Monday, January 18, 2021

And another day where “He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it” comes to a close:

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If the Republicans in Congress tweeting MLK today real cared about his legacy, they’d have already passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.” — Robert Reich

Deaths

US: 408,620 (+1418)

World: 2,049,311 (+9704)

Cases

US: 24,626,376 (+144,326)

World: 96,008,788 (+528,110)

Countdown: 2 days.

States are not required to observe any of the 10 federal holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In many cases, they don’t: Columbus Day, for example, is only recognized in 21 states. But state authority over how to designate holidays has given rise to an ominous downplaying of MLK’s legacy. “Bundling the holidays remains a form of resistance to racial justice in America,” history professor Jill K. Gill told Vox. By putting King alongside Lee, she added, “it also remains a vehicle for obscuring white supremacist aims, past and present.”...Black activists have long pointed out the ways political leaders have diluted King’s legacy on his birthday. Instead of focusing on his commitment to radical policies like wealth redistribution, politicians are quick to generalize King as a unifier, proof of America’s supposedly harmonious racial present. Three years ago, the FBI even tweeted its support for King’s “incredible career fighting for civil rights” — even though the agency cast King as a domestic threat during his lifetime. That some states still refuse to celebrate King, even in this diluted form, is perhaps an indictment of how far America remains from any semblance of racial equality.

Trump administration issues racist school curriculum report on MLK day. -- Of course he had it released today. Trump is a racist.

Sen. Rand Paul says convicting President Trump would "destroy" GOP. -- It can’t happen fast enough.

Four Years in the Front Row. The country’s best female political reporters go on the record about what it was really like covering Trump’s America.

Pardon-seekers have paid Trump allies tens of thousands to lobby president. Trump and his administration have operated the pardon granting system differently from other presidents, which has benefited those connected to or able to pay Trump or his allies, pardon lawyers told the Times. “This kind of off-books influence peddling, special-privilege system denies consideration to the hundreds of ordinary people who have obediently lined up as required by Justice Department rules, and is a basic violation of the longstanding effort to make this process at least look fair,” former U.S. pardon attorney Margaret Love told the newspaper.

A month before 13 domestic terrorists were charged for plotting to kidnap and execute Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey attended a meeting with “militia leaders” to help “improve their message.”

Democrats broadly endorse efforts by Biden to forge bipartisan compromises with Republicans. Republicans, by contrast, are far more reluctant to see their party’s congressional leaders work with Biden. — The Party of authoritarianism doesn’t want its leaders to compromise. Shocking, I know.

McConnell, Schumer close in on power-sharing agreement in evenly divided Senate. The negotiations between Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have been built largely around how the Senate operated the last time the body was split 50-50: When George W. Bush initially became president in 2001. Final details are still being sorted out between the two leaders, sources said.

The Trump family's departure from the White House without inviting their incoming counterparts in is historic in its magnitude. — Horrible people do horrible things. 

50% of Biden's nominees for Cabinet and Cabinet-level roles are people of color, CNN analysis finds.

Trump lifts Covid-19-related travel restrictions for much of Europe, the UK, Ireland and Brazil effective on January 26--nearly a week after he leaves office. President-elect Joe Biden is set to take over the presidency on Wednesday and his incoming press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that his administration would not lift the restrictions.

California becomes first state to top 3 million virus cases.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was handed a 30-day sentence at a hastily organized hearing after his arrest.

Canada urges Biden not to cancel oil pipeline on first day. Top officials in Canada want a chance to make the case for a long disputed oil pipeline to be built amid reports President-elect Joe Biden will cancel Keystone XL.

China has revealed a prototype for a new high-speed Maglev train that is capable of reaching speeds of 620 kilometers (385 miles) per hour. The train runs on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power that makes it look as if the train is floating along the magnetized tracks.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.