'The right to vote freely, the right to vote fairly'

President Biden visited the U.S. Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa., today to deliver a stirring speech supporting voting rights. Referencing the U.S.'s long commitment to expanding voting rights, not contracting them, he warned Americans that they "should be alarmed" by recent attempts to suppress and subvert the people's will. However, he struck an optimistic tone as well, declaring, "We the People will never give up," and American democracy will survive. He closed by quoting the late Rep. John Lewis, saying, "Freedom is not a state, it's an act." Then he added forcefully, "We've got to act."

• — "Unyielding courage and faith in our democracy." Biden took a few moments during his speech to honor the election officials throughout the country who administered "the most scrutinized election in our history" through a pandemic, record turnout, and even personal threats and intimidation from the highest levels of U.S. government.
   
• — "The Big Lie is just that: a big lie." Biden called out his predecessor for lying about the election results and putting his own interests above the health of the republic. He said "the whole world is watching" with growing concern over the state of democracy in the U.S., as authoritarianism and autocracy threaten democracy around the globe.
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• — "An assault on democracy, an assault on liberty." Biden called the passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act a "national imperative" to protect all Americans' right to vote. As evidence, he pointed to new voting restrictions being passed in several states that would not only suppress votes but also determine whose votes count...and who gets to do the counting. —Associated Press

Rodríguez & Toosi: What's next for Cuba?

"Biden's team wasn't ready to turn its attention to Cuba. But over the weekend, the communist-run island nation became an unavoidable subject. ... And while Biden voiced support for the protesters, describing the protests as a 'clarion call for freedom,' much of his policy toward Cuba remains a mystery. Will Biden encourage more demonstrations? Does his team support adding new sanctions or keeping in place Trump-era sanctions? Is the idea of bolstering diplomatic and trade ties now out of the question? The White House's painstaking review of Cuba policy now risks being overtaken by current events." —Sabrina Rodríguez & Nahal Toosi in Politico

Sabrina Rodríguez is an immigration correspondent at Politico. Nahal Toosi covers foreign policy and national security for Politico.

MORE: More than 100 arrested or missing in Cuba after widespread protests, say activists —CNN

Confronting the crime crisis

President Biden met with mayors, police chiefs, and other elected officials from cities around the country yesterday to discuss his gun violence prevention strategy, which was unveiled last month. The meeting comes amid a nationwide spike in crime and an ongoing surge in gun violence. While gingerly trying to balance addressing crime with the continued push for police reform, the president has tried to steer Democrats away from their "defund the police" messaging. He is encouraging communities to utilize $350 billion from the American Rescue Plan, passed in March, to improve public safety, including bolstering law enforcement and expanding crime prevention services. —CNBC

MORE: Tim Scott sets new July goal for Senate to pass police reform bill —Axios

Unplugged

Andrew Saul, the ousted Social Security commissioner who declared last Friday that he would defy his firing by President Biden, faces an uphill battle. Yesterday, Biden appointee Kilolo Kijakazi took over the reins at the agency, and Saul's access to agency computers was cut off. A former women's apparel executive and Republican donor who has served on the board of a think tank that favors Social Security cuts, Saul called his firing and that of his deputy a "palace coup." It's the latest dismissal of a Trump-appointed head of an independent agency, whose terms have traditionally been fixed to insulate the agency from politics. Saul's six-year term was not set to expire until 2025. —The Washington Post

Cremer: Far-right populism in Germany vs the US

"Germany's system of moderate secularism appears to have helped impede a U.S.-style alliance of Christian voters and right-wing populism, and likely contributed to the 'religious vaccination effect' against the populist Right we can observe among German Christians. Research showing a similar 'religion gap' in other European countries with comparable models of religious governance to Germany, such as the Netherlands, Austria, or Scandinavian countries, further suggests that this dynamic could be more generally applicable across Europe." —Tobias Cremer on OpenDemocracy

Tobias Cremer is a junior research fellow at the University of Oxford.

MORE: A new resource for combating Christian nationalism sees it as a 'distortion of the gospel' —Religion News Service

Focus on Haiti

After an initial rebuff of Haitian requests for military assistance following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, the Pentagon is having second thoughts. The Defense Department confirmed yesterday that it is reviewing a request from the interim government in Port-au-Prince for help. U.S. troops would help secure the island nation's infrastructure a week after an apparent hit team killed Moise in his residence.

• — Police in Haiti had identified two Haitian-Americans arrested for their involvement in the assassination—James Solages and Joseph Vincent. Then, Haitian National Police Chief Leon Charles announced on Sunday the arrest of another American, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, whom local authorities say hired the mercenaries to remove Moise in a plot to become president.
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• — Solages and Vincent say they were not in the room when Moise was killed on July 7 by the heavily armed group, and were acting only as translators for the assassination team. They say they understood the goal of the operation as only to kidnap the president and bring him to the national palace, not to kill him.
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• — The U.S. and Colombia are contributing to the investigation into the assassination, carried out by at least the three identified Haitian-Americans as well as 26 Colombians. Seventeen conspirators have been captured and three were killed in a shootout with police, while the others remain at large, according to Haitian police. —U.S. News & World Report

Sullivan: Hope for global democracy

"[I]n a world where democracy is often swimming against the political tide, scholars also see some good news. It just requires a longer view of history. Eighty years ago, there were perhaps 12 fully functioning democracies. Today, the Democracy Index put out by the Economist Intelligence Unit says there are 23 full democracies, and nearly half the planet lives in some form of democracy. Then there are the protesters, perhaps the most visible sign of a thirst for democratic rule." —Tim Sullivan in Associated Press

Tim Sullivan is an international investigative reporter at the Associated Press.

MORE: Bipartisan support swells for Cuban protesters —WUSF

Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson, who voted against honoring the heroic Capitol police officers who bravely defended our nation against the domestic terrorists who sought to overthrow out system of government, proudly co-sponsored a bill to prevent crimes against veterans. Here's a line from his press release:

"This...is the Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2021 (H.R. 983), of which I am a co-sponsor. This legislation seeks to protect those who bravely defended our nation."

I presume many, if not most, of the Capitol police officers injured or killed on Jan. 6 were veterans. But I presume Congressman Davidson does not consider their actions that day to have been...bravely defending our nation. —Jim V., New York

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