The Commentariat -- August 13, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Joe Biden on Thursday called on governors across the U.S. to issue mask-wearing mandates to stem the spread of COVID-19. 'Every single American should be wearing a mask when they're outside for the next three months, at a minimum,' Biden told reporters at a hotel in Wilmington, Delaware, with his newly minted running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. 'Every governor should mandate mandatory mask-wearing,' he added.'It's not about your rights, it's about your responsibilities,' Biden said."
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "Officials across the United States reported at least 1,470 deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day total yet in August, according to a New York Times database, and a reflection of the continued toll of the early-summer case surge in Sun Belt states. More than half the deaths reported on Wednesday were spread across five states that saw some of the most dramatic case spikes in June and July. Texas reported more than 300 deaths Wednesday. Florida more than 200. And Arizona, California and Georgia all reported more than 100 each. Even as the number of new cases has fallen from its late July peak, deaths have remained persistently high. For more than two weeks, the country has averaged more than 1,000 deaths a day, more than twice as many as in early July." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Thursday are here: "Several of the first U.S. schools to reopen their classrooms are already experiencing covid-19 outbreaks. The news is particularly grim in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp (R) declined to issue an order requiring masks in schools. One district there has been forced to quarantine nearly 1,000 students and staff."
Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud. Felicia Sonmez & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Thursday that he does not want to fund the U.S. Postal Service because Democrats are seeking to expand mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, making explicit the reason he has declined to approve $25 billion in emergency funding for the cash-strapped agency. 'Now, they need that money in order to make the post office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,' Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo. He added: 'Now, if we don't make a deal, that means they don't get the money. That means they can't have universal mail-in voting, they just can't have it.'" Mrs. McC: Many Americans have died for the democratic freedoms we enjoy. Trump wants to ensure that many more Americans die this year for that particular democratic freedom: the right to vote. This is premeditated murder. ~~~
~~~ OR, as Inae Oh of Mother Jones' headline reads, "Trump Makes It Official: He's Sabotaging the Post Office to Rig the Election": "During a pandemic that he and his administration have badly mismanaged, the president is refusing to restart congressional negotiations for coronavirus relief if the legislation includes emergency funding for a service that, in addition to helping society function normally, would make voting safer and more accessible at the exact moment when requests for absentee ballots are soaring.... 'You'd never have a Republican elected in this country again,' Trump said back in March while discussing voting reforms aimed at expanding access to the ballot. Here at least we get to the core rationale that's likely governing Republican silence on the issue. They, like this president, worry that if more people are able to vote, Republicans will be less likely to win." ~~~
~~~ Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "... Donald Trump will not support a coronavirus relief deal that includes 'voting rights' provisions backed by Democrats, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Thursday. 'So much of the Democratic asks are really liberal, left wish lists -- voting rights and aid to aliens and so forth,' he told CNBC's 'Squawk on the Street' when asked about the administration's stalled aid talks with Democratic leaders."
Aaron Gordon of Vice: "The United States Postal Service is removing mail sorting machines from facilities around the country without any official explanation or reason given, Motherboard has learned through interviews with postal workers and union officials. In many cases, these are the same machines that would be tasked with sorting ballots, calling into question promises made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that the USPS has 'ample capacity' to handle the predicted surge in mail-in ballots. Motherboard identified 19 mail sorting machines from five processing facilities across the U.S. that either have already been removed or are scheduled to be in the near future. But the Postal Service operates hundreds of distribution facilities around the country, so it is not clear precisely how many machines are getting removed and for what purpose."
Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "President Trump took a swing at his FBI director, Christopher A. Wray, on Thursday, expressing impatience with the bureau's level of cooperation with inquiries into its investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016. Speaking by phone with Maria Bartiromo of Fox Business, Trump railed against past investigations of his former adviser Carter Page, his former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his own conduct as president. Asked whether Wray was withholding FBI documents that could shed more light on those cases, Trump noted there was an election coming up before saying: 'I wish he was more forthcoming. He certainly hasn't been. There are documents that they want to get and that we have said we want to get. We are going to find out if he's going to give those documents. Certainly, he's been very, very protective.'" ~~~
~~~ Betsy Klein & Evan Perez of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Thursday again attacked his own FBI director, whom he appointed, and pushed Attorney General William Barr to pressure the Justice Department's investigation of the Russia probe.... 'Bill Barr has a chance to be the greatest of all time. But if he wants to be politically correct, he'll be just another guy,' [Trump said]. Barr said in an interview aired on Wednesday that he is aiming to release some conclusions from [John] Durham's investigation [of the investigation] ahead of the November election, putting a finer point on a timeline that has shifted in recent weeks and also opening up the possibility that the review could extend into the winter."
Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "Israel struck an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to establish 'full normalization of relations' even as it forgoes for now plans to annex occupied West Bank territory in order to focus on improving its ties with the rest of the Arab world. In a surprise statement issued by the White House, President Trump said he brokered a deal that will lead to Israel and the U.A.E. signing a string of bilateral agreements on investment, tourism, security, technology, energy and other areas while moving to allow direct flights between their countries and set up reciprocal embassies.... The extent of the president&'s role in forging the deal was not immediately clear. But he was eager to claim credit.... He was surrounded in the Oval Office by a large delegation of aides and officials who heaped praise on him, including Jared Kushner..., who has been spearheading Middle East peace efforts for more than three years."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request from Republicans to block a trial judge's ruling making it easier for voters in Rhode Island to cast absentee ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. The judge's ruling suspended a requirement that voters using mailed ballots fill them out in the presence of two witnesses or a notary. The Supreme Court's unsigned order included an explanation, which is unusual when its acts on emergency applications. The case differed from similar ones in which state officials had opposed changes to state laws ordered by federal judges, the order said. 'Here the state election officials support the challenged decree,' the order said, 'and no state official has expressed opposition.' The order added that Rhode Island's last election was conducted without the witness requirement, meaning that instituting a change now could confuse voters."
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Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: BTW, most videos I embed include a closed-captions function. So if you're reading Reality Chex in an environment where you can't play the audio, you can usually turn off the audio (via the microphone icon near the lower left-hand corner of the video) and turn on closed captions ("CC" near the lower right-hand corner).
Presidential Race, Ctd.
Annie Linskey & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden and Kamala D. Harris opened a new front in the presidential campaign on Wednesday, forcefully prosecuting their case against President Trump and attempting to showcase a much different vision for the country as the Democratic ticket appeared together for the first time. In what were perhaps the most crisp and focused speeches either has given during the presidential campaign, the new running mates defined how they will pursue the general election: with a sharp focus on what they cast as Trump's inadequacies, an embrace of the power of women, a call to action on climate change and a defense of the protesters who have filled America's streets in recent months." ~~~
Mrs. McCrabbie: As far as I know, the moment at the beginning and end (beginning @ about 1:35 min. in) of this campaign video is historic: it's the first time anyone outside the people in the room(s) have seen a major-party presumptive presidential nominee make an offer to be his (or her) running mate:
The Angry Misogynist at Home. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "In the hours since Senator Kamala Harris joined the Democratic presidential ticket, President Trump has responded by sorting women into two categories: the good 'suburban housewife' he believes will vote for him, and nasty women who have not shown him or his political allies a sufficient amount of respect.... 'She was extraordinarily nasty to Brett Kavanaugh -- Judge Kavanaugh then, now Justice Kavanaugh,' Mr. Trump said of Ms. Harris, using 'nasty' or some version of the word no fewer than four times as he referred to Senate confirmation hearings held in 2018.... He peppered his usual misogynistic 'nasty' trope with more name-calling, referring to her as the 'meanest, most horrible, most disrespectful' member of the United States Senate. With that, Ms. Harris joins a group of women Mr. Trump feels have not been adequately compliant.... On Wednesday morning, after his allies on Fox News had spent the evening comparing Ms. Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, to unethical 'time-share salesmen' and 'payday lenders,' Mr. Trump crowed that the American 'suburban housewife' -- a label used by the president to play into white racist fears about neighborhood integration efforts -- would be on his side in November.... Suburban stay-at-home wives make up only about 4 percent of the American population." ~~~
~~~ Ashley Parker of the Washington Post on how Trump uses the word "nasty" as a code word to insult, dismiss and demean female politicians. ~~~
~~~ From the New York Times' live updates of election developments: "From the first hours after Joseph R. Biden Jr. chose Kamala Harris as his running mate, President Trump, his Republican allies and conservative hosts on Fox News unfurled a string of sexist attacks on Ms. Harris. Mr. Trump followed up on Wednesday morning with a racist tweet claiming that Mr. Biden would put another Black leader, Senator Cory Booker, in charge of low-income housing in the suburbs. That tweet did not mention Ms. Harris, but it continued Mr. Trump's tactic of playing into white racist fears about integration efforts as he declared, 'The "suburban housewife" will be voting for me.' 'They want safety & are thrilled that I ended the long running program where low income housing would invade their neighborhood,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'Biden would reinstall it, in a bigger form, with Corey Booker in charge!' The president did not explain why he referred to Mr. Booker, whose first name he misspelled. But the race-laced salvo came after a chorus of Fox News hosts on Tuesday night assailed Ms. Harris, attacking everything from the pronunciation of her name to Mr. Biden's selection process for focusing on women of color." A CNN story, by Oliver Darcy, is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Annie Karni & Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "Opening an ugly new chapter in the 2020 campaign, President Trump and allies in the Republican Party and on Fox News have swiftly gone all-in on sexist and personal attacks against Kamala Harris.... On Wednesday, after Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Ms. Harris held their first joint appearance, Mr. Trump claimed without evidence that Ms. Harris was furious when she left the Democratic primary race after falling in the polls.... One right-wing commentator, Dinesh D'Souza, appeared on Fox News to question whether Ms. Harris, the junior senator from California and a child of immigrants from Jamaica and India, could truly claim she was Black. And on Tuesday night, Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, mispronounced her first name, even growing angry when corrected.... On Twitter, Eric Trump ... favorited a tweet, which was later deleted, that referred to Ms. Harris as a 'whorendous pick.'" ~~~
~~~ Maxwell Tani & Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "It took Fox News no more than an hour after Joe Biden selected Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate to start dabbling in wild speculation and conspiracy theories about the hidden, nefarious reasons behind the pick.... Fox News hosts pushed a number of unsupported theories largely centered around two themes: Harris forced her way onto the ticket and intends to usurp or overtake Biden; and/or Biden is not mentally capable of selecting his own running mate, and so Harris was installed by a shadowy, unseen puppeteer. The New York Times, Associated Press, and several other major news outlets reported that Biden was highly involved in the VP selection process.... But almost immediately after Harris was announced, The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld repeatedly declared -- without the remotest bit of evidence -- not only that Biden wasn't involved in picking the senator, but that she was specifically selected by mysterious party figures to supplant Biden as the nominee (despite the fact that the nominating convention begins in less than a week).... His co-host Jesse Watters agreed.... Later on Tuesday, pro-Trump host Jeanine Pirro told Sean Hannity that she is 'not sure' Biden selected Harris himself." And so forth.
Delegitimizing Kamala. Amanda Seitz of the AP: "Facebook users are spreading a false claim that Harris is not able to serve as president.... CLAIM: If Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as his running mate she will not be eligible to serve as president because her mother is from India and her father is from Jamaica. That means, if Biden is unable to serve a full term as president, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would be next in line to become president. AP'S ASSESSMENT: False. Sen. Kamala Harris, a Democrat who represents California, is a natural-born U.S. citizen who is eligible to serve as president." Mrs. McC: Sounds like these numnuts are trying to raise the dreaded spectre of a Pelosi presidency.
Hunter Walker of Yahoo! News: "At his press briefing Wednesday, President Trump, as he usually does, called for a question from Chanel Rion, the chief White House correspondent for the conservative One America News network.... Rion ... brought up an obscure website, antifa.com. 'I wanted to highlight a kind of odd situation. In the last hour or so, if you googled "antifa.com," it would take you straight to Joe Biden's website -- his official campaign website -- odd situation,' Rion said, adding, 'We don't know who's behind that.'... There is no evidence that the Biden campaign had anything to do with antifa.com, or vice versa. Instead, the phenomenon cited by Rion had a clear link to Russia.... Rion's question provided Trump an opportunity to highlight one of his favorite campaign themes, the supposed far-left stance of Biden and, as of this week, Harris. Trump claimed leftists who have been protesting and engaging in vandalism around the country are 'part of' Biden's campaign. While many of the protesters oppose Trump, they do not all support Biden."
Trump Embraces the Q. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Of the multiple candidates who won contests on Tuesday, only [Marjorie Taylor] Greene received a thumbs-up from the president.... 'Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big Congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent,' the president wrote on Twitter. 'Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up -- a real WINNER!'... What Greene is best known for nationally [is] ... her fervent advocacy of QAnon.... Greene's engagement with QAnon has been well-documented by the liberal watchdog site Media Matters for America.... After Greene's victory on Tuesday night, paving the way for a likely general-election win in November, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tacitly criticized her embrace of the conspiracy theory." Matt Wolking, who speaks for the Trump campaign, pushed back against Kinzinger's criticism. The Daily Beast has a story here. ~~~
~~~ Amanda Carpenter of the (conservative) Bulwark: "... on Wednesday morning -- President Trump endorsed a member of the most fringe movement in American politics[.]... [Marjorie Taylor] Greene ... is part of the QAnon movement, which loosely believes that a secret group of evil elitists is both running child sex rings and running the world. Referring to her QAnon beliefs, Greene recently said that 'there's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it.'... Nearly a dozen Q-aligned candidates are running for Congress.... There will be more media coverage of this unfortunate phenomenon -- especially as President Trump cultivates and coddles these candidates, feeding their addiction to this sick conspiracy theory one tweet at a time. There is a reason we all see the Q signs, flags, and T-shirts at Trump rallies. He's groomed these people."
Also from the New York Times' live updates of election developments Wednesday: "President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, met privately last weekend with Kanye West, the rapper who has filed petitions [Mrs. McC: with the help of Trump operatives] to get on the November ballots for president in several states. The meeting took place in Colorado, where Mr. Kushner was traveling with his wife, Ivanka Trump, those familiar with the meeting said. Mr. West had been camping in Colorado with his family, and afterward flew to Telluride to meet with Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump, but was not accompanied by his wife, Kim Kardashian West, those with knowledge of the meeting said.... Mr. West ... did not deny that he is acting as a spoiler to damage the Biden campaign with his effort to get on several ballots in states like Colorado...." A Reuters story is here. ~~~
~~~ Oh, It's Worse Than That. Randall Lane of Forbes: "According to multiple sources..., Jared Kushner has been speaking with [Kanye] West [who is bi-polar] regularly since his July 4 tweet declaring that he was running for president.... West has been telling associates that he and Kushner speak 'almost daily.'... I pointed out to West last week during an interview that he won't be on enough ballots to win, and thus seemed intent on running a spoiler campaign designed to hurt ... Joe Biden, he responded, 'I'm not going to argue with you.' But a few hours after the story appeared, West ... [tweeted,] 'THE GOAL IS TO WIN.'... And that seems to be the message that Kushner has been feeding him[.]... The White House gambit, those close to him say, has accelerated West's mental issues...." West has previously discussed with Lane two other conversations he (West) had with Kushner.
** Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "President Trump says the U.S. Postal Service is incapable of facilitating mail-in voting because it cannot access the emergency funding he is blocking, and made clear that requests for additional aid were nonstarters in coronavirus relief negotiations.... Speaking Wednesday at his daily pandemic news briefing, Trump said he would not approve $25 billion in emergency funding for the Postal Service, or $3.5 billion in supplemental funding for election resources.... Trump's remarks came hours after congressional Democrats intensified calls for more oversight of the agency and the new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a major Republican donor and Trump ally.... USPS General Counsel Thomas Marshall informed state leaders that ... sending election items third class may cause voters to miss crucial cutoff points. Bulk mail delivery takes three to 10 days, according to the Postal Service, while first-class mail delivery takes two to five days. But postal workers have long informally treated election mail -- including voter registration materials, voter information and ballots -- as first-class items, affording them privileges their 20-cent price point ordinarily would not allow.... 'Now we're recycling political mail,' [a Michigan postal worker]said." Mrs. McC: That is, we're tossing it out. ~~~
~~~ Igor Derysh of Salon: "Mail sorting equipment is being removed from U.S. Postal Service (USPS) offices amid a slew of operational changes implemented by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, according to the head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union.... The USPS, which underwent a controversial staff shake-up after DeJoy took over, recently advanced a proposal that would nearly triple states' postage costs for mail-in ballots and is also reportedly planning service cuts. But Kimberly Karol, the head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union, told NPR that there have been even more changes than previously reported. 'We are beginning to see those changes and how it is impacting the mail. Mail is beginning to pile up in our offices, and we're seeing equipment being removed,' she said on Tuesday.... Karol said DeJoy's changes have alarmed postal workers 'all across the country.'" ~~~
~~~ Rachel Maddow had a good summary of the USPS mess in last night's show:
~~~ Michael Cohen of CNN: "Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to hold a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company XPO Logistics, a United States Postal Service contractor, likely creating a major conflict of interest, according to newly obtained financial disclosures and ethics experts. Outside experts who spoke to CNN were shocked that ethics officials at the postal service approved this arrangement, which allows DeJoy to keep at least $30 million in XPO holdings. DeJoy and USPS have said he fully complied with the regulations. Raising further alarms, on the same day in June that DeJoy divested large amounts of Amazon shares, he purchased stock options giving him the right to buy new shares of Amazon at a price much lower than their current market price, according to the disclosures. This could lead to a separate conflict, given ... Donald Trump's disdain for Amazon, and his reported effort in 2018 to pressure DeJoy's predecessor to raise prices on Amazon and other firms, while complaining about its founder Jeff Bezos. The Treasury Department also recently struck a loan deal with USPS that gives the Trump administration more leverage to push for higher shipping prices -- one of his pet projects."
Ohio. Andrew Tobias of Cleveland.com: Ohio "Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Wednesday he is banning county boards of elections from offering more than one drop box for completed absentee ballots this November.... LaRose, a Republican, more than three weeks ago formally asked Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, also a Republican, for a legal opinion on whether the extra drop boxes were allowed under state law. But LaRose said Wednesday Yost had not yet responded, and that it's now too late make such an election change.... Nothing under state law bars elections officials from offering more than one drop box, Democrats, elections officials in large counties and voting-rights advocates have argued.... Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said on Twitter, 'This is his decision to artificially limit drop boxes to one per county. It[s a terrible decision, totally disregarding voter safety.'... The state legislature [Mrs. McC: also controlled by Republicans] has been slow to respond to other changes backed by LaRose, such as allowing Ohioans to request absentee ballot forms online -- rather than the current paper form -- or setting an earlier deadline for voters to request an absentee ballot, which would give extra time for the multi-step process to work through the mail system. The legislature also failed to grant LaRose permission to add pre-paid postage on ballot request forms and blank mail-in ballots."
** Connecticut. All the Best Candidates. Daniela Altimari & David Owens of the Hartford Courant: "A Republican running for Congress in Connecticut's 2nd District abruptly dropped his bid on the day of the primary following his arrest on domestic violence charges. Thomas Gilmer, 29, of Madison was arrested by Wethersfield police late Monday and posted $5,000 bail. He was arraigned Tuesday in Superior Court in New Britain on charges of first-degree unlawful restraint and second-degree strangulation. It is unclear what will happen if Gilmer, the party-endorsed candidate, wins the primary. Thousands of absentee ballots had already been cast, and results were still being tabulated Tuesday night.... The charges stem from a violent altercation with Gilmer's former girlfriend that occurred in 2017, according to the warrant for his arrest. A portion of the assault was captured on video and, according to the warrant, shows Gilmer 'punch the victim in the face and jump on top of her as she falls to the ground. Gilmer then attempts to choke the victim, followed by multiple closed-fist punches to the victim's face. Gilmer then takes off his T-shirt in the middle of the assault, and places the victim into a rear choke hold.' [There's more, and it's bad.]... The video of the assault was provided to Wethersfield police by Justin Anderson, Gilmer's opponent in Tuesday's primary who had been contacted by the victim.... Gilmer released a statement blaming Anderson for 'slinging mud.'" Thanks to Rachel Maddow for the lead. ~~~
~~~ BTW, I just checked the NYT election results page, and Gilmer is no fringe candidate. He and Anderson are neck-in-neck, with exactly 50% of the vote each. Anderson is currently 15 votes ahead, 8,886 to 8.871. The District is represented by Democrat Joe Courtney, who has held the seat since 2009 & is running for re-election. Gilmer's accusation that Anderson was "slinging mud" is pathetic. It isn't "slinging mud," IMO, to reveal that your opponent allegedly is a violent, near-homicidal batterer. Moreover, it appears Anderson never publicly accused Gilmer, though he did tell the state's GOP chairman in April or May that there was video of the rabid physical assault.
Ron Johnson's Odd Excuse. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Ron Johnson suggested Wednesday that fellow Republicans on his committee were blocking him from subpoenaing former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan and other figures involved in the investigation of ... Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and its contacts with Russia -- even though the panel gave him the unilateral power to do so in the spring. 'We had a number of my committee members that were highly concerned about how this looks politically,' the Wisconsin GOP senator told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who pressed Johnson to identify Republicans standing in the way of a wave of high-profile subpoenas.... [Johnson demurred.]... The interview underscores the degree to which there's a reluctance among some Senate Republicans to advance an investigation that Democrats have viewed as a conduit for foreign disinformation aimed at ... Joe Biden less than three months before the election.... But ... committee officials acknowledged that no committee Republicans are blocking Johnson from issuing subpoenas, attributing the exchange with Hewitt to a misunderstanding." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe because Johnson is the Stupidest Senator. But probably because Johnson is just smart enough to have an inkling of what witnesses like Comey & Brennan would say about a corrupt President* running for re-election.
** He Really Doesn't Care. Do You? S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trumps interest in taking intelligence briefings has been declining steadily since his first months in office and has dropped to near zero in recent weeks, according to a HuffPost review of all of his daily schedules. Trump went from a high of 4.1 briefings per week on average in March 2017 to 0.7 per week since July 1, shortly after it became public that he had ignored intelligence reports about Russia offering bounties to the Taliban for each American soldier killed in Afghanistan. Monday's briefing, in fact, was the first in August and the first since July 22. That month had only three briefings scheduled.... Trump's immediate predecessors took daily briefings in the White House. Republican George W. Bush typically had his shortly after his arrival in the Oval Office at 6:45 a.m. each day. Democrat Barack Obama had the written material, known as the 'President's Daily Brief,' loaded onto his iPad by 6 a.m. each day, when he would read it prior to the in-person session later in the morning. Trump, by contrast, rarely gets to the West Wing before noon after spending much of each morning watching television and posting tweets based on his viewing." Mrs. McC: They're called "Presidential Daily Briefs" for a reason. (Also linked yesterday.)
Billets-Doux. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Bob Woodward's second book on the Trump White House has a title, Rage, and promises to reveal the secrets of '25 personal letters exchanged between [Donald] Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that have not been public before'. In the letters, according to details from Simon & Schuster published on the book's Amazon page on Wednesday night, 'Kim describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a "fantasy film", as the two leaders engage in an extraordinary diplomatic minuet'. Rage, the sequel to Fear, is due out on 15 September.... Simon & Schuster promised 'an unprecedented and intimate tour de force of original reporting on the Trump presidency ... with stunning new details about early national security decisions and operations and Trump's moves as he faces a global pandemic, economic disaster and racial unrest'."
The Fat Bastard at Home. Seth Borestein of the AP: "The Trump Administration wants to change the definition of a showerhead to let more water flow, addressing a pet peeve of the president who complains he isn't getting wet enough. Publicly talking about the need to keep his hair 'perfect,' ... Donald Trump has made increasing water flow and dialing back long held appliance conservation standards -- from light bulbs to toilets to dishwashers -- a personal issue. But consumer and conservation groups said the Department of Energy's proposed loosening of a 28-year-old energy law that includes appliance standards is silly, unnecessary and wasteful, especially as the West bakes through a historic two-decade-long megadrought. Since 1992, federal law has dictated that new showerheads shouldn't pour more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute (9.5 liters).... The Obama administration defined the showerhead restrictions to apply to what comes out in total. So if there are four nozzles, no more than 2.5 gallons total should come out between all four. The new proposal ... would allow each nozzle to spray as much as 2.5 gallons, not just the overall showerhead."
All the Best People, Ctd. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "On Wednesday Bloomberg News reported Trump has been talking about replacing Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Astonishingly, the White House responded to the report, and did not deny it.... Bloomberg News adds: 'One person said Esper has told people close to him that he intends to leave regardless of the election's outcome, meaning he could exit the administration about two months before Trump does, if the president loses. Trump has been frustrated that Esper, who became secretary in July 2019, hasn't done more to publicly defend him on key issues, including reports that Russia paid Taliban fighters 'bounties' for the killing of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.'... In the history of the Dept. of Defense, no president has had as many Defense Secretaries, even those Commanders-in-Chief who served two terms." The (firewalled) Bloomberg News report is here.
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here: "Florida and Georgia reported their highest single-day, statewide covid-19 death tolls on Tuesday, as more than 1,300 coronavirus-related fatalities were reported nationwide." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ So This. Florida. Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, as Florida set a daily record for covid-19 deaths, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods prohibited his deputies from wearing masks at work. His order, which also applies to visitors to the sheriff's office, carves out an exception for officers in some locations, including hospitals, and when dealing with people who are high-risk or suspected of having the novel coronavirus. In an email to the sheriff's department shared with The Washington Post, Woods disputed the idea that masks are a consensus approach to battling the pandemic." Mrs. McC: Take a look at the smiling face of Sheriff Billy. He looks like one of those modern sheriffs, the kind who doggedly insists that the ole boys abandon their backwards ways of policing. Apparently not. (Also linked yesterday.)
Brady Dennis & Jacqueline Dupree of the Washington Post: "As the United States reported its highest number of deaths from the novel coronavirus in a single day since mid-May, President Trump on Wednesday continued to press for the nation's schools to bring children into classrooms, for businesses to open and for athletes to fill stadiums. 'We've got to open up our schools and open up our businesses,' Trump said at an evening news conference at the White House, adding that he wanted to see a college football season this fall. 'Let them play,' he said. The president also made his latest concerted push to get students back into U.S. schools, saying that '99.9 percent' of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic involve adults. He threatened to divert federal money from schools that don't open, and warned of the intellectual damage that could result if children remain at home indefinitely." Free to nonsubscribers. ~~~
~~~ Kaitlin Collins of CNN: "... Dr. Scott Atlas, a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution who frequently appears on Fox News and has advised Republicans in the past, [seems to have supplanted the medical experts on Donald Trump's coronavirus task force]. And crucially, unlike the government's medical experts who have advised Trump until now, has adopted a public stance on the virus much closer to Trump's -- including decrying the idea that schools cannot reopen this fall as 'hysteria' and pushing for the resumption of college sports. Several months into the pandemic sweeping the nation, Atlas made his debut in the briefing room with a new title: adviser to the President.... Although Monday was Trump's first public introduction of Atlas, multiple sources with knowledge of the relationship told CNN that Atlas has been informally advising Trump for weeks.... Atlas has advised Republicans in the past, including Rudy Giuliani..., who has also fanned conspiracy theories about coronavirus.... (The White House declined to say if Atlas was receiving a taxpayer-paid salary.)"
** Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: "It's never a good sign when a president announces five versions of the same policy within 48 hours and still doesn't land on one that's legal.... His [four executive actions signed Saturday], he declared, 'will take care of, pretty much, this entire situation.' Instead, he revealed his administration's inability to do the bare minimum homework necessary even when it actually wants to govern. Trump's memorandum allowing federal student loan payments to continue being deferred, through the end of the year, seems fine. But his anti-eviction order does nothing to stop evictions. His payroll tax deferral, advertised as a tax cut, could actually raise taxes if employers take advantage of it -- and knowing this, employers probably won't.... I's also not clear whether the treasury secretary even understands which payroll taxes are supposed to be deferred.... Then there's the unemployment benefit supplement. What. A. Mess.... [Trump alleged it provided $400 a week.] But states would get the money only if they kicked in $100 for each worker from their own coffers.... [They also would have to build entire new IT systems for a benefit that might not survive legal challenges. On Sunday,] Larry Kudlow acknowledged that the White House had ... not asked states this question [and they were against it].... So, Trump and high-level officials kept changing the details.... By Tuesday evening, at least five contradictory versions of this parallel benefit system had been communicated by various Trump officials...."
The Cost of Dining Out in the Era of Coronavirus. Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Across the United States this summer, restaurants and bars, reeling from mandatory lockdowns and steep financial declines, opened their doors to customers.... Data from states and cities show that many community outbreaks of the coronavirus this summer have centered on restaurants and bars, often the largest settings to infect Americans.... Since the beginning of the pandemic, a few business sectors, most notably health care (especially nursing homes) and meat processing, have accounted for a large share of cases in many states. But as cities and states have moved to reopen and many restaurant owners struggle to survive, the virus has come along for the ride." ~~~
~~~ Georgia. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical reporter, who lives in Fulton County, Georgia (Atlanta) explains why he and his wife are not sending their children back to school. And it isn't because the school principal believes she doesn't need to wear a mask because "God will protect" her.
Lara Jakes & Mark Landler of the New York Times: "The American ambassador to Britain, Robert Wood Johnson IV, urged State Department investigators against publicly reporting allegations that he made sexually or racially inappropriate comments to embassy staff, according to a report released on Wednesday. The report, the product of a routine inspection of the U.S. diplomatic mission to Britain that was conducted over a three-month period in the fall, recommended that officials at the State Department's headquarters review Mr. Johnson's conduct. But the senior diplomat overseeing European issues in Washington indicated he would not open a new investigation of the findings and said Mr. Johnson has since watched a video about workplace harassment and could receive additional training to prevent violations of employees' civil rights. It was not clear if Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or other top leaders would demand an additional inquiry amid a groundswell from American diplomats who are women or people of color and say they have been sidelined at a department that promotes equal rights and civil liberties around the world."
Valerie Insinna, et al., of Defense News: "Four key members of Congress, either individually or collectively, have quietly frozen all major U.S. arms sales to Turkey for nearly two years in a move to pressure Ankara to abandon its Russian-built S-400 air defense system, Defense News has learned. The legislative action, which has not been previously reported, is another sign of the deeply fractured relationship between the two NATO allies, a disruption that has already led to Turkey's expulsion from the F-35 joint strike fighter program... Historically, the United States is the largest exporter of weapons to Turkey." The four members are "Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho..., House Foreign Affairs ranking member Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas..., House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J."
Barbara Starr & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "A US Air Force helicopter was shot at near Manassas, Virginia, on Monday injuring one of two pilots on board, according to an Air Force official. The UH-1N was flying 10 miles northwest of Manassas on a routine training mission at an altitude of 1,000 feet when the incident occurred. It landed safely at Manassas Regional Airport west of Washington, DC, and the pilot was taken to hospital where they were treated and released, the official said. The incident is now under FBI and Air Force investigation to determine if the helicopter was deliberately shot at or if someone was randomly shooting into the air. The aircraft will be closely inspected for other damage, the official added." (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Marc Tracy of the New York Times: “A tabloid once famous for its bustling, big-city newsroom no longer has a newsroom. In a move that was almost unthinkable before the coronavirus pandemic, Tribune Publishing said on Wednesday that The Daily News, once the largest-circulation newspaper in the country, was permanently closing its physical newsroom at 4 New York Plaza in Lower Manhattan. The same day, Tribune, the Chicago newspaper chain that has owned The News since 2017, told employees that it was closing four of its other newspapers' offices.... The paper will continue to be published. The company mad no promises about a future physical location.... A Tribune Publishing spokesman confirmed that the newsrooms of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., and The Orlando Sentinel had also closed.... Also closing were the newsroom of The Carroll County Times in Westminster, Md., and the Annapolis, Md., newsroom of The Capital Gazette -- a newspaper that two years ago experienced tragedy when a gunman killed five staff members in the newsroom (then in a different building). A Chicago Tribune office for suburban publications in Aurora, Ill..., was also closed, according to a staff email Wednesday.... ~~~
"The Daily News was a brawny metro tabloid that thrived when it dug into crime and corruption. It served as a model for The Daily Planet, the paper that counted Clark Kent and Lois Lane among its reporters, and for the tabloid depicted in the 1994 movie 'The Paper.' It has won Pulitzer Prizes in commentary, feature writing and even international reporting."
Way Beyond the Beltway
Belarus. AP: "Thousands of protesters rallied in Belarus' capital and other cities for a fourth straight night Wednesday, decrying an election they say was rigged to extend the 26-year rule of the country's authoritarian leader and a subsequent brutal police crackdown on demonstrations. In several parts of Minsk, groups of hundreds of people formed human chains to protest President Alexander Lukashenko's reelection and the ruthless response to peaceful protests. Motorists blared horns in support and, in some sections of the city, slowed to a crawl to block police vehicles.... Authorities have responded with a level of brutality remarkable even for Lukashenko's authoritarian rule. Police have dispersed protesters with tear gas, stun grenades, water cannons and rubber bullets and severely beat them with truncheons. Black-uniformed officers chased protesters into residential buildings and deliberately targeted journalists, beating many and breaking their cameras."
~~~ Tatsiana Melnichuk in BBC News: "A 25-year-old man died in custody after he was detained on Sunday. His mother said he had been held in a police van for hours.... Stun grenades went off and people screamed as riot police struck them with batons. The screams were so loud that they drowned out the sound of the grenades.... The protests are unprecedented in their scale as people in dozens of cities, towns and even villages rise up and call for the main opposition figure, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, to be recognised as the winner of Sunday's presidential election.... Some 7,000 people have been detained and you don't have to be protesting to be arrested.... Protesters and often passers-by have been targeted by people clad in black, wearing balaclavas and with no insignia or uniform. This happened to a BBC team too. People here are angry: with police, authorities and above all President Alexander Lukashenko. No-one I have spoken to has any support for what police are doing.... These are mainly ordinary Belarusians, not the hardened opposition supporters we have seen in previous protests, and they have no clear leader."
News Lede
New York Times: "A group of storms that tore through the Midwest this week has left homes destroyed, crops demolished and over a quarter of a million people still without power days later. Nearly 100,000 people in Northern Illinois were still without electricity on Thursday morning, according to ComEd, the utility company that services the area. In Iowa, about 200,000 people were without power."
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