No more smiles

What's Russia up to? Ceasefire violations and reinforcements of Russian-backed forces at the Russia-Ukraine border are raising concerns about Moscow's latest intentions. The moves even prompted a phone call on Friday between President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is seeking to fast-track NATO admission for his country. But not everyone is convinced that it’s the next Crimea. Some observers say it's just Putin being Putin. "[President Vladimir] Putin wants to demonstrate that he's the tough guy…that the U.S. is all talk and no action. That is part of the psychological pushback on the Biden Administration," says a former senior State Department official. —Defense One

• — Russia. In another case of Putin being Putin, he signed a law yesterday allowing him to potentially hold onto power until 2036, formalizing the constitutional changes rubber-stamped by the Kremlin-controlled legislature last July. Opposition leaders criticized the vote extending his term, arguing that it was tarnished by pressure on voters and other irregularities, as well as a lack of transparency and independent monitoring. —Associated Press
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• — Taiwan. Ukraine isn't the only country feeling the heat from a more powerful neighbor. Taiwan's Defense Ministry says China's air force infiltrated its air defense identification zone yesterday. Over the last few months, Taiwan has reported recurrent incursions by Chinese military near the island. Late last month, 20 Chinese aircraft were involved in one such incident. —Reuters
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• — Iran. Iran, which has been courting closer ties with both China and Russia, is holding indirect talks with U.S. officials today in what could be the first step toward reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. The meetings, hosted by the European Union, will work toward two separate agreements that would bring both countries back into compliance with the deal's terms—constraining Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. —ABC News

Dems set to filibust a move

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled yesterday that Democrats can use a budget process to push pivotal bills, like President Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan, through the gridlocked chamber. This is a big win for Democrats. Usually, the Senate needs 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and pass legislation related to taxing and spending. The ruling will allow Democrats to amend the budget resolution recently used for the pandemic relief bill via reconciliation—a process that only requires a simple majority. —USA Today

MORE: Biden plan spurs fight over what 'infrastructure' really means —The New York Times

Rubin: GOP defends corporate speech...unless it supports voting rights

"Republicans sought to suppress voting by invoking the Big Lie of voter fraud and 'irregularities,' which was repeatedly debunked in more than 60 court cases brought against election results. Now, when businesses oppose those efforts and exercise their First Amendment rights, which Republicans ordinarily consider ‘fundamental’ and worthy of protection, they seek to use the power of the government to punish those whose speech they dislike." —Jennifer Rubin in The Washington Post

Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at The Washington Post.

MORE: After new law, McConnell warns CEOs: 'Stay out of politics' —Associated Press

'That in no way, shape, or form is anything that is by policy'

The Derek Chauvin trial continued yesterday with gripping testimony by Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, who rejected Chauvin's actions during the arrest of George Floyd in May 2020. "Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped," Arradondo said. “When Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed behind their back...it is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values." —CNN

MORE: Derek Chauvin trial: Man in car with George Floyd appears in court; police chief says cops 'absolutely' violated policy —USA Today

Gerson: Science saved us. When will MAGA World figure that out?

"The experts said Americans could influence the spread of the disease by taking basic measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing. The disease was controlled when people did these things. The disease ran rampant when they did not, killing a lot of old and vulnerable people in the process. There were, of course, disagreements along the way about the length of lockdowns and the form of mandates. But on the whole, American citizens have witnessed one of the most dramatic vindications of scientific expertise in our history." —Michael Gerson in The Washington Post

Michael Gerson is a columnist at The Washington Post who formerly served as a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the chief speechwriter for former President George W. Bush.

MORE: White evangelical resistance is obstacle in vaccination effort —The New York Times

Focus on social media

Social media is having a tough week. Yesterday, in a Supreme Court decision to dismiss a case concerning Donald Trump's use of Twitter as president, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that Congress should consider updating laws to better regulate social media platforms. Thomas argued that digital platforms "provide avenues for historically unprecedented amounts of speech," but concentrate control "of so much speech in the hands of a few private parties."

• — Two sides, same conclusion. Like Thomas, some Republicans have called for more regulation of social media to combat perceived political bias. While platforms have not historically been subject to such regulation, a host of social media-related ills, such as the proliferation of disinformation and extremism, has led some Democrats to consider increased regulation as well. —CNN
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• — False hope for sale. Speaking of ills, Facebook is being used by human smugglers to openly advertise their services. They're promising Central Americans interested in crossing illegally into the U.S. a "100% safe journey." The use of social media by smugglers isn't new, but the practice is growing, as more migrants fall prey to misinformation about how the Biden Administration will welcome them, according to Homeland Security officials. —NBC News
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• — Hack to the future. A couple years ago, hackers breached more than 500 million Facebook accounts. Fast forward to 2021, and the information they collected is still available on a website for hackers. In another example of the limits of social media security, the data includes Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, phone numbers, and email addresses from 106 countries. Yikes. —CBS News

Kreiss & McGregor: It's bigger than social media

"Instead of nonpartisan and apolitical approaches to polarization and tech reform, Facebook and the broader community of researchers, reformers, policymakers, and journalists concerned with social media and democracy should focus their attention on the threats posed by anti-democratic extremism and the destabilizing effects of racial inequality. White supremacy not only prevented our country from becoming a truly multiracial democracy until the 1960s, it has proven to be destabilizing and destructive to democracy." —Daniel Kreiss & Shannon McGregor on WIRED

Daniel Kreiss is the Edgar Thomas Cato Distinguished Associate Professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and a principal researcher at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill. Shannon McGregor is an assistant professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and a senior researcher at the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at UNC Chapel Hill.

MORE: Tech companies run anti-immigrant hate group ads amid border hype —Sludge

The first steps in solving a problem are to acknowledge there is a problem and then to define the problem. There are more steps in the process, but if the foundation is wrong, you rarely ever solve the problem. When it comes to gun-related deaths in this country, especially mass shootings, I am not sure some people even see such deaths as a problem. Furthermore, it's not clear they have actually defined the problem, i.e., the root cause. One cause many will point to is mental illness of the shooter(s). Let's go with it and be clear: is there any doubt in anyone's mind that anyone who kills innocent, unarmed people in a church, a school, a movie theater, a spa, etc., has some sort of mental issue?

The only solution for some is to screen for mental illness when purchasing a gun. Seems to make sense. But here's what's missing. What about all the folks who currently have guns? Wouldn't "regular screenings" of all current owners be necessary, since people can "snap" due to life events such as a divorce, death of a loved one, an election, the loss of a job, loss of a lifestyle, and on and on? There are somewhere around 400 million total guns owned by civilians in the U.S. They are owned by roughly 30% of American civilians. Think about that for a minute. I was in the military years ago, and we were evaluated/screened regularly. I assume it is still done, as I assume it is done in law enforcement. Civilians have access to weapons, and we do nothing. It just seems wrong to me.

When it comes to preventing mass shootings, or at least cutting the numbers of them, it is not rocket science. Say what you like, but many of them involve "weapons of war," designed to kill people, lots of people, as quickly as possible. Period. They are not used for hunting deer, elk, rabbits, and birds. They are used for hunting people. And when it comes to mass shootings, there are two factors that seem common—a person with some sort of mental issue and a gun. Focusing on only one aspect of that equation will not come close to solving the problem. —Bill T., Arizona

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.