newyorker--2020-07-31--The Fight to Save Jobs in the Airline Industry

Three weeks ago , Sara Nelson , the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-C.W.A.
, received a call from a veteran flight attendant who has been working for twenty-five years and who has continued to work during the coronavirus pandemic .
“ He loves flying , he loves his career , ” Nelson told me recently .
During a flight to Los Angeles , the flight attendant told her , he ’ d had a panic attack triggered by the possibility that he might contract the virus and become severely ill. During the layover , he went to his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He was too scared to leave his room and couldn ’ t go out to get food .
Room service seemed potentially dangerous , and there was no access to a microwave in the hotel , which meant that he had no place to heat the soup he had in his bag .
He ended up terrified , isolated and alone , eating the soup cold , straight out of the can .
“ He ’ s been through all this before , ” Nelson continued .
She noted that the flight attendant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his pension and taken a pay reduction after the terrorist attacks on September 11 , 2001 , sent the airline industry into crisis .
“ And here we are again , ” Nelson said , noting that workers are now facing similar hardships .
“ This has been real whiplash for people .
It ’ s hard .
There are a lot of people who went into work and they felt like they were doing a real service to the country , and they were .
And there were other people who were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work , but also didn ’ t know how they were going to pay their bills.
” She started to choke up .
Early in the pandemic , when almost all air travel had suddenly stopped , President Donald Trump and the Secretary of the Treasury , Steven Mnuchin , spoke about the airline industry during a press conference .
“ This is worse than 9/11 .
They are almost ground to a halt , ” Mnuchin said .
He added that , despite the fact that there was almost no passenger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still provide service to every part of the country .
“ Although we don ’ t want people to travel unless it ’ s critical , we want to maintain , for critical travel , the right to have domestic travel.
” He had just met with the C.E.O.s of the largest airlines , and , although he would not talk specifically about the potential for a government bailout of the industry , he said that airlines were strategically important and employed a lot of workers , adding , “ We ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Trump leaned in to the microphone and said , “ The airline industry will be in good shape.
” In March , Congress passed the CARES Act , a two-trillion-dollar coronavirus bailout package , which set aside fifty billion dollars for the airline industry : twenty-five billion of it was for government-backed loans , to be drawn down when needed , and the rest went toward a payroll-support program that would be distributed as grants intended to preserve passenger-airline jobs .
Each participating airline received seventy-six per cent of its payroll costs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Portions of the grants are supposed to be paid back over a ten-year period , and the government will receive warrants , a form of equity ownership in the airlines , for ten per cent of the grant value . )
“ The business fell off a cliff , ” Nelson told me .
“ Literally fell off a cliff .
And if there had not been a shoring up right then , the vast majority of airlines would have filed for bankruptcy .
And the public would have lost any sort of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look at the other end of this.
” In exchange for the aid , the airlines agreed to stringent conditions .
They are prohibited from engaging in stock buybacks or issuing dividends through September , 2021 .
Executive compensation during the period when the company is accepting aid is limited to compensation levels from 2019 .
Companies were also prohibited from laying off workers for six months , a provision that will end on September 30th .
Like other parts of the bailout that were intended to salvage jobs , such as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largely worked in the short term .
“ We submitted our own relief plan that was focussed on workers , and that ’ s what we achieved : a workers-first package , the first ever in this country , formatted to go directly to the workers , ” Nelson said .
Most airline workers lost around twenty-five per cent of take-home pay , but the program “ kept people on the job , connected to our health care , all of that.
” Now , after accepting millions in bailout money , several @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , have announced that , after the deadline expires in the fall , they will cut thousands of jobs .
As Congress debates another rescue package , Nelson and other union leaders representing airline workers are fighting to extend the program by another six months , through March of 2021 .
Hundreds of thousands of jobs are hanging in the balance .
Nelson has blond hair and large , blue eyes , and is often photographed in a crisp flight-attendants ’ uniform .
She grew up in Oregon , the daughter of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ After graduating from college , with forty-five thousand dollars in student debt , she applied , in 1996 , to work as a flight attendant at United .
( The six-week training program included instructions on the proper application of makeup . )
She quickly distinguished herself as a vocal supporter of workers ’ rights , and , in 2010 , she was elected vice-president of the A.F.A.
, a union representing fifty thousand flight attendants at twenty different airlines .
In 2014 , she became the union ’ s president , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the worst crisis the airline industry has faced in decades .
As the pandemic took hold , in the winter and early spring , air travel dropped by around ninety-seven per cent ; it crept up slightly in May , as things seemed to improve and stay-at-home orders across the country were loosened .
But business only reached a peak of around twenty-five per cent of pre-pandemic levels , at the end of June , and then began to flatten again , as it became clear that the pandemic was far from over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Trump Administration has not taken strong action to curb the spread of the virus , leading to ongoing outbreaks across the country .
This has amounted to a form of economic self-sabotage : the Trump Administration ’ s lack of leadership has undermined the benefits of the costly economic bailouts that Congress passed , insuring that even more money will have to be spent in the future .
If the Administration had managed to get the spread of the virus under control by midsummer , the ongoing need for aggressive government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it currently is .
Nelson and other union leaders have been circulating a letter to members of Congress , urging them to pass the proposed extension of the airline- worker payroll protections .
“ Air travel remains a slight fraction of last year ’ s levels and demand will remain depressed well into next year , ” the letter reads .
“ Aviation workers account for 5 % of the nation ’ s GDP .
Should October 1 arrive without extending the PSP grant job program mass layoffs are inevitable , as airline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of workers will lose their jobs and health insurance— not only in aviation , but across our entire economy.
” A majority of members of the House appear to support the idea .
But , on July 27th , Senate Republicans released a draft bill that did not contain any provisions related to extending the payments for airline workers .

Three weeks ago, Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-C.W.A., received a call from a veteran flight attendant who has been working for twenty-five years and has continued to work during the coronavirus pandemic. “He loves flying, he loves his career,” Nelson told me recently. During a flight to Los Angeles, the flight attendant told her, he’d had a panic attack triggered by the possibility that he might contract the virus and become severely ill. During the layover, he went to his hotel room and sheltered in place. He was too scared to leave his room and couldn’t go out to get food. Room service seemed potentially dangerous, and there was no access to a microwave in the hotel, which meant that he had no place to heat the soup he had in his bag. He ended up terrified, isolated and alone, eating the soup cold straight out of the can.
“He’s been through all this before,” Nelson continued. She noted that the flight attendant had, like many others, lost his pension and taken a pay reduction after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, sent the airline industry into crisis. “And here we are again,” Nelson said, noting that workers are now facing similar hardships. “This has been real whiplash for people. It’s hard. There are a lot of people who went into work and they felt like they were doing a real service to the country, and they were. And there were other people who were high-risk and couldn’t go to work, but also didn’t know how they were going to pay their bills.” She started to choke up.
Early in the pandemic, when almost all air travel had suddenly stopped, President Donald Trump and the Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, spoke about the airline industry during a press conference. “This is worse than 9/11. They are almost ground to a halt,” Mnuchin said. He added that, despite the fact that there was almost no passenger demand, it was important that airlines still provide service to every part of the country. “Although we don’t want people to travel unless it’s critical, we want to maintain, for critical travel, the right to have domestic travel.” He had just met with the C.E.O.s of the largest airlines, and, although he would not talk specifically about the potential for a government bailout of the industry, he said that airlines were strategically important and employed a lot of workers, adding, “We’ll be working with Congress on this.” President Trump leaned in to the microphone and said, “The airline industry will be in good shape.”
In March, Congress passed the CARES Act, a two-trillion-dollar coronavirus bailout package, which set aside fifty billion dollars for the airline industry: twenty-five billion was for government-backed loans, to be drawn down when needed, and the rest went toward a payroll-support program that would be distributed as grants intended to preserve passenger-airline jobs. Each participating airline received seventy-six per cent of its payroll costs from the middle of 2019. (Portions of the grants are supposed to be paid back over a ten-year period, and the government will receive warrants, a form of equity ownership in the airlines, for ten per cent of the grant value.) “The business fell off a cliff,” Nelson told me. “Literally fell off a cliff. And if there had not been a shoring up right then, the vast majority of airlines would have filed for bankruptcy. And the public would have lost any sort of control of how the airline industry would look at the other end of this.”
In exchange for the aid, the airlines agreed to stringent conditions. They are prohibited from engaging in stock buybacks or issuing dividends through September, 2021. Executive compensation during the period when the company is accepting aid is limited to compensation levels from 2019. Companies were also prohibited from laying off workers for six months, a provision that will end on September 30th. Like other parts of the bailout that were intended to salvage jobs, such as the Paycheck Protection Program, the airline assistance largely worked in the short term. “We submitted our own relief plan that was focussed on workers, and that’s what we achieved: a workers-first package, the first ever in this country, formatted to go directly to the workers,” Nelson said. Most airline workers lost around twenty-five per cent of take-home pay, but the program “kept people on the job, connected to our health care, all of that.” Now, after accepting millions in bailout money, several airlines, including United and American Airlines, have announced that, after the deadline expires in the fall, they will cut thousands of jobs. As Congress debates another rescue package, Nelson and other union leaders representing airline workers are fighting to extend the program by another six months, through March of 2021. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are hanging in the balance.
Nelson has blond hair and large, blue eyes, and is often photographed in a crisp flight-attendants’ uniform. She grew up in Oregon, the daughter of a lumber worker and a music teacher. After graduating from college, with forty-five thousand dollars in student debt, she applied, in 1996, to work as a flight attendant at United. (The six-week training program included instructions on the proper application of makeup.) She quickly distinguished herself as a vocal supporter of workers’ rights, and, in 2010, she was elected vice-president of the A.F.A., a union representing fifty thousand flight attendants at twenty airlines. In 2014, she became the union’s president, which has placed her at the center of the worst crisis the airline industry has faced in decades.
As the pandemic took hold, in the winter and early spring, air travel dropped by around ninety-seven per cent; it crept up slightly in May, as things seemed to improve and stay-at-home orders across the country were loosened. But business only reached a peak of around twenty-five per cent of pre-pandemic levels, at the end of June, and then began to flatten again, as it became clear that the pandemic was far from over, at least in the United States. The Trump Administration has not taken strong action to curb the spread of the virus, leading to ongoing outbreaks across the country. This has amounted to a form of economic self-sabotage: the Trump Administration’s lack of leadership has undermined the benefits of the costly economic bailouts that Congress passed, insuring that even more money will have to be spent in the future. If the Administration had managed to get the spread of the virus under control by midsummer, the ongoing need for aggressive government bailouts would have been less severe than it currently is.
Nelson and other union leaders have been circulating a letter to members of Congress, urging them to pass the proposed extension of the airline-worker payroll protections. “Air travel remains a slight fraction of last year’s levels and demand will remain depressed well into next year,” the letter reads. “Aviation workers account for 5% of the nation’s GDP. Should October 1 arrive without extending the PSP grant job program mass layoffs are inevitable, as airline executives have acknowledged. Hundreds of thousands of workers will lose their jobs and health insurance—not only in aviation, but across our entire economy.” A majority of members of the House appear to support the idea. But, on July 27th, Senate Republicans released a draft bill that did not contain any provisions related to extending the payments for airline workers.
As the process drags on, Nelson fields calls almost daily from colleagues facing unprecedented working conditions and unsettling questions about the future. When we spoke, she was in touch with a crew stranded in Sydney, Australia, after being ordered to quarantine after a flight; its members were stuck in hotel rooms without direct sunlight, unexpectedly separated from their families. “It’s always difficult, because when we go to work we don’t come home for several days, so you have to plan for how everyone at home is going to eat and be taken care of when you’re gone,” Nelson said. “Now there’s the added difficulty that you don’t know what might happen. In some cases, we have had crews show up and all of a sudden, when they land, the policy has changed.” Nelson added, “This is compounded by the fact that the world does not trust the United States right now.”


newyorker--2020-07-31--“Equipo Trump”: The President’s Brazen Attempt to Win Over Latino Voters

On June 23rd , Donald Trump visited Arizona to celebrate the completion of two hundred miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border .
That the number of coronavirus cases in the state had reached an all-time high did not stop Trump from focussing on the structure , hailing it as “ great , ” “ powerful , ” and “ really foolproof.
” His visit to Arizona , a key battleground state in the 2020 election , gave him an opportunity to showcase a formidable campaign promise that he has neither fulfilled nor got Mexico to pay for .
Before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where a silver plaque awaited his signature , Trump spoke at a border-security roundtable .
He boasted of his success in preventing immigrants , drugs , crimes , and even the coronavirus from reaching the U.S. ’ s southern border .
For that , Trump had an unlikely ally to thank .
“ I want to thank the President of Mexico , ” he said .
“ He ’ s really a great guy .
I think he ’ ll be coming into Washington pretty soon.
” Two weeks later , President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flight en route to the U.S. capital .
His decision to visit Trump in the midst of a pandemic and a fraught American election spurred criticism on both sides of the border .
Many argued that Trump could reap political benefits from the meeting at a time when he is hoping to pull Latino voters away from Joe Biden , especially in battleground states he must win in 2020 , such as Arizona , Florida , and Texas .
While Trump ’ s polling averages have plummeted among other groups , his support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still losing among these voters by a wide margin—more than thirty percentage points—but he also appears to be benefitting from Biden ’ s inability to generate enthusiasm for his candidacy in the community .
Recent polls show that less than sixty per cent of the Latino electorate would vote for Biden—a far lower number than the seventy-one per cent who voted for Obama in 2012 and the sixty-six per cent who voted for Clinton in 2016 .
During two tightly scripted public appearances , where no questions from the press were permitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump , showering him with adulation and praising his treatment of Mexico .
“ I ’ m here to express to the people of the United States that their President has behaved toward us with kindness and respect .
He has treated us as we are : a dignified country , ” López Obrador , who is commonly known by his initials , AMLO , said .
He left Washington politically unscathed at home because Trump , in a rare display of discipline , made no virulent remarks against Mexico .
“ Mexican-Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ They strengthen our churches and enrich every feature of national life .
They are hardworking , incredible people.
” In Trumpian fashion , the President took full political advantage of the visit .
Hours after the two leaders spoke in the Rose Garden , Trump tweeted a campaign-style video of López Obrador hailing him and his record .
Snippets from Trump ’ s remarks , mixed with triumphant music , narrated the footage .
“ Today we celebrate the historic victory we achieved together just days ago , when NAFTA was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , beautiful U.S.M.C.A.
, ” Trump says as a picture of the trade deal , featuring his signature in oversized letters , appears on the screen .
Earlier in the day , when Biden reminded his followers on Twitter that “ Trump launched his 2016 campaign by calling Mexicans rapists , ” the proxy account @ EquipoTrump responded that “ Trump has actually delivered for our community .
That ’ s why President López Obrador said today that @ realDonaldTrump has treated Mexicans with ‘ understanding ’ and ‘ respect.
’ ” Days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign planned to spend millions on Spanish-language ads featuring López Obrador ’ s remarks at the White House .
Equipo Trump is the official bilingual Twitter account of the President ’ s reëlection campaign .
In recent days , the account tweeted a warning in Spanish that a possible Joe Biden Vice-Presidential pick , Karen Bass , would adopt policies of appeasement toward the Venezuelan ruler , Nicolás Maduro , and Cuba ’ s leader , Raúl Castro .
It also wished Peruvians a happy Independence Day .
Unlike in 2016 , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to expand Trump ’ s base of support among Latinos .
The effort is being shepherded by Vice-President Mike Pence ’ s nephew , John Pence , a corporate lawyer in his thirties who has said that he discovered the perils of socialism while studying abroad in Argentina and teaching English in Nicaragua .
It has a Latino advisory board comprising twenty-two members , ranging from Hispanic business leaders to evangelical pastors .
And , since the onset of the pandemic , the campaign has been holding frequent online events and sending out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hispanics , warning of “ The Radical Left ’ s ” desire to achieve “ unlimited abortions through Biden ” or its attempt to “ cancel Goya Foods.
” Still , the campaign , in many respects , is closely following Trump ’ s aggressive 2016 playbook .
Last fall , when Biden launched an initiative called Todos con Biden ( All with Biden ) , Trump ’ s team rushed to buy the Web domain .
To date , anyone visiting the site todosconbiden.com will find a photograph of the Vice-President looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and an announcement , in both English and Spanish : “ Oops , Joe forgot about Latinos.
” A link at the bottom of the page , which reads “ Vamos ” ( “ Let ’ s Go ” ) , redirects visitors to the Latinos for Trump Web page .
“ We ’ ve seen that the Trump campaign has no compunction when it comes to weaponizing any statements of support for their own political purposes , ” Fernand Amandi , a Democratic strategist and pollster , told me .
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to propel them to be able to win the Hispanic vote on the basis of AMLO ’ s comments , they ’ re sorely mistaken .
If their aim is to try to use these comments to increase support from Hispanic voters on the margins , it might very well have that effect.
” Trump , though , also faces enormous political challenges in increasing his support among Latinos .
His stance on immigration , and particularly his Administration ’ s policy of separating migrant children from their families , is widely unpopular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continues , Trump ’ s claims of a thriving economy , which once resonated strongly among Latino men , are no longer credible—the unemployment rate for Hispanics currently stands at more than sixteen per cent .
Furthermore , Latinos have caught and died from the coronavirus at an outsized rate—the research group Latino Decisions recently reported that , in a majority of states , Hispanics are more than twice as likely as other Americans to contract the virus .
All the while , the President has continued his long-running practice of making false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial fears as a way to scare voters into supporting him .
On June 28th , he tweeted , “ Corrupt Joe Biden has confirmed that he ‘ would give UNLIMITED Healthcare to Illegal Immigrants ’ .
This would break our system and bring millions of people to the USA.
” To Trump ’ s opponents , this all begs the question of why López Obrador would allow himself to be so overtly used .
After the Rose Garden address , Representative Raúl Grijalva , an Arizona Democrat and the son of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ nothing more than Trump ’ s collaborator.
” In 2018 , López Obrador ran for office on a pledge to counter Trump ’ s vitriol and restore the dignity of Mexico .
The previous year , within months of Trump ’ s inauguration , he had filed a complaint at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights , in Washington , D.C. , denouncing the Administration ’ s border wall and its immigration policy .
He also published a book , “ Oye , Trump ” ( “ Listen Up , Trump ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Trump and his advisers speak of Mexicans the way Hitler and the Nazis referred to the Jews , just before undertaking the infamous persecution and the abominable extermination .
”

On June 23rd, Donald Trump visited Arizona to celebrate the completion of two hundred miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. That the number of coronavirus cases in the state had reached an all-time high did not stop Trump from focussing on the structure, hailing it as “great,” “powerful,” and “really foolproof.” His visit to Arizona, a key battleground state in the 2020 election, gave him an opportunity to showcase a formidable campaign promise that he has neither fulfilled nor got Mexico to pay for. Before surveying the thirty-foot-tall fence in San Luis, where a silver plaque awaited his signature, Trump spoke at a border-security roundtable. He boasted of his success in preventing immigrants, drugs, crimes, and even the coronavirus from reaching the U.S.’s southern border. For that, Trump had an unlikely ally to thank. “I want to thank the President of Mexico,” he said. “He’s really a great guy. I think he’ll be coming into Washington pretty soon.”
Two weeks later, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador boarded a commercial flight en route to the U.S. capital. His decision to visit Trump in the midst of a pandemic and a fraught American election spurred criticism on both sides of the border. Many argued that Trump could reap political benefits from the meeting at a time when he is hoping to pull Latino voters away from Joe Biden, especially in battleground states he must win in 2020, such as Arizona, Florida, and Texas. While Trump’s polling averages have plummeted among other groups, his support among Latinos has remained steady. He is still losing among these voters by a wide margin—more than thirty percentage points—but he also appears to be benefitting from Biden’s inability to generate enthusiasm for his candidacy in the community. Recent polls show that less than sixty per cent of the Latino electorate would vote for Biden—a far lower number than the seventy-one per cent who voted for Obama in 2012 and the sixty-six per cent who voted for Clinton in 2016.
During two tightly scripted public appearances, where no questions from the press were permitted, López Obrador flaunted his friendship with Trump, showering him with adulation and praising his treatment of Mexico. “I’m here to express to the people of the United States that their President has behaved toward us with kindness and respect. He has treated us as we are: a dignified country,” López Obrador, who is commonly known by his initials, AMLO, said. He left Washington politically unscathed at home because Trump, in a rare display of discipline, made no virulent remarks against Mexico. “Mexican-Americans uplift our communities,” Trump declared. “They strengthen our churches and enrich every feature of national life. They are hardworking, incredible people.”
In Trumpian fashion, the President took full political advantage of the visit. Hours after the two leaders spoke in the Rose Garden, Trump tweeted a campaign-style video of López Obrador hailing him and his record. Snippets from Trump’s remarks, mixed with triumphant music, narrated the footage. “Today we celebrate the historic victory we achieved together just days ago, when NAFTA was officially terminated and replaced with a brand-new, beautiful U.S.M.C.A.,” Trump says as a picture of the trade deal, featuring his signature in oversized letters, appears on the screen. Earlier in the day, when Biden reminded his followers on Twitter that “Trump launched his 2016 campaign by calling Mexicans rapists,” the proxy account @EquipoTrump responded that “Trump has actually delivered for our community. That’s why President López Obrador said today that @realDonaldTrump has treated Mexicans with ‘understanding’ and ‘respect.’ ” Days later, Axios reported that the Trump campaign planned to spend millions on Spanish-language ads featuring López Obrador’s remarks at the White House.
Equipo Trump is the official bilingual Twitter account of the President’s reëlection campaign. In recent days, the account tweeted a warning in Spanish that a possible Joe Biden Vice-Presidential pick, Karen Bass, would adopt policies of appeasement toward the Venezuelan ruler, Nicolás Maduro, and Cuba’s leader, Raúl Castro. It also wished Peruvians a happy Independence Day. Unlike in 2016, the Trump campaign appears to be actively trying to expand Trump’s base of support among Latinos. The effort is being shepherded by Vice-President Mike Pence’s nephew, John Pence, a corporate lawyer in his thirties who has said that he discovered the perils of socialism while studying abroad in Argentina and teaching English in Nicaragua. It has a Latino advisory board comprising twenty-two members, ranging from Hispanic business leaders to evangelical pastors. And, since the onset of the pandemic, the campaign has been holding frequent online events and sending out e-mails highlighting issues that appeal to conservative Hispanics, warning of “The Radical Left’s” desire to achieve “unlimited abortions through Biden” or its attempt to “cancel Goya Foods.”
Still, the campaign, in many respects, is closely following Trump’s aggressive 2016 playbook. Last fall, when Biden launched an initiative called Todos con Biden (All with Biden), Trump’s team rushed to buy the Web domain. To date, anyone visiting the site todosconbiden.com will find a photograph of the Vice-President looking downward, with his arms crossed, and an announcement, in both English and Spanish: “Oops, Joe forgot about Latinos.” A link at the bottom of the page, which reads “Vamos” (“Let’s Go”), redirects visitors to the Latinos for Trump Web page. “We’ve seen that the Trump campaign has no compunction when it comes to weaponizing any statements of support for their own political purposes,” Fernand Amandi, a Democratic strategist and pollster, told me. “If the campaign thinks it’s enough to propel them to be able to win the Hispanic vote on the basis of AMLO’s comments, they’re sorely mistaken. If their aim is to try to use these comments to increase support from Hispanic voters on the margins, it might very well have that effect.”
Trump, though, also faces enormous political challenges in increasing his support among Latinos. His stance on immigration, and particularly his Administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their families, is widely unpopular in the community. As the pandemic continues, Trump’s claims of a thriving economy, which once resonated strongly among Latino men, are no longer credible—the unemployment rate for Hispanics currently stands at more than sixteen per cent. Furthermore, Latinos have caught and died from the coronavirus at an outsized rate—the research group Latino Decisions recently reported that, in a majority of states, Hispanics are more than twice as likely as other Americans to contract the virus. All the while, the President has continued his long-running practice of making false claims about undocumented immigrants and playing on racial fears as a way to scare voters into supporting him. On June 28th, he tweeted, “Corrupt Joe Biden has confirmed that he ‘would give UNLIMITED Healthcare to Illegal Immigrants’. This would break our system and bring millions of people to the USA.”
To Trump’s opponents, this all begs the question of why López Obrador would allow himself to be so overtly used. After the Rose Garden address, Representative Raúl Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat and the son of a Mexican immigrant, derided López Obrador as “nothing more than Trump’s collaborator.” In 2018, López Obrador ran for office on a pledge to counter Trump’s vitriol and restore the dignity of Mexico. The previous year, within months of Trump’s inauguration, he had filed a complaint at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in Washington, D.C., denouncing the Administration’s border wall and its immigration policy. He also published a book, “Oye, Trump” (“Listen Up, Trump”), in which he declared that “Trump and his advisers speak of Mexicans the way Hitler and the Nazis referred to the Jews, just before undertaking the infamous persecution and the abominable extermination.”
“López Obrador at some point decided, or was convinced, that bending the knee was a better option than standing his ground with Trump,” Arturo Sarukhán, who served as Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.S. from 2007 to 2013, told me. In Sarukhán’s view, the visit was “a slap in the face to migrants in the U.S.—eleven million of whom are Mexicans—and a boon to Trump’s dog-whistle xenophobia and chauvinism.” There’s a clear answer, though, as to why López Obrador made the trip. He is under enormous pressure to revive the Mexican economy, which was stagnant even before COVID-19 arrived—its prospects now are even bleaker. The Bank of Mexico recently announced that the country’s G.D.P. would fall between five and nine per cent this year, and as many as 1.4 million jobs could be lost. “The U.S. remains Mexico’s largest trading partner, so you cannot underplay the fact that there is an element of economic pragmatism,” Daniel Erikson, a former adviser on Latin America to Vice-President Biden, told me. “The question is, Will it be worth it? And at what cost?”


newyorker--2020-07-31--Trump Signs Executive Order Banning Month of November

WASHINGTON ( The Borowitz Report ) —Donald Trump stirred controversy on Friday by signing an executive order that would ban @ @ @ @ @ While legal scholars protested that he did not have the right to reduce the number @ @ @ @ @ from twelve to eleven , Trump argued that “ the Constitution doesn ’ t say @ @ @ @ @ you have to have.
” “ All of those smart guys like Jefferson and Madison @ @ @ @ @ is something they didn ’ t think of , ” he said .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ ” Trump said that eliminating November from the calendar was “ long overdue , ” @ @ @ @ @ month.
” “ November is a hoax , ” he said .
“ Some people @ @ @ @ @ be a real month.
” Responding to a reporter ’ s question about the future @ @ @ @ @ that “ nobody will miss it.
” “ Just ask anyone in this country , @ @ @ @ @ Nobody has anything to be thankful for .
”

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Donald Trump stirred controversy on Friday by signing an executive order that would ban the month of November.
While legal scholars protested that he did not have the right to reduce the number of months in a year from twelve to eleven, Trump argued that “the Constitution doesn’t say anything about how many months you have to have.”
“All of those smart guys like Jefferson and Madison, those beauties, this is something they didn’t think of,” he said. “I got them on the months.”
Trump said that eliminating November from the calendar was “long overdue,” calling it “a rigged month.”
“November is a hoax,” he said. “Some people say it may not even be a real month.”
Responding to a reporter’s question about the future of Thanksgiving, Trump said that “nobody will miss it.”
“Just ask anyone in this country,” he said. “Nobody has anything to be thankful for.”
Read More Satire from the Borowitz Report


Everyone Hates Me

Ugh , everyone totally hates me .
Everyone , including my pediatrician , the stranger at Panera who told me I have a “ beautiful aura , ” and anyone else who has ever existed , thinks I am the worst human ever—I just know it .
Absolutely every single person on earth has hated me since I was a wee lad .
Whereas most wee lads are the subject of their parents ’ adoration , I was raised with outright derision .
My father worked long hours at a high-stress , high-paying job just so he could avoid spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resented me to the degree that she refused to even breast-feed me after my fourth birthday .
They eventually enrolled me in the finest of schools , so that I could learn to be hated by the finest of teachers .
These years as a disliked wee lad thickened my skin for the hate to come .
By the way , I am convinced that one of the reasons people hate me is that I refer to children as “ wee lads.
” I wish I could change everything about myself , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find it infuriating to hear someone with all the privilege in the world perpetually insist that “ everyone hates ” him .
Just imagine , though , how much more annoying it is for me , a person actually hated by everyone , when phonies pretend they ’ re the ones everybody hates .
I bet these very same phonies with “ no friends ” throw an extravagant , super-fun party every month where they all hang out .
Everyone just sits around at these parties and lists the various things they hate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ invited to this party I ’ m imagining , because people who throw imaginary parties also hate me .
I once saw Tom Hanks , the kindest man in the world , and he told me that he ’ d never seen a person more punchable or detestable than me .
He did not say this verbally but rather with his eyes .
What an incredible actor .
My therapist tells me I ’ m in my own head and that it ’ s “ actually kind of selfish ” to presume that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me .
I want to believe her , but I know she hates me , too .
Why else would she have cancelled our session for the last week of December ?
Seriously , think of a person .
Got a person in mind ?
That ’ s right—Michelle Obama hates me , and she loves everyone .
Now think of another person .
We already established that Tom Hanks hates me .
Why ’ d you think of someone I already brought up ?
You ’ re just a typical person who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ salt in my Tom Hanks-shaped wounds .
My most ardent haters harbor so much ire for me that they ’ ll try to gaslight me into believing they actually like me .
They ’ ll say things like “ Seriously ?
I asked you to be the best man at my wedding ” or “ Stop telling strangers we were bad parents !
” I do not fully understand the extent of these haters ’ contempt for me but must live with it every day .
Nobody hates me more than my fiancée @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form of pity , which leads her to go on vacations with me , spend lazy Sundays with me , and partake in sex with me .
She says I ’ m “ an idiot ” to think that someone who just agreed to spend the rest of her life with me honestly hates me .
I see right through her charade , though .
If she doesn ’ t hate me , then why does she never agree to watch hours upon hours of fail videos on YouTube with me ?
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the person refuses to do the exact thing you want to do .
So , yes , believe me when I say that I am the most hated person in the world .
If you don ’ t believe me , well , then , I guess it comes as no surprise to learn that you hate me , too .

Ugh, everyone totally hates me. Everyone, including my pediatrician, the stranger at Panera who told me I have a “beautiful aura,” and anyone else who has ever existed, thinks I am the worst human ever—I just know it.
Absolutely every single person on earth has hated me since I was a wee lad. Whereas most wee lads are the subject of their parents’ adoration, I was raised with outright derision. My father worked long hours at a high-stress, high-paying job just so he could avoid spending time in my vicinity. My mother resented me to the degree that she refused to even breast-feed me after my fourth birthday. They eventually enrolled me in the finest of schools, so that I could learn to be hated by the finest of teachers. These years as a disliked wee lad thickened my skin for the hate to come.
By the way, I am convinced that one of the reasons people hate me is that I refer to children as “wee lads.” I wish I could change everything about myself, but especially this.
I know that people find it infuriating to hear someone with all the privilege in the world perpetually insist that “everyone hates” him. Just imagine, though, how much more annoying it is for me, a person actually hated by everyone, when phonies pretend they’re the ones everybody hates. I bet these very same phonies with “no friends” throw an extravagant, super-fun party every month where they all hang out. Everyone just sits around at these parties and lists the various things they hate about me. I have never been invited to this party I’m imagining, because people who throw imaginary parties also hate me.
I once saw Tom Hanks, the kindest man in the world, and he told me that he’d never seen a person more punchable or detestable than me. He did not say this verbally but rather with his eyes. What an incredible actor.
My therapist tells me I’m in my own head and that it’s “actually kind of selfish” to presume that everyone spends their spare time thinking about me. I want to believe her, but I know she hates me, too. Why else would she have cancelled our session for the last week of December?
Seriously, think of a person. Got a person in mind? That’s right—Michelle Obama hates me, and she loves everyone. Now think of another person. We already established that Tom Hanks hates me. Why’d you think of someone I already brought up? You’re just a typical person who hates me, constantly trying to rub salt in my Tom Hanks-shaped wounds.
My most ardent haters harbor so much ire for me that they’ll try to gaslight me into believing they actually like me. They’ll say things like “Seriously? I asked you to be the best man at my wedding” or “Stop telling strangers we were bad parents!” I do not fully understand the extent of these haters’ contempt for me but must live with it every day.
Nobody hates me more than my fiancée, Emily. Her hatred takes the form of pity, which leads her to go on vacations with me, spend lazy Sundays with me, and partake in sex with me. She says I’m “an idiot” to think that someone who just agreed to spend the rest of her life with me honestly hates me. I see right through her charade, though. If she doesn’t hate me, then why does she never agree to watch hours upon hours of fail videos on YouTube with me? You can always tell that someone hates you if the person refuses to do the exact thing you want to do.
So, yes, believe me when I say that I am the most hated person in the world. If you don’t believe me, well, then, I guess it comes as no surprise to learn that you hate me, too.


newyorker--2020-08-01--“Bluey,” the Coronavirus, and the Weirdness of Little Kids

Early in the COVID-19 lockdown , when I was still ambitious about finding creative ways to entertain a toddler , my two-and-half-year-old daughter and I did an arts-and-crafts project , making “ dragons ” out of paper-towel tubes .
We drew eyes and teeth on the cardboard tubes—the hole at one end was the mouth—and used pipe cleaners to give them spines and legs .
It was a huge success .
My daughter loved the paper-towel-tube dragons .
They quickly joined her favorite toys , a set of plastic “ Peppa Pig ” figurines .
She pretended that one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Miss Rabbit , was a dragon trainer , flying around on the dragons ’ backs .
One day , she seemed to get an idea .
She stood a paper-towel-tube dragon vertically , on its tail , and arranged Miss Rabbit in a sitting position on the hole that was its mouth .
Then she made a sh-h-h sound and exclaimed , “ Oh , no !
Miss Rabbit peed in her dragon !
” I wasn ’ t sure how to respond .
We had recently started potty-training her : this announcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t want to shame her .
But I was also grossed out .
After gathering my thoughts , I addressed the plastic bunny in a bright , helpful voice : “ Miss Rabbit , it ’ s great that you want to use the potty .
But it ’ s not nice to pee in your dragon .
He ’ s your friend .
Why don ’ t you pee in a regular paper-towel tube ?
” My daughter thought that this was hilarious .
She immediately wanted to perform the entire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peeing , the scolding—all over again .
Miss Rabbit Pees in Her Dragon joined the pantheon of her favorite games , along with Ambulance and Birthday Party .
When my partner finished his morning Zoom calls and came downstairs for the child-care hand-off , he ’ d ask , “ How ’ s Miss Rabbit ?
Did she pee in her dragon again ?
” And then he ’ d have to play it , too .
I ’ m not the first person to note that , for all the pain this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 lockdowns have given us something remarkable : hours and hours of unstructured playtime with our children .
I ’ d thought that I was getting this before—on weekends and in the harried hours between dinner and bedtime—but , in retrospect , that was nothing .
In the three-plus months that my partner and I spent trapped in the house with our daughter , sharing child-care duties , I ’ m pretty sure that we had our brains rearranged .
Time began to unfurl in a slow , trippy way that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Our home became an extension of a two-year-old ’ s fantasy life , a place where hazy ideas about the outside world mingled with animal facts , domestic rituals , and scenes from her favorite cartoons .
Those cartoons include “ Peppa Pig , ” of course , and , these days , an equally charming show by the same creators , “ Ben & Holly ’ s Little Kingdom.
” But my favorite—and the most relevant to our current predicament—is “ Bluey , ” an Australian series featuring a family of anthropomorphic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ girls—living in the lush suburbs of Brisbane .
( Disney acquired most of the show ’ s international broadcast rights in 2019 .
Its second season premiered in the U.S. in July . )
The show revolves around play .
Many of its seven-to-eight-minute episodes center on a make-believe scenario that the kids , Bluey and Bingo , act out , often with their parents as supporting characters .
Although the kids are older than my daughter , their games bear a recognizable weirdness : in Yoga Ball , they put a shawl @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pretend that it ’ s a fancy lady .
In Asparagus , a piece of asparagus becomes a magic wand that can transform family members into wild animals .
The episode culminates in an especially hilarious sequence where Bingo and her mother become lions and stalk their next-door neighbor as he ’ s hanging up his laundry .
Not surprisingly , the show is based on real games that its creator , Joe Brumm , played with his two young daughters .
In a Zoom conversation , Brumm told me that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idiosyncratic way that kids play ” —as opposed to the way that we adults imagine them playing : running around and shouting “ Tag !
, ” perhaps , or quizzing themselves on the ABCs .
The idea came to him during early-morning play sessions , while his wife was sleeping .
“ You ’ d find yourself in these bizarre , Monty Python-esque scenarios , ” he said .
“ You know , it ’ s five in the morning , and , suddenly , you ’ re in their café , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re handing you money back .
And I just thought , This is funny.
” Brumm pointed out that there is an “ inherent comedy ” in the way that kids play , because , frequently , their games are earnest attempts to re-create both their own lives and the adult world .
But their knowledge of the world is limited—so they improvise .
“ When they get to a bit they don ’ t understand , they just substitute something from their imagination to kind of smooth it over , ” Brumm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he is attuned to the language of this imagination , especially when it comes to making up names : Slobber Dobber , Sharalanda , Boop Boop Bop Boop . )
In an episode called “ The Doctor , ” Bingo plays a doctor , and Bluey plays a medical receptionist .
Their friends present themselves with a parade of imaginary maladies : scorpion bites ; arms fallen off ; “ I accidentally ate a hippopotamus .
And now , when I burp , I burp out baby hippopotamuses.
” These are treated as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ Don ’ t worry , we ’ ll get you fixed in a jiffy !
” and the receptionist passing out lollipops .
“ These are the things which adults find funny , ” Brumm said .
“ And to me , it ’ s endlessly fascinating because it ’ s the essence of a trip to the doctor ’ s office .
It ’ s not all the details , but it ’ s the important stuff .
And it makes you see it fresh.
” Brumm researched the psychology @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in early-childhood development—especially the way that it teaches children to navigate social life .
Frequently , the kids on “ Bluey ” will be playing a game when they come to a point of contention : in “ Grannies , ” they ’ re pretending to be old ladies when they get into an argument about whether grannies can perform a dance move known as the floss .
In “ Hotel , ” Bluey wants Bingo to play a “ crazy hotel helper , ” but Bingo wants to be a “ crazy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ differences to continue the game .
Brumm explained , “ That process , being able to have a debate with another kid and come to an agreement—doing that day in , day out , from age three to five , is how they end up getting socialized .
It ’ s really lovely , because they do it naturally .
You don ’ t have to step in and say , ‘ Hey , you need to get along.
’ ” On the show , the parents do sometimes nudge the kids in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Chilli , Bluey ’ s mother , tells her , “ You ’ re going to have to decide : Do you want to be right , or do you want Bingo to keep playing with you ?
” Bluey thinks about it and asks , “ Can I have both ?
” —to which her parents respond , “ No !
” Each episode of “ Bluey ” generally culminates in a mild life lesson .
Moralizing is avoided .
Brumm said that he ’ s drawn to insights that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Claw , ” Bandit , Bluey ’ s father , pretends to be an arcade game , and he attempts to teach the kids a lesson about the perils of gambling .
It backfires , and they end up pelting him with stuffed toys .
“ Did we learn anything today ?
” Chilli asks , later .
“ Yes , ” Bandit says .
“ These kids are awesome .
”

Early in the COVID-19 lockdown, when I was still ambitious about finding creative ways to entertain a toddler, my two-and-half-year-old daughter and I did an arts-and-crafts project, making “dragons” out of paper-towel tubes. We drew eyes and teeth on the cardboard tubes—the hole at one end was the mouth—and used pipe cleaners to give them spines and legs. It was a huge success. My daughter loved the paper-towel-tube dragons. They quickly joined her favorite toys, a set of plastic “Peppa Pig” figurines. She pretended that one of the “Peppa Pig” characters, Miss Rabbit, was a dragon trainer, flying around on the dragons’ backs. One day, she seemed to get an idea. She stood a paper-towel-tube dragon vertically, on its tail, and arranged Miss Rabbit in a sitting position on the hole that was its mouth. Then she made a sh-h-h sound and exclaimed, “Oh, no! Miss Rabbit peed in her dragon!”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. We had recently started potty-training her: this announcement was clearly about that. I didn’t want to shame her. But I was also grossed out. After gathering my thoughts, I addressed the plastic bunny in a bright, helpful voice: “Miss Rabbit, it’s great that you want to use the potty. But it’s not nice to pee in your dragon. He’s your friend. Why don’t you pee in a regular paper-towel tube?”
My daughter thought that this was hilarious. She immediately wanted to perform the entire drama—Miss Rabbit’s dragon-riding, the peeing, the scolding—all over again. Miss Rabbit Pees in Her Dragon joined the pantheon of her favorite games, along with Ambulance and Birthday Party. When my partner finished his morning Zoom calls and came downstairs for the child-care hand-off, he’d ask, “How’s Miss Rabbit? Did she pee in her dragon again?” And then he’d have to play it, too.
I’m not the first person to note that, for all the pain this pandemic has inflicted on working parents, the COVID-19 lockdowns have given us something remarkable: hours and hours of unstructured playtime with our children. I’d thought that I was getting this before—on weekends and in the harried hours between dinner and bedtime—but, in retrospect, that was nothing. In the three-plus months that my partner and I spent trapped in the house with our daughter, sharing child-care duties, I’m pretty sure that we had our brains rearranged. Time began to unfurl in a slow, trippy way that I hadn’t experienced since childhood. Our home became an extension of a two-year-old’s fantasy life, a place where hazy ideas about the outside world mingled with animal facts, domestic rituals, and scenes from her favorite cartoons.
Those cartoons include “Peppa Pig,” of course, and, these days, an equally charming show by the same creators, “Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom.” But my favorite—and the most relevant to our current predicament—is “Bluey,” an Australian series featuring a family of anthropomorphic heeler dogs—mother, father, two little girls—living in the lush suburbs of Brisbane. (Disney acquired most of the show’s international broadcast rights in 2019. Its second season premiered in the U.S. in July.) The show revolves around play. Many of its seven-to-eight-minute episodes center on a make-believe scenario that the kids, Bluey and Bingo, act out, often with their parents as supporting characters. Although the kids are older than my daughter, their games bear a recognizable weirdness: in Yoga Ball, they put a shawl and sun hat on a yoga ball and pretend that it’s a fancy lady. In Asparagus, a piece of asparagus becomes a magic wand that can transform family members into wild animals. The episode culminates in an especially hilarious sequence where Bingo and her mother become lions and stalk their next-door neighbor as he’s hanging up his laundry.
Not surprisingly, the show is based on real games that its creator, Joe Brumm, played with his two young daughters. In a Zoom conversation, Brumm told me that he wanted to capture “the real, idiosyncratic way that kids play”—as opposed to the way that we adults imagine them playing: running around and shouting “Tag!,” perhaps, or quizzing themselves on the ABCs. The idea came to him during early-morning play sessions, while his wife was sleeping. “You’d find yourself in these bizarre, Monty Python-esque scenarios,” he said. “You know, it’s five in the morning, and, suddenly, you’re in their café, handing them money, and they’re handing you money back. And I just thought, This is funny.”
Brumm pointed out that there is an “inherent comedy” in the way that kids play, because, frequently, their games are earnest attempts to re-create both their own lives and the adult world. But their knowledge of the world is limited—so they improvise. “When they get to a bit they don’t understand, they just substitute something from their imagination to kind of smooth it over,” Brumm said. (As a writer, he is attuned to the language of this imagination, especially when it comes to making up names: Slobber Dobber, Sharalanda, Boop Boop Bop Boop.) In an episode called “The Doctor,” Bingo plays a doctor, and Bluey plays a medical receptionist. Their friends present themselves with a parade of imaginary maladies: scorpion bites; arms fallen off; “I accidentally ate a hippopotamus. And now, when I burp, I burp out baby hippopotamuses.” These are treated as normal ailments, with the doctor pronouncing, “Don’t worry, we’ll get you fixed in a jiffy!” and the receptionist passing out lollipops. “These are the things which adults find funny,” Brumm said. “And to me, it’s endlessly fascinating because it’s the essence of a trip to the doctor’s office. It’s not all the details, but it’s the important stuff. And it makes you see it fresh.”
Brumm researched the psychology of play and learned about its role in early-childhood development—especially the way that it teaches children to navigate social life. Frequently, the kids on “Bluey” will be playing a game when they come to a point of contention: in “Grannies,” they’re pretending to be old ladies when they get into an argument about whether grannies can perform a dance move known as the floss. In “Hotel,” Bluey wants Bingo to play a “crazy hotel helper,” but Bingo wants to be a “crazy pillow.” They have to resolve their differences to continue the game. Brumm explained, “That process, being able to have a debate with another kid and come to an agreement—doing that day in, day out, from age three to five, is how they end up getting socialized. It’s really lovely, because they do it naturally. You don’t have to step in and say, ‘Hey, you need to get along.’ ”
On the show, the parents do sometimes nudge the kids in the right direction. In “Grannies,” Chilli, Bluey’s mother, tells her, “You’re going to have to decide: Do you want to be right, or do you want Bingo to keep playing with you?” Bluey thinks about it and asks, “Can I have both?”—to which her parents respond, “No!” Each episode of “Bluey” generally culminates in a mild life lesson. Moralizing is avoided. Brumm said that he’s drawn to insights that are “quite counterintuitive.” In “The Claw,” Bandit, Bluey’s father, pretends to be an arcade game, and he attempts to teach the kids a lesson about the perils of gambling. It backfires, and they end up pelting him with stuffed toys. “Did we learn anything today?” Chilli asks, later. “Yes,” Bandit says. “These kids are awesome.”
It’s interesting to think about how COVID-19 has affected the learning process depicted in “Bluey.” Over the last few months, my daughter has been deprived of playmates her own age. But we’ve had a good time together. And her father and I have discovered our inner two-year-olds. Brumm admitted, somewhat guiltily, that the lockdown at their home in Brisbane had been idyllic. “It was a lot like what I imagined the nineteen-fifties to be like, but with more iPads,” he said. They wrote letters to the elderly people who lived on their street and placed them in mailboxes. “The kids were in the garden a lot. They were playing with each other. They were watching cocoons hatch and finding dead birds in the pool.” (The dead bird turned out to be a live bush rat.) Like other parents, he looked on with awe as the kids adapted to a drastically altered world, integrating the language of hygiene and social distancing into their games. They’d be playing with dolls, whom they called their daughters. “The daughters would be coming over for playdates, and it would be, like, ‘O.K., everyone, make sure you sit six feet apart. And you have to wash your hands!’ ”
Was there a lesson in this? Brumm mused, “One of them is that kids don’t need a great deal. You know? All these things we kept thinking were essential”—shopping excursions, playdates, field trips to cultural institutions—“once that was taken off the table, they just got on with it, and they were happy.” This lesson sounded like the kind of thing that could make into an episode of “Bluey.” But Brumm said that the pandemic would not be making an appearance in a future season. “You know what? Whilst there have been a lot of positives, I bloody hate this thing. And once they get rid of it, I don’t think I want to talk about it again.”


newyorker--2020-08-01--Tommy Orange Reads Louise Erdrich

Tommy Orange Reads Louise Erdrich

Tommy Orange joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ The Years of My Birth , ” by Louise Erdrich @ @ @ @ @ 2011 issue of the magazine .
Orange ’ s first novel , “ There There @ @ @ @ @ 2018 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize .

Audio available Listen to this story
Download a transcript.
Photograph by Christopher Thompson / NYT / Redux
Tommy Orange joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “The Years of My Birth,” by Louise Erdrich, which appeared in a 2011 issue of the magazine. Orange’s first novel, “There There,” was published in 2018 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.


newyorker--2020-08-01--Joe Biden’s Big-Tent Strategy Seems to Be Working

Earlier this week , there was a telling moment when Joe Biden spoke in Wilmington , Delaware , about the need to combat systemic racism and foster racial equality in the American economy .
His speech was the latest in a series of public appearances in which the Presidential candidate has rolled out his Build Back Better economic agenda ; earlier discussions were devoted to strengthening American manufacturing , addressing climate change , and building up the caring economy .
“ This election is not just about voting against Donald Trump , ” Biden said .
“ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , understanding people ’ s struggles , and building a future worthy of their courage and their ambition to overcome.
” The giveaway was the phrase “ not just about.
” Since capturing the Democratic nomination , Biden has repeatedly acknowledged , implicitly and explicitly , that , for many Americans , the 2020 election is mainly about getting rid of his opponent .
This dynamic was clear during the primaries , when a majority of Democrats told pollsters that their top priority was selecting someone who could defeat Trump .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the former Vice-President has picked up , from groups ranging from the Lincoln Project , an organization of Never Trump Republicans that is running ads attacking the President and supporting Biden , to Indivisible , a group of progressive activists whose home page blares , “ BEAT TRUMP AND SAVE DEMOCRACY.
” To the members of these groups , and to many other Americans , Biden ’ s role is to serve as a human lever to pry a disastrous President out of the White House .
Defying the concerns of some political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the former Vice-President is shaping up to be an effective crowbar .
Since wrapping up the nomination , in March , he and his campaign team have successfully navigated at least three significant political challenges .
The first was uniting the Democratic Party after a chaotic primary season .
To this end , Biden has reached out to the Party ’ s progressive wing and tacked to the left in some of his own policy proposals .
He created a Unity Task Force—including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other supporters of Bernie Sanders—that released @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month .
Biden now supports Elizabeth Warren ’ s bankruptcy plan , which would make it easier for financially strapped people to discharge their debts .
He has put forward a proposal to insure free tuition for many students at public colleges , modelled on an earlier Sanders plan .
His climate-change strategy sets a target of 2035 for the creation of a zero-emissions power grid , which is just five years later than the deadline laid out in the Green New Deal .
Some Sanders supporters are still scornful of Biden , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the internecine conflict that occurred in 2016 .
The second task facing Biden was to fashion a coherent response to the tumultuous events of 2020 .
That ’ s where his Build Back Better plan comes in .
The members of his policy team have worked on the assumption that the coronavirus-stricken economy will need substantial financial support for years .
They think that this presents an opportunity to make it greener , more worker-friendly , and more racially inclusive .
Biden ’ s proposals include spending two trillion dollars on projects to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and seventy-five billion dollars on expanding care for preschoolers and the elderly ; and a hundred and fifty billion dollars on supporting small , minority-owned businesses .
He ’ s also promised to insure that forty per cent of the investment in green-energy infrastructure benefits disadvantaged communities , to expand rent subsidies for low-income households , to facilitate labor-union organizing , and to introduce a national minimum wage of fifteen dollars per hour .
Many progressive policy experts still think that Biden ’ s proposals don ’ t go far enough , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ praise .
“ When you look at all four elements of his economic platform , I think some of them have been very good—the climate plan in particular , ” Felicia Wong , the president of the Roosevelt Institute , told me .
Wong also said that the speech Biden gave this week about the economy , race , and the coronavirus was an effective one .
“ He recognized that people of color suffer the most in economic downturns , and also bounce back last , ” she said .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to make the race and economic arguments together , and he laid it out eloquently.
” The third challenge that Biden faced was to avoid giving Trump an easy target .
The pandemic has made the dodging part easier .
Hunkered down in Wilmington , Biden largely has left the President to dig his own hole—which he has done , ably .
But Biden has also reached out to Trump Country .
The first of his Build Back Better speeches was delivered in Rust Belt Pennsylvania : it included calls to restore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As well as adopting some of the language of economic nationalism , Biden has rejected certain progressive proposals , such as defunding the police and enforcing a complete ban on fracking , that might alienate moderate whites in battleground states .
This is smart politics , Ruy Teixeira , a polling expert and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress , told me .
Despite the changing demographics of the United States , whites who don ’ t have a college degree still make up about forty-four per cent of the eligible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some places , such as parts of the Midwest , the figure is even higher .
“ You can not cede massive sections of the electorate if you want to be successful politically , ” Teixeira said .
In 2016 , Trump carried the white non-college demographic by thirty-one percentage points at the national level , according to Teixeira ’ s analysis of exit polls and election returns .
Biden has narrowed the gap to twelve points , Teixeira said , citing a recent survey .
That is similar to the margin in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCain and the Democrats increased their majorities in both houses of Congress .
As it is often defined , the Obama coalition consisted of minority voters , college-educated white liberals , and young people .
Teixeira pointed out that Obama ’ s ability to restrict McCain ’ s margin in the white non-college demographic was also important , and if Biden matched that feat in November , he said , it could be of enormous consequence .
“ This is not the only thing that is going wrong for Trump , ” Teixeira @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing that could give the Democrats the big victory that they need to govern effectively.
” None of this means that Biden is a lock for the Oval Office .
Between now and November 3rd , something could conceivably shift the momentum against him , such as a Vice-Presidential pick that backfires , a major slipup in the debates , or a surprising economic upturn .
Right now , though , the challenger ’ s strategy of keeping the focus on the incumbent and pitching a broad tent that accommodates anyone who wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working well .

Earlier this week, there was a telling moment when Joe Biden spoke in Wilmington, Delaware, about the need to combat systemic racism and foster racial equality in the American economy. His speech was the latest in a series of public appearances in which the Presidential candidate has rolled out his Build Back Better economic agenda; earlier discussions were devoted to strengthening American manufacturing, addressing climate change, and building up the caring economy. “This election is not just about voting against Donald Trump,” Biden said. “It’s about rising to this moment of crisis, understanding people’s struggles, and building a future worthy of their courage and their ambition to overcome.”
The giveaway was the phrase “not just about.” Since capturing the Democratic nomination, Biden has repeatedly acknowledged, implicitly and explicitly, that, for many Americans, the 2020 election is mainly about getting rid of his opponent. This dynamic was clear during the primaries, when a majority of Democrats told pollsters that their top priority was selecting someone who could defeat Trump. It’s evident today in the endorsements that the former Vice-President has picked up, from groups ranging from the Lincoln Project, an organization of Never Trump Republicans that is running ads attacking the President and supporting Biden, to Indivisible, a group of progressive activists whose home page blares, “BEAT TRUMP AND SAVE DEMOCRACY.”
To the members of these groups, and to many other Americans, Biden’s role is to serve as a human lever to pry a disastrous President out of the White House. Defying the concerns of some political professionals who watched his primary campaign, the former Vice-President is shaping up to be an effective crowbar. Since wrapping up the nomination, in March, he and his campaign team have successfully navigated at least three significant political challenges.
The first was uniting the Democratic Party after a chaotic primary season. To this end, Biden has reached out to the Party’s progressive wing and tacked to the left in some of his own policy proposals. He created a Unity Task Force—including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other supporters of Bernie Sanders—that released a lengthy set of recommendations earlier this month. Biden now supports Elizabeth Warren’s bankruptcy plan, which would make it easier for financially strapped people to discharge their debts. He has put forward a proposal to insure free tuition for many students at public colleges, modelled on an earlier Sanders plan. His climate-change strategy sets a target of 2035 for the creation of a zero-emissions power grid, which is just five years later than the deadline laid out in the Green New Deal. Some Sanders supporters are still scornful of Biden, but there has been no repeat of the internecine conflict that occurred in 2016.
The second task facing Biden was to fashion a coherent response to the tumultuous events of 2020. That’s where his Build Back Better plan comes in. The members of his policy team have worked on the assumption that the coronavirus-stricken economy will need substantial financial support for years. They think that this presents an opportunity to make it greener, more worker-friendly, and more racially inclusive. Biden’s proposals include spending two trillion dollars on projects to move beyond fossil fuels; seven hundred and seventy-five billion dollars on expanding care for preschoolers and the elderly; and a hundred and fifty billion dollars on supporting small, minority-owned businesses. He’s also promised to insure that forty per cent of the investment in green-energy infrastructure benefits disadvantaged communities, to expand rent subsidies for low-income households, to facilitate labor-union organizing, and to introduce a national minimum wage of fifteen dollars per hour.
Many progressive policy experts still think that Biden’s proposals don’t go far enough, but some of them are also issuing qualified praise. “When you look at all four elements of his economic platform, I think some of them have been very good—the climate plan in particular,” Felicia Wong, the president of the Roosevelt Institute, told me. Wong also said that the speech Biden gave this week about the economy, race, and the coronavirus was an effective one. “He recognized that people of color suffer the most in economic downturns, and also bounce back last,” she said. “It’s hard for a lot of people to make the race and economic arguments together, and he laid it out eloquently.”
The third challenge that Biden faced was to avoid giving Trump an easy target. The pandemic has made the dodging part easier. Hunkered down in Wilmington, Biden largely has left the President to dig his own hole—which he has done, ably. But Biden has also reached out to Trump Country. The first of his Build Back Better speeches was delivered in Rust Belt Pennsylvania: it included calls to restore American manufacturing and “buy American.” As well as adopting some of the language of economic nationalism, Biden has rejected certain progressive proposals, such as defunding the police and enforcing a complete ban on fracking, that might alienate moderate whites in battleground states.
This is smart politics, Ruy Teixeira, a polling expert and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, told me. Despite the changing demographics of the United States, whites who don’t have a college degree still make up about forty-four per cent of the eligible electorate, according to Teixeira; in some places, such as parts of the Midwest, the figure is even higher. “You cannot cede massive sections of the electorate if you want to be successful politically,” Teixeira said.
In 2016, Trump carried the white non-college demographic by thirty-one percentage points at the national level, according to Teixeira’s analysis of exit polls and election returns. Biden has narrowed the gap to twelve points, Teixeira said, citing a recent survey. That is similar to the margin in 2008, when Barack Obama defeated John McCain and the Democrats increased their majorities in both houses of Congress. As it is often defined, the Obama coalition consisted of minority voters, college-educated white liberals, and young people. Teixeira pointed out that Obama’s ability to restrict McCain’s margin in the white non-college demographic was also important, and if Biden matched that feat in November, he said, it could be of enormous consequence. “This is not the only thing that is going wrong for Trump,” Teixeira said, “but it is the thing that could give the Democrats the big victory that they need to govern effectively.”
None of this means that Biden is a lock for the Oval Office. Between now and November 3rd, something could conceivably shift the momentum against him, such as a Vice-Presidential pick that backfires, a major slipup in the debates, or a surprising economic upturn. Right now, though, the challenger’s strategy of keeping the focus on the incumbent and pitching a broad tent that accommodates anyone who wants to see the back of Trump is working well.


newyorker--2020-08-01--Tyler Mitchell’s Redefining Portraits

Tyler Mitchell’s Redefining Portraits

Absence was a key motivator for Mitchell in becoming a photographer and filmmaker .
“ I felt there was actually a lack of imagery that reflected myself , and that I could see myself in , ” he has said .
Social media played a critical role in Mitchell ’ s image-making .
Born in 1995 , he grew up in Atlanta , where Tumblr was an outlet to youth culture and creative expression .
As a teen-ager , he purchased his first camera , a Canon digital S.L.R .
Inspired by Spike Jonze ’ s early skate videos , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mitchell ’ s Beyoncé cover-shoot video focussed on the performer wearing designer gowns in a contemporary imagined home environment ( actually a dilapidated English country house ) , with children playing , a lush green garden with trees , and the music of Curtis Mayfield , harkening back to the home-movie aesthetics of the nineteen-fifties .
I consider Mitchell ’ s photographic style to be revolutionary because of his commitment to collaboration , which he ties to the tight-knit skateboarding world .
( “ The thing that makes skaters like artists , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discipline “ thrives on community.
” ) Mitchell ’ s posing of Beyoncé draws on art-historical references : models in Paris salons in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ; the stylized studio portraits of the twentieth century in Paris and New York .
He introduces a dazzling new narrative about Black beauty and desire , embracing themes of the past and creating fictionalized moments of the imagined future .

Absence was a key motivator for Mitchell in becoming a photographer and filmmaker. “I felt there was actually a lack of imagery that reflected myself, and that I could see myself in,” he has said. Social media played a critical role in Mitchell’s image-making. Born in 1995, he grew up in Atlanta, where Tumblr was an outlet to youth culture and creative expression. As a teen-ager, he purchased his first camera, a Canon digital S.L.R. Inspired by Spike Jonze’s early skate videos, he also learned how to make videos. Mitchell’s Beyoncé cover-shoot video focussed on the performer wearing designer gowns in a contemporary imagined home environment (actually a dilapidated English country house), with children playing, a lush green garden with trees, and the music of Curtis Mayfield, harkening back to the home-movie aesthetics of the nineteen-fifties. I consider Mitchell’s photographic style to be revolutionary because of his commitment to collaboration, which he ties to the tight-knit skateboarding world. (“The thing that makes skaters like artists,” he said, is that each discipline “thrives on community.”) Mitchell’s posing of Beyoncé draws on art-historical references: models in Paris salons in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the stylized studio portraits of the twentieth century in Paris and New York. He introduces a dazzling new narrative about Black beauty and desire, embracing themes of the past and creating fictionalized moments of the imagined future.


Sunday Reading: Hiroshima

This week marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima .
In 1946 , William Shawn , who was then the deputy to Harold Ross , the editor of The New Yorker , asked John Hersey to travel to Japan and write about the horrific aftermath .
Hersey ’ s report , “ Hiroshima , ” marked a radical departure from the conventional journalism of the day .
In clear and supple prose , he described incomprehensible destruction on a human level .
Hersey focussed on six survivors .
( “ Each knows that in the act of survival @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more death than he ever thought he would see.
” ) The magazine devoted its entire August 31st issue to the piece , and it was soon being read all over the world .
Seventy-four years later , we ’ re bringing you Hersey ’ s celebrated work and a selection of related articles .
In “ Hiroshima : The Aftermath , ” from 1985 , Hersey revisits the survivors he profiled in his original report .
In “ Usher , ” Eugene Kinkead encounters Paul W. Tibbets , Jr. , the colonel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bomb .
( “ When the bomb was dropped , everyone craned his neck to watch the enormous black cloud that rose over the city—an effect quite different from anything any of them had ever seen .
Then they flew back to the Marianas , eating ham sandwiches as they went.
” ) In “ Atomic John , ” David Samuels writes about a truck driver from Wisconsin who deciphered the secrets of the first nuclear bombs .
Finally , in “ John Hersey and the Art of Fact , ” Nicholas Lemann @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how his work helped transform magazine reporting .
Taken together , these pieces offer a bracing reminder of the power of journalism to bear witness to even the most incomprehensible historical events .
A hundred thousand people were killed by the atomic bomb .
Survivors wonder why they lived when so many others died .
The pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima .
A truck driver uncovers secrets about the first nuclear bombs .
Hersey pioneered a radically new form of journalism .
But he grew convinced that his higher calling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him otherwise .

This week marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. In 1946, William Shawn, who was then the deputy to Harold Ross, the editor of The New Yorker, asked John Hersey to travel to Japan and write about the horrific aftermath. Hersey’s report, “Hiroshima,” marked a radical departure from the conventional journalism of the day. In clear and supple prose, he described incomprehensible destruction on a human level. Hersey focussed on six survivors. (“Each knows that in the act of survival he lived a dozen lives and saw more death than he ever thought he would see.”) The magazine devoted its entire August 31st issue to the piece, and it was soon being read all over the world. Seventy-four years later, we’re bringing you Hersey’s celebrated work and a selection of related articles. In “Hiroshima: The Aftermath,” from 1985, Hersey revisits the survivors he profiled in his original report. In “Usher,” Eugene Kinkead encounters Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., the colonel who piloted the plane that unleashed the bomb. (“When the bomb was dropped, everyone craned his neck to watch the enormous black cloud that rose over the city—an effect quite different from anything any of them had ever seen. Then they flew back to the Marianas, eating ham sandwiches as they went.”) In “Atomic John,” David Samuels writes about a truck driver from Wisconsin who deciphered the secrets of the first nuclear bombs. Finally, in “John Hersey and the Art of Fact,” Nicholas Lemann profiles the New Yorker reporter and explores how his work helped transform magazine reporting. Taken together, these pieces offer a bracing reminder of the power of journalism to bear witness to even the most incomprehensible historical events.
—David Remnick
Photograph from Rolls Press / Popperfoto / Getty
A hundred thousand people were killed by the atomic bomb. Survivors wonder why they lived when so many others died.
Survivors’ stories.
The pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Illustration by John Ritter
A truck driver uncovers secrets about the first nuclear bombs.
Photograph by Irving Penn © The Irving Penn Foundation
Hersey pioneered a radically new form of journalism. But he grew convinced that his higher calling was fiction, and nobody could persuade him otherwise.