The Commentariat -- August 26, 2021

Marie: For the NINTH day, Reality Chex is not accepting comments, through no design or fault of my own. In desperation, I have come up with an interim plan to get around the problem, one that will mean only a little extra work for those of you who have something to say. Here are the easy instructions:

1. In the URL (address line), enter www.realitychex.com/display/Login and return. The login is case-sensitive, so that "L" in "Login" must be capitalized.

2. A log-in page will come up. Type squarespace in the Login box. Type nonsense in the password box. And return. That will get you page to the standard Reality Chex page. (Note: Don't use boldface type; I've put the stuff you have to use in boldface only to make it easier to see.)

3. Type your comment in the Comments box as usual. But at the end of the comment, sign it with your usual Reality Chex handle, because the name of the poster will say "See Above."

Special thanks to all of you who have gone to the trouble to comment under this somewhat cumbersome system.

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Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Ivana Kottasová, et al., of CNN: "Twelve US service members and dozens of Afghans have been killed in two bombing attacks outside Kabul's airport, according to the Pentagon and Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health.... An official with Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health told CNN on Thursday that more than 60 people were dead and 140 wounded. Fifteen US service members were injured in addition to the 12 dead, said Gen. Frank McKenzie, Commander of US Central Command." ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden is scheduled to address the country at 5 pm ET.

From the NYT live updates: "At least two blasts rattled the area outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Thursday, the Pentagon confirmed, just hours after Western governments had warned of a security threat there. While the numbers of injured or dead were still unconfirmed, reporters at a nearby emergency room said that at least 30 people had been brought to the site, and the Pentagon said there were a number of casualties.... 'We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties,' John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a post on Twitter. 'We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate.'"

Barbara Starr, et al., of CNN: "An explosion was reported outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, according to two US officials. One official said there are injuries among Afghans, but there is no information yet on any US casualties. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby confirmed there was an explosion outside of the airport. 'We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. An explosion was reported outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, according to two US officials. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can,' he said in a tweet.

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The Washington Post's live updates of developments in Afghanistan Thursday are here: "The U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned Americans late Wednesday to avoid traveling to Kabul airport because of unspecified security threats, and advised citizens at three airport gates to 'leave immediately.' Australia and Britain also issued comparable warnings that Afghanistan was facing 'high threat' of a terrorist attack. Although officials did not provide more details, the Biden administration has previously warned that Islamic State poses a threat to the evacuation mission. The warnings come as NATO allies, including Poland and Belgium, ended their evacuation flights ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline for American troops to depart."

Lara Jakes & Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "At least 1,500 American citizens remain in Afghanistan with just days left before the scheduled U.S. withdrawal from the country, but officials on Wednesday acknowledged the reality that tens of thousands of Afghan allies and others at high risk of Taliban reprisals would be left behind. The sound of gunfire, and clouds of tear gas and black smoke, filled the air around the international airport in Kabul, the capital, as thousands of Afghans massed at the gates on Wednesday, desperate to escape ahead of the American military's final departure on Aug. 31.... As military and government charter flights took off every 45 minutes as part of an airlift, Biden administration officials said they had evacuated about 82,300 people since Aug. 14, the day before Kabul fell to the Taliban. Around 4,500 of them were American citizens, with 500 more expected to depart soon."

Lauren Leatherby & Larry Buchanan of the New York Times: "At least 250,000 Afghans who may be eligible for expedited American visas remain in Afghanistan, far too many for American forces to rescue before their deadline to leave next week, new estimates suggest.... These estimates are based on reports on Afghan employment published annually by the Department of Defense and analyzed by the Association of Wartime Allies, a group that advocates for Afghans affiliated with the U.S., and researchers at American University. Other estimates vary widely....."

We Are Not Amused. Paul Kane & Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted two lawmakers who surreptitiously flew into Kabul without approval to examine conditions at the international airport where a massive airlift is underway to evacuate U.S. citizens, allies and vulnerable Afghans. '... there's a real concern about members being in the region,' Pelosi told reporters Wednesday at her weekly briefing. There was an 'opportunity cost' of protecting Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), she said. 'This is deadly serious. We do not want members to go.' The sentiment was echoed across the Biden administration Wednesday morning. 'The secretary [Lloyd Austin] would have appreciated the opportunity to have had a conversation before the visit took place,' said Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby during his briefing.... 'They certainly took time away from what we had been planning to do that day.'... Some of the harshest criticism came from one of the lawmakers' colleague on the House Armed Services Committee[.] 'Neither one of them should have their ass in Afghanistan right now. The Defense Department has enough to do without having to try to protect two members of Congress. Period,' said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the Armed Services panel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "In an interview, Mr. Moulton and Mr. Meijer defended their decision to travel into a dangerous and unpredictable situation and said they had walked away with important insights. They said the trip had changed their minds about Mr. Biden's Aug. 31 deadline for a full withdrawal, which they had previously urged the administration to extend. Given that there is little chance that all Americans and Afghan allies can be evacuated in the next two weeks, they said, a swift departure is the only way for the United States to ensure that the Taliban will cooperate in eventually getting those left behind to safety."

** Sí, Se Puede. Ben Smith of the New York Times: "A group of Afghans who worked for The New York Times, along with their families, touched down safely early Wednesday ... at Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City. The arrival of the 24 families was the latest stop in a harrowing escape from Kabul. And Mexico's role in the rescue of journalists from The Times and, if all goes as planned, The Wall Street Journal offers a disorienting glimpse of the state of the American government as two of the country's most powerful news organizations frantically sought help far from Washington. Mexican officials, unlike their counterparts in the United States, were able to cut through the red tape of their immigration system to quickly provide documents that, in turn, allowed the Afghans to fly from Kabul's embattled airport to Doha, Qatar. The documents promised that the Afghans would receive temporary humanitarian protection in Mexico while they explored further options in the United States or elsewhere." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Gives New Meaning to "(In) Loco Parentis." Cameron Jenkins of the Hill: "Dozens of California students and parents are stranded in Afghanistan after taking a summer trip to the country. Mor than 20 students and 16 parents from the Cajon Valley Union School District in El Cajon, Calif., visited Afghanistan on summer vacation. Now they are among thousands of people who are waiting to leave the country amid the chaotic U.S. withdrawal that has caused political unrest across the nation, according to the Los Angeles Times." MB: This has to be the dumbest school vacation ever organized. Any school employees or board members who approved this trip should resign or be fired. Nitwits. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** John Wagner of the Washington Post: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued its first sweeping requests Wednesday for records from federal agencies pertaining to the attack on the Capitol and ... Donald Trump's efforts to subvert the election. In letters demanding materials from the National Archives and seven other agencies, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee chairman, signaled that an expansive investigation is underway, touching not only on what happened Jan. 6 but also on matters such as 'the former President's knowledge of the election results and what he communicated to the American people about the election.' Thompson gave the agencies a two-week deadline to produce materials and asked Archivist of the United States David Ferriero to use his authority under federal regulations to swiftly address the request for records from the Trump White House.... The requests include information on 'communications within and among the White House and Executive Branch agencies during the leadup to January 6th and on that day,' as well as on issues further removed, such as 'attempts to place politically loyal personnel in senior positions across government after the election.'" The Huffington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Betsy Swan & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "Just a day before the Jan. 6 riot, the Secret Service warned the U.S. Capitol Police that their officers could face violence at the hands of supporters of ... Donald Trump, according to new documents.... The liberal-leaning government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington obtained the documents through a Freedom of Information Act request and shared them with Politico.... The Secret Service's emails shed light on intelligence lapses by the Capitol Police previously highlighted by both the department's inspector general and a bipartisan report by Senate committees. Since then, the Hill's law enforcement agency has pledged reform and said it has made changes to ensure the effective sharing of intelligence."

Trump's Lawyers Disciplined, Ordered to Go to Law School. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Michigan has ordered that Sidney Powell, L. Lin Wood and seven other attorneys who filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election be disciplined, calling the suit 'a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.' In a scathing 110-page opinion, Federal District Judge Linda V. Parker wrote that the lawyers had made assertions in court that were not backed by evidence and had failed to do the due diligence required by legal rules before alleging mass fraud in the Michigan vote. 'This case was never about fraud,' she wrote. 'It was about undermining the People's faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so.' She ordered the lawyers to pay the attorney's fees for their opponents in the case -- the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. She also wrote that she will require them to attend legal education classes. And she referred the group to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission, as well as attorney disciplinary committees in the states where each attorney is licensed, which could initiate proceedings that could result in the lawyer's being disbarred.&" Law & Crime's report is here.

Look, when President Trump was president, you didn't see crisis after crisis. You just didn't see it. I shudder to think about what Covid would have been like under Joe Biden. -- Kayleigh McInany, who must have been on mind-altering drugs while press secretary to the Former Guy, on Fox "News" Tuesday

Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "Sirhan B. Sirhan, convicted of the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, will face a California parole board for the 16th time Friday in a prison outside San Diego. But unlike the first 15 times, no prosecutor will stand to oppose the release of Sirhan, who is now 77. Sirhan was arrested at the scene of Kennedy's shooting in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the assassination of a U.S. senator who appeared headed for the Democratic presidential nomination. The assassination, along with that of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. two months earlier, created a turning point in American history with the sudden elimination of the charismatic leaders of the American civil rights movement and the Democratic Party." MB: I don't think any political assassin should get out of jail. Ever. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates Thursday are here: "There are more than 100,000 people hospitalized with covid-19 in the United States, a level not seen since Jan. 30 -- when coronavirus vaccines were not widely available -- as the country grapples with the delta variant's spread. Hospitalizations are highest across the South, where every state in the region has a higher portion of its population currently hospitalized with covid-19 than the national level, according to a Washington Post database. More than 17,000 people are currently hospitalized with covid-19 in Florida, which has the most hospitalizations for covid-19 of any state in the country, followed by Texas, which has more than 14,000."

Leslie Josephs of CNBC: "Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian notified employees Wednesday that they will face $200 monthly increases on their health insurance premiums starting Nov. 1 if they aren't vaccinated against Covid-19, citing steep costs to cover employees who are hospitalized with the virus. Unvaccinated employees will face other restrictions, including indoor masking effective immediately and weekly Covid-19 tests starting Sept. 12, the Atlanta-based airline said in announcing new Covid policies for employees." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Arkansas. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "The Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville ... and its health-care provider [-- Karas Health Care--] are facing criticisms of 'medical experimentation' because the jail's medical staff has been treating covid-19 patients with ivermectin, a drug commonly used for deworming livestock.... [County Sheriff Tim] Helder told the Press-Democrat that he has known since July that jail detainees were being treated with ivermectin, and he praised Karas as a health-care partner.... The Post viewed screenshots of [Karas owner Dr. Robert] Karas's since-deleted Facebook posts in which he touts the use of ivermectin and indicates that more than 350 people at the jail had been given the drug, allegedly to no ill effect."

New York. Marina Villeneuve of the AP: "Delivering another blow to what's left of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's legacy, New York's new governor acknowledged on her first day in office that the state has had nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 than Cuomo told the public. 'The public deserves a clear, honest picture of what's happening. And that's whether it's good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that's how we restore confidence,' Gov. Kathy Hochul said on NPR. In its first daily update on the outbreak Tuesday evening, Hochul';s office reported that nearly 55,400 people have died of the coronavirus in New York based on death certificate data submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's up from about 43,400 that Cuomo reported to the public as of Monday, his last day in office." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Dan Levin of the New York Times: "More people in Florida are catching the coronavirus, being hospitalized and dying of Covid-19 now than at any previous point in the pandemic, underscoring the perils of limiting public health measures as the Delta variant rips through the state. This week, 227 virus deaths were being reported each day in Florida, on average, as of Tuesday, a record for the state and by far the most in the United States right now. The average for new known cases reached 23,314 a day on the weekend, 30 percent higher than the state's previous peak in January, according to a New York Times database.... And hospitalizations in Florida have almost tripled in the past month..., stretching many hospitals to the breaking point.... Even as cases continue to surge, with more than 17,200 people hospitalized with the virus across Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has held firm on banning vaccine and mask mandates." ~~~

~~~ "Bodies Stacked to the Ceiling." Michelle Meredith of WESH Orlando: "At West Side Crematory in Winter Garden, they're overwhelmed with the remains of people that need to be cremated. There's an influx of bodies like they've never seen, worse than the first wave of COVID-19. The area where bodies are stored prior to being cremated is stacked to the ceiling. The staff is working day and night to honor the dead. WESH 2 called 20 funeral homes and crematories and many were too busy to be part of our story."

South Dakota. How Could This Have Happened? Ben Kesslen & Joe Murphy of NBC News: "Two weeks after the annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, reported Covid infections in the state have risen nearly sixfold. South Dakota counted 3,819 new cases in the past two weeks, including seven deaths, up from 644 cases in the 14 days preceding it. That makes it the state with the largest percent increase in Covid cases in the past two weeks.... Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, has been firm in keeping South Dakota open throughout the pandemic, shunning mask mandates, criticizing public health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, and insisting on holding mass gatherings against CDC recommendations."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Mike Baker & Michael LaForgia of the New York Times: Aggressive developers of the luxury condomiumum complex built in 1980 in Surfside, Florida, one tower of which collapsed this year causing extensive loss of life, threatened the small town with lawsuits & bullied the town commissioners & building department. "The development team ... had a dubious record. The architect had been disciplined previously for designing a building with a sign structure that later collapsed in a hurricane. The structural engineer had run into trouble on an earlier project, too, when he signed off on a parking garage with steel reinforcement that was later found to be dangerously insufficient. The early 1980s was a freewheeling period for construction in the Miami area, known at the time for its uneven enforcement of regulations, but the Champlain Towers project stood apart -- both for the tumult that occurred on the job site and the brazenness of the developers behind the project."

Michigan. Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "The only defendant to plead guilty to taking part in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan was sentenced on Wednesday to six years and three months in prison. Ty G. Garbin, 25, an airplane mechanic, was the first defendant to be sentenced for what prosecutors have described as an extremist plot driven by anger at the governor's efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The 14 men arrested in October face charges in federal and state courts in one of the most significant domestic terrorism plots ever to come to trial in the United States. The defendants, many of them members of an antigovernment paramilitary group in Michigan called the Wolverine Watchmen, coalesced around protests against Covid-19 lockdown measures. After initially weighing storming the State Capitol in Lansing, they decided to abduct Governor Whitmer from her vacation home, according to prosecutors. Their efforts were seen as a precursor to the violence unleashed at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6." The AP's story is here.

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: "Gov. Kathy C. Hochul has chosen Brian A. Benjamin, a Democratic state senator from Harlem, to be her lieutenant governor, the second highest-ranking position in New York State, according to a person familiar with the decision. Ms. Hochul, a Democrat from Western New York who was sworn in as the state's first female governor on Tuesday, is expected to announce the appointment later this week. The selection of Mr. Benjamin, who is Black, underscored Ms. Hochul's attempt to diversify her ticket as she mounts her first campaign for governor next year, choosing a potential running mate who could help broaden her appeal in the voter-heavy New York City region." MB: Or maybe she likes the guy and is comfortable working with him. Not everything is transactional, even in politics. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

South Dakota. He Killed a Man, Fled the Scene, and Is Still Attorney General. Stephen Groves of the AP: "South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg will avoid a trial and take a plea deal on misdemeanor traffic charges in a crash last year in which he hit and killed a man who was walking along a rural highway, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Beadle County State's Attorney Michael Moore, who is one of two prosecutors on the case..., declined to discuss further details of the arrangement. The plea will be entered Thursday, when Ravnsborg's trial was scheduled to begin, he said. Moore said a judge's order that bars state officials from discussing details of the investigation prevented him from disclosing more.... The charges don't affect the Republican's qualification to hold the office of attorney general in South Dakota, but lawmakers from his own party have called for him to step down and pushed for the Legislature to impeach him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "In an interview with The New York Times, his first with a news organization since his arrest in January, [Russian dissident Aleksei] Navalny talked about his life in prison, about why Russia has cracked down so hard on the opposition and dissidents, and about his conviction that 'Putin's regime,' as he calls it, is doomed to collapse." Excerpts of the interview are here.

News Lede

CNBC: "Initial claims for unemployment insurance were little changed over the past week, hovering around Covid pandemic-era lows as the jobs market shows further signs of healing. First-time filings totaled 353,000 for the week ended Aug. 21, a slight increase from the previous week's 349,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.... A separate economic reading showed that gross domestic product increased at a 6.6% annualized pace in the second quarter, according to the second estimate Thursday from the Commerce Department."

The Commentariat -- August 25, 2021

Marie: For the EIGHTH day, Reality Chex is not accepting comments, through no design or fault of my own. In desperation, I have come up with an interim plan to get around the problem, one that will mean only a little extra work for those of you who have something to say. Here are the easy instructions:

1. In the URL (address line), enter www.realitychex.com/display/Login and return. The login is case-sensitive, so that "L" in "Login" must be capitalized.

2. A log-in page will come up. Type squarespace in the Login box. Type nonsense in the password box. And return. That will get you page to the standard Reality Chex page. (Note: Don't use boldface type; I've put the stuff you have to use in boldface only to make it easier to see.)

3. Type your comment in the Comments box as usual. But at the end of the comment, sign it with your usual Reality Chex handle, because the name of the poster will say "See Above."

Special thanks to all of you who have gone to the trouble to comment under this somewhat cumbersome system.

~~~~~~~~~~

Afternoon Update:

We Are Not Amused. Paul Kane & Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blasted two lawmakers who surreptitiously flew into Kabul without approval to examine conditions at the international airport where a massive airlift is underway to evacuate U.S. citizens, allies and vulnerable Afghans. '... there's a real concern about members being in the region,' Pelosi told reporters Wednesday at her weekly briefing. There was an 'opportunity cost' of protecting Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), she said. 'This is deadly serious. We do not want members to go.' The sentiment was echoed across the Biden administration Wednesday morning. 'The secretary [Lloyd Austin] would have appreciated the opportunity to have had a conversation before the visit took place,' said Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby during his briefing.... 'They certainly took time away from what we had been planning to do that day.'... Some of the harshest criticism came from one of the lawmakers' colleague on the House Armed Services Committee[.] 'Neither one of them should have their ass in Afghanistan right now. The Defense Department has enough to do without having to try to protect two members of Congress. Period,' said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the Armed Services panel."

** Sí, Se Puede. Ben Smith of the New York Times: "A group of Afghans who worked for The New York Times, along with their families, touched down safely early Wednesday ... at Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City. The arrival of the 24 families was the latest stop in a harrowing escape from Kabul. And Mexico's role in the rescue of journalists from The Times and, if all goes as planned, The Wall Street Journal offers a disorienting glimpse of the state of the American government as two of the country's most powerful news organizations frantically sought help far from Washington. Mexican officials, unlike their counterparts in the United States, were able to cut through the red tape of their immigration system to quickly provide documents that, in turn, allowed the Afghans to fly from Kabul's embattled airport to Doha, Qatar. The documents promised that the Afghans would receive temporary humanitarian protection in Mexico while they explored further options in the United States or elsewhere."

Gives New Meaning to "(In) Loco Parentis." Cameron Jenkins of the Hill: "Dozens of California students and parents are stranded in Afghanistan after taking a summer trip to the country. More than 20 students and 16 parents from the Cajon Valley Union School District in El Cajon, Calif., visited Afghanistan on summer vacation. Now they are among thousands of people who are waiting to leave the country amid the chaotic U.S. withdrawal that has caused political unrest across the nation, according to the Los Angeles Times." MB: This has to be the dumbest school vacation ever organized. Any school employees or board members who approved this trip should resign or be fired. Nitwits.

** John Wagner of the Washington Post: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued its first sweeping requests Wednesday for records from federal agencies pertaining to the attack on the Capitol and ... Donald Trump's efforts to subvert the election. In letters demanding materials from the National Archives and seven other agencies, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), the committee chairman, signaled that an expansive investigation is underway, touching not only on what happened Jan. 6 but also on matters such as 'the former President's knowledge of the election results and what he communicated to the American people about the election.' Thompson gave the agencies a two-week deadline to produce materials and asked Archivist of the United States David Ferriero to use his authority under federal regulations to swiftly address the request for records from the Trump White House.... The requests include information on 'communications within and among the White House and Executive Branch agencies during the leadup to January 6th and on that day,' as well as on issues further removed, such as 'attempts to place politically loyal personnel in senior positions across government after the election.'&" The Huffington Post's story is here.

Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "Sirhan B. Sirhan, convicted of the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, will face a California parole board for the 16th time Friday in a prison outside San Diego. But unlike the first 15 times, no prosecutor will stand to oppose the release of Sirhan, who is now 77. Sirhan was arrested at the scene of Kennedy's shooting in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the assassination of a U.S. senator who appeared headed for the Democratic presidential nomination. The assassination, along with that of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. two months earlier, created a turning point in American history with the sudden elimination of the charismatic leaders of the American civil rights movement and the Democratic Party." MB: I don't think any political assassin should get out of jail. Ever.

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: "Gov. Kathy C. Hochul has chosen Brian A. Benjamin, a Democratic state senator from Harlem, to be her lieutenant governor, the second highest-ranking position in New York State, according to a person familiar with the decision. Ms. Hochul, a Democrat from Western New York who was sworn in as the state's first female governor on Tuesday, is expected to announce the appointment later this week. The selection of Mr. Benjamin, who is Black, underscored Ms. Hochul's attempt to diversify her ticket as she mounts her first campaign for governor next year, choosing a potential running mate who could help broaden her appeal in the voter-heavy New York City region." MB: Or maybe she likes the guy and is comfortable working with him. Not everything is transactional, even in politics.

New York. Marina Villeneuve of the AP: "Delivering another blow to what's left of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's legacy, New York's new governor acknowledged on her first day in office that the state has had nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 than Cuomo told the public. 'The public deserves a clear, honest picture of what's happening. And that's whether it's good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that's how we restore confidence,' Gov. Kathy Hochul said on NPR. In its first daily update on the outbreak Tuesday evening, Hochul's office reported that nearly 55,400 people have died of the coronavirus in New York based on death certificate data submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's up from about 43,400 that Cuomo reported to the public as of Monday, his last day in office."

Look, when President Trump was president, you didn't see crisis after crisis. You just didn't see it. I shudder to think about what Covid would have been like under Joe Biden. -- Kayleigh McInany, who must have been on mind-altering drugs while press secretary to the Former Guy, on Fox "News" Tuesday

Leslie Josephs of CNBC: "Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian notified employees Wednesday that they will face $200 monthly increases on their health insurance premiums starting Nov. 1 if they aren't vaccinated against Covid-19, citing steep costs to cover employees who are hospitalized with the virus. Unvaccinated employees will face other restrictions, including indoor masking effective immediately and weekly Covid-19 tests starting Sept. 12, the Atlanta-based airline said in announcing new Covid policies for employees."

South Dakota. He Killed a Man, Fled the Scene, and Is Still Attorney General. Stephen Groves of the AP: "South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg will avoid a trial and take a plea deal on misdemeanor traffic charges in a crash last year in which he hit and killed a man who was walking along a rural highway, a prosecutor said Wednesday. Beadle County State's Attorney Michael Moore, who is one of two prosecutors on the case..., declined to discuss further details of the arrangement. The plea will be entered Thursday, when Ravnsborg's trial was scheduled to begin, he said. Moore said a judge's order that bars state officials from discussing details of the investigation prevented him from disclosing more.... The charges don't affect the Republican's qualification to hold the office of attorney general in South Dakota, but lawmakers from his own party have called for him to step down and pushed for the Legislature to impeach him."

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The Washington Post's live updates of developments in Afghanistan Wednesday are here: "The Taliban has blocked Afghans from Kabul airport -- and is trying to lure key officials back to work .... The Islamist militants have reportedly ordered some mid-level bureaucrats at Afghanistan's finance ministry and central bank to resume work, as the new regime faces a cash squeeze and a looming humanitarian crisis. The hasty departure of trained officials, journalists, human rights advocates and others is leaving the war-torn country lacking in expertise needed to govern, analysts say."

Mark Landler & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden said Tuesday that the United States intended to withdraw completely from Afghanistan at the end of the month as planned, rebuffing pleas from Britain, France and other NATO allies to keep troops in Kabul and hastening the end of a frantic evacuation that has become a grim coda to two decades of war. Even as Mr. Biden spoke from the White House, officials said the United States had already begun to reduce its military presence at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, sending about 300 of the 5,800 Marines and soldiers home in anticipation of the conclusion of their rescue mission within a week.... But Mr. Biden did not close the door to extending what has become an immense evacuation effort. He said that he had asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans in case it became necessary to stay longer...."

"The president said that more than 70,000 people had been ferried out of harm's way since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban swept into power in Kabul; on Tuesday, the Pentagon reported its biggest number of daily evacuations from the Kabul airport so far, saying it had airlifted 21,600 people out of the country over 24 hours."

     ~~~ Marie: That Biden allowed only two weeks to get out of country 100,000 - 300,000 Americans & Afghans shows that he was never serious about saving these people. You just think about any time you've had a minor problem that only U.S. bureaucracy could solve; did you think the bureaucrats would take care of it in two weeks? Leaving these people behind was always the plan, not a glitch or unforeseen circumstance. ~~~

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "President Joe Biden has decided, in consultation with his national security team, to stick with the August 31 deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official. Biden made the decision mindful of the security risks in remaining the country longer, the official said, and he has asked for contingency plans in case he determines at a later date the US needs to remain in the country for longer." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ From Tuesday's Washington Post live updates: "The Taliban was still allowing foreign nationals to leave, but [Zabihullah] Mujahid said that the group was stopping Afghan nationals from reaching the airport as it was dangerous and their skills were needed to rebuild the country. 'We are asking the American please change your policy and don't encourage Afghans to leave,' he said." A CNBC story is here. MB: Yeah, I wondered how long it would take the Taliban to notice that the best & the brightest were leaving the country. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: "... it's becoming clear that thousands of the Afghans who helped the U.S. won't be evacuated, a scenario that has engendered deep frustration inside U.S. national security agencies. 'People are furious and disgusted,' said a former U.S. intelligence official.... A defense official said he grew nauseated as he considered how many Afghan allies would be left behind. At the CIA, 'officers feel a real sense of obligation, moral obligation and personal obligation' to the Afghans they supported and trained, said former CIA Director John Brennan.... But the precarious situation for U.S. troops on the ground left [President] Biden with no good options to extend their presence, military officials said."

"Moronic and Selfish." Annie Linskey, et al., of the Washington Post: "Two members of Congress made an unauthorized whirlwind trip to Kabul early Tuesday, leaving less than 24 hours later on a flight used for evacuating U.S. citizens, allies and vulnerable Afghans. The visit by Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) -- which was not approved as part of the normal process for congressional fact-finding trips -- served as a distraction for military and civilian staffers attempting to carry out frenzied rescue efforts, according to two people familiar with the trip who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the matter. It is not clear how the lawmakers, both of whom served in Iraq before being elected to Congress, first entered Afghanistan.... The cloak-and-dagger trip infuriated some officials at the Pentagon and the State Department, where diplomats, military officers and civil servants are working around-the-clock shifts in Washington and at the Kabul airport.... 'They're taking seats away from Americans and at-risk Afghans -- while putting our diplomats and service members at greater risk -- so they can have a moment in front of the cameras,' [said a senior administration official]." ~~~

~~~ Ginger Gibson of NBC News: "Two House members issued a scathing statement Tuesday after they took a secret trip to the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, saying 'Washington should be ashamed' about the effort to evacuate Americans and allies. Reps. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Peter Meijer, R-Mich., said they traveled to Kabul, the capital, on Tuesday as part of an effort to persuade President Joe Biden to extend the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops, which would effectively end the effort to evacuate Americans and others who helped the U.S. over two decades of war. 'After talking with commanders on the ground and seeing the situation here, it is obvious that because we started the evacuation so late, that no matter what we do, we won't get everyone out on time, even by September 11,' the lawmakers ... said in a joint statement. 'Sadly and frustratingly, getting our people out depends on maintaining the current, bizarre relationship with the Taliban.'"

You Can't Play Soccer in a Burqa. Liz Clarke of the Washington Post: "A plane carrying more than 75 Afghan female soccer players, officials and relatives under threat from the Taliban left Kabul on Tuesday, bound for Australia, the first country to offer a haven in response to pleas from a multinational network of athlete advocates and human-rights lawyers. With many more imperiled athletes still in Afghanistan, evacuation efforts are continuing around-the-clock, with outreach to multiple countries including the United States. But the efforts are getting more challenging by the day, according to Haley Carter, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer and former assistant coach of the Afghan women's team. Carter played a key role in orchestrating the initial evacuation, alongside Fifpro, the international soccer players' union, and other advocates working to lobby governments to grant the athletes asylum."

John Hudson of the Washington Post: "CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting Monday in Kabul with the Taliban's de facto leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar, in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the Taliban and the Biden administration since the militants seized the Afghan capital, according to U.S. officials.... The CIA declined to comment on the Taliban meeting, but the discussions are likely to have involved an impending Aug. 31 deadline for the U.S. military to conclude its airlift of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies." MB: Based on the stories linked above, it would seem the meeting didn't go to well for the U.S. (Also linked yesterday.)

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "When the Taliban were last in power, Afghan women were generally not allowed to leave their homes [link fixed] except under certain narrowly defined conditions. Those who did risked being beaten, tortured or executed. In the nine days since the Taliban swept back into control, their leaders have insisted that this time will be different.... But early signs have not been promising, and that pattern continued on Tuesday with a statement from a Taliban spokesman that women should stay home, at least for now. Why? Because some of the militants have not yet been trained not to hurt them, he explained. The spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, called it a 'temporary' policy intended to protect women until the Taliban could ensure their safety.... Mr. Mujahid said that women should stay home 'until we have a new procedure,' and that 'their salaries will paid in their homes.'"

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A divided House on Tuesday approved a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that would pave the way for a vast expansion of social safety net and climate programs, as Democrats overcame sharp internal rifts to advance a critical piece of President Biden's ambitious domestic agenda. Approving the budget was a major step in Democrats" drive to enact their top priorities -- including huge investments in education, child care, health care, paid leave, and tax increases on wealthy people and corporations -- over united Republican opposition. With a single vote on Tuesday, they laid the groundwork to move quickly on legislation that would accomplish those goals, setting a late September deadline for action on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.... The vote was 220 to 212 on party lines.... While the budget plan, which passed the Senate this month, does not have the force of law, it allows Democrats to move forward with a fast-track process known as reconciliation. That would enshrine the details of the blueprint in legislation that is shielded from a filibuster, allowing it to pass over the objections of Republicans." The AP's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Toljaso. Heather Caygle, et al., of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a band of Democratic centrists are finalizing a deal that would clear the way for passage of the party's $3.5 trillion budget framework and set a Sept. 27 House vote on infrastructure -- an offer both sides hope will end their weekslong standoff. After several hours of furious negotiating Monday night, Pelosi and her team are close to announcing the compromise, which they hope to put on the floor as soon as Tuesday afternoon, according to several people familiar with discussions. Most, if not all, of the recalcitrant moderates -- led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J..) -- were expected to accept the deal and back the budget blueprint on the floor later Tuesday, though terms are not yet finalized." (Also linked yesterday. See also yesterday's Commentariat -- including the Comments section -- for context.)

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The House voted on Tuesday to restore federal oversight of state election laws under the 1965 Voting Rights Act and expand its reach, as Democrats moved to strengthen a crowning legislative achievement of the civil rights era amid a renewed national fight over access to the ballot box. The legislation, named after Representative John Lewis of Georgia, the civil rights icon who died last year, is a linchpin of the party's strategy to combat voting restrictions in Republican-led states. It would reverse two Supreme Court rulings that gutted the statute, reviving the power of the Justice Department to bar some discriminatory election changes from taking effect and easing the path to challenge others in court. Up against urgent deadlines before next year's midterm elections, Democrats voted along party lines to adopt the bill 219 to 212 in a rare August session, just days after it was introduced. But stiff Republican opposition awaits in the Senate, where a likely filibuster threatens to sink it before it can reach President Biden's desk." NPR's report is here.

Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $5.1 million fine against two right-wing operatives known for perpetuating conspiracy theories, in one of its largest penalties to date. Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman improperly made 1,141 robocalls to cellphones without getting people's consent first, which the law requires, according to the agency. The penalty, which is not final, is the largest proposed by the FCC for this specific violation. The agency has, however, imposed much larger fines for 'spoofing' robocalls, where the caller makes it appear as though a call is coming from a different number. This year it fined Texas telemarketers $225 million. Wohl and Burkman will have a chance to respond, and the penalty could require a commission vote before it is finalized." The NBC News report is here.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a ruling from a federal judge in Texas requiring the Biden administration to reinstate a Trump-era immigration program that forces asylum seekers arriving at the southwestern border to await approval in Mexico. The court's brief unsigned order said that the administration had appeared to act arbitrarily and capriciously in rescinding the program, citing a decision last year refusing to let the Trump administration rescind the Obama-era program protecting the young immigrants known as dreamers. The court's three more liberal members -- Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan -- said they would have granted a stay of the trial judge's ruling. They did not give reasons. The case will now be heard by an appeals court and may return to the Supreme Court." Politico's story, by Josh Gerstein, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's the rationale, then: We refused to block a humane policy; therefore, in all fairness, we must sustain an inhumane policy. A fascistic interpretation of "law & order." As we've already learned, you can goose-step in a judicial robe. ~~~

     ~~~ Ian Millhiser of Vox: "One of the most foundational principles of court decisions involving foreign policy is that judges should be extraordinarily reluctant to mess around with foreign affairs. The decision in Texas defies this principle, fundamentally reshaping the balance of power between judges and elected officials in the process.... Technically, this case is still on appeal. The Biden administration requested a stay of [Trump-appointed Judge Matthew] Kacsmaryk's order while its appeal is pending. But the administration is now under an immediate obligation to comply with that order.... Kacsmaryk's opinion, it should be noted, was dead wrong. It effectively claimed that a 1996 law required the federal government to implement the Remain in Mexico policy permanently. That policy didn't even exist until 2019, so the upshot of Kacsmaryk's opinion is that the government violated the law for nearly a quarter-century and no one noticed.... The Supreme Court does not even offer a hint as to why it deemed the Biden administration's original explanation insufficient." Moreover, it doesn't make clear what the Biden administration is supposed to do.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Tuesday received a classified report from the intelligence community that was inconclusive about the origins of the novel coronavirus, including whether the pathogen jumped from an animal to a human as part of a natural process, or escaped from a lab in central China, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The intelligence community will seek within days to declassify elements of the report for potential public release, officials said. The assessment is the result of a 90-day sprint after Biden tasked his intelligence agencies in May to produce a report 'that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion' on the origins of [the] virus.... But despite analyzing a raft of existing intelligence and searching for new clues, intelligence officials fell short of a consensus, said the officials...." CNN's story is here.

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

Florida. Quinnipiac University: "As Florida deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases and a battle intensifies over an executive order issued by Governor Ron DeSantis to ban mask mandates in schools, a majority of people in Florida say 60 - 36 percent that they support requiring students, teachers, and staff to wear masks in schools, according to a Quinnipiac ... University poll of Florida adults released today. There are sharp political divides on this question as Democrats support school mask requirements 98 - 1 percent, independents support them 63 - 32 percent, and Republicans oppose them 72 - 24 percent. Schools should be able to require masks for all students, say 54 percent of Floridians in a separate question, while 44 percent say that parents should decide whether or not their own student will be wearing a mask. On Gov. DeSantis' threat to withhold school leaders' salaries if they require masks for students, 69 percent say it's a bad idea, while 25 percent say it's a good idea. There is agreement across partisan lines, as Democrats say 91 - 8 percent, independents say 70 - 26 percent, and Republicans say 52 - 38 percent that it's a bad idea."

Ohio, etc. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: "Ohio State University announced on Tuesday that all students, faculty and staff would be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 during the fall semester, becoming one of the first large state universities to issue a vaccine mandate that extends beyond students.... WBNS 10 reported that hundreds of people went to the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday to voice support for a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit employers from requiring workers to be vaccinated. Louisiana State University said on Tuesday that all its students would have to either submit proof of vaccination or 'be tested for Covid on a regular basis.' The University of Minnesota also issued a mandate for students to be vaccinated following the F.D.A.'s approval. And in New York, all in-person students in the state and city university systems are required to be vaccinated."

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia Senate Race. Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "Former football running back Herschel Walker has filed paperwork to run for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, challenging freshman Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) with the backing of ... Donald Trump. While a formal announcement is still expected to come, filings with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday confirm rumblings that Walker, a football hero at the University of Georgia before his National Football League career bookended with stints with the Dallas Cowboys, plans to run after changing his voter registration from Texas to Georgia last week." A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ MB: Let me once again remind reporters everywhere that there's pretty much no such thing as a "football hero," and there is especially nothing heroic about playing any professional sport. The only sort of "football hero" I can think of is someone like Colin Kaepernick, who used his status as a player to advance the cause of justice; his heroism was only tangentially related to the game.

New York. Cuomo Commutes Sentences of Five Murderers. Michael Wilson & Jesus Jiménez of the New York Times: "In the waning hours of his final day in office, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo commuted the prison sentence of one of the members of the gang behind the infamous robbery of a Brink's armored car in 1981 that left two police officers and a guard dead, a politically motivated ambush that continues to reverberate 40 years later. David Gilbert is serving a 75-years-to-life sentence for his role in the crime as a member of the Weather Underground, which stole $1.6 million in cash from the armored car outside the Nanuet Mall near Nyack, N.Y. The decision does not mean he will automatically be released from prison. Mr. Gilbert will be granted a parole hearing in the weeks to come, according to Monday's announcement." Cuomo also commuted the sentences of four others who had been convicted for murder. (Also linked yesterday.)

Pennsylvania. Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania plan to formally launch hearings as part of an investigation into the 2020 vote in the state, the latest GOP-backed effort to revisit an election that ... Donald Trump has falsely claimed was fraudulent.... The Pennsylvania investigation is the latest sign of how Republican leaders in key battleground states are bowing to ongoing pressure from Trump and his base to investigate baseless allegations that voting irregularities tainted the November election.... Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania have sought an investigation of the 2020 election since late last year, capitulating to demands from Trump and his supporters to scrutinize President Biden's 80,555-vote win in the state -- despite a lack of evidence of voter fraud."

Texas. Taxpayer-funded Report by State AG Ken Paxton Finds AG Paxton Totally Innocent! James Barragan of the Texas Tribune: "Nearly 11 months after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's former top aides accused him of accepting bribes, Paxton's office on Tuesday published a 374-page internal report that concludes he's innocent of the allegations. Last October, seven former employees told authorities that they believed Paxton was using his power as attorney general to aid Nate Paul, a campaign donor and Austin real estate developer, who whistleblowers have said helped Paxton remodel his home and gave a job to a woman with whom Paxton allegedly had an affair. All of those employees were either fired or left the office under pressure after their complaint. Four of the employees filed a whistleblower lawsuit saying Paxton used his position to help Paul's business interests, investigate his foes and help settle a lawsuit. But in Tuesday's report, Paxton's office said there was no basis for a criminal complaint against their boss, a second-term Republican..... The FBI is reportedly investigating the claims by Paxton's former employees." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. Do see his commentary below, the tone of which seems, like, almost sarcastic.

News Lede

New York Times: "Charlie Watts, whose strong but unflashy drumming powered the Rolling Stones for over 50 years, died on Tuesday in London. He was 80."

The Commentariat -- August 24, 2021

Marie: For the SEVENTH day, Reality Chex is not accepting comments, through no design or fault of my own. In desperation, I have come up with a brilliant interim plan to get around the problem, one that will mean only a little extra work for those of you who have something to say. Here are the easy instructions:

1. In the URL (address line), enter www.realitychex.com/display/Login and return. The login is case-sensitive, so that "L" in "Login" must be capitalized.

2. A log-in page will come up. Type squarespace in the Login box. Type nonsense in the password box. And return. That will get you page to the standard Reality Chex page. (Note: Don't use boldface type; I've put the stuff you have to use in boldface only to make it easier to see.)

3. Type your comment in the Comments box as usual. But at the end of the comment, sign it with your usual Reality Chex handle, because the name of the poster will say "See Above."

Special thanks to all of you who have gone to the trouble to comment under this somewhat cumbersome system.

~~~~~~~~~~

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "President Joe Biden has decided, in consultation with his national security team, to stick with the August 31 deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official. Biden made the decision mindful of the security risks in remaining the country longer, the official said, and he has asked for contingency plans in case he determines at a later date the US needs to remain in the country for longer." ~~~

~~~ From Tuesday's Washington Post live updates: "The Taliban was still allowing foreign nationals to leave, but [Zabihullah] Mujahid said that the group was stopping Afghan nationals from reaching the airport as it was dangerous and their skills were needed to rebuild the country. 'We are asking the American please change your policy and don't encourage Afghans to leave,' he said." A CNBC story is here. MB: Yeah, I wondered how long it would take the Taliban to notice that the best & the brightest were leaving the country.

John Hudson of the Washington Post: "CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting Monday in Kabul with the Taliban's de facto leader, Abdul Ghani Baradar, in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the Taliban and the Biden administration since the militants seized the Afghan capital, according to U.S. officials.... The CIA declined to comment on the Taliban meeting, but the discussions are likely to have involved an impending Aug. 31 deadline for the U.S. military to conclude its airlift of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies." MB: Based on the stories linked above, it would seem the meeting didn't go to well for the U.S.

Toljaso. Heather Caygle, et al., of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a band of Democratic centrists are finalizing a deal that would clear the way for passage of the party's $3.5 trillion budget framework and set a Sept. 27 House vote on infrastructure -- an offer both sides hope will end their weekslong standoff. After several hours of furious negotiating Monday night, Pelosi and her team are close to announcing the compromise, which they hope to put on the floor as soon as Tuesday afternoon, according to several people familiar with discussions. Most, if not all, of the recalcitrant moderates -- led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J..) -- were expected to accept the deal and back the budget blueprint on the floor later Tuesday, though terms are not yet finalized."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.

Michael Wilson & Jesus Jiménez of the New York Times: "In the waning hours of his final day in office, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo commuted the prison sentence of one of the members of the gang behind the infamous robbery of a Brink's armored car in 1981 that left two police officers and a guard dead, a politically motivated ambush that continues to reverberate 40 years later.David Gilbert is serving a 75-years-to-life sentence for his role in the crime as a member of the Weather Underground, which stole $1.6 million in cash from the armored car outside the Nanuet Mall near Nyack, N.Y. The decision does not mean he will automatically be released from prison. Mr. Gilbert will be granted a parole hearing in the weeks to come, according to Monday's announcement." Cuomo also commuted the sentences of four others who had been convicted for murder.

~~~~~~~~~~

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

Mark Landler & Megan Stack of the New York Times: "American officials are increasingly worried that even with the vast number of Afghans, Americans and people of other nationalities evacuated in recent days..., many still remain to be rescued. In recent days, that operation has increasingly focused on the Americans still left, over the Afghans who worked with the United States. On Monday, a State Department official said that some former Afghan military interpreters or other close U.S. allies, a designated priority group for evacuations, were being turned away from the airport by American officials in order to give priority to U.S. passport and Green Card holders in recent days.... On Monday night, the State Department denied the accounts of Afghans' being turned away.... But at Kabul's international airport, where all the flights are being organized, chaos and violence were still keeping thousands of Afghans from entering for evacuation." ~~~

~~~ Missy Ryan, et al., of the Washington Post: "The United States faced mounting global pressure on Monday to extend its evacuation mission in Afghanistan past President Biden's Aug. 31 deadline, despite a Taliban warning against doing so. The admonition from Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen ... came as the U.S. military accelerated flights out of the Afghan capital following a week of chaos and insecurity that thwarted attempts by thousands of foreigners and desperate Afghans to depart. 'If they extend it, that means they are extending occupation,' Shaheen told Sky News. 'If they are intent on continuing the occupation, it will provoke a reaction.' The militants' resistance to any prolonged foreign presence injected fresh uncertainty into international coordination efforts a day before Biden holds crisis talks with leaders from the Group of Seven industrial bloc. British officials have said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use the emergency meeting to propose new sanctions on the Taliban and push Biden to extend the evacuation operation." ~~~

~~~ Nicole Gaouette, et al., of CNN: "The US military is advising President Joe Biden that he must decide by Tuesday whether to extend the evacuation in Afghanistan beyond August 31, according to a defense official directly familiar with the discussions.... [The military needs a decision] in order to have enough time to withdraw the 5,800 troops currently on the ground, as well as their equipment and weapons. If the President agrees, the military anticipates 'a few more days' of trying to evacuate as many people as possible before the drawdown of US forces begins, possibly at the end of this week. As of Monday, Biden was still deciding whether to extend the deadline for removing all US troops...."

Antonio Olivo of the Washington Post: "Planeloads of Afghan refugees and Afghan Americans arrived in Northern Virginia on Monday, their faces showing relief and exhaustion after being harassed by Taliban fighters on the way to the Kabul airport and, in some cases, going without much food for days. After landing at Dulles International Airport, many of the families boarded buses ferrying them to the nearby Dulles Expo Center in Fairfax County, a 100,000-square-foot facility meant for business conventions that has been converted into a temporary shelter. The families were waiting to be sent to military installations in the Washington region and elsewhere in the country -- yet another leg on a journey that, for many, included waiting several days for a flight at Kabul's crowded airport and then being held at a refugee site in Qatar.... Between Sunday morning and Monday morning, 10,400 people were evacuated from Kabul on military flights, and 5,900 people flew out on commercial airlines recruited by the United States for the effort, the spokesman said."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "The Pentagon on Monday revealed it had performed another rescue mission to transport Americans stranded in Kabul to the Afghan capital's international airport, where the urgent U.S. evacuation effort remains underway. The announcement comes after the Pentagon confirmed that three Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters last Thursday airlifted a group of 169 Americans from the Baron Hotel in Kabul to the Hamid Karzai International Airport just 200 meters away.... Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby ... also indicated that rescue missions by U.S. troops in recent days have been more frequent than senior administration officials have thus far acknowledged -- and that some have been facilitated by means other than military helicopters."

Cristina Marcos & Scott Wong of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team are pressing forward with a risky strategy Monday to move forward on key parts of President Biden's domestic agenda while refusing to bend to demands from a handful of centrists. The plan would see the House vote on a rule Monday night that would deem a $3.5 trillion budget as adopted while setting up a process for considering a bipartisan infrastructure bill approved by the Senate at an unspecified time. The strategy is risky because 10 centrist Democrats have said they will not back the $3.5 billion budget without voting first on the infrastructure bill. It is not clear these Democrats will vote for the rule deeming the budget as being adopted." MB: Pelosi is pretty risk-averse, so I suspect she knows something we don't.

Zachary Cohen, et al., of CNN: "The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot is poised to send notices to various telecommunications companies requesting that they preserve the phone records of several people, including members of Congress, multiple sources tell CNN. Preserving communications records is the first step in an investigatory process that could eventually lead to witness testimony."

Paul Duggan of the Washington Post: "Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio, a national leader of the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a history of violence, was sentenced Monday to five months in jail for two crimes, including setting fire to a stolen Black Lives Matter banner during a tumultuous demonstration in Washington after the election defeat of ... Donald Trump. Noting that the Constitution protects the right to protest, D.C. Superior Court Judge Harold L. Cushenberry Jr. said Tarrio's conduct in the Dec. 12 demonstration 'vindicated none of these democratic values. Instead, Mr. Tarrio's actions betrayed them.' The banner was stolen from Asbury United Methodist Church, a historic Black church at 11th and K streets NW, as far-right protesters marched in Washington in support of Trump's effort to delegitimize President Biden's election victory. Tarrio pleaded guilty last month to burning the banner and to a charge of attempted possession of a high-capacity ammunition magazine." A BuzzFeed News story is here.

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Igor Fruman, an associate of Rudolph W. Giuliani who aided his political activities on behalf of ... Donald Trump, is expected to plead guilty this week in connection with his indictment on campaign finance fraud charges, according to court records made public Monday. Fruman, who unlike his co-defendant Lev Parnas has remained out of the public spotlight since his arrest in 2019, is expected to appear in federal court on Wednesday for a change-of-plea proceeding, according to the docket notation. Fruman and Parnas -- who also faces separate charges he stole from investors in a bogus start-up company -- previously pleaded not guilty on all counts." CNN's story is here.

Nunes Loses Court Case to His Cow. Moo-ove on, Devin. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Monday, the Fresno Bee reported that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) suffered yet another loss in his series of defamation suits against an anonymous set of Twitter accounts trying to satirize him -- this time, his case against a Never Trump Republican strategist on Twitter who has criticized him.... 'Judge John Marshall's ruling from earlier this month in Virginia's Henrico County Circuit Court dismisses Liz Mair from a case Nunes filed against her, Twitter and anonymous writers who heckled him on Twitter under the fictional personas of a cow and his mother,' [the Bee reported]. This comes after the judge also ruled that Nunes cannot name Twitter as a defendant in the lawsuit. According to the report, 'Nunes continues to attempt to sue the Twitter personalities known as "Devin Nunes' cow," @DevinCow, and "Devin Nunes' Alt-Mom," @NunesAlt, although he has not been able to serve them with a complaint.." The Fresno Bee report is here.

Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "Tennessee's flash floods underscore the peril climate change poses even in inland areas, where people once thought themselves immune. A warmer atmosphere that holds more water, combined with rapid development and crumbling infrastructure, is turning once-rare disasters into common occurrences. Yet Americans, who often associate global warming with melting glaciers and intense heat, are not prepared for the coming deluge. Inland flooding is the leading cause of death associated with tropical cyclones in the past 50 years, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On average, damage from inland floods costs more than any other severe weather event."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.

Sarah Owermohle of Politico: "President Joe Biden on Monday pressed businesses and public leaders to implement vaccine mandates after the federal government issued its first full approval of a Covid-19 vaccine.... 'If you're a business leader, a nonprofit leader, a state or local leader, who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that -- require it. It only makes sense to require a vaccine to stop the spread of Covid-19.... 'If you're one of the millions of Americans who said that they will not get the shot until it has full and final approval of FDA: It has now happened,' he said. 'The moment you've been waiting for is here.'"

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: 'The Biden administration on Monday urged the Supreme Court to leave in place a moratorium on evictions in parts of the country ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, saying it is a 'lawful and urgently needed response to an unprecedented public emergency.' A coalition of landlords and real estate trade groups in Alabama and Georgia are challenging the latest moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued Aug. 3 and intended to run through Oct. 3.... In June, the justices on a narrow vote left a previous version of the eviction ban in place, when it was supposed to expire at the end of July. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who cast the deciding vote, said he thought the ban should be allowed to wind down. But he added that he believed CDC lacked authority, and that congressional action would be needed to impose a new moratorium. Congress did not act, though, and initially the Biden administration said its hands were tied. After pressure from constituent groups and liberals in Congress, one of whom camped out to draw attention to the issue, the administration issued a new and slightly narrowed version of the plan. But even the president was skeptical it would last."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid 19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid updates for Monday are here: "Fresh data from Israel is providing encouraging news about the effectiveness of coronavirus boosters in seniors. A study by the Israeli Health Ministry found that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine provided four times as much protection against infection as two doses in people 60 and older. The level of protection was five to six times higher against serious illness and hospitalization, according to the study published Sunday, which looked at protection provided 10 days after a third dose. Israel approved booster shots for people 60 and older late last month, and lowered the age of eligibility to 40 last week." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Ben Guarino, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal regulators Monday granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine -- a milestone that could help increase inoculation rates and spark a wave of vaccine mandates by employers and universities amid a surge of new cases and hospitalizations fueled by the ferocious delta variant. The Food and Drug Administration action marks the first licensing of a vaccine for the coronavirus.... The vaccine has been approved for two doses, three weeks apart, in people 16 and older. It remains available under emergency use authorization adolescents ages 12 to 15." CNN's report is here. The FDA's press release is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The Pentagon said Monday that it will require service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making good on his vow earlier this month to require the shots once the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine. He said guidance is being developed and a timeline will be provided in the coming days. Austin's decision reflects similar moves by governments and companies around the world...."

New York. Eliza Shapiro & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "New York City will require every employee of the city's Department of Education -- including teachers, principals, custodians and all central office staff -- to have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Sept. 27, without the option of instead submitting to weekly testing, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday. Hours later, Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey announced that all employees of public, private and parochial schools in his state must be fully inoculated by Oct. 18 or be tested once or twice a week for the coronavirus. He said the rules also apply to all state employees and all substitute teachers, who are already in short supply." (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "The New York Post, the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid that has peddled a high volume of anti-mask rhetoric during the pandemic, informed employees this month that they are required to wear a mask while at the office, according to a memo obtained by CNN Business.... The New York Post's mask mandate is the latest example of the brazen hypocrisy in Murdoch's media empire. Murdoch's media organizations, such as Fox News and the Post, have disparaged public health officials and the guidance they issue about vaccines and masks. But these media organizations have quietly required their employees to follow the very same health protocols that they've lampooned in print and on air."

Texas. A Texas Grifter Walked into a Press Conference.... Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who served as Secretary of Energy under ... Donald Trump, is pitching Texas schools on a new product to deal with the state's COVID-19 crisis. The Houston Chronicle reports that Perry held a lengthy press conference in which he pitched an air-filtration system called Integrated Viral Protection as an alternative to mask mandates in schools. However, the Chronicle reports that Perry has a financial interest in the company behind the product, and he got snippy when a reporter asked him about how much of a stake he had in seeing its products succeed. 'Well, that's none of your business,' he replied to a reporter. 'I'm not a public official anymore.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Cyber Ninjas Out Sick with the Covid. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "The [MB: totally fake!] report detailing the conclusions of a GOP-backed review of ballots cast last year in Arizona has been delayed after the chief executive of the private company conducting the widely pilloried audit and two other members of his team tested positive for the coronavirus. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann (R) announced the delay Monday, saying that Doug Logan, chief executive of the Florida firm Cyber Ninjas, and two other members of the audit team had been infected and were 'quite sick.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Eric Bradner & Stephanie Becker of CNN: "The report detailing the findings of contractors who conducted Arizona's sham 'audit' of last year's election results -- which had been expected Monday -- will be late because three of the five members of the auditing team have tested positive for coronavirus...." MB: Rachel Maddow thought the big news here was that Cyber Ninjas had a five-person board; previously, the only "board member" she had heard of was Top Ninja Doug Logan.

California. Antifa Is Coming! Antifa Is Coming! Sam Levin of the Guardian: Early last summer, "authorities in rural northern [California] counties spread misinformation and launched aircraft surveillance in response to false rumors about antifa 'infiltrators', according to records obtained by the Guardian.... [Records] show how officers in [Shasta and Humboldt] counties, known for weed farms and hiking and overwhelmingly white, were swiftly duped by unfounde allegations about 'Antifa buses' threatening to 'infiltrate' the community as the United States wrestled with the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that sprung up in the aftermath. The records also show how the agencies' response to those unsubstantiated allegations helped spread misinformation rooted in online conspiracy theories. The files were particularly troubling, experts said, because antifa conspiracy theories have inspired armed rightwing vigilantes to organize in response, sometimes with violent demonstrations." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm pretty sure antifa used the same buses that Massachusetts Democrats used to roll into New Hampshire on Election Day 2016 & throw the Granite State's vote to Clinton. Those buses get around.

Massachusetts. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "In a 19-page indictment that was unsealed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Ali Jaafar and his sons Mohamed Jaafar and Yousef Jaafar were collectively charged with more than a dozen counts of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion for taking part in what the authorities say was a ticket-cashing scheme. A vast majority of the tickets were the scratch-off type that are typically sold at convenience stores, prosecutors said. From 2011 to 2019, according to the indictment, the Jaafars claimed the prizes on behalf of the actual winners, who potentially avoided having their winnings garnished for unpaid taxes or child support, a requirement for any prize over $600 in Massachusetts. The Jaafars then falsely reported six- and seven-figure gambling losse on their tax returns, allowing them to drastically reduce the taxes they paid on the winnings, prosecutors said." MB: For someone like me who doesn't even know how to play the lottery, this is an impressive scam.

New York. Marina Villeneuve of the AP: "Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York at the stroke of midnight Tuesday, taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo. The Democrat from western New York was sworn in as governor in a brief, private ceremony in the New York State Capitol overseen by the state's chief judge, Janet DiFiore. Hochul's ascent to the top job was a history-making moment in a capital where women have only recently begun chipping away at a notoriously male-dominated political culture." The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Dana Rubinstein & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "A day before Kathy Hochul becomes the first female governor of New York State, she announced that her top two aides will be women, too. Karen Persichilli Keogh, who is known in political circles by her initials 'KPK,' will become secretary to the governor, the highest-ranking appointed position in the state. She will succeed Melissa DeRosa, who was the first woman to hold the position. In a tweet, Ms. DeRosa described Ms. Keogh as a 'superstar.' Ms. Keogh's appointment, along with the selection of Elizabeth Fine as Ms. Hochul's counsel, means that a trio of women will be at the helm of the executive branch roiled by allegations of sexual harassment by the outgoing governor." ~~~

~~~ So Long, Goodbye. I Wuz Framed. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Abandoned by virtually every political ally he once had, [Andrew Cuomo] held no public event on Monday, confining his lone appearance to a prerecorded farewell address where he defiantly cast his resignation as the unavoidable outcome of a rush to judgment on sexual harassment allegations made against him. Mr. Cuomo, seated by himself and staring into a camera, characterized a damning 165-page report by the state attorney general's office as a 'political firecracker on an explosive topic,' forcing his resignation and clearing the way for his lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, to succeed him." CNN's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Jenny Zhang of Gawker: "If almost-former Gov. Andrew Cuomo wasn't considered a disgraced man before (he was), he will be now. The Albany Times Union reports that the governor, who resigned after being accused of sexual misconduct by 11 women, left his dog, Captain, at the Executive Mansion in Albany and has been asking household staff members if anyone would like to keep him.... Cuomo is planning to go on vacation after he leaves office before midnight tonight." Cuomo's director of communications said the story was, like, totally untrue. MB: Once when I was walking my dog in downtown Manhattan, Andy's dad Mario stopped me & asked me all about the dog. Apparently a love of pets doesn't run in the family. (Also linked yesterday.)

** North Carolina. Paulina Villegas of the Washington Post: In a 2-1 decision, "North Carolina judges ordered the restoration of voting rights for thousands of people with a felony conviction in what advocates call the largest expansion of voting rights in decades in the state. Under state law, individuals are prohibited from voting until they are fully discharged from probation, parole or suspended sentence -- often years after they are released from prison. Monday's ruling by a panel of the state Superior Court in Raleigh could make North Carolina the only state in the South to automatically restore voting rights to people after they leave prison.... GOP state lawmakers who defended the existing law in court have said they plan to appeal Monday';s decision to a higher court."

Oregon. Getting Stupid Again in Portland. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of far-left and far-right demonstrators clashed in Portland, Ore., on Sunday afternoon, firing paintballs, spraying chemicals and destroying property. Police have not reported any deaths or injuries. But footage from the two areas where the demonstrations occurred showed gunshots being fired, people being shoved to the ground and some protesters breaking the windows of parked vehicles. Images showed at least one person surrendering to law enforcement officials where the shots had been fired. Dennis G. Anderson, 65, was charged with unlawful use and possession of a firearm shortly after the shooting, police said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, Wait. It Was Supposed to Be a "Summer of Love' Thing. Tess Owen of Vice: "Gunfire erupted in Portland on Sunday amid what may have been the most chaotic display of political violence between far-right agitators and antifascists in the Oregon city yet. A coalition of heavily-armed groups, including the Proud Boys, rallied for a 'Summer of Love' event in Portland, Oregon, Sunday. The event had been advertised online with a colorful Hippie-esque flier, promising 'Patriots spreading LOVE not HATE.'... Many of the approximately 200 people who showed up to participate in the event seemed prepared for anything but a 1960's-style 'love in.' Instead, they came openly carrying handguns, baseball bats, chemical spray bottles, and at least one pickaxe featuring Proud Boys insignia, The Guardian's Jason Wilson reported."

Way Beyond

Sweden. Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "Stefan Lofven..., the Swedish prime minister, navigated seven years of fractious politics and fragile governing coalitions. He hung on as the coronavirus pandemic devastated his country -- its response coming under increasingly harsh scrutiny -- and he recaptured his seat after being ousted in June. Then on Sunday, with no warning, he resigned. The surprise announcement sent a tremor through Swedish politics at an already turbulent time in Stockholm, with leaders in a divided government pressing to pass a budget proposal, national elections looming in 2022 and public support growing for a far-right party with neo-Nazi roots.... His resignation becomes official in November.... Lofven's departure leaves a leadership vacuum. But it also presents an opportunity for a country that has long thought of itself as a world leader on gender equality: the prospect of Sweden's first female prime minister." ~~~

     ~~~ Under New Management. Marie: Just to put things in perspective, Kathy Hochul became the governmental leader of 19.45 million people. Stefan Lofven leads 10.23 million people.