Dear Commons Community, 

President Biden announced earlier this week that health care providers can’t discriminate against transgender patients, reversing a Trump-era policy and wading into a partisan flashpoint as hundreds of Republican-backed bills restricting the rights of LGBTQ individuals make their way through statehouses nationwide.  As with a similar wave of state-level restrictive voting bills, corporate America is speaking out against the anti-LGBTQ measures.

Many of these laws target transgender youth, including preventing them from playing on sports teams aligned with their gender identity or receiving gender-affirming medical treatment. During the past several weeks, a number of companies have expressed their opposition to anti-LGBTQ legislation.  Below is an excerpt of an article courtesy of Yahoo News reporting on this development.

“Earlier this month, 95 companies — among them Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), American Airlines (AAL), Marriott (MAR), Nike (NKE), AT&T (T) and Pepsi (PEP) — voiced their opposition to the anti-LGBTQ bills in a letter written in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign. However, 37 of the Fortune 500’s top 50 companies did not sign.

In response to outreach from Yahoo Finance, some of those 37 companies added their voices to the chorus opposed to the bills, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), General Motors (GM), MetLife (MET), CVS Health (CVS), and Walgreens (WBA).

But the remainder did not respond or declined to comment directly on the bills. That set of companies includes Walmart (WMT), Chevron (CVX), Target (TGT), Disney (DIS), and Exxon (XOM).

Even as the Biden administration works to reverse the discriminatory behavior toward transgender individuals, anti-LGBTQ legislation is being introduced at a record clip across at least 33 states. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest lobbying group for LGBTQ rights in the U.S., this year has surpassed 2015 “as the worst year for anti-LGBTQ legislation in recent history.”

Seventeen bills, ranging from preventing trans girls from playing spots to erasing transgender people from school curricula, have been signed into law across eight states — Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

“The rights of LGBTQ people — and especially transgender people — across the country are being systematically threatened and undermined by national anti-LGBTQ groups coordinating with anti-equality lawmakers to wage an unprecedented war on the LGBTQ community … These bills are not only harmful and discriminatory, but also represent a failure in our democracy and the commitment elected officials make to protect and serve their constituents,” HRC President Alphonso David said in a statement.

‘An environment… where everyone is valued and accepted’

Several companies have expressed their explicit disapproval of the legislation that would restrict the rights of trans people across America.

“MetLife is a purpose-driven company,” the company told Yahoo Finance. “That purpose — building a more confident future for all — informs and inspires our strong support for LGBTQ rights. We oppose any legislation that would limit the rights of the LGBTQ community.”

General Motors echoed a similar sentiment, stating it works with bipartisan groups like TechNet on a state-by-state basis, aligning with the coalition’s position in opposing anti-LGBTQ legislation.

“General Motors’ commitment to the LGBTQ community is at the core of our company’s policies. At GM, promoting a culture that is inclusive and free of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, allows all team members to proudly be who they are at work — in an environment that is open, supportive, and empowering — where everyone is valued and accepted,” a company spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase has been clear that it opposes legislation that discriminates against members of the LGBTQ community, a spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.

A representative for CVS Health says the health care giant has “consistently demonstrated support publicly for the LGBTQ community in a variety of ways,” including opposing the Trump administration’s decision to reduce health care protections for the trans community. CEO Karen Lynch posted on LinkedIn about overall support and commitment to the LGBTQ community last summer. 

CVS Health vocalized disapproval of the statewide legislation in a statement to Yahoo Finance: “We strongly oppose legislation at the state or federal level that infringes upon the rights of the LGBTQ community and will continue to support this community through inclusive hiring practices, workplace policies and service to our diverse customers.”

Walgreens expressed support for LGBTQ equality, including transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage, and touted “15 years of perfect 100 scores on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign.”

“We believe in equal opportunities for all and strongly oppose efforts that seek to oppress or exclude groups based on race, religion, gender identity, origin or orientation. Walgreens Boots Alliance is committed to ensuring safe and welcoming work and store environments where our team members and customers are treated with respect and dignity,” a Walgreens spokesperson said.

Companies that have not taken a position on the statewide measures

On a federal level, HRC spearheaded the Business Coalition for the Equality Act, which calls for a federal law providing the same protections to LGBTQ employees other protected groups have. Home Depot (HD), Chevron, Target, and Disney were part of a group of 420 companies that have supported this national initiative, but have not engaged on a state level.

Exxon Mobil responded to outreach about the bills with lament over partisan gridlock but did not take a position on the measures.

“Over the last several years, we’ve seen an increasing divide in our country,” Casey Norton, Exxon’s corporate media relations manager, told Yahoo Finance.

“Elected officials at all levels must work together to bridge this divide. They need to take the time to understand the differing points of view and find solutions that address the key issues. In short, they must demonstrate the leadership needed to work together and resolve complex issues that impact us all,” he added.

Last month, the Arkansas House and Senate overrode Governor Asa Hutchinson’s veto of HB 1570, which prevents doctors from providing any gender-affirming health care to transgender youth under the age of 18. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart did not respond directly to requests for comment regarding the dozens of anti-LGBTQ bills being deliberated across the country, with at least six additional pieces of legislation in Arkansas. Instead, a company spokesperson shared an April 12 tweet from CEO Doug McMillon regarding an alternative to a hate crimes bill that was signed into law.

While the nation’s largest private employer has been notably silent on commenting specifically on the anti-LGBTQ legislation, the Walton Family Foundation shared a statement regarding the discriminatory laws.

“We are alarmed by the string of policy targeting LGBTQ people in Arkansas. This trend is harmful and sends the wrong message to those willing to invest in or visit our state…Arkansas has been called the land of opportunity because it is a place where anyone can think big and achieve the extraordinary. Any policy that limits individual opportunity also limits our state’s potential.”

Congratulations to those companies standing up for the rights of all Americans.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, who is facing a vote today aimed at removing her from her Republican leadership post, took to the House floor last night  “to discuss freedom and our constitutional duty to protect it.”

Listen to her words in the video above and understand the problem in today’s Republican Party.

The text of her speech is below.

Tony

———————————————————

“Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to discuss freedom and our constitutional duty to protect it.

“I have been privileged to see first-hand how powerful and how fragile freedom is. 28 years ago, I stood outside a polling place, a schoolhouse in western Kenya. Soldiers had chased away people lined up to vote. A few hours later, the people began streaming back in, risking further attack, undaunted in their determination to exercise their right to vote.

”In 1992, I sat across a table from a young mayor in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and listened to him talk of his dream of liberating his nation from communism. Years later, for his dedication to the cause of freedom, Boris Nemtsov would be assassinated by Vladimir Putin’s thugs.

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”In Warsaw, in 1990, I listened to a young Polish woman tell me that her greatest fear was that people would forget what it was like to live under communist domination, that they would forget the price of freedom.

”Three men – an immigrant who escaped Castro’s totalitarian regime; a young man who grew up behind the iron curtain and became his country’s minister of defense; and a dissident who spent years in the Soviet gulag have all told me it was the miracle of America captured in the words of President Ronald Reagan that inspired them to seek freedom.

”I have seen the power of faith and freedom. I listened to Pope John Paul II speak to thousands in Nairobi in 1985, and 19 years later I watched that same pope take my father’s hand, look in his eyes, and say, “God Bless America.”

“God has blessed America, but our freedom only survives if we protect it, if we honor our oath, taken before God in this chamber, to support and defend the Constitution, if we recognize threats to freedom when they arise.

“Today we face a threat America has never seen before. A former president, who provoked a violent attack on this Capitol in an effort to steal the election, has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him. He risks inciting further violence.

“Millions of Americans have been misled by the former President. They have heard only his words, but not the truth, as he continues to undermine our democratic process, sowing seeds of doubt about whether democracy really works at all.

“I am a conservative Republican and the most conservative of conservative principles is reverence for the rule of law. The Electoral College has voted. More than sixty state and federal courts, including multiple judges he appointed, have rejected the former president’s claims. The Department of Justice in his administration investigated the former president’s claims of widespread fraud and found no evidence to support them. The election is over. That is the rule of law. That is our constitutional process.

“Those who refuse to accept the rulings of our courts are at war with the Constitution.

“Our duty is clear. Every one of us who has sworn the oath must act to prevent the unraveling of our democracy. This is not about policy. This is not about partisanship. This is about our duty as Americans. Remaining silent, and ignoring the lie, emboldens the liar.

”I will not participate in that. I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy.

“As the party of Reagan, Republicans championed democracy, won the Cold War, and defeated the Soviet Communists. As we speak, America is on the cusp of another Cold War – this time with communist China. Attacks against our democratic process and the rule of law empower our adversaries and feed Communist propaganda that American democracy is a failure. We must speak the truth. Our election was not stolen, and America has not failed.

”I received a message last week from a Gold Star father who said, “Standing up for the truth honors all who gave all.” We must all strive to be worthy of the sacrifice of those who have died for our freedom. They are the patriots Katherine Lee Bates described in the words of America the Beautiful: “Oh beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life.”

”Ultimately, this is at the heart of what our oath requires – that we love our country more. That we love her so much we will stand above politics to defend her. That we will do everything in our power to protect our constitution and our freedom – paid for by the blood of so many. “We must love her so much we will never yield in her defense.

Dear Commons Community,

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday authorized use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds in the United States, a crucial step in the nation’s steady recovery from the pandemic and a boon to millions of American families eager for a return to normalcy.

Shots could begin as soon as Thursday, after a federal vaccine advisory committee issues recommendations for how to use the two-dose vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds.   As reported by the Associated Press.

“Most COVID-19 vaccines worldwide have been authorized for adults. Pfizer’s vaccine is being used in multiple countries for teens as young as 16, and Canada recently became the first to expand use to 12 and up. Parents, school administrators and public health officials elsewhere have eagerly awaited approval for the shot to be made available to more kids.

“This is a watershed moment in our ability to fight back the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president who’s also a pediatrician, told The Associated Press.

The Food and Drug Administration declared that the Pfizer vaccine is safe and offers strong protection for younger teens based on testing of more than 2,000 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15. The agency noted there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared with 16 among kids given dummy shots. More intriguing, researchers found the kids developed higher levels of virus-fighting antibodies than earlier studies measured in young adults.

The younger teens received the same vaccine dosage as adults and had the same side effects, mostly sore arms and flu-like fever, chills or aches that signal a revved-up immune system, especially after the second dose.

Pfizer’s testing in adolescents “met our rigorous standards,” FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said. “Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech recently requested similar authorization in the European Union, with other countries to follow.

The latest news is welcome for U.S. families struggling to decide what activities are safe to resume when the youngest family members remain unvaccinated.

“I can’t feel totally comfortable because my boys aren’t vaccinated,” said Carrie Vittitoe, a substitute teacher and freelance writer in Louisville, Kentucky, who is fully vaccinated, as are her husband and 17-year-old daughter.

The FDA decision means her 13-year-old son soon could be eligible, leaving only her 11-year-old son unvaccinated. The family has not yet resumed going to church, and summer vacation will be a road trip so they do not have to get on a plane.

“We can’t really go back to normal because two-fifths of our family don’t have protection,” Vittitoe said.

President Joe Biden said Monday’s decision marked another important step in the nation’s march back to regular life.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is growing, and today it got a little brighter,” Biden said in a statement.

Pfizer is not the only company seeking to lower the age limit for its vaccine. Moderna recently said preliminary results from its study in 12- to 17-year-olds show strong protection and no serious side effects. Another U.S. company, Novavax, has a COVID-19 vaccine in late-stage development and just began a study in 12- to 17-year-olds.

Next up is testing whether the vaccine works for even younger children. Both Pfizer and Moderna have begun U.S. studies in children ages 6 months to 11 years. Those studies explore whether babies, preschoolers and elementary-age kids will need different doses than teens and adults. Gruber said Pfizer expects its first results in the fall.

Outside of the U.S., AstraZeneca is studying its vaccine among 6- to 17-year-olds in Britain. And in China, Sinovac recently announced that it has submitted preliminary data to Chinese regulators showing its vaccine is safe in children as young as 3.

Children are far less likely than adults to get seriously ill from COVID-19, yet they represent nearly 14% of the nation’s coronavirus cases. At least 296 have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. alone, and more than 15,000 have been hospitalized, according to a tally by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

That’s not counting the toll of family members becoming ill or dying — or the disruption to school, sports and other activities so crucial to children’s overall well-being.

The AAP welcomed the FDA’s decision.

“Our youngest generations have shouldered heavy burdens over the past year, and the vaccine is a hopeful sign that they will be able to begin to experience all the activities that are so important for their health and development,” said AAP President Dr. Lee Savio Beers in a statement.

Experts say children must get the shots if the country is to vaccinate the 70% to 85% of the population necessary to reach what’s called herd immunity.

In the meantime, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says unvaccinated people — including children — should continue taking precautions such as wearing masks indoors and keeping their distance from other unvaccinated people outside of their households.”

This is very good news and should eliminate one of the hurdles to getting our schools open.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo yesterday announced that SUNY and CUNY will require proof of vaccination for all students attending in-person classes this fall, and encouraged all private universities and colleges to adopt the same guidelines. 

The public systems join other major city schools, including NYU and Columbia, that have already issued the same mandate.

Cuomo had previously resisted requiring vaccinations for CUNY and SUNY, contending that the measure would likely induce legal pushback.

“No excuses,” he said at a Manhattan press conference. “SUNY and CUNY boards will require vaccinations for all in-person students beginning this fall.”

Cuomo also urged all private campuses to require the shot for in-person learning next year.

“Let’s make a global statement,” he said. “You cannot go back to school in person in September unless you have a vaccine. That will be a major motivation for people to get the vaccine.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo insisted that requiring students to be vaccinated will send a strong message to increase total vaccinations.

The mandate does not apply to SUNY and CUNY teachers and staffers.

In announcing the requirement last month, NYU officials said widespread vaccinations will allow for a fuller reopening of campus next school year.

“Requiring vaccinations is consistent with our intent to minimize the spread of COVID-19 within our own community and more generally in New York City and to enable more in-person on-campus activities,” the school said.

To date, 9,661,944 have received at least one dose of the vaccine in New York out of a population of 19.5 million, 14.2 million of whom are adults.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooiDvYGRTX8

Dear Commons Community,

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said yesterday (see video above) that the sharply divided Republican Party is in a “slow sink,” like the Titanic, doomed by leaders’ stubborn fascination with reelection loser Donald Trump.

“Right now it’s basically the Titanic. We’re … in the middle of this slow sink,” he explained on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “We have a band playing on the deck telling everybody it’s fine. And, meanwhile, Donald Trump’s running around trying to find women’s clothing and get on the first lifeboat.

“I think there’s a few of us that are just saying, ‘Guys, this is not good’ — not just for the future of the party, but this is not good for the future of this country.”

Kinzinger pulled out the Titanic metaphor as he criticized party leaders’ attacks on Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) for blasting Trump for his “big lie” that the presidential election was rigged and for inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“It’s incredible. Liz Cheney is saying exactly what [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy said the day of the insurrection,” holding Trump accountable for urging the violence, Kinzinger said. “A few weeks later, Kevin McCarthy changed to attacking other people.”

McCarthy was reportedly rebuffed by the former president on Jan. 6 when he implored Trump to call off the Capitol rioters. McCarthy said later on the House floor that Trump “bears responsibility for the attack on Congress by mob rioters.” Trump “should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding,” he added. McCarthy called then for “justice” and for a “censure resolution” against Trump.

Kinzinger said the Republican Party still needs to have “an internal look and a full accounting as to what led to Jan. 6.” It’s been only four months since the “insurrection — something that was unthinkable in this country,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the message from the Republicans who want to get rid of Cheney is that it’s time to “move on,” Kinzinger said, adding that they refuse to admit the Capitol violence was “an insurrection led by the president of the United States.” 

Kinzinger and Cheney were among 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the attack on the Capitol. Cheney faces a vote Wednesday by her colleagues, who may strip her of her leadership role as Republican Conference chair.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Republican Party’s own hidden internal polling data had shown weak numbers for Trump against Joe Biden in crucial voting districts. Despite those figures, and Trump’s clear defeat in the presidential election, party leaders are still staking their futures on him.

Kinzinger is telling it like it is!

Tony

Liz Cheney and Elise Stefanik

Dear Commons Community,

Michelle Cottle, a member of The New York Times Editorial Board, had a piece yesterday comparing Liz Cheney and Elise Stefanik.  She praises Cheney for her willingness to jeopardize her House leadership position and maybe her political career to speak the truth about Donald Trump.  Stefanik, on the other hand, appears willing to do or say anything to take over the House leadership position even kowtow to Trump.  Cotter makes the observation that Stefanik may not be conservative enough for the Republican base.  In addition, there is a contingent that consider her a “TINO” or  “Trumpist in name only.”

The entire piece is below.  Good read!

Tony

The New York Times

Liz Cheney Refuses to Lie, So Elise Stefanik Steps In!

Michelle Cottle

May 8, 2021

Even by the standards of the Republican Party’s descent into Trumpian nihilism, the latest bloodletting within the ranks of its congressional leadership is gripping — the car crash next to the dumpster fire that you can’t look away from.

House Republicans are on track next week to oust Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming as conference chairwoman, the third-highest position in the conference. Ms. Cheney is being purged for her stubborn refusal to accept — much less peddle — the dangerous, crackpot lie that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. In today’s G.O.P., fealty to the defeated president’s false allegation of electoral fraud is the ultimate litmus test.

Ms. Cheney has not simply failed this test, repeatedly — she brandishes her defiance like a weapon.

On Monday, Mr. Trump issued a proclamation: “The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!” Ms. Cheney fired back on Twitter (from which the former president is still banned): “The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”

“The Republican Party is at a turning point,” she warned in a May 5 opinion piece in The Washington Post, “and Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution.”

Clearly, such apostasy cannot stand.

But with a House leadership dominated by white men, and a party plagued by a longstanding gender gap, Republican lawmakers recognize the potential risk of replacing their top-ranking woman with another white guy. Such bad optics. So it is that Republican House leaders have been whipping votes to install another woman in the job, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York.

Unlike Ms. Cheney, Ms. Stefanik is happy — make that eager — to go along with Mr. Trump’s pernicious election-fraud fiction. Just this week, she sat down for interviews with Steve Bannon, Mr. Trump’s onetime political guru, and Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump aide, to praise the former president and suggest that there are many, many questions that still need to be answered about the outcome. Among other Trumpist talking points, she accused judicial officers in Pennsylvania of “unconstitutional overreach,” and she endorsed the sketchy election audit that Republicans are conducting in Arizona.

Ms. Stefanik is assumed to have more than enough votes lined up to replace Ms. Cheney. Her ascension is considered close to a done deal.

Here’s where things really get awkward. Aside from her Trump bootlicking, Ms. Stefanik is a terrible pick to help lead House Republicans, with both an ideology and a political style ill-suited to the conservative zeitgeist. At least they were until recently. In aiming to swap out Ms. Cheney with Ms. Stefanik, Republican leaders are revealing — again — just how hollow their party has become and how far it has fallen.

With her establishment pedigree and her neocon foreign policy views, Ms. Cheney may not be a perfect fit for today’s Republican Party, but she is a rock-ribbed conservative who has for years fought fiercely in the party trenches. Like her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, she is tough and aggressive, and she delights in lobbing partisan bombs at Democrats. She is pro-torture and anti-abortion. In other words, she has long been the kind of Republican that Democrats love to hate.

Ms. Stefanik, on the other hand … Most of America had never heard of the New York lawmaker before her emergence as a passionate Trump defender during his first impeachment. Her toadiness has only grown since, earning ever more love from Mr. Trump. On Wednesday, he endorsed her for conference chairwoman.

But before all that, Ms. Stefanik was seen as an exemplar of the kinder, gentler future of the Republican Party. Elected in 2014 at age 30, the polished, media-savvy Harvard alumna was a fresh, friendly, moderate face that many hoped would help the G.O.P. shed its image as a bunch of angry old white guys. Pro-business and uninterested in culture warring, she fit in well with the party’s establishment wing. Her first political job was in the Bush 43 White House. In 2017, she was elected co-chair of the Tuesday Group (since renamed the Republican Governance Group), a caucus of moderate, centrist House Republicans.

Ms. Stefanik’s voting record reflects this brand. She has a measly 44 percent lifetime score from the American Conservative Union — compared to Ms. Cheney’s 78 percent — and a 56 percent from the conservative Heritage Action, versus Ms. Cheney’s 82 percent. Ms. Stefanik’s ratings from conservative groups like FreedomWorks and the Club for Growth are even lower (37 percent and 35 percent), and both organizations have come out against her joining leadership. During Mr. Trump’s presidency, Ms. Stefanik voted with him 77.7 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight, but Ms. Cheney did 92.9 percent of the time.

One of Ms. Stefanik’s top priorities has been to improve her party’s image with women and, more specifically, to get more Republican women elected. Her PAC is credited with having contributed to the victories of several women in this year’s freshman House class. Her efforts, which can run up against the G.O.P.’s professed disdain for identity politics, have occasionally put off some party brethren.

Ms. Stefanik is, in short, the kind of Republican that conservatives generally love to hate.

Despite the seal of approval from Mr. Trump and some congressional leaders, not everyone is thrilled by the idea of Ms. Stefanik’s likely promotion. Some of her male colleagues have grumped that they were not even considered for the post because of their gender. The conference vice chair, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has reportedly been griping about the “coronation.”

Trickier still, some hard-core MAGA loyalists suspect Ms. Stefanik of being a pretender — a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” as one far-right site put it — and are raising a stink about her voting record and political background. Lou Dobbs, the deep-MAGA former TV host, declared her a RINO — that is, a Republican in name only. Her more creative critics at the website Revolver coined a fresh term for her: TINO — Trumpist in name only. They also dubbed her “another neocon establishment twit.”

So much for Republican unity.

To be fair, having sold their soul to Mr. Trump, Republican lawmakers cannot allow Ms. Cheney to remain in leadership. Unlike most of her colleagues, she refuses to let the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol fade from memory, pretend it was no big deal or falsely claim that it was perpetrated by lefty extremists. Every word out of her mouth is an indictment not merely of Mr. Trump but also of her fellow lawmakers’ degeneracy and opportunism.

Ms. Stefanik, by contrast, is scrambling to reassure MAGA voters that she is worthy of their support. In addition to doubling down on election-fraud nonsense, she has been test-driving a more populist, own-the-libs persona, whining about “cancel culture” and “Trump derangement syndrome” and the anti-conservative bias of Big Tech.

In other words, Ms. Stefanik is forsaking the ideology and the political brand that brought her to Congress as she grovels before the gold-plated altar of Trumpism. All this to impress the followers of a defeated president who would just as soon see the Republican Party burned to ash.

In that sense, she may be a perfect leader for her House colleagues after all.

Dear Commons Community,

The jobs report for April was released yesterday and showed modest gains of 266,000 when more than 1 million had been projected. In addressing the issue, President Joe Biden insisted that an unexpected slowdown in companies’ hiring is clear new proof the U.S. needs the multitrillion-dollar federal boost he’s pushing. His critics, however, are saying yesterday’s  jobless figures show his earlier aid legislation — successfully rushed through Congress — is actually doing more harm than good. Here is an analysis courtesy of the Associated Press.

Biden’s promised economic comeback hardly stalled on Friday. But it seemed to sputter a bit with a report that found merely modest April job gains of 266,000 and complicated his new $4 trillion push for infrastructure, education and children.

The employment report failed to show that the U.S. economy was accelerating so much as stutter-stepping along as the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.1%. Economists had projected roughly one million added jobs last month, and the modest hiring indicated that the earlier $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package has provided an uneven boost so far.

The figures present Biden with a fresh challenge at a critical moment in his presidency. He is betting that an open embrace of massive government spending will help resolve the nation’s public health and financial turmoil — and lift the political prospects for Democrats heading into next year’s elections. But the disappointing jobs numbers could also embolden his critics and stiffen the Republican resistance to the infrastructure package Biden is trying to push through Congress.

Addressing the report, Biden sought to ease concerns.

“We knew this wouldn’t be a sprint—it’d be a marathon,” he said. The pandemic relief package “was designed to help us over the course of a year, not 60 days. A year. We never thought that after the first 50 or 60 days everything would be fine. Today, there’s more evidence our economy is moving in the right direction. But it’s clear we have a long way to go.”

Biden’s opponents say the legislation actually worsened problems in at least one way, with expanded unemployment benefits that gave the jobless a reason to stay at home instead of seeking work.

The president said the jobs data don’t show that. And advocates for his plans argue that the report shows more spending is needed to sustain the economy.

There are also issues of supply shortages — for computer chips, lumber and more — that are holding back growth, a reminder that the world’s largest economy seldom bends perfectly to the wishes of lawmakers.

The fate of the president’s agenda may depend on how the public processes and understands the April jobs report in the coming weeks, said Jon Lieber, a managing director at the Eurasia Group, a political risk advisory and consulting firm.

“Are the Republicans able to seize on this as, ‘This is what happens when the government gets involved in the economy and screws things up?’ Or, does the public see this as the need for more government support?” Lieber said. “That’s the argument for the next month.”

One clear takeaway across partisan lines was a need for caution in interpretation. A single monthly report can be volatile. The three-month average of job gains is still a healthy 524,000.

Michael Strain, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, noted that many businesses have said they cannot find workers to hire despite increases in hourly pay. Strain said he plans to monitor upcoming reports to see if that pattern holds in what could be a troubling sign for Biden’s vision of how to generate growth through government spending.

“If we continue to hear a growing chorus of businesses complaining about worker shortages and if wages continue to rise, then it will be tempting to conclude that a lot of the 8 million jobs we are currently missing aren’t coming back,” Strain said.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses, put the blame squarely on the relatively generous unemployment benefits that Biden extended as part of his relief package. The group said the checks prevent people from accepting jobs.

“One step policymakers should take now is ending the $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit,” said Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the Chamber. “Based on the Chamber’s analysis, the $300 benefit results in approximately one in four recipients taking home more in unemployment than they earned working.”

Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said he has heard companies say they’re struggling to find workers, but he didn’t see those concerns reflected in the jobs report. For example, restaurants and bars added 187,000 jobs last month even though workers in that relatively low-wage sector would, in theory, have an incentive to just collect unemployment.

The jobs report hinted at other factors that could strengthen Biden’s agenda. It showed losses for women, who were forced into caregiver roles for children and relatives because of the pandemic. The family demands stopped them from holding outside jobs.

There was a drop of 165,000 for women over the age of 20 last month who were holding or seeking jobs. By contrast, men saw gains of 355,000 in labor force participation.

One way to bring women back could be Biden’s plans to fund child care, create a national family leave program and expand the child tax credit through 2025 — the idea being that government action is needed to unlock the job market.

“When you start squinting at this data to figure out what is going on, it looks like you need more government to get past a labor shortage,” said Michael Madowitz, an economist at the liberal Center for American Progress.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited the “disappointing” jobs report as proof that Biden’s $4 trillion agenda must be approved quickly.

“The evidence is clear that the economy demands urgent action, and Congress will not be deterred or delayed from delivering transformational investments for the people,” the Democratic congressional leader said.”

As the Associated Press analysis indicates there are several factors at work here. Next month’s jobs report will be watched very carefully!

Tony

The 10 countries with the highest numbers of total COVID-19 deaths, March 2020 to May 2021

Dear Commons Community,

A new study estimates that as many as  905,000 Americans may have died from COVID-19, which is substantially higher  than the official government tally of 577,000 U.S. deaths.   Worldwide the total number of COVID-19 deaths is 6.93 million, a figure that is more than two times higher than the reported number of deaths of 3.24 million.

The new estimates come from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, where researchers looked at a variety of existing data sets and studies and used statistical modeling to arrive at their results ― which are being updated daily.  

IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray said that it marks “a major change” in how his institution is thinking about the pandemic’s impact. 

“As terrible as the COVID-19 pandemic appears, this analysis shows that the actual toll is significantly worse,” Murray added in a statement. “Understanding the true number of COVID-19 deaths not only helps us appreciate the magnitude of this global crisis, but also provides valuable information to policymakers developing response and recovery plans.”

Frightening to say the least!

Tony