100 Days, 100 Million Vaccines (in Theory)
Also: Madison Cawthorn’s “light” threats + Hillsborough’s NDO + Fort Bragg PSYOPS officer at the riot + Raleigh preps for Trump nuts + Mark Martin’s dangerously bad advice + NCAOC purge
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021
As it turns out, the format changes I mentioned yesterday only show up in the browser version of the newsletter, not the email version. So, yeah. Anyway, today’s PRIMER is about a 10-minute read.
Weather: High of 52, partly cloudy, a few early showers. (WRAL)
Video of the Day:
Here’s freshman North Carolina congressman Madison Cawthorn telling the TPUSA Student Action Summit in December to “call your congressman and feel free, you can lightly threaten them. Say, ‘You know what, if you don't start supporting election integrity, I’m coming after you, Madison Cawthorn’s coming after you, everybody’s coming after you.’”
“Lightly threaten,” you say?
Tell me more, Madison.
+TODAY’S TOP 6
1. Biden’s Ambitious, Risky Vaccine Plan
A week from tomorrow, Joe Biden will inherit the presidency with the U.S. COVID fatality count nearing 400,000 and more than 3,000 people dying every day. The Trump administration’s vaccine rollout has been an unmitigated disaster, the product of poor coordination and decentralized planning, all hindered by a president who checked out after he lost the election.
Walter A. Orenstein, former director of the U.S. Immunization Program: “All the focus was on developing the vaccines. I don’t think there was enough focus on getting vaccine into the arms of the people who need them.”
“As of Monday, 25.5 million doses of vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna had been distributed, but barely 9 million people had received their first shot, according to a government tracker.”
The Trump administration now says its initial projection that it would administer 20 million vaccines by the end of December was unrealistic. Biden says he wants 100 million vaccines by the end of April, a goal some of his advisers are worried about hitting.
“My number one priority is getting the vaccine to people's arms as we just did today as rapidly as we can, and we're working on that program now. It's going to be hard. It's not going to be easy, but we can get it done."
Biden’s plan, which will be fully unveiled later this week, calls for federal vaccination sites across the country. He also wants trillions of dollars more in stimulus.
“Mr. Biden has said he wants to invoke the Defense Production Act so that American companies will be obliged to increase their production of vaccine-related materials. He wants to reopen schools … and he has asked that every American wear a mask for the first 100 days of his presidency.”
“With fewer health care workers getting the vaccine than expected, public health officers have [said] they are also hoping the new president will address vaccine hesitancy.”
Last week, Biden announced that upon taking office he would immediately release the government’s entire supply of vaccines instead of holding some back for booster doses. It’s a strategy not without risk.
“The Food and Drug Administration — whose advice Mr. Biden has pledged to follow — has spoken out strongly against changing the dosing schedule … calling such a move ‘premature and not rooted solidly in the available evidence.’ Some public health experts fear that second doses would be delayed by the decision.”
“But others called it a smart measure and said it was imperative to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible — so long as the second doses are not delayed. The Biden team said it was confident that the supply would be enough, and that Mr. Biden would invoke the Defense Production Act if necessary to bolster the supply of second doses.”
—> RELATED: What happens with the pandemic is one of the defining questions of the year. Check out my column, 21 Questions for 2021, for the rest.
2. Hillsborough Goes First
Last night, the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners passed what I think is the state’s first post-HB 2 nondiscrimination ordinance, Policy Watch’s Joe Killian reported on Twitter. It includes sexual orientation and gender identity. The ban on local NDAs, which was part of the HB 2 replacement that passed in 2017, expired on Dec. 1.
3. Fort Bragg PSYOPS Officer Took Group to Pre-Insurrection Rally
Captain Emily Rainey, a psychological operations officers stationed at Fort Bragg, led 100 people associated with Moore County Citizens for Freedom to last Wednesday’s collective hallucination session in Washington, D.C., that preceded the armed insurrection at the Capitol. Rainey said neither she nor anyone in her group did anything wrong, but the Army is investigating.
“Rainey said she attended the Trump rally while on leave and didn’t advertise that she was an Army officer. She said Sunday afternoon that her commanders had not inquired about her time in Washington, but she did not immediately respond to a subsequent inquiry about the Army’s investigation.”
“Rainey made headlines back in May after she posted a video online of her pulling down caution tape at a playground that was closed under North Carolina’s COVID-19 restrictions. Police in Southern Pines … charged her with injury to personal property over the incident.” (CBS 17)
She had submitted her resignation in October and will leave the Army in April.
4. Raleigh Prepares for Armed Pro-Trump Demonstrations
In the wake of last week’s insurrection, an FBI bulletin warned yesterday of armed demonstrations in all 50 state capitols between Jan. 17 and the inauguration on Jan. 20. With the General Assembly’s long session beginning tomorrow, Raleigh officials are getting ready, though it’s not clear for what.
“A poster calling for armed marches in Washington, DC, and all 50 state capitals has spread throughout social media platforms, though its organizer is not clear and far-right websites such as thedonald.win have denounced it as a fake event designed to trap Trump supporters.”
“Raleigh police do not discuss security strategies, but RPD spokeswoman Donna-Maria Harris said Monday, ‘It can be said that department personnel who are responsible for security and logistical planning consider and evaluate many factors, including events that have occurred elsewhere, as they make safety and staffing decisions.’” (N&O)
In response to similar threats, Michigan finally banned open-carry in its state Capitol. (Guardian)
—> RELATED: Some 15,000 National Guard members could be called up for the inauguration.
5. New NCAOC Director Purged Staff, Hired GOP Loyalists
Paul Newby, the new chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court — elected by about 400 votes — hired Andrew Heath, a Pat McCrory ally, to head the Administrative Office of the Courts. On his first day, Friday, Heath purged five senior career employees and replaced them with Republican loyalists.
“Under state law, these employees were all ‘at will’ … a classification that allowed them be terminated any time. But rarely does the professional guillotine drop this quickly. … Many of these career employees had also served under a Republican, former Chief Justice Mark Martin.”
“An internal memo from the AOC obtained by Policy Watch names the newcomers — two white men and a white woman who recently graduated from college and had limited experience in administrative roles within the judicial branch.”
“The fired AOC employees not only lost their jobs, but many relied on the state healthcare and retirement benefits, which could be negatively affected by their shortened years of services. The toll is not only personal but institutional, too. None of the officials who resigned had time to train incoming employees and ensure a smooth transition for the new leadership, especially at a time when Chief Justice Newby has demanded courts be open during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said is a ‘constitutional mandate.’”
The NCAOC told Policy Watch that “each new NCAOC administration makes adjustments in leadership. After winning a statewide election, Justice Newby should be expected to bring with him a leadership team consistent with his vision, as other state leaders have routinely done in the past.”
It also said that under Newby, “hiring decisions will not be made based on an individual’s demographics, including but not limited to race.”
6. SCOTUS Says UNC Must Release Sexual Assault Records
In May, following a four-year legal battle between the university and several media organizations, the state Supreme Court ruled that UNC-Chapel Hill had to release student disciplinary records related to sexual assaults on campus since 2007. The university appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — which settled the matter yesterday.
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied UNC-Chapel Hill’s appeal regarding the release of sexual assault records, ending a four-year legal battle between the university and local media.”
“In August, UNC fulfilled the request and released the names, offenses, and punishments of former students, including ex-UNC basketball player Jalek Felton. At least 15 UNC students have been found responsible and disciplined for sexual assault since 2007, according to the documents.”
“After releasing the records this summer, the university continued its fight and filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the state’s ruling.” (N&O)
From now on, these records will be public, which they always should have been.
+NEED TO KNOW
—> Local & State
North Carolina added 5,963 new COVID cases on Monday, the lowest one-day increase since last Tuesday. (N&O)
As Wake County prepares to reopen its elementary schools, the school district is asking all of its teachers and employees to get tested for COVID. (WRAL, N&O)
Mark Martin, the former Republican chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court — he stepped down in 2019 to become dean of the Very Jesus-y (as in, Pat Robertson-founded) Regent University School of Law — apparently convinced Trump that Mike Pence could overturn the election results, which, uh, a) is not a real thing and b) makes you wonder about the two decades he spent on the court. (CBS 17, NYT)
Raleigh ranked second in SmartAsset’s list of best places to work from home, if you put any stock into those sorts of lists. Durham was sixth. (SmartAsset, N&O)
As the vaccine makes its way into state prisons, staff will go first, inmates last. (NC Health News)
The developer behind the mixed-use project at Seaboard Station closed on a $70 million financing deal and will soon start construction. (TBJ, sub. req.)
A hiker was critically injured after falling over an icy cliff at Pilot Mountain. (N&O)
—> Nation & World
House Republicans objected to a resolution asking Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and force Trump out, a prelude to impeachment. The House will pass it tomorrow, then impeach Trump Wednesday or Thursday. (NYT)
Democrats implore Biden to go big on executive actions, though Biden is hesitant to embrace his powers. (Politico)
Biden selected longtime diplomat William Burns to head the CIA. (WaPo)
The Justice Department has argued that rescheduling the private contractors it hired to carry out three executions would “irreparably harm” the government more than the inmates it plans to kill, two of whom currently have COVID. (Worth noting: Joe Biden opposes the death penalty.) (ProPublica)
The only woman on federal death row was scheduled to be executed today. But late last night, the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court stayed her execution and ordered a “highly expedited” hearing on an appeal of death penalty procedures. Despite the term “highly expedited,” the hearing wouldn’t happen until at least the end of January, meaning Biden could call off the execution. (US Courts)
White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former Attorney General Bill Barr both advised Trump not to try to pardon himself. (CNN)
Trump’s banks are severing ties with him, too. Deutsch Bank, which he owes more than $300 million, says it won’t loan him any more money. The New York lender Signature Bank, where he holds $5.3 million, says it will no longer do business with Trump or any member of Congress who voted to overturn the election results. (Bloomberg)
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf has resigned. (NYT)
The Supreme Court declined to fast-track Trump’s election challenges. In other words, it’s over, part 4,768. (WaPo)
The Trump administration added Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism, likely to mess with the incoming Biden administration’s efforts to improve relations with the island nation. (Guardian)
A State Department employee changed the department’s website to say that Trump’s term ended on Monday. (Buzzfeed)
Kim Jong Un celebrated his birthday by announcing a nuclear weapon wish list. (BBC)
Grad students and admins at elite research centers have no trouble getting the vaccine no matter the guidelines. (NYT)
Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, is an adviser to an SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company; “SPACs gain their existence from loopholes in securities laws that make it easier to launch companies on the stock market through a SPAC than a traditional initial public offering, with much more leeway to make claims about future performance,” and accounted for 40% of IPOs in 2020. (The Intercept)
One of America’s largest talk-radio companies ordered its hosts to back off the election-fraud bullshit or be fired. (WaPo)
Melania Trump knows who the real victim of the Capitol coup is, and it is her. (Guardian)
—> Science & Tech
Insect populations are facing a critical decline. (Guardian)
Twitter purged more than 70,000 accounts affiliated with QAnon after the Capitol coup, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, cray-cray Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, and former 8kun administrator Ron Watkins. If you’re wondering why so many right-wing politicians were complaining about losing thousands of followers, well, there you go. (WaPo)
Parler, the right-wing cesspool, sued Amazon for kicking it off the internet. (The Verge)
Lots of people went to download the right-wing shit app Parler and mistakenly downloaded Parlor, an app that allows you to randomly talk to strangers OH GOD THIS IS GOING TO END BADLY. (AV Club)
—> Culture & Entertainment
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, told performing arts professionals that theaters could likely reopen in the fall with few restrictions. (NYT)
The PGA pulled the PGA Tournament from Trump’s New Jersey golf course. (WaPo)
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick rejected Trump’s offer of the President Medal of Freedom. (WaPo)
+WHAT I’M READING
1. “Capitol Hill Assault Revives Calls for Domestic Terrorism Law, But Civil Liberties Groups Are Wary”
However Trump leaves office, a new Congress appears poised to revive a years-old debate on whether the U.S. should expand the legal framework for going after “domestic terrorism.” A group of former Justice Department officials, along with the FBI Agents Association, has long argued that current law makes it easier to prosecute ideologically motivated acts of violence as terrorism if they appear to be inspired by a foreign terror organization like the Islamic State, and that a domestic terror statute would allow them to prosecute white supremacist terror — like Dylann Roof’s mass shooting in a Black church in Charleston, South Carolina — on equal footing.
But civil liberties advocates are wary of such a move, noting that federal law enforcement already has powerful tools to investigate and prosecute acts of domestic terrorism without any new laws, and that importing the anti-terrorism framework risks creating broad and vague powers that could be used to go after activists or religious minorities.
“Anyone familiar with the scope of surveillance and targeting of Black political dissent, or Muslim communities, knows that law enforcement has all the tools it needs to aggressively disrupt and hold accountable those who planned and participated in the storming of the Capitol,” said Diala Shamas, a staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights. “Why they didn’t raises serious questions, but it was not because their hands were tied. We don’t need new terrorism designations.”
Source: The Intercept
2. “After Trump, Should Twitter Also Ban All the Dictators?”
If Trump’s behavior on Twitter was grounds for a permanent ban, why are officials from autocratic governments allowed to continue using the site to spread propaganda, justify repressive violence, and promote conspiracy theories? …
At a time of escalating geopolitical tensions, we should also be wary about removing modes of communication for governments—even the most repressive ones. For all its flaws, Twitter messaging can still serve as a useful diplomatic tool. The world saw this a year ago when, following an Iranian missile strike on U.S. bases in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, both Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif put out dueling statements about the event on Twitter. Both statements were misleading spin, but they also helped both governments save face enough to prevent a further escalation toward war. …
In general, a blanket no-autocrat policy makes less sense than flagging and removing individual problematic tweets, except for the most egregious repeat offenders. However, there is one simple standard that Twitter can and should enforce: If a government blocks its citizens from using Twitter, its officials should not be allowed to use the site either.
Source: Slate