Greetings, Gnusies and Happy Wednesday! Joe Biden’s second 100 days are well underway and the brisk pace of progress continues unabated.
Follow the news these days and we see item after item being tackled from the long list of concerns, worries and outright disasters caused by the previous administration: covid-19 vaccinations, pandemic relief, climate crisis, immigration, infrastructure, judicial appointments, voting rights, tax reform and lots more. Joe, Kamala, Nancy, Chuck and all of our competent Democratic representatives, senators and Biden administration hit the ground running in January, fully prepared not just to repair the damage wrought by 4 horrific years, but to right the ship of state that has been slowly sinking under cruel Republican policies for decades.
Over the next weeks and months, we can expect to see a lot more of this: progress and the enthusiastic and unapologetic championing of working Americans. We must keep working hard to help Democrats maintain their majorities in the House and Senate, and when the gloom and doomers start whining about how much could go wrong, we must remind ourselves and each other how very much more is going well — and how well our past hard work paid off!
Considering the astounding pace of activity (not to mention the successes!) of his first 100 days, I am hopeful that there will be a great deal accomplished in the second 100 days as well. There is so much to get done, and I am thankful that our Smilin’ Joe and VP Harris (along with their amazing team of competent staffers, cabinet and administration leaders) hit the ground running on January 20. They are well positioned to accomplish great things!
“The President is looking to correct a capitalist economy that has gone askew, and reclaim a lost vision of shared prosperity.”
Biden’s Great Economic Rebalancing, John Cassidy, New Yorker, May 3, 2021.
According to some commentators, President Joe Biden is turning out to be a quiet revolutionary. After he laid out his sweeping agenda to a joint session of Congress last week, reports described it as an epoch-shifting effort to reset the terms of American political economy, much as Ronald Reagan did in the nineteen-eighties (albeit in the opposite direction). Delivering the Republican rebuttal, Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina, dismissed Biden’s ideas as a “liberal wish list of big-government waste.” For his part, Biden claimed that his American Jobs Plan, which calls for increased federal spending on transportation, green energy, and scientific research and development, would create “millions of good-paying jobs, jobs Americans can raise a family on.” Biden’s American Families Plan, he said, would provide affordable child care to low-to-middle income families, and also up to twelve weeks of paid medical leave, two years of free community college, and expanded child tax credits that would put seventy-two hundred dollars per year “directly into the pockets” of families with two children. ✂️ On Friday afternoon, I spoke with Bernstein and asked him about the Administration’s economic agenda, the reactions it has engendered, and whether Biden is a revolutionary or a rebalancer. “The President, in his speech, said that America is on the move again,” Bernstein said. “That resonates with me more than big revolutionary talk—in the sense of keeping our heads down and trying to craft, legislate, and implement a policy agenda that meets the moment. The President has been very clear that that agenda isn’t small—it doesn’t nibble at the edges. In many respects, it is fundamental, and the depths of the investments are historic.” But Bernstein preferred to characterize this as rebalancing rather than as revolution, especially in areas “where things have grown unacceptably unequal, racial equity has been deeply insufficient, and where critical investments in public goods and human capital have gone wanting for decades.” ✂️ It bears reëmphasizing that, in some parts of his agenda, Biden goes well beyond history. His plan to combat climate change falls into this category. So do his proposals for universal child-support payments, guaranteed paid leave, affordable day care and elder care, free community college, and his efforts to tackle long-standing racial inequities. In assessing the over-all cost, it’s important to look past the headline figure—a seemingly staggering four trillion dollars—which applies to the entire cost over ten years. On an annual basis, implementing both Biden’s jobs plan and his family plan would cost about four hundred and ten billion dollars. That’s equivalent to roughly 1.9 per cent of G.D.P., which currently stands at $22.05 trillion, according to the Commerce Department. Permanently increasing annual federal spending by less than two per cent of G.D.P. would represent a break with recent economic history, to be sure, but it would hardly be unprecedented. Chances are that Congress will trim Biden’s ambitions, anyway.
According to some commentators, President Joe Biden is turning out to be a quiet revolutionary. After he laid out his sweeping agenda to a joint session of Congress last week, reports described it as an epoch-shifting effort to reset the terms of American political economy, much as Ronald Reagan did in the nineteen-eighties (albeit in the opposite direction). Delivering the Republican rebuttal, Senator Tim Scott, of South Carolina, dismissed Biden’s ideas as a “liberal wish list of big-government waste.” For his part, Biden claimed that his American Jobs Plan, which calls for increased federal spending on transportation, green energy, and scientific research and development, would create “millions of good-paying jobs, jobs Americans can raise a family on.” Biden’s American Families Plan, he said, would provide affordable child care to low-to-middle income families, and also up to twelve weeks of paid medical leave, two years of free community college, and expanded child tax credits that would put seventy-two hundred dollars per year “directly into the pockets” of families with two children. ✂️
On Friday afternoon, I spoke with Bernstein and asked him about the Administration’s economic agenda, the reactions it has engendered, and whether Biden is a revolutionary or a rebalancer. “The President, in his speech, said that America is on the move again,” Bernstein said. “That resonates with me more than big revolutionary talk—in the sense of keeping our heads down and trying to craft, legislate, and implement a policy agenda that meets the moment. The President has been very clear that that agenda isn’t small—it doesn’t nibble at the edges. In many respects, it is fundamental, and the depths of the investments are historic.” But Bernstein preferred to characterize this as rebalancing rather than as revolution, especially in areas “where things have grown unacceptably unequal, racial equity has been deeply insufficient, and where critical investments in public goods and human capital have gone wanting for decades.” ✂️
It bears reëmphasizing that, in some parts of his agenda, Biden goes well beyond history. His plan to combat climate change falls into this category. So do his proposals for universal child-support payments, guaranteed paid leave, affordable day care and elder care, free community college, and his efforts to tackle long-standing racial inequities. In assessing the over-all cost, it’s important to look past the headline figure—a seemingly staggering four trillion dollars—which applies to the entire cost over ten years. On an annual basis, implementing both Biden’s jobs plan and his family plan would cost about four hundred and ten billion dollars. That’s equivalent to roughly 1.9 per cent of G.D.P., which currently stands at $22.05 trillion, according to the Commerce Department. Permanently increasing annual federal spending by less than two per cent of G.D.P. would represent a break with recent economic history, to be sure, but it would hardly be unprecedented. Chances are that Congress will trim Biden’s ambitions, anyway.
Opinion: Five former IRS commissioners: Biden’s proposal would create a fairer tax system, Lawrence B. Gibbs, Fred T. Goldberg, Margaret M. Richardson, Charles O. Rossotti and John Koskinen, Washington Post, May 4, 2021.
Between a decreased budget and increased responsibilities, something had to give. Unfortunately, that something has been taxpayer service. The National Taxpayer Advocate recently reported that just 24 percent of calls to the IRS are answered; at the onset of the covid-19 crisis, the IRS was unable to answer taxpayer questions for months. There has also been a substantial decline in enforcement scrutiny of high-earners and large corporations with complex returns: Audit rates for millionaires have fallen more than 70 percent since 2011; audits of large corporations decreased from essentially 100 percent a decade ago to less than 50 percent, according to the most recent IRS estimates. ✂️ President Biden’s proposal would restore our tax administration system to make it far fairer and more effective. This would benefit everyone who pays their taxes. It would produce a great deal of revenue by reducing the enormous gap between taxes legally owed and taxes actually paid — much of it through increased voluntary compliance. And it would improve taxpayers’ interactions with the IRS. ✂️ The Treasury career staff estimates that the administration’s tax compliance initiatives would raise $700 billion in revenue over a decade. Some believe the revenue potential is substantially larger — two of us have conservatively estimated the possibility of raising twice as much: $1.4 trillion through investments such as those Biden has proposed. The significant revenue at stake is a byproduct of the magnitude of the tax gap, which costs the country and honest taxpayers 3 percent of gross domestic product annually in taxes that are owed but unpaid. Uncollected taxes today equal the total taxes paid by the lower 90 percent of individual taxpayers. The scope of the tax compliance problem means that comprehensive proposals to address it would reap substantial benefits.
Between a decreased budget and increased responsibilities, something had to give. Unfortunately, that something has been taxpayer service. The National Taxpayer Advocate recently reported that just 24 percent of calls to the IRS are answered; at the onset of the covid-19 crisis, the IRS was unable to answer taxpayer questions for months. There has also been a substantial decline in enforcement scrutiny of high-earners and large corporations with complex returns: Audit rates for millionaires have fallen more than 70 percent since 2011; audits of large corporations decreased from essentially 100 percent a decade ago to less than 50 percent, according to the most recent IRS estimates. ✂️
President Biden’s proposal would restore our tax administration system to make it far fairer and more effective. This would benefit everyone who pays their taxes. It would produce a great deal of revenue by reducing the enormous gap between taxes legally owed and taxes actually paid — much of it through increased voluntary compliance. And it would improve taxpayers’ interactions with the IRS. ✂️
The Treasury career staff estimates that the administration’s tax compliance initiatives would raise $700 billion in revenue over a decade. Some believe the revenue potential is substantially larger — two of us have conservatively estimated the possibility of raising twice as much: $1.4 trillion through investments such as those Biden has proposed. The significant revenue at stake is a byproduct of the magnitude of the tax gap, which costs the country and honest taxpayers 3 percent of gross domestic product annually in taxes that are owed but unpaid. Uncollected taxes today equal the total taxes paid by the lower 90 percent of individual taxpayers. The scope of the tax compliance problem means that comprehensive proposals to address it would reap substantial benefits.
Pfizer says it will seek clearance in September for its vaccine to be used in children aged 2 to 11. Emily Anthes, New York Times, May 4, 2021.
Pfizer expects to apply to the Food and Drug Administration in September for emergency authorization to administer its coronavirus vaccine to children between the ages of 2 and 11, the company told Wall Street analysts and reporters on Tuesday during its quarterly earnings call. The company said it also plans to apply this month for full approval of the vaccine for use in people from ages 16 to 85. And it said it expected to have clinical trial data on the safety of its vaccine in pregnant women by early August. By early next week, the F.D.A. is expected to issue an emergency use authorization allowing the vaccine to be used in children 12 to 15 years old, a major step ahead in the U.S. fight against Covid. ✂️ Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said at a news conference on Tuesday that she did not want to get ahead of the F.D.A., but that the administration was preparing to “make that accessible to additional, younger populations.”
Pfizer expects to apply to the Food and Drug Administration in September for emergency authorization to administer its coronavirus vaccine to children between the ages of 2 and 11, the company told Wall Street analysts and reporters on Tuesday during its quarterly earnings call.
The company said it also plans to apply this month for full approval of the vaccine for use in people from ages 16 to 85. And it said it expected to have clinical trial data on the safety of its vaccine in pregnant women by early August.
By early next week, the F.D.A. is expected to issue an emergency use authorization allowing the vaccine to be used in children 12 to 15 years old, a major step ahead in the U.S. fight against Covid. ✂️
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said at a news conference on Tuesday that she did not want to get ahead of the F.D.A., but that the administration was preparing to “make that accessible to additional, younger populations.”
Biden aims to vaccinate 70% of American adults by July 4, Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire, AP, May 4, 2021.
Biden’s goal equates to delivering at least the first shot to 181 million adults and fully vaccinating 160 million. It’s a tacit acknowledgment of the declining interest in shots. Already more than 56% of American adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 105 million are fully vaccinated. The U.S. is currently administering first doses at a rate of about 965,000 per day — half the rate of three weeks ago, but almost twice as fast as needed to meet Biden’s target. “I’d like to get it 100%, but I think realistically we can get to that place between now and July Fourth,” Biden said of his new goal. ✂️ “The light at the end of the tunnel is actually growing brighter and brighter,” Biden said. Biden’s speech comes as the White House announced a shift away from a strict allocation of vaccines by state population. The administration says that when states decline to take all the vaccine they have been allocated, that surplus will shift to states still awaiting doses to meet demand.
Biden’s goal equates to delivering at least the first shot to 181 million adults and fully vaccinating 160 million. It’s a tacit acknowledgment of the declining interest in shots.
Already more than 56% of American adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 105 million are fully vaccinated. The U.S. is currently administering first doses at a rate of about 965,000 per day — half the rate of three weeks ago, but almost twice as fast as needed to meet Biden’s target.
“I’d like to get it 100%, but I think realistically we can get to that place between now and July Fourth,” Biden said of his new goal. ✂️
“The light at the end of the tunnel is actually growing brighter and brighter,” Biden said.
Biden’s speech comes as the White House announced a shift away from a strict allocation of vaccines by state population. The administration says that when states decline to take all the vaccine they have been allocated, that surplus will shift to states still awaiting doses to meet demand.
U.S. administers 247.8 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC, Reuters, May 4, 2021.
The United States has administered 247,769,049 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Tuesday morning and distributed 318,474,035 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday. Those figures are up from the 246,780,203 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Monday out of 312,509,575 doses delivered. The agency said 147,894,671 people had received at least one dose while 106,168,588 people are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.
The United States has administered 247,769,049 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Tuesday morning and distributed 318,474,035 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday.
Those figures are up from the 246,780,203 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Monday out of 312,509,575 doses delivered.
The agency said 147,894,671 people had received at least one dose while 106,168,588 people are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.
The logic of Biden’s new July 4 vaccination goal, German Lopez, Vox, May 4, 2021.
Biden’s new goal acknowledges how close America is to potentially getting Covid-19 under control. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a new Covid-19 vaccine goal: 70 percent of US adults getting at least one shot by July 4. With this, the Biden administration expects the country will be able to move much closer to the pre-pandemic normal than it has over the past year. ✂️ As Fauci has said, we still don’t know with certainty what the herd immunity threshold is. Some experts said it could be as low as 60 percent. But Israel’s data suggests that we could get our lives much closer to normal without worrying about the risk of deadly infection — at much less than 80 to 90 percent vaccination rates. ✂️ The best news for Americans: This is very much possible. Already, more than 40 percent of the population has gotten at least one dose, and more than 30 percent are fully vaccinated, based on federal data. At current vaccination rates, the US could hit 60 percent partial vaccination as soon as this month or June, and 60 percent full vaccination in June or July — all within three months. Already, daily new Covid-19 cases in the US have dropped by about 26 percent in the last two weeks.
Biden’s new goal acknowledges how close America is to potentially getting Covid-19 under control.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a new Covid-19 vaccine goal: 70 percent of US adults getting at least one shot by July 4. With this, the Biden administration expects the country will be able to move much closer to the pre-pandemic normal than it has over the past year. ✂️
As Fauci has said, we still don’t know with certainty what the herd immunity threshold is. Some experts said it could be as low as 60 percent. But Israel’s data suggests that we could get our lives much closer to normal without worrying about the risk of deadly infection — at much less than 80 to 90 percent vaccination rates. ✂️
The best news for Americans: This is very much possible. Already, more than 40 percent of the population has gotten at least one dose, and more than 30 percent are fully vaccinated, based on federal data. At current vaccination rates, the US could hit 60 percent partial vaccination as soon as this month or June, and 60 percent full vaccination in June or July — all within three months. Already, daily new Covid-19 cases in the US have dropped by about 26 percent in the last two weeks.
These Companies Are Working On Covid Vaccines That Could Stop The Next Pandemic, Leah Rosenbaum, Forbes, May 4, 2021.
VBI is now leading a new contingent of companies: smaller biotechs that are focused on creating a pan-coronavirus vaccine that can be effective against all variants of Covid-19, as well as coronaviruses that might have pandemic potential in the future. This is a contrast to the “vanguard 5,” whose next-generation vaccines are currently more geared towards booster shots and specific new variants. In March VBI entered a $33 million partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, also known as CEPI, to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine that can protect against new Covid-19 variants and other coronaviruses. Clinical trials will start in the second half of this year. Half a dozen other companies are charting the same course, hoping to be the winner in this second Covid-19 vaccine race. A vaccine that could protect against all variants of Covid-19 could quickly replace the current vaccines, some of which have shown diminished efficacy against variants first discovered in South Africa and Brazil. But the real prize would be a vaccine that could protect against all betacoronaviruses, the family of viruses that also birthed SARS, MERS and varieties of the common cold. “We’ve seen coronaviruses mutate to be humanly transmissible about every 9 years,” Baxter says. “We need to figure out just how wide we can make those goalposts to cover any novel or mutant strain.” ✂️ In other words, instead of looking for the exact spike protein that signals a specific coronavirus infection in the body, VBI wants to teach the immune system to be on the lookout for any similar spike protein. “Instead of having a very targeted approach, we’re trying to broaden it,” Anderson says. “There’s ample data out there that says the virus will find a way to mutate,” he continues, and the company also plans to catch it in the event it tries to disguise itself. So far it looks like their approach might work — in animal testing, the company immunized animals with their pan-coronavirus vaccine and looked to see if these antibodies would recognize a betacoronavirus that they hadn’t seen before. Its researchers chose human coronavirus OC43, the cause of many common colds. Were the new antibodies able to identify it as an infection? “The answer was yes,” says Anderson.
VBI is now leading a new contingent of companies: smaller biotechs that are focused on creating a pan-coronavirus vaccine that can be effective against all variants of Covid-19, as well as coronaviruses that might have pandemic potential in the future. This is a contrast to the “vanguard 5,” whose next-generation vaccines are currently more geared towards booster shots and specific new variants. In March VBI entered a $33 million partnership with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, also known as CEPI, to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine that can protect against new Covid-19 variants and other coronaviruses. Clinical trials will start in the second half of this year.
Half a dozen other companies are charting the same course, hoping to be the winner in this second Covid-19 vaccine race. A vaccine that could protect against all variants of Covid-19 could quickly replace the current vaccines, some of which have shown diminished efficacy against variants first discovered in South Africa and Brazil. But the real prize would be a vaccine that could protect against all betacoronaviruses, the family of viruses that also birthed SARS, MERS and varieties of the common cold. “We’ve seen coronaviruses mutate to be humanly transmissible about every 9 years,” Baxter says. “We need to figure out just how wide we can make those goalposts to cover any novel or mutant strain.” ✂️
In other words, instead of looking for the exact spike protein that signals a specific coronavirus infection in the body, VBI wants to teach the immune system to be on the lookout for any similar spike protein. “Instead of having a very targeted approach, we’re trying to broaden it,” Anderson says. “There’s ample data out there that says the virus will find a way to mutate,” he continues, and the company also plans to catch it in the event it tries to disguise itself. So far it looks like their approach might work — in animal testing, the company immunized animals with their pan-coronavirus vaccine and looked to see if these antibodies would recognize a betacoronavirus that they hadn’t seen before. Its researchers chose human coronavirus OC43, the cause of many common colds. Were the new antibodies able to identify it as an infection? “The answer was yes,” says Anderson.
Judge Orders Justice Dept. To Release Trump Obstruction Memo, Eric Tucker, AP via HuffPost, May 4, 2021.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. ✂️ But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the Justice Department had obscured “the true purpose of the memorandum” when it withheld the document. She said the memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel contained “strategic, as opposed to legal advice” and that both the writers and the recipients already had a shared understanding as to what the prosecutorial decision would be. She said this meant it was not — as the department had maintained — “predecisional.” ✂️ In her order, Jackson noted that the memo prepared for Barr and a letter to Congress that describes the special counsel’s report are “being written by the very same people at the very same time. “The emails show not only that the authors and the recipients of the memorandum are working hand in hand to craft the advice that is supposedly being delivered by OLC, but that the letter to Congress is the priority, and it is getting completed first,” the judge wrote. xBarr memo saying not to charge Trump must be released, judge says - CNNPolitics https://t.co/0cMB8FcUdA— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 4, 2021
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. ✂️
But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the Justice Department had obscured “the true purpose of the memorandum” when it withheld the document. She said the memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel contained “strategic, as opposed to legal advice” and that both the writers and the recipients already had a shared understanding as to what the prosecutorial decision would be. She said this meant it was not — as the department had maintained — “predecisional.” ✂️
In her order, Jackson noted that the memo prepared for Barr and a letter to Congress that describes the special counsel’s report are “being written by the very same people at the very same time.
“The emails show not only that the authors and the recipients of the memorandum are working hand in hand to craft the advice that is supposedly being delivered by OLC, but that the letter to Congress is the priority, and it is getting completed first,” the judge wrote.
Barr memo saying not to charge Trump must be released, judge says - CNNPolitics https://t.co/0cMB8FcUdA— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 4, 2021
Barr memo saying not to charge Trump must be released, judge says - CNNPolitics https://t.co/0cMB8FcUdA
New ruling involving Bill Barr proved that he also lied under oath to Congress, Sarah Burris, Raw Story, May 4, 2021.
If former Attorney General Bill Barr lied in court, then it stands to reason that his testimony to Congress was also a lie, noted Center for American Progress communications VP Jesse Lee, citing a New York Times report. Barr was outed by federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson for lying to her, to the court, and to the American people about the process for investigating and considering whether or not President Donald Trump would be prosecuted for obstruction of justice. "At issue is how Mr. Barr handled the end of the Mueller investigation and the release of its findings to the public," the New York Times reported Tuesday. "In March 2019, the office of the special counsel overseeing the inquiry, Robert S. Mueller III, delivered its report to the Justice Department. In a highly unusual decision, Mr. Mueller declined to make a determination about whether Mr. Trump had illegally obstructed justice." xHere was where Barr lied to Congress on the issue NYT is reporting about tonight https://t.co/DNgx8z0zh9 https://t.co/xhUwiXaDKh— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) May 5, 2021
If former Attorney General Bill Barr lied in court, then it stands to reason that his testimony to Congress was also a lie, noted Center for American Progress communications VP Jesse Lee, citing a New York Times report.
Barr was outed by federal Judge Amy Berman Jackson for lying to her, to the court, and to the American people about the process for investigating and considering whether or not President Donald Trump would be prosecuted for obstruction of justice.
"At issue is how Mr. Barr handled the end of the Mueller investigation and the release of its findings to the public," the New York Times reported Tuesday. "In March 2019, the office of the special counsel overseeing the inquiry, Robert S. Mueller III, delivered its report to the Justice Department. In a highly unusual decision, Mr. Mueller declined to make a determination about whether Mr. Trump had illegally obstructed justice."
Here was where Barr lied to Congress on the issue NYT is reporting about tonight https://t.co/DNgx8z0zh9 https://t.co/xhUwiXaDKh— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) May 5, 2021
Here was where Barr lied to Congress on the issue NYT is reporting about tonight https://t.co/DNgx8z0zh9 https://t.co/xhUwiXaDKh
Man accused of carrying Confederate flag into US Capitol on Jan. 6 might be among the first to fold.Plea negotiations are underway, per hearing underway in DC federal court pic.twitter.com/zYuX7BNjnl— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) May 4, 2021
Man accused of carrying Confederate flag into US Capitol on Jan. 6 might be among the first to fold.Plea negotiations are underway, per hearing underway in DC federal court pic.twitter.com/zYuX7BNjnl
And Justice is coming for Nazis, too
Ex-leader of neo-Nazi group sentenced to over 3 years for "swatting" attacks, Rebecca Falconer, Axios, May 4, 2021.
A former leader of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division group was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Tuesday for his role in "swatting" attacks against "at least" 134 targets — including journalists, a historically Black church and a former Cabinet member. Why it matters: John Cameron Denton, 27, of Montgomery, Texas, was involved in the swatting, calling emergency services to make bogus bomb reports and false reports of other acts of violence, from October 2018 to February 2019. What they're saying: "The fear and anxiety you created in all these victims . . . will remain in their memory for far too long. All for you and this group to get your jollies off? It’s incomprehensible," U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady said at Denton's sentencing, per the WashPost.
A former leader of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division group was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Tuesday for his role in "swatting" attacks against "at least" 134 targets — including journalists, a historically Black church and a former Cabinet member.
Why it matters: John Cameron Denton, 27, of Montgomery, Texas, was involved in the swatting, calling emergency services to make bogus bomb reports and false reports of other acts of violence, from October 2018 to February 2019.
What they're saying: "The fear and anxiety you created in all these victims . . . will remain in their memory for far too long. All for you and this group to get your jollies off? It’s incomprehensible," U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady said at Denton's sentencing, per the WashPost.
Giuliani evidence should be reviewed by an outside lawyer, Justice Dept. says, Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, May 4, 2021.
In a letter unsealed Tuesday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken to appoint what’s known as a special master to examine evidence taken late last month from the former New York mayor’s home and office. They cited the Cohen case as a past example when such an appointment helped to show that Trump’s lawyer was treated fairly. ✂️ Citing a legal conclusion reached by the judge in Cohen’s case, prosecutors said a filter review inside the Justice Department would be fair, but in such a high-profile case like Giuliani’s it was important to provide not just fairness, but “the perception of fairness.” In Cohen’s case, a respected former federal judge was appointed special master, and after the evidence was reviewed and turned over to the investigative team, Cohen decided to plead guilty and was sent to prison. The letter unsealed Tuesday also states that after the searches were executed April 28, “specialists with the FBI have begun to extract materials from the seized devices, but the review of those materials has not begun.” x.@MichaelCohen212 says anyone in Trump’s orbit who is on the other side of @RudyGiuliani’s texts and emails is “probably s**ting a brick right now” after the FBI confiscated Rudy’s devices. pic.twitter.com/M3hzwJ5o94— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) May 4, 2021
In a letter unsealed Tuesday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken to appoint what’s known as a special master to examine evidence taken late last month from the former New York mayor’s home and office. They cited the Cohen case as a past example when such an appointment helped to show that Trump’s lawyer was treated fairly. ✂️
Citing a legal conclusion reached by the judge in Cohen’s case, prosecutors said a filter review inside the Justice Department would be fair, but in such a high-profile case like Giuliani’s it was important to provide not just fairness, but “the perception of fairness.”
In Cohen’s case, a respected former federal judge was appointed special master, and after the evidence was reviewed and turned over to the investigative team, Cohen decided to plead guilty and was sent to prison.
The letter unsealed Tuesday also states that after the searches were executed April 28, “specialists with the FBI have begun to extract materials from the seized devices, but the review of those materials has not begun.”
.@MichaelCohen212 says anyone in Trump’s orbit who is on the other side of @RudyGiuliani’s texts and emails is “probably s**ting a brick right now” after the FBI confiscated Rudy’s devices. pic.twitter.com/M3hzwJ5o94— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) May 4, 2021
.@MichaelCohen212 says anyone in Trump’s orbit who is on the other side of @RudyGiuliani’s texts and emails is “probably s**ting a brick right now” after the FBI confiscated Rudy’s devices. pic.twitter.com/M3hzwJ5o94
National bail fund to expand in the Deep South, Aaron Morrison, AP, May 3, 2021.
The project expansion includes opening offices in Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina and Alabama this year, which doubles its reach in the region through partnerships with local organizations. The bail fund will work in concert with advocacy campaigns to ultimately end the imposition of cash bail, Steinberg said. ✂️ The national Bail Project, which helps low-income defendants get out of jail by bailing them out as their criminal cases progress through the courts, was founded three years ago, following a successful 10-year campaign led by Steinberg and the Bronx Defenders in New York City. Data collected over that 10-year period show that 95% of people helped by the project returned to court for every appearance. It also showed that, when people could get out of jail, the majority were ultimately not convicted of a crime. Since its launch in 2018, The Bail Project said it has paid $41 million to bail out more than 15,500 people in more than 24 cities. That prevented more than 100,000 days of incarceration, and reduced the collateral consequences such as loss of jobs, housing and child custody.
The project expansion includes opening offices in Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina and Alabama this year, which doubles its reach in the region through partnerships with local organizations. The bail fund will work in concert with advocacy campaigns to ultimately end the imposition of cash bail, Steinberg said. ✂️
The national Bail Project, which helps low-income defendants get out of jail by bailing them out as their criminal cases progress through the courts, was founded three years ago, following a successful 10-year campaign led by Steinberg and the Bronx Defenders in New York City.
Data collected over that 10-year period show that 95% of people helped by the project returned to court for every appearance. It also showed that, when people could get out of jail, the majority were ultimately not convicted of a crime.
Since its launch in 2018, The Bail Project said it has paid $41 million to bail out more than 15,500 people in more than 24 cities. That prevented more than 100,000 days of incarceration, and reduced the collateral consequences such as loss of jobs, housing and child custody.
Massive family reunification effort starts with a mother and son at the border, Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, May 4, 2021.
They’re one of four families to be reunited this week as part of what government officials and immigration lawyers describe as a trial balloon — a test to find the most effective ways to return parents to their children without reviving the trauma they experienced when they were separated. And so it was with some reservation that the lawyers working on their case told Ortíz that the process would involve her returning to the same border crossing where she had been separated from her son. ✂️ “We are reuniting the first group of families, many more will follow, and we recognize the importance of providing these families with the stability and resources they need to heal,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Sunday. A small group of lawyers and advocates, including Donohoe, made arrangements for about three dozen parents, among the first group slated to return. The challenges were many. The passport process in Guatemala, for example, proved painstaking. Some parents had limited cellphone access and could be reached only once a week. Others had developed a deep mistrust of the United States after their separations and worried that parts of the reunification program might be a scam. Another group of advocates was charged with finding hundreds of separated parents who have not been located since their deportations.
They’re one of four families to be reunited this week as part of what government officials and immigration lawyers describe as a trial balloon — a test to find the most effective ways to return parents to their children without reviving the trauma they experienced when they were separated. And so it was with some reservation that the lawyers working on their case told Ortíz that the process would involve her returning to the same border crossing where she had been separated from her son. ✂️
“We are reuniting the first group of families, many more will follow, and we recognize the importance of providing these families with the stability and resources they need to heal,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters Sunday.
A small group of lawyers and advocates, including Donohoe, made arrangements for about three dozen parents, among the first group slated to return. The challenges were many. The passport process in Guatemala, for example, proved painstaking. Some parents had limited cellphone access and could be reached only once a week. Others had developed a deep mistrust of the United States after their separations and worried that parts of the reunification program might be a scam.
Another group of advocates was charged with finding hundreds of separated parents who have not been located since their deportations.
US begins reuniting some families separated at Mexico border, Elliot Spagat, AP News, May 3, 2021.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday that four families that were separated at the Mexico border during Donald Trump’s presidency will be reunited in the United States this week in what Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calls “just the beginning” of a broader effort. Parents will return to the United States on humanitarian parole while authorities consider other longer-term forms of legal status, said Michelle Brane, executive director of the administration’s Family Reunification Task Force. The children are already in the U.S. ✂️ The reunifications begin as the Biden administration confronts the third major increase in unaccompanied children arriving at the border in seven years. It has made major strides moving children from grossly overcrowded Border Patrol facilities to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shelters, which are more suited to longer-term stays until children are placed with sponsors in the United States, typically parents or close relatives. The average stay for an unaccompanied child in Border Patrol custody has plummeted to about 20 hours, below the legal limit of 72 hours and down from 133 hours in late March, Mayorkas said. There are 677 unaccompanied children in Border Patrol custody, down from more than 5,700 in late March.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday that four families that were separated at the Mexico border during Donald Trump’s presidency will be reunited in the United States this week in what Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calls “just the beginning” of a broader effort.
Parents will return to the United States on humanitarian parole while authorities consider other longer-term forms of legal status, said Michelle Brane, executive director of the administration’s Family Reunification Task Force. The children are already in the U.S. ✂️
The reunifications begin as the Biden administration confronts the third major increase in unaccompanied children arriving at the border in seven years. It has made major strides moving children from grossly overcrowded Border Patrol facilities to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shelters, which are more suited to longer-term stays until children are placed with sponsors in the United States, typically parents or close relatives.
The average stay for an unaccompanied child in Border Patrol custody has plummeted to about 20 hours, below the legal limit of 72 hours and down from 133 hours in late March, Mayorkas said. There are 677 unaccompanied children in Border Patrol custody, down from more than 5,700 in late March.
House Republicans Have Had Enough of Liz Cheney’s Truth-Telling, Nicholas Fandos and Catie Edmondson, New York Times, May 4, 2021.
The first time defenders of Donald J. Trump came for Representative Liz Cheney, for the offense of having voted to impeach him, fellow Republicans closed ranks to save her leadership post, with Representative Kevin McCarthy boasting that their “big tent” party had enough room for both the former president and a stalwart critic. Evidently, not anymore. What began as a battle over the party’s future after the violent end to the Trump presidency has collapsed into a one-sided pile-on by Team Trump, with critics like Ms. Cheney, the scion of a storied Republican family and the lone woman in her party’s House leadership, ostracized or moving toward the exits. The latest test for Ms. Cheney could come as soon as next week, when a growing group of Republicans is planning a fresh bid to dethrone her, with Mr. McCarthy’s blessing. Many of her colleagues are now so confident that it will succeed that they are openly discussing who will replace Ms. Cheney. xSo far the surface interpretation of Cheney is that she's purging herself from the caucus deliberately and wants to be 100% clear why and force the caucus on record. Whatever happens with Trump next, nobody gets to write in their memoirs later they didn't know what was going on.— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) May 4, 2021
The first time defenders of Donald J. Trump came for Representative Liz Cheney, for the offense of having voted to impeach him, fellow Republicans closed ranks to save her leadership post, with Representative Kevin McCarthy boasting that their “big tent” party had enough room for both the former president and a stalwart critic.
Evidently, not anymore.
What began as a battle over the party’s future after the violent end to the Trump presidency has collapsed into a one-sided pile-on by Team Trump, with critics like Ms. Cheney, the scion of a storied Republican family and the lone woman in her party’s House leadership, ostracized or moving toward the exits.
The latest test for Ms. Cheney could come as soon as next week, when a growing group of Republicans is planning a fresh bid to dethrone her, with Mr. McCarthy’s blessing. Many of her colleagues are now so confident that it will succeed that they are openly discussing who will replace Ms. Cheney.
So far the surface interpretation of Cheney is that she's purging herself from the caucus deliberately and wants to be 100% clear why and force the caucus on record. Whatever happens with Trump next, nobody gets to write in their memoirs later they didn't know what was going on.— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) May 4, 2021
So far the surface interpretation of Cheney is that she's purging herself from the caucus deliberately and wants to be 100% clear why and force the caucus on record. Whatever happens with Trump next, nobody gets to write in their memoirs later they didn't know what was going on.
Republicans feared Democrats’ voting protections bill polls well. A new poll says they’re right. Andrew Prokup, Vox, May 3, 2021.
A new Data for Progress poll conducted as part of a partnership with Vox backs up that assessment. The poll surveyed 1,138 likely voters nationally between April 16 and April 19, and it finds that much of what the 800-page bill claims to do is overwhelmingly popular. More than 80 percent of respondents said they supported preventing foreign interference in elections, limiting the influence of money in politics, and modernizing election infrastructure to increase election security. More than 60 percent of respondents supported requiring nonpartisan redistricting commissions, a 15-day early voting period for all federal elections, same-day registration for all eligible voters, automatic voter registration for all eligible voters, and giving every voter the option to vote by mail.
A new Data for Progress poll conducted as part of a partnership with Vox backs up that assessment. The poll surveyed 1,138 likely voters nationally between April 16 and April 19, and it finds that much of what the 800-page bill claims to do is overwhelmingly popular.
More than 80 percent of respondents said they supported preventing foreign interference in elections, limiting the influence of money in politics, and modernizing election infrastructure to increase election security. More than 60 percent of respondents supported requiring nonpartisan redistricting commissions, a 15-day early voting period for all federal elections, same-day registration for all eligible voters, automatic voter registration for all eligible voters, and giving every voter the option to vote by mail.
Florida Republicans So Mad At Florida Republicans For Making It Harder For Florida Republicans To Vote, Evan Hurst, Wonkette, May 4, 2021.
We have an amusing update for you on the story Wonkette told you of the new Florida voter suppression bill Wonkette told you about the other day. In its effort to out-Georgia Georgia, to really Florida Man up the voting process, Florida passed a bill that was very, very tough on mail-in voting, we guess because Donald Trump says mail-in voting is bad, even though that's how he and his wife vote. It also changes the rules to make people request absentee ballots every two years, instead of every four years, which could make things extra fun for Florida voters who might not be aware the rules have changed. Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis is hellbent on signing this bill. Ready for the punchline? We hope you're sitting in your laughing chair, because the Washington Post reported yesterday that Florida Republicans have realized that in their efforts to keep Black people and other likely Democrats from voting, they accidentally have passed a bill that might suppress the hell out of their voters. DERP.
We have an amusing update for you on the story Wonkette told you of the new Florida voter suppression bill Wonkette told you about the other day. In its effort to out-Georgia Georgia, to really Florida Man up the voting process, Florida passed a bill that was very, very tough on mail-in voting, we guess because Donald Trump says mail-in voting is bad, even though that's how he and his wife vote. It also changes the rules to make people request absentee ballots every two years, instead of every four years, which could make things extra fun for Florida voters who might not be aware the rules have changed.
Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis is hellbent on signing this bill.
Ready for the punchline? We hope you're sitting in your laughing chair, because the Washington Post reported yesterday that Florida Republicans have realized that in their efforts to keep Black people and other likely Democrats from voting, they accidentally have passed a bill that might suppress the hell out of their voters.
DERP.
Companies call out efforts to restrict voting in Texas, Kate Gibson, CBS, May 4, 2021.
Corporations including HP, Levi Strauss, Microsoft and Patagonia are expressing concern about proposed changes to voting rules in Texas, where the Republican-controlled legislature is backing bills that would make it harder for some residents to cast ballots. "We stand together, as a nonpartisan coalition, calling on elected leaders in Texas to support reforms that make democracy more accessible and oppose any changes that would restrict eligible voters' access to the ballot," the companies and other groups stated in a letter released Tuesday by Fair Elections Texas, a recently formed group that includes former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk. Signed by more than 50 entities, including a number of Texas chambers of commerce, the missive urged business and civic leaders to "call upon lawmakers to uphold our ever elusive core democratic principle: equality."
Corporations including HP, Levi Strauss, Microsoft and Patagonia are expressing concern about proposed changes to voting rules in Texas, where the Republican-controlled legislature is backing bills that would make it harder for some residents to cast ballots.
"We stand together, as a nonpartisan coalition, calling on elected leaders in Texas to support reforms that make democracy more accessible and oppose any changes that would restrict eligible voters' access to the ballot," the companies and other groups stated in a letter released Tuesday by Fair Elections Texas, a recently formed group that includes former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk.
Signed by more than 50 entities, including a number of Texas chambers of commerce, the missive urged business and civic leaders to "call upon lawmakers to uphold our ever elusive core democratic principle: equality."
GOP megadonor warns Josh Hawley: You are going to 'marginalize' yourself with your extremism, Matthew Chapman, Raw Story, May 4, 2021.
On CNN Tuesday, Dan Eberhardt, a wealthy Republican megadonor, warned Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that his refusal to apologize for his role in the invasion of the U.S. Capitol is a dead-end for his political career. "So, Dan, you know, you supported, of course, Senator Josh Hawley in the past," said anchor Erin Burnett. "But you were disappointed in him after January 6th. Today you say he doesn't regret his actions on that day. And he's raised $3 million in the first three months of this year. A lot of money. And Marjorie Taylor Greene raising about the same amount as well. What do you make of that, and are you going to continue to support Hawley?" "Well, I'm not ready to denounce Hawley, but I'm really looking for other people to support," said Eberhardt. "I think that this idea that the people that run to the furthest right in the party are the ones that reap the financial rewards of the next fundraising quarter is really, you know, a cause for concern and something that's going to lead to the Republican Party being marginalized in the medium term."
On CNN Tuesday, Dan Eberhardt, a wealthy Republican megadonor, warned Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that his refusal to apologize for his role in the invasion of the U.S. Capitol is a dead-end for his political career.
"So, Dan, you know, you supported, of course, Senator Josh Hawley in the past," said anchor Erin Burnett. "But you were disappointed in him after January 6th. Today you say he doesn't regret his actions on that day. And he's raised $3 million in the first three months of this year. A lot of money. And Marjorie Taylor Greene raising about the same amount as well. What do you make of that, and are you going to continue to support Hawley?"
"Well, I'm not ready to denounce Hawley, but I'm really looking for other people to support," said Eberhardt. "I think that this idea that the people that run to the furthest right in the party are the ones that reap the financial rewards of the next fundraising quarter is really, you know, a cause for concern and something that's going to lead to the Republican Party being marginalized in the medium term."
The Side of Wall Street That Matters Most Is Begging for Infrastructure, Daniel Alpert, New York Times, May 4, 2021.
Although political rancor can make it hard to detect, the smartest money on Wall Street is practically begging for a major infrastructure investment from Congress, one even larger and more sustained than what President Biden is proposing. Yes, the chief executives of some big financial institutions, like JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, have begun hand-wringing about inflation risks stemming from more government spending — particularly if much of it ends up financed with debt, which could be more likely than the White House may wish to admit. But the financial markets themselves are sanguine. Just look at the mechanics: Demand for interest-bearing Treasury bonds — safe assets that are issued whenever the government creates more debt — remains very high, meaning that interest rates are near historic lows and inflation expectations are mild. For now, there’s no hint of the currency debasement feared by inflation hawks. As my colleague at Cornell University Paul McCulley, formerly the chief economist at Pimco, has put it, “Wall Street is screaming at the fiscal authorities to spill red ink.” In responding to this call, Congress might do well to limit bean-counting over the bill’s each and every revenue stream and instead go much further in beefing up the Biden plan’s “buy American” provisions.
Although political rancor can make it hard to detect, the smartest money on Wall Street is practically begging for a major infrastructure investment from Congress, one even larger and more sustained than what President Biden is proposing.
Yes, the chief executives of some big financial institutions, like JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, have begun hand-wringing about inflation risks stemming from more government spending — particularly if much of it ends up financed with debt, which could be more likely than the White House may wish to admit. But the financial markets themselves are sanguine.
Just look at the mechanics: Demand for interest-bearing Treasury bonds — safe assets that are issued whenever the government creates more debt — remains very high, meaning that interest rates are near historic lows and inflation expectations are mild. For now, there’s no hint of the currency debasement feared by inflation hawks.
As my colleague at Cornell University Paul McCulley, formerly the chief economist at Pimco, has put it, “Wall Street is screaming at the fiscal authorities to spill red ink.” In responding to this call, Congress might do well to limit bean-counting over the bill’s each and every revenue stream and instead go much further in beefing up the Biden plan’s “buy American” provisions.
The global zeitgeist, which for too many recent years seemed to be veering sharply toward authoritarianism, now seems to be tracking leftward, back toward liberal democracy.
Netanyahu misses deadline, political future in question, Josef Federman,AP, May 4, 2021.
The deadline closed a four-week window granted to Netanyahu by Israel’s figurehead president. The matter now bounces back to President Reuven Rivlin, who announced just after midnight that he would contact on Wednesday the 13 parties with seats in parliament to discuss “the continuation of the process of forming a government.” ✂️ Netanyahu had struggled to secure a parliamentary majority since March 23 — when elections ended in deadlock for the fourth consecutive time in the past two years. Despite repeated meetings with many of his rivals and unprecedented outreach to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party, Netanyahu was unable to close a deal. ✂️ Looming over Netanyahu has been his corruption trial. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery in a series of scandals. The trial has moved into the witness phase, with embarrassing testimony accusing him of trading favors with a powerful media mogul. Netanyahu denies the charges. ✂️ Netanyahu has also suffered a series of embarrassing — and uncharacteristic — defeats in parliament. On Tuesday, Likud failed to push ahead a proposal calling for direct election of the prime minister. Opponents had panned the measure as a desperate attempt by Netanyahu to find a new way to hold on to power.
The deadline closed a four-week window granted to Netanyahu by Israel’s figurehead president. The matter now bounces back to President Reuven Rivlin, who announced just after midnight that he would contact on Wednesday the 13 parties with seats in parliament to discuss “the continuation of the process of forming a government.” ✂️
Netanyahu had struggled to secure a parliamentary majority since March 23 — when elections ended in deadlock for the fourth consecutive time in the past two years. Despite repeated meetings with many of his rivals and unprecedented outreach to the leader of a small Islamist Arab party, Netanyahu was unable to close a deal. ✂️
Looming over Netanyahu has been his corruption trial. Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery in a series of scandals. The trial has moved into the witness phase, with embarrassing testimony accusing him of trading favors with a powerful media mogul. Netanyahu denies the charges. ✂️
Netanyahu has also suffered a series of embarrassing — and uncharacteristic — defeats in parliament. On Tuesday, Likud failed to push ahead a proposal calling for direct election of the prime minister. Opponents had panned the measure as a desperate attempt by Netanyahu to find a new way to hold on to power.
India’s ruling party just lost a key election. It’s worrying that they even stood a chance. Zach Beauchamp, Vox, May 4, 2021.
In local elections held in five states, the BJP lost the biggest prize: control of the Legislative Assembly in West Bengal. The defeat came amid gathering signs of trouble for Modi’s quest to dominate India — the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreak, attributable in no small part to government policy, foremost among them. ✂️ Pre-election reporting suggested the BJP had a real shot at defeating incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her left-wing Trinamool Congress party (TMC). The national party poured resources into the fight; Modi held a number of large campaign rallies in the state, while India’s Election Commission tilted the rules of the contest in its favor, scheduling the vote in a way that facilitated BJP campaigning and turnout in BJP strongholds. Yet results released on Sunday showed that Modi‘s gambit had fallen short: The current count shows the TMC holding a supermajority in West Bengal’s parliament, around 213 seats out of 294. The BJP, which some exit polls suggested would win outright, will hold fewer than 80. ✂️ Together, these two events suggest an opening for the fractured Indian opposition. West Bengal shows that Modi can be beaten even when he stacks the deck in his favor; the government’s failures on the outbreak shift the public’s focus away from Modi’s messaging and toward a concrete policy where Modi has failed.
In local elections held in five states, the BJP lost the biggest prize: control of the Legislative Assembly in West Bengal. The defeat came amid gathering signs of trouble for Modi’s quest to dominate India — the world’s worst Covid-19 outbreak, attributable in no small part to government policy, foremost among them. ✂️
Pre-election reporting suggested the BJP had a real shot at defeating incumbent Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her left-wing Trinamool Congress party (TMC). The national party poured resources into the fight; Modi held a number of large campaign rallies in the state, while India’s Election Commission tilted the rules of the contest in its favor, scheduling the vote in a way that facilitated BJP campaigning and turnout in BJP strongholds.
Yet results released on Sunday showed that Modi‘s gambit had fallen short: The current count shows the TMC holding a supermajority in West Bengal’s parliament, around 213 seats out of 294. The BJP, which some exit polls suggested would win outright, will hold fewer than 80. ✂️
Together, these two events suggest an opening for the fractured Indian opposition. West Bengal shows that Modi can be beaten even when he stacks the deck in his favor; the government’s failures on the outbreak shift the public’s focus away from Modi’s messaging and toward a concrete policy where Modi has failed.
Thanks to Origami Oracle for reminding me of this song!
Illinois positivity rate hits lowest point in a month as Pritzker says he’s ‘optimistic’ for summer reopening, Mitchell Armentrout, Chicago Sun✶Times, May 4, 2021.
Illinois’ average COVID-19 infection rate fell to its lowest level in over a month Tuesday as Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot teased a potential full reopening for the city and state this summer. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,211 new coronavirus cases diagnosed among the latest 57,483 tests to lower the average statewide positivity rate to 3.3%, suggesting the virus is spreading at its slowest pace since March 31. Back then, the state was on the upswing of a month-long spike in cases that threw off Pritzker’s reopening plan, peaking with a 4.4% average positivity rate logged April 12. That figure has been falling steadily ever since, a net decrease of 25% in a little over three weeks. COVID-19 hospitalizations have eased back down over that period, too, ramping up reopening talks. xI'm excited to announce the return of the beloved @ChiAutoShow. With strong public health protocols in place, it will be the first large convention in Illinois since the onset of the pandemic, setting the stage for the safe return of events in the months to come. pic.twitter.com/Yxbsdbwa7M— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) May 4, 2021
Illinois’ average COVID-19 infection rate fell to its lowest level in over a month Tuesday as Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot teased a potential full reopening for the city and state this summer.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,211 new coronavirus cases diagnosed among the latest 57,483 tests to lower the average statewide positivity rate to 3.3%, suggesting the virus is spreading at its slowest pace since March 31.
Back then, the state was on the upswing of a month-long spike in cases that threw off Pritzker’s reopening plan, peaking with a 4.4% average positivity rate logged April 12.
That figure has been falling steadily ever since, a net decrease of 25% in a little over three weeks. COVID-19 hospitalizations have eased back down over that period, too, ramping up reopening talks.
I'm excited to announce the return of the beloved @ChiAutoShow. With strong public health protocols in place, it will be the first large convention in Illinois since the onset of the pandemic, setting the stage for the safe return of events in the months to come. pic.twitter.com/Yxbsdbwa7M— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) May 4, 2021
I'm excited to announce the return of the beloved @ChiAutoShow. With strong public health protocols in place, it will be the first large convention in Illinois since the onset of the pandemic, setting the stage for the safe return of events in the months to come. pic.twitter.com/Yxbsdbwa7M
Live concerts coming back in Chicago — and they are kicking off this series with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, which seems like a great choice to me.
CSO plans to resume in-person concerts May 27 at Symphony Center, Miriam Di Nunzio, Chicago Sun✶Times, May 4, 2021.
The sounds of in-person classical music are returning to Symphony Center. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association on Tuesday announced the first CSO concert performances with live audiences in attendance at Orchestra Hall (220 S. Michigan) since the pandemic shutdown of all performing arts venues in March 2020. The series of concerts, programmed in conjunction with maestro Riccardo Muti, will take place May 27-June 13 “and feature music for brass and percussion, string ensembles and orchestra,” Tuesday’s announcement said. The concerts will be presented with adherence to current state and city COVID-19 guidelines for public events, including reduced-capacity audiences, mandatory face masks for audience and staff, hand-sanitizing stations, and an HVAC fresh air system that meets current standards.
The sounds of in-person classical music are returning to Symphony Center.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association on Tuesday announced the first CSO concert performances with live audiences in attendance at Orchestra Hall (220 S. Michigan) since the pandemic shutdown of all performing arts venues in March 2020.
The series of concerts, programmed in conjunction with maestro Riccardo Muti, will take place May 27-June 13 “and feature music for brass and percussion, string ensembles and orchestra,” Tuesday’s announcement said.
The concerts will be presented with adherence to current state and city COVID-19 guidelines for public events, including reduced-capacity audiences, mandatory face masks for audience and staff, hand-sanitizing stations, and an HVAC fresh air system that meets current standards.
⚡️New Polls: It Turns Out Americans Like a Normal, Boring President, Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Mother Jones, May 1, 2021.
⚡️ All is explained: 104 Days Of Bidenonomics, Greg Rosalsky, NPR, May 4, 2021.
⚡️ Details from tax story above: Biden's Tax Plan: What's Enacted, What's Proposed, Michelle P Scott, Investopedia, April 29, 2021.
⚡️Schumer Readies Plan B to Push Immigration Changes Unilaterally, Luke Broadwater, New York Times, May 3, 2021.
⚡️ The Facebook Oversight Board Will Soon Rule on the Trump Ban. Here Are the Possible Outcomes. Justin Hendrix, Slate, May 4, 2021.
⚡️ Are Indian Voters Finally Turning on Narendra Modi? Nitish Pahwa, Slate, May 4, 2021.
⚡️Huh. Interesting perspective: China Is a Paper Dragon, David Frum, The Atlantic, May 3, 2021.
⚡️ The false Republican mantra: ‘America is not a racist country’, Jesse Jackson, Chicago Sun✶Times, May 4, 2021.
⚡️ In His First 100 Days, Biden Called Out The Country’s Deeply Embedded Racism. Eradicating It Will Be Harder. Ryan Brooks, BuzzFeed, May 1, 2021.
⚡️Irritating title, but decent article: The Liberals Who Can’t Quit Lockdown, Emma Green, The Atlantic, May 4, 2021.
⚡️Cool science! Persuading the Body to Regenerate Its Limbs, Matthew Hutson, New Yorker, May 3, 2021.
⚡️Black America’s Neglected Origin Stories, Annette Gordon-Reed, The Atlantic, May 4, 2021.
Put your beautiful bleeding liberal heart into it!
Democratic litigation hero, Marc Elias was the legal eagle behind the 60 Big Lie losses after the election. Here’s his website, Democracy Docket. You can find information about current cases he is fighting to defend voting rights around the country, as well as actions you can take to help fight voter suppression at the link!
Write to voters around the country with Postcards to Voters. Progressive Muse usually posts an update on current campaigns in the comments and you can also check out the website. It’s easy, fun and it really works to GOTV!
🎩 Also, Goody posted a great list of links and I am going to borrow it because it’s great! 🎩
The only way they can win is by keeping people from voting. They are working like heck to make that happen and we need to do all we can to keep 2022 from being a year when they grab the Senate and House back from us.
How do we do that? Fight voter suppression!
What can you do?
U.S. House of Representatives:* Telephone: 202-225-3121 * Website: http://www.house.gov/
U.S. Senate:* Telephone: 202-224-3121 * Website: http://www.senate.gov/
Find your member of Congress and contact him or her: Contact your Representative Contact your Senator
Gnusies, I haven’t even got to the end of my usual list of news sources, and I can see at least half a dozen other good news items, but it is approaching the wee hours and I must stop here. I know you all will bring more good news in the comments!
I say this every week and it’s because I really want you to take it to heart. PLEASE take good care of yourself and those you love. You are needed by your country and by your fellow humans, and we want you fit and well and able to enjoy the fruits of your labors when we get the country back on a good track again. So, eat nutritious food, get some rest and seriously, try to spend a little time outdoors every day if you can.
I nearly skipped the long walk I usually take with Curlygirly yesterday because it was dreary and drizzly out. I thought I’d just take her around the block and then get back inside. But once we were outside, the light mist and the soft cool air was actually quite refreshing and I decided to do a proper walk after all. I am glad I did, because we saw crews at two different businesses removing the boards from their windows. It was such an encouraging sight. People are tentatively starting to feel that everything just might turn out OK after all. You can feel it in the air — the rising optimism, the excitement to have fun again this summer, the sense that the country is not so much going back to normal, but is going to be better than before.
Before I go, let me apologise for hardly any music today — I mean it when I say I spent the past several hours feverishly collecting this news and still there’s more and I had no time to gather music! Luckily, Origani Oracle had provided the Blues Brother piece and here I am going to send you off with a nice long collection of Debussy, with an added bonus of beautiful Impressionist art! I’ve been playing it in the background for the past hour and whenever I glance at the YouTube window, I catch a glimpse of a different glorious painting. I hope you enjoy it!
That’s it from me for another week. Thanks for reading!
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