“Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters?”
President Trump’s attack on Joe Biden that he’s a tool of violent agitators and far-left radicals doesn’t seem to jive with the image Biden has cultivated since he was a young man. nyti.ms/3lTQ9Kv
Friends, classmates and others who have known Joe Biden for decades describe a man keen on bringing a 1950s sensibility into the 1960s — a nice-house-on-a-cul-de-sac kind of guy who spent weekends as a 20-something husband scouting real estate from his Corvette.
As a college and law school student in the tumultuous 1960s, Joe Biden seemed unmoved by the fury over Civil Rights and the Vietnam War displayed by many of his peers. “Other people marched,” Biden said in 1987. “I ran for office.” nyti.ms/3dBBgcM
Those who knew Joe Biden in college describe a young man on campus wearing a tasteful button-down and chinos, honing his self-styled political brand: polished but unpretentious, with institutionalist instincts before he was part of any institutions. nyti.ms/3dBBgcM
Joe Biden’s exposure to the main issues of the 1960s — Civil Rights and the Vietnam War — came off-campus. He has long cited his experience as a lifeguard at a pool in a largely Black part of town as instrumental in his understanding of the racial divide. nyti.ms/3dBBgcM
After law school, Joe Biden seemed focused on establishing a mainstream political career for himself, friends say. It was evident in how he dressed, the jobs he pursued and even in his personal choices. He named his dogs Governor and Senator. nyti.ms/3dBBgcM
It can be hard now to imagine Joe Biden as a young man — or, at least, a younger man than he was when he first reached Washington, as a 30-year-old senator shattered by the car crash that killed his first wife, Neilia, and their baby daughter. nyti.ms/3dBBgcM
Read more about the young Joe Biden by @mattfleg and @katieglueck in the latest Long Run article, part of a series that explores the lives and careers of the 2020 presidential candidates. nyti.ms/3dBBgcM
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Local newspapers are vanishing across the country. Popping up in their place: A network of nearly 1,300 local websites publishing articles ordered up by Republican groups and PR firms. nyti.ms/3dB82eh
The sites appear as ordinary local news outlets, with names like Des Moines Sun and Ann Arbor Times. Most declare that they aim to provide "objective" information but do not disclose that some of the articles are directed by clients. nyti.ms/3dB82eh
For "Maine Business Daily," one reporter was paid $22 to write an article calling Sara Gideon, a Democrat running for a hotly contested U.S. Senate seat, a hypocrite.
It was written based on accusations from the spokesman of the Republican opponent, Senator Susan Collins.
Two words — “white supremacy” — have poured into America’s rhetorical bloodstream, with some saying old descriptions like “racism” and “bigotry” are too tame for this raw moment. But the use of the term has touched off an intense debate. nyti.ms/3dBGXrp
The phrase “white supremacy” used to refer to the KKK and neo-Nazis. Now its use has exploded to refer to the NFL, museums and supermarket products. Yet its use is highly contentious. nyti.ms/3dBGXrp
As legal segregation ended in the 1960s, intellectuals and activists tried to describe a world in which laws changed and much remained ineffably the same. “Prejudice,” “bias” and “intolerance” were insufficient; “white supremacy” was seen as more effective.
It’s the weekend. Here are some stories you may have missed ☕️
A group of Minneapolis tenants organized against their landlords — reinventing what stable, affordable housing could be in their community, Matthew Desmond reports. nyti.ms/37hOeeS
In Opinion
"It’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase 'Protect Black women' is controversial," writes Megan Thee Stallion. "We deserve to be protected as human beings."
In 1989, Matthew McConaughey wrote: "I think I’ll write a book. A word about my life. I wonder who would give a damn About the pleasures and the strife?" Now, he's done it.
Roughly a quarter of the Pantanal wetland in Brazil, which regulates the water cycle upon which life depends in the region, has burned in wildfires worsened by climate change this year. nyti.ms/2IAbp9O
The wetland, which is larger than Greece, is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
Its swamps, lagoons and tributaries purify water, help prevent floods and droughts, and also store untold amounts of carbon, helping to stabilize the climate.
Ranchers have used fire to clear fields and new land for centuries. But this year, drought worsened by climate change turned the wetlands into a tinderbox and the fires raged out of control.
The coronavirus has caught up with the premier conference in college football, the SEC: Alabama Coach Nick Saban tested positive for the virus days before his No. 2 Crimson Tide team was scheduled to play No. 3 Georgia on Saturday. nyti.ms/3lTaMXf
“Even with infection hitting its most famous coach, the mind-set of the college game’s most vigorous enablers has not altered,” our columnist @kurtstreeter writes after Alabama’s Coach Nick Saban tested positive. The response has been, “Let’s keep going.” nyti.ms/3lS4yH1
More than 30 college games involving Football Bowl Subdivision teams have been postponed or canceled for virus-related reasons, and hundreds of players, coaches and staff members nationwide have tested positive for the coronavirus in recent months. nyti.ms/3nWg1qX