newyorker--2020-07-31--Trump’s Dangerously Distorted View of How to Keep America Safe

Is there any sense in Donald Trump promoting , in the same week , the idea that there is so little to fear from the coronavirus that masks aren ’ t really necessary and also that there might be so much to fear that the November election might need to be postponed ?
Reopening schools willy-nilly , in his view , is not a big deal , even though the logistics are daunting and the challenges entirely new .
After all , according to the purported experts in a video he pushed , there is an easy “ cure ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
And yet expanding voting by mail , something that has been a tried practice in a majority of states for years , would be an outrage resulting in “ the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT ” election in American history .
And so : “ Delay the Election until people can properly , securely and safely vote ?
?
?
” The three question marks at the end of that tweet suggest other queries : How is this man President ?
How low can he go—and how far would he go ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election , which would require changes to an 1845 law , and there is no practical scenario in which that will happen .
Along with his recent deployment of federal officers to Portland , Oregon , the tweet is a measure of how detached Trump is from reality .
He is delusional about what his powers are—they do not include simply declaring that there is a cure for COVID-19 or even that schools must reopen—but the powers of the Presidency are substantial , and Trump can do a great deal of harm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump means by the phrase “ safely vote.
” To most people , it would mean voting without having to stand in overcrowded polling places in the midst of an outbreak .
If the recent primary in Georgia is any indication , Republicans in some states don ’ t seem to mind magnifying people ’ s fears that voting in person might be unsafe—for example , by reducing the number of polling places , leading to hours-long lines that people walk away from—if it will keep the voters they don ’ t like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , even in states like Florida , where coronavirus-related deaths are reaching levels of more than two hundred and fifty a day , Republican governors are still refusing to truly back down on reopening many businesses or to begin mandating masks .
In that sense , the inconsistency is not Trump ’ s alone .
( On Wednesday , there were more than fourteen hundred deaths reported nationwide ; the next morning came the news that Herman Cain , the pizza entrepreneur , onetime Republican Presidential candidate , and the co-chair of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of COVID-19 .
Cain had attended Trump ’ s mask-defying rally in Tulsa , in June . )
It might make more sense to say that , by “ safely ” voting , Trump means safely voting for him .
More than that , it seems to mean feeling that he has victory safely in hand .
And he does not : as it stands , Trump is far behind Joe Biden in the polls .
He knows he ’ s in trouble .
Trump clearly believes that his reëlection depends on an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subject , though , is so shallow that he is not seeking out ways to restore broad confidence .
He is looking , instead , for gimmicks , and it appears that he thought he found one in a press conference held in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building , on Monday , by a group calling itself America ’ s Frontline Doctors .
The doctors had on white lab coats , which seem to have been their main connection to the actual front lines in the COVID-19 fight .
“ Nobody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ identified as Dr. Stella Immanuel , of Texas , announced .
She knew to a certainty that a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine , zinc , and Zithromax would do the trick ; everyone should take it prophylactically , she said .
Studies have shown that this is not by any stretch the case and , indeed , that hydroxychloroquine carries risks for some people .
( Immanuel launched into a diatribe against Dr. Sanjay Gupta , CNN ’ s chief medical correspondent , for having informed his viewers of such studies ; she also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) “ Hello , you don ’ t need a mask .
There is a cure , ” Immanuel said .
“ I know they don ’ t want to open schools .
No !
You don ’ t need people to be locked down.
” She compared doctors who didn ’ t heed her to “ good Germans ” standing by as Nazis murdered Jews .
Breitbart shared a video of the event ; various versions have reportedly been viewed more than twenty million times .
Donald Trump , Jr. , tweeted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is a must watch !
!
!
So different from the narrative that everyone is running with !
” The President , meanwhile , retweeted footage of Immanuel making her false claims—which , incidentally , conflict with the advice of his own task force .
( Twitter has since deleted the original posts , in line with its policy on tweets about fake COVID-19 treatments and cures ; Trump , Jr. , ’ s account had limits placed on it for several hours . )
Nor was the President abashed when more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a doctor , educated in Nigeria and practicing in Texas .
She is also , as the Daily Beast reported , a promoter of the idea that many maladies are related to sexual intercourse with demons , which takes place on a dream plane , and that alien DNA is also a problem , along with the “ reptilians ” among us .
Asked on Wednesday if he regretted the retweet , Trump said , “ I was very impressed with her and other doctors that stood with her .
I think she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about her .
I just saw her on—you know , making a statement with very respected doctors .
She was not alone.
” Perhaps Trump was impressed by Immanuel ’ s certainty , or by her attacks on CNN , or her long digression on an N.I.H .
study of hiccuping , or her proud claim that patients drove hours to her clinic because she gave them treatments that other doctors , out of fear of what Texas ’ s medical-licensing boards would think , would not .
But , most likely , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hear—that the pandemic could be made to simply go away .
His promotion of Immanuel ’ s ideas , in that sense , crystallizes the risk faced by anybody who works with or within his Administration .
When Trump was elected , there was , in some quarters , a view that , since he is an empty man of no real principles , his Presidency could actually be less of a catastrophe than it might seem .
Experts would lead him to a place of less harm ; the key thing was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room with him .
Much of what Republicans hoped to persuade him to do , from appointing judges who would limit reproductive rights to fighting gun-safety measures , gutting social programs , and restricting immigration , was just as toxic as anything that Trump would come up with on his own .
Republican politicians and officials have stood by that bargain even as it has become more and more debased .
But even Republicans should have long ago abandoned any sense that Trump would be impressed by things like academic or scientific credentials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump hears what he wants to hear .
If Dr. Anthony Fauci tells Trump what he sees as bad news , Trump mocks him .
If serious people won ’ t give him the quackery he wants , he will keep looking until he finds someone like Immanuel .
He ’ s the sort of huckster who needs a constant supply of hucksterism to retail .

Is there any sense in Donald Trump promoting, in the same week, the idea that there is so little to fear from the coronavirus that masks aren’t really necessary and also that there might be so much to fear that the November election might need to be postponed? Reopening schools willy-nilly, in his view, is not a big deal, even though the logistics are daunting and the challenges entirely new. After all, according to the purported experts in a video he pushed, there is an easy “cure” for COVID-19. (There is not.) And yet expanding voting by mail, something that has been a tried practice in a majority of states for years, would be an outrage resulting in “the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT” election in American history. And so: “Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???”
The three question marks at the end of that tweet suggest other queries: How is this man President? How low can he go—and how far would he go? In fact, only Congress can delay the election, which would require changes to an 1845 law, and there is no practical scenario in which that will happen. Along with his recent deployment of federal officers to Portland, Oregon, the tweet is a measure of how detached Trump is from reality. He is delusional about what his powers are—they do not include simply declaring that there is a cure for COVID-19 or even that schools must reopen—but the powers of the Presidency are substantial, and Trump can do a great deal of harm.
Yet another revealing question is what Trump means by the phrase “safely vote.” To most people, it would mean voting without having to stand in overcrowded polling places in the midst of an outbreak. If the recent primary in Georgia is any indication, Republicans in some states don’t seem to mind magnifying people’s fears that voting in person might be unsafe—for example, by reducing the number of polling places, leading to hours-long lines that people walk away from—if it will keep the voters they don’t like from turning out. At the same time, even in states like Florida, where coronavirus-related deaths are reaching levels of more than two hundred and fifty a day, Republican governors are still refusing to truly back down on reopening many businesses or to begin mandating masks. In that sense, the inconsistency is not Trump’s alone. (On Wednesday, there were more than fourteen hundred deaths reported nationwide; the next morning came the news that Herman Cain, the pizza entrepreneur, onetime Republican Presidential candidate, and the co-chair of Black Voices for Trump, had died of COVID-19. Cain had attended Trump’s mask-defying rally in Tulsa, in June.) It might make more sense to say that, by “safely” voting, Trump means safely voting for him. More than that, it seems to mean feeling that he has victory safely in hand. And he does not: as it stands, Trump is far behind Joe Biden in the polls. He knows he’s in trouble.
Trump clearly believes that his reëlection depends on an economic revival. His thinking on the subject, though, is so shallow that he is not seeking out ways to restore broad confidence. He is looking, instead, for gimmicks, and it appears that he thought he found one in a press conference held in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building, on Monday, by a group calling itself America’s Frontline Doctors. The doctors had on white lab coats, which seem to have been their main connection to the actual front lines in the COVID-19 fight. “Nobody needs to die!” a woman identified as Dr. Stella Immanuel, of Texas, announced. She knew to a certainty that a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax would do the trick; everyone should take it prophylactically, she said. Studies have shown that this is not by any stretch the case and, indeed, that hydroxychloroquine carries risks for some people. (Immanuel launched into a diatribe against Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, for having informed his viewers of such studies; she also claimed that she had been silenced.) “Hello, you don’t need a mask. There is a cure,” Immanuel said. “I know they don’t want to open schools. No! You don’t need people to be locked down.” She compared doctors who didn’t heed her to “good Germans” standing by as Nazis murdered Jews.
Breitbart shared a video of the event; various versions have reportedly been viewed more than twenty million times. Donald Trump, Jr., tweeted one such video, declaring, “This is a must watch!!! So different from the narrative that everyone is running with!” The President, meanwhile, retweeted footage of Immanuel making her false claims—which, incidentally, conflict with the advice of his own task force. (Twitter has since deleted the original posts, in line with its policy on tweets about fake COVID-19 treatments and cures; Trump, Jr.,’s account had limits placed on it for several hours.) Nor was the President abashed when more information about Immanuel emerged. She is a doctor, educated in Nigeria and practicing in Texas. She is also, as the Daily Beast reported, a promoter of the idea that many maladies are related to sexual intercourse with demons, which takes place on a dream plane, and that alien DNA is also a problem, along with the “reptilians” among us. Asked on Wednesday if he regretted the retweet, Trump said, “I was very impressed with her and other doctors that stood with her. I think she made sense, but I know nothing about her. I just saw her on—you know, making a statement with very respected doctors. She was not alone.”
Perhaps Trump was impressed by Immanuel’s certainty, or by her attacks on CNN, or her long digression on an N.I.H. study of hiccuping, or her proud claim that patients drove hours to her clinic because she gave them treatments that other doctors, out of fear of what Texas’s medical-licensing boards would think, would not. But, most likely, she just said what he wanted to hear—that the pandemic could be made to simply go away. His promotion of Immanuel’s ideas, in that sense, crystallizes the risk faced by anybody who works with or within his Administration. When Trump was elected, there was, in some quarters, a view that, since he is an empty man of no real principles, his Presidency could actually be less of a catastrophe than it might seem. Experts would lead him to a place of less harm; the key thing was to be the last person in the room with him. Much of what Republicans hoped to persuade him to do, from appointing judges who would limit reproductive rights to fighting gun-safety measures, gutting social programs, and restricting immigration, was just as toxic as anything that Trump would come up with on his own. Republican politicians and officials have stood by that bargain even as it has become more and more debased. But even Republicans should have long ago abandoned any sense that Trump would be impressed by things like academic or scientific credentials and long legislative or military records. Trump hears what he wants to hear. If Dr. Anthony Fauci tells Trump what he sees as bad news, Trump mocks him. If serious people won’t give him the quackery he wants, he will keep looking until he finds someone like Immanuel. He’s the sort of huckster who needs a constant supply of hucksterism to retail.
Trump was right about one thing: Immanuel was not alone. Other doctors at the press conference made similar claims about the supposed miracle of hydroxychloroquine, asserting that it was ridiculous to let fears of the pandemic stop reopening. In part, they were drawing on a deep vein of American conspiratorialism that doesn’t always follow party lines. (There is overlap between coronavirus truthers and anti-vaxxers.) And there are doctors in any country with odd ideas; what was striking was that these doctors were introduced, at the press conference, by a sitting member of Congress, Representative Ralph Norman, of South Carolina. The event itself was under the auspices of an outfit called the Tea Party Patriots Foundation, which has, over the years, been a conduit of financial support for Republican candidates. Until this week, when Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi instituted a mask mandate, many Republicans were wandering around the Capitol complex maskless. One of them was Representative Louie Gohmert, of Texas, who on Wednesday announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Gohmert has treated his office as a vehicle for promoting conspiracy theories; keeping in character, he said that he suspected wearing a mask was to blame for his infection.


newyorker--2020-07-30--Herman Cain, a Man Who Paved the Way for Donald Trump

Early in November , 2011 , Herman Cain , who had been the C.E.O .
of Godfather ’ s Pizza and a conservative radio host , was tied in the polls with the former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for President .
“ I am a businessman problem-solver , not a politician , ” Cain often said .
Like me , Cain lived in Atlanta , where he ’ d been raised by a janitor and a domestic worker , had gone to Morehouse College , and had worked for the Coca-Cola Company .
I thought maybe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I got as far as his idiosyncratic chief of staff , Mark Block , whom I spotted in an Atlanta traffic jam , of all places .
Block had been smoking a cigarette , just as he did in an online campaign ad that had recently gone semi-viral .
“ We ’ re excited about our strategies , ” Block later told me .
Cain ’ s signature tax proposal , simply known as “ 9-9-9 , ” would have set the income tax , federal sales tax , and corporate taxes all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impossible to forget , and it was often repeated by those who , seriously or in jest , got aboard the “ Cain train.
” Cain had just had his best fund-raising day , Block told me , raising $ 1.6 million—despite a recent report that two women had “ complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain ” when he was the head of the National Restaurant Association , in the nineteen-nineties .
( Additional women would subsequently make similar accusations against him . )
I asked Block about a recent Times story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also drawn unflattering attention to Block ’ s own past as a political operative in Wisconsin .
( Block , as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel had reported , had been “ accused of election law violations , ” and “ settled the case by agreeing to pay a $ 15,000 fine and to stay out of Wisconsin politics for three years.
” ) “ The media cesspool just doesn ’ t get it , ” Block said .
“ We ’ re still kicking ass.
” Soon afterward , Cain would speak at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was put on by the Koch brothers and featured many of the Republicans hoping to take on Barack Obama in 2012 .
Cain had particularly strong support from the Tea Party wing of the Party ; he received a roaring ovation .
Block had told me that he ’ d get me an interview with Cain , but it never happened ; Cain suspended his campaign a month later .
Many of his supporters drifted toward Newt Gingrich .
I attended his valedictory rally , which took place at his campaign headquarters , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a patio-furniture store .
Cain quoted a song from “ Pokémon : The Movie 2000 ” : “ Life can be a challenge , ” he told a crowd of mostly white supporters , one of whom had brought along a dog in a “ Corgis for Cain ” sweater .
It all seems like a thousand years ago , before Donald Trump ’ s campaign , before “ fake news ” became a shibboleth—and before COVID-19 , which took Cain ’ s life , five weeks after Cain attended a rally for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protection of a mask .
He was seventy-four .
On Twitter , Trump noted his passing , describing Cain as “ a very special man , an American Patriot , and great friend.
” Cain was an anomaly nine years ago : a Black Republican with a loose grip on policy and an unorthodox campaign style , plus a fondness for referring to himself in the third person and an occasionally shocking portfolio of positions .
He proposed a twenty-foot , barbed-wire , electric fence on the border between the United States and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wouldn ’ t appoint a Muslim to his Cabinet ; he ’ d falsely claimed President Obama was raised in Kenya while implying that Obama wasn ’ t a “ real Black man.
” None of this seemed to hurt Cain ’ s chances as he rushed out to an early if ephemeral lead for the Presidential nomination .
After the ad with Block smoking a cigarette appeared , Richard Marriott , a friend of Cain ’ s and the chairman of Host Hotels & Resorts , told the Times , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they all laugh and say : ‘ That ’ s great .
He ’ s different.
’ If somebody else came out with that ad , they would tear him apart.
” After hearing of Cain ’ s death , I called Block , who lives in Wisconsin and now runs a company that sells products that combine CBD and cranberry-seed oil .
Cain served on its board , and the two men had talked about the company just a few weeks ago .
“ I was in frequent contact with him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me .
“ We were supposed to have a conference call the following day , but he texted me and said that he ’ d been diagnosed with COVID and was gon na go into the hospital.
” Block sounded understandably shaken by the news .
“ He was not only like a father , a mentor , and one of my best friends but a great , great adviser , ” he said .
“ He was a man of the people .
He resonated with the common person .
When we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he ’ d walk through the kitchen and shake hands with the people in the back room .
He was always , always in good humor.
” Block told me that Cain had ten basic principles .
“ And the one that always stuck out to me is ‘ When you want to understand a problem , talk to the person who ’ s closest to the problem , ’ ” he said .
Block felt certain that Cain would be remembered as the man who paved the way for Trump .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not hundreds of people saying that what we did with Mr. Cain ’ s Presidential campaign laid the groundwork for Trump , ” he said .
“ And I really do believe that.
” He added , “ We used to always say , ‘ Let Cain be Cain.
’ The Trump campaign did the same thing and still does.
” Even after Cain received his COVID-19 diagnosis , he remained stalwart in his Trump-like opposition to wearing masks .
When Governor Kristi Noem , of South Dakota , announced earlier this month @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those attending Trump ’ s recent Mount Rushmore visit , Cain tweeted his support from the hospital , in all caps : “ PEOPLE ARE FED UP !
” Block told me , “ When COVID hit , he was very careful about doing the things C.D.C .
said .
So I was a little surprised by the picture you saw of him in Tulsa without a mask on.
” He added , “ Maybe he made an exception that day.
” He went on , “ He ’ d done a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where he got it.
” “ I know that President Trump has a great deal of respect for Mr. Cain , ” Block said .
“ And I know that Mr. Cain was looking forward to being on the campaign trail for the President this fall.
” Block supports Trump , too .
“ I think Trump has fulfilled most of what Mr. Cain would have done , ” he said .
He paused .
“ Other than 9-9-9 .
”

Early in November, 2011, Herman Cain, who had been the C.E.O. of Godfather’s Pizza and a conservative radio host, was tied in the polls with the former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for President. “I am a businessman problem-solver, not a politician,” Cain often said. Like me, Cain lived in Atlanta, where he’d been raised by a janitor and a domestic worker, had gone to Morehouse College, and had worked for the Coca-Cola Company. I thought maybe I could land a splashy interview. I got as far as his idiosyncratic chief of staff, Mark Block, whom I spotted in an Atlanta traffic jam, of all places. Block had been smoking a cigarette, just as he did in an online campaign ad that had recently gone semi-viral. “We’re excited about our strategies,” Block later told me. Cain’s signature tax proposal, simply known as “9-9-9,” would have set the income tax, federal sales tax, and corporate taxes all at nine per cent. It was impossible to forget, and it was often repeated by those who, seriously or in jest, got aboard the “Cain train.”
Cain had just had his best fund-raising day, Block told me, raising $1.6 million—despite a recent report that two women had “complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain” when he was the head of the National Restaurant Association, in the nineteen-nineties. (Additional women would subsequently make similar accusations against him.) I asked Block about a recent Times story that had described the allegations and had also drawn unflattering attention to Block’s own past as a political operative in Wisconsin. (Block, as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel had reported, had been “accused of election law violations,” and “settled the case by agreeing to pay a $15,000 fine and to stay out of Wisconsin politics for three years.”) “The media cesspool just doesn’t get it,” Block said. “We’re still kicking ass.”
Soon afterward, Cain would speak at the Defending the American Dream Summit, which was put on by the Koch brothers and featured many of the Republicans hoping to take on Barack Obama in 2012. Cain had particularly strong support from the Tea Party wing of the Party; he received a roaring ovation. Block had told me that he’d get me an interview with Cain, but it never happened; Cain suspended his campaign a month later. Many of his supporters drifted toward Newt Gingrich. I attended his valedictory rally, which took place at his campaign headquarters, just off Interstate 85, next to a patio-furniture store. Cain quoted a song from “Pokémon: The Movie 2000”: “Life can be a challenge,” he told a crowd of mostly white supporters, one of whom had brought along a dog in a “Corgis for Cain” sweater.
It all seems like a thousand years ago, before Donald Trump’s campaign, before “fake news” became a shibboleth—and before COVID-19, which took Cain’s life, five weeks after Cain attended a rally for Trump, in Tulsa, without the protection of a mask. He was seventy-four. On Twitter, Trump noted his passing, describing Cain as “a very special man, an American Patriot, and great friend.”
Cain was an anomaly nine years ago: a Black Republican with a loose grip on policy and an unorthodox campaign style, plus a fondness for referring to himself in the third person and an occasionally shocking portfolio of positions. He proposed a twenty-foot, barbed-wire, electric fence on the border between the United States and Mexico; he’d said that he wouldn’t appoint a Muslim to his Cabinet; he’d falsely claimed President Obama was raised in Kenya while implying that Obama wasn’t a “real Black man.” None of this seemed to hurt Cain’s chances as he rushed out to an early if ephemeral lead for the Presidential nomination. After the ad with Block smoking a cigarette appeared, Richard Marriott, a friend of Cain’s and the chairman of Host Hotels & Resorts, told the Times, “No matter what he comes up with, they all laugh and say: ‘That’s great. He’s different.’ If somebody else came out with that ad, they would tear him apart.”
After hearing of Cain’s death, I called Block, who lives in Wisconsin and now runs a company that sells products that combine CBD and cranberry-seed oil. Cain served on its board, and the two men had talked about the company just a few weeks ago. “I was in frequent contact with him about our business,” Block told me. “We were supposed to have a conference call the following day, but he texted me and said that he’d been diagnosed with COVID and was gonna go into the hospital.” Block sounded understandably shaken by the news. “He was not only like a father, a mentor, and one of my best friends but a great, great adviser,” he said. “He was a man of the people. He resonated with the common person. When we’d get done with an event, he’d walk through the kitchen and shake hands with the people in the back room. He was always, always in good humor.” Block told me that Cain had ten basic principles. “And the one that always stuck out to me is ‘When you want to understand a problem, talk to the person who’s closest to the problem,’ ” he said.
Block felt certain that Cain would be remembered as the man who paved the way for Trump. “I’ve had dozens if not hundreds of people saying that what we did with Mr. Cain’s Presidential campaign laid the groundwork for Trump,” he said. “And I really do believe that.” He added, “We used to always say, ‘Let Cain be Cain.’ The Trump campaign did the same thing and still does.”
Even after Cain received his COVID-19 diagnosis, he remained stalwart in his Trump-like opposition to wearing masks. When Governor Kristi Noem, of South Dakota, announced earlier this month that masks would not be required for those attending Trump’s recent Mount Rushmore visit, Cain tweeted his support from the hospital, in all caps: “PEOPLE ARE FED UP!” Block told me, “When COVID hit, he was very careful about doing the things C.D.C. said. So I was a little surprised by the picture you saw of him in Tulsa without a mask on.” He added, “Maybe he made an exception that day.” He went on, “He’d done a lot of travelling that week, who knows where he got it.”
“I know that President Trump has a great deal of respect for Mr. Cain,” Block said. “And I know that Mr. Cain was looking forward to being on the campaign trail for the President this fall.” Block supports Trump, too. “I think Trump has fulfilled most of what Mr. Cain would have done,” he said. He paused. “Other than 9-9-9.”


newyorker--2020-07-30--Why Trump and the Public Love the Army Corps of Engineers

In 1802 , President Thomas Jefferson created a regiment of military engineers within the U.S. Army .
Over the next @ @ @ @ @ Army Corps of Engineers , as it came to be known , has been involved @ @ @ @ @ Washington Monument and the Panama Canal .
When Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the Corps to @ @ @ @ @ with the coronavirus pandemic , it transformed a convention center into a twenty-five-hundred-bed medical facility @ @ @ @ @ Corps has also been tasked with building President Trump ’ s wall on the U.S.-Mexico @ @ @ @ @ has gutted many government agencies , but the Army Corps of Engineers remains well resourced @ @ @ @ @ public and the President .
Paige Williams joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the history of @ @ @ @ @ , and its role in the politics of 2020 .

Photograph by Win McNamee / Getty
In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson created a regiment of military engineers within the U.S. Army. Over the next two hundred years, the Army Corps of Engineers, as it came to be known, has been involved in construction projects including the Washington Monument and the Panama Canal. When Governor Andrew Cuomo asked the Corps to help New York City cope with the coronavirus pandemic, it transformed a convention center into a twenty-five-hundred-bed medical facility in four days. The Corps has also been tasked with building President Trump’s wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump Administration has gutted many government agencies, but the Army Corps of Engineers remains well resourced and popular, with the public and the President. Paige Williams joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the history of the Army Corps of Engineers, and its role in the politics of 2020.


newyorker--2020-07-30--How Phillis Wheatley Was Recovered Through History

Two hundred and fifty-nine years ago this July , a girl captured somewhere between present-day Gambia and Ghana stepped off the Phillis , a slave ship , and onto the docks of Boston Harbor .
The only existing account of this day records that she was thought to be “ about seven years old , at this time , from the circumstance of shedding her front teeth.
” Wrapped in nothing more than “ a quantity of dirty carpet , ” she was taken to the city ’ s slave market , where Mrs. Susanna Wheatley , the wife of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ search of a faithful servant for her old age .
Though there were “ several robust , healthy females ” on display , Mrs. Wheatley selected the seven-year-old , “ influenced to this decision by the humble and modest demeanor and interesting features of the little stranger.
” Why the girl should have been there at all is a bit of a mystery .
The slave trader who owned the Phillis had instructed his crew , “ You ’ ll Observe to get as few Girl Slaves as Possible & as many Prime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ girl in the dirty carpet would become an international literary celebrity .
She would be held up as evidence of Black people ’ s innate equality , at a time when David Hume was declaring them a different species and Immanuel Kant was ordering the “ nations ” with Africans at the bottom .
In centuries to come , she would be recognized as the mother of the African-American literary tradition .
But her name , whatever it was , was obliterated by her abduction .
The Wheatleys called her Phillis , after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home .
By the age of twelve , Phillis had written a four-line elegy , which was recently discovered and published in a new edition of “ The Writings of Phillis Wheatley , ” from Oxford University Press .
Around fifteen , she wrote “ On Being Brought from Africa to America , ” her most anthologized poem , which begins by expressing gratitude for her Christian redemption : “ ’ Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land , / Taught my benighted soul to understand / That there ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saviour too.
” Seeing the poem as a theological justification for slavery , some later readers denounced Phillis as a race traitor .
But the poem turns , using Christian values to hold white Christians to judgment .
“ Some view our sable race with scornful eye , ” the poet notes , before urging them , “ Remember , Christians , Negros , black as Cain , / May be refin ’ d , and join th ’ angelic train.
” As a teen-ager , Phillis began using her verse to comment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Act crisis and the Boston Massacre .
In 1770 , her elegy for the English evangelist George Whitefield earned her international acclaim .
Two years later , in 1772 , seeking to publish a book of poems , she was “ examined ” by eighteen of Boston ’ s most eminent thinkers and politicians , who signed a letter “ to the Publick ” attesting that the enslaved girl was , indeed , capable of poetry .
Armed with the letter , the twenty-year-old Phillis traveled to London under the supervision of her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to publish “ Poems on Various Subjects , Religious and Moral ” ; she was credited as “ Phillis Wheatley , negro servant to Mr. John Wheatley of Boston.
” One poem alluded to her capture , accusing slaveholders—including , implicitly , her own master and mistress—of “ tyrannic sway ” : The book was received with great fanfare , and Phillis quickly became the most celebrated enslaved person in the British Empire .
( The political poems that would have offended a British readership were astutely omitted . )
Britons were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s state of bondage .
The previous year had seen the Mansfield ruling , which found that no enslaved person brought to England from the colonies could be forced to return to them as a slave .
One commentator , noting that “ the people of Boston boast themselves chiefly on their principles of liberty , ” suggested that “ the purchase of her freedom would , in our opinion , have done them more honour than hanging a thousand trees with ribbons and emblems.
” But Phillis cut her trip short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fell ill—a show of loyalty that , for years , troubled readers and critics , and encouraged perceptions that she suffered from Uncle Tom syndrome .
Just a month later , though , in a letter from October 18 , 1773 , Phillis wrote that she had been freed .
In his introduction to “ The Writings , ” the scholar Vincent Carretta suggests that Phillis likely returned to Boston only on the condition that the Wheatleys would free her .
( “ As a businessman engaged in transatlantic commerce , Nathaniel Wheatley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Carretta writes . )
In fact , earlier that summer , the Pennsylvania Chronicle had speculated that the chance to obtain her freedom may have been what motivated Phillis to publish her book in London , instead of Boston , in the first place .
The Phillis that Carretta finds is savvy—actively pursuing her freedom , marketing her work , and even autographing copies to avoid the loss of profits to pirated editions .
After her manumission and the death of Susanna Wheatley , in 1774 , Phillis became more vocal in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter to the Native American minister Samson Occom , published in the Connecticut Gazette , she condemned slave owners as “ modern Egyptians , ” drawing a parallel between enslaved Africans and the Hebrews of the Old Testament .
“ In every human Breast , God has implanted a Principle , which we call Love of Freedom , ” she wrote .
“ It is impatient of Oppression , and pants for Deliverance ; and by the Leave of our Modern Egyptians I will assert , that the same Principle lives in us.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ midst of the American Revolution , and she was hopeful that freedom for the colonies would lead to freedom for the enslaved .
In 1775 , she addressed a poem to George Washington aligning herself with the cause .
( “ Proceed , great chief , with virtue on thy side , / Thy ev ’ ry action let the goddess guide.
” ) Though complimentary to the slave-holding general , the poem also established Phillis ’ s claim to her status as , to use Carretta ’ s phrase , “ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” and she would come to feel conflicted about that nation ’ s character .
In a 1778 poem on the death of General David Wooster , Phillis castigated the hypocrisy of fighting for the freedom to enslave others :

Phillis Wheatley never recorded her own account of her life. Illustration by Scipio Moorhead
Two hundred and fifty-nine years ago this July, a girl captured somewhere between present-day Gambia and Ghana stepped off the Phillis, a slave ship, and onto the docks of Boston Harbor. The only existing account of this day records that she was thought to be “about seven years old, at this time, from the circumstance of shedding her front teeth.” Wrapped in nothing more than “a quantity of dirty carpet,” she was taken to the city’s slave market, where Mrs. Susanna Wheatley, the wife of a wealthy Boston merchant, was in search of a faithful servant for her old age. Though there were “several robust, healthy females” on display, Mrs. Wheatley selected the seven-year-old, “influenced to this decision by the humble and modest demeanor and interesting features of the little stranger.” Why the girl should have been there at all is a bit of a mystery. The slave trader who owned the Phillis had instructed his crew, “You’ll Observe to get as few Girl Slaves as Possible & as many Prime Boys as you Can.”
The gap-toothed girl in the dirty carpet would become an international literary celebrity. She would be held up as evidence of Black people’s innate equality, at a time when David Hume was declaring them a different species and Immanuel Kant was ordering the “nations” with Africans at the bottom. In centuries to come, she would be recognized as the mother of the African-American literary tradition. But her name, whatever it was, was obliterated by her abduction. The Wheatleys called her Phillis, after the ship that took her from her home.
By the age of twelve, Phillis had written a four-line elegy, which was recently discovered and published in a new edition of “The Writings of Phillis Wheatley,” from Oxford University Press. Around fifteen, she wrote “On Being Brought from Africa to America,” her most anthologized poem, which begins by expressing gratitude for her Christian redemption: “’Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, / Taught my benighted soul to understand / That there’s a God, that there’s a Saviour too.” Seeing the poem as a theological justification for slavery, some later readers denounced Phillis as a race traitor. But the poem turns, using Christian values to hold white Christians to judgment. “Some view our sable race with scornful eye,” the poet notes, before urging them, “Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain, / May be refin’d, and join th’angelic train.”
As a teen-ager, Phillis began using her verse to comment on transatlantic issues, like the Stamp Act crisis and the Boston Massacre. In 1770, her elegy for the English evangelist George Whitefield earned her international acclaim. Two years later, in 1772, seeking to publish a book of poems, she was “examined” by eighteen of Boston’s most eminent thinkers and politicians, who signed a letter “to the Publick” attesting that the enslaved girl was, indeed, capable of poetry. Armed with the letter, the twenty-year-old Phillis traveled to London under the supervision of her mistress’s son, Nathaniel Wheatley, to publish “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral”; she was credited as “Phillis Wheatley, negro servant to Mr. John Wheatley of Boston.” One poem alluded to her capture, accusing slaveholders—including, implicitly, her own master and mistress—of “tyrannic sway”:
I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate
Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat:
What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast?
Steel’d was that soul and by no misery mov’d
That from a father seiz’d his babe belov’d:
Such, such my case. And can I then but pray
Others may never feel tyrannic sway?
The book was received with great fanfare, and Phillis quickly became the most celebrated enslaved person in the British Empire. (The political poems that would have offended a British readership were astutely omitted.) Britons were concerned, however, by the poet’s state of bondage. The previous year had seen the Mansfield ruling, which found that no enslaved person brought to England from the colonies could be forced to return to them as a slave. One commentator, noting that “the people of Boston boast themselves chiefly on their principles of liberty,” suggested that “the purchase of her freedom would, in our opinion, have done them more honour than hanging a thousand trees with ribbons and emblems.”
But Phillis cut her trip short, returning to Boston when Susanna Wheatley fell ill—a show of loyalty that, for years, troubled readers and critics, and encouraged perceptions that she suffered from Uncle Tom syndrome. Just a month later, though, in a letter from October 18, 1773, Phillis wrote that she had been freed. In his introduction to “The Writings,” the scholar Vincent Carretta suggests that Phillis likely returned to Boston only on the condition that the Wheatleys would free her. (“As a businessman engaged in transatlantic commerce, Nathaniel Wheatley’s word was his bond,” Carretta writes.) In fact, earlier that summer, the Pennsylvania Chronicle had speculated that the chance to obtain her freedom may have been what motivated Phillis to publish her book in London, instead of Boston, in the first place. The Phillis that Carretta finds is savvy—actively pursuing her freedom, marketing her work, and even autographing copies to avoid the loss of profits to pirated editions.
After her manumission and the death of Susanna Wheatley, in 1774, Phillis became more vocal in expressing her antislavery views. In a letter to the Native American minister Samson Occom, published in the Connecticut Gazette, she condemned slave owners as “modern Egyptians,” drawing a parallel between enslaved Africans and the Hebrews of the Old Testament. “In every human Breast, God has implanted a Principle, which we call Love of Freedom,” she wrote. “It is impatient of Oppression, and pants for Deliverance; and by the Leave of our Modern Egyptians I will assert, that the same Principle lives in us.”
Phillis wrote those words in the midst of the American Revolution, and she was hopeful that freedom for the colonies would lead to freedom for the enslaved. In 1775, she addressed a poem to George Washington aligning herself with the cause. (“Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side, / Thy ev’ry action let the goddess guide.”) Though complimentary to the slave-holding general, the poem also established Phillis’s claim to her status as, to use Carretta’s phrase, “the unofficial poet laureate of the new nation-in-the-making,” and she would come to feel conflicted about that nation’s character. In a 1778 poem on the death of General David Wooster, Phillis castigated the hypocrisy of fighting for the freedom to enslave others:
But how, presumptuous shall we hope to find
Divine acceptance with th’Almighty mind—
While yet (O deed ungenerous!) they disgrace
And hold in bondage Afric’s blameless race?
On Thanksgiving Day, 1778, some months after the death of her former master, Phillis married John Peters, a free Black man who owned a Boston grocery. In her subsequent letters and her 1779 proposal for a second book of poems, which made front-page news in the Boston Evening Post, she would identify herself as “Phillis Peters,” shedding her master’s name. After 1780, however, the documentary record on the poet goes largely silent. In the wake of the Revolutionary War, the colonies sank into a severe depression, and efforts by commercial creditors to collect prewar debts led to a wave of business failures. John Peters was prosecuted for debt, and Carretta suggests that the couple fled Boston. In 1784, Peters resurfaced, petitioning town officials to allow him to sell liquor at his shop “for the purpose of supporting himself & Family.” He was incarcerated for debt and likely in jail when Phillis died, at about thirty-one, on December 5, 1784. Her second book of poems was never published.
Though Phillis left a rich paper trail of poems and letters, she never recorded her own account of her life, and, in her writings, which brim with her spiritual and political ideas, biographical details are sparse. For those, scholars have had to rely on a memoir published in 1834, fifty years after the poet’s death, by Margaretta Matilda Odell, a white woman who claimed to be a “collateral descendant” of Susanna Wheatley. Odell is the source, for instance, of the slave-market scene, describing the “poor, naked child” with the “modest, unassuming demeanor, which first won the heart of her mistress.” Odell’s narrative, as the scholar Eileen Razzari Elrod has observed, reads like a sentimental novel. Phillis goes from a vulnerable orphan “beguiled”—not abducted or enslaved—“from the hut of her mother” to a submissive protegée redeemed by Christian kindness and her “benevolent mistress,” and then to a fallen woman seduced by an evil Black man.
Odell neglects to mention the horrors of Phillis’s transatlantic journey, and she finds no fault with the Wheatleys’ treatment of those they enslaved. (Phillis was separated from the rest of the family’s slaves, and told not to associate with them.) And Odell’s Phillis is distinctly lacking in agency. She seeks neither publication—her poems are simply “given to the world”—nor manumission. “The chains which bound her to her master and mistress were the golden links of love, and the silken bands of gratitude,” Odell writes. In this telling, Phillis’s enslavement is an idyllic period—a rescue, even—and her freedom, the result of familial loss, brings with it the most dangerous, oppressive circumstances of her life. After the Wheatleys’ deaths, she is “left utterly desolate,” vulnerable to the charms of John Peters, who “quite acted out ‘the gentleman,’ ” and who is “both too proud and too indolent to apply himself to any occupation below his fancied dignity.” Phillis, Odell asserts, never took his name. She claims that Peters abandoned his wife and children in “squalid poverty,” and that, after their deaths, he moved to the South. (In fact, public records show that he stayed in Boston—and, after digging himself out of debt, he may even have been the same John Peters in Suffolk County who ran for senator in 1798.)
Odell’s many errors were repeated for decades, shaping receptions of Phillis through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. But a new book, “The Age of Phillis,” by the poet and professor Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, presents a different story. Jeffers suggests that Odell’s memoir created a “pesky ‘House Negro’ narrative” that framed Phillis Wheatley as domestic, apolitical, and acquiescent. Frustrated that literary history entrusted the story of America’s first Black poet to a white woman, Jeffers spent years hunting through Massachusetts archives. When she came across the census record showing Peters in Boston after Phillis’s death, she had a realization: “Maybe he hadn’t abandoned her. Maybe Odell had misrepresented their relationship.” And if Odell had misrepresented the relationship between Phillis and her husband, maybe she had misrepresented the relationship between Phillis and her owners. “Maybe,” Jeffers writes in her afterword, “I should have been viewing Odell’s biography with skepticism.”


newyorker--2020-07-30--The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Intensified Systemic Economic Racism Against Black Americans

The last day that Nicole Smith worked at her twelve-dollar-an-hour job as an after-school teacher in Smyrna , Georgia , was March 13th .
A month later , her husband , Reggie , was furloughed from his job installing hardware and software for an I.T .
company .
For three months Reggie had no paycheck , but this week his firm asked him to return to work .
Nicole doesn ’ t know if she ’ ll ever return to her job .
With little savings , this African-American couple has struggled to stay current on their rent and avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smith spent hours on the phone getting Capital One to accept her car payment two weeks late , although she agonized over what it would do to her family ’ s credit score .
“ It was all unnaturally unnerving , ” she told me .
Smith , who is fifty years old , said that she and her husband have not received the federal government ’ s promised twelve-hundred-dollar-per-person stimulus check , nor the five-hundred-dollar check for her sixteen-year-old daughter , Kayla .
It took Smith two months to begin receiving unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and thirty-five dollars a week .
Her husband received three hundred dollars a week in jobless benefits , less than half his typical pay .
Reggie and Kayla both have asthma , making them vulnerable to COVID-19 .
In addition to worrying about their health , Smith was also shaken by the killing of Ahmaud Arbery , in southeast Georgia , in March—she joined a march for justice on his behalf .
What has kept the family above water is the six-hundred-dollar-a-week unemployment supplement passed this spring by Congress .
Even with that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve been playing catch-up on the most important bills.
” For months , she voiced fears that she and her husband would fall permanently behind financially if Congress either failed to renew or slashed the unemployment supplement , which is set to expire tomorrow .
Senate Republicans have proposed cutting the payment to two hundred dollars a week .
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted America ’ s enduring racial disparities , which are fuelled by decades of unequal treatment , unequal opportunity , and structural barriers like job discrimination and poor schools .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ three times the rate of whites , and their death rate is twice that of whites .
( The same is true for Hispanics . )
The coronavirus is also having a hugely disparate impact on Black people ’ s finances and prospects .
For myriad reasons , Black Americans will have a harder time rebounding economically from the pandemic , and the fact that they began this period far behind whites in average income , wealth , and home-ownership rates will only make it more difficult .
On average , Black workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white workers do , according to the Economic Policy Institute , a progressive think tank , which also found that Black college graduates earn 22.5 per cent less than white college graduates .
Median household income for white households was seventy per cent higher than for Black households in 2018 , $ 70,642 versus $ 41,692 .
As a result of these disparities , Black people will be evicted disproportionately from their homes , a process that is expected to accelerate following the July 24th expiration of a federal moratorium on evictions from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( The moratorium might be extended as part of the latest emergency-relief bill that Congress is debating . )
“ There is a devaluation of Black people in virtually every domain in our society , ” Darrick Hamilton , a professor of economics and the executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University , told me .
“ There is an economic return to one ’ s identity , and a Black identity has a lower return than a white identity.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is often blamed on preëxisting health conditions , but that ’ s only part of the story .
Blacks have asthma at a rate of 9.2 per cent , compared with eight per cent of whites ; 16.8 per cent of Blacks have diabetes , compared with ten per cent of whites ( Reggie Smith has diabetes ) ; 40.3 per cent have hypertension compared with 27.8 per cent of whites .
Moreover , Blacks are sixty per cent more likely not to have health insurance , making it harder for them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : 12.3 per cent of Blacks are uninsured , compared with 7.5 per cent of whites .
“ The issue of preëxisting conditions doesn ’ t just happen , ” Hamilton said .
“ There ’ s a whole political economy that ’ s made Blacks more vulnerable to having preëxisting conditions.
” He cited such factors as lack of medical coverage , poor living conditions , and environmental degradation .
Another factor is that Black people disproportionately live in apartment complexes ( where it is easier for the virus to spread ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a study by the Economic Policy Institute , twenty-nine per cent of Blacks live in buildings with five or more units , which is twice the rate for whites ; fifty-four per cent of Blacks live in single-unit dwellings , compared with seventy-four per cent of whites .
Additionally , a disproportionate percentage of Black people hold jobs that make them essential workers .
Blacks represent 11.9 per cent of the total workforce , but they make up 14.2 per cent of the workforce at grocery , convenience , and drug stores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; 18.2 per cent in trucking , warehouse , and mail service ; 17.5 per cent in health care ; and 19.3 per cent in child care and social services .
Essential workers often say that they are not adequately protected .
In April , Maya Smith , an African-American cashier at a Walmart in New Orleans , told New Orleans Public Radio that her boss didn ’ t allow workers to wear masks , because some shoppers thought it meant the workers were infected , and Jennifer Suggs , an African-American Walmart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We ’ re not essential .
We ’ re sacrificial .
I will be replaced if I die from this .
I don ’ t have a mask or gloves .
The only thing I have is a stupid blue vest.
” African-Americans also face a higher likelihood of being infected by the coronavirus , because a lower percentage of them can work from home—19.7 per cent of Blacks , compared with 29.9per cent of whites ( and 16.2 per cent of Hispanics ) .
“ Either you lose your job , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you have much greater probability of being subjected to the disease , ” William A. Darity , Jr. , a professor of public policy at Duke University , told me .
“ If Black folks had a higher level of wealth , they would have had a greater opportunity to exit from these jobs in which they were in jeopardy.
” A new book , “ From Here to Equality , Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century , ” which Darity co-authored with A. Kirsten Mullen , details the racial disparities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authors write that while Black people make up thirteen per cent of the American population , they own just 2.5 per cent of the wealth .
The median wealth of white households was $ 171,000 in 2016 , ten times that of Black households .
Darity and Mullen told me that the average net worth for white households is $ 933,000 , but for Black households it is just $ 138,000 .
Black heads of households with a college degree , they point out , have two-thirds the median net worth of white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school .

The last day that Nicole Smith worked at her twelve-dollar-an-hour job as an after-school teacher in Smyrna, Georgia, was March 13th. A month later, her husband, Reggie, was furloughed from his job installing hardware and software for an I.T. company. For three months Reggie had no paycheck, but this week his firm asked him to return to work. Nicole doesn’t know if she’ll ever return to her job. With little savings, this African-American couple has struggled to stay current on their rent and avoid having their ten-year-old Dodge Charger repossessed. Smith spent hours on the phone getting Capital One to accept her car payment two weeks late, although she agonized over what it would do to her family’s credit score. “It was all unnaturally unnerving,” she told me.
Smith, who is fifty years old, said that she and her husband have not received the federal government’s promised twelve-hundred-dollar-per-person stimulus check, nor the five-hundred-dollar check for her sixteen-year-old daughter, Kayla. It took Smith two months to begin receiving unemployment benefits from the state—a mere a hundred and thirty-five dollars a week. Her husband received three hundred dollars a week in jobless benefits, less than half his typical pay. Reggie and Kayla both have asthma, making them vulnerable to COVID-19. In addition to worrying about their health, Smith was also shaken by the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, in southeast Georgia, in March—she joined a march for justice on his behalf.
What has kept the family above water is the six-hundred-dollar-a-week unemployment supplement passed this spring by Congress. Even with that, Smith said, “We’ve been playing catch-up on the most important bills.” For months, she voiced fears that she and her husband would fall permanently behind financially if Congress either failed to renew or slashed the unemployment supplement, which is set to expire tomorrow. Senate Republicans have proposed cutting the payment to two hundred dollars a week.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted America’s enduring racial disparities, which are fuelled by decades of unequal treatment, unequal opportunity, and structural barriers like job discrimination and poor schools. Blacks have been infected with COVID-19 at three times the rate of whites, and their death rate is twice that of whites. (The same is true for Hispanics.) The coronavirus is also having a hugely disparate impact on Black people’s finances and prospects. For myriad reasons, Black Americans will have a harder time rebounding economically from the pandemic, and the fact that they began this period far behind whites in average income, wealth, and home-ownership rates will only make it more difficult. On average, Black workers earn just seventy-three per cent of what white workers do, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, which also found that Black college graduates earn 22.5 per cent less than white college graduates. Median household income for white households was seventy per cent higher than for Black households in 2018, $70,642 versus $41,692. As a result of these disparities, Black people will be evicted disproportionately from their homes, a process that is expected to accelerate following the July 24th expiration of a federal moratorium on evictions from buildings or homes with a government-backed mortgage. (The moratorium might be extended as part of the latest emergency-relief bill that Congress is debating.)
“There is a devaluation of Black people in virtually every domain in our society,” Darrick Hamilton, a professor of economics and the executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University, told me. “There is an economic return to one’s identity, and a Black identity has a lower return than a white identity.”
The higher COVID-19 death rate for Black people is often blamed on preëxisting health conditions, but that’s only part of the story. Blacks have asthma at a rate of 9.2 per cent, compared with eight per cent of whites; 16.8 per cent of Blacks have diabetes, compared with ten per cent of whites (Reggie Smith has diabetes); 40.3 per cent have hypertension compared with 27.8 per cent of whites. Moreover, Blacks are sixty per cent more likely not to have health insurance, making it harder for them to get treatment for COVID-19 and other illnesses: 12.3 per cent of Blacks are uninsured, compared with 7.5 per cent of whites.
“The issue of preëxisting conditions doesn’t just happen,” Hamilton said. “There’s a whole political economy that’s made Blacks more vulnerable to having preëxisting conditions.” He cited such factors as lack of medical coverage, poor living conditions, and environmental degradation. Another factor is that Black people disproportionately live in apartment complexes (where it is easier for the virus to spread), rather than single-family homes. According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, twenty-nine per cent of Blacks live in buildings with five or more units, which is twice the rate for whites; fifty-four per cent of Blacks live in single-unit dwellings, compared with seventy-four per cent of whites.
Additionally, a disproportionate percentage of Black people hold jobs that make them essential workers. Blacks represent 11.9 per cent of the total workforce, but they make up 14.2 per cent of the workforce at grocery, convenience, and drug stores; twenty-six per cent in public transit; 18.2 per cent in trucking, warehouse, and mail service; 17.5 per cent in health care; and 19.3 per cent in child care and social services. Essential workers often say that they are not adequately protected. In April, Maya Smith, an African-American cashier at a Walmart in New Orleans, told New Orleans Public Radio that her boss didn’t allow workers to wear masks, because some shoppers thought it meant the workers were infected, and Jennifer Suggs, an African-American Walmart cashier in South Carolina, said, “We’re not essential. We’re sacrificial. I will be replaced if I die from this. I don’t have a mask or gloves. The only thing I have is a stupid blue vest.” African-Americans also face a higher likelihood of being infected by the coronavirus, because a lower percentage of them can work from home—19.7 per cent of Blacks, compared with 29.9per cent of whites (and 16.2 per cent of Hispanics).
“Either you lose your job, or you stay on a job where you have much greater probability of being subjected to the disease,” William A. Darity, Jr., a professor of public policy at Duke University, told me. “If Black folks had a higher level of wealth, they would have had a greater opportunity to exit from these jobs in which they were in jeopardy.”
A new book, “From Here to Equality, Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century,” which Darity co-authored with A. Kirsten Mullen, details the racial disparities in wealth and its causes. The authors write that while Black people make up thirteen per cent of the American population, they own just 2.5 per cent of the wealth. The median wealth of white households was $171,000 in 2016, ten times that of Black households. Darity and Mullen told me that the average net worth for white households is $933,000, but for Black households it is just $138,000. Black heads of households with a college degree, they point out, have two-thirds the median net worth of white heads of households who never finished high school.
In their book, Darity and Mullen attribute the vast disparity in wealth to the legacy of slavery and to myriad racial injustices since abolition, starting with the federal government’s failure to make good on its promise to give freed slaves forty acres of land. Meanwhile, the U.S. enacted vast economic programs that aided whites, such as the Homestead Act of 1862, which gave a hundred and sixty acres to a million and a half families, the overwhelming majority of which were white. This provided assets that those families handed down to successive generations. Darity and Mullen argue that the failure to distribute forty acres to former slaves was a tremendous blow in holding back the accumulation of Black wealth; Lincoln approved the plan, and General William Tecumseh Sherman had announced it, but Lincoln’s successor, Andrew Johnson, overturned it. “That is the nest egg,” Mullen told me. “Had those Black folks been able to develop that land, maybe to leverage it to make other investments that they could have transferred intergenerationally, [it] quite likely could have altered the present moment. But they didn’t have a chance to do that.”
Darity and Mullen cite other factors that have sabotaged Black people’s ability to generate wealth in the century and a half since abolition, including Jim Crow laws; segregation; redlining that made it far harder for Black people to buy homes; the original versions of the Social Security and Fair Labor Standards Acts, which left out agricultural and domestic workers; and the violent suppression of Black economic success, from the lynching of Black businessmen to the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, which destroyed one of the nation’s most prosperous Black communities.
As a result of this historic disparity in wealth, white people, when facing coronavirus-induced layoffs, are less likely to fall behind on their rent, auto loans, or mortgages. “In the pandemic, if you’re someone who doesn’t have wealth or savings to fall back on, it doesn’t even have to be an unexpected expense, just paying your basic expenses will be especially challenging,” Valerie Wilson, the director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy said. “Will I have money to get dental work done or have my car fixed? Will I be able to stay in my home? Will I be able to feed my kids? You have all these secondary losses that follow on the loss of a job.”
Various studies suggest that, as a result of the pandemic’s economic stresses and strains, Black people will be evicted disproportionately. A recent Urban Institute analysis of Census data found that forty-four per cent of Black renters and forty-eight per cent of Latino renters said they had no confidence or only slight confidence that they would be able to pay their rent next month, or that they were likely to pay late. Only twenty-three per cent of white renters reported feeling the same way. According to the Eviction Lab research group, more than fourteen hundred eviction cases were filed in June in Milwaukee, after a statewide eviction moratorium was lifted, with roughly two-thirds of them in predominantly Black neighborhoods. A far higher percentage of Blacks are renters, making them more vulnerable to eviction (and undercutting their ability to build equity and wealth). A different Urban Institute study found that the Black homeownership rate was 41.8 per cent in 2017, compared to 71.9 per cent rate for whites. That gap is the largest it has been in fifty years, and is even wider than it was when racial discrimination against Black homebuyers was still legal.
Nicole Smith told me that she and her husband have “been apartment-dwellers for most of our lives. I know I’ve never been comfortable with that.” Her husband, Reggie, fought in Desert Storm, and she noted that many of the white soldiers he served alongside were able to buy homes when they returned to the United States—but Reggie couldn’t, due to a lack of wealth and a mediocre credit score.
One trend that has long troubled students of America’s labor market is that the Black jobless rate has, for decades, been roughly twice that of whites, whether the economy is weak or strong. This past February, before the pandemic hit with full force, the nation’s jobless rate was near its lowest point in fifty years, with the Black unemployment rate at 5.8 per cent and the white rate at 3.1 per cent. Disparities like these have fuelled the notion that that Blacks are, as a group, the “last hired and first fired.”
In March, when much of the country went into lockdown, setting off an extraordinary spike in layoffs, something unusual happened. Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans were laid off across the board at hotels, restaurants, airports, hair salons, and other places. The white unemployment rate soared to 14.2 per cent in April, while the Black rate jumped to 16.7 per cent, meaning that the Black unemployment fell to 1.2 times the rate for whites. (For Hispanics, the jobless rate soared to 18.9 per cent in April, up from 4.4 per cent in February.)
Hamilton said that the most recent monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the ratio between Black and white unemployment regressing toward its unfortunate norm—whites are being rehired at a higher rate than Blacks. Although the layoffs hit all groups, Black households have suffered more, for several reasons. A higher percentage of Black households have just one earner: 50.1 per cent versus 39.9 per cent for white households. Black women are three times more likely to be single heads of households compared to whites—and the closure of schools in the spring made it especially hard for them to keep their jobs, and the likelihood that some schools won’t reopen in the fall means that many will struggle to return to work. “The initial job shock was compounded by the closed schools,” William Spriggs, an economics professor at Howard University, told me. “A lot of Black women come home without a job, and their two kids are sitting there, so there is no way to return to work because kids can’t go to school.”


newyorker--2020-07-30--The Constitutional Case Against Trump’s Use of the Department of Homeland Security

This month , President Trump deployed law-enforcement agents from the Department of Homeland Security to Portland , Oregon , ostensibly to protect federal property from protests that began after the killing of George Floyd .
But these D.H.S .
agents , who wear military-style camouflage , have not identified themselves as law enforcement and have arrested and detained protesters without probable cause , inflaming protests in Portland and other cities , with many Americans furious that the Administration has sent federal law-enforcement officers to fulfill policing functions that are not part of Washington ’ s governing mandate .
On Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House Judiciary Committee , Attorney General William Barr defended the deployments , arguing that “ violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction.
” The following day , Oregon ’ s governor announced that an agreement had been reached with D.H.S .
to withdraw the deployed personnel from Portland ; the department responded by saying the agreement was conditional on the safety of federal property within the city .
To talk about the significance of the deployments , and what legal remedies may be available , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCord , who served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for almost two decades , and was the acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security , from 2016 to 2017 .
She is now the legal director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law .
During our conversation , which has been edited for length and clarity , we discussed who has standing to legally challenge the deployments , the dangers for everyone involved when law-enforcement officials are unwilling to identify themselves , and whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislating to circumscribe future Presidents .
If you were talking to someone who had no idea what was going on in Portland and , to a lesser extent , other American cities , how would you describe it to them ?
I think what we ’ re seeing in Portland is a very heavy-handed use of legal authorities that were provided to D.H.S .
and to the Federal Protective Service but never intended to be used for these purposes .
The 2002 [ Homeland Security ] Act gave a lot of law-enforcement authority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Secretary of Homeland Security to pull in other agents of D.H.S .
as needed to supplement the Federal Protective Service in defense of federal property .
I don ’ t think anyone at the time would have foreseen that the Secretary would use that authority to bring Customs and Border Protection officers and such a large swath of officers to essentially engage in local crowd control , protest control , riot control .
It was never meant to infringe upon the states ’ sovereign right to exercise the police power within their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorization that no one had envisioned them using , does that imply that the authorization exists , and there is not really any legal remedy , if they are only protecting federal buildings ?
And , in Portland and elsewhere , it seems like they ’ ve gone beyond that .
Is there any legal remedy in the second case ?
One thing that is important to remember is there are always going to be legal remedies available for constitutional violations , even if law enforcement is deployed consistent with legal authorities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing , which seem to be very well founded to me , are alleging First Amendment violations , Fourth Amendment violations , Fifth Amendment violations , because of the way that D.H.S .
is carrying out its law-enforcement responsibilities , potentially in retaliation for protected First Amendment activity , or making arrests without probable cause and depriving people of their liberty without due process .
Those are constitutional violations that there ’ s certainly legal recourse for .
There are other , more creative theories that are being litigated right now , too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encroachment on states ’ police power , in violation of the Tenth Amendment , which reserves the police power for the states .
There are some theories now , and at least one lawsuit , alleging that the D.H.S .
acting Secretary is not properly holding that office , and that therefore any policies or orders that he gives should be unlawful .
There are arguments being made , but , strictly speaking , if they ’ re acting within the confines of what the statute allows them to do , then that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress has given them that authority .
I think the question becomes , Is that what they ’ re doing ?
The statute that ’ s most frequently cited is Section 1315 , and that statute does allow , as I mentioned before , the protection of federal property .
That doesn ’ t mean you have to be on the federal property at the time you ’ re asserting law-enforcement ability or law-enforcement function .
Let ’ s just assume someone firebombed a federal building , causing serious damage .
D.H.S .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime and make an arrest off of federal property .
But I think it gets more difficult for a layperson to determine if they ’ re acting within their authority when you see them far away from federal property .
Certainly , we have seen them abducting people off the streets and taking them in for questioning , which appears to be a Fourth Amendment violation and probably other constitutional violations , but also doesn ’ t seem to be tethered to anything that might ’ ve happened at the federal property .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ legal recourse ?
No , I don ’ t think it means that .
It ’ s just that there will be overlaps of federal authority and state authority where it gets murky about whether they have gone beyond their authority .
If people in D.H.S .
are being ordered to do things that have nothing to do with the protection of federal buildings , even if they were authorized explicitly by the President , is there any recourse for that , if they ’ re not violating people ’ s constitutional rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , how is that litigated ?
Is it just up to the people in the bureaucracy to say , “ No , I won ’ t carry out these orders ” ?
I think certainly that ’ s one option .
Whistle-blowers within D.H.S .
could say , “ We ’ re being ordered to do things that seem to us to be beyond the powers that are authorized by Section 1315.
” They could certainly go through the agency ’ s whistle-blower system in order to report that .
And then you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is acting beyond its statutory authority , so it ’ s acting outside accordance of law .
It can also be alleged right now .
In fact , it is alleged in a case that was filed this week , on behalf of Don ’ t Shoot Portland and Wall of Moms and some other individual plaintiffs .
They are making specific allegations of D.H.S .
acting beyond its statutory authority .
Those are things that can be litigated .
Any litigation requires the plaintiff to have standing , which just means an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particular , not general .
Certainly individuals who personally have been harmed—those who ’ ve been shot with tear gas or non-lethal bullets or subject to being arrested without probable cause—have a basis to sue , not only for constitutional violations but potentially for the agency acting beyond its authority .
At least , for injunctive relief .
Sometimes organizations , in the case I ’ ve mentioned , are suing , saying their mission and resources are being diverted because of this .
We ’ re not able to do the work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Each plaintiff would have to have standing , and a court would decide if the plaintiffs had standing .

This month, President Trump deployed law-enforcement agents from the Department of Homeland Security to Portland, Oregon, ostensibly to protect federal property from protests that began after the killing of George Floyd. But these D.H.S. agents, who wear military-style camouflage, have not identified themselves as law enforcement and have arrested and detained protesters without probable cause, inflaming protests in Portland and other cities, with many Americans furious that the Administration has sent federal law-enforcement officers to fulfill policing functions that are not part of Washington’s governing mandate. On Tuesday, in a tense hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Attorney General William Barr defended the deployments, arguing that “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests to wreak senseless havoc and destruction.” The following day, Oregon’s governor announced that an agreement had been reached with D.H.S. to withdraw the deployed personnel from Portland; the department responded by saying the agreement was conditional on the safety of federal property within the city.
To talk about the significance of the deployments, and what legal remedies may be available, I spoke by phone on Tuesday with Mary McCord, who served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for almost two decades, and was the acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, from 2016 to 2017. She is now the legal director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed who has standing to legally challenge the deployments, the dangers for everyone involved when law-enforcement officials are unwilling to identify themselves, and whether Congress needs to change its approach to legislating to circumscribe future Presidents.
If you were talking to someone who had no idea what was going on in Portland and, to a lesser extent, other American cities, how would you describe it to them?
I think what we’re seeing in Portland is a very heavy-handed use of legal authorities that were provided to D.H.S. and to the Federal Protective Service but never intended to be used for these purposes. The 2002 [Homeland Security] Act gave a lot of law-enforcement authority to D.H.S. and gave authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to pull in other agents of D.H.S. as needed to supplement the Federal Protective Service in defense of federal property. I don’t think anyone at the time would have foreseen that the Secretary would use that authority to bring Customs and Border Protection officers and such a large swath of officers to essentially engage in local crowd control, protest control, riot control. It was never meant to infringe upon the states’ sovereign right to exercise the police power within their jurisdiction.
If this Administration is using authorization that no one had envisioned them using, does that imply that the authorization exists, and there is not really any legal remedy, if they are only protecting federal buildings? And, in Portland and elsewhere, it seems like they’ve gone beyond that. Is there any legal remedy in the second case?
One thing that is important to remember is there are always going to be legal remedies available for constitutional violations, even if law enforcement is deployed consistent with legal authorities. Some of the lawsuits you’re seeing, which seem to be very well founded to me, are alleging First Amendment violations, Fourth Amendment violations, Fifth Amendment violations, because of the way that D.H.S. is carrying out its law-enforcement responsibilities, potentially in retaliation for protected First Amendment activity, or making arrests without probable cause and depriving people of their liberty without due process. Those are constitutional violations that there’s certainly legal recourse for.
There are other, more creative theories that are being litigated right now, too, including theories about this type of encroachment on states’ police power, in violation of the Tenth Amendment, which reserves the police power for the states. There are some theories now, and at least one lawsuit, alleging that the D.H.S. acting Secretary is not properly holding that office, and that therefore any policies or orders that he gives should be unlawful. There are arguments being made, but, strictly speaking, if they’re acting within the confines of what the statute allows them to do, then that would be hard to challenge, because Congress has given them that authority. I think the question becomes, Is that what they’re doing?
The statute that’s most frequently cited is Section 1315, and that statute does allow, as I mentioned before, the protection of federal property. That doesn’t mean you have to be on the federal property at the time you’re asserting law-enforcement ability or law-enforcement function. Let’s just assume someone firebombed a federal building, causing serious damage. D.H.S. could pursue somebody they witnessed commit that crime and make an arrest off of federal property. But I think it gets more difficult for a layperson to determine if they’re acting within their authority when you see them far away from federal property. Certainly, we have seen them abducting people off the streets and taking them in for questioning, which appears to be a Fourth Amendment violation and probably other constitutional violations, but also doesn’t seem to be tethered to anything that might’ve happened at the federal property.
Does that mean there’s no legal recourse? No, I don’t think it means that. It’s just that there will be overlaps of federal authority and state authority where it gets murky about whether they have gone beyond their authority.
If people in D.H.S. are being ordered to do things that have nothing to do with the protection of federal buildings, even if they were authorized explicitly by the President, is there any recourse for that, if they’re not violating people’s constitutional rights? If the statute is being violated, how is that litigated? Is it just up to the people in the bureaucracy to say, “No, I won’t carry out these orders”?
I think certainly that’s one option. Whistle-blowers within D.H.S. could say, “We’re being ordered to do things that seem to us to be beyond the powers that are authorized by Section 1315.” They could certainly go through the agency’s whistle-blower system in order to report that. And then you could have litigation saying that the agency is acting beyond its statutory authority, so it’s acting outside accordance of law. It can also be alleged right now. In fact, it is alleged in a case that was filed this week, on behalf of Don’t Shoot Portland and Wall of Moms and some other individual plaintiffs. They are making specific allegations of D.H.S. acting beyond its statutory authority. Those are things that can be litigated.
By whom?
Any litigation requires the plaintiff to have standing, which just means an Article III injury that is concrete and particular, not general. Certainly individuals who personally have been harmed—those who’ve been shot with tear gas or non-lethal bullets or subject to being arrested without probable cause—have a basis to sue, not only for constitutional violations but potentially for the agency acting beyond its authority. At least, for injunctive relief. Sometimes organizations, in the case I’ve mentioned, are suing, saying their mission and resources are being diverted because of this. We’re not able to do the work that we are organized to do. Each plaintiff would have to have standing, and a court would decide if the plaintiffs had standing.
In the lawsuit the Oregon attorney general filed, the judge found last week that the Oregon attorney general didn’t have standing, because, when the attorney general brings a lawsuit, in what’s called parens patriae, the injuries should not just be limited to individuals. I’m not assessing whether that’s right or wrong, but any plaintiff bringing a case would have to have standing.
David Plouffe, the former Obama campaign manager, said last week that Trump might send D.H.S. officers to polling places to intimidate people. My first response was that that’s ridiculous. He would have no authority to do that. Then you get the question of “O.K., well, who is going to stop him from doing that? What are the checks and balances in the system to stop something like that?”
Certainly people that would be intimidated would have standing there. I would also argue that a state has an interest in fair and free elections, because the elections are going to not only determine the Presidency but usually elected representatives to Congress, and the state would have an interest in a case like that, potentially to pursue a claim for injunctive relief to stop that type of intimidation. There are also criminal laws. I think you mentioned using D.H.S., but there are criminal laws that bar the military from intimidating people at the polls. There are a variety of other types of legal regimes that kick in when we’re talking about elections.


newyorker--2020-07-30--Tantalizing Fantasies After Four Months of Quarantine

Your friend reminds you that you ’ re going to a concert this Tuesday .
You gripe to yourself about how late the headliner goes on , counting the hours of sleep you ’ re missing .
Who decided to even have concerts on weeknights ?
Your feet still hurt Wednesday morning .
You have a Tinder date tonight .
You were excited when you set it up , but now that it ’ s a few hours before you ’ re tempted to cancel .
You don ’ t .
It ’ s uneventful .
You never text the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You go to Dunkin ’ Donuts .
There ’ s a line .
You should ’ ve left your house earlier so that you ’ d have more time before work .
You get in the line anyway .
It moves fast .
But then your coffee takes forever .
You get to work five minutes late .
No one notices , but you feel a judgmental vibe from your boss all day .
You go to your co-worker ’ s birthday dinner .
Everyone else there is good friends , but they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You didn ’ t know if you were supposed to bring a gift or not , so you bought an expensive candle .
You ’ re stunned at how much the bill is at the end of the night and feel grouchy about it for two days .
You decide to try a trendy ramen place .
The wait is absurdly long and you think about bailing .
You don ’ t and the soup is really good .
You stop by a bookstore to get a book that your friend keeps mentioning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on any of the best-seller tables .
You aimlessly wander around for a couple of minutes but can ’ t figure out what it ’ s called or where it is .
You don ’ t want to ask an employee for help , but , after ten more minutes of fruitless Googling , you ask .
It was on the table that you just checked .
You buy a pen , too .
You go to the beach on a beautiful day .
It ’ s so crowded , and you didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or snacks .
By 2 P.M. , you ’ re overheated and need to go home .
You put aloe on your arms while watching “ Bachelor in Paradise ” in the dark .
You decide to splurge at the fancy ice-cream place .
Was the cashier flirting with you ?
No , he was probably just being friendly .
Your friends think he was flirting .
You go back often , but never see him again .
Your friend is late for brunch .
You pace outside the restaurant , hoping that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you as you awkwardly kill time .
A lady walks by with a cute dog .
Your friend arrives .
The mimosas are overpriced .
You watch “ Law & Order ” on a TV at the laundromat while you wait for the towels to finish drying .
You ’ ve definitely seen this episode before , but you can ’ t remember who did it .
You recognize the defense attorney from somewhere , but you ’ re not sure where .
Your towels are done and folded before the episode finishes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minutes to see the end .
Actually , have you seen this episode before ?
Maybe it was another one .
You go to the movie theatre .
You get popcorn and a Diet Coke from the fountain .
The popcorn isn ’ t that good , and you don ’ t understand the movie .
Your train is delayed on the way home .
You ’ re at your parents ’ house .
Your dad wants to show you an old film on TV .
You let him .

Your friend reminds you that you’re going to a concert this Tuesday. You gripe to yourself about how late the headliner goes on, counting the hours of sleep you’re missing. Who decided to even have concerts on weeknights? Your feet still hurt Wednesday morning.
You have a Tinder date tonight. You were excited when you set it up, but now that it’s a few hours before you’re tempted to cancel. You don’t. It’s uneventful. You never text the guy and he never texts you.
You go to Dunkin’ Donuts. There’s a line. You should’ve left your house earlier so that you’d have more time before work. You get in the line anyway. It moves fast. But then your coffee takes forever. You get to work five minutes late. No one notices, but you feel a judgmental vibe from your boss all day.
You go to your co-worker’s birthday dinner. Everyone else there is good friends, but they try their best to include you. You didn’t know if you were supposed to bring a gift or not, so you bought an expensive candle. You’re stunned at how much the bill is at the end of the night and feel grouchy about it for two days.
You decide to try a trendy ramen place. The wait is absurdly long and you think about bailing. You don’t and the soup is really good.
You stop by a bookstore to get a book that your friend keeps mentioning. You can’t find it on any of the best-seller tables. You aimlessly wander around for a couple of minutes but can’t figure out what it’s called or where it is. You don’t want to ask an employee for help, but, after ten more minutes of fruitless Googling, you ask. It was on the table that you just checked. You buy a pen, too.
You go to the beach on a beautiful day. It’s so crowded, and you didn’t bring enough water or sunscreen or snacks. By 2 P.M., you’re overheated and need to go home. You put aloe on your arms while watching “Bachelor in Paradise” in the dark.
You decide to splurge at the fancy ice-cream place. Was the cashier flirting with you? No, he was probably just being friendly. Your friends think he was flirting. You go back often, but never see him again.
Your friend is late for brunch. You pace outside the restaurant, hoping that no one is paying any attention to you as you awkwardly kill time. A lady walks by with a cute dog. Your friend arrives. The mimosas are overpriced.
You watch “Law & Order” on a TV at the laundromat while you wait for the towels to finish drying. You’ve definitely seen this episode before, but you can’t remember who did it. You recognize the defense attorney from somewhere, but you’re not sure where. Your towels are done and folded before the episode finishes, but you linger for a few minutes to see the end. Actually, have you seen this episode before? Maybe it was another one.
You go to the movie theatre. You get popcorn and a Diet Coke from the fountain. The popcorn isn’t that good, and you don’t understand the movie. Your train is delayed on the way home.
You’re at your parents’ house. Your dad wants to show you an old film on TV. You let him.