Proud? Or just loud?

Who are the Proud Boys? The group that identifies as "western chauvinists" was delighted to get a shout-out at Tuesday's presidential debate. After President Trump resisted condemning white supremacists, telling them to "stand back and stand by," the group quickly added the phrase to its online logo. In recent months, Proud Boys, many of whom hold extreme racist views, have patrolled city streets and held demonstrations to counter what they claim is violence from anti-fascist extremists. But the FBI and law enforcement say the group frequently provokes violence, and the president's comments will only embolden them further. "When you hear the President of the United States saying things like that ... that type of signaling to be ready for violent clashes does nothing but empower hate groups," said Charlottesville Police Chief Dr. Rashall Brackney. —CBS News

• — A weak response. Some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, sought to distance themselves from Trump's remarks yesterday and urged him to clearly denounce white supremacy. Sen. Tim Scott, the chamber's only Black Republican, said in a statement, "White supremacy should be denounced at every turn. I think he misspoke, I think he should correct it. If he doesn't correct it, I guess he didn't misspeak." The criticism led Trump to offer a lukewarm retreat from his comments. —The New York Times
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• — A Proud Boy arrest. A member of the group, Alan Swinney, was arrested in Oregon the morning after the debate. Swinney, who pointed a gun at demonstrators in downtown Portland in August, was charged with assault, unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful use of tear gas, stun gun, or mace, as well as for pointing a firearm at another person. —Independent
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• — And it's not just the Proud Boys. Another such group, the Oath Keepers, has drawn in thousands of members from the military and law-enforcement communities. Stewart Rhodes, who has been talking about civil war since he founded the group in 2009, once cast himself as a revolutionary. Now, he sees his role as defending Trump from what he calls an "insurrection" designed to undermine him. —The Atlantic

Allen: American democracy on the edge

"Both candidates must loudly and unambiguously disavow politically motivated violence, and that includes preventing supporters from descending on the polls to provide vigilante 'security' of our electoral process. Any refusal to endorse this basic protection of American lives and the sanctity of our democracy should be understood as a willingness to condone violence and de facto mob rule." —The Brookings Institution

Ed. Note: John Allen is the president of the Brookings Institution.

MORE: They wanted disruption in 2016. Now they're Trump defectors. Here's why —Associated Press

Comey defends Russia investigation

Seeking to rewrite the narrative of the Russia investigation ahead of Election Day, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled former FBI Director James Comey for hours yesterday. They drew on mistakes made when the FBI applied for permission to wiretap former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to renew claims that Comey and his agents acted with political bias against President Trump.

• — Comey rejected their view, pointing to the findings of a review by the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, who concluded there was no evidence that the errors stemmed from political bias. "In the main, it was done by the book, it was appropriate, and it was essential that it be done," Comey said. —The New York Times
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• — Contradicting Trump. Comey also testified that former Vice President Joe Biden never suggested prosecuting former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn under the Logan Act, as Trump claimed during Tuesday's debate. Trump and Flynn have asserted that Biden raised Logan Act prosecution of Flynn during an Oval Office meeting with former President Barack Obama, Comey, and other senior national security officials in January 2017. —Politico
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• — Mueller speaks. Also defending the Russia investigation this week was former Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He pushed back against criticism from one of his former prosecutors, Andrew Weissmann, who writes in his book, "Where the Law Ends," that Mueller and his top deputy, Aaron Zebley, were too timid in their approach to the probe. "When important decisions had to be made, I made them. I did so as I have always done, without any interest in currying favor or fear of the consequences. I stand by those decisions and by the conclusions of our investigation," Mueller said. —NBC News

The pandemic and the travel industry

Without a bailout deal from Congress, U.S. airlines are just hours away from furloughing tens of thousands of employees, as the travel industry has been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. And it's no surprise. The ease and expansion of global travel are a big reason why "super spreader" events early in the pandemic helped accelerate its spread around the world. They also revealed a blind spot: The world's pandemic alert system depends on political leaders to sound the alarm—and when financial ruin is the potential cost, they are very often hesitant to report an outbreak or take the steps necessary to contain it. —The New York Times

• — Super-spreader Saturday? Local officials are urging President Trump and his supporters to reconsider two back-to-back rallies planned for Saturday in Wisconsin, which is currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Trump is scheduled to stop in La Crosse and Green Bay in the key swing state, and so far, his campaign hasn't signaled any intention of canceling. Attendees will have their temperatures checked prior to admission and receive a mask, though they are not required to wear it. —Green Bay Press Gazette
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• — A lopsided recession. The economic collapse sparked by the pandemic is triggering the most unequal recession in modern U.S. history, delivering a mild setback for those at or near the top and a depression-like blow for those at the bottom. Unemployment numbers released by the Labor Department today show that 837,000 Americans sought benefits last week. —The Washington Post
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• — Overruled. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was overruled in the White House Situation Room yesterday, when he pushed to extend a "no-sail order" on passenger cruises into next year. Instead of extending the ban until February 2021, which White House officials said was "unreasonable," the administration will end the ban on Oct. 31. Ahoy. —Axios

MORE: How America lost 200,000 lives to COVID-19 —The New York Times

Mukherjee: Global health is national security

"For too long, many have believed that outsized military might would guarantee U.S. national security. But COVID-19 demonstrates that national security—the security of everyday men, women, and children, of small business, of schools, of the food supply, of livelihoods—relies on health. And health in the U.S. is inextricably linked to the health of everyone around the world." —Just Security

Ed. Note: Joia Mukherjee is chief medical officer of Partners In Health, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and is on the faculty at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda.

'Bad things happen in Philadelphia'

If you watched the presidential debate on Tuesday evening, you probably caught when President Trump said toward the end, "Today there was a big problem. In Philadelphia they went in to watch. They're called poll watchers. A very safe, very nice thing. They were thrown out. They weren't allowed to watch. You know why? Because bad things happen in Philadelphia, bad things." Earlier in the day, he tweeted something similar. What was it about? A false claim that poll watchers had been blocked from observing the first day of in-person early voting in Philadelphia.

• — Now for the reality. The Trump campaign has no poll watchers approved to work in Philadelphia at the moment. There are no actual polling places open in the city right now. And elections officials are following coronavirus safety regulations, such as those limiting the number of people indoors.
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  — It's true that voters were casting ballots on Tuesday, but the locations where they were doing so are satellite elections offices, where mail ballots can be requested, completed, and submitted. Poll watchers don't have the same rights at such locations as they do at traditional polling places on Election Day, officials said.
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• — But there is one problem in Philly... A laptop and several memory sticks used to program the city's voting machines were stolen from a warehouse, officials confirmed yesterday, setting off a scramble to investigate and to ensure the machines had not been compromised. City officials say the theft will not impact voting on Nov. 3. —The Philadelphia Inquirer

Friedman: Where there is no truth, there is no democracy

"Without shared facts on which to make decisions, there can be no solutions to our biggest challenges. And without a modicum of trust that both sides want to preserve and enhance the common good, it is impossible to accomplish anything big. ... The institutions we have relied upon to be outside the game of politics so as to adjudicate what is right and true—scientists, certain news media, the courts—have become so ensnared by politics that fewer and fewer of them are universally trusted to define and pursue the common good. Even mask-wearing has become partisan. You cannot sustain a healthy democracy under such conditions." —The New York Times

MORE: Wood: Only about 3.5% of Americans care about democracy —The Atlantic

'We rise by lifting others'

The stars aligned earlier this month when five female firefighters were each scheduled to work at Palm Beach Gardens Fire and Rescue in South Florida at the same time. The women made history as the first all-female fire crew in the department's 57-year existence.

• — The firefighters, who range in age from 29 to 53, have nearly 80 years of firefighting and EMT experience among them, but they had never worked a shift together before.
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• — The all-female shift occurred on Sept. 18, the day Supreme Court justice and women's rights advocate Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. The symbolism was not lost on the firefighters.
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• — "That day, every rank was filled with a female, which was awesome, I'm not going to lie," said Krystyna Krakowski, a lieutenant with nearly 20 years of experience. "I was giddy like a little girl. I still am. It's girl power—we build each other up, and we rise by lifting others." —NBC News

Go to Lindsey Graham's campaign site and sign up. You will soon receive several e-mails every day, each more pathetic than the last. 

And be prepared to feel a little sad, even sorry. But only a little. 

Lindsey Graham was once a respected voice in the Senate, politely and articulately presenting the conservative viewpoint in a courtly and dignified manner. 

And his statements about Joe Biden, and Donald Trump, in 2016 showed him to be an astute judge of the human condition. 

But to receive several daily e-mails from him, flailing against everything Democratic, begging for money like a single mother who needs to pay the rent to keep her children from becoming homeless, makes you wonder how much better his life might have been if only Donald Trump had not become president. 

Any other Republican...Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio...would have pursued policies he could have endorsed without embarrassment or shame. Even a President Hillary or Biden would have permitted him to behave as a dignified member of the opposition. 

Lindsey Graham has no wife, no husband, no children, perhaps not even a dog. His Senate seat is everything. And now he will possibly lose it in the service of a man who has demeaned him so cruelly and publicly. 

It is as if Trump is the mean high school student who taped a 'kick me' sign on the back of Lindsey Graham's shirt, yet he still sought out his approval and friendship. 

Go to his website. And be prepared to feel sad. But not too much. —Jim V., New York

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