The Commentariat -- July 12, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Oscar Lopez & Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times: "As the largest protest movement in decades swept Cuba, President Biden on Monday called on the Cuban government to heed the demands of thousands of citizens who took to the streets on Sunday to protest power outages, food shortages and a worrying lack of medicine. 'We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom,' Mr. Biden said in a statement. 'The United States calls on the Cuban regime to hear their people and serve their needs at this vital moment rather than enriching themselves.'" An ABC News story is here.

Bob Herman of Axios: "More than half of unvaccinated Americans live in households that make less than $50,000 annually, according to the latest Census Bureau data.... Making it easier for the working poor to get the COVID-19 vaccine, without dinging their already-low incomes, could help boost the country's vaccination rates.... Vaccination has been politicized, but juggling work schedules and child care could be bigger factors than politics." According to a chart by the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, which Herman republishes, 22 percent of people living households earning less than $25K have not been vaccinated; only 3.4% of those in households of $200K & up haven't been vaccinated.

Texas. Reid Epstein & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Democrats in the Texas Legislature are making plans to flee the state on Monday ahead of expected votes on new voting laws, and head to Washington to spotlight what they say is a crippling Republican assault on the ability to cast a ballot. The group had arranged for a pair of chartered flights from Austin with plans to arrive in the nation's capital by the early evening. It was unclear as of midday how many Democrats might flee and if it would be enough to prevent Texas Republicans from attaining a quorum, which is required to conduct state business. The cohort of Democrats were aiming to transform themselves into the nation's new symbols in the fight for voting rights, according to several people familiar with their plans. The goal is to apply pressure to Democrats in the U.S. Senate who so far have been unable to pass federal legislation to address the issue." An NBC News story is here.

Louisiana. Debbie Elliott of NPR: "Four-term Democratic Gov. Edwin Edwards, who also served prison time for corruption, died Monday at his home in Gonzales, La. He was 93. A statement from his family said he'd been in hospice care for the past week with respiratory problems. Edwards was the last of the larger-than-life populists who once dominated Louisiana politics. He built his career on political patronage, public works, and sheer force of personality."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's interview on Sunday with Maria Bartiromo of Fox News encapsulate[s] how the former president has come to publicly embrace the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on his behalf.... Trump [declared] that those involved were 'tremendous -- in many cases, tremendous people, tremendous people.' He'd just finished saying that those who overtook the building in an effort to block the finalization of his electoral defeat had 'no guns ... no nothing' (untrue; a rioter was charged with having a firearm, and the crowd had a variety of other weapons from clubs to chemical weapons) and celebrating them as being 'military people, and they're police officers, and they're construction workers.' He repeatedly praised the rioters as righteous and innocuous, as being in a 'lovefest' with the police officers at the scene who, he suggested, stood by near open doors.... From the start, Trump's politics included an often explicit embrace of violence.... The events of Jan. 6 were a natural consequence of his dishonest claims and his obvious approval of force -- and of the failure of his allies to demand any accountability." Bump also gives Bartiromo what-for.

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Perry Bacon of the Washington Post: "President Biden and his team have a logical strategy for how they are attempting to counter the racist, anti-democratic drift in the Republican Party. But it's wrong for this political moment. The administration is filing lawsuits against Republicans' voter suppression efforts, supporting legislation in Congress to defend voting rights and getting the Democratic Party to invest in voter registration initiatives. But while they won't acknowledge this publicly, Biden and his advisers are not pushing these democracy issues as hard as they have pushed covid-19 vaccinations, the economic stimulus bill or the infrastructure package they are trying to get passed. Biden is speaking Tuesday about voting rights, though it's unclear if that will be the start of a broader, sustained push." Bacon has a list of what Biden should do.

The Fed Makes Sure the Rich Get Richer & the Poor Get Poorer. Karen Petrou in a New York Times op-ed: "The Fed, which controls America's monetary policy, is mired in conventional thinking, even though its policy since 2008 has been unconventional in scale, scope and omnipotence. Adhering to its 'lower rates are better' axiom, the Fed has kept 'real' U.S. short-term interest rates at -- or even below -- zero, after taking inflation into account. The Fed now plans to keep rates ultra, ultra low until about 2023, even if inflation ticks up. This results in even wider wealth inequalities as the gap between rich and everyone else grows.... The Fed's approach is premised on trickle-down expectations, adopted in the early 2000s. U.S. central bankers believe the higher that markets fly and the more that the wealthy spend, the better that everyone else will be. In truth, this policy works only for the wealthy."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The top U.S. general in Afghanistan stepped down Monday, marking a symbolic end to 20 years of American military involvement here -- and coming as an ascendant Taliban threatens to topple the central government. Army Gen. Austin 'Scott' Miller, who has overseen the war effort for nearly three years, relinquished responsibility in a ceremony at the top U.S. military headquarters. President Biden said last week that the military withdrawal he ordered will be complete Aug. 31, but Miller's departure is among the only pieces left. Virtually all other troops, contractors and equipment already have exited, defense officials said on the condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity."

** Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "For much of the past decade, oil companies engaged in drilling and fracking have been allowed to pump into the ground chemicals that, over time, can break down into toxic substances known as PFAS -- a class of long-lasting compounds known to pose a threat to people and wildlife -- according to internal documents from the Environmental Protection Agency. The E.P.A. in 2011 approved the use of these chemicals, used to ease the flow of oil from the ground, despite the agency's own grave concerns about their toxicity, according to the documents, which were reviewed by The New York Times. The E.P.A.'s approval of the three chemicals wasn't previously publicly known.... The documents, dating from the Obama administration, are heavily redacted because the E.P.A. allows companies to invoke trade-secret claims.... The Biden administration had made addressing PFAS a top priority, [an EPA spokesman said].... The presence of PFAS in oil and gas extraction threatens to expose oil-field employees and emergency workers handling fires and spills as well as people who live near, or downstream from, drilling sites to a class of chemicals that has faced increasing scrutiny for its links to cancer, birth defects, and other serious health problems."

Trump Praises Insurrectionists. David Cohen of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Sunday widely praised those who attended the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the insurrection at the Capitol, repeatedly using the word 'love' to describe the tone of the event. Echoing his rhetoric about the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Trump said, 'These were peaceful people, these were great people.' Speaking on 'Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo' on the Fox News Channel, he also said the rally participants were patriots, that some of them were unjustly arrested and jailed, and that a woman who was shot and killed by law enforcement during the insurrection was a great hero.... He added: 'Too much spirit and faith and love, there was such love at that rally, you had over a million people,' inflating the size of his rally crowd.... The remarks reflected recent efforts by Trump and his supporters to cast themselves as the aggrieved parties from the Jan. 6 riot...." ~~~

     ~~~ We Ignore Trump at Our Peril. Stephen Collinson of CNN: At CPAC, "Trump demonstrated his still unmatched capacity to sell outrage politics. But more than that, he demonstrated his ability to conjure an alternative belief system that is divorced from reality but that his supporters immediately adopt -- the hallmark of strongmen leaders throughout history.... Trump is not just popular at CPAC where the crowd greeted his speech with glee. That his populist extremism is now being implemented by GOP governors across states he won shows his enduring power.... The former President's threat to American democracy remains extreme."

Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post: "... a growing Christian movement that is nondenominational [and] openly political ... has become an engine of ... Donald Trump's Republican Party. It includes some of the largest congregations in the nation, housed in the husks of old Baptist churches, former big-box stores and sprawling multimillion-dollar buildings with private security to direct traffic on Sundays. Its most successful leaders are considered apostles and prophets, including some with followings in the hundreds of thousands, publishing empires, TV shows, vast prayer networks, podcasts, spiritual academies, and branding in the form of T-shirts, bumper stickers and even flags. It is a world in which demons are real, miracles are real, and the ultimate mission is not just transforming individual lives but also turning civilization itself into their version of God's Kingdom: one with two genders, no abortion, a free-market economy, Bible-based education, church-based social programs and laws such as the ones curtailing LGBTQ rights now moving through statehouses around the country.... Influential religious leaders ... helped organize nationwide prayer rallies in the days before the Jan. 6 insurrection, speaking of an imminent 'heavenly strike' and 'a Christian populist uprising,' leading many who stormed the Capitol to believe they were taking back the country for God."

Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "Far from being an innocuous domestic animal, a goldfish freed in fresh water is an invasive species, an organism that is introduced to an environment, can quickly reproduce, outcompete native species and destroy a habitat. And even though they get less attention than invasive organisms such as Asian carp or zebra mussels, goldfish appear to be a growing problem in bodies of water across the United States and around the world, triggering warnings from government officials in Virginia, Washington state, Australia, Canada and elsewhere.... Goldfish can live to be 25 years old, weigh as much as four pounds and measure well over a foot long.... Goldfish, like their common carp relatives, feed at the bottom of lakes, where they uproot plants and stir up sediment, which then damages the water's quality and can lead to algal blooms, harming other species.... Once goldfish are in one body of water, they can move on to others, and they can be tricky to evict."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Marie: Yesterday I saw this clip on CNN. It's from a CPAC "forum" held Saturday. It enraged me: ~~~

~~~ Russ Choma of Mother Jones: "On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci ... called the anti-vaccine politics on display [at CPAC] 'horrifying.' Fauci was reacting to a talk in which anti-vaxxer Alex Berenson was roundly cheered by a CPAC audience for saying the US government had failed to 'sucker' 90 percent of Americans into getting vaccinated.... [Meanwhile,] Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina ... push[ed] the idea that ... if the federal government cultivated the ability to go door-to-door for vaccinations that would create the kind of infrastructure that could 'take your Bibles.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Here's a Partial Explanation. Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: Fox "News" "prime-time shows hosted by Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham ... and guests on their programs have said on the air that the vaccines could be dangerous; that people are justified in refusing them; and that public authorities have overstepped in their attempts to deliver them.... Mr. Carlson ... said the Biden plan [to send medical professionals door-to-door to vaccinate residents] was an attempt to 'force people to take medicine they don't want or need.' He called the initiative 'the greatest scandal in my lifetime, by far.'... Served up to an audience that is more likely than the general population to be wary of Covid vaccines, the remarks by Mr. Carlson and Ms. Ingraham echoed a now-common conservative talking point -- that the government-led effort to raise vaccination rates amounted to a violation of civil liberties and a waste of taxpayer dollars.... Newsmax covered Mr. Biden's outreach plan on its website with the headline 'Biden Blasted for "Sick" Door-to-Door Vaccine Campaign'; One America News Network greeted the proposal with the headline 'Joe Biden To Send Operatives To Harass Americans Into Taking COVID-19 Vaccines.'" ~~~

~~~ Caitlin Owens of Axios: "State Republican lawmakers around the country are pushing bills -- at least one of which [in Montana] has become law -- that would give unvaccinated people the same protections as those surrounding race, gender and religion.... These bills would tie the hands of private businesses that want to protect their employees and customers. But they also show how deep into the political psyche resistance to coronavirus vaccine requirements has become, and how vaccination status has rapidly become a marker of identity."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Amanda Morris of the New York Times: "Under the influence of a movement known as eugenics, whose supporters believed that those with physical disabilities, psychiatric disorders and other conditions were 'genetically defective,' more than 60,000 people across the United States were forcibly sterilized by state-run programs throughout the 20th century. They included more than 20,000 people over seven decades in California, under a eugenics law enacted in 1909.... Even after California repealed its eugenics law in 1979, it continued to sterilize women in prison, sometimes without ensuring that their consent was lawfully obtained, according to a 2014 state report that followed an exposé by the Center for Investigative Reporting. Now, under a budget passed by the legislature and awaiting the governor's approval, California is prepared to spend $7.5 million to find and pay an estimated 600 surviving victims of coerced sterilization..., an estimated $25,000 each. The move follows similar efforts in Virginia and North Carolina to compensate victims.... Not everyone who was forcibly sterilized under California's program had a disability. The vast majority were poor, and many were wards of the state from so-called 'broken homes.' Many had suffered previous abuse, and many were Black, Latino, Asian American or Native American."

Texas. Eva Ruth Moravec & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "New voting restrictions in Texas moved a step closer to becoming law this weekend after two committees advanced the legislation in a special session, setting up a floor vote in the coming days on a GOP proposal that civil rights leaders say would hurt communities of color. It was the second effort by Texas Republicans to pass such voting restrictions, after Democrats foiled a first attempt by staging a dramatic walkout in May, denying the Republican-majority legislature a quorum and forcing them to adjourn without voting on the measure. After the walkout, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vowed that he would call a special session later in the year and include the voting legislation. State GOP lawmakers filed two new bills last week -- one in the House and one in the Senate -- and debated them in hearings on Saturday. The two bills contain similar provisions, including banning 24-hour voting and ending drive-through voting, both of which were used in the state in the 2020 election to help people vote during the coronavirus pandemic."

Virginia. Ian Shapira of the Washington Post: "... the stirring image of [Kasey] Meredith becoming VMI's first female regimental commander belied the misogyny she and other female cadets have endured since women were first admitted to the school in 1997 after a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court. In the six weeks since her appointment was announced, Meredith ... had been the object of derision by VMI students on Jodel, a widely used anonymous social media app where female cadets are routinely dismissed as 'shedets' or 'sheeds.'... [An] independent investigation by the law firm Barnes & Thornburg ... found that sexism on the Lexington campus ... may be just as serious a problem as racism.... At a college where sexual contact between cadets on campus is forbidden, 'sexual assault is prevalent at VMI yet it is inadequately addressed by the Institute,' the report said.... In ... interviews, [VMI women] described an atmosphere of hostility toward women, with constant ridicule at their expense on Jodel, and an expectation of backlash from male cadets if they reported incidents in which they've been groped or raped.&"

Way Beyond

Cuba. Frances Robles of the New York Times: "Shouting 'Freedom' and other anti-government slogans, hundreds of Cubans took to the streets in cities around the country on Sunday to protest food and medicine shortages, in a remarkable eruption of discontent not seen in nearly 30 years. Hundreds of people marched through San Antonio de los Baños, southwest of Havana, with videos streaming live on Facebook for nearly an hour before they suddenly disappeared. As the afternoon wore on, other videos appeared from demonstrations elsewhere, including Palma Soriano, in the country's southeast. Hundreds of people also gathered in Havana, where a heavy police presence preceded their arrival.... In a country known for repressive crackdowns on dissent, the rallies were widely viewed as astonishing.... The protests were set off by a dire economic crisis in Cuba, where the coronavirus pandemic has cut off crucial tourism dollars. People now spend hours in line each day to buy basic food items. Many have been unable to work because restaurants and other businesses have remained on lockdown for months." CNN's story is here.

Haiti. The New York Times' live updates of developments in Haiti Sunday are here: "A Haitian-born doctor based in Florida has been arrested as a 'central' suspect in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and the national police chief suggested at a Sunday news conference that he believes the suspect was plotting to become president. The doctor, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, is now the third Haitian-born suspect with U.S. ties to be arrested." ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Beaumont of the Guardian: "Police in Haiti say they have arrested a new suspect in the assassination of the country's president, Jovenel Moïse -- a Haitian living in Florida who arrived on a private plane in June allegedly to act as a middleman between the alleged hitmen and the plot's unnamed masterminds. As Haiti descended ever deeper into a dangerous political chaos, with notorious gang leader Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier calling on Haitians to 'mobilise', the motive for the killing of Moïse remained clouded in mystery. The latest suspect was identified by police as Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian in his 60s living in Florida who describes himself as a doctor and has accused his homeland's leaders of corruption." MB: I don't think I want to know what Cherizier is called “Barbeque."

Further Yet

Sarah Betancourt of the Guardian: "The British entrepreneur Richard Branson has successfully flown to the edge of space and back in his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane, days ahead of a rival launch by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as the two billionaires raced to kick off a new era of space tourism. Seventeen years after Branson founded Virgin Galactic to develop commercial spacecraft and cater to future space tourists, the spaceplane went into sub-orbital flight on Sunday morning, reaching 55 miles (88km ) above Earth's surface. The launch was slightly delayed until 10.40ET due to weather conditions at the Virgin Galactic's operational base at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here.

The Commentariat -- July 11, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Marie: I just saw this clip on CNN. It's from a CPAC "forum" held Saturday. I am shaking with rage: ~~~

~~~ Russ Choma of Mother Jones: "On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci ... called the anti-vaccine politics on display [at CPAC] 'horrifying.' Fauci was reacting to a talk in which anti-vaxxer Alex Berenson was roundly cheered by a CPAC audience for saying the US government had failed to 'sucker' 90 percent of Americans into getting vaccinated.... [Meanwhile,] Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina ... push[ed] the idea that ... if the federal government cultivated the ability to go door-to-door for vaccinations that would create the kind of infrastructure that could 'take your Bibles.'"

Sarah Betancourt of the Guardian: "The British entrepreneur Richard Branson has successfully flown to the edge of space and back in his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane, days ahead of a rival launch by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as the two billionaires raced to kick off a new era of space tourism. Seventeen years after Branson founded Virgin Galactic to develop commercial spacecraft and cater to future space tourists, the spaceplane went into sub-orbital flight on Sunday morning, reaching 55 miles (88km) above Earth's surface. The launch was slightly delayed until 10.40ET due to weather conditions at the Virgin Galactic's operational base at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of Richard Branson's short hop into inner space are here: "Branson and crew landed safely after their trip to the edge of space." CNN's live updates are here.

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Sarah Betancourt of the Guardian & Agencies: "British entrepreneur Richard Branson is set to fly to the edge of space in his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane on Sunday, days ahead of a rival launch by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as the two billionaires race to kick off an era of space tourism. Branson's extraterrestrial venture Virgin Galactic will send its space plane into sub-orbital flight on Sunday morning, aimed at reaching 55 miles above Earth at its peak altitude." MB: If Richy-Rich is only venturing 55 miles above the Earth & not into the galaxy, I don't see why he named the project "Virgin Galactic." There's nothing galactic about it. ~~~

~~~ Kenneth Chang of the New York Times writes on how to watch Richard Branson's space plane flight: "The flight is scheduled to take off on Sunday morning from Spaceport America in New Mexico, about 180 miles south of Albuquerque.... Virgin will broadcast coverage of the flight beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern time, with Stephen Colbert hosting the livestream. The singer Khalid is scheduled to perform a new song after the crew lands, and Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, suggested he may make an appearance.... The Virgin Galactic design already has an imperfect safety record." MB: There's not a chance I'll watch this possible disaster. I can see why people who enjoy watching contact sports & rubbernecking highway accidents would tune in.

Laura Barron-Lopez of Politico: "After months of setbacks and gridlock on voting rights, one of President Joe Biden's top allies in Congress is calling for him to support amending the Senate filibuster. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) told Politico Biden 'should endorse' the idea of creating a carveout to the legislative filibuster in the Senate for legislation that applies to the Constitution. In effect, the reform would make it possible for Democrats to pass their sweeping elections reform bill and another bill reauthorizing key sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act with just Democratic support." MB: Biden would not be President if not for Clyburn's pre-primary endorsement in South Carolina. Biden owes Clyburn & should follow his advice.

Michael Crowley, et al., of the New York Times: "Haiti's request for U.S. troops to help stabilize the country following the assassination of its president presents a difficult choice for President Biden: send forces to aid a neighbor even as he is trying to pare down America's military footprint overseas, or refrain and risk allowing the chaos unfolding there to escalate into a refugee crisis. Thus far, administration officials have expressed caution about any deployment to Haiti, reflecting the fast pace of events since attackers killed President Jovenel Moïse in his home on Wednesday, but also a broader shift in American attitudes toward military interventions as the 20-year war in Afghanistan winds down."

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Global leaders on Saturday agreed to move ahead with what would be the most significant overhaul of the international tax system in decades, with finance ministers from the world's 20 largest economies backing a proposal that would crack down on tax havens and impose new levies on large, profitable multinational companies. If enacted, the plan could reshape the global economy, altering where corporations choose to operate, who gets to tax them and the incentives that nations offer to lure investment. But major details remain to be worked out ahead of an October deadline to finalize the agreement and resistance is mounting from businesses, which could soon face higher tax bills, as well as from small, but pivotal, low-tax countries such as Ireland, which would see their economic models turned upside down."

Mary Jordan & Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Country music stars, a billionaire, a civil rights icon and the most powerful woman in Congress traveled to [Plains, Georgia,] on Saturday to toast Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter for their 75th wedding anniversary. Yet the biggest surprise was that Bill and Hillary Clinton showed up, too, perhaps because time has eased the couples' past tensions. The marquee names, including singers Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, CNN founder Ted Turner, former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), gathered in the former high school that the Carters attended 80 years ago. There were relatives and neighbors, poor as well as rich, Republicans as well as Democrats."

Brooke Staggs of the Orange County Register: "A Laguna Hills event center canceled plans to host an 'America First' rally on July 17 after learning the speakers were slated to be ... Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene. 'We just want to stay clear of that,' Javad Mirtavoosi, general manager of Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center, said by phone Friday. Greene's campaign disputed that account of how the cancellation transpired. And they're still selling tickets for a rally, though they're still trying to find an Orange County venue for the same day." MB: Seems to me you have to be pretty far out of touch with reality when you can't admit your hotel reservation was cancelled.

Paul Krugman of the New York Times (July 8) on how we're still paying for Trump's government by temper tantrum. "... why are we facing a semiconductor shortage? Part of the answer is that the pandemic created a weird business cycle. People couldn't go out to eat, so they remodeled their kitchens, and they couldn't go to the gym, so they bought Pelotons. So demand for services is still depressed, while demand for goods has soared. And ... practically every physical good now has a chip in it. But as Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics documents in an important new article, the Trump administration's trade policy made the situation much worse.... The structure of the Trump tariffs was, well, stupid.... Multiple studies have found, the tariffs actually reduced U.S. manufacturing employment. But Trump's trade policy wasn't just poorly conceived. It was also erratic.... Basically, international supply chains don't work very well when the policies of one of the world's key economies are governed by the whims of a leader who gets his ideas from cable TV."

Amanda Morris of the New York Times: "Revelations about [Britney] Spears's wish to end the conservatorship that has bound her decision-making and finances since 2008 have drawn new attention to legal mechanisms known in many states as guardianships. These arrangements are intended to support people who are incapacitated and incapable of making decisions, and some families say guardianships have protected their loved ones, including relatives in comas or with severe disabilities.... But advocates for people with disabilities say guardianships have been used too broadly, including in cases of individuals ... who, the advocates say, do not require such intense or continuous oversight.... Under some guardianships, people can lose the right to marry, vote, drive, or seek and retain employment.... Ending a guardianship is extremely difficult in many places, experts said.... There are less restrictive arrangements that can be used instead of guardianship, including what is known as supported decision-making...."

Beyond the Beltway

Alaska Senate Race: Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "The Alaska Republican Party endorsed GOP Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka on Saturday, breaking from longtime incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski ... in a 58-17 vote.... Trump ... formally endorsed Tshibaka last month...." The Anchorage Daily News story is here.

Marie: This is a tale of two states. One, Virginia, which is led by Democrats, faces up to its racist past & attempts to make amends. The other, Texas, led by Republicans, figures it isn't quite racist enough. ~~~

Texas. David Montgomery of the New York Times: "In a year in which Republican led-states around the country have pared back the ability to vote, the legislative process in Texas has been among the most contentious. 'This is the single greatest coordinated attack on democracy in our lifetimes, and perhaps in the life of this country,' declared Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat and a former U.S. representative, echoing the party's contention that the Republican bills would suppress access to the polls, particularly for members of minority groups and low-income residents.... In fact, studies consistently put Texas near the top of the list of states that make it harder to register and vote, which explains, in part, why the stakes are viewed as so high."

Texas. Isabella Paz of the New York Times: "A 62-year-old Texas man who waited hours to cast a ballot in last year's presidential primary was arrested this week on charges that he had voted illegally. The man, Hervis Earl Rogers of Houston, waited seven hours outside Texas Southern University to vote in the state's presidential primary in March 2020. On Wednesday, he was arrested and charged with two counts of illegal voting, a felony. According to court documents, the charges stem from ballots that Mr. Rogers cast on March 3, 2020, and on Nov. 6, 2018, while he was still on parole and not legally permitted to vote. Tommy Buser-Clancy, [of the ACLU] ... and one of the lawyers representing Mr. Rogers, said that Mr. Rogers thought that he could vote during the primary. 'Mr. Rogers's prosecution really shows the danger of overcriminalizing the election code and the process of participating in a democratic society,' he said. 'In particular, it raises the danger that criminal statutes in the election code are being used to go after individuals who at worse have made an innocent mistake. That's not what any laws should be doing.'... Mr. Rogers was being held at the Montgomery County Jail with bail set at $100,000. He could face upward of 40 years in prison.... Texas' attorney general, Ken Paxton, who is under investigation for professional misconduct after he challenged President Biden's win in court, brought the charges against Mr. Rogers." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You may be shocked, shocked to learn that Rogers is Black. (You can't tell from the NYT story, but I saw a photo of him in an article on another site.)

Virginia. Hawes Spencer & Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Four years after a woman was killed and dozens were injured when white nationalists protested the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va., workers removed the statue on Saturday, along with a nearby monument to Stonewall Jackson, another Confederate general. The larger-than-life-sized statue of Lee was hoisted off its granite base shortly after 8 a.m. as a crowd of about 200 looked on. As the flatbed truck carrying the bronze statue rumbled down East Jefferson Street, a toot of the truck's horn prompted cheers and applause. Jackson was removed about two hours later, and shortly after noon, the City Council held an emergency meeting and voted unanimously to remove yet another statue, this one of the explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. The 1919 sculpture has long provoked concern for its depiction of Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who is shown along with the two better-known explorers in a crouching manner that some see as subservient." This is an update of a story linked yesterday. The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Dana Hedgpeth of the Washington Post: "Virginia is preserving hundreds of acres of tall grasslands and woods overlooking the York River, home to Native Americans over several centuries. More than a half-dozen tribes lived in the area before White settlers forced out many of the Indigenous people. After decades of various owners and plans for the land, it was turned into Machicomoco State Park, a name that means 'a special meeting place' in the Algonquin language. The park is the state's 40th and the only one dedicated to Native Americans. Officials said it has a dual purpose: to honor Native American tribes that trace their ancestral roots to the land and to educate nonnative visitors about the land's importance to Indigenous people who still live in the region."

News Lede

New York Times : "The U.S. men's basketball team was upset by Nigeria on Saturday evening in its first exhibition game ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, a stunning outcome even if the effects are more symbolic than likely to affect the United States' eventual gold medal hopes. Nigeria defeated a Team U.S.A. roster stacked with All-N.B.A. players, 90-87, at Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas. It was the first win by an African team over the U.S. men's national team."

The Commentariat -- July 10, 2021

David McCabe & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden signed a sweeping executive order on Friday intended to increase competition within the nation's economy and to limit corporate dominance, factors the White House says have led to higher prices and fewer choices for consumers while dampening pay and restricting the freedom to change jobs. The administration encouraged federal agencies to take a wide range of actions, such as more closely scrutinizing the tech industry, cracking down on high fees charged by ocean shippers and allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter. 'What we've seen over the past few decades is less competition and more concentration that holds our economy back,' Mr. Biden said in the White House on Friday, citing the agriculture, technology and pharmaceutical industries. 'Rather than competing for consumers, they are consuming their competitors. Rather than competing for workers, they're finding ways to gain the upper hand on labor.'" (This is an update of a story linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden signed an executive order Friday taking aim at industries where certain companies dominate the market, kicking off a major new battle between the administration and corporate titans that could reshape aspects of the U.S. economy. The executive order -- which contains 72 initiatives -- is striking in its scope and ambition, challenging the business practices of America's enormous technology, health-care, agricultural and manufacturing firms while also aiming to shake up smaller sectors dominated by only a handful of companies, such as the hearing aid industry. 'The heart of American capitalism is a simple idea: open and fair competition,' Biden said in remarks before signing the order, accompanied by several members of his Cabinet. '...Competition keeps the economy moving and keeps it growing. Fair competition is why capitalism has been the world's greatest force for prosperity and growth.'... The effort ... tees up a major challenge for the administration, which is likely to face sharp resistance from businesses that may seek relief through courts that have shown skepticism about competition arguments in the past." ~~~

David Sanger & Nicole Perlroth of the New York Times: "President Biden warned President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Friday that time was running out for him to rein in the ransomware groups striking the United States, telegraphing that this could be Mr. Putin's final chance to take action on Russia's harboring of cybercriminals before the United States moved to dismantle the threat. In Mr. Biden's starkest warning yet, he conveyed in a phone call to Mr. Putin that the attacks would no longer be treated only as criminal acts, but as national security threats -- and thus may provoke a far more severe response, administration officials said. It is a rationale that has echoes of the legal justification used by the United States and other nations when they cross inside another country's borders to rout terrorist groups or drug cartels.... Later, as he was leaving for Delaware for the weekend, Mr. Biden appeared to specify one of the ways the United States could respond. Asked if it might attack the servers Russian cybercriminals have used to hijack American networks -- meaning knock them offline -- Mr. Biden responded, 'Yes,' according to a pool report." An ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the White House readout of the call.

Get Out! Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden fired ... Donald J. Trump's appointed head of the Social Security Administration on Friday, setting off a possible legal showdown over who rightfully holds the position. Mr. Biden asked on Friday morning for the resignations of Andrew Saul, the agency's commissioner, and David Black, a deputy commissioner. Mr. Black resigned as requested, but Mr. Saul refused and was notified by the administration that he had been fired, an administration official said. He has vowed to fight Mr. Biden's move as illegal. Mr. Biden moved to appoint an acting commissioner, Kilolo Kijakazi, while the administration looks for permanent successors for the two jobs. Ms. Kijakazi has been the deputy commissioner for retirement and disability policy at the agency.... A White House official said Friday that Mr. Saul had undermined Social Security's disability benefits, terminated a telework policy at the agency and alienated federal employee unions over work force safety planning amid the pandemic. In March, three top Democrats on the House's Ways and Means Committee called for Mr. Saul's ouster, accusing him of 'aggressive anti-union activities' and the pursuit of benefit cuts that would hurt vulnerable Americans." A number of Congressional Democrats have called for Saul's firing. CNN's story is here.

Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer detain most pregnant, nursing and postpartum women for deportation, reversing a Trump-era rule that permitted officials to jail thousands of immigrants in those circumstances, according to a new policy to be released Friday. ICE's new policy is even more expansive than it was during the Obama era, when President Biden was vice president. The Obama administration generally exempted pregnant women from immigration detention, but the Biden administration is also including women who gave birth within the prior year and those who are nursing, which could last longer than a year." The Hill's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ ** Kevin Sieff of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration began separating migrant families along a remote stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border months earlier than has been previously reported -- part of a little known program coming into view only now as the Biden administration examines government data. In May 2017, Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Ariz., began implementing a program known as the Criminal Consequence Initiative, which allowed for the prosecution of first-time border crossers, including parents who entered the United States with their children and were separated from them.... Some of the parents separated under the Yuma program still remain apart from their children four years later." MB: Reports about Trump & Sessions' "zero tolerance" program horrified Americans, and apparently we didn't know the half of it.

Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration on Friday called for a federal investigation of the process that led to the approval of a new drug for Alzheimer's disease that has spurred sharp criticism from lawmakers and the medical community. In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services' independent Office of the Inspector General, the F.D.A.'s acting commissioner, Dr. Jane Woodcock, acknowledged the scrutiny the agency has faced about the approval process for the drug, which is known as Aduhelm and has a $56,000 annual price tag. She pointed to interactions between representatives from the drug's developer, Biogen, and the agency, saying some 'may have occurred outside of the formal correspondence process.'... It is unusual for the agency to request an investigation into its own staff's decision-making process for an individual drug approval."

Felicia Sonmez & Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: "The panel charged with investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob will hold its first hearing this month, its chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), said Friday. In an interview on MSNBC, Thompson also said the hearing will 'absolutely' go forward even if House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declines to recommend Republican members for the panel.... McCarthy opposed the creation of the committee and has repeatedly declined to say whether he plans to appoint members; at a news conference last month, he dodged questions on the subject."

Jasmine Hilton & Ellie Silverman of the Washington Post: "The metal fence that has encircled the Capitol since a mob of Trump supporters stormed the complex on Jan. 6 began coming down early Friday evening, relieving residents who had been walled off in their own neighborhood and making way for tourists to get a closer look at the iconic democratic building. The perimeter had become one of the last remaining symbols of the failed security response to the riots that disrupted Congress from confirming President Biden's election victory and led to the deaths of five people.... Capitol Police will continue to monitor threats and the Capitol will still remain closed to public visitors, according to ... a memo sent to lawmakers Wednesday [MB: from, uh, somebody]."

Allen Feuer of the New York Times: "Against the advice of a lawyer, [Stewart] Rhodes..., the leader of the Oath Keepers militia..., spoke freely with [FBI] agents about the Capitol assault for nearly three hours, he said in an interview on Friday. Mr. Rhodes said that he denied that he or any other Oath Keepers had intended to disrupt Congress's certification of the Electoral College vote -- the chief accusation the government has lodged against 16 members of the group who are charged with conspiracy. He also said he told the agents that members of his militia went into the building only after they had heard that someone had been shot inside and wanted to render aid. (A New York Times visual investigation of the events of Jan. 6 did not find evidence of Mr. Rhodes's claims.)" A TPM summary story is here.

A "Spurious" Defense. Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's claim that the First Amendment shields his conduct leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is legally 'spurious' and should be rejected as a federal court considers lawsuits that allege he incited the violence, four prominent First Amendment lawyers and scholars argued Thursday. Targeting a key defense raised by lawyers for Trump and co-defendants including Rudolph W. Giuliani and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), the legal experts said that courts have long recognized that speech central to a crime -- such as the political intimidation of voters, lawmakers and government officials -- is barred and not protected by the Constitution. In a 23-page proposed friend-of-the-court brief filed Thursday in a case brought by members of Congress and Capitol police, the legal scholars argued that courts must strike a balance between protecting freedom of political speech and preventing political intimidation.... The four signers were First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, who has fought several precedent-making cases in court, Berkeley law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky, former Harvard Law School dean Martha Minow and noted constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe."

The Odd Couple. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Ten days ago..., [Mitch McConnell] was asked ... to imagine: 'You're stranded on a desert island and you can only have one companion. Your choices are Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter. Who do you choose? McConnell had little hesitation. 'Biden and I did four bipartisan deals during the Obama administration. I consider him a personal friend,' he said. 'I was the only Republican who went to his son Beau's funeral. So that would be an easy choice. I think Biden is a first-rate person.'" Milbank imagines Joe & Mitch doing a couple of TV survival shows in which they're stranded together on a desert island. For instance, "Episode Two: The survivalists go fishing. Biden spears a fish. Biden goes foraging for kindling to cook the fish but returns to discover tha McConnell has eaten the whole fish raw. McConnell blames Biden for his upset stomach."

This Should Work! ~~~

CPAC attendee sent me this pic of a card they were handed about a “7-pt. plan to restore Donald J. Trump in days, not years,” which involves installing Trump as speaker and ousting Biden & Harris. pic.twitter.com/dS0tQ5jW7b

— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) July 9, 2021

     ~~~ Solender is a Forbes political reporter. Via the Raw Story.

Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service: In the U.S., "white Christians ... have expanded their share of the population, particularly white mainline Protestants. That group sits at 16.4%, an increase from 13% in 2016, whereas white evangelicals ... now represent about 14.5% of the population, down from a peak of 23% in 2006. White Catholics now hover around 11.7%, up from a 2018 low of 10.9%.... The percentage of white Christians ticked up overall, rising from 42% in 2018 to 44% in 2020.... Even with these small gains, however, white Christians have shrunk dramatically as a proportion of the population over the past few decades, having represented 54% of the population as recently as 2006.... Religiously unaffiliated Americans, or 'nones' in religion demography parlance, have lost ground, making up just 23% of the country. The complex group -- which includes atheists, agnostics and some people who say they pray daily but don't claim a specific faith tradition -- peaked at 25.5% of the population in 2018." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ ** Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "The presidency of George W. Bush may have been the high point of the modern Christian right's influence in America.... But the evangelicals who thought they were about to take over America were destined for disappointment.... From this fact derives much of our country's cultural conflict. It helps explain not just the rise of Donald Trump, but also the growth of QAnon and even the escalating conflagration over critical race theory.... QAnon is essentially a millenarian movement, with Trump taking the place of Jesus.... [As for those who are anti-C.R.T.,] the idea that public schools are corrupting children by leading them away from a providential understanding of American history has deep roots in white evangelical culture.... I was frightened by the religious right in its triumphant phase. But it turns out that the movement is just as dangerous in decline.... It didn't take long for the cocky optimism of Generation Joshua to give way to the nihilism of the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. If they can't own the country, they're ready to defile it." (Also linked yesterday.)

Steve Thompson & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Attorneys general in four states are looking into the online fundraising practices of both major political parties.... The practices being examined include the use of pre-checked boxes that lock in recurring donations from political donors who may not intend to sign up for more than one contribution, according to an April 29 letter included in a court filing Wednesday by WinRed, a fundraising platform for GOP committees and campaigns. WinRed is asking the U.S. District Court in Minnesota to stop the investigations by the attorneys general of Minnesota, Connecticut, Maryland and New York, arguing that consumer protection statutes that the attorneys general may try to enforce are preempted by federal law. Identical letters were sent to WinRed and ActBlue, a fundraising platform for Democrats, according to a person familiar with the inquiry...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "In recent months, local TV news crews have faced verbal and physical abuse while on the job. A few reporters have been injured. Some have been robbed or had equipment damaged.... [The year] 2020 ... may have been the most dangerous year in history for TV reporters in the United States.... 'What we're seeing now is part of a disturbing trend of [TV] journalists being in jeopardy in what otherwise are routine stories,' said Dan Shelley, the [Radio Television Digital News Directors Association's] ... director. 'It's not just riots and protests.... Many people feel as if they have permission to be aggressive toward journalists.'... Station managers ... said their journalists had been verbally harassed, punched, slapped, shoved, spat on, robbed at gunpoint, and hit with rocks and water bottles.... Many of the culprits were demonstrators, managers said, but police have also been involved in roughing up journalists."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Sheryl Stolberg, et al., of the New York Times: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged schools on Friday to fully reopen in the fall, even if they cannot take all of the steps the agency recommends to curb the spread of the coronavirus -- a major turn in a public health crisis in which childhood education has long been a political flash point. The agency also said school districts should use local health data to guide decisions about when to tighten or relax prevention measures like masking and physical distancing. With the highly contagious Delta variant spreading and children under 12 still ineligible for vaccination, it recommended that unvaccinated students and staff members keep wearing masks. The guidance is a departure from the C.D.C.'s past recommendations for schools."

Fear of "Needle Nazis." Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "It has been three days since President Biden announced an initiative to send people door-to-door trying to get more people vaccinated, and Republicans and their conservative media allies have wasted no time turning those door-knockers into terrifying straw men.... Republican members of Congress and conservative talkers have wrongly pitched the effort as forced vaccination -- even repeatedly invoking the Nazis -- and lodged baseless suggestions that it would be done using illegally obtained medical information. Others have suggested it's something akin to government coercion or even a precursor to gun confiscation.... [After] Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) ... compar[ed] the effort to 'medical brown shirts showing up at their door ordering vaccinations.'..., Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) took to Twitter the next day to offer her own Nazi comparison, labeling the door-knockers 'needle Nazis.'... Fox News host Tucker Carlson also wrongly pitched this effort as being about forcing vaccinations." (Also linked yesterday.)

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

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Jordan Williams of the Hill: "Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed a bill on Friday preventing local governments from teaching critical race theory. The measure, House Bill 2906, prohibits 'the state and any local governments from requiring their employees to engage in orientation, training or therapy that suggest an employee is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,' Ducey's office said in a statement. The Arizona state House passed the bill in a 31-25 vote.... The state Senate passed the bill on a 16-12 vote.... Republicans have used the term critical race theory as a catch-all for teaching racism, with some panning the theory as discriminatory." MB: The bill, as reported, doesn't seem to have anything to do with critical race theory.

Texas. Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "People across the country may soon be able to sue abortion clinics, doctors and anyone helping a woman get an abortion in Texas, under a new state law that contains a legal innovation with broad implications for the American court system. The provision passed the State Legislature this spring as part of a bill that bans abortion after a doctor detects a fetal heartbeat, usually at about six weeks of pregnancy. Many states have passed such bans, but the law in Texas is different. Ordinarily enforcement would be up to government official.... But the law in Texas prohibits officials from enforcing it. Instead, it ... effectively deputizing ordinary citizens -- including from outside Texas -- to sue clinics and others who violate the law. It awards them at least $10,000 per illegal abortion if they are successful." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's odd how confederates are all concerned about medical professionals getting your "medical information" when they go door-to-door to vaccinate people, but it's just fine for me, as a wingnut busybody with no professional code of ethics, to interfere with the health care of a young woman far, far away.

Virginia. City to Remove "Totems for Terrorists." Michael Levenson & Hawes Spencer of the New York Times: "Four years after a woman was killed and dozens were injured when white nationalists protested the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va., city officials said they would remove the statue on Saturday, along with a nearby monument to Stonewall Jackson, another Confederate general. The announcement by the city on Friday came more than four years after the City Council initially put forth a plan to remove the statue of Lee from what was then known as Lee Park, prompting scores of white nationalists to descend on Charlottesville in August 2017 in a 'Unite the Right' rally to protest the removal.... The violence that day, as well as the open racism and anti-Semitism displayed at the rally, intensified calls to remove Confederate statues across the country." The AP's report is here.

Way Beyond

Haiti. The New York Times' live updates of developments in Haiti Saturday are here: "United States and Colombian officials say they will work with Haiti to understand the origins of a complicated plot that left Haiti's president dead and the country in chaos even as Haitian investigators confront questions emerging closer to home. Of the at least 20 people detained so far in the investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse this past week, 18 have been identified as Colombians and two as Haitian Americans. Five suspects are still being sought." ~~~

~~~ Natalie Kitroeff, et al., of the New York Times: "After 24 hours of wild gun battles with suspects in the assassination of Haiti's president, the nation's authorities announced the arrests of 20 people and called on the United States to send troops to help protect crucial infrastructure. Haiti's remarkable request for military assistance from the United States, a former colonial overlord that has repeatedly intervened in the nation's affairs, is a measure of how deeply shaken the nation has been by days of chaos and intrigue. As new developments unfolded at a dizzying pace on Friday, the mystery over who was ultimately behind the assassination only deepened. On the streets, vigilantes prowled for suspects, and the police killed at least three people in gunfights. The vast majority of those arrested have turned out to be from Colombia -- former military men said to have turned mercenaries -- as questions arose about why it had been so easy for attackers to burst into President Jovenel Moïse's home and kill him, seemingly with no shots fired from security staff. And in a brewing political crisis, suspicion has prompted what may shape up to be a standoff between rival governments." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Reporters can marvel at Haiti's "remarkable" request for U.S. military assistance. But you can bet no one in Haiti would be dialing Washington's help line if the former guy had not been run out of town.

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of developments in Haiti Friday are here: "Two Americans arrested in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti this week said that they were not in the room when he was killed and that they had worked only as translators for the hit squad, a Haitian judge said on Friday. Clément Noël, a judge who is involved with the investigation and who interviewed both men soon after their arrest, said that neither was injured in the assault." (Also linked yesterday.)

Algeria. Siobhán O'Grady of the Washington Post profiles Zohra Drif, an Algerian resistance fighter who in 1956 set off a bomb in an Algiers bar popular with French settlers, an incident that "marked a major turning point in Algeria's struggle for independence."

News Ledes

New York Times: "The temperature [in Death Valley, California,] soared to 130 degrees on both Friday and Saturday and was forecast to hit the same peak on Sunday.... The blistering weekend heat, one of the highest temperatures ever recorded on Earth, matched a similar level from August 2020. Those readings could set records if verified, as an earlier record of 134 degrees in 1913 has been disputed by scientists. Much of the West is facing further record-breaking temperatures over the coming days, with over 31 million people in areas under excessive heat warnings or heat advisories. It is the third heat wave to sweep the region this summer."

New York Times: "The death toll [at the collapsed Surfside, Florida, condominium] rose to 86 on Saturday, according to Mayor Daniella Levine Cava of Miami-Dade County. Dozens of people remained unaccounted for...."