Good Monday morning, CivMixers. Another big political day is on tap.
Before we get to the particulars, however, I thought I would float something by you: How about we call an audible and decide that 2021 actually starts at the END of January instead of the beginning?
This isn’t my original idea. Sometime this past weekend I heard some commentator on the radio referring to “December 36th” as the day a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, the fallout of which is still being felt and likely will be for some time.
This got me thinking.
I don’t want 2021 to get a bad rep. It still has a lot of potential, and a lot of time left to turn things around. Anyone could have a bad day – or string of them – and start out on the wrong foot. I believe in second chances, don’t you?
Anyway, as you know, I slept through New Year’s Eve, so this would give me another shot at staying awake past midnight.
Just a thought.
Down in D.C., the Democrats are poised to move forward today with efforts to get outgoing President Donald Trump either 1) forced out of office early (remember, President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20) through invocation of the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, or 2) impeached – for the second time, which would make him the first president in history to have that dubious distinction.
This is, of course, all in connection with Trump’s role in inciting the violence that took place on January 6, which led to several deaths, multiple injuries, arrests and resignations. The Democrats’ efforts are putting Vice President Mike Pence, who holds the key to the 25th Amendment option, in a box.
Biden, while reportedly having met late last week with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and incoming U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer , is publicly staying out of the whole “what to do about Trump on his way out the door” debate, saying he’s focused on preparing to take control of the White House and the whole mess is in Congress’ hands.
It’s also a bid day here in Albany, where Governor Andrew Cuomo will deliver his 2021 State of the State address. As per usual, the administration has been pre-announcing some of the key initiative the governor will include in his speech, which has to take place virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
We all know the governor loves a good Power Point presentation, and has been featuring them prominently during his pandemic press conferences.
Usually, Cuomo’s past State of the States have included some lighthearted Power Point moments, with photoshopped images of the legislative leaders in funny situations. This year, there doesn’t seem to be anything much to laugh at, so it will be interesting to see what direction the governor takes in this SoS..
The governor did say last week that he would be re-writing his speech as a result of the Democrat’s twin wins in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff races, which ostensibly puts New York in a stronger position to receive more federal stimulus aid to offset the pandemic’s economic impact.
This unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side of the petition seeking to keep him from attending in the first place) kept Cuomo from being one of the fortunate few able to attend this past weekend’s Buffalo Bills playoff game in person.
GO BILLS, btw! The team has advanced to the divisional round for the first time since 1996 with a 27-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Bills Stadium on Saturday.
For those of you keeping track of this sort of thing, it’s National Milk Day, which commemorates the day many think the first milk deliveries in glass bottles began in the U.S.
There’s an Empire State connection here: Alexander Campbell of the New York Dairy Company professed to the state Senate that his company was the first to make these deliveries in 1878.
In 1884, Dr. Hervey Thatcher of New York City invented the first glass milk bottle, called Thatcher’s Common Sense Milk Jar, which was sealed with a waxed paper disk.
It’s going to be overcast and cold today, with temperatures in the high 20s.
In the headlines…
With nine days remaining in his term, Donald Trump is facing the shameful, imminent prospect of becoming the first president to be impeached twice as Democrats warn he poses an unacceptable danger to the world after inciting a mob assault on Congress.
Federal authorities yesterday arrested two men who were depicted in photos of the riot inside the Capitol wearing protective armor and carrying items that could be used to restrain a person, according to a release.
The House is prepared to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump if Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet refuse to remove him from office for his role in inciting a mob that carried out a deadly assault on the seat of American government.
As the pro-Trump mob was attacking Congress last Wednesday, Pence had to be evacuated to a secure location in the Capitol. During the attack, Trump did not check on Pence’s safety, and the two reportedly haven’t spoken since.
In another public break with Trump, Pence plans to attend Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
Two former U.S. Senate majority leaders, Republican Trent Lott and Democrat Tom Daschle, said Congress should not impeach Trump, although they laid blame for this week’s violence at the nation’s Capitol at his feet.
The 2022 PGA Championship will not be played at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, according to an announcement from PGA of America President Jim Richerson.
Holding the tournament at Trump Bedminster, Richerson said, would be “detrimental” to the PGA of America’s brand and put the organization’s ability to function “at risk.”
Trump plans this week to award New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick the Presidential Medal of Freedom, according to a White House official. (A spokesperson for the Patriots did not respond to a request for comment).
In the days since the attack – resulting in five deaths, including a police officer who was killed and a rioter shot by police – a clearer picture of the angry mob has begun to emerge.
After a mob stormed the Capitol based on Trump’s election fraud lie, some top Republican allies have called for peace while still leveling the same baseless claims of widespread voter fraud that fanned the flames of violence.
Republican members of Congress who voted against certifying Biden’s presidential victory, even after a mob broke into the Capitol, are being denounced by critics in their home districts who demand that they resign or be ousted.
Corporate donors have suspended campaign contributions to lawmakers who voted against certifying the electoral wins of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, in the wake of the riots unleashed on the capitol last week by pro-Trump supporters.
Two of the biggest U.S. banks and other corporations said they are pausing or reviewing their political action committee donations in the wake of the attack on the Capitol.
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey called for Trump to resign because of the riots carried out by his supporters at the US Capitol last Wednesday, doubting whether there is time left in his presidency for impeachment to make its way through Congress.
Mick Mulvaney said that he stepped down as special envoy to Northern Ireland following the U.S. Capitol siege because it “struck the very heart” of American values.
Federal and local authorities pressed their hunt for the members of the angry mob that stormed the Capitol building, as Washington’s mayor issued an urgent appeal to start preparing immediately for more potential violence before, during and after Biden’s inauguration.
Top law enforcement officials should prepare for more violence from right-wing extremist groups in the days leading up to Biden’s inauguration, incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned.
Schumer learned he would become majority leader on arguably the darkest day the U.S. Capitol has seen. Now, many political hurdles lie ahead when the 70-year-old New York senator takes the helm of a 50-50 Senate.
The majority leader’s perch will give Schumer the ability to help his home state, steering funding for infrastructure projects like a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, and leveraging to push policies that are of local concern.
“I always fight for New York and always have,” Schumer said in an interview. “It’s just in my bones.”
The NYPD is sending at least 200 officers to join the security forces protecting Biden’s inauguration as Washington braces for violence from pro-Trump extremists.
Poor planning among a constellation of government agencies and a restive crowd encouraged by Trump set the stage for the unthinkable.
A longtime officer with U.S. Capitol Police died Saturday while off duty in what’s being described as an apparent suicide.
Apple and Amazon halted support for Parler, dealing a major blow to a social-media service that has soared in popularity among conservatives and escalating a campaign by tech giants to regulate content they see as dangerous in the wake of the Capitol riot.
In a video posted to Twitter, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie star and former California governor, compared the Capitol riot to Kristallnacht, a rampage in Germany in 1938 in which Nazi-inspired mobs burned synagogues and destroyed Jewish-owned shops.
Cindy McCain, the widow of Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, was censured Saturday by the Maricopa County Republican Party in Arizona after she supported Biden in the fall.
A Vogue cover featuring Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was pilloried for what many felt was an undignified image, even though it embodied her signature look.
In the days ahead, Biden plans to lay out a proposal for a massive new COVID relief package, including fresh direct payments to Americans.
Biden reportedly has grown frustrated with the team in charge of plotting his coronavirus response, amid rising concerns that his administration will fall short of its promise of 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days.
Johnson & Johnson is expected to deliver preliminary late-stage trial results for its one-dose Covid vaccine candidate by the end of January. If its jab is proven to be safe and effective, the company aims to deliver at least 1 billion doses by the end of the year.
New coronavirus cases continued their steady climb in New York in the week that ended Saturday, rising 23% to a new record of 107,619 cases in one week.
New York has found three more cases of the new COVID-19 variant originally found in the U.K.
Across New York, medical providers had the same story: They were forced to throw out precious vaccine doses because of difficulties finding patients who matched precisely with the state’s strict vaccination guidelines — and the steep penalties they would face had they made a mistake.
Administrators and young graduate students have been inoculated at leading research hospitals, contrary to state and federal guidelines.
New York is receiving approximately 300,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine a week. At that rate, it would take 14 weeks to vaccinate everyone in groups 1A and 1B – healthcare workers, public employees, and the general public aged 75 or older.
After days of pressure from New York City officials, Cuomo on Friday said the state would open up coronavirus vaccinations to group 1B in the state’s vaccination rollout beginning today.
The city’s first 24-hour/seven-days-a-week vaccination centers opened in the Bronx and Brooklyn on Sunday — the latest effort to speed up New York’s sluggish COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Connecticut’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout has been relatively smooth, health officials said, while the U.S. and many states lag behind their original distribution plans.
Cuomo’s State of the State speech will include proposals to combat domestic violence and gender-based violence, including allowing courts to make abusers pay for housing damages and any moving expenses associated with domestic violence.
The governor also will be proposing several reforms he hopes will improve public trust in the healthcare system.
Cuomo wants to prohibit utilities from disconnecting their services during sate of emergency.
Cuomo will propose a 1,200-foot elevated pathway – an extension of the High Line – that will lead to the new Penn Station development, to be financed by public and private funds.
The newest state anti-eviction laws brought much needed relief to tenants shell-shocked by financial hardships wrought by COVID, but some mom-and-pop landlords worry those measures may ultimately leave them holding the bag.
Candidates running for public office in New York City — including one who was stricken with the coronavirus last year — are urging Cuomo to waive rules requiring the collection of voter signatures to get on the ballot during the pandemic.
The state Constitution has long prohibited New York from taking on debt without first seeking approval from voters, but through “backdoor borrowing” lawmakers routinely dodge that requirement and finance billions of dollars through public authorities.
Running for New York City mayor — if Andrew Yang ultimately decides to do so — will pose an unusual challenge to the entrepreneur who not so long ago was vying for the nation’s highest office.
Yang’s candidacy, which may be announced this week, would offer a clear test of whether New Yorkers want a splashy but inexperienced contender with bold ideas for navigating the city’s recovery, or a more familiar local figure with a traditional governing background.
The 2021 candidates for NYC mayor and other local contests have gotten creative as a result of the pandemic, replacing most in-person meet-and-greets and fundraisers with digital events that are often more intimate and less formal.
An NYPD deputy inspector accused of posting racist remarks on an online law enforcement “rant” forum has been suspended without pay for 30 days as police continue an investigation, officials said.
New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea has tested positive for Covid-19, NYPD officials said. He’s working remotely and feeling well.
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton called for the creation of a 9/11-like commission to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
Queens Democratic state Sen. John Liu Queens is getting big blowback for tweeting that since Wednesday’s Capitol riots, the 9/11 attack is no longer his most frightening memory.
New York City’s teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), is launching its coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine program to help its teachers and school staff gain access to the vaccine, officials announced.
MTA leaders are expected to decide this month whether to raise fares on New York City’s subway and bus systems and regional commuter rails at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a financial toll on many of its riders.
The Albany County DA’s office released video of a double stabbing that took place outside the state Capitol on Wednesday when suspected Antifa supporters clashed with members of the right-wing Proud Boys during a rally supporting Trump.
County Executive Dan McCoy announced that Albany County residents who are over 75 years old will be able to start registering to get a COVID-19 vaccine starting at 8 a.m. today.
Albany County announced a new partnership with Mohawk Ambulance to bring vaccines right to the homes of our most vulnerable residents.
As coronavirus deaths continue to rise at an increasingly rapid rate – a woman in her 30s is the latest to die in Albany County – Albany Med said it will administer COVID-19 tests to everyone admitted to its emergency room, not just those with symptoms.
A Malta town board member is calling for the resignation of a zoning board member after photos showing her in the midst of the U.S. Capitol siege have been circulating online.
New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson jumped the COVD-19 vaccine line last week in an aborted — and illegal — bid to give the coveted shots to all his city workers.
Democrat Anthony Brindisi, elected to New York’s 22nd Congressional District in 2018 and awaiting the outcome of his re-election bid more than two months after Election Day, is running for the office again.
Horse trainer Eric Guillot gave one of his horses a racist name to antagonize a Black announcer.
…The horse won its debut at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens under the name Grape Soda, kicking off a firestorm that appears to have ended Guillot’s career. It was sold after the race for $25,000 and renamed to Respect for All.
NYRA has banned Guillot from entering horses or having stalls at any of its three tracks in response to his use of a racially insensitive name given to one of his horses.
Sarah Jessica Parker announced that “Sex and the City” will be returning, coming to HBO Max as a new series.
Nancy Bush Ellis, the sister of former President George H.W. Bush, has died from COVID complications. She was 94.
