Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Affirmative Action: “The Trump administration will encourage the nation’s school superintendents and college presidents to adopt race-blind admissions standards, abandoning an Obama administration policy that called on universities to consider race as a factor in diversifying their campuses, administration officials said.”
* Germany: “The near political breakdown in Germany marks the beginning of the end for the European experiment, for an era of openness toward refugees and migrants in the West, and for Angela Merkel, the German chancellor at the center of the European political establishment. Or, perhaps, it is a close call in which Ms. Merkel made difficult sacrifices to hold it all together, as she has done many times before. Or maybe something in between.”
* Good move: “President Donald Trump will soon issue a proclamation ordering American flags be lowered in honor of those killed in a shooting at an Annapolis, Maryland newspaper last week, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told TPM early Tuesday.”
* Lee sure does seem eager to talk about this: “President Trump has interviewed Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), seen as a long-shot contender to replace retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, for the Supreme Court vacancy, a spokesman for the senator confirmed Tuesday.”
* An issue I’ve followed closely: “President Donald Trump has seen staff turnover in excess of 37 percent over the calendar year ending June 30, an AP analysis of White House filings shows.”
* Oil: “The Trump administration is softening its earlier demand that countries like China, India and Turkey end all imports of Iranian oil by Nov. 4, as a top State Department official on Monday said the United States would allow reduced oil flows, in certain cases.”
* I didn’t fully appreciate just how far Denmark was going: “Denmark’s government is introducing a new set of laws to regulate life in 25 low-income and heavily Muslim enclaves, saying that if families there do not willingly merge into the country’s mainstream, they should be compelled.” * What could possibly go wrong? “Terrorists are avowedly trying to build nuclear bombs, but U.S. spending to safeguard the world’s atomic materials has dipped in recent years — and President Donald Trump plans to keep it that way, according to budget documents, independent experts and lawmakers.” * More than 99% of the time, I ignore Dinesh D’Souza’s assorted missives, but he put out a call for evidence of “racist Dixiecrats who switched parties and became Republicans,” and historian Kevin M. Kruse responded in impressive fashion. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
