Month: March 2021

Black farmers only got 0.1% of Trump’s farm relief package

Baltimore Salt Box update 3/25/21

The Baltimore Bicentennial Cake Failure

What a fiasco! In 1976, a 35-ton cake succumbed to rain and rats. This is a great history.

This account has a photograph of the cake.

The Baltimore Sun wrote about it in 2011.

National Cheesesteak Day 03/24/21

Yesterday was National Cheesesteak Day. This video explains the history of the cheesesteak which was invented in Philadelphia.

National Cheesesteak Day — March 24

Republican support for tougher guns laws drops

Let’s see: Many of them think the election was stolen, many won’t take the COVID-19 vaccine and now they won’t do anything to prevent mass shootings. It’s amazing that Republican support for gun safety laws has actually gone down even though there were two mass shootings within a week.

Republicans are a big threat to future of our country now. They are out of step with the majority of the country but their power in Congress and the states can hold the rest of us back. It won’t matter how many people support tougher laws. Republicans have gotten so much money from the NRA that they will never do anything to cross them. Remember when Trump talked about doing something about guns? He always backed down after talking with the NRA.

Interview with the directors of ‘Tina’ in Vanity Fair

This is an excellent interview with the directors of the new documentary ‘TIna’ on Tina Turner. Both of them cite “River Deep – Mountain High” as their favorite recording of hers. It’s a great 1966 record produced by Phil Spector but It was not a hit.

The border surge is media and Republican hype

My comments on CNN’s The Point column on universal background check legislations

—- Forwarded Message —–From: Harris Levy <harrisl585@yahoo.com>To: lauren.dezenski@cnn.com <lauren.dezenski@cnn.com>Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 07:48:27 PM EDTSubject: Comments on The Point: Senate Dems’ gun control tightrope
You left out two important things:
1) The public supports universal background checks.  The polls show about at least 80% and sometimes 90% support which includes many Republican voters.  This isn’t a Democrats vs. Republicans issue.  This is a Republicans vs. over 80% of the public issue.77% of GOP Voters Support Background Checks for Gun Buyers as Dems Push Forward Bill (newsweek.com)
77% of GOP voters support background checks for gun buyers as Dems push …The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 has three Republican co-sponsors.

2) Republicans have received millions in campaign contributions over the years from the NRA.  From 1990-2018, 97% of NRA donations went to Republicans.NRA Political Donations from 1990 to 2018 – AbsentData

—– Forwarded Message —–From: Chris Cillizza <cillizza@newsletters.cnn.com>To: “harrisl585@yahoo.com” <harrisl585@yahoo.com>Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 06:33:18 PM EDTSubject: The Point: Senate Dems’ gun control tightrope

View this email in your browser March 23, 2021  | by  Lauren Dezenski and Sonnet SwireSenate Dems’ gun control tightropeImageA day after the seventh mass shooting in as many days in the United States, a painfully familiar question has returned to Washington: What, if anything, can be done to prevent this kind of tragedy? On Capitol Hill, the answer is as complicated as ever. The Democrat-controlled House recently passed bills tackling who can buy a gun and how to close loopholes on background checks. President Joe Biden announced support for both measures, saying on Tuesday, “I don’t need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future.” BUT the Democrats’ razor-thin Senate majority significantly limits what they — and the administration — can accomplish. And right now, the Senate remains at an impasse over expanding background checks on gun sales.  Republicans in the Senate say they aren’t interested in bills to expand background checks. They argue they won’t work, they would eat away at gun rights and the focus should be on other matters, like addressing the root causes of crime. Democrats are pointing to that GOP resistance as yet another reason to bust the filibuster — saying the Senate’s rules should be changed so that 51 senators can break a filibuster, rather than 60. But they even lack the votes within their own 50-member caucus to change the rules. Despite all of this, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to bring the House’s universal background check bill to the Senate floor. “This Senate will be different,” Schumer said, promising that the chamber would take up debate on gun legislation. The Point: Democrats are in control, but their majorities are too narrow to bring the kind of sweeping gun reforms advocates are calling for in the wake of yet another horrific and senseless mass shooting. — LaurenQUOTE OF THE DAY“Until then, I am a no vote on the floor on all non-diversity nominees.”— Sen. Tammy Duckworth, frustrated with the lack of Asian American/Pacific Islander representation in the Biden Cabinet, said that until there are AAPI nominees to vacant positions, she’s a no vote.A HISTORIC FIRSTTuesday marked the first day for Boston’s new acting mayor, Kim Janey. She took the helm of the city after Mayor Marty Walsh resigned to become the US labor secretary on Monday evening. With the new promotion, Janey notched two historic feats: She is both the first woman and the first Black person to serve as Boston’s mayor. Read more from Lauren on Janey’s history-making mayorship.2020 … NOT GREAT!Democracy in nations around the world took a hit in 2020, including in the United States, according to a new report. Chris explains why democracy faltered in the US and elsewhere last year. Stick with The Point on YouTube and subscribe.LAUREN’S GOOD READSNo reasonable people, eh? Two dueling AAPI trend lines Remembering the victims in Boulder This town is rolling out a reparations program for Black residents The rush to replace Rush Can’t wait to check these out myself Congrats on the new job, Prince Harry Ducks, ranked!MUSICAL INTERLUDEWe love Penny & Sparrow in any context. Here’s Friend Group’s 2021 remix of 2019’s “Don’t Wanna Be Without Ya.”Today’s episode: DC’s response to the latest mass shooting.5 THINGS ABOUT LINA KHANLet’s meet Lina Khan, President Joe Biden’s pick to fill a seat on the Federal Trade Commission. An associate professor at Columbia Law School, she is lauded by the left as a leading critic of the tech industry’s power. Here are five things you may not have known about this Big Tech trust-buster: While a law student at Yale, Khan authored a paper that garnered a lot of attention, “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” which explored her position on how the tech giant’s conduct violates antitrust law.This wasn’t the first time Khan had spoken out on how Amazon’s pricing practices can manipulate industries. In 2014, she wrote an opinion piece for CNN about a spat between the tech giant and smaller book suppliers.Khan recently served as legal counsel for the House Judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee and helped to conduct a 16-month investigation into the tech industry’s monopoly power.Her path to confirmation will be rocky – Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, the ranking Republican on the Senate antitrust subcommittee, said Khan would be a bad fit for the job.If confirmed, the 32-year-old would be the youngest FTC commissioner ever.– SonnetBallot Box DividerONE BIG ANNIVERSARY11The Affordable Care Act, sometimes known as Obamacare, turns 11 years old today. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to CNN’s The Point with Chris Cillizza newsletter.Unsubscribe from this listCheck out other CNN NewslettersCreate your CNN AccountShare the Point NewsletterWas this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get The Point in your inbox. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris Cillizza and Lauren Dezenski. You can follow Chris and Lauren on Twitter and connect with The Point on:Our mailing address is:
One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Copyright © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., All rights reserved.

Covers: Bluebird

“Bluebird” is a Buffalo Springfield song written and sung by Stephen Stills. It was a single in 1967. A much longer version was released years later. There was a blues-style version by Bonnie Raitt on her first album in 1971. She really made it sound like a different song.