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Having abjectly failed to contain coronavirus in the United States, or to grasp the extent of economic suffering he’s inflicted on the American people, President Trump now seeks to do what anyone in such a predicament would do: break the law in a panic to swindle voters into thinking he fixed the problem.
- Months after House Democrats passed $3 trillion in emergency spending, the White House and Republicans in Congress continue to oppose providing unemployed Americans and struggling state and local governments enough support to weather the coronavirus pandemic—which, if you hadn't noticed, Trump continues to exacerbate. As if to put a fine point on the fact that they would rather plunge the country into depression than accept the magnitude of their failures, White House officials pulled the plug on legislative negotiations today, on the pretense that Trump can provide relief unilaterally.
- Make no mistake: Any unilateral action Trump takes to extend emergency unemployment insurance, cut payroll taxes, or otherwise spend money Congress hasn’t authorized would be inadequate, and almost certainly illegal. For instance: Trump may be able to defer payroll tax collection, but he can’t override employers’ legal obligation to withhold those taxes from worker paychecks, meaning workers would probably get no extra cash in their pockets, and if they did, they’d have to pay it all back to the government eventually. Likewise, the White House has outlined a legally dubious proposal to repurpose $81 billion in unspent funds from the last big coronavirus bill to extend enhanced unemployment benefits. Of course, even if this were legal, it does nothing to address state and local government shortfalls, and by our calculations, $81 billion is less than the trillions of dollars the economy will need to weather the epidemic.
- Let’s not lose sight of the “illegal” part, though! Trump is openly toying with the idea of breaking the law to send voters money he has no legitimate authority over ahead of the election. Here’s the problem with that: If he gets away with it, he will interpret it as permission to take other illegal actions to benefit himself politically ahead of the election, knowing that by the time the courts get around to stopping him, the election will be over and it will be too late.
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So we live in a fledgling dictatorship now, but at least the economy is on the road to recovery, right? Haha, alas that is not correct.
- The economy did “add” 1.8 million jobs in July, but those gains continue to be largely a function of furloughed employees returning to work. Long-term unemployment is an increasingly serious problem. Trump has now presided over six-million net job losses, and the jobs that have returned since the country prematurely relaxed its public-health restrictions have only done so with the help of trillions of dollars in assistance Congress already passed—and which has now expired.
- Rough days would lie ahead absent more stimulus anyhow, but it doesn’t help that the nation remains lousy with plague. The official U.S. coronavirus death toll now exceeds 160,000, and the true count is likely tens of thousands higher. If there’s good news here, it’s that case growth is off its nationwide high, and the surge in deaths from the recent case spike appears to be leveling off. Trump, of course, wants to inflict a third wave of infections on the country by pressuring schools to reopen everywhere, including in communities with continuing outbreaks.
The GOP has clearly abandoned the idea of winning the election by competently containing the coronavirus epidemic, and has thus fallen back on various corrupt and illegal schemes that they hope will allow Trump to pull off a surprise victory. Abandoning stimulus negotiations and disbursing money illegally may be the latest in those schemes, and it’s on us to make sure they fail.
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On this week's Unholier Than Thou: Transgender people are currently fighting for their lives against an administration and a religious right that seems hellbent on denying their existence and equality. For many leaders of the movement, this is irony at its finest, because transgender people were once considered sacred in many pre-colonized societies.
This week, Phil talks to advocate and model Geena Rocero about the gender non-conforming spiritual history of the Philippines to illustrate how trans people were once accepted and revered. Then, we catch up with the activist Raquel Willis about how she harnesses ancestral power in the Movement for Black Trans Lives. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts →
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A former top Saudi intelligence official alleged that crown prince Mohammed bin Salman sent a hit squad to kill him. In a federal lawsuit filed on Thursday, Saad Aljabri said that MBS and his allies pressured him to return to Saudi Arabia from Canada, then dispatched an assassination team just days after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi authorities have allegedly held two of Aljabri’s children hostage since March in a bid to lure him back. The complaint states that Aljabri knew about bin Salman’s corruption, political scheming, and use of mercenaries, and is “a longtime trusted partner of senior U.S. intelligence officials,” all of which made him a target. Aljabri’s claims haven’t been verified, but certainly fall within the realm of plausibility. Anyway, it’s another great day to start investigating what MBS has offered President Trump in exchange for his unquestioning support.
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- A New York judge ruled that E. Jean Carroll, who has accused President Trump of rape, can move forward with her defamation suit against him, citing the Supreme Court decision rejecting Trump’s claims of total immunity. Carroll’s legal team can now seek Trump’s DNA and depositions, although Trump can (and surely will) appeal the decision.
- In another big loss for Trump, a federal appeals court ruled that the House has standing to ask the courts to enforce a subpoena for former White House counsel Don McGahn’s testimony. McGahn can continue challenging the subpoena on other grounds, though, and potentially drag this out until after the election.
- Trump signed an executive order that will effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. if it hasn’t been bought by an American company within 45 days. The order is likely to face legal challenges. Funnily enough, Trump moved to restrict TikTok on the same day Facebook launched Reels, its TikTok competitor on Instagram.
- The last intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic has pretty much disintegrated, losing more than 40 percent of its area in the span of two days. Is that...good?
- The State Department has started spamming random Russians with texts offering $10 million for information on election interference. “Well, Andrei from Vladivostok never texted back. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a clean election.”
- Facebook employees have demanded answers from Mark Zuckerbeg on what the company will do if Trump tries to use the platform to undermine the election results. Zuckerberg has offered no clear response, but the company has fired an engineer who internally pointed out that right-wing pages were receiving special treatment that let them keep posting misinformation.
- Gather ‘round for DNC speaker leaks. Bernie Sanders and John Kasich will reportedly speak on the same night, both Clintons have a slot, and Barack and Michelle Obama will make an appearance, if you can believe it. It’s unclear if AOC will get a speaking slot.
- Joe Biden issued two responses to disingenuous Trump campaign attacks: A clarification of his comments about diversity in Black and Latino communities, and a statement on his faith that included a reminder that Trump used a church and bible for a photo-op, after Trump ranted that Biden will “hurt God, hurt the Bible.”
- Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) tested negative for COVID-19 in a second test on Thursday, hours after testing positive ahead of a meeting with Trump, raising questions about the accuracy of the rapid test the White House uses to screen people who meet with the president.
- Emirates Airlines is offering passengers a free funeral if they contract COVID-19 on a flight and die. Now will you travel to one of the three countries still letting in Americans, you cheap cowards?
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Florida Democrats have fallen well behind their voter registration goals. After disappointing losses in the 2018 midterms, Democrats pledged to register or “re-engage” one million voters by 2020. Those initiatives haven’t hit the mark, and Florida Republicans are closer to closing the registration gap than they’ve been in decades. As of July 20, Democrats led Republicans in the state by just 240,423 people—about 5,000 fewer than at the same point in 2018. We’re in for another close race in Florida, one that will depend entirely on who can turn out more voters. Ahem: votesaveamerica.com/adopt-a-state/
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"Nice White Parents" is a new podcast from Serial Productions, brought to you by The New York Times, about the 60-year relationship between white parents and the public school down the block.
We know American public schools do not guarantee each child an equal education. Two decades of school reform initiatives have not changed that. But when Chana Joffe-Walt, a reporter, looked at inequality in education, she saw that most reforms focused on who schools were failing: Black and brown kids. But what about who the schools are serving? In this five-part series, she turns her attention to what is arguably the most powerful force in our schools: White parents.
Listen and subscribe to “Nice White Parents” from your mobile device: Via Apple Podcasts | Via Spotify | Via Google
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The Gates Foundation has partnered with the Serum Institute of India to ensure that a coronavirus vaccine is distributed quickly to poorer countries, and priced at no more than $3 a dose.
Oprah Winfrey has commissioned 26 billboards calling for justice for Breonna Taylor to be placed around Louisville, KY.
Marquita Bradshaw, an environmental justice advocate, has become the first Black woman to win a major party’s nomination for the Senate in Tennessee.
This is a moving read on the present-day descendants of suffragists, as they reflect on their ancestors' legacies and how they're continuing the work.
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