Senate passes budget blueprint

The Senate took a major step today toward enacting a vast expansion of the nation's social safety net, approving a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that would tackle climate change and fund healthcare, child care, family leave, and public education expansion, while increasing taxes on wealthy people and corporations. All Republicans voted against the measure, which they have denounced as a launchpad for a wave of spending that could ruin the country's finances and its economy.

• — After bipartisan approval of a $1 trillion infrastructure package yesterday, today's party-line vote allows Senate Democrats to create an expansive package that will carry the remainder of President Biden's $4 trillion economic agenda. As a budget vote, it was protected from a Republican filibuster and allowed to pass with a simple majority.
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• — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had said that the chamber would not take up the infrastructure bill until the Senate approved the budget blueprint, now takes the spotlight. Representatives have been called back early from recess on Aug. 23 so committees in both chambers can begin fleshing out what would be the greatest change to social welfare since the 1960s' Great Society.
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• — However, a single Democratic defection would doom the effort, so the party's progressive and moderate wings will have to hold together against united Republican opposition. That's not guaranteed. Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have already indicated that they voted for the blueprint to keep the process moving, but may not ultimately support the legislation. —The New York Times

Taliban gains more ground

Taliban advances in Afghanistan are feeding tensions between the Afghan government and the Biden Administration, as they blame each other for the militants' seizing control of eight of the country's 34 provincial capitals. Afghan forces have come under siege by Taliban fighters since U.S. and NATO forces began pulling out troops, aircraft, and heavy weapons from strategic locations they occupied for 20 years. However, the Afghan government made the decision to surrender the countryside to the militants, concentrating forces and resources to defending economic and political hubs. President Biden criticized Afghanistan's leadership yesterday, saying, "Look, we spent over a trillion dollars over 20 years. We trained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 Afghan forces. And Afghan leaders have to come together." —TIME

MORE: Unnerved by Taliban gains, Central Asia boosts ties with Russia and China —World Politics Review

Burleigh: A dangerous variant of populism

"Most of the geopolitical threats, real or confected, that capture headlines in the West nowadays are exogenous—emanating from China, Russia, Iran, and so forth. But others lie within the world's democracies. Among these are the Republican Party's embrace of Trumpian authoritarianism, which is eroding the country's democracy, and the possibility that new unanticipated variants of populism will take hold around the world. One new variant of populism might involve hostility toward both costly green policies and vaccination against COVID-19. And it would be driven by a combination of genuine concerns about pocketbook issues and the kinds of conspiratorial lunacy that thrive on the internet." —Michael Burleigh on Project Syndicate

Michael Burleigh is a senior fellow at LSE Ideas and the author of "Populism: Before and After the Pandemic."

MORE: Wildfires rage globally as IPCC report warns of climate change catastrophe —Axios

Will Weisselberg sing?

He may have good reason to. New York federal prosecutors came to suspect that Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, lied in testimony during their prior investigation of Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former attorney. Despite their suspicions, federal prosecutors did not pursue perjury charges against Weisselberg, to whom they had granted limited immunity. But that was three years ago. Now, as the Manhattan district attorney's office seeks his cooperation in the tax fraud case brought against him and the company last month, those lies may encourage Weisselberg to flip against his longtime boss. Time will tell. —CNN

Cuda: For QAnon, Covid is all part of the game

"QAnon has focused on spreading anti-vaxxer and anti-mask conspiracy theories during the coronavirus pandemic, alongside its main satanic focus. 'It is a brainwashed death cult,' [researcher James] Stewartson adds. 'So many dying people are in hospitals because of this cult. If you dispute the facts that the cult has put in their head, you are automatically the enemy.'" —Heidi Siegmund Cuda in Byline Times

Heidi Siegmund Cuda is an investigative reporter at Byline Times.

MORE: Doctors are fuming about this optional surge —The Atlantic

Focus on the pandemic

Most American voters support mandatory coronavirus vaccines and indoor mask-wearing requirements, according to a new Morning Consult/POLITICO poll. Opposition to such measures is chiefly limited to Republicans. More than 8 in 10 Democrats and at least half of independent voters want to require vaccinations for all Americans (except those with medical conditions) versus roughly 35% of Republicans. Regarding mask mandates, Republican support inches up a few percentage points, but most remain opposed, while nearly all Democrats and a majority of independents are in favor. —Politico

• — YouTube dumps Rand Paul. YouTube removed a video posted by Sen. Rand Paul for a second time yesterday and suspended him from publishing for a week after he posted a video that disputed the effectiveness of wearing masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus. A YouTube representative said Paul's claims violate the company's policy on medical misinformation. There is overwhelming scientific consensus that masks help prevent the spread of COVID-19. —The New York Times
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• — Facebook gets tough too. The company said yesterday that it removed 308 fake accounts that pushed disinformation about the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines last month. The social network linked the fake accounts to Fazze, a subsidiary of a UK-registered marketing firm that mainly operates from Russia. Facebook also banned Fazze from its platform for violating its rules against foreign interference and for misleading others about the purpose of the accounts and the identity of those behind them. —CNET
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• — Here's the reality. Although cases of Delta are inevitable, even among a small percentage of vaccinated people, hospitals overflowing with seriously ill patients aren't. For example, the city of San Francisco has had 3,041 people hospitalized with COVID-19 since March 18, 2020. Only 16 were fully vaccinated. "As long as people would get vaccinated, then we will not get huge waves of hospitalizations," concludes evolutionary biologist and biostatistician Tom Wenseleers. It's simple. Get vaxxed and wear a mask when prudent. —NPR

DMN Ed Board: Governor, please reconsider

"The facts on the ground are changing quickly, and we badly need [Texas Gov. Greg Abbott] to assess those facts and revise the May 18 order to give local officials, including school superintendents, great flexibility to respond to the dangerous and rapidly spreading Delta variant. We are seeing the most positive cases that we have seen since February and more children are becoming sick from the virus than ever before. ... Misguided leaders dig in when they feel threatened. Great leaders look at all of the facts and have the strength and self-assurance to pivot based on a developing situation." —The Dallas Morning News

MORE: California to mandate vaccines or regular testing for teachers —CNN

So special to see that the "pro-life" party has now become the "pro-death" party of insurrectionists when it comes to Covid. They are the "freedom folks," they claim. I'm not advocating for any of this, but how about the freedom to drive drunk, the freedom to run red lights, and the freedom to run through stop signs? How about the freedom to drive as fast you like, wherever and whenever you like? Hey, it's all about freedom, right? The people who spew about letting governments closest to the people make decisions for themselves won't let schools, towns, cities, etc., do so. And they, too, are ELECTED officials. You know, sort of like "mini-fascists," as the "stable genius" pulls the puppet strings and whines at his golf club.

Here's but one example: Schools are responsible for the safety of the children while in their care, but we have several governors who will not allow them to do what is necessary for safety just so they can score some political points with the MAGA hatters and placate the stable genius. It seems a bit twisted, because the governors who oppose mandates do so by issuing mandates via executive orders. Yeah, heading right down that road of fascism. 

Folks whine that we have to go "back" to wearing masks, possible lockdowns again, and so on. Here's a clue for the clueless as to why that is happening. It is because too many people have not worn masks when directed to do so, they have not gotten the vaccination, they treat the virus as a hoax, and they play BS games with people's lives. So the virus evolved whereas the whiners have not. Things change, and you adapt and adjust, whatever the time frame may be. Battle plans change when the first shot is fired, football game plans change during the game, and on and on. But whiners just whine, and they are part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

So how does the insurrection party propose to stop the spread of the virus? Seriously. People are dying and these clowns have zip for answers. Can anyone cite ANYTHING these governors, talking heads, etc., are FOR when it comes to stopping the spread of the virus that actually WILL stop the spread? They are against everything, including masks and vaccines, so what is THEIR solution? They don't have anything, they have no suggestions, they have no answers. Since they don't believe in science, and medicine is intertwined with science, if they get cancer, for instance, I wonder if they go to their auto mechanic for treatment rather than a doctor. The only answers they have to every problem are to cut government (though it's fascinating that many of them live in and off government), cut taxes on the rich, and buy more guns. That's it. Government is indeed the problem when it is run by fascists and ignorant morons. —Bill T., Arizona

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.