global business and government. Copyright 2021 CQ Roll Call. All rights reserved Privacy | Safely unsubscribe now.
1201 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004
25.) POLITICO PLAYBOOK
POLITICO Playbook: Schumer and his flip phone get their moment
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
A busy Wednesday night in the House:
H.R. 1 … “House passes sweeping bill on election, government reforms,” by Sarah Ferris: “Nearly every Democrat voted for the bill, which includes a slew of ballot access, campaign finance and ethics reforms that came under renewed scrutiny after four years of the Trump administration.”
Now, the Democratic priorities head to the Senate. Over to you, majority leader:
A reporter asked CHUCK SCHUMER last week how he intends to keep his caucus together when, on any given issue, a single defection could spell defeat. The Senate majority leader held up his notorious flip phone and said: “This is my answer. I speak to my members aaaaall the time. … We discuss it out. And so far — so far — we’ve had great unity.”
It’s been said about a million times that Senate consideration of President JOE BIDEN’S $1.9 billion pandemic relief bill, happening now, is a first test for Schumer. From where we sit, that’s a bit hyped. This thing was always going to pass — failure was never an option for Democrats.
But the 70-year-old New Yorker who’s finally achieved his dream of becoming majority leader is nonetheless having a moment. He managed to keep his members together on impeachment, quickly bringing to an end a trial that threatened to derail Biden’s first days in office. And now, at least on Covid legislation, it appears he’s found a sweet spot between a bullish left and wary centrists.
You never heard Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) threaten to vote “no” because the $15 minimum wage isn’t in the package; nor do you see Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.)drawing a red line on the overall spending number. A lot of this, Schumer allies say, is because of the chatty man leading their caucus.
Schumer has been preparing for this for years. He used to hit the Senate gym early in the morning under the pretense of working out. Really, he was there to befriend members and build relationships, halfheartedly pedaling the exercise bike while schmoozing with fellow senators.
Then, when Schumer became Democratic leader in 2017, he made a rather drastic leadership style change from his predecessor, HARRY REID. While the no-nonsense Reid was known for a top-down, strong-arm approach with members, Schumer adopted a more collegial style, giving them space they needed to maneuver.
And while Reid kept a tight inner circle of the four top leaders, Schumer created an 11-person kitchen cabinet representing the different factions in the party. That meant weekly huddles where Sanders and Manchin sat at the same table with Schumer or duked it out over Zoom.
The meetings have paid off, building goodwill among the rank and file. Democrats privately joke that every member of the caucus thinks Schumer is their best friend. Schumer brags that he’s memorized all their cellphone numbers. And over the past four years, the leader has demonstrated he can keep his troops in line: DONALD TRUMP tried and failed to pick off Democratic moderates for his tax cuts and other Covid relief proposals.
But it’s one thing to rally against a divisive and unpopular president, and another to unite all 50 Democrats across the ideological spectrum to stand for something. Perhaps that’s why, when Biden was talking about striking a deal with Republicans on pandemic relief in mid-January, sources told us Schumer was among the most eager to skip those talks, viewing them as an impediment to the eventual necessity of getting all 50 Democrats united behind a plan.
On Tuesday morning, Schumer bouncedfrom one Zoom or phone call to another, chatting up Sanders, then meeting with Manchin, then phoning White House chief of staff RON KLAIN before hosting Biden virtually for a caucus lunch. By Tuesday evening, Schumer declared, “We’ll have the votes!” — though Democrats continued to iron out a few last-minute differences.
How long the Democratic comity lasts is anyone’s guess. Persuading left-of-center politicians to spend trillions to dig the country out of a public health disaster is probably as easy as it will ever be for Schumer. Soon, emboldened progressives will push one way and centrists the other.
And eventually we will learn whether Schumer and his 2000s-era flip phone can work wonders in 2021.
BOTTOMS UP — The beer track/wine track paradigm is not new in politics, but it’s gotten additional currency in recent months as Republicans have laid claim to the working-class vote. As college-educated white voters have flocked toward Democrats in the Trump era, Republicans have gobbled up the lion’s share of non-college whites and even made inroads among Black and Latino working-class voters. The GOP “is no longer the ‘wine and cheese’ party,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tweeted last month. “It’s the beer and blue jeans party.”
We put that assertion to the test in the latest POLITICO/Morning Consult poll: Do the political preferences of beer drinkers and wine aficionados diverge? The answer is: Yes, though not to a huge degree. Among Republicans, 27% say beer is their preferred alcoholic drink, compared to 24% who said wine, 13% who said liquor and 35% who don’t drink. But more Democrats prefer wine (29%) than beer (22%).
Beer and wine drinkers also have different views of Biden’s presidency thus far: Sixty-four percent of wine drinkers approve of the job the new president is doing, more than the 53% of beer drinkers who say the same. Overall, wine (26%) edged beer (23%) as the favorite drink of poll respondents, with a hearty 16% preferring hard liquor. (h/t Steve Shepard)
WATCH: Biden may get a stimulus check win. What about the rest of his agenda?
The Biden administration’s victory party over the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill might be short-lived. RACHAEL and RYAN break down why the progressive bills on gun control, minimum wage and police reform are likely dead on arrival once they reach the Senate. Manchin reaffirmed he will “NEVER” vote against the filibuster earlier this week, leaving very little room for Biden to get anything else through without using reconciliation.
BIDEN’S THURSDAY — The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 10:30 a.m. They and Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG will meet with members of the House from both parties at 2 p.m. to talk infrastructure in the Oval Office. At 5 p.m., Biden will take part in a call congratulating the NASA JPL Perseverance team.
— Press secretary JEN PSAKI and VA Secretary DENIS MCDONOUGH will brief at 12:45 p.m.
THE SENATE: The Energy and Natural Resources Committee will vote at 10 a.m. on DEB HAALAND’S nominationto be Interior secretary. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will have a hearing at 10:15 a.m. on SHALANDA YOUNG’S nomination as deputy OMB director.
PLAYBOOK READS
CONGRESS
PAGING THE CHC — We all knew Biden’s massive immigration proposal was DOA in the Senate. What we didn’t realize until now: Not even the House will try to pass it. Our colleagues Sarah Ferris, Heather Caygle and Laura Barrón-López report today that Democrats won’t bother even voting on the proposal because they simply don’t have the votes. A whip count came back “dismal,” they write.
This is going to cause some tensions in the House Democratic Caucus. Our colleagues write that “Biden’s proposal is a top priority for progressives and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who say it’s critical to take action in the early months of his term. But Democratic leaders aren’t going to put a bill on the floor that will fail — which puts them on a tightrope as they try to keep all factions of their diverse caucus on board for a realistic approach to one of Washington’s thorniest issues.”
Also, it appears the administration isn’t even trying to whip support: “Further complicating matters, the White House has taken more of a hands-off approach to the bill’s future in the House, several lawmakers and aides said.”More here
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO TRUMP: BACK OFF OUR MEMBERS — NRCC Chair TOM EMMER (R-Minn.) opened a floodgate Wednesday when he became the first GOP leader to say that Trump shouldn’t primary Republicans who voted to impeach him. Following those comments during a POLITICO Live event with Playbook, other rank-and-file members are following his lead, telling Mel Zanona and Ally Mutnick: Enough is enough.
Some interesting tidbits in the story: “Emmer has been calling the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump and privately assuring them that the party will have their backs, according to two GOP sources familiar with the conversations. The NRCC has a longstanding policy to not get involved in primaries, even for incumbents. But the campaign arm can be helpful in other ways to the campaigns of members who pay their dues, such as providing assistance on digital fundraising and recommending certain vendors.” The full story
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: PELOSI MAKES DOWN PAYMENT ON THE HOUSE — The most prolific fundraiser in Congress, Speaker NANCY PELOSI, announced in a private call with her members Wednesday that she’ll give $2 million this week to help protect the Democratic majority. The money is the first of many installments to come and includes $1 million in dues to the DCCC and $1 million to House Majority PAC, the outside group aligned with the speaker. She’s also contributed $400,000 to members in the most competitive districts.
Republicans need to flip just five seats to take power.
“On average, over the last 21 days the US Border Patrol, part of Customs and Border Protection, arrested around 340 children who crossed the US-Mexico border alone, according to preliminary data outlined in the document. The average time in Border Patrol facilities, which are not designed to hold children, was 77 hours, longer than the 72 permitted under US law.”
Playbook notes: Mark Bednar, a top Kevin McCarthy spox, isblasting out this story to make sure reporters didn’t miss it.
MINIMUM WAGE WOES — “White House weighs minimum wage negotiations with Republicans,”by Natasha Korecki and Laura Barrón-López: “The White House is weighing whether to engage in talks with Republicans on a minimum wage hike once Congress passes its Covid relief bill, two sources with knowledge of their strategic thinking say.
“White House aides said they believe there’s room to bring Republicans into the fold because raising the minimum wage is popular across ideological grounds. They pointed to the recent $15-an-hour wage increase passed in Florida, a state that voted for Donald Trump, as evidence that the issue has widespread support.”
FROM @REALDONALDTRUMP TO … @WHCOS? — “Washington’s hottest Twitter feed is now an acronym managed by its most powerful bureaucrat, Ron Klain,” Chris Cadelago and Theo Meyer write today. “His handle, @WHCOS, has become the source of fascination—building a sense of intrigue that the White House seems inclined to feed …
“To outside observers, including Capitol Hill aides, lobbyists and the news media — many of which have set their phones to ding every time Klain tweets — his feed is a kind of Rorschach test: either reinforcing the idea that Klain is a partisan combatant masquerading as an honest broker or the work of an expert multitasker with a knack for documenting Biden’s incremental achievements while keeping the focus on big-picture priorities. Behind the theatrics of it all, there is a strategy.”
TRUMP CARDS
FAMILY BUSINESS — “Elaine Chao used DOT staff to aid personal errands, father’s business, inspector finds,” by Sam Mintz and Tanya Snyder: “The internal watchdog faulted Chao for four kinds of ethics violations, including planning to bring relatives on an official trip to China and requiring DOT’s public affairs staff to help market a book written by her father. It found she also had employees handle personal errands such as shipping Christmas ornaments.
“Some of the inspector general’s conclusions back up reporting by POLITICO and The New York Times on the deep entanglement of Chao’s family with her work at the agency. … Investigators from the IG’s office referred their findings to the Justice Department’s U.S. Attorney’s Office and its Public Integrity Section in December, but both offices declined to open criminal investigations.” The report
PANDEMIC
TRACKER: The U.S. reported 2,449 Covid-19 deaths and 67,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday.
BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “Wealthy Keys enclave received COVID vaccines in January before much of the state,” Miami Herald: “As Florida’s eldest residents struggled to sign up to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, nearly all those aged 65 years and older in a wealthy gated enclave in the Florida Keys had been vaccinated by mid-January, according to an emailed newsletter obtained by the Miami Herald. …
“Ocean Reef Club is an ultra-exclusive neighborhood that is arguably one of the highest-security private communities in the nation. … It is also where the very wealthy and where dignitaries, including President Joseph Biden, come to stay when they visit the Florida Keys. It’s also home to many wealthy donors to the Florida Republican Party and GOP candidates, including Gov. Ron DeSantis.”
“‘I care deeply about America,’ Pompeo told host Sean Hannity. ‘You and I have been part of the conservative movement for an awfully long time now. I aim to keep at it.’ Hannity said he would take Pompeo’s answer as ‘a strong maybe,’ to which Pompeo responded, ‘That’s perfect.’”
CUOMO SPEAKS — “Cuomo, Contrite Over Sexual Harassment Accusations, Refuses to Resign,”NYT: “‘I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,’ Mr. Cuomo said during an appearance at the State Capitol. ‘It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and frankly, I’m embarrassed by it, and that’s not easy to say. But that’s the truth.’ …
“Mr. Cuomo’s comments, while meant to convey contrition, may also be a play for time: He asked for people ‘to wait for the facts’ to emerge from an investigation by the state attorney general, Letitia James. … In his remarks on Wednesday, Mr. Cuomo sought to differentiate his conduct from some more abhorrent behavior that has emerged in the #MeToo movement, insisting twice that he never ‘touched anyone inappropriately.’”
FRANKEN VS. CUOMO — “Double standard? Gillibrand in spotlight after Cuomo scandal,”AP: “[T]he New York senator is taking a different [tack] when it comes to sexual harassment allegations hitting closer to home, those against her state’s Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo.”
‘WHERE IS THAT JERK FILE?’ … JOHN HARRIS column:“What the Andrew Cuomo Saga Tells Us About the Shallowness of Modern Politics”: “A year ago, as New York was an early pandemic hotspot, the national conversation shifted and everyone started a new file on Cuomo: Oh, my goodness, isn’t he charismatic? Empathetic, spontaneous, engaged, responsible, commanding. Just what the moment required, and just what was lacking from Donald Trump. Now, Trump is out of the White House and as for Cuomo. … Damn it, where is that jerk file? Please tell me I wasn’t so dumb to just throw it away.”
“There aren’t many cases that more vividly capture perceptions of a public figure swerving so abruptly over such a short time. … There is a fuzzy philosophical point in the Cuomo story about the vagaries of fame and vicissitudes of reputation. The ball does indeed take funny bounces. But maybe don’t let yourself off the hook so easily. The sharper and more specific point is that both phases of the Cuomo psychodrama — and especially the OMG-I’m-crushing-on-Andrew phase — reflect the fatuousness of modern political culture.”
POST-MORTEM — “David Shor on Why Trump Was Good for the GOP and How Dems Can Win in 2022,”N.Y. Mag: “‘One high-level takeaway is that the 2020 electorate had a very similar partisan composition to the 2016 electorate. … Trump didn’t exceed expectations by inspiring higher-than-anticipated Republican turnout. He exceeded them mostly through persuasion.’ …
“‘[W]e looked specifically at those voters [of color] who switched from supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016 to Donald Trump in 2020 to see whether anything distinguishes this subgroup in terms of their policy opinions. What we found is that Clinton voters with conservative views on crime, policing, and public safety were far more likely to switch to Trump … [I]f we implemented D.C. and Puerto Rican statehood and passed redistricting reform, that would roughly triple our chance of holding the House in 2022 and roughly the same in the Senate.’”
PLAYBOOKERS
DON’T DO IT, BRAD— After Trump campaign manager BRAD PARSCALE was demoted last summer, he considered quitting and sabotaging the campaign by turning off the “lights” to the campaign website, the email system, the transfer of data between the campaign and the RNC and even the Amazon server. That’s according to AMIE PARNES and JONATHAN ALLEN in their new book, “Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency.” The pair reports that KARL ROVE talked Parscale down and convinced him to stay put, telling him to work with the new campaign manager BILL STEPIEN.
“Welcome the new guy and go do your work,” Rove told him, according to the book. “Because if they lose, they shouldn’t have gotten rid of you, and if they win, you’re still doing all the work and you made the right decision to make sure he wins.” What Rove likely didn’t imagine was the political capital that Trump would maintain after being voted out of office. Both Parscale and Stepien are back working for Trump on his burgeoning political operation.
NEW BILL CLINTON PODCAST: “Boys State” documentary star Steven Garza. Listen
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Eric Feldman will join Airbnb as head of federal and international affairs. He most recently was chief of staff for Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). Announcement
MEDIAWATCH — “David Brooks’s Side Hustle Was Funded By Facebook And Jeff Bezos’s Father,”BuzzFeed: “New York Times columnist David Brooks is drawing a second salary for his work on an Aspen Institute project funded by Facebook and other large donors — a fact he has not disclosed in his columns. A Times spokesperson refused to tell BuzzFeed News whether the paper was aware Brooks was taking a salary for his work on Weave, a project he founded and leads for the Aspen Institute, a prominent think tank based in Washington, DC. …
“Brooks has published multiple columns that promote Weave, in addition to writing pieces that mention Facebook, its founder Mark Zuckerberg, and the company’s products without disclosing his financial ties to the social networking giant. The amount and timing of Facebook’s funding, which had not been previously reported, combined with Brooks’s promotion of Weave in the Times, has raised questions about the columnist’s conflicts of interest.”
TRANSITIONS — Xochitl Hinojosa is joining Bully Pulpit Interactive as a managing director. She most recently was director of comms and senior adviser at the DNC. … Mia Heck is now VP of external affairs and a fellow for health care policy at the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy. She previously was director of external affairs for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS. … Josh Marcus-Blank is now comms director for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). He previously was campaign comms director for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). …
… Abhi Rahman, Francoise Stovall, Sakita Douglas and Ashly Blanc are joining Fireside Campaigns. Rahman will be VP of comms and previously was director of strategic comms for the Texas Democratic Party. Stovall will be VP of digital strategy and previously was digital director/acting VP of digital at Voto Latino. Douglas will be director of operations and previously was director of human resources with PTW Energy Services. Blanc will be a senior digital strategist and previously was director of partnerships at Taskforce.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: PPO Director Cathy Russell (6-0) … Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) … Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) … Doug Hoelscher … NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard … Rick Perry … Deborah Turness, president of NBC News International … Shirley Henry … POLITICO’s Mark McQuillan … CNN’s Kate Bennett and Leigh Munsil … Callista Gingrich (55) … Maria Recio … Jesse Solis … Emily Bazelon … Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins … Fenton’s Valerie Jean-Charles … Sean Simons … N.Y. Mag’s Melvin Backman … Ken Lovett … Zack Abrahamson … Allison Putala … Mike Haidet … Jennifer Loraine … WTOP’s Bruce Alan … Sarah Millican … Spectrum’s Nick Reisman … Abby Jagoda … Jesse Lewin … Andrew Stein … Angela Zirkelbach … Sandy Greene … Jason Newsted
By Caffeinated Thoughts on Mar 03, 2021 08:22 pm
Shane Vander Hart joined Michael Demastus and Ian Barrs on Faith Works Live on 99.3 FM The Truth Network to discuss a specific threat to religious liberty. Read in browser »
Launched in 2006, Caffeinated Thoughts reports news and shares commentary about culture, current events, faith and state and national politics from a Christian and conservative point of view.
Summary: President Joe Biden will receive his daily briefing Thursday then meet with House members to discuss his plan for an infrastructure spending bill. Later, Biden will participate in a call to congratulate the NASA/JPL Perseverance team on the Mars landing. President Biden’s Itinerary for 3/4/21: All Times EST 10:30 AM Receive Daily Briefing – …
As the debate over climate policy continues to heat up, one California city just took an unprecedented step: Banning all new gas stations. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the city of Petaluma will ban the construction, expansion, rebuilding, and relocating of gas stations after a unanimous vote by the City Council. It does …
A private prison is struggling to find facilities to take in nearly 800 inmates before its contract with the federal government expires in three months, Cleveland.com reported. CoreCivic operates the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio, through a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service that expired Sunday, Cleveland.com reported. The company received a three-month …
A top FBI counterterrorism official testified on Wednesday that no firearms were recovered during arrests of rioters who breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “How many firearms were confiscated in the Capitol or on Capitol grounds during that day?” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson asked Jill Sanborn, the FBI official, during a Senate Homeland Security …
SpaceX aborted at the last second its planned Starship SN10 test flight on Wednesday, but then was able to reset and successfully launch and recover SN10 – kinda. At T-0:00.1, the three raptor engines ignited and were immediately shut down due an abort signal from the spacecraft. SpaceX has since removed the video of the …
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing Wednesday during which she fielded questions mainly on the Democrats’ Coronavirus Spending bill, vaccination efforts and illegal immigration. Content created by Conservative Daily News and some content syndicated through CDN is available for re-publication without charge under the Creative Commons license. Visit our syndication page for details and …
Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo addressed allegations of sexual misconduct during a press conference Wednesday, saying he is “embarrassed” by the allegations but that he never touched anyone inappropriately. The governor promised to fully cooperate with an investigation into the allegations, noting that though his lawyers told him not to discuss the matter until …
Wearing masks and social distancing will dramatically reduce flu cases in the future, a top doctor said on CNN Wednesday. Between 150 and 200 children typically die from influenza annually, but only one has died so far this year, Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s vaccine education center, said on CNN’s …
As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, many public schools have been closed for in-person instruction for nearly a year, thanks in large part to resistance from teachers’ unions. Meanwhile, children have been falling behind academically, mentally, and physically — and their families have been scrambling to search for education alternatives because of …
Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, called the coronavirus shot a “vial of death” at an event held this weekend, and falsely claimed that the vaccine has killed people. Videos of the event are found on the Nation of Islam’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Both social media sites have recently developed policies …
At least 10 rockets were fired at an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. coalition troops in the Anbar province of western Iraq on Wednesday morning, the Associated Press reported. It was unclear if anyone on the base was injured and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the AP reported. The attack did not cause …
Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. I’m rubbing my eyes more and more these days. This could get interesting.
It’s tough to watch this most spectacularly awful presidency play out in front of us every day. Joe Biden and his handlers don’t move goal posts anymore, they just keep lowering the bar and still not clearing it. The drooling husk in the White House has deteriorated so much that his puppet masters are afraid to let him face a press corps that’s a thousand percent in the bag for him. When they do let the Babbler in Chief near a camera, things get a bit…weird.
Again, those of us who never wanted things this way are left to retrace how we got here, reliving the historical horror that was November, 2020, when four hundred and eleventy kajillion billion people voted for this guy. No, really, social media says it’s true!
There are things that happened in the last election that are cause for legitimate concern. We’re still referring to them as irregularities for a variety of reasons that we don’t need to go into right now. The House just passed HR 1, which they’re laughably calling the the “For the People Act.” This monstrosity takes everything that made us nervous about the 2020 presidential election and puts it on federal steroids.
Pence pointed out that a great number “of the most troubling voting irregularities” occurred in states where governors, secretaries of state and the courts made changes to state election laws. And now, HR 1, a sweeping 800-page election overhaul bill proposed by Democrats, seeks to turn many of those reckless changes into federal election law.
“While legislators in many states have begun work on election reform to restore public confidence in state elections, unfortunately, congressional Democrats have chosen to sweep those valid concerns and reforms aside and to push forward a brazen attempt to nationalize elections in blatant disregard of the U.S. Constitution,” warned Pence.
“[HR 1] would force states to adopt universal mail-in ballots, early voting, same-day voter registration, online voter registration, and automatic voter registration for any individual listed in state and federal government databases, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and welfare offices, ensuring duplicate registrations and that millions of illegal immigrants are quickly registered to vote,” Pence continued.
This is a dangerous, naked federal power grab that would put quite a few nails in the coffin of the good old Republic. It would also make it nigh on impossible to clean up any of the very real messes that need to be dealt with. Dealt with at the state level, that is. HR 1 is like using a machete to close up a wound that needs a tourniquet. It’s not a cure, it’s an exacerbation of the problem.
The Democrats like to say this bill is about “expanding voting rights,” which is another component of their ongoing false narrative about voter suppression.
HR 1 is a perfect snapshot of the Democrats’ long term one-party rule, Soviet vision for the United States.
Hopefully, it won’t find much breathing room beyond the confines of the House:
Kill it indeed. Before it kills election integrity forever.
President Biden rips Texas and Mississippi for “Neanderthal thinking” . . . Joe Biden unleashed the nastiness beneath the Kumbaya rhetoric with an attack on Texas and Mississippi for ending their mask mandates. “The last thing — the last thing — we need is the Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask,” he said. “It still matters.” White House Dossier
Those damn Deplorables started acting like Neanderthals.
Pentagon ‘extremism’ definition could roll up conservatives, pro-lifers, critics fear . . . The Pentagon is trying to root out political “extremism” in the ranks, but its definition is so broad and blurry that some retired officers and military analysts fear it could inadvertently sweep up traditional Catholics, Republicans and others who aren’t racist or violent but simply embrace conservative, pro-life politics. The potential unintended consequences of the Defense Department’s anti-extremism push, critics say, could be far-reaching and in a worst-case scenario could hurt military recruiting in the long run if religious Americans or those on the political right feel unwelcome in the ranks. The Biden administration has been doing a full court press to root out extremists in the security forces, spurred largely by the number of active-service members, veteran soldiers and members of law enforcement in the clashes at the US Capitol on Jan. 6. Washington Times
Coronavirus
Stark link between obesity and Covid deaths revealed . . . Nine out of 10 deaths from coronavirus have occurred in countries with high obesity levels, according to World Health Organization-backed research that sets out the stark correlation between excessive weight and lives lost to the disease. The study from the World Obesity Federation (WOF), which represents scientists, medical professionals and researchers from more than 50 regional and national obesity associations, showed mortality rates were 10 times higher where at least 50 per cent of the population was overweight. Age has been seen as the biggest predictor for severe outcomes, which has led to priority being given to older people in most countries’ Covid-19 vaccine rollouts. But the WOF said its report “shows for the first time that overweight populations come a close second”. It is now calling for this group to be prioritized for immunisation. Financial Times
Experts warn US risks delaying ‘normal’ summer . . . President Biden’s announcement that there will be enough vaccines for all adults by May is raising hopes for a return to normal soon. But the next few months in the pandemic are critical. Concern is growing over moves by some states to lift restrictions already, while new variants of the virus are on the rise in the U.S. Experts warn that actions taken now risk delaying getting back to some semblance of normal. Health officials are urging restrictions to remain in place for the final stretch. The Hill
The Covid-19 Baby Bust Is Here . . . A year into the pandemic, early data and surveys point to a baby bust in many advanced economies from the U.S. to Europe to East Asia, often on top of existing downward trends in births. A combination of health and economic crises is prompting many people to delay or abandon plans to have children. Demographers warn the dip is unlikely to be temporary, especially if the pandemic and its economic consequences drag on. “The longer this period of uncertainty lasts, the more it will have lifelong effects on the fertility rate,” said Tomas Sobotka, a researcher at the Wittgenstein Center for Demography and Global Human Capital in Vienna. Wall Street Journal
Politics
White House cuts virtual event feed after Biden’s gaffe . . . The White House raised eyebrows on Wednesday when it suddenly cut the feed of a virtual event after President Biden said he was “happy to take questions” from Democratic lawmakers. Accompanied by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and the House Democratic Caucus, Biden addressed lawmakers on the topics of COVID relief and the ongoing vaccine rollout. He closed his remarks by calling on Democrats to help “restore faith” in government. He then appeared ready to take questions. “I’d be happy to take questions if that’s what I’m supposed to do, Nance,” Biden told the speaker. “Whatever you want me to do.” The feed ended seconds later, after a brief pause from the president. The 46th president has yet to hold a formal press conference seven weeks after taking office. Fox News
Kamala Harris does yet another world leader call . . . Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday spoke with yet another world leader on behalf of President Biden, this time with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. This is at least the third world leader call she has done, including calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. These are not just courtesy calls. These are our major allies. The press is portraying this as “training” for Harris, who lacks foreign policy experience. But it raises the obvious question of whether Biden is not vigorous enough to do all the tasks required of a president. White House Dossier
How long before Mamala begins ordering missile strikes??
Biden reignites war powers fight with Syria strike . . . President Biden’s strike in Syria is reviving a dormant fight over war powers as Congress looks to claw back some of its authority. The military action sparked grumbling from Democrats who say they weren’t adequately consulted on the strikes and questioned where Biden drew the authority, which the White House says falls under his powers as commander in chief. The war powers debate will have repercussions beyond just Syria. The Hill
Biden Nom for Top Defense Post Attacked GOP in Incendiary Tweets . . . President Biden’s nominee for a top Pentagon post described Republicans as “the party of ethnic cleansing” in a series of highly partisan Twitter posts aimed at GOP lawmakers over the past few years. Colin Kahl, nominated for undersecretary of defense for policy, has already faced some resistance from Senate Republicans due to his staunch advocacy of the Iran nuclear deal, opposition to Iran sanctions, and his alleged involvement in removing a statement affirming Jerusalem as Israel’s capital from the 2012 Democratic Party platform. But the personal attacks against Republicans on his Twitter feed could fuel additional concerns from members ahead of his confirmation hearing on Thursday. Washington Free Beacon
Pelosi election-overhaul bill passes without a single Republican vote . . . House Speaker Nancy Pelosi narrowly secured passage of her signature election-overhaul legislation Wednesday without a single Republican vote, sending the heated debate over how America votes to the Senate where the bill is all-but doomed. The proposal, which is known as H.R. 1, passed on a 220-210 vote almost entirely along party lines. Although one Democrat voted against the bill, the vote was otherwise entirely partisan, underscoring the gap between the two parties on election laws. Washington Times
Pence: Dems’ voting plan gives leftists ‘permanent, unfair, and unconstitutional advantage’ . . . In an echo of his former boss Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence called for tightening election security laws Wednesday in a stinging critique of congressional Democrats’ comprehensive plan to federalize American elections. “After an election marked by significant voting irregularities and numerous instances of officials setting aside state election law, I share the concerns of millions of Americans about the integrity of the 2020 election,” Pence wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Signal. “Election reform is a national imperative, but under our Constitution, election reform must be undertaken at the state level.” Just the News
House passes ‘George Floyd’ police reform bill, Senate prospects unclear . . . The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday banning controversial police tactics and easing the way for lawsuits against officers violating suspects’ constitutional rights, although the measure’s Senate prospects were uncertain. Democrats pushed the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” through the House by a vote of 220-212, with the support of only one Republican, just days before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial on a state murder charge in the death of Floyd last year. Floyd, 46, an African-American man [with a criminal history – to include drug abuse, theft, criminal trespassing, and aggravated robbery – ] died when he was detained with Chauvin kneeling on his neck for nearly eight minutes. [Flyod resisted arrest, according to police claims.] His [tragic] killing sparked weeks of nationwide and global protests, many of which were led by Black Lives Matter activists. Reuters
Recording President Trump was discussed, Rosenstein concedes . . . Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is finally opening up about his discussion with a top FBI official concerning the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s potential ties to Russia. In his first TV interview since leaving the Trump administration in May 2019, Rosenstein told FOX 5 that there was talk of recording the 45th president for the inquiry but denied that he ever intended to wear a “wire” during the turbulent days that followed Trump firing FBI Director James Comey in 2017 before the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel. “I had a conversation with Andrew McCabe about an investigation that he was conducting involving the president. And there was a discussion about whether or not the president would be recorded in the course of that investigation,” Rosenstein said in an episode of the Siege on Democracy podcast published last month. Washington Examiner
National Security
House Democrats surrender to QAnon, scrap March 4 session . . . Leaders of the House of Representatives decided to scrap planned votes on Thursday due to reports that QAnon conspiracy theory adherents may attempt to storm the Capitol in a far-fetched scheme to return former President Donald Trump to office, according to a Democratic congressman. The Capitol complex is ringed with non-scalable, barbed-wire topped 8-foot fences and is still guarded by hundreds of National Guard members following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, during which a mob of Trump supporters smashed into the building and disrupted certification of President Biden’s victory. But House leaders were fearful enough of another assault to move Thursday votes to Wednesday night. New York Post
Well, you know, those Neanderthals can climb fences better than feral cats.
FBI: Biggest Domestic Threats Are Violent Extremists Motivated by Race or Anti-Authority Views . . . The greatest domestic terrorism threats facing the United States in 2021 come from racially motivated or antigovernment violent extremists, a senior FBI counterterrorism official told Congressional committees looking into the Jan. 6 Capitol breach on Wednesday. Jill Sanborn, Assistant Director in charge of the counterterrorism division of the FBI said “We expect racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, antigovernment or anti-authority violent extremists, and other domestic violent extremists citing partisan political grievances will very likely pose the greatest domestic terrorism threats in 2021 and likely into 2022.” Epoch Times
Group Designated As A Terror Organization In Israel Is Active In the US . . . A group that advocates for the release of Palestinian prisoners with active affiliates in the U.S. was declared a terror organization by Israel Sunday, according to the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. Israel designated the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity organization as a terror network for reportedly being an arm of the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP was designated as a Foreign Terror Organization by the U.S. Department of State in 1997. Samidoun works to help release Palestinian prisoners and participates in anti-Israel propaganda and recruits activists, according to the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. Daily Caller
But who cares about Palestinian terrorists when we’ve got 75 million extremist Neanderthals in America to worry about?
International
Why is Germany tolerating Russian chemical weapons facilities on its soil? . . . Germany doesn’t seem to be bothered by the presence on its soil of elements of Vladimir Putin’s chemical weapons program. As new sanctions were introduced against Russia on Tuesday, in response to its August 2020 chemical weapons attack on opposition leader Alexei Navalny, three German companies, now added to the U.S. government’s so-called “Entity List” were among those sanctioned. Those on the “Entity List” face increased restrictions or even bans from U.S. exports. The newly proscribed German companies, Chimconnect, Pharmcontract, and RIOL-Chemie, were cited for their support of Putin’s covert chemical weapons program, which is supervised by the Russian GRU intelligence service. Washington Examiner
Angela must be really worried about Vlad cutting off Germany’s gas supplies if she doesn’t behave.
Western powers scrap plan for IAEA rebuke of Iran, diplomats say . . . Britain, France and Germany have scrapped a U.S.-backed plan for the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s board to criticize Iran for scaling back cooperation with the agency, diplomats said on Thursday, amid concerns about efforts to revive Iran’s nuclear deal. The European powers, all parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, have been lobbying for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors to adopt a resolution at this week’s quarterly meeting expressing concern at Iran’s latest breaches of the deal and calling on it to undo them. Reuters
Money
US gets ‘C-,’ faces $2.59 trillion in infrastructure needs over 10 years: report . . . The United States faces a $2.59 trillion shortfall in infrastructure needs that requires a massive jump in government spending to address crumbling roads, bridges and other programs, according to an assessment by an engineers group issued on Wednesday. The 170-page report by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) comes as President Joe Biden plans to seek a dramatic jump on infrastructure spending in the coming weeks. The report, published once every four years, gave the United States a “C-” overall — up from a D+ in 2017 — and marked the first time in two decades the country received a “C” range grade — but found the country is spending just over half of what is required, labeling overall U.S. infrastructure in “mediocre condition. Fox Business
China Plays Up Ascendancy Over West as It Sets Economic Path . . . Fresh from declaring victories over the coronavirus and rural poverty, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is charting a new economic path aimed at sustaining China’s rise and entrenching his personal authority for years to come. In recent weeks, state media has feted Mr. Xi as an astute and farsighted leader who has driven China’s success in eliminating poverty and anchored the nation’s stability while the U.S. and other Western powers reel from the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr. Xi and other officials have played up perceptions that “the East is rising and the West is declining,” underpinned by what they described as the Communist Party’s superiority in tackling crises and long-term challenges. Wall Street Journal
You should also know
Here Are Some Books the Woke Left Would Replace Dr. Seuss With . . . Left-wing activists aren’t just canceling Dr. Seuss. They’re also recommending woke books for children that are more about indoctrination than education or enjoyment. The National Education Association’s website includes a Read Across America section called “Find your book.” Almost every title on the list are books about race, gender identity, and various other left-wing causes. The woke books make up practically the entire list. One such book is “Julian Is a Mermaid,” about a little boy who sees women dressed as mermaids and wants to dress just like them. Another, following the gender-bending theme, is “The Prince and the Dressmaker,” about a prince who secretly wears dresses at night. Daily Signal
Universal Orlando takes Dr. Seuss books out of gift shop, considers park changes . . . Universal Orlando has pulled some of Dr. Seuss’ books from its gift shops and is contemplating further changes to the resort after it was announced that some books from the author’s collection would no longer be offered due to racist and insensitive imagery. On Tuesday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the entity that preserves and protects the author’s legacy, announced it would stop publishing six of the author’s well-known books, including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo.” The books in question are featured at Universal’s Island of Adventure theme park in an area known as Seuss Landing. The children’s area is known for having characters and attractions inspired by the world created by Dr. Seuss. Fox Business
Mississippi Middle School under fire for ‘slave letter writing’ assignment . . . A Mississippi school is taking heat over a “slave letter writing” assignment that asked a group of mostly white students to “discuss the journey to America” or “tell about the family you live with.” The assignment at Purvis Middle School also gave students the option to write about “how you pass your time when you aren’t working.” New York Post
Alternative Beef Threatens an Already Struggling Cattle Industry . . . According to a publication released by Oklahoma State University and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the beef cattle industry is estimated to lose $13.6 billion in revenue from COVID-19. In the beginning of the pandemic meat packing facilities were unprepared for a health crisis of this magnitude. As workers became ill from the virus, facilities began shutting down—forcing producers to halt shipments on market–ready beef. With plants shut down, retail beef prices soared. As farmers and ranchers navigate the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, another threat approaches on the horizon: alternative meats. Gingrich360
Guilty Pleasures
Goodwill worker finds $5,000 left in donated jacket pocket . . . Employees at a Goodwill store in Texas said it took weeks of searching to find $5,000 cash that was mistakenly left in the pocket of a jacket that was donated to the store. Goodwill Fort Worth officials said a man came into the thrift store chain’s location in Hurst in early February to report that his wife had mistakenly donated an old jacket that had an envelope containing $5,000 cash in the pocket. Store manager Rhonda Davis said workers searched through donations for several days when finally employee Maqayla DeLaPena ound the envelope three weeks after the search began. The cash was returned to the customer and DeLaPena was rewarded with a bonus and the Goodwill Medal of Integrity. UPI
Do you love Cut to the News? Let your family and friends know about it! They’ll thank you for it. Spread the word . . .
By Email – use the message that pops up or write your own.
Maj. Gen. William Walker (Photograph by Greg Nash/Getty Images)
Happy Thursday! Until Congress changed the date in 1933, presidential inaugurations were held on March 4. Not unrelated: American intelligence and law enforcement officials are warning of another QAnon-inspired plot by a militia to storm the U.S. Capitol today.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Rules committees Wednesday that his response to the January 6 Capitol insurrection was delayed three hours due to “unusual” restrictions by senior leadership that inhibited guardsmen from entering the fray.
The U.S. Al Asad air base in Iraq came under rocket fire of unknown origin Wednesday, resulting in a heart attack and subsequent death of an American civilian contractor. The attack comes less than a week after the U.S. strike on Iran-backed militia groups in Syria. Whether the attack is directly attributable to Tehran or one of its regional proxy groups, it likely signals an escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
In an effort to boost support for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill in the Senate, President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved a plan proposed by centrist House Democrats to lower the income eligibility for the bill’s $1,400 stimulus checks. Should the bill pass, only those who earn $80,000 or less would be eligible for direct payments, an income cap that is $20,000 less than the last round of stimulus checks that were sent from the federal government under the Trump administration.
The House passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (JIPA) on Wednesday almost entirely along party lines. The Democrats’ police reform measure was first introduced and passed last summer, but it now has a slightly better chance of becoming law. Democrats will, however, need 10 Republican votes in the Senate to advance the bill to President Biden’s desk.
H.R. 1, a bill that provides for sweeping election reform, including same-day voter registration, early voting, drop-off boxes, and provisions regulating campaign finance, passed the House on Wednesday.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo apologized Wednesday for acting “in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” but said he has no plans to resign despite three women levying allegations of sexual harassment against him.
The United States confirmed 67,000 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 4.8 percent of the 1,401,364 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 1,850 deaths were attributed to the virus on Wednesday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 518,326. According to the COVID Tracking Project, 45,462 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1,908,873 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered yesterday, bringing the nationwide total to 80,540,474.
Why Did It Take So Long to Deploy the National Guard?
The commanding general of the Washington, D.C., National Guard told senators Wednesday that it took longer than three hours for former President Donald Trump’s Defense Department to allow the National Guard to deploy to the Capitol building on January 6. The delay was caused by officials debating the optics of the action and unexplained communication problems, he said.
Maj. Gen. William Walker said he received “a frantic call” from then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund at 1:49 p.m. asking for help. “Chief Sund, his voice cracking with emotion, indicated that there was a dire emergency on Capitol Hill and requested the immediate assistance of as many guardsmen as I could muster,” Walker testified.
Walker said he immediately told senior Army leaders about the request. But he didn’t receive word that the troops could depart for the Capitol until 5:08 p.m.—three hours and 19 minutes later.
“It shouldn’t take three hours to either say yes or no to an urgent request,” Walker told senators. “In an event like that, where everybody saw it, it should not take three hours.”
Senior Pentagon official Robert Salesses also testified before the Senate Rules and Homeland Security committees Wednesday. He said the acting defense secretary approved full activation of the D.C. National Guard at 3:04 p.m., but final approval to send them to the Capitol building did not come until 4:32 p.m., leaving a more than half-hour gap between approval and Walker learning at 5:08 p.m. that he had the green light to deploy the troops.
Pressed by Sen. Roy Blunt to explain the delay in informing Walker of the approval, Salesses did not offer details but acknowledged it is “an issue.”
As the Senate debates the specifics of President Biden’s nearly $2 billion stimulus package, the status of one key provision remains somewhat murky: the so-called “child allowance,” a direct federal monthly payment to parents of minor children. The bill under consideration would dole out payments amounting to $3,600 per year for young children and $3,000 per year for older ones for a single year under the auspices of emergency pandemic relief.
On Wednesday, however, Biden told House Democrats on a private call that he would support making that extension permanent, according to the Washington Post—an admission that raises some interesting and prickly legislative logistical questions.
To begin with, it’s important to explain why the proposal as it currently stands is designed to sunset in the first place. Senate Republicans have made clear they’re none too keen on the stimulus package as a whole, which they argue is poorly targeted and stuffed with progressive policy changes unrelated to the pandemic. As a result, Democrats are operating under the assumption they’ll need to pass the bill with little to no Republican support. Since they control only 50 votes (plus Vice President Harris’s tiebreaker), they are making use of the filibuster-proof process known as budget reconciliation.
We’ll save a fuller explanation of reconciliation for a later date (in fact, pencil it in for next week’s Uphill!), but, for our purposes, one element is crucial here: Only bills meeting certain criteria are eligible to be passed under reconciliation, and one of those criteria is that the bill must be deficit-neutral after 10 years. A bill that includes dollops of new federal spending or eats into federal revenues without making up those changes elsewhere must thus sunset within that period. (Many of the provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was passed under reconciliation, included such sunset dates.)
There is one similar proposal on offer that would make the child benefit permanent by including pay-fors—Sen. Mitt Romney’s, which, as we covered at length last month, would satisfy reconciliation’s deficit neutrality requirement by eliminating a thicket of other family welfare programs as well as the state and local tax deduction. It’s unclear whether Biden’s comments were meant to indicate he was open to an arrangement like Romney’s in the current bill or simply that he wants to achieve a permanent child allowance via legislation down the road.
According to David Shor—head of data science at OpenLabs, a progressive nonprofit—support for the Democratic Party from 2016 to 2020 trended downward by roughly 2 percent among black voters and 8 or 9 percent among Hispanic voters. Eric Levitz of New York magazine spoke with Shor last week to dissect these trends. “Over the last four years, white liberals have become a larger and larger share of the Democratic Party. There’s a narrative on the left that the Democrats’ growing reliance on college-educated whites is pulling the party to the right,” Shor said. “But I think that’s wrong. Highly educated people tend to have more ideologically coherent and extreme views than working-class ones.”
How should we define “populism” today? Is it different from nationalism? Will Trumpism be on the ballot in 2022? National Review senior writer Michael Brendan Dougherty joined the New York Times’ Jane Coaston and Ross Douthat on the latest episode of The Argument podcast for a lively discussion about the GOP’s present and future. “[Conservative populism] doesn’t deliver enough things to enough people, and it makes enemies out of too large a share of the American public to govern the country effectively. And therefore it doesn’t govern the country effectively, and it remains a, at most, 46 percent, 47 percent movement,” Douthat argued. “The point is to divide the country and get 60 percent of the vote, and that’s something that nobody in our politics has done for a long time. But we remember our most successful presidents because they were able to do that. That’s the actual goal here, right? It’s to build a populism that doesn’t make people who are not, in fact, elites feel like they’re being scapegoated all the time but that does, in fact, punish the people in charge by removing them from power, at the very least, when they preside over a bunch of disasters.”
Jonah’s Wednesday G-File (🔒) focuses on the avalanche of karma headed toward New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Not only is Cuomo under investigation for alleged sexual impropriety and an alleged cover-up of the number of nursing home deaths in New York, he’s also weathering this storm after years of belittling his political enemies, morally grandstanding about the MeToo movement, and criticizing Trump for his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic. “The post-MeToo standards are real, and Cuomo and his party have been at the vanguard of the effort to establish them,” Jonah writes. “One of the first rules of politics is that if you’re going to apply strict standards to others, you should adhere to them yourself.”
On Wednesday’s episode of the Dispatch Podcast, the gang discusses President Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus package, voting rights in a post-Big Lie world, the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, and how the GOP is hoping to retake the House in 2022.
If you liked yesterday’s TMD item on semiconductors and supply chains, you’ll love Scott Lincicome’s latest Capitolism newsletter(🔒). “Federal government attempts to reshore supply chains raise their own risks,” he argues. “Freer markets can bolster U.S. resiliency by increasing economic growth, mitigating the impact of domestic shocks, and maximizing flexibility in times of severe economic uncertainty.”
William Jacobson: “LEGAL INSURRECTION FOUNDATION ENTERS ITS TERRIBLE TWOS — Did you know that we “launched” the foundation on March 1, 2019? We’re going to have a party next week and give ourselves a big present.“
Kemberlee Kaye: “To be clear, no one gave Texans freedom again by lifting existing executive action. Our rights do NOT come from government, they are given to us by God Almighty alone.”
Leslie Eastman: “The California Teachers Union: Getting richer by refusing to work while everyone else clamors to return to their jobs.”
Stacey Matthews: “The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks now have a ‘Hand Sanitizer Cam‘ (similar to the ‘Kiss Cam’), and it is … well, let’s just say it’s not a good look.
David Gerstman: “After (rightly) being stripped of his emergency COVID powers (after having done plenty of damage with increased powers), New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo held a press conference boldly stating “I have never done anything in my public career that I have been ashamed of.” Cuomo has adopted an unapologetic approach to the belatedly burgeoning scandal that is destroying his reputation. Recently-elected Rep. Claudia Tenney (R) had a great assessment of Cuomo’s presser, “Just watched the @NYGovCuomo press conference. I take back what I said before, he does deserve an Emmy.”
Samantha Mandeles: “I’m a stand-up comedy addict, and I generally agree with comedians such as Ricky Gervais, Bill Burr, or Jeff Ross when they mock those who react to “offensive” jokes in comedy routines with hysterical, snowflakey outrage; comedy should push the envelope–that’s often when comedians are funniest! So, I understand why some people might roll their eyes at the Jewish community’s recent sensitivity about comedian Michael Che’s joke on Saturday Night Live. (If you don’t know, Che joked that Israel is only vaccinating “the Jewish half” of its population against COVID.) But, this case is different–though not because Che’s joke was at the expense of Jews. On the contrary, I’ve found lots of stand-up routines about Jews to be funny, and I think it’s important that we Jews are able to laugh at ourselves and see humor even in others’ hatred. So the problem isn’t really that Che made an anti-Semitic joke, or that his statement is inaccurate on multiple levels. The problem is that his joke was obviously meant to be a case of “it’s funny because it’s true“; and so it demonstrated exactly how deeply the ‘New anti-Semitism‘–which manifests in the myth of Israel’s supposed foundation in Jewish supremacy and fundamental evil–has permeated our culture. The problem isn’t Che’s joke. The problem is what Che’s joke shows–which is that the anti-Israel propaganda armies, after decades of repeating the same lies over and over, are winning the war. “
Legal Insurrection Foundation is a Rhode Island tax-exempt corporation established exclusively for charitable purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to educate and inform the public on legal, historical, economic, academic, and cultural issues related to the Constitution, liberty, and world events.
For more information about the Foundation, CLICK HERE.
On Monday evening, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo finally “explained” his deafening silence in recent days regarding the wave of scandals facing his older brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“Before we start tonight, let me say something that I’m sure is very obvious to you who watch my show,” Chris Cuomo said as he opened “Cuomo Prime Time” Monday evening.
This is an exclusive op-ed. Reader’s Pass members get access to tons of member-only articles including interviews, opinion and analysis, and an ad-free reading experience for just $4/month. Click continue reading to sign up or keep scrolling to get to today’s headlines.
Biden Administration Gives Free COVID-19 Pass to Illegal Immigrants
For citizens and non-citizens alike, the U.S. has strict COVID-19 policies for those entering the United States legally via air travel. As of Feb. 18, the Biden administration mandated “All air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens, are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board a flight to the United States.”
According to NBC, after seeking asylum in Brownsville, Texas, a number of illegal immigrants are testing positive for COVID-19, then boarding buses to travel to dozens of cities and states throughout the country.
A spokesperson for the city of Brownsville told NBC “that they do not have the authority to retain these migrants,” despite testing positive for COVID-19. Martín Fernández, a worker for the bus company, said the company “respects the protocols of federal authorities: passengers must wear masks on board the vehicle and use hand sanitizer gel. But they cannot, he clarified, ask passengers for COVID-19 tests before getting on buses.”
Since they began administering COVID-19 tests on Jan. 25, the Brownsville spokesperson said 108 migrants—or 6.3 percent of those who took the test—have tested positive for COVID-19.
Adding to the crisis, more than 6,000 migrants are flooding the U.S.-Mexico border each day. For context, Jeh Johnson, former President Barack Obama’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, said 1,000 daily apprehensions overwhelm the system. Despite these facts and the public health risks that illegal immigration in the COVID-19 era pose, the Biden administration is reducing border security, stopping deportations, and promising amnesty, which effectively encourages more illegal immigration.
And in a horrific reminder that U.S. immigration laws don’t only exist to protect Americans, but also to protect vulnerable migrants from smugglers who use dangerous and reckless methods with no regard for health and safety, at least 13 migrants died in a crash after 25 people had been crammed into a Ford Expedition that seats 7 to 8 passengers. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego have initiated a human smuggling investigation in connection with the fatal crash.
When asked by a reporter whether there’s a crisis on the border, President Biden responded, “No.”
As The Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano put it, “It’s not a Border crisis if you don’t believe in borders.”
A Disgusting Example of Government Incompetency
I hope you didn’t eat breakfast before reading this one… From WXYZ Detroit:
“There’s a disturbing problem facing Michigan National Guard troops guarding the U.S. Capitol – their food. An anonymous staff sergeant with the Michigan National Guard told WXYZ that the force has repeatedly complained after more than a dozen troops were sickened by undercooked meat.”
“Yesterday, for instance, there were 74 different meals found with raw beef in them,” the sergeant told the station Monday, sharing images of meat that looked completely raw in the middle.”
“A whistleblower is telling 7 Action News nearly 75 meals were thrown out Sunday after metal shavings were found, other meals showed up undercooked making soldiers sick.”
In addition to firing the contractor who prepared this “food,” a good solution might be sending all the troops home, since the U.S. Capitol isn’t actually under attack. Here are pictures of the food, if you can stomach it, and here is Barstool Sports, which has been on it from the start.
More Meghan Markle Drama
Three days before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big Oprah interview is set to air, former palace staffers went public about a complaint filed against Meghan in 2018 alleging they were bullied, and some reduced to tears.
One said they were humiliated by her on a number of occasions and two PAs were reportedly driven from the household.
The duchess denies any allegations of bullying.
Strangely, Harry and Meghan picked the same air date as the royal’s first TV-only Commonwealth Day service on the BBC. Their two-hour special, “Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special,” airs this Sunday at 8 EST/PST on CBS.
Kelsey Bolar is a senior policy analyst at Independent Women’s Forum and a contributor to The Federalist. She is also the Thursday editor of BRIGHT, and the 2017 Tony Blankley Chair at The Steamboat Institute. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, daughter, and Australian Shepherd, Utah.
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list
Note: By using some of the links above, Bright may be compensated through the Amazon Affiliate program and Magic Links. However, none of this content is sponsored and all opinions are our own.
Mar 04, 2021 01:00 am
The prosecution of Strickland, the McCloskeys, and Rittenhouse looks like a witch hunt meant to bolster calls for radical gun-control legislation. Read More…
Mar 04, 2021 01:00 am
Reading between the lines – and paying special attention to what the government refuses to say – tells us that we’ve been fed propaganda, not facts. Read More…
Mar 04, 2021 01:00 am
The Supreme Court’s allowance of disclosure is a precedent for future abuses by prosecutors nationwide. Nobody’s tax returns can truly be confidential anymore. Read More…
Why Democrats are scared
Mar 04, 2021 01:00 am
The frightening thing to us about all this is how many Americans have fallen for the show and all its production values — the lockdowns, mask mandates, the vaccine, every new reason to continue all the nonsense. Read more…
Bumbling Biden blows border badly
Mar 04, 2021 01:00 am
A huge and totally unnecessary crisis is being created at the Us-Mexican border, with profound human suffering and the possibility of reigniting the spread of Covid. You can thank President Biden, or his handlers, for wrecking a perfectly good arrangement Read more…
The Seuss ruse
Mar 04, 2021 01:00 am
“Read Across America,” a day chosen in his honor,/ Until now, had always been just a yawner. / But irony of ironies, instead of celebrating his namesake, / We hurriedly toss his books, for goodness sake. Read more…
The woke-minded snitches (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)
Mar 04, 2021 01:00 am
Now, the Woke-minded snitches had power to bully /Anyone or thing with a reputation to sully. /With reasoning flawed and logic scattered,/ Nothing mattered but traditional values shattered. Read more…
View this email in your browser
American Thinker is a daily internet publication devoted to the thoughtful exploration of issues of importance to Americans.
This email was sent to <<Email Address>> why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
AmericanThinker · 3060 El Cerrito Plaza, #306 · El Cerrito, CA 94530 · USA
By J. Miles Coleman
Associate Editor, Sabato’s Crystal Ball
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE
— Virginia Democrats are trying to win three consecutive gubernatorial races, a feat the party has not accomplished since the 1980s.
— Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) is the favorite for his state’s Democratic nomination, though he faces a diverse field.
— In a move that’s ruffled some feathers on their side, Virginia Republicans will select their nominee at a May convention.
— In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) is poised to become the state’s first Democratic governor to secure reelection since 1977.
— Virginia’s open-seat race starts as Leans Democratic in the Crystal Ball ratings. New Jersey starts as Likely Democratic.
Back to the 1980s for Virginia Democrats?
With the presidential contest over, and the midterms almost two years off, Virginia and New Jersey are both due for some attention. As the only two states that hold their gubernatorial elections in the odd-numbered years after presidential elections, their results are sometimes framed as barometers for national political moods.
We’ll start with the Center for Politics’ home of Virginia, but before we dive into the current election year, some historical perspective is in order.
Though they’ll settle on their nominee in a June primary, the ultimate goal of Virginia Democrats in 2021 will be to accomplish something they haven’t done since the 1980s: win three consecutive gubernatorial elections.
During the closing decades of the 20th century, and into the first decade of the new millennium, Virginia was the ultimate contrarian state, at least in state contests. Starting in 1977, the Old Dominion elected governors from the political party opposite that of the previous year’s presidential winner — this streak would continue until 2013, as now-former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) won despite President Barack Obama’s reelection the year before.
While the electoral pattern that dominated that stretch of the state’s history makes for something of a fun political trivia point, Virginians didn’t simply go down that path just for the sake of voting against the White House. Zeroing in on the 1980s, Frank Atkinson, in his bookVirginia in the Vanguard, identifies several reasons why state Democrats found success during that decade. Though Virginia — and the country as a whole — gave GOP presidential nominees easy wins in 1980, 1984, and 1988, Democrats cobbled together a string of victories in the 1981, 1985, and 1989 gubernatorial contests (Map 1).
Map 1: Virginia presidential and gubernatorial races in the 1980s
From 1969 to 1977, Virginia Republicans also won a gauntlet of three gubernatorial races, so the pro-Democratic trend that began in 1981 represented a dramatic sea change in state politics.
What caused the tide to shift? Atkinson points out that, broadly, Democrats enjoyed something of a best-of-both-worlds posture. Once in power, their governors took credit for the economic gains of the Reagan and Bush years. While bashing the national Republican administrations on the campaign trail, Virginia Democrats invested new revenue in popular programs, like infrastructure and education — this, of course, helped them when voters went to the polls.
Quality, and in some cases, history-making, candidates also bolstered Democratic prospects in the 1980s. Elected in 1981, Gov. Chuck Robb (D-VA) was the face of the state party that decade. Robb framed himself as a pragmatic moderate, but liberals could appreciate his connection to Lyndon Johnson (he is the late president’s son-in-law). In 1985, then-state Attorney General Gerald Baliles won the governorship by running very much in the same mold, with an emphasis on the bread-and-butter Democratic issues of transportation and education.
Baliles, though a white candidate himself with a moderate veneer, led what Atkinson dubbed a “rainbow” ticket. Democrats nominated state Sen. L. Douglas Wilder for lieutenant governor, who would become the first Black candidate elected statewide, and state Delegate Mary Sue Terry for attorney general, who became the first woman elected to a statewide office. In 1989, Wilder again made history: his narrow gubernatorial victory marked the first time a Black candidate was popularly elected to lead *any* state — a distinction that Virginia’s complicated history on race made even more significant.
A third advantage Democrats had in the 1980s was fractious opposition. If Virginia Democrats fielded tickets that successfully appealed to both white moderates and minorities, state Republicans seemed to have something of an identity crisis. The state GOP of the time proved to be a wobbly coalition of religious conservatives, Appalachian moderates, and former Byrd Machine loyalists — among other groups. In the 1985 and 1989 contests, Republicans also seemed to struggle with messaging; given the historic nature of Wilder’s candidacies, attacks on him that were perceived as too racially tinged risked backfiring.
Though Virginia Republicans had much better luck in the 1990s, the party finds itself again struggling for relevance. After victories in 2013 and 2017, Virginia Democrats are positioned to pull off another electoral hat trick. If they accomplish that this year, it will probably have more to do with the state’s partisanship more than anything else. President Joe Biden’s 54%-44% showing in the state in 2020 was the best margin for a post-World War II Democratic presidential nominee. More tellingly, Republicans have lost all 13 statewide races that Virginia has seen since 2012 — even during the 1980s, the GOP at least claimed the state’s electoral votes and held both its Senate seats for much of the decade.
With that history in mind, let’s consider the current field.
The Democrats: McAuliffe vs. the field
For much of 2020, one of the worst-kept secrets in Virginia politics was that former Gov. Terry McAuliffe was eyeing a comeback. A Democrat with strong ties to the Clintons, he won what turned out to be a very competitive 2013 gubernatorial contest. As governor, McAuliffe sported generally positive approval ratings — as he was leaving office in late 2017, polling from Quinnipiac University put his approval rating at a healthy 56%-36% spread. It’s likely McAuliffe would have been reelected in 2017, but Virginia is the only state in the Union that limits its governors to serving a single consecutive term. Though McAuliffe wasn’t on the ballot himself, his popularity certainly didn’t hurt his party that year — he campaigned for now-Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) in 2017, and the Democratic ticket swept all three of the state’s top offices for the second straight cycle.
In December 2020, McAuliffe formally announced that he’d run again. If Virginia Democrats, as a whole, are looking for a return to the 1980s, McAuliffe, personally, may have the 1970s in mind. In the 1973 gubernatorial contest, then-former Gov. Mills Godwin (R-VA) staged a return to the governor’s mansion — he previously occupied it, as a Democrat, for a term after the 1965 election. Godwin is the most recent Virginia governor to serve two non-consecutive terms, though Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), who is also a former governor, was considered a potential 2013 candidate before ruling out a return.
A former chair of the Democratic National Committee, McAuliffe entered the race with a known fundraising advantage. Despite a relatively late entrance into the race — most of his rivals got in months earlier — as of January, the former governor had a war chest of about $6 million, more than the rest of the primary field combined. As the only candidate who’s experienced the state’s top job, his campaign seems to be betting that, in a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has upended society, voters will see him as a steady hand.
Few doubt McAuliffe’s commitment to the Democratic Party — during his term, he constantly promoted Virginia on the national and international stages, but often battled a hostile GOP legislature at home. Still, his competitors argue that the party’s nominee should be more in touch with current political realities. McAuliffe was first on the state ballot in 2009, when he unsuccessfully sought the gubernatorial nomination. The party’s electorate has changed markedly over the past dozen years, and the state overall has moved more firmly into the Democratic column.
While Virginia’s politics will likely be more prominent in national news this year, the race for the governorship truly began almost a year ago. In May 2020, state Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy was the first Democrat to announce a gubernatorial run. Elected in 2017, Carroll Foy has a background as a public defender and has stressed issues of criminal justice — she’s often discussed her support for cash bail reform. After Democrats took control of the legislature in 2019, she was instrumental in the state’s efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. She resigned from the state legislature to focus on her run.
In June 2020, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan entered the Democratic primary. Almost immediately, some parallels to Carroll Foy sprung up: both offer a generational contrast to recent governors — on Election Day, they’ll each be in their 40s — and either would be the first Black woman elected governor of any state. McClellan, though, has more experience in government and cited quality public education as her highest priority.
From a purely geographic perspective, McClellan has an advantage. While her four opponents come from Northern Virginia — a region that the party has increasingly leaned on in general elections — she represents a Richmond-area district. In fact, occupants of McClellan’s seat tend to go on to bigger things: her immediate predecessor is now-Rep. Donald McEachin (D, VA-4), who won a newly-drawn congressional seat in 2016, and former Gov. Doug Wilder represented it for several terms before launching his statewide career. As the state Senate is only up in odd-numbered years before presidential elections, McClellan can at least keep her seat if she comes up short in the gubernatorial primary.
A fourth primary candidate — who’s also Black and in his 40s — is Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D-VA). When Fairfax succeeded now-Gov. Ralph Northam as lieutenant governor, he was seen as a rising star in the party. However, in early 2019, around the time Northam was fighting for his political life after some of his medical school yearbook pictures came to light, Fairfax was battling a scandal of his own, as two women accused him of sexual assault. Northam simply rode out his yearbook scandal and worked to make amends but Fairfax’s reputation never recovered. As a result, even as a sitting statewide officer, Fairfax has generally not been a factor in the race — with only $79,000 in the bank, as of January, he lacks any major endorsements.
The final Democratic candidate, who entered in January, is state Delegate Lee Carter. Like Carroll Foy, he was initially elected to a Northern Virginia district in 2017. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Carter co-chaired Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 2020 primary campaign in the state. Though Virginia, to put it mildly, is not a state that has historically been defined by a progressive political culture, Carter is angling for the support of blue-collar voters. In the legislature, he’s positioned himself as a friend of labor — recently, he introduced a bill that would shield teachers from being fired during strikes. Still, unions have not rushed to endorse Carter, and he is far behind in fundraising.
The bottom line for the Democratic race is that the well-funded McAuliffe appears to have a significant edge. As Virginia doesn’t have runoffs, he could simply win with a plurality in a divided field. The filing deadline is in late March — if some candidates drop out before then, or don’t get around to actually filing, McAuliffe would likely have a harder time if his opposition is more consolidated. Either way, we’ll have to see if any of his declared rivals pick up steam leading into the June 8 primary.
With a convention, GOP tries to avoid chasing away swing voters
If the Democratic primary for Virginia governor seems straightforward, the Republican side is looking more volatile. To start, while the Democratic race currently features only five candidates, nine Republicans are running, though only a few have a serious chance of being nominated. Second, the party will choose a nominee at a May drive-through convention. In February, after a process that was marred by indecision, party officials announced the evangelical Liberty University, in Lynchburg, as its convention venue. This decision caught some university personnel flat-footed, though it apparently won’t be held on the actual university campus (the formal details are still being worked out).
For Virginia political observers, especially those in the Charlottesville area, the convention storyline may bring back memories of last year’s congressional race. Now-Rep. Bob Good (R, VA-5) ousted former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R, VA-5) at an opaque, drive-through convention that was held in Campbell County, just east of Lynchburg.
The convention format may have the effect of hampering state Sen. Amanda Chase’s prospects. She fashions herself as “Trump in heels,” and has been at war with the party establishment for much of the last year. When it was first reported that the state party was considering a convention, Chase threatened to leave the party and run as an independent, though she eventually settled on seeking the GOP nomination anyway. Still, as recently as last week, she seemed to be singing her old tune: as she accused the state party committee of stacking the upcoming convention, Chase suggested that a new political party is needed.
Traditionally, state Republicans have preferred conventions, which are decided by a relative handful of party loyalists, to primaries — as Virginia has no party registration, primaries are essentially open to any registered voter. From 1953 to 1985, the Republicans nominated gubernatorial candidates via convention, and they’ve only since held primaries in 1989, 2005, and 2017.
Traditionally, state Republicans have preferred conventions, which are decided by a relative handful of party loyalists, to primaries — as Virginia has no party registration, primaries are essentially open to any registered voter. From 1953 to 1985, the Republicans nominated gubernatorial candidates via convention, and they’ve only since held primaries in 1989, 2005, and 2017.
Put in a historical context, Chase’s opposition to a convention is a curiosity. In recent decades, state conventions typically benefited the more ideological candidates — in other words, those that could inspire partisans to show up for hours at a time. In last year’s VA-5 race, Good, running as a “Biblical conservative,” benefited from that format against Riggleman, who was a Republican with libertarian leanings. As an aside, after his losing his seat, Riggleman seemed open a 2021 gubernatorial bid. Given his recent criticisms of the GOP, he may consider running as an independent — in that case, he’d have until August to file papers for his candidacy. Before his time in Congress, he was briefly a candidate for governor in the 2017 Republican primary.
In 2013, the last time Republicans held a gubernatorial convention, then-Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a well-known moderate who’d have some appeal to Democrats in a general election, was muscled out by then-state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a strident conservative with a reputation as an immigration hawk. Had the contest been decided in a primary, Cuccinelli may have struggled to expand past his base. But post-Trump, a different dynamic may be at play in state primaries. It’s easy to see how Chase could turn out low-propensity voters who are sympathetic to Trumpism, but are suspicious of political parties and wouldn’t participate in a convention.
At the 2021 convention, Republican delegates will cast ballots in Lynchburg, with their preferences ranked. The Chase campaign worries that this system will benefit candidates who have deeper connections to the state party. Specifically, Delegate Kirk Cox, who served as Speaker of the state House from 2018 to 2020, would seem to have the inside track in that scenario. Cox was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1989, and has the most endorsements — notably, former Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) and former Sen. George Allen (R-VA) are backing him.
In 2017, Virginia was a frontier in the culture war, as the fight over Confederate monuments was a topic that became a campaign issue. In a similar vein, Cox has made combatting “cancel culture” a key issue of his campaign — perhaps as an overture to the right.
Businessman Pete Snyder, who lives in Charlottesville, is billing himself as a more conservative alternative to Cox, but as one without the type of baggage that Chase brings. Cuccinelli has endorsed Snyder.
Retired private equity executive Glenn Youngkin suggests that his image as a political outsider would provide a stark contrast to McAuliffe in a general election (assuming Democrats nominate the former governor). Republicans at the convention may also consider Youngkin’s ability to self-fund.
Other candidates in the race include Merle Rutledge, Sergio de la Peña, Kurt Santini, Peter Doran, and Paul Davis. But any Republican who makes it out of the convention will have to be prepared for an uphill campaign against the Democratic nominee. In recent general elections, Virginia Republicans have earned about 45% of the vote, but getting much past that has proved challenging.
Broadly, the Republican brand has been on the decline in the state’s suburban localities, which are still growing relatively rapidly. Gov. Northam’s statewide career illustrates this shift quite well. In 2013, when he ran for lieutenant governor, his opponent was E. W. Jackson, a Black preacher with a history of inflammatory statements — Jackson beat Snyder for the nomination at a 2013 convention. Northam carried the Northern Virginia area with 64%. Four years later, in his race for governor, he was running against former Republican National Committee leader Ed Gillespie. With a long history in party politics, Gillespie was the type of “establishment” Republican that the Northern Virginia area had traditionally been receptive to. But as Map 2 shows, Northam fared even better in the region against Gillespie, even as he won statewide by less (Northam won in 2013 by nearly 11 points and in 2017 by about nine points).
Map 2: Northern Virginia, 2013 vs 2017
Perhaps without the albatross of Trump, Republicans will be better able to localize the race. Although, in the case of Northern Virginia, with its proximity to the country’s capital, local politics is often national politics. While Virginia Republicans certainly have their work cut out for them, and a Likely Democratic rating would be justified, out of an abundance of caution, we’ll start the race off as Leans Democratic.
Depending on the salience of the local issues this fall and the trajectory of the pandemic, this race might end up being a good test as to whether Republicans can make up ground in suburbia by arguing that Democrats are too close to teachers’ unions on school reopenings.
New Jersey: Democrats favored to (finally) re-elect a governor
In 2021, Garden State Democrats are looking to make some history of their own: even though the state has voted blue in presidential contests since 1992, no Democrat there has been reelected as governor since 1977. Facing voters this year, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) seems positioned to break that curse.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Murphy’s outlook for reelection was somewhat more dicey, but voters gave him high marks for his handling of the crisis. His recent approval ratings have still been over 50%. Despite its aversion to reelecting Democratic governors, New Jersey is still one of those states where, in order to win statewide, almost everything needs to go right for Republicans.
In 2009, enough factors fell into place for Republicans to deny a Democrat reelection. With an ailing economy and budget shortfalls dominating headlines, then-Gov. John Corzine (D-NJ) spent the lead-up to his reelection campaign fighting with his own party in the legislature. The favorite for the GOP nomination that year was Chris Christie, a plain-spoken former U.S. attorney. At this time in the 2009 cycle, Corzine had a 40% approval and was trailing Christie by nine percentage points. The governor made up some ground by the fall, but still lost by almost four points. A former Goldman Sachs executive with connections in the financial services industry, one of the few advantages Corzine had was in fundraising — altogether better-positioned, Murphy seems fine on that front (as it happens, he is also a Goldman Sachs veteran).
But this isn’t to say Murphy’s tenure as governor has gone perfectly. As with Virginia, Republicans will certainly try to localize the race, and they may have some openings. In 2019, Murphy promised to fix the state’s transit system — “[I’ll] fix NJ Transit if it kills me,” as he put it — but the state’s commuters still face challenges. In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Republicans kept a focus on property taxes, and their nominee, then-Lt. Gov Kim Guadagno (R-NJ) overperformed in several higher-income pockets of the state.
The clear Republican frontrunner is former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, who came up short to Guadagno in the 2017 primary. In some matters of style, Ciattarelli is borrowing from Christie’s playbook. In a state with a truly distinctive culture, Christie played up his authentic New Jersey persona — he’s quick to mention his affinity for the state’s musical icon, Bruce Springsteen. In his campaign kickoff, Ciattarelli, a native of the state, charged that the Massachusetts-born Murphy, “…doesn’t understand New Jersey.”
This is still a very machine-driven state in primaries. Murphy has no primary opposition, and Republicans will spend the next few months jockeying for the party line in most of the state’s counties. Ciattarelli already has the line in several counties.
New Jersey typically votes more Democratic than Virginia, and given Murphy’s advantages as the incumbent, the Crystal Ball sees this race as less competitive. We’re starting it at Likely Democratic.
Read the fine print
Learn more about the Crystal Ball and find out how to contact us here.
Sign up to receive Crystal Ball e-mails like this one delivered straight to your inbox.
Use caution with Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and remember: “He who lives by the Crystal Ball ends up eating ground glass!”
A black officer with the Tampa Police Department was caught on his bodycam saying the N-word on several occasions and was fired for it, the Tampa Bay Times reported.What are the details?Officer Delvin White — a school resource officer at Middleton High School — was fired Tuesday for “violations of policy that prohibit discriminatory conduct,” the p … Read more
I’ve been an Amazon user for about 15 years, and an addict since we became Prime members about three years ago. It’s been surprisingly easy to kick the habit.
The Equality Act would enshrine into law the left’s ideological extremism on three of the most divisive issues of the day: sex, abortion, and religious liberty.
Three stories about apolitical businesses and charities, like the many others before them, portend a scary future for using social media platforms to market one’s cause or business.
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.
“You must read The Transom. With brilliant political analysis and insight into the news that matters most, it is essential to understanding this incredible moment in history. I read it every day!” – Newt Gingrich
Security has been tightened around the U.S. Capitol after police warned that a militia group might try to attack it today.
March 4 is the day when believers in the baseless QAnon conspiracy have claimed that former President Donald Trump will be sworn in for a second term in office.
The House of Representatives passed a flagship election reform bill that would update voting procedures and require states to turn over the task of redrawing congressional districts to independent commissions.
The Senate is expected to begin debating President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package today after agreeing to phase out payments to higher-income Americans in a compromise with moderate Democratic senators.
The third time appeared to be the charm for Elon Musk’s Starship rocket – until it wasn’t. The spacecraft blew itself to pieces about eight minutes after touchdown yesterday.
↑ SpaceX Starship SN10 explodes after liftoff at South Padre Island, Texas, March 3, 2021
WORLD
↑ Protesters lie on the ground after police opened fire to disperse an anti-coup protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 3, 2021. Among them, Angel, 19, bottom-left, also known as Kyal Sin, took cover before she was shot in the head
“Everything will be OK,” read 19-year-old Angel’s T-shirt as she joined anti-coup protesters in Myanmar. Angel was killed by a shot to the head on the streets of Mandalay as she fought for a tentative democracy in which she had proudly voted for the first time last year.
Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary groups have told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson they are temporarily withdrawing support for the 1998 peace agreement due to concerns over the Brexit deal. The ‘Good Friday Agreement’ ended three decades of violence between mostly Catholic nationalists and mostly Protestant unionists.
The death of South Korea’s first known transgender soldier, who was discharged last year for undergoing gender reassignment surgery, has sparked calls for better protections and acknowledgement of transgender Koreans.
Ten years after the Fukushima disaster, we visit a man who stayed behind to rescue cats abandoned by neighbors who fled the radiation clouds. He won’t leave.
BUSINESS
After a searing U.S. bond selloff, markets are laser-focused on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s next move.
But while investors will be closely watching the Fed chief, due to speak at a conference today, for any hints of concern about last week’s jump in bond yields, they see a high bar for the U.S. central bank to actually take action.
OPEC, Russia and other oil producers meet today to decide whether to keep April output steady or increase it as they weigh a recent price rally against uncertainty about the economic recovery.
The global semiconductor chip shortage has led General Motors to extend production cuts at three North American plants and add a fourth to the list of factories hit. We take a look at how the shortage has spurred a run on vintage chipmaking tools.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, we look at how women are struggling to regain their footing in the job market after being pushed out by the pandemic.
There was a time not too long ago when Bol Gai Deng was getting interviewed by many big hitters in mainstream media. His story is one of the most compelling that you’ll hear, one that could easily be made into a Hollywood biopic. At the age of seven, he was taken by the mujahideen from his village in South Sudan—not yet an independent nation—and entered into a life of slavery for nearly a decade. He escaped on a passing train one day when tending to his captors’ cattle and made his way to America.
Deng has experienced true persecution, not the “systemic racism” that drives so much of the narrative in the United States today. His plight has helped shape him into a leader and after two decades in the United States, he’s ready to go back to his nation and liberate his people from the tyrannical rule of South Sudan’s only president, Salva Kiir Mayardit.
“The reality is slavery still exists in the African Union but they’re silent about it,” he said. “And now the West is talking about ‘slavery’ here in America, we’re talking about the black lives that matter but they don’t talk about the slaves’ lives mattering in Africa.”
After gaining its independence in 2011, South Sudan did not see the reforms and prosperity they’d hope would come from their new government. Instead, corruption and crime have become institutionalized. The raids on villages continue. The kidnappings, rapes, slavery, and murders still persist. And as President Kiir made clear in 2015, journalists are not allowed to talk about it. Kiir said, “freedom of the press does not mean that you work against your country. If anybody does not know that this country will kill people, we will demonstrate on them.”
Deng has worked very hard to learn English, assimilate into American life, and grow as a leader among his fellow Christians and South Sudanese refugees. He began working with journalists and political advisers over three years ago to mount a campaign to replace Kiir. His team has called on Western governments to get involved in South Sudan by applying pressure for new elections. Kiir has held an iron grip over his country for a decade.
“I have learned I have to take on the leadership because that’s something that happened to me and I don’t want it to happen to other people,” he continued.
But Deng wasn’t just learning English and advancing his own prospects in his two decades in America. He has worked to help other refugees advance while trying to mount a serious effort to force elections in South Sudan. If the international community is unwilling to help his people, he said he will rally them with support of the military to reclaim control of their nation through revolution.
In the latest episode of NOQ Report, we had a candid discussion about politics in both his land of origin and his adoptive home. He has become a staunch Christian conservative in his time in America, supporting mostly Republican candidates, including President Trump. But knowing this did not dissuade news outlets like the Washington Post from telling his story. After all, his personal political leanings were one thing but using him as an example of how refugees from Muslim-controlled nations could excel in the United States was too juicy of a prospect for left-wing media.
Deng earned a bachelor’s degree from VCU and was the first student to sign up for the homeland security major the school created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He had hoped to get a job with the FBI or Department of Homeland Security, but his command of written English was too limited.
On a campus with eight or nine Sudanese refugees, Deng stood out because he was always organizing something, Utsey said. Deng put together a program to help local African immigrants improve their English, led efforts to build a school and deliver medicine to South Sudan, and staged a two-day conference on Sudan that drew diplomats and scholars from Washington and elsewhere.
He spoke to many journalists interested in the former slave who now leads a productive life in America. But the interviews dried up in recent months. Why? Because his perspectives on Black Lives Matter and other radical leftist groups did not jibe with mainstream media’s sensibilities. I asked him his perspective on what he’s seeing happening in America today with Black Lives Matter.
“They’re spoiled,” he said. “They have a good life. They have food. They have jobs. They have cars. They have their own businesses. They have their own churches. These people have been spoiled by the United States.”
He sees Black Lives Matter “activists” filming their “rallies” on thousand dollar smart phones and taking to social media to show their latest virtue signaling t-shirts, but he wonders why they’re not addressing the actual persecution happening in nations like South Sudan. If black lives matter, shouldn’t that mean ALL black lives matter, not just those who are concerned they might be one of a couple of dozen unarmed black men shot by police in a given year? When he was kidnapped from his village and forced into slavery, he was among hundreds of children taken.
The persecution people like Bol Gai Deng experienced is not the persecution that Black Lives Matter or other leftist groups want us to see. Their focus is on bringing down America and nobody’s actual hardships will get in their way.
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 Twitter account for Immigration and Customs Enforcement alerts—which notified the public about criminal illegal immigrants—has been locked by the Biden administration.
In a statement to The Daily Signal, Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said that the locking of the ICE Alerts Twitter account, which appeared to have occurred on Tuesday, is bad news for the safety of the American public.
“Once again, it appears the Biden administration is putting open-borders policies over the safety and security of American citizens,” Clyde said.
Locking the ICE Alerts account prevents the public from receiving critical information about criminal aliens. I fear it will be American lives that will pay the price for the administration’s reckless policies.
On Tuesday, Jon Feere, who served as senior adviser and chief of staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2017 until earlier this year, tweeted, “The Biden Administration has locked ICE’s public safety alert account (@ICEAlerts), which informed the public about fugitive criminal aliens.”
Feere said that the account had been created in 2013, during the Obama administration, and was mostly utilized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the Trump administration.
“It seems the Biden Admin locked @ICEAlerts because if you were to report the location of one of these dangerous aliens to ICE, it would become too obvious that these assaulters, drug dealers, thieves, and drunk drivers are now allowed to go free under Biden’s policies,” he tweeted.
The Daily Signal reached out to Twitter about this, and a spokesperson said, “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘locked,’ as it appears the account is just set to protected.”
The Daily Signal also reached out to an ICE spokesperson, who said that “ICE continues to use its main Twitter account, @ICEgov, and our regional Twitter accounts to communicate with the public about our national security, border security, and public safety mission. ICE also uses our website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Flickr to communicate with all our stakeholders, including local jurisdictions.”
The spokesperson added:
ICE routinely updates its many communication tools to ensure accurate information remains [consistent] with current priorities. As with similar accounts associated with prior administrations’ policies, @ICEAlerts was archived as it was no longer being maintained.
ICE continues to focus its civil immigration enforcement on the common-sense priorities of national security, border security, and public safety.
Lora Ries, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Technology Policy within its Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, told The Daily Signal in an email that she is concerned about what this signals about the Biden administration.
“The Biden Administration has stopped posting dangerous criminal alien fugitives on the ICEAlert Twitter account,” she wrote, adding:
This, in combination with the Biden Administration’s shocking Priorities Memo that states ICE priorities are only terrorists, spies, and convicted aggravated felons, makes the Biden Administration protectors of criminal aliens instead of American citizens.
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.
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the booming of the #MeToo movement, Hollywood elites got together to form Time’s Up, a women’s charity group that is supposed to aid victims of sexual misconduct. But public filings of the group’s finances reveal a huge disparity between how much they paid themselves and how much went to actual charitable work.
According to Showbiz 411, the group paid a whopping $2.4 million in salaries while only giving out $19,342 in grant money. The ended up paying more in payroll TAX than they distributed to helping women who have faced sexual misconduct.
Time’s up for Time’s Up. Really. Last November, the Daily Mail reported that the Hollywood women’s advocacy group spent lavishly on themselves in their first year of operation but did little for other people. The Mail story cited $1.4 million on compensation, among other things. It was outrageous.
But now Time’s Up has posted its financial report for 2019, and it’s worse! Salaries and compensation totaled $2.4 million — including almost $600,000 to get rid of CEO Lisa Borders, formerly the head of the WNBA, after her son was accused of groping a woman (that’s putting it nicely) during a “healing” session. (He hired Kevin Spacey’s lawyer to defend him, but Borders left with a neatly wrapped exit package.)
Time’s Up now, according to their website, has an all new staff, with Tina Tchen running the show. But I also count a whopping 25 main employees, all with fancy titles, and no doubt six figure salaries.
The list of 2019 salaries staggers the imagination for a start up group dedicated to advocacy work. Currently, Time’s Up is shooting fish in a barrel, attacking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for not having black members. Duh. They’re acting like this is a revelation.
Charities occasionally get caught overspending on themselves while being frugal with their actual charitable works and grants. It’s only occasional because they do not get checked nearly enough by the press. But Time’s Up has been on the radar for over two years thanks in part to its meteoric rise. Some in media exposed their poor financial choices in 2018 when they paid a lot to their employees and executives, but 2019’s totals dwarfed the previous year’s take.
According to Daily Wire, their extravagances included some eye-popping expenditures.
The group also forked over nearly half a million dollars, $454,693, in legal fees to Washington D.C. law firm Arnold & Porter as well as $165,000 to a New York recruiter. Time’s Up also dropped $400,000 on travel expenses and rent.
Time’s Up’s expenses in 2018 were barely any more frugal. That year, the group spent 38 percent of its revenue, $1.4 million, on salaries alone and another $157,000 on a retreat at the Ojai Valley Inn, a luxury resort and spa in California. The group also paid PR firm Rally Public Relations $112,435 and spent even more on legal fees, a whopping $719,000.
Is Time’s Up a full-blown scam? Perhaps. But they can justify their retreats to luxury spas and six-figure salaries because they have Hollywood stars like Reese Witherspoon and Brie Larson running cover for them.
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.
Critical race theory is dangerous. Even if you haven’t done the research on the topic, you likely know exactly what it is based on the various insane examples that pop up in the news on a daily basis. It went from a controversial discussion point in progressive academia to a way of life for far too many Americans. What we’re witnessing today is the weaponization of the theory as a tool to be used against the foundation of Western society.
Before anyone gets annoyed and starts thinking that I’m addressing the topic in a shocking or melodramatic fashion for effect, please note that I was among those who thought it was a passing fad just a few years ago. I thought, wrongly, that Americans were too smart to fall for such ludicrous notions. But what I underestimated was the pervasiveness of desires to be “woke” even if doing so requires cognitive dissonance. In other words, my assumption that people were too smart was only wrong because I didn’t take into account the willingness of so many to turn off their brains and absorb their indoctrination like sheep.
It doesn’t take deep exploration of obscure news outlets to find examples. On any given day, there are dozens of clear-cut occurrences of critical race theory playing a major role in policies, actions, and changes to the foundation of our culture and lifestyle. According to Campus Reform, it is now being taught as a minor at St. John’s University.
St. John’s University in New York City has announced it will offer a 15-credit “Critical Race & Ethnic Studies Interdisciplinary” minor. The interdisciplinary minor is described as a method for students to study and research major critical race theory subjects like “social inequalities, international migration, economic globalization, healthcare systems, legal and carceral structures, colonialism, and empire.”
“Critical Race & Ethnic Studies devotes itself to the study of social justice issues shaped by race, ethnicity, class, dis/ability, gender, sexuality, and other contemporary and historical forms of group-differentiation. It also looks to the political struggles of systematically and structurally marginalized people as resources for exploring innovative strategies for social transformative action,” a webpage for the minor states.
The required courses are Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Methodologies in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Anti-Blackness around the Globe, Comparative Racializations: Blackness, Indigeneity, Asianness, and Latinidad; and Capstone Seminar in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies.
One might think this is to be expected since American universities have been engulfed by radical leftist beliefs for at least five decades. The shock and awe of seeing our colleges teaching social justice dribble has long since passed, replaced by a quick roll of the eyes as thoughtful Americans have accepted it as a given. But they’re not just going after college students. That’s too easy. They’re going after high schools. They’re going after junior highs. They’re going after elementary schools. They’re going all the way back. In Arizona, they’re trying to make us believe racism by Caucasians in particular begins as early as 3-months-old.
SCOOP: The Arizona Department of Education has created an “equity” toolkit claiming that babies show the first signs of racism at three months old and that white children “remain strongly biased in favor of whiteness” by age five.
— Christopher F. Rufo (@realchrisrufo) March 2, 2021
If we’re to believe Caucasians are racist before they can understand a racial slur, then it’s no wonder so many have embraced Robin DiAngelo’s book, White Fragility. As we reported last week, Coca-Cola has a training program that encourages their Caucasian employees to “be less white.” That story was first broken by Karlyn Borysenko who joined us for the latest episode of NOQ Report. She is not a fan of DiAngelo’s, noting how the sudden guru is trying to convince Caucasians that they’re inherently racist.
“Robin DiAngelo actually says that in her book,” Borysenko said. “She says, ‘I have been racist since the womb.’ She talks about how she’s been a racist her entire life. She talks about how even now she does racist things to her colleagues and thank God she has colleagues who forgive her for her racism.”
Having an educated Caucasian woman admitting that she’s racist and trying to convince every other Caucasian that they can’t help but to be racist is the gift that keeps on giving to Neo-Marxist groups like Black Lives Matter and Democratic Socialists in Washington, DC. This is just one of the ways that critical race theory has been weaponized and is being spread by corporations like Coca-Cola, but Borysenko laid out what the book and subsequent teachings by DiAngelo really mean.
“White Fragility is essentially the 150-page confession of an extremely racist person that is trying to convince everyone else that they’re racist to be able to validate her experience in the world,” Borysenko said.
What does this have to do with taking down Western society? It’s all about division. They’re using critical race theory to convince people of all colors that we must operate based solely on our race. It’s the epitome of racism itself which is why I naively believed Americans would see through it more easily. Instead of promoting a world in which race, gender, and other “categories” of humanity have minimal effect on our place in the world, critical race theory seeks to make people of color hate Caucasians and Asian-Americans while simultaneously making Caucasians and Asian-Americans hate themselves.
Concepts like “white privilege” and it’s variations are used to justify racism. If a leftist who embraces critical race theory wants to attack a person, they generally do not attack them based on their ideas. Instead, they find the boxes of intersectionality that are not checked off by their opponent and claim that their lack of diversity is what makes them wrong. And it’s working. Progressives are rushing to demonstrate their wokeness by embracing critical race theory tactics while many conservatives are failing to defend themselves properly out of fear of being labelled a bigot.
There are three reasons critical race theory is so effective at destroying Western society. First, it’s used to change the way we operate in government and business. Instead of hiring the best person for a job without regard to race, gender, religion, or sexual preference, many are being forced into picking people who are less qualified in an effort to either be seen as more “woke” or to meet some arbitrary quota.
Second, critical race theory promotes racism and therefore promotes division amongst the races. This affects Caucasians the most as they’re not only fighting against racism from other races but are fighting amongst themselves about whether or not they’re inherently racist. This is why White Fragility is such a powerful tool for the radical progressives. It tries to unite people of color against Caucasians and Asian-Americans while driving division within these groups.
Lastly, the constant playing of the race card invokes feelings of victimhood. When a person of color fails, they’re told their failure is not due to their own shortcomings but the systemic racism of Western culture. They are trained to be victims first, which is why victimhood has become a status that is coveted by leftists, particularly younger generations. It promotes weakness within the nation by offering intangible excuses for failure.
More people MUST start recognizing the existential threat of critical race theory. If it continues to dominate our culture and drive division across the nation, we will never be able to unite. If wokeness wins, everyone loses.
Watch the video of this podcast and interview on Rumble.
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.
America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) has created a new tool for state lawmakers to craft Vaccine Bill of Rights (VBOR) legislation as a defense against mandatory vaccination.
In the face of “intrusive, dangerous and unnecessary proposals,” to quote Patrick Delaney of LifeSiteNews, many Americans are concerned that the United States might go the way of Israel in requiring Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination as a type of health “passport” in order to buy and sell. AFLDS is working on the frontlines to stop this from happening.
The VBOR was composed, according to AFLDS, “so that state legislatures can re-affirm their commitment to individual rights of conscience, assembly, and movement.”
“You are now armed with the tools to fight for your freedom,” a draft resolution of the document template reads. “THIS IS YOUR MISSION.”
You, your family, and your friends are all free to access the VBOR document, which AFLDS is urging people to send to their state representatives along with a petition urging them “to pass the resolution immediately.”
The LifeSite Action Center has created a nationwide “Alert” on its Voter Voice Platform that simplifies the process with a one-step contact form.
“This system will automatically match citizens to their representatives’ email and / or Twitter accounts, and with a single click they can send their message to them directly,” Delaney writes. “Calling the legislators’ offices is an option provided as well.”
Vaccine Bill of Rights actualizes already established Constitutional law
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution explicitly directs states to not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Mandatory vaccination clearly violates this.
Some would argue, as did several of our own commenters, that there is no need for a VBOR because we already have the official Bill of Rights. One of them wrote:
“We already have a Bill of Rights to govern vaccines. It is THE Bill of Rights and the Ninth Amendment gives us the right to refuse ‘vaccines’ … Americans can hardly even think in principle anymore. Instead, Americans need a list of rights to choose from. It is all they can get their brains around.”
This writer agrees with that sentiment, however VBOR legislation could serve the purpose of reiterating what the main Bill of Rights already long established. Readers are encouraged to take this approach in contacting their legislators, reminding them that their job is to protect our existing rights under the Constitution, not infringe them.
“Quite frankly, I can’t believe the conversation is even necessary,” wrote another of our commenters.
As explained by Delaney, the purpose of enacting a VBOR is to actualize already established Constitutional law, as well as federal law that broadly recognizes the international norms articulated in the Nuremberg Code of 1947.
The Nuremberg Code, as you may already know, came about after World War II to address the crimes against humanity that were committed by Nazi “doctors” who conducted deadly medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners. That same model of human experimentation is happening once again under the guise of fighting a “pandemic.”
“No one – not the government, employers, nor any individual – should maintain the authority to force anyone to get vaccinated, and a Vaccine Bill of Rights in your state will ensure that they don’t,” the LifeSite Alert explains.
“The AFLDS proposal is a reasonable, responsible, and reassuring step in the right direction as we move into the next phase of the pandemic, and state legislators should either introduce its provisions as legislation or model their proposal after them.”
More of the latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) 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.
During this episode of Battlefront: Frontline, Dustin Faulkner discusses the documentary Absolute Truth released by Mike Lindell, Brannon Howse, and Mary Fanning with research by Alan Jones. What are some of the problems this reveals? Did this prove ultimately the election was stolen? Dustin tells you what is the truth in our nation and what should be done about it.
Ted Cruz walked back his defense of Trump on The Verdict program and proclaimed there was no evidence given for court cases. Why is this bad to say when there is evidence presented everywhere and also for the truthful denial by courts to hear the cases? Dustin describes why he opposed Cruz’s words on social media and the disagreements he received.
Stewart Rhodes and the Oath Keepers have been targeted as a far right wing militia group since their Bundy Ranch defense. They are being targeted for arrests and declarations as a terrorist group by the leftists in office. Are they really as bad as they say? Dustin offers you his view and understanding of the man and the organization.
To watch the full episode of Battlefront: Frontline, click here.
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.
Visit the Townhall Media Preference Center to manage your subscriptions
NOT GETTING OUR MAIL, YET?SIGN UP HERE FOR BPR DAILY EMAILS
Your input is critical to us and to the future of conservatism in America. We refuse to be silenced, and we hope you do too. Sign up for daily emails and never miss a story.
For the latest BPR videos subscribe to our Rumble page.
Group just designated as a terror organizatiohttps://www.news.bizpacreview.com/click.html?x=a62e&lc=OzL&mc=g&s=DETC&u=d&z=vjs7dNl&n in Israel is active in the US
You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.
47.) ABC
March 4, 2021 – Having trouble viewing this email? Open it in your browser.
Morning Rundown
Capitol police officials say intel on possible March 4 plot being taken ‘seriously’: As lawmakers grilled national security officials about their delayed security response to the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Capitol Police officials bolstered security after obtaining intelligence about a “possible plot to breach the Capitol” on Thursday. “Our department is working with our local, state, and federal partners to stop any threats to the Capitol,” the FBI said in a bulletin. “We are taking the intelligence seriously.” The bulletin, which was sourced to FBI intelligence from late February, describes an alleged plot by the Three Percenters militia group to “use diversionary tactics such as detonating a bomb” to draw law enforcement away from the Capitol as a ploy to take over the Capitol. The bulletin also describes the group’s alleged goal of having 50,000 members from around the country travel to D.C. on or around March 4 through March 6 and participate in a plan to overrun law enforcement, a source said. In response to the threat, the Capitol complex remains surrounded with temporary fencing topped with razor wire and some 5,000 National Guard troops remain on site. The House also changed its schedule Wednesday night so that the chamber will no longer be in session on Thursday, given the security concerns.
Cuomo issues public apology in wake of scandal: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday addressed the sexual harassment scandal he’s facing and apologized for his actions. “I want New Yorkers to hear from me directly on this,” said Cuomo, who pledged his full cooperation with the state attorney general’s investigation. “I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it.” The 63-year-old Democrat is facing mounting calls to resign after three women — Charlotte Bennett, 25, Anna Ruch, 33, and Lindsey Boylan, 36 — accused him of unwanted advances between December 2016 and June 2020. Earlier this week, The New York Times published Ruch’s allegations against the governor, in which she alleged he touched her bare back and face, and “asked if he could kiss her.” Lawmakers are now seeking to investigate how his administration handled nursing home COVID-19 death data and prepared a bill aimed to curb Cuomo’s emergency powers granted during the pandemic will be voted on tomorrow.
Teachers, child care staff nationwide can now sign up for vaccine shots: One day after President Joe Biden announced that he wants to prioritize teachers and school workers to receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine “by the end of March,” teachers and child care staff are now being offered vaccine appointments at some 9,000 pharmacy locations nationwide, even if their state hasn’t declared them eligible yet. As of Wednesday morning, CVS — one of the pharmacies participating in the program — had already updated its website to note that “teachers K-12 and child care workers” were now eligible to sign up for a vaccine shot in every state. Meanwhile, first lady Jill Biden visited two schools Wednesday in Connecticut and Pennsylvania alongside the newly confirmed Education of Secretary Miguel Cardona as an opportunity to see how schools nationwide are taking different approaches to reopening. Watch “Good Morning America” at 7 a.m. for an exclusive interview with Cardona.
Nurse gives COVID-19 vaccine to her grandmothers: Roughly one year into the pandemic, Megan Patterson, a 32-year-old nurse from Florida, was able to administer the coronavirus vaccine to both of her 80-year-old grandmothers. In January and February, Patterson gave both vaccine doses to her paternal grandmother, Susan Patterson, who is lovingly known as “Gramma,” and to her maternal grandmother, Connie Dunaway, whom Patterson calls “Nana.” “Both Gramma and Nana are huge influences in my life,” Patterson told “GMA.” “It was a good feeling to be able to give them something that will protect them and give them some normalcy in the years they have left.” Patterson said she wants her story to reach others who are considering getting vaccinated. “I love my grandmothers and I would never intentionally put them in harm’s way,” she said. “I hope that really speaks to people.”
GMA Must-Watch
This morning on “GMA,” Chris Harrison is speaking out for the first time since stepping down from hosting duties on “The Bachelor” in an exclusive interview with Michael Strahan. Plus, Daisy Ridley joins us live to chat about the new movie, “Chaos Walking.” And Paul Bettany joins us ahead of the finale of “WandaVision” to talk about the fan reactions to the series and more! Also, Tory Johnson is back with more deals from women-owned companies, including on great skin care products, cosmetics and paint-by-numbers kits. All this and more only on “GMA.”
The House on Wednesday passed a sweeping bill that seeks to change campaign finance, voting and ethics laws.
The bill would impose new requirements weakening restrictive state voter ID laws, create automatic voter registration and expand mail-in voting.
But, the House measure passed mostly along party lines, 220-210, with one Democrat joining all Republican House members in voting against it.
It appears to be all but doomed in the Senate and will likely end up another victim of the filibuster. The bill is unlikely to receive the bipartisan 60-vote threshold necessary to pass legislation in the Senate.
Meantime, the Senate is expected to begin debating the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill as early as Thursday, with a final vote possible by the end of the week.
The embattled New York governor apologized over sexual harassment claims Wednesday and let rivals calling for his resignation know he’s not going anywhere. But Cuomo still has a tough road ahead. “You reap what you sow. This is someone who’s governed through fear and bullying — it works until it doesn’t,” said one political consultant.
The U.S. House abruptly scrapped plans to meet Thursday after the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI sent a joint intelligence bulletin warning that some domestic groups have “discussed plans to take control of the U.S. Capitol and remove Democratic lawmakers on or about” March 4.
When two frail elderly men meet in Iraq on Saturday, they will carry with them the hope of millions for better relations between Christianity and Islam. The meeting of Pope Francis and Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of millions of Shiite Muslims, is believed to be the first between a pope and an Iraqi grand ayatollah.
A prototype of SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded minutes after successfully launching and landing vertically, as intended, in a high-altitude experimental test from Boca Chica, Texas.
From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Carrie Dann and Melissa Holzberg
FIRST READ: Taking a foot off the gas on Covid? Experts say “not yet”
More Americans are getting vaccinated. And Texas and Mississippi are ending their mask mandates.
But here’s the coronavirus reality in the United States: Some 1,500 to 2,000 Americans are still dying every day from the virus, which is where this country was last spring.
Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images
And the U.S. is seeing about 70,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases per day, which is where it was last summer.
While both are down from the peaks we saw in January, they’re still incredibly high numbers.
As Dr. Anthony Fauci said on “Meet the Press” last Sunday:
“Our baseline of daily infections now, even though it’s way down from where it was 300,000+ per day, is down to around 70,000. That baseline’s too high… Once you start pulling back, the thing you don’t want is to have a plateauing at a level that’s so high that, inevitably, things are going to go back up.”
Bottom line: This country isn’t out of the woods when there are roughly 70,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases and about 1,500 to 2,000 deaths – per day.
TWEET OF THE DAY: About ending those mask mandates
Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
28,892,186: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 72,478 more than yesterday morning.)
521,214: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News. (That’s 2,732 more than yesterday morning.)
45,462: The number of people currently hospitalized with coronavirus in the United States.
357.6 million: The number of coronavirus tests that have been administered in the United States so far, according to researchers at The COVID Tracking Project.
80,540,474: Number of vaccine doses administered in the U.S.
26,957,804: People fully vaccinated in the U.S.
56: The number of days left for Biden to reach his 100-day vaccination goal.
3 out of 4: The number of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s medical advisers who say they were not directly consulted before his announcement about lifting the statewide mask mandate
220-210: The House vote last night for Democratic-backed “For the People” voting rights and ethics reform bill
220-212: The House vote on a police reform bill named for George Floyd, which included one “yes” vote from a Republican congressman who later said he’d cast his vote in error
23: The total number of candidates who have filed to run in the Texas congressional special election to replace the late Rep. Ron Wright.
Cuomo’s contradiction
Yesterday, embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo apologized for making any woman “feel uncomfortable.”
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional and I truly, and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and frankly, I am embarrassed by it and that’s not easy to say, but that’s the truth.”
But then he said he never “touched anyone inappropriately.”
“I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable.”
It’s hard to reconcile how you can admit 1) you might have made someone feel uncomfortable, but then 2) that you didn’t do anything inappropriate.
The other news from Cuomo’s news conference yesterday is that he said he isn’t resigning.
Cuomo might think he can ride out this storm like Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam did regarding that old yearbook photo.
But there are two big differences between Northam and Cuomo.
One, Northam was term limited, while Cuomo is up for re-election next year.
And two, we never saw another damaging revelation about Northam on the subject of race, while we we’ve seen THREE different women allege sexual harassment by Cuomo – in one week.
The three-hour delay
The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, told two Senate committees on Wednesday that it took over three hours to deploy troops to the Capitol during the violent attack, despite Walker having troops on standby.
“The approval for Chief Sund’s request would eventually come from the acting secretary of defense and be relayed to me by Army senior leaders at 5:08 p.m. — 3 hours and 19 minutes later,” Walker said.
To avoid a large presence at the Capitol today – when threats have been made linked to conspiracy theorists who believe March 4 is the “true Inauguration Day” – the House stayed in session late Wednesday night to vote on two major Democratic priorities: H.R. 1 and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021. According to NBC’s Hill team, the change in schedule had to do with security concerns for today.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?
Biden criticized states for lifting mask mandates, calling the decisions “Neanderthal thinking.”
A new Democratic plan would give stimulus checks to fewer Americans after lowering the income threshold for which eligibility for the payments is cut off.
The AP reports that the Department of Transportation’s inspector general recommended last year that DOJ open a criminal investigation into then-Secretary Elaine Chao over concerns that she misused her office, but the Justice Department declined.
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you signed up to receive this newsletter on the Townhall.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.
Visit the Townhall Media Preference Center to manage your subscriptions
You can unsubscribe by clicking here.
Or Send postal mail to:
Townhall Daily Unsubscribe
P.O. Box 9660, Arlington, VA 22219
* Copyright Townhall and its Content Providers.
All rights reserved.
55.) REALCLEARPOLITICS MORNING NOTE
56.) REALCLEARPOLITICS TODAY
57.) CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY
58.) BERNARD GOLDBERG
59.) SARA A. CARTER
60.) TWITCHY
61.) HOT AIR
62.) 1440 DAILY DIGEST
No images? Click here
Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 4, and we’re covering the crackdown in Myanmar, a conviction in a high-profile attack in Toronto, and more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.
At least 38 people were killed yesterday as government forces in Myanmar (Burma) escalated their crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. It was the deadliest day of a standoff that began following a Feb. 1 military coup that ousted hundreds of lawmakers and officials, including popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The bloodshed came after a reported 18 deaths during Sunday demonstrations.
The coup followed November elections in which Suu Kyi’s ruling party claimed more than 80% of the seats in parliament (see our previous write-up). The military—which governed the country for more than five decades before a fragile democratic transition began 2011 (see history)—claimed widespread voter fraud, but the civilian government resisted holding new elections. Coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing, who played a key role in the 2017 Rohingya massacre, has shown little interest in outside calls for negotiations.
A Canadian court found 28-year-old Alek Minassian guilty yesterday for a Toronto vehicular attack that killed 10 people and injured 16 others. The presiding judge rejected the defense’s argument that he was not criminally responsible due to a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Yet to be sentenced, Minassian is likely to face life imprisonment.
The April 2018 rampage is considered the deadliest vehicular attack in the country’s history, with witnesses saying Minassian reached speeds of 30 mph while traveling down sidewalks in Toronto’s central business district. It was also recognized as one of the highest-profile attacks carried out by self-described “incels”—an obscure subculture that has flourished online, harboring extreme misogynistic views.
Watch stitched-together video of the attack and arrest here (warning: may contain sensitive content).
Rocket Attacks in Iraq
At least 10 rockets struck a coalition air base in western Iraq yesterday, causing the death of an American contractor. The rocket fire comes less than a week after President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes along the Iraq-Syria border, where Iranian-backed militias are believed to coordinate attacks.
The Ain al-Asad air base (see map) is the same base that suffered a February 2020 attack from Iranian ballistic missiles, leaving almost 100 service members with head injuries—a retaliatory measure for the US killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Yesterday’s assault has ignited fears that the US and Iran are in danger of repeating an escalating series of tit-for-tat attacks.
Notably, the assault comes two days before a high-profile visit from Pope Francis, who will become the first pontiff to ever visit Iraq. The four-day trip has sparked security concerns, with the pope scheduled to travel from Baghdad to Mosul, among other stops.
Enjoy reading? Share 1440 with your three closest friends.
So what’s all the hoopla on this scoop-la? Seventy-five vitamins, minerals, whole food-sourced ingredients, superfoods, digestive enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics, and the antioxidant equivalent of 12 servings of fruit and vegetables. That’s right, all that in just. one. scoop. Athletic Greens’ tasty ingredients work together to fill the nutritional gaps in your diet, increase energy and focus, aid with digestion, and support a healthy immune system. The best part? No pills and it tastes super scoopin’ delicious.
>Dine-in movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse files for bankruptcy, will close three of its 37 national locations (More) | Sinclair Broadcasting Group, operators of 130 local TV stations, to lay off roughly 5% of its workforce due to pandemic (More)
>Kellen Winslow II, former NFL Pro Bowler, sentenced to 14 years in prison for multiple rapes and other sexual offenses (More) | The2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, postponed until July 2021, likely to be held without foreign spectators (More)
>Kings of Leon to become first band to release an album as a non-fungible token (More) | What are the crypto collectibles known as NFTs?(More)
Science & Technology
>SpaceX’s Starship prototype lands for the first time in three tries, but explodes moments after touchdown; flight’s main objective was to test the craft’s aerodynamic flaps that steer final descent (More, w/video)
>Soft aquatic robot explores the Mariana Trench, the deepest oceanic trench on Earth; design was inspired by snailfish, whose malleable bodies are capable of withstanding crushing pressure (More, w/video)
>Researchers demonstrate the fastest-ever random number generator by exploiting tiny fluctuations in the intensity of a laser beam; has applications in data and communications encryption (More)
>US stock markets down (S&P 500 -1.3%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq -2.7%) as tech stocks slide on bond yield fears (More)
>Google to stop selling advertisements based on user browsing history (More) | Facebook to lift temporary advertising ban on political ads starting today (More)
>Las Vegas Sands to sell the Venetian property and its Expo and Convention Center for $6.25B, will focus on Asia properties (More)
>Police uncover possible plot by a militia group to attack the US Capitol today; no indication the group is traveling to Washington, DC (More) | House changes schedule over threat (More) | Live pipe bomb found at Iowa polling station (More)
>New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) apologizes, says he will not resign amid mounting sexual harassment claims; Attorney General Letitia James (D) to oversee investigation into allegations by at least three women (More)
>Germany places its entire Alternative for Germany political party under surveillance ahead of national elections, calling the populist-nationalist group a threat to democracy; AfD is the country’s largest opposition party in parliament (More)
IN-DEPTH
The Moment Everything Changed
ESPN | Bob Harig, Ramona Shelburne. Last week, a severe roll-over car crash left Tiger Woods alive, but with compound fractures in both legs. One of the greatest golfers to play the game, Woods says he has no memory of the accident, and no one knows what his future holds. (Read)
1,000 True Fans
The Technium | Kevin Kelly. This prescient essay, originally written by the founding editor of Wired in 2008, is making the rounds again as the creator economy appears primed for exponential growth. (Read)
Yes, Athletic Greens was formulated for athletes to operate at peak levels. But it’s also perfect for anyone who is training for something, needs a nutritional boost, or is just trying to round out their self-care regimen.
As a 1440 reader, you get a free year’s supply of vitamin D and five bonus travel packs, right now through the end of the month. Get your green on.
Clickbait: Scientists attach a dead locust’s ear to a robot—and it works.
Historybook: HB Antonio Vivaldi, violinist and composer (1678); Jeannette Rankin becomes first female member of US House of Representatives (1917); Frances Perkins becomes secretary of labor, first female member of US Cabinet (1933); RIP actor and comedian John Candy (1994); RIP actor Luke Perry (2019).
“You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go.”
– Jeannette Rankin
Enjoy reading? Forward this email to a friend.
Why 1440? The printing press was invented in the year 1440, spreading knowledge to the masses and changing the course of history. Guess what else? There are 1,440 minutes in a day and every one is precious. That’s why we scour hundreds of sources every day to provide a concise, comprehensive, and objective view of what’s happening in the world. Reader feedback is a gift—shoot us a note at hello@join1440.com.
Interested in advertising to smart readers like you? Apply here!
It’s ironic, since last year – you know, before we even had vaccines and understood fully just how deadly (or not deadly) Covid was – Miami Beach was the go-to place to skirt restrictions and party as though nothing was going on. But now this year – as we are literally weeks away from herd immunity in the country – Miami is prepping to lay down the law.
Every power worth its portion of salt in the Levant these days seems to be doing it. On February 25, President Joe Biden ordered airstrikes against Syria. The premise for the attacks was implausible.
In 2013, the local government in Pingyi County began installing tens of thousands of security cameras across urban and rural areas — more than 28,500 in total by 2016. Even the smallest villages had at least six security cameras installed, according to state media.
Technocrat scientists want to access the inner workings of the brain in order to control basic impulses via stimulation and AI. The potential for brainwashing using this technology is staggering.
Yet another US government report on Afghanistan has been published that chronicles the obscene waste that seems to have been synonymous with America’s longest running quagmire.
A couple of weeks ago, the Canadian government introduced a new set of rules forcing international air travelers to quarantine in hotels for three days upon arrival; the plan has since backfired, “after a series of endless, chaotic setbacks including food shortages and even alleged sexual assaults,” according to RT News.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced a $125 million military aid package for Ukraine. The $125 million package includes two armed Mark VI patrol boats, giving Ukraine a total of eight such vessels provided by the US.
Louisiana’s Public Service Commission is asking for a third-party investigation into Entergy’s new smart meters after customers reported pricey spikes in their electricity bills. The commission’s call for an independent investigator comes as Entergy is still conducting its own investigation into the meters. Last month, the oversight board asked for Entergy to look into the devices after some customers reported their bills doubled.
French President Macron admits French forces were murderers and torturers during Algerian independence war after initially refusing to apologize for colonial abuses.
The U.S. Navy has handed a contract to Raytheon for versions of its Coyote small unmanned aerial vehicle configured as loitering munitions, also known as “suicide drones.” The service says that it specifically wants them to support the development of unmanned surface and underwater vehicles as platforms to launch drone swarms, which could offer a slate of game-changing capabilities.
A video released by California contains propaganda meant to cajole state residents into accepting digital health IDs for children as necessary to reopen schools. “There’s never been anything like this virus in our lifetime. Often, it’s hard to see the effects it’s having on our children,” the propaganda video states.
“The Arizona Department of Education has created an ‘equity’ toolkit claiming that babies show the first signs of racism at three months old and that white children ‘remain strongly biased in favor of whiteness’ by age five,” Christopher Rufo reports.
You are subscribed to email updates from BlackListed News.
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.
Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States
Welcome to the Thursday edition of Internet Insider, exploring where our online and offline identities collide. Today:
Twitter is hosting threats to Ghana’s LGBTQ community
How do people without cars access COVID vaccine drive-thru lines?
Under my DIY patio umbrella
BREAK THE INTERNET
Twitter is hosting threats to Ghana’s LGBTQ community
Twitter has failed to remove tweets calling for violence toward the LGBTQ community in Ghana following the closure of a civil rights center.
Ghana’s LGBTQ community came under the spotlight following the opening of an LGBTQ rights office in its capital, Accra, on Jan. 31. The community center was shut down on Feb. 24 following a month of opposition from many locals as well as the government officials, who reiterated that same-sex relationships are criminalized in the country and will remain so.
As tension brewed in the country surrounding this issue, many tweeted their opposition to the LGBTQ community’s rights. In one of the most antagonizing statements, a user said they would beat members of the LGBTQ community if same-sex relations were legalized in the country.
“Killings go happen when that shit is legalized,” another user said. One individual said that members of the LGBTQ community are not “humans.”
The homophobic tweets have remained on the platform for over a week despite Twitter’s community guidelines that prohibit such content.
Members of the LGBTQ community and their allies are calling for help. In an emotional video posted on Wednesday, Ghanaian YouTuber Ama Governor issued a desperate plea.
“No one is willing to protect us, we need help. Please send help,” she says in the 18-minute video. “Anything that slightly suggests that we are part of the community, we could be subjected to very cruel treatment.”
We stand at a critical point in the pandemic as COVID variants continue to spread. This comes alongside troubling announcements that Texas and Mississippi have chosen to end their mask mandates. As tempting as it is to get back to the lives we knew before, we could be facing a fourth wave if we let our guard down. That’s why the #MaskUp project is so important. We are a non-profit committed to spreading the facts about mask safety and getting them into the hands of those that need them most. But we need your help to accomplish this goal.
We can’t sit still as the death toll keeps rising. Those aren’t just numbers, but mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers who leave a terrible absence behind. Please join our cause and help us to save more lives. You can learn more at MaskUp.org.
How do people without cars access COVID vaccine drive-thru lines?
As the United States rushes to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19, many states have opted to invest in drive-thru lines in massive parking lots, often adjacent to stadiums or other large venues.
Operating much like drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites, drive-thru vaccination sites allow high-risk individuals to get vaccinated without risking exposure to the disease. People eligible for the vaccine simply drive up to vaccine sites, wait in line, and are inoculated through their car window.
But critics say these drive-thru sites add to the inequity already plaguing communities across the nation by allowing only those with access to vehicles to be inoculated.
Just two weeks after devastating winter storms left millions without electricity or drinking water, it’s patio weather in Texas.
In previous years, 70 degrees and sunny meant margarita happy hours and co-working while getting Vitamin D. But after Gov. Greg Abbott reversed mask mandates and said businesses can open at full capacity, it’s going to be a long time before I venture out anywhere, must less a bar or café.
So, short story shorter, I made my own. I used packing tape to “install” an umbrella to my tiny but sun-filled apartment balcony, creating an open-air space for the afternoon hours that won’t leave me roasted. Best of all, the Topo Chico and the vibes are free.
@DaybreakInsider
Francis Scialabba
Netflix
Tweet 
Share
Even with Tuesday night’s withdrawal of Neera Tanden’s nomination to lead the Office of Management and Budget, the Senate is still generally showing deference to President Joe Biden’s prerogative to name his Cabinet. Still, it’s taking longer than other presidents have had to wait, historically. Read more…
House Democrats are planning by the end of the month to again pass at least 10 bills that languished in the Republican-controlled Senate last Congress, but the measures still face long odds to become law this session despite unified Democratic control. Read more…
OPINION — Even if you don’t like or have never seen the 1992 film, you can probably recite Jack Nicholson’s signature outburst from “A Few Good Men,” with appropriate volume: “You can’t handle the truth!” Say it louder, Jack. I don’t think the Republicans present and represented at CPAC can hear you. Read more…
A new version of Senate Democrats’ coronavirus relief plan would put new restrictions on some $350 billion in aid to states and localities while diverting $10 billion of the money for cities and counties to “critical capital projects” like broadband access. Read more…
A group backing Democratic candidates with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and math is looking to raise and spend $50 million in the 2022 midterms, listing two open Senate seats as top priorities. Read more…
Republicans greeted climate legislation from their Democratic peers with a cold embrace. Nevertheless, some elements of the bill have a shot at bipartisan support, including electricity standards, carbon-trapping technology, toxic chemicals, a diesel emissions program and controls on methane. Read more…
Cups & Company plans to reopen in early April, says owner Kathy Chung. The beloved cafe located in the basement hallways under the Russell Senate Office Building has been closed much of the past year, with brief exceptions. The exact date will be announced soon, Chung wrote in an email to Heard on the Hill. Read more…
(@realchrisrufo) 
![[PHOTO: 25 must-read March books]](https://i0.wp.com/s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/BookCoverMainImage_021921_v01_DG_1613766827711_hpMain_1x1_384.jpg?resize=125%2C125&ssl=1)
![[PHOTO: Serena Williams and her daughter wear matching looks for Stuart Weitzman's latest ad Spring 2021 ad campaign.]](https://i0.wp.com/s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/serena-williams-stuart-weitzman-01-ht-jc-210303_1614793959302_hpMain_1x1_384.jpg?resize=125%2C125&ssl=1)
![[PHOTO: Tom Colicchio created a mustard braised steak sandwich with French's.]](https://i0.wp.com/s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/MustSwitch4_1614802989483_hpMain_1x1_384.jpg?resize=125%2C125&ssl=1)
![[VIDEO: How one Black cowboy hopes to win a world champion title in bull riding ]](https://i0.wp.com/s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/210302_gma_digital_EzekielMitchell_1_hpMain_1x1_384.jpg?resize=125%2C125&ssl=1)
