You have likely seen the growing clinical evidence that COVID is not only a respiratory disease but frequently strikes at the brain and nervous system. A group of new studies out of Spain provide more detailed evidence. Our Spanish correspondent TPM Reader SH sent me this article in El Pais (English language version). The headline is that over half of COVID patients in Spain developed neurological problems of one sort of another.
Where Things Stand: One Of The Darkest Remarks Yet
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s remarks about human rights yesterday are among the most disturbing utterances I’ve heard come out of this administration thus far.
Ginsburg Reveals Treatment For Recurrence Of Cancer: ‘Fully Able’ To Serve On Court
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she remains “fully able” to serve on the Supreme Court, after revealing that she is receiving chemotherapy for a recurrence of cancer. She was also discharged from a Baltimore hospital earlier this week after being treated for a possible infection.
“I have often said I would remain a member of the Court as long as I can do the job full steam,” Ginsburg wrote in a statement issued Friday. “I remain fully able to do that.”
Ginsburg was released from Johns Hopkins Hospital on Wednesday after treatment for a possible infection, Supreme Court spokeswoman, Kathleen Arberg, said in a statement obtained by The New York Times. She underwent a procedure to clean a bile duct stent that had been inserted last August.
In her update Friday, Ginsberg that her recent hospitalizations — “to remove gall stones and to treat an infection” — were unrelated to a course of chemotherapy she started in May to treat a recurrent bout of cancer following a biopsy that revealed lesions on her liver in February. The chemotherapy, she said is “yielding positive results,” which prompted her to share the details of her recovery publicly, adding that her most recent liver scan indicated significant reduction of lesions and no new disease.
“I am tolerating chemotherapy well and am encouraged by the success of my current treatment,” Ginsburg wrote, adding that she will continue bi-weekly chemotherapy to keep her cancer at bay and has “kept up with opinion writing and all other Court work.”
Concerns about Ginsburg’s health have attracted particular attention since a sudden vacancy on the bench would likely allow President Donald Trump to nominate a conservative judge who would further tilt the ideological balance of the nation’s highest court for years to come.
Ginsburg’s treatment for the possible infection came after the Supreme Court delivered landmark decisions that closed its most recent term last week, marking the completion of the first full term with Trump’s appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, together on the bench. The justices will next hear arguments in October.
Read Ginsburg’s full statement below:
Pompeo Argues Some Human Rights Aren’t ‘Worth Defending’
The number of human rights is getting excessive, according Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Continue reading “Pompeo Argues Some Human Rights Aren’t ‘Worth Defending’”
Reports Detail Unidentified Federal Law Enforcement Detaining Portland Protesters
Unsettling accounts from Portland, Oregon spread widely on Friday morning, after a report revealed unidentified and camouflaged federal officers with unmarked vans driving up to anti-racism protesters and quickly grabbing and detaining them without explanation for their arrest.
Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that the surreptitious arrests have been carried out since earlier this week.
Trumps Gestapo squad have been deployed in Portland pic.twitter.com/wnI4I8jbvT
— Kevin Kyle is ? from ?? (@Kevswatching) July 17, 2020
One man who said he was detained by camouflaged officers earlier this week told the Washington Post that he initially didn’t know if the unidentified officers were legitimate police or right-wing agitators.
“It seemed like it was out of a horror/sci-fi, like a Philip K. Dick novel. It was like being preyed upon,” Mark Pettibone told the Post.
Officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and Border Patrol Tactical Unit, had been sent to Portland to protect federal property amid protests, according Oregon Public Broadcasting. But interviews conducted by the broadcasting network reveal that some of those arrested were detained on streets nowhere near federal property and without any apparent evidence of criminal activity.
The escalation of tensions between protesters and law enforcement in Portland follows a wave of protests that had sprung up around the country in the weeks following the death of George Floyd at the hands on Minneapolis police on May 25. Many of those protests have slowed, but demonstrations have persisted in Portland — the famously progressive Oregon city — for weeks now with no signs of stopping.
On Thursday night, federal officers used chemical irritants, smoke and impact munitions to disperse protesters from two federal buildings in Portland, The Oregonian reported. The confrontation came hours after acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf arrived in the city to meet with federal law enforcement officials.
Another angle: Federal officers disperse protestors using tear gas and flash bangs. You can see people struggling to breathe pic.twitter.com/xZdHfewT1d
— Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) July 17, 2020
Wolf had issued a scathing statement hours before the confrontation unfolded, condemning what he called a refusal on behalf of city officials to “restore order and protect their city.”
He condemned the desecration of property and said “to attack” a federal courthouse by setting it aflame “is to attack America.” The secretary also rebuked protesters for allegedly assaulting “the brave law enforcement officers” charged with protecting the city’s buildings.
Turning to local and state officials, Wolf chastised them for “placing blame” on law enforcement for acts of defiance which has resulted in nearly nightly clashes with police who have used force in dispersal and detainment tactics and caused injuries.
Just got gassed out of the area. The area outside the 7/11 is now filled with protesters coughing, choking, retching, yelling for eye washes, pouring water in each other’s eyes. pic.twitter.com/7imuu5bnDS
— Tuck Woodstock (@tuckwoodstock) July 17, 2020
“Instead of addressing violent criminals in their communities, local and state leaders are instead focusing on placing blame on law enforcement and requesting fewer officers in their community,” Wolf said.
The statement cited multiple instances of “violent anarchists” defacing property, setting off fireworks, spraying graffiti on public buildings, failing to follow dispersal orders and assaulting officers.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown (D) responded on Twitter, calling Wolf’s visit “political theater from President Trump” that she said “has nothing to do with public safety.”
In another tweet, Brown said she told Wolf to remove all federal officers from the city’s streets.
“His response showed me he is on a mission to provoke confrontation for political purposes,” Brown said hours before tensions intensified Thursday. “He is putting both Oregonians and local law enforcement officers in harm’s way.”
The violent encounters that ensued on Thursday night were captured in personal accounts obtained by The Oregonian.
Following confrontations from the night before, and with renewed vigor to quell protests, Wolf tweeted on Friday morning, “We will prevail.”
These valiant men and women have defended our institutions of justice against violent anarchists for 48 straight days. We will prevail. pic.twitter.com/Qo9XoCyH2N
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) July 17, 2020
Jamaal Bowman Defeats 16-Term Rep. Engel In NY House Primary
NEW YORK (AP) — Former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman has toppled 16-term U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel in New York’s Democratic primary in another upset victory for the party’s insurgent wing.
Many votes cast by mail in the race have yet to be counted, but an AP analysis of absentee ballots returned so far indicated Friday that Bowman’s lead from votes cast in person is too large for Engel to overcome.
Bowman declared victory in the race on June 24, a day after the primary.
A political novice who has never held public office before, Bowman, 44, was a progressive African American challenger who said Engel, the 73-year-old chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had lost touch with his economically and racially diverse district.
He earned his extraordinary win in a campaign season upended first by the coronavirus outbreak, then by protests over the death of George Floyd.
Both candidates were unable to do traditional campaigning because of social distancing restrictions, but Bowman criticized Engel for staying at his home in Maryland as the pandemic turned his district in the Bronx and suburban Westchester County into one of the virus’s most deadly hunting grounds.
Engel said he was working on behalf of the district from Washington.
Then, after protests over Floyd’s death in Minnesota gave way to two nights of looting, Engel had a bad gaffe while appearing at a Bronx event where he joined other local politicians appealing for peace.
“If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care,” he said while pleading with the lead organizer for a chance to speak, in a comment picked up by a live microphone.
Engel, who is white, said he has “always believed that Black lives matter” and said his comments were taken out of context, but Bowman, who has spoken of his own experiences with police brutality, said they illustrated why the district needed new leadership.
By defeating Engel, Bowman replicated the success of democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated another powerful New York City Democrat, Joe Crowley, in a neighboring congressional district two years ago.
The campaign was the latest proxy battle between the party’s progressive and pragmatic wings. Bowman was endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren while Engel picked up support from Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer.
Bowman grew up in public housing in New York City. He was a teacher and school counselor for several years before becoming the founding principal of a Bronx middle school, the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action.
Candidates Chris Fink, Sammy Ravelo and Andom Ghebreghiorgis also appeared on the ballot, although Ghebreghiorgis withdrew from the race and endorsed Bowman.
The district is heavily Democratic, so the primary winner is virtually assured of victory in the general election in November.
Major USPS Changes Could Hamper Vote-By-Mail At The Worst Possible Time
Election officials who were already facing major challenges in making voting accessible operations during the pandemic were thrown a new curveball this week.
Continue reading “Major USPS Changes Could Hamper Vote-By-Mail At The Worst Possible Time”
Atlanta Mayor Slams Kemp’s Suit Against Mask Mandate: ‘He Is Putting Politics Over People’
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms (D) tore into Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Friday morning after he filed a lawsuit against her over Atlanta’s citywide executive order requiring everyone to wear masks.
Washington NFL Team Hires Law Firm To Review Org’s Culture After Sexual Harassment Expose
The Washington Post reported Thursday that 15 female former employees of the city’s NFL franchise said they were sexually harassed during their time with the team.
In a statement, the team said it takes issues of employee conduct seriously and added, “While we do not speak to specific employee situations publicly, when new allegations of conduct are brought forward that are contrary to these policies, we address them promptly.”
Amash Announces He Won’t Be Running For Reelection
Nearly a year after leaving the GOP out of disgust over his colleagues’ rigid fealty to President Donald Trump, Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) announced on Thursday night that he will not be running for reelection in November.
Continue reading “Amash Announces He Won’t Be Running For Reelection”