Below the fold – Mar 29, 2021

Below The Fold: The news that do not make the headlines but is important. By PL Hade

1. There has been legislation proposed in 43 states to repress the vote. Most aren’t as egregious as the Georgia bill which, essentially would allow the state legislature to overturn the voters’ choice, but they are all barreling ahead. (There’s one in NJ.) I have come to think that the only path to maintain democracy is the passage of HR1 and HR4.
2. Fact check: Breaking down 10 claims about the Democrats’ elections bill https://www.cnn.com/…/fact-check-hr1-s1-for…/index.html
3. NRSC drops $1M ad buy targeting Democrats’ voting rights billhttps://www.axios.com/nrsc-senate-republicans-ads-voting…
4. Senator Menendez is still on the fence about eliminating the filibuster. With the filibuster in place HR1 and HR4 will not pass. The alternatives are: (1) a carve out for voting rights legislation which is what McConnell did with confirmation of judges, or (2) a talking filibuster. Please let him know your thoughts. Phone: 202 224 4744 /971 645 3030/ 856 757 5353 Email: https://www.menendez.senate.gov/contact
5. Those who talk with the Biden team have recommended an approach to Senator Manchin. Praise don’t criticize. Let him know you appreciate his concern with the Filibuster being a tool for the minority but point out the good that HR1/4 will do for his constituents. Ask him to consider either the talking filibuster or the carve out. (Note: One of the objections to getting rid of the filibuster is that, if the GOP regains power, the Democratic party will have no way of keeping them in check. If HR1 and HR4 aren’t passed there is a good chance than the GOP will not only regain power but keep it despite not representing the majority. The Filibuster didn’t keep them in check with Supreme Court nominations; they just exempted Judicial nominations from the filibuster. It should be expected that they will do that with any legislation that is a focus for them.)
6. State Homeland Security office releases analysis of potential domestic terror threats against NJ https://newjersey.news12.com/state-homeland-security…
7. This is a sample of what we’re seeing on the right-wing NJ sites: “Good luck with that Dickhead Murphy…hold a rally down here in South Jersey where alot [sic] of people have guns…please..I dare ya..” Mike Maxwell (This comment got numerous likes)
8. Covid19
   • NJ
     • RATE OF TRANSMISSION 1.1
     • 3927 new confirmed positives
     • Counties with the highest positives: Bergen 442, Middlesex 435, Essex 366, Monmouth 345, Ocean 318
     • If anyone who is eligible for the vaccine has not yet gotten an appointment please let us know in the comments below. We’ve gotten pretty good at finding them.
     • Merkel says British coronavirus variant more dangerous to children https://www.reuters.com/…/uk-health-coronavirus-germany…
     • U.S. COVID response could have avoided hundreds of thousands of deaths – research https://www.reuters.com/…/us-health-coronavirus-usa…