Independence Day 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** Jimmy & Rosalynn Smith Carter reflect on

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "On the day that President Biden had long anticipated as a milestone in the fight against the coronavirus, the White House was set to host a celebration to both commemorate the July 4 holiday and herald the administration's progress toward overcoming the pandemic. In bringing together some 1,000 people for the largest planned event of Mr. Biden's presidency, the White House has been forced to walk a fine line, striving to signal progress toward restoring normalcy while still acknowledging the dangers of a pandemic that continues to claim hundreds of lives a day."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "President Biden had hoped to turn the Fourth of July into a celebration not just of the nation's independence, but of reaching his administration's ambitious goal to have 70 percent of adults at least partly inoculated against the coronavirus before the holiday. He didn't quite make it. As of Friday, only about 67 percent of Americans 18 and older had gotten at least one dose of a vaccine, according to a New York Times tracker. Almost 60 percent of all adults were fully vaccinated, and the highly contagious Delta variant was creating hot spots, particularly in states with low vaccination rates, like Missouri."

Hate-Mongers on Parade in the Cradle of Democracy. NBC 10 Philadelphia: "A group of white supremacists marched in front of Philadelphia City Hall Saturday night, drawing jeers from onlookers, as well as small scuffles. Approximately 200 members of the group Patriot Front wore white face coverings, khakis, blue shirts and tan hats and waved flags with their group insignias. They were seen approaching from Market Street before walking in front of City Hall around 10:45 p.m. Some could be seen holding shields as watchers-on shouted at them, demanding they leave Philadelphia."

Kevin Draper of the New York Times: "In comments still rippling through [ESPN], the reporter Rachel Nichols, who is white, said Maria Taylor, who is Black, earned the job to host 2020 N.B.A. finals coverage because ESPN was 'feeling pressure' on diversity." Draper discusses the whole hoo-hah. MB: Since I don't follow ESPN, I have no idea whether or not Taylor got her job because she's a woman, but -- sports coverage being what it is -- there's a good chance she did. In any event, even if Taylor is right about "diversity pressure" (and here again, I have no idea), this is not something a person says out loud, even when she's pissed off, which apparently she was.

~~~~~~~~~~

Josh Boak of the AP: "President Joe Biden stayed mum on policy during a Saturday trip to Michigan, focusing instead on cherries -- and cherry pie and cherry ice cream -- and voters who were mask-free as coronavirus restrictions have eased. It had all the hallmarks of a campaign stop that he couldn't make last year. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer greeted Biden when he arrived midday in Traverse City, which is hosting the National Cherry Festival, an event that attracted Presidents Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford in the past. They skipped the festival, however, in favor of a cherry farm in nearby Antrim County, where Biden pitched his immigration plans when chatting with two couples from Guatemala who were picking fruit. He then greeted a long line of enthusiastic supporters stretched out behind a rope."

Guardian: "Joe Biden said on Saturday he had directed US intelligence agencies to investigate a sophisticated ransomware attack that hit hundreds of American businesses as the Fourth of July holiday weekend began and aroused suspicions of Russian gang involvement. Huntress, a security company, said on Friday it believed the Russia-linked REvil ransomware gang was to blame. Last month, the FBI blamed the same group for paralyzing the meat packer JBS. Active since April 2019, REvil develops network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lion's share of ransoms."

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Nearly six months after the U.S. Capitol riot, the Justice Department has begun arresting a new category of alleged criminals -- those who attacked reporters or damaged their equipment as journalists documented the violence perpetrated by supporters of ... Donald Trump. The first such charge came last week, when 43-year-old Shane Jason Woods of Illinois was charged with engaging in violence on the Capitol grounds Jan. 6, as well as assaulting a law enforcement officer. Authorities say Woods was caught on video knocking down a cameraman.... On Thursday, FBI agents arrested a Covington, Va., man for allegedly destroying journalists' equipment. Joshua Dillon Haynes was charged with smashing their gear outside the Capitol and bragging about it in a text to a friend. Haynes was the fifth person arrested in connection with attacks on the media in a little more than a week."

"Consciousness of Guilt." Jacques Billeaud of the AP: "An Associated Press review of court records has found that at least 49 defendants are accused of trying to erase incriminating photos, videos and texts from phones or social media accounts documenting their conduct as a pro-Donald Trump mob stormed Congress and briefly interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory. Experts say the efforts to scrub the social media accounts reveal a desperate willingness to manipulate evidence once these people realized they were in hot water. And, they say, it can serve as powerful proof of people's consciousness of guilt and can make it harder to negotiate plea deals and seek leniency at sentencing."

Ignorance of the Law Is His Defense. Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump lashed out at Manhattan prosecutors Saturday night for indicting his organization and its chief financial officer for tax fraud, calling it 'prosecutorial misconduct' in his most extensive comments on the charges since they were unsealed Thursday. As Trump criticized the investigation, he appeared to acknowledge the tax schemes while questioning whether the alleged violations were in fact crimes.... 'You didn't pay tax on the car or a company apartment. You used an apartment because you need an apartment because you have to travel too far where your house is. You didn't pay tax. Or education for your grandchildren. I don't even know. Do you have to? Does anybody know the answer to that stuff?'... he said at a rally in Sarasota, Fla."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times:"In his new book, 'First Friends,' Gary Ginsberg chronicles the unelected yet undeniably powerful people who shape presidencies."

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff of the Washington Post: "Phylicia Rashad, the dean of Howard University's College of Fine Arts, issued an apology Friday after receiving backlash and calls to resign from Howard alumni and other prominent voices over her tweet in support of former co-star Bill Cosby. 'This week, I tweeted a statement that caused so much hurt in so many people -- both broadly and inside the Howard community,' Rashad wrote. 'I offer my most sincere apology.' Cosby, convicted of drugging and assaulting a woman, was released from prison Wednesday after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated his sexual assault conviction. After that ruling, Rashad ... wrote in a now-deleted tweet: 'FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!' Rashad received immediate criticism as many pointed to her responsibility as a college dean to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable." MB: Sorry, Phylicia, this is not a bell you can unring. There may or may not have been a technical miscarriage of justice, but Cosby would be in jail still if he had told the truth about drugging & raping multiple women. No one is dumb enough to believe that all these women lied about their experiences.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

... And Inequality for All. Fenit Nirappil, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden has pointed to July 4 as the day when Americans can mark independence from the coronavirus. But the United States has not fully snuffed out the threat from the virus -- particularly in places where vaccination rates are low -- as the delta variant threatens to undo the nation's progress against it. More than 2,000 counties representing over half of the American population have not met Biden's goal of 70 percent of adults receiving at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine by Independence Day, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Those counties are seeing steeper increases in new cases and double the rate of tests coming back positive compared with counties who have met the president's goal. Most ominously, the highly transmissible delta variant is on the rise and represents a quarter of confirmed cases, posing a greater risk to pockets of unvaccinated communities than earlier strains of the virus."

Caroline Anders of the Washington Post: "Nearly 15 million people -- or more than one in 10 of those eligible in the United States -- have missed their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC data shows that as of June 16, nearly 11 percent of people who had sufficient time to get the second dose missed their ideal window. The number has increased from 8 percent earlier in the year, but CDC spokesperson Kate Fowlie said the rise was 'not unexpected.'" MB: Another article that is not, but should be, free to nonsubscribers, as it lists some of the reasons people erroneously think they don't need the second shot.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.

On Independence Day, Paul Krugman of the New York Times turns to a Founding Father: "... will the post-Covid economy look the same as the pre-Covid economy? Probably not -- for reasons originally laid out by none other than Alexander Hamilton in 1791. The founding father's 'Report on the subject of manufactures' is widely regarded as the first important statement of what came to be known as the 'infant industry' doctrine.... Hamilton argued that U.S. industry would be able to compete with British industry if domestic manufacturers were given the opportunity to gain experience.... So Hamilton called for, among other things, temporary tariffs to protect U.S. industry and give it time to become competitive.... The pandemic produced some extreme forms of de facto infant industry protection, forcing millions of Americans to work differently from the way they had before. And many, though not all, of these changes are likely to stick.... The obvious case, of course, is remote work.... Many others, perhaps millions, learned to do something different -- namely, not work at all.... And all of this is OK! The purpose of the economy isn't to maximize G.D.P.; it is to make our lives better." Emphasis added. MB: Now, that's Independence!

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Derek Hawkins & Kim Belware of the Washington Post: "Officials in Florida accelerated plans Saturday to knock down the unstable remains of the Champlain Towers South condominium as an encroaching tropical storm threatened to topple what is left of the building and imperil now-paused search-and-rescue work. The portion of the building left standing after the collapse over a week ago in Surfside could be demolished as early as Sunday, officials said, though they offered few details about the timeline or the demolition method. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (D) said at a news conference that search crews halted their work at 4 p.m. Saturday to prepare for demolition and will resume work as soon as it is safe." An AP story is here.

Way Beyond

Mexico. Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post: "A massive fire that broke out on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on Friday has been extinguished, but the incident is raising questions about the risks of undersea pipelines. Videos of a swirling, orange mass of flames surrounded by ocean waves went viral after a gas leak was reported near a platform used for offshore drilling by Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company. The scene was made even more surreal by the presence of firefighting boats that were dwarfed by the inferno, but eventually succeeded at putting it out after about five hours. [See July 3 News Ledes.] Angel Carrizales, who heads the Mexican agency charged with regulating pipeline safety, tweeted that the incident 'did not generate any spill.' That claim drew some skepticism, given that something other than water had to be present on the ocean's surface for it to ignite.... On social media, many argued that the eerie and alarming scene of a burning ocean clearly demonstrated the inherent problems of allowing oil companies to tap into fossil fuel reserves from the ocean floor. 'Shocking new example of how dirty and dangerous offshore drilling is,' the Center for Biological Diversity wrote on Twitter, calling for a moratorium on new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico."

News Ledes

Weather Channel: "Tropical Storm Elsa is soaking Jamaica and Cuba and is expected to track toward Florida, where impacts from heavy rain, gusty winds and storm surge are likely early this week." ~~~

~~~ Washington Post: "Cuba evacuated 180,000 people amid fears Sunday that Tropical Storm Elsa could cause heavy flooding after battering several Caribbean islands, killing at least three people. The Cuban government opened shelters and moved to protect sugarcane and cocoa crops ahead of the storm, which was offshore moving along Cuba's southern coast Sunday night. Most of those evacuated went to relatives' homes, while some people sheltered at government facilities. Hundreds living in mountainous areas took refuge in natural caves prepared for emergencies."

New York Times: "Tyson Foods is recalling nearly 8.5 million pounds of frozen chicken that may have been contaminated with listeria, the Agriculture Department said. The voluntary recall was issued after Agriculture Department investigators were notified last month about two people who had been sickened with listeriosis, the department said in a statement on Saturday. An investigation found evidence linking those cases to frozen chicken from Tyson Foods, the agency said. Investigators eventually identified three cases linked to the recalled products, including one death, the department said. Symptoms of listeriosis, an infection caused by the baterium Listeria monocytogenes, include fever, convulsions, muscle aches and gastrointestinal issues, according to the Agriculture Department."

The Commentariat -- July 3, 2021

Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "President Biden said Friday that he wanted the military to remove the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases from the control of commanders, a sea change for the military justice system. An independent commission formally recommended to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III this week that sexual assault, sexual harassment and related cases be shifted to special victims prosecutors outside of the chain of command in the military, something military leaders have long resisted, arguing that it would hinder order and discipline.... While Mr. Austin and Mr. Biden have supported the findings of the commission -- which are all but certain to receive pushback from officials from some branches of the military -- it will be up to Congress to change the military law. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, has a bipartisan measure that would overhaul the way the military prosecutes sexual assault but also other serious crimes.... Her bill has gained support from at least 70 members of the Senate -- including many who voted against the same bill in 2014, arguing it would undermine commanders. Reconciling her bill with the vision of the commission will now be in the hands of lawmakers."

Annika Constantino & Christina Wilkie of CNBC: "President Joe Biden hosted a naturalization ceremony on Friday to swear in and welcome 21 new U.S. citizens ahead of Independence Day.... The president was joined at the event by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who shared the story of his immigrant parents' journey to the United States as refugees.... At Friday's ceremony, Biden commended immigrants for their contributions to the country, noting that many serve in the military or have been working as health-care and front-line workers during the pandemic. The president also presented an award to Sandra Lindsay, a nurse from Long Island who immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica when she was 18 years old."~~~

~~~ President Biden begins speaking at about 10:10 minutes in. Watch the part that begins at about 22:25 in, where Biden introduces Sandra Lindsay:

Maria Sachetti of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration unveiled plans Friday to bring hundreds, possibly thousands, of deported veterans and their immediate family members back to the United States, saying their removal 'failed to live up to our highest values.' Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ordered his department's immigration agencies to 'immediately' take steps to ensure that military families may return to the United States. He said the department would also halt pending deportation proceedings against veterans or their immediate relatives who are in the United States, and clear the way for those who are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship."

Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "On the right, expertise isn't just considered worthless, it's viewed as disqualifying. People with actual knowledge of a policy area -- certainly those with any kind of professional reputation -- are often excluded from any role in shaping policy. Preference is given to the incompetent -- often the luridly incompetent."

Andrew Kaczynski, et al., of CNN: "A conservative YouTuber who participated in the January 6 riot accompanied Republican members of Congress on a trip to the border Tuesday night, serving as a translator at times. Anthony Aguero, a close ally of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene can be seen in videos and photos with Republican members of Congress who traveled to a route along the border frequented by migrants on Tuesday night. CNN's KFile previously reported that Aguero went into the Capitol during the January 6 riot and cheered and justified the break-in. During his livestream of the Tuesday visit, Aguero interviewed and chatted with Reps. Tom. Tiffany of Wisconsin, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Chris Jacobs of New York, Michael Cloud of Texas, John Rose of Tennessee, Ronny Jackson of Texas, and Mary Miller of Illinois.... Aguero has not been charged for unlawful entry at the US Capitol on January 6. After chanting "heave-ho" as rioters attempted to break in, he entered the Capitol Rotunda and later chanted 'our house' on the Capitol steps."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Another alleged Oath Keepers associate was arrested Friday in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, accused of joining a 'stack formation' of organized members who prosecutors say marched up the east steps and entered the Rotunda in camouflage and tactical gear. David Moerschel, 43, of Punta Gorda, Fla., was charged by criminal complaint Thursday with three counts, including conspiracy and obstructing Congress. Moerschel joined some defendants who prosecutors allege staged in advance at an Arlington hotel, where they say weapons were stored for a 'Quick Reaction Force' site.... Charging papers said Moerschel ... attended 17 online planning calls and chats organized by charged Oath Keepers co-defendants Kenneth Harrelson and Kelly Meggs between Sept. 28 and Jan. 3 before they traveled to Washington. Moerschel also was part of an encrypted Signal chat group discussing gas, hotel logistics and the Quick Reaction Force, the FBI alleged."

Meet (an Alleged) Trump Insurrectionist. Andrea Sacedo of the Washington Post: “In January, a federal judge agreed to release Thomas Robertson, a former Rocky Mount, Va., police officer facing multiple charges over his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. But Judge G. Michael Harvey's release conditions were clear: Robertson could not own any firearms, destructive devices or dangerous weapons while his case was pending. If he owned any guns, he must relocate them within two days. Days after his release, authorities found eight firearms at his home in Ferrum, Va., according to court documents. The judge gave Robertson a second chance, reminding him of his release conditions. Then, last month, authorities found a loaded M4 carbine and a partially assembled pipe bomb while conducting an authorized search at his home, court records state. Robertson is also accused of buying 34 firearms online and 'transporting them in interstate commerce while under felony indictment,' prosecutors said. Now they are asking the judge to revoke Robertson's release order and issue an arrest warrant for violating his pretrial release terms a second time."

Michael Wines & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump twice sought to talk on the phone with the Republican leader of Arizona's most populous county last winter as the Trump campaign and its allies tried unsuccessfully to reverse Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s narrow victory in the state's presidential contest, according to the Republican official and records obtained by The Arizona Republic, a Phoenix newspaper. But the leader, Clint Hickman, then the chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said in an interview on Friday that he let the calls -- made in late December and early January -- go to voice mail and did not return them. 'I told people, "Please don't have the president call me,"' he said. At the time, Mr. Hickman was being pressed by the state Republican Party chairwoman and Mr. Trump's lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani to investigate claims of fraud in the county's election.... The Arizona Republic reported that the calls came as the state Republican chairwoman, Kelli Ward, sought to connect Mr. Hickman and other county officials to Mr. Trump and his allies...."

Dareh Gregorian & Gretchen Morgenson of NBC News: "Lawyers and representatives for the Trump Organization dismissed the criminal charges against the company as prosecutorial overreach Thursday, but legal experts contacted by NBC News said the company and its chief financial officer are in serious legal jeopardy.... The company was 'paying tuition for ([CFO Allen] Weisselberg's) grandson. That's kind of difficult to explain as a legitimate business expense,' [Daniel] Shaviro [of NYU Law] said. Also damning is that the indictment said the company kept two sets of books -- a private one that counted Weisselberg's apartment and cars as part of his $940,000-a-year compensation, and another that didn't, allowing him to pay taxes on less income.... Cono R. Namorato, a former assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's tax division said that the 'two sets of books is a classic indication of an overt act of evasion,' and that prosecutors' claim that Weisselberg falsely claimed to be living in Long Island to avoid paying taxes in New York City looks almost like 'a slam-dunk case.'"

Another Selfish Justice Thinks He'll Live Forever. Lydia O'Connor of the Huffington Post: Stephen Breyer "is the court's oldest member, and for months the expectation has been that ... [he] would soon retire from the court so President Joe Biden could nominate a younger replacement..., avoiding a repeat of what happened when the liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died during Donald Trump's final months in office. Justices typically announce their plans to step down at end of the nine-month term, or shortly beforehand.... Some clues [Breyer] offered Friday indicate he's planning to stick around for a while. The court confirmed that Breyer has hired four law clerks for the next term ― the most he's allowed to have...."

Jacey Fortin & Isabella Grullón Paz of the New York Times: "The Boy Scouts of America reached an $850 million settlement agreement on Thursday with tens of thousands of people who said they were sexually abused by scout leaders or members over several decades. Kenneth M. Rothweiler, the lawyer who represents the largest group of claimants -- about 16,800 -- said in a statement that the agreement would be 'the largest settlement of child sexual abuse claims in United States history.' In an interview on Friday, he added that the claimants could expect billions more in payouts from insurance companies and organizations that have sponsored the Boy Scouts."

Rachel Lerman & Gerrit De Vynck of the Washington Post: "A supply-chain ransomware attack that hit hours before the beginning of a holiday weekend has already affected more than 200 businesses, researchers said. On Friday, information technology company Kaseya sent out a warning of a 'potential attack' on its VSA tool, which is used by IT to manage and monitor computers remotely. Kaseya urged customers to shut down their servers running the service.... More than 40,000 organizations use Kaseya products, the company says, which includes VSA and other IT tools. Researchers said cybercriminals were sending two different ransom notes on Friday -- demanding $50,000 from smaller companies and $5 million from larger ones. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency urged companies in a statement to follow Kaseya's advice and said it is 'taking action to understand and address the recent supply-chain ransomware attack.' Huntress Labs, a cybersecurity software company that has clients who were affected by the attack, said it believes Russian-speaking hacking group REvil is behind the ransomware attack. That's the same group that the FBI said was responsible for the attack on JBS Meats...." A BBC News story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Devoun Cetoute & Rob Wile of the Miami Herald: "The city of North Miami Beach ordered the 10-story Crestview Towers Condominium to be immediately closed and evacuated Friday evening after a building inspection report found it not safe for occupancy due to structural and electrical issues, city officials said Friday night. The Jan. 11, 2021, inspection report, which the condo association turned in to the city Friday afternoon after the city had threatened to shut down the building on Thursday, said the 156-unit building is: 'Structurally no[t] safe for the specified use for continued occupancy. Electrically no[t] safe for the specified use for continued occupancy.' The condo tower is the first to be closed due to unsafe structural issues after the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside on June 24." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Florida. Democracy Alerts: "[Friday] individual professors and students of Florida's public colleges and universities filed a lawsuit against the Florida Commissioner of Education and other higher education officials challenging the constitutionality of House Bill 233, which Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law last week in an effort to monitor 'intellectual diversity' on campus. The lawsuit argues that H.B. 233 'aims to identify public institutions of higher education where liberal and progressive views predominate' and infringes on protected freedoms of speech and association."

New Hampshire. State Supremes Do the Right Thing. Taylor Romine of CNN: "The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Friday voted in a 4-0 decision that a 2017 state law requiring proof of residence to vote is unconstitutional, saying that it 'imposes unreasonable burdens on the right to vote.' The law, also known as Senate Bill 3, required that those registering to vote 30 days or more before an election show documents to prove residence, while those registering less than 30 days before voting do not have to show proof at the time of registration but must provide verification through several methods. This required signing an affidavit that the listed residence was correct in addition to providing documentation within 10 days or the secretary of state's office mailing a verifying form to the address. The New Hampshire Democratic Party and the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire sued the state shortly after the law went into effect." ~~~

     ~~~ John DiStaso of WMUR Manchester, N.H.: "Constitutional attorneys on both sides of the issue told WMUR that the ruling cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court because it was decided solely on the basis of state law and the state constitution." According to Ali Velshi of MSNBC, one Dartmouth student had to change his vehicle registration & driver's license from another state to New Hampshire, at a cost of several hundred dollars, making this a mighty expensive poll tax.

New York. Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Alvin Bragg, a career prosecutor with experience taking on white-collar crime and corruption, is poised to become Manhattan's next district attorney, a job that will include overseeing the most prominent and contentious criminal case in the United States: the prosecution of ... Donald J. Trump's family business. Given the overwhelming edge Democrats hold in Manhattan, Mr. Bragg is heavily favored to win the general election in November after his foremost opponent in the Democratic primary, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded on Friday.... Mr. Bragg, 47, would be the first Black person to lead an office that still prosecutes more Black people than members of any other racial group. During the campaign, he sought to balance concerns about public safety with a vision for a more equitable criminal justice system." The Hill has a report here. ~~~

~~~ AP: &"All three candidates who are still in the running in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary have filed legal actions seeking the right to review the ongoing ranked choice vote tally. Civil rights attorney Maya Wiley filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court in Brooklyn seeking to preserve her right to challenge the election result and asking for all of the ballots that were 'cast or attempted to be cast' to be saved.... Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia filed similar legal actions on Wednesday."

Texas. History Museum Wrong Place to Discuss Racial History. Abby Livingston & Isabella Zou of the Texas Tribune: "A promotional event for a book examining the role slavery played leading up to the Battle of the Alamo that was scheduled at the Bullock Texas State History Museum on Thursday evening was abruptly canceled three and a half hours before it was scheduled to begin. Authors of the book, titled 'Forget the Alamo,' and the publisher, Penguin Random House, say the cancellation of the event, which had 300 RSVPs, amounts to censorship from Republican elected leaders and an overreaction to the book's examination of racism in Texas history.... [Gov. Greg] Abbott, [Lt. Gov. Dan] Patrick and other GOP leaders are board members of the State Preservation Board, which oversees the Bullock museum.... Patrick confirmed he called for the event to be canceled.... The book received mostly positive reviews, including from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, with a consensus that it builds on widely accepted academic research." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I hate the term "cancel culture." I think it's stupid. Plus, it's sort of an oxymoron to describe anything associated with Republicans as "culture." But this is an extreme example of what Republicans means when they describe liberal "cancel culture." It is not just complaining about a POV you don't like; it's literally cancelling an event where a POV you consider incorrect is to be presented. Politicians should never be on boards of institutions where any sort of intellectual endeavor might occur.

News Ledes

Standoff on I-95. New York Times: "Eleven men were taken into custody on Saturday after a lengthy roadside standoff between police officers in Massachusetts and a group of heavily armed men in tactical gear who claimed to be part of a group called Rise of the Moors. Dozens of police officers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire responded to the standoff, which shut down part of a highway for several hours and prompted the authorities to order people in surrounding communities to shelter in place." An ABC News story is here. See also Patrick's commentary in today's thread.

New York Times: "A leak in an underwater gas pipe sparked a swirling fire that raged for hours in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, creating a biblical scene that drew comparisons to Mordor, the volcanic hellscape from 'The Lord of the Rings.' The circular inferno formed at 5:15 a.m. after a pipeline about 12 inches in diameter leaked, according to a statement from Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil monopoly, which controls the pipeline." ~~~

The Commentariat -- July 2, 2021

Sean Sullivan & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "During his trip to a grief-stricken stretch of Florida beachfront on Thursday, [President] Biden summoned two defining features of his political identity: empathy and bipartisanship.... The visit in many ways marked a return of norms and expectations for a president in times of national crisis after the awkward and sometimes ham-handed responses of ... Donald Trump. Where Trump often kept his distance from suffering and seemed to prefer focusing on strength, Biden spent hours addressing the emotionally fraught tragedy on Thursday." The AP's story is here.

Pete Williams of NBC News: "Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a temporary stop Thursday to scheduling further federal executions. In a memo to senior officials, he said serious concerns have arisen about the arbitrariness of capital punishment, its disparate impact on people of color, and 'the troubling number of exonerations' in death penalty cases." The Washington Post's report is here. The Attorney General's memorandum is here.

Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration issued rules Thursday to shield Americans from large, unexpected medical bills after patients wind up in emergency rooms or receive other care they did not realize lay outside their insurance networks. The rules, to begin in January, are the first in a series of coordinated steps that four federal agencies are required to take to set in motion a law Congress adopted last year to protect health-care consumers against a practice known as surprise billing. Thursday's rules spell out that, if a health plan provides for any emergency services, those services must be covered without requiring permission from an insurer ahead of time. And ... patients cannot be billed ... for the difference between what the hospital charges and what an insurance company pays for out-of-network care."

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The U.S. military has vacated its most significant airfield in Afghanistan, three defense officials said, underscoring that the Pentagon expects to complete its withdrawal from the country within days after 20 years of war. The departure from Bagram air base, about 45 miles north of Kabul, ends the U.S. military presence at Afghanistan's most significant airfield. It has long been used to launch strike aircraft against the Taliban and other militant groups, and was once the headquarters for U.S. Special Operations troops in the war."

Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has named Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to serve on the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol by a mob of pro-Trump supporters.... House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) will serve as the select panel's leader. Pelosi's other Democratic picks include Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (Calif.), Pete Aguilar (Calif.), Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), Jamie Raskin (Md.) and Elaine Luria (Va.)." Update: The Washington Post's story, by Felicia Sonmez & Marianna Sotomayor is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ MEANWHILE. Jamie Gangel of CNN: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday issued a blanket threat during a meeting with freshmen members of his caucus that he would strip any Republican member of their committee assignments if they accept an offer from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on the select committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection, according to two GOP sources with knowledge of the matter." MB: So we'll see if Kevin strips Cheney of her committee assignments, while he leaves reprobates like alleged sex offender Matt Gaetz & confirmed white supremacist Paul Gosar on House committees. (Also linked yesterday.)

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The federal deficit will hit $3 trillion in 2021 for the second consecutive year, primarily because of the national spending blitz in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday. The deficit represents a slight decrease from last year but is triple that of 2019, and amounts to one of the biggest imbalances between federal spending and revenue in American history, the nonpartisan budget office said. But the CBO also projected faster-than-expected economic growth, with unemployment falling more sharply than previously predicted...."

A Bad Day for Democracy

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a California regulation requiring nonprofits to disclose their donors to state officials is unconstitutional. The court sided with a pair of conservative groups challenging the disclosure requirement in a 6-3 split along ideological lines. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, ruling that the disclosure regulations have a chilling effect on donors' First Amendment rights." The New York Times report, by Adam Liptak, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

John Kruzel of the Hill: “The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a pair of Republican-backed Arizona voting restrictions do not run afoul of federal law, rejecting a Democratic challenge and dealing a blow to voting rights advocates.... One Arizona policy at issue in Thursday's case requires provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct to be discarded. The second measure makes it illegal for most third parties to deliver ballots for others, a practice critics refer to as 'ballot harvesting.'... Developing." MB: According to CNN, the decision was 6-3, with the more liberal justices dissenting. Update: The New York Times report, by Adam Liptak, is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

What is tragic here is that the Court has (once again) rewritten -- in order to weaken -- a law that stands as a monument to America's greatness and protects against its lowest impulses. What is tragic is that the court undermined a law designed to end discrimination in voting. I respectfully disagree. -- Justice Elena Kagan, dissent in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee

~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Justice Elena Kagan ripped her conservative colleagues on the Supreme Court on Thursday in a blistering 41-page dissent, accusing them of ignoring the legislative intent of the 1965 Voting Rights Act as well as the high court's own precedents. Kagan's fiery dissenting opinion in a voting rights case, which was joined by the two other liberal members of the court, Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, accused her conservative colleagues of undermining Section 2 of the landmark Voting Rights Act and tragically weakening what she called 'a statute that stands as a monument to America's greatness.' 'Never has a statute done more to advance the nation's highest ideals. And few laws are more vital in the current moment. Yet in the last decade, this court has treated no statute worse,' she wrote, in what is likely to become a rallying cry for Democratic lawmakers and progressive activists pushing for election reform laws, including the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, in Congress." ~~~

~~~ ** President Joe Biden, in a statement: "I am deeply disappointed in today's decision by the United States Supreme Court that undercuts the Voting Rights Act, and upholds what Justice Kagan called 'a significant race-based disparity in voting opportunities.' In a span of just eight years, the Court has now done severe damage to two of the most important provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 -- a law that took years of struggle and strife to secure. After all we have been through to deliver the promise of this Nation to all Americans, we should be fully enforcing voting rights laws, not weakening them. Yet this decision comes just over a week after Senate Republicans blocked even a debate -- even consideration -- of the For the People Act that would have protected the right to vote from action by Republican legislators in states across the country.... Democracy is on the line."

~~~ A Court "Hostile to American Democracy." Richard Hasen, in a New York Times op-ed: "In two disturbing rulings closing out the Supreme Court's term, the court's six-justice conservative majority, over the loud protests of its three-liberal minority, has shown itself hostile to American democracy.... The court is putting our democratic form of government at risk not only in these two decisions but in its overall course over the past few decades.... Rather than focus on whether a law has a disparate impact on minority voters, as Justice Elena Kagan urged in her dissent, the court [in the Arizona voting rights case] put a huge thumb on the scale in favor of restrictive state voting rules.... Minority voters have a high burden: They must show that the state has imposed more than the 'usual burdens of voting.'... If you put the [two] ... cases together, the court is making it easier for states to pass repressive voting laws and easier for undisclosed donors and big money to influence election outcomes.&" ~~~

~~~ E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "You wonder if July 1, 2021, might come to be known as Oligarchy Day.... The decisions in both cases could have been written by the Republican National Committee, attorneys for the Koch brothers and advocates of voter suppression.... The conservative justices also showed -- yet again -- that the right's oft-stated commitment to 'states' rights' is situational. Arizona was free to make it harder to vote, but California was not free to let citizens know who is financing entities enmeshed in their state's politics.... [For] senators still reluctant to overturn or reform the Senate's filibuster rules[, t]heir choice really is between defending the filibuster and defending democracy.... Court enlargement must now be on the agenda of anyone who cares about protecting voting rights and our increasingly fragile system of self-rule." ~~~

~~~ Steve M.: "... there are two kinds of Republicans: those who want to steal elections by any means necessary, including by means of embarrassingly implausible stunts like the January 6 riot and the Arizona audit, and those who want to steal election the [s]ubtle way, by creating a legal framework that favors the GOP at every turn while retaining the appearance of fairness and impartiality, at least to those who aren't paying close attention. Donald Trump and MAGA Nation belong in the former category, while many Republican officeholders, including the Republicans who refused to 'find' votes for Trump after Election Day 2020 or otherwise reject Joe Biden's obvious victory, belong in the latter category. The Republicans on the Supreme Court belong in that category too. They want the GOP to win every future election just as much as Trump and his crew do, but they want the GOP victories to have the patina of legitimacy. Hence today's decisions and the ones that came before them." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Exactly. Jim Crow lives! I heard Sherrilyn Ifill, director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, say today that the Supremes had taken the U.S. back to pre-1965, when the country was not a true democracy because so many Americans were excluded from voting. And that's where Johnny & the Dwarfs have taken us by gutting the transformational Voting Rights Act. Moreover, Alito's decision not only specifically sanctions Trump's "big lie" -- Alito writes about how the Arizona law ensures against "voter fraud" -- it also provides a legal excuse for all the nutcases who stormed the Capitol (and who will make similar forays in the future). Yes, yes, violence is a shame, but those ole boys who delayed certification of the Electoral College vote were fighting for a certain kind of "democracy" where the "real winner" is determined by a particular genre of voter. When the majority of Republicans tell pollsters Biden "stole" the election, what many of them mean is that too many Black votes counted.

** Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump Organization, the real estate business that catapulted Donald J. Trump to tabloid fame, television riches and ultimately the White House, was charged Thursday with fraud and tax crimes in connection with what prosecutors said was a 15-year-long scheme to compensate a top executive off the books. The Manhattan district attorney's office, which has been conducting the investigation, also accused the executive, Allen H. Weisselberg, Mr. Trump's long-serving and trusted chief financial officer, of avoiding taxes on $1.7 million in income. He faced grand larceny, tax fraud and other charges. The charges were revealed at an arraignment in State Supreme Court in Manhattan for the Trump Organization and Mr. Weisselberg. More details about the allegations were set to be laid out in an indictment to be unsealed after the court proceeding." This is an update of a story linked yesterday.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump has offered to give House Democrats a peek at financial statements related to his complex business empire from before his 2016 presidential bid and eight years of contracts with his accounting firm, but refused to divulge more sensitive source data or internal communications, his lawyers told a federal judge Thursday. The disclosure of the offer, made in late June in unsuccessful court-ordered mediation, came as Trump urged a federal judge in Washington to end a stalemate and toss out a 2019 House subpoena for eight years of his financial records, calling the congressional demand unconstitutional and unenforceable.... Douglas Letter, general counsel for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said Trump lawyers' in mediation 'never offered to produce a single document.' Instead they proposed that a handful of committee aides and lawmakers view a small sample of records in private; take notes instead of copy or photograph them; and keep the information confidential to the committee, Letter said. He called the limitations on reviewing complex and voluminous financial data 'ridiculous.'... U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ... promised to 'work very hard to get everyone an expedited decision,' saying he knew any ruling would be appealed."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Jeremy White of Politico: "California's elections chief certified the gubernatorial recall Thursday, setting up a likely mid-September election to consider whether Gov. Gavin Newsom should remain in office. It officially marks the state's second-ever gubernatorial recall after the 2003 ouster of then-Gov. Gray Davis, whom voters replaced with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger."

Accidents can happen. -- Ross Pietro, building inspector at a Miami Shores dog track building that collapsed in 1997 ~~~

~~~ Florida. Frances Robles of the New York Times: "Ross Prieto, the chief building official in Surfside, Fla..., told residents of Champlain Towers South [in 2018] that their building appeared to be sound nearly three years before its deadly collapse last week.... The city of Doral, where Mr. Prieto has worked as a consulting building engineer since May, announced this week that Mr. Prieto was on leave for undisclosed reasons, and that it was reviewing the eight projects he had worked on in that city.... Mr. Prieto, 54, who has a master's degree in construction management, has more than 25 years of experience as a building and roofing inspector in at least six South Florida cities, including Miami, Miami Beach and Hialeah."

News Ledes

CNBC: "Job growth leaped higher in June as businesses looked to keep up with a rapidly recovering U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased 850,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 706,000 and better than the upwardly revised 583,000 in May. The unemployment rate, however, rose to 5.9% against the 5.6% expectation."

The New York Times is liveblogging developments today in the Surfside, Florida, condominium collapse.