Dear Commons Community,

The Democratic National Convention is about to get underway today after a month in which the party rallied around Vice President Harris as the presumptive presidential nominee.

It’s a convention few were anticipating a month ago, when President Biden was the expected nominee. Since then, Biden has dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris.

The party and Democratic voters have seemed to swing overwhelmingly behind Harris since she stepped up to replace Biden.

Today all eyes will be on Chicago to see if the Democratic convention can help spur on her momentum.

Below are five things to watch for courtesy of The Hill.

Tony

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How disruptive are the protests?

Some level of protest activity is typical for the parties’ nominating conventions, as they often attract those most passionate in favor and opposed to a party or specific candidate.

But more attention than normal has been paid to potential protest activity throughout the convention amid a split in the party over the Israel-Hamas war and the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict. The split was most prominently on display through a protest vote that occurred during the Democratic primaries.

Although Biden did not have serious competition for the nomination, some Democratic voters rallied around an effort to vote for an “uncommitted” option in protest of Biden’s support for Israel.

Harris may have an easier time distancing herself from Biden’s record and entrenched feelings about his handling of the conflict, but she also has faced pressure from pro-Palestinian protesters in the weeks since she entered the race.

A few protests have already been scheduled throughout the week, some near the United Center, where the convention will take place. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other Democratic officials have expressed confidence that the party will be able to have an orderly convention and respect people’s right to protest.

Hanging over the event is the chaos of the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, when anti-Vietnam War protesters were beaten by police. Democrats went on to lose that presidential election, when then-President Johnson dropped out of the race and his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, became the Democratic nominee.

How does Harris do?

Harris has quickly coalesced Democratic support behind her candidacy.

Just more than one day after launching her bid, enough delegates had publicly declared their support to make her the likely nominee. Other Democrats who might have been rivals, along with top party leaders, backed her as the nominee.

Harris’s rise has been quite impressive for a vice president who at one time was viewed as a possible drag on the ticket because of her formerly poor approval ratings.

Her address accepting the presidential nomination scheduled for Thursday will be the pinnacle of the nominating process that began months ago. It will also serve as an opportunity to share her vision with a national audience.

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Over the past few weeks, Harris has spoken to sold-out crowds across the country. Thursday’s address, and the convention in its entirety, is an opportunity for her to get her message out to an even larger audience at a time when the political spotlight will be fully on her.

Do Democrats stay on script?

The exact speaking schedule for the convention has yet to be released, but most major party leaders are expected to appear.

Biden is set to help kick off the convention with a speech Monday night, while former President Obama, former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are also expected to speak. Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, is expected to formally accept his nomination in a speech Wednesday, and Harris will address the convention Thursday.

These types of speeches are almost always planned down to the word in advance, allowing speakers to stay on script and message when all eyes are on them. But that doesn’t stop them from ad-libbing in the moment, either on their own accord or in response to a chant from the crowd.

Those moments could provide huge sparks for Harris, though they can also be dangerous.

The speakers at the convention will almost certainly have some zingers designed to go after former President Trump and Republicans and declare their position on certain issues. But a spontaneous moment might also prove memorable and carry beyond the convention.

How do the speakers address the Israel-Hamas war?

Harris has a bit of distance from Biden on the war as she was not the one making decisions on aid and weaponry. But that doesn’t mean she is entirely out of the woods with disgruntled Democrats who want policy shifts on Israel.

Members of the Uncommitted National Movement have expressed hope that Harris’s candidacy could signal that shift. She said at a rally in Arizona this month that “now is the time” for a deal that frees the hostages held in Gaza and achieves a cease-fire.

But groups like the Abandon Biden Campaign have said they see Biden’s and Harris’s policies as essentially the same.

The convention could be an opportunity to bring these Democrats back into the fold. Democrats hoped to do that in 2016 after a fierce primary between Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) exposed rifts in the party, but those tensions lingered through November.

Addressing the war in a way that does not alienate Democrats on either side could be key to ensuring the party stays unified.

Are there any big surprises?

Nominating conventions are among the most well-choreographed events in politics, with every speech and the roll-call nomination vote planned in great detail. But that doesn’t mean unexpected developments never happen.

Protests are scheduled for outside and aren’t supposed to get into the arena, but some could find their way into the United Center. A handful of uncommitted delegates will be present at the convention, and they could create waves over the war.

On the other side of the spectrum, a surprise appearance from an unannounced guest could spark further enthusiasm among attendees and supporters watching at home.

Credit…Photo by Rachel Stern and Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Dear  Commons Community,

Maureen Dowd in her column yesterday commented on the Democratic Convention that begins today.  She states that it is going to be a “glorious coronation  except that everyone’s mad at one another.”  She observes that “although it was not Julius Caesar at Rehoboth Beach” some top Democrats still resent how Joe Biden was pushed out of the nomination. She saves her most cutting comments for Nancy Pelosi: 

“One of the most ruthless and successful tacticians in congressional history seemed sheepish about knifing her pal, and conflicted over whether to take credit. Et tu, Nancy? Biden must have thought.

When David Remnick asked Pelosi if her long relationship with Biden could survive, she replied: “I hope so. I pray so. I cry so.” She added, “I lose sleep on it, yeah.”

Dowd’s conclusion, however, is squarely on the side of Kamala Harris’ enablers:

“Those who pushed out Biden should be proud. They saved him and their party from a likely crushing defeat, letting Trump snake back in and soil democracy.”

Amen!

Her entire column is below!

On with the show!!

Tony

——————————————————

The New York Times

After Bloodletting, Time for Fun!

By Maureen Dowd

Opinion Columnist, reporting from Washington

Aug. 17, 2024

We head to Chicago on a wave of euphoria, exuberance, exultation, excitement and even, you might say, ecstasy.

It’s going to be a glorious coronation — except that everyone’s mad at one another.

Top Democrats are bristling with resentments even as they are about to try to put on a united front at the United Center in the Windy City.

A coterie of powerful Democrats maneuvered behind the scenes to push an incumbent president out of the race.

It wasn’t exactly “Julius Caesar” in Rehoboth Beach. But it was a tectonic shift and, of course, there were going to be serious reverberations. Even though it was the right thing to do, because Joe Biden was not going to be able to campaign, much less serve as president for another four years, in a fully vital way, it was a jaw-dropping putsch.

But at some point, when the polls cratered, Democratic mandarins decided to put the welfare of the party — and the country — ahead of the president’s ego, and stop catering to his self-regarding fantasy that he was the only one who could beat Donald Trump. Also, they all could know that Biden was slowing faster than he and his family and his inner circle were acknowledging.

Biden went from looking “forward to getting back on the campaign trail” to gone in one weekend, with the handprints of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries on the president’s back. And when Kamala Harris deftly cemented her position as the nominee, the party erupted in a dizzying sense of possibility.

How could Biden not be hurt that the Democratic convention went from four days of “sitting shiva,” as James Carville put it, to a joyful romp with Kamala atop the ticket?

Democrat after Democrat who had been close to Biden before conspiring to push him out had to confess to cable anchors that they had not been able to talk to the president, who was sulking in his tent.

Party leaders whitewashed the coup by ornately extolling Biden.

James Clyburn told CNN that Biden had a record “that no president of the United States could ever match.” Pelosi proposed on CBS’s “Sunday Morning” that Biden’s face should be carved onto Mount Rushmore. “You have Teddy Roosevelt up there,” she said. “And he’s wonderful. I don’t say take him down. But you could add Biden.”

Despite the grandiose flattery, Joe, Jill and Hunter were not fooled or appeased.

Even if the Democrats wanted to put their bad blood in the past, the Nasty Man at the top of the G.O.P. ticket won’t let them forget.

“Kamala wants NOTHING TO DO WITH CROOKED JOE BIDEN,” Trump ranted on Truth Social Thursday. “They are throwing him out on the Monday Night Stage, known as Death Valley. He now HATES Obama and Crazy Nancy more than he hates me! He is an angry man, as he should be. They stole the Presidency from him — ‘It was a Coup!’”

As much as she cared for the president, Pelosi would never choose helping the House of Biden over helping her beloved House of Representatives. Their alienation of affection was clear in interviews she did to promote her new book, “The Art of Power.”

One of the most ruthless and successful tacticians in congressional history seemed sheepish about knifing her pal, and conflicted over whether to take credit. Et tu, Nancy? Biden must have thought.

When David Remnick asked Pelosi if her long relationship with Biden could survive, she replied: “I hope so. I pray so. I cry so.” She added, “I lose sleep on it, yeah.”

There was no kumbaya. Biden didn’t care about the “three generations of love” Pelosi told Jen Psaki that her family had for him.

The president already resented Obama for shoving him aside for Hillary, and he resented Hillary for squandering that opportunity and losing to Trump. Even though Obama tried to do everything quietly to protect his saintly status, Joe was furious that Obama was sidelining him twice.

Michelle Obama’s relationship with Biden soured when his family ostracized Hunter’s first wife, Michelle’s friend Kathleen; that’s one reason the popular Michelle wasn’t on the campaign trail for Biden.

Kamala can’t be thrilled that Obama, Pelosi and Schumer hesitated to endorse her because they wanted more moderate rivals to compete in an open mini-primary. And Biden and Harris staffs are also tetchy, as Kamala layers on her own people.

Biden still thinks he could have taken Trump, so how could he reconcile being shoved off the sled? On Wednesday, Ron Klain, Biden’s longtime adviser, expressed to Anderson Cooper Bidenworld’s feelings about the Jacquerie heard round the world.

“I think it was unfortunate because I think that the president had won the nomination fair and square,” Klain said. “Fourteen million people had voted for him and the vice president as vice president.” He added: “I do think, you know, the president was pushed by public calls from elected officials for him to drop out, from donors calling for him to drop out. And I think that was wrong.”

Those who pushed out Biden should be proud. They saved him and their party from a likely crushing defeat, letting Trump snake back in and soil democracy.

That would keep Biden off Rushmore.

Courtesy of The Economist.

Dear Commons Community,

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday repeatedly swerved from a message focused on the economy into personal attacks, including thrice declaring that he was better looking than Vice President Kamala Harris. As reported by The Associated Press.

Trump wound back and forth between hitting his points on economic policy and delivering a smattering of insults and impressions of President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron as he held a rally in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The former president has seemed to struggle to adjust to his new opponent after Democrats replaced their nominee. Over the past week, he has diverged during campaign appearances away from the policies he was billed to speak about and instead diverted to a rotation of familiar attack lines and insults.

As he attacked Democrats for inflation at the top of his speech, Trump asked his crowd of supporters, “You don’t mind if I go off teleprompter for a second, do you? Joe Biden hates her.”

Joseph Costello, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, responded to Trump in a statement by saying, “Another rally, same old show” and that Trump “ resorts to lies, name-calling, and confused rants,” because he can’t sell his agenda.

“The more Americans hear Trump speak, the clearer the choice this November: Vice President Harris is unifying voters with her positive vision to protect our freedoms, build up the middle class, and move America forward — and Donald Trump is trying to take us backwards,” Costello said.

His remarks Saturday came as Democrats prepare for their four-day national convention that kicks off Monday in Chicago and will mark the party’s welcoming of Harris as their nominee. Her replacement of Biden less than four months before the November election has reinvigorated Democrats and their coalition. It has also presented a new challenge for Trump.

He predicted financial ruin for the country, and Pennsylvania in particular, if Harris wins, citing her past opposition to fracking, an oil and gas extraction process commonly used in the state. Her campaign has tried to soften her stance on fracking, saying she would not ban it, even though that was her position when she was seeking the 2020 presidential nomination.

“Your state’s going to be ruined anyway. She’s totally anti-fracking,” Trump said.

But he also meandered, going from ripping the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 to doing impressions of Macron’s French accent.

Trump laced in attacks on Harris’ laugh and said she was “not a very good wordsmith” and mocked the names of the CNN anchors who moderated the debate he had with Biden in June.

When he began musing on Harris’ recent image on the cover of Time magazine, he commented on the picture’s resemblance to classic Hollywood icons Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor and then took issue with a Wall Street Journal columnist remarking earlier this month on Harris’ beauty.

“I am much better looking than her,” Trump said, drawing laughs from the crowd. “I’m a better looking person than Kamala.”

Please Trump give yourself a break and look in the mirror at the fat buffoon with the orange hair that is staring back at you.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

A long-standing debate about whether simply to add an apostrophe or to add an apostrophe plus an “s” to show the possessive case when a person’s name ends in “s” has reemerged given the media popularity of Kamala Harris.

The Associated Press Stylebook says “use only an apostrophe” for singular proper names ending in “s”: Dickens’ novels, Hercules’ labors, Jesus’ life. But not everyone agrees.

Chicago Style and the Modern Language Association say add “s” as in: Mills becomes Mills’s.

The American Psychological Association (APA Style)  says add “s” to singular names ending in “s”, except if the name ends in an unpronounced “s” and then use only an apostrophe: Descartes becomes Descartes’.

The Merriam Webster Thesaurus says:  For names that end in an “s”, though, you can either add “s” or just an apostrophe such as “Jones → Jones’s car or Jones’ car.”

The bottom line is your choice but be consistent.

Tony

Courtesy of ABC News.

Dear Commons Community,

Kamala Harris laid out an economic plan yesterday including a proposal for a federal ban on what she called price gouging on groceries, as well as $25,000 in down payment help for certain first-time home buyers and tax incentives for builders of starter homes. She also spoke at length about lowering drug costs and criticized the platform of her opponent, Donald Trump.

Here’s a  look at some of her proposals and claims courtesy of The Associated Press.

The impact of Trump’s proposed tariffs

HARRIS: Trump “wants to impose what is in effect, a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries. … And you know, economists have done the math. Donald Trump’s plan would cost a typical family $3,900 a year.”

THE FACTS: Harris was referring to Trump’s proposal to impose a tariff of 10% to 20% on all imports — he has mentioned both figures — and up to 60% on imports from China.

Most economists do expect it would raise prices on many goods. The Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, estimates it would reduce average incomes in the top 60% of earners by 1.8%. And the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a progressive advocacy group, has calculated that the higher tariffs would cost households an extra $3,900 a year. However, Trump has said the tariff revenue could be used to cut other taxes, which would reduce the overall cost of the policy.

Lowering the cost of insulin and prescription drugs

HARRIS: “I’ll lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone.”

THE FACTS: Harris made this promise while referencing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which allows Medicare to negotiate medication costs directly with drug companies. While it is difficult to predict whether she will be able to keep it, especially without more details, recent policy can provide some clues.

For example, the White House announced Thursday that it had inked deals with manufacturers that could save taxpayers billions of dollars by knocking down the list prices for 10 of Medicare’s costliest drugs. However, there are a number of factors — from discounts to the coinsurance or copays for the person’s Medicare drug plan — that determine the final price a person pays when they pick up the drugs at their pharmacy.

Powerful drug companies unsuccessfully tried to file lawsuits to stop these negotiations. They ended up engaging in talks and executives hinted in recent weeks during earnings calls that they don’t expect the new Medicare drug prices to impact their bottom line. However, the manufacturers have warned that the Inflation Reduction Act could drive up prices for consumers in other areas.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations achieved $35 insulin copay caps for certain Medicare recipients. Biden’s caps have a wider reach, as they apply to all insulin products covered by any Medicare Part D or Part B plan, according to health policy research nonprofit KFF. Trump’s applied only to some insulin products covered by a voluntary subset of Part D plans.

A federal ban on grocery ‘price gouging’

HARRIS: “As president, I will take on the high costs that matter most to most Americans. … And I will work to pass the first ever federal ban on price gouging on food.”

THE FACTS: While grocery prices are 25% higher than they were before the pandemic four-and-a-half years ago, they have settled down recently and it’s not clear that much price gouging is now going on.

In the past 12 months, grocery prices on average are up just 1.1%, comparable to pre-pandemic increases. Also, prices for most goods and services, in general, don’t fall significantly except in steep, painful recessions. Instead, most economists expect that wages will rise enough so that Americans can adjust to higher costs. Still, prices remain higher overall than they were just a couple of years ago.

Addressing housing shortages and helping home buyers

HARRIS: “And by the end of my first term, we will end America’s housing shortage by building 3 million new homes and rentals. … While we work on the housing shortage, my administration will provide first time homebuyers with $25,000 to help with the down payment on a new home.”

THE FACTS: These promises could end up working at cross-purposes. By helping more Americans afford homes, the Harris proposal to subsidize down payments would almost certainly increase demand, at a time when estimates of the U.S. housing shortage already range from 3 million to as high as 7 million.

Harris’ proposal to provide tax incentives to builders to encourage more home and apartment construction would address that concern, but there are many reasons experts cite for the housing shortage, including restrictive zoning laws, higher costs for building materials, and even shortages of construction workers, which tax incentives can’t address.

Harris is also promising to cut red tape that restricts new building, but that is mostly a state and local concern, and many localities are already moving to make it easier build homes.

Much of what Harris proposes makes sense whether they are ever implemented depends largely upon which political party controls the US Congress if she is elected.

Tony

Dear Commons Community.

Former president Donald Trump sparked derision when he said the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, is “much better” than the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, because soldiers are in “bad shape” or dead when they receive it. As reported by ABC News.

During an event at his Bedminster, New Jersey, estate Thursday night, which was about antisemitism, Trump called attention to a major donor, Miriam Adelson – the widow of his friend and business mogul Sheldon Adelson – upon whom he bestowed the Medal of Freedom in 2018.

“Sheldon and Miriam were best friends together, and I was in their group. And we just had always a great relationship, known her for a long time,” Trump said. “Sheldon was one of the greatest businessmen in the world, and she’s turning out to be one of the greatest businesswomen of the world.”

Trump then recalled the moment Miriam Adelson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“But I really, I watched Sheldon sitting so proud in the White House when we gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” he said. “That’s the highest award you can get as a civilian. It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version, it’s actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead. She gets it and she’s healthy, beautiful woman.”

Miriam Adelson was awarded the Medal of Freedom as a “committed doctor, philanthropist, and humanitarian.” “As a committed member of the American Jewish community, she has supported Jewish schools, Holocaust memorial organizations, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and Birthright Israel, among other causes,” the Trump White House wrote in part.

A prominent national veterans group leader released a statement on Friday criticizing Trump’s comments, calling them “asinine.”

“These asinine comments not only diminish the significance of our nation’s highest award for valor, but also crassly characterizes the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty,” Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Al Lipphardt said.

“When a candidate to serve as our military’s commander-in-chief so brazenly dismisses the valor and reverence symbolized by the Medal of Honor and those who have earned it, I must question whether they would discharge their responsibilities to our men and women in uniform with the seriousness and discernment necessary for such a powerful position,” Lipphardt continued. “It is even more disappointing when these comments come from a man who already served in this noble office and should frankly already know better,” he said.

The Kamala Harris campaign pounced on Trump’s words, saying he “knows nothing about service to anyone or anything but himself.”

And progressive veterans group VoteVets said in a statement: “It isn’t just that Donald Trump doesn’t respect Veterans and their sacrifice. It’s that Donald Trump hates Veterans and their sacrifice, because he looks so small in comparison to them.”

Trump, who holds himself up as a champion of the military and regularly discusses his record of rebuilding the military while in office, has drawn fire for swipes at servicemembers.

One of the most notable examples was when he criticized another Republican, John McCain — the late Arizona senator and former presidential candidate — who spent five years as a POW during the Vietnam War, casting doubt on his status as a war hero.

“I like people who weren’t captured,” Trump said in 2015. At the time, the remarks set off a firestorm, including from members of the Republican party, who called for him to drop out of the 2016 presidential race.

More recently, Trump came under scrutiny when The Atlantic reported in 2020 that he had called those who died in war “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has vehemently denied the reported remarks, which President Biden repeated on the campaign trail before he dropped out of the race.

Trump’s comments are disgraceful especially coming from someone who has not served in the military or volunteered one hour of service to our country.

Tony

New College of Florida students, activists and alumni pick through discarded books from the school’s Gender and Diversity Center in Sarasota, Florida (via REUTERS)

Dear Commons Community,

New College in Florida overhauled by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis sent hundreds of library books, many of which contained LGBTQ+ themes, to a landfill.

It’s the latest development in a conservative campaign that has brought national scrutiny to New College, a small liberal arts school in Sarasota. Gov. DeSantis, vowed to turn the campus into the “first public university to push back on gender indoctrination.”  As reported by USA Today.

The school’s transformation, which prompted many students and faculty members to flee to other schools, has influenced Republican efforts nationwide to reshape higher education in the party’s image.

On Tuesday, a dumpster in the parking lot of the school’s Jane Bancroft Cook Library overflowed with books and collections from the now-defunct Gender and Diversity Center. Video showed a vehicle driving away with the books before students were notified. (In the past, New College students have been given an opportunity to purchase books leaving the college’s library collection.)

Some of the discarded books included, “Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate,” “The War of the Worlds” and “When I Knew,” a collection of stories from LGBTQ+ people recounting when they knew they were gay.

After Gannett’s report was published, New College spokesperson Nathan March sent a statement saying the story was false. The college was carrying out two separate procedures: a routine maintenance of its campus library and removing materials from the GDC because the gender studies program no longer exists.

“A library needs to regularly review and renew its collection to ensure its materials are meeting the current needs of students and faculty,” March wrote. “The images seen online of a dumpster of library materials is related to the standard weeding process.”

March referenced Florida Statute 237 as the reason each book could not be donated or sold. However, Florida law states that New College could dispose of state-funded personal property by “selling or transferring the property to any other governmental entity … private nonprofit agency … (and) through a sale open to the public.”

He also said that, because no one claimed the GDC library of books from its previous home in the Hamilton Center, the books were moved to a donation box behind the library. The donation box sits several feet from where the book-filled dumpster sat, and New College’s move-in day isn’t until Aug. 23, meaning most students are not on campus yet.

Several students also said they were never told the GDC books were available to claim.

New College of Florida students, activists and alumni pick through discarded books from the school’s Gender and Diversity Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.

Amy Reid, the faculty chair and representative on the board of trustees, said when colleges throw away books, they also throw away democracy.

“Books are what matter,” she said.

Natalia Benavites, a 21-year-old fourth-year student at New College, said books in the dumpster carried the college’s seal as well as a “discard” sticker on the spine. When she asked officials whether they could donate the books, she was told that under state statute the college can’t donate books purchased with state funds.

New College of Florida students, activists and alumni pick through discarded books from the school’s Gender and Diversity Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024.

The college also discarded books from the Gender and Diversity Center, which was located across campus. The GDC books were purchased individually and not with state funds, Benavites said.

Why not just burn them as was done in Nazi Germany!

Tony

Courtesy of The Washington Post.

Dear Commons Community,

Former President Trump yesterday dismissed calls from those in the GOP calling for him to refocus on policy, saying he was “entitled to personal attacks” against Vice President Harris because she called me “weird.”  As reported by The Hill.

Trump held a press conference at his Bedminster, N.J., property, where he delivered remarks for close to an hour before taking questions from reporters. He was asked by multiple journalists about criticism from some Republicans that he needs to be more disciplined and lay off the personal attacks on his opponent.

“As far as the personal attacks, I’m very angry at her because of what she’s done to the country,” Trump said. “I think I’m entitled to personal attacks. I don’t have a lot of respect for her. I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence, and I think she’ll be a terrible president.

“And I think it’s very important that we win,” Trump continued. “And whether the personal attacks are good, bad. She certainly attacks me personally. She actually called me weird.”

Asked specifically about comments from former rival Nikki Haley that Trump’s campaign needs to shift its strategy, Trump said he appreciates her advice but that he would run his campaign “my way.”

Trump has struggled to deliver a consistent message targeting Harris, even as Republicans argue they have a strong case against her on the economy and immigration. While the former president has at times focused on the issues, he has also attacked the vice president’s biracial heritage, her laugh and her intelligence.

The former president’s press conference was his second in as many weeks as he seeks to put a dent in Harris’s momentum since she replaced President Biden as the Democratic nominee in late July.

Polling published Wednesday from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report showed Harris leading Trump in five out of seven battleground states likely to decide November’s election: Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump led Harris in Nevada, while the two candidates were tied in Georgia.

…

Some of Trump’s closest allies have taken to the airwaves to publicly urge the former president to recalibrate his message in the face of a new political landscape against a younger opponent who has rejuvenated Democratic voters.

Peter Navarro, a former Trump White House trade adviser, said this week the former president’s current formula of holding rallies “is simply not sufficiently focused on the very stark policy differences — policy differences — between him and Kamala Harris that will swing voters in key battleground states.”

Kellyanne Conway, who led Trump’s successful 2016 campaign and served as a top White House adviser, said on Fox Business Network that Trump’s path to victory would require “fewer insults, more insights and that policy contrast.”

Prior to taking questions, Trump spoke for about 45 minutes, reading from a book and delivering remarks that started off calling out Harris over the economy, inflation and the Biden administration’s record. Trump was flanked by tables filled with groceries, including cereal, coffee and condiments to illustrate his argument that the price of basic goods was too high for many Americans.

But Trump quickly veered into various other topics that included the border, how windmills kill birds, crime in big cities, the quality of electric trucks and his relationships with various foreign leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

He is “weird.”

Tony

Minouche Shafik

Dear Commons Community,

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik resigned yesterday, four months after the university’s handling of campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza drew criticism from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian sides alike.

Shafik, who cited the toll the campus turmoil took on her family, becomes the third president of an Ivy League university to step down in the wake of campus protests over Gaza.

She said she made the announcement now so new leadership could be in place before the new term begins on Sept. 3, when student protesters have vowed to resume protests.  As reported by Reuters.

“It has… been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community. This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community,” Shafik said in a statement.

The university announced Katrina Armstrong, dean of Columbia’s medical school, would serve as interim president. Armstrong said in a statement she was “acutely aware of the trials the University has faced over the past year.”

Columbia was rocked in April and May as protesters occupied parts of the New York City campus in opposition to Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza, resulting in hundreds of arrests. The demonstrators denounced Shafik for calling police onto campus to halt the demonstrations, while pro-Israel supporters castigated her for failing to crack down sufficiently.

Students with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a group behind the protests, welcomed the resignation but said it should not become a distraction from their efforts to have Columbia divest from companies that support Israel’s military and its occupation of Palestinian territories.

“We hope that Columbia will finally appoint a president that will hear the students and faculty rather than appeasing Congress and donors,” said Mahmoud Khalil, one of the group’s lead negotiators with the school’s administration.

Republican U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik, a critic of university leaders in congressional hearings over Gaza protests nationwide, called Shafik’s resignation “overdue” on X because of what she called failure to protect Jewish students.

Two other Ivy League presidents have resigned after facing congressional critics. Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania stepped down in December 2023 and Claudine Gay of Harvard quit a month later.

Shafik, an Egyptian-born economist who holds British and U.S. nationality, was previously deputy governor of the Bank of England, president of the London School of Economics and deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund.

After leading Columbia for little more than a year, Shafik said she would return to the British House of Lords and chair a review of the government’s approach to international development.

Her position at Columbia was undermined when pro-Palestinian protesters set up dozens of tents on the main lawn.

On April 18 she took the unusual step of asking New York police to enter campus, angering rights groups, students and faculty, after encampments were not cleared voluntarily.

More than 100 people were arrested and the tents removed, but within days the encampment was back in place. The university called police back in on April 30, when they arrested 300 people at and near Columbia and the City College of New York. Some protesters were injured in the arrests.

Good luck in her new position!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

COVID cases are on the rise this summer as the COVID-19 FLiRT variants spread.

According to the most recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on August 3rd, 27.8% of cases are the KP.3.1.1 strain and 20.1% of current infections are KP.3. Both of these variants stem from the FLiRT family of the coronavirus. Another variant that is not a descendant of FLiRT, named LB.1, makes up an estimated 16% of COVID-19 cases at the moment.  As reported by Good Housekeeping and CBS News.

“The FLiRT variant appeared in March,” says Tammy Lundstrom, M.D., J.D., the senior vice president at Trinity Health who led their COVID-19 response. “Throughout the COVID-19 era, new strains have continued to arise. Like other strains, it appears highly transmissible, but it does not appear more virulent at this point.”

While it’s great that COVID-19 cases don’t seem to be as dangerous as they used to be, it still causes unpleasant symptoms which can be severe for people with certain risk factors. Unfortunately, just 22.5% of American adults had received the most recent COVID-19 vaccine as of May 11, 2024 (when the latest data was released). Could this be contributing to the summer surge we’re experiencing? We turned to experts to learn more about the newest variants, important COVID-19 symptoms to be aware of and how to protect yourself and your loved ones.

What are the FLiRT and LB.1 variants?

As fun as the name sounds, FLiRT is not the official designation for the dominant COVID-19 variant. That is actually a cheeky nickname for a whole family of different variants (any that start with KP). “The FLiRT variants came to the forefront at the end of April,” says Nikhil K. Bhayani, M.D., FIDSA, an infectious disease specialist and assistant professor at the Burnett School of Medicine at Texas Christian University.

KP.2, KP.2.3, KP.3 and KP.3.1.1 are official names of the FLiRT variants that are circulating right now. While FLiRT took over JN.1 as the dominant variant, it’s actually a descendant of JN.1. Essentially, the “parent” variant (JN.1) was unseated by several “child” variants. Various variations of JN.1 are still swirling in some capacity, but they make up a smaller percentage of COVID-19 cases. LB.1, another variant that has been circulating this summer, is not a member of the FLiRT family, but another descendant of JN.1.

Is there a summer surge?

Yes, the wastewater viral activity for COVID-19 — how the CDC tracks trends in infectious disease circulating in a community — is currently listed as “very high,” according to the most recent CDC data. However, a summer surge is not unique to FLiRT.

“Throughout the COVID-19 era, we have seen a rise in infections during summer,” says Dr. Lundstrom. Two reasons for this, according to the CDC, are that people tend to do more traveling during the summer and also congregate indoors with air conditioners on when it’s very hot outside.

What are the symptoms?

The good news is that the FLiRT and LB.1 strains of the coronavirus don’t seem to spark any surprise symptoms. “The symptoms are similar to other COVID-19 strains,” says Dr. Lundstrom. The CDC updated its list of possible symptoms on June 25th, and those include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• New loss of taste or smell
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

“Like similar recent strains, the incidence of loss of taste and smell are not prominent,” adds Lundstrom.

How long do symptoms last?

It really depends on the person. Typically, people with mild cases will experience symptoms for 5-10 days, however, many may start to feel better sooner than that. According to the CDC, most people with long COVID will start to feel better after three months, although it can last years. It’s best to speak to your doctor if any of your symptoms are lingering.

Is there a new vaccine?

Our experts said that vaccines still provide good protection against COVID-19, “especially against severe illness and hospitalization,” says Dr. Lundstrom. However, a study published in April found that KP.2 is proving to have “the most significant resistance” to the 2023-24 COVID-19 booster, and that this “increased immune resistance ability of KP.2 partially contributes to the higher” prevalence of infections “than previous variants, including JN.1.”

At the end of June, the CDC recommended that everyone ages 6 months and older receive the updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine, which was tweaked based on the most dominant variants circulating this year. The most updated COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be rolled out this fall. “The World Health Organization is recommending the upcoming COVID booster to be based on the predominant lineage for the year,” adds Dr. Bhayani.

However, the CDC and our experts still recommend the current vaccine to protect yourself before the 2024-25 booster is made available in the fall. “Adults over the age of 65 should get the last COVID-19 vaccine available,” says Bhayani. Dr. Lundstrom suggests that older adults “should be vaccinated four months after their last vaccination” and those with compromised immune systems “should get vaccinated two months after their last dose.”

How to protect yourself

In March, the CDC updated the Respiratory Virus Guidance as COVID-19 cases have decreased over time. “It is still an important health threat, but it is no longer the emergency that it once was, and its health impacts increasingly resemble those of other respiratory viral illnesses, including flu and RSV,” the new guidance states.

“The same precautions will help protect against the spread of most respiratory viruses: wash hands frequently, cover your mouth and nose when sneezing/coughing, stay up to date with vaccinations and stay home when ill to prevent spreading infection to others,” suggests Dr. Lundstrom. However, Dr. Bhayani reminds us that the elderly, individuals with compromised immune systems and kids “should take extra precautions, such as avoiding large crowds and wear masks if COVID-19 cases are on the rise locally.”

If you do get sick, the CDC still recommends staying at home until your symptoms are improving overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Afterward, you can resume normal activities and “use added prevention strategies over the next five days.”

Tony