theguardian--2020-12-20--Biden and McConnell have a long history – but can they really work together now?

When they were both in the Senate , Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell , the Senate majority leader , maintained a strong working relationship that survived some of the most partisan legislative fights in decades .
That relationship will now face a new test when Biden is sworn in as president of the United States and McConnell will be the highest-ranking Republican in the country .
It ’ s a setup familiar to Biden : when he was vice-president , Barack Obama had to battle with an adversarial McConnell , who at one point said the top priority of Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one-term president ” .
The difference between the beginning of that matchup – between a Democratic president who spent a just few years in the Senate and a Republican minority leader – and now is significant .
McConnell , unlike at the beginning of the Obama administration , may command a slim Republican majority in his chamber when Biden takes office .
Last week , McConnell finally gave a speech on the Senate floor in which he congratulated Biden on becoming president-elect , effectively putting another nail in the coffin of Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraud and attempts to overturn the results .
Later that day Biden publicly said he had spoken with McConnell by phone .
“ I had a great conversation with Mitch McConnell today , ” Biden said on Tuesday .
“ I called him to thank him for the congratulations .
I told him that while we disagree on a lot of things there are things we can work together on .
We agreed to get together sooner than later .
And I ’ m looking forward to working with him.
” More significantly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working together through their decades in Congress .
Biden was first elected as a senator for Delaware in 1972 ; McConnell was first elected to the Senate for Kentucky in 1984 .
Since then , they have been co-sponsors on 318 bills , according to a Guardian tally .
During a contentious debt limit fight in 2011 , Biden was the preferred Obama administration liaison for McConnell .
Biden has long prided himself about his deep bipartisan ties in the Senate .
“ I on a number of occasions couldn ’ t get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s when I would call in Joe Biden , ” Harry Reid , the former Democratic Senate leader , said in an interview with the Guardian .
“ The reason that I would call upon Joe Biden in a time of my personal crisis because I couldn ’ t get things done on my own was he was trusted very much by Republicans , that was the way it was with all my Senate colleagues .
Joe Biden had been there a long long time .
He ’ d built up a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people.
” Biden and McConnell appear to be polar opposites .
Biden is known for his effusive friendliness and loquacious public demeanor .
McConnell is more reserved and careful with his words .
Yet the two will both either say they can work together or say nothing at all .
“ They ’ re both civil , ” the former senator Max Baucus of Montana said in an interview .
“ They ’ re not going to call each other names because they ’ ve known each other so long and if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tend not to want to call them names.
” McConnell and Biden made a joint appearance at the eponymously named McConnell Center at the University of Louisville in 2011 .
In introducing Biden , then vice president , the Senate Republican said “ Now that he ’ s moved to the other end of Pennsylvania avenue I ’ m happy to say that our working relationship is still strong.
” Biden at that same event described McConnell as someone he understood and a good example of the then vice-president ’ s deep connections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between Senator McConnell and President-elect Biden has been professional , enabling them ( and , importantly , their staffs ) to negotiate in good faith , ” said Jon Kyl , a former senator from Arizona who served in Republican Senate leadership .
“ In any government , certain things must get done ; as professionals , these two know how to achieve necessary results.
” McConnell was also the single Republican senator to attend the funeral of Beau Biden , the president-elect ’ s son , in 2015 .
There ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McConnell and his community of former and current staffers and that of Obama and his former staff .
In Obama ’ s recent book he recounts and interaction between Biden and McConnell .
“ Joe told me of one run-in he ’ d had on the Senate floor after the Republican leader blocked a bill Joe was sponsoring ; when Joe tried to explain the bill ’ s merits , McConnell raised his hand like a traffic cop and said , ‘ You must be under the mistaken impression that I care , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what McConnell lacked in charisma or interest in policy he more than made up for in discipline , shrewdness , and shamelessness – all of which he employed in the single-minded and dispassionate pursuit of power.
” But less so when it comes to Biden and McConnell .
That may partially be because McConnell and Biden will have to deal with each other going forward .
The two have been in something of a detente .
McConnell hasn ’ t spoken particularly ill of Biden and vice versa .
Baucus said if Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attractive to Republicans , that could extend a honeymoon phase between him and McConnell .
“ If Joe proposes and starts off with an infrastructure bill that ’ ll help because that ’ s bipartisan , ” Baucus said .
Baucus added that McConnell “ will want to work with Joe as best he can because they know each other ” .
But the former Montana senator also noted that McConnell ’ s motivations include staying majority leader and protecting his caucus , interests that don ’ t naturally align with a Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so long .
In either the case where the Senate is split 50/50 between Republicans and Democrats with Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote or where Republicans have a small majority the president and Republican Senate leader will have to work with each other .
Asked if Biden and McConnell will be able to work together in harmony , Reid said : “ I think we ’ re going to know pretty quickly because President-elect Biden , when he becomes president he ’ s going to have to move on certain things very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s loaded with stuff that he has to do and he ’ s going to have to pick and choose what he has to move on and I would hope that there are enough Republicans to help , ” Reid added .
Asked about their different personalities and whether they will be able to work together , Kyl said in an email : “ Yes , they are very different personalities , but have found they can trust each other .
And , again , much of it depends on their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If they don ’ t have the same kind of staff they did , say in 2010-12 , it would not work as well .
”

When they were both in the Senate, Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, maintained a strong working relationship that survived some of the most partisan legislative fights in decades.
That relationship will now face a new test when Biden is sworn in as president of the United States and McConnell will be the highest-ranking Republican in the country.
It’s a setup familiar to Biden: when he was vice-president, Barack Obama had to battle with an adversarial McConnell, who at one point said the top priority of Senate Republicans was to make Obama a “one-term president”.
The difference between the beginning of that matchup – between a Democratic president who spent a just few years in the Senate and a Republican minority leader – and now is significant. McConnell, unlike at the beginning of the Obama administration, may command a slim Republican majority in his chamber when Biden takes office.
Last week, McConnell finally gave a speech on the Senate floor in which he congratulated Biden on becoming president-elect, effectively putting another nail in the coffin of Donald Trump’s repeated baseless claims of widespread fraud and attempts to overturn the results. Later that day Biden publicly said he had spoken with McConnell by phone.
“I had a great conversation with Mitch McConnell today,” Biden said on Tuesday. “I called him to thank him for the congratulations. I told him that while we disagree on a lot of things there are things we can work together on. We agreed to get together sooner than later. And I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Mitch McConnell speaks during a news conference in Washington DC on 15 December. Photograph: Rod Lamkey/Getty Images
More significantly, the two have a history of working together through their decades in Congress. Biden was first elected as a senator for Delaware in 1972; McConnell was first elected to the Senate for Kentucky in 1984.
Since then, they have been co-sponsors on 318 bills, according to a Guardian tally. During a contentious debt limit fight in 2011, Biden was the preferred Obama administration liaison for McConnell. Biden has long prided himself about his deep bipartisan ties in the Senate.
“I on a number of occasions couldn’t get things done on my own and that’s when I would call in Joe Biden,” Harry Reid, the former Democratic Senate leader, said in an interview with the Guardian. “The reason that I would call upon Joe Biden in a time of my personal crisis because I couldn’t get things done on my own was he was trusted very much by Republicans, that was the way it was with all my Senate colleagues. Joe Biden had been there a long long time. He’d built up a lot of chits with a lot of people.”
Biden and McConnell appear to be polar opposites. Biden is known for his effusive friendliness and loquacious public demeanor. McConnell is more reserved and careful with his words. Yet the two will both either say they can work together or say nothing at all.
They’re not going to call each other names because they’ve known each other so long Max Baucus
“They’re both civil,” the former senator Max Baucus of Montana said in an interview. “They’re not going to call each other names because they’ve known each other so long and if you’ve known someone that long you tend not to want to call them names.”
McConnell and Biden made a joint appearance at the eponymously named McConnell Center at the University of Louisville in 2011. In introducing Biden, then vice president, the Senate Republican said “Now that he’s moved to the other end of Pennsylvania avenue I’m happy to say that our working relationship is still strong.”
Biden at that same event described McConnell as someone he understood and a good example of the then vice-president’s deep connections in the Senate.
“The relationship between Senator McConnell and President-elect Biden has been professional, enabling them (and, importantly, their staffs) to negotiate in good faith,” said Jon Kyl, a former senator from Arizona who served in Republican Senate leadership. “In any government, certain things must get done; as professionals, these two know how to achieve necessary results.”
McConnell was also the single Republican senator to attend the funeral of Beau Biden, the president-elect’s son, in 2015.
Run-in
There’s a residual level of mutual bitterness between McConnell and his community of former and current staffers and that of Obama and his former staff. In Obama’s recent book he recounts and interaction between Biden and McConnell.
“Joe told me of one run-in he’d had on the Senate floor after the Republican leader blocked a bill Joe was sponsoring; when Joe tried to explain the bill’s merits, McConnell raised his hand like a traffic cop and said, ‘You must be under the mistaken impression that I care,’” Obama wrote. “But what McConnell lacked in charisma or interest in policy he more than made up for in discipline, shrewdness, and shamelessness – all of which he employed in the single-minded and dispassionate pursuit of power.”
But less so when it comes to Biden and McConnell. That may partially be because McConnell and Biden will have to deal with each other going forward. The two have been in something of a detente. McConnell hasn’t spoken particularly ill of Biden and vice versa.
Baucus said if Biden sets out with some kind of initiative attractive to Republicans, that could extend a honeymoon phase between him and McConnell.
“If Joe proposes and starts off with an infrastructure bill that’ll help because that’s bipartisan,” Baucus said.
Barack Obama meets with members of Congress, including Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, in the White House on 31 July 2014. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Baucus added that McConnell “will want to work with Joe as best he can because they know each other”. But the former Montana senator also noted that McConnell’s motivations include staying majority leader and protecting his caucus, interests that don’t naturally align with a Democratic president.
That silence can only last so long. In either the case where the Senate is split 50/50 between Republicans and Democrats with Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote or where Republicans have a small majority the president and Republican Senate leader will have to work with each other.
Asked if Biden and McConnell will be able to work together in harmony, Reid said: “I think we’re going to know pretty quickly because President-elect Biden, when he becomes president he’s going to have to move on certain things very quickly.
“He has a portfolio that’s loaded with stuff that he has to do and he’s going to have to pick and choose what he has to move on and I would hope that there are enough Republicans to help,” Reid added.
Asked about their different personalities and whether they will be able to work together, Kyl said in an email: “Yes, they are very different personalities, but have found they can trust each other. And, again, much of it depends on their staffs also working with each other. If they don’t have the same kind of staff they did, say in 2010-12, it would not work as well.”


theguardian--2020-12-20--'I figured I'd give it a year': Arthur Sulzberger Jr on how the New York Times turned around

Where does the New York Times reside in the subconscious of news hounds across America ?
Paul Rudnick wrote this answer for a New York City mother played by Bette Middler in Coastal Elites on HBO this year : The former New Yorker editor Robert Gottlieb put it slightly differently to me , long ago : “ The Times is in the same position as the Jews : it ’ s expected to behave better than everybody else.
” For a hundred years , for better or worse , no institution has played a larger role in American culture and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clout has been continuously controlled by a single family since 1896 .
This month , at 69 , Arthur Sulzberger Jr will retire as company chairman , after decades of speculation that he would be the last Sulzberger to run the business .
In 2005 , a vicious profile in the New Yorker asked : “ Can Arthur Sulzberger Jr save the Times – and himself ?
” A couple of years later , Vanity Fair declared that he had “ steered his inheritance into a ditch ” .
As the New Yorker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Guardian this week : “ As recently as five years ago , the biggest question was : “ Is [ Mike ] Bloomberg going to own the Times or [ Mexican billionaire ] Carlos Slim ?
” And yet , 11 days from now , Sulzberger will defy almost every expectation except his own and hand over a healthy , thriving enterprise to his son AG Sulzberger , giving the fifth generation of the Ochs-Sulzbergers the rudder of the enterprise .
“ It ’ s a rare thing and a wonderful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a note of real triumph , ” Remnick observed .
I ’ ve been a student of the Times ever since I wrote my first story as a 20-year-old student at Columbia , working as the paper ’ s college correspondent , a part-time post that launched the careers of many Times editors .
I only wrote for the paper for eight years , five as a reporter on the metro staff .
But the Times tends to enter the bones of everyone who works there , and a preoccupation with its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The first time I met Arthur Sulzberger Jr was at a party of budding journalists in Washington at the end of 1980 .
I can still see him striding into the room with a swagger , a huge smile and his infant son , AG , on his shoulders .
Back then , the father was just a young reporter in the Times Washington bureau .
But like almost everyone else , I assumed I was watching the next publisher – and the publisher after that .
In a series of conversations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plenty of evidence that a love for journalism can indeed be passed down through DNA .
But they also insisted that what looks like old-fashioned primogeniture is actually a bit more complicated .
Each told me he had never felt the slightest pressure to follow in his father ’ s footsteps – and neither decided he wanted to become the boss until he was a young adult .
For Sulzberger Jr , the lightbulb came on when he went to work in the advertising department .
“ I figured I ’ d give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hate it , and I ’ d go back to the newsroom , ” he said .
But then he made his first big ad sale and “ realized that I had just covered Johnny Apple ’ s liquor bill for a year !
” ( RW Apple Jr , a fabled political correspondent and London bureau chief , had the traditional journalist ’ s goal : to always submit the largest possible expense account . )
“ Suddenly it came to me that this was supporting the enterprise .
This was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eye-opener for me.
” “ And your father was completely silent about whether he wanted you to succeed him ?
” I asked .
“ Oh yes , very much so .
You don ’ t want to pressure somebody to do something they don ’ t want .
Because in the end , if they get it and they don ’ t want it , that doesn ’ t help the institution or the individual .
Right ?
” So Sulzberger Jr adopted the same strategy with his own son .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be his successor , ” AG Sulzberger said .
“ He was always really consistent about me following my passions .
But I made the mistake of having my first job out of college being a reporting gig.
” It was at the Providence Journal , and he fell in love with it .
“ I would have been very happy to spend my career as a reporter or editor , ” he continued .
But when he was 33 , Jill Abramson , then executive editor of the Times , asked him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ newspaper ’ s future .
“ I realized how much change needed to happen at the Times and how essential that change was for the institution to continue to thrive , ” he said .
Suddenly , it felt like his “ highest purpose was trying to make that change happen ” .
His father agreed : “ I think that was his sort of eye-opening moment.
” One secret to the Sulzbergers ’ success is that each time power has been given to a new generation , predecessors have not become second-guessers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible for the paper to change with the times .
In the case of Arthur Sulzberger Jr , the first and biggest beneficiaries of that tradition were the Times ’ lesbian and gay employees .
During the regime of his father , Arthur Ochs Sulzberger , Abe Rosenthal , the top editor from the late 60s to the mid-80s , made it clear that the career of any gay employee would end as soon as they came out of the closet .
When Arthur Sulzberger Jr became an assistant metropolitan editor , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who every gay employee was .
Then he took each of them out to lunch , told them he knew they were gay , and promised this would have no effect on their career once Rosenthal had departed .
“ Until you said so , ” David W Dunlap , then a metropolitan reporter , wrote years later , “ I couldn ’ t have imagined how to reconcile my soul with my professional calling .
Now suddenly there was a Sulzberger … cheerfully reassuring me I had nothing to worry about.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ succeeded by Max Frankel as executive editor , the Times was transformed from the most homophobic to the most gay-friendly major institution in America .
A big reason there was so much skepticism that the latest Sulzberger handoff would ever take place was the fate of almost every other major American publishing family of the last 40 years .
The Binghams got rid of the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1986 .
The Taylors unloaded the Boston Globe in 1993 – to the Sulzbergers .
The Chandlers of the Los Angeles Times sold their presses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington Post hung on longer , but even they took $ 250m from Jeff Bezos in 2013 .
Sulzberger Jr insists he “ just refused to to consider that kind of stuff ” .
Instead , as the internet ate away at the print advertising that had fuelled the business for so long , he unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars in assets .
In 2007 , nine TV stations went for $ 575m .
In 2011 , it was $ 143m for 16 regional newspapers – there had once been 35 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stages , AM and FM .
In between came the toughest decision of all for the family , which drew much of its income from shares .
In 2009 , the Times suspended all dividend payments to shareholders .
The Sulzbergers never flinched .
But even all of that wasn ’ t enough .
In 2009 , Sulzberger Jr had to borrow $ 250m from Slim – at 14 % interest .
Four years before that , the paper had made its first effort to make subscription money off of its online edition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind a paywall in a program called Times Select .
But after two years the company decided the loss of online revenue was more important than the gain in subscriptions , and the paywall was abandoned .
That made the decision to resume a paywall in 2011 all the more difficult – and it only happened after a fierce internal debate .
In the end , Sulzberger Jr sided with the then chief executive , Janet Robinson .
It turned out to be his most prescient announcement .
“ A few years ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that people would not pay for the content they accessed via the web , ” he said .
But he predicted the paywall would allow the company “ to develop new sources of revenue to support the continuation of our journalistic mission and digital innovation … This system is our latest , and best , demonstration of where we believe the future of valued content – be it news , music , games or more – is going.
” He turned out to be right .
Last month , the company said it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and for the first time more revenue from digital than print subscribers .
The Times had $ 800m on hand , with $ 250m available through a revolving credit line .
It no longer has any debt , and last year it paid off a loan that allowed it to buy back its Manhattan headquarters .
Sulzberger Jr ’ s close friend Steven Rattner , a former Times reporter turned investment banker , explained his success this way : “ If you want just one quality , it would have to be determination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – and it got really tough – Arthur never gave up .
He was among the first ( if not the first ) traditional newspaper guy to grasp the importance of the internet , focus on it and never get distracted from it.
” Paul Goldberger , a longtime Times architecture critic and one of the paper ’ s wisest observers , said the most relevant description of Sulzberger Jr ’ s philosophy could be found in an Italian novel , The Leopard : “ If we want things to stay as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” I repeated that to the departing Times chairman .
“ Yes , ” he said .
“ Adapt or die .
”

Where does the New York Times reside in the subconscious of newshounds across America? Paul Rudnick wrote this answer for a New York City mother played by Bette Middler in Coastal Elites on HBO this year:
I love the Times. I feel like it’s my child, or my parent. Do you know what the Times means to a liberal Jewish woman like me? On the census, when it asks for religion, I don’t put Jewish. I put the New York Times. Which I have delivered. The real Times. The newsprint Times. I know I’m old-fashioned, but reading the Times online is like having sex with a robot. I mean, it’s cleaner and it’s faster but you can tell the difference. OK, I’ll just say it. The New York Times online is the New York Times for the gentiles.
The former New Yorker editor Robert Gottlieb put it slightly differently to me, long ago: “The Times is in the same position as the Jews: it’s expected to behave better than everybody else.”
For a hundred years, for better or worse, no institution has played a larger role in American culture and politics. And no corporation with comparable clout has been continuously controlled by a single family since 1896.
This month, at 69, Arthur Sulzberger Jr will retire as company chairman, after decades of speculation that he would be the last Sulzberger to run the business.
In 2005, a vicious profile in the New Yorker asked: “Can Arthur Sulzberger Jr save the Times – and himself?” A couple of years later, Vanity Fair declared that he had “steered his inheritance into a ditch”.
As the New Yorker editor, David Remnick, put it to the Guardian this week: “As recently as five years ago, the biggest question was: “Is [Mike] Bloomberg going to own the Times or [Mexican billionaire] Carlos Slim?”
And yet, 11 days from now, Sulzberger will defy almost every expectation except his own and hand over a healthy, thriving enterprise to his son AG Sulzberger, giving the fifth generation of the Ochs-Sulzbergers the rudder of the enterprise.
“It’s a rare thing and a wonderful thing to see someone exit the stage on a note of real triumph,” Remnick observed.
‘I realized change needed to happen’
I’ve been a student of the Times ever since I wrote my first story as a 20-year-old student at Columbia, working as the paper’s college correspondent, a part-time post that launched the careers of many Times editors. I only wrote for the paper for eight years, five as a reporter on the metro staff. But the Times tends to enter the bones of everyone who works there, and a preoccupation with its peculiarities has been my hobby ever since.
The first time I met Arthur Sulzberger Jr was at a party of budding journalists in Washington at the end of 1980. I can still see him striding into the room with a swagger, a huge smile and his infant son, AG, on his shoulders. Back then, the father was just a young reporter in the Times Washington bureau. But like almost everyone else, I assumed I was watching the next publisher – and the publisher after that.
In a series of conversations this month, father and son offered plenty of evidence that a love for journalism can indeed be passed down through DNA. But they also insisted that what looks like old-fashioned primogeniture is actually a bit more complicated. Each told me he had never felt the slightest pressure to follow in his father’s footsteps – and neither decided he wanted to become the boss until he was a young adult.
For Sulzberger Jr, the lightbulb came on when he went to work in the advertising department.
“I figured I’d give it a year, I’d hate it, and I’d go back to the newsroom,” he said. But then he made his first big ad sale and “realized that I had just covered Johnny Apple’s liquor bill for a year!” (RW Apple Jr, a fabled political correspondent and London bureau chief, had the traditional journalist’s goal: to always submit the largest possible expense account.)
“Suddenly it came to me that this was supporting the enterprise. This was the critical part. It was a real eye-opener for me.”
“And your father was completely silent about whether he wanted you to succeed him?” I asked.
“Oh yes, very much so. You don’t want to pressure somebody to do something they don’t want. Because in the end, if they get it and they don’t want it, that doesn’t help the institution or the individual. Right?”
So Sulzberger Jr adopted the same strategy with his own son.
AG Sulzberger, seen in 2017. Photograph: Damon Winter/AP
“He did not ever push me to be his successor,” AG Sulzberger said. “He was always really consistent about me following my passions. But I made the mistake of having my first job out of college being a reporting gig.” It was at the Providence Journal, and he fell in love with it.
“I would have been very happy to spend my career as a reporter or editor,” he continued. But when he was 33, Jill Abramson, then executive editor of the Times, asked him to write an innovation report about the newspaper’s future.
“I realized how much change needed to happen at the Times and how essential that change was for the institution to continue to thrive,” he said. Suddenly, it felt like his “highest purpose was trying to make that change happen”.
His father agreed: “I think that was his sort of eye-opening moment.”
One secret to the Sulzbergers’ success is that each time power has been given to a new generation, predecessors have not become second-guessers. This is what has made it possible for the paper to change with the times.
In the case of Arthur Sulzberger Jr, the first and biggest beneficiaries of that tradition were the Times’ lesbian and gay employees. During the regime of his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Abe Rosenthal, the top editor from the late 60s to the mid-80s, made it clear that the career of any gay employee would end as soon as they came out of the closet.
When Arthur Sulzberger Jr became an assistant metropolitan editor, in the early 80s, he figured out who every gay employee was. Then he took each of them out to lunch, told them he knew they were gay, and promised this would have no effect on their career once Rosenthal had departed.
“Until you said so,” David W Dunlap, then a metropolitan reporter, wrote years later, “I couldn’t have imagined how to reconcile my soul with my professional calling. Now suddenly there was a Sulzberger … cheerfully reassuring me I had nothing to worry about.”
Indeed, as soon as Rosenthal was succeeded by Max Frankel as executive editor, the Times was transformed from the most homophobic to the most gay-friendly major institution in America.
Articles of faith
A big reason there was so much skepticism that the latest Sulzberger handoff would ever take place was the fate of almost every other major American publishing family of the last 40 years. The Binghams got rid of the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1986. The Taylors unloaded the Boston Globe in 1993 – to the Sulzbergers. The Chandlers of the Los Angeles Times sold their presses in 2000. The Grahams of the Washington Post hung on longer, but even they took $250m from Jeff Bezos in 2013.
Sulzberger Jr insists he “just refused to to consider that kind of stuff”. Instead, as the internet ate away at the print advertising that had fuelled the business for so long, he unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.
In 2007, nine TV stations went for $575m. In 2011, it was $143m for 16 regional newspapers – there had once been 35. The WQXR radio station went in two stages, AM and FM. In between came the toughest decision of all for the family, which drew much of its income from shares. In 2009, the Times suspended all dividend payments to shareholders.
The Sulzbergers never flinched. But even all of that wasn’t enough. In 2009, Sulzberger Jr had to borrow $250m from Slim – at 14% interest.
Four years before that, the paper had made its first effort to make subscription money off of its online edition, by putting some of its columnists behind a paywall in a program called Times Select. But after two years the company decided the loss of online revenue was more important than the gain in subscriptions, and the paywall was abandoned.
Sulzberger Jr listens during a meeting between editors and reporters and then president-elect Donald Trump, at the New York Times in November 2016. Photograph: Hiroko Masuike/AP
That made the decision to resume a paywall in 2011 all the more difficult – and it only happened after a fierce internal debate. In the end, Sulzberger Jr sided with the then chief executive, Janet Robinson. It turned out to be his most prescient announcement.
“A few years ago it was almost an article of faith that people would not pay for the content they accessed via the web,” he said. But he predicted the paywall would allow the company “to develop new sources of revenue to support the continuation of our journalistic mission and digital innovation … This system is our latest, and best, demonstration of where we believe the future of valued content – be it news, music, games or more – is going.”
He turned out to be right.
Last month, the company said it had 6 million paying online readers, and for the first time more revenue from digital than print subscribers. The Times had $800m on hand, with $250m available through a revolving credit line. It no longer has any debt, and last year it paid off a loan that allowed it to buy back its Manhattan headquarters.
‘It got really tough’
Sulzberger Jr’s close friend Steven Rattner, a former Times reporter turned investment banker, explained his success this way: “If you want just one quality, it would have to be determination. No matter how tough it got – and it got really tough – Arthur never gave up. He was among the first (if not the first) traditional newspaper guy to grasp the importance of the internet, focus on it and never get distracted from it.”
Paul Goldberger, a longtime Times architecture critic and one of the paper’s wisest observers, said the most relevant description of Sulzberger Jr’s philosophy could be found in an Italian novel, The Leopard: “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”
I repeated that to the departing Times chairman.
“Yes,” he said. “Adapt or die.”


theguardian--2020-12-20--America’s democracy is in crisis – how can Joe Biden fix voting rights?

When Joe Biden is inaugurated next month , he will inherit an America where democracy is in crisis .
The 2020 election exposed the urgent need to protect the right to vote in America .
Throughout the year , voters waited hours in line to cast their ballots , some until the early hours of the morning .
Democrats and voting rights groups brought an explosion of lawsuits seeking to ease restrictions around mail-in voting as Republicans around the country refused to budge .
The president-elect ’ s ability to fix these problems hinges significantly on whether or not Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , giving them full control of Congress and the White House .
If Democrats do take full control , they are likely to move sweeping voting reforms , including requiring automatic voter registration across the country and restoring the full protections of the Voting Rights Act .
But if Democrats fail to retake the Senate , Biden will be more limited in what he can do to fix voting rights .
The US constitution gives the president almost no power over elections , instead entrusting that authority to state legislatures and Congress .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas where Biden could act unilaterally .
Biden may immediately have the opportunity to undo some of Donald Trump ’ s unprecedented meddling in the 2020 census , the critical decennial survey that determines how many seats in Congress each state gets and how $ 1.5tn in federal funds get allocated .
Even after the Census Bureau faced severe delays , the Trump administration has rushed the agency to complete its work before Trump leaves office , raising significant questions about the quality and accuracy of the census data .
The rush is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president issued last summer , seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from the data used to apportion congressional seats .
The US government has long allocated congressional seats based on the total population and Trump ’ s change would probably cause immigrant-rich states like California and Texas to lose congressional seats while benefiting conservative , whiter places .
The US supreme court recently dismissed a lawsuit challenging the measure , saying it was premature , but a majority of the justices did not weigh in on the merits .
The Census Bureau recently disclosed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to deliver apportionment data to Trump before he leaves office .
If Biden takes office before the data is produced , he could rescind Trump ’ s memo order undocumented people excluded from the apportionment count .
Even if Trump sends the data , there may be procedural mechanisms for the US House to invite the new president to revise it .
Either way , the Biden administration will take on a census “ that faced unprecedented disruption due to the pandemic , but also because of unprecedented political interference in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lowenthal , a census consultant .
“ I think the Biden administration rightly can , and should , look at ways that the current administration ’ s actions may have affected decisions by career Census Bureau officials to ensure the most accurate and high quality census possible , ” Lowenthal said .
“ And if the new administration determines that the Census Bureau wasn ’ t able to do its best work , free from political or partisan considerations , I think the new administration would be justified in directing the Census Bureau @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revisit whatever work it ’ s already done.
” The constitution allows each US state to set its own voter registration rules , but Biden could use an existing federal law to significantly expand voter registration opportunities .
A 1993 statute , the National Voter Registration Act , requires nearly every state to offer people the opportunity to register to vote when they interact with the DMV and other state agencies .
Federal agencies , however , like the Department of Veterans Affairs , Social Security Administration and the Indian Health Service , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if a state requests it , but are not required to do so .
Biden could change that and issue an executive order requiring federal agencies to accept if a state asks them to serve as a voter registration agency under the law .
“ That would go a long way to addressing the fact that there are tens of millions of eligible citizens who are not on the rolls , ” said Chiraag Bains , director of legal strategies at Demos , a civil rights thinktank that has advocated for the change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big difference for Native Americans , a group for whom voter turnout has historically lagged behind national rates .
The Indian Health Service , part of the Department of Health and Human Services , provides medical care to approximately 2.5 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives .
Designating US Customs and Immigration Services a voter registration agency under the law could also expand voter registration for the nearly quarter-million people who become naturalized citizens each year , according to the Brennan Center for Justice .
Since Trump took office , the voting section @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , charged with enforcing America ’ s most powerful voting rights laws , has not made much of an effort to protect voting rights .
In fact , the department has been nearly silent on the topic .
The only high-profile cases the department has been involved in have been ones where it has aligned with states to defend voting restrictions , including Ohio ’ s aggressive voter purge policy and Texas ’ voter ID law .
As president , Biden will appoint both an attorney general and someone to oversee the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which houses the voting section .
Both of those officials could signal that voting rights enforcement is a major priority for the department and push the department to be more aggressive in bringing voting rights suits .
The justice department ’ s absence in the voting rights arena makes a big difference , former department officials and civil rights advocates told the Guardian earlier this year .
The justice department has significant resources to bring voting rights cases and can deter bad actors from passing measures that make it harder to vote .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the United States , carries credibility in court that attracts the attention of judges .
The justice department does not typically get involved in many voting rights disputes , but when it does , courts listen .
“ It ’ s not going to be easy .
The courts have gotten considerably more conservative and hostile to voting rights claims .
But the justice department has to be a player in this and it ’ ll be good to have them on the right side of voting rights cases again , ” @ @ @

When Joe Biden is inaugurated next month, he will inherit an America where democracy is in crisis.
The 2020 election exposed the urgent need to protect the right to vote in America. Throughout the year, voters waited hours in line to cast their ballots, some until the early hours of the morning. Democrats and voting rights groups brought an explosion of lawsuits seeking to ease restrictions around mail-in voting as Republicans around the country refused to budge.
The president-elect’s ability to fix these problems hinges significantly on whether or not Democrats win two runoff Senate races in Georgia, giving them full control of Congress and the White House. If Democrats do take full control, they are likely to move sweeping voting reforms, including requiring automatic voter registration across the country and restoring the full protections of the Voting Rights Act.
But if Democrats fail to retake the Senate, Biden will be more limited in what he can do to fix voting rights. The US constitution gives the president almost no power over elections, instead entrusting that authority to state legislatures and Congress. Nonetheless, there are a few key areas where Biden could act unilaterally.
2020 census
Biden may immediately have the opportunity to undo some of Donald Trump’s unprecedented meddling in the 2020 census, the critical decennial survey that determines how many seats in Congress each state gets and how $1.5tn in federal funds get allocated. Even after the Census Bureau faced severe delays, the Trump administration has rushed the agency to complete its work before Trump leaves office, raising significant questions about the quality and accuracy of the census data.
The rush is probably linked to an executive order the president issued last summer, seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from the data used to apportion congressional seats. The US government has long allocated congressional seats based on the total population and Trump’s change would probably cause immigrant-rich states like California and Texas to lose congressional seats while benefiting conservative, whiter places. The US supreme court recently dismissed a lawsuit challenging the measure, saying it was premature, but a majority of the justices did not weigh in on the merits.
A census worker takes information from a man in New York, New York, on 23 September. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
The Census Bureau recently disclosed, however, it may not be able to deliver apportionment data to Trump before he leaves office. If Biden takes office before the data is produced, he could rescind Trump’s memo ordering undocumented people to be excluded from the apportionment count. Even if Trump sends the data, there may be procedural mechanisms for the US House to invite the new president to revise it.
Either way, the Biden administration will take on a census “that faced unprecedented disruption due to the pandemic, but also because of unprecedented political interference in the modern era”, said Terri Ann Lowenthal, a census consultant.
“I think the Biden administration rightly can, and should, look at ways that the current administration’s actions may have affected decisions by career Census Bureau officials to ensure the most accurate and high quality census possible,” Lowenthal said. “And if the new administration determines that the Census Bureau wasn’t able to do its best work, free from political or partisan considerations, I think the new administration would be justified in directing the Census Bureau, through the commerce secretary, to revisit whatever work it’s already done.”
Expanding voter registration
The constitution allows each US state to set its own voter registration rules, but Biden could use an existing federal law to significantly expand voter registration opportunities. A 1993 statute, the National Voter Registration Act, requires nearly every state to offer people the opportunity to register to vote when they interact with the DMV and other state agencies.
Federal agencies, however, like the Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration and the Indian Health Service, can choose to offer voter registration services if a state requests it, but are not required to do so. Biden could change that and issue an executive order requiring federal agencies to accept if a state asks them to serve as a voter registration agency under the law.
“That would go a long way to addressing the fact that there are tens of millions of eligible citizens who are not on the rolls,” said Chiraag Bains, director of legal strategies at Demos, a civil rights thinktank that has advocated for the change.
Such a change could make a big difference for Native Americans, a group for whom voter turnout has historically lagged behind national rates. The Indian Health Service, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, provides medical care to approximately 2.5 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Designating US Customs and Immigration Services a voter registration agency under the law could also expand voter registration for the nearly quarter-million people who become naturalized citizens each year, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
The Department of Justice
Since Trump took office, the voting section at the Department of Justice (DoJ), charged with enforcing America’s most powerful voting rights laws, has not made much of an effort to protect voting rights. In fact, the department has been nearly silent on the topic. The only high-profile cases the department has been involved in have been ones where it has aligned with states to defend voting restrictions, including Ohio’s aggressive voter purge policy and Texas’s voter ID law.
As president, Biden will appoint both an attorney general and someone to oversee the department’s civil rights division, which houses the voting section. Both of those officials could signal that voting rights enforcement is a major priority for the department and push the department to be more aggressive in bringing voting rights suits.
The justice department’s absence in the voting rights arena makes a big difference, former department officials and civil rights advocates told the Guardian earlier this year. The justice department has significant resources to bring voting rights cases and can deter bad actors from passing measures that make it harder to vote.
The justice department also represents the views of the United States, carries credibility in court that attracts the attention of judges. The justice department does not typically get involved in many voting rights disputes, but when it does, courts listen.
“It’s not going to be easy. The courts have gotten considerably more conservative and hostile to voting rights claims. But the justice department has to be a player in this and it’ll be good to have them on the right side of voting rights cases again,” Bains said.


theguardian--2020-12-19--Trump wanted conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell as special counsel on voter fraud

Donald Trump pushed to have the lawyer and “ kraken ” conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell named as a special counsel to investigate supposed electoral fraud , as he grasps for straws to stay in power .
The development was first reported by the New York Times on Saturday , citing two anonymous sources .
The NYT said most presidential advisers including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani pushed back against the plan , which Trump floated at a meeting on Friday .
The Times also reported that Trump asked aides about the former national security adviser Michael Flynn ’ s suggestion of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in order to re-stage votes central to Joe Biden ’ s victory .
“ That was also shot down , ” the well-sourced reporter Maggie Haberman wrote , drily , on Twitter .
Trump pardoned Flynn , who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation , in November .
Biden ’ s victory has been certified by the electoral college and the Democrat leads in the popular vote by more than 7m ballots .
Nonetheless , Trump has refused to concede and claims without evidence that the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported this week that he had threatened not to leave the White House on inauguration day , 20 January .
“ He ’ s throwing a fucking temper tantrum , ” CNN quoted an unnamed adviser as saying .
“ He ’ s going to leave .
He ’ s just lashing out.
” But the same report cited an anonymous source as saying the atmosphere in the White House had “ turned crazy ” .
Trump ’ s legal team suffered more than 50 defeats in court cases over electoral fraud .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a month ago , after making bizarre claims including that voting software used in key states was created at the direction of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez , who died in 2013 .
She also promised to “ release the kraken ” , a reference to a terrible sea monster of myth and legend .
No kraken , legal or otherwise , was forthcoming .
The Times report about Trump ’ s wish to bring her back into the fold came shortly after the president played down Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US government and private companies had been carried out by Russia .
Powell “ was at the White House for a meeting that became raucous at times ” , the Times said .
“ Other administration officials drifted in and out … and the White House counsel , Pat Cipollone , pushed back on the ideas being proposed .
“ Ms Powell accused other Trump advisers of being quitters … but the idea that Mr Trump would try to install Ms Powell in a position to investigate the outcome sent shock waves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The paper also said Giuliani had “ separately pressed the Department of Homeland Security to seize possession of voting machines ” , but had been “ told the department does not have the authority to do such a thing ” .
On Twitter , Haberman added : “ The fact of the meeting – and Giuliani hope of seizing the voting machines – has alarmed some of the president ’ s advisers , who see his … refusal to accept the election results as in a dangerous new place .
”

Donald Trump pushed to have the lawyer and “kraken” conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell named as a special counsel to investigate supposed electoral fraud, as he grasps for straws to stay in power.
The development was first reported by the New York Times on Saturday, citing two anonymous sources. The NYT said most presidential advisers including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani pushed back against the plan, which Trump floated at a meeting on Friday.
The Times also reported that Trump asked aides about the former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s suggestion of deploying the US military to battleground states, in order to re-stage votes central to Joe Biden’s victory.
“That was also shot down,” the well-sourced reporter Maggie Haberman wrote, drily, on Twitter.
Trump pardoned Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation, in November.
Biden’s victory has been certified by the electoral college and the Democrat leads in the popular vote by more than 7m ballots. Nonetheless, Trump has refused to concede and claims without evidence that the election was rigged against him.
It was reported this week that he had threatened not to leave the White House on inauguration day, 20 January.
“He’s throwing a fucking temper tantrum,” CNN quoted an unnamed adviser as saying. “He’s going to leave. He’s just lashing out.”
But the same report cited an anonymous source as saying the atmosphere in the White House had “turned crazy”.
Trump’s legal team suffered more than 50 defeats in court cases over electoral fraud. Powell was cut from the team almost a month ago, after making bizarre claims including that voting software used in key states was created at the direction of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, who died in 2013.
She also promised to “release the kraken”, a reference to a terrible sea monster of myth and legend. No kraken, legal or otherwise, was forthcoming.
The Times report about Trump’s wish to bring her back into the fold came shortly after the president played down Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s admission that a vast hack against the US government and private companies had been carried out by Russia.
Powell “was at the White House for a meeting that became raucous at times”, the Times said. “Other administration officials drifted in and out … and the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, pushed back on the ideas being proposed.
“Ms Powell accused other Trump advisers of being quitters … but the idea that Mr Trump would try to install Ms Powell in a position to investigate the outcome sent shock waves through the president’s circle.”
The paper also said Giuliani had “separately pressed the Department of Homeland Security to seize possession of voting machines”, but had been “told the department does not have the authority to do such a thing”.
On Twitter, Haberman added: “The fact of the meeting – and Giuliani hope of seizing the voting machines – has alarmed some of the president’s advisers, who see his … refusal to accept the election results as in a dangerous new place.”


theguardian--2020-12-20--Trickle-down economics doesn't work but build-up does – is Biden listening? | Robert Reich

How should the huge financial costs of the pandemic be paid for , as well as the other deferred needs of society after this annus horribilis ?
Politicians rarely want to raise taxes on the rich .
Joe Biden promised to do so but a closely divided Congress is already balking .
That ’ s because they ’ ve bought into one of the most dangerous of all economic ideas : that economic growth requires the rich to become even richer .
Rubbish .
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith once dubbed it the “ horse and sparrow ” theory : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.
” We know it as trickle-down economics .
In a new study , David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King ’ s College London lay waste to the theory .
They reviewed data over the last half-century in advanced economies and found that tax cuts for the rich widened inequality without having any significant effect on jobs or growth .
Nothing trickled down .
Meanwhile , the rich have become far richer .
Since the start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billionaires have gained $ 1tn of wealth .
With this windfall they could send a $ 3,000 check to every person in America and still be as rich as they were before the pandemic .
Don ’ t hold your breath .
Stock markets have been hitting record highs .
More initial public stock offerings have been launched this year than in over two decades .
A wave of hi-tech IPOs has delivered gushers of money to Silicon Valley investors , founders and employees .
Oh , and tax rates are historically low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 20 million Americans are jobless , 8 million have fallen into poverty , 19 million are at risk of eviction and 26 million are going hungry .
Mainstream economists are already talking about a “ K-shaped ” recovery – the better-off reaping most gains while the bottom half continue to slide .
You don ’ t need a doctorate in ethical philosophy to think that now might be a good time to tax and redistribute some of the top ’ s riches to the hard-hit below .
The UK is already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The president-elect has rejected a wealth tax , but maybe he should be even more ambitious and seek to change economic thinking altogether .
The practical alternative to trickle-down economics might be called build-up economics .
Not only should the rich pay for today ’ s devastating crisis but they should also invest in the public ’ s long-term wellbeing .
The rich themselves would benefit from doing so , as would everyone else .
At one time , America ’ s major political parties were on the way to embodying these two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convention in 1896 , populist William Jennings Bryan noted : “ There are two ideas of government .
There are those who believe that , if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous , their prosperity will leak through on those below .
The Democratic idea , however , has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous , their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them.
” Build-up economics reached its zenith in the decades after the second world war , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tax rate of between 70 % and 90 % .
That revenue helped fund massive investment in infrastructure , education , health and basic research – creating the largest and most productive middle class the world had ever seen .
But starting in the 1980s , America retreated from public investment .
The result is crumbling infrastructure , inadequate schools , wildly dysfunctional healthcare and public health systems and a shrinking core of basic research .
Productivity has plummeted .
Yet we know public investment pays off .
Studies show an average return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ every public dollar invested , and a return on early childhood education of between 10 % and 16 % – with 80 % of the benefits going to the general public .
The Covid vaccine reveals the importance of investments in public health , and the pandemic shows how everyone ’ s health affects everyone else ’ s .
Yet 37 million Americans still have no health insurance .
A study in the Lancet estimates Medicare for All would prevent 68,000 unnecessary deaths each year , while saving money .
If we don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Green New Deal , we ’ ll spend trillions coping with ever more damaging hurricanes , wildfires , floods and rising sea levels .
The returns from these and other public investments are huge .
The costs of not making them are astronomical .
Trickle-down economics is a cruel hoax , while the benefits of build-up economics are real .
At this juncture , between a global pandemic and the promise of a post-pandemic world , and between the administrations of Trump and Biden , we would be well-served by changing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up .
• None Robert Reich , a former US secretary of labor , is professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Saving Capitalism : For the Many , Not the Few and The Common Good .
His new book , The System : Who Rigged It , How We Fix It , is out now .
He is a columnist for Guardian US

How should the huge financial costs of the pandemic be paid for, as well as the other deferred needs of society after this annus horribilis?
Politicians rarely want to raise taxes on the rich. Joe Biden promised to do so but a closely divided Congress is already balking.
That’s because they’ve bought into one of the most dangerous of all economic ideas: that economic growth requires the rich to become even richer. Rubbish.
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith once dubbed it the “horse and sparrow” theory: “If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.”
We know it as trickle-down economics.
In a new study, David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King’s College London lay waste to the theory. They reviewed data over the last half-century in advanced economies and found that tax cuts for the rich widened inequality without having any significant effect on jobs or growth. Nothing trickled down.
Meanwhile, the rich have become far richer. Since the start of the pandemic, just 651 American billionaires have gained $1tn of wealth. With this windfall they could send a $3,000 check to every person in America and still be as rich as they were before the pandemic. Don’t hold your breath.
You don’t need a doctorate in ethical philosophy to think that now might be a good time to redistribute some of riches
Stock markets have been hitting record highs. More initial public stock offerings have been launched this year than in over two decades. A wave of hi-tech IPOs has delivered gushers of money to Silicon Valley investors, founders and employees.
Oh, and tax rates are historically low.
Yet at the same time, more than 20 million Americans are jobless, 8 million have fallen into poverty, 19 million are at risk of eviction and 26 million are going hungry. Mainstream economists are already talking about a “K-shaped” recovery – the better-off reaping most gains while the bottom half continue to slide.
You don’t need a doctorate in ethical philosophy to think that now might be a good time to tax and redistribute some of the top’s riches to the hard-hit below. The UK is already considering an emergency tax on wealth.
The president-elect has rejected a wealth tax, but maybe he should be even more ambitious and seek to change economic thinking altogether.
The practical alternative to trickle-down economics might be called build-up economics. Not only should the rich pay for today’s devastating crisis but they should also invest in the public’s long-term wellbeing. The rich themselves would benefit from doing so, as would everyone else.
At one time, America’s major political parties were on the way to embodying these two theories. Speaking to the Democratic national convention in 1896, populist William Jennings Bryan noted: “There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them.”
Build-up economics reached its zenith in the decades after the second world war, when the richest Americans paid a marginal income tax rate of between 70% and 90%. That revenue helped fund massive investment in infrastructure, education, health and basic research – creating the largest and most productive middle class the world had ever seen.
But starting in the 1980s, America retreated from public investment. The result is crumbling infrastructure, inadequate schools, wildly dysfunctional healthcare and public health systems and a shrinking core of basic research. Productivity has plummeted.
Yet we know public investment pays off. Studies show an average return on infrastructure investment of $1.92 for every public dollar invested, and a return on early childhood education of between 10% and 16% – with 80% of the benefits going to the general public.
The Covid vaccine reveals the importance of investments in public health, and the pandemic shows how everyone’s health affects everyone else’s. Yet 37 million Americans still have no health insurance. A study in the Lancet estimates Medicare for All would prevent 68,000 unnecessary deaths each year, while saving money.
If we don’t launch something as bold as a Green New Deal, we’ll spend trillions coping with ever more damaging hurricanes, wildfires, floods and rising sea levels.
The returns from these and other public investments are huge. The costs of not making them are astronomical.
Trickle-down economics is a cruel hoax, while the benefits of build-up economics are real. At this juncture, between a global pandemic and the promise of a post-pandemic world, and between the administrations of Trump and Biden, we would be well-served by changing the economic paradigm from trickle down to build up.


theguardian--2020-12-21--'Help is on the way': Covid relief bill deal agreed, says Mitch McConnell

Top congressional leaders have announced agreement on a $ 900bn coronavirus aid package after late-night discussions on Sunday .
“ We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time : more help is on the way , ” said Republican Senate leader Mitch MCConnell .
“ Moments ago , in consultation with our committees , the four leaders of the Senate and House finalised a agreement fo another major rescue package for the American people.
” McConnell said lawmakers needed to “ promptly finalize text ” and avoid any last-minute obstacles .
Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ package should have enough support to pass both chambers of Congress .
“ Finally we have some good news to deliver to the American people , ” he said on the Senate floor .
Lawmakers said they had resolved disputes over the Federal Reserve ’ s pandemic lending authority , education funding and small-business lending .
“ I think it ’ s for the most part wrapped up , ” Republican Senator John Thune told reporters .
Congress aims to include the coronavirus aid package in a $ 1.4tn spending bill to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to pass it before a midnight Sunday deadline , the House granted a temporary funding extension to avoid a government shutdown .
Among the measures agreed were the expansion of payroll assistance to additional struggling local news outlets.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Schumer said the measure would expand eligibility “ for nonprofits and local newspapers , TV and radio broadcasters ” .
Thousands of local newspapers , TV and radio stations had been ineligible for the initial payroll protection program approved by Congress in March because they were owned by larger parent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Romney told CNN ’ s State of the Union : “ I believe there is going to be a deal .
There are always sticking points , but the big one was resolved last night … They ’ re working out some additional points but I think it ’ s going to get done .
It ’ ll get done before Christmas.
” Mark Warner , a Virginia Democrat , referred to a popular Dr Seuss character who “ stole ” Christmas when he told ABC ’ s This Week : “ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be the Grinch .
We ’ re going to get this package done.
” The coronavirus aid deal includes $ 600 direct payments to individuals and a $ 300 per week unemployment compensation supplement .
The second-largest economic stimulus in US history , following the $ 2.3tn Cares Act passed in March , it will be tied to a $ 1.4tn spending bill that funds government programs through September 2021 .
The House was due to meet at noon on Sunday in order to take up the bill .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pass , ” House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox Business .
“ I am very hopeful that we get this done today.
” Speaker Nancy Pelosi , the chamber ’ s top Democrat , told reporters she wanted to give members some time to review the package before calling a vote .
“ I think we ’ re close , we ’ re very close , ” Pelosi said .
“ But we want to have members have enough time to review it all.
” Donald Trump , whose administration has largely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter to complain .
“ Why isn ’ t Congress giving our people a Stimulus Bill ?
[ The pandemic ] wasn ’ t their fault , it was the fault of China , ” Trump wrote .
“ GET IT DONE , and give them more money in direct payments.
” Senator Pat Toomey , a Pennsylvania Republican , had insisted on language that would guarantee that the Fed could not revive emergency lending programs for small businesses and state and local governments after 31 December , when they expire under Cares @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans said the programs represented unnecessary government interference and politicized the Fed .
They accused Democrats of seeking to extend them as a way to provide unchecked funds for state and local governments controlled by their party .
Democrats accused the Republicans of trying to limit President-elect Joe Biden ’ s options for boosting the economy after he takes office on 20 January .
Toomey spokesman Steve Kelly said the senator ’ s agreement with Schumer “ rescinds more than $ 429bn in unused Cares Act funds ; definitively ends the Cares Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stops these facilities from being restarted ; and forbids them from being duplicated without congressional approval.
” A senior Democratic aide said Toomey had agreed to “ drop the broad language in his proposal that would have prevented the Fed chair from establishing similar facilities in the future ” .
The Senate adjourned a rare Saturday session with a call from Republican leader Mitch McConnell to avoid last-minute disagreements .
On Sunday , San Francisco Federal Reserve president Mary Daly told CBS ’ Face the Nation the package would provide much-needed relief for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the first coronavirus cases were documented in the US , Covid-19 has killed around 316,000 , by far the most in the world , and put millions out of work .
Economists say growth will likely remain sluggish until vaccines are widely available in mid- or late 2021 .
On Sunday , Warner told ABC : “ I was with Senator Schumer last night in his office until about 11pm .
I was glad to see that Senator Toomey accepted Senator Schumer ’ s offer on a compromise … We did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fed or treasury made any sense .
“ …I ’ m very proud that in many ways this package only came about because a bipartisan group of senators spent a month working hard , showing the American people that we can actually do things when we have such an amazing need .
“ So folks who are going to run out of unemployment the day after Christmas , or potentially get kicked out of their apartment , or those long lines at the food banks : help is on the way .
”

Top congressional leaders have announced agreement on a $900bn coronavirus aid package after late-night discussions on Sunday.
“We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time: more help is on the way,” said Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. “Moments ago, in consultation with our committees, the four leaders of the Senate and House finalised an agreement for another major rescue package for the American people.”
McConnell said lawmakers needed to “promptly finalize text” and avoid any last-minute obstacles.
Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said the package should have enough support to pass both chambers of Congress. “Finally we have some good news to deliver to the American people,” he said on the Senate floor.
Lawmakers said they had resolved disputes over the Federal Reserve’s pandemic lending authority, education funding and small-business lending. “I think it’s for the most part wrapped up,” Republican John Thune told reporters.
Congress aims to include the coronavirus aid package in a $1.4tn spending bill to keep federal funds flowing. With not enough time to pass it before a midnight Sunday deadline, the House granted a temporary funding extension to avoid a government shutdown .
Among the measures agreed were the expansion of payroll assistance to additional struggling local news outlets. House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Schumer said the measure would expand eligibility “for nonprofits and local newspapers, TV and radio broadcasters”. Thousands of local newspapers, TV and radio stations had been ineligible for the initial payroll protection program approved by Congress in March because they were owned by larger parent companies.
Earlier, Republican senator Mitt Romney told CNN’s State of the Union: “I believe there is going to be a deal. There are always sticking points, but the big one was resolved last night … They’re working out some additional points but I think it’s going to get done. It’ll get done before Christmas.”
Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, referred to a popular Dr Seuss character who “stole” Christmas when he told ABC’s This Week: “The great news is, Congress is not going to be the Grinch. We’re going to get this package done.”
The coronavirus aid deal includes $600 direct payments to individuals and a $300 per week unemployment compensation supplement. The second-largest economic stimulus in US history, following the $2.3tn Cares Act passed in March, it will be tied to a $1.4tn spending bill that funds government programs through September 2021.
The House was due to meet at noon on Sunday in order to take up the bill.
“I do have optimism that it’ll pass,” House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told Fox Business. “I am very hopeful that we get this done today.”
Nancy Pelosi, the chamber’s top Democrat, told reporters she wanted to give members some time to review the package before calling a vote.
“I think we’re close, we’re very close,” Pelosi said. “But we want to have members have enough time to review it all.”
Donald Trump, whose administration has largely left negotiations to congressional leaders, used Twitter to complain.
“Why isn’t Congress giving our people a Stimulus Bill? [The pandemic] wasn’t their fault, it was the fault of China,” Trump wrote. “GET IT DONE, and give them more money in direct payments.”
Senator Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, had insisted on language that would guarantee that the Fed could not revive emergency lending programs for small businesses and state and local governments after 31 December, when they expire under Cares Act relief legislation passed in March.
Republicans said the programs represented unnecessary government interference and politicized the Fed. They accused Democrats of seeking to extend them as a way to provide unchecked funds for state and local governments controlled by their party. Democrats accused the Republicans of trying to limit President-elect Joe Biden’s options for boosting the economy after he takes office on 20 January.
Toomey spokesman Steve Kelly said the senator’s agreement with Schumer “rescinds more than $429bn in unused Cares Act funds; definitively ends the Cares Act lending facilities by 31 December 2020; stops these facilities from being restarted; and forbids them from being duplicated without congressional approval.”
A senior Democratic aide said Toomey had agreed to “drop the broad language in his proposal that would have prevented the Fed chair from establishing similar facilities in the future”.
The Senate adjourned a rare Saturday session with a call from Republican leader Mitch McConnell to avoid last-minute disagreements.
On Sunday, San Francisco Federal Reserve president Mary Daly told CBS’ Face the Nation the package would provide much-needed relief for the economy.
“This support is unequivocally beneficial,” Daly said.
In the 11 months since the first coronavirus cases were documented in the US, Covid-19 has killed around 316,000, by far the most in the world, and put millions out of work. Economists say growth will likely remain sluggish until vaccines are widely available in mid- or late 2021.


theguardian--2020-12-20--Trump attempt to overturn election is 'nutty and loopy', Romney says

Donald Trump ’ s flirtation with declaring martial law in battleground states and appointing a conspiracy theorist as special counsel to help his attempt to overturn defeat by Joe Biden are “ really sad ” and “ nutty and loopy ” , Mitt Romney said on Sunday .
“ He ’ s leaving Washington with a whole series of conspiracy theories and things that are so nutty and loopy that people are shaking their head wondering what in the world has gotten into this man , ” the Utah Republican senator said .
Joe Biden won the 3 November election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leads by more than 7m ballots in the popular vote .
Nonetheless , Trump is entertaining outlandish schemes to remain in office , egged on by allies like former national security adviser Michael Flynn , who Trump pardoned for lying to the FBI , and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani , the president ’ s personal attorney .
During a Friday meeting at the White House first reported by the New York Times then widely reported elsewhere , Trump discussed security clearance for Sidney Powell , a conspiracy-spouting attorney who was cut @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was unclear if Trump would actually attempt to install Powell as a special counsel , a position appointed by the US attorney general , not the president .
Numerous Republicans , from outgoing attorney general William Barr to governors and state officials , have said repeatedly there is no evidence of the voter fraud Trump alleges .
“ It ’ s not going to happen , ” Romney told CNN .
“ That ’ s going nowhere .
And I understand the president is casting about trying to find some way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one that was delivered by the American people , but it ’ s really sad in a lot of respects and embarrassing .
“ Because the president could right now be writing the last chapter of this administration , with a victory lap with regards to the [ Covid-19 ] vaccine .
After all he pushed aggressively to get the vaccine developed and distributed , that ’ s happening on a quick timeframe .
He could be going out and championing this extraordinary success .
“ Instead … this last chapter suggests what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Trump ’ s campaign and allies have filed around 50 lawsuits alleging voting fraud – almost all have been dismissed .
Trump has lost before judges of both parties , including some he appointed , and some of the strongest rebukes have come from conservative Republicans .
The supreme court , which has a 6-3 conservative majority and three Trump appointees , has refused to take up cases .
During the Friday meeting , Giuliani pushed Trump to seize voting machines .
The Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) made clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so .
It is unclear what such a move could accomplish .
Barr told the Associated Press this month the Department of Justice and DHS had looked into claims voting machines “ were programmed essentially to skew the election results … and so far , we haven ’ t seen anything to substantiate that ” .
Paper ballots have been used to verify results , including in Georgia , which performed two audits of its vote tally , confirming Biden ’ s victory .
Flynn went yet further , suggesting Trump could impose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re-run the election .
Chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone voiced objections , people familiar with the Friday meeting told news outlets .
Trump , who spent much of the weekend tweeting and retweeting electoral fraud claims , responded on Twitter .
John Bolton , a successor to Flynn as national security adviser , told CNN the martial law idea was “ appalling ” and said Trump was “ incompetent ” .
Trump responded : “ What would Bolton , one of the dumbest people in Washington , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grip on the Republican party , seemingly guaranteeing challenges to the electoral college result in Congress on 6 January .
Such objections will be for political ends and will not in all likelihood succeed in overturning the election result .
Democrats hold the House and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he will knock down challenges in the Senate .
On Sunday , Trump called Georgia senator David Perdue – up for re-election in one of two crucial runoffs in January – “ a great guy and patriot ” for apparently planning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBC ’ s Meet the Press , Romney , who did better at the polls in his 2012 defeat by Barack Obama than Trump did in 2016 and 2020 , was asked if his party could ever escape Trump ’ s grip .
“ I believe the Republican party has changed pretty dramatically , ” he said .
“ And by that , I mean that the people who consider themselves Republican and voted for President Trump I think is a different cohort than the cohort that voted for me .
“ …You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running in 2024 , [ they are ] trying to see who can be the most like President Trump .
And that suggests that the party doesn ’ t want to take a different direction.
” Josh Hawley of Missouri , Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted Cruz of Texas are among senators thought likely to run to succeed Trump in the White House – should he not run himself – and therefore likely to challenge the electoral college result .
On Sunday , the website Axios reported that Trump has abandoned plans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before Biden is inaugurated , “ because it would show his base he ’ s given up his fight ” to overturn this year ’ s result .
“ I don ’ t think anyone who ’ s looking at running in 2024 has the kind of style and shtick that President Trump has , ” Romney said .
“ He has a unique and capable politician … But I think the direction you ’ re seeing is one that he set out .
“ I ’ d like to see a different @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my side is very small these days … I think we recognise that character actually does count .
”

Martin Pengelly in New York and agencies

Donald Trump’s flirtation with declaring martial law in battleground states and appointing a conspiracy theorist as special counsel to help his attempt to overturn defeat by Joe Biden are “really sad” and “nutty and loopy”, Mitt Romney said on Sunday.
“He’s leaving Washington with a whole series of conspiracy theories and things that are so nutty and loopy that people are shaking their head wondering what in the world has gotten into this man,” the Utah Republican senator said.
Joe Biden won the 3 November election by 306-232 in the electoral college and leads by more than 7m ballots in the popular vote. Nonetheless, Trump is entertaining outlandish schemes to remain in office, egged on by allies like former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who Trump pardoned for lying to the FBI, and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney.
During a Friday meeting at the White House first reported by the New York Times then widely reported elsewhere, Trump discussed security clearance for Sidney Powell, a conspiracy-spouting attorney who was cut from Trump’s campaign legal team.
It was unclear if Trump would actually attempt to install Powell as a special counsel, a position appointed by the US attorney general, not the president. Numerous Republicans, from outgoing attorney general William Barr to governors and state officials, have said repeatedly there is no evidence of the voter fraud Trump alleges.
“It’s not going to happen,” Romney told CNN. “That’s going nowhere. And I understand the president is casting about trying to find some way to have a different result than the one that was delivered by the American people, but it’s really sad in a lot of respects and embarrassing.
“Because the president could right now be writing the last chapter of this administration, with a victory lap with regards to the [Covid-19] vaccine. After all he pushed aggressively to get the vaccine developed and distributed, that’s happening on a quick timeframe. He could be going out and championing this extraordinary success.
“Instead … this last chapter suggests what he is going to be known for.”
Trump’s campaign and allies have filed around 50 lawsuits alleging voting fraud – almost all have been dismissed. Trump has lost before judges of both parties, including some he appointed, and some of the strongest rebukes have come from conservative Republicans. The supreme court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority and three Trump appointees, has refused to take up cases.
During the Friday meeting, Giuliani pushed Trump to seize voting machines. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made clear that it had no authority to do so. It is unclear what such a move could accomplish.
Barr told the Associated Press this month the Department of Justice and DHS had looked into claims voting machines “were programmed essentially to skew the election results … and so far, we haven’t seen anything to substantiate that”. Paper ballots have been used to verify results, including in Georgia, which performed two audits of its vote tally, confirming Biden’s victory.
Flynn went yet further, suggesting Trump could impose martial law and use the military to re-run the election. Chief of staff Mark Meadows and White House counsel Pat Cipollone voiced objections, people familiar with the Friday meeting told news outlets. Trump, who spent much of the weekend tweeting and retweeting electoral fraud claims, responded on Twitter.
“Martial law = Fake News,” he wrote. “Just more knowingly bad reporting!”
John Bolton, a successor to Flynn as national security adviser, told CNN the martial law idea was “appalling” and said Trump was “incompetent”. Trump responded: “What would Bolton, one of the dumbest people in Washington, know?”
Mitt Romney speaks to reporters at the US Capitol in Washington. Photograph: Erin Scott/Reuters
Trump maintains a secure grip on the Republican party, seemingly guaranteeing challenges to the electoral college result in Congress on 6 January. Such objections will be for political ends and will not in all likelihood succeed in overturning the election result. Democrats hold the House and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he will knock down challenges in the Senate.
On Sunday, Trump called Georgia senator David Perdue – up for re-election in one of two crucial runoffs in January – “a great guy and patriot” for apparently planning to lodge a challenge himself.
On NBC’s Meet the Press, Romney, who did better at the polls in his 2012 defeat by Barack Obama than Trump did in 2016 and 2020, was asked if his party could ever escape Trump’s grip.
“I believe the Republican party has changed pretty dramatically,” he said. “And by that, I mean that the people who consider themselves Republican and voted for President Trump I think is a different cohort than the cohort that voted for me.
“…You look at those that are thinking about running in 2024, [they are] trying to see who can be the most like President Trump. And that suggests that the party doesn’t want to take a different direction.”
Josh Hawley of Missouri, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Ted Cruz of Texas are among senators thought likely to run to succeed Trump in the White House – should he not run himself – and therefore likely to challenge the electoral college result.
On Sunday, the website Axios reported that Trump has abandoned plans to announce his own candidacy for 2024 before Biden is inaugurated, “because it would show his base he’s given up his fight” to overturn this year’s result.
“I don’t think anyone who’s looking at running in 2024 has the kind of style and shtick that President Trump has,” Romney said. “He has a unique and capable politician … But I think the direction you’re seeing is one that he set out.
“I’d like to see a different version of the Republican party. But my side is very small these days … I think we recognise that character actually does count.”


theguardian--2020-12-20--Fox News retracts Smartmatic voting machine fraud claim in staged video

Fox News has taken a further step back from Donald Trump ’ s baseless allegations of election fraud with a bizarre apparent legal retraction aired during shows hosted by some of the president ’ s most fervent supporters .
First broadcast on Fox Business on Friday , on Lou Dobbs Tonight , and repeated over the weekend on shows hosted by Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro , the segment was presented as a news interview with election technology expert Eddie Perez .
In the three-minute video , described as “ a closer look at claims about Smartmatic ” , Perez @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about a Florida company that provided voting systems for the November election .
Perez is asked questions such as “ Have you seen any evidence that Smartmatic software was used to flip votes anywhere in the US in this election ?
” and “ Have you seen any evidence of Smartmatic sending US votes to be tabulated in foreign countries ?
” He says he has not seen any such evidence .
Earlier this week , Antonio Mugica , chief executive of Smartmatic , sent legal notices to Fox News and two other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News Network ( OANN ) and Newsmax , assailing them for spreading “ false and defamatory claims ” in a “ disinformation campaign ” .
“ They have no evidence to support their attacks on Smartmatic because there is no evidence , ” Mugica said in a statement .
“ This campaign was designed to defame Smartmatic and undermine legitimately conducted elections.
” Trump lost the election to Joe Biden by 306-232 in the electoral college and trails by more than 7m ballots in the popular vote .
But his false claims of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and technology have received sympathetic hearings on the three rightwing networks .
The Fox News interview with Perez was described by a network source as “ a fact-checking segment aired in the same format ” as original reporting about Smartmatic .
Speaking to CNN , Perez said : “ My reaction was to observe , as many others have , how kind of strange and unique that particular way at presenting the facts was .
“ There was nothing in any of the preliminary conversations that I had with Fox News that gave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a matter of conversation .
It was never mentioned that this was going to be a discussion about Smartmatic or even claims about private vendors .
I was anticipating a broader discussion about the debate around the election [ and ] election integrity.
” Perez said Fox News ’ coverage of the election was “ speculative and not based in fact ” and conspiracy theories peddled by hosts were “ harmful to enhancing public confidence in the legitimacy of election outcomes ” .
“ I am not accustomed to seeing Lou Dobbs air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
A Fox News spokesperson declined comment .
Earlier , the network referred CNN back to the video .
Erik Connolly , an attorney for Smartmatic , said the company would not comment “ due to potential litigation ” .
In a statement to CNN , Newsmax denied making direct claims of impropriety against Smartmatic and said questions about the company and its software were based on “ legal documents or previously published reports ” .
“ As any major media outlet , ” Newsmax said , “ we provide a forum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the past we have welcomed Smartmatic and its representatives to counter such claims they believe to be inaccurate and will continue to do so .
”

Fox News has taken a further step back from Donald Trump’s baseless allegations of election fraud with a bizarre apparent legal retraction aired during shows hosted by some of the president’s most fervent supporters.
First broadcast on Fox Business on Friday, on Lou Dobbs Tonight, and repeated over the weekend on shows hosted by Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, the segment was presented as a news interview with election technology expert Eddie Perez.
In the three-minute video, described as “a closer look at claims about Smartmatic”, Perez answers questions posed by an unidentified interviewer about a Florida company that provided voting systems for the November election.
Perez is asked questions such as “Have you seen any evidence that Smartmatic software was used to flip votes anywhere in the US in this election?” and “Have you seen any evidence of Smartmatic sending US votes to be tabulated in foreign countries?”
He says he has not seen any such evidence.
This is very bizarre. Lou Dobbs ran a segment tonight basically debunking his own lies about Smartmatic voting machines pic.twitter.com/FDM91SPtT1 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 19, 2020
Earlier this week, Antonio Mugica, chief executive of Smartmatic, sent legal notices to Fox News and two other networks promoted by Trump, One America News Network (OANN) and Newsmax, assailing them for spreading “false and defamatory claims” in a “disinformation campaign”.
“They have no evidence to support their attacks on Smartmatic because there is no evidence,” Mugica said in a statement. “This campaign was designed to defame Smartmatic and undermine legitimately conducted elections.”
Trump lost the election to Joe Biden by 306-232 in the electoral college and trails by more than 7m ballots in the popular vote. But his false claims of voter fraud and irregularities in voting systems and technology have received sympathetic hearings on the three rightwing networks.
The Fox News interview with Perez was described by a network source as “a fact-checking segment aired in the same format” as original reporting about Smartmatic.
Speaking to CNN, Perez said: “My reaction was to observe, as many others have, how kind of strange and unique that particular way at presenting the facts was.
“There was nothing in any of the preliminary conversations that I had with Fox News that gave me any indication that Smartmatic would be a matter of conversation. It was never mentioned that this was going to be a discussion about Smartmatic or even claims about private vendors. I was anticipating a broader discussion about the debate around the election [and] election integrity.”
Perez said Fox News’ coverage of the election was “speculative and not based in fact” and conspiracy theories peddled by hosts were “harmful to enhancing public confidence in the legitimacy of election outcomes”.
“I am not accustomed to seeing Lou Dobbs air very straightforward factual evidence,” he said.
A Fox News spokesperson referred the Guardian to the segments aired. Earlier, the network referred CNN back to the video.
Erik Connolly, an attorney for Smartmatic, said the company would not comment “due to potential litigation”.
In a statement to CNN, Newsmax denied making direct claims of impropriety against Smartmatic and said questions about the company and its software were based on “legal documents or previously published reports”.
“As any major media outlet,” Newsmax said, “we provide a forum for public concerns and discussion. In the past we have welcomed Smartmatic and its representatives to counter such claims they believe to be inaccurate and will continue to do so.”


theguardian--2020-12-20--Death penalty kills belief that people can change | Letters

Austin Sarat writes powerfully about the Trump administration ’ s rush to execute federal prisoners ( Trump is spending the last days of his presidency on a literal killing spree , 15 December ) .
In the past weeks , it was Brandon Bernard and Alfred Bourgeois .
Next in line are Lisa Montgomery , Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs .
Joe Biden proposes to introduce legislation to abolish the federal death penalty .
This will take time and its success is not guaranteed .
But there is something he could do as soon as he takes office .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spare the lives of the 50 or so individuals who will remain on federal death row .
I estimate that it would take him four minutes to sign the required notices of commutation .
This would ensure that the trail of bodies Sarat describes could not grow any longer .
Is it too much to hope that Biden will set aside the time to do this during his first 100 days ?
It would be a magnificent gesture .
Prof Ian O ’ Donnell School of Law , University College Dublin • When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executed this month , he was a different man from the 18-year-old accessory to a double-murder ( Trump administration puts Brandon Bernard to death amid rushed series of executions , 11 December ) .
Spending two decades in solitary confinement changed him .
Brandon never had a single infraction on death row .
He did church youth outreach to help teens make better choices in life .
He taught me many life lessons .
To be open-hearted yet level-headed .
To remain calm and patient .
To be respectful and thoughtful and an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To live with a sense of optimism like one I ’ ve never witnessed .
I want to hate the sin , but forgive the sinner after a horrible mistake and two decades of regret and reform .
Martin Luther King Jr said “ violence begets violence ” and that holds true when the violence is committed by the government .
Brandon became a beautiful person .
When we killed Brandon , we killed the belief that one can change .
Jen Wasserstein Washington DC , US • It has long been my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ murder in the name of justice can not be deemed civilised .
Suellen Pedley Stanford in the Vale , Oxfordshire

Austin Sarat writes powerfully about the Trump administration’s rush to execute federal prisoners (Trump is spending the last days of his presidency on a literal killing spree, 15 December). In the past weeks, it was Brandon Bernard and Alfred Bourgeois. Next in line are Lisa Montgomery, Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs.
Joe Biden proposes to introduce legislation to abolish the federal death penalty. This will take time and its success is not guaranteed. But there is something he could do as soon as he takes office. This is to use his clemency power to spare the lives of the 50 or so individuals who will remain on federal death row. I estimate that it would take him four minutes to sign the required notices of commutation. This would ensure that the trail of bodies Sarat describes could not grow any longer.
Is it too much to hope that Biden will set aside the time to do this during his first 100 days? It would be a magnificent gesture.
Prof Ian O’Donnell
School of Law, University College Dublin
When my friend, Brandon Bernard, was executed this month, he was a different man from the 18-year-old accessory to a double-murder (Trump administration puts Brandon Bernard to death amid rushed series of executions, 11 December). Spending two decades in solitary confinement changed him. Brandon never had a single infraction on death row. He did church youth outreach to help teens make better choices in life.
He taught me many life lessons. To be open-hearted yet level-headed. To remain calm and patient. To be respectful and thoughtful and an attentive listener. To be kind. To live with a sense of optimism like one I’ve never witnessed. I want to hate the sin, but forgive the sinner after a horrible mistake and two decades of regret and reform. Martin Luther King Jr said “violence begets violence” and that holds true when the violence is committed by the government. Brandon became a beautiful person. When we killed Brandon, we killed the belief that one can change.
Jen Wasserstein
Washington DC, US