Monthly Archives: July 2021

Sen. Rand PaulRandal (Rand) Howard PaulGOP Rep. Cawthorn says he wants to 'prosecute' Fauci Writer: Fauci, Paul clash shouldn't distract from probe into COVID-19 origins S.E. Cupp: 'The politicization of science and health safety has inarguably cost lives' MORE (R-Ky.) on Tuesday escalated his ongoing feud with the nation's top infectious diseases doctor Anthony FauciAnthony FauciCNN: Every county in Florida, Arkansas rated 'high transmission' for community spread Rising case count reignites debate over COVID-19 restrictions Trump surgeon general: 'Pandemic is spiraling out of control' MORE about the role the National Institutes of Health (NIH) played in funding controversial research in Wuhan, China.

The two traded barbs during a tense exchange, triggering a shouting match in which Fauci accused Paul of lying in order to further his agenda.

During a Senate Health Committee hearing about the federal COVID-19 response, Paul said the NIH funded illegal gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which created a highly dangerous and transmissible virus able to infect humans. Gain-of-function is a controversialmethod where researchers make a pathogen more infectious, often to develop more effective treatments and vaccines.

Its an unsubstantiated accusation Paul has made before, and one Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has denied.

Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about.

Dr. FauciAnthony FauciCNN: Every county in Florida, Arkansas rated 'high transmission' for community spread Rising case count reignites debate over COVID-19 restrictions Trump surgeon general: 'Pandemic is spiraling out of control' MORE after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) accuses him of lying to Congress about gain-of-function research in Wuhan lab. pic.twitter.com/aGhn3ua9r0

In response to similar questioning during a hearing in May, Fauci said the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain of function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

It's not unusual for conservative Republicans and allies of former President TrumpDonald TrumpCuban embassy in Paris attacked by gasoline bombs Trump Jr. inches past DeSantis as most popular GOP figure in new poll: Axios Trump endorses Ken Paxton over George P. Bush in Texas attorney general race MORE to clash with Fauci during hearings; Paul has done so on numerous occasions, as has Rep. Jim JordanJames (Jim) Daniel JordanBritney Spears's new attorney files motion to remove her dad as conservator House rejects GOP effort to seat McCarthy's picks for Jan. 6 panel GOP brawls over Trump on eve of first Jan. 6 hearing MORE (R-Ohio).

In the past, Fauci has tried to remain relatively calm, if terse, even as he responds to personal attacks and accusations of a cover-up.

But on Tuesday, Paul stepped up his fight, implying that Fauci had lied to Congress, and that he was fully aware of what the Wuhan lab was doing with grant money that came from NIH.

He also suggested that Fauci and the NIH could be partly responsible for the pandemic and the deaths of 4 million people worldwide.

Paul cited an academic paper that purportedly shows the lab was conducting illegal research to create potential pandemic pathogens that exist only in the lab, not in nature, a claim Fauci denied in one of his angriest public exchanges to date.

Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, and I want to say that officially, Fauci said.

How can you say that's not gain-of-function? It's a dance and you're dancing around this because you're trying to obscure responsibility for 4 million people dying around the world from a pandemic, Paul responded, cutting Fauci off.

If the point that you are making is that the grant that was funded as a subaward ... created SARS-COV-2, thats where you are getting, Fauci said, pointing two fingers at Paul before the senator cut him off again.

We don't know ... but all the evidence is pointing that it came from the lab and there will be responsibility for those that funded the lab, including yourself, Paul said.

I totally resent the lie you are now propagating, senator, Fauci said, adding that it is molecularly impossible that research funded by NIH was responsible for SARS-CoV-2.

Paul interjected again, talking over Fauci: You are obviously obfuscating the truth, to which Fauci replied, I'm not obfuscating the truth -- you are.

You are implying that what we did was responsible for the deaths of individuals. I totally resent that, Fauci said. And if anybody is lying here senator, it is you, he added, pointing a finger at Paul.

After Paul's time expired, Sen. Tina SmithTina Flint SmithFauci: Paul doesn't know what he's talking about Clean electricity standard should be a no brainer amid extreme climate impacts Overnight Energy: Democrats reach budget deal including climate priorities | Europe planning to cut emissions 55 percent by 2030 | Army Corps nominee pledges not to politicize DAPL environmental review MORE (D-Minn.) was the next lawmaker up, and with a sympathetic but bemused expression, she offered Fauci an opportunity to counteract these attacks on your integrity that we've all just witnessed.

I don't think I have anything further to say, Fauci said. This is a pattern that Sen. Paul has been doing now at multiple hearings based on no reality. He keeps talking about gain-of-function. This has been evaluated multiple times by qualified people to not fall under the gain-of-function definition.

He added: I have not lied before Congress. I have never lied, certainly not before Congress. Case closed.

This story was updated at 4:23 p.m.

Read more here:
Fauci: Paul doesn't know what he's talking about | TheHill - The Hill

Fifty years ago next month, with inflation rising and growing trade deficits, President Richard Nixon suspended the conversion of the U.S. dollar into gold. This decision effectively ended the Bretton Woods system the final attempt at an international gold standard and ushered in a new era of floating exchange rates between major currencies, rather than rates fixed by policymakers.

The end of gold-backed money and fixed exchange rates has been controversial, but it remains the right decision.

Ron Paul, a former U.S. congressman and presidential candidate, decided to first enter politics because of his disappointment with Nixons decision. Some commentators have argued that floating exchange rates are a major source of instability and seek a return to some sort of Bretton Woods-style arrangement. Many argue that as a rules-based monetary policy, a new gold standard would constrain central banks (including the Federal Reserve) from creating inflation, and fiscal policymakers (including Congress) from running unhealthy budget deficits.

While central banks should pursue a more accountable, rules-based approach to monetary policy, a new gold standard would do much more harm than good.

In 1944, representatives from the Allied powers developed Bretton Woods for the postwar era. Their goal was to create a regime that produced exchange rate stability in a tumultuous world, while also giving each nations central bank latitude to pursue their own policies.

The dollar was set at $35 per ounce of gold. Other currencies, such as the British pound and German mark, were pegged to the dollar, but these pegs could be adjusted. It took nearly 15 years to get the system running, and even then, it suffered from major flaws that gave it a short lifespan. For example, in 1967, the United Kingdom had difficulty maintaining its peg, so it devalued the pound. This boosted exports, but also raised inflation.

Challenges in the United States ultimately led to Bretton Woods demise. Large trade deficits with West Germany and Japan and large budget deficits under the Johnson and Nixon administrations led to more U.S. dollars held abroad. Eventually, there was not enough U.S. gold to redeem those dollars.

Recognizing this, speculators sold their dollars, causing runs on the currency and making it even more difficult for the United States to maintain its exchange rates with other countries. Nixon suspended the dollars conversion into gold, and although he announced that the suspension would be temporary, the system was never salvaged.

While one can argue that Bretton Woods used a poorly designed gold standard giving too much room to governments to pursue monetary and fiscal policies and creating tension within the system this does not mean we should return to another gold standard, even one like the relatively well-functioning pre-World War I classical gold standard.

The classical gold standard period was an era where central banks either did not exist or had much less discretion, where prices were more flexible, and where the public did not expect governments to provide modern social services. These conditions simply do not exist today.

In at least some respects, central banks are already taking steps toward a more rules-based monetary system. Beginning in the 1990s, many began targeting 2 percent inflation, and inflation since then has generally been low across the developed world (the recent uptick notwithstanding). Last year, the Fed modified this goal by targeting 2% inflation on average over time, which means making up for past misses of the target.

An even better goal would be to target total dollar spending in the economy, or nominal gross domestic product. Among the differences in this approach is that it allows inflation to rise temporarily in response to recessions. This reduces the severity of debt burdens and stimulates the economys recovery. It also allows inflation to fall during economic booms, helping consumers. Moreover, nominal gross domestic product targeting can be rules-based, making policy more predictable and constrained.

While a gold standard has appealing features in the abstract, implementing it is another story altogether. The Fed should instead focus on smoothing out business cycles here in the United States, and letting markets determine exchange rates.

David Beckworth is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a former international economist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Patrick Horan is the program manager for Mercatus monetary policy program.

Read more from the original source:
Should the US return to the gold standard? No - The Daily World

Fifty years ago next month, with inflation rising and growing trade deficits, President Richard Nixon suspended the conversion of the U.S. dollar into gold. This decision effectively ended the Bretton Woods system the final attempt at an international gold standard and ushered in a new era of floating exchange rates between major currencies, rather than rates fixed by policymakers.

The end of gold-backed money and fixed exchange rates has been controversial, but it remains the right decision.

Former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul decided to first enter politics because of his disappointment with Nixons decision. Some commentators have argued floating exchange rates are a major source of instability and seek a return to some sort of Bretton Woods-style arrangement. Many argue that as a rules-based monetary policy, a new gold standard would constrain central banks (including the Federal Reserve) from creating inflation, and fiscal policymakers (including Congress) from running unhealthy budget deficits.

While central banks should pursue a more accountable, rules-based approach to monetary policy, a new gold standard would do much more harm than good.

In 1944, representatives from the Allied powers developed Bretton Woods for the postwar era. Their goal was to create a regime that produced exchange rate stability in a tumultuous world, while also giving each nations central bank latitude to pursue its own policies.

The dollar was set at $35 per ounce of gold. Other currencies, such as the British pound and German mark, were pegged to the dollar, but these pegs could be adjusted. It took nearly 15 years to get the system running, and even then, it suffered from major flaws that gave it a short lifespan. For example, in 1967, the United Kingdom had difficulty maintaining its peg, so it devalued the pound. This boosted exports but also raised inflation.

Challenges in the United States ultimately led to Bretton Woods demise. Large trade deficits with West Germany and Japan and large budget deficits under the Johnson and Nixon administrations led to more U.S. dollars held abroad. Eventually, there was not enough U.S. gold to redeem those dollars. Recognizing this, speculators sold their dollars, causing runs on the currency and making it even more difficult for the United States to maintain its exchange rates with other countries. Nixon suspended the dollars conversion into gold, and although he announced that the suspension would be temporary, the system was never salvaged.

While one can argue that Bretton Woods used a poorly designed gold standard giving too much room to governments to pursue monetary and fiscal policies and creating tension within the system this does not mean we should return to another gold standard, even one like therelativelywell-functioning pre-World War I classical gold standard.

The classical gold standard period was an era where central banks either did not exist or had much less discretion, where prices were more flexible, and where the public did not expect governments to provide modern social services. These conditions simply do not exist today.

In at least some respects, central banks are already taking steps toward a more rules-based monetary system. Beginning in the 1990s, many began targeting 2 percent inflation, and inflation since then has generally been low across the developed world (therecent upticknotwithstanding). Last year, the Fed modified this goal by targeting 2 percent inflation on average over time, which means making up for past misses of the target.

An evenbetter goalwould be to target total dollar spending in the economy, or nominal gross domestic product. Among the differences in this approach is that it allows inflation to rise temporarily in response to recessions. This reduces the severity of debt burdens and stimulates the economys recovery. It also allows inflation to fall during economic booms, helping consumers. Moreover, nominal gross domestic product targeting can berules-based, making policy more predictable and constrained.

Original post:
Should the US Return to the Gold Standard? InsideSources - InsideSources

July 24, 2021Updated: July 24, 2021 3a.m.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has suggested Republicans take inspiration from Texas Democrats and walk out of the Senate.

After a week of adoring PR, the worm has finally turned for the Texas Democrats and their impromptu tour of the nations capital. Several have tested positive for COVID Wear a dang mask! Even on private jets! and after aids for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Biden tested positive after meeting with the gang, they appear to have lost any spot they might have had on the Oval Office calendar. They still have an appointment with destiny, as far as Gov. Greg Abbott is concerned. Hes still vowing to call as many special sessions as it takes to get Democrats to show up and provide quorum so Republicans can pass their voting bill. But chin up, Dems. Youve made quite an impression, it seems, on at least one unlikely admirer: U.S. Sen Lindsey Graham. The Republican from South Carolina has been so inspired by the Democrats gallant attempt at fugitive justice, he suggested this week that his GOP colleagues follow suit and hightail it out of town to stop a multi-trillion-dollar spending bill that Congressional Democrats are preparing to pass along party lines. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but this might be a case of mutual admiration. Maybe the Dems came up with this walkout stunt all on their own, and maybe they, too, were inspired by a muse: Graham himself and his Senate colleagues, who have for years formidably used the same guerrilla tactic to block legislation and judicial nominees they dont like. Only they call it the filibuster.

Graham wasnt the only DC pol to weigh in on Texas politics this week. Dr. Anthony Faucis BFF, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, announced Thursday that hes throwing his support behind Republican Don Huffines in his primary campaign to oust Gov. Abbott. On paper, its easy to see why Huffines and Paul are simpatico. Despite being a medical doctor who presumably took an oath to do no harm, Paul is one of the Senates leading COVID skeptics and vocal anti-vaxxers while Huffines entire campaign is tethered to an alternate reality in which Abbotts decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic went too far. Two peas in a pandemic pod. Between the senators endorsement of Huffines and his father former Texas congressman Ron Pauls blaming Abbott for the power grid failure in February, the governor isnt likely to make the Paul Christmas list this year. Just as well. One Lysol disinfectant wipe saved.

Thumbs isnt a Texas Longhorn although we have some friends who are, so youll have to forgive any ignorance about this whole Eyes of Texas brouhaha, but uh, paying $1.1 million for a consultant to conclude that the University of Texas fight song isnt racist doesnt strike us as a great return on investment. The university paid that hefty sum to Brad Deutser, a Houston consultant, to come up with a communication strategy on what it means to be a Longhorn. High drought tolerance, a taste for grass, and indiscreet bathroom habits whats so hard to understand? In the end, Deuster didnt settle much. The song committees work was completed last year the fight song will stay, despite continued questions about its minstrel show roots. UT essentially paid Deutser a million bucks to tell officials what they wanted to hear and to tick off some college students who want the song gone. Good work if you can get it all the livelong day.

Finally, its been a rough year for Houston. The Texans stunk. The Rockets jettisoned the face of the franchise to Brooklyn. The city literally froze for a week. Oh yeah and that whole global pandemic thing. But slotting the Bayou City behind the likes of Jacksonville and Green Bay on the best places to live list is just downright insulting. U.S. News & World Reports Best Places to Live list dropped Houston down 12 spots this year. Its bad enough that Houston wasnt even ranked the most desirable city in Texas the judges apparently think the most diverse, interesting and resilient city in the nation falls behind the Peoples Republic of Austin and that snooty town in North Texas whose name we cant recall right now. But the list of cities ranked higher across the country is a study in obscurity, stagnation and monolingual-ism. Sure, Houston may be a little hot and sticky, more swampy than lush green, more harried hurricane than tranquil lake, but once you know the secrets of the fire swamp and the most effective brands of mosquito repellent, you can live here quite comfortably. Its better than Spartanburg any day. Bury us in Houston.

Original post:
TEXAS Thumbs: Texas Dems in disarray and Houston gets snubbed HOUSTON CHRONICLE - Houston Chronicle

CLAIM

Post-vaccination deaths reported to VAERS are caused by the vaccine

DETAILS

Inadequate support: VAERS records adverse events occurring after vaccination. Because there is already a preexisting background or baseline rate of illnesses and deaths occurring even among unvaccinated people, VAERS reports alone dont demonstrate causal relationships between a vaccine and adverse events, as these events can simply be incidental illnesses and deaths unrelated to vaccination.

KEY TAKE AWAY

Reports in the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System arent in themselves evidence that the vaccine was the cause of the adverse event. To date, more than 187 million people in the U.S. received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 162 million are fully vaccinated. Comparing the number of deaths among vaccinated people to that of the background rate of death shows that vaccinated people arent more likely to die compared to unvaccinated people. The benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use outweigh their risks.

REVIEW On 21 July 2021, multiple social media posts drew attention to the website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a doubling of death reports made to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. The specific statement quoted by these posts is More than 338 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from December 14, 2020, through July 19, 2021. During this time, VAERS received 12,313 reports of death (0.0036%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. Among the earliest posts was this tweet by Alex Berenson, who previously propagated health misinformation.

Some posts, like those by talk show host Steve Deace and former U.S. Representative Ron Paul, used language implying that VAERS reports are evidence that COVID-19 vaccines caused the deaths, for instance, by using the phrases deaths from Covid vaccines and Covid vaccine deaths. Both posts received more than 15,000 interactions on Facebook, including likes, views, and comments.

An article on TrialSiteNews used similar language, claiming that these VAERS reports showed deaths associated with COVID-19 vaccines and an unprecedented number of fatalities when compared to any other vaccination initiative over the past few decades given its only been available for just over half a year.

Political activist and radio talk show host Charlie Kirk also repeated this claim on his show, adding he was just asking questions. Just asking questions is a rhetorical technique which allows a person to ask leading questions and posit baseless or disproven hypotheses without having to provide evidence. He went even further to assert that 1.2 million people died after getting the vaccine with no evidence. And on top of this, he falsely claimed that vaccine companies cannot be sued, a claim previously covered by Health Feedback.

The social media posts and TrialSiteNews article propagate the common but misleading notion that VAERS reports alone provide evidence of safety problems, despite the fact that the CDC website itself states:

FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if its unclear whether the vaccine was the cause. Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem.

And VAERS itself warns against using its data in this manner:

While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. The reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. In large part, reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This creates specific limitations on how the data can be used scientifically. Data from VAERS reports should always be interpreted with these limitations in mind.

Previous Health Feedback reviews covered iterations of this popular claim (see here, here, and here).

In brief, the problem with this claim is that it fails to account for the background rate of an adverse event like death. This is important because firstly, people have been dying even before the COVID-19 vaccines were available. Secondly, even unvaccinated people die. Indeed, on average, almost 8,000 people die in the U.S. everyday from various causes, based on Statista. To date, more than 187 million people in the U.S. received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and more than 162 million are fully vaccinated.

What Deace, Paul, Kirk, and TrialSiteNews failed to show is that deaths in vaccinated people are more likely to die compared to unvaccinated people, or that deaths among vaccinated people exceed that baseline or background rate of death. This is a critical first step in inferring a causal relationship between the vaccine and an adverse event like death. In any event, reviews of post-vaccination death reports by scientists didnt show an increase in the mortality rate of vaccinated people, as explained in an earlier Health Feedback review. Against the backdrop of the hundreds of millions who have been vaccinated in the U.S., the death reports on VAERS dont point to a significant safety concern.

Furthermore, TrialSiteNews comparison of reports related to COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines is misleading. As explained in an earlier Health Feedback review, this is due to COVID-19 vaccines being under emergency use authorization, unlike approved vaccines. This difference in status means that healthcare providers are legally obliged to report any deaths occurring among people who received the COVID-19 vaccine, even if there is no indication that the vaccine is involved in the death.

Therefore, reports of deaths post-COVID-19 vaccination would be submitted more frequently than for other vaccines to date, and it wouldnt be unusual to find more reports for COVID-19 vaccines compared to other vaccines.

The CDC did state that it received 12,313 reports of death on 21 July 2021, the day that Deace, Paul, and others published their posts. However, at the time of this reviews writing, the CDC website stated that During this time, VAERS received 6,207 reports of death (0.0018%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine. Its unclear what prompted the abrupt change in numbers within a few days. Health Feedback reached out to the CDC for clarification and will update this review if we hear back.

This Insight article explains methods for inferring causality between adverse events and vaccines.

Read more:
VAERS reports may initiate investigations into potential associations between a vaccine and adverse events, but on their own cannot prove causality -...

Bitcoin-only director Richard James documentary on the recent history of inflation, Hard Money, uses stock images and anonymous narrators to weave the film. One of them qualifies the tweaking of the money supply as the greatest con in human history. Another one compares the Fed to the Wizard of Oz. The voices are familiar. You feel like you heard some of these clips before. When the credits roll, you realize the narrators were the creme of the cream of the Bitcoin thinkers.

The Hard Money documentary could be considered a condensed version of the first few chapters from Saifedean Ammous The Bitcoin Standard. The first book were reading in the Bitcoinist Book Club. In the documentary, you can actually see Keynes celebrating the gold standards supposed collapse and saying that the public must not allow anyone to put them back in the gold cage. In contrast, you can read Ludvig Von Mises quote: The gold standard did not collapse. Governments abolished it in order to pave the way for inflation.

Related Reading | Buy Bitcoin: Rich Dad, Poor Dad Warns Of Worlds Biggest Crash

Watch the Hard Money documentary and youll be able to answer these questions: Why was gold chosen as the premier form of hard currency? What were golds severe flaws? What is inflation and how does the government hide it? How breaking the relationship between the Dollar and gold broke the relationship between the market and reality. What is low and high time preference? What does fractional reserve banking create? Why are the institutions that issue debt effectively printing new money?

Basically, money printing is a hidden tax and it has paid for wars and incompetency. However, hear Ron Pauls prediction, The Feds going to self-destruct eventually, anyway. As the credits roll, we realize that the previously anonymous narrator voices belong to the likes of Dan Sanchez, Robert Breedlove, Saifedean Ammous, Preston Pysh, Jimmy Song, Ben Prentice, Guy Swan, and several others.

Related Reading | Ethereum Founder Gets Involved In Documentary About Ethereum

However, who said The 20th Century was the Centutry of politicians and governments taking advantage of the printing press? Theres no way of knowing that. And maybe thats for the best.

View post:
Selected Quotes And Seven Lessons From The Hard Money Mini-Documentary - bitcoinist.com

This is going to be an all-around tough day for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and to a large degree, its a self-inflicted predicament. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

IN MEMORIAM @SenatorEnzi: Former Wyoming U.S. Senator MIKE ENZI passed away peacefully today surrounded by his family. His family expresses their deep appreciation for all of the prayers, support and concern. They now ask for privacy and continued prayers during this difficult time. The family is planning to hold a celebration of a life well-lived, with details to be shared later. More from the Casper Star-Tribune

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ALL-AROUND TOUGH DAY for House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and to a large degree, its a self-inflicted predicament.

The Houses Jan. 6 committee makes its debut this morning.

For the first time across dozens of high-profile Trump-related oversight hearings, Republican leadership and allies will have no voice on the panel. (Its going to be weird for us Hill watchers who are used to Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) lobbing procedural grenades into proceedings to start fights. More on that from Olivia Beavers )

McCarthys rather abrupt decision last week to pull his members from the Jan. 6 committee means that Democrats and their two GOP allies on this issue, LIZ CHENEY (Wyo.) and ADAM KINZINGER (Ill.) will have free rein to set the narrative. (This is why several folks on McCarthys own leadership team thought that pulling out was a bad idea.)

Heres how that narrative is shaping up:

Uniformed police officers who put their lives on the line to defend Congress on Jan. 6 will testify about the horrors they endured that day. Rep. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-Miss.), the chair of the panel, previews their stories in a WaPo op-ed: [Metropolitan Police officer MICHAEL] FANONE voluntarily rushed to the Capitol [then] suffered a traumatic brain injury and a heart attack [MPD officer DANIEL] HODGES can be seen being crushed by the mob as he and his fellow officers sought to defend a narrow hallway leading to a Capitol entrance [U.S. Capitol Police officer HARRY] DUNN was one of the first officers to speak publicly about the racial epithets he and others faced. [USCP officer AQUILINO] GONELL, a veteran who had been deployed to Iraq was beaten with a pole carrying an American flag.

Their testimony alone is a public relations disaster for Republicans. The GOP likes to boast that they back the blue and are the party of law and order. But in snuffing out the possibility of a nonpartisan commission to probe the Jan. 6 attacks, McCarthy effectively brushed aside pleas from law enforcement to authorize the investigation. Now, after pulling out from the select committee, Republicans (save for Cheney and Kinzinger) will be absent as the officers speak.

Meanwhile, where will some of the most vocal pro-Trump House Republicans be instead? Reps. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.), MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.), PAUL GOSAR (R-Ariz.) and LOUIE GOHMERT (R-Texas) will head to the Justice Department to protest the treatment of Jan. 6th prisoners. (Note the language: not rioters charged with violent acts; Jan. 6th prisoners, as if locked up for their political views.) This comes as some of the most hardcore Trumpies in the House have sought to cast the siege as a peaceful protest a rewriting of history that McCarthy, frankly, has done little to push back on publicly.

Meanwhile, McCarthy wants to focus attention on Speaker NANCY PELOSIs unprecedented power move last week to block two Republican lawmakers from the Jan. 6 committee. House GOP leaders will have a press conference this morning before the hearing, no doubt looking to try and frame the days proceedings.

But ask yourself this: Do you think McCarthys complaints about Pelosi will mollify DONALD TRUMP when he turns on his TV and sees no Republicans on the dais defending him?

A message from Facebook:

The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too It's been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations passed. See why we support updated regulations on key issues, including: Protecting peoples privacy Enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms Preventing election interference Reforming Section 230

Whats next for the probe? Kicking off with nonpartisan cops is a politically smart move for Democrats who can argue against police in uniform? but theres already plenty of chatter about where they go from here. Weve heard conflicting things from folks close to the committee about whether theyll subpoena people like then-White House chief of staff MARK MEADOWS or congressional Republicans who spoke with Trump that day. But its hard to imagine this probe could be considered complete until they have.

Democrats prep a somber yet TV-ready first hearing in Jan. 6 probe, by Nicholas Wu, Heather Caygle and Olivia Beavers: Democrats want Americans glued to their TVs Tuesday for the first hearing of the Jan. 6 select committee. They also don't want a circus. The four officers will be dressed in their uniforms to testify, despite appearing in a personal capacity. Questions to them will be limited and interwoven with video footage. And members are restricted to one round of back-and-forth, ensuring the hearing lasts only a few hours.

NEW POLLING ON JAN. 6 Beyond all of the political jousting is a public that wants more information about what happened on Jan. 6. According to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, 58% of American voters support a congressional commission to investigate the events of Jan. 6. But that support breaks down along party lines: Its supported by 83% of Democratic voters but just 34% of Republicans (52% outright oppose it).

Good Tuesday morning, and thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

IN LIGHTER NEWS Michigan lawmaker reports $221 campaign spending at strip club, by the Detroit News Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger: A Michigan lawmaker reported spending $221 of his campaign money at a strip club in Dearborn for a March 8 constituent meeting to discuss potential economic projects, according to a disclosure filed Sunday.

Line of the day: We have (to) meet people where theyre at some times ... #HOLLA, [state Rep. JEWELL] JONES said in a text message after the interview. He added that the club had great lamb chops.

JOE BIDENS TUESDAY:

10:15 a.m.: The president and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the Presidents Daily Brief.

2:20 p.m.: Biden will speak to the Intelligence Community workforce and leadership at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in McLean, Va.

HARRIS TUESDAY:

Noon: The VP will speak virtually to the National Bar Association.

4:15 p.m.: The VP will host a conversation along with Interior Secretary DEB HAALAND focused on voting rights, meeting with tribal and other Alaska Native and American Indian leaders.

Press secretary JEN PSAKI will brief at 12:30 p.m.

THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m. The Jan. 6 select committee will hold its first hearing at 9:30 a.m.

THE SENATE will meet at 10:30 a.m. to take up TODD KIMs nomination as an assistant A.G., with a vote at 11:30 a.m. The chamber will recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Haaland will testify before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee at 10 a.m. Secretary of Homeland Security ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS will testify before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee at 10 a.m. American Federation of Teachers President RANDI WEINGARTEN and New York A.G. TISH JAMES will testify before a Banking subcommittee hearing on student loan borrowers at 3 p.m.

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Iraqi PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi listens to President Joe Biden speaking during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office on Monday. | Tom Brenner-Pool/Getty Images

NEVER-ENDING INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR

STATE OF PLAY High-stakes infrastructure talks stall out as deadline passes, by Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett: Senators capped off a day of trading blame and stalled efforts on their bipartisan infrastructure proposal with a Monday meeting that quickly broke up, signaling a tough path forward as negotiators missed yet another self-imposed deadline.

The core 10 senators huddled in the office of Sen. ROB PORTMAN (R-Ohio), the lead Republican negotiator, hoping to get past a rough weekend of fruitless talks. Portman said he was still optimistic about a deal despite rejected offers, finger pointing and impasses. He and White House counselor STEVE RICCHETTI will help finish the deal, negotiators said, with input from the rest of the group. Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER warned that more foot-dragging could require the Senate to stay in over the weekend or cuts to some of the upcoming August recess.

THE WHITE HOUSE

MUCK READ Brother of top Biden advisor lobbied Executive Office of the President on behalf of GM, by CNBCs Brian Schwartz: The report shows that JEFF RICCHETTI, brother of White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, engaged with the NSC for the car-making giant on issues related to China. The company paid Ricchetti $60,000 last quarter for his lobbying services.

Jeff Ricchettis work to lobby the NSC, which is part of the Executive Office of the President, comes as he tries to publicly distance his work from his brother Jeff Ricchetti said in an email to CNBC that he no longer lobbies the White House Office He did not answer several other questions, including whom he spoke with at the National Security Council on behalf of GM, and specifically what he was lobbying about with regard to China.

HERE WE GO AGAIN Biden team weighs return to mask mandates in some states, by Erin Banco, Adam Cancryn and Anita Kumar

CONGRESS

IS IMMIGRATION INFRASTRUCTURE? On Monday, calls grew for comprehensive immigration reform to be added to the reconciliation package, with both Reps. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD (D-Calif.) and JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-N.Y.) signing on via Twitter though stopping short of saying theyd otherwise block the legislation. More on that from Roll Call Bloombergs Laura Litvan has the readout on what the policy could look like

ALL IN THE FAMILY Matt Gaetzs Future Sister-in-Law Says Hes a Gaslighting Creep, by The Daily Beasts Roger Sollenberger

THE PANDEMIC CONGRESS Pelosis new COVID plans, by Axios Hans Nichols: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is expected to extend proxy voting through the fall and potentially until the end of the year.

POLICY CORNER

CLEAR EYES, EMPTY SHELVES From ports to rail yards, global supply lines struggle amid virus outbreaks in the developing world, by WaPos David Lynch: Fresh coronavirus outbreaks are forcing factory shutdowns in countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, aggravating supply chain disruptions that could leave some U.S. retailers with empty shelves as consumers begin their back-to-school shopping.

DEEP DIVE How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic, by ProPublicas Cezary Podkul: Bots filing bogus applications in bulk, teams of fraudsters in foreign countries making phony claims, online forums peddling how-to advice on identity theft: Inside the infrastructure of perhaps the largest fraud wave in history.

PANDEMIC

IN THE DANGER ZONE Whats Covid? Why People at Americas Hardest-Partying Lake Are Not About to Get Vaccinated, by Natasha Korecki in Osage Beach, Mo.: A year ago, Backwater Jacks made national news after photos went viral of partiers packed inside the pool area, ignoring guidelines to avoid crowds and keep a distance from others. Today, as revelers laugh and toss back drinks in shallow pool water, some 600,000 deaths later, they arent just forgoing masks, they are forgoing the vaccine.

Interviews with dozens of the clientele frequenting dockside bars, restaurants and resorts in this area revealed an opposition to the vaccine campaign and a disbelief in news around the Delta variant so intense it bordered on belligerence. No promise, they say, would entice them to voluntarily get vaccinated, not a $1 million check, or a plea from a loved one, or the encouragement of Donald Trump himself.

People fill the pool at Backwater Jacks on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo., on Saturday. Photos and video of the packed waterfront restaurant and swim-up bar went viral Memorial Day weekend 2020. Vaccination rates in Missouri have remained low when compared to the rest of nation. | Whitney Curtis for POLITICO

THE NEW WAVE As it becomes ever clearer that a lackluster vaccination rate is imperiling the whole countrys ability to extricate itself from the Covid-19 pandemic, a flurry of activity Monday showed governments getting impatient with cajoling vaccinations and starting to require them marking an abrupt shift in policy for some of the nations largest public employers, as Victoria Colliver writes in her 10,000-foot view from Oakland.

V.A. Issues Vaccine Mandate for Health Care Workers, a First for a Federal Agency, by NYTs Jennifer Steinhauser

California government, health workers must show proof of vaccination or be tested regularly, by L.A. Times Luke Money, Emily Alpert Reyes and Taryn Luna

NYC to require vaccines or weekly testing for city workers, AP

The legal underpinning: Federal law doesnt prohibit Covid-19 vaccine requirements, Justice Department says, CNN

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AMERICA AND THE WORLD

MOMMY, WHY DOES EVERYBODY HAVE A BOMB? A 2nd New Nuclear Missile Base for China, and Many Questions About Strategy, by NYTs William Broad and David Sanger: In the barren desert 1,200 miles west of Beijing, the Chinese government is digging a new field of what appears to be 110 silos for launching nuclear missiles. It is the second such field discovered by analysts studying commercial satellite images in recent weeks.

It may signify a vast expansion of Chinas nuclear arsenal the cravings of an economic and technological superpower to show that, after decades of restraint, it is ready to wield an arsenal the size of Washingtons, or Moscows. Or, it may simply be a creative, if costly, negotiating ploy. The new silos are clearly being built to be discovered.

POLITICS ROUNDUP

TODAYS SPECIAL ELECTION Susan Wright, Jake Ellzey make final pitches to voters in runoff to replace Ron Wright in Congress, by Dallas Morning News Gromer Jeffers Jr.

AND THE NEXT ONE Left goes all-in for Nina Turner in tightening Ohio race, by Ally Mutnick in Cleveland: Desperate for a victory after centrist candidates prevailed in Virginia, New York City and Louisiana, [Rep. ALEXANDRIA] OCASIO-CORTEZ and other stars of the left are barnstorming the district to help [NINA] TURNER in next weeks special Democratic primary as polls show her once-yawning lead dwindling.

While knocking doors last weekend, Turners fame was clearly on display. A few voters were visibly starstruck by her appearance on her doorstep, and two told her the stop had made their day. But the same outspokenness that made her a breakout star at [BERNIE] SANDERS rallies has also handed detractors some ammunition.

WHAT THE LEFT IS READING What the Congressional Black Caucus Lost When It Won Power, by N.Y. Mags Zak Cheney-Rice

QUITE A READ Kathy Barnettes futile hunt for voter fraud outside Philadelphia and what it says about the GOP, by Philly Inquirers Andrew Seidman: [As KATHY] BARNETTE energized the denial movement with her futile hunt for voter fraud on Philadelphias Main Line, which hasnt been previously reported, the movement elevated her. Shes now running in Pennsylvanias critical 2022 Senate race, raising more money than better-known opponents.

BEG, BORROW AND THIEL A political bogeyman of Silicon Valley, by Axios Lachlan Markay: Tech billionaire PETER THIEL is injecting huge sums into some crucial 2022 midterm contests and drawing fire from Republicans eager to tie their rivals to the GOPs Silicon Valley bogeymen. JOSH MANDEL hit [J.D.] VANCE for positioning himself against Big Tech while he has a guy who is on the board of Facebook as his biggest political funder. Text messages reviewed by Axios show Mandel flagged his candidacy announcement for Thiel and followed up to request meetings with him in February and March. Thiel does not appear to have responded.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

THE SHADOW 2024 FRONT-RUNNER Sellout: Anti-vax conservatives come for DeSantis, by Matt Dixon in Tallahassee: Floridas Covid crisis has wedged Gov. RON DESANTIS between two competing forces: public health experts who urge him to do more and anti-vaxxers who want him to do less. [A]s Covid infections swell across the state, DeSantis major achievement has the potential to backfire on him ahead of his 2022 reelection campaign and potential 2024 presidential bid.

THE NEW VOTING RESTRICTIONS The Texas Election Bill Contains a New Obstacle to Voting That Almost No One Is Talking About, by Votebeats Jessica Huseman in Texas Monthly: [M]ost lawmakers have apparently overlooked a provision that would force counties to automatically reject some mail-in ballot applications. 1.9 million voters about 11 percent of the total have only one of the two [required] numbers on file with the state.

THE MOST VALUABLE GET IN POLITICS Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gets all-important endorsement from Donald Trump over fellow Republican George P. Bush, by Texas Tribunes Patrick Svitek

SCARY NEWS Former California Sen. Barbara Boxer robbed, assaulted in Oakland, by the San Francisco Chronicles Emma Talley

TRUMP CARDS

BARRACKS ROW Tom Barrack Pleads Not Guilty to Foreign Agent Charges, Variety

CLASSY Michael Flynn Totes Rifle And Jokes Maybe Ill Find Somebody in Washington, D.C., Newsweek

VALLEY TALK

THE THREAT WITHIN Facebook and tech giants to target attacker manifestos, far-right militias in database, by Reuters Elizabeth Culliford: A counterterrorism organization formed by some of the biggest U.S. tech companies including Facebook and Microsoft is significantly expanding the types of extremist content shared between firms in a key database, aiming to crack down on material from white supremacists and far-right militias

Until now, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorisms (GIFCT) database has focused on videos and images from terrorist groups on a United Nations list and so has largely consisted of content from Islamist extremist organizations such as Islamic State, al Qaeda and the Taliban.

LADIES NIGHT FOR GOP WOMEN Its been eight months since Election Day, but House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) are hosting a little party tonight at the Capitol Hill Club to celebrate the historic number of Republican women elected to Congress last fall. (We at Playbook fully endorse parties of all sorts, even a quarter-year late!) We hear RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel will attend, too. For context, read Rachaels story from last fall about the very diverse and FEMALE! freshman class

DCCC COVID SCARE Two fully vaccinated DCCC staffers have tested positive for the coronavirus following a happy hour last week, were told by two sources familiar. The DCCC confirmed the cases to Playbook, and said staff and event attendees were notified. The office is optionally open to fully vaccinated individuals and fully in compliance with CDC guidelines, the committee said. Its a reminder that while life returns to something like normal, were still in the throes of a historic pandemic. Be safe.

SPOTTED at the 20th anniversary of the First Tee Politics and Pros charity golf event Monday at TPC Avenel, where Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), Lyndon Boozer and Baker Elmore got spirit awards: Reps. Rick Allen (R-Ga.), Blake Moore (R-Utah), Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) and Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Matt Kuchar, Doug Ghim, Billy Hurley III, Gary Hallberg, Shasta Averyhardt, Jan Stephenson, Ken Harvey, Marty Russo, Bryan Anderson, Mike Johnson, Jesse McCollum, Steve Ubl, Kathryn Kennedy, Robert Fisher, Tony Kavanagh, Michael Hutton, P.C. Koch, Gerry Harrington, Jake Perry, Josh Brown, Tony Russo, Dontai Smalls, Yong Choe, Robbie Aiken, Bryan Jacobs, Rick Lombardo, David Culver, Clint Sanchez, Katie Casper and Will Lowery.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK The America First Policy Institute is announcing Ken Blackwell and Hogan Gidley as the chair and director of their center for election integrity. Blackwell is a former Ohio secretary of state, and Gidley was deputy press secretary in the Trump White House.

Nicole Lewis is joining Slate as senior editor for the jurisprudence section. She most recently has been a staff writer at The Marshall Project, and is a WaPo alum.

MEDIA MOVES The NYT is shuffling David Halbfinger to be politics editor (most recently Jerusalem bureau chief) and Manny Fernandez to be deputy politics editor (currently Los Angeles bureau chief). Announcement

TRANSITIONS Keaghan Ames is now director of government affairs at the Institute of International Bankers. He most recently was head of regulatory policy at Credit Suisse. Bethany Torstenson is joining Harris Media LLC as a senior account executive. She previously was deputy campaign manager for Amanda Makkis Florida congressional bid.

ENGAGED Mike Carroll proposed to Mallory Quigley, VP of comms at Susan B. Anthony List, on Friday evening at the National Basilica in the Our Lady of Guadalupe chapel. They both grew up in Gaithersburg and had many friends in common, but never met until they matched on Hinge in the early days of the pandemic. Pic

Tim Churchill, federal legislative affairs manager at the NRA, and Victoria Snitsar, Virginia field coordinator at American Majority and American Majority Action and an Iowa Trump Victory alum, got engaged Saturday outside the U.S. Capitol building following dinner at Fogo de Cho. They originally met when she was in D.C. for a conference in 2017 and he led her group on a Capitol tour. Pic

WEEKEND WEDDING Zeke Miller, an AP White House reporter, and Jessie Crystal, a second grade teacher at the Sheridan School, got married Sunday at her family home in Westhampton Beach, N.Y. They were introduced in 2017 by Jessies sister and brother-in-law, Lara Crystal and Rob Saliterman. Pic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Glenn G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) Sean Savett former Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) Priscilla Painton of Simon & Schuster Katie Wheelbarger Alex Wirth of Quorum Andy Spahn BuzzFeeds Paul McLeod Cecilia Muoz of New America Berin Szka U.S. Southern Commands Adm. Craig Faller RNCs Johanna Persing Jeremy Adler of Rep. Liz Cheneys (R-Wyo.) office Prime Policy Groups Stefan Bailey (45) John Connell of Sen. Todd Youngs (R-Ind.) office (38) Linda Feldmann Gaurav Parikh of Smart Policy Group and Significant Consulting Jason Lindsay Bobby Cunningham of VH Strategies Live Actions Lila Rose Bobby Saparow Jeremy Deutsch of Capitol Venture Anna McCormack of Rep. David Rouzers (R-N.C.) office MSNBCs Denis Horgan Juan Mejia Ashley Howard of Sen. Rob Portmans (R-Ohio) office Paul Dranginis Andrew Grossman former Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) Lauren Aratani former Commerce Secretary Don Evans Susan Durrwachter former CIA Director John M. Deutch PJ Wenzel

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