So Friday brought another attack on the U.S. Capitol, killing yet another member of the Capitol Police force in the process. The specifics of this incident don't really matter as much as the symbolism. This was a reminder that those responsible for the Jan. 6th riot are still being investigated and charged, among the many ongoing investigations of recent events that have left most of us in state of shock.
Making any coherent sense of what is going on here is one of the most difficult things for an analyst or commentator to do in real time. Not to mention three more mass shootings in the past few weeks -- in Georgia, Colorado and California. And gun purchases nationwide are at record levels.
What sort of nation is this, actually? Roughly half the population, mainly white, rural, and undereducated appears to be seething with resentment toward the more diverse, wealthier, better educated populations clustered in giant cities. Too many other people just seem randomly crazy, like Friday's assailant.
This all feels way too similar to the historical conditions in which other empires fell. So is the American empire in decline?
Every time I run the numbers on the size of the U.S. economy and military relative to any other country, it is difficult to comprehend why this country would feel threatened in any concrete sense. But the perception that many people elsewhere in the world hate the U.S. now has had to be broadened to include many of its own citizens.
The official story told by the government is that this is a great country, a shining beacon of democracy, hope and opportunity. Again, in relative terms, the story makes sense. But there are limits to logic.
Then again, the disparities in wealth, land ownership, racial justice, political power and every other measure of actual equality follows a very different narrative. Is this how empires end? Imploding on themselves?
At this moment, we would appear to be our own worst enemy. I believe there may be a psychological diagnosis for that condition.
***
As more and more of us get vaccinated, life is returning to pre-Covid around here, at least for the present. Friday night I traveled into San Francisco for a birthday celebration for my youngest son at a Korean BBQ place in the Inner Sunset.
The city was cool and overcast but crowded with people, mostly young, on the streets and at the restaurants. It looked more like a normal Friday night than I've seen in quite a while. Of course this is a holiday weekend -- Easter, when we all celebrate that great spiritual figure, the Easter Bunny.
He's always been one cool dude in my book, not so much for the colored eggs, but the candy. For some of us, it's as good at 70 as it was at 7.
Where exactly is the Bunny Trail?
The news:
* The U.S. Capitol was on lockdown Friday afternoon after an assailant drove his car into two police officers, killing one. The assailant was shot dead by other officers. (CNN)
* Virus Surge in Michigan Is a ‘Gut Punch’ to Hopes of Pandemic’s End (NYT)
* Vaccines are quickly rolling out to every American who wants them, but an explosion of COVID-19 cases in places like Michigan and Maryland means overcoming the pandemic will come down to whether herd immunity and common sense can outrun virulent coronavirus variations and a spring fever-fueled urge to cut loose. [HuffPost]
* Biden would use $80 billion to boost rail. It could transform passenger travel. (WaPo)
* Trump's Odds Of Avoiding Prison Are Rapidly Dwindling (Vanity Fair)
* Texas-based American Airlines said it "strongly opposed" legislation sailing toward the governor's desk that would curb voting options and poll hours. The company added its voice to Georgia-based titans Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, which blasted their state's new voter suppression law. Dozens of other Republican-led states are moving to throttle voting by people of color in response to GOP losses in the 2020 elections. [AP]
* Gun buyers are stocking up after mass shooters killed 22 people in three assaults on innocent civilians in recent weeks. Many Americans appear to be using coronavirus stimulus checks for weaponry. Meanwhile, the Southern California killer of four people, including a 9-year-old boy, appears to have targeted his victims. [CNN]
* Biden U.S. infrastructure ideas popular, but support for plan is partisan (Reuters)
* U.S., Iran say they’ll begin indirect talks on nuclear program (AP)
* Meet the economist who saw ‘working remotely’ coming in 1979 (WaPo)
* California is plugging giant batteries into its power grid to try to avoid blackouts this summer. [Bloomberg]
* Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft are each a tech behemoth in their own right, and the ways the five rely on one another as partners while also competing as rivals help shape Big Tech’s clout. (WSJ)
* Majority in U.S. back easier voter registration (AP)
* The tech elite and Silicon Valley investors want to recall San Francisco’s district attorney, Chesa Boudin. They claim his progressive politics, like ending cash bail, has led to a surge in violent crime. [Mother Jones]
* MLB will move its All-Star Game out of Atlanta as backlash to Georgia voting law continues (WaPo)
* The water content of California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack is well below normal as the wet season comes to an end, and the state’s reservoirs are only about half full. (AP)
* Women Are Calling Out ‘Rape Culture’ in U.K. Schools (NYT)
* Oath Keepers founder, associates exchanged 19 calls from start of Jan. 6 riot through breach, prosecutors allege (WaPo)
* A Man Found 15,000 Bees in His Car After Grocery Shopping (NYT)
* The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs created the Amazon rain forest (Scientific American)
* Chauvin Defense Team Praises Officer’s Restraint In Not Killing Bystanders (The Onion)
***
I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place
Even your emotions have an echo in so much space
And when you're out there without care
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Possibly
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