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The Fourth is over and so is the heat wave, in the NYC area it least. At mid-morning it\u2019s 65 degrees and pouring rain. The AC can rest for a while.<\/p>\n
Trump is on his way to a NATO conference, where he will further display his ignorance of what NATO even is and piss off our used-to-be allies. The Wall Street Journal is running a story that is headlined \u2018There Is No Going Back\u2019: The Inside Story of Europe\u2019s Rupture With America<\/a>.\u201d It sounds juicy, but it\u2019s behind a paywall.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard elsewhere that European leaders are pretty much done being nice to Trump to his face to dissuade him from doing more damage. It doesn\u2019t work, anyway. But I don\u2019t know what they\u2019ll do with him at the meeting. They\u2019d probably like to shove\u00a0 him under a bus, but they probably won\u2019t.<\/p>\n I want to look at the further adventures of the SAVE America Act. Yesterday Mike Johnson announced that the House will pass SAVE America one more time<\/a> as part of a budget reconciliation bill. Which, of course, would allow the Senate to bypass the 60-vote threshold and pass it with Republican votes. They tried this trick once already, and the Senate Parliamentarian nixed it. The Byrd Rule dictates that only provisions with a direct impact on federal spending and revenue can be in a reconciliation bill, and that seems to me to leave out the SAVE America Act. I understand Johnson has talked about adding a $4 billion grant program attached to the SAVE America act to make it about revenue.<\/p>\n However, Mychael Schnell at MS NOW<\/a> says that even Republicans are tired of getting bogged down with the SAVE America Act.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants to go it alone, his way to the highway, and it don\u2019t work,\u201d Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who\u2019s retiring at the end of the year, told MS NOW. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to pound the square peg through the circle, and it doesn\u2019t work.\u201d \u2026 \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n ,,,Yet another House GOP lawmaker was more succinct: \u201cRepublicans \u2014\u00a0those of us who can do math \u2014\u00a0would like the president and other members to recognize that there isn\u2019t a path forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As Trump continues his pressure campaign \u2014 he managed to mention the SAVE America Act during his July Fourth speech on the National Mall on Saturday night \u2014 several Republicans say it\u2019s time for him to pivot. Instead of trying to force GOP skeptics in line, some lawmakers said Trump should consider a compromise with those holdouts, or even with Democrats.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s things that we should be able to do,\u201d the House GOP lawmaker said, \u201cbut we\u2019re so focused on legislation that will never get a Democratic vote and won\u2019t make it through the reconciliation that it\u2019s stopping all progress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Some House Republicans say that Trump needs to put pressure on Democrats to change their<\/em> votes. But I say hell hath no fury like what the Democratic base would do to any Dem who played ball with Trump on this bill.<\/p>\n The last time it was voted on in the Senate, all Dems plus four Republicans voted no<\/em>, and if that holds it would not pass even if only a majority vote were required.<\/p>\n In other news<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 Trump\u2019s interference in the World Cup games is turning into an international big deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n FIFA has dismissed Belgium\u2019s challenge over the eligibility of Folarin Balogun after world soccer\u2019s governing body decided to suspend his one-game ban ahead of the World Cup round-of-16 game with the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite being dismissed against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the USMNT striker is available to face Belgium in Seattle on Monday night after an intervention involving\u00a0U.S. President Donald Trump, government officials, U.S. Soccer and an extensive legal team<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Belgium formally objected to that decision, saying it had \u201cno alternative but to challenge (Balogun\u2019s) eligibility for the upcoming match\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s appeals committee, however, has rendered the request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as \u201cinadmissible\u201d. They did so on the grounds that \u201cthe RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,\u201d a statement from FIFA said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I have not been following the World Cup games and have no idea if the penalty imposed on Balogun was fair or not. But the appearance<\/em> of the thing stinks out loud, to mix metaphors a bit. I\u2019ve seen people on social media calling for the U.S. team to voluntarily bench Balogun for tonight\u2019s game, to show good sportsmanship. I haven\u2019t heard anything from the team, though. See also FIFA Loses Control of World Cup After Bending the Knee to Trump<\/a> by Hafiz Rashid at The New Republic.<\/p>\n Update:\u00a0<\/strong>It looks like Graham Platner\u2019s campaign<\/a> is in big trouble. There have been no allegations, and he\u2019s canceled several campaign events. Platner may be toast. I have been told that by Maine rules if he drops out by July 13 the Dems can appoint a replacement. But then he released a video<\/a> that doesn\u2019t sound like he\u2019s dropping out.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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