* The folks at NBC’s First Read point out that Donald Trump seems to be out there on his own.
…as the Democratic Party has rallied around Clinton,…Trump is pretty much all alone here in his reaction to Orlando. “I’m not going to be commenting on the presidential candidates today,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, per Benjy Sarlin. “I am not going to spend my time commenting about the ups and downs and the in-betweens of comments,” added House Speaker Paul Ryan. And then there’s this: “Senator Tim Scott, R-S.C., paused a moment after being asked by NBC News whether he had any thoughts on Trump’s response to Orlando. ‘You know…hmm,’ he said. Then without another word, he walked onto the Senate floor.” Hmm indeed.
* In case you missed it, over 120 GOP National Security Leaders wrote an open letter about Donald Trump’s candidacy.
We the undersigned, members of the Republican national security community, represent a broad spectrum of opinion on America’s role in the world and what is necessary to keep us safe and prosperous. We have disagreed with one another on many issues, including the Iraq war and intervention in Syria. But we are united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency.
* Here is the news from the Fed today.
The Federal Reserve kept U.S. interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and signaled it still planned two hikes this year, although a slowing economic growth path for 2016 and 2017 prompted a downgrade in where the U.S. central bank thought rates would peak.
Even this year’s rates projection was less secure than previously, however. Six of the Fed’s 17 individual forecasts from governors and regional Fed presidents projected just one hike this year, compared with one such outlook when the forecasts were last issued three months ago.
“We are quite uncertain about where rates are heading in the longer term,” Fed Chair Janet Yellen told a news conference after the rate decision.
* Mark Schmitt asks: Is the Sanders Agenda Out of Date? For example:
Where Mr. Sanders talks about “redistribution” of wealth from “the billionaires” to the middle- and low-income classes through high tax rates, others, such as the economists at the Economic Policy Institute, have focused more on what is sometimes called “predistribution,” wages and the conditions of work. They would reduce the gains at the top — such as by putting some meaningful constraints on executive pay — but also make sure that workers got a greater share of the profits, not only in the form of money, but also time, flexibility and predictable scheduling. If the initial distribution of benefits and money is badly skewed, it will be hard to use tax and transfer policies alone to redistribute it.
* Finally, if you agree with Martin Luther King, Jr. that, “Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that,” you’re going to want to read this one by Justin Torres titled: In Praise of Latin Night at the Queer Club. Here’s just a taste:
You have known violence. You have known violence. You are queer and you are brown and you have known violence. You have known a masculinity, a machismo, stupid with its own fragility. You learned basic queer safety, you have learned to scan, casually, quickly, before any public display of affection. Outside, the world can be murderous to you and your kind. Lord knows.
But inside, it is loud and sexy and on. If you’re lucky, it’s a mixed crowd, muscle Marys and bois and femme fags and butch dykes and genderqueers. If you’re lucky, no one is wearing much clothing, and the dance floor is full. If you’re lucky, they’re playing reggaeton, salsa, and you can move…
…for a moment, I want to talk about the sacredness of Latin Night at the Queer Club. Amid all the noise, I want to close my eyes and see you all there, dancing, inviolable, free.
