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POSSIBLE TOPICS: VOTETEXAS.GOV—Voter Information; Number of monkeypox cases reported in Texas grows to 20 with 8 in Houston area; Data shows local rental rates continue to climb in Houston area; Community Flood Resilience Task Force presents first annual report to Harris County commissioners; Harris County names Clifford Tatum as new elections administrator; Center for Safe and Secure Schools offers expertise to Harris County Safe School Commission; How much health insurers pay for almost everything is about to go public; Australia flood, boosted by climate change, making history in Sydney; North America Crude Oil Steps Up With More Supply; UK signs deal to share police biometric database with US border guards; China Tries to Censor What Could Be Biggest Data Hack in History; Trudeau: Canada first NATO ally to ratify membership bids by Finland and Sweden; More. 

Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) on KPFT-HD2, Houston’s Community Station. You can also hear the show:

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Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. My co-host and show editor is Andrew Ferguson.

• An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.
• You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

1. Make sure you are registered to vote! VoteTexas.GOV – Texas Voter InformationTEXAS SoS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT APPLICATION (ALL TEXAS COUNTIES) HarrisVotes.com­ – Countywide Voting Centers, (Election Information Line (713) 755-6965), Harris County Clerk
   1. Harris County “Vote-By-Mail’ Application for 2022
      1. Fort bend County Elections/Voter Registration Machine takes you to the proper link
      2. GalvestonVotes.org (Galveston County, TX)
      3. Liberty County Elections (Liberty County, TX)
      4. Montgomery County (TX) Elections
      5. Brazoria County (TX) Clerk Election Information
      6. Waller County (TX) Elections
      7. Chambers County (TX) Elections
      8. For personalized, nonpartisan voter guides and information, Consider visiting Vote.ORG.   Ballotpedia.com and Texas League of Women Voters are also good places to get election info.
      9. If you are denied your right to vote any place at any time at any polling place for any reason, ask for (or demand) a provisional ballot rather than lose your vote.
      10. HarrisVotes.com – Countywide Voting Centers, HARRIS COUNTY – IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING: Do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of these IDs?
          1. Fill out a declaration at the polls describing a reasonable impediment to obtaining it, and show a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of ID:
          2. A government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
          3. Current utility bill
          4. Bank statement
          5. Government check
          6. Paycheck
          7. A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
          8. You may vote early by-mail if:You are registered to vote and meet one of the following criteria:
             1. Away from the county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period;
             2. Sick or disabled;
             3. 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
             4. Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
             5. Make sure you are registered:
             6. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
             7. CHECK REGISTRATION STATUS HERE
             8. CLICK How to register to vote in Texas
             9. Outside Texas, try Vote.org.
2. BE REGISTERED TO VOTE, and if eligible, REMEMBER TO FILL OUT AND MAIL YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS FOR 2022
   1. You can track your Mail Ballot Activity from our website with direct link provided here https://www.harrisvotes.com/Tracking
   2. NEXT ELECTION: 2022 November General Election – November 8, 2022
3. Number of monkeypox cases reported in Texas grows to 20 with 8 in Houston area; The disease, which can cause a serious skin rash, appears to be spreading largely via direct contact with the skin or saliva of an infected person. Author: Michelle Homer | KHOU.COM | Published: 2:23 PM CDT July 5, 2022, Updated: 10:15 PM CDT July 5, 2022
   1. The number of monkeypox cases in Texas is now 20, according to the Department of Health Services. [MIKE NOTE: For scale, there are about 30 million people in Texas.]
   2. DSHS says eight of those cases are in the Greater Houston area.
   3. The disease … can cause a serious skin rash …
   4. Anyone who develops a rash should avoid direct contact with other people and contact their health care provider as soon as possible for the next steps.
   5. “We are trying desperately to nip it in the bud,” said infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.
   6. As the number of monkeypox cases grows, so does Dr. Chin-Hong’s concern. 
   7. “People definitely need to know,” said Dr. Chin-Hong. “I think the main thing now is getting people vaccines. It’s in everyone’s interest to stop this infection now and the way to stomp it out is to give vaccines to people.” …
   8. “With the sharp increase in monkeypox cases worldwide, it’s not surprising to see the virus spread in Texas,” Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the chief state epidemiologist, said late last week. “We want people to know what the symptoms are, and if they have symptoms, to avoid the types of close contact with other people that can spread the disease.”
   9. Monkeypox symptoms: Fever, Headache, Muscle aches, Swollen lymph nodes, Chills, Exhaustion, Rash that looks like pimples or blisters: the rash often appears first on the face and/or inside the mouth and then on other parts of the body
   10. Monkeypox can spread from person to person through direct contact with the rash, scabs or bodily fluids like saliva. …
   11. Doctors and clinics are asked to notify the health department about suspected cases to help in testing and allow public health to determine whether anyone who had close contact with the patient should get the monkeypox vaccine. 
   12. If given within four days of exposure, the vaccine can prevent people from getting sick from the virus.
   13. MIKE: So all we have to do is get people to take a vaccine. So we shouldn’t have any trouble at all nipping this thing in the bud.
   14. MIKE: Oh. And respiratory droplets. So wearing a mask can also help. No problem. [Eyeroll]
   15. MIKE: But in all seriousness … Based on the last time I researched this several weeks ago, Monkeypox is in the same viral family as smallpox, so if you ever got vaccinated against smallpox, you’re probably immune. As long as this thing doesn’t mutate much. Time will tell.
4. Data shows local rental rates continue to climb in Houston area; By Shawn Arrajj | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 12:32 PM Jul 5, 2022 CDT, Updated 4:57 PM Jul 5, 2022 CDT
   1. Rents … continued to rise in Houston in the first half of 2022, driven by an influx of new residents to the area and a single-family home market that is pushing more people to consider renting.
   2. Those trends can be seen in the Heights, River Oaks and Montrose areas, according to survey data from ApartmentData.com.
   3. Between February and May, [a period and about 4 months,] average monthly rent[s] rose [in] three … submarkets tracked by the agency—3.3% in Highland Village/Upper Kirby/West U, 3.7% in Texas Medical Center/Brays Bayou and 2.3% in Heights/Washington Avenue. That compares to an average rent price increase of 2.7% across the Greater Houston area over that time.
   4. However, the rate at which rents have been increasing so far in 2022 has been slower than the pace … in 2021, ApartmentData.com President Bruce McClenny said. For example, although rents in the Heights submarket jumped from $1,472 in February 2021 to $1,752 in November of that year, they have increased to $1,804 since then. …
   5. McClenny said the Houston metro area is still more affordable than Dallas and Austin. Houston’s average rent hit $1,233 in May, which compares to $1,475 in Dallas and $1,648 in Austin. San Antonio has the cheapest average rent of the four cities at $1,193, according to ApartmentData.com. …
   6. Moving forward, McClenny said prices are likely to continue to rise. If rental rates were to drop, it likely would not be for desirable reasons, he said, giving job losses as an example.
   7. McClenny said Texas generally does a good job of adding apartment supply, but it still is not adding supply fast enough to bring rents down. …
   8. Moving forward, McClenny said the rent and occupancy trends of the previous six months are generally a good predictor of what the next six months might bring. He said the market will probably settle down to some degree in 2023.
   9. MIKE: The article does not specify if they’re discussing some standard apartment, which makes the rent averages less useful.
   10. ANDREW: Don’t need more apartment supply. Houses are out there empty because they’re being sold for high prices as speculative assets. If that stops, prices drop, people buy homes, less people rent, rent goes down. More money in consumers’ pockets to go shopping too. This all because we can’t just give people homes, because governments in the US apparently aren’t supposed to meet people’s needs.
5. Community Flood Resilience Task Force presents first annual report to Harris County commissioners; By Katie Gerbasich | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 10:58 AM Jul 1, 2022 CDT, Updated 10:58 AM Jul 1, 2022 CDT
   1. The Community Flood Resilience Task Force [CFRTF] presented its first annual report at the June 28 Harris County Commissioners Court meeting. …
   2. According to the task force’s website, the group advises Harris County on flood resilience planning and projects that take into consideration the needs of the community.
   3. During the June 28 meeting, CFRTF Chair Ken Williams reported the task force had evaluated the 2022 Prioritized Framework and created a set of recommendations to the Harris County Flood Control District that prioritize people over structures. Additionally, the task force created the Flood Mitigation Benefit Index, which task force officials said they believe better accounts for historic mitigation investments and current inundation risks to identify inequalities. …
   4. Task force officials said they hope to continue their involvement of the community in their projects, Williams said, as well as selecting and implementing projects that have a more data-driven approach.
   5. In August 2018, Harris County voters passed a $2.5 billion flood bond to fund flood mitigation efforts countywide. According to Harris County Precinct 1’s Infrastructure Planning, county investments not funded by the 2018 flood bond will be taken into consideration in the 2050 Flood Resilience Plan to create more equitable outcomes for Harris County residents.
   6. To aid in its progress, the task force is requesting the Commissioners Court allocate appropriate funding for the preparation of the 2050 Flood Resilience Plan. Williams said the task force members believe their Flood Mitigation Benefit Index can be used to assist in planning.
   7. However, Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey stated he has a long history of not agreeing with formulas as they can be biased based on who is running the numbers. He cautioned the task force to make sure they use quantitative—as opposed to qualitative—data when calculating their index.
   8. “Using a formula to simply do or not do projects is kind of a dangerous road to go down,” Ramsey said.
   9. No action was taken by Commissioners Court on the report transmittal June 28.
   10. Andrew: True that data isn’t neutral. Bias still exists. Best policy tends to be that which is decided with community input. Question is Ramsey’s record on listening to people other than himself and those like him.
6. Harris County names Clifford Tatum as new elections administrator; The election commission selected Clifford Tatum as the new elections administrator, but there are still a few steps he must complete before he is appointed. Author: Chloe Alexander | KHOU.COM | Published: 3:40 PM CDT July 5, 2022, Updated: 10:13 PM CDT July 5, 2022
   1. [On] Tuesday … The Harris County Election Commission unanimously voted for Clifford Tatum to take over the vacant role upon him becoming a Texas resident and registered voter in Texas.
   2. Tatum’s appointment to elections administrator is also contingent upon him passing a background check and confirming his eligibility, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. 
   3. He will be officially appointed in a later meeting and set to start his new role next month, which is less than three months before early voting is set to begin. …
   4. Tatum currently serves as Chief Information Security Officer for the District of Columbia Board of Elections. 
   5. He is an alumnus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School and a graduate from Guilford College Greensboro, North Carolina with a degree in Administration of Justice, according to the S. Election Assistance Commission’s website.
7. Center for Safe and Secure Schools offers expertise to Harris County Safe School Commission; Harris County Department of Education News Release | Tue 7/5/2022 4:12 PM
   1. The Center for Safe and Secure Schools (CSSS), a division of the Harris County Department of Education, has been tapped to offer its expertise to the newly-formed Harris County Safe School Commission (HCSSC).
   2. Approved by Harris County Commissioner’s Court in June, the Safe School Commission is comprised of five subject matter experts tasked with compiling recommendations on how Commissioners Court can support the safety strategies of Harris County’s private schools and 25 independent school districts in time for the 2022-2023 school year and future school years, as needed. …
   3. Each Commissioners Court member appointed a representative to form the five-member Safe School Commission.
      1. Saami Baig, a high school student at the John Cooper School in The Woodlands and member of the Houston chapter of March for Our Lives
      2. Traci Latson, A teacher at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School
      3. Calandrian Simpson Kemp, founder of No Weapon #1Life Empowerment Foundation and member of Moms Demand Action
      4. Elizabeth Fagen, Humble ISD Superintendent
      5. Lisa Andrews Alpe, vice president of the Spring Branch ISD school board
   4. The HCSSC will present its recommendations to Commissioners Court on August 1, 2022.
   5. ANDREW: Advisory body? Great to see student presence, after all, it’s their education. Teacher providing labor presence is good too, though I’d have appointed a service worker; e.g. cafeteria or janitor instead of the school board member.
8. How much health insurers pay for almost everything is about to go public; By Julie Appleby | NPR.ORG & with Kaiser Health News | July 1, 2022, 5:00 AM ET
   1. Consumers, employers and just about everyone else interested in health care prices will soon get an unprecedented look at what insurers pay for care, perhaps helping answer a question that has long dogged those who buy insurance: Are we getting the best deal we can?
   2. Starting July 1, health insurers and self-insured employers must post on websites just about every price they’ve negotiated with providers for health care services, item by item. About the only exclusion is the prices paid for prescription drugs, except those administered in hospitals or doctors’ offices.
   3. The federally required data release could affect future prices or even how employers contract for health care. Many will see for the first time how well their insurers are doing compared with others. …
   4. Determined consumers, especially those with high-deductible health plans, may try to dig in right away and use the data to try comparing what they will have to pay at different hospitals, clinics, or doctor offices for specific services.
   5. But each database’s enormous size may mean that most people “will find it very hard to use the data in a nuanced way,” said Katherine Baicker, dean of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
   6. At least at first.
   7. Entrepreneurs are expected to quickly translate the information into more user-friendly formats so it can be incorporated into new or existing services that estimate costs for patients. And starting Jan. 1, the rules require insurers to provide online tools that will help people get upfront cost estimates for about 500 so-called “shoppable” services, meaning medical care they can schedule ahead of time. …
   8. Once those things happen, “you’ll at least have the options in front of you,” said Chris Severn, CEO of Turquoise Health, an online company that has posted price information made available under the rules for hospitals, although many hospitals have yet to comply.
   9. With the addition of the insurers’ data, sites like his will be able to drill down further into cost variation from one place to another or among insurers.
   10. “If you’re going to get an X-ray, you will be able to see that you can do it for $250 at this hospital, $75 at the imaging center down the road, or your specialist can do it in office for $25,” he said.
   11. Everyone will know everyone else’s business: for example, how much insurers Aetna and Humana pay the same surgery center for a knee replacement.
   12. The requirements stem from the Affordable Care Act and a 2019 executive order by then-President Donald Trump.
   13. “These plans are supposed to be acting on behalf of employers in negotiating good rates, and the little insight we have on that shows it has not happened,” said Elizabeth Mitchell, president and CEO of the Purchaser Business Group on Health, an affiliation of employers who offer job-based health benefits to workers. “I do believe the dynamics are going to change.”
   14. Other observers are more circumspect.
   15. “Maybe at best this will reduce the wide variance of prices out there,” said Zack Cooper, director of health policy at the Yale University Institution for Social and Policy Studies. “But it won’t be unleashing a consumer revolution.” …
   16. Because this kind of public release of pricing data hasn’t been tried widely in health care before, how it will affect future spending remains uncertain. If insurers are pushed back to the bargaining table or providers see where they stand relative to their peers, prices could drop. However, some providers could raise their prices if they see they are charging less than their peers. …
   17. Even after the pricing data is public, “I don’t think things will change overnight,” said [Jeffrey Leibach, a partner at the consulting firm Guidehouse]. “Patients are still going to make care decisions based on their doctors and referrals, a lot of reasons other than price.”
   18. ANDREW: Opportunity to really look at impact of insurance on society. Hospitals charge so much because usually insurance pays, and insurance has a lot of money. If insurance didn’t exist, prices would have to be affordable, limited by consumer wealth or public policy. I think this data will show that, and hopefully help make the case for single-payer.
9. North America Crude Oil Steps Up With More Supply; Despite headwinds faced by producers including labor and weather disruptions, North American crude output is expected to increase and even set new records. By Amanda Townsley, CME Group| THESTREET.COM | July 5, 2022, 19 hours ago
   1. In early June, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its latest outlook on U.S. oil production – revising up the outlook for U.S. supplies and surpassing 2019 highs by Q3 of 2023. This contrasts with the recent focus on headwinds faced by producers: weather-related disruptions, lack of investor appetite, supply chain disruptions, rising costs, and labor shortages have all been cited.
   2. The tone on disappointing production levels belies the longer-term trend: North American crude output is expected to keep climbing. With growing production, the expansion of midstream infrastructure since 2018, and a shrinking North American refining system, export volumes of WTI [West Texas Intermediate] from the U.S. Gulf Coast are poised to set new records. …
   3. Gulf Coast refining capacity has shrunk since the prior oil production peak. Two major refineries in Louisiana closed in 2021, and a shutdown of a third in Houston is planned for 2023, representing a combined loss of approximately 750,000 [Barrels Per Day] BPD [in refining capacity]. …
   4. MIKE: So for those bemoaning high gas prices and demanding that we increase domestic oil production, there are two terms that need to be emphasized: Lead times and capacity.
   5. MIKE: There is a “shrinking North American refining system.”
   6. MIKE: This is why “export volumes of WTI from the U.S. Gulf Coast are poised to set new records.” We don’t have the capacity to refine enough of it in North America.
   7. MIKE: And don’t hold your breath for wells to be bursting with output, because, “surpassing 2019 highs [will take until] Q3 of 2023.”
   8. MIKE: Also, remember that a lot of the inflation we’re experiencing globally is due to shortages if fuel and grain due to the Russo-Ukrainian War and lingering effects of the pandemic shutdowns. It’s either inflation or rationing. Wage and price controls are tempting, but not helpful in the long run. It’s been tried. It just postpones inflation and labor wage increases until later … but worse.
10. IN OBLIQUELY RELATED NEWS — Australia flood, boosted by climate change, making history in Sydney; The city is experiencing its wettest year on record after 8 inches of rain in recent days. By Kasha Patel and Jason Samenow | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | July 5, 2022 at 5:38 p.m. EDT
    1. A potent weather system near Australia’s east coast has unloaded tremendous rainfall in the state of New South Wales for days, putting Sydney on track for its wettest year on record.
    2. The torrents have spurred widespread flooding in eastern parts of New South Wales, for the fourth time in less than 18 months. The flooding has triggered more than 100 evacuation orders.
    3. Since Friday, Sydney has observed 8.6 inches (220 mm) of rain, while surrounding areas have seen far more — some approaching 28 inches (700 mm) — which is around the amount London sees in an entire year.
    4. Sydney amassed the same amount of rain over four days that it typically sees in a month and a half, according to WeatherZone, an Australian weather information company. …
    5. ANDREW: Same has been happening here with hurricanes. Season gets longer and storms get worse every year because of climate change. The owning class just move inland and leave us working folk to deal with it.
11. UK signs deal to share police biometric database with US border guards; Officials could access data to make immigration decisions, European Parliament report suggests. Lindsay Clark | THEREGISTER.COM | Mon 4 Jul 2022 // 10:44 UTC
    1. The UK has signed up to a US plan for sharing police-held biometric data about citizens with US border officials.
    2. According to a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), the body met “informally” with representatives of the US Department of Homeland Security this week to discuss the plans.
    3. They come under the auspices of the Enhanced Border Security Partnership (EBSP), which is designed to increase the US Department Of Homeland Security’s ability to detect threats through biometric information sharing. Israel signed up to the arrangement in March.
    4. LIBE committee member and Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer said that during the meeting last week, the committee discovered that the UK – and three EU member states, though their identities were not revealed – had already signed up to reintroduce US visa requirements which grant access to police biometric databases.
    5. In the UK, the Home Office declined the opportunity to deny it was signing up for the scheme. …
    6. Under UK law the police can retain an individual’s DNA profile and fingerprint record for up to three years from the date the samples were taken, even if the individual was arrested but not charged, provided the Biometrics Commissioner agrees. Police can also apply for a two-year extension. The same applies to those charged, but not convicted.
    7. According to reports, the US Enhanced Border Security Partnership (EBSP) initiative will be voluntary initially but is set to become mandatory under the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows visa-free entry into the United States for up to 90 days, by 2027.
    8. MEP Breyer said that when asked exactly what data the US wanted to tap into, the answer was as much as possible.
    9. The Homeland Security program is part of a project to update the visa waiver scheme under which EU members and other European countries enjoy visa-free travel to the US under certain conditions.
    10. Breyer noted: “I expect the EU Commission and also the German government to reject the demand of the US authorities and not allow themselves to be blackmailed. … The US lacks adequate data and fundamental rights protection. Providing personal data to the US exposes our citizens… to the risk of arbitrary detention and false suspicion, with possible dire consequences, in the course of the US ‘war on terror’. We must protect our citizens from these practices.” …
    11. ANDREW: I agree with MEP Breyer. Same applies to US citizens who are already probably in these databases. Another case of the Constitution not applying at the border.
12. China Tries to Censor What Could Be Biggest Data Hack in History; By Kyle Barr | GIZMODO.COM | July 5, 2022, Yesterday 11:35AM
    1. Chinese censors are working overtime to clamp down on news that the data they’ve siphoned from their citizens over the years is apparently out there …
    2. On Monday, reports showed that a hacker only identified as “ChinaDan” told members of the hacker site Breach Forums that he had acquired 23 terabytes of data on 1 billion Chinese citizens, according to Reuters. It’s data he’s willing to part with for the right price. How much is 1 billion people’s personal data worth? Apparently just 10 bitcoin, or approximately $200,000. …
    3. The post said that the data trove came from a leaked version of the Shanghai National Police database. ChinaDan’s original post included a sample of 250,000 citizens’ info, but that sample size was apparently increased to 750,000. BleepingComputer included an image of the forum post that reads the “Databases contain information on 1 billion Chinese national residents and several billion case records, including: name, address, birthplace, national ID number, mobile number, all crime/case details.”
    4. The leak has drawn a fair bit of critique and claims that it’s probably exaggerated, especially considering that the total number from this Shanghai police database would be just 400 million shy of the total population of all of China, 1.4 billion.
    5. The Chinese government has not made any official mention about the hack to reporters, in public, or online. Further reports have displayed just how much Beijing doesn’t want its citizens talking about the breach. The Financial Times reported that government censors have taken down posts on Chinese social media that dared even mention the alleged leak. …
    6. The NYT reported that Chinese state media has been mum on news of the hack. …
    7. Gizmodo was unable to determine the authenticity of the post or what data was contained inside the trove, though the New York Times was able to confirm the veracity of the original sample containing 250,000 citizens’ personal information. Reporters called individuals listed in the database who apparently confirmed who they were and any past police reports they apparently filed—which also included whether an individual was labeled a “key person” by public security, making it easier to flag their activities in the country’s broader surveillance state. …
    8. MIKE: Data mining and hacks have left all of us exposed to one degree or another. Eventually, to use a Chinese idiom from the story, we’ll all be “running naked.”
    9. ANDREW: Cautionary tale for DHS. Every system is vulnerable in some way. Takes a lot of money to protect sensitive data. Best not to have it if you don’t really need it. China should issue statement. At least some citizens undoubtedly know and are concerned. First thing to do in a crisis is get out in front of it, not clam up.
13. Trudeau: Canada first NATO ally to ratify membership bids by Finland and Sweden; Trudeau: “This brings the two countries a step closer to full membership.” By Andy Blatchford | POLITICO.COM | 07/05/2022 03:47 PM EDT
    1. OTTAWA, Ont. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada on Tuesday became the first NATO member to formally approve applications by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.
    2. Trudeau is now urging other allies to move quickly to finalize their own ratification processes.
    3. “This brings the two countries a step closer to full membership,” he said in a statement. “Their membership will make NATO stronger.”
    4. Helsinki and Stockholm applied to join NATO in May, less than two months after Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine.
    5. Canada’s blessing Tuesday to bring the Nordic countries into NATO’s fold was accelerated last month by the House of Commons’ unanimous support for their membership.
    6. The Canadian step also followed the move last week by NATO ally Turkey to lift its objection to the countries’ applications. …
    7. ANDREW: I’m still against expanding NATO. It’s the justification Russia is giving for the invasion. Defeating them and doing exactly what they didn’t want could humiliate them a la Germany post WWI. That caused a backslide into fascism. I worry the same could happen in Russia. The German establishment were at fault for that, but different actions by the victors could have stopped much death.

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