The Commentariat -- July 5, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Richard Oppel, et al., of the New York Times: "Early numbers had shown that Black and Latino people were being harmed by the [corona]virus at higher rates. But the new federal data -- made available after The New York Times sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- reveals a clearer and more complete picture: Black and Latino people have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus in a widespread manner that spans the country, throughout hundreds of counties in urban, suburban and rural areas, and across all age groups. Latino and African-American residents of the United States have been three times as likely to become infected as their white neighbors.... And Black and Latino people have been nearly twice as likely to die from the virus as white people...." Mrs. McC: How disgusting is it that a legitimate news organization had to sue the CDC -- paid for with taxpayer dollars -- to get information critical to public health?

Yoo Who! Wake Up & Smell the Teensy Particles. Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "The coronavirus is finding new victims worldwide, in bars and restaurants, offices, markets and casinos, giving rise to frightening clusters of infection that increasingly confirm what many scientists have been saying for months: The virus lingers in the air indoors, infecting those nearby.... The World Health Organization has long held that the coronavirus is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets that, once expelled by infected people in coughs and sneezes, fall quickly to the floor. But in an open letter to the W.H.O., 239 scientists in 32 countries have outlined the evidence showing that smaller particles can infect people, and are calling for the agency to revise its recommendations. The researchers plan to publish their letter in a scientific journal next week."

Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "President Trump, with two speeches in two days, has turned the Fourth of July from a joyful and unifying patriotic celebration of America's founding values into a partisan political event. The damage could outlast his presidency.... Never in our lifetimes has the Independence Day holiday been used for such divisive and personal ends.... A portion of the country hears Trump's rhetoric as an uplifting message extolling the rich history of American success and greatness. The rest of the country recoils at a message seen as racist and divisive. As with all things Trump-related, there can be no middle ground. That's the inheritance this president is leaving to the country."

Alabama Senate Race. Surprise! Trump Preferred Candidate Is a Crook. Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "President Trump's favored Senate candidate in Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, is known for his career as a college football coach. But he also had a brief stint as co-owner of a hedge fund. It did not go well. A little more than a decade ago, after departing from Auburn University where he was head coach, Mr. Tuberville entered into a 50-50 partnership with a former Lehman Brothers broker named John David Stroud. Their ventures, which included TS Capital Management and TS Capital Partners -- T for Tuberville and S for Stroud -- turned out to be a financial fraud. Mr. Stroud was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Mr. Tuberville was sued by investors, who accused him of fraud and violating his fiduciary duty to take care of their investments; he reached a private settlement in 2013. The episode has been seldom discussed in Mr. Tuberville's Republican primary campaign for the Senate, in which his opponent in the July 14 runoff is Jeff Sessions, the former senator and attorney general who became an object of Mr. Trump's ire.... The winner will face Doug Jones, considered perhaps the most vulnerable Democrat in the battle for control of the Senate."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Sunday are here. "New infections announced across the United States last week total more than 330,000, a record high that includes the five highest single-day totals of the pandemic."

Maeve Reston of CNN was flummoxed by Donald Trump's "mystifying -- and dangerously misleading claim -- that 99% of coronavirus cases in America are 'totally harmless.'... There have now been at least 2.8 million cases of coronavirus in the United States, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 35% of cases are asymptomatic, those patients can still spread the virus. As of Saturday, Johns Hopkins estimated that the fatality rate for the US was 4.6%." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Reston's figures are a bit misleading. Researchers admit they don't know the long-term effects of the virus are, even among the apparently asymptomatic. But if 35% of today's victims are currently asymptomatic, then 65% felt symptoms. We know that among them, many had symptoms so severe they had to be hospitalized or seek other medical support. Extrapolating from a CDC summary, it appears that about 330,000 Americans have been hospitalized for Covid-19. That's about 11% of Covid victims who have been hospitalized, a figure that of course doesn't include the vast numbers of victims who were turned away from hospitals, sought other treatment or got no professional treatment at all. To claim that Covid is "totally harmless" to all but one percent of those who contract it is not just fuzzy math; it's a big honking lie. (There is one quasi-justification I can see for Trump's claim: the CDC has said that the number of Americans infected is ten times as high as reports indicate. That would bring the percentage of hospitalized patients down to 1.1%. That doesn't mean the virus was "totally harmless" to the other 98.9% of Covid victims, but it could explain away Trump's wild assertion.)

Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post: "... in [Trump's] view, schools are teaching kids to 'hate our country' with a 'far-left fascism that demands absolute allegiance.'... 'If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted and punished,' he said.... Trump is pushing a view of public education in the country that has long been espoused by many Republicans: that public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education are cauldrons of subversion where teachers mold children into being politically correct leftists." Mrs. McC: To be fair to Trump, many a child -- if she knew the word "fascist" -- would so describe her teacher or some other school employee -- like the Cafeteria Nazi!

Crazy People News. Shawn Boberg & Dalton Bennett of the Washington Post: "For weeks, a mysterious figure on social media talked up plans for antifa protesters to converge ... [at Gettysburg National Park] on Independence Day to burn American flags, an event that seemed at times to border on the farcical.... As word spread, self-proclaimed militias, bikers, skinheads and far-right groups from outside the state issued a call to action, pledging in online videos and posts to come to Gettysburg to protect the Civil War monuments and the nation's flag from desecration. Some said they would bring firearms and use force if necessary. On Saturday afternoon, in the hours before the flag burning was to start, they flooded in by the hundreds -- heavily armed and unaware, it seemed, that the mysterious Internet poster was [a fake]...."

Bradley Warren in Montana Right Now: "Congressman Greg Gianforte and Lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Kristen Juras are suspending public events after a potential exposure to COVID-19. On Tuesday, Gianforte’s wife, Susan, and Juras attended a fundraising event with Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend Kimblery Guilfoyle in the Big Sky area according to a spokesperson for the Gianforte campaign.... The Trump Campaign chief of staff for the Trump Victory Finance committee confirmed to The New York Times that Guilfoyle tested positive for COVID-19 in South Dakota." Gianforte is running for governor. Mrs. McC: Sadly, this means Gianforte will not have an opportunity in the near future to beat up any bespeckled reporters.

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Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden on Saturday offered a counterpoint to the dark and defiant Fourth of July message President Trump delivered at Mount Rushmore, striking notes of unity in a video and op-ed released on the nation's 244th birthday.... It was a stark contrast with Trump, who focused Friday on the men who built the country, saying they are heroes and that those skeptical of the country's founders are part of a 'radical ideology' and a 'left-wing cultural revolution.' The dueling Independence Day messages highlight the vastly different ways Biden and Trump have responded to the country's racial reckoning in the wake of George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis police custody." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Joe Biden, in an NBC News essay: "... pursuit of a more perfect union has been thrown off course in recent years -- and no one bears more responsibility than President Donald Trump. Every day, he finds new ways to tarnish and dismantle our democracy -- from baseless attacks on our voting rights to the use of military force against Americans protesting peacefully for racial justice. He has systematically gone after the guardrails of our democracy: the free press, the courts, and our fundamental belief that no one in America -- not even the president -- is above the law. He has made it clear time and again that he won't hesitate to tear apart our most cherished democratic structures for an ounce of personal gain. And that corruption of our founding principles threatens everything this nation has worked so hard to build, blighting our ability not only to elevate our values, but also to lead the world.... To ensure that our democratic values are able to rise to new heights, I will take decisive steps to strengthen our foundation. That means immediately reversing Trump's cruel and counterproductive asylum, travel ban, and family separation policies -- and reaffirming our innate identity, reflected in our Constitution and emblazoned in the Statue of Liberty, as a nation of immigrants. It means fighting for -- not conspiring against -- the independence of our judiciary and the freedom of our press. It means rooting out systemic racism from every area of society it infects -- from unfairly administered COVID-19 recovery funds, to laws that perpetuate racial wealth gaps, to health disparities, to housing policy, to policing, to our justice system and everywhere in between." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Doctor Trump: "Coronavirus 99 Percent Totally Harmless." David Smith of the Guardian: "Donald Trump has celebrated independence day with a string of false and misleading claims attempting to play down the coronavirus pandemic and warning that China will be 'held accountable'. The US president staged a 'Salute to America' jamboree on the south lawn of the White House with flyovers by military jets, parachute jumps and patriotic songs, but little effort among guests to physical distance or wear face masks.... 'We got hit by the virus that came from China,' the president said.... 'We've made a lot of progress. Our strategy is moving along well. It goes out in one area, it rears back its ugly face in another area. But we've learned a lot. We've learned how to put out the flame.... Now we have tested almost 40m people. By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless.'... And contradicting ... public health experts, the president offered a wildly optimistic prediction: 'We'll likely have a therapeutic and/or vaccine solution long before the end of the year.'"

In the fields and jungles of Vietnam, they delivered a swift and swiffian, It was swift and it was sweeping like nobody's ever seen happen. -- Historian-in-Chief Donald Trump, Saturday, reading from a transcript, makes up another, undefined word while claiming that the U.S.'s Vietnam War -- which slogged on for two decades, was "swift and swiffian" ~~~

~~~ Jordan Muller of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday railed against protesters, China and the media in an address marking America's Independence Day -- typically a non-partisan celebration of national unity. Trump, whose address largely mimicked the tone of his stump speeches, continued his attacks on protesters he said are 'lying' about American history by calling for the removal of statues and memorials celebrating slaveholders and colonial and Confederate figures. And similar to his speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday, Trump pledged to defend American monuments and the country's 'rich heritage.'"

Fomenting His Own Revolution. Asawin Suebsaeng & Allison Quinn of the Daily Beast: "'This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution,' [Donald Trump claimed during his South Dakota speech Friday night]..., before repeatedly going on to compare himself and his supporters to Patriots during the American Revolution -- and protesters to members of the British Army. Speaking as if preparing his political supporters for battle, he said, 'Just as patriots did in centuries past, the American people will stand in their way, and we will win, and win quickly.... We will not be tyrannized, we will not be demeaned, we will not be intimidated by bad, evil people,' he said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ I Am the Enemy Within. David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "In his inaugural address, President Trump sketched the picture of 'American carnage' -- a nation ransacked by marauders from abroad who breached U.S. borders in pursuit of jobs and crime, lured its companies offshore and bogged down its military in faraway conflicts. Nearly 3½ years later, in the president's telling, the carnage is still underway but this time the enemy is ... other Americans whose racial identity and cultural beliefs are toppling the nation's heritage and founding ideals.... If his 2016 campaign ... was focused on building a wall to keep out immigrants and shedding alliances with nations he believed were exploiting the United States, the president is now aiming his rhetorical blasts at groups of liberal Americans who, he believes, constitute a direct threat to the standing of his conservative base. At Mount Rushmore, under the granite gaze of four U.S. presidents, Trump railed against 'angry mobs' pursuing 'far-left fascism' and a 'left-wing cultural revolution' that has manifested in the assault on statues and monuments celebrating Confederate leaders and other U.S. historica figures, including some former presidents, amid the mass racial justice protests of recent weeks." ~~~

~~~ ** William Wan of the Washington Post: "Amid the combative and unusual ways President Trump chose to celebrate Independence Day, some historians were particularly puzzled Saturday by his announcement for a new monument called the 'National Garden of American Heroes' populated by a grab bag of historical figures chosen by his administration. The garden, Trump explained in a Friday night speech at Mount Rushmore, was part of his response to the movement to remove Confederate statues and racially charged iconography across the country.... 'The choices vary from odd to probably inappropriate to provocative,' said James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association. 'It's just so random. It's like they threw a bunch of stuff on the wall and just went with whatever stuck,' said Karen Cox, a history professor at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.... [Grossman] noted Trump's executive order establishes a task force and gives it 60 days to submit a report detailing locations and options for building the new garden monument. 'There's no rush here. The only real emergency is that there's an election coming up,' Grossman said."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Well-worth reading if you have a WashPo subscription. I'm sure you can come up with your own reasons for why Trump's executive order is profoundly stupid. ~~~

~~~ Here's the list, via Law & Crime: "John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George S. Patton, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, [Antonin Scalia,] Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, and Orville and Wilbur Wright." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In addition, if I've read Trump's executive order correctly, he'll be able to throw in statues of infamous Confederates & other riffraff. The statuary task force is to "consider the availability of authority to encourage and accept the donation or loan of statues by States, localities, civic organizations, businesses, religious organizations, and individuals, for display at the National Garden." Does your town have an old statue of some miscreant hidden away in storage? A robber baron, maybe? A pirate? A Ku Klux Klan founder? Send it to Washington!

GOP "Unnerved" by Their Trumpenstein Monster. Robert Costa & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Trump's unyielding push to preserve Confederate symbols and the legacy of white domination, crystallized by his harsh denunciation of the racial justice movement Friday night at Mount Rushmore, has unnerved Republicans who have long enabled him but now fear losing power and forever associating their party with his racial animus. Although amplifying racism and stoking culture wars have been mainstays of Trump's public identity for decades, they have been particularly pronounced this summer as the president has reacted to the national reckoning over systemic discrimination by seeking to weaponize the anger and resentment of some white Americans for his own political gain. Trump has left little doubt through his utterances the past few weeks that he sees himself not only as the Republican standard-bearer, but as leader of a modern grievance movement animated by civic strife and marked by calls for 'white power,' the phrase chanted by one of his supporters in a video the president shared last weekend on Twitter. He later deleted the video but did not disavow its message." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Bryan Pietsch of the New York Times: "With Independence Day celebrations canceled around the country, one distinctly American tradition continued on Saturday despite the pandemic: the annual pilgrimage of competitive eaters to Coney Island for the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.... Held without fail every Fourth of July since 1942, the event ordinarily draws thousands to the original Nathan's location in Brooklyn.... But there was no crowd this year to cheer raucously, and the competitive eaters, who usually hover over their piles of hot dogs shoulder to shoulder, were spaced apart from one another. The contest was limited to five women and six men to allow for adequate social distancing. One woman was unable to attend because of restrictions on travel to New York from Arizona, where coronavirus cases are surging."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here: "Cases are trending upward in 39 states, and at least five -- Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina -- set single-day case records on Friday, the start of a holiday weekend governed by patchwork restrictions and planning after local leaders shifted policies to try to keep pace with the surge.... For this weekend, as many as 80 percent of community fireworks displays in large cities and small towns have been canceled over fears that the gathered crowds would become hot spots for new outbreaks." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: "The United States entered the Fourth of July weekend against a backdrop of surging coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, with officials and health experts nervously watching to see if the public would heed warnings to limit the size of their gatherings and take other steps to curb the virus. Florida on Saturday set another daily record for new infections, reporting 11,458 confirmed cases.... Intensive care unit capacity at Texas Medical Center, the world's largest hospital complex, exceeded 100 percent.... Cincinnati, Cleveland and Wichita became the latest major U.S. cities to pass mask ordinances.... Beaches were closed in Los Angeles, South Florida and in other states, but Myrtle Beach, S.C., remained open to the public, even as cases in the city and state continued to rise sharply. The tourist hub passed a last-minute mask ordinance as thousands of vacationers flocked in for the holiday. 'We are doing all that we can,' Mayor Brenda Bethune told CNN. 'I believe that people spread this virus -- that's been proven -- not places.'" Access is free to nonsubscribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Sounds as if Mayor Brenda earned her philosophy degree at the same school of public policy that teaches "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." Idiot. ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "President Trump said Saturday that his administration had 'made a lot of progress' on controlling the novel coronavirus pandemic, even as the seven-day average of cases in the United States set a record for the 26th straight day."

Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Saturday signed legislation that extends the deadline for businesses to apply for aid under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The bill extends the deadline for businesses to apply for PPP loans until Aug. 8. The program, set up to assist businesses impacted by closures related to the coronavirus pandemic, had expired on Tuesday night with roughly $130 billion left unused."

Thanks to Hattie for the lead on this one:

Colorado. Dennis Romero of NBC News: "Three Aurora, Colorado, police officers were fired Friday for taking part in a disrespectful selfie-photo session near the memorial site for Elijah McClain, who died after being in a police chokehold, the interim chief said. The officers involved in the photos, which show three of them smiling as one is in a mock chokehold, were identified by interim Chief Vanessa Wilson of the Aurora Police Department as Jason Rosenblatt, Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich. A fourth officer, Jaron Jones, resigned Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maryland. Christina Maxouris of CNN: "While much of the country celebrated Independence Day Saturday, protesters in Baltimore toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus and threw it into the Inner Harbor, CNN affiliate WBAL reported. Louis Krauss, who shared video of the toppling, said there were at least 300 people gathered at the scene. 'After it toppled over the statue broke into several pieces, which were then dragged across the plaza and dumped into the Inner Harbor,' Krauss told CNN."

Washington State. Edward Helmore of the Guardian & agencies: "A woman has been killed and another seriously injured by a car whose driver sped through a protest-related closure on a freeway in Seattle, authorities have said. Summer Taylor, 24 and from Seattle, died in the evening at Harborview Medical Center, spokesperson Susan Gregg said. Diaz Love, 32 and from Bellingham, remained in critical condition with multiple injuries. Video taken at the scene by protesters showed people shouting 'Car! Car!' before fleeing the road. The driver, Dawit Kelete, a 27-year-old man from Seattle, was in custody. A state patrol spokesman, Ron Mead, said Kelete was suspected to have driven the wrong way on a ramp. Mead said troopers did not know whether it was a targeted attack. Police said impairment was not considered a factor.... Mark Taylor-Canfield, a journalist, said the car had plenty of time to slow down before smashing into protesters. 'It sped up and went right into the middle of the crowd, so most of us assumed it was a purposeful attempt at vehicular homicide,' he said...."

The Commentariat -- July 4, 2020

For American patriots, Independence Day is aspirational (see, for instance, President Barack Obama's July 4, 2016 speech, linked below.) Mrs. McC: My aspiration: may this be our last Independence Day which Donald Trump sullies.

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Afternoon Update:

Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: “Joe Biden on Saturday offered a counterpoint to the dark and defiant Fourth of July message President Trump delivered at Mount Rushmore, striking notes of unity in a video and op-ed released on the nation’s 244th birthday.... It was a stark contrast with Trump, who focused Friday on the men who built the country, saying they are heroes and that those skeptical of the country’s founders are part of a 'radical ideology' and a 'left-wing cultural revolution.' The dueling Independence Day messages highlight the vastly different ways Biden and Trump have responded to the country’s racial reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis police custody.” ~~~

~~~ Joe Biden, in an NBC News essay: "... pursuit of a more perfect union has been thrown off course in recent years — and no one bears more responsibility than President Donald Trump. Every day, he finds new ways to tarnish and dismantle our democracy — from baseless attacks on our voting rights to the use of military force against Americans protesting peacefully for racial justice. He has systematically gone after the guardrails of our democracy: the free press, the courts, and our fundamental belief that no one in America — not even the president — is above the law. He has made it clear time and again that he won’t hesitate to tear apart our most cherished democratic structures for an ounce of personal gain. And that corruption of our founding principles threatens everything this nation has worked so hard to build, blighting our ability not only to elevate our values, but also to lead the world.... To ensure that our democratic values are able to rise to new heights, I will take decisive steps to strengthen our foundation. That means immediately reversing Trump’s cruel and counterproductive asylum, travel ban, and family separation policies — and reaffirming our innate identity, reflected in our Constitution and emblazoned in the Statue of Liberty, as a nation of immigrants. It means fighting for — not conspiring against — the independence of our judiciary and the freedom of our press. It means rooting out systemic racism from every area of society it infects — from unfairly administered COVID-19 recovery funds, to laws that perpetuate racial wealth gaps, to health disparities, to housing policy, to policing, to our justice system and everywhere in between."

Fomenting His Own Revolution. Asawin Suebsaeng & Allison Quinn of the Daily Beast: “'This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution,' [Donald Trump claimed during his South Dakota speech Friday night]..., before repeatedly going on to compare himself and his supporters to Patriots during the American Revolution—and protesters to members of the British Army. Speaking as if preparing his political supporters for battle, he said, 'Just as patriots did in centuries past, the American people will stand in their way, and we will win, and win quickly.... We will not be tyrannized, we will not be demeaned, we will not be intimidated by bad, evil people,' he said.” ~~~

~~~ GOP "Unnerved" by Their Trumpenstein Monster. Robert Costa & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: “President Trump’s unyielding push to preserve Confederate symbols and the legacy of white domination, crystallized by his harsh denunciation of the racial justice movement Friday night at Mount Rushmore, has unnerved Republicans who have long enabled him but now fear losing power and forever associating their party with his racial animus. Although amplifying racism and stoking culture wars have been mainstays of Trump’s public identity for decades, they have been particularly pronounced this summer as the president has reacted to the national reckoning over systemic discrimination by seeking to weaponize the anger and resentment of some white Americans for his own political gain. Trump has left little doubt through his utterances the past few weeks that he sees himself not only as the Republican standard-bearer, but as leader of a modern grievance movement animated by civic strife and marked by calls for 'white power,' the phrase chanted by one of his supporters in a video the president shared last weekend on Twitter. He later deleted the video but did not disavow its message.”

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here: "Cases are trending upward in 39 states, and at least five — Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina — set single-day case records on Friday, the start of a holiday weekend governed by patchwork restrictions and planning after local leaders shifted policies to try to keep pace with the surge.... For this weekend, as many as 80 percent of community fireworks displays in large cities and small towns have been canceled over fears that the gathered crowds would become hot spots for new outbreaks."

Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: “The United States entered the Fourth of July weekend against a backdrop of surging coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, with officials and health experts nervously watching to see if the public would heed warnings to limit the size of their gatherings and take other steps to curb the virus. Florida on Saturday set another daily record for new infections, reporting 11,458 confirmed cases.... Intensive care unit capacity at Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest hospital complex, exceeded 100 percent.... Cincinnati, Cleveland and Wichita became the latest major U.S. cities to pass mask ordinances.... Beaches were closed in Los Angeles, South Florida and in other states, but Myrtle Beach, S.C., remained open to the public, even as cases in the city and state continued to rise sharply. The tourist hub passed a last-minute mask ordinance as thousands of vacationers flocked in for the holiday. 'We are doing all that we can,' Mayor Brenda Bethune told CNN. 'I believe that people spread this virus — that’s been proven — not places.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Sounds as if Mayor Brenda earned her philosophy degree at the same school of public policy that teaches "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." Idiot.

Thanks to Hattie for the lead on this one:

Dennis Romero of NBC News: "Three Aurora, Colorado, police officers were fired Friday for taking part in a disrespectful selfie-photo session near the memorial site for Elijah McClain, who died after being in a police chokehold, the interim chief said. The officers involved in the photos, which show three of them smiling as one is in a mock chokehold, were identified by interim Chief Vanessa Wilson of the Aurora Police Department as Jason Rosenblatt, Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich. A fourth officer, Jaron Jones, resigned Tuesday."

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Worst President* Abuses His Office Again

Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Standing in a packed amphitheater in front of Mount Rushmore for an Independence Day celebration, President Trump delivered a dark and divisive speech on Friday that cast his struggling effort to win a second term as a battle against a 'new far-left fascism' seeking to wipe out the nation’s values and history. With the coronavirus pandemic raging and his campaign faltering in the polls, his appearance amounted to a fiery reboot of his re-election effort, using the holiday and an official presidential address to mount a full-on culture war against a straw-man version of the left that he portrayed as inciting mayhem and moving the country toward totalitarianism.... Appealing unabashedly to his base with ominous language and imagery, he railed against what he described as a dangerous 'cancel culture' intent on toppling monuments and framed himself as a strong leader who would protect the Second Amendment, law enforcement and the country’s heritage.... More than just a partisan rally, it underscored the extent to which Mr. Trump is appealing to a subset of Americans to carry him to a second term by changing the subject and appealing to fear and division.” ~~~

~~~ David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: “... President Trump on Friday delivered a dark speech ahead of Independence Day in which he sought to exploit the nation’s racial and social divisions and rally supporters around a law-and-order message that has become a cornerstone of his reelection campaign. Trump focused most of his address before a crowd of several thousand in South Dakota on what he described as a grave threat to the nation from liberals and angry mobs — a 'left-wing cultural revolution' that aims to rewrite U.S. history and erase its heritage amid the racial justice protests that have roiled cities for weeks.... The president ... referred to 'violent mayhem' in the streets, even though many of the mass demonstrations have been largely peaceful. He warned that 'angry mobs' were unleashing 'a wave of violent crime' and using 'cancel culture' as a weapon to intimidate and dominate political opponents — in what he compared to 'totalitarianism.'... Though the Mount Rushmore trip was billed as an official White House event [Mrs. McC: so taxpayers would foot the bill], the president made an overt appeal to his partisan supporters in attacking liberals. His appeal came as he has faced tumbling public approval over his handling of the mass protests and the deadly coronavirus pandemic.” ~~~

~~~ Jordan Muller of Politico: "It was a divisive address that stood in stark contrast to a weekend holiday celebrating national unity across a country also riven by a deadly pandemic.... Although health experts have slammed Trump for holding the event amid a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases, he did not directly refer to the virus or the country's daily record-setting case toll.... Native American groups — who consider the land on which the monument was built sacred — staged protests outside, clashing at times with the National Guard." ~~~

~~~ Robin Givhan of the Washington Post: "Thousands of unmasked guests, awaiting the arrival of the president, sat shoulder to shoulder in black folding chairs tethered together in a kind of coronavirus chain of denial. The VIPs would, of course, be seated separately onstage — not six feet apart, but not amid the storm of exhalations, coughs, vociferous cheers and sneezes. And just to add to the upside-down, inside-out madness of the mass gathering, Ivanka Trump ... tweeted a reminder to be safe over the holiday weekend by social distancing and wearing a mask." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: In case you're thinking some of the Trumpenlumpen whose chairs were "tethered together in a kind of coronavirus chain of denial" at least might have moved their chairs over to the side for a little social distancing, think again. CNN showed a close-up of the chairs, and they also were "tethered together" with zip ties. ~~~

~~~ What a Real President Says on Independence Day. Mrs. McCrabbie: Just for the fun of it, I checked back to see what President Barack Obama said in his Independence Day speech in the last presidential election year. Here's Obama's July 4, 2016 speech, delivered in the East Room of the White House before a crowd largely made up of military families: "And so on a day like this, we celebrate, we have fun, we marvel at everything that's been done before, but we also have to recommit ourselves to making sure that everybody in this country is free; that everybody has opportunity; that everybody gets a fair shot; that we look after all of our veterans when they come home; that we look after our military families and give them a fair shake; that every child has a good education. (Applause.) That is what we should be striving for on Independence Day." Donald Trump has no idea what Independence Day is about, much less what the presidency is about.

Family Matters

Junior's Girlfriend Kicked Out of Trump Family 4th Shindig. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Kimberly Guilfoyle, the girlfriend of President Trump’s eldest son and a top fund-raising official for the Trump re-election campaign, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday before a Fourth of July event at Mount Rushmore, a person familiar with her condition said. Ms. Guilfoyle traveled to South Dakota with ... Donald Trump Jr., in anticipation of attending a huge fireworks display where the president was set to speak. They did not travel aboard Air Force One, according to the person..., and she was the only person in the group who tested positive.... She and the younger Mr. Trump never met up with the president’s entourage, the person said. Out of caution, the couple plans to drive back from South Dakota to the East Coast, the person said.... Ms. Guilfoyle attended Mr. Trump’s indoor rally last month in Tulsa, Okla." A Guardian story is here. Thanks to Hattie for the lead.

Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: “Eric Trump tweeted, and then deleted, a photo of former President Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein‘s alleged partner-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell, after Twitter users buried him in a deluge of photos of Maxwell appearing very chummy with his father, President Donald Trump. Eric Trump’s tweet was captioned 'Birds of a feather…' and showed Clinton walking his daughter Chelsea Clinton down the aisle at her 2o10 wedding, while Maxwell is shown in the background among other wedding guests.... Twitter users responded seemingly instantaneously, posting photo after photo showing Maxwell — and often Epstein too — far more cozy with the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "Mary L. Trump, the author of an explosive book about her uncle President Trump, asked a court to lift a restraining order against her, saying in an affidavit filed Thursday that she was misled by the family into signing a confidentiality agreement in an inheritance case two decades ago.... Mary Trump said in her affidavit that, in agreeing to the inheritance settlement, she relied on asset valuations of the family estate provided to her by Donald Trump and his siblings that she said have since been proved to be inaccurate.... She said the inaccuracy of the valuations was revealed in a 2018 investigation by the New York Times of family finances." A Daily Beast story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Mrs. McCrabbie: Heard on CNN that Trump went to his golf course Friday, and that today was the 365th day since he was sworn in that he has spent at one of his properties. That means that lazy bastard has spent a full year on vacation (or more) since being sworn in less than four years ago.

David Rothkopf in the New York Review of Books: "If we have a president who is selfish, ignorant, venal, dishonest, racist, misogynist, and corrupt, what does it tell us that a significant minority of American citizens celebrates such a leader, while another segment of our compatriots are willing to tolerate them, at least enough to give him their votes?... We must address the root causes that enabled a man as profoundly flawed and corrupt as Trump to win high office.... Ending Trump’s misrule and restoring confidence in the presidency demands the undoing of impediments to free and fair elections. That will entail root-and-branch campaign finance reform, an end to voter suppression, new defenses against foreign interference in elections, and reining in the digital disinformation engines. These are perhaps only the minimum demands for restoring American democracy." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

"Live With It." Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "After several months of mixed messages on the coronavirus pandemic, the White House is settling on a new one: Learn to live with it. Administration officials are planning to intensify what they hope is a sharper, and less conflicting, message of the pandemic next week, according to senior administration officials, after struggling to offer clear directives amid a crippling surge in cases across the country.... At the crux of the message, officials said, is a recognition by the White House that the virus ... will be around through the November election. As a result..., Donald Trump's top advisers plan to argue, the country must figure out how to press forward despite it. Therapeutic drugs will be showcased as a key component for doing that and the White House will increasingly emphasize the relatively low risk most Americans have of dying from the virus, officials said."

Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "At least eight Secret Service agents are currently holed up in a hotel in Phoenix, some suffering the flu-like coronavirus symptoms after coming down with the disease while preparing for a visit by Vice President Mike Pence, two people familiar with the matter say. Last month, up to 15 agents who tested positive for the virus loaded into cars and drove themselves home, avoiding flights after becoming infected while preparing for ... Donald Trump's campaign rally, according to another source familiar with the situation.... One agency source said there is "growing anger and frustration" among some in the Secret Service at what they consider to be 'unnecessary trips and exposure' because of Trump and Pence's travel. 'Even ardent Trump supporters are fed up,' one agency source said. 'We signed up to take a bullet for him, we did not sign up to get sick for him for no good reason.'" Mrs. McC: Only "ardent Trump supporters" within the Secret Service should be sent on these advance jaunts.

Alexander Nazaryan of Yahoo! News reports on how Trump & his political aides sidelined & muzzled the CDC as the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. “Not only were CDC officials kept off television broadcasts, but [CDC director Robert] Redfield and others could not even hold briefings. 'We continued to ask for approval' from the White House to hold briefings, the CDC spokesperson told Yahoo News. 'We were not given approval. Finally, we just stopped asking.'... Even [Anthony] Fauci’s ability to speak publicly has been curtailed, since he has a tendency to undercut the always sunny outlook of Trump.... That leaves no single person, or single agency, to communicate directly and forthrightly with the public.” Mrs. McC: Fauci does not work for the CDC. Nazaryan deserves some kind of award for "Outstanding Performance in Burying the Lead." It comes up mid-paragraph -- in the 19th paragraph.

Patria Non Grata. Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "England will drop its mandatory 14-day quarantine for visitors from more than 50 countries but leave the restrictions in place for travelers coming from the United States, deepening the isolation of America and delivering another rebuke to President Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.... But those from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and dozens of other countries will be able to travel to England with no restrictions — an arrangement intended to bolster the languishing tourism industry in time for the summer vacation season. The regulations will take effect on July 10. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland apply their own travel policies and may not follow England’s lead in easing restrictions." (Mrs. McC: Thanks to Akhilleus for correcting my Latin grammar, as requested.)

The Greatest Nation on Earth -- Is Definitely Not the U.S.A. Peter Goodman, et al., of the New York Times: "The pandemic has ravaged Europeans and Americans alike, but the economic pain has played out in starkly different fashion. The United States has relied on a significant expansion of unemployment insurance, cushioning the blow for tens of millions of people who have lost their jobs, with the assumption that they will be swiftly rehired once normality returns. European countries — among them Denmark, Ireland, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Austria — have prevented joblessness by effectively nationalizing payrolls, heavily subsidizing wages and enabling paychecks to continue uninterrupted. As cases increase at an alarming rate in much of the United States, the reliance on an overwhelmed unemployment system — the next infusion of money perpetually subject to the whims of Washington — leaves Americans uniquely exposed to a deepening crisis of joblessness. Europe appears poised to spring back from the catastrophe faster, whenever commerce resumes, because its companies need not rehire workers."

Here's how Melissa Clark, the New York Times' food editor, had an as-safe-as-possible friends-and-family cookout.

Let's All Go to the Movies. Hannah Denham of the Washington Post: WalMart "will transform 160 of its store parking lots into drive-in theaters next month. Walmart is launching the program next month in partnership with Tribeca Enterprises, the New York-based media company co-founded by Robert De Niro. The locations and movie lineup will be announced on a new Walmart Drive-In website, the retailer said in a news release. It’s unclear whether the movies will be new releases, but admission is free, said Walmart spokeswoman LeMia Jenkins." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Dog Ate Trump's Intel Report. Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "A memo produced in recent days by the office of the nation’s top intelligence official acknowledged that the C.I.A. and top counterterrorism officials have assessed that Russia appears to have offered bounties to kill American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, but emphasized uncertainties and gaps in evidence, according to three officials. The memo is said to contain no new information, and both its timing and its stressing of doubts suggested that it was intended to bolster the Trump administration’s attempts to justify its inaction on the months-old assessment, the officials said. Some former national security officials said the account of the memo indicated that politics may have influenced its production. The National Intelligence Council, which reports to the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, produced the two-and-a-half page document...."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation to impose sanctions on Chinese officials trying to stamp out political dissent in Hong Kong, sending the measure to President Trump’s desk for his signature. The passage of the bill, spearheaded by Senators Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, comes days after Chinese leaders imposed a sweeping new security law intended to quell protests demanding free elections and greater autonomy in an escalation of Beijing’s campaign to tighten its grip on Hong Kong.... The House unanimously passed the bill on Wednesday...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sports Reports in the Time of Protests

Jerry Brewer of the Washington Post: “The process that the Washington NFL franchise announced Friday isn’t to determine whether to change the offensive name that has been attached to the team for more than eight decades. The process is to determine how to rebrand: the timing, the level of transparency, the elimination of unintended consequences and, of course, the intricacies of the proper way to select and market a new name. The old name is dead. [Team owner] Daniel Snyder wouldn’t backtrack from 'NEVER — you can use caps' to a team statement vowing to consider 'the best interest of all in mind' without resignation that his obdurate protection of tradition must end. What has changed in the seven years since Snyder drew that hard line? Well, the world. And most of that change has occurred in a four-month sliver of this 2020 gloom because of an escalating pandemic combined with heightened tension and awareness of racism.” ~~~

     ~~~ Daniel Politi of Slate has a comprehensive story on the team's name-change progress. Mrs. McC: This is another instance where corporate pressure was the last straw, this time coming from Fed-Ex.

Jake Russell of the Washington Post: "The Cleveland Indians acknowledged that they are ready to discuss changing their team name in the wake of news that the Washington Redskins will review theirs before the NFL’s 2020 season.... The Athletic reported that the Indians expect to consult with members of the Native American community as well as their fans, players, alumni and internal staff before deciding on a name change."

Texas. "Kill 'em" Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: "In the days after George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis last month, as massive protests against police brutality spread across Texas and other states, conservative power broker Steve Hotze of Houston called Gov. Greg Abbott's chief of staff to pass along a message. 'I want you to give a message to the governor,' Hotze told Abbott's chief of staff, Luis Saenz, in a voicemail. 'I want to make sure that he has National Guard down here and they have the order to shoot to kill if any of these son-of-a-bitch people start rioting like they have in Dallas, start tearing down businesses — shoot to kill the son of a bitches. That’s the only way you restore order. Kill ‘em. Thank you.'"

The Commentariat -- July 3, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here.

Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "Eric Trump tweeted, and then deleted, a photo of former President Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein's alleged partner-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell, after Twitter users buried him in a deluge of photos of Maxwell appearing very chummy with his father, President Donald Trump. Eric Trump's tweet was captioned 'Birds of a feather...' and showed Clinton walking his daughter Chelsea Clinton down the aisle at her 2o10 wedding, while Maxwell is shown in the background among other wedding guests.... Twitter users responded seemingly instantaneously, posting photo after photo showing Maxwell -- and often Epstein too -- far more cozy with the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."

David Rothkopf in the New York Review of Books: "If we have a president who is selfish, ignorant, venal, dishonest, racist, misogynist, and corrupt, what does it tell us that a significant minority of American citizens celebrates such a leader, while another segment of our compatriots are willing to tolerate them, at least enough to give him their votes?... We must address the root causes that enabled a man as profoundly flawed and corrupt as Trump to win high office.... Ending Trump's misrule and restoring confidence in the presidency demands the undoing of impediments to free and fair elections. That will entail root-and-branch campaign finance reform, an end to voter suppression, new defenses against foreign interference in elections, and reining in the digital disinformation engines. These are perhaps only the minimum demands for restoring American democracy."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation to impose sanctions on Chinese officials trying to stamp out political dissent in Hong Kong, sending the measure to President Trump's desk for his signature. The passage of the bill, spearheaded by Senators Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, comes days after Chinese leaders imposed a sweeping new security law intended to quell protests demanding free elections and greater autonomy in an escalation of Beijing's campaign to tighten its grip on Hong Kong.... The House unanimously passed the bill on Wednesday...."

Let's All Go to the Movies. Hannah Denham of the Washington Post: WalMart "will transform 160 of its store parking lots into drive-in theaters next month. Walmart is launching the program next month in partnership with Tribeca Enterprises, the New York-based media company co-founded by Robert De Niro. The locations and movie lineup will be announced on a new Walmart Drive-In website, the retailer said in a news release. It's unclear whether the movies will be new releases, but admission is free, said Walmart spokeswoman LeMia Jenkins."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Just heard on CNN that Trump went to his golf course today, and that today was the 365th day since he was sworn in that he has spent at one of his properties. That means that lazy bastard has spent a full year on vacation (or more) since being sworn in less than four years ago.

Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "Mary L. Trump, the author of an explosive book about her uncle President Trump, asked a court to lift a restraining order against her, saying in an affidavit filed Thursday that she was misled by the family into signing a confidentiality agreement in an inheritance case two decades ago.... Mary Trump said in her affidavit that, in agreeing to the inheritance settlement, she relied on asset valuations of the family estate provided to her by Donald Trump and his siblings that she said have since been proved to be inaccurate.... She said the inaccuracy of the valuations was revealed in a 2018 investigation by the New York Times of family finances." A Daily Beast story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "The United States reported at least 55,220 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, surpassing Wednesday's record of 52,789, previously the largest single-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to data collected by The Washington Post." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

How to Spend the Independence Day Weekend -- STAY HOME! Richard Fausset, et al., of the New York Times: "In the face of cases reaching disheartening new highs, and as at least 15 states set single-day reporting records this week, health officials around the country have urged Americans to scale back their holiday plans.... Skip the party. Stay home.... ~~~

[BUT. The Saboteur-in-Chief Has Other Plans.] "In South Dakota, which has had relatively few cases of the coronavirus, President Trump has organized a fireworks show Friday evening at Mount Rushmore, an event that has come under scrutiny because thousands of people are planning to attend. The National Park Service said in an email that it 'strongly' encouraged social distancing and the use of face coverings.... Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who plans to attend the event, told Fox News that 'we won’t be social distancing.' In Washington, D.C., the authorities are plowing ahead with a traditional July 4 celebration. Like last year, Mr. Trump will preside over that event, and federal authorities seemed to be preparing for considerable crowds...." ~~~

~~~ Know Your U.S. History: Mount Rushmore Edition. Bryan Pietsch & Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: “In the eight decades since the carving was completed, it has never been without controversy.... Native Americans have long criticized the sculpture, in part because it was built on what had been Indigenous land.... Before he was recruited to create Mount Rushmore, [Gutzon] Borglum had been involved with another project: an enormous bas-relief at Stone Mountain in Georgia that memorialized Confederate leaders.... Mr. Borglum formed strong bonds with leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and participated in their meetings.... He also espoused white supremacist and anti-Semitic ideas.... In 2016, a report from the U.S. Geological Survey found that past pyrotechnic displays had probably caused higher concentrations of a contaminant called perchlorate in the groundwater there. Mr. Trump has tweeted in support of 'BIG FIREWORKS' returning to the monument...."

Flack & Flee: The Trump Presser. Morgan Chalfant & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump touted the new June jobs numbers at a hastily scheduled press briefing Thursday where he left before taking any questions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Washington Post Editors: "Mr. Trump remains in blissful denial as crisis ripples through the Sun Belt, threatening to create chaos and distress nationwide for months to come.... On Thursday, in a brief appearance before reporters, without wearing a face mask and refusing to take questions, he said, 'We have some areas where we are putting out the flames, or the fires, and that's working out well.' He went on to assert that the United States, like Europe and China, is 'getting it under control.' Some areas are suffering a 'flare up,' he acknowledged, 'and we are putting out the fires' with a strategy to 'vanquish and kill the virus.' The reality is that the virus ... is in control. Record-shattering numbers of new cases were reported Wednesday in six states.... New daily cases are increasing in 41 states compared to two weeks ago. Outbreaks and superspreader events are erupting.... Now, governors are rapidly trying to backpedal..., but it is exceedingly difficult to shift from reopening to closure again. Mr. Trump ... was characteristically only concerned with praising himself. 'We've done a historic thing,' he said, adding that he saved 'millions of lives' and now is opening up the country 'far faster than anybody thought even possible and more successfully.'" ~~~

~~~ Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The U.S. unemployment rate is expected to stay above its pre-pandemic levels through the end of 2030, according to a 10-year economic report released Thursday by the Congressional Budget Office. The agency is predicting that the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2030 will be 4.4 percent, down from 7.6 percent at the end of 2021 and 6.9 percent at the end of 2022.... The new projection shows the long-term impact that economists say the pandemic will have on the U.S. economy, the largest in the world. A severe disruption to production and hiring in March and April has had a jarring impact on the United States." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carol Leonnig & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Vice President Pence's trip to Arizona this week had to be postponed by a day after several Secret Service agents who helped organize the visit either tested positive for the coronavirus or were showing symptoms of being infected. Pence was scheduled to go to Phoenix on Tuesday but went on Wednesday instead so that healthy agents could be deployed for his visit, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity...." Update: A New York Times story is here.

California. Zoe Richards of TPM: "More than 40 school principals in northern California have quarantined after they were exposed to the coronavirus during an in-person meeting held by a local school district. The quarantine follows news that a pre-symptomatic individual tested positive for COVID-19 within days of a June 19 meeting held by the Santa Clara County Unified School District to to discuss school reopening plans for the fall, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Gary Fineout & Marc Caputo of Politico: "Florida set a new record for coronavirus cases, reporting more than 10,100 new infections as Vice President Mike Pence was to meet with Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday to discuss the state's response to the outbreak. The mounting case numbers up the political pressure on DeSantis, a Republican, as Florida prepares to host marquee events of the Republican National Convention in late August, including Trump's acceptance speech." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas. Arelis Hernández & Frances Sellers of the Washington Post: "... health-care workers across Texas are seeing ... alarming predictions ... of how the coronavirus might ravage the state ... come true, with overwhelmed testing centers, lines at emergency rooms and crowded intensive care units, where it is difficult to maintain adequate numbers of specialized staff.... Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who was among the first governors to reopen businesses on May 1, again closed bars and limited restaurant capacity last week. Abbott prohibited municipalities from implementing mandates on mask wearing and social distancing, but on Friday he required all people in counties with more than 20 coronavirus cases to wear masks while in public." ~~~

~~~ As Axios puts it, " It's a dramatic reversal by the Republican governor that underscores the severity of the outbreak in Texas.... Abbott also issued a proclamation on Thursday allowing mayors and county judges to restrict outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people. But, but, but... Exceptions for masks while in public include attending church, consuming food or drink while seated at a restaurant, swimming, voting or giving a speech to a public audience."

Max Cohen of Politico: "Former presidential candidate Herman Cain announced on Thursday that he has been hospitalized with Covid-19, almost two weeks after attending ... Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Okla. Cain was diagnosed with coronavirus on June 29, nine days after the president's rally, and his symptoms worsened and required hospitalization on July 1, according to a statement from his Twitter account." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "As Mr. Trump heads to Mount Rushmore on Friday to spend the Independence Day holiday in the carved presence of presidential greatness, he is suffering through the most trying stretch of his administration thanks in large part to his self-inflicted wounds. June represented the political nadir of his three and a half years in the Oval Office, when a race in which he had been steadily trailing, but faring respectably, broke open and left him facing the possibility of not just defeat but humiliation this fall. The disconnect between the surge in coronavirus cases and Mr. Trump’s dismissive stance toward the pandemic has been particularly pronounced.... Last month’s convergence of crises, and the president’s missteps in responding to them, have been well-chronicled: his inflammatory response to racial justice protesters and his ill-considered rally in Tulsa, his refusal to acknowledge the resurgent virus or seriously address detailed reports about Russian operatives’ putting a cash bounty on American soldiers."

All the Best People, Ctd. John Hudson of the Washington Post: "President Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Norway is facing demands that he abandon his pursuit of the diplomatic post following the unearthing of a 1994 court filing indicating his involvement in the production of a racist campaign flier against an African American politician in Georgia. According to the filing, Mark Burkhalter helped create a flier that distorted and exaggerated the features of Gordon Joyner, a candidate for county commissioner in north-central Georgia. Joyner was pictured with some features darkened, a large Afro, enlarged eyebrows and a warped eye. Joyner sued for libel, resulting in an out-of-court settlement, an apology signed by Burkhalter and three other men, and payment of an undisclosed sum. Burkhalter did not disclose his involvement in the controversy to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to a letter by Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the panel’s ranking Democrat, that was obtained by The Washington Post." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: “The Trump White House is trying to push the appointment of a right-wing conspiracy theorist to a key Defense Department position over the objections of top Pentagon officials. Foreign Policy reports that the White House earlier this year directed the Pentagon to hire Rich Higgins, a former Trump National Security Council official who was ousted in 2017 after he wrote an unhinged memo that claimed the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election amounted to a 'Maoist insurgency' against ... Donald Trump. Although the White House initially backed off in the face of Pentagon resistance to hiring Higgins to be chief of staff to the under secretary of defense for policy, Foreign Policy’s sources say that 'the White House reached out again about Higgins this week … asking why the Pentagon had not begun the hiring process for him.'”

Betsy Swan of Politico: "One of the country’s most prominent U.S. attorneys is going to Washington. Richard Donoghue, who heads the Eastern District of New York, is taking over as the top deputy to Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.... The role — officially titled principal associate deputy attorney general, or PADAG — is an important one, and typically involves working with the 93 U.S. attorneys working around the country." ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow thinks this move is fishy, and gosh, maybe she's right: David Shortell, et al., of CNN: The Justice Department is considering replacing the US attorney in Brooklyn with a senior department official close to Attorney General William Barr, officials briefed on the matter said.... The most recent principal associate deputy attorney general, Seth DuCharme, is now being considered by department leadership for the top role in the Brooklyn office, where he had built his career as a prosecutor.... [That is, Richard Donoghue & DuCharme would swap jobs.] In February, the Justice Department tapped Donoghue to supervise all agency investigations related to Ukraine in a move that gave Washington officials more oversight into an area of interest that had become a political minefield." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, who resigned last month under pressure from Attorney General William Barr, will testify to the House Judiciary Committee next week about the circumstances of his departure, according to a congressional aide. The July 9 closed-door interview will be Congress' first foray into allegations that Barr sought to remove Geoffrey Berman as U.S. attorney to assert more control over investigations that touch closely on ... Donald Trump‘s associates and personal interests."

One Military Hero Backs Another. Edward Moreno if the Hill: "Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced Thursday that she is blocking the Senate confirmation of 1,123 senior U.S. Armed Forces promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that he is not going to block the promotion of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman to colonel.... She is asking for Esper to provide written confirmation that Vindman will be promoted to colonel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Manhattan prosecutors are attempting to revive their criminal case against President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, arguing in a filing made public Thursday that they have legal standing to bring the indictment even though a state court judge dismissed it six months ago on double jeopardy grounds. Manafort, 71, was charged in New York State Supreme Court with mortgage fraud, but his lawyers argued last year that the case too closely mirrored his 2018 federal conviction on bank fraud charges. The case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and widely seen as an attempt to guarantee that Manafort would still serve prison time should Trump move to pardon him. Justice Maxwell Wiley tossed it in December. The district attorney’s office filed its appeal in April. It public disclosure was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Teo Armus of the Washington Post reports on this lovely white Michigan woman pulling a gun on a black woman and her daughter in a shopping area parking lot. Thanks to RockyGirl for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The story has been updated, with Ben Guarino added to the byline: "Oakland County prosecutor Jessica R. Cooper charged the woman who drew the gun and the man who drove the van with one count each of felonious assault.... The married couple held Michigan concealed pistol licenses. Both the man and woman were armed."

Presidential Race

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: “A new report from Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman describes ... Donald Trump as 'down in the dumps' and anxious about being remembered as a one-term 'loser.' One Republican described as'“close to the White House' tells Sherman that the president’s heart does not appear to be in the 2020 campaign, especially after his big comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma spectacularly blew up in his face when he spoke before an arena that wasn’t even filled to half capacity. And Sherman’s sources say that the president may not even get to make up for the Tulsa debacle with his planned Republican National Convention rally in Jacksonville, Florida later in the summer, especially after the city mandated that residents wear face masks when using indoor public spaces.... Read the whole report here.”

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: “A lot of Republicans are acting puzzled about Donald Trump’s re-election pitch. 'He has no message,' one Republican source told Reuters.... [But] Trump does indeed have a re-election message, a stark and obvious one. It is 'white power.'... Trump understands that he became a significant political figure by spreading the racist lie that Barack Obama was really born in Kenya.... Trump sees clearly — more clearly than most of his party — that racism is the main thing he has to offer.” ~~~

     ~~~ Goldberg lists a remarkable number of racist things Trump has said or done in just the past week or so. Here's one: “On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he was considering scrapping an Obama-era housing regulation that required localities to address illegal patterns of residential segregation. He claimed that the initiative, which his administration had already put in limbo, was having a 'devastating impact on these once thriving Suburban areas.' The message to his white supporters seemed clear enough: Trump is going to fight to stop people of color from coming to your neighborhood.”

Alabama Senate Race. Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A sharply divided Supreme Court stepped in on Thursday night to block a judge’s order requiring Alabama to allow some curbside voting and lift absentee-ballot witness requirements for the Republican Senate primary runoff set to take place on July 14. The justices voted, 5-4, along ideological lines to block the lower-court ruling, allowing Alabama to carry out the election under its usual rules.... Experts said the most likely explanation was a 2006 Supreme Court precedent viewed as discouraging late changes to voting procedures because of the possibility for voter confusion.... 'Supreme Court majority is not siding with voters, even during (especially during) a pandemic. This is a big deal,' Rick Hasen, a University of California law professor, wrote on Twitter. In the Alabama runoff set to take place later this month, former Sen. Jeff Sessions is facing Tommy Tuberville, a former Auburn football coach.”

Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Supreme Court has all but doomed House Democrats' efforts to obtain former special counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury evidence before the November elections. The justices agreed Thursday to consider whether the House should be given permission to access the grand jury secrets contained in Mueller’s final report, as well as its underlying evidence. That decision, despite two lower court rulings supporting access to the secret information, ensures that no final decision will be rendered before voters decide whether to grant Trump a second term." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jim Mustian & Larry Neumeister of the AP: “British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested by the FBI on Thursday on charges she helped procure underage sex partners for financier Jeffrey Epstein. An indictment made public Thursday said Maxwell, who lived for years with Epstein and was his frequent travel companion on trips around the world, facilitated Epstein’s crimes by 'helping Epstein to recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse' girls as young as 14. It also said she participated in the sexual abuse.” Update: A New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)