Biden Administration Must Go Into Overdrive to Reclaim Our Courts ; Family, Co-Workers, Old FB Friends Helped Catch Capitol Intruders ; and More Picks 1/26
The Biden Administration Must Go Into Overdrive to Reclaim Our Courts (Gerry)
The author writes, “Four years of court-packing by President Donald Trump and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell(R-Ky.) filled our federal judiciary with extremist judges opposed to civil rights. Fortunately, President Biden can begin reforming the courts immediately. Fueled by the Black vote, the Democratic wins for Georgia’s two seats in the Senate — which confirms federal judicial nominees — give Biden this opportunity. … By nominating a bold and diverse slate of judges, the new president can start to reclaim the courts, seat by seat. The fierce urgency of now should be a guiding principle when it comes to restoring fairness and true representation on our federal courts.”
Family, Co-Workers, Old FB Friends Helped Catch Capitol Intruders (Reader Steve)
From the Los Angeles Times: “The man on the video waved a large Confederate flag as he and others stormed through the U.S. Capitol — a glaring reminder of an earlier insurrection as a new one played out. The jarring image made the flag bearer a wanted man. Federal investigators set out to find him, but didn’t have much to work with. Then came the tip. A co-worker of a man named Hunter Seefried told the FBI that Seefried ‘had bragged about being in the Capitol with his father.’ FBI agents pulled the driver’s license of the father, Kevin Seefried, and bingo: He was a match for the flag-waving intruder. Federal charges against the Delaware father and son followed soon after.”
Is There a Better Way to Collect Data on Homelessness? (Dan)
The author writes, “Every January, dozens of volunteers come together to count the number of people experiencing homelessness in Sonoma County, California. Led by paid guides who are themselves unhoused, they pile into cars before sunrise, then scatter across a landscape of subdivisions and vineyards that spans a region slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island. The effort, mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is meant to provide a rough sketch of the state of homelessness at a particular moment. Similar efforts play out nationwide at least every other year. But this year is different.”
Inside the Caliphate Debacle, and Exactly Who Is Allowed to Fail (Dana)
From Jezebel: “One morning in late December, the documentarian and producer Kelsey Padgett turned on the New York Times’ The Daily, a podcast she listens to nearly every day. It had been less than a week since the Times had retracted-but-not-quite-retracted its award-winning Caliphate podcast, following an investigation into a deceptive source, and Padgett was stunned, she says, to hear one of the show’s most visible producers, her former colleague Andy Mills, hosting ‘a fun story’ that day.”
Bigfoot Hunting Season Plan Is Starting to Work Its Way Through State Legislature — in Oklahoma (Olivia)
The author writes, “Get ready — it’s almost Bigfoot hunting season! In Oklahoma, that is. And if a long-shot bill makes it through that state’s legislature and onto the governor’s desk. Oklahoma Rep. Justin Humphrey put forward House Bill 1648 this week, reports Oklahoma City-based KOCO News-5. The proposed legislation would lead to rules and fees for pursuing the ape-like creatures with harsh intent.”
