memeorandum: Iowans struggle to find help, strength after powerful storm devastates homes, farms (Washington Post)

11:30 AM ET, August 15, 2020

Top Items:

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

Trump's attacks on the Postal Service deserve sustained, red-alert coverage from the media — Listen to President Trump long enough, and, despite his penchant for falsehood, you'll eventually hear some unvarnished truth. — That happened Thursday when he stated his intentions clearly in an interview with Fox Business Network.

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill, Bangor Daily News, The American Independent and Daily Kos

Lisa Baertlein / Reuters:

Exclusive: UPS, FedEx warn they cannot carry ballots like U.S. Postal Service — LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - United Parcel Service and FedEx on Friday shot down social media calls that they step in to deliver mail-in ballots from the U.S. Postal Service, which is warning states of potentially “significant” delays.

Discussion: New York Post and The Hill

Bob Brigham / Raw Story:

Trump officials could face criminal charges for USPS sabotage — and the president may not be able to pardon them — Members of the Trump administration could face legal jeopardy over efforts to sabotage U.S. Postal Service operations to interfere with the 2020 presidential elections.

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:

Postal Service will stop removing mailboxes — The iconic blue boxes are moved frequently depending on mail volumes — The removal of dozens of mailboxes in a handful of states set off a social media panic and some high-profile attention this week, but the U.S. Postal Service …

Discussion: NBC News, Mediaite, USA Today, Washington Monthly, The Week, MSNBC, Senate Democratic Leadership and The Guardian

CNN:

Exclusive: Postal service inspector general reviewing DeJoy's policy changes and potential ethics conflicts — Collins pushes Trump on USPS money and mail-in ballots — Washington (CNN)The internal watchdog at the United States Postal Service is reviewing controversial policy changes …

Discussion: Jacobin, The Hill, Gizmodo, BBC, Jon Tester, Breitbart, Raw Story, KECI, Daily Kos, Law & Crime, Talking Points Memo, ABC News, The Week and IJR

Paul P. Murphy / CNN:
USPS removes mail collection boxes and reduces post office hours as critics accuse Trump administration of voter suppression

Discussion: UPI and The Week

Washington Post:
Postal Service warns 46 states their voters could be disenfranchised by delayed mail-in ballots

Pilar Melendez / The Daily Beast:
NJ Rep, Inspector General Investigate What the Hell Is Going On With USPS

Discussion: The Hill and CNN

Washington Post:
Trump's assault on the U.S. Postal Service gives Democrats a new campaign message

Discussion: Politico, Associated Press, Political Wire, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal

New York Times:
Postal Service Warns States It May Not Meet Mail-In Ballot Deadlines

Discussion: CNN, Fox News and Vanity Fair

Eric Levitz / New York Magazine: Americans Must Defend the Postal Service Like Our Democracy Depends on It

Nick Gillespie / Reason:
Don't Blame Donald Trump if the Post Office Loses Your Vote

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, The Daily Caller and The Hill

Los Angeles Times:

Senate committee sought investigation of Bannon, raised concerns about Trump family testimony — The Senate Intelligence Committee sent a bipartisan letter to the Justice Department asking federal prosecutors to investigate Steve Bannon, a former Trump confidante, for potentially lying …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

Lloyd Grove / The Daily Beast:

It Took Newsweek Three Days and a Staff Revolt to Apologize for Kamala Harris Birtherism Op-Ed — The apology nevertheless fell far short of staffers' demands that the magazine retract and remove the supposedly erudite exploration of 19th century Supreme Court rulings.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hill, Raw Story, Just The News, The Daily Caller, Vox and Patterico's Pontifications, more at Mediagazer »

Mark Joseph Stern / Slate:

The White Supremacist “Scholars” Pushing the Kamala Harris Birther Lie — Sen. Kamala Harris is a citizen of the United States who is eligible to serve as vice president. This is not an argument but a statement of fact, because children born in the U.S. to immigrant parents receive birthright citizenship under the Constitution.

Discussion: The Bulwark, Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Atlantic, Constitution Daily and Reason

Will Sommer / The Daily Beast:

QAnon Promotes Pedo-Ring Conspiracy Theories. Now They're Stealing Kids. — RAMPING UP THE CRAZY — The far-right fringe group infamous for promoting nutjob conspiracy theories about pedophile rings has moved on to criminally meddling in child custody cases. — Part One of Two Parts:

Discussion: Big Think

Robert A. George / New York Daily News:

Say it loud, assimilated and proud: Kamala, me and the Black immigrant American challenge — Thursday, President Trump got the brand back together, giving a shoutout to an online article questioning Kamala Harris' legitimacy to ever be president, pointing to an online article that wondered if Harris was a …

Discussion: Slate, The Indian Express and Associated Press

CNN:
Republican: Condemn the ‘birther’ attack on Kamala Harris

Discussion: NPR, Raw Story and The American Independent

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Harris ‘electrifies’ West Indian voters — and gives Biden a new edge in Florida — LAUDERHILL, Fla. — Almost as soon as Kamala Harris became the first woman of Jamaican-Indian descent to be nominated for vice president, a mock White House menu of oxtail and jerk chicken cropped …

Discussion: Raw Story

Washington Post:

Iowans struggle to find help, strength after powerful storm devastates homes, farms — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — In the five days since a massive storm system laid waste to this city, Ethel Fontenette, 65, has been trying to make sure neighbors in her retirement community stay well fed.

Lyz Lenz / Washington Post: An inland hurricane tore through Iowa. You probably didn't hear about it.

Alex Thompson / Politico:

‘The President Was Not Encouraging’: What Obama Really Thought About Biden — The way Joe Biden explained it on the campaign trail in Iowa, he and his friend Barack Obama had long talked of Biden succeeding him in the White House, continuing the work of their administration.

Discussion: Townhall, Redstate, Fox News, Twitchy and The Daily Caller

Wyatt DobrovichFago / FOX News Radio:

“The Damnedest Thing I've Ever Seen” Chris Wallace On Biden Campaign Not Putting Any Surrogates On Sunday Shows Before Convention — Chris Wallace - Host of Fox News Sunday & Author of “Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days that Changed the World ” …

Discussion: Townhall

Ghaith Al-Omari / NBC News:

Israel-UAE deal achieves a Middle East rarity: It's win-win-win, Palestinians included — The United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates pulled off the rarest of feats on Thursday: a diplomatic win-win-win in the Middle East. President Donald Trump announced a historic breakthrough …

Annelle Sheline / Politico:
Trump's Win Is a Loss for the Middle East

Discussion: The Unz Review, One America News Network, The National, United States Department … and Power Line

Harry Enten / CNN:

Large convention bounces are unlikely In 2020 — (CNN)The major party political conventions have historically been the turning point in many campaigns. In 1988, Democrat Michael Dukakis entered the conventions as the frontrunner, only to leave trailing Republican George H.W. Bush.

Washington Post:

A Florida school district wanted to wait to reopen school buildings. Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to cut its funding. — WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida is making a high-stakes gamble on school openings, with superintendents pressured into decisions that some fear will result in outbreaks of covid-19.

New York Times:

Kamala Harris Changes the Race While Trump Tells on Himself — There were surprises this week that weren't entirely shocking: Ms. Harris joined Joe Biden's ticket and President Trump resurrected birtherism. Here's what to make of the last week in politics. — Welcome to our weekly analysis of the state of the 2020 campaign.

Discussion: WPRI-TV

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

How Jennifer O'Malley Dillon transformed Joe Biden's campaign — When Jennifer O'Malley Dillon was brought in to take over the Joe Biden campaign operation five months ago, she barely knew a soul there — and that included the candidate himself. — If that wasn't a big enough adjustment …

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

Two sites that amplify hoaxes given special treatment at Trump's briefings despite restrictions — The White House press corps just got a little more Trump-friendly, thanks to a bit of maneuvering by the White House itself. — Representatives of the Gateway Pundit and Epoch Times …

Discussion: The Intercept, more at Mediagazer »

Justice News:

Drug-Dealing, White Supremacist Stripper Sentenced for Obstruction of Justice — TEXARKANA, Texas - A 28-year-old Dallas, Texas, man has been sentenced for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox today. — On March 6, 2020 …

Frank Figliuzzi / NBC News:

Republican QAnon candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene's win highlights coming 2020 crisis … It would be comical if it weren't so increasingly dangerous. QAnon, a growing movement of unhinged, evidence-free conspiracists, are convinced that an evil cabal of Democrat, Satan-worshipping, pedophile sex-traffickers rule the world.

Discussion: New York Times, The Indian Express and Mediaite

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Why Trump's birtherism attack on Harris is killing the Republican Party

Discussion: Mashable, Raw Story, Washington Post and The Dispatch

Daniela Altimari / Hartford Courant:

A Connecticut Congressional candidate was arrested on domestic violence charges just days ago — but GOP insiders knew of the allegations against him for months — The arrest of Connecticut Congressional candidate Thomas Gilmer on the eve of this week's Republican primary threw the race into disarray.

Discussion: Daily Kos

Politico:

HHS chief information officer abruptly resigns — HHS' chief information officer, José Arrieta, resigned unexpectedly Friday. — Arrieta told senior leaders that he would stay on for up to a month to help with the transition, said two individuals with knowledge of his plans.