With Afghanistan behind him, Biden meets with Zelensky

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As America turns the historical—though likely not the final—page on Afghanistan, President Biden is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House today. Zelensky played a central role in the first impeachment of Donald Trump, as the world leader Trump tried to shakedown for election assistance by withholding aid earmarked for Ukraine's defense against Russia. In the wake of that shameful episode, as well as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Zelensky will look to secure a renewed American commitment to his country. Another figure who emerged during the impeachment trial was U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. Now retired, Vindman found himself at the center of a firestorm for his decision to report the infamous phone call that directly led to the impeachment. He faced significant fallout for his exposure of Trump's abuse of power, but as he said, "Here, right matters." We're pleased to welcome Lt. Col. Vindman to this week's RAM Chat. This exclusive
conversation will take place tomorrow, Sept. 2, at 7pm ET. Hope you'll join us ([link removed]) ! —Mary Anna Mancuso, Media Manager, Stand Up Republic

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** A long-awaited meeting
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President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are meeting at the White House today, and a senior administration official said Biden would use the opportunity to "convey his ironclad commitment to Ukraine's security, sovereignty, and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, as well as to discuss Ukraine's ongoing reform program." Ahead of the meeting, Biden pledged an additional $60 million in military aid to Ukraine, which has been locked in a war with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula since 2014. The U.S. has committed $2.5 billion in support of Ukraine forces since the war broke out. ([link removed])
* — Zelensky has his share of gripes. He has expressed frustration over Western allies' hesitation to approve Ukraine's bid to join NATO—which Zelensky argues would give Ukraine greater protection from Russia—and has disagreed with Biden's comments that the country needs to "clean up corruption" before it can be considered for membership. Zelensky also has been critical of the administration's decision not to block the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, which will directly connect Russia to Europe, bypassing Ukraine. —NBC News ([link removed])
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* — Biden and Zelensky are meeting first at an expanded bilateral meeting with their top advisors, and then one-on-one to communicate "more directly," according to officials. They are expected to announce the rebirth of the Strategic Partnership Commission, a gathering of top officials from both countries that has not met for three years. The 2008 founding document of the commission lays out a series of priorities for cooperation on security, trade, energy, and cultural exchanges. ([link removed])
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* — The Pentagon is also expected to sign a strategic defense framework with Ukraine during Zelensky's visit that will build on a prior document written in 2016. The revisions are expected to boost cooperation on priorities such as security in the Black Sea and increased intelligence-sharing. Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin met with Zelensky and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Andrii Taranto at the Pentagon yesterday. —Defense One ([link removed])

MORE: Biden's Ukraine meeting is a test of America's pledges —Financial Times ([link removed])


** Greenfield: The unclear future of US power
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"It is not hard to imagine that this deeper message of Biden's speech could emerge as a more salient political argument in the coming months. The upcoming midterm and presidential election cycles may feature debate not just about Afghanistan and how we left, but about what we have been committing lives and resources to for decades, and how much longer we are prepared to do it. Elements of the left and the right have already joined hands in opposing 'muscular' U.S. policies in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. But the next step may be to question the premises that make those policies possible—and their cost." —Jeff Greenfield on ([link removed]) Politico ([link removed])

Jeff Greenfield is a political analyst and author.

MORE: Biden digs in with fervent defense of Afghanistan withdrawal —The Hill ([link removed])


** 'A Republican majority will not forget'
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When he's not threatening to impeach President Biden, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is threatening to punish companies that comply with the House's select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The panel has asked an array of telecommunications companies to save records relevant to the attack, which could include those of some elected officials. Congressional committees routinely use their subpoena power to obtain data from private companies, including phone records, emails, and other communications. But McCarthy must have forgotten that minor detail. "If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn over private information, they are in violation of federal law and subject to losing their ability to operate in the United States," McCarthy said in a statement responding to the committee's request. — ([link removed]) Politico
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MORE: Go-to lawyer for Capitol riot defendants disappears —The Boston Globe ([link removed])


** Note to Facebook: No more politics
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Earlier this year, social media behemoth Facebook announced an experiment. It would reduce the amount of political content shown to a subset of users in the U.S. and a few other countries, and then ask them about the experience. "Our goal is to preserve the ability for people to find and interact with political content on Facebook, while respecting each person's appetite for it at the top of their News Feed," Aastha Gupta, a Facebook product management director, explained at the time. Yesterday, the company provided the results, and they suggest that users like less political content in their feeds. What a surprise. It marks perhaps the most explicit recognition to date by a major platform that "what people engage with" is not always synonymous with "what people value"—and this phenomenon is not limited to stuff that violates a platform's rules. — ([link removed]) WIRED
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MORE: Advocacy groups tell TikTok to take 'substantive action' against hate speech, extremism —The Hill ([link removed])
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** Karelas: When hurricanes become political
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"We hold up or decry scientists based on whether their findings support our worldview, our cultural leanings, or which political party claims the issue first. We'd rather enjoy a good punchline on the news that makes our political adversaries seem foolish, rather than coming to the table to work out our differences and prepare for what will be an increasingly challenging period ahead." —Andreas Karelas in ([link removed]) The Hill ([link removed])

Andreas Karelas is the author of "Climate Courage: How Tackling Climate Change Can Build Community, Transform the Economy, and Bridge the Political Divide in America."

MORE: Where there's smoke, there's fire—and political unity —The Christian Science Monitor ([link removed])


** Focus on Texas
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The Lone Star State is never far from the news, and today is no different. A slew of new laws passed by the Republican-led state legislature during the 2021 regular session—666 to be precise—will go into effect today. Though some of the laws are fairly minor, others will have a significant impact on the state, affecting public school students, veterans, homeless populations, protesters, users of medicinal cannabis, and others. Among these laws are top conservative priorities passed in other red states around the country this year, but none as big as Texas, with more than 29 million residents. ([link removed])
* — Guns. Texans have had the right to carry a gun in public since 1995. Since then, more gun-friendly legislation has followed. However, you've always needed to obtain a license to be able to take your gun outside your home or vehicle. Starting today, that's no longer the case. The new law allows anyone who can legally own a firearm to carry it in public, as long as it's in a holster. That's a first since Reconstruction. ([link removed])
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* — Abortion. Texas lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year that prohibits abortions once cardiac activity is detected in an embryo, which can happen as early as about six weeks, before many women are aware they are pregnant. The law doesn't set criminal penalties for violating the ban, but allows private citizens to sue anyone who helps someone get an abortion. Abortion rights advocates have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the law, arguing that it will essentially eliminate access to abortion in Texas. ([link removed])

1. — Voting. The Texas voting bill that's gained the most attention—and notoriety—this year is Senate Bill 1, which passed this week. That still needs Gov. Greg Abbott's signature. However, some less-talked-about voting laws take effect today. One bans voters from registering using a post office box as their address, another allows the secretary of state to cut funds for voter registrars that fail to remove certain people from the rolls, and one more makes it harder to apply for a mail-in ballot for medical reasons. Less controversially, another law allows people to track their mail-in ballots, and one makes it clear who can be in a polling place: voters, election workers, poll watchers, election judges, and law enforcement. —NPR ([link removed])

MORE: Michigan Republicans to launch petition drive to change voting —Detroit Free Press ([link removed])


** Bronner: Who supports democracy in Congress?
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"At this point, the core of democracy in the U.S. is not up for debate. 'We're fighting battles today over certain aspects of the democratic process, but not the core of it, for the most part,' said Michael Coppedge, a political scientist at the University of Notre Dame and one of the principal investigators at Varieties of Democracy. But the fact that questions of democracy have become so clearly partisan is not good for the future of democracy. And given just how politically divided that fight has already become, it's more important than ever to track how Congress votes on the matters of democracy that do make it to the floor." —Laura Bronner in ([link removed]) FiveThirtyEight ([link removed])

Laura Bronner is a senior applied scientist at ETH Zürich and
FiveThirtyEight's former quantitative editor.

MORE: How citizens work to prevent gerrymandering in state redistricting —The Christian Science Monitor ([link removed])

The 13 U.S. soldiers killed this past week are dead because of Donald Trump. In February 2020, when the Trump Administration surrendered to the Taliban, he laid a booby-trap for his successor. In my opinion, he sabotaged America and undermined our military—which he detests, as he has proven repeatedly by his actions: dodging the draft, ridiculing war hero John McCain, refusing to visit the American cemetery in France, where he described our fallen soldiers as "losers" and "suckers." I could go on, but you get the picture.

The Afghanistan deal was a landmine laid by Trump—a hand grenade with the pin pulled and lobbed at America. Five days before leaving office, Trump ordered the withdrawal of 2,500 more troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, his secretary of state enacted a number of measures designed to hog-tie American diplomats (restricting contacts with Taiwan, putting Cuba on the terrorism sponsor list, etc.). Additionally, Trump appointed a bunch of loyalists to federal agencies in order to keep the chaos going. Congress needs to investigate Trump and all the things he did during his final year to throw sand in the machinery of government and undermine the strength of the American military. —Tim P., New Mexico
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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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