The Commentariat -- August 14, 2021

Afternoon Update:

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

** The End of the Longest War. David Sanger & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "In the end, an Afghan force that did not believe in itself and a U.S. effort that Mr. Biden, and most Americans, no longer believed would alter the course of events combined to bring an ignoble close to America's longest war. The United States kept forces in Afghanistan far longer than the British did in the 19th century, and twice as long as the Soviets -- with roughly the same results."

** President Biden's statement on Afghanistan.

Rachel Pannett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Taliban's blitz across Afghanistan pushed closer to Kabul on Saturday, as U.S. diplomats appealed to the militants to stop the advance or risk conflict with thousands of U.S. troops flooding into the capital to evacuate U.S. diplomats and other personnel. But in Qatar's capital, Doha, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met with Taliban political leaders who had a message of their own: calling for an end to escalating U.S. airstrikes trying to hold the fast-moving push by Taliban forces to gain territory, occupy provincial capitals and hold key roadways. With Kabul in the Taliban crosshairs, the fate of the country's Western-allied government also hung in the balance. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in his first public appearance since the Taliban's stunning sweep of provincial capitals over the past week, said he was turning to the international community for help even as events appeared to be overtaking him and his administration."

** Eyal Press in a New York Times op-ed: "Contemporary America runs on dirty work," work done -- usually by low-paid workers -- in penal & mental institutions, immigrations centers, slaughterhouses, overseas sweatshops, & drone-war facilities.... This work sustains our lifestyles and undergirds the prevailing social order, but privileged people are generally spared from having to think about it.... Though more difficult to quantify, the moral and emotional wounds that many dirty workers experience can be as debilitating as material disadvantage.... Pinning the blame for dirty work solely on the people who carry it out can be a useful way to obscure the power dynamics and the layers of complicity that perpetuate their conduct."

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The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Afghanistan are here: "The last major city in northern Afghanistan fell to the Taliban on Saturday night, marking the complete loss of the country's north to the Taliban as the insurgents appear on the verge of a full military takeover." ~~~

~~~ Tameem Akhgar, et al., of the AP: "The Taliban completed their sweep of the country's south on Friday as they took four more provincial capitals in a lightning offensive that is gradually encircling Kabul, just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war. In just the last 24 hours, the country's second- and third-largest cities -- Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south -- have fallen to the insurgents as has the capital of the southern Helmand province, where American, British and NATO forces fought some of the bloodiest battles of the conflict. The blitz through the Taliban's southern heartland means the insurgents now hold half of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals and control more than two-thirds of the country -- weeks before the U.S. plans to withdraw its last troops. The Western-backed government in the capital, Kabul, still holds a smattering of provinces in the center and east, as well as the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating Friday's developments in Afghanistan here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ American Disgrace. Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "The rapid collapse of security in Afghanistan has turned a slow-building U.S. effort to rescue men and women who have assisted the United States into a full-blown humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands of people still seeking refuge and potentially little time to relocate them. The scramble to rescue America's Afghan allies comes after U.S. lawmakers in both parties have pressed the Biden administration for months to move faster on the issue.... The U.S. government has transported about 1,200 Afghans to the United States in recent days, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. But the Biden administration has committed to temporarily relocating another 4,000 applicants and their families to other countries while their immigration paperwork is finalized and assessed, and there are many thousand more who are earlier in the process and face a stark outlook."

~~~ Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States' 20-year endeavor to rebuild Afghanistan's military into a robust and independent fighting force has failed, and that failure is now playing out in real time as the country slips into Taliban control.... The swift [Taliban] offensive has resulted in mass surrenders, captured helicopters and millions of dollars of American-supplied equipment paraded by the Taliban on grainy cellphone videos. In some cities, heavy fighting had been underway for weeks on their outskirts, but the Taliban ultimately overtook their defensive lines and then walked in with little or no resistance. This implosion comes despite the United States having poured more than $83 billion in weapons, equipment and training into the country's security forces over two decades. Building the Afghan security apparatus was one of the key parts of the Obama administration's strategy as it sought to find a way to hand over security and leave nearly a decade ago.... How the Afghan military came to disintegrate first became apparent ... months ago in an accumulation of losses that started even before President Biden's announcement that the United States would withdraw by Sept. 11." ~~~

~~~ Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post, from "The Afghanistan Papers" (December 2019): "'The Afghan forces are better than we thought they were,' Marine Gen. John Allen told Congress in 2012. 'The Afghan national security forces are winning,' Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson told reporters in 2014. But in a trove of confidential government interviews obtained by The Washington Post, U.S., NATO and Afghan officials described their efforts to create an Afghan proxy force as a long-running calamity. With most speaking on the assumption that their remarks would remain private, they depicted the Afghan security forces as incompetent, unmotivated, poorly trained, corrupt and riddled with deserters and infiltrators. In one interview, Thomas Johnson, a Navy official who served as a counterinsurgency adviser in Kandahar province, said Afghans viewed the police as predatory bandits, calling them 'the most hated institution' in Afghanistan. An unnamed Norwegian official told interviewers that he estimated 30 percent of Afghan police recruits deserted with their government-issued weapons so they could 'set up their own private checkpoints' and extort payments from travelers." ~~~

     ~~~ Say, here's the self-same Marine General John Allen -- now of the Brookings Institution -- in a Defense One opinion piece, explaining why President Biden must reverse his decision to leave Afghanistan. Okay then.

Jacob Bogage & Douglas MacMillan of the Washington Post: "Postmaster General Louis DeJoy purchased up to $305,000 in bonds from an investment firm whose managing partner also chairs the U.S. Postal Service's governing board, the independent body responsible for evaluating DeJoy's performance. Between October and April, DeJoy purchased 11 bonds from Brookfield Asset Management each worth between $1,000 and $15,000, or $15,000 and $50,000, according to DeJoy's financial disclosure paperwork. Ron Bloom, a Brookfield senior executive who manages the firm's private equity division, has served on the postal board since 2019 and was elected its chairman in February." MB: Surprise! Both DeJoy & Bloom are Trump appointees. Update: Rachel Maddow pointed out Friday night that Bloom has repeatedly expressed great admiration for DeJoy & averred that Louie was definitely the best guy for the postmaster general job. And it cost DeJoy only $300K or so for those expressions of affirmation. Nice.

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Nine moderate House Democrats told Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday that they will not vote for a budget resolution meant to pave the way for the passage of a $3.5 trillion social policy package later this year until a Senate-approved infrastructure bill passes the House and is signed into law. The pledge, in a letter released early Friday, is a major rift that threatens the carefully choreographed, two-track effort by congressional Democrats and the Biden administration to enact both a trillion-dollar, bipartisan infrastructure deal and an even more ambitious -- but partisan -- social policy measure. The nine House members are more than enough to block consideration of the budget blueprint in a House where Democrats hold a three-seat majority." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Kara Voght of Mother Jones: "The letter, notably, makes no promises that the signers will vote for the $3.5 trillion budget package, even if their demands to take up the infrastructure bill are met." ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "If [these nine Democrats] wanted things that were popular or defensible on the merits they could potentially get concessions during normal negotiations; they're engaging in hostage-taking because their basic position is that Biden's budget is both too big and doesn't do enough for rich people, which is unlikely to actually persuade anybody else."

** David Daly & Gaby Goldstein in a Guardian op-ed: "The United States is becoming a land filled with 'democracy deserts', where gerrymandering and voting restrictions are making voters powerless to make change. And this round of redistricting could make things even worse. Since 2012, the Electoral Integrity Project at Harvard University has studied the quality of elections worldwide.... In its most recent study of the 2020 elections, the integrity of Wisconsin's electoral boundaries earned a 23 -- worst in the nation, on par with Jordan, Bahrain and the Congo.... Alabama (31), North Carolina (32), Michigan (37), Ohio (33), Texas (35), Florida (37) and Georgia (39) scored only marginally higher. Nations that join them in the 30s include Hungary, Turkey and Syria.... [When] Republican lawmakers redistricted [states] like Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida ... after the 2010 census, with the benefit of precise, granular voting data and the most sophisticated mapping software ever, they gerrymandered themselves into advantages that have held firm for the last decade -- even when Democratic candidates win hundreds of thousands more statewide votes. In Wisconsin, for example, voters handed Democrats every statewide race in 2018 and 203,000 more votes for the state assembly -- but the tilted Republican map handed Republicans 63 of the 99 seats nevertheless."

Lisa Friedman & Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "After a decade of disputing the existence of climate change, many leading Republicans are shifting their posture amid deadly heat waves, devastating drought and ferocious wildfires that have bludgeoned their districts and unnerved their constituents back home. Members of Congress who long insisted that the climate is changing due to natural cycles have notably adjusted that view, with many now acknowledging the solid science that emissions from burning oil, gas and coal have raised Earth's temperature. But their growing acceptance of the reality of climate change has not translated into support for the one strategy that scientists said in a major United Nations report this week is imperative to avert an even more harrowing future: stop burning fossil fuels. Instead, Republicans want to spend billions to prepare communities to cope with extreme weather, but are trying to block efforts by Democrats to cut the emissions that are fueling the disasters in the first place." MB: If you have a NYT subscription, click on the link, then search the page for "Inhofe." What an ass.

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post features Jeff Clark, the DOJ lawyer she says "became, for a brief time, the most dangerous Trump administration official you never heard of." MB: It's sort of a story where Walter Mitty decides to actually play out one of his daydreams. Pocketa pocketa.

Peter Hermann & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: The lawyer for a D.C. police officer who fatally shot himself nine days after he was injured confronting rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6 says a group of cybersleuths has identified one of his attackers. A blow to Officer Jeffrey Smith's head captured on video shows the 12-year veteran being knocked to the ground, apparently unconscious, according to a lawsuit Smith's family filed Friday against the alleged attacker. The lawsuit includes a report from a doctor who evaluated the case for Smith's estate saying a traumatic brain injury led the officer to take his own life.... The Washington Post is not identifying the man named in the lawsuit because The Post could not independently verify his identity and he has not been charged with a crime. Reached Friday, the man declined to comment.... Social media accounts that appear to be connected to him share conspiracy theories about the election and covid-19 vaccinations."

Not-News Flash! Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump was not reinstated as president on August 13th -- despite the far-right conspiracy theory that he would do so. Although President Joe Biden decisively won the 2020 election and the Constitution does not provide a mechanism to re-instate a former president, Trump reportedly bought into the conspiracy theory. Frank Figliuzzi, the former assistant director for counterintelligence at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warns that the conspiracy theory may result in violence. Figliuzzi noted a DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis bulletin obtained by ABC News that warned, 'Some conspiracy theories associated with reinstating former President Trump have included calls for violence if desired outcomes are not realized.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Frank Figliuzzi, in an MSNBC opinion piece: "This nonsense about a Trump return to the Oval Office would be at least mildly amusing if it weren't so dangerous. And the Department of Homeland Security agrees.... DHS issued a bulletin Aug. 6 to its state and local partners warning that the agency's intelligence analysts have observed 'an increasing but modest level of activity online" by people who are calling for violence in response to baseless claims of 2020 election fraud and related to the conspiracy theory that ... Donald Trump will be reinstated.'... QAnon quackery is central to the reinstatement delusion.... Trump continues to fuel the reinstatement conspiracy, and he's fattening his campaign coffers in the process.... U.S. Capitol Police are closely monitoring plans for a 'Justice for January 6' rally on the Capitol grounds set for Sept. 18.... Chris Sampson ... [of] the Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics and Racial Ideologies..., told me: 'The same people who pushed the Jan. 6 attack are the same people pushing current conspiracy theories that say, "They stole the election from you," "Ashli Babbitt was murdered," calls for violence against vaccine locations and calls insurrectionists "political prisoners.'"

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Heather Murphy of the New York Times: "Snopes, which has long presented itself as the internet's premier fact-checking resource, has retracted 60 articles after a BuzzFeed News investigation found that the site's co-founder plagiarized from news outlets as part of a strategy intended to scoop up web traffic. 'As you can imagine, our staff are gutted and appalled by this,' Vinny Green, the Snopes chief operating officer, said on Friday. He said the Snopes editorial team was conducting a review to understand just how many articles written by David Mikkelson, the site's co-founder and chief executive, featured content plagiarized from other news sites. As of Friday afternoon, the team had found 60, he said. By Friday morning, dozens of articles had been removed from the site, with pages that formerly featured those articles now showing the word 'retracted' and an explanation that 'some or all of its content was taken from other sources without proper attribution.' Ads have been removed from these articles, according to Mr. Green." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's BuzzFeed News' original investigative report, by Dean Jones.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Andrew Atterbury of Politico: "The Biden Administration further inserted itself into Florida's mask fight on Friday by offering to pay the salaries of Florida school board members who lose state funds by defying Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on local K-12 mask mandates. In a letter to DeSantis and his Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote that school districts stripped of state funding for passing local coronavirus safety measures can use federal relief dollars to replenish the cash. Cardona said he was 'deeply concerned' by DeSantis' efforts preventing schools from requiring students to wear masks amid a surge in Covid infections, and that his agency could reach the schools directly if need be."

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

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "'I don't think it's anybody's damn business whether I'm vaccinated or not,' Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, told CNN last month.... In the context of a deadly and often debilitating contagion, in which the unchecked spread of infection has consequences for the entire society, vaccination is not a personal decision.... So-called freedom is ill suited to human flourishing. It is practically maladaptive in the face of a pandemic.... From the jump, the federal government devolved its response to the pandemic, foisting responsibility onto states and localities, which, in turn, left individual Americans and their communities to navigate conflicting rules and information.... When you structure a society so that every person must be an island, you cannot then blame people when inevitably they act as if they are. If we want a country that takes solidarity seriously, we will actually have to build one.... Vaccination ... should have been mandated from the start." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In the U.S., the Covid-19 pandemic is a symptom of conservatism. At least since the Goldwater era, mainstream conservatives & confederates have stressed individual "freedom" over civic responsibility -- without understanding that absent collective responsibility, there is no freedom. The right's emphasis on individual freedom -- whether a philosophical preference or a craven political ploy or the white man's wail -- is antithetical to Western democratic values. Covid-19 is a sickness that kills, but the cause of death in the U.S. is less a virus than a selfish political belief system that survives only because its practitioners have taught its followers to accept fantastic lies.

California. Parent Beats up Teacher Because Masks. Lateshia Beachum of the Washington Post: "An unidentified father of a student at Sutter Creek Elementary School in Amador County, Calif., ... saw his daughter and the principal wearing masks, Amador County Unified School District Superintendent Torie Gibson told KTXL. He allegedly argued with the principal, left and returned to speak with her again, Gibson said. An unnamed male teacher intervened, but that led to a physical altercation between the two men that resulted in the teacher needing medical attention at a hospital, KCRA 3 reported." MB: Beachum calls the fight the result of the "sensitive spot" teachers are in. Really? No, school personnel are victims of the right-wing lie machine, whether they're subjected to actual violence, as in this case, verbal abuse or empty threats. Reporters should say so.

Texas. Carma Hassan & Christina Maxouris of CNN: "Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are surging and in Dallas County, Texas, there are 'zero ICU beds left for children,' county judge Clay Jenkins said in a news conference Friday morning. 'That means if your child's in a car wreck, if your child has a congenital heart defect or something and needs an ICU bed, or more likely if they have Covid and need an ICU bed, we don't have one. Your child will wait for another child to die,' Jenkins said."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "The leader of the New York State Assembly said Friday that lawmakers will suspend their ongoing impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, following his resignation earlier this week over sexual harassment allegations. Carl E. Heastie, the speaker of the Assembly, said the inquiry was moot since its main objective was to determine whether Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, should remain in office. Mr. Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, also said he believed lawmakers did not have the constitutional authority to impeach a governor who was no longer in power."

News Ledes

AP: There are "more than 100 large wildfires burning in a dozen Western states seared by drought and hot, bone-dry weather that has turned forests, brushlands, meadows and pastures into tinder. The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it's operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system. The roughly 21,000 federal firefighters working on the ground is more than double the number of firefighters sent to contain forest fires at this time a year ago, and the agency is facing 'critical resources limitations,' said Anthony Scardina, a deputy forester for the agency's Pacific Southwest region."

AP: "A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, with the epicenter about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Haiti's new prime minister, Ariel Henry, said on Twitter that the 'violent quake' had caused loss of life and damage in various parts of the country. He said he would mobilize all available government resources to help victims and appealed to Haitians to unify as they 'confront this dramatic situation in which we're living right now." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments in Haiti here: "The quake overwhelmed hospitals, flattened buildings and trapped people under rubble in at least two cities in the western part of the country's southern peninsula. At least 304 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured, according to Jerry Chandler, the director general of the Civil Protection Agency. An untold number were missing."

Weather Channel: "Fred is now an open tropical wave, but is expected to organize and strengthen some in the days ahead in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is the potential for rain and wind impacts this weekend. Fred is tracking west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph away from Cuba, now in the Gulf of Mexico. Fred remains highly disorganized because of unfavorable upper-level winds and land interaction. Tropical storm warnings have been canceled in the Florida Keys. Heavy rain will continue in parts of Cuba and Florida into the weekend, which have already seen up to 10 inches of rain so far."

The Commentariat -- August 13, 2021

Late Morning Update:

Tameem Akhgar, et al., of the AP: "The Taliban completed their sweep of the country's south on Friday as they took four more provincial capitals in a lightning offensive that is gradually encircling Kabul, just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war. In just the last 24 hours, the country's second- and third-largest cities -- Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south -- have fallen to the insurgents as has the capital of the southern Helmand province, where American, British and NATO forces fought some of the bloodiest battles of the conflict. The blitz through the Taliban's southern heartland means the insurgents now hold half of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals and control more than two-thirds of the country -- weeks before the U.S. plans to withdraw its last troops. The Western-backed government in the capital, Kabul, still holds a smattering of provinces in the center and east, as well as the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating Friday's developments in Afghanistan here.

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Nine moderate House Democrats told Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday that they will not vote for a budget resolution meant to pave the way for the passage of a $3.5 trillion social policy package later this year until a Senate-approved infrastructure bill passes the House and is signed into law. The pledge, in a letter released early Friday, is a major rift that threatens the carefully choreographed, two-track effort by congressional Democrats and the Biden administration to enact both a trillion-dollar, bipartisan infrastructure deal and an even more ambitious -- but partisan -- social policy measure. The nine House members are more than enough to block consideration of the budget blueprint in a House where Democrats hold a three-seat majority."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here.

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Cleve Wootson & Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "President Biden stepped up his battle over drug costs on Thursday, calling on Congress to pass legislation that would let Medicare negotiate directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers and penalize drugmakers that increase prices faster than inflation. Biden's remarks from the White House were less a set of new policy ideas than a reminder that he is eager to make headway on an issue of keen concern to voters -- one he describes as critical to helping Americans recover economically from the pandemic. 'Alzheimer's, diabetes, cancer -- they don't care if you're Democrat or Republican,' Biden said in the East Room. 'This is about whether or not you and your loved ones can afford prescription drugs.'"

Jeremy White of Politico: "President Joe Biden resoundingly endorsed Gov. Gavin Newsom against a looming recall vote on Thursday, telegraphing that the White House could come to Newsom's aid in the race's critical final weeks. The Biden administration had already gone on the record opposing the vote to oust Newsom. But Biden's statement was on a different order of magnitude and came as the White House considers deploying Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris -- or both -- on Newsom's behalf. 'Governor Newsom is leading California through unprecedented crises,' Biden said in a statement. 'He is a key partner in fighting the pandemic and delivering economic relief to working families and helping us build our economy back better than ever. He's taking on the climate crisis and standing up for the rights of women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community. He knows how to get the job done because he's been doing it. And to keep him on the job, registered California voters should vote no on the recall election by September 14 and keep California moving forward.'"

Missy Ryan & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration will temporarily send thousands of additional military personnel to Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Thursday, as the United States bolsters security and braces for what could be a dramatic and dangerous departure after 20 years at war. Approximately 3,000 combat troops will deploy to the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, facilitating the withdrawal of civilian staff from the U.S. embassy and assisting as the United States speeds up the departure of Afghans who have assisted the U.S. government in the war effort. John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, declined to call the deployment a combat mission, but said infantry soldiers and Marines will deploy with machine guns, mortars and other heavy weapons, and authorization to defend themselves if attacked." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "American negotiators are trying to extract assurances from the Taliban that they will not attack the U.S. Embassy in Kabul if the extremist group takes over the country's government and ever wants to receive foreign aid, three American officials said. The effort, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American envoy in talks with the Taliban, seeks to stave off a full evacuation of the embassy as they rapidly seize cities across Afghanistan. On Thursday, the State Department announced it was sending home an unspecified number of the 1,400 Americans stationed at the embassy and drawing down to what the agency's spokesman, Ned Price, described as a 'core diplomatic presence' in Kabul." More on Afghanistan linked under Way Beyond the Beltway. ~~~

~~~ Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Interviews with former officials who have been intimately involved in US policy in Afghanistan point to an interconnected webs of factors behind the implosion, some of them long in the making, some a result of decisions taken in the past few months. While there is consensus that a failure of leadership and unity in Kabul has played an important part in the domino-fall of defeats, there is also agreement that the attempt to put all the blame on the Afghans obscures the share of responsibility of the US and its allies for the military disaster.... In the early years, when the Taliban were on the run, the Pentagon, under the defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, was loath to fund a substantial Afghan force, particularly after the Iraq invasion drew away resources and attention. Later, when the Taliban had regrouped and struck back, the coalition raced to build the Afghan national security forces (ANSF).... Out in the provinces, newly minted police were left to fend for themselves, and many used their authority and guns to squeeze income out of the population. Army officers drew salaries for tens of thousands 'ghost soldiers', whose names were on the books, but who never materialised." And more.

Sabrina Tavernise & Robert Gebeloff of the New York Times: "The United States grew significantly more diverse over the past decade, as the populations of people who identify as Hispanic and Asian surged and the number of people who said they were more than one race more than doubled, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday. Overall population growth slowed substantially over the past decade, but the growth that did occur -- an increase of about 23 million people -- was made up entirely of people who identified as Hispanic, Asian, Black and more than one race, according to the data, the first racial and ethnic breakdown from the 2020 census. The white population declined for the first time in history.... That drop, of 2.6 percent, was driven in part by the aging of the white population -- the median age was 44 in 2019, compared with 30 for Hispanics -- and a long-running decline in the birthrate. Some social scientists theorized that another potential reason for the decrease was that more Americans who previously identified as white on the census are now choosing more than one race.... People who identify as white now make up 58 percent of the population, down from 64 percent in 2010, and 69 percent in 2000." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Reports of NYC's Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated. Annie Correal of the New York Times: "New York City has grown by more than 629,000 people -- or nearly 8 percent -- since 2010, reaching 8.8 million and defying predictions that its population was on the decline.... But city officials said the increase was at least in part a result of getting a better count.... Each of the city's five boroughs grew.... In recent years, New York's Department of City Planning, which supplies data to the Census Bureau, added 265,000 housing units that had been missing from the bureau's list...." MB: It could also be true that while the city's population increased (or at least remained level), jobs in NYC decreased, thus creating more economic hardship.

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The number of migrants detained along the Mexico border crossed a new threshold last month, exceeding 200,000 for the first time in 21 years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection enforcement data released Thursday. Among the 212,672 migrants taken into U.S. custody in July were 82,966 family members and 18,962 unaccompanied teenagers and children -- an all-time high. The unaccompanied minors' custody requirements have once more overwhelmed the Biden administration as it struggles to care for them safely in the middle of the pandemic. Biden officials predicted earlier this year that the volume of people crossing the border would decline with the summer heat. Instead, Central American adults and children are crossing again in large groups of 300 or more, and U.S. border facilities are jammed with migrants shoulder-to-shoulder in detention facilities."

Ryan Reilly & Alanna Vagianos of the Huffington Post: "An Ohio man who was identified by online investigators in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack was arrested by the FBI on Thursday and charged with attacking law enforcement during a brutal siege on the western side of the U.S. Capitol Building. Dave Mehaffie of Dayton, Ohio, was known to online investigators as #TunnelCommander because he was issuing orders to members of the mob who were attacking officers during a brutal battle at the lower western terrace entrance to the Capitol."

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: After Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told CNN's Dana Bash that she was afraid she might be not only be killed on January 6 but also sexually violated, Fox "News" personality Tucker Carlson had some thoughts. "As he usually does, Carlson incorrectly referred to the congresswoman as 'Sandy Cortez.'... [Carlson said,] 'Sexualizing? Get a therapist, honey. This is crazy. These people were mad because they thought the election wasn't fair. Now, you may disagree with that, but it wasn't about you, surprise, surprise! "Sexualized the violence, I thought I was gonna be raped by Ashli Babbitt!"'... Regarding Ocasio-Cortez's concerns about being raped, as just one example, in July 2019 she confronted then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan about a secret Facebook group in which Border Patrol agents had shared racist and sexist content, including photoshopped images showing Ocasio-Cortez being violently raped and in other sexually graphic ways." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Tucker's one saving grace is that he makes it impossible not to despise him. You never have to wonder if you're being unfair to Tucker, because he constantly confirms your worst suspicions about him.

The Trump Crime Blotter, Ctd.

Ann Marimow & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's last acting attorney general has told U.S. senators his boss was 'persistent' in trying to pressure the Justice Department to discredit the results of the 2020 election. In closed-door testimony Saturday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeffrey Rosen said he had to 'persuade the president not to pursue a different path' at a high-stakes January meeting in which Trump considered ousting Rosen as the nation's most powerful law enforcement officer. According to a person familiar with the testimony, Rosen's opening statement also characterized as 'inexplicable' the actions of his Justice Department colleague, Jeffrey Clark, who was willing to push Trump's false claims of election fraud and whom Trump considered installing as acting attorney general to replace Rosen." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Betsy Swan & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "During Donald Trump's final weeks in office, top Justice Department officials wrangled over how the FBI should handle a particularly wacky voter fraud allegation promoted by the then-president and his allies. Unreleased emails obtained by Politico show just how tense the episode got. The dispute pitted a senior career section chief against one of the DOJ's top officials, with the FBI caught in the crossfire. Trump's appointees at DOJ ultimately prevailed, and their investigation -- a probe into a viral video from Georgia that didn't actually find any evidence of fraud -- ended up playing a role in torpedoing the president's narrative.... Trump's allies [falsely] claimed [the video] showed the workers secretly pulling ballots out of 'suitcases' and using them to commit election fraud. Officials in the office of Georgia's secretary of state quickly debunked those claims.... The DOJ had a long-standing approach to voter fraud probes: Agents waited to open these investigations until the elections were over, ballots were cast, and winners were certified.... But ... on Nov. 9, 2020, a few days after the networks called the election for Joe Biden, [William] Barr issued a memo letting the FBI investigate some voter fraud allegations much more quickly." An interesting read. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post on the "spectacular implosion of Mike Lindell.... Josh Merritt, also known as 'Spider' or 'Spyder' and who was hired by Lindell for his 'red team,' told the Washington Times on Wednesday at the symposium that, effectively, Lindell has sold his adherents a bill of goods.... He confirmed the source of the cyber-data as Dennis Montgomery." Montgomery is a notorious con man who conned the federal government out of $20 million on the promise that he could decode al Qaida encrypted messages. "Current and former intelligence officials told PBS in 2014 that it was one of the most elaborate and dangerous hoaxes in U.S. history." Montgomery later conned infamous Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio out of $100K "to pursue a [fake] theory involving a federal government conspiracy against Arpaio." ~~~

     ~~~ It's All Antifa's Fault. Zachary Petrizzio of Salon: "MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, on the final day of his 'cyber symposium,' remained unable to produce any tangible evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. He attempted to deflect blame for his failed event onto supposed antifa activists -- or, actually, 'antifa things' -- who were nowhere to be seen in this Great Plains city of 177,000 residents. 'We've got antifa things, or people that have infiltrated, they're telling me this morning,' Lindell said. 'I just want everyone to know all the evil that's out there....'... He went on to say he now has a team of bodyguards protecting him, claiming that he was 'attacked' late on Wednesday night outside his Sioux Falls hotel. He did not provide details, and so far the alleged incident has not been independently verified."

The Washington Post publishes "Part two of an excerpt from 'The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War' [by Post reporter Craig Whitlock]. Part one can be found here.... President Barack Obama had promised to end the war, so on Dec. 28, 2014, U.S. and NATO officials held a ceremony at their headquarters in Kabul to mark the occasion.... In a statement, Obama called the day 'a milestone for our country' and said the United States was safer and more secure after 13 years of war.... In fact, the war was nowhere near a conclusion, 'responsible' or otherwise, and U.S. troops would fight and die in combat in Afghanistan for many years to come. The baldfaced claims to the contrary ranked among the most egregious deceptions and lies that U.S. leaders spread during two decades of warfare."

Joe Coscarelli & Liz Day of the New York Times: "In an abrupt reversal after more than a year of fighting in court -- and a much longer battle behind the scenes -- Britney Spears's father has agreed to eventually step aside from his long-running role overseeing the singer's finances as part of the unique conservatorship that has governed her life since 2008. Ms. Spears has called the conservatorship abusive and said she is afraid of her father, James P. Spears, vowing not to perform as long as he remained in charge. A new lawyer for the singer recently filed in court to have Mr. Spears immediately suspended or removed from his position as conservator of her estate. Initially, Mr. Spears objected to the request and defended his work on behalf of his daughter."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Fenit Nirappil, et al., of the Washington Post: "Two-thirds of Americans in highly vaccinated counties now live in coronavirus hot spots, according to an analysis by The Washington Post, as outbreaks of the highly transmissible delta variant -- once concentrated in poorly vaccinated pockets -- ignite in more populated and immunized areas still short of herd immunity. The Post analysis illustrates how rapidly the state of the pandemic changed in July from a problem for the unvaccinated to a nationwide concern.... While covid cases are rising almost everywhere, the vaccinated states still have consistently lower case rates than states with less vaccination." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lauran Neergaard & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "U.S. regulators on Thursday said transplant recipients and others with severely weakened immune systems can get an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to better protect them as the delta variant continues to surge. The late-night announcement by the Food and Drug Administration applies to several million Americans who are especially vulnerable because of organ transplants, certain cancers or other disorders. Several other countries, including France and Israel, have similar recommendations." The New York Times story is here.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court allowed Indiana University on Thursday to require students to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Eight students had sued the university, saying the requirement violated their constitutional rights to 'bodily integrity, autonomy and medical choice.' But they conceded that exemptions to the requirement -- for religious, ethical and medical reasons -- 'virtually guaranteed' that anyone who sought an exemption would be granted one. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees the federal appeals court in question, turned down the student's request for emergency relief without comment, which is the court's custom in ruling on emergency applications. She acted on her own, without referring the application to the full court, and she did not ask the university for a response. Both of those moves were indications that the application was not on solid legal footing." CNN's report is here.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked part of an eviction moratorium in New York State that had been imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Other challenges to eviction moratoriums, including one recently imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may reach the court soon. That federal moratorium is on precarious legal ground in light of a ruling from the justices in June. The court's order was unsigned and stressed that it applied only to a part of a state law that bars the eviction of tenants who file a form saying they have suffered economic setbacks as result of the pandemic. 'This scheme violates the court's longstanding teaching that ordinarily :no man can be a judge in his own case" consistent with the Due Process Clause,' the majority wrote. The order left other parts of the law intact, including a provision that instructed housing judges not to evict tenants who have been found to have suffered financial hardship. The court's three liberal members dissented. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, writing for himself and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, said the law was set to expire in a matter of weeks and was not plainly unconstitutional." Politico's report is here.

"We Can't Live Forever": Margie's Philosophical View of Covid. Jordan Williams of the Hill: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Thursday waved off concerns over hospitals exceeding capacity due to COVID-19, saying 'we can't live forever.' During an interview with right-wing network 'Real America's Voice,' Greene claimed that the media and public health officials are over-hyping the number of people that have been hospitalized with COVID-19. 'I've talked to local hospitals here in my district in here in my state. Yes, the waiting rooms get full, but guess what? The waiting rooms are full of all kinds of things, not just COVID,' Greene said. 'But they're seeing about 30 percent of those numbers being COVID cases.' ... 'Everybody needs to get back down to common sense and remember that, you know, we're human, we can't live forever, we're going to catch all kinds of diseases and illnesses and other viruses, and we get hurt sometimes," she continued.'"~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Margie doesn't seem to understand 8th-grade arithmetic. If your hospital normally runs at about 80% capacity, & 30% of the incoming patients showed up because of severe Covid, then the hospital is over capacity.

Florida. Andrew Atterbury of Politico: "Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration backed down from its threat to withhold school officials' salaries if they resist his anti-mask rule, saying instead that the defiant officials should be responsible for the 'consequences of their decisions.' The move by the governor's office represents a tacit acknowledgement that it legally can't take away the salaries of school board members and others despite previously threatening to. DeSantis could levy hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines against school districts for disobeying his mask orders, but it would be up for the board leaders themselves to cut their own pay."

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "Federal authorities on Thursday arrested a Minneapolis-based GOP strategist and PAC founder on allegations of sex trafficking minors, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. The FBI arrested Anton 'Tony' Lazzaro on Thursday on numerous charges, including conspiring with others to recruit minors to engage in sexual acts. According to the indictment, Authorities seized Lazzaro's possessions including his 2010 Ferrari, property at a downtown hotel, $371,240 in cash, and multiple electronic devices, according to the Star-Tribune."

Texas. Eva Moravec & Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "The Texas Senate on Thursday approved a bill that contains new voting restrictions after a Democratic senator filibustered for 15 hours to try to stop the legislation, moving it one step closer to being enacted and increasing pressure on Republicans in the House to reestablish a quorum to move the measure forward. The state Senate voted 18-11 in favor of Senate Bill 1 around 9 a.m. local time, after Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Carol Alvarado left the floor for the first time since 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday -- the latest long-shot effort by state Democrats to try to stymie passage of the legislation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

West Virginia. Clyde McGrady of the Washington Post: "On a hot, muggy mid-June day, several hundred people gathered along the Kanawha River in preparation for a 'March on Manchin' to voice their displeasure with the Democratic senator's lack of support for filibuster reform, a massive expansion of voting rights and a litany of Democratic priorities. The crowd, while overwhelmingly White, included some African Americans, reflecting their small number in the heart of Appalachia.... As the crowd marched toward Manchin's office along the Elk River chanting, 'Where's Joe?,' cars drove by and honked their support. When the marchers reached their destination, they were greeted not by Manchin but by representatives from his staff, who handed out complaint cards, as if the marchers were hotel guests leaving feedback for management about the stiffness of the bathroom towels." An interesting article about Black West Virginians.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Christina Goldbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Two more major cities in western and southern Afghanistan were on the verge of collapse to the Taliban on Thursday night, as the insurgency's race to seize control of the country accelerated. With the Taliban's sudden gains in Kandahar, in the country's southern Pashtun heartland, and Herat, a vital cultural and economic hub, the insurgents appear to be nearing a complete military takeover. Only four major cities -- including the capital, Kabul -- remain under government control, and two of them are under siege by the Taliban." ~~~

~~~ Ezzatullah Mehrdad & Susannah George of the Washington Post: "As Ghazni's capital fell to the Taliban on Thursday amid days of sweeping territorial gains by militants, the province's governor was arrested while fleeing, according to a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry. Ghazni is the 10th provincial capital to fall to the Taliban in less than a week. The city -- about 80 miles southwest of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul -- had been under siege by the militants for over three months." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Conor Finnegan & Luis Martinez of ABC News: "As Taliban forces advance on more provincial capitals, the U.S. is warning that its fighters are committing atrocities that could amount to war crimes.... While the Taliban have previously denied reports that its fighters have executed Afghan troops, the U.S. embassy said Thursday it was 'hearing additional reports of Taliban executions of surrendering Afghan troops' and said they were 'deeply disturbing and could constitute war crimes.'"

The Commentariat -- August 12, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Missy Ryan & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration will temporarily send thousands of additional military personnel to Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Thursday, as the United States bolsters security and braces for what could be a dramatic and dangerous departure after 20 years at war. Approximately 3,000 combat troops will deploy to the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, facilitating the withdrawal of civilian staff from the U.S. embassy and assisting as the United States speeds up the departure of Afghans who have assisted the U.S. government in the war effort. John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, declined to call the deployment a combat mission, but said infantry soldiers and Marines will deploy with machine guns, mortars and other heavy weapons, and authorization to defend themselves if attacked."

Ann Marimow & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's last acting attorney general has told U.S. senators his boss was 'persistent' in trying to pressure the Justice Department to discredit the results of the 2020 election. In closed-door testimony Saturday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jeffrey Rosen said he had to 'persuade the president not to pursue a different path' at a high-stakes January meeting in which Trump considered ousting Rosen as the nation's most powerful law enforcement officer. According to a person familiar with the testimony, Rosen's opening statement also characterized as 'inexplicable' the actions of his Justice Department colleague, Jeffrey Clark, who was willing to push Trump's false claims of election fraud and whom Trump considered installing as acting attorney general to replace Rosen."

Betsy Swan & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "During Donald Trump's final weeks in office, top Justice Department officials wrangled over how the FBI should handle a particularly wacky voter fraud allegation promoted by the then-president and his allies. Unreleased emails obtained by Politico show just how tense the episode got. The dispute pitted a senior career section chief against one of the DOJ's top officials, with the FBI caught in the crossfire. Trump's appointees at DOJ ultimately prevailed, and their investigation -- a probe into a viral video from Georgia that didn't actually find any evidence of fraud -- ended up playing a role in torpedoing the president's narrative.... Trump's allies [falsely] claimed [the video] showed the workers secretly pulling ballots out of 'suitcases' and using them to commit election fraud. Officials in the office of Georgia's secretary of state quickly debunked those claims.... The DOJ had a long-standing approach to voter fraud probes: Agents waited to open these investigations until the elections were over, ballots were cast, and winners were certified.... But ... on Nov. 9, 2020, a few days after the networks called the election for Joe Biden, [William] Barr issued a memo letting the FBI investigate some voter fraud allegations much more quickly." An interesting read.

Fenit Nirappil, et al., of the Washington Post: "Two-thirds of Americans in highly vaccinated counties now live in coronavirus hot spots, according to an analysis by The Washington Post, as outbreaks of the highly transmissible delta variant -- once concentrated in poorly vaccinated pockets -- ignite in more populated and immunized areas still short of herd immunity. The Post analysis illustrates how rapidly the state of the pandemic changed in July from a problem for the unvaccinated to a nationwide concern.... While covid cases are rising almost everywhere, the vaccinated states still have consistently lower case rates than states with less vaccination."

Texas. Eva Moravec & Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "The Texas Senate on Thursday approved a bill that contains new voting restrictions after a Democratic senator filibustered for 15 hours to try to stop the legislation, moving it one step closer to being enacted and increasing pressure on Republicans in the House to reestablish a quorum to move the measure forward. The state Senate voted 18-11 in favor of Senate Bill 1 around 9 a.m. local time, after Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Carol Alvarado left the floor for the first time since 5:50 p.m. on Wednesday -- the latest long-shot effort by state Democrats to try to stymie passage of the legislation."

Afghanistan.  Ezzatullah Mehrdad & Susannah George of the Washington Post: "As Ghazni's capital fell to the Taliban on Thursday amid days of sweeping territorial gains by militants, the province's governor was arrested while fleeing, according to a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry. Ghazni is the 10th provincial capital to fall to the Taliban in less than a week. The city -- about 80 miles southwest of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul -- had been under siege by the militants for over three months."

~~~~~~~~~~

Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday criticized the Senate for not moving more quickly to confirm President Biden's ambassadorial nominees, as only one of Biden's political ambassadors has been confirmed more than six months after the inauguration.... Hours earlier, the Senate confirmed Ken Salazar, the former interior secretary and senator from Colorado, as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Salazar is the first of Biden's political ambassadors to be confirmed by the Senate.... So far, Psaki said, Biden has tapped nearly 275 nominees -- including many outside the State Department -- who have yet to be confirmed by the Senate.... Many of Biden's State Department nominees have been held up by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who has sought to pressure the administration over a controversial natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany." MB: So she's saying one in 275 is, like, not enough?

Let the Games Begin! Ally Mutnick & Zach Montellaro of Politico: "The Census Bureau's long-awaited release of redistricting data Thursday will unleash a torrent of new state political maps in the weeks and months to come, starting with the handful of states pressed against early fall deadlines to enact new district boundaries.... The topline data that the Census Bureau unveiled in April answered the biggest redistricting question: Which states are gaining and losing congressional seats? This new data trove will help shape the contours of those districts, showing which of the existing seats are currently over- or under-populated and where new districts could be drawn."

Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "The National Security Agency has quietly awarded a contract worth up to $10 billion to Amazon Web Services, setting off another high-stakes fight among rival tech giants over national security contract dollars. On July 21 ... Microsoft filed a formal bid protest with the Government Accountability Office, an independent federal agency that handles contract disputes, after Microsoft applied for the opportunity and was rejected. A decision is expected by Oct. 29. The contract award comes on the heels of a protracted and bitter dispute over a Pentagon contract, also worth up to $10 billion, which was given to Microsoft before getting bogged down in lawsuits and ultimately scrapped. If the NSA can fight through an often bruising bid protest process, the new contract could extend Amazon's lead in the fast-growing cloud computing market where rivals are gaining on it."

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "... the Senate adjourned on Wednesday for a monthlong recess with only the slimmest of paths left for passing federal voting rights legislation that Democrats hope can stop a wave of Republican state laws clamping down on ballot access. Before dawn on Wednesday, Senate Republicans blocked last-minute attempts to debate a trio of elections bills, but Democratic leaders vowed that more votes would be the 'first matter of legislative business' when they return in mid-September. First up is likely to be a scaled-back version of the party's far-reaching Senate Bill 1, the For the People Act, or S. 1, that Democrats believe will unite all 50 senators who caucus with them." ~~~

~~~ Clare Foran & Daniella Diaz of CNN: "Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Democrats to advance their signature voting and elections overhaul bill in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This was an effort by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats in the chamber to put Republicans on the record on the voting rights package and to demonstrate that they are still trying to pass it despite stiff GOP opposition, a priority for the party and the Biden administration."

Cameron Joseph of Vice: "As the Senate closed in on passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill, President Trump couldn't resist taking one more poke at the guy who was once his most important ally on Capitol Hill. 'I have quietly said for years that Mitch McConnell is the most overrated man in politics -- now I don't have to be quiet anymore,' Trump groused in a Tuesday statement about the Senate minority leader. 'He is working so hard to give Biden a victory.'... No matter what McConnell does, Trump won't stop picking fights with [him].... McConnell even praised Biden after the infrastructure package passed, telling the Wall Street Journal that Biden 'deserves a lot of credit for getting the Democrats open to reaching a bipartisan agreement on this bill.'"MB: I considered McConnell's faint praise of Biden payback for Trump's slamming McConnell.

Will Steakin & Katherine Faulders of ABC News: "As the federal investigation into Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz [R] continues into the summer, sources tell ABC News that Gaetz's one-time wingman has been steadily providing information and handing over potential evidence that could implicate the Florida congressman and others in the sprawling probe. Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, as part of his ongoing cooperation with prosecutors, has provided investigators with years of Venmo and Cash App transactions and thousands of photos and videos, as well as access to personal social media accounts, sources said."

The Trump Crime Blotter, Ctd.

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Byung J. Pak, a former U.S. attorney in Atlanta, told congressional investigators on Wednesday that his abrupt resignation in January had been prompted by Justice Department officials' warning that ... Donald J. Trump intended to fire him for refusing to say that widespread voter fraud had been found in Georgia, according to a person familiar with his testimony. Mr. Pak, who provided more than three hours of closed-door testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, stepped down with no notice on Jan. 4.... [Pak] told the Senate panel that the president had been dismayed that Mr. Pak had investigated allegations of voter fraud in Fulton County, Ga., and not found evidence to support them, according to the person familiar with the statements.... He also described work done by state officials and the F.B.I. to vet Mr. Trump's claims of voter fraud, and said they had not found evidence to support those allegations." Law & Crime has a summary story here.

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "House Democrats investigating Donald Trump can have access to his persona financial records from 2017 and 2018, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, as well as information related to his lease of a building near the White House. U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta of Washington had previously ruled that the former president's accountants must turn over a broader array of records. But the U.S. Supreme Court subsequently ruled that courts must take separation of powers concerns into account when members of Congress want personal information from the president. Because of Congress's role in overseeing the president's foreign business interests, Mehta said, release of the records from 2017 and 2018 is justified. If lawmakers could not access the records, he wrote, 'presidents could simply conceal foreign emoluments from Congress to avoid scrutiny -- a result contrary to the Framers' intent." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: Mehta's "decision is likely to be appealed by Trump's lawyers and could also be challenged by the House panel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

MEANWHILE, in Scotland. Judge Opens the High Road for a McMafia Order Against Trump. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "A Scottish judge on Wednesday opened a path to a possible investigation into the purchase of Donald Trump's two golf courses in Scotland, in a ruling that could force the former president to explain how he funded the deals. The Scottish government had resisted pressure to demand financial details from Mr. Trump through an 'unexplained wealth order,' a powerful legal instrument usually deployed against leading figures in organized crime or drug trafficking. But on Wednesday a judge ruled that Avaaz, an online campaign group, should be given the right to challenge the government's rejection of calls for such a move. Nicknamed 'McMafia orders,' unexplained wealth orders were introduced in 2018 to strengthen the government's armory against organized crime."

Oh, Merrick, where are you?

Erica Orden & Kara Scannell of CNN: "New York federal prosecutors came to suspect the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, lied in testimony during their investigation of former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen three years ago, according to four people familiar with prosecutors' thinking. Despite their suspicions, federal prosecutors did not pursue perjury charges against Weisselberg, but his past interactions with them could now become relevant to the Manhattan district attorney's office as it seeks his cooperation in a tax fraud case brought against Weisselberg and the company last month."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has rejected bids by three top promoters of ... Donald Trump's election fraud claims to throw out defamation lawsuits they face over a slew of allegedly false statements they made about the election-technology firm Dominion. Lawyers for former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and My Pillow founder Mike Lindell argued that the suits were legally deficient, but U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols ruled on Wednesday that the suits could proceed."

Liars, Inc. Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Rudolph W. Giuliani's promise of a 'big surprise' to help Donald Trump's election in October 2016 led to Democratic accusations the FBI was feeding him secrets about an investigation of Hillary Clinton. But a newly obtained transcript shows the former New York mayor told federal agents it was okay to 'throw a fake' when campaigning, to which his then-law partner added, 'there's no obligation to tell the truth.' Giuliani's comments came in a 2018 interview with agents for the Justice Department inspector general, conducted in a room at Trump's hotel in downtown Washington. The Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, sued for a copy of the interview transcript and provided it to The Washington Post on Wednesday. Giuliani's private defense of his actions has come to light as he and other Trump lawyers face discipline and possible court sanctions for their unfounded statements surrounding the 2020 election, raising questions about lawyers' integrity in a democracy.... 'You're under no obligation to tell the truth,'" said Marc Mukasey, then Giuliani's law partner & lawyer during the 2018 interview.

Oh Dear. Cyber Symposium Gone Wrong. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's own hand-picked 'cyber expert' has now admitted in an interview with the conservative Washington Times that the evidence unveiled this week at Lindell's 'Cyber Symposium' cannot actually prove the claim that China hacked the 2020 election. Even though Lindell has claimed that he has dozens of terabytes of 'irrefutable' evidence to prove China stole the election for President Joe Biden, Lindell-approved cyber expert Josh Merritt admitted to the Washington Times that 'packet captures are unrecoverable in the data and that the data, as provided, cannot prove a cyberincursion by China.'" ~~~

~~~ Oh Dear. Daniel Villareal of Newsweek, republished on MSN News: "Right-wing media figure Steve Bannon has slammed MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's cyber symposium for failing to present evidence that actually proves Lindell's long-touted claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential elections. Bannon ... has been at the symposium broadcasting War Room, his show on the right-leaning media network Real America's Voice. 'I think this is a mistake,' Bannon in his Wednesday broadcast.... 'You've laid a theory of the case that is very powerful,' Bannon continued, 'but in laying that case out, you've got to bring the receipts.'" ~~~

~~~ If you just couldn't get to South Dakota for the cyber symposium, Lucas Ropek of Gizmodo gives you a flavor for what you're missing. Or, as Ropek points out, you could livestream what's left of this amazing extravaganza -- it runs through today -- which Mike promised would bring "world-changing" information on Mike's "buggy farce of a website, Frank."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Jeanne Bourgault & Ahmed Rashid in a New York Times op-ed: "Today, vibrant networks of radio, television and online media reach all 34 provinces [of Afghanistan]. Female journalists, in a country that previously barred women from education, number over 1,100. Local media, according to a 2019 survey, is the second most-trusted public institution in Afghanistan, behind only religious leaders. Now the withdrawal of United States forces from the country threatens to upend the progress Afghans have made toward a more open and inclusive society.... In the next weeks and months, there's a chance to protect one of Afghanistan's greatest achievements in the past two decades: a thriving, dynamic press.... The first priority is to protect journalists. Many are in imminent danger and need emergency assistance.... Visa restrictions for all Afghan journalists ... should be eased.... International financial and material support can help them broadcast remotely.... For 20 years, Afghan journalists were among the West's greatest allies. We cannot be bystanders to their undoing."

Nadja Popovich & Winston Choi-Schagrin of the New York Times: "During the deadly heat wave that blanketed Oregon and Washington in late June, about 600 more people died than would have been typical, a review of mortality data for the week of the crisis shows. The number is three times as high as the states' official estimates of heat-related deaths so far. It suggests that the true toll of the heat wave, which affected states and provinces across the Pacific Northwest, may be much larger than previously reported. This week, the region is once again steeling itself for extreme heat." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While I'm not "blaming" right-wingers for climate change, since we are all contributing to it to one extent or another, I am blaming them for encouraging global warming with their aid to the fossil fuel industry and their aversion to almost all attempts to reduce climate change. So there's no question in my mind that climate catastrophes -- like heat waves & stronger, more frequent hurricanes -- are among the ways that wingers are actually killing us.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here.

Kaitlan Collins & John Bonifield of CNN: "The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce within the next 48 hours that it is authorizing Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for some people who are immunocompromised, according to a source familiar with the discussions. This would be a third shot of the current two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines." Update: The New York Times story is here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "Federal health officials on Wednesday bolstered their recommendation that pregnant people be vaccinated against Covid-19, pointing to new safety data that found no increased risk of miscarriage among those who were immunized during the first 20 weeks of gestation. Earlier research found similarly reassuring data for those vaccinated later in pregnancy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rand Paul Secretly Tried to Make Money off of Covid. Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Sen. Rand Paul revealed Wednesday that his wife bought stock in Gilead Sciences -- which makes an antiviral drug used to treat covid-19 -- on Feb. 26, 2020, before the threat from the coronavirus was fully understood by the public and before it was classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The disclosure, in a filing with the Senate, came 16 months after the 45-day reporting deadline set forth in the Stock Act, which is designed to combat insider trading. The investment, but especially the delayed reporting of it, alarmed experts in corporate and securities law, who said it undermined trust in government and raised questions about whether Paul's family had sought to profit from non-public information about the looming health emergency and plans by the U.S. government to combat it.... Remdesivir [-- Gilead's anti-viral drug --] was backed on Feb. 24, 2020 -- two days before [Kelley Paul's] purchase -- by a WHO assistant director-general, who described it as the only known drug that 'may have real efficacy' in treating the novel virus." The WHO & FDA, which initially approved use of Remdesivir, later recommended against its use on Covid patients.

California. Mackenzie Mays of Politico: "Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that California will require all teachers and school employees to be vaccinated or submit to weekly Covid-19 testing amid growing Delta variant concerns.Under the policy, school employees would have to show proof of vaccination to their districts. The move comes after three large California districts announced similar requirements on their own Tuesday and just two days after American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten voiced support for such a mandate."

Mississippi. Governor AWOL During Hospital Crisis. Ashton Pittman of the Mississippi Free Press: "'Hospitals and healthcare workers need you to help us,' Neshoba General Hospital CEO Lee McCall tweeted desperately at Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves [Tuesday] as COVID-19 continued to overwhelm the state's least vaccinated county. 'Where are you?' The answer, Arizona's governor inadvertently revealed, was that the Mississippi governor was once again out of state. He was attending a Republican Governors' Association meeting just one day after the state health officer announced that <no intensive-care beds remained statewide. Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau also reported that Reeves was attending the RGA event [Tuesday].... Meanwhile, Neshoba County's hospital was overflowing with patients and, according to McCall, he and hospital workers were 'all at our breaking point.' Meanwhile in Jackson at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where there is no longer enough staff to tend to all patients in need of ICU treatment, officials were asking the federal government for help setting up a field hospital in the medical center's parking garage." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Like most people, I'm glad to help people suffering the consequences of a disaster, but the Mississippi hospital crisis is a disaster precipitated by reflexively stupid & irresponsible people. It was, in all likelihood, avoidable. And it irritates the hell out of me to have to pay for somebody else's stupid. Also too, thanks, Trump!

Tennessee. Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "After a school board in Franklin, Tenn., voted on Tuesday night to require masks at local elementary schools, dozens of angry parents gathered outside the building and started chanting: 'We will not comply!' A video of the unruly parents, which has amassed 2.7 million views since it was posted early Wednesday, shows some anti-mask parents aim their scorn directly at their pro-mask peers.... [One] parent approached a man sitting in his car, identified by WTVF as one of the health care experts who testified at the school board meeting, and pointed at him. 'We know who you are,' the parent said. 'You can leave freely, but we will find you.'... In Tennessee, covid-19 cases among children nearly doubled in July, and a surge of another illness -- respiratory syncytial virus -- has left children's hospitals in the state with fewer beds to meet the covid surge, the Tennessean reported."

Texas. Azi Paybarah & Adeel Hassan of the New York Times: "Two court rulings on Tuesday cleared the way for local leaders who oppose a ban by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican, on mask mandates to at least temporarily require face coverings to help curb a rise in coronavirus cases. The first ruling came in Bexar County, which includes San Antonio. Masks can now be required in public schools and other public buildings there. Masks will also be required for county and city employees, said Andy Segovia, the city attorney for San Antonio.... The second ruling was delivered by a district judge in Dallas County who said the ban prevented officials from protecting residents during an emergency. 'Dallas County citizens will be irreparably harmed' if local leaders cannot require face coverings to stop the transmission of the virus, the judge, Tonya Parker, wrote in the ruling. In light of the decision, Clay Jenkins, the county's chief elected official, said he planned to issue an emergency order on Wednesday. Dallas and San Antonio now join Austin, Fort Worth and Houston in instituting mask mandates in schools. That means the state's five largest cities are defying Mr. Abbott's ban for schools."

Beyond the Beltway

Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Washington Post: "Nine months after the 2020 election, local officials across the country are coping with an ongoing barrage of criticism and personal attacks that many fear could lead to an exodus of veteran election administrators before the next presidential race.... As Trump continues to promote the false notion that the 2020 White House race was tainted by fraud, there is mounting evidence that his attacks are curdling the faith that many Americans once had in their elections -- and taking a deep toll on the public servants who work to protect the vote.... Officials from counties large and small say they are inundated with false claims, such as unsubstantiated allegations that Chinese hackers siphoned votes or that ballots marked by Sharpie pens were disqualified. The anger is palpable and personal, leading many to fear for their safety."

California. QAnon Dad Murders His Toddlers to "Save the World." Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: "Instead of the family camping trip he had planned, [Matthew] Coleman [of Santa Barbara] took his children ... -- a 2-year-old son and a 10-month-old daughter -- ... some 250 miles to Rosarito, a resort city on the Pacific coast in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, FBI agent Jennifer Bannon said in a nine-page sworn affidavit. Then, he shot each of them in the chest with a spearfishing gun, the agent said.... [Two days later, upon his return, alone, to the U.S., a]n FBI agent interviewed Coleman, and he confessed to killing his children, Bannon said in her affidavit. Coleman said he had been enlightened by QAnon and the Illuminati, both baseless theories that claim secret elites are maliciously controlling national and world affairs from the shadows. He had received visions and signs revealing his wife 'possessed serpent DNA,' which she passed on to their children, according to the affidavit. By killing them, he allegedly said, 'he was saving the world from monsters.'" A CBS News story is here.

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "Speaking publicly for the first time since Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced his resignation, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, the state's governor-in-waiting, quickly distanced herself Wednesday from Mr. Cuomo and signaled she would shift the political tone and workplace culture in the state capital.Ms Hochul, who is set to take office on Aug. 24, said that she had not been aware of the behavior that was described in a damning report released last week from the New York State attorney general.... She stated bluntly there would be 'turnover' [in the executive offices] and she would move to jettison Cuomo staffers who were named 'doing anything unethical in that report.'"

Texas. Eva Moravec & Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Texas Republicans hit fresh roadblocks Wednesday in their effort to enact new voting restrictions, facing a Democratic filibuster in the state Senate and signs that legal maneuvering could protect House quorum breakers from arrest. Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Carol Alvarado on Wednesday evening launched a filibuster of Senate Bill 1, the controversial elections measure, which she planned to maintain deep into the night. In the House, which remained without a quorum, deputies for the sergeant-at-arms apparently failed to find any absent Democrats as they delivered civil arrest warrants to their offices."

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Susannah George & Ezzabullah Mehrdad of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of Afghan forces surrendered to the Taliban in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military's most significant single collapse since the withdrawal of U.S. forces triggered a wave of territorial gains for the militants. After holding out for days at a military base on the edge of Kunduz, an entire Afghan army corps surrendered to Taliban fighters Wednesday morning, handing over valuable equipment -- much of it American -- according to two Afghan officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The move essentially ceded the last island of government control in the provincial capital to the Taliban. The group overran much of Kunduz over the weekend, one advance amid days of sweeping gains by the fighters across northern and western Afghanistan."

Peru. Everything Is Going Very Smoothly. Simeon Tegel of the Washington Post: "... just two weeks into his historic presidency, [Pedro] Castillo's inexperience, and his appointment to senior government positions of Marxist hard-liners, some implicated in criminality, have left this country that went through three presidents in one month last year once again on the brink of a political meltdown. The chaos has sounded the starting gun on an existential battle between the executive and an antagonistic, conservative-dominated legislature, with increasing talk of either the impeachment of the president or the dissolution of congress."

News Ledes

AP: "The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Thursday's report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell to 375,000 from 387,000 the previous week. The number of applications has fallen steadily since topping 900,000 in early January as the economy has increasingly reopened in the aftermath of the pandemic recession."

Washington Post: "Punishing heat waves are roasting the Pacific Northwest and the central and eastern United States simultaneously, placing more than half of the Lower 48 states under alerts from the National Weather Service. Excessive-heat warnings or heat advisories are in place for nearly 175 million Americans, and some of these alerts will remain in effect until the weekend. The most intense heat is set to roast the Pacific Northwest.... In the central and eastern United States, a sprawling area of heat advisories covers the zone from eastern Texas to southeastern Michigan and large parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast along the Interstate 95 corridor and parts of the interior New England. Cities under heat advisories include Little Rock, Chicago, Detroit, Raleigh, N.C., Washington and Boston.... Climate change is intensifying the frequency and intensity of extreme heat as increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel burning warm the atmosphere. On Monday, the landmark review of climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that exceptional heat events will strengthen in the coming decades."