Perhaps the slowest-moving and most boring political horse race totals ever displayed by CNN documented Joe Biden's 306-232 electoral vote victory over Donald Trump Monday. Sadly, it also was one of the most significant.
This necessary if hoary spectacle occurred amidst threats of violence by right-wing extremists that caused electors to cast their votes in various states surrounded by security forces. One Michigan Republican representative even went on the radio to incite violence in Lansing to prevent the votes from being recorded.
It is notable that the state where I grew up also was the site of the first movement of the Covid-19 vaccine moving from Pfizer's manufacturing plant in Kalamazoo to the locations where the early vaccinations will be administered.
That is a lot of news emanating from one state shaped like a mitten in the cold frozen upper midwest.
This has been a particularly stressful year in Michigan, with the plot by Trump supporters to kidnap and kill the governor and blow up bridges as part of a conspiracy to take over the state capital.
Escalating threats and rhetoric affected many of the electoral college meetings around the country, all of which is traceable to the outrageous statements and actions of the incumbent president.
But that is what made yesterday a beautiful day. This time around the coup attempt was suppressed and democracy has survived. The threat has been vanquished -- for now.
***
To repeat a recent news item: "What Happens When a Superspreader Event Keeps Spreading" -- A February conference by the drug company Biogen was initially thought to have infected 99 people. By the end of October, it was feared that the number had grown as high as 300,000. (NYT)
Think about that. Covid-19 is so contagious that each person infected at the event is believed to have infected an additional 3,000 people! This stupendous contagion rate is why responsible leaders have recommended that we not attend mass events for now.
This is not the flu. And it is all around.
***
Today's headlines:
* First U.S. Coronavirus Vaccines Leave Michigan Plant -- Workers at a Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., packed boxes of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Sunday morning and loaded them onto trucks. Nearly 3 million doses are expected to reach all 50 states this week. (Reuters)
* ‘Threats of Violence’ Lead to Closure of Michigan Legislative Offices as Electoral College Set to Cast Votes for Biden (MediaIte)
* Attorney General William Barr Resigns (LA Times)
* Despite record amounts of charitable donations this year, the effects of the pandemic are suffocating nonprofits across the country as organizations face soaring costs and demand for help. (NBC)
* Hunting has long been in decline. The pandemic has given it a huge boost. (WSJ)
* Homeland Security was among the U.S. agencies hacked by Russia (WashPo)
* According to new data analyzed by ProPublica and The New York Times Magazine, warming temperatures, rising seas and changing rainfall will profoundly reshape the way people have lived in North America for centuries. (ProPublica)
* Many cities report Christmas tree shortage amid pandemic (ABC)
* Why Getting the Most Votes Matters -- Majority rule shapes our lives — except when it comes to electing the president. (NYT)
* Bipartisan group of lawmakers readies two stimulus bills in effort to secure deal (WashPo)
* During the Second World War, Americans bought and sent care packages to Europeans in need. For the first time in 75 years, CARE is directing its humanitarian efforts at Americans in need. (PBS NewsHour)
* Tony Hsieh's last months are a tragic reminder of how Covid isolation can worsen mental health (CNBC)
* 67% of Gen Z adults (ages 18-23) say that the coronavirus makes "planning for their future feel impossible.” (#Mentalhealth / Twitter)
* This is the year that officially ended the boom of cities that started in the 1990s. The mirage of cities buffeted by white-collar jobs and supported by wealthy citizens willing to take on just one more tax increase is officially kaput. It is easy to blame the deluge on the coronavirus, but in reality a unique combination of factors heralded the end of the growth in places like New York while introducing population booms in medium-sized cities and suburbs across specific regions of the country. Significant populations of each social class decided it was no longer worth living in major metropolitan areas. (The Hill)
* Nearly 3 dozen arrested in D.C. as Proud Boys roamed city looking to fight (WashPo)
* If Biden was inclined to prosecute Trump, his only dilemma would be where to start. Trump’s own Department of Justice refused to indict him for alleged crimes uncovered related to hush-money payments to his extramarital lovers, and for obstruction of justice alleged in the Russia investigation. He faces multiple state-level criminal inquiries stemming from his personal business practices, civil suits related to his alleged sexual assaults and his 2017 inauguration. But Biden is reportedly wary of pressing charges against his predecessor. [HuffPost]
* At Least 11 Dead as Nepal Landslides Destroy Homes -- Many more were still missing after heavy rains led to landslides in the hilly Sindhupalchok district of Nepal over the weekend. (Reuters)
* Google will test an option for employees to work at least three days a week in offices and do their jobs remotely the remainder of the days (WSJ)
* "I left daily newspaper journalism in 2005. But it’s only gotten worse, because now there is the internet to scapegoat for all of the incompetence and thievery.” (NiemanLab)
* Over a lifetime, we will lose some 200,000 items apiece, plus money, relationships, elections, loved ones. (The New Yorker)
* When the Trains Stopped, Cyclists Dodged Manila’s Choking Traffic -- City dwellers around the world turned to bicycles as the pandemic forced urban areas to restrict public transit. In the crowded Philippine capital, that meant weaving through notoriously bad traffic. (NYT)
* Public officials face personal threats as tensions flare (WashPo)
* Millions of dollars in taxpayer funds in the federal coronavirus Payroll Protection Program went to anti-gay businesses, schools and organizations. The taxpayer loans can be forgiven and many likely will be, which would transform them into subsidies that will never be paid back. The funds were paid to groups and businesses with either a history of anti-LGBTQ advocacy or “policies that explicitly discriminate” against the community. [HuffPost]
* Tribal casinos across Southern California opted to keep their doors open, even amid the new shutdown, since they don’t have to follow the state’s orders. But experts say they’re worried about rising cases. [The Desert Sun]
* Dick Van Dyke Finally Confesses To Zodiac Killings (The Onion)
***
I'm drunk and dirty, don't you know
But I'm still willin'
I'd see my pretty Alice in every headlight
Alice, Dallas Alice
Tehachapi to Tonopah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the backroads so I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me weed, whites and wine
And you show me a sign
And I'll be willin' to be movin'
Had my head stove in but I'm still on my feet
And I'm still willin'
Baked by the sun every time I go to Mexico
Ah but I'm still
Tehachapi to Tonopah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the backroads so I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me weed, whites and wine
And you show me a sign
And I'll be willin' to be movin'
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