The Commentariat -- Sept. 22, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Our Great International Embarrassment. Scott Neuman of NPR: "In a speech Tuesday to the U.N. General Assembly, President Trump once again sought to blame China for the COVID-19 pandemic and called on Beijing to be punished for its handling of the disease, which has killed nearly 1 million people worldwide -- a fifth of them in the United States. Trump, speaking in a video address from the White House to a sparsely occupied hall of mask-wearing delegates at U.N. headquarters in New York, referred to the disease as the 'China virus' and implied that Beijing and the World Health Organization had worked in tandem to cover up the danger of the pandemic.... Despite his own efforts to downplay the pandemic in its early days and criticism over his administration's slow response to combat it, the president defended the U.S. action on Tuesday, calling it 'the most aggressive mobilization since the Second World War.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm disappointed Trump didn't take the time to blame Spain for the "1917" "Spanish Flu," which "probably ended the Second World War, all the soldiers were sick." The influenza was first detected in Kansas in 1918. (How could anyone born in 1946 not know at least approximately the dates of WWII? Our childhoods were filled with it, from soldiers' tales to movies to "war games" we played.)

The Most Dangerous, Diabolical Lie of All. Helen Sullivan of the Guardian: "As the United States' coronavirus death toll edged closer to 200,000..., Donald Trump claimed falsely at a rally in Ohio that the country's fatality rate was 'among the lowest in the world' and that the virus has 'virtually' no effect on young people. Speaking in the town of Swanton, Trump said: 'It affects elderly people. Elderly people with heart problems and other problems. If they have other problems that's what it really affects, that's it,' he claimed. 'You know in some states, thousands of people -- nobody young.... Take your hat off to the young, because they have a hell of an immune system. But it affects virtually nobody. It's an amazing thing. By the way, open your schools.'... In August, the World Health Organization warned that young people were becoming the primary drivers of the spread of coronavirus in many countries." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: How innocent we were just three-and-a-half years ago when we could guffaw over Trump's ridiculous lies about the size of his inaugural crowd or the busloads of Massachusetts residents who sneaked into New Hampshire to vote for Hillary. Those lies of course did present a certain danger -- a danger that some Americans would lose touch with reality or would believe the presidential election was "rigged." And they did. But nobody died.

** Is It Nearly Time to Ditch Marbury v. Madison? Ryan Cooper of the Week presents a radical -- but not far-out -- idea: that "judicial review" is not Constitutional. Read it. I don't quite know what else could keep an out-of-control president* or Congress in line (though I have some ideas), but maybe it isn't Johnnie & the Dwarfs, after all. Food for thought.

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) signaled on Tuesday that he is open to confirming a Supreme Court nominee this year. 'My decision regarding a Supreme Court nomination is not the result of a subjective test of "fairness" which, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It is based on the immutable fairness of following the law, which in this case is the Constitution and precedent. The historical precedent of election year nominations is that the Senate generally does not confirm an opposing party's nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own,' Romney said." This is a breaking news story. Mrs. McC: Not sure Romney got his history right, but I guess that doesn't really matter. If he's wrong about that, he'll come up with another thin rationale.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Donald Trump is addressing the U.N. Before I could get to the teevee to turn him off, he was bragging about the great job the U.S. has done combatting the coronavirus. Since his audience consists of people, many of whom represent countries that have done way better than the U.S. in fighting the virus, I guess he thinks non-Americans are stupid.

** Ursula Perano of Axios: "Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has raised over $16 million to help felons pay outstanding fines and fees to regain their voting rights in Florida.... Bloomberg's fundraising, in addition to $5 million from the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, has now paid off monetary obligations for 32,000 felons in Florida just before Election Day. Voters who were already registered to vote, Black or Latino, and had fines and fees of less than $1500 were eligible for the payback initiative."

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Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state in the United States Capitol's Statuary Hall on Friday, an unusual honor for a Supreme Court Justice that has not been bestowed since the death of William Howard Taft, who served as chief justice from 1921 to 1930, after having served as president, and one that has never before been granted to a woman. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the rare distinction on Monday after describing Justice Ginsburg's death last week as 'an incalculable loss for our democracy and for all who sacrifice and strive to build a better future for our children.' The formal ceremony at the Capitol will be open to invited guests only because of the pandemic, Ms. Pelosi's office said. Also out of the ordinary, Justice Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court for two days, on Wednesday and Thursday, and her coffin will be placed under the portico at the top of the building's front steps, a setup meant to allow for social distancing.... A private interment service will be held next week at Arlington National Cemetery, where Justice Ginsburg's husband, Martin D. Ginsburg, was buried in 2010." A Politico story is here.

Natasha Korecki of Politico: "As the Supreme Court debate raged in Washington, Joe Biden went to Wisconsin Monday and gave it nary a mention. Instead, the former vice president focused on Covid-19 and the economy. He highlighted the 200,000 deaths and counting on Trump's watch. 'I worry we risk becoming numb to the toll it's taken on us and our country and communities like this,' Biden said in a speech in Manitowoc, Wis., a small city in the Green Bay media market.... Biden criticized Trump for downplaying the virus, which the president admitted he did to Bob Woodward, before later arguing that he didn't want the country to panic. Actually, it was Trump who panicked, Biden charged: 'The virus was too big for him.' Biden's remarks came as the Badger State is seeing a sharp spike in Covid-19 cases, up 130 percent in the last two weeks, according to a New York Times database."

Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump plans to announce his nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, he said in an interview on 'Fox & Friends' Monday morning. 'I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday,' Trump said when asked when he would announce his decision, adding that he wanted to 'pay respect' to Ginsburg ... by waiting until after her funeral services. Trump also said that he had narrowed his list down to five potential nominees. Trump has already committed to choosing a woman to replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Trump Suggests Ginburg's Granddaughter Is a Liar. Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Asked about Ginsburg's dying wish, in which she reportedly said she doesn't want to be replaced until a new presidential is installed, Trump said, 'I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, and Schumer and Pelosi? I would be more inclined to the second, okay, you know. It came out of the wind, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal, or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff. So that that came out of the wind.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: According to Nina Totenberg of NPR, who is a long-time friend of Justice Ginsburg, "Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: 'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.'" (Also linked here Saturday.) So either Totenberg made up that story out of whole cloth about her friend of decades, or Ginsburg's own granddaughter did -- according to Trump. Trump is withholding his nomination to "pay respect" to Ginsburg? Right. He's just teasing his next show. ~~~

~~~ Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Asked later why he believed the words attributed to Ginsburg might not have actually come from the justice, Trump told reporters her stated position 'was just too convenient.' 'It sounds to me like it would be somebody else. I don't believe -- it could be, it could be, and it might not be, too,' he said without elaborating." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Kevin Roose of the New York Times: "This baseless claim appears to be a Trump original. Questions about the legitimacy of Justice Ginsburg's 'dying wish' were not circulating online in any significant way before his Fox News appearance. But after the appearance, social media has filled with false claims echoing Mr. Trump's conspiracy theory, and taking it even further into the land of nonsense.... In an appearance on MSNBC on Monday, Ms. Totenberg confirmed her account of Justice Ginsburg's statement, and said that others in the room at the time witnessed her making it, including her doctor. 'I checked,' Ms. Totenberg added, 'because I'm a reporter.' Mr. Schiff ... responded on Twitter, saying 'Mr. President, this is low. Even for you.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Update Update. Here's audio of Clara Spera, Justice Ginsberg's granddaughter, who holds a law degree, telling BBC News that her grandmother dictated the statement: "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed." Spera says she typed it into her computer.

Now we're counting on the federal court system to make it so that we can actually have an evening where we know who wins. Not where the votes are going to be counted a week later or two weeks later. -- Donald Trump, at a rally in North Carolina Saturday, articulating the quid pro quo he expects from judges he has appointed ~~~

~~~ ** Nina Golgowski of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump said he is 'counting on the federal court system' to ensure that the winner of the November presidential election is called just hours after the polls close, despite current rules across the country allowing ballots to be counted several days to weeks after the election.... Trump also shared his plans to nominate a new Supreme Court associate justice 'next week' to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat following her death on Friday." Mrs. McC: Trump boasts often of all the judges he has appointed, and now he's calling in a big chit. What Trump is saying here is that he expects judges -- in exchange for his giving them lifetime appointments -- to shut down legal vote counts in states where he has more votes than Biden shortly after the polls close.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Many news outlets have published stories examining the backgrounds & decisions of the judges on Trump's shortlist. I've avoided them, because there's little use learning too much about the views of judges who won't be nominated. But Khaleda Rahman of Newsweek has a story worth highlighting: "Amy Coney Barrett, a favorite to be ... Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee..., is affiliated with a type of Christian religious group that served as inspiration for Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, The Handmaid's Tale. Barrett, a devout Catholic, and her husband both belong to the People of Praise group, current and former members have said, according to The New York Times. Their fathers have served as leaders in the group. The charismatic Christian parachurch organization, which was founded in South Bend, Indiana in 1971, teaches that men have authority over their wives. Members swear a lifelong oath of loyalty to one another and are expected to donate at least 5 per cent of their earnings to the group. Members of People of Praise are assigned to personal advisers of the same sex -- called a 'head' for men and 'handmaid' for women, until the rise in popularity of Atwood's novel and the television series based on it forced a change in the latter."

Peter Baker & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "President Trump appeared to secure enough support on Monday to fill the Supreme Court seat left open by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg without waiting for voters to decide whether to grant him a second term in what would be the fastest contested confirmation in modern history. As Mr. Trump promised to announce his choice for the seat by Friday or 'probably Saturday,' after memorial services for Justice Ginsburg, several key Senate Republicans threw their support behind a campaign-season dash to replace the liberal jurist by the election on Nov. 3 with a conservative who would shift the court's ideological center to the right for years to come. 'We've got the votes to confirm Justice Ginsburg's replacement before the election,' Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a close Trump ally, said Monday night on Fox News. 'We're going to move forward in the committee; we're going to report the nomination out of the committee to the floor of the United States Senate so we can vote before the election.'"

Lili Loofbourow of Slate: "... this nation's decline accelerates when the conventional wisdom becomes that believing what the Senate Majority Leader says is self-evidently foolish. The chestnut that politicians always lie is overstated -- a society depends on some degree of mutual trust. One party has embraced nihilism, pilloried trust, and turned good faith into a sucker's failing in a sucker's game." ~~~

Grassley Joins the Liars Parade. Brianne Pfannenstiel of the Des Moines Register: "U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley [R-Iowa] said Monday that he will not oppose holding hearings or taking a vote on ... Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee if the proceedings move forward. 'Over the years, and as recently as July, I've consistently said that taking up and evaluating a nominee in 2020 would be a decision for the current chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Senate majority leader,' he said in a statement provided to the Des Moines Register. 'Both have confirmed their intentions to move forward, so that's what will happen. Once the hearings are underway, it's my responsibility to evaluate the nominee on the merits, just as I always have.' The statement sidesteps Grassley's past position. In 2016, he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and became the face of Republican efforts to block Democratic President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. Grassley has since reiterated that stance, saying in a July 2018 taping of Iowa Press that he would not support confirming a Supreme Court nominee in a presidential election year. 'It was very legitimate that you can't have one rule for Democrat presidents and another rule for Republican presidents,' he said at the time." ~~~

~~~ Stewart Thompson of the New York Times makes the case against vetting a Supreme Court nominee today, based on statements Republican senators made in 2016. With footnotes. Mrs. McC: Gosh, I'm convinced.

Peter Sullivan of the Hill: "The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is putting ObamaCare at risk, as a more conservative Supreme Court could strike down the law in a case to be heard shortly after Election Day. The high court will hear arguments on Nov. 10 in a lawsuit brought by a group of Republican-led states, and backed by President Trump, seeking to strike down the law. Before Ginsburg's death, the court's four liberals plus Chief Justice John Roberts, who has twice upheld the law already, were expected to provide the five votes to keep the law.... Democrats are now hammering Republicans to point out that the Trump-backed lawsuit would overturn popular protections for people with pre-existing conditions and throw roughly 20 million people off their health insurance, even amid the coronavirus pandemic." Sullivan sort of explains how the various ruling scenarios would play out. ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... you should be aware that the stakes in this year's election go beyond abstract things like, say, the survival of American democracy. They're also personal. If Donald Trump is re-elected, you will lose the protection you've had since the Affordable Care Act went into effect almost seven years ago.... In fact, it's now possible that coverage of pre-existing conditions will be stripped away even if Trump loses to Joe Biden, unless Democrats also take the Senate and are prepared to play serious hardball. But health care was always on the line. Now, Trump denies this; like almost every other politician in his party, he keeps insisting that he has a plan to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions. But he and they are lying. And no, that's not too strong a term."

Sam Levine & Alvin Chang of the Guardian: "The United States Postal Service (USPS) saw a severe decline in the rate of on-time delivery of first-class mail after Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general, according to new data obtained by the Guardian that provides some of the most detailed insight yet into widespread mail delays this summer." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Josh Rogin of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top aides are 'probably directing' a Russian foreign influence operation to interfere in the 2020 presidential election against former vice president Joe Biden, which involves a prominent Ukrainian lawmaker connected to President Trump's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, a top-secret CIA assessment concluded, according to two sources who reviewed it. On Aug. 31, the CIA published an assessment of Russian efforts to interfere in the November election in an internal, highly classified report called the CIA Worldwide Intelligence Review, the sources said.... 'We assess that President Vladimir Putin and the senior most Russian officials are aware of and probably directing Russia's influence operations aimed at denigrating the former U.S. Vice President, supporting the U.S. president and fueling public discord ahead of the U.S. election in November,' the first line of the document says, according to the sources."

Nevada. Michelle Price of the AP: "A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from ... Donald Trump's reelection campaign challenging Nevada's new vote-by-mail law, saying the campaign failed to show how it could be harmed by the law. The campaign, which has filed lawsuits in several states over voting rules, had asked the judge to block a new Nevada law that calls for mail-in ballots to automatically be sent to all active Nevada voters, a change prompted by efforts to contain the coronavirus." Mrs. McC: Mahan is a Bush II appointee.

Ohio. Trumpbots Boo GOP Leaders for Saving Lives. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Attendees at one of President Trump's rallies in Ohio on Monday booed Gov. Mike DeWine (R), catching the president by surprise. Trump introduced DeWine at the top of his remarks in Dayton.... The boos for DeWine came after CNN correspondent Jeremy Diamond reported that Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (R) appealed to the crowd before Trump arrived to wear face coverings to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. He was roundly booed, Diamond wrote on Twitter. DeWine, who was endorsed by Trump and won election in 2018, likely earned the hostile reception because he has taken stiff measures to try to slow the spread of COVID-19. DeWine has generally earned high marks for his handling of the pandemic, but some of his actions have been at odds with Trump."

Wisconsin. Scott Bauer & Todd Richmond of the AP: "A federal judge ruled Monday that absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin can be counted up to six days after the Nov. 3 presidential election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. The highly anticipated ruling, unless overturned, means that the outcome of the presidential race in Wisconsin might not be known for days after polls close. Under current law, the deadline for returning an absentee ballot to have it counted is 8 p.m. on Election Day."

Benjamin Weiser & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "The Manhattan district attorney's office, which has been locked in a yearlong legal battle with President Trump over obtaining his tax returns, suggested for the first time in a court filing on Monday that it had grounds to investigate him and his businesses for tax fraud. The filing by the office of the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., offered rare insight into the office's investigation of the president and his business dealings, which began more than two years ago. Mr. Vance, a Democrat, has never revealed the scope of his office's criminal inquiry, citing grand jury secrecy.... In a carefully worded new filing ... [Mr. Vance] did not directly accuse Mr. Trump or any of his businesses or associates of wrongdoing.... Prosecutors listed news reports and public testimony that alleged misconduct by Mr. Trump and his businesses. The reports, prosecutors wrote, would justify a grand jury inquiry into a range of possible crimes, including tax and insurance fraud and falsification of business records."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The team led by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, failed to do everything it could to determine what happened in the 2016 election, shying away from steps like subpoenaing President Trump and scrutinizing his finances out of fear that he would fire them, one of Mr. Mueller's top lieutenants [-- Andrew Weissmann --] argued in a new book that serves as the first insider account of the inquiry.... Mr. Weissmann sharply criticized the president as 'lawless' but also accused Mr. Mueller's deputy, Aaron M. Zebley, of being overly cautious, according to an account in The Atlantic of the book, 'Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation.'"

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr on Monday escalated the Trump administration's attacks on Democratic-led cities by threatening to withhold federal funding from New York, Seattle and Portland, Ore., over their responses to protests against police brutality, portraying them as inadequate as President Trump seeks to make the unrest a cornerstone of his re-election campaign. The cities 'permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities,' the Justice Department said in a statement announcing its response to a directive by the president this month to find ways to cut funding from such cities. 'We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance,' Mr. Barr said in a statement.... Democrats threatened legal action should the administration move to curtail their federal funding. New York, Seattle and Portland called any move by the Trump administration to defund their cities unconstitutional and noted that Congress, not the president, controls federal funding."

Hailey Fuchs of the New York Times: "An independent government agency will investigate whether Education Secretary Betsy DeVos breached a law forbidding federal employees from engaging in political activities on the job after her department distributed a clip of Ms. DeVos criticizing the Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., through government channels. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which has jurisdiction to investigate violations of the law, known as the Hatch Act, will conduct the inquiry, according to the investigative watchdog blog that filed the complaint. The revelation is the latest in a string of Trump administration officials to face accusations of breaching the government ethics law. But the power to levy penalties on officials like Ms. DeVos falls to President Trump, and he has shown little inclination to mete out punishment or follow the office's recommendations."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Monday are here: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quietly introduced -- and then on Monday quietly withdrew -- guidance on its website acknowledging that the coronavirus is transmitted mainly through the air. The rapid reversal is another in a string of confusing missteps from the agency regarding official guidance that it posts on its website. The latest debacle concerns the spread of the virus by aerosols, tiny particles containing the virus that can stay aloft for long periods and travel farther than six feet. Aerosol experts noticed on Sunday that the agency had updated its description of how the virus spreads to say that the pathogen is spread primarily by air.... The document was posted to the C.D.C.'s website 'prematurely' and is still being revised, according to a federal official familiar with the matter." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: CDC guidance on the coronavirus is like what Mark Twain said about New England weather: "If you don't like it now, wait a few minutes." ~~~

~~~ Ben Guarino, et al., of the Washington Post: "Evidence that the virus floats in the air has mounted for months, with an increasingly loud chorus of aerosol biologists pointing to superspreading events in choirs, buses, bars and other poorly ventilated spaces. They cheered when the CDC seemed to join them in agreeing the coronavirus can be airborne.... Many experts outside the agency say the pathogen can waft over considerably longer distances to be inhaled into our respiratory systems, especially if we are indoors and air flow conditions are stagnant.... What's clear ... is that while the virus ... spreads rapidly in indoor events that bring lots of people together. Perhaps most telling of all is the infamous March choir practice in Skagit Valley, Wash., where 52 out of 61 attendees are suspected to have been infected by a single sick individual over roughly 2 ½ hours of practice. The participants didn't interact much socially, except to sing -- making this a difficult-to-dispute case of airborne transmission over large distances in a space where the air was not changing often enough to clear out the virus, and where someone was propelling the virus over extra long distances due to the exertion of singing."

The Saboteur Within. Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "The managing editor of the prominent conservative website RedState has spent months trashing U.S. officials tasked with combating COVID-19, dubbing White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci a 'mask nazi,' and intimating that government officials responsible for the pandemic response should be executed. But that writer, who goes by the pseudonym 'streiff,' isn't just another political blogger. The Daily Beast has discovered that he actually works in the public affairs shop of the very agency that Fauci leads. William B. Crews is, by day, a public affairs specialist for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But for years he has been writing for RedState under the streiff pseudonym. And in that capacity he has been contributing to the very same disinformation campaign that his superiors at the NIAID say is a major challenge to widespread efforts to control a pandemic that has claimed roughly 200,000 U.S. lives.... After The Daily Beast brought those and other quotes from Crews to NIAID's attention, the agency said in an emailed statement that Crews would 'retire' from his position." A New York Times story is here.

** Aaron Gregg & Yeganeh Torbati of the Washington Post: "A $1 billion fund Congress gave the Pentagon in March to build up the country's supplies of medical equipment has instead been mostly funneled to defense contractors and used for making things such as jet engine parts, body armor and dress uniforms.... The Cares Act, which Congress passed earlier this year, gave the Pentagon money to'prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.' But a few weeks later, the Defense Department began reshaping how it would award the money in a way that represented a major departure from Congress's original intent. The payments were made even though U.S. health officials believe there are still major funding gaps in responding to the pandemic. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in Senate testimony last week that states desperately need $6 billion to distribute vaccines to Americans early next year. There remains a severe shortage of N95 masks at numerous U.S. hospitals."

The Amateurs. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "A former member of the White House coronavirus task force explained why he blew the whistle on what he saw as deadly incompetence within the group. Max Kennedy, Jr. -- the 26-year-old grandson of Robert F. Kennedy -- told The New Yorker that he initially agreed to join the task force that was being put together by White House adviser Jared Kushner because of the serious nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.... Kennedy recalled being shocked because a skeleton crew of unpaid task force volunteers were forced to use their personal laptops and email accounts to track down medical supplies. [Mrs. McC: This of course is also a big fat violation of the federal records act.]... Volunteers were also urged to pay close attention to Fox News host Jeanine Pirro and to ship medical supplies to her favored hospitals, Kennedy said.... Kennedy said that the task force 'was like a family office meets organized crime, melded with "Lord of the Flies." It was a government of chaos.... If you see something that might be illegal, and cause thousands of civilian lives to be lost, a person has to speak out,' he insisted." Mrs. McC: If you can read Jane Mayer's New Yorker story instead of Edward's summary, that's probably the route to go.

Tennessee. Yihyun Jeong & Holly Meyer of The Tennessean: "Former Nashville Council Member Tony Tenpenny has died due to complications from COVID-19, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman confirmed Sunday. Tenpenny was hospitalized for more than a month at one of the St. Thomas hospitals and was placed on a ventilator earlier in September. He died overnight, Shulman said on Sunday afternoon.... In the months before his death, Tony Tenpenny shared social media posts calling into question the veracity of the ongoing global pandemic and the government's response." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Fiona Harvey of the Guardian: "The wealthiest 1% of the world's population were responsible for the emission of more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorer half of the world from 1990 to 2015, according to new research. Carbon dioxide emissions rose by 60% over the 25-year period, but the increase in emissions from the richest 1% was three times greater than the increase in emissions from the poorest half." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

The Commentariat -- Sept. 21, 2020

Mid-morning Update:

Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump plans to announce his nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, he said in an interview on 'Fox & Friends' Monday morning. 'I think it'll be on Friday or Saturday,' Trump said when asked when he would announce his decision, adding that he wanted to 'pay respect' to Ginsburg ... by waiting until after her funeral services. Trump also said that he had narrowed his list down to five potential nominees. Trump has already committed to choosing a woman to replace Ginsburg on the Supreme Court." ~~~

     ~~~ Trump Suggests Ginburg's Granddaughter Is a Liar. Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Asked about Ginsburg's dying wish, in which she reportedly said she doesn't want to be replaced until a new presidential is installed, Trump said, 'I don't know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff, and Schumer and Pelosi? I would be more inclined to the second, okay, you know. It came out of the wind, it sounds so beautiful. But that sounds like a Schumer deal, or maybe a Pelosi or shifty Schiff. So that that came out of the wind.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: According to Nina Totenberg of NPR, who is a long-time friend of Justice Ginsburg, "Just days before her death, as her strength waned, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: 'My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.'" (Also linked here Saturday.) So either Totenberg made up that story out of whole cloth about her friend of decades, or Ginsburg's own granddaughter did -- according to Trump. Trump is withholding his nomination to "pay respect" to Ginsburg? Right. He's just teasing his next show.

Sam Levine & Alvin Chang of the Guardian: "The United States Postal Service (USPS) saw a severe decline in the rate of on-time delivery of first-class mail after Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general, according to new data obtained by the Guardian that provides some of the most detailed insight yet into widespread mail delays this summer." --s

Yihyun Jeong & Holly Meyer of The Tennessean: "Former Nashville Council Member Tony Tenpenny has died due to complications from COVID-19, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman confirmed Sunday. Tenpenny was hospitalized for more than a month at one of the St. Thomas hospitals and was placed on a ventilator earlier in September. He died overnight, Shulman said on Sunday afternoon.... In the months before his death, Tony Tenpenny shared social media posts calling into question the veracity of the ongoing global pandemic and the government's response." --s

Fiona Harvey of the Guardian: "The wealthiest 1% of the world's population were responsible for the emission of more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the poorer half of the world from 1990 to 2015, according to new research. Carbon dioxide emissions rose by 60% over the 25-year period, but the increase in emissions from the richest 1% was three times greater than the increase in emissions from the poorest half." --s

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Chuck Schumer & Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speak at James Madison High School in Brooklyn Sunday evening. Both, along with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are alumni of the school. AOC begins speaking at about 4:45 min. in. Chuck was smart to bring her along: ~~~

~~~ John Leland of the New York Times: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a child of Brooklyn long before she was Notorious -- daughter of Jewish immigrants, graduate of P.S. 238 and James Madison High School (class of 1950), cheerleader known as Kiki Bader, member of the East Midwood Jewish Center.... Over the weekend, as news spread of Justice Ginsburg's death on Friday, makeshift memorials of candles, signs, flowers and even an R.B.G. action figure went up outside James Madison High School and her childhood home. Hundreds gathered Saturday night outside the courthouse in Foley Square in Manhattan, holding candles and singing the civil rights anthem 'Woke Up This Morning With My Mind Stayed on Freedom,' and a vigil was also held outside Kings County Supreme Court.... Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the state would erect a statue in her honor in Brooklyn." ~~~

~~~ Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "For women, the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg brings a particular grief." ~~~

~~~ Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post: "The grounds of the Supreme Court bloomed into a memorial to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, drawing thousands who came to honor and remember the trailblazing icon. Mourners began arriving at the high court soon after news of her death came Friday evening, growing to a crowd of more than 1,000 who cried, sang and occasionally applauded. On Saturday, as the sun rose, dozens of people stood in silence as a flag flew at half-staff. And they kept coming by the hundreds. Bouquets, signs and chalk messages honoring Ginsburg multiplied by the minute. Joggers stopped mid-run, bikers paused and rested on their handlebars, and mothers from across the D.C. region brought their daughters to pay tribute to the pioneering liberal lawyer and advocate for equality. Even as lawmakers began to clash over when she would be replaced, the space outside the court was mostly one of quiet reflection. By nightfall, thousands packed the plaza, holding candles and listening to speakers." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Katie Glueck & Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times: "In his first extensive remarks on the looming Supreme Court battle since he acknowledged the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday, Mr. Biden ... appealed directly to the few pivotal Senate Republicans 'who really will decide what happens,' urging them to oppose an effort to push through a new nominee before the election. 'Please, follow your conscience,' he pleaded in a speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. 'Don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances President Trump and Senator McConnell have created. Don't go there. Uphold your constitutional duty. Your conscience. Let the people speak. Cool the flames that have been engulfing our country.'... He also said that he did not intend to release his own list of possible Supreme Court choices before the election, as Mr. Trump has done. But Mr. Biden reiterated his pledge to put a Black woman on the court, which he first made during the Democratic primary race. 'I made it clear that my first choice for the Supreme Court will make history as the first African-American woman justice,' he said.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Joe is awfully good at showing how small Donald Trump & Mitch McConnell are.

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Sunday that the Senate should not take up a Supreme Court nomination before the election, becoming the second GOP senator to voice opposition to a vote before Nov. 3. 'For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,' Murkowski said in a statement. 'I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia. We are now even closer to the 2020 election - less than two months out - and I believe the same standard must apply,' she added.... [Mitch] McConnell has not weighed in on the timing. If he wants to hold a vote before the election, he will need to hold together at least 50 of his 53 members, which would let Vice President Pence break a tie. That means in addition to [Susan] Collins [Maine] and Murkowski, Democrats need to win over at least two additional GOP senators." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Sorry, Senator, You're Not Donald's Type. David Cohen of Politico: "... Donald Trump took a swipe Sunday morning at Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who subsequently announced she doesn't support moving forward immediately with his Supreme Court pick. Trump picked up a tweet from the Alaska Chamber promoting an upcoming event with Murkowski and retweeted it with an emphatic 'No thanks!"

Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Despite the Biden team's confidence, the prospect of Mr. Trump's appointing a third justice to the Supreme Court in his first term injects a highly volatile element into the race just six weeks before the election. Court battles have long been seen as greater motivation for Republican voters than for Democrats, though the record sums of money flooding into Democratic campaigns in the hours after Justice Ginsburg's death offered progressives hope that they might be equally energized this time. Still, Biden campaign officials said on Saturday that they did not see even a Supreme Court vacancy and the passions it will inevitably inflame as reason to fundamentally reorient the campaign';s approach.... While confirmation fights have long centered on hot-button cultural divides such as guns and especially abortion, the Biden campaign, at least at the start, plans to chiefly focus on protecting the Affordable Care Act and its popular guarantee of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions." A Politico story, by Marc Caputo, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

John Parkinson of ABC News: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sunday, calling her a 'powerful, brilliant brain on the court' in an appearance on ABC's 'This Week,' while refusing to take another impeachment inquiry off the table in order to block ... Donald Trump's upcoming nominee to the Supreme Court. 'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country. This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. 'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Axios: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on ABC's 'This Week' on Sunday that President Trump is rushing to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because he 'wants to crush the Affordable Care Act....' Pelosi wants to steer the conversation around the potential Ginsburg replacement to health care, which polls show is a top issue for voters, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration has urged the courts to strike down the law, and with it, protections for millions with pre-existing conditions.... The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of the ACA on Nov. 10, one week after the general election. In 2017, 20 Republican attorneys general sued to get rid of the ACA, with the Trump administration's support, charging that because Congress had repealed the individual mandate, the entire law was no longer valid. The law has worked its way back to the Supreme Court after a federal judge ruled the law was unconstitutional and an appeals court said the law's individual mandate was unconstitutional." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dana Milbank: "You don't have to be a Jew, or a believer, to see the symbolism -- the loss of this great woman at the very moment that, in the Jewish tradition, God begins the renewal of the world -- to know that there is powerful, spiritual meaning here that should call us all to reflection on the meaning of Ginsburg's life. Instead, some 80 minutes after her death was reported, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a man without a shred of decency and seemingly without a soul, announced his intent to replace her as fast as possible, before the next president is sworn in. (Even President Trump showed more humanity at first, citing the traditional Jewish expression for the dead, 'May her memory be a blessing,' with a Trumpian flourish: 'May her memory be a great and magnificent blessing to the world.')... Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) soon joined the Senate majority leader, announcing a 180-degree reversal from his position toward Obama Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016, and somehow blaming the Democrats for his rank hypocrisy and dishonorable conduct.... It is difficult to find that courage amid hurricanes, fires, a melting planet, racial injustice and strife, a pandemic, financial suffering and bitterness among nations. Now we can't even pause for a day to reflect on a life well-lived, to mourn the loss of a righteous voice, and to listen for the shofar and the 'still, small voice' that might help us find the way out of all of our misery."

Chris Kahn of Reuters: "A majority of Americans, including many Republicans, want the winner of the November presidential election to name a successor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday. The national opinion poll, conducted Sept. 19-20 after Ginsburg's death was announced, suggests that many Americans object to ... Donald Trump's plan, backed by many Senate Republic ans, to push through another lifetime appointee and cement a 6-3 conservative majority on the court. The poll found that 62% of American adults agreed the vacancy should be filled by the winner of the Nov. 3 matchup between Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden, while 23% disagreed and the rest said they were not sure."

Democratic Voters Wake Up. Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "For decades, Republicans have galvanized voters around reshaping the Supreme Court, and they have benefited from it at the ballot box. But in a stark reversal, polls indicate that Democrats have the edge this year. National and battleground state surveys taken before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday showed that voters trust Joe Biden more than ... Donald Trump to pick a Supreme Court nominee and that Democrats rate the court as more important to their votes than Republicans do.... In a political environment in which Democrats are energized over the court, rejecting the dying wish of the leader of the court's liberal wing risks a voter backlash [against Republicans]."

Julie Pace of the AP: "In the coming days, the number of U.S. [Covid-19] deaths is set to clear ... 200,000, according to the official tally, though the real number is certainly higher.... Yet the grim milestone and the prospect of more American deaths to come have prompted no rethinking from the president about his handling of the pandemic and no outward expressions of regrets. Instead, Trump has sought to reshape the significance of the death tally, trying to turn the loss of 200,000 Americans into a success story by contending the numbers could have been even higher without the actions of his administration. 'If we didn't do our job, it would be three and a half, two and a half, maybe 3 million people,' Trump said Friday, leaning on extreme projections of what could have happened if nothing at all were done to fight the pandemic. 'We have done a phenomenal job with respect to COVID-19.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Pace doesn't say so, but the fact is that the toll would be even higher -- by a lot -- if governors & mayors had not implored the Trump administration to do its job to help supply PPP & testing kits & defied Trump when he ignored & discouraged ("LIBERATE MICHIGAN!") compliance with national standards. ~~~

Jordan Novet, et al., of CNBC: "... Donald Trump said Saturday he has approved a deal in principle in which Oracle and Walmart will partner with the viral video-sharing app TikTok in the U.S., allowing the popular app to avoid a shutdown. 'I have given the deal my blessing -- if they get it done that's great, if they don't that's okay too,' Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn before departing for North Carolina. 'I approved the deal in concept.' The U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would delay the prohibition of U.S. transactions with TikTok until next Sunday. Shortly after Trump's comments, Oracle announced it was chosen as TikTok's secure cloud provider and will become a minority investor with a 12.5% stake. TikTok confirmed Oracle's role and said it was working with Walmart on a commercial partnership." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Alexis Benveniste of CNN: "The back-and-forth of the TikTok deal has been rocky, but ... Donald Trump is certain that he wants to use the deal to create a $5 billion fund to 'educate people' about the 'real history of our country.' 'I think Walmart is going to buy it along with Oracle,' Trump said on Saturday at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He went on to say that as part of the deal, he requested '$5 billion into a fund for education so we can educate people as to real history of our country -- the real history, not the fake history.'" Mrs. McC: Real History, according to Prof. Trump: Donald Trump never told a lie. Donald Trump freed the slaves. Donald Trump led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. Donald Trump saved the crew of PT-109. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

~~~ Jeanne Whalen of the Washington Post: "A federal court granted a preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration's planned ban of Chinese app WeChat, in response to a plaintiff lawsuit saying the ban would harm their First Amendment rights. The United States District Court in San Francisco said the plaintiffs, a group of WeChat users, had shown there are 'serious questions' related to their First Amendment claim. The Trump administration had planned to effectively ban WeChat in the U.S. late tonight by preventing it from appearing in mobile-phone app stores, and by blocking the app's access to Internet hosting services in the U.S. The planned ban stemmed from Trump's Aug. 6 executive order that declared that WeChat posed a threat to national security because it collected 'vast swaths' of data on Americans and other users, and offered the Chinese Communist Party an avenue for censoring or distorting information." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha. Ben Smith of the New York Times: "... the story of [Donald] Trump and [Jeff] Zucker ... -- who put 'The Apprentice' on NBC in 2004 and made Mr. Trump a household name -- ... is a kind of Frankenstein tale for the late television age, about a brilliant TV executive who lost control of his creation. And it illustrates the extent to which this American moment is still shaped not by the hard logic of politics or the fragmented reality of new media, but by the ineluctable power of TV.... When Mr. Trump ran for president, Mr. Zucker briefly dismissed him as a 'sideshow' in an early 2015 email to his political team, according to one of its recipients. But as soon as he saw the ratings his old star could still deliver, he spent 2015 and 2016 turning CNN into a platform for his ambitions." Mrs. McC: A fine reminder -- with new material -- of how Jeff Zucker made & sucked up to Donald Trump.

AP: "A woman suspected of sending an envelope containing the poison ricin, which was addressed to White House, has been arrested at New York-Canada border, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Sunday. The letter had been intercepted earlier this week before it reached the White House. The woman was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge border crossing near Buffalo and is expected to face federal charges, the officials said. Her name was not immediately released."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. -- "The FinCEN Files"

Jason Leopold, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "A huge trove of secret government documents reveals for the first time how the giants of Western banking move trillions of dollars in suspicious transactions, enriching themselves and their shareholders while facilitating the work of terrorists, kleptocrats, and drug kingpins. And the US government ... fails to stop it. Today, the FinCEN Files -- thousands of 'suspicious activity reports' and other US government documents -- offer an unprecedented view of global financial corruption, the banks enabling it, and the government agencies that watch as it flourishes. BuzzFeed News has shared these reports with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 news organizations in 88 countries.... Profits from deadly drug wars, fortunes embezzled from developing countries, and hard-earned savings stolen in a Ponzi scheme were all allowed to flow into and out of these financial institutions, despite warnings from the banks' own employees. Money laundering is a crime that makes other crimes possible. It can accelerate economic inequality, drain public funds, undermine democracy, and destabilize nations -- and the banks play a key role. 'Some of these people in those crisp white shirts in their sharp suits are feeding off the tragedy of people dying all over the world,' said Martin Woods, a former suspicious transactions investigator for Wachovia."

Tom Warren, et al., of BuzzFeed news focus on Deutsche Bank's massive money-laundering operation: "The FinCEN Files investigation reveals that Deutsche managers, including top executives, had direct knowledge for years of serious failings that left the bank vulnerable to money launderers.... In all, more than 100 internal alerts were raised on the companies at the heart of the Russian mirror trade scandal between 2012 and 2015. During these years, some of the world's worst criminals used the network to move dark money around the globe, with the help of shell companies and corrupt financiers.... In recent years, Deutsche's share price has plummeted under the weight of scandal after scandal. In the last decade, the bank has paid fines for everything from evading sanctions against Iran and Myanmar to rigging foreign exchange markets to doing business with Jeffrey Epstein. And it has come under scrutiny for lending Trump hundreds of millions of dollars despite his history of defaulting on loans."

Alicia Tatone for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: "The records show that five global banks — JPMorgan, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank and Bank of New York Mellon -- kept profiting from powerful and dangerous players even after U.S. authorities fined these financial institutions for earlier failures to stem flows of dirty money. U.S. agencies responsible for enforcing money laundering laws rarely prosecute megabanks that break the law, and the actions authorities do take barely ripple the flood of plundered money that washes through the international financial system. In some cases the banks kept moving illicit funds even after U.S. officials warned them they'd face criminal prosecutions if they didn't stop doing business with mobsters, fraudsters or corrupt regimes."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Not surprisingly, all three stories linked above mention Donald Trump & his crooked associates, especially Paul Manafort.

Beyond the Beltway

Kentucky. Ted Armus of the Washington Post: "As a freshman Kentucky legislator, state Rep. Robert S. Goforth (R) joined his colleagues to pass a bill that would make it easier to prosecute strangulation. Last week, that same bill -- now a state law after it passed at the urging of domestic violence advocates -- came back to bite him: A grand jury in Laurel County, Ky., on Friday indicted Goforth, a former candidate for governor, on one count of first-degree strangulation and one count of assault in the fourth degree, according to the Corbin Times-Tribune. Earlier this year, a woman said Goforth, 44, strangled her with an Ethernet cable to the point where she had trouble breathing and threatened to 'hog tie' her, according to a police report reviewed by the newspaper. The charges have renewed calls from local Democrats for Goforth, a staunch supporter of President Trump who had previously been accused of sexual assault, to resign from his seat."

Nebraska. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Jake Gardner, a White bar owner who was indicted last week in the fatal shooting of Black protester James Scurlock during a late-night Omaha demonstration in May, died by suicide on Sunday, his attorneys said at a news conference. Attorney Stu Dornan said that Gardner, 38, had died 'at his own hand' in Oregon on the same day he was scheduled to return to Omaha to turn himself in. Gardner faced four felony charges, including manslaughter, that were handed down by a special prosecutor last week. The indictment came months after a county attorney initially agreed with Gardner that he'd shot Scurlock, 22, in self-defense and declined to prosecute the bar owner. A grand jury thought otherwise, pointing to Gardner's own words in text and Facebook messages as probable cause for an indictment."

The Commentariat -- Sept. 20, 2020

Afternoon Update:

In a compelling speech, Vice President Joe Biden addressed the nation on the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: ~~~

     ~~~ Joe is awfully good at showing how small Donald Trump & Mitch McConnell are.

Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post: "The grounds of the Supreme Court bloomed into a memorial to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, drawing thousands who came to honor and remember the trailblazing icon.Mourners began arriving at the high court soon after news of her death came Friday evening, growing to a crowd of more than 1,000 who cried, sang and occasionally applauded. On Saturday, as the sun rose, dozens of people stood in silence as a flag flew at half-staff. And they kept coming by the hundreds. Bouquets, signs and chalk messages honoring Ginsburg multiplied by the minute. Joggers stopped mid-run, bikers paused and rested on their handlebars, and mothers from across the D.C. region brought their daughters to pay tribute to the pioneering liberal lawyer and advocate for equality. Even as lawmakers began to clash over when she would be replaced, the space outside the court was mostly one of quiet reflection. By nightfall, thousands packed the plaza, holding candles and listening to speakers."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Sunday that the Senate should not take up a Supreme Court nomination before the election, becoming the second GOP senator to voice opposition to a vote before Nov. 3. 'For weeks, I have stated that I would not support taking up a potential Supreme Court vacancy this close to the election. Sadly, what was then a hypothetical is now our reality, but my position has not changed,' Murkowski said in a statement. 'I did not support taking up a nomination eight months before the 2016 election to fill the vacancy created by the passing of Justice Scalia. We are now even closer to the 2020 election - less than two months out - and I believe the same standard must apply,' she added.... [Mitch] McConnell has not weighed in on the timing. If he wants to hold a vote before the election, he will need to hold together at least 50 of his 53 members, which would let Vice President Pence break a tie. That means in addition to [Susan] Collins [Maine] and Murkowski, Democrats need to win over at least two additional GOP senators."

Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Despite the Biden team’s confidence, the prospect of Mr. Trump's appointing a third justice to the Supreme Court in his first term injects a highly volatile element into the race just six weeks before the election. Court battles have long been seen as greater motivation for Republican voters than for Democrats, though the record sums of money flooding into Democratic campaigns in the hours after Justice Ginsburg's death offered progressives hope that they might be equally energized this time. Still, Biden campaign officials said on Saturday that they did not see even a Supreme Court vacancy and the passions it will inevitably inflame as reason to fundamentally reorient the campaign's approach.... While confirmation fights have long centered on hot-button cultural divides such as guns and especially abortion, the Biden campaign, at least at the start, plans to chiefly focus on protecting the Affordable Care Act and its popular guarantee of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions." A Politico story, by Marc Caputo, is here.

John Parkinson of ABC News: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sunday, calling her a 'powerful, brilliant brain on the court' in an appearance on ABC's 'This Week,' while refusing to take another impeachment inquiry off the table in order to block ... Donald Trump's upcoming nominee to the Supreme Court. 'We have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I'm not about to discuss right now but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country. This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election,' Pelosi told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos. 'Our main goal would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the people from the coronavirus.'" ~~~

~~~ Axios: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on ABC's 'This Week' on Sunday that President Trump is rushing to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because he 'wants to crush the Affordable Care Act....' Pelosi wants to steer the conversation around the potential Ginsburg replacement to health care, which polls show is a top issue for voters, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration has urged the courts to strike down the law, and with it, protections for millions with pre-existing conditions.... The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of the ACA on Nov. 10, one week after the general election. In 2017, 20 Republican attorneys general sued to get rid of the ACA, with the Trump administration's support, charging that because Congress had repealed the individual mandate, the entire law was no longer valid. The law has worked its way back to the Supreme Court after a federal judge ruled the law was unconstitutional and an appeals court said the law's individual mandate was unconstitutional."

Jordan Novet, et al., of CNBC: "... Donald Trump said Saturday he has approved a deal in principle in which Oracle and Walmart will partner with the viral video-sharing app TikTok in the U.S., allowing the popular app to avoid a shutdown. 'I have given the deal my blessing -- if they get it done that's great, if they don't that's okay too,' Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn before departing for North Carolina. 'I approved the deal in concept.' The U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would delay the prohibition of U.S. transactions with TikTok until next Sunday. Shortly after Trump's comments, Oracle announced it was chosen as TikTok's secure cloud provider and will become a minority investor with a 12.5% stake. TikTok confirmed Oracle's role and said it was working with Walmart on a commercial partnership." ~~~

~~~ Alexis Benveniste of CNN: "The back-and-forth of the TikTok deal has been rocky, but ... Donald Trump is certain that he wants to use the deal to create a $5 billion fund to 'educate people' about the 'real history of our country.' 'I think Walmart is going to buy it along with Oracle,' Trump said on Saturday at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He went on to say that as part of the deal, he requested '$5 billion into a fund for education so we can educate people as to real history of our country -- the real history, not the fake history.'" Mrs. McC: Real History, according to Prof. Trump: Donald Trump never told a lie. Donald Trump freed the slaves. Donald Trump led the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. Donald Trump saved the crew of PT-109.

~~~ Jeanne Whalen of the Washington Post: "A federal court granted a preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration's planned ban of Chinese app WeChat, in response to a plaintiff lawsuit saying the ban would harm their First Amendment rights. The United States District Court in San Francisco said the plaintiffs, a group of WeChat users, had shown there are 'serious questions' related to their First Amendment claim. The Trump administration had planned to effectively ban WeChat in the U.S. late tonight by preventing it from appearing in mobile-phone app stores, and by blocking the app's access to Internet hosting services in the U.S. The planned ban stemmed from Trump's Aug. 6 executive order that declared that WeChat posed a threat to national security because it collected 'vast swaths' of data on Americans and other users, and offered the Chinese Communist Party an avenue for censoring or distorting information."

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The Washington Post adopted the alliterative slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness" in early 2017, to an appropriate degree of mockery. While we probably can agree that "sunlight is the best disinfectant" -- a less menacing expression of the same sentiment -- what we have learned these last few years is that democracy is dying in the light of day. We see evidence of its slow, painful death almost daily. A more accurate, if less catchy, saying might be "democracy dies in increments." It may be impossible to pinpoint the first incident that began the United States' descent. You might push it all the way back to nearly the birth of the nation, when the founders adopted a Constitution with a built-in undemocratic structure. Some of the fundamental errors of that original document have been cured, but others continue to plague us: the Electoral College, unequal representation in the Senate, the absence of a right to vote. In our recent history, surely one pernicious infection to our limited democratic body occurred the day the unscrupulous Mitch McConnell became the Senate's Republican leader in November 2006. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: As proof of how very undemocratic the courts are, Ian Millhiser of Vox provides the numbers: "Trump's two previous Supreme Court appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh..., share a dubious distinction.... They are the only members of the Supreme Court in history to be nominated by a president who lost the popular vote and confirmed by a bloc of senators who represent less than half of the country.... The [Senate's] Democratic 'minority' represents 15 million more people than the Republican 'majority').... If Trump fills the Ginsburg seat, fully one-third of the Court will be controlled by judges with no democratic legitimacy." ~~~

~~~ Maureen Dowd is not optimistic: "As it turned out, the founders created a country painfully vulnerable to whoever happens to be president. They assumed that future presidents would cherish what they had so painfully created, and continue to knit together different kinds of people from different areas with different economic interests. But now that we have a president who takes those knitting needles and stabs the country mercilessly with them, we can see how fragile this whole thing really is. All the stuff we took for granted -- from presidential ethics to electoral integrity to a nonpolitical attorney general -- is blown to smithereens.... He clearly doesn't see himself as president of a majority of the country. Whenever he talks about the half of the country that didn't vote for him, he paints a picture of a Scorsese urban hellscape the minute you cross state lines. On Wednesday, the president offered the heinous hypothetical that the death toll from the coronavirus would not be as bad 'if you take the blue states out.'"

** The Good. Nina Totenberg of NPR writes of her decades-long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Bad & the Ugly. Peter Baker & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump pressed Senate Republicans on Saturday to confirm his choice to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg 'without delay,' setting up a momentous battle sure to inflame the campaign even as party leaders weighed whether they could force a confirmation vote before the election on Nov. 3. Mr. Trump appears likely to nominate a successor to Justice Ginsburg this coming week after her death on Friday, a selection that if confirmed would shift the Supreme Court to the right for years. But with some Republican senators balking, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader from Kentucky, was canvassing to figure out whether he had enough votes to rush a confirmation in the next six weeks. We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices,' Mr. Trump wrote Saturday morning on Twitter. 'We have this obligation, without delay!'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. "Mr. Trump said he expected to announce his nomination in the next week and told a campaign rally that it 'will be a woman.'... In a telephone conversation on Friday night with Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, according to two people familiar with the call, Mr. Trump identified two women as candidates: Judges Amy Coney Barrett of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago and Barbara Lagoa of the 11th Circuit in Atlanta." ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: At the rally, which was held in Fayetteville, N.C., Trump celebrated & joked about his chance to pick another Supreme Court "justice." "The raucous nature of the rally stood in contrast to the vigil held for Ginsburg in Washington by the legions of the liberal justice's fans." Mrs. McC: I was surprised when someone at the White House released an appropriate statement about Justice Ginsburg's death, but I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that it took Trump less than 24 hours to start showing the world how glad he is she died. ~~~

     ~~~ Blake Montgomery of the Daily Beast: "Moments after vowing to nominate a woman to the Supreme Court at his campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday night, President Trump asked some of his female supporters in the crowd if their husbands had approved their attendance ... when he apparently recognized some of the women in Fayetteville from other rallies." Mrs. McC: This is yet another way Donald the Feminist mocks a chunk of Ruth Ginsburg's life's work. Ginsburg expanded women's rights by applying the equal protection clause to women; in Trump's view, the concept doesn't even exist, and wives remain chattel who must ask their husband's permission before doing anything. I doubt the mockery is intentional; it's just what Trump thinks is the "natural" order.

The Most Dishonest Senator. Matthew Schwartz of NPR: Lindsey "Graham [R-S.C.], who as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee would oversee confirmation hearings, said Saturday that he would support President Trump 'in any effort to move forward regarding the recent vacancy created by the passing of Justice Ginsburg.' But this is a reversal from his earlier position; Graham has said multiple times that if a vacancy opened up in the run-up to a presidential election, he would hold off on confirmation. 'I want you to use my words against me. If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said, "Let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination,"' he said in 2016 shortly after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. 'And you could use my words against me and you'd be absolutely right.' Graham repeated the sentiment in October 2018 in an interview with The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. 'If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump's term, and the primary process has started, we'll wait till the next election.'" Graham has recently put forward phony rationales for going back on his word." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key centrist vote in the Senate, said Saturday that the Senate should not vote to confirm late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's successor before the election and the nominee should be chosen by whoever wins on Nov. 3. 'Given the proximity of the presidential election ... I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election,' Collins said in a statement. 'In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the president or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the president who is elected on Nov. 3.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Pardon my cynicism, but this likely means that Mitch has secured assurances from 50 or more senators that they will vote to proceed with the confirmation process. Collins is behind her Democratic opponent Sara Gideon in recent polls, so Mitch can afford for her to take a fake "principled stand."

Steve M. "I think voters who aren't politically engaged will learn about this, see Trump and McConnell defying her last wishes, and be repulsed by their defiance of her final request. This has been an election about decency vs. cruelty. This will be another reminder of Trump and McConnell's cold-blooded, unfeeling nature. It's not a good look a few weeks before an election." Mrs. McC: I sure hope Steve, who is a cynic nes plus ultra, is right about this. (Also linked yesterday.)

New York Times Editors: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ... will forever have two legacies. The one Americans could be focusing on right now is the one of legal trailblazer: Justice Ginsburg, the second woman ever to be appointed to the Supreme Court, paved the way for women's equality before the law, and for women's rights to be taken seriously by the courts and by society.... The other legacy of Justice Ginsburg's that the country is now urgently forced to confront is the cold political reality that she died in the final weeks of a presidential campaign, at a moment when President Trump and Mitch McConnell ... appear to be dead-set on replacing her with someone who would obliterate much of the progress she helped the country make. The court now faces a serious crisis of legitimacy. Senate Republicans, who represent a minority of the nation, and a president elected by a minority of the nation, are now in a position to solidify their control of the third branch of government."

Katelyn Burns of Vox: "According to the Democratic donor site ActBlue, $6.2 million flowed through the site in the 9 pm hour Friday, immediately following news of Ginsburg's death. It was more money raised in a single hour on the site since its launch 16 years ago -- and it was immediately eclipsed by the 10 pm hour, which saw $6.3 million raised." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Elena Schneider of Politico: "Democratic online donors set a new one-day fundraising record on ActBlue in the hours following Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, pouring money into Democratic Senate campaigns and other causes as Republican senators pledge to vote for a new justice nominated by ... Donald Trump. Donors gave more than $42 million to candidates and groups Saturday via ActBlue, the digital fundraising platform widely used by Democratic candidates and political committees, with more than eight hours to go in the day, according to the ticker on the front page of ActBlue's website." ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Just hours after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death was announced on Friday, the leaders of three of the left's most potent advocacy groups, Demand Justice, Naral Pro-Choice America and Indivisible, were on a call with 1,000 progressive activists and strategists to begin to unfurl a plan they hoped they would not have to use. Demand Justice, a relatively new group led by the longtime Democratic aide Brian Fallon to match the powerful conservative legal apparatus, quickly pledged to spend $10 million 'to fight to ensure no justice is confirmed before the January inauguration.' At the same time, a coalition of President Trump's conservative allies said Saturday that it was preparing for an intense confrontation over Justice Ginsburg's seat, and was gearing up for a lobbying and public relations blitz. The message: Move quickly to replace her." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race, Ctd.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The first signs of the impact of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's absence may come in a flurry of election-related disputes expected to reach the Supreme Court on an emergency basis in the coming weeks.... With scores of court challenges underway across the country seeking or opposing coronavirus-related changes to voting procedures, the change in the ideological balance of the high court could affect the outcome of such fights -- even if a new justice doesn't take the bench until after the election.... Donald Trump signaled Saturday night that he expects federal judges to play a key role in achieving a definitive result within hours of the polls closing on Election Day."

Trump Again Plays "How Low Can He Go" Against Himself. Mark Joyella of Forbes: "At a rally in Minnesota, President Trump described an MSNBC anchor hit by a rubber bullet while covering protests after the death of George Floyd in May as 'a beautiful sight,' comments quickly condemned by journalists including CNN's Jake Tapper. 'Absolutely heinous,' Tapper said on Twitter Saturday afternoon. 'Ali Velshi didn't deserve to be shot by a rubber bullet...and it's twisted for anyone, least of all a president, to call it "law and order."'... Velshi was reporting live in Minneapolis when police began firing rubber bullets and using tear gas against protesters -- while seeming to make no effort to avoid targeting journalists. Velshi, who told MSNBC viewers that there had been 'no provocation' before police began using force. 'The police pulled into this intersection, right into the middle of the crowd.' Velshi, video shows, was retreating -- and warning other journalists to take cover -- when he was hit. Despite the president falsely claiming that Velshi fell to the ground wailing 'my leg, my leg,' no such thing actually happened. Velshi told viewers he'd been hit and appeared to lean against a parked car."

Virginia. Nick Corasaniti & Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: "A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting 'four more years' as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site. County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts. Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building. But they acknowledged that some voters and polling staff members felt intimidated by what some saw as protesters.... In an unnerved electorate, where concerns about voting rights and safely voting amid the coronavirus pandemic are at a fever pitch, the demonstration outside of a polling place served as preview of a likely contentious election season, and how groups may be utilizing tactics that rattle or even deter voters over the next six weeks." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's notable that this incident of voter intimidation grew out of a Republican party-sponsored event: "The demonstration originated from a 'Trump Train' parade that began in nearby Prince William County and featured Tommy Hicks Jr., the current Republican National Committee co-chairman. The event was set to end in the parking lot of the government center, which was also serving as the polling location on Saturday. Some of the people who attended the parade walked over to vote. Others gathered outside and began chanting, 'four more years, four more years!'" A party official defended the Trump backers' actions.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. Several news outlets, including NBC News (but not the Times or WashPo) are reporting that more than 200,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** A Dangerous Power Grab. Sheila Kaplan of the New York Times: "In a stunning declaration of authority, Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, this week barred the nation’s health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, from signing any new rules regarding the nation's foods, medicines, medical devices and other products, including vaccines. Going forward, Mr. Azar wrote in a Sept. 15 memorandum..., such power 'is reserved to the Secretary.' The bulletin was sent to heads of operating and staff divisions within H.H.S. It's unclear if or how the memo would change the vetting and approval process for coronavirus vaccines, three of which are in advanced clinical trials in the United States.... Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a former associate commissioner of the F.D.A., called the new policy 'a power grab.'"

Denise Grady, et al., of the New York Times: "AstraZeneca revealed details of its large coronavirus vaccine trials on Saturday, the third in a wave of rare disclosures by drug companies under pressure to be more transparent about how they are testing products that are the world's best hope for ending the pandemic."

Emily Shugerman of the Daily Beast: "The doctor at the center of a scandal over unwanted hysterectomies at an immigrant detention facility in Georgia is not a board certified OB-GYN, The Daily Beast has learned. Dr. Mahendra Amin came under scrutiny after immigrant rights groups issued a report accusing him of conducting unnecessary or unwanted gynecological procedures on women detained at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. On Friday, a spokesperson for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology told The Daily Beast that its records show Amin is not certified by the organization."

Evan Perez of CNN: "A package containing the poison ricin and addressed to ... Donald Trump was intercepted by law enforcement earlier this week, according to two law enforcement officials. Two tests were done to confirm the presence of ricin. All mail for the White House is sorted and screened at an offsite facility before reaching the White House. A US law enforcement official told CNN that investigators are looking into the possibility the ricin package sent to Trump came from Canada. The FBI and Secret Service are investigating the matter. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)