Part One:
Our regular check in with Scott Braddock, the editor of the Quorum Report, the voice of Texas, the Dean of the Austin Press Corps
Topics:
Gov. Abbott of Texas has mandates the wearing of masks, with a $250 fine for non-compliance. The virus is raging in Texas, and morgue trucks are being readied. The Lt. Governor does not agree, and Abbott now has a primary challenger. The Governor is being censured.
The Democrats saw record numbers in their primary runoff.
Walmart is requiring masks for all customers.
Part Two:
Our bimonthly check in with Professor Steffen Schmidt political science at Iowa State aka “Dr. Politics”
topics:
-The current budget deficit and the federal debt has made the federal government poor. It is unknown whether all recovery efforts will be able to be funded.
-However, the rich are still rich. Many have profited from the pandemic.
-The US is not the envy of the world. Instead, we are considered unfortunate, due to the poor leadership and its consquences. Many government agencies (Department of Justice, Health and Human Services, etc. ) are hollowed out. The US government is in effect a skeleton.
-Iowa does not currently have a mask mandate. Iowa State University is reopening on campus, and this is causing great anxiety among faculty and staff. Many buildings do not have openable windows. Some studies have shown that central air conditioning spreads the virus, because the filters do not filter the virus, so the central unit distributes it to all connected rooms.
-Fraternities and Sororoties will not be closing down, thus increasing the danger to students, faculty, staff, and those at home.
-Trump has threatened the tax exempt status of universities that do not reopen for on-campus instruction.
-Trump’s proxies are attacking Fauci.
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Additional reading:
Mandating masks says the CDC to control the virus
https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-director-universal-masking-could-control-virus-in-weeks-2020-7?fbclid=IwAR1KDKGMxfxdZtV_42pfG6bifYdGqV8xSAHSkLSLa2TEiD1y-Xslgza4VIE
walmart and masks
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/walmart-says-all-shoppers-must-wear-mask-starting-monday-n1233893
sidelining the CDC
Twitter hack
https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-says-bitcoin-hackers-had-access-internal-systems-and-tools-2020-7
attackin Fauci
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-authorized-encouraged-navarro-op-ed-against-fauci-report-2020-7
Dems optimistic about 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/16/democrats-joe-biden-nervously-optimistic-blue-wave
Upset in Trump campaign staff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/15/donald-trump-brad-parscale-replaced-campaign-shakeup
millions lose their healthcare
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/15/healthcare-republicans-trump-coronavirus
first Governor to contract Covid
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/15/oklahoma-kevin-stitt-coronavirus-covid-19
back to school but how
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/07/coronavirus-covid19-school-reopening-safety-remote-learning-cdc-trump.html
Trump reverses on foreign students
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/14/trump-ice-college-student-visa-rule-online-classes-fall-2020/5437654002/
Trump wants to review Universities tax exempt status
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/507571-top-democrat-calls-for-oversight-of-trumps-demand-for-review-of-universities
confederate monuments
demilitarize the police
https://www.pogo.org/analysis/2020/06/poisoning-our-police-how-the-militarization-mindset-threatens-constitutional-rights-and-public-safety/
https://prospect.org/justice/free-military-equipment-parts-not-included-1033-program/
the electoral college
https://prospect.org/blogs/tap/one-more-confederate-monument-to-destroy-electoral-college/
it is all about the Governors
are the police pulling back?
sueing the cops
https://www.startribune.com/floyd-family-seeks-financially-prohibitive-precedent-in-suit-vs-minneapolis-officers/571778032/
watch the USPS
https://www.startribune.com/mail-could-be-delayed-as-new-postal-head-pushes-cost-cutting/571780272/
the supreme sides with religion over state
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/08/supreme-court-shields-religious-schools-from-discrimination-suits-brought-by-teachers.html
the pandemic and climate change
Coronavirus and climate change: How to deal with converging crises
extending unemployment
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-07-15/congress-could-extend-federal-unemployment-subsidy-in-coronavirus-bill
who is a citizen sharing license information …list includes IOWA nugget: To help figure out the U.S. citizenship status of every adult living in the country, the Trump administration has made agreements to accumulate driver’s license and state identification card information from states including Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina and South Dakota, NPR has learned.
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/14/890798378/south-dakota-is-sharing-drivers-license-info-to-help-find-out-who-s-a-citizen
