As the virus mutates into multiple forms and as scientists and governments struggle mightily to keep up, it's becoming clear that we are probably going to be living in the shadow of this pandemic for a while.
Thus, the idea that 2021 would return us to a sense of "normal" is now in doubt.
It's painful to watch the political systems in Western countries trying to cope with this situation, while they also have to battle extremist elements bent on overthrowing the social order.
Perhaps it's not a coincidence that these two plagues have converged.
What's at stake is how well our representative democracy can withstand these twin threats.
One very bad sign is that the Republican Party is circling its ideological wagons around Donald Trump. The danger of further domestic terrorism remains high, as the Department of Homeland Security made clear in an unprecedented warning this week.
Meanwhile, the individual or individuals responsible for placing the pipe bombs in Washington the night before the January 6th riot remain at large and unidentified.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are on the hunt, but they may be dealing with more sophisticated foes that the first wave of arrests would indicate.
Meanwhile, in the midst of this awfulness, we have to grasp at any new indications that the forces of reason may still prevail.
And there is a glimmer of hope in that regard.
The Republican Accountability Project is a breath of fresh air for those who hope that the GOP will reform itself and abandon the extremism of the Trump era.
The group, which is headed by prominent conservative Bill Kristol, says on its website that it has three objectives:
- Holding Republican members of Congress who have enabled or capitulated to Trump and Trumpism accountable for their votes—including by helping credible primary challengers against them.
- Ensuring that ample resources are available for those principled Republicans who do the right thing and hold Trump accountable for inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol to defend against primary challengers.
- And, in primaries for open or redistricted seats, backing new candidates who would be principled Republicans if elected to office.
You can find out more here:<https://www.defendingdemocracytogether.org/republican-accountability-project/>
***
Last night came the disturbing news that an old friend, long-time San Francisco private eye Jack Palladino, had been assaulted in the Haight-Ashbury, his head hitting the curb when he fell during the attack. Local news reports indicated that he was on life support at a hospital.
The news:
* Republican Ties to Extremist Groups Are Under Scrutiny (NYT)
* How Apple’s Privacy Change Will Hit Facebook’s Core Ad Business -- Apple’s new feature will limit Facebook’s ability to collect data from apps—information that allows its advertisers to target their ads efficiently. (WSJ)
* Nine supporters of former President Donald Trump had “enough ammunition to shoot every member of the House and Senate five times,” according to a new report. This wasn't a random occurrence — the National Rifle Association deserves a share of the blame for what happened at the Capitol. [HuffPost]
* "Sea Prison": COVID-19 Has Left Hundreds Of Thousands Of Seafarers Stranded (NPR)
* SoftBank's Son expects mass production of driverless cars in two years (Reuters)
* Religious resentment has become a potent recruiting tool for the hard right. (NYT)
* Novavax said its vaccine is more than 89% effective in preventing COVID-19, although it's not as useful against a fast-spreading variant of the virus that first emerged in South Africa. The results are promising, but raise concerns about the power of vaccines against a mutating virus. [HuffPost]
* Dr. Anthony Fauci says the Biden administration hopes to begin vaccinating younger children by late spring or early summer. (AP)
* Pelosi Rebukes House Republicans Over Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (NYT)
* Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood asked by licensing body to undergo mental health evaluation (Reuters)
* WHO team starts full-scale virus probe in Wuhan (NHK)
* Austrian man leaves 'large amount' to village that saved Jewish family from Nazis (BBC)
* Parents of children murdered in school shootings are calling for the removal of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from Congress. The QAnon supporter has repeatedly cast doubt on whether mass shootings were real. Republicans appointed Greene to the House education committee. [HuffPost]
* Pentagon Begins Independent Inquiry Into Special Ops and War Crimes (NYT)
* Shutting the public out of the Capitol is the wrong way to safeguard our democracy (WashPo)
* Americans rated Biden positively on his inaugural address and on a series of executive actions he has signed, a set of new HuffPost/YouGov polling finds. [HuffPost]
* A purple dye dating back to the purported reign of the Biblical King David has been identified on a piece of fabric by Israeli archaeologists. The dye is said to have been more valuable than gold and was associated with royalty. It is the first time textile from that period with the colour has been found in the region. Israel Antiquities Authority expert Dr Naama Sukenik called it a "very exciting and important discovery". The fragment was unearthed during excavations at a site in Timna, about 220km (137 miles) south of Jerusalem. (BBC)
* Newly Discovered DNA Evidence Suggests Children Could Be Closely Related To Humans (The Onion)
***
Have always been a real close family
But lately some of my kinfolks
Have disowned a few others and me
I guess it's because
I kinda changed my direction
Lord, I guess I went and broke their family tradition
Hank, why do you drink?
Hank, why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
Over and over
Everybody makes my prediction
So if I get stoned, I'm just carrying on
An old family tradition
Of my daddy's name
Although his kind of music
And mine ain't exactly the same
Stop and think it over
Put yourself in my position
If I get stoned and sing all night long
It's a family tradition
Hank, why do you drink?
Hank, why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
If I'm down in a honky-tonk
And some ole slick's trying to give me friction
I'll say leave me alone
I'm singing all night long
It's a family tradition
And I have loved Jim Beam
And they both tried to kill me in 1973
When that doctor asked me
"Son, how did you get in this condition?"
I said, "Hey, Sawbones
I'm just carrying on an ole family tradition"
Hank, why do you drink?
Hank, why do roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
Stop and think it over
Try to put yourself in my unique position
If I get stoned and sing all night long
It's a family tradition
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