Justice, but?

 

Like many of you, I breathed a sigh of relief and shed tears over the verdict of guilty in Minneapolis at the Chauvin trial. My tears were for a verdict that was long overdue–in this and many similar cases. Juries rarely convicted police officers when those in their custody die or even when there is a shooting of an unarmed person. My tears were also for the life that was taken from George Floyd, Jr. The prosecutors in the case presented the Floyd that his family members knew, a large man (6 feet 4 inches tall), an athlete, a covid survivor, a mentor to others, and, yes, a person struggling with an addiction. While the defense attempted to try the victim, the prosecution emphasized the humanity of an imperfect man, who was loved by others.

Yet this same week has shown several instances of high-profile shootings by law enforcement. I am troubled by the shooting of MaKhia Bryant, a 16-year-old girl in foster care.  The police were called for trouble at a foster care home and the videos apparently show them arriving at an altercation on the sidewalk where Bryant throws one girl to the ground and lunges with an upturned knife toward another girl whom she pins against a car. After calling ‘get down!’, the police officer shoots and kills Bryant. Everyone should mourn the death of a teenager, just as we decried the death of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Chicago boy.  But, in his case also, he was seen to be holding a weapon shortly before shots were heard in the neighborhood; although he was not armed when shot, a gun was found nearby. Once again these two cases and the Floyd case were quite different. Police have to make snap decisions; I do not believe that any police officer wishes to kill a teenager, but they also cannot easily disarm frightened children. Despite the protests and the marches, although I empathize with the families, I also do not think that children should be carrying weapons.  Somewhere society has failed these children.

I do not have the slow-motion videos and I will not second guess here, all lives lost are tragic in my mind.  But these two instances differ from those of 20-year-old Daunte Wright and the man shot by sheriff's deputies in North Carolina where there was no evidence of resistance, just an attempt to flee. Wright’s offense was apparently expired tags and a deodorizing card hanging from his mirror. The claim of a warrant for his arrest was for failure to appear in court over fines when a notice to appear had been sent to an incorrect address. Due to Covid – tags have been allowed to expire in Minnesota until the MVA gets back to more regular hours.

Traffic stops and subsequent fines were seen in many towns as money raisers and they hit poor people more disproportionately.  How many of you know that a person placed on home detention with an ankle bracelet has to pay the costs of monitoring that bracelet?  If, they then cannot get a job, due to the restrictions for the bracelet, then how are they to pay the fees associated with it.  The costs of traffic stops and subsequent fines often pay the salaries of small-town police forces; these issues were brought out in the investigations after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson. In Ferguson, 67% of the residents are Black with white residents comprising 29%.

In 2017 the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a report of more than 200 pages titled: Targeted Fees and Fines Against Communities of Color. You can read it here.

They studied practices in Ferguson and elsewhere. They described finding disproportionate policing of African Americans in that community and described these practices as intentional racism. The report also indicated that studies have shown that 60 percent of American families could not come up with $500 for an urgent car repair, health care cost, or appliance purchase, let alone traffic fees which can easily exceed that amount with court costs or subsequent collection actions. The following is a quote from the executive summary:

“Cash register justice,” “policing for profit,” and “two-tiered criminal justice system” are terms that have been used to describe the excessive use of fines and fees.10 The rise in the use of fines as the primary enforcement tool against low-level offenses can be attributed to multiple factors. Generally speaking, fines and fees are easier to administer than other forms of punishment and can generate revenue. An increase in policing tactics that focus on low-level violations (such as jaywalking, littering, disorderly conduct, trespassing, or truancy), that might otherwise have gone unenforced, has also resulted in individuals accumulating court debt. Jurisdictions have also become loath to enact new taxes, which along with the recession has resulted in reduced local and state budgets for court systems.

Systems in other states were reviewed and recommendations were made to split the fines from supporting the system or as they called in using the fines to generate a revenue stream, much as property taxes are used, just another assessment. However, that is not what justice is meant to be. The report went on to advise 16 specific recommendations, some of which will require legislation, others will ask cities and municipalities to make changes in their standards of behavior regarding fines and revenues. The DOJ will enter into consent decrees in instances where this is felt to be necessary to halt such activities. In the Ferguson situation, the DOJ and the city agreed in 2016 to specific changes which must occur in the city.  But local newspapers reported in 2020 that the city was still dragging its feet on the issues of concern to many residents.  In July 2020 the residents elected a Black woman, Ella Jones, as the first person of color to run the city of Ferguson.  A former city council member, Jones was defeated in a previous run for Mayor but succeeded with 54% of the vote last year. Although the city claimed to be making progress, the new Mayor notes more changes are needed.

So as long ago as 1968, the Kerner Commission Report noted that we have separate societies for white people and persons of color and if changes were not implemented that these differences would continue to grow. The political will was not there at that time to do more than had been done with the Civil Rights and Voting Rights legislation. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the poverty level has decreased in Black communities, and the middle class and college-educated numbers have increased, but still, problems remain.  As was pointed out in The Color of Law,  Rothstein notes, housing is still subject to redlining, poor communities are saddled with pollution, and lack of access to transportation and adequate healthcare. Meanwhile, center cities have mostly segregated schools in states with significant populations of color.

There needs to be political will to make changes.  With the Republicans trying to disenfranchise many people who vote in cities across this country, we need good citizens to start to speak up and speak out against these injustices.  We cannot continue to have children shot for misdemeanors and adult men shot while unarmed or unhinged; good police practices are known they need to be implemented. Children should not be pepper-sprayed or handcuffed to teach them a lesson. Certainly, mental health calls need to have therapists accompany the officers who respond to such calls.

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Even as vaccines continue to be given, cases continue to rise.  The latest world hot spot is in India, which had been doing well until thousands attended a major religious festival recently. Now cases are soaring, as are deaths.  Many believe that thousands of deaths have been under-counted, but even so, India has reported 16.5 million cases with over 192 thousand deaths.  Currently, the hospitals are overrun, oxygen supplies are depleted, and Remdesivir is selling on the black market for $1,000.00 per dose.  India so far has given 127 million vaccine doses, but it has 1.366 Billion residents, many of whom are young, poor, and live in distant rural areas. The US is being criticized by some for not sharing its surplus vaccines with countries such as India and those in the poorly vaccinated third world. Those moves are under review currently since world leaders understand that if these catastrophic numbers are not restrained, the rest of the world may be in danger from unrestricted variants in India and third world countries.

This week the Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine was approved after a pause and evaluation of adverse reactions, which were minuscule.  The pause, however, has given those who are vaccine-hesitant more reason to hold back. So far, the US is reporting that 29% of the population (94.8 million) has been fully vaccinated and 42% (140 million) have received at least one dose. Currently, 3.25 million vaccines are being administered each day. So far, Maryland has vaccinated 31% of its population.

CIVID stats: NY Times: 4/25/21

Total US cases: 32,103,720. Total new cases: 58,353. Total US Deaths: 571,753. Total new deaths: 707.

Total MD stats: Total cases: 442,351. New cases:1,196. Total deaths: 8,648. New deaths: 15.

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This week marked the 51^st anniversary of Earth Day.  President Biden and other world leaders took part virtually in a climate summit and made promises about what emissions might be in another generation.  All well and good, but I fear it is too modest a goal.  We need stronger commitments to carbon capture, pollution, and control of refuse. We are seeing ocean birds, fish, and mammals harmed by ingestion of some of the tons of plastic pellets polluting the oceans and camels becoming emaciated by clogged digestive systems from eating plastic bags found in the deserts of the world. I remember that first Earth Day in 1970 – we thought if we just pooled our efforts and started to reuse, recycle and repurpose, that we would be closer to a better and safer planet by now. But the use of coal and other fossil fuels continues and countries such as China and India continue to pollute widely.  Alternative fuels are not yet in robust development, although electric vehicles are in the pipeline. So, as I celebrate Earth Day, I do wish I could do it with more joy.

‘Til next week – peace!

The Wild West – Revisited?

 

During the 1870s many towns in the western territories and sparsely settled states were mostly lawless with only intermittent enforcement of regulations about drinking, gambling, and brawling.  Rival gangs and rowdy cowboys were joined by grifters and bargirls. Few self-respecting church ladies were seen in these bawdy towns. There were attempts made to civilize some towns, but as they became respectable, the offenders just moved west. Into that mix came the people of legend, Wild Bill Hickok, Doc Holliday, and Wyatt Earp. Many tall tales have enhanced the stories from that era, but some truths have remained.  These men were showmen, gamblers, killers, lawmen, and enforcers.  They operated on both sides of the law and often made their own laws. Earp and Holliday were mostly known for their escapades in Dodge City, Kansas and Tombstone, Arizona. The Colt or Navy revolver was usually their weapon of choice.

The infamous fight at the “OK Corral” occurred in Tombstone and involved lawmen Earp, Holliday, and Earp’s brothers Morgan and Virgil who were up against an outlaw gang. The deputies killed several members of the gang; those who got away vowed revenge and subsequently killed Virgil and Morgan. Tales such as these enhance the image of the lawless, free-wheeling west, and that anti-government, independent gun-toting image endures for much of that part of the country to this day. Several states have current open carry laws, so gun owners may walk around in public wearing their arms without restraint. And, although some churches have requested that people not bring guns into services, Texas law permits such use, for example, for licensed owners.

News reports have shown that in 2021, so far, that there have been more than 104 mass shootings in 29 different states.

Recent days have left the country reeling with the number of mass shootings at workplaces and meeting places and of family members.  During this same time, a record number of police shootings have also occurred, many of Black and brown men. These happenings leave me shocked and concerned.  We already know that there are far too many guns in civilian hands across America.  The Current Small Arms Study estimates note that there are at least 393 million guns in this country, (August 2020) but other reports note that once President Biden was elected, gun sales again rose.  According to Statistica in November of 2020, approximately 42% of Americans own a gun of some type. The table does not indicate how many guns each owner has but, as shown above, studies note that the numbers of guns in use are higher than the US population (currently 328 million approximately). They indicate also that 50% of Republicans state they own at least one gun with 64% stating they live in a gun-owning household, while 18% of Democrats are gun owners with 34% stating there is a gun in their home.

Today, alone, there have been multiple deaths reported from shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Austin, Texas. One shooting was at a bar and the other may have involved domestic issues. Six people are dead and three are wounded from these two incidents.  Both The New York Times and the Washington Post have had major editorials or articles this week about guns and their use in our society. The Times article notes that just since the beginning of the Derek Chauvin trial on March 29 at least 64 people have died at the hands of law enforcement nationwide. That averages out to approximately 3 deaths per day across America at the hands of the police!  It notes that Black and Brown men account for more than one-half of this total number of deaths.

This week has seen the highly publicized gun deaths of a young man in Minnesota at a traffic stop and a teenager after a drive-by shooting (possibly once armed) in Chicago. Both involved sudden gun use by police. And, although there has been much publicity about these two deaths, the other 62 happened mostly without fanfare or press, but the people still died. The majority of deaths came about from crimes such as gun use, others were from issues of domestic violence, traffic stops gone wrong, or concerns with mental health. The Times article further notes that an average of 1100 deaths at the hands of individual police forces occurs each year which fits the averages mentioned above for these last three weeks. I know that police have to make quick decisions in cases of dangerous crimes and I want police to be there when we need protections in our neighborhoods. But I question why anyone needs to get shot at a traffic stop, such as Philando Castille or Duonte Wright for minor or questionable offenses.

These are tough questions, I know, but we need to find some answers. Life is, to me, precious and I do believe that we all need to protect the lives of every member of society. I do hope you agree. Our society is diminished if we do not respect the rights of everyone. How many more times do we need to see mothers in the streets mourning the loss of their child? All mothers and spouses need to expect their family members to return home at the end of each day. So do spouses and mothers of police officers. We also mourn when police officers die as we did for the US Capitol officer this week. Each day when an officer hugs their children and goes to work, he or she hopes to return home that evening; the police officer (Billy Evans) at the Capitol had no chance when he was run down. Brian Sicknick, who died after the Capitol insurrection, had no chance when he was attacked by a lawless bunch of marauders.

The Washington Post reflected on mass shootings from Columbine forward. The first mass shooting that I ever remember hearing about was the Texas Tower shooting in 1966 on the University of Texas campus which injured 43 people, 13 of whom died. The gunman had earlier killed his wife and mother and was eventually killed by a police marksman. The shootings of that many people just innocently walking across the campus took about 96 minutes. (The shooter had three rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, and two pistols.)  More recently, the Las Vegas hotel shooting in 2017 killed 59 people and wounded more than 500 others with rapid automatic type firings and was over in less than 10 minutes, since the gunman killed himself as police closed in on him. They found 23 firearms in his hotel room and 19 more at his home.

Virtually all of the mass shootings mentioned by the Post have involved assault-type weapons or AR-15s, which were not an option for the Texas shooter. The AR-15  (AK-47, M-16) was an evolution from earlier military weapons developed for rapid firing military arms. They did not make their way into civilian use until after the Vietnam War. Most have the capacity for large magazines and semi-automatic to automatic firing. Since the Columbine school shooting in 1999, there have been more than 40 mass shootings (meaning more than 3 deaths each) in these 22 years. Several of these shootings have been at schools such as Sandy Hook and Parkland where we have lost many children.

2020 saw fewer mass shootings due to the pandemic, so I guess we should be grateful that we were mostly all hiding away safely in our homes. However, during just this last month there have been three shootings with multiple deaths – 8 in Georgia, 10 in Colorado, 8 in Indiana. When are our Congress, our local governments, and our society going to say this can no longer be tolerated? We should implement an assault weapons ban and buy-back program such as they had in New Zealand after the mosque shootings there. I know New Zealand is a small country, but small countries can also have good ideas that can work elsewhere. Even then, I fear we would still have too many weapons in the country.

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Worldwide deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic have now reached over 3 million. This week saw a pause in the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in the US as there were reports of 6 cases of women developing a rare type of brain blood clot. More than 7 million doses had been given so far. Each of the affected women was under 50, so there may be some issues with estrogen or menopausal states. I would guess that it will be restarted soon, but with perhaps more restrictions such as use limited to older women and most men. So far, the US has vaccinated more than 200 million people, which is a good record.  Still, this vaccine pause has validated the fears of those hesitant to get vaccinated, so we will see where this goes. Michigan is under a severe surge at the moment, mostly from the British variant, which has been found more prevalent in younger people.

Current COVID stats: (NY Times) 4/18/21

Total US cases: 31,690,900. New cases: 40,482. Total deaths: 566,804. Total new deaths: 352.

Maryland totals: Total cases: 434,859. New cases: 1,500. Total deaths: 8,545 New deaths: 17.

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This week should bring a verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.  From what I have seen and read, there should be little doubt of his guilt.  We shall see what the jury has to say.

On the panda watch – feeling upside down? The panda does a headstand!

“Til next week – peace!

Invisible Bi-Partisanship

 

 

In 1993 the Senate passed the assault weapons ban by a vote of 56 for 43 against.  Nine Republicans joined with Democrats in voting yes.  These Republicans were the moderates such as Hatfield from Oregon, Danforth from Missouri, Pell from Rhode Island, and Lugar from Indiana. Nine Democrats, all from southern and western states, voted Nay. Those once moderate Republicans have become rare in the latest Republican caucuses. One of those Democratic Nay votes was from Senator Shelby of Alabama who is still in the Senate but is now retiring. He has changed parties in the intervening years and is now a Republican. One of the problems with this bill was that it included a ten-year renewal or sunset clause; it would cease to be law if it was not renewed every ten years.  President Bush declined to ask Congress to renew it, so it was no longer in effect after the ten-year period ended. It has never been renewed and there is a call for this to happen now, but it will need bipartisan support.

Most recently the House voted in February to renew the Violence Against Women Act – which had been allowed to lapse during the previous administration. The vote this year in the Democratic-controlled House included 244 votes in favor and 172 Republican votes against it. Only 29 Republican votes were in the majority; all Democrats voted in favor of this bill. In 2013 the Senate voted in favor of renewal with a vote of 78 Yeas and 22 Nays. The House then supported it with a vote of 286 for and 138 against after attempts to weaken it failed. This should not be a partisan issue as it provides legal protections for women against domestic violence and stalking and gives them other legal protections for issues such as sexual assault and child custody.

This is an example of why partisanship is harming Americans.  I admit that I am a partisan person.  However, there are sometimes issues that should be above party labels. I posit that the Assault rifle ban, background checks, and the Violence against Women Act should be nonpartisan issues because each of them protects society. Regardless of whatever gun owners might claim, nobody needs an assault rifle or semi-automatic pistol to protect their home or to hunt for food. Aside from what some might think, it is good to have a society that believes in protecting women and children from violence.

The Senate, under tenuous Democratic control, should find ways for both sides to work together.  The Infrastructure Bill prosed by President Biden needs to pass in some form even as Minority leader McConnell has said it will get no Republican support. The President has indicated that he is open to compromise, but there can be no compromise without conversations. There is the possibility that it could pass by reconciliation after a ruling that it seemed to qualify by the Senate Parliamentarian. This is not a plan which only benefits Democrats in Democratic states.  Roads, railways, and bridges cross state lines; broadband needs in rural states and center cities benefit children and adults of both parties. The addition of more solar, wind, and power charging stations will help the climate and our long-term use of energy. Expanded care for the elderly and improved health care benefit society at large.  The creation of all of these measures will add jobs to our economy. These are plans for our future. 

During the Depression, President Roosevelt knew that the jobs he created in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were not only jobs for that time but were investments in the future; many roads were built and artists were saved by their paintings for government buildings, and post offices, and written works created during this period. The Biden infrastructure plan is set for the long term in much the same way as roads are not constructed overnight and hundreds of bridges cannot be repaired at once.

There has been much discussion recently from President Biden about bipartisanship in Congress. He did not gather any votes for his COVID relief/stimulus Bill from the Republicans, so that had to be passed under the reconciliation process. A meeting early in his term with several Republicans and the President failed to find any consensus after their proposal was for an amount so far below his proposal, that it was almost laughable. (Their proposal was for $650 billion vs. Biden’s request of $1.9 Trillion.) It should be applauded that he did give them a meeting and discussion, which was more than Democrats had received in the last few years from the former president. It seems, however, that only Biden and Senator Manchin continue to push for this type of unity.  Are there ten Republicans who will oppose leadership?  Republicans under the directions of House Minority leader McCarthy and Senate Minority leader McConnell continue to adhere to the demands of the former president and stonewall all attempts at compromise and consensus.  I wonder just how long the American voters are going to tolerate this dysfunction. Will continued lack of support for a popular President harm Democrats or Republicans?  It may well be that the mid-term elections will go against tradition and support the party in power.

Some think that the frenzied push by many state Republican parties to dimmish voter access and decrease absentee and early balloting reflect their worries about losing big in the mid-terms. They have no real issues to run on and gather support. Of course, many party faithful continue to repeat the refrains of the “Big Lie” and the mantra of “Stop the Steal” to churn their electorate.  I do hope that these words soon lose their power to propel voters. Some states have resorted to another battle in the “culture wars” of previous years.  Remember the push against same-sex marriage in previous mid-terms, well this year the push is against rights for Transgender adults and teens.  At the state level, scary testimony is being heard which claims that girls will be attacked in school bathrooms and defeated on sports fields by boys “presenting” as girls. That is so not what transgender issues should be about. All of this is to create a hook that will get their conservative voters to the polls in 2022.

The trial of police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis continues with dramatic and painful testimony about the death of George Floyd.  Many police officials testified that the restraint action by officer Chauvin was not among permitted holds. This is a major departure from the typical police trial. Somehow, the Conservative media is calling this the Floyd trial.  No matter how they frame it, trying the victim is not the true story.

In another major story this week, the contested union election at an Amazon fulfillment site in Alabama ended in a defeat for the union efforts.  For many years unions have attempted to gain a foothold in Amazon facilities and have met strong management opposition. Since Amazon is the second-largest employer in the country, unionization there would have been a major win for the unions. This loss does not mean that the union advocates will stop their efforts, however as there have long been complaints about work processes at Amazon. (Amazon has 1.2 million employees, Walmart is the largest US employer with over 1.3 million US employees.) Government, including local, federal, state, and the military account for 24 million employees.

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The latest news about the coronavirus continues to be dismal, despite the numbers of vaccinated Americas. The UK variant is still spreading throughout the United States, despite earlier efforts to stop it.  Michigan is now experiencing a widespread outbreak, much of it among younger victims and sports teams. Florida is also experiencing another spike as might have been expected after widespread spring-break maskless events. Maryland virus case numbers have also increased significantly in the last two weeks, the most in several months.  Over 1800 new cases were reported in Maryland just yesterday, compared to around 1200 a week ago. Daily case rates across the country are still too high according to experts.

So far 119 million people in the US have received at least one vaccination; 72.6 million people have been fully vaccinated to date. More than 4 million vaccines were given yesterday alone. We still have a ways to go, despite the Texas governor’s claim that Texas is close to herd immunity!

COVID stats (NY Times)

Total US cases: 31,214,600.  Total new Cases: 64,338.

Total deaths: 561,513.            Total new deaths: 700.

Maryand totals: Total cases: 425, 247. Total new cases: 1,584.

                          Total deaths: 8,444.  Total new deaths: 20.

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Finally, a few words about the judges that President Biden is proposing for the federal courts. After McConnell spent several years slow-walking Obama appointments and denying others, including Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and filling vacancies over the last four years with unqualified judges in many cases, the right is now attacking Biden’s recent nominations, decrying dark money. Ruth Marcus discusses this in a column in the Washington Post today and notes the pressure from the Federalist Society, the Judicial Crisis Network, and others. The Network itself is the Fort Knox of dark money, in my opinion. Current DC area TV stations (and those in AZ, WV, and GA) are seeing Ads against President Biden’s nominees with ominous music and concerning deep-voiced words about the money buying these judges. The nominees from the President are the most diverse group ever proposed and include Black women, a Muslim man, and others of varied backgrounds.  They do not all come from Harvard and Yale, which is a departure from the usual process. Some have been prosecutors and others public defenders. According to Marcus 9 of the 11 are women and 9 are people of color. It appears that the conservative groups are afraid that the voices of the people might be heard in the Federal Courts.  What a challenge that must be!

That is quite enough for this week!

“Til next week – peace!

Cherry Blossom Time

 

Springtime in Washington is always a beautiful time of year.  The flowering cherry blossom trees – originally gifts of friendship from the Japanese in 1912 – are planted around the Tidal Basin and elsewhere in the area and make the city a lovely place to visit in the Spring.  Thanks to Lady Bird Johnson’s beautification program many years ago, flowers are popping up across the city. She worked hard to add perennial blooms throughout neighborhoods and parks locally. Eventually, these actions led to highway beautification efforts and a reduction of garish billboards once seen nationally.

The news this week has not been beautiful, so I am happy that we do have the privilege of watching the trees and flowers bloom and thinking a bit of happy warm days. Early in the week, President Biden announced his Infrastructure proposals. If you remember, the previous administration was frequently announcing that such plans were in the works; however, they never made it out the door. This time the President is going big; the project, named the American Jobs Plan, is called a big bold plan for the future. The cost of this plan which includes many different structural initiatives is estimated at 2.5 Trillion dollars over ten years. Included will be funds to improve roads and bridges, aid Amtrak, fix public housing with energy-efficient upgrades, improve energy efficiency in public buildings, upgrade public utilities and the national power grid and fix other areas such as aging water and sewer lines, increase solar, and wind options, and improve public school buildings. (Recently some Republican Senators, not one of whom voted to support the stimulus bill are taking credit in their states for some of its properties. Hypocrisy anyone?) A t least this President did not delay the process for the stimulus checks by demanding that his name is on the checks.  Since the majority of them are direct deposits into existing accounts, that was mostly a moot point.

Of course, those projects are just a broad generic review of suggested works and improvements, as states are asked to indicate and prioritize their needs; many years would be needed to define and complete these tasks. While the President noted that these projects are needed in all 50 states, the Senate Minority leader, Mitch McConnell indicated that since payment for these projects would require an elevated tax rate for businesses, no one in his Republican Senate caucus would vote in favor of the program. This stance meant that it could only pass by the reconciliation process which would require approval by the Parliamentarian and yes votes by all Democratic Senators. Other Republicans are indicating that as soon as COVID vaccinations are completed that the economy will bounce back, so job programs are unnecessary.  The economy added almost one million jobs in the most recent report, but millions remain out of work because their former jobs no longer exist. The unemployment rate is now 6%.  Many have noted that the Business rate tax cut of the previous administration was not paid for, as spending was greatly increased during that time, but now that tax increases are being considered, there must be a justification for higher spending.  Seems illogical, somehow.

In other news, the election suppression moves in Georgia continue to have fallout beyond the borders of the state, perhaps causing others who were rushing to do the same to take a pause. Several major corporations who have large hubs or bases of operations in Texas are urging the legislature there to not continue with its voter suppression bills. Other national corporations have been shamed into speaking up in the face of their meek statements before the bill passage as major Black executives spoke out against the corporate silence on this measure.  Now, there is a more national response and talk of boycotts of events in Georgia. The Bill has passed and the legislature has gone home, so it is not currently clear what can be done to change the situation there unless there is enough push to enact better legislation in a special session.  I doubt that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who is up for re-election next year and would have benefitted from these changes, would be likely to do this.

The biggest move, the one that is causing the greatest turmoil is the decision of Major League Baseball  (MLB) to pull the planned All-Star Game and draft event from Atlanta. Athletes in other sports are also speaking up in favor of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights bill. The Atlanta Dream, the Women’s basketball team based in Atlanta, formerly owned by former Senator Kelly Loeffler, has also spoken out against this legislation. Many NBA and WNBA stars were among the most outspoken players during the Black Lives Matter protests last summer.  I cannot forget the plaintive cry of one Black coach (Doc Rivers) at that time: paraphrased “Why is it that we love America and America does not love us back?  All we are asking is that we live up to our constitution for everybody.” These voter suppression Bills do not do that.  We should be making it easier, not more difficult, for everyone to exercise this American freedom.

Of course, the former President, who supported these Republican efforts at voter suppression is now calling on his supporters to boycott baseball. Certainly, he is, as usual, on the wrong side of history, the voting bill in Georgia and democracy in his position. He is facing further turmoil as the non-disclosure forms, he had campaigners sign were deemed invalid and overly broad, the suit of a former Apprentice contestant is allowed to proceed and the NY AG is looking into his business actions again. Today the New York Times reported that the MAGA Win-Red campaign was bilking donors out of unexpected repeating donations by requiring them to uncheck multiple boxes indicating automatic weekly or monthly donations.  Several elderly or ill donors had their bank accounts unknowingly drained of all funds. The article indicated that millions of dollars in refunds had to be issued to those who complained or were found to be out of compliance with campaign finance limitations. Eventually, the combined Republican campaigns would give back more than 120 million. The Biden campaign also issued refunds, but for only 2.2% of the Act Blue and other campaigns. In the final months of the campaigns, the RNC and others issued over 530,000 refunds for 64 million dollars while the Democrats made 37,000 refunds for 5.6 million.

The other dominant feature this week has been the trial in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police there. The criminal trials have been divided into two parts, police officer Derek Chauvin in one and the other three police officers together in a subsequent trial. Chauvin was the man directly responsible for the death by placing his knee on the neck of the prone handcuffed man. The trial has shown other videos of the events before and after the police came to arrest Floyd for supposedly passing a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill. In one of the videos, a live cheerful Floyd can be seen in the convenience store walking around. In a few moments, he would be dead in an episode of controlled violence that we now know took over 9 minutes and 29 seconds and was uncalled for under any circumstance. The testimony of the onlookers was painful to see; I admit I only watched snippets on the news as it was shown. They each indicated the helplessness they felt when they could not stop this killing. An EMT asked if she could check for a pulse or try to do compressions and was turned back. Two of the viewers and a dispatcher called the police to come to stop this crime. Lookers-on called for the police to stop but were afraid to step closer as they were threatened with Mace. The teenager who first filmed the killing was traumatized as she could not stop this and felt that she had failed Floyd, a man she did not know. In a way, this killing has traumatized and changed us all. We can see that Floyd, characterized by the police as a man out of control was most likely a frightened man, but not a violent one. However, if the crowd had not been there that description would have held and could have been used to justify the death. Video has shown us that the crowd, while emotional was not at all threatening, except by their witness and videos. I have not seen the defense, but I can see that it is trying to condemn the victim to excuse the crime.  I hope it will not fool the jury. An article in the Washington Post today indicates that police are rarely convicted in victim deaths.

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COVID stats NYTimes 4/3/21

Total US Cases: 30,370,827.  New cases: 63,827 There are concerns as the daily numbers are again ticking up, possibly due to new variants and fewer restraints.

Total US Deaths: 554,558. Total new deaths: 748.

Total Maryland Cases: 415,660. Total new cases: 1,275. Total deaths: 8,342. New Deaths: 23.

Maryland case percentages are again increasing.  Many are worried that the state opened up too soon.  The Washington Post editorialized about this today urging more restraint and reconsideration of this move. More vaccination sites are opening, but the state still has far to go.

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That is all for today.

“Til next week – Peace.