Category: National Issues

Derek Chauvin trial: 911 dispatcher testifies ‘Something was not right’ during arrest that led to George Floyd’s death

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First witness takes stand following opening statements.

Attorneys in the Derek Chauvin murder trial on Monday made their case before jurors who will decide the fired Minneapolis police officer’s fate in the killing of George Floyd 10 months ago.

An opening statement from prosecutor Jerry Blackwell began shortly before 9:40 a.m. in front of a global livestream audience in downtown Minneapolis in the heavily guarded Hennepin County Government Center and explained how the state will prove that Chauvin killed Floyd and should convicted of murder and manslaughter.

Nearly an hour later, defense attorney Eric Nelson followed with his opening statement and declared that Chauvin acted precisely as his training taught him. Continue reading.

Rep. Cedrick Frazier (HD45A) Update: March 29, 2021


Dear Neighbors,

Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan recently announced the expansion of vaccine eligibility for people 16 years of age and older starting March 30th. The announcement is in response to the increased supply of vaccines by the federal government to arrive in April.

In the past months, Minnesota has proven to be a national leader in getting shots into arms, and will now be able to step into the final stage of distribution. 

Last week, Minnesota was ranked number one in the country for the percentage of vaccine doses administered to Minnesotans. For more information, please check out this article by the Star Tribune. 

Continue reading “Rep. Cedrick Frazier (HD45A) Update: March 29, 2021”

Scoop: Trump allies target Biden picks with Big Tech ties

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Escalating the GOP’s push against Big Tech, Trump allies are targeting Biden nominees who worked for — or even advised — Apple, Amazon, Google or Facebook.

Driving the news: The Center for American Restoration, a think tank formed by Trump-era Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought, wrote a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Republican senators Friday urging them to reject nominees with Big Tech ties.

The big picture: Powerful factions on both the left and right are uniting around a similar goal: Keep tech influence out of the Biden administration. Continue reading.

Democrats introduce ‘DeJoy Act’ in opening salvo against USPS leader’s mail-slowing plan

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Prospects for the legislation are unclear, but the move displays deep divisions between the postmaster general and Congress

Democrats are swarming to block a key piece of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year restructuring plan for the U.S. Postal Service, casting doubt on the feasibility of his proposals for achieving financial stability for the agency.

A group of House Democrats on Friday introduced legislation to prohibit the Postal Service from lengthening mail-delivery windows and require it to adhere to present service expectations. They named the bill the Delivering Envelopes Judiciously On-time Year-round Act, or DEJOY Act.

One House aide involved in postal reform legislation introduced in February said some members of the caucus are leery of proceeding with efforts to address the Postal Service’s financial obligations given that DeJoy’s 10-year plan includes sharp reductions in service, including slower timetables for mail delivery and reduced post office hours. Continue reading.

Five big takeaways on Georgia’s new election law

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a sweeping voting bill into law on Thursday, making Georgia the first battleground state to enact major changes to its election laws after last year’s tumultuous election.

The GOP effort comes after a disastrous few months for Republicans in the state that included President Biden’s victory in the November general election and Democratic wins in two January Senate runoffs.

The law rewrites large sections of the state’s election laws and seeks to tighten voting procedures in ways that Democrats and voting rights advocates say will curtail voting access and disenfranchise voters across the state. Continue reading.

Rick Scott says the public has ‘buyer’s remorse’ over Biden. The public disagrees.

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President Joe Biden’s approval ratings remain high.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) claimed on Tuesday that the American public has “buyer’s remorse” for electing President Joe Biden and Democratic majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. But polls show the exact opposite.

In a Fox Business interview, Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, tasked with regaining a GOP majority in 2022, said, “I think the American public are fed up” with Democrats and that Biden isn’t doing what he promised.

“They want a secure border. They want our schools open. They don’t want tax increases. They want us to support law enforcement,” he opined. “The Democrats are on the opposite side of all those issues. I think in the ’22 election, people are gonna have a lot of buyer’s remorse.” Continue reading.

Georgia’s restrictive new voting law hit with legal challenge

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Voting rights groups on Thursday night filed a lawsuit just hours after Georgia enacted a Republican-crafted law that gives state lawmakers more power over elections and imposes a raft of new voting restrictions.

The 35-page complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta alleges that minority voters will be hit especially hard by the new legislation, which plaintiffs say illegally suppresses voters’ rights in violation of constitutional protections and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

According to the lawsuit, the new restrictions are “clearly intended to and will have the effect of making it harder for lawful Georgia voters to participate in the State’s elections,” adding that the measure will impose “unjustifiable burdens” that disproportionately impact people of color, as well as young, poor and disabled voters. Continue reading.

Many QAnon followers report having mental health diagnoses

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QAnon is often viewed as a group associated with conspiracy, terrorism and radical action, such as the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. But radical extremism and terror may not be the real concern from this group.

QAnon followers, who may number in the millions, appear to believe a baseless and debunked conspiracy theory claiming that a satanic cabal of pedophiles and cannibals controls world governments and the media. They also subscribe to many other outlandish and improbable ideas, such as that the Earth is flat, that the coronavirus is a biological weapon used to gain control over the world’s population, that Bill Gates is somehow trying to use coronavirus vaccinations to implant microchips into people and more.

As a social psychologist, I normally study terrorists. During research for “Pastels and Pedophiles: Inside the Mind of QAnon,” a forthcoming book I co-authored with security scholar Mia Bloom, I noticed that QAnon followers are different from the radicals I usually study in one key way: They are far more likely to have serious mental illnesses. Continue reading.

Michael Steele predicts GOP electoral catastrophe after Brian Kemp signs voter suppression bill

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Republicans in the Georgia legislature on Thursday passed a 95-page voter suppression bill through both chambers in one day. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp then signed the legislation into law.

For analysis, MSNBC chief legal correspondent Ari Melber interviewed former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele.

“The question to reps and voters in Georgia and Arizona and elsewhere, who are taking rights away from Black people across this country in places like Philadelphia, Atlanta, Detroit, how do you think this ends?” he asked. “How do you think this ends? Do you think black folks will just sit by and let you get away with this?” Continue reading.