June 18, 2021: Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare; Recordings Expose Bolivia Coup Plot; US Funds Anti-covid Pill Research

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TODAY'S HEADLINES:


The Supreme Court yesterday struck down another challenge to the
Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But it also said
American companies can benefit from child slavery in Africa, so,
you know, hold your applause for the honorable Justices.


Meanwhile, audio recordings reveal that
Bolivia’s right-wing coup leaders were organizing yet another
plot against the pro-democracy politician who won last year’s
election. And this time they planned to go big, and bring in
hundreds of mercenaries from the United States.


And lastly, US health officials announced a $3
billion program to speed up research on a pill to fight the
coronavirus in people who’ve already been infected. The research
could also help stop future pandemics in their tracks, which,
after all we’ve been through, is an obvious win.


THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:


This legal news comes from the Washington Post. The Supreme Court
yesterday said US chocolate companies cannot be sued for child
slavery on the African farms from which they buy most of their
cocoa. But the court stopped short of saying such a lawsuit could
never go forward. Six African men sought damages from Nestlé USA
and Cargill, alleging that as children they were trafficked out
of Mali, forced to work long hours on Ivory Coast cocoa farms and
kept at night in locked shacks. Their attorneys argued the
companies should have better monitored their cocoa suppliers in
West Africa, where two-thirds of the world’s cocoa is grown and
child labor is widespread. The companies asked the Supreme Court
to toss the lawsuit, arguing that courts in the United States are
the wrong forum and that the applicable law permits such cases
against individuals but not corporations. The court’s splintered
decision was written by Justice Clarence Thomas.


Also yesterday, the Post reports, the Court dismissed the latest
challenge to the Affordable Care Act, saying Republican-led
states do not have the legal standing to try to upend the law.
Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the court’s seven-to-two decision,
which preserves the law that provides millions of Americans with
health coverage. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier
Becerra called the court’s decision, "a victory for all
Americans, especially people with a preexisting condition." It’s
a bittersweet victory, though, because I can’t stop thinking
about those child slaves.


Recordings Expose Bolivia Coup Plot


Here’s some retro Reagan-era intrigue! The Intercept reports that
a top official in the outgoing Bolivian government plotted to
deploy hundreds of mercenaries from the United States to overturn
the results of the South American country’s October 2020
election. The aim of the mercenary recruitment was to forcibly
block Luis Arce from taking up the presidency for MAS, the party
of former Bolivian President Evo Morales. The plot continued even
though Arce, a protégé of Morales, trounced a crowded field,
winning fifty five percent of first-round votes. Disagreements
between ministers and divisions within the armed forces appear to
have undermined the plan. It was never executed.


According to the Intercept, Arce’s eventual victory last fall was
a stunning rejection of the right-wing shift overseen by coup
leader Jeanine Áñez. The Bolivian right wing, however, was not
ready to relinquish power. A recorded call with Áñez’s defense
minister sketches a coup plot even more flagrant than the one in
October 2019. Several of the plotters discussed flying hundreds
of foreign mercenaries into Bolivia from a US military base
outside Miami. These would join forces with elite Bolivian
military units, renegade police squadrons, and vigilante mobs in
a desperate bid to keep MAS from returning to power. Two US
military sources confirmed that Special Operations had gotten
wind of the Bolivia coup plot. But nothing ever came of it, they
said. All those out-of-work Yankee mercenaries will just have to
wait until the next time a leftist wins a Latin American
election.


US Funds Anti-covid Pill Research


This promising health news comes from the New York Times. The US
government spent more than $18 billion last year funding
drugmakers to make a Covid vaccine, an effort that led to at
least five highly effective shots in record time. Now it’s
pouring more than $3 billion on a neglected area of research:
developing pills to fight the virus early in the course of
infection, potentially saving many lives in the years to come.
The new program, announced yesterday by the Department of Health
and Human Services, will speed up the clinical trials of a few
promising drug candidates. If all goes well, some of those first
pills could be ready by


the end of the year. The Antiviral Program for Pandemics will
also support research on entirely new drugs – not just for the
coronavirus, but for viruses that could cause future pandemics.


According to the Times, Doctor Anthony Fauci, a key backer of the
program, said he looked forward to a time when Covid-19 patients
could pick up antiviral pills from a pharmacy as soon as they
develop Covid-19 symptoms. Fauci’s support for research on
antiviral pills stems from his own experience fighting AIDS three
decades ago. In the 1990s, his institute conducted research that
led to some of the first antiviral pills for HIV. Even if the
next generation of pills doesn’t arrive for a few years,
scientists say the research will be a good investment. Imagine a
future where Covid is no big deal. It’s nice!


AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:


CBS News reports that the House yesterday approved a bill to
repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force in Iraq,
a measure which has the backing of the White House. The bill now
goes to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said
he will bring it to the floor for a vote this year. Next we need
a bill to make everyone who supported that stupid war publicly
apologize.


The Washington Post says today will be a holiday for federal
employees following President Joe Biden’s signing yesterday of
legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday. Juneteenth marks
the end of slavery in Texas. Employers who don’t honor this
holiday are now officially on notice.


Speaking of Texas: The Associated Press reports that Texas will
now let people carry handguns without first getting a background
check and training, becoming the latest and largest on a growing
list of states to roll back permitting requirements for carrying
guns in public. Republican Governor Greg Abbott called it a
measure of freedom and self-defense. It’s more like self-harm.


Politico reports that a little-known GOP candidate in Florida was
secretly recorded threatening to send a Russian and Ukrainian hit
squad to a fellow Republican opponent to make her QUOTE disappear
ENDQUOTE. During the call, William Braddock repeatedly warned a
conservative activist to not support Anna Paulina Luna in the
Republican primary for a Tampa Bay-area congressional seat
because he had access to assassins. Look out, Texas – here comes
Florida!


AM QUICKIE - JUNE 18, 2021


HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner


WRITER - Corey Pein


PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw


EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn