The shooting deaths of eight people, mostly Asian women, is spurring attention from lawmakers about anti-Asian prejudice and violence. Both houses of Minnesota's Legislature paused Wednesday to reflect on the shootings, with Rep. Tou Xiong, DFL-Maplewood, saying that "Silence amid this growing surge against fellow Asian-Americans is unacceptable." Meanwhile the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing today on Discrimination and Violence Against Asian Americans — one requested a month ago, in response to incidents before the Atlanta shootings. [ Read more from NPR News' Chloee Weiner]
Should the U.S. provide reparations for the legacy of slavery and discrimination? Top intellectual and political leaders are increasingly endorsing the concept. Explore the pros and cons in this Intelligence Squared debate. [Listen here]
Is it a conflict for Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, to push for changes to Minnesota's teacher licensing system at the Legislature while his day job involves representing the teachers union Education Minnesota? That kind of potential conflict of interest emerges regularly in a part-time Legislature like Minnesota's. (Frazier, for his part, says there's a "firewall" between him and Education Minnesota's discussions of legislative issues.) [ Read more from the Minnesota Reformer's Rilyn Eischens]
The past year has seen more liberalization of America's liquor laws than any time since the end of Prohibition, as states loosened century-old laws limiting to-go booze sales, home delivery, and more. Now alcohol industry lobbyists are trying to lock in those gains, making sure they stick around once the pandemic is over and people can safely hang out in bars again. [Read more from The Hill's Reid Wilson]
Local angle: Twin Cities distillery Tattersall is opening a second facility — in Wisconsin. The company's CEO cited Minnesota's "restrictive liquor laws," specifically the law that allows only facilities producing fewer than 40,000 proof gallons per year to sell directly to consumers, as the reason for hopping over the border. [Read more from the Star Tribune's Nicole Hvidsten]
Vaccinated leaders: Gov. Tim Walz has not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19, as we were all reminded yesterday when he entered quarantine after being exposed to a staffer with COVID-19 . Should he have been? MPR News' Brian Bakst checked and found that most of Minnesota's other top political leaders have been vaccinated, including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Tina Smith, Reps. Angie Craig, Michelle Fischbach, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar and Dean Phillips (Reps. Tom Emmer, Jim Hagedorn and Pete Stauber haven't yet confirmed their vaccination.) Walz says he's waiting until he's eligible for a vaccine under normal guidelines before taking one. Members of Congress have all been eligible to get vaccinated, and around 75 percent have. [ Read more from the Washington Post's Marianna Sotomayor and Paul Kane]
Something completely different: If you're interested in politics, then I highly recommend you check out the TV show The Expanse , available on Amazon Prime. It's a hard sci-fi show set a few centuries in the future, where humanity has spread out across the solar system. There's no magical gravity, warp drives or laser cannons. Huge parts of the show are driven by political questions, from debates among the underclass of "Belters" about the best way to assert their rights and the morality of terrorist tactics, to a grand strategy clash between the powerful but declining Earth and the up-and-coming power of Mars. Villains have believable, even defensible motivations. It's the best sci-fi show since Battlestar Galactica, at a minimum. [ Watch a trailer]
Listen: Some of my favorite writing and coding music these days is the bhangra band "Red Baraat," a fun, upbeat, eclectic group that mixes traditional South Asian rhythms with elements of jazz, funk, and more. It's energizing, interesting, and (crucial for writing!) largely instrumental. [Watch live in studio]
