The Commentariat -- May 3, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Mass Media Correction. David Bauder of the AP: "The Washington Post, New York Times and NBC News all issued similar corrections to stories regarding Rudolph Giuliani ... and his dealings in Ukraine. The corrections, to stories that ran last Thursday or Friday, take back reports that the former New York City mayor had been warned by the FBI that he was the subject of a Russian operation to influence the American election. NBC's online correction on Saturday was the most extensive, and it required both the headline and top of a story that ran a day earlier to be rewritten. The network said it had been told about an FBI briefing of Giuliani by 'a source familiar with the matter,' but later learned from a second source that the briefing had been prepared but not delivered.... Giuliani, on Twitter, said that the Times and Post 'must revealed their sources who lied and targeted an American citizen.'"

** Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "... more than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, and there is widespread consensus among scientists and public health experts that the herd immunity threshold is not attainable -- at least not in the foreseeable future, and perhaps not ever. Instead, they are coming to the conclusion that rather than making a long-promised exit, the virus will most likely become a manageable threat that will continue to circulate in the United States for years to come, still causing hospitalizations and deaths but in much smaller numbers. How much smaller is uncertain and depends in part on how much of the nation, and the world, becomes vaccinated and how the coronavirus evolves." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, Republicans, the science-averse, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists & the general collection of the loony brigade have decided to ruin daily life for those of us who behave responsibly. I despise those selfish, ignorant bastards. In fairness to these horrible people, many of them try, often successfully, to diminish our quality of life in other respects: they scoff at environmental science; they oppose fair wages for fair work; they treat people who don't belong to their tribe of idiots as second-class citizens; etc. ~~~

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday took its first significant step under President Biden to curb climate change, moving to sharply reduce a class of chemicals that is thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide at warming the planet. In proposing a new regulation, Michael S. Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, said the agency aimed to reduce the production and importation of hydrofluorocarbons, which are used in refrigeration and air-conditioning, in the United States by 85 percent over the next 15 years. It's a goal shared by environmental groups and the business community, which jointly championed bipartisan legislation passed by Congress in December to tackle the pollutant."

Julia Ainsley & Jacob Soboroff of NBC News: "The Biden administration will reunite four migrant families separated during the Trump administration this week, while its reunification task force estimates that over 1,000 families remain separated, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday.... But the immigrant advocacy organization Al Otro Lado, or AOL, said the Biden administration is taking credit for reunifications it did very little to facilitate. '... The only reason these mothers will be standing at the port of entry is because Al Otro Lado negotiated their travel visas with the Mexican government, paid for their airline tickets and arranged for reunification,' said Carol Anne Donohoe ... of Al Otro Lado.... The parents will be given humanitarian parole to come back to the U.S., said Michelle Brané, executive director of Biden's reunification task force."

Florida GOP Cuts off Nose to Spite Its Ugly Face. Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "Virtually every narrow Republican victor of the past generation -- and there have been many, including two of the state's current top officeholders, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott -- owes their victory, at least in part, to mail voting. Now, some Florida Republicans are reacting with alarm after the GOP-dominated state legislature, with DeSantis’s support, passed a far-reaching bill Thursday night that puts new restrictions on the use of mail ballots. Not only are GOP lawmakers reversing statutes that their own predecessors put in place, but they are also curtailing a practice that millions of state Republicans use, despite ... Donald Trump's relentless and baseless claims that it invites fraud.... The potential fallout in the key swing state illustrates how the Republican Party is hurting itself in its rush to echo Trump's false allegations, they said." ~~~

     ~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "The truth here is plain to see: Florida Republicans are trying to make it harder for the opposition's voters to participate, to the point where party operatives even floated the idea of exempting their own voters [-- seniors & military personnel --] from provisions that would accomplish this.... No matter how you cut this, the real aim is to make it harder to vote, and hope for the best." And, though Republicans are claiming they're passing these anti-voter laws to "restore confidence in elections, their real purpose "is to continue undermining confidence in our electoral system, often as justification for more voter suppression, not to restore it ... [even to the point that] Republicans who dared to vouch for the integrity of the 2020 outcome are facing censure and condemnation...."

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Marcy Gordon of the AP: "President Joe Biden's massive proposed spending on infrastructure, families and education will not fuel inflation because the plans would be phased in gradually over 10 years, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday.... 'It's spread out quite evenly over eight to 10 years. So the boost to demand is moderate,' she said. 'I don't believe that inflation will be an issue, but if it becomes an issue, we have tools to address it.' New economic reports have portrayed a surging recovery from the recession unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic. Americans' incomes soared in March by the most on record, boosted by $1,400 federal stimulus checks, and the economy expanded at a vigorous annual rate of 6.4% in the first three months of the year, leading to concern over inflationary pressures."

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: "We should be cleareyed about both the enormous strengths of the United States ... and its central weakness: For half a century, compared with other countries, we have underinvested in our people. In 1970, the United States was a world leader in high school and college attendance, enjoyed high life expectancy and had a solid middle class. This was achieved in part because of [Franklin] Roosevelt.... Beginning in the 1970s, America took a wrong turn. We slowed new investments in health and education and embraced a harsh narrative that people just need to lift themselves up by their bootstraps.... Some Americans worry about the cost of Biden's program.... Yet this is not an expense but an investment: Our ability to compete with China will depend less on our military budget, our spy satellites or our intellectual property protections than on our high school and college graduation rates. A country cannot succeed when so many of its people are failing."

The Secret Life of the Senate. Bill Scher in the Washington Monthly: "During the course of Joe Biden's first 100 days as president, the Senate was repeatedly described as 'broken.' Also, during the course of Joe Biden's first 100 days as president, the Senate passed 13 bills and filibustered zero. 10 of the 13 bills have been signed into law by President Biden, and the remaining three should soon follow suit.... The biggest of the 13 bills, by about $2 trillion, is the American Rescue Plan which passed through budget reconciliation on a party-line vote and could not be filibustered.... Whatever there is to say about Mitch McConnell's soulless approach to politics, we cannot say that today he has organized his party to filibuster everything he can. In fact, McConnell has voted 'Yea' on most of the 13 successful bills, including legislation to authorize $35 billion for water infrastructure, strengthen the Justice Department's ability to prosecute hate crimes, extend a suspension of automatic Medicare cuts, extend the pandemic small business relief loan program and waive the law that would have prevented Lloyd Austin from becoming Defense Secretary.... If Republicans were determined to make Biden's life miserable, they wouldn't cooperate at all."

Matthew Lee & Eric Tucker of the AP: "The United States and Iran are in active talks over the release of prisoners, a person familiar with the discussions said Sunday as Washington denied a report by Iranian state-run television that deals had been struck.... 'We're working very hard to get them released,' [President Biden's chief-of-staff Ron] Klain said. 'We raise this with Iran and our interlocutors all the time, but so far there's no agreement.' Tehran holds four known Americans now in prison: Baquer and Siamak Namazi, environmentalist Morad Tahbaz and Iranian-American businessman Emad Shargi. Iran long has been accused of holding those with Western ties prisoners to be later used as bargaining chips in negotiations. Despite the American denials, there have been signs that a deal on prisoners may be in the works...."

Ashley Parker & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "Nearly six months after Trump lost to Biden, rejection of the 2020 election results ... has increasingly become an unofficial litmus test for acceptance in the Republican Party. In January, 147 GOP lawmakers -- eight senators and 139 House members -- voted in support of objections to the election results, and since then, Republicans from Congress to statehouses to local party organizations have fervently embraced the falsehood.... The issue also could reverberate through the 2022 midterms and the 2024 election, with Trump already slamming Republicans who did not resist the election results."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. The Little Station that Could. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Too many Sunday news shows repeatedly book the likes of Kevin McCarthy, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson without reminding viewers how these members of Congress tried to undo the results of the election -- and encouraged the Trumpian lies about election fraud that led to the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol.... A rare exception is CNN's 'State of the Union,' which hasn't booked a single member of the so-called Sedition Caucus since January.... Harrisburg[, Pennsylvania]'s WITF [-- an all-news public radio station --] ... want you to remember. Months before the election, the station&'s reporters and editors were already deeply alarmed by what they saw unfolding.... In late January, the station ... posted an explanatory story stating that they would be regularly reminding their audience that some state legislators signed a letter urging Congress to vote against certifying the Pennsylvania election results, and that some members of Congress had voted against certifying the state's election results for President Biden...." Stories about members of the "Sedition Caucus" are accompanied by a sidebar about the lawmakers' efforts to undermine the presidential election.

Anoa Changa of NewsOne: "Five white farmers last week USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in his official capacity, alleging reverse discrimination for his treatment of Black farmers, in particular. The lawsuit claimed the effort to address equity for farmers of color denied the white farmers equal protection under the law.... The lawsuit cites general non-discrimination language from the USDA, never explaining how providing support to groups traditionally overlooked is discrimination. They requested the court block the distribution of the aid program until such time when the issue of race is no longer considered in the distribution of funds. An agriculture policy blog highlighted a similar lawsuit filed in Texas backed by the newly launched America First Legal. The two lawsuits point to possible coordination of conservative interests attacking the equity-based provision. Acting in his professional capacity as Texas Agriculture Secretary and a farmer, Sid Miller sued."

Extremists Will Always Be with Us. Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "What initially seemed to F.B.I. agents like distant, disparate crimes [in 1984] turned out to be the opening salvos in a war against the federal government by members of a violent extremist group called the Order, who sought to establish a whites-only homeland out West. Their crime spree played out in 1984. Fast forward to 2021. Federal agents and prosecutors who dismantled the Order see troubling echoes of its threat to democracy in the Capitol riot and the growing extremist activity across the country.... Those who tracked the group say the legacy of the Order can be seen in the prominent role that far-right organizations like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers played in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Majority of Cops Don't Know They're on Safety Officers. Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Police officers were among the first front-line workers to gain priority access to coronavirus vaccines. But their vaccination rates are lower than or about the same as those of the general public, according to data made available by some of the nation's largest law enforcement agencies. The reluctance of police to get the shots threatens not just their own health, but also the safety of people they're responsible for guarding, monitoring and patrolling, experts say.... Police officers were more likely to die of covid-19 last year than of all other causes combined, according to data compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.... One solution is for departments to make vaccination compulsory.... But department leaders and union officials said in interviews that such requirements could backfire or lead to lengthy litigation." ~~~

~~~ It Ain't Just Cops. Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "With a crowd a fraction of its usual size -- and those present all socially distancing and wearing masks -- [President Biden's] speech [to Congress last week] underscored how life on Capitol Hill has been slow to return to normal and how difficult it is to persuade holdouts to get immunized. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) estimated a day after the address that about 75 percent of House members have been vaccinated, a figure unchanged since March. Until more members get vaccinated, Pelosi said, the House won't return to pre-pandemic operations. Unlike for some U.S. adults, access to vaccines hasn't been a problem for members of Congress, who've been able to get shots at their workplace since December."

Darlene Superville of the AP: "The U.S. top trade negotiator [Katherine Tai] will begin talks with the World Trade Organization on ways to overcome intellectual property issues that are keeping critically needed COVID-19 vaccines from being more widely distributed worldwide, two White House officials said Sunday.... The U.S. has been criticized for focusing first on vaccinating Americans, particularly as its vaccine supply begins to outpace demand and doses approved for use elsewhere in the world but not in the U.S. sit idle."

Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: After Miami's pricey private grade school Centner Academy "threatened teachers' employment if they got a coronavirus vaccine before the end of the school year ... last week ..., [the school] became a national beacon for anti-vaccination activists practically overnight.... hundreds of queries from all over the world' came in for teaching positions, according to the administration. More came from people who wanted to enroll their children at the school, where tuition runs up to $30,000 a year.... The wealthy and well-connected [co-founder Leila] Centner brought her anti-vaccination and anti-masking views into the school's day-to-day life, turning what had been a tightknit community into one bitterly split between those who support her views on vaccinations and those who do not."~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I must admit that I automatically dislike someone described as a "wealthy and well-connected avid social-media user." For me, that translates to something like "shallow, avaricious, self-promoter." The fact that this nitwit also is promoting anti-science theories while threatening the lives & livelihoods of schoolteachers just makes her worse than your average shallow, avaricious, self-promoter, IMO. As Centner doesn't live far from Mar-a-Lardo, may I suggest that Melanie give her a call. I think there are grounds for a beautiful friendship.

Iowa. AP: "Iowa is turning down nearly three quarters of the vaccine doses available to the state from the federal government because demand for the shots remains weak. The Iowa Department of Public Health and Safety said the state asked the federal government to withhold 71% of the 105,300 vaccine doses that were available for the week of May 10. This is the second week in a row that the state has asked the federal government to hold back part of its allocation of vaccine doses." MB: Another winger "victory" over science & the physical health of the nation.

Beyond the Beltway

Texas. Shannon Najmabadi of the Texas Tribune: "Lubbock voters on Saturday backed a 'sanctuary city for the unborn' ordinance that tries to outlaw abortions in the city's limits, likely prompting a lawsuit over what opponents say is an unconstitutional ban on the procedure. The unofficial vote, 62% for and 38% against the measure, comes less than a year after Planned Parenthood opened a clinic in Lubbock and months after the City Council rejected the ordinance on legal grounds and warned it could tee up a costly court fight."

News Lede

AP: "Three people were killed and more than two dozen others were hospitalized Sunday after a boat capsized and broke apart in rough water just off the San Diego coast during a suspected human smuggling operation, authorities said. Lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies responded around 10 a.m. following reports of an overturned vessel in the waves near the rugged peninsula of Point Loma, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.... Seven people were pulled from the waves, including three who drowned, said [San Diego Lifeguard Services Lt. Rick] Romero. One person was rescued from a cliff and 22 others managed to make it to shore on their own, he said. 'Once we arrived on scene, the boat had basically been broken apart,' Romero said. 'Conditions were pretty rough: 5 to 6 feet of surf, windy, cold.' A total of 27 people were transported to hospitals with 'a wide variety of injuries' including hypothermia, Romero said."

The Commentariat -- May 2, 2021

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Before the president's rally near Atlanta on Thursday, he and Jill went out of their way to pay respects to the 96-year-old Jimmy Carter. This made Biden the first president to make a pilgrimage to Plains since Carter left office.... If there's a pol who knows what it feels like to be underappreciated by his own party, it's Biden. And he wasn't going to continue to let Carter, at the end of his life, be treated like a pariah in peanutville." MB: When she feels like it, MoDo knows how to tell a story.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has disclosed a set of rules secretly issued by ... Donald J. Trump in 2017 for counterterrorism 'direct action' operations -- like drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional war zones -- which the White House has suspended as it weighs whether and how to tighten the guidelines.... the visible [i.e., unredacted] portions [of the rules] show that in the Trump era, commanders in the field were given latitude to make decisions about attacks so long as they fit within broad sets of 'operating principles,' including that there should be 'near certainty' that civilians 'will not be injured or killed in the course of operations.' At the same time, however, the Trump-era rules were flexible about permitting exceptions to that and other standards, saying that 'variations' could be made 'where necessary.'... In October, Judge Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York had ordered the government turn over the 11-page document in response to Freedom of Information Act lawsuits filed by The New York Times and by the American Civil Liberties Union." CNN's report is here.

Congressional Race. Ethan Cohen, et al., of CNN: "Republican Susan Wright will advance to a runoff in the special election for Texas' 6th Congressional District, CNN projects, in a race that has been an early window into the fight over the future of the Republican Party in the aftermath of ... Donald Trump's attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the attack on the US Capitol. GOP state Rep. Jake Ellzey and Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez are locked in a tight race for the second spot." The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Ahead of a special election on Saturday to replace a Texas congressman who died after contracting Covid-19, former president George W Bush said the ascendancy of supporters of Donald Trump suggest Republicans 'want to be extinct'. The special election is in the sixth district, whose Republican representative, Ron Wright, died in February. Twenty-three candidates will compete: all but one of the 11 Republicans are tied to the apron strings of Trump... The one Republican not expressing fealty to Trump, former marine Michael Wood, told CNN he was 'afraid for the future of the country', given his party's adherence to Trump's lie that the election was stolen, its reluctance to condemn those who rioted at the Capitol on 6 January in support of that lie, and the prevalence of conspiracy theories such as QAnon.... In an interview released on Friday by the Dispatch, an anti-Trump conservative podcast, [Bush] was asked about recent moves by pro-Trump extremists to form a congressional caucus promoting 'Anglo-Saxon traditions'. 'To me that basically says that we want to be extinct,' he said."

Maeve Reston & Aaron Pellish of CNN: "A resolution to censure GOP Sen. Mitt Romney for his two votes to convict ... Donald Trump failed Saturday at the Utah Republican Party organizing convention, where the senator had been booed earlier in the day -- a reflection of the anger that persists among the party's core activists about Trump's impeachment and Romney's frequent criticisms of him throughout his presidency. The vote failed 711-798, according to Utah Republican Party spokeswoman Lynda Cox. The resolution to censure Romney, which was submitted by Don Guymon, a party delegate from Davis County, was rife with unproven conspiracy theories, including about President Joe Biden and his family."

The Day Rudy Set up Trump's Impeachment. Christopher Miller of BuzzFeed News: "The infamous call in which ... Donald Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to do him a 'favor' and investigate Hunter Biden and the origins of the Russia probe took place on July 25, 2019, and eventually led to the former president's first impeachment. But the pressure campaign against the Ukrainians started just three days earlier, when Rudy Giuliani, then the president's personal lawyer, was on a call with a top Zelensky aide asking him to tell the Ukrainian leader to 'just let these investigations go forward.' The call between Giuliani and Andriy Yermak, then Zelensky's top foreign policy advisor and currently his chief of staff, happened on July 22, 2019. Details of the Giuliani-Yermak call were first reported by Time in February. But today, BuzzFeed News is publishing the transcript for the first time.... During the call, Giuliani referenced the ... investigations into ... Hunter [Biden] and the unfounded allegations that Ukraine had interfered in the 2016 US presidential election.... Over and over, [Giuliani] pressed Yermak to urge Zelensky to make a public statement on the matter."

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "The conservative news network Newsmax has apologized to an employee of Dominion Voting Systems for baselessly alleging he had rigged the company's voting machines and vote counts against ... Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. In a statement Friday, Newsmax said it wanted to 'clarify' its coverage of Eric Coomer, the director of product strategy and security at Dominion, who filed a defamation lawsuit against the right-wing network in December. After the election, misinformation about Coomer's supposed role in manipulating the vote proliferated on right-wing sites, including Newsmax. Coomer said he had been forced into hiding after receiving death threats from Trump supporters, who believed Trump's false assertion that the election had been stolen from him and that Coomer had played a role. On Friday, Newsmax said there was no evidence such allegations were true.... In exchange, Coomer has dropped Newsmax from his defamation lawsuit, the Associated Press reported."

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "As Republican lawmakers in major battleground states seek to make voting harder and more confusing through a web of new election laws, they are simultaneously making a concerted legislative push to grant more autonomy and access to partisan poll watchers -- citizens trained by a campaign or a party and authorized by local election officials to observe the electoral process. This effort has alarmed election officials and voting rights activists alike: There is a long history of poll watchers being used to intimidate voters and harass election workers, often in ways that target Democratic-leaning communities of color and stoke fears that have the overall effect of voter suppression." A related story by Zoe Richards of TPM is here.

Think Tear Gas Just Stings Your Eyes? Heather Murphy of the New York Times: "... Britta Torgrimson-Ojerio, a nurse researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland..., surveyed around 2,200 adults who said they had been exposed to tear gas in Portland last summer. In a study published this week in the journal BMC Public Health, she reported that 899 of them -- more than 54 percent of the respondents who potentially menstruate -- said they had experienced abnormal menstrual cycles.... Downstream effects, like the impact on fertility, are not known, but 'this is our call to action to ask our scientific community to turn their eye to this issue,' [Dr. Torgrimson-Ojerio] said."

Beyond the Beltway

Kansas. Sarah Ritter & Jonathan Shorman of the Kansas City Star: "Kansas state Rep. Mark Samsel was arrested on charges of misdemeanor battery on Thursday after getting into a physical altercation with a student while substitute teaching in Wellsville.... Superintendent Ryan Bradbury said that Samsel will no longer be allowed to work for the district. On Wednesday, Samsel, R-Wellsville, was substitute teaching at the Wellsville school district's secondary school. Throughout the day, high school students began recording videos of the lawmaker talking about suicide, sex, masturbation, God and the Bible. In one video shared with The Star, Samsel tells students about 'a sophomore who's tried killing himself three times,' adding that it was because 'he has two parents and they're both females.'... Videos shared with The Star -- by parents of students in the class -- show Samsel focusing most of his attention on one male student.... Samsel is shown following the student around and grabbing him.... In another video, he tells students, 'Class, you have permission to kick him in the balls.' Parents told The Star that Samsel 'put hands on the student' and allegedly kneed him in the crotch." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Misdemeanor??? Really. Sounds like felony child abuse, a federal hate crime & probably a violation of half a dozen other laws. Whether or not Samsel is convicted, the state legislature should force him to resign or impeach him if he won't go. What a disgusting prick.

Minnesota. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "The Minnesota attorney general is seeking a harsher prison sentence for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin due to the 'particular cruelty' he showed in the murder of George Floyd last year, according to court documents filed Friday. Keith Ellison (D) argued in a legal briefing that Chauvin, who was convicted on murder and manslaughter charges last week, deserved a more severe sentence after the officer knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes and showed a lack of remorse for the 46-year-old Black man as he yelled out for his mother while detained." Artile topped by Chauvin's mugshot. He wears an arrogant expression in the camera-facing headshot, and IMO, "particularly cruel."

Oregon. Maria Cramer of the New York Times: "A Republican state legislator from Oregon who was captured on surveillance video allowing demonstrators to enter the State Capitol in December was charged on Friday in connection with the breach of the building, which led to a conflict between officers and protesters. The lawmaker, Representative Mike Nearman, 57, was charged with official misconduct in the first degree and trespassing in the second degree, according to court documents." The Oregonian's story is here.

Way Beyond

Russia. Nicholas Garriga, et al., of the AP: "Workers and union leaders dusted off bullhorns and flags ... for slimmed down but still boisterous -- and at times violent -- May Day marches on Saturday, demanding more labor protections amid a pandemic that has turned economies and workplaces upside down. In countries that mark May 1 as International Labor Day, the annual celebration of workers' rights produced a rare sight during the pandemic: large and closely packed crowds, with marchers striding shoulder-to-shoulder with clenched fists behind banners. In Turkey and the Philippines, police prevented the May Day protests, enforcing virus lockdowns and making hundreds of arrests. In France, some marchers battled with riot police.... Russia saw just a fraction of its usual May Day activities amid a coronavirus ban on gatherings.... For a second straight year in Italy, May Day passed without the usual large marches and rock concerts."

News Lede

New York Times: "In darkness, four astronauts splashed down early Sunday morning in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, Fla. That marked a successful end of a mission for NASA led by a private company, Elon Musk's SpaceX, to take its astronauts to and from the International Space Station. It was the first of what the space agency calls an operational mission." A CNN story is here.

The Commentariat -- May 1, 2021

Grace Segers of CBS News: "President Biden delivered remarks on Friday to celebrate 50 years of service by Amtrak, arguing that expanding and investing in the country's passenger rail system would help the economy by creating jobs and benefit the environment by cutting down on fossil fuel emissions from commuters.... Mr. Biden's remarks came as he continues to promote his multi-trillion dollar legislative agenda. His infrastructure and jobs proposal, the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan, would invest $621 billion in improving transportation infrastructure such as roads, bridges and public transit, including $80 billion dedicated specifically to Amtrak." ~~~

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration said Friday it has canceled border wall projects paid for with funds diverted from Defense Department accounts, a widely expected move that follows Biden's decision to suspend construction activity on ... Donald Trump's signature project. Trump diverted about $10 billion from military construction accounts and counternarcotics programs to pay for hundreds of miles of steel barriers along the Mexico border, an effort that Biden has denounced as wasteful and ineffective." An ABC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Cleaning Up After Trump. Elliot Spagat of the AP: "The Biden administration said Friday that it will begin work to address the risks of flooding and soil erosion from unfinished sections of the wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and will cancel military-funded contracts as it shuts down one of ... Donald Trump's signature domestic projects. Construction under the Trump administration 'blew large holes' into the flood barrier system of low-lying regions in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the Homeland Security Department said. It said it will 'quickly repair' the flood barrier system without extending the wall.&"

Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The Army on Friday punished several leaders at Fort Hood after an investigation of a slain soldier's chain of command revealed systemic failures, including ignoring harassment that tormented Spc. Vanessa Guillén, whose killing triggered a wave of reckoning across the military. Other leaders were reprimanded or suspended from their duties following another review in December that found sweeping failures. All told, 21 soldiers, including one general and other officers, have been punished or suspended. Guillén, 20, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in an arms room on the Texas installation by a fellow soldier, Spc. Aaron Robinson, on April 22, 2020. He dismembered and buried her remains with the help of a girlfriend, investigators have said. The remains were discovered June 30 as investigators zeroed in on Robinson as a suspect. Robinson was put under guard but fled, obtained a firearm and died by suicide, investigators said." The AP's story is here.

The United States of Joe (Manchin, That Is). Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: "Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, told local news reporters on Friday that he would not support a bill to grant statehood to Washington, D.C., saying he believed a constitutional amendment was needed instead of legislation." The Hill's report is here.

If you couldn't read the Daily Beast story, linked yesterday, that advances the Matt Gaetz scandal because the story is firewalled, maybe you can read Aaron Blake's post in the Washington Post, which repeats the central points of the story and is also -- firewalled.

James Brooks of the Anchorage Daily News: "The FBI and an agent from the U.S. Capitol's police department served a search warrant Wednesday at the home of Homer Inn & Spa owners Paul and Marilyn Hueper, who say the search was related to the U.S. Capitol riot in January. The Huepers attended the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally that preceded the riotous invasion of the Capitol.... Marilyn Hueper said law enforcement officers accused her of entering the Capitol and assisting in the theft of a laptop belonging to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But she said she didn't enter the Capitol, and she believes the FBI has mistaken her for another woman."

Jared Kushner, Cruel Slum Landlord. AP: "A judge in Maryland has ruled that an apartment company co-owned by Jared Kushner ... repeatedly violated state consumer protection laws by collecting debts without required licenses, charging tenants improper fees and misrepresenting the condition of rental units. Administrative Law Judge Emily Daneker said in her 252-page decision Thursday that violations by Westminster Management and the company JK2 were 'widespread and numerous,' the Baltimore Sun reports. Kushner and his brother, Joshua, each held 50% interest in JK2. Westminster is the company's successor. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat, sued Westminster and 25 related companies in 2019, claiming they took advantage of financially vulnerable consumers in the Baltimore area."

Paul Krugman, in what he calls a wonkish post, explains why tax cuts for the rich don't work. However, he explains things even Republicans could understand if they tried (which they won't - [and Krugman explains why that is, too!]): "... at that level people don't seek more money so they can afford more things, since they're already able to afford far more luxury than anyone can enjoy. Instead, it's about keeping score; that is, their goal is to make as much or more than the people they compare themselves with. And raising taxes on rich people in general doesn't eliminate the race to out-earn one's rivals. Even to the extent that the rich seek income for what it can buy, however..., cutting their taxes ... could lead to reduced effort, because it becomes easier for them to afford what they want.... Higher wages have two effects on workers. They have an incentive to work more, because an extra hour gets them more stuff. But they're also more affluent, which lets them consume more -- and one of the things they might choose to consume is more leisure, i.e., they might choose to work less. Historically, in fact, higher wages have generally led to reduced working hours.... While tax cuts for the rich may offer an incentive to work harder, they're also a big giveaway that encourages the elite to work less." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's something Krugman doesn't take into account, but that I think is obvious. Most of the super-rich work because they like to work and they like the work they're doing, even when it's extremely challenging and anxiety-producing. Whether they take home $100K a year or $100MM a year, their "incentive" to work is unchanged. Their job is an obsession or a hobby; it's not an onerous obligation best left behind at 5 pm.

Here's a video PD Pepe mentions in today's Comments. It was produced by Meidas Touch, a pro-Democratic PAC:

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Joel Achenbach, et al., of the Washington Post: "The spring wave of coronavirus infections that began in March is subsiding in most of the country, with 42 states and D.C. reporting lower caseloads for the past two weeks. Hospitals in hard-hit Michigan and other Upper Midwest states that were flooded with patients in mid-April are discharging more than they're admitting. The daily average of new infections nationwide has dropped to the lowest level since mid-October. Many cities are rapidly reopening after 14 months of restrictions. The mayor of virus-ravaged New York City, Bill de Blasio (D), said he plans to have the city fully open by July 1."

Lori Aratani & Michael Laris of the Washington Post: "The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it has extended through Sept. 13 its orders requiring people to wear masks in transportation settings, including at airports, on commercial aircraft, and on buses and trains. TSA officials said the extension of the mask requirement is consistent with updated policies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The TSA requirement had been set to expire May 11." The AP story is here.

Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "The U.S. will restrict travel from India starting Tuesday, the White House said Friday, citing a devastating rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and the emergence of potentially dangerous variants of the coronavirus. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden's administration made the determination on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden signed a proclamation barring entry to most foreigners who have been in India in the past 14 days, with exceptions for legal permanent residents, spouses and close family members of U.S. citizens, and some others. He cited the spread of the virus and its variants."~~~

~~~ Lazaro Gamio & Alexandria Symonds of the New York Times: "Worldwide, the number of new coronavirus cases has shot upward since the beginning of March, more than doubling in two months. For the past two weeks, new global cases have exceeded their previous high point in early January. The average daily rate of new cases has now been above 800,000 for more than a week. The increase in cases is largely being driven by the uncontrolled outbreak in India.... India now accounts for more than 40 percent of the world's new cases. The country's death rate has followed the same dramatic curve, with more than 3,000 people now dying every day.... After enacting one of the world's strictest lockdowns last March, which kept deaths relatively low, Indian officials relaxed restrictions.... The vaccine rollout in India has been too slow to stem the wave of cases, despite the country's status as one of the world's leading vaccine producers. Less than 2 percent of its residents are fully vaccinated...."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Andrew Oxford of the Arizona Republic: "An Arizona Republic reporter was escorted from the Arizona election audit site on Friday morning after posting a photo showing a former Republican legislator at a ballot-counting table. The photo showed a ballot, with no markings discernible, on a vertical stand in front of former state Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale. The reporter, Ryan Randazzo, was told his press privileges were revoked. He left the building as requested. Randazzo was observing the audit, along with two other Arizona journalists, as part of an agreement with audit organizers to monitor the proceedings. Randazzo had spotted Kern tallying votes at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of the unprecedented review ordered by the Arizona Senate.... Kern, who was defeated in an election bid in November, was active in 'Stop the Steal' efforts. He also signed a letter with several other Republican lawmakers urging Congress not to accept the presidential electors selected by Arizona voters. And he was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 to speak to a rally outside the U.S. Capitol on the same day a mob stormed the building." MB: So he seems impartial.

Mississippi. How to Whistle "Dixie." Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Appearing on Fox "News"' Laura Ingraham show, Gov. Tate Reeves (R) of Mississippi said, "'There is not systemic racism in America... We live in the greatest country in the history of mankind. And I'll just tell you in Mississippi, I was very proud of the fact that last year we had, we had peaceful protesters, but we did not have one event in which there was a riot. And the reason for that is because in our state, we back the blue, we support the police.'... In addition to his Fox News appearance, he got Monday off since it was a state holiday: Confederate Memorial Day. In fact, he was speaking to Fox at the tail end of what he on April 7 declared to be Confederate Heritage Month. April, according to the proclamation obtained by the Mississippi Free Press, should be a period in which Mississippians 'honor all who lost their lives in this war.'..."

South Dakota. Raja Razek & Caroline Kelly of CNN: "Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is suing Interior Department officials including Secretary Deb Haaland for declining to grant a permit for a Fourth of July event including fireworks at Mount Rushmore this year, according to a news release from the governor's office....'The 2019 Memorandum of Agreement between the State of South Dakota and the Department of the Interior commits us to work together to bring fireworks back to the Memorial in a safe and responsible manner,' National Park Service Regional Director Herbert Frost, who also is named in Noem's lawsuit, wrote in the March 11 letter. 'Potential risks to the park itself and to the health and safety of employees and visitors associated with the fireworks demonstration continue to be a concern and are still being evaluated as a result of the 2020 event,' he continued. 'In addition, the park's many tribal partners expressly oppose fireworks at the Memorial. These factors, compiled with the COVID-19 pandemic, do not allow a safe and responsible fireworks display to be held at this site.'"

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. AFP: "At least 21 people have been killed and nearly 100 wounded after a car bomb exploded in an Afghan city south of the capital that president Ashraf Ghani has blamed on the Taliban. Friday's blast occurred in a residential area of Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, as people were breaking their Ramadan fast, and came on the eve of the formal start of the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Olympia Dukakis, the self-assured, raspy-voiced actress who often played world-weary and worldly wise characters, and who won an Academy Award for her role as just such a woman in 'Moonstruck,' died on Saturday at her home in Manhattan. She was 89."

AP: "Medina Spirit has won the 147th Kentucky Derby by a half-length over Mandaloun, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the premier race for 3-year-olds. The bay colt led the $3 million race from start to finish after going off at 12-1 odds from the No. 8 post.... Medina Spirit held strong to the wire for his second career victory, a strong rebound from his runner-up finish to Rock Your World in the Santa Anita Derby. Jockey John Velazquez earned his second consecutive Derby victory and fourth overall. Medina Spirit covered the 1¼ mile in 2:01.02 and paid $26.20, $12 and $7.60.... Thousands of spectators ... gathered in the infield at Churchill Downs, many not wearing face masks required amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds stood in lines that were not spaced out to use ATMs or buy food."