Good morning! Here is your news briefing for Thursday September 23, 2021
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3.) DAYBREAK
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4.) THE SUNBURN
Sunburn — The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics — 9.23.21
Good Thursday morning.
#RaysUp
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Breaking overnight — “FDA approves Pfizer boosters for high-risk individuals, people 65 and up” via Axios — The approval comes just days after an FDA advisory panel recommended boosters for the two groups but overwhelmingly voted against the third shots for younger Americans. The approval also applies to people ages 18 to 64 “whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure” puts them at high risk for serious complications from the virus. The White House had hoped to begin administering boosters to many Pfizer recipients, including young Americans, this week. Several experts on the FDA advisory committee said last week that they hadn’t seen enough data to justify boosters for the general population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will likely issue guidance on boosters after a key advisory panel votes Thursday on third doses.
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We wanted to hold this story back for our FP Plus partners and subscribers, but we can’t help but spill it.
The Senate’s health care policy lead plans to put vaccine mandates in the crosshairs in the 2022 Legislative Session.
No, not that vaccine. All of them.
Hialeah Republican Sen. Manny Diaz, who chairs the Senate Health Policy Committee, told Christine Sexton of Florida Politics he plans to “review” existing vaccine requirements that have long been in place in Florida schools — the ones that require students to get shots for measles, mumps and more.
Said review comes as GOP electeds are facing heat for their anti-mandate rhetoric on the COVID-19 vaccine and none of the others.
Under current law, only parents who cite religious or health reasons can exempt their children from vaccination requirements. Otherwise, parents need to show proof of vaccination — or a vaccine passport, if you will — showing they’ve received a long list of vaccinations.
Diaz, who hasn’t been vaccinated for COVID-19, did offer a moderate defense of the more ubiquitous and “proven” vaccines required of schoolchildren, such as the Truman-era combo shot for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
“I think there’s a distinction when you have something that is proven to work and doesn’t have any side effects,” he said.
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Welcome to the world — Joshua Karp, a Democratic communications strategist and founding partner at Hone Strategies, and Dorian Karp, director of policy and advocacy at Jewish Women International, on Tuesday morning welcomed Rory Shoshana Karp, who came in at 7 lbs., 2 oz., and joins her big sister Ellie.
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
Tweet, tweet:
—@JonahDispatch: It’s like the apologists who were determined to parrot the line that COVID was “just the flu” or “not as bad as the flu” couldn’t let go of the fact they were embarrassingly wrong, so they still want to claim 675K dead are no big deal.
—@mkraju: Stephanie Murphy, moderate House Dem, tells @AnnieGrayerCNN of Pelosi: “I would be deeply disappointed if she didn’t put the infrastructure bill on the floor as the resolution requires her to.”
—@AshleyMoodyFL: “Defund” is the new radical buzzword in D.C. Dems are gung-ho on wasteful spending, but when it comes to funding for peace and safety there always seems to be an issue. To defund the Iron Dome would endanger the lives of the people of Israel, one of our most important allies.
—@LMower3: That’s one of the main themes of the @GovRonDeSantis administration during the pandemic: Major policy changes, made cryptically and quietly with no clarifications or opportunities for questions to be answered.
—@NateMonroeTU: it’s like we’re doing reverse contact tracing now, after, of course, never having really tried contact tracing in the first place
—@BenDiamondFL: Many school districts have followed the advice of public health professionals and taken appropriate steps to protect the health and safety of our children and teachers. This new rule from the (Ron) DeSantis administration will interfere with those efforts. It’s misguided and dangerous.
—@FowlerThanEver: I’d encourage everyone who wants to talk trash about redistricting to draw a map and see how “easy” it is.
Tweet, tweet:
— DAYS UNTIL —
The Problem with Jon Stewart premieres on Apple TV+ — 7; Disability Employment Awareness Month begins — 8; ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ premieres — 8; Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary party starts — 8; MLB regular season ends — 10; ‘No Time to Die’ premieres — 15; ‘Succession’ returns — 24; ‘Dune’ premieres — 29; World Series Game 1 — 33; Florida Chamber Future of Florida Forum begins — 34; Florida TaxWatch’s annual meeting begins — 34; Georgia at UF — 37; St. Petersburg Municipal Elections — 40; Florida’s 20th Congressional District Primary — 40; The Blue Angels 75th anniversary show — 43; Disney’s ‘Eternals’ premieres — 43; ‘Yellowstone’ Season 4 begins — 45; ‘Disney Very Merriest After Hours’ will debut — 46; Miami at FSU — 51; ExcelinEd National Summit on Education begins — 56; FSU vs. UF — 65; Florida Chamber 2021 Annual Insurance Summit begins — 69; Jacksonville special election to fill seat vacated by Tommy Hazouri‘s death — 75; Steven Spielberg‘s ‘West Side Story’ premieres — 78; ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ premieres — 85; ‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ released — 90; ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ premieres on Disney+ — 93; NFL season ends — 108; 2022 Legislative Session starts — 110; Florida’s 20th Congressional District election — 110; Joel Coen’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ on Apple TV+ — 113; NFL playoffs begin — 114; Super Bowl LVI — 143; Daytona 500 — 150; St. Pete Grand Prix — 157; ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ premieres — 183; ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ premieres — 227; ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ premieres — 246; ‘Platinum Jubilee’ for Queen Elizabeth II — 252; “Black Panther 2” premieres — 288; San Diego Comic-Con 2022 — 300; ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel premieres — 379; “Captain Marvel 2” premieres — 414.
“Florida lawmaker files Texas-style fetal heartbeat abortion bill enforced by lawsuits” via Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel — The bill, filed by Rep. Webster Barnaby, would create civil penalties of at least $10,000, echoing the controversial Texas law that passed muster by the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 6-3. The bill also would ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, generally at about six weeks, although the science is disputed whether a fetal heartbeat actually exists before seven weeks of gestation. Anyone other than a government employee can file a lawsuit against someone who not only performs an abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, but anyone who “aids or abets” such an abortion, including “paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise … regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced,” the bill reads. The proposed legislation specifies that the state or any state agency or local government would not be responsible for enforcement, only civil lawsuits.
Nikki Fried blasts abortion bill — Agriculture Commissioner Fried called Barnaby’s Texas-style abortion bill “dangerous, radical, and unconstitutional” in a statement released shortly after it was filed. “The hypocrisy of this attempt by Gov. DeSantis and Republicans in the state Legislature to take away our rights while at the same time preaching ‘my body, my choice” when it comes to wearing masks is absolutely disgusting,” she said. “They have made it abundantly clear by banning masks in schools and refusing to apply for money to help hungry kids that they don’t actually care about children’s lives.” The sole statewide Democrat closed with a promise to Florida women: “I will do everything in my power to stop this bill from becoming law. “
Lauren Book says abortion bill all rhetoric, no science — Senate Democratic Leader Book noted the filing of the “extreme” anti-abortion bill means “women’s fears have been realized.” The Plantation lawmaker continued, “Rooted in rhetoric instead of science, the bill cruelly strips women of their right to choose what happens to their own bodies. No exemption for rape and incest. Vigilante cause of action included. The House bill will be fiercely opposed by our Caucus because this outright attack on women will never be tolerated.” The statement reiterates the stance she expressed in a recent digital ad produced by the Florida Democratic Party, in which she said any attempt to import a Texas-style abortion law to the Sunshine State will be met with “fierce, fierce, fierce opposition.”
But … Chris Sprowls asks Erin Grall, Colleen Burton to explore options for abortion bill — House Speaker Sprowls said while he has been consistently anti-abortion, any state bill limiting abortion rights would need clear hurdles set in Article I, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution, which guarantees Floridians a right to privacy. “Our laws have to be strong enough to jump through multiple levels of judicial scrutiny. We look forward to bringing to the floor a bill that saves every unborn life possible,” he said. “I have asked House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Grall and House Health & Human Services Chairwoman Burton to review the various proposals, look at other ideas, and take point on this issue this Session.”
—”‘Unconscionable but not unexpected’: House Dems react to Texas-style abortion bill filed in Florida” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
“Ron DeSantis bobbles question about the bill” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — Asked to compare and contrast “The Florida Heartbeat Act” (HB 167), called “freedom of choice during the pandemic,” DeSantis fumbled and ultimately offered an inconclusive answer. “Well, I think the difference is between, uh, the right to life is that another life is at stake. Whereas whether you’re doing stuff is really … if you’ve put something in your body or not, it doesn’t affect other people. So that’s in terms of protecting another life,” he asserted, choosing generalities over policy specifics. DeSantis demurred that he had not “seen what was there … I have a 100% pro-life record and very much have supported when I was in Congress and signed as Governor.”
— DATELINE TALLY —
Legislature launches redistricting website — The Legislature on Wednesday debuted a joint redistricting webpage that features an interactive map drawing function that allows the public to draw and submit redistricting plans. A news release announcing the website says the website’s GIS backbone includes the “data necessary to build districts down to the census block level.” Senate President Wilton Simpson said, “staff have been working tirelessly to integrate recently received census data with the new map-drawing application so legislators and the public can appropriately and actively participate in this once-in-a-decade process in a tangible and meaningful way.” House Speaker Sprowls added that the website launch “marks an exciting milestone for this redistricting cycle.”
Check out the website here.
“Manny Diaz wants to ‘review’ existing non-COVID-19 vaccine mandates” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics+ — Florida’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be a major focus during the 2022 Legislative Session for Sen. Diaz, the top Republican shaping health care policy in the upper chamber. His work could include revisiting existing vaccine requirements long in place in schools, a response to the debate about whether COVID-19 vaccines should also be required. Diaz, who came down with COVID-19 last winter, said he wants to review the state’s vaccination efforts as well as DeSantis’ work on getting monoclonal antibody treatments to those who test positive for COVID-19. The Senator, who acknowledges he hasn’t gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, says he’s firmly against vaccine mandates.
“Christine Hunchofsky miffed by lack of nursing home personal care attendant data” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — AHCA could not say on Wednesday how many people who have worked as personal care attendants in the last 17 months went on to become certified nurse assistants, a stated goal of the personal care attendant program. “At this point, we do not have that information,” AHCA Deputy Secretary for Quality Assurance Kim Smoak said when House Finance & Facilities Subcommittee member Rep. Christine Hunschofsky asked the question. Hunchofsky, though, was less than pleased. “It’s a little concerning that you don’t have that data since the pandemic began in March 2020,” she said. The goal of the temporary personal care attendant program was to provide nursing homes with additional staff to care for their residents and to eventually grow the size of the state’s long-term care workforce.
“Republican lawmaker files take two of ‘Victims of Communism Day‘” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics — Floridians could soon observe ‘Victims of Communism Day’ under a new bill filed in the Florida Senate, similar to a failed bill last Session. Sponsored by Republican Sen. Manny Diaz, the bill (SB 268) would designate Nov. 7 as ‘Victims of Communism Day’ and require public school students to receive instruction on communist dictators. “Communism has proved incompatible with the ideals of liberty, prosperity, and dignity of human life and has given rise to such infamous totalitarian dictators as Josef Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong and Pol Pot,” the measure reads. Students must also learn of the experience of communism victims. The bill would require at least 45 minutes of instruction for students enrolled in a high school government course.
“Oenophiles rejoice: Chip LaMarca again seeking to repeal bottle size limits” via Anne Geggis of Florida Politics — Rep. LaMarca once again wants bigger bottles of wine — for retailers to sell, that is. The bill (HB 6031) the Lighthouse Republican filed Tuesday is identical to the one he filed last Session and the Session before. It seeks to repeal state law banning wine sales in containers larger than 1 gallon. The measure has sailed through the House of Representatives only to die in the Senate three years in a row. The standard size of a wine bottle is 750 milliliters, which is about five servings. One gallon would be 3,785 milliliters, with about 25 servings. A wine bottle called the Nebuchadnezzar is equivalent to 20 standard wine bottles, and the Solomon is equal to 24 standard wine bottles.
“Florida law requires landlords to provide heat, not air conditioning. Michael Grieco wants to fix that” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics — In Florida, one of the hottest states in America year-round, landlords are required by law to provide tenants with “functioning facilities for heat during winter.” They don’t have to do the same for air conditioning. It’s an absurd oversight, said Grieco, a state Representative from Miami Beach who aims to correct the issue through legislation this Session. “I almost fell over when I found out about it,” he told Florida Politics. “I’ll be filing a bill to address that specific issue, and we’ll see if it gets any traction.” Grieco said he hopes his forthcoming bill receives bipartisan support. He’s not sure it will, considering the current political climate.
“Agriculture Department wants raises for first responders, funding for water and climate change” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics+ — The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is asking for $150 million in the upcoming budget, including nearly $6 million to fund pay raises for the department’s first responders. The agency released its funding request Monday as the first week of legislative committee hearings began. Fried, who is also mounting a campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, leads the department. “Despite the challenges of operating through a continuing pandemic, our core mission remains the same: to safeguard the public and support Florida agriculture,” Fried said. “Our budget priorities are solutions-oriented and critical not only to our department’s success, but also to our state.”
“‘EVs are coming’: Lawmakers hear findings from electric vehicle study” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Florida transportation officials say infrastructure efforts the Legislature launched have given the state a head start on the road to electric vehicles. Officials from the state Department of Transportation and Florida Power and Light briefed House and Senate panels on the recent history and future of electric vehicles in Florida. FDOT has worked with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Public Service Commission to develop a master plan for building charging station infrastructure to expand Florida’s electric vehicle network. Expanding the grid would help address the problem of “range anxiety,” fears that electric vehicle drivers won’t find the power stations necessary to make their trips, kind of like running out of gas.
“Universities tout high rankings, low tuition in push for additional funding” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Florida schools are decreasing tuition while increasing their national rankings, education officials tout to lawmakers as they ask for increased funding. State University System Chancellor Marshall Criser and the Board of Governors are requesting budget increases, including an additional $15 million in performance-based funding for the coming fiscal year. Criser outlined a $5.5 billion total budget request. Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Suzanne Pridgeon posed a $3.3 billion operating budget. The Sunshine State’s public universities have been excelling, Criser said, accentuated by the University of Florida’s recent ranking as a top-five public school nationally by U.S. News and World Report this month.
“State University System working with FSU politics institute to develop ‘intellectual diversity’ survey” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — State University System Chancellor Criser told the House Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning Subcommittee the system is working with the Institute of Politics at Florida State University to develop the survey. With DeSantis’ blessing, the Republican-led Legislature mandated creating that survey earlier this year in a bill to protect “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on college campuses. The Legislature established the Institute of Politics last year as part of a broader higher education package. “We saw it as a potential resource for us to work in the development of the survey mechanism,” Criser said.
New lobby registrations:
New and renewed lobbying registrations:
Brian Ballard, Jose Diaz, Ballard Partners: MC Advisors
Ellyn Bogdanoff, Nicholas Matthews, Becker & Poliakoff: Pigeonly
Melanie Brown-Woofter, Shane Messer: Florida Council for Behavioral Healthcare
Scott Dick, SKD Consulting Group: Association of Support Coordination Agencies
Leslie Dughi, Metz Husband & Daughton: American Lung Association, Florida Physical Therapy Association, Florida Psychiatric Society, Mayo Clinic
George Feijoo, Gary Guzzo, Floridian Partners: Allstate Insurance Company
Meghan Hodde, Ken Pruitt, Mark Pruitt, The P5 Group: ITI Holdings
Jonathan Kilman, Mario Bailey, Converge Public Strategies: Florida Independent Liquor Store Owners Association, WANRack
Allison Sackett: State Courts System
Corey Staniscia, CS Consulting Group: OceanTherm
Monte Stevens, The Southern Group: Next Insurance
— STATEWIDE —
“‘Writing on the wall’ at prominent appeals court supports DeSantis’s pandemic agenda” via Noreen Marcus of FloridaBulldog.org — Judges are expected to set aside their biases when they rule. But Judge Adam Tanenbaum of the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee has written or signed onto pandemic rulings that appear to rely on partisan spin and not on scientific facts. Most recently, on Sept. 10, Tanenbaum was one of three judges who lifted, for now, Leon Circuit Judge John Cooper‘s order rejecting the state ban on school mask mandates. Tanenbaum wrote an opinion that attacks an Alachua County masking order directed at businesses. Also, a three-judge panel including Tanenbaum threatened the career of Daniel Uhlfelder, a Panhandle lawyer who suggested in court papers that DeSantis is risking lives for political gain.
“State prison official sounds alarm: ‘We don’t have another Session to get this right‘” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics — The Florida prison system remains under duress, and the time to act is now, a Florida Department of Corrections official told lawmakers Wednesday. Speaking to the House Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee, Deputy Secretary Ricky Dixon said staffing issues and overcrowding remain the agency’s chief concern. An immediate intervention, he warned, is necessary. “We just don’t have another Session to get this right from all the statistics we’re looking at,” Dixon said. The agency will seek to raise starting pay to over $41,000 in the upcoming Legislative Session. The move, he added, may slow the migration of state prison employees to other higher-paying agencies.
CIO says Florida’s cybersecurity isn’t in a ‘great place,’ but it’s getting better — Florida Chief Information Officer Jamie Grant told a House panel Wednesday that the state is spending a lot of time on cybersecurity yet remains behind the curve. Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida reported that the Republican former lawmaker said that while the state has lagged in maintaining its cybersecurity capabilities, it’s getting better. “Anyone who tells you we are in great posture, or in a great place is giving false hope,” he said. “At the same time, if anyone tells you the state is not heading in the right direction, they do not know what they are talking about.” Grant said also described recent reports on the severity of staffing problems at FDS as “clickbait.” He said nearly 90% of FDS hires made during his tenure are still at the agency.
“Environmental inspections fell in Florida during COVID-19 pandemic” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics+ — State environmental investigators inspected fewer potential violations in 2020 than in 2019, but the number of enforcement actions reached their highest level in nearly a decade, according to a new study from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigators did find more violations in 2020 than in 2019 as industry compliance rates fell. The agency initiated 742 enforcement cases in 2020. That’s the highest yearly total since 2011, when more than 1,100 cases were opened. But DEP conducted fewer inspections “in every major program” except one, according to a news release about the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility study.
“Florida approves preservation of 20,000 acres” via Ben Montgomery and Selene San Felice of Axios — Gov. DeSantis and the Cabinet approved $50 million on land preservation deals for seven parcels covering almost 20,000 acres. The money comes from the Florida Forever program, and the deals either preserve wilderness lands by limiting public access or allow ranching operations to continue with rules against development. The move protects important water supplies and preserves linkages through the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which runs the length of the state to provide safe migration routes for the Florida Panther and other animals. Six of the seven parcels are in the Corridor. This is the first time the Governor and Cabinet have met since the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act was signed into law, showing a bipartisan commitment to the environment.
“David Altmaier paints bleak picture of property insurance market” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — Florida insurers are reporting heavier losses in 2021 than last year, and Insurance Commissioner Altmaier told state legislators that his office was currently monitoring several insurance companies to ensure they remain solvent and asked as many as 12 companies to submit monthly financial statements just to make sure they are still functioning. “The results are dire, and this is cause for concern,” Altmaier said. He also told legislators that even with a recently enacted bill designed to cut down on legal costs burdening insurers, he could not guarantee a time when rate hikes won’t continue to be needed. Florida has the third-highest property insurance rates in the nation. “There’s no quick fix to this,” Altmaier said.
“Altmaier says meeting on workers comp catastrophe fund assessment not likely” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — Florida Insurance Commissioner Altmaier said Wednesday he has no plans to hold a public hearing on the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s request to levy an assessment against employers to establish a catastrophic fund for workers’ compensation. Altmaier would not say whether he was inclined to approve or reject the NCCI filing. Altmaier told Senate Banking and Insurance Committee members the agency would schedule a public meeting on the proposed 4.9% reduction in workers’ compensation rates. If approved, employers’ workers’ compensation rates would be reduced by nearly 70% since 2003, the Commissioner said. The OIR had not published a meeting date or time for the proposed rate filing at press time.
“State delays start of ‘negotiated rule-making’ for neonatal intensive care beds” via Christine Jordan Sexton of Florida Politics — A top health care official told members of a House panel the state wants to “aggressively” move forward with new rules governing the establishment and operation of neonatal intensive care units in Florida. AHCA Deputy Secretary for Health Quality Assurance Kim Smoak did not tell members of the House Finance & Facilities Subcommittee the agency delayed the meeting Sept. 30-Oct. 1 to Oct. 25-26. Following the meeting, an AHCA official attributed the delay, in part, to the need for the agency to hire a mediator to help negotiate rules that competing hospitals can agree upon. Moreover, the agency also needs time to review applications that have been submitted by people who want to be part of the negotiated rule-making panel.
Meanwhile … “Magic City Casino owners sue federal government to block sports betting in Florida” via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald — Two Florida pari-mutuels filed a new motion in U.S. District Court in Washington, asking a judge to block implementation of online sports betting under the Florida tribal gaming compact which is scheduled to begin later this year. The motion asks a court to enjoin the sports-betting portion of the state’s compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The compact gives the Tribe a monopoly over sports betting in the state by allowing wagers to go through an internet server on tribal land. The plaintiffs allege that although the Department of the Interior allowed the compact to take effect, the court should reverse that decision and block implementation until a legal sports-betting compact is established for Florida.
— CORONA FLORIDA —
“Florida COVID-19 update: 10,073 cases added, daily death average stays at its highest” via Devoun Cetoute of the Miami Herald — Florida on Wednesday reported to the CDC 10,073 more COVID-19 cases and three deaths. In all, Florida has recorded at least 3,527,250 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 51,892 deaths since the pandemic began. In the past seven days, on average, the state has added 376 deaths and 9,020 cases per day, according to Herald calculations of CDC data. The state’s seven-day death average has held at 376 deaths per day over the last three days, Florida’s highest seven-day death average. There were 8,187 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida. That is 251 fewer patients than Tuesday’s report.
—”A big drop! Okaloosa County’s COVID-19 cases fall 40.4%; Florida cases plummet 24.2%” via Mike Stucka of the Northwest Florida Daily News
“COVID-19 quarantines no longer required in schools; parents will decide whether their kids stay home” via Scott Travis and Leslie Postal of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Children who have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 will no longer have to quarantine unless the parents want them to, under a new emergency rule signed by the state’s new Surgeon General. Children can now be sent back to school without quarantining even if they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus — as long as they have no symptoms. The new rule is likely to intensify the debate over parents’ rights vs. the need for public health precautions in schools. Previously, state rules required students to quarantine off campus at least four days after exposure to someone with the virus.
Court tosses school masking rule challenge — A challenge to the state rule banning school mask mandates was thrown out on Wednesday after a revised Department of Health rule made the challenge moot, Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO Florida reports. “The Division of Administrative Hearings lacks jurisdiction to determine the validity of a rule after it has been repealed,” reads a Wednesday order from Judge Brian A. Newman. The new rule, put in place by new Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, allows parents to decide whether their child must stay home if exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The change comes as student infections are on the decline. There were 12,202 cases in children under 12 for the week ending Sept. 16 — a drop of more than half from the 26,475 cases for the week ending Aug. 26.
“New Florida Surgeon General often takes contrary positions on COVID-19 policy, treatment” via Kirby Wilson of the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times — For the first year and a half of the coronavirus pandemic in Florida, it was difficult to heed the advice of Florida’s top health official — Dr. Scott Rivkees — because he rarely publicly shared his views. That won’t be a problem for Rivkees’ successor, Dr. Ladapo. In more than a dozen published columns in major newspapers, Ladapo has frequently deviated from the medical establishment consensus. In the USA Today piece at the start of the pandemic, for instance, Ladapo warned that American economic shutdowns would not stop the spread of the virus. That piece was published four days after DeSantis issued a series of restrictions via executive order curtailing activities at bars, restaurants and gyms.
“Florida’s new Surgeon General to make $462,000 a year in dual roles” via Gray Rohrer of the Orlando Sentinel — Ladapo will make $462,000 a year in his dual role as chief of the Department of Health and a member of the faculty at the University of Florida. Ladapo will be a professor at the UF College of Medicine, a tenure-track position subject to approval by the UF Board of Trustees. He will receive $262,000 in that job, in addition to his $200,000 salary as surgeon general and secretary of the Department of Health. UF anticipates the health agency “will contribute a significant portion of this salary based on the percentage of time he dedicates to the surgeon general role,” UF spokesman Ken Garcia wrote in an email.
“Nikki Fried celebrates vaccination milestone, casts doubt on new Surgeon General” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — Fried celebrated a milestone — 12 million Floridians having been vaccinated against COVID-19. But she also expressed concern about the state’s new chief health officer. “The people of the state of Florida need to be congratulated for finally listening to the calls and listening to all of our recommendations of the last eight weeks, asking people to getting vaccinated,” Fried said, castigating DeSantis for inoculation “disinformation.” This was Fried’s first news conference since DeSantis brought on a controversial new Surgeon General who, like DeSantis, sees vaccines as optional. “It seems like the Governor went out of his way to find him and bring him to Florida,” Fried said.
“PBC schools seek to add COVID-19 testing, contact tracing staff for every campus” via Sonja Isger of The Palm Beach Post — Palm Beach County education leaders are laying the groundwork to expand school-based COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, with a long-term goal of a speedier return to campus for healthy students and staff. The efforts would be coordinated with local health agencies and paid for with grant money flowing from the CDC. The steps proposed Wednesday are only a start, said Keith Oswald, the district’s chief of Equity and Wellness. The first step district officials are proposing is to offer more testing at each school. Each week, hundreds, sometimes thousands of unvaccinated teachers and students are told they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 and must seek out testing on their own to speed their return to the classroom.
“Sarasota store suing Florida over lack of vaccine requirement” via Bailey LeFever of WUSF — In some states, vaccination cards have become the golden ticket to restaurants, bars and stores. But in Florida, businesses are legally not allowed to require proof of vaccination for entry. The owners of Bead Abode, a Sarasota craft store, are suing the Florida surgeon general over the law. The store has been closed since March 2020 but wants to reopen its new location in October with safety protocols, such as a proof-of-vaccination requirement to protect customers, said Andrew Boyer, co-owner and legal counsel. Bead Abode has still been making online sales throughout the pandemic. But most regulars are eager to return in person, Boyer said. He added that safety measures like proof of vaccination, also known as “vaccine passports,” will make customers feel more protected.
— 2022 —
“Democrats commit $30M to Senate battles in Florida, other battleground states” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — Democrats in Florida and eight other battleground states will split $30 million in a new Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee initiative to establish early grassroots campaigns for U.S. Senate contests. The DSCC’s “Defend the Majority Program” represents the committee’s largest-ever ground field organizing investment at this point in campaign cycles. The money will go toward helping provide field staff, field offices, and field training programs. That means the Florida Democratic Party, which already has staff assigned to the 2022 U.S. Senate election effort, could get early field organizing help.
“Republicans pull nearly even with Democrats in number of registered voters in Florida” via Romy Ellenbogen of the Miami Herald — The gap between Florida’s registered Democrats and Republicans, which has been steadily closing nearly every year since 2012, is a few thousand voters away from the GOP pulling ahead for the first time in state history. Despite two decades of Republican dominance on a statewide level, Democrats in Florida have maintained their edge in the number of registered voters. But that lead is now down to about 24,000, according to Florida Department of State data — far from the 558,000-voter-advantage Democrats had nearly a decade ago. There are about 5.1 million Republicans and just slightly more Democrats listed in state data showing active voters as of Aug. 31. There are about 3.8 million NPA voters and about 250,000 minor party voters.
Assignment editors — Charlie Crist will join parents and a group of Floridians concerned about the newly named Surgeon General’s emergency rule on COVID-19 protocols, 12:30 p.m., livestreaming on Facebook. RSVP to press@charliecrist.com to ask questions of the attendees.
— CORONA NATION —
“CDC panel tackles who needs booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine” via The Associated Press — An influential panel of advisers to the CDC grappled with the question of which Americans should get COVID-19 booster shots, with some members wondering if the decision should be put off for a month in hopes of more evidence. The doubts and uncertainties suggested yet again that the matter of whether to dispense extra doses is more complicated scientifically than the Joe Biden administration may have realized when it outlined plans a month ago for an across-the-board rollout of boosters. The rollout was supposed to have begun this week. Much of the discussion at the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting focused on the possibility of a scaled-back booster program targeted to older people or perhaps health care workers.
“Is the worst over? Modelers predict a steady decline in COVID-19 cases through March” via Rob Stein and Carmel Wroth of NPR — The delta surge appears to be peaking nationally, and cases and deaths will likely decline steadily now through the spring without a significant winter surge. The COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub combined nine different mathematical models to get an outlook for the pandemic for the next six months. The modelers developed four potential scenarios, considering whether or not childhood vaccinations take off and whether a more infectious new variant should emerge. Deaths from COVID-19 would fall from about 1,500 a day now to fewer than 100 a day by March 2022.
“‘Post-vax COVID’ is a new disease” via Katherine Wu of The Atlantic — We’re not yet at the point where we can officially label post-vaccination COVID-19 cases as “modified”; maybe we never will be. Some immunized people are still getting dangerously sick. But the shots are softening COVID-19’s sharp edges: On average, breakthrough infections seem to be briefer, milder, and less contagious. If this virus becomes as inescapable as the culprits behind the colds and flus that trouble us most years, we could all have to grapple with one of these infections and learn that lesson on a personal level. That’s the social tax of a forever virus: Nearly everyone may eventually know what it is to get COVID-19 — but a tamer, more domesticated version.
“The struggle to define Long COVID” via Dhruv Khullar of The Atlantic — There is little doubt among researchers that Long COVID exists. But the syndrome is new, and lives for the moment in the realm of theory and anecdote. Amid an always online pandemic, the condition is also the subject of constant conjecture. Doctors, scientists, and patients are sharing their opinions freely, along with everyone else. The needed research is underway. Medical schools around the country have begun studying Long COVID, and hundreds of papers trying to demystify the syndrome have been published. Congress has authorized more than $1 billion for research on the long-term consequences of coronavirus infection; NIH Director Francis Collins has announced an initiative that will include a large-scale, $470 million study of the syndrome, designed in part using input from patients and families.
“Children face racial disparities as COVID-19 infections rise” via Margo Snipe of the Tampa Bay Times — COVID-19 is infecting more kids, and the racial disparities of who is falling ill is similar to those among adults. The age group 19 and younger saw nearly 4.9 million COVID-19 infections, over 39,000 hospitalizations, and 725 deaths nationwide through the end of August. While the data for young folks remains limited, it suggests children of color have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, which “may widen existing gaps in health and well-being between children of color and white children,” wrote Nambi Ndugga, a policy analyst with the Kaiser Family Foundation who contributed to the report. Children of color are more likely than white children to be infected, hospitalized and die from the coronavirus.
OFFS — “Asthma group warns against social media trend of inhaling hydrogen peroxide to treat coronavirus” via Aaron Gregg of The Washington Post — A leading asthma patient group has issued a warning against a coronavirus treatment circulating on social media that is leading some people to post videos of themselves breathing in hydrogen peroxide through a nebulizer. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America called the practice “concerning and dangerous” in a Tuesday blog post, emphasizing that it will neither treat nor prevent the virus and is harmful to the lungs. “DO NOT put hydrogen peroxide into your nebulizer and breathe it in. This is dangerous!” wrote the foundation in a brief blog post. It’s the latest case in which the medical community has grappled with unsubstantiated and potentially dangerous at-home coronavirus treatments.
— PRESIDENTIAL —
“Democratic lawmakers urge Joe Biden to help Haitian migrants at southern border” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics — With Haiti residents migrating in unprecedented numbers to the U.S. southern border, Democratic lawmakers called on Biden Wednesday to address the crisis and remove a public health order that expedites the deportation of migrants amid the pandemic. Led by Reps. Marie Woodson and Dotie Joseph, roughly a dozen Democratic lawmakers decried the situation and described it as a “humanitarian crisis” that requires immediate action. Among other calls, they urged Biden to undo a Donald Trump-era public health order known as Title 42. The order fast-tracks deportations at the southern border and has remained in effect under the Biden administration. They also urged the Democratic President to meet with members of the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network.
“‘Biden nou fache’: Protesters in Miami demand asylum for Haitian migrants at border” via C. Isaiah Smalls II and Samantha J. Gross of the Miami Herald — Demonstrators protesting the deportation and treatment of Haitian migrants on the outskirts of Texas took to the streets outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami field office Wednesday, blocking parts of Northwest Seventh Avenue near Little River Drive. More than 100 people turned out to protest the deportations at the U.S.-Mexico border and demand the Biden administration accommodate Haitians seeking refuge in the U.S. after July’s assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and August’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake that killed more than 2,000 people. The 11 a.m. event was organized by the advocacy group Family Action Network Movement. The invitation called Miamians to protest “the illegal expulsions of Haitian refugees and grave human rights abuses in Del Rio, Texas.”
— EPILOGUE TRUMP —
“Donald Trump sues New York Times and niece Mary Trump over tax records story” via Katerina Ang of The Washington Post — Trump sued over the publication of a 2018 article detailing allegations he “participated in dubious tax schemes … including instances of outright fraud” that allowed him to receive over $413 million from his father, Fred Trump Sr., while significantly reducing taxes. The suit, filed in a Dutchess County, New York, court, alleges Mary Trump, The New York Times, and at least three of its reporters “engaged in an insidious plot to obtain confidential and highly sensitive records” about the former President’s finances. According to the lawsuit, Donald Trump suffered at least $100 million in damages as a result.
“Trump’s red, white & blue Air Force One paint job is not final, General says” via Marcus Weisberger of DefenseOne — The red, white, and blue paint scheme selected by former President Donald Trump for the next Air Force One has not been finalized, a top Air Force general said Tuesday. A final decision about the color will be made closer to when the planes enter service, which is now even later than planned due to supply chain issues, according to Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson, the Air Force military deputy for acquisition. For several years, the Air Force has used a concept image of the plane with the red, white, and blue livery chosen by Trump in the service’s official budget request. The Biden administration’s fiscal 2022 budget request also used the picture.
“Somehow, we’re still learning the depths of Trump’s dishonesty” via Philip Bump of The Washington Post — This week, we learned new details about the conversations that were unfolding in the White House in the days before the counting of electoral votes at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. We’ve learned the extent to which Trump’s insistences about the election having been stolen were predicated on information that his team and his allies knew were unfounded. We’ve learned from the aforementioned memo that Trump seized upon a fringe opinion about constitutionality as a rationale to pressure his Vice President into doing something that he couldn’t do and shouldn’t have done even if he could. We’ve learned more, in other words, about just how shoddy Trump’s claim to a second term was.
— CRISIS —
“Why sane Republicans are purging themselves” via Charles Sykes for POLITICO — Last week, Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio) announced that he wouldn’t stay and fight his Trump-backed primary challenger, walking away from what had once been a safe seat in Congress. The decision was greeted with dismay among anti-Trumpers of both parties who saw Gonzalez’s survival as a test of whether Trump’s grip on the GOP could be shaken. By and large, GOP officeholders have internalized that message; they know that defying or even questioning Trump’s most bizarre claims is political suicide. Trump has already made dozens of endorsements in down-ballot races against Republican officials who refused to back his election fraud claims. By leaving office and ceding the field to the Trumpists, they are also ensuring that the identity of the GOP is now frozen in place and will be for a generation.
— D.C. MATTERS —
“‘America is back’: Val Demings touts $3.5 trillion budget bill” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics+ — In less than two weeks, Democrats in Congress are expected to push their $3.5 trillion, 10-year budget package putting much of Biden’s social and climate agenda into the federal budget for the next decade. Democratic U.S. Rep. Demings of Orlando is one of Congress’ most outspoken advocates of the plan. She’s also the leading Democratic candidate challenging Marco Rubio for the U.S. Senate election in 2022. She spoke with Florida Politics about why she supports the plan. The package includes much of what Biden had proposed last spring in his $2 trillion climate resilience plan and his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan.
“Bipartisan police-overhaul talks end with no deal” via Eliza Collins and Sadie Gurman of The Wall Street Journal — Bipartisan talks aimed at overhauling police tactics and accountability have ended with no agreement, the top Democratic negotiator said, with lawmakers unable to reach a compromise following nationwide protests sparked by the killings of Black Americans by law-enforcement officers. Sen. Cory Booker said Wednesday that he called Sen. Tim Scott to tell him the Democrats were done negotiating after Scott didn’t accept their final offer. The negotiations, which began early this year, were led by Booker, Scott and Rep. Karen Bass. A previous effort to pass policing rules had ended in partisan acrimony before the 2020 election.
“We hear you, Southwest Florida, new Army Corps leader tells audience at Congressman Byron Donalds’ town hall” via Amy Bennett Williams of the Naples Daily News — U.S. Congressman Donalds put water quality front and center at a Tuesday night virtual town hall that included a top federal regulator. Up for discussion: algae problems, flexibility with water releases from Lake Okeechobee and whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is listening to the state’s west coast residents. Col. James Booth took charge of the 61st commander of the Corps Jacksonville District, which includes Southwest Florida, a little more than two weeks ago. He arrived as the district continues wrestling with a tongue-twistingly named, brain-bogglingly complicated process updating the way it runs Lake Okeechobee and its attached waterways.
— LOCAL NOTES —
“No signs of Gabby Petito’s boyfriend after days of searching” via Curt Anderson of The Associated Press — Search teams found nothing of note Wednesday at a Florida wilderness park where they have spent days looking for the boyfriend of Petito, the young woman who authorities say was killed while on a cross-country trip with him. The search resumed Wednesday morning at the 24,000-acre (9,700-hectare) Carlton Reserve Park and ended just before dark, North Port police spokesperson Joshua Taylor said. Investigators say Brian Laundrie’s parents told them he had gone there after returning home without Petito on Sept. 1. It marked the fourth day of searching in the Carlton Reserve, with operations suspended Monday while the FBI searched the nearby Laundrie home for evidence. The search of the reserve was set to resume Thursday morning.
“Book latest prominent Democrat to back Ken Welch for St. Pete Mayor” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics — “As the Democratic Leader in the Florida Senate, I believe it’s critical for Democrats to win up and down the ballot next November and I am proud to support local city leaders like Ken who have both the background and experience necessary to make a difference for everyday Floridians,” Book said in a statement. “I am confident Ken will be a tremendous partner with local and state government and I look forward to working with him to improve the lives of St. Pete residents when he is Mayor.” Welch, a registered Democrat, faces Republican City Council member Robert Blackmon.
“Sarasota City Commission plans legal action to advance ranked choice voting” via Anne Snabes of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune — The city of Sarasota is seeking a court judgment on whether it can use ranked choice voting in its elections. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank all candidates in a race, according to their preferences. This form of voting ensures that the winner of an election has received over 50% of the vote. The city will be seeking a declaration that the Florida Election Code and the state’s Constitution allow municipal elections to be conducted using ranked choice voting. The Sarasota City Commission voted 4-1 to work with outside legal counsel on this effort. Fournier said a declaratory judgment is a way to decide a dispute between two parties about their rights and obligations.
“Florida is a hot spot for government homes sold in flood-prone areas” via Lisa Peakes of WUSF — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is disproportionately selling homes in areas prone to flooding. More than 500 in the past few years were sold in Florida: 112 of them in the greater Tampa Bay region. While HUD isn’t required by law to disclose that houses are in an official flood zone, NPR found the federal agency often doesn’t fully disclose the potential danger to buyers. And in some cases, the homes are being rented out or resold to new buyers who were unaware of the risks.
“DEP: Piney Point cleanup could take years to complete” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — A breach in a reservoir at Piney Point was repaired last year, Department of Environmental officials confirmed. But there remains the risk of further disaster as long as millions of gallons of polluted war remain above ground on the Manatee County site. DEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton told lawmakers that even if a plan remains on track to remove all water and level the land, it will be years before that work concludes. That’s because state and local officials must still find and build a place to dispose of that water while continuing to monitor the site regularly. Officials remain concerned about whether the 215 million gallons discharged from Piney Point directly into Tampa Bay due to the disaster fed red tide hitting many of Florida’s coastal counties this year.
“Red tide resurgence in Florida Panhandle” via Jake Holter of WHNT — It’s been three years since Panhandle beaches dealt with red tide, but it’s back again. The harmful algae bloom, named Karenia brevis, releases a toxin that can irritate respiratory systems. The common side effects include itchy skin, a scratchy throat, coughing and a burning sensation to your eyes, nose, and throat. During major blooms, the water will turn a brownish-red color and will kill marine life. Beachgoers reported red tide to the South Walton Fire District, prompting officials to post warnings on Facebook and raise the purple flags.
“SFWMD Governing Board approves $1.15 billion budget” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — This year’s budget total represents a 6% decrease from the district’s budget last fiscal year. The largest chunk of the 2021-22 budget — just under $638 million — will go toward land acquisition, restoration and public works. Nearly $390 million will be used for the operation and maintenance of lands and works, according to the proposal discussed at a Tuesday evening SFWMD Governing Board meeting. Those two areas make up nearly 90% of the overall budget. Nearly $58 million is set aside for water resources planning and monitoring, while close to $42 million will be used for district management and administration. Just over $22 million is earmarked for regulation and another $1.25 million will go toward outreach.
“Ducks Unlimited, SFWMD complete restoration of nearly 6,400 acres in Gardner-Cobb Marsh” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — The marsh is located near the Kissimmee Upper Chain of Lakes. The project came as part of a grant proposal under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA). Groups can use NAWCA to apply for grant money for projects that help preserve wetlands and nearby uplands habitats, specifically those used by waterfowl and other migratory birds. DU successfully petitioned for that funding under the act and worked with the SFWMD to fill ditches and increase water flow to assist the prairie wetland system. “The Gardner-Cobb Marsh was acquired by SFWMD to support the Kissimmee River Headwaters Revitalization Project,” said DU Director of Conservation Programs Emily Purcell in an announcement celebrating the project’s completion.
“Is time running out for the Cape Sable sparrow? Numbers drop to lowest in five years” via Jenny Staletovich of WLRN — The tiny Cape Sable seaside sparrow, a bird perilously perched on the edge of extinction, is getting closer to vanishing. Helicopter surveys this year, over grassy prairies where the bird lives in Everglades National Park, detected the lowest number in five years. While Everglades restoration is expected to increase the sparrow’s prairie habitat elsewhere, the safer, remote area on the park’s western border has switched chiefly to inhospitable sawgrass, where the birds won’t nest. Repairing it will take a decade or more, said Larry Williams, Florida’s state supervisor for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Space Force says demand for Cape Canaveral rocket launches may soon exceed capacity” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics — The commercial space business is evolving and growing so rapidly its main U.S. launch center, Cape Canaveral, may soon be facing more rocket launch requests than it can handle, a Florida Senate panel was told Wednesday. Those are mostly commercial launches of private satellites and other orbital commerce, which U.S. Space Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Purdy, Jr. said accounted for 65% of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launches in the past year. He expects that share to rise to 81% in the next 12 months. He said they have more companies lining up, interested in launching seven newly developed private rockets.
— TOP OPINION —
“There is no choice between vaccinating Americans and vaccinating the world. We must do both.” via Jeffrey Zients and Antony Blinken of The Washington Post — Since Day One, Biden has been clear that the only way to defeat COVID-19 is to defeat the virus both here at home and around the world. Our most powerful weapon in this fight is safe and effective vaccines. Vaccinating Americans and vaccinating people around the world aren’t a choice; they are an imperative. That’s why we’re doing both. So far, the United States has committed to donate more than 630 million coronavirus vaccine doses globally. Nearly 160 million of those doses are already on the ground in more than 100 countries. The United States has now delivered more doses than every other country in the world, combined.
— OPINIONS —
“The Texas abortion law is a human rights crisis for American women” via Uma Thurman for The Washington Post — The Texas abortion law was allowed to take effect without argument by the Supreme Court, which, due in no small part to its lack of ideological diversity, is a staging ground for a human rights crisis for American women. This law is yet another discriminatory tool against those who are economically disadvantaged, and often, indeed, against their partners. Women and children of wealthy families retain all the choices in the world, and face little risk. I am grief-stricken, as well, that the law pits citizen against citizen, creating new vigilantes who will prey on these disadvantaged women, denying them the choice not to have children they are not equipped to care for, or extinguishing their hopes for the future family they might choose.
—”Anti-abortion Republicans again remind women who’s in charge” via Joe Henderson of Florida Politics
“For Florida’s new surgeon general, DeSantis trades out a ghost for a crackpot” via Nate Monroe of The Florida Times-Union — Floridians could be forgiven for not knowing who Rivkees is: A pediatrician and former state surgeon general who was airbrushed out of the public record for making an accurate prediction last year, in the presence of DeSantis and the media, that Floridians might need to practice social distancing well into 2021 to combat the spread of COVID-19. For this sin, a DeSantis apparatchik promptly escorted him out of the room. DeSantis is so committed to ensuring Rivkees stays out of the daylight the state has tried to stop him from being deposed in a lawsuit over the governor’s failed attempt to ban mask mandates in public schools.
“Florida’s new Surgeon General: A well-educated COVID-19 crank” via the Orlando Sentinel editorial board — It was bad enough when Florida had a surgeon general who went missing in action during a full-blown pandemic. Now DeSantis has picked a replacement who thinks COVID-19 vaccines are overrated. Ladapo, a Harvard medical-school graduate, was introduced by DeSantis Tuesday as the replacement for outcast Surgeon General Rivkees. Ladapo believes in herd immunity through natural infection. He warns of unknown risks from COVID-19 vaccinations. He’s argued against vaccine mandates. And on Wednesday, to kick off his tenure, Ladapo signed an order that does away with mandatory quarantines for students exposed to COVID-19.
What Bridget Ziegler is reading — “Mask mandate helps to protect Sarasota County’s schoolchildren” via Shirley Brown for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune — Parents have rights to make health care choices for their children. But under the Florida Constitution, parents also have rights to a free and safe public education for their children. That’s why we have laws that require proof of childhood vaccinations before children can attend public school. I find the argument akin to the debate over smoking in public places. You are allowed to smoke even though you know it may give you cancer. However, the government stepped in and passed laws that say that your right stops when your cigarette smoke affects others in a public space. That is why I voted for a mask mandate for all students, staff and visitors in our schools.
— ON TODAY’S SUNRISE —
Looking beyond Texas, a state lawmaker files the “Florida Heartbeat Act” to ban abortions.
Also, on today’s Sunrise:
— The first move from Florida’s new Surgeon General, Dr. Ladapo, makes quarantine optional for students exposed to COVID-19.
— Florida’s Haitian American lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to end the mistreatment and to stop the deportation of Haitian migrants.
— A federal judge strikes down parts of Florida’s immigration law, SB 168, ruling it was racially motivated.
— Two Sunrise interviews — Democratic Reps. Woodson and Joseph, both Haitian Americans — call for Biden to swiftly address what they call a “humanitarian crisis” and end the deportation of Haitian migrants.
To listen, click on the image below:
— ALOE —
“Apple store workers to get bonuses of up to $1,000 in rare move” via Mark Gurman of Bloomberg — Apple Inc. will give store employees as much as $1,000 in one-time bonuses next month, a rare move that follows a tumultuous effort to get its retail operations back on track after pandemic shutdowns. According to people familiar with the situation, the iPhone maker will give $1,000 to retail staff hired before March 31, while anyone who joined after that date will receive $500. New workers for the holiday shopping season will get $200, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The payouts also will go to AppleCare and online sales workers as well. But the good tidings came with a bit of coal. In a separate memo, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook criticized leaks to the press.
“Crossroads is officially gone — goodbye to a piece of Disney history” via Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics+ — It’s officially farewell to the Crossroads. The shopping complex at Walt Disney World’s front door was vacated late last month. The property will be torn down to become a new interchange for the Interstate 4 Beyond the Ultimate expansion project. The state acquired the Crossroads Plaza in a $198 million agreement that’s considered the largest eminent domain settlement in Florida’s history, the lead attorney representing Crossroads’ owner has said. Disney built the Crossroads then changed hands over the years. It was a favorite for some Disney-goers who ate at chain eateries like Red Lobster or Perkins Restaurant, bought groceries at Gooding’s Supermarket, or hit a hole-in-one at a pirate-themed miniature golf course overlooking the interstate near Exit 68.
— HAPPY BIRTHDAY —
Celebrating today are U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, Nicole Hagerty of HCA, John Fox, Jeff Frederick, Lisa Greer, Hillsborough Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez, and Kimberly Diaz Scott.
___
Sunburn is authored and assembled by Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Renzo Downey and Drew Wilson.
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Axios AM
Happy Thursday. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,172 words … 4½ minutes. Edited by Justin Green.
📈 Please join Axios’ Niala Boodhoo and Dan Primack today at 12:30 p.m. ET for a virtual event on venture-capital investing in climate tech. Guests include Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Tom Steyer. Sign up here.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Upcoming FBI data is expected to show 2020 had the highest single-year spike in U.S. murders in at least 60 years.
- Experts attribute the surge to job losses, fears and other jolts to society at the start of COVID, Axios’ Russ Contreras reports.
The homicide rate would remain far lower than it was through much of the 1980s and 1990s — about one-third below the rate in the early 1990s, The New York Times reports (subscription).
The Times reports that early FBI data shows a 29% spike in murders last year.
- That would be the biggest single-year increase since national record-keeping began, in 1960.
- Previously, the largest one-year increase was a 12.7% rise in 1968.
Many major U.S. cities, from Atlanta to Albuquerque, reported surges in violent crime in 2020, including jumps in homicides and gun crimes.
- Homicides in Milwaukee doubled from 2019 to 2020, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
- The number of homicides in Houston in 2020 was the highest in 15 years, city records show.
- California had 5.8 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2020 — the highest rate since 2008, according to preliminary data from the state’s Department of Public Health.
Citing moves on Afghanistan and the border, two N.Y. Times items compare President Biden to the predecessor he defeated:
A news story — “Biden Pushes Deterrent Border Policy After Promising ‘Humane’ Approach” (subscription) — notes this week’s images of the border roundup “could have come straight from former President Donald J. Trump’s immigration playbook”:
- “[T]he deportations are a stark example of how Mr. Biden … is deploying some of the most aggressive approaches to immigration put in place by Mr. Trump over the past four years.”
Frank Bruni column, “The UnTrump Presidency Slams Into Trumpness”:
- “[H]e pulled out of Afghanistan without the degree of consultation, coordination and competence that allies expected, at least of any American president not named Trump.”
- “And Biden’s return of hundreds of desperate Haitian migrants to Haiti … also seems Trumpy to many observers.”
Bruni’s bottom line: “Biden is a far cry from Trump. Hallelujah. But that doesn’t mean that he’s untouched by Trump.”
The U.S. is moving in the right direction again, Axios’ Sam Baker reports.
- New COVID cases are continuing to decline, and some experts are cautiously optimistic that the virus will continue to wane even into the fall and winter.
The U.S. is now averaging 134,000 new cases per day — a 10% drop over the past two weeks.
- The pace of new infections, relative to each state’s population, is getting worse in 27 states and improving in 23.
- Tennessee has seen the biggest drop in new cases over the past two weeks. Montana has seen the biggest spike.
Vaccinations for kids should help. Children ages 5-11 could become eligible for vaccinations in the next several weeks.
The Hispanic and Latino population in the U.S. grew 23% over the past decade — with some areas seeing a boom three or more times that rate, Stef Kight reports from census data in Axios Sneak Peek.
The seven metro areas with Latino or Hispanic populations greater than 2 million, Brookings’ Bill Frey found:
- L.A.
- New York
- Miami
- Chicago
- Houston
- Dallas
- Riverside, Calif.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and co-founder Joe Gebbia told me during a visit to Washington yesterday that they’re offering temporary housing to 40,000 Afghan refugees worldwide, doubling a previous commitment.
- The housing typically lasts several weeks, and Airbnb and Airbnb.org provide subsidies to hosts.
- Resettlement agencies tell Airbnb the highest-demand areas include Dallas, Northern Virginia, Sacramento, Seattle, Silver Spring, Md.
In an interview for our “Axios Today” podcast, Chesky told me: “We’ve always wanted to figure out how we can use our platform as a force for good, beyond our core business.”
- “Over the last 10 years, we’ve housed nearly 100,000 people displaced by disasters. A few years ago, we started housing refugees.”
Gebbia said part of giving back is “simply asking the question when things like this happen in the world: How can we help?”
- 🎧 On “Axios Today” hear part of my conversation with Chesky and Gebbia.
Illustration: Megan Robinson/Axios
Thousands of green cards are about to go to waste, leaving Google, Microsoft and other tech companies fuming, Axios’ Margaret Harding McGill writes.
- Why it matters: Google and Microsoft say they have thousands of employees and their families awaiting green cards.
What’s happening: An administration official warned this summer that because of pandemic delays, a 100,000-application backlog wouldn’t be filled by the Sept. 30 fiscal year end. Extra green cards that haven’t been granted in one year don’t carry over to the next.
- Google and Microsoft are among companies that have been urging federal officials to find a way to save the roughly 80,000 remaining employment-based green cards set to expire Sept. 30.
- Google says only 13% of its candidate applications filed since last October have been approved.
Apple CEO Tim Cook last week wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to press the issue on behalf of the Business Roundtable. (Read the letter.)
- Cook, who chairs the Business Roundtable’s immigration committee, said officials should eliminate unnecessary document requests and conduct communications by phone or email to speed up processing.
In a week of headwinds for President Biden’s biggest plans, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield armed House Democrats with new data for making his “Scranton vs. Park Ave.” case back home.
- Bedingfield spoke to the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), where co-chair Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said: “[G]overning is message.”
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
With rental cars in short supply, enterprising car owners have amassed their own small fleets of automobiles, renting them out to travelers at a premium, Axios transportation correspondent Joann Muller writes.
- If you need a car in Boston for a weekend in mid-October, you can rent a Ford Fiesta hatchback from Budget for about $500 — or pay the same for a Maserati Quattroporte from Turo.com, a car-sharing site.
Turo and other car-sharing services, including Getaround and Avail, make it easy for anyone with spare vehicles to make some cash.
- The services are offering bonuses of up to $2,000 per vehicle for car owners to add to their fleets.
Case in point: Lazaro Vento lists 22 vehicles for rent in Miami through Turo, including a Ferrari, a Tesla and multiple BMWs, Audis and Jeeps.
- In a particularly good month recently, he pocketed a $30,000 profit.
- Seven years ago, he was broke, living on a friend’s couch. Today, he manages close to 100 Airbnb properties, along with his fleet of Turo cars, sometimes packaging them together.
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20.) CHICAGO TRIBUNE
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21.) CHICAGO SUNTIMES
Plan to keep the Bears in Chicago complicated by limits of Soldier Field
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22.) THE HILL MORNING REPORT
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23.) THE HILL 12:30 REPORT
24.) ROLL CALL
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Morning Headlines
Lawmakers are scrambling to come up with a Plan B to allow federal highway and transit spending to continue if the Senate bipartisan infrastructure agreement is not passed by the House before the law authorizing that spending expires on Sept. 30. Read more…
An amendment to the House defense authorization bill that would connect cannabis companies to the banking system has bipartisan support in both chambers, but its chances in the Senate are uncertain. Read more…
Dysfunction in America is no longer just knocking on the door
OPINION — It’s human nature not to take crises too seriously until they come knocking at your front door. But we’ve passed that point on a host of issues, with too many American citizens either in denial or using dysfunction as a partisan tool rather than a call to action. Read more…
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Domestic flight vaccine mandate? Not ‘off the table’
The White House’s recommendation to require all visitors flying into the United States to provide proof of vaccination has sparked speculation over whether the federal government will ultimately require passengers on domestic flights to be vaccinated as well. Read more…
‘My Name Is Pauli Murray’ — portrait of an activist as a major influence
The filmmakers behind “RBG” are out with their latest documentary, “My Name Is Pauli Murray,” about the woman who helped desegregate Washington, D.C., co-founded the National Organization for Women and was the first Black woman ordained as an Episcopal priest. Read more…
FDA authorizes Pfizer COVID-19 booster for people at high risk
The Food and Drug Administration authorized a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine Wednesday night for individuals most vulnerable to COVID-19: people age 65 and older, people age 18 and older at risk of getting severe COVID-19 and people at high risk of exposure through a job or institution. Read more…
Black lawmakers sound alarm on Haitian migrant treatment
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with White House officials on Wednesday to urge better treatment of Haitian migrants, adding their voice to a growing number of Democrats condemning the actions of Border Patrol agents depicted in images that have gone viral. Read more…
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25.) POLITICO PLAYBOOK
POLITICO Playbook: Inside the room of Biden’s talks with Dems
Presented by
DRIVING THE DAY
THE READOUT — Here’s the most important development that came from President JOE BIDEN’s five hours of meetings with 23 legislators in the Oval Office on Wednesday, according to a senior White House official: “Moderates agreed that they need to coalesce around an offer to the liberals.”
It might not sound like much. But given how dug in both sides have been, the White House views the commitment from the Manch-ema wing as “a real breakthrough.”
In a trio of meetings Biden first hosted Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER and Speaker NANCY PELOSI, then he brought in a bicameral group of centrist Democrats, and finally he gathered key progressives from both chambers. They snacked on individually wrapped cookies with the presidential seal. The president was loquacious, according to one senator present: “It’s Biden, so you know Joe does a fair amount of talking.” The last session ended just after 7 p.m.
The second meeting produced the most news. It started with the president pressing his 11 guests — including JOE MANCHIN, KYRSTEN SINEMA, STEPHANIE MURPHY and JOSH GOTTHEIMER — to give him a specific top-line number for the reconciliation bill. They all refused and instead argued Dems should nail down an agreed-upon list of revenue raisers that would determine the top line. Murphy came to the meeting with a 10-plus-page spreadsheet of ways to fund the bill.
Biden fished again for a top line. “Give me a number, and tell me what you can live with and what you can’t,” Manchin later quoted the president saying. But no luck.
“The president really wanted a top line and was clearly getting frustrated,” said a source briefed on the meeting. “He was very frustrated that they couldn’t announce a number today.” The source added that his boss’s “biggest takeaway” was that Biden acknowledged the top-line number would be less than $3.5 trillion.
WHAT THEY TALKED ABOUT: Almost every policy area in the bill was discussed, according to Sen. JON TESTER (D-Mont.), including housing, taxes, child care, health care and climate.
There was no breakthrough on climate. “I have big problems” with the climate provisions, Manchin said afterward. “Probably [the president] and I are in a different place on that.”
On the big health care standoff between Pelosi, who wants to shore up the Affordable Care Act, and BERNIE SANDERS, who wants to expand Medicare benefits, the centrists made it clear they were on team Pelosi. “They stressed to the president, ‘We’re behind the speaker in this instance,’” said the source. “There was enough in that room to kill Bernie Sanders’ idea.”
Finally, they also asked the president not to rush the reconciliation process and to use his influence in the House to pass BIF.
BIDEN’S ASSIGNMENT: The president sent them on their way with what, from the White House’s perspective, was the most important action item: Come up with a set of principles or framework for reconciliation that will persuade progressives to back down from their threat to kill BIF in the House on Monday. “The goal is to try to get a framework before the vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package,” Tester said after he left the White House.
In the final meeting — which included Reps. BARBARA LEE and PRAMILA JAYAPAL as well as Sanders and Sen. RON WYDEN — Biden faced a united front of progressives pleading with him to use his influence to delay the Monday vote.
“It’s weird if you are supposedly for a bill to insist on killing it,” one person in the room told Playbook. “The iron law of legislating is that if you have the votes you take the vote, and if you don’t have the votes you delay the vote. That was done on BIF multiple times at the request of the moderate negotiators. It’s quite standard. It is NOT standard to insist on a vote when you know it will fail. Weird to call yourself a pragmatist and then kill the bill you say you want to pass by not giving negotiators more time.”
How did Biden respond to the requests for delay? “I hear ya,” the president told the progressives, according to Wyden. “I know a lot of you think that’s an arbitrary date. Let me think about it, and I’ll talk to Sen. Schumer and the speaker.”
Several Democratic lawmakers told us that any request to moderates to delay the vote would have to come from the president, not Pelosi.
LOOKING AHEAD: In the near term we see three possible scenarios, based on our conversations with numerous people in the Biden meetings Wednesday:
1) Centrists make a reconciliation counteroffer that’s robust enough to convince progressives to vote for the infrastructure bill early next week.
2) The offer from centrists comes up short, but Biden steps in and convinces the Gottheimer gang to agree to a vote delay until there’s a reconciliation deal.
3) The offer from centrists comes up short, the infrastructure vote goes forward, and progressives follow through on their promise to kill the bill. (Or we find out they were bluffing.)
Good Thursday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff chose Beck’s “E-Pro” over Salt-N-Pepa’s “Whatta Man” and Cali Swag District’s “Teach Me How to Dougie” for his campaign walk-on song. Drop us a line and tell us what you would have picked: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.
JOIN US — The killing of 20-year-old Army soldier VANESSA GUILLEN, who had told family she was being sexually harassed by several soldiers prior to her disappearance at Fort Hood last year, has galvanized calls to change how the military deals with sexual assault and harassment. Sens. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.) and JONI ERNST (R-Iowa), a veteran and a sexual assault survivor, have long pushed Congress to act on the issue. Their efforts are gaining steam but still face opposition. Join Rachael today at 1 p.m. for a Women Rule virtual joint interview with Ernst and Gillibrand to discuss the state of their proposed legislation and what it will take to curb sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military. Register here
BIDEN’S THURSDAY:
— 9:30 a.m.: The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
— 12 p.m.: Biden will receive his weekly economic briefing.
— 12:30 p.m.: Biden and Harris will have lunch together in the private dining room.
HARRIS’ THURSDAY:
— 11:15 a.m.: Harris will meet with Ghanaian President NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office.
— 3:15 p.m.: Harris will meet with Indian PM NARENDRA MODI in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office.
Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at noon.
THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m. Pelosi will hold her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY will hold his at 11:30 a.m.
THE SENATE is in.
PLAYBOOK READS
THE WHITE HOUSE
THE LOOMING CLIFF — Biden isn’t panicking about the prospect of defaulting on the nation’s debt, Chris Cadelago reports. The White House is instead letting Hill Democratic leaders take the lead on raising the debt ceiling, setting up calls between Republicans and Treasury, and coordinating outside pressure on the GOP to fold. “Inside the White House and among allies, there’s an overarching belief that there is still time to resolve the matter and that Americans care far less about the process of raising the debt ceiling than whether it gets done.”
PICKING UP WHERE TRUMP LEFT OFF — The deportations of Haitian migrants “are a stark example of how Mr. Biden — who declared on Feb. 2 that his goal was to ‘undo the moral and national shame of the previous administration’ — is deploying some of the most aggressive approaches to immigration put in place by [DONALD] TRUMP over the past four years,” NYT’s Michael Shear, Natalie Kitroeff, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Eileen Sullivan report.
“Having failed in his attempts to build a more ‘humane’ set of immigration laws, Mr. Biden has reacted in a way that few of his supporters expected. In case after case, he has shown a willingness to use tough measures, even as he struggles to confront a challenge that has vexed presidents for decades: securing the borders while living up to U.S. humanitarian obligations to migrants fleeing economic hardship, political instability and violence.”
ALSO: “Charges of racism swirl as Haitian Americans, allies unite to protest Biden’s border crisis,” by WaPo’s Tim Craig, Sean Sullivan, Silvia Foster-Frau and Abigail Hauslohner
FILLING THE SWAMP
The WSJ recently reported that LANNY DAVIS and former Rep. BOB LIVINGSTON (R-La.), two men famously at odds over the BILL CLINTON impeachment in the 1990s, have teamed up as foreign agents representing KHALIFA HAFTAR, a “Russian-backed warlord vying for power in Libya.” The Journal added that “[h]uman-rights organizations and international prosecutors have accused Mr. Haftar’s forces of war crimes” and that the “lobbying campaign is an effort by Mr. Haftar to regain some of the influence he has lost since the collapse last year of his 14-month long offensive against the country’s internationally-recognized government in Tripoli.”
Davis, who has a long history of representing controversial foreign clients, sent Playbook the following statement about his latest: “Our lobbying mission, as summarized in our FARA filing, is limited to expressing Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s support of free and fair, UN-supervised elections on December 24 – to facilitate a peaceful, stable, unified, democratic Libya, under the rule of law.
“We were told by the Field Marshal’s senior advisor that the Field Marshal categorically denies all allegations about him in the unproven Virginia complaint filed in court some time ago and that he is confident he will prove these allegations to be false and without basis in fact.”
The lobbying duo insisted that they would not have taken on the $160,000-per-month account absent that categorical denial. Furthermore, their message to Washington is that the warlord — sorry, field marshal — “has consistently opposed radical Islamic extremists in Libya and elsewhere, including ISIS, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.”
CONGRESS
HEADS EXPLODING — An anti-abortion group is spending six figures on an ad campaign thanking Manchin for opposing changes to the filibuster — “a move sure to make filibuster reform advocates’ heads explode.” So write Daniel Lippman and Anthony Adragna for POLITICO’s Congress Minutes, a cool new platform to keep you up to date throughout the day on key goings-on on the Hill. Check it out here and follow @politicongress on Twitter.
— Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) said she won’t back the Democrats’ abortion rights bill — Congress’ response to the six-week abortion ban in Texas, LAT’s Jennifer Haberkorn reports. The House is likely to pass the bill Friday, but it faces certain defeat in the Senate if it reaches a vote.
CONSIDER IT A WARNING — JOHN PODESTA, former chief of staff for Clinton and longtime political insider, said Democrats need to dial back the price tag of their $3.5 trillion budget proposal, NYT’s Jim Tankersley reports: “If they do not, he warned, they risk failure to pass the legislation — and the loss of their congressional majorities next year.”
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A group of progressive and grassroots organizations is sending a letter to Congress today urging members of the House to vote no on the BIF without the reconciliation bill. “Passing just that small bill alone wouldn’t be a compromise; it would be a capitulation,” the letter says. “We strongly support the position of the Congressional Progressive Caucus that two bills must pass together, as a critical step on the journey toward tackling the climate crisis and furthering racial and economic justice. We urge progressives to hold strong. We will have your back.” The letter is signed by 90 organizations, including MoveOn, Indivisible, Greenpeace, the Sunrise Movement, the Working Families Party, People’s Action, Center for Popular Democracy and the Green New Deal Network. The letter
ALL POLITICS
‘IT’S TIME … TO PAY ATTENTION’ — As redistricting battles heat up around the country, the AP’s Cacia Coronado and Nick Riccardi zero in on Texas as a case study of the push by Latino advocates to grow their numbers in Congress. The message: “Latinos accounted for slightly more than half of all U.S. population growth in the last decade, and it’s time for the political system to pay attention.”
CAMPAIGNING IN THE TIME OF COVID — In the tightening Virginia governor’s race, Democrat TERRY MCAULIFFE is stepping up his attacks on Republican GLENN YOUNGKIN for not supporting pandemic-related mandates, Zach Montellaro reports this morning. The escalation comes on the heels of California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM’s victory in the recall election, in which he made vaccine mandates a centerpiece of his campaign.
GETTING HIS HEAD IN THE GAME — Despite facing one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the country, West Virginia Gov. JIM JUSTICE has his sights set on coaching the boys’ varsity basketball team at Greenbrier East High School. There’s just one problem: The school board voted not to hire him, NYT’s Campbell Robertson reports. “The issue is not whether Mr. Justice, a Democrat turned Republican in office, would be good at the boys’ coaching job, but whether it is something he should really be focusing on right now.”
PLAYBOOKERS
Bernie Sanders’ famous Inauguration Day outfit “is the inspiration behind a racy Halloween costume sold by Dolls Kill, an online store primarily known for Gen Z’s beloved ‘e-girl fashion,’” according to Page Six.
Ritchie Torres — not AOC — is New York’s “true superstar progressive,” opines conservative NYT columnist Bret Stephens.
Karen Bass, the Democratic congresswoman and short-lister for VP last year, is “seriously considering” running for L.A. mayor.
Mitt Romney loves Jon Tester so much that he’s ready to run his 2024 campaign.
Cindy McCain will serve as a guest host on ABC’s “The View” — as the show searches for a successor to her daughter Meghan.
Jonathan Chait has a problem with Jonathan Franzen.
“Two culinary powerhouses” are teaming up to open “Tawle, an eclectic Middle Eastern restaurant … in Tishman Speyer’s massive new food hall” at 1850 K St. next year, according to Washingtonian.
SPOTTED at the Former Members of Congress’ annual Statesmanship Awards on Wednesday night at D.C.’s Potomac View Terrace: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Val Demings (D-Fla.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Billy Long (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Blanche Lincoln, Joe Donnelly, Charlie Dent, Donna Edwards, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, John Faso, Elizabeth Esty, Dennis Ross, Belgian Ambassador Jean-Arthur Régibeau and Jo Ann Jenkins.
SPOTTED at the online premiere of “Not Going Quietly,” a documentary on Ady Barkan’s activism, on Wednesday night: Barkan and Rachael King, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Martin Sheen, Richard Schiff, Marlee Matlin, Mary McCormack, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina, Bradley Whitford, Amy Landecker, Patton Oswalt, Rosario Dawson, Steve Kerr and Christine Pelosi.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Samantha Keitt is joining Left Hook as a VP of public affairs. She previously was director of public affairs at SKDK.
MEDIA MOVE — Natalie Allison is joining POLITICO as the new Senate campaigns reporter. She currently covers state politics at the Tennessean.
STAFFING UP — Saule Omarova is expected to be nominated as comptroller of the currency, per Victoria Guida. She’s a Cornell Law professor who’s criticized financial institutions’ power and, if confirmed, would oversee the country’s banks.
— The Biden administration is tapping Kerry Doyle as ICE’s principal legal adviser, per the Washington Free Beacon.
— The White House announced several new nominations: Michael Adler as U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Erik Ramanathan as U.S. ambassador to Sweden, Calvin Smyre as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Mary Lu Jordan as commissioner of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, Susan Harthill as commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Joseph DeCarolis as administrator of the Energy Information Administration, Maria Robinson as assistant Energy secretary in the Office of Electricity, and Christopher Frey as assistant EPA administrator for the Office and Research and Development.
TRANSITIONS — Mary Ellen Callahan is now deputy COS for DHS Deputy Secretary John Tien. She most recently was assistant general counsel for the Walt Disney Company and is an Obama DHS alum. … Valerie Chicola is now senior comms adviser for Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.). She previously was broadcast comms adviser for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. …
… Jesse Poon is now assistant director of government relations at Brown University. He previously was a principal at Lewis-Burke Associates, and is a David Cicilline campaign alum. … Ben Rosner is launching Anabasis Partners, an international marketing and comms consultancy, as partner and head of the U.S. He previously was head of strategy and crisis comms for the Israel Defense Forces.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Joshua Karp, a Democratic comms strategist and founding partner at Hone Strategies, and Dorian Karp, director of policy and advocacy at Jewish Women International, welcomed Rory Shoshana Karp on Tuesday. She came in at 7 lbs, 2 oz, and joins big sister Ellie. Pic … Another pic
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Al Lawson (D-Fla.) and Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) … Kristen Silverberg … Elise Jordan … Todd Ricketts … Helen Tolar of Mehlman Castagnetti … Nick Everhart of Content Creative Media and Medium Buying … NYT’s Mike Schmidt … Richard Viguerie … POLITICO’s Bernie Becker, Sam Sabin, Emily Martin and Brandon Winrow … Sean Spicer (5-0) … Corey Tellez of Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) office … PwC’s Todd Metcalf … Tom Martin of the American Forest Foundation … Abbey Watson … Darryl Nirenberg of Steptoe … Ralph Hellmann (6-0) … CNN’s Greg Wallace … David Harris of the American Jewish Committee … Kyle Wiley of CRW Consulting … Saunji Fyffe … Karen Czarnecki of the Mercatus Center at George Mason … Serenety Hanley of 43 Alumni for America … NBC’s Julia Ainsley … former Rep. Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) … Siraj Hashmi … Brooke Brogan … CBS’ Anne Hsu … SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor … Gabriella Schwarz … Julius Niyonsaba … Ryan Shucard … Loretta Solon Greene … Matt Hirsch … Katrina Mendiola … Dale Leibach … Nicole Mata of Rep. Ro Khanna’s (D-Calif.) office … Ana Marie Cox … Kelly Sackley … Amanda Cox
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26.) AMERICAN MINUTE
27.) CAFFEINATED THOUGHTS
28.) CONSERVATIVE DAILY NEWS
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29.) PJ MEDIA
The Morning Briefing: We Might Spared the Burden of Biden’s Infrastructure Boondoggle
Top O’ the Briefing
Happy Thursday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Some people linger a little too long in their ramen phase.
There is a dearth of good news these days here in the United States. Every time Joe Biden goes anywhere near a microphone, it feels like the country is getting hit upside the head with a sledgehammer. When he’s not compromising national security, he’s trying to spend trillions of dollars that we don’t have.
I can remember a time when “trillion” didn’t routinely come up in proposed legislation. It really wasn’t even that long ago. Now it often seems like a default starting point. We’re playing with Monopoly money now and the D.C. folk spend like drunken sailors on leave in Thailand.
Toss in a chief executive whose brain no long participates in reality and it can get super ugly in a hurry.
Biden’s infrastructure deal, which doesn’t involve much actual infrastructure, is looking a little shaky at the moment, and it’s not just because the Republicans have found some spine. Our own VodkaPundit wrote yesterday that the far-left fringe of the Democratic Party (yes, there’s a far-left fringe over there) isn’t playing nice with Biden and leadership:
With a ship-destroying iceberg’s worth of new spending on the line in the infrastructure deal, the House Progressive Caucus is threatening to sink the USS Biden all by themselves.
Presidentish Joe Biden (or is that President Ron Klain?) has staked his legacy on a Great Society-size expansion of the federal government, all wrapped up in a $3.5 trillion bill ostensibly aimed at improving the nation’s infrastructure. In actuality, it’s a budget-busting Progressive radical wishlist of giveaways, regulations, and new bureaucracies.
There’s a smaller, bipartisan bill that costs “only” $1.2 trillion and which is slightly more focused on actual infrastructure.
That’s right, boys and girls, the bat you-know-what crazy over there might end up helping those of us over here who get vertigo when trillions are mentioned.
Mr. Green cautions us to not get our hopes up yet, but I’m going to try and remain optimistic. Like I wrote at the top of the post, good news is difficult to come by these days. Merely being hopeful for a day or two is like a beach vacation.
There probably would be some Republican support for this bill if it truly focused on infrastructure. Sadly, it’s just another greedy power grab by the Dems.
Let’s hope the even greedier wing of the party blows this nonsense up.
Everything Isn’t Awful
‘Keep still, I only want to bite your tail’ pic.twitter.com/SxKebkXIHG
— HUMOROUS ANIMALS (@CUTEFUNNYANIMAL) September 22, 2021
PJ Media
[WATCH] GOP Nevada Lt. Gov Candidate Tackled by Mask Police at Public Meeting
VodkaPundit: Another Russian Attack on America’s Food Supply—Because Nobody Takes Biden Seriously
Joe Biden Hearts Australia, Rubber Bullets and All
John Kerry’s Million-Dollar China Conundrum
VodkaPundit, Part Deux: Abandon Ship! Progressive Caucus Threatens to Bail on Infrastructure Deal
Latest Durham Indictment May Make Russiagate the Most Corrupt Scandal in U.S. History
Worse Than Carter? Meghan McCain Obliterates Biden—AGAIN
Lefty Rag Publishes Self-Serving Op-Ed by American Taliban on 9/11 Anniversary
[WATCH] Fox News Reporter Rips White House for Lies and Misinformation About Border
The Unintended Consequences of Biden’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
The Real Reason for Michigan Gov. Whitmer’s About-Face on Mask and Vaccine Mandates
Hollywood Finally Figures Out How to End COVID. Why Didn’t We Think of This Sooner?
Salman Rushdie: ‘I’m Afraid Cat Stevens Got Off the Peace Train a Long Time Ago’
[WATCH]: Bill Gates Gives a Really Creepy Answer When Asked About Jeffrey Epstein
It’s All Falling Apart for Biden and Democratic Leadership in D.C.
Biden: Hey, What the Middle East Needs Is a Jihad Terror State
Townhall Mothership
Schlichter: Let Them Destroy Each Other
CNN Admits New Poll in Key Battleground State Should ‘Terrify’ Joe Biden
EXCLUSIVE: Congressional Candidate Launches PAC to Help GOP Win Back Suburbs
Heads Explode Over Florida’s New Surgeon General
FDA Grants Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer Booster Shot
HOT TAKES: ACLU Rightfully Ripped to Shreds After Butchering an RBG Quote to Omit Women
Ohio Woman Kills Home Intruder Attacking Her Husband
Cam&Co. Virginia AG Leans In To Gun Control Ahead Of Election
The Daily Beast Thinks NRA Owns ATF
Border encounters this Fiscal Year are higher than the population of 11 states (and Washington, DC)
Hollywood show creator says HBO series won’t be filmed in Texas… but “this is beyond politics”
Sen. Collins says no to Democratic bill designed to codify Roe v Wade (Update)
‘The happiest day of my life’: Here are photos of people really enamored with the COVID vaccine
VIP
VodkaPundit, Part Trois: Ho-Ho-NO! Supply Chain Disruptions Could Be This Year’s Grinch
The Hypocrisy of Those Complaining About ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome’
Disappearing Act: Where Did All The Haitian Refugees in Texas Go?
Why in the World Is the Media Shocked at Biden’s Lack of Transparency?
It’s Time to Stop Ignoring the Harms of Marijuana
Around the Interwebz
Facebook is starting to share more about what it demotes in News Feed
7 of the Oldest Animals on Earth
Bee Me
FBI Admits It’s Really Hard To Solve Crime They Didn’t Make Up Themselves https://t.co/thXHfHNb9W
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) September 22, 2021
The Kruiser Kabana
Kabana Gallery
Seated female nude, 1910 #picasso #analyticalcubism pic.twitter.com/qMjYXBvF2q
— THE MONTMARTE (@themontmarte) September 23, 2021
Kabana Tunes
For media inquiries, please contact communications@pjmedia.com.
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
30.) WHITE HOUSE DOSSIER
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31.) THE DISPATCH
The Morning Dispatch: China vs. Chinese Business
After decades of explosive growth in China, President Xi Jinping is taking steps to ensure the supremacy of the state over the market remains unquestioned.
| The Dispatch Staff | 4 |
Happy Thursday! Sometimes the news gets us down, but then we remember the five zebras that escaped from a Maryland farm last month are still on the lam.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- The Federal Open Market Committee indicated after its monthly meeting yesterday that although the Federal Reserve will for now maintain its current pace of asset purchases and hold interest rates near zero, the central bank could very well begin its taper in November and start raising interest rates in 2022 as inflationary concerns persist. “While no decisions were made, participants generally view that, so long as the recovery remains on track, a gradual tapering process that concludes around the middle of next year is likely to be appropriate,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said.
- The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday officially amended the emergency use authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to allow certain populations—those over 65, at “high risk of severe COVID-19,” or who have “frequent institutional or occupational exposure” to COVID-19—to receive a booster shot six months after their second dose. Regulators are expected to consider authorizing Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots as well in the coming weeks.
- Days after France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia in retaliation for their nuclear submarine agreement, President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron had what the White House described as a “friendly” phone call in which the two leaders “agreed that the situation would have benefited from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners.” They plan to meet in-person at the end of October, and France’s ambassador will return to the United States next week.
- After months of negotiations, Sen. Cory Booker told Sen. Tim Scott on Wednesday that Democrats were walking away from bipartisan police reform talks because the two sides remained too far apart on “transparency, professional standards, and accountability.” Scott expressed disappointment with the decision, saying “crime will continue to increase while safety decreases, and more officers are going to walk away from the force because my negotiating partners walked away from the table.” Efforts to reform qualified immunity were reportedly the biggest sticking point in negotiations.
- The Associated Press reported Wednesday that despite the Biden administration’s efforts to expel migrants congregating in Del Rio, Texas, many are being released into the United States, with the Department of Homeland Security busing certain migrants to El Paso and Laredo while others are flown back to Haiti.
- Existing-home sales fell 2 percent from July to August as the median sales price rose 14.9 percent year-over-year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Wednesday. “Clearly the home sales are settling down,” NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun noted. “The high home prices are squeezing away the first-time buyers.”
CCP Cracks Down on Chinese Businesses
Four decades ago, former Chinese Communist Leader Deng Xiaoping famously—though perhaps apocryphally—declared that “to get rich is glorious,” ushering in a period of unprecedented economic growth and permanently altering Mao Zedong’s Marxist vision for China. In the wreckage of Mao and his predecessors’ efforts to institute a command economic system—best encapsulated by the failed Great Leap Forward—Deng’s market-economy reforms transformed China into the economic powerhouse it is today.
But after years of almost unfettered growth, General Secretary Xi Jinping is changing China’s course. Over the last several months, the chairman and his allies have determined that China’s business sector has grown too powerful—and have begun to curb its perceived threat to the Chinese Communist Party’s dominance through a combination of stunting economic reforms and targeted intimidation.
This thinly-veiled consolidation of state power, Xi says, is being undertaken in the name of “common prosperity,” an attempt to allay various societal and income inequalities through government intervention.
“We should consciously and actively solve problems such as regional gap, urban-rural gap, income gap, promote all-round social progress and all-round development of people, promote social fairness and justice,” Xi said in a recent speech, setting aside the fact that his government is currently perpetrating genocide against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities. Through these efforts, he continued, “the fruits of development can benefit the whole people more and more equitably, constantly enhance the people’s sense of gain, happiness and security, so that the people really feel that common prosperity is not only a slogan, but also a visible, touchable and real fact.”
China’s tech sector has thus far been the main target of the CCP’s crackdown, with a series of reforms reportedly wiping out up to $1 trillion in stock market value in recent months. The CCP fined e-commerce giant Alibaba $2.8 billion in April for antitrust violations and blocked a proposed merger from tech company Tencent that would have combined two of China’s top gaming platforms in July.
Worth Your Time
- For more on the Xi Jinping story, be sure to check out Lingling Wei’s deeply reported piece for The Wall Street Journal. “Underpinning Mr. Xi’s actions is an ideological preference rooted in Mao’s development theories, which call state capitalism a temporary phase that can help China’s economy catch up to the West before being replaced by socialism,” the senior China correspondent writes. “An ardent follower of Mao, Mr. Xi has preached to party members that the hybrid model has passed its use-by date. A 2018 article in the party’s main theoretical journal, Qiushi, or Seeking Truth, laid bare his belief: ’China’s practice shows that once the socialist transformation is completed, the basic socialist system with public ownership as the main body is established…[and] state capitalism, as a transitional economic form, will complete its historical mission and withdraw from the historical stage.’”
- Back in June, 20-year-old George Mason University pitcher Sang Ho Baek died after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and experiencing a rare pulmonary embolism in the days afterward. Stephen Nesbitt took the time to learn his story, and the resulting piece in The Athletic is heart-wrenching. Sang’s family left Seoul for the United States in 2014, and one of the first things his father did upon landing a job at a poultry factory in Maryland was bike around looking for Little League baseball teams his son could join. “He spoke little English, but he had a map and purpose. Pedaling from stop sign to stop sign, he rehearsed a line: Can my son play on your team? His name is Sang. He is a pitcher,” Nesbitt writes. “Sang’s dream was to pitch in the major leagues and buy his parents a house. … In a video from his mother’s birthday in 2012, 11-year-old Sang is seen wearing his Little League uniform, singing and dancing in their Seoul kitchen. In his birthday letter, he writes that he’ll work and study hard and become a famous baseball player, then ends it by reminding his mother to wake him early for practice in the morning.”
- “There are no longer American troops in Afghanistan, but America’s wars go on,” Mark Mazzetti writes for The New York Times. President Biden’s claim earlier this week that the United States is not at war for the first time in 20 years “was just the latest attempt by an American president in the two decades since the Sept. 11 attacks to massage the language of warfare to mask a sometimes inconvenient reality: that America is still engaged in armed conflict throughout the world. In a letter to Congress in June, Mr. Biden listed all the countries where American troops are operating against various militant groups—from Iraq and Syria to Yemen to the Philippines to Niger.”
Presented Without Comment
Toeing the Company Line
- On Wednesday’s Dispatch Podcast, Sarah, Steve, Jonah, and David discuss the Pentagon’s botched drone strike in Kabul, the AUKUS agreement and France’s apoplectic reaction, and the Biden administration’s approach to immigration in light of the latest migrant surge in Texas. It all leaves Jonah with one big question: Is Biden just bad at his job?
- Jonah builds on that question—and the sleight-of-hand many administration-friendly pundits are employing to evade it—in his midweek G-File (🔒). There has been “an enormous amount of chatter about how Biden had ‘a bad week’ or was ‘dealt setbacks’ or got ‘bad news,’” Jonah writes, noting the president’s own agency is typically stripped from the headlines. “It seems that Biden keeps ‘finding’ himself in unfortunate situations. On September 19, the AP reported that ‘over the past several months, Biden has found himself at odds with allies on a number of high-profile issues.’ … Biden hasn’t ‘found himself’ at odds with allies, he antagonized allies. The Brits, the French, and even the Canadians were pissed about how we withdrew from Afghanistan. Our allies are furious that Biden has doubled down on Trump’s protectionism. These are choices, not cold impersonal forces.”
- “One of the summer’s most widely covered financial phenomena is the global ‘shipping crisis’ and its harms to the U.S. and global economies,” Scott Lincicome writes in yesterday’s Capitolism (🔒). “Less-covered, however, (if at all) are the long-term, systemic problems—and bad U.S. policy—that have almost certainly made the situation far worse than it could or should have been by exacerbating delays at almost every major U.S. port.”
- On the site today: Oliver Wiseman examines how the AUKUS partnership has speedily healed U.S.-U.K. relations strained by the departure from Afghanistan, and Scott Winship offers a definitive look at how effective U.S. policy was in keeping poverty and hardship to a minimum in the early days of the pandemic.
Reporting by Declan Garvey (@declanpgarvey), Andrew Egger (@EggerDC), Charlotte Lawson (@lawsonreports), Audrey Fahlberg (@AudreyFahlberg), Ryan Brown (@RyanP_Brown), Harvest Prude (@HarvestPrude), and Steve Hayes (@stephenfhayes).
32.) LEGAL INSURRECTION
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37.) LARRY J. SABATO’S CRYSTAL BALL
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KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE— One of the defining features of American politics is the realignment of white, college-educated voters toward Democrats and that of white voters without a degree toward Republicans. — There are competing views on how or whether Democrats can perform better among white non-college voters. — Appealing to the economic interests of white non-college voters may not be enough for Democrats to win back their support. What is driving the realignment among white votersThe past 30 years have witnessed a dramatic inversion of the class foundations of the American party system. White voters without college degrees, once the cornerstone of the Democratic electoral coalition, have swung sharply toward the Republican Party. Meanwhile, college-educated white voters, once a solidly Republican voting bloc, have been shifting toward the Democrats. The result is a party system in which, among white voters at least, education has become one of the main dividing lines. Growing support among white working class (non-college) voters for the Republican Party has sparked a debate among political analysts and Democratic strategists about the underlying causes of Democratic decline within this shrinking but still very important voting bloc and what, if anything, party leaders can do to regain some of the lost ground. There appear to be two major explanations for the political realignment of the white working class, and they have different implications for Democrats’ chances of a political comeback with this group. One school of thought, perhaps best represented by progressive scholar Ruy Teixeira, blames Democratic decline largely on the party’s prioritization of cultural and racial justice issues over traditional bread-and-butter economic issues. According to this theory, Democrats have failed to address economic problems such as the decline of manufacturing jobs and unfair trade competition that have led to growing economic insecurity among white working class voters. At the same time, many of these voters have been turned off by the Democrats’ increasingly liberal positions on issues such as gay rights, affirmative action, and immigration. A second school of thought, represented by scholars such as Michael Tesler of the University of California, Irvine and John Sides of Vanderbilt University, argues that economic discontent has little to do with the flight of white working class voters from the Democrats. In their view, the main factor behind the shifting party allegiance of these voters is the success of Republican leaders like Donald Trump in appealing to the racial resentments and grievances of non-college white voters. These two schools of thought have different implications for the ability of Democratic candidates to win back support from white working class voters. If economic discontent is the main driver of the shift to the GOP, Democrats could potentially win a larger share of the white working class vote by emphasizing concrete actions and policies to address these concerns while perhaps playing down liberal positions on cultural and racial issues. On the other hand, if racial resentment and grievances are the main drivers of white working class flight from the Democrats, paying more attention to the economic concerns of these voters might not be very effective. Moreover, downplaying or abandoning liberal positions on cultural and racial issues would potentially risk alienating voting blocs that make up key components of the party’s current electoral coalition including Blacks, Latinos, and college-educated whites. In this article, I use evidence from the 2020 American National Election Study to examine the effects of various political attitudes on the candidate preferences of college and non-college white voters in the 2020 presidential election. In line with the arguments of racial resentment theorists, I find that economic insecurity had very little impact on white voter decision-making in 2020. However, I find that the rejection of the Democratic Party by white working class voters goes beyond racial resentment alone. Instead, I find that support for Donald Trump among white working class voters reflected conservative views across a wide range of policy issues including social welfare issues, cultural issues, racial justice issues, gun control, immigration, and climate change. In other words, the rejection of the Democratic Party by white working class voters is fundamentally ideological. This fact makes it very unlikely that Democrats will be able to win back large numbers of white working class voters by appealing to their economic self-interest. The class divide in 2020Table 1 compares various political attitudes of college and non-college white voters in 2020. The differences between the two groups are dramatic. Non-college whites preferred Donald Trump over Joe Biden by close to a 2 to 1 margin while white college graduates favored Biden by close to a 3 to 2 margin. Moreover, these voting patterns reflected differences in the partisan and ideological orientations of college and non-college white voters. White working class voters did not just vote for the Republican presidential candidate, they also identified overwhelmingly with the Republican Party and leaned strongly to the right in their views on policy issues. In contrast, white college graduates were almost evenly divided between Democratic and Republican identifiers and leaned to the left in their views on policy issues.[1] Table 1: Comparing college and non-college white voters in 2020 The data in Table 1 show that non-college whites rated Donald Trump much more positively than Joe Biden on a feeling thermometer scale ranging from 0 to 100 degrees and overwhelmingly approved of Trump’s handling of the presidency. White college graduates did not feel very warmly toward Joe Biden, giving him an average rating just under the neutral point of 50 degrees, but still rated the Democratic challenger much more positively than the incumbent, whom they gave an average rating of under 40 degrees. White college graduates also disapproved of Trump’s job performance by a wide margin. Finally, non-college whites scored considerably higher on both economic insecurity and racial resentment than white college graduates.[2] One of the most striking differences between white college and non-college voters in 2020 involves their ideological orientations. However, the left-right issues scale includes a wide range of disparate issues including traditional social welfare issues, cultural issues, immigration, racial justice issues, climate change, and gun control. This raises the question of whether the ideological divide between college and non-college white voters is based more on some types of issues than on others. In order to address this question, Table 2 displays the average scores of college and non-college white voters on 6 individual issue scales that are included in the overall left-right issues scale. These scores are measured in standard deviations above (right of center) or below (left of center) the mean score on the scale, which is set at 0. Table 2: Mean left-right policy orientations of college and non-college white voters by issue area in 2020 The results in Table 2 show that non-college whites leaned to the right in every issue area but especially on social welfare, racial justice, and immigration issues. In contrast, white college graduates leaned to the left in 4 of the 6 issue areas, but by much smaller margins than non-college whites leaned to the right. Moreover, on social welfare and racial justice issues, white college graduates were located very close to the center on average. These findings provide clear evidence that white working class voters tend to support conservative policies in every major issue domain, not just a few. They are just as conservative, if not more conservative, on traditional social welfare issues involving the size and role of government as they are on newer cultural issues such as abortion and gay rights. Most importantly, the across-the-board conservatism of white working class voters goes a long way toward explaining their current support for the Republican Party. This can be seen very clearly in Table 3, which displays the relationship between left-right ideological orientation and 2020 presidential vote while controlling for class and economic insecurity. Table 3: Percentage of major party vote for Biden among college and non-college white voters in 2020 by economic insecurity and ideological orientation The data in Table 3 show that ideology had a powerful influence on vote choice in the 2020 presidential election. Almost all white voters located to the left of center on the ideology scale, regardless of education, voted for Biden, while almost all white voters located to the right of center, regardless of education, voted for Trump. Those in the center, just over one-fifth of white voters, favored Biden overall by a margin of 57% to 43%. However, there is little evidence that economic insecurity had any impact on the candidate preferences of even this group. Finally, it is worth noting that after controlling for ideology, there is almost no remaining difference between the candidate preferences of college and non-college whites. The class divide in candidate preference among white voters in 2020 is almost entirely explained by the fact that non-college white voters are now far more conservative across the board than are white college graduates. Explaining the class divide on ideologyOne important question raised by these findings is why non-college whites now hold much more conservative views across the board than white college graduates. In order to address this question, I conducted a regression analysis of conservative ideology among white voters. As predictors, in addition to education, I included two variables that I expected to have strong effects on ideology: party identification and racial resentment. I also included a variety of control variables including family income, sex, evangelical identification, and economic insecurity. The results are displayed in Table 4. Table 4: Regression analysis of conservatism among white voters in 2020 These findings indicate that while ideology was by far the most important predictor of candidate preference among white voters in 2020, ideology was itself largely explained by feelings of racial resentment. Conservative policy preferences among white working class voters on a wide range of issues were closely connected to their racial attitudes and specifically to their belief that white people have been losing ground in American society because of unfair advantages enjoyed by Blacks and other nonwhite groups. ConclusionsThe deep political divide between college and non-college white voters in recent elections reflects a deep ideological divide between these two groups. Non-college white voters are now far more conservative than college educated white voters on a wide range of issues including cultural issues but also social welfare issues, immigration, racial justice, gun control, and climate change. This class divide appears to have little or nothing to do with economic self-interest and everything to do with the diverging racial attitudes of these two groups. These findings indicate that efforts by Democratic leaders to win back the support of white working class voters who have been voting for Republican candidates in recent years by appealing to their economic interests or shifting to the right on issues like immigration and gay rights are unlikely to bear much fruit. Moreover, tacking to the right to win votes from a shrinking population of white working class voters might turn off large numbers of college educated white voters with liberal views on these issues. Footnotes[1] Respondents were classified as leaning to the left if their scores on the ideology scale were more than 0.5 standard deviations to the left of center. Likewise, they were classified as leaning to the right if their scores were more than 0.5 standard deviations to the right of center. Those with ideology scores between 0.5 standard deviations to the left of center and 0.5 standard deviations to the right of center were classified as centrists. [2] Racial resentment is measured by four items that have been used to measure this phenomenon in numerous studies of racial attitudes. Economic insecurity is measured by three questions asking respondents how worried they were about their financial situation, whether they expected to have difficulty paying their housing costs in the coming year, and whether they expected to have difficulty paying health care costs in the coming year.
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| Q&A: What is Redistricting and Why is it Controversial? | ||||||||
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Graphic by Ziniu Chen, University Communications After a hectic election year in 2020, the University of Virginia Center for Politics and the staff of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, the center’s political analysis newsletter edited by professor Larry J. Sabato, aren’t slowing down. Instead, they recently chose to take on one of the most fraught topics in American politics: redistricting. Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the Crystal Ball, along with Crystal Ball Associate Editor J. Miles Coleman recently published a multi-part series on the subject. Kondik is so interested in the topic that he wrote a book that explores how redistricting and other political trends have resulted in a Republican edge in the House of Representatives. The Long Red Thread, which looks at House elections from 1964 to 2020, will be released in October. UVA Today caught up with Kondik to learn more about the controversial topic of redistricting. Q. What is redistricting and why should people care? A. Congressional redistricting is a vital and politically charged issue. Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau releases a new census, which documents population growth patterns across the country. In order to reflect the new census, states must redraw their district lines. So between years that end in zero and years that end in two, the congressional map is reshaped across nearly the entire country — the only states that are unaffected are the six sparsely populated ones that only have a single, at-large statewide member of the House (Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming).
Kyle Kondik’s new book, “The Long Red Thread,” explores how redistricting and other political trends led to a GOP edge in the House of Representatives. Districts must have roughly equal populations within states, with the average, “ideal” population size for a district nationally coming in at roughly 750,000 to 800,000 people. Stringent population equality requirements are a relatively new development in American politics — they only truly came about following a series of landmark Supreme Court decisions in the early 1960s, which enshrined the concept of “one person, one vote” into redistricting law. While the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on population equality, it has thus far declined to rule against partisan redistricting, better known as gerrymandering, which is the practice of one party drawing a congressional map designed to maximize their share of seats in a given state. How districts are drawn has a direct impact on which party wins and which party loses a given seat. So if you care about who controls the House, you should care about this process. Q. Who is in charge of it and when does it happen? A. States use a variety of methods to draw district lines. Most states still use a traditional process for redistricting, which involves the state legislature proposing and passing a congressional map as a piece of legislation, subject to veto by the governor. There are variations on this process — just to cite a few examples, North Carolina’s governor cannot veto a congressional map, and Iowa uses a process in which legislative staffers draw a map that the state legislature has the power to overrule — but this is how most states handle redistricting. However, there has been a growing trend in which redistricting power is outsourced to an independent commission, which is designed to make the process less partisan. These commissions are most popular in the west, but they have recently been adopted in other places, too, such as in Virginia for this decade’s redistricting cycle. Overall, and based on the Crystal Ball’s assessment, Republicans control the drawing of 187 districts and Democrats control the drawing of 75. Commissions will draw 121 districts, while control of government is divided in states that hold another 46 districts. And the final six districts are in the single-district states. This cycle’s redistricting process has been delayed because of delays in the census — the bureau only recently released the granular data that states need to accurately draw the lines. But draft maps are starting to appear in various states, and all 44 states with more than one district will have lines in place by next year in advance of the 2022 midterm. Q. Why is it so controversial? A. Many consider it unseemly that one party often has the power to draw districts that favor their own party. Republicans used to dislike gerrymandering more because Democrats dominated the process as recently as the 1970s and 1980s. Democrats are likelier to dislike it now because Republicans have had a stronger hand in redistricting more recently. Additionally, different people can have different, legitimate objectives in redistricting. Some may favor maximizing competitive districts. Others may want to protect incumbents, while others don’t want to consider incumbents at all. Some may want to maximize representation for people of color, while others argue that doing so ends up overconcentrating voters of color, who often vote Democratic, thus helping Republicans.
The political cartoon that coined the term “gerrymandering.” Ironically, the redrawn district did not function as anticipated. (Wikimedia Commons) Reasonable people can disagree on these objectives, which inherently makes this a hot-button issue, and the partisan nature of the process in many states also irks the party on the wrong end of the maps. Q. Is this where the term “gerrymandering” comes from? A. Yes. The term gerrymandering arose from what may be the most famous political cartoon in American history, which depicted a legislative district shaped like a salamander. In 1812, the Democratic-Republican- A Federalist newspaper cartoonist seized on a long, thin district that snaked from southwest to northeast, making an inverse “L,” and dubbed it the “gerry-mander,” complete with wings, claws and a snarling lizard’s head. Thus emerged the gerrymander (pronounced in modern times with a soft g, like Jerry). Interestingly, the famous salamander gerrymander district did not perform as intended, as the Federalists re-took the district in the following year’s elections. But this was not even the first partisan gerrymander, as there are examples in the colonial period. Q. How does redistricting fit into a healthy democracy? A. The concept of “one person, one vote” is an important principle in American government. Redistricting based on the decennial census is required to honor that principle. The question of how we should redistrict is a thorny one, and I think it’s reasonable to argue that a system in which the party in power gets to draw districts that help them maintain that power is not particularly healthy for democracy. But this is also not a new problem in American politics, although I think it is one that may be more meaningful now than in the past because gerrymandering has arguably become easier in recent years because of other trends in American elections, such as a drop in ticket-splitting, the erosion of advantages for incumbents, and other factors. Q. What can regular citizens and voters do? A. In states that allow statewide ballot issues, reformers can have success working to get voters to approve less partisan redistricting systems. There also are opportunities for regular citizens to serve on redistricting commissions, and those who are concerned about redistricting should share those concerns with their elected officials. Beyond that, there are great, easily accessible tools in which one can draw their own maps, like Dave’s Redistricting App. Doing this can at least give people the chance to think about how they might like districts to be drawn and to consider the real-life choices that mapmakers face. Read the fine printLearn more about the Crystal Ball and find out how to contact us here. Sign up to receive Crystal Ball e-mails like this one delivered straight to your inbox. Use caution with Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and remember: “He who lives by the Crystal Ball ends up eating ground glass!” |
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| © Copyright by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia |
This message was sent to rickbulow1974@gmail.com from goodpolitics@virginia.edu
Larry J. Sabato
UVA Center for Politics
PO Box 400806
Charlottesville, VA 22904
38.) THE BLAZE
39.) THE FEDERALIST
40.) REUTERS
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A screen displays a statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as a trader works on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, September 22, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Police officers block a road as lava rises following the eruption of a volcano on the Island of La Palma, in Tacande, Spain, September 22, 2021. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
41.) NOQ REPORT
42.) ARRA NEWS SERVICE
43.) REDSTATE
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The Feds Are Forced to Release January 6th Surveillance Footage and Narratives Crumble
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44.) WORLD NET DAILY
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45.) MSNBC
 September 23, 2021 THE LATEST
The military can’t legally save us from a president bent on using nukes by Michael A. Cohen Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has a certain knack for finding himself in the middle of political firestorms. The latest involves a call between Milley and his Chinese counterpart at the end of former President Donald Trump’s term to assure Beijing that a U.S. attack wasn’t imminent. Since then, he’s been pilloried on the right and the subject of wild calls for his resignation, Michael A. Cohen writes. “Most of these accusations are hysterical and can be safely ignored,” Cohen writes. “But Milley’s actions raise serious, and in some respects unanswerable, questions about one of the most sacrosanct norms in American democracy — civilian control of the military — and it’s applicability when it comes to an issue like the use of nuclear weapons.”
Read Michael A. Cohen’s full analysis here and don’t forget to check out the rest of your Thursday MSNBC Daily. TOP STORIES
The state’s new surgeon general doesn’t think vaccines are that big a deal. Read More The debt ceiling is not to be played with. Read More TOP VIDEOS
MORE FROM MSNBC
 Introducing The ReidOut Blog, the digital extension of “The ReidOut,” political juggernaut Joy Reid’s nightly show on MSNBC.
Follow for the latest commentary on daily news, including the ways politics and culture clash and coincide. You’ll also find exclusive web content that expands on conversations broached on “The ReidOut.” Race and racism, voting rights, reproductive rights, the Covid-19 fallout and recovery — expect it all.
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48.) NBC MORNING RUNDOWN
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To ensure delivery to your inbox add email@mail.nbcnews.com to your contacts  Today’s Top Stories from NBC News THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 Good morning, NBC News readers.
Today we report on how the climate crisis is fueling migration from Guatemala, why the FDA has approved Covid booster shots for high-risk people, and the Taliban’s crackdown on opposition in Afghanistan.
Here’s the latest on that and everything else we’re watching this Thursday morning.
 As Guatemala lurches between intense droughts and devastating floods — two extremes made worse by climate change — some farmers are being forced to take drastic action, selling whatever they can or borrowing huge sums of money and leaving home.
Most will move within the country, to cities in search of work, while others will join the tens of thousands of Guatemalans who each year attempt a much more treacherous journey north.
“Whatever we grow in the field is not enough to feed ourselves,” said farmer Darwin Mendez, who has tried and failed to reach the United States three times. “I want to go to the U.S., so I can feed my family.”
Experts have said climate change could displace hundreds of millions of people around the world as rising sea levels, hotter temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events transform where is livable on the planet.
In places already grappling with high levels of poverty, corruption and conflict, the effects of global warming may reach a fragile tipping point for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
It’s a situation that is already playing out in Guatemala. Without deep cuts in global emissions, it’s likely that global warming will create climate migrants on just about every continent. The consequences will be staggering.
Read the full story here. Thursday’s Top Stories
 The Food and Drug Administration authorized a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine Wednesday for emergency use in people ages 65 and up, as well as those 18 and older at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus or severe illness.  Since the Taliban once again took control of Afghanistan, growing evidence points to a sometimes brutal crackdown as they settle old scores, stamp out opposition and try to force many Afghans to adhere to their strict interpretation of Islam.  The federal government is working with Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers to reduce the number of doses per vial, amid growing concerns about wasted vaccines.  OPINION It’s wrong to say that the U.S. betrayed France, when France failed to deliver, says military writer Sébastien Roblin. Also in the News
Editor’s Pick
 “A part of him will always be with me,” Reid Alexander, 24, said of Rafael Díaz, his husband and organ donor. Shopping
We spoke to professional pumpkin carvers about the best way to carve and preserve a pumpkin this Halloween. One Fun Thing
 3 little girls + 1 bag of flour: Watch what happens When a British father of three little girls had to leave the room to take a phone call, the toddlers grabbed a bag of flour from the kitchen table, with predictable (but hilarious) results. 
Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.
If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: patrick.smith@nbcuni.com.
Thanks, Patrick Smith
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49.) NBC FIRST READ
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From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Ben Kamisar and Benjy Sarlin
FIRST READ: Democrats remain divided ahead of Monday’s infrastructure vote
We told you that President Biden’s meetings yesterday could offer an early answer to how Democrats should proceed in resolving their intraparty standoff over the president’s legislative agenda.
As of this morning, we still don’t have an answer.
The central conflict is that Democratic progressives oppose a House vote this Monday for the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, arguing that the larger $3.5 trillion reconciliation package should be considered first or at least on the same track.
But moderates want the House to pass the infrastructure bill on Monday, believing that negotiations over the reconciliation package should come later.
Here were the reactions after Biden’s White House meetings with House and Senate moderates (first) and House and Senate progressives (afterwards):
“My hope is that [infrastructure] vote will be delayed. If it’s not, it should be defeated, because both bills have got to go forward,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said, per NBC News.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, “reiterated that perhaps half the roughly 100-member bloc could vote against the infrastructure measure Monday if the shape of the $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending bill is not finalized by then,” the Washington Post reports.
And as for the moderates, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., “said it would be ‘really disappointing and embarrassing’ if the infrastructure bill failed because of opposition from progressives,” the New York Times adds.
So Democrats are still deadlocked.
Getty Images
But there was SOME progress. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., said Biden told centrists to come up with a price tag for reconciliation they could support.
“He basically just said find a number you’re comfortable with based on the needs you still have and how we deliver it to the American people,” Manchin said, per NBC’s Capitol Hill team.
Still, Manchin said that crafting a reconciliation would take time. “I think a good reconciliation bill could be done whenever. This will take a lot more time, there’s a lot more involved in the tax structures and all the different things. It’s going to take a lot more in depth on that. And to hold up [an infrastructure] bill that every part of this country needs. This just doesn’t make any sense at all,” he added.
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Biden’s biggest unanswered question
But here’s the answer we still don’t have from Biden: Should House Democrats vote this Monday for the infrastructure bill that the president celebrated when it passed the Senate in August?
“Many senators and House members, as I’ve listened to them over the last few days, have come to feel that just plucking Sept. 27 [for an infrastructure vote is arbitrary],” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told reporters after attending his White House meeting.
“And the president said, ‘Let me think about it, let me talk to the speaker, the majority leader.’”
So our questions to the White House: Should Monday’s infrastructure vote go forward?
And if so, should all Democrats vote for it?
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VP Harris dresses down Mayorkas?
Yesterday, at 1:41 pm ET, we received a press readout unlike we’ve ever seen before.
It was a readout of the vice president’s call with a member of the president’s own cabinet.
“Yesterday, Vice President Harris spoke to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to receive an update about his trip to Del Rio. During that call, the Vice President raised her grave concerns about the mistreatment of Haitian migrants by border patrol agents on horses, and the need of all CBP agents to treat people with dignity, humanely and consistent with our laws and our values,” it read.
More: “Secretary Mayorkas shared the Vice President’s concern and noted that he looks forward to updating her on the investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility once it concludes.”
Ooof.
It’s one thing for an administration – within the family – to have criticisms and disagreements.
But it’s entirely another to issue a readout like this – to the press – like you would a phone call with a world leader or anyone else outside of the family.
Immigration advocates have long portrayed ICE and CBP as rogue agencies that need to be reined in, forcing the White House into contortions as they try to run the agencies themselves and maintain their effectiveness and morale while still reassuring those core supporters.
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Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
36 percent: The portion of American adults who support President Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, per a new Marquette Law poll.
74 percent: The portion who support withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan, per that same poll.
42,623,436: The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 167,482 more since yesterday morning.)
685,028: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far, per the most recent data from NBC News. (That’s 2,375 more since yesterday morning.)
387,493,71: The number of vaccine doses administered in the U.S., per the CDC. (That’s 712,900 more since yesterday morning.)
54.9 percent: The share of all Americans who are fully vaccinated, per the CDC.
66.1 percent: The share of all U.S. adults at least 18 years of age who are fully vaccinated, per CDC
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ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?
The FDA has approved a Pfizer Covid booster shot for the elderly and adults at a high risk of serious illness from the disease.
Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins says she doesn’t support the new Democratic legislation aimed at shoring up protections for abortion rights, arguing it chips away exceptions for those who are opposed to the procedure.
A new report from Amnesty International details the crackdown by the Taliban since it took power in Afghanistan, arguing that “the human rights gains that the Afghan people have built over two decades is at risk of collapse.”
The Biden administration is set to unveil a new rule aimed at cutting down on hydrofluorocarbons, chemicals used in refrigerants that are considered to have “very high global warming potential.”
The already fragile American economy could be dealt a significant blow if Congress can’t come to an agreement on funding the government or raising the debt ceiling.
A progressive non-profit attacks Sununu on abortion ahead of possible Senate bid.
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50.) CBS
51.) REASON
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52.) MANHATTAN INSTITUTE
53.) LOUDER WITH CROWDER
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Americans find themselves debating many pressing issues. Mask mandates or no mask mandates? Is the border crisis going as planned, or is Joe Biden just an imbecile? But no debate is more important in … MORE 
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55.) REALCLEARPOLITICS MORNING NOTE
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56.) REALCLEARPOLITICS TODAY
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57.) CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY
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58.) BERNARD GOLDBERG
59.) SARA A. CARTER
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60.) TWITCHY
61.) HOT AIR
62.) 1440 DAILY DIGEST
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No images? Click here    Good morning. It’s Thursday, Sept. 23, and we’re covering the potential collapse of a Chinese real estate giant, an attack in Ukraine, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com. First time reading? Sign up here. NEED TO KNOW Evergrande on the Brink Chinese real estate conglomerate Evergrande Group faces a deadline today to make an $83.5M bond interest payment. Many investors fear the cash-strapped company won’t meet the payment and will default on its debt, with a potential ripple effect on the global economy. The second-largest real estate developer in China, Evergrande spent the past two decades aggressively borrowing as it helped fuel the country’s construction boom. In addition to prolific spending, a government crackdown on debt financing pushed the company into a cash crunch. As of June, the company had $88B in outstanding debt with 42% due within a year. Cash is so short that the company paid suppliers with unfinished apartments over the summer. Its stock price has dropped 80% so far this year, trading at $0.40 as of this morning. Some have likened the crisis to China’s version of the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, as Evergrande threatens to become the largest debt default by an Asian company in history. The company has a 30-day grace period to meet its obligation if the payment is missed. Ukraine Assassination AttemptA top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky survived an assassination attempt while being driven in his car south of the country’s capital of Kyiv. The adviser, Serhiy Shefir, was not injured though his driver was reportedly taken to the hospital with at least one gunshot wound. A photo released by Ukraine’s top prosecutor showed at least 10 bullet holes in the side of Shefir’s sedan. Who was behind the attack is yet to be determined, though officials linked the shooting to Zelensky’s appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Zelensky, who said he would return home following the news, had earlier delivered remarks criticizing Russia’s military presence in Eastern Ukraine. Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, and has actively encouraged and supported anti-government unrest in the eastern Donbas region in recent years. Police Reform Falls ThroughAfter months of back-and-forth discussions, lawmakers ended talks on federal police reform without reaching a compromise deal. Lead negotiators—Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Rep. Karen Bass (D, CA-37)—said neither side could reach an agreement palatable to the other side’s caucus. After missing a number of self-imposed deadlines, deep divisions remained among the bipartisan group on key issues. Among the key hurdles was qualified immunity, a legal doctrine shielding officers from personal liability over constitutional violations (deep dive here). Reports also suggested areas of bipartisan agreement, including an officer accountability database and the use of no-knock warrants, ran into challenges around specific phrasing in bill drafts. The news follows a Justice Department decision last week to increase oversight of reform implementations at various police departments across the country. In partnership with M1 FinanceTHE FINANCE SUPER APP  There’s a mass movement of hundreds of thousands of personal investors. They’re moving away from one-size-fits-all, single-purpose, boilerplate brokers and finance platforms. And they’re heading to the award-winning M1 Finance. M1 is a sleek financial platform that puts you in the driver’s seat of your wealth building, giving you the tools to invest, spend, and borrow how you want. Build a custom portfolio quickly and easily, then let automatic tools do all the heavy lifting of buying and selling. Or, borrow against your portfolio with low rates for whatever you want. It’s your money—they just give you the tools to make the most of it. Get started for free to see why they call M1 the “Finance Super App.” For a limited time, get a $30 boost when you join and fund an account with $1,000 (terms and conditions apply). Please support our sponsors! IN THE KNOW Sports, Entertainment, & CultureBrought to you by Bright Cellars > WNBA playoffs tip off tonight with single-elimination first-round games (More) | See full playoff schedule (More) > Netflix buys rights to entire Roald Dahl Story Company, including the rights to stories including “Willy Wonka,” “Matilda,” and “James and the Giant Peach” (More) > Melvin Van Peebles, influential independent filmmaker best known for “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” dies at 89 (More) From our partners: The wine store doesn’t have to be guesswork. This fall, Bright Cellars can help you discover wines you’ll love from the coziness of your own home. Just take their palate quiz, get matched with the perfect wines for your tastes, and find a box on your doorstep a few days later. Now’s a great time to discover your next favorite wine: As a 1440 reader you’ll receive 50% off your first six-bottle order. Science & Technology> Study identifies gene likely responsible for the elimination of tails in early human evolution; genetic change is also associated with spinal birth defects (More) > Engineers develop the smallest-ever wind-borne machine; inspired by tree seeds, the microfliers may have use in environmental monitoring and sensing (More) > Animal researchers say hookworms, one of the most common intestinal parasites, are showing signs of resistance against all FDA-approved treatments (More) Business & Markets> US stock markets up (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +1.0%, Nasdaq +1.0%) as Federal Reserve signals it could reverse pandemic stimulus programs this year, and could raise rates as early as next year (More) > Facebook shares slide 4% after releasing blog detailing that platform ad performance has been underreported on ads served on Apple iPhones (More) | Chief technology officer of Facebook to step down after 13 years (More) > Restaurant software firm Toast soars 56% in first day of trading to over $30B valuation (More) | Shares of Indian software firm Freshworks increase 32% on first day of trading to $13B valuation (More) Politics & World Affairs> Biden administration commits an additional 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for lower-income countries, raising total pledge to 1.1 billion doses (More) | Average COVID-19 deaths in the US pass 2,000 per day; cases and hospitalizations trending downward (More) > Reports suggest thousands of Haitian migrants are being released from detention at the US-Mexico border, while others are deported via flights to Haiti; nearly 14,000 migrants massed near Del Rio, Texas, in recent weeks (More) > Former President Donald Trump sues niece, New York Times for $100M over 2018 investigative series revealing leaked tax and financial documents (More) IN-DEPTH Ready for the Solar StormKnowable | Christopher Crockett. In 1859, a massive geomagnetic storm lit up the Earth, sending telegraph machines haywire. Today, scientists are working to understand just how big such solar flares can get—and what the consequences would be for a digitally connected planet. (Read) Paradise LostInput | Andrew Fedorov. An oral history of the rise and fall of Couchsurfing, the once-idealistic accommodations site with a cult following. (Read) DO MORE WITH YOUR DOLLARS In partnership with M1 Finance When you first sign up for M1, you’ll unlock a free year of M1 Plus ($125 in value). It’s their premium service that lets you do even more with every dollar. Lower borrow rates, more automated tools, and more flexibility with your investing make M1 Plus an invaluable tool for anyone who wants more control over their hard-earned wealth. Sign up to take control of your money management today. Please support our sponsors! ETCETERA The winners of the 2021 Ocean Photographer of the Year. Fighter Conor McGregor throws an all-time bad first pitch. (w/video) Mapping different countries’ biggest public companies. Music download behavior resembles infectious diseases. Never-before-seen 1920s photos document Indigenous life in Alaska. It’s an Aston Martin—for children. Scientists use lasers to cook 3D-printed chicken. Bus driver shortage forces a unique field trip for Boston students. Clickbait: Wyomingite catches pneumonic plague from a feline. Historybook: American civil rights activist Victoria Woodhull born (1838); Nintendo is founded as a playing card company (1889); Musician Ray Charles is born (1930); Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud dies (1939); Hurricane Jeanne kills more than 3,000 people in Haiti (2004).  “You better live every day like your last because one day you’re going to be right.” – Ray Charles Enjoy reading? Forward this email to a friend.Why 1440? The printing press was invented in the year 1440, spreading knowledge to the masses and changing the course of history. Guess what else? There are 1,440 minutes in a day and every one is precious. That’s why we scour hundreds of sources every day to provide a concise, comprehensive, and objective view of what’s happening in the world. Reader feedback is a gift—shoot us a note at hello@join1440.com. Interested in advertising to smart readers like you? Apply here!  |
63.) AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH
64.) NATIONAL REVIEW
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September 23 2021
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Episode 36: Economics for the… 
Haitian Migrants Being… 
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65.) POLITICAL WIRE
66.) RASMUSSEN REPORTS
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68.) GATEWAY PUNDIT
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70.) HOOVER INSTITUTE
71.) DAILY INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
72.) FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION
73.) POPULIST PRESS
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The cards are all being put on the table, everyone will be exposed. 
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74.) THE POST MILLENIAL
75.) BLACKLISTED NEWS
76.) THE DAILY DOT
 Sept. 23, 2021 Welcome to the Thursday edition of Internet Insider, where we explore identities online and off. Today:
 BREAK THE INTERNET Anti-vaxxers are now identifying themselves as ‘pure bloods’ With the disappearance of Gabby Petito making headlines across the nation, several critics and activists have taken to social media to discuss the disproportionate media coverage given to Black and Indigenous people compared to white people. It’s a phenomenon called “missing white woman syndrome.”
Petito, a 22-year-old white woman, went missing while on a cross-country trip with her fiance, with Utah police reporting a “domestic problem” between the couple on Aug. 12. A body matching Petito’s description was found in a forest in Wyoming on Sept. 19. On Tuesday, the Teton County Coroner confirmed the remains to be Petito’s, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide.
The disappearance prompted obsessive speculation and internet sleuthing from TikTokers. While some said the coverage of Petito’s case was a positive thing that could lead to someone finding her, others added that it highlights a glaring racial imbalance in how missing persons cases are handled.
For example, at least 710 Indigenous people went missing in Wyoming from 2011 to 2020, according to a report by the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People task force published in January. Of the 710 people, 85% were children, and 57% were female.
While acknowledging that Petito’s family “deserves answers and justice,” MSNBC anchor Joy Reid called out inconsistent media coverage when it comes to people of color during her show The ReidOut on Monday.
“The way this story captivated the nation has so many wondering, ‘Why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?’” Reid said. “Well, the answer actually has a name: ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome’—the term coined by the late and great Gwen Ifill to describe the media and public fascination with missing white women like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway, while ignoring cases involving people of color.”
Reid brought up the case of Daniel Robinson, a geologist who was last seen in June in Arizona. Several others have also pointed out Robinson’s disappearance in the wake of Petito’s case.
Robinson’s father is still looking for him, and a GoFundMe page was created to help cover the cost of hiring a private investigator.
Jelani Day, a 25-year-old graduate student, reportedly went missing in Bloomington, Illinois, on Aug. 25.
Day’s mother, Carmen Bolden, said in a Sept. 17 interview with Newsy that she didn’t understand why her son hasn’t received the same coverage as Petito.
“I want them to look for my child like they’re looking for [Petito],” Bolden told Newsy. “He is not a nobody. He is somebody and I want him to come back home.”  Contributing Writer
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 SELF-CARE Inbox reading list At the Daily Dot, newsletters are a big deal. We’ve been refining the Internet Insider for more than a year, and this self-care column is a constant work in progress. Of course, we don’t exist in a vacuum. I constantly look to other media companies who have done email longer and with more resources. Still, I admit, I often subscribe to newsletters that end up in my trash before I get the chance to read them. But this week, I’m sharing favorites from my personal inbox—the ones I always make a point to open.
Dirt: No, it’s not a gardening email. Dirt is an NFT-funded daily newsletter about entertainment—this week’s offerings included essays on The Sims and Shania Twain. Headed by journalist/poet Daisy Alioto and New Yorker contributor Kyle Chayka, Dirt brings in a range of voices and very online subjects. It’s a digestible medley of capital-C “content” that never disappoints.
Ann Friedman Weekly: Whenever Daily Dot staff talk about their favorite newsletters, the Ann Friedman Weekly inevitably comes up. It’s an email that predates the newsletter boom, and it’s easy to see why 50,000-plus people have subscribed. From lists of relevant and interesting news stories to handwritten, hilarious pie charts, Friedman’s newsletter is always full of hidden gems. Speaking of surprises, Friedman reliably includes a “surprise me” link that could lead anywhere on the internet.
Xena Worrier Princess: I’ve been following zine extraordinaire Maddy Court online for years, and her Xena Worrier Princess newsletter is a continuation of the earnestness and wit I’ve come to expect. I should note that I fall into this newsletter’s demographic—people who like queer advice columns and The L Word: Generation Q recaps. But that’s the great thing about newsletters: There’s something for everyone.
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77.) HEADLINE USA
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78.) NATURAL NEWS
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79.) POLITICHICKS
80.) BLACKPRESSUSA
81.) THE WESTERN JOURNAL
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82.) CNN
 Thursday 09.23.21 The wild home-selling blitz is cooling down in the US, but home prices are still ludicrously high. The average home price last month was up 14.9% from a year ago. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On With Your Day.  A cancer patient gets a Covid-19 booster shot in Hartford, Connecticut.  Coronavirus
The US Food and Drug Administration announced it will grant emergency use authorization for a booster dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease and people whose jobs put them at risk of infection. That last category includes health care workers and also people who work in places like grocery stores, homeless shelters and prisons. Today, vaccine advisers to the CDC will meet to act on the FDA’s decision. The CDC must give its stamp of approval before any booster doses can be officially given. (Third doses are already approved for certain immunocompromised people.) A member of the CDC’s vaccine team said yesterday that findings from several studies show vaccine protection against Covid-19 does wane over time, especially for older people.
Debt ceiling
Democrats are nervous about expected Republican pushback in the Senate over the debt ceiling. Instead of facing up to GOP resistance leading up to the mid-October deadline, some Dems are considering lengthy, laborious legislative methods to pass a measure to raise or suspend the debt ceiling without Republican help. If the US were to default, the government would have to limit its spending, and that would spell real consequences for millions of Americans. Social Security payments and the next monthly child tax credits could be delayed, and food stamp recipients could be left waiting for funds. A default also could set off a recession that would wipe out millions of jobs and erase about $15 trillion in household wealth, a report from a financial services company warns.
Immigration
As the crush of migrants along the southern US border persists, Border Patrol agents in Del Rio, Texas, say they had asked their leaders as far back as June for extra help to rapidly process migrants. Agents this summer began to see an increase in people crossing the Rio Grande into the US, at times getting up to several hundred congregating under the Del Rio International Bridge. In recent days, that number ballooned to 14,000. The Biden administration is scrambling to deal with the crisis by ramping up deportation flights and talking with officials in Brazil and Chile about repatriating migrants who’d lived there. Photos of refugees arriving in Del Rio show a dangerous, desperate journey through heat and muddy water to the squalid, tight encampments that have raised alarm bells among health and humanitarian experts.
Policing
After months of negotiation, a bipartisan effort to move forward with federal police reform legislation has officially ended without a deal. Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Karen Bass, both Democrats, and Republican Sen. Tim Scott led the talks, but they say complex issues like qualified immunity (a legal doctrine that protects police officers from being sued in civil court) kept them from finding a plan that would garner bipartisan support in the Senate. After the breakdown, President Biden criticized Republican leaders for rejecting even modest reforms and is now considering taking executive action on policing reforms. Meanwhile, a group of former and current Black women officers have filed a class action lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, claiming racial and sexual discrimination.
France
Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday for the first time since a major diplomatic dispute erupted between the two countries over a trilateral deal among the US, UK and Australia. The fallout of the deal, which includes the provision of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, led to tension during this week’s United Nations General Assembly and inspired unrestrained criticism from some French officials. Macron, however, has been more reserved. A joint statement from the US and France after the call said Macron and Biden “agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners.”
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People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Netflix buys the rights to Roald Dahl’s beloved stories
Young designers rule the highlights from London Fashion Week
Elvira, famed ‘Mistress of the Dark,’ shares she’s been in a 19-year relationship with a woman
People who eat more dairy fat have lower risk of heart disease, study suggests
Bitcoin for beginners: Here’s what to know before you invest in crypto  3.3 million That’s how many deaths could have been avoided globally in 2016 under the World Health Organization’s newly released air quality guidelines, the organization said.
Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth?
Director Mario Van Peebles, memorializing his father, director Melvin Van Peebles, who has died at 89. The elder Van Peebles was a trailblazing African American director who helped champion a new wave of modern Black cinema in the 1970s.
Brought to you by CNN Underscored  18 women’s work bags that are stylish and practical, according to stylists We spoke with stylists and fashion experts for their suggestions about the best bags for all budgets. With brands like Wandler, Coach and Cuyana, you’re bound to fall in love with at least one.
How wax figures are made
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83.) THE DAILY CALLER
84.) POWERLINE
Daily Digest |
- Mark Millley “on dangerous constitutional terrain”
- Chelsea player breaks ranks, declines to kneel
- Climate Funnies!
- Biden’s Aides Won’t Let Him Speak
- Water, Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink?
| Mark Millley “on dangerous constitutional terrain”
Posted: 22 Sep 2021 04:18 PM PDT (Paul Mirengoff)In this post, I argued against a defense of Gen. Mark Milley’s reassurances to China, in the waning days of the Trump administration, that’s based on his apparent collaboration with the Defense Department. If Milley made improper statements to Chinese military officials, it doesn’t matter that high-ranking DOD officials were in the loop. I also argued that, in all likelihood, Milley did make improper statements to the Chinese. Even before the events of January 6, China apparently wanted assurances that Trump would not lash out against it due to his frustration with the election. Much of official Washington shared this concern or pretended to. Bob Woodward and Robert Costa report that when Milley spoke to his Chinese counterpart on January 8, he provided assurances, and this aspect of their report seems undisputed. Given the way Milley and China apparently viewed Trump, it stands to reason that, as Woodward and Costa also say, such assurances included a promise, or at least an indication, that Milley would give China a heads-up, if it came to that. David Ignatius of the Washington Post seems to understand all of this. He acknowledges:
Ignatius, an apologist, if not an unofficial spokesman, for the deep state, avoids saying that Milley, in fact, violated this sacrosanct principle. Perhaps that’s the right line, since we don’t know for sure what Milley said to his counterpart. However, if he said, in essence, what Woodward and Costa report, he surely crossed the line. Indeed, Ignatius continues:
No, it shouldn’t. However, Ignatius is unwilling to condemn Milley. Instead, he reverts to what I’ve called the original defense of Milley — that the general’s violation was justified “because Trump.” He writes:
There are at least three good objections to this passage. First, if there was a problem, it began with the election of the “lawless” president by the American people. In “our democracy,” the military has no “duty” to “fight back” against the president Americans choose to lead them. Second, Milley wasn’t fighting back against lawlessness. Trump did nothing unlawful during the period of time in which, it appears, Milley lawlessly assured the Chinese he would help thwart any attack the president ordered. And even if one thinks Trump acted unlawfully by encouraging the January 6 protest, promising to give the Chinese a leg up in a war with the U.S. is not fighting back against the Capitol protest or Trump’s role, whatever it was, in that event. Third, the concern that Trump would attack China due to frustration with the election was absurd. This is a case of a not-terribly-bright general believing his own BS — or perhaps more accurately, the BS being peddled by establishment figures including Nancy Pelosi and anti-Trump journalists — while convincing himself that he was some kind of savior. Nothing in Trump’s presidency suggests that he would attack a country with China’s military capability. Throughout his time in office, Trump was less aggressive militarily than any of his four immediate predecessors. If Trump was going to attack any nation, it likely would have been Iran. But there is no indication that he ever seriously considered doing that. To be sure, the 2020 election left Trump in a terrible mood. But Trump was also in a terrible mood when he was being impeached for tying (for a short while) U.S. assistance to Ukraine to that government’s willingness to help him discredit Joe and Hunter Biden. That frustration did not cause Trump to use military force, much less to attack Red China. Contrast this with Bill Clinton who, in a fit of anger over developments in the Lewinski scandal, launched attacks in Sudan and Afghanistan — a rare sign of life from Clinton when it came to trying to countering terrorism. I have never tried to disguise my view that Trump is seriously flawed. But that didn’t make him a threat to world peace. Trump’s opponents tried, for cynical purposes, to conflate these two things. In doing so, it seems like they suckered Gen. Milley into what Ignatius diplomatically calls “dangerous constitutional terrain.” |
| Chelsea player breaks ranks, declines to kneel
Posted: 22 Sep 2021 11:57 AM PDT (Paul Mirengoff)For more than a year now, players in the English Premier League have been “taking a knee” just before kickoff. The gesture, an outgrowth of the George Floyd affair, is supposed to signal opposition to racism. In every EPL match I’ve seen, all 22 players have gone along with it. It’s not clear why anyone should kneel to protest racism. The gesture strikes me as either meaningless or a nod to Colin Kaepernick, who gained fame for kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem before NFL games some years ago. Kaepernick is a far-leftist who hates America. To be clear, I have nothing against English soccer players kneeling before kickoff, if that’s what they want to do. However, it seems obvious that not every player has wanted to kneel before every match for more than a year. The law of averages tells us this. Similar evidence comes from fans who boo the gesture. The booing has diminished considerably, probably due to pressure, but it persists. Obviously, some segment of the English population hates the gesture. Therefore, some segment of the playing population must not be fond of it. Earlier this month, Marco Alonso, a Spaniard and long-time Chelsea player, broke ranks. He declined to take a knee before Chelsea’s match against Aston Villa. Instead, he pointed to a badge on his jersey that says “no to racism.” The wing-back did the same thing in Chelsea’s next match. Pointing to the “no to racism” slogan is a more direct way of expressing opposition to the hateful phenomenon. It’s a straightforward statement and cannot be construed to show support for any other agenda. It also avoids any hint of submission. Nonetheless, Alonso has been criticized for the move. This article by some politically correct writer rakes the Spaniard over the coals for not consulting his black teammates. “How, for example, would Romelu Lukaku — who celebrated his first goal for Inter Milan after the Black Lives Matter protests, in June last year, against Sampdoria, with a lowered knee and raised fist — have reacted?,” the writer asks. I’m a huge Lukaku fan, and not just because of his feats for Everton. Big Rom is worthy of great respect. But Alonso is his own man with his own views about combatting racism. He had no obligation to seek permission from Lukaku or anyone else, and should not be criticized for declining to do so. Deep into the Athletic’s article, we learn that several black players are tired of the kneeling gesture. Among them are Wilfred Zaha, the outrageously talented Crystal Palace man, and Ivan Toney, an emerging star for Brentford. Players at Quuens Park Rangers in England’s second soccer tier stopped kneeling last season. Les Ferdinand, an EPL legend and currently QPR’s director of football, explained:
“Sir Les” is Black. Taking a knee was never going to bring about change. I hope more EPL players, Black and White, will stop feeling compelled to kneel. |
| Climate Funnies!
Posted: 22 Sep 2021 10:32 AM PDT (Steven Hayward)Did you know that this week is Climate Week? I didn’t either. It gets better—tonight is Climate Night! And late night comics are on the job! So you know we’re saved.
This is actually genius on the part of the late night “comics” who are no longer funny, as it will get millions—or is it only thousands now?—of viewers to turn off their flat-screen TVs, thereby lowering their carbon footprints. Chaser:
UPDATE: Okay, so this is more likely Tony Soprano’s house. But let’s have Colbert (or any of the others) step up and show us his residence(s), so we can see if he practices what he preaches. |
| Biden’s Aides Won’t Let Him Speak
Posted: 22 Sep 2021 08:26 AM PDT (John Hinderaker)How far gone is Joe Biden, mentally? I don’t know, but his aides do. And the frenzy they display whenever it appears that Biden might have to talk without a script tells us that they think he is incompetent. The latest instance occurred yesterday when Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did a joint appearance at the White House. They chatted for a few minutes and then Johnson took a couple of questions from British reporters. White House aides were so concerned that someone might ask Biden about the Southern border or another unacceptable topic that they interrupted the Prime Minister in mid-sentence and loudly hustled the reporters out of the room. This is the Telegraph’s account:
This video is from the Hill. If you skip to near the end you can see the conference being broken up by White House staffers:
The Telegraph’s video is better; it goes longer and gives you a reporters-eye perspective. It is not readily downloadable, but you can watch it at the link above. Reporters complained to Jen Psaki, who professed to know nothing about the incident. But really, no comment is necessary. The White House thinks it is better to interrupt the British Prime Minister in mid-answer and suffer the humiliation of herding reporters out of the room, rather than allow Joe Biden to answer a question. Enough said. |
| Water, Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink?
Posted: 22 Sep 2021 07:50 AM PDT (Steven Hayward)It is long past time to check in with our friends at Kite & Key Media, a new venture founded and helmed by Vanessa Mendoza and Troy Senik. They are producing a series of snappy, short videos on current topics, and their most recent video below explains why there is something seriously stupid about having water shortages, even under drought conditions. Hint: Remember the old joke about how if the Soviet Union took over Saudi Arabia, after a decade there’d be a shortage of sand? Well, maybe government control of water is a large part of the problem. And then there are some technological answers, as this video explains.
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Sep 23, 2021 |
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Sponsored By: Gundry MD Constant Fatigue Could Be A Warning Sign– Here’s The Simple “Fix”
Remember when people warned that cheapening impeachment would make it become a regular thing?
Before the pandemic Chinese scientists were trying to infect WILD BATS with genetically enhanced coronaviruses but don’t worry the virus didn’t come from a lab you guys
John Kerry Was Asked About Working With China Despite The Confirmed Genocide Of Uyghur Muslims And Explained “Life Is Always Full Of Tough Choices”
1.5 MILLION Students Left Traditional Public Schools Over The Last Year
Politico just confirmed those Hunter Biden emails from before the election are real … but I was 100% guaranteed it was all a hoax
A speech academy in Singapore is attempting to lure kids to sign up using terrifying clowns and someone actually thought this would be a good idea
Wall Street Journal writer says Apple’s new idea to scan your face and typing behavior to predict mental health has “fascinating implications” and sure, let’s go with that
Have a peek into the life of the Dominican Americans who turn their automobiles into musical Death Stars
BLM is “putting NYC on notice” over its vax passport mandate that unequally discriminates against black citizens
Reporters filed a formal complaint with the White House press secretary that Joe Biden never answers their questions and boy is this deliciously ironic
Scientists have found evidence that a meteor strike “1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima” obliterated the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorra 🤯
Uma Thurman wrote favorably about having an abortion at 15 but she can’t decide if she aborted a “pregnancy” or a baby
Stunning and brave: The British prime minister apparently finally admitted the existence of one of his children he has avoided discussing for years
This high school football team was down 24-7 with 69 seconds left in the game and somehow came back to win. Yes, there’s an ESPN broadcast to prove it.
One of the nation’s top doctors just admitted that nobody really knows where the whole six-foot social-distancing thing came from
Tucker on the border crisis: “Biden did this on purpose” 💥
You must not “do your own research,” they say. It’s just too dangerous.
Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig is beating Mitten Queen Gov. Whitmer by 6 points in a new poll
Watch Bill Gates get extremely uncomfortable when asked about his time spent with Jeffrey Epstein during PBS interview
Please, ask me why
Libs are now saying minimum wage should not be just $15, it should be $26. I say it should be $100 MILLION-BILLION AN HOUR.
In case you need another example of how backward the Taliban is, Afghan barbers have seen sales plummet because men are now afraid to get their hair cut
The national bus driver shortage is so bad that a high school had to charter a party bus with stripper poles in it for a field trip 😐
Conor McGregor threw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field last night and it was absolutely, historically terrible
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| Murders Increased by 29 Percent in 2020, Biggest Bump Since Record-Keeping Began
Special: Is There an Error in the Bible? Officials: Many Migrants From Border Camp Staying in US, Not Being Deported as Promised After Fence-Mending Biden-Macron Call, French Envoy to Return to US Biden’s Del Rio Fiasco! 6pm ET Sen. Ron Johnson talks Biden’s dangerous border and immigration policy with Sean Spicer and Lyndsay Keith — Find Us Here Special: Why Christians Get Sick Gallup Poll: Biden’s Approval Hits Record Low Biden Meets With Democrats as $3.5T Plan Faces Party Split Special: Rex MD Has Changed the Men’s Sexual Health Landscape Forever GOP Not on Board as Govt Shutdown Looms, Debt Limit Showdown Approaches Sen. Johnson to Newsmax: Mayorkas Lying About Illegal Immigrant Numbers |
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99.) MARK LEVIN
September 22, 2021
On Wednesday’s Mark Levin Show, A belief that Republicans will slaughter the Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections is no reason to sit on one’s laurels. Americans must organize now that a movement has been built. After 10 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list and one million copies of Mark Levin’s American Marxism book now sold, there are one million people that understand how American Marxists work. They are better prepared to get active and counter President Biden’s policies and the American Marxists implementing them. Then, the Biden Administration is sabotaging America. Democrats feed on a divided, and economically weak America because that’s when the American Marxists step in to offer all sorts of free government support. This is the Cloward and Piven strategy of overwhelming the system, crashing it, blaming it, and transforming it. Later, a group of 15,000 Haitians has illegally crossed the border into Del Rio, Texas. The media goes after the border patrol on horseback instead of after Biden’s policies. Anyone challenging this gets labeled a xenophobic racist. This is how the radicals change the voter rolls, by changing the citizenry. Meanwhile, when Cubans that escaped communism were rejected while all other immigrants escaping their countries are welcomed. Afterward, Democrats are attacking the funding of Israel’s Iron Dome yet they never complained about the massive spending bills they’ve advanced. Finally, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calls in with an update on why Democrats defunded the Iron Dome that protects Israel because the pro-BDS anti-Israel leftwing is running the Party.
THIS IS FROM:
Mark Levin Show
RIP, Angelo Codevilla
AP
Officials: Many Haitian migrants are being released in US
Washington Post
George W. Bush to hold fundraiser with Rep. Liz Cheney next month
Rumble
Schumer Blames Trump’s ‘Xenophobic’ Policies For The Flood of Haitians At The Border
PJ Media
Mayorkas: Just 3 Percent of Afghan Evacuees in U.S. Are Special Immigrant Visa Holders
Gallup
Biden’s Approval Rating Hits New Low of 43%; Harris’ Is 49%
Fox 5 DC
Loudoun County leaders taking up reparations proposal
The College Fix
UC Berkeley’s latest ‘cluster hire’ fails to add intellectual diversity
The podcast for this show can be streamed or downloaded from the Audio Rewind page.
Image used with permission of Getty Images / Kevin Dietsch
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Government-run schools fail kids. Teachers unions and education bureaucrats say, “We need more money!” But America already spends a fortune on public…
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