Dear Commons Community,

A new book claims that President Trump suggested isolating COVID-19 victims by sending them to Guantanamo. “Don’t we have an island that we own? What about Guantanamo?” Trump reportedly asked during a meeting in the Situation Room.

“We import goods. We are not going to import a virus,” he continued.

Trump reportedly made the suggestion a second time before his staffers shut down the idea due to concerns over political backlash.

The exchange is detailed in an upcoming book by Washington Post reporters Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta titled Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History.

The book also lays out the ex-president’s fits of rage over the idea of a federal COVID-19 testing program, which he reportedly feared would damage him politically as he sought to falsely downplay the severity of the virus.

“Testing is killing me! I’m going to lose the election because of testing!” Trump shouted at then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during a call on March 18, according to Abutaleb and Paletta. “What idiot had the federal government do testing?”

Azar then reportedly reminded Trump that Jared Kushner, his own son-in-law who had taken over the White House’s testing efforts, was that idiot.

Trump also reportedly ranted during the call that it was “gross incompetence” to let the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention develop a COVID-19 test.

The former president hadn’t kept his grievances with testing quiet; he often publicly blamed testing for the exploding cases across the country rather than acknowledging his and his administration’s negligent response to the pandemic that caused the spike in the first place.

Sounds like this will be another of the Trump expose bestsellers.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

In a ruling that could help push changes in college athletics, the U.S Supreme Court yesterday unanimously sided with a group of former college athletes in a dispute with the NCAA over rules limiting certain compensation.

The high court ruled that NCAA limits on the education-related benefits that colleges can offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football can’t be enforced.

Under current NCAA rules, students cannot be paid, and the scholarship money colleges can offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA had defended its rules as necessary to preserve the amateur nature of college sports.

But the former athletes who brought the case, including former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston, argued that the NCAA’s rules on education-related compensation were unfair and violate federal antitrust law designed to promote competition.

The case doesn’t decide whether students can be paid salaries. Instead, the ruling will help determine whether schools decide to offer athletes tens of thousands of dollars in education-related benefits for things such as computers, graduate scholarships, tutoring, study abroad and internships.

The decision concerned only payments and other benefits related to education. But its logic suggested that the court may be open to a head-on challenge to the ban by the NCAA on paying athletes for their participation in sports that bring billions of dollars in revenue to American colleges and universities.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh seemed to invite such a challenge.

“Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate,” Justice Kavanaugh wrote. “And under ordinary principles of antitrust law, it is not evident why college sports should be any different. The N.C.A.A. is not above the law.”

It is likely we will we see future litigation involving student athletes including paying them salaries.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Summer is here and so has fun reading.  Over the weekend, I finished, The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery  of Popular Imagination by Philip Ball.  

Published by the University of Chicago Press, it is a serious book that explores literature, new media and technology, and the making of some of our most provocative tales.  Ball covers in depth the stories of Robinson Crusoe, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, The War of the Worlds, Sherlock Holmes, and Batman.  Ball states that these modern myths “touch on our deepest fears, dreams, and anxieties as we keep returning to them and reinventing them for new uses.”

Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal comments that  “The Modern Myths is a very impressive piece of writing. It is sharp. It is witty. It is deeply insightful in too many places to list. Ball’s erudition on these topics is extraordinary, really. How did he read all of this? And how did he see all of these movies? Does he sleep? A very fine study of seven really important stories in modern literature, fantasy, and film.”

Try it – you’ll like it!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

This is hard to believe but according to the New York Times Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, who routinely rails against the mainstream media on his prime time program, is a secret and frequent source of leaks about Donald Trump and his own Fox News.   The article entitled, “Tucker Carlson Calls Journalists ‘Animals.’ He’s Also Their Best Source” holds nothing back in baring  Carlson’s duplicity.

“Mr. Carlson, a proud traitor to the elite political class, spends his time when he’s not denouncing the liberal media trading gossip with them,” wrote media columnist Ben Smith. “He’s the go-to guy for sometimes-unflattering stories about Donald J. Trump and for coverage of the internal politics of Fox News (not to mention stories about Mr. Carlson himself).”

He wrote that Carlson’s willingness to dish is an “open secret” in Washington. 

Smith said he trades messages with Carlson himself, and said 16 other journalists from outlets other than the Times had all said Carlson has been a source, with three calling him a “great source.” 

Please read the article.  Its incredible!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Four centuries and one year after the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England on a historic sea journey to America, another trailblazing vessel with the same name set off to retrace the voyage. It is being piloted by sophisticated artificial intelligence technology for a trans-Atlantic crossing that could take up to three weeks, in a project aimed at revolutionizing marine research. IBM, which built the ship with the nonprofit marine research organization ProMare, confirmed the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (see video above) began its trip on Tuesday, June 15, 2021.  As reported by the Associated Press.

Unfortunately, the robotic trimaran retracing the 1620 journey of the famous English vessel had to turn back on Friday to fix a mechanical problem.

Nonprofit marine research organization ProMare said it made the decision to return to base “to investigate and fix a minor mechanical issue” but hopes to be back on the trans-Atlantic journey as soon as possible.

With no humans on board the ship, there’s no one to make repairs while it’s at sea.

Piloted by artificial intelligence technology, the 50-foot Mayflower Autonomous Ship departed from Plymouth, England, and spent time off the Isles of Scilly before it headed for deeper waters.

It was supposed to take  three weeks to reach Provincetown on Cape Cod before making its way to Plymouth, Massachusetts. If successful, it would be the largest autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic.

There is some historical precedent for the malfunction: The original Mayflower that carried Pilgrim settlers to New England was supposed to set sail in the summer of 1620 but twice turned back to England because of a leaking problem affecting its sister ship, the Speedwell.

We wish the Mayflower Autonomous Ship good luck on its next voyage!

Tony

Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and President Biden

Dear Commons Community,

U.S. Catholic bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a “teaching document” that many of them hope will rebuke Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden, for receiving Communion despite their support for abortion rights.  The “teaching document” is aimed at Catholic politicians who receive Communion while maintaining a pro-abortion rights stance.

The result of the vote — 168 in favor and 55 against — was announced yesterday at the end of a three-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  As reported by the Associated Press.

“The bishops had cast their votes privately on Thursday after nearly three hours of impassioned debate.

Supporters of the measure said a strong rebuke of Biden was needed because of his recent actions protecting and expanding abortion access, while opponents warned that such action would portray the bishops as a partisan force during a time of bitter political divisions across the country.

As a result of the vote, the USCCB’s doctrine committee will draft a statement on the meaning of Communion in the life of the church that will be submitted for consideration at a future meeting, probably an in-person gathering in November.

One section of the document is intended to include a specific admonition to Catholic politicians and other public figures who disobey church teaching on abortion and other core doctrinal issues.

Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, said during Thursday’s debate that he speaks with many people who are confused by a Catholic president who advances “the most radical pro-abortion agenda in history,” and action from the bishops’ conference is needed.

“They’re looking for direction,” Hying said.

Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego countered that the USCCB would suffer “destructive consequences” from a document targeting Catholic politicians.

“It would be impossible to prevent the weaponization of the Eucharist,” McElroy said.

Biden, who attends Mass regularly, says he personally opposes abortion but doesn’t think he should impose that position on Americans who feel otherwise. He’s taken several executive actions during his presidency that were hailed by abortion-rights advocates.

The chairman of the USCCB doctrine committee, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, said no decisions have been made on the final contents of the proposed document. He said bishops who are not on the committee will have chances to offer input, and the final draft will be subject to amendments before it is put up to a vote.

Rhoades also said the document would not mention Biden or other individuals by name and would offer guidelines rather than imposing a mandatory national policy.

That would leave decisions about Communion for specific churchgoers up to individual bishops and archbishops. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, has made clear that Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches in the archdiocese.

Last month Pope Francis’ top doctrinal official, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, warned the U.S. bishops in a letter that a policy on communion as relates to politicians could “become a source of discord rather than unity.”

The debate will grow in the months ahead, as the doctrine committee moves forward.

The Catholic Church in the United States has been losing membership steadily over the past two decades.  This decision will encourage more Catholics to leave the faith.

Tony

Saul Cohen

Dear Commons Community,

Saul Cohen, former president of Queens College, New York State Regent and a professor at Hunter College, died on June 9^th at the age of 95.  Among other accomplishments and while on the Board of Regents, he helped broker a compromise to end the CUNY open admissions policy in 1998-1999. I knew Dr. Cohen when he was a professor of geography at Hunter College in the late 1980s. We shared our mutual interests in education technology.  He was also a colleague of Hunter College President Donna Shalala with whom I worked. 

Below is his obituary courtesy of the New York Times

May he rest in peace!

Tony

——————————————————————————————

The New York Times

Saul B. Cohen, Who Helped Raise CUNY Standards, Dies at 95

By Sam Roberts

June 18, 2021

Saul B. Cohen, who helped restore higher academic standards at the City University of New York as president of Queens College and as a member of the state Board of Regents and revitalized his own field of political geography, died on June 9 at his home in Larchmont, N.Y. He was 95.

His death was confirmed by his wife, Miriam F. Cohen.

After a contentious selection process ended with his appointment to lead Queens College in 1978, Dr. Cohen began upgrading the college’s departments of education and music to full-fledged schools. He began construction of a science building and a library on the campus, in the Flushing section of Queens; created a law school; extended master’s degree programs into 25 fields; and, in collaboration with the Board of Education, re-established Townsend Harris High School, which had been affiliated with City College when Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia closed it in 1942 after complaints that it was too elite.

Dr. Cohen also imposed more rigorous academic goals and remedial programs. In 1999, as a member of the Board of Regents, he brokered a compromise that all but ended the largely discredited so-called open admissions policy, which had guaranteed all high school graduates entry into the freshman class at one of the City University’s senior colleges without having to fulfill such traditional requirements as grades or exams.

Those who had championed the program pointed to gains in enrollment and diversity. But critics, including Gov. George E. Pataki, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Herman Badillo, the chairman of CUNY’s board of trustees, countered that as many as two-thirds of the freshmen who enrolled in the senior colleges in the early 1970s had left within four years without graduating, and that the policy, however well intended, had cheapened the value of a City University degree.

As chairman of the Regents’ higher education committee, Dr. Cohen struck an agreement after nearly three decades that empowered the City University to begin excluding incoming freshmen from its bachelor’s degree programs if they were unable to demonstrate their readiness to begin college-level work in mathematics and English.

Instead, students who were accepted into bachelor’s programs at the four-year senior colleges but failed proficiency tests in math or English would be diverted to the City University’s two-year community colleges, or to immersion programs that would prepare them for senior-college-level classes.

The public university, in particular, “must develop amongst its students a thirst for the intellectual quest and a respect for academic rigor,” Dr. Cohen said at the Queens College commencement in 1984, a year before he stepped down as president. “It must not patronize those students whom it has given the opportunity to learn, by permitting them to slide through.”

Dr. Cohen himself got a C in his first formal course in geography, during a summer program at Harvard after he graduated from high school. But he went on to earn three degrees and become the executive director of the Association of American Geographers and a leading expert in political and human geography — a specialty field that explores the impact of natural and arbitrary borders, territory, resources and populations on a nation’s cultural, social and economic development, as well as its relations with other countries.

Before being appointed president of Queens College, Dr. Cohen was a professor and dean of the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. He earned a reputation for upgrading the school’s academic standards and increasing minority enrollment.

He wrote or edited 16 books, among them “Geography and Politics in a World Divided” (1963) and recent editions of “Geopolitics: The Geography of International Relations.”

Saul Bernard Cohen was born on July 28, 1925, in Malden, Mass., north of Boston, to Barnett and Annie (Kaplinsky) Cohen, Hebrew teachers who in their teens had immigrated separately from the Vilna region of what is now Lithuania.

The family moved to Dorchester so that he could attend the prestigious Boston Latin School. After attending Hebrew College in Newton, Mass., and three months into his freshman year at Harvard, he enlisted in the Army. He served from 1943 to 1946 with a demolition unit in Europe during World War II.

He graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in geography in 1947 and went on to earn a master’s in 1950 and a doctorate in 1955.

He married Miriam Friederman in 1950. In addition to his wife, he is survived by their two daughters, Deborah Shmueli and Louise Cohen; seven grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Dr. Cohen taught at Boston University before joining the Clark faculty in 1965. After leaving Queens College in 1985, he served as director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, an international relief organization, and was a professor of geography at Hunter College in Manhattan, also part of the City University. He was a member of the Board of Regents for 17 years.

Dear Commons Community,

Dear Commons Community,

The Affordable Care Act yesterday survived a third major challenge as the Supreme Court, on a 7-to-2 vote, turned aside the latest effort by Republicans to kill the health care law.

The legislation, President Barack Obama’s defining domestic legacy, has been the subject of relentless Republican hostility. But attempts in Congress to repeal it failed, as did two earlier Supreme Court challenges, in 2012 and 2015. With the passing years, the law gained popularity and became woven into the fabric of the health care system.

Yesterday, in what Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. called, in dissent, “the third installment in our epic Affordable Care Act trilogy,” the Supreme Court again sustained the law. Its future now seems secure and its potency as a political issue for Republicans reduced.

The margin of victory was wider than in the earlier cases, with six members of the court joining Justice Stephen G. Breyer’s majority opinion, one that said only that the 18 Republican-led states and two individuals who brought the case had not suffered the sort of direct injury that gave them standing to sue.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who had cast the decisive vote to save the law in 2012, was in the majority. So was Justice Clarence Thomas, who had dissented in the earlier decisions.

“Whatever the act’s dubious history in this court,” Justice Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion, “we must assess the current suit on its own terms. And, here, there is a fundamental problem with the arguments advanced by the plaintiffs in attacking the act — they have not identified any unlawful action that has injured them.”

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett also joined Justice Breyer’s majority opinion. At Justice Barrett’s confirmation hearings last year, Democrats portrayed her as a grave threat to the health care law.

The court did not touch the larger issues in the case: whether the bulk of the law could stand without a provision that initially required most Americans to obtain insurance or pay a penalty.

Good to see that the Court has protected the Affordable Care Act.  The justices who supported it represent an interesting combination of conservatives and liberals.  I also think that this puts an end to anymore challenges being presented to the Court in the foreseeable future.

Tony