• In this edition: (1). Biden dismantles the Trump policies; (2). the NYPD is still choking people out, despite the civilian complaint review board; (3). 355,957 prisoners in the US have tested positive for coronavirus; (4). the US Department of Justice opened up an investigation into attempts to nullify the election; (5). the Capitol insurrection has some international supporters.

• Personal news: In addition to the Investopedia contract I mentioned last week, I have accepted a contract freelancing for The Well News, a small publication on American policy based in DC. I will be writing mostly about health policy for them, and I have filed my first couple of stories: one on economic mobility and one on coronavirus restrictions related to international travel. 

Share The Stringer by Daniel Mollenkamp

 

The news at a glance this week:

• Biden’s first order of business: degrade and destroy Tump’s legacy. Biden has done what he can to distance his administration from Trump’s. One way in which he has done this is to issue a smattering of executive orders and memos with the obvious twin goals of dismantling the Trump policies and getting through the coronavirus pandemic. CNN published a brief guide to the specifics on Monday. 

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• The NYPD has no problem choking you out becuase who cares what the actual rules say? A Propublica investigation revealed that officers of the New York Police Department are still using chokeholds, which are prohibited by the department, and that substantiated abuse claims are going unpunished. Since the death of Eric Garner, the Civil Complaint Review Board has been able to substantiate 40 cases of chokehold abuse, but there have been no firings. 

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• Prisoners in the US are not safe during the pandemic. By Jan. 19, at least 355,957 prisoners in the US have contracted coronavirus with about 2,232 deaths, reported the Marshall Project. That’s a 3% jump from the previous week, they said. What part of justice is contraction of a potentially fatal disease? 

• US Justice Department to investigate stabs at spoiling the election. The US Justice Department has opened an investigation into attempts by members of the department to invalidate the election following reporting that suggested acting head of the civil division Jeffrey Clarke had abused his office to degrade the results, the New York Times reported on Monday.

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• Don’t call it a “Great Awakening” if we were never asleep. The New York Timesdescribed QAnon as appealing to an “apocalyptically-minded global far right”on Sunday in reporting on international supporters of the Jan. 6th tumult. In the wake of the Capitol riot, conspiracy theories will stay lodged in the popular conversation for some time. Although the piece never actually says what “apocalyptically-minded” means, it refers to the belief structure of the QAnon, whose views, in the words of the WSJ, “center on the idea that a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles—mainly consisting of what they see as elitist Democrats, politicians, journalists, entertainment moguls and other institutional figures—have long controlled much of the so-called deep state government, which they say sought to undermine Mr. Trump, mostly with aid of media and entertainment outlets.” Adherents await “the Storm”, a mass arrest of the pedos, and “the Great Awakening” when everyone will receive the epiphany that QAnon wasn’t just crank after all. To date, neither has happened. If they follow historical precedent, they will perhaps argue that a spiritual reckoning did happen and no-one noticed. 

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