Blocking Bernie: On the eve of today’s Super Tuesday round of primaries and caucuses, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar ended her campaign for president and Joined Pete Buttigieg in throwing her support to fellow moderate Joe Biden. 

    Klobuchar’s decision came as moderate Democrats increasingly worry that a split field will throw the nomination to the socialist-not-a-Democrat Bernie Sanders. She said last night at a rally with Biden, “He will not just govern with his head — he’s got a lot of good ideas — but he will also govern with his heart.” She said, “Vote for decency, vote for dignity, vote for a heart for our country.”

  It’s beginning to look like an attempt to repeat the Democratic derailment of Bernie in 2016 and what’s become known in 2020 as the “Bernie Bros” and “Dirtbag Left” who support him. President Trump tweeted, “They are staging a coup against Bernie!”

  Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke spoke up for Biden as did “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg, who got out of the race Sunday. He said last night appearing with Biden, “When I ran for president we made it clear that the whole idea was about rallying the country together to defeat Donald Trump and to win the era for the values that we share.”

  Klobuchar’s departure leaves a field of Sanders, Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Elizabeth Warren, and Tulsi Gabbard, who’s running a ghost campaign while 23 others have dropped out. If Gabbard wins just one delegate, she gets to be in the next debate.

Viral News: Washington state announced four more coronavirus deaths, bringing the total in the United States to six. Genetic analysis suggests that the coronavirus, which causes a highly infectious respiratory disease, has been spreading undetected for about six weeks in Washington state.

  There’s a cluster of cases in a Kirkland, Washington nursing home. 

  Florida announced two cases, bringing to at least 10 the number of US states reporting illnesses.

  South Korea on Monday confirmed 599 new cases, far higher than the daily runup reported in China. With 4,335 confirmed infections and at least 22 deaths, South Korea has the second-largest national problem.

What Goes Down: Almost as if last week’s coronavirus panic selloff never happened, the stock market bounced back in a big way yesterday. The Dow Jones was up 1,293 points, taking back a third of last week’s losses.  

Off-Air: MSNBC host Chris Matthews abruptly announced his resignation last night and left the air with an hour of his show “Hardball” still to go. “I’m retiring,” the 74-year-old Matthews said. “This is the last ‘Hardball’ on MSNBC.”

  Matthews said he wasn’t leaving because he had lost an interest in politics. It appears that he was pushed out.

  Matthews, who was once a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter, has been a centrist voice hosting “Hardball” since 1999. But he’s been the target of beanballs in recent weeks for statements he’s made about black legislators, women, and most recently, Bernie Sanders. He compared Sanders’ win in the Nevada caucuses to the Nazis taking over France in World War II.

Flavorless: The rap group Public Enemy fired its most famous name, Flavor Flav, in a beef over use of the group’s name and likeness by Bernie Sanders, of all people. Sanders has used both Public Enemy’s name and the title of their song “Fight the Power” for promotion. 

  That song just sings “Bernie Sanders,” doesn’t it?

  Flav says only Chuck D endorses Bernie, not the whole group, but Chuck D says he owns the group’s trademark, and goodbye Flav.

  Public Enemy said in a brief statement Sunday, “We thank him for his years of service and wish him well,” which tells you that Chuck D has gone from rap rebel to just another corporate music executive.

The Obit Page: Jack Welch, the former chief of General Electric known as “Neutron Jack” for his relentless cutting of staff and insufficiently profitable wings of the business, has died at 84. Welch rose to prominence in the 1980s when corporate executives became gods worth ungodly salaries and bonuses. During his time, GE’s revenue jumped nearly five times, to $130 billion, while the value of its stock roared from $14 billion to more than $410 billion. The “neutron” was a comparison to the neutron bomb that kills people but leaves buildings intact. If you were an investor he was a wonderful guy. The employees probably had a different name for him. — James Lipton, the former actor who created and hosted “Inside the Actor’s Studio” interviewing actors about their work, has died at age 93. The show was filmed in front of a live audience of student actors. He started in in 1994 and retired in 2018.

  Some of his favorite questions:

-What is your favorite word?

-What is your least favorite word?

-What turns you on?

-What turns you off?

-What sound or noise do you love?

-What sound or noise do you hate?

-What is your favorite curse word?

-What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

             -What profession would you not like to do?

             -If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at 

             the pearly gates?

 Tiny Solution: In San Jose, California about 6,000 people sleep in cars, shelters , or on the streets every night — it’s a big problem.

  The city has just opened a village of 40 tiny houses to provide transitional homes for people trying to get back from the brink. The 80-square-foot Hobbit homes have just enough room for a single bed, a desk, shelf, and a heating/air conditioning system. 

  San Jose joins Denver, Seattle, Oakland, and Austin in providing the tiny homes. They’re pretty cute. 

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