Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

New photos taken by Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar show the desperate, inhumane, and all-too-familiar conditions children and families are living in while in Border Patrol’s custody under the Biden administration.

Meanwhile, the House holds a hearing on the possibility of Washington D.C. becoming a state. You’ll never believe what the Republicans thought of all that!

And lastly, the Biden Administration is reportedly planning another massive $3 trillion economic stimulus package, this time anchored by a large-scale infrastructure plan and green energy initiatives.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The pictures coming out of Customs and Border Protection facilities will not shock you -- not anymore at least. They’re almost exactly the same as the horrific ones that came out when Trump was in power, only this time, we’ve supposedly got a kinder and gentler executive in power.

Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar released photos on Monday from inside a CBP facilities, which he accessed on a tour for lawmakers. The photos, taken at a facility in Donna, Texas, show the conditions that many of the around 4,900 children in CBP custody are living in. They show crowded tent facilities, with children and adults wrapped in the aluminum emergency blankets lying on thin mattresses on the floor.

As we discussed last week, CBP is basically blowing every federal guideline they’re supposed to uphold, keeping children for more than the allotted three days and stopping media and lawyers from accessing the buildings. Their facilities are also very publicly overwhelmed, and the Biden administration is still scrambling to contain the growing crisis.

The Washington Post reports that the Administration is frantically searching for ways to slow down the surge of migrants and refugees, reverting back to sterner warnings not to come to migrants who have been lured by smugglers promising lax enforcement. Meanwhile, right wing groups are feeding into this chaos, distorting the real narrative of the need for better conditions for migrants in custody by feeding fake footage of border crossings to media outlets, including CNN, according to the American prospect.

And what CBP does in these situations of course is pass the pain down to the migrants in their custody. When things get tight, it’s not the laws on who can go where that bend, it’s the ones that govern how desperate people at our border should be treated.

Republicans Sputter About D.C. Statehood

The House of Representatives convened a key panel to discuss the issue of statehood for Washington D.C. on Monday, leading to several absurd showdowns with Republicans.

The issue has become a central part of the Democrats agenda on voting rights, particularly as Republican state legislatures seek to cement their power by passing the most draconian voter suppression laws as possible.

Having two Senators from D.C. wouldn’t give those people back their rights, but it would give the Democrats a massive leg up in the precarious balance of Congress. Not to mention, it would also give everyone who lives in D.C. their proper constitutional rights.

Republicans are terrified of this, of course, and their arguments against it are becoming so desperate and weak it’s pitiful to watch. Georgia Rep. Jody Hist, for instance, argued that D.C. could not be state because it didn’t have any car dealerships. It does, of course.

Meanwhile, Zack Smith, a fellow at the neocon slime-factory Heritage Foundation, said in his opening statement that D.C. residents impacted the national conversation not through voting -- because their votes don’t count, remember -- but because lawmakers can see their lawn signs when they drive to work. We’re not making this up, people.

Wisconsin Rep. Glenn Grothman then rounded out the three stooges act by arguing that D.C. could not be a state because it doesn’t have any manufacturing, agriculture, mining or drilling. Again, farms do not actually vote, but go off I guess.

Biden Plots Big Spending Plan

The New York Times reports that the Biden Administration is putting together a massive $3 trillion economic spending bill, anchored by a huge infrastructure plan that might be funded at least in part by more taxes on corporations and the rich.

The plan right now is still being passed around advisor’s desks, though a version of it is expected to be in front of the president and congressional leaders this week. It would reportedly spend heavily on clean energy development, rural broadband, and affordable housing, all of which are sorely needed priorities.

But it may be too early to get completely excited. The Times also reports that the first package of spending may be tailored to appeal to republicans and centrist democrats, so it’s probably best to temper our expectations.

Instead of one big bill, it’s also likely that the administration will try to push different aspects of a wider plan through in pieces.

We’ll know more about what that will look like in the coming weeks, so we’ll be sure to keep a close eye on what looks good and what appears to be consolation offerings to the myth of bipartisanship.

Still, the Times says this is expected to be Biden’s big push to make his mark on the nation’s economy, so it’s going to be a big one. We’ll see what he does with it.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Nina Turner, a former Ohio State Senator and long-time Bernie Sanders surrogate, in her campaign for the state’s 11th Congressional district. If Turner’s successful, she’ll certainly become a fast member of AOC’s growing progressive squad inside the House.

A new mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado unfolded on Monday afternoon, when a gunman opened fire inside a grocery store. Denver’s ABC affiliate reported that at least six people were killed, and that the suspect had fired on police officers as well when they arrived.

The Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court decision that overturned the death sentence handed down to Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnev [ZHO-HAR SAR-NAI-EV], reopening the possibility that he will be executed by the state.

The Senate confirmed Marty Walsh as Joe Biden’s new labor secretary on Monday night, which had the side-effect of making Boston City Council President Kim Janey the first black mayor of the city.

MAR 23, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Jack Crosbie

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Federal prosecutors say they have enough evidence to bring charges of sedition against some of the rioters who invaded the Capitol Building on January 6.

Meanwhile, The U.S. government missed a major chance to make coronavirus vaccines more accessible for all

And lastly, Biden’s Defense Secretary makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan, while the administration weighs how to continue or end our country’s destructive foreign policy there.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Federal prosecutors say they have enough evidence to bring charges of sedition against some of the rioters who invaded the Capitol Building on January 6.

Michael R. Sherwin, a federal prosecutor who had been leading the Justice Department’s inquiry into the riots, said on 60 minutes on Sunday that he thinks he has the goods to actually bring that charge, which is exclusively used for the crime of attempting to overthrow the government. That’s not particularly common, just so we’re on the same page. Sherwin said, “I personally believe the evidence is trending toward that, and probably meets those elements. I believe the facts do support those charges. And I think that, as we go forward, more facts will support that.”

I know that’s a lot of legalese, but if you consider how ambiguous federal prosecutors usually are about a lot of this stuff, it’s pretty telling that Sherwin is even humoring that idea.

Sherwin also said he was actually at the riots, observing them in civilian clothing as they unfolded on January 6. He stepped down from leading the investigation in early March, turning things over to a different prosecutor.

The New York Times points out that the last time the Justice Department actually charged someone with Sedition was in 2010, when they accused members of a militia in Michigan of plotting to fight the government. So far, the government has charged over 400 rioters in connection to the January 6 storming, but Sherwin said only about 10 percent of those are more

serious cases involving the militia guys, which is probably where we can expect sedition charges to land again. Funny how it’s always the militia guys these days!

Government Won't Pressure Drug Companies

The New York Times has an interesting and tragic story about the rollout of vaccines worldwide.

The specific patent that allows for the production of most of the coronavirus vaccines is going to be issued in a few days. It pertains to molecular engineering that was actually developed years ago, and will actually be issued to the U.S. government.

The government, in turn, has let major drug companies use this technology freely, as well as showering them with money. But the Times points out that the one thing it did not do was ensure that the drug companies would share their recipes for vaccines built on the back of this patent and force them to sign production contracts that ensured that poorer countries got doses too.

In other words, because the U.S. controls the patent that makes vaccines possible, it could use that leverage to make sure that the drug companies spread the wealth around to poorer countries. But so far it hasn’t.

Instead, what has happened is very clear. The world swarmed over every available dose, and the richest countries came out on top, because they could pay the drug companies more. Here’s how Gregg Gonsalves, a Yale epidemiologist described it;

“It was like a run on toilet paper. Everybody was like, ‘Get out of my way. I’m gonna get that last package of Charmin. We just ran for the doses.”

That’s a pretty fitting analogy. But instead of having some uncomfortable bathroom experiences, the drawbacks on a global scale are the fact that millions of people in less fortunate countries will have to wait months if not years for the vaccine, as they continue to die because once again, Western greed has won.

Defense Sec Drops Into Afghanistan

Freshly minted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, arriving in the country just weeks before the Biden administration faces one of its biggest foreign policy tests.

Austin landed in Kabul and then immediately choppered off to meetings with Afghan President Ashraf [AHSH-RAF] Ghani, U.S. diplomat Ross Wilson and Army Gen. Austin Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, according to the Washington Post.

Austin’s presence there is a pretty clear sign that the U.S. is desperately trying to find the most acceptable end-point to the no-win situation in Afghanistan. Military leaders have been cautioning that if the U.S. removes its last troops much of the country will fall once again to the Taliban, but leaving them there means prolonging the nearly two decades of war that we started.

Turkey announced that it would hold a peace summit between Afghan government and Taliban leaders in April, which was requested by U.S. officials.

The Trump administration negotiated the original deal to withdraw troops, but did not include a provision that said the Afghan government and Taliban needed to have a peace deal before U.S. troops left.

The last troops are supposed to be out by May 1. The Biden administration has not definitively said one way or another what they’re going to do about that deadline.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

Miami Beach was forced to extend its city-wide state of emergency until April 11 as police cleared streets packed with spring break revellers, disregarding any coronavirus protocols. City officials have instituted a curfew as well to deal with the overwhelming influx of spring breakers.

Friday quietly marked the 18th anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, one of the most globally destructive acts in modern history. The U.S. still has at least 2,500 troops stationed in the country.

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern Railroads announced a plan on Sunday to combine, in a $29 billion deal that would create the first super-railroad between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The New York Times reports that the companies are hoping to capitalize on a boom in trade once the pandemic ends.

Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas [MAY-YORK-AS] went on a media onslaught on Sunday, appearing on most of the major networks and vociferously defending the administration’s border policies, which are crumbling under the strain of another spring influx of refugees and migrants. Keep an eye on this one this week.

MAR 22, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Jack Crosbie

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

The pace of vaccinations is stepping up in the United States. But one group of holdouts – Republican men – now threatens the collective goal of reaching widespread immunity.

Meanwhile, with his business empire on the ropes and his social media accounts suspended, Donald Trump has more urgent and costly problems to worry about. Since losing the White House, he’s become a magnet for legal actions both civil and criminal.

And lastly, Seattle got sued by big business after passing a measure mandating pandemic hazard pay increases for workers at large grocery chains. Now a federal court has ruled in favor of the city – and those essential workers.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

With the US closing in on President Joe Biden’s goal of injecting one hundred million coronavirus vaccinations, officials announced yesterday the nation is now in position to help supply neighbors Canada and Mexico, the Associated Press reports. The Biden administration announced the outlines of a plan to loan vaccines to Canada and Mexico even as the president announced that the US is on the cusp of meeting his one hundred-day injection goal today. The US is injecting an average of about two point two million doses each day – and the pace of vaccination is likely to dramatically rise later this month in conjunction with an expected surge in supply.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Mississippi on Tuesday joined Alaska in making the vaccines available to all residents age sixteen and older. A number of individual counties, from Arizona to North Carolina, have also beckoned everyone to make appointments. These places offer the rest of the country a glimpse of the future. Some residents are thrilled to have the chance to be inoculated. But many other people are holding back, spotlighting challenges related to equity, access and trust that could complicate the quest to reach the high levels of immunity needed to stop the virus’s spread.

Nirav Shah, director of Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Post he has been hearing from colleagues across the country that they are starting to see

appointments go unfilled. Polling suggests rural residents and Republicans are among the least likely to get in line for a coronavirus vaccine. A recent NPR-PBS survey found white Republicans were more hesitant than any other subset of the population. Republican men were especially disinclined, with forty nine percent saying they don’t plan to get vaccinated. What can you say, except stupid is as stupid does?

Trump Drowning In Lawsuits

This update on the legal woes of a certain former Twitter user comes from the Washington Post. The district attorney is sifting through millions of pages of his tax records. The state attorney general has subpoenaed his lawyers, his bankers, his chief financial officer – even one of his sons. And that’s just in New York. Donald Trump is also facing criminal investigations in Georgia and the District of Columbia related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. And Trump must defend himself against a growing raft of lawsuits: twenty nine are pending at last count. No charges have been filed against Trump in any of these investigations. The outcome of these lawsuits is uncertain. But the sheer volume of these legal problems indicates that – after a moment of maximum invincibility in the White House – Trump has fallen to a point of historic vulnerability before the law.

The Post identified six ongoing investigations that could involve Trump. Of the investigations, the broadest appear to be two in New York: a criminal probe begun by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Junior in 2018, and a separate civil inquiry begun by state Attorney General Letitia James in 2019. In addition, Trump faces three probes related to his efforts to overturn his loss to President Biden. Two are in Georgia, where Trump, in a phone call, pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes to let him win. In Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine has also opened a criminal investigation into Trump’s actions on January 6th, when his supporters sacked the Capitol. Among the twenty nine lawsuits Trump is facing, about eighteen result from disputes with his properties. The rest seem to have been brought on by his presidency. This may sound bad, but he’s getting off very, very easy.

Seattle Hazard Pay Upheld

Here’s some news about a legal victory for workers on the left coast. A federal judge has dismissed a grocery industry lawsuit that sought to block Seattle’s new law granting $4- an-hour raises to grocery store workers for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, the Seattle Times reports. The law applies to large grocers, those with more than five hundred employees worldwide and stores larger than ten thousand square feet, in Seattle. It mandates a $4-an-hour pay boost for all workers in retail locations. And that pay boost must remain in effect for as long as Seattle remains in a declared civil emergency.

The City Council passed the wage hike law unanimously in late January, the Times says, after advocacy from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21. Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, whose office defended the law, said QUOTE This is a big win for grocery store employees who have been critical and vulnerable frontline workers since the start of the pandemic ENDQUOTE. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Seattle, alleged the city’s law interferes with the collective-bargaining process between grocery stores and unions and also picks winners and losers by singling out large grocery companies. Holmes countered that the law is well within the city’s purview of protecting workers and regulating business.

Other cities, mostly along the West Coast, including Los Angeles, Berkeley and Long Beach, California, have also recently forwarded or approved similar hazard pay boosts for grocery workers, according to the Times. Seattle has made several efforts to boost the pay of lower- wage essential workers who are often far more exposed to the virus than higher-wage office workers, many of whom have shifted to remote work. These are good ideas that more cities should copy, especially now that there’s court precedent behind them.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The Senate approved William Burns yesterday as director of the CIA, the New York Times reports. Burns was approved by unanimous consent in the Senate. A former ambassador in Russia and Jordan and a senior State Department official, Burns, sixty four, is the only career diplomat chosen to lead the CIA. And now he’s just another old white spy.

Republican Representative Chip Roy of Texas said he had no apologies after he made what appeared to be a pro-lynching remark during a congressional hearing on combatting anti-Asian American violence, NBC News reports. In a tirade about free speech, Roy said Congress should QUOTE find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree ENDQUOTE. In response, New York Democratic Representative Grace Meng said such rhetoric put a QUOTE a bull's-eye on the back of Asian Americans across this country ENDQUOTE. Indeed.

ProPublica reports that nine months after racial justice protests swept across New York City and videos showed police punching, kicking and trapping demonstrators, the city agency responsible for investigating abuses has revealed the number of officers who have so far faced serious disciplinary charges. Two. One involved an officer who flashed a white power sign, and the other concerned an officer who hit a protester with a baton. Oink, I mean oy.

Tanzania’s president, John Magufuli, one of Africa’s most prominent Covid-19 deniers, has died after a two-week absence from public life that prompted speculation that he had contracted the disease, the Guardian reports. He was sixty one. Magufuli denied the spread of Covid-19 in Tanzania and claimed vaccines were dangerous, suggesting instead that people pray and inhale herb-infused steam. What, no bleach injections? Trust the science!

MAR 19, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

A group of Democratic Senators led by Bernie Sanders have introduced a bill to raise taxes on companies who overpay their executives. Members of Congress also heard testimony yesterday from an Amazon worker fighting for higher wages and better conditions.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden spoke to the fears of many Asian-Americans after the deadly mass shooting in Atlanta. Despite hemming and hawing from police, a local press report suggests there is no doubt the killer was motivated by racist hatred.

And lastly, the IRS is planning to push back this year’s tax filing deadline by a full month. But the agency’s huge backlog also means delays in getting stimulus payments out to the public.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Amazon faced fresh scrutiny for its treatment of workers at a Senate hearing yesterday on income inequality, the Washington Post reports. The focus came as senators introduced a new bill to tax chief executives who make fifty times more than the median workers. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont drilled into the gap between most Americans and billionaires during his opening remarks, pointing to data that billionaires have gained significant wealth during the pandemic. Sanders’s Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act would impose increased taxes on companies that have CEOs making significantly more than a median worker at the firm. It is also sponsored by Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, as well as Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. The bill includes stock options and awards as part of a CEO’s salaries, and if the CEO is not the highest-paid employee at the company, the equation would be based on who is.

Sanders invited Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify at the Budget Committee hearing, the Post reports, but he declined to appear. Jennifer Bates, an Amazon worker at the company’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, testified about the unionization efforts there. Bates said the company had been holding meetings to discourage workers from joining the union, sometimes multiple times a week. Voting by mail is already underway in Alabama and will end March 29. President Joe Biden expressed support for the union late last month. Bates

outlined why she believes workers need the union – to advocate for better working conditions and a higher living wage. Working at an Amazon warehouse is no easy thing, she said, adding QUOTE They seem to think you are another machine ENDQUOTE. Every worker deserves to be treated like a human.

Biden Addresses Atlanta Killings

President Biden yesterday addressed the spa shootings in Atlanta that left eight people dead, NBC News reports. He said he understands the concern among Asian Americans as investigators work to determine a motive. Biden said QUOTE Whatever the motivation here, I know Asian Americans, they are very concerned, because as you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans, and it's troubling ENDQUOTE. Biden said that he had spoken on the phone yesterday with the attorney general and the FBI director and that a motive for the shootings was still being determined. A gunman shot and killed eight people at three massage spa parlors in the Atlanta area on Tuesday night, and six of the victims were women of Asian decent. Cherokee County sheriff's Captain Jay Baker said that after a brief manhunt, Robert Aaron Long, twenty one, was arrested and later confessed to the attack.

According to NBC, Baker said in a news conference yesterday that Long claimed that the attack was not racially motivated. Baker said that Long told investigators that he had a sex addiction and that he saw the spas as QUOTE a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate ENDQUOTE. But according to local Korean-language press translated by New York magazine writer E. Alex Jung, Long screamed during his attack that he would kill all the Asians.

Last week we told you how anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked during the pandemic. According to a new study cited by CBS News, Asian Americans were subjected to nearly three thousand eight hundred hate incidents over the last year. Verbal harassment and shunning accounted for sixty eight percent of the incidents. Physical violence accounted for eleven percent. It’s gotta stop, and it would help if authorities didn’t dither about the perpetrators’ movitves.

IRS May Delay Tax Deadline

Good news for procrastinators: The Internal Revenue Service is expected to postpone the country’s tax-filing deadline to mid-May, the Washington Post reports. The agency is grappling with a backlog of twenty four million returns awaiting processing since the 2019 tax year. The workload has put the agency underwater – and under political siege – as lawmakers fret that long-unresolved troubles at the IRS could undercut the Biden administration’s economic recovery efforts. Millions of Americans still have not received some stimulus checks under prior coronavirus aid packages, even as the tax agency continued distributing payments yesterday.

The IRS shared the full scope of its backlog with the House Ways and Means Committee and the agency’s own government watchdogs. The numbers, obtained by the Post, dwarf the data the IRS has shared with the public. The effects of the IRS backlog have been substantial: The delays have kept some Americans from receiving their tax refunds for months while preventing some cash-strapped workers and companies from taking advantage of some of the stimulus benefits that Congress authorized. The IRS communicated its plans to adjust the tax-filing deadline to House and Senate lawmakers yesterday.

Ken Corbin, commissioner of the wage and investment division at the IRS, declined to discuss the potential changes to the tax-filing deadline during an interview with the Post yesterday. But he said the situation reflects the many, many challenges the country and agency have faced because of the virus and other more recent obstacles, including inclement weather. The delays threaten the IRS’s ability to deliver an array of new relief under the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and could result in uncomfortable questions for IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, who is set to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee today. I wonder if he’ll blame the weather, too.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

FBI agents have arrested two organizers for the Proud Boys in Philadelphia and North Carolina, and prosecutors filed new charges against two other prominent members of the far- right group in Florida and Washington State as federal authorities continued their crackdown on its leadership ranks, the New York Times reports. Named in the indictment are Charles Donohoe, Zach Rehl, Ethan Nordean, and Joseph Biggs. They effed around and found out.

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said Griddy Energy will forgive the more than $29 million owed by customers in unpaid bills, NBC reports. As people struggled to survive the recent storm, Griddy debited enormous amounts from customer accounts, Paxton said. He had sued the company under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and is still negotiating for relief to people who already paid their bills, which surged as high as $10,000 after the storm. The gall of these vultures!

A United Nations report slammed multiple countries for flagrantly violating a global arms embargo by funneling weapons to warring sides in Libya, the Washington Post reports. A a UN-appointed panel of experts documented scores of shipments of illicit items, including drones and transport aircraft, as well as the deployment of mercenaries, to Libya’s two chief factions. Russia, Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and others are implicated. What an awful, tragic mess.

Donald Trump’s son Eric, who runs the family’s private company, touted the potential of transforming their Doral golf resort into a gambling destination, according to the Post. The business pivot comes amid a push among Florida Republicans to legalize casinos in areas of the state that have long opposed them. During Trump’s presidency, revenue at the heavily indebted club dropped steeply, falling forty four percent last year. A failing club: Sad.

MAR 18, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Joe Biden speaks directly to the press on one of the first occasions of his presidency, and drops a couple big lines, including support for quote “reforming” the filibuster and an admission that Andrew Cuomo could be on the way out.

Meanwhile, other Democrats continue to embarrass themselves, as new reports allege that Dianne Feinstein’s husband is trying to nepotism his way into an ambassadorship under Biden, though the 87-year-old California Senator insists she’ll keep her seat either way.

And lastly, the GOP continues its assault on voting rights around the country, leaning heavily on bogus allegations of voter fraud, despite widespread evidence that it just doesn’t happen.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Joe Biden sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopolous on Tuesday night for one of the first major interviews of his presidency, and delivered a couple key quotes that could have big ramifications for his party’s future.

First, Biden indicated that he supports changing the Senate filibuster rule, a big hangup that has plagued the Democratic party’s ability to enact his agenda.

Still, Biden, a long time Senator, did not say he wants to completely abolish the filibuster, instead saying that the Senate should go back to the talking filibuster, where a Senator who wanted to delay a vote had to stand and speak for as long as possible.

Even this change has Mitch McConnell scared, as he vowed to take a quote “scorched earth” endquote strategy if Democrats touch the filibuster.

That wasn’t all from Biden on Tuesday night though. He also weighed in on the allegations against New York Governor and Democratic rising star Andrew Cuomo, saying that the governor should resign if the investigation into his conduct finds that the multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault against him are true.

Biden added quote “I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too." endquote.

Doesn’t look good for old Andy’s long-term prospects as a Democratic leader there! Biden plans to follow this one-on-one with a full news conference on Thursday.

Dems Hope Nepotism Can Solve Feinstein Problem

Meanwhile, 87-year-old senator Dianne Feinstein still has no plans to retire, even as her husband tries to glad-hand his way into an overseas posting as one of Joe Biden’s ambassadors.

Pressure has mounted for Feinstein to retire for years in the hope that a younger and ideally more progressive Senator could take one of California’s two safely-blue seats.

The reason is pretty simple: Feinstein is clearly not as sharp as she once was, which the party has pretty openly hinted at.

She was asked to step down from her ranking position on the Judiciary committee after putting on an insipid, pandering performance during the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearings.

The party is also eager to replace Feinstein with a black woman, as the Senate has precisely zero members who fit that demographic now that Kamala Harris is sitting in the VP’s office.

The New York Times reports that the Democrats are hoping Biden will solve that problem for them by handing Feinstein’s husband Richard Blum, a wealthy investor and long time friend of the president.

The hope is that if Blum takes an overseas vanity post, he’ll take Feinstein with him and away from the Senate. But in comments to reporters this week, Feinstein insisted she would serve out the rest of her term, which lasts until 2025. But hey, maybe in this case a little nepotism will go a long way.

GOP Leans Into Voter Fraud

The GOP is once again putting out an absolute onslaught of bills aimed at stripping the right to vote from millions of Americans.

Their reasoning is very simple: when more people vote, the Republicans lose. To stop that happening, they’re trying to weaponize any skewed advantage they can get in the courts and legislatures to make sure that fewer people exercise their right.

In Texas alone, NBC News reports that there are more than two dozen restrictive voting bills currently going through the GOP-controlled legislature. Many of them take aim at the spooky specter of so-called voter fraud, which is a scare tactic designed to make people think the Democrats steal elections.

In reality, the Houston Chronical reports that Texas’s Attorney General’s office spent a combined 22,000 hours looking for voter fraud in the 2020 election and found just 16 cases of a false address being registered. There are 17 million voters in Texas.

Some of the more insidious bills specifically target voters Republicans know they can’t win over. One strategy they’re using is to try to limit the hours polling places can be open for early voting or standardize the hours across the state, which data shows would help turnout in smaller, rural communities and hurt it in the busy urban areas. That’s a pretty obvious one right there.

It’s worth noting that this is going on all over the country. Republicans have tried ploys like this in Georgia, Florida, and all over the South -- wherever they’ve got control of a state, voting rights are going to suffer.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

A new U.S. intelligence report finds that, surprise! Both Russia and Iran tried to influence the 2020 election, but China, remarkably, did not. We’ll see how various interests in D.C.’s foreign policy blob try to weaponize this information.

Moderna announced that it will begin testing its vaccine on children under the age of 12, enlisting over 6,000 volunteers in the U.S. and Canada, which could give crucially missing data on how effective and safe the vaccine is in young children.

In Texas, Pete Buttigieg’s Department of Transportation made a crucial judgement to pause one of the state’s most notoriously racist highway expansion projects, which would have displaced over 1,000 predominantly minority households and subjected thousands of others to increased pollution and potential flooding.

The Washington Post reports that House Democrats are expected to re-introduce a Medicare For All bill into the House today, renewing their push despite the ambivalence of the Biden administration. More than 100 representatives are expected to put their names on the Bill.

MAR 17, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Jack Crosbie

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

A subtle policy left in place by the Trump administration could let private interests hack up Medicare even further unless the Biden Administration steps in.

Meanwhile, Europe’s wider vaccine rollout hits a major snag as new concerns over possible side-effects cause several nations to suspend use of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Fortunately, the U.S. is mostly using Moderna and Pfizer.

And lastly, new data shows that Elon Musk’s defiant reopening of Tesla factories during the pandemic could have caused hundreds of coronavirus cases among his employees.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

We’ve known since well before the election that the first months, if not years of the Biden presidency will be defined by rooting out and undoing all the damage the Trump administration did in four years.

As the Center for Health Journalism reports, one policy that’s flying under the radar could spell trouble for Medicare recipients, as subtly-hidden Trump-era program promises to hand off more of the nation’s only centralized healthcare program to private interests.

The program is called the Geographic Direct Contracting Model, or Geo for short. Its goal is to cut costs for the government by putting Medicare patients on a semi-privatized managed care plan, rather than regular, government-run Medicare.

One source told the CHJ that the Geo programs are so subtle and complex that QUOTE “someone might not know they’re in one.” endquote.

But where they’ll feel it, often, is when they try to get medical care. The new model won’t necessarily raise out of pocket costs for the beneficiaries, but advocates worry that it could mean that complex health care becomes less accessible for people on the plans, similar to some of the problems people have faced on Medicare Advantage plans.

All of this adds up to a system that the CHJ said could quote “potentially turn every senior into a customer of a privately-run managed care organization.” Your everyday customer may not even notice, but the insurance companies and big healthcare corporations are the ones that will make a killing on this.

The big red flag is when this went into place: December 2020, right as Trump was on the way out. And due to the lack of media coverage of these small changes, advocates are worried that the Biden administration might drop the ball.

Diane Archer, the president of healthcare watchdog Just Care USA, wrote in an op-ed for Common Dreams quote:

“It's bad policy, a government giveaway to Wall Street, and a betrayal of the most basic principles of Medicare. The Biden administration should immediately kill this toxic legacy of the former president."

Endquote.

Hopefully we’ll see some movement on this soon.

Europe Pauses AstraZeneca Rollout

Meanwhile, problems continue to plague Europe’s vaccine rollout. On Monday, Germany, France, Italy and Spain became the latest countries to suspend use of the Astra Zeneca vaccine after unconfirmed reports of patients experiencing blood clots.

Let’s be clear: the reports thus far aren’t backed up by any data or research yet, so they may be overblown. The company claims there’s no evidence of any link to an increased risk for blood clots. European authorities are doing a full assessment of the vaccine, but until that comes out they’ve paused its use.

The risk, however, is that any pause to Europe’s rollout could enhance the spread of several more infectious and potentially more deadly variants of the virus. These variants are in the U.S. as well, but scientists think our vaccine rollout is on pace to head off the worst of them.

The other big risk that European scientists want to avoid, is people refusing the vaccine after stories like this come out.

They’re probably figuring that a short pause while they accumulate better research is the best move, rather than pushing ahead with a jumpy population that needs to get inoculated fast.

This particular snag won’t hit the U.S., of course, as our primary vaccines are the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson ones, which thus far have been found to be overwhelmingly safe. Mississippi, for instance, became the second state to open vaccine eligibility to every adult on Monday.

Elon Musk Reopened Factories and His Workers Got Sick

Tech overlord Elon Musk has had a pretty active pandemic, pushing the limits of government regulators on a national and local level alike. But at least one of his brazen decisions could have come with some serious consequences for the people who work underneath him.

The Washington Post reports that Alameda County data shows that Tesla’s Bay Area production plant recorded hundreds of coronavirs cases following Musk’s defiant re-opening of the factory last May. Musk famously dared local officials to arrest him and re-opened facilities in defiance of stay-at-home orders early last year, and this is what he got.

The ​_Post_ ​reports that the data shows 450 reported cases among the plant’s 10,000 workers between May and December. That’s only 4.5 percent of the workers of course, but it shows exactly what acceptable casualties were for the richest man in the world.

Tesla was required to report its cases to the county, but the data stayed under wraps until it was unearthed by a legal transparency website earlier this year.

On Monday, Musk announced that he had official changed his job title at Tesla to, and I quote, “the Technoking of Tesla,” making his CFO the “master of coin” on official SEC filings. The guy clearly would rather make epic internet jokes than protect his workers, which is about what we should expect from him at this point.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The Senate confirmed Deb Haaland, Joe Biden’s pick for Interior Secretary, by a 51 to 40 vote on Monday. Haaland was by far the most progressive pick for the post and will be the first Native interior secretary of the U.S.

The Washington Post reports that the fencing around the U.S. Capitol put up after the January 6 riots will start to come down and the National Guard presence will decrease in the coming weeks, after finding no quote “credible threat” against Congress. It only took, what, two full months since Inauguration for them to demilitarize the capitol?

CIA officials overseas are pissed at their superiors, the Intercept reports, after the U.S.’s lead spy agency vaccinated most of its Langley, Virginia staff in early January, while foreign bureaus are still trying to find supply of the vaccine for their members.

And finally, the Guardian reports that noted fascist Steve Bannon has finally lost a years-long legal battle to set up a right wing political academy in an 800-year-old church in Italy. Darn! Real bummer for the whole world on that one.

MAR 16, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Jack Crosbie

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

The Washington Post reports that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is dropping off asylum seekers who are positive for COVID-19 at bus stops with no prior warning to the activist groups who are trying to unite them with families or find them housing, while FEMA steps in to take over housing unaccompanied minors overwhelming facilities on the border.

Meanwhile, New York State’s vaccine czar reportedly questioned local officials as to their loyalty to embattled governor Andrew Cuomo, prompting an ethics complaint on top of the existing sexual harassment scandals leveled against Cuomo.

And lastly, despite the sweeping measures included in the new covid relief bill, Democrats left one loophole in: the new stimulus payments aren’t exempt from debt collection, and it’s Congress’s job to make sure stand alone legislation fixes that as soon as possible.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

The immigration crisis has not let up in the first months of Joe Biden’s presidency, and the Washington Post reports that some forces Trump enabled are still enacting brutal policies toward people who come here seeking a better life.

The Post reports that for weeks, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has been dropping off COVID-positive detainees at bus stations with no prior warning to the activist groups or family members trying to find them homes or housing.

ICE claims that it’s their policy to notify local authorities when they release a detainee that has COVID, but some county officials say they had no idea when and where immigrants carrying the disease would be released.

Let’s be clear: this danger is in no way the fault of the immigrants themselves, who are often crammed in unsafe and overcrowded detention facilities that are hotbeds for covid.

In fact, as we reported last week, the number of unaccompanied minors has skyrocketed at the border. Recently, the New York Times reports that the Biden Administration has asked FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to step in and help house some of the children that had previously been forced into sparse adult facilities run by Customs and Border Protection.

These kids are supposed to be cared for and helped by the Department for Health And Human Services, which has a spotty record in that respect to start and has so far failed to adequately handle the influx of new immigrants as well. It seems that even if Biden has good intentions, America’s immigration system is still broken beyond any easy repair.

Cuomo Goon Squeezed Local Officials

Meanwhile, the depths of Andrew Cuomo’s alleged corruption continue to sink. The Washington Post reports that New York State’s so-called vaccine czar, a long-time Cuomo advisor, called up local officials and grilled them over their loyalty to the governor amid the ongoing sexual harassment investigation.

Cuomo called a deranged press conference on Friday where he refused to resign and said he wouldn’t quote “bow to cancel culture.” endquote. And while all this has been going on over the past few weeks, the Post reports that the man involved in determining who gets vaccines in New York State has been leaning on local officials to curry favor for the Governor.

The vaccine’s czar’s name is Larry Schwartz. He’s a self-admitted 30-year friend of Cuomo who earned the reputation as his quote “enforcer” during a long career in Albany. Schwartz even admitted making the calls to county officials, although he insisted they were of a personal nature and not in his official capacity. Still, one local official was so disturbed about the timing of one of Schwartz’s calls right after a vaccine supply meeting that he filed notice for an impending ethics complaint.

According to the post, Schwartz was asking officials what their position was and trying to ascertain whether or not they’d be changing their public statements as the evidence against Cuomo mounted. Basically, trying to see who would denounce the Governor next.

Sure, this could all be a coincidence. But if we know anything about how Andrew Cuomo does politics at this point it wouldn’t be a surprise for one of his friends, who happens to control vaccine supply in the state, to imply that staying on the Governor’s good side was important for lower-level local officials.

Stimulus Checks Vulnerable to Debt Collectors

Stimulus checks started hitting American bank accounts this weekend, in what is surely a welcome relief for many hard-working people who have been struggling to make ends meet over the past year.

But Common Dreams reports that the architects of the American Rescue Plan did not build in protections against debt collectors into the bill signed last week. That means that debt collectors and companies could immediately suck the stimulus payments out of peoples’ bank accounts. We saw this happen with the CARES act, which also lacked similar protections. While the

stimulus was a boon for some, it was also a huge windfall for predatory debt collectors seeking to make their money back as quickly as possible in spite of the recession.

The $600 payments we got in December did have protections against this, which is why it’s so damaging that the $1400 checks don’t have the same. Because of some procedural snags with the reconciliation process, lawmakers will now have to pass an independent bill protecting stimulus payments from debt collectors, and who knows how long that will take.

Oregon Senator Rod Wyden has already pledged to introduce protective legislation. But as the American Prospect already noted, for debts that have already seen a court judgement, that protection will be too late: the collectors can take it already. A stopgap measure would stop new debt judgments from swiping the stimulus checks, but for many Americans, the weekend’s windfall will be pretty short lived.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

Internal documents obtained by the Washington Post show that Facebook is conducting a sweeping internal review of what kind of content is fueling vaccine skepticism on their service. And sure enough, the Post reports that it’s turning up all kinds of QAnon adjacent material that isn’t technically against the platform’s rules. Sounds like they should make some new ones.

Senior U.S. Officials claimed that they were ready to sit down with Iran as early as today and re-enter the Iran nuclear deal, but both sides have been offering conflicting and combative statements in recent weeks that have stonewalled or derailed any negotiations. We’ll have to see if Biden’s consultant-stacked State Department can make any meaningful headway.

A peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old woman who was allegedly kidnapped and killed by a London police officer was forcefully disrupted by the UK’s largest police force on Saturday, showing that the U.S. is far from having a monopoly on out-of-control state violence.

And in the U.S., rallies marking the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death took place in several major cities, while in Taylor’s hometown of Louisville, while Kentucky’s GOP-controlled state legislature passed a bill criminalizing insulting police officers.

MAR 15, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Jack Crosbie

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Joe Biden wanted you to know how much he’s accomplished in his first fifty days in office, so he gave a speech about it. He promised an accelerated coronavirus vaccination schedule, a new website to book appointments, and hope for normalcy by July 4th.

Meanwhile, all across the country, Democratic efforts to expand voting rights are running up against the Republican campaign to restrict the vote. GOP-sponsored bills in thirty three states take aim at early or absentee voting, to give just one example.

And lastly, the House of Representatives has again passed two bills that would expand background checks for gun purchases. Supporters say getting the bills through the Senate is not only a political but a moral imperative.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Keep an eye on your balance. The next batch of stimulus checks will be deposited into some bank accounts this weekend, the White House said yesterday, according to NBC News. At a press briefing after President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan yesterday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said people can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend. She said the checks are the first wave and that payments will continue to flow over the next several weeks. The majority of recipients will get a direct payment of up to $1,400. Married couples who make under $150,000 will receive $2,800. Higher earners will see payments phase out and then cut off above certain incomes. Parents who meet income eligibility requirements will get $1,400 per dependent. You know, they should do this every month. Now that would be a real relief.

Biden addressed the country last night in his first televised prime-time address since moving into the White House, and one year since the pandemic shutdowns began. The big headline is that he is directing states to make all adults eligible to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by no later than May 1. He acknowledged the pandemic has extracted a terrible cost from the psyche of us all. He said the wave of hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans must stop. And he sought to reassure Americans that things could begin to return to

something like normal by the Fourth of July. Biden called on Americans to do their part by wearing masks and getting vaccinated. He said QUOTE If we don’t stay vigilant, and the conditions change, we may have to reinstate restrictions to get back on track... This is not the time to let up. ENDQUOTE. Just keep that relief coming.

Republicans Attack Voting Rights

The GOP’s national push to enact hundreds of new election restrictions could strain every available method of voting for tens of millions of Americans, potentially amounting to the most sweeping contraction of ballot access in the United States since the end of Reconstruction, a Washington Post analysis has found. In forty-three states across the country, Republican lawmakers have proposed at least two hundred and fifty laws that would limit voting with such constraints as stricter ID requirements, limited hours or narrower eligibility to vote absentee, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice. The measures are likely to disproportionately affect those in cities and Black voters in particular.

The rush to crack down on voting methods comes after many states temporarily expanded mail and early voting in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, leading to the largest voter turnout in more than a century, the Post reports. In many states, Democrats are trying to make those expansions permanent – and broaden voting access in other ways. Republican state legislators, meanwhile, echoing Donald Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him, are pushing hard in the other direction. Many of the most restrictive proposals have surfaced in states where the GOP has a total hold on power, including Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri and Florida.

Limits to early or absentee voting are the most common measures among the proposed restrictions, with such bills on the table in thirty three states, the Post reports. Democratic elections lawyer Marc Elias said long lines will be the story of 2022 unless something is done. He added QUOTE this is now the defining feature of the Republican Party... They don’t run on economic issues, or even social issues. They run on shrinking the vote ENDQUOTE. It’s the only way they can win.

House Passes Gun Control Bills

Democrats continue to test what’s possible with their narrow control of Congress. The House of Representatives passed a pair of bills yesterday that would expand background checks for gun purchases, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to put to a vote, NBC reports. One of the bills would require background checks on nearly all gun purchases, including transactions involving unlicensed or private sellers. The measure, sponsored by California Democratic Representative Mike Thompson, chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, advanced with support from eight Republicans, including Vern Buchanan, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Salazar of Florida, and opposition from one Democrat, Jared Golden, of Maine. The other measure would aim to close the Charleston loophole, which allows the sale of a firearm to proceed if a background check isn’t completed within three days, by expanding the review period to ten days. The bill was sponsored by House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, who first introduced it after the June 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.

The House passed both gun-control bills in February 2019, but the Republican majority blocked them in the Senate, according to NBC. Democrats said there's public support for background checks for gun purchases. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York said the two bills would save many thousands of lives. For that reason, he said QUOTE we have a moral duty to pass it. We have a political duty to pass it given the polling. And if Republicans stand in the way, they'll pay a price both morally and politically ENDQUOTE. Schumer said that the last time they were passed, the bills landed in then- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s legislative graveyard – but that time is now over. Let’s see how the Senate vote goes.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s grip on power appeared increasingly threatened yesterday as a majority of state legislators called for his resignation, Democrats launched an impeachment investigation and police in the state capital said they stood ready to investigate a groping allegation, the Associated Press reports. The Times Union of Albany reported that an aide claimed Cuomo reached under her shirt and fondled her late last year. Cuomo said he never touched anyone inappropriately. Sure, guy.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made an urgent appeal yesterday for $5.5 billion to prevent a catastrophe for thirty four million people in over three dozen countries who are just one step away from famine driven by conflict, the Associated Press reports. Two hundred and seventy million people are facing a hunger crisis this year. For comparison: eight of the biggest food and drink companies paid out over $18 billion to shareholders last year.

A hate crimes bill in South Carolina no longer protects gay or transgender people after a Republican leader said including them would likely lead members of his party to withdraw their support, the AP reports. Supporters of the bill as originally written questioned the worth of a hate crimes law that doesn’t include gay and transgender people, who they say are among those most in need of protection. Once again, keeping Republicans comfortable means pain, misery, and injustice for everyone else.

Prince William yesterday became the first British royal to directly defend his family against accusations of racism made by his sister-in-law Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her husband Prince Harry in their interview with Oprah Winfrey, per CBS News. William told journalists that the royals are QUOTE very much not a racist family ENDQUOTE. Remind us where you got all that gold and jewels, mate?

MAR 12, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

An international dispute highlights how little wealthy countries are contributing to the vaccination effort outside their borders. Poor nations could be waiting years to catch up.

Meanwhile, the feds are honing in on members of two extremist groups, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, as they prosecute the Capitol insurrectionists. Newly revealed messages show the groups’ plans for violence were both detailed and ambitious.

And lastly, a journalist in Iowa was acquited yesterday after being arrested and charged for doing her job covering a protest last summer. Press freedom groups are hailing the verdict.

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Are rich countries hoarding vaccines? The Washington Post reports that the European Union is defending itself against accusations of vaccine nationalism, highlighting its role in producing coronavirus vaccines for export and calling out the United States and Britain for not similarly sharing with the world. The EU came under heavy criticism after member Italy blocked the export of two hundred and fifty thousand AstraZeneca doses to Australia last week, citing vaccine shortages and delayed supplies. But now the EU is emphasizing that just one shipment was held back, while two hundred and fifty seven others have gone out. European Council President Charles Michel contrasted the European approach with that in the United States and Britain, which he singled out for having QUOTE imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines ENDQUOTE.

The EU, the United States and Britain have all invested heavily in coronavirus vaccine research and development, according to the Post. They are also key backers of Covax, a program co-led by the World Health Organization that primarily aims to secure equitable access to vaccines for poorer nations. President Joe Biden last month pledged $4 billion to the program over the next years – more than any other nation has vowed to donate. Still, high-income countries have so far bought up the majority of available vaccine doses, purchasing fifty five percent of coronavirus vaccine supplies worldwide, even though they

represent only sixteen percent of the global population, according to data collected by Duke University. Some poorer nations may still have to wait years for sufficient supplies.

Separately, the Post reports, President Biden announced yesterday that his administration will secure an additional one hundred million doses of the single-shot vaccine developed by Johnson and Johnson. Hopefully as production increases the poor aren’t left unvaccinated and vulnerable, not to mention contagious.

Prosecutors Expose Insurrectionist Plots

This Associated Press story brings us new details on the Capitol insurrection. Members of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys that traveled to Washington along with thousands of other Trump supporters weren’t whipped into an impulsive frenzy by Donald Trump on January 6th, officials say. They’d been laying attack plans. And their internal communications show how authorities are trying to build a case that small cells hidden within the masses mounted an organized, military-style assault on the heart of American democracy.

The Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers make up a fraction of the more than three hundred Trump supporters charged so far in the siege, the AP reports. But several of their leaders, members and associates have become the central targets of the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation. It could mean more serious criminal charges for some rioters. The Oath Keepers began readying for violence as early as last November, authorities say. Communications show the group discussing logistics, weapons and training, including two days of wargames. Hours after the siege, Oath Keepers associate Thomas Caldwell was already talking about another attack. Caldwell said in a message to a friend QUOTE If we’d had guns I guarantee we would have killed one hundred politicians. They ran off and were spirited away through their underground tunnels like the rats they were ENDQUOTE.

Nine people linked to the Oath Keepers have been indicted on charges that they planned and coordinated with one another in the siege, according to the AP. At least eleven leaders, members or associates of the Proud Boys charged in the riots are accused by the Justice Department of participating in a coordinated attack. Several from both groups remain in federal custody while awaiting trial. Trump may have escaped accountability, but his loyal minions may not be so lucky.

Reporter Beats Police Rap

Andrea Sahouri, the Iowa journalist who was arrested as she reported on racial justice protests last summer, was found not guilty in a case that drew widespread condemnation from free press organizations, USA Today reports. Sahouri, a Des Moines Register reporter, was acquitted yesterday of both misdemeanor charges against her, failure to disperse and interference with official acts. Both carried up to thirty days in jail. Sahouri, who covers public safety, was on assignment May 31 at a protest. Sahouri was with her then- boyfriend, Spenser Robnett, who was there for her safety. Robnett was also acquitted of both charges. Sahouri said QUOTE I’m thankful to the jury for doing the right thing. Their decision upholds freedom of the press and justice in our democracy ENDQUOTE.

Sahouri testified Tuesday that she was a journalist on assignment determined to cover the historic protests unfolding in Des Moines, USA Today reports. She said she immediately identified herself as a reporter when first approached by the officer who arrested her. But she was pepper sprayed and handcuffed after the officer told her, QUOTE That's not what I asked ENDQUOTE.

Prosecutors with the Polk County Attorney's Office tried to cast the case narrowly, according to USA Today. They said Sahouri's status as a journalist reporting on the scene was not relevant to whether she committed the acts. According to the US Press Freedom Tracker, Sahouri was one of just over a dozen reporters still facing charges for their arrests during the summer protests. More than one hundred and twenty reporters were arrested or detained in 2020, but in most cases, prosecutors dropped the charges. Let this verdict be a lesson to them that the free press is no pushover.

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The Senate voted to confirm Merrick Garland yesterday to serve as attorney general. Garland was confirmed seventy to thirty by senators. He is expected to be sworn in at the Justice Department today. Separately, the Senate voted sixty six to thirty four to confirm Ohio Representative Marcia Fudge as secretary of housing and urban development. She is the first black woman to lead the agency in more than forty years.

House Democrats have approved a bill that would provide protections for workers trying to organize, NPR reports. Union leaders say the PRO Act would begin to level a playing field that is unfairly tilted toward big business. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders called on the Senate to pass the bill, saying QUOTE It was the trade union movement that built the middle class, and it will be the trade union movement that will rebuild the middle class once again ENDQUOTE.

A former employee of a Panda Express in Santa Clarita, California alleges she was required to strip down to her underwear and hug a partially clad co-worker during a cult-like ritual at a training seminar, the Orange County Register reports. Oscar Ramirez, the woman’s attorney, said she is suing to send a message that Panda Express must stop requiring its employees to undergo horrific psychological abuse and harassment to be promoted. Sounds bad, even by the standards of corporate America.

China and Russia have agreed to jointly build a research station on the moon, the Washington Post reports. The lunar base will be open to all interested international partners, according to a statement from the China National Space Administration. The announcement did not give a target date for when the station will be complete. If I were betting, I’d say before Elon Musk gets to Mars.

MAR 11, 2021 - AM QUCKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Welcome to Majority.FM's AM QUICKIE! Brought to you by justcoffee.coop

TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Hate crimes were down overall last year across America, with a glaring exception. Asian-Americans were increasingly targeted for violence and abuse.

Meanwhile, a new study puts sobering numbers on a global problem: violence against women. There are new calls for men to step up and end it.

And lastly, Harry and Meghan’s big interview with Oprah could hasten the unraveling of the British Commonwealth. Don’t say they never did anything meaningful!

THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Hate has festered across America. NBC News reports that an analysis of police department statistics has revealed that the United States experienced a significant hike in anti-Asian hate crimes last year across major cities. The analysis was released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, this month. It examined hate crimes in sixteen of America’s largest cities. It revealed that while such crimes in 2020 decreased overall by seven percent, those targeting Asian people rose by nearly one hundred and fifty percent. Experts said Donald Trump’s incendiary, racist rhetoric about the coronavirus played a role, but they also noted the problem is complex.

According to NBC, the analysis revealed a surge in cities such as New York, where anti-Asian hate crimes rose from three in 2019 to twenty eight in 2020. Los Angeles and Boston also experienced notable rises, from seven to fifteen and six to fourteen, respectively. According to the analysis, it's likely that overall hate crimes declined due to the pandemic and a subsequent lack of interaction in public areas and other gathering places. The first spike in anti-Asian hate crimes occurred in March and April last year. However, it occurred alongside a rise in Covid-19 cases and ongoing negative associations of Asian Americans with the virus.

NBC notes that the new report compares figures from 2019 and 2020, which does not include recent graphic attacks on Asian American elders earlier this year that have prompted significant media coverage in recent weeks. The longer this trend continues, the less blame can be heaped exclusively on Trump and his hateful legacy.

One-Third Of Women Suffer Violence

The numbers are horrifying. One in four women and girls around the world have been physically or sexually assaulted by a husband or male partner, the Guardian reports. The statistics come from the largest study yet of the prevalence of violence against women. The report, conducted by the World Health Organization and UN partners, found that domestic violence started young, with a quarter of fifteen- to nineteen-year-old women estimated to have been abused at least once in their lives. The highest rates were found to be among thirty- to thirty nine-year-olds. When figures for non-partner violence are included, the WHO estimates that about a third of women aged fifteen or older – up to eight hundred and fifty two million in total – will experience some form of sexual or physical violence in their lifetime. The WHO report focused on physical and sexual violence, but noted that actual rates would be far higher if other types of abuse were included, such as online violence and sexual harassment.

Levels of violence were higher in low- and middle-income countries, the Guardian reports. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa had some of the highest rates of intimate partner violence. The lowest rates of violence were found in southern and eastern Europe and central and eastern Asia. Doctor Claudia García-Moreno, who leads the WHO’s work on violence against women, said the figures should be a wake-up call to governments about the urgency of the situation. She said QUOTE There’s an urgent need to reduce stigma around this issue, train health professionals to interview survivors with compassion, and dismantle the foundations of gender inequality ENDQUOTE. Fundamentally, she said, violence against women had to be treated as a societal problem, with men and boys involved in tackling it. That’s a polite way of putting it. It’s all men’s fault!

Commonwealth Sours On Monarchy

The sun may finally set on what’s left of the British Empire, per this story from the Washington Post. On Monday, former British colonies from Antigua to Zambia observed Commonwealth Day, an occasion traditionally marked by addresses from the British royal family. But this year’s celebration was overshadowed by Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which unfurled new allegations of racism against members of the royal family. The tell-all has ignited fresh debates about abolishing the monarchy in some of the fifty four nations that make up the commonwealth. Calls to remove the vestiges of a colonial past have gained momentum over the past year, fueled by protests against racism and oppression worldwide. Now some politicians have been forced to address whether it still makes sense to retain Queen Elizabeth II as a figurehead.

Some of the loudest calls to sever ties with the monarchy have come from Australia, the Post reports. Members of Australia’s Labor Party have expressed hopes that the explosive interview will reignite the decades-old movement to make Australia a republic. Even before the interview aired, former British colonies in the Caribbean were growing increasingly queasy about their lingering ties to a nation that built its wealth through the slave trade. In September, Barbados announced plans to remove Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. Meanwhile, support for a break with the monarchy is growing in Canada, where a February poll found record levels of support for removing the queen as head of state. But achieving that goal would be a challenge, since all ten provincial legislatures would need to get on board. Similarly, a symbolic split with the monarchy seems unlikely to occur in New Zealand anytime soon. When will the royals get real jobs?

AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:

The House is poised to approve a sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill today and send it to President Joe Biden to sign, according to the Washington Post. Final passage comes ahead of a prime-time speech Biden is planning for Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the nation plunging into widespread shutdowns. So, not a happy anniversary.

The arduous task of seating a jury in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, began in earnest yesterday, the Post reports. Both sides agreed to dismiss sixteen of the first fifty jurors they reviewed for cause based on their answers to a sixteen-page questionnaire. No reasons were given. Maybe they expressed an opinion about the police.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson yesterday signed into law legislation banning nearly all abortions in the state, a sweeping measure that supporters hope will force the US Supreme Court to revisit its landmark Roe versus Wade decision, the Associated Press reports. Abortion rights supporters said they plan to challenge the ban in court. Arkansas is one of at least fourteen states where legislators have proposed outright abortion bans this year. Yipes.

The House Democrats’ campaign arm is officially ending its controversial ban on political consultants who work with candidates challenging sitting Democratic incumbents in primaries, Politico reports. New York Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the newly installed chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, officially reversed the policy yesterday morning. Fellow New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said QUOTE It's an enormous win ENDQUOTE. Hear hear. May the next class of Democrats be more progressive than the last.

MAR 10, 2021 - AM QUICKIE

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn