LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
December 16, 2020
Heather Cox Richardson
The reality that Joe Biden is about to become president and Kamala Harris is about to become vice president is sinking in across Washington, and today gave us some indications of what that’s going to mean.
Stories about what exactly happened in the Trump administration are coming out, and they are not pretty. Politics trumped everything for members of the administration, even our lives.
Today Representative James Clyburn (D-SC), who chairs the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, revealed documents from senior appointees in the Trump administration overriding the work of the career officials in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those documents show that the political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services called for dealing with the coronavirus crisis by pursuing a strategy of “herd immunity,” deliberately spreading the coronavirus to try to infect as many people as possible, with the theory that this approach would minimize the dangers of the pandemic. While doing so, they downplayed what they were doing, tried to hide the dangers of the virus, and blamed the career scientists who objected to this strategy for the rising death rates.
Although the White House has tried to distance itself from senior Health and Human Services Adviser Paul Alexander, last summer he was widely perceived to speak for his boss Michael Caputo, the Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs whom Trump had appointed, and for the White House itself. Alexander, a part-time university professor from Canada, defended Trump against scientists, accusing CDC Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat of lying when she provided accurate public information about the worsening pandemic. When she suggested everyone should wear a mask, he claimed: “her aim is to embarrass the President.” Alexander attacked Anthony Fauci for his attempts to protect Americans. “He just won’t stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” wrote Alexander on July 3, 2020 (yes, I counted the exclamation points); “does he think he is the President???”
Alexander advocated spreading the infection to younger Americans: “So the bottom line is if it is more infectiouness [sic] now, the issue is who cares? If it is causing more cases in young, my word is who cares…as long as we make sensible decisions, and protect the elderely [sic] and nursing homes, we must go on with life….who cares if we test more and get more positive tests.”
Alexander wrote to Caputo: “There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD.” On the same day, he wrote: “Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk….so we use them to develop herd…we want them infected…”
On July 24, he wrote to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Caputo: “it may be that it will be best if we open up and flood the zone and let the kids and young folk get infected” as a strategy to get “natural immunity…natural exposure,” an argument that illuminates Trump’s insistence this summer that schools and colleges must open.
But the idea that young people are safe from the virus is wrong. Today, an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that while Americans older than 65 have borne the brunt of the coronavirus, young adults are suffering terribly. From March through July, there were almost 12,000 more deaths than expected among adults from 25 to 44. Young Black and Hispanic Americans make up not just a disproportionate number of that group of victims; they are a majority. Those extraordinary death rates have continued. Younger adults are indeed endangered by the coronavirus; the idea it is harmless to them “has simply not been borne out by emerging data,” doctors Jeremy Samuel Faust, Harlan M. Krumholz, and Rochelle P. Walensky—Biden’s pick to run the CDC-- wrote in the New York Times today.
Another report today showcases two former CDC political appointees who are now speaking out to call attention to the silencing of career scientists at the agency. Kyle McGowan, a former chief of staff at the CDC, and his deputy Amanda Campbell watched as political appointees in Washington ignored scientists, censored doctors’ messages to the public, and cut the agency’s budget. “It was… like a hand grasping something, and it slowly closes, closes, closes, closes until you realize that, middle of the summer, it has a complete grasp on everything at the CDC,” McGowan told New York Times reporter Noah Weiland. “Every time that the science clashed with the messaging, messaging won.”
Politifact, the Pulitzer Prize winning fact-checking website from the Poynter Institute, named the downplaying and denial of the seriousness of coronavirus its “Lie of the Year.”
Today it became clear the administration dropped the ball in other important ways. We have more information now about the extensive computer hack that appears to have been conducted by operatives from the Russian government. It’s bad. Hackers placed malware on commercial network management software upgrades to gain access to government computers, along with those of major U.S. companies, as far back as last March. They have been able to root around in our secrets for months. Hackers accessed the Treasury and Commerce Departments, the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and parts of the Pentagon, among other targets. The intrusion was discovered on December 8, when the cybersecurity company FireEye realized it had been hacked and alerted the FBI.
Today the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), issued a joint statement acknowledging “a significant and ongoing cybersecurity campaign” and indicated they are not sure yet what has been hit. “This is a developing situation, and while we continue to work to understand the full extent of this campaign, we know this compromise has affected networks within the federal government.” It is clear the U.S. has been hit hard: Trump’s National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien has cut short an overseas trip to come home and deal with the crisis.
In the New York Times, Thomas P. Bossert, Trump’s former Homeland Security Adviser said, “the magnitude of this national security breach is hard to overstate.” He insisted the U.S. must call out Russia for this attack (assuming it is confirmed that that country is, indeed, behind the attack). “Trump must make it clear to Vladimir Putin that these actions are unacceptable. The U.S. military and intelligence community must be placed on increased alert; all elements of national power must be placed on the table.”
“President Trump is on the verge of leaving behind a federal government, and perhaps a large number of major industries, compromised by the Russian government. He must use whatever leverage he can muster to protect the United States and severely punish the Russians.”
The New York Times called this breach “among the greatest intelligence failures of modern times.” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called it “stunning.” “Today’s classified briefing on Russia’s cyberattack left me deeply alarmed, in fact downright scared. Americans deserve to know what’s going on,” he tweeted. Blumenthal also recognized the severity of the coronavirus early: he tweeted on February 25: “This morning’s classified coronavirus briefing should have been made fully open to the American people—they would be as appalled & astonished as I am by the inadequacy of preparedness & prevention.”
And yet, there are signs that the country is reorienting itself away from Trump and modern-day Republicanism.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, previously a staunch Trump supporter, has released an advertisement urging people to wear masks and admitting he was wrong not to wear one at the White House. It seems likely he is eyeing a future presidential run, and clearly is calculating that it is wise these days to distance himself from Trump’s anti-mask politics.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has refused to advance a coronavirus relief bill since the House passed one last May, seven months ago, is now trying to make a deal that includes direct payments to Americans hurt by the pandemic. He explained to Republicans today that Republican senate candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are running against Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia, are “getting hammered” because the people want the bill and the Senate is holding it up.
Finally, Bloomberg last night ran a story by journalist Craig Stirling highlighting the work of economists David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King’s College London, who examined the concept of “supply side economics,” or the “trickle down theory.” This is the economic theory popularized in the 1980s saying it’s best for the economy not to support wages at the bottom of the economy—the demand side—but rather to free up capital at the top—the supply side—because wealthy entrepreneurs will create new jobs and the resulting economic growth will help everyone. This idea has been behind the Republicans’ forty-year commitment to tax cuts for the wealthy.
In their study of 18 countries over 50 years, Hope and Limberg concluded that this theory was wrong. Tax cuts do not, they prove, trickle down. They do little to promote growth or create jobs. Instead, they mostly just help the people who get the tax cuts.
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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
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✧・*゚scottish surnames
→ link to my scottish female name masterlist
→ link to my scottish male name masterlist
under the cut are 733 scottish surnames. this masterlist was created for all in one breath rp at the request of lovely el, but feel free to link on your own sites! names are listed in alphabetical order. ❝mac❞, ❝mc❞ and ❝m❞ are split into three sections because i mean... look at them. please like♡ or reblog if you found this useful.
abbot(son), abercrombie, abernethy, adam(son), agnew, aikenhead, aitken, akins, allan(nach/son), anderson, (mac)andie, (mac)andrew, angus, annand, archbold/archibald, ard, aris, (mac)arthur
B
(mac)bain/bayne, baird, baker, balfour, bannatyne, bannerman, barron, baxter, beaton, beith, bell, bethune, beveridge, birse, bisset, bishop, black(ie), blain/blane, blair, blue, blyth, borthwick, bowie, boyd, boyle, braden, bradley, braithnoch, (mac)bratney, breck, bretnoch, brewster, (mac)bridan/brydan/bryden, brodie, brolochan, broun/brown, bruce, buchanan, budge, buglass, buie, buist, burnie, butter/buttar
C
caie, (mac)caig, (mac)cail, caird, cairnie, (mac)callan(ach), calbraith, (mac)callum, calvin, cambridge, cameron, campbell, canch, (mac)candlish, carberry, carmichael, carrocher, carter, cassie, (mac)caskie, catach, catto, cattenach, causland, chambers, chandlish, charleson, charteris, chisholm, christie, (mac)chrystal, (mac)clanachan/clenachan, clark/clerk, (mac)clean, cleland, clerie, (mac)clinton, cloud, cochrane, cockburn, coles, colinson, colquhoun, comish, comiskey, comyn, conn(an), cook, corbett, corkhill, (mac)cormack, coull, coulthard, (mac)cowan, cowley, crabbie, craig, crane, cranna, crawford/crawfurd, crerar, cretney, crockett, crosby, cruikshank, (mac)crum, cubbin, cullen, cumming, cunningham, currie, cuthbertson
D
dallas, dalglish, dalziel, darach/darroch, davidson, davie, day, deason, de lundin, dewar, dickin, dickson, docherty, dockter, doig, dollar, (mac)donald(son), donelson, donn, douglas, dorward, (mac)dow(all), dowell, (macil)downie, drain, drummond, (mc)duff(ie)/duff(y), duguid, dunnet, dunbar, duncan, dunn, durward, duthie
E, F
eggo, elphinstone, erskine, faed, (mac)farquhar(son), fee, fergus(on), (mac)ferries, fettes, fiddes, findlay, finn, finlayson, fisher, fishwick, fitzgerald, flanagan, fleming, fletcher, forbes, forrest, foulis/fowlis, fraser, fullarton, fulton, furgeson
G
gall(ie), galbraith, gammie, gardyne, (mac)garvie, gatt, gault, geddes, gellion, gibb(son), gilbert, gilbride, (mac)gilchrist, gilfillan, (mac)gill(ivray/ony), gillanders, gillespie, gillies, gilliland, gilmartin, gilmichael, gilmore, gilroy, gilzean, (mac)glashan, glass, gloag, glover, godfrey, gollach, gordon, (mac)gorrie, gourlay, gow, graeme/graham, grant, grassick, grassie, gray, gregg, (mac)gregor(y), greer, greig, grierson, grieve, grimmond, (mac)gruer, gunn, guthrie
H
hall, hamill, (mac)hardie/hardy, harper, harvie, hassan, hatton, hay, henderson, hendry, henry, hepburn, herron, hood, hosier, howie, hugston, huie, hume, humphrey, hunter, (mac)hutcheon, hutcheson
I, J, K
(mac)innes, irving, iverach, ivory, jamieson, jarvie, jeffrey(s), johnson, johnston, jorie, (mac)kay, (mac)kean, keenan, keillor, keir, keith, kelly, kelso, keogh, kemp, kennedy, (mac)kerr(acher), kesson, king, kynoch
L
laing, laird, (mac)laine/lane, lamond, lamont, landsborough, landsburgh, lang/laing, larnach, laurie/lawrie, lees, lennie, lennox, leslie, lindsay, little(son), lithgow, livingston(e), lobban, logan, lorne, lothian, lovat, love, loynachan, luke, luther
MAC-
mac ruaidhrí, mac somhairle, mac suibhne, macadam, macadie, macaffer, macainsh, macalasdair, macallister, macalonie, macalpine, macanroy, macara, macarthy, macaskill, macaskin, macaughtrie, macaulay, macauslan, macbean, macbeath, macbeth(ock), macbey, macbriden, macbryde, maccabe, maccadie, maccaffer, maccaffey/maccaffie, maccalman, maccambridge, maccann, maccance, maccartney, maccavity, maccaw, macdowell, maccheyne, maccodrum, maccomb(ie), maccorkindale, maccormick, maccoll, macconie, macconnachie, macconnell, maccoshin, maccoskrie, maccorquodale, macclaren, maccleary, macclew, maccloy, macclumpha, macclung, macclure, macclurg, maccraig, maccrain, maccreadie, maccrimmon, maccrindle, maccririe, maccrone, maccrosson, maccuaig, maccuidh, maccuish, macculloch, maccurley, macdermid/macdiarmid, macdougall, macdui, macduthy, maceachainn, maceachen, macelfrish, macewan/macewen, macfadyen, macfadzean, macfall, macfarlane/macpharlane, macfater/macphater, macfeat, macfee, macfigan, macgarrie, macgarva, macgeachen/macgeechan, macgeorge, macghie, macgibbon, macgillonie, macgiven, macglip, macgriogair, macgruther, macguire, macgurk, machaffie, macheth, machugh, macichan, macinnally, macindeoir, macindoe, macinesker, macinlay, macinroy, macintosh, macintyre, macisaac, maciver/macivor, macilherran, macilroy, macjarrow, mackail, mackeegan, mackeggie, mackellar, mackelvie, mackendrick, mackenna, mackenzie, mackerlich, mackerral, mackerron, mackerrow, mackessock, mackettrick, mackichan, mackie, mackilligan, mackillop, mackim(mie), mackinven, mackirdy/mackirdie, mackrycul, maclafferty, maclagan, maclarty, maclatchie/letchie, maclaverty, maclearnan, macleay, maclehose, macleish, maclellan(d), macleman, macleod, macleòid, maclintock, macllwraith, maclucas, macluckie, maclugash, macmann(us), macmaster, macmeeken, macmichael, macmillan, macminn, macmorrow, macmurchie, macmurdo, macmurray, macnab, macnair, macnally, macnaught(on), macnee, macneish/macnish, macnicol, macninder, macnucator, macpartland, macphail, macphatrick, macphee, macphedran, macpherson, macquarrie, macqueen, macquien, macquilken, macrae/machray, macraild, macrob(bie/bert), macrory, macrostie, macshane, macsherry, macsorley, macsporran, macsween, mactavish, mactear, macturk, macusbaig, macvannan, macvarish, macvaxter, macvean, macveigh/macvey, macvicar, macvitie, macvurich, macwalter, macwattie, macwhannell, macwhillan, macwhinnie
MC-
mccabe, mccain, mcclelland, mcclintock, mcconell, mccracken, mccune, mccurdy, mcdiarmid, mcelshender, mceuen, mcewing, mcfadden, mcgeachie/mcgeachy, mcgowan, mcilroy, mcinnis, mcivor, mckechnie, mckeown, mclarty, mclennan, mcneill(age/ie), mcowen, mcphee, mcpherson, mcwhirter
M
maduthy, magruder, mahaffie, main(s), mair, major, malcolm(son), malloch, manson, marr, marno(ch), (mac)martin, marquis, massie, matheson, mathewson, maver/mavor, maxwell, may, mearns, meechan, meiklejohn, meldrum, mellis(h), menzies, mercer, micklewain, milfrederick, millar/miller, milligan, milliken, milne, milroy, milvain, milwain, moannach, moat, moffat, mollinson, moncrief, monk, montgomery, moore, moray, morgan, (mac)morran, morrison, morrow, morton, mossman, mucklehose, muir(head), mulloy, munn, munro, (mac)murchie/murchy, murchison, murdoch, murphy
N, O, P, Q
nairn, naughton, navin, neeve, neil, neish, nelson, ness, nevin, nicalasdair, niceachainn, (mac)nichol(son), nicleòid, (mac)niven, noble, ochiltree, ogg, ogilvy, o'kean, oliver, omay/omey, orchard(son), orr, osborne, park, paterson, patrick, patten, peacock, peat, peters, philp, polson, power, purcell, purser, qualtrough, quayle, quillan, quiller, quinn, quirk
R, S
(mac)ranald(son), randall, rankin, reid, reoch, revie, riach, (mac)ritchie, roberts(on), rose, ross, rothes, roy, ryrie, salmon(d), scott, selkirk, sellar, shannon, sharpe, shaw, sheen, shiach, sillars, sim(son/pson), sinclair, skene, skinner, sloan, smith, somerville, soutar/souter, stein, stenhouse, stewart/stuart, strachan, stronach, sutherland, (mac)swan(son/ston), swinton
T, U, V, W, Y
taggart, tallach, tawse, taylor, thom(son), todd, tolmie, tosh, tough, tulloch, turner, tyre, ulrick, urquhart, vass, wallace, walker, walsh, warnock, warren, ward, watt, watson, wayne, weir, welsh, whiston, whyte, wilkins(on), (mac)william(son), wilson, winning, wright, young
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Neil Warnock called Mohamed Salah diver… but is the Liverpool star guilty?
Neil Warnock accused Mohamed Salah or diving to win a penalty against Cardiff on Sunday after the Liverpool star was involved in yet another controversial incident.
Bluebirds defender Sean Morrison made plenty of contact with the Egyptian, but it was Salah's fall to the peat which left Warnock claiming he had done a '9.9 Tom Daley job 'and that he didn't think he' could have gotten much higher off the diving board.
It's not the first time last year's PFA Player of the Year has been criticized for going down too easily, but is there any truth to the accusations? Sportsmail takes a closer look at Salah's contentious moments this season.
Neil Warnock accused Mohamed Salah of diving after this incident with Sean Morrison
CARDIFF 0-2 LIVERPOOL, APRIL 21, 2019
The latest controversy to surround Salah arrived in South Wales on Sunday afternoon as he wrestled with Morrison inside the Cardiff area late in the game.
The former Reading defender used his arms to try stop Salah from getting one-on-one with goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, at one point just wrapping them both around Jurgen Klopp's star man.
Martin Atkinson awarded Liverpool a penalty, but only after Salah had gone down with what Warnock claimed was an exaggerated fall to get the referee's attention.
Verdict: Foul
Morrison wraps one arm around Salah as the Liverpool forward bursts into Cardiff's box
Cardiff defender Morrison can be seen with both arms around Salah as he tries to stop him
Salah eventually went down and won a penalty after intermittent with Morrison for a few seconds
LIVERPOOL 2-0 CHELSEA, APRIL 14, 2019
Social media exploded after Salah appeared to go down without any contact during Liverpool's recent victory over Chelsea at Anfield.
David Luiz stuck out his right leg as Salah burst into the box, but missed both the ball and the man. The Egyptian, however, threw himself to the ground, unsuccessfully trying to win a penalty.
One Twitter user wrote: "As a massive Liverpool fan it sickens me to see a man with Salah's talent diving to get the upper hand."
Verdict: No foul
Liverpool winger Salah went to ground in the 14th minute against Chelsea earlier this month
David Luiz challenged for the ball but did not appear to make contact with the Egypt star
Salah threw himself down but was not awarded a penalty and did not get booked for diving
LIVERPOOL 4-0 NEWCASTLE, DECEMBER 26, 2019
Liverpool stuck four fits Newcastle on Boxing Day in a comfortable victory, but it was their second goal of the game which left Rafa Benitez's men fuming.
Salah drove into the box and appeared to be lightly grabbed on the arm by Paul Dummett, but it was still enough to take him off is feet and send him tumbling.
Despite minimal contact, referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot and Salah stepped up to convert from 12 yards.
Verdict: No foul
Newcastle defender Paul Dummett grabs Salah by the left arm as he weaves into the box
The Liverpool star appears to make the most of the contact to win his side a penalty
LIVERPOOL 5-1 ARSENAL, DECEMBER 29, 2019
This incident mattered little in the grand scheme of things, but it did manage to spark angry confrontations between both teams in the Anfield tunnel.
Salah sprinted into the box and beyond Sokratis Papastathopoulos before going down after a clumsy challenge from behind by the big defender.
Replays appeared to show that the contact was minimal and that the Liverpool man may have simply lost his balance.
Verdict: No foul
Salah takes a tumble inside Arsenal's box after a challenge from Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Sokratis unsuccessfully appeals after the referee awarded Liverpool a penalty at Anfield
BRIGHTON 0-1 LIVERPOOL, JANUARY 12, 2019
After a difficult first half on the south coast, Salah was involved in the game's pivotal moment five minutes into the second period.
Having got in front of Pascal Gross, the former Roma man initially appeared to shrug off the German before
The referee awarded a penalty and Salah made no mistake from the spot to earn Klopp's men a narrow win.
Verdict: Foul
Salah falls flat on his back after middling with Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross in January
The Egyptian was awarded a penalty and stepped up to convert it as Liverpool won 1-0
LIVERPOOL 4-3 CRYSTAL PALACE, JANUARY 19, 2019
Salah had his appeal for a penalty turned down during Liverpool's thrilling win over Crystal Palace in January- and rightly so.
Mamadou Sakho placed an arm on the 26 -year-old's back as he kept him facing away from Palace's goal, but there was minimal contact before Salah went flat down on his back.
The Frenchman, who also swung a leg at the ball, was left furious after the incident, gesturing that Salah had dived to try and con the referee.
Verdict: No foul
Salah finds himself under pressure from Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho in the box
The Liverpool star hits the peat after a clumsy attempt to win the ball from the Frenchman
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