(The New Abnormal podcast)

Saying that Afghan Government could hold out for 18 months was still saying the fight against the Taliban was hopeless; soldiers and (more importantly) officers lost any will to continue fighting, and cut their own side deals.

American policy was built around saving face for the Afghan Government. If they looked like they could hold control, they had a hope for the future. Once US started to pull out, it looked like they no longer did.

Source: New York Times

The Food and Drug Administration is pushing to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, further expediting an earlier timeline for licensing the shot, according to people familiar with the agency’s planning.

Regulators were working to finish the process by Friday but were still working through a substantial amount of paperwork and negotiation with the company. The people familiar with the planning, who were not authorized to speak publicly about it, cautioned that the approval might slide beyond Monday if some components of the review need more time.

An F.D.A. spokeswoman declined to comment.

The agency had recently set an unofficial deadline for approval of around Labor Day.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/20/us/politics/fda-pfizer-covid-vaccine-full-approval.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20210820&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=cta®i_id=13550703&segment_id=66860&user_id=c58a2a6b957f0a552d45e1fd8aa3bdab

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for...
* South Shore of Long Island from East Rockaway Inlet to Montauk
* North Shore of Long Island from Kings Point to Montauk
* Flushing New York to Sagamore Beach Massachusetts
* Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Block Island

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...
* South Shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk
* North Shore of Long Island from Port Jefferson Harbor to Montauk
* New Haven Connecticut to Sagamore Beach Massachusetts
* Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Block Island

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for...
* West of Fire Island Inlet to East Rockaway Inlet New York
* West of Port Jefferson Harbor New York
* West of New Haven Connecticut

A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-
threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the
coastline, in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours.
For a depiction of areas at risk, please see the National Weather
Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic, available at
hurricanes.gov.

A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible
within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours
before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force
winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or
dangerous.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are
possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours.

Interests elsewhere in the northeastern U.S. and Atlantic Canada
should monitor the progress of Henri. Additional watches or
warnings will likely be required later today.

For storm information specific to your area, including possible
inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your
local National Weather Service forecast office.

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT3+shtml/201444.shtml?

You may express your disdain at your leisure.

(ALL ingredients in the meal—including salt, sugar, cooking fat and drinks — came from within 100 miles of the restaurant)

Source: Washington Post



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/19/texas-house-quorum-voting-bill-democrats/

Source: Washington Post



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/ken-kurson-kushner-friend-charged-trump-pardon/2021/08/18/d670ef70-ffac-11eb-a664-4f6de3e17ff0_story.html

Source: The Guardian



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/aug/19/afghanistan-live-news-taliban-kabul-us-troops-joe-biden-afghan-crisis-latest-updates

Source: The Journal

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.

WV Can’t Wait — a political group that united several Democrats, Republicans, Mountain Party members, libertarians and Independents to run for office in 2020 under a progressive platform – launched ReplaceJoeManchin.com on Tuesday morning.

The website, paid for by the WV Can’t Wait Action Committee, is a fundraising effort to support a candidate to challenge Manchin in 2024 or have a candidate ready should Manchin retire.

The fundraising campaign will also support slates of candidates that support WV Can’t Wait’s platform of pro-labor and anti-corporate donations; candidate recruiting and training for city, county, legislative, constitutional and federal elections; defending seats picked up in 2020 and 2021 by WV Can’t Wait candidates; and training for activists and community organizers.

Read more: https://www.journal-news.net/journal-news/progressive-group-launches-replacejoemanchin-com/article_ca94786c-338d-5d4d-8655-036a6d7aa33d.html

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At least people will know what the Republican who beats their candidate stands for…

In NYC, I could walk to multiple storefront testing facilities without an appointment, and get an Antigen test result in 10 minutes, and PCR test results in 4-5 hours. Few options in Seattle and 12-24 hour turnaround.

You can argue that this is a productive way to deal with recidivism. But if you’re not going to provide the same benefit to non-violent offenders, much less to the working class poor who haven’t committed crimes, I don’t think you’re going to build a strong consensus among the tax paying public.