Another incident at the Capitol shakes nerves in D.C.

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An incident at the U.S. Capitol today has led to a lockdown of the building and to two Capitol Police officers being wounded, with one tragically succumbing to their injuries. It appears that a vehicle rammed a barrier for reasons unknown as of this writing, and the driver was killed by police after lunging at officers with a weapon. More details will surely be forthcoming, but it's a somber reminder on this Good Friday of the ongoing dangers faced by the same security officers who risked their lives—and in a few tragic cases, lost them—defending the seat of American democracy less than three months ago. If you're celebrating Passover or Easter this weekend, please remember them in your holiday prayers. Wishing all of our readers a safe and healthy weekend. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

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** Joseph: Chauvin trial is a watershed moment in America's racial history
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"I'm left thinking of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' Harper Lee's iconic portrait of racial gaslighting and White supremacy. The institutional racism that grotesquely deformed the criminal justice system in Lee's time continues, despite major opposition and resistance, in our own. Lee's enduring achievement lay in signaling to the reader that ideals of citizenship and dignity imbued in the American Dream were on trial alongside Tom Robinson. In Minneapolis, decades of history are on trial alongside Derek Chauvin." —Peniel Joseph on CNN ([link removed])

Peniel Joseph is the Barbara Jordan chair in ethics and political values and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

MORE: In Derek Chauvin trial, police lieutenant testifies officers' use of force was 'uncalled for' —CBS News ([link removed])


** Reiss: Keep public health data free from politics
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"This week, former CDC Director Robert Redfield confirmed to CNN something reported last September: that even the CDC's scientific Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report was subject to political pressure and that he was asked to change the report 'on more than one occasion.' ... It's appropriate for elected or politically appointed officials to want to have a say in matters that involve values and allocation of scarce resources. But if politics skew the data, the decisions cannot be well founded. Political intervention in the evidentiary basis for decisions—essentially, rewriting the data to fit the politics—only harms." —Dorit Reiss on CNN ([link removed])

Dorit Reiss is the James Edgar Hervey Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

MORE: U.S. draws close to 100 million vaccinations as baseball resumes —Associated Press ([link removed])


** Sargent: Hice's anti-democratic reasons for running for state office
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"The Georgia law transfers some authority over county election machinery from the secretary of state to an official selected by a majority of state legislators, effectively giving the party in control of the legislature more influence over that machinery. But the secretary of state still retains critical power over election results. ... We don't have to imagine what [Rep. Jody] Hice would do with that power. Trump has already told us: Hice would all but certainly use it to try to overturn results that are not to Georgia Republicans' liking." —Greg Sargent in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Greg Sargent is a columnist at
The Washington Post and the author of "An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics."

MORE: ViacomCBS issues statement opposing Georgia voting bill; Comcast, AT&T, Coke, Delta also weigh in —DEADLINE ([link removed])


** WaPo Ed Board: Stopping some shootings is better than stopping none
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"[O]f course no one law will stop every shooting. And of course other factors, such as mental health, come into play. But laws can—and do—make a difference in stopping some shootings. Waiting periods for gun purchases result in decreased suicide and homicide rates. Countries that have had the good sense to ban assault weapons don't have the mass shootings that are epidemic to the United States. Robust background checks do stop guns from falling into the hands of people who shouldn't have them. And lives have been saved when a family member has had the means to prevent a suicidal loved one from getting a gun." —The Washington Post ([link removed])

MORE: Orange shooting gunman knew his victims and how to trap them —Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
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** Ridge: Yes, there is a border crisis. And Congress helped create it
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"Hidden behind the rhetoric and the posturing is the critical need to fashion a modern-day immigration policy that secures the border, shows compassion to Dreamers, builds a foreign worker entry-exit system, provides H-2B visa cap relief, and resolves the fate of those who, while entering illegally, have been lawful and contributing residents. ... That doesn't mean we have to guarantee citizenship. But it is unrealistic to conclude that all those who have entered illegally must be identified and deported. There is common ground to be found." —Tom Ridge in ([link removed]) New York Daily News ([link removed])

Tom Ridge is a former governor of Pennsylvania and was the first secretary of Homeland Security.

MORE: Manchin after border visit: 'Past time to do immigration reform' —The Hill ([link removed])


** Kara-Murza: Biden is Alexei Navalny's best hope
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"Torture and mistreatment are unacceptable in any case, even for actual criminals—let alone for a man who is imprisoned for his political beliefs. It's a violation of every treaty and convention Russia has signed up to. It is a matter of historical record that personal advocacy by Western leaders has helped save the lives (and freedom) of many political prisoners, both in Soviet times and in recent years. President Biden has made headlines by stating the truth when he described Putin as a 'killer.' It's now in his power to pick up the phone and ensure that the list of victims does not grow by another name." —Vladimir Kara-Murza in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian pro-democracy activist, politician, author, and filmmaker, chairs the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom.

MORE: How Navalny's new standoff with Putin could play out —Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Grier: Where next for our strained democracy?
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"The good news in America is that as democracy has been stressed in recent years, the courts, the media, and brave individuals have proved resilient enough to stand up and protect it. Democratic culture in the country runs deep—perhaps deeper than in other places where it has begun to wobble in recent years. But the hard truth is that U.S. democracy has long been a work in progress, slowly accepting excluded groups such as women and Black people, sometimes rolling back gains already made, producing authoritarian areas little influenced by democratic ideals. The passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 put the U.S. on the path to becoming a full democracy. But there is still progress to made. Protecting democracy may involve building it in the first place, as well." —Peter Grier in ([link removed]) The Christian Science Monitor
([link removed])

Peter Grier is
The Christian Science Monitor's Washington editor.

MORE: Sheldon Jacobson: The greatest threat to our democracy does not reside in the White House —The Hill ([link removed])
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary."
—Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian, ethicist, and commentator on politics and public affairs

Barry L. of Massachusetts is spot on. I received an email today from Sen. Rick Scott, urging me to contribute to a campaign to defeat Sen. Chuck Schumer for:
* Defunding the police and taking away your guns,
* Abolishing voter security,
* Giving amnesty to 22 million illegal aliens,
* Canceling women's sports by allowing biological men to compete, and
* Erasing your religious freedom.

I am so tired of hearing the baseless, blatantly exaggerated, and untrue talking points coming from politicians who have done everything they can to create roadblocks to real problem-solving. I guess they don't believe that some of us actually know how to think for ourselves. —Read G., Utah
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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