Reading and Writing and Rithmetic 

School of Rock:  The back to school wars are on.  Yesterday with daily virus infection rates approaching 60,000 and the COVID death count at 134,000 and rising, Trump made it clear that he wants schools to fully open for in person classes in the fall, or in the case of many southern states that just happen to be in the hardest hit parts of the country, the late summer. Unfortunately, he still has no plan to do anything to control virus infection rates nor is he all that concerned about student or teacher safety, not all that surprising since nothing he’s done with respect to the virus has shown concern for health or well-being.  Trump’s just all in on making his promised V-shaped economic recovery happen because without it his fight for reelection becomes far more challenging if not impossible.  So in addition to threatening to cut funding to states that refuse to follow his lead, Trump once again dissed his own CDC, tweeting “I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools….they are asking schools to do very impractical things.”   Those “impractical” things include enhanced cleaning, social distancing, prohibitions on the sharing of toys and other practices intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus. To hammer his point home Trump also tweeted that in “German, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS.  The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if US schools open before the November election….May cut off funding if not open.”  Of course, he failed to note that, even adjusting for our larger population, new cases of COVID in those countries pale in comparison to our daily count. He also failed to mention Israel, where sending children back to school without adequate planning has totally tanked what initially appeared to have been a successful fight against virus transmission.  Sadly, in response to Trump’s demands, the CDC is now dumbing down its school opening criteria, because if Trump wants to endanger kids in exchange for a greater chance of election victory, who are they to get in his way?  While the obsequious, drivel speaking VP Pence was speaking at a press conference on Trump’s back to school edict, one where dissenting truth teller virus guru Fauci who continues to speak unpopular truth was notably absent, NYS’s Governor Cuomo was holding one of his own where he also discussed plans to open the state’s schools.  The contrast between his presentation and Trump’s demands was stunning.  Cuomo is requiring all of the state’s districts to provide detailed plans that take into consideration the CDC’s current, rather than any future watered down guidelines for state review. Unlike Trump he said that as much as he and most parents want children back in school in the fall, he understands that most if not all parents wouldn’t sign off on their kids going back to an unsafe environment.  With that in mind he left open the possibility that plans might need to be adjusted up until the last minute, subject to COVID infection rates in late August/early September.  For his part, NYC Mayor DeBlasio unveiled his preliminary plan for his city’s school system, the biggest in the country. His plan, which still must be signed off on by the state, involves students going back to in person schooling just two to three days a week, a bit depressing but reflective of current reality.  The Orange guy won’t be happy. On the college sports front, the Ivy League has suspended all Fall sports, including football, don’t be surprised if the other bigger conferences follow. In addition, Harvard and MIT announced that they are suing to stop the Trump administration from cancelling visas for foreign students attending those universities providing only online courses this Fall. Getting back to the virus fight, PPE is in short supply again, but not to worry, VP Pence says that health care providers can wear their masks forever if necessary.

Reality Bites:  New COVID cases are way up in Oklahoma, something that local health authorities attribute to Trump’s Tulsa rally. Who but everyone would have predicted that?  Senators Collins and Murkowski have joined Senators Alexander, Romney and Grassley in saying that they won’t be attending the Republican convention.  Neither attribute their decisions to the virus, Murkowski said something about loving Alaska in August and a stressed out Collins mumbled something about never going to conventions in years when she is up for reelection.  Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, a virus skeptic, has COVID, not all that surprising since he’s been out and about without any protection since the start. He’s now downing hydroxychloroquine tablets by the handful.  Though there’s no indication that he’s doing the same, the US Ambassador to Brazil might be drinking bleach right about now as he had lunch with Bolsonaro right before he became symptomatic.  Though he appears to be virus free, Lt Col. Alexander Vindman announced that he’s kissing his military career good bye, not because he wants to leave but because he’s been the subject of ongoing retribution.  His lawyer reports that members of the Trump administration have been “encouraging” his commanding officers to come up with dirt to “prove” that Vindman isn’t worthy of any future promotions and have suggested moving him to an undesirable posting somewhere remote and career killing. Though he failed to bolster Vindman’s impeachment hearing testimony when he should have, for what it’s worth former national security advisor John Bolton actually spoke out in support of Vindman yesterday. Senator/Veteran Tammy Duckworth is doing more than that. After Vindman’s announcement she said that she plans to continue to hold up 1000 or so military promotions until Secretary of Defense Esper explains the “disgraceful” situation that led to Vindman’s retirement.    

Dreamgirls:  The Supreme Court handed down two decisions yesterday expanding religious rights, ruling by 7 to 2 that religious schools are exempt from most employment discrimination claims and also ruling by 7 to 2 that employers morally opposed to contraception don’t have to include such coverage in their Obamacare plans. As a result up to 126,000 women will have to pay their own way for birth control.  Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor dissented with both rulings. Yesterday’s two decisions followed another one handed down earlier, a 5 to 4 ruling where the Supremes ruled that making scholarships off-limits to parochial schools violated First Amendment protections for the free exercise of religion.  The big kahunas, the decisions concerning Trump’s financial information are due out today.  Someone named Trump is going to be either really happy or really freaked out by noon.