The Commentariat -- July 25, 2020

Late Morning Upate:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here.

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "A longtime staffer for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) died from the coronavirus on Friday, the congressman announced, becoming the first known congressional aide to die from the illness. Buchanan said in a statement that he was 'devastated' by the death of Gary Tibbetts, a field representative who had been a member of the congressman's staff since 2011."

Piper McDaniel of the Oregonian: "Thousands of Portlanders amassed late Friday downtown and witnessed another tense face-off with federal officers, who used tear gas and shot impact munitions toward protesters.... At least 4,000 people poured Friday night into the city's core. It was the largest crowd since early weeks of the protests that started 58 days ago.... By 10:30 p.m., a line of veterans stood in front of the federal courthouse, preparing for the looming confrontation. A row of women tied to the Wall of Moms group also staged near the courthouse." As unwashed points out in today's Comments, both sides were using leaf blowers! to throw the gas back on the other side. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Obviously, Trump has sent troops (or whoever they are) in with the purpose of making the situation worse, not better. He wants the news to lead with his dytopian shows of force against Americans. "There's nothing more important in our country than keeping our people safe," Trump said this week. That's true; that's his main job. And he is wantonly doing the opposite.

Kim Chandler of the AP: "Civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman John Lewis was remembered Saturday -- in the rural Alabama county where his story began -- as a humble man who sprang from his family's farm with a vision that 'good trouble' could change the world. The morning service in the city of Troy in rural Pike County was held at Troy University, where Lewis would often playfully remind the chancellor that he was denied admission in 1957 because he was Black, and where decades later he was awarded an honorary doctorate."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here: "The top U.S. public health agency issued a full-throated call to reopen schools in a package of new 'resources and tools' posted on its website Thursday night that opened with a statement that sounded more like a political speech than a scientific document, listing numerous benefits for children of being in school and downplaying the potential health risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the new guidance two weeks after President Trump criticized its earlier recommendations on school reopenings as 'very tough and expensive,' ramping up what had already been an anguished national debate over the question of how soon children should return to classrooms. As the president was criticizing the initial C.D.C. recommendations, a document from the agency surfaced that detailed the risks of reopening and the steps that districts were taking to minimize those risks." Mrs. McC: This is a straight news report that rightly fingers the CDC for putting Trump before science. It's appalling. Here's hoping some CDC scientists will cry foul. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ ** Laura Meckler & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "The leader of the nation's premier public health agency Friday amplified President Trump's call for schools to reopen, releasing new documents edited by the White House that gloss over risks and extol the benefits of in-person learning. Still, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said there should be exceptions for 'hot spots,' and he used a metric that would include parts of at least 33 states. The mixed messaging was another indication of how public health officials at the CDC have been squeezed between Trump's demand for a normal school year and an out-of-control virus.... On Friday, Redfield told reporters the new documents were cleared by the White House, and officials familiar with them, speaking on the condition of anonymity..., said at least one was substantially edited by White House officials. The opening statement was written at the Department of Health and Human Services, Redfield said." Emphases added. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I wonder if Redfield is aware he has turned the CDC into a second- or third-rate public health agency, an agency that until recently was considered the best in the world. Those "suburban housewives" who don't want to send their children to school are better at public health policy than the CDC.

Erika Edwards of NBC News: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged Friday that a significant number of COVID-19 patients do not recover quickly, and instead experience ongoing symptoms, such as fatigue and cough. As many as a third of patients who were never sick enough to be hospitalized are not back to their usual health up to three weeks after their diagnosis, the report found."

Bill Saporito of the New York Times: "... with the president trying to distance himself from responsibility for the coronavirus crisis, and Southern governors amplifying the damage with their flawed reopening strategies, the nation's retailers have become the first line of defense against the pandemic. From the headquarters of Walmart (which includes Sam's Club) and Starbucks came the directive that all customers must wear masks. The conservative Southeasterner and liberal Northwesterner were followed by other national retailers, including Kohl's, CVS, Walgreens, Publix and Target.... [A] vacuum of responsibility ... is compelling the businesses that are expert at selling coffee, underwear and groceries to manage the pandemic across their swath of the economy. That they are doing a better job than the Trump administration is beyond pathetic." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jeff Stein & Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "With days to go before enhanced jobless benefits expire, the White House and Senate Republicans are struggling to design a way to scale back the program without overwhelming state unemployment agencies and imperiling aid to more than 20 million Americans. The hang-up has led to an abrupt delay in the introduction of the GOP's $1 trillion stimulus package. The White House and Democrats have said they want a deal by the end of the month, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested Friday that reaching an agreement could take several weeks, a timeline that could leave many unemployed Americans severely exposed." Emphasis added. Mrs. McC: House Democrats passed a bill extending the coronavirus stimulus package in mid-May. So that's more than two months that Republicans have left Americans twisting, twisting slowly in the wind.

Texas. Paging Sarah Palin. Chacour Coop of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "The situation [in Starr County] was not always as dire in this rural South Texas county.... In April, its aggressive and successful approach to beating the coronavirus was spotlighted by NBC News.... But after Gov. Greg Abbott issued orders for the reopening of the state, overriding local control and decision-making, COVID-19 cases surged.... Now Starr County is at a dangerous 'tipping point,' reporting an alarming number of new cases each day, data show. Starr County Memorial Hospital -- the county's only hospital -- is overflowing with COVID-19 patients. The county has been forced to form what is being compared to a so-called 'death panel.'... A committee will deem which COVID-19 patients are likely to die and send them home with family[.]" --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from a church in Nevada to block enforcement of state restrictions on attendance at religious services. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining the court's four more liberal members to form a majority. The court's brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. The court's four more conservative members filed three dissents...."

Severely Fake News Coming to a TV Station Near You. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Local television stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group are set to air a conspiracy theory over the weekend that suggests Dr. Anthony Fauci ... was responsible for the creation of the coronavirus. The baseless conspiracy theory is set to air on stations across the country in a segment during the program 'America This Week' hosted by Eric Bolling. The show, which is posted online before it is broadcast over the weekend, is distributed to Sinclair Broadcast Group's network of local television stations, one of the largest in the country. A survey by Pew Research Group earlier this year showed that local news was a vital source of information on the coronavirus for many Americans, and more trusted than the media overall."

U.K. Peter Walker of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson has labelled people opposed to vaccinations 'nuts' as he urged the public to use an expanded flu jab programme to ease pressure on the NHS if there is a second wave of coronavirus this winter. Visiting a doctor's surgery in east London to promote the extension of free flu jabs to more people, Johnson told staff: 'There's all these anti-vaxxers now. They are nuts, they are nuts.' The prime minister's comments highlight the worries in government and among NHS leaders that a potential rise in Covid-19 infections in the coming months, coupled with a bad winter flu season, could overwhelm health services." (Also linked yesterday.)

Trump's Stormtroopers, Ctd.

Rebecca Ellis of Oregon Public Broadcasting: "U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon has temporarily curbed the use of force by federal officers deployed to Portland, restricting their interactions with legal observers and journalists observing nightly protests against police violence. On Thursday afternoon, Simon issued a temporary restraining order on officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service sent to Portland to guard federal buildings. The restrictions will last for two weeks. The judge is still considering a longer-lasting injunction against federal law enforcement. The order comes as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Oregon, alleging law enforcement has been targeting and attacking journalists at the protests." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News: "A federal judge on Friday denied a request by the Oregon attorney general's office for an order that would require federal law enforcement officers in Portland to identify themselves when making arrests and place limits on the detention and arrests of protesters. US District Judge Michael Mosman found that state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum lacked standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of Oregon residents because her office hadn't articulated any specific state interest beyond the constitutional rights of individuals." That is, Mosman ruled that the issue was one of "standing" and he did not address the meat of the suit.

No, They're Not Merely Protecting Federal Property. Mike Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "The aggressive incursion of federal officers into Portland has been stretching the legal limits of federal law enforcement, as agents with batons and riot gear range deep into the streets of a city whose leadership has made it clear they are not welcome.... [In one instance,] they moved down Main Street and continued up the hill, where one of the agents announced over a loudspeaker: 'This is an unlawful assembly.' By the time the security forces halted their advance, the federal courthouse they had been sent to protect was out of sight -- two blocks behind them.... The arrival of the federal agents caused the protests to swell and focused the ire of protesters onto the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, across from a park shaded by mature trees. What began as a movement for racial justice became a broader campaign to dislodge the federal forces from the city.... More than 40 protesters have been arrested, and dozens now face federal criminal charges."

How to Get Around a Supreme Court Decision: Ignore It. Andrew Crespo in a Washington Post opinion piece: 'The deputy director of President Trump's new federal police force does not know what the word 'arrest' means." Richard Cline claimed at a news conference this week that grabbing an individual off the street & holding him in a van was not an "arrest" and therefore not subject to Fourth Amendment probable cause requirements. Cline is wrong. According to a 1979 Supreme Court decision, "such conduct is 'indistinguishable from a traditional arrest,' which need not be accompanied by bureaucratic processes like fingerprinting, booking or a formal arrest record to count as an arrest for purposes of the Fourth Amendment."

Siobhán O'Grady of the Washington Post: "The United Nations human rights office called on U.S. security forces to limit their use of force against peaceful protesters and journalists Friday, as clashes between federal agents and demonstrators continue in Portland, Ore.... In June, the U.N. Human Rights Council decried violent police tactics and called for an inquiry into systemic racism in the United States. The resolution came after an unusual debate on 'systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests' in the United States, requested by all 54 countries in Africa. It was adopted unanimously by the 47 countries that belong to the council.... The United States withdrew from the council in 2018." Mrs. McC: So in case you're one of those American "patriots" touting "American exceptionalism," the U.N. is here to remind you that you live in an exceptionally violent, racist nation. (Also linked yesterday.)

How to Get Around a Supreme Court Decision: Ignore It. Emily Davies of the Washington Post: "Trump administration officials said during a federal court hearing Friday that they have not 'granted nor rejected' any applications for a program designed to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation, but rather have put them 'on hold' as the government discusses the future of the program. The virtual hearing in the U.S. District Court in Maryland was the first time the administration addressed reports that the Department of Homeland Security was not accepting applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program -- despite a recent Supreme Court ruling and a federal judge's order requiring the government to resume accepting applications." Mrs. McC: It appears the Trumpies are following John Yoo's advice.

Keith Bradsher & Steven Myers of the New York Times: "As the United States lashed out against the 'new tyranny' of China, Beijing on Friday ordered the closure of the American consulate in Chengdu, a retaliatory move that threatens to drive the two powers into an even deeper divide. Beijing blamed the Trump administration for the deterioration in relations, calling its own action justified after Washington told China this week to shutter its consulate in Houston and accused its diplomats of acting illegally. A Chinese official, in turn, denounced American diplomats in Chengdu, a southwestern city, for interfering in China's affairs." (Also linked yesterday.)

Joseph Rich of Bloomberg: "On July 22, 27 distinguished District of Columbia attorneys, including former bar presidents and a former senior lawyer in the D.C. Bar disciplinary office, filed a comprehensive D.C. Bar complaint detailing the pattern of Attorney General William Barr's ethical violations over the last 16 months. The meticulously researched, 37-page complaint details how Barr has continuously violated the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct prohibiting deceitful and dishonest conduct, interference with the administration of justice, conflicts of interest and a failure to support the Constitution.... Over the last several months, up to 2,500 former Department of Justice attorneys have strenuously objected on three occasions to Barr's unethical actions and political interference in the DOJ';s law enforcement decisions. Our democracy depends on a Department of Justice that acts as an independent arbiter of equal justice, not as an arm of the president's political apparatus." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Jeremy Stahl of Slate: "On Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed retiring Republican Rep. Ted Yoho's nonapology for calling her a 'fucking bitch' earlier in the week. In 10 devastating minutes, Ocasio-Cortez shamed the Florida congressman as emblematic of a culture of misogyny and workplace harassment, tied the Republican Party to that abuse, and once again demonstrated that she is one of the most impactful voices in the House Democratic Caucus.... The speech linked her political opponents directly to crudely sexist language, attitudes, and culture, which has been turning a critical swing-voting bloc of college-educated white women away from the Republican Party in droves." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

Annie Karni, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump ... attributed ... [his] abrupt cancellation of the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Fla..., to Florida's soaring rate of coronavirus cases.... But the timing ... was influenced by the imminent need for the Republican Party to book an enormous number of hotel rooms in Jacksonville and sign other costly service agreements.... There were other urgent factors involved in the decision, including the health of party officials and delegates coming from across the country, and Mr. Trump's sinking political standing, which was largely attributable to months of inattentiveness to the virus.... Jacksonville organizers were facing open resistance from local officials.... Faced with all that tumult, Mr. Trump chose instead to cancel the convention in an effort to cast himself as putting safety first. But many of Mr. Trump's top political advisers had already become convinced that the convention stood a better chance of generating embarrassing news stories -- like his recent, unsuccessful rally in Tulsa, Okla. -- than a bounce in the polls." ~~~

But I looked at my team, and I said, 'The timing for this event is not right. It's just not right with what&'s happened recently -- the flare up in Florida -- to have a big convention.... I have to protect the American people. That's what I've always done. That's what I always will do. That's what I'm about. They said, 'Sir, we can make this work very easily. We have great enthusiasm. Incredible enthusiasm. Even the polls say about the most enthusiasm they've seen. We can do this safely, and we can do it responsibly.' And I said, 'There's nothing more important in our country than keeping our people safe.... So, I told my team, 'It's time to cancel the Jacksonville, Florida, component of the GOP Convention.' -- Donald Trump, Thursday, claiming it was his idea to cancel the GOP convention (includes "sir" tell) ~~~

~~~ Michael Scherer, et al., of the Washington Post: "Advisers convinced Trump that canceling the convention could help him politically ... as he tries to pay closer attention to the coronavirus, show that he cares about the health of Americans and improve his sagging poll numbers.... The president publicly mocked former vice president Joe Biden on Twitter for planning a virtual convention 'where he doesn't have to show up.' He accused Democratic governors of denying him rally permits for political advantage and dismissed the warnings against mass gatherings."

"One of the Great Memories of All Time" Didn't Happen. I was going into a thing called the Robin Hood Foundation. I'll never forget it. It was just about the night I announced [I would run for president] or whatever. My wife looked at me, she said, 'You know, I hear people booing.'... You know, it's the first time in my life I was ever booed. -- Donald Trump, in an interview this week

This story could not possibly be true: Trump has not attended the Robin Hood Foundation gala since 2011. Also, the 2015 gala was held in May, a month before Trump announced his candidacy. Also, Trump had been booed in public on multiple occasions before 2015.... [Trump] has previously called [the incident] 'one of the great memories of all time.' --Daniel Dale of CNN

News Ledes

Weather Channel: "Hurricane Hanna's eye is now coming ashore in South Texas ahead of landfall later today, with the potential for dangerous rainfall flash flooding extending well inland into northeast Mexico. Sustained winds have increased to 85 mph according to the Hurricane Hunters. The hurricane's eyewall is moving inland south of Corpus Christi. Some areas between Corpus Christi and Brownsville will get a break in the wind and rain as Hanna's eye moves ashore. Conditions are deteriorating in much of South Texas, with increasing rainfall and wind gusts, as Hanna intensifies. A 79 mph gust has been reported in Laguna Madre, Texas."

Honolulu Star-Advertiser: "A hurricane warning has been issued for Oahu, while Hawaii County and Maui County remain under a hurricane watch.... As of 11 a.m., the storm was located about 325 miles east of Hilo and about 520 miles east-southeast of Honolulu with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. Douglas was moving toward the west-northwest near 18 mph and expected to continue in the same motion over the next couple of days with a slight decrease in forward speed today, forecasters said. Douglas is forecasted to be near the main Hawaiian islands late tonight and move over the other islands Sunday and Monday."

New York Times: "Regis Philbin, the talk- and game-shows host who regaled America over morning coffee with Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa for decades, and who made television history in 1999 by introducing the runaway hit 'Who Wants to Be A Millionaire,' died on Friday night. He was 88.”"

The Commentariat -- July 24, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here: "The top U.S. public health agency issued a full-throated call to reopen schools in a package of new 'resources and tools' posted on its website Thursday night that opened with a statement that sounded more like a political speech than a scientific document, listing numerous benefits for children of being in school and downplaying the potential health risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the new guidance two weeks after President Trump criticized its earlier recommendations on school reopenings as 'very tough and expensive,' ramping up what had already been an anguished national debate over the question of how soon children should return to classrooms. As the president was criticizing the initial C.D.C. recommendations, a document from the agency surfaced that detailed the risks of reopening and the steps that districts were taking to minimize those risks." Mrs. McC: This is a straight news report that rightly fingers the CDC for putting Trump before science. It's appalling. Here's hoping some CDC scientists will cry foul.

Bill Saporito of the New York Times: "... with the president trying to distance himself from responsibility for the coronavirus crisis, and Southern governors amplifying the damage with their flawed reopening strategies, the nation's retailers have become the first line of defense against the pandemic. From the headquarters of Walmart (which includes Sam's Club) and Starbucks came the directive that all customers must wear masks. The conservative Southeasterner and liberal Northwesterner were followed by other national retailers, including Kohl's, CVS, Walgreens, Publix and Target.... [A] vacuum of responsibility ... is compelling the businesses that are expert at selling coffee, underwear and groceries to manage the pandemic across their swath of the economy. That they are doing a better job than the Trump administration is beyond pathetic."

Paging Sarah Palin. Chacour Coop of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "The situation [in Starr County] was not always as dire in this rural South Texas county.... In April, its aggressive and successful approach to beating the coronavirus was spotlighted by NBC News.... But after Gov. Greg Abbott issued orders for the reopening of the state, overriding local control and decision-making, COVID-19 cases surged.... Now Starr County is at a dangerous 'tipping point,' reporting an alarming number of new cases each day, data show. Starr County Memorial Hospital -- the county's only hospital -- is overflowing with COVID-19 patients. The county has been forced to form what is being compared to a so-called 'death panel.'... A committee will deem which COVID-19 patients are likely to die and send them home with family[.]" --s

Peter Walker of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson has labelled people opposed to vaccinations 'nuts' as he urged the public to use an expanded flu jab programme to ease pressure on the NHS if there is a second wave of coronavirus this winter. Visiting a doctor's surgery in east London to promote the extension of free flu jabs to more people, Johnson told staff: 'There's all these anti-vaxxers now. They are nuts, they are nuts.' The prime minister's comments highlight the worries in government and among NHS leaders that a potential rise in Covid-19 infections in the coming months, coupled with a bad winter flu season, could overwhelm health services."

Rebecca Ellis of Oregon Public Broadcasting: "U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon has temporarily curbed the use of force by federal officers deployed to Portland, restricting their interactions with legal observers and journalists observing nightly protests against police violence. On Thursday afternoon, Simon issued a temporary restraining order on officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service sent to Portland to guard federal buildings. The restrictions will last for two weeks. The judge is still considering a longer-lasting injunction against federal law enforcement. The order comes as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in Oregon, alleging law enforcement has been targeting and attacking journalists at the protests."

Siobhán O'Grady of the Washington Post: "The United Nations human rights office called on U.S. security forces to limit their use of force against peaceful protesters and journalists Friday, as clashes between federal agents and demonstrators continue in Portland, Ore.... In June, the U.N. Human Rights Council decried violent police tactics and called for an inquiry into systemic racism in the United States. The resolution came after an unusual debate on 'systemic racism, police brutality and violence against peaceful protests' in the United States, requested by all 54 countries in Africa. It was adopted unanimously by the 47 countries that belong to the council.... The United States withdrew from the council in 2018." Mrs. McC: So in case you're one of those American "patriots" touting "American exceptionalism," the U.N. is here to remind you that you live in an exceptionally violent, racist nation.

Joseph Rich of Bloomberg: "On July 22, 27 distinguished District of Columbia attorneys, including former bar presidents and a former senior lawyer in the D.C. Bar disciplinary office, filed a comprehensive D.C. Bar complaint detailing the pattern of Attorney General William Barr's ethical violations over the last 16 months. The meticulously researched, 37-page complaint details how Barr has continuously violated the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct prohibiting deceitful and dishonest conduct, interference with the administration of justice, conflicts of interest and a failure to support the Constitution.... Over the last several months, up to 2,500 former Department of Justice attorneys have strenuously objected on three occasions to Barr's unethical actions and political interference in the DOJ's law enforcement decisions. Our democracy depends on a Department of Justice that acts as an independent arbiter of equal justice, not as an arm of the president's political apparatus." --s

Keith Bradsher & Steven Myers of the New York Times: "As the United States lashed out against the 'new tyranny' of China, Beijing on Friday ordered the closure of the American consulate in Chengdu, a retaliatory move that threatens to drive the two powers into an even deeper divide. Beijing blamed the Trump administration for the deterioration in relations, calling its own action justified after Washington told China this week to shutter its consulate in Houston and accused its diplomats of acting illegally. A Chinese official, in turn, denounced American diplomats in Chengdu, a southwestern city, for interfering in China's affairs."

Jeremy Stahl of Slate: "On Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed retiring Republican Rep. Ted Yoho's nonapology for calling her a 'fucking bitch' earlier in the week. In 10 devastating minutes, Ocasio-Cortez shamed the Florida congressman as emblematic of a culture of misogyny and workplace harassment, tied the Republican Party to that abuse, and once again demonstrated that she is one of the most impactful voices in the House Democratic Caucus.... The speech linked her political opponents directly to crudely sexist language, attitudes, and culture, which has been turning a critical swing-voting bloc of college-educated white women away from the Republican Party in droves."

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The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Maggie Fox & Nick Valencia of CNN: "New US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on education and child care come down hard in favor of opening schools, saying children don't suffer much from coronavirus, are less likely than adults to spread it and suffer from being out of school. But the new guidelines posted Thursday do recommend that local officials should consider closing schools, or keeping them closed, if there is substantial, uncontrolled transmission of the virus. The CDC has been promising new guidelines for more than a week, after demands from ... Donald Trump that the agency alter its recommendations for opening schools.... The guidelines recommend against screening all students for coronavirus." Mrs. McC: Okay, then. Trump gets Redfield to put Trump over children & families.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "The United States has reached a grim milestone of 4 million coronavirus cases, doubling the total number of infections in just six weeks as deaths and hospitalizations continue a sharp rise in many states. Despite the rosy picture painted by President Trump at his latest White House briefing, almost every metric shows America losing its fight against the virus. Positivity rates are at alarming levels in numerous states, hospitalizations are soaring, and for the third straight day on Thursday, more than 1,000 new coronavirus deaths were reported, according to Washington Post tracking. The rolling seven-day average of infections has doubled in less than a month, reaching more than 66,000 new cases per day Wednesday. The U.S. death toll now exceeds 141,000." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans killed President Trump’s payroll tax cut proposal on Thursday but failed to reach agreement with the White House on a broader coronavirus relief bill. This set off a frantic scramble with competing paths forward, as administration officials floated a piecemeal approach but encountered pushback from both parties, and the entire effort appeared to teeter chaotically on the brink of failure.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had planned to roll out a $1 trillion GOP bill Thursday morning but that was canceled in a head-spinning series of events. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows emerged from a meeting with McConnell to insist there was 'fundamental agreement' on the overall deal -- but simultaneously suggested breaking up the effort into smaller pieces of legislation and trying to move forward on an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits that are about to expire. Meanwhile, it appeared that many parts of the GOP package remained unresolved, and Republicans hadn't even begun negotiating with Democrats yet." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Déjà vu All Over Again. Katherine Wu of the New York Times: "As the number of known coronavirus cases in the United States fast approaches 4 million..., new shortages of pipette tips and other lab supplies are once again stymieing efforts to track and curb the spread of disease. Some people are waiting days or even weeks for results, and labs are vying for crucial materials.... 'It's like Groundhog Day,' said Scott Shone, director of the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

A Fan, Not a Pitcher:

~~~ Howard Fendrich of the AP: "The Nationals and Yankees knelt in unison before the first game of the baseball season as part of an opening day ceremony Thursday night that featured references to the Black Lives Matter movement, the coronavirus pandemic -- including an off-the-mark first pitch by Dr. Anthony Fauci -- and the home team's 2019 championship. Players from both clubs wore T-shirts saying Black Lives Matter during batting practice, and the letters 'BLM' were stenciled into the back of the mound at the center of the diamond. In a poignant reference to the racial reckoning happening in the U.S., players and other members of both teams held a long black ribbon while standing spaced out along the two foul lines. After they placed the ribbon on the ground, everyone then got on their knees. They all then rose for a taped performance of the national anthem. That followed a series of videos: about Black Lives Matter, showing major league players such as New York's Aaron Judge and Washington's Howie Kendrick; about the Nationals' postseason run; about the COVID-19 outbreak."

AP: "Virginia's largest school system is removing the name of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from one of its high schools in favor of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis. The Fairfax County School Board approved the change during a meeting Thursday. A news release posted on the school district's website says the new name will be effective for the 2020-21 school year. The board had already voted unanimously last month to remove Lee's name. It adopted John R. Lewis as the new name Thursday one day after numerous people spoke in favor of the change at a public hearing."

The Trumpocalypse, Ctd.

Kevin Liptak & Caroline Kelly of CNN: "... Donald Trump said Thursday that he's willing to send as many as 75,000 federal agents into American cities to quell violent crime, a recent campaign theme for the President. Speaking in a telephone interview on Fox News, Trump began by saying he was ready to dispatch '50,000, 60,000 people' into American cities. But eventually he upped the figure to 75,000 -- but said it would require local authorities asking for help. 'We have to be invited in. At some point we'll have to do something much stronger than being invited in,' Trump said.... According to a 2019 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were approximately 100,000 federal law enforcement officers in the entire United States in 2016, the last year for which data was available.... Earlier on Thursday, Trump took to Twitter to address the 'The Suburban Housewives of America,' warning that 'Biden will destroy your neighborhood and your American Dream. I will preserve it, and make it even better!'" See related story, linked below, on Trump's "saving suburbia" for white people.

We Shall Fight in the Streets..., We Shall Never Surrender." Asawin Suebsaeng & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "In the week leading up to his announcement of a 'surge' of hundreds of FBI, Justice Department, and Homeland Security personnel to Chicago, Donald Trump wanted a bigger, more public, more violent fight on the streets of the Windy City. According to three people familiar with the president's private remarks, Trump previously envisioned an ostentatious, camera-ready show of force. He wanted to go after what he saw as violent gang leaders, flush them out of hiding in ways that would have them 'shaking in their boots' like they never had before, and have alleged perpetrators marched out in front of the news cameras.... Trump insisted that with the right leader, and the right muscle, crime there could be reduced 'very quickly.'... '... if it were up to him, we would return to the old days where it was eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth -- or we would forget about proportionality altogether. He would talk about lining up drug dealers and gang members in front of a firing squad...[, said a former administration official]." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump seems to think he is the commanding general of a "beautiful war," and the enemies are the American people led by Democrats of color.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump administration, which has pledged to use the full force of the government to protect federal property, expanded that effort on Thursday by sending a team of tactical border officers to stand by for duty in Seattle. The Special Response Team being deployed is similar to the tactical teams currently operating in Portland, Ore., where local officials have vehemently objected to their efforts to subdue street protests. Seattle officials have also said they do not want federal agents sent to target protesters.... 'The C.B.P. team will be on standby in the area, should they be required,' the Federal Protective Service said in a statement about the Seattle effort."

Matt Zapotosky & Annie Gowen of the Washington Post: "Federal agents began descending in earnest on Kansas City, Mo., this week as part of an operation that will have them working with local detectives to interview suspects and witnesses and sift through evidence in an effort to quell violent crime, U.S. officials said. The operation, in any other administration, might have been largely seen as inoffensive for a city that has experienced a massive spike in homicides from the prior year. But the timing -- just after federal officers in military garb violently cracked down on racial justice demonstrators in Portland, Ore., and President Trump threatened to dispatch U.S. law enforcement to other cities -- could hardly be worse. In no small part because of Trump's politically charged rhetoric, local activists and officials have come to view with suspicion the more than 200 [federal] agents sent to Missouri...."

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Two federal inspectors general announced Thursday they will investigate how Justice Department and Homeland Security agents used force, detained people and conducted themselves at high-profile clashes with protesters in Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz will investigate how U.S. marshals have used force in Portland, and how other parts of the Justice Department -- such as the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives -- were used to quell unrest in the nation's capital. The Department of Homeland Security inspector general, Joseph Cuffari, said in a letter to lawmakers that he opened an investigation into allegations that Customs and Border Protection agents 'improperly detained and transported protesters' in Portland, and that he would review the deployment there of DHS personnel in recent weeks." The AP's story is here.

Saving Suburbia for Healthy White People -- Trump Goes Back to His Roots. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The Trump administration on Thursday repealed an Obama administration rule meant to combat housing discrimination that President Trump has cited as he portrays presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden as a threat to suburban voters.... Under the new rule, local officials have significantly more jurisdiction in determining what qualifies as fair housing and how to promote its accessibility.... The Obama rule previously required localities to draw up plans to address housing discrimination in order to receive certain federal funding. The Trump administration gutted it more than two years ago, making it largely toothless.... The action follows weeks of rhetoric from Trump warning about threats to the suburbs as he courts those voters ahead of November's election. He specifically cited the Obama-era housing rule, arguing that it took zoning decisions out of the hands of local officials." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Donald Trump got his start in the real estate business working for his father and turning away applicants for rental units whose only "disqualifying" characteristic was the color of their skin. Fittingly, he is ending his "professional" career (or so I hope) on that very note. ~~~

~~~ Toluse Olorunnipa & Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "President Trump moved Thursday to repeal a fair housing rule that he claimed would lead to 'destruction' of the country's suburbs, continuing an aggressive push that coincides with his campaign's attempt to paint Democrats as angry mobs on the brink of upturning peaceful, mostly white neighborhoods.... 'The Suburban Housewives of America must read this article,' Trump wrote Thursday on Twitter, linking to a New York Post op-ed by former New York lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey that argued that Biden would ruin the country's bedroom communities. 'Biden will destroy your neighborhood and your American Dream. I will preserve it, and make it even better!' Trump said in his tweet.... Julián Castro, Obama's second HUD secretary, who oversaw the finalization of the fair housing regulation, said Trump was barely concealing his racial animus with 'code words,' stereotypes and old tropes." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump seems to think "suburban housewives" are home baking cookies and worrying that the chocolate chips in the cookies foretell a black family embedding itself in their neighborhood.

Trump & the Bounty Hunter. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Thursday, discussing the novel coronavirus, arms control negotiations and other matters. The call marked Trump's first phone conversation with Putin since last month, and comes days after the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada accused Moscow of attempting to hack coronavirus vaccine research. The phone call is also Trump's first with Putin since the explosive New York Times report about a U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia offered bounties to Taliban insurgents for launching attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The White House, which has disputed elements of the Times's account, made no mention of either issue coming up during the call." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

No, I never spoke to Woody Johnson about that, about Turnberry. Turnberry is a highly respected course, as you know, one of the best in the world. And I read a story about it today and I had never, I never spoke to Woody Johnson about doing that. No. -- Donald Trump, claiming Wednesday he had not asked the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. to steer the British Open toward Trump's Scottish golf course

~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC on Turnberrygate: "First, there's ample reason to believe Trump's denial is a lie [because several people, including Ambassador Johnson, have effectively confirmed the ask]. After all, there's no reason for Johnson, the president's financial supporter and handpicked ambassador, to make this up. Second, even the denial reeks of corruption. In response to a question about misusing his office to help his business, the president used the White House podium to praise and promote his business.... NBC News added yesterday than a [State Department] IG report 'was completed and marked classified as of May; an unclassified version has yet to be released.'... It also puts a new light on Trump's decision in May to fire the State Department's inspector general -- late on a Friday night...." Mrs. McC: Everything Trump says or does has a corrupt purpose. That's almost impressive.

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release from prison of ... Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen by Friday afternoon. Judge Alvin Hellerstein found that Cohen was sent back to prison on July 10 in retaliation for failing to agree a day earlier to not to publish a book about Trump as one of multiple conditions for serving the remainder of his three-year prison term on home confinement.... 'I've never seen such a clause, in 21 years in being a judge, Hellerstein said at a Manhattan federal court hearing, where he questioned the condition that Cohen not publish a book while in home confinement. 'How can I take any other inference but that it was retaliatory?' the judge asked." See related story linked below. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Benjamin Weiser & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Judge Hellerstein's decision was a remarkable rebuke of prison and probation officials and, by extension, the Trump administration. It raised concerns that the authorities had used the penal system to squelch the free speech rights of one of Mr. Trump's enemies in an effort to protect the president."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The House Judiciary Committee staff initially drew up 10 articles of impeachment against President Trump last year, alleging a wide range of high crimes and misdemeanors before the case was whittled down to his interactions with Ukraine, according to a book to be published next week. The staff members, working for Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York and the committee chairman, drafted a sweeping indictment of Mr. Trump charging him with, among other things, obstructing the Russia investigation, authorizing hush money for women to cover up sexual affairs, illegally diverting money to his border wall and profiting personally from his office.... new book by Norman L. Eisen, a former White House official and ambassador who served as a lawyer for Mr. Nadler, is the first inside account to emerge from only the third impeachment of a president in American history.... Mr. Eisen offers tantalizing details from the committee's own investigation of the president that did not make it into the final impeachment articles...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ed Shanahan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Homeland Security officials made false statements in a bid to justify expelling New York residents from programs that let United States travelers speed through borders and airport lines, federal lawyers admitted on Thursday. The unusual admission, contained in a court filing, said the inaccuracies 'undermine a central argument' in the Trump administration's case for barring New Yorkers from the programs after the state passed a law enabling undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses.... Against that backdrop, the filing said, 'The acting secretary of homeland security has decided to restore New York residents' access to' what is officially known as the Trusted Traveler Program 'effective immediately.' The filing on Thursday came in response to lawsuits filed by New York State and the New York Civil Liberties Union over the decision to kick New Yorkers out of the programs." Mrs. McC: Hmm, at least some of these false statements must have been made under oath. Seems as if perjury charges would be in order.

Seeing Themselves As Others See Them -- Not a Pretty Picture. Caitlin Dickerson of the New York Times: "In early 2017, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement prepared to carry out the hard-line agenda on which President Trump had campaigned, agency leaders jumped at the chance to let two filmmakers give a behind-the-scenes look at the process. But as the documentary neared completion in recent months, the administration fought mightily to keep it from being released until after the 2020 election. After granting rare access to parts of the country's powerful immigration enforcement machinery that are usually invisible to the public, administration officials threatened legal action and sought to block parts of it from seeing the light of day.... The filmmakers said they were told that the administration's anger over the project came from 'all the way to the top.'... Some of the contentious scenes include ICE officers lying to immigrants to gain access to their homes and mocking them after taking them into custody. One shows an officer illegally picking the lock to an apartment building during a raid."

Sylvan Lane & Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Thursday he will vote against President Trump's controversial nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve Board, impeding her path to confirmation.... Romney is the first Republican senator to announce his opposition to Shelton, who will also likely be opposed by all 47 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, so the opposition of three more Republicans would effectively doom her nomination. Romney, like several GOP senators, had previously expressed concerns about Shelton's past support for linking the value of the dollar to gold, along with her inconsistent stances on the Fed interest rates." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Daniel Lippmann & Nahal Toosi of Politico have a long piece in the Magazine on what a buttinski Mike Pompeo's wife Susan is now & always has been. Pompeo responded to the reporters' questions for the article by writing, in part, "Politico's continued efforts to smear her are both sad and wrong. Instead of being slandered, she should be applauded and thanked." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Allan Smith of NBC News: "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., excoriated Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., on the House floor Thursday, a day after he denied having called her a 'f[uck]ing b[itch],' 'crazy' and 'disgusting' on the steps of the Capitol this week. 'I walked back out and there were reporters in the front of the Capitol, and in front of reporters Rep. Yoho called me, and I quote, a f[uck]ing b[itch] -- f[uck]ing b[itch],' she said of their encounter Monday. 'These are the words Rep. Yoho levied against a congresswoman.'... She said she was rising to speak after Yoho's speech from the House floor Wednesday, when he said that he apologized for the 'abrupt manner' of his discussion with Ocasio-Cortez but that he did not say the 'offensive name-calling words attributed' to him.... '... Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I'm very cognizant of my language,' Yoho said, adding later that he cannot apologize for 'my passion or for loving my God, my family and my country.'... [Ocasio-Cortez] said [Thursday], 'I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho's youngest daughter. I am someone's daughter, too.'" ~~~

~~~ A Remarkable Speech. If you can't listen now, save it for later:

     ~~~ Monica Hesse of the Washington Post: "If you click on only one thing today, let it be Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Thursday morning speech, delivered from the House floor and directed to a fellow member of Congress, but really to us all." ~~~

~~~ The Gray Lady Goes There. Luke Broadwater & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "On Thursday, [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)] had her most norm-shattering moment yet when she took to the House floor to read into the Congressional Record a sexist vulgarity that Representative Ted Yoho, a Florida Republican, had used to refer to her. 'In front of reporters, Representative Yoho called me, and I quote: "A fucking bitch,"' she said, punching each syllable in the vulgarity. 'These are the words Representative Yoho levied against a congresswoman.' Then Ms. Ocasio-Cortez ... invited a group of Democratic women in the House to come forward to express solidarity with her. One by one, they shared their own stories of harassment and mistreatment by men, including in Congress. More even than the profanity uttered on the House floor, where language is carefully regulated, what unfolded over the next hour was a remarkable moment of cultural upheaval on Capitol Hill." ~~~

~~~ Yoho Can't Stop Lying. Alan Fram of the AP: "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's outrage over a Republican lawmaker's verbal assault broadened into an extraordinary moment on the House floor Thursday as she and other Democrats assailed a sexist culture of 'accepting violence and violent language against women' whose adherents include ... Donald Trump.... [Ted] Yoho, one of Congress' most conservative lawmakers, said Ocasio-Cortez doesn't have the 'right to inflate, talk about my family, or give an account that did not happen for political gain. The fact still remains, I am not going to apologize for something I didn't say.'" Mrs. McC: Mike Lillis of the Hill, who first reported Yoho's remarks to and about AOC, said her floor remarks about the confrontation were "1,000 percent accurate."

Presidential Election

"A Socially Distanced Conversation": ~~~

It's really something that for me, I have to protect the American people. That's what I've always done. That's what I always will do. That's what I'm about. -- Donald Trump, American martyr, announcing he was cancelling the GOP's Jacksonville, Florida, convention for the good of the American people ~~~

~~~ ** Colby Itkowitz & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump made a surprise announcement Thursday that he has canceled the Republican national convention scheduled for next month in Jacksonville, Fla., saying he wanted to keep his supporters safe from the coronavirus pandemic and protesters. Trump, who delivered the news at the beginning of a coronavirus news briefing, said he was presented with plans for the nominating convention in the afternoon, but told his staff it wasn't the right time to hold the event.... Trump said the formal nominating process scheduled to take place in Charlotte will proceed, but the large convention with all its pomp and circumstance planned for Jacksonville is canceled.... Trump said thousands of people 'desperately' wanted to attend and were already making travel arrangements. 'The pageantry, the signs, the excitement were really, really top of the line,' he said." A CNN story is here. Thanks to Bobby Lee for the heads-up. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Backfire. The Trump campaign wanted everyone raising eyebrows at the things Biden was saying. Trump, though, got every person -- every woman and man -- talking about himself, thanks to looking into that camera and appearing on TV. I get extra points for using the words in order. -- Philip Bump of the Washington Post on Trump's boast that he had the amazing ability to remember a sequence of words like "person, woman, man, camera, TV." Related story linked yesterday

Alex Isenstadt of Politico reports that Trump campaign staffers are dishing on Kimberly Guilfoyle, who heads a campaign fundraising unit. Mrs. McC: But the most shocking part of the story to me was the lede: "News that Kimberly Guilfoyle contracted the coronavirus had barely surfaced on July 3 before she hopped on a private flight from Mount Rushmore back to New York with her boyfriend, Donald Trump, Jr." Quite a few stories reported that "the couple plans to drive back from South Dakota to the East Coast." I was picturing that road trip: the arguments, the recriminations, the pitstops at dirty gas station bathrooms. Now it turns out I was imagining an imaginary road trip.

Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "Troy Young, the global president of Hearst Magazines, resigned Thursday evening, a day after a New York Times report detailed inappropriately sexual comments he allegedly made to employees at titles such as Cosmopolitan and a 'toxic culture' at the company. Earlier in the day, Young had apologized in a memo to staffers while also disputing the story, which he said 'misrepresented the culture we have built.' He had pushed back even more vehemently in the Times report, responding in a statement that 'specific allegations raised by my detractors are either untrue, greatly exaggerated or taken out of context.' But by Thursday evening, the corporate calculation seemed to have changed. Young's resignation was announced by Hearst president and chief executive Steven R. Swartz in a terse email to staffers." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Oh, for instance, people became uncomfortable when Young told a young female staffer "she should have inserted her fingers into herself and asked her date if he liked her smell." (From the NYT story.)

The Commentariat -- July 23, 2020

Afternoon Update:

It's really something that for me, I have to protect the American people. That's what I’ve always done. That's what I always will do. That's what I'm about. -- Donald Trump, American martyr, announcing he was cancelling the GOP's Jacksonville, Florida, convention for the good of the American people ~~~

~~~ ** Colby Itkowitz & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump made a surprise announcement Thursday that he has canceled the Republican national convention scheduled for next month in Jacksonville, Fla., saying he wanted to keep his supporters safe from the coronavirus pandemic and protesters. Trump, who delivered the news at the beginning of a coronavirus news briefing, said he was presented with plans for the nominating convention in the afternoon, but told his staff it wasn't the right time to hold the event.... Trump said the formal nominating process scheduled to take place in Charlotte will proceed, but the large convention with all its pomp and circumstance planned for Jacksonville is canceled.... Trump said thousands of people 'desperately' wanted to attend and were already making travel arrangements. 'The pageantry, the signs, the excitement were really, really top of the line,' he said." A CNN story is here. Thanks to Bobby Lee for the heads-up.

Trump & the Bounty Hunter. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Thursday, discussing the novel coronavirus, arms control negotiations and other matters. The call marked Trump's first phone conversation with Putin since last month, and comes days after the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada accused Moscow of attempting to hack coronavirus vaccine research. The phone call is also Trump's first with Putin since the explosive New York Times report about a U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia offered bounties to Taliban insurgents for launching attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The White House, which has disputed elements of the Times's account, made no mention of either issue coming up during the call."

Sylvan Lane & Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Thursday he will vote against President Trump's controversial nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve Board, impeding her path to confirmation.... Romney is the first Republican senator to announce his opposition to Shelton, who will also likely be opposed by all 47 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, so the opposition of three more Republicans would effectively doom her nomination. Romney, like several GOP senators, had previously expressed concerns about Shelton's past support for linking the value of the dollar to gold, along with her inconsistent stances on the Fed interest rates.

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

Erica Werner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans killed President Trump's payroll tax cut proposal on Thursday but failed to reach agreement with the White House on a broader coronavirus relief bill. This set off a frantic scramble with competing paths forward, as administration officials floated a piecemeal approach but encountered pushback from both parties, and the entire effort appeared to teeter chaotically on the brink of failure.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had planned to roll out a $1 trillion GOP bill Thursday morning but that was canceled in a head-spinning series of events. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows emerged from a meeting with McConnell to insist there was 'fundamental agreement' on the overall deal -- but simultaneously suggested breaking up the effort into smaller pieces of legislation and trying to move forward on an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits that are about to expire. Meanwhile, it appeared that many parts of the GOP package remained unresolved, and Republicans hadn't even begun negotiating with Democrats yet."

Déjà vu All Over Again. Katherine Wu of the New York Times: "As the number of known coronavirus cases in the United States fast approaches 4 million..., new shortages of pipette tips and other lab supplies are once again stymieing efforts to track and curb the spread of disease. Some people are waiting days or even weeks for results, and labs are vying for crucial materials.... 'It's like Groundhog Day,' said Scott Shone, director of the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health."

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A federal judge on Thursday ordered the release from prison of ... Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen by Friday afternoon. Judge Alvin Hellerstein found that Cohen was sent back to prison on July 10 in retaliation for failing to agree a day earlier to not to publish a book about Trump as one of multiple conditions for serving the remainder of his three-year prison term on home confinement.... 'I've never seen such a clause, in 21 years in being a judge,' Hellerstein said at a Manhattan federal court hearing, where he questioned the condition that Cohen not publish a book while in home confinement. 'How can I take any other inference but that it was retaliatory?' the judge asked." See related story linked below.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The House Judiciary Committee staff initially drew up 10 articles of impeachment against President Trump last year, alleging a wide range of high crimes and misdemeanors before the case was whittled down to his interactions with Ukraine, according to a book to be published next week. The staff members, working for Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York and the committee chairman, drafted a sweeping indictment of Mr. Trump charging him with, among other things, obstructing the Russia investigation, authorizing hush money for women to cover up sexual affairs, illegally diverting money to his border wall and profiting personally from his office.... new book by Norman L. Eisen, a former White House official and ambassador who served as a lawyer for Mr. Nadler, is the first inside account to emerge from only the third impeachment of a president in American history.... Mr. Eisen offers tantalizing details from the committee's own investigation of the president that did not make it into the final impeachment articles...."

Ha Ha. The Trump campaign wanted everyone raising eyebrows at the things Biden was saying. Trump, though, got every person -- every woman and man -- talking about himself, thanks to looking into that camera and appearing on TV. I get extra points for using the words in order. -- Philip Bump of the Washington Post on Trump's boast that he had the amazing ability to remember a sequence of words like "person, woman, man, camera, TV." Related story linked below

Daniel Lippmann & Nahal Toosi of Politico have a long piece in the Magazine on what a buttinski Mike Pompeo's wife Susan is now & always has been. Pompeo responded to the reporters' questions for the article by writing, in part, "Politico's continued efforts to smear her are both sad and wrong. Instead of being slandered, she should be applauded and thanked."

~~~~~~~~~~

Trump's Stormtroopers, Ctd.

Trump Sending Law Enforcement Officers to Cities to Boost His Re-election Campaign. Morgan Chalfant & Brett Samuels of the Hill (updated): "President Trump said Wednesday his administration is sending federal law enforcement officers into Chicago and Albuquerque, expanding his controversial crackdown on what he claims is an unchecked surge of violence in Democratic-run cities.... Trump said ... the federal government would 'immediately surge' officers to Chicago and would 'soon' send federal law enforcement to Albuquerque and other cities under the program. Wednesday's announcement comes amid a sustained effort by Trump to elevate his 'law and order' rhetoric to the forefront of the presidential election.... He blamed Democratic city leaders for not taking an aggressive enough approach to confronting violence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Washington Post's report is here.

Trump to Play War Games on Chicago Streets. Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "The surge has come home. Using language borrowed from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Trump on Wednesday unveiled an open-ended deployment of Justice Department, FBI, and Homeland Security officers to Chicago -- a place whites have often described in euphemistic and racist terms -- and, to a lesser extent, Albuquerque. Trump, joined by Attorney General Bill Barr, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and FBI Director Chris Wray, previewed a much-heralded 'surge of federal law enforcement into communities plagued by violent crime.'... Trump's language of struggle and resilience echoed George W. Bush's 2007 speech previewing his escalation in Iraq and Barack Obama's 2009 speech previewing his escalation in Afghanistan." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: There is a shift here, and it isn't subtle. Trump can see that having his stormtroopers teargas white middle-class moms singing lullabies in Portland is not a good look. So he's switching to poor black (and maybe Latino) teenagers who frighten Trump's white supporters. Those kids are going to get hurt, some of them badly hurt. Trump is betting white Americans won't care.

Gina Harkins of Military.com: "The American public should not be confused about the difference between uniformed military personnel and police officers. That's the belief of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who is concerned about personnel from across the country wearing camouflage uniforms, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters Tuesday. He made the comments after federal agents in Portland, Oregon, were photographed rounding up protesters and escorting them to unmarked vehicles -- all while in uniforms similar to those worn by U.S. troops. 'We want a system where people can tell the difference,' Hoffman said, adding, 'I can say unequivocally there are no Department of Defense assets that have been deployed to, pending deployment to, or we're looking to deploy to Portland.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** The Future Is Here. Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf spun his unidentified federal agents' random detainment of nonviolent anti-police brutality protesters in Portland, Oregon as some kind of pre-crime measure on Tuesday night. 'Because we don't have that local support, that local law enforcement support, we are having to go out and proactively arrest individuals,' Wolf said during an interview on Fox News. 'And we need to do that because we need to hold them accountable.'" Mrs. McC: This is the film & short story "Minority Report" come to life before its time (the story is set in 2054). Needless to say, it's against the law to arrest or detain people because you think they might commit crimes in the future. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Feds Tear-gas Mayor, Other Protesters. Gillian Flaccus of the AP: "The mayor of Portland, Oregon, was tear gassed by the U.S. government late Wednesday as he stood at a fence guarding a federal courthouse during another night of protest against the presence of federal agents sent by ... Donald Trump to quell unrest in the city. Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, said it was the first time he'd been tear gassed and appeared slightly dazed and coughed as he put on a pair of goggles someone handed him and drank water. He didn't leave his spot at the front, however, and continued to take gas. Around Wheeler, the protest raged, with demonstrators lighting a large fire in the space between the fence and the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse and the pop-pop-pop of federal agents deploying tear gas and stun grenades into the crowd.... Earlier in the night, Wheeler was mostly jeered as he tried to rally demonstrators who have clashed nightly with federal agents but was briefly applauded when he shouted 'Black Lives Matter' and pumped his fist in the air. The mayor has opposed federal agents' presence in Oregon's largest city, but he has faced harsh criticism from many sides and his presence wasn't welcomed by many, who yelled and swore at him." Thanks to PD Pepe for linking the video: ~~~

Heavy: "Jennifer Kristiansen is a 37-year-old Portland mother and attorney who was arrested while protesting with the 'Wall of Moms,' a group of women who have joined protests outside of the federal courthouse in the Oregon city. Kristiansen told Heavy she was ripped away from a line of fellow moms by federal officers who did not have any insignias or identifyin information on their black and camouflage uniforms. Kristiansen also told Heavy she was groped and assaulted by the officer who arrested her. She later learned he was part of the U.S. Marshals Service." Read on. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Jesus feds just came directly for the Portland moms using batons and tear gas while carrying assault rifles.

pic.twitter.com/3BwfniKDVU

— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) July 22, 2020

Matt Shuham of TPM: "Philadelphia's district attorney [Larry Krasner] on Wednesday decried ... Donald Trump's threats to send federal agents into his city, saying that Trump's 'fluffy' rhetoric about occupying cities 'comes out of the fascist playbook.'... The D.A. said Monday that he wouldn't hesitate to charge 'anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people.'... Philadelphia is one of a number of cities on which Trump has threatened to sic federal agents, arguing that local Democratic leaders aren't responding to protesters forcefully enough.... 'What's unusual is the politicization of a normal relationship between federal law enforcement and local law enforcement. And what is really unusual is the apparently illegal Stormtrooper tactics that have been used by federal law enforcement in Portland.... This is politics. This has nothing to do with actual law enforcement. It is a diversion of tax funds to try to bolster a campaign that is close to defunct.'"

Steve M.: "The president is enjoying watching his stormtroopers on TV so much that he's decided to expand the stormtrooper program.... This ['surge' of federal officers] is being described as having a focus on crime rather than unrest, but it's obviously meant to be the same kind of hairy-chested entertainment that Trump voters have been enjoying in Fox News reports from Oregon. But a new Quinnipiac poll suggests it's not working as intended."

Anna Spoerre, et al. of The Kansas City Star: "Attorney General William Barr& said Wednesday that 200 arrests had been made in a new federal operation launched in Kansas City. 'Just to give you an idea of what's possible, the FBI went in very strong into Kansas City and within two weeks we've had 200 arrests,' Barr said of the operation, which is sending more than 200 federal agents into the metro area.... The announcement came just two days after the first charge was announced in connection with Operation Legend, billed as a federal law enforcement effort against violent crime. And officials in Kansas City said they had no knowledge of any number arrests close to Barr's figure.... Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said Wednesday that he was not aware of 200 arrests. He said that, as far as he knew, the U.S. Attorney's Office had only announced a single arrest." --s ~~~

~~~ ** UPDATE. Michael Wilner, et al. of The Kansas City Star: "A senior Department of Justice official on Wednesday corrected comments by Attorney General William Barr who minutes earlier had said 200 arrests had been made within two weeks in Kansas City as part of Operation Legend.... Speaking with McClatchy after the Wednesday event, the senior Justice Department official clarified that the 200 figure included arrests dating back to December 2019. It also included, the official said, both state and FBI arrests in joint operations.... The official said Barr was referring to the number of arrests made in the city since the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, a precursor effort to Operation Legend[.]" --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe Barr should take that cognitive test Trump says he aced. Bill does seem a bit confused.

A Better Class of Federales (that handsome young federale looks a helluva lot like Townes Van Zandt, who wrote "Pancho & Lefty":

Felicia Sonmez & Donna Cassata of the Washington Post: "The House voted Wednesday to remove statues of Confederate leaders from the Capitol and replace the bust of Roger B. Taney, the U.S. chief justice who wrote the Supreme Court decision that said people of African descent are not U.S. citizens. The vote was 305 to 113 for the bill that would replace the bust of Taney, which sits outside the old Supreme Court chamber on the first floor of the Capitol, with one of Thurgood Marshall, the first black member of the Supreme Court. The legislation also would direct the Architect of the Capitol 'to remove all statues of individuals who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America.' It specifically mentioned three men who backed slavery -- Charles B. Aycock, John C. Calhoun and James P. Clarke. Democrats were unified in backing the measure; all the no votes came from Republicans, who were divided with 72 GOP lawmakers voting for the bill and 113 opposed.... The legislation faces opposition in the Republican-controlled Senate, where several lawmakers, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have said the decision should be left to the states." ~~~

~~~ BUT. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate will stand its ground on ordering the Pentagon to rename bases honoring Confederate generals, despite the White House's threat to veto parallel legislation in the House. The directive, which is part of both the Senate and House versions of a $740 billion military spending bill, topped a list of objections the White House made to the House's legislation Tuesday, arguing it was an 'effort to erase from the history of the Nation those who do not meet an ever-shifting standard of conduct.' A few hours later, the House passed its version of the defense bill anyway, by a veto-proof majority.... On Wednesday, [the Senate] voted to end the debate period for amendments without accommodating a measure from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that sought to strip the legislation's requirement to rename the bases and replace it with a pledge to study the matter instead.... Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), who has voiced support for preserving the base names, did not try to force the issue."

Tara Bahrampour of the Washington Post: "Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday announced legislation and an emergency hearing in response to President Trump's Tuesday directive that his administration would seek to block undocumented immigrants from being counted in congressional apportionment.... Trump's directive contradicts previous statements from administration officials that they were never seeking to exclude immigrants from the census or from congressional apportionment, a statement from [Rep. Carolyn] Maloney's [D-N.Y.] office said.... The American Civil Liberties Union is preparing a lawsuit to challenge the directive and may ask for an emergency stay, said Dale Ho, an ACLU attorney who successfully argued in the Supreme Court last year against the administration's attempt to add a citizenship question to the census."

U.S Is No Country for Asylum-Seekers. Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "A Canadian court has ruled that a treaty with the United States that allows Canada to turn away asylum-seekers coming from the United States if they originally entered there from a third country violates Canada's constitution.... In a more than 60-page ruling, Justice Ann Marie McDonald cited the conditions asylum-seekers said they had faced while in detention in the United States, including lack of access to adequate health care or legal counsel.... The Canadian government has six months to respond to the ruling and can appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal." A Hill story is here.

Robert McFadden of the New York Times: "Charles Evers, who gave up life as a petty racketeer to succeed his assassinated brother Medgar Evers as a Mississippi civil rights leader in 1963, becoming the state's first Black mayor since Reconstruction and a candidate for governor and United States senator, died on Wednesday at his daughter's home in Brandon, Miss. He was 97."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Fred Imbert of CNBC: "The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the U.S. economy. The Labor Department said Thursday initial jobless claims increased by 1.416 million for the week ending July 18. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected initial claims to rise by 1.3 million. That marks the 18th straight week in which initial claims rose by more than 1 million. Thursday's data also reverses 15 straight weeks of declining initial claims."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here: "California passed New York in total confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday, according to data tracked by The Washington Post, as the pandemic once concentrated in the tri-state area shifts to the South and West. New York reported 705 new cases Wednesday to bring its total to 408,886 since the start of the pandemic. California reached 413,576 confirmed infections Wednesday, setting a record for most reported in one state." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

William Wan & Jacqueline Dupree of the Washington Post: "President Trump painted a wishful view Wednesday of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, in which existing treatments can almost cure patients flooding hospitals, all schools will safely reopen this fall, and the country's soaring cases are confined to a handful of states. But the rosy assessment he issued at a White House news briefing -- alone at the lectern without any top public health experts -- was undermined by the alarming reality that on Wednesday, almost every metric showed just how badly America is losing its fight against the virus. The number of daily deaths on Wednesday surpassed 1,100, the first time that mark had been reached since May 29. And total deaths in the United States since the start of the pandemic increased to more than 140,000." ~~~

~~~ Daniel Dale, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump made another series of false, dubious and misleading claims at a Wednesday coronavirus briefing in which he continued to paint an overly rosy picture of how the pandemic is affecting the United States. Despite the sharp uptick in cases he acknowledged and a US death toll that now exceeds 142,000, Trump declared that 'it's all going to work out. And it is working out.' He suggested children do not transmit the coronavirus, though early evidence suggests children can and do. He attributed the recent rise in cases in part to racial justice protests, though early evidence suggests the protests did not cause a spike, and in part to migration from Mexico, though there is no evidence for this either. Trump also claimed that he has done more for Black Americans than anyone else with the 'possible exception' of President Abraham Lincoln. That is transparently ridiculous." There's more. Mrs. McC: It is so wrong to call that thing that took place Wednesday afternoon a "coronavirus briefing."

Neil Vigdor & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Two cafeterias used by White House staff members were closed and contact tracing was conducted after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus, a Trump administration official said on Wednesday night. The cafeterias are in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the New Executive Office Building, which are part of the White House complex and are next to the West Wing." A CNN story is here.

Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a nearly $2 billion contract with Pfizer and a smaller German biotechnology company for as many as 600 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine, one of the largest investments yet in the global race to lock up vaccines even before they are ready. The contract is part of what the White House calls the 'Warp Speed' project, an effort to drastically shorten the time it would take to manufacture and distribute a working vaccine. So far the U.S. has put money into more than a half-dozen efforts, hoping to build a manufacturing capability for an eventual breakthrough. Europe has a parallel effort underway." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Fenit Nirappil & Julie Zauzmer of the Washington Post: "The president's maskless appearance at Trump International Hotel this week -- in apparent defiance of D.C. coronavirus regulations -- has caught the attention of local authorities, who say they plan to investigate the hotel's compliance with city rules. D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) this spring ordered people to cover their faces while in the lobbies and common areas of hotels and to maintain six feet of distance from others, in an effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. But President Trump did not wear a mask while greeting a congressional candidate holding a Monday fundraiser at his downtown Washington hotel, according to video of the event. Nor did multiple guests while they were standing near one another in the lobby, the video shows.... ABC News reported Tuesday that guests at Trump properties have repeatedly flouted face-covering mandates. A Facebook invitation for a birthday party scheduled Saturday at the D.C. hotel featured a 'NO MASKS ALLOWED' disclaimer, the network reported." Mrs. McC: Best corrective measure: shut down the hotel. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Max Cohen of Politico: "The Republican governors of Indiana and Ohio on Wednesday announced statewide mask mandates a day after ... Donald Trump threw his support behind facial coverings as a tactic to stop the spread of coronavirus. More than half of U.S. states now have mask mandates in place, as top health officials plead for universal mask wearing amid a rise in coronavirus cases and deaths. The order from Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio requires masks to be worn in all indoor public spaces, as well as when social distancing is not possible outdoors. The mandate goes into effect on Thursday.... In Indiana, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced he would sign an executive order on Thursday that would require masks inside and outside when individuals could not social-distance. Three weeks ago, Holcomb said he did not need to put a mask mandate in place because he trusted Hoosiers to do the right thing. Indiana's mask mandate starts on Monday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Thomas Frieden & Cyrus Shahpar in a New York Times op-ed (July 21): "Public health doctors fighting epidemics ... track the most important indicators of the spread of a disease and attempts to control it.... The White House is not guiding our response to Covid-19, and neither the C.D.C. nor any other part of the government has been empowered to play this role.... That's one big reason the United States is losing the battle against Covid-19. We have a per capita death rate five times the global average, cases are increasing, and our economy and educational systems will not recover until we get the virus under control.... Researchers in our initiative, Resolve to Save Lives, searched all the data they could find on publicly available websites from all 50 states. They found it to be shockingly inconsistent, incomplete and inaccessible.... Our group -- along with a coalition of national, state and academic partners including the American Public Health Association and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security -- has developed a list of 15 indicators. Every state and county should be able to collect and publish nine of these immediately and the other six within a few weeks." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Washington, D.C. Edward Moreno of the Hill: "Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) issued an executive order Wednesday requiring residents to wear masks outside of the home as the city battles rising coronavirus cases. 'Basically what it says is, if you leave home, you should wear a mask,' Bowser said at a press conference. 'This means, if you're waiting for a bus, you must have on a mask. If you are ordering food at a restaurant, you must have on a mask. If you're sitting in a cubicle in an open office, you must have on a mask.' The order, which allows for fines of up $1,000 per violation, won't be enforced on children under the age of 3 and people who are actively eating or drinking."

"I'm Cognitively There." Katie Rogers of the New York Times: Trump went back on Fox "News" yesterday to compare his cognitive skills to those of Joe Biden's whom he assumes could not pass a simple cognitive test like the one Trump claims he aced. Mrs. McC: During yesterday's interview with Marc Siegel, a medical analyst for Fox, Trump demonstrated he suffered from memory loss. As Rogers points out, Trump could not pinpoint when he took the test. He said he had taken it 'a little less than a year ago' & that Dr. Ronny Jackson had administered it. But Jackson "has not been his physician since 2018." Counting backwards from 2020 to 2018 equals two years, Donnie, not "less than a year." Then Trump said there were 30 or 35 questions. Yet the MoCA test, the one he seems to have taken, has fewer questions than that: 12, by my count. He said Jackson asked him the memory question "10 minutes, 15, 20 minutes later." Moments later, he said the memory question was asked "about 20, 25 minutes later." The entire test takes only 10 to 12 minutes, and the instructions to the administrator are to ask the subject to repeat a list of 5 words 5 minutes later. He also describes the memory question as "that first question -- not the first -- but the 10th question." It's the 4th. He also claims Jackson didn't tell him he would be asked to repeat the list later. But I've taken the test several times, and each time the doctor -- not the same doctor each time -- said I would be asked to repeat the list later. So Trump proved, on air, that his memory and cognition of time were pretty poor.

Another Trump Lie. No, I never spoke to Woody Johnson about that, about Turnberry. Turnberry's a highly respected course, as you know, one of the best in the world. I read a story about it today, and I never spoke to Woody Johnson about doing that, no. -- Donald Trump, Wednesday, denying he asked the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. to hold the British Open at his own golf course in Scotland ~~~

What is a "highly respected" golf course? -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Wednesday that he never spoke with his ambassador to Britain about asking the British government if it could help steer the world-famous British Open golf tournament to the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland..., although he managed to promote his Scotland golf course at the same time.... In a Twitter posting on Wednesday, [Ambassador 'Woody'] Johnson did not deny the episode but said only that he did not violate any regulations.... The ambassador's deputy, Lewis A. Lukens..., confirmed on Wednesday that Mr. Johnson had informed him about Mr. Trump's request."

All the Best People, Ctd. Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "The Trump administration announced this week the nomination [link fixed] of a former conservative commentator with a history of inflammatory and conspiratorial tweets to be the head of the Office of Personnel Management. John Gibbs, the nominee, is currently the acting assistant secretary for community planning and development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.... A CNN KFile review in 2018 of archived versions of Gibbs' Twitter feed showed he had spread a false conspiracy theory that claimed Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign chairman took part in a satanic ritual. Gibbs also defended an anti-Semitic Twitter user who had been banned from the platform.... Gibbs' Twitter feed has been set to private since 2017 and the few tweets archived and accessible to public view offer only a small glimpse of his activity on social media.... In a February 2016 tweet, Gibbs said the Democratic Party had become the party of 'Islam, gender-bending, anti-police, "u racist!"' Gibbs' nomination comes as the White House aggressively moves to install loyalists across the government in key positions." (Also linked yesterday.)

James Griffiths of CNN: "Tensions between the United States and China have continued to ratchet up following the forced closure by Washington of Beijing's consulate in Houston, amid revelations that federal prosecutors are seeking a Chinese scientist accused of visa fraud who they say is hiding out in China's consulate in San Francisco. Prosecutors allege Tang Juan, a researcher focusing on biology, lied about her connection to the Chinese military in order to obtain entry into the US and has since avoided arrest by taking refuge in the West Coast diplomatic mission. According to court filings, Tang was charged on June 26 with one count of visa fraud." --s

Be Nice to Your Probation Officer. Or Else. Clare Hymes of CBS News: "The probation officer who would have been responsible for Michael Cohen's supervision while on home confinement said in a court filing Wednesday that Cohen was 'combative' during the July 9 meeting that landed the president's former personal attorney back in prison.... Attorneys for the government said Wednesday that Cohen's resistance to the terms of home confinement was the reason he was sent back to Otisville Federal Correctional Institution.... The officer who drafted Cohen's home confinement agreement, Adam Pakula, said he based the agreement on a sample agreement for another high-profile inmate, and that he wasn't aware Cohen was writing a book.... '... I drafted the FLM Agreement without input from the BOP or anyone in the executive branch,' Pakula said in an accompanying declaration.... The court filing also said that Cohen is 'free to work on his book while incarcerated.'" A Washington Post story is here.

“Not an Apology.” Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez forcefully rejected a Republican colleague's words of contrition on Wednesday after he declined to apologize for referring to her with a vulgar and sexist expletive, denying he had uttered the words. Representative Ted Yoho, Republican of Florida, appeared on the House floor on Wednesday to express regret for injecting 'strife' into Congress and being 'abrupt' in a confrontation this week with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York. 'I rise today to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York,' Mr. Yoho said.... But a short time later, he added, 'The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding.'... Ms. Ocasio-Cortez wrote. She said Mr. Yoho was lying when he described their interaction as a 'conversation.' 'It was verbal assault,' she wrote. 'This is not an apology.'" The Hill's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: "Words of contrition"? Lying about what you said is not expressing contrition. Immediately after Yoho accosted Ocasio-Cortez, he walked away and said, "Fucking bitch." I'm going to guess he was not talking about his pet dog.

Presidential Election

Another Biden Gaffe. Will Weissert of the AP: "Joe Biden said Wednesday that ... Donald Trump was the country's 'first' racist president.... [Biden's] comments came during a virtual town hall organized by the Service Employees International Union. When a questioner complained of racism surrounding the coronavirus outbreak and mentioned the president referring to it as the 'China virus,' Biden responded by blasting Trump and 'his spread of racism.'... Many presidents -- including the nation's first, George Washington -- owned slaves. President Woodrow Wilson, the country's 28th president, is having his name removed from Princeton University's public policy school.... Wilson, who served in the early 20th century, supported segregation and imposed it on several federal agencies."

~~~ Trolling Trump. Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: An "unusual video -- a teaser for a longer taped conversation between [President Obama and Vice President Biden] set to be released via social media Thursday -- serves both to troll the current president and send a signal that Obama will start playing a much more active role in the campaign.... The teaser makes clear that Biden and Obama are following health guidelines about meeting in person -- each wears a mask at various points -- an implicit contrast to President Trump, who has not embraced social distancing guidance and has largely resisted wearing a mask.... The meeting between Obama and Biden took place earlier this month at the former president's offices in Washington, D.C., according to a person familiar with the conversation...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Summer Concepcion of TPM: "A new Trump campaign ad released amid the Trump administration's deployment of federal troops to quell protests in Portland, Oregon misleadingly featured an image of pro-democracy protests in Ukraine taken in 2014. Alongside a photo of the President appearing next to law enforcement officers, the Facebook ad also features a photo of a group of protesters appearing to attack a police officer on the ground. 'Public safety vs chaos & violence,' the text below the photo reads. The photo in the ad, however, was from civil unrest in Ukraine in 2014 that ultimately resulted in the ousting of then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Its file on Wikimedia Commons shows the image with the caption: 'A police officer attacked by protesters during clashes in Ukraine, Kyiv. Events of February 18, 2014.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ A Mere Screw-up or an Ironic Prophecy? Jonathan Last of the conservative Bulwark: "The 'evil hippie scum' [in the photo] are actually pro-democracy protesters. And the policeman getting beat up is a member of the riot police who had been brought in to try to protect the authoritarian president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was attempting to turn Ukraine into a one-party state by extralegal means.... One of the extralegal means Yanukovych employed was a specialized federal internal police force, the Berkut, which answered directly to him and was used to assault his political opponents and tamper with elections. Another of the extralegal means he used was jailing former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko after beating her in the 2010 election. He actually 'locked her up.... And on February 25, 2014 Yanukovych turned up in ... Moscow. Where he enjoyed asylum. Because he was Vladimir Putin's puppet.... [Ukraine later tried him in absentia for high treason.] Before Yanukovych had ascended to the throne and tried to destroy his country's democracy, he hired this really interesting American political operative to help his party. The guy's name was Paul Manafort." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If you think Trump is taking all of his cues from Yanukovych, you might be right.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Never thought of it before, but maybe Jason Alexander should play the anti-hero in the comic "Trump: the Movie":

Mark Stern of Slate: Two federal appeals court judges -- Barbara Lagoa & Robert Luck, whom Donald Trump appointed to the 11th circuit -- and who ruled in favor of blocking Florida felons from voting violated the federal judicial code of conduct by hearing & ruling on the case. Both served on Florida's supreme court when they heard oral arguments on a closely-related case. "Lagoa and Luck energetically participated. Lagoa was particularly combative: Sounding more like an advocate than a jurist, she repeatedly argued that voters understood the amendment to encompass court fines and fees.... Judges who have participated in a case are required by the judicial code of ethics to recuse themselves from hearing related matters.... All 10 Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee ... sent both judges sharp letters ... demanding an explanation for their non-recusal."

** Darryl Fears & Steven Mufson of the Washington Post: "As Confederate statues fall across the country, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in an early morning post on the group]s website, 'it]s time to take down some of our own monuments, starting with some truth-telling about the Sierra Club's early history.' [John] Muir, who [founded the Sierra Club and] fought to preserve Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Forest, once referred to African Americans as lazy 'Sambos,' a racist pejorative that many black people consider to be even more offensive than the n-word. While recounting a legendary walk from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico, Muir described Native Americans he encountered as 'dirty.'... [Other] early Sierra Club members and leaders such as Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan 'were vocal advocates for white supremacy and its pseudoscientific arm, eugenics.' Jordan supported forced-sterilization laws and 'programs that deprived tens of thousands of women of their right to bear children.'... The roots of American environmentalism are grounded in a reverence for nature and racism." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jonathan Deinst, et al., of NBC News: "The FBI's Newark, New Jersey, office, which is investigating the shootings of federal Judge Esther Salas' son and husband at their New Jersey home, said Wednesday it now has evidence linking the suspect to the slaying of a prominent 'men's rights' figure in California, NBC New York reported. 'We are now engaged with the San Bernardino California Sheriff's Office and have evidence linking the murder of Marc Angelucci to FBI Newark subject Roy Den Hollander,' the FBI's latest statement said. 'This investigation is ongoing.'"