Bits 'n pieces from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

Two police officers who responded to the insurrection at the Capitol building on Jan. 6 died later from suicide, Politico reported. Another officer died the day of the attack from head injuries inflicted by rioters. Lawmakers say they are investigating why responding officers were outnumbered and inadequately equipped and prepared, despite advanced warnings about potential violence. The fiscal impact of the event is still being calculated, but an initial estimate is $8.8 million.

Congress needs more protection because “the enemy is within the House of Representatives,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has stated. She explained: besides an increase in death threats from supporters of former President Donald Trump, some members of Congress are armed and have threatened violence to fellow members of Congress, according to Talking Points Memo. Example: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has said via video that she is armed in D.C., and has, in social media posts, endorsed executing Democrats, Mother Jones reported.

According to a filed indictment, planning for the Jan. 6 insurrection aimed at disrupting the election count at the Capitol began in early November, the Washington Post reported.

Among those Capitol rioters arrested, more than a few did not even vote in the November election, according to an analysis of voting records shared by Business Insider. One could not vote in Florida because he had not paid court fines related to his murder conviction.

The Homeland Security Department has issued a national terrorism bulletin, which ends in late April. It warns of violence from domestic extremists who are angry about “perceived grievances fueled by false narratives” and who have drawn inspiration from the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Widespread use of COVID-19 vaccinations will help stop mutation of the virus, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated at a virtual White House briefing. Viruses can’t mutate if they don’t replicate, he said. One variant, from the U.K, is already present in more than 30 states.

The new administration has arranged for delivery from Australia of over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests, expected to cost about $30. Forbes.com said they are 95 percent accurate, take about 15 minutes, and allow the user to know if it’s safe to be around others.

President Joe Biden’s $1.9 billion coronavirus proposal includes $1,400 stimulus checks, extends unemployment benefits, establishes a higher minimum wage (the current average age for minimum wage earners is 35), and provides aid for cash-strapped state and local governments due to business declines during the pandemic. Republicans have offered a counter-proposal that’s one-third the cost.

The Washington Post said that plan has $1,000 stimulus checks, cuts supplemental unemployment, has no aid for local or state governments and eliminates the minimum wage increase.

Commenting in The Guardian, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said if Republicans were concerned about the national debt, they could tax the very wealthy, who have seen a 40 percent wealth increase since the pandemic started. Reich suggested the real reason for blocking Biden’s plan is that Republicans fear it will be successful.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he appreciates Biden’s avoidance of lectures and pursuit of a mutually agreeable path since moving into the White House. But he argues that, despite Biden winning the majority vote and the Electoral College, that’s not a “mandate for sweeping ideological change.”

The U.S. Senate has introduced the For the People Act, which, if passed, would significantly increase election security; end Congressional gerrymandering; strengthen ethics and financial conflict-of-interest laws for Congress, the Supreme Court and the president; put an end to secret political donations; put restrictions on political action committees; close lobbyist loopholes; and more.

Blast from the past: Social Security was established under President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of a “three-legged stool” plan. To help seniors avoid poverty, he proposed creating three even legs: an individual’s pension from an employer, savings and Social Security earnings.

But, as Social Security Works points out, the stool is wobbly because it now has uneven legs. Wages for many do not allow savings and employees increasingly have seen their pension plans either shrink, or they have no pension plan at all.