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.
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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."
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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."
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."
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