Breaking News Events

[homoe]

gkQ4DBvjXw8

[homoe]

A day after he reportedly called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “fucking bitch” after confronting her outside the Capitol, Florida congressman Ted Yoho, a Republican, offered an absurd apology on the House floor Wednesday.

“I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York,” Yoho began. He was off to a decent enough start, though calling the conversation “abrupt” does not exactly align with the description of the “brief but heated exchange” that appeared in The Hill Tuesday. Nor does it align with AOC’s own description of the “virulent harassment,”

Yoho then seemed to confirm the profane quote attributed to him, but said, “The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were constructed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding.” In other words: I said it, but I said it so she couldn’t hear it.

The “apology” only got worse from there. After becoming briefly emotional while remembering his time as a young adult on food stamps — “I know the face of poverty, and for a time it was mine” — Yoho committed to conducting himself “from a place of passion and understanding.”

Then he offered this gem: “I cannot apologize for my passion, or for loving my God, my family, and my country.” He did not explain what any of that has to with accosting a congresswoman and calling her a “bitch.”

[homoe]

A day after he reportedly called Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “fucking bitch” after confronting her outside the Capitol, Florida congressman Ted Yoho, a Republican, offered an absurd apology on the House floor Wednesday.

“I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York,” Yoho began. He was off to a decent enough start, though calling the conversation “abrupt” does not exactly align with the description of the “brief but heated exchange” that appeared in The Hill Tuesday. Nor does it align with AOC’s own description of the “virulent harassment,”

Yoho then seemed to confirm the profane quote attributed to him, but said, “The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were constructed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding.” In other words: I said it, but I said it so she couldn’t hear it.

The “apology” only got worse from there. After becoming briefly emotional while remembering his time as a young adult on food stamps — “I know the face of poverty, and for a time it was mine” — Yoho committed to conducting himself “from a place of passion and understanding.”

Then he offered this gem: “I cannot apologize for my passion, or for loving my God, my family, and my country.” He did not explain what any of that has to with accosting a congresswoman and calling her a “bitch.”

In his statement Wednesday, Yoho invoked his wife and daughters to make the all-too-familiar claim that having women in his family makes him conscious of the ways women are belittled. “Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I’m very cognizant of my language,” Yoho claimed.

[homoe]

The Trump administration, which has pledged to use the full force of the government to protect federal property, expanded that effort Thursday by sending a team of tactical border officers to stand by for duty in Seattle.
The deployment to Seattle came on the same day that the inspector general of the Justice Department announced an investigation into tactics used by the federal agents in Portland and in front of Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., in early June.

The Special Response Team being deployed is similar to the tactical teams currently operating in Portland, Oregon, where local officials have vehemently objected to their efforts to subdue street protests. Seattle officials have also said they do not want federal agents sent to target protesters.Seattle’s mayor, Jenny Durkan, said in an interview that she spoke earlier Thursday with Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security. She said he had assured her that the administration had no plans to deploy a surge of agents to Seattle and would not do so without communicating with the city. She had not been alerted to plans to position the tactical team but said that the department may be distinguishing between an active deployment and agents who are on standby.

Durkan said she made it clear that the city did not need the help of federal agents. “Any deployment here would, in my view, undermine public safety,” Durkan said.

[homoe]

Despite President Donald Trump's push to have schools reopen their classrooms in the fall, his son Barron Trump won't be sitting in class full-time anytime soon. The private St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland — which the 14-year-old began attending after moving to Washington, D.C. — announced this week that while a final decision has yet to be made, it is planning not to fully reopen its campus in the fall because of novel coronavirus concerns. The school shut down and switched to online learning in the spring.

In a letter to parents this week, St. Andrew's said it is preparing either to continue with online classes or to implement a hybrid plan for the next school year, which would use both e-learning and in-person classes by allowing groups of its students to return to campus in cycles, along with social distancing."We are hopeful that public health conditions will support our implementation of the hybrid model in the fall," the school's letter says.

[~ocean]

Despite President Donald Trump's push to have schools reopen their classrooms in the fall, his son Barron Trump won't be sitting in class full-time anytime soon. The private St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Maryland — which the 14-year-old began attending after moving to Washington, D.C. — announced this week that while a final decision has yet to be made, it is planning not to fully reopen its campus in the fall because of novel coronavirus concerns. The school shut down and switched to online learning in the spring.

In a letter to parents this week, St. Andrew's said it is preparing either to continue with online classes or to implement a hybrid plan for the next school year, which would use both e-learning and in-person classes by allowing groups of its students to return to campus in cycles, along with social distancing."We are hopeful that public health conditions will support our implementation of the hybrid model in the fall," the school's letter says.

(((((( Homoe))))))) I missed your posts ~ welcome back :)

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Re: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's powerful response:

She has "thrown men out of bars" for their language? I'd like to hear that story.

[homoe]

(((((( Homoe))))))) I missed your posts ~ welcome back :)


Thanks ~Ocean

[homoe]

pN9Qu5LcExA

[homoe]

Police declare "riot," deploy flash-bang grenades and using pepper spray on protesters in the Capitol Hill area.

Seattle Police Department officers used bikes to block off the intersection at East Pine Street and 11th Avenue, the same location where protesters and police stood in days of tense standoffs a month prior, and are advancing west against the protest crowd on East Pine Street and making arrests.

[homoe]

Republican Rep. Ted Yoho on Saturday resigned from the board of the Christian anti-poverty organization Bread for the World days after he verbally attacked Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The non-profit announced that it "sought [Yoho's] resignation" after determining that his "recent actions and words as reported in the media are not reflective of the ethical standards expected of members of our Board of Directors" and "the values of respect and compassion that Jesus calls on us to exhibit every day."

The organization said it hoped to reaffirm "our commitment to coming alongside women and people of color, nationally and globally, as they continue to lead us to a more racially inclusive and equitable world."

[homoe]

Marco Rubio and Dan Sullivan were each trying to honor Mr. Lewis on social media when they mistakenly posted photos of Mr. Cummings, a Black congressman who died in October.

“It was an honor to know & be blessed with the opportunity to serve in Congress with John Lewis a genuine & historic American hero,” Mr. Rubio said in a tweet last Saturday afternoon. “May the Lord grant him eternal peace.”

Except the photo Mr. Rubio posted was not of Mr. Lewis, but of another congressman: Representative Elijah E. Cummings, who died in October. Mr. Rubio also used the photo of himself with Mr. Cummings as his Twitter profile picture for a brief time.

Mr. Sullivan, Republican of Alaska, also memorialized Mr. Lewis with a photo of Mr. Cummings. In the picture he posted to his Facebook account, Mr. Sullivan is standing beside Mr. Cummings in front of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

“Congressman Lewis’ courage and principled leadership helped guide America through one of the most challenging periods in its history, calling our country to live up to its ideals with justice and equality for all people regardless of color and creed,” Mr. Sullivan wrote.

[homoe]

Controversial Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called slavery the nation’s “necessary evil” in a new interview published Sunday. The senator told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that slavery was the evil ”upon which the union was built.” He made the stunning comment while discussing how slavery should be taught in schools.

“We have to study the history of slavery and its role and impact on the development of our country because otherwise we can’t understand our country,” Cotton said. “As the Founding Fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built.” Cotton also noted that the “union was built in a way, as Lincoln said, to put slavery on the course to its ultimate extinction.” Instead of portraying America as “an irredeemably corrupt, rotten and racist country,” the nation should be viewed “as an imperfect and flawed land, but the greatest and noblest country in the history of mankind,” he added.

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/tom-cotton-interview-slavery-necessary-evil-042323619.html

[homoe]

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday that there was a high likelihood of another round of cash payments for Americans.

He said they'd likely go to the same people as before, for the same amount.

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the next round of coronavirus relief will include $1,200 stimulus payments to Americans and the Trump administration will lengthen the federal eviction moratorium.

“There’s a $1,200 check coming, that’s going to be part of the new package,” Kudlow said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/26/kudlow-says-coronavirus-relief-will-include-1200-checks-and-extension-of-eviction-moratorium.html

[homoe]

Tom Cotton Cries ‘Fake News’ When ‘Fox & Friends’ Directly Quotes Him on Slavery.

The hosts of Fox & Friends waited until the final moments of their interview with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) to bring up the comments he made about slavery and The New York Times’ ‘1619 Project’ over the weekend. Cotton used the opportunity to accuse them of spreading “fake news.” “Senator Tom Cotton, you’re in the eye of the storm, you like to take on red-hot issues, including ‘The 1619 Project,’” Brian Kilmeade said as the senator smiled awkwardly. He then quoted directly at length from Cotton’s interview with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

After reading that quote aloud, all Kilmeade had to say was, “Some say that was insensitive.”

“Well, that is fake news, Brian,” Cotton replied, chuckling uncomfortably. “That is not what I said.”

“What I said is that many Founders believed that only with the Union and the Constitution could we put slavery on the path to its ultimate extinction,” the senator continued. He did not clarify whether he believed Fox or his local newspaper actually misquoted him at any point or if or if they were just cleaning up the comments after the fact. “Of course slavery is an evil institution,” Cotton added, “in all its forms, at all times, in America’s past or around the world today.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/tom-cotton-cries-fake-news-when-fox-and-friends-directly-quotes-him-on-slavery?ref=home

[homoe]

WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans on Monday released their counter-proposal on another coronavirus stimulus package, a roughly $1 trillion package that includes another round of direct checks to millions of Americans, more help for small businesses and money to help reopen schools.

Almost immediately, it was criticized by conservative lawmakers as misguided and expensive and by Democrats as a ridiculously late effort that falls short of the nation's needs to weather the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected nearly 4.3 million Americans and killed more than 147,000.

I'm surprised you're dragging your feet Mitch with Amy McGrath hot on your heels!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mitch-mcconnell-unveils-long-awaited-212312403.html

[homoe]

Washington — Attorney General William Barr will testify Tuesday in what is likely to be a contentious hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. His appearance comes as the Justice Department faces scrutiny over its handling of cases involving allies of President Trump and its response to civil unrest across the country.

His testimony before the committee's 40 members kicks off at 10 a.m. and marks his first time appearing before the Democrat-led panel. The Judiciary Committee has been increasingly focused on possible politicization of the Justice Department under Barr's tenure following episodes involving Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump 's former national security adviser, and Roger Stone, his longtime ally, as well as the dismissal of U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman in the Southern District of New York.

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/attorney-general-william-barr-house-judiciary-committee/

[C0LLETTE]

VIEW FROM THE NORTH
(Please don't get mad at the opinion. You can ignore us but it really is just impossible for Canadians to ignore the USA)


The U.S. is burning – and Donald Trump is the gleeful arsonist-in-chief

It’s impossible to watch what is taking place south of the border and not wonder if we are witnessing the historic and irrevocable fracturing of a once-great nation – a tectonic rupture from which it is incapable of recovering.

The United States is a country racked by racial inequality and bigotry, dealing with a plague made worse by the gross mismanagement of the federal government, while being led by a dangerous huckster who believes he can benefit from the mayhem and destruction we are witnessing.

President Donald Trump is a political arsonist who sets fires and then tries to convince the public he is the only person capable of putting them out.

Gary Mason G&M

[homoe]

~~
Unfortunately it was only for 12 hours.





https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/twitter-trumps-son-tweet-timeout-72032992

[homoe]

GOP Group Argues ‘Trump Stooge’ Susan Collins Must Leave Office. The Republican senator from Maine has made excuses for Trump, which the Lincoln Project uses against her in a new ad.

A conservative group trying to prevent President Donald Trump from being reelected, goes after Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in a new attack ad. In the 76-second spot released online Wednesday, the group calls Collins a “Trump stooge” who is controlled by the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). It slams the senator — who has attempted to portray herself as a moderate but voted to acquit Trump during his impeachment trial — for never standing up to the president.

“She makes excuses for corruption, for criminality, for cruelty, all while pretending she’s worried, concerned,” says the voiceover in the video.

“Maine deserves a leader, not a Trump stooge,” the narrator concludes. “It’s time for Collins to go.”

[homoe]

lSGXknNaYqU

[homoe]

3_0N9DKtAH8







Collins was elected to the United States Senate in the 1996 senate election. You do the math!

[homoe]

In teasing out which airlines might be best to fly with in 2020, travel site The Points Guy is back with their airline ranking this year with slight modifications in methodology to include booking flexibility, health policies and plane cleanliness.

Weighing all metrics, The Points Guy ranked Delta first with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue following closely behind. Budget carrier Spirit Airlines came in last.

On the ticketing flexibility front, Southwest ranked highest, which Mayerowitz said was to be expected given the airline’s history of flexibility. “Southwest has always been the best, pandemic or not, basically they are letting you cancel change do whatever you want with tickets,” he said.
On the other end of the spectrum, Frontier received low marks for its policy that set a deadline of 90 days to reschedule any bookings.

When it comes to how airlines are addressing the health issues at hand, Delta and JetBlue were standouts, while American and United got dinged for packing in passengers. “American and United were both blocking seats at one point, but still selling full planes,” Mayerowitz explained.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/these-are-the-10-best-airlines-to-fly-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-124934999.html

[Bèsame*]

In teasing out which airlines might be best to fly with in 2020, travel site The Points Guy is back with their airline ranking this year with slight modifications in methodology to include booking flexibility, health policies and plane cleanliness.

Weighing all metrics, The Points Guy ranked Delta first with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue following closely behind. Budget carrier Spirit Airlines came in last.

On the ticketing flexibility front, Southwest ranked highest, which Mayerowitz said was to be expected given the airline’s history of flexibility. “Southwest has always been the best, pandemic or not, basically they are letting you cancel change do whatever you want with tickets,” he said.
On the other end of the spectrum, Frontier received low marks for its policy that set a deadline of 90 days to reschedule any bookings.

When it comes to how airlines are addressing the health issues at hand, Delta and JetBlue were standouts, while American and United got dinged for packing in passengers. “American and United were both blocking seats at one point, but still selling full planes,” Mayerowitz explained.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/these-are-the-10-best-airlines-to-fly-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-124934999.html

Good to know..there is air travel in my future.

[homoe]

Good to know..there is air travel in my future.



Besame, mine too just as soon as that next stimulus check arrives...:flying:

[homoe]

The bosses of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have fended off accusations that their companies stifle competition, under intense questioning from politicians who have been investigating Big Tech’s market dominance.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, in his first appearance before Congress, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai of Google and Tim Cook of Apple sometimes struggled to answer questions about their business practices even as they provided data highlighting how competitive their markets are and the value of their innovation and essential services to consumers.

sidebar: And right after denying that, all four mentioned they had bridges to sell....

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/companies/big-tech-ceos-tell-congress-they-do-not-stifle-competition/ar-BB17jf38

[homoe]

Lawmakers slammed US Rep. Jim Jordan at Wednesday's antitrust hearing after he repeatedly interrupted a colleague who criticized his questions alleging Google's anti-conservative bias.

When it was Jordan's turn to speak, he grilled Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai about the company's alleged bias toward certain candidates during presidential elections. Jordan pointed to a email prior to the 2016 election, leaked to Fox News, in which a Google executive indicated a desire to drive up the turnout of Latinx voters. Jordan then asked Pichai to "assure Americans" that Google wouldn't do anything with its features to help Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, beat President Donald Trump in November's presidential election. Pichai disputed Jordan's allegations, and responded that Google's work regarding the 2020 election is "fully nonpartisan."

After Jordan's time ended, the next lawmaker in line to ask questions, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, took a jab at Jordan and told tech executives, "I'd like to redirect your attention to antitrust law rather than fringe conspiracy theories." Jordan immediately interrupted Scanlon, repeating his claims about the previously leaked emails. Lawmakers in the room lashed out at the Ohio congressman, telling him his time had expired. The House subommittee Chairman David Cicilline repeatedly banged his gavel in an attempt to get Jordan to stop. Jordan continued, insisting he needed a chance to respond to Scanlon's comments.

[homoe]

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has successfully twisted a public health concern into a conservative conspiracy theory — but not the one of the dozens of COVID-19 conspiracies one might expect.

During a Wednesday hearing with the country's four biggest technology companies, Jordan used his questioning time to claim Google tried to help Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Penn.) was up next, and started her questioning by saying she would pivot from "fringe conspiracy theories" to anti-trust questions. Chaos predictably ensued.

"We have the email, there is no fringe—" Jordan interrupted before committee chair Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) cut him off. "Put your mask on," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) chimed in. Jordan then used Raskin's request to pivot to a favorite conspiracy: "You want to talk about masks? Why would the deputy secretary of the treasury unmask Michael Flynn's name?"

[homoe]

His website confirmed the news Thursday morning.


Cain reportedly learned that he tested positive for COVID-19 on June 29. He was hospitalized two days later after developing “serious” symptoms, according to a statement shared on his Twitter account at the time. His diagnosis came less than two weeks after he attended President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[homoe]

Federal Elections Commission (FEC) Commissioner Ellen Weintraub flatly stated on Thursday that the executive branch does not have the power to delay a presidential election after President Trump stirred an uproar by raising the idea in an early morning tweet.

“No, Mr. President. No,” Weintraub said in a statement shared on Twitter. "You don't have the power to move the election. Nor should it be moved." "States and localities are asking you and Congress for funds so they can properly run the safe and secure elections all Americans want," she added. "Why don't you work on that?"

[homoe]

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google CEOs face 5-hour grilling with mixed results.


Sidebar: I did watch the broadcast and it just amazes me how these top 4 men with such business savvy have such poor memories. To their credit several said they would "check into that" and get back to them.


https://www.wallstreetreporter.com/2020/07/amazon-apple-facebook-and-google-ceos-face-5-hour-grilling-with-mixed-results/

[homoe]

Federal Elections Commission (FEC) Commissioner Ellen Weintraub flatly stated on Thursday that the executive branch does not have the power to delay a presidential election after President Trump stirred an uproar by raising the idea in an early morning tweet.

“No, Mr. President. No,” Weintraub said in a statement shared on Twitter. "You don't have the power to move the election. Nor should it be moved." "States and localities are asking you and Congress for funds so they can properly run the safe and secure elections all Americans want," she added. "Why don't you work on that?"

Trump news – live today: President calls for 2020 election to be delayed as his ally Herman Cain dies after contracting coronavirus.


Donald Trump's ally Herman Cain has died after he was hospitalised with the coronavirus. The man attended Mr Trump's Tulsa rally in June and was pictured not wearing a mask, but it was unclear if that was where he first contracted the novel virus.

This comes as the president has suggested for the first time that 2020's presidential election could be postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, because he says - without evidence - that a nationwide mail-in ballot system would create "the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history."

[VintageFemme]

Trump news – live today: President calls for 2020 election to be delayed as his ally Herman Cain dies after contracting coronavirus.


Donald Trump's ally Herman Cain has died after he was hospitalised with the coronavirus. The man attended Mr Trump's Tulsa rally in June and was pictured not wearing a mask, but it was unclear if that was where he first contracted the novel virus.

This comes as the president has suggested for the first time that 2020's presidential election could be postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, because he says - without evidence - that a nationwide mail-in ballot system would create "the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history."

Interesting given that Trump and Pence both voted by mail.

Additionally this from Hillary's Twitter this morning, a retweet that reads, "Trump cannot delay the election. Only Congress, through a new law could do so. In any event, per the US Constitution his term expires noon on January 20. That cannot be moved, period."

95 days, 10 hours and 32 minutes until the 2020 Presidential election.

[homoe]

Interesting given that Trump and Pence both voted by mail.

Additionally this from Hillary's Twitter this morning, a retweet that reads, "Trump cannot delay the election. Only Congress, through a new law could do so. In any event, per the US Constitution his term expires noon on January 20. That cannot be moved, period."

95 days, 10 hours and 32 minutes until the 2020 Presidential election.

......:goodpost:......

[homoe]

OAKLAND, Calif. — A day after lawmakers grilled the chief executives of the biggest tech companies about their size and power, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Facebook reported surprisingly healthy quarterly financial results, defying one of the worst economic downturns on record.

Even though the companies felt some sting from the spending slowdown, they demonstrated, as critics have argued, that they are operating on a different playing field from the rest of the economy.

Amazon’s sales were up 40% from a year ago, and its profit doubled. Facebook’s profit jumped 98%. Even though the pandemic shuttered many of its stores, Apple increased sales of all its products in every part of the world and posted $11.25 billion in profit. Advertising revenue dropped for Alphabet, the laggard of the bunch, but it still did better than Wall Street had expected.

“The strong continue to get stronger,” said Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities. “As many companies are falling by the wayside, the tech stalwarts continue to gain muscle and power in this environment.”

The tech companies’ financial performance was a remarkable contrast to the overall health of the U.S. economy. The Commerce Department said Thursday that the country’s gross domestic product fell 9.5% in the second quarter of the year as consumers cut back spending. It was the steepest drop on record. Combined, the companies reported $28.6 billion in quarterly net profit, underscoring how regulatory scrutiny remains more background noise and a distraction for them than an imminent threat to their businesses.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/the-economy-is-in-record-decline-but-not-for-amazon-and-other-tech-giants/?utm_medium=notification&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=620202

[PlatinumPearl]

https://static.coindesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Untitled-design-35-710x458.jpg
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the first of two bills on digital assets into law on Friday, July 31, 2020.




The bill, approved by the country's parliament last week, says companies can issue digital securities on a blockchain if they are properly registered with the Bank of Russia as issuers and satisfy certain criteria.
Decentralized cryptocurrencies are considered a type of property, which should be reported for tax purposes and cannot be used to pay for good and services.
A more detailed law regulating crypto-related businesses is expected to be passed later this year, although no timeline has been disclosed.
The previous version of that bill, which has been introduced to the Russian parliament, would make it illegal to issue and trade crypto on Russia-based infrastructure.
The draft generally reflected the skeptical stance of the country's central bank.
It provoked an outcry from the crypto community and criticism from both Russia's Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Economic Development.



Source: coindesk.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2EwT4IA
Date: July 31, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

https://s32659.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/bic_russia_crypto-750x375.jpg.optimal.jpg
Russia’s First Crypto Currency Law to Be Implemented in 2021.




The first Russian crypto currency law is expected to be enforced in 2021.
The law was first reviewed over two years ago but a second one has been subsequently delayed.
The law deals with digital financial assets.



Source: beincrypto.com
Website: https://bit.ly/3fkRsyi
Date: July 10, 2020

[C0LLETTE]

[QUOTE=PlatinumPearl;1272317][CENTER]https://static.coindesk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Untitled-design-35-710x458.jpg



Platinum, if you have the interest and energy, could you please lay out some explanations of "crypto currencies " and "blockchains".

Most of us live in the shadow of these things but have no real idea what they are and what they mean.

I believe that a good and, as simple to understand, explanation would be a great service to the Community.

In any case, I know for sure it would help me.

Thank you.

[homoe]

~~
And here in the United States Facebook has desperately been trying to introduce and promote Libra which is a permissioned blockchain digital currency.

March: Facebook is altering its plans for its Libra cryptocurrency project following months of severe regulatory pressure and political pushback

April update: Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project has undergone major changes. A number of key areas have been redesigned, including the payment system, the Libra cryptocurrency, and the addition of new single-currency stablecoins. The changes largely aim to comply with regulatory requirements.

[homoe]

Susan Collins challenger Sara Gideon cruises to victory in Maine Democratic Senate primary.

For months, Maine’s Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon has been running a general election-type Senate challenge against longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Now it's official that she will face off against Collins come November.

The Associated Press projected Gideon the winner of the Democratic Senate primary in Maine, as early unofficial vote totals showed the House Speaker was far ahead of her more progressive rivals, lobbyist Betsy Sweet and lawyer Bre Kidman. Gideon -- who has the backing of national Democrats and who scored eye-popping fundraising hauls -- will now concentrate 100 percent of her efforts to oust Collins, a moderate who’s considered one of the most endangered Republicans running for reelection this year.

[homoe]

WASHINGTON (AP) — With political pressure rising, talks on a huge coronavirus relief measure resumed on Saturday, focused on restoring a newly expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit, a fresh $1,200 direct payment to most Americans, and hundreds of billions of dollars in other aid to states, businesses and the poor.

The $600 per week jobless benefit officially lapsed on Friday and Democrats have made it clear that they will not extend it without securing other relief priorities. Whatever unemployment aid negotiators agree on will be made retroactive — but antiquated state unemployment systems are likely to take weeks to restore the benefits.

Principal negotiators — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — convened again Saturday in hopes of breaking a weeklong stalemate.

[homoe]

After railing about “fraudulent” mail-in ballots without any basis in fact, President Donald Trump bizarrely urged Americans on Friday to use absentee ballots — which are mailed in.

“People should go and they should vote — or do it absentee ballot,” he told reporters Friday, a day after he floated delaying the election.

Absentee ballots “are great because absentee ballots you have to go through a process to get ’em,” Trump explained. “It’s actually a great thing, absentee ballots. I’m going to be voting absentee,” Trump told reporters.

Sidebar: How did this idiot EVER get elected!? He has no clue absentee ballots is one in the same as mail-in ballots!

[~ocean]

lol homoe your last post made me laugh ~ I don't want anyone who voted for Trump to ever tell me they did .

[homoe]

lol homoe your last post made me laugh ~ I don't want anyone who voted for Trump to ever tell me they did .



.......:goodpost:.....

[homoe]

lol homoe your last post made me laugh ~ I don't want anyone who voted for Trump to ever tell me they did .



I'm with you ~Ocean, I'd rather not know as well

[homoe]

DeJoy has become the first postmaster general in more than 20 years to lead USPS without prior experience working there and is a top GOP fundraiser.

Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman who has given millions of dollars to the Republican Party, including the Trump campaign, has been named the nation's new postmaster general.

Sidebar: New policies he's implementing ( aka trajectory for success) could have an affect on mail-in ballots and therefore could effect the outcome of the election or at the very least draw it out.


https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/851976464/new-postmaster-general-is-top-gop-fundraiser

[homoe]

Areas of agreement already include the $1,200 direct payment and changes to the Paycheck Protection Program to permit especially hard-hit businesses to obtain another loan under generous forgiveness terms.





https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-relief-bill-remains-air-040743889.html

[homoe]

WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump continues to push for schools to open in the fall amid the coronavirus, a battle over school reopenings in Maryland affects when his youngest son can attend school in person.

Barron Trump's private school, where he is scheduled to begin high school Sept. 8, is located in the Maryland county where nonpublic schools were mandated to remain closed to in-person instruction through at least Oct. 1 in an order issued Friday.

But on Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, blocked that order, allowing private schools to decide for themselves whether they will reopen, as long as they adhere to state and Centers for Disease Control Prevention guidelines about safe reopening.

"This is a decision for schools and parents, not politicians," Hogan said in a statement on Friday expressing disagreement with the local order.

[homoe]

Birx had, in recent days, not only trampled on the everything-is-fine messaging from the White House, she’d contradicted key COVID policies too.

President Donald Trump attacked Dr. Deborah Birx for the first time on Monday after the White House coronavirus task force coordinator said she believed the virus had entered a “new phase” and that counties with significant community spread should not reopen schools in the fall. Nevertheless, Trump’s denunciation of Birx didn’t just highlight his willingness to undermine his own coronavirus task force coordinator in an effort to push forward his agenda to reopen the nation’s economy and schools. The exchange also underscored how shaky the administration’s policy rationales have been on critical pandemic-related matters.

[homoe]

He is friends with a female pedophile. She is just as corrupt as her b/f. birds of a feather ! I bet trump will exonerate her once shes convicted.

In an interview with Axios political reporter Jonathan Swan that aired on HBO Monday night, President Trump once again spoke about Ghislaine Maxwell, who was recently arrested for alleged child sex trafficking in connection with the deceased financier, and convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein. Two weeks ago, Trump, who knew Epstein and Maxwell socially, caused an uproar when he wished Maxwell well. On Monday, he doubled down on the well-wishes for Maxwell, but first, Trump appeared to question the charges against her.

“Mr. President, Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on allegations of child sex trafficking. Why would you wish such a person well…” Swan began before being cut off by Trump. “Well, first of all,” Trump said, “I don’t know that.” “She has. She’s been arrested for that,” Swan responded. “You know that.”

“Her friend, or boyfriend, was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She’s now in jail,” Trump said. “Yeah, I wish her well. I’d wish you well. I’d wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty.”

[homoe]

US president Donald Trump went on the attack against Barack Obama on Wednesday morning, saying his predecessor's eulogy for John Lewis was "terrible" and evidenced an "anger that people don't see".

In an interview with Fox News, president Trump also pushed for US schools to reopen, whilst claiming that children were 'virtually immune' from the virus - despite studies last week suggesting teenagers could be as infectious as adults.

Mr Trump, who suggested on Tuesday that a “bomb” was involved in a “terrible attack” on Beirut after a massive explosion shook the Lebanese capital, was meanwhile derided for those comments, with one ex-national security official calling the president’s comments “wildly irresponsible” as Lebanese authorities continued to assess the situation, with at least 100 dead and thousands wounded.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-news-live-utterly-irresponsible-073207831.html

[homoe]

Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates will testify Wednesday morning in a Senate Judiciary Committee probe into the Russia investigation. Committee chairman Lindsey Graham confirmed the Obama-era official’s attendance on Monday.

The testimony is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. EST The probe is delving into the origins of the “Crossfire Hurricane” FBI investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign as well as special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Sidebar: C-Span is carrying this live so if you prefer it without interruptions from those endless blathering, self absorbed pundits switch over to it...

[homoe]

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Voters on Tuesday made Missouri the 38th state to approve expanding Medicaid health care coverage to thousands more low-income adults.

Support for the constitutional amendment means that as many as 250,000 more adults could choose to be covered by government health insurance beginning in July 2021, according to estimates from the state auditor.

“As Medicaid expansion is fully and expeditiously implemented so that Missourians are no longer forced to choose between putting food on the table and seeing a doctor, today’s victory will be a true turning point in the history of the Show Me State,” said A.J. Bockelman, the pro-Medicaid campaign manager.

The vote on health care, which was paired with Missouri’s primary elections, came as confirmed coronavirus cases have been rising in the state and the economy continues to suffer.

https://news.yahoo.com/missouri-voters-approve-medicaid-expansion-125805866.html

[homoe]

It’s unsafe for a vast majority of Washington’s 1.1 million students to return to classrooms for in-person learning this fall, including in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, according to recommendations Gov. Jay Inslee and the state’s top health and education officials announced Wednesday afternoon.

The guidance offers advice to districts — but doesn’t mandate school closures or other measures — based on current local levels of community transmission of the novel coronavirus. Inslee announced the recommendations during a Wednesday press conference, where he was joined by the state’s schools chief Chris Reykdal and state health officer Dr. Kathy Lofy.

Officials said where risks are low, schools should prioritize face-to-face instruction for those who are most likely to struggle with remote learning: elementary schoolers and those with disabilities.

Schools located in “high-risk” areas, which they defined as places with more than 75 cases per 100,000 residents, should “strongly consider distance learning, with the option for limited in-person instruction” for some students, such as those with disabilities, according to the guidance.

As of Tuesday, 25 Washington counties including King, Snohomish and Pierce, were considered high risk. Schools in these counties should also consider canceling all sports and extracurricular activities, the guidance states.

Schools in the state’s nine “moderate risk” counties, including Clark and Whatcom, should consider prioritizing in-person learning for elementary school students and those who receive special education services.

Only five of the state’s counties — Asotin, Garfield, Jefferson, San Juan and Wahkiakum — are “low risk” and have logged fewer than 25 cases per 100,000 in a recent two-week period. Schools here should teach elementary schoolers in person and consider a hybrid model for older students that splits their time between in-person and remote instruction.


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/its-unsafe-for-most-of-washington-students-to-return-to-school-buildings-this-fall-says-gov-inslee-schools-chief/?utm_medium=notification&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=627178

[homoe]

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s demand that the U.S. government get a cut from a potential Microsoft purchase of TikTok is the latest unprecedented scenario in an unprecedented situation.

Microsoft is in talks to buy parts of TikTok, a forced sale after Trump threatened to ban the Chinese-owned video app, which claims 100 million U.S. users and hundreds of millions globally. The Trump administration says TikTok is a national-security concern. How a ban would have worked was not clear; that federal authority has never been used before with a consumer app. TikTok denies that it would send U.S. user data to the Chinese government.

Microsoft did not address a potential price when it confirmed the talks.

Trump said Monday to reporters that the U.S. “should get a very large percentage of that price because we’re making it possible,” adding that “we want and we think we deserve to have a big percentage of that price coming to America, coming to the Treasury.”


https://www.seattletimes.com/busines...unprecedented/

[homoe]

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said on Wednesday that he had apologized for posting a photo of him in unzipped pants and arm around a woman — but also defended the incident as a vacation “costume party” that was “just in good fun.”

The now-deleted photo showed Falwell, a leading evangelical supporter of President Donald Trump, with his pants unzipped and his underwear showing beneath, while he had one arm around a woman whose shorts also appeared to be unbuttoned and his other holding a glass with a dark-colored liquid. The photo appeared to be on board a yacht.

The posting — which was quickly withdrawn — drew a sharp backlash and charges of hypocrisy because the evangelical university that he leads prohibits students from having sexual relations outside of a “biblically-ordained” marriage and consuming media with lewd lyrics, sexual content and nudity. The university’s policy also counsels “appropriateness” and “modesty” in how students must dress.

“I’ve apologized to everybody,” Falwell said in an interview on the Morningline show on WLNI 105.9FM, a local radio station in Lynchburg, Va., Falwell’s home town and that of the Liberty campus. “And I’ve promised my kids I’m going to try to be — I’m gonna try to be a good boy from here on out.”

Falwell described the woman in the photo as his “wife’s assistant.” On his Instagram account, Falwell tagged a picture of the woman as Kathleen Stone, who lists on her Facebook account that she works for Liberty University. A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/falwell-apologizes-unzipped-pants-photo-212807692.html

[homoe]

Twitter, Facebook Remove Trump Post Over False Claim About Children And COVID-19

Both Twitter and Facebook have removed a post shared by President Trump for breaking their rules against spreading coronavirus misinformation. Twitter temporarily blocked the Trump election campaign account from tweeting until it removed a post with a video clip from a Fox News interview from Wednesday morning, in which the president urged schools to reopen, falsely claiming that children are "almost immune from this disease."

Facebook also removed a post containing the same video from Trump's personal page. Both Facebook and Twitter said the post violated their rules on COVID-19 misinformation. Research has shown that while children tend to get infected with the coronavirus less often and have milder symptoms than adults, kids can still contract and spread it. Some have gotten seriously ill and even died.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/899558311/facebook-removes-trump-post-over-false-claim-about-children-and-covid-19

[homoe]

Obama endorses challenger to Maine's Susan Collins, under fire for Kavanaugh confirmation vote. Former President Barack Obama released a list of endorsements for the 2020 elections on Monday that included Democratic Senate candidate Sara Gideon, who is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. The race could help decide which party controls the Senate for at least the next two years.

“Our country’s future hangs on this election, and it won’t be easy. But pandemics have a way of cutting through a lot of noise and spin to remind us of what is real, and what is important,” Obama said in a statement that accompanied his endorsement of 51 candidates for the House and five for the Senate. “Elections matter. And we need Americans of all political stripes to get involved in our politics and our public life like never before.”

WhQbNyhjV48


3_0N9DKtAH8

The one thing we know for sure....she's not a person who keeps her word!

[homoe]

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Tests Positive For COVID-19

The Republican was tested shortly before he was scheduled to greet President Donald Trump in Cleveland. Just ahead of his planned meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for COVID-19 and is now heading into isolation for the next 14 days.

“Governor DeWine has no symptoms at the present time,” his office said. The Republican lawmaker is 73 years old.



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ohio-governor-mike-dewine-positive-coronavirus_n_5f2c3555c5b6b9cff7eeb125

[homoe]

The NFL could stand to lose a whopping $7 billion should fans be barred from attending games of any kind during the regular season this year, according to data from an event ticket search engine.

Some NFL teams have already decided that there are going to be no fans in the stands when games are played this season. The Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles have already decided to play in empty stadiums while the 28 other teams have yet to decide.

[homoe]

Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that he’s had to hire security to protect himself and his family after receiving death threats from people who object to his work on the coronavirus pandemic and the science behind regulations.

During a livestreamed talk with CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosted by Harvard’s School of Public Health, the infectious disease expert said he was taken aback by the harassment he and his family have received in the last few months. Noting that crisis “brings out the best of people and the worst of people,” Fauci said, “getting death threats for me and my family and harassing my daughters to the point where I have to get security, it’s amazing.”

Fauci said his wife and daughters were “fine” but stressed by the threats.

“I wouldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that people who object to things that are pure public health principles are so set against it and don’t like what you and I say, namely in the world of science, that they actually threaten you,” he said.

Fauci previously revealed that he and his family were facing “serious threats” during an interview on “The Axe Files” podcast in July. At that time, he called the threats “a little bit disturbing.”

Fauci had his own personal security detail as early as April, according to reports from CNN and The Hill.


https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/anthony-fauci-family-threats-201418280.html

[homoe]

President Donald Trump referred to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday as "a real beauty" while attacking her stance on the environment.

Trump, 74, was delivering remarks at a Whirlpool facility in Clyde, Ohio, when he began to rail against left-wing environmental policies and then turned his attention to the 30-year-old lawmaker's physical appearance about 45 minutes into his speech.

The president began by criticizing Ocasio-Cortez's large-scale environmental plan, the Green New Deal, which he said “was conceived by a young woman AOC — AOC plus three, I say."

"AOC, that’s a real beauty, isn’t it?” Trump said. “She knows as much about the environment — do we have any young children here? — as that young child over there. I think he knows more. And she certainly knows nothing about the economy."

Ocasio-Cortez did not respond to the president directly, but she retweeted others' defense of her educational background. She majored in economics and international relations while graduating cum laude from Boston University in 2011.

[homoe]

Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said on Wednesday that he had apologized for posting a photo of him in unzipped pants and arm around a woman — but also defended the incident as a vacation “costume party” that was “just in good fun.”

The now-deleted photo showed Falwell, a leading evangelical supporter of President Donald Trump, with his pants unzipped and his underwear showing beneath, while he had one arm around a woman whose shorts also appeared to be unbuttoned and his other holding a glass with a dark-colored liquid. The photo appeared to be on board a yacht.

The posting — which was quickly withdrawn — drew a sharp backlash and charges of hypocrisy because the evangelical university that he leads prohibits students from having sexual relations outside of a “biblically-ordained” marriage and consuming media with lewd lyrics, sexual content and nudity. The university’s policy also counsels “appropriateness” and “modesty” in how students must dress.

“I’ve apologized to everybody,” Falwell said in an interview on the Morningline show on WLNI 105.9FM, a local radio station in Lynchburg, Va., Falwell’s home town and that of the Liberty campus. “And I’ve promised my kids I’m going to try to be — I’m gonna try to be a good boy from here on out.”

Falwell described the woman in the photo as his “wife’s assistant.” On his Instagram account, Falwell tagged a picture of the woman as Kathleen Stone, who lists on her Facebook account that she works for Liberty University. A university spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/falwell-apologizes-unzipped-pants-photo-212807692.html

Jerry Falwell Jr., president and chancellor of Liberty University, is taking an “indefinite leave absence from his roles” at the school, the university’s board of Trustees announced Friday.

The announcement comes after Falwell, a top evangelical Christian personality in the U.S., shared ― and then deleted ― a vacation photo on Instagram in which his pants were unbuttoned and unzipped.

Falwell has faced pressure this week to resign over the photo, which he defended as having been taken “in good fun.”

[homoe]

The NFL could stand to lose a whopping $7 billion should fans be barred from attending games of any kind during the regular season this year, according to data from an event ticket search engine.

Some NFL teams have already decided that there are going to be no fans in the stands when games are played this season. The Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles have already decided to play in empty stadiums while the 28 other teams have yet to decide.

In a year when the NFL’s ticket-selling framework was poised to produce arguably the richest windfall the league has ever seen, it’s now looking like a double-loss is inevitable.

Not only is the NFL staring at losing its traditional ticket revenue — from season-ticket holders and one-off retail buyers — the league has now also lost several of its richest double-dipping resale markets, including the Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and New York Giants. Those are the first four franchises to completely eliminate fans in 2020, with more venues likely to follow suit in the coming month.

After several years of consolidating the secondary ticket market and cutting out brokers through partnerships with StubHub and others, the NFL will also be losing a back-end revenue stream.

[homoe]

The man who created Facebook in his dorm room is now worth at least $100 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg’s fortunes have risen even more, propelling the Facebook founder and CEO into the ranks of the “centibillionaires” — those whose net worth is at least $100 billion.

As of Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 36-year-old Zuckerberg was the third-richest person in the world, right behind Bill Gates, worth $120 billion, and Jeff Bezos, worth $190 billion. His net worth — the majority of which is derived from a 13% stake in Facebook — is 1,590,552 times the median U.S. household income, Bloomberg reported.

The bump in Zuckerberg’s fortunes occurred as Facebook stock jumped up 6.3% one day after the company’s Wednesday release of Instagram Reels, a short video feature so reminiscent of a certain rival social media network that TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer outright declared it a “copycat product.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mark-zuckerberg-gets-even-richer-centibillionaire_n_5f2dc036c5b6b9cff7f1c848

[homoe]

If you’re among the nearly 70 million people receiving Social Security benefits, you might be wondering what, if any, cost of living adjustments (COLA) you'll receive in 2021.

The government won’t officially announce the next COLA until October, but experts are predicting a small raise or none at all.

“It's really tough to say what Social Security's COLA may be for 2021, given that we're in uncharted territory with the economy at the moment,” said Jim Blankenship, author of "A Social Security Owner's Manual."

Social Security's general benefit increases have been based on increases in the cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2020/08/05/social-security-cola-2021-what-know-cost-living-benefits/5510309002/

[Cin]

Speaking to MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on Friday, two foreign policy experts explained the shocking ways in which President Donald Trump has ignored the continued attacks on the American election at the hands of Russia. Trump has spoken to Vladimir Putin five or six times since it was discovered that Moscow was paying bounties for the deaths of Americans. He didn’t address any of it; he confessed because he believes the report was a hoax.

But when Wallace turned to the doctor on her panel to ask about the next steps of the coronavirus, things looked even worse.

“President Trump is in a dilapidated political state because of his inactions and failures to lead the country through a global pandemic,” Wallace began. “You said, we would stop being America if things got much worse — you said a few weeks ago. You first raised my attention to the disinformation being spread around the pandemic and vaccines. What strikes you about this intel report that Russia is now actively working to hurt Biden to help Trump with the specter of disinformation spread around the pandemic and vaccines. Facebook and Twitter both took down some of Trump’s disinformation as it pertained to infection risks for children. It’s probably like whack-a-mole if you had to pull it all down.”

“Yes, there’s a number of things, we’ll call this chaotic Friday, we’re projecting a lot of chaos across the country as we head into the fall,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, the director of Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. “Look, we’re at the U.S. right now, leads the world in the number of new cases and deaths over the last seven days, and this has been true for the last few months. So, our epidemic is still spiraling out of control. The new estimates are 300,000 deaths by December and possibly 400,000 deaths by January. To put that number in perspective, that’s the number of Americans that died in World War II. We’re dealing with something of that magnitude, and still no plan for control at all.”

He went on to say that at the same time, there’s no real plan to deal with the virus, there are so many conspiracy theories coming out of the president and the White House.

“Including those put out by the White House, around the Chinese Communist Party or blaming the World Health Organization,” Dr. Hotez said of the conspiracies. “Part of this is a larger anti-science disinformation campaign. And we’ve also learned that the Russians are involved in spreading false information about vaccines, and we have this terrible number now that — depending on whose survey you want to look at, between 25% and 50% of Americans will refuse COVID-19 vaccines even when they become available next year.”

The anti-science movement began as an anti-vaccine movement, he said, and now it has evolved into people who oppose contact tracing, social distancing, and wearing masks. It’s further fueling deaths, he explained.

“I wrote an article a few weeks back,” he added. “It predicted a chaotic time in the country as the president’s poll numbers drop because of COVID-19. And the White House continues to deflect by blaming China, and the World Health Organization. Then scientists, right after that came out, they attacked Dr. Fauci. This will continue the targeting of scientists. So, put your tray-table up in the upright and locked position. It’s going to be a tough fall. I’m afraid.”

Wallace asked about Jenny McCarthy, who she said has spent years trying to undo the damage she created with her anti-vaccine movement. Using that as a case study, she asked Dr. Hotez how one can predict the impact of an anti-science president on the pandemic.

“Yeah, we could have, and still can, contain this virus,” he said. “But it requires leadership at the federal level, and there was never an interest in letting the federal level lead this. It was always put the states out front, and the federal government will provide FEMA support and backup support.”

He noted that there was never an attempt by the president to encourage people to wear masks or support contact tracing.

“This is why we have the world’s worse COVID-19 epidemic,” said Dr. Hotez. “We talk about this like it’s in the past, but the worse is yet to come. We’re going to double the number of deaths over the next few months and now we know it’s not just deaths. We’re seeing long-term injury to the lungs, to the vascular system, to the heart, neurological deficits, cognitive deficits. This will plague the country for years and years, even after the vaccine is out.”

Wallace closed the panel by thanking them for “scaring the bejesus out of me.”

See the segment below:

https://dai.ly/x7vgb6l

[homoe]

BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — Seizing the power of his podium and his pen, President Donald Trump on Saturday bypassed the nation's lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit with a lower amount after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.

At his private country club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump signed executive orders to act where Congress hasn't. Not only has the pandemic undermined the economy and upended American lives, it has imperiled the president's November reelection. Perhaps most crucially, Trump moved to continue paying a supplemental federal unemployment benefit for millions of Americans out of work during the outbreak. However, his order called for up to $400 payments each week, one-third less than the $600 people had been receiving. Congress allowed those higher payments to lapse on Aug. 1, and negotiations to extend them have been mired in partisan gridlock.

Sidebar: So come election time remember, while you were sitting at home struggling with how you were going to survive, 45 was not only out enjoying himself but slashed you unemployment benefits too boot!

[homoe]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Bob Garick was looking forward to being a field supervisor during the door-knocking phase of the 2020 census, but as the number of new coronavirus cases in Florida shot up last month, he changed his mind.

With widespread home visits for the 2020 census set to begin next week, the Census Bureau is losing workers like Garick to pandemic fears. The attrition could complicate the bureau's plans to ramp up efforts to reach the hardest to count communities, including minorities and immigrants, on a shortened schedule.

“Before, I thought it was my civic duty, to do my part, but now it’s like the health concerns are too great,” said Garick, 54, a software development director who is between jobs.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/census-bureau-drop-outs-complicate-125534629.html

[PlatinumPearl]

dsyNVJW33Nw&feature=emb_logo
Arkansas Man Plants Mysterious Seeds from China Being Sent Across the U.S..

[homoe]

The massive annual gathering of motorcycles in Sturgis, South Dakota, takes place this weekend, with event organizers expecting 250,000 people to attend despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Dakota has no mask mandates or restrictions on indoor gatherings.

Associated Press reporter Stephen Groves counted fewer than a dozen people wearing masks in a crowd of thousands of people over a period of several hours.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

BEDMINSTER, N.J. (AP) — Seizing the power of his podium and his pen, President Donald Trump on Saturday bypassed the nation's lawmakers as he claimed the authority to defer payroll taxes and replace an expired unemployment benefit with a lower amount after negotiations with Congress on a new coronavirus rescue package collapsed.



He may have "claimed the authority", but I'm pretty sure that only Congress gets to control spending. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Bob Garick was looking forward to being a field supervisor during the door-knocking phase of the 2020 census, but as the number of new coronavirus cases in Florida shot up last month, he changed his mind.

I was a census taker during the 2000 Census. I went to the addresses of people who hadn't answered during the mail-in phase, knocked on their doors, asked them the questions and filled out a form for them. I did it in my neighborhood, so it was really kind of fun getting to know people, and it paid well for a part-time job.

I always think about it when Census-taking time comes around, but no way would I do it this year with coronavirus.

[~ocean]

Can you believe that narcissistic moron wants his face at Mt. Rushmore ~ He doesn't deserve to be there or any where else we have to be reminded of the WORST president ever. ~ dayummm he is a very mentally ill man.

[cathexis]

Can you believe that narcissistic moron wants his face at Mt. Rushmore ~ He doesn't deserve to be there or any where else we have to be reminded of the WORST president ever. ~ dayummm he is a very mentally ill man.

It would be another disrespectful move to the Oglala Lakota Sioux people on the land given to the tribes then gradually ruined 1)Uranium mining 2)Smallpox laden blankets 3)Strip mining 4)Remaining land stolen back as soon as it was deemed profitable 5)Battles of Wounded Knee #1 and #2 6) Mt. Rushmore 7) Buffalo (primary source of food and just about every important aspect of Sioux life killed on the plains by wasicu (white) men for sport and the further humiliation of the Oglala Sioux men.
Trump stone carving...I think not. I'd enjoy helping with the demolition of that structure.

[homoe]

DeJoy has become the first postmaster general in more than 20 years to lead USPS without prior experience working there and is a top GOP fundraiser.

Louis DeJoy, a North Carolina businessman who has given millions of dollars to the Republican Party, including the Trump campaign, has been named the nation's new postmaster general.

Sidebar: New policies he's implementing ( aka trajectory for success) could have an affect on mail-in ballots and therefore could effect the outcome of the election or at the very least draw it out.


https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/851976464/new-postmaster-general-is-top-gop-fundraiser

The head of the U.S. Postal Service promised Friday to make the organization more efficient and more financially stable, but his remarks may do little to quell fears that the post office's cost-cutting measures will hurt service during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are at the beginning of a transformative process," Louis DeJoy said in his first public remarks since becoming postmaster general. "Our goal is to change and improve the Postal Service to better serve the American public, and I am excited about the opportunities ahead."

DeJoy confirmed news reports that part of that transformation will involve cutting back on overtime costs and "running our operations on time and on schedule." Many Americans on both sides of the aisle worry that the cuts will delay the delivery of important mail, from prescriptions for veterans to mail ballots for this year's presidential election, during a once-in-a-century health crisis.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900126106/postmaster-general-touts-usps-overhaul-but-promises-on-time-election-mail

[homoe]

CHICAGO (AP) — More than 100 people were arrested Monday following a night of looting and unrest that left 13 officers injured and caused damage in the city's upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the city, authorities said.

Police Superintendent David Brown said it “was not an organized protest” but instead “an incident of pure criminality” that began following the shooting of a person by police the previous day in the city's Englewood neighborhood. At one point early Monday, shots were fired at police and officers returned fire. Brown said a heavy police presence is expected in the downtown area until further notice.

“This was straight up, felony criminal conduct,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. "This was an assault on our city.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/crowds-clash-police-steal-downtown-100903478.html

[homoe]

The massive annual gathering of motorcycles in Sturgis, South Dakota, takes place this weekend, with event organizers expecting 250,000 people to attend despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

South Dakota has no mask mandates or restrictions on indoor gatherings.

Associated Press reporter Stephen Groves counted fewer than a dozen people wearing masks in a crowd of thousands of people over a period of several hours.

Before deciding on whether to hold the 80th annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, the local city council turned to its residents to get their take. A little more than 60% of people in the city voted against holding the event but the city council approved it anyway.

"There was a significant amount of discussion that the council had with residents, businesses and state health officials as well as local health officials," Daniel Ainslie, the city manager, told CNN Sunday.

The city, home to fewer than 7,000, sent a survey to all households asking if they wanted the rally to proceed on its scheduled date. The massive event usually brings in crowds of about 500,000 over 10 days of drag races, contests and concerts. On its 75th anniversary, nearly three quarters of a million people showed. The decision, Ainslie says, was all about being able to prepare for the crowds.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-sturgis-motorcycle-rally-was-opposed-by-60-of-residents-here-s-why-the-city-approved-it/ar-BB17Mdua?li=BBorjTa

[PlatinumPearl]

https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/AeLzsImswwo0Rjnx-vF0BgcWepw=/1400x932/smart/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/C45OIJRBBFDIROIKJVHUVSF324.jpg
Lebanon Prime Minister to resign. The entire Government to step down, taking responsibility for the explosion.


Earth moving equipment and rescue workers search for victims,Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Beirut, Lebanon, near the site of last week's explosion
that hit the city's seaport. World leaders and international organizations pledged nearly $300 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut
in the wake of the devastating explosion, but warned on Sunday that no money for rebuilding the capital will be made available
until Lebanese authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms demanded by the people.



BEIRUT — Lebanon’s government resigned Monday amid widespread public fury at the country’s ruling elite over last week’s devastating explosion in Beirut. The move risks opening the way to dragged-out negotiations over a new Cabinet amid urgent calls for reform.

Prime Minster Hassan Diab headed to the presidential palace to submit the Cabinet’s group resignation, said Health Minister Hamad Hassan. It follows a weekend of anti-government protests in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port that caused widestpread destruction, killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others.

The moment typified Lebanon’s political dilemma. Since October, there have been mass demonstrations demanding the departure of the entire sectarian-based leadership over entrenched corruption, incompetence and mismanagement.

But the ruling oligarchy has held onto power for so long — since the end of the civil war in 1990 — that it is difficult to find a credible political figure not tainted by connections to them.

Although Diab’s resignation had appeared inevitable after the catastrophe, he seemed unwilling to leave and only two days ago made a televised speech in which he offered to stay on for two months to allow for various factions to agree on a roadmap for reforms. But the pressure from within his own Cabinet proved to be too much.

Diab’s government was formed after his predecessor, Saad Hariri, stepped down in October in response to the demonstrations. It took months of bickering among the leadership factions before they settled on Diab.

His government, which was supported by Hezbollah and its allies and seen as one-sided, was basically doomed from the start, tasked with meeting demands for reform but made up of all the factions that reformers want out. His government was basically doomed from the start, tasked with meeting demands for reform but made up of all the factions that reformers want out.

Now the process must start again, with Diab’s government in a caretaker role as the same factions debate a new one.

“I hope that the caretaking period will not be long because the country cannot take that. Lets hope a new government will be formed quickly,” Public Works Minister Michel Najjar told reporters. “An effective government is the least we need to get out of this crisis.”

The weekend protests saw clashes with security forces firing tear gas at protesters.

The explosion is believed to have been caused by a fire that ignited a 2,750-ton stockpile of highly volatile ammonium nitrate. The material had been stored at the port since 2013 with few safeguards despite numerous warnings of the danger.

The result was a disaster Lebanese blame squarely on their leadership’s corruption and neglect. Losses from the catastrophic blast are estimated to be between $10 billion to $15 billion, with nearly 300,000 people left homeless.

The last decision taken by Diab’s government before its resignation was to refer the case of the explosion to the Supreme Judicial Council, which handles crimes infringing on Lebanon’s national security as well as political and state security crimes. The Supreme Judicial Council is Lebanon’s top judicial body.

A judge on Monday questioned the heads of the country’s security agencies. Public Prosecutor Ghassan El Khoury questioned Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba, the head of State Security, according to state-run National News Agency. It gave no further details, but other generals are scheduled to be questioned.

State Security had compiled a report about the dangers of storing the material at the port and sent a copy to the offices of the president and prime minister on July 20. The investigation is focused on how the ammonium nitrate came to be stored at the port and why nothing was done about it.

Najjar, the public works minister, said he learned about the material’s presence 24 hours before the blast, receiving a report about the material and holding a meeting with port officials before calling its chief, Hassan Korayetem.

“I wrote a report in the morning the explosion happened in the evening,” Najjar said. Asked why he only learned of it the day before, Najjar said, “I don’t know. Truly I don’t know.”

About 20 people have been detained after the blast, including the head of Lebanon’s customs department and his predecessor, as well as the head of the port. Dozens of people have been questioned, including two former Cabinet ministers, according to government officials.

On Sunday, world leaders and international organizations pledged nearly $300 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut, but warned that no money for rebuilding the capital would be made available until Lebanese authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms demanded by the people.

Iran, meanwhile, expressed concern that Western countries and their allies might exploit anger over the explosion to pursue their political interests. Iran supports the Hezbollah militant group, which along with its allies dominates the government and parliament.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said “it is natural for people to be frustrated.” But he said it would be “unacceptable if some individuals, groups and foreign countries use the incident as a pretext for their purposes and intentions.”

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz drew a line Monday between the blast and claims that Hezbollah stores its rockets and weapons deep inside civilian areas.

While he did not accuse Hezbollah and its arms of being linked to the blast, Gantz said villages and towns across Lebanon were packed with Hezbollah arms that, if set off — whether by Israeli operations or by accident — would destroy homes. He said Hezbollah was Lebanon’s biggest problem.



Source: inquirer.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2XNXv8O
Date: August 10, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/styles/hero/public/2020-08/GettyImages-1209096375.jpg?h=e7c891e8&itok=dGQQqmjl
Dr. Sonia Angell and Governor Gavin Newsom


California's public health director abruptly resigns amid questions about state's virus testing data



Dr. Sonia Angell, California's director of the Department of Public Health, abruptly resigned on Sunday. Angell, who had been in the position for less than a year, reportedly resigned via an email sent to the California Health and Human Services Agency.

Angell has, among others, been leading the state's battle against the novel coronavirus. More than 10,000 Californians have died of the illness, and most of the state remains on shutdown following a brief reopening period in early summer.

"Our department has been front and center in what has become an all-of-government response of unprecedented proportions to COVID-19. In the final calculation, all of our work, in aggregate, makes the difference," Angell reportedly wrote in her resignation letter.

"I want to thank Dr. Angell for her service to the state and her work to help steer our public health system during this global pandemic, while never losing sight of the importance of health equity," wrote Governor Newsom in a Sunday night statement.

During her time in office, Angell held the dual role of director of the state Department of Public Health and California's public health officer. Those roles will now be divided between Sandra Shewdry, a vice president at the nonprofit California Health Care Foundation, and Dr. Erica Pan, who served as public health officer in Alameda County.

Angell's departure comes as the state government reckons with a data glitch that failed to log nearly 300,000 infectious disease testing records, resulting in hindered decision-making at the highest levels of the California government.

The secretary of California Health and Human Services, Mark Ghaly, recently apologized to state residents for the error. "Bottom line, our data system failed," said Ghaly. With more than half a million reported cases of the virus, California tops the nation for positive diagnoses. The data blunder, however, has impeded state authorities' ability to determine policies moving forward, specifically the decision on whether to reopen schools for in-person learning as the new school year is set to begin.



Source: justthenews.com
Website: https://bit.ly/3iEHhab
Date: August 10, 2020

[homoe]

SEATTLE — Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best has announced that she will be resigning next month. The news of Best's resignation comes on the same day the Seattle City Council voted to cut spending for the Seattle Police Department.Best has been with SPD for 28 years. She was the first Black police chief in Seattle's history. She took on the role as chief of police on Aug. 13, 2018.

Excerpt from her letter:

"To the Women and Men of the Seattle Police Department –

I wanted to notify you that I will be retiring from the Seattle Police Department, effective September 2nd, 2020. I wanted you to hear this from me, but some media have reached this conclusion on their own.

This was a difficult decision for me, but when it’s time, it’s time.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/meteorologist-cliff-mass-loses-job-at-another-radio-station-over-controversial-comments-about-seattle-riots/281-c8658179-552f-46ef-af53-8f3d9787d0c3

[homoe]

Chicago goes into lock down as city bridges are raised and freeway exit ramps are closed.

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said police will not stand by and watch downtown Chicago become “someplace people fear.” He promised a “heavy police presence” to restore order. Downtown to be shut down at 8 P.M. with Lake Shore Drive closed, expressway entrances blocked, trains stopped

The lock-down will run 8 p.m.-6 a.m. daily for the foreseeable future, officials said.

[homoe]

DETROIT — As public schools grapple with the challenge of reopening during a pandemic, public education advocates are criticizing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for working remotely from Michigan, where she owns a sprawling waterfront estate with a round-the-clock security detail paid for by taxpayers.

And while keeping herself largely physically distanced as the coronavirus continues to spread, DeVos has been a forceful advocate for President Donald Trump's demand that schools reopen in full and in person — potentially placing millions of teachers and students at risk of infection.

It's a striking bit of mixed messaging for DeVos, a billionaire heiress, major GOP donor and charter school advocate who had no experience with public education before she became education secretary. DeVos is the nation's top education official as school administrators deal with one the biggest health crises facing the nation: how to safely bring 51 million American children back into classrooms or administer virtual education during a pandemic.

ZHakEzFPYxc

[homoe]

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that some men may feel "insulted" by his Democratic rival Joe Biden's committment to choose a woman as his vice presidential candidate.

"He roped himself into a certain group of people," Trump told Fox Sports Radio in an early morning phone-in interview.

"Some people would say men are insulted by that and some people would say it is fine," Trump said.

Declaring that he wants a government as diverse as the country itself, Biden committed early in his campaign, in March, that he would name a woman on the ticket. He is expected to announce his choice this week.

Only two other women have been nominated vice presidential candidates -- Sarah Palin by the Republican party in 2008 and Geraldine Ferraro by the Democrats in 1984 -- and neither made it into the White House. No woman has won the presidency either.

In the radio interview, Trump praised his own vice president, Mike Pence, but said bluntly: "people don't vote for the vice president, they really don't."

https://www.barrons.com/news/trump-says-men-may-be-insulted-by-biden-s-female-vp-pledge-01597151705?refsec=afp-news

[PlatinumPearl]

https://thehill.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumb_small_article/public/putin_050920getty.jpg?itok=nl_fGfOM
Putin claims Russia has developed first coronavirus vaccine.



Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that the country has become the first in the world to grant regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine, according to multiple reports.

The Russian leader claimed that the vaccine underwent clinical testing and has proven to offer immunity from the coronavirus. However, the approval was granted by Russian health officials after just two months of human testing, Reuters noted.

Putin said at a government meeting broadcast on state television that the vaccine, which was developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, is safe and has been administered to one of his adult daughters.

“I know that it works quite effectively, forms strong immunity, and I repeat, it has passed all the needed checks,” Putin said, according to Reuters.

Putin said his daughter had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius – 104.4 degrees Fahrenheit – on the day of the first vaccine injection. He claimed her fever dropped to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit the following day, and that the second shot brought a slight increase in temperature, which later went away, The Associated Press reported.

Russia’s health ministry said Tuesday that the vaccine is expected to provide coronavirus immunity for up to two years, according to the AP. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said the inoculations could be available for doctors as soon as next month.

However, so-called Phase III trials on the drug have not yet been completed, which typically take months and involve thousands of human participants, Reuters reported. Putin’s announcement Tuesday sparked international skepticism, as the trials usually occur before a vaccine approves regulatory approval from health officials.

Professor Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute, said in May that he and other researchers have tried the vaccine on themselves.

Over 100 possible vaccines are being developed around the world as countries race to come up with the vaccine that could prevent COVID-19.

Russia has documented at least 890,799 cases of coronavirus and 14,973 deaths.



Source: thehill.com
Website: http://bit.do/fHpei
Date: August 11, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

https://i.insider.com/5f329ac3ecb25e5eaf551743?width=600&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Dr Pepper confirms that some of its flavors are experiencing a shortage in the US,
as fans panic over their disappearance from shelves



* On Monday, Dr Pepper acknowledged a shortage of some of its products in stores after customers complained they couldn't find their favorite flavors.

* The news follows recent customer complaints about a shortage of Coca-Cola products.

* Coca-Cola plans to discontinue some product lines, but Dr Pepper said that it is working on bringing all of its products back.

* Supply chain issues are a widespread side effect of the pandemic that has touched all corners of the grocery store.


If you're craving a specific kind of Dr Pepper, you just might be out of luck.

On Monday, Dr Pepper confirmed on Facebook and Twitter that the company is suffering a shortage of some of its products in stores.

Fans previously reached out to Dr. Pepper on Twitter saying they couldn't find their favorite flavors anywhere.

Coca-Cola has faced similar shortage issues of late.

In July, after fans complained they couldn't find some Coca-Cola drinks, Coca-Cola announced in its earnings report that it planned to discontinue some of its less profitable brands.

Coca-Cola did not specify which products it plans to discontinue, and also indicated that some of the shortages may be due to pandemic-related production lag. Part of those production delays may be related to a nationwide shortage of aluminum cans.

But it appears none of the missing Dr Pepper items will be discontinued. While Dr Pepper did not give a reason for its product shortage, it noted that the company was working on restoring all of its flavors to store shelves.

Supply chain woes have been a costly side effect of the pandemic, and soda companies are far from the only ones impacted. A breakdown in the meat production process has left farmers with millions of pigs to euthanize and billions of pounds of potatoes to destroy.



Source: businessinsider.com
Website: http://bit.do/fHpnP
Date: August 11, 2020

[homoe]

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked Sen. Kamala Harris over her questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings in his first public remarks since she was named Joe Biden's running mate.

Harris, a former prosecutor, grilled the judge over sexual misconduct allegations against him during the contentious 2018 confirmation hearings.

"And the horrible way she treated Justice Kavanaugh, that was a horrible event. I thought it was terrible for her, I thought it was terrible for our nation," Trump told reporters during a White House briefing. "I thought she was the meanest, the most horrible most disrespectful of anybody in the U.S. Senate."

Trump saved his remarks on Harris for the scheduled briefing. But minutes after the announcement, Trump tweeted a new campaign attack ad on Harris, a vocal critic of the president. The ad accuses Biden of "handing over the reins to Kamala while they jointly embrace the radical left."

"She is also known, from what I understand, as being just about the most liberal person in the U.S. Senate and I would have thought Biden would have tried to stay away from that a little bit," Trump said.

Following the announcement, the Trump campaign seized on a feisty exchange between Harris and Biden during a June 2019 Democratic debate, when the California senator was still in the race. Harris challenged Biden over his remarks about working with segregationist senators and criticized him for his previous opposition to federal busing mandates – a moment that hobbled his campaign and led to her brief surge in national polls.

"Not long ago, Kamala Harris called Joe Biden a racist and asked for an apology she never received. Clearly, Phony Kamala will abandon her own morals, as well as try to bury her record as a prosecutor, in order to appease the anti-police extremists controlling the Democrat Party," Trump senior adviser Katrina Pierson said in a statement Tuesday.

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-attacks-kamala-harris-meanest-222437201.html

[homoe]

SEATTLE — Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best has announced that she will be resigning next month. The news of Best's resignation comes on the same day the Seattle City Council voted to cut spending for the Seattle Police Department.Best has been with SPD for 28 years. She was the first Black police chief in Seattle's history. She took on the role as chief of police on Aug. 13, 2018.

Excerpt from her letter:

"To the Women and Men of the Seattle Police Department –

I wanted to notify you that I will be retiring from the Seattle Police Department, effective September 2nd, 2020. I wanted you to hear this from me, but some media have reached this conclusion on their own.

This was a difficult decision for me, but when it’s time, it’s time.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/meteorologist-cliff-mass-loses-job-at-another-radio-station-over-controversial-comments-about-seattle-riots/281-c8658179-552f-46ef-af53-8f3d9787d0c3

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best on Tuesday announced her resignation, saying that she was not leaving because of pay cuts to her department, but because of the “lack of respect” toward her fellow officers.

Best’s resignation comes amid the City Council’s decision to reduce the department by as many as 100 officers through layoffs and attrition.

In response to a reporter who asked if her decision was motivated by protesters who appeared at her home earlier this month, or the City Council’s decision, Best said it "is not about the money, and it certainly isn’t about the demonstrators." “I mean, be real, I have a lot thicker skin than that," Best said. "It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers, the men and women who work so hard, day in and day out."

She added: “The idea that we’ve worked so incredibly hard to make sure our department was diverse, that (it) reflects the community that we serve, to just turn that all on a dime and hack it off, without having a plan in place to move forward, is highly distressful for me.”

[homoe]

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best on Tuesday announced her resignation, saying that she was not leaving because of pay cuts to her department, but because of the “lack of respect” toward her fellow officers.

Best’s resignation comes amid the City Council’s decision to reduce the department by as many as 100 officers through layoffs and attrition.

In response to a reporter who asked if her decision was motivated by protesters who appeared at her home earlier this month, or the City Council’s decision, Best said it "is not about the money, and it certainly isn’t about the demonstrators." “I mean, be real, I have a lot thicker skin than that," Best said. "It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers, the men and women who work so hard, day in and day out."

She added: “The idea that we’ve worked so incredibly hard to make sure our department was diverse, that (it) reflects the community that we serve, to just turn that all on a dime and hack it off, without having a plan in place to move forward, is highly distressful for me.”

d1fTmOAGwPM

[homoe]

The president has long complained that water-saving standards from 1992 make it harder for him to wash his hair.

The Energy Department proposed rolling back three-decade-old efficiency standards for showerheads Wednesday following President Donald Trump’s repeated gripes about subpar water pressure while bathing. The plan essentially seeks to change the federal definition of a showerhead to allow manufacturers to dramatically increase water use.

Under rules Congress passed in 1992 in response to severe droughts, water flow from an entire showerhead is limited to 2.5 gallons per minute. The proposed change would allow manufacturers to apply that restriction to each nozzle on a showerhead. The proposal would reverse 2011 guidance from the Department of Energy that determined that when Congress used the term “showerhead,” it “actually meant ‘any showerhead’ ― and that a showerhead with multiple nozzles constitutes a single showerhead for purposes of [the] water conservation standard.”

vMITcQUe-9M

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-showerheads-weaker-rules_n_5f345f09c5b6fc009a610dcb

[PlatinumPearl]

https://thepostmillennial.com/content/images/size/w2000/2020/08/kay-ivey-alabama.jpg
For criminals who are convicted of sex crimes with minors under the age of 13, Alabama will now require chemical castration as a condition of parole.




The measure was signed into law by Alabama's Gov. Kay Ivey on Aug. 10, and had been introduced by Republican state representative Steve Hurst of Calhoun County. Hurst would prefer that those offenders who have been convicted of these crimes were permanently castrated through surgical means, according to NBC News.

Hurst said "My preference would be if someone does a small infant child like that, they need to die. God's going to deal with them one day."

Under the new law, the prospective parolee would be required to begin the drug treatment at least one month prior to the date of their release. The drugs would be administered for as long as a judge deems necessary before the parolee would be permitted to live a regular life.

This makes Alabama one of at least seven states that either require or allow chemical castration on a voluntary basis for sex offenders before they are released. Those others include Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, Montana, Louisiana, and California. Guam also has this measure as a voluntary procedure from sex offenders of this type who are after parole.

The ACLU has taken issue with the law, and the Alabama chapter has called it "unconstitutional." Randall Marshall, the executive director for Alabama's ACLU, has said that chemical castration for sex offenders who harm minors under 13 shows that legislators "really misunderstand what sexual assault is about. Sexual assault isn't about sexual gratification. It's about power. It's about control."

Representative Hurst disagrees. "If they're going to mark these children for life, they need to be marked for life," he said.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://bit.ly/3gT9sBC
Date: August 12, 2020

[homoe]

President Trump amplified a false claim Thursday that California-born Kamala Harris might be ineligible to serve as vice president, a smear that recalls the racist "birther" campaign he waged against former President Obama.

It marked a new turn in Trump's scattershot response to Democratic rival Joe Biden's selection of Harris as his running mate. Trump and his allies have careened through a jumble of contradictory attacks on the California senator's ideology, demeanor and background, using well-worn sexist and racist tropes. Harris is the first Black woman and first Asian American on a major-party ticket.

In questioning Harris' American citizenship, Trump is returning to what fueled his rise in Republican politics — his insistence that Obama, the nation's first Black president, was born in Kenya instead of Hawaii.

"This is only the second time that that has happened in our nation’s history. And the first time was with President Barack Obama. So why is it that only the two Black candidates are questioned about the legitimacy of their citizenship?" said Valerie Jarrett, a former top Obama advisor.

The conspiracy theory about Harris' standing to be vice president began on Wednesday, when John C. Eastman, a law professor and failed Republican candidate for California attorney general in 2010, wrote a column in Newsweek stating that Harris may not meet the constitutional requirements for the vice presidency of being a "natural-born citizen." He questioned whether Harris' parents — her father is from Jamaica and her mother was from India — were naturalized citizens at the time that Harris was born in Oakland.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/baseless-birther-attack-kamala-harris-014841856.html

[homoe]

CHICAGO (AP) — More than 100 people were arrested Monday following a night of looting and unrest that left 13 officers injured and caused damage in the city's upscale Magnificent Mile shopping district and other parts of the city, authorities said.

Police Superintendent David Brown said it “was not an organized protest” but instead “an incident of pure criminality” that began following the shooting of a person by police the previous day in the city's Englewood neighborhood. At one point early Monday, shots were fired at police and officers returned fire. Brown said a heavy police presence is expected in the downtown area until further notice.

“This was straight up, felony criminal conduct,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. "This was an assault on our city.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/crowds-clash-police-steal-downtown-100903478.html

A day after looters smashed-in retailer’s windows, carried away loads of high-end merchandise and overwhelmed police officers in downtown Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the violence was an organized raid and not a demonstration of angry protest.

“When people showed up on Michigan Avenue in the downtown area with U-Haul trucks and cargo vans, and sophisticated equipment used to cut metal, and the methods that were used, and how quickly it got spun up… that wasn’t any spontaneous reaction,” Lightfoot told TIME in her fifth-floor offices at Chicago’s City Hall on Tuesday.

The chaos that unfolded Sunday night, and into the predawn hours Monday, was initially blamed on a police shooting in the city’s southside Englewood neighborhood. News of the incident—along with misinformation that a minor had been shot—pinballed on social media, resulting in “caravans” of cars headed north downtown, Lightfoot says.

“To be sure, there are people that did join in that were motivated by lots of different reasons, and certainly were motivated by social media posts encouraging people to come downtown,” Lightfoot says. “But the core of what happened — that’s organized criminal activity… It was a planned attack.”

For three hours that night, Chicago was under virtual siege. Hundreds of people flooded the streets. Looters broke into buildings and came out with armfuls of jewelry, clothes, electronics and other goods. The 911 switchboard was swamped with 1,800 calls between midnight and 3 a.m., a figure that’s typically in the teens at those hours. Lightfoot says the looters knew that police staffing would be low that early Monday morning and therefore picked “the moments where they feel like they have the best opportunity to make a move.”

[homoe]

SEATTLE — Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best has announced that she will be resigning next month. The news of Best's resignation comes on the same day the Seattle City Council voted to cut spending for the Seattle Police Department.Best has been with SPD for 28 years. She was the first Black police chief in Seattle's history. She took on the role as chief of police on Aug. 13, 2018.

Excerpt from her letter:

"To the Women and Men of the Seattle Police Department –

I wanted to notify you that I will be retiring from the Seattle Police Department, effective September 2nd, 2020. I wanted you to hear this from me, but some media have reached this conclusion on their own.

This was a difficult decision for me, but when it’s time, it’s time.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/meteorologist-cliff-mass-loses-job-at-another-radio-station-over-controversial-comments-about-seattle-riots/281-c8658179-552f-46ef-af53-8f3d9787d0c3

Seattle police Chief Carmen Best’s decision to abruptly retire next month was driven by City Council members who didn’t consult her as they sought to cut the Police Department’s budget this summer, and who showed a lack of respect for the department’s employees, Best said Tuesday.

In a news conference with Mayor Jenny Durkan, who praised her leadership during a turbulent time, Best said she realized she couldn’t bring herself to carry out officer layoffs the council had unanimously voted for Monday. The chief had opposed the move, warning that a rule mandating layoffs by reverse seniority would result in new officers, who are more likely to be officers of color, losing jobs. Council members had asked her to pursue a waiver allowing out-of-order layoffs, arguing cops with sustained misconduct complaints should be let go first.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-police-chief-carmen-best-says-city-council-drove-her-decision-to-abruptly-retire/

[homoe]

SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council voted Monday to impose a new payroll tax on big businesses. The measure passed 7-2. This tax targets big earners and the companies that employ them. Companies with more than $7 million in annual payroll will be charged a percentage based on how many people they employ with salaries of at least $150,000. Companies that have billion-dollar payrolls will pay an even bigger share for high wage workers.The tax rate will range from 0.7% to 2.4%, depending on annual payrolls and individual salaries. Lead sponsor of the bill and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda says the new tax targets companies with many highly paid employees, whereas the 2018 "head tax" would have applied to all employees at large companies.

[homoe]

SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council voted Monday to impose a new payroll tax on big businesses. The measure passed 7-2. This tax targets big earners and the companies that employ them. Companies with more than $7 million in annual payroll will be charged a percentage based on how many people they employ with salaries of at least $150,000. Companies that have billion-dollar payrolls will pay an even bigger share for high wage workers.The tax rate will range from 0.7% to 2.4%, depending on annual payrolls and individual salaries. Lead sponsor of the bill and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda says the new tax targets companies with many highly paid employees, whereas the 2018 "head tax" would have applied to all employees at large companies.

Amazon.com Inc. is offering Seattle-based employees a choice of smaller offices outside the city, suggesting the Covid-19 outbreak and a new local employers tax have pushed the e-commerce giant to consider alternatives to its hometown.

In a message to employees Thursday, Amazon asked which communities near Seattle — including Tacoma and Redmond — they’d prefer. The title on the message, which was shared on Reddit and later deleted, was “office workplace options.” Amazon declined to comment on the matter.

Amazon, which reported a total global workforce of almost 877,000 as of June 30, has been expanding beyond Seattle for years. It is building a second major office center in suburban Virginia near the nation’s capital and has satellite locations in cities including New York, Austin and Los Angeles.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-considers-relocating-some-employees-outside-of-seattle/

[homoe]

President Trump called for additional stimulus checks to be sent to Americans amid stalled talks with Democrats over a new bill to address various issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Both Republicans and Democrats agree that another round of stimulus checks should be included in any legislation, which is stalled after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) ceded the GOP-side of negotiations to the White House and Trump attempted to bypass negotiations with unilateral action on a looming eviction crisis, student loans, extra weekly unemployment benefits, and payroll taxes.

The president tweeted that he had directed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin “to get ready to send direct payments ($3,400 for family of four) to all Americans.” The tweet added that Democrats are holding up the stimulus payments, though there are several actual disagreements unrelated to stimulus checks.

Sidebar: Perhaps a bribe or to ingratiate himself with voters?

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Stone Mountain, Georgia is once again the potential scene of left vs. right-wing bloodshed.

I live near Stone Mountain (like close enough to barely hear the fireworks), and occasionally right-wing activists, including chapters of the KKK, decide to have a rally. They apply for a permit, the permit gets denied, and they show up anyway (complete with guns and rebel flags). Far left-wing activists, including Antifa followers, show up with guns and protest against the protesters. Sometimes Stone Mountain Park, the organization that runs and maintains the attractions and landscaping, decides to close the park for a day, rather than deal with the crazies. So then, all the protesters decide to congregate in the City of Stone Mountain.

The county government sends out texts to citizens who have signed up for emergency notifications. I received one today for tomorrow's anticipated rally. The park is closing, which means the city will be overrun with freaks with guns. For those who may recall my past posts, I am not totally opposed to gun ownership - but these people are nuts. All it would take is one lame-ass gun novice to make a mistake, and a chain reaction bloodbath could take place. The best we can hope for, other than a peaceful rally where no one makes any mistakes, is that all the uninvolved people stay far, far away. Most of the businesses in the city will also be closed. Hopefully, the police have a plan - it's not like this is the first time this has happened. This one is just projected to attract more people than in the past.

Keep us in your thoughts, please. :candle:

[homoe]

Ut4kB5Do_EI

Sean Hannity on Friday blasted an attack video on Donald Trump that used Hannity’s own words to mock the president. Twitter labeled the video “manipulated media” after complaints from the Fox News host. The video, which racked up more than 2.2 million views after he brought it up, was not “corrected,” but rather marked with a “manipulated media” label, which links to a Twitter policy explaining that Twitter “may label Tweets containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand their authenticity and to provide additional context.”

The video, made by super PAC MeidasTouch, flipped the script, using Hannity’s criticisms of Biden to mock Trump.The video featured scenes of Hannity talking about Democratic conspiracy theories, and mocking Joe Biden as a “frail guy” with questionable “cognitive fitness.” Those accusations were spliced with clips of Trump spinning his latest birther conspiracy theory, looking frail and not making sense.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sean-hannity-trump-biden-meidas-video-twitter_n_5f37639ec5b69fa9e2fbd988

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Stone Mountain, Georgia is once again the potential scene of left vs. right-wing bloodshed.

I live near Stone Mountain (like close enough to barely hear the fireworks), and occasionally right-wing activists, including chapters of the KKK, decide to have a rally. They apply for a permit, the permit gets denied, and they show up anyway (complete with guns and rebel flags). Far left-wing activists, including Antifa followers, show up with guns and protest against the protesters. Sometimes Stone Mountain Park, the organization that runs and maintains the attractions and landscaping, decides to close the park for a day, rather than deal with the crazies. So then, all the protesters decide to congregate in the City of Stone Mountain.

The county government sends out texts to citizens who have signed up for emergency notifications. I received one today for tomorrow's anticipated rally. The park is closing, which means the city will be overrun with freaks with guns. For those who may recall my past posts, I am not totally opposed to gun ownership - but these people are nuts. All it would take is one lame-ass gun novice to make a mistake, and a chain reaction bloodbath could take place. The best we can hope for, other than a peaceful rally where no one makes any mistakes, is that all the uninvolved people stay far, far away. Most of the businesses in the city will also be closed. Hopefully, the police have a plan - it's not like this is the first time this has happened. This one is just projected to attract more people than in the past.

Keep us in your thoughts, please. :candle:

Follow up:
Thanks for the good juju to everyone who sent us some. About 500 people showed up, mostly counter-protesters. It was peaceful for a few hours, and then some fights broke out. Police in riot gear then quickly shut things down. Apparently, downtown Stone Mountain was cleared out by 2 p.m. Thank the Goddess it didn't seem to amount to much more than a pissing contest.

[homoe]

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Sunday denied reports that several U.S. Postal Service (USPS) letter sorting machines were decommissioned after orders from the postmaster general. Meadows told CNN’s “State of the Union” that reports about hundreds of postal service sorting machines being taken out of service are a “political narrative” and “not based on fact.”

NBC News reported on Friday that an internal document showed that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is decommissioning 671 of USPS’s letter sorting machines across the U.S.

“There's no sorting machines that are going offline between now and the election,” Meadows said. “That’s something that my Democrat friends are trying to do to stoke fear out there. That’s not happening.”
Meadows also called on House Democrats to return to D.C. to negotiate Postal Service funding along with enhanced unemployment benefits, stimulus checks and small-business reform, adding that the president will “sign that.”

CNN’s Jake Tapper pushed back on the chief of staff, saying, “Are you saying that sorting machines have not been taken offline and removed?” “I’m saying that sorting machines between now and the election will not be taken offline,” Meadows replied, prompting Tapper to ask about the “ones that have been taken offline in the last couple of months.” “Why were these sorting machines taken offline?” Tapper asked. Meadows answered, “Get your producer to share where exactly those sorting machines were taken offline. Let them whisper in your ear because what I’m telling you is you’re picking up on a narrative that’s not based on facts.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/512217-meadows-denies-reports-that-usps-sorting-machines-were

[homoe]

After reports surfaced in the past week of postal workers removing those iconic blue mail collection boxes from street corners in multiple states, the U.S. Postal Service said it will halt further removals for 90 days, citing "recent customer concerns."

Local news outlets in places from Montana to Oregon and New York have reported on mailboxes being "hauled away in flatbed trucks" and "seen discarded behind a post office" in recent days.

On Sunday, the Postal Service said the removals were in keeping with "routine" efforts to "identify redundant/seldom used collection boxes."" This process is one of the many ways the Postal Services makes adjustments to our infrastructure to match our resources to declining mail volumes," said Postal Service spokeswoman Kimberly Frum.

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/citing-customer-concerns-postal-says-193600715.html

[homoe]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she is calling the House back into session over the crisis at the U.S. Postal Service, setting up a political showdown amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the election.

Pelosi is cutting short lawmakers' summer recess with a vote expected the Saturday after the Democratic National Convention on legislation that would prohibit changes at the agency as tensions mount. President Donald Trump's new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, has sparked nationwide outcry over delays, new prices and cutbacks just as millions of Americans will be trying to vote by mail to avoid polling places during the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier Sunday, Democratic lawmakers demanded that leaders of the Postal Service testify at an emergency oversight hearing Aug. 24 on mail delays.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee said it wants to hear from DeJoy and from the chair of the Postal Service board of governors, Robert “Mike” Duncan.

With heightened scrutiny of its operations, the Postal Service is now requesting a temporary preelection rate increase, from mid-October through Christmas, although not for first-class letters.

The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment about whether the two men would appear before the House committee.

https://apnews.com/8cd319f66ae12bc23f4cadd38cc21f5f

[homoe]

Canada has extended its ban on American tourists at least one more month, until September 21 Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced Friday.

An estimated 80% of Canadians want their southern neighbors to be kept out until 2021 at the earliest as the coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate in the United States. Fear of American travelers bringing the coronavirus into Canada has led some citizens to begin reporting cars with foreign license plates to the police.

The US-Canada border has been closed since March 31, when the two countries banned all nonessential travel between in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus and extended several times. The border closure was just one part of Canada's somewhat successful national effort to shut down the pandemic, while the number of both confirmed cases and deaths has continued to spiral in the United States. "We're taking this step to keep people in both our countries safe - because your health and safety is always our top priority," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Treadeu tweeted Friday.

https://www.businessinsider.com/author/taylor-nicole-rogers

[homoe]

e former head of the Food and Drug Administration criticized Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for casually comparing COVID-19 to the common flu during an interview Sunday.

“We need to be careful about making comparisons to flu — and the death and disease we see in flu relative to COVID,” former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on CBS News’ “Face The Nation.”

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths has remained “fairly persistent” over the last few weeks, noted Gottlieb, a Republican who served in both the Obama and Trump administrations.

“There’s been a fairly persistent level of infection, hospitalizations and deaths over the last couple of weeks,” he said. “We’ve had over a thousand deaths a day for at least two weeks now, over 50,000 infections a day on average.”

Gottlieb called out the White House adviser after Kushner said on the same program earlier that he would “absolutely” send his children back to school this fall. His children’s school, however, will “principally use distance learning” with some in-person “opportunities” for “outdoor education and community building,” according to the school’s plan.

“Our school is not opening up five days a week; I wish they were,” Kushner stated. Kushner insisted his children have a “six times greater risk of dying from the flu as from COVID-19, adding: “I don’t believe that’s a risk.” Gottlieb said he had no idea where that figure came from, and Kushner didn’t mention a source. Kushner dismissed the significance of COVID-19 for children just as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Saturday that cases in children 17 and younger have been “steadily increasing” from March to July. Children can develop severe illness and complications, even if that risk is lower compared to adults, the CDC cautioned.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jared-kushner-coronavirus-schools-fda-gottlieb_n_5f39c357c5b6959911e61d0b

[BullDog]

Corrupt Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has agreed to House Democrats’ request for him to testify next Monday August 24 before the Oversight and Reform Committee.

Kate Porter is on the committee! She tweeted this: “I hope the Postmaster General comes prepared. I know I will.”

Also on the committee:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Ayanna Pressley
Rashida Tlaib
& More

He better show up. This is going to be epic!

[homoe]

~~

......:goodpost:.....

[homoe]

Twenty years after their romance ended, Anne Heche looks back on her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres fondly.

"Our time was a beautiful part of my life and one that I wear with honor," the actress, 51, said her cover interview with Mr. Warburton magazine for the September issue.

"I was a part of a revolution that created social change, and I could not have done that without falling in love with her," Heche said, recalling the mistreatment she and DeGeneres received in the 1990s for being open about their same-sex relationship. For example, Heche says she was escorted out of her own premiere for the 1997 disaster flick Volcano because she brought DeGeneres, who had just come out as gay in her sitcom Ellen.

"The difference between what would happen today and what happened then is that I would not have been ushered out of my own premiere and fired from a multi-million dollar picture deal with Fox for taking a girl as my date," Heche said.

https://people.com/tv/anne-heche-hasnt-spoken-ex-ellen-degeneres-in-years/

[homoe]

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he is suspending changes to mail service that raised concerns over slow delivery of ballots in the fall election after Democrats accused President Donald Trump of hampering the vote-by-mail process.

“To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded,” DeJoy said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

DeJoy said that mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes will remain where they are, and no mail processing facilities will be closed. Overtime work will “continue to be” approved as needed, he said.

The announcement follows concerns from Democrats and others over apparent mail slowdowns as the coronavirus pandemic leads to the necessity for increased mail-in voting options. DeJoy is to appear twice before Congress in coming days: on Friday at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and on Monday before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

[homoe]

Today on Celebrity Death Match: COVID-Edition: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper vs. MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell. Check out some of the action below.

On Monday, Lindell told CNN that President Donald Trump was “enthusiastic” about an unproven and untested oleander-based therapeutic for coronavirus that he and POTUS discussed in a White House meeting last month. Today, Cooper had Lindell on his primetime show for a sometimes-heated interview.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/anderson-cooper-puts-mypillow-guy-191727779.html

[homoe]

The former Democratic presidential candidate’s response said volumes without saying a word.

Looks like a couple of male politicians chose to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment by being clueless.

To mark 100 years since women won the right to vote, Donald Trump pardoned Susan B. Anthony for attempting to vote in 1872 even as he attempts to disrupt the November election by preventing the U.S. Postal Service from processing election ballots.

Former FBI Director James Comey also chimed in with a celebratory tweet suggesting that America needs more female politicians.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-james-comey-tweet_n_5f3c3dc6c5b6835236032586

[homoe]

The Senate Intelligence Committee releases old correspondence between Trump and the Russian president.

President Donald Trump reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin several times in the years prior to running for election, according to new documents released by the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The messages do not reveal collusion between Trump and Putin over the 2016 election. The links between his campaign and Moscow were detailed elsewhere in the report. But they do show Trump repeatedly flattering Putin, including one letter congratulating the strongman on being named Time’s “Person of the Year” in 2007. Trump told Putin: “You definitely deserve it.” He added: “I am a big fan of yours!”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-putin-fan-mail_n_5f3c91aec5b6835236037b4c

[homoe]

The Cincinnati Reds have announced the suspension of a broadcaster after he uttered an anti-gay slur on the air Wednesday. Play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman could be heard saying on the Fox Sports Ohio broadcast, "One of the f*g capitals of the world," before then resuming his on-air duties. It's unknown what led to that remark and the context behind it.

Later in the broadcast, Brennaman apologized: “I’m so very, very sorry. I pride myself and think of myself as a man of faith… I don’t know if I’m going to be putting on this headset again.” He went on to apologize “for the people who sign my paycheck, for the Reds, for Fox Sports Ohio, for the people I work with, for anyone I’ve offended here tonight. I can’t begin to tell you how deeply sorry I am. That is not who I am. It never has been, and I’d like to think maybe I could have some people that could back that up. I am very, very sorry, and I beg for your forgiveness.”

IMHO the only thing this dude is sorry about is getting caught!

If there was ever a candidate for someone living on the "down low" or a closet case he could be it, I mean how else might he know what is the f*g capital of the world if not from first hand experience, no pun intended.

[homoe]

Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist in President Donald Trump’s White House, was arrested on Thursday after a grand jury indicted him on federal charges for allegedly using hundreds of thousands of dollars from an online “We Build The Wall” fundraiser to cover his personal expenses.

He pleaded not guilty at a hearing Thursday afternoon.

Bannon and three others ― Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea ― were charged in connection with their roles in “defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors in connection with an online crowdfunding campaign known as ‘We Build the Wall’ that raised more than $25 million,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Thursday morning. The four defendants are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Following news of the indictments, Trump on Thursday tried to distance himself from Bannon, who was a top aide on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

“Well, I feel very badly,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I haven’t been dealing with him for a long period of time. ... He worked for a lot of companies. But he was involved likewise in our campaign and for a small part of the administration very early on. I haven’t been dealing with him at all.”

Trump said he knows “nothing” about the “We Build the Wall” campaign.

“When I read about it, I didn’t like it,” he said. “I said, this is for government, this isn’t for private people. ... But you’ll have to see what happens. I think it’s a very sad thing for Mr. Bannon. I think it was surprising.”

[homoe]

Today (Friday) presents lawmakers their first opportunity to grill DeJoy in person after the changes sparked a political fight in Washington and raised broader questions over whether the Postal Service was up to the task of processing mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

Democrats worried the changes were part of an attempt by Trump to undermine the presidential election. DeJoy has insisted the changes were part of longer term measures to make the agency run more efficiently after years of financial losses

.https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-090020596.html

[homoe]

On Friday, Lori Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to federal charges connected to the college admissions cheating scandal.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton accepted Loughlin's plea agreement a few hours after he sentenced her husband, Mossimo Giannulli. Before sentencing Loughlin, the judge admonished the actress for her role in the college admission’s scandal, stating that while he believes she is remorseful he does not understand why somebody who already had a “fairytale life” needed to “grab even more.”

“You have participated in the corruption of the system of higher education in this country,” Gorton said. “I hope you will spend the rest of your charmed life making amends for the system you have harmed.”

The 56-year-old "Full House" star will have to pay a $150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service. She will have to self-surrender within 90 days from Friday, and will have supervised release for two years after completing her prison sentence.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lori-loughlin-sentenced-2-months-184943917.html

[homoe]

Tensions were high on Friday as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee over fears that recent reforms DeJoy has pushed could sabotage the 2020 presidential election. In several heated exchanges between senators and DeJoy, the postmaster general claimed many of the service slowdowns were a result of COVID-19, despite such issues not occurring until July.

DeJoy repeatedly refused to commit to turning over written transcripts of his meetings with governors and other official documents related to service changes resulting in delayed mail deliveries.

“I don’t know, I don’t have the authority to do some of those things. And that is something that I would need to discuss with counsel and the board’s counsel, so I can’t commit to that,” DeJoy said when asked about meeting minutes. Though he did admit that some of the changes in operations since he took over had resulted in mail delays, DeJoy told the committee he would not restore mail sorting machines that have been removed from various locations nationwide. “There’s no intention to do that,” DeJoy said, arguing the machines are “not needed.”

DeJoy said that he feels “bad about the dip in our service.” But his testimony on the matter did not restore confidence in the postmaster general, as people took their concerns to Twitter and demanded he resign from his position.

[FireSignFemme]

On Friday, Lori Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison after pleading guilty earlier this year to federal charges connected to the college admissions cheating scandal.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton accepted Loughlin's plea agreement a few hours after he sentenced her husband, Mossimo Giannulli. Before sentencing Loughlin, the judge admonished the actress for her role in the college admission’s scandal, stating that while he believes she is remorseful he does not understand why somebody who already had a “fairytale life” needed to “grab even more.”

“You have participated in the corruption of the system of higher education in this country,” Gorton said. “I hope you will spend the rest of your charmed life making amends for the system you have harmed.”

The 56-year-old "Full House" star will have to pay a $150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service. She will have to self-surrender within 90 days from Friday, and will have supervised release for two years after completing her prison sentence.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lori-loughlin-sentenced-2-months-184943917.html

Oh she's beautiful. Why did she even have to pay a bribe, leave a paper trail.

[C0LLETTE]

Oh she's beautiful. Why did she even have to pay a bribe, leave a paper trail.

Don't know how to interpret this post.
Is it sarcasm or is it a serious question?

[homoe]

Tensions were high on Friday as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee over fears that recent reforms DeJoy has pushed could sabotage the 2020 presidential election. In several heated exchanges between senators and DeJoy, the postmaster general claimed many of the service slowdowns were a result of COVID-19, despite such issues not occurring until July.

DeJoy repeatedly refused to commit to turning over written transcripts of his meetings with governors and other official documents related to service changes resulting in delayed mail deliveries.

“I don’t know, I don’t have the authority to do some of those things. And that is something that I would need to discuss with counsel and the board’s counsel, so I can’t commit to that,” DeJoy said when asked about meeting minutes. Though he did admit that some of the changes in operations since he took over had resulted in mail delays, DeJoy told the committee he would not restore mail sorting machines that have been removed from various locations nationwide. “There’s no intention to do that,” DeJoy said, arguing the machines are “not needed.”

DeJoy said that he feels “bad about the dip in our service.” But his testimony on the matter did not restore confidence in the postmaster general, as people took their concerns to Twitter and demanded he resign from his position.

Well IMHO and how I read him during his grilling!

[homoe]

The soon-to-be-published book by President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, will reveal multiple cases of criminality, backed by “evidence,” longtime Trump associate Anthony Scaramucci said Saturday.

Scaramucci, who served as White House director of communications for a week in 2017, said on MSNBC that Cohen’s book will expose Trump’s “rank criminality” and “steep, steep illegality and amorality.”

“It is not like Michael is going to say this and the White House is going to discredit him ... He is going to back it up with documentary evidence to show the level of illegality, the repetitiveness of the illegality,” said Scaramucci.

The book — “Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump” — will also reveal Trump’s “betrayal” of the country, he added.

All of this information is “going to come out in a waterfall” ahead of the presidential election, said Scaramucci.

Scaramucci has apparently seen Cohen’s manuscript, noting that it’s not “for me to reveal” details of what Cohen will expose. But Cohen has appeared to confirm Scaramucci’s characterization of his book.

[homoe]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday accused the Trump White House of covering up the role Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin played in recruiting Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major Republican donor with no prior experience working for the U.S. Postal Service.

In a letter to Robert Duncan, chairman of the USPS Board of Governors, Schumer wrote that as part of his investigation into DeJoy's selection and unanimous appointment in May, his office "learned of the role Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had with the Postal Board of Governors, including through meetings with individual governors as well as phone calls with groups of governors, which has not been previously disclosed by the board."

"This administration has repeatedly pointed to the role of [executive search firm] Russell Reynolds to defend the selection of a Republican mega-donor with no prior postal experience as postmaster general while at the same time blocking the ability of Congress to obtain briefings from the firm and concealing the role of Secretary Mnuchin and the White House in its search process," the New York Democrat wrote.

Schumer demanded that the Board of Governors—which is completely controlled by Trump appointees—immediately release Russell Reynolds from any nondisclosure agreement barring the firm from providing details about its postmaster general search and provide a full "explanation of the role of President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin in the search process for a new postmaster and the selection of Mr. DeJoy."

Schumer's investigation into the process that resulted in DeJoy's appointment began in June, when he demanded that the Board of Governors turn over any communications with the White House related to the postmaster general's selection. Shortly after taking charge of USPS on June 15, DeJoy moved to impose operational changes that caused severe mail backlogs across the nation. DeJoy this week vowed to suspend, but not reverse, the changes.

[PlatinumPearl]

https://i.insider.com/5f3ce2a142f43f001ddfdacd?width=900&format=jpeg&auto=webp
People in Munich, Germany, on May 12.

Germany is beginning a universal-basic-income trial with people getting $1,400 a month for 3 years.



* Starting this week, 120 Germans will receive a form of universal basic income every month for three years.

* The volunteers will get monthly payments of €1,200, or about $1,400, as part of a study testing a universal basic income.

* The study will compare the experiences of the 120 volunteers with 1,380 people who do not receive the payments.

* About 140,000 people have helped fund the study through donations.

* The concept of universal basic income has gained traction in recent years, and Finland tested a form of it in 2017.

* Supporters say it would reduce inequality and improve well-being, while opponents argue it would be too expensive and discourage work.


Germany is about to become the latest country to trial a universal basic income, starting a three-year study of how it affects the economy and recipients' well-being.

As part of the study, 120 people will receive €1,200, or about $1,430, each month for three years — an amount just above Germany's poverty line — and researchers will compare their experiences with another group of 1,380 people who will not receive the payments.

The study, conducted by the German Institute for Economic Research, has been funded by 140,000 private donations.

All participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their lives, work, and emotional state to see whether a basic income has had a significant impact.

Universal basic income is the idea that a government should pay a lump sum of money to each of its citizens, usually once a month, regardless of their income or employment status, effectively replacing means-tested benefits.

Its proponents argue that it would reduce inequality and improve well-being by providing people more financial security. Its opponents say it would be too expensive and discourage people from going to work. The idea has gained traction in recent years amid financial crises and growing inequality in some Western countries.

Jürgen Schupp, who is leading the study, told the German newspaper Der Spiegel that it would improve the debate about universal basic income by producing new scientific evidence.

"The debate about the basic income has so far been like a philosophical salon in good moments and a war of faith in bad times," he told the newspaper.

"It is — on both sides — shaped by clichés: Opponents claim that with a basic income people would stop working in order to dull on the couch with fast food and streaming services. Proponents argue that people will continue to do fulfilling work, become more creative and charitable, and save democracy.

"Incidentally, these stereotypes also flow into economic simulations as assumptions about the supposed costs and benefits of a basic income.

"We can improve this if we replace these stereotypes with empirically proven knowledge and can therefore lead a more appropriate debate."

A pro-basic-income lobbying group called Mein Grundeinkommen is funding the experiment. The group has used donations from its supporters to fund monthly €1,000 payments for 668 people since 2014.

Finland experimented with a form of basic income for nearly two years: From January 2017 to December 2018, 2,000 unemployed Finns received €560 a month. But the researchers behind that trial concluded that while it led to people out of work feeling happier, it did not lead to increased employment, the BBC reported.



Source: businessinsider.com
Website: https://bit.ly/3aPaZq4
Date: August 19, 2020

[PlatinumPearl]

[Video - cannot display. Click on the website link below to view the video.]

Hillary Clinton doesn't have to testify in lawsuit over her emails, appeals court rules.



(CNN)Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cannot be compelled to appear for a deposition in a lawsuit about State Department emails, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

Right-leaning group Judicial Watch has sought to question Clinton in the years-long pursuit of Clinton's emails about State Department business on a private server.

A federal judge earlier this year said Clinton must appear for a deposition, but the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed that decision Friday.

Clinton's emails were already investigated by Congress, the State Department inspector general and the FBI, and she previously gave written answers in another lawsuit, the appeals court noted.

"The District Court has impermissibly ballooned the scope of its inquiry into allegations of bad faith to encompass a continued probe of Secretary Clinton's state of mind surrounding actions taken years before the at-issue searches were conducted by the State Department," the appeals court wrote in an opinion issued Friday. "Secretary Clinton has already answered interrogatories from Judicial Watch on these very questions ... explaining the sole reason she used the private account was for 'convenience.'"

The court added: "But more importantly, even if a deposition of Secretary Clinton were to somehow shake some novel explanation loose after all these years, this new information simply would have no effect on the rights of the parties in this FOIA case, making it 'an inappropriate avenue for additional discovery.'"

"We're disappointed by the decision and considering our options," Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, said in a statement Friday.

News broke in March 2015 that Clinton used personal email addresses connected to a privately owned server, rather than a government email, during her four years as President Barack Obama's first-term secretary of state. The email controversy became an issue that hounded Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

Last year, the State Department released details (https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/18/politics/state-department-clinton-email-server/index.html) of an investigation saying that there was no "persuasive evidence" of widespread mishandling of classified information in the controversy surrounding Clinton's use of a private email server.



Source: cnn.com
Website: https://cnn.it/31mYOOf
Date: August 14, 2020

[homoe]

Attorney General William Barr met last year with media mogul Rupert Murdoch to pressure him to “muzzle” Donald Trump critic Andrew Napolitano on Fox News, according to a new book out Tuesday.

Napolitano’s air time has dwindled as his criticism of Trump has increased over the last year.

Barr’s meeting with Murdoch, the executive chairman of Fox News’ parent company, at his New York home was widely reported at the time, but its purpose was not revealed. One aim of the meeting was to shut up Napolitano, according to the book “Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth,” written by CNN media reporter Brian Stelter.

Trump “was so incensed” by Napolitano’s increasingly critical comments about him in Fox News broadcasts that he “implored Barr to send Rupert a message in person … about ‘muzzling the judge,’” according to the book, reported The Guardian, which obtained a copy. Trump “wanted the nation’s top law enforcement official to convey just how atrocious Napolitano’s legal analysis had been,” wrote Stelter, citing information from an unnamed source.

Napolitano, a former New Jersey superior court judge, reportedly told friends early in 2019 that he was on Trump’s “short list” for the U.S. Supreme Court. But when news emerged later that year of Trump’s phone call pressing Ukraine’s president to launch an investigation into baseless accusations against Joe Biden, Napolitano called the president’s actions both “criminal and impeachable.”

The judge also said that much of what was found in an investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller concerning Russian interference in the 2016 election was “also impeachable.”

Barr’s words “carried a lot of weight” with Murdoch, Stelter reports, though it’s unclear how the pressure to silence Napolitano served taxpayers funding Barr’s salary.

Napolitano still appears on Fox News, though in a more limited role. He recently harshly criticized Trump for sending federal officers into Portland to snatch residents off the streets, calling it a dangerous slide into totalitarianism.


https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-barr-judge-napolitano-murdoch-fox-muzzle-trump-critic_n_5f41d23cc5b697824f9991d7

[PlatinumPearl]

https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f43305b326476d4b21e74b8/960x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=5113&cropY1=300&cropY2=3177
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 10: White House Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway speaks to members of the media
at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House January 10, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Kellyanne Conway Announces White House Departure Amid Family Disputes.




TOPLINE
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, one of President Trump’s longest serving political advisors, announced her resignation on Sunday – effective at the end of August – amid public feuding between her politically divergent family members.
Kellyanne Conway Speaks To The Media At The White House


KEY FACTS
Conway, who also served as Trump’s campaign manager in 2016, released a statement announcing that she will be “transitioning from the White House at the end of this month.”

Conway maintained her support for the president, stating that she is “deeply grateful” for the opportunity to serve and that she believes his leadership has had a “measurable, positive impact on the peace and prosperity of the nation.”

Conway’s husband George Conway also announced that he would step down from leading role at the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump PAC, and take a “Twitter hiatus,” adding that he continues to “passionately” support the Lincoln Project’s mission.

The announcements come after their 15-year-old daughter Claudia, a vocal leftist and Black Lives Matter supporter who has publicly disparaged both her parents on social media in recent months, tweeted that she was “pushing for emancipation” from her parents.

“We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most: the kids,” Kellyanne Conway said in her statement, noting that remote learning for her four teenage children “requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times.


KEY BACKGROUND
Conway joined the Trump campaign in August 2016 as he was struggling in the polls and is seen as a driving force in his victory. She is the first woman to head up a successful presidential campaign, and for that feat she was rewarded a post as a White House counselor. Though her power and influence ebbed and flowed, particularly in the early days of the administration, Conway is seen as having the president’s ear as one of his longest serving aides.


CRUCIAL QUOTE
Conway received effusive praise from her Republican allies on Twitter following her announcement. “There would be no President Trump without Kellyanne,” tweeted Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich. “She is a political pioneer and her keen guidance will surely be missed.”


CHIEF CRITIC
But naturally, opponents of the administration were not as keen to celebrate her on her way out. Walter Shaub, a former director of the Office of Government Ethics, took aim at a report by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel that claimed Conway “repeatedly” the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from performing campaign-related tasks in government buildings. “Tonight is a good night. Kellyanne Conway finally decided to make the White House a little more ethical,” Shaub tweeted.


CRUCIAL QUOTE
“In time, I will announce future plans,” Conway concluded her statement. “For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.”



Source: Forbes.com
Website: https://bit.ly/2QiOQa3
Date: August 24, 2020

[homoe]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge temporarily blocked Gov. Ron DeSantis and top education officials from forcing public schools to reopen brick-and-mortar classrooms amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, ruling that the state’s order “arbitrarily disregards safety.”

But the temporary injunction issued Monday by Leon County Judge Charles Dodson was immediately put on hold when the state appealed the ruling.


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/judges-ruling-could-slow-down-reopening-of-florida-schools/

[PlatinumPearl]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/YJFYJHHEKAI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
Gold Ridge Fire Battalion Chief Gino DeGraffenreid manages a controlled burn to protect a park residence in
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve on Friday near Guerneville, Calif. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)



SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Thousands of firefighters continued corralling two of the biggest wildfires in California history on Monday as dangerous weather that threatened to roll back recent gains turned out to be far milder than forecast.

As temperatures cooled and winds calmed over the weekend, firefighters gained ground on the LNU Lightning Complex fire, burning across a fatigued wine country north of San Francisco, and the SCU Lightning Complex, which has been threatening the eastern outskirts of San Jose and cities as far south as Gilroy.

[California wildfires send evacuees scrambling toward another threat: Covid-19]

But forecasts had predicted a new round of so-called dry lightning: thunderstorms that produce little if any rain but much electricity. By midday, though, those storm cells had blown past the Bay Area harmlessly and the National Weather Service canceled a “red flag” fire warning for the region.

The two complex fires, which comprise several blazes each, began 10 days ago when thousands of lightning strikes hit dry vegetation. The fires have grown to be the second- and third-largest fires in terms of acreage burned in state history. Of the more than 600 smaller fires burning in the state, 17 are designated as major, tugging fire crews in several directions simultaneously.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/5BMHM2XGFEI6VP2EBUY4QWBYUU.jpg&w=916


The fires already have charred 1.2 million acres — an area larger than Rhode Island — and have killed seven people and destroyed more than 1,200 buildings. More than 100,000 people have evacuated their homes over the course of the recent fires amid fears that gathering in shelters could increase the spread of the coronavirus in the state with the most reported cases.

President Trump declared a major disaster in the state over the weekend, which freed up federal aid that he once threatened to withhold because of what he has described as poor forest management. Many of the state’s woodlands, including some areas burning now, are managed by the federal government.

In a midday briefing, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday thanked Trump for the declaration. He described this as “a critical week” for firefighting efforts, with forecasts calling for considerably cooler weather but unpredictable winds.

“We’re deploying every resource we have right now,” Newsom said.

Firefighters from across the state, as well as the National Guard, have been stretched thin by the number of blazes, which have come well before the state’s traditional peak fire season in the fall. A climate of extremes here in recent years — wet winters and springs followed suddenly by hot, dry summers — has virtually erased the time frame for what had for decades constituted fire season.

In his briefing, Newsom said the state had experienced 4,292 fires, which burned a total of 56,000 acres, by this time last year. This year the total acreage charred so far is 1.4 million. There have been 7,002 fires, a 63 percent increase from the previous year.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/FOX5N2XEKEI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
The Walbridge Fire burns between Guerneville and Healdsburg, Calif. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)


Though more than 14,000 firefighters are confronting the flames, the sheer number of outbreaks and sweeping, ember-carrying winds have left crews playing catch-up for days. Seven states have sent fire engines to California despite their own worries that dry, hot and windy conditions at home will spark similar blazes.

California also is somewhat shorthanded because crews of prison inmates, numbering 28 each, usually help fight such fires by clearing brush ahead of the flames to create breaks and carrying out other essential tasks.

More than 8,000 inmates have been released early this year because of a severe covid-19 outbreak in the state prison system. Inmate crews have been reduced in size, state fire officials say. The work, while sometimes hazardous, is voluntary, pays nominally, and goes toward a prisoner’s credit for early release.

As Monday began, fire officials appeared most worried about the shifting winds, which in the northern LNU fire threatened to push flames toward the Sonoma County towns of Healdsburg and Guerneville, both popular wine-country tourist destinations. That fire is now nearly a quarter contained.

The same was true of the smaller CZU Lightning Complex fire that is the southwestern-most of three major Bay Area fires, having burned more than 50,000 acres in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, including historic coastal Redwood groves.

Newsom said such “dense forests . . . are historically immune from significant fires along our coast.”


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/U3Q7NXHEKAI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
Redwoods shrouded in smoke and threatened by fire in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve.
Redwoods are fire-adapted and resistant to fire up to a certain level of intensity. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)


“This is a region that has simply never seen forest fires because of the weather conditions,” said Newsom, who spent part of the weekend visiting that area. “It is a proof point that we are in a different climate and we are dealing with different climate conditions that are precipitating fires the likes of which we haven’t seen in modern recorded history.”

Although lighter than predicted, winds threatened to push embers and flames through forests toward several small mountain and coastal communities. A heavy fog layer that persisted for much of the weekend helped moisten the fire’s fuel and curtail its spread.

Many residents of the mountainside town of Bonny Doon, north of Santa Cruz, have defied evacuation orders to remain in threatened areas to protect their homes. The fire is 13 percent contained.

Fire officials have warned that, while they are optimistic about the changing weather, they will likely be fighting the largest blazes for weeks. Many crews are working 72-hour shifts, three times longer than normal between rests.

Those not directly threatened by the fires are still suffering from the effects of smoke, which has drifted at least as far east as Nebraska.

Many parts of California are experiencing hazardous air quality conditions, and local health officials have warned residents in several counties to remain indoors as much as possible.

In the Central Valley, scorching hot this time of year, smoke is complicating efforts to treat covid-19 cases in what remains the state’s hardest-hit region.

Newsom said most of the fire evacuees are staying in hotel rooms, family homes and other places outside official shelters, where people are screened for the virus and required to wear masks. He said the state faces a shortage of air purifiers that help circulate the air inside the shelters and lessen the risk of the virus’s spread.

“This makes some of our wildfire fighting efforts a little more challenging,” Newsom said. “But we are up to the task.”


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/4RYB3HXEKAI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
A structure destroyed by the Walbridge Fire off Big Ridge Road near Healdsburg, Calif. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)



Source: washingtonpost.com
Website: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/california-wildfires-disaster/2020/08/24/6551833a-e645-11ea-bbd0-305805b74b15_story.html
Date: August 24, 2020

[Vincent]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/YJFYJHHEKAI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
Gold Ridge Fire Battalion Chief Gino DeGraffenreid manages a controlled burn to protect a park residence in
Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve on Friday near Guerneville, Calif. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)



SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Thousands of firefighters continued corralling two of the biggest wildfires in California history on Monday as dangerous weather that threatened to roll back recent gains turned out to be far milder than forecast.

As temperatures cooled and winds calmed over the weekend, firefighters gained ground on the LNU Lightning Complex fire, burning across a fatigued wine country north of San Francisco, and the SCU Lightning Complex, which has been threatening the eastern outskirts of San Jose and cities as far south as Gilroy.

[California wildfires send evacuees scrambling toward another threat: Covid-19]

But forecasts had predicted a new round of so-called dry lightning: thunderstorms that produce little if any rain but much electricity. By midday, though, those storm cells had blown past the Bay Area harmlessly and the National Weather Service canceled a “red flag” fire warning for the region.

The two complex fires, which comprise several blazes each, began 10 days ago when thousands of lightning strikes hit dry vegetation. The fires have grown to be the second- and third-largest fires in terms of acreage burned in state history. Of the more than 600 smaller fires burning in the state, 17 are designated as major, tugging fire crews in several directions simultaneously.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/5BMHM2XGFEI6VP2EBUY4QWBYUU.jpg&w=916


The fires already have charred 1.2 million acres — an area larger than Rhode Island — and have killed seven people and destroyed more than 1,200 buildings. More than 100,000 people have evacuated their homes over the course of the recent fires amid fears that gathering in shelters could increase the spread of the coronavirus in the state with the most reported cases.

President Trump declared a major disaster in the state over the weekend, which freed up federal aid that he once threatened to withhold because of what he has described as poor forest management. Many of the state’s woodlands, including some areas burning now, are managed by the federal government.

In a midday briefing, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday thanked Trump for the declaration. He described this as “a critical week” for firefighting efforts, with forecasts calling for considerably cooler weather but unpredictable winds.

“We’re deploying every resource we have right now,” Newsom said.

Firefighters from across the state, as well as the National Guard, have been stretched thin by the number of blazes, which have come well before the state’s traditional peak fire season in the fall. A climate of extremes here in recent years — wet winters and springs followed suddenly by hot, dry summers — has virtually erased the time frame for what had for decades constituted fire season.

In his briefing, Newsom said the state had experienced 4,292 fires, which burned a total of 56,000 acres, by this time last year. This year the total acreage charred so far is 1.4 million. There have been 7,002 fires, a 63 percent increase from the previous year.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/FOX5N2XEKEI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
The Walbridge Fire burns between Guerneville and Healdsburg, Calif. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)


Though more than 14,000 firefighters are confronting the flames, the sheer number of outbreaks and sweeping, ember-carrying winds have left crews playing catch-up for days. Seven states have sent fire engines to California despite their own worries that dry, hot and windy conditions at home will spark similar blazes.

California also is somewhat shorthanded because crews of prison inmates, numbering 28 each, usually help fight such fires by clearing brush ahead of the flames to create breaks and carrying out other essential tasks.

More than 8,000 inmates have been released early this year because of a severe covid-19 outbreak in the state prison system. Inmate crews have been reduced in size, state fire officials say. The work, while sometimes hazardous, is voluntary, pays nominally, and goes toward a prisoner’s credit for early release.

As Monday began, fire officials appeared most worried about the shifting winds, which in the northern LNU fire threatened to push flames toward the Sonoma County towns of Healdsburg and Guerneville, both popular wine-country tourist destinations. That fire is now nearly a quarter contained.

The same was true of the smaller CZU Lightning Complex fire that is the southwestern-most of three major Bay Area fires, having burned more than 50,000 acres in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, including historic coastal Redwood groves.

Newsom said such “dense forests . . . are historically immune from significant fires along our coast.”


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/U3Q7NXHEKAI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
Redwoods shrouded in smoke and threatened by fire in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve.
Redwoods are fire-adapted and resistant to fire up to a certain level of intensity. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)


“This is a region that has simply never seen forest fires because of the weather conditions,” said Newsom, who spent part of the weekend visiting that area. “It is a proof point that we are in a different climate and we are dealing with different climate conditions that are precipitating fires the likes of which we haven’t seen in modern recorded history.”

Although lighter than predicted, winds threatened to push embers and flames through forests toward several small mountain and coastal communities. A heavy fog layer that persisted for much of the weekend helped moisten the fire’s fuel and curtail its spread.

Many residents of the mountainside town of Bonny Doon, north of Santa Cruz, have defied evacuation orders to remain in threatened areas to protect their homes. The fire is 13 percent contained.

Fire officials have warned that, while they are optimistic about the changing weather, they will likely be fighting the largest blazes for weeks. Many crews are working 72-hour shifts, three times longer than normal between rests.

Those not directly threatened by the fires are still suffering from the effects of smoke, which has drifted at least as far east as Nebraska.

Many parts of California are experiencing hazardous air quality conditions, and local health officials have warned residents in several counties to remain indoors as much as possible.

In the Central Valley, scorching hot this time of year, smoke is complicating efforts to treat covid-19 cases in what remains the state’s hardest-hit region.

Newsom said most of the fire evacuees are staying in hotel rooms, family homes and other places outside official shelters, where people are screened for the virus and required to wear masks. He said the state faces a shortage of air purifiers that help circulate the air inside the shelters and lessen the risk of the virus’s spread.

“This makes some of our wildfire fighting efforts a little more challenging,” Newsom said. “But we are up to the task.”


https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/4RYB3HXEKAI6VAWYLZK5I7UQZI.jpg&w=916
A structure destroyed by the Walbridge Fire off Big Ridge Road near Healdsburg, Calif. (Stuart W. Palley/for The Washington Post)



Source: washingtonpost.com
Website: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/california-wildfires-disaster/2020/08/24/6551833a-e645-11ea-bbd0-305805b74b15_story.html
Date: August 24, 2020

Its heartbreaking to see this
I stayed in Gurneville and Healdesburg,with friends during my stay,such a beautiful area.

I apologise for our shitty PM,for not sending firies from Aust,I can ussure you,we stand in solidarity,with the fire fighters in Cali,and there is a call out in OZ demanding we send our firfighters to help,as did the USA and Canada during our devastating fires in Nov-feb In Aust

[homoe]

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A private Milwaukee college has canceled plans to have Vice President Mike Pence deliver a commencement address this weekend, citing unrest in nearby Kenosha where police shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, and two people were killed during protests that followed.

Wisconsin Lutheran College said Thursday that “after further review with careful consideration of the escalating events in Kenosha,” it decided to not have Pence deliver the speech.

The vice president will be replaced by the Rev. Mark Jeske, of St. Marcus Lutheran Church.

Pence was scheduled to deliver his speech outside at the private college, which has about 1,200 students and is about 40 miles from Kenosha.

More than 270 students and alumni signed an open letter posted online objecting to the visit, which was announced prior to the violence in Kenosha.

[homoe]

March on Washington updates: Thousands gather at Lincoln Memorial to march for racial equality. March on Washington organizers expect about 50,000 people to gather in Washington on Friday to call for criminal justice reform and racial equality and to honor the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” address from the same spot.

Organizers began planning in June after the funeral of George Floyd, but they recently lowered their crowd estimates, citing fewer buses arriving in the city because of the coronavirus pandemic. They plan to highlight the civil rights issues of today and bring well-known speakers to address the crowd while also mitigating the spread of the novel coronavirus with strict safety protocols.

The march — dubbed the “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks” March on Washington — will begin with speeches from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, followed by a choreographed march to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in West Potomac Park. The event is expected to end about 3 p.m.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/08/28/march-on-washington-protest-dc/

[C0LLETTE]

Trump Hotel in Vancouver Declares Bankruptcy.


The Vancouver hotel that bears the name of Donald Trump has closed and its hotel-management company has filed for bankruptcy after years of complaints from residents and politicians about the Trump presence in the city.

The website for the city’s Trump International Hotel now links only to the global site for Trump hotels, where the Vancouver property is no longer listed. No one answered the phone at the hotel’s main line.

Documents filed with the federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy say that TA Hotel Management Limited Partnership filed for bankruptcy Aug. 26, stating it had total liabilities of $4.8-million and assets of only $1.1-million. A creditors’ meeting has been set for Sept. 16.

Owner Joo Kim Tiah, who announced the Trump deal in 2013, did not return a request for comment.

The disappearance of the hotel designed by prominent Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson was not lamented by some city residents.

“I think it’s cathartic for the city to see it gone. It’s always been inconsistent with our values,” said Brent Toderian, a former chief of planning for Vancouver. He has been vocal since the hotel opened in 2017 about how the Trump brand was an affront to a city known for its diversity and inclusion.

[homoe]

9vtx8Tp9BKY

[homoe]

~~
Donald Trump says he wants the Big Ten and other conferences to start playing football 'now'. Plus his last two days of Super-Spreader Events just goes to show you, he's not concerned about other's safety!

[homoe]

Thousands of workers are poised to join the ranks of the unemployed, as ongoing turmoil from the coronavirus pandemic prompted Corporate America to unleash a wave of pink slips this week —adding to an already staggering number of people without jobs.

As Congress and the White House locked in a stalemate over a fresh round of economic stimulus — which includes a highly coveted $600 unemployment bonus that’s helped to prop up consumer spending — a range of big companies are moving to shave headcount.

The timing could hardly be worse, given that the fate of a fiscal boost is uncertain, and the ranks of the jobless remain swelled with tens of millions of people.

“We’re in a situation where unemployment is remarkably elevated,” Mark Hamrick, Bankrate.com’s senior economic analyst, told Yahoo Finance on Thursday.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/big-companies-unleash-a-wave-of-pink-slips-as-coronavirus-keeps-hammering-jobs-market-141401529.html

[homoe]

4aiXQpCxn1s




Bill Maher Calls For #FreeUpTheMail Campaign Against Donald Trump USPS Voting “Scheme”.

[homoe]

United Airlines says it listened to customers and is dropping an unpopular $200 fee for most people who change a ticket for travel within the United States. “When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of fees is often the top request,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a video posted Sunday.

United's move will put pressure on American Airlines and Delta Air Lines to drop their change fees, also $200 on domestic travel. Delta and American said they are waiving change fees for travel affected by the virus through the year's end. Southwest Airlines does not charge change fees, a policy which its CEO says has helped it gain more business.

United said that it eliminated change fees for people who buy a standard or premium economy ticket for U.S. travel. United also said that it will extend a broad waiver of change fees — including for international travel — through Dec. 31. Customers who pay the lowest fares, called “basic economy,” can also change tickets free because of the extended waiver announced Sunday.
And starting in January, it will let customers fly standby for free on other flights the same day as their booked flight.

The moves come as United and other airlines try desperately to lure people back to flying despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. U.S. air travel has recovered modestly since April, but passenger traffic remains down about 70% from a year ago.

The four largest U.S. airlines lost a combined $10 billion from April through June. Airlines shared $25 billion in federal payroll aid under pandemic relief legislation and are lobbying for $25 billion more.

Sidebar: For years airlines have been nickle and dimming passengers for outlandish fees! It does my heart good to see them having to pull in their horns and grovel a bit to lure back customers!

[homoe]

An uncle of Jacob Blake, a Black man reported to be partially paralyzed from the waist down after being shot at close range in the back by police in Kenosha, Wis., accused President Trump of “drumming” up violence in the country and said the Blake family doesn’t want “anything to do with him.”

Jacob Blake's uncle, Justin Blake, made the comments in an interview with local ABC affiliate WISN on Sunday. He was asked about unrest in Kenosha and other parts of the country following the police shooting of his nephew and the violence seen at some demonstrations.

“How could they not be feeding on violence when the man in the White House is steady drumming it up? Did you not think it would not trickle down to the streets? It has,” he said in an interview with the station. “So, we have the opportunity to control the narrative as the Blake family, and we're gonna do that.”

His comments come as a number of Democrats have sought to blame Trump for inciting violence in the country following clashes, some deadly, at recent protests.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/514488-jacob-blakes-uncle-says-family-believes-trump-incited-this

[homoe]

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan asks Supreme Court to stop recall, says none of her decisions were unreasonable. The push to recall Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is based on a policy disagreement, not a violation of any law or standard, and the petitioners leading the recall haven’t identified what steps Durkan should have taken in the wake of June’s widespread protests, Durkan argued in appealing her case to the state Supreme Court.


Sidebar: No doubt her flippant ‘summer of love’ comment hasn't helped!


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-mayor-jenny-durkan-asks-supreme-court-to-stop-recall-says-none-of-her-decisions-were-unreasonable/?utm_medium=notification&utm_source=pushly&utm_campaign=655139

[PlatinumPearl]

Vineyard Workers Race Overnight To Save Grapes From Approaching Fires | California Wildfires.

As the second largest wildfire in California’s history ravages the state, vineyards in Sonoma County rush to harvest grapes before the smoke can ruin their crop. Since August 15, 1.6 million acres in California have burned - an area the size of Delaware. There are also fears that the coronavirus pandemic could spread among agricultural workers as the fires burn.

UCq_cDPeY1k



Source: Insider News
Date: August 29. 2020

[C0LLETTE]

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON


Largest ever celestial collision reveals a new kind of black hole

IVAN SEMENIUK
SCIENCE REPORTER Globe and Mail

"Scientists combing the cosmos for signs of heavy things bumping in the night have recorded their biggest bang yet.


In this case, two black holes, one 85 times the mass of our sun and the other 66 times the mass, merged in an instant to form one much larger black hole totaling 142 suns, researchers involved in the detection revealed on Wednesday."

However, Donald Trump is still the biggest hole in any universe.

[C0LLETTE]

Nancy got her hair done?????

OMG how did I miss that?

Well, all you cable bull-shitters, don't ever let me forget it.

In the midst of all the threats to the survival of a viable human race, just keep blasting out images of Nancy in a plastic gown having the "sides trimmed".

CNN...every time you post Nancy in her gown entering that "salon" I try to spit at my tv...my aim is terrible and I'm sure I'll regret it but wtf, how could that mess be any worse than the swilling mess that cable news is blasting out 10 times a day as legit news to help people make their voting choice.

It's NOT news that Nancy got a haircut without a mask on. That's a mistake she won't repeat.

What is news is that cable channels like CNN think it's ok to repeat stuff like that and ignore the fact that they are burning that crap into voters' minds.

Every f..king word these "channels " broadcast goes somewhere.

[homoe]

Nancy Pelosi says her visit to a hair salon was a 'setup.' Stylist backs her up!

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she was set up by a San Francisco salon where she was videotaped not wearing a face mask after getting her hair washed, in violation of the city’s coronavirus restrictions. “This salon owes me an apology,” Pelosi said in response to questions from reporters at the end of a news conference on the Democrats' proposed coronavirus relief act that is stalled in the Senate. "It was clearly a setup," she said. "I take responsibility for falling for a setup by a neighborhood salon I’ve gone to for many years.”

The eSalon's owner, Erica Kious, denied Pelosi's claim. She said that her salon has been closed for months because of the pandemic and that she found Pelosi's remarks "hurtful." "I just thought about, you know, my staff and people not being able to work and make money and provide for their families. And if she's in there comfortably, without a mask and feeling safe, then why are we shut down?" Kious told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Wednesday evening.

Less than two hours later, Jonathan DeNardo, the stylist who blew out Pelosi's hair, released a statement through an attorney contradicting Kious. The statement says the law firm is in possession of photographs and videotape that show that Kious has been operating her salon in violation of state and local restrictions since April. The statement also says that Kious authorized Pelosi coming to the salon for her blow out, and that she was critical of the House speaker because she erroneously believed Pelosi was behind the restrictions that shut down her salon. (The rules were put in place by Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed.)

"Ms. Kious has also been actively encouraging and almost forcing stylists who operate at eSalon to violate such orders for her own financial benefit in the form of receiving lease payments," the statement says. "The fact that Ms. Kious is now objecting to Speaker Pelosi’s presence at eSalon, and from a simple surface-level review of Ms. Kious’ political leanings, it appears Ms. Kious is furthering a set-up of Speaker Pelosi for her own vain aspirations."

The brouhaha began on Monday, when security camera footage at the eSalon showed Pelosi inside, passing by with wet hair and a mask wrapped around her neck and being trailed by a hair stylist who was wearing a mask. Kious gave the footage to Fox News, which first reported the story Tuesday.

The images prompted a torrent of criticism Wednesday that Pelosi and other Democrats were hypocritical for placing restrictions on Americans that they themselves are unwilling to follow.

President Trump was among the Republicans who weighed in.

“Crazy Nancy Pelosi is being decimated for having a beauty parlor opened, when all others are closed, and for not wearing a Mask — despite constantly lecturing everyone else,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “We will almost certainly take back the House, and send Nancy packing!”

Businesses such as hair salons are subject to a patchwork of regulations in California, based in part on how severe the coronavirus crisis is in the counties and cities where they are based. In San Francisco, hair salons were not allowed to do any business on Monday, but as of Tuesday they are allowed to offer services outdoors. The state requires Californians to wear face masks outside the home when social distancing isn't possible.

Sidebar: Forgive me I'm a butch, but how would one get a shampoo and blow-out outside? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose?

[homoe]

Airlines for America, the lobbying group representing major U.S. carriers, has warned that the U.S. airline industry is unlikely to bounce back from the COVID-19 drop for at least four years.

“We don’t see any significant increase in demand,” Nicholas Calio, the CEO of Airlines for America, told reporters during a media call on Thursday. “We don’t see it fully rebounding until 2024. We are doing everything we can to keep our companies afloat. People talk about the situation being dire. It is dire. Right now, we’re fighting for survival. No bones about it.”

Sidebar: The way airlines stuck it to their passengers for years, with "add-on" fees from seat selections to checked bagged it's hard for me to feel sorry for this industry!

[homoe]

Trump Reportedly Referred To American War Dead As ‘Losers’ And ‘Suckers’


President Donald Trump, who has been criticized in the past for making disparaging remarks about veterans and military families, reportedly referred to American service members who’d died in World War I as “losers” and “suckers” in conversations with his staff.

The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, citing multiple anonymous sources who had firsthand knowledge of the conversations, reported Thursday on the president’s comments.

Associated Press reporter James LaPorta later corroborated Goldberg’s article, saying a senior Defense Department official had confirmed the information.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-american-war-dead-losers-suckers_n_5f517e63c5b62b3add3e1e45

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Methodist Church Breaks from UMC Over One Church Plan

A Georgia former United Methodist Church has left the UMC over the issues of same sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. In a statement, the Asbury Memorial Church in Savannah says it is the first church to break from the UMC over "unequal treatment of LGBTQ people". The UMC was supposed to meet earlier this year to revisit the internal battle of the One Church Plan vs. The Traditional Plan, but the COVID-19 crisis interfered.


https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/09/03/georgia-church-leaves-united-methodist-over-lgbtq-clergy-same-sex-marriage (https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/09/03/georgia-church-leaves-united-methodist-over-lgbtq-clergy-same-sex-marriage)

[homoe]

Trump Campaign Official Mocked Joe Biden For Visiting Graves Of Late Family Members.


In the immortal words of Joseph Welch.... ''Have you no sense of decency, sir?'' "Have you no sense of decency?"

[homoe]

A Fox News reporter staunchly defended her work Saturday after President Donald Trump demanded she be fired for confirming parts of The Atlantic’s bombshell story revealing the president’s insults about military service members.

“I can tell you that my sources are unimpeachable,” Fox News’ national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin said on-air. “I feel very confident with what we have reported at Fox.” She didn’t confirm “every line” of the report, but did confirm “most of the descriptions and the quotes in that Atlantic article ... so I feel very confident in my reporting,” Griffin said. She also discovered as part of her reporting that Trump had once said that including “wounded guys” would not be a “good look” at a Fourth of July parade honoring the military, according to a source. Griffin said she wasn’t able to confirm the “suckers” and “losers” portion of the Atlantic report about dead military heroes. But a source did confirm that Trump once said that anyone who served in the Vietnam War was a “sucker.”

While reporters at other news operations confirmed the Atlantic report, Trump singled out Griffin because a hit from Fox News, which is usually supportive of the president, is particularly damaging for him.

[homoe]

A five-year-old tweet from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is getting renewed attention amid reports that President Donald Trump once disparaged dead American soldiers as "losers" and "suckers."

The tweet in question came shortly after Trump attacked the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for getting captured and tortured by enemy forces during the Vietnam War, and it slammed the future president for showing no appreciation for the sacrifices made by service members.

"At the heart of [Trump's] statement is a lack of respect for those who have served," he wrote. "A disqualifying characteristic to be president."

In the years since the tweet, however, Graham has evolved to become one of Trump's most loyal defenders, despite the fact that the president has continued attacking McCain even after his passing in 2018.

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/622457428676886528

[homoe]

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy allegedly pressured former employees to donate to Republican candidates he supported and then reimbursed them with large bonuses, according to multiple media reports.

Both The Washington Post and The New York Times said Sunday that DeJoy, a top Republican fundraiser and Trump megadonor, urged workers at his former business, New Breed Logistics, to write checks to lawmakers for more than a decade between 2003 and 2014.

The Post spoke with five former employees who corroborated the accounts and analyzed campaign finance records which showed more than $1 million in donations during that period to federal and state GOP candidates. Only $700 was donated to Democratic candidates during the same period by company employees.

“He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses,” David Young, a former director of human resources at DeJoy’s company, told the Post. “When we got our bonuses, let’s just say they were bigger, they exceeded expectations — and that covered the tax and everything else.”

Other employees told the Times they were never approached to make political donations, and it’s unclear how they may have been solicited. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the allegations were serious enough that the North Carolina attorney general should open an investigation into the matter.

Sidebar: I saw Trump throw DeJoy under the bus today at his press conference! Perhaps the ballots will get delivered and counted in time after all!

[homoe]

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy allegedly pressured former employees to donate to Republican candidates he supported and then reimbursed them with large bonuses, according to multiple media reports.

Both The Washington Post and The New York Times said Sunday that DeJoy, a top Republican fundraiser and Trump megadonor, urged workers at his former business, New Breed Logistics, to write checks to lawmakers for more than a decade between 2003 and 2014.

The Post spoke with five former employees who corroborated the accounts and analyzed campaign finance records which showed more than $1 million in donations during that period to federal and state GOP candidates. Only $700 was donated to Democratic candidates during the same period by company employees.

“He asked employees for money. We gave him the money, and then he reciprocated by giving us big bonuses,” David Young, a former director of human resources at DeJoy’s company, told the Post. “When we got our bonuses, let’s just say they were bigger, they exceeded expectations — and that covered the tax and everything else.”

Other employees told the Times they were never approached to make political donations, and it’s unclear how they may have been solicited. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the allegations were serious enough that the North Carolina attorney general should open an investigation into the matter.

Sidebar: I saw Trump throw DeJoy under the bus today at his press conference! Perhaps the ballots will get delivered and counted in time after all!

WASHINGTON — A Democrat-led House committee will investigate Postmaster General Louis DeJoy over allegations he pressured employees at his former company into giving political donations to Republicans and helped reimburse the cost.

In a statement first provided to the Washington Post following the outlet's investigation into DeJoy's political contributions, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the chair of the House Oversight Committee, said the allegations, if true, meant DeJoy had also lied to the committee during past testimony and urged the Postal Board of Governors, the body overseeing the Postal Service, to "immediately suspend DeJoy."

"If these allegations are true, Mr. DeJoy could face criminal exposure—not only for his actions in North Carolina, but also for lying to our Committee under oath," Maloney said. "We will be investigating this issue, but I believe the Board of Governors must take emergency action to immediately suspend Mr. DeJoy, who they never should have selected in the first place."

[homoe]

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Receives Stinging Reminder Of Her Own Dishonesty.

Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who confessed under oath to lying to journalists, received a scathing reminder of her own dishonesty after she attempted to defend President Donald Trump from what she called “malicious lies.” Sanders released a video dismissing a report in The Atlantic last week (since confirmed by multiple media outlets, including Fox News) that alleged Trump during a 2018 visit to France described Americans killed in World War I as “suckers” and “losers.” Trump denied making the comments.

In the 44-second clip shared Sunday, Sanders claimed Trump — who has repeatedly denigrated U.S. war heroes and veterans ― “has the greatest respect for the men and women of our armed forces.” “That story couldn’t be further from the truth,” Sanders said of The Atlantic report. “This is a president that loves our country and will do anything to fight to protect it.”

Critics hit back by reminding Sanders of the lies she told on behalf of Trump, most notably when as White House deputy press secretary she claimed to journalists in May 2017 that “countless members of the FBI” did not support former FBI Director James Comey, who had been fired the previous day.

Sanders later confessed to investigators from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s office that the claim was “not founded on anything".

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sarah-huckabee-sanders-defense-donald-trump-backfires_n_5f572fd7c5b6578026d28d81

[homoe]

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Receives Stinging Reminder Of Her Own Dishonesty.

Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who confessed under oath to lying to journalists, received a scathing reminder of her own dishonesty after she attempted to defend President Donald Trump from what she called “malicious lies.” Sanders released a video dismissing a report in The Atlantic last week (since confirmed by multiple media outlets, including Fox News) that alleged Trump during a 2018 visit to France described Americans killed in World War I as “suckers” and “losers.” Trump denied making the comments.

In the 44-second clip shared Sunday, Sanders claimed Trump — who has repeatedly denigrated U.S. war heroes and veterans ― “has the greatest respect for the men and women of our armed forces.” “That story couldn’t be further from the truth,” Sanders said of The Atlantic report. “This is a president that loves our country and will do anything to fight to protect it.”

Critics hit back by reminding Sanders of the lies she told on behalf of Trump, most notably when as White House deputy press secretary she claimed to journalists in May 2017 that “countless members of the FBI” did not support former FBI Director James Comey, who had been fired the previous day.

Sanders later confessed to investigators from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s office that the claim was “not founded on anything".

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sarah-huckabee-sanders-defense-donald-trump-backfires_n_5f572fd7c5b6578026d28d81

The View landed a spicy guest for the first episode of its 24th season on Tuesday when former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined the five co-hosts to talk about her new book, Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom, and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House.

And it couldn’t have come at a more fraught moment for her former boss.

The first question for Huckabee Sanders went to Meghan McCain, who found herself once again in the middle of the latest Trump scandal after new reporting about the president’s alleged disparaging remarks about the military, including her father, the late Sen. John McCain.

After explaining that her “first instinct” was to question the anonymous sources who told The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg that Trump called U.S. troops “losers” and “suckers”—and complaining that her family “deserved a heads-up” about the article—McCain said, “The problem as I said before is the president has a pattern of saying incendiary things about people like my father, about people like the Khan family, about people like Col. Vindman.”

“I think if this charge had been leveled anonymously against any other politician, I think people would second-guess it,” she continued. “But because it’s about someone who has this kind of record of insulting veterans, people tend to believe it, which is why I think it has legs. So I just want your perspective on it and I want to know if you understand my and other people’s perspective on it.”

As she has done before, Huckabee Sanders insisted that she has never witnessed President Donald Trump be anything but respectful towards the military. “After spending nearly every single day for two-and-a-half years with the president I can tell you I witnessed firsthand the president’s respect and admiration for the men and women of our armed forces.”

Sidebar: Word has it Huckabee has political aspirations of her own and my guess is she's still hedging her bets in case Trump is elected for four more
years for his help and support!

[homoe]

"I wish I could personally thank every person who sent me their prayers, words of encouragement and support, especially at a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet in their own lives," Kious wrote in a letter posted Tuesday by the host of the GoFundMe. She thanked her daughters, their "loving dad," and her family and friends. The GoFundMe page claims to be set up by a friend of Kious and her family. It states, "At the conclusion of this fundraiser, ALL donations will go directly to Erica to pay off any debts from the business that she is forced to shut down, expenses to relocate and reopen in a new location."

Sidebar: I watched her interview with Tucker Carlson and I got a gut feeling I wouldn't trust this woman as far as I could throw her!

[nhplowboi]

^5 Bob Woodward! You may be a game changer.

[C0LLETTE]

^5 Bob Woodward! You may be a game changer.

Maybe, if Trump voters actually read or watched anything other than Fox.

[BullDog]

^5 Bob Woodward! You may be a game changer.

Yes, indeed.

The following article details quite a bit of what's in the book and there are audio clips from interviews Woodward did with Trump. Look for the red arrows because they are not immediately obvious. "This is Deadly Stuff" shows Trump knew the virus was very serious but as shown in another clip he purposely downplayed it.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/bob-woodward-rage-book-trump-coronavirus/index.html

[C0LLETTE]

Can you just imagine, if Trump shot his mouth off like that just to impress Bob Woodward, how much he must have blabbed and given away in those private meetings with Putin?

[C0LLETTE]

This post was so good I thought I'd give it another shot so it could be up a wee bit longer.

"Can you just imagine, if Trump shot his mouth off like that just to impress Bob Woodward, how much he must have blabbed and given away in those private meetings with Putin?"
__________________
_____________________________________

“Them beatniks was tough!”
Levon Helm
The Band

[homoe]

Republican lawmakers on Wednesday defended President Donald Trump after the revelation that earlier this year, he knowingly downplayed the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in millions of job losses and the deaths of some 190,000 Americans.

Trump told Bob Woodward ― as recounted in the renowned journalist’s upcoming book, “Rage” ― that the coronavirus posed a unique threat to the United States and that it was “more deadly than even your strenuous flus.”

At the time, however, the president was repeatedly downplaying the virus in public as no more dangerous than the flu and saying it would soon “go away” and “disappear.”

“This is deadly stuff,” Trump told Woodward in a series of taped interviews, according to a copy of the book obtained by CNN.

“I wanted to always play it down,” he said on March 19. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

Most Senate Republicans declined to comment on Wednesday when asked about the revelations, saying they wanted to read Woodward’s book first. But some of the president’s top GOP allies on Capitol Hill tried to mount a defense.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told reporters. “I don’t feel like he was ever lying to anybody. He’s a hopeful, upbeat, positive person. ... The gravity of it, when it was becoming clearer, was also reflected by him.”

Cramer said that Trump “wanted to give people hope rather than despair” and pointed to his travel ban on China as proof that the president took the virus seriously.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina similarly argued that voters should take more heed of Trump’s actions amid the pandemic rather than his rhetoric ― which has been all over the place in recent months, from briefly encouraging mask-wearing and social distancing to mocking Democrats and reporters for wearing masks.

“I don’t think he needs to be on TV screaming, ‘We’re all going to die,’” Graham said Wednesday. “His actions shutting the economy down were the right actions.”

Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who, like Graham, is seeking reelection in November, agreed.

“When you’re in a crisis situation, you have to inform people for their public health but you also don’t want to create hysteria,” Tillis said, declining further comment because he had not yet read Woodward’s book.

Sidebar: Can you imagine the uproar if Obama had down played the
Ebola Virus.

[C0LLETTE]

"Herman Cain dies of COVID-19, weeks after attending Trump's indoor Tulsa rally."

Maybe Cain's family should sue Trump for willful disregard for his life...as should all those other people who he encouraged to attend his mass rallies without masks and distancing.

I'm going to bet all those "special invitees " who sat on the WH lawn for his nominee acceptance speech are now scrambling to find a Covid testing site or maybe gulping down hydroxychloroquine mixed with bleach.

[Cin]

"Herman Cain dies of COVID-19, weeks after attending Trump's indoor Tulsa rally."

Maybe Cain's family should sue Trump for willful disregard for his life...as should all those other people who he encouraged to attend his mass rallies without masks and distancing.

I'm going to bet all those "special invitees " who sat on the WH lawn for his nominee acceptance speech are now scrambling to find a Covid testing site or maybe gulping down hydroxychloroquine mixed with bleach.

If only...

But instead of suing Trump, Cain's family continue their father's legacy. They also claim he most likely contracted the virus on a plane and that he advocated for wearing masks and wore one himself. What can you say to that? Cain appeared to support the decision not to require masks for Trump's July 4 celebration event at Mount Rushmore."Masks will not be mandatory for the event, which will be attended by President Trump. PEOPLE ARE FED UP!" Cain's Twitter account posted in a tweet that appears to have since been removed.
https://www.cbs58.com/news/herman-cain-dies-from-coronavirus
https://people.com/politics/herman-cain-dies-after-contracting-coronavirus/

"Herman Cain 'tweets' two weeks after his death to attack Democrats"
"Cain’s Twitter account revived to spread pro-Trump messages"
In the website statement, Cain’s daughter Melanie Cain Gallo said: “We’ve decided here at Cain HQ that we will go on using this platform to share the information and ideas he believed in. Cain Gallo said posts from her father’s accounts “will now go under the name The Cain Gang”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/13/herman-cain-twitter-democrats-joe-biden

And I'll bet those special invitees ARE taking hydroxychloroquine. The president of Brazil certainly did when he got covid. These people don't change. I wonder what it actually takes for people to change the things they believe? Reality certainly has no effect.

[nhplowboi]

“It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch, you don’t have to touch things, right? But the air, you just breathe the air. That’s how it’s passed,” Trump told Woodward on February 7.
Interesting [TP]....airborne but we shouldn't be wearing masks? You know it is airborne, you germaphobe, but repeatedly go into stadiums filled with people not wearing masks. I think we will all be stunned when it comes out in the wash about what really happened concerning this pandemic and let me tell you [TP]......it always does.

[Cin]

Autocrats Deliver?' US Joins Brazil and Hungary as Only Countries Where Quality of Life Is Getting Worse, Social Progress Index Finds

The annual report offers a "reality check against the drumbeat of U.S. triumphalism," one observer said.
The United States found itself in the company of Brazil and Hungary—two countries run by leaders who, like President Donald Trump, have alarmed international observers with their autocratic tendencies—on the 2020 Social Progress Index, an annual ranking of quality of life in nations around the world.

The three countries are the only ones, according to the Social Progress Imperative, which has compiled the index since 2011, where quality of life has declined over the last decade.

At number 28 on the list, the U.S. is also alone among other wealthy countries in the G7 where people's personal safety, access to basic healthcare, personal rights and freedoms, and other measures of quality of life are on the decline.

"The data paint an alarming picture of the state of our nation, and we hope it will be a call to action," Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and the chair of the advisory panel for the Social Progress Index, told Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times. "It's like we're a developing country."

The index ranks countries according to their performance in three key areas: basic human needs, foundation of wellbeing, and opprtunity—breaking those categories down into sub-categories including:

nutrition and basic medical care,
personal safety,
health and wellness,
environmental quality,
personal rights, and
inclusiveness.

Tier One on the index is populated by countries whose wealth is comparable to that of the United States. Norway was ranked as number one, followed by Denmark and Finland. New Zealand, which this year has won international praise for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, also ranked high, as well as Japan, Iceland, Canada, and Sweden.

A number of countries with GDPs lower than that of the U.S.—including Greece, Estonia, and Cyprus—rank ahead of the country in the bottom half of Tier Two.

"GDP is not destiny," emphasizes the report, displaying a chart that shows the U.S. has lagged in "turning its economic growth into social progress."

With a lower GDP per capita than the U.S., the chart shows, New Zealand's government funds a universal healthcare program, spends a greater percentage of its GDP on education than any other country in the world, and was able to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus by allowing residents to stay at home with a major relief package, offering subsidies to businesses to continue paying employees and covering the wages of employees that had to self-isolate.

The U.S. government has so far offered a one-time, means-tested direct payment of $1,200 to some American households—as the crisis stretches into its sixth month—and allowed its enhanced unemployment benefit to expire in July even as more than 10% of workers were jobless.

Well before the pandemic, the index shows, quality of life was rapidly declining in a number of areas in the U.S. In 2011, when the country was in 19th place on the list, the U.S. earned 93.25 points for meeting basic human needs such as healthcare and personal safety.

The uninsured rate is lower than it was in 2011, but has steadily climbed since 2016 and skyrocketed in a matter of weeks when the coronavirus pandemic hit, forcing an estimated 12 million Americans off their employer-based health coverage.

Gun violence has also increased in the U.S. over the past six years, according to Giffords Law Center.

The United States' starkest decline since 2011 has been in the area of opportunity; in terms of inclusiveness, access to education, and personal rights, the U.S. was given 81.89 points this year, contrasting with its score of 85.17 in 2011.

Kristof noted that while the U.S. is fully capable of delivering high-quality healthcare and education to everyone in the country, the federal government keeps many Americans from accessing necessities—operating as a nation with far fewer resources in terms of its approach to the wellbeing of the public, while lavishing the wealthiest Americans and corporations with tax breaks.

"The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education," Kristof wrote. "The U.S. leads the world in medical technology, yet we are No. 97 in access to quality healthcare. The Social Progress Index finds that Americans have health statistics similar to those of people in Chile, Jordan, and Albania, while kids in the United States get an education roughly on par with what children get in Uzbekistan and Mongolia. "

The index, tweeted John Kostyack of the National Whistleblower Center, offered a "reality check against the drumbeat of U.S. triumphalism."

James Tierney, an economics professor at Penn State University, planned to use the index to teach his students about the limits of measuring a country's success by its GDP or economic growth.

"The hope is to [help] students understand there are other measures outside of the value of production to determine the well-being of a country," Tierney tweeted.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/10/autocrats-deliver-us-joins-brazil-and-hungary-only-countries-where-quality-life

[homoe]

“It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch. You know, the touch, you don’t have to touch things, right? But the air, you just breathe the air. That’s how it’s passed,” Trump told Woodward on February 7.
Interesting [TP]....airborne but we shouldn't be wearing masks? You know it is airborne, you germaphobe, but repeatedly go into stadiums filled with people not wearing masks. I think we will all be stunned when it comes out in the wash about what really happened concerning this pandemic and let me tell you [TP]......it always does.

Loved your post nh!

The thing that does have me confused is, HIM being such a germaphobe and narcissist, I don't get why he'd put himself at risk for Covid-19 by not wearing a mask!

[C0LLETTE]

3:03 PM EDT, 09/10/2020 (MT Newswires) -- JPMorgan Chase (JPM), a major US bank, has told senior employees of its sales and trading operation they and their teams must resume working from the office by Sept. 21, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources.


Two bank executives delivered the message in conference calls Wednesday morning, The WSJ reported, citing those sources.


Only employees with child-care issues and medical conditions that make them more ill-protected to COVID-19 complications can continue working remotely, the news outlet reported, citing the sources.

[C0LLETTE]

Wall Street’s longest-enduring glass ceiling is about to be broken.

Citigroup Inc., the country’s third-largest bank with US$1.96-trillion in assets, said Thursday that Jane Fraser will become its chief executive in February.

Ms. Fraser, the bank’s president and head of its global consumer banking business, will succeed Michael Corbat, who has served as chief executive since 2012. Ms. Fraser was teed up as the bank’s next chief executive last year when she was promoted to her current role.

“It’s frustrating that this moment has been so long in coming,” said Rob Blackwell, chief content officer for Promontory Interfinancial Network, which provides services for banks. “This is a big moment.”

[homoe]

The pope spoke on cuisine and intercourse during a series of interviews with Carlo Petrini, an Italian culinary writer and activist behind the “slow food” movement, which positions itself as the opposite of fast food and advocates a slower, more meaningful pace of life. “Pleasure arrives directly from God,” Francis told Petrini. “It is neither Catholic, nor Christian, nor anything else. It is simply divine.”
Francis critiqued the “overzealous morality” of a Roman Catholic Church that denounced pleasure in the past, calling it a “wrong interpretation of the Christian message.” “The church has condemned inhuman, brutish, vulgar pleasure, but has on the other hand always accepted human, simple, moral pleasure,” Francis said. “The pleasure of eating is there to keep you healthy by eating, just like sexual pleasure is there to make love more beautiful and guarantee the perpetuation of the species. ... The pleasure of eating and sexual pleasure [comes] from God.”

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/pope-francis-sex-food-divine-pleasure-215207201.html

[Cin]

What a bunch of idiots! The noble peace prize. Priceless.

https://i.insider.com/5f5bac297ed0ee001e25ed60?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=webp

The Trump campaign released an ad that incorrectly spelled Nobel as "Noble" to celebrate his second nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

A far-right Norwegian lawmaker again put forth President Donald Trump's name for the prestigious award, citing his role in normalizing ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

Anyone can be nominated for the prize, and hundreds of candidates are submitted every year.

[homoe]

Michael Caputo, the former Trump campaign official and Roger Stone associate ,who has no background in health care or science, was appointed to be spokesman of the Department of Health and Human Services by Trump in April, spent the weekend defending his efforts to alter the CDC’s weekly COVID-19 reports in order to protect the president politically — a defense that included baselessly claiming that scientists at the agency were deep-state agitators bent on taking down the president. The meddling and Caputo’s attacks prompted widespread outrage from infectious-disease and public-health experts.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/trump-hhs-aide-caputo-attacks-cdc-warns-of-insurrection.html

[homoe]

The politically appointed HHS spokesperson and his team demanded and received the right to review CDC’s scientific reports to health professionals.

The health department’s politically appointed communications aides have demanded the right to review and seek changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly scientific reports charting the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, in what officials characterized as an attempt to intimidate the reports’ authors and water down their communications to health professionals.

In some cases, emails from communications aides to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other senior officials openly complained that the agency’s reports would undermine President Donald Trump's optimistic messages about the outbreak, according to emails reviewed by POLITICO and three people familiar with the situation.

CDC officials have fought back against the most sweeping changes, but have increasingly agreed to allow the political officials to review the reports and, in a few cases, compromised on the wording, according to three people familiar with the exchanges. The communications aides’ efforts to change the language in the CDC’s reports have been constant across the summer and continued as recently as Friday afternoon.

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports are authored by career scientists and serve as the main vehicle for the agency to inform doctors, researchers and the general public about how Covid-19 is spreading and who is at risk. Such reports have historically been published with little fanfare and no political interference, said several longtime health department officials, and have been viewed as a cornerstone of the nation's public health work for decades.

But since Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign official with no medical or scientific background, was installed in April as the Health and Human Services department's new spokesperson, there have been substantial efforts to align the reports with Trump's statements, including the president's claims that fears about the outbreak are overstated, or stop the reports altogether.

Caputo and his team have attempted to add caveats to the CDC's findings, including an effort to retroactively change agency reports that they said wrongly inflated the risks of Covid-19 and should have made clear that Americans sickened by the virus may have been infected because of their own behavior, according to the individuals familiar with the situation and emails reviewed by POLITICO.

Caputo's team also has tried to halt the release of some CDC reports, including delaying a report that addressed how doctors were prescribing hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug favored by Trump as a coronavirus treatment despite scant evidence. The report, which was held for about a month after Caputo’s team raised questions about its authors’ political leanings, was finally published last week. It said that "the potential benefits of these drugs do not outweigh their risks."

In one clash, an aide to Caputo berated CDC scientists for attempting to use the reports to "hurt the President" in an Aug. 8 email sent to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other officials that was widely circulated inside the department and obtained by POLITICO.

"CDC to me appears to be writing hit pieces on the administration," appointee Paul Alexander wrote, calling on Redfield to modify two already published reports that Alexander claimed wrongly inflated the risks of coronavirus to children and undermined Trump's push to reopen schools. "CDC tried to report as if once kids get together, there will be spread and this will impact school re-opening . . . Very misleading by CDC and shame on them. Their aim is clear."

Alexander also called on Redfield to halt all future MMWR reports until the agency modified its years-old publication process so he could personally review the entire report prior to publication, rather than a brief synopsis. Alexander, an assistant professor of health research at McMaster University near Toronto whom Caputo recruited this spring to be his scientific adviser, added that CDC needed to allow him to make line edits — and demanded an "immediate stop" to the reports in the meantime.

"The reports must be read by someone outside of CDC like myself, and we cannot allow the reporting to go on as it has been, for it is outrageous. Its lunacy," Alexander told Redfield and other officials. "Nothing to go out unless I read and agree with the findings how they CDC, wrote it and I tweak it to ensure it is fair and balanced and 'complete.'"

CDC officials have fought the efforts to retroactively change reports but have increasingly allowed Caputo and his team to review them before publication, according to the three individuals with knowledge of the situation. Caputo also helped install CDC’s interim chief of staff last month, two individuals added, ensuring that Caputo himself would have more visibility into an agency that has often been at odds with HHS political officials during the pandemic.

Asked by POLITICO about why he and his team were demanding changes to CDC reports, Caputo praised Alexander as "an Oxford-educated epidemiologist" who specializes "in analyzing the work of other scientists," although he did not make him available for an interview.

"Dr. Alexander advises me on pandemic policy and he has been encouraged to share his opinions with other scientists. Like all scientists, his advice is heard and taken or rejected by his peers," Caputo said in a statement.

Caputo also said that HHS was appropriately reviewing the CDC's reports. “Our intention is to make sure that evidence, science-based data drives policy through this pandemic—not ulterior deep state motives in the bowels of CDC," he said.

Caputo's team has spent months clashing with scientific experts across the administration. Alexander this week tried to muzzle infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci from speaking about the risks of the coronavirus to children, and The Washington Post reported in July that Alexander had criticized the CDC's methods and findings.

But public health experts told POLITICO that they were particularly alarmed that the CDC's reports could face political interference, praising the MMWRs as essential to fighting the pandemic.

Rachael Maddow covered this story on Monday Night's show in great deal. For more info...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809

[homoe]

WASHINGTON — Scrutiny of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy intensified on Monday amid new reports alleging improper business dealings and persistent charges that the longtime Republican donor is subverting postal operations in order to make mail-in voting difficult in November’s presidential election.

“I am calling on Mr. DeJoy to be fired or resign,” government watchdog Lisa Graves told lawmakers on Monday morning, during a briefing on postal operations before the House Oversight Committee. True North Research, the organization Graves heads, found that DeJoy — who runs a North Carolina shipping firm — had been sued by his brother Dominick for allegedly siphoning money from the trucking company founded by their father.

Over the weekend, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold sued DeJoy for intending to send a mailer that could foster confusion over how to properly vote by mail in that state. The mailer “provides false statements about voting in Colorado,” the lawsuit charges, and “will disenfranchise Colorado voters.”

On Monday, watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in the wake of a Washington Post report that described how DeJoy reimbursed employees at his company, New Breed, for making political donations to Republicans.

https://news.yahoo.com/scrutiny-of-postmaster-general-louis-de-joy-intensifies-230112268.html

[homoe]

“He really does believe he deserves a third term,” the intelligence analyst said in suggesting an even more shameless power grab on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut.”

Malcolm Nance said he believes Donald Trump is dead serious about seeking a third term should he win in November ― and perhaps more. (Watch the video above.)

Nance, MSNBC’s intelligence analyst, said on Monday that the president could maneuver to make himself “dictator for life.”

In an interview about the president’s “dictatorial impulse” on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” host Joy Reid called Trump a “baby Putin.” She asked Nance whether Trump’s grandiosity should be taken seriously.

Nance answered in the affirmative and addressed the president’s comments in Minden, Nevada, that he would “negotiate” to run again in 2024 because he was “entitled” to another four years, defying the Constitution.

“In his mind he really does believe he deserves a third term,” Nance said. “He has a whole cast of enablers who sit around and do nothing but tell him all day, every day, he’s right and Franklin Delano Roosevelt did it. And you control the United States and you have so many people that love you, it’ll be easy to pass a constitutional amendment making Donald Trump dictator for life. I think he really has that in his head.”

FDR’s four-term presidency (he died just months into his final stint) led to the ratification of the 22nd Amendment in 1951, limiting presidents to two terms.

“Trump is not joking about a 3rd term,” Nance tweeted after the show. “Ignore it at your peril.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/malcolm-nance-donald-trump-third-term_n_5f608cb2c5b6e27db1328b47

[Cin]

'Where Will Everyone Go?' New Report Documents How Climate Migration Could Reshape US
"The cost of resisting the new climate reality is mounting," a new report shows, suggesting the U.S. is "on the cusp of a great transformation" involving the relocation of millions of displaced people.

Potentially millions of people in the U.S. will be displaced as the climate crisis makes certain regions increasingly uninhabitable, prompting new migrations that will reshape the country, a new report shows.

The story published Tuesday is the second installment in a series on global climate migration that stems from a collaboration between ProPublica and the New York Times, with support from the Pulitzer Center.

While the first article in the series focused on the movement of climate refugees across international borders, the latest story focuses on how climate migration within the U.S. will reshape the country.

As report author Abrahm Lustgarten explains, "In much of the developing world, vulnerable people will attempt to flee the emerging perils of global warming, seeking cooler temperatures, more fresh water and safety."

But here in the U.S., many people have for years "avoided confronting these changes in their own backyards," he writes.

"The decisions we make about where to live are distorted not just by politics that play down climate risks, but also by expensive subsidies and incentives aimed at defying nature," Lustgarten adds in the report. "People have largely gravitated toward environmental danger, building along coastlines from New Jersey to Florida and settling across the cloudless deserts of the Southwest."

In light of a summer in which millions of people have endured the devastating combined effects of a pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes, and heatwaves, the journalist wonders: "Might Americans finally be waking up to how climate is about to transform their lives? And if so—if a great domestic relocation might be in the offing—was it possible to project where we might go?"

Lustgarten argues that the U.S., where 162 million people—nearly one in two—will "most likely experience a decline in the quality of their environment" in the coming years, is "a nation on the cusp of a great transformation."

"The changes could be particularly severe" for 93 million Americans, and "if carbon emissions rise at extreme levels, at least four million Americans could find themselves living at the fringe, in places decidedly outside the ideal niche for human life," according to the analysis.

The story is accompanied by a set of maps depicting likely shifts in the niche of human habitability, and the scenarios "suggest massive upheavals in where Americans currently live and grow food."

Several factors are driving changes in the suitability of different environments, researchers note. These include extreme heat and humidity—the collision of which will create what scientists call "wet bulb" temperatures that will "disrupt the norms of daily existence"—as well as larger and more frequent wildfires, rising sea levels, declining crop yields, and economic damages related to higher energy costs and lower labor productivity.

According to the analysis, the greatest climate risk exists in counties throughout the Southeast and the Southwest where the perils are likely to intermingle and generate "compounding calamities."

"The cost of resisting the new climate reality is mounting," the report states. Public officials in Florida "have already acknowledged that defending some roadways against the sea will be unaffordable," explains Lustgarten. Furthermore, "the nation's federal flood-insurance program is for the first time requiring that some of its payouts be used to retreat from climate threats across the country."

If "it will soon prove too expensive to maintain the status quo"—as Lustgarten argues it will—then what might we expect?

The author paints a grim picture of the possible consequences of mass relocations between now and 2070, arguing that such a population shift is:

"likely to increase poverty and widen the gulf between the rich and the poor. It will accelerate rapid, perhaps chaotic, urbanization of cities ill-equipped for the burden, testing their capacity to provide basic services and amplifying existing inequities. It will eat away at prosperity, dealing repeated economic blows to coastal, rural and Southern regions, which could in turn push entire communities to the brink of collapse.

Mobility itself, global migration experts point out, is often a reflection of relative wealth, and as some move, many others will be left behind. Those who stay risk becoming trapped as the land and the society around them ceases to offer any more support.

While a growing number of citizens consider climate change a top political priority, Lustgarten argues that "policymakers, having left America unprepared for what's next, now face brutal choices about which communities to save—often at exorbitant costs—and which to sacrifice."

Lustgarten devotes considerable attention to what he describes as the negative effects of the country's property insurance system, which has distorted perceptions of risk and incentivized real estate development in locations vulnerable to disasters. The experts he talked to anticipate shocks to the financial system and the upending of "entire communities" once "all the structural disincentives that had built Americans' irrational response" to the threats posed by climate change begin "reaching their logical endpoint."

"Until now," the report notes, "market mechanisms had essentially socialized the consequences of high-risk development. But as the costs rise—and the insurers quit, and the bankers divest, and the farm subsidies prove too wasteful, and so on—the full weight of responsibility will fall on individual people."

"And that's when the real migration might begin," says Lustgarten.

Past experiences with socio-environmental disasters in the U.S. raise concerns about the welfare of people who are displaced as well as those who are left behind. When the Dust Bowl "propelled an exodus of some 2.5 million people" from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri, "they were funneled into squalid shanty towns" in California, the author writes.

Experts told Lustgarten that similar problems are likely to arise in the 21st century, as hundreds of thousands of climate refugees move to cities already struggling with poverty, inequality, and "long-neglected" infrastructural systems "suddenly pressed to expand under increasingly adverse conditions."

In the 1930s, "Colorado tried to seal its border from the climate refugees," the report notes. And "the places migrants left behind never fully recovered."

Barring a reorientation of economic priorities and resources through far-reaching legislation like the Green New Deal, Lustgarten suggests that the decisions made by policymakers "will almost inevitably make the nation more divided, with those worst off relegated to a nightmare future in which they are left to fend for themselves."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/15/where-will-everyone-go-new-report-documents-how-climate-migration-could-reshape-us

[homoe]

“Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy refuted Trump’s claim that he’ll be calling in to the show every week until Election Day.

A “Fox & Friends” phone conversation with Donald Trump came to an awkward end on Tuesday after co-host Steve Doocy knocked back the president’s assertion that he’ll appear on the show weekly through Election Day. Trump, who had a recurring spot on the Fox News morning show before he ran for president, started the phone interview by saying he’d agreed to call in on a weekly basis, “like the old days.” “I haven’t heard that, well that’s an exclusive right there,” Doocy exclaimed. As the call came to an end nearly an hour later, co-host Brian Kilmeade asked if the chats would continue weekly. Trump replied: “Yeah, we’re going to do it every week, every Monday, I think they said. And if we can’t do it on a Monday we’ll do it on a Tuesday like we did today.” “Sounds good,” Kilmeade said.

“Mr. President, thank you very much. You may want to do it every week, but Fox has not committed to that,” Doocy then added. “We’re going to take it on a case-by-case basis. And Joe Biden, as well, is always welcome to join us for 47 minutes, like we just did with the president.”

The Democratic presidential nominee has not appeared on the conservative network in the lead-up to the election. Network hosts have said the Biden campaign has declined multiple requests.


Trump is a veteran “Fox & Friends” guest and featured on the “Monday Mornings with Trump” segment from 2011 until announcing his presidential run in 2015. He routinely used that platform to project his racist and baseless birther conspiracy theory about former President Barack Obama.

CNN’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, whose new book “Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth” explores Trump’s relationship with the conservative network, noted that Trump harnessed those weekly appearances to tap into Fox News’ Republican base and that he may be instigating an attempt to reopen that powerful avenue to reach his base directly in the final weeks of the election season.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-fox-friends-weekly-call_n_5f614d24c5b68d1b09c912ac

[Cin]

Birds 'falling out of the sky' in mass die-off in south-western US

Wildfires and climate crisis cited as possible causes for the deaths of thousands of migrating species heading south for the winter

Thousands of migrating birds have inexplicably died in south-western US in what ornithologists have described as a national tragedy that is likely to be related to the climate crisis.

Flycatchers, swallows and warblers are among the species “falling out of the sky” as part of a mass die-off across New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and farther north into Nebraska, with growing concerns there could be hundreds of thousands dead already, said Martha Desmond, a professor in the biology department at New Mexico State University (NMSU). Many carcasses have little remaining fat reserves or muscle mass, with some appearing to have nose-dived into the ground mid-flight.

Article continues here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/16/birds-falling-out-of-the-sky-in-mass-die-off-in-south-western-us-aoe

[C0LLETTE]

SHUCKS

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will no longer pay for the Uber (UBER) rides of its junior sales and trading staff, reversing a reimbursement policy implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic started, Bloomberg News reported.

[homoe]

~~

If Joe Biden is elected can I just say I hope he reinstates Col Vindman and gives him the promotion he so richly deserves!

[homoe]

The politically appointed HHS spokesperson and his team demanded and received the right to review CDC’s scientific reports to health professionals.

The health department’s politically appointed communications aides have demanded the right to review and seek changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly scientific reports charting the progress of the coronavirus pandemic, in what officials characterized as an attempt to intimidate the reports’ authors and water down their communications to health professionals.

In some cases, emails from communications aides to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other senior officials openly complained that the agency’s reports would undermine President Donald Trump's optimistic messages about the outbreak, according to emails reviewed by POLITICO and three people familiar with the situation.

CDC officials have fought back against the most sweeping changes, but have increasingly agreed to allow the political officials to review the reports and, in a few cases, compromised on the wording, according to three people familiar with the exchanges. The communications aides’ efforts to change the language in the CDC’s reports have been constant across the summer and continued as recently as Friday afternoon.

The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports are authored by career scientists and serve as the main vehicle for the agency to inform doctors, researchers and the general public about how Covid-19 is spreading and who is at risk. Such reports have historically been published with little fanfare and no political interference, said several longtime health department officials, and have been viewed as a cornerstone of the nation's public health work for decades.

But since Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign official with no medical or scientific background, was installed in April as the Health and Human Services department's new spokesperson, there have been substantial efforts to align the reports with Trump's statements, including the president's claims that fears about the outbreak are overstated, or stop the reports altogether.

Caputo and his team have attempted to add caveats to the CDC's findings, including an effort to retroactively change agency reports that they said wrongly inflated the risks of Covid-19 and should have made clear that Americans sickened by the virus may have been infected because of their own behavior, according to the individuals familiar with the situation and emails reviewed by POLITICO.

Caputo's team also has tried to halt the release of some CDC reports, including delaying a report that addressed how doctors were prescribing hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug favored by Trump as a coronavirus treatment despite scant evidence. The report, which was held for about a month after Caputo’s team raised questions about its authors’ political leanings, was finally published last week. It said that "the potential benefits of these drugs do not outweigh their risks."

In one clash, an aide to Caputo berated CDC scientists for attempting to use the reports to "hurt the President" in an Aug. 8 email sent to CDC Director Robert Redfield and other officials that was widely circulated inside the department and obtained by POLITICO.

"CDC to me appears to be writing hit pieces on the administration," appointee Paul Alexander wrote, calling on Redfield to modify two already published reports that Alexander claimed wrongly inflated the risks of coronavirus to children and undermined Trump's push to reopen schools. "CDC tried to report as if once kids get together, there will be spread and this will impact school re-opening . . . Very misleading by CDC and shame on them. Their aim is clear."

Alexander also called on Redfield to halt all future MMWR reports until the agency modified its years-old publication process so he could personally review the entire report prior to publication, rather than a brief synopsis. Alexander, an assistant professor of health research at McMaster University near Toronto whom Caputo recruited this spring to be his scientific adviser, added that CDC needed to allow him to make line edits — and demanded an "immediate stop" to the reports in the meantime.

"The reports must be read by someone outside of CDC like myself, and we cannot allow the reporting to go on as it has been, for it is outrageous. Its lunacy," Alexander told Redfield and other officials. "Nothing to go out unless I read and agree with the findings how they CDC, wrote it and I tweak it to ensure it is fair and balanced and 'complete.'"

CDC officials have fought the efforts to retroactively change reports but have increasingly allowed Caputo and his team to review them before publication, according to the three individuals with knowledge of the situation. Caputo also helped install CDC’s interim chief of staff last month, two individuals added, ensuring that Caputo himself would have more visibility into an agency that has often been at odds with HHS political officials during the pandemic.

Asked by POLITICO about why he and his team were demanding changes to CDC reports, Caputo praised Alexander as "an Oxford-educated epidemiologist" who specializes "in analyzing the work of other scientists," although he did not make him available for an interview.

"Dr. Alexander advises me on pandemic policy and he has been encouraged to share his opinions with other scientists. Like all scientists, his advice is heard and taken or rejected by his peers," Caputo said in a statement.

Caputo also said that HHS was appropriately reviewing the CDC's reports. “Our intention is to make sure that evidence, science-based data drives policy through this pandemic—not ulterior deep state motives in the bowels of CDC," he said.

Caputo's team has spent months clashing with scientific experts across the administration. Alexander this week tried to muzzle infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci from speaking about the risks of the coronavirus to children, and The Washington Post reported in July that Alexander had criticized the CDC's methods and findings.

But public health experts told POLITICO that they were particularly alarmed that the CDC's reports could face political interference, praising the MMWRs as essential to fighting the pandemic.

Rachael Maddow covered this story on Monday Night's show in great deal. For more info...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/11/exclusive-trump-officials-interfered-with-cdc-reports-on-covid-19-412809

Top Trump health appointee taking medical leave after insurrection remarks
Michael Caputo will be gone for 60 days while his top aide, Paul Alexander, will leave HHS permanently, the agency said.

[homoe]

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Attorney General William Barr suggested the idea of lockdowns to combat coronavirus were the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties” in history “other than slavery.”

Barr made the controversial statement Wednesday night minutes after taking aim at his own Justice Department, criticizing prosecutors for behaving as “headhunters” in their pursuit of prominent targets during political probes. The comments came during a speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

“You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest,” Barr said. “Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history.”

[homoe]

A California family is accusing Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom of trespassing on their wildfire-ravaged property for a photo op!

NO I doubt that, BUT it would be something Trump would do! Like tossing rolls of paper-towels at hurricane victims, brandishing a bible in front of a boarded up church, etc etc...

[homoe]

TORONTO, ONT – Canada is extending the agreement to keep the U.S. border closed to non-essential travel to Oct. 21 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Friday they will continue to base the decision on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe.

The restrictions were announced on March 18 and have been extended each month since.

Many Canadians fear a reopening. The U.S. has more confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 than any country in the world.

Canada is seeing an uptick in cases in recent weeks. Canada largest province, Ontario, reported 401 new cases on Friday.

Essential cross-border workers like healthcare professionals, airline crews and truck drivers are still permitted to cross. Truck drivers are critical as they move food and medical goods in both directions. Much of Canada’s food supply comes from or via the U.S.

Americans who are returning to the U.S. and Canadians who are returning to Canada are also exempted from the border closure.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/world/2020/09/18/canada-extends-us-border-restrictions-to-oct-21/

[homoe]

“The Senate and the nation mourn the sudden passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the conclusion of her extraordinary American life,” McConnell said in a statement Friday.

~~~
Mitch, you cold calculating hypocritical F#*K FACE!

[homoe]

‘I’m laughing cause sometimes you have to, just to stop from crying.’

Lebron James has weighed in on actress Lori Loughlin getting to choose the prison where she will serve her two-month sentence for her role in the college admissions scandal.

Lori Loughlin is one step closer to serving her two-month prison sentence for her role in the nationwide college admissions scandal at the facility of her choice, according to federal court documents. The former "Fuller House" star and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, were sentenced to two and five months, respectively, by Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton last month. The sentences are in line with the terms of their plea deals laid out months ago.

According to a judgment on file at the United States District Court in Massachusetts obtained by Fox News, Gorton signed off on the recommendation that Loughlin "be designated to a facility closest to her home in [California], preferably the camp at FCI Victorville, if commensurate with the appropriate security level."

BF roommates, the next time you run into a scrape with the law and have to serve some jail time, put in a request where you'd prefer to serve your sentence, lets see how that works out for YOU!

[homoe]

Trump Calls It A 'Beautiful Thing' That Cops Struck Journalist Ali Velshi With Rubber Bullet

President Donald Trump called it “the most beautiful thing” that MSNBC journalist Ali Velshi was struck in the knee with a rubber bullet while he was covering a peaceful protest in Minneapolis in May.

Trump inexplicably deemed it “law and order” as a campaign rally crowd in Minnesota cheered him on Friday. Velshi was breaking no law — nor were protesters — when he was injured by police.

Trump mistakenly recounted in his tale that Velshi was painfully struck by a tear gas canister and complained afterward. “Oh my knee, oh my knee,” the president mocked.

[homoe]

President Donald Trump has mocked the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish that she not be replaced until a new president can be installed, falsely suggesting the quote was created by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders.

Asked about justice Ginsburg’s statement that was dictated to her granddaughter and later reported by NPR, the president told Fox News on Monday morning: “I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and [Chuck] Schumer and Pelosi?”

He added: “I would be more inclined to the second.”

[homoe]

~~
WOW big shock there!

[homoe]

President Donald Trump has mocked the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish that she not be replaced until a new president can be installed, falsely suggesting the quote was created by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders.

Asked about justice Ginsburg’s statement that was dictated to her granddaughter and later reported by NPR, the president told Fox News on Monday morning: “I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and [Chuck] Schumer and Pelosi?”

He added: “I would be more inclined to the second.”

Tucker Carlson Slams Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ‘Pathetic’ Dying Wish.

Carlson was parroting a conspiracy theory initiated earlier in the day on his cable network by President Donald Trump.

“I don’t know that she said that. Or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi?” Trump said on Fox News Monday morning.

“Mr. President, this is low. Even for you,” Schiff fired back on Twitter.

Within hours, other right-wing figures, including Carlson, repeated Trump’s talking point.

[Cin]

'Colossal Backdoor Bailout': Outrage as Pentagon Funnels Hundreds of Millions Meant for Covid Supplies to Private Defense Contractors
"If you can't get a Covid test or find an N95, it’s because these contractors stole from the American people to make faster jets and fancy uniforms."

Instead of adhering to congressional intent by building up the nation's inadequate supply of N95 masks and other equipment to combat the Covid-19 crisis, the Pentagon has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriated taxpayer funds to private defense contractors for drone technology, jet engine parts, Army uniform material, body armor, and other purposes not directly related to the pandemic.

As the Washington Post reported Tuesday morning, the Department of Defense—headed by former Raytheon lobbyist Mark Esper—"began reshaping how it would award the money" just weeks after Congress in March approved a $1 billion fund under the Defense Production Act to help the nation "prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus."

"The Trump administration has done little to limit the defense firms from accessing multiple bailout funds at once and is not requiring the companies to refrain from layoffs as a condition of receiving the awards," the Post noted. "Some defense contractors were given the Pentagon money even though they had already dipped into another pot of bailout funds, the Paycheck Protection Program."

As the U.S. still faces major shortages of testing supplies and N95 masks six months into the pandemic, the Post reported that the Pentagon has used congressionally approved funds to dish out $183 million to luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce and other companies to help "maintain the shipbuilding industry," tens of millions for "drone and space surveillance technology," and $80 million to "a Kansas aircraft parts business."

A subsidiary of Rolls-Royce also received $22 million from the Pentagon "to upgrade a Mississippi plant," according to the Post.

Mandy Smithberger, a weapons industry analyst at the Project on Government Oversight, told the Post, "This is part and parcel of whether we have budget priorities that actually serve our public safety or whether we have a government that is captured by special interests."

The Pentagon's misuse of taxpayer funds aimed at addressing the Covid-19 pandemic has drawn a rebuke from the Democrat-controlled House Appropriations Committee, which characterized the Defense Department's rewards to defense contractors as a clear violation of congressional intent.

"While the Department plans to execute a portion of that funding for personal protective equipment (PPE) as intended by Congress, most of the funds will be used to address the impact of Covid–19 on the [defense industrial base], which was not the original intent of the funds," the committee said in a July report (pdf).

Pentagon officials insisted to the Post that the funds were allocated appropriately, citing the need to "protect key defense capabilities from the consequences of Covid," but Slate's Elliot Hannon argued the Defense Department's generous taxpayer-funded gifts to private corporations amount to little more than "a colossal backdoor bailout for the defense industry."

Pointing to the Pentagon's handouts to Rolls-Royce and other major companies, Hannon wrote, "That doesn't exactly sound like PPE."


https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/22/colossal-backdoor-bailout-outrage-pentagon-funnels-hundreds-millions-meant-covid

I guess this is okay, because according to our president, covid 19 effects virtually no one. So no need for PPEs. And too much testing only ups the count of positive cases anyway. I cannot believe anyone would actually vote for this guy.

[nhplowboi]

WTH???!!!!

[homoe]

~~~
Her new book, Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom, and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House, is not about settling scores like many books about the Trump White House. It's an unabashed homage to Trump and a feathering of her nest for a probable run for governor in Arkansas.

IMHO being the lair she was, for Trump, I think she can pretty well wish her political aspirations goodbye!

[homoe]

Trump has had a fraught relationship with members of John McCain's family since he disparaged the Arizona senator during his 2016 campaign. But the McCains have until now stopped short of endorsing Trump's rivals.

Cindy McCain cited the decadeslong friendship between her family and Biden's and their bond as the parents of children serving in the military.

“He supports the troops and knows what it means for someone who has served,” McCain said in a phone interview. “Not only to love someone who has served, but understands what it means to send a child into combat. We’ve been great friends for many years, but we have a common thread in that we are Blue Star families.”

McCain's backing could help Biden appeal to Republicans disaffected with the GOP president and give the former vice president a boost in Arizona, a crucial swing state that McCain represented in Congress for 35 years. He's remained a revered figure since his 2018 death from complications of a brain tumor, particularly with the independent voters whom Biden is courting.

“I decided to take a stand, and hopefully other people will see the same thing. Other women particularly," McCain said. “You may have to step out of your comfort zone a little bit, but Biden is by far the best candidate in the race."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/cindy-mccain-endorses-biden-president-225532818.html

[homoe]

Bumble Bee Seafoods responded Tuesday to President Donald Trump's fishy claim that protesters chucked cans of tuna at law enforcement officers during civil unrest prompted by the deaths of Black Americans in encounters with police.

"They go out and buy tuna fish and soup. You know that, right? ... Because they throw it, they throw it, it's the perfect weight — tuna fish," Trump said at a rally in Pittsburgh. "They can really rip it, right? And that hits you. No, it's true. Bumble Bee brand tuna."

There have been no media reports of police being hit with cans of tuna. Bumble Bee Seafoods responded to the claim Tuesday on Twitter.

"Eat em. Don't throw em," the company said on its official Twitter account.

Sidebar: I wonder why he names Bumble Bee brand specifically?

[Cin]

Fed Program Meant to Help Workers Amid Pandemic Prioritized Wall Street Investors Instead: Analysis
"The primary beneficiaries of the program have been corporate executives and investors, not workers."

A new analysis out Wednesday reveals that the Federal Reserve bond purchasing program meant to prevent workers from losing their jobs amid the Covid-19 pandemic instead bolstered companies who laid off more than one million workers while paying massive dividends to shareholders—a finding escalating concerns that the central bank's behavior is "contributing to an economic recovery that benefits wealthy executives and investors but leaves behind American workers."

The report put forth by the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis —titled "Prioritizing Wall Street" (pdf)—examines individual corporate bonds purchased through the Fed's Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility (SMCCF), a lending system supported by funds from the CARES Act but which lacks taxpayer and worker protections included in other programs backed by the legislation passed earlier this year.

For corporations hoping to become eligible to issue bonds purchased by the Fed, the SMCCF "imposes no conditions requiring companies to save jobs or limit payments to executives or shareholders," the report notes.

The central bank has purchased corporate bonds issued by approximately 500 large companies since June. Subcommittee staff compared those transactions to public data on layoffs, dividend payouts, and illegal conduct.

"Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified in June that 'the intended beneficiaries of all of our programs are workers,'" the report states. "In May, he justified purchasing corporate bonds that had been downgraded to junk status since the start of the coronavirus crisis by stating that, because of the Fed's intervention, 'those companies have been able to go out and finance themselves. They've been able to avoid big layoffs. That is the point of all this.'"

However, the analysis shows that several of the companies whose bonds were purchased by the Fed conducted substantial layoffs, "suggesting that the primary beneficiaries of the program have been corporate executives and investors, not workers."

According to the report, nearly 140 of the companies that issued bonds purchased by the Fed have carried out furloughs or layoffs since March, affecting over one million workers.

The analysis notes several key instances of corporate opportunism. For example:

Boeing turned down a CARES Act loan, which would have imposed job retention requirements, limitations on executive pay, and restrictions on payouts to shareholders. Instead, it issued a massive corporate bond offering following the Fed's announcement of its corporate credit facilities, thanking the Fed for its intervention in the market. Boeing then laid off more than ten percent of its workforce, totaling about 16,000 employees.

The report also reveals that 383 of the roughly 500 companies whose bonds were purchased by the Fed have paid out dividends to their shareholders since April.

Ninety-five of these companies paid dividends and simultaneously laid off employees, "prioritizing their shareholders over their workers in the midst of the pandemic."

In addition, Subcommittee staff found that the Fed purchased bonds issued by 227 companies accused of lawbreaking since 2017, "including violations of workplace safety and environmental standards, as well as allegations of defrauding the government."

Tyson Foods is a beneficiary of the Fed's bond purchasing program even though the "multinational food processing company has been cited by the Department of Labor for at least 35 workplace safety or health violations since 2017 and at least five environmental violations from the EPA." Furthermore, the company "also failed to take adequate precautions to protect workers from the spread of the coronavirus," and "outbreaks in its facilities have led to the deaths of more than 24 employees and over 7,000 infections."

Finally, the report shows that oil, gas, and coal companies have benefited disproportionately from the Fed's actions. While fossil fuel companies employ only 2% of workers at large companies, they accounted for more than 10% of bond purchases.

Subcommittee staff wrote that "BlackRock—which executes the bond purchases on behalf of the Fed—has recognized that 'climate risk is investment risk'." Nevertheless, despite the exacerbation of the climate crisis and the declining status of the dirty energy sector, "the Fed, acting on behalf of U.S. taxpayers," has invested heavily in the fossil fuel industry.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/23/fed-program-meant-help-workers-amid-pandemic-prioritized-wall-street-investors

[Cin]

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/09/23/how-right-rigs-elections
...it's one thing to have voting rights and quite another to be able to exercise those rights. Today, in a coordinated, methodical, richly funded scheme, corporate-minded and right-wing candidates are being "elected" not by winning votes but by preventing votes.

One of the GOP's tried-and-true vote-suppression techniques is deploying squads of partisan muscle into non-white, immigrant and other Democratic-leaning neighborhoods and precincts. These "poll watchers" single out voters they view as "suspicious" and accuse them of trying to vote illegally. They aren't subtle. Sometimes packing guns, badges, cameras, arm bands, etc., to pose as official ballot police, they literally pull people out of line to loudly demand proof of eligibility. It's ugly and frighteningly autocratic ... and yet legal in many states.

The national GOP has been recruiting and training up to 50,000 partisans to confront voters in 15 key states!
And it's going to be bigger than ever this November because its one legal restriction has been lifted. Back in 1982, Republican thuggishness had gotten so out of hand that a federal judge imposed a consent decree to stop some of the crudest intimidation methods. But, with the Trump campaign's support, that ban was withdrawn in 2018, and this year's presidential election will be the first in four decades to allow no-holds-barred voter intimidation.

The national GOP has been recruiting and training up to 50,000 partisans to confront voters in 15 key states! Adding to the mayhem, True the Vote, a manic fringe group of Trumpeteers, is signing up a freelance militia that includes off-duty police officers and veterans to enforce "ballot security" in communities of color. The group leader explained the scheme at a February meeting of Republican operatives: "You get some Seals in those polls and they're going to say, 'No, no ... this is how we're going to play this show."

Don't want Black people to vote? Or tribal members on reservations? Or students on campus? Simple: Eliminate their polling places. Or just slash the budgets for voting machines, poll workers and early voting in their precincts, creating punishingly long lines and waits. COVID-19 can turn this systemic disenfranchisement lethal. In Georgia's June primary, for example, poll closures and machine malfunctions created seven-hour waits for many Black citizens to vote.

We were puzzled over President Trump's crazed hostility toward the U.S. Postal Service. But now we see why: USPS workers could securely handle our ballots in the coming election, making it easier and safer for America to vote. But that would increase turnout and democracy — two things Trump hates.

Vote by mail totally discombobulates Donald. Desperate to save himself from letter carriers, he personally killed a bipartisan congressional provision in March that ensured America's crucial mail service would survive the pandemic and installed one of his rich funders as postmaster general in May. Louis DeJoy's first action was to sabotage timely mail delivery by drastically cutting postal workers' hours and then removing mail-sorting machines and street-side letter boxes. Thus, America's globally admired mail system is being wrecked by an unhinged president determined to keep you and me from using it to vote.

The Sightline Institute has state-by-state resources for what you can do to protect mail-in voting in your state. Check out its website at
https://www.sightline.org/VoteByMail2020/

[Kätzchen]

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/09/23/how-right-rigs-elections
...it's one thing to have voting rights and quite another to be able to exercise those rights. Today, in a coordinated, methodical, richly funded scheme, corporate-minded and right-wing candidates are being "elected" not by winning votes but by preventing votes.

One of the GOP's tried-and-true vote-suppression techniques is deploying squads of partisan muscle into non-white, immigrant and other Democratic-leaning neighborhoods and precincts. These "poll watchers" single out voters they view as "suspicious" and accuse them of trying to vote illegally. They aren't subtle. Sometimes packing guns, badges, cameras, arm bands, etc., to pose as official ballot police, they literally pull people out of line to loudly demand proof of eligibility. It's ugly and frighteningly autocratic ... and yet legal in many states.

The national GOP has been recruiting and training up to 50,000 partisans to confront voters in 15 key states!
And it's going to be bigger than ever this November because its one legal restriction has been lifted. Back in 1982, Republican thuggishness had gotten so out of hand that a federal judge imposed a consent decree to stop some of the crudest intimidation methods. But, with the Trump campaign's support, that ban was withdrawn in 2018, and this year's presidential election will be the first in four decades to allow no-holds-barred voter intimidation.

The national GOP has been recruiting and training up to 50,000 partisans to confront voters in 15 key states! Adding to the mayhem, True the Vote, a manic fringe group of Trumpeteers, is signing up a freelance militia that includes off-duty police officers and veterans to enforce "ballot security" in communities of color. The group leader explained the scheme at a February meeting of Republican operatives: "You get some Seals in those polls and they're going to say, 'No, no ... this is how we're going to play this show."

Don't want Black people to vote? Or tribal members on reservations? Or students on campus? Simple: Eliminate their polling places. Or just slash the budgets for voting machines, poll workers and early voting in their precincts, creating punishingly long lines and waits. COVID-19 can turn this systemic disenfranchisement lethal. In Georgia's June primary, for example, poll closures and machine malfunctions created seven-hour waits for many Black citizens to vote.

We were puzzled over President Trump's crazed hostility toward the U.S. Postal Service. But now we see why: USPS workers could securely handle our ballots in the coming election, making it easier and safer for America to vote. But that would increase turnout and democracy — two things Trump hates.

Vote by mail totally discombobulates Donald. Desperate to save himself from letter carriers, he personally killed a bipartisan congressional provision in March that ensured America's crucial mail service would survive the pandemic and installed one of his rich funders as postmaster general in May. Louis DeJoy's first action was to sabotage timely mail delivery by drastically cutting postal workers' hours and then removing mail-sorting machines and street-side letter boxes. Thus, America's globally admired mail system is being wrecked by an unhinged president determined to keep you and me from using it to vote.

The Sightline Institute has state-by-state resources for what you can do to protect mail-in voting in your state. Check out its website at
https://www.sightline.org/VoteByMail2020/

Thanks Cin for the link provided with your CommonDreams article. I followed up with the link and learned that my county has already prepared in advance for those of us displaced by recent fires in our region. Apparently we should get ballots by Oct 14th. That is a slim window of time for ballots to be returned by USPS. But I plan on taking mine to county drop off center, bypassing USPS.

It is alarming how partisan politics by the GOP has been going on for ages and is used to disenfranchise voters. Sad that this is still going on in our country. :(

But thanks for your article and useful link for voters! :rrose:

[homoe]

~~~
Oh boy, that'll sure show her!

[dark_crystal]

VANITY FAIR 9/24/2020: DONALD TRUMP GOES FULL DICTATOR, VOWS TO STAY IN OFFICE REGARDLESS OF ELECTION RESULTS, By Bess Levin (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/donald-trump-get-rid-of-ballots-wont-leave-white-house)
[snip]
Asked by reporter Brian Karem, “Win, lose, or draw in this election, will you commit here today for a peaceful transferral of power after the election,” Donald Trump didn’t even attempt to give the impression he cares whatsoever about preserving democracy. “Well, we're going to have to see what happens,” Trump said. “You know that. I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster.” Pressed again to “commit to making sure there’s a peaceful transfer of power,” Trump responded, “Get rid of the ballots and...we'll have a very peaceful—there won't be a transfer frankly. There will be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it. You know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know better than anybody else.”
[snip]

Rachel Maddow covered this last night and said "if you ever wondered what you would do during a coup, it's whatever you're doing RIGHT NOW"

Here's what I'm doing: preparing for the boogaloo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo_movement#Law_enforcement_and_government)

[Cin]

VANITY FAIR 9/24/2020: DONALD TRUMP GOES FULL DICTATOR, VOWS TO STAY IN OFFICE REGARDLESS OF ELECTION RESULTS, By Bess Levin (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/donald-trump-get-rid-of-ballots-wont-leave-white-house)
[snip]
Asked by reporter Brian Karem, “Win, lose, or draw in this election, will you commit here today for a peaceful transferral of power after the election,” Donald Trump didn’t even attempt to give the impression he cares whatsoever about preserving democracy. “Well, we're going to have to see what happens,” Trump said. “You know that. I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster.” Pressed again to “commit to making sure there’s a peaceful transfer of power,” Trump responded, “Get rid of the ballots and...we'll have a very peaceful—there won't be a transfer frankly. There will be a continuation. The ballots are out of control. You know it. You know who knows it better than anybody else? The Democrats know better than anybody else.”
[snip]

Rachel Maddow covered this last night and said "if you ever wondered what you would do during a coup, it's whatever you're doing RIGHT NOW"

Here's what I'm doing: preparing for the boogaloo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boogaloo_movement#Law_enforcement_and_government)

He may not need a coup. He may just win the election outright, fair and square. Or as fair and square as the Republicans ever play. The most recent polls show his popularity is increasing, not waning. A lot of people feel a repeat of 2016 is a very real possibility with winning the popular vote but losing the electoral. I certainly hope that isn't true. Although getting him out even if the Democrats win might prove challenging. No matter how you look at it, it's a fucking mess.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/politics/polls-trump-biden-analysis/index.html

[BullDog]

I read the Atlantic article and found it to be highly impausible, not to mention the fact why would they be giving away their evil plan a month ahead of November 3?

Attorney Teri Kanefiled lays it out well.


https://twitter.com/teri_kanefield/status/1308851838406610945

Easier to read version here: https://threader.app/thread/1308851838406610945

Below are excerpts:

A few weeks ago, a theory that Trump could steal the election in this manner made the rounds. For this to happen, a string of very unlikely and highly improbable things would have to happen.

The story died down.

The press right now is very bad for Trump.

Next thing we know, a legal advisor to the Trump campaign tells a reporter that this extremely unlikely event WILL happen because the states will line up and do what Trump wants (overturn the will of the people).

The Trump campaign wants this in the headlines.

I'm pretty sure everyone knows Trump would cheat, lie, steal, and even let 200K people die if he thought it would help him win.

There are several ways to respond to this story, but we have to begin by wondering why the "legal advisor" wants us to have this information.

First, remember that each state has rules that govern the certifying of their elections.

Yes, laws still matter.

The Trump legal advisor wants you to think they don't.

Why? Because when enough people lose confidence in democracy, democracy will fail.

Trump is trying his best to get you to lose confidence in democratic processes.

He is trying to make you think he can pull this off.

New polls came out today showing that Trump is ten points behind nationally.

The Strongman needs you to think he's strong. He doesn't want you talking about the polls.

If he was winning, he'd want you talking about the polls.

He's losing so he needs to present a situation that makes him look strong.

He wants you to think state legislatures will do whatever he tells them to do, including overturning the will of their own constituents because Trump ordered it.

Why is it unlikely?
(1) State legislatures do not certify elections.
(2) States have laws governing how elections are certified.
(3) State legislatures answer to their constituents, not Trump.
(4) The election would have to come down to a few states in which the elected officials were willing to go against the will of their voters and against their own laws.
(5) They'd have to break the laws (and defy their voters) for Trump.
(6) The courts would have to allow it.
(7) The Supreme Court along with multiple state legislatures would have to be willing to basically install a dictator.
(8) Remember what @stuartpstevens said. They would be putting themselves forever at Trump's mercy.
(9) In a close election, like 2000, where the election comes down to a few thousand votes, something like this might work.
(10) We're looking at an election in which Trump loses the popular vote by upwards of 7 percentage points. . .. . . and multiple states give Biden the electoral college win.

Beginning with the fact that state legislatures have nothing to do with certifying elections, this isn't plausible. The story is why Trump wants us to think he can pull something like this off.

Let's not pretend that we are at the mercy of Trump, or that we give two hoots about whether he will "respect" the results of the election.

Secret service can escort him out of the White House in January.

Look how much time we spent on this.

Win for Trump.

Dear those of you who explaining why I'm wrong and that Trump can easily steal this election (and I'm naive to doubt it) let me ask you this: Suppose you succeed in persuading lots of people of this?

What will you accomplish?

Of course: Trump knows he can't win by persuading people to vote for him, so he will try to create chaos.

What you can do: Volunteer to work on the election.

What Biden will do: Put together a top-notch legal team.

Facts matter.

[BullDog]

All the doom and gloom and fear mongering is really bugging me. No we should not take anything for granted and we need to keep an eye on the dirty tricks but what we really need is action - VOTE!

https://crooksandliars.com/2020/09/its-time-calm-down-about-things-trump-says

Excerpts:

Trump Is Not King, And Media Needs To Stop Acting Like He Is

There's a lot of fear mongering going on out there, and it's time for it to stop. Trump is not all-powerful; he's the puny coward behind the curtain.

Republicans have a motive for putting this kind of rumor out -- it tells people their vote doesn't count.

This is hardly a power play. They are essentially powerless when the voters speak, while trying to disguise that fact by telling you that they have some secret hidden power. They don't.

Here's the thing: Articles like this, fear mongering like this already suppresses the Biden vote. When you tell people that Trump and his games are more powerful than the people, you're telling them their vote doesn't matter. And if their vote doesn't matter, then why should they bother to vote at all? All the fear mongering about what Agent Orange and his gang of GOP thugs does is suppress the vote. It also creates an environment of fear, which is the soil upon which REPUBLICANS thrive.

I am not saying to ignore the experts. I am saying that the answer to the bullshit Trump spews is to ignore it and vote in numbers the likes of which no one has ever seen before. Even Gellman discounts the possibility of a landslide, despite the fact that all of the evidence points to huge turnout (see Virginia's early voting turnout, or the soaring requests for absentee ballots in a number of states, for example):

This election is a turnout election. There won't be any question about who the winner is on Election Night if everyone votes. Articles telling people it doesn't matter if they vote because Trump has some magical powers to contest things are suppressive, unhelpful and best limited to email lists of election lawyers who can actually do something about Republicans' weak efforts to grab power.

[Kätzchen]

I think voter suppression and voter intimidation tactics in use today are clear examples of the in-your-face Con job by T---p and GOP officials. It reminds me of corrupt white collar criminals like Madoff, etc. One "ponzi" scheme after another.

Democracy works when people exercise their power by voting for officials who will uphold the will of the people and not the will of people drunk on their own brand of power (autocractic dictatorial mindset "rule").

I can hardly wait until Americans vote out TP and his GOP minions.

[dark_crystal]

JACOBIN* 9/24/2020: To Fight Trump’s Rising Authoritarianism, Dems Must Drop Their Learned Helplessness. By David Sirota and Andrew Perez (https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/trump-election-supreme-court-packing-filibuster)

Donald Trump is making it very clear that he has few qualms about using undemocratic, authoritarian means to stay in power. If they’re serious about stopping him, Democrats will have to stop cowering in fear and act like a real opposition party.When a dictator sees weakness, the dictator tries to increase his own power — which is exactly what Donald Trump has done over the last twenty-four hours.

After Democrats spent the weekend signaling surrender on the Supreme Court vacancy and suggesting they have no appetite to fight over the judiciary or threaten to expand the court, Trump on Wednesday declared that he may not agree to a peaceful transfer of power, and he openly admitted that he is trying to rush through a judicial nominee so that the court can give him a second term. He suggested that he will “get rid of the ballots” and “there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There’ll be a continuation.”

This is a crime in process — specifically, a coup that will be engineered remotely by Zoom, as Republican lawmakers now plan to leave Washington without passing a pandemic relief bill and return only for votes to install a new Supreme Court justice to throw the election.

Amid this onslaught, Democrats are behaving as if you can stop a coup merely by telling people to vote in an election where their ballots might get thrown out.

But the lesson here is the converse: Democrats’ culture of learned helplessness is no match for authoritarianism.

If opposition party lawmakers don’t stop imagining a return to normalcy and brunch — and if millions of Democratic voters don’t start immediately demanding that their party’s leaders begin fighting to stop Trump’s court pick right now — then whatever is left of American democracy is probably finished.

Yes, the situation is that dire.

* sharing this link not intended to imply objectivity of source

[BullDog]

David Sirota is one of the worst assholes from the Sanders campaign (no not all campaign advisors to Sanders are assholes). Our job is to vote. Biden has a huge team of lawyers to deal with the legal challenges.

The Senate Republicans do have the power to ram through a Supreme Court justice. If the Democrats could stop it they would.

What's Sirota's brilliant solution? I skimmed through the article and didn't see any- surprise, surprise. Just a lot of trash talk.

[homoe]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other top Republicans on Thursday repudiated President Donald Trump's refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, assuring American voters the lawmakers would accept the outcome of November's election.

"The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th. There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792," McConnell wrote in a morning tweet. Like other Republicans, McConnell did not directly criticize Trump.

Oh yes, god forbid they insult or contradict the delicate genius!

[homoe]

(CNN)A New York state judge ruled Wednesday that Eric Trump must sit to be deposed by the state attorney general's office by October 7, denying his request to delay an interview as part of an investigation into the Trump Organization until after the presidential election, according to the attorney general's office.

Trump, the President's son and the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, had proposed the deposition take place after the November 3 election.
An attorney for the company wrote in a recent court filing that the delay should be made to accommodate "Mr. Trump's extreme travel schedule and related unavailability between now and the election, and to avoid the use of his deposition attendance for political purposes." A lawyer for Trump declined to comment on the ruling.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/politics/eric-trump-deposition/index.html

[homoe]

0QmBJuZKgCk



Last night.....

[Scuba]

0QmBJuZKgCk



Last night.....

So disappointing to see this.

[homoe]

(CNN)A New York state judge ruled Wednesday that Eric Trump must sit to be deposed by the state attorney general's office by October 7, denying his request to delay an interview as part of an investigation into the Trump Organization until after the presidential election, according to the attorney general's office.

Trump, the President's son and the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, had proposed the deposition take place after the November 3 election.
An attorney for the company wrote in a recent court filing that the delay should be made to accommodate "Mr. Trump's extreme travel schedule and related unavailability between now and the election, and to avoid the use of his deposition attendance for political purposes." A lawyer for Trump declined to comment on the ruling.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/politics/eric-trump-deposition/index.html

The Weakest Link....

[Cin]

Activists Are Calling on Democrats to Stop Trump’s SCOTUS Pick From Advancing

Progressive activists are gathering Saturday outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Brooklyn, New York home with a clear message for the Senate minority leader: “Democracy has its eyes on you, Chuck.”

The action kicks off just hours ahead of President Donald Trump’s expected formal announcement of “far-right ideologue” Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have vowed to push a vote on a replacement for Ginsburg ahead of Election Day, prompting fierce outrage from Democrats and democracy advocates like MoveOn Political Action executive director Rahna Epting, who said the move amounts to “a brazen and transparently political power-grab.”

Hosts of the Saturday mobilization targeting the New York Democrat — including Center for Popular Democracy Action, New York Communities for Change, and Common Cause New York — say in their call-to-action: “At this moment everything is at stake: Trump using the high court to steal the election, the future of the Affordable Care Act, Roe v. Wade, voting rights, and civil rights. All in the middle of a pandemic and escalating climate disasters.”

Given the stakes, event organizers are demanding Democratic leadership do everything within their power to block Trump from moving the Supreme Court further to the right. The groups outline three key demands:

The Minority Leader and the Democrats must publicly, vocally refuse to hold any hearings or confirm any new justice until after the inauguration of the next president.

The Minority Leader must use every procedural block to jam processes and delay proceedings: suspending unanimous consent; refuse to play on any vote; force everything to be read; filibustering; objection.

The Minority Leader must make it very clear that when Democrats take back the Senate, they will repeal the filibuster repeal and expand the court.
Failure to block the president’s nominee from advancing, warned Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director at CPD Action, would add to fears Trump won’t accept a peaceful transfer of power—as he has stated—should Democrat Joe Biden win the November election.

“We’re here to tell Sen. Schumer and the Democrats that our eyes are on them—they must do everything in their power to stop Barrett’s nomination from moving forward,” Archila said in a statement ahead of the action.

“The president has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, and Barret’s nomination makes this scenario even more plausible,” she said.

“A court with Barrett will not protect our votes; it will protect Trump’s desire to stay in power,” added Archila. “We’re calling on Democratic leaders to safeguard the American people’s right to choose our president by stopping this nomination.”

Trump, for his part, said Friday that he’ll announce his Supreme Court pick Saturday at 5 pm from the Rose Garden. Barrett is expected to be named.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) said this week that she would “certainly satisfy the core of the retrograde Trump coalition: Evangelicals who are heartily behind Trump because he is giving them control over the courts and otherwise advancing their vision of a Christian, white supremacist state, as well as mega-capitalists who benefit from the endless spirals of deregulation this administration has brought.”

“Trump’s primary personal motivation in her nomination is to ensure a vote that will support any and all election challenges to benefit Trump—entrenching the harmful legacy of Bush v. Gore,” said CCR.

https://truthout.org/articles/activists-are-calling-on-democrats-to-stop-trumps-scotus-pick-from-advancing/

[BullDog]

Yes the Democrats in the Senate are going to try to stall the Supreme Court nomination:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/27/democrats-supreme-court-confirmation-421849]]

My hope is they can stall this long enough so that Barrett cannot vote on the ACA on November 10. The Republicans are bound and determined though and they have the power in the Senate.

Pelosi and Schumer know full well what is and is not available to them. They know the rules of Congress better than any of us for sure. I wish the activists picketing Schumer's house would go do something useful that might make a difference like registering people to vote.

[PlatinumPearl]

8 Texas cities were alerted to a brain-eating amoeba found in water supply.

[Video - Cannot display follow website url to go directly to the article to view.]



(CNN) --- Residents of eight cities have been alerted that a brain-eating amoeba was found in a southeast Texas water supply, leading one of the towns to issue a disaster declaration.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a water advisory to residents served by the Brazosport Water Authority warning customers not to use any water due to the presence of Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, found in the water supply on Friday evening.

"The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at the direction of the Governor's Office is working with Brazosport Water Authority to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," the advisory reads.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/index.html), the brain-eating amoeba is commonly found in soil, warm lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It can also be found in poorly maintained or unchlorinated pools and in warm water discharge from industrial plants.

The Do Not Use Water Advisory was issued for residents of Lake Jackson, Freeport, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Clute and Rosenberg, Texas, as well as for the Dow Chemical plant in Freeport and the Clemens and Wayne Scott Texas Department of Criminal Justice corrections facilities.

The TCEQ has since cleared all but one location, according to a statement on Twitter (https://twitter.com/TCEQ/status/1309888620791238656?s=20).

Disaster declaration issued in Lake Jackson

Lake Jackson has issued a disaster declaration and residents are still being urged to heed the Do Not Use Water Advisory until the Brazosport Water Authority has completed an adequate flush out of its water system, according to TCEQ.

The incident started on September 8, when the city was made aware of a 6-year-old boy who was hospitalized with the amoeba. The boy's problem was traced back to two possible sources: a water fountain "splash pad" in front of Lake Jackson Civic Center or through water emitted from a hose at the boy's home, according to a statement from the city.

City authorities said the the splash pad was immediately closed and they hired a private lab to run a test on a five-gallon water sample from the fountain. The results came back negative on September 14 for Naegleria fowleri, and the CDC was contacted for further water testing from the splash pad.

Representatives from the Texas Department of Health Services collected water and tested samples from the splash pad for the CDC, and on On September 25, three of the 11 water samples tested positive for Naegleria fowleri.

The CDC sent the test results to the TCEQ, and the Texas agency then required that the Brazosport Water Authority issue a Do Not Use water advisory for their customer base, the statement reads.

TCEQ is currently testing the chlorine levels in the City of Lake Jackson's water source and has determined it will take approximately three days to clear the system. Local residents can receive a free case of water from the city in the interim.

The CDC says that while Naegleria fowleri infections are rare most are fatal. From 2009 to 2018, only 34 infections were reported in the United States. Of those reported cases, 30 people were infected by recreational water.

According to the CDC, 145 people were infected from 1962 to 2018 and only four survived.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated how many Texas cities were alerted to a brain-eating amoeba. It was eight.



Source: cnn.com
Website: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/26/us/brain-eating-amoeba-found-in-texas-water-supply-trnd/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2j4y2_aCxzQOWsZWCOAY8LTLQyCh xyLhlA0ka8ZvhVjq_5GLjmwNomcB0
Date: September 26, 2020

[BullDog]

In Joe Biden's remarks today he focused on the Barrett nomination being a direct threat to people's healthcare and the end of the ACA.

He was asked about expanding the Supreme Court and said this:

“I know you’re gonna be upset with my answer, but what I’m not gonna do is play the Trump game, which is a good game he plays – take your eye off the issue before us,” Biden responded.

“If I were to say yes or no to that, that becomes a big issue,” he added. “That’s the headline here.”

“I’m focused on making sure the American people understand that they’re being cut out of this process that they’re entitled to be a part of,” Biden said. “And the cut out designed in order to take away the ACA and your health care in the midst of a pandemic.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/518496-biden-declines-to-answer-question-on-whether-hed-support-expanding-supreme

Good for you Joe Biden on staying focused.

[BullDog]

The New York Times has obtained over two decades worth of Trump's taxes - up to 2017. In 10 out of the past 15 years he paid no federal income taxes and in 2016 and 2017 he paid only $750.

What we all knew but still interesting: he's a horrible businessman, broke, and very likely a tax cheat.

It is a very long and detailed article:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html

Here is a short version of some of the findings:

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tax-returns-documents-750-federal-income-new-york-times-2020-9

President Donald Trump avoided paying federal income taxes for 10 of the last 15 years and paid just $750 in 2016 and 2017, respectively, according to an investigation by The New York Times.

Trump avoided paying the income taxes "largely because he reported losing much more money than he made," the Times reported.

The Times obtained a variety of tax-return data from Trump and the hundreds of companies that comprise his business empire after the president refused to reveal them publicly, sparking an ongoing legal battle over the documents.

The tax-return documents obtained by the Times covers more than two decades and includes "detailed information from his first two years in office," according to the report.

Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, denied the Times' reporting, telling the outlet that "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate"

The report attributes Trump's longtime tax avoidance to factors like relying on a massive tax refund of $72.9 million and writing up his spending for the family businesses and personal expenses.

The tax refund is the subject of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service, the Times noted, and at least $100 million is on the line in the audit battle.

The data also details huge losses among Trump's business entities, including $315.6 million of reported losses from his golf courses and $55.5 million lost in his Washington, DC hotel since it opened in 2016.

One moneymaker identified by the Times is Trump's personal brand, which the outlet calculated made him a combined $427.4 million between 2004, when "The Apprentice" debuted on NBC, and 2018.

The Times promised "additional articles will be published in the coming weeks."

[BullDog]

Trump is broke and has hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due. He's a tax cheat who pays way less in taxes than most hard-working Americans.

The only "businesses" that have really been successful for him is licensing the Trump name (which is just businesses paying money to slap "Trump" on their businesses and buildings) and money earned from the Apprentice. Everything else has lost bigly - golf courses, casinos, hotels, and more! And he started with an inheritance of over $400 million from his father.

Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees to Ivanka even though she is an employee of the Trump Organization - employee or consultant - pick a lane Ivanka you can't be both.

He is in deep legal jeopardy.

I thought this article was a good summary:

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/518612-five-takeaways-from-nyt-trump-taxes-bombshell

[homoe]

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats unveiled a scaled-back $2.2 trillion aid measure Monday in an attempt to boost long-stalled talks on COVID-19 relief, though there was no sign of progress in continuing negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The latest Democratic measure would revive a $600-per-week pandemic jobless benefit and send a second round of $1,200 direct payments to most individuals. It would scale back an aid package to state and local governments to a still-huge $436 billion, send a whopping $225 billion to colleges and universities, and deliver another round of subsidies to businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program.

The proposal represents a cutback from a $3.4 billion bill that passed the House in May, but remains well above what Senate Republicans are willing to accept. Republicans have endorsed staying in the $650 billion to $1 trillion range.

Pelosi said Monday that she remains in contact with Mnuchin, with whom she negotiated several earlier relief packages. The two spoke briefly on Sunday and Monday evening and are slated to talk again Tuesday morning, according to Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill.

“We’ve come down $1 trillion, and they need to come up because we have to crush this virus,” Pelosi said Monday on MSNBC. “It takes money to crush the virus. It takes money to make the schools safe. It takes money to put money in people’s pockets.”

Sidebar: We need to call our senators and representatives, whether republican or democrat, and tell them to stop their pissing contests and for once think of Americans who so desperately need help during this time of upheaval!

[Kätzchen]

Trump is broke and has hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due. He's a tax cheat who pays way less in taxes than most hard-working Americans.

The only "businesses" that have really been successful for him is licensing the Trump name (which is just businesses paying money to slap "Trump" on their businesses and buildings) and money earned from the Apprentice. Everything else has lost bigly - golf courses, casinos, hotels, and more! And he started with an inheritance of over $400 million from his father.

Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees to Ivanka even though she is an employee of the Trump Organization - employee or consultant - pick a lane Ivanka you can't be both.

He is in deep legal jeopardy.

I thought this article was a good summary:

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/518612-five-takeaways-from-nyt-trump-taxes-bombshell

All these things T---p is guilty of and is yet to be held accountable for?

I can't think of a better teaching tool than the stark differences between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris vs Team Lie Like Hell (aka, infamous GOP).

I hope every voting American feels motivated to take the trash out and elect the best team we've got:

The Biden/Harris Ticket.


:vigil::vigil::vigil:

[homoe]

Black Friday is on 27th November this year with Cyber Monday following straight after on 30th November, with Small Business Saturday falling in between! Black Friday falling on the 27th of November this year means it’s less than a month before Christmas. Things will be a little different this year thanks to the pandemic. In the USA, shops are giving staff Thanksgiving off with most stores not opening thanks to Covid-19.

Amazon Prime Day is later this year (Oct 13-14th). Expect too see a lot more online deals rather than in store only deals (like the Nintendo Switch Asda deal last year), which will be a good thing for everyone reluctant to venture.

Crowd control methods by various brick and mortar stores, as well as malls, could get creative this upcoming holiday season...:present:

[kittygrrl]

Came home early to watch debate prep...it was hinted in a tweet that Trump is inviting a guest for Biden...like he did Hilary...my guess? it's probably that girl that says Biden touched her inappropriately which is a big lie and i don't think it will effect Biden at all unless his wife is there and Trump would enjoy embarrassing her and that would make Biden angry......his behavior is that of a demon from the abyss....

[homoe]

Came home early to watch debate prep...it was hinted in a tweet that Trump is inviting a guest for Biden...like he did Hilary...my guess? it's probably that girl that says Biden touched her inappropriately which is a big lie and i don't think it will effect Biden at all unless his wife is there and Trump would enjoy embarrassing her and that would make Biden angry......his behavior is that of a demon from the abyss....

I wouldn't put anything past that dirty rotten SOB!

[homoe]

A former federal prosecutor during the Watergate proceedings that brought down President Richard Nixon says new tax revelations about President Donald Trump could ultimately send him to prison.

“No question about it,” Nick Akerman said Monday on CNN. “And his daughter could go to jail, too.”

Both the president and his oldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, who also serves as a White House adviser, are named in the New York Times report detailing the schemes that allowed Donald Trump to avoid taxes for much of the past decade and a half.

“Tax evasion is a five-year felony,” said Akerman, who was an assistant special Watergate prosecutor investigated Nixon’s taxes. “It’s a pretty serious crime, and the more money that’s stolen, the longer you go to jail for.”

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. However, he has also refused to publicly disclose his tax returns, as has been customary for presidential candidates for nearly half a century.

Akerman said the Times report details “a whole series of activities that could qualify as tax fraud, not tax avoidance.”

Avoidance, he said, is merely taking advantage of the tax code in legal ways to maximize deductions. Fraud, on the other hand, involves lying about income and deductions.

He pointed specifically to consultant fees paid by Donald Trump to Ivanka Trump. Since Ivanka Trump was already an employee of the Trump Organization, Akerman said, there was “no legitimate reason” for those payments.

He speculated the two could have been shifting the money around to avoid paying taxes on it.

That, he said, could lead to an ominous development for the president should he leave office in January.

“The only thing that’s saving him at this point is the Department of Justice’s guideline that says you can’t indict a sitting president,” Akerman said. “Once he’s no longer a sitting president, he is subject to being indicted.”

He added that “any decent prosecutor” could make a “pretty viable” case:

[homoe]

Over the past few months, Seattle restaurants took on temporary closures in wake of restrictions in place as a result of the novel coronavirus. Seattle restaurants bought up protective equipment and outdoor umbrellas to block the sun for outdoor dining. Seattle restaurants ponied up pocket cash for outdoor tables and chairs, only to later be swept up in a cloud of smoke during some of Seattle's final few weeks of summer.

Rain and colder temperatures are on the way. For Sodo restaurants in general , they’re taking on not only a lack of downtown workers, not only incoming fall and winter seasons, but also few sports fans in what would typically be a bustling neighborhood come game day. Seattle doesn’t tend to receive high winds, wild storms, freezing temps or heavy snowfall, but it does get cold and rainy enough to be uncomfortable for many of those hoping to nosh on comfort food at their neighborhood restaurants.

At restaurants like Capitol Hill’s eclectic eatery, Nue, indoor seating is next to impossible these days. Famed for its usual communal seating, social distancing has pushed the restaurant to outdoor dining only.


https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/food/slideshow/Seattle-restaurants-will-have-to-get-209904.php?utm_source=exco-channels&utm_medium=cta-click&source=exco-channels&medium=cta-click

[Kätzchen]

Just got home from work. I glanced at head line coverage of the debate. Lol. That jacka$s in the WH has been talking over Biden and screaming at Chris Wallace.

I am guessing American voters are poised to deliver a massive cup of Shut-the-fu*k-up to the toddler having a massive temper tantrum on the stage tonight.

4 years. Your time is up, T---p.

In my mind, it's jettison time. Pronto.

[~ocean]

Trump's proving that he is a fool. let him keep talking ~ self destructive lolol

[C0LLETTE]

I was surprised that the Bidens earned over $900,000 in 2019 (even if they did pay tax on it). How much does a vice-president earn annually?

[BullDog]

I would have rather been in the dentist chair having my teeth drilled than watch that.

I think Biden did the best he could to hold his own and anyone who votes for Trump after seeing this is an idiot and an asshole.

Unreal.

[dark_crystal]

I would have rather been in the dentist chair having my teeth drilled than watch that.

I think Biden did the best he could to hold his own and anyone who votes for Trump after seeing this is an idiot and an asshole.

Unreal.

I predict there will be a huge part of his base that will be energized by his shoutout to the Proud Boys and celebrate his "bravery" in refusing to repudiate white supremacy

[homoe]

I predict there will be a huge part of his base that will be energized by his shoutout to the Proud Boys and celebrate his "bravery" in refusing to repudiate white supremacy

Sad to say, but I think you're absolutely right!

[homoe]

The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, pledged allegiance to President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after he told the group to "stand back and stand by" during the first presidential debate.

Many people on social media who identify with the group echoed that language, saying they were "standing down and standing by." One known social media account for the group made "Stand back. Stand by" part of its new logo.

Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University in North Carolina who tracks online extremism, said Trump's giving the Proud Boys orders was their long-sought "fantasy."

"To say Proud Boys are energized by this is an understatement," Squire said. "They were pro-Trump before this shoutout, and they are absolutely over the moon now. Their fantasy is to fight antifa in his defense, and he apparently just asked them to do just that."


https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/proud-boys-celebrate-after-trump-s-debate-call-out-n1241512

[PlatinumPearl]

Salon owner who refused coronavirus lockdown orders makes Texas Senate runoff.
https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/w634fyccvUxqj8sP6KRdrmgymeU=/800x498/top/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/4O7RKL7ZQZB4NO4FZOCAMCZ7KM.jpg
Salon owner Shelley Luther adjusts her hair while listening to a question after she was cited by
City of Dallas officials for reopening her Salon A la Mode in Dallas on April 24, 2020. (LM Otero/AP)



2020 strikes again.

A Dallas salon owner who disobeyed Texas’ coronavirus lockdown restrictions and refused to close even after she received citations and was arrested has made the runoff for a Texas state senate election.

In the six-person race, Shelley Luther and fellow Republican finished in a near tie. Luther received 31.7% of the vote and Drew Springer, a four-term holder of a state legislature seat, received 31.83% of the vote. The winner will take over the seat vacated by Republican Pat Fallon who resigned to run for a U.S. House seat.

The North Texas district includes parts of the Dallas suburbs as well as Fort Worth and Wichita Falls.

Luther spent two days in jail for defying Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency orders. She rebounded from her arrest and her salon being shut down by receiving $500,000 in donations.

The date of the election has not been scheduled.



Source: dailynews.com
Website: https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-lockdown-shelley-luther-salon-owner-texas-senate-20200930-zg7gxrmruze3pdrwoqh6pjkxpe-story.html
Date: September 30, 2020

[Cin]

https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-bMwy8dDxD6Ca8x0QS2Lx_Y8igY7MNQfBx6_T64oXCmhiWc8t-sNXD3a2kjEnLXffVyu1k_fZAFqjnbaAnTpGbA/messages/@.id==AMTfqp4uv5uRX3Uxzw4NqNFr_5I/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appId=YMailNorrinLaunch

[Gemme]

I was surprised that the Bidens earned over $900,000 in 2019 (even if they did pay tax on it). How much does a vice-president earn annually?

Way, way more than that (https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/a31265187/joe-biden-net-worth/). Book deals and speaking engagements pay good money. I do love that Jill Biden wants to still teach community college classes if Joe wins.

[C0LLETTE]

https://apis.mail.yahoo.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-bMwy8dDxD6Ca8x0QS2Lx_Y8igY7MNQfBx6_T64oXCmhiWc8t-sNXD3a2kjEnLXffVyu1k_fZAFqjnbaAnTpGbA/messages/@.id==AMTfqp4uv5uRX3Uxzw4NqNFr_5I/content/parts/@.id==2/thumbnail?appId=YMailNorrinLaunch

I second that

[BullDog]

Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides, has tested positive for coronavirus, one current and one former White House official confirmed on Thursday.

Hicks, a counselor to the president, had traveled with Trump on Tuesday for his debate with Democratic challenger Joe Biden in Cleveland. She was seen traveling on Air Force One without a mask. She also traveled with the president during his rally in Minnesota on Wednesday.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/01/trump-hope-hicks-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-424781

Trump has tweeted this:

“Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!”

[BullDog]

See new Tweets
Tweet
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

Tonight,
@FLOTUS
and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

[~ocean]

I wish all who caught the virus good luck ~ I don't want to see anyone suffer regardless who. now let's see who will take over leading our country ~ Pence must be going into quarantine as well. ~ I assume Nancy Pelosi ? Wheww thankfully she has the right clothes for the job ~ as well as the "know how ". ~ I think RBG is smerking. several hundreds of people that were at his rally today will have to get tested. and all his staff and left wing members ~ see what being arrogant will do ! on CNN they got everyone out of bed ~ all the top scientists and doctors are awake and discussing what is apparently inevitable . The stock markets are going to go crazy too. deff. they all need our prayers.

[Pacificblu]

I wish all who caught the virus good luck ~ I don't want to see anyone suffer regardless who. now let's see who will take over leading our country ~ Pence must be going into quarantine as well. ~ I assume Nancy Pelosi ? Wheww thankfully she has the right clothes for the job ~ as well as the "know how ". ~ I think RBG is smerking. several hundreds of people that were at his rally today will have to get tested. and all his staff and left wing members ~ see what being arrogant will do ! on CNN they got everyone out of bed ~ all the top scientists and doctors are awake and discussing what is apparently inevitable . The stock markets are going to go crazy too. deff. they all need our prayers.

I’m having a hard time finding any sympathy for the 2 of them. 208000 people dead, an economy in ruins, and MILLIONS of people lost their jobs and maybe their homes. Karma is a bitch

[homoe]

MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell, dubbed a “snake oil salesman” by CNN’s Anderson Cooper for pushing the unproven plant extract oleandrin as a coronavirus cure, appears to be at it again. The bedding company executive on Friday urged his pal Donald Trump to take oleandrin after the president announced he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. “It does work,” Lindell wrote on Twitter to the president. “100% effective!”

Lindell, a Trump backer who owns a stake in a company promoting oleandrin as a coronavirus cure, was seconding a tweet from conservative author David J. Harris Jr. urging Trump to try it.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/my-pillow-guy-mike-lindell-donald-trump-oleandrin_n_5f76ff71c5b6dd94f1e91938

[Cin]

Trump is such a liar and an opportunist I can't help but wonder if he actually has tested positive. I can think of a lot of ways having the virus could be manipulated to help him. Maybe I'm just too cynical.

[homoe]

Trump is such a liar and an opportunist I can't help but wonder if he actually has tested positive. I can think of a lot of ways having the virus could be manipulated to help him. Maybe I'm just too cynical.

Oh NO DOUBT he'll manipulate this if he only tests positive and developes no symptoms!

[~ocean]

lololol the sympathy vote ~ dayumm that's too cheesy for Trump .He needs all the credit ~ did u all see he wants his name on the lunches kids can pick up at the schools ?

[Cin]

Oh NO DOUBT he'll manipulate this if he only tests positive and developes no symptoms!

He doesn't have to actually have the virus to SAY he tested positive. If he then decides to report that he has no symptoms or mild symptoms it will be a vindication of sorts for him. Also the whole "I tested positive for covid 19" Trump shared on twitter is very convenient timing. Gets him out of the rest of the debates and overshadows the glaring light he shined on the racist white house and his white supremacist connections and ideology during the debate, takes the focus off his taxes, and of host of other helpful results.

Maybe he did test positive but I have a hard time believing anything that comes out of his mouth or out of this white house. I guess we will see. I don't know what it would take for me to believe he actually has the virus. Maybe a pic of him on a ventilator. Maybe not even then.

[BullDog]

I’m really baffled by all the people online saying Trump is doing this to get out of debates, distract from his other scandals, etc. Of course he is a pathological liar and we can’t trust a word he says but this is the final blow to his campaign. He won’t be able to do any in-person campaigning and it brings the focus all back on COVID and a reminder of what a horrible job he has done and how reckless he and his staff have been. No way this is good for him politically.

I anxiously await Biden’s results and then his campaign just needs to carry on and let the lunatic circus continue to crash and burn.

[Orema]

MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell, dubbed a “snake oil salesman” by CNN’s Anderson Cooper for pushing the unproven plant extract oleandrin as a coronavirus cure, appears to be at it again. The bedding company executive on Friday urged his pal Donald Trump to take oleandrin after the president announced he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. “It does work,” Lindell wrote on Twitter to the president. “100% effective!”

Lindell, a Trump backer who owns a stake in a company promoting oleandrin as a coronavirus cure, was seconding a tweet from conservative author David J. Harris Jr. urging Trump to try it.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/my-pillow-guy-mike-lindell-donald-trump-oleandrin_n_5f76ff71c5b6dd94f1e91938

Trump and Melania will "recover" and use their recovery as a reason for people to go back to work and school.

And people, not just his base, will buy it.

[Cin]

I think it's good for him politically if he does not get sick. If he has only mild symptoms it reinforces what he has been saying all along. His belief is that it's more important to open up the economy, the virus will disappear. His followers don't practice social distancing nor do many wear masks. If he were to have the virus with no health issues at 74 and obese the message is devastating. He will be able to continue with his dangerous tactics and many states will continue to open and keep open businesses regardless of the devastation this winter. That's what's in it for him to lie about having covid 19. That and the other things I mentioned. The only way it turns bad for him is if he actually has the virus and ends up very sick. And I don't believe that for a minute.

[BullDog]

He’s way behind in the polls with just over a month to go. Even being sidelined for a short time is a disaster. It’s all about COVID once again. I don’t care what kind of “miraculous” recovery he makes. He’s toast. He’s not going to win by people feeling sorry for him.

This article mirrors my thoughts exactly:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/02/the-campaign-as-we-knew-it-is-over-trumps-covid-test-upends-the-race-425020

[Cin]

I wonder what Trump will say he is taking for the virus he supposedly has. Leader of Brazil's coronavirus denial movement, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said his swift recovery from alleged covid 19 was thanks to treatment with hydroxychloroquine. That's his story and he's sticking to it. Another example of reality according to right wing nut jobs. I can't wait to see what way Trump jumps. A bleach bath perhaps?

[BullDog]

Great news Joe and Jill Biden have tested negative. Obviously anyone who has been around Hope Hicks, Donald Trump, or Melania Trump need to continue to be tested to make sure.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/519351-biden-tests-negative-for-covid-19

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden have tested negative for COVID-19, his doctor confirmed on Friday.

"Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected," said Kevin O'Connor, Biden's primary care physician, in a statement.

The news comes after President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and others announced they had tested positive for the virus.

[~ocean]

the Biden's just tested negative ~~ YEAH!!!!!

[Gemme]

See new Tweets
Tweet
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

Tonight,
@FLOTUS
and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

Finally Trump tweets something positive.

:blink: