Dallas Morning News: “Major League Baseball’s decision to pull its All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to the state’s new election laws is a warning shot to Texas lawmakers considering ‘voter integrity’ legislation of their own. According to MLB officials, corporate leaders and civil rights activists, the election law signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp discriminate against minority residents and are designed to suppress their ability to vote. Among other things, the Georgia laws essentially ban mobile voting centers, reduce the time frame for requesting an absentee ballot, require strict ID requirements for absentee ballots and make it illegal for election officials to mail absentee ballots to all voters. One provision makes it a crime for anyone other than an election worker to provide food or water to those waiting to vote. The law is a public relations nightmare for Republicans, given that long lines at polling places in communities of color are routine occurrences.”

“‘I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft,’ Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. ‘Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.’ Georgia has been ground zero in the fight to protect voting rights, and the actions of Kemp and the GOP-controlled Legislature make that state an easy target for economic boycotts and sanctions by companies and organizations. Officials from corporate America and the major sports leagues are mindful of the 2020 social justice movement that emerged after a Black man – George Floyd – died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck. Chauvin’s murder trial is entering its second week. If they are not careful, Texas GOP leaders could put a bullseye on the Lone Star State. And they could already be missing out on a major sporting event. The election bills in the Legislature will likely result in Texas not getting MLB’s 2021 ‘Midsummer Classic’ that Georgia booted. Last year the brand new Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, was the site of National League playoff games and the World Series. It would have made sense for the stadium to be in the mix for the relocated All-Star Game, but MLB officials won’t risk placing the famed exhibition in a state that approved controversial voting legislation.”

Saying the “outrage industrial complex” as the reason corporations are speaking out against a new suppressive Georgia voter law, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have decided to “join in bullying themselves,” the Washington Post reports.

Ignoring the free market concept of consumer choice, McConnell released a statement decrying corporations using their economic muscle to impact positive social change.  “It’s jaw-dropping to see powerful American institutions not just permit themselves to be bullied, but join in the bullying themselves,” McConnell said.

McConnell’s outrage comes after companies like Delta and Coca-Cola have voiced opposition to the law passed in about 24 hours through the Republican-led Georgia legislature and signed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp.  Major League Baseball also pulled the 2021 All-Star Game and MLB Draft from Atlanta. 

Check it out here.

“On a day of extraordinary political drama Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial entered the evidentiary stage at the Jerusalem District Court even as across town representatives of Israel’s political parties were meeting with President Reuven Rivlin to tell him whether they recommend Netanyahu remain prime minister after last month’s deadlocked election. The state’s lead prosecutor, Liat Ben-Ari, was set to open Monday’s court proceedings with a 20-minute speech laying out the criminal charges against Netanyahu. The judges were later scheduled to hear from the former editor of the Walla news site, Ilan Yeshua, a key witness in Case 4000, the most serious of the three cases against Netanyahu. The prime minister faces charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Case 4000, and fraud and breach of trust charges in Case 1000 and Case 2000.”

“He denies any wrongdoing, claims the charges are fabricated, and says he is the victim of an attempted political coup. Monday marked the prime minister’s third appearance in court since the indictments were filed against him in January 2020. The premier most recently appeared before the judges in February 2021, formally pleading not guilty to the charges. Netanyahu’s legal troubles have been inextricably linked to his premiership and to the country’s current political impasse, which has resulted in four elections in the past two years. Opponents have used the indictments against him as fodder for their campaigns and as a reason to not join a coalition with him, preventing Netanyahu from acquiring the 61 seats necessary to form a government as of Monday. Netanyahu has also been accused by his rivals of making support for legislation granting him immunity a requirement for entering his coalition” – Times of Israel.

“Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo is expected to take the stand as soon as today, as testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial continues for a second week. The city’s top cop will tell jurors that Chauvin’s ‘conduct was not consistent’ with MPD training and policies, per special prosecutor Jerry Blackwell’s opening statement. ‘He will not mince any words. He’s very clear. He will be very decisive, that this was excessive force'” Axios reports.

“Arradondo, who fired all four officers involved in George Floyd’s killing last summer, previously characterized Chauvin’s actions as ‘murder.’ ‘Mr. George Floyd’s tragic death was not due to a lack of training – the training was there. This was murder – it wasn’t a lack of training.’ It’s rare for a chief to testify against an officer, The Guardian notes. One expert called the decision ‘a pretty remarkable move.’ Arradondo also testified in the 2019 trial of former officer Mohamed Noor. He was assistant chief when Noor fatally shot 911 caller Justine Ruszczyk in South Minneapolis.”

CNN: “A defining political clash took shape Sunday over Joe Biden’s latest effort to reshape the US economy, with Republicans mobilizing against a massive infrastructure plan that could put the President in historic Democratic company. GOP office holders launched a broad assault on the package, arguing it was too expensive and was stuffed with overly partisan programs that had nothing to do with fixing roads and bridges. ‘The Biden administration is calling it an infrastructure plan. It looks like a $2 trillion tax hike to me,’ Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves told CNN’s Jake Tapper on ‘State of the Union.’ Democrats, meanwhile, hinted they would try to press ahead with the plan without Republican votes if necessary through a 50-50 Senate, immediately putting the focus on divisions over details that exist in their own ranks. They styled the bill as a jobs package that was needed despite strengthening employment figures as the pandemic economy begins to wake up.”

“‘I think it’s a serious proposal dealing with some of the serious crises that we face,’ Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said, also on ‘State of the Union.’ The measure includes hundreds of billions of dollars for transportation projects, but also investments in items not normally seen in a traditional infrastructure plan, including in-home care services for elderly Americans, $300 billion for manufacturing, more than $200 billion for housing and tens of billions of dollars for programs like climate-friendly electric vehicles. So in essence, the fight in Washington is going to boil down to a debate on what exactly the term ‘infrastructure’ entails. The building Washington confrontation was a sign that both parties recognize the package, part of a flurry of initiatives by Biden to benefit blue collar and middle class Americans, is a moment that will shape his legacy. The broad scope and price tag of the bill, and a furor over a subsequent measure focusing on education and health care expected later in the year, means Biden faces a tougher assignment than was the case with his newly passed $1.9 trillion Covid relief law.”

The Screen Actors’ Guild awarded its top four film acting awards to people of color for the first time Sunday, with Aaron Sorkin’s drama  “The Trial of the Chicago 7” taking the prize best ensemble cast in a motion picture, USA Today reports.

The late Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis won as best lead actors in a film for their performances in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”  Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for “Judas and the Black Messiah” and Yuh-jung Youn earned supporting actress for “Minari,” marking the first time four people of color took those top for awards.  Youn also became the first Asian American taking an individual SAG award.

In TV categories, “Schitt’s Creek” won best comedy ensemble and star Catherine O’Hara took best comedy actress, “The Crown” ruled the best drama cast contingent, Jason Bateman (“Ozark”) and Gillian Anderson (“The Crown”) got best drama actor trophies, and Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”) earned best comedy actor.

Pretty clear where the All-Star Game patch was supposed to be on the Braves’ uniforms. Hope they’ll use that space now for a memorial patch for Aaron and Niekro (whose numbers, 44 and 35, are on either side of the MLB logo on the back of the hats). pic.twitter.com/tduLh3jt4T

— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) April 3, 2021

For a network that touts “We Report.  You Decide,” Fox News has made a decision to completely avoid coverage of the sex, money and drugs scandal engulfing Republican Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, but they have mentioned Hunter Biden 900% more than the nearest cable news network.

According to PressRun founder Eric Boehlert and BadFoxGraphics, Fox News did not mention Gaetz at all in 30 hours of broadcasting from Thursday night through Friday.  That includes two cycles of prime time programming.  Since then, Boehlert notes just 11 mentions of Gaetz.

BadFoxGraphics tracked the weekend edition of the Fox News morning show “Fox & Friends,” noting no mention of the Gaetz scandal at all in eight hours of airtime over two days.  “Fox & Friends” did, however, cover the MLB All-Star Game being moved from Atlanta, a story that was announced Thursday, and a viral video of a dog stealing a microphone from a Russian reporter. 

Six months ago today was the day then-President Donald Trump took his joyride up and down the street in front of Walter Reed to throngs of his adoring fans after being hospitalized there with what had been reported to be an extremely severe Coronavirus infection. October 4th, 2020 was also a Sunday, and in the MAGA religion, it was much like Easter. Their savior had been risen from political and likely physical death, reemerging from the tomb of Walter Reed hospital to show all the “haters” that he wasn’t down and was going to win four more years in the White House. Libs would be owned. MAGA would be enjoyed by all. The White Nationalist Empire would reign forever.

How wrong they were. The last six months have been by far the worst stretch for the right wing in the 21st century. 2008 was bad, but they at least knew back then they were fucked going into the election. Expectations went deeply unmanaged in 2020 and then again repeatedly up until today. Just failure upon failure, embarrassing clusterfuck after another. Here’s a look back at it all.

“Last month, Marwa Elselehdar noticed something strange. News had broken about a huge container ship, the Ever Given, that had become wedged across the Suez Canal, bringing one of world’s major shipping routes to a halt. But as she checked her phone, online rumours were saying she was to blame. ‘I was shocked,’ says Marwa, Egypt’s first female ship’s captain. At the time of the Suez blockage, Ms Elselehdar was working as a first mate, in command of the Aida IV, hundreds of miles away in Alexandria. The vessel, owned by Egypt’s maritime safety authority, runs supply missions to a lighthouse in the Red Sea. It’s also used to train cadets from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), a regional university run by the Arab League. Rumours about Marwa Elselehdar’s role on the Ever Given were largely spurred by screenshots of a fake news headline – supposedly published by Arab News – which said she was involved in the Suez incident. The doctored image appears to be from a genuine Arab News story, released on 22 March, which profiles Marwa’s success as Egypt’s first female ship captain.”

“The picture has been shared dozens of times on Twitter and Facebook. Several Twitter accounts under her name have also spread false claims that she was in involved with the Ever Given. Marwa Elselehdar, 29, told the BBC she has no idea who first spread the story or why they did it. ‘I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I’m a successful female in this field or because I’m Egyptian, but I’m not sure,’ she said. It’s not the first time she’s faced challenges in an industry historically dominated by men. At present, women only account for 2% of the world’s seafarers, according to the International Maritime Organisation” – BBC.

Politico: “When Joe Biden launched his presidential campaign, he dubbed it the ‘battle for the soul of the nation.’ Locals argue that battle is being waged in Georgia as the rest of the country looks on. Democrats now control all of Washington, after Biden won Georgia and both Senate seats here flipped in January. But Republicans still run all the levers of state government here, and they’re rallying behind a sweeping new election law that could tilt the political pendulum back in their column in 2022, when nine statewide executive offices and a high-profile Senate race will be on the ballot. SB 202, signed into law by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp in late March, is either the epitome of voter suppression or the embodiment of election integrity – depending on whom you ask. Biden decried the law as ‘Jim Crow in the 21st century,’ though the final product didn’t restrict voting as much as some of the headline-grabbing early legislative proposals. The clash over SB 202 is thrusting Georgia back into the national spotlight after a tumultuous year: Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was killed by white vigilantes. Rayshard Brooks, another Black man, was shot to death by police. Former President Donald Trump pressured local election officials to overturn his loss here. Then there was the March massacre targeting Asian Americans, and, less than two weeks ago, the arrest of a Black state legislator protesting the new law under the gold dome of Georgia’s state capitol.”

“The fight over the future of elections in Georgia – and, some say, the soul of the nation – is playing out on multiple fronts, materializing as not only a political battle but also a legal battle, a legislative battle and a moral battle. And now, as businesses from Coke to Delta condemn the law, and Republicans threaten to retaliate by zapping their tax breaks, it’s become a corporate battle, too. On Friday, the sports world got involved, when Major League Baseball pulled its All-Star game and the draft out of the state. But not everyone, including Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, agrees that boycotts are the answer. What’s happening here is being duplicated across the country – Georgia is among the 47 states where legislators have introduced more than 360 restrictive voting bills, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice – and elected officials and voters across the country are paying attention. ‘We are the test once again for what happens and where this leads us down the road,’ said Khadijah Abdur-Rahman, a Democratic Fulton County commissioner.”

https://twitter.com/realannapaulina/status/1378519221542518787

“Five policemen were killed in central India and 18 were missing in one of the deadliest attacks by Maoist insurgents on security forces in recent months, two police officials said on Sunday. Security personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force’s elite CoBRA unit, the District Reserve Guard and the Special Task Force were attacked on Saturday in the tribal-dominated state of Chhattisgarh during an anti-insurgency operation, said Om Prakash Pal, a senior police official.”

“The policemen were killed in firing that lasted for four hours in the border district of Sukma, 540 kms (340 miles) south of the state capital, Raipur. Combing operations continue to locate the missing 18 police men, Pal said. The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have waged an armed insurgency against the government for decades. Leaders of the hardline leftist militant group say they are fighting on behalf of the poorest, who have not benefited from a long economic boom in Asia’s third-largest economy. Hours after the latest attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter that the ‘sacrifices of the brave martyrs will never be forgotten. May the injured recover at the earliest'” – Reuters.

Politico: “The half-brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Saturday he has been placed under house arrest and accused the country’s ‘ruling system’ of incompetence and corruption, exposing a rare rift within the ruling monarchy of a close Western ally. Prince Hamzah’s videotaped statement came after the country’s official news agency reported that two former senior officials and other suspects had been arrested for ‘security reasons,’ even as authorities denied that Hamzah had been detained or placed under house arrest. In a video leaked to the British Broadcasting Corp., Hamzah – a former crown prince stripped of his title in 2004 – said he was visited early Saturday by the country’s military chief and told he was not allowed to go out, communicate with people or meet with them.”

“He said his security detail was removed, and his phone and Internet service had been cut. He said he was speaking over satellite Internet and expected that service to be cut as well. The BBC said it received the statement from Hamzah’s lawyer. Hamzah said he had been informed he was being punished for taking in part in meetings in which the king had been criticized, though he said he was not accused of joining in the criticism. He then lashed out at the ‘ruling system’ without mentioning the king by name, saying it had decided ‘that its personal interests, that its financial interests, that its corruption is more important than the lives and dignity and futures of the 10 million people that live here.’ ‘I’m not part of any conspiracy or nefarious organization or foreign-backed group, as is always the claim here for anyone who speaks out,’ he said. ‘There are members of this family who still love this country, who care for (its people) and will put them above all else.’ ‘Apparently, that is a crime worthy of isolation, threats and now being cut off,’ he added.”

Britney's final guest tonight was Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. pic.twitter.com/Bde0PgSZuH

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) April 4, 2021

INBOX: 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/59KGyCfcKr

— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) April 3, 2021

“In a valiant effort to separate fact from fiction surrounding a Federal Investigation into Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl are leading an investigation through their non-partisan organization known as Project 1599. A cash reward of $25,000 is offered in exchange for information that leads to the arrest or exoneration of Congressman Gaetz.”

“Project 1599 is uniquely positioned as the only non-partisan group with the pedigree, capabilities, and track record to carry out a sensitive investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct brought against a prominent politician. ‘We are the people that the public looks to in order to separate facts from rumors surrounding accusations of sexual misconduct involving our nation’s most prominent public figures’ Burkman said. Wohl added ‘During this trying time, Congressman Gaetz can rest assured that his past will face only the most diligent of scrutiny from Project 1599’. Project 1599 is encouraging Mr. Gaetz to visit the organization’s headquarters and submit to thorough questioning under polygraph” says a statement from the two hucksters’ organization.

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for Manatee County due to a pending collapse of phosphogypsum stacks, waste from the manufacture of fertilizer, which will contaminate local groundwater and land, CNN reports.

The county public safety organization has evacuated the entire Piney Point reservoir, which holds 480 million gallons of phosphogypsum, which is mildly radioactive and is mixed with a slightly salty water for storage.

“We’re talking about the potential of about [480] million gallons, within a matter of seconds and minutes, leaving that retention pool and going around the surrounding area,” said Scott Hopes, the Manatee County Administrator, who said the “waste that would be less conducive to life on land and…life in the sea.”

“Two Korean American congresswomen have withdrawn their endorsement for Texas GOP congressional candidate Sery Kim after she said she doesn’t want Chinese immigrants to come into the country. Kim made the comments during a candidate forum in Texas’ 6th Congressional District while responding to a question about the US immigration crisis, according to CNN. ‘I don’t want them here at all,’ she said. ‘They steal our intellectual property, they give us coronavirus, they don’t hold themselves accountable… I can say that because I’m Korean,’ she added.”

“California Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steel withdrew their endorsement and condemned Kim’s comments, calling them ‘unacceptable and hurtful’ while emphasizing that ‘discrimination and violence against Asians and Asian Americans has to stop.’ ‘As the first Korean American Republican women to serve in Congress, we want to empower and lift up fellow members of the (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community who want to serve their communities,’ Reps. Kim and Steel said in a statement. ‘We talked with Sery Kim yesterday about her hurtful and untrue comments about Chinese immigrants, and made clear that her comments were unacceptable.’ The congresswomen said they urged Kim to apologize for her comments since hate crimes against the AAPI community are on the rise. ‘However, she has not publicly shown remorse, and her words were contrary to what we stand for,’ they added. ‘We cannot in good conscience continue to support her candidacy. We will continue to speak out in support of our AAPI community.’ Kim later told CNN that her comments were referring to ‘the Communist Party of China, and were not directed at Asian Americans, especially Chinese immigrants fleeing this oppressive regime'” – The Mind Shield.