Over 100 dead, evacuations continue, more than 500,000 new refugees expected and the US gave the Taliban a list of Americans and allies | | | The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. Send news tips or feedback to [email protected]. | | |
Situational Analysis | August 27, 2021 Welcome to Friday and a somber weekend. Be in the Know Tragedy in Kabul as two suicide bombers hit the airport. 13 American service members and at least 95 Afghanis were killed, with scores more injured. Evacuations continue as the Aug. 31 deadline looms. As many as 500,000 or more could flee as refugees. UNHCR said that would add to the 2.2 million Afghans who already are registered as refugees abroad â nearly all of them in Pakistan and Iran. The agency also estimates that 558,000 people have been internally displaced within Afghanistan due to armed conflict this year alone â four in five of them women and children. It seems impossible to believe but U.S. officials provided the Taliban with names of Americans and Afghan allies to evacuate. The White House contends that limited information sharing with the Taliban is saving lives and others say we just gave the Taliban a kill list. | | |
Utah Headlines General Locally founded Crumbl cookie company stuns with 93% growth in sales (Herald Journal) âWe were wrongâ â Sen. Mitt Romney rails against U.S. withdrawal in wake of Afghanistan bombings, points to decisions by Donald Trump and Joe Biden and urges Utah to welcome refugees âwith open arms.â (Salt Lake Tribune) Afghanistan veterans in Utah react to bloodshed and âwithdrawalâ overseas (Fox13) Utah leaders react to Kabul attacks: âThis loss of life tears at our collective soulâ (Deseret News) Politics Pignanelli and Webb: Is a big defeat inevitable for Democrats in 2022? (Deseret News) The Biden honeymoon is over. What does that mean for the 2022 midterms? (Deseret News) âDo not give upâ: Utahns rally at Capitol in support of Equal Rights Amendment (Salt Lake Tribune) Commentary: Time to go beyond DACA and pass real immigration reform (Salt Lake Tribune) Mitt Romney to unvaccinated: âYour liberty affects my health.â (Salt Lake Tribune) COVID Corner 1491 new cases, 358 in kids and 10 new deaths 'We're in a crisis': Utah's ICU beds above functionally full level (KSL) COVID-19 increasing among younger age groups; the Southwest Utah Public Health Department encourages masks in schools (St. George News) COVID-19 surge pummels Hawaii and its native population (AP) Drought/Wildfires/Heat Anatomy of a drought: How the West may change for decades to come (Deseret News) Long-term forecasts show Utah's drought possibly getting worse (Fox13) Education Gordon Monson: Jeffrey Holland extended a clenched fist instead of an open hand in his BYU speech. The church leaderâs remarks could pose another obstacle in BYUâs search for a new athletic conference (Salt Lake Tribune) Jana Riess: LDS apostle Jeffrey R. Hollandâs BYU speech is for a university of yesteryear. This âdoes not seem to have been his finest hour,â columnist writes. (Salt Lake Tribune) The news people missed in Elder Hollandâs BYU talk (Deseret News) National Headlines General McMaster on Afghanistan carnage: 'What we saw today is just the beginning' (Yahoo News) Biden says deadly attack won't alter US evacuation mission in Afghanistan (The Hill) Biden vows to finish Kabul evacuation, avenge US deaths (AP) Evacuations resume at Kabul airport despite fears of new ISIS attack (NBC News) What we know about ISIS-K, the group behind the Kabul attacks (NPR) U.S. forces preparing for more ISIS attacks in Kabul, top commander says (Washington Post) Tropical Storm Ida a hurricane menace to New Orleans (AP) Politics The Memo: Horror in Kabul is political disaster for Biden (The Hill) Biden shedding support from independent voters as Delta variant spreads - Reuters poll (Reuters) Courts Supreme Court allows evictions to resume during pandemic (AP) News of the Weird Massive nest containing 1,500 'murder hornets' discovered and destroyed in Washington state (The Hill) | | |
Policy News Gov. Cox lowers flags in honor of the victims of the tragedy in Kabul airport Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox has ordered the lowering of the flags of the United States of America and the great state of Utah in honor of the U.S. service members and other victims killed in the terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Individuals, businesses, and other organizations are encouraged to join in honoring all victims. Flags will be flown at half-staff at all state facilities from sunset, Aug. 26, 2021, until sunset on Aug. 30, 2021. Read President Bidenâs proclamation here. Fall 2021 Utah Unclaimed Property Webathon to help reunite lost money with rightful owners What: The Utah Unclaimed Property Division of the Office of State Treasurer is hosting a webathon on Wednesday, September 1 to raise awareness of unclaimed property and encourage Utahns to find and claim their lost money online. The six-hour event will take place online at treasurer.utah.gov/UPwebathon, as well as on Facebook and YouTube. During the event, the division will post live statistics and information about unclaimed property. Several guests, including claimants, nonprofit organizations and elected officials, will join the online conversation to share their unclaimed property experiences. (Read More) | | |
Commentary: An historic opportunity to expand federal social welfare programs â for better or for worse By LaVarr Webb Iâve written previously that one of the key issues in the 2022 congressional mid-terms will be whether voters want considerably more benefits from the federal government. Legislation has already passed, and more is pending in Congress, to dramatically increase government benefits for most Americans, extending well into the upper middle class. For example, the child tax credit is now paying families earning up to $150,000 a year up to $300 a month for each child. Under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called food stamps) a family of four can now qualify for more than $800 a month for food, even though a typical family of four spends only a little more than $500 a month for food, according to the Wall Street Journal. And much more welfare support is planned. A recent newsletter from the New York Times outlines some of the provisions of the $3.5 trillion (some project it will really be over $5 trillion) âhuman infrastructureâ social spending bill recently moved forward by the U.S. House. The NY Times called it âBidenâs most ambitious attempt the reshape the American economy.â It would come on top of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the pandemic-relief law that Biden signed in March, only this legislation âis likely to be larger and longer lasting, and would affect many aspects of daily life, like education, health care and perhaps even the weather.â The âsprawling billâ is designed to slow climate change, reduce poverty, expand pre-kindergarten education, provide free community college (including tuition and living expenses), and expand Medicare benefits. It includes significant subsidies for clean energy and would help families pay for electric cars and energy-efficient homes. Medicare would be expanded to include dental, hearing and vision coverage, and anyone 60 and up would qualify. Subsidies would increase for Obamacare plans, and for home health care. The $300 per child per month tax credit would be made permanent for families earning up to $150,000 annually. Workers who take time off due to illness or to take care of a relative could receive up to $4,000 a month. Subsidies for childcare would increase. (Read More) | | |
Upcoming Zions Bank Community Speaker Series: Building economic inclusion â Aug 31 @ 12 pm. Register here Utah Foundation Annual Luncheon with Shaylyn Romney Garrett â Sept 23 @ 12 pm. Register here | | |
On This Day In History From History.com 1782 - John Laurens, American soldier, diplomat, abolitionist and friend to Alexander Hamilton is killed in battle at 27 1883 - The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatoa. 1908 - Lyndon B. Johnson is born. He became the 36th president of the US after JFK was assassinated. 1935 - Mary McLeod Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women 1940 - Nestle registers the trademark for Toll House for the first time in preparation for marketing Ruth Wakefieldâs chocolate chip cookies. 1952 - âRed Scareâ dominates American politics and the 1952 presidential election 1963 - W. E. B. Du Bois, American civil rights activist, writer (Souls of Black Folk) and founder of the NAACP, dies at 95 in Accra, Ghana 1964 - Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke premieres in Los Angeles 1984 - US President Ronald Reagan announces 'Teacher in Space' project Wise Words âUntil justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men's skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.â -Lyndon B. Johnson Lighter Side âYou know someone at the company that made Ivermectin once said, âHey, should we put ânot for peopleâ on the horse pill labels?â and someone else said, âThereâs a picture of a horse on the bottle, itâs fine!ââ â SETH MEYERS | | |
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