The Commentariat -- August 9, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Pentagon will require all military personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, released Monday. 'I will seek the president's approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon' final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 'whichever comes first,' Austin wrote in the memo to troops. He added that Pentagon officials 'will also be keeping a close eye on infection rates,' currently on the rise now due to the highly contagious delta variant. If the rates begin to impact military readiness, 'I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so. To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force.'" The AP's report is here.

New York. Graham Kates & Caroline Linton of CBS News: "New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Monday that the goal of the Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry into Governor Andrew Cuomo is to conclude 'all due haste.' The committee last week sent a letter to Cuomo's legal team asking him to provide any additional evidence before it concludes its inquiry on August 13.... At the start of Monday's hearing, Judiciary Committee chair Charles Lavine called the allegations in [State AG Letitia] James' report 'deeply disturbing' and said the committee will review the report in addition to its own findings." ~~~

~~~ Jodi Kantor & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The fallout from a damaging report that found Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women widened on Monday when Roberta A. Kaplan, a nationally prominent lawyer with ties to the governor, resigned from Time's Up, the organization founded by Hollywood women to fight sexual abuse and promote gender equality. Ms. Kaplan, the chairwoman of Time's Up and the co-founder of its legal defense fund, was one of several prominent figures whom the report found to be involved in an effort to discredit one of Mr. Cuomo's alleged victims, and she has continuing legal ties to a former Cuomo aide accused of leading that effort."

Texas. James Barragán of the Texas Tribune: "A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home without threat of apprehension. State District Judge Brad Urrutia, a Democrat, granted the temporary restraining order late Sunday night restricting Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan from 'detaining, confining or otherwise restricting' the free movement of House Democrats within the state or issuing any warrants ordering their confinement. The order expires in 14 days unless extended by Urrutia. The court will hear arguments on a temporary injunction on Aug. 20, and Abbott and Phelan must show why a temporary injunction should not be filed against them."

Jennifer Scholtes & Caitlin Emma of Politico: "Senate Democrats released a $3.5 trillion budget on Monday morning that doesn't tackle the imminent need to raise the debt ceiling, setting the stage for a dramatic standoff with Republicans this fall. The exclusion of debt limit language amounts to a political gamble..., with the Treasury Department expected to run dry on its borrowing limit in the coming weeks. Senate Republicans have already warned that they won't give Democrats the votes needed to approach the issue on a bipartisan basis, which means that the debt limit's omission from the budget tees up a future cross-aisle fight over the debt."

Burgess Everett & Marianne Levine of Politico: "President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal cleared its final serious Senate hurdle Sunday night, putting the legislation on a glide path to passage as soon as late Monday. In a 68-29 vote, the Senate closed down debate on a bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of 10 senators that spends $550 billion in new money on the nation's physical infrastructure. Sunday's vote came after senators spent the weekend haggling over amendments and time agreements to consider them."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The battle waged by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) against mask and vaccine mandates is facing challenges on multiple fronts. His ban on vaccine passports was temporarily blocked by a federal judge late Sunday: Norwegian Cruise Line was cleared to require coronavirus vaccines for guests and crew members.... The head of the country's second-largest teachers union on Sunday shifted course to signal support for vaccine mandates for teachers to protect students, especially those under 12 who are not old enough to be inoculated. A group of parents of disabled children in Florida sued Friday to block the state's ban on mask mandates in schools. Florida education officials moved the same day to give students access to a state voucher program that helps pay for private tuition if their public schools require masks -- an acknowledgment that some schools in the state are moving ahead with mask mandates despite the law."

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Fred Hiatt of the Washington Post: "As of this week, only 112 [positions requiring Senate confirmation] have been filled. [Link fixed.] More than six months into his presidency, in other words -- more than an eighth of the way through his term -- Biden hardly has the beginning of an executive team in place.... [The administration has to fill] 4,000 political positions.... This is totally out of line with every other democracy, says Max Stier, who heads the Partnership [for Public Service].... Requiring that 1,237 of those 4,000 political positions win Senate confirmation compounds the damage.... The Senate could insist on true accountability: Confirm the truly senior positions, let those officials appoint the teams they want, and then hold those executives responsible for results." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I've been noticing this as news outlets dribble out report nominations and confirmations. This weekend, we learned the Senate just had confirmed the Secretary of the Navy. Either the job is superfluous or we expect our enemies to politely defer attacking U.S. ships until we have a proper civilian leader in place (said enemies have not been so polite).

Simon Tisdale of the Guardian: "Trumpism, like other fascist variants, is a disease, a blight -- a noxious far-right populist-nationalist miasma that taints and rots all it touches.... By refusing to confront his crooked predecessor and bring him to justice, Joe Biden feeds delusional Trump's sense of godlike impunity, and the dread prospect of a blasphemous second coming. To a watching world, his paralysis smacks of weakness.... Disqualifying [Trump] as criminally unfit for public office is the obvious way to avert more West Wing mayhem. Yet 'Gentleman Joe' and his fight-shy attorney general, Merrick Garland, keep pulling their punches." Thanks to citizen625 for the link.

Shayna Greene of Politico: "Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said Sunday that an ongoing congressional investigation of ... Donald Trump's last days in office has found him to have been deeply involved with the Justice Department in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.... Durbin said that [former acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen appeared voluntarily and was 'very open' during his seven hours of testimony. 'It really is important that we ask these questions, because what was going on in the Department of Justice was frightening, from a constitutional point of view,' Durbin said.... Asked if what he was describing was an attempted coup, Durbin told CNN host Dana Bash, 'Well, it was -- they were going through the ordinary process.... It isn't as if the president was removing the attorney general and making pronouncements, which would happen in a coup, I suppose, by classic definition,' Durbin added. 'But it was leading up to that, that kind of process.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Van Dam & Heather Long of the Washington Post: "For the first time, average pay in [U.S.] restaurants and supermarkets climbed above $15 an hour. Wages have been rising rapidly as the economy reopens and businesses struggle to hire enough workers. Some of the biggest gains have gone to workers in some of the lowest-paying industries. Overall, nearly 80 percent of U.S. workers now earn at least $15 an hour, up from 60 percent in 2014. Job sites and recruiting firms say many job seekers won't even consider jobs that pay less than $15 anymore. For years, low-paid workers fought to make at least that much. Now it has effectively become the new baseline."

Brady Dennis & Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "On Monday..., the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its latest and most dire assessment about the state of the planet, detailing how humans have altered the environment at an 'unprecedented' pace and cautioning that the world risks increasingly catastrophic impacts in the absence of rapid greenhouse gas reductions. The landmark report, compiled by 234 authors relying on more than 14,000 studies from around the globe, bluntly lays out for policymakers and the public the most up-to-date understanding of the physical science on climate change. Released amid a summer of deadly fires, floods and heat waves, it arrives less than three months before a critical summit this November in Scotland, where world leaders face mounting pressure to move more urgently to slow the Earth's warming." CNN's report is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Steve M.: "I have positive feelings about Barack Obama, but maybe his scaled-back but still supersized birthday party wasn't the greatest idea while the Delta variant continues to rage, not when the right-wing media is eager to leap on anything that looks like Democratic COVID hypocrisy.... When opponents of public health are looking for any evidence that advocates are bad people, why make it easy for them?... The dominant message of right-wingers today is that their Democratic enemies are 'elitists' who have contempt for ordinary Americans. I realize that these people are hypocrites themselves.... We're serious about the pandemic -- but I wish some of the most famous among us would spend a bit more time walking the walk."

Judge Clips Florida's Pro-Covid Governor, Party. Jaclyn Diaz of NPR: "Norwegian Cruise Line can require passengers show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination before boarding any of its ships in Florida, a federal judge has ruled. The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami to grant Norwegian's request for a preliminary injunction comes despite a state law passed in May that fines businesses which require proof of such vaccinations. The law, championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, slaps businesses with a fine of $5,000 per violation for asking customers to prove they were inoculated against the coronavirus. In her decision, Williams said Norwegian would likely succeed in a court trial with its argument that Florida's so-called 'vaccine passport' ban risks public health and infringes on the cruise line's First Amendment rights. Williams' decision also allows Norwegian to pr0ceed with its first trip from Miami since the pandemic widely disrupted the cruise line industry in March 2020. Norwegian Cruise Lines is one of several companies that sail from ports in Florida."

Texas. David Montgomery of the New York Times: "... Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas ... is facing withering criticism as I.C.U. beds have dwindled to the single digits in Austin and health officials in San Antonio have labeled its risk level just a step below critical. But Mr. Abbott remains firm in his refusal to enact any statewide mandate while he prohibits local officials from doing so in their own communities. The fear and frustration comes as schools are prepared to reopen in the nation's second most populous state.... Last month..., Mr. Abbott ... issued an executive order that prohibited local governments and state agencies from mandating vaccines, and reaffirmed previous decisions to prohibit local officials from mandating masks. The governor also affirmed that schools could not enact mask mandates for students...."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. The "Vile Procuress." Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, said late Sunday that she had resigned, less than a week after the New York State attorney general released a report concluding Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women. The report found that Ms. DeRosa, one of Mr. Cuomo's most trusted confidantes and strategists, had spearheaded efforts to retaliate against one of the women who had spoken out publicly about her allegation in December." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps getting the MoDo treatment was the straw that broke the camel's back. MoDo begins her evisceration of DeRosa by comparing her to Mr. B's housekeeper Mrs. Jewkes, "who holds down Pamela in bed while the master tries to have his way with the teenager," in one of the first English novels -- Pamela, by Samuel Richardson. ~~~

~~~ CBS News: "An executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -- in her first public comments since accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment -- told 'CBS This Morning' and the Times Union that 'the governor needs to be held accountable.' Brittany Commisso is one of 11 women referenced in a scathing report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James that alleged Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and violated state and federal law. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing. Until now, Commisso had remained anonymous, referred to only as 'Executive Assistant #1' in the report.... According to the attorney general's report, Commisso claimed that in 2019 and 2020 the governor 'engaged in close and intimate hugs' on multiple occasions, including one incident when he 'reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast.' During another incident, while the executive assistant snapped a selfie, she said Cuomo 'put his hand on and then rubbed and grabbed her butt.'" The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Governor-in-Waiting. Dana Rubenstein of the New York Times: "If [Andrew Cuomo] steps down or is forced out, [Lt. Gov. Kathy] Hochul, 62, will take his place, becoming the first woman to lead New York State -- a remarkable rise for someone who has largely toiled in obscurity since joining the governor's team in 2014. Mr. Cuomo has a long and deserved reputation for governing by brute force and fear, alienating countless people through his tactics of bullying and intimidation. Ms. Hochul, in contrast, has established deep reservoirs of political good will, spending much of her tenure on the road, highlighting the administration's agenda and engaging in extensive on-the-ground politicking."

Michigan. Househunting While Black, Ctd. Looks as if it was the cops who were racist, not the neighbors who called them. Alyssa Lukpat & Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: When a Black real estate agent showed a house in Wyoming, Michigan, to a Black man and his son, neighbors called the cops about a possible break-in. When the police arrived, one pointed a gun at the trio, told them to come out with their hands up. cuffed them & put them in squad cars. "The neighbor thought Mr. Brown's car, a black Hyundai Genesis, looked like a black Mercedes-Benz sedan that had been parked in the driveway at the time of the previous arrest, according to a recording of the call provided by the police.... Kyle Gummere, the property's listing agent working for the owners of the house, said he did not believe the neighbor called the police based on the race of those who were inside the house. That assessment, he said, is based on a conversation he had with the owners of the house, who told Mr. Gummere that a neighbor had called the police only after seeing a black vehicle parked outside the house -- not after seeing Mr. Brown, Mr. Thorne and his son." Gunmere said the neighbors were elderly. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The realtor, Eric Brown, pooh-poohed the neighbor's claim they couldn't tell a Hyundai from a Mercedes. But I looked up photos of the Hyundai Genesis & a Mercedes coupe, and frankly, from a distance across a street, without being able to see the logo, I can't tell which is which, either. Their explanation is plausible. What is not understandable is why the cops held the house's viewers at gunpoint, cuffed them & detained them.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "Taliban fighters captured another northern provincial capital on Sunday afternoon, local officials said, marking the third city to fall to the insurgent group in a single day. The fighters had been contained at the gates of Taliqan, the capital of Takhar Province, since June. But as the Kunduz city center fell to the Taliban on Sunday, the insurgents moved into Taliqan, just a few miles away, pushing back government forces there in a bout of vicious fighting. By sunset, the Taliban had seized the police headquarters and the provincial governor's office, said an Afghan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times ran live updates of developments in Afghanistan Sunday, because the developments are so bad. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The muted American response [to the Taliban's advances] on Sunday showed in no uncertain terms that America's 20-year war in Afghanistan is over. The mismanaged and exhausted Afghan forces will have to retake the cities on their own, or leave them to the Taliban for good."

Japan. Ted Anthony of the AP: "The Tokyo Olympics, christened with '2020' but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for Japan and for the world." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Hannah Beech of the New York Times: "The United States has won the most medals at the Tokyo Olympics and will be the only country to take home more than 100. But on the last day of competition, the race for the most gold medals was a tight contest between the United States and China.... With only a few events left, the United States clinched the race on Sunday afternoon by reaching 39 golds. As the day began in Tokyo, China had 38 gold medals to 36 for the United States. But American teams then won gold medals in women's basketball and women's volleyball, and Jennifer Valente won the women's omnium in track cycling, putting the United States into the lead by one." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I guess that's great, but winning the most sports prizes is not my idea of an especially significant achievement. The one good part is that the U.S.'s narrow dominance of the games should (but won't, of course) shut up Donald Trump, who -- in another vivid display of anti-American sentiment -- a few days ago called our own women's soccer team "leftist maniacs" and said the team might have taken gold if the players weren't so "woke." (They won the bronze.)

~~~ Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden praised U.S. Olympians for navigating the difficulties of a coronavirus-tarnished games with 'moral courage' that made Americans' 'hearts swell' with pride. Biden, along with first lady Jill Biden, spoke with Team USA in a Zoom call Saturday evening from their home near Wilmington, Delaware. The couple extended an invitation to the athletes to visit the White House in the fall to celebrate their accomplishments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Commentariat -- August 8, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "Taliban fighters captured another northern provincial capital on Sunday afternoon, local officials said, marking the third city to fall to the insurgent group in a single day. The fighters had been contained at the gates of Taliqan, the capital of Takhar Province, since June. But as the Kunduz city center fell to the Taliban on Sunday, the insurgents moved into Taliqan, just a few miles away, pushing back government forces there in a bout of vicious fighting. By sunset, the Taliban had seized the police headquarters and the provincial governor's office, said an Afghan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times is running live updates of developments in Afghanistan, because the developments are so bad.

Ted Anthony of the AP: "The Tokyo Olympics, christened with '2020' but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for Japan and for the world." ~~~

~~~ Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden praised U.S. Olympians for navigating the difficulties of a coronavirus-tarnished games with 'moral courage' that made Americans' 'hearts swell' with pride. Biden, along with first lady Jill Biden, spoke with Team USA in a Zoom call Saturday evening from their home near Wilmington, Delaware. The couple extended an invitation to the athletes to visit the White House in the fall to celebrate their accomplishments."

Shayna Greene of Politico: "Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said Sunday that an ongoing congressional investigation of ... Donald Trump's last days in office has found him to have been deeply involved with the Justice Department in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.... Durbin said that [former acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen appeared voluntarily and was 'very open' during his seven hours of testimony. 'It really is important that we ask these questions, because what was going on in the Department of Justice was frightening, from a constitutional point of view,' Durbin said.... Asked if what he was describing was an attempted coup, Durbin told CNN host Dana Bash, 'Well, it was --they were going through the ordinary process.... It isn't as if the president was removing the attorney general and making pronouncements, which would happen in a coup, I suppose, by classic definition,' Durbin added. 'But it was leading up to that, that kind of process.'"

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Marianne Levine & Burgess Everett of Politico: "The Senate advanced the bipartisan infrastructure bill on Saturday afternoon, breaking a filibuster to end debate on the deal crafted by a group of 10 senators alongside President Joe Biden. The vote, which was 67-27, easily cleared the 60 votes needed to move forward. It marked another significant step toward clinching a bipartisan agreement between Biden and Congress. Two Republicans who had previously voted against the bipartisan package -- Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Deb Fischer of Nebraska -- voted to advance the legislation. The timing of the final vote remains unclear.... Disagreements over amendments persisted into the weekend session. And Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) said Saturday he is 'not inclined to expedite this process whatsoever.' He added that he's not holding up amendments but 'there's a normal process, there's no purpose, in my view, to allow an acceleration of that.' Senators, meanwhile, are pitching more than a dozen amendments for roll call votes...." ~~~

     ~~~ Tiptoeing Away from Der Furor. Luke Broadwater & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: The bill "is one of the most significant steps to date by elected Republicans to defy Mr. Trump, not only by the moderates who have routinely broken with him, but by a wider group that may signal his waning influence on Capitol Hill.... Trump tried mightily to kill the ... bill, hurling the kind of insult-laden statements and threats of primary challenges that for years sent a chill down Republican spines.... The vast majority of Republicans are opposed to the legislation. House Republicans are as tightly bound to Mr. Trump as ever...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is front-page NYT analysis, but I am going with the Wisdom of Ornstein, a theory of Mitch that brooks no measure of baby steps toward decency in governance.

Jordan Williams of the Hill: "The Senate has confirmed President Biden's pick for Navy secretary, Carlos Del Toro, making him the second Hispanic secretary in the Navy's history and filling the final service secretary position. Del Toro was confirmed by voice vote on Saturday evening, shortly before senators wrapped up their work for the day. A Cuban-born Naval Academy graduate, Del Toro has commanded the USS Bulkeley destroyer and deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm."

** Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Jeffrey A. Rosen, who was acting attorney general during the Trump administration, has told the Justice Department watchdog and congressional investigators that one of his deputies tried to help ... Donald J. Trump subvert the results of the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the interviews. Mr. Rosen had a two-hour meeting on Friday with the Justice Department's office of the inspector general and provided closed-door testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Saturday.... Mr. Rosen told investigators from the inspector general's office about five encounters with [acting deputy AG. Jeffrey] Clark, including one in late December during which his deputy admitted to meeting with Mr. Trump and pledged that he would not do so again, according to a person familiar with the interview. Mr. Rosen also described subsequent exchanges with Mr. Clark, who continued to press colleagues to make statements about the election that they found to be untrue.... He also discovered that Mr. Clark had been engaging in unauthorized conversations with Mr. Trump about ways to have the Justice Department publicly cast doubt on President Biden's victory...." ~~~

~~~ Jordan Williams of the Hill: Jeffrey "Rosen was interviewed by staff members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, lawmakers on the panel confirmed. The committee is probing efforts by Trump allies to interfere in the 2020 election results.... Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the committee, told reporter..., 'I was struck by how close the country came to total catastrophe,' Blumenthal said, adding there were some 'highly significant leads' that the panel should pursue."

Luke Barr of ABC News (August 6): "The Department of Homeland Security said Friday they have observed 'an increasing but modest level of activity online' by people who are calling for violence in response to baseless claims of 2020 election fraud and related to the conspiracy theory that ... Donald Trump will be reinstated. 'Some conspiracy theories associated with reinstating former President Trump have included calls for violence if desired outcomes are not realized,' according to a DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis bulletin obtained by ABC News.... 'Over the last few days what has occurred is there's been much more public visibility, meaning the discussions and these theories have migrated away from being contained within the conspiracy and extremist online communities, to where they're being the topic of discussion on web forums, or more public web forums, and even within the sort of media ecosystem,' a senior DHS official explained."

They Were Shocked, Shocked to Find There Was Rioting Going on There. Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "After an investigation concluded that two Seattle police officers stood by the U.S. Capitol as rioters invaded the building on Jan. 6, the two lost their jobs Friday. The officers, Alexander Everett and Caitlin Everett, were two of six officers from the department under investigation after attending the pro-Trump rally that proceeded to the deadly storming of the Capitol building. The married couple joins a growing number of off-duty police officers facing repercussions for attending the riot.... The Everetts, previously unnamed by the department..., told investigators that they had not seen any signs of disturbance and didn't realize that they were standing in a restricted area by the Capitol until they later read a news article about the riot. But [Seattle's Office of Police Accountability B]oard said those claims were 'simply not credible' given signs on gates staffed by uniformed officers."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Our Roving Correspondent Reports from Abroad. Benjamin Novak & Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "In a week in which he broadcast nightly from Budapest, the American talk show host Tucker Carlson posed for pictures with and interviewed Hungary's authoritarian leader, Viktor Orban, and took a helicopter to inspect a Hungarian border fence designed to keep out migrants. The visit by Mr. Carlson, the top-rated host on the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News, bolsters Mr. Orban's mission to establish Budapest as an ideological center for what he sees as an international conservative movement.... [Carlson's] friendly interview with Mr. Orban has prompted a raft of think pieces in the English-speaking media that, while mostly critical of Mr. Carlson, have given the Hungarian leader a new round of international coverage.... Mr. Carlson's visit comes at as the populist Mr. Orban has become increasingly isolated and is in a precarious position, at home and abroad, over his government's backsliding on democracy and his administration's poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic." MB: Gee, TuKKKer, it almost seems as if you're a tool.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here: "The authorities in Austin, Texas, warned the public on Saturday that the city's Covid-19 situation had grown desperate, as a surge in cases driven by the Delta variant swamped hospitals while city officials were prevented from issuing mask mandates or vaccinations by order of the state's governor, Greg Abbott."

Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "A conservative Florida radio host [-- Dick Farrel --] who was vocally critical of the COVID-19 vaccine urged his friends to get the shot after he contracted the virus himself, WPTV reported.... At least one of his COVID-19-related posts was flagged by Facebook for spreading false information, and in another post, he called ... Anthony Fauci 'a power tripping lying freak.' However..., Amy Leigh Hair, a friend of Farrel's, wrote on Facebook that he had succumbed to COVID-19 and had urged her to get the shot after he got sick." MB: And, presumably, before he died of Covid-19, which he did. I'm sorry Farrel got sick and died, and I'm sorry anyone thought it was a good idea to give this guy a mic.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Aaron Williams, et al., of the Washington Post: "As the Dixie Fire continues to ravage hundreds of thousands of acres in Northern California, a federal judge has now ordered Pacific Gas & Electric to explain the utility company's role in starting what has become the largest wildfire burning in the United States. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but U.S. District Judge William Alsup asked PG&E in an order issued late Friday to give information regarding the tree that fell on the utility company's power line at the origin of the Dixie Fire. PG&E has said its equipment may have been responsible for starting both the Dixie Fire and the much smaller Fly Fire, which later merged with the Dixie Fire. Alsup -- who oversees PG&E's criminal probation for felony convictions stemming from the deadly 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion -- also required that PG&E give details about the equipment and vegetation in the area where the fires started."

New York. Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "On 12 August, 2019 Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, held a glitzy bill ceremony in his executive mansion in Albany to mark the signing into law of new legislation designed to beef up sexual harassment protections for women in the workplace.... The next day, 13 August, the governor was [sexually harassing] a state police officer who he had handpicked to be part of his security detail even though she lacked the requisite experience.... Since the New York attorney general, Letitia James, released her 168-page report on Tuesday with its central finding that Cuomo violated federal and state sexual harassment laws..., much of Cuomo's self-defense falls squarely into the standard playbook of powerful men accused of sexual misconduct when their back is against the wall. He has responded to the accounts of his 11 accusers with a potpourri of outright denial, appeals to failing memory, suggestions that the women had 'misunderstood' his actions, and darker insinuations that they and the investigators were motivated by political or other animosity towards him."

Texas. Acacia Coronado & Paul Weber of the AP: "Texas Democrats still refused to return to the state Capitol on Saturday as Gov. Greg Abbott began a third attempt at passing new election laws, prolonging a monthslong standoff that ramped up in July when dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left the state and hunkered down in Washington, D.C. 'A quorum is not present,' said Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan, who then adjourned the chamber until Monday.... But there were also signs the stalemate may be thawing. Two of the Democrats who decamped last month returned to Austin Saturday, and one of them said enough of his colleagues may also begin trickling back to secure a quorum next week. And, notably, Republicans did not invoke a procedural move that would give Phelan the authority to sign arrest warrants for missing lawmakers, as they did when the Democrats left town." ~~~

~~~ James Barragán of the Texas Tribune: "Twenty-two Texas House Democrats sued some of the state's top Republican leaders in federal court in Austin late Friday, alleging that GOP officials' efforts to bring them home for a special legislative session infringed on their constitutional rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress of grievances. The lawsuit was filed on the final day of the first special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott -- and on the eve of a second specially called legislative session -- and names as defendants Abbott, House Speaker Dade Phelan and State Rep. James White."

Way Beyond

The New York Times' live updates of the Olympics games Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Saturday are here.

The Commentariat -- August 7, 2021

Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Biden on Friday gave a sober message on a strong July jobs report, saying the nation needs to get more people vaccinated to keep the economy growing strongly. 'My message today is not one of celebration. It's one to remind us we got a lot of hard work left to be done both to beat the delta variant and to continue our advance of economic recovery,' Biden said in remarks from the White House. 'This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated, so we have to get more people vaccinated.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ President Biden, in bid to be impeached, irresponsibly wears tan suit to deliver "sober message":

     ~~~ Update. Toljaso. Marisa Schultz of Fox "News": "An Ohio congressman on Friday asked his GOP House colleagues to consider filing articles of impeachment against President Biden for an 'unconstitutional' order to extend the eviction moratorium and for his 'dereliction' of duty in securing the southern border. Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, sent a letter to his fellow Republicans urging them to seek impeachment because Biden 'continues to disregard his constitutional duties and boundaries,' he said." The supposed issues Gibbs raises are just covers for the real outrage: the tan suit.

Neil Irwin of the New York Times: "America is getting back to work. That's the simplest, clearest analysis of the labor market that emerges from nearly every line of the July employment numbers released Friday morning. It is a welcome sign that, as of the middle of last month, the economy is healing rapidly -- and that the previous couple of months reflected healthier results than previously estimated. There are caveats worth mentioning: The surveys on which this data are based were taken before people were worrying very much about the Delta variant of the coronavirus; the share of Americans participating in the work force hasn't really budged; and we still haven't achieved the kind of one-million-plus monthly job gains that seemed plausible back in the spring." Related stories linked under today's Ledes. (Also linked yesterday.)

9/11 Familes Play Hardball. Courtney Kube of NBC News: "Nearly 1,800 Americans directly affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are opposing President Joe Biden's participation in any memorial events this year unless he upholds his pledge to declassify U.S. government evidence that they believe may show a link between Saudi Arabian leaders and the attacks. The victims' family members, first responders and survivors will release a statement Friday calling on Biden to skip 20th-anniversary events in New York and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon unless he releases the documents, which they believe implicate Saudi officials in supporting the acts of terrorism. The group says that as a candidate Biden pledged to be more transparent and release as much information as possible but that his administration has since then ignored their letters and requests.... 'Through multiple administrations, the Department of Justice and the FBI have actively sought to keep this information secret and prevent the American people from learning the full truth about the 9/11 attacks,' the participants wrote." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Unless DOJ has this info sitting ready to go, I don't see how they could get it out in a month. But the department should figure out a way.

My Favorite Tycoon.Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Postal Service will pay $120 million over the next five years to a major logistics contractor that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy previously helped lead and with which his family maintains financial ties, according to DeJoy's financial disclosure statements. The new contract will deepen the Postal Service's relationship with XPO Logistics, where DeJoy served as supply chain chief executive from 2014 to 2015 after the company purchased New Breed Logistics, the trucking firm he owned for more than 30 years. Since he became postmaster general, DeJoy, DeJoy-controlled companies and his family foundation have divested between $65.4 million and $155.3 million worth of XPO shares.... But DeJoy's family businesses continue to lease four North Carolina office buildings to XPO.... The previously unreported agreement will see XPO take over operations at two crucial sorting and distribution facilities in Atlanta and Washington, D.C." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Brian Naylor of NPR: "Two of the newly confirmed members of the U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors spoke out Friday against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's plan to slow delivery of first-class mail. But the board took no steps to stop or even modify the 10-year plan despite the concerns expressed by the board members and regulators. Ronald Stroman, one of three new governors named by President Biden, said ... that the changes 'disproportionally impact our seniors, middle- and low-income Americans, [and] small businesses, who are our most loyal customers and most dependent on us.'"

Lisa Mascaro of the AP:"Edging toward a vote, senators are convening for a rare weekend session on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which could wrap up swiftly with passage of the $1 trillion package or drag out for days by opponents trying to slow President Joe Biden's big priority. The president nudged senators along from the White House, praising their work so far as a potentially 'historic investment' -- on par with the building of the transcontinental railroad or interstate highway system -- that will bring jobs and modernization to millions of Americans. Senators appear on track to approve the bill, despite days of fits and starts." ~~~

~~~ But It's Just a Superfluous, Slow-Moving Show. Alex Pareene, in a New York Times op-ed: "... having to spend so much time tortuously wringing support from the minority party to spend money on things people need and want is not actually a sign of a healthy system of government.... The Senate (with the White House's support) wasted months cajoling and rehabilitating a handful of key Republicans only to pass a smaller version of something Democrats could theoretically have passed entirely on their own.... The time spent finding a way to get 60 votes for the infrastructure bill was time not spent hashing out versions of an infrastructure bill, and the PRO Act, and the For the People Act, that could win 51 votes.... Moving the bill forward only looks like a victory if one accepts the sclerosis and dysfunction of the Senate as a natural obstacle to be overcome with cunning and patience, not a self-imposed limitation on effective and responsive governance.... From a policy perspective, splitting the proposal in two makes little sense." ~~~

~~~ Norm Ornstein in a New York Times op-ed: No, Mitch Machiavelli did not vote for the "bipartisan infrastructure" bill because he suddenly got "reasonable." His support for the bill is all about winning back the Senate in 2022 by making it appear Republicans look reasonable.

Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... the Democrats-only part of the public investment [infrastructure] program probably will include some genuine sources of new revenue, if only to satisfy moderates still unduly worried about debt. But when it comes to finding these 'pay-fors,' the G.O.P.'s refusal to raise taxes or even try to collect taxes owed under current law may have done Democrats a favor. Why? Because Democrats can now pay for a lot of what they want with extremely popular policies. Polls consistently show strong support for raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. I haven't seen polling on the idea of getting wealthy tax cheats to pay what they owe, but I think we can safely assume that this would be even more popular. So Republicans have offered Democrats a golden opportunity to show themselves both fiscally responsible and on the side of hard-working Americans as opposed to cheating elites." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jamie Gangel & Rachel Janfaza of CNN: "Former Rep. Denver Riggleman is joining the staff of the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, the third Republican that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has added to the panel that GOP leadership has attacked as a partisan endeavor. Riggleman -- a former Virginia congressman and Air Force intelligence officer who has been an outspoken critic of ... Donald Trump -- will be a senior technical adviser for the committee, according to two sources familiar with the selection."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A New Jersey gym owner and a Washington state man on Friday became the first people to plead guilty to assaulting police in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, facing what they acknowledged in plea deals could be roughly three to five years in prison under sentencing guidelines. The agreements by Scott K. Fairlamb, 44, of Sussex, N.J., and Devlyn D. Thompson, 28, of Seattle, set potential benchmarks for what at least 165 defendants charged with assaulting or impeding officers could expect if they cooperate. Fairlamb, a former mixed martial arts competitor, admitted to shoving and punching a D.C. police officer, identified in plea papers by the initials Z.B.... Thompson admitted to using a baton to strike at an officer deploying pepper spray during what prosecutors called the most violent confrontation between police and rioters at the Capitol, inside the archway and tunnel of the West Terrace's ceremonial entrance."

Chinese Thermometers! Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "Jeffrey Clark, a Donald Trump-appointed environment law chief at the Justice Department at the center of the former President's efforts to overturn the election, received a high-level intelligence briefing around New Year's 2021 that did little to stop his efforts to prove foreign interference had cost Trump reelection.... A stark portrayal of Clark is emerging from former Trump-appointed officials who were alarmed by his backchannel efforts to the White House and to Trump allies, and who now are now providing testimony to congressional committees. Richard Donoghue, acting deputy attorney general beginning in late December, provided a closed-door interview to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday.... By late December, as Trump and his allies pushed conspiracies about alleged irregularities that he claimed stole the election from him, Clark told senior Justice officials that he knew of sensitive information that indicated Chinese intelligence used special kinds of thermometers to change results in machines tallying votes, people briefed on the matter said. The Justice Department by then had made clear it found no evidence of vote-changing in the election."

Mike Lindell absolutely, positively proves Donald Trump won the 2020 election CNN report Drew Griffin confronts MyPillow Guy about his ridiculous claims of 2020 election fraud. It's embarrassing just to watch that Guy:

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Mike Lindell "is so far into his bet and has earned so much celebrity by making it that he keeps pressing forward, using his money to convince himself that he is right and to buy attention from people who tell him the same thing.... As the Atlantic's Anne Applebaum put it after interviewing him last month, Lindell remains ;utterly impervious to any argument of any kind.'... The acute risk of claiming that the election was stolen is that people might act in dangerous ways in response to that belief. The obvious example is what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6.... The long-term danger is that Lindell is contributing to a sense that election results aren't reliable, which is also false.... The American experiment hinges on trust in elections to a very real extent. And Lindell is actively trying to undermine that trust, pretty clearly because he actually incorrectly believes that trust isn't warranted.... It's all pathetic, in the classic, pitiful sense of the term." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Lindell Corollary to Mitt Romney's "Corporations are people, my friend," is "Money Is Truth." Assuming that Bump is right and Lindell really believes this fantasy, Lindell thinks his fraudulent-election theory must be true because he "spent millions" on meaningless printouts of "data packets" or something. To Lindell, the proof is in the price of the "evidence." BTW, PD Pepe looked into Mike's "C.V." or whatever you want to call it, & she reports on it at the end of yesterday's Comments thread.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

AP: "The U.S. is now averaging 100,000 new COVID-19 infections a day, returning to a milestone last seen during the winter surge in yet another bleak reminder of how quickly the delta variant has spread through the country. The U.S. was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June. Now the number is 107,143."

Erica Green of the New York Times: "The Education Department announced Friday that it would continue a moratorium on federal student loan payments through Jan. 31, extending emergency relief for millions of borrowers that had been set to expire next month. The department said that this would be the 'final extension' of the pause, which the Trump administration instituted in March 2020 at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, and that the additional time would allow the agency to transition borrowers back into repayment and reduce the risk of default and delinquency. More than 40 million borrowers have federally held loans, and during the moratorium, they have been interest-free and not subject to repayment or penalties for nonpayment."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Laurie McGinley & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Federal health officials are racing to ensure that millions of Americans with weakened immune systems can get additional shots of coronavirus vaccines to protect them against the highly contagious delta variant. The actions could mean the extra shots would be authorized in days or weeks, according to federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not been announced. (Also linked yesterday.)

Arkansas. Andrew DeMillo of the AP: "An Arkansas judge on Friday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its ban on mask mandates after lawmakers left the prohibition in place despite a rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox issued a preliminary injunction against the law that Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed in April banning mask requirements by governmental entities. The ban was being challenged by two lawsuits, including one from an east Arkansas school district where more than 900 staff and students are quarantining because of a coronavirus outbreak. Fox ruled the law violates Arkansas' constitution, saying it discriminates between public and private school students. He said it also infringes on the governor's emergency powers, as well as the authority of county officials and the state Supreme Court.... Fox issued the ruling hours after lawmakers adjourned a special session that Hutchinson had called to consider rolling back the ban for some schools."

Florida. Dean Obeidallah, in an MSNBC opinion piece: "There should be a special place in hell -- or potentially in prison -- for politicians who put their political goals ahead of the health and safety of our children. That is exactly what Gov. Ron DeSantis is doing in Florida with the executive order he signed last Friday barring school districts from mandating that students and school employees wear masks during the spike in Covid cases.... DeSantis is the future of the GOP."

Florida, Texas, Etc. Lying, Craven Scapegoaters. Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "Faced with rapidly rising cases in their states and criticized by President Biden for their opposition to mask mandates, the governors of Florida and Texas have pointed to the administration's border policies as a primary cause of the new cases. That sentiment has also echoed on social media, among members of Congress and among the unvaccinated.... Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said of Mr. Biden on Wednesday, 'Whatever variants are across the world, they're coming through that southern border.'... But public health experts said there was no evidence that migrants were driving the surge of coronavirus.... There is not evidence that any of four variants of concern tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially entered through the southern border." ~~~

     ~~~ The Only Real Covid Is Mexican Covid. Charlie Sykes of the conservative Bulwark, in Politico Magazine: "Even as many Republicans rail against mask mandates and spread skepticism about vaccines, GOP leaders have settled on one place where they take the spread of Covid very seriously -- the border. The pivot occurred quickly. This week, one Republican leader after another rushed to blame the spread of the virus, not on the unvaccinated but on immigrants.... With remarkable unanimity -- and a stunning lack of actual evidence -- conservative media has seized on the specter of disease-infested immigrants as the real danger to public health." MB: Kinda reminds me of the 1918 "Spanish flu" pandemic -- that didn't originate in Spain (or any Spanish-speaking country) but (perhaps) in Kansas.

South Dakota to Hold Second Annual Super-Spreader Bash. Erin Shumaker of ABC News: "South Dakota's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which begins Friday and runs through Aug. 15, is expected to draw upwards of 700,000 attendees. Last year's rally, which took place during the height of the United States' summer surge, had more than 400,000 estimated attendees, many of whom didn't wear masks as they patronized bars, restaurants and concerts.... Republican Gov. Kristi Noem supports the rally, a major economic driver in the state. 'There's a risk associated with everything that we do in life,' Noem wrote on Twitter Wednesday." MB: Yup. There's a risk with jumping out of a plane without of a chute, too. So, hey, why not? (Also linked yesterday.)

Anne Innocenzio of the AP: "Starting Monday, Amazon will be requiring all of its 900,000 U.S. warehouse workers to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. The move follows steps by a slew of other retailers, including Walmart and Target, to mandate masks for their workers. In many of those cases the mandates apply to workers in locations of substantial COVID-19 transmission. Amazon said Friday that its call for a nationwide mask mandate for its warehouse workers was in response to the spread of COVID-19 variants in the U.S., and guidance from public health authorities and its own medical experts. Amazon has been requiring only warehouse workers not vaccinated against COVID-19 wear masks."

Leslie Josephs of CNBC: "United Airlines will require its 67,000 U.S. employees to get vaccinated against Covid by no later than Oct. 25 or risk termination, a first for major U.S. carriers that will likely ramp up pressure on rivals. Airlines including United have so far resisted vaccine mandates for all workers, instead offering incentives like extra pay or time off to get inoculated. Delta Air Lines in May started requiring newly hired employees to show proof of vaccination. United followed suit in June." (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Mary Jo Pitzi of the Arizona Republic: "State Sen. Otoniel 'Tony' Navarrete [D] is facing seven felony counts involving allegations of sexual conduct with two teenagers, which would add up to a minimum of 49 years in prison if he were convicted. Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Steve McCarthy set a $50,000 bond and placed numerous restrictions on Navarrete, D-Phoenix, should he be released from jail. The lawmaker made his initial court appearance Friday afternoon. Before the afternoon was over, Navarrete's 48 Democratic colleagues in both the House and Senate called on him to resign, and other elected officials joined the chorus asking him to step down.... Police [had] interviewed the alleged victims and then had one of them call Navarette.... In the recorded call, monitored by police, Navarrete, 35, acknowledged touching the victim's penis and performing oral sex on the youth multiple times over several years...." Firewalled.

New York. Jonah Bromwich & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "On the day news broke that a woman who has accused Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of groping her breast had filed a formal criminal complaint against him, his lawyers responded with their most detailed defense of the governor yet and sought to cast doubt on key parts of the woman's story. In a news conference streamed online, the governor's personal lawyer, Rita Glavin, suggested that the woman, an executive assistant who has not been named, was not alone with Mr. Cuomo at the Executive Mansion on the day in question, was sent there for different reasons than she has said and had expressed no qualms about the day in emails to colleagues.... Ms. Glavin and lawyers for the executive chamber also used the news conference to question the fairness of a report released this week by the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, that accused the governor of sexually harassing the woman and 10 others, and questioned the impartiality of the investigators who compiled it."

A Guide to Bullies. Chapter 4: Sexual Abuse
     1. Grope the Mark.
     2. Gaslight: deny the Mark's report.
     3. Smear and/or insult the Mark.

Pennsylvania Senate Primary Races. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: The open Senate seat in Pennsylvania "is the only open seat now in Republican hands in a state that Mr. Biden carried, and Democrats see it as their best opportunity to expand their hairbreadth control of the Senate.... On Friday..., [Rep. Conor] Lamb [D] announced his long-expected entry into Pennsylvania&'s 2022 Senate race.... The question is whether he is liberal enough to win the Democratic primary.... The early favorite of progressives and presumed front-runner for the Democratic nomination is Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, something of a folk hero to the national left.... Mr. Fetterman's challenge is [that] ... he could win the May primary but be seen as too liberal for Pennsylvania's general-election voters.... [Other candidates include] Val Arkoosh, a county official in the electorally key Philadelphia suburbs and the only woman in the race, and Malcolm Kenyatta, a telegenic young state lawmaker from North Philadelphia.... [On the Republican side,] almost everyone has elbowed into the 'Super-MAGA-Trumpy' lane." A Politico story is here.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Adam Nossiter, et al., of the New York Times: "The Taliban captured a regional hub city in western Afghanistan on Friday, officials said, the first provincial capital to fall to the insurgency since the Biden administration announced the full withdrawal of U.S. troops. The successful takeover marks a significant milestone in the insurgents' relentless march to increase their stranglehold on the Afghan government and retake power in the country. The Taliban have besieged a host of such cities for weeks, and the fall of Zaranj, the provincial capital of Nimruz Province on the Afghanistan-Iran border, is the Taliban's first breakthrough."

Russia. Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "A Russian court sentenced on Friday an American businessman who is one of the country's most prominent foreign investors to a suspended sentence of five-and-a-half years in a penal colony for a conviction on embezzlement charges.... The suspended sentence for the businessman, Michael Calvey, the founder of Baring Vostok, a private equity firm with $3.7 billion under management, means he will not spend time in Russia's notoriously harsh penal colony system, the successor to the gulag camps, unless he violates parole conditions. But the threat of prison that still hangs over Mr. Calvey, and his six co-defendants in the case, was expected nonetheless to put a damper on foreign interest in doing business in Russia, where foreign direct investment is already complicated by weak property rights and Western sanctions."

Japan. Tim Reynolds of the AP: After a rocky start, the U.S. men's basketball team won gold at the Olympics in an 87-82 win over France.

News Lede

Politico (August 6): "The Dixie Fire burning in two Northern California counties is now the largest single wildfire in recorded state history, exploding in size overnight as drought-stricken lands continue to fuel the flames."