The Commentariat -- April 27, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Eli Rosenberg & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "President Biden plans to sign an executive order Tuesday that will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for all federal contractors by 2022, while eliminating a lower minimum wage for tipped contractors. The move will bring the minimum wage for contractors up from the current $10.95, under rules set during the Obama administration. The current minimum wage for federal contractors who are tipped is $7.65 an hour. That will be phased out by 2024 under the new directive. The $15 wage will be mandatory in new contracts by the end of March 2022. Senior administration officials briefed on the plan said they estimated that hundreds of thousands of workers who do contract work for the federal government -- including cleaning staff, maintenance workers, nursing assistants in veteran care facilities, cafeteria and food workers, and laborers -- would see wage increases as a result of the policy change."

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Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden, in an effort to pay for his ambitious economic agenda, is expected to propose giving the Internal Revenue Service an extra $80 billion and more authority over the next 10 years to help crack down on tax evasion by high-earners and large corporations, according to two people familiar with the plan. The additional money and enforcement power will accompany new disclosure requirements for people who own businesses that are not organized as corporations and for other wealthy people who could be hiding income from the government. The Biden administration will portray those efforts -- coupled with new taxes it is proposing on corporations and the rich -- as a way to level the tax playing field between typical American workers and very high-earners who employ sophisticated efforts to minimize or avoid taxation. Mr. Biden plans to use money raised by the effort to help pay for the cost of his 'American Families Plan,' which he will detail before addressing a joint session of Congress on Wednesday."

Mistakes Were Made. Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "The early days of Joe Biden's presidency reveal a man who remembers the Obama presidency -- and doesn't necessarily want to repeat it. Both presidents inherited a crisis-ravaged economy, but their signature 100-day achievements look markedly different: Biden's stimulus plan was about 2½ times the size of President Barack Obama's. It was easy for voters to understand, centered on popular $1,400 cash payments for most people, while Obama's stimulus program was criticized as being too small and complicated, delivering small-dollar benefits in paychecks that polls showed many people didn't even notice. While Obama pared back his stimulus to win Republican votes, Biden met with Republicans once before he opted for a special process to go it alone. While conservative deficit hawks reined in Obama, Biden has brushed them off, arguing that now is the time to spend big. While Obama was hesitant to brag about his achievements, Biden's team regularly takes credit for the receding pandemic -- and voters give him high marks."

Where's the Beef? Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "To White House aides, the wholly fictional Biden-will-ban-hamburgers story line was in part an amusing flare-up perpetuated by Republicans who have struggled to find ways to successfully attack the president.... But the not-quite-red-meat attack also offers a case study in how a falsehood can rapidly metastasize among Republicans -- pushed not only by the party's fringe but also by more mainstream voices, like ... Nikki Haley. The argument dovetails with a common claim on the right that Democrats are out to ban meat-eating, whether for reasons of health or climate. And the episode underscores how the shadow of Donald Trump's presidency -- rife with misinformation and mistruths and lies -- still lingers, providing Republicans with a mendacious road map for demonizing a political rival." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Maybe Republicans can prove Joe Biden has a subscription to Epicurious. David Tamarkin & Maggie Hoffman of Epicurious: "For any person -- or publication -- wanting to envision a more sustainable way to cook, cutting out beef is a worthwhile first step.... Today Epicurious announces that we've ... cut out beef. Beef won't appear in new Epicurious recipes, articles, or newsletters. It will not show up on our homepage. It will be absent from our Instagram feed.... This decision was not made because we hate hamburgers (we don't!). Instead, our shift is solely about sustainability, about not giving airtime to one of the world's worst climate offenders. We think of this decision as not anti-beef but rather pro-planet." ~~~

~~~ More in GOP Shoot-from-the-Hip Accusations. Andrew Desiderio & Burgess Everett of Politico: "Republicans on Monday called on John Kerry to resign from President Joe Biden's National Security Council over claims that he revealed sensitive information about Israeli military operations to Iran. According to leaked audio revealed Sunday by The New York Times, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Kerry told him that Israel attacked Iranian assets in Syria 'at least 200 times.' Zarif added that he was surprised that Kerry would reveal that sensitive information to him, according to the audio.... Zarif's version of events has not been independently corroborated. His remarks to an Iranian academic were leaked by a London-based media outlet. It is also unclear whether Kerry allegedly revealed the Israeli operations to Zarif before they were publicly reported by Israel itself in 2018." ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times: "John Kerry ... said on Monday that he had never discussed covert Israeli airstrikes in Syria with Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, contrary to Mr. Zarif's claim in a leaked conversation.... 'I can tell you that this story and these allegations are unequivocally false. This never happened -- either when I was Secretary of State or since,' Mr. Kerry wrote [in a tweet]." The report is an item in a political liveblog.

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced on Monday a sweeping Justice Department investigation into the Louisville, Ky., police and the county government there, the second time in a week that the department has opened a civil investigation into a police force that prompted national furor over the killing of an unarmed Black person. The Louisville police came under scrutiny after officers shot to death a Black medical worker named Breonna Taylor in March 2020 during a botched raid of her home. Her killing helped fuel nationwide racial justice protests, but an investigation elicited no charges in her death, only an indictment on a lesser count against one detective."

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The Department of Homeland Security will undergo an internal review to root out white supremacy and extremism in its ranks as part of a larger effort to combat extremist ideology in the federal government, officials said on Monday. The task of identifying extremists throughout the United States, and specifically in government agencies, has come to the top of President Biden's agenda since Jan. 6, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. Many of the rioters were found to be members of extremist groups.... The review comes shortly after the Pentagon completed a 60-day 'stand down' to address extremism after a number of veterans were found to have taken part in the Capitol riot.... It is also a pivot from the approach taken by ... Donald J. Trump, who pressured federal agencies to divert resources to target the antifa movement and left-wing groups, even though law enforcement authorities concluded that far-right and militia violence was a more serious threat."

Hamza Shaban of the Washington Post: "During the final minutes of the Trump presidency, an obscure company in South Florida announced to the world's computer networks that it would begin managing a massive swath of the Internet owned by the U.S. military. In the months since, the company has claimed control of nearly 175 million IP addresses ... with no public explanation of what had taken place.... Brett Goldstein, the director of a Pentagon unit called the Defense Digital Service, said that his team had authorized the activation of the IP addresses as a 'pilot effort' to improve cybersecurity.... 'This pilot will assess, evaluate and prevent unauthorized use of DoD IP address space. Additionally, this pilot may identify potential vulnerabilities.'" MB: I guess this is an explanation of a popular WashPo story I didn't understand last week.

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The legal battle over gun control opened a new front Monday at the Supreme Court, as the justices announced they will consider an important National Rifle Association-backed lawsuit asserting the constitutional right to carry a weapon outside the home. The court will hear the challenge to a century-old New York law in the term that begins in October. The restriction requires those who seek a permit to carry a concealed weapon to show a special need for self-defense, and is similar to laws in Maryland, Massachusetts and elsewhere that the court in the past has declined to review." ~~~

     ~~~ Ian Millhiser of Vox: "The Supreme Court could make the NRA's dreams come true.... The plaintiffs in Corlett include a New York state gun rights group and two New York men who applied for a license to carry a handgun in public and were denied that license. They claim that 'law-abiding citizens' have a Second Amendment right to carry a gun in public -- and the Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, could agree with them. Indeed, Corlett could potentially dismantle more than a decade of judicial decisions interpreting the Second Amendment, imposing prohibitive limits on lawmakers' ability to reduce gun violence."

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Monday said it would take up a request by a Guantánamo Bay terrorism suspect for more information about his CIA-sponsored torture, a disclosure the U.S. government opposes, calling it a threat to national security. The prisoner is Abu Zubaida, once a prized capture whose torture after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has been extensively documented. But the government has invoked the 'state secrets' privilege to oppose his efforts for additional information about foreign intelligence officials who partnered with the CIA in detention facilities abroad."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "For a second year, the nation's surveillance court has pointed with concern to 'widespread violations' by the F.B.I. of rules intended to protect Americans' privacy when analysts search emails gathered without a warrant -- but still signed off on another year of the program, a newly declassified ruling shows. In a 67-page ruling issued in November and made public on Monday, James E. Boasberg, the presiding judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, recounted several episodes uncovered by an F.B.I. audit where the bureau's analysts improperly searched for Americans' information in emails that the National Security Agency collected without warrants."

Sabrina Tavernise & Robert Gebeloff of the New York Times: "Over the past decade, the United States population grew at the second slowest rate since the government started counting in 1790, the Census Bureau reported on Monday, a remarkable slackening that was driven by a slowdown in immigration and a declining birthrate. The bureau also reported changes to the nation's political map: The long-running trend of the South and the West gaining population -- and the congressional representation that comes with it -- at the expense of the Northeast and the Midwest continued, with Texas gaining two seats and Florida one, and New York and Ohio each losing one. California, long a leader in population growth, lost a seat for the first time in history." An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~Here's a related New York Times story on the states that gained and lost Congressional seats. A Guardian story is here. Politico's report is here. ~~~

~~~ BTW, if you're someone who was way too busy to complete your Census form, it turns out the form matters as much as your vote. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "New York's congressional delegation will shrink by one seat after the 2022 election, the Census Bureau announced on Monday.... If New York had counted 89 more people last year than the 20,215,751 who were tallied, it would have held on to the House seat. Instead, it went to Minnesota.It was the narrowest margin by which a state lost a seat in the modern era, according to census data."

Shawna Chen of Axios: "Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the third highest-ranking House Republican, publicly broke from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Monday, telling reporters a proposed independent commission should focus solely on the deadly Capitol insurrection, Reuters reports.... Cheney's remarks reflect a widening gap between the two high-profile Republicans. McCarthy has said the bipartisan commission should broaden its scope to include other instances of political violence, citing Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests.... 'What happened on Jan. 6 is unprecedented in our history, and I think that it's very important that the commission be able to focus on that,' Cheney told reporters at the House GOP's annual policy retreat.... Her comments support Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) position on the matter."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Kathleen Kingsbury of the New York Times: "The first Op-Ed page in The New York Times greeted the world on Sept. 21, 1970. It was so named because it appeared opposite the editorial page and not (as many still believe) because it would offer views contrary to the paper's.... It's time to change the name. The reason is simple: In the digital world, in which millions of Times readers absorb the paper's journalism online, there is no geographical 'Op-Ed,' just as there is no geographical 'Ed' for Op-Ed to be opposite to. It is a relic of an older age and an older print newspaper design. So now, at age 50, the designation will be retired." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is why I have always referred to "opinion pieces" published in media outlets that don't have print editions, though the designation "op-ed" is commonly used for any "guest essay" published in any outlet, whether it comes in hard-copy format or not. I've done the same with magazine opinion pieces; when Time publishes an opinion piece, it doesn't appear opposite the magazine's editorial page. The NYT plans to refer to op-eds as "guest essays"; that's awkward. What's the short-form? "Guessays"? Not so good.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "President Biden, under intense pressure to do more to address the surging pandemic abroad, including a humanitarian crisis in India, intends to make up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine available to other countries, so long as federal regulators deem the doses safe, officials said Monday. The announcement came after Mr. Biden spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and the two pledged to 'work closely together in the fight against Covid-19.' It is a significant, albeit limited, shift for the White House, which has until now been reluctant to make excess doses of coronavirus vaccine available in large amounts." MB: Just this morning I saw Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on the teevee urging the administration to release those vaccine doses to other countries. Squeaky wheel. Good for you, Congressman.

This Week in Book World

Rudy Takala of Mediaite: "More than 200 employees at Simon & Schuster are asking the publishing giant to stop working with former Trump administration staffers. Employees submitted a petition on Monday containing 216 signatures demanding the company stop publishing books from members of ... Donald Trump's administration. The petition claims the company treated 'the Trump administration as a "normal" chapter in American history,' according to copy obtained by The Wall Street Journal. The brouhaha follows a thus-far unsuccessful effort by the employees to cancel a deal to publish former Vice President Mike Pence's two-part autobiography."

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "In a new book, the Republican senator Josh Hawley of Missouri attacks what he calls 'woke capitalism' and claims to be a victim of cancel culture over his actions around the Capitol attack of 6 January. Hawley, 41, is a leading figure on the far right of the Republican party, jostling to inherit Donald Trump's populist crown and with it the presidential nomination in 2024.... Publisher Simon & Schuster dropped Hawley's book, only for it to be swiftly picked up by Regnery, a conservative imprint for which Simon & Schuster handles distribution." MB: According to Pengelly, there's a whole lot of whining going on here. As for the raised fist seen 'round the world, Hawley doesn't mention it, but he definitely did "not encourage the riot." Maybe he was adjusting his shirt sleeve or exercising his fingers. Accompanying the article is a photo of Josh trying to look pensive while holding a pencil to his chin.

And Other Thoughts of GOP "Intelligentia"

Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "The former US senator and CNN political commentator Rick Santorum has sparked outrage among Native Americans, and prompted calls for his dismissal, by telling a rightwing students' conference that European colonists who came to America 'birthed a nation from nothing'. 'There was nothing here. I mean, yes we have Native Americans but candidly there isn't much Native American culture in American culture,' Santorum told the ultra-conservative Young America's Foundation's summit, entitled standing up for faith and freedom, and shared by the group to YouTube.... Santorum's comments, effectively dismissing the millennia-long presence of Native Americans and the genocide inflicted on them as the Christian settlers transformed and expanded their colonies into the United States of America, angered many within the Native American community, and beyond." MB: Must be tough for Rick to take the kids to the school Thanksgiving play where Native Americans are portrayed saving the ignorant Pilgrims from starvation. See also Akhilleus' commentary below.

Steve M. analyzes a New York Post op-ed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in a post titled, "Marco Rubio Will Only Get Worse."

Marie: One of the most damaging effects of the ascendant right-wing media is that Republicans who used to make up stuff to own the masses now seem to believe their own swill. If there's anything worse than a demagogue, it's a "sincere" demagogue. ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times explains wingers' tales of Meatless Joe in terms of Bernie Madoff: "Madoff defrauded wealthy Jews by convincing them that he was just like them. A similar approach has long been an essential part of the Republican political strategy. As the party's economic policies have become ever more elitist, ever more tilted toward the interests of the wealthy, it has sought to cover its tracks by running candidates who seem like regular guys you'd like to have a (meat-based?) beer with. The flip side of this strategy is a continual attempt by the G.O.P. to convince voters that Democrats, who represent a much more diverse set of voters than Republicans, aren't people like them; call it disaffinity fraud. The goal is to portray Democrats as woke feminist vegetarians who don't share the values of Real Americans."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Andrew Oxford of the Arizona Republic: "Lawyers for Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based company the Arizona Senate hired to lead a recount of Maricopa County's 2.1 million general election ballots, are asking a judge to keep secret its procedures for the recount and shut out the public as well as the press from a hearing in which the documents might be discussed. Judge Christopher Coury asked the company on Friday to turn over its plans and procedures amid concerns about the security of the county's ballots and voter privacy. But the company argued on Sunday that filing the documents in court publicly would compromise the security of its recount. And it argued that the records include protected trade secrets." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. Ken was wondering just what those "trade secrets" might be. One is apparently handing counters blue pens so they can, you know, "correct" ballots than voters might accidentally have marked for Joe Biden. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Rachel Maddow said Monday night that the only "reporters" allowed to observe the proceedings were those who worked for One America "News" Network. The same reporters, Maddow said, also raised money for the recount. Seems fair.

California. Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Fueled by partisan fury and a backlash against pandemic shutdowns, a Republican-led campaign to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has officially qualified for the ballot, setting the stage for the second recall election in the state's history, officials said on Monday. In a widely expected filing, the California secretary of state's office found that recall organizers had collected 1,626,042 signatures on their petition, more than the roughly 1.5 million required to ask voters to remove Mr. Newsom from office. The announcement sets in motion a series of procedural steps that will culminate in a special election. No election date has been scheduled, but it is expected to be sometime in November. Between now and then, the state will review the cost of the election, and voters who signed the petition will have 30 business days to ask to have their names removed if they so choose." An NBC News story is here.

North Carolina. David Li of NBC News: "The family of a North Carolina man shot and killed by sheriff's deputies said Monday that they were shown just 20 seconds of body-camera video that appeared to show the man with his hands on the steering wheel of his car before he was killed. Loved ones of Andrew Brown Jr., 42, expected to be shown the bodycam video just before noon Monday, but the viewing was pushed back several hours because of redactions sought by the county attorney, family attorneys said. But even in 20 seconds of video, Brown's loved ones said, it was clear that he wasn't a threat to law enforcement and shouldn't have been gunned down."

Way Beyond

U.K. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "... as [Queen Elizabeth II] faces the future alone, her son and heir, Prince Charles, is reshaping the family to carry on after her. [Prince] Philip's death has given new urgency to a transition already underway in the House of Windsor. With the queen's reign in its twilight, Charles has moved to streamline the royal family and reallocate its duties -- a downsizing forced by the loss of stalwart figures like Philip, as well as by the rancorous departure of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, and the messy internal exile of Prince Andrew.... As always with the royal family, details about its internal deliberations are elusive and befogged in speculation.... Charles ... had already taken over some of his mother's duties, including overseas trips and investiture ceremonies.... He accompanies her to the state opening of Parliament; the next one is scheduled for May. And he spoke up after the furor over his brother Andrew's ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, pressing to have him banished from public duties."

The Commentariat -- April 26, 2021

McCarthy Rewrites History. Amy Wang & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) continued to defend ... Donald Trump's response to the Jan. 6 insurrection, claiming in an interview Sunday that Trump was unaware the U.S. Capitol was being stormed until McCarthy called and urged him to tell his supporters to stop. 'I was the first person to contact him when the riot was going on, McCarthy told 'Fox News Sunday' host Chris Wallace. 'He didn't see it, but he ended the call ... telling me he'll put something out to make sure to stop this. And that's what he did. He put a video out later.' The statement contradicted McCarthy's initial response to Trump's role in the attack and a fellow GOP lawmaker's recollection of what had been a tense call between McCarthy and Trump. In addition, one Trump adviser told The Washington Post that the then-president had been watching live television coverage of the riot, as multiple people were trying to reach Trump and his aides to beg for help." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ It's All about Kevin's Ambitions. Mark Leibovich of the New York Times: "... nearly four months after Jan. 6, [Kevin] McCarthy continues to defend his support for Mr. Trump's bogus assertions that the election was stolen from him. Friends say that he knows better and is as exasperated by Mr. Trump's behavior as other top Republicans, but that he has made the calculation that the former president's support is essential for his ambitions to become speaker after the 2022 elections, when Republicans have a decent chance to win back the House.... Mr. McCarthy knows the surest way to blow up his speakership plans would be to alienate Mr. Trump, who relishes being both a potential kingmaker to his favored candidates and saboteur of those he is determined to punish."

Alex Kasprak of Snopes: President "Biden announced that his administration would seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. The Daily Mail ran a story that asserted, in entirely theoretical terms, that the policy "could" require Americans to reduce their meat consumption by 90%. Politicians like Rep. Lauren Boebert retweeted the Daily Mail's speculation as fact." The claim is false. ~~~

~~~ Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "... former [Trump] economic adviser Larry Kudlow ... wants the nation to know that President Joe Biden is plotting to force Americans to drink 'plant-based beer.'... The beer everyone drinks now ... [is] typically made from grains, hops and yeast -- and not an ounce of steak. (Additives may include animal products, like gelatin, but beer is definitely plant based.) The bonkers brewhaha was part of Kudlow's raging criticism on Fox Business Friday against the proposed Green New Deal, which he claimed would end the country's consumption of meat, eggs, cheese and dairy. None of that's true...." Thanks to unwashed, who wonders what Larry thinks beer is made of, for the link. MB: I suppose we'll have to drink plant-based wine and even plant-based V-8 juice. (Did you know the "V" in V-8 stands for "veal"?)

Mark Sherman of the AP: "... a profanity-laced posting [by then-14-year-old Brandi Levy] on Snapchat ... has, improbably, ended up before the Supreme Court in the most significant case on student speech in more than 50 years. At issue is whether public schools can discipline students over something they say off-campus. The topic is especially meaningful in a time of remote learning because of the coronavirus pandemic and a rising awareness of the pernicious effects of online bullying. Arguments are on Wednesday, via telephone because of the pandemic.... The case has its roots in the Vietnam-era case of a high school in Des Moines, Iowa, that suspended students who wore armbands to protest the war. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court sided with the students, declaring students don't 'shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.'" The Washington Post's story, by Robert Barnes, is here.

Elliott Williams in a CNN opinion piece: "For nearly two decades, the Supreme Court has established more leniency toward children convicted of violent crimes, in line with the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. This trend came to an abrupt stop on Thursday, with the Court's decision in Jones v. Mississippi that judges do not need to find a juvenile murderer to have a hope of rehabilitation before sentencing them to die in prison. Most stunning, however, is the manner in which the Court got there, by casting aside years of precedent with the stroke of a pen. [Friday's] decision was a frightening reminder of how easily the Court can speak out of both sides of its mouth: claiming fidelity to its own past decisions, while simultaneously gutting them."

Allyson Waller of the New York Times: "At Howard [University], the classics department is as old as the university itself. Established in 1867 -- the same year that Howard, one of the country's leading historically Black colleges and universities, was founded -- the department became a hub for Black thought, enlightening generations of students about Black people in antiquity.... The university plans to dissolve the department by the fall semester. The university's decision, which was reported in The Washington Post, has galvanized students and faculty members to preserve what the Society for Classical Studies says is the only classics department at an H.B.C.U.... An online petition in support of keeping the department has been signed over 5,000 times. Students have also brought awareness to the situation by using the hashtag '#SaveHUClassics' on their social media accounts." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

American Graffiti, D.C.-Style. Lindsay Watts of Fox 5 Washington, D.C.: "Two D.C. police cars were totaled after officers decided to drag race each other.... Sources tell FOX 5 the officers involved, who are new to the department, started racing each other on Anacostia Ave. NE near Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Garden and reports indicate they were traveling at least 60 mph."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Katie Rogers & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The Biden administration, under increasing pressure to address a devastating surge of the coronavirus in India, said on Sunday that it had partially lifted a ban on the export of raw materials for vaccines and would also supply India with therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and personal protective gear.... The announcement, an abrupt shift for the administration, came after Jake Sullivan, President Biden's national security adviser, held a call earlier in the day with Ajit Doval, his counterpart in India, and as the Indian government reported more than 349,000 new infections, a world record for a single day. [A spokeswoman for the National Security Council] said the United States had 'identified sources of specific raw material urgently required for Indian manufacture of the Covishield vaccine,' the Indian-produced version of the AstraZeneca vaccine." An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Mary Eccles of Politico: "The EU is preparing rapid assistance to help India as it tackles a spiralling COVID-19 resurgence, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday. 'Alarmed by the epidemiological situation in India. We are ready to support,' she wrote on Twitter. 'The EU is pooling resources to respond rapidly to India's request for assistance.' European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic wrote on social media that the EU would do its 'upmost' to mobilize assistance. He said the bloc's Emergency Response Coordination Center is working with EU governments to provide oxygen and medicine."

Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "Millions of Americans are not getting the second doses of their Covid-19 vaccines, and their ranks are growing. More than five million people, or nearly 8 percent of those who got a first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, have missed their second doses, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is more than double the rate among people who got inoculated in the first several weeks of the nationwide vaccine campaign.... [Stupid excuses] were expected, but another hurdle has been surprisingly prevalent. A number of vaccine providers have canceled second-dose appointments because they ran out of supply or didn't have the right brand in stock.... Several Walgreens customers said in interviews that they scrambled, in some cases with help from pharmacy staff, to find somewhere to get the correct second dose. Others, presumably, simply gave up." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) MB: So ~~~

(a) Walgreens screwed up;
(b) I'm skeert;
(c) Hey, I'll only get half-sick;
(d) Busy doing my nails.

Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "American tourists who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to visit the European Union over the summer, the head of the bloc's executive body said in an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, more than a year after shutting down nonessential travel from most countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The fast pace of vaccination in the United States, and advanced talks between authorities there and the European Union over how to make vaccine certificates acceptable as proof of immunity for visitors, will enable the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, to recommend a switch in policy that could see trans-Atlantic leisure travel restored." CNN's story is here.

Gretchen Reynolds of the New York Times: "More exercise means less risk of developing severe Covid, according to a compelling new study of physical activity and coronavirus hospitalizations. The study, which involved almost 50,000 Californians who developed Covid, found that those who had been the most active before falling ill were the least likely to be hospitalized or die as a result of their illness. The data were gathered before Covid vaccines became available and do not suggest that exercise can substitute in any way for immunization. But they do intimate that regular exercise -- whether it&'s going for a swim, walk, run or bike ride -- can substantially lower our chances of becoming seriously ill if we do become infected."

Michigan. Mitch Smith & Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "Across Michigan, which is experiencing by far the country's most dangerous outbreak, more younger people are being admitted to hospitals with the coronavirus than at any other time in the pandemic. Michigan hospitals are now admitting about twice as many coronavirus patients in their 30s and 40s as they were during the fall peak, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association. The shifting demographics come as a majority of Michigan residents age 65 or older have been fully vaccinated.... But the vaccinations of older people do not explain rising hospitalizations among people younger than 60, including those in their 20s and 30s. Public health experts say the outbreak -- driven by the B.1.1.7 variant of the virus, which is more contagious and more severe -- is spreading rapidly in younger age groups. And across the state, doctors and nurses are increasingly reporting a concerning trend: Younger patients are coming in more often with serious cases of Covid-19."

Jon Swaine of the Washington Post: "The stock price of government contractor Emergent BioSolutions has fallen sharply since the disclosure at the end of March that production problems at the firm's plant in Baltimore had ruined 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine. Since then, AstraZeneca moved production of its own vaccine out of the facility, and Emergent temporarily halted new production there altogether. Those developments came after Emergent's stock price had tumbled on Feb. 19, following the company's published financial results. Emergent stock has fallen since mid-February to about $62 a share from $125 a share.... But the decline has had less of an impact than it might have on the personal finances of Emergent's chief executive, Robert G. Kramer, who sold more than $10 million worth of his stock in the company in January and early February.... Investors sued Emergent, Kramer and other executives in federal court in Maryland last week, alleging that the firm artificially inflated its stock price by boasting of its ability to make coronavirus vaccines and by failing to disclose problems at the Baltimore site...." And this isn't the first time Kramer has sold off stock just before bad news about his company became public.

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "An audit of the vote in Arizona's most populous county was meant to mollify angry Trump voters. But it is being criticized as a partisan exercise more than a fact-finding one.... When a parade of flatbed trucks last week hauled boxes of voting equipment and 78 pallets containing the 2.1 million ballots of Arizona's largest county to a decrepit local coliseum, it kicked off a seat-of-the-pants audit process that seemed more likely to amplify Republican grievances than to put them to rest. Almost half a year after the election Mr. Trump lost, the promised audit has become a snipe hunt for skulduggery that has spanned a court battle, death threats and calls to arrest the elected leadership of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. The head of Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based firm that Republican senators hired to oversee the audit, has embraced Mr. Trump's baseless theories of election theft and has suggested, contrary to available evidence, that Mr. Trump actually won Arizona by 200,000 votes. The pro-Trump cable channel One America News Network has started a fund-raiser to finance the venture and has been named one of the nonpartisan observers that will keep the audit on the straight and narrow." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: See also related commentary in yesterday's thread. The "audit" is worse than Wines makes out.

Virginia. Dennis Romero of NBC News: "Authorities in Virginia have released disturbing body camera video of a deputy shooting a Black man who was holding a cordless phone and who had just received a ride home by the same law enforcement officer. Isaiah Brown, 32, survived more than six rounds fired at him Wednesday and was in a hospital 'fighting for his life,' said a spokesman for the law firm representing him. The deputy was not named by the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office."

Way Beyond

Indonesia. Adi Renaldi & Claire Parker of the Washington Post: "Indonesia has found the wreckage of a navy submarine missing since Wednesday and declared all 53 of its crew members dead, the country's military chief announced Sunday. Underwater images captured by a remotely operated vehicle showed the wreckage in the Bali Strait at a depth of 838 meters, officials said. A search and rescue team found debris including a vertical rudder, anchor and safety jackets." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Iran. Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times: "In a leaked audiotape that offers a glimpse into the behind-the scenes power struggles of Iranian leaders, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Revolutionary Guards Corps call the shots, overruling many government decisions and ignoring advice. In one extraordinary moment on the tape that surfaced Sunday, Mr. Zarif departed from the reverential official line on Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the commander of the Guards' elite Quds Force..., who was killed by the United States in January 2020. The general, Mr. Zarif said, undermined him at many steps, working with Russia to sabotage the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and adopting policies toward Syria's long war that damaged Iran's interests." The Guardian's report is here.

The Commentariat -- April 25, 2021

Afternoon Update:

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

Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "Millions of Americans are not getting the second doses of their Covid-19 vaccines, and their ranks are growing. More than five million people, or nearly 8 percent of those who got a first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, have missed their second doses, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Contro and Prevention. That is more than double the rate among people who got inoculated in the first several weeks of the nationwide vaccine campaign.... [Stupid excuses] were expected, but another hurdle has been surprisingly prevalent. A number of vaccine providers have canceled second-dose appointments because they ran out of supply or didn't have the right brand in stock.... Several Walgreens customers said in interviews that they scrambled, in some cases with help from pharmacy staff, to find somewhere to get the correct second dose. Others, presumably, simply gave up." MB: So ~~~

      (a) Walgreens screwed up;
      (b) I'm skeert;
      (c) Hey, I'll only get half-sick;
      (d) Busy doing my nails.

Allyson Waller of the New York Times: "At Howard [University], the classics department is as old as the university itself. Established in 1867 -- the same year that Howard, one of the country's leading historically Black colleges and universities, was founded -- the department became a hub for Black thought, enlightening generations of students about Black people in antiquity.... The university plans to dissolve the department by the fall semester. The university's decision, which was reported in The Washington Post, has galvanized students and faculty members to preserve what the Society for Classical Studies says is the only classics department at an H.B.C.U.... An online petition in support of keeping the department has been signed over 5,000 times. Students have also brought awareness to the situation by using the hashtag '#SaveHUClassics' on their social media accounts."

Michael Wines of the New York Times: "An audit of the vote in Arizona's most populous county was meant to mollify angry Trump voters. But it is being criticized as a partisan exercise more than a fact-finding one.... When a parade of flatbed trucks last week hauled boxes of voting equipment and 78 pallets containing the 2.1 million ballots of Arizona's largest county to a decrepit local coliseum, it kicked off a seat-of-the-pants audit process that seemed more likely to amplify Republican grievances than to put them to rest. Almost half a year after the election Mr. Trump lost, the promised audit has become a snipe hunt for skulduggery that has spanned a court battle, death threats and calls to arrest the elected leadership of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. The head of Cyber Ninjas, the Florida-based firm that Republican senators hired to oversee the audit, has embraced Mr. Trump's baseless theories of election theft and has suggested, contrary to available evidence, that Mr. Trump actually won Arizona by 200,000 votes. The pro-Trump cable channel One America News Network has started a fund-raiser to finance the venture and has been named one of the nonpartisan observers that will keep the audit on the straight and narrow."

Adi Renaldi & Claire Parker of the Washington Post: "Indonesia has found the wreckage of a navy submarine missing since Wednesday and declared all 53 of its crew members dead, the country's military chief announced Sunday. Underwater images captured by a remotely operated vehicle showed the wreckage in the Bali Strait at a depth of 838 meters, officials said. A search and rescue team found debris including a vertical rudder, anchor and safety jackets."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: When President Biden speaks before a joint session of Congress later this week, "He will have a historic backdrop: Two women, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Harris, for the first time will be in the immediate frame of the president -- something Biden is planning to note at the beginning of his speech. In a different historic marker, both will be wearing masks as part of the coronavirus protocols in the chamber.... The address marks the conclusion of the first chapter of Biden's presidency, one that he has sought to enter with a burs of activity meant to reshape the country's politics and its place in the world.... There will likely be only 200 people total in the chamber, according to a person involved in the planning. That's a fraction of the 1,600 people normally in attendance for the president's address to Congress." MB: The article is interesting. I am a bit put-off by Viser's description of Pelosi & Harris as "a historic backdrop," as if they're, well, window-dressing.

Katie Rogers & Carlotta Gall of the New York Times: "President Biden on Saturday recognized the mass killings of Armenians more than a century ago as genocide, signaling a willingness to test an increasingly frayed relationship with Turkey, long a key regional ally and an important partner within NATO. 'Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring,' Mr. Biden said in a statement issued on the 106th anniversary of the beginning of a brutal campaign by the former Ottoman Empire that killed 1.5 million people. 'And we remember so that we remain ever vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all its forms.'" The Guardian's story is here. President Biden's full statement is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post recounts the history of the Turks' massacre of perhaps 1.5 million Armenians during World War I. MB: The headline places "genocide" in quotation marks. I'm not sure why.

Louisiana Congressinal Race. Ally Mutnick of Politico: "Progressives suffered a disappointing setback on Saturday, after their favored candidate lost to a more establishment-aligned opponent in a special congressional election in Louisiana. State Sen. Troy Carter, who was backed by top leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, beat state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson in a runoff to fill a vacant House seat that quickly turned into a turf war for sparring factions of the Democratic party. He overcame more than a million dollars in outside spending backing Peterson to win, 56 percent to 44 percent, when The Associated Press called the race. The district is majority Black and safe Democratic territory; it includes almost all of New Orleans and stretches north toward Baton Rouge. The former incumbent, Cedric Richmond, vacated the seat to join the Biden administration." The Washington Post story, by Dave Weigel, is here.

Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Following her vote to impeach Donald Trump, Rep. Liz Cheney has received a groundswell of financial support from the most powerful figures in traditional GOP politics and the corporate world.... Almost the entire traditional Republican power structure is standing behind Cheney at this tough moment -- but not House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).... As House Republicans gather Sunday for a three-day retreat meant to unify around a new policy agenda, the former president, residing 170 miles south of the GOP's Orlando gathering, continues to be a divisive figure, pitting the small band of Republican lawmakers critical of him against the majority that remains loyal. And the fault line in the conference runs over Trump's role in cheering on the rioting criminals who ransacked the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6." MB: Frankly, I hope they get in a massive fistfight. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Donald Trump: A Clear & Present Danger. Katelyn Polantz & Marshall Cohen of CNN: "... Donald Trump's continued promotion of the 'big lie' about the 2020 election could still incite his followers to violence, the Justice Department and judges noted repeatedly this week, as courts weigh the future dangerousness of US Capitol riot defendants. Two federal judges this week brought up the disinformation about 2020 from right-wing figures, and even Trump himself, as they considered keeping alleged Capitol rioters in jail before trial. And prosecutors from the Justice Department are arguing more explicitly that violent threats stemming from Trump-backed conspiracy theories are still alive, and that Trump supporters could be called to act again."

Craig Timberg & Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "While the world was distracted with ... Donald Trump leaving office on Jan. 20, an obscure Florida company discreetly announced to the world's computer networks a startling development: It now was managing a huge unused swath of the Internet that, for several decades, had been owned by the U.S. military. What happened next was stranger still." MB: I would summarize the rest of the story, but I don't understand a word of it. It's the most popular story on the WashPo site right now (1:45 pm ET Saturday), so I'm linking it. But I don't get it. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Claire Colbert of CNN: "... Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, aka the 'MyPillow Guy,' are among the winners -- if you can call them that -- of the 41st Golden Raspberry Awards, which are handed out to the worst in cinema every year.... The award for Worst Picture went to Lindell's documentary 'Absolute Proof,' which claims that a Chinese cyberattack flipped the 2020 election -- despite there being no evidence to back up the claim. Lindell, a vocal supporter of ... Donald Trump, also got a Worst Actor Razzie for the film. Giuliani's awkward appearance in 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' ... won the Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor. Giuliani and his pants zipper were also recognized as the Worst Screen Combo."

Capitalism Is Awesome! Ctd. David Gelles of the New York Times: "The coronavirus plunged the world into an economic crisis, sent the U.S. unemployment rate skyrocketing and left millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet. Yet at many of the companies hit hardest by the pandemic, the executives in charge were showered with riches. The divergent fortunes of C.E.O.s and everyday workers illustrate the sharp divides in a nation on the precipice of an economic boom but still racked by steep income inequality. The stock markets are up and the wealthy are spending freely, but millions are still facing significant hardship. Executives are minting fortunes while laid-off workers line up at food banks.... For executives who own large stakes in giant companies, the gains have been even more pronounced. Eight of the 10 wealthiest people in the world are men who founded or ran tech companies in the United States, and each has grown billions of dollars richer this year, according to Bloomberg." ~~~

~~~ Marie: And millions of the peasants voted for Donald Trump, who did all he could to make them poorer. The "genius" of Donald & Mitch & Josh, et al., has been to convince the nitwits & suckers that Blacks & Hispanics took their jobs & Asians made them sick & killed their grannies. ~~~

~~~ Zachary Carter, in a New York Times op-ed, highlights the groundbreaking theories of British economist Joan Robinson who "upended the misogynistic good-old-boys' network of economists and devised theories around competition and labor vital to the antitrust debates of today."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Anthony Faiola, et al., of the Washington Post: "A long-simmering debate over the glaring gap in vaccine access -- largely between rich and poor countries, but among some developed nations, too -- is now boiling over, with global figures and national leaders decrying the vaccine plenty in a few nations and the relative drought almost everywhere else. African nations such as Namibia and Kenya are denouncing a 'vaccine apartheid,' while others are calling for policy changes in Washington and a broader rethink of the intellectual property and trademark laws that govern vaccine manufacturing in global pandemics.... In some countries with high vaccination rates -- including the United States, Britain and Israel -- coronavirus numbers are decreasing or plateauing. But globally, the number of new cases per week has nearly doubled since February, according to the WHO, particularly as some nations in the developing world witness their highest infection rates yet."

Beyond the Beltway

Alanna Richer & Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: "At least six people were fatally shot by officers across the United States in the 24 hours after jurors reached a verdict in the murder case against [Derek] Chauvin on Tuesday. The roll call of the dead is distressing[.]... The deaths, in some cases, sparked new cries for justice. Some said they reflect an urgent need for radical changes to American policing -- a need that the Chauvin verdict cannot paper over. For others, the shootings are a tragic reminder of the difficult and dangerous decisions law enforcement face daily."

Montana. Iris Samuels of the AP: "Gov. Greg Gianforte [Violently R] on Friday signed a bill that prohibits state and local law enforcement in Montana from enforcing federal bans on firearms, ammunition and magazines. Supporters of the law have said it would protect the Second Amendment from stiffer gun control laws that could come from federal legislation or executive orders by President Joe Biden in the wake of several mass shootings that took place this year, including a recent shooting that killed eight people in Indianapolis. Opponents of the bill have said it would make it difficult for local law enforcement to collaborate with federal authorities on issues beyond gun access when such collaboration is essential to protect public safety, including in cases of domestic violence and drug offenses." (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Jan Ransom of the New York Times: "... more than half of the officers in New York City's jail system who were disciplined over a 20-month period gave false, misleading or incomplete accounts on official forms or in statements to investigators, according to a New York Times analysis of records recently made public after a long court battle. The data suggests pervasive attempts by guards to cover up uses of force or other infractions at a time when the city has tried to rein in violence in the jails.... The city jail system, including the notorious Rikers Island complex, has long been a source of complaints of brutality by guards.... Until now, the disciplinary records of correction officers and their supervisors had been largely kept secret by state law. That changed last summer when, in response to pressure from protests against police violence and racism after the killing of George Floyd, New York legislators repealed 50-a, the section of the state civil rights statute that shielded most law enforcement misconduct records from the public."

** Igor Derysh of Salon: "Republicans in at least 14 states have introduced legislation that would seize power from election officials or limit their authority, apparently in response to unfounded attacks from ... Donald Trump and allies who sought to overturn his election loss. Republican state legislators across the country have responded to Trump's baseless election challenges, which were roundly rejected by dozens of judges, by rolling out more than 360 bills aimed at restricting voting access in nearly every state. But while much of the attention has focused on measures that would limit ballot access..., some of the proposals include provisions that would strip election officials of power and even impose criminal penalties for officials who defy the new restrictions.... Georgia's massive bill ... also includes more insidious measures that could allow Republicans to give 'themselves power to overturn election results,' Sylvia Albert [of] ... Common Cause said...." ~~~

~~~ Texas. Let's Not Let the "Urban People" Vote. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Twenty-four-hour voting was one of a host of options Harris County[, Texas, (includes Houston)] introduced to help residents cast ballots, along with drive-through voting and proactively mailing out ballot applications. The new alternatives, tailored to a diverse work force struggling amid a pandemic in Texas' largest county, helped increase turnout by nearly 10 percent compared with 2016; nearly 70 percent of registered voters cast ballots, and a task force found that there was no evidence of any fraud. Yet Republicans are pushing measures through the State Legislature that would take aim at the very process that produced such a large turnout. Two omnibus bills ... are seeking to roll back virtually every expansion the county put in place for 2020. The bills would make Texas one of the hardest states in the country to cast a ballot in. And they are a prime example of a Republican-led effort to roll back voting access in Democrat-rich cities and populous regions like Atlanta and Arizona's Maricopa County, while having far less of an impact on voting in rural areas that tend to lean Republican.... In Texas, Republicans have taken the rare tack of outlining restrictions that would apply only to counties with population of more than one million, targeting the booming and increasingly diverse metropolitan areas of Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

Washington Post: "John Richards, a British newspaperman who attracted a flurry of international attention when he founded and later resignedly disbanded the Apostrophe Protection Society, a self-styled bulwark against the 'barbarians' laying waste to a humble yet essential element of the English language, died March 30 at a hospital in Boston, a town in Lincolnshire, England. He was 97."

New York Times: "On Aug. 7, 1959, Arlene Pieper completed the Pikes Peak Marathon, a grueling mountain course in Manitou Springs, Col., that no other woman had finished in its brief history. She ascended 8,000 feet to the 14,000-foot summit and descended the same way in 9 hours and 16 minutes.... Her achievement did not produce a thunderclap in sports world and stayed something of a secret.... She was the first woman ever to complete a sanctioned marathon in the United States.... Ms. Pieper -- who was known most recently as Arlene Pieper Stine -- died on Feb. 11 in Capitola, Calif., south of San Jose. She was 90."

Marie: If you don't read obituaries, you're missing something. They may appear in newspapers, but they are more interesting (and better-written) than most newspaper stories.