Sunday School 7/19/20

Today, Fox News Sunday aired an exclusive interview with the president, hosted by Chris Wallace.

I was going to just print the entire transcript, but it's much too long. Instead, here are some highlights, starting with coronavirus issues.

On the expanding virus hotspots being worse than burning embers, instead it's a firestorm:

No, no. But I don't say - I say flames, we'll put out the flames. And we'll put out in some cases just burning embers. We also have burning embers. We have embers and we do have flames. Florida became more flame-like but it's - it's going to be under control. And, you know, it's not just this country, it's many countries. We don't talk about it in the news. They don't talk about Mexico and Brazil and still parts of Europe, which actually got hit sooner than us, so it's a little ahead of us in that sense. But you take a look, why don't they talk about Mexico? Which is not helping us. And all I can say is thank God I built most of the wall, because if I didn't have the wall up, we would have a much bigger problem with Mexico.

On whether Trump takes responsibility for not having a national plan for the various aspects of the virus:

Look, I take responsibility always for everything because it's ultimately my job too. I have to get everybody in line. Some governors have done well, some governors have done poorly. They're supposed to have supplies they didn't have. I supplied everybody. Now we have somewhat of a surge in certain areas and other areas we're doing great. But we have a surge in certain areas. But you don't hear people complaining about ventilators. We've got all the ventilators we can use; we're supplying them to other countries. 

On the increase in testing (up 37%) and cases (up 194%) and positivity:

Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day. They have the sniffles and we put it down as a test. Many of them - don't forget, I guess it's like 99.7%, people are going to get better and many cases, they're going to get better very quickly.  If we go out and we look and then on the news - look if you go back to the news, all of your - even your wonderful competitors, you'll see cases are up. Well, cases are up - many of those cases shouldn't even be cases. Cases are up because we have the best testing in the world and we have the most testing. No country has ever done what we've done in terms of testing. We are the envy of the world. They call and say the most incredible job anybody's done is our job on testing, because we're going to very shortly be up to 50 million tests. You look at other countries, they don't even do tests. They do tests if somebody walks into the hospital, they're sick, they're really sick, they test them then or they'll test them in a doctor's office. But they don't go around have massive areas of testing we do. And I'm glad we do, but it really skews the numbers.

On the possibility that other countries don't have the virus as bad as we do:

It's possible that they don't test, that's what's possible. We find cases and many of these cases heal automatically. We're finding - in a way, we're creating trouble. Certainly, we are creating trouble for the fake news to come along and say, "Oh, we have more cases." Look, we did something that nobody's ever done. Not only the ventilators, where were supplying them all over the world. We did a testing program the likes of which nobody's ever done before.

On whether he would consider a national mask mandate:

No, I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don't believe in that. No, and I don't agree with the statement that if everybody wear a mask everything disappears. Hey, Dr. Fauci said don't wear a mask. Our Surgeon General - terrific guy - said don't wear a mask. Everybody who is saying don't wear a mask - all of sudden everybody's got to wear a mask, and as you know masks cause problems, too. With that being said, I'm a believer in masks. I think masks are good. But I leave it up to the governors. Many of the governors are changing. They're more mask into - they like the concept of masks, but some of them don't agree.  I do say this - schools have to open. Young people have to go to school, and there's problems when you don't go to school, too. And there's going to be a funding problem because we're not going to fund - when they don't open their schools. We're not going to fund them. We're not going to give them money if they're not going to school, if they don't open.

Moving on to whether he thinks the Confederate flag is offensive:

It depends on who you're talking about, when you're talking about. When people proudly have their Confederate flags, they're not talking about racism. They love their flag, it represents the South, they like the South. People right now like the South. I'd say it's freedom of many things, but it's freedom of speech.

And, finally for today, on whether he'll veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds the country's military operations, if it contains language removing the names of Confederate heroes from military bases.

Because I think that Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, all of these forts that have been named that way for a long time, decades and decades - excuse me, excuse me. I don't care what the military says. I do - I'm supposed to make the decision. Fort Bragg is a big deal. We won two World Wars, nobody even knows General Bragg. We won two World Wars. Go to that community where Fort Bragg is, in a great state, I love that state, go to the community, say how do you like the idea of renaming Fort Bragg, and then what are we going to name it?  We're going to name it after the Reverend Al Sharpton? What are you going to name it Chris, tell me what you're going to name it?

So, there's a whole thing here. We won two World Wars, two World Wars, beautiful World Wars that were vicious and horrible, and we won them out of Fort Bragg, we won them out of all of these forts and now they want to throw those names away. And no, I'm against that, and you know what, most other people are. And I even - I don't believe in polls because I see the fakest polls I've ever seen, but that poll is a 64 percent thing, which actually surprised me. We won World Wars out of these military bases. No, I'm not going to go changing them, I'm not going to go changing them.

One more time, is he going to veto the NDAA over this?

I might. Yes, I might.

We'll have more in tomorrow's Extra Credit. Meanwhile, stay safe, wear your mask (even without a national mandate), and I'll see you around the virtual campus.

My Middle-aged White Lady Perspective: Making it Worse, Not Better

A friend shared a post today about a young police officer named Natalie Corona, who served on the Davis, CA force.

The daughter of a retired sheriff, Officer Corona had been on the force only a few months when she was senselessly shot and killed in January 2019 after she responded to a traffic accident. The man who killed her - and shot at other first responders as well - eventually committed suicide a few hour later, after a standoff with police. The note he left made it clear he had mental health issues.

The shooting cut short 22-year -old woman's life. It was her family's worst nightmare, her community's collective tragedy, and indicative of what police officers face every time they put on their uniforms. And my friend who posted the article? Her son is only a few years older than Corona was when she died, and he's a police officer in North Carolina. Not surprisingly, this hits very close to home for her.

One of the things that stood out to me, when I looked up this case after seeing my friend's post, was the uproar caused by photos of Corona, which she had shared on social media in 2016, with these comments:

I would like this photograph to serve as my gratitude for all those law enforcement men and women who have served, who are currently serving, and those who have died in the line of duty protecting our liberties in this great country.  

#LawEnforcement #Blueline #Thankyou #Lausphotography.

Rick Lau photos/from Fox KTVU

What's interesting about this is not so much the photo itself, but the response from the University of California, Davis campus, which was put under 'shelter-in-place' orders the night of Corona's murder when the suspect was on the loose, and during the standoff.

From the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission (ECAC), part of the student government:

On January 10, 2019, the University and the city were shut down in response to a shooting in downtown Davis.

First and foremost, we would like to send our deepest condolences to the police officer's family.  

Those opening sentences were not included in the article, nor was a paragraph offering services to those who may have been 'triggered' by the events of that night and by the photos of Corona and that flag, which the post said has been popularized by the #BlueLivesMatter movement.  

The paragraph below, however, did make into the article linked above.

Flashing lights, sirens, and increased police presence can be triggering to many Black and Brown people. In addition, there has been the circulation of an image of the police officer with the Blue Lives Matter flag. We would like to directly address that this flag represents an attempt by law enforcement to undermine the Black Lives Matter movement. 'Blue Lives Matter' was...an effort to evade accountability and critical awareness of police treatment of communities of color.

From the Associated Students, University of California, Davis student body president Michael Gofman, in response to the post by the ECAC:

... the thin blue line flag in question... is used by the law enforcement community as a memorial symbol to honor the fallen.

Gofman quoted a statement by the flag's maker, Thin Blue Line USA, which said, "We reject, in the strongest possible terms, any association of our flag with racism, hatred, and bigotry. To use it in such a way tarnishes what it and our nation believe in. The thin blue line flag stands for the sacrifice law enforcement officers of this nation make each day. We ask our nation to hold faith with those that defend the thin blue line." And, he continued, 

(It's) easy to sit on the third floor of the Memorial Union when there are at least 100 brave men and women in blue between you and the shooter. It is easy to argue hypotheticals, politics, and ideology when you’re in safety. I am ashamed that some of these same people, protected by the very officers that they are condemning, have the audacity to politicize the loss of a young officer. Her only crime was being a police officer.

After Gofman's post, the ECAC deleted its post. The article also noted that the ECAC had been "named UC Davis’ commission of the year in 2018. The ECAC previously boycotted Gofman’s annual State of the Association address, calling him “racist,” “divisive” and “not trustworthy,” UC Davis student newspaper The California Aggie reported.

And UC Davis, officially? 

Now is the time to put aside our differences and focus on the life lost and come together. There will be time afterward to reflect on how we recover from this horrific incident. Officer Corona remains foremost in our minds as someone who paid the ultimate price for protecting and serving our community.

Isn't that correct? Shouldn't that have been the goal, at that moment? To come together, even briefly?

I don't take issue with the right of the people who posted each of these posts to do so. I don't have to agree with any of them, either - whether from a distance, or from campus if that was my home. I don't necessarily agree with the ECAC taking down their post, but that was their choice. 

But, from my middle-aged white lady perspective, why use an innocent, more-than-two-year-old social media post to attack the law enforcement profession at the very time the person who posted it, now a 22-year-old officer, was just killed in the line of duty? Whatever sense does that make? It's outrageous, and it makes things worse, not better.

Officer Corona did nothing wrong. She was dispatched to a traffic accident, and was killed by a white man with mental problems. That has nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter movement. She was raised the daughter of a police officer; she always wanted to be a police officer. That has nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter movement, either.

I honestly share the outrage, expressed by my friend, a policeman's mom, over Corona's senseless death, and of the deaths of all the other officers killed in the line of duty. I hope that her son stays safe, on duty and off, and that other police officers do as well.

I honestly share the outrage, expressed by my friends - people of color and otherwise - over the senseless deaths of those who have been killed by police officers. I hope my friends' children, family members, and friends stay safe, and aren't caught up in what we know happens to people of color, particularly black men, in our country.

I just as honestly wish it was socially acceptable to be equally outraged by both circumstances - because honestly, I often feel like it's not.

And that, to me, is also outrageous, and makes things worse, not better.

In Case You Missed it (v45)

Got your cuppa? It's time for last week in review.

Here's how I opened my Sunday School post:

What's better than spending time in the Sunday School classrooms with the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos? 

In the draft I listed several things, including eating rare liver with a succotash garnish, but I thought that might turn people off, so I edited that part out. Would that I could have edited out DeVos herself. She's not good at interviews, really - she can only repeat, over and over and over, her talking points - at least until she gets to the voucher stuff - she can probably talk for hours on that. 

Anyway,  in her discussion with Dana Bash on CNN's SOTU, here's how we're going to keep kids from spreading the virus, which even the CDC admits can happen:

So, it really is a matter of paying attention to good hygiene, following the guidelines around making sure we're washing hands, wearing masks when appropriate, staying apart at a bit of a distance socially, and doing the things that are common sense approaches to ensuring that kids can go back to the classroom and can go back to learning.

(We have a president who can't even commit to wearing a mask but we're gonna have first graders do that?)

To counter the DeVos interviews, I offered up some Extra Credit from others - school officials, politicians, and medical experts - on what could or should happen. One of those experts was Dr. Tom Inglesby from Johns Hopkins, who talked with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. Among other things, he shared his thoughts on cutting funding for schools that don't fully reopen as five-days-a-week in-person learning.

Yeah, no.

I think issuing an ultimatum for schools opening is the wrong approach. I think guiding schools and helping schools with financial support and encouraging schools to follow CDC guidance and state health department guidance is the right way to go. I think our incentives are all aligned in the sense that everyone really does want schools to open safely, but mandating it under a very tight timeline such as what happens in Florida this week where they're required to open schools five days a week in 30 days, before the state has really even had a chance to review school plans, seems really like the wrong approach to me.

But what does he know, right?

Tuesday was a blur of unfulfilled good intentions, and then it was time for Wondering on Wednesday. There was quite a mix of stuff in the post, ranging from political primaries to political attacks on the good Dr. Fauci, and  the feds rebooting executions, and finally, we learned that the Rose Bowl Parade has been canceled.

Here's an excerpt from a statement making the announcement.

While the parade itself is more than five months from now, the preparation for such a large event typically begins in February. “In addition to the advance planning required by our band and equestrian units, the construction of our floats takes many months and typically requires thousands of volunteers to gather in ways that aren’t in compliance with safety recommendations and won’t be safe in the coming months,” said David Eads, Executive Director/CEO. “While we are extremely disappointed that we are unable to host the parade, we believe that not doing so will prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as protect the legacy of the Rose Parade for generations to come.”

I had to scratch my head on that one, certainly, given the timing vis a vis all of the back-to-school conversations.

I was inspired to reboot the Email of the Week series, which highlighted Dem presidential candidate emails. It's been a while, but when the president decided to use the Rose Garden for a political rally, full of lies, I felt I didn't have much of a choice.

... the "these newfangled lightbulbs make me look orange" guy suggested that Joe Biden would eliminate windows from buildings if he gets elected. Take a look.

Mandate net-zero carbon emissions for homes, offices, and all new buildings by 2030.  That basically means no windows, no nothing.  It’s very hard to do.  I tell people when they want to go into some of these buildings, “How are your eyes?  Because they won’t be good in five years.  And I hope you don’t mind cold office space in the winter and warm office space in the summer, because your air conditioning is not the same as the good old days.”

OK, so we know that's ridiculous, right? I mean, everyone knows that there will still be windows, and people will be able to see, just as we can see that the president is a particularly unnatural shade of orange whether he's inside under LED, fluorescent or incandescent bulbs, outside in the Rose Garden, or in the White House bunker. He is orange, and he's bound to be lying, of that we can be sure.

When Friday rolled around, there was more than enough stuff for the TGIF post, way more than I could fit. Highlights? A couple of mayors responded to stupidity. One threw policy ideas,  the other simply threw shade. I liked both of the responses, even though the second one wasn't really necessary.

There was also this.

Staying in the south, let's go to Kentucky, where 87 protesters were arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanors - and a felony for sitting on the lawn at the Attorney General's house, wearing matching masks and t-shirts, chanting "Breonna Taylor, say her name!" and refusing to leave when asked. According to a police spokesman,  in addition to the misdemeanor charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct,

Due to their refusal to leave the property and their attempts to influence the decision of the Attorney General with their actions, each person was charged with Intimidating a Participant in a Legal Process.

That's right: intimidating a participant (the Attorney General) by trying to influence him into making a decision (about the murder of Breonna Taylor).  What's also in the post are references to two other protests, one about the 2nd Amendment, one about COVID, where no one was charged, with anything - including beating on the windows of the governor's mansion or hanging the governor in effigy.  Apparently those acts are less threatening than a bunch of people sitting on the lawn...

So, that's it - your full and veritable pastiche for last week. I'll be back later with Sunday School.

TGIF 7/17/20

Yay - it's Friday, time to build the good week/bad week list.

Let's start with Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp is suing at least one mayor, and threatening to sue others, I guess, for implementing mask orders.

From the article linked above,

Mayors in Atlanta and other Georgia cities deepened their defiance of Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday, saying their requirements for people to wear face coverings will remain in place, even after the Republican governor explicitly forbade cities and counties from mandating masks... Officials in at least 15 Georgia cities and counties had ordered masks during the coronavirus pandemic, and many were angry at Kemp for swatting down their efforts. 

Kemp's position? Local governments can't make rules that are either more or less restrictive than those of the state, even when the order applies to local property, such as Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport. According to the article, Kemp along "leads the State of Georgia in its fight against the worldwide novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic." A fight in which, it would seem, he has laid down his arms and waived his white flag high.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has said

A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing. If being sued by the state is what it takes to save lives in Atlanta, then we will see them in court.

Stay tuned on this one.

Staying in the south, let's go to Kentucky, where 87 protesters were arrested and charged with multiple misdemeanors - and a felony for sitting on the lawn at the Attorney General's house, wearing matching masks and t-shirts, chanting "Breonna Taylor, say her name!" and refusing to leave when asked. According to a police spokesman,  in addition to the misdemeanor charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct,

Due to their refusal to leave the property and their attempts to influence the decision of the Attorney General with their actions, each person was charged with Intimidating a Participant in a Legal Process.

Typically, intimidation charge arises when someone is trying to intimidate a judge, victim or witness via a threat of some kind - the stuff we see on TV cop shows - not to trying to 'influence' a politician by peacefully protesting.  And it's interesting to compare the reaction of police to this protest and the one in Frankfort, the state capitol, a few weeks back, where

Carrying American and Confederate flags, around 1,000 demonstrators gathered at the rally in Frankfort, where they denounced Gov. Andy Beshear's "arbitrary" and "unconstitutional" response to the coronavirus pandemic. Speakers at the event — including four state representatives and one state senator, all Republicans — criticized the governor for hurting workers and businesses by refusing to immediately reopen the economy.

Another stark difference with this non-influential protest?"Several protesters wore military-style gear and carried guns... and referred to the governor as "Adolf Beshear."

At yet another protest, a man hung the governor in effigy, which in pretty much any circumstance could be considered a threat or an act of intimidation. He did lose his job, but no charges were filed. On the same day, several protesters went to the governor's mansion, banged on the window and told him to come outside. There, too, it doesn't seem that charges were filed - but a security fence is being built around the mansion, to protect the current and future occupants from those seeking to influence the residents.

And people wonder why other people are upset?

In a lighter vein, if that's the appropriate term to use, Kayleigh McEnany, the president's press secretary, attacked Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 

McEnany brought up Lightfoot twice in a recent briefing: first, when she was asked if the president put fighting COVID-19 as his "biggest public priority." McEnany said yeah, he was focusing on that, and other things, "namely, Democrat cities not controlling their streets; namely, the mayor of Chicago — people dying in her — in her — on the streets of her city every weekend. And the President sent her a letter saying, “You must secure your city.”

The second time? Someone asked about police brutality and Trump's CBS interview comments, wondering how he can fix the problem if he doesn't acknowledge it.

I’ve listed for you the names of these kids who have died across this country. It is unacceptable, and under this President, he’ll take action. And the derelict mayor of Chicago should step up and ask for federal help because she’s doing a very poor job at securing her streets.

In response, here's the mayor's tweet. 

And finally, have you heard about the GOP's Rapid Response dude? His name is Steve Guest, and it seems he spends his time trying to attack Dems on Twitter, and getting royally mocked for his efforts.

First, there was his attack on a young Senator Biden, sitting at a Redskins game holding his two young boys in his arms - clearly a loving, doting dad.  Needless to say, the contrast between Biden and Trump in that regard is, well, stark. And the response was swift in response to the now deleted tweet.

More recently, Guest took aim at Senator Elizabeth Warren - not for her DNA challenges, but because she jokingly said that Bailey, her dog, was going to vote for Biden in November.

And everyone believed her, right? I mean, clearly, having your dog vote is a brilliant way to help cheat Donald Trump out of being re-elected, right?

And by everyone, of course, I mean Steve Guest, the Rapid Response guy. Who fired off a tweet calling out the senator for joking about voter fraud, which "is no laughing matter." And he's right.

Voter fraud is no laughing matter. McEnany has voted by mail from her parent's address for years, although she doesn't live there. Vice President Mike Pence voted by mail from the Governor's mansion in Indiana, where we know he doesn't live - and I suspect someone else does live there. And even the president himself tried to use the White House address as his permanent address to vote in Florida. On his second attempt, he used the Mar-a-Lago address, which is a business - not a private residence - which would also be voter fraud.

Anyway, while we're not laughing about Bailey Warren voting, maybe we could get some new business cards made up? You know: Steve Guest, @GOP Vapid Response?

TGIF, everyone.

Email of the Week (v20)

I know, I know -- it's been a while since I've done a post in our Email of the Week series.  Now that there's only Papa Joe still in the running, and of course the majority of the emails are simply (or complicatedly) requests for money, I thought I'd take a look.  

And then, at the Rose Garden political rally the other day, the "these newfangled lightbulbs make me look orange" guy suggested that Joe Biden would eliminate windows from buildings if he gets elected. Take a look.

Mandate net-zero carbon emissions for homes, offices, and all new buildings by 2030.  That basically means no windows, no nothing.  It’s very hard to do.  I tell people when they want to go into some of these buildings, “How are your eyes?  Because they won’t be good in five years.  And I hope you don’t mind cold office space in the winter and warm office space in the summer, because your air conditioning is not the same as the good old days.”

Now, I'm pretty sure without even having to read the Biden/Democratic plan on clean energy that windows will still be allowed. But I looked, just in case you needed any reassurance, and yep - there it is: 

For families, Biden’s plan will include direct cash rebates and low-cost financing to upgrade and electrify home appliances, install more efficient windows, and cut residential energy bills. Biden will also significantly expand weatherization efforts, reaching over 2 million homes within 4 years, including slashing the disproportionately high energy burden for low-income rural households and rural communities of color. 

Anyway - as I was going through my emails from the Biden campaign, I found this one that immediately moved to the top of the heap, given its relevance to Trump's comments, and so it's the winner of the coveted email of the week award.

I said it last week, and I’ll say it again: in the face of today’s economic crisis, it won’t be enough to build back to the way things were before COVID-19. We have to build back better.

That’s why today I’m announcing my plan to create millions of infrastructure and clean energy jobs to build a resilient and sustainable infrastructure now -- and deliver an equitable clean energy future.

My new plan will create high-paying jobs that provide a choice to join a union. These will be jobs that improve air quality for our children, increase the comfort of our homes, and make our businesses more competitive. We’ll make sure the communities who have suffered the most from pollution are first to benefit. And throughout every aspect of my plan, I’ll prioritize addressing historic environmental injustice. I’ll explain more in a moment, but first I have to ask:

Sue, as we take steps to create millions of infrastructure and clean energy jobs, one thing I know is I’ll need input from folks like you to make my plan a reality. Will you take a quick survey and commit to meaningful action today?

TAKE THE SURVEY

Here’s how we’ll make historic investments -- in just my first term -- to create millions of good, union jobs, build a modern and sustainable infrastructure, and set us on an accelerated and irreversible course to meet the ambitious climate progress that science demands:

· Building and upgrading a cleaner, safer modern infrastructure. We’ll build and improve smart roads, water systems, municipal transit networks, schools, airports, rail, ferries, and universal broadband access for all Americans, whether they live in rural or urban areas of America.

· Positioning the American Auto Industry to Win the 21st Century. Eleven years ago, Barack and I helped save the auto industry. Trump has overseen a manufacturing recession and has allowed China to race ahead in the competition to lead the auto industry of the future. I’ll reverse this trend, make the United States a global electric vehicle leader, and create 1 million new jobs in and relating to the American auto industry.

· Constructing homes and public housing units and upgrading buildings to be more energy efficient. These retrofits won’t just create jobs, they will make the places we live and work healthier and reduce electricity bills for families and businesses. I’ll ensure these homes are energy efficient from the start -- saving the families who live there $500 per year. And, these retrofits will create at least 1 million construction, engineering, and manufacturing jobs.

· Move ambitiously to generate clean, American-made electricity to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. This will enable us to meet the existential threat of climate change while creating millions of jobs with a choice to join a union.

We can get all this done, Sue. And we can do it fast. But we can only do it together.

I need your help to send a clear message that we reject Donald Trump’s failed leadership and that we’re ready to lead the world in clean job creation.

Will you take a quick supporter survey and help me get the word out? I need you to help me by taking meaningful action today:

TAKE THE SURVEY

Thank you,
Joe Biden

Wondering on Wednesday (v216)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

I don't have a theme for tonight, so let's just meander, shall we?

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III will not be headed back to the United States Senate, having lost his primary to former football coach Tommy Tuberville. And he lost in spectacular fashion, getting not even 40% of the vote.  One could be forgiven for wondering whether Sessions might have thought about recusing himself from this race...

Peter Navarro, the president's Director of Trade and Manufacturing policy, might find himself manufacturing some sort of public mea culpa he can trade for a private pat on the back from his boss. Navarro, almost certainly doing his level best to do whatever he needs to for the team, wrote a nastygram whining about Dr. Anthony Fauci, and that got him in hot water with some folks. 

Even the president said Navarro was speaking for himself and shouldn't have written it, but I can't help wondering if Trump didn't let out a little squeal of glee when he heard about it.  Unless, of course, Navarro (a master of military language) was only following an actual directive of his commander-in-chief...

We had our first federal execution since 2003 this week, even though relatives of the three victims in the case had petitioned to not have the execution during the coronavirus pandemic, because they did not feel safe travelling to witness the execution. AG Snitty Snitty Bill Barr had said that it was the duty of the DOJ to carry out the death penalty sentences, in part to give closure to the families of victims and people in the communities where the capital crimes were committed. 

What's interesting, though, is that the family members did not want to see Daniel Lee executed; rather, they wanted to see him spend his life in prison, the same sentence given to the other person convicted in the crimes. So, I wonder: would there have been such a push to execute him, outside the presence of the victims' families, had they been supportive of the execution?  

And finally, we learned today that the 2012 Rose Bowl Parade has been cancelled because of the coronavirus.  Here's an excerpt from a statement making the announcement.

While the parade itself is more than five months from now, the preparation for such a large event typically begins in February. “In addition to the advance planning required by our band and equestrian units, the construction of our floats takes many months and typically requires thousands of volunteers to gather in ways that aren’t in compliance with safety recommendations and won’t be safe in the coming months,” said David Eads, Executive Director/CEO. “While we are extremely disappointed that we are unable to host the parade, we believe that not doing so will prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as protect the legacy of the Rose Parade for generations to come.”

Now, what's got me wondering here?  Simply this: if it's not safe for adults to build floats and decorate them with flowers and other materials, how can it possibly be safe to send children to school?

Sunday School Extra Credit 7/12/20

I'm still exhausted from the Sunday School two-fer with Betsy DeVos, but I'm suiting up and going back in for this week's Extra Credit.

To balance things out, I'm focusing on other folks who were in the classrooms yesterday who also had something to say about getting kids back into learning mode.

First up? Adm. Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS, who was in the This Week classroom with George Stephanopoulos, who asked first if Giroir agreed with the president that the CDC guidelines on reopening schools are too tough and too expensive.

Giroir thinks the guidelines "are really right on target" and that the entire task force worked on them together, all the medical folks and agency folks, and "we feel they're pretty strong." And, as a pediatrician, he said

We have to do this safely but kids not being in school risk their social and emotional health, risk many people with nutrition, the recognition of child abuse, child sexual abuse, it's really important to get kids physically back in school. But we have to do it safely and the first thing we need to do is, we need to get the virus under control. 

As did DeVos, he pointed to other countries, Sweden, Finland and Japan, as places they're looking to find out how to do this safely, and from them we learned that children don't seem to spread the virus.  He also said

the guidelines aren't changing this week. These are more guidelines that are amenable to school districts actually implementing them - the CDC guidelines tend to be a little more academic and long, these are going to be much more concise so people can really follow them and understand them.

He also noted, tangentially to schools reopening, that "we were hopeful that (the virus) would diminish in the summer, but we didn't count on it. And yes, there's a possibility it could be worse in the fall and we are all continuing to increase everything we do.

...we're going to need tens of millions of more tests a month and we're planning for that, because we have a lot of respiratory viruses like flu circulating. Very critical that people get their flu vaccines because we don't want flu circulating with COVID.

So, I'm guessing we might see some flu vaccine requirements for schools that do reopen, and we know that's going to cause yet another uproar.  So much to look forward to, don't you think?

Next up? Chuck Todd's conversation with Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on MTP, who was asked about the CDC guidelines being too strict or too costly.

Carvalho said some of them might be costly, but they're using the guidelines to inform how they develop their reopening plan, in conjunction with state and local health departments. He spoke about social distancing specifically, and how they're looking at using "non-traditional spaces, like cafeterias or media centers or gyms" - in effect, making more classrooms.

Carvalho said some of the money to pay for this coming from the CARES Act, but there's going to be need for more. So far, $15B has been made available, but back during the Great Recession, over $113B "had already been invested nationally to protect K-12 institutions.

So, I think that for the purchase of PPEs, additional disinfection cycles, the electrostatic disinfection of schools, alteration of schedules, may need more bus routes to achieve greater social distancing between the riders, more than likely we will need additional resources earmarked specifically for local governments and school systems.

He talked a bit about his multi-option plan, which "relies on a five-day-a-week schooling experience in-person across all of Miami-Dade" but also offers remote teaching and learning opportunities as well as a hybrid model, with one group of kids in school some days and another group in school on alternate days. But, he said,

One of the elements that we keep looking at is... younger children, perhaps students with disabilities, to a certain extent English language learners, you know, some of those that by virtue of age but also by virtue of the greatest possibility for learning loss since last fall need to re-engage quickly in the best possible way of teaching which is face to face with a caring, professional teacher.

I think everyone agrees with him on that, as long as it can be done safely.

Down the hall to the right, Chris Wallace had Dr. Tom Inglesby of Johns Hopkins, in the Fox News Sunday classroom and the first question was on what Inglesby thought of the presidents push to open schools and his complaint about the guidelines being "too tough, too expensive and too impractical." After saying that it's not "even a matter of debate" that pretty much everyone wants to open schools safely and as soon as possible, he said

I do think there are going to be many challenges to opening schools safely and just kind of asserting that just because they want to open safely doesn't make it so. It's going to be pretty -- pretty difficult for many schools. States around the country have been preparing for this. 

Wallace wondered what we know about the risks of kids getting the virus, and spreading it. Inglesby said "we do know" that kids have a much lower risk than adults, "but not zero," and we have have children die from COVID. It's less clear, he said, "how efficiently kids will spread the virus in school" but he did note

there are examples such as in Israel in the last couple of months, there have been a large -- there was a large outbreak in schools when they reopened. And so, I think there still is uncertainty that we're going to have to live with. We probably won't know all the answers when we started in the fall but we'll have to watch very carefully and react to what we find.

And his thoughts on cutting funding, as the president and DeVos suggest? "Yeah, no."

I think issuing an ultimatum for schools opening is the wrong approach. I think guiding schools and helping schools with financial support and encouraging schools to follow CDC guidance and state health department guidance is the right way to go. I think our incentives are all aligned in the sense that everyone really does want schools to open safely, but mandating it under a very tight timeline such as what happens in Florida this week where they're required to open schools five days a week in 30 days, before the state has really even had a chance to review school plans, seems really like the wrong approach to me.

And, checking in with Margaret Brennan in the Face the Nation classroom, Surgeon General Jerome Adams was also asked about the CDC guidelines and which parts are too tough and too expensive. Adams wants his own school-aged kids back in class, and he noted that the CDC guidelines "talk about best-case scenarios," and gave the example of school lunches. The guidelines say every child should bring their own lunch, but, he said

We know that in some school districts and many school districts, over fifty percent of kids are eating lunch at school and don't have the ability to bring their own lunch. So that's one case where we need to work directly with local school districts and help them figure out, okay, 'if you can't do what is the gold standard, best-case scenario, can you do something that's a compromise to safely reopen?'

He said that's the kind of thing they're talking about with new, "more specific recommendations" that can be looked at by individual school districts. And each district needs their own plan, even though, as Brennan mentioned, lots of people are looking for a national plan.

And finally  we hear from  former FDA head Scott Gottlieb who was asked by Brennan whether we have 'definitive data' that kids don't spread the virus, given DeVos' urging that kids get back in the classroom five days a week.

Well, look, the data isn't definitive, but it's certainly suggestive. And what we've learned from this virus is it has surprised us. It has both- we've both underestimated it and overestimated it at the same time... I think it's important to give discretion to local districts to take steps to try to de-densify schools and protect kids so we don't have outbreaks. Everyone should be working to reopen the schools. It's critical. And when I talked to Republican and Democratic governors, they are, in fact, doing that. But I think districts need discretion to try to put in place measures to keep kids safe.

Gottlieb also said that, other than maybe Sweden, no other countries reopened or kept schools open with so much spread of the virus like we're trying to do here, so "we do face a unique risk." Not only that, but 'less susceptible' doesn't mean 'not susceptible."

And sometimes-- some of the studies show that they (children) can compensate for their decline in susceptibility by their propensity to spread infection, by their behaviors that are more likely to propagate infection.

He mentioned the 2018-2019 flu season, with 11.3 million symptomatic kids and 480 deaths. We haven't seen that with COVID yet, he said, because

 we've largely sheltered the children. And we don't want to see it. We've got to take measures to make sure it doesn't become epidemic in children in the same way that flu becomes epidemic in children because we don't know what the impact's going to be on kids. Right now, the kids have been sheltered...

So - while everyone agrees that the goal is to get kids in school as soon and as safely as possible, no one seems to be chomping at the bit to get things opened back up. Everyone seemed open to some kind of hybrid plan, either out of caution or out of necessity. And, notably, no one was talking about implementing school vouchers.

Stay safe.

Sunday School 7/12/20

What's better than spending time in the Sunday School classrooms with the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos?

First up, her interview with Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union,which was a head-shaking session to be sure. Bash tried her best to get answers to real questions, and DeVos provided fortune cookie phrases over and over and over. Here are some examples.

On whether DeVos can assure everyone that schools can reopen safely and protect teachers and students from getting the coronavirus. (The emphasis is mine; you'll understand why as we move along.)

Well, the key is that kids have to get back to school. And we know there are going to be hot spots. And those need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. But the rule should be that kids go back to school this fall. They have been missing months of learning. Many of them are going to be so far behind, difficult to catch up. And we know that this is a matter of their health in a multitude of factors or multitude of dimensions. We know that their emotional well- being, their mental well-being. And particularly for kids from low-income and vulnerable populations, this is devastating to be out of school and not learning for months on end.

On having to ask the question again to try and get an answer.

...And, again, there's -- there is no -- nothing in the data that would suggest that kids being back in school is -- is dangerous to them. And, in fact, it's -- it's more a matter of their health and well-being that they be back in school. And we have seen this in countries, other countries in Europe and elsewhere in the world, where students have gone back to school and have done so very successfully. That should be the goal.

On there being proof that kids can spread the virus and even the CDC guidelines reflect that

So, it really is a matter of paying attention to good hygiene, following the guidelines around making sure we're washing hands, wearing masks when appropriate, staying apart at a bit of a distance socially, and doing the things that are common sense approaches to ensuring that kids can go back to the classroom and can go back to learning.

(We have a president who can't even commit to wearing a mask but we're gonna have first graders do that?)

On whether she is "compelling schools to reopen regardless of what's happening"

No, what we're saying is that kids need to be back in school, and that school leaders across the country need to be making plans to do just that. There's going to be the exception to the rule, but the rule should be that kids go back to school this fall. And where there are little flare-ups or hot spots, that can be dealt with on a school-by-school or a case-by-case basis. And there's a -- there ample opportunity to have kids in school... But the -- the goal needs to be that kids are learning full-time again this fall.

On whether there is a plan from the Department of Education (DoE) to get kids in school, learning, safely

Far too many kids didn't have any kind of a learning experience. Going into the fall, we need to ensure -- education leaders need to ensure that kids are going to be able to be learning full-time, no matter how that looks. If they're in an area with high incidents of virus, then they need to be learning remotely full-time.

On whether the federal government (DoE  and CDC) is on the same page as far as recommendations for reopening

It's very much on the same page. Kids -- kids need to get back to school. They need to get back in the classroom. Families need for kids to get back in the classroom. And it can be done safely. There are guidelines that are very clear and also -- and also -- also very acknowledging that situations are going to be different. But the rule has got to be that kids go to learning full-time.

On how to get this all figured out 

...many schools... have been working hard to put together their plans for moving ahead. And we want to see every school district, every state doing the same thing... to say not what we can't do, but what we're going to do and what we can do. We're -- we're a country of action. We're a country of doers... We have education leaders who can work hard and figure this out.

On what constitutes a good plan

...It's a -- it's a wide variety of approaches to -- but with the expectation that, if you have to move to a remote instruction situation, that you have full-time learning going on for all students at all times ... four days a week, either four days a week online and the fifth day not...or two days a week in person. These are not valid options and choices for families. And it's not full-time instruction."

We want kids to get back to school. We want them to be learning full-time, full-time...not just a part-time, not just an episodic situation. But kids have got to be learning full-time...and have the expectation that the next school year is going to give them at least a school year's worth of learning, if not more because so many of them fell behind.

On how DeVos can't have it both ways - say it's a local decision and at the same time say that schools must reopen and that CDC recommendations need to be followed. 

I am urging all schools to be re -- to open and to be providing their students a full-time education. We all acknowledge that that could and may well look different in a certain area that has a flare-up of the virus. But the -- but the go-to should be that schools are opening and fully functional and operational and giving parents and families the flexibility that's necessary, so if there is a situation where a child is a vulnerable... is a -- has a vulnerable underlying condition, that the parents could have a choice to be able to -- to educate their children...

On whether a school can revert to remote learning if there are virus flareups:

I think the go-to needs to be kids in school, in person, in the classroom, because we know, for most kids, that's the best environment for them... If -- if there's a -- if there is a short-term flare-up for a few days, that's a different situation than planning for an entire school year in anticipation of something that hasn't happened. That's a very different thing... Kids have got to be back in school. They've got to be back in -- in the classroom. And working families have to have their children in school and knowing that they're continuing to advance in their learning.

On the estimated nearly 1.5 million teachers who are high risk due to age or underlying medical conditions and whether they should go in or stay home if they are uncomfortable. being in the classroom

Well, first of all...I feel for a teacher that has a vulnerability or an underlying condition and know that this is...concerning...there are ways for those teachers to be able to continue to do what they do. And every district, every state has the real opportunity to work with and figure out the best scenario for those teachers. Maybe younger teachers are in the classroom, and an older teacher... But it -- again, that's the exception, not the rule. The rule needs to be, schools need to get open. Kids need to go back to school. They need to be learning. Teachers want to be there. They want to be in the classroom with their kids.

On how it helps withholding funding during a pandemic:

There's no -- no desire to take money away. In fact, we want to see schools open and have been committed to ensuring the resources are there to do that...The -- the reality is, we are committed to ensuring all students and all schools have the resources necessarily for kids to be able to continue learning. And where schools don't follow through on that, parents should have the opportunity and the option to find a school that is going to open and is going to serve their children.

Say that last part again?

We are committed to ensuring students are in school and learning. And parents need to have...the flexibility and the resources to be able to take their kids to a school that...If their school refuses to open or doesn't serve their students.

BINGO - there it is. Take the money out of public schools and send it to private schools, religious schools, for-profit schools. That's been her goal all along.

On Fox News Sunday, it was much the same, including many of the same questions and pat answers, so I'll only focus where Chris Wallace pushed on specific issues. 

On what we know about how children spread the virus: 

Well, that is something that is obviously continuing to be looked at and studied, and there's -- again, a lot of data that suggests that kids are not spreaders. But the point is that kids have got to get back to school and we can do that safely. And every community, every school, can look at what their actual physical circumstances are and figure out ways to do this safely. We're doing it in many other areas of life. If we can get back in other areas of life, we certainly need to get back to schools. Kids cannot afford -- to not continue learning. Our nation can't afford to have kids not learning and preparing for the future.  Because it's our future. 

On what authority are Devos and Trump going to unilaterally cut off funding, and whether it makes more sense to increase funding, not cut it:

Look, American investment in education is a promise to students and their families. If schools aren't going to reopen and not fulfill that promise, they shouldn't get the funds, and give it to the families to decide to go to a school that is going to meet that promise. 

On the fact that, while DeVos supports vouchers, she has to work through Congress to make that kind of change: 

Well, we're looking at all the options because it's a promise to the American people, to students and their families, and we want to make sure that promise is followed through on.

And speaking of following through on stuff, wear your mask. Keep a safe social distance. Wash your hands. And while you're doing that, try and picture a room full of four, five, and six year olds, or a school hallway full of four-, five- and six-year olds, trying to do all of those things.

And then, call or text or DM a teacher you know, and let them know how much you appreciate what they do. If you don't know a teacher, call your local school district, talk to an administrator, and tell them how much you appreciate what they do. You'll feel better, and so will the person on the other end. 

Just don't tell them Betsy DeVos sent you.

See you around the virtual campus.

In Case You Missed It (v44)

Gather 'round - it's time to review the week that was.

Sunday School brought us an interesting conversation with Susan Rice, former UN Ambassador and National Security Adviser in the Obama administration.

She was befuddled by how the Trump administration is handling - or, should I say, not handling - the Russian bounty mess. You'll recall our intelligence folks have long had information suggesting that Russia was paying bounties to Taliban fighters for killing Americans, and that the information was included in the president's daily briefing book - the PDB - back in February, and maybe even before that.

Responding to a question from Andrea Mitchell on This Week on why our team would have let Trump have multiple calls with Vladimir Putin and never raise this issue, Rice said

... it makes no sense. None of this adds up. And if, in fact, the president is surrounded by such cowards and incompetents that even when he's trying to invite Putin into the G7 and has these six phone calls nobody has the guts to say to (him), "Mr. President, we still, I want to remind you, have credible intelligence that the Russians are trying to kill U.S. servicemen and women in Afghanistan. This is not the time to be handing Putin an olive branch. This is the time to be working at options to punish him."

Indeed.  Are those adults still in the room? Bueller? Anyone?

In our Extra Credit entry for the week, we head from several mayors about their efforts in responding to the surging coronavirus in their neighborhoods. One of them was Kate Gallego, who's the woman in charge in Phoenix.  Arizona opened "way too early," she said.

We've seen cars lined up as far as the eye can see on the news, hours before drive-through test sites open, people hoping to get a test. Gallego knows that's an issue - long waits, not enough providers, and said that

... she's been "begging everyone" - including out of state companies - to come in, and asking FEMA to come in and do community-based testing, but

We were told they’re moving away from that, which feels like they’re declaring victory while we’re still in crisis mode.

She also noted the issue with the mixed messaging coming from the feds, specifically the CDC and the president who are clearly not on the same page. That kind of thing can make a person wonder...

And of course, there was Wondering on Wednesday, when our subjects included the retirement of Lt Col. Alexander Vindman, an actual patriot as opposed to all of the fake ones we hear from all the time; and Mary Trump's book, and we also wondered the chief law enforcement official of the country and his thoughts on systemic racism. Or the lack thereof.

Attorney General Snitty Snitty Bill Barr has said he doesn't think that law enforcement is systemically racist, but he does "think it is a widespread phenomenon that African American males, in particular, are treated with extra suspicion and maybe not given the benefit of the doubt.  I have to wonder what, in practice, the difference is between the two?  Any takers? 

I guess if it makes you feel better to say it's a phenomenon... but that's a systemic problem right there, right? Refusing to call something what it is, to make yourself feel better?

In Friday's TGIF, Barr made his second appearance of the week (for a different reason); we also had Papa Joe Biden and the ever-smarmy Mike Pompeo, one of the people in the administration that I trust the least. Here he is talking about government officials who are afraid to talk to reporters. 

What we found in China is the Chinese Communist Party was simply incapable...they're incapable of being transparent, of accepting criticism, of allowing reporters to ask them questions that they find uncomfortable that elicit the truth and the facts... They're afraid that the truth will be something that will not shine a happy light on what took place, and so instead they chose to hide and obfuscate and deny basic truth... this is the - this is a fundamental and fatal flaw for authoritarian regimes...

Now, if you know anything about Pompeo and Mary Louise Kelly, or Pompeo and pretty much any female reporter, you'll know how absurd it is for him to even mention anyone else being afraid to answer questions...

We ended the week with a Poll Watch entry highlighting findings from a Pew Research Center poll from early June. The survey was wide-ranging, covering a variety of topics, including opinions on the Black Lives Matter movement, reasons behind the protests, protests, personal experiences with racism, and more. 

Our great national partisan divide, is incredibly evident - there are huge differences between Democrats and Republicans throughout the survey, including thoughts on whether electing more blacks to public office would be effective in helping achieve racial equality. 

 In fact, only 10% of Republicans think that would be very effective, only 1% higher than the number thinking that organizing protests and rallies would be. Not only that, but 49% of Republicans and those leaning Republican think that getting more blacks elected to office would be not too effective, or not effective at all.

I had some thoughts on that, as you might suspect. 

So -- there you have it - the full and veritable pastiche from last week.  I'll be back later with today's Sunday School.