Stephan: And here we have the daily Republican scum report. Come on Georgia, can we please flush David Perdue back to the anonymity he so richly deserves.
Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue
On Monday, Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) caused outrage over an attack ad that appeared to digitally enlarge the nose of his Jewish opponent, former congressional staffer Jon Ossoff.
“The ad called for donations to Perdue, a Republican, by claiming that ‘Democrats are trying to buy Georgia.’ It uses black-and-white photos of Ossoff and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is also Jewish, that have been Photoshopped to appear as if they were pulled from an old television set with poor reception,” reported Forward. “But the Ossoff image, which was adapted from a 2017 Reuters photo of him, was also changed by having his nose lengthened and widened, even as other parts of his face stayed the same size and proportions, three graphic design experts told the Forward.”
The campaign has pulled the ad and issued an apology, even as it denies any intentional anti-Semitism.
“In the graphic design process handled by an outside vendor, […]
Fred Hiatt, Editorial Page Editor - The Washington Post
Stephan: I wondered whether I was the only person who was watching Trump commit one impeachable offense after another. I find it extraordinary that neither the media, nor Congress seems to want to actually acknowledge the truth of what is going on. We are openly moving into fascism, and we are being astonishingly casual about it.
President Trump’s contempt for the Constitution is deepening at an accelerating pace.
How can I tell?
In a June 28 column, Iupdated the articles of impeachment, imagining as a thought experiment that the Senate had postponed action at the beginning of the year rather than voting to acquit. Based on Trump’s behavior in the intervening five months and what we had learned of his earlier actions, I argued that at least four new articles were warranted.
Now, only four weeks later, there’s enough misbehavior to lengthen the indictment just as much again.
To be clear: I am not suggesting that the House should again impeach the president. It’s up to the voters to render judgment, and we will have our chance soon enough.
But the thought experiment is valuable as a measure of whether Trump was chastened by becoming only the third president in history to be impeached, as some Republican senators assured us he would be — and as a warning of what we might expect if he is returned to office for a second term.
You will recall that Trump was impeached on two counts: abuse of power, for withholding aid and a White House meeting in a corrupt attempt to extort political favors from […]
Stephan: The Republicans have been trying to privatize the Post Office since Reagan was in office. Although most people rarely think of it in this way, it is the branch of government the Founders felt to be so important that it is the one department, along with the Navy, in the Constitution. Initially, Republicans saw the conversion as a money-making operation but now they see it as essential to rigging the election so they can stay in power.
From left, Garrett Schaffel, and Judy Beard, American Postal Workers Union national legislative and political director, carry a Priority Mail box towards the Capitol for a photo-op on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Credit: Bill Carr/ CQ Roll Call/ Getty
Janine Jackson:One congressmember said it would be “a stunning act of sabotage” if the new head of the US Postal Service is allowed to push through major changes. Big Trump donor—surprise—Louis DeJoy issued a series of memos, disclosed to the Washington Post, calling for significant operational changes, including restrictions on overtime that many, including the Postal Workers Union, contend would slow down mail delivery, at the same time as Donald Trump holds up crucial pandemic support for USPS, contingent on it making steep price increases. “Sabotage” starts to sound like quite an apt description.
But what we should know is that this direct attack on the Postal Service, while it may be felt especially acutely during a pandemic and an election in which the most reasonable response is voting by mail, is absolutely nothing new, only the latest iteration of a decades-long assault on […]
Stephan: This story, like the failure to have a national plan to deal with the pandemic, or create proper planning for school openings, and on and on, all results from one thing. America has become a society whose only social priority is profit. Everything is a calculation on profit. And none of this is going to get fixed properly until we decide to make fostering wellbeing our first priority. The problem is I am no longer sure we are capable as a people of achieving this.
Students at Rutgers University’s commencement in 2016. Student loan benefits are set to expire in September. Credit: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty
The federal government’s emergency relief for more than 40 million student loan borrowers is set to expire at the end of September, amid sky-high levels of unemployment and an overall economy still stifled by rising coronavirus cases.
The looming end of the benefits also comes with a clear political dilemma in an election year: Unless Congress or the Trump administration intervenes, the Education Department will demand monthly loan payments from tens of millions of borrowers in October, just before they head to the polls. The department is already preparing to send warnings to borrowers, starting Aug. 15, about the expiration of their benefits, according to people familiar with the plan.
“People have now priced into their family finances not having to make a student loan payment during this crisis,” said Mike Pierce, who worked on student loan policy at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration. “Restarting these payments six weeks before the election seems […]
Stephan: What I don't get is how anyone can vote for Republicans like Jim Jordan, Louie Gohmert, or Ted Cruz. These men are such scum, how can the voters who elect them not see this? This trend amongst White Republicans of electing men and women who are demonstrable inappropriate to hold the offices to which they have been elected is one of the most dangerous in the country.
Margaret Brennan and Ted Cruz
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday blasted waiters, waitresses and bus boys who he said don’t deserve an additional $600 per week for being unemployed during the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview on CBS, Cruz told host Margaret Brennan that restaurant owners are at a disadvantage because their staff doesn’t want to work while the pandemic is ongoing.
“We need to do significantly more to fight the disease,” Cruz opined. “At the same time, we have an absolute economic catastrophe. We have over 44 million Americans [who] have lost their job and we have got to get America back to work.”
According to Cruz, Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA) are “shoveling cash at the problem.”
“Do you object to providing any kind or any amount of federal boost to unemployment?” Brennan wondered. “Because not everyone is choosing to be out of work.”
“The policy the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi are pushing adds an additional $600 a week,” Cruz complained. “The problem is, for 68% of people receiving it right now, they are being paid more […]
