The Ledes

Thursday, October 31, 2024

New York Times: “Walker Buehler spread his arms wide and waited for his teammates to engulf him, the most fitting symbol of a season defined by persistent resilience. Called into emergency relief, Buehler closed out the World Series and shut the door on the New York Yankees as the Los Angeles Dodgers captured a 7-6 victory in a heart-stopping Game 5.... [Buehler's] scoreless frame stunned the crowd at Yankee Stadium and incited a mid-field jubilee from the Dodgers.”

New York Times: “At least 95 people have died and others were missing after devastating flash floods hit eastern Spain, according to the local authorities, in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country in recent years. The catastrophic floods, fueled by an unrelenting deluge that began on Monday, washed away cars, inundated homes and knocked out power across eastern Spain. Rescuers waded through neck-high waters to reach some residents.”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

New York Times: “Teri Garr, the alternately shy and sassy blond actress whose little-girl voice, deadpan comic timing, expressive eyes and cinematic bravery in the face of seemingly crazy male characters made her a star of 1970s and ’80s movies and earned her an Oscar nomination for her role in 'Tootsie,' died on Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 79.”

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

New York Times: In a collection of memorabilia filed at New York City's Morgan Library, curator Robinson McClellan discovered the manuscript of a previously unknown waltz by Frédéric Chopin. Jeffrey Kallberg, a Chopin scholar at the University of Pennsylvania as well as other experts authenticated the manuscript. Includes video of Lang Lang performing the short waltz. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Times article goes into some of Chopin's life in Paris at the time he wrote the waltz, but it doesn't mention that he helped make ends meet by giving piano lessons. I know this because my great grandmother was one of his students. If her musical talent were anything like mine, those particular lessons would have been painful hours for Chopin.

New York Times: “Improbably, [the political/celebrity magazine] George[, originally a project by John F. Kennedy, Jr.] is back, with the same logo and the same catchy slogan: 'Not just politics as usual.' This time, though, a QAnon conspiracy theorist and passionate Trump fan is its editor in chief.... It is a reanimation story bizarre enough for a zombie movie, made possible by the fact that the original George trademark lapsed, only to be secured by a little-known conservative lawyer named Thomas D. Foster.”

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

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A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. -- Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Tuesday
Aug112020

The Commentariat -- August 12, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Barbara Starr & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "A US Air Force helicopter was shot at near Manassas, Virginia, on Monday injuring one of two pilots on board, according to an Air Force official. The UH-1N was flying 10 miles northwest of Manassas on a routine training mission at an altitude of 1,000 feet when the incident occurred. It landed safely at Manassas Regional Airport west of Washington, DC, and the pilot was taken to hospital where they were treated and released, the official said. The incident is now under FBI and Air Force investigation to determine if the helicopter was deliberately shot at or if someone was randomly shooting into the air. The aircraft will be closely inspected for other damage, the official added."

Mrs. McCrabbie: As far as I know, the moment at the beginning and end (beginning @ about 1:35 min. in) of this campaign video is historic: it's the first time anyone outside the people in the room(s) have seen a major-party presumptive presidential nominee make an offer to be his (or her) running mate:

Joe Biden & Kamala Harris are scheduled to speak together at 2 pm ET. This Washington Post YouTube channel will play it live. Mrs. McC: Chuck Todd just said (at 1:24 pm ET) that they would speak in "just a couple of hours," so I don't know. Update: Still waiting at 4:15 pm ET!

From the New York Times' live updates of election developments: "From the first hours after Joseph R. Biden Jr. chose Kamala Harris as his running mate, President Trump, his Republican allies and conservative hosts on Fox News unfurled a string of sexist attacks on Ms. Harris. Mr. Trump followed up on Wednesday morning with a racist tweet claiming that Mr. Biden would put another Black leader, Senator Cory Booker, in charge of low-income housing in the suburbs. That tweet did not mention Ms. Harris, but it continued Mr. Trump's tactic of playing into white racist fears about integration efforts as he declared, 'The "suburban housewife" will be voting for me.' 'They want safety & are thrilled that I ended the long running program where low income housing would invade their neighborhood,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'Biden would reinstall it, in a bigger form, with Corey Booker in charge!' The president did not explain why he referred to Mr. Booker, whose first name he misspelled. But the race-laced salvo came after a chorus of Fox News hosts on Tuesday night assailed Ms. Harris, attacking everything from the pronunciation of her name to Mr. Biden's selection process for focusing on women of color." A CNN story, by Oliver Darcy, is here.

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here: "Florida and Georgia reported their highest single-day, statewide covid-19 death tolls on Tuesday, as more than 1,300 coronavirus-related fatalities were reported nationwide." ~~~

~~~ So This. Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, as Florida set a daily record for covid-19 deaths, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods prohibited his deputies from wearing masks at work. His order, which also applies to visitors to the sheriff's office, carves out an exception for officers in some locations, including hospitals, and when dealing with people who are high-risk or suspected of having the novel coronavirus. In an email to the sheriff's department shared with The Washington Post, Woods disputed the idea that masks are a consensus approach to battling the pandemic." Mrs. McC: Take a look at the smiling face of Sheriff Billy. He looks like a modern sheriff, the kind who doggedly insists that the ole boys abandon their backwards ways of policing. Apparently not.

** He Really Doesn't Care. Do You? S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump's interest in taking intelligence briefings has been declining steadily since his first months in office and has dropped to near zero in recent weeks, according to a HuffPost review of all of his daily schedules. Trump went from a high of 4.1 briefings per week on average in March 2017 to 0.7 per week since July 1, shortly after it became public that he had ignored intelligence reports about Russia offering bounties to the Taliban for each American soldier killed in Afghanistan. Monday's briefing, in fact, was the first in August and the first since July 22. That month had only three briefings scheduled.... Trump's immediate predecessors took daily briefings in the White House. Republican George W. Bush typically had his shortly after his arrival in the Oval Office at 6:45 a.m. each day. Democrat Barack Obama had the written material, known as the 'President's Daily Brief,' loaded onto his iPad by 6 a.m. each day, when he would read it prior to the in-person session later in the morning. Trump, by contrast, rarely gets to the West Wing before noon after spending much of each morning watching television and posting tweets based on his viewing." Mrs. McC: They're called "Presidential Daily Briefs" for a reason.

~~~~~~~~~~

Elections 2020

Joe Biden Chooses Kamala Harris as His Running Mate

~~~ Here's the press release on the Biden/Harris campaign Website.

Alexander Burns & Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. selected Senator Kamala Harris of California as his vice-presidential running mate on Tuesday, embracing a former rival who sharply criticized him in the Democratic primaries but emerged after ending her campaign as a vocal supporter of Mr. Biden’s and a prominent advocate of racial-justice legislation after the killing of George Floyd in late May. Ms. Harris, 55, is the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major party, and only the fourth woman in U.S. history to be chosen for a presidential ticket. She brings to the race a far more vigorous campaign style than Mr. Biden’s, including a gift for capturing moments of raw political electricity on the debate stage and elsewhere, and a personal identity and family story that many find inspiring." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times has several short takes on Harris's selection here: “Joseph R. Biden Jr., who has selected Senator Kamala Harris of California as his vice-presidential running mate, will appear with her in Delaware on Wednesday afternoon where they will deliver remarks. The two will also take part in a virtual grass-roots fund-raiser Wednesday evening.” ~~~

~~~ Nasty Woman! Trump Was as Gracious as Ever: “President Trump wasted little time assailing Senator Kamala Harris of California on Tuesday after her selection as the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential candidate, calling her 'nasty' and 'just about the most liberal person in the U.S. Senate.' Mr. Trump’s campaign quickly posted a video ad attacking her as a 'phony' who would pull Joseph R. Biden Jr. to the left and would be the one who really pulled the strings in a Democratic administration. At a news briefing shortly after the announcement, Mr. Trump attacked Ms. Harris for supporting tax increases and expanding Medicare, suggesting she would be an easy target. 'She was my No. 1 pick,' Mr. Trump said. 'She did very, very poorly in the primaries, as you know. She was expected to do well. And she ended up right around 2 percent. Spent a lot of money. She had a lot of things happening. I was a little surprised he picked her.'”

Amanda Erickson of the Washington Post: “Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has chosen Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate, elevating a former presidential candidate whose most electric campaign performance came when she criticized his record on school integration during a debate. Harris will be the first Black woman and first Asian American to run for vice president, representing a historic choice at a moment when the country is grappling with its racial past and future. The announcement was made in a text and a tweet from Biden. 'Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau,' Biden tweeted, referring to his late son, then the attorney general of Delaware. 'I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I’m proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.'Harris, 55, is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants. The first-term senator previously served as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general.” ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's main story is here. Politico's main page currently has links to other stories about Kamala Harris.

NEW. Michael Scherer of the Washington Post writes an inside-the-vetting-process story. Mrs. McC: I think this is the photo Scherer refers to near the end of the article.

Jeff Zeleny of CNN: "An official with Joe Biden tells CNN that the former vice president called California Sen. Kamala Harris to offer her the job of vice president 90 minutes before his announcement."

Sahil Kapur of NBC News: “Joe Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate creates a conundrum for which ... Donald Trump's campaign didn't have an immediate answer: How to run against her. In a statement moments after the announcement, Trump senior adviser Katrina Pierson blasted Harris both as someone who will 'try to bury her record as a prosecutor' in California — which has been described by some critics as too harsh — and someone who will appease 'anti-police extremists' and who was both 'phony' and in thrall to 'radicals.'... 'This really puts the Trump campaign in a box: whether you portray her as pro-police or anti-police,' said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor and Trump supporter.... Harris was difficult to pin down ideologically in the Democratic presidential primary, which left many voters wondering what she stood for and hurt her candidacy.... But it also now makes her a more complicated target of attacks by Trump, who has also struggled to land a punch on Biden: During the Democratic primary, Harris was a rare candidate who polled near the front of the pack but never earned a derisive nickname from the president.” ~~~

~~~ Lachlan Markay & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: “... Donald Trump’s allies plan to portray [Kamala Harris] ... as [a] 'power hungry' and overly 'ambitious' [woman who would ] effectively be the president of the United States. It’s an extension of a line of attack against Biden that the Trump campaign has hammered for weeks: that he is incapable of governing and would effectively be a vessel for other interests in the Democratic Party to govern by proxy.”

Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Wall Street leaders on Tuesday cheered Joe Biden’s selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate in the presidential election. Finance executives, confident the ticket has what it takes to topple ... Donald Trump, raved about her experience in government, as well as her fundraising prowess."

AND look who produced the first Biden/Harris ad:

Jamie Ross of the Daily Beast: “If you’re looking for a quintessential example of fragile masculinity, look no further.... Donald Trump suggested Tuesday morning that, in pledging to pick a woman as his running mate, Joe Biden has offended men everywhere.... Trump made his comments in a simpering interview with Fox Sports personality and OutKick founder Clay Travis.... Asked by Travis who he would pick if he was in Biden’s position, the president replied: 'I would be inclined to a different route to the way he’s done. First of all he roped himself into a, you know, certain group of people.' For those unable to crack the president’s mysterious code, Travis explained: 'He said he had to pick a woman.' Trump replied: 'He said that. Some people would say that men are insulted by that, and some people would say it’s fine. I don’t know.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: If Donald and the white boys are insulted by Biden's committing to choosing a woman, let me remind them that for much of the period during which U.S. presidential nominees have effectively chosen their running mates, they limited that choice to white men.

Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: Donald “Trump appeared to declare the end of the rally era Tuesday. He said the events — the success of which he has always measured by the size of the crowd and the 'ratings' — are a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic. Or more exactly, of the dispiriting optics that proper social distancing would mandate. 'You can’t have empty seats,' Trump said in an interview with Fox Sports Radio.... 'You know, you have one person and everything’s empty around them. You can’t do that.’ Speaking later with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump ... [said] 'I’d love to do the rallies. We can’t because of the covid. You know, you can’t have people sitting next to each other.'... Although Trump did not say so, the empty-seats problem is also partly a function of reluctance on the part of some his supporters to expose themselves to potential infection.” The Raw Story has a summary report here.

Annie Karni & Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times frame Donald Trump's pledge to permanently cut payroll taxes as an "opening" for Democrats to raise Social Security cuts as a campaign issue. “On Monday..., Joseph R. Biden Jr. capitalized on the opportunity. 'Donald Trump said that if he’s re-elected, he’ll defund Social Security,' he tweeted. 'We can’t let that happen.' The Democratic National Committee amplified the line of attack the next day, blasting out a statement that highlighted 'At Least 7 Times Trump Said He Will Permanently Eliminate Funds To Social Security And Medicare.'” Mrs. McC: Of course, "Donald Trump pledged" or "promised" screams oxymoron. But funding for Social Security & Medicare already is shaky, and if consideration is given to further straining it, it better not be by an ignoramus on a Saturday night at a campaign social for tipsy, rowdy private clubbers. This isn't a Democratic campaign "opening"; it's another Trump disaster, and Democrats are merely realistic to set their hair on fire in order to point that out.

Thanks to Nisky Guy for this link:

Mrs. McCrabbie: BTW, toward the end of yesterday's Comments thread, there's a great little discussion, which Bobby Lee began, re: particulars on our obligations to the Trump Family Crooks after we voters throw Donnie out of office. unwashed ends the exchange with a LOL classic.

Congressional Races

Georgia. Matthew Rosenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "Conspiracy theorists won a major victory on Tuesday as a Republican supporter of the convoluted pro-Trump movement QAnon triumphed in her House primary runoff election in Georgia, all but ensuring that she will represent a deep-red district in Congress. The ascension of Marjorie Taylor Greene, who embraces a conspiracy theory that the F.B.I. has labeled a potential domestic terrorism threat, came as six states held primary and runoff elections on Tuesday.... Now, with Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, one of the most Republican in the country, likely to vote red in November, Ms. Greene is all but assured of getting the chance to put into action her talk of rooting out an imagined deep-state cabal of pedophile Satanists who are trying to take down President Trump." A Politico story is here.

Minnesota. Astead Herndon of the New York Times: "Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota fended off a well-funded primary challenger on Tuesday, ensuring a clean sweep of re-election fights for the group of first-term Democratic congresswomen of color known as the Squad and sending a message to Washington about the staying power of the party’s new progressive voices. Ms. Omar, who made history in 2018 by becoming the first Somali-American to be elected to Congress, as well as the first naturalized citizen of African birth and the first woman of color from Minnesota to do so, secured the victory after spending her first two years in the Washington spotlight."

Amy Gardner & Dan Simmons of the Washington Post: "Voters trickled to the polls with no wait times and election workers began processing a crush of absentee ballots with no major difficulties Tuesday morning in a slew of primaries and runoffs across five states, a sign of the extra preparations states have taken to hold elections during the coronavirus pandemic. The contests in Georgia, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Vermont were also expected to draw lower turnout, which contributed to the relative quiet. But Georgia and Wisconsin, in particular, rolled out new safeguards to avoid the chaos of primaries earlier this year in those two states, which were marked by polling place closures, poll worker no-shows and equipment difficulties for staff who were not properly trained amid fears of coronavirus infection." (Also linked yesterday.)

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday once again put on hold a judge’s order that relaxed election procedures because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the result will keep a referendum on partisan gerrymandering off the November ballot in Oregon. The court’s brief order provided no reasoning, and the vote was unannounced. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor noted their dissent. But the action was pretty much in line with similar cases from Alabama, Idaho, Wisconsin and elsewhere in which the court has put on hold judicial orders that provided pandemic-related relief over the objections of state election officials. The court has said it disfavors judicial action that comes too close to an election, and defers to local control. In this case, it was Oregon’s Democratic leaders who objected when a federal judge eased the requirements for a group called People Not Politicians. It wanted to put on the ballot a measure turning over redistricting decisions to an independent commission rather than the Oregon legislature." A Reuters story is here.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: “There’s no mystery about what President Trump intends to do if he holds a lead on election night in November. He’s practically broadcasting it. First, he’ll claim victory. Then, having spent most of the year denouncing vote-by-mail as corrupt, fraudulent and prone to abuse, he’ll demand that authorities stop counting mail-in and absentee ballots. He’ll have teams of lawyers challenging counts and ballots across the country. He also seems to be counting on having the advantage of mail slowdowns, engineered by the recently installed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Fewer pickups and deliveries could mean more late-arriving ballots and a better shot at dismissing votes before they’re even opened, especially if the campaign has successfully sued to block states from extending deadlines.... If Trump is leading on election night, in other words, there’s a good chance he’ll try to disrupt and delegitimize the counting process.... ~~~

~~~ “The only way to prevent this scenario, or at least, rob it of the oxygen it needs to burn, is to deliver an election night lead to Biden. This means voting in person. No, not everyone will be able to do that. But if you plan to vote against Trump and can take appropriate precautions, then some kind of hand delivery — going to the polls or bringing your mail-in ballot to a 'drop box' — will be the best way to protect your vote from the president’s concerted attempt to undermine the election for his benefit.” Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

They Don't Know What They're Doing. White House: Yeah, Trump Lied, and We Changed Our Minds. Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump’s senior aides acknowledged on Tuesday that they are providing less financial assistance for the unemployed than the president initially advertised amid mounting blowback from state officials of both parties. On Saturday, Trump approved an executive action that he claimed would provide an additional $400 per week in expanded unemployment benefits for Americans who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. By Tuesday, senior White House officials were saying publicly that the maneuver only guarantees an extra $300 per week for unemployed Americans — with states not required to add anything to their existing state benefit programs to qualify for the federal benefit.... The Saturday directive from the White House said that 75 percent of the new benefit would be paid for by the federal government. That was interpreted by many states to mean that they would have to provide an additional $100 per week for their residents to qualify for the benefit. On Tuesday, White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow suggested that adjustments had been made to that plan and that no new money is required from the states for their residents to qualify for the $300.... The White House guidance means all states will probably be able to implement the program without spending new money on aid."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: “American scientists hope this is one time that President Trump really does believe it is all just a Russian hoax. As President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia triumphantly declared on Tuesday that his country had produced the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, public health experts in the United States worried that Mr. Trump would feel compelled to compete in a pharmaceutical manhood contest by hastily rolling out his own vaccine even before it is fully tested.... The White House has said that data, not politics, will govern the decision to approve a vaccine, although Mr. Trump has repeatedly linked his Operation Warp Speed to the campaign calendar. He has suggested that a vaccine could be rolled out by Election Day even though scientists said it would take until early next year to complete the trials.... At a news briefing ... [Tuesday], the president offered no comment on Russia’s announcement but made a point of boasting about the 'tremendous progress' on an American vaccine and asserted that 'we’re moving very close to that approval.”

Alan Blinder & Billy Witz of the New York Times: "Two of the nation’s wealthiest and most powerful football conferences abandoned their plans to play this fall over coronavirus concerns, a move that fractured the season and promised repercussions far beyond the playing field, even as other top leagues were publicly poised to begin games next month. The decisions by the two conferences, the Big Ten and the Pac-12, extended the greatest crisis in the history of college athletics, a multibillion-dollar industry that depends heavily on football to underwrite lower-profile sports and which provides universities with a national profile they use to recruit students and attract donations. By canceling games this autumn, the two conferences defied calls by some coaches and players and by President Trump to mount a season in the face of the virus’s largely unchecked spread." ~~~

~~~ David Li of NBC News: "The Big Ten, a Midwest alliance boasting some of America's most elite schools and storied college football programs, postponed 2020 gridiron action on Tuesday due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 'The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of the 2020-21 fall sports season," according to a league statement. 'In making its decision, which was based on multiple factors, the Big Ten Conference relied on the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.'... The Big Ten's action pushed college football closer to a total fall shutdown." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ “Donny from Queens.” David Nakamura of the Washington Post: “... President Trump called in live [to the Fox News Sports show] on the air Tuesday.... Colleges are 'making a tragic mistake' if they cancel their seasons, he told host Clay Travis, who gained prominence three years ago for citing his allegiance to 'the First Amendment and boobs' on CNN. After all, Trump continued, the players are 'so powerful and so strong and not lots of body fat . . . maybe none, in some cases' — so they are at less risk of getting sick. 'It just attacks old people,” he declared, though a study released this week found 97,000 children in the country tested positive for the virus in the last two weeks of July, a 40 percent increase.' However, on professional football, the president had some reservations. The National Football League, Trump said, 'wants to open very badly' and is working with his administration to do so safely. But, he added, referring to his ongoing spat with NFL players who began kneeling in 2017 to protest police brutality, 'if they don’t stand for the national anthem, I hope they don’t open.'”

Georgia. Wayne Drash & Ellen Eldridge of Georgia Public Broadcasting: “More than 800 students and 42 teachers and staff in Cherokee County are quarantining after coronavirus was reported at 19 different schools, the school district announced late Monday.... The district's updated note Monday evening said 38 students and 12 teachers and staff tested positive for the virus. At Etowah High School, nearly 300 students of the 2,400 total student population were quarantining. Etowah was one of the high schools last week where photographs went viral after dozens of students crammed together in front of the building without masks to celebrate their first day of school.... Earlier Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp ruled out a mask mandate for schools and said he believes the reopening of classrooms across Georgia has gone 'real well,' with the exception of viral photos shared on social media that showed students crowded together." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You might think Kemp's observation was the stupidest remark made by a Georgia official regarding the Cherokee County schools. You'd be wrong. According to CNN, one Cherokee County school principal said she didn't need to wear a mask because she was "protected by God."

Kentuckians Are Mad at Mitch. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "About five months after Kentucky reported its first loss of life from covid-19, its economy continues to sputter.... Many unemployed workers say their benefit checks aren’t enough to afford their bills, and some here simply have stopped looking for jobs. Businesses say they’re also hemorrhaging cash, and local governments fear they’re on the precipice of financial ruin, too. The economic tumult in Kentucky is vast, and it has added new urgency to the political standoff on Capitol Hill, where the prospect of a prolonged deadlock could worsen the financial woes in a state that was hurting long before the pandemic arrived. Caught in the middle is [Mitch] McConnell, 78, who some critics say has struggled to navigate the priorities of the president, the political desires of a fractious Republican conference and the economic needs in his own backyard." (Also linked yesterday.)


Nastiest, Dumbest President* in U.S. History Calls NBA Players Nasty & Dumb. Scott Gleenson
of USA Today: "... Donald Trump called NBA players 'very nasty' and 'very dumb' in a Tuesday radio interview while expressing his disapproval of the league's players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice. For the NBA's restarted season in Orlando, Florida, all but two players have knelt during the national anthem. Players have also worn jerseys with messages associated with the Black Lives Matter movement written on the back." (Also linked yesterday.)

Minnesota. Evan Hill, et al., of the New York Times: "Nearly 11 weeks after George Floyd was killed by the police in Minneapolis, inciting a wave of protests across the United States, a Minnesota county court has released police body camera footage of the episode to the public for the first time. The New York Times has reviewed the full 65 minutes of footage, which was previously viewable only by appointment, and selected crucial moments that offer new information. The footage fills in blanks, raises new questions and gives insight into both Mr. Floyd’s state of mind and how the police response to his apparent use of a counterfeit bill became a deadly encounter. It shows officers escalating the situation from the beginning of the arrest, Mr. Floyd begging not to be placed into a squad car and a repeated lack of care for Mr. Floyd’s health while he is restrained on the ground." (Also linked yesterday.)

Virginia. Allyson Waller of the New York Times: "A man who prosecutors described as a Ku Klux Klan leader was sentenced this week to six years in prison after driving into a group of Black Lives Matter protesters outside Richmond, Va., in June. The man, Harry H. Rogers, 36, was convicted on Monday by a judge in Henrico County District Court of six misdemeanors, including assault, destruction of property and hit-and-run charges. He was handed the maximum penalty on each count. Mr. Rogers still faces three felony counts of attempted malicious wounding. The charges all stemmed from an episode on June 7."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday defended his 'reluctance to embrace' United States intelligence agencies as he continues to question the latest reports that Russia is meddling in the 2020 election." In two tweets, Trump excused his current reluctance to embrace the intelligence community by denigrating former agency heads: "sleazebag" James Comey, "proven liar" James Clapper, & "Wacko" John Brennan. "The president's distrust of the intelligence community's has been put back in the spotlight after the top U.S. counterintelligence official announced last week a series of foreign threats facing the 2020 presidential election, including that Russia is using a range of measures to 'primarily denigrate' ... Joe Biden in his campaign for the White House.... Asked about the report over the weekend, Trump claimed Russia would prefer to see Biden in office, contradicting the intelligence report. When a reporter asked Monday if he'd brought up election meddling directly with Putin, Trump again dodged. '... I'll tell you who's meddling in our elections. The Democrats are meddling by wanting and insisting on sending mail-in ballots where there's corruption all over the place,' Trump said, repeating his inaccurate claims about mail voting." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jacqueline Feldscher & Nahal Toosi of Politico: “The State Department did not fully consider the risk of civilian casualties when it approved more than $8 billion in arms sales to Middle Eastern countries last year, according to a redacted inspector general report released Tuesday. An unredacted version of the report, obtained by Politico, also raised questions about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s assertions that an emergency situation existed, allowing him to greenlight the sales over congressional objections.... The IG ... said the department 'did not fully assess risks and implement mitigation measures to reduce civilian casualties and legal concerns' surrounding the transfer of precision-guided munitions to the three countries [Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan]. The IG provided additional details about this failure, as well as a recommendation, in a classified annex of the report.... In essence, the public version gives the impression that Pompeo moved quickly on an urgent issue, whereas the unredacted version shows a much longer timeframe of deliberation and action, undermining the argument that an emergency existed at all.”

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "A federal appeals court Tuesday appeared unsympathetic to arguments that it should order a district court judge to dismiss criminal charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reheard oral arguments about how the Flynn case should proceed at the lower court after the Department of Justice (DOJ) suddenly moved to withdraw its case against the former adviser to President Trump. Most of the judges appeared concerned with an earlier decision from a divided three-judge circuit panel that would have forced the district court to approve the DOJ's motion without holding a hearing. At Tuesday's hearing, which ran nearly four hours, lawyers for Flynn and the Trump administration were grilled by a 10-judge panel about their stance that the lower court has no right to question the DOJ's decision to drop the charges by holding such a hearing." A Washington Post story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Precursors to Trump

Mexico. Mary Beth Sheridan of the Washington Post: "The star witness in Mexico's biggest corruption scandal in years has alleged that former president Enrique Peña Nieto benefited from millions of dollars in corporate bribes that were funneled into his campaign and also used for payoffs to lawmakers to support his reforms, officials said Tuesday. Emilio Lozoya, a former top official in Peña Nieto’s 2012 campaign, made the accusations in an appearance Tuesday before Mexican prosecutors, according to Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero. Lozoya said he handled the bribes from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht on the orders of Peña Nieto and one of his top aides, Luis Videgaray, the attorney general said in a video distributed on social media. The allegations are the most serious yet against Peña Nieto, who has maintained that his campaign did not receive illegal donations.... Lozoya, 45, who served as head of the state-owned oil giant Pemex from 2012 to 2016, was arrested in February in Spain on Mexican corruption charges." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: If Trump had known what a crook Peña Nieto allegedly was, Trump would have treated the former Mexican president a lot better. 

Spain ¿Dónde Está Juan Carlos? Raphael Minder of the New York Times: "An announcement last week by the former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, that he would be leaving his country amid a raft of investigations related to his wealth has set off frenzied speculation in the Spanish news media about his whereabouts. That has added a layer of intrigue to a royal departure that has shocked many Spaniards and frayed the relationship between the two parties that form Spain’s fragile coalition government. Prosecutors are investigating whether Juan Carlos — who abdicated in favor of his son Felipe in 2014, after being troubled by health problems and personal scandals — was the beneficiary of a web of offshore foundations and secret bank accounts. Last week, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said he had no idea where the former king had gone."

Monday
Aug102020

The Commentariat -- August 11, 2020

Joe Biden selects Kamala Harris as running mate.

~~~ Here's the press release on the Biden/Harris campaign Website. ~~~

~~~ Amanda Erickson of the Washington Post: "Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has chosen Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate, elevating a former presidential candidate whose most electric campaign performance came when she criticized his record on school integration during a debate. Harris will be the first Black woman and first Asian American to run for vice president, representing a historic choice at a moment when the country is grappling with its racial past and future. The announcement was made in a text and a tweet from Biden. 'Back when Kamala was Attorney General, she worked closely with Beau,' Biden tweeted, referring to his late son, then the attorney general of Delaware. 'I watched as they took on the big banks, lifted up working people, and protected women and kids from abuse. I was proud then, and I'm proud now to have her as my partner in this campaign.'Harris, 55, is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants. The first-term senator previously served as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general." ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's main story is here. Politico's main page currently has links to other stories about Kamala Harris.

Astead Herndon, et al., of the New York Times: "Six states hold primaries and runoffs on Tuesday, but the spotlight will be on Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota. In her primary race for re-election on Tuesday, she hopes to continue a string of victories by progressive candidates nationwide, but she faces a well-financed challenge from Antone Melton-Meaux, a lawyer who has raised more than $4 million. In Georgia, a Republican QAnon supporter has a good chance of winning her party's nomination in the 14th Congressional District." A Politico story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** Jeff Zeleny, et al., of CNN: "Joe Biden has selected his running mate, revealing to top advisers on Tuesday the woman he will invite to join his Democratic presidential ticket, two people familiar with the matter tell CNN. He is poised to make the announcement as early as Tuesday."

MEANWHILE. Jamie Ross of the Daily Beast: "If you're looking for a quintessential example of fragile masculinity, look no further.... Donald Trump suggested Tuesday morning that, in pledging to pick a woman as his running mate, Joe Biden has offended men everywhere.... Trump made his comments in a simpering interview with Fox Sports personality and OutKick founder Clay Travis.... Asked by Travis who he would pick if he was in Biden's position, the president replied: 'I would be inclined to a different route to the way he's done. First of all he roped himself into a, you know, certain group of people.' For those unable to crack the president's mysterious code, Travis explained: 'He said he had to pick a woman.' Trump replied: 'He said that. Some people would say that men are insulted by that, and some people would say it's fine. I don't know.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If Donald and the white boys are insulted by Biden's committing to choosing a woman, let me remind them that for much of the period U.S. presidential nominees have effectively chosen their running mates, they limited that choice to white men.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "There's no mystery about what President Trump intends to do if he holds a lead on election night in November. He's practically broadcasting it. First, he'll claim victory. Then, having spent most of the year denouncing vote-by-mail as corrupt, fraudulent and prone to abuse, he'll demand that authorities stop counting mail-in and absentee ballots. He'll have teams of lawyers challenging counts and ballots across the country. He also seems to be counting on having the advantage of mail slowdowns, engineered by the recently installed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Fewer pickups and deliveries could mean more late-arriving ballots and a better shot at dismissing votes before they're even opened, especially if the campaign has successfully sued to block states from extending deadlines.... If Trump is leading on election night, in other words, there's a good chance he'll try to disrupt and delegitimize the counting process.... ~~~

~~~ "The only way to prevent this scenario, or at least, rob it of the oxygen it needs to burn, is to deliver an election night lead to Biden. This means voting in person. No, not everyone will be able to do that. But if you plan to vote against Trump and can take appropriate precautions, then some kind of hand delivery -- going to the polls or bringing your mail-in ballot to a 'drop box' -- will be the best way to protect your vote from the president's concerted attempt to undermine the election for his benefit." Emphasis added.

Nastiest, Dumbest President* in U.S. History Calls NBA Players Nasty & Dumb. Scott Gleenson of USA Today: "... Donald Trump called NBA players 'very nasty' and 'very dumb' in a Tuesday radio interview while expressing his disapproval of the league's players kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice. For the NBA's restarted season in Orlando, Florida, all but two players have knelt during the national anthem. Players have also worn jerseys with messages associated with the Black Lives Matter movement written on the back."

Amy Gardner & Dan Simmons of the Washington Post: "Voters trickled to the polls with no wait times and election workers began processing a crush of absentee ballots with no major difficulties Tuesday morning in a slew of primaries and runoffs across five states, a sign of the extra preparations states have taken to hold elections during the coronavirus pandemic. The contests in Georgia, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Vermont were also expected to draw lower turnout, which contributed to the relative quiet. But Georgia and Wisconsin, in particular, rolled out new safeguards to avoid the chaos of primaries earlier this year in those two states, which were marked by polling place closures, poll worker no-shows and equipment difficulties for staff who were not properly trained amid fears of coronavirus infection."

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "A federal appeals court Tuesday appeared unsympathetic to arguments that it should order a district court judge to dismiss criminal charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reheard oral arguments about how the Flynn case should proceed at the lower court after the Department of Justice (DOJ) suddenly moved to withdraw its case against the former adviser to President Trump. Most of the judges appeared concerned with an earlier decision from a divided three-judge circuit panel that would have forced the district court to approve the DOJ's motion without holding a hearing. At Tuesday's hearing, which ran nearly four hours, lawyers for Flynn and the Trump administration were grilled by a 10-judge panel about their stance that the lower court has no right to question the DOJ's decision to drop the charges by holding such a hearing." A Washington Post story is here.

Evan Hill, et al., of the New York Times: "Nearly 11 weeks after George Floyd was killed by the police in Minneapolis, inciting a wave of protests across the United States, a Minnesota county court has released police body camera footage of the episode to the public for the first time. The New York Times has reviewed the full 65 minutes of footage, which was previously viewable only by appointment, and selected crucial moments that offer new information. The footage fills in blanks, raises new questions and gives insight into both Mr. Floyd's state of mind and how the police response to his apparent use of a counterfeit bill became a deadly encounter. It shows officers escalating the situation from the beginning of the arrest, Mr. Floyd begging not t be placed into a squad car and a repeated lack of care for Mr. Floyd's health while he is restrained on the ground."

David Li of NBC News: "The Big Ten, a Midwest alliance boasting some of America's most elite schools and storied college football programs, postponed 2020 gridiron action on Tuesday due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 'The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of the 2020-21 fall sports season," according to a league statement. 'In making its decision, which was based on multiple factors, the Big Ten Conference relied on the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.'... The Big Ten's action pushed college football closer to a total fall shutdown."

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here.

Georgia. Wayne Drash & Ellen Eldridge of Georgia Public Broadcasting: "More than 800 students and 42 teachers and staff in Cherokee County are quarantining after coronavirus was reported at 19 different schools, the school district announced late Monday.... The district's updated note Monday evening said 38 students and 12 teachers and staff tested positive for the virus. At Etowah High School, nearly 300 students of the 2,400 total student population were quarantining. Etowah was one of the high schools last week where photographs went viral after dozens of students crammed together in front of the building without masks to celebrate their first day of school.... Earlier Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp ruled out a mask mandate for schools and said he believes the reopening of classrooms across Georgia has gone 'real well,' with the exception of viral photos shared on social media that showed students crowded together." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You might think Kemp's observation was the stupidest remark made by a Georgia official regarding the Cherokee County schools. You'd be wrong. According to CNN, one Cherokee County school principal said she didn't need to wear a mask because she was "protected by God."

Kentuckians Are Mad at Mitch. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "About five months after Kentucky reported its first loss of life from covid-19, its economy continues to sputter.... Many unemployed workers say their benefit checks aren’t enough to afford their bills, and some here simply have stopped looking for jobs. Businesses say they're also hemorrhaging cash, and local governments fear they're on the precipice of financial ruin, too. The economic tumult in Kentucky is vast, and it has added new urgency to the political standoff on Capitol Hill, where the prospect of a prolonged deadlock could worsen the financial woes in a state that was hurting long before the pandemic arrived. Caught in the middle is [Mitch] McConnell, 78, who some critics say has struggled to navigate the priorities of the president, the political desires of a fractious Republican conference and the economic needs in his own backyard."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday defended his 'reluctance to embrace' United States intelligence agencies as he continues to question the latest reports that Russia is meddling in the 2020 election." In two tweets, Trump excused his current reluctance to embrace the intelligence community by denigrating former agency heads: "sleazebag" James Comey<, "proven liar" James Clapper, & "Wacko" John Brennan. "The president's distrust of the intelligence community's has been put back in the spotlight after the top U.S. counterintelligence official announced last week a series of foreign threats facing the 2020 presidential election, including that Russia is using a range of measures to 'primarily denigrate' ... Joe Biden in his campaign for the White House.... Asked about the report over the weekend, Trump claimed Russia would prefer to see Biden in office, contradicting the intelligence report. When a reporter asked Monday if he'd brought up election meddling directly with Putin, Trump again dodged. '... I'll tell you who's meddling in our elections. The Democrats are meddling by wanting and insisting on sending mail-in ballots where there's corruption all over the place,' Trump said, repeating his inaccurate claims about mail voting."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here: "Governors across the United States struggled on Monday with how to make good on President Trump's order that their economically battered states deliver billions more in unemployment benefits to jobless residents. Democrats were harshly critical of Mr. Trump's order, which he signed on Saturday night after talks with Congress on a broad new pandemic aid package collapsed. But even Republican governors said the order could strain their budgets and worried it would take weeks for tens of millions of unemployed Americans to begin seeing the benefit.... Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York told reporters on Monday that Mr. Trump's order would cost his state about $4 billion by the end of the year, making it little more than a fantasy. He said that no New Yorker would see enhanced unemployment benefits because of the president." ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... on Saturday President Trump -- speaking at one of his golf courses, of course -- announced four >executive measures that, he claimed, would rescue the recovery. Unfortunately, one of the measures was vacuous, one trivial and one unworkable. And the fourth may do substantial harm. The vacuous measure simply calls on government agencies to 'consider' helping renters facing eviction. The trivial measure waives interest and defers principal repayment on student loans. The unworkable measure supposedly provides new aid to the unemployed...; but the announced program would be an administrative nightmare that might take a long time to put into effect and would require partial matching funds that strapped states don't have.... But the really substantive measure would direct employers to stop collecting payroll taxes on behalf of their workers.... A a payroll tax cut is the hydroxychloroquine of economic policy. It's a quack remedy that somehow caught Trump's eye, which he won’t give up because sycophants keep telling him he's infallible." ~~~

~~~ Alan Rappeport & Gillian Friedman of the New York Times: "The White House has pitched its payroll tax holiday as a boon to American workers that would fatten their paychecks and provide a jolt to the economy. But for companies large and small, the presidential intervention poses difficult legal and logistical questions that only add to the uncertainty that executives and workers are contending with during the pandemic. Since Mr. Trump, in an order he signed on Saturday, is only suspending the tax, not cutting it, the money that companies would cease to withhold from their employees' earnings would have to be paid next year, barring legislative action. For companies, this would require some complex accounting maneuvering. For employees, it could mean an unwanted tax bill in 2021, making the break more of a headache.... It is far from certain that many companies or workers will take the White House up on this offer, which experts said would be logistically difficult for the Treasury Department to force on them." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: That is, if you're working, don't expect a sudden hike in your paycheck. Many companies will still collect the tax -- i.e., take the employee-paid part out of your paycheck -- & put it in escrow for when the companies have to pay the government next year. Even if your company does go along with Trump's memorandum & quits dunning you, you will still have to pay the tax next year, so you might want to put this year's savings "in escrow" for when your paycheck contracts next year. The whole measure is just stupid, or as Krugman put it, Trump "really is completely out of his depth..., incompetent, deeply ignorant...."

Axios: "President Trump claimed at a press briefing Monday that he would not have called for President Obama to resign if 160,000 Americans had died on his watch, despite tweeting in 2014 that Obama should resign for allowing a doctor who tested positive for Ebola to enter the U.S." Mrs. McC: BTW, here was part of Trump's response to the question. Other than the shear nonsense of implying that one case of Ebola was worse than 160,000+ U.S. death, see if you can find all the places Trump gets U.S. history wrong:

... The closest thing is in 1917, they say, right? The great pandemic. Certainly was a terrible thing where they lost anywhere from 50 to 100 million people. Probably ended the Second World War, all the soldiers were sick.

Another Stupid, Racist Trump Plan. Chelsea Janes, et al., of the Washington Post: "White House officials have been circulating a proposal that would give U.S. border authorities the extraordinary ability to block U.S. citizens and permanent residents from entering the country from Mexico if they are suspected of being infected with the novel coronavirus, according to two administration officials and a person familiar with the plans. It is unclear whether the Trump administration has the legal authority to block citizens and permanent residents from returning to their own country, but one official said the administration is weighing a public health emergency declaration that would let the White House keep out potentially infected Americans. Medical experts have warned the administration that such restrictions would make little difference in controlling the pandemic, because widespread community transmission already is occurring in the United States. The country's outbreak is the world's worst...." The story is free to nonsubscribers. A New York Times story is here.

** Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Eric Boehlert of Press Run: "When assembled country club golfers started booing reporters and cheering references to 'fake news' at Trump's Friday 'press conference' held in Bedminster, N.J., that was the moment the media event crossed over into the realm of farce.... Highlighting the unseriousness of the event, which was carried live on national television and where Trump lied without pause about a raging pandemic, Trump used assembled reporters as his foil. 'You'll get to meet the fake news tonight. You'll get to see what I have to go through,' he told supporters beforehand. 'Who's there? Oh all my killers are there, wow. So you'll get to see some of the people that we deal with every day.'... And the press is aiding him by eagerly participating in what are clearly re-election events dressed up as 'press conferences.'" Mrs. McC: This is the 2020 version of all those Trump rallies that cable networks covered start-to-finish in 2016. And there is never real-time fact-checking of the non-stop lies Trump tells. It would help if the networks just flashed a chyron again & again that read, "Trump lied again."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Monday accused Sen. Ben Sasse [R-Neb.] of being a 'RINO' who had 'gone rogue' by scolding the White House for a recent collection of executive actions meant to provide assistance to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic. 'RINO Ben Sasse, who needed my support and endorsement in order to get the Republican nomination for Senate from the GREAT State of Nebraska, has, now that he's got it (Thank you President T), gone rogue, again,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'This foolishness plays right into the hands of the Radical Left Dems!'... 'The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop,' Sasse said Saturday night. '... President Trump does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law. Under the Constitution, that power belongs to the American people acting through their members of Congress.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

David Jesse, et al., of the Detroit Free Press: "The Big Ten is expected to cancel its fall college football season in a historic move that stems from concerns related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, multiple people with knowledge of the decision told the Free Press early Monday. 'It's done,' one high-ranking source in the Big Ten said Monday afternoon. Sources said the presidents were in favor Sunday of not playing sports in the conference this fall. Michigan and Michigan State -- which both have physicians as presidents -- were among the schools in favor of not playing this fall, sources said. Multiple sources said early Monday morning that presidents voted 12-2 to end the season, though the Big Ten said Monday afternoon no official vote had taken place."

California. Reid Wilson of the Hill: "California's top public health expert quit abruptly Sunday afternoon amid questions about the accuracy of the number of coronavirus cases the state had reported in recent weeks. In an email to staffers, California Department of Public Health Director Sonia Angell said she would leave her position, effective immediately. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will appoint ... [a new] acting director of the Department of Public Health .... [and a new] acting public health officer.... The leadership shakeup comes just days after data glitches delayed processing of up to 300,000 records related to the virus. The Los Angeles Times reported that two separate errors held up the reporting of test results, potentially leading to a significant undercounting of new coronavirus cases in one of the hardest-hit states in the country." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Russia. Isabelle Khurshudyan & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Tuesday that Russian scientists achieved a breakthrough in the global vaccine race, announcing that the country has become the first to approve an experimental covid-19 vaccine and that his own daughter has already taken a dose. Officials have pledged to vaccinate millions of people, including teachers and front-line health-care workers this month -- before even finishing clinical trials -- with the formula developed by the Gamaleya Institute in Moscow. But Russia's hard charge toward a potential vaccine has raised alarm among global health experts that the country is jumping dangerously ahead of critical, large-scale testing that is essential to determine if a possible covid-19 protection is safe and effective. Few details of the Gamaleya research have been made public or underwent peer review." A CNN story is here.


Annie Karni of the New York Times: "President Trump was abruptly pulled out of the White House Briefing Room in midsentence during a televised news conference on Monday after a shooting near the Executive Mansion. Mr. Trump had just kicked off his recently revived coronavirus daily briefing with an attack on mail-in voting and a prediction that the stock market would be 'topping records, hopefully soon' when a Secret Service agent standing to his right interrupted him. 'We have shots fired outside,' the agent said quietly to the president. After being instructed to leave the room, Mr. Trump and his aides -- including Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and Russell T. Vought, the budget director -- calmly exited without immediate explanation. The president returned a few minutes later to report that there had been a shooting by the Secret Service outside the White House grounds, near the fence.... On Monday, he and his aides were eager to frame his quick return to the briefing as a macho sign of strength." A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Clarence Williams of the Washington Post: "A man was shot by a Secret Service officer near the White House on Monday, leading authorities to interrupt a briefing by President Trump and escort him from the press room. The 51-year-old man had approached an officer posted near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW around 5:50 p.m. and said he had a weapon, said Thomas Sullivan, chief of the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service. He said the man ran aggressively toward the officer and withdrew an object from his clothing. Sullivan said the man then crouched in a 'shooter's stance' as if about to fire. The officer shot him, striking him in the torso, Sullivan said.... The Secret Service said he and the officer were taken to a hospital. Sullivan did not take questions from reporters late Monday and did not say whether a weapon had been recovered."

Smarter than Trump, But Just as Crazy & Hateful. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "Speaking to Fox News host Mark Levin, [Bill] Barr said liberals are intent on 'tearing down the system' and called protesters' tactics 'fascistic.' 'They are a revolutionary group that is interested in some form of socialism, communism,' Barr said of Black Lives Matter. 'They're essentially Bolsheviks.' Barr's comments in the hour-long interview on 'Life, Liberty & Levin' represent some of his harshest critiques yet of the protest movement, which he equated with antifa and compared to guerrilla warfare, and of the Democratic politicians who have accused the attorney general of subverting the Justice Department to do President Trump's bidding."

They Really Don't Care, Do They? Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Trump administration is expected in the coming days to lift Obama-era controls on the release of methane, a powerful climate-warming gas that is emitted from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells. The new rule on methane pollution, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, has been expected for months, and will be made public before Friday, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously to avoid publicly pre-empting the official announcement. The rollback of the methane rule is the latest move in the Trump administration's ongoing effort to weaken environmental standards, which has continued unabated during the coronavirus pandemic."

Betsy Swan of Politico: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has issued the first subpoena of his Senate probe into the origins of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation: to FBI Director Christopher Wray. The subpoena, which Politico reviewed, demands documents but not testimony. Specifically, it asks for 'all documents related to the Crossfire Hurricane investigation' -- the FBI's counterintelligence probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. That probe scrutinized Americans close to then-candidate Donald Trump for their links to Kremlin officials. Mueller took over the probe in May 2017." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Don Babwin of the AP: “Hundreds of looters descended on downtown Chicago early Monday following a police shooting on the city's South Side, with vandals smashing the windows of dozens of businesses and making off with merchandise, cash machines and anything else they could carry, police said. When police shot a man after he opened fire on officers Sunday afternoon, the incident apparently prompted a social media post hours later urging looters to converge on the business district, Police Superintendent David Brown told a news conference. Some 400 additional officers were dispatched to the area after the department spotted the post. Over the next several hours, police made more than 100 arrests and 13 officers were injured, including one who was struck in the head with a bottle, Brown said. Brown dismissed any suggestion that the chaos was part of an organized protest of the shooting, instead calling it 'pure criminality' that included occupants of a vehicle opening fire on police who were arresting a man they spotted carrying a cash register." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Not All the Nitwits Are White. NBC News Chicago: "Members of Black Lives Matter held a solidarity rally on Monday night with the more than 100 individuals who were arrested after a night of looting and unrest in Chicago. The rally was held at the South Loop police station where organizers say those individuals are currently being held in custody. 'I don't care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy's or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats,' Ariel Atkins, a BLM organizer, said. 'That makes sure that person has clothes.'"

Elections 2020

Katie Glueck, et al., of the New York Times: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. has told allies that he has interviewed every finalist in his vice-presidential search, and his advisers are planning an announcement for the middle of the week, people briefed on the selection process said on Monday. In a sign that the choice is now in Mr. Biden's hands alone, the four-member committee that screened his potential running mates is said to have effectively disbanded -- its work is complete, Biden allies said, and there is little left to do except for Mr. Biden to make up his mind.... Mr. Biden has spoken with the vice-presidential candidates through a combination of in-person sessions and remote meetings over the last few weeks, but the exact timing and circumstances of all of the meetings are not clear."

The park rangers will appear as political window dressing at the event. No normal president of either party would even try it, and no normal White House or campaign lawyers would support it. -- Norman Eisen, former White House ethics chief, on Trump's proposal to throw the Republican National Convention at Gettysburg  ~~~

~~~ Michael Grynbaum & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "After repeatedly throwing a wrench into plans for the Republican National Convention this summer, President Trump on Monday tried to offer something tantalizing about the upcoming gathering, saying that his renomination speech would take place either at the White House or the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pa.... The battlefield, where Mr. Trump gave an indoor campaign speech in 2016, is federal property run by the National Park Service. This presents the same ethical conundrums his re-election team will face if the president delivers the speech from the South Lawn of the White House.... The president is not subject to the Hatch Act, a Depression-era law that prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while on the job. But everyone who works for him is. By delivering a speech with the Gettysburg battlefield as a backdrop, experts said, Mr. Trump would risk putting park rangers and other park employees at risk of a violation." A Politico story is here.

Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "President Trump is increasingly trying to run against a Joe Biden of his own making. Rather than look for campaign ammunition in the former vice president's long track record of politically vulnerable votes and policy proposals, Trump has instead chosen to describe Biden as a godless Marxist bent on destroying the country with a radical agenda that would make Che Guevara blanch.... To hear Trump tell it, the former vice president and longtime U.S. senator is 'the most extreme left-wing candidate in history.' Biden is going to 'abolish the police' and 'abolish the suburbs.' Biden is even 'against God.' In lobbing such extravagant attack on Biden, Trump has concocted a profile of the presumptive Democratic nominee at odds with much of Biden's personal and professional life -- a cartoonish depiction so distant from the reality of Biden that the hits don't always resonate." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It looks to me as if Trump decided some while back that he would be running against Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, but he is so inflexible that he can't adapt to the reality of his actual presidential opponent. So while Ron Johnson & Bill Barr are still planning to play the fake Ukraine card, Trump -- perhaps because of the pain of impeachment -- abandoned that tack & adopted the nonexistent Radical Joe. ~~~

~~~ Trump as Biblical Scholar. Mrs. McCrabbie: During his fake press conference yesterday, a reporter (maybe Jonathan Karl), asked Trump, "... a few days ago, you said, and I’ll quote, 'Joe Biden has hurt God, he's against God.' The Vice President has said that he's a man of deep Catholic faith, that he's credited for helping him endure some immense personal tragedy." Trump replied, "Well, if you look at the manifesto that they've come up with, and if you look at their stance on religion and things having to do very importantly with aspects of religion and faith, I don't think a man of deep religion would be agreeing to the Bernie Sanders plan. You take a look at what they have in, and you can't put that into the realm of a religious group of people." ~~~

     ~~~ Let's assume that when Trump says "religion," he means the Judeo-Christian tradition as represented by that Bible he held over his head right after Bill Barr had a bunch of lawful protesters teargassed. If Trump had the slightest idea what was in that book he held up as a prop, he would know that Bernie Sanders' "manifesto" is a mild riff on the teachings of Jesus, the protagonist of the second part the book Trump held aloft. The Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels is a communist or a socialist: he orders his disciples to give away all their worldly goods; they travel around together sharing stuff to meet their modest needs, Jesus elevates the poor and the powerless, he dines with prostitutes and sinners; the villains in many a parable Jesus tells are greedy, wealthy men like Donald Trump. As contributor Patrick pointed out recently, in the extended story of the Temptation, Jesus rejects the offer by Satan -- the book's principal villain -- to give him dominion over all the kingdoms of the world.

Anita Kumar of Politico (August 8): "This past spring..., Donald Trump began a full-fledged assault on voting by mail, tweeting, retweeting and railing about massive fraud and rigged elections with scant evidence. Then the Republican apparatus got to work backing up the president. In the weeks since, Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have taken to the courts dozens of times as part of a $20 million effort to challenge voting rules, including filing their own lawsuits in several battleground states, including Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Nevada. And around the time Trump started musing about delaying the election last week, aides and outside advisers began scrambling to ponder possible executive actions he could take to curb mail-in voting -- everything from directing the postal service to not deliver certain ballots to stopping local officials from counting them after Election Day."

AP: "Puerto Rico on Sunday was forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of ballots as officials called on the president of the U.S. territory's elections commission to resign. The primaries for voting centers that had not received ballots by early afternoon are expected to be rescheduled, while voting would continue elsewhere, the commission said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


** The American Sheeple. Juan Cole:
"[A]s we head for 300,000 dead from the coronavirus and our economy shrank 33% on an annualized basis last quarter..., we just appear to be all right with that. Not only are we perfectly willing to toss grandma in an early grave on Trump's say-so, but we are supine as he openly engineers the destruction of social security and medicare, and of the post office, on behalf of himself and the billionaire class he represents. That is after we sat by while he completely gutted all environmental regulations that got in the way of corporations making money off poisoning us. I don't think the neutering of the EPA has even been reported on daytime cable news, though the prime time magazine shows on MSNBC have at least brought it up..... Americans imagine themselves rugged individualists.... In fact, Americans are masochistic sheeple who let the rich and powerful walk all over them and thank them for the privilege. We have become wimps." Read the whole post --s


Hannah Denham
of the Washington Post: "Eastman Kodak shares plummeted 40 percent at the open Monday after a federal agency paused its deal to help produce generic drugs until 'allegations of wrongdoing' are resolved[.] Last month, under an agreement aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on China, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, or DFC, announced it would give the photography pioneer a $765 million loan that would allow it to retrofit its factories to make the ingredients.... Last Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an insider trading inquiry, citing the unusually high volume of trading activity the day before the deal was announced. On July 27, day before the loan was announced, more than 1 million shares of Kodak stock exchanged hands, more than quadruple its daily average, she said in a letter to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Its stock price jumped 20 percent that day, she wrote, and more than 200 percent on July 28, when the loan was announced. Warren also noted that shortly before the announcement, Kodak Executive Chairman James Continenza bought about 46,700 shares." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Hannah Denham of the Washington Post: "McDonald's Corp. is suing its former chief executive to recover his severance and compensation package, alleging he lied about multiple sexual relationships with employees. The fast food giant made the announcement in a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Steve Easterbrook was terminated on Nov. 3, 2019, after the company's board found he violated policy with 'a consensual relationship with an employee,' McDonald's said. His compensation, benefits and stock were potentially worth nearly $42 million, the Wall Street Journal reported." A New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Susan Svrluga & Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post: "Liberty University announced that Jerry Prevo [-- chair of its board of trustees --] will lead the school while its longtime president, Jerry Falwell Jr., is on an indefinite leave of absence after Falwell posted a disturbing photo on social media that drew criticism from some other evangelical leaders."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Belarus. Sergei Kuznetsov of Politico: "Protests broke out across Belarus on Sunday evening after an exit poll predicted an overwhelming victory for authoritarian incumbent President Aleksander Lukashenko. Independent Belsat television showed large crowds being attacked by police in Minsk, amid reports that a few local polling stations were saying that in their counts opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was doing better than Lukashenko." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Belarus Challenger Flees to Lithuania. Ivan Nechepurenko & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "The main opponent of Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, the embattled president of Belarus, left the country early Tuesday as organizers of the biggest antigovernment protests in its post-Soviet history called for a general strike. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who ran for president in Sunday's election after the jailing of her husband, an opposition blogger, vanished for several hours on Monday. On Tuesday, Linas Linkevicius, Lithuania's foreign minister, said in a post on Twitter that Ms. Tikhanovskaya was in his country and was 'safe.'"

Lebanon. Bassem Mroue of the AP: "Lebanon's government resigned Monday amid widespread public fury at the country's ruling elite over last week's devastating explosion in Beirut. The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new Cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. Prime Minster Hassan Diab headed to the presidential palace to submit the Cabinet's group resignation, said Health Minister Hamad Hassan. It follows a weekend of anti-government protests in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut's port that caused widespread destruction, killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others. The moment typified Lebanon's political dilemma. Since October, there have been mass demonstrations demanding the departure of the entire sectarian-based leadership over entrenched corruption, incompetence and mismanagement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Deirdre Shesgreen of USA Today: "Lebanon's prime minister stepped down from his post Monday amid protests and public fury over last week's port explosion in Beirut, which killed at least 160 people and injured thousands. Prime Minister Hassan Diab's cabinet also resigned, potentially deepening Lebanon's turmoil amid growing anti-government sentiment and calls for political reform."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Trini Lopez, who had worldwide hit records in the early 1960s by creating a unique mix of American folk, Latin and rockabilly music, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was 83. His longtime friend and collaborator Joe Chavira said the cause was complications of Covid-19."

AP: "Hundreds of thousands across the Midwest remained without power on Tuesday after a powerful storm packing 100 mph winds battered the region a day earlier, causing widespread damage to millions of acres to crops and killing a 73-year-old woman found clutching a young boy in her storm-battered mobile home. The storm known as a derecho tore from eastern Nebraska across Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles and causing widespread damage to property and millions of acres of crops. The storm left downed trees and power lines that blocked roadways in Chicago and its suburbs. After leaving Chicago, the most potent part of the storm system moved over north central Indiana."

Monday
Aug102020

The Commentariat -- August 10, 2020

Afternoon Update:

@about 5:55 pm ET, the Secret Service just rushed Trump out of the press room while he was giving a so-called press briefing. The White House is on lockdown. CNN says there's some kind of commotion going on outside. Update: Trump just returned @6pm ET. He said, "There was a shooting outside of the White House.... The shooting was done by law enforcement.... Reporter John Roberts reported that he heard shots."

Quint Forgey of Politico: “... Donald Trump on Monday accused Sen. Ben Sasse [R-Neb.] of being a 'RINO' who had 'gone rogue' by scolding the White House for a recent collection of executive actions meant to provide assistance to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic. 'RINO Ben Sasse, who needed my support and endorsement in order to get the Republican nomination for Senate from the GREAT State of Nebraska, has, now that he's got it (Thank you President T), gone rogue, again,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'This foolishness plays right into the hands of the Radical Left Dems!'... 'The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop,' Sasse said Saturday night. '... President Trump does not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the payroll tax law. Under the Constitution, that power belongs to the American people acting through their members of Congress.'"

Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "President Trump is increasingly trying to run against a Joe Biden of his own making. Rather than look for campaign ammunition in the former vice president's long track record of politically vulnerable votes and policy proposals, Trump has instead chosen to describe Biden as a godless Marxist bent on destroying the country with a radical agenda that would make Che Guevara blanch.... To hear Trump tell it, the former vice president and longtime U.S. senator is 'the most extreme left-wing candidate in history.' Biden is going to 'abolish the police' and 'abolish the suburbs.' Biden is even 'against God.' In lobbing such extravagant attack on Biden, Trump has concocted a profile of the presumptive Democratic nominee at odds with much of Biden's personal and professional life -- a cartoonish depiction so distant from the reality of Biden that the hits don't always resonate." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It looks to me as if Trump decided some while back that he would be running against Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, but he is so inflexible that he can't adapt to the reality of his actual presidential opponent. So while Ron Johnson & Bill Barr are still planning to play the fake Ukraine card, Trump -- perhaps because of the pain of impeachment -- abandoned that tack & adopted the nonexistent Radical Joe.

Betsy Swan of Politico: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has issued the first subpoena of his Senate probe into the origins of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation: to FBI Director Christopher Wray. The subpoena, which Politico reviewed, demands documents but not testimony. Specifically, it asks for 'all documents related to the Crossfire Hurricane investigation' -- the FBI's counterintelligence probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. That probe scrutinized Americans close to then-candidate Donald Trump for their links to Kremlin officials. Mueller took over the probe in May 2017."

AP: "Puerto Rico on Sunday was forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of ballots as officials called on the president of the U.S. territory's elections commission to resign. The primaries for voting centers that had not received ballots by early afternoon are expected to be rescheduled, while voting would continue elsewhere, the commission said."

Reid Wilson of the Hill: "California's top public health expert quit abruptly Sunday afternoon amid questions about the accuracy of the number of coronavirus cases the state had reported in recent weeks. In an email to staffers, California Department of Public Health Director Sonia Angell said she would leave her position, effective immediately. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will appoint ... [a new] acting director of the Department of Public Health .... [and a new] acting public health officer.... The leadership shakeup comes just days after data glitches delayed processing of up to 300,000 records related to the virus. The Los Angeles Times reported that two separate errors held up the reporting of test results, potentially leading to a significant undercounting of new coronavirus cases in one of the hardest-hit states in the country."

Don Babwin of the AP: "Hundreds of looters descended on downtown Chicago early Monday following a police shooting on the city's South Side, with vandals smashing the windows of dozens of businesses and making off with merchandise, cash machines and anything else they could carry, police said. When police shot a man after he opened fire on officers Sunday afternoon, the incident apparently prompted a social media post hours later urging looters to converge on the business district, Police Superintendent David Brown told a news conference. Some 400 additional officers were dispatched to the area after the department spotted the post. Over the next several hours, police made more than 100 arrests and 13 officers were injured, including one who was struck in the head with a bottle, Brown said. Brown dismissed any suggestion that the chaos was part of an organized protest of the shooting, instead calling it 'pure criminality' that included occupants of a vehicle opening fire on police who were arresting a man they spotted carrying a cash register."

Hannah Denham of the Washington Post: "Eastman Kodak shares plummeted 40 percent at the open Monday after a federal agency paused its deal to help produce generic drugs until 'allegations of wrongdoing' are resolved[.] Last month, under an agreement aimed at reducing U.S. reliance on China, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, or DFC, announced it would give the photography pioneer a $765 million loan that would allow it to retrofit its factories to make the ingredients.... Last Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an insider trading inquiry, citing the unusually high volume of trading activity the day before the deal was announced. On July 27, day before the loan was announced, more than 1 million shares of Kodak stock exchanged hands, more than quadruple its daily average, she said in a letter to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. Its stock price jumped 20 percent that day, she wrote, and more than 200 percent on July 28, when the loan was announced. Warren also noted that shortly before the announcement, Kodak Executive Chairman James Continenza bought about 46,700 shares."

Hannah Denham of the Washington Post: "McDonald's Corp. is suing its former chief executive to recover his severance and compensation package, alleging he lied about multiple sexual relationships with employees. The fast food giant made the announcement in a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Steve Easterbrook was terminated on Nov. 3, 2019, after the company's board found he violated policy with 'a consensual relationship with an employee,' McDonald's said. His compensation, benefits and stock were potentially worth nearly $42 million, the Wall Street Journal reported." A New York Times story is here.

Sergei Kuznetsov of Politico: "Protests broke out across Belarus on Sunday evening after an exit poll predicted an overwhelming victory for authoritarian incumbent President Aleksander Lukashenko. Independent Belsat television showed large crowds being attacked by police in Minsk, amid reports that a few local polling stations were saying that in their counts opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was doing better than Lukashenko."

Bassem Mroue of the AP: "Lebanon's government resigned Monday amid widespread public fury at the country's ruling elite over last week's devastating explosion in Beirut. The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new Cabinet amid urgent calls for reform. Prime Minster Hassan Diab headed to the presidential palace to submit the Cabinet's group resignation, said Health Minister Hamad Hassan. It follows a weekend of anti-government protests in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut's port that caused widespread destruction, killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others. The moment typified Lebanon's political dilemma. Since October, there have been mass demonstrations demanding the departure of the entire sectarian-based leadership over entrenched corruption, incompetence and mismanagement."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

How Trump Killed Tens of Thousands of Americans. William Saletan of Slate: "On July 17..., Donald Trump sat for a Fox News interview [link fixed] at the White House. At the time, nearly 140,000 Americans were dead from the novel coronavirus. The interviewer, Chris Wallace, showed Trump a video clip in which Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned of a difficult fall and winter ahead. Trump dismissed the warning.... 'Everybody thought this summer it would go away,' said Trump. 'They used to say the heat, the heat was good for it and it really knocks it out, remember? So they got that one wrong.' Trump's account was completely backward. Redfield and other U.S. public health officials had never promised that heat would knock out the virus. In fact, they had cautioned against that assumption. The person who had held out the false promise of a warm-weather reprieve, again and again, was Trump.... He had gotten it from Xi Jinping, the president of China, in a phone call in February. The phone call, the talking points Trump picked up from it, and his subsequent attempts to cover up his alliance with Xi are part of a deep betrayal.... Trump collaborated with Xi, concealed the threat, impeded the U.S. government's response, silenced those who sought to warn the public, and pushed states to take risks that escalated the tragedy. He's personally responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.... This article ... documents Trump's interference or negligence in every stage of the government's failure: preparation, mobilization, public communication, testing, mitigation, and reopening." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This is why I've been calling the U.S. epidemic the "Trumpidemic" for some while. Like you, I've been watching. Saletan argues that this "truth, unlike Trump's false narrative, is scattered in different places. It's in emails, leaks, interviews, hearings, scientific reports, and the president's stray remarks." That's why he attempts to put the evidence all together in one story.

The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Monday is here: "The number of coronavirus cases reported to date in the United States topped 5 million on Sunday, meaning that more than a million cases have been reported in the past 17 days alone. The tally has doubled since late June, and now accounts for approximately a quarter of all cases reported worldwide."

Ron Lieber & Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: "President Trump, in announcing his executive measures on Saturday, said he was bypassing Congress to deliver emergency pandemic aid to needy Americans. But his directives are rife with so much complexity and legal murkiness that they're unlikely, in most cases, to bring fast relief -- if any. Because Congress controls federal spending, at least some of Mr. Trump's actions will almost certainly be challenged in court. They could also quickly become moot if congressional leaders reach an agreement and pass their own relief package. Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Sunday dismissed Mr. Trump's actions as unconstitutional and said a compromise deal was still needed. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would be open to further talks with Democratic leaders: 'Anytime they have a new proposal, I'm willing to listen.'" ~~~

~~~ Heather Long of the Washington Post has a pretty good overview of what is actually in -- and what is not in -- Trump's executive actions. ~~~

~~~ Deal-Maker? How about Muckmaker. Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Trump's attempts to circumvent the partisan logjam on Capitol Hill instead may be illustrating the limits of executive power — and the costs that can come from invoking it. In this case, a more long-lasting legislative solution may have been delayed with the White House deciding to act on its own, said Daniel Hemel, a law professor at the University of Chicago, in an interview Sunday.... 'Unfortunately, the president's executive orders, described in one word, could be paltry, in three words, unworkable, weak and far too narrow, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday on ABC News. In response to the expiring aid, Trump on Saturday signed an order that would offer $400 a week in federal unemployment benefits. To pay for the program, the president said he would tap $44 billion in federal funds that are allocated for natural disaster.... But states would have to contribute $100 a week to each worker's check.... Beyond the legal questions surrounding the maneuver, many states are facing severe budget deficits..., and several economists and lawmakers said governors may be unlikely to sign onto the program." ~~~

~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Trump's memo purporting to extend unemployment benefits is an awful program on the merits that is also entirely outside the president's legal authority[.]... The purported extension of the eviction moratorium, meanwhile, is a joke -- it is to protecting tenants what Susan Collins is to oversight of the Trump administration, a mildly sternly worded letter to HUD suggesting that it would be neat if tenants had some kind of eviction protection maybe. He wasn't even willing to take actions that were plausibly within the scope of executive power[.]... Trump's offer to people about to be devastated by his failure to deal with a historic pandemic is 'nothing,' and any reporter who portrays it as anything else is either malicious or incompetent." Lemieux extensively cites a blogpost by Jack Balkin, who describes the charade at Bedminster thusly: "President Trump's effort to relieve the pressure he and Senate Republicans have been feeling over the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits is a failure on every level. It provides too little in aid. It will miss many families in need. It will expire very soon. It likely cannot be implemented in some states. And it is transparently unlawful.” Lemieux also cites a portion of Heather Long's analysis, linked above. ~~~

The Lord and the Founding Fathers created executive orders because of partisan bickering and divided government. -- White House economic adviser Peter Navarro, on NBC News on Sunday, explaining God's hand, one supposes, in Constitutionally-murky presidential orders

It should be noted that on Saturday Trump signed only one executive order, which itself was a directive that "the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the CDC shall consider whether any measures temporarily halting residential evictions of any tenants for failure to pay rent are reasonably necessary to 'prevent the further spread of COVID-19.'" The other actions were "memoranda." I don't know if the Lord created memoranda, too. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~

~~~ He First Rode Down upon the Stair, the Big Fat Man Who Wasn't There. Again. Toluse Olorunnipa & Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "Already largely absent from intense negotiations for a coronavirus stimulus package, President Trump fully distanced himself from the thorny legislative process by leaving Washington on Thursday for a weekend at his private golf resort in New Jersey. After talks on Capitol Hill collapsed, Trump assembled some of his dues-paying club members to watch him complete the final step of what has become a familiar routine in his turbulent presidency: signing a legally dubious executive order after failing to reach a deal with Congress.... He has frequently relied on showmanship and pageantry to try to turn negotiating failures into victories.... The four documents the president signed Saturday were neither 'bills' nor 'acts,' despite his comments referring to them as such, and their effectiveness and legality are already being called into question by Democrats and some Republicans in the Congress he is attempting to bypass."

Nicole Winfield & Lisa Pane of the AP: "With confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hitting 5 million Sunday, by far the highest of any country, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe.... Health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher.... Much of the incredulity in Europe stems from the fact that America had the benefit of time, European experience and medical know-how to treat the virus that the continent itself didn't have when the first COVID-19 patients started filling intensive care units.... Mistakes were made in Europe, too, from delayed lockdowns to insufficient protections for nursing home elderly and critical shortages of tests and protective equipment for medical personnel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


Nancy Altman
of Social Security Works: "Donald Trump once promised that he would be 'the only Republican that doesn't want to cut Social Security." We now know that what he meant is that cutting Social Security doesn't go far enough for him: He wants to destroy Social Security. Donald Trump's executive order, which seeks to defer Social Security contributions, is bad enough. But his promise to 'terminate' FICA contributions if he is reelected is a full-on declaration of war against current and future Social Security beneficiaries.... Every American who cares about Social Security's future must do everything they can to ensure that Trump does not get a second term." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Oh, but Ms. Altman, you are so wrong. Here's how Steve Mnuchin explained to Chris Wallace how the payroll tax deferrals would be paid for, via David of Crooks & Liars: Wallace asked Mnuchin if Trump's action would reduce Social Security benefits. "'That's not the case,' Mnuchin said without evidence. 'There would be an automatic contribution from the general fund to those trusts funds....' 'We're already running huge deficits,' Wallace observed. 'So how are you going to pay for it from the general fund?' 'You just have a transfer from the general fund,' Mnuchin insisted. 'We'll deal with the budget deficit when we get the economy back to where it was before.'" Right.


Ashley Parker
of the Washington Post: "More than 3½ years into his presidency, Trump increasingly finds himself minimized and ignored -- as many of his more outlandish or false statements are briefly considered and then, just as quickly, dismissed. The slide into partial irrelevance could make it even more difficult for Trump as he seeks reelection as the nation's leader amid a pandemic and economic collapse.... Biden, meanwhile, has made a core theme of his campaign the argument that Trump's lack of credibility is eroding the presidency, as well as the relevancy of the United States on the world stage.... At times, Biden has tried ignoring Trump altogether -- or, when he does engage, doing so with a tone of exasperated mockery. 'I can't believe I have to say this, but please don't drink bleach,' Biden wrote on Twitter in April.... '[Trump's] problem is that there's also a collective shrug when he attacks Joe Biden,' [Biden's pollster John] Anzalone said. 'He attacks, attacks, attacks, but people don't believe his attacks. They kind of eye-roll and they shrug.'... A Republican Senate aide likened the president to a sleeping grizzly bear. 'If you woke up the grizzly bear, he could destroy anything -- but now he's just hibernating,'..." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

This is the hardest working president in history. He works 24/7 in Bedminster, Mar-a-lago, the Oval Office or anywhere in between. -- White House economic adviser Peter Navarro, on NBC News on Sunday ~~~

~~~ Delusions of Grandeur: The Hardest-Working President* at Work. Jamie Ehrlich of CNN: "White House aides reached out to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem last year about the process of adding additional presidents to Mount Rushmore, the New York Times reported. According to a person familiar who spoke with the Times, Noem then greeted Trump when he arrived in the state for his July Fourth celebrations at the monument with a four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore that included his face. Noem has noted before Trump's 'dream' to have his face on Mount Rushmore, the Coolidge-era sculpture that features the 60-foot-tall faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. According to a 2018 interview with Noem, the two struck up a conversation about the sculpture in the Oval Office during their first meeting, where she initially thought he was joking. 'I started laughing,' she said. 'He wasn't laughing, so he was totally serious.'... 'I said, "Mr. President, you should come to South Dakota sometime. We have Mount Rushmore." And he goes, "Do you know it's my dream to have my face on Mount Rushmore?"' Trump also toyed with the idea of adding himself to Mount Rushmore in 2017 at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story, by Jonathan Martin & Maggie Haberman (August 8) is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Wade of Rolling Stone: "Adding to the already odd ask is the fact that the federal government is in charge of such matters, not the state, and the National Park Service has addressed the subject several times with a hard no, citing instability to the structure making it impossible to make additions." Mrs. McC: On the other hand, maybe Trump isn't as dumb as he seems (tho he probably is). As Martin & Haberman note, "Some of [Noem's] allies believe she'd also be open to the interior or agricultural secretary roles in a second Trump term ahead of the 2024 race." The National Park Service is a unit of the Interior Department. Do you suppose Trump would make Noem Secretary of the Interior in exchange for her carving his fat face on Mount Rushmore -- or at least "acting" Secretary? Uh, yeah.

This Is Not Believable. Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post (at 12:18 pm ET): "White House national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien said Sunday that Trump 'has told the Russians many, many times not to interfere' in U.S. elections, but he declined to specify the substance of those conversations or when they had taken place." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race

Mario Nicholais of the Lincoln Project: "In fifteen years practicing election law, I have never seen anything as craven and shameful as the Kanye con job Donald Trump and his sycophants have attempted in Wisconsin. After combing through two challenges to Kanye West's nomination signatures at the behest of The Lincoln Project, I have come to two conclusions: not only should Kanye be kept off the ballot, but law enforcement should investigate and prosecute several individuals involved in the effort. Trump and his supporters have spent recent days attempting to place the music mogul on presidential ballots across the country. They believe that a black celebrity on the ballot will pull votes from Joe Biden, who enjoys overwhelming support from Black Americans, and help a flailing Trump campaign in November. Nevermind that West's family and friends issued a public plea for him to seek mental health help just two weeks ago. Nevermind that West cannot qualify for enough state ballots to actually win the presidency. Nevermind that the fundamental assumption -- that black voters will vote for a black man based solely on the color of his skin -- is a profoundly racist position." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

A Real-Life Crime Story. Unfinished Business. Allyson Waller of the New York Times: Nearly 50 years after Luis Archuleta shot now-retired Denver police officer Daril Cinquanta, Cinquanta tracked down Archuleta, living under an assumed name in Northern New Mexico. "An F.B.I. affidavit [which, sadly, is not reproduced here] tells a sweeping story of Mr. Archuleta's return to Colorado, and later, his second escape from confinement."

Way Beyond

Austin Ramzy & Tiffany May of the New York Times: "The Hong Kong police on Monday arrested seven people, including Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon and critic of the Chinese Communist Party, on charges of violating the territory's new national security law, making him the most high-profile target of the sweeping legislation imposed by Beijing. Mr. Lai's arrest highlighted concerns by activists and opposition figures that the new security law would be used to silence critical voices and curb the city's freewheeling press as part of a broader move against democracy advocates." An AP report is here.

News Lede

Washington Post: "One woman is dead and others are injured after an explosion in Baltimore on Monday morning. The 'major gas explosion' that involved three houses at Labyrinth and Reistertown roads has left multiple people, including children, trapped according to the Baltimore Fire Department." An AP story is here.