The Commentariat -- August 30, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Starting before 6 a.m., Trump let loose a barrage of nearly 90 tweets and retweets touting his chances for reelection, attacking Democratic state and local officials over ongoing protests and defending aggressive actions by his supporters in Portland, who appeared to be firing paintballs and pepper spray at onlookers from pickup trucks as they drove through the city streets Saturday night.'The big backlash going on in Portland cannot be unexpected after 95 days of watching and incompetent Mayor admit that he has no idea what he is doing,' Trump tweeted in response to one such video posted by New York Times reporter Mike Baker, who wrote that the Trump supporters 'shot me too.' Trump responded to a video from Saturday that appeared to show a cavalcade of hundreds of vehicles bearing pro-Trump signs and flags driving toward downtown Portland, writing: 'GREAT PATRIOTS!'... Kate Bedingfield, deputy campaign manager for Biden, said Sunday morning that Trump has incited violence as further protests against police brutality sweep the country. 'He has encouraged his supporters to go out, to be aggressive,' she said on 'Fox News Sunday.'" ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump unleashed an especially intense barrage of Twitter messages overnight and Sunday morning, embracing fringe conspiracy theories claiming that the coronavirus death toll has been exaggerated and that street protests are actually an organized coup d'état against him.... In the weekend blast of Twitter messages, Mr. Trump also embraced a call to imprison Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, threatened to send federal forces against demonstrators outside the White House, attacked CNN and NPR, embraced a supporter charged with murder, mocked his challenger, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and repeatedly assailed the mayor of Portland, even posting the mayor's office telephone number so that supporters could call demanding his resignation."

~~~ Allan Smith of NBC News: "... Donald Trump praised a pro-Trump caravan of activists who moved into Portland, Oregon, on Saturday and whose presence there appeared to contribute to violent clashes in the city.... In a lengthy statement Sunday afternoon, 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden condemned violence in Portland as 'unacceptable' but called on Trump to stop 'fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters.... As a country, we must condemn the incitement of hate and resentment that led to this deadly clash,' Biden said, adding, 'What does President Trump think will happen when he continues to insist on fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters? He is recklessly encouraging violence[.]'"

Chad Wolf Plays Dumb. Sanjana Karanth of the Huffington Post: "Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf claimed Sunday that he did not know the naturalization ceremony he led at the White House last week would be televised at the Republican National Convention later that day.... In an interview Sunday on ABC's 'This Week,' the DHS head argued that he believed Trump just genuinely happened to be leading a naturalization ceremony alongside him with cameras filming it at the White House during the week of the convention...."

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Sunday are here: "Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, who has been under pressure from the White House to speed coronavirus treatments, said in a newspaper interview that his agency would be willing to approve a coronavirus vaccine before Phase 3 clinical trials were complete if the agency found it 'appropriate' to do so."

Laurie McGinley, et al., of the Washington Post take a deep dive into how Trump pressured the FDA into turning an emergency authorization for a convalescent plasma Covid-19 treatment into a false political claim that the treatment amounted to a "very historic breakthrough."

** Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The Justice Department secretly took steps in 2017 to narrow the investigation into Russian election interference and any links to the Trump campaign, according to former law enforcement officials, keeping investigators from completing an examination of President Trump's decades-long personal and business ties to Russia. The special counsel who finished the investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, secured three dozen indictments and convictions of some top Trump advisers, and he produced a report that outlined Russia's wide-ranging operations to help get Mr. Trump elected and the president's efforts to impede the inquiry. But law enforcement officials never fully investigated Mr. Trump's own relationship with Russia, even though some career F.B.I. counterintelligence investigators thought his ties posed such a national security threat that they took the extraordinary step of opening an inquiry into them. Within days, the former deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein curtailed the investigation without telling the bureau, all but ensuring it would go nowhere." Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I know some of you don't like incendiary terms, but Schmidt's report is a bombshell. I mean, "Ka-Boom." It turns out the Mueller probe was indeed a hoax but for a reason opposite to what Trump claims. The article is adapted from a book that will be published Tuesday. Edwin Rios of Mother Jones has a summary report here.

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carl Zimmer of the New York Times: "On Feb. 26, 175 executives at the biotech company Biogen gathered at a Boston hotel for the first night of a conference. At the time, the coronavirus seemed a faraway problem, limited mostly to China. But the virus was right there at the conference, spreading from person to person. A new study suggests that the meeting turned into a superspreading event, seeding infections that would affect tens of thousands of people across the United States and in countries as far as Singapore and Australia. The study, which the authors posted online on Tuesday and has not yet been published in a scientific journal, gives an unprecedented look at how far the coronavirus can spread given the right opportunities."

Black Lives Matter

Oregon. Trump Supporters Bring Deadly Violence to Portland. Mike Baker of the New York Times: "A man was shot and killed Saturday as a large group of supporters of President Trump traveled in a caravan through downtown Portland, Ore., which has seen nightly protests for three consecutive months. The pro-Trump rally drew hundreds of trucks full of supporters into the city. At times, Trump supporters and counterprotesters clashed on the streets, with people shooting paintball guns from the beds of pickup trucks and protesters throwing objects back at them. A video that purports to be of the shooting, taken from the far side of the street, showed a small group of people in the road outside what appears to be a parking garage. Gunfire erupts, and a man collapses in the street. The man who was shot and killed was wearing a hat with the insignia of Patriot Prayer, a far-right group based in Portland that has clashed with protesters in the past." ~~~

~~~ Faiz Siddiqui of the Washington Post: "Earlier in the evening, skirmishes between pro-Trump rallygoers and BLM supporters in downtown Portland left multiple people injured. The sparring groups threw punches at one another and hurled debris between vehicles, and some groups broke into open fighting in the street. Trump supporters in trucks were at one point blocked in by the Black Lives Matter activists, and began exiting their vehicles, precipitating the violence. Blood was streaming down the face of one Trump supporter who had challenged an activist to a fight." An Oregonian story is here. ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Although one might think the shooter was part of the anti-Trump crowd since the victim was a Trump supporter, none of the reports hints of that. It's quite possible that the shooter was among the Trump supporters. But there's no way to know right now.

Wisconsin. Jill Colvin of the AP: "... Donald Trump will travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, amid fury over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in the back, which left the 29-year-old Black man paralyzed. White House spokesman Judd Deere told reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday that Trump will be meeting with law enforcement officers and 'surveying' some of the damage from recent protests that turned destructive. The visit is certain to exacerbate tensions in the city, where a crowd of about 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside a courthouse Saturday to denounce police violence. Trump has been running his reelection campaign on a law-and-order mantle, denouncing protesters as 'thugs' while voicing his support for police." ~~~

     ~~~ "100% Real." Mrs. McCrabbie: By contrast, here's one thing Joe Biden did last week in response to the killing of Jacob Blake. Clare Proctor of the Chicago Sun-Times (Aug. 26): "Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., talked to Jacob Blake's parents and one of his sisters for about an hour Wednesday, his father told the Sun-Times. Biden brought nothing but 'love, admiration, caring' and empathy to the phone call, Jacob Blake's father said. He added that Biden told them he understands what it's like to undergo family tragedies -- Biden's first wife and daughter died in a car crash in 1972, and Biden's son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015. 'All he did was offer his support,' the elder Jacob Blake said. 'He was 100% real.'" Donald Trump has not contacted the family.

** Bill Conroy in Medium: "The Trump administration's deployment of federal law enforcers in Portland, Oregon ... has resulted in abuses of authority and the unnecessary use of violence against peaceful protesters, journalists and observers. What has not been reported widely in the media, however, is the fact that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unit that is coordinating the 'crowd control' effort -- an agency called the Federal Protective Service (FPS) -- is composed largely of contract security personnel. Those contractors are being furnished to FPS by major private-sector security companies like [Erik Prince's] Blackwater corporate descendant Triple Canopy as well as dozens of other private security firms. In fact, FPS spends more than $1 billion a year on these contract security guards who are authorized to conduct crowd control at federal properties, such as those in Portland. And, based on available photographic and document evidence, it appears those private contractors are now part of the federal force[.]" --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So, many of those "federal law enforcement officials" aren't really federal officials after all, assuming Conroy's reporting is accurate. No wonder they were keeping their identities secret when protesters asked who they were. They're mercenaries given the power to attack Americans. As someone less delicate than I might say, "This is some scary shit." Because it is.

Arkansas. Nicole Acevedo of NBC News: "An Arkansas sheriff resigned Friday after coming under fire over a leaked racist recording. Sheriff Todd Wright of Arkansas County, about 85 miles southeast of Little Rock, resigned effective immediately on Friday during a public meeting on the incident at the county's Quorum Court, which is its governing legislative body. The meeting, which was recorded live and posted on Facebook, was held after a local news outlet, the Pine Bluff Commercial, identified Wright as the man heard in a five-minute audio recording delivering a racist rant. According to the local outlet, Wright is heard on the recording, which has been widely shared on social media, becoming upset that a woman he was with spoke to a Black person in a store. Throughout the recording, the woman refers to the man as 'Todd.' The man in the recording uses a racial slur against Black people about nine times. Wright apologized at the court meeting for any offense his recorded remarks may have caused...." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: "... any offense his remarks may have caused." Because Wright is not sure anyone would be offended by a racist rant, but you know, just in case. After all, the "woman he was with spoke to a Black person," so apparently he figured a racist diatribe was reasonable.

Presidential Race, Etc.

Katie Glueck & Sydney Ember of the New York Times: Joe Biden :took implicit aim at [GOP mis]characterization [of his positions] in his own remarks on Saturday as he swiped at Mr. Trump's calls for 'law and order' and ripped the president's record as commander in chief. Mr. Biden's comments came at a virtual gathering of the National Guard Association of the United States, a group he addressed while speaking against a backdrop of American flags, with a flag pin affixed to his suit lapel. Civil and military relations have been 'tested lately,' Mr. Biden argued, alluding to Mr. Trump's efforts earlier this summer to use federal law enforcement to 'dominate' demonstrators protesting police brutality.... Republicans in recent days have seized on renewed unrest in American cities to argue falsely that Mr. Biden wants to defund the police, an approach he opposes. 'I promise you, as president, I'll never put you in the middle of politics, or personal vendettas,' Mr. Biden said. 'I'll never use the military as a prop or as a private militia to violate rights of fellow citizens. That's not law and order....' ... On Saturday, [Biden] also got some cover on the left from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who at once praised Mr. Biden's candidacy and policy positions and stressed the ways he and Mr. Biden 'disagree on a number of issues.'... Mr. Sanders ... went out of his way to present Mr. Biden as a moderate."

Trump & the Trumpies Lie Again & Again -- Because It Works. Eli Yokley of the Morning Consult: "... Donald Trump needed a convention bounce -- and he got one, emerging from the Republican National Convention with an improved standing against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, fueled by gains among white voters and those in the suburbs, though he still trails the former vice president nationwide. A new Morning Consult poll conducted Friday that asked 4,035 likely voters which candidate they would pick found Biden leading Trump by 6 percentage points, 50 percent to 44 percent. It marked a 4-point improvement from his standing heading into the convention on Aug. 23, when Biden led 52 percent to 42 percent. Friday's poll had a 2-point margin of error, compared with a 1-point margin of error for responses gathered among 4,810 likely voters on Aug. 23. The movement stands in contrast to voters' reaction to the Democratic National Convention held the previous week, when Biden's lead over Trump went statistically unchanged....

** Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times: Donald Trump claims he will restore "law & order," but even as he accepted the Republican nomination, he did so in front of a bunch of lawless men & women -- his acolytes who were violating the Hatch Act. ";'If you want a vision of your life under a Biden presidency, think of the smoldering ruins of Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland, the bloodstained sidewalks of Chicago,' Trump warned earlier.... Of course ... [this was] Trump's America.... It's true that there has been violence and looting in some American cities.... But by any objective measure the bigger risk comes from right-wing extremists.... The anti-fascist protesters known as antifa have committed violent acts but aren't known to have ever killed anyone, while right-wing extremists have killed hundreds."

Vote as If Democracy Depends on It. Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "Increasingly, Europeans speak of the need for 'containment' of the United States if Trump is re-elected, the term coined by the U.S. diplomat George Kennan to define America's Cold War policy toward the Communist Soviet Union. That would be a shocking development, except that nothing is shocking any longer.... Europeans know how this goes. Viktor Orban, the rightist Hungarian prime minister, has established a template for the authoritarian system Trump would pursue if re-elected: neutralize an independent judiciary, demonize immigrants, claim the 'people's will' overrides constitutional checks and balances, curtail a free media, exalt a mythologized national heroism, and ultimately, like Orban or Vladimir Putin or Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, secure a form of autocratic rule that retains a veneer of democracy while skewing the contest sufficiently to ensure it can yield only one result. In fact, of course, Trump has long since started down this road."

Dynastic Dreams. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "With her blond mane rippling, [Ivanka Trump] was full-on MAGA [at Thursday night's fantasy convention], shoving the amped-up Don Jr. and fortissimo Kimberly Guilfoyle out of the way and positioning herself as the heir to her father's political dynasty. The night was so Borgia, it made sense to end it with opera.... The old joke that if Trump became president, he'd slap his name on the White House almost came true during the egomania jubilee, when fireworks spelled out the name 'Trump.'... In New Hampshire on Friday night, the president considered his dynastic possibilities. 'I want to see the first woman president also,' he said, but called Kamala Harris 'not competent.' 'They're all saying, "We want Ivanka,"' he said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jack Tapper & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has informed the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence that it'll no longer be briefing on election security issues, a senior administration official told CNN. It'll provide written updates, the official said. The official added that other agencies supporting election security, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, intend to continue briefing Congress.... The abrupt announcement is a change of course that runs counter to the pledge of transparency and regular briefings on election threats by the intelligence community. Last month, the top intelligence official for election security, Bill Evanina, reiterated a commitment to providing 'robust intelligence-based briefings on election security' to key stakeholders that include Congress, along with the political parties and presidential campaigns." Mrs. McC: There's a reason for this, and I doubt it's an innocent one. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nicholas Fandos & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "... the change drew complaints from lawmakers in both parties who worried the move would block their ability to question and test intelligence assessments from the executive branch at a time when they are crucial to ensuring that foreign powers do not undermine the results.... Democrats, who fear Mr. Trump's appointees have moved to color intelligence assessments for his political benefit, were particularly furious.... 'This is a shocking abdication of its lawful responsibility to keep the Congress currently informed, and a betrayal of the public's right to know how foreign powers are trying to subvert our democracy,' [Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Rep. Adam Schiff] wrote.... Senator Angus King of Maine, an independent member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who votes with the Democrats, said dry written briefings never had the breadth of information that a full question-and-answer session had. 'It is an outrage,' Mr. King said in an interview. 'It smacks of a cover-up of information about foreign interference in our elections....'" A Politico story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Edward Moreno of the Hill: "Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), acting chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said congressional oversight is facing a 'historic crisis' after the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, notified Congress on Saturday that the intelligence community will be scaling back in-person congressional briefings on election security."

Blake Ellis & Melanie Hicken of CNN: "Jones 1 Inc. was approved for a loan of between $150,000 and $350,000 at the end of April through the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was set up to help struggling small businesses save jobs during the pandemic. The company, which owns a small Shell gas station and travel center in Needles, California, went on to lease 'six beautiful Trump billboards' near the border of California and Arizona.... Lamar Advertising, which leased the space to Jones 1 Inc. ... declined to provide the pricing of the specific billboards. But if they stay up through the election, which the local Republican group that inspired the billboards said is the plan, the costs could range from around $30,000 to around $120,000[.]" --s

Peter Jamison & Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: "Kanye West's campaign is facing allegations that voters were deceived by signature gatherers circulating paperwork to qualify the rapper-entrepreneur for the Virginia ballot, the latest setback for a stumbling presidential bid that also is facing problems in other states. Two signed affidavits were submitted Friday to the State Board of Elections from registered voters who said they were duped into signing up to serve as electors for West in Virginia. In a separate account, an Alexandria woman said Saturday that a man tried to obtain her signature on one of West's petitions under false pretenses. It is unclear how the accusations ... could affect his status." ~~~

~~~ Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Rapper Kanye West is suing the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to get his name on the presidential ballot in the state this fall. West's lawsuit, filed in Brown County, is asking the local court there to rule that his nominating papers were submitted on time and to ensure that he and his running mate, Michelle Tidwell, appear on the ballot in November. The WEC voted by a 5-1 margin last week to turn away the rapper's petition after he missed the deadline to file his papers to appear on Wisconsin's presidential ballot by mere minutes." ~~~

~~~ AP (Aug. 27): "Rapper Kanye West sued Ohio's election chief Wednesday in an effort to be placed on the November presidential ballot after the Secretary of State deemed him unqualified as an independent candidate. West's emergency filing against Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose comes days after the election's chief rejected the nearly 15,000 signatures and other paperwork the rapper submitted earlier this month in an attempt to run for president, citing mismatched information on the signature-gathering documents."

Massachusetts Congressional Race. Edward Moreno of the Hill: "The University of Massachusetts - Amherst College Democrats apologized to Democratic Congressional candidate Alex Morse for the 'distress' and 'homophobic attacks' triggered by the letter they released earlier this month alleging inappropriate behavior. In a letter published by the school's student newspaper from UMass Amherst's College Democrats chapter, Morse, a progressive running against House Ways and Means Chair >Richard Neal (D-Mass.), was accused of using his status as Mayor of Holyoke, Mass., and a lecturer at the institution to seek relationships with students. However, The Intercept reported that the Massachusetts Democratic Party had discussed with the College Democrats ways to damage Morse's campaigns as early as October, 2019."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "President Trump traveled to the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast on Saturday to assess the damage from Hurricane Laura and to promise federal support for the region while also using the trip to try to show empathy toward those dealing with a disaster.... Trump toured damage in Louisiana alongside local officials, including Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and Republicans from the state's congressional delegation, before heading to Orange, Tex., just across the border, where he was greeted by Gov. Greg Abbott (R).... Trump mostly kept to listening to and interacting with local leaders, while avoiding the type of overt political attacks he often makes during public appearances...."

Daniel Politi of Slate: "... Donald Trump on Saturday stepped up his attacks on his niece, as well as others who wrote tell-all books about him, shortly after she revealed new recordings of his sister, this time criticizing his children. 'About the only way a person is able to write a book on me is if they agree that it will contain as much bad "stuff" as possible, much of which is lies,' the president wrote aboard Air Force One. 'Even whether it's ... an unstable niece, who was now rightfully shunned, scorned and mocked her entire life, and never even liked by her own very kind & caring grandfather!'... In his tweets Saturday against those who have written books that criticize him, Trump also named his former national security adviser John Bolton and journalist Bob Woodward. Trump referred to Bolton as 'a dumb warmonger' and Woodward as 'a social pretender.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: That's funny, Donald, because a week ago, in response to an earlier release of taped recordings of conversations between Mary Trump & Maryanne Trump Barry, you said, "Every day it's something else, who cares." Who cares? You do. BTW, if you think the difference is that this time Auntie Maryanne was criticizing Trump's children, well, no. Trump does not defend Eric & Ivanka.

Elisabeth Egan of the New York Times: "Here's a look at what readers will learn on [Stephanie Winston] Wolkoff's [book Melania and Me. The first lady really doesn't care. Wolkoff quotes one of Mrs. Trump's oft-repeated lines: 'Pleasing anyone else is not my priority.'... Mrs. Trump launched Operation Block Ivanka to make sure the president's older daughter didn't steal the spotlight at the inauguration.... Mrs. Trump demanded renovations to the White House, but didn't always get her way.... The president won't eat off a plate that has been touched by a friend.... Wolkoff cites two instances when Mrs. Trump broke ranks with the president: first, on the issue of bathrooms for transgender people.... Later, she chides Mr. Trump for lifting the ban on the import of big-game trophies from Africa -- a move he made in response to pressure from his sons.... Mrs. Trump enjoys 'her game of hide-and-seek with the American public.'" ~~~

~~~ Daniel Lippman of Politico also lists some takeaways from the Winston Wolkoff book, many of which are different from Egan's.

The Commentariat -- August 29, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "With her blond mane rippling, [Ivanka Trump] was full-on MAGA [at Thursday night's fantasy convention], shoving the amped-up Don Jr. and fortissimo Kimberly Guilfoyle out of the way and positioning herself as the heir to her father's political dynasty. The night was so Borgia, it made sense to end it with opera.... The old joke that if Trump became president, he'd slap his name on the White House almost came true during the egomania jubilee, when fireworks spelled out the name 'Trump.'... In New Hampshire on Friday night, the president considered his dynastic possibilities. 'I want to see the first woman president also,' he said, but called Kamala Harris 'not competent.' 'They're all saying, "We want Ivanka,"' he said."

Jack Tapper & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has informed the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence that it'll no longer be briefing on election security issues, a senior administration official told CNN. It'll provide written updates, the official said. The official added that other agencies supporting election security, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, intend to continue briefing Congress.... The abrupt announcement is a change of course that runs counter to the pledge of transparency and regular briefings on election threats by the intelligence community. Last month, the top intelligence official for election security, Bill Evanina, reiterated a commitment to providing 'robust intelligence-based briefings on election security' to key stakeholders that include Congress, along with the political parties and presidential campaigns." Mrs. McC: There's a reason for this, and I doubt it's an innocent one.

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race, Etc.

Katie Glueck, et al., of the New York Times: "As a weeklong Republican offensive against Joseph R. Biden Jr. ends, the Democratic nominee plans to resume campaigning in swing states and has released a multimillion dollar barrage of ads attacking President Trump's handling of the coronavirus. The moves come as the presidential campaign barrels into the critical last 10 weeks. They represent a bet by Mr. Biden that a focus on Covid-19 will prevail over Mr. Trump's 'law and order' emphasis and his attempt to portray Mr. Biden as a tool of the 'radical left.' Mr. Biden's ads also celebrate the history of peaceful protests. Mr. Biden's team on Friday made clear that they were determined to prevent Mr. Trump from framing the debate over the violent unrest in some cities and would aggressively move to prevent the president's narrative from taking hold."

Biden Punks Trump. Caitlin O'Kane of CBS News: "The 'Keep America Great' website might sound like something that belongs to President Trump, but the site says it was paid for by Biden for President. Mr. Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan got a slight facelift for his 2020 presidential run, with the campaign adopting 'Keep America Great' as its official new slogan. Keepamericagreat.com, however, features what it says are promises made by Mr. Trump that were broken.... Biden -- who has taken to Twitter during the Republican National Convention to denounce the president -- tweeted out a link to the 'Keep America Great' website on Thursday night, the last night of the convention...."

Zeke Miller & Kevin Freking of the AP: "... Donald Trump said Friday he was the only thing standing between 'democracy and the mob,' as he lashed out at protesters who accosted his supporters as they left the White House the night before.... Speaking in New Hampshire, a state he lost in 2016 by fewer than 2,000 votes and is a top pickup opportunity for him in 2020, Trump repeated unfounded allegations that thousands of voters were bused into the state from neighboring Massachusetts four years ago.... In New Hampshire, a campaign advisory said masks for attendees are 'required' in accordance with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu's [R] executive orders, and would be provided.... Before Trump arrived, many in the crowd did not put their masks back on after singing the national anthem. They later booed when a campaign staffer called on them to do so.... Eric Gravel, 39, of Burlington, Vermont, who waited in line at a food truck before Trump spoke, wore a T-shirt that read 'COVID-19. Just tested positive for FRAUD.' He was not wearing a mask." Mrs. McC: Thanks, Trump, for bringing more Covid-19 to my state, you irresponsible, narcissistic prick.

Quid Pro Quo. David Badash of RawStory: "President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon granted a full pardon to Alice Marie Johnson, less than 24 hours after she endorsed him in a speech during the final night of the Republican National Convention.... In 2018 Trump commuted Johnson's sentence of life in prison without parole, following a campaign by the ACLU and at the request of Kim Kardashian and Jared Kushner. It is not known why he did not grant her a full pardon at that time. Attorney Adrienne Lawrence, author of a book on sexual harassment in the workplace, suggested the pardon was 'quid pro quo.'" --s

Elements of the Farce

At the Unmasked Ball. James Poniewozik of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump could not truthfully appear at the Republican National Convention as a president who got America safely through the Covid-19 pandemic. But he could play one on TV.... Mr. Trump sandwiched the virus discussion among his preferred topics, as if it were a speed bump.... This is a technique first articulated by the political strategy guide 'Seinfeld.' 'This administration accomplished great things through 2019, yada yada yada, we'll do great things in 2021.'... The mostly maskless guests [of the show] seated cheek by jowl for hours, like the teeming crowd for the big finale of a pandemic reality show: The Celebrity Appestilence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post: "For more than 10 hours this week, President Trump and his allies used the unfiltered platform of a national political convention to paint a portrait of two Americas that do not exist. In one -- a misrepresentation of life under Trump -- the coronavirus has been conquered by presidential leadership, the economy is at its pre-pandemic levels, troops are returning home, and the president is an empathetic figure who supports immigration and would never stoke the nation's racial grievances. In the other -- a hypothetical preview of a Joe Biden presidency that mischaracterizes many of his proposals -- police are defunded, taxes are increased, infanticide is legal, suburbs are abolished and cities burn as violence spreads nationwide.... While Trump, a former reality television star, has long trafficked in mistruths and innuendo, the broad cast of characters who took up his tactics during prime-time speeches underscores how his brand of politicking has taken root in the GOP." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Cowardly Liar v. the Straw Man. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "In his speech accepting the Republican Party's nomination, Trump outlined a series of positions that he claimed are held by Biden but that, overwhelmingly, are not. It is, of course, not a new political tactic to stretch reality to cast your opponent in a negative light, but it is unusual to simply fabricate an opponent out of whole cloth.... Trump is ... running against a straw man whom he describes as a Trojan horse for socialists and communists. Here is what Trump said about Biden, in bold, contrasted with the positions Biden actually holds."

Trump & the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players. Matt Wilstein of the Daily Beast: "The president was telling his closest aides that he was determined to beat his rival Joe Biden in the TV ratings. He was requesting daily ratings for the Democratic National Convention and insisted that his RNC spectacle would demolish their 'pathetic' numbers, according to a senior administration official. In the end, apparently not even all of the unethical pomp and circumstance of a Trump-branded White House as the backdrop of his big speech Thursday night could draw more viewers than Biden's solemnly rousing speech to an empty auditorium. According to initial Nielsen numbers, President Trump's speech Thursday night drew 14.1 million viewers across the three broadcast networks and three major cable news networks. That is more than three million fewer viewers than the 17.5 million who tuned in to watch Biden's speech one week earlier. When those numbers are expanded out across nine broadcast and cable networks, Biden still beat Trump by a fairly wide margin, 23.6 million to 21.6 million. Biden's DNC beat Trump's RNC across the board on all four nights.... None of this stopped Trump from tweeting Friday morning, 'Great Ratings & Reviews Last Night. Thank you!'" Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

A Green-Screen Canvas. Andrew Limbong of NPR: "When first lady Melania Trump appeared at the last night of the RNC Thursday, she wore a Valentino dress in a lime green shade -- a green screen green, of sorts. And as she walked down the steps of the White House, everyone who spent the past four nights hate-watching the proceedings saw their time to shine. Images referencing the more than 180,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, as well as the immigration crisis at the border were plastered onto the dress, online, last night." With images. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Great Lego Mystery. Martin Belam of the Guardian: During her convention speech "On Thursday [Ivanka Trump] said: 'When Jared and I moved with our three children to Washington..., my son Joseph promptly built grandpa a Lego replica of the White House. The president still displays it on the mantel in the Oval Office and shows it to world leaders, just so they know he has the greatest grandchildren on earth.'... Andrea Bernstein, a WNYC reporter who wrote the book American Oligarchs about the Trumps, noted that in 2007 Ivanka said she had once made a Lego model of Trump Tower for her father, only to have it criticised by him several days later because it wasn't accurate enough. Bernstein also cast doubt about the veracity of the earlier story.... There is, however, photographic evidence that, as recently as March 2019 at least, there was a Lego model of the White House in the White House." Mrs. McC:Joseph would have been not quite 3-1/2 years old when Trump became president. I would be really surprised if a child that young could build a Lego replica of the White House. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Another Trumpy Con -- AND of Course It's Illegal. Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "... Lynne Patton, a longtime Trump associate who oversees federal housing programs in New York ... told a leader of a tenants' group at the New York City Housing Authority ... that she was interested in speaking with residents about conditions in the authority's buildings, which have long been in poor repair. Four tenants soon assembled in front of a video camera and were interviewed for more than four hours by Ms. Patton herself. They were never told that their interviews would be edited into a two-minute video clip that would air on Thursday night at the Republican National Convention and be used to bash Mayor Bill de Blasio, three of the tenants said in interviews on Friday. 'I am not a Trump supporter,' said one of the tenants, Claudia Perez. 'I am not a supporter of his racist policies on immigration. I am a first-generation Honduran. It was my people he was sending back.' The episode represents another stark example of how President Trump has deployed government resources to further his political ambitions. Ms. Patton is head of the New York office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and under the Hatch Act is barred from using her government position to engage in political activities." ~~~

     ~~~ The Hill has a summary report here.

The RNC's Brazen Copyright Theft. Brooke Seipel of the Hill: "A lawyer for the estate of late singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen said on Friday that legal action is being considered after the Republican National Convention used a cover of Cohen's 'Hallelujah' during a fireworks show after President Trump's acceptance speech.... 'We are surprised and dismayed that the RNC would proceed knowing that the Cohen Estate had specifically declined the RNC's use request, and their rather brazen attempt to politicize and exploit in such an egregious manner "Hallelujah"...,' said Michelle L. Rice, legal representative of the Cohen Estate."

After the Ball Was Over. AP: "A crowd of protesters surrounded U.S. Sen. Rand Paul as he was leaving the White House following the Republican National Convention early Friday, shouting for the lawmaker from Kentucky to acknowledge the shooting of Breonna Taylor. Video posted on social media showed dozens of people confronting Paul and his wife, who were flanked by Metro Police, in a Washington street after midnight. Protesters could be heard shouting 'No Justice No Peace' and 'Say Her Name' before one appears to briefly clash with an officer, pushing him and his bike backward, sending the officer into Paul's shoulder.... After the encounter Friday morning, Paul tweeted that he 'got attacked' by a 'crazed mob' one block away from the White House, later thanking police for 'saving his life.' It was not clear whether any protesters made physical contact with Paul. The senator and his wife kept walking and did not appear to have suffered any injuries." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In fairness to Paul, he did write a bill titled "Justice for Breonna Taylor Act," which would prohibit no-knock warrants, the type of warrant that led to her killing. The confrontation Thursday night might have been a good time for him to mention that. ~~~

     ~~~ Matthew Choi: "During [a] Fox & Friends interview, Paul said he and his wife were unharmed.... Paul hypothesized the protesters were compensated and flown in to instigate a violent riot, but didn't offer any suggestions on who might have paid them or evidence to support his assertion. That protesters are paid to cause disruption is a common talking point among some conservative figures for which there is no substantive evidence. Such claims have been regularly challenged by fact-checkers."

The Leader of the Free World Reacts: We Are Amused. Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "Asked during her annual summer news conference about a claim made by Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, that he had 'watched President Trump charm the chancellor of Germany,' [Angela] Merkel drew her eyebrows together, tilted her head and leaned toward the reporter. 'He did what?' she asked. 'Charmed,' repeated Marina Kormbaki, a journalist with the German reporting collective R.N.D. 'Ah, OK,' Ms. Merkel said. Then she added with a laugh, 'I don't talk about internal discussions.'... [Grenell's] comment [-- made during a speech at the Republican convention --] sparked outrage over social media ... and brought derision on both sides of the Atlantic." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lolita Baldor of the AP:"The U.S. armed forces will have no role in carrying out the election process or resolving a disputed vote, the top U.S. military officer told Congress in comments released Friday. The comments from Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscore the extraordinary political environment in America, where the president has declared without evidence that the expected surge in mail-in ballots will make the vote 'inaccurate and fraudulent,' and has suggested he might not accept the election results if he loses. Trump's repeated complaints questioning the election's validity have triggered unprecedented worries about the potential for chaos surrounding the election results. Some have speculated that the military might be called upon to get involved, either by Trump trying to use it to help his reelection prospects or as, Democratic challenger Joe Biden has suggested, to remove Trump from the White House if he refuses to accept defeat. The military has adamantly sought to tamp down that speculation and is zealously protective of its historically nonpartisan nature." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Trumpidemic, Etc.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here: "Groups representing nearly every public health department called Friday for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reverse 'haphazard' changes the agency recently made to its public testing advice. The CDC's decision to stop recommending that asymptomatic people who were exposed to the virus get tested is 'bad policy' that 'costs lives and livelihoods,' the groups wrote -- a striking rebuke of the premiere U.S. health authority by towns and cities across the country. ~~~

~~~ "Nearly all of the California Senate's Republican caucus is now under mandatory quarantine after being exposed to one senator -- a skeptic on government statistics about the coronavirus -- who tested positive, state lawmakers said this week." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sheila Kaplan & Katie Thomas of the New York Times: "Two senior public relations experts advising the Food and Drug Administration have been ousted from their positions after fumbled communications about a blood plasma treatment for Covid-19. President Trump and the head of the F.D.A. had erroneously boasted on the eve of the Republican National Convention that the treatment sharply lowered mortality from the disease. On Friday, the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, removed Emily Miller, the agency's chief spokeswoman. The White House had installed Ms. Miller, who had previously worked in communications for the re-election campaign of Senator Ted Cruz and as a journalist for One America News, the conservative cable network, in this post just 11 days ago. Ms. Miller's removal came one day after the F.D.A.'s parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, terminated the contract of a public relations consultant [-- Wayne Pines --] who had advised Dr. Hahn to correct misleading comments about the benefits of blood plasma for Covid-19." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow pointed out that Trump and Hahn's false claims are not a "P.R. problem" that can be attributed to spokeswomen & consultants.

Mini-Trumps Con the SBA. Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: "The Justice Department has made at least 41 criminal complaints in federal court against nearly 60 people, who collectively took $62 million from the Paycheck Protection Program by using what law enforcement officials said were forged documents, stolen identities and false certifications. They are just 'the smallest, tiniest piece of the tip of the iceberg,' said Hannibal Ware, the inspector general of the Small Business Administration, which led the program. But with their ostentatious spending and clearly faked records, those examples have also been the easiest to spot.... More than five million businesses received loans, which could be forgiven if used for payroll and certain other expenses. Now, that hastily created and frequently chaotic program is entering its next messy stage, one that lenders and government officials expect to take years: the hunt to recapture illicitly obtained cash."

Black Lives Matter

But Not So Much to Donald Trump. Asawin Suebsaeng & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: "Two former top Homeland Security officials in the Trump administration have told The Daily Beast that there was an unwritten policy to not utter phrases like 'domestic terrorism' and 'white supremacy' around the president, for fear that he would take such conversations as implicit criticism of him. The directives, said Elizabeth Neumann, previously assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security for counterterrorism and threat prevention, were never formalized. But both she and Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at DHS, say that they were explicitly told by White House brass not to use such phrases or terms around Trump.... Neumann said that it's been standard operating procedure for years among top officials and Trump aides to avoid 'trigger words' when briefing the president -- severely complicating efforts to respond to high-profile killings that have occurred during the Trump presidency. She said that such trigger words have included 'white supremacy,' 'Russia,' 'election interference,' and 'domestic terrorism.'... Trump's abhorrence for the term 'domestic terrorism' did eventually soften, Neumann recalled..., only when he concluded he was able to use it against the anti-fascist group Antifa and other 'left-wing radicals.'..." ~~~

~~~ Mike German , former FBI agent, in the Guardian: "For decades, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has routinely warned its agents that the white supremacist and far-right militant groups it investigates often have links to law enforcement. Yet the justice department has no national strategy designed to protect the communities policed by these dangerously compromised law enforcers.... [I]n June 2019, when Congressman William Lacy Clay asked the FBI counter-terrorism chief, Michael McGarrity, whether the bureau remained concerned about white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement since the publication of its 2006 assessment, McGarrity indicated he had not read it.... Since 2000, law enforcement officials with alleged connections to white supremacist groups or far-right militant activities have been exposed in [12 states]. Research organizations have uncovered hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement officials participating in racist, nativist and sexist social media activity, which demonstrates that overt bias is far too common." --s See related Guardian story, also linked yesterday. ~~~

~~~ Joshua Shanes in Slate: "In the final week of August, the United States saw its biggest deterioration in societal norms and steps towards outright fascism since President Donald Trump came to office four years ago under a mantle of barely veiled authoritarianism.... A president pushing fascist rhetoric with autocratic tendencies is running America and our democratic safeguards are greatly weakened. Paramilitary violence by an enraged, white minority -- organized and stoked by the president, to whom they are loyal, and local police who tolerate or empower them -- is becoming a new norm.... No matter what happens on November 3, we should be ready for white violence. It is the new normal, stoked and validated by the highest office in the land." --s

Ta-Nehisi Coates, in a Vanity Fair issue he edited & features Breonna Taylor on the cover, interviews Taylor's mother Tamika Palmer. All the words in the story are Ms. Palmer's, and her story really is more about Ms. Palmer than about Breonna. Mrs. McCrabbie: One of the more striking part of her story is the way police treated her after the shot and killed Breonna. (1) The cops gave Ms. Palmer the runaround for hours, sending her on a wild goose chase to the hospital when Taylor's body was still at the scene -- where again she could get no information -- and then not telling Ms. Palmer that her daughter was dead when she returned to Breonna's apartment. (2) AND, either the police "investigators" were trying to concoct a coverup or -- if you want to be more generous -- they were trying to debunk a coverup perpetrated by the cops involved in Breonna's killing. In any event, detectives repeatedly asked Ms. Palmer who would want to hurt Breonna, obviously implying that the shooter was unknown. Vanity Fair stories are subscriber-firewalled, but there is limited access.

"Two Systems of Justice." Aaron Morrisson, et al., of the AP: "Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. famously laid out a vision for harmony between white and Black people 57 years ago, his son issued a sobering reminder about the persistence of police brutality and racist violence targeting Black Americans. 'We must never forget the American nightmare of racist violence exemplified when Emmett Till was murdered on this day in 1955, and the criminal justice system failed to convict his killers,' said Martin Luther King III, speaking to thousands that gathered Friday to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.... Some stood in sweltering temperatures in lines that stretched for several blocks, as organizers took temperatures as part of coronavirus protocols. Organizers reminded attendees to practice social distancing and wear masks throughout the program, although distancing was hardly maintained as the gathering grew in size." This is an update of a story linked yesterday. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post live-updated the event. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

NEW. Will Jones, et al., of ABC Chicago News: "Friday afternoon, [Jacob] Blake's lawyer told ABC News that the cuffs have been removed. The lawyer said [a] felony warrant out for Blake before Sunday's shooting has been vacated."

AP: "The Kenosha police union on Friday offered the most detailed accounting to date on officers' perspective of the moments leading up to police shooting Jacob Blake seven times in the back, saying he had a knife and fought with officers, putting one of them in a headlock and shrugging off two attempts to stun him." ~~~

~~~ Guardian: "A judge postponed a decision on Friday on whether 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse should be returned to Wisconsin to face charges in the killing of two people on the streets of Kenosha during unrest following the police shooting of a local Black father, Jacob Blake, last Sunday. The Illinois judge granted Rittenhouse's request to delay the extradition hearing to 25 September, during a brief hearing that was streamed online from the Lake county courthouse in Waukegan, Illinois, about 16 miles directly south of Kenosha, on the shore of Lake Michigan. Rittenhouse did not appear.... He also faces one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.... Rittenhouse was also charged with possession of dangerous weapon by someone under the age of 18.... Under Wisconsin law, Rittenhouse, who is 17, was too young to legally posses the rifle he was alleged to have been carrying...." ~~~

John Diedrich of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "One of Rittenhouse's lawyers said on social media the 17-year-old did not own the AR-15 he was carrying the night of the shooting or bring it across the Illinois/Wisconsin line. 'Kyle did not carry a gun across state line,' L. Lin Wood said in a tweet Friday morning. 'The gun belonged to his friend, a Wisconsin resident. The gun never left the state of Wisconsin.' Wood is part of the Texas-based #FightBack Foundation Inc. that is raising money for Rittenhouse's defense.... In a statement late Friday, Rittenhouse's attorneys said he was defending himself from a "mob" of attackers who 'accosted' and 'verbally threatened and taunted' him...." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: There are two huge lies in two short grafs of this news item by Blake Montgomery of the Daily Beast: (1) Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis, in defending his cops for allowing a killer to walk away from the scene, said, "Nothing suggested this person or anybody else who was armed around them was the person [who did the shooting]." But multiple reports, including this one, say people were shouting at the cops that Rittenhouse had shot people. Miskinis said the cops probably couldn't hear the shouts. (2) "The Kenosha County Sheriff [David Beth] said ... that he hadn't seen video of the shooting [of Jacob Blake], by now viewed by millions around the world, of police shooting Blake seven times in the back.... Video of a recent protest, however, shows him watching the recording on a protester's phone." ~~~

~~~ Robert Mackey of the Intercept: "When Tucker Carlson set off a firestorm of criticism on Wednesday -- by describing a 17-year-old Trump supporter who opened fire on protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday, killing two, as a well-meaning kid who decided he 'had to maintain order' in the Democrat-run state because 'no one else would' -- the Fox News host was surfacing an idea that had already spread widely on the far-right.... Pro-Trump YouTubers, bloggers, and commentators [including Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Az.-Crazy)] ... decided ... that the young man ... was merely acting in self-defense [after he had shot someone in the head!]... [A Glenn Beck producer] described the ... the protesters attempting to disarm the gunman as Rittenhouse 'being attacked by #BLM rioters.'... As the momentum to excuse Rittenhouse's crimes as justified spread online Thursday, amplified by far-right figures around the globe, Jamelle Bouie [of the NYT] called it 'the single most ominous development of the year.'"

Jacob Crosse of World Socialist Web Site (of all places) has quite a good summary of protests and events throughout the U.S. this week and weekend. Mrs. McC: As far as I can tell, based on MSM reports I've read and heard, Crosse's report of the facts is pretty accurate, and his report is worth a read because it includes details that are scattered here and there in other reports. However, I do read Crosse's editorializing with a healthy skepticism, as when he describes "the bankrupt politics of the speakers ... [who] painted police murder in purely racial terms, obfuscating the class character of police repression...." Generally speaking, of course, we should consider the editorializing, conscious or not, of every news report, even when we agree with the "editors" of supposedly straight news reports. And not all of Crosse's editorialized is necessarily off-base.

Ryan Mac of BuzzFeed News: "In a companywide meeting on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that a militia page advocating for followers to bring weapons to an upcoming protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, remained on the platform because of 'an operational mistake.' The page and an associated event inspired widespread criticism of the company after a 17-year-old suspect allegedly shot and killed two protesters Tuesday night. The event associated with the Kenosha Guard page, however, was flagged to Facebook at least 455 times after its creation, according to an internal report viewed by BuzzFeed News and had been cleared by four moderators, all of whom deemed it 'non-violating.' The page and event were eventually removed from the platform on Wednesday -- several hours after the shooting.... A previous story from the Verge noted that the page had issued a 'call to arms' and hosted a number of commenters advocating for violence in Kenosha following the police shooting of 29-year-old Black man Jacob Blake." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Ryan Mac: "Frustrated Facebook employees slammed CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday during a companywide meeting, questioning his leadership and decision-making, following a week in which the platform promoted violent conspiracy theories and gave safe harbor to militia groups. The billionaire chief executive was speaking via webcast at the company's weekly all-hands meeting, attempting to address questions about violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the QAnon conspiracy that has proliferated across Facebook." Mrs. McC: This is not a First-Amendment issue. Only the government is required to allow free expression (and that's not carte blanche); private entities can shut you off even if they do so in an arbitrary manner.

Ben Golliver of the Washington Post: "NBA games will resume Saturday after an agreement was reached between league governors and players on a series of social justice initiatives that will end a three-day shutdown caused by the Milwaukee Bucks' decision not to take the court for a playoff game Wednesday to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis.... These initiatives included: the establishment of a social justice coalition composed of players, coaches and governors to focus on voting access, civic engagement and criminal justice reform; the coordinated use of NBA arenas as voting locations in the upcoming elections; and the airing of new televised advertising messages promoting civic engagement and voting access during upcoming games." ~~~

~~~ Tierney Sneed of TPM: "Several cities with NBA arenas could see those facilities turned into in-person voting sites this fall thanks to a deal reached Friday between players and franchise officials to resume the NBA playoffs this weekend. The NBA and NBA players' association announced the agreement -- which also includes the establishment of a social justice coalition and an NBA ad campaign promoting civic engagement -- after several playoff games were put on hold this week due to team boycotts.... 'In every city where the league franchise owns and controls the arena property, team governors will continue to work with local elections officials to convert the facility into a voting location for the 2020 general election[' according to the NBA statement].... NBA arenas are often located near public transportation, making them accessible to low-income voters.... [A] civic engagement group launched by NBA star LeBron James has helped craft deals to use sporting facilities in other parts of the country for voting. These partnerships between election officials and sporting facilities have also facilitated the use of arena employees as poll workers, helping to solve the poll worker shortage COVID-19 has caused." --s

Another Two-Tiered System of "Justice": The Hatch Act. Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The [Office of Special Counsel] says it does not track how many political appointees it has warned or disciplined for political activity on the job. But Special Counsel Henry Kerner, who was appointed by President Trump, has cited at least nine high-level Trump appointees for abusing their government roles to further the president's reelection or disparage his rivals. And they have largely thumbed their noses at the law -- with the president's blessing. Career employees, meanwhile, have faced warning letters, reprimands, suspensions without pay and, in extreme cases, been fired and debarred from returning to government.... For them, the law cannot be scornfully dismissed -- as White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows did this week when he said that 'nobody outside of the Beltway really cares' about the Hatch Act.... Discipline for [Kellyanne] Conway and others [who have been cited] was up to Trump, according to Office of Special Counsel's interpretation of the law."

The Rich Get Richer. Fred Imbert & Yun Li of CNBC: "Stocks rose on Friday to wrap up another strong week on a high note as the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased its losses of 2020. The 30-stock Dow closed 161.60 points higher, or 0.6%, at 28,653.87. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to close at 3,508.01. It was the index's first-ever close above 3,500. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6% to end the day at 11,695.63. Friday's gains put the Dow in positive territory for the year. The Dow had not sported a year-to-date gain since late February, when it traded around an all-time high. After Friday's close, the Dow was up 0.4% for 2020."

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "A coalition of 21 states sued the Trump administration Friday for rolling back what they say is a 'rule that is, at its heart, the gutting' of America's bedrock environmental law. The White House in July finalized a rollback of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which for 50 years has required the government to weigh environmental and community concerns before approving pipelines, highways, drilling permits, new factories or any major action on federal lands. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) called the law the Magna Carta of environmental law."

More Tales of the Dysfunctional Trump Family

Emily Fox of Vanity Fair reviews a new book by one-time Friend of Melania Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, -- titled Melania and Me -- wherein we learn that Wolkoff took a lot of notes and they reveal that Melania Trump is as cold-hearted, selfish, and transactional as her husband. And Melania despises Ivanka Trump. For instance, "During the inauguration, Wolkoff writes that she and Melania launched 'Operation Block Ivanka,' making sure that she was seated out of frame in the photos of President Trump being sworn in.... This iciness appeared to play out on the national stage on the final night of the Republican National Convention Thursday evening --an unintentional bit of native advertising ahead of the book's release next week. A video of Ivanka breezing past her stepmother without much acknowledgment and making a beeline for her father went viral. In it, Melania's face appears to sour almost immediately after Ivanka walks past.... Melania is not cloistered away, above the muck. She is rolling around in it."

Brooke Seipel of the Hill: "President Trump's niece, Mary Trump, on Friday revealed audio recordings that reportedly capture Trump's sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, swiping at the president's children, Ivanka and Eric Trump. The audio, released by Mary Trump on MSNBC News late Friday evening, includes Trump Barry taking aim at Ivanka for an Instagram post around the start of the Trump administration's policy separating families at the U.S. border.... 'Meanwhile, Eric's become the moron publicly. Ivanka gives a s--t. She's all about her,' Trump Barry says." ~~~

Way Beyond the Beltway

Another Trumpish Bankruptcy. David Fahrenthold & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "The company that owns the Trump International Hotel in Vancouver, Canada, has filed for bankruptcy, according to Canadian records -- raising questions about the future of one of President Trump's newest hotels, just three years after it opened. Trump does not own the Vancouver hotel; the building's owner pays Trump's company to operate the hotel and to license the Trump name. The Trump Vancouver hotel has already been closed for four months because of the coronavirus pandemic. By Friday -- a day after the bankruptcy filing -- the hotel's website was taken down, its name was missing from Trump Hotels' corporate website, and the Vancouver hotel's accounts were deleted from Twitter and Facebook." A Reuters story is here. Thanks to safari for the lead.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Chadwick Boseman, who found fame as the star of the groundbreaking film 'Black Panther' and who also portrayed pioneering Black figures like Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall, died on Friday. He was 43. A statement posted on his Instagram account said he learned in 2016 that he had Stage 3 colon cancer and that it had progressed to Stage 4. It said he died in his home with his wife and family by his side...."

Washington Post: "While Hurricane Laura largely missed major cities and left the Texas coastline almost completely unscathed, the low-lying wetlands in far southwestern Louisiana took a significant hit, with crushing storm surge and whipping winds dramatically altering the area and destroying numerous homes and properties. In and around Cameron, La., where Laura's eyewall struck first before rampaging north, rescuers and homeowners were getting their first looks at the damage late Friday and early Saturday.... Out on the Intracoastal Canal -- the waterway serving as an access point to the damaged southern portions of the parish -- stark scenes made Laura's devastation clear. A luxury speed boat, still strung with the rope that once connected it to a dock, now sat half-sunken in the water. Coyote puppies paced back-and-forth, marooned on a strip of land that had recently become an island, as an alligator slowly prowled the edges. Few boats traversed the water; helicopters whirred overhead. The tops of cars poked out of inundated streets."

The Commentariat -- August 28, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The U.S. armed forces will have no role in carrying out the election process or resolving a disputed vote, the top U.S. military officer told Congress in comments released Friday. The comments from Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, underscore the extraordinary political environment in America, where the president has declared without evidence that the expected surge in mail-in ballots will make the vote 'inaccurate and fraudulent,' and has suggested he might not accept the election results if he loses. Trump's repeated complaints questioning the election's validity have triggered unprecedented worries about the potential for chaos surrounding the election results. Some have speculated that the military might be called upon to get involved, either by Trump trying to use it to help his reelection prospects or as, Democratic challenger Joe Biden has suggested, to remove Trump from the White House if he refuses to accept defeat. The military has adamantly sought to tamp down that speculation and is zealously protective of its historically nonpartisan nature."

Trump & the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players. Matt Wilstein of the Daily Beast: "The president was telling his closest aides that he was determined to beat his rival Joe Biden in the TV ratings. He was requesting daily ratings for the Democratic National Convention and insisted that his RNC spectacle would demolish their 'pathetic' numbers, according to a senior administration official. In the end, apparently not even all of the unethical pomp and circumstance of a Trump-branded White House as the backdrop of his big speech Thursday night could draw more viewers than Biden's solemnly rousing speech to an empty auditorium. According to initial Nielsen numbers, President Trump's speech Thursday night drew 14.1 million viewers across the three broadcast networks and three major cable news networks. That is more than three million fewer viewers than the 17.5 million who tuned in to watch Biden's speech one week earlier. When those numbers are expanded out across nine broadcast and cable networks, Biden still beat Trump by a fairly wide margin, 23.6 million to 21.6 million. Biden's DNC beat Trump's RNC across the board on all four nights.... None of this stopped Trump from tweeting Friday morning, ;Great Ratings & Reviews Last Night. Thank you!':

A Green-Screen Canvas. Andrew Limbong of NPR: "When first lady Melania Trump appeared at the last night of the RNC Thursday, she wore a Valentino dress in a lime green shade -- a green screen green, of sorts. And as she walked down the steps of the White House, everyone who spent the past four nights hate-watching the proceedings saw their time to shine. Images referencing the more than 180,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, as well as the immigration crisis at the border were plastered onto the dress, online, last night." With images.

The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here: "Groups representing nearly every public health department called Friday for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reverse 'haphazard' changes the agency recently made to its public testing advice. The CDC's decision to stop recommending that asymptomatic people who were exposed to the virus get tested is 'bad policy' that 'costs lives and livelihoods,' the groups wrote -- a striking rebuke of the premiere U.S. health authority by towns and cities across the country. ~~~

~~~ "Nearly all of the California Senate's Republican caucus is now under mandatory quarantine after being exposed to one senator -- a skeptic on government statistics about the coronavirus -- who tested positive, state lawmakers said this week."

Sheila Kaplan & Katie Thomas of the New York Times: "Two senior public relations experts advising the Food and Drug Administration have been ousted from their positions after fumbled communications about a blood plasma treatment for Covid-19. President Trump and the head of the F.D.A. had erroneously boasted on the eve of the Republican National Convention that the treatment sharply lowered mortality from the disease. On Friday, the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Stephen M. Hahn, removed Emily Miller, the agency's chief spokeswoman. The White House had installed Ms. Miller, who had previously worked in communications for the re-election campaign of Senator Ted Cruz and as a journalist for One America News, the conservative cable network, in this post just 11 days ago. Ms. Miller's removal came one day after the F.D.A.'s parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, terminated the contract of a public relations consultant [-- Wayne Pines --] who had advised Dr. Hahn to correct misleading comments about the benefits of blood plasma for Covid-19."

At the Unmasked Ball. James Poniewozik of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump could not truthfully appear at the Republican National Convention as a president who got America safely through the Covid-19 pandemic. But he could play one on TV.... Mr. Trump sandwiched the virus discussion among his preferred topics, as if it were a speed bump.... This is a technique first articulated by the political strategy guide 'Seinfeld.' 'This administration accomplished great things through 2019, yada yada yada, we'll do great things in 2021.'... The mostly maskless guests [of the show] seated cheek by jowl for hours, like the teeming crowd for the big finale of a pandemic reality show: The Celebrity Appestilence."

Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post: "For more than 10 hours this week, President Trump and his allies used the unfiltered platform of a national political convention to paint a portrait of two Americas that do not exist. In one -- a misrepresentation of life under Trump -- the coronavirus has been conquered by presidential leadership, the economy is at its pre-pandemic levels, troops are returning home, and the president is an empathetic figure who supports immigration and would never stoke the nation's racial grievances. In the other -- a hypothetical preview of a Joe Biden presidency that mischaracterizes many of his proposals -- police are defunded, taxes are increased, infanticide is legal, suburbs are abolished and cities burn as violence spreads nationwide.... While Trump, a former reality television star, has long trafficked in mistruths and innuendo, the broad cast of characters who took up his tactics during prime-time speeches underscores how his brand of politicking has taken root in the GOP."

AP: "A crowd of protesters surrounded U.S. Sen. Rand Paul as he was leaving the White House following the Republican National Convention early Friday, shouting for the lawmaker from Kentucky to acknowledge the shooting of Breonna Taylor. Video posted on social media showed dozens of people confronting Paul and his wife, who were flanked by Metro Police, in a Washington street after midnight. Protesters could be heard shouting 'No Justice No Peace' and 'Say Her Name' before one appears to briefly clash with an officer, pushing him and his bike backward, sending the officer into Paul's shoulder.... After the encounter Friday morning, Paul tweeted that he 'got attacked' by a 'crazed mob' one block away from the White House, later thanking police for 'saving his life.' It was not clear whether any protesters made physical contact with Paul. The senator and his wife kept walking and did not appear to have suffered any injuries."~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In fairness to Paul, he did write a bill titled "Justice for Breonna Taylor Act," which would prohibit no-knock warrants, the type of warrant that led to her killing. The confrontation Thursday night might have been a good time for him to mention that.

The Great Lego Mystery. Martin Belam of the Guardian: During her convention speech "On Thursday [Ivanka Trump] said: 'When Jared and I moved with our three children to Washington..., my son Joseph promptly built grandpa a Lego replica of the White House. The president still displays it on the mantel in the Oval Office and shows it to world leaders, just so they know he has the greatest grandchildren on earth.'... Andrea Bernstein, a WNYC reporter who wrote the book American Oligarchs about the Trumps, noted that in 2007 Ivanka said she had once made a Lego model of Trump Tower for her father, only to have it criticised by him several days later because it wasn't accurate enough. Bernstein also cast doubt about the veracity of the earlier story.... There is, however, photographic evidence that, as recently as March 2019 at least, there was a Lego model of the White House in the White House." Mrs. McC: Joseph would have been not quite 3-1/2 years old when Trump became president. I would be really surprised if a child that young could build a Lego replica of the White House.

Aaron Morrisson & Kat Stafford of the AP: "Capping a week of protests and outrage over the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, civil rights advocates began highlighting the scourge of police and vigilante violence against Black Americans at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. An estimated thousands have gathered Friday near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic 'I Have A Dream' address, a vision of racial equality that remains elusive for millions of Americans." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post is live-updating the event.

We Are Amused. Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "Asked during her annual summer news conference about a claim made by Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany, that he had 'watched President Trump charm the chancellor of Germany,' [Angela] Merkel drew her eyebrows together, tilted her head and leaned toward the reporter. 'He did what?' she asked. 'Charmed,' repeated Marina Kormbaki, a journalist with the German reporting collective R.N.D. 'Ah, OK,' Ms. Merkel said. Then she added with a laugh, 'I don't talk about internal discussions.'... [Grenell's] comment [-- made during a speech at the Republican convention --] sparked outrage over social media ... and brought derision on both sides of the Atlantic."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race

T-R-U-M-P Corrupts, Lies About Everything.* Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump delivered a scathing and wholesale attack on Democrat Joe Biden and fiercely defended his stewardship of a nation buffeted by historic crises on Thursday night, appealing to voters for a second term in an election he said would either preserve or destroy the 'American way of life.' In formally accepting the Republican presidential nomination from the South Lawn of the White House, Trump cast himself as an insurgent rather than the incumbent he is, railing against Biden as eminence of 'the failed political class.' He blamed the former vice president and his Democratic Party for the nation's chronic socioeconomic problems as well as for the anger and unrest coursing through the country today.... Trump spoke from a red-carpeted stage adorned with American flags and bookended by massive campaign signage, with the White House's grand portico illuminated against the night sky as his backdrop. After his 70-minute speech, among the longest acceptance speeches in history, fireworks exploded over the Mall, some of the blasts bearing the president's name, T-R-U-M-P. And as the coronavirus pandemic still rages coast to coast, an estimated 1,500 guests gathered on the South Lawn flouting social distancing recommendations and mostly forgoing face masks -- exemplifying the convention's aim to falsely portray the virus as fading away."

     * Generic headline.

Alexander Burns & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "In a 70-minute speech on the South Lawn of the White House, Mr. Trump repeatedly misrepresented his own record on the coronavirus, part of a broader attempt to minimize his lapses in office and turn a harsh light toward his opponent, Mr. Biden, a moderate Democrat. The president also accused his rival and Democrats of failing to take on rioters, though Mr. Biden has condemned recent acts of violence, and of harboring designs to restructure the American economic system along socialist lines. Mr. Trump, by contrast, adopted the role of a defender of traditional American values and an unbending ally of the police.... Much of the night was given over to unusually explicit rebuttals to Mr. Trump's vulnerabilities: Seldom if ever has a political party spent so much time during a convention insisting in explicit terms that its nominee was not a racist or a sexist, and that its standard-bearer was, perhaps despite public appearances, a person of empathy and good character.... The program took on an atmosphere of pomp and celebration with Mr. Trump's arrival late in the evening, as he and the first lady, Melania Trump, made their entrance down the White House stairs like the guests of honor at a gala. And when Mr. Trump concluded his speech, the atmosphere of festivity erupted again in the form of a bellowing opera singer and exploding fireworks that put an exclamation point on a convention determined not to be overtaken by a continuing crisis of mass death and economic adversity.... Mr. Trump spoke from a prepared text.... Underscoring the scripted nature of the speech, Mr. Trump misspoke in a high-profile, symbolic moment: 'I profoundly accept this nomination,' he declared, though the word in his prepared text was 'proudly.'"

How fitting that Trump accepted his renomination with a mass violation of the rule of law And an intentional mass Covid exposure event. The two core failures that history will remember him for.... Literally thousands of Hatch Act violations-- one for every federal official who helped with or participated in this revolting display. The greatest mass Hatch Act transgression in US history. Even the fireworks are a violation. -- Norm Eisen, in tweets

Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "... Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday night, directly countering Joe Biden's own convention address, as the sound of racial justice protesters echoed in the background.... Here are the key moments from the Republican National Convention's final night."

As usual, Stephen Colbert provides a good summary and analysis of the latest Trumpisode:

Daniel Dale, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump is a serial liar and he serially lied during his speech accepting the Republican nomination. CNN counted more than 20 false, exaggerated or misleading claims from Trump on Thursday night. That's in addition to a number of falsehoods from other speakers. Trump's dishonesty touched on a range of topics, from the economy to his administration's performance during the coronavirus pandemic. Some of Trump's most egregious false claims were directed at ... Joe Biden.... Here's a look at a selection of false and misleading claims from the final night of the Republican National Convention." ~~~

"A Volcano of Lies." Fred Kaplan of Slate: "The profusion of falsehoods from Tom Cotton, Rudy Giuliani, and Ivanka Trump provided a fitting setup for the big man at the Republican National Convention." Kaplan runs down some of the most blatant lies delivered during the final episode of the Fantasy Trump Show.

From the New York Times' live updates of Black Lives Matter developments Thursday: "President Trump made only a glancing reference to Kenosha, Wis., in his speech on Thursday accepting the Republican nomination for a second term, linking it to other American cities where protests against systemic racism and police brutality have sometimes turned violent. Mr. Trump's mention of Kenosha, the scene of several chaotic nights of demonstrations this week, and the other cities was shorthand for what he claims is a creeping lawlessness that will blanket the United States if his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden Jr., is elected. But, like Vice President Mike Pence, who hit the same theme on Wednesday, Mr. Trump did not say what touched off the unrest in Kenosha: the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer in an episode that has drawn widespread condemnation and is being investigated by state authorities and the Justice Department."

The New York Times' live updates of the Trump Circus & the Ringmaster-in-Chief are here. Times reporters' snark analysis is here, & includes a video livefeed to the convention.

The Washington Post's live updates are here: Yay! Rudy Giuliani is one of the speakers. Trump will speak on the South Lawn. "More than 1,000 people are to be in attendance, and the overwhelming majority will not be tested for the novel coronavirus." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I unmuted the video for Rudy, and here's my advice to anyone who finds herself in his vicinity: Get out! He will spit on you.

The Guardian's live updates are here.

Trolling Trump. Dominic Patten & Ted Johnson of Deadline: "..., the Biden campaign has a two-minute 'Keep Up' ad that will air on ABC, NBC, CBS and Trump's beloved Fox News Channel just before the incumbent speaks tonight. Here it is:" ~~~

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Joe Biden on Thursday blamed President Trump for the racial unrest that has roiled the country and in recent days has gripped Kenosha, Wis., saying the president is fomenting animosity and cheering on a spasm of violent protests to benefit himself politically.... 'I think he [Trump] views it as a political benefit,' Biden said on MSNBC. 'He's rooting for more violence, not less.'... Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), the first Black woman on a major-party ticket, also delivered her most detailed remarks on the Kenosha protests, saying that 'we must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protesters' but also that 'we should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence.... The reality is the life of a Black person in America has never been treated as fully human.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: In case you think Joe is making up stuff, see Philip Bump's analysis, linked under "Black Lives Matter" below.

Adam Edelman & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "A Joe Biden administration would address systemic racism and tackle police reform, Sen. Kamala Harris said on Thursday, invoking the 'sickening' shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin as further evidence for the need to address racial injustice in the U.S.... She also noted that the topic of racial justice has been avoided at the Republican convention.... Harris spoke hours before ... Donald Trump is set to formally accept his party's nomination for re-election at the final night of the Republican National Convention, pre-emptively criticizing the president for his response to the coronavirus pandemic.... 'Instead of rising to meet the most difficult moment of his presidency, he froze. He was scared. He was petty and vindictive,' Harris said."

Max Cohen & Matthew Choi of Politico: "Support for Joe Biden's White House bid is growing among staffers of past presidential campaigns -- Republican ones, that is. Several dozen former staffers from Sen. Mitt Romney's (R-Utah) presidential campaign, the George W. Bush administration and the campaign and Senate staff of former Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have signed on to an effort to elect Joe Biden. For the Romney and McCain staffers, they're working to elect the same man they tried to defeat in 2012 and 2008, respectively.... In an open letter obtained by Politico, the group 'Romney Alumni for Biden' says Trump's rhetoric and actions are antithetical to the Republican Party they believe in.... The 34 total signatories include finance, operations, policy and events staffers from Romney's presidential bid. Politico also received in advance a letter from Bush alumni supporting Biden, whose signatories include former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Bush domestic policy adviser Sally Canfield, former Ambassador James Glassman and former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin. The group praised Biden's decency and ability to work across party lines and launched a website raising money for the Delaware Democrat." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Rebecca Shabad & Mike Memoli of NBC News: "Several hundred former aides to President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain announced Thursday that they are endorsing Joe Biden for president.... A political action committee, 43 Alumni for Biden, that launched last month posted a list of nearly 300 members of the Bush administration or campaigns who are publicly backing Biden.... Earlier this week, more than two dozen former Republican Congress members backed Biden for president." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "More than 100 former staff members for Senator John McCain are supporting Joseph R. Biden Jr., a show of support across the political divide that they hope amplifies the 'Country First' credo of the former Arizona senator. That motto and 'his frequent call on Americans to serve causes greater than our self-interest were not empty slogans like so much of our politics today,' the group of aides, most of them still Republicans, wrote in a joint statement, praising Mr. McCain and implicitly taking aim at President Trump.... The list of signatories includes a range of people -- from chiefs of staff in Mr. McCain's Senate office to junior aides on his campaigns -- who worked for him over his 35 years in Congress and during two presidential bids. Mark Salter, Mr. McCain's longtime chief aide and speechwriter, helped organize the letter.... Coinciding with Mr. Trump's renomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday and the second anniversary of Mr. McCain's death this week, the joint endorsement of Mr. Biden represents the latest effort from anti-Trump Republicans to lure conservatives and moderates away from the president." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Salter's letter is published as an op-ed in the Washington Post. Here's the statement by the McCain group, published in Medium, & the list of signatories. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Matthew Choi of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday there shouldn't be any presidential debates this year between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, adding that the president would debase the debate stage with poor behavior.... Pelosi called Trump's 2016 debates with Hillary Clinton 'disgraceful,' emphasizing how he loomed behind her on the stage as she spoke. Clinton later admitted that Trump's lurking made her 'skin crawl.' 'He'll probably act in a way that is beneath the dignity of the presidency,' Pelosi said. 'He does that every day.'... Speaking with MSNBC's Andrew Mitchell, Biden said Thursday afternoon that he planned to face Trump so long as the debates remained on the docket. Still, he conceded that the president would probably use the debate stage to spread misinformation, similar to the instances of revisionism displayed at the Republican National Convention this week."

Glenn Kessler, et al., of the Washington Post: "The third night of the Republican National Convention yet again offered a cascade of false claims, especially in Vice President Pence's speech. Here are 20 claims that caught our attention." Mrs. McC: This is a remarkable lost of whoppers. All of the puppet-makers in all the world could not make enough Pinocchio marionettes to cover one GOP convention. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: An MSNBC pundit (David Jolly?) noted that Trump has managed to find more black people to speak at his convention than he has placed among those approximately 4,000 political-appointee jobs he can fill.

Jane Lytvynenko of BuzzFeed News (Aug. 26): "On the first night of the Republican National Convention, the party aired a segment featuring Catalina and Madeline Lauf warning of dire consequences if Democratic candidate Joe Biden is elected president. 'This is a taste of Biden's America,' one sister says in a voiceover as images of protests play onscreen. The problem is that one of the images in the segment doesn't show the US at all -- it shows Spain. As first reported by Catalonian public broadcaster CCMA and independently verified by BuzzFeed News, one of the four images of protests was filmed in October 2019 in Barcelona." Mrs. McC: Wow! Barcelona is a beautiful, vibrant city. I can hardly wait till Biden makes America look more like Barcelona. Could we have Gaudi-style apartment buildings, Joe, & public spaces like Park Guell?

Shutting the Stable Door After the Horse's Ass Has Bolted. Vivian Salama of CNN: "The Department of Homeland Security sent an agency-wide email to its employees Thursday morning reminding them not to participate in partisan politics, citing "heightened scrutiny." While directives like this are standard in election years, the warning comes days after acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf participated in a swearing in ceremony with ... Donald Trump for naturalized Americans as part of the Republican National Convention, raising ethics concerns.... Signed by Joseph Maher, the agency's designated ethics official, the email references the Hatch Act, which stipulates that most executive-branch officials must not engage in political activity in an official capacity at any time...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: BTW, the official name of the Hatch Act is "An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities." Nearly everything Trump does is a pernicious political activity.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Now, Don't Get Confused by Another Quasi-Reversal by Another Gutless Wonder. From Thursday's NYT coronavirus updates: "The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has scaled back the agency's recommendation advising some people not to get tested after exposure to the novel coronavirus, now saying 'testing may be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or probable Covid-19 patients.' The statement by Dr. Robert R. Redfield was issued to some news outlets late Wednesday, and more broadly Thursday morning, after a storm of criticism over the new C.D.C. guidelines -- involving potentially asymptomatic people -- which were the product of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and not C.D.C.'s own scientists. Dr. Redfield made the statement in an effort to clarify the new policy, an official said. However, the guidelines issued earlier this week remained on the C.D.C.'s website as of Thursday morning, and it appears unlikely that the agency will change them." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump's top civil rights official at the Department of Justice announced this week that he was considering launching investigations into how state-owned nursing homes responded to the coronavirus. The four states he targeted all have Democratic governors. This highly unusual public announcement of potential investigations raised alarm bells among Civil Rights Division alumni and Democrats that DOJ's move was motivated by partisan politics. Eric Dreiband, the assistant attorney general running the Civil Rights Division, sent letters to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday, requesting documents and information under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) about how public nursing homes in their states responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuomo and Whitmer said in a joint statement that the inquiries were 'nothing more than a transparent politicization of the Department of Justice in the middle of the Republican National Convention.' They called DOJ's move a 'nakedly partisan deflection' and questioned why Republican-run states that, based on federal guidelines, had similar rules about nursing home admissions were not being targeted."

Kate Riga of TPM: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Thursday that during a call with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, she offered to drop the price tag on the top-line spending for COVID-19 relief legislation to $2.2 trillion, well down from the original $3.4 trillion. Meadows, Pelosi said, rejected the offer. The 25-minute phone call was the first significant contact the two have had since negotiations fell apart earlier this month."

Black Lives Matter

Adding Insult to Multiple Injuries. Edward Moreno of the Hill: "The father of Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old Black man shot seven times by a Kenosha, Wis., police officer, told the Chicago Sun-Times that his son is handcuffed to his hospital bed. 'I hate it that he was laying in that bed with the handcuff onto the bed,' Blake's father said Thursday, the day after he visited his son in the hospital. 'He can't go anywhere. Why do you have him cuffed to the bed?' Officials have not announced any charges against Blake." The Sun-Times story is here.

Adam Kilgore & Ben Golliver of the Washington Post: "A day after the Milwaukee Bucks' sudden, historic strike spread throughout the sports world, athletes continued protests of racial injustice and police brutality Thursday as the NBA suspended another night of playoff games, the WNBA remained dormant, more than a quarter of NFL teams canceled preseason practices, the NHL suspended its Thursday and Friday playoff schedule and multiple MLB games -- but not all ... -- were called off. The NBA playoffs, painstakingly constructed within a bubble on the Disney World campus, hung in the balance as players met Wednesday night and Thursday morning to determine whether they would play again this year in the wake of Jacob Blake's shooting by police in Kenosha, Wis. Players agreed to continue the season, and the NBA announced it planned to resume the playoffs either Friday or Saturday. The protests spread into politics as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden praised players for 'moral leadership' and ... Jared Kushner told CNBC that players should seek 'actual action' to solve problems and cast athletes who short-circuited the peak of their professional career in pursuit of racial justice as lucky to get a break from work."

Dropping the Mic. Ben Strauss of the Washington Post: "About 30 minutes into a makeshift pregame show without any basketball to follow it, TNT's 'Inside the NBA' cut to former NBA star Chris Webber. Webber was supposed to call one of Wednesday night's playoffs games from the Orlando bubble. But all three games were postponed after players, led by the Milwaukee Bucks, said they would not play in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake, the unarmed Black man, by police in Kenosha, Wis. Choking back tears, Webber delivered an impassioned monologue supporting the players' historic actions.... Webber’s words came just a few minutes after the opening moments of the show, during which Kenny Smith, a former NBA player and host, walked off the set in solidarity with the players. 'For me, I think the biggest thing now -- as a black man and a former player -- I think it's best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight,' Smith said before taking off his microphone and leaving his chair." The Colbert segment embedded yesterday has video of Smith's extraordinary protest. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Racist-in-Chief, Racist Family, Racist Staff Weigh in. Cindy Boren of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Thursday afternoon dismissed the NBA player-led protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, hours after Jared Kushner ... called NBA players 'very fortunate' to be 'able to take a night off from work.' 'I don&'t know much about the NBA protest,' Trump told reporters during a news briefing on Hurricane Laura. 'I know their ratings have been very bad because I think people are a little tired of the NBA. ... They've become like a political organization, and that's not a good thing.'... Also on Thursday, Vice President Pence's chief of staff called the NBA protests 'absurd' and 'silly.' Marc Short, appearing on CNN's 'New Day,' also said that he believed the Trump administration shouldn't speak out on the boycott. 'If they want to protest, I don't think we care,' he said." A Hill story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Ah, I remember fondly those innocent days of 2016 when we thought the stupidest thing a politician could say about basketball was that time then-presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz [R-Texas] called a hoop a "basketball ring" when he was speaking at Indiana's Hoosier Gym Center.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Speaking on "Fox & Friends" Thursday, Kellyanne "Conway made explicit the strategy that the president and his team have been making obvious for months now: Trump's team sees violent protests as politically advantageous.... '... [Donald Trump is] trying to send federal reinforcements in. And you've got these governors saying, oh, no. They're putting their pride in their politics ahead of public safety.... The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who's best on public safety and law and order.'... Trump is happy to present himself as powerless here specifically because he thinks it reinforces weakness on the part of his opponents.... An administration official who spoke with The Washington Post at the time [Trump sent ... federal law enforcement officials to] Portland[, Oregon,] made clear that the White House didn't necessarily see [the escalation of violence the feds caused] as a bad thing, that the White House had wanted to amplify tension in cities for some time. 'It was about getting viral online content,' [the] official told The Post."

Sam Levin of the Guardian: "White supremacist groups have infiltrated US law enforcement agencies in every region of the country over the last two decades, according to a new report about the ties between police and far-right vigilante groups. In a timely new analysis, Michael German, a former FBI special agent who has written extensively on the ways that US law enforcement have failed to respond to far-right domestic terror threats, concludes that US law enforcement officials have been tied to racist militant activities in more than a dozen states since 2000, and hundreds of police officers have been caught posting racist and bigoted social media content."

Grifter-in-Chief. David Fahrenthold, et al., of the Washington Post: "Trump has now visited his own properties 270 times as president, according to a Washington Post tally -- with another visit planned for Thursday, when he is scheduled to meet GOP donors at his Washington hotel. Through these trips, Trump has brought the Trump Organization a stream of private revenue from federal agencies and GOP campaign groups. Federal spending records show that taxpayers have paid Trump's businesses more than $900,000 since he took office. At least $570,000 came as a result of the president's travel, according to a Post analysis. Now, new federal spending documents obtained by The Post via a public-records lawsuit give more detail about how the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service -- a kind of captive customer, required to follow Trump everywhere.... The documents show that the Trump Organization charged daily 'resort fees' to Secret Service agents guarding Vice President Pence in Las Vegas and in another instance asked agents to pay a $1,300 'furniture removal charge' during a presidential visit to a Trump resort in Scotland. In addition, campaign finance records have provided new details about the payments the Trump Organization received from GOP groups, as a result of the 37 instances in which Trump headlined a political event at one of his properties. Those visits have brought the company at least $3.8 million in fees, according to a Post analysis of campaign spending records." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie's Financial Planning Advice to Future Presidents & Vice Presidents: Buy or build an expensive resort in some isolated place in the USA & go there at every opportunity and charge the federal government exhorbitant rates for every possible thing. I'm sure Republicans wouldn't mind if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tried this stunt.

~~~ AND There's This from the WashPo report: "In response to questions for this report, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement..., 'The Washington Post is blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization, and it must stop.... Please be advised that we are building up a very large "dossier" on the many false David Fahrenthold and others stories as they are a disgrace to journalism and the American people.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Oliver Darcy of CNN: David "Fahrenthold wrote on Twitter that if anyone knows 'anything about a dossier the White House has supposedly compiled' on him, to let him know or provide him a copy. Fahrenthold won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for 'casting doubt' on Trump's 'generosity toward charities' in his coverage. He has also reported on Trump's businesses. Last summer, The New York Times reported that allies of the White House had compiled dossiers on hundreds of people who work for top news organizations. The White House's boasting of building a dossier on Fahrenthold and other journalists is jarring, but perhaps not surprising from an administration that has branded the press as 'the enemy of the people.' Trump and his allies have for years aimed to discredit journalists and news organizations, often through the use of lies and dishonest rhetoric." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Jarring? Compiling dossiers on reporters & warning them off negative stories about a "leader" & his cohort are exactly what repressive dictators & their henchmen do in repressive, non-democratic regimes. I don't of an American president* who has done so and admitted to it. Richard Nixon, infamously, did have an "enemies list" (or two) that included journalists, the purpose of which was to "screw" the "enemies" with tax audits & other means. But Nixon didn't kept his tactics secret. John Dean revealed it to the Senate Watergate Committee during hearings, & journalist Daniel Schorr -- who made the list -- obtained a copy of the original list "and read names from the list live on CBS television on this day." (Schorr didn't realize he was included until he read it on TV.)

Gangsta Rap. David Corn of Mother Jones: "On December 10, 2015, Donald Trump took time off from campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination to spend hours sitting for a videotaped deposition in a lawsuit alleging that he and Trump University had defrauded people who had plunked down thousands of dollars to learn the secrets of his financial success as a developer. During a break in the proceedings, the camera continued to roll. And Trump and his attorney, Daniel Petrocelli ... were captured discussing the case. In this 13-minute hot-mic video ... Trump boasted about how his company threatened the Better Business Bureau to change the D rating it had assigned Trump University to an A. He complained about the federal judge overseeing the suit, Gonzalo Curiel, elliptically talking about how to challenge him and referring to 'the Spanish thing.' Trump also griped that he had been sued personally in this case, and Petrocelli had to explain to Trump that he, not just Trump University itself, was in the legal crosshairs because Trump had been accused of making false statements to promote the venture. And Petrocelli pointed out that the case was not a lock for Trump because some of Trump's 'guys' had been 'sloppy.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

How Did Such a Dummy Get into Penn? Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "A professor at the University of Pennsylvania has renewed a request to investigate how President Trump was admitted to the school in 1966, citing what he called 'new evidence' on secretly recorded tapes in which Trump's sister says a friend took his entrance exam. The professor, Eric W. Orts, is one of six faculty members who asked Penn's provost earlier this summer to launch an investigation into how Trump transferred into the school. He noted that the president's niece, Mary Trump, wrote in her book published in July that the president paid someone to take his SATs. The provost, Wendell E. Pritchett, replied to Orts on July 20 that 'we certainly share your concerns about these allegations.... However..., we have determined that this situation occurred too far in the past to make a useful or probative factual inquiry possible. If new evidence surfaces to substantiate the claim in the future, we will continue to be open to investigating it.'... The Washington Post on Saturday published a story that included audio of conversations Mary Trump recorded in 2018 and 2019 with Maryanne Trump Barry, the president's sister. [Barry] said Donald Trump '... got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.'"

Keith Alexander of the Washington Post: "A man, who officials said had announced he was armed before he was shot by a Secret Service officer earlier in the month near the White House, was apparently holding a comb, according to new court documents. Myron Berryman, 51, was charged with one count of assault on a police officer in the incident and has been hospitalized since the Aug. 10 shooting. Berryman's first hearing on the misdemeanor charge was held Thursday afternoon in D.C. Superior Court. His lawyer said he has been moved to a psychiatric hospital. According to initial charging documents and Secret Service officials, Berryman walked up to the uniformed officer and said he was armed. Charging papers say Berryman reached along the right side of his body as if to retrieve an object, clasped his hands together and pointed his arms toward the officer. The officer then shot Berryman once in the torso. No weapon was found."

Brandon Ambrosino of Politico: "A former Liberty University student says Becki Falwell, the wife of the university's then-President Jerry Falwell Jr., jumped into bed with him and performed oral sex on him while he stayed over at the Falwell home after a band practice with her eldest son in 2008. The student was 22 at the time of the encounter, near the start of Liberty's fall semester. He said she initiated the act, and he went along with it. But despite his rejection of further advances, he said, Falwell continued pursuing him, offering him gifts and engaging in banter through Facebook messages.... The messages, screenshots of which were provided by the former student to Politico, suggest a flirtatious relationship that went beyond what might be expected of a mother communicating with her son's bandmate."

Way Beyond the Beltway

** Motoko Rich of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan will resign because of ill health, he said on Friday, just four days after he exceeded the record for the longest consecutive run as leader in Japanese history. Mr. Abe, 65, had been prime minister for nearly eight years, a significant feat in a country accustomed to high turnover in the top job." An AP story is here.

News Lede

New York Times: "In a region so accustomed to epic hurricanes that residents recall them by name, Laura was one of the strongest on record to hit the U.S. mainland. It continued to carve a path of destruction and fear as it chugged north through Arkansas as a tropical depression on Thursday night, and was responsible for at least six deaths in Louisiana -- most of them caused by trees falling on homes."