Now we are four months into 2021 it's pretty clear that the Covid recession is being replaced by a post-pandemic boom, led by the Biden administration's aggressive investments in tax equity, education, infrastructure and green energy.
If this strategy works, it is a progressive fantasy come true, but danger lurks in the shadows. In this polarized country any action leads to a reaction, and the right-wing extremists and QAnon fanatics haven't gone anywhere, even as prosecutors pick a few off here and there for their role in the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.
Far bigger fish are on prosecutors' radar, of course, as indicated by the raid this week on Rudy Giuliani's place in New York City. There can be little doubt that one ultimate target of the multiple ongoing investigations is Donald Trump, currently in exile in Florida.
The goal will be to force those who know where the bodies are buried, like Giuliani, to flip and turn on Trump, exactly as in any organized crime case.
The political stakes are as high as the legal ones. Traditionally, the party holding the White House loses some Congressional seats in the mid-term elections; Because the Democrats hold razor-thin margins in both the House and the Senate, they cannot afford for this to happen.
Republicans, meanwhile, have not only stood by Trump, endorsing his politics of fear and hate, but are doubling down by passing voter suppression laws in red states, nakedly aimed to suppress the votes of black and poor people, who skew Democratic.
Biden is betting his big government initiatives will blunt those efforts and win over enough moderate voters to hold Congress and make the second half of his term an opportunity to continue his mission to transform the government into one that better serves the 99 percent, as opposed to Trump's pro-one percent.
That Biden's vision is overwhelmingly best for most people is no guarantee it will prevail, as conspiracy theorists continue to stoke the fears of the less-educated white voters living outside of the big metro areas. What rational observers fear is that the Trumpian nightmares of the past five years have not yet been eradicated from the public square.
In fact, everything we've lived through could get worse. The extremist grip on the GOP could deepen at the city, county and state levels to such an extent that our electoral system could be corrupted the way Trump wanted it to be. Remember it was the Republican local officials who refused to violate their oaths of office and throw the election that saved democracy last time around.
That's why it is not simply a matter of justice, of demonstrating that no one is above the law, to prosecute the master criminal, Trump, to the fullest extent of the law. The integrity of our system is at stake, yes, but so is our future...
The devil lies in the details, i.e., in the news:
* As Trump seizes on Arizona audit, officials fear more partisan vote counts -- The GOP-backed recount of ballots in Arizona’s largest county has been criticized for abandoning state guidelines and allowing the rules to be set by a private contractor who promoted claims that the election was stolen. (WaPo)
* The U.S. economy expanded rapidly in the first quarter, growing at a 6.4% annual rate and extending what economists project will be a robust, consumer-led recovery from the pandemic this year. (WSJ)
* Shopping And Shots Power An Economy Heading To Its Fastest Growth Since 1984 (NPR)
* Poll: About a quarter of adults say they won't try to get a Covid-19 vaccine (CNN)
* The president’s costly proposals amount to a risky gamble that a country polarized along ideological and cultural lines is ready for a more activist government. (NYT)
* After First 100 days, Biden seeks to leverage narrow majorities to reverse the Reagan era (WaPo)
* Federal agencies are investigating at least two possible incidents on U.S. soil, including one near the White House in November of last year, that appear similar to mysterious, invisible attacks that have led to debilitating symptoms for dozens of U.S. personnel abroad. Multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that while the Pentagon and other agencies probing the matter have reached no clear conclusions on what happened, the fact that such an attack might have taken place so close to the White House is particularly alarming. (CNN)
* A federal grand jury in Georgia indicted three men in connection with the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who was shot while jogging in Georgia last year. The men each face a hate crime charge and a charge of attempted kidnapping. The indictment came as the Biden administration steps up civil rights enforcement at the Justice Department. [HuffPost]
* A California proposal would let adult children add their parents as dependents to their health insurance plans, a change aimed at increasing insurance coverage among low-income people living in the country illegally who aren't eligible for government-funded coverage. [AP]
* Can Senator Alex Padilla help win back Latinos for Democrats? (Atlantic)
* State Dept. tells Americans to avoid India or leave soon (WaPo)
* Czech lawmakers give nod to same-sex marriage, final vote uncertain (Reuters)
* The Secret Life of Peter Beard (Journal of the Plague Year)
* Senate Democrats deployed a once-obscure law to resurrect Obama-era regulations on methane that the Trump administration had wiped away. (NYT)
* Biden’s address to Congress proves we have an adult back in the presidency (WaPo)
* Peter Cytanovic, 24, the white nationalist featured in a viral photograph from the 2017 “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, joined the U.S. military, but was kicked out before he could attend basic training. (HuffPost)
* Covid-19 vaccination rates in rural Nebraska are far below national averages, highlighting how remote communities, fear of side effects and skepticism have made rural America a stronghold of vaccine hesitancy. (WSJ)
* FDA Moves To Ban Menthol Cigarettes And Flavored Cigars (NPR)
* The Supreme Court refused to consider Texas’ challenge to California’s ban on state-funded business trips to Texas and other states that discriminate against L.G.B.T.Q. people. (AP)
* U.S. Labor Secretary says most gig workers should be classified as employees (Reuters)
* Did the 2020 Census Undercount the Hispanic Population? -- Officials from both parties say the census numbers released this week raise questions about the totals, with Democrats contending that the Hispanic population was undercounted. (NYT)
* Young Afghan women, grown up without Taliban, dread their return (AP)
* Trump supporter found guilty of threatening to kill members of Congress after Jan. 6 insurrection (WaPo)
* People convicted of drug felonies would gain eligibility for food benefits under a provision tucked into the American Families Plan. This unheralded provision would modestly improve access to the government's existing safety net and help formerly incarcerated people reenter society. [HuffPost]
* In Court Hearing, Navalny Calls Putin A 'Naked, Thieving King' (NPR)
* Millions of Dutch tulips bloom again, in a spectacle few will see (Reuters)
* China launches main part of its 1st permanent space station (AP)
* Les braises d'une révolution qui couve depuis longtemps sont allumées en France -- The 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune of 1871 has struck a chord, reviving calls for better political representation and highlighting economic inequalities. (NYT)
* The Rise of Big Data Psychiatry -- The information captured by our smartphones, as well as new speech- and facial-recognition technologies, can yield invaluable insights for mental health professionals. (WSJ)
* In The Ransomware Battle, Cybercriminals Have The Upper Hand (NPR)
* Controversial Indian Point nuke plant near NYC shuts down (AP)
* How Long Can We Live? -- New research is intensifying the debate — with profound implications for the future of the planet. (NYT Mag)
* 114-year-old Nebraska woman becomes oldest living American (AP)
* Embarrassed CIA Interrogator Realizing He Forgot To Ask Suspect What His Name Is (The Onion)
***
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" (Songwriters: Charles Fred Hayward / Charlie Daniels / Fred Edwards / James W. Marshall / John Crain / William J. Digregorio)
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind
And he was willing to make a deal
Sawing on a fiddle and playing it hot
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump
And if you'd care to take a dare I'll make a bet with you"
I bet a fiddle of gold against your soul I think I'm better than you"
And it might be a sin but I'll take your bet and you're gonna regret
I'm the best that's ever been"
'Cause hell's broke loose in Georgia and the devil deals the cards
But if you lose, the devil gets your soul
And fire flew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow
The band of demons joined in and it sounded something like this
But sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it's done"
The devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
Granny does your dog bite, no child no
And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at johnny's feet
I told you once, you son of a bitch I'm the best that's ever been"
The devil's in the house of the rising sun
Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
Granny does your dog bite, no child no
No comments:
Post a Comment