Parents, educators, and government officials scramble to come up with a plan

In a disappointing decision, the Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on the battle over voting rights for ex-felons in Florida. An amendment that a majority of Floridians approved at the ballot box—to allow felons who have completed their sentences to vote—will now remain hampered by tacked-on legislation requiring all outstanding legal fees and fines to be paid in full first. This rule disproportionately targets people of color and disenfranchises the poor—and crucially, it’s not what the people of Florida expressly stipulated with their votes. —Mindy Finn
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** 1. 'The science should not stand in the way'
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At a press conference yesterday, White House Press Sec. Kayleigh McEnany emphasized that President Trump "has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open. And when he says open, he means open in full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school." And while she says the pandemic science is on his side, some educators aren't so sure. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, says the president's insistence is creating fear among both parents and educators. "You have to have a plan that embeds safety, and the resources to do this," she said. —The Guardian ([link removed])
* — Close the red zone. Despite the administration's push to reopen states and schools, an unpublished document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommends that 18 states in the coronavirus "red zone" should roll back reopening measures. The "red zone" is defined as regions with new cases above 100 per 100,000 population, and a test positivity rate above 10%. —CNN ([link removed])
*
* — Kemp ups the ante. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta's City Council and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over the city's face mask requirement. "Public health experts overwhelmingly agree that wearing a face-covering helps slow the spread of this sometimes deadly virus," Bottoms said, adding, "It's a simple thing to do." —NPR ([link removed])
*
* — Living in denial. Texas Republicans from eight different counties called an emergency meeting to censure Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, for his order requiring face masks in public and other precautions to help the state combat its coronavirus outbreak. —The Hill ([link removed])

MORE: COVID data from hospitals is now going to Washington instead of the CDC. An epidemiologist explains why that's a problem —CNN ([link removed])


** 2. Hogan: How the president left us vulnerable
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"It was jarring, the huge contrast between the experts' warnings and the president's public dismissals. Weren’t these the people the White House was consulting about the virus? What made the [National Governors Association] briefing even more chilling was its clear, factual tone. It was a harrowing warning of an imminent national threat, and we took it seriously—at least most of us did. It was enough to convince almost all the governors that this epidemic was going to be worse than most people realized." —The Washington Post ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Larry Hogan is the Republican governor of Maryland and the chair of the National Governors Association.


** 3. What's happening in Portland?
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Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland, Ore., and detain protesters since at least July 14 ([link removed]) — ([link removed]) while providing detainees with no explanation as to why they are being arrested. The frightening tactic is another escalation of federal officials' plan to "quell" protests against police brutality outside the federal courthouse and Multnomah Co. Justice Center in the city. ([link removed])
* — Federal officers have charged at least 13 people with crimes related to the protests so far, while others have been arrested and released. One demonstrator was hospitalized with skull fractures after being shot in the face with "less lethal" munitions. ([link removed])
*
* — Officers from the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and Customs and Border Protection's BORTAC were sent to Portland to protect federal property, but they also appear to be detaining people who aren’t near federal property or engaging in any criminal activity. —Oregon Public Broadcasting ([link removed])


** 4. Ngoenha: End the war on legal immigration
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"As the country is distracted by the piecemeal restrictions on immigrants wrapped in the veneer of pandemic precautions, the administration has been methodically dismantling our legal immigration system, and White House adviser Stephen Miller admitted as much in a call with supporters. All of these latest directives follow the executive branch pattern of using procedural strategies to continue to restrict legal immigration." —The Hill ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Erica Ngoenha is the director of presidential fellows and public affairs at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

MORE: Judge agrees to extend deadline for releasing children from immigration custody —CNN ([link removed])


** 5. Twitter hack is an election wake-up call
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The brazen hack of the Twitter accounts of high-profile politicians, businesspeople, and celebrities on Wednesday—and Twitter's chaotic response—has prompted serious concern among cybersecurity experts that social media sites can't adequately secure their operations, even as they become increasingly important sources of election news and information. With disinformation already a major worry, the Twitter hack means social media users should now be even more wary about what they read online. —CNET ([link removed])
* — The FBI has opened an investigation into the hacking, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered an investigation by the state's Department of Financial Services. Sen. Roger Wicker, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has asked the company to brief his committee staff on the breach by July 23. —NPR ([link removed])
*
* — "What happened...should be a red flag in terms of the huge amounts of disinformation that are already rife in this election, and it's only going to get worse," said Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, a non-profit focused on political reforms. "When you’re going after presidential candidates and the richest [people] in the world, it's a display of their vulnerability." —Bloomberg ([link removed])

MORE: UK 'almost certain' that Russia tried to interfere in 2019 election —Forbes ([link removed])
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** 6. Weiss: China's self-defeating nationalism
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"Policymakers seeking a more effective strategy for both competing and cooperating with China should recognize the limits of China's international appeal—as well as the dangers of the United States' own nationalist fervor. Whether in China or in the United States, nationalism is more likely to repel than attract—whether it comes in the form of wolf warrior diplomacy or 'America first' rhetoric." —Foreign Affairs ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Jessica Chen Weiss is an associate professor of government at Cornell University and the author of "Powerful Patriots: Nationalist Protest in China's Foreign Relations."

MORE: US weighs sweeping travel ban on Chinese Communist Party members —The New York Times ([link removed])


** 7. SCOTUS is no help in Florida
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The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to overturn a lower court's decision to keep hundreds of thousands of ex-felons in Florida from joining the state's voter rolls ahead of this year's elections. Critics of the decision say it means the state will continue to assess what amounts to a poll tax—against the expressed wishes of Florida voters. ([link removed])
* — Nearly 65% of Floridians approved Amendment 4 in 2018, allowing felons who had served their sentences to vote. Gov. Ron DeSantis urged the state's Republican-controlled legislature to pass a law requiring that they first pay off all court fees, fines, and restitution to victims before voting. ([link removed])
*
* — The Supreme Court's punt sends the case to a federal appellate panel, which will hear arguments in full on Aug. 18, the same day as Florida’s primary election. —Tampa Bay Times ([link removed])


** 8. This week in Trump
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Donald Trump's re-election campaign has been a boon for his businesses ([link removed]) — ([link removed]) even during the coronavirus pandemic. Federal Election Commission filings show that the Trump Victory political action committee paid more than $370,000 to Trump Hotels between March 12 and April 1. Additional payments made earlier in March, before the official pandemic declaration, bring the total for the reporting period past $400,000. —Newsweek ([link removed])
* — Mary Trump, the president's niece and author of the book "Too Much and Never Enough," told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow last night that she had witnessed her uncle use the N-word and anti-Semitic slurs. "Of course I did," she said. "And I don't think that should surprise anybody given how virulently racist he is today." —Business Insider ([link removed])

* — Trump campaign adviser Jenna Ellis recently appeared on the Russian government-funded TV network RT to bash American media as "propagandist activist media." She also accused Fox News of having an anti-Trump bias. —The Daily Beast ([link removed])

MORE: Trump lawyer, prosecutor spar over future of tax returns subpoena case —Politico ([link removed])


** 9. McKew: History over revisionism
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"American history is as much about analyzing how we got things wrong and then doing better—and understanding that getting things wrong has to be about eventually getting them right—as it is about any foundational exceptionalism that sets us apart in history. I mention this because understanding history does not need to be a partisan pursuit. This nation is our shared project. It can only continue to be so if we share truths about the past and the present alike." — ([link removed]) Stand Up Republic ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Molly McKew served as an adviser to then-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili from 2009 to 2013. She is an expert in information warfare, specializing in U.S.-Russia relations.

MORE: Pentagon bans Confederate flag in way to avoid Trump's wrath —Associated Press ([link removed])


** 10. An American Story: Volunteers help Latino community
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Liz Villegas, a nonprofit worker and volunteer in Cache County, Utah, created a grassroots movement to help the predominantly Latino community that worked at a local meatpacking plant affected by the coronavirus. ([link removed])
* — Crescencio Lopez, a respected figure in the Latino community along with Villegas, orchestrated a decentralized network of donation drop-off locations throughout the county. Multiple churches joined the grassroots effort. ([link removed])

* — The nonprofit gathered and distributed food, cleaning, and household supplies for affected families. They have managed to create a web of volunteers and organizations that are ready to keep helping now, as case numbers continue to increase. ([link removed])
*
* — "In such hard times," Villegas said, "we were able to see such beauty come out of it." —The Washington Post ([link removed])

Ed. Note: Would you like to suggest "An American Story" from your local news? If so, please forward a link to the story to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Thank you!
I live in Arizona, and our governor said at the start that he didn't need to do much with the virus at the state level. That the people of Arizona were smart and would do the right thing. For the record, I had been a Republican prior to DJT in the White House (now Independent), but had supported Gov. Ducey, believing he was smart and a leader. I was wrong. You need action based on facts and science, not politics. He chose Trump over reality. Like Kemp. Needless to say, my state has become a disaster. And Georgia will be for the same reasons. —Bill T., Arizona
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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