The Commentariat -- August 20, 2021

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Afternoon Update:

Adam Cancryn & Erin Banco of Politico: "The Food and Drug Administration is on track to approve Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for adults as soon as next week, three people with knowledge of the matter told Politico. The long-anticipated announcement would make Pfizer's Covid-19 shot the first to receive full licensure from the federal government, a milestone in the nation's year-and-a-half pandemic battle." ~~~

     ~~~ From the New York Times' live updates for Friday: "The Food and Drug Administration is pushing to approve Pfizer-BioNTech's two-dose Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, further expediting an earlier timeline for licensing the shot, according to people familiar with the agency's planning."

Ellen Knickmeyer, et al., of the AP: "President Joe Biden is pledging to Americans still trapped in Afghanistan: 'We will get you home.' Biden also said Friday the United States is committed to evacuating all Afghans who assisted the war effort -- a potentially vast expansion of the administration's commitments on the airlift so far, given the tens of thousands of Afghan translators and others, and their close family members, seeking evacuation. Biden's comments at a White House news conference Friday come as the U.S. government struggles to ramp up a massive airlift clearing Americans and other foreigners and vulnerable Afghans through the Kabul airport.... Evacuation flights at the Kabul airport had stopped for several hours on Friday because of a backup at a transit point for the refugees, a U.S. airbase in Qatar, U.S. officials said. However, flights resumed in the afternoon. As many as three flights out of Kabul were expected in the next few hours, going to Bahrain and carrying perhaps 1,500 evacuees in all, said an official...." ~~~

A baby is lifted over concertina wire into Kabul airport. According to CNN, the baby soon received medical treatment inside the airport. No word on whether or not the mother/family got inside, too:

Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "The A.F.L.-C.I.O. has chosen Liz Shuler, its acting president since the death of Richard Trumka this month, to lead the federation until it holds elections next June. Ms. Shuler had served as secretary-treasurer, the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s second-ranking official, since 2009. The decision to name Ms. Shuler president came at a meeting of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. executive council on Friday, which Ms. Shuler was obligated to call within a few weeks of Mr. Trumka's death under the federation's constitution. Ms. Shuler is the group's first female president."

Rachel Frazin of the Hill: "Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied a last-minute petition seeking to halt construction of a presidential library for former President Obama. The court's website indicated on Friday that Barrett rejected a bid from Chicago-based organizations and individuals that said the construction should be halted on environmental grounds. Barrett handles emergency matters emanating from Illinois. She had the option to act on the petition herself or refer it to other justices. The advocacy group Protect Our Parks and several other plaintiffs claimed that federal, state and local governments illegally segmented the project planned for the city's South Side into smaller pieces in order to evade a full assessment of its environmental impacts.... The Supreme Court petition was submitted on Monday -- the same day construction on the project began. It came after both a rejection from a lower court of the arguments and a previous failure at the Supreme Court level to block construction of the library on different legal grounds."

Meet Some Excellent GOP Leaders:

Louisiana. Sam Carlin of the (Baton Rouge) Advocate: "Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins has once again threatened someone on Facebook with violence. The Lafayette Republican, who has a long history of bizarre social media antics, told an Alaska man named Joel Dolphin who commented on one of his posts that Higgins is 'easy to find,' and suggested he is prepared to fight the man when he visits Alaska next year. 'I'll be in Alaska next year, with (U.S. Rep.) Don Young,' Higgins wrote after Dolphin said he'd be happy to reiterate his criticisms face-to-face with the congressman. '... Like I said. I'm easy to find. Locate us a ring, or a dojo. I'll give you a few rounds to make your point. Be seeing you. Higgins out.'... Higgins, who has easily won reelection twice since taking office in the conservative 3rd District in 2016..., gained notoriety as a St. Landry Parish sheriff's deputy by filming CrimeStoppers segments where he sternly demanded that criminals surrender, often using insults."

Minnesota. Briana Bierschbach & Alex Chhith of the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune: "Minnesota Republican leaders forced Jennifer Carnahan out as head of the state party on Thursday, turning a page on a scandal that threatened to consume GOP politics ahead of a pivotal election year. Carnahan leaves as chair of the party amid allegations that she created a toxic workplace environment, one that blurred personal and professional lines, ignored concerns about sexual harassment and retaliated against employees who didn't fall in line. The party's 15-member executive board voted 8-7 to give Carnahan a severance of three months salary, roughly $38,000, to leave her role. Carnahan, who attended the meeting virtually, was the deciding vote to give herself severance on the way out. The board also approved investigations into the party's finances and human resources protocols."

Texas. What Have the Black People Done Wrong Today? Julian Mark of the Washington Post: "Responding to a question by Fox "News" host Laura Ingraham about rising Covid cases, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said,] 'Democrats like to blame Republicans on that.... Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated. The last time I checked, over 90 percent of them vote for Democrats in their major cities and major counties.'... While vaccination rates are low among Black Texans, the highest coronavirus case rates are among Whites and Hispanics."

Arizona. Cyber Ninjas Must Release Docs to Watchdog Group. Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "The Arizona Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that the leading contractor of Arizona's audit of the Maricopa County 2020 election results must turn over documents related to the effort. American Oversight, a watchdog group, has been seeking documents regarding the county's recount and audit, which was initiated because former President Trump disputed the 2020 election results in battle ground states like Arizona. The watchdog group had been involved in a legal fight with Arizona's Senate over the public release of the documents, The Associated Press reported."

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The New York Times' live updates of developments in Afghanistan Friday are here: "As the United States tries to ramp up its troubled evacuation in Afghanistan, President Biden is expected on Friday to address the furor over the sluggish process, stymied by mayhem in Kabul and delays in Washington, that threatens to strand thousands of Afghans desperate to flee the Taliban takeover. Mr. Biden, who is expected to speak at 1 p.m. in Washington, has defended the pullout from Afghanistan, while promising not to abandon Afghans who risked their lives by working for the U.S. government during the war." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of developments in Afghanistan Friday are here.

Natasha Bertrand, et al., of CNN: "While the US State Department continues to engage in high-level diplomatic talks with the Taliban in the neutral setting of Doha, Qatar, as it has for the past year, the real negotiations have moved to the chaotic streets of Kabul in recent days, where American military commanders are in constant communication with Taliban militants over security around the airport. In an extraordinary move, the top US commander in Afghanistan, Adm. Peter Vasely, has been leading the effort to negotiate with his Taliban counterpart to maintain security at the Kabul airport and ensure the safety of both Americans and Afghans hoping to escape. So far, talks have produced mixed results at best.... One White House official said that while the US has several channels to the militant group, officials are still unclear about which Taliban fighters control what, and whether instructions are being properly passed down the chain of command."

Tony Blinken Has Some Explaining to Do. Lara Jakes, et al., of the New York Times: "A sluggish State Department response to the Taliban's rapid takeover of Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, has stranded thousands of Afghans who helped the United States and are now clamoring to be evacuated as they wait for their immigration visas to be approved, two U.S. officials said. As many as 6,000 people -- including former interpreters and cultural and political advisers -- were on standby to be flown out of Kabul's airport late on Thursday night or early Friday alone, after a days-long pause in the processing of visas for Afghans who had worked for the American military or embassy during the 20-year war, the State Department said. Thousands more are expected to be vetted and evacuated on a daily basis after a small influx of consular officers and other diplomats -- including the former ambassador to Afghanistan, John R. Bass -- arrived in Kabul on Thursday to speed the visa processing. Diplomats are also deploying to Qatar and Kuwait, where U.S. military bases will serve as way stations for people arriving from Afghanistan as they search for a final destination....

"Two ... U.S. officials described growing impatience across the Biden administration with the State Department's inability to process visas more quickly.... Officials also echoed refugee advocates, who accused the State Department of having been caught flat-footed in processing the special immigrant visas for Afghans...."

Ezzatullah Mehrdad, et al., of the Washington Post: "A chaotic and dangerous dynamic at Kabul's airport showed few signs of relenting Thursday as thousands of people attempting to board flights faced beatings by Taliban guards, the crush of heaving crowds and interminable spells in the dust and heat while waiting to escape Afghanistan.... Several people said Thursday they had received confusing signals from the United States about how exactly they were supposed to leave, citing emails from the State Department urging them to go the airport, only to find there was no one to receive them or to answer their questions on how to board flights.... A a confidential threat assessment prepared for the United Nations ... [said] Taliban militants are going house to house, setting up checkpoints and threatening to arrest or kill relatives of 'collaborators' in major cities, the assessment said.... Deutsche Welle said a close relative of one of its journalists had been killed by Taliban fighters ... [during a] house to house [search' for the journalist...."

Friends in High Places. Michael Grynbaum & others at the New York Times detail how management at the NYT, Wall Street Journal & Washington Post pulled strings to help a group of about 200 Afghan aides to their newspapers get out of Afghanistan. MB: I often put myself in the shoes of the unfortunate. I would not have had the Post's publisher contacting the National Security Advisor to save me.

"Greatest Military in the World" Not as Good as French & British Forces. James Webb of the Military Times: "As the [U.S.] Defense Department continues to stick to its plans of not reaching out into Kabul to assist U.S. personnel and Afghan helpers evacuate, British and French forces have done so to rescue their citizens, multiple outlets report.... [U.S.] Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday that despite the U.S. having at least 5,000 troops on the ground, he does not have the 'capability' to reach out beyond [the Kabul airport].... Austin's comments come amid reports of both British and French military units doing precisely that, pushing out into Kabul to secure the safety of their citizens.... The Daily Mail report[s] that the British contingent numbers less than 1,000 troops."

Carlotta Gall, et al., of the New York Times: "The Taliban cracked down on protests that erupted in at least four cities in Afghanistan on Thursday and rounded up opponents despite promises of amnesty, even as fearful workers stayed home and thousands of people continued a frenzied rush to leave the country. Even as the Taliban moved to assert control, hundreds of protesters took to the streets for a second day to rally against their rule, this time marching in Kabul, the capital, as well as other cities. Again, the Taliban met them with force, using gunfire and beatings to disperse crowds. And again the actions of Taliban foot soldiers undermined the leadership's suggestions that, having taken power, they would moderate the brutality they have long been known for. The police officers who served the old government have melted away, and instead armed Taliban fighters are operating checkpoints and directing traffic, administering their notions of justice as they see fit, with little consistency from one to another."

Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Columns of Afghan soldiers in armored vehicles and pickup trucks sped through the desert to reach Iran. Military pilots flew low and fast to the safety of Uzbekistan's mountains. Thousands of Afghan security force members managed to make it to other countries over the past few weeks as the Taliban rapidly seized the country. Others managed to negotiate surrenders and went back to their homes -- and some kept their weapons and joined the winning side.... But tens of thousands of other Afghan grunts, commandos and spies who fought to the end, despite the talk in Washington that the Afghan forces simply gave up, have been left behind. They are now on the run, hiding and hunted by the Taliban. Accounts of the Taliban searching for people they believe worked with and fought alongside U.S. and NATO forces are beginning to trickle out, offering a bloody counterpoint to the kinder and gentler face the militants have been trying to present to the world."

Tony Blinken Has Some Explaining to Do. Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "About two dozen diplomats working at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan warned Secretary of State Antony Blinken in July that Kabul risked falling to the Taliban shortly after the military's withdrawal, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The classified cable, sent through the State Department's confidential dissent channel, detailed swift gains by the Taliban throughout the country, the collapse of Afghan forces and offered recommendations for speeding up evacuation efforts.... The cable urged the State Department to begin registering and collecting personal data of Afghan interpreters and other allies who qualify for special immigrant visas to leave the country and said the U.S. should begin evacuation flights no later than Aug. 1.... House Foreign Affairs Committee ... ranking member Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he wants a full readout on this cable and any other warnings given to the administration."

Here's the full transcript of George Stephanopoulos' interview of President Biden, at least part of which aired on ABC's evening news Wednesday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Tom Friedman of the New York Times pretends to interview "President Lyndon Johnson, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan" about President Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. Thanks to Lynn U. for the link.

Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "Some former senior Trump officials now call [the 2020 agreement Donald Trump & Mike Pompeo made with the Taliban] fatally flawed, saying it did little more than provide cover for a pullout that Mr. Trump was impatient to begin before his re-election bid. They also say it laid the groundwork for the chaos unfolding now in Kabul. 'Our secretary of state signed a surrender agreement with the Taliban,' Mr. Trump's second national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, said of Mr. Pompeo during a podcast interview with the journalist Bari Weiss on Wednesday. 'This collapse goes back to the capitulation agreement of 2020. The Taliban didn't defeat us. We defeated ourselves.' And in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said that, while President Biden 'owns' the ultimate outcome in Afghanistan, Mr. Trump had earlier 'undermined' the agreement through his barely disguised impatience to exit the country with little apparent regard for the consequences." Both Trump & Pompeo have harshly criticized President Biden, but their excuses for their own actions & inactions don't hold up to even cursory fact-checking.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. How would you like to be in Kabul today, as an American, and you can't get to the airport? Where are you thinking your life is headed? If you're one of those family members, I bet you're not sleeping.... MyPillow.com. That.s where I go. I fall asleep faster, I stay asleep longer. -- Sean Hannity on his radio show, Aug. 17, 2021

Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: "The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday refiled a bolstered version of its antitrust case against Facebook. In the complaint, the agency argues that Facebook holds monopoly power in personal social networking, with no other competitor coming close.... The refiling is the FTC's attempt to course correct after it suffered a stunning setback earlier this summer, when a federal judge threw out its suit against the tech giant, along with a similar case from state attorneys general. The Facebook case is the most high-profile challenge that the agency has brought against a tech company in decades, and it's widely being watched as a bellwether of the growing movement in Washington to curb concentrating in the tech industry." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "When Lauren Boebert, the pistol-packing Republican firebrand, was running for Congress last year, she traced her income to Shooters Grill, a restaurant she and her husband own in Rifle, Colo. She suggested her husband did some consulting, listing 'Boebert Consulting -- spouse' on her candidate form, but identified his income source as 'N/A.' Only now, with Boebert not just in Congress but on the House Natural Resources Committee, has she revealed that her husband made $478,000 last year working as a consultant for an energy firm. He made $460,000 the year before, she disclosed in a filing Tuesday with the House of Representatives. Her husband, Jayson Boebert, earned that income as a consultant for Terra Energy Productions, according to the filing.... Federal law requires members of Congress, as well as candidates, to file financial disclosure statements that include the income and assets of spouses and dependent children... Kedric Payne..., a former deputy chief counsel in the Office of Congressional Ethics..., said the matter should be reviewed by the Office of Congressional Ethics.... An intentional failure 'could be criminal,' he said, with the potential to result in 'large fines and possible imprisonment.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm shocked, shocked to learn that this lovely young representative of the people might be engaging in a criminal plot to enrich herself & her family. She seemed so sweet.

This "Accidental Tourist" Is Also a Liar. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "Even after Robert Reeder pleaded guilty to illegally picketing inside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, he remained adamant that he was innocent of the worst allegations leveled against him. Prosecutors argued that Reeder actively participated in chants with rioters and egged on the aggressive crowd, though they could not show that he participated in any violence.... Reeder, a former FedEx driver from Maryland, told FBI agents that he was merely an 'accidental tourist' who got swept up in the crowd. The 55-year-old denied engaging in or inciting violence, according to a sentencing memorandum.... But new video from Jan. 6 that surfaced just before his sentencing hearing on Wednesday upended ... the case.... A group of online sleuths known by the moniker 'Sedition Hunters' said on Twitter that it sent the footage to the FBI about four hours before the court hearing. The group also shared the videos on social media."

Dana Hedgpeth, et al., of the Washington Post: "A man who claimed to have a bomb with him in a pickup truck near the Library of Congress surrendered to authorities Thursday afternoon, ending an hours-long standoff in the heart of the nation's capitol. U.S. Capitol Police said in a Twitter message that they were checking a suspicious vehicle near the Library of Congress. The Cannon, Jefferson and Madison office buildings have been evacuated. Police said there is a possible explosive device in the pickup truck, though no explosives have been found at this point.... Two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation identified the man as Floyd Ray Roseberry of North Carolina." Roseberry, who apparently was live-streaming on Facebook from his truck, said there were other vehicles in the area that were set to explode, too. He was demanding to speak to President Biden & talked about a revolution. MB: According to MSNBC, Roseberry demanded that Biden resign so that Donald Trump can be returned to office. Nicole Wallace of MSNBC noted out that Roseberry's threats & actions were consistent with the nature of Homeland Security's recent warnings of domestic terrorism threats. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Emily Cochrane & Maria Cramer of the New York Times: "The United States Capitol Police were negotiating with a man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress on Thursday, prompting evacuations from government buildings in the area. The man drove a black pickup onto the sidewalk of the Library of Congress at about 9:15 Thursday morning.... The man, whom officials identified as a North Carolina resident, was making anti-government statements, according to a law enforcement official." Update: "Andy Stone, a spokesman for Facebook, confirmed that the company had taken down the man's profile from the site and Instagram, and removed a post with a video broadcast from the truck. The company said it would also remove any posts supporting or praising the man." A CNN report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ ** Mo Brooks Sympathizes with Bomber Suspect. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Several members of Congress, including at least one Republican [Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.)], have harshly criticized Rep. Mo Brooks after the Alabama Republican released a statement appearing to commiserate with a man who on Thursday had lodged a bomb threat near the U.S. Capitol.... [The family of the man, Floyd] Roseberry ... told The Washington Post that he disliked [President] Biden's policies and was a supporter of ... Donald Trump.... 'Although this terrorist's motivation is not yet publicly known, and generally speaking, I understand citizenry anger directed at dictatorial Socialism and its threat to liberty, freedom and the very fabric of American society,' Brooks said. 'The way to stop Socialism's march is for patriotic Americans to fight back in the 2022 and 2024 elections. I strongly encourage patriotic Americans to do exactly that more so than ever before.' Nowhere in his statement did Brooks outright denounce the bomb threat. He instead ended on an ominous note. 'Bluntly stated, America's future is at risk,' he said." ~~~

~~~ Apparently Mo is not as bright as most wingers, whom Steve M. correctly predicted would label the incident a false flag "cooked up by the Democrats to distract us from Afghanistan." One winger tags Roseberry as "an FBI crisis actor" & another saw the threat as a false flag designed to "take away our guns." Steve: "It won't matter if the next would-be revolutionary actually destroys multiple city blocks or kills dozens of people -- the right will still say it's a Biden/Deep State/(Soros?)/(Bill Gates?) false flag. They'll insist to the end that 100% of the evil in the world is on our side."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "The Texas Education Agency said it would temporarily stop enforcing Gov. Greg Abbott's ban on mask mandates and the State Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing school districts to require face-coverings. Both decisions are temporary. The agency said in new guidance on Thursday that it would immediately stop enforcing the ban on mask mandates until litigations were resolved. In a reversal, the agency's new guidance requires schools to notify their local health department if a student tests positive. The school must also notify students in the same classroom as well as those who share extracurricular activities." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.

Three U.S. Senators -- a Democrat, a Republican & an Independent -- Walked into a Bar. They All Came Out with Covid. Feliciz Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) announced Thursday that they have tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the latest members of the Senate to announc breakthrough infections in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said he had tested positive for the virus. All four senators have been vaccinated." The Hill's story is here.

This. Could. Not. Be. More. Idiotic. Dan Goldberg of Politico: "Republican governors in some of the states hardest hit by the pandemic are pushing expensive Covid cocktails over cheap masks. The governors in Florida, Missouri and Texas are promising millions of dollars in antibody treatments for infected people even as they oppose vaccine and mask mandates, saying they can potentially keep people with mild Covid symptoms out of hospitals that are being swamped by new cases. But the treatments and cost of providing them are thousands of dollars more than preventive vaccines, and tricky to administer because they work best early in the course of an infection. The push to medicate rankles public health officials and some within the Biden administration, who say the governors' stance misleadingly implies Covid-19 can be treated easily, like the common cold. They note treatments like Regeneron's antibody cocktail -- which was administered to ... Donald Trump during his bout with the disease -- are essential but part of a limited arsenal to keep patients from being hospitalized or dying, not a game-changer that could help end the pandemic." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michigan. Laina Stebbins of Michigan Advance: "A GOP bill to preemptively prohibit mandatory employee vaccinations saw the light of day Thursday, in a House committee hearing saturated with COVID-19 conspiracy theories and anti-vaxxer rhetoric. House Bill 4471, introduced by state Rep. Sue Allor (R-Wolverine), would create the 'informed consent in the workplace act' to prevent employers from 'discriminating' against individuals who have refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, influenza, tetanus, diphtheria and/or pertussis. The state has not issued vaccination mandates. Some employers, including Spectrum Health and Henry Ford Health System, have issued their own vaccine requirements for employees. The hearing comes as COVID-19 cases are again jumping in Michigan, mostly due to the more contagious Delta variant. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Wednesday that a total of 925,377 Michiganders have tested positive and 20,076 have died from the virus.... All speakers who testified during the hearing espoused misleading or demonstrably false statements about vaccines and COVID-19. Most have been regulars at anti-vax protests and events in Michigan." ~~~

~~~ Steve Neavling of the Detroit Metro Times: "Police are investigating a man who flashed a Nazi salute and chanted 'Heil Hitler' ... while a Black woman and Jewish woman were addressing the [Birmingham (Michigan) School B]oard about their support for the mask ... mandate for students. Unruly anti-maskers booed and hurled insults at board members and speakers, including a high school student, who spoke in favor of face coverings during the meeting Wednesday evening. The anti-maskers spewed falsehoods about COVID-19, telling board members that masks are dangerous and that children aren't at risk of spreading the virus, despite a plethora of evidence to the contrary. Several parents said they're removing their children from school because of the mandate. The remarks came after the board and superintendent announced that students, staff, and teachers will be required to wear masks indoors for the start of the school year.&"

Texas. Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Hospitals in North Texas have 'quietly developed' a plan to allow doctors to take vaccination status into account when deciding how to triage intensive-care beds if the coronavirus pandemic overwhelms ICUs, The Dallas Morning News reports.... The change will only occur during a Level 3 alert, which could happen within two weeks." MB: The idea here is that hospitals would give precedence to vaccinated patients over the unvaccinated. Vaccine holdouts might want to weigh this possibility against their freedumb.

Beyond the Beltway

California Gubernatorial Recall. At Least One Toke Over the Line. Carla Marinucci of Politico: "Alexandra Datig, the former fiancee and longtime radio producer for California GOP gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, says she broke off an 18-month engagement with the conservative talk show host in 2015 after he waved a gun at her while high on marijuana.... Elder has gained momentum in the recall to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, with many observers counting him as the likeliest GOP alternative should voters decide to replace the incumbent." ~~~

~~~ Andrew Kaczynski, et al., of CNN: Larry "Elder has long relished making provocative comments in his time as a radio host and columnist..... He has mocked premenstrual syndrome, known as PMS.... He prominently promoted on his webpage a 1950s textbook on 'how to be a good wife' that said women should 'have dinner ready' and told them, 'Don't complain.' He reposted an article on his website comparing single mothers on welfare to stray cats. Elder has already faced some backlash for derogatory remarks he made about women in a 2000 column, in which he wrote that 'Women know less than men about political issues, economics, and current events.'... [In] January 2017.., he implied women taking part in the Women's March were too unattractive to be sexually assaulted, according to the Los Angeles Times. In [a] ... comment from a January 2017 radio show, Elder mocked women attending the Women's March as 'obese.' 'When you look at all these women that have marched -- something like 2 million women -- Donald Trump has probably gotten more obese woman off the couch and in the streets, working out, than Michelle Obama did in eight years.'..."

Iowa. Azi Paybarah of the New York Times: "A white Iowa woman who admitted that she had tried to kill two children because of their race in 2019 by hitting them with her car was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years in prison on two federal hate crime charges, officials said. The woman, Nicole Poole Franklin, 43 of Des Moines, Iowa, had already been sentenced in May to 25 years in prison on state charges of attempted murder in the attacks. The federal sentence will be served concurrently with the state term, which means, in effect, that she will spend more time in prison, according to Richard D. Westphal, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa.... Court documents described a harrowing pair of unprovoked attacks by Ms. Poole Franklin on Dec. 9, 2019, as she drove her Jeep Grand Cherokee by children who she believed were Middle Eastern, African or Mexican."

News Lede

Weather Channel: "Tropical Storm Henri is expected to strengthen into a hurricane over the Atlantic, but its exact path and strength when it draws closer to New England are still uncertain. Residents of the Northeast U.S., especially New England and Long Island, should monitor Henri's progress closely since it may bring wind, rain and storm surge impacts to parts of the region late this weekend into early next week. A hurricane watch has been issued for Long Island from Fire Island Inlet and from Port Jefferson Harbor eastward, as well as from New Haven, Connecticut, to Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts, including Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Block Island."

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