-- 70 DAYS TO ELECTION SILENCE, 2 MONTHS AND 9 DAYS. -- ANTONI MACIEREWICZ CELEBRATES HIS 71ST BIRTHDAY. -- THE PRIME MINISTER AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN A SPOT ABOUT ZERO PIT TAX: https://300polityka.pl/news/2019/08/03/najtrudniejszy-jest-zawsze-pierwszy-krok-chcemy-go-ulatwic-wszystkim-mlodym-ktorzy-wchodza-w-dorosle-zycie-kprm-promuje-zerowy-pit-dla-mlodych-spotem-z-udzialem-pmm/ -- THE PRESIDENT SPOKE IN POLSAT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF LECH KACZYŃSKI'S ACTIONS FOR THE MEMORY OF THE WARSAW UPRISING: https://300polityka.pl/live/2019/08/02/pad-najwazniejszym-symbolem-pw-w-warszawie-muzeum-powstania-warszawskiego-wielka-rzecz-ktora-dla-warszawy-powstancow-i-przyszlych-pokolen-zrobil-lech-kaczynski/ -- PIOTR ZAREMBA ON "VICE PRESIDENT SZCZERSKI" AND HIS DESIRE TO HOLD THE EXPANSION PORTFOLIO: "The only open question was which function in the European Commission he would run for. Szczerski was not sure if he could handle economic issues, and he was probably less interested in them. He had his eye on the portfolio for EU enlargement, which was once held by influential EU politicians like Günter Verheugen. The only problem is that today the EU has little chance of further expansion. There's talk of Macedonia, perhaps Ukraine. Kaczyński decided that this was not of crucial importance for Poland's interests (it would probably go to the Hungarians). He therefore persuaded his ultimate favorite to be ready to be the commissioner 'for economy'. It is not yet known what portfolio he would take." -- ZAREMBA ON WHAT PORTFOLIO A POLE IS APPLYING FOR: "Should Krzysztof Szczerski, unknown for his interest in economic matters, deal with them in the European Commission? – Krzysztof is not applying for a strictly financial portfolio. For a few weeks now, we have been emphasizing that it is about the economic portfolio in a broad sense. In the EU, through economic management – in energy, infrastructure, regional policy, enlargement, defense policy – strategic goals are realized. These spheres are interconnected because the EU often lacks full strategic competencies (e.g., in international, defense policy), but it has regulatory and budgetary powers. And through them, the EU pursues strategic interests." -- ZAREMBA ON SZCZERSKI'S MANEUVERS: "He could get lost in various maneuvers. At the beginning of 2018, Kaczyński very much wanted Szczerski to become the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He hesitated again, but ultimately refused. He was reportedly afraid to leave the president. A year later, it didn't stop him from independently seeking a spot on the European Parliament lists – initially without Duda's knowledge. He was offered third place in Lesser Poland, so he refused again. And he didn't run. He is not as conflict-free as his reserved, smooth speech might suggest. Initially, he only dealt with foreign policy in the Presidential Chancellery." -- THIS IS A TEST OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PIS ASSUMPTIONS - ZAREMBA'S CONCLUSION: "How he manages will be a test of the effectiveness of the fundamental PiS assumptions. PiS politicians understand their participation in European institutions as slowing down the integration process (though not excessively), while simultaneously safeguarding current Polish interests. But from the position of a commissioner, these interests can only be guarded very indirectly. Not through protests and vetoes, but through the implementation of a general vision of a united Europe. Is the Polish right capable of this? Does it have such a well-developed general vision? Is Professor Szczerski himself capable of implementing it? It remains to be seen." https://www.rp.pl/Plus-Minus/308019905-Europejski-test-wiceprezydenta-Szczerskiego.html -- NATALIA DE BARBARO IN THE PSL CAMPAIGN? "According to PAP information, experienced campaign specialists, including Natalia de Barbaro and Jerzy Orłowski (author of many election clips, including 'Mordo ty moja' from 2007), are to work on the PSL-KP campaign." -- IN WARSAW, BARTOSZEWSKI AND MAZOWIECKI: "The UED has so far received two 'number ones' – for Jacek Protasiewicz in Wrocław and for the head of UED, Elżbieta Bińczycka in Kraków. In addition, the son of former Prime Minister Michał Mazowiecki is to run either from first place in the Warsaw district or from second place in the capital (where the 'number one' is to be the son of another deceased prominent politician – Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski). In the latter case, the Warsaw list of PSL-PL would be opened by the Bartoszewski-Mazowiecki tandem." https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/polityka/artykuly/604246,protasiewicz-wybory-ko-przegrana-gang-olsena.html -- THE GOVERNMENT IS PREPARING 600+ - FACT'S FRONT PAGE STORY: "You don't go into politics for money," said PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński (70) last year. And yet, the government has planned 600+ for itself, and even 880+ next year. But why didn't they ask Poles if they agree to salary increases for the rulers?" -- KUCHCIŃSKI CAME FROM NOWHERE AND GOES NOWHERE - ANDRZEJ STANKIEWICZ ON ONET: "Kuchciński is, in many respects, an exceptional marshal compared to his predecessors. First of all, he has no independent position in politics – that's why he does what he's told. Moreover, until now, the position of marshal was held by people with ambitions. Kuchciński, on the other hand, came from nowhere and is going nowhere. His only goal – as it seems – is profits, bonuses, and privileges. But the Eldorado is probably coming to an end. Chairman Kaczyński ordered him to pay for family flights, and the president recommended scheduled flights. So, Mr. Marshal, here you will find flights on the Warsaw-Rzeszów route. That is, what you like most." -- SOMEDAY SOMEONE WILL USE THIS PRECEDENT AGAINST YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN - STANKIEWICZ ON KRS AND GIODO: "I still cannot understand how PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński can be so short-sighted as to agree to a rather mediocre official's rather mediocre decision halting the execution of a court ruling. I know the ruling is unfavorable to PiS. But someday someone will use this precedent against you, Mr. Chairman." https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/tylko-w-onecie/newsletter-onetu-andrzej-stankiewicz-marszalek-pod-wplywem/ -- IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DRAW AN ANALOGOUS CHAIN BETWEEN THE LANGUAGE ABOUT THE CHURCH AND THE RISE OF ANTI-CATHOLIC VIOLENCE - MICHAŁ SZUŁDRZYŃSKI IN RZ: "If we show a link between the homophobic behavior of the far-right and the violence we observed in Białystok, then it is impossible not to draw an analogous cause-and-effect chain between the increasingly harsh language used about the Church and the rise of anti-Catholic violence. After Białystok, I was strongly criticized by representatives of the left for equating symbolic violence with physical violence. Of course, each of them is different, and there are many differences between them. But they have something in common. An attack on someone's religious feelings is an attack on what is most important to them." -- SOME CLERGY HAVE AN OBSESSION WITH SEXUALITY, THEY SHOULD TEACH CHILDREN LOVE, NOT FIGHTING ENEMIES - SZUŁDRZYŃSKI CONTINUES: "The only question is whether such an attitude will be attractive to young Poles. Too often, Catholic orthodoxy boils down to sexual rigor. Some clergy and hierarchs seem to have a certain obsession with sexuality. Many church members eagerly fight against the enemies of ethics and family, but observing reality, we see that almost every second marriage is falling apart in cities. However, it is easier to preach that Polish families are threatened by gender and LGBT than to create good pastoral care for married couples, to teach young people love and responsibility, and not just to fight against real and imaginary enemies." https://www.rp.pl/Szalenstwa-tego-swiata/308019898-Michal-Szuldrzynski-Przed-Kosciolem-lekcja-milosci.html -- JEWS WERE ACCUSED OF KILLING CHILDREN FOR MATZAH, AND NOW GAYS ARE ACCUSED OF SEXUALIZING AND MOLESTING THEM - LESZEK JAŻDŻEWSKI IN OKO.PRESS: "The greatest vileness is to stir up homophobic emotions by suggesting the depravation of children by the LGBT community. In the name of the Gospel, hatred was incited against Jews, who were accused of using the blood of Christian children for matzah, which ended in bloody pogroms. Today, gays, who are accused of 'sexualizing' children, play the role of the scapegoat that feeds Polish nationalism. The Catholic Church, for decades a haven for pedophiles, the only organization in the world that hides perpetrators of child sexual abuse, should beg the victims of molestation on its knees for forgiveness, instead of lecturing parents on whom they should entrust the upbringing of their children." -- JAŻDŻEWSKI ON THE WITCH HUNT: "The fight against LGBT is a fight against a human being – for who they are, for how they were born. It is pure barbarism that easily moves from verbal persecution to action, like the beating of Przemysław Witkowski in Wrocław. If today we allow homosexuals to be the victims of persecution, tomorrow it could be us. Because each of us, in some aspect of our lives, is a minority that someone might not like." https://oko.press/jazdzewski-oskarzano-zydow-ze-zabijaja-dzieci-na-mace-a-teraz-gejow-ze-je-seksualizuja-i-molestuja/ -- MAREK BALICKI HAS BECOME THE MINISTER OF HEALTH'S PLENIPOTENTIARY FOR PSYCHIATRY - FRAGMENT OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MICHAŁ SUTOWSKI AND A FORMER LEFT-WING STAR: "By gaining the position of plenipotentiary of the Minister of Health coordinating the reform in the area of adult psychiatry, I will have greater opportunities to do the same as before. For example, I will be able to propose various legislative or financial changes – meaning to demand more money. Cooperation with various institutions will be easier. The creation of this new position was a postulate of various organizations dealing with community psychiatry and reform efforts – it was formulated, among other things, in a letter to Minister Szumowski a few weeks ago. In short, the goal is for the reform to proceed better, faster, and more efficiently." -- THIS GOVERNMENT IS DOING MORE IN PSYCHIATRY: "It is already doing so. The pilot program for adult mental health centers, which we are conducting, has been running for a year and covers a total of 10 percent of Poland's population. These are 27 centers, each with its own area of responsibility, i.e., territory with inhabitants – this can be a district of Warsaw, it can be three districts, as in Hajnówka, or one district, as in Cieszyn, the city of Koszalin, the city of Toruń, etc. The centers vary demographically and in terms of cultural tradition." https://krytykapolityka.pl/kraj/balicki-pelnomocnik-ministra-ds-psychiatrii/ -- WILL THE THREE TENORS OF THE LEFT BREAK MILLER'S CURSE? - JAKUB MAJMUREK: "If the leaders of the forces forming the left-wing bloc actually reach an agreement, it will have two planes of dispute on which it can differentiate itself from the rest of the opposition. The first is related to what is called 'social' or 'worldview' issues in Polish public debate. In the face of the traditionalist culture war unleashed by PiS and the opportunism of the conservative-liberal center, the left has a chance to score points as the only force that stands on the side of modernly understood human rights on issues such as LGBT+ or reproductive health." -- THE LEFT IS NOT PLAYING FOR THE PODIUM BUT FOR SURVIVAL - MAJMUREK CONTINUES: "The left is not playing for first or second place. It is playing for survival. The alliance announced two weeks ago seems to be another – perhaps the last – 'survival' coalition of the left in Poland, rather than a proposition that could rearrange the political scene, providing its left side with a sensible institution for conducting party politics suited to the challenges of the 21st century. It is unknown how long a potential left-wing coalition will last in the Sejm – especially if PiS does not win an outright majority, and the parties forming the Left bloc will have to decide whether and on what terms to form a new government with Schetyna." -- MAJMUREK ON THE FACT THAT THE LEFT HAS SPENT THE ENTIRE 21ST CENTURY SO FAR IN THE DESERT: "Almost the entire 21st century seems to be an era spent by the Polish party-left in the political desert. And this is despite the fact that left-wing ideas are much more strongly present in the mainstream public debate today than 20 years ago." https://www.tvn24.pl/magazyn-tvn24/trzej-tenorzy-lewicy-przelamia-klatwe-millera,228,3920 -- JACEK KARNOWSKI ON THE OPPOSITION'S DIRECTORS - THEY THINK PiS VOTERS ARE UNDEVELOPED BEINGS: "One can also admire the astonishing lack of intelligence in the directors of such operations. Perhaps, above all, emotional intelligence. They seem to believe that PiS voters are essentially some underdeveloped beings who only need to be flattered a little, patronizingly looked after their fate, and their own narrative changed overnight to win them over to the opposition. They think people won't sense this false game, won't grasp its true meaning. They also think that waving the scandal of Marshal Kuchciński taking his wife and daughter on board the plane in front of them will make them tremble with indignation." -- NOT HOW TO BRING A FAMILY ON BOARD, BUT HOW TO TAKE OVER THE FLIGHT - KARNOWSKI CONTINUES: "Indeed, PiS voters generally don't like politicians taking their families on board, even if it's situationally justified. But they also know that PiS's 'crimes' almost always have that scale. And they also know that the previous team aimed much higher in this regard. They didn't think about how to bring a family on board, they thought – symbolically – about how to take over LOT, or how to arrange LOT to take its place in the Polish market. And the opposition will not quickly change this conviction." https://wpolityce.pl/m/media/457626-opozycyjni-rezyserzy-sa-zdeterminowani-ale-nieinteligentni -- ADAM LESZCZYŃSKI ON NZS COLLABORATION WITH HITLERITES AND THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CULT OF THE ARMY IN PIS POLITICS WITH THE CURSED SOLDIERS AND NZS: "In PiS's historical policy, the cult of the NSZ soldiers has become almost equal to the cult of the 'cursed soldiers,' pushing the Home Army – the main Polish partisan forces – into the background. Unfortunately, the opposition helped PiS in this. On September 15, 2017, the Sejm – including MPs from PO and PSL – honored the soldiers of the Holy Cross Brigade with a special resolution, and MP Zbigniew Gryglas from the .Nowoczesna party even wore an NSZ armband (Gryglas is now the vice-president of Porozumienie, Jarosław Gowin's party). Andrzej Duda wrote a letter at the time praising the NSZ for its 'brave fight.' In September 2017, Prof. Jan Żaryn even said – as we wrote then in OKO.press – that 'the values and deeds of the NSZ are close to today's state.' In February 2018, during a visit to Germany, Prime Minister Morawiecki first angered international public opinion by speaking of 'Jewish criminals' who allegedly collaborated with Germany in the Holocaust, and then – lit a candle on the grave of the soldiers of the Holy Cross Brigade NSZ. Now President Duda will also honor collaborators." https://oko.press/senator-zaryn-fantazjuje-o-brygadzie-swietokrzyskiej-podjela-trudna-decyzje-tak-o-kolaboracji/ -- RAFAŁ ZIEMKIEWICZ DEBUTS IN FAKT ABOUT MARSHAL VON NOGAJ - KUCHCIŃSKI: "Fortunately for PiS and the Marshal, the opposition turned out to be extremely foolish and inept, so the matter ultimately did not harm the authorities. But with a different opposition, it really could have – and this should be a signal to the Commander that a loyal but mediocre activist in such a high position (although 'the second person in the state' is, of course, a constitutional fiction) will sooner or later cause trouble. He should have been transferred from the Staff to the quartermaster's department or somewhere long ago. But that would have satisfied the enemies and weakened the morale of our Legions. And that must not be allowed! So, Mr. Marshal Von Nogaj – you don't have to worry. There will, of course, be (probably already was) a carpet, a reprimand, and a donation to Caritas, but that will be the end of it. If anyone asks, those from PO also rode around at taxpayer expense, and no one punished them either – 'and that's that.'" https://www.fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/rafal-a-ziemkiewicz-o-marszalku-sejmu-marku-kuchcinskim/1m8vyeb -- DARIUSZ GRZĘDZIŃSKI'S STRONG TWEET ABOUT ZIEMKIEWICZ'S APPEARANCE IN FAKT: https://twitter.com/grzedzinski/status/1157373352320913408?s=20 -- SE NUMBER ONE ON ROBERT GÓRSKI'S BOOK: "The showman decided to publish the behind-the-scenes story of the creation of the famous series and play of the same title in a book. – We will learn, for example, who was the mole and betrayed us information about the real president – says Górski and winks. The series 'Ucho prezesa' (The President's Ear) started two years ago and immediately gained immense popularity. Kaczyński himself admitted that he watches this production and is amused mostly by the scenes with the cat. Górski could only write such a book with a trusted person. So he chose the experienced journalist Monika Sobień (31). Interestingly, when he gave her a river interview, he didn't know she would be his wife." https://www.se.pl/wiadomosci/gwiazdy/znany-kabareciarz-ujawnie-kto-donosil-na-kaczynskiego-aa-LPRj-rj6Q-Dnqf.html -- ON THE CONTEXT OF THE WORK OF THE RECENTLY DECEASED PROF. BOREJSZY - ŁUKASZ JASINA IN RZ: "'Adolf Hitler's Anti-Slavism' and its later revision 20 years later: 'A Funny Hundred Million Slavs,' are mandatory reading for anyone for whom the last world war is limited to the Holocaust. These works should reach the Western reader and show them how deeply racist Hitler's views were towards Slavs and what a terrible result this brought. Contemporary Germany, which has acknowledged its guilt towards its Jewish victims, sometimes has trouble understanding that the attitude of Hitler's Germany towards Poland stemmed from the same root." https://archiwum.rp.pl/artykul/1408866-Przypadki-profesora-Borejszy.html -- ONE YEAR AGO, GEN. ZBIGNIEW ŚCIBOR-RYLSKI DIED. -- BIRTHDAYS: Antoni Macierewicz, Jan Dziedziczak, Piotr Woźny, Grzegorz Rydlewski, Guy Billauer, SUNDAY: Zygmunt Solorz-Żak (63), Paweł Majcher, Jerzy Wierchowicz, Grzegorz Karpiński, Dariusz Lipiński.