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10:20 AM ET, August 18, 2021

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Mike Pence / Wall Street Journal:
Biden Broke Our Deal With the Taliban  —  It's a foreign-policy humiliation unlike anything our country has endured since the Iran hostage crisis.  —  'The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country [of Afghanistan] is highly unlikely," …
RELATED:
Reuters:
Biden's vow to airlift Afghan allies meets ticking clock, risky rescue  —  President Joe Biden's pledge to evacuate thousands more at-risk Afghans who worked for the U.S. government will run into the cold reality of a fast-closing window of time, insecurity all over Afghanistan and major logistical hurdles.
Chris Kahn / Reuters:
Biden approval drops to lowest of 7-month presidency after Taliban takeover  —  President Joe Biden's approval rating dropped by 7 percentage points and hit its lowest level so far as the U.S.-backed Afghan government collapsed over the weekend in an upheaval that sent thousands of civilians …
David Rohde / New Yorker:
Trying—and Failing—to Save the Family of the Afghan Who Saved Me  —  Twelve years ago, Tahir Luddin helped us both escape after we were kidnapped by the Taliban.  Now I am struggling to get his family out of Kabul.  —  In the middle of March, I texted my friend Tahir Luddin …
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
Senate Dem: We're gonna get to the bottom of this disgrace in Afghanistan; UPDATE: Pelosi too?  —  Joe Biden's speech on Monday clearly didn't solve any of his problems — not in Kabul and not in Washington DC.  Unmoved by Biden's finger-pointing, even his own party's leadership wants …
Discussion: The Hill, The Carpentariat and Townhall
Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Taliban Block Routes to Kabul Airport, Hampering Evacuations From Afghanistan  —  Residents in eastern city of Jalalabad stage first protest against Taliban rule  —  Afghans and Westerners stranded in Kabul after Sunday's Taliban takeover started trickling into the city's U.S.-controlled airport …
Quin Hillyer / Washington Examiner:
After epochal disaster in Afghanistan, Biden should step down  —  President Joe Biden should resign in disgrace.  —  Seriously.  As I have argued for decades , it is long past time for American politicians to adopt the Asian cultural model of resignations, as a matter of honor, for gross failures or derelictions.
Jerry Dunleavy / Washington Examiner:
From prison to power: Taliban leaders go from jail, to negotiating table, to Kabul  —  Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund returned to Afghanistan after nearly two decades on Tuesday, a reversal of fortune that saw him go from Taliban co-founder to prisoner in Pakistan to negotiator in Qatar to a now-central figure in Kabul.
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
A primer on false narratives about Afghanistan  —  There are many alarmist headlines pronouncing with certitude what has occurred or will occur in Afghanistan.  Many are premature — or alternatively, out of date.  Others ignore information now available to us that debunks fanciful explanations …
Washington Post:
Taliban strikes conciliatory tone, consolidates power as de facto leader returns to country
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: Biden's approval rating drops below 50
New York Times:
Intelligence Warned of Afghan Military Collapse, Despite Biden's Assurances
Jeffrey Morris / Covid Data Science:
Israeli data: How can efficacy vs. severe disease be strong when 60% of hospitalized are vaccinated?  —  A surge involving the rapidly-transmitting Delta variant in heavily vaccinated countries has led to much hand-wringing that the vaccines are not effective against Delta, or vaccine efficacy wanes after 4-6 months.
Discussion: Calculated Risk
RELATED:
Phil Helsel / NBC News:
Texas school district makes masks part of dress code to get around Gov. Abbott's order … A small Texas school district has made facial coverings part of its dress code, in a bid to get around Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order banning mask mandates.  —  The board of the Paris Independent …
Reuters:
U.S. reports more than 1,000 COVID deaths in single day  —  The United States reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, equating to around 42 fatalities an hour, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates.
Paul Blest / VICE:
How to Actually Get a Trump Voter Vaccinated
Discussion: Raw Story
Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tests positive for COVID-19
Anita Sircar / Los Angeles Times:
Op-Ed: As a doctor in a COVID unit, I'm running out of compassion for the unvaccinated. Get the shot
Discussion: NOQ Report
New York Times:
The School Culture Wars: ‘You Have Brought Division to Us’  —  From mask mandates to critical race theory and gender identity, educators are besieged.  “You are just trying to keep everything from collapsing,” one official said.  —  July and August are supposed to be the quietest months of the school year.
Wall Street Journal:
BuzzFeed Clashed With NBCUniversal as It Pursued SPAC Deal  —  Chief Executive Jonah Peretti of BuzzFeed signed off on terms that could put more pressure on the company if its shares don't rise.  He is confident investors will be pleased with the results.  —  As BuzzFeed Inc. was exploring plans …
Steve Israel / The Hill:
Do not underestimate Kathy Hochul  —  As summer winds down, the most frequently asked questions in New York are:  — A) What happened to the Mets?  — B) Mask or no mask?  —  The first three engender hot debate.  The fourth requires an understanding of New York politics to answer.
HuffPost:
The Behind-The-Scenes Campaign For The Next Social Security Commissioner  —  Former Rep. Donna Shalala, a White House aide and a Social Security expert are all up for the job.  —  An aide to President Joe Biden on labor issues is among the top contenders to lead the Social Security Administration …
Steven Allen Adams / Martinsburg Journa:
Progressive group launches ReplaceJoeManchin.com  —  CHARLESTON — Whether U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin decides to run for a third six-year term in 2024 or retires sometime in the near future, a group of progressive activists are creating a framework in the hopes of replacing Manchin down the road.
Discussion: The Nation
Brendan Farrington / Associated Press:
DeSantis top donor invests in COVID drug governor promotes  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who has been criticized for opposing mask mandates and vaccine passports — is now touting a COVID-19 antibody treatment in which a top donor's company has invested millions of dollars.
Carl Campanile / New York Post:
Disgraced Gov. Cuomo files for $50K pension ahead of delayed resignation  —  Disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo filed retirement papers with the state to receive a $50,000 annual lifetime pension — just days before his resignation takes effect over his sexual harassment scandal.
Ron Faucheux / Washington Examiner:
Are the wheels coming off the Biden administration?  —  When we look back at the first year of Joe Biden's presidency, will August of 2021 stand out as the time the wheels came off?  —  Despite the Senate passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, a substantial legislative accomplishment …
Discussion: CNBC and Crooks and Liars
Jesús A. Rodríguez / Politico:
What Kamala Harris' Law School Years Reveal About Her Politics  —  The signs in downtown San Francisco that day, outside of the University of California Hastings College of the Law, might as well have been plucked from today's racial justice protests.  “Rise Above Racism,” “Should This Still Be Happening? …
Julie Barrett / The Federalist:
How To See If Critical Race Theory Is In Your Kids' School—And Fight It  —  If your school district is anything like mine, they don't call it critical race theory, and they insist people who use that term are crazy, right-wing conspiracy theorists.  We're not.
Discussion: Washington Examiner
 
 
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 More Items: 
Shelly Kittleson / Politico:
In the Taliban's Birthplace, White Flags, Jailbreaks and Fears of Revenge
Michael Anton / The American Mind:
Afghanistan: Doomed from the Start
Democracy Docket:
Court Dismisses Right-Wing Group's Counterclaims in Georgia Voter Intimidation Suit
Zach Montellaro / Politico:
‘Center of the maelstrom’: Election officials grapple with 2020's long shadow
Washington Post:
Durham grand jury explores theory someone presented FBI with fabricated evidence in 2016 Russia probe
 Earlier Items: 
Kate Murphy / Raleigh News & Observer:
UNC Chapel Hill Journalism School Dean Susan King resigning
Discussion: The Progressive Pulse
Jacquelynn Kerubo / New York Times:
What Gentrification Means for Black Homeowners
Wall Street Journal:
The Democratic Food-Stamp Boom
Rudy Takala / Mediaite:
Twitter Says Taliban Spokesman Will be Allowed to Remain if He Doesn't Get Too Violent
Georgia Slater / People.com:
CNN's Abby Phillip Welcomes First Baby, Daughter Naomi Angelina, with Husband Marcus Richardson
Discussion: TheGrio
Seth Barrett Tillman / THE NEW REFORM CLUB:
What I Learned About the United States After Ten Years in Ireland
NBC4 Washington:
DC Tunnel History Site Flagged Suspicious Activity Before Capitol Insurrection
Discussion: Raw Story and The Hill