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      America’s mask wars return as communities split over new guidance

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      CoronavirusAmerica’s mask wars return as communities split over new guidance The CDC has advised people to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status, prompting a political fight in several US states

      Eviction crisis after Biden and Congress fail to extend ban
      Mike Jordan in AtlantaSat 31 Jul 2021 13.02 EDTFirst published on Sat 31 Jul 2021 08.37 EDTOn Wednesday, Georgia governor Brian Kemp used his official Twitter account to say his state “will not lock down or impose statewide mask mandates”.California expands Covid restrictions as Delta variant threat growsRead moreIt was not the first time the Republican had expressed firm opposition to mandatory face coverings to curb the spread of Covid-19. It was also not the first time Kemp’s resistance to mask mandates met with equally firm resistance from the mayor of Atlanta. Hours later, Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order mandating that masks be worn indoors throughout the Georgia state capital.“Public health experts overwhelmingly agree, and data has proved, that wearing a face covering helps slow the spread of this deadly virus,” Mayor Bottoms said in a statement.“As Covid-19 rates increase, we must remain vigilant, wear a mask, follow [federal] guidelines and other measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities.”The two leaders have clashed publicly over mask requirements since last summer, on Twitter and in court. A year ago Kemp filed a lawsuit against Bottoms, stating that the mayor “does not have the legal authority to modify, change or ignore” his executive orders forbidding municipal officials from mandating that citizens wear masks.Businesses in Georgia have attempted to avoid offending customers while trying to promote safety after a period of economic challenges.Many restaurant owners declined to comment on the record, saying through representation that the subject was “too toxic”. Others seemed inclined to strike a careful balance.“Our staff is fully vaccinated and we rely on our customers to decide for themselves to wear, or not to wear, masks,” said Chris Green, chief marketing officer of Legends Distillery, which will open in Atlanta’s northern suburbs in mid-August.Paulina de La Valette, co-owner of the Atlanta dance studio Dance 101, sent a note to newsletter subscribers saying the company would “encourage” members to wear masks but would not issue a rule. She opened the newsletter with a bit of political humor: “Welp, Georgia’s favorite divorced parents, Brian Kemp & Keisha Lance Bottoms, are fighting again and we’re in the middle of it … awesome.”Kemp and Bottoms are not the only officials arguing it out. Disagreements over whether people can opt out of wearing masks are also causing passionate political arguments in other southern states, including Texas.Two days after the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released updated guidance recommending Americans wear masks indoors, Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order stopping municipalities and government agencies from compelling Texans to do so, or even to require Covid vaccines.Abbott is threatening fines of up to $1,000 against local government entities in Texas, days after officials in Austin, Dallas and Houston urged residents to return to mask-wearing.Abbott was joined in denouncing mandates by the Texas senator Ted Cruz, who said: “The CDC has lost its credibility when it comes to what decisions Americans should make about Covid-19. It’s long past time we got back to trusting the American people, not unelected federal bureaucrats.”Elsewhere in the southern US, Florida is grappling with rising Covid cases, having experienced a 50% increase in positivity in a week. Still, Governor Ron Desantis says he wants parents to decide if their children wear masks to school, not local government.Late on Friday, DeSantis signed an executive order that allowed parents to ignore mask mandates. A month ago, the governor signed the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which he cited on Friday as a legal rationale for his decision on masks.DeSantis’s order came after the mayors of Orange and Miami-Dade Counties defied him by instituting requirements for facial coverings and, in Orange County, full vaccination for non-union county employees by the end of September. Disney World also just required all visitors aged two and older to wear face coverings, regardless of vaccination status, indoors and in certain modes of its company-owned transit.It all leads to confusion, said Carlton Solle, co-founder of G95, a protective apparel company in the Atlanta area that has been making facial coverings since 2016.Solle told the Guardian business increased with the need for masks under Covid, so he began making masks in addition to scarves and neck gaiters. He also said a lack of understanding and education may keep people from fully protecting themselves.“Unfortunately,” he said, “I think the messaging has changed so much that now you have folks who were supportive of wearing masks questioning what the hell’s going on, because it constantly changes.”Solle said he pulled his daughter out of school in the Atlanta area before other parents because he was concerned about the spread of the virus. After realizing home-schooling presented challenges he hadn’t considered, he sent her back. But the experience made him wish things had been handled differently when Covid first began to spread.“If they would have just said, ‘Hey, suit up, be cautious and keep on rolling,’ I think it would have been a better way of approaching this. But I think shutting everything down and the politics getting involved just made it so messy and complicated.”TopicsCoronavirusUS politicsfeaturesReuse this content More

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      Republicans used to laud ‘personal responsibility’. Not with Covid | David Litt

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      OpinionCoronavirusRepublicans used to laud ‘personal responsibility’. Not with CovidDavid LittThe Republican party is encouraging Americans to make objectively selfish, harmful choices – then using the tools of government to shield them from accountability Fri 30 Jul 2021 06.13 EDTLast modified on Fri 30 Jul 2021 15.35 EDT“It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions,” declared Ronald Reagan at the 1968 Republican National Convention.By the time he became president 12 years later, this idea – that individuals can be trusted to act wisely and should be held accountable when they don’t – was firmly entrenched in Republican rhetoric. Reagan even included “personal responsibility” in his list of America’s bedrock values, right up there with faith in God, honesty, and caring for others.But those days are long over – and the conservative movement’s nationwide anti-vaccination effort proves it. Political parties are large; there are plenty of responsible Republican voters, and a handful of responsible Republican politicians. But the conservative movement no longer argues that individuals are better than the government at promoting the greater good. Instead, the movement encourages its members to make objectively selfish, harmful choices, then uses the tools of government to shield them from accountability when they do.Republicans have become the party of personal irresponsibility.In most cases, it’s difficult to say with certainty that a given choice is “responsible.” But getting a Covid vaccine is not one of those cases. Getting vaccinated costs individual Americans essentially nothing – the vaccine is free, widely available, and proven safe and effective.The costs to society from Americans not getting vaccinated, however, are enormous. A larger unvaccinated population means more deadly infections among the unvaccinated and immunocompromised; it means more taxpayer dollars spent on hospitalizations, and higher health insurance premiums for everybody; it means far less certainty for small businesses desperate for the pandemic to be over so they can re-open for good.Many people have gotten the vaccine out of self-interest: they’d rather not get Covid. But even for those unconcerned by the health risks of contracting the disease, the vaccine presents a straightforward choice: take an action that benefits one’s community, or reject the idea – expressed so frequently by Reagan – that supporting one’s community is something individuals ought to do? As far as personal responsibility goes, it’s the perfect test.Which is why it’s shocking that the conservative movement has gone to such great lengths to ensure its supporters fail that test. Fox News has hosted a parade of discredited anti-vaxxers. At both the state and local level, Republican lawmakers have invited conspiracy theorists to testify before their committees, amplifying their messages. Even Mitch McConnell, who to his credit has personally encouraged constituents to get their Covid shots, has refused to publicly condemn the misinformation rampant in conservative media or speak out against his fellow Republican lawmakers, like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, who encouraged Americans to “Just say no” to the vaccine.The conservative movement hasn’t just adopted pro-choice rhetoric when it comes to vaccines. It’s gone further, encouraging people to make the choice that is clearly harmful to society at large. It’s debatable whether those who remain unvaccinated because of misinformation are to blame for trusting the wrong sources. But it’s undeniable that the right-wing media and lawmakers peddling misinformation are acting recklessly – and that the entire country is worse off as a result.Republican politicians are also using the tools of government to undermine accountability, or even transparency, when it comes to vaccinations. Texas passed legislation forbidding businesses in the state from requiring proof of vaccination. Montana prohibited employers, including medical facilities, from requiring vaccination as a condition of employment. Under pressure from Republican legislators, Tennessee’s health department suspended outreach to children about not just the Covid vaccine but all childhood vaccinations.In this new, topsy-turvy definition of individual liberty, some Americans are free to put their neighbors at risk, while other Americans are barred by the government from trying to keep their own employees, customers, and even children safe. Deciding whether to get the vaccine or remain unvaccinated is technically still a choice – but the Republican party is doing everything it can to make choosing the latter easier than choosing the former.America is now reaping what the Republican Party sowed. Covid cases are soaring and deaths are up, leaving the CDC with no choice but to recommend reimposing mask mandates in much of the country – mostly to protect the unvaccinated from the potential consequences of their actions. The vaccine is the clearest example yet that the conservative movement is actively promoting, and celebrating, selfish choices.But vaccines aren’t the only example of the party of personal irresponsibility at work. Republican lawmakers have either remained silent about or defended Donald Trump’s history of tax cheating, and recently rejected increasing IRS enforcement, ensuring that other wealthy Americans are more likely to get away with not paying taxes, too. The Republican Party once promoted “responsible gun ownership” – now, Republicans in Texas and Tennessee have passed laws allowing concealed-carry handguns without permits or training. Missouri’s Republican governor promised to pardon Mark McCloskey, an attorney who threatened peaceful Black Lives Matter marchers with a firearm, if he were convicted of a crime. McCloskey has since parlayed his dangerous display of recklessness into conservative celebrity and a Senate run.Perhaps most alarmingly, a culture of irresponsibility and unaccountability has taken root among Republican elected officials. Our democratic process gives politicians enormous leeway to make choices that harm democracy: they can pass voter suppression laws; remain in office amid a prostitution scandal; or attempt to cover up an armed anti-government insurrection. But just because officials can do all these things doesn’t mean they should. And it is far from guaranteed that American democracy will survive if they do.Republicans, particularly Washington Republicans, like to tell themselves that they remain the party of Ronald Reagan – of small government, lower regulation, and faith in the individual. But it’s time for voters and politicians alike to acknowledge the new reality of American politics: the disagreement between the parties is no longer over how best to promote the general welfare; it’s over whether promoting the general welfare is worth doing at all. The Republican Party’s fall from goodness, its devolution from a party that extolled personal responsibility and accountability to a party that extols reckless disregard for one’s fellow Americans, is one of the most important trends shaping the country.And as we’re too often reminded these days, reversing that trend is a matter of life and death.
      David Litt is an American political speechwriter and New York Times bestselling author of Thanks Obama, and Democracy In One Book Or Less. He edits How Democracy Lives, a newsletter on democracy reform
      TopicsCoronavirusOpinionUS politicsRepublicanscommentReuse this content More

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      ‘You don’t have to die’: Biden urges Americans to get vaccinated and calls for incentives – live

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      Key events

      Show

      5.19pm EDT
      17:19

      China’s talks with Taliban could be a positive thing, US says

      5.03pm EDT
      17:03

      Today so far

      4.48pm EDT
      16:48

      Biden outlines vaccination incentives and mandate for federal workers

      4.37pm EDT
      16:37

      ‘You don’t have to die’: Biden pleads with unvaccinated Americans to get their shot

      4.19pm EDT
      16:19

      Federal employees will be required to provide vaccination status, White House confirms

      3.42pm EDT
      15:42

      Biden calls on states to offer $100 payments to newly vaccinated Americans

      2.29pm EDT
      14:29

      Senate unanimously passes $2.1bn Capitol security funding bill

      Live feed

      Show

      5.29pm EDT
      17:29

      Jessica Glenza

      President Biden announced a list of mandates and incentives to get more Americans vaccinated against Covid-19 as hospitals across the country see a new surge of coronavirus cases in a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” driven by the highly contagious Delta variant.
      “We are not fully out of the woods yet,” said Biden, and later that hospital wards filled with individuals battling Covid-19, 99% of whom are unvaccinated, are “unnecessary, avoidable and tragic”.
      New cases are not expected to lead to the same level of deaths and hospitalizations seen last winter, because 190 million Americans have had at least one shot. However, new modeling has sparked concern, as forecasters predicted 60,000 more Americans could die by mid-October, adding to the more than 609,000 who have already died.
      Among Biden’s announcements, he said federal government workers will be required to attest they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 vaccine or get tested at least weekly for Covid-19. A similar standard will apply to federal contractors. The plan mirrors a vaccine mandate for health workers in New York City’s public hospitals announced last week.
      Biden also said he would call on the Department of Defense to determine when Covid-19 vaccines should be added to required shots for the military; said the federal government would reimburse employers who give employees paid time off to get a vaccine; and that local governments should use stimulus funding to give $100 incentives to Americans who get newly vaccinated.
      “It’s time to impose requirements on key groups to make sure they’re vaccinated,” said Biden. He later said he would like to see employers “move in that direction” of mandating vaccines.
      The justice department has said vaccine mandates are legal, they have a history that goes back to the Revolutionary War, and have been required for years for some workers and schoolchildren for diseases such as influenza and measles.

      Updated
      at 5.45pm EDT

      5.19pm EDT
      17:19

      China’s talks with Taliban could be a positive thing, US says

      Emma Graham-Harrison

      The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said that Beijing’s interest in Afghanistan could be a “positive thing”, after China gave a warm and very public welcome to a senior Taliban delegation.
      Nine officials from the militant group, which is eager for political recognition to bolster the impact of its military victories across much of Afghanistan, met China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, in the coastal city of Tianjin on Wednesday.
      Photographs showed Wang welcoming Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar , the Taliban’s co-founder and head of its political commission, with open arms, then sitting down for talks with the Taliban delegation.
      China hosted Taliban representatives in 2019, and is thought to maintain unofficial links with the group through its ally Pakistan.
      Wang said the withdrawal of American and Nato troops, which will be officially completed by the end of August, “marks the failure of the US policy toward Afghanistan”. He called the Taliban “an important military and political force in Afghanistan”, and urged the group to make progress in peace talks.
      Although the US might once have fiercely resisted Chinese attempts to increase their influence inside Afghanistan, now Washington’s priority appears to be staving off a collapse into full civil war.
      Read more:

      5.03pm EDT
      17:03

      Today so far

      Joe Biden’s speech on vaccination efforts has now concluded, and that’s all from me for today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.
      Here’s where the day stands so far:

      Biden outlined his administration’s latest efforts to vaccinate more Americans against coronavirus. Among other initiatives, the Biden administration is urging states to offer $100 payments to newly vaccinated residents and requiring federal workers to get vaccinated or receive regular coronavirus tests. “People are dying and will die who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die,” Biden said moments ago.
      Biden has called on Congress to extend the eviction moratorium, which is set to expire at the end of July. While federal aid is available to renters who will not be able to make rent, housing advocates have said the aid has been slow, and many Americans are at-risk of eviction.
      The US economy grew 6.5% in this year’s second quarter. The figure was lower than what analysts had expected, though bottlenecks in the supply chain of certain goods is a likely explanation.
      The Senate unanimously passed a $2.1bn bill to bolster funding for Capitol security and help relocate Afghans who have assisted the US military. The White House has already indicated that Biden will sign the bill, which will provide much-needed funds for the US Capitol Police and reimburse the National Guard for their Capitol mission in response to the January 6 insurrection.
      The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said that he’s gotten the support from all 50 Democratic senators to advance the reconciliation bill, which would fund many of Biden’s “human infrastructure” proposals. The bill’s price tag is currently $3.5tn, although some moderate Democrats have indicated they want a less costly package.

      Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

      4.48pm EDT
      16:48

      Biden outlines vaccination incentives and mandate for federal workers

      Joe Biden outlined the new initiatives his administration is launching to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
      As previously announced, the president noted his administration is urging state, local and tribal governments to provide $100 payments to newly vaccinated residents.
      Biden acknowledged those incentives may frustrate some of the millions of Americans who are already fully vaccinated, but he emphasized the entire country would benefit from these efforts.
      “Here’s the deal: if incentives help us beat this virus, I believe we should use them,” Biden said.
      The president also confirmed that his administration is asking all federal workers and on-site contractors to attest to their fully vaccinated status or submit to regular coronavirus tests.
      “With incentives and mandates, we will make a huge difference and save a lot of lives,” Biden said.

      4.37pm EDT
      16:37

      ‘You don’t have to die’: Biden pleads with unvaccinated Americans to get their shot

      Joe Biden delivered yet another urgent plea to unvaccinated Americans, encouraging them to get their shot as quickly as possible.
      “Make no mistake: vaccines are the best defense against you getting severely ill from Covid-19,” Biden said.
      The president acknowledged there have been some breakthrough infections among vaccinated Americans, but he emphasized that those cases remain rare and almost all involved mild symptoms.
      Biden credited the vaccines with a lower rate of coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths even as cases rise because of the spread of the Delta variant.
      “People are dying and will die who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die,” Biden said. “This is not about red states and blue states. It is literally about life and death.”

      4.29pm EDT
      16:29

      Joe Biden is now delivering his remarks on his administration’s ongoing efforts to vaccinate more Americans against coronavirus.
      Biden began by noting that the US is now seeing a surge in coronavirus cases among unvaccinated Americans because of the Delta variant, which is more highly transmissible than the original variant.
      “We need some straight talk right now,” the president said. “Because there’s a lot of fear and misinformation in the country, and we need to cut through it — with facts, with science, with the truth.”

      This Week
      (@ThisWeekABC)
      Pres. Biden gives remarks on the COVID pandemic: “We need some straight talk right now. Because there’s a lot of fear and misinformation in the country, and we need to cut through it—with facts; with science; with the truth.” https://t.co/ZHmyyZGIxU pic.twitter.com/Ml5RyyQ8YL

      July 29, 2021

      4.19pm EDT
      16:19

      Federal employees will be required to provide vaccination status, White House confirms

      The White House has just released a fact sheet outlining the initiatives Joe Biden will announce in his speech on vaccination efforts this afternoon.
      As expected, the Biden administration is requiring all federal employees to “attest to their vaccination status” or comply with restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus in government offices.
      “Anyone who does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be required to wear a mask on the job no matter their geographic location, physically distance from all other employees and visitors, comply with a weekly or twice weekly screening testing requirement, and be subject to restrictions on official travel,” the fact sheet says.
      The rule applies to all federal workers and on-site contractors, which accounts for about 4 million people. The White House is urging all private employers to develop a similar model.
      Biden will also call on the Pentagon to “look into how and when they will add Covid-19 vaccination to the list of required vaccinations for members of the military”.
      The blog will have more details coming up, so stay tuned.

      Updated
      at 4.42pm EDT

      4.05pm EDT
      16:05

      Ouch, that’s got to hurt: Jill Biden will undergo a procedure at Walter Reed medical center today to remove an object that became lodged in her foot last weekend.
      Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s spokesperson, said in a statement provided to the White House press pool: “Last weekend, prior to her two official events in Hawaii, the First Lady stepped on an object on the beach which became lodged in her left foot. She will undergo a procedure today at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to remove the object. The President will join her.”
      The first lady visited Hawaii over the weekend after traveling to Tokyo for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

      Updated
      at 4.19pm EDT

      3.52pm EDT
      15:52

      New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, has already followed the treasury department’s advice, announcing yesterday that anyone who goes to a city-run vaccination site for their first dose of the vaccine will receive $100 starting Friday.

      NYC Mayor’s Office
      (@NYCMayorsOffice)
      STARTING FRIDAY:Get your first dose of the #COVID19 vaccine at a City run site and you’ll get $100. It’s that simple.➡️ https://t.co/V1jusyFv1K https://t.co/etaipgbCtd pic.twitter.com/w7V1nKrk9S

      July 28, 2021

      On Monday, De Blasio also announced a vaccine mandate for all of New York’s roughly 340,000 city employees. Starting 13 September, all city workers – including public school teachers, police officers and firefighters – will need to show proof of vaccination or receive weekly coronavirus tests.
      Joe Biden is expected to soon announce a similar mandate for federal workers when he delivers his speech on the White House’s vaccination campaign.

      Updated
      at 4.20pm EDT

      3.42pm EDT
      15:42

      Biden calls on states to offer $100 payments to newly vaccinated Americans

      Joe Biden is set to soon deliver a speech on his administration’s efforts to vaccinate more Americans against coronavirus, and the treasury department is now previewing one of those initiatives.
      The department released a statement urging state, local and tribal governments to use funds they received from the American Rescue Plan to offer payments to newly vaccinated residents.
      “For these governments and the communities they represent, no task is more urgent than turning the tide on the pandemic, and there is no better tool than vaccination. This is why Treasury is encouraging state, territorial and local governments to use the funds to enhance their vaccination efforts, including by providing individual vaccine incentives,” the statement says.
      “Today, the President is calling on state, territorial, and local governments to provide $100 payments for every newly vaccinated American, as an extra incentive to boost vaccination rates, protect communities, and save lives. Treasury stands ready to give technical assistance to state and local governments so that they may use the funds effectively to support increased vaccination in their communities, and Treasury will partner with the Department of Health and Human Services throughout this effort.”
      Biden’s speech is scheduled to start in about 20 minutes, so stay tuned.

      Updated
      at 4.20pm EDT

      3.25pm EDT
      15:25

      Well, this is moving quite quickly. The House has already taken up the $2.1bn Capitol security funding bill that passed the Senate this afternoon.

      House Press Gallery
      (@HouseDailyPress)
      The House is debating for up to 40 minutes @rosadelauro motion to suspend the rules and concur with the Senate amendment H.R. 3237 – emergency supplemental bill.

      July 29, 2021

      However, Republican congressman Chip Roy has just introduced a motion to adjourn the session, which will slightly delay the final vote on the security bill. Stay tuned.

      3.20pm EDT
      15:20

      Meanwhile, over on Capitol Hill, the House will vote today on the $2.1bn Capitol security bill that unanimously passed the Senate this afternoon.

      Craig Caplan
      (@CraigCaplan)
      House today plans to debate & vote on Senate-passed $2.1B US Capitol security/Afghan relocation emergency supplemental spending bill “upon receipt of the papers” per Hoyer. House will consider bill under suspension of the rules w/40 mins for debate,no amdts & 2/3rds vote to pass. pic.twitter.com/p7PxnpTIXj

      July 29, 2021

      The office of the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer ,has just said the chamber will consider the bill under suspension of the rules, meaning the legislation will need a two-thirds majority to pass.
      The White House has already indicated that Joe Biden will sign the bill if it passes the House. Stay tuned.

      Updated
      at 4.21pm EDT

      3.02pm EDT
      15:02

      Karine Jean-Pierre avoided providing specifics on the expected vaccine mandate for federal workers, but she argued the White House has a responsibility to set the best standards for their employees.
      As the largest employer in the US, the federal government has “an obligation to be good stewards of the workforce and ensure their health and their safety”, the deputy press secretary said.
      “We’re taking action to protect the federal workforce so that they can continue to execute on the hard and important work of government,” Jean-Pierre said.
      She also argued that the steps the federal government is taking are not all that dissimilar from action initiated by other workplaces across the country.

      Updated
      at 4.21pm EDT

      2.54pm EDT
      14:54

      White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not provide any details on Joe Biden’s speech this afternoon about the administration’s vaccination efforts.
      Using one of press secretary Jen Psaki’s favorite answers, Jean-Pierre told reporters: “I don’t want to get ahead of the president.”
      Biden is scheduled to deliver his speech in about an hour, and the president is expected to announce a coronavirus vaccine mandate for all federal employees.

      Updated
      at 4.22pm EDT More

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      in US Politics

      Covid is facing a resurgence in the US, and so is Trumpian politics | Robert Reich

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      OpinionUS politicsCovid is facing a resurgence in the US, and so is Trumpian politicsRobert ReichAfter a moment of hope, much is sliding backwards. It’s not Biden’s fault; it’s Trump’s legacy Thu 29 Jul 2021 06.14 EDTLast modified on Thu 29 Jul 2021 14.52 EDTDespair is worse after hope is briefly ignited. I don’t know about you, but I was elated earlier this spring when it seemed as if Trump and Covid were gone, and Biden seemed surprisingly able and willing to get the nation rapidly back on track.‘I went to hell and back’: officer condemns Republican lawmakers who spurned Capitol attack hearingRead moreNow much is sliding backwards. It’s not Biden’s fault; it’s Trump’s legacy.The new Delta strain of the virus requires, according to the CDC, that we go back to wearing masks inside in public places where the virus is surging, even if we’re fully inoculated.This would be nothing more than a small disappointment and inconvenience were it not for Republicans using it as another opportunity to politicize public health.House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy responded to the new CDC recommendation with the kind of unhinged hyperbole Trumpers have perfected. “The threat of bringing masks back is not a decision based on science, but a decision conjured up by liberal government officials who want to continue to live in a perpetual pandemic state,” he said.Republican politicizing of public health will get worse if the Delta variant continues to surge. At some point vaccines will have to be mandated because being inoculated is not solely a matter of personal choice. Herd immunity is a common good. If infections mount, that common good can be achieved only if nearly everyone is vaccinated.But those eager to exploit the virus’s resurgence – the know-nothings, Trump wannabes, vilely ambitious political upcomers, Tucker Carlsons and similarly cynical entertainers – are already howling about “personal freedom” threatened by “socialism.”The investigation into the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January is further evidence of how far the Republican party has descended into opportunistic treachery.We need to know what happened and why if we are to have half a chance of avoiding a repeat. Just as with the history of systemic discrimination and brutality against Black people in America – which Republicans are calling “critical race theory” and trying to ban from classrooms – the truth shapes our responses to the future.Here again, the dispiriting aspect of the present moment is Republican denial and obfuscation.As Officer Michael Fanone – who suffered traumatic brain injury when rioters attacked him during the assault on the Capitol – testified yesterday at the start of the hearings: “What makes the struggle harder and more painful is to know so many of my fellow citizens – including so many of the people I put my life at risk to defend – are downplaying or outright denying what happened.”With the exception of Representative Liz Cheney – whom I never expected to hold up as a model of integrity – Republicans are eager to divert the public’s attention. Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik declared at a press conference on Tuesday that “Nancy Pelosi bears responsibility, as speaker of the House, for the tragedy that occurred on January 6.”This is absurd on its face. The Speaker of the House shares responsibility for Capitol security with the Senate majority leader, who at the time of the attack was Mitch McConnell. If Pelosi was negligent – and there’s zero evidence she was – McConnell was as well.Stefanik and other Republican leaders don’t want the public to know about Republican members of Congress who were almost certainly involved in the travesty, either directly or indirectly. The list includes Representatives Jim Jordan, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Andrew Biggs and McCarthy himself. Senator Josh Hawley also seems to have been in the know, given his fist-salute to the rioters.And then there’s Trump himself, cheerleader and ringleader.All should be subpoenaed. All, presumably, will fight the subpoenas in court.Meanwhile, Trump continues to stage rallies for his avid followers as he did last weekend in Phoenix, where he declared, “Our nation is up against the most sinister forces … This nation does not belong to them, this nation belongs to you.”Wrong. America belongs to all of us. And we all have a responsibility to protect its public health and its democratic institutions. The real sinister force is the Trump Republicans’ cynical exploitation of lies and anti-scientific rubbish to divide and divert us.Months ago, it seemed as if this darkness was behind us. It is not.
      Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His new book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a columnist for Guardian US.
      TopicsUS politicsOpinionCoronavirusUS Capitol attackcommentReuse this content More

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      in US Politics

      ‘Such a moron’: Pelosi heaps disdain on McCarthy for criticizing mask guidance

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      Nancy Pelosi‘Such a moron’: Pelosi heaps disdain on McCarthy for criticizing mask guidanceKevin McCarthy: mask policy a political decision by DemocratsCapitol physician reimposes mask requirement for the House Hugo LowellWed 28 Jul 2021 14.53 EDTLast modified on Wed 28 Jul 2021 14.59 EDTThe House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Wednesday heaped disdain on the Republican minority leader’s criticism of Congress’s new mask requirement – a reversal of policy that reflected growing number of cases and fears about the highly-transmissible Covid-19 Delta variant at the Capitol.Bipartisan group reaches agreement on ‘major issues’ of infrastructure bill, Republican says – liveRead more“He’s such a moron,” Pelosi said of the House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, after he tweeted that the mandatory mask policy was not based on science but a political decision by Democrats. (Consensus among public health officials and scientists is that masks significantly lower transmission of Covid-19, especially in indoor settings.)The unusually abrupt remark from Pelosi came as the attending physician of the Capitol reimposed the mask requirement for the House of Representatives. At least two House lawmakers and a fully-vaccinated aide to Pelosi have tested positive for the coronavirus, while the Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee postponed a hearing after some of its members were partially exposed. The House had dropped its months-long mask policy six weeks ago in a demonstration of its optimism that the US had largely defeated the pandemic, shortly before Joe Biden declared America’s so-called independence from Covid-19.The number of Covid-19 cases has also skyrocketed across the country, and the seven-day rolling average of new infections reached 40,246 on Wednesday – around four times the level just three weeks ago – fuelled largely by vaccine holdouts and the Delta variant.Capitol physician Dr Brian Monahan said in a memo to House lawmakers and congressional aides that he was reimposing the mask policy based on new CDC guidance and the unique nature of the Capitol, where thousands of people from across the country congregate each week.“All individuals should wear a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask (for example an ear loop surgical mask or a KN95 mask) when they are in an interior space,” Monahan said. “For meetings in an enclosed US House of Representatives controlled space, masks are REQUIRED.”The top doctor in Congress separately dispensed the same advice for the Senate but stopped short of pushing for a mask mandate. The Senate is far smaller than the House of Representatives, and most senators voluntarily adopted masks during the pandemic.But like the measures being considered by Joe Biden to increase vaccination rates in the US, the reintroduction of the mask requirement in the House has inflamed Republicans, who have seized on such policies as a supposed egregious overreach of government power by Democrats.The House minority leader McCarthy reacted testily to Pelosi’s remark on Tuesday, again questioning the basis of the mask mandate: “If she’s so brilliant, can she explain to me where the science in the building changes between the House and the Senate,” he said.House rules say that any member who refuses to wear masks on the floor of the House chamber and in specified areas of the Capitol can be fined $500 for a first offence and $2,500 for a second, with the penalties paid out directly from their salaries.Monahan’s memo says members will not be required to wear masks when they are alone in the Capitol complex, or when they are recognised to speak on the House floor. .Still, several Republicans have already vowed to defy the mask requirement, and firebrand congresswoman Lauren Boebert caused consternation when she walked onto the House floor without a mask and threw one back at a staffer when offered her a spare, CNN reported.TopicsNancy PelosiCoronavirusHouse of RepresentativesUS politicsRepublicansnewsReuse this content More