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