Amid criticism he's doing too little, Biden steps up

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It has been 14 days since the Surfside condo collapse in Florida. Yesterday, officials made the difficult decision to call off search-and-rescue efforts and transition to recovery operations. The stories shared by loved ones and friends of those whose lives were cut short by this tragedy have been heartfelt and heart-wrenching. It hit close to home for me, both literally and figuratively, as a member of the South Florida community, and my prayers go out to all those who were affected. May those of us who are only witnesses to this moment use it as a reminder to tell our loved ones what they mean to us, and to always kiss our significant other goodnight before turning out the lights. Life is precious, and each day is truly a gift. In the words of Mark Twain, "Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." On behalf of the TOPLINE staff, we offer our condolences to the loved ones of the lost residents of Champlain Towers South and to all those impacted by this
tragedy, and we pray for the recovery of those still missing and the safety of the individuals assisting in those efforts. —Mary Anna Mancuso, Media Manager, Stand Up Republic

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** Voting rights get a boost
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With federal voting rights legislation stalled in the Senate—and with states passing laws that would make voting more difficult and election administration more prone to partisan shenanigans—the White House is addressing the issue head-on today. President Biden is meeting with leaders of national civil rights organizations to discuss the administration's efforts to preserve voting rights for minorities. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris is helping the Democratic National Committee announce an expansion of its "I Will Vote" campaign to include a focus on lawmakers at the federal and state level who are passing changes to elections laws. —CBS News ([link removed])
* — Georgia. A federal judge denied an effort to invalidate parts of Georgia's voting law yesterday, in the first court ruling upholding new rules passed after last year's elections. The lawsuit brought by the Coalition for Good Governance opposed new requirements that voters request absentee ballots at least 11 days before Election Day, a deadline that limits the time available to vote by mail in runoff elections. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee wrote that he wouldn't "change the law in the ninth inning" amid ongoing runoffs for the state House, but reserved judgment about future elections. —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed])
*
* — Pennsylvania. Republican State Rep. Seth Grove, chair of Pennsylvania's House State Government Committee and author of a restrictive election overhaul, is refusing to consider any election legislation until 2023, after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed the bill he wrote. That leaves local elections officials from both parties without the two things they say they really need—earlier processing of mail ballots, to avoid prolonged vote counts, and an extension of tight mail-ballot deadlines that don't align with Postal Service standards, leaving thousands of voters unable to return them on time. —The Philadelphia Inquirer ([link removed])
*
* — Texas. Texas state lawmakers are being corralled back to Austin today for a special session just weeks after Democrats' dramatic walkout thwarted one of America's most restrictive voting measures. Yesterday, Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled his agenda for the session, which includes "election integrity," as well as bail reform, border security, social media censorship, transgender sports, and critical race theory. It could last up to 30 days. Stay tuned. —CBS News ([link removed])

MORE: National Republican groups RNC and NRSC join Georgia to fight Biden DOJ's suit against new voting law —CNBC ([link removed])


** Waldman: Trump's ridiculous lawsuit
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"His complaint against Facebook...claims that it 'rises beyond that of a private company to that of a state actor. As such, Defendant is constrained by the First Amendment right to free speech in the censorship decisions it makes regarding its Users.' It goes on to use the word 'unconstitutional' again and again to describe Facebook's decisions, despite the fact that only government action is or isn't constitutional. Facebook may be one of the most pernicious forces on Earth, but it's a private company that set up rules for those who chose to use its service. Trump repeatedly violated those rules, and was kicked off. It really isn't all that complicated, and it’s the furthest thing from 'unconstitutional.'" —Paul Waldman in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Paul Waldman is a political columnist at
The Washington Post.

MORE: Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law in Washington, D.C. —CNN ([link removed])


** Delta rising
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Twenty-four states have seen an uptick of at least 10% in COVID-19 cases over the past week, and the highly transmissible Delta variant now accounts for more than half of all new infections. "We're already starting to see places with low vaccination rates have relatively big spikes from the Delta variant," said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. "We've seen this in Arkansas, Missouri, Wyoming. Those are the places where we're going to see more hospitalizations and deaths as well, unfortunately. And any time you have large outbreaks, it does become a breeding ground for potentially more variants," he said. Health experts and the White House are pleading for more Americans to get vaccinated to help contain the spread. —CNN ([link removed])

MORE: Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses four million —CNN ([link removed])


** Gregory: Police reform isn't anti-cop
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"The truth is that police reform is beneficial for both the community and our law enforcement officers. Our current policing structure is not working and in major need of reform. To combat crime, we need a complete toolbox, and that is what reform can give. Law enforcement is necessary to protect society, but they are tasked with too broad an undertaking with the tools provided. The actions of a few representatives have resulted in brutality or tragic loss of life. These events have caused the fear and distrust of police in many communities and have made the job of our law enforcement officers much more difficult." —Michele Gregory on ([link removed]) Maryland Matters ([link removed])

Michele Gregory is a city council member in Salisbury, Md., and a candidate for Maryland State Senate.

MORE: Florida passes bipartisan police use of force bill —WOKV ([link removed])
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** Woolley & Sawiris: We need a blueprint for democratic internet governance
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"This is an unprecedented undertaking, because our societies do not have a comparable legal or policy experience which can effectively be used as a template for digital efforts. For instance, phenomena created by the digital revolution challenge our understanding of individual rights and force us to redefine their equivalent fit for the 21st century. Does freedom of speech mean automatic access to audiences spanning hundreds of thousands of users? What about users who might be particularly susceptible to manipulation or harassment? Are we sufficiently safeguarding the right to privacy online—a space wherein a variety of dubious organizations continue to freely track our every move?" —Samuel Woolley & Miroslava Sawiris in ([link removed]) WIRED ([link removed])

Samuel Woolley is an author and an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and program director of propaganda research at the Center for Media Engagement, both at UT Austin. Miroslava Sawiris is a senior research fellow at GLOBSEC, where she leads the Alliance for Healthy Infosphere, a collaboration of 7 EU member states advocating for meaningful regulation of the digital space.

MORE: How Sean Turnbull made a career at SGT Report anonymously amplifying dark plots —The Washington Post ([link removed])


** Focus on global corruption
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Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated and his wife gravely wounded yesterday when gunmen burst into their home in suburban Port-au-Prince and opened fire. Moïse, who took office in February 2017, had been resisting calls to step down from opponents who accused him of corruption and said his term expired in February. Moïse had been demanding to serve out the remainder of the year, threatening to amend the Constitution to give himself more power. Haiti's communications secretary, Frantz Exantus, said the "presumed assassins" have been arrested, without providing additional details. President Biden called the killing a "heinous act," and joined other world leaders in pleading for calm in the troubled nation. —NBC News ([link removed])
* — Austria. The former Austrian vice chancellor and ex-leader of Austria's right-wing Freedom Party went on trial this week for corruption charges at a Vienna court. Heinz-Christian Strache is accused of accepting a large donation for his party—as well as personal gifts and favors—in exchange for his support of a legal amendment that would benefit the donor's private hospital by bringing it under a public funding umbrella. If convicted, Strache could face a prison sentence ranging from 6 months to five years. —ABC News ([link removed])
*
* — Israel. David Bitan, a close political ally of former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a member of his Likud party, was indicted on Tuesday on a raft of corruption offenses. Israel's attorney general approved the indictment of Bitan, formerly coalition chair in Netanyahu's government, charging him with accepting bribes, breach of trust, and tax offenses in seven different cases. They were allegedly committed while he served as a councilman in the city of Rishon Lezion and as a member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament. —ABC News ([link removed])
*
* — South Africa. Former South African President Jacob Zuma began serving a 15-month prison sentence yesterday, after the nation's Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt for failing to appear before a commission investigating corruption accusations. Crony corruption within Zuma's African National Congress Party—including the gutting of the nation's tax agency, sweetheart business contracts, and rivals gunned down in a scramble for wealth and power—turned the once-heralded liberation movement into a vehicle of self-enrichment for many officials. —The New York Times ([link removed])

MORE: Brazil's Lira says vaccine corruption allegations no grounds for Bolsonaro impeachment —Reuters ([link removed])


** Mounk: Has the populism explosion peaked?
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"The rules and norms that sustain liberal democracies are similar. In good times, most voters don't care about who sits on the electoral commission or regulates the media. But when authoritarian leaders stack those institutions with loyalists, banning popular candidates or shutting down independent television stations, voters start to pay attention. ... [T]hough the future remains highly uncertain, we have good reason to hope that people are more willing to fight for its preservation. Authoritarian populists remain a serious threat to the future of liberal democracy around the world. But the democratic fight back has begun in earnest." —Yascha Mounk in ([link removed]) The Atlantic ([link removed])

Yascha Mounk is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and a board member at Stand Up Republic. He is the author of "The People vs. Democracy."

MORE: Hungary might be a bellwether for the future of authoritarian populism —Yahoo! News ([link removed])

I agree with Communications Director Mike Ongstad. We must address the problem staring us in the face. Just think back four years. After the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton had reason to question the results, but she did not. She did the normal thing: she conceded. If she hadn't, what kind of uproar might have erupted? But then, just four years later, Trump refused to concede, which incited an attempted coup and America's first transfer-of-power crisis. Where is the uproar? In just four years, Trump made the unthinkable a reality, and now he is mounting an effort to make himself president for life. Like Mike says, we can't continue to look the other way. We need to keep calling out the bad guys in forums like The Topline. —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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