Independence Day 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
** Jimmy & Rosalynn Smith Carter reflect on
Zach Montague of the New York Times: "On the day that President Biden had long anticipated as a milestone in the fight against the coronavirus, the White House was set to host a celebration to both commemorate the July 4 holiday and herald the administration's progress toward overcoming the pandemic. In bringing together some 1,000 people for the largest planned event of Mr. Biden's presidency, the White House has been forced to walk a fine line, striving to signal progress toward restoring normalcy while still acknowledging the dangers of a pandemic that continues to claim hundreds of lives a day."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "President Biden had hoped to turn the Fourth of July into a celebration not just of the nation's independence, but of reaching his administration's ambitious goal to have 70 percent of adults at least partly inoculated against the coronavirus before the holiday. He didn't quite make it. As of Friday, only about 67 percent of Americans 18 and older had gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, according to a New York Times tracker. Almost 60 percent of all adults were fully vaccinated, and the highly contagious Delta variant was creating hot spots, particularly in states with low vaccination rates, like Missouri."
Hate-Mongers on Parade in the Cradle of Democracy. NBC 10 Philadelphia: "A group of white supremacists marched in front of Philadelphia City Hall Saturday night, drawing jeers from onlookers, as well as small scuffles. Approximately 200 members of the group Patriot Front wore white face coverings, khakis, blue shirts and tan hats and waved flags with their group insignias. They were seen approaching from Market Street before walking in front of City Hall around 10:45 p.m. Some could be seen holding shields as watchers-on shouted at them, demanding they leave Philadelphia."
Kevin Draper of the New York Times: "In comments still rippling through [ESPN], the reporter Rachel Nichols, who is white, said Maria Taylor, who is Black, earned the job to host 2020 N.B.A. finals coverage because ESPN was 'feeling pressure' on diversity." Draper discusses the whole hoo-hah. MB: Since I don't follow ESPN, I have no idea whether or not Taylor got her job because she's a woman, but -- sports coverage being what it is -- there's a good chance she did. In any event, even if Taylor is right about "diversity pressure" (and here again, I have no idea), this is not something a person says out loud, even when she's pissed off, which apparently she was.
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Josh Boak of the AP: "President Joe Biden stayed mum on policy during a Saturday trip to Michigan, focusing instead on cherries -- and cherry pie and cherry ice cream -- and voters who were mask-free as coronavirus restrictions have eased. It had all the hallmarks of a campaign stop that he couldn't make last year. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer greeted Biden when he arrived midday in Traverse City, which is hosting the National Cherry Festival, an event that attracted Presidents Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford in the past. They skipped the festival, however, in favor of a cherry farm in nearby Antrim County, where Biden pitched his immigration plans when chatting with two couples from Guatemala who were picking fruit. He then greeted a long line of enthusiastic supporters stretched out behind a rope."
Guardian: "Joe Biden said on Saturday he had directed US intelligence agencies to investigate a sophisticated ransomware attack that hit hundreds of American businesses as the Fourth of July holiday weekend began and aroused suspicions of Russian gang involvement. Huntress, a security company, said on Friday it believed the Russia-linked REvil ransomware gang was to blame. Last month, the FBI blamed the same group for paralyzing the meat packer JBS. Active since April 2019, REvil develops network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lion's share of ransoms."
Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Nearly six months after the U.S. Capitol riot, the Justice Department has begun arresting a new category of alleged criminals -- those who attacked reporters or damaged their equipment as journalists documented the violence perpetrated by supporters of ... Donald Trump. The first such charge came last week, when 43-year-old Shane Jason Woods of Illinois was charged with engaging in violence on the Capitol grounds Jan. 6, as well as assaulting a law enforcement officer. Authorities say Woods was caught on video knocking down a cameraman.... On Thursday, FBI agents arrested a Covington, Va., man for allegedly destroying journalists' equipment. Joshua Dillon Haynes was charged with smashing their gear outside the Capitol and bragging about it in a text to a friend. Haynes was the fifth person arrested in connection with attacks on the media in a little more than a week."
"Consciousness of Guilt." Jacques Billeaud of the AP: "An Associated Press review of court records has found that at least 49 defendants are accused of trying to erase incriminating photos, videos and texts from phones or social media accounts documenting their conduct as a pro-Donald Trump mob stormed Congress and briefly interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. Experts say the efforts to scrub the social media accounts reveal a desperate willingness to manipulate evidence once these people realized they were in hot water. And, they say, it can serve as powerful proof of people's consciousness of guilt and can make it harder to negotiate plea deals and seek leniency at sentencing."
Ignorance of the Law Is His Defense. Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump lashed out at Manhattan prosecutors Saturday night for indicting his organization and its chief financial officer for tax fraud, calling it 'prosecutorial misconduct' in his most extensive comments on the charges since they were unsealed Thursday. As Trump criticized the investigation, he appeared to acknowledge the tax schemes while questioning whether the alleged violations were in fact crimes.... 'You didn't pay tax on the car or a company apartment. You used an apartment because you need an apartment because you have to travel too far where your house is. You didn't pay tax. Or education for your grandchildren. I don't even know. Do you have to? Does anybody know the answer to that stuff?'... he said at a rally in Sarasota, Fla."
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times:"In his new book, 'First Friends,' Gary Ginsberg chronicles the unelected yet undeniably powerful people who shape presidencies."
Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washington Post: "Phylicia Rashad, the dean of Howard University's College of Fine Arts, issued an apology Friday after receiving backlash and calls to resign from Howard alumni and other prominent voices over her tweet in support of former co-star Bill Cosby. 'This week, I tweeted a statement that caused so much hurt in so many people -- both broadly and inside the Howard community,' Rashad wrote. 'I offer my most sincere apology.' Cosby, convicted of drugging and assaulting a woman, was released from prison Wednesday after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated his sexual assault conviction. After that ruling, Rashad ... wrote in a now-deleted tweet: 'FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!' Rashad received immediate criticism as many pointed to her responsibility as a college dean to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable." MB: Sorry, Phylicia, this is not a bell you can unring. There may or may not have been a technical miscarriage of justice, but Cosby would be in jail still if he had told the truth about drugging & raping multiple women. No one is dumb enough to believe that all these women lied about their experiences.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
... And Inequality for All. Fenit Nirappil, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden has pointed to July 4 as the day when Americans can mark independence from the coronavirus. But the United States has not fully snuffed out the threat from the virus -- particularly in places where vaccination rates are low -- as the delta variant threatens to undo the nation's progress against it. More than 2,000 counties representing over half of the American population have not met Biden's goal of 70 percent of adults receiving at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine by Independence Day, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Those counties are seeing steeper increases in new cases and double the rate of tests coming back positive compared with counties who have met the president's goal. Most ominously, the highly transmissible delta variant is on the rise and represents a quarter of confirmed cases, posing a greater risk to pockets of unvaccinated communities than earlier strains of the virus."
Caroline Anders of the Washington Post: "Nearly 15 million people -- or more than one in 10 of those eligible in the United States -- have missed their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC data shows that as of June 16, nearly 11 percent of people who had sufficient time to get the second dose missed their ideal window. The number has increased from 8 percent earlier in the year, but CDC spokesperson Kate Fowlie said the rise was 'not unexpected.'" MB: Another article that is not, but should be, free to nonsubscribers, as it lists some of the reasons people erroneously think they don't need the second shot.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.
On Independence Day, Paul Krugman of the New York Times turns to a Founding Father: "... will the post-Covid economy look the same as the pre-Covid economy? Probably not -- for reasons originally laid out by none other than Alexander Hamilton in 1791. The founding father's 'Report on the subject of manufactures' is widely regarded as the first important statement of what came to be known as the 'infant industry' doctrine.... Hamilton argued that U.S. industry would be able to compete with British industry if domestic manufacturers were given the opportunity to gain experience.... So Hamilton called for, among other things, temporary tariffs to protect U.S. industry and give it time to become competitive.... The pandemic produced some extreme forms of de facto infant industry protection, forcing millions of Americans to work differently from the way they had before. And many, though not all, of these changes are likely to stick.... The obvious case, of course, is remote work.... Many others, perhaps millions, learned to do something different -- namely, not work at all.... And all of this is OK! The purpose of the economy isn't to maximize G.D.P.; it is to make our lives better." Emphasis added. MB: Now, that's Independence!
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Derek Hawkins & Kim Belware of the Washington Post: "Officials in Florida accelerated plans Saturday to knock down the unstable remains of the Champlain Towers South condominium as an encroaching tropical storm threatened to topple what is left of the building and imperil now-paused search-and-rescue work. The portion of the building left standing after the collapse over a week ago in Surfside could be demolished as early as Sunday, officials said, though they offered few details about the timeline or the demolition method. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) said at a news conference that search crews halted their work at 4 p.m. Saturday to prepare for demolition and will resume work as soon as it is safe." An AP story is here.
Way Beyond
Mexico. Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post: "A massive fire that broke out on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on Friday has been extinguished, but the incident is raising questions about the risks of undersea pipelines. Videos of a swirling, orange mass of flames surrounded by ocean waves went viral after a gas leak was reported near a platform used for offshore drilling by Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company. The scene was made even more surreal by the presence of firefighting boats that were dwarfed by the inferno, but eventually succeeded at putting it out after about five hours. [See July 3 News Ledes.] Angel Carrizales, who heads the Mexican agency charged with regulating pipeline safety, tweeted that the incident 'did not generate any spill.' That claim drew some skepticism, given that something other than water had to be present on the ocean's surface for it to ignite.... On social media, many argued that the eerie and alarming scene of a burning ocean clearly demonstrated the inherent problems of allowing oil companies to tap into fossil fuel reserves from the ocean floor. 'Shocking new example of how dirty and dangerous offshore drilling is,' the Center for Biological Diversity wrote on Twitter, calling for a moratorium on new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico."
News Ledes
Weather Channel: "Tropical Storm Elsa is soaking Jamaica and Cuba and is expected to track toward Florida, where impacts from heavy rain, gusty winds and storm surge are likely early this week." ~~~
~~~ Washington Post: "Cuba evacuated 180,000 people amid fears Sunday that Tropical Storm Elsa could cause heavy flooding after battering several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people. The Cuban government opened shelters and moved to protect sugarcane and cocoa crops ahead of the storm, which was offshore moving along Cuba's southern coast Sunday night. Most of those evacuated went to relatives' homes, while some people sheltered at government facilities. Hundreds living in mountainous areas took refuge in natural caves prepared for emergencies."
New York Times: "Tyson Foods is recalling nearly 8.5 million pounds of frozen chicken that may have been contaminated with listeria, the Agriculture Department said. The voluntary recall was issued after Agriculture Department investigators were notified last month about two people who had been sickened with listeriosis, the department said in a statement on Saturday. An investigation found evidence linking those cases to frozen chicken from Tyson Foods, the agency said. Investigators eventually identified three cases linked to the recalled products, including one death, the department said. Symptoms of listeriosis, an infection caused by the baterium Listeria monocytogenes, include fever, convulsions, muscle aches and gastrointestinal issues, according to the Agriculture Department."
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Reader Comments (7)
FLAG WAVING DAY:
We might want to contemplate on this July 4th that the U.S. was not founded as a nation of immigrants but of colonial settlers who willfully exterminated the territory's indigenous peoples, stole the land, defined them in ethnic terms, subjected them to inferior legal status, and confined them to arbitrarily assigned "tribal" territories, justifying all this in exactly the same ways as European powers did in their colonies.
Hey–-but why spoil this weekend with all that past reality, some may say. Ok–-I say, but after the fun and frolic wouldn't it be a good idea to include this founding in our history along with all the other historical facts that have been swept under the rug by those that refuse to come to terms with the truth. As someone once said, if studying history mainly makes you feel happy and proud, you probably aren't really studying history.
@PD Pepe: And let us do recall that "all MEN were created equal." Still, I look upon Independence Day as celebrating the beginnings of democratic ideals on this continent (although I suppose some AmerIndian tribes preceded the white guys' enlightenment), beginnings that those of us of a just and fair nature are always trying to perfect.
To me, the most important thing to acknowledge this particular Independence Day is that powerful & violent forces in this country are trying very hard to diminish what Independence Day should symbolize & inspire. It's hard to miss that when the highest court in the nation starts the holiday weekend by putting a cherry on top of the anti-independence pie.
@PD Pepe; Unfortunately, I have had to learn history on my own
by reading what I hope to be accurate accounts.
In high school our History and Civics and the like was taught by the coach.
Small, up north school system. Couldn't afford really good teachers
way back then.
I really liked the Spanish teacher and learning Spanish but
halfway through the 2nd year she had to quit to become an
unwed mother, a no-no back then. We finished out the year
with Latin.
It would be interesting to find out what kind of history is
being taught in high school nowadays.
Just a reminder that the constitution does not require the Speaker of the House to be a member. Matt Gaetz (T-Fl) has announced that following the 2022 elections he will nominate Donald Trump for the position.
If that isn't enough to spur a full out effort to retain the chamber, I can't imagine what will do it.
Another smart lady (channeling Marie?) on the 4th:
July 3, 2021
Heather Cox Richardson
Jul 4
"And on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
For all the fact that the congressmen got around the sticky problem of Black and Indigenous enslavement by defining "men" as "white men," and for all that it never crossed their minds that women might also have rights, the Declaration of Independence was an astonishingly radical document. In a world that had been dominated by a small class of rich men for so long that most people simply accepted that they should be forever tied to their status at birth, a group of upstart legislators clinging to the edge of a continent declared that no man was born better than any other. America was founded on the radical idea that all men are created equal.
What the founders declared self-evident was not so clear eighty-seven years later, when southern white men went to war to guarantee that Black Americans, Indigenous Americans, Chinese, Mexicans, and Irish would be permanently locked into a lower status than whites. In that era, equality had become a "proposition," rather than "self-evident." "Four score and seven years ago," Abraham Lincoln reminded Americans, "our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." In 1863, Lincoln explained, the Civil War was "testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."
It did, of course. The Confederate rebellion failed. The United States endured, and as people of different races, incomes, genders, and abilities began to demand that the nation honor its founding principles, Americans began to expand the idea that all men are created equal.
But just as in the 1850s, we are now, once again, facing a rebellion against the idea of equality, as a few wealthy men seek to reshape America into a nation in which certain people are better than others.
The men who adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, pledged their "Lives, [their] Fortunes and [their] sacred Honor" to defend the idea of human equality, however limited they were in executing it. Ever since then, Americans from all walks of life have sacrificed their own fortunes, honor, and even their lives for that principle. Lincoln reminded Civil War Americans of those sacrifices when he urged the people of his era to "take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Words to live by in 2021.
Happy Independence Day, everyone."
And I would add. words to live by on our every waking day.
@Ken Winkes: Your comment reminds me: In the July 2 Comments section we learned that a couple of things Donald Trump and President John Adams have in common is that they like to capitalize a lot of words and they both lost their second bid for the presidency (or in Trump's case, the presidency*). Here's another thing: neither believed in equality for all.
Here is part of a letter Abigail Adams wrote to her husband in March 1776, as the boys were thinking over independence: “I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
Well, John thought that was hilarious: “As to your extraordinary code of laws, I cannot but laugh. We have been told that our struggle has loosened the bands of government everywhere. But your letter was the first intimation that another tribe more numerous and powerful than all the rest were grown discontented. — This is rather too coarse a compliment but you are so saucy, I won’t blot it out. Depend upon it, we know better than to repeal our masculine systems.”
Happy 4th! I'm feeling great to share this day with those born in Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Norway, East Hartford, and Minnesota. We are all better when we share.