In a private transaction, Richard Burr, Republican of North Carolina, sold the townhouse to lobbyists who had business before his committees.

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, has come under fire in recent weeks for unloading stock holdings right before the market crashed on fears of coronavirus and for a timely sale of shares in an obscure Dutch fertilizer company.

Now the North Carolina Republican’s 2017 sale of his Washington, D.C., home to a group led by a donor and powerful lobbyist who had business before Burr’s committee is raising additional ethical questions.

Burr sold the small townhouse, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, for what, by some estimates, was an above market price — $900,000 — to a team led by lobbyist John Green. That is tens of thousands of dollars above some estimates of the property’s value by tax assessors, a real estate website and a local real estate agent. The sale was done off-market, without the home being listed for sale publicly.

Green is a longtime donor to Burr’s political campaigns and has co-hosted at least one fundraiser for him. In 2017, the year of the sale, Green lobbied on behalf of a stream of clients with business before Burr’s committees.

Ethics experts are generally troubled when politicians enter into business transactions with donors or lobbyists with matters before them. The legality of this sale hinges on whether the home was purchased for fair market value. If it was purchased for more than that, it would be considered a gift. Gifts of significant value from lobbyists are generally banned by Senate ethics rules, and those that aren’t are typically required to be publicly disclosed. Neither Burr nor Green disclosed any such gifts. Gifts that are intended to influence official actions are illegal.

https://www.propublica.org/article/senator-richard-burr-sold-d-c-townhouse-to-donor-at-a-rich-price?utm_content=buffer69d62&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=ProPublica+Main+

Hello, What’s This? The Democrats Aren’t in Disarray

Many younger voters are not old enough to remember a Democratic presidential primary that ended so quickly and congenially. Could it help Joe Biden in the fall?

WASHINGTON — It may have taken a once-in-a-century pandemic, but the Democrats are not in disarray.

After presidential primary races in 2008 and 2016 that stretched across all 50 states, the 2020 contest ended on an altogether tidy note on Monday as Senator Bernie Sanders appeared on a live stream with Joseph R. Biden Jr. and told him: “We need you in the White House.”

The endorsement was quick in the making, full-throated in nature and offered a vivid illustration of how differently this election is unfolding from the often bitter last two Democratic nominating contests.

“The way Bernie did this was really helpful,” said former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont. “There is clearly no animosity between the two of them and this will definitely make it easier for Bernie’s supporters to vote for Biden.”

Among those Sanders voters are thousands of young people who are not old enough to remember a Democratic primary that concluded so quickly and quietly. Many of the Generation Z and millennial progressives going to the polls this fall grew up on ideological fights and policy debates that lasted until everyone had a chance to vote in the primaries.

Not since 2004 has the Democratic Party rallied behind its nominee this early. That year, when a Republican incumbent was also in the White House, Mr. Dean, John F. Kerry and a handful of other Democrats competed through just seven weeks of primaries and caucuses before Mr. Kerry stood alone and triumphant.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/politics/biden-bernie-sanders-2020-democrats.html#click=https://t.co/JLYyCSl3Hi

Chani:



Lady Jessica:



Duke Leto Atreides:



Duncan Idaho:



Liet-Kynes:



https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/04/behold-dune-an-exclusive-look-at-timothee-chalamet-zendaya-oscar-isaac

Looking for examples of true leadership in a crisis? From Iceland to Taiwan and from Germany to New Zealand, women are stepping up to show the world how to manage a messy patch for our human family. Add in Finland, Iceland and Denmark, and this pandemic is revealing that women have what it takes when the heat rises in our Houses of State. Many will say these are small countries, or islands, or other exceptions. But Germany is large and leading, and the UK is an island with very different outcomes. These leaders are gifting us an attractive alternative way of wielding power. What are they teaching us?

Truth

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, stood up early and calmly told her countrymen that this was a serious bug that would infect up to 70% of the population. “It’s serious,” she said, “take it seriously.” She did, so they did too. Testing began right from the get go. Germany jumped right over the phases of denial, anger and disingenuousness we’ve seen elsewhere. The country’s numbers are far below its European neighbours, and there are signs they may be able to start loosening restrictions relatively soon.

Decisiveness

Among the first and the fastest moves was Tsai Ing-wen’s in Taiwan. Back in January, at the first sign of a new illness, she introduced 124 measures to block the spread, without having to resort to the lockdowns that have become common elsewhere. She is now sending 10 million face masks to the US and Europe. Ing-wen managed what CNN has called “among the world’s best” responses, keeping the epidemic under control, still reporting only six deaths.

Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand was early to lockdown and crystal clear on the maximum level of alert she was putting the country under – and why. She imposed self-isolation on people entering New Zealand astonishingly early, when there were just 6 cases in the whole country, and banned foreigners entirely from entering soon after. Clarity and decisiveness are saving New Zealand from the storm. As of mid-April they have suffered only four deaths, and where other countries talk of lifting restrictions, Ardern is adding to them, making all returning New Zealanders quarantine in designated locations for 14 days.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2020/04/13/what-do-countries-with-the-best-coronavirus-reponses-have-in-common-women-leaders/

all hail @PaulaReidCBS, an absolute MODEL for the way to handle him — she pressed on the facts, wouldn’t let up, and he had a fucking meltdown

https://twitter.com/goldengateblond/status/1249829406719143937