Morning Politocadoes!

It’s been another rough week, take your pick. Is it that the Supreme Court upheld the right of private organizations to keep its female employees from getting contraception through their insurance due to ReLigIoUs oBjEcTioNs?

How about the President directing the CIA to share intelligence with Russia when there was absolutely no discernible value in them doing so?

CIA Kept Giving Intel to Russia, Got Nothing Back https://t.co/im3SXpfEpi via @thedailybeast

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 9, 2020

How about the President threatening to cut funding to schools that don’t re-open?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump threatens to withhold federal funds from schools that don't reopen, lashes out at health officials over guidelines.

— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 8, 2020

Yes, the President wants to cut federal funding to schools that don’t formally re-open for the fall semester. I’m not quite sure what the angle is here. Maybe it’s to get people distracted and try to create normalcy ahead of the election or maybe it’s just that people aren’t doing what he wants them to do. The world isn’t conforming to his reality and now people have to die I guess.

Packing people of any age into crowded places such as schools is risky at best right now. Given what we know already and recent research suggesting that the coronavirus might also actually effective airborne, it is markedly poor time to even suggest students and teachers risk their lives to go to school.

And let us not forget that ICE is also planning on deporting any international students that cannot attend classes physically. One might say the cruelty is the point.

Harvard and MIT have sued the Trump administration on this last point principally because it’s being seen as a way to pressure schools to open back up. Hopefully, this ties up the implementation of the order long enough it doesn’t affect anyone. But somehow, I just don’t think that ICE or Trump really care what the courts will say.

Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. As the protests continue, please be safe, dress non-descriptively, avoid wearing contacts if you wear them normally, and keep your phones on you. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas, and practices sanitation policies as circumstances dictate.