Democrats move towards realistic stance on public safety   Biden and Garland start gun control drive with crackdown on rogue gun dealers, putting GOP demagogues on defensive about crime issue; Atlanta Mayor Lance Bottoms implements 30% pay raise and recruitment efforts for police; In New York City, African-American and Hispanic voters give initial lead in mayoral primary to black Brooklyn Borough President and former cop Eric Adams, who campaigned against defunding the police; Required reading after Senate GOP blocks ambitious voting rights bill: Alexander Hamilton's critique of the filibuster in Federalist 22, showing that minority rule will always tend to paralysis, mediocrity, and "anarchy"; Sinema argues that big reforms passed by narrow margins will inevitably be repealed at every shift of majority; but history of Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, and now Obamacare show that American people do not easily surrender vital gains; Breaking: In House hearing, JCS Chair Gen. Milley defies Gaetz on "woke" military, calls reactionary slurs against well-educated military "offensive"; Pelosi readies House Select Committee to probe of January 6 putsch