The Commentariat -- August 11, 2021

Afternoon Update:

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

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

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

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

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

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No Mo Cuomo

Luis Ferré-Sadurní & David Goodman of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Tuesday he would resign from office, succumbing to a ballooning sexual harassment scandal that fueled an astonishing reversal of fortune for one of the nation's best-known leaders. Mr. Cuomo said his resignation would be effective in 14 days. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, will be sworn in to replace him. She will become the first female governor of New York.... In a 21-minute speech that was by turns contrite and defiant, Mr. Cuomo decried the effort to remove him and acknowledged that his initial instinct had been 'to fight through this controversy, because I truly believe it is politically motivated.'" (This is an expansion of an item linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday in an effort to head off a looming impeachment effort in the state Assembly after a state investigation found he sexually harassed 11 women and oversaw an unlawful attempt to exact retribution against one of his accusers. 'Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing,' Cuomo said in a video address. 'And I cannot be the cause of that.... Given the circumstances the best way I can help now is to step aside and let government get back to governing,' he added.He said his resignation will be effective in 14 days. Cuomo will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who will be New York's first female governor and will serve out the rest of the term until the next election in November 2022." MB: As Tom Winter Ron Allen of NBC News pointed out, the last legislature could still impeach & convict him. The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "... as Mr. Cuomo resigned in disgrace on Tuesday, another message became clear: The governor, ever the tactician, was seeking redemption in the eyes of New Yorkers, straining to litigate and define his legacy -- sometimes in defiance of reality -- and to preserve his future standing amid the worst crisis of his career."

Alexandra Alter & Elizabeth Harris of the New York Times: "In the months following its October release, Mr. Cuomo's book, 'American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic,' became a source of financial and ethical headaches for Crown[, a Penguin imprint]. Sales were surprisingly weak for a title that Crown had invested in heavily, with fewer than 50,000 hardcover copies sold.... Promoting the book became challenging, as Mr. Cuomo was mired in investigations that battered his public image.... In March, Crown made an attempt to distance itself from the governor, saying that it had canceled plans for a paperback version and would no longer promote the book.... Questions remained about whether Crown will pay the remainder of his [$5 million] advance.... For the week ending July 31, the most recent data available, BookScan said Cuomo's book sold 71 hardcover copies." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If a publisher turns down your manuscript, bear in mind that publishers are mostly idiots. Also, too, take comfort in the fact that publishers rejected some world best-selling books, like the first Harry Potter book (10 times) and the Diary of Anne Frank (15 times).

Benjamin Parker of the (conservative) Bulwark: "For people determined not to give Democrats credit for policing their own side, you could say that it was helpful that in both [the cases of Gov. Andrew Cuomo & Sen. Al Franken] the person succeeding the beleaguered official was also going to be a Democrat.... So it's not as if the stakes were astronomically high for the Democrats seeking to oust Cuomo and Franken.... When the Republican party had an historically unpopular incumbent president and had the opportunity to impeach him and remove him from office not once -- but twice! -- why didn't they do it? It's not as if removing Trump in 2019 would have made Hillary Clinton president.... The obvious answer is that at the current moment the Democrats are a political party, while the Republicans are a personality cult.... In the Republican party, criticizing, disappointing, or contradicting the dear leader is an offense worthy of expulsion -- if not worse.

AP: "Kathy Hochul, a western New York Democrat unfamiliar to many people in the state even after six years as its lieutenant governor, was set to begin reintroducing herself to the public Wednesday as she prepared to take the reins of power after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he would resign from office. Hochul 62, in two weeks will become the state's first female governor, following a remarkable transition period in which Cuomo has said he will stay on and work to ease her into a job that he dominated over his three terms in office.

She stayed out of public sight Tuesday but said in a statement that she was 'prepared to lead.' Hochul planned to hold her first news conference Wednesday afternoon at the State Capitol...."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "President Joe Biden has decided to tap Elizabeth Prelogar, the veteran appellate lawyer who has pursued the administration's interests at the Supreme Court over the past seven months, to become solicitor General on a permanent basis, a White House official said Tuesday night. Prelogar, a Harvard Law graduate and a former clerk to Attorney General Merrick Garland during his tenure as a judge on the D.C. Circuit, served as a prosecutor on the staff of special counsel Robert Mueller during his investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.... In addition to Garland, Prelogar clerked for Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan."

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden nominated Damian Williams as the U.S. attorney in Manhattan on Tuesday, naming the first African American to lead one of the most powerful prosecutor's offices in the country as part of a slate of picks for top law enforcement posts.... Mr. Biden also announced nominees to supervise two other offices that tend to investigate the Justice Department's more prominent cases...."

Nahal Toosi & Alexander Ward of Politico: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) "is blocking State Department nominees en masse because he is upset that [President] Biden waived some sanctions related to Nord Stream 2, a Russian-German energy pipeline project that the United States has long opposed.... Cruz also has been vocal about his intentions, leading to intense negotiations between him, his staff and administration officials."

Caitlin Emma & Jennifer Scholtes of Politico: "Senate Democrats adopted a budget measure early Wednesday morning to deliver their next filibuster-proof ticket to passing major legislation against the will of their GOP colleagues. After more than 14 hours of continuous amendment votes, the chamber adopted on party lines a 92-page framework for Democrats' $3.5 trillion package of climate and social initiatives, including subsidized child care, expanded Medicare and paid family and medical leave benefits. Once both chambers have approved the budget instructions, it will unlock the reconciliation process, which empowers the majority party to eventually clear the final bill with just 51 votes in the Senate, rather than the usual 60-vote hurdle." ~~~

~~~ Vote-a-Rama. Luke Broadwater & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "... as the Senate turned to a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that begins the Democrats' push to expand the social safety net, the tradition of considering hours upon hours of nonbinding budget amendments will once again get underway -- with senators forcing politically sensitive votes on their rivals as campaign operatives compile a record for possible attack ads. Only one vote really matters: If all 50 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents give final approval to the blueprint, Senate committees can begin work this fall on the most significant expansion of the safety net since the 1960s, knowing that legislation cannot be filibustered under the Senate's complicated budget rules." (MB: I assume at some point today, the article will be updated to reflect passage of the budget framework.)

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Forty-six GOP senators are warning that they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling, as Republicans ramp up pressure on Democrats to increase the nation's borrowing limit on their own. All but four members of the Senate GOP caucus signed onto the letter -- ... released Tuesday night -- that warns that the 46 GOP senators won't support a debt hike, regardless of whether it's attached to another bill or brought up on its own.... The letter was spearheaded by GOP Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).... The GOP senators who didn't sign the letter were: Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Richard Shelby (Ala.) and John Kennedy (La.)."

Jonathan Weisman & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "The Senate's passage on Tuesday of a trillion-dollar infrastructure package may have been a vote of confidence for President Biden and his insistence that bipartisanship can still thrive, but there is a far harder task ahead for his agenda: keeping Democrats in lock step. The crosscurrents in the president's own party have only sharpened since Congress began moving on parallel tracks with two separate legislative efforts. One, a $1 trillion bipartisan measure that the Senate passed Tuesday, would pay for roads, bridges, rail and water systems. The other, a budget blueprint the Senate was expected to pass late Tuesday or early Wednesday, would come together this fall to expand the nation's social safety net -- education, health care, child care and climate change -- with Democratic votes only.... Mr. Biden used a speech after the Senate vote not only to trumpet [both packages].... In an evenly divided Senate and a narrowly divided House, the path for Mr. Biden's agenda is treacherous. It is remarkable that his expansive social and economic proposals -- all $4 trillion of them -- have gotten this far, and the two chambers' Democratic leaders, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, have proved adept at holding their caucuses together."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Senate gave overwhelming bipartisan approval to a $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday to rebuild the nation's deteriorating roads and bridges and fund new climate resilience and broadband initiatives, delivering a key component of President Biden's agenda. The legislation would be the largest infusion of federal investment into infrastructure projects in more than a decade, touching nearly every facet of the American economy and fortifying the nation's response to the warming of the planet. It would provide historic levels of funding for the modernization of the nation's power grid and projects to better manage climate risks, as well as pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the repair and replacement of aging public works projects. The vote, 69-30, was uncommonly bipartisan; the yes votes included Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, and 18 other Republicans who shrugged off increasingly shrill efforts by ... Donald Trump to derail it. But the measure now faces a potentially rocky and time-consuming path in the House, where the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the nearly 100-member Progressive Caucus, have said they will not vote on it unless and until the Senate passes a separate, even more ambitious $3.5 trillion social policy bill this fall." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Betsy Swan & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "Donald Trump asked the country's top legal official in late December about a conspiratorial draft complaint aimed at overturning the 2020 election results, according to a previously unreported account of Trump's phone call with former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. Rosen persuaded Trump the lawsuit wasn't a good idea, he told Senate investigators last weekend, two sources familiar with his testimony said. The previously unreported details underscore how hard DOJ lawyers worked to shoot down the increasingly harebrained legal strategies that reached the president's desk.... The complaint was being circulated by an outside group helmed by Kurt Olsen, an attorney who had represented Texas in its own failed suit challenging Trump's loss earlier that month, and some of the president's allies found its logic compelling. The complaint, modeled on the Texas suit, would have urged the Supreme Court to declare that the Electoral College votes from six key swing states lost by Trump 'cannot be counted' because of baseless allegations of fraud, and for the justices to order a 'special election' for president be held in those states." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." By this standard, Trump is insane, inasmuch as he had already lost some 60 lawsuits -- including the Texas suit -- claiming fraud & irregularities.

NSA Watchdog Elevates Tucker's Conspiracy Claim. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The office of the National Security Agency's inspector general said on Tuesday that it would investigate a claim by the Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that the surveillance agency 'has been monitoring our electronic communications and is planning to leak them in an effort to take this show off the air.' The agency has denied the allegation. The office of its independent watchdog, Rob Storch, announced that it was 'conducting a review related to recent allegations that the N.S.A. improperly targeted the communications of a member of the U.S. news media.'... [The NSA's denial], however, left open the possibility that the agency may have incidentally swept up some communications of or about Mr. Carlson as it conducted surveillance of foreigners for intelligence purposes, without intentionally targeting him as part of any nefarious plot to take his program off the air." For instance, Carlson was contacting the Kremlin to try to secure an interview of Vladimir Putin.

Jason Wilson of the Guardian: "A Washington state man who was involved in an armed brawl at a contentious protest in downtown Portland[, Oregon?,] over the weekend was also charged, along with his son, over his presence during the attack on the Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January. Jeffrey Grace's ongoing participation in far-right street politics since January -- which has included trips to the southern border -- indicates that widespread charges against those involved in the Capitol attack have not deterred at least some militant pro-Trump supporters from further direct actions. Grace, 62, of Battle Ground in south-west Washington, was captured by a photographer at the scene of the clash, which involved antifascists on one hand, and on the other armed rightwing demonstrators.... Grace was captured leaving the scene of the brawl in the back of a truck, holding a baton."

** Book Report. Jennifer Szalai of the New York Times: In his "barnburner of a new book, 'Reign of Terror'..., [Spencer] Ackerman contends that the American response to 9/11 made President Trump possible. The evidence for this blunt-force thesis is presented in 'Reign of Terror' with an impressive combination of diligence and verve, deploying Ackerman's deep stores of knowledge as a national security journalist to full effect. The result is a narrative of the last 20 years that is upsetting, discerning and brilliantly argued.... Trump, Ackerman writes, never wavered on one key point -- 'the perception of nonwhites as marauders, even as conquerors, from hostile foreign civilizations.'"

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "Florida's second-largest school system is threatening legal action to challenge the ban on mask mandates by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), as it voted to keep its own requirements in place for students and staff. The Broward County school board -- which voted 8-1 on Tuesday to uphold its mask mandate despite DeSantis's move to curb such restrictions and subsequent threat to stop paying superintendents and school board members who defy his orders --; said in an evening news conference that it told its legal counsel to prepare a challenge."

Maeve Sheehey of Politico: In response to a reporter's question, "President Joe Biden on Tuesday called out Republican governors on their positions against mask mandates in schools, calling some recent actions 'a little disingenuous' and out of line with a small government message.... Biden said he was 'very concerned' about the trend of schoolchildren testing positive, adding that most children who become infected are living in states with low vaccination rates."

Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "... Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) denounced health mandates against the virus at a time when the nation recorded its highest single-day number of new cases since January.... 'There should be no mandates -- zero -- concerning covid,' Cruz [told Sean Hannity]. 'That means no mask mandates, regardless of your vaccination status. That means no vaccine mandates. That means no vaccine passports.'... Cruz accused [President] Biden, without evidence, of 'imposing unscientific and burdensome mandates.'... [Cruz] and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced two bills that would ban mask and vaccine mandates.... [Meanwhile, Paul] released a video Sunday that urged people to resist the regulations implemented by health experts and elected officials to help prevent the spread of the deadly delta variant.... Paul, who [Anthony] Fauci has said does not know what he's talking about when it comes to the pandemic, called the CDC's mask guidance 'anti-science.'" ~~~

     ~~~ That Went Well. Donie O'Sullivan of CNN: "Sen. Rand Paul ... has been suspended from YouTube for seven days over a video claiming that masks are ineffective in fighting Covid-19, according to a YouTube spokesperson.... 'Leftwing cretins at YouTube banning me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer reviewed articles saying cloth masks don't work,' he wrote, calling the suspension a 'badge of honor.' Paul's tweet included a link to watch the video on an alternate platform." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's what the liberal cretins at the British Medical Journal said about cloth masks in February 2021. I heard one of the TV experts/liberal cretins say yesterday that if you wear a cloth mask, you have 70% protection; if you and a nearby person wear cloth masks, you both have 90% protection from transferring the coronavirus to one another.

Davey Alba of the New York Times: "Twitter on Tuesday suspended Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, from its service for seven days after she posted that the Food and Drug Administration should not give the coronavirus vaccines full approval and that the vaccines were 'failing.' The company said this was Ms. Greene's fourth 'strike,' which means that under its rules she can be permanently barred if she violates Twitter's coronavirus misinformation policy again. The company issued her third strike less than a month ago." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Lies about the effectiveness of the vaccines were hardly Miss Margie's only Covid Lies o'the Week. As the video below (thanks to PD Pepe for the link) shows, she claimed Dr. Anthony Fauci "funded, with your tax dollars ... in the Wujan lab ... Covid-19."

     ~~~ Even worse, Akhilleus pointed out a few days ago that Margie encouraged a group of supporters to give local volunteers bringing information about vaccines a "Second Amendment" greeting.

Covid Is Killing All the Right-Wing Radio Hosts. Ed Scarce of Crooks & Liars: Long-time WNDB (Daytona Beach, Florida) talk-show host Marc Bernier, who has spoken out against Covid-19 vaccines & mask-wearing, has been hospitalized with Covid-19.

Beyond the Beltway

The Banana Republic of Texas. David Montgomery of the New York Times: "The Texas House of Representatives on Tuesday authorized state law enforcement to round up and potentially arrest absentee Democrats who fled the Republican-led chamber to block action on polarizing election legislation. The 80-12 vote empowered the House sergeant-at-arms to dispatch law enforcement officers to compel the attendance of missing members 'under warrant of arrest, if necessary.' After the vote, Dade Phelan, the speaker of the Texas House, signed 52 civil arrest warrants which will be delivered to the House Sergeant-at-Arms Wednesday morning for service, Enrique Marquez, the speaker's communications director, said in an email. The move by the Texas House, sitting in Austin, came hours after the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court, acting on a petition by Gov. Greg Abbott and Mr. Phelan, overturned an earlier ruling. That ruling, from a district court in Austin's home county of Travis, had determined that the two officials, both Republicans, did not have the authority to order the arrest of their fellow elected officials." The Texas Tribune's story is here.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "Afghan forces essentially collapsed in three more provincial capitals on Tuesday, adding to an already alarming drumbeat of Taliban victories around the country and effectively cutting off the main highway connecting the country's capital with northern Afghan provinces. The three cities -- Pul-i-Khumri, roughly 150 miles north of Kabul in Baghlan Province; Farah, the capital of the western province of the same name; and Faizabad, in remote and rugged Badakhshan Province -- were the seventh, eighth and ninth to be overrun by the Taliban in less than a week." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Pentagon should force immediate retirement upon U.S. military brass who told civilian leaders that U.S. forces could train Afghans to defend the country against the Taliban. It might have been worthwhile to test out training programs 10 years ago, but shame on anyone who favorably assessed the potential of the Afghan military. ~~~

~~~ Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is preparing for Afghanistan's capital to fall far sooner than feared only weeks ago, as a rapid disintegration of security has prompted the revision of an already stark intelligence assessment predicting Kabul could be overrun within six to 12 months of the U.S. military departing, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the matter. One official ... said Tuesday that the U.S. military now assesses a collapse could occur within 90 days. Others said it could happen within a month."

Canada/China/U.S. Joe McDonald & Ng Han Guan of the AP: "A Canadian entrepreneur was sentenced to 11 years in prison Wednesday in a spying case linked to Beijing's effort to push his country to release an executive of tech giant Huawei, prompting an unusual joint show of support for Canada by the United States and 24 other governments. China is stepping up pressure as a Canadian judge hears final arguments about whether to send the Huawei executive to the United States to face charges related to possible violations of trade sanctions on Iran. On Tuesday, a court rejected another Canadian's appeal of his sentence in a drug case that was abruptly increased to death after the executive's arrest. Entrepreneur Michael Spavor and a former Canadian diplomat were detained in what critics labeled 'hostage politics' after Huawei's Meng Wanzhou was arrested Dec. 1, 2018, at the Vancouver airport." The New York Times story is here.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Neal Conan, a radio virtuoso who as a rigorous journalist and congenial raconteur anchored NPR's flagship call-in program, 'Talk of the Nation,' for 12 years, died on Tuesday at his farm in Hawi, Hawaii. He was 71. His wife, the travel writer, poet and essayist Gretel Ehrlich, said the cause was brain cancer."

Weather Channel: "Tropical Storm Fred is moving through the Caribbean, where it will bring heavy rain and gusty winds over the next few days. Florida could see rain and wind impacts from Fred by this weekend, but details on the magnitude and timing of those impacts are still uncertain. For now, Floridians should monitor the forecast closely given Fred's current most likely path."

The Commentariat -- August 10, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Marie: 12:04 pm ET: Sounds like Cuomo is about to quit. 12:06 pm ET: Yup! ~~~

~~~ New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Tuesday he would resign from office, succumbing to a ballooning sexual harassment scandal that fueled an astonishing reversal of fortune for one of the nation's best-known leaders. Mr. Cuomo said his resignation would be effective in 14 days. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, will be sworn in to replace him. She will become the first female governor of New York." This is an item in a live update of New York regional developments. The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday in an effort to head off a looming impeachment effort in the state Assembly after a state investigation found he sexually harassed 11 women and oversaw an unlawful attempt to exact retribution against one of his accusers. 'Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing,' Cuomo said in a video address. 'And I cannot be the cause of that.... Given the circumstances the best way I can help now is to step aside and let government get back to governing,' he added.He said his resignation will be effective in 14 days. Cuomo will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), who will be New York's first female governor and will serve out the rest of the term until the next election in November 2022." MB: As Tom Winter Ron Allen of NBC News pointed out, the last legislature could still impeach & convict him.

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Senate gave overwhelming bipartisan approval to a $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Tuesday to rebuild the nation's deteriorating roads and bridges and fund new climate resilience and broadband initiatives, delivering a key component of President Biden's agenda. The legislation would be the largest infusion of federal investment into infrastructure projects in more than a decade, touching nearly every facet of the American economy and fortifying the nation's response to the warming of the planet. It would provide historic levels of funding for the modernization of the nation's power grid and projects to better manage climate risks, as well as pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the repair and replacement of aging public works projects. The vote, 69-30, was uncommonly bipartisan; the yes votes included Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, and 18 other Republicans who shrugged off increasingly shrill efforts by ... Donald Trump to derail it. But the measure now faces a potentially rocky and time-consuming path in the House, where the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the nearly 100-member Progressive Caucus, have said they will not vote on it unless and until the Senate passes a separate, even more ambitious $3.5 trillion social policy bill this fall."

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Jeff Schogol of Task & Purpose: "The security situation in Afghanistan is so bad that the U.S. Air Force has brought out some of its biggest guns in an attempt to stop the Taliban's blitzkrieg throughout the country. The U.S. Air Force has committed B-52 bombers and AC-130 gunships to support Afghan forces on the ground, Task & Purpose has confirmed. The Times of London was first to report about those U.S. aircraft being used to conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan."

Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: &"The Biden administration, under pressure from families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, said on Monday that it intended to disclose some long-classified documents that the families think could detail connections between the government of Saudi Arabia and the hijackers who carried out the attacks. In a court filing in long-running litigation brought by the victims' families against Saudi Arabia, the Justice Department said that the F.B.I. 'recently' closed a portion of its investigation into the terrorist attacks and was beginning a review of documents that it had previously said must remain secret with an eye toward disclosing more of them."

Camilo Montoya-Gomez of CBS News: "Lawyers representing children in U.S. immigration custody asked a federal court on Monday to order the release of migrant teenagers from two emergency housing sites in Texas where minors have reported mental distress, substandard conditions, prolonged stays and inadequate services. In their lawsuit before the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the attorneys accused the Biden administration of violating the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement and its rules regarding the treatment of migrant children, which the federal government is legally obliged to follow. At the center of the 31-page complaint are two makeshift housing facilities for unaccompanied migrant children that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established this spring at the Fort Bliss U.S. Army base and a camp for oil workers in Pecos, a remote town in west Texas."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Democrats formally began their push on Monday for the most significant expansion of the nation's social safety net since the Great Society of the 1960s, unveiling a budget blueprint that would spend $3.5 trillion on health care, child and elder care, education and climate change. The budget resolution, which Senate Democrats hope to pass by the end of this week, would allow the caucus to piece together social policy legislation this fall, paid for by raising taxes on the wealthy, large inheritances and corporations. Should all 50 senators who caucus with Democrats hold together, the measure could pass the Senate without a Republican vote, nullifying the filibuster threat. Democrats plan to take up the measure as soon as the Senate approves a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill as early as Tuesday morning. Together, the measures could secure virtually all of President Biden's $4 trillion economic agenda, rebuilding the nation's roads, bridges, rail lines, water systems and electricity grid while expanding public education, social welfare and health care -- and remaking the federal tax code." ~~~

     ~~~ Jennifer Scholtes & Caitlin Emma of Politico: "Senate Democrats released a $3.5 trillion budget on Monday morning that doesn't tackle the imminent need to raise the debt ceiling, setting the stage for a dramatic standoff with Republicans this fall. The exclusion of debt limit language amounts to a political gamble..., with the Treasury Department expected to run dry on its borrowing limit in the coming weeks. Senate Republicans have already warned that they won't give Democrats the votes needed to approach the issue on a bipartisan basis, which means that the debt limit's omission from the budget tees up a future cross-aisle fight over the debt." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Sky Is Falling as Senators Play Chicken. Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "With the threat of default on the nation's $28 trillion debt awaiting this fall, Democrats are going ahead with plans to exclude raising the federal borrowing limit from their party-line $3.5 trillion budget bill. Instead, they are counting on the Senate minority leader to provide them the GOP votes they need to overcome a filibuster and avert economic disaster. But [Mitch] McConnell is not budging.... [So] Either [Democrats] pass a debt increase on party lines or potentially own the toxic politics of a credit default as Republicans stand on the sidelines. But Democrats are betting ... McConnell's side will blink."

Burgess Everett & Marianne Levine of Politico: "President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal cleared its final serious Senate hurdle Sunday night, putting the legislation on a glide path to passage as soon as late Monday. In a 68-29 vote, the Senate closed down debate on a bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of 10 senators that spends $550 billion in new money on the nation's physical infrastructure. Sunday's vote came after senators spent the weekend haggling over amendments and time agreements to consider them." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times points out that the filibuster means that only bills that address situations that are largely uncontroversial can pass the Senate; thus the federal government is powerless to handle all those matters in which the Senate minority disagrees with the majority. And that's no way to run a government. Therefore, a bipartisan infrastructure bill, which is about to pass the Senate, is not very impressive in a country where many bridges & roads have been crumbling for decades. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's as if Bernie Sanders & Rand Paul take an excursion into the Atlantic on Joe Manchin's houseboat and some catastrophe occurs, leaving Bernie & Li'l Randy in a lifeboat together. Li'l Randy screams, "My God, we're going to die!" and Bernie says, "Here, take this paddle & together we'll row to shore. I have a heart condition & I can't manage it by myself." Upon penalty of death, Randy decides not to filibuster Bernie's proposal, and the two row to safety. You would not really credit Randy with a magnificent gesture of bipartisanship, would you?

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: An honest assessment: "... Trump ally and Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo ... pressed [Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND)] on whether he was 'betraying the Republican base' [by voting for the infrastructure bill, which Trump opposes.]... 'Well, he didn't give one reaso[n] it's a bad deal, other than it's Joe Biden's,' Cramer said."B.S.: "'I have encouraged President Trump to take credit for this,' [Sen Rob] Portman [R-Ohio] said last week on CNN. 'President Trump's effort to raise the level of awareness about the need for infrastructure improvement should help us get this done. You know, he proposed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill.' Congrats, Mr. Former President. This thing you now oppose is your handiwork."

A Very Good Question. Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Monday questioned why U.S. prosecutors are asking Capitol riot defendants to pay only $1.5 million in restitution while American taxpayers are paying more than $500 million to cover the costs of the Jan. 6 attack by a pro-Trump mob. Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of Washington challenged the toughness of the Justice Department's stance in a plea hearing for a Colorado Springs man who admitted to one of four nonviolent misdemeanor counts of picketing in the U.S. Capitol. Howell has already asked in another defendant's plea hearing whether no-prison misdemeanor plea deals offered by the government are too lenient for individuals involved in 'terrorizing members of Congress,' asking pointedly whether the government had 'any concern about deterrence?'... Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton Henry O'Connor told Howell the government would explain how it computed the damage and restitution estimate before October.... Prosecutors gave few details in early June when they put a price tag for the first time on damage done to the Capitol in the riots, saying in court filings that as of mid-May the sum totaled 'approximately $1,495,326.55.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is about the DOJ treading lightly on nice, white, Christian men/Republicans.

Meet Your Trump Supporter. John Wright of the Raw Story: "A Virginia man who was filmed destroying media equipment during the Capitol insurrection has been re-arrested on charges that he strangled a family member. Now, federal prosecutors are asking a judge to revoke a bond that was granted to 39-year-old Joshua Dillon Haynes so that he remains behind bars while awaiting trial on six federal charges related to the insurrection, the Roanoke Times reports. 'There is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed multiple violations of state law while he was on home incarceration for his criminal conduct on Jan. 6,' federal prosecutors wrote in a motion filed Friday, arguing that he poses a danger to the public and has a 'lengthy pattern of abusive conduct.'"

Tim Miller of the (right-wing) Bulwark: "After months of being promised by the former President and his stooges that Dominion Voting Systems had RIGGED the election, we finally have our first credible investigation into voting machine tampering. The lede in Monday's Grand Junction Sentinel brings the Kraken: 'The Mesa County Clerk's Office is under investigation ... for a breach in security over its election system.'... The clerk who is under investigation for tampering with the county election system is Tina Peters, a fervent supporter of Donald Trump and amateur vaccine science aficionado.... In short, in an attempt to demonstrate that Donald Trump was still the rightful president, a county clerk tweeted that the election machines she was in charge of overseeing were in fact vulnerable, and in order to prove it someone in her office allegedly carried out the very breach she was falsely claiming must have been committed by anti-Trump forces." ~~~

     ~~~ Derek Muller of the Election Law Blog has a bit more.

The Oracle of D.C. Philip Bump of the Washington Post writes about how the latest Homeland Security assessment is that "Some conspiracy theories associated with reinstating former President Trump have included calls for violence if desired outcomes are not realized [in August]." Bump writes, "But then I remember an article I wrote on Aug. 31, 2020, called, 'The dangerous overconfidence of Trump supporters.' I outlined what might happen in the aftermath of last year's election:

"Biden's campaign and other officials will encourage people to be patient, with hundreds of thousands of votes still outstanding. But what will many Trump supporters hear? They'll hear the apparent loser of the race and his 'allies' in the media rejecting what they know to be true -- that Trump won in a landslide. They'll hear that Trump's win ... is being targeted with fraudulent mail ballots. They'll hear that what Trump said would happen is, in fact happening. What happens next? If recent weeks are any indication, tension may erupt into violence." Emphasis added.

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Britain's Prince Andrew has been sued in New York by a woman who said she was forced to have sexual encounters with the prominent royal while she was trafficked beginning at age 16 by his friend Jeffrey Epstein, including at the late sex offender's sprawling mansion in Manhattan. Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday, citing the state's Child Victims Act, legislation passed several years ago that extended the statute of limitations for adults who were allegedly abused as children to sue. The lawsuit was filed just as Giuffre's Aug. 14 deadline to do so was nearing."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "The United States is averaging more than 124,000 new virus cases each day, more than double compared with two weeks ago and the highest rate since early February, according to a New York Times database. Hospitals in hot spots around the country are approaching capacity." The item titled "As the Delta variant tears ..." provides a particularly good round-up of what's going on across the U.S. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Tuesday are here.

I strongly support Secretary Austin's message to the Force today on the Department of Defense's plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for our service members not later than mid-September. -- President Joe Biden, in a statement Monday ~~~

~~~ Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Pentagon will require all military personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, released Monday. 'I will seek the president's approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon' final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 'whichever comes first,' Austin wrote in the memo to troops. He added that Pentagon officials 'will also be keeping a close eye on infection rates,' currently on the rise now due to the highly contagious delta variant. If the rates begin to impact military readiness, 'I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so. To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force.'" The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The battle waged by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) against mask and vaccine mandates is facing challenges on multiple fronts. His ban on vaccine passports was temporarily blocked by a federal judge late Sunday: Norwegian Cruise Line was cleared to require coronavirus vaccines for guests and crew members.... The head of the country's second-largest teachers union on Sunday shifted course to signal support for vaccine mandates for teachers to protect students, especially those under 12 who are not old enough to be inoculated. A group of parents of disabled children in Florida sued Friday to block the state's ban on mask mandates in schools. Florida education officials moved the same day to give students access to a state voucher program that helps pay for private tuition if their public schools require masks -- an acknowledgment that some schools in the state are moving ahead with mask mandates despite the law." (Also linked yesterday.)

Florida. Joseph Choi of the Hill: "In his ongoing crusade against mask mandates in schools, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced on Monday that the Florida Board of Education could withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members who defy his ban on facial coverings.... His office [said] that DeSantis's priorities were 'protecting parents' rights' and 'ensuring that every student has access to a high-quality education that meets their unique needs.'... The Florida governor has already threatened to cut off funding to schools that enact mask mandates for students." ~~~

~~~ DeSantis Doubles Down on Killing off Sea-Going Vacationers. Taylor Dolvin of the Miami Herald: "Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings secured a win in federal court Sunday allowing it to require passengers provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination..., [but] Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has championed the new state law that bars companies from requiring vaccination proof from patrons, is vowing to appeal. Other cruise companies said Monday they are assessing what the ruling means for their cruises, which are already underway in Florida."

Texas. Annette Nevins & Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "Dallas city school leaders defied their governor Monday, announcing that students and staff will be required to wear masks in school buildings as coronavirus cases spike across the region and state. The announcement from the Dallas Independent School District, delivered hours after some schools began for the year, came despite a statewide ban in Texas on such mandates. Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued an executive order barring government entities -- including public schools -- from mandating masks or vaccines. As virus caseloads have skyrocketed, the governor has declined to modify the policy.... Dallas is the first Texas school district to defy the governor's order. Last week, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner did the same, saying city employees would be required to wear masks in situations where they are unable to socially distance themselves from others." ~~~

~~~ When the Left Hand Has No Idea What the Right Hand Is Doing. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune: "Gov. Greg Abbott announced new moves Monday to fight the coronavirus pandemic as it rages again in Texas, including asking hospitals to again put off certain elective procedures to free up space for COVID-19 patients. Still, the governor did not back down on his refusal to institute any new statewide restrictions on businesses or to let local governments and schools mandate masks or vaccines."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Michael Scherer, et al., of the Washington Post: "New York Assembly leaders pledged Monday to finish the initial stage of their impeachment inquiry of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the next several weeks.... One adviser said the three-term governor was adopting a strategy of seeking to 'buy time' so he can make a case to the legislature that his actions do not warrant removal from office. The adviser ... said Cuomo is unwilling to listen to a chorus of calls from advisers urging him to step down.... Monday saw signs of escalating repercussions for Cuomo allies, as the advocacy groups Human Rights Campaign and Time's Up contended with mounting internal tensions over the involvement of their leaders in the governor's efforts to discredit one of his accusers." ~~~

~~~ Graham Kates & Caroline Linton of CBS News: "New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Monday that the goal of the Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry into Governor Andrew Cuomo is to conclude 'all due haste.' The committee last week sent a letter to Cuomo's legal team asking him to provide any additional evidence before it concludes its inquiry on August 13.... At the start of Monday's hearing, Judiciary Committee chair Charles Lavine called the allegations in [State AG Letitia] James' report 'deeply disturbing' and said the committee will review the report in addition to its own findings." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jodi Kantor & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The fallout from a damaging report that found Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women widened on Monday when Roberta A. Kaplan, a nationally prominent lawyer with ties to the governor, resigned from Time's Up, the organization founded by Hollywood women to fight sexual abuse and promote gender equality. Ms. Kaplan, the chairwoman of Time's Up and the co-founder of its legal defense fund, was one of several prominent figures whom the report found to be involved in an effort to discredit one of Mr. Cuomo's alleged victims, and she has continuing legal ties to a former Cuomo aide accused of leading that effort." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post -- even as she praises the tiny local Albany Times Union for its coverage of Andrew Cuomo's scandals -- takes CNN & Chris Cuomo to the woodshed for the way the network & its 9 pm host have "handled" Brother Andrew's moral crises. ~~~

     ~~~ So Then ... Erik Wemple of the Washington Post takes down Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" for whitewashing CNN's handling of the Cuomo dilemma "in a way that had to delight the network's PR operation.... The AG report, of course, focuses on Andrew Cuomo's conduct, not Chris Cuomo's. That's why CNN needs to commission a report of its own to determine just how its star anchor fit into this sexual harassment pushback effort."

New York. Jonah Bromwich & Troy Closson of the New York Times: "[Carlton] Roman, who was 26 when he was arrested [for murder in 1989], and [Christipher] Ellis, who was 20 [when he was arrested for murder in 1990], were incarcerated for more than three decades, spending their 30th, 40th and 50th birthdays behind bars. On Monday, the two men, both of whom are Black, were freed by state judges in courtrooms 11 miles apart who found they had been unjustly convicted. Mr. Roman was charged with murder and attempted murder in 1989, as a college graduate and honors student who had no criminal record and a fiancée who corroborated his whereabouts at the time of the fatal shooting. He was sent to prison largely because of the testimony of two men who his lawyer said were involved in the drug trade. Mr. Ellis ... was convicted of murder and armed robbery in 1992. His conviction was vacated last month, after his lawyer argued that the police had concealed multiple murder suspects from defense lawyers and prosecutors, and had also failed to tell prosecutors about a witness who denied that Mr. Ellis was present at the time of the murder."

Texas. James Barragán of the Texas Tribune: "A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home without threat of apprehension. State District Judge Brad Urrutia, a Democrat, granted the temporary restraining order late Sunday night restricting Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan from 'detaining, confining or otherwise restricting' the free movement of House Democrats within the state or issuing any warrants ordering their confinement. The order expires in 14 days unless extended by Urrutia. The court will hear arguments on a temporary injunction on Aug. 20, and Abbott and Phelan must show why a temporary injunction should not be filed against them." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

AP: "U.S. employers posted a record 10.1 million job openings in June, another sign that the job market and economy are bouncing back briskly from last year's coronavirus shutdowns. Job openings rose from 9.5 million in May, the Labor Department reported Monday. Employers hired 6.7 million workers in June, up from 6 million in May. The gap between openings and hiring suggests that firms are scrambling to find workers."

The Commentariat -- August 9, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: "The Pentagon will require all military personnel to get the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 15, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, released Monday. 'I will seek the president's approval to make the vaccines mandatory no later than mid-September, or immediately upon' final approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 'whichever comes first,' Austin wrote in the memo to troops. He added that Pentagon officials 'will also be keeping a close eye on infection rates,' currently on the rise now due to the highly contagious delta variant. If the rates begin to impact military readiness, 'I will not hesitate to act sooner or recommend a different course to the President if l feel the need to do so. To defend this Nation, we need a healthy and ready force.'" The AP's report is here.

New York. Graham Kates & Caroline Linton of CBS News: "New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Monday that the goal of the Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry into Governor Andrew Cuomo is to conclude 'all due haste.' The committee last week sent a letter to Cuomo's legal team asking him to provide any additional evidence before it concludes its inquiry on August 13.... At the start of Monday's hearing, Judiciary Committee chair Charles Lavine called the allegations in [State AG Letitia] James' report 'deeply disturbing' and said the committee will review the report in addition to its own findings." ~~~

~~~ Jodi Kantor & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The fallout from a damaging report that found Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women widened on Monday when Roberta A. Kaplan, a nationally prominent lawyer with ties to the governor, resigned from Time's Up, the organization founded by Hollywood women to fight sexual abuse and promote gender equality. Ms. Kaplan, the chairwoman of Time's Up and the co-founder of its legal defense fund, was one of several prominent figures whom the report found to be involved in an effort to discredit one of Mr. Cuomo's alleged victims, and she has continuing legal ties to a former Cuomo aide accused of leading that effort."

Texas. James Barragán of the Texas Tribune: "A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home without threat of apprehension. State District Judge Brad Urrutia, a Democrat, granted the temporary restraining order late Sunday night restricting Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan from 'detaining, confining or otherwise restricting' the free movement of House Democrats within the state or issuing any warrants ordering their confinement. The order expires in 14 days unless extended by Urrutia. The court will hear arguments on a temporary injunction on Aug. 20, and Abbott and Phelan must show why a temporary injunction should not be filed against them."

Jennifer Scholtes & Caitlin Emma of Politico: "Senate Democrats released a $3.5 trillion budget on Monday morning that doesn't tackle the imminent need to raise the debt ceiling, setting the stage for a dramatic standoff with Republicans this fall. The exclusion of debt limit language amounts to a political gamble..., with the Treasury Department expected to run dry on its borrowing limit in the coming weeks. Senate Republicans have already warned that they won't give Democrats the votes needed to approach the issue on a bipartisan basis, which means that the debt limit's omission from the budget tees up a future cross-aisle fight over the debt."

Burgess Everett & Marianne Levine of Politico: "President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure deal cleared its final serious Senate hurdle Sunday night, putting the legislation on a glide path to passage as soon as late Monday. In a 68-29 vote, the Senate closed down debate on a bill negotiated by a bipartisan group of 10 senators that spends $550 billion in new money on the nation's physical infrastructure. Sunday's vote came after senators spent the weekend haggling over amendments and time agreements to consider them."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "The battle waged by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) against mask and vaccine mandates is facing challenges on multiple fronts. His ban on vaccine passports was temporarily blocked by a federal judge late Sunday: Norwegian Cruise Line was cleared to require coronavirus vaccines for guests and crew members.... The head of the country's second-largest teachers union on Sunday shifted course to signal support for vaccine mandates for teachers to protect students, especially those under 12 who are not old enough to be inoculated. A group of parents of disabled children in Florida sued Friday to block the state's ban on mask mandates in schools. Florida education officials moved the same day to give students access to a state voucher program that helps pay for private tuition if their public schools require masks -- an acknowledgment that some schools in the state are moving ahead with mask mandates despite the law."

~~~~~~~~~~

Fred Hiatt of the Washington Post: "As of this week, only 112 [positions requiring Senate confirmation] have been filled. [Link fixed.] More than six months into his presidency, in other words -- more than an eighth of the way through his term -- Biden hardly has the beginning of an executive team in place.... [The administration has to fill] 4,000 political positions.... This is totally out of line with every other democracy, says Max Stier, who heads the Partnership [for Public Service].... Requiring that 1,237 of those 4,000 political positions win Senate confirmation compounds the damage.... The Senate could insist on true accountability: Confirm the truly senior positions, let those officials appoint the teams they want, and then hold those executives responsible for results." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I've been noticing this as news outlets dribble out report nominations and confirmations. This weekend, we learned the Senate just had confirmed the Secretary of the Navy. Either the job is superfluous or we expect our enemies to politely defer attacking U.S. ships until we have a proper civilian leader in place (said enemies have not been so polite).

Simon Tisdale of the Guardian: "Trumpism, like other fascist variants, is a disease, a blight -- a noxious far-right populist-nationalist miasma that taints and rots all it touches.... By refusing to confront his crooked predecessor and bring him to justice, Joe Biden feeds delusional Trump's sense of godlike impunity, and the dread prospect of a blasphemous second coming. To a watching world, his paralysis smacks of weakness.... Disqualifying [Trump] as criminally unfit for public office is the obvious way to avert more West Wing mayhem. Yet 'Gentleman Joe' and his fight-shy attorney general, Merrick Garland, keep pulling their punches." Thanks to citizen625 for the link.

Shayna Greene of Politico: "Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin said Sunday that an ongoing congressional investigation of ... Donald Trump's last days in office has found him to have been deeply involved with the Justice Department in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.... Durbin said that [former acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen appeared voluntarily and was 'very open' during his seven hours of testimony. 'It really is important that we ask these questions, because what was going on in the Department of Justice was frightening, from a constitutional point of view,' Durbin said.... Asked if what he was describing was an attempted coup, Durbin told CNN host Dana Bash, 'Well, it was -- they were going through the ordinary process.... It isn't as if the president was removing the attorney general and making pronouncements, which would happen in a coup, I suppose, by classic definition,' Durbin added. 'But it was leading up to that, that kind of process.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Van Dam & Heather Long of the Washington Post: "For the first time, average pay in [U.S.] restaurants and supermarkets climbed above $15 an hour. Wages have been rising rapidly as the economy reopens and businesses struggle to hire enough workers. Some of the biggest gains have gone to workers in some of the lowest-paying industries. Overall, nearly 80 percent of U.S. workers now earn at least $15 an hour, up from 60 percent in 2014. Job sites and recruiting firms say many job seekers won't even consider jobs that pay less than $15 anymore. For years, low-paid workers fought to make at least that much. Now it has effectively become the new baseline."

Brady Dennis & Sarah Kaplan of the Washington Post: "On Monday..., the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its latest and most dire assessment about the state of the planet, detailing how humans have altered the environment at an 'unprecedented' pace and cautioning that the world risks increasingly catastrophic impacts in the absence of rapid greenhouse gas reductions. The landmark report, compiled by 234 authors relying on more than 14,000 studies from around the globe, bluntly lays out for policymakers and the public the most up-to-date understanding of the physical science on climate change. Released amid a summer of deadly fires, floods and heat waves, it arrives less than three months before a critical summit this November in Scotland, where world leaders face mounting pressure to move more urgently to slow the Earth's warming." CNN's report is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Steve M.: "I have positive feelings about Barack Obama, but maybe his scaled-back but still supersized birthday party wasn't the greatest idea while the Delta variant continues to rage, not when the right-wing media is eager to leap on anything that looks like Democratic COVID hypocrisy.... When opponents of public health are looking for any evidence that advocates are bad people, why make it easy for them?... The dominant message of right-wingers today is that their Democratic enemies are 'elitists' who have contempt for ordinary Americans. I realize that these people are hypocrites themselves.... We're serious about the pandemic -- but I wish some of the most famous among us would spend a bit more time walking the walk."

Judge Clips Florida's Pro-Covid Governor, Party. Jaclyn Diaz of NPR: "Norwegian Cruise Line can require passengers show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination before boarding any of its ships in Florida, a federal judge has ruled. The decision by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami to grant Norwegian's request for a preliminary injunction comes despite a state law passed in May that fines businesses which require proof of such vaccinations. The law, championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, slaps businesses with a fine of $5,000 per violation for asking customers to prove they were inoculated against the coronavirus. In her decision, Williams said Norwegian would likely succeed in a court trial with its argument that Florida's so-called 'vaccine passport' ban risks public health and infringes on the cruise line's First Amendment rights. Williams' decision also allows Norwegian to pr0ceed with its first trip from Miami since the pandemic widely disrupted the cruise line industry in March 2020. Norwegian Cruise Lines is one of several companies that sail from ports in Florida."

Texas. David Montgomery of the New York Times: "... Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas ... is facing withering criticism as I.C.U. beds have dwindled to the single digits in Austin and health officials in San Antonio have labeled its risk level just a step below critical. But Mr. Abbott remains firm in his refusal to enact any statewide mandate while he prohibits local officials from doing so in their own communities. The fear and frustration comes as schools are prepared to reopen in the nation's second most populous state.... Last month..., Mr. Abbott ... issued an executive order that prohibited local governments and state agencies from mandating vaccines, and reaffirmed previous decisions to prohibit local officials from mandating masks. The governor also affirmed that schools could not enact mask mandates for students...."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. The "Vile Procuress." Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, said late Sunday that she had resigned, less than a week after the New York State attorney general released a report concluding Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women. The report found that Ms. DeRosa, one of Mr. Cuomo's most trusted confidantes and strategists, had spearheaded efforts to retaliate against one of the women who had spoken out publicly about her allegation in December." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps getting the MoDo treatment was the straw that broke the camel's back. MoDo begins her evisceration of DeRosa by comparing her to Mr. B's housekeeper Mrs. Jewkes, "who holds down Pamela in bed while the master tries to have his way with the teenager," in one of the first English novels -- Pamela, by Samuel Richardson. ~~~

~~~ CBS News: "An executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -- in her first public comments since accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment -- told 'CBS This Morning' and the Times Union that 'the governor needs to be held accountable.' Brittany Commisso is one of 11 women referenced in a scathing report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James that alleged Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and violated state and federal law. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing. Until now, Commisso had remained anonymous, referred to only as 'Executive Assistant #1' in the report.... According to the attorney general's report, Commisso claimed that in 2019 and 2020 the governor 'engaged in close and intimate hugs' on multiple occasions, including one incident when he 'reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast.' During another incident, while the executive assistant snapped a selfie, she said Cuomo 'put his hand on and then rubbed and grabbed her butt.'" The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Governor-in-Waiting. Dana Rubenstein of the New York Times: "If [Andrew Cuomo] steps down or is forced out, [Lt. Gov. Kathy] Hochul, 62, will take his place, becoming the first woman to lead New York State -- a remarkable rise for someone who has largely toiled in obscurity since joining the governor's team in 2014. Mr. Cuomo has a long and deserved reputation for governing by brute force and fear, alienating countless people through his tactics of bullying and intimidation. Ms. Hochul, in contrast, has established deep reservoirs of political good will, spending much of her tenure on the road, highlighting the administration's agenda and engaging in extensive on-the-ground politicking."

Michigan. Househunting While Black, Ctd. Looks as if it was the cops who were racist, not the neighbors who called them. Alyssa Lukpat & Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: When a Black real estate agent showed a house in Wyoming, Michigan, to a Black man and his son, neighbors called the cops about a possible break-in. When the police arrived, one pointed a gun at the trio, told them to come out with their hands up. cuffed them & put them in squad cars. "The neighbor thought Mr. Brown's car, a black Hyundai Genesis, looked like a black Mercedes-Benz sedan that had been parked in the driveway at the time of the previous arrest, according to a recording of the call provided by the police.... Kyle Gummere, the property's listing agent working for the owners of the house, said he did not believe the neighbor called the police based on the race of those who were inside the house. That assessment, he said, is based on a conversation he had with the owners of the house, who told Mr. Gummere that a neighbor had called the police only after seeing a black vehicle parked outside the house -- not after seeing Mr. Brown, Mr. Thorne and his son." Gunmere said the neighbors were elderly. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The realtor, Eric Brown, pooh-poohed the neighbor's claim they couldn't tell a Hyundai from a Mercedes. But I looked up photos of the Hyundai Genesis & a Mercedes coupe, and frankly, from a distance across a street, without being able to see the logo, I can't tell which is which, either. Their explanation is plausible. What is not understandable is why the cops held the house's viewers at gunpoint, cuffed them & detained them.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "Taliban fighters captured another northern provincial capital on Sunday afternoon, local officials said, marking the third city to fall to the insurgent group in a single day. The fighters had been contained at the gates of Taliqan, the capital of Takhar Province, since June. But as the Kunduz city center fell to the Taliban on Sunday, the insurgents moved into Taliqan, just a few miles away, pushing back government forces there in a bout of vicious fighting. By sunset, the Taliban had seized the police headquarters and the provincial governor's office, said an Afghan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times ran live updates of developments in Afghanistan Sunday, because the developments are so bad. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The muted American response [to the Taliban's advances] on Sunday showed in no uncertain terms that America's 20-year war in Afghanistan is over. The mismanaged and exhausted Afghan forces will have to retake the cities on their own, or leave them to the Taliban for good."

Japan. Ted Anthony of the AP: "The Tokyo Olympics, christened with '2020' but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for Japan and for the world." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Hannah Beech of the New York Times: "The United States has won the most medals at the Tokyo Olympics and will be the only country to take home more than 100. But on the last day of competition, the race for the most gold medals was a tight contest between the United States and China.... With only a few events left, the United States clinched the race on Sunday afternoon by reaching 39 golds. As the day began in Tokyo, China had 38 gold medals to 36 for the United States. But American teams then won gold medals in women's basketball and women's volleyball, and Jennifer Valente won the women's omnium in track cycling, putting the United States into the lead by one." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I guess that's great, but winning the most sports prizes is not my idea of an especially significant achievement. The one good part is that the U.S.'s narrow dominance of the games should (but won't, of course) shut up Donald Trump, who -- in another vivid display of anti-American sentiment -- a few days ago called our own women's soccer team "leftist maniacs" and said the team might have taken gold if the players weren't so "woke." (They won the bronze.)

~~~ Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden praised U.S. Olympians for navigating the difficulties of a coronavirus-tarnished games with 'moral courage' that made Americans' 'hearts swell' with pride. Biden, along with first lady Jill Biden, spoke with Team USA in a Zoom call Saturday evening from their home near Wilmington, Delaware. The couple extended an invitation to the athletes to visit the White House in the fall to celebrate their accomplishments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)