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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Stephan: We have now reached the stage with Trump where secret unidentified troops in combat gear are capturing civilians on the street, stuffing them into unmarked cars, and driving them off to detain them in non-law enforcement buildings without ever saying what they are charged with. If this were happening in another country the media and the politicians would all be talking about the depredations of a fascist Gestapo. And that's what it is, only it is happening in Portland, Oregon, USA. Notice that the Republicans in Congress are as quiet as church mice. The reality that seems to be hard for Americans to accept, is that there are always large numbers of people in fascist states only too happy to serve their Der Fuhrer, whether he has a little mustache or orange makeup and bleached hair.
I consider this Oregon episode a trial run by Trump and his orcs; there will be more of this if they can get away with it, That's just how it started in Germany, Italy, Chile and a long list of other once fascist nations.
Federal officers pulled a protester into the Federal Courthouse on July 10 as protesters gathered in downtown Portland, Ore. Credit: Dave Killen/The Oregonian/Associated Press
PORTLAND, OREGON — Federal agents dressed in camouflage and tactical gear have taken to the streets of Portland in unmarked vans, seizing and detaining protesters and unleashing tear gas in what Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon has called “a blatant abuse of power.”
Since their arrival with the goal of tamping down persistent unrest, federal officers have shot one protester in the head with an apparent impact munition, leaving the man with severe head injuries and producing the image of blood dripping on Portland’s streets.
One of the people detained, Mark Pettibone, said in an interview that an unmarked vehicle stopped right in front of him around 2 a.m. on Wednesday and four people in camouflage jumped out. Given the lack of markings or identification, he had no idea who they were.
“One of the officers said, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK,’ and just grabbed me and threw me into the van. Another officer pulled my beanie down, so […]
Stephan: The racism of Trump's public comments is so blatant it reminds me of George Wallace, and his political calculation brings back Nixon's Southern Strategy. The energy of this trend comes from the conscious and unconsciousness awareness that racially the U.S. is becoming a majority-minority nation. I actually think this will be one of the easier transitions. I predict that race will become an increasingly irrelevant issue, as older Whites die, and the demographics change. You can already see it happening in cable series, and in advertising.
Trump and Pence in the White House Credit: The White House
Anne Applebaum’s exploration of Laura Ingraham begins at a January 1995 cocktail party at David Brock’s home where an A-List of still-familiar conservatives convened to celebrate the swearing in of Newt Gingrich’s new Republican majority in the House of Representatives. This gives Appelbaum the opportunity to explore two different career trajectories. On one side are people like the host Brock, Bill Kristol, David Frum, John Podhoretz, and herself who have since broken with the Republican Party over it’s increasing xenophobia, racism and radicalism. On the other side are folks like Roger Kimball, Dinesh D’Souza, and Ingraham who have embraced and led these changes.
I don’t find Ingraham particularly interesting, but Applebaum is probably correct when she identifies a dread kind of pessimism about the future of the country as the primary explanation for her transformation from a happy Reaganite warrior into a Buchananite Know-Nothing. And that got me thinking a bit about how Republicans have responded to losing an increasing share of the minority vote.
Stephan: Regular readers will know that SR has been following this trend, the correlation between immigration and medical staffing, both physicians and nurses. This situation arises because of Trump's incompetence and willful ignorance of this relationship.
As hospitals across the United States brace for a difficult six months — with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic still raging and concerns about a second wave in the fall — some are acutely short-staffed because of an ill-timed change to immigration policy and its inconsistent implementation.
A proclamation issued by President Donald Trump on June 22, barring the entry of most immigrants on work visas, came right as hospitals were expecting a new class of medical residents. Hundreds of young doctors were unable to start their residencies on time.
Trump’s order included the H1-B visa for highly skilled workers, which is used by some practicing doctors abroad who get U.S. residency slots. The proclamation stated that doctors “involved with the provision of medical care to individuals who have contracted COVID-19 and are currently hospitalized” should be exempt from the ban, but it delegated the issuing of guidance to the departments of State and Homeland Security. That guidance has been slow and inconsistent.
Many consulates started approving doctors’ visas on Thursday, after ProPublica asked the State Department […]
Stephan: I agree with this exegetic essay. I think the media are doing a very poor and superficial job of covering the trends that are going on.
Donald Trump isn’t running anything remotely like a normal presidential campaign. He’s not appealing to a wide swath of the electorate. He’s not trying to win over the middle. He’s not even trying to expand his base. He’s just further instigating his core supporters with racist appeals, conspiracy theories, scare stories and culture-war rhetoric. He’s narrowcasting to bubbles of ignorance and grievance and authoritarian submissiveness.
He doesn’t really have much choice. Any informed, non-blindered analysis of his leadership during the pandemic leads inescapably to the conclusion that he is dangerously incompetent. His fury over the surging national protests against racism, inequality and police brutality has durably positioned him on the wrong side of history.
Those who continue to support him at this point are truly Trump dead-enders. There is no way they constitute anywhere near a majority of Americans.
Covering this campaign with the hoary campaign-reporting algorithms made for typical elections would be a terrible mistake. Those algorithms were constructed to cover elections in which there was a rational choice between two reasonably proportional and plausible candidates.
And even under those conditions, they failed miserably, […]
Stephan: One of the most important things the Covid-19 pandemic has shown everyone willing to look at facts is that the illness profit system, what passes for healthcare in the United States, has been an abject failure. And nothing about this failure is getting better. This report is the factual account of just one horrifying aspect of this tragedy. And do I need to tell you that Trump and his administration, and Moscow Mitch's Republican Senate couldn't care less? Probably not.
Nearly half of all Americans receive their health insurance through their employer. And amid coronavirus layoffs, some states have seen a massive uptick in the number of uninsured adults.
According to a report by Families USA, a non-profit public health organization, nine states and the District of Columbia have more than a 30% increase in the number of uninsured from February to May 2020, compared to 2018. Overall, the percentage increase of uninsured in the U.S. is at 21%, with 5.3 million people losing health care coverage between February and May.
Massachusetts saw a 93% increase in the number of uninsured adults compared to 2018. Next highest was Hawaii at 72%. The state relies heavily on tourism, an industry that’s been devastated by the pandemic due to travel restrictions put in place across the world.
Stephan: Fox is the most widely watched news network in the United States. That statement is bizarre but true. It is also a deliberate and explicit disinformation operation. You cannot know whether any particular "fact" presented on Fox is reliable and accurate. This is bad when it comes to political opinion, but it is far worse when it comes to information that can kill you. As a result, in my opinion, Fox is an active participant, and co-conspirator along with Trump, his administration, and Republican state governors, in the perpetration of mass murder.
Fox News hit viewers with an “avalanche of misinformation” in its weekday coverage of the coronavirus crisis from July 6 through 10, according to a national media watchdog group that documented at least 253 instances of the network’s coverage undermining science, politicizing the pandemic, emphasizing economic issues, and promoting other lies or problematic positions in those five days alone.
Media Matters for America (MMFA) noted in a statement that its new analysis released Thursday follows Yahoo News reporting from earlier this month which claims that Fox News‘ messaging on Covid-19 was undergoing a “remarkable turn” from its earlier coverage to “acknowledge … that the coronavirus is a far graver threat.”
In contrast with the kind of shift reported by Yahoo, MMFA revealed that:
Nearly half of Fox‘s coronavirus misinformation was about the science of coronavirus and health recommendations from experts (115 instances).
Fox politicized recommended public health measures, such as face masks usage and business closures, 63 times.
Fox emphasized the economy and reopening schools 46 times despite public health concerns.
Fox’s “The Ingraham Angle” was responsible for a quarter of all coronavirus misinformation on the network.
Fox‘s “straight news” shows accounted for more than one-third of all coronavirus misinformation.
“Fox host Laura Ingraham and her prime-time show ‘The Ingraham Angle’ traded in coronavirus […]
Stephan: Here is some excellent news. However, it is accompanied by some bad news. A nation that valued fostering wellbeing, would be developing programs to help the communities dependent on the coal industry to make the transition into a new community, family, and individual economy. But, of course, in today's United States, that's not happening, so for those communities, it is going to be a very difficult time.
Credit: Oil Price
Nearly all of the coal produced in the United States goes for electricity generation, but its share has been eroded in recent years by growing natural gas-powered generation and rising share of renewable energy generation.
Coal is one of the main sources of energy in the United States, accounting for 14 percent of domestic primary energy production in 2019, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday.
Most of the coal produced in the U.S. is used to power coal-fired power plants, while the industrial sector and the commercial sector account for small shares of coal consumption, the EIA said.
According to EIA data, U.S. coal production and consumption have been on a decline since peaking in 2008 and 2007, respectively. Last year, for example, U.S. coal production hit its lowest level since 1978, while coal consumption dropped to the lowest since 1975.
The rise of renewables and declining coal electricity generation resulted in energy consumption from renewables in the United States surpassing in 2019 coal consumption for the first time since 1885, the EIA said last month.
Stephan: Here is what I consider to be a definitive reason to vote for Joe Biden in November. He has changed his views substantially, largely I think as a result of interacting with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and has come out explicitly promising to take climate change seriously and to develop remediation policies to help prepare us for what is coming. That is the best political news I have heard.
Joe Biden Credit: Patrick Semansky / Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden unveiled a proposal for rebuilding the economy Tuesday that focuses heavily on restoring American leadership in the fight against global warming, directing government recovery efforts toward expanding clean energy and rapidly reversing the Trump administration’s abandonment of climate efforts.
In a speech in Wilmington, Del., the former vice president called for a massive green jobs and environmental justice program that would invest $2 trillion in his first term on building new renewable energy infrastructure.
“Climate change is a challenge that’s going to define our American future,” Biden said. “I know meeting the challenge will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to jolt new life into our economy, strengthen our global leadership, protect our planet … We’re not just going to tinker around the edges. We’re going to make historic investments that will seize the opportunity to meet this moment in history.”
The spending would go toward expansion of high-speed rail, building electric cars and greatly increasing the use of wind, solar and other renewable technologies to generate power, among other […]
