memeorandum: Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Queer Predicament (Michelangelo Signorile/The Signorile Report)

10:05 PM ET, August 11, 2020

Top Items:

2020 Election Live Updates: Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris to Be His Running Mate — In a new national poll, Mr. Biden leads President Trump by 10 points. In Minnesota, Ilhan Omar faces a stiff primary challenge, while a QAnon supporter has a shot at a Georgia House seat.

Axios:

Joe Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate — Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he has chosen Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate — the first Black woman to be named to a major-party U.S. presidential ticket, and potentially the first woman vice president if Biden defeats President Trump.

CNN:

Why Kamala Harris won the VP contest — David Axelrod, a senior CNN political commentator and host of “The Axe Files,” was senior adviser to President Barack Obama and chief strategist for the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

Discussion: Raw Story, Townhall, ImmigrationProf Blog and The US Sun

Brian Schwartz / CNBC:

Wall Street executives are glad Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris to be his VP running mate — Wall Street leaders on Tuesday cheered Joe Biden's selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate in the presidential election. — Finance executives, confident the ticket has what it takes …

Discussion: Townhall, The Daily Caller, The 19th and The American Spectator

Sahil Kapur / NBC News:

Harris VP pick creates dilemma for Trump campaign, which lobs conflicting attacks … WASHINGTON — Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate creates a conundrum for which President Donald Trump's campaign didn't have an immediate answer: How to run against her.

Discussion: Raw Story, Axios, The Week, Sputnik News and The Moderate Voice

Maureen Lee Lenker / EW.com:

Maya Rudolph reacts to Kamala Harris VP pick: ‘Oh s—’ — Rudolph said she is ready to return as Harris on Saturday Night Live. — It's official: Joe Biden has selected Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate in the 2020 election. And Maya Rudolph, who played Harris during …

Discussion: Mediaite, Deadline, Vanity Fair, Variety, New York Post and The Wrap

Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:

On Kamala Harris — Joe Biden has named his 2020 running mate: authoritarianism. — American prosecutors wield awesome and terrible powers that lend themselves easily to abuse, and Senator Kamala Harris, formerly the attorney general of California, is an enthusiastic abuser of them.

Discussion: Fox News

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

Why Joe Biden Picked Kamala Harris — If Joe Biden is elected in November, his presidency will likely be defined by history-shaping decisions made after long, deliberative, some might say operatic processes. Biden's selection of Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate …

New York Times:
In Kamala Harris, a Choice at Once Safe and Energizing

Discussion: Breitbart

Alexandra DeSanctis / National Review: Kamala Harris's Anti-Catholic Bigotry

Nardine Saad / Los Angeles Times:
‘Yes, We Kam!’ Hollywood is fired up over Kamala Harris as Biden's VP pick

Discussion: Twitchy

Tammy Bruce / Washington Times: Democratic Party sets rules for criticizing Biden's VP pick Kamala Harris

Dan Morain / Washington Post:
America is about to see what smart Republicans saw in Kamala Harris years ago

Discussion: The Hill and Outside the Beltway

The Daily Beast:
Trump Campaign Playbook: Paint Kamala as ‘Ruthless’ and ‘Power-Hungry’

Discussion: National Review, NPR and Axios

Alexandra Petri / Washington Post:
Team Biden wishes it had known something was slightly wrong with every woman before promising a female VP

Discussion: CNN, New York Times, Breitbart, Politico and NBC News

Makini Brice / Reuters:
NAACP launches drive to boost Black voter turnout in six key states

Discussion: Fox News, The Hill and FiveThirtyEight

Deepa Shivaram / NBC News:
Joe Biden selects Kamala Harris as his running mate

Discussion: Fox News, Axios, The Moderate Voice, Reason, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, Patterico's Pontifications, Essence and The Root

USA Today: Public defender: I worked with Kamala Harris. She was the most progressive DA in California.

Michael S. Schmidt / Penguin Random House:

Donald Trump v. The United States — Buy the Audiobook Download: — Apple- Audible- downpour- eMusic- audiobooks.com — ABOUT DONALD TRUMP V. THE UNITED STATES — With unparalleled reporting, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter continues to break news …

Amanda Terkel / HuffPost:
Trump: If Biden Wins, You'll ‘Have To Learn To Speak Chinese’

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico and IJR

John Nagl / Defense One:

“. . . All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic”: An Open Letter to Gen. Milley — If the commander in chief attempts to ignore the election's results, you will face a choice. — Dear General Milley: — As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you are well aware of your duties in ordinary times …

Discussion: Liberty Unyielding

New York Times:

Retail Chains Abandon Manhattan: 'It's Unsustainable' — Some national chains, both retail and restaurants, are closing outlets in New York City, which are struggling more than their branches elsewhere. — For years, Bryant Park Grill & Cafe in Midtown Manhattan has been one of the country's …

New York Times:

A Bible Burning, a Russian News Agency and a Story Too Good to Check Out — WASHINGTON — For some of President Trump's loudest cheerleaders, it was a story too good to check out: Black Lives Matters protesters in Portland, Ore., had burned a stack of Bibles, and then topped off the fire with American flags.

Discussion: Daily Kos and The Hill, more at Mediagazer »

Anne Gearan / Washington Post:

End of an era? Trump says he won't hold rallies with empty seats. — The Trump rally may be a thing of the past. — At the least, the signature stew of tribal politics, showmanship, insults, outrage, humor and hero worship that propelled Donald Trump's improbable victory four years ago …

Discussion: Raw Story, Axios, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Daily Kos, Breitbart and Task & Purpose

Big Ten Conference:

Big Ten Statement on 2020-21 Fall Season — ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of the 2020-21 fall sports season, including all regular-season contests and Big Ten Championships and Tournaments, due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discussion: Pac-12, Washington Post, UPI, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Associated Press, NBC 6 South Florida, Politico, ABC7, Just The News, The Daily Caller, Chicago Sun-Times, NPR, Sports Illustrated, Mediaite, Slate, OutKick, CBS Chicago and FiveThirtyEight

Sports Illustrated:
First Power 5 Dominoes Fall as Big Ten, Pac-12 Pull Plug on Fall Season

Discussion: ESPN

CNBC:

Government lawyer suggests Attorney General Barr had secret reasons for dropping Michael Flynn criminal case — Attorney General William Barr may have had secret information that led the Justice Department to seek to drop its criminal case against Michael Flynn, a government lawyer said Tuesday.

Discussion: National Review and The Gateway Pundit

Pete Williams / NBC News:
Appeals court likely to let judge decide whether to drop Michael Flynn charges

Discussion: Reuters

Michelangelo Signorile / The Signorile Report:

Jerry Falwell Jr.'s Queer Predicament — Let's not forget about the *other* sexually-compromising photos. And Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, could tell all in his book. — 11 hr … Back in June, I wrote about Senator Lindsey Graham's queer predicament.

Discussion: The Nation, The American Independent and The Hill

Pew Research Center:

About One-in-Four U.S. Hispanics Have Heard of Latinx, but Just 3% Use It — Young Hispanic women among the most likely to use the term — For this analysis we surveyed 3,030 U.S. Hispanic adults in December 2019 as part of the 2019 National Survey of Latinos.

Discussion: The Federalist, Los Angeles Times, Washington Free Beacon, Twitchy, NPR and Townhall

Vladimir Isachenkov / Associated Press:

Russia clears virus vaccine despite scientific skepticism — MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Tuesday became the first country to clear a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated.

Discussion: Washington Post, Slate, TASS, CNN, Big Think, Reuters, The Verge, New York Times, The Daily Caller, WGN-TV, Politico, Associated Press, The Week, No More Mister Nice Blog and TheBlaze

Zachary B. Wolf / CNN:
Russia claims a win in the vaccine race. But would you take a vaccine from Vladimir Putin?

Discussion: Sputnik News, Mediaite and Veterans Today

Grace Panetta / Business Insider:

Marjorie Greene defeats John Cowan in the runoff for Georgia's 14th congressional district — Foto: Screenshot via Marjorie Taylor Greene/YouTube Marjorie Taylor Greene — Businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene defeated neurosurgeon Dr. John Cowanin the August 11 Republican primary runoff for Georgia's 14th congressional district.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo and Politico

Ross Douthat / New York Times:

The Revolt of the Republican Strategists — What the Trump era has revealed about the people who used to run Republican campaigns. — Last week I found myself reading “It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump,” the new book by Stuart Stevens, the longtime Republican operative …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Lachlan Markay / The Daily Beast:

Conservative ‘News’ Site's Secret: It's Run by Trump's Super PAC — The American Herald calls itself “a conservative news platform.” It's actually just an extension of the Trump political machine. — Donald Trump's “official” super PAC has spent more than $25 million since last year to get the president re-elected.

Discussion: Raw Story

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Exclusive: Facebook cracks down on political content disguised as local news

Discussion: Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

CBS News:

Seattle's police chief stepping down after City Council votes to trim department — Seattle's police chief says she is stepping down, a move made public the same day the City Council approved reducing the department by as many as 100 officers through layoffs and attrition.

Discussion: Fox News, The Root, KING-TV and The Daily Caller

Sister Toldjah / Redstate:
BREAKING: Seattle's First Black Female Police Chief Resigns After Council Caves to BLM, Reporters Note Irony

Discussion: KOMO, Power Line and MyNorthwest.com

Voting:

J. Christian Adams Appointed to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights — (WASHINGTON, D.C.) - August 11, 2020: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) released a statement today acknowledging President Donald J. Trump's appointment of J. Christian Adams to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Mike O'Sullivan / Voice of America:

Mike Pence: Backing up a Demanding Boss — Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. — Download File — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has weathered storms that have shaken the Trump White House …

Vicky Prodeline / Polls:

Election Meddling Concerns — Democrats suspect Russia, Republicans point finger at the Democrats — West Long Branch, NJ - American voters are simultaneously confident and concerned about the integrity of the upcoming election. While many Democrats are worried about Russian meddling …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA, The Hill, The US Sun, Washington Post and Politico

Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:

How we stop Trump from stealing 11/3 by mail | Will Bunch Newsletter — For two nights I was a happy camper in the deep woods of Massachusetts, and like Henry David Thoreau I'm back with some new thoughts on resisting a corrupt American government. If you're as worried about Trump …

Discussion: Fox News and The Nation

Gary Fineout / Politico:

DeSantis squelches talk of a White House run — TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he plans to run for a second four-year term and expects to make a formal announcement at the end of the year. — He said speculation about a 2024 White House bid was “total garbage” …

Discussion: One America News Network, The Hill and Florida Politics

Danny M. Lavery / Slate:

Help! I Can't Believe My Son's Friend Fed Him Indian Food Without Calling Me First. — Slate is now asking those who read the most to support our journalism more directly by subscribing to Slate Plus. Learn more. — Danny is online weekly to chat live with readers.