Our democracy is under attack.  Washington journalists must stop covering it like politics as usual.  —  Back in the dark ages of 2012, two think-tank scholars, Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann, wrote a book called “It's Even Worse Than It Looks” about the rise of Republican Party extremism and its dire effect on American democracy.

Trump-backed candidate loses in Texas special election  —  Voters in North Texas delivered an upset Tuesday, picking GOP state Rep. Jake Ellzey to fill a vacant House seat over a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump.  —  Ellzey beat fellow Republican Susan Wright …

McConnell aims to boost U.S. Republican vaccination rate by countering ‘bad advice’  —  U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed misinformation for the low rates of COVID-19 vaccination among Americans, which are fueling a rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in Republican-dominated states.

The CDC's Unforced Error  —  On the menu today: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Biden administration make a critical error by recommending vaccinated Americans put on the masks again; sorting through who's still not vaccinated and why; figuring out Simone Biles's early withdrawal …

The New Moral Code of America's Elite  —  Every striver who ever slipped the rank of their birth to ascend to a higher order has shared the capacity to ingratiate themselves with their betters.  What the truly exceptional ones have in common is the ability to connect not only with their superiors …

Least persuadable unvaccinated Americans are largely white and Republican  —  Parents are heavily resistant to the vaccine.

Tucker Scoffs at D.C. Cop Scarred by Capitol Riot From Safety of His Studio  —  The Fox News host smirked and snickered at officer Michael Fanone describing the PTSD that followed a brutal beating on Jan. 6.  —  Fox News host Tucker Carlson took his overt downplaying of the Capitol insurrection …

Supreme Court Job Approval Dips Below 50%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-nine percent of Americans approve of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing, its first approval rating below the majority level since 2017.  A year ago, 58% approved of the court, the highest Gallup had measured since 2009.

GOP Rep. Clyde stands by comparison of Jan. 6 mob to ‘tourists’ when pressed by Democratic Rep. Raskin  —  Rep. Andrew S. Clyde (R-Ga.), who infamously compared the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to “a normal tourist visit,” steadfastly stood by his contention Tuesday night during …

CDC asks the vaccinated to help save the unvaccinated from themselves  —  The “pandemic of the unvaccinated” has become a big problem for the rest of the country.

The intellectual right contemplates an ‘American Caesar’  —  Jan. 6 was a badly planned rehearsal for the real deal  —  How does ideological change happen?  Why do certain political ideas and possibilities that appear outrageous and even unthinkable at one moment in history come to be considered options worth taking seriously?

The CDC's Hysterical Delta Flip-Flop Might Be Its Final Undoing  —  The crazy, convoluted, mixed up messaging from the CDC - it's been this way from the beginning of the pandemic until now - has taken yet another turn.  Now the CDC is recommending masks not just for the unvaccinated but for the vaccinated too.

'He's a Great Guy': Trump's Favored Aide Has Troubled Past  —  “Max Miller,” said Donald Trump.  —  “You know Max?”  —  The former president stood behind the microphone at the lectern at one of the most recent of his trademark rallies late last month at the county fairgrounds here and told …

Who's Behind Dallas Justice Now's 'Don't Send White Kids to Ivy League' Controversy?  —  As soon as Casie Tomlin found the FedEx envelope in her mailbox, she knew something looked fishy.  Inside, a flyer from a group called Dallas Justice Now urged parents in Dallas' wealthy — and largely white …

Newsom sent kids to summer camp not enforcing state mask rules  —  Gavin Newsom sent kids to summer camp not enforcing state mask rules  —  Two of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's children briefly attended a summer camp that was in defiance of the state's COVID-19 guidance …

‘America is not racist’ becomes a GOP 2024 mantra  —  Democrats made structural racism a centerpiece of the 2020 presidential primary.  —  Now the Republican rebuttal is emerging as an early plank of the 2024 GOP contest: America is not a racist country.  —  The mantra, used by nearly …

A Confusing Message  —  The C.D.C. recommends indoor masking for the vaccinated, but only in some places.  —  The C.D.C. has both a polarization problem and a communication problem.  —  Let's start with the polarization problem: The parts of the country that would benefit most from a new crackdown …

Mandate the vaccine, not masks  —  Vaccines are the solution to Covid-19.  Let's make the most of them.  —  All of a sudden, it looks like masks may have to be put back on.  —  With the rise of the delta variant and a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases, the US Centers for Disease Control …

Covid relief programs are starting to expire for millions of Americans  —  Laid off and evicted amid Covid-19: “We ain't got nowhere to go”  —  (CNN)Sixteen months after the coronavirus pandemic upended the economy and left millions of Americans out of work, the historic relief programs Congress put in place are set to start expiring.