I had never understood what privilege really means

Following AOC’s lead, several other Congress women have talked about their experiences during the attack on the Capitol. These include Cori Bush, Shiela Jackson, and Rashida Tlaib. Laura Clawson of Daily Kos included the story of Rep. Dean Phillips. He didn’t fear for his life, but …

Rep. Dean Phillips—an average-looking white guy from Minnesota—recounted how the Capitol attack made him understand white privilege in a new way. “Recognizing that we were sitting ducks in this room as the chamber was about to be breached, I screamed to my colleagues to follow me. To follow me across the aisle to the Republican side of the chamber, so that we could blend in—so that we could blend in,” he said. “For I felt that the insurrectionists who were trying to break down the doors right here would spare us if they simply mistook us for Republicans. “But within moments I recognized that blending in was not an option available to my colleagues of color. So I’m here tonight to say to my brothers and sisters in Congress and all around our country. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. For I had never understood—really understood—what privilege really means. It took a violent mob of insurrectionists and a lightning bolt moment in this very room. But now I know. Believe me, I really know.”

I downloaded Michigan’s latest data of coronavirus cases and deaths. Other than a pause during the end of December and start of January cases per day has declined since a peak in early November and deaths per day has declined since a peak in early December. I attribute that to continued mask mandates by Michigan officials. However, Mark Sumner of Kos saw something else:

So what did happen? Winter. As the season grew colder, Iowans shut themselves up indoors, decreased the level of travel, and stopped gathering at fairs and other large events. The exact same pattern has emerged in other states. It’s especially notable in North Dakota, where the rate of new cases dropped off even more quickly, and in Minnesota where the rate of cases at the beginning of December was 700% of where it stands today. The most casual map of where new cases are emerging in the nation at this point shows the same pattern repeating everywhere. Northern states are seeing a sharp decline as winter bears down, while warmer regions are continuing to see high rates of new cases.

Which means in April the case rate in Michigan could increase again. Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported that with the House refusing to remove QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees the House GOP has become the Party of Q. It was obvious enough that Speaker Pelosi referred to the Minority Leader as “Qevin McCarthy, Q-CA” And Democrats won’t let voters forget that. Ads are already running against vulnerable GOP members saying, as Eleveld put it, “Democrats stood with the American people while Republicans stood with QAnon.” Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the new chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told Politico. "They can do QAnon, or they can do college-educated voters. They cannot do both." David Neiwert of Kos took a look at statistics compiled about those arrested for the Capitol attack a month ago. Some of the things those stats show: The average age is 40, higher than expected, since members of violent protest groups, such as the Proud Boys, tend to be between 20 and 40. The vast majority didn’t have obvious ties to these violent groups. Many have a great deal to lose – 40% are business owners or hold white collar jobs, such as doctor, lawyer, accountant, IT specialist, shop owner, or CEO. In contrast, at the 2017 Charlottesville riots, the majority were under 35 and frequently unemployed. None had white collar jobs. More than half came from areas where nasty guy supporters are in the minority. All this means starting in the summer the people who considered a violent response to be appropriate shifted from the extreme groups to more mainstream people. Neiwert concluded:

[The insurrection’s] aftermath, as both the violence and the nature of the people who participated clearly demonstrate, almost certainly foretell a sustained, violent insurgency against not just the Biden administration but democracy itself for the foreseeable future.

Bill in Portland, Maine, in his Cheers and Jeers column for Kos, offered this nugget from late night commentary:

Punxsutawney Phil is giving clearer stay-at-home orders than most governors. —Conan O'Brien