Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Tuesday June 1, 2021
1.) THE DAILY SIGNAL
June 1 2021
Good morning from Washington, where the White House insists the situation at the southern border isn’t so bad. But one border sheriff argues that only drug cartels benefit, as Rachel del Guidice shows in a video report. More and more states target critical race theory, Fred Lucas reports. On the podcast, a freelance journalist throws light on rampant media bias. Plus: Tim Murtaugh on reporters’ new interest in the origin of COVID-19; Kevin Mooney on expanding school choice in Pennsylvania; and Robert Wilkie on the left’s campaign to squelch Lincoln’s immortal words. On this date in 1990, President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev agree to end production of chemical weapons and begin destroying reserves.
For the cartels, “It’s all about the dollar bill and how they can exploit Americans for addictions, how they can get into our communities and erode them and families,” says Sheriff Mark Dannels.
So far this year, Arkansas, Idaho, and Oklahoma have enacted laws to prevent teaching or promoting critical race theory in schools. At least 11 other states have legislation pending.
Drew Holden discusses just how bad media malfeasance is, what the resulting misinformation means for society, and how conservatives can reclaim a place in the media ecosystem.
Low-income families in Pennsylvania’s lowest-performing school districts could gain access to tuition assistance for private schools as part of a reform package.
One of former President Trump’s special powers is his ability to make the entire corporate media act in concert to bring embarrassment upon themselves.
Lincoln’s words are emblazoned on VA’s headquarters building and its hospital walls. Sadly, legislation is moving through the House to put Lincoln’s words on the chopping block.
Americans have a long and proud history of private gunsmithing. We’ve always been tinkering with our guns in our garages. Why are homemade guns suddenly an issue?
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3.) DAYBREAK
Your First Look at Today’s Top Stories – Daybreak Insider
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Science is trumped by feelings (The Hill). Meanwhile, on Sunday, the United States reported just 115 deaths and a little over 5000 new cases (Worldometers). Neither category has been that low since the pandemic began.
2.
Courts Stop Biden Administration from Using Race to Determine Federal Benefits
From the story: At issue is the SBA requirement that only applications for restaurant relief from women and racial minorities will be processed in the first 21 days, sending everyone else to the back of the line. As the courts recognized, the danger is that the SBA will run out of funds before these other applications can be considered.
Shrier: Equality Act Would Take Harmful California Policy Nationwide
She looks at the way men in prisons can now declare they are female and get transferred to an all-female prison. From one female inmate: “…you’re locked in this room, 24/7, with a man and there’s nothing you can do about it. If you tell the police you don’t want to live with a man, or you’re afraid or whatever, you’ll get a disciplinary infraction. So you’re basically punished for being scared.”
Many have wondered why the authorities act as if this isn’t the case. From the story: The first study, published Monday in the journal Nature, found most people who were infected with the virus about a year earlier had immunological memory of the disease in their bone marrow, suggesting they’re still able to produce antibodies. And another report, which was published on the pre-print server BioRxic, found that these cells — called “memory B” — were robust for at least 12 months after infection.
Female Weightlifter Speaks Out Against Man Competing as Woman in Olympics
From the story: Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen is the first rival to speak out against Hubbard’s potential participation in the Games. Vanbellinghen said she supports the transgender community but raised questions whether Hubbard, who competes in the same over-87-kilogram division as Vanbellinghen, should compete. “Anyone that has trained weightlifting at a high level knows this to be true in their bones: this particular situation is unfair to the sport and to the athletes,” Vanbellinghen told Olympics news website Inside The Games.
From the story: As of Sunday, apparel including an $8.99 black polyester “Blue Lives Murder” face mask and T-shirts and hoodies featuring with the cop-hating slogan — as well as the message “Blue Lives Aren’t Real” — could readily be found for sale on Amazon (New York Post). As of this posting, Amazon still offered the anti-police apparel (Amazon).
7.
UNICEF: Porn Isn’t So Bad for Children
According to the story, UNICEF also claims “keeping children from accessing pornography is a violation of their human rights” (RedState). From page 36 of their report: There are several different kinds of risks and harms that have been linked to children’s exposure to pornography, but there is no consensus on the degree to which pornography is harmful to children (C-Fam). It appears UNICEF pulled the original report and replaced it with a slightly modified version (New Daily Compass).
8.
Black Lives Matter Founder of St. Paul Chapter Turns on Organization
A big believer in school choice, Rashad Turner explained “after a year on the inside, I learned they had little concern for rebuilding Black families, and they cared even less about improving the quality of education for students in Minneapolis.”
Kamala Harris Tries Gender Inclusive Green Humor at Naval Academy, Bombs
From the story: Addressing the next generation of America’s warriors, the vice president cracked a quip about how they’d just love all that green investment she and Joe Biden are planning: “Just ask any Marine today, would she rather carry 20 pounds of batteries or a rolled-up solar panel, and I am positive she will tell you a solar panel—and so would he.” Ms. Harris’s attempt at gender-inclusive, environment-friendly comedy elicited an appreciative and raucous peal of laughter—but only from her. The rest of the audience looked like they wanted to crawl under the nearest solar panel.
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Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 6.1.21
Here’s your morning briefing of what you need to know in Florida politics.
Nikki Fried’s official entry into the 2022 Governor’s race will come as no surprise. Some might say she has been running for that job since the day she took over as Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner.
But can she win?
Well, sure. This is politics, and anything can happen. Besides, why would she take on something as grueling as a campaign against a popular governor if she believed otherwise?
That said, she enters this race facing long odds, starting with what could be a tough campaign against Charlie Crist in the Democratic primary. This isn’t Crist’s first rodeo, you know, and no one is smoother on the campaign trail than genial Charlie.
Also, a St. Pete Polls survey gave Crist a decisive edge over Fried: 55%-22% among likely Democratic voters. The main takeaway from that poll is that Democrats, by a wide margin, don’t believe she can beat Ron DeSantis.
That said, Fried shows the ability to energize supporters in a way Crist does not. Plus, she won’t carry the label of “same ol’, same ol'” in a way that Crist 3.0 might. People know Charlie, which can be equal parts blessing and curse.
It could be said that Nikki Fried has been running for Governor since becoming Agriculture Commissioner. Image via Twitter.
It’s no small feat, either, that Fried is the first Democrat since Alex Sink in 2006 to win a statewide race in Florida. Let’s not forget that.
In the 2018 election, Fried ran a focused, disciplined campaign. The Agriculture Commissioner oversees background checks for people who want to purchase guns. Fried smartly hammered home the breach in that area under former Commissioner Adam Putnam.
That was key, especially considering that the awful memory of the Parkland massacre was still fresh in people’s minds.
Fried also championed medical marijuana, which played well with farmers.
However, supporters of DeSantis might actually celebrate her campaign for two reasons.
First, they don’t believe any Democrat can derail the DeSantis juggernaut. He’ll have more money in the bank than he can spend and unlimited free media on Fox. And, in their minds, he has a great story to tell — despite what Fried will say.
And second, Fried’s candidacy could help Republicans retake the Agriculture Commissioner’s post. It’s tough to tell what they would like more — winning that Cabinet position, or ridding themselves of Fried. She has been a consistent thorn to DeSantis since she landed in Tallahassee.
Fried is a relentless critic of DeSantis on just about everything. He responded by essentially freezing her out, especially after she took him on over his COVID-19 response.
As the state’s highest-ranking Democrat, Fried’s words carried her to this moment. People paid attention to her jabs, which annoyed DeSantis. She even made Crist sharpen his attacks on the Governor, which is not something Charlie does naturally.
It’s one thing to be an outspoken voice of opposition, though, but quite another to win the Governor’s chair. To that end, Fried has some cards to play.
She got a break when Val Demings decided to run for Marco Rubio’s U.S. Senate seat. That race has the potential to galvanize Democrats in a way few things have, and Fried could benefit from that.
Demings and Fried should join at the hip throughout the campaign. Together, they can drive minority turnout by reminding those voters of the new restrictive DeSantis-backed voting bill. A large turnout would be great news for both Demings and Fried.
And despite DeSantis’ increasing popularity and national profile, he has some vulnerability.
His victory lap on COVID-19 never mentions that nearly 37,000 Floridians died because of the virus.
DeSantis also wielded a heavy hand against local community regulations on the pandemic. The state’s unemployment system melted down during the crisis, leaving thousands of displaced workers in the lurch.
Another potential line of attack on DeSantis is whether he intends to be a four-year Governor if elected to a second term. That 2024 presidential lure might be impossible to resist.
Meanwhile, Fried can go into some of the deepest red rural counties in Florida and maybe find some support there from farmers. Those are the counties where Republicans win statewide elections, often by razor-thin margins. Chipping away at support there could make a difference.
Yeah, it’s a long shot.
Then again, so was the idea that Fried could win a statewide race in the first place.
Situational awareness
Tweet, tweet:
—@SenSanders: Let’s be clear. If 10 Republican Senators cannot even vote for a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection, 10 Republican Senators will not vote for anything meaningful to improve the lives of the American people. We must abolish the filibuster & act now.
Tweet, tweet:
—@ChuckGrassley: There is history on history channel. WWII. Finally
—@RedSteeze: Facebook is also not allowing dissenting views opposed to anything the CDC or United States government is stating. That’s a huge problem no one is addressing. The CDC has been backtracking and getting things wrong since last year.
—@Craig_A_Spencer: Just leaving a long day in the ER. Today marks 4 shifts in a row without a single COVID case. It’s much better like this.
—@AGGancarski: I don’t know if I’ve seen “excited” in the context of a judicial appointment press release before.
Days until
Florida TaxWatch Spring Meeting and PLA Awards — 1; ‘Loki’ premieres on Disney+ — 8; Father’s Day — 19; F9 premieres in the U.S. — 24; ‘Tax Freedom Holiday’ begins — 30; Fourth of July — 33; ‘Black Widow’ rescheduled premiere — 38; MLB All-Star Game — 42; new start date for 2021 Olympics — 52; second season of ‘Ted Lasso’ premieres on Apple+ — 56; the NBA Draft — 62; ‘Jungle Cruise’ premieres — 64; ‘The Suicide Squad’ premieres — 70; St. Petersburg Primary Election — 84; Disney’s ‘Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings’ premieres — 94; NFL regular season begins — 100; Broadway’s full-capacity reopening — 105; 2022 Legislative Session interim committee meetings begin — 111; ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ premieres (rescheduled) — 115; ‘Dune’ premieres — 122; MLB regular season ends — 124; ‘No Time to Die’ premieres (rescheduled) — 129; World Series Game 1 — 147; Florida’s 20th Congressional District primary — 154; St. Petersburg Municipal Elections — 154; Disney’s ‘Eternals’ premieres — 157; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ rescheduled premiere — 171; San Diego Comic-Con begins — 178; Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ premieres — 192; ‘Spider-Man Far From Home’ sequel premieres — 199; NFL season ends — 222; 2022 Legislative Session starts — 224; Florida’s 20th Congressional District election — 224; NFL playoffs begin — 228; Super Bowl LVI — 257; ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 297; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 339; “Black Panther 2” premieres — 402; ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 493; “Captain Marvel 2” premieres — 528.
Top story
“As pandemic wanes, Ron DeSantis seizes national stage” via The Associated Press — Now that the pandemic appears to be waning and DeSantis is heading into his reelection campaign, he has emerged from the political uncertainty as one of the most prominent Republican Governors and an early White House front-runner in 2024 among Donald Trump’s acolytes. He has remained defiant in the face of continued attacks on his hard-line opposition to mask mandates and lockdowns. “Hold the line. Don’t back down,” he told a party fundraiser in Pittsburgh. “And in the state of Florida, with me as Governor, I have only begun to fight.” Toppling DeSantis will be “a tall order,” said Ryan Tyson, a Republican pollster. “The Democrats fail to understand that the state of Florida is changing under their very noses.”
Ron DeSantis is raising his post-pandemic national profile. Image via Twitter.
Statewide
“DeSantis takes on how racial history is taught in Florida schools” via John Kennedy of the Tallahassee Democrat — DeSantis is poised to declare victory on another front in what critics call a culture war, with his administration expected to approve new limits on how racial history is taught in Florida schools. The Republican governor has spent weeks ridiculing “critical race theory,” which examines the role race has played in shaping American history and modern society. Now, a rule going before the Florida Board of Education on June 10 is intended to endorse DeSantis’ view that teachers should not be “indoctrinating kids with fad-ish ideologies.” Sounding alarms about critical race theory has emerged as a key talking point nationwide for Republican candidates courting culturally conservative voters.
“Florida lawmakers call for firings, prison reform in the wake of leaked beating video” via Ben Conarck of the Miami Herald — Sens. Jason Pizzo and Shevrin Jones joined Rep. Dianne Hart on Friday in calling for meaningful prison reform after footage leaked from a facility north of Fort Myers revealed the beating of a handcuffed inmate by five officers clad in tactical gear. The calls came after a special report was published on the handling of Michel Hernandez, who was restrained with handcuffs cinched to his stomach with a chain, known as a “black box,” as well as leg shackles, when he was beaten multiple times. Although the use of force was deemed appropriate by the Florida Department of Corrections, other use-of-force experts and former Florida prison officials concluded that the officers used excessive force and inaccurately described what precipitated the clash.
“Florida drivers can start using hazard lights in rain July 1” via Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times — Beginning July 1, unless DeSantis vetoes the measure, Florida drivers will be allowed to use hazard lights on roads with speed limits at or above 55 mph when the conditions create “extremely low visibility.” For years, the Florida Highway Patrol has warned motorists that using hazard lights while driving is confusing, that troopers look for the flashing lights to see if a driver needs help, and that hazard lights can override the car’s turn signals, making it dangerous to change lanes. The lights were only supposed to be used when stopped on the side of the road or during a funeral procession. But Florida’s law was an outlier. Just 10 states prohibit using hazard lights while driving, according to AAA.
“‘She was gone, instantly’: Florida hurricane victims recall dangers” via Joe Mario Pedersen of the Orlando Sentinel — Since 1991, 464 Floridians have been either killed directly or indirectly by tropical-storm-related activity. Research by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found the most dangerous weapon of a hurricane is water. The major player responsible for those deaths was storm surge, which accounted for 49% of hurricane-related deaths nationally. NOAA’s analysis also found that more than half of deaths associated with water were vehicle-related. While those numbers are lower in Florida, at least 54 cases directly associated with drowning are listed as the probable cause of death in the last 30 years, making it one of the chief reasons people die during or after a storm in the state.
Happening today — The Atlantic hurricane season begins. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a 60% chance of 13 to 20 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), with six to 10 reaching hurricane strength (winds of 74 mph or higher) and three to five considered major hurricanes (winds of 111 mph or higher).
Assignment editors — Sen. Rick Scott marks the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season with a tour of the National Hurricane Center in Miami with Director Ken Graham followed by a media availability, 2:40 p.m. Eastern time, 11691 S.W. 17th St., Miami. RSVP to press@rickscott.senate.gov for more details.
Corona Florida
“Battle for the seas: Cruise lines prepare to sail, but clash with DeSantis looms” via Ron Hurtibise of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — The restart of cruising in Florida could have been smooth sailing. Instead, uncertainty reigns, thanks to DeSantis’ decision to file a lawsuit challenging the CDC’s authority to dictate how and whether cruise ships can operate in the state. The two sides have been ordered into mediation, but legal experts say the dispute could linger long past the summer. Fort Lauderdale could become a flashpoint in the conflict as early as next month. Just one cruise line, Celebrity Cruises, has announced that it’s been approved by the CDC to depart Port Everglades in June. The ship would be the first to sail from the Broward County port since March 2020.
Cruising from Florida should be smooth sailing, but Ron DeSantis is making the water rough. Image via Twitter.
“Former health department employee Rebekah Jones granted official whistleblower status” via Sarah Blaskey of the Miami Herald — Jones is officially a whistleblower under Florida law, the Office of the Inspector General told her attorneys Friday. A letter from Inspector General Michael J. Bennett said Jones’ complaint demonstrates “reasonable cause to suspect that an employee or agent of an agency or independent contractor has violated any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation.” Whistleblower status offers Jones certain protections under Florida law, including the potential for reinstatement or compensation should the ongoing investigation find the department retaliated against Jones for the concerns she raised last year. “It’s pretty huge,” Jones said. “This isn’t vindication, but this is a start. It’s a big push forward.”
Corona local
“South Florida’s sewage will tell us when the pandemic is over” via Cindy Krischer Goodman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — After long, tedious months of monitoring the spread of COVID-19, the best answers may come in our sewage. Researchers say sewage monitoring could become the primary tool Florida uses to gauge whether COVID-19 vaccines are working and the pandemic is under control, or whether vaccine-resistant variants are emerging and a booster is needed. Counties like Miami-Dade and Broward now test wastewater weekly. People excrete the coronavirus in their feces and urine before showing symptoms, so wastewater acts as an early warning for potential outbreaks, said Helena Solo-Gabriele, professor of environmental engineering and associate dean of research for the College of Engineering at the University of Miami. Wastewater monitoring could become the only way to catch emerging, aggressive COVID-19 strains before they spread.
When will the pandemic end in Florida? One clue is in sewage.
“Police officer’s battle with virus prompts others to get vaccine” via Jane Musgrave of The Palm Beach Post — As an avid runner in good health, 37-year-old Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Cory Gray saw no reason to get a coronavirus vaccine. “What could possibly happen if I get COVID-19?” Gray asked himself. The answer was always the same: Nothing. Then, he read a letter from a fellow officer who has been in Wellington Regional Medical Center for three weeks, struggling to breathe as doctors try desperately to save his life. The excruciatingly detailed account of what happens when the virus finds its way into the lungs gave Gray a starkly different answer to the question he’d been asking himself. “The alternative is death,” Gray said. To even his wife’s surprise, he drove to a CVS and got a shot. That was the hope of the officer who wrote the letter, describing how a small cough rapidly developed into a hellish battle to survive.
Corona nation
“U.S. COVID-19 cases near pandemic low as travel picks up for Memorial Day weekend” via Nicolas Vega of CNBC — The 11,976 new cases reported on May 29 were the lowest since March 23, 2020, when 11,238 new cases were reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The seven-day average of 21,007 is the lowest since March 31 of last year, when it was 19,363. Friday also saw the TSA report the highest number of travelers since the pandemic began, with more than 1.9 million people taking to the skies for the long weekend. At the same point last year, the TSA counted just 327,000 passengers at its checkpoints. The CDC recently said fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most settings, though masks are still required on airplanes, buses, trains and public transportation.
Memorial Day travel brings a sense of normalcy back to the U.S. Image via AP.
“Mobile vaccination units hit tiny U.S. towns to boost immunity” via Scott Sonner and Sam Metz of The Associated Press — In tiny towns, churches, ballparks, strip clubs and even marijuana dispensaries, officials are setting up shop and offering incentives to entice people as the nation struggles to reach herd immunity. In Nevada, health officials acknowledge they’re unlikely to hit their initial goal of vaccinating 75% of the population believed necessary to reach herd immunity. Ironically, their push in northern Nevada is headquartered at the Reno Livestock Events Center. Officials acknowledge persuading the vaccine-hesitant to get shots won’t get easier. As a result, officials have been preparing similar pop-up events in urban centers, suburban neighborhoods and unconventional venues ranging from a Las Vegas strip club to a Sparks truck stop along an interstate that runs to Utah.
Corona economics
“Paycheck Protection Program closes to new applications” via Amara Omeokwe of The Wall Street Journal — The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program closed to new applications Friday as funding was on track to be exhausted. That marked the end of a $961 billion emergency effort that helped millions of small businesses survive the pandemic but was dogged by fraud claims and criticism that it didn’t reach the neediest businesses. The program had been scheduled to end on May 31, but the Small Business Administration said in a notice to lenders that “due to the high volume of originations today, the portal will be closing for new originations” that evening. As of May 23, the SBA had approved 11.6 million PPP loans totaling roughly $796 billion across the program’s first round, from April to August last year, and its second round, which began in January.
More corona
“COVID-19: Wuhan lab leak is ‘feasible,’ say British spies” via Larisa Brown of The Times — British intelligence agencies now believe it is “feasible” that the pandemic began with a coronavirus leak from a Chinese research laboratory. In a significant sharpening of tension with Beijing, they are investigating a possible leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which Beijing angrily insists was not the source of the virus that has caused more than 3.5 million deaths and is still raging globally. They do so as controversy grows about the alleged silencing of scientists who wanted an investigation of the lab-leak theory.
The British are giving traction to the idea COVID-19 began in a Wuhan lab. Image via AP.
Presidential
“Joe Biden leads predecessors in nominations, lags behind in confirmations” via Ken Thomas of The Wall Street Journal — President Biden has nominated agency heads and leadership throughout the federal government at a faster clip than his recent predecessors. But a large portion of the President’s choices await Senate confirmation. More than four months into his presidency, Biden has made 244 cumulative nominations to Senate-confirmed positions, more than double the number made by President Trump at this stage of the administration. But while Biden’s cabinet nominees were confirmed relatively quickly, he trails those three in overall Senate confirmations at this point of his presidency, clearing 53 of his nominees so far. Biden’s nominations also had to compete with an impeachment trial and the passage of a new round of spending on the coronavirus during the beginning of the year.
Joe Biden nominates at a record pace, but confirmations have slowed. Image via The Wall Street Journal.
“‘Assault on democracy’: Biden torches Texas voting bill” via Ben Leonard of POLITICO — Biden on Saturday laid into a Texas bill adding new voting restrictions, calling it “wrong and un-American.” “It’s part of an assault on democracy that we’ve seen far too often this year — and often disproportionately targeting Black and Brown Americans,” Biden said in a statement. The proposed legislation, which passed Texas’ House earlier this month, would restrict Sunday voting, when many Black worshippers vote, bar drive-thru voting and 24-hour voting locations, and give more access to partisan poll watchers, among other things. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to pass the legislation, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will sign it.
“Biden aims to rebuild and expand legal immigration” via Michael D. Shear and Zolan Kanno-Youngs of The New York Times — If Biden gets his way, it will soon be far easier to immigrate to the United States. There will be shorter, simpler forms and applicants will have to jump through fewer security hoops. Foreigners will have better opportunities to join their families and more chances to secure work visas. A draft blueprint maps out the Biden administration’s plans to significantly expand the legal immigration system, including methodically reversing the efforts to dismantle it by Trump, who reduced the flow of foreign workers, families and refugees. In almost every case over the last four years, immigrating to the United States has become harder, more expensive, and longer.
“Biden is getting a big bounce with Hispanics” via Harry Enten of CNN — Hispanic voters were one of Biden’s biggest weaknesses in the 2020 election. Although sources differ on his exact margin, Biden’s advantage with Hispanics was the worst for a Democratic presidential nominee since 2004, even as he had the strongest performance overall for a Democrat since 2008. Biden’s approval rating with Hispanics stands at 72% compared to a 55% overall approval rating. Even controlling for a higher approval rating overall, Biden has had a disproportionate rise in support from Hispanics. He’s now doing 17 points better with Hispanics than overall, while he was doing 10 to 14 points better with them in the 2020 election.
Joe Biden’s stock is rising among Hispanics. Image via AP.
“For Biden, the White House is ‘a Monday-through-Friday kind of place’” via Kate Bennett of CNN — In all, Biden took more than 8,000 of Amtrak roundtrips to Wilmington during his 36 years in the Senate and, though less frequently, his eight years as Vice President, no small feat for a busy politician. Since taking office four months ago, the President has spent more weekends away from the White House than he has stayed there, almost three times as many. Counting this Memorial Day weekend, Biden has been in Wilmington nine weekends and passed five weekends at the presidential retreat, Camp David, in rural Maryland. Biden’s instinct is to get away from the White House for a weekly breather. One person said it’s the escapism aspect of getting away from “the office” that drives him to seek another location.
Happening today — Americans for Prosperity-Florida will hold a media event to criticize Biden’s infrastructure spending proposal, featuring AFP President Tim Phillips, 6:30 p.m., Naples Hilton, 5111 Tamiami Trail North, Naples.
Epilogue: Trump
“Polls find most Republicans say 2020 election was stolen and roughly one-quarter embrace QAnon conspiracies” via Ariel Edwards-Levy of CNN — Most Americans reject QAnon-linked conspiracy theories and believe that Trump lost legitimately in 2020, a set of new polling finds. But a substantial minority within the Republican party endorses some of those theories, and most continue to baselessly question the outcome of last year’s election. About one-quarter of Republicans, 23%, agree with a set of conspiratorial beliefs linked to the QAnon movement. Among the full American public, 14% mostly or completely agree with all those statements, with a broad majority saying they disagree.
A majority of Republicans believe the 2020 election was stolen. Image via AP.
“Shadow primary: GOP 2024 hopefuls dive into House races to get around Donald Trump” via Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO — Sen. Tom Cotton is heading to Iowa this summer, but he won’t be campaigning for himself, at least not officially. Cotton is part of a growing list of potential Republican presidential hopefuls diving headfirst into the battle for the House majority in 2022. By throwing themselves into House races, potential candidates are currying goodwill with lawmakers and activists, testing out campaign themes and introducing themselves to voters around the country who will eventually determine the party’s next presidential nominee. It’s a way to put themselves out there without poking the eye of former President Trump, who has made clear that he’s interested in a comeback bid.
Crisis
“Four more indicted in alleged Jan. 6 Oath Keepers conspiracy to obstruct election vote in Congress” via Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post — Joseph Hackett, Jason Dolan, and William Isaacs each face multiple counts in an indictment handed up Wednesday and unsealed Sunday in Washington. The three appeared Thursday before U.S. magistrates in Tampa, West Palm Beach and Orlando. The name of a fourth defendant not known to be in custody was redacted. Attorneys for Dolan and Isaacs did not respond Sunday to requests for comment. No attorney for Hackett was listed. Hackett, a chiropractor who attended previous Oath Keepers events and a Florida firearms training school, was in federal custody as of Friday evening, online records show. Isaacs was released. The detention status of Dolan was unclear.
More Oath Keepers are indicted in the Jan. 6 riots. Image via Reuters.
“Tampa man to take plea deal in Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol” via Natalie Weber of the Tampa Bay Times — Paul Allard Hodgkins is set to appear before U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in a virtual plea hearing that will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to court records. Hodgkins is one of more than 400 defendants from across the country who have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot and are being tried in the District of Columbia. Prosecutors have reportedly started offering plea deals to rioters. Tampa defense attorney Patrick Leduc, representing Hodgkins, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office offered his client the chance to plead guilty to one charge and dismiss the other four. However, the attorney did not say what the sentencing range was.
D.C. matters
“Val Demings working with Texas Republicans on reentry training, reducing recidivism” via Kevin Derby of Florida Daily — Demings and U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls brought out the “Second Chance Opportunity for Re-Entry Education (SCORE) Act.” The bill “will establish a new grant program to promote reentry training and reduce recidivism among nonviolent inmates.” Demings served more than 25 years in law enforcement, rising to serve as Orlando’s police chief. Nehls served in law enforcement for three decades, including as sheriff of Fort Bend County. The bill would have the U.S. Department of Justice create a “new grant program for eligible county jails to establish career and technical training programs, focused on technical trades, such as welding, HVAC, plumbing, and other career training, to assist individuals with reentry.”
Val Demings reaches across the aisle to reduce recidivism.
“Frustrated mayors call on Rep. Brian Mast to stop ‘antagonistic rhetoric’ on Lake O algae crisis” via Denise Sawyer of CBS 12 — A letter signed by the mayors of the lakeside cities of Okeechobee, Moore Haven, Clewiston, South Bay, Belle Glade, and Pahokee was emailed to Congressman Mast, asking Mast to not “politicize” the Lake Okeechobee algae issue for the sake of a “photo op,” rather than meeting with mayoral leaders of the cities surrounding the Lake to bring about tangible change. The mayors believe this is a critical time in the algae crisis to strike a fair balance among the stakeholders instead of striking a nerve with “antagonistic rhetoric.” But it seems that Mast’s public attacks on Lake Okeechobee’s management have led to some change. He’s recently introduced legislation to clean up Lake O’s water and alert people of possible health hazards.
Local notes
“Police release video of gunmen, vehicle at scene of Miami-Dade rap concert mass shooting” via Michelle Marchante of the Miami Herald — Miami-Dade police on Monday released new surveillance video of the weekend mass shooting that killed two people and injured 21 others outside of a rap concert in Northwest Miami-Dade. The video shows the three gunmen in ski masks and hoodies getting out of a white Nissan Pathfinder, which police say was stolen several weeks ago. They run out of the camera’s view, toward the El Mula Banquet Hall, near the Country Club of Miami. The stolen SUV was found Monday afternoon submerged in a canal in the area of Northwest 154th Street and Second Avenue. Police are still trying to find the shooters.
Tweet, tweet:
“‘The Profit’ host Marcus Lemonis offering $100,000 for help in rap concert shooting” via Asta Hemenway of the Miami Herald — Lemonis, millionaire and CEO of retail company Camping World, is offering $100,000 to anyone who helps Miami-Dade county police arrest and convict the suspect or suspects in a Sunday mass shooting outside a rap concert. Lemonis, known for his show “The Profit,” announced the reward on Twitter Sunday. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava thanked him and wrote in a tweet, “I know with your help and great generosity we can bring these killers to justice.” In another tweet, Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez wrote that he is “grateful for this contribution.” He added, “this is our community; we are stronger together. We need our county to step up with information.”
“There’s a plan coming to stem gunfire in Miami-Dade County. What can government do?” via Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald — In Miami-Dade County, elected leaders plan to spend millions of dollars this summer targeting another new normal: a relentless stream of shootings that accelerated over Memorial Day weekend as multiple people opened fire outside a nightclub in the Northwest area of the county. Two people died, and at least 20 others were wounded. The fatal violence punctuated a year of increasing alarm over a rise in shootings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Homicides were up 16% in 2020, with almost 25% of the victims under 21, according to a county summary from early May. “If we want to slow down the shootings over the summer, we are going to have to do the hard work,” County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert said about how to spend $10 million over the next two years to reduce gun violence.
“Thousands will descend on Miami for the world’s largest crypto conference. Is the hype real?” via Rob Wile of the Miami Herald — Thanks to a confluence of the calendar, COVID-19 and Miami’s soaring reputation as a tech hub, organizers are expecting as many as 50,000 to descend on the county for Bitcoin 2021. Headliners include Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, legendary pro skater Tony Hawk and a cavalcade of crypto gurus. Kicking off Thursday, the event is already sold out. For Miami, the conference may also signal its emergence as a center for crypto and blockchain technology. Miami has experienced faster growth in its tech workforce in the past year than any other major metro. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has also been at the forefront of pushing Miami as a crypto hub, announcing initiatives to turn some parts of the city’s finances over to Bitcoin.
“‘What a difference a year makes’: Tourism making major comeback in Naples and Collier County” via Laura Layden of the Naples Daily News — The Naples area, or Collier County, saw an “amazing April,” with every metric used to track tourism up from a year ago, by a startling percentage. That’s according to Anne Wittine, the director of data analysis for Research Data Services, the county’s tourism consultant. “What a difference a year makes,” Wittine said before drilling down into the telling numbers in a monthly report for April. Based on overnight stays in paid lodging, the report points to a strong recovery from the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry last year. To that, Collier County Commissioner Andy Solis, chairman of the Tourist Development Council, said simply: “It’s good to hear.”
Andy Solis is cheering the return of tourism to Collier County.
“Federal lawsuit means no answers soon on how Brevard County elections will change” via Eric Rogers of Florida Today — Questions over how Florida’s new election law could impact a federal lawsuit has stymied Brevard County voters. A contentious new Republican-written law is already facing a slew of lawsuits from critics, who argue it would only further disenfranchise minority and low-income voters, those with disabilities and the elderly. The suits have embroiled local elections officials around the state and, in some cases, are having a chilling effect on the specifics about how local residents can expect voting procedures in their areas would change in the coming election. Local Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott and 66 other county supervisors of elections, have been named co-defendants in a pending federal suit.
“Melbourne airport changes name after settling fight with Orlando airport” via Monivette Cordeiro of the Orlando Sentinel — The Orlando Melbourne International Airport changed its name Friday, settling a yearslong fight with the larger Orlando International Airport over using the term “Orlando” in its branding. It will now be known as the Melbourne Orlando International Airport after a resolution between its operator, the Melbourne Airport Authority, and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which governs MCO. “Both airports value regionalism and share a common goal of providing world-class traveler experiences,” said Greg Donovan, executive director of the Melbourne Orlando International Airport. The two airports, which are more than 60 miles apart and in different counties, have been in a legal battle since 2019.
Top opinion
“Beware of ‘expert’ consensus. The COVID-19 lab leak theory shows why.” via Megan McArdle of The Washington Post — People who believe the coronavirus was manufactured in a lab haven’t been allowed to say so on Facebook since February until Wednesday, that is, when Facebook announced it was lifting the ban. Presumably, this has something to do with the wavering elite consensus on lab leaks. This consensus was never as monolithic as proponents claimed, nor as stifling as opponents now aver. The illusion of near-infallibility among experts promised certainty at a time when the world had turned out to be much less predictable than we’d thought. And of course, it was an easy way to avoid a nonstop game of whack-a-mole with the amazing series of false memes and “facts” that some conservative skeptics, including Trump, kept generating.
Opinions
“Time to give up on Marco Rubio, who will never do the right thing if there’s any risk” via the Orlando Sentinel editorial board — Rubio declared on Twitter he’s a no vote on creating a commission to get to the bottom of the Jan. 6 insurrection. We always hold out hope Rubio will do the right thing, and he almost always disappoints. Rubio is afraid an honest inquiry would make his party look worse than it already does ahead of the midterm elections. Even more terrifying to him is the prospect of getting primaried if he stands up to the party. Just look at all the Trump family members flocking to Florida. It’s time to surrender any hope that Rubio will ever do the right thing if there’s any risk involved.
“Rebekah Jones’ whistleblower win against DeSantis administration could be a win for all of us” via the Miami Herald editorial board — The DeSantis administration has worked long and hard to discredit Jones, fired last year from her job as a data analyst after she accused state health officials of pressuring her to manipulate certain coronavirus numbers. She has stood her ground for a year, and last week, Florida’s Office of the Inspector General firmed up the earth beneath her feet. Friday, the IG’s office told Jones’ attorneys that she is a whistleblower, officially. This will afford her certain protections, plus the possibility of reinstatement or compensation. The former health department staffer said that she was asked to skew data analysis to better mesh with administration policy and also to screen other statistics from public view.
“Florida’s social media law keeps lying politicians online” via Fred Grimm of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Up-and-comer DeSantis came to South Florida last week to champion the sacred right of politicians to propagate lies on social media. Theoretically, the bill DeSantis signed in a showy ceremony at Florida International University Monday was enacted to protect dishonest Florida politicians who otherwise might face expulsion from Twitter, Facebook or the like. But really, the Stop Social Media Censorship Act was fashioned with one very special liar in mind. The governor’s legislation would bar internet companies from suspending political candidates in the weeks before elections. The DeSantis theatrics were all about pleasing Trump, the all-powerful kingmaker who will choose the next Republican presidential nominee.
“Sickening drive-by shootings in Miami-Dade are not inevitable. It’s our duty to stop them” via the Miami Herald editorial board — All hopes for a relatively quiet Memorial Day weekend in Greater Miami died in a barrage of bullets, starting late Friday night in the Wynwood area. Two people were killed, and six others wounded. Unfortunately, it was not a one-off. It continued at a banquet-hall concert early Sunday morning in Northwest Miami-Dade County. Two more people died, three others are critical, and 17 were wounded. Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez came to the scene to denounce the violence. The suspects have been identified as three gunmen in ski masks and hoodies who ambushed a crowd leaving a rap album Sunday morning, unleashing a barrage of gunfire that left two dead at the scene. The shooters fled in a white Nissan Pathfinder.
“Give Broward voters a say on county mayor, once and for all” via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial board — Broward commissioners will soon decide whether voters should have the option of creating a full-time position of mayor, elected countywide. We recommend that commissioners give the people this modest and long-overdue option. The fact that a majority of Commissioners appear unwilling to give their constituents a chance to chart their political future is sufficient reason why change is needed. Repeatedly over four decades, charter review boards considered a countywide mayor only to reject it each and every time. Let everyone decide how Broward should be led, not a few politicians in the Governmental Center.
On today’s Sunrise
As we noted above, it’s the first day of the 2021 hurricane season. It could get just as nasty as last year, which set all sorts of records in the Atlantic basin.
Also on today’s Sunrise:
— The official prediction from the National Hurricane Center is similar to 2020, with an above-normal number of storms. While we count on the Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service to give us adequate warnings when a storm heads this way, they rely on us to be prepared.
— One good thing about the new season: You can forget about storms named after letters in the Greek alphabet. Turns out there was confusion last year when storms were named Zeta, Eta and Theta.
— Speaking of confusion: There’s uncertainty in the cruise ship industry as they try to get back to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the vast majority of passengers and crew should be vaccinated before they set sail, but DeSantis issued an edict that no one has to show proof of vaccination and convinced the legislature to make that a law. The Governor also filed suit against the CDC to block any requirement for vaccine passports, so DeSantis is hoping they won’t have to fine the cruise lines $5,000 per passenger.
— But even if he loses, DeSantis says he’s not backing down on the fines for cruise ships that ask for proof of vaccination.
— Florida Man Matt Gaetz is at it again. The Panhandle Congressman suggests conservatives who oppose the liberals in Silicon Valley should do something about it … with guns.
— And finally, police are accusing a Florida Man of stealing ventilators that were supposed to be shipped to critical care patients in El Salvador last year.
“Tri-Eagle Sales dedicating portion of each Budweiser sale this summer to fallen soldier nonprofit” via Haley Brown of Florida Politics — North Florida’s Anheuser-Busch distributor wants each Bud for you to help the families of America’s fallen soldiers. This summer, when beer drinkers purchase a Budweiser, Tri-Eagle Sales, the wholesaler servicing 14 counties in North and North Central Florida, will donate a portion of sales to the Folds of Honor program. Folds of Honor is a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen or disabled service members. Tri-Eagle Sales has released a commercial highlighting the company’s veteran employees and retail Folds of Honor badge program. When a former Marine orders a Budweiser, he is given a badge to write down the name of a fallen soldier.
Good morning and welcome to June. That weekend weather was truly abysmal, but at least it allowed us to catch up on the excellent Mare of Easttown. Haven’t watched the finale yet, so plz no spoilers in the replies.
On Monday, China’s government said that couples will be able to have a third child, a decision meant to spark more babies in a country where population growth has hit a wall.
The backstory: Family planning restrictions have existed in China since 1980, when the governmentinstituted a one-child-per-household policy out of fear it wouldn’t have the resources to provide for a swelling population. China relaxed that cap to two children in 2015 but, following the pandemic’s baby bust, it’s realizing it needs to confront this problem more urgently.
There were 12 million births in China in 2020, down 18% annually and the fourth straight year of declines.
Demographers expect the country’s population, currently at 1.4 billion, to peak by 2025.
Why it matters: Declining population growth has profound implications for a country’s economic success. Fewer babies = fewer future workers. And it could upend existing systems of support for the elderly, because younger workers’ taxes subsidize public services for retirees.
This isn’t just a China problem
A “demographic time bomb” alarm is being sounded in dozens of countries.
South Korea’s rate of births per woman fell to 0.84 last year, the lowest in the world. For reference, the “replacement” rate that would keep a population stable is about 2.1.
The US population grew at its slowest rate since the Great Depression from 2010–2020, and its birth rate declined for the sixth straight year last year.
Germany doesn’t have enough people to fill its cities. It’s taken down 330,000 housing units since 2002.
Zoom out: While many parts of the world face stagnant population growth, others are making up for it. Africa’s population is set to double by 2050, helping the world grow from 7.8 billion people today to 11 billion by 2100.
Bottom line: As much as the Chinese government wants to grow the country’s share of the world population, it might be fighting a losing battle. The two-child policy didn’t lead to more babies, and critics say the three-child rule won’t move the needle, either.
This weekend, there’s been more back-and-forth than tennis fans are used to. Naomi Osaka, the highest earning female athlete in the world, dropped out of the French Open yesterday.
The backstory: Osaka announced last week that she wouldn’t be doing any press during the tournament, arguing that press conferences were bad for her and other players’ mental health.
On Sunday, the head honchos of tennis fined her $15k for skipping a post-match news conference, and raised the possibility of suspending her from future Grand Slam tournaments for violating her “contractual media obligations.”
Other athletes said they respected Osaka’s initial decision to avoid the press, but pointed out that answering questions in front of a hot mic is just part of the job. Tennis legend Billie Jean King said that professional athletes have a responsibility to talk to the media.
Zoom out: In her withdrawal announcement yesterday, Osaka said she needed to take some time away from the court. She acknowledged that she has been struggling with depression since winning the 2018 US Open, when she became the center of attention at 20 years old after defeating Serena Williams.
Nestlé, the world’s biggest food company by sales, has decided to eat healthier, and not just because it took a chance on the expired crab dip yesterday.
An internal presentation reported by the FT found that 63% of Nestlé products don’t meet a “recognized definition of health” (in this case, at least 3.5/5 stars on Australia’s health rating system).
The report didn’t count baby formula, coffee, pet food, or medical nutrition, which account for about half of sales. If it had, that figure would be closer to 28%.
Unfortunately for Nestlé’s PR team…these stats are more memorable:
70% of food items, 96% of beverages, and 99% of candy/ice cream products didn’t crack a 3.5.
One pepperoni pizza Hot Pocket contains almost 30% of recommended daily sodium intake.
In response, Nestlé said it’s updating nutrition standards and its health strategy. Execs said they have made improvements in recent years, including reducing sugars and sodium in products by about 15%.
Baby Ruths aren’t going anywhere, though: “Confectionary and chocolate address a deep human need and are going to be here to stay,” CEO Mark Schneider said last year.
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Stat: The all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning with an extended range battery can power your house for three days on a single charge, according to Ford.
Quote: “There was just as much a run on guns as on toilet paper in the beginning of the pandemic.”
Marqueece Harris-Dawson of the LA City Council described the uptick in gun purchases to the NYT in a way we can all relate to. Roughly 20% of all gun buyers in the US last year were first-time owners, and now, 39% of American households own guns, up from 32% in 2016.
Read: On the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, check out our series exploring the Black Wall Street of 2021. (Morning Brew)
Infrastructure: This week will be pivotal for the big infrastructure proposal President Biden has laid out. Republican lawmakers have countered with a smaller package, and the two sides will try to hammer out a compromise this week. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said if there is no clear direction by June 7, Democrats would try to go it alone because the American people “expect us to do something.”
Jobs report: Speaking of the word “pivotal,” the May jobs report comes out this Friday and will be an important indicator for the Fed’s future policy direction. April’s numbers whiffed, but a better reading for May could give the central bank more justification for winding down pandemic-era stimulus measures.
Earnings: Just a handful of companies will report this week, including Zoom and Lululemon.
Everything else:
Pride Month starts today.
Today also marks the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season, which is expected to be “above average” but not as bad as last year’s record-breaking activity.
Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives staged a walkout to block the passage of a restrictive voting bill opposed by many corporations, including American Airlines and Dell.
Legal cannabis sales in the US passed $17.5 billion in 2020, a 46% increase over 2019.
American Airlines and Southwest are delaying offering alcoholic beverages on flights due to an increase in unruly passengers.
Speaking of unruly people, a Boston Celtics fan was arrested after he threw a water bottle at Kyrie Irving’s head, the latest in a string of incidents where fans have targeted NBA players.
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On May 31 and June 1, 1921, white rioters ravaged the wealthy Black neighborhood of Greenwood, a hub of Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurship known as “Black Wall Street,” in Tulsa, Okla. The riot killed hundreds of Black people and left Greenwood reeling. About 10,000 community residents were left homeless.
…
No Black people who survived the massacre or their relatives have been given compensation in return. Insurance companies declined most Black victims’ claims, which were worth more than $27 million in today’s money. The president said that laws and policies made recuperating from the massacre “nearly impossible,” including federal highway construction splitting the community and federal involvement in redlining.
…
Oklahoma has been caught in a culture war over education and race, with a new GOP-backed state law that will ban teachers from teaching subjects that cause anyone to “feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress” because of their race or gender.
Why is China increasing its policy on how many children a family can have?
The policy is a dramatic change for a country which, less than a decade ago, still performed forced abortions and sterilizations of women who had more t…
Full summaries, images, and headlines for subscribers only.
All votes are anonymous. This poll closes at: 9:00 PST
YESTERDAY’S POLLShould drive-through voting sites be banned?
No
60%
Yes
30%
Unsure
10%
422 votes, 63 comments
Context: Texas legislature seeks to ban drive-through voting as part of voting overhaul bill.
HIGHLIGHTED COMMENTS
“No – My husband and I voted in a drive-thru voting site in 2020. Every single security procedure was followed to the letter. Drive-thru polls made it possible for us to vote while disabled and at high risk for covid complications.”
“Yes – Voting isn’t as simple as picking up a burger at McDonalds. It’s a privilege and a responsibility. …”
“Unsure – I don’t know the specifics of voter laws to know how adrive-through option relates…”
“I will veto Article 10 of the budget passed by the legislature. Article 10 funds the legislative branch. No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities. Stay tuned.”
Photographs from Hunter Biden’s laptop appear to show then-Vice President Biden and his son dining with a number of business folks. The NY Post reports that “Joe attended an April 16, 2015, dinner with shady Ukrainian, Russian and Kazakh ‘businessmen.’” Why is it that only a handful of media outlets choose to report on the deluge of information that suggests the president may have had more knowledge of his son’s business dealings than he first admitted?
Something political to ponder as you enjoy your morning coffee.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has suspended the requirement for employers to report work-related injuries that result from vaccinations. OSHA’s website now reads, “OSHA does not wish to have any appearance of discouraging workers from receiving COVID-19 vaccination… As a result, OSHA will not enforce 29 CFR 1904’s recording requirements to require any employers to record worker side effects from COVID-19 vaccination.” However, this move by the government agency still leaves employers on the hook for liability. Is the government abdicating responsibility in favor of virtue-signaling?
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11.) AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
AEI’s daily publication of independent research, insightful analysis, and scholarly debate.
Stan Veuger and Jeffrey Clemens | National Bureau of Economic Research
COVID-19 relief legislation offers a unique setting to study how political representation shapes the distribution of federal assistance to state and local governments.
While the last weekly unemployment benefit claims report represents welcome progress, the balance of the report reveals that the number of Americans continuing to collect unemployment benefits of any kind remains nearly eight times pre-pandemic levels.
Welcome back, welcome to June and welcome to Pride Month.
Smart Brevity™ count: 1,467 words … 5½ minutes. Edited by Zachary Basu.
1 big thing: Biden’s big decision
Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
The U.S. is about to pivot from hoarding vaccines to sharing them globally, and countries are scrambling to get in line, Axios World editor Dave Lawler writes.
Why it matters: President Biden has promised to donate 80 million doses by the end of June. With domestic demand waning, he’ll soon be able to offer far more. But the White House hasn’t said how it will distribute the initial 80 million, or when it will feel comfortable truly opening its supply to the world.
The U.S. is currently second only to China in vaccine production, but until recently was the only major producer to keep virtually its entire supply at home.
While more than half of all Americans have had at least one dose and dozens of rich countries aren’t far behind, fewer than 1% of people across the world’s low-income countries have been vaccinated.
With the U.S. set to belatedly become a global vaccine powerhouse, Biden has some high-stakes decisions to make.
A European diplomat who spoke with Axios argued that the U.S. should reject “vaccine diplomacy” as practiced by Russia and China — and instead bolster multilateralism.
That would be done through the WHO-backed COVAX initiative, which aims to provide every participating country with enough doses to cover 20% of its population this year.
But while Biden has said the U.S. donations will be driven by science and not geopolitics, there are clear soft-power benefits to controlling distribution more directly.
President Biden hasn’t named permanent leaders at top agencies overseeing tech and telecom, giving him a late start confronting powerful U.S. companies, Axios’ Kim Hart writes in her “Tech Agenda” column.
Why it matters: If Biden doesn’t move quickly, there won’t be time in this term to take on big targets and tackle thorny policy problems.
Biden’s tech policy agenda will be largely shaped by the executive branch and regulatory agencies, rather than by a divided and distracted Congress.
But when compared to the previous four administrations, the Biden administration is roughly three months behind in naming leaders for the FTC, FCC and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
Proof of alien life is likely to come from decades of incremental scientific discoveries, not a blurry video of a UFO speeding through the atmosphere, Axios Space author Miriam Kramer writes.
More than any other time in history, researchers have access to huge amounts of data that get us closer to knowing whether life might thrive somewhere other than Earth.
Scientists searching the skies for radio signals from intelligent civilizations have gotten a boost in recent years with new funding.
Last year was a landmark moment for Venus research, with the discovery that there could be phosphine — an indicator of life — in the planet’s clouds.
The intrigue: Videos of UFOs — or, to the Pentagon, UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena) — have captured the public and media imagination.
But some in the field want to reframe habitability as a continuum, rather than yes/no.
At the Houston Astros‘ Minute Maid Park, Marwin González of the Red Sox joins a moment of silence for America’s fallen heroes.
5. Harris steps up focus on small business
Courtesy Forbes
Vice President Harris is increasingly emphasizing policies supporting small businesses and entrepreneurship, from engaging bank CEOs to working with Treasury Secretary Yellen on increasing capital for underserved small-business owners, officials tell me.
Harris has crisscrossed the country to meet with small businesses to highlight the benefits in the American Rescue Plan, which allocated $60 billion to small businesses.
In an essay in Forbes’ “50 Over 50” issue, out today, Harris (56) writes:
The pandemic has exposed the flaws and the fissures in our economy. … Today, our nation must reimagine our economy so that every American entrepreneur can launch and grow an enterprise. It is in this reimagining that we will remain competitive — and come out of this pandemic stronger.
📺 What we’re watching:Harris will be on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today for an interview with Mika Brzezinski. Harris shares this advice for women she mentors:
“I eat ‘no’ for breakfast. So have I been told, many times during my career, things from ‘you are too young, it’s not your turn, they are not ready for you, no one like you has done it before’ — I have heard all of those things many times over the course of my career, but I didn’t listen.” Watch a preview.
6. U.S. Chamber: Worker shortage is “urgent crisis”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today will launch America Works, a plan to mobilize industry and government to alleviate what the group calls “America’s deepening worker shortage crisis.”
“This is Operation Warp Speed for jobs,” said Suzanne Clark, the Chamber’s president and CEO. “As we stand on the cusp of what could be a great American resurgence, a worker shortage is holding back job creators across the country.”
President Biden salutes at yesterday’s National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
As President Biden heads to Tulsa today on the 100th anniversary of the racist massacre, he’s announcing plans to bolster homeownership and small businesses in communities of color.
Why it matters: The White House says the post-riot experiences of Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, once known as Black Wall Street — redlining, denial of credit, new highways that cut off opportunity — “have echoes in countless Black communities across the country.”
Biden’s plans include an “interagency effort to address inequity in home appraisals, and conducting rule-making to aggressively combat housing discrimination.”
Biden also plans to use “the federal government’s purchasing power to grow federal contracting with small, disadvantaged businesses by 50 percent, translating to an additional $100 billion over five years.”
Graphic: The New York Times. Used by kind permission
A huge team from The New York Times built an interactive model of Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood as it was before it was destroyed in the racist massacre that ended 100 years ago today.
The Times pieced together archival maps and photos, and analyzed census data, city directories, newspaper articles, and survivor tapes and testimonies “to show the types of people who made up the neighborhood and contributed to its vibrancy.”
Between the lines: A “Times Insider” article says that over a dozen journalists on the Graphics desk worked on the project for the last few months:
To generate an aerial view of the neighborhood, Lingdong Huang used machine learning to read flat maps of Tulsa and translate them into 3-D buildings. He also wrote a computer program that let the team manually input accurate heights of buildings using data on the insurance maps. …
To determine where individuals lived and worked, the team analyzed census data from Ancestry.com, and it wrote software to convert text from the digitized 1921 Tulsa city directory to a searchable database. … Audra D.S. Burch, a National correspondent, spent a week in Tulsa and met people whose grandparents and great-grandparents survived the massacre.
Jean Becker, who was President George H. W. Bush’s gatekeeper and chief of staff for the last 25 years of his life, is out today with a memoir, “The Man I Knew: The Amazing Story of George H. W. Bush’s Post-Presidency.”
Becker recalls his first words to her, in 1987:
He was vice president of the United States and running for president. I was a reporter for USA Today … I was assigned to travel with the vice president on a trip to South Dakota and had been asking the press staff all day for a short interview. Finally, late at night on the long flight back to Washington, they said I could have five minutes.
I was scared to death. He was by far the most important person I had interviewed, unless you count a phone interview with Billy Joel. I made my way to the front of Air Force Two, introduced myself, and sat across from him with my notebook in hand. He gave me an exhausted — and slightly exasperated — look. “What do you got?” he asked.
And we were off and running.
🥊 My favorite sentence: “Those who travel the high road of humility in Washington, DC, are not bothered by heavy traffic!”
Bush’s life was so full that the book includes a cast of characters: “Meacham, Jon” falls between “Major, John” and “Mulroney, Brian.”
Read comments about the book by James A. Baker III, Dana Carvey, Valerie Jarrett, Mary Matalin, Michael Duffy and more.
10. 1 film thing: Movies make comeback
Emma Stone in “Cruella.” Photo: Laurie Sparham/Disney via AP
The holiday weekend brought a box-office resurgence, breathing new life into an industry that barely survived the pandemic, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes.
“There may not be enough adjectives to describe the importance of this weekend’s box office performance to movie theaters,” Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian tells Axios.
Paramount’s horror-thriller “A Quiet Place Part II” blew past expectations over the four-day weekend, bringing in an estimated $57 million from box-office ticket sales across North America, per Comscore.
Disney’s “Cruella” also did well, considering that viewers could stream the film online on Disney+ for $30 the same day it opened in theaters.
72% of North American theaters are now open.
While the Memorial Day weekend set a pandemic record, it still brought in about half of the $230 million in box-office sales in 2019.
The big picture: It seems unlikely that the box office will ever fully return to pre-pandemic highs, given how much movie consumption habits and business models have changed.
The coordinated walkout jolted the national debate about voting rights, putting the spotlight on Democratic-backed federal voting rights legislation that has been stalled in the Senate.
The Republican National Committee is launching a seven-figure ad featuring Sen. Tim Scott, marking an aggressive strategy to combat President Joe Biden’s agenda during a non-election year and demonstrating the South Carolina senator’s rising star status.
Senate Democrats are proposing to overhaul the energy tax code in favor of a trio of incentives based on emissions reductions in a move that environmentalists are lauding, but Republicans say would disadvantage fossil fuels.
Large robots designed to pick up rocks automatically might be coming to the farm, thanks to significant advancements made in the field of agricultural technology.
The Arizona Senate’s 2020 election audit in Maricopa County is nearing the halfway point in its count of the 2.1 million ballots cast in the November contest.
Israeli opposition leaders said they have received death threats in response to their plan to form a government that would oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a backlash that has raised the specter of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
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18.) ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 28, 2021
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AP Morning Wire
Good morning. Here is today’s selection of top stories from The Associated Press at this hour to begin the U.S. day.
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — President Joe Biden honored America’s war dead at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day by laying a wreath at the hallowed burial ground and extolling the sacrifices of the fallen for the pursuit of democracy, “the soul of…Read More
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Hundreds gathered Monday for an interfaith service dedicating a prayer wall outside historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood on the centennial of the first day of one of the deadliest ra…Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — In April, the Biden administration announced plans to share millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses with the world by the end of June. Five weeks later, nations around the globe are still waiting — with growing impatience — to learn wher…Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will take part in a remembrance of one of the nation’s darkest — and largely forgotten — moments of racial violence, marking the 100th anniversary of a massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that wiped out a thriving Black…Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — Though Brian Walter knows he tried to protect his parents from the coronavirus, doubts torment him. Did he grab a wrong bottle of orange juice, one covered with infectious droplets? …Read More
VIENNA (AP) — The United Nations’ atomic watchdog hasn’t been able to access data important to monitoring Iran’s nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Re…Read More
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday and wrote on Twitter that she would be taking a break from competition, a dramatic turn of events for a four-time Gr…Read More
KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — Democrats lost last year’s election for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District by the narrowest margin in a House race in almost 40 years. After the six-…Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — Moviegoing increasingly looks like it didn’t die during the pandemic. It just went into hibernation. John Krasinski’s thriller sequel “A Quiet Place Pa…Read More
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Mark Twain
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Good morning, Chicago. Yesterday, state officials reported 521 new cases of the coronavirus and 33 additional deaths. Those totals were the fewest daily cases recorded since July. As for vaccines, there were 22,255 administered Sunday.
And in more coronavirus-related news, you may remember last week I wrote about all the ways companies and organizations are trying to incentivize people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Well, now even more have announced giveaways — either for getting the shot or showing proof you’ve gotten it. So, we put together a list of all the free things you can get from getting vaccinated in Chicago, Illinois and the rest of the country.
— Nicole Stock, audience editor
Here’s more coronavirus news and other top stories you need to know to start your day.
Illinois lawmakers went into overtime Tuesday, missing a midnight deadline to adjourn the spring session but approving a $42 billion state budget, a plan shifting next year’s primary to June and an ethics package requiring more financial disclosure of officeholders.
Left unresolved were plans for future energy policy for the state, efforts to strengthen gun laws, an elected school board for Chicago and law-enforcement backed changes to a sweeping police reform law approved just months ago. The House indicated its work for the spring session was largely finished and members headed home. The Senate, however, planned to return to work later Tuesday.
Illinois legislators send to Gov. J.B. Pritzker a bill to move the 2022 primary to June 28 and make curbside voting a permanent fixture of elections.
Illinois lawmakers took sweeping action Sunday to limit the use of seclusion and restraint in schools, following through on promises made after a 2019 Tribune-ProPublica investigation revealed that school workers had regularly misused the practices to punish students.
The Northalsted Business Alliance announced last year that it would no longer market the Midwest’s premier LGBTQ neighborhood as Boystown, but instead use the gender-neutral moniker Northalsted. A younger generation of activists concerned about the inclusion of lesbians, people of color, and transgender and nonbinary Chicagoans cheered the move, but up until a few days ago, the banners lining Halsted Street, the main north-south artery, still blared the catchy nickname and the rainbow-colored bike racks on the sidewalk say Boystown.
Vaughn McClure, an NFL reporter for ESPN and a former Chicago Tribune sports writer, died at 48 in October from cardiac arrest. His loss was felt across the league. “There’s an emptiness I will never be able to fill,” said Nick Gialamas, who met McClure in college in 1990 and talked to him at least once almost every day since. Now, the Vaughn McClure Foundation is hoping to raise money for causes that meant most to him.
Andros Taverna is the most exciting new Greek restaurant to open in Chicago in the past few years, Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger writes. Doug Psaltis, a co-owner of the restaurant and a veteran of a number of high-profile Lettuce Entertain You restaurants downtown such as RPM Steak, calls this his passion project, where he was able to draw from his family’s Greek heritage and his many trips to Greece to create a restaurant focused on “traditional recipes through a contemporary lens.”
The owner of a suburban barbershop was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail Sunday after he allegedly shot and killed a customer who refused to pay.
Deshon Mcadory, 40, of Lombard, was charged with first-degree murder in last week’s shooting at the Studio 914 barbershop, 914 S. 5th Ave. in Maywood, according to Cook County prosecutors and police in the western suburb. Tom Schuba has the full story…
The Chicago Police Department canceled days off and put officers on 12-hour shifts while community groups fanned out across the city to draw people out of the line of fire.
Taps Across America participants played Taps simultaneously in observance of The National Moment of Remembrance — the one minute pause many Americans take at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day to remember those who died while serving in the military.
An ethics reform proposal approved by the Illinois House and sent to the state Senate would ban constitutional officeholders from lobbying the state until six months after leaving office or for the rest of their term, whichever is sooner.
If Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs the measure, the 2022 Illinois primary would move to June 28, Election Day would become a state holiday for schools and universities and dates for circulating candidate petitions would change.
Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. It is Tuesday — the first of June! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe!
Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported Monday morning: 594,568.
The national percentage of COVID-19 tests that came back positive over the past 7 days was less than 3 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of this morning, 50.5 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 40.7 percent is fully vaccinated, according to the Bloomberg News global vaccine tracker.
It’s still infrastructure week.
President Biden and Republican senators vowed to keep talking as June begins in search of a potential bipartisan accord to support somewhere between $1 trillion and $1.7 trillion in spending on infrastructure.
An informal Memorial Day deadline established weeks ago came and went in a slow-motion series of offers, counteroffers and more skepticism than optimism in official Washington. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says next Monday is the newest deadline to figure something out.
“I think we are getting pretty close to a fish-or-cut-bait moment,” Buttigieg told CNN on Sunday, adding that the continued talks have been “healthy.” “There’s a lot of conversations going on among members of Congress who have come forward with a lot of different ideas in addition to the discussions that we have had with the group led by [Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), pictured below]. So we believe in this process but also very much agree that this can’t go on forever.”
“This can’t go on in terms of the condition of our infrastructure. Therefore the negotiations can’t go on forever, either,” the secretary added (The Hill).
Politico: What Biden wants from this week’s critical infrastructure talks.
As The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant write, the White House is at a crossroads as negotiations plow on toward a potential package, with the timing set to determine how much of the Biden agenda could be implemented ahead of next year’s midterms.
Talks with the Capito-led group could represent Biden’s last true chance to score a key bipartisan win, but doing so could have unintended consequences. Namely, it could jeopardize the possibility of nabbing a deal on climate change, education and voting rights, among other things.
NBC News: The next three months could shape Biden’s next three years in office.
The Hill: Capito optimistic that “real compromise” can be reached with an infrastructure plan.
The Washington Post: As a negotiator, Biden leaves GOP senators unsure how far he will go.
On top of the infrastructure negotiations, Democratic lawmakers are the subject of renewed pressure surrounding the filibuster after the Senate GOP nixed a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
As The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports, Friday’s vote has cropped up new concerns that large swaths of the Democratic agenda will be dead on arrival in the upper chamber unless the 60-vote threshold is scrapped. Democrats are unlikely to go nuclear over the Jan. 6 bill, but acknowledge talk within the caucus is ramping up even as they are still short of the votes.
NBC News: For Democrats, GOP filibuster of Jan. 6 commission raises a haunting question.
Climate change threatens America’s communities and our economy. Putting a price on carbon is the fastest way to lower emissions. Learn more.
LEADING THE DAY
ADMINISTRATION: Biden will be in Tulsa, Okla., today for the 100th anniversary of the infamous racist attacks in 1921 on the city’s thriving Black community. White mobs descended on Tulsa’s Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street, burning it to the ground and killing close to 300 people (The Hill). By sunrise on June 2, Greenwood lay in ruins in one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history, according to a detailed reconstruction of events by The New York Times.
The Associated Press: Today, the president will honor forgotten victims of the 1921 massacre and announce new measures to help narrow the wealth gap between Blacks and whites, particularly in housing, and to reinvest in underserved communities.
The Hill: Biden calls for “day of remembrance” in a proclamation.
> Biden on Sunday and again on Monday honored the sacrifices of America’s war dead as well as veterans with Memorial Day tributes, including a wreath-laying event at Arlington National Cemetery. In his remarks, the president saluted voting rights, a free press and other hallmarks of the nation’s democratic system.
“Democracy thrives when the infrastructure of democracy is strong,” Biden said. “When people have the right to vote freely and fairly and conveniently” (The Hill). “Liberation, opportunity [and] justice are far more likely to come to pass in a democracy than an autocracy,” he added.
The Hill: Biden honors “legacy” and “sacrifice” of fallen soldiers.
> U.S.-Russia: Ahead of a summit between Biden and President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16, Russia said that it wants to send “uncomfortable” signals in the direction of the United States. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday that Russia plans to bolster its military presence at its western border.
“The Americans must assume that a number of signals from Moscow … will be uncomfortable for them, including in the coming days,” Ryabkov said. Russia is prepared to respond to Biden’s remarks on Sunday calling on Putin to respect human rights, Ryabkov added (The Hill).
> U.S. federal workforce: Biden’s budget, released on Friday, proposes a 2.7 percent pay raise for civilian workers in fiscal 2022 (Federal News Network).
POLITICS: The House membership will in all likelihood grow by one today as the special election to fill the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District takes place.
Democrat Melanie Stansbury is the heavy favorite to emerge victorious over Republican Mark Moores, with Democrats having held the seat dating back to 2008. According to the Cook Political Report, Democrats perform 9 points better in the district than the national average.
In November, Haaland won reelection by more than 16 points before being tapped to join the administration. Biden won the district last year by nearly 23 points, but Democrats didn’t do well in the last special election, which was in Texas in May, so New Mexico is seen as a must win for Ds.
The Associated Press: Special House election will measure the political pulse post-Trump.
CNN: What New Mexico’s special election can tell us about the midterms.
> 2022, etc.: Democrats have found themselves a new poster child for the Republican Party in the battle for control of Congress: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
As The Hill’s Tal Axelrod writes, the incendiary first-term lawmaker has sparked new backlash following recent comments she made equating mask mandates to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. According to Democratic aides and strategists, remarks of those kinds only aid their side as they seek to paint the entire GOP as a party of right-wing conspiracy theorists.
“I think that she is providing a huge opportunity in the absence of Trump to be a sticking point and a foil for Democrats in campaigns,” said Democratic pollster Molly Murphy. “All she stands for and represents is a walking depiction of where this Republican Party is going. And I think Democrats would be wise to invoke her and where she is trying to take that party.”
The New York Times: QAnon now as popular in U.S. as some major religions, poll suggests.
Politico: Republicans fear Trump will lead to a “lost generation” of talent.
The Washington Post: After defeating restrictive voting bill, Texas Democrats send loud message: “We need Congress to do their part.”
OPINIONS
Tulsa has much to apologize for in the 1921 massacre and what happened afterward, by the Tulsa World editorial board. https://bit.ly/3fWVOya
A dangerous state of affairs, by Kevin D. Williamson, correspondent, National Review Online. https://bit.ly/3fTxFZc
A MESSAGE FROM CITIZENS’ CLIMATE LOBBY
It’s Time to Put a Price on Carbon Pollution
Carbon pricing will make America a clean energy leader. Learn how putting a price on carbon will incentivize innovation, transform our economy and create millions of jobs. Learn more.
WHERE AND WHEN
The House meets at 3 p.m. for a pro forma session. Lawmakers resume legislative work in the Capitol on June 14.
TheSenate will convene at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) will host a press conference at 7:30 a.m. ET at the Vilnius airport in Lithuania with Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9:30 a.m. Biden will travel to Tulsa, Okla., to tour the Greenwood Cultural Center at 1:30 p.m. and meet with surviving members of the community. He will deliver remarks at 3:15 p.m. to commemorate the 100th year since the Tulsa Race Massacre (The Hill). The president will return to the White House tonight.
Vice President Harris will appear at 6 a.m. ET on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” with Mika Brzezinski for a pre-taped interview about gender equity, careers and the importance of not imposing others’ limitations on oneself.
➔ INTERNATIONAL: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies have been working furiously in the past few days to keep opposition parties from forming a government that would displace him from Israel’s top political job for the first time in more than 12 years (The Washington Post). This isn’t the first time Netanyahu has been in a battle for his political survival (NBC News). … China on Tuesday reported the first human case of H10N3 bird flu, identified in the eastern province of Jiangsu (Reuters). … China’s government announced it is allowing couples to have up to three children after census data showed that birth rates plummeted (BBC). … Vietnam’s health ministry says it detected a suspected new COVID-19 variant, likely a hybrid of highly transmissible variants that emerged in the United Kingdom and India (CNN). … Allied nations routinely spy on each other, but on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said wiretapping is “not acceptable between allies.” He has some specifics in mind (The Washington Post).
➔ STATE & CITY WATCH: On Monday, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he would veto funding for the state’s legislature as a form of retaliation against Democratic lawmakers he accused of abandoning their responsibilities (The Hill). … Some Democratic members of the Texas House late on Sunday blocked one of the most restrictive voting measures in the United States by walking out, forcing Republican colleagues to declare the end of the session by a midnight deadline (The Associated Press). The scuttled outcome for the controversial voting measure is considered temporary (The New York Times). …. In Florida, wild manatees continue to starve to death from conditions considered a manmade disaster in the Sunshine State. As of late last week, 738 manatee deaths had been recorded this year, according to reports from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The total is nearly triple the 5-year average for the same time period (Tampa Bay Times). … In Washington, D.C., towing and parking fines resume today after months of leeway for drivers and visitors during the pandemic (The Washington Post).
➔ TENNIS: 🎾 In the sporting world, Naomi Osaka, the world’s No. 2 ranked women’s tennis player, withdrew from the French Open after tournament organizers threatened to expel her because she ducked media obligations for the remaining grand slams this year. Osaka cited her mental health, adding she plans to “take some time away from the court” (Yahoo Sports). Fellow athletes in tennis and sport are rallying around Osaka (Reuters).
➔R&R: Memorial Day Weekend showed how much most Americans have been determined to enjoy life, be entertained and be on the move after a grim year of stress and pandemic adaptations. Over the weekend, U.S. stadiums and movie theaters filled, along with beaches, restaurants and airports (CNN).
And finally … General Motors is teaming up with Lockheed Martin to produce the ultimate off-road, self-driving, electric vehicles — for the moon. NASA last year put out a call for industry ideas on lunar rovers and the space agency aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2024, a deadline set by the previous White House.
The project announced last week is still in the early stages and has yet to score any NASA money. But the goal is to design light yet rugged vehicles that will travel farther and faster than the lunar rovers that carried NASA’s Apollo astronauts in the early 1970s.
“Mobility is really going to open up the moon for us,” said Kirk Shireman, a former NASA manager who is now Lockheed Martin’s vice president for lunar exploration (The Associated Press).
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@thehill.com and aweaver@thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
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Via The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant, “President Biden is at a crossroad in infrastructure talks that could determine how much of his agenda he will accomplish before the midterm elections.” https://bit.ly/3z3BuE2
What to expect in the next few weeks: Whether Biden will work with Republicans and go the bipartisan route with an infrastructure package or pass what Democrats want along a close party-line vote.
Where the negotiations stand: “Republican senators on Thursday put forward a roughly $1 trillion offer that may represent Biden’s last, best chance at a meaningful bipartisan deal. But agreeing to the GOP offer would spurn progressive Democrats who view it as a non-starter, and could subsequently imperil the likelihood of getting climate change, education, voting rights and other Biden priorities passed.”
HAPPENING ON WEDNESDAY — A MEETING WITH AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO THE PUZZLE:
President Biden is meeting with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) on Wednesday to discuss the infrastructure negotiations. https://bit.ly/3fXQ6Mt
It’s Tuesday and it is officially June. Happy Pride Month! I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.
Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill’s 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2kjMNnn
Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to former President Trump, denies suggesting that a Myanmar-style coup should happen in the United States.
OK, I’ll start from the beginning: During a conference of QANON conspiracy theorists, an audience member asked Flynn: “I want to know why what happened in Myanmar can’t happen here?” Flynn’s response: “No reason. I mean it, it should happen here.” https://bit.ly/3i3rVPk
Flynn denied this yesterday: In a Telegram post, Flynn denied suggesting that a coup should happen. Flynn’s denial: “I am no stranger to media manipulating my words and therefore let me repeat my response to a question asked at the conference: There is no reason it (a coup) should happen here (in America).” https://bit.ly/3i5SinB
The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman retweeted the CNN clip and added some of her own reporting: “Trump has been telling a number of people he’s in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August (no that isn’t how it works but simply sharing the information).” https://bit.ly/2TpdquK
LIZ CHENEY ALSO WEIGHED IN:
“No American should advocate or support the violent overthrow of the United States,” said Rep. LizCheney (R-Wyo.), the former House Republican Conference chair who was recently ousted for her criticism of former President Trump. https://bit.ly/3uJVbNE
Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, “Democrats are setting the stage for a massive brawl over the fate of the legislative filibuster as they face growing pressure to get rid of the roadblock.” https://bit.ly/2Rbw4FL
The straw that may break the camel’s back: “With Republicans waging their first successful filibuster attempt, and more fights looming on the horizon, Democrats are driving toward a tipping point on what to do about the procedural hurdle, which requires most legislation to get 60 votes to make it through the Senate.”
Via The Hill’s Brett Samuels, “President Biden on Tuesday will lay out his administration’s efforts to close the racial wealth gap during a visit to Tulsa, Okla., to mark the 100th anniversary of the Black Wall Street Massacre, in which white mobs killed hundreds of Black people in the city’s Greenwood neighborhood.” https://bit.ly/3uDCMlB
What to expect: “Biden will announce an initiative to target federal purchasing power to benefit more minority-owned businesses, and the administration will also detail multiple housing-focused rules that strengthen anti-discrimination measures rolled back during the Trump administration, administration officials said.”
President Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff met at the famous French restaurant Le Diplomate on Monday. https://bit.ly/3vGwVNP
Via The Washington Post’s Luz Lazo, “The city’s 240 parking officers are resuming full enforcement of parking regulations Tuesday, ending a 14-month break that saved residents and visitors millions of dollars in fees and fines.” https://wapo.st/2SK0WxJ
“Also returning June 1: towing of illegally parked vehicles and requirements to renew vehicle registrations and inspections. The city is also launching a four-month amnesty program for drivers with outstanding tickets, giving them a chance to pay overdue parking, photo-enforcement and moving violations without penalties.”
The Washington Post’s Damian Paletta and Yasmeen Abutaleb obtained 866 pages of emails of Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, from March and April 2020. https://wapo.st/3wOWpsA
The gist of the emails: “The correspondence … opens a window to Fauci’s world during some of the most frantic days of the crisis, when [he] was struggling to bring coherence to the Trump administration’s chaotic response to the virus and President Donald Trump was seeking to minimize its severity.”
Here’s an email exchange: When Fauci received threats from Trump supporters who blamed him for the economic impact of closing everything down, top Chinese health official George Gao emailed Fauci.
Gao emailed on April 8: “I saw some news (hope it is fake) that [you] are being attacked by some people. Hope you are well under such a irrational situation,” Gao wrote on April 8.
Fauci’s response: “Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world.”
Via BBC’s Ella Wills, “The UK has announced zero daily Covid deaths within 28 days of a positive test for the first time since last March.” https://bbc.in/34D0HXW
But keep in mind: “Reports of daily deaths are often lower at weekends and at the start of the week. This is because less counting takes place while statisticians are off – and adding in the bank holiday weekend will make this figure less certain still. Any deaths that happen on Tuesday will be reported in days to come.”
Via ESPN’s D’Arcy Maine, “Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the French Open, announcing Monday on social media that she will ‘take some time away from the court’ one day after she was fined and threatened with harsher sanctions for skipping her mandatory media obligations.” https://es.pn/3g65dDI
Keep in mind: “Osaka, 23, also revealed that she has experienced depression and anxiety since winning her first major at the 2018 US Open and explained that speaking to the media often makes her nervous.”
The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in Oklahoma today.
9:30 a.m. EDT: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief.
11 a.m. EDT: President Biden left for Oklahoma.
2:45 p.m. EDT: President Biden tours Greenwood Cultural Center. Housing and Urban Development secretary Marcia Fudge, Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice, and Senior Advisor to the President Cedric Richmond also attend.
8:30 p.m. EDT: President Biden returns to the White House.
WHAT TO WATCH:
Noon: White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One. Livestream: https://bit.ly/2RRlJ2h
4:15 p.m. EDT: President Biden delivers remarks to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3yWaHt1
NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF…:
Today is National Olive Day.
And because you made it this far, here’s a dad who recorded his baby’s sounds for a year and turned them into a beautiful song: https://bit.ly/3uELqAg
TO VIEW PAST EDITIONS OF THE HILL’S 12:30 REPORT, CLICK HERE.
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POLITICO Playbook: The sympathizer-in-chief heads to Tulsa
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
One hundred years ago today, white assailants stormed a prosperous Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla., leaving the area known as a hub of African American entrepreneurship in total ruin and massacring hundreds of Black people. Survivors who saw their family members murdered or businesses torn to bits never saw a penny in compensation — and insurance companies declined most of their claims. And for a long time, the horrors of that day were buried.
A century later, the nation still reels from racism — and President JOE BIDEN will head to Tulsa today to offer words of healing, once again donning his hat as sympathizer-in-chief.
The president will give a speech and meet with the families of those lost that day. Ahead of his visit, he issued a proclamation calling on Americans to “commit together to eradicate systemic racism and help to rebuild communities and lives that have been destroyed by it.”
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE TRIP, the Biden administration this morning announced initiatives designed to close the racial wealth gap. They include a proposed rule by HUD to counter discriminatory housing practices, as well as an effort to address inequities in home appraisals.
The administration is also planning to increase the share of federal contracts that go to “small disadvantaged businesses” to 50% over the next five years. The White House says that will provide an additional $100 million to those businesses. CNN’s Kate Sullivan has a story on this
In an interview with POLITICO on Monday night, NAACP President DERRICK JOHNSON said the administration was headed in the right direction on closing the wealth gap, but criticized its lack of movement on student loan forgiveness. “Until we address the student loan debt crisis, which disproportionately impacts African Americans, we can never get to the question of home ownership, therefore accumulating wealth,” Johnson said.
THE ART OF THE (INFRASTRUCTURE) DEAL — Congress is out this week, but Biden is expected to continue working to try to strike a deal with Republicans on infrastructure. He’ll huddle once again with Sen. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.), and as our Christopher Cadelago reports this morning, the president’s advisers “anticipate drawing harder lines in public over what should be in the plan and how to pay for it.”
A few interesting nuggets from Cadelago’s story:
— White House aides are eyeing June 9 as a new soft deadline to figure out which path they’ll be taking on infra. That day, a House committee will begin work on a surface transportation bill.
— There’s a belief in the White House that Biden could get a boost from a bipartisan deal: “In an April meeting with the centrist New Democrats congressional caucus, STEVE RICCHETTI, Biden’s counselor, told members that a bipartisan pact — or at least an effort at striking one — would be politically beneficial to the party, said a person in the meeting. … [C]ongressional sources say Ricchetti has been open to letting talks around infrastructure play out longer than he had scheduled.”
— In a sign of revved-up Hill outreach, “154 members of Congress have visited the White House, including some multiple times. More than 100 have participated in Oval Office meetings with the president.” (LOUISA TERRELL’s team must be exhausted…)
— Biden remains nostalgic for his preferred “old-fashioned dealmaking approach” in an era of hyper-polarized politics: “[N]o president of late has spoken so wistfully about a time when the two parties could reach consensus on major policy proposals in Washington. Biden confidants and colleagues still talk about his standoffs with JESSE HELMS, the conservative Republican senator from North Carolina who acquiesced to Biden after hours of talks by signing off on a chemical weapons treaty…
“Biden has also waxed about his yearslong quest to convince former Sen. ARLEN SPECTER of Pennsylvania, a longtime Republican, to switch to the Democratic Party, giving them a 60-vote majority to overcome a filibuster. He placed call after call to Specter, and caught up with him on train rides home, arguing the GOP that elected him moved right, while he was aligned with Democrats on health care, the economy and foreign policy.” Full story
— 9:30 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
— 11 a.m.: He’ll leave the White House for Tulsa, arriving at 12:50 p.m. Central time.
— 1:45 p.m.: Biden will tour the Greenwood Cultural Center with HUD Secretary MARCIA FUDGE, SUSAN RICE and CEDRIC RICHMOND.
— 3 p.m.: Biden will deliver remarks commemorating the 100th anniversary of the massacre.
— 4:50 p.m.: Biden will leave Tulsa, getting back to the White House at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Principal deputy press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will gaggle on Air Force One on the way to Tulsa.
CONGRESS is in recess this week.
PLAYBOOK READS
CONGRESS
VULNERABLE DEMS ON TRUMP: DON’T TAKE THE BAIT — As House Democrats ready for a contentious midterm cycle that historically favors their GOP counterparts, their most vulnerable colleagues appear to agree on one thing: Leave DONALD TRUMP out of it. Our Sarah Ferris and Melanie Zanona report today that Democrats in swing districts don’t want to talk about him anymore, telling colleagues to stay narrowly focused on policy, just as they did when they netted 40 seats back in 2018.
It’s interesting advice because the DCCC has a slightly different take — at least whereRepublicans are concerned. As Sarah and Mel note in their story, the campaign committee is “already eyeing House Republicans whose vote against the Jan. 6 commission could hurt them back home.” They’ve also talked about a strategy of tying far-right extremism, personified by Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.), to other Republicans.
But Democrats like Rep. STEPHANIE MURPHY (D-Fla.), a well-respected moderate from a competitive Orlando district, want to forget about the former president and talk about things like health care. “Trump is a Republican problem and a Republican cancer that they need to cut out of their party,” she said. “But that’s their problem.” Full story
MANCHIN IN THE MIDDLE — “Joe Manchin: Deeply Disappointed in GOP and Prepared to Do Absolutely Nothing,”by The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey: “Asked by The Daily Beast last week how he’d win the votes to pass the John Lewis bill while maintaining the filibuster, [Sen. JOE] MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) didn’t discuss policy specifics. He just said he’d get it done. ‘We just keep working,’ Manchin said, listing a set of issues that the Senate is tackling. ‘I have to say, keep the faith in this damn Senate, and we’ll make it, we’ll work it out, make it bipartisan.’ …
“Without fail, at any Manchin gathering, he will blast his de facto anthem: ‘S.O.B.,’ by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, an upbeat stomp and holler number with lyrics about the struggles of quitting drinking. But Manchin loves the song’s rollicking chorus, which starts with ‘Son of a bitch, give me a drink!’ (Manchin has been known to offer senators moonshine from a mason jar during bipartisan legislative negotiations.)
“The senator is also a notorious clean freak who is obsessed with the state of the carpetsin his Senate office, a product of his younger years doing work for his father, who owned a furniture store. He’s known to break out a Dustbuster himself if he sees something he doesn’t like.”
PANDEMIC
TOP-ED — “Media Groupthink and the Lab-Leak Theory,”by NYT’s Bret Stephens: “[T]his possible scandal, which is as yet unproved, obscures an actual scandal, which remains to be digested.
“I mean the long refusal by too many media gatekeepers (social as well as mainstream) to take the lab-leak theory seriously. The reasons for this — rank partisanship and credulous reporting — and the methods by which it was enforced — censorship and vilification — are reminders that sometimes the most destructive enemies of science can be those who claim to speak in its name.”
TRUMP CARDS
THE NEW GOP — “Republicans fear Trump will lead to a ‘lost generation’ of talent,”by Meridith McGraw, David Siders and Sam Stein: “In conversations with more than 20 lawmakers, ex-lawmakers, top advisers and aides, a common concern has emerged — that a host of national and statewide Republicans are either leaving office or may not choose to pursue it for fear that they can’t survive politically in the current GOP. The worry, these Republicans say, is that the party is embracing personality over policy, and that it is short sighted to align with Trump, who lost the general election and continues to alienate a large swath of the voting public with his grievances and false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
“Trump has driven sitting GOP lawmakers and political aspirants into early retirements ever since he burst onto the scene. But there was hope that things would change after his election loss. Instead, his influence on the GOP appears to be as solid as ever and the impact of those early shockwaves remain visible.”
POLITICS ROUNDUP
AD WARS — “RNC launches seven-figure TV ad featuring Tim Scott,”Washington Examiner: “The Republican National Committee is launching a seven-figure ad featuring Sen. TIM SCOTT, marking an aggressive strategy to combat President Joe Biden’s agenda during a non-election year and demonstrating the South Carolina senator’s rising star status.
“The 30-second ad, provided exclusively to the Washington Examiner, showcases audio from Scott’s Republican rebuttal to Biden’s joint address to Congress in April. It will run on cable networks.” The ad
2022 WATCH — “Black women’s next targets: governorships and Senate seats,”by AP’s Bill Barrow: “[Virginia gubernatorial candidates are] part of a surge in candidacies by Black women in the Democratic Party, not just for local and legislative posts but also statewide offices that are still new ground for Black women. …
“STEVE SCHALE, a white strategist who helped President Barack Obama win Florida twice, said it’s a developing consensus that Black women can assemble Democrats’ ideal alliance for statewide elections: older Black voters, younger voters across racial and ethnic lines, urban white liberals and enough white moderates, especially women, in metro areas.”
NEVADA MAKES A MOVE AGAINST IOWA AND N.H. — “Mail-in voting takes another step forward in Nevada,”Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Nevada Democrats’ bids to make mail-in ballots permanent and position Nevada as the first presidential nominating state took major steps forward Wednesday …
“Under AB126, a presidential primary would be held on the first Tuesday of February in place of the caucuses, likely setting up a battle with Iowa and New Hampshire over which state goes first on the nominating calendar.”
BEYOND THE BELTWAY
WALKOUT FALLOUT IN THE LONE STAR STATE — “Gov. Abbott threatens to veto legislative salaries in response to Democrats’ walkout,” Houston Chronicle: “Hours after Democrats in the Texas House blocked sweeping new voting restrictions, Gov. GREG ABBOTT vowed to retaliate by stripping funding for all lawmakers and legislative staff from the coming two-year budget. …
“The governor’s threat comes as legislators are already preparing to reconvene for a special interim session at some point this year to take up redistricting and some conservative priority items that have stalled, including the voting measure.”
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
THE LATEST IN JERUSALEM — “Israel on Edge as Politicians Wrangle Over Coalition to Oust Netanyahu,”NYT: “Israel’s political class was locked in frenzied horse trading on Monday, as opposition politicians struggled to strike a coalition deal to oust Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, who in turn was waging a last-ditch effort to cling to power. The bartering put a spotlight on the fragmentation of the Israeli political system, in which the short-term fate of the Israeli state … was in the hands of a panoply of small political parties haggling over control of minor government offices like the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
“The granular nature of the discussions belied their dramatic implication: Mr. Netanyahu — Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and the man who has shaped contemporary Israel more than any other citizen — has never been so close to losing office. And yet, with just two days remaining for the opposition to secure a deal, his departure is still far from a foregone conclusion.”
IRAN SO FAR AWAY — “U.N. watchdog: Access to key Iranian data lacking since Feb 23,”by AP’s Kiyoko Metzler in Vienna and David Rising in Berlin: “The United Nations’ atomic watchdog hasn’t been able to access data important to monitoring Iran’s nuclear program since late February, when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency said Monday.”
LETTER FROM AFGHANISTAN — “A Siege, a Supply Run and a Descent Into a Decade-Old Battle,”by NYT’s Thomas Gibbons-Neff in Marja: “I first arrived here in Marja as a 22-year-old Marine corporal during one of the American war’s earlier chapters … Touching down again this month, there was little evidence that could explain why my friends, and so many Afghan civilians and soldiers, died here.”
“Biden said the nation must honor the sacrifices of generations of service members ‘by sustaining the best of America while honestly confronting all that we must do to make our nation fuller, freer and more just.’ ‘Empathy is the fuel of democracy,’ the President said. ‘Our willingness to see each other not as enemies, neighbors, even when we disagree, to understand what the other is going through.’”
PLAYBOOKERS
‘YANG’ING IT — The second debate of the New York City mayoral race is Wednesday night, and we’re offering ANDREW YANG a bit of advice: take Tums. According to EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE’S new book, “Battle for the Soul,” on the night of a presidential primary debate in Miami, Yang kept running to the bathroom to throw up. “The walls weren’t thick, and he was so loud that operatives on other campaigns started joking about ‘Yanging,’” Dovere writes. “He’d had an IV in him earlier in the day, [and] a massive nosebleed an hour before going onstage.” Breathe in. Breathe out.
SPOTTED I — In Nantucket for Memorial Day Weekend: Greta Van Susteren, John Coale, Tammy Haddad, Kaitlan Collins, Ryan Williams, John McCarthy, Elizabeth Milias and Felix Browne.
SPOTTED III — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stopping by a Memorial Day stoop party in Brooklyn on his bike, hanging with the yuppies in his helmet, khaki shorts and white socks pulled all the way up his shins, cool-grandpa style.FWIW,he appeared to be drinking the generic La Croix competitor made and sold by Wegmans as he downed his plate of food.Pic
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Jason Noble starts this week as national comms director at NextGen America. He most recently ran comms for Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa) and was Iowa comms director for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign.
— Dominic Carr will be VP of comms at Lyft. He is currently VP of public affairs at Microsoft.
— Alexandra Seymour is now chief of staff at CalypsoAI. She previously was the speechwriter to former Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist and also worked at the NSC in the Trump administration.
— WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE: Melissa Piccoli is now associate director of scheduling in the White House. She was most recently deputy director of talent for the Presidential Inaugural Committee and also worked on the Biden campaign. … Connor Goddard is now senior associate director at the Presidential Personnel Office in the White House. He worked on Wilmington advance during the transition, and was on the HQ production/advance team for the Biden campaign.
TRANSITIONS — Grant Rumley is now a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East East Policy. He most recently was an adviser on Middle East policy at DOD in the Biden and Trump administrations. … Conor Sheehey is joining Sen. Mike Crapo’s (R-Idaho) Finance Committee staff as a health policy adviser. He previously was legislative director for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). …Curtis Walter is now federal policy and advocacy manager at Clean Air Task Force. He previously was advocacy manager at the American Clean Power Association. …
… Joe MacFarlane will be legislative assistant for Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.). He was previously legislative correspondent and body man for Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.). … Daphne Delgado is now project director of brain health partnerships at UsAgainstAlzheimers. She was previously senior government relations manager at Trust for America’s Health. … Marcus Frias is now comms director for Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). He was previously national press secretary for the House Financial Services Committee.
ENGAGED — Elizabeth Butler, deputy director of finance at No Labels, and Chris Eddowes, senior legislative assistant for Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), got engaged this weekend at sunrise on the beach in Ocean City, N.J., with family and friends there to celebrate. They met while both working for Smucker. Pic… Another pic
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Zach Gillan, VP at S-3 Group, and Cherie Paquette Gillan, a David Perdue and Fox News alum, welcomed Alice Marigold Gillan on May 23. Pic… Another pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) … Heritage Foundation’s Kay Coles James … Alex Stoddard … FT’s Ed Luce … NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald … McCain Institute’s Mark Green … Lizzy Peluso … AP’s Bill Barrow … SBA’s Matt Coleman … Sam Smith … Richard Sant of Lockheed Martin … Karen Tramontano … Leslie Harris … Sasha Moss of InSight Public Affairs … Irena Vidulović … CBS’ Olivia Gazis … Monica Millman … Spencer Ackerman of The Daily Beast … The Spectator’s Amber Athey (27) … Addisu Demissie … Abby Spring … former Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) … Sean Kennedy of the National Restaurant Association … Advoc8’s Jeremy Rose … Matt Winkler … Melissa Hockstad … Fortune Magazine’s Nicole Goodkind … Halimah Elmariah … Greg Nelson … Jim Innocenzi … Carol Wessel … Diane Zeleny … Christopher Minakowski … Terrance Green … Suzanne Merkelson … DNC’s Jose Nunez … Lyndee Rose … Constance Boozer … Forest Harger … Dan Bartlett of Walmart … Genny Nicholas … Robin Harris … Dan Tannebaum of Oliver Wyman
Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
Jesus in Matthew 6:19-34 calls his followers to an unswerving loyalty to those values, trusting God in a wholehearted way that is free from compromise.
Shane Vander Hart: Michael Green attributed the early church’s growth partly to the church’s ability to engage in persuasive apologetics and outthink her critics.
Shane Vander Hart: J.P. Moreland in his book Kingdom Triangle explains five shifts in the way our culture thinks that as Christians we need to understand.
Summary: President Joe Biden will participate in a Memorial Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery. President Biden’s Itinerary for 5/30/21: All Times EDT 10:30 AM Deliver a speech during Memorial Observance [Live Stream] – Arlington National Cemetery White House Briefing Schedule None Keep an Eye on the President at Our …
President Biden, the First Lady, the Vice President, the Second Gentleman, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff participate in a Wreath-Laying Ceremony. President Biden delivers the Memorial Day Address at the 153rd National Memorial Day Observance; the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman …
On Sunday, Democrats in Texas walked off the job to prevent passage of an election integrity bill that Gov. Greg Abbott has placed priority on. According to a local reporter, t’s just the fourth time in history that quorum has been broken in order to prevent a bill’s passage. The …
The United States, China and many other foreign governments are rife with unscrupulous and corrupt people, who don’t let a little thing like a treaty, namely “The Convention on the Prohibition of Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction” [referred to as the …
At some point today, someone we know – friend or family – will wish us a ‘Happy Memorial Day.’ It may come via a group text on our smart phones, or perhaps from a post on social media, but the greeting will come. It’s inevitable. When someone wishes us a …
Most service members would do whatever they could to keep their comrades out of harm’s way. Marine Corps Pfc. Whitt L. Moreland was no different. When his initial plan to save his fellow Marines during battle went awry, he had only seconds to react; he chose to give his life …
Happy Tuesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. I’ll pass on the muskmelon.
There are a few things that the low-testosterone, has-been Republicans like Paul Ryan and his ilk always miss when they warn the party away from Donald Trump. The most obvious, of course, is that this is Trump’s party now and they’re merely C Team periphery players who should be seen and not heard. Yes, it’s an adjustment, but they’re going to get the message eventually.
Another thing that they never get is that those of us on the Trump side of the GOP aisle enjoy life and have no interest in being dragged down again by the dour, constipated, Capitol Hill Club Republicans. Trump makes things interesting even on his dullest days, and we see that as an overwhelming positive.
We love watching him troll and trigger the the Democrats and their flying monkeys in the media. Despite all of their dubious shenanigans to get him out of their lives, he’s still able to make them dance like puppets on strings that he’s controlling. I’m firmly convinced that upper echelon Dems aren’t sleeping well this year because Trump is haunting their dreams. While awake, they’re covered in flop sweat because they worry about Trump making a triumphant return in 2024 better prepared to deal with their election “irregularities.”
Much to the chagrin of the Romney/Cheney/Ryan surrender wing of the GOP, Trump remains a major player in Republican politics from Mar-a-Lago. He’s not going to go away, and most Republicans don’t want him to.
Trump is now joining forces with Newt Gingrich, who runs a close second to the former president as the Republican Democrats Most Love to Hate.
One of President Trump’s 2020 campaign pitches was “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” On the campaign trail in 2016, he was pretty specific on key priorities like Supreme Court nominations, border security, the economy, and trade. When he could use the Chief Executive powers, he delivered on more of his promises than any president in my lifetime, even dragging congressional Democrats along when further obstruction would hurt them politically.
Now he has tapped Newt Gingrich to develop a modern version of a very successful idea from the 1990s. Gingrich was the author of the Contract with America, a document that gave congressional Republicans and candidates the message discipline to make their case to the American people. Historians credit this contract with allowing Republicans to retake both chambers of Congress in 1994 for the first time since 1953. Politico reports Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Senator Lindsey Graham are also involved.
The Contract with America was a great idea. Unfortunately, Republicans had been out of power in the House for so long that the rarefied air of the majority made them a little disoriented and they didn’t quite take full advantage of the situation.
Gingrich has always been one of the Republicans who I prefer to be working on strategy for the party rather than being a candidate. Yeah, he comes with a few warts, but, like Trump, he fights.
Stacey goes into great detail about what she thinks this Trump/Gingrich plan should to about things, and I agree with everything that she proposes. Here’s a sample:
Republicans need a specific agenda to communicate to their base and those negatively impacted by the Biden’s. America First is a straightforward overarching philosophy. It demands that American citizens’ prosperity, safety, and security are central to all domestic and foreign policy decisions. Developing a specific plan to support this philosophy will provide message discipline for Republicans at all levels of government to articulate a consistent governing philosophy.
There probably needs to be a new title for the plan. Calling it a Prosperity Pact or something that signifies the intent to lift all Americans out of the reemerging malaise under Biden could work. Prosperity requires safety and security, so it is reasonably descriptive of the entire philosophy. Unfortunately, the simple concept of America First has been hijacked by some that mainstream Republicans do not include in their coalition, like Nick Fuentes. He has a history of antisemitic and racist rhetoric. Replacing it is probably the cleanest way to make a break.
I’ve long lamented the inability of the Republican party to effectively communicate principles which are vastly superior to the sugar-coated communism that the Democrats are peddling. There’s real potential for Trump and Gingrich to make some magic here and I hope it works.
At the very least it’ll have the Democrats reaching for the Advil and Prilosec every time their names are mentioned in the same sentence.
PJ Media senior columnist and associate editor Stephen Kruiser is a professional stand-up comic, writer, and recovering political activist who edits and writes PJ’s Morning Briefing, aka The Greatest Political Newsletter in America. His latest book, Straight Outta Feelings, is a humorous exploration of how the 2016 election made him enjoy politics more than he ever had before. When not being a reclusive writer, Kruiser has had the honor of entertaining U.S. troops all over the world. Follow on: Gab, Parler, MeWe
Spy agencies played down and omitted intelligence that appeared supportive of President Trump policies . . . Some analysts now question whether the intelligence community can still give policymakers unbiased view of issues, including dissenting analysis, in this hyper-partisan era of America. As early as May 2020, some in government believed lab-leak theory deserved more study. President Trump and his advisers vehemently disagreed with the IC assessment the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified, insisting the most likely source of the virus was a lab leak.
By ordering a 90-day intelligence review of the origins of the COVID-19 virus, President Biden acknowledged implicitly that the IC assessment during the last year of Donald Trump’s presidency — that the virus evolved in nature – is now fully in question. The COVID origins evolution echoes the deeply flawed Russia collusion probe, when the FBI dove headfirst into an election-year dossier funded by Hillary Clinton and opened a probe of Trump adviser Carter Page even as the CIA warned Christopher Steele’s intelligence was Moscow-fed disinformation and Page was one of the Agency’s own assets.
Fred Fleitz, a longtime intelligence analyst and former chief of staff to the National Security Council said the intelligence community ombudsman has already concluded that spy agencies “deliberately played down and omitted intelligence” that China tried to meddle in the 2020 presidential election because they did not want to produce analysis that supported President Trump’s policies. Kash Patel, a former National Security Council adviser to Trump, said the failure to properly report on the origins of COVID-19 is the latest episode showing the intelligence community and the mainstream media taking positions contrary to Trump’s for reasons other than facts. Just the News
The Intelligence Community’s upper echelon has now been unmasked as a deeply flawed and highly politicized government bureaucracy, incapable of producing unbiased analysis. Unvarnished and non-politicized intelligence analysis is critical to keeping America safe.
Kamala Harris Bombs at the Naval Academy . . .
Hers was one of the worst 2021 commencement speeches. Have you heard the one about the Marine with the rolled-up solar panel? Kamala Harris attempted humor during a commencement address to graduating sailors and Marines at the Naval Academy last week. And the audience looked like they wanted to crawl under the nearest solar panel. Addressing the next generation of America’s warriors, the vice president cracked a quip about how they’d just love all that green investment she and Joe Biden are planning: “Just ask any Marine today, would she rather carry 20 pounds of batteries or a rolled-up solar panel, and I am positive she will tell you a solar panel—and so would he.” Ms. Harris’s attempt at gender-inclusive, environment-friendly comedy elicited an appreciative and raucous peal of laughter—but only from her. WSJ
Democrats set for filibuster brawl amid escalating tensions . . . Democrats are setting the stage for a massive brawl over the fate of the legislative filibuster as they face growing pressure to get rid of the roadblock. With Republicans waging their first successful filibuster attempt, and more fights looming on the horizon, Democrats are driving toward a tipping point on what to do about the procedural hurdle, which requires most legislation to get 60 votes to make it through the Senate. In June, a number of high-profile measures important to Democrats seem set to be blocked by the GOP’s filibuster, which supporters hope will convince wary Democrats to back ending the filibuster. The blocking of Democratic priorities will certainly enrage those liberals who already want the filibuster killed off. The Hill
Cruz and Hagerty Land in Israel to Assess Damage from Hamas War . . . Senators Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Bill Hagerty (R., Tenn.) landed in Israel on Sunday to assess the damage from the country’s most recent war with Hamas and meet with the Jewish state’s leaders. The lawmakers—both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—will tour Israel’s southern cities, which were heavily targeted by Hamas, and sit down with Israeli leaders to reaffirm the Republican Party’s unwavering support for the security alliance with America. The trip comes as Democrats in Congress are increasingly divided over U.S. support for Israel. Wash. Free Beacon
RNC featuring Tim Scott in ad campaign attacking Biden agenda . . . The Republican National Committee (RNC) has released a new ad attacking President Biden’s agenda that features Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). “A president that promised to bring us together should not be pushing agendas that tear us apart,” Scott, the GOP’s lone Black member of the upper chamber, says in the ad. “Our best future will not come from Washington scheme and socialist dreams, it will come from you, the American people.” The remarks were taken from Scott’s rebuttal to Biden’s speech before a socially distanced, pared-down joint session of Congress earlier this year. The Hill
Supreme Court term to wrap up with a bang . . . As the Supreme Court wraps up its spring term, the justices are preparing to weigh in on a series of hot-button issues. Here are five of the biggest cases still awaiting a decision before the court’s summer recess: faith of Obamacare, voting rule laws, college athlete compensation, religious liberty and gay rights, and free speech at public schools. Wash. Examiner
Nine Republicans not named Trump who could run in 2024 . . .
A growing number of Republicans are already jockeying ahead of 2024 as they await former President Trump’s decision on another possible White House run. While Trump has not confirmed whether he will launch a third presidential bid, he has repeatedly teased the idea since losing the election in 2020. Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Kristi Noem, Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley, Josh Hawley, and Tom Cotton. Here’s a look at these high-profile Republicans seen as potential heirs apparent to the former president. The Hill
National Security
Cyber attack disrupts operations of world’s biggest meat supplier . . . JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier, suffered a cyber attack on its North American and Australian systems that disrupted its global operations and forced it to stand down thousands of employees. The Brazilian company has stood down up to 7,000 workers in Australia and halted processing cattle, pigs and sheep at its 47 facilities across the country when it determined it was the subject of an organised cyber attack. The incident, which was first discovered on Sunday, is the latest in a string of cyber attacks on global companies including last month’s ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, which operates a 5,500km fuel artery in the US. FT
International
North Korea Warns Of ‘Acute And Instable Situation’ In Message To Biden Admin . . . North Korea warned the United States it was creating an “acute and instable situation” in the region Monday following a recent summit between President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-In. The warning was North Korea’s first response to the May 21 summit between the U.S. and South Korean leaders at the White House, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Biden and Moon had agreed in a joint statement to end decades-long restrictions on South Korea’s missile program. Daily Caller
Iran Nuclear-Fuel Production Plummets After Natanz Explosion . . . Iran’s production of nuclear fuel plunged in recent weeks, the United Nations atomic agency reported on Monday, following alleged sabotage of its main nuclear facility in April that Tehran has blamed on Israel. The drop in production, detailed in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s confidential report circulated Monday, gives the first substantive insight into the impact of the incident, which took out the power supply at Natanz and destroyed potentially hundreds of centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium. Israel has declined to comment on the incident, one of several at Iran’s nuclear facilities over the last 18 months. WSJ
Russia warns US of ‘uncomfortable’ signals ahead of Biden-Putin summit . . . Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Monday the country wanted to send the U.S. “uncomfortable” signals ahead of a meeting between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva next month. Russia also announced it would be enhancing its military presence at its western border. “The Americans must assume that a number of signals from Moscow … will be uncomfortable for them, including in the coming days,” Ryabkov said. According to Ryabkov, Russia was prepared to respond to Biden’s remarks on Sunday in which he said he would call on Putin to respect human rights during their June meeting. The Hill
Coronavirus
Covid Prevention Measures Are Keeping Childhood Diseases at Bay . . . The disinfecting and hand-washing that became common during the Covid-19 pandemic have also served as powerful tools against a host of childhood ailments such as chickenpox, stomach viruses and strep throat, recent data suggest.The virtual disappearance of the flu has been well-documented, with cases down 99% or more in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere over the winter. The U.S. recorded just one child death related to the flu in the 2020-21 season, down from 199 the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WSJ
UK intelligence reassesses COVID lab leak theory, now says its ‘feasible’ . . . US and UK step up calls for WHO to take a deeper look into possible origins of COVID-19. British intelligence services are now reportedly reassessing their position on the theory that COVID-19 leaked from a lab in China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. A Sunday report from the Sunday Times of London quotes British spies who initially dismissed the lab leak theory, but now say it is “feasible.” Fox News
Money
The Wall Street Players Who Worry Inflation Heralds Wild Markets . . . Investors are preparing for wild swings in financial markets, worried that inflation, and the Federal Reserve’s pledge to let it rise, will lead to a more volatile world. The reason: The economic policies aiming to create inflation now are the opposite of the ones that kept markets relatively stable for decades. The Fed’s focus in recent decades on supporting the economy by keeping financial markets stable will be upended by its more liberal stance on inflation since the Covid-19 pandemic began. In the past, when things got rocky, the Fed boosted liquidity, cut the cost of credit and ultimately buoyed stock prices. That was a virtuous circle while inflation is low and the Fed could step in whenever volatility jumped—the broad trend of the past 30 years. WSJ
Scammers’ billions ripped off from pandemic assistance funds ‘tip of the iceberg’ . . . When a name such as disgraced football coach Joe Paterno, dead for nearly a decade, shows up on documents applying for a pandemic loan, it’s a pretty good red flag there’s something fishy going on. But authorities say that’s exactly what one scammer tried to do. Over the past 14 months scammers looked at the trillions of dollars being pumped into the economy by the government as a chance to make off with more than their share of the pie. Justice Department prosecutors this week said it had rolled up a network of scammers who bilked the government out of $143 million in bogus COVID-19 medical bills. Wash. Times
Is Your Money Enabling Terrorism? . . . The Biden administration is helping to prop up Hamas in Gaza and thereby enabling terrorism. We shouldn’t stand for it. We should be watching the secretary of state’s visit to the middle east — and keeping track of how much money the Biden administration is distributing that ultimately helps prop up terrorism. We are seeing a real shift to an anti-Israeli attitude in the Democratic Party. Gingrich360
Time Magazine Takes Chinese Cash To Promote Controversial Drone Business . . . As part of a $700,000 advertising campaign, Time magazine published articles from a Chinese state-run media agency touting a controversial Chinese drone maker accused of helping the government surveil Uyghurs and boosting the Chinese Communist Party’s latest five-year economic plan. Time has published 75 online articles from China Daily as part of the lucrative ad deal, which began late last year. The Justice Department requires China Daily to disclose its media activities under the Foreign Agents Registration Act due to its affiliation with the People’s Republic of China. The news agency paid millions of dollars for advertising and printing over the past six months to American newspapers and magazines, including Time, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Foreign Policy magazine. Wash. Free Beacon
You should also know
Michael Flynn says coup ‘should happen’ in U.S., then denies claim in Parler post . . . Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said at a convention in Dallas that America’s armed forces should follow the lead of those of Myanmar, who seized power after a disputed election. He was asked during a question-and-answer session at a QAnon conference by a man who said he was a Marine, “I want to know why what happened in Myanmar can’t happen here?” The QAnon crowd, some of whom have praised the Myanmar coup, cheered, and Mr. Flynn, who was former President Trump’s first national security adviser, had to pause. “No reason. I mean, it should happen here,” he said, according to a video posted on social media. Then on social media, he denied calling for any such action.
Former Navy SEAL-Turned-Actor Left Hollywood Because He Couldn’t Express His ‘Love For This Country’ . . . Former Navy SEAL Cade Courtley claimed he left Hollywood because he couldn’t express his “true core values.” Courtley went from Navy SEAL to performing Hollywood stunt work. He hosted his own show, “Surviving Disaster,” in 2009 before making the decision to leave Hollywood about five years ago. “You’re not going to be working in that business if you have patriotic or conservative values. That’s just the reality of that business.” Daily Caller
Five things to know about the new spotlight on UFOs . . . The Biden administration is taking a more serious look into unidentified flying objects (UFOs), publicly acknowledging what had previously been considered the realm of conspiracy theories and science fiction. Congress and the public are expected to hear more soon from intelligence agencies on what they are calling “unidentified aerial phenomena.” 1. An intelligence report is comingnext month; 2. The White House considers UFOs a concern; 3. Military members are speaking out; 4. There is growing pressure to act; 5. There are possible national security implications. See details in The Hill
Guilty Pleasures
You Don’t Need All That Grilled Meat: Try These 7 Great Meat Substitutes! . . . Whether it’s because you care about the environment or because you think meat is icky, you’re trying to wean yourself off the stuff. But it’s barbecue season, and you’ll be tempted to go back to meat as you smell those delicious burgers your neighbors are cooking up. Don’t give in! We’ve got you covered with these seven great meat substitutes: 1. Instead of bacon, try bacon-wrapped bacon. And then take the whole thing and wrap it in bacon. 2. Instead of hamburgers, try hamburgers but with patties in place of the buns, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup. Yeah, so just like 7 patties stacked on top of each other. 3. Instead of surf and turf, order surf and surf and turf and turf and turf. If you’re feeling peckish, throw on another turf. 4. Instead of hormone-free chicken, try double-testosterone-injected chicken. Only real men can handle this extra-manly chicken. See the rest in Babylon Bee
Reminds me of Keith’s Keto diet. 😉
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year reign may soon be coming to an end as an ideologically diverse anti-Netanyahu coalition appears to be barreling toward a power-sharing agreement that would result in Naftali Bennett—former defense minister and Netanyahu ally—securing the top job for two years, before turning it over to the more centrist Yair Lapid, a former news anchor. Negotiations are not yet final, but must be completed before a Wednesday deadline.
Weeks after China’s census revealed the country’s slowest population growth in decades, the Chinese Communist Party announced Monday it was replacing its two-child policy for married couples with a three-child policy.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) relaxed its masking guidance for vaccinated children attending summer camps, saying it is safe for camps where everyone is fully vaccinated to “return to full capacity, without masking, and without physical distancing.” The CDC encourages campers who are not fully vaccinated—including those between ages 2 and 12, who are not yet eligible for a vaccine—to continue to mask indoors and in “crowded outdoor settings.”
The federal government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday that employers can require employees entering a physical workplace to receive a COVID-19 vaccine (with accommodations for objectors) without violating nondiscrimination laws. Employers can also offer employees incentives to be vaccinated as long as the incentive is “not so substantial as to be coercive.”
The United States confirmed 4,384 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 1.7 percent of the 261,869 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 128 deaths were attributed to the virus on Monday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 594,565. According to the CDC, 20,064 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Meanwhile, 1,223,800 COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered Sunday (the CDC did not update its data yesterday), with 167,733,972 Americans having now received at least one dose. (The numbers the past few days were likely affected by the holiday weekend, so expect some reporting lags.)
Biden’s Budget Bonanza
When speaking off the cuff, President Joe Biden can sometimes appear like the fiscal hawk he used to be, sounding off on the perils of spending in the red. Last month, amid negotiations about his mammoth infrastructure plan, Biden insisted a sizable corporate tax hike needed to be part of the package: “I’m willing to compromise but I’m not willing to not pay for what we’re talking about. I’m not willing to deficit spend.”
On Friday afternoon, however, Biden tipped his fiscal hand with the release of the White House budget plan for fiscal year 2022 and the decade beyond—a budget showing a comfort with massive, routine deficit spending that far exceeds anything laid out even by former Democratic administrations.
Presidential budgets are often more symbolic than anything else; the details ultimately need to be ironed out in Congress. But the framework congressional Democrats will be working from calls for huge increases in federal spending from pre-pandemic levels across vast swaths of the economy and American society. The core of the budget is Biden’s American Families Plan—which focuses on education, child care, and paid family leave—and his infrastructure package, the American Jobs Plan. But it is also packed with multibillion-dollar new priorities across the federal government, from fighting climate change, to increasing funding to high-poverty schools, to beefing up the Centers for Disease Control, to combating gun violence and opioid abuse.
The total sticker price: $6 trillion next year, growing to $8 trillion per year by the end of the decade.
Senate GOP Opts for Partisan Investigations Into January 6
Given how much top Democrats have advocated for abolishing or reforming the Senate’s legislative filibuster in recent months, you might be surprised to learn that, 128 days into Joe Biden’s presidency, Senate Republicans had not actually filibustered a single thing in the 117th Congress. That changed Friday.
When we were last in your inbox, late-night Senate shenanigans had delayed a procedural vote on whether to debate establishing a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 attack on the Capitol and the events leading up to it. Although the House passed H.R. 3233 252-175 on May 19 with 35 Republicans signing on, Senate Republicans proved far less amenable. Only six voted on Friday morning to invoke cloture and proceed to the bill: Sens. Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Rob Portman, Ben Sasse, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney.
Sen. Pat Toomey was absent Friday due to a family commitment, but a spokesman told NorthcentralPA that the Pennsylvanian would have also voted in favor of the commission had he been in Washington.
Despite calling the events of January 6 a “disgrace” in which American citizens “used terrorism” and “attacked their own government” just a few months ago, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had in recent weeks aggressively urged his fellow Republicans—both publicly and behind-the-scenes—to oppose the commission.
This Atlantic piece from S.L.A Marshall recounting the D-Day invasion of Normandy—first published in 1960—was one of the best (and most harrowing) things we read on Memorial Day. The piece is a vivid reminder of who and what the holiday is meant to honor. “Already the sea runs red. Even among some of the lightly wounded who jumped into shallow water the hits prove fatal. Knocked down by a bullet in the arm or weakened by fear and shock, they are unable to rise again and are drowned by the onrushing tide. Other wounded men drag themselves ashore and, on finding the sands, lie quiet from total exhaustion, only to be overtaken and killed by the water.”
Ross Douthat’s latest New York Times column argues it’s important to learn whether COVID-19 escaped from a Chinese laboratory rather than a wet market. “There’s a pretty big difference between a world where the Chinese regime can say, We weren’t responsible for Covid but we crushed the virus and the West did not, because we’re strong and they’re decadent, and a world where this was basically their Chernobyl except their incompetence and cover-up sickened not just one of their own cities but also the entire globe.”
Thomas Joscelyn’s latest Vital Interests(🔒) takes a look at the geopolitics of the COVID-19 origin debate. “The only entity that really knows is the CCP,” he writes. “But Beijing hasn’t been forthcoming. In fact, Chinese officials are quick to feign outrage at any suggestion that they’ve been less than truthful. … Even if America’s spy agencies can’t draw any definitive conclusions, the Biden administration should always remember why we are in the dark in the first place.”
Sarah and Steve were joined on the Friday Dispatch Podcast by Stephen Gutowski—firearms expert and founder of The Reload—to talk all things gun policy. Gun ownership is at record levels in America due in large part to the pandemic and riots of last summer. How is this changing the politics of firearms? Stick around to hear a breakdown of the latest NRA scandal, what bothers Stephen the most about gun usage in movies, and much more.
In Friday’s G-File, Jonah writes about democracy—and whether it is truly “under attack” as so many Democrats and progressive media institutions are saying. “Outside of some post-liberal integralists, alt-righters, and maybe a couple nationalists, the ‘war on democracy Republicans’ aren’t making anti-democratic arguments,” he writes. “They’re making arguments for democracy. They’re just working off of lies and falsehoods peddled by a populist narcissist and the coterie of enablers he’s empowered.”
David’s Sunday French Press focused on the Tulsa Race Massacre, and how Christians should reflect on past atrocities. “One of the best things our nation does is remember and honor the men who fought, bled, and died to preserve American liberty. That’s the purpose of this very weekend. The memorials to their sacrifice deservedly and rightfully cover this country,” he writes. “It’s that deep emotional tie to the present that renders battles over our past so bitter and brutal. We’re more than willing to feel pride over the virtues of our ancestors. But when the past is grim, we separate ourselves. We forget. We grow defiant.”
We tried to stop them, but our efforts were futile. Alec and Ryan ate cicadas—on a charcuterie board and in fettuccine alfredo—and Alec wrote about the experience in a piece for the site over the weekend. “Cicadas certainly don’t taste bad, but they don’t taste great either,” he concludes. “It takes far more effort to collect them, kill them, and prepare them than it’s actually worth.” (Don’t miss the video linked in the piece.)
Leslie Eastman: “I spent Memorial Day watching World War II movies (Midway, The Battle of the Bulge) and reflecting on the sacrifices made by American military members, which has blessed us with freedom and prosperity. There was a time Hollywood had its priorities straight.”
Stacey Matthews: “Poor ABC News reporter Jon Karl really had to struggle through a segment on ‘This Week’ Sunday where he had to admit Trump might have been right about the Wuhan lab leak theory.”
David Gerstman: “Stacey Matthews blogged about how Rutgers University (the state university of New Jersey) thought it was a good idea to retract a categorical condemnation of antisemitism. But Rutgers, a public university, has bigger problems than just morally muddled leadership at its flagship campus in New Brunswick, it also is home to a viciously anti-Israel and antisemitic “academic” center – called the Center for Security, Race and Religion (RUCSRR)– at its Newark campus. So while the New Brunswick leadership briefly showed concern about antisemitism, RUCSRR was promoting a video featuring Columbia Professor Rashid Khalidi, titled the 100 years war on Palestine. Khalidi opposes the existence of the Jewish State, and by the accepted definition of antisemitism, this is it. Any apology for antisemitism from Rutgers that doesn’t address the antisemitic incitement coming out of RUCSRR is worthless.”
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Texas Democrats Walk Out on Election Integrity Bill
Late Sunday night, Texas Democrats walked out of the State House, refusing to provide a quorum (the number of Members required to be present on the House floor) to move an election integrity bill which included provisions requiring proof of identification for voting by mail, and significant criminal liability for election officials who do not comply with orders from the Secretary of State.
The Texas walk-out recalls to mind the Wisconsin legislature, where in 2011, Wisconsin Democrats fled the state to avoid passing a bill regarding teachers unions, and mobs of protestors shut down the legislative session for days at a time. There is a certain irony here, as well, in that Texas Democrats are availing themselves of the right of the minority to deny a quorum, even as their national party pushes to end the United States Senate’s filibuster, a key right of the minority party.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to recall the Texas legislature into special session in order to finish consideration the bill. He has also suggested he will cut the pay of Members who do not show up. More from the Texas Tribune:
“By 11:15 p.m. about 30 Democrats could be seen arriving at a Baptist church about 2 miles away from the Capitol in East Austin.
The location for Democrats’ reunion appeared to be a nod at a last-minute addition to the expansive bill that set a new restriction on early voting hours on Sundays, limiting voting from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Over the last two days, Democrats had derided the addition — dropped in during behind-closed-door negotiations — raising concerns that change would hamper “souls to the polls” efforts meant to turn out voters, particularly Black voters, after church services.
Standing outside the church, Democrats said the walkout came only after it appeared Democrats’ plan to run out the clock on the House floor with speeches wasn’t going to work because Republicans had the votes to use a procedural move to cut off debate and force a final vote on the legislation.
“We saw that coming,” said state Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat and chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. “We’ve used all the tools in our toolbox to fight this bill. And tonight we pulled out that last one.”
With about an hour left before the midnight deadline, House SpeakerDade Phelanacknowledged the lost quorum and adjourned until 10 a.m. Monday morning. Midnight was the cutoff for the House and Senate to sign off on the final versions of bills that have been negotiated during conference committees.”
Gun Sales Continue to Spike
Even the New York Timescan’t ignore who is purchasing firearms – and why. “While gun sales have been climbing for decades — they often spike in election years and after high-profile crimes — Americans have been on an unusual, prolonged buying spree fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, the protests last summer and the fears they both stoked.
In March last year, federal background checks, a rough proxy for purchases, topped one million in a weekfor the first time since the government began tracking them in 1998. And the buying continued, through the protests in the summer and the election in the fall, until a week this spring broke the record with 1.2 million background checks. …
Not only were people who already had guns buying more, but people who had never owned one were buying them too. New preliminary data from Northeastern University and the Harvard Injury Control Research Center show that about a fifth of all Americans who bought guns last year were first-time gun owners. And the data, which has not been previously released, showed that new owners were less likely than usual to be male and white. Half were women, a fifth were Black and a fifth were Hispanic.”
For the Nerds
I have a new essay up at The American Conservative discussing why the Right must re-think its general reticence toward antitrust enforcement.
For the Oenophiles
I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about orange wine, likely because it’s popping up on menus at trendy wine bars. “Orange” wine is really just white wine that’s received some skin contact in the aging process (usually just reserved for red wines) as well as some oxidation (exposure to air, usually a no-no when vinifying whites). As a result, it’s a little tangy, nutty, and sometimes sour. It’s definitely an acquired taste, but worth trying if you’re feeling adventurous. It’s a versatile pairing and meshes well with bold dishes. I’ve tried it recently with Korean and Middle Eastern food, both to good result!
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Jun 01, 2021 01:00 am
After over a year of captivity under rapidly changing, often arbitrary and capricious mandates and restrictions, many individuals are now identifying with their ruling class captors. Read More…
Jun 01, 2021 01:00 am
Despite real problems of poor education, crumbling infrastructure, crime, poverty, and drugs, Baltimore continues to hobble its own citizens and the local economy through arbitrary COVID measures. Read More…
Jun 01, 2021 01:00 am
Good old T.R. might have slapped Mr. Trump on the back in enthusiastic concord with his way of going about the presidency. Read More…
Public schools need to get their wings clipped
Jun 01, 2021 01:00 am
A story out of Washington state highlights that many so-called educators have gotten way too big for their britches and need some serious pushback. Read more…
The United Nations, porn, and your child
Jun 01, 2021 01:00 am
If you had any doubts about the downfall of an organization that once had some merit, its latest pronouncement should put those doubts to rest. Read more…
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We know that supposed conservative writer George Will infamously declared that he wants to see the Jan. 6 Capitol riot “burned into the American mind as firmly as 9/11 because it was that scale of a shock to the system.” We know that Huffington Post senior White House correspondent S.V. Dáte defended Will by saying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was ” … Read more
A black rights activist at a weekend rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said that a time would come when black Americans would need to “kill everything white in sight.” What’s a brief history here? According to a Monday report from … Read more
Authorities say that a 7-year-old Florida boy likely saved the lives of his father and his younger sister after the three were swept out and stranded in a river by dangerous currents. What are the details? According to a Monday … Read more
The lyrics of the ‘Blue’s Clues’ ‘Pride Month’ song, which appears to be sung by a cartoon drag queen, include the following: ‘Trans members of this family all love each other so proudly.’
While Vitolo only addressed the race- and sex-based discrimination in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, it could prove fatal to many federal and state statutes, regulations, and practices.
Federalist Publisher Ben Domenech explained Monday exactly how the United States is re-living the violent decade of the 1970s, and revealed the only way out is through the American people.
Since public schools are spectacularly successful leftist recruitment centers, weakening public attachment to them through lockdowns was a dangerous move for Democrats.
If the lawsuit between DeSantis and the CDC forces a compromise, it will reflect the need to address political issues on corporate and cultural fronts, not just legislative.
After what the corrupt government and corporations of this country did to Americans, we can recognize that people have been made to feel a sense of anxiety as they leave their homes.
Sports star Naomi Osaka has just decided to step away from the French Open — and the entire sport of tennis — rather than be interviewed about the tournament.
The Transom is a daily email newsletter written by publisher of The Federalist Ben Domenech for political and media insiders, which arrives in your inbox each morning, collecting news, notes, and thoughts from around the web.
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40.) REUTERS
The Reuters Daily Briefing
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
by Linda Noakes
Hello
Here’s what you need to know.
America marks the Tulsa massacre, Israel’s Netanyahu is on the ropes, and climate activists have some unlikely cheerleaders
Today’s biggest stories
Survivors and siblings Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis attend the soil dedication at Stone Hill on the 100 year anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant
We spoke to survivor Lessie Benningfield Randle, 106, who said she can still remember a house engulfed in flames and bodies stacked in truckbeds.
Here’s our factbox on the killings, which were not taught in history classes or reported by local newspapers for decades.
Biden will announce steps to narrow the large and persistent racial wealth gap that divides Black, Latino and white Americans, although he will stop short of a cancellation of student loan debt demanded by civil rights groups.
Using his Memorial Day speech to defend America’s “imperfect” democracy, the president called for more work to deliver the promise of what he said remained “the greatest experiment” in world history.
A protester wearing a mask of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a t-shirt reading ‘Ceremony is over’ gestures during a rally in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Peru has almost tripled its official COVID-19 death toll to 180,764, following a government review, making it the country with the worst death rate per capita. Experts had long warned that the true death toll was being undercounted in official statistics.
Nearly 10 years after Anders Behring Breivik tried to kill her on the Norwegian island of Utoeya, Astrid Hoem is back there to explain to a group of teenagers how she ran for her life. Survivors of the mass shooting, many of whom were teenagers at the time, are determined to confront the far-right ideology which was a catalyst.
Philippine food maker Monde Nissin is pinning its future on the fast-growing alternative meats business on the back of a $1 billion initial public offering, which marked the country’s largest-ever listing.
The price of Tesla vehicles is increasing due to supply chain pressures across the auto industry, particularly for raw materials, Elon Musk said in response to a tweet. Tesla increased its Model 3 and Model Y prices last month, the automaker’s fifth incremental price increase for its vehicles in just a few months.
Quote of the day
“So damn impressive taking the high road when the powers that be don’t protect their own. Major respect”
Artist Eduardo Srur reproduces works by renowned masters without using a drop of paint – just recycled shreds of plastic picked up from city streets and rivers.
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“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”. John 15:13
Bill Smith, Major, USAF-Retired, ARRA News Service Editor – (words I shared in 2009 that still stand true today): Today, many will gather with friends and family and enjoy a day of fun and fellowship. Some will recall a “special” person or memory related to Memorial Day. However, all of us can share in the remembrance of the brave Americans who serve or served and especially those who sacrificed their lives to preserve our values of freedom and liberty.
Most of us know a veteran: a son, a daughter, a spouse, a parent, a friend, a lover, a neighbor, etc. As for me, I must have inherited “a military gene.” My birth father, Harvey Stewart, enlisted in the Army from Ohio and served in WWII. As an infantryman he received the Silver Star in the Battle of the Bulge and then fought in the Korean War. My father (dad), Wayne Smith, dropped out of high school to enlist in the Army from Illinois “to fight” in WWII. He was assigned to an engineering unit in the Army Air Corps. He was one of the youngest in his unit and was in several military “campaigns” in the South Pacific.
Both returned to different lives. Harvey Stewart, like many veterans, never fully recovered from the effects of the memories of war. However, Wayne Smith returned, married, and in a few years adopted me as their first son. Dad never shared about the trauma of war until after I entered the service. But, he did instill in me a love and respect for America. On Memorial Day, we attended parades (when community parades were fashionable), we visited the graves of veterans, and he shared about his war buddies. He loved sharing about the welcome of the Filipino people when the Philippine Islands were liberated.
By the time I graduated form high school, the Vietnam War was raging. At 19 and newly married, I received my invite (draft notice) and opted to voluntarily enlist in the Air Force. Little did I know that it would become 22 year career (enlisted for 5 1/2 years; an officer for 16 1/2 years). My bond with my father became closer, and dad shared with me his experiences previously reserved to be shared with fellow comrades-in-arms.
While I wish that the world was different, it is not. I would that no man or woman would need to serve in the military. But I am very proud of those that do! In saying this, I was blessed to have experienced the continued military bond with my son, Brian Smith, who served as an Air Force officer and who now works in a civilian position helping to protect America.
Memorial Day remains for me a special day remembering! Dad has now joined his comrades and rests in peace. My day will come quick enough. Until then, my duty is to remember those who served faithfully, to remember those who serve presently, to remember my oath as an officer to defend the Constitution, and to remember to stand for liberty and justice and against tyranny.
God bless America, its Veterans and those who presently serve and protect it!
Tags:Memorial Day, 2021, remembering, Major-Retired, Bill Smith, veteran, ARRA News ServiceTo share or post to your site, click on “Post Link”. Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and “Like” Facebook Page – Thanks!
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‘On this Memorial Day, we remember the fallen heroes who took their last breaths in defense of our Nation, our families, our citizens, and our sacred freedoms,’ Trump said. Read more…
(OIL PRICE) – U.S. energy companies are urgently building their cyberattack insurance coverage following the Colonial Pipeline network attack earlier this month, Reuters has reported, adding that premiums were likely… Read more…
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47.) ABC
June 1, 2021 – Having trouble viewing this email? Open it in your browser.
Morning Rundown
Miami-Dade cops looking for gunmen after shooting, reward now $130K: Miami-Dade County law enforcement are on high alert for the suspects involved in a shooting over the weekend that left two dead and 21 injured. On Sunday, three assailants unleashed a barrage of gunfire on a crowd standing outside a birthday party concert at a rented banquet hall in suburban Miami, police said. The shooters were armed with high-powered rifles and handguns, and arrived and fled in an SUV. The vehicle was found submerged in a canal Monday afternoon. Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez told ABC News that the gunmen allegedly waited outside the party for about 40 minutes before opening fire just as revelers were leaving the celebration. At a news conference on Monday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vowed to bring the shooters to justice and provide law enforcement officials with the resources they need to solve these crimes. The reward for information on the banquet hall shooting has climbed to $130,000, according to Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers. The Sunday shooting in Miami-Dade was the 17th mass shooting in the U.S. in May alone and the second to rock the Miami area since the start of Memorial Day weekend. Cava noted that more than 30 people were shot over the weekend and urged people to break the “cycle of violence.” “Gun violence is an epidemic and the pandemic has intensified it,” she said.
Biden puts national spotlight on 100th anniversary of Tulsa Race Massacre: President Joe Biden is traveling to Oklahoma today to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and to put a national spotlight on one of the worst acts of racial violence in America, one that was largely whitewashed and omitted from history books. During his visit, he’ll meet with survivors of the domestic terror attack, and deliver remarks and tour the Greenwood Cultural Center. Exactly one century ago this week, one of the most violent racial acts in American history took place when the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as “Black Wall Street,” was burned to the ground by a mob of armed white men. With the members of law enforcement and government employees working against Black residents, the state of Oklahoma recorded only 36 deaths, but a 2001 commission reported the number killed was as high as 300. As many as 10,000 residents were displaced or put in internment camps and no one was ever charged with a crime. The community never recovered. On Monday, Biden issued a presidential proclamation declaring it a day of remembrance, and called on Americans “to reflect on the deep roots of racial terror in our nation and recommit to the work of rooting out systemic racism across our country.”
Naomi Osaka says she will withdraw from 2021 French Open: Tennis star Naomi Osaka said she’s withdrawing from this year’s French Open following the controversy surrounding her decision to skip press conferences for the duration of the competition. The events leading up to Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the Grand Slam tournament began last week when she made an announcement on social media, saying she wouldn’t be doing any press events due to a lack of care of athletes’ mental health. In response, the French Open fined the tennis star $15,000 for missing mandatory press interviews after her opening match against Patricia Maria Tig. On Monday, Osaka released a statement on Twitter revealing that she has suffered long bouts of depression since the U.S. Open in 2018 and found press events to be stressful. She also wrote to the French Open privately to apologize. For now, Osaka says she will be taking time away from the court and hopes to work with the tour when the time is right to “make things better for the players, press and fans.”
12-year-old fights to make restrooms more accessible to people with disabilities: A 12-year-old girl from Michigan is fighting for new legislation to make public restrooms more accessible to people with disabilities. Last month, Zoey Harrison, who has cerebral palsy and uses a power wheelchair, met with Congressman John Moolenaar to talk about her proposed bills aimed at making public restrooms more accessible. She said bathroom floors are often unclean and for her to change her clothes, her parents have to lay towels on the ground. She also suggested adding accessible restrooms to Michigan’s government website so people with disabilities know where they are found. “I’m excited to make a change,” said Zoey. “I’m happy people are listening to me.” Zoey said she hopes to visit amusement parks, restaurants and stores to examine the facilities. If they meet her approval as well as that of the checklist from her proposed bills, those places would receive an official “Z-seal of approval.”
GMA Must-Watch
This morning on “GMA,” ABC News celebrates 75 years and we have a look back at some of our most iconic moments. Plus, Jordan Fisher and the cast of “Dear Evan Hansen” join us live outside the studio for the first Broadway performance since theaters shut down. And we are announcing our June “GMA” Book Club pick with a special message from the author. All this and more only on “GMA.”
Today we look at the high-stakes summer ahead for President Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s return to the political stage, and a former Marine argues more should be done for the families of soldiers killed in action.
Here’s the latest on that and everything else we’re watching this Tuesday morning.
In the early months of Biden’s presidency, he was able to mostly set the course. His administration exceeded goals he set on vaccinations and a $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package.
Things change. A gas shortage and fighting in the Middle East are among the crises to have emerged, and Biden missed a key deadline he set for himself on police reform legislation.
June will present a number of high stakes moments for Biden that will give him an opportunity to take back control of the agenda.
But the White House knows it is in a race against time: Veterans of the Obama administration experienced firsthand how limited a window a president has to get significant work done, White House officials have said.
“They know they have a very finite amount of time in that first crucial year-and-a-half in office to get stuff done,” said Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod. “They aren’t taking anything for granted to get these monumental pieces of legislation done.”
Monday also saw Biden pay tribute to the men and women who gave their lives in service to their country during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, speaking in deeply personal terms about overcoming loss and the importance of upholding democratic values at home and abroad.
In addressing the sacrifice made by military families who have lost a loved one, Biden spoke at length about his personal experience of losing his son Beau Biden, a veteran of the Iraq war, who died of brain cancer six years ago Sunday.
Donald Trump returns to the electoral battleground with a speech this Saturday and plans to follow up with rallies in June and July to give him the option of seeking the presidency again in 2024.
As Israel traded fire with militants in the Gaza Strip last month, rival Jewish and Arab mobs battled each other in the streets of Lod. Their strife speaks to bigger forces swirling over Israel as it tries to reconcile competing identities and versions of history.
The tennis star withdrew from the French Open Monday, after officials threatened to suspend her and fined her $15,000 over her decision not to do media interviews during the tournament.
A program designed to notify and assist survivors’ families doesn’t reflect the modern meaning of “next of kin,” writes journalist and former Marine officer Kelsey Baker.
By Meredith Kolodner, The Hechinger Report | Read more
Public colleges in every state except Louisiana use for-profit debt collection agencies to recover overdue tuition, library fees and even parking ticket fines.
Readers gravitated toward Apple products, face masks, smart TVs, exercise bikes and more on Amazon Prime Day 2020. Here are the top choices they made.
One uplifting thing
Since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the country, Simone Gordon, a single mother from New Jersey, has turned the social media groups she once relied on for help herself into a multistate operation that targets needs large and small.
She has marshaled hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and dozens of volunteers to fill in the gaps of Covid-19 government assistance while granting “wish lists” for holidays and paying off tuition bills.
And for that, she earned the nickname she used for her new nonprofit: “the Black Fairy Godmother.”
From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
FIRST READ: Dems, GOP face off in New Mexico special congressional election
Today brings us the third round of special congressional elections in the Biden Era – this time the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., who’s now serving as Biden’s Interior secretary.
(The first two rounds of special elections were in Louisiana and Texas.)
And at stake in this contest between Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury and GOP state Sen. Mark Moores is the Democrats’ narrow House majority (219-211), as well as a test of how potent the issue of crime might still be for the GOP.
AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan
“Mr. Moores has spotlighted the rising murder rate in Albuquerque and assailed Ms. Stansbury as soft on crime for supporting a little-known proposal in Congress that would cut funding for local police departments,” the New York Times’ Jonathan Martin writes.
More: “In an interview, Ms. Stansbury offered no regrets for her support of the measure, the so-called BREATHE Act, an expansive criminal justice proposal pushed by racial justice activists.”
(The BREATHE Act is backed by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Ma., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.)
National Democrats feel confident about their advantage in early voting, as well as the makeup of this district that Biden won by 23 points in 2020 and that Haaland won by 16 points.
“Through early voting, 54,111 registered Democrats had cast a ballot and 27,934 Republicans had voted, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office. About 10,700 voters who don’t state a political party have also voted,” per the Albuquerque Journal.
So the question that could decide how close this contest is how many Republicans turn out on Election Day – the day after Memorial Day.
And keep your eyes on the margin, even if Dems win.
After all, it was closer-than-expected margins in MULTIPLE GOP special-election victories in 2017 that gave us an indication of how the political winds were blowing before the 2018 midterms.
Polling places close in New Mexico at 9:00 pm ET.
Blame it on Texas
Over the long weekend, Texas Republicans saw one of their top legislative priorities stymied after Democrats staged a dramatic last-minute walkout that prevented passage of a stringent new voting restrictions bill.
The bill, which GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged will be taken up again in a special session later this year, would ban 24-hour and drive-thru voting, add ID requirements for mail ballots and give protections to partisan poll watchers. It would also prohibit Sunday voting before 1:00 pm — which voting rights advocates call an affront to “Souls to the Polls” get-out-the-vote efforts in Black communities.
Democrats were also particularly alarmed by language inserted into the bill at the last minute that could have made it easier to overturn elections on suspicion of fraud.
The drama that unfolded late Sunday night was a high-wire act for Democrats, who were forced to leave other legislation unfinished and now face the threat that the governor will defund legislative pay after Democratic lawmakers broke quorum to kill the bill.
But it also underscored the lengths to which Democrats in one of the country’s largest and fastest-changing states are willing to go to preserve voting access – in a place where the GOP had plenty of success in 2020. And it re-upped pressure on national Democrats to pass voter protections at the federal level.
“Breaking quorum is about the equivalent of crawling on our knees begging the president and the United States Congress to give us the For the People Act and give us the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,” one Democratic lawmaker told the Washington Post.
33,432,444: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials.
598,313: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News.
294,928,850: The number of vaccine doses administered in the U.S.
37.5 percent: The share of all Americans who are fully vaccinated, per NBC News.
51.5 percent: The share of all American adults over 18 who are fully vaccinated, per CDC.
Remembering Tulsa
President Biden today travels to Oklahoma, where he will mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre – by touring Tulsa’s Greenwood Cultural Center at 2:45 pm ET and then by delivering remarks in the city at 4:15 pm ET.
And Biden will use his trip to Tulsa to unveil measures his administration is taking to narrow the racial wealth gap.
And the number of the week is … 15 percent
Don’t miss the most recent Toddcast, which includes a look at some alarming new poll numbers about the share of Americans who believe in QAnon conspiracy theories.
Americans left home in record numbers to celebrate the first maskless holiday since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Also, President Joe Biden will visit the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre today to mark its 100th anniversary. All that and all that matters in today’s Eye Opener. Your world in 90 seconds.
President Biden is expected to announce several policies Tuesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma that his administration says will help communities of color. The president is in Tulsa to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Omar Villafranca reports.
Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss coronavirus vaccination rates and his optimism and concerns about the pandemic after the holiday weekend.
Anthony Mason talks to the beloved entertainer about his illustrious career, falling with style, his most famous leading ladies, alcoholism, staying fit at 95 and his Kennedy Center Honor.
Plus: Supreme Court to rule on Catholic foster agencies, tech associations sue over social media law in Florida, and more…
Big-government conservatives gain from liberal media bias. Much of the U.S. media is accustomed to accepting left-leaning framing of economic policies and arguments—and it’s impacting coverage of the conservative civil war over economic principles.
A significant portion of the right—from legislators like Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) to Fox News hosts like Tucker Carlson, traditionally right-leaning magazines like The American Conservative, and all sorts of rank-and-file Republicans—has started to sound very similar to the far left when it comes to private business and government regulation. “In the current environment, when you see somebody railing against how the system is rigged to benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the working class, you have to double-check to see whether it’s coming from somebody on the far left or the populist right,” notes Philip Klein at National Review.
They’re part of a “growing movement on the right challenging the longstanding commitment of conservatives to limited government and free enterprise”—one that presents “a potentially fatal threat to the conservative movement as it has existed for decades as well as to the cause of limited government,” adds Klein. (For more on this, see Stephanie Slade’s “Is There a Future for Fusionism?”)
And an American press already biased against libertarian views of markets and economic liberty seems more than happy to indulge the narrative of this being a more enlightened, populist, or politically compromising form of conservatism.
Take, for instance, this recent article on antitrust law in Washington Monthly. Republicans who want to join Democrats in expanding antitrust law and using it to punish large or politically disfavored companies are framed as folks wanting “to combat the monopolist corporations that have gained a precarious level of market power as the American economy has become more concentrated than at any other time since the Gilded Age.” Those who want to see antitrust law stick to its current strategy of using consumer welfare as a lodestar are framed as “pro-monopoly.”
The article is partially a profile of The Alliance on Antitrust, founded by Ashley Baker. The group aims “to align conservatives on the narrow and limited view of antitrust that Robert Bork popularized in the 1970s, called the ‘consumer welfare standard,'” notes Washington Monthly. This standard says consumer interests—not breaking up companies just for being big or inducing artificial competition just for the sake of competition—should be the primary concern of antitrust law enforcement. It is not a “pro-monopoly” argument but an argument against excessive government intervention in private industry and for a conception of antitrust enforcement that puts protecting consumers—not any particular economic ideology—first.
“Under the consumer welfare standard, which has anchored U.S. antitrust law for over four decades, consumer harm is measured through tangible economic effects and empirical evidence,” notes Tom Herbert, federal affairs manager at Americans for Tax Reform, in a recent opinion piece in The Hill. “Antitrust law under the consumer welfare standard allows business conduct that benefits Americans through lower prices, better quality products and greater access to goods and services.”
Just a few years ago, the fact that Republicans would turn against such a standard in favor of a leftist vision of antitrust enforcement would be weird, to put it mildly. But antitrust law is now seen as another tool in fighting the culture war. “Large businesses [are] increasingly viewed as the enforcement arm of the cultural Left,” notes Klein, and “the cancel culture and anti-PC debates have become more animating for a lot of conservatives than traditional social issues.”
The funny/sad/terrifying thing about all of this is the notion that the right joining the left’s pushes for more aggressive antitrust enforcement makes these fights “bipartisan.” Both Republicans and Democrats may want to expand government control over internet companies and private business more generally, but they have drastically different ideas of what would happen when they do.
Sure, the Republican/conservative wing that advocates against free markets nods to making big corporations serve the people. And to Democrats/progressives—and media used to their framing—this means increasing taxes and regulations to make businesses cover things like Medicare for All, student loan forgiveness, “infrastructure” spending, and expanded health care benefits. But the Trumpists and others railing against “woke capitalism” and calling for less free markets aren’t focused on these things at all; they’re focused on making companies seen as too socially liberal pay for their perceived transgressions and side-taking in the culture wars. Their goal is enacting a socially conservative idea of the “common good” through economic sanctions against companies that won’t play by their rules.
Neither the right nor the left will be happy when the other side has control of these regulations. But either way, businesses, consumers, and economic liberty will suffer.
The case, known as Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, No. 19-123, is a fight over a city policy that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation. Citing the policy, Philadelphia dropped a contract with a Roman Catholic foster agency that said its beliefs didn’t allow it to certify same-sex couples for adoption. The agency, Catholic Social Services, brought a lawsuit alleging that Philadelphia violated its First Amendment religious rights.
The court’s opinion will likely be released today.
FREE MARKETS
Tech industry associations NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association are suing over Florida’s new law that bans some social media companies from banning politicians. The new law—which has a carveout for platforms owned by Disney and other operators of entertainment complexes or theme parks—says citizens can sue tech companies who “deplatform” any politician for any reason, and allows the Florida Elections Commission to fine companies that do so up to $250,000 per day.
“No one, not even someone who has paid a filing fee to run for office, has a First Amendment right to compel a private actor to carry speech on their private property,” says the new suit, filed in the U.S. District for the Northern District of Florida.
“We cannot stand idly by as Florida’s lawmakers push unconstitutional bills into law that bring us closer to state-run media and a state-run internet,” Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of NetChoice, said in a statement. “The law is crony capitalism masquerading as consumer protection. Our lawsuit will stop an attempt by the state of Florida to undermine the First Amendment and force social media sites to carry offensive and harmful political messages.”
QUICK HITS
This shouldn’t get overlooked. There were a zillion fauxtrage articles and tweets from Trump allies, claiming tear gas wasn’t used and attacking journalists who said it was. https://t.co/xzPGECHTZa
• Biden has promised that his tax crackdown won’t mean more audits for people making under $400,000 per year and that it’s only intended to catch ultra-rich tax scofflaws, not middle-class folks who make a little cash under the table. But at the same time, his new budget pledges to fund massive new spending initiatives with $717 billion in tax enforcement revenue over the next 10 years.
• New COVID variants are proving more transmissible, threatening to make the pandemic even more catastrophic in parts of the world without widespread vaccination and upping the chances of a new mutation that will not be thwarted by current vaccines.
• The World Health Organization is reclassifying location-based COVID-19 variants by greek letters, reportsUSA Today. “The United Kingdom variant, called by scientists B.1.1.7, will now be Alpha. B.1.351, the South Africa variant, will now be Beta and the B.1.617.2 variant discovered in India will now be known as Delta.”
• Will the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve a promising new Alzheimer’s drug? “By June 7, the FDA is expected to make one of its most important decisions in years: whether to approve the drug for mild cognitive impairment or early-stage dementia caused by Alzheimer’s,” notesThe Washington Post. “It would be the first treatment ever sold to slow the deterioration in brain function caused by the disease, not just to ease symptoms. And it would be the first new Alzheimer’s treatment since 2003.”
• A bill on its way to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, “calls for making the state the first to hold a presidential primary in the 2024 election,” reportsThe Hill. “If signed into law, it would switch Nevada’s contest from a caucus to a primary and move the state up in the nation’s election calendar, passing the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary for the first slot.”
Elizabeth Nolan Brown is a senior editor at Reason, where she writes regularly on the intersections of sex, speech, tech, crime, politics, panic, and civil liberties. She is also co-founder of the libertarian feminist group Feminists for Liberty.
Since starting at Reason in 2014, Brown has won multiple awards for her writing on the U.S. government’s war on sex. Brown’s writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Playboy, Fox News, Politico, The Week, and numerous other publications. You can follow her on Twitter @ENBrown.
Reason is the magazine of “free minds and free markets,” offering a refreshing alternative to the left-wing and right-wing echo chambers for independent-minded readers who love liberty.
Scroll through Instagram today and you’re bound to see generic Memorial Day posts from celebrities. They grab the first photo that comes up in Google search, write a generic message about never for … MORE
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55.) REALCLEARPOLITICS MORNING NOTE
06/01/2021
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Carl Cannon’s Morning Note
Censorship Blowback; Santorum; Voting Rules in Europe
By Carl M. Cannon on Jun 01, 2021 09:11 am
Good morning, it’s Tuesday, June 1, 2021. This is Tom Kavanagh, filling in for Carl this week. Actually, “filling in” overstates my role, since Carl’s shoes are truly unfillable. In the spirit of the Morning Note, however, I’ll point out that 157 years ago this week, the Battle of Cold Harbor got underway. Stretching out over 13 bloody days, the fighting near Mechanicsville, Va., was among the most lethal in the Civil War, and Francis Sempa revisits Ulysses S. Grant’s regrets over it in an essay at RealClearHistory.
With that Cannonesque nod to the past, I’d point you to our front page, which aggregates, as it does each day, an array of columns and stories spanning the political spectrum. We also offer a complement of original material from RCP reporters and contributors, including the following:
* * *
Group of Tech Execs Takes On Social Media Censorship. Susan Crabtree reports on a nonpartisan group, the 1st & 14th Institute, formed to protect Bill of Rights’ guarantees of free speech and due process.
Santorum Spoke the Truth. CNN Can’t Handle the Truth. Penny Nance assails the news channel for terminating the conservative commentator for espousing principles that underpin our nation’s founding.
The Civic-Education Battles. Peter Berkowitz assesses one thinker’s attempt to broker a viable accord on the contentious front.
Voter Photo IDs Are the Rule in Europe and Elsewhere. John R. Lott Jr. reports for RealClearInvestigations that democracies across the pond have instituted strict voting regimes driven by hard lessons of fraud.
Reading Between the Lines of Biden’s Budget. At RealClearPolicy, James Capretta warns that many proposals include few details on how they would work or what the new spending would mean for deficits.
Regulating App Stories Would Harm Consumers. Also as RCPolicy, Jessica Melugin argues that governmental intervention is unneeded and would drive up the cost of apps.
The Glaring Flaw in Postal Service Reform Legislation. At RealClearMarkets, Paul Steidler spotlights a provision that will degrade if not eliminate sound accounting and cost management practices.
Wuhan Theory Is Manna for Fauci. RCM editor John Tamny writes that new credence being given to a lab leak as the source of the epidemic allows the infectious disease expert to displace blame for his own incorrect pronouncements.
Grant’s Cold Harbor Regret. At RealClearHistory, Francis P. Sempa has the story.
From the beginning of COVID-19’s impact on the United States, the origins of the virus and the vector of the initial outbreak have been the topic of heated debate.
President Ronald Reagan delivered many compelling speeches honoring our servicemen and servicewomen who paid the ultimate price defending our freedom and security.
The Chinese Communist Party has just announced that it will allow couples to have three children. This is intended as a partial corrective to the devastating demographic and societal effects of earlier population control measures.
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62.) 1440 DAILY DIGEST
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Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 1, and we’re covering a fragile partnership in Israel, a new policy in China, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.
The tenure of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may come to an end after a number of smaller opposition parties said Sunday they would seek to form a coalition government together. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history, having held the office for the past 12 years, as well as from 1996-99.
Israel has been mired in political gridlock for more than two years, having held four national elections since April 2019. Netanyahu leads Likud, the country’s biggest political party, which has fallen just short each election of capturing a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, the country’s legislative body.
Naftali Bennett, a religious conservative, announced he would lead his party into a partnership with Yair Lapid, who heads the secular centrist Yesh Atid party. The power-sharing agreement would have Bennett serve as prime minister, followed by Lapid at a later date. Six other parties would be involved in the bloc, and its success may potentially rely on the support of one of two smaller Arab-Israeli parties.
The diverse coalition would have 61 parliamentary seats—even a single defection may prevent its formation. Negotiations are still ongoing, and the parties must present a proposal to President Reuven Rivlin by tomorrow.
China’s Three-Child Policy
China announced yesterday it will allow families to have up to three children, following census data revealing the country’s population growth fell about 0.5% over the past decade. The figure is the slowest pace on record and has sparked concern that aging demographics and a low birth rate will stunt the Chinese economy.
Originally fearing its population was growing too fast, the country’s Communist Party implemented a one-child policy in 1980. One lasting consequence was a skewed sex ratio as rural parents favored boys, leading to a current deficit of women of child-bearing age. Despite switching to a two-child policy in 2016, the country’s birth rate continued to fall.
Analysts say the update may have limited impact—the country’s rapid economic growth has led many young people to delay having children in lieu of educational and professional opportunities.
Lung Cancer Breakthrough
US regulators have approved a drug to treat one of the most common mutations found in lung cancers, according to reports. Scientists have long known about the specific mutation, which causes overactive cell growth, but have been unable to target it directly—leading some to call it “undruggable.”
KRAS (pronounced as “K-raz”) mutations appear in roughly 13% of non-small-cell lung cancers (see overview), or about 25,000 cases per year in the US. Biotech giant Amgen won approval after demonstrating 80% of patients receiving the drug saw an average of 10 months without tumor progression after other treatments had failed. Roughly 36% saw a significant decrease in tumor size.
Analysts say the drug may become a blockbuster—one that brings in at least $1B in annual revenue.
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It gives you exposure to Bitcoin without the challenges and inconvenience of storing it and signing up for a new platform. You can finally take the plunge and invest in Bitcoin.
>Chelsea tops Manchester City 1-0 to win its second UEFA Champions League title(More) | Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic becomes first American man to play in Champions League final (More) | World tennis No. 2 Naomi Osaka drops out of French Open, citing mental health concerns (More) | Toronto Maple Leafs blow 3-1 series lead to rival Montreal Canadiens, lose in Game 7 of NHL playoffs (More)
>US airports saw nearly 2 million travelers Friday, the most since the pandemic began and six times more than 2020 (More) | “A Quiet Place Part II” hauls in $57M at weekend box office, a pandemic-era record (More)
>Gavin MacLeod, actor best known as the captain on “The Love Boat,” dies at 90 (More) | Mark Eaton, former Utah Jazz center and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, dies at 64 after bicycle crash (More) | Oscar-winning producer Jerome Hellman dies at 92 (More)
Science & Technology
>Cosmologists produce the most detailed 3D map of the universe to date; study shows dark energy, the unidentified driver of the universe’s expansion, has been constant throughout history (More) | What do we know about dark energy? (More, w/video)
>Analysis of “medical mystery” cases reveals a new form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease; unlike other types of ALS, the symptoms arise during early childhood and progress more slowly (More)
>Amazon set to launch trials of its Sidewalk wireless mesh network in select US cities June 8; users of Amazon devices will have a slice of bandwidth available for neighbors unless they explicitly opt-out (More)
Business & Markets
>US stock markets up Friday (S&P 500 +0.1%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.1%); S&P 500 and Dow see fourth straight month of gains, while Nasdaq slides for first time in seven months (More)
>US federal government provides guidance on vaccinations, stating it is legal for companies to require worker vaccinations (More)
>Figs—maker of scrubs used by medical professionals—sees stock surge another 13% Friday to $7B valuation; company soared more than 30% on first day of trading Thursday (More)
>Reported COVID-19 cases in the US fall to around 20,000 per day, the lowest since March 2020 (More) | Almost 60% of people aged 12 and older in the US have received at least one vaccination dose (More)
>Senate vote on 9/11-style commission into the Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol falls short of a 60-vote threshold to break filibuster in 54-35 vote; marks first GOP filibuster this session (More)
>President Joe Biden visits Tulsa, Oklahoma, to mark the 100th anniversary of the city’s race massacre (More) | See background on the massacre here (More)
IN-DEPTH
How DC Learned to Love UFOs
Politico | Bryan Bender. An inside look at how a former senator, a CIA operative, a rock star, and others helped take ufology from the fringe to the mainstream in the nation’s capital. (Read)
Editor’s note: … and take a look back at DC’s infamous 1952 UFO incident.
Hard Bargains
New Yorker | Isaac Chotiner. How Rich Paul, LeBron James’ sports agent, is redefining the business of basketball—and giving athletes control over their careers. (Read, $$)
You’re interested in the world of crypto, but it feels impossible to know where to start. And that’s normal—the number of options and recommendations can be incredibly overwhelming.
Historybook: Marilyn Monroe born (1926); HBD Morgan Freeman (1937); RIP Helen Keller (1968); CNN debuts as world’s first 24-hours news network (1980); General Motors Corp. files for bankruptcy, fourth-largest US bankruptcy in history (2009).
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
– Helen Keller
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63.) AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH
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June 1, 2021
Inflation Is a Dangerous Way to Get Rid of Debt Burdens
By Richard M. Ebeling | “The United States is in dangerous waters if it becomes ‘general wisdom’ and ‘popular opinion’ among public policy analysts and politicians that governments can spend all they want, in any amount, by just running huge…
By David McGrogan | “All we ‘lockdown sceptics’ can do is to continue to ask questions, to continue to doubt, and – though I wish I had a more pleasant-sounding metaphor – continue to spit, in the hope that this will undermine the sense of…
By Donald J. Boudreaux | “The world would in fact be a much better place if economic fallacies were less prevalent and less widespread. Not the least of these fallacies is the one that holds that economies fail to the extent that they don’t…
By Ethan Yang | Dr. Patrick Phillips, an outspoken physician based in Ontario, Canada joins the Authors Corner to discuss the unprecedented damage extended lockdowns from regional authorities have had on academic truth, mental health and the…
By J.P. Koning | “With OFAC as coxswain, an embargo might achieve everything that a ban on cryptocurrency promises to achieve without depriving gamblers, outsiders, and hobbyists of a product they utilize. It would also be more effective than the…
Biden’s Lumber Protectionism is Commercial Quarantine
By Peter C. Earle | In another of a growing list of policies carried over from the Trump Administration, the US Department of Commerce has recommended raising tariffs on Canadian lumber. After initially imposing 20% assessments on Canadian…
Edward C. Harwood fought for sound money when few Americans seemed to care. He was the original gold standard man before that became cool. Now he is honored in this beautiful sewn silk tie in the richest possible color and greatest detail.
The red is not just red; it is darker and deeper, more distinctive and suggestive of seriousness of purpose.
The Harwood coin is carefully sewn (not stamped). Sporting this, others might miss that you are secretly supporting the revolution for freedom and sound money, but you will know, and that is what matters.
“The 1619 Project, it seemed, could serve as both an enduring long-term curriculum for high school and college classrooms and an activist manual for the 2020 campaign season. Unfortunately the blending of these two competing aims usually results in the sacrifice of scholarly standards in the service of the ideological objective.”
On the menu today: Texas governor Greg Abbott threatens to cut off the salaries of Democratic state legislators who walked out of the chamber to prevent a quorum; the history of state legislators fleeing their state to prevent the passage of legislation; some signs that SARS-CoV-2 is not yet done with China; and NR once again asks for your support.
Democrats Suddenly Love Legislative-Minority Rights Again
“No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities,” threatened Texas governor Greg Abbott, after Texas state legislative Democrats walked out of the chamber to deny Texas Republicans the quorum necessary to pass their election-reform measure. Abbott threatened to veto Article 10 of the Texas state budget, which is the portion that funds legislators’ salaries.
That threat may not be quite the metaphorical nuclear strike that it initially seems, as being a Texas … READ MORE
Associated Press: “Democrats lost last year’s election for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District by the narrowest margin in a House race in almost 40 years. After the six-vote heartbreaker, some expected Democrat Rita Hart to immediately declare a rematch in the southeast district long held by her party.”
“So far, no Democrat has stepped up to run.”
“The hesitancy to jump into a district now as competitive as they come is one measure of Democrats’ fatigue in a state viewed for decades as a true battleground. Even as the coronavirus pandemic gradually wanes and President Joe Biden’s job approval remains strong, Iowa Democrats say they can feel their party receding, particularly from the industrial river towns they once claimed as bastions.”
“I could go to the fish fry, or the V.F.W. hall, or all these other venues, and just talk to people. And they didn’t have any preconceptions about what I believed. They could just take me at face value. If I went into those same places now — or if any Democratic who’s campaigning goes in those places now — almost all news is from either Fox News, Sinclair news stations, talk radio, or some Facebook page. And trying to penetrate that is really difficult.”
“It’s not that the people in these communities have changed. It’s that if that’s what you are being fed, day in and day out, then you’re going to come to every conversation with a certain set of predispositions that are really hard to break through. And that is one of the biggest challenges I think we face.”
“Of the 150 disinformation campaigns that Facebook has caught and removed in the past four years, the U.S. has been the most frequent target by far, according to a new threat intelligence report from Facebook,” Axios reports.
The other top two targets: Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
The top two originators of disinformation campaigns: Russia and Iran.
“The White House will invite all employees back to work in July, signaling an end to pandemic protocols for remote work for President Biden’s core team,” Axios reports.
“The Supreme Court is leaving in place a $2 billion verdict in favor of women who claim they developed ovarian cancer from using Johnson & Johnson talc products,” the Associated Press reports.
“Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh took no part in the court’s action. Alito owns $15,000 to $50,000 in Johnson & Johnson stock. Kavanaugh’s father headed the trade association that lobbied against labeling talc a carcinogen and including a warning label on talc products.”
“Two federal correctional officers who neglected their duties while Jeffrey Epstein killed himself inside a troubled lower Manhattan jail planned to defend themselves as scapegoats for a deeply dysfunctional system had they gone on trial,” the New York Daily News reports.
Former President Donald Trump has been telling “a number of people he’s in contact with” that he expects he will get reinstated as president by August, the New York Times reports.
Byron York reports Trump is echoing what lawyer Sidney Powell said over weekend.
“In the weeks since the President asked her to take charge of immigration from Central America, Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff have sought to make one thing clear: She does not manage the southern border,” CNN reports.
“Two White House officials familiar with the dynamic said Harris and her aides have emphasized internally that they want to focus on conditions in Central America that push migrants to the US southern border, as President Joe Biden tasked her to do. A record number of unaccompanied children crossed into the US this spring, and the throngs of desperate minors present a heart-rending problem as well as a political one.”
First Read: “Today brings us the third round of special congressional elections in the Biden Era — this time the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) who’s now serving as Biden’s Interior secretary. (Following the first two rounds of special elections in Louisiana and Texas.)”
“At stake in this contest between state Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) and state Sen. Mark Moores (R) is the Democrats’ narrow House majority (219-211), as well as a test of how potent the issue of crime might still be for the GOP.”
New York Times: “Mr. Moores has spotlighted the rising murder rate in Albuquerque and assailed Ms. Stansbury as soft on crime for supporting a little-known proposal in Congress that would cut funding for local police departments… In an interview, Ms. Stansbury offered no regrets for her support of the measure, the so-called BREATHE Act, an expansive criminal justice proposal pushed by racial justice activists.”
Joe Biden won the district by 23 points in 2020, so that’s the benchmark for measuring the potency of the crime issue in this race.
President Biden will meet with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) at the White House on Wednesday as part of bipartisan negotiations with Republicans on a potential infrastructure deal, The Hill reports.
However, Senate Republicans are already privately warning there will not be any deal announced this week.
Vox: “As Reid’s experience — both with nominees and with bills like the Affordable Care Act — demonstrated, waiting on Republicans only ever got Democrats so far.”
Said former Harry Reid staffer Murshed Zaheed: “I think the biggest lesson is never trust Republicans and always expect the worst from Mitch McConnell. I don’t think Democrats should be giving Republicans any chance at this point.”
“The Supreme Court is expected to release a decision in the coming days that could provide the first glimpses of how its 6-3 conservative majority will shape the future of LGBT rights,” CNBC reports.
“The U.S. is about to pivot from hoarding vaccines to sharing them globally, and countries around the world are trying to secure their places in line,” Axios reports.
“President Biden has promised to donate 80 million doses by the end of June. With domestic demand waning, he’ll soon be able to offer far more. But the White House hasn’t said how it will distribute the initial 80 million, or when it will feel comfortable truly opening its supply to the world.”
Richard Haass: “For all the talk about the ‘international community,’ the pandemic has exposed the absence of one. The failure to produce and equitably distribute a sufficient number of vaccines worldwide is a scandal. The demand is there; what remains is the will to match it with the necessary supply.”
This is a massive opportunity for Biden to rebuild America’s image in the world.
Pope Francis signed into the Code of Canon Law a clause that deals directly with sex abuse by priests — though he never actually mentions it by name, the Vatican News reports.
The AP reports this is the first time Catholic Church law has recognized how sexual predators “groom” their victims based on power imbalances to build relationships that eventually lead to sexual abuse.
Among many interesting revelations in the book: The Guardian reports Fox News host Sean Hannity helped write an ad for the Trump campaign that appeared on his show.
Jonathan Bernstein: “After 12 quiet years for the presidential-nomination calendar, we may soon be in for a serious fight. The Nevada legislature on Monday passed a bill that would kick off the nomination process in that state, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire.”
“Easier said than done, of course. New Hampshire will reschedule its first-in-the-nation primary ahead of any other state’s, and Iowa will schedule its first-in-the-nation caucuses eight days before that. Unless the federal government acts — and that’s unlikely — the national political parties have very limited ability to regulate the process. They can penalize states for violating their guidelines, and they can penalize candidates for campaigning in those states. But the only real leverage the parties have is refusing to seat a state’s delegates, and no one cares about delegates in the early caucus and primary states; the reason candidates campaign in those states is because of the enormous publicity the early contests receive, and no one can order the media to simply ignore such an event.”
The children’s cartoon series “Blue’s Clues” released a pride month sing-along featuring drag queens and transgender children. “Love is love…Read more…
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Civic education has emerged as a major front in the bitter clash spilling over into many domains between left and right in America. Since the civic-education battles revolve around the nation’s core principles and fundamental character, they may prove the decisive front.
[Subscription Required] Thomas Sowell has spent a lifetime challenging the orthodoxy on race, economics and more—and produced an impressive body of scholarship along the way.
Proposals for coordinated climate action at the global level all too easily run into free-rider and fairness problems, leaving many of the most popular policy proposals dead on arrival. But a simple framework that gives all countries similar incentives would overcome these problems.
Arrogance, wealth, and received authority are always the super-spreaders and force-multipliers of false knowledge, and none more so than in the present age.
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives and Hoover Institution Press Present the Fanning the Flames Speaker Series in celebration of the publication Fanning the Flames: Propaganda in Modern Japan edited by Kay Ueda.
This marvelous plot comes from an interesting article, The Monetary and Fiscal History of Brazil, 1960-2016 by Joao Ayres, Marcio Garcia, Diogo A. Guillén, and Patrick J. Kehoe. The article is part of the Becker-Friedman Institute Project, complete with a big and now easily available data collection effort, and forthcoming book.
Economist Bruce Meyer of the University of Chicago talks about poverty with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. In recent years, a number of scholars have claimed that millions of Americans live in extreme poverty, akin to the standard of living in the poorest countries around the world. Meyer argues that these studies are based on flawed surveys or particular assumptions that may not be justified. The conversation also addresses broader challenges around measuring mobility and the American Dream.
A Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, Williamson M. Evers, Ph.D., joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss a proposed mathematics curriculum framework in California which, if passed, could stunt student progress in math and halt gifted-and-talented programs.
A tough problem that many young people have in their late teens and early- to mid-twenties is “failure to launch.” They have trouble stepping out on their own and taking responsibility, whether it’s about money, jobs, studying, or a few other things. I was talking about that with a friend recently; he has a friend in his late twenties who, in his estimate, is “failing to launch.”
Hoover Institution fellow Victor Davis Hanson discusses how science appears to have been corrupted and is now dictated by political demands rather than facts.
(Part 1) Hoover Institution fellow Richard Epstein discusses his Defining Ideas article “Should Roe V. Wade Stand?” Part 2 of the interview is available here.
interview with Bjorn Lomborg via The Daily Telegraph
Hoover Institution fellow Bjorn Lomborg says, the current way we tackle climate policy is really wishful thinking. It’s spending large sums of money in cutting very little emissions, mostly in rich world countries. This is not going to fix global warming, it is going to harm the poor, both in the rich world and poor world.
Ferguson’s latest book is devoted to putting Covid-19 in context, with comparisons with other plagues and catastrophes such as economic collapses and famines
Big Tech censors and the credentialed public health class, not anti-maskers, are the real Neanderthals, the 21st century’s version of the Flat Earth Society.
Potential rivals to Ebrahim Raisi, Ayatollah Khamenei’s favored choice, were barred from the June 18 election, and the remaining candidates do not present a serious challenge.
History and civics classes across the country teach the importance of political accountability for preserving individual liberty and our Constitution—specifically the latter’s guarantee of separation of powers.
The “cards are aligned” for a bipartisan infrastructure bill with a price tag of about $1 trillion after Senate Republicans made their $928 billion counteroffer to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, which currently stands at $1.7 trillion, former White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett said Friday.
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
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71.) DAILY INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
Daily Intelligence Brief.
Good morning, it’s June 1, 2021. On this day in history, the National Defense Act increased the strength of the U.S. National Guard by 450,000 men (1916); a Warsaw underground newspaper first made public the gassing of tens of thousands of Jews at Chelmno, a Nazi-operated death camp in Poland (1942); and U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed a historic agreement to end production of chemical weapons and begin destruction of reserves (1990).
TOP STORIES
Progressives Break with Dems by Voting Thumbs Down on Extra Capitol Security — Blame it On Racist Cops
The House recently passed a $1.9 billion supplemental budget for additional Capitol security funds, but not with any help from some progressives, reported Fox News.
In a rare event, Reps. Cori Bush, MO; Ilhan Omar, MN; and Ayanna Pressley, MA, joined all House Republicans in voting “no,” but not for the same reasons.
In a joint statement, the three explained. “There must be a comprehensive investigation and response to the attack on our Capitol and our democracy, one that addresses the root cause of the insurrection: White supremacy,” Bush, Omar and Pressley said. “This bill prioritizes more money for a broken system that has long upheld and protected the white supremacist violence we saw on display that day.”
The group of progressives felt their votes hinged on the way the police responded to Black Lives Matter protesters in comparison to the January 6 rioters. They felt there was a disparity in the way the protesters were treated.
“A bill that pours $1.9 billion into increased police surveillance and force without addressing the underlying threats of organized and violent white supremacy radicalization, and disinformation that led to the attack will not prevent it from happening again,” the statement read. “Increasing law enforcement funds does not inherently protect or safeguard the Capitol Hill or surrounding D.C. community.”
They concluded, “We cannot support this increased funding while many of our communities continue to face police brutality while marching the streets, and while questions about the disparate response between insurrectionists and those protesting in defense of Black lives go unanswered.”
Despite their opposition, the bill now heads to the Senate for a vote.
American Rocket Engineer Who Joined Hamas’ Missile Program Killed in Airstrike
During the recent Israel-Gaza conflict, American Osama al-Zebda chose to join Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the fight against Israel, according to aJerusalem Post article.
Al-Zebda was already on the U.S. terrorist watch list when he decided to head to Gaza.
Joe Truzman, contributor to Foundation for Defense of Democracies Long War Journal (FDD) wrote, “This fits a pattern of Americans who joined Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), which is illegal pursuant to U.S. law.” Over the last decades, numerous Americans have joined terrorist groups and some have been killed in fighting abroad. Most infamous is Adam Gadahn, killed in a U.S. drone strike while working with Al Qaeda.
Al-Zebda, who was killed along with his father in an Israeli airstrike, had a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, specializing in aerodynamics. He utilized his education and specialized training to assist Hamas with rocketry.
Social media posts are calling al-Zebda and his father martyrs.
According to the article, photos have showed up on Palestinian social media with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar holding the toddler son of Osama al-Zebda. The child was recently featured in a video with Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar. During the clip, Sinwar handed the toddler a rifle.
Al-Zebda’s wife was quoted saying, “I tell the occupation to keep the names of my children well, and I will not allow them to be less than their grandfather and their father… Their father is one of the engineers of the al-Qassam Brigades and their grandfather, the world-famous martyr, Jamal al-Zebda, is one of the most important leaders and engineers in the battalions.”
We can’t help but be reminded of this quote: “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.” — Fourth Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.
Shocking Loss For the Ultra-Running Community In China
The Chinese state media has reported that21 ultra-runners died during a 100k race in China’s Gansu Province, located in northwest China.
On Saturday morning, May 22, runners set out to race the Yellow River Stone Forest 100k. The distance for such a race is a formidable challenge, but when an early afternoon storm swept in, dumping the race course in rain, hail, wind and a drop in temperatures down to freezing, runners were engulfed.
After a large, complicated search-and-rescue mission by 700 personnel, the next morning they confirmed 21 runners had died.
This is the largest tragedy in the ultra-running community of all time. The cause of the deaths seems to be hypothermia and other related medical problems.
Chinese runner Jing Liang was one of the people who died. In the past, he was the winner of all three of the previous races, and took second at the 2020 Vibram Hong Kong 100k.
This is a profound tragedy for the small, close-knit international ultra-running community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those runners who were lost.
The Daily Intelligence Brief, The DIB as we call it, is curated by a hard working team with a diverse background of experience including government intelligence, investigative journalism, high-risk missionary work and marketing.
From All Things Possible and the Victor Marx Group we aim to provide you with a daily intelligence brief collected from trusted sources and analysts.
Sources for the DIB include local and national media outlets, state and government websites, proprietary sources, in addition to social media networks. State reporting of COVID-19 deaths includes probable cases and probable deaths from COVID-19, in accordance with each state’s guidelines.
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What you’ve missed:BLM activist steps down from school board after allegations he molested up to 62 children, and establishment journalists confessed that they dismissed the Wuhan lab leak theory because Trump said it.
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Today as we take account of those who secured those victories that changed the world, it is right and just to take time to consider and be thankful for them.
We’ve got a president that is letting the border fall apart, is spending money faster than can be printed, and can’t get through a speech without sounding like an old grandpa.
The US National Security Agency (NSA), with assistance from Denmark’s foreign intelligence unit spied on senior officials of European countries, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, among others.
117 employees have joined a lawsuit against Houston Methodist over its requirement that all employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has begun an investigation into reports of myocarditis (heart inflammation) in people between 16 and 45 years of age after receiving either the genetically engineered experimental messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 biologics for COVID-19 developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) respectively. The cases involve primarily males and they typically occur within four days of getting the second dose of the shots
Elected officials in cities across the country – including New York and Los Angeles – that cut law-enforcement budgets after George Floyd’s death last year and the subsequent “defund” the police movement are now reversing such decisions amid an increase in crime.
After years of reports of Amazon warehouse employees being forced to urinate in bottles, forego medical care, and work through injuries – causing hundreds to launch petitions and revolt, the online retail giant has come up with a solution…
George Orwell’s dystopian vision written in his book “Nineteen Eighty-Four” could become a reality by 2024 as artificial intelligence technology becomes the all-seeing eye, a top Microsoft executive warned Thursday.
Misinformation, i.e., wrong claims innocently made, and disinformation, i.e., wrong claims willfully made, have long consorted to create propaganda, a distorted worldview designed to achieve some political goal. The lines between those lies have so blurred that only a neologistic portmanteau, dismisinfoganda, fully captures recent reality.
A north Missouri businessman who was involved in the largest organic fraud scheme in American history has been sentenced to probation and fined. According to KTTN, federal prosecutors in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sentenced Steven Whiteside of Chilicothe to three years probation and a fine of 45-thousand dollars.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday walked back comments made by the agency’s chief, who suggested earlier in the day that the federal government was “taking a very close look” at the idea of requiring vaccine passports to enter or leave the United States.
A coroner will consider if the cause of BBC presenter Lisa Shaw’s death might have been complicated by her having had the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
The Democrats’ 9/11 style commission to use police state powers to investigate Trump supporters and other Republicans has been killed in the U.S. Senate, with six Republicans defecting to support the measure.
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Welcome to the Tuesday edition of Internet Insider, where we dissect tech and politics unfolding online. Today:
‘This is some next level dystopian sh*t’: Amazon rolls out kiosk for overwhelmed employees to use
Republicans stick to slimmed-down broadband spending in latest infrastructure counterproposal to Biden
Sorry, that video of Ted Cruz eating a fly is fake
BREAK THE INTERNET
‘This is some next level dystopian sh*t’: Amazon rolls out kiosk for overwhelmed employees to use
Online retail giant Amazon unveiled a small booth designed to let overwhelmed warehouse employees “focus on their mental and emotional well-being.”
Known simply as the “ZenBooth,” the new apparatus, according to a video released by the company last week, is an “interactive kiosk where you can navigate through a library of mental health and mindful practices to recharge that internal battery.”
Footage of the ZenBooth shows a small fan, several small plants, and a computer reportedly filled with meditative videos.
Given Amazon’s notorious demands regarding its employees’ output, it remains unclear when and how often workers will actually be able to use the ZenBooth.
With Amazon’s history of criticism regarding its employees, the ZenBooth caught the attention of people online.
“why not just improve working conditions?” one Twitter user wrote. “Or you could pay your employees well, not treat them like garbage, and accept unionization,” another user added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Amazon to inquire about the ZenBooth but did not receive a reply.
Everything you need to know about Delta-8 THC, a milder form of cannabis
Whether you’re a cannabis user or simply into alternative medice, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about Delta-8 THC. Unlike the Delta-9 THC found in what we think of as traditional pot, Delta-8 provides a milder experience. Think a cup of coffee to a cup of espresso. But that’s just the beginning.
How is Delta-8 different than traditional cannabis? Let our explainer walk you through the details.
Republicans stick to slimmed-down broadband spending in latest infrastructure counterproposal to Biden
Senate Republicans unveiled their latest infrastructure counterproposal as they continue to go back-and-forth with President Joe Biden’s administration—and they are sticking to the slimmed-down money for broadband.
In totality, the Republicans’ latest infrastructure offer is less than what the White House has sought. As for broadband, the newest proposal sets broadband funding at $65 billion, a number that the White House recently floated, billing it as way to compromise with Republicans and match their original proposal.
The White House’s original infrastructure plan proposed $100 billion for broadband funding that would be used to try and close the country’s digital divide. The funding would prioritize building in underserved and unserved areas; support for local-owned, non-profit, and cooperative broadband networks; and set aside money for Tribal lands.
In their proposal on Thursday, Republicans noted that $65 billion would be set aside for broadband, which fits with the White House’s slimmed-down number and matches their first offer from back in April.
In the doctored clip a fly lands on Cruz’s lip, then disappears into his mouth. Cruz gags and takes a sip of water.
While it appears quite believable—not to mention gross—those who loathe the Texas senator will be disappointed to learn that the fly is merely a clever photoshop.
In the real clip from 2019, available online, Cruz coughs and takes a sip of water after Fox News pundit Sean Hannity asks him a question—about socialism, of course. There’s no fly to be seen.
Despite it being fake, many people took the bait. Twitter users were equally delighted and appalled to wake to #ToadCruz trending in the United States.
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77.) HEADLINE USA
78.) NATURAL NEWS
The five phases of vaccine coercion… we are currently in phase 3
There are 5 phases of vaccine coercion, and we are currently in phase 3. Phase 4 involves fines and jail time, and phase 5 will see all-out kinetic and biological warfare against the citizens, waged by the “woke” military (or at least whichever members are willing to “follow orders” at that point).
Also today, I’ve posted a special Memorial Day message about honoring our veterans and ancestors by defending the very things that make human civilization viable.
Health Ranger Store Memorial Day Event Begins NowStock up on your favorite immune-supporting superfoods, workout supplements, preparedness items and more at the Health Ranger Store’s Memorial Day Event. We’re also offering limited quantities of our Ranger Bucket Set. For all purchases over 125 dollars, you will receive a bottle of Colloidal Silver Extra Strength Spray, on the house. This limited-time offer ends at 11:59 CST on May 31, 2021, or when supplies run out.
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‘She’s A Corrupt Witch!’ Judge Goes Off on Kamala Harris
He said what many people are thinking.
GOP Strategist Says New York Prosecutors Will JAIL Donald Trump
Dems certainly are aiming to do this.
Democrats Will LOSE PAY After Pathetic Stunt to Block GOP Bill
This is exactly what should happen.
Auditors Count 50% of Maricopa County Ballots – Make Major Announcement About ‘Tuesday Surprise’
Major developments out of Arizona.
Supreme Court Rules 9-0 Against Biden Admin
This is a major defeat for lawless Democrats.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
80.) BLACKPRESSUSA
81.) THE WESTERN JOURNAL
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(Paul Mirengoff)The Democrats and the mainstream media have a lot of explaining to do when it comes to their dismissal as a “conspiracy theory” of questions as to whether the Wuhan coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab. It was clear all along that the questions were legitimate, and now, finally, the media and the Dems are asking them too.
In doing so, they recognize the need to explain their earlier dismissal of the subject. And you’ll never guess the explanation they have come up with.
Just kidding. You know exactly where they place they blame. It’s Donald Trump’s fault.
Glenn Kessler, the Washington Post’s fact checker, started the ball rolling in that direction. He wrote that “the Trump administration’s messaging [on the origin of the virus] was often accompanied by anti-Chinese rhetoric that made it easier for skeptics to ignore its claims.”
Three Post writers pick up the ball and carry it with a vengeance. Anne Linksey, Shane Harris, and David Willman quote Democrats as saying that “the departure of Donald Trump, who often talked about the pandemic in racially charged terms, makes it easier to consider the theory [that the virus came from a lab]. . . .” (Emphasis added)
Kessler was honest enough to characterize Trump’s rhetoric as anti-Chinese (which it was, but why was that a problem?). His three colleagues peddle the Democrats’ talking point that Trump’s rhetoric was “racially charged.”
They cite no such rhetoric, and there was none. China is a country, not a race. It is no more racist to use anti-China rhetoric than, say, to use the anti-Cuba or anti-Venezuela kind. For that matter, it’s no more racist for a white politician to criticize China harshly than it is for a black politician to blast America for what occurred here when the country was overwhelmingly White.
If scrutinized at all, what the Democrat/media excuse really amounts to is an admission against interest. They are confessing to the rankest kind of partisanship — the dismissal of important and legitimate questions based on the political orientation of their source.
Democrats hate Donald Trump and Tom Cotton so much that they refused to entertain the possibility that what the two were saying about an important subject that is (or should be) non-partisan — where did a virus originate — might be true.
Talk about Trump derangement syndrome.
Jamie Raskin is the hyper-partisan Democrat who represents my congressional district. He says, “like everything else it [the question of where the virus started] became politicized very early on.”
Raskin speaks misleadingly in the passive. Tom Cotton didn’t politicize the issue early on (or later). Saying that a virus might well have come from a Chinese lab isn’t a partisan statement — not unless Raskin accepts the view that Democrats are apologists for China. It was Democrats who politicized the matter by mindlessly rejecting a theory simply because Republicans presented it.
I agree that Trump didn’t help matters. Characteristically, his statements were less careful than Cotton’s and might have gone further than the intelligence at the time warranted. We’ll see.
But that’s no excuse for falsely claiming that Cotton’s concerns had been “debunked.” It’s no excuse for accepting China’s claims about the origin of the virus and ripping Americans who didn’t buy them.
The explanation for this sorry behavior must be either a pro-China mindset or blatant partisanship. I’m going with the latter.
And I’m keeping it in mind the next time the Washington Post or some other tool of the Democratic Party talks about bipartisanship. The Democrats and their media allies act in bad faith. Always. Even when we’re trying to get to the bottom of the source of a pandemic.
(Scott Johnson)Last week Tablet published Professor Patrick Henry’s remembrance of Roddie Edmonds, the former Army master sergeant who saved the Jews in his ranks from plans the Nazis had in store for them as prisoners of war. Professor Henry takes the title of his column from Edmonds’s memorable assertion to the unhappy Nazi commandant of the prison camp: “We are all Jews here.” It is a moving and inspirational story.
In anticipation of the holiday today, Professor Henry writes: “On Memorial Day 2021, 76 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, let’s remember the heroics of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds, the fifth American Righteous Gentile and the only one to have saved the lives of American Jews.” Edmonds never got around to telling his own story:
Edmonds, who was named “Righteous” in 2015, did not speak much about his experiences. His family only knew that he had been taken prisoner by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge and that he had survived 100 days of captivity before returning home. His son, Baptist Rev. Chris Edmonds, mentioned that when he would ask his father about the war, he often told him only that “Some things were too difficult to talk about.”
Please read the whole thing, and don’t miss the excellent Vimeo video below (also posted here, via reader C.M.). Chris Edmonds tells the story as he pieced it together in the 2019 book No Surrender: A Father, a Son, and an Extraordinary Act of Heroism That Continues to Live on Today.
(Scott Johnson)In observance of Memorial Day 2007 the Wall Street Journal published a brilliant column by the late Peter Collier to mark the occasion. The column remains timely and is accessible online here. I don’t think we’ll read or hear anything more thoughtful or appropriate to the occasion today. With the kind permission of Peter himself, here it is:
Once we knew who and what to honor on Memorial Day: those who had given all their tomorrows, as was said of the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, for our todays. But in a world saturated with selfhood, where every death is by definition a death in vain, the notion of sacrifice today provokes puzzlement more often than admiration. We support the troops, of course, but we also believe that war, being hell, can easily touch them with an evil no cause for engagement can wash away. And in any case we are more comfortable supporting them as victims than as warriors.
Former football star Pat Tillman and Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham were killed on the same day: April 22, 2004. But as details of his death fitfully emerged from Afghanistan, Tillman has become a metaphor for the current conflict–a victim of fratricide, disillusionment, coverup and possibly conspiracy. By comparison, Dunham, who saved several of his comrades in Iraq by falling on an insurgent’s grenade, is the unknown soldier. The New York Times, which featured Abu Ghraib on its front page for 32 consecutive days, put the story of Dunham’s Medal of Honor on the third page of section B.
Not long ago I was asked to write the biographical sketches for a book featuring formal photographs of all our living Medal of Honor recipients. As I talked with them, I was, of course, chilled by the primal power of their stories. But I also felt pathos: They had become strangers–honored strangers, but strangers nonetheless–in our midst.
***
In my own boyhood, figures such as Jimmy Doolittle, Audie Murphy and John Basilone were household names. And it was assumed that what they had done defined us as well as them, telling us what kind of nation we were. But the 110 Medal recipients alive today are virtually unknown except for a niche audience of warfare buffs. Their heroism has become the military equivalent of genre painting. There’s something wrong with that.
What they did in battle was extraordinary. Jose Lopez, a diminutive Mexican-American from the barrio of San Antonio, was in the Ardennes forest when the Germans began the counteroffensive that became the Battle of the Bulge. As 10 enemy soldiers approached his position, he grabbed a machine gun and opened fire, killing them all. He killed two dozen more who rushed him. Knocked down by the concussion of German shells, he picked himself up, packed his weapon on his back and ran toward a group of Americans about to be surrounded. He began firing and didn’t stop until all his ammunition and all that he could scrounge from other guns was gone. By then he had killed over 100 of the enemy and bought his comrades time to establish a defensive line.
Yet their stories were not only about killing. Several Medal of Honor recipients told me that the first thing they did after the battle was to find a church or some other secluded spot where they could pray, not only for those comrades they’d lost but also the enemy they’d killed.
Desmond Doss, for instance, was a conscientious objector who entered the army in 1942 and became a medic. Because of his religious convictions and refusal to carry a weapon, the men in his unit intimidated and threatened him, trying to get him to transfer out. He refused and they grudgingly accepted him. Late in 1945 he was with them in Okinawa when they got cut to pieces assaulting a Japanese stronghold.
Everyone but Mr. Doss retreated from the rocky plateau where dozens of wounded remained. Under fire, he treated them and then began moving them one by one to a steep escarpment where he roped them down to safety. Each time he succeeded, he prayed, “Dear God, please let me get just one more man.” By the end of the day, he had single-handedly saved 75 GIs.
Why did they do it? Some talked of entering a zone of slow-motion invulnerability, where they were spectators at their own heroism. But for most, the answer was simpler and more straightforward: They couldn’t let their buddies down.
Big for his age at 14, Jack Lucas begged his mother to help him enlist after Pearl Harbor. She collaborated in lying about his age in return for his promise to someday finish school. After training at Parris Island, he was sent to Honolulu. When his unit boarded a troop ship for Iwo Jima, Mr. Lucas was ordered to remain behind for guard duty. He stowed away to be with his friends and, discovered two days out at sea, convinced his commanding officer to put him in a combat unit rather than the brig. He had just turned 17 when he hit the beach, and a day later he was fighting in a Japanese trench when he saw two grenades land near his comrades.
He threw himself onto the grenades and absorbed the explosion. Later a medic, assuming he was dead, was about to take his dog tag when he saw Mr. Lucas’s finger twitch. After months of treatment and recovery, he returned to school as he’d promised his mother, a ninth-grader wearing a Medal of Honor around his neck.
***
The men in World War II always knew, although news coverage was sometimes scant, that they were in some sense performing for the people at home. The audience dwindled during Korea. By the Vietnam War, the journalists were omnipresent, but the men were performing primarily for each other. One story that expresses this isolation and comradeship involves a SEAL team ambushed on a beach after an aborted mission near North Vietnam’s Cua Viet river base.
After a five-hour gunfight, Cmdr. Tom Norris, already a legend thanks to his part in a harrowing rescue mission for a downed pilot (later dramatized in the film BAT-21), stayed behind to provide covering fire while the three others headed to rendezvous with the boat sent to extract them. At the water’s edge, one of the men, Mike Thornton, looked back and saw Tom Norris get hit. As the enemy moved in, he ran back through heavy fire and killed two North Vietnamese standing over Norris’s body. He lifted the officer, barely alive with a shattered skull, and carried him to the water and then swam out to sea where they were picked up two hours later.
The two men have been inseparable in the 30 years since.
The POWs of Vietnam configured a mini-America in prison that upheld the values beginning to wilt at home as a result of protest and dissension. John McCain tells of Lance Sijan, an airman who ejected over North Vietnam and survived for six weeks crawling (because of his wounds) through the jungle before being captured.
Close to death when he reached Hanoi, Sijan told his captors that he would give them no information because it was against the code of conduct. When not delirious, he quizzed his cellmates about camp security and made plans to escape. The North Vietnamese were obsessed with breaking him, but never did. When he died after long sessions of torture Sijan was, in Sen. McCain’s words, “a free man from a free country.”
Leo Thorsness was also at the Hanoi Hilton. The Air Force pilot had taken on four MiGs trying to strafe his wingman who had parachuted out of his damaged aircraft; Mr. Thorsness destroyed two and drove off the other two. He was shot down himself soon after this engagement and found out by tap code that his name had been submitted for the Medal.
One of Mr. Thorsness’s most vivid memories from seven years of imprisonment involved a fellow prisoner named Mike Christian, who one day found a grimy piece of cloth, perhaps a former handkerchief, during a visit to the nasty concrete tank where the POWs were occasionally allowed a quick sponge bath. Christian picked up the scrap of fabric and hid it.
Back in his cell he convinced prisoners to give him precious crumbs of soap so he could clean the cloth. He stole a small piece of roof tile which he laboriously ground into a powder, mixed with a bit of water and used to make horizontal stripes. He used one of the blue pills of unknown provenance the prisoners were given for all ailments to color a square in the upper left of the cloth. With a needle made from bamboo wood and thread unraveled from the cell’s one blanket, Christian stitched little stars on the blue field.
“It took Mike a couple weeks to finish, working at night under his mosquito net so the guards couldn’t see him,” Mr. Thorsness told me. “Early one morning, he got up before the guards were active and held up the little flag, waving it as if in a breeze. We turned to him and saw it coming to attention and automatically saluted, some of us with tears running down our cheeks. Of course, the Vietnamese found it during a strip search, took Mike to the torture cell and beat him unmercifully. Sometime after midnight they pushed him into our cell, so bad off that even his voice was gone. But when he recovered in a couple weeks he immediately started looking for another piece of cloth.”
***
We impoverish ourselves by shunting these heroes and their experiences to the back pages of our national consciousness. Their stories are not just boys’ adventure tales writ large. They are a kind of moral instruction. They remind of something we’ve heard many times before but is worth repeating on a wartime Memorial Day when we’re uncertain about what we celebrate. We’re the land of the free for one reason only: We’re also the home of the brave.
Peter died in November 2019. I paid my respects here on Power Line. Peter’s book on the living Medal of Honor recipients is Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, now republished in a third edition. Peter’s book Political Woman, a biography of Jeane Kirkpatrick, was published in 2012 by Encounter Books. Peter’s JFK novel, Things in Glocca Mora, was published posthumously by Encounter late last year. Encounter keeps Peter’s flame alive with this page devoted to his books that it has kept in print.
The 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson, tells Desmond Doss’s story. Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Phillips first told Jason Dunham’s story in the Journal and then in the book The Gift of Valor. The story that Peter relates from Senator McCain is included in McCain’s classic memoir (written with Mark Salter) Faith of My Fathers. The story that Peter relates from Leo Thorsness is included in Col. Thorsness’s moving memoir of his service and captivity, Surviving Hell, to which I contributed an introduction for Encounter’s paperback edition.
(Paul Mirengoff)Marty Walsh is Joe Biden’s Secretary of Labor. Alex Acosta was Donald Trump’s for a few years.
Acosta lost his job after reports showed that he gave a sweetheart deal to Jeffrey Epstein, a pedophile. The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal suggests that Walsh might have a somewhat similar problem.
The alleged pedophile in question is the former chief of the Boston police union, Patrick Rose. He was arrested last summer on 33 counts of sexually abusing children.
Walsh’s problem is that he may have known about Rose’s criminal behavior. At a minimum, Walsh was not forthcoming in turning over records relevant to Rose’s case.
It’s become clear that Mr. Rose’s behavior was known for years and that officials helped to keep it secret. That may have included Marty Walsh, the former union chief, former mayor of Boston and now U.S. secretary of Labor. . . .
In 1995, [Rose] was criminally charged with sexually abusing a child and placed on administrative duty. The Boston Globe reports that prosecutors in 1996 dropped the charge when the accuser “recanted his story under pressure from Rose.”
Yet a subsequent internal affairs investigation that same year concluded that the charge “was sustained.” The Globe reports that state child welfare investigators also looked into the allegation and found “reasonable cause to believe” a child was abused.
It isn’t clear how the police department responded to those findings. But in 1997 an attorney for the police union sent a letter to the police commissioner complaining that Mr. Rose had been restricted to administrative duty for two years and threatened to file a grievance. Mr. Rose was then reinstated as a patrol officer and allowed contact with children. According to prosecutors, he went on to sexually abuse at least five more minors, including when he was union president from 2014-2017. Mr. Rose has pleaded not guilty.
(Emphasis added)
Walsh appears to have gone to great lengths to withhold files relevant to Rose’s case. The Journal’s editors state:
Following Mr. Rose’s arrest last summer, the [Boston] Globe filed requests for the officer’s internal affairs file, which included details of the 1995 charge, internal investigation and union response. The Walsh administration refused to release the file, saying the records could not be redacted in a way that would satisfy privacy concerns.
Even when the state supervisor of public records refuted this, the Walsh administration balked—at one point ignoring for two months the supervisor’s order that it better explain why the records should remain secret. Mr. Walsh’s successor, Acting Mayor Kim Janey, finally released a redacted version on April 20, but only after Mr. Walsh was confirmed as Labor secretary. This means the Rose story wasn’t known during Mr. Walsh’s Senate confirmation hearing.
It isn’t clear what Mr. Walsh knew or when. But the Boston Globe editorial board called it “astonishing” the “lengths to which the [Boston police] department and the now departed Walsh administration went to keep those files under wraps.” A Department of Labor spokesperson declined to comment by our deadline.
(Emphasis added)
The Journal’s editors note the connection between Walsh and Rose. Walsh was the president of a Laborers’ Union local, as well as the head of the Boston Building Trades, until he ran for mayor in 2013. And “as mayor he showered unions with taxpayer money, including a contract with Mr. Rose’s police union in 2017 that resulted in a pay increase of 16% over four years.” Not surprisingly, “city employees in unions donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign.”
As the Journal says, it’s not clear what Walsh knew about Rose’s case or whether he knew anything about it at all. However, Walsh might have been in a position to know, and his administration’s foot dragging in turning over files raises questions.
As Secretary of Labor, one of Walsh’s duties is to combat union corruption. Yet, Walsh’s tenure as union chief produced charges of questionable dealings and unethical behavior.
Walsh isn’t the man to fight union corruption. That’s why Biden appointed him at the behest of union leaders like AFL-CIO president Richard Trumpka. Walsh is their man. (Biden satisfied woke leftists through his selections for jobs just below the Secretary level.)
As things stand, we’re stuck with Walsh. But if evidence emerges that he covered for a child molester, Walsh might well go the way of Alex Acosta, whose actions regarding Jeffrey Epstein were less culpable than that.
(Paul Mirengoff)Using race-based preferences to admit students with qualifications vastly inferior to those admitted without the need for such preferences creates all sorts of problems and dislocations. One of them is the erosion of standards within various departments, especially ones that teach hard stuff. I wrote about one example — eliminating econometrics as a required course for graduating from a major school of public policy — here.
Now comes word, via Brittany Bernstein at NRO, that Classics majors at Princeton University will no longer be required to learn Greek or Latin. An intermediate proficiency in Greek or Latin won’t be required to enter the concentration and the requirement that students to take Greek or Latin will also be dropped.
At least Princeton’s French majors will still be required to know French and its Math majors to know calculus. For now, at least.
Josh Billings, director of undergraduate studies and professor of classics, claims that having students who don’t know Latin and Greek in the department “will make it a more vibrant intellectual community.” It will do so, allegedly, by “ensur[ing] that a broad range of perspectives and experiences inform our study of the ancient Greek and Roman past.”
What is the Black perspective, if any, on ancient Greece and Rome? That the Greeks and Romans were white supremacists? I doubt that this perspective is (1) relevant to studying the classics and (2) absent from the department as currently constituted. Indeed, as discussed below, Princeton’s classics department is already obsessed with “systemic racism.”
It’s fair to ask why Blacks who view ancient Greece and Rome as bastions of white supremacy would want to major in Classics. Why study the scribblings of a bunch of racists? How much passion can one muster for that enterprise?
And what will these students do with their major? It’s unlikely they will be able to teach Greek or Latin. Even if they choose belatedly to study it, they will be far behind. It seems unlikely that, lacking strong proficiency in the languages, these students will be able to continue their study of Classics in graduate schools worth their salt.
I suspect that to the extent Princeton’s relaxation of requirements attracts new students who don’t know Greek or Latin, these students won’t find it fulfilling to be in a department populated with actual scholars of Greek and Latin. They will probably take their “vibrancy” elsewhere.
It seems clear from Bernstein’s account that Princeton’s decision isn’t about vibrancy and fresh perspectives. It’s about feelings of guilt and the desire for atonement.
The Department states:
Our department is housed in a building named after Moses Taylor Pyne, the University benefactor whose family wealth was directly tied to the misery of enslaved laborers on Cuban sugar plantations,. This same wealth underwrote the acquisition of the Roman inscriptions that the department owns and that are currently installed on the third floor of Firestone Library. Standing only a few meters from our offices and facing towards Firestone is a statue of John Witherspoon, the University’s slave-owning sixth president and a stalwart anti-abolitionist, leaning on a stack of books, one of which sports the name ‘Cicero.’. . .
We condemn and reject in the strongest possible terms the racism that has made our department and our field inhospitable to Black and non-Black scholars of color, and we affirm that Black Lives Matter.
Okay. But how is it racist to require Classics majors to know Greek and Latin?
It isn’t. If anything, it seems racist to assume that Blacks need to be excused from learning Latin and Greek. If they are serious about Classics, why wouldn’t they learn the languages?
The Department completes its virtue signaling by stating:
The actions we take to promote equity and inclusion will not suffice to protect members of our community from discrimination and the effects of systemic racism – particularly anti-Black racism. For that reason, we end by expressing our solidarity with efforts to achieve equity in our nation and our world.
In reality, the actions the department takes will reinforce racial stereotypes and diminish the value of completing the Classics major at Princeton, while probably having a negligible effect on minority completion of the major.
But this doesn’t seem to matter to Princeton, where it’s all about making the right gestures and reciting woke pieties.
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President Biden will visit Tulsa to mark race massacre centennial, Pride Month begins and more news to start your Tuesday.
Good morning, Daily Briefing readers! We hope you had a great holiday weekend. President Joe Biden will visit Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate a grim centenary – the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. And, it’s the first of the month of June, which means that Pride Month is officially here! 🏳️🌈
🌎 New this morning: LGBTQ advocates are still reaping rewards of a 2020 anti-discrimination ruling by the Supreme Court. But legal experts see challenges ahead.
🔵 “Didn’t realize it was going to be me.” With a July deadline looming, some 9/11 survivors and families may miss out on the right to file a claim for benefits.
🔴 RIPLil Loaded: The Dallas rapper behind the 2019 viral summer hit “6locc 6a6y,” has died. He was 20.
🎧 On today’s 5 Things podcast, listen to what government officials are saying about UFO sightings. 👾You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.
Here’s what’s happening today:
Biden to visit Tulsa to mark race massacre centennial
President Joe Biden will visit Tulsa on Tuesday to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre . The history of the massacre spotlights the formation of an affluent Black community known as “Black Wall Street,” and the gruesome events that destroyed it. In 1921, a white mob attacked the area in Oklahoma, killing hundreds of people and destroying the country’s wealthiest African American community. Its abrupt demise and similar incidents around the country during that period played a role in widening the racial wealth divide, experts say.
Celebrations planned nationwide throughout Pride Month 🏳️🌈
Pride Month is officially here. The month of June marks a time of celebration and reflection for the LGBTQ+ community and allies. Pride dates back to riots at Stonewall Inn in June 1969, led by Black transgender women. New York City police had raided the landmark bar in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, enforcing a law against selling alcohol to gay patrons. Thirteen people were arrested. Now more than 50 years later, Pride is celebrated with street festivals, events and parties. Looking to celebrate Pride in your area? USA TODAY compiled some of this year’s biggest events.
Mayim Bialik’s two-week turn as “Jeopardy!” host kicks off Monday, May 31.
Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
Pentagon set to release government report on UFOs 👽
A government-sanctioned report on unidentified aerial phenomena is expected to be released by the Pentagon and other federal agencies on Tuesday. It will include information that cannot easily be explained , according to a former top national intelligence official. UFOs are often synonymous with aliens in pop culture, but those who study the phenomenon say they should be understood by their literal name: unidentified flying objects. Often, they may have mundane explanations like weather balloons or drones. But for now, some sightings don’t have accepted explanations.
Stunning decision: Naomi Osaka withdraws from French Open
Naomi Osaka played her first-round match at the French Open on Sunday before announcing her withdrawal from the tournament on Monday.
Susan Mullane, USA TODAY Sports
‘Potentially hazardous’? An asteroid the size of the Space Needle will pass near Earth
A massive asteroid is expected to whiz by Earth in a relatively close encounter – 4.5 million miles – on Tuesday, according to NASA. The asteroid, known as 2021 KT1, is about 600 feet, the size of the New York Olympic Tower or the Seattle Space Needle. The asteroid is classified by NASA as a “potentially hazardous object” because it is larger than 492 feet and within 4.6 million miles of Earth. It will be flying near Earth at a speed of 40,000 mph, according to the laboratory. While the asteroid is not expected to make a direct hit, NASA is keeping a close watch.
Newsmakers in their own words: NBA coach takes on fan behavior
Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks in 2020
Associated Press photo; USA TODAY graphic
After a fan ran onto the court during the Washington Wizards’ Game 4 playoff win over the Philadelphia 76ers, head coach Scott Brooks delivered a scathing five-minute old-school rebuke. Tap here to read Brooks’ full comments.
Hurricane season officially begins
Tuesday marks the beginning of hurricane season in the Atlantic, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The season, which runs through Nov. 30, typically peaks in August and September. If it follows predictions, it will be the sixth consecutive year of above-normal activity. Overall, the NOAA said 13 to 20 named storms will develop. Of the predicted hurricanes, three to five could be major, packing wind speeds of 111 mph or higher. Forecasts include storms that spin up in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published over the weekend
📸 Photo of the day: Honoring those who served on Memorial Day 📸
Elizabeth Spence of Cleveland visits the grave of her grandfather Edward Spence U.S. Army World War II veteran at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery on Monday May 31, 2021. Spence said her grandfather, who died in 2019, was like a father to her.
Mike Cardew, Akron Beacon Journal/USA TODAY Network
Memorial Day is a federal holiday that commemorates the lives of American troops who died in service. This year, a nation slowly emerging from social distancing measures honored generations of U.S. veterans on a holiday observed without the severe restrictions that affected it a year ago.
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Today’s racial justice activists tend to speak in terms of “equity” rather than the traditional tenets of American “equality.” Equality refers to the state of being equal: all people treated the same way regardless of race or skin color. Equity generally refers to the idea of people being treated differently to achieve fairness. Some say […]
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, has vetoed numerous bills backed by Republicans. They include bills attacking election fraud bill and racist “Critical Race Theory.” On Twitter, Ducey stated that “some” of the 22 bills he vetoed on May 28 are “good policy” but that the legislature needs to “focus first on passing a budget. […]
– May 31, 2021 – Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America On this Memorial Day, we remember the fallen heroes who took their last breaths in defense of our Nation, our families, our citizens, and our sacred freedoms. The depth of their devotion, the steel of their resolve, and […]
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Top Cardiologist: It’s Like Giving Your Body A New “Battery”
We all want more energy. One doctor says he’s found the secret and it can easily be done at home. Dr. Gundry says his secret involves a food that’s scientifically shown to “unlock” your physical & mental potential.
Watch: North Korean refugee compares her nation to the Hunger Games in Jordan Peterson interview
If you won’t listen to a guy like Jordan Peterson talk about the dangers of socialism because he’s a white member of the #Patriarchy, will you listen to a North Korean woman who grew up thinking dead bodies in the streets was a normal thing?
Chris Pratt’s epic post about Memorial Day went viral and you should come read it because it’s fantastic
This post by Chris Pratt shouldn’t be controversial, but sadly, these days anything that supports our fallen heroes gets public figures criticized and cancelled.
New poll shows Americans aren’t willing to spend even a FEW BUCKS on climate action, let alone the TRILLIONS demanded by the Green New Deal
Biden and the Dems are set on spending trillions of dollars that’s going to put all our great-grandkids in mind-numbing debt.
This is probably the funniest thing you’ll see all day
Some people say the Army is the dumbest branch of the military.
“Atheists in Kenya Society” announced a top leader stepped down because “he has found Jesus” 😆🙌
This is one heck of a PR announcement:
This is their day to be honored
I understand the impulse to mock the current state of leadership in the United States military.
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97.) US NEWS & WORLD REPORT
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Author exposes Wuhan Cover-up! 8:30am ET Australian investigative reporter Sharri Markson talks Wuhan cover-up and her new book on Wake Up America, Newsmax via Directv 349, Xfinity 1115, Dish 216, Uverse 1220, Fios 615, Optimum 102, Mediacom 277, Spectrum, Cox, Suddenlink, WOW!, or on FREE OTT via Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto, Apple TV, more! Find all channels: More Info Here
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99.) MARK LEVIN
May 31, 2021
Posted on
On Monday’s Mark Levin Show, We bring you the best of Mark Levin on Memorial Day. The rise of Jew hatred and anti-Semitism is frightening. Open borders in Europe have created no-go zones for Jews and Christians in areas of Paris and London and it looks like the United States is following suit. Bigots like the Rep Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the squad stir the pot and inspire anti-Semitism. This hatred can destroy a country and affects all Americans that believe in a Constitutional system. Later, Sen. Tom Cotton joins the show to reaffirm his support for Israel and question why Biden has been so weak in his defense of Israel. Cotton added that similarly, President Obama was also weak with Iran which has vowed to destroy Israel and the US. Cotton surmised that China’s preposterous cover-up about the virus originating from a wet market is steadily being disproved as more evidence emerges regarding the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Afterward, the Biden State Department blocked any additional investigation by the United States into the origins of the coronavirus following Dr. Fauci’s admission that his organization did in fact modestly fund some of the research grants at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Biden Administration is now covering it up. Later, the media mocked President Trump and Sen. Tom Cotton for suggesting the coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Shouldn’t the scientists know about which grants they have issued and to whom? However, eco-Health Alliance in New York did receive a grant and used it for gain of function research on the coronavirus. Fauci’s response was dishonest.
The podcast for this show can be streamed or downloaded from the Audio Rewind page.
Image used with permission of Getty Images / Mandel Egan
100.) WOLF DAILY
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A group of 117 healthcare workers at a Texas hospital filed a lawsuit in state court against their employer’s mandate requiring all staff to get COVID-19 vaccinations…
As we celebrate those who have served our Great Nation, we are offering an exclusive Memorial Day offer! Click Here to get in touch and take advantage whilst stock lasts!
Several major U.S. meat plants run by JBS USA were not operating on Tuesday after the company reported a cyber attack over the weekend, according to company Facebook posts and unions.”
“This mayoral race is absolutely a window into what New Yorkers want to see in a city reborn,” said Michael Hendrix. “They want a return to economic growth and jobs. They want safe streets and a sense of some kind of public order.”
Farmers across California say they expect to receive little water from state and federal agencies that regulate the state’s reservoirs and canals, leading many to leave fields barren, plant more drought-tolerant crops or seek new income sources all-together.
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Facebook Twitter Google+ The Jew-hating United Nations obsession with Israel continues. As the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) elevates and legitimizes some of the most barbaric and murderous countries on the planet, it seeks to …
Facebook Twitter Google+ Not a fan of Bill Maher. However, Maher deserves credit for his public rebuke of the Israel-hating Bella Hadid, as well as his takedown of Nicholas Kristof: a vicious liar and anti-Israel bigot from the anti-Semitic New …
As the country is roiled by fifth column, domestic enemies far more dangerous and stealth than foreign actors, let’s look to the heroes of our past and present to show us the way forward. We must remember the real reason for this annual holiday.
It would be a tragedy if we were on a European trajectory. There, the kinds of lies and smears now being normalized and spread by likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and other progressives on the floor of Congress have manifested in …
Will the U.S. turn a blind eye to genocide in China, its trade barriers and intellectual property theft, and its increasingly aggressive foreign policy, in order to get China’s government to make useless noises about fighting climate change?
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Perfectly normal behavior in New York CitySerious crime spiked across most major categories amid another plunge in arrests last week, NYPD statistics showed Monday — and sources said the bloodshed would have been even worse if…
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Providing Article V / Federalism News and Scholarly Resources Since 2013
This Month…
Federalism Requires Bipartisan Commitment to Devolve Power
The Natives Are Restless
2021: Mid-Year Article V Status Report
Related Article V News
Five Recommended Related Reads
Until We Meet Again – A Farewell
Federalism Requires Bipartisan Commitment to Devolve Power – If You Want To Fix the Country, Devolve Power says the headline in May 7 article by J.D. Tuccile on the Reason blog.
The writer points out, “It’s a given in American politics that partisans become born-again believers in federalism when their faction is out of power in Washington, DC, only to lose faith in decentralization the next time they win control of Congress and the presidency.”
The article notes: “This back-and-forthing on the value of local control vs. central supremacy is exhausting, not to mention overtly opportunistic.” It then talks about a prominent Democrat and Republican who agreed that “Federalism must be a bipartisan issue. Otherwise, it will continue to be subject to the inconsistent whims of elections.”
In a recent bipartisan article by the two they said: “On issues like gun control and the minimum wage, why not let Wyoming be Wyoming and New York be New York? Half of congressional dysfunction could be eliminated by modestly accepting the diversity of our country.”
The excellent article suggests that political differences are becoming dangerous conflict as national tensions and strife. It quotes Nate Cohn’s words in a recent New York Times piece wherein he said, “The country is increasingly split into camps that don’t just disagree on policy and politics — they see the other as alien, immoral, a threat,”
The writer concludes by saying, “Failing [to devolve power from the federal level to lower levels], the major parties will continue to pretend that they care about federalism when they’ve lost control of Washington, DC, and discard their faith in the principle when they’ve regained a grip on the central political apparatus. And the country will continue to descend into sectarianism and strife as they play their opportunistic games.” Read the article HERE.
Another good related article was published on May 5 in City Journal (an urban policy magazine produced by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research) written by senior fellow Brian Riedt under the heading The Federalism Fix.
Reidt argues that “America is too large and diverse for … centralization,” and that an honest application of the principles of federalism can bring peace to America. Read that article HERE.
The Natives Are Restless –
On May 19 The Epoch Times carried a story that is reflective of sentiments of a growing number of American citizens. The story dealt with citizens of five Oregon counties who on May 18 voted to take their counties out of that State and secede to the State of Idaho.
The voters in two other Oregon counties had earlier agreed to the same proposal, and soon voters in two more counties will be voting on a similar proposal Organizers of the effort are also hoping to get a few northern California counties to join the movement too. Most of the involved counties are rural.
The group promoting the long-shot effort, Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho, say they want to join Idaho because they believe they would be better off with Idaho’s kind of government and political leadership. They say they are tired of being dominated by politicians in Portland who hold views and values so different from their own.
“This election proves that rural Oregon wants out of Oregon,” lead petitioner Mike McCarter said in a statement. Odds are stacked very heavily against success of their effort, but the fact that their effort has gained this level of momentum reflects a high and broad level of voter dissatisfaction with many state leaders. Read The Epoch Times story HERE.
Citizens are rising up in Colorado too. That state has a constitutional provision known as TABOR (Taxpayers Bill of Rights) that requires their legislature to get voter approval before raising taxes. But the current Colorado legislature is attempting to raise more than $3 billion in new “fees” to avoid the restraint of TABOR.
They propose to set up a series of state-owned “enterprises” which would each be authorized to collect “fees.” But Colorado’s constitution has its own Article V wherein Section 1 says the people … “reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the general assembly…” A citizen effort is now rising to use the state’s initiative process to block the fee-to-avoid-TABOR scheme.
The leader of that effort is Michael Fields, previously affiliated with Americans for Prosperity. Read about his efforts HERE.
2021: Mid-Year Article V Status Report
By Stu MacPhail
Some state legislatures remain in session for 2021. But most states where proposed Article V applications were on the table have either adjourned sine die, or passed deadlines for fully dealing with those proposed resolutions.
In view of that, what is the outlook for Article V efforts? When this newsletter talks about “Article V efforts,” it means efforts to activate the second option within Article V, a convention of States to propose amendments to the US Constitution.
As far as potential constitutional amendments dealing with meaningful federal fiscal responsibility, congressional term limits or other restraints on Congress… actually being proposed by Congress (the first option in Article V)… that will only happen if God strikes dead more than half of the members of Congress. So… NO CHANCE!
This newsletter has publicized numerous one-off efforts to use a convention of states to propose various amendments to the US Constitution. However there are only four “movements” that are seriously pushing for specific amendments. In the judgement of this newsletter editor, sadly, none of those “movements” are doing very well.
The Convention of States Project (CoSP):
This group (that also operates under the name Convention of States Action and Citizens for Self-Governance) has been funded to the tune of multi-millions of dollars by wealthy donors since its inception in 2013. The three-topic proposal that its thousands of supporters and big budget pushes has so far gained just 15 state applications out of the 34 needed to activate an Article V convention to propose amendments.
During 2014 Georgia became the first state to adopt the CoSP application. By the start of 2017 CoSP boasted 8 state applications for their cause. During 2017 the group picked up 4 more states. During 2019 the group picked up its 13th, 14th and 15th states (AR, MS and UT). Then COVID hit, and no new states have been added during the last two state legislative sessions… in spite of the fact that its staff and volunteers have been working hard in some 17 states.
Montana Senator Tom McGillvray reports that he believed the CoSP application was headed for approval in the Senate this year when one JBS-influenced Senator lobbied heavily against it. The proposal failed by a vote of 24 to 26. The Montana legislature will not meet again until 2023.
In Missouri SCR4 was approved in the Senate on March 29 by a vote of 23 to 11. Then on May 13 the House voted 89 to 64 to approve the same bill. This is a repeat of an earlier-adopted CoSP application that included an expiration date. It does not change the number of adopted CoSP applications. SCR4 has no expiration date.
On May 11 the Wisconsin House approved the CoSP resolution (HJR9) by a vote of 58 to 36. It remains under consideration in the Senate.
Also on May 11 the South Carolina House approved the CoSP resolution by a vote of 66 to 42. The Senate did not get around to deal with the proposal before recessing.
At this rate readers can entertain their own speculation as to the probability of CoSP reaching 34 states within the foreseeable future.
On May 19 NewsMax magazine carried a story by Convention of States President Mark Meckler reporting on a poll conducted by his organization and the Trafalgar Group. Among other things the poll found that “66% of all Americans, including 75% of Republicans and 55% of Democrats, support using a convention of states to limit federal spending and power, and impose term limits on federal officials.” Read about that poll HERE.
The Campaign to Force Congress to Live Within a Budget:
There are several loosely-related groups that have been pressing for a single-topic constitutional amendment which would force the federal government to operate under a “balanced budget,” or with “fiscal discipline” or “fiscal responsibility.” They include the Balanced Budget Task Force (BBTF), the Center for State-led National Debt Solutions (CSNDS), Let Us Vote for a BBA (LUV) and various groups that write lengthy web postings about the need for federal fiscal restraint but are really not active in seeking such restraints via an Article V convention-proposed constitutional amendment (read Heritage Foundation, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Fix the Debt Coalition and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget).
The efforts on this front date back to the 1970s when folks like Lew Uhler (who now heads the National Tax Limitation Committee) worked on this campaign with other concerned Americans like Ronald Reagan. By the 1980s that early effort reached some 32 state resolutions calling for an Article V convention before an unholy alliance of left- and right-wing organizations began organizing rescissions.
The drive resumed again in 2010, starting from a base of 16 valid and subsisting (un-repealed) state resolutions, operating under the name Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force, led by David Biddulph and Bill Fruth, both of Florida. The effort never had substantial financial backing, but over the years has succeeded in building the number of BBA-focused Article V applications to 27 (maybe 28… the one from Mississippi has wording problems). The last one was Wisconsin in late 2017.
Since then, the effort has virtually died, except for efforts to include 6 very old “non-topic-limited” applications for an Article V convention. Even if that approach eventually prevails, the effort is still one state short. Efforts to get Mississippi to adopt an application to replace its ill-worded 1975 application, and/or to get South Carolina to adopt an application have been underway during 2021, but so far without success.
There was one good development for this campaign this year. During April the Oklahoma legislature adopted a renewed Article V application (SJR23, named in honor of deceased Article V activist and former Oklahoma US Senator Dr. Tom Coburn) that calls for two separate Article V conventions… one for a BBA-focused convention and one for the triple-subject CoSP convention… one of the few occasions CoSP worked cooperatively with the BBA folks. In 2016 the state adopted SJR4, a similar resolution, but that bill had an expiration date of December 31, 2023. SJR23 has no expiration date.
The US Term Limits (USTL) Campaign:
This effort focuses exclusively on obtaining a constitutional amendment that sets term limits on members of Congress. It is the only campaign to see a new Article V application adopted in the past two years. On March 22, 2021 the West Virginia legislature adopted HCR9, making that the 4th state to adopt the USTL application.
This session the Tennessee House has approved the USTL resolution by a vote of 53 to 34. It was under consideration in the Senate when the legislature recessed.
This campaign believes that the term limit portion of most of the 15 existing CoSP applications can be aggregated with the USTL applications, reaching a possible (probable) total of 19 states supporting a convention focused on setting congressional term limits.
USTL is a moderately funded campaign and has been actively campaigning for its effort in some 18 states this year. While this group has simultaneously pushed Congress to propose its constitutional amendment, it is clear Congress will never do so.
The “Take Money Out of Politics” Effort:
Variously known as the “Fair and Free Election” or the “Repeal the Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision” effort, this campaign is primarily led by a group known as Wolf-PAC, with limited support from a second group known as American Promise.
They seek an Article V convention that would focus its discussions on “the influence moneyed interests have on our elections” with the hope that it would propose a constitutional amendment that would prohibit excessive corporate interference/intrusion in American elections.
Five states have adopted applications for an Article V convention that would focus on this topic. The last state to do so was Rhode Island in 2017. During 2021 this group was active in 5 states, including West Virginia, where the Senate approved the resolution, but the House did not.
Related Article V News –
On May 16 long-time Article V supporter Congressman Steve Stiver resigned his post as US Representative for the 15th District in Ohio.
Stiver was the Congressman responsible for getting a provision added in the US House Rules (clause 3 of Rule XII) requiring the US House Clerk to list and publicize the applications (Memorials) adopted by states in pursuit of an Article V convention. That was the first time either House of Congress had even made any effort to acknowledge receipt of such applications. The list, although far from complete, can be found at https://clerk.house.gov/SelectedMemorial .
Reportedly, after 10 years in Congress, Stivers will become President and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. The Ohio governor has announced a special election to fill Stivers’ post in Congress.
Article V activist Mike Kapic has just unearthed an interesting study of the 1970s efforts to bring about a BBA-focused Article V convention. The 30+ page essay was written by E. Donald Elliott and published in the Duke Law Journal (Duke University School of Law). It can be downloaded HERE.
Elliott asks the question: “If a convention really is a ‘monster approaching the capital’ that threatens to rend the social fabric, destabilize the republic, and repeal our liberties, then why did the framers include the convention procedure in the Constitution in the first place? When, if ever, is it appropriate to use the convention route for amending the Constitution?” Elliott uses scholarly research in an attempt to answer his own question.
On April 29 the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget issued a news release/paper entitled The Nation’s Upcoming Fiscal Challenges. In it they say, “President Joe Biden and the nation face perhaps the most daunting fiscal situation on record. One hundred days into his presidency, President Biden faces record deficits and debt, expiring discretionary spending caps, a series of looming fiscal deadlines, several major trust funds facing shortfalls, and no agreement on how to address these challenges.”
They report that “The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) will be exhausted in FY 2022 and the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund in FY 2026. The Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund is projected to run out in calendar year 2032 and the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) trust fund in calendar year 2035.”
Surprisingly, the Heartland Institute used its Somewhat Reasonable Thoughts blog to publish an anti-Article V story by Nancy Thorner.
Ms.Thorner filled her piece with quotes from an outspoken anti-Article V retired attorney who writes under the name Publius Huldah. The strange article can be found HERE.
Five Recommended Related Reads –
Will We Keep Our Republic? is a thought-provoking article written by John Green and published by American Thinker.
It is hardly startling new information, but Green points out that “[t]he press has become the propaganda ministry. These people no longer report the news. Instead, they craft narratives. Many of those narratives seem designed to create civil unrest — playing Americans against one another. Apparently, hatred and riots are good for ratings. Consumers of this ‘news’ no longer have an accurate picture of what’s happening in politics or society. They’re simply pawns playing their parts in the script.” Then he goes on to point out what is happening in American schools. Read Green’s thoughts HERE.
In late April syndicated columnist Cal Thomas wrote Power back to the people that was carried in several newspapers.
Thomas writes that the concept behind the “We the people” phrase with which the US Constitution begins “was that the people, not the government, are sovereign and the government’s power is granted to it by the governed.”
But, he says, “That has been reversed in our day as government has become ever more powerful, some would argue dictatorial, as demonstrated by restrictions on our liberties with the COVID-19 virus used as the excuse.”
“I have come to the conclusion that nothing but a carefully organized and controlled constitutional convention can return power to where the Founders intended it to reside – with the people,” says Thomas, and “If what we are seeing in Washington does not define out-of-control government, what does?”
Thomas concludes by quoting Attorney/radio-TV Commentator Mark Levin, who is a staunch supporter of the Convention of States effort. “When the framers wrote Article V of the Constitution, it was precisely for a time like this. Our republic and liberty are at stake, threatened by a mob, political demagogues, and a corrupt media. In the end, it’s the only tool that can save our constitution.” Read the Thomas column HERE.
In a recent piece published by FOX News, Victor Davis Hanson warns, “We are now witnessing a concentrated effort to alter the constitutional order and centuries of custom and tradition.”
Hanson is a distinguished fellow at the Center for American Greatness. He is often called upon to offer commentaries on TV and radio shows and in such publications as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Washington Times, and The Daily Signal (Heritage Foundation).
Under the heading A nation’s well-being hinges on only a few factors – is US teetering on the edge of ruin? Hanson capsulizes key factors evidencing that America is at a tipping point.
Then he references Adam Smith saying of successful nations that they have a lot of “ruin” in them. “He meant that a dissolute, leisured and ahistorical generation has to waste a lot of its generous inherited wealth before it runs out. We are learning how much will soon be left of what our ancestors bequeathed. And the rest of the world is watching — some with glee, others with horror.” Read Hanson’s thoughts HERE.
On May 22 Townhall carried a piece by Chris Talgo, senior editor at The Heartland Institute, entitled The $28 Trillion American Albatross.
After recounting several recent “audacious and expensive pieces of legislation in US history,” Talgo says: “Obviously, this reckless spending is not sustainable. Yet, that notion seems to fall on deaf ears in the White House and the halls of Congress. That begs the question: What can we do, if anything, to avoid a financial reckoning that would make the Great Depression look like a stroll in the park? Well, for starters, we could do what many fiscal conservatives and commonsense Americans have been promoting for decades: a balanced budget amendment (BBA).”
Talgo concludes: “[I]n a nutshell, that is what this is all about. Are we willing to live high on the hog while [passing the bill] on future generations? If that is indeed the case, I wonder what past generations (like those who stormed the beaches on D-Day so future generations could live in freedom) would think of present-day America?” Read his piece HERE.
Paul S. Gardiner issues a figurative call to arms in a recent opinion piece published by the CDMedia blog under the heading Saving America By Defeating The Callous and Nefarious Woke, Cancel Culture Agenda.
Gardiner says, “Unless the mob is confronted and overcome by a more forceful and energetic coalition of patriotic Americans desiring to protect and preserve their freedom birthrights, the eventual outcome may be disastrous for American liberty.”
He concludes with: “[I]t is time for many, many members of the silent majority (and other truly patriotic Americans) to form their own ‘tireless minority’ and go on the offensive to challenge and overcome the lies and actions of the mob and its radical leftist supporters.” Read his piece HERE.
Until We Meet Again…
It’s been a good ride… but it is time for me to get off.
The production of Article V Caucus newsletters over the past 8 years has been both fun and a chore. It has been my privilege to track the progress of Article V efforts… and to produce a sort of Reader’s Digest version of federalism news for state legislators.
I believe the State Legislators’ Article V Caucus (along with its newsletter and resources-rich web site) has earned well-deserved credibility. It is trusted. I am confident it will continue well into the future, but someone else will take charge of this newsletter. I wish them well.
Sincerely,
Stu MacPhail
_________________
This Newsletter is produced by the State Legislators’ Article V Caucus
The Caucus Steering Committee is Co-chaired by:
Former Colorado State Senator Kevin Lundberg (senatorlundberg@gmail.com)
and New Mexico Congresswoman Yvette Herrell (yvette@yvetteherrell.com)
And Includes:
Arizona State Senator Kelly Townsend (kellyjtownsend@yahoo.com)
North Dakota State Representative Kim Koppelman (kkoppelman@nd.gov)
Utah State Representative Ken Ivory, Retired (voteivory@gmail.com)
Iowa State Senator Neal Schuerer, Retired (nschuerer@outlook.com)
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