Columbus Dispatch: “Move over, ‘Pure Michigan.’ Ohio wants to prove it’s the cool kid on the Midwestern block. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that he wants to spend $50 million on a marketing campaign to convince East Coast and West Coast residents to live, work and spend their money in Ohio. ‘We want to position Ohio as the place to be,’ DeWine said during a news conference unveiling his next state budget proposal. ‘Ohio is a welcoming place. I don’t care who you are, we want you to come to Ohio. It’s a progressive state.’ Well, not exactly. Ohio’s GOP-controlled Legislature hasn’t passed many progressive policies in years. Efforts like raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour or banning discrimination in employment and housing for LGBTQ Ohioans have failed to gain traction.”

“Lt. Gov. Jon Husted swooped in: ‘We’ve got small towns with conservative values. We’ve got some cities with progressive values and all across the scope, Ohio is a place where no matter what you want, we’ve got it.’ Democrats were immediately critical of the campaign. ‘Instead of spending $50M for a PR campaign, Republicans could stop passing extremist legislation that keeps women, people of color, the LGBTQ community and working families from realizing their American dream in Ohio,’ tweeted House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron. ‘It would be a lot cheaper. And much more kind.’ DeWine wants to spend $50 million over two years to market Ohio better to new residents or those who grew up here and might want to return. The money is part of $1 billion in one-time spending in his two-year state budget proposal. “

Politico’s Jake Sherman reports The House Rules Committee will move Wednesday to begin the process of removing Marjorie Taylor Greene from the Education and Labor committees.

New York Times: “A whistle-blower complaint filed on Monday said a top Trump homeland security official sought to constrain the Biden administration’s immigration agenda by agreeing to hand policy controls to the pro-Trump union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The complaint accuses Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II of ‘gross mismanagement, gross waste of government funds and abuse of authority” over the labor agreements he signed with the immigration agents’ union the day before President Biden’s inauguration.”

“Mr. Cuccinelli – an immigration hard-liner whose legal legitimacy to serve in senior positions at the Department of Homeland Security was contested – essentially sought to tie Mr. Biden’s hands, according to the complaint. ‘This abuse of authority is shocking,’ wrote David Z. Seide, a lawyer representing the whistle-blower, whom he described as ‘a current federal employee who wishes to remain anonymous’ and who ‘possesses information concerning significant acts of misconduct’ by Mr. Cuccinelli. A senior homeland security official confirmed that since Mr. Biden’s inauguration, officials have been meeting to discuss the implications of the ICE labor agreements. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. One clause in the contract requires homeland security leaders to obtain ‘prior affirmative consent’ in writing from the union on changes to policies and functions affecting agents. It also appears to allow the ICE union to argue that it can reject changes such as Mr. Biden’s recent order to focus on violent criminals and not prioritize other undocumented immigrants.”

“In recent weeks, companies like Kohl’s and Bed Bath & Beyond made the decision to drop MyPillow following comments from CEO Mike Lindell on voter fraud and Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion threatened Mr. Lindell with a letter dated December 23, 2020, stating that his claims on election fraud were ‘implausible,’ and have ‘no basis in reality.’ The boycott backfired causing a flurry of Conservatives to take a stand against these companies by boycotting and buying directly from MyPillow” says an “article” on RFAngle that includes a coupon code for 66% off your order at the online bedding retailer which under normal circumstances would not be considered indicative of a business with a healthy bottom line but who the hell knows with these assholes.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the organization at the forefront of protecting American civil liberties escounsed in the United States Constitution, has elected Deborah Archer as its president, ABC News reports.

Archer is the first Black person to be elected to the post in the ACLU’s 100-year history.  The 69-member ACLU board of directors made the election in a virtual meeting over the weekend.

Since 2008, Archer is the president of the NYU Law School where she also teaches civil rights and racial justice as a law professor.

The ACLU took a central role in defending the civil rights of people in the United States during the Trump Administration, having filed more than 400 lawsuits dealing with immigrant rights, voting rights, LGBT rights, racial justice and other issues.

Jim Justice, the Republican governor of West Virginia, urged his colleagues in Congress to “go bigger rather than smaller” on the upcoming coronavirus relief bill, the Washington Post reports.

“We’ve got a real problem; we’ve got people in this country that can’t pay their power bill, can’t pay their car payment, absolutely scared to death about their rent payment. You’ve got businesses that are falling on their face all over the place and don’t know where to turn,” Justice said in an Washington Post Live interview on Monday.

Ten Republican Senators presented a counteroffer proposal to President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package on Monday, proposing a $600 billion bill that would cut funding to get schools to reopen, cut a $15 minimum wage provision, and cut direct stimulus payments from $1,400 to $1,000.

Asked if the White House considers the impact Donald Trump’s bloviating might have on the negotiations for the latest coronavirus relief package, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki sharply put any idea that they care about Trump to rest.

“This may be hard to believe, we don’t spend a lot of time talking about or thinking about President Trump here,” Psaki said before correcting herself:  “Former President Trump, to be very clear.”

https://youtu.be/v6OgjVEmA_s

“Top House Democrats are moving to force Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off multiple committees this week – with or without Kevin McCarthy’s help. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is planning to deliver an ultimatum to McCarthy this week: Either Republicans move on their own to strip Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee assignments within 72 hours, or Democrats will bring the issue to the House floor. The Democrats’ move comes amid intense fury within the Democratic Caucus over Greene’s long record of incendiary rhetoric, including peddling conspiracy theories that the nation’s deadliest mass shootings were staged. Greene also endorsed violence against Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats before she was elected to Congress. Last week, Greene was officially awarded seats on the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Budget Committee” – Politico.

Spotlight PA: “Pennsylvania’s top election official will resign after her agency’s staff discovered a mistake that will block voters from deciding this spring whether to allow survivors of decades-old sexual abuse to sue the perpetrators. The Department of State did not advertise, as required, a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would open a two-year window for litigation by survivors of child sexual abuse who have aged out of the statute of limitations. Secretary Kathy Boockvar, who oversaw a tense and difficult presidential election in the battleground state, will resign Feb. 5, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. Spotlight PA first reported the news.”

“‘This change at the Department of State has nothing to do with the administration of the 2020 election, which was fair and accurate,’ Wolf said. ‘The delay caused by this human error will be heartbreaking for thousands of survivors of childhood sexual assault, advocates, and legislators, and I join the Department of State in apologizing to you. I share your anger and frustration that this happened, and I stand with you in your fight for justice.’ The two-year window was a key recommendation in a blistering 2018 report by a statewide grand jury that investigated the coverup of decades of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. It is backed by the state’s community of survivors, who have been pushing for the change for nearly two decades. The mistake means that the earliest voters can decide whether to make the change is the spring of 2023.”

A pioneering state law decriminalizing possession of illicit drugs and offering people treatment instead of imprisonment goes into effect in Oregon Monday, a move that advocates say will be a life-changing shift that will help thousands of Oregonians, USA Today reports.

Measure 110, passed by referendum in the November 3rd election, decriminalizes possession of small amounts of illegal drugs–including heroin, opioids, cocaine and methamphetamines–and changes the penalty for possession a $100 fine that can be refunded once the offender goes through a health screening to identify risk of addiction.

Individuals can then opt to enter a treatment program instead of being put into the criminal justice system, a major change in law enforcement that puts a health-based approach to treating addiction ahead of a punitive sentence.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that the government has ordered an additional 40 million doses from a new Scotland-based manufacturer, Valneva, in its continuing effort to maintain vaccine supplies, the BBC reports.

“As we have all along, we’ve invested early, and at risk, before we know for sure if it’ll come good,” Hancock stated, “because from the start, we’ve taken a ‘no regrets’ attitude to backing vaccines.  We tried to leave nothing on the table.”

https://youtu.be/9kymiu1ZzUM

The Giant Pandas at the @NationalZoo are enjoying DC's snow storm. The video shows slides, somersaults and pure panda joy from Mei Xiang and Tian Tian! https://t.co/29ukG8h7mA pic.twitter.com/PHDzAvUWI3

— WUSA9 (@wusa9) January 31, 2021

Donald Trump’s newly formed PAC, the Save America PAC, raised more than $30 million in the weeks after the November election, largely fueled by false claims of election fraud and conspiracies against Trump, the Washington Post reports.

While Trump raised the money through emails and texts proclaiming that he was cheated out of an election victory and implying the the funds would be used in efforts to overturn the election results and defend Georgia Senate seats, according to documents filed Sunday, the Save America PAC didn’t spend a dollar on either endeavor.

Through the fundraising campaigns, the Trump PAC, Trump official election committees and the RNC were able to raise more than $290 million in the last weeks of 2020. 

The Congressional Budget Office expects the US economy to return to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021 thanks in large part to federal aid packages designed to stabilize and stimulate the economy, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Fourth quarter 2021 growth is projected to be 3.7% with annual GDP growth to be 2.4% for the first year of the Biden presidency.  The $900 billion in aid passed in the fourth quarter of 2020 will add approximately 1.5% to the 2021 figure.  A comprehensive distribution of vaccines will also lead to a steady recovery as the population re-engages in normal economic activities.

The CBO predicted an average of 2.5% growth through 2025, calculating that the burst of economic activity in 2021 will settle into a steady growth rate over the following four years as the economy returns to normalcy.

“Many involved in the insurrection professed to be motivated by patriotism, falsely declaring that Trump was the rightful winner of the election. Yet at least eight of the people who are now facing criminal charges for their involvement in the events at the Capitol did not vote in the November 2020 presidential election, according to an analysis of voting records from the states where protestors were arrested and those states where public records show they have lived. They came from states around the country and ranged in age from 21 to 65” CNN reports.

“To determine who voted in November, CNN obtained voting records for more than 80 of the initial arrestees. Most voted in the presidential election, and while many were registered Republicans, a handful were registered as Democrats in those jurisdictions that provided party information – though who someone votes for is not publicly disclosed. Public access to voter history records varies by state, and CNN was unable to view the records of some of those charged.”

Reuters: “U.S. voting rights activist and Democratic Party politician Stacey Abrams has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her work to promote nonviolent change via the ballot box, a Norwegian lawmaker said on Monday. Abrams, whose work was credited with boosting voter turnout last year, helping Joe Biden win the U.S. presidency, joins a long list of nominees, including both former President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, former White House adviser Jared Kushner. ‘Abrams’ work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights,’ said Lars Haltbrekken, a Socialist Party member of Norway’s parliament. King, a Baptist minister who became a leader of the 1960s civil rights movement, won the Nobel prize in 1964 and remains among its most famous laureates. ‘Abrams’ efforts to complete King’s work are crucial if the United States of America shall succeed in its effort to create fraternity between all its peoples and a peaceful and just society,’ Haltbrekken said.”

Dozens of former Republican officials from the George W. Bush administration have abandoned the GOP, saying that the Republican Party has become a “Trump cult” that kowtows to the former president, Reuters reports.

The former high-level Cabinet officials are reportedly disgusted with current Republicans who are defending Donald Trump and his debunked claims of election fraud and his continued calls for violence that led to the January 6th domestic terrorist attack at the Capitol.

“The Republican Party as I knew it no longer exists. I’d call it the cult of Trump,” said Jimmy Gurulé, who was Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in the Bush administration.

February is probably the worst month. Every store is stocked with pink Valentine’s Day bullshit. TV commercials are 35% Kay Jewelers and Jared. The weather sucks. Russell Stover candies are lame. There are never any good new movies or video games, even if they weren’t all delayed anyway. Groundhog Day is the dumbest holiday and that fucking rodent is never right anyway. And why is the first R in February silent? Why can we just spell it “Febuary”?

Black Americans deserve better than the shittiest and shortest month for Black History Month. I propose it be moved to May, which is the second best month (June is already taken by Pride Month). Actually better yet, May should be Black Future Month, in which America reaffirms its spoken commitments to equality by working to actually make them happen. That means donating to and supporting causes that promote equal justice for all, as well as taking a stand against all those who would push back – specifically the Fox News crybabies who use “BLM IS MARXIST” as their little security blanket to help them pretend they’re not racist.

Obviously you should do that year round, but let February and May be the months that you renew your commitment to righting the wrongs of racial injustice and Caucasian insecurity.