Anthony Davis wins it at 0.00 for the Lakers
https://streamable.com/eqmu1x
The Los Angeles Lakers barely defeat the Denver Nuggets 105-103 behind 26/11/4 from LeBron James and a game-winner from Anthony Davis to take a 2-0 series lead
THE PATS SHOULD HAVE PASSED ON THE ONE! LOL Sigh......
Patriots tried passing, Patriots tried running. Nothing works against the waterbirds.
Cam Newton is going to put up big numbers throwing the ball this year. Because of what the Pats do with Cam running the ball, you have to commit so many defenders to the line of scrimmage to stop him.
Cam Newton is identical to Tom Brady in Belichick's system, nobody watching that game would have guessed the Patriots had a different QB. Cam literally stood like a statue in the pocket with all the time in the world under no threat of attack waiting for someone to get open, or ran freely for 10 yards. On every play.
Sad news to report. Patriots' RB James White's father was in a car crash today and did not survive. His mother was also in the car and is in critical condition. White's father, Tyrone, was a captain with the Miami-Dade Police Department. James was told and is inactive tonight.
https://www.twitter.com/AndySlater/status/1307815134111379456
In a dangerous moment, the Seahwaks stop Cam Newton. Seahawks+Patriots adventures at the 1 yard line. Name a better duo. If you slow the clip, Cam had a clear running lane wide outside, he just didn't see it and ran inside where he got hit and flipped dangerously over. Remember Cam scored from this exact formation 3 times earlier in the game. Going heavy (more tight ends, OL) lengthens the front, and makes getting chased down from the back side of the formation more difficult. Also, this play is power, so the Pats got an extra OL and TE at the point of attack (which is good because you need movement up front for the play to work). You can see the Seahawks execute a good line move to defeat it, and 71 of the Patriots just whiffs on the block. Playcall was fine, sh!t happens, nothing is perfect,
https://www.clippituser.tv/c/egwelp
Everybody, including the Seahawks defense, including Pete Carroll, were so sure Cam was going to win it at end. I say he did win because for the second game in a row he played indistinguishable from Tom Brady and the Patriots system was rock solid.
Any smart coach would throw on the one there. Smh. Revenge for XLIX
Russell Wilson and watching a touchdown while lying on the ground. Slaps ground in happy.
Justin Herbert found out 5-10 seconds before kickoff that he'd be starting.
https://twitter.com/kalynkahler/status/1307839507702702080
Unbeaten Chiefs vs. unbeaten Ravens next Monday night...
Through two games, Russell Wilson has thrown nine touchdowns and only 11 incomplete passes
NO, REALLY? Mueller deputy Andrew Weissman says they proved Trump committed obstruction of justice but Mueller team was too timid to say it explicitly.
https://theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/andrew-weissmann-mueller-book-where-law-ends/616395/
And he blames Mueller, which is fair, but why didn't he come out during the impeachment hearings to make this very case then? A lucrative book deal is more important to these shitstain people than saving America.
2020 has meant ballparks void of human spectators. And canines, too. But have no fear, we've handed the keys to the account to our friends at the @RockiesSub for a virtual Bark at the Park day.
https://twitter.com/Rockies/status/1308075177662537728
Chuck: "I just gotta take my hat off to that Joker, man. I hope America's getting a chance to see how great a player this kid is. I mean, to single-handedly score 11-straight points and will your team? He takes an All-Defensive guy down in the post and says "We need a basket, I'm going to take it."
https://streamable.com/125sv4
For his part, Paul George had a disappointing series against Denver, and had several moments that left him in compromising positions with his teammates — beyond just his production. Multiple teammates had verbal spats with George throughout the postseason, citing in their exchanges a lack of accountability from him. In the postgame locker room Tuesday night, George was preaching to teammates to remain committed, for all the players to return to the team this offseason and stay ready to make another run. It was met by some eye rolls and bewilderment, sources said, because George did not back up his words with action in the series and the team has multiple free agents with decisions to make. George scored 10 points on 4 of 16 shooting and 2 of 11 from 3-point range in the Game 7 defeat. "We can only get better the longer we stay together and the more we're around each other," George said after the game. "I think that's really the tale of the tape of this season. We just didn't have enough time together."
https://theathletic.com/2078184/2020/09/21/inside-pass-clippers-concerns-plus-more-notes-from-around-the-nba
Pastor P, Playoff P (not so much....), Pope John Paul George....XIII
Come home to NC Montrezl, none of our players will shoot 2-11 from 3 in the second round of the playoffs next year
Several players had underwhelming postseason performances. Head coach Doc Rivers had several strategic decisions that left players scratching their heads, such as the decision not to ride a bigger lineup against Nikola Jokic, choosing rotations that did not prioritize more minutes for JaMychal Green and various defensive adjustments. The team also never came together in terms of chemistry or camaraderie inside the bubble. These are all things Rivers and the Clippers will sift through for the entire offseason and into an unknown start date to next season.
https://theathletic.com/2078184/2020/09/21/inside-pass-clippers-concerns-plus-more-notes-from-around-the-nba
Coach Michael Malone on the outcome of Game 2 against the Lakers: "Losing sucks, that's the bottom line, losing sucks. Some guys like to win, some guys hate to lose. I think we're a group of guys that hate to lose. Whether it be by 20-something points in Game 1 or at the buzzer tonight.." He must be exhausted after the game, he was hurling abuses at the refs for 48 minutes long.
https://streamable.com/drrybg
DoJ Illegally And Unconstitutionally Brands NYC, Seattle, Portland as 'Anarchist Jurisdictions' in Move to Revoke Federal Funding
https://www.thedailybeast.com/doj-bizarrely-brands-new-york-city-seattle-portland-anarchist-jurisdiction-in-move-to-revoke-federal-funds
Reporter: "How hard is it for you to continuously go up against 4 different bigs throughout the game instead of getting some relief down the stretch?"
Jokic: "Eh, to be honest, I don't really think about it."
Reporter: "Were you surprised when Mason Plumlee came off AD to guard LeBron?"
Jokic: "I mean it was either gonna be him or LeBron, it was just a miscommunication really."
Reporter: "I know PJ Dozier's missed free throws hurt, but what was your take on his impact?"
Jokic: *shrugs* "I mean they didn't to be honest, he did so many good things...he played great." *proceeds to overwhelmingly compliment Dozier's performance and growth as a player*
For a guy who was constantly getting bodied by AD, Javale, Howard, and LeBron all game with virtually no help, carried his team by scoring the last 11 points only to tragically lose at the buzzer because of a misread defense play, is on a team down 2-0 when they should be 1-1, I can't believe how calm and relaxed he is. I don't know if he's lying just to make it seem like he's not fazed but it's like he's talking as if they're up 3-0 right now. Of course any player with common sense wouldn't do this, but particularly in this game, it would have been so easy to point the blame on someone else, especially when Jokic had one of the greatest performances of his career. Between him and Murray these are some of the most humble, hard-working, and resilient young guys I've ever seen...really hoping these guys win a ring someday
I give credit to Denver for scaring the Lakers last night. PJ Dozier was really good for them but his woeful FT's contributed to a costly Denver loss
Major props to Jokic for his performance down the stretch. When he backed down AD - a 4x All-Defensive Team member - like it was nothing and then flipped that hook shot through the net, that seemed so surreal. He regularly does that against the 2xDPOY, and he actually scored a game winner in game 7 vs Utah that way.
Nuggets started packing the paint hard (Giannis wall like), which wrecked LeBron's jumper (too bad). Way better transition defense than last game. it's the key to stop the Lakers steam rolling you. Lakers had trouble scoring in the half court and Nuggets took advantage of that. Good second half defense on Lebron. They played the "Giannis Wall" strategy and packed the paint like crazy on his drives. They forced him to either settle for a jumper or pass to his teammates, and it worked well. Nuggets definitely got away with some fouls on Lebron's drive. We'll see if this strategy is sustainable (i.e. if Lebron jumper come alive or the role players go crazy from 3).
Nuggets got crushed on the boards. It is to be expected given Lakers size, but I feel like Nuggets can do a bit better than that with more effort and box out. (PLEASE do better Nuggets!).
Same as last game, Denver starters who are not Jokic and Murray need to be better. 16 points on 6/16 from Harris, Grant, and Millsap is just not enough.
Jokic and Davis scored all the points in the last 5:21 of the game
Jokic: 12pts, 3/4 2PT, 1/2 3PT, 3/4 FT
Davis: 10pts, 1/1 2PT, 2/2 3PT, 2/2 FT
Nikola Jokic's 30/4/9 on 9/20 shooting in vain as the Nuggets lose in the last second despite Jokic scoring the last 10 points
Jamal Murray was on +16 in forty-four minutes last night which means in the four minutes he sat, the Lakers outscored the Nuggets by 18
Nikola "Usain Bolt" Jokic With The Tunnel Sprints Pregame
https://streamable.com/5em83z
Toxins made by microscopic algae in water caused the previously unexplained deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana, wildlife officials say.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54234396
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN26C0WA
Their willingness to say a fetus matters while 200,000 bodies pile up and the parents don't get a fucking bit of help from anyone once the baby is born is all it takes to understand they have zero fucking self awareness or empathy. It's about control, stirring up the racists, and endlessly making it easier for the wealthy to dictate public policy, plunder our resources, oppress minorities and anyone else they don't like, etc.
When a Democrat is investigated you want to have a Republican to be sure everything gets looked at.
When a Republican is investigated you want to have a Republican to make sure it's not an unfair partisan attack.
Washington and mainstream media logic.
Trump Said 'I Like Taking The Guns Early,' Not Harris | Facebook posts claim that Sen. Kamala Harris said, "I like taking the guns early." She didn't say that, Trump did.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/trump-said-i-like-taking-the-guns-early-not-harris/
U.S. judge orders Post Office to expedite November election mail
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-post-office/u-s-judge-orders-post-office-to-expedite-november-election-mail-idUSKCN26C2HX
Trump mocks RBG's dying wish and claims it was invented by 'Pelosi or Schumer'
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-rbg-supreme-court-bader-ginsburg-pelosi-schumer-fox-news-b512601.html
Trump's gene comments indistinguishable from Nazi rhetoric
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-genes-racehorse-theory-nazi-eugenics-holocaust-twitter-b511858.html
Trump Supporters Are Intimidating Voters at the Polls - At a Virginia polling place, voters had to be given "escorts" to get past a group of chanting Trump supporters
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3az949/trump-supporters-are-already-intimidating-voters-at-the-polls
Courtland Sutton tore up his knee. Done for the year.
https://twitter.com/MikeKlis/status/1308086305079857153
Mitchell Trubisky's improvement makes the Chicago Bears a playoff team
Want to save Sam Darnold's career, NY Jets? Fire Adam Gase now
Out for season: Saquon Barkley Von Miller Nick Bosa Derwin James Tavon Young CJ Uzomah - Will likely miss time: Christian McCaffrey Michael Thomas Drew Lock Jimmy Garoppolo AJ Brown Sterling Shepard - Waiting on word: Courtland Sutton Tyrod Taylor Malik Hooker Parris Campbell
https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1308071361605242880
Matthew Slater on Cam Newton: "I'm sitting on the plane, and this guy's studying his playbook the entire six-hour flight out here. ... We're really fortunate to have him as our quarterback and one of the leaders on our team."
https://twitter.com/ZackCoxNESN/status/1307899473776054279
Adam Gase's career record is now 30-29-8. That's 30 wins, 29 double-digit losses, and 8 single-digit losses.
https://twitter.com/fbgchase/status/1308043518066274310
If I owned a team with an average quarterback, I'd ask my GM first thing tomorrow on what exactly was the thought process behind not offering Cam Newton any contract. Then I would yell for a while because the reason is probably bad.
https://www.twitter.com/bykevinclark/status/1307884070349627394
So (Brett Favre) can go to the game but my family can't? Interesting
https://twitter.com/sinjen66/status/1308054959460675586
Josh Allen under pressure yesterday: 9 completions, 220 yards, 4 TDs, perfect passer
https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1308017967440031745
Bill Belichick starts out his press conference saying Russell Wilson is a "great quarterback." Says he's glad the Patriots only have to play him once every four years.
https://twitter.com/PhilAPerry/status/1307894653430231040
Seahawks have surrendered 840 passing yards over the first 2 weeks of the season. 68% completion percentage.
https://www.twitter.com/LedyardNFLDraft/status/1307886141190877190
Edelman has to hate that he had the winning touchdown catch in his fingers. He balled out last night.
The Panthers never gave Cam an offensive line. Tonight shows what Cam can do with average weapons and time in the pocket. Edelman set a career receiving mark tonight at 34 years old and playing on one leg.
Panthers fans: "Oh that's not true. We gave him a really good one in 2015...."
Me: Von Miller has entered the chat....plus Ware plus Wade Phillips plus that secondary was phenomenal
Russell Wilson keeps getting better. He was a surgeon versus the Patriots last night, the pick wasn't his fault and the 3rd down throw to Lockett was his only bad throw. I understand the playcall, it's basically the one thing the defense is leaving for you in that situation and it's not like Wilson hasn't spent the past eight years dropping perfect, tear drop meteors into the hands of his receivers. But it nearly cost them the game. Wilson is an elite QB whose strength has always been timing and placement of tear drop passes. Russ has a completion percentage of over 50% on throws over 20 yards. If I'm not mistaken, that's the only throw over 20 yards he's missed all season. If it was completed, that's the killshot right there. Fully evolved mr unlimited Russ looks like a combination of 2011 Rodgers and Brees out there. League perhaps fucked. Watching Wilson evade tackles is so different from how Brady usually does it. When Brady avoids a defender it looks like he just unleashed his ultimate power. Wilson just kind of shuffles to the side and ignores the defender who just barrels past him.
Collinsworth: "I don't know how Harry got up after that hit by Diggs"
Michaels: "Slowly"
In case you missed it, Tom Brady is no longer on the Patriots. That was Cam Newton.
"I'll fuckin do it again"
-Cam
The Patriots/Seahawks game was just so amazing from start to finish. Like, damn. Just wow. Didn't feel like football season had started until now. Exhausted from being so deeply immersed in Nuggets/Lakers game and MLB games and NFL games.
"This is a team that's starting to figure out what to do with Russell Wilson"
I fucking hope so. He's been there for a while
How are the announcers so ho hum about that punt?? Dude stuck that thing at the 1. That was amazing
This fake crowd noise is unbelievably obnoxious. Ditto for the NBA fake crowd noise. For some reason it's right for MLB.
Run didn't work: "Should've passed" Pass didn't work: "Should've run"
1 yard line, you're f!cked no matter what you do
It seems bizarre to me that Trump filled the white house with his own kids but the Republican are worried that years and years ago Biden's son had a job somewhere and, without evidence, somehow that impacted Obama's decisions. This is to say nothing about the other glaring conflict of interest positions the president is currently involved in. "What our investigations are uncovering, I think, will reveal this is not somebody we should be electing president of the United States," Johnson said. How can he say that with a straight face? I can only conclude that these simply are not good people. It's even worse when you consider that these are the same people who were pulling their hair out over the idea that Mueller might announce anything within 60 days of the 2018 election. And yet here they are using their political clout to smear Biden in a similar way. They have no shame, and they are terrible people.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/517161-gop-prepares-to-release-controversial-biden-report
100K new Snapchat-inspired registrations since Friday night, when RBG's passing was announced. Presumably almost all of them young.
https://twitter.com/sofiargross/status/1308035801721311232
U.S. officials insist that international sanctions on Iran are back in force, even as most nations reject the effort as invalid
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-21/u-s-issues-new-iran-sanctions-as-most-nations-reject-move-at-un
Florida governor announces that the murder of people expressing beliefs he/she disagrees with should be legal. We are back to the government saying they won't prosecute white people who murder Black people. Florida is following TN lead. You will see this replicated quickly in red states as illegal anti-abortion ('fetal hearbeat') bills were. (the 'fetal heartbeat bills were a sham, abortion is already illegal when there is a heartbeat). They can't even spell "combating" correctly, how are they going to serve any kind of real justice?
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1308095991183220736
So the implication is that a noted mass murderer was conservative, and that this is a good thing: Now here's an ad for you: Sen. Kelly Loeffler's new spot is all about how she's "more conservative than Attila the Hun," and includes an actor portraying a grunting Attila who delivers orders to, among other things, "eliminate the liberal scribes."
https://twitter.com/JacobRubashkin/status/1308102428240359424
Again, this is the senator whose initial appointment last year was greeted with much punditry about how she'd appeal to moderate women in the Atlanta suburbs who were drifting away from the GOP and turning Georgia purple. Now she's comparing herself favorably to Attila the Hun.
https://twitter.com/JacobRubashkin/status/1308102792872169473
It underscores what a missed opportunity the special election could be for Democrats. Collins and Loeffler are both running so far to the right, there's a whole swath of potential voters in the middle up for grabs. If Stacey Abrams had run and cleared the Democratic field...
https://twitter.com/JacobRubashkin/status/1308104465841639425
On the flip side, if Warnock manages to squeeze past Collins for the second spot in the runoff, as most Democratic strategists believe he will, then this race ends up at a *very* interesting January runoff, one that Democrats could have a real shot at.
https://twitter.com/JacobRubashkin/status/1308104964829589504
Aroldis Chapman's hearing to appeal a 3-game ban for throwing at the Rays' Mike Brosseau has been put off until next year due to an issue involving availability of witnesses.
https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1308111703557758981?s=20
Ken Giles out for the remainder of this season and all of next season, as he will be undergoing Tommy John surgery. #BlueJays
https://twitter.com/aalyssacohen/status/1308108053393350656
DeSantis to illegally and unconstitionally eliminate Florida's federal unemployment program
https://www.axios.com/desantis-trump-unemployment-florida-b31761d9-6c35-4b39-bd3b-c0c8b3c458a7.html
The Non-Partisan Government Accountability Office made recommendations to Republican-controlled HHS and FEMA to improve the supply chain to fight COVID-19 — and HHS and DHS objected to the GAO's recommendations.
https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-701
It's totally gonna end up happening during Kol Nidre.
Our investigation uncovered this explosive detail: when HSBC's DPA was nearing its end in 2017, the independent monitor's team wrote to DOJ saying HSBC continued to provide financial services to suspicious people or companies, which could allow alleged criminals to fund terror
https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1308113335640940545
Trump will attend the National Catholic Prayer breakfast Wednesday, first since he's been president. Comes as his numbers with Catholics are eroding.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-to-speak-at-national-catholic-prayer-breakfast
Conservatives have been angry and organized for 33 years over the Bork fight, which ended with a Republican president getting a different justice confirmed. Perfectly easy to imagine that the twin blows of Garland/Ginsburg do the same thing for the left. One thing to bear in mind is that the anger was not just that Bork was scuttled but that he was replaced by Kennedy, who turned out to be soft on key social issues (abortion, LGBT rights). This is what the right sees as the great betrayal.
Teachers across DC noticed their students' home smoke detectors had low batteries and were chirping during virtual classes. Now, the fire dept. is working to ensure families have working smoke detectors at home.
https://washingtonpost.com/local/education/chirping-smoke-detectors-at-students-home-were-disrupting-virtual-classes-now-firefighters-are-helping-to-fix-them/2020/09/21/eb3f37e4-f9f0-11ea-be57-d00bb9bc632d_story.html
Dear Tucson, Tuesday's phone bank to elect @JoeBiden and @CaptMarkKelly will feature a special guest: my favorite @uarizona alum @SteveKerr
https://www.mobilize.us/joebiden/event/328832/
1/4: Some notes and data on Election Year Supreme Court nominations and confirmations: No Supreme Court vacancy has ever been filled within 100 days b4 an election. There have been more than a dozen vacancies during an Election year, but the closest
https://twitter.com/FactbaseFeed/status/1308116509630312448
2/4: ... attempts to fill vacancies during an election year were as follows: Earl Warren. Submitted resignation letter to LBJ 145 days prior to the election on 6/13/1968. Abe Fortas nominated and filibustered. Nixon nominated his replacement. John McKinley, died 7/19/1852. ...
https://twitter.com/FactbaseFeed/status/1308116510636994563
3/4: ...Millard Fillmore unsuccessfully nominated his replacement 78 days before Election Day. Franklin Pierce got his replacement confirmed. The closest to Election Day? Charles Evans Hughes, who filled a vacancy left by John Hessin Clarke 150 days b4 the Election in 1916....
https://twitter.com/FactbaseFeed/status/1308116511899480068
4/4: ... He was confirmed 106 days before the election. So a vacancy at 150 days is the closest to be successfully filled before an Election and 106 days is the closest vacancy anyone has tried to fill. Otherwise, it rolled to after Election. Data? Sure:
https://twitter.com/FactbaseFeed/status/1308116512830640128
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump's campaign to halt Nevada's mail-in voting laws for over a lack of standing. Ballots are expected to be mailed within days.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/17/trump-mail-in-voting-plan-417253
Remember: Trump spent 70years cheerleading his home state of New York. Trump spent his entire life in New York and praised New York to the high heavens. He lived the ultimate New York lifestyle, right down to owning and living in a skyscraper. Now he's doing everything in his power to destroy his own home state. For one reason only: HILLARY won New York. He now pretends he never lived there and always hated New York and never had anything to do with New York and is actively trying to exterminate New York from the map.
Cries of 'white power' and 'f*** black lives' heard at pro-Trump rally. This is why people vote for trump. He gives them license to be their worst-selves. Because for those people their worst selves are powerful. It's about power and feeling above someone else. It's easier to blame someone else than yourself when you reach a point in life and realize you aren't where you thought you would be and nothing can reverse the damage, the door for change is closed.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/trump-north-carolina-confederate-rally-b511700.html
#AZsen: New minute-long TV ad from retired astronaut @CaptMarkKelly (D). The spot touts his record in public service, saying "He served his country as a naval officer, he served his country at NASA, and he's going into the Senate to serve his country."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1308120181487669248
I hope there's a press conference where an NYPD union guy starts getting red-faced and shouty about China's historic claim to Tibet: NYPD officer arrested for allegedly acting as agent of China. | NYPD officer Baimadajie Angwang, a community affairs officer in the 111 precinct in Queens and a US Army Reservist at Fort Dix, has been arrested for allegedly acting as an agent of China. According to the criminal complaint, Angwang acted "at the direction and control" of Chinese government officials at the consulate in New York to report on the activities of ethnic Tibetans, assess potential ethnic Tibetan intelligence sources and use his official position at the police department to give consulate officials access to senior NYPD officials.
https://abc7ny.com/nypd-officer-arrested-for-allegedly-acting-as-agent-of-china/6484676/
This #FinCENFiles investigation into HSBC has everything: cocaine, strip clubs, terrorism, Ponzi schemes and even HSBC writing to DOJ to try and block my #FOIA
https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1308122825069400064
NEW from our #FinCENFiles: Remember when HSBC paid a $1.9B fine for violating sanctions & allowing drug kingpins to launder $$$ through the bank & then promised to clean up it's act? Those promises were hollow. Here's the untold backstory w/receipts
https://buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/hsbc-money-laundering-drug-cartels
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks about process to fill Supreme Court vacancy and nothing he says is unexpected. Republicans get the first move. Democrats will also be delivering counterstrikes in due time.
Republicans only care about winning and power and exterminating everything they hate. Democrats care about the system and legitimacy and saving existence. You can't win against someone who will burn down the country if it means he'll score a win.
Shitstain McConnell says the "cobwebs of prejudice" RBG helped take down, as if the prejudice was just some minor nuisance, like a cobweb in the corner.
"Leader McConnell and the Republican Senate majority have no right to fill it. No right," Schumer says, citing Ginsburg's wish that she not be replaced until new POTUS. "Leader McConnell held a Supreme Court vacancy open for nearly a year"
https://twitter.com/burgessev/status/1308128136144523264
One more note on how things are going for #49ers right now: Team's travel to New York on Friday was delayed because... their plane got hit while on the runway. They had to get a new plane and didn't arrive in NY/NJ area until early hours of Saturday morning.
https://twitter.com/nwagoner/status/1308131960057933824
The MRI truck scheduled to go to the Greenbrier broke down, #49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. Of course...
https://twitter.com/maiocconbcs/status/1308129523888615424
Remember there were Republican Senators threatening told hold the seat open for Clinton's entire eight-year term. Including McCain.
Step 1: Brand all Democrats as America-hating communists who want to take everything you own and give it to the government while forcing women to have taxpayer funded abortions.
Step 2: "You're not one of THEM are you?! You don't HATE AMERICA, RIGHT?"
Step 3: Love America, therefore hate Democrats.
Step 4: Trump blows the dog whistles of white grievances. A few general trends in America have happened along similar timelines: increased globalization, increased integration, increased political correctness, decreased economic power of the middle class. So Trump points to their worst instincts and says "You're not wrong! You're right! Minorities are the reason you're poor! Democrats are the reason you're poor! The government is the reason you're poor! Washington insiders don't care about you because you don't have an army of lobbyists! (not wrong on this one) I'm not a Washington insider and I'm not a minority and I'm not a Democrat!"
That's about it. Don't try to understand it rationally. Understand it emotionally. Many white voters are not educated enough to understand politics (and to be fair, it's complicated. It takes time and study and effort to understand and stay current on). But they understand the trends they've seen. For them, correlation must be causation, because it's an explanation they can understand. At this point, NOT supporting Trump makes you one of THEM. And you're not ONE of THEM, RIGHT?!
Republicans, led by McConnell, overturned an Obama veto, and when the results of that turned out negative, blamed Obama.
Short stint for Justin Smoak with #SFGiants announcing he is designated for assignment with OF Alex Dickerson returning from maternity leave
https://twitter.com/bnightengale/status/1308143080386617344
Leaked files contain more evidence of Kremlin links to one of the biggest donors to Boris Johnson's Conservative party
https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-fincen-files-show-kremlin-links-to-conservative-party-donor-2020-9
Canadian woman suspected of sending ricin (poison) packages addressed to Trump
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-poison-package-suspect-canada-ricin-letter-white-house-b507304.html
Airbus unveils plan for first zero emission planes
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54242176
When their leader is an undeniable racist and wildly dishonest fraud who misappropriated funds from his own foundation and utilized Russian interference to rig an election all while standing accused of sexually mistreating at least 25 women since the 1970s, it's easy to see why they're such lowlifes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Racial_views_of_Donald_Trump
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Veracity_of_statements_by_Donald_Trump
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_J._Trump_Foundation#Legal_and_ethical_controversies
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations
Judge gives Wisconsin voters an extra week to return absentee ballots. A federal judge in Madison has order absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day Nov. 3 will be counted so long as they're received by Nov. 9. Wisconsin's normal deadline is 8 p.m. Election Day.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/21/wisconsin-absentee-ballots-postmarked-november-3-counted-delay-presidential-election-results/5808975002/
This now brings us to four presidential battleground states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and now Wisconsin, where judges have recently ruled that election officials must accept ballots that arrive after Election Day if they are postmarked by 11/2 in MI's case or 11/3
https://twitter.com/grace_panetta/status/1308141508688850949
Dow drops more than 500 points, S&P 500 posts first 4-day losing streak since February
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/20/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html
NIH staffer to retire after he was exposed as the blogger behind anti-Fauci, anti-mask stories | William Crews told NIAID officials he will retire after the Daily Beast revealed he is also the managing editor of the conservative website RedState.com, where, under the pseudonym "streiff," he has ridiculed the government's activity against the coronavirus outbreak, according to the NIAID spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified because the matter involves personnel. | The Daily Beast reported that Crews, as "streiff." has called Fauci a "mask nazi," and implied that "government officials responsible for the pandemic response should be executed." It's unclear whether Crews had direct dealings on the job with Fauci , the nation's top infectious disease official and one of the leaders of the government's response to the pandemic. | Crews' writings are representative of a strain of conservatism that sees aggressive efforts to combat the coronavirus as not just misguided or counterproductive, but as concerted schemes by public health authorities to amass and wield political power in an effort to damage Trump. It's a conspiracy theory that tracks with more general suspicions by Trump supporters, and to an extent the president himself, who has insinuated that a cabal of "deep state" government employees are out to destroy him. What makes Crews' writings more notable is that he is in the employ of the very bureaucracy he accuses of orchestrating this seditious plot. Indeed, in some of his writings, Crews, as streiff, makes vague references to his career in the federal public health apparatus.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/09/21/redstate-nih/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/redstate-covid-troll-streiff-is-actually-bill-crews-and-he-actually-works-for-dr-anthony-fauci
Trump cited medical costs as a reason for his ban on allowing transgender people serving in the military. But the Department of Defense had no problem spending $550,000 on lawyers to defend a Marine who murdered a transgender woman in the Philippines.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/magazine/philippines-marine-pardon-duterte.html
I think it's important to note, the anti-mask guy at RedState who worked for Fauci? He was NOT just a "troll," he was explicitly saying "justice" would be to send "experts" to the "gallows and gibbet their tarred bodies in chains until they fall apart."
https://www.thedailybeast.com/redstate-covid-troll-streiff-is-actually-bill-crews-and-he-actually-works-for-dr-anthony-fauci
Trump still won't blame Russia for Navalny's poisoning. On the WHSL:
Q: Who do you think poisoned Alexei Navalny?
Trump: Say it?
Q: Who do you think poisoned Alexei Navalny in Russia?
Trump: We'll talk about that at another time.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1308156564688326657
This is why Democrats are done, Trump already won re-election: Thousands of Trump supporters are packed into this "Great American Comeback Event" on the tarmac in Swanton, OH this evening. No social distancing among the crowd and limited mask-wearing throughout. Face coverings are encouraged but not required.
https://twitter.com/albamonica/status/1308154707064623104
Both Joni Ernst - in a difficult race in Iowa - and Chuck Grassley, the senior senator from the state who said in late July he was not in favor of moving on a vacancy this year, are expected to put out statements tonight about their views of the SCOTUS process.
https://twitter.com/HotlineJosh/status/1308154628169773058
And Dumb Democrats insist on spending tens of millions of dollars (primaries) in shitstain Iowa, a racist antisemitic mysognist animal-murdering soil-destroying Republican shithole state
33 men have lain in state at the U.S. Capitol. RBG Will be the first.
Michael Lonsdale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Lonsdale
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003909/
Trump repeats his usual false claim that Obama sent mere "pillows" to Ukraine. (Didn't authorize weapons, but authorized armored military vehicles, drones, counter-mortar radars, night vision devices, medical supplies.)
If Republicans replace RBG (they will....) and Biden wins, we will have a major-majority super-Republican Supreme Court that will block EVERYTHING Democrats want to do (and that court will undo everything "democratic" ever done). Republicans will file thousands of legal challenges to EVERYTHING DEMOCRATIC and the super-Republican-controlled Supreme Court will rule the Republican way EVERY SINGLE CASE. They will block any and all attempts at expanding their court. They will shut down the Biden Administration and Democratic-controlled House. I said before, America is dead. Because a terrorist Republican WILL be sworn into that seat before election day.
Trump in OH again claimed new car plants are opening in MI, in part because he cajoled former Japanese PM Abe. "You know how many car plants we're bringing back to Michigan?" Only 1 new car plant under construction in MI, none from Japanese carmakers
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-11/trump-tries-to-lure-michigan-voters-with-vision-of-auto-revival
Judge orders U.S. Postal Service to treat all election mail as 1st class or priority
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/usps-election-mail-1.5732632
Trump bashes Biden for working to kill coal jobs, then says he, Trump, put the miners back to work and saved the industry. Here is the chart. There are 5,300 fewer coal mining jobs than there were when Trump took office. As of January, it was a Trump-era gain of...100 jobs.
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1308178808395177989
Trump claims "Biden keeps talking about a nationwide shutdown." Biden said in one interview that he'd shut down the country *if scientists said that was needed,* then walked that back, saying he doesn't think a total shutdown would be necessary regardless.
Grassley told me in late July when asked if he would support filling a vacancy this year: "My position is if I were chairman of the committee, I couldn't move forward with it."
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1308173179333025792
After saying in late July he wouldn't favor moving ahead with a nomination this election year, Grassley signals he's on McConnell's side. "If the shoe were on the other foot, Senate Democrats wouldn't hesitate to use their Constitutional authority ... to fill this seat.
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1308172212432711681
Ruth Bader Ginsburg shared with close colleagues and clerks one of her greatest hopes was that the next Supreme Court Justice nominated be Native American. | Some of the Supreme Court's most consequential decisions are nail-biters. And for Native Americans, a single vote can be what affirms their sovereignty. One Supreme Court Justice who could offer that crucial single vote – Ruth Bader Ginsburg – died Friday. But Ginsburg's allyship with Native communities was not straightforward, leaving her legacy muddied. At times, she voted against Native interests.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/sep/20/realization-in-ginsburgs-final-months-highlights-c/
The NBA G League is seriously discussing tournament featuring the elite Ignite team — led by Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga — and other teams (undrafted players, etc.) in a bubble environment in November/December. Decisions are still fluid.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1308203855067385861
Biden on expanding SCOTUS is a YES: "It's a legitimate question, but let me tell you why I'm not going answer that question. Because it will shift the focus, that's what he wants, he never wants to talk about the issue at hand and he always tries to change the subject."
https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1308242193312821249
https://www.wbay.com/2020/09/22/one-on-one-interview-with-democratic-presidential-nominee-joe-biden/
There are no tRumpy ads because he blew all his campaign money early and his campaign is now broke. How very tRumpy. Maybe his campaign can declare bankruptcy. I get three to five emails from his corrupt campaign a day begging for money. It's insane. Sometimes I write nasty things back, even though I know they won't be read. Just blowing off some steam and anger.
Facebook Says it Will Stop Operating in Europe If Regulators Don't Back Down
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/889pk3/facebook-threatens-to-pull-out-of-europe-if-it-doesnt-get-its-way
China forces 500,000 Tibetans into labour camps
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/china-forces-500-000-tibetans-into-labour-camps-20200922-p55xyk.html
Manhattan DA Argues in Appellate Brief That He Needs Trump's Tax Returns as Part of 'Criminal Tax Fraud' Investigation
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/manhattan-da-argues-in-appellate-brief-that-he-needs-trumps-tax-returns-as-part-of-criminal-tax-fraud-investigation/
Manhattan DA Cites 'Mountain' of Allegations in Request to Access Trump Tax Records
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/manhattan-da-cites-mountain-of-allegations-in-request-to-access-trump-tax-records/2367436/
Trump: 'I'm so angry at Republicans' | The president says his fellow Republicans have let him it down when it comes to investigating Obama and the Bidens
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/21/trump-angry-republicans-419790
An economic crisis in Kentucky has workers, businesses furious with McConnell
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/11/mcconnell-kentucky-coronavirus-aid/
Trump once again dismissing covid19 as a hoax: "It affects virtually nobody," Trump says of the coronavirus, which has now killed 200,000 Americans and counting
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1308209927274536961
The number of new daily confirmed cases in the U.S. has jumped more than 15 percent in the past 10 days. It is the sharpest increase since the late spring, and it has arrived just before the official start of autumn, which is today
After getting busted by the DoJ for laundering Narco money, HSBC promised to walk the straight and narrow. It didn't. #FinCENFiles
https://buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/hsbc-money-laundering-drug-cartels
It's kind of hard to false equivalence exaggerating your status as first in your family to graduate with someone who has bullshited his way through a pandemic that has killed 200,000. You think Cillizza and his ilk won't bothsides the debate claims? "Biden made a false statement about college; Trump made a false statement about the deaths of 200,000 Americans. Both candidates have trust issues with voters."
Bloomberg pays fines for 32,000 felons in Florida so they can vot
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/517522-bloomberg-pays-fines-for-32000-felons-in-florida-so-they-can-vote
Why it matters: Trump needs Florida to have any chance of winning, and current polling is pretty evenly split between Trump and Biden.
https://twitter.com/gelliottmorris/status/1304847284811767808
House Democratic Caucus Leaders News Conference
LOL Romney supports holding a vote on next Supreme Court nominee, a lifetime justice, nominated by the man he voted to remove from office. He could, of course, vote against the person, because he supporting hearings and voting based on "qualifications" does not guarantee a yes vote.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/22/romney-supports-holding-a-vote-on-next-supreme-court-nominee-419898
West Michigan man says yard signs were stolen. So he put up Joe Biden freeway billboards
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/21/joe-biden-billboards-newyago-michigan/5845062002/
90 whales dead, rescuers race to save hundreds more off Australia
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/90-whales-dead-australian-rescuers-race-save-hundreds-more-n1240680
Facebook suspends the most important environmental protection groups in existence despite vow to fight misinformation | Groups such as Greenpeace USA, Climate Hawks Vote and Rainforest Action Network were among those blocked from posting or sending messages on Facebook over the weekend. Activists say hundreds of other individual accounts linked to indigenous, climate and social justice groups were also suspended for an alleged "intellectual property rights violation".
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/22/facebook-climate-change-environment-groups-suspended
Archaeologists unearthed 27 sarcophagi in an ancient Egyptian city of the dead. They've been sealed for more than 2,500 years
https://www.businessinsider.com/sealed-sarcophagi-ancient-egypt-discovery-saqqara-2020-9
Four New Supreme Court Justices, No Matter What: The Democrats prefer to whine about Republican extremism rather than retaliate. If the party wins in November, nothing less than absolute ruthlessness will do
https://newrepublic.com/article/159455/supreme-court-packing-expand-four-new-liberal-justices
Dark web drugs raid leads to 179 arrests
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54247529
In Belgium lab, Monkeys have devices drilled and CEMENTED into their skulls in sick experiments
https://www.the-sun.com/news/1507296/monkeys-holes-drilled-skulls-devices-cemented-experiments-belgian/
Biden's response to voters concerned about socialism: 'I beat the socialist.'
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/us/politics/bidens-response-to-voters-concerned-about-socialism-i-beat-the-socialist.html
There are no blue states. There are no red states. There is only The United States and you are the divisive force trying to kill unity. @realDonaldTrump
____________________________
https://newrepublic.com/article/159455/supreme-court-packing-expand-four-new-liberal-justices
David Faris/September 22, 2020
Four New Justices, No Matter What
The Democrats prefer to whine about Republican extremism rather than retaliate. If the party wins in November, nothing less than absolute ruthlessness will do.
The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the most influential Supreme Court justices of all time, is first and foremost a cause for national mourning. But it is also a political opportunity. The Republicans, of course, see it that way—but the Democrats should, too.
Trump has announced he'll nominate Ginsburg's successor by week's end, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to bring that pick to a vote this year—even if it has to be done in the lame-duck session after the election, and even if Republicans lose the Senate and the White House. Despite leading Republicans' sanctimonious arguments in 2016 that a court vacancy must not be filled during an election year, they intend to do exactly that in 2020.
https://www.npr.org/sections/death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/2020/09/21/915383957/mcconnell-reiterates-pledge-to-vote-on-trumps-supreme-court-nominee-this-year
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1307110038612389888
The Republicans, who have fought every political battle of the past dozen years as though it were their last, can be expected to keep their word. But even if they unexpectedly stand down from yet another divisive political escalation, or somehow fail in their effort to replace Ginsburg, Democrats must be prepared to enlarge the Supreme Court—by four justices—if they win resoundingly on November 3.
Such a radical gambit is justified by the fact that America's political institutions this century have consistently translated minority support for Republicans into political majorities. Republican presidential candidates have won the popular vote just once since 1992. Republicans have not won the total popular vote of any three consecutive Senate elections in the twenty-first century, but due to the absurdity of that chamber's composition—where half a million people in Wyoming have the same number of senators as 38 million Californians—they have controlled the chamber more often than not for more than two decades.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/heres-how-fix-senate/579172/
Now 53 Republican senators—several of whom won their seats in achingly close elections that would have gone blue without the Republican voter suppression tactics upheld by the Roberts court, and who represent a minority of the American population—may well confirm another right-wing justice, the third nominated in four years by a president elected by a minority of the American people thanks to the Electoral College, the most plainly undemocratic electoral institution in the democratic world.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/01/Republican-senators-representing-a-minority-of-americans-are-preventing-a-fair-impeachment-trial/
McConnell's quest to fill a Supreme Court vacancy weeks before a presidential election should fuel outrage that finally radicalizes even committed institutionalists. While the Roberts court has issued the occasional heterodox decision, it has always reinforced Republican political power when given the opportunity. In 2010, it overturned decades of campaign finance law so that idle rich people could try to buy our elections, and in 2013 it gutted the Voting Rights Act, allowing states across the South to make it harder for people to vote. This will get worse unless and until Democrats do something about it.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/us/supreme-court-ruling.html
Yet the party, until very recently, seemed oblivious to its predicament. During the early years of Obama's presidency, Democratic elites clung to the outmoded, anti-democratic filibuster in the Senate, allowing Blue Dog Democrats and Republicans to exercise veto power over their agenda. The national party largely ignored Republican voter suppression tactics in the states, even when Republican legislatures were gleefully passing cookie-cutter voter ID laws transparently designed to quash Democratic turnout. The first strict voter ID law was passed in 2005, and Democrats did nothing about it with their towering congressional majorities from 2009 to 2011.
https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id-history.aspx
When, nine months before the 2016 election, McConnell refused to consider Obama's nominee for a critical swing seat on the Supreme Court, it should have been the last straw for Democrats. Merrick Garland would have given liberals their first court majority since the 1960s. McConnell's ruthless maneuver was itself an exercise in manipulating the size of the Supreme Court, shrinking it to eight for more than a year. Yet even then, Democrats refused to threaten court enlargement, choosing instead to issue stern statements of displeasure before meekly rolling over.
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/29/624467256/what-happened-with-merrick-garland-in-2016-and-why-it-matters-now
The good news is that in the interim, court-packing has rapidly gone from a fringe idea to something even normally staid Democrats are embracing. House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler, not exactly known for his bloodthirsty radicalism, made the threat explicitly on Twitter. Other previously tame figures like Senator Richard Blumenthal and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have refused to rule it out when asked directly how they might respond. (Joe Biden has sounded a more cautious note, but refused on Monday to answer a Wisconsin reporter who asked whether he would pack the court.)
https://twitter.com/RepJerryNadler/status/1307379171354652673
https://ctmirror.org/2020/09/19/blumenthal-a-key-figure-in-looming-supreme-court-confirmation-battle-says-hell-fight-like-hell-against-trump-nominee/
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/19/rbg-supreme-court-replacement-fight-senate-418438
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/22/biden-supreme-court-filibuster-ginsburg-419832
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/21/biden-supreme-court-packing-419826
Court-packing is gloriously legal. Unless Republicans indicate an openness to a compromise constitutional amendment to end lifetime tenure for justices, it is the only way Democrats can avenge years of Republican nihilism and avert a 6–3 conservative Supreme Court majority that strikes down whatever ambitious Democratic laws may come. That's why, if the Democrats win the Senate and Joe Biden wins the White House, they should pass a court-packing bill soon after the new Congress is sworn in on January 3. Biden should then give Neil Gorsuch and whoever replaces Ginsburg two weeks to resign before he signs the bill and relegates them both to writing lonely dissents on a court with a 7–6 liberal majority.
Critics of court-packing argue that Republicans will inevitably return the favor. So what? At least that would produce courts that are more responsive to public opinion rather than serving as the last redoubt for a long-expired political majority. And if Democrats use their newfound power to address other features of the electoral system that give Republicans an asymmetrical advantage in national elections—by enacting statehood to D.C. and Puerto Rico, passing a new voting rights act, and implementing national ranked-choice voting, for instance—it could be many years before the Republican controls Congress and the presidency at the same time, for the very simple reason that Republicans are likely to continue to be unpopular and will rarely win at all in a reformed electoral system.
https://www.amazon.com/Kids-Are-All-Left-America/dp/1612198201
If Republicans are somehow unable to fill Ginsburg's seat either before or after a Trump loss, it will almost certainly deflate the court-packing movement. It shouldn't. The Republican will still have its ill-gotten 5–4 majority, and that narrower majority could wreak havoc on Democratic policies. These right-wing ideologues have been playing Calvinball with the Affordable Care Act for 11 years, so one can only imagine what they would do to Medicare for All. Kavanaugh and company might also block D.C. statehood, hollow out any new voting rights provisions, and scotch any attempts to reform the electoral process. Remember: The Supreme Court is the fulcrum point of the Republican's power. It will use it to destroy Biden's presidency and ride back to office on a wave of public discontent and disillusionment.
Democrats cannot move this country forward by clinging to long-dead norms that their adversaries gleefully and unapologetically flout at every opportunity. If the Democrats pack the court straight away, voters might already have grown accustomed to it by 2022, while the party shores up its political standing with one social policy after another and take decisive action to ensure future elections are fought on a level playing field. Alternately, in the interest of pleasing Beltway civility umpires, the Democrats can sit back and watch as Republicans stomp out any remaining embers of fairness and equality in America's electoral system.
____________________________
We'll hear lots of high-minded talk during the Supreme Court fight from "conservatives" about the Constitution, the right to life, the rule of law, limited government, honoring the vision of the Founders, etc. Remember that the people making these arguments support Donald Trump
https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1308387219447730176
Andrew Yang in an exclusive interview says he wants Democrats to pack the Supreme Court and to put justices on 18-year term limits
https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-yang-supreme-court-term-limits-packing-ruth-bader-ginsburg-2020-9
Coronavirus19 vaccine won't bring about 'fairytale' ending to pandemic, quit pretending it will
Dame Emma Thompson (Goneril) said, "Lear is an appalling man. And he's abused his children to such a degree that they are also appalling. Goneril is the mirror into which Lear looks and goes 'I don't like that'."
Sir Anthony Hopkins has said of the Lear story, "It's not about royalty and Kings. It's about a terrible family. Lear is a dangerous man. He drinks too much, gets violent, is impossible. He wants to hang on to his power because it gives him meaning."
It's a comfortable world in that it's wealthy, but it's not a psychologically comfortable world."
Sad that Gen. Kellogg is telling a bald faced lie to protect the President. I resigned on my own accord & was asked to stay. He never escorted me out. He knows this. I wrote a note thanking all the colleagues who had worked so hard with me in spite of POTUS & I stand by that. 🇺🇸
https://twitter.com/OliviaTroye/status/1308475119262748674
I received this as a gift from Gen Kellogg & as you can see I appreciated it! This gift is not the action of someone who did what Kellogg claims he did.
https://twitter.com/OliviaTroye/status/1308475705827655680
Whoa. Texas voter registration has surged to 16.6M! The state has seen its voter registration grow 400,000 just since March, and it's up 1.5M since the '16 presidential. Biggest surge in registrations in presidential cycle since 2000.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Texas-voter-registration-surges-trump-biden-record-15586286.php
Americans Overseas Say Trying To Vote In This Year's Election Is A "Massive Shitshow" https://buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/americans-abroad-vote-by-mail-2020-election-usps-covid
GAO just released a big report analyzing the Trump administration's cyber strategy and implementation plan. It says the WH failed to provide key task details and "it remains unclear" which WH official has overall responsibility for USG cyber.
https://twitter.com/ericgeller/status/1308481191620771841
Some details from GAO about the National Cyber Strategy's lack of specifics:
* No performance measures, goals, or timelines for 46 tasks
* No identification of resources needed for 160 tasks
https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/709555.pdf
https://twitter.com/ericgeller/status/1308481948763987968
"Despite earlier promises in Miami that he would not do business in Cuba until the island was 'free,' Donald Trump applied in 2008 to register his Trump trademark in [Cuba to invest in] in real estate, hotels, casinos and golf courses."
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article245902870.html
Republicans plan to ask the Supreme Court to review a major Pennsylvania state court ruling that extended the due date for mail ballots, teeing up the first test for the Supreme Court since the death of Justice Ginsburg.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/517587-gop-will-ask-supreme-court-to-limit-mail-voting-in-pennsylvania-in
Gingrich and Tancredo called Sotomayor an anti-white bigot. Limbaugh said he'd send her some vacuums so she could clean. National Review demanded she Anglicize her name. John Yoo called her an affirmative action pick. Glenn Beck called her a racist *while interviewing you.*
https://twitter.com/radleybalko/status/1308480650777948161
This is not just for procedure nerds! Folks have been wondering if Senate Democrats would use anything in their (very limited) toolkit to slow McConnell's role: Some NEWS that only procedure nerds will care about! Senate Democrats invoked the two-hour rule to prevent committees from meeting as a protest tactic on the SCOTUS fight, per Democratic leadership aide.
https://twitter.com/seungminkim/status/1308471894992130050
Biden makes push into *rural* America with a radio ad that, notably, talks about restoring vitality to the area so everyone's kids don't move away.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article245908610.html
Can we please stop pandering to supposed "white moderates" like Mitt Romney when it's always clear that their real allegiance is to their own patriarchy and consolidation of power? White moderate gonna White moderate. That's why Martin Luther King Jr., said what he said.
The real toll of Covid-19 is even higher than 200,000. Between mid-March and late August, 259,000 more Americans have died than would in a normal year. https://nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/05/us/coronavirus-death-toll-us.html
Robert Kraft likely to not be prosecuted for raping a minor
https://nypost.com/2020/09/21/robert-kraft-likely-to-get-off-in-florida-massage-parlor-case/
Know what else doesn't look so bad for the Raiders anymore? The Khalil Mack trade. They wound up with ...
• RB Josh Jacobs
• CB Damon Arnette
• WR Bryan Edwards
• A 6th-rounder used get TE Foster Moreau in the 4th.
Mack turns 30 in February
And that's nothing against Mack. Great player. Bears did well to get him. But the equation for the Raiders had to be: How much will Mack have left when we're ready to contend? And will that be worth the $$$? Instead of Mack, they have 4 really good young players on rookie deals.
Local cop's son shows off the Biden signs he and his friends stole, then tags the accomplices on his Instagram post. Because, y'know... Law & Order. Hey @MarysvilleOHPD. You know where he lives. When can we pick up our signs?
https://twitter.com/OhioUnionCoDems/status/1308492367406788608
NFL illegally and unconstitutionally fined three head coaches - - Denver's Vic Fangio, Seattle's Pete Carroll and SF's Kyle Shanahan - $100,000 each for not wearing masks Sunday, and each of their teams another $250,000, sources told ESPN.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1308218983724789760
Tel Aviv set to become first city with electric roads that charge public transportation
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/22/business/tel-aviv-electric-charging-road/index.html
(Falcons) are the first team in NFL history to score 39 points, commit zero turnovers, and lose. Before today, teams that did that were 440-0."
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/9/21/21448621/the-winners-and-losers-of-nfl-week-2
How did Jim Caldwell (36-28) record get fired after a 9-7 season? Patricia has still not surpassed the totals wins from Caldwell's final season.
MLB Commissioner: Commissioner says MLB plans to have fans at NLCS, ALCS, World Series
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/09/22/mlb-plans-to-have-fans-at-nlcs-world-series-rob-manfred/3493056001/
Chiefs fan who attended game tests positive for Covid-19 and now everyone who sat near him is in quarantine
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/us/chiefs-nfl-covid-spt-trnd/index.html
https://www.kcmo.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1446/16
He fought wildfires while imprisoned. California reported him to Ice for deportation
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/22/california-inmate-firefighter-ice-deportation
I'm a life-long Republican. I'm worried, and I'm voting for Biden. Dear Trump voters: I'm an American just like you. I'm concerned about our country, just like you. I'm a lifelong Republican, just like many of you. I'm a Protestant Christian believer, just like many of you. I have Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim and non-believer family and friends. We are all Americans. I'm opposed to abortion, just like many of you. I believe in exceptions for rape, incest, health of the mother and inability of the fetus to survive outside the womb. I believe better than legislation, good health care and free birth control are the key to reduced abortions. Free birth control is in current federal law. Protection for pre-existing conditions is in current Federal Law. The current administration should stop trying to take that away from us. I'm the descendant of immigrants, just like many of you. I have friends that are first generation immigrants, just like many of you. I have family members and friends that are descendants of African slaves, just like many of you. I have family members that are part Native American, just like many of you. I'm a supporter of the U.S. military, just like you. I have veterans and active duty military in my family. I respect our all-volunteer military and our drafted veterans that served, just like you. I'm a straight married guy, just like many of you. Unlike some of you, I have a lesbian family member. I performed her wedding ceremony to her wife a few years ago. I support LGBTQ rights. I'm a white guy, just like many of you. Like many of you, I worry about the safety of my family. I worry about the safety of my extended family. I have an African-American niece and two beautiful African-American grandnieces. I worry about their safety as they grow up. Unlike me, they have to be extra careful in America wherever they go. I support the majority of those serving as our police, just like you. Because I support the police, I want them to operate to protect all Americans. Because for years now, African-Americans are shot and killed by police at two and a half times the rate of whites like me, my nephew and niece have to teach their African-American daughters extra safety measures. As they grow older, unless we change policing, they will be in danger of being shot and killed by police for being American while Black. I support the peaceful Black Lives Matters demonstrators fighting for changes in policing. I'm on Social Security, just like many of you. I'm concerned about the security of the Social Security Trust Fund, just like many of you. I'm concerned about medical costs, just like many of you. I'm on Medicare and worried about Medicare funding, just like many of you. I'm very concerned about our national debt, just like many of you. In fact, one of the very few times I didn't vote Republican for President, I voted for Ross Perot, because I was concerned about the national debt. I am very concerned about the 2017 tax cut because it did not turn out as promised. The individual tax cut was limited, small and temporary. The corporate tax cut was huge and permanent. More than half of it was used by large corporations to buy back their own stocks, instead of new investments and improved workers' wages. It did not pay for itself as promised. It's adding $1.5 to $2 trillion to our national debt. I'm concerned about Covid-19, just like many of you. I'm concerned about this pandemic that has already killed 200,000 Americans. I'm 68 and I'm scared. I have decided this year to vote Democrat for President, as many other lifelong Republicans are doing. Please join me and vote Biden/Harris. They will lead us better than the current administration. Chuck Eddy is a former Republican Congressional Candidate in Lexington.
https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article245916245.html
HOLY FUCK LOLLLL CORRUPTION AT ITS FINEST: Alaska's Sen. Murkowski Says She Can't Rule Out Voting for Trump's Supreme Court Pick
https://www.ktoo.org/2020/09/22/alaskas-sen-murkowski-says-she-cant-rule-out-voting-for-trumps-supreme-court-pick/
The NBA's goal for 2020-21, Silver said, remains playing a "standard season" ... meaning 82 games plus playoffs. Silver, though, acknowledged to Costas that it will most likely be a 2021 season with no games played in 2020 after completion of the NBA Bubble schedule in October
https://twitter.com/TheSteinLine/status/1308436497574621188
The Detroit Lions haven't won a game since October 27th, 2019. Since the Lions last win, every NFL team, every MLB team, every NHL team, every MLS team and every WNBA team has won at least one game
https://twitter.com/tommybeer/status/1307808915170775041
Blake Bortles is signing a one-year deal with the Denver Broncos this week, per source. Should be finalized this week.
https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1308406351153049604
If the McConnell Rule Is Dead, Court-Packing Is Permitted
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/mcconnell-hypocrisy-rbg-trump-democrats-court-packing.html
North Carolina State Board of Elections Updates Cure Process to Ensure More Lawful Votes Count
https://www.ncsbe.gov/news/press-releases/2020/09/22/state-board-updates-cure-process-ensure-more-lawful-votes-count
https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/Requests/Joint%20Motion%20for%20Entry%20of%20Consent%20Judgment.pdf
Wonder why we see so few Biden flags? They're sold out
Susan Collins will vote against Trump's SC nominee before election, says Republicans needs to play by same rules as Garland
https://www.newsweek.com/susan-collins-will-vote-against-trumps-sc-nominee-before-election-says-gop-needs-play-same-1533696
Processed meat was classified as Group 1, carcinogenic to humans. What does this mean? This category is used when there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. In other words, there is convincing evidence that the agent causes cancer. The evaluation is usually based on epidemiological studies showing the development of cancer in exposed humans. In the case of processed meat, this classification is based on sufficient evidence from epidemiological studies that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer.
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-on-the-carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat
Colombian elected officials are increasingly involved in nd helped create Trump's 'socialismo' scare campaign against Joe Biden.
https://www.wlrn.org/2020-09-22/is-colombia-interfering-in-the-u-s-election-in-florida-with-tactics-it-exported-to-florida
Michael Gove has written to the U.K. border industry warning of 7,000-truck-long queues in a reasonable worst-case Brexit scenario
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-22/u-k-s-gove-warns-of-7-000-truck-long-queue-in-brexit-worst-case
Canada at 'crossroads' as COVID-19 cases surge
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-canada-idUSKCN26D2I9
The WH has tapped Ryan Maue, a non-scientist who dismisses links between extreme weather and climate change and dismisses the need for deep fossil fuels cuts, as NOAA chief scientist.
The CIA assessed in late August that Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials are "probably" directing a Russian operation to intervene in the election by discrediting Joe Biden.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/cia-assessed-putin-likely-directing-russian-effort-discredit-biden-say-n1240762
Our Every Last Vote fund is almost at $1 million to register voters in PA, MI, WI, and TX. Every two dollars we reach one potential voter. Quick little calculation, beep bop boop, with your help we can reach half a million possible voters in swing states.
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/r2v_vsa_general
McEnany, today: "The president has never downplayed critical health information."
Trump, March 19: "I wanted to always play it down."
In secret tapes, PebbleMine top execs spoke of exerting influence from Juneau to DC. Now that they're public, some of the politicians they said they could manage -- Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan -- are not pleased. | Within a matter of weeks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could grant a permit for the mine. While the agency found in late July that the project would have "no measurable effect" on the area's fish populations, last month it informed Pebble Limited Partnership that it had to do more to show how it would offset the damage caused by the operation. | Thiessen described both of the state's Republican U.S. senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, as politicians who might make noises about the project to appear sensitive to environmental concerns but ultimately won't stand in their way. "It's an age-old practice where when you have constituents, you have important people who support you on two sides of an issue, all right, you try to find a way to satisfy them both," he said in the recording.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/22/pebble-mine-secret-tapes/
One middle-school history lesson on Southern plantations said that "slavery was important to keep the economics going," with limited mention of its impact on enslaved Africans, a video viewed by The Wall Street Journal shows. | The top remote-learning provider at two-thirds of Hawaii schools, serving nearly 80,000 students, carries racist and inaccurate content, parents and educators say. They also question its founder's alleged connection to a religious sect.
https://wsj.com/articles/schools-drop-an-online-curriculum-after-teacher-parent-complaints-11600804539
The FBI released a public service announcement today warning that mail-in ballots "could leave officials with incomplete results on election night," and that foreign actors are likely to spread disinformation about the delays.
The FBI seal.
https://www.axios.com/fbi-cisa-cyber-election-results-distrust-027fc5f3-8ccc-4ce7-9944-a34ea22013ee.html
You lying p.o.s - you hijacked democracy. We know it. @senatemajldr
He (Shitstain McConnell) will pay one way or another, he may might retire stating more family time but please remember his 3 daughters have written him off.
Wish she would have retired under obama when she knew she would be replaced with someone with her values. Now, we're in a state of panic trying to find out if we'll have rights within the next few months
"Birtherism" misinformation about Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, now exceeds that about President Barack Obama at its peak in 2017, according to a new analysis.
https://nytimes.com/2020/09/22/technology/birtherism-lies-kamala-harris.html
Why you should pay attention to Pennsylvania's "naked ballots" in the Trump-Biden race
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/22/hanging-chads-meet-naked-ballots/
Citi has a 104-page report on the economic cost of Black inequality, saying "if four key racial gaps for Blacks — wages, education, housing, and investment — were closed 20 years ago, $16 trillion could have been added to the U.S. economy."
https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1308527673656913925
The Trump administration still hasn't tabbed a "sherpa" for the eventual pick — the person traditionally tasked with getting nominees through a grueling Senate battle — or designated communications staff to help run the campaign, Republicans told Insider.
https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1308533339633209345
Senate Republicans are eyeing a final confirmation vote for Trump's yet-to-be-named SCOTUS nominee around Oct. 29
https://apnews.com/be4aa94786c66bd13763ea8ee30e08a6
The Angels say Andrelton Simmons has opted out of the remainder of the season.
https://twitter.com/fabianardaya/status/1308532390650757120
Did he throw his hat in the trash can on the way out like Gerrit Cole?
Billy Donovan has agreed to a deal to become the next coach of the Chicago Bulls
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1308526104718737415
Nicholas Blastellanos blasts a 2 run homer in the first to give the Reds an early lead
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/59a7a890-d9f3-49eb-bda1-ddd97a2fe2e4.mp4
Bad day at a bad time for Bryce Harper. 0 for 5, left 4 on base, misplayed 3 balls in the outfield.
https://twitter.com/cseidmannbcs/status/1308554020378869763
Byron Buxton (.630) now has a higher slugging percentage than Nelson Cruz (.623), who has the fourth-highest slugging percentage in the league.
https://twitter.com/aarongleeman/status/1308554438660030469
Through 2 games, the Lakers have been whistled for 58 fouls, to Denver's 48. Nuggets have attempted 61 FT's, and LAL 56.
https://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/1308551471135293440
Denver Nuggets Los Angeles Lakers
Game 1 23-28 (82.1%) 27-37 (73.0%)
Game 2 25-33 (75.8%) 18-19 (94.7%)
Total 48-61 (78.7%) 45-56 (80.4%)
Game 1 box score: https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401246234
Game 2 box score: https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401246235
So it appears that the officiating has not been rigged in favor of the Lakers.
YEP: For Republicans, The Real Question Is Why Wouldn't They Fill That Supreme Court Seat?| Putting young, pre-vetted conservatives on the federal bench was an explicit part of the quid pro quo they made with Trump in May 2016
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-supreme-court-quid-pro-quo_n_5f6a6876c5b6189caef930bf
Let me be very clear, @realDonaldTrump: Not a single one of the 200,000 Americans we've lost to this virus was a "nobody."
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1308541590382682113
DeGrom last night: 7IP, 4H, 2ER, 2BB, 14K. Matches career high in strikeouts, season ERA back down to 2.14
Jacob deGrom has had 3 career 14 strikeout games. All three were against Florida teams
The Braves have placed Cole Hamels on the 10-day IL. Hamels shoulder was bothering him today.
The Denver Nuggets kurb-stomp the Los Angeles Lakers 114-106 behind 28/8/12 from Jamal Murray to cut the series to 2-1Spoilers
Jamal Murray hits the deep dagger threeHighlights
https://streamable.com/euzodx
Jokic hits a ridiculous shot over AD
https://streamable.com/43jauf
Murray explodes for the slamHighlights
https://streamable.com/f0ucv4
Murray shakes Caruso and hits a big three to extend the lead to 7
https://streamable.com/6rhcl4
Anthony Davis with only 2 rebounds in 42 minutes in loss to Nuggets
Paul Millsap has won his first career playoff game against LeBron James. Previously 0-10
LeBron banging his head in frustration after the game. LeBron had a triple double.
https://streamable.com/pzmdml
Jerami Grant the unlikely hero with 26/3/1 shooting 7/11
LeBron finds a wide open Kuzma, Kuzma pump fakes nobody and bricks the 3, Murray hits a 3 right after
https://streamable.com/kjqplv
MPJ hits a tough jumper in LeBron's face
https://streamable.com/dz5qwa
Jamal Murray with 28 points (10-17 FG) 9 rebounds 12 assists in Nuggets win vs Lakers
Jokic hits the runner with Lebron in his face
https://streamable.com/cx5lkg
Jerami Grant 'fouls' AD on the 3 point attemp
https://streamable.com/6ckuex
The Denver Nuggets out-rebounded the Los Angeles Lakers 44-25 (9-4 OREB)
Jamal Murray: "We had Game 2. I thought we played great Game 2. We just had breakdowns that really hurt us. We feel like we should be up 2-1 right now, to be honest."
Four Lakers just stand around and let Murray get the offensive rebound
https://streamable.com/0dybig
LeBron tackles Gary Harris while trying to get his own rebound, no whistle called
https://streamable.com/xvowae
Jamal Murray's playoff run so far (17-game stretch): 27/5/7/1 on 51/48/88 (63% TS)
Dwight Howard loses the ball out of boundsHighlights
https://streamable.com/lwoam9
Grant takes it away then finishes with Lebron in pursuit
https://streamable.com/aa64wn
Murray elbowed LeBron in the face
https://streamable.com/gzd78q
Murray: "I didn't think I had a good game in total, to be honest with you. I didn't really get everybody organized, and I had too many live-ball turnovers that led to easy two points. That happened consecutive times, so I felt that there were stints in the game where I could've been a lot better."
The Lakers did nearly eliminate a 20-point deficit within a couple of minutes in the 4th, they came within 3 points of tying near the very very end, the Nuggets won because Grant and Murray hit a few last baskets. Also, the referees quit refererring in the second half, there were so many uncalled fouls
Cody Bellinger's last nine games: .387/.500/.580/1.080
https://twitter.com/dodgerinsider/status/1308624496463552513
And then there was one: With the shutout of the Rangers, the only team that hasn't been shut out in 2020 is the Dodgers.
Max Kepler walks off the Tigers
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/576afe3d-f790-4c49-909a-40c829b8b772.mp4
Griffin Canning @ SD: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 10 K, 108 pitches
José "Not an AL MVP candidate" Ramírez walks off the White Sox in extras to send the Clevenaldn Indians to the playoffs
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/538b4a1e-c61c-406b-8ba9-175f128f67dd.mp4
Yadiel Hernandez's first major league home run is a walk-off in the 8th
https://streamable.com/ira38t
Steven Brault against the Cubs tonight: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 SO
Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic say #Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz was drunk-driving when he hit a motorcycle -- killing a 23-year-old, a 20-year-old, and a 19-year-old.
https://twitter.com/JamesSantelli/status/1308570691109879810
Pete Alonso snaps out of a slump with his 13th home run of the season
https://streamable.com/32jz14
Ted Cruz blocked a U.S. Senate resolution to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg, citing a "partisan" amendment
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/22/ted-cruz-supreme-court/
Cindy McCain endorses Biden for president in rebuke of Trump, not that it matters, Republicans never liked McCain to begin with, and she'll still privately vote Republican straight down the ballot because she and her idiot daughter do nothing but attack Democrats all the time
https://apnews.com/6eea561a0fc235651ae6d01b64546492
Mormon Women for Ethical Government urges Romney, Senate to hold off on replacing Ginsburg
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/09/22/mormon-women-ethical/
Louisiana's voter registration portal mysteriously shuts down on National Voter Registration Day
https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/the_latest/article_9a649f8e-fd3e-11ea-b0a4-370a379d0dc9.html
Survey finds "shocking and saddening" lack of Holocaust knowledge amongs young Americans who are generally antisemitic to begin with
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/holocaust-lack-of-awareness-millennials-gen-z/
More than 500 whales stranded in Tasmania in one of world's largest recorded stranding events | Environment
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/500-pilot-whales-stranded-australian-island-state-73181785
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/23/more-than-450-whales-now-stranded-in-tasmania-after-rescuers-discover-pod-of-200-dead
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54260278
French Court Jails Neo-Nazi Apologist and Holocaust Denier for Antisemitic Messages
https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/le-negationniste-ryssen-incarcere-apres-plusieurs-condamnations-pour-des-propos-antisemites-20-09-2020-8388189.php
330 elephant deaths in Botswana caused by toxic blooms in waterholes linked to climate change
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-elephant-deaths-in-botswana-caused-by-toxic-blooms-in-waterholes/
Good but BAN DRUGS ALREADY: E-cigarettes to become available as prescription-only items in Australia from June 2021: The Therapeutic Goods Administration has announced an interim decision to reclassify nicotine as a prescription-only medication
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/23/e-cigarettes-to-become-available-as-prescription-only-items-in-australia-from-june-2021
Wisconsin declares new public health emergency after surge in coronavirus cases among young people
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/us/wisconsin-masks-required-covid-trnd/index.html
Ang Rita Sherpa, the first person to climb Mount Everest 10 times, climbs his last height at 72
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang_Rita_Sherpa
Designed-Democratic-Terrorist-Group QAnon on the ballot: Six Republican-endorsed Minnesota candidates are also ahem FBI-DESIGNATED DOMESTIC TERRORISTS. ARREST THEM AND DUMP THEM IN PRISON. THEY ADVOCATE EXTERMINATING EVERYBODY BUT THEMSELVES. WHICH IS WHY THEY ARE OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED TERRORISTS. PUT THESE PEOPLE IN PRISON ALREADY.
https://www.startribune.com/6-gop-endorsed-candidates-in-minnesota-back-conspiracy-theory-of-qanon/572489641/
ICE Deports LEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH NO CRIMINAL RECORD Who Sued Agents For Assault And Is Scheduled To Appear In Court; The Assault Case Will Be Dismissed If He Does Not Show Up, And How Can He, If He's Deported
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-deports-immigrant-bakhodir-madjitov_n_5f6a30dac5b68400a231f25e
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57db6af7f7e0abec41695d80/t/5f6630d8ff16fc496c8bd4b4/1600532697421/1+-+Complaint.pdf?emci=6df09554-6afb-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=05aff7d4-6cfb-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&ceid=4736701
There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens: Republican-led Senate committees issue report on Bidens, Ukraine
https://apnews.com/989ed1ace4ff7e4e9ab51497b36fd523
Pentagon has started 'prudent planning' for full Afghanistan withdrawal, turning the country over to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/517577-official-pentagon-has-started-prudent-planning-for-full-afghanistan-withdrawal
House passes short-term spending bill to avoid government shutdown
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nancy-pelosi-steve-mnuchin-reach-deal-continuing-resolution/story?id=73178474
_________________________________
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/business/energy-environment/oil-climate-change-us-europe.html
U.S. and European Oil Giants Go Different Ways on Climate Change
While BP and other European companies invest billions in renewable energy, Exxon and Chevron are committed to fossil fuels and betting on moonshots.
By Clifford Krauss
Published Sept. 21, 2020Updated Sept. 22, 2020
As oil prices plunge and concerns about climate change grow, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other European energy companies are selling off oil fields, planning a sharp reduction in emissions and investing billions in renewable energy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/17/business/energy-environment/oil-companies-europe-electric.html
The American oil giants Chevron and Exxon Mobil are going in a far different direction. They are doubling down on oil and natural gas and investing what amounts to pocket change in innovative climate-oriented efforts like small nuclear power plants and devices that suck carbon out of the air.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/business/energy-environment/climate-change-carbon-engineering.html
The disparity reflects the vast differences in how Europe and the United States are approaching climate change, a global threat that many scientists say is increasing the frequency and severity of disasters like wildfires and hurricanes. European leaders have made tackling climate change a top priority while Trump has called it a "hoax" and has dismantled environmental regulations to encourage the exploitation of fossil fuels.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/us/wildfires-live-updates.html
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/408977616926830592
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks.html
As world leaders struggle to adopt coordinated and effective climate policies, the choices made by oil companies, with their deep pockets, science prowess, experience in managing big engineering projects and lobbying muscle may be critical. What they do could help determine whether the world can meet the goals of the Paris agreement to limit the increase of global temperatures to below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/paris-climate-change-guide.html
The big American and European oil and gas companies publicly agree that climate change is a threat and that they must play a role in the kind of energy transition the world last saw during the industrial revolution. But the urgency with which the companies are planning to transform their businesses could not be more different.
"Despite rising emissions and societal demand for climate action, U.S. oil majors are betting on a long-term future for oil and gas, while the European majors are gambling on a future as electricity providers," said David Goldwyn, a top State Department energy official in the Obama administration. "The way the market reacts to their strategies and the 2020 election results will determine whether either strategy works."
To environmentalists and even some Wall Street investors, the American oil giants are clearly making the wrong call. In August, for example, Storebrand Asset Management, Norway's largest private money manager, divested from Exxon Mobil and Chevron. And Larry Fink, who leads the world's largest investment manager, BlackRock, has called climate change "a defining factor in companies' long-term prospects."
https://www.wsj.com/articles/norways-biggest-private-money-manager-exits-from-exxon-chevron-over-climate-change-11598294780
https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/larry-fink-ceo-letter
European oil executives, by contrast, have said that the age of fossil fuels is dimming and that they are planning to leave many of their reserves buried forever. They also argue that they must protect their shareholders by preparing for a future in which governments enact tougher environmental policies.
BP is the standard-bearer for the hurry-up-and-change strategy. The company has announced that over the next decade it will increase investments in low-emission businesses tenfold, to $5 billion a year, while shrinking its oil and gas production by 40 percent. Royal Dutch Shell, Eni of Italy, Total of France, Repsol of Spain and Equinor of Norway have set similar targets. Several of those companies have cut their dividends to invest in new energy.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/business/energy-environment/bp-renewable-investment.html
BP tried a transition in the late 1990s and early 2000s under the leadership of John Browne, then chief executive, but financial results from renewables were disappointing, and the company eventually dropped its moniker "Beyond Petroleum."
In an interview, Mr. Browne said this time would be different. "There are many more voices now," he said, adding that the Paris agreement was a watershed, that the economics of renewables have improved and that investor pressure was building.
This month, BP and Equinor announced a partnership to build and operate wind projects along the coasts of New York and Massachusetts. The governors of those states want to reduce their reliance on natural gas, which this effort will aid.
https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/news-and-insights/press-releases/bp-and-equinor-form-strategic-partnership-to-develop-offshore-wind-energy-in-us.html
American oil executives say it would be folly for them to switch to renewables, arguing that it is a low-profit business that utilities and alternative energy companies can pursue more effectively. They say it is only a matter of time before oil and gas prices recover as the pandemic recedes.
For now, Exxon and Chevron are sticking to what they know best, shale drilling in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, deepwater offshore production and trading natural gas. In fact, Chevron is acquiring a smaller oil company, Noble Energy, to increase its reserves.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/business/energy-environment/chevron-noble-oil-mergers.html
"Our strategy is not to follow the Europeans," said Daniel Droog, Chevron's vice president for energy transition. "Our strategy is to decarbonize our existing assets in the most cost-effective way and consistently bring in new technology and new forms of energy. But we're not asking our investors to sacrifice return or go forward with three decades of uncertainty on dividends."
Chevron says it is increasing its own use of renewable energy to power its operations. It also says it is reducing emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. And the company has invested more than $1.1 billion in various projects to capture and sequester carbon so it isn't released into the atmosphere.
Its venture capital arm, Chevron Technology Ventures, is investing in new-energy start-ups like Zap Energy, which is developing modular fusion nuclear reactors that release no greenhouse gases and limit radioactive waste. Another, Carbon Engineering, removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to convert into fuel.
All told, Chevron Technology Ventures has two funds with a total of $200 million, about 1 percent of the company's capital and exploration budget last year. The company has a separate $100 million fund to support a $1 billion investment consortium that aims to reduce emissions across the oil and gas industry.
https://oilandgasclimateinitiative.com/
"We need breakthrough technology, and my job is to go find it," said Barbara Burger, president of Chevron Technology Ventures, which employs 60 of Chevron's 44,000 employees. "The transition is not an 11:59-on-Tuesday event. It's going to be gradual, and evolving and continual over decades."
Exxon has also largely steered away from renewables and has instead invested in roughly one-third of the world's limited carbon-capture capacity, which has been so expensive and energy intensive that few companies have been willing to underwrite large-scale projects.
It spends about $1 billion a year on research and development, much of which goes to developing new energy technologies and efficiency improvements that reduce emissions.
One project involves directing carbon emitted from industrial operations into a fuel cell that can generate power. That should reduce emissions while increasing energy production.
In a separate experiment, Exxon recently announced a "big advance" with scientists at University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for developing materials that help capture carbon dioxide from natural-gas power plants with less heating and cooling than previous methods.
The company is also working on strains of algae whose oils can produce biofuel for trucks and airplanes. The plants also absorb carbon through photosynthesis, which Exxon scientists are trying to speed up while producing more oil.
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/business/energy-environment/14fuel.html
"Step 1, you have to do the science, and it is impossible to put a deadline on discovery," said Vijay Swarup, Exxon's vice president for research and development.
Research into fusion, algae and carbon capture has been going on for decades, and many climate experts say those technologies could take decades more to commercialize. That's why many scholars and environmentalists feel the American oil companies are not serious about tackling climate change.
"Oil companies don't do things that put themselves out of business," said David Keith, a Harvard professor of applied physics who founded Carbon Engineering. "That is not the way the world works."
But some energy analysts argue that the American oil companies are right not to rush to change their businesses. They argue that U.S. lawmakers have simply not given them enough incentives to make a radical break.
"If this is the sunset time for oil and gas, someone forgot to tell consumers," said Raoul LeBlanc, a vice president at IHS Markit, a research and consulting firm. He said that while sales of electric cars may have picked up, it would take decades to replace the more than a billion internal-combustion cars on the road now.
It will probably take just as long, if not longer, to replace the large fleets of trucks, airplanes and ships that run on fossil fuels. There ought to be enough demand for oil over the next 30 to 40 years for Exxon and Chevron to exploit their reserves and make money, though the profits will decline over time, said Dieter Helm, an Oxford economist who studies energy policy.
"Investors can invest in Tesla or any renewable or electric company," he said. "Why should an oil firm with the skills for large-scale hydrocarbon developments be able to compete against these new players?"
But Mr. Helm, who published the book "Burn Out: The End Game for Fossil Fuels" in 2017, said he believed that all oil companies had a dim future beyond the next few decades because technology advances would make them obsolete in a world economy dominated by electricity, battery storage, three-dimensional printing, robotics and other breakthroughs. "These companies, in the end, will die."
_________________________________
Pelosi unveils Watergate-style anti-corruption reforms — tailored for the Trump era | The measure, a 158-page Democratic wish list that includes curbs on pardons for close associates of the president, a requirement for campaigns to publicly report many foreign contacts and a requirement for courts to prioritize congressional subpoenas, is House leaders' version of an antidote to what they see as weaknesses in democratic government exposed by President Donald Trump.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/23/pelosi-corruption-reforms-trump-420355
House Democrats Introduce Landmark Reforms Package, the Protecting Our Democracy Act - Reforms to Prevent Presidential Abuses, Restore Checks and Balances, Strengthen Accountability and Transparency, and Protect Elections
https://judiciary.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3362
Reminder: U.S. Admits That Congressman Offered Pardon to Assange If He Helped Republicans Commit Treason By Covering Up Russia Links
https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-admits-that-putins-favorite-congressman-offered-pardon-to-assange-if-he-covered-up-russia-links?via=desktop&source=Reddit
Lukashenko sworn in (I haven't been posting much world news but I have been deeply immersed in following it)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-belarus-election/lukashenko-abruptly-sworn-in-belarus-opposition-calls-for-more-protests-idUSKCN26E1BH
West Virginia has stopped reporting school-related covid19 cases, despite governor's transparency pledge
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/education/wv-has-stopped-reporting-school-related-covid-19-cases-despite-governor-s-transparency-pledge/article_57c74086-21eb-5e37-9f2b-4cee6b1c08e4.html
Murray now has eight clutch-time 3-pointers this postseason, second most in a single postseason over the past 20 years behind only Stephen Curry's nine (2016)
Two Lakers hack Jokic when he loses his balance whole Lakers team ask for a travel
https://streamable.com/20gnwh
Thank you Clippers for losing, Lakers are now the bad guy again and everything is right with the world.
Jerami Grant, who finished with 26 points, was at the free-throw line midway in the second period, and Howard uttered an obscene remark in the direction of the officials. It was apparently so off-putting that official Marc Davis shouted, "Hey, cut that out now! Are you serious? I've heard that twice now. Twice. Cut it out now!" Howard got off with a stern warning, but he was visibly irritated. Howard's energy in the second quarter and his ability to match up physically with Jokic has been a bright spot for the Lakers. Losing him at that juncture would have completely disrupted Vogel's substitution pattern. Rondo is constantly shadowing Howard and is in his ear about toning down some of his antics. Howard's newly discovered enforcer role has been effective, but he'll have to temper it and remain focused.
Officials for Celtics/Heat Game 4 tonight: Scott Foster Tony Brothers Tre Maddox
https://twitter.com/KeithSmithNBA/status/1308763650077929472
Grand jury indicts 1 officer on criminal charges 6 months after Breonna Taylor fatally shot by police in Kentucky
https://apnews.com/66494813b1653cb1be1d95c89be5cf3e
FDA must do more to ban thousands of chemicals added to your food
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/health/chemicals-in-food-fda-petition-wellness/index.html
Missouri governor's wife tests positive for covid19
https://fox2now.com/news/national/teresa-parson-wife-of-governor-parson-tests-positive-for-covid-19/
Biden Launches Small Business Push With Yang | Joe Biden's campaign on Wednesday will seek to strike a contrast with President Donald Trump on the economy by highlighting the Democratic nominee's commitment to helping small businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign will initiate an advisory council on small businesses and entrepreneurship that includes the owner of a Miami empanada company, as well as former 2020 presidential candidates Andrew Yang and John Hickenlooper, who's now running for Senate in Colorado. Biden's team will also begin to broadcast a set of four ads across Arizona, North Carolina and Pennsylvania that feature owners who are struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic. A pair of Washington Post-ABC polls of voters in Arizona and Florida published Wednesday underscored that Trump's strongest issue remains the national economy, despite disapproval of his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Former Vice President Biden has repeatedly raised concerns about the challenges that small businesses are facing, as well as their difficulty in accessing Paycheck Protection Program loans.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-23/biden-launches-small-business-push-with-yang-ice-cream-moguls
https://www.newsweek.com/andrew-yang-becomes-eighth-former-democratic-presidential-candidate-join-joe-bidens-team-1533830
Trump's state and national legal teams are already laying the groundwork for postelection maneuvers that would circumvent the results of the vote count in battleground states. Ambiguities in the Constitution and logic bombs in the Electoral Count Act make it possible to extend the dispute all the way to Inauguration Day, which would bring the nation to a precipice. The Twentieth Amendment is crystal clear that the president's term in office "shall end" at noon on January 20, but two men could show up to be sworn in. One of them would arrive with all the tools and power of the presidency already in hand.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-biden-electoral-count-act-1887/615994/
The Trump campaign is weighing a postelection strategy that would bypass the election results in key swing states and install electors who would vote for the president in the Electoral College, even if he loses the election, according to a report by The Atlantic. | Using a rationale of baseless claims about widespread voter fraud and other irregularities with mail ballots, Trump "would ask state legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to choose a slate of electors directly," The Atlantic's Barton Gellman wrote, adding that "the longer Trump succeeds in keeping the vote count in doubt, the more pressure legislators will feel to act before the safe-harbor deadline expires."
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-biden-electoral-college-electors-plan-loyalists-swing-states-2020-9
Dwight bit too hard into his role as an agitator after Game 1. I feel like he's in his head about it now and it's taking away from him playing better. That being said, his energy is still good, and I'm interested to see how he would play with a start
The Lakers nearly wiped out a 20 point deficit in the 4th because they committed endless fouls against the Nuggets to steal ball (physically pushing players down, physically attacking players, etc) and the referees refused to call any of the fouls
LeBron was better last night, but the first two quarters he was still hesitating a lot with his shot and shooting late instead of in rhythm
Over the last two games LeBron has averaged 20 potential assists and only 7.5 actual assists. For reference Murray 15/8 and Jokic 11.5/7. Lakers need to convert more on those FGA that LeBron sets up. The streakiness of the Lakers shooters is definitely hurting them right now (and too bad, I want Denver to win).
The most glaring stat is Lakers got out rebounded 44-25. AD didn't have a single rebound until later in the 4th quarter because I'm guessing he's pulled too far out guarding Jokic. Too little rebounding or rim protection from AD. The Nuggets went harder for more of the game and stayed cohesive until the last few possessions. When a game is about hustle like last night it favours the younger Nuggets team with its depth.
Good, it's what players and teams should do when they know they may be eliminated, keep playing hard regardless: "We're gonna play hard until the end and see if we can shatter a few dreams and be kind of the 'fly in the ointment' for some teams," - Mike Rizzo on the Nationals' late-season-while-not-on-track-to-make-the-playoffs strategy
https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/nationals/mike-rizzo-says-nationals-are-looking-play-spoiler-teams-making-playoff-push
Newsom calls for California ban on new gas-fueled cars by 2035
https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/09/23/newsom-calls-for-california-ban-on-new-gas-fueled-cars-by-2035-1317947
California will halt sales of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced, a move he says will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35% in the nation's most populous state.
https://apnews.com/4956d87b72b000a917eed27392d16d8b
In a first in American history, the United States Senate will publish a report claiming it is their own but our intelligence agencies have concluded is largely sourced and written by the Russians. We may have finally found the bottom
https://twitter.com/joelockhart/status/1308727863441588224
A racist President who lost the popular vote by 3 million and was overwhelmingly rejected in the 2018 midterm is using our courts to steal health care from millions, rollback LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights, overturn Roe v. Wade, and launch voter suppression efforts. He must go.
https://twitter.com/RepJoeKennedy/status/1308828445313503233
It's the part where the corrupted supreme court appoints him as supreme dear leader for life that concerns me the most.
Judge Sullivan in an order says he'll be hearing oral arguments Sept. 29 from DOJ, Michael Flynn and a court-appointed amicus attorney in the ongoing dispute over whether the government can drop the former Trump national security adviser's guilty plea from the Mueller probe.
https://twitter.com/dsamuelsohn/status/1308835523495112706
New Trump-Russia ties emerge from Senate propaganda report on Hunter Biden
https://medium.com/@scott_dworkin/new-trump-russia-ties-emerge-from-senate-propaganda-report-on-hunter-biden-e5f93c3f848c
EXCELLENT Answer: Q: Reaction to Breonna Taylor indictment?
Senator & Dem VP Nominee Kamala Harris: "You know I haven't read it fully yet, but there's no question Breonna Taylor and her family deserve justice yesterday, today, and tomorrow, so I'll review it and then I can say more."
https://twitter.com/jason_donner/status/1308835046133039105
Massive genetic study shows coronavirus is mutating and potentially evolving amid its rapid spread in the U.S.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/23/houston-coronavirus-mutations/
Whatever politicians may say about the timeline for the coronavirus going away, worth paying attention to how companies are making major monetary decisions on the assumption the pandemic will be with us for a long time to come: Disney has delayed several of its major upcoming releases, with "Black Widow" now slated for May 2021 and Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" headed to next December. The shifts also mean new dates for other Marvel releases.
https://apnews.com/aa3666af51b3658e3eb1be7d362a410a
Though the whole world knows his name, no one knows who he is. Here's a thread on my dad, Hunter Biden - free of charge to the taxpayers and free of the corrosive influence of power-at-all-costs politics. The truth of a man filled with love, integrity, and human struggles:
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308823998415933440
My dad has never sought the spotlight. Growing up, when I attended political events with my pop people would ask if I was Beau's daughter or "Beau's brother's daughter." He liked it that way. He found his purpose in doing everything in his power to help Beau achieve his dream.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308823999925956610
He and Beau were one. One heart, one soul, one mind. They grew up with the weight of knowing that each day they lived was a day that their sister, my namesake, and their mother lost. But they had each other and that would be enough. They would make sure it was enough.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824001121312772
After graduating college, not certain what he could do well but certain he wanted to do good, he joined the Jesuit Volunteer Core - A catholic organization working on behalf of marginalized groups and devoted to community and social justice. This is where he would meet my mom.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824002195062784
His dream was to attend Yale Law School, but he was rejected. He started his 1L year at Georgetown instead, he and my mom simultaneously preparing for the start of a family. I was born not just the day of, but in the middle of his civil procedure final exam.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824003251929091
He left the exam and rushed to meet my mother in the hospital. A good family friend still likes to joke about picking him up to take him to the hospital - dressed in a suit too big for him and still in the early days of a life of unknowable adventure.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824004355125249
Later that year, he applied to Yale as a transfer student. He thought he had no chance, but my mom believed in him and, more importantly, them together. For his personal statement, he wrote a poem. Something they encourage you strongly against doing.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824005441400832
He received a letter from Yale saying that the dedication and hard work he had devoted to his study of the law at Georgetown made him more than qualified, but that the poem, unlike anything else they had ever received, earned him a spot at Yale Law.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824006481584128
The 3 of us moved to New Haven into a house that, although no bigger than my freshman year dorm room, was all we needed to call home. Every night they put me to sleep to our anthem - 3 Is A Magic Number, from Schoolhouse Rock.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824007563763724
Supporting the three of us off nothing more than his student loans and the cash he saved working summers through high school and college (often w/ beau, including at a meat packing plant - long story lol), he* graduated from Yale Law. *the three of us
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824008679403520
After graduation, he put his dreams on hold to take a job that would ensure that anything was possible for me and my sisters. He used that money to pay off not only his own student loans, but my uncle Beau's college and law school loans so that he could pursue his dreams too.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824009744748544
When my uncle got sick, my dad never missed a single doctors appointment or chemo treatment. When he got sicker, my dad lived out of a suitcase and slept in the chair next to his hospital bed for two months. He held his hand as he lost his brother and a big piece of himself too.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824010805964800
The pain he has endured would be enough to make a lesser man give up on life all together. But despite the best efforts of an cruel few to destroy a private man, he is sober, happy, and as at peace as ever today because as long his family needs him, he has not lost his purpose.
https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1308824011896492040
A NY judge ordered Eric Trump to answer questions under oath before the election in a fraud investigation into his family's real estate business. Eric Trump must appear for deposition "no later than Oct. 7, 2020."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/nyregion/eric-trump-investigation-election.html
"After phone calls with Jewish lawmakers, Trump has muttered that Jews 'are only in it for themselves' and 'stick together' in an ethnic allegiance that exceeds other loyalties," White House officials report
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-race-record/2020/09/23/332b0b68-f10f-11ea-b796-2dd09962649c_story.html
Recent social media posts claiming @JoeBiden used a teleprompter during an interview with Noticias Telemundo and anchor @jdbalart are absolutely FALSE.
https://twitter.com/TelemundoNews/status/1308829204264484873
And again - anyone can watch this video online! Biden was addressing a voter on the screen pictured in this very tweet. It wasn't a teleprompter.
https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1308840944075145221
Today's grand jury decision not to indict two of the officers doesn't end all the investigations. Here's what we know about how the internal investigations could play out. And FBI investigation is ongoing as well. https://courier-journal.com/story/news/local/breonna-taylor/2020/09/23/whats-next-for-officers-not-indicted-in-breonna-taylor-shooting/5489551002/
"If a project like this can't succeed, it concerns me very much about the future of New York City — a place I've spent my whole life": Leftists Defeat Brooklyn Project That Promised 20,000 Jobs (these people are LEFTISTS, not progressives, Democrats ARE progressive, Sanders and his base are LEFTISTS)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/nyregion/industry-city-rezoning-nyc.html
This is a detailed, reasoned argument against confirming a new justice in an election year when that appointment would flip the balance of power - made by a woman who is a favourite to be appointed in an election year to not only flip the balance of power, but push the power to the extreme right-wing conservative side:
https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/1308840513567682562?
Fellow citizens, are low level drug busts so important to you that you want the police breaking into people's house in the middle of the night and shooting guns at their neighbors during the ensuing confusion? Not to me. Strip the issue of its fraught "racism" framing, which is garbage and terroristic . This tragedy was preventable; We don't, and should not want, the police to engage in these tactics. It's dangerous for everyone—for them, for bystanders—not just suspected drug criminals.
One cop was charged with recklessly endangering the neighbors by shooting wildly, which seems like just the absolute bare minimum accountability citizens should want in this case.
https://reason.com/2020/09/23/grand-jury-charges-1-louisville-police-officer-involved-in-breonna-taylor-shooting-with-wanton-endangerment/
Even if the Breonna Taylor raid was technically not a "no-knock" raid, consider that the denizens of a living unit might be reasonably confused, or fail to understand who was at the door, if police come at midnight, shout "police" and then bang down the door.
NO, REALLY? DRUGS ARE BAD? Using weed during pregnancy linked to psychotic-like behaviors in children, study finds (study of 11,489 children)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/health/weed-pregnancy-childhood-psychosis-trnd-wellness/index.html
Uber, Lyft Give California Republicans Millions While Fighting Driver Reclassification - The Yes on Proposition 22 gave $2 million to the California Republican Party last Friday.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qj4q7p/uber-lyft-give-california-gop-millions-while-fighting-driver-reclassification
What if Trump refuses to concede? I recommend people read the entire Atlantic article this references.
_______________________________
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/
The Election That Could Break America
If the vote is close, Donald Trump could easily throw the election into chaos and subvert the result. Who will stop him?
by Barton Gellman
There is a cohort of close observers of our presidential elections, scholars and lawyers and political strategists, who find themselves in the uneasy position of intelligence analysts in the months before 9/11. As November 3 approaches, their screens are blinking red, alight with warnings that the political system does not know how to absorb. They see the obvious signs that we all see, but they also know subtle things that most of us do not. Something dangerous has hove into view, and the nation is lurching into its path.
The danger is not merely that the 2020 election will bring discord. Those who fear something worse take turbulence and controversy for granted. The coronavirus pandemic, a reckless incumbent, a deluge of mail-in ballots, a vandalized Postal Service, a resurgent effort to suppress votes, and a trainload of lawsuits are bearing down on the nation's creaky electoral machinery.
Something has to give, and many things will, when the time comes for casting, canvassing, and certifying the ballots. Anything is possible, including a landslide that leaves no doubt on Election Night. But even if one side takes a commanding early lead, tabulation and litigation of the "overtime count"—millions of mail-in and provisional ballots—could keep the outcome unsettled for days or weeks.
If we are lucky, this fraught and dysfunctional election cycle will reach a conventional stopping point in time to meet crucial deadlines in December and January. The contest will be decided with sufficient authority that the losing candidate will be forced to yield. Collectively we will have made our choice—a messy one, no doubt, but clear enough to arm the president-elect with a mandate to govern.
As a nation, we have never failed to clear that bar. But in this election year of plague and recession and catastrophized politics, the mechanisms of decision are at meaningful risk of breaking down. Close students of election law and procedure are warning that conditions are ripe for a constitutional crisis that would leave the nation without an authoritative result. We have no fail-safe against that calamity. Thus the blinking red lights.
"We could well see a protracted postelection struggle in the courts and the streets if the results are close," says Richard L. Hasen, a professor at the UC Irvine School of Law and the author of a recent book called Election Meltdown. "The kind of election meltdown we could see would be much worse than 2000's Bush v. Gore case."
A lot of people, including Joe Biden, the Democratic Party nominee, have misconceived the nature of the threat. They frame it as a concern, unthinkable for presidents past, that Trump might refuse to vacate the Oval Office if he loses. They generally conclude, as Biden has, that in that event the proper authorities "will escort him from the White House with great dispatch."
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/when-does-trump-leave-white-house/613060/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-trump-election-military-escort-office/
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/trump-election-refusal-leave.html
http://www.cc.com/episodes/orrm1w/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-june-10--2020---joe-biden-season-25-ep-25114
The worst case, however, is not that Trump rejects the election outcome. The worst case is that he uses his power to prevent a decisive outcome against him. If Trump sheds all restraint, and if his Republican allies play the parts he assigns them, he could obstruct the emergence of a legally unambiguous victory for Biden in the Electoral College and then in Congress. He could prevent the formation of consensus about whether there is any outcome at all. He could seize on that uncertainty to hold on to power.
Trump's state and national legal teams are already laying the groundwork for postelection maneuvers that would circumvent the results of the vote count in battleground states. Ambiguities in the Constitution and logic bombs in the Electoral Count Act make it possible to extend the dispute all the way to Inauguration Day, which would bring the nation to a precipice. The Twentieth Amendment is crystal clear that the president's term in office "shall end" at noon on January 20, but two men could show up to be sworn in. One of them would arrive with all the tools and power of the presidency already in hand.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-biden-electoral-count-act-1887/615994/
"We are not prepared for this at all," Julian Zelizer, a Princeton professor of history and public affairs, told me. "We talk about it, some worry about it, and we imagine what it would be. But few people have actual answers to what happens if the machinery of democracy is used to prevent a legitimate resolution to the election."
Nineteen summers ago, when counterterrorism analysts warned of a coming attack by al‑Qaeda, they could only guess at a date. This year, if election analysts are right, we know when the trouble is likely to come. Call it the Interregnum: the interval from Election Day to the next president's swearing-in. It is a temporal no-man's-land between the presidency of Donald Trump and an uncertain successor—a second term for Trump or a first for Biden. The transfer of power we usually take for granted has several intermediate steps, and they are fragile.
The Interregnum comprises 79 days, carefully bounded by law. Among them are "the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December," this year December 14, when the electors meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to cast their ballots for president; "the 3d day of January," when the newly elected Congress is seated; and "the sixth day of January," when the House and Senate meet jointly for a formal count of the electoral vote. In most modern elections these have been pro forma milestones, irrelevant to the outcome. This year, they may not be.
"Our Constitution does not secure the peaceful transition of power, but rather presupposes it," the legal scholar Lawrence Douglas wrote in a recent book titled simply Will He Go? The Interregnum we are about to enter will be accompanied by what Douglas, who teaches at Amherst, calls a "perfect storm" of adverse conditions. We cannot turn away from that storm. On November 3 we sail toward its center mass. If we emerge without trauma, it will not be an unbreakable ship that has saved us.
https://www.twelvebooks.com/titles/lawrence-douglas/will-he-go/9781538751886/
Let us not hedge about one thing. Donald Trump may win or lose, but he will never concede. Not under any circumstance. Not during the Interregnum and not afterward. If compelled in the end to vacate his office, Trump will insist from exile, as long as he draws breath, that the contest was rigged.
Trump's invincible commitment to this stance will be the most important fact about the coming Interregnum. It will deform the proceedings from beginning to end. We have not experienced anything like it before.
Maybe you hesitate. Is it a fact that if Trump loses, he will reject defeat, come what may? Do we know that? Technically, you feel obliged to point out, the proposition is framed in the future conditional, and prophecy is no man's gift, and so forth. With all due respect, that is pettifoggery. We know this man. We cannot afford to pretend.
Trump's behavior and declared intent leave no room to suppose that he will accept the public's verdict if the vote is going against him. He lies prodigiously—to manipulate events, to secure advantage, to dodge accountability, and to ward off injury to his pride. An election produces the perfect distillate of all those motives.
Pathology may exert the strongest influence on Trump's choices during the Interregnum. Well-supported arguments, some of them in this magazine, have made the case that Trump fits the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy and narcissism. Either disorder, by its medical definition, would render him all but incapable of accepting defeat.
https://medium.com/@vgwcct/a-duty-to-differentially-diagnose-the-validity-underpinning-the-diagnosis-of-the-president-371354142a02
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-mind-of-donald-trump/480771/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/george-conway-trump-unfit-office/599128/
Conventional commentary has trouble facing this issue squarely. Journalists and opinion makers feel obliged to add disclaimers when asking "what if" Trump loses and refuses to concede. "The scenarios all seem far-fetched," Politico wrote, quoting a source who compared them to science fiction. Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, writing in The Atlantic in February, could not bring herself to treat the risk as real: "That a president would defy the results of an election has long been unthinkable; it is now, if not an actual possibility, at the very least something Trump's supporters joke about."
https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/april-may-june-2019/how-trump-could-lose-the-election-and-remain-president/
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/21/trump-election-2020-1374589
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/what-if-he-wont-go/606259/
But Trump's supporters aren't the only people who think extraconstitutional thoughts aloud. Trump has been asked directly, during both this campaign and the last, whether he will respect the election results. He left his options brazenly open. "What I'm saying is that I will tell you at the time. I'll keep you in suspense. Okay?" he told moderator Chris Wallace in the third presidential debate of 2016. Wallace took another crack at him in an interview for Fox News this past July. "I have to see," Trump said. "Look, you—I have to see. No, I'm not going to just say yes. I'm not going to say no."
How will he decide when the time comes? Trump has answered that, actually. At a rally in Delaware, Ohio, in the closing days of the 2016 campaign, he began his performance with a signal of breaking news. "Ladies and gentlemen, I want to make a major announcement today. I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters, and to all the people of the United States, that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election." He paused, then made three sharp thrusts of his forefinger to punctuate the next words: "If … I … win!" Only then did he stretch his lips in a simulacrum of a smile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO4mDcxTfG0
The question is not strictly hypothetical. Trump's respect for the ballot box has already been tested. In 2016, with the presidency in hand, having won the Electoral College, Trump baldly rejected the certified tallies that showed he had lost the popular vote by a margin of 2,868,692. He claimed, baselessly but not coincidentally, that at least 3 million undocumented immigrants had cast fraudulent votes for Hillary Clinton.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/2/d/133Eb4qQmOxNvtesw2hdVns073R68EZx4SfCnP4IGQf8/htmlview#gid=19
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/01/23/at-white-house-trump-tells-congressional-leaders-3-5-million-illegal-ballots-cost-him-the-popular-vote/
All of which is to say that there is no version of the Interregnum in which Trump congratulates Biden on his victory. He has told us so. "The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election," Trump said at the Republican National Convention on August 24. Unless he wins a bona fide victory in the Electoral College, Trump's refusal to concede—his mere denial of defeat—will have cascading effects.
The ritual that marks an election's end took its contemporary form in 1896. On the Thursday evening after polls closed that year, unwelcome news reached the Democratic presidential nominee, William Jennings Bryan. A dispatch from Senator James K. Jones, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, informed him that "sufficient was known to make my defeat certain," Bryan recalled in a memoir.
He composed a telegram to his Republican opponent, William McKinley. "Senator Jones has just informed me that the returns indicate your election, and I hasten to extend my congratulations," Bryan wrote. "We have submitted the issue to the American people and their will is law."
https://books.google.com/books?id=nw0OZXuOmSsC&pg=PA606&lpg=PA606&dq=%22I+hasten+extend+my+congratulations%22&source=bl&ots=C5032-4gSu&sig=KPTEq2-nhODMiCve0NuxRQXG3xk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJhsaO7ZfQAhUH_IMKHTC9ASAQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
After Bryan, concession became a civic duty, performed by telegram or telephone call and then by public speech. Al Smith brought the concession speech to radio in 1928, and it migrated to television soon afterward.
Like other rituals, concessions developed a liturgy. The defeated candidate comes out first. He thanks supporters, declares that their cause will live on, and acknowledges that the other side has prevailed. The victor begins his own remarks by honoring the surrender.
https://time.com/4539461/presidential-concession-speeches-video/
Concessions employ a form of words that linguists call performative speech. The words do not describe or announce an act; the words themselves are the act. "The concession speech, then, is not merely a report of an election result or an admission of defeat," the political scientist Paul E. Corcoran has written. "It is a constitutive enactment of the new president's authority."
In actual war, not the political kind, concession is optional. The winning side may take by force what the losing side refuses to surrender. If the weaker party will not sue for peace, its ramparts may be breached, its headquarters razed, and its leaders taken captive or put to death. There are places in the world where political combat still ends that way, but not here. The loser's concession is therefore hard to replace.
Consider the 2000 election, which may appear at first glance to demonstrate otherwise. Al Gore conceded to George W. Bush on Election Night, then withdrew his concession and fought a recount battle in Florida until the Supreme Court shut it down. It is commonly said that the Court's 5–4 ruling decided the contest, but that's not quite right.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/1857/11/bush-gore-florida-recount-oral-history/614404/?preview=EQ6ikn8ShcVBHKlVZUseae5_-Nw
The Court handed down its ruling in Bush v. Gore on December 12, six days before the Electoral College would convene and weeks before Congress would certify the results. Even with canvassing halted in Florida, Gore had the constitutional means to fight on, and some advisers urged him to do so. If he had brought the dispute to Congress, he would have held high ground as the Senate's presiding officer.
Not until Gore addressed the nation on December 13, the day after the Court's decision, did the contest truly end. Speaking as a man with unexpended ammunition, Gore laid down his arms. "I accept the finality of this outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College," he said. "And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession."
We have no precedent or procedure to end this election if Biden seems to carry the Electoral College but Trump refuses to concede. We will have to invent one.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?161263-1/al-gore-concession-speech
Trump is, by some measures, a weak authoritarian. He has the mouth but not the muscle to work his will with assurance. Trump denounced Special Counsel Robert Mueller but couldn't fire him. He accused his foes of treason but couldn't jail them. He has bent the bureaucracy and flouted the law but not broken free altogether of their restraints.
A proper despot would not risk the inconvenience of losing an election. He would fix his victory in advance, avoiding the need to overturn an incorrect outcome. Trump cannot do that.
But he's not powerless to skew the proceedings—first on Election Day and then during the Interregnum. He could disrupt the vote count where it's going badly, and if that does not work, try to bypass it altogether. On Election Day, Trump and his allies can begin by suppressing the Biden vote.
There is no truth to be found in dancing around this point, either: Trump does not want Black people to vote. (He said as much in 2017—on Martin Luther King Day, no less—to a voting-rights group co-founded by King, according to a recording leaked to Politico.) He does not want young people or poor people to vote. He believes, with reason, that he is less likely to win reelection if turnout is high at the polls. This is not a "both sides" phenomenon. In present-day politics, we have one party that consistently seeks advantage in depriving the other party's adherents of the right to vote.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/21/trump-black-voters-turnout-2016-398520
Just under a year ago, Justin Clark gave a closed-door talk in Wisconsin to a select audience of Republican lawyers. He thought he was speaking privately, but someone had brought a recording device. He had a lot to say about Election Day operations, or "EDO."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am0egba-KNQ
At the time, Clark was a senior lieutenant with Trump's reelection campaign; in July, he was promoted to deputy campaign manager. "Wisconsin's the state that is going to tip this one way or the other … So it makes EDO really, really, really important," he said. He put the mission bluntly: "Traditionally it's always been Republicans suppressing votes … [Democrats'] voters are all in one part of the state, so let's start playing offense a little bit. And that's what you're going to see in 2020. That's what's going to be markedly different. It's going to be a much bigger program, a much more aggressive program, a much better-funded program, and we're going to need all the help we can get." (Clark later claimed that his remarks had been misconstrued, but his explanation made no sense in context.)
https://apnews.com/af2f0ede054d8baebbe1bb6ca47b4895
Of all the favorable signs for Trump's Election Day operations, Clark explained, "first and foremost is the consent decree's gone." He was referring to a court order forbidding Republican operatives from using any of a long list of voter-purging and intimidation techniques. The expiration of that order was a "huge, huge, huge, huge deal," Clark said.
His audience of lawyers knew what he meant. The 2020 presidential election will be the first in 40 years to take place without a federal judge requiring the Republican National Committee to seek approval in advance for any "ballot security" operations at the polls. In 2018, a federal judge allowed the consent decree to expire, ruling that the plaintiffs had no proof of recent violations by Republicans. The consent decree, by this logic, was not needed, because it worked.
The order had its origins in the New Jersey gubernatorial election of 1981. According to the district court's opinion in Democratic National Committee v. Republican National Committee, the RNC allegedly tried to intimidate voters by hiring off-duty law-enforcement officers as members of a "National Ballot Security Task Force," some of them armed and carrying two-way radios. According to the plaintiffs, they stopped and questioned voters in minority neighborhoods, blocked voters from entering the polls, forcibly restrained poll workers, challenged people's eligibility to vote, warned of criminal charges for casting an illegal ballot, and generally did their best to frighten voters away from the polls. The power of these methods relied on well-founded fears among people of color about contact with police.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/election-dirty-tricks/
This year, with a judge no longer watching, the Republicans are recruiting 50,000 volunteers in 15 contested states to monitor polling places and challenge voters they deem suspicious-looking. Trump called in to Fox News on August 20 to tell Sean Hannity, "We're going to have sheriffs and we're going to have law enforcement and we're going to have, hopefully, U.S. attorneys" to keep close watch on the polls. For the first time in decades, according to Clark, Republicans are free to combat voter fraud in "places that are run by Democrats."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/us/Voting-republicans-trump.html
https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-interview-hannity-fox-news-august-20-2020
Voter fraud is a fictitious threat to the outcome of elections, a pretext that Republicans use to thwart or discard the ballots of likely opponents. An authoritative report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, calculated the rate of voter fraud in three elections at between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent. Another investigation, from Justin Levitt at Loyola Law School, turned up 31 credible allegations of voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion votes cast in the United States from 2000 to 2014. Judges in voting-rights cases have made comparable findings of fact.
Nonetheless, Republicans and their allies have litigated scores of cases in the name of preventing fraud in this year's election. State by state, they have sought—with some success—to purge voter rolls, tighten rules on provisional votes, uphold voter-identification requirements, ban the use of ballot drop boxes, reduce eligibility to vote by mail, discard mail-in ballots with technical flaws, and outlaw the counting of ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive afterward. The intent and effect is to throw away votes in large numbers.
These legal maneuvers are drawn from an old Republican playbook. What's different during this cycle, aside from the ferocity of the efforts, is the focus on voting by mail. The president has mounted a relentless assault on postal balloting at the exact moment when the coronavirus pandemic is driving tens of millions of voters to embrace it.
This year's presidential election will see voting by mail on a scale unlike any before—some states are anticipating a tenfold increase in postal balloting. A 50-state survey by The Washington Post found that 198 million eligible voters, or at least 84 percent, will have the option to vote by mail.
https://apnews.com/52e87011f4d04e41bfffccd64fc878e7
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/usps-states-delayed-mail-in-ballots/2020/08/14/64bf3c3c-dcc7-11ea-8051-d5f887d73381_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/vote-by-mail-states/
Trump has denounced mail-in voting often and urgently, airing fantastical nightmares. One day he tweeted, "mail-in voting will lead to massive fraud and abuse. it will also lead to the end of our great republican party. we can never let this tragedy befall our nation." Another day he pointed to an imaginary—and easily debunked—scenario of forgery from abroad: "rigged 2020 election: millions of mail-in ballots will be printed by foreign countries, and others. it will be the scandal of our times!"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/election-officials-contradict-barrs-assertion-that-counterfeit-mail-ballots-produced-by-a-foreign-country-are-a-real-worry/2020/06/02/5ac8d664-a43e-11ea-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html
By late summer Trump was declaiming against mail-in voting an average of nearly four times a day—a pace he had reserved in the past for existential dangers such as impeachment and the Mueller investigation: "Very dangerous for our country." "A catastrophe." "The greatest rigged election in history."
Summer also brought reports that the U.S. Postal Service, the government's most popular agency, was besieged from within by Louis DeJoy, Trump's new postmaster general and a major Republican donor. Service cuts, upper-management restructuring, and chaotic operational changes were producing long delays. At one sorting facility, the Los Angeles Times reported, "workers fell so far behind processing packages that by early August, gnats and rodents were swarming around containers of rotted fruit and meat, and baby chicks were dead inside their boxes."
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/04/09/public-holds-broadly-favorable-views-of-many-federal-agencies-including-cdc-and-hhs/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-20/usps-cutbacks-post-office-chaos
In the name of efficiency, the Postal Service began decommissioning 10 percent of its mail-sorting machines. Then came word that the service would no longer treat ballots as first-class mail unless some states nearly tripled the postage they paid, from 20 to 55 cents an envelope. DeJoy denied any intent to slow down voting by mail, and the Postal Service withdrew the plan under fire from critics.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/post-office-mail-in-voting.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/21/politics/dejoy-election-mail-hearing-fact-check/index.html
If there were doubts about where Trump stood on these changes, he resolved them at an August 12 news conference. Democrats were negotiating for a $25 billion increase in postal funding and an additional $3.6 billion in election assistance to states. "They don't have the money to do the universal mail-in voting. So therefore, they can't do it, I guess," Trump said. "It's very simple. How are they going to do it if they don't have the money to do it?"
What are we to make of all this?
In part, Trump's hostility to voting by mail is a reflection of his belief that more voting is bad for him in general. Democrats, he said on Fox & Friends at the end of March, want "levels of voting that, if you ever agreed to it, you'd never have a Republican elected in this country again."
https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-interview-fox-and-friends-march-30-2020
Some Republicans see Trump's vendetta as self-defeating. "It to me appears entirely irrational," Jeff Timmer, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, told me. "The Trump campaign and RNC and by fiat their state party organizations are engaging in suppressing their own voter turnout," including Republican seniors who have voted by mail for years.
But Trump's crusade against voting by mail is a strategically sound expression of his plan for the Interregnum. The president is not actually trying to prevent mail-in balloting altogether, which he has no means to do. He is discrediting the practice and starving it of resources, signaling his supporters to vote in person, and preparing the ground for post–Election Night plans to contest the results. It is the strategy of a man who expects to be outvoted and means to hobble the count.
Voting by mail does not favor either party "during normal times," according to a team of researchers at Stanford, but that phrase does a lot of work. Their findings, which were published in June, did not take into account a president whose words alone could produce a partisan skew. Trump's systematic predictions of fraud appear to have had a powerful effect on Republican voting intentions. In Georgia, for example, a Monmouth University poll in late July found that 60 percent of Democrats but only 28 percent of Republicans were likely to vote by mail. In the battleground states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, hundreds of thousands more Democrats than Republicans have requested mail-in ballots.
http://www.andrewbenjaminhall.com/Thompson_et_al_VBM.pdf
https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_ga_072920/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/23/trump-attacks-mail-ballots-fits-broader-republican-strategy/3310244001/
Trump, in other words, has created a proxy to distinguish friend from foe. Republican lawyers around the country will find this useful when litigating the count. Playing by the numbers, they can treat ballots cast by mail as hostile, just as they do ballots cast in person by urban and college-town voters. Those are the ballots they will contest.
Trump, in other words, has created a proxy to distinguish friend from foe. Republican lawyers around the country will find this useful when litigating the count. Playing by the numbers, they can treat ballots cast by mail as hostile, just as they do ballots cast in person by urban and college-town voters. Those are the ballots they will contest.
The battle space of the Interregnum, if trends hold true, will be shaped by a phenomenon known as the "blue shift."
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/brace-blue-shift/615097/
Edward Foley, an Ohio State professor of constitutional law and a specialist in election law, pioneered research on the blue shift. He found a previously unremarked-upon pattern in the overtime count—the canvass after Election Night that tallies late-reporting precincts, unprocessed absentee votes, and provisional ballots cast by voters whose eligibility needed to be confirmed. For most of American history, the overtime count produced no predictably partisan effect. In any given election year, some states shifted red in the canvass after Election Day and some shifted blue, but the shifts were seldom large enough to matter.
Two things began to change about 20 years ago. The overtime count got bigger, and it trended more and more blue. In an updated paper this year, Foley and his co-author, Charles Stewart III of MIT, said they could not fully explain why the shift favors Democrats. (Some factors: Urban returns take longer to count, and most provisional ballots are cast by young, low-income, or mobile voters, who lean blue.) During overtime in 2012, Barack Obama strengthened his winning margins in swing states like Florida (with a net increase of 27,281 votes), Michigan (60,695), Ohio (65,459), and Pennsylvania (26,146). Obama would have won the presidency anyway, but shifts of that magnitude could have changed the outcomes of many a closer contest. Hillary Clinton picked up tens of thousands of overtime votes in 2016, but not enough to save her.
http://www.lawandpolitics.org/hifi/files/content/vol-xxviii-no-4/Foley_Color_1110.pdf
The blue shift has yet to decide a presidential election, but it upended the Arizona Senate race in 2018. Republican Martha McSally seemed to have victory in her grasp with a lead of 15,403 votes the day after Election Day. Canvassing in the days that followed swept the Democrat, Kyrsten Sinema, into the Senate with "a gigantic overtime gain of 71,303 votes," Foley wrote.
https://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/law/students/publications/llj/pdfs/vol-51/issue-2/7_Foley%20(309-362).pdf
It was Florida, however, that seized Trump's attention that year. On Election Night, Republicans were leading in tight contests for governor and U.S. senator. As the blue shift took effect, Ron DeSantis watched his lead shrink by 18,416 votes in the governor's race. Rick Scott's Senate margin fell by 20,231. By early morning on November 12, six days after Election Day, Trump had seen enough. "The Florida Election should be called in favor of Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis in that large numbers of new ballots showed up out of nowhere, and many ballots are missing or forged," he tweeted, baselessly. "An honest vote count is no longer possible—ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!"
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1061962869376540672
Trump was panicked enough by the blue shift in somebody else's election to fabricate allegations of fraud. In this election, when his own name is on the ballot, the blue shift could be the largest ever observed. Mail-in votes require more time to count even in a normal year, and this year there will be tens of millions more of them than in any election before. Many states forbid the processing of early-arriving mail ballots before Election Day; some allow late-arriving ballots to be counted.
Trump's instinct as a spectator in 2018—to stop the count—looks more like strategy this year. "There are results that come in Election Night," a legal adviser to Trump's national campaign, who would not agree to be quoted by name, told me. "There's an expectation in the country that there will be winners and losers called. If the Election Night results get changed because of the ballots counted after Election Day, you have the basic ingredients for a shitstorm."
There is no "if" about it, I said. The count is bound to change. "Yeah," the adviser agreed, and canvassing will produce more votes for Biden than for Trump. Democrats will insist on dragging out the canvass for as long as it takes to count every vote. The resulting conflict, the adviser said, will be on their heads.
"They are asking for it," he said. "They're trying to maximize their electoral turnout, and they think there are no downsides to that." He added, "There will be a count on Election Night, that count will shift over time, and the results when the final count is given will be challenged as being inaccurate, fraudulent—pick your word."
The worst case for an orderly count is also considered by some election modelers the likeliest: that Trump will jump ahead on Election Night, based on in-person returns, but his lead will slowly give way to a Biden victory as mail-in votes are tabulated. Josh Mendelsohn, the CEO of the Democratic data-modeling firm Hawkfish, calls this scenario "the red mirage." The turbulence of that interval, fed by street protests, social media, and Trump's desperate struggles to lock in his lead, can only be imagined. "Any scenario that you come up with will not be as weird as the reality of it," the Trump legal adviser said.
https://www.axios.com/bloomberg-group-trump-election-night-scenarios-a554e8f5-9702-437e-ae75-d2be478d42bb.html
Election lawyers speak of a "margin of litigation" in close races. The tighter the count in early reports, and the more votes remaining to count, the greater the incentive to fight in court. If there were such a thing as an Election Administrator's Prayer, as some of them say only half in jest, it would go, "L-rd, let there be a landslide."
Could a landslide spare us conflict in the Interregnum? In theory, yes. But the odds are not promising.
It is hard to imagine a Trump lead so immense on Election Night that it places him out of Biden's reach. Unless the swing states manage to count most of their mail-in ballots that night, which will be all but impossible for some of them, the expectation of a blue shift will keep Biden fighting on. A really big Biden lead on Election Night, on the other hand, could leave Trump without plausible hope of catching up. If this happens, we may see it first in Florida. But this scenario is awfully optimistic for Biden, considering the GOP advantage among in-person voters, and in any case Trump will not concede defeat. This early in the Interregnum, he will have practical options to keep the contest alive.
Both parties are bracing for a torrent of emergency motions in state and federal courts. They have already been skirmishing from courthouse to courthouse all year in more than 40 states, and Election Day will begin a culminating phase of legal combat.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/14/us/politics/biden-legal-challenges-trump.html
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/court-cases/voting-rights-litigation-2020
Mail-in ballots will have plenty of flaws for the Trump lawyers to seize upon. Voting by mail is more complicated than voting in person, and technical errors are commonplace at each step. If voters supply a new address, or if they write a different version of their name (for example, by shortening Benjamin to Ben), or if their signature has changed over the years, or if they print their name on the signature line, or if they fail to seal the ballot inside an inner security envelope, their votes may not count. With in-person voting, a poll worker in the precinct can resolve small errors like these, for instance by directing a voter to the correct signature line, but people voting by mail may have no opportunity to address them.
During the primaries this spring, Republican lawyers did dry runs for the November vote at county election offices around the country. An internal memo prepared by an attorney named J. Matthew Wolfe for the Pennsylvania Republican Party in June reported on one such exercise. Wolfe, along with another Republican lawyer and a member of the Trump campaign, watched closely but did not intervene as election commissioners in Philadelphia canvassed mail-in and provisional votes. Wolfe cataloged imperfections, taking note of objections that his party could have raised.
There were missing signatures and partial signatures and signatures placed in the wrong spot. There were names on the inner security envelopes, which are supposed to be unmarked, and ballots without security envelopes at all. Some envelopes arrived "without a postmark or with an illegible postmark," Wolfe wrote. (Watch for postmarks to become the hanging chads of 2020.) Some voters wrote their birthdate where a signature date belonged, and others put down "an impossible date, like a date after the primary election."
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/08/bush-gore-florida-recount-oral-history/614404/
Some of the commissioners' decisions "were clear violations of the direction in and language of the election code," Wolfe wrote. He recommended that "someone connected with the party review each application and each mail ballot envelope" in November. That is exactly the plan.
Legal teams on both sides are planning for simultaneous litigation, on the scale of Florida during the 2000 election, in multiple battleground states. "My money would be on Texas, Georgia, and Florida" to be trouble spots, Myrna Pérez, the director of voting rights and elections at the Brennan Center, told me.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/11/15/its-insanity-how-brooks-brothers-riot-killed-recount-miami/
There are endless happenstances in any election for lawyers to exploit. In Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, not far from Wolfe's Philadelphia experiment, the county Republican committee gathered surveillance-style photographs of purportedly suspicious goings-on at a ballot drop box during the primary. In one sequence, a county employee is described as placing "unsecured ballots" in the trunk of a car. In another, a security guard is said to be "disconnecting the generator which supplies power to the security cameras." The photos could mean anything—it's impossible to tell, out of context—but they are exactly the kind of ersatz evidence that is sure to go viral in the early days of the Interregnum.
The electoral combat will not confine itself to the courtroom. Local election adjudicators can expect to be named and doxed and pilloried as agents of George Soros or antifa. Aggressive crowds of self-proclaimed ballot guardians will be spoiling to reenact the "Brooks Brothers riot" of the Bush v. Gore Florida recount, when demonstrators paid by the Bush campaign staged a violent protest that physically prevented canvassers from completing a recount in Miami-Dade County.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/11/15/its-insanity-how-brooks-brothers-riot-killed-recount-miami/
Things like this have already happened, albeit on a smaller scale than we can expect in November. With Trump we must also ask: What might a ruthless incumbent do that has never been tried before?
Suppose that caravans of Trump supporters, adorned in Second Amendment accessories, converge on big-city polling places on Election Day. They have come, they say, to investigate reports on social media of voter fraud. Counterprotesters arrive, fistfights break out, shots are fired, and voters flee or cannot reach the polls.
Then suppose the president declares an emergency. Federal personnel in battle dress, staged nearby in advance, move in to restore law and order and secure the balloting. Amid ongoing clashes, they stay to monitor the canvass. They close the streets that lead to the polls. They take custody of uncounted ballots in order to preserve evidence of fraud.
"The president can't cancel the election, but what if he says, 'We're in an emergency, and we're shutting down this area for a period of time because of the violence taking place'?" says Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. If you are in Trump's camp and heedless of boundaries, he said, "what I would expect is you're not going to do one or two of these things—you'll do as many as you can."
There are variations of the nightmare. The venues of intervention could be post offices. The predicate could be a putative intelligence report on forged ballots sent from China.
This is speculation, of course. But none of these scenarios is far removed from things the president has already done or threatened to do. Trump dispatched the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and sent Department of Homeland Security forces to Portland, Oregon, and Seattle during summertime protests for racial justice, on the slender pretext of protecting federal buildings. He said he might invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 and "deploy the United States military" to "Democrat-run cities" in order to protect "life and property." The federal government has little basis to intercede during elections, which are largely governed by state law and administered by about 10,500 local jurisdictions, but no one familiar with Attorney General Bill Barr's view of presidential power should doubt that he can find authority for Trump.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/politics/insurrection-act-trump-protesters/index.html
https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-remarks-nationwide-rioting-june-1-2020
With every day that passes after November 3, the president and his allies can hammer home the message that the legitimate tabulation is over and the Democrats are refusing to honor the results. Trump has been flogging this horse already for months. In July he tweeted, "Must know Election results on the night of the Election, not days, months, or even years later!"
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1288933078287745024?s=20
Does it matter what Trump says? It is tempting to liken a vote count to the score at a sporting event. The losing coach can bellyache all he likes, but when the umpire makes the call, the game is over. An important thing to know about the Interregnum is that there is no umpire—no singular authority who can decide the contest and lay it to rest. There is a series of lesser officiants, each confined in jurisdiction and tangled in opaque rules.
Trump's strategy for this phase of the Interregnum will be a play for time as much as a concerted attempt to squelch the count and disqualify Biden votes. The courts may eventually weigh in. But by then, the forum of decision may already have moved elsewhere.
The Interregnum allots 35 days for the count and its attendant lawsuits to be resolved. On the 36th day, December 8, an important deadline arrives.
At this stage, the actual tabulation of the vote becomes less salient to the outcome. That sounds as though it can't be right, but it is: The combatants, especially Trump, will now shift their attention to the appointment of presidential electors.
December 8 is known as the "safe harbor" deadline for appointing the 538 men and women who make up the Electoral College. The electors do not meet until six days later, December 14, but each state must appoint them by the safe-harbor date to guarantee that Congress will accept their credentials. The controlling statute says that if "any controversy or contest" remains after that, then Congress will decide which electors, if any, may cast the state's ballots for president.
We are accustomed to choosing electors by popular vote, but nothing in the Constitution says it has to be that way. Article II provides that each state shall appoint electors "in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct." Since the late 19th century, every state has ceded the decision to its voters. Even so, the Supreme Court affirmed in Bush v. Gore that a state "can take back the power to appoint electors." How and when a state might do so has not been tested for well over a century.
https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/article/article-ii
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/531/98/
Trump may test this. According to sources in the Republican Party at the state and national levels, the Trump campaign is discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority. With a justification based on claims of rampant fraud, Trump would ask state legislators to set aside the popular vote and exercise their power to choose a slate of electors directly. The longer Trump succeeds in keeping the vote count in doubt, the more pressure legislators will feel to act before the safe-harbor deadline expires.
To a modern democratic sensibility, discarding the popular vote for partisan gain looks uncomfortably like a coup, whatever license may be found for it in law. Would Republicans find that position disturbing enough to resist? Would they cede the election before resorting to such a ploy? Trump's base would exact a high price for that betrayal, and by this point party officials would be invested in a narrative of fraud.
The Trump-campaign legal adviser I spoke with told me the push to appoint electors would be framed in terms of protecting the people's will. Once committed to the position that the overtime count has been rigged, the adviser said, state lawmakers will want to judge for themselves what the voters intended.
"The state legislatures will say, 'All right, we've been given this constitutional power. We don't think the results of our own state are accurate, so here's our slate of electors that we think properly reflect the results of our state,' " the adviser said. Democrats, he added, have exposed themselves to this stratagem by creating the conditions for a lengthy overtime.
"If you have this notion," the adviser said, "that ballots can come in for I don't know how many days—in some states a week, 10 days—then that onslaught of ballots just gets pushed back and pushed back and pushed back. So pick your poison. Is it worse to have electors named by legislators or to have votes received by Election Day?"
When The Atlantic asked the Trump campaign about plans to circumvent the vote and appoint loyal electors, and about other strategies discussed in the article, the deputy national press secretary did not directly address the questions. "It's outrageous that President Trump and his team are being villainized for upholding the rule of law and transparently fighting for a free and fair election," Thea McDonald said in an email. "The mainstream media are giving the Democrats a free pass for their attempts to completely uproot the system and throw our election into chaos." Trump is fighting for a trustworthy election, she wrote, "and any argument otherwise is a conspiracy theory intended to muddy the waters."
In Pennsylvania, three Republican leaders told me they had already discussed the direct appointment of electors among themselves, and one said he had discussed it with Trump's national campaign.
"I've mentioned it to them, and I hope they're thinking about it too," Lawrence Tabas, the Pennsylvania Republican Party's chairman, told me. "I just don't think this is the right time for me to be discussing those strategies and approaches, but [direct appointment of electors] is one of the options. It is one of the available legal options set forth in the Constitution." He added that everyone's preference is to get a swift and accurate count. "If the process, though, is flawed, and has significant flaws, our public may lose faith and confidence" in the election's integrity.
Jake Corman, the state's Senate majority leader, preferred to change the subject, emphasizing that he hoped a clean vote count would produce a final tally on Election Night. "The longer it goes on, the more opinions and the more theories and the more conspiracies [are] created," he told me. If controversy persists as the safe-harbor date nears, he allowed, the legislature will have no choice but to appoint electors. "We don't want to go down that road, but we understand where the law takes us, and we'll follow the law."
Republicans control both legislative chambers in the six most closely contested battleground states. Of those, Arizona and Florida have Republican governors, too. In Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, the governors are Democrats.
Foley, the Ohio State election scholar, has mapped the ripple effects if Republican legislators were to appoint Trump electors in defiance of the vote in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan. The Democratic governors would respond by certifying the official count, a routine exercise of their authority, and they would argue that legislators could not lawfully choose different electors after the vote had taken place. Their "certificates of ascertainment," dispatched to the National Archives, would say that their states had appointed electors committed to Biden. Each competing set of electors would have the imprimatur of one branch of state government.
In Arizona, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who oversees elections, is a Democrat. She could assert her own power to certify the voting results and forward a slate of Biden electors. Even in Florida, which has unified Republican rule, electors pledged to Biden could meet and certify their own votes in hope of triggering a "controversy or contest" that would leave their state's outcome to Congress. Much the same thing almost happened during the Florida recount battle of 2000. Republican Governor Jeb Bush certified electors for his brother, George W. Bush, on November 26 of that year, while litigation of the recount was still under way. Gore's chief lawyer, Ronald Klain, responded by booking a room in the old Florida capitol building for Democratic electors to cast rival ballots for Gore. Only Gore's concession, five days before the Electoral College vote, mooted that plan.
In any of these scenarios, the Electoral College would convene on December 14 without a consensus on who had legitimate claims to cast the deciding votes.
Rival slates of electors could hold mirror-image meetings in Harrisburg, Lansing, Tallahassee, or Phoenix, casting the same electoral votes on opposite sides. Each slate would transmit its ballots, as the Constitution provides, "to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate." The next move would belong to Vice President Mike Pence.
This would be a genuine constitutional crisis, the first but not the last of the Interregnum. "Then we get thrown into a world where anything could happen," Norm Ornstein says.
Two men are claiming the presidency. The next occasion to settle the matter is more than three weeks away.
January 6 comes just after the new Congress is sworn in. Control of the Senate will be crucial to the presidency now.
Pence, as president of the Senate, would hold in his hands two conflicting electoral certificates from each of several swing states. The Twelfth Amendment says only this about what happens next: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted."
Note the passive voice. Who does the counting? Which certificates are counted?
The Trump team would take the position that the constitutional language leaves those questions to the vice president. This means that Pence has the unilateral power to announce his own reelection, and a second term for Trump. Democrats and legal scholars would denounce the self-dealing and point out that Congress filled the gaps in the Twelfth Amendment with the Electoral Count Act, which provides instructions for how to resolve this kind of dispute. The trouble with the instructions is that they are widely considered, in Foley's words, to be "convoluted and impenetrable," "confusing and ugly," and "one of the strangest pieces of statutory language ever enacted by Congress."
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-biden-electoral-count-act-1887/615994/
If the Interregnum is a contest in search of an umpire, it now has 535 of them, and a rule book that no one is sure how to read. The presiding officer is one of the players on the field.
Foley has produced a 25,000-word study in the Loyola University Chicago Law Journal that maps out the paths the ensuing fight could take if only one state's electoral votes are in play.
https://lawecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2719&context=luclj
If Democrats win back the Senate and hold the House, then all roads laid out in the Electoral Count Act lead eventually to a Biden presidency. The reverse applies if Republicans hold the Senate and unexpectedly win back the House. But if Congress remains split, there are conditions in which no decisive outcome is possible—no result that has clear force of law. Each party could cite a plausible reading of the rules in which its candidate has won. There is no tie-breaking vote.
How can it be that Congress slips into unbreakable deadlock? The law is a labyrinth in these parts, too intricate to map in a magazine article, but I can sketch one path.
Suppose Pennsylvania alone sends rival slates of electors, and their 20 votes will decide the presidency.
One reading of the Electoral Count Act says that Congress must recognize the electors certified by the governor, who is a Democrat, unless the House and Senate agree otherwise. The House will not agree otherwise, and so Biden wins Pennsylvania and the White House. But Pence pounds his gavel and rules against this reading of the law, instead favoring another, which holds that Congress must discard both contested slates of electors. The garbled statute can plausibly be read either way.
With Pennsylvania's electors disqualified, 518 electoral votes remain. If Biden holds a narrow lead among them, he again claims the presidency, because he has "the greatest number of votes," as the Twelfth Amendment prescribes. But Republicans point out that the same amendment requires "a majority of the whole number of electors." The whole number of electors, Pence rules, is 538, and Biden is short of the required 270.
On this argument, no one has attained the presidency, and the decision is thrown to the House, with one vote per state. If the current partisan balance holds, 26 out of 50 votes will be for Trump.
Before Pence can move on from Pennsylvania to Rhode Island, which is next on the alphabetical list as Congress counts the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expels all senators from the floor of her chamber. Now Pence is prevented from completing the count "in the presence of" the House, as the Constitution requires. Pelosi announces plans to stall indefinitely. If the count is still incomplete on Inauguration Day, the speaker herself will become acting president.
Pelosi prepares to be sworn in on January 20 unless Pence reverses his ruling and accepts that Biden won. Pence does not budge. He reconvenes the Senate in another venue, with House Republicans squeezing in, and purports to complete the count, making Trump the president-elect. Three people now have supportable claims to the Oval Office.
There are other paths in the labyrinth. Many lead to dead ends.
This is the next constitutional crisis, graver than the one three weeks before, because the law and the Constitution provide for no other authority to consult. The Supreme Court may yet intervene, but it may also shy away from another traumatizing encounter with a fundamentally political question.
Sixty-four days have passed since the election. Stalemate reigns. Two weeks remain until Inauguration Day.
Foley, who foresaw this impasse, knows of no solution. He cannot tell you how we avoid it under current law, or how it ends. It is not so much, at this point, a question of law. It is a question of power. Trump has possession of the White House. How far will he push boundaries to keep it, and who will push back? It is the same question the president has posed since the day he took office.
I hoped to gain some insight from a series of exercises conducted this summer by a group of former elected officials, academics, political strategists, and lawyers. In four days of simulations, the Transition Integrity Project modeled the election and its aftermath in an effort to find pivot points where things could fall apart.
They found plenty. Some of the scenarios included dueling slates of electors of the kind I have described. In one version it was the Democratic governor of Michigan who first resorted to appointing electors, after Trump ordered the National Guard to halt the vote count and a Trump-friendly guardsman destroyed mail-in ballots. John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair in 2016, led a Biden team in another scenario that was prepared to follow Trump to the edge of civil war, encouraging three blue states to threaten secession. Norm-breaking begat norm-breaking. (Clinton herself, in an August interview for Showtime's The Circus, caught the same spirit. "Joe Biden should not concede under any circumstances," she said.)
https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1298023931790712832
A great deal has been written about the proceedings, including a firsthand account from my colleague David Frum. But the coverage had a puzzling gap. None of the stories fully explained how the contest ended. I wanted to know who took the oath of office.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/25/nation/bipartisan-group-secretly-gathered-game-out-contested-trump-biden-election-it-wasnt-pretty/
https://www.ft.com/content/250c79f3-f1e8-4251-a224-ee819c6a1f6b
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/06/what-if-trump-loses-insists-he-won/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/09/03/trump-stay-in-office/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/how-2020-election-could-go-wrong/614842/
I called Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown professor who co-founded the project. Unnervingly, she had no answers for me. She did not know how the story turned out. In half of the simulations, the participants did not make it as far as Inauguration Day.
"We got to points in the scenarios where there was a constitutional impasse, no clear means of resolution in sight, street-level violence," she said. "I think in one of them we had Trump invoking the Insurrection Act and we had troops in the streets … Five hours had gone by and we sort of said, 'Okay, we're done.' " She added: "Once things were clearly off the rails, there was no particular benefit to seeing exactly how far off they would go."
"Our goal in doing this was to try to identify intervention moments, to identify moments where we could then look back and say, 'What would have changed this? What would have kept it from getting this bad?' " Brooks said. The project didn't make much progress there. No lessons were learned about how to restrain a lawless president once a conflict was under way, no alternative moves devised to stave off disaster. "I suppose you could say we were in terra incognita: no one could predict what would happen anymore," Brooks told me in a follow-up email.
The political system may no longer be strong enough to preserve its integrity. It's a mistake to take for granted that election boards and state legislatures and Congress are capable of drawing lines that ensure a legitimate vote and an orderly transfer of power. We may have to find a way to draw those lines ourselves.
There are reforms to consider some other day, when an election is not upon us. Small ones, like clearing up the murky parts of the Electoral Count Act. Big ones, like doing away with the Electoral College. Obvious ones, like appropriating money to help cash-starved election authorities upgrade their operations in order to speed up and secure the count on Election Day.
Right now, the best we can do is an ad hoc defense of democracy. Begin by rejecting the temptation to think that this election will carry on as elections usually do. Something far out of the norm is likely to happen. Probably more than one thing. Expecting otherwise will dull our reflexes. It will lull us into spurious hope that Trump is tractable to forces that constrain normal incumbents.
If you are a voter, think about voting in person after all. More than half a million postal votes were rejected in this year's primaries, even without Trump trying to suppress them. If you are at relatively low risk for COVID-19, volunteer to work at the polls. If you know people who are open to reason, spread word that it is normal for the results to keep changing after Election Night. If you manage news coverage, anticipate extraconstitutional measures, and position reporters and crews to respond to them. If you are an election administrator, plan for contingencies you never had to imagine before. If you are a mayor, consider how to deploy your police to ward off interlopers with bad intent. If you are a law-enforcement officer, protect the freedom to vote. If you are a legislator, choose not to participate in chicanery. If you are a judge on the bench in a battleground state, refresh your acquaintance with election case law. If you have a place in the military chain of command, remember your duty to turn aside unlawful orders. If you are a civil servant, know that your country needs you more than ever to do the right thing when you're asked to do otherwise.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rejected-mail-ballots/2020/08/23/397fbe92-db3d-11ea-809e-b8be57ba616e_story.html
Take agency. An election cannot be stolen unless the American people, at some level, acquiesce. One thing Brooks has been thinking about since her exercise came to an end is the power of peaceful protest on a grand scale. "We had players on both sides attempting to mobilize their supporters to turn out in large numbers, and we didn't really have a good mechanism for deciding, did that make a difference? What kind of difference did that make?" she said. "It left some with some big questions about what if you had Orange Revolution–style mass protest sustained over weeks. What effects would that have?"
Only once, in 1877, has the Interregnum brought the country to the brink of true collapse. We will find no model in that episode for us now.
Four states sent rival slates of electors to Congress in the 1876 presidential race between Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. When a special tribunal blessed the electors for Hayes, Democrats began parliamentary maneuvers to obstruct the electoral count in Congress. Their plan was to run out the clock all the way to Inauguration Day, when the Republican incumbent, Ulysses S. Grant, would have to step down.
Not until two days before Grant's term expired did Tilden give in. His concession was based on a repugnant deal for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, where they were protecting the rights of emancipated Black people. But that was not Tilden's only inducement.
The threat of military force was in the air. Grant let it be known that he was prepared to declare martial law in New York, where rumor had it that Tilden planned to be sworn in, and to back the inauguration of Hayes with uniformed troops.
That is an unsettling precedent for 2021. If our political institutions fail to produce a legitimate president, and if Trump maintains the stalemate into the new year, the chaos candidate and the commander in chief will be one and the same.
This article appears in the November 2020 print edition with the headline "The Election That Could Break America."
Barton Gellman is a staff writer at The Atlantic and author of Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance State and Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency.
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Mike Clevinger final line against LAA: 1 IP, 2 K
D'Antoni has been amongst the five most successful coaches of the decade both in the regular season and in the playoffs though. His style didn't win titles but it achieved the next best thing possible. He has had great playoff runs that had the misfortune of running into the Warriors juggernaut, and even gave that team a reasonable challenge
Republicans enjoy a 53-47 lead over Democrats in the Senate. Given that the Vice President can break any ties, that means the Republicans can lose 3 but not 4 senators. So far only 2 Republican senators have said they don't thing the Senate should consider President Trump's nominee. And it isn't clear where the other 2 would come from. So it does seem likely that if Republicans decide to push through a nominee that's something the Democrats will have to live with. There have certainly been talks of retaliation by serious legal scholars, including court packing, term limits, and even something called "jurisdiction stripping," which limits the kinds of cases the high court can hear. Some of those might require a constitutional amendment. Others--like court packing--can be done through legislation. But it all seems to hinge on Democrats winning in the upcoming election--both in federal and state elections.
How realistic would it be to remove Kavanaugh and whoever replaces RBG on future grounds that the appointments are made by an illegitimate president? The short answer is that it isn't realist at all. Under what is known under as the "political question doctrine" courts shouldn't weigh in on matters that are reserved by the Constitution to the other branches. Basically, this is a political fight, not a judicial one, even though it profoundly affects the judiciary. And so, for instance, President Nixon's last appointee William Rehnquist served on the court until 2005. Congress could seek to impeach those justices, but that's really hard to do. Only one Supreme Court justice has even been impeached—Samuel Chase in 1804. He was later acquitted by the Senate. There were a number of judicial complaints made regarding Justice Kavanaugh's confirmation testimony. Those ended up going no where. Basically, the judicial committee set up to hear these complaints said it didn't have any power to investigation a sitting Supreme Court justice. Exhibit #1 for collapsed US legal system.
The justices will hear the latest PPCA challenge Nov. 10. There are some signs, though, that Obamacare as a whole will survive and maybe by a wide margin. At issue is the "individual mandate." Chief Justice Roberts famously (or infamously) sided with the more liberal justices in initially holding up the mandate as a tax, rather than a penalty, for not purchasing health insurance. Years later, the Republican Congress dropped the tax down to zero. The argument is that the individual mandate can no longer be a tax because it doesn't raise any money. That may be a close call. But there is another issue in the case--namely severability. The question is, if the individual mandate must fall, can the rest of the provisions survive? The justices heard a couple of cases last term dealing with similar issues, and their opinions suggest a majority of the court--even some Republican-appointed justices--may not be willing to go that far. As for Roe... we will see. I do think it is important to note that the justices can drastically scale back abortion rights without having to outright overrule Roe by narrowly applying the ruling to new state abortion restrictions. Recent state restrictions have threatened to curtail abortion access, even while leaving the letter of Roe and the follow up cases in place.
Florida AG calls for investigation into Bloomberg-backed felon voting rights effort
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/florida-ag-calls-investigation-bloomberg-backed-felon-voting-rights-effort-n1240848
Rep. Gaetz: I spoke with Florida attorney general, criminal probe may already be underway for Bloomberg
https://news.yahoo.com/rep-gaetz-spoke-florida-attorney-192332304.html
Missouri Governor Mike Parson, his wife both test positive for COVID-19; governor postpones travel, debate
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/parson-his-wife-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-governor-postpones-travel-debate/article_41f02713-3067-5199-9358-a48af21af2f6.html
Texas Republicans sue to stop Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's extension of early voting period during the pandemic
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/23/texas-republicans-greg-abbott-early-voting/
USPS Regrets Its Transparency, Asks FOIA Requester To Remove 1,200 Pages It Forgot To Withhold
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200922/14434245359/usps-regrets-transparency-asks-foia-requester-to-remove-1200-pages-it-forgot-to-withhold.shtml
Dr. Birx has confided to aides and friends that she's so unhappy with what she sees as her diminished role on the covid19 task force that she's not certain how much longer she can serve. Birx has said she's "distressed" with the direction of the task force.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/23/politics/deborah-birx-white-house-task-force/index.html
Yesterday, false and misleading ballot language for Amendment 3 was issued to voters in Buchanan, Madison, and Vernon Counties, and other counties did not receive their ballots in time for voters to cast their absentee vote. My statement is below. #mogov #Election2020
https://twitter.com/yinka_faleti/status/1308836317816590348
Whether Trumpists or progressives, liberals or conservatives, stay-at-home couch potatoes or in-the-street protesters — yet another Constitution Day has passed with little or no recognition from virtually all of us.
https://www.freedomforum.org/2020/09/21/what-a-rollicking-constitution-day-we-just-had-wow/
My story in the next issue of the magazine on Biden looking to close the deal with Latino voters. The campaign is putting in work, identifying more Latinos to reach, doing massive national internal polls, buoyed by the record August $$ haul https://newsweek.com/joe-biden-tries-close-deal-latino-voters-florida-remains-headache-1533890
https://twitter.com/Carrasquillo/status/1308847553551699969
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https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-tries-close-deal-latino-voters-florida-remains-headache-1533890
Joe Biden Tries to Close the Deal with Latino Voters, As Florida Remains a Headache
By Adrian Carrasquillo On 9/23/20 at 3:07 PM EDT
The Democratic nominee rides discontent with Donald Trump to leads in national polls, with two-thirds of Latino voter support in tow.
That's the story of Hillary Clinton, who looked set to win four years ago, until she didn't.
But to the mounting terror of Democrats, it's also the situation Joe Biden finds himself in as polls have tightened as we are in the general election sprint to November 3. The Biden campaign—eyes wide as they look to upend the electoral map by winning states like Arizona, Georgia, or Texas—publicly waved away concern about the state of the Latino vote for months, until senior advisor Symone Sanders acknowledged the campaign "has work to do" with the community on September 13.
That work accelerated privately at the end of August and into September, with the campaign working to grow its Latino support behind the scenes, efforts that are now partially fueled by its $365 million August fundraising windfall, Newsweek has learned.
In successive weeks, at the end of August and into mid-September, the campaign internally examined ways to turn more Hispanics into Biden voters. During one meeting on September 1, the campaign's senior Latino staff—including deputy campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, senior advisor Cristobal Alex, pollster Matt Barreto, and consultant Adrian Saenz—met with the analytics team to discuss growing the universe of Latino voters being targeted by the campaign, according to sources with knowledge of the meetings.
In other words, the pre-Labor Day meeting was to discuss ways to identify yet more Latino voters to receive ads through digital platforms like Pandora digital radio and Instagram feeds, as well as through phone calls and direct mail.
The timing of the meetings, coming in the final stages of the campaign, reflect how seriously the Biden campaign is now taking the Latino vote. But the campaign has also been dogged by enduring concerns that have persisted since sealing the primary win that it wasn't prioritizing Latino voters or doing enough to court them, fears that are now most pronounced in the perennial battleground state of Florida.
The issue is not whether Biden will win the Latino vote—Democrats always have in modern presidential elections—but whether his campaign will perform well enough with these voters to win critical states like Florida and Arizona, or crushingly fall short yet again.
In Florida, Biden has faced subpar polling compared to Clinton with Latino voters, as well as in the largest Democratic county of Miami-Dade, where Democrats often look to run up the score to beat back Republicans. He also faces charges, aided by disinformation campaigns on social networks and messaging apps, that he is a socialist, anathema to many Latinos who came from socialist Latin American countries and support Trump.
The hopes and fears of this burgeoning group of voters could decide who will be the next president.
Latinos are set to become the largest racial or ethnic group in the 2020 electorate, with a record 32 million eligible voters, comprising 13.3 percent of the electorate, according to Pew Research Center. Since 2000, the share of Latino eligible voters has increased 80 percent, and this cycle their outsized presence is felt most in battlegrounds like Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas—only one of which, Nevada, went for Clinton four years ago.
These voters are not monolithic. While the majority of Latinos are Mexican-American and lean Democratic, there are key differences in a state like Florida, where Cuban-Americans and Puerto Ricans play a major role.
If Biden can improve his performance with Hispanics in the late stages of the race, as his campaign believes he can, he could deal a fatal blow to Trump's reelection chances. But despite their electoral heft, an all-out effort to court Latinos from either campaign has been elusive for much of the cycle. In fact, an August poll by Latino Decisions of 1,842 Hispanic adults found a shocking statistic: Despite campaigns saying all the right things about the importance of the Latino vote in American presidential politics, nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, of registered Latino voters had not heard from either campaign or party.
Coming off a bruising primary, Biden was slow to ramp up his paid media investment in Hispanics, before doing so this summer in seven states; Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Texas, as part of what his campaign calls an "eight figure" Latino voter program. After being outspent on Spanish-language television and radio into the early summer, as Newsweek reported, the Biden campaign outspent Trump $3,523,985 to 2,032,405 from June 23 to September 7, according to a media tracking report used by Democrats.
The messaging of those ads, specifically targeted to Latinos, has been that the president is out of his depth in regards to the coronavirus pandemic—that the nearly 200,000 deaths were largely avoidable—that Trump has targeted and failed the Latino community, and Biden has been a trustworthy man of faith throughout his life.
The campaign says Biden's financial investment in reaching Latinos is "historic," but refuses to provide specific dollar figures despite continual requests from reporters, particularly after Biden's record August haul.
The campaign has hired and elevated Latino staffers, including a slate of Obama alums, into key leadership roles.
Rodriguez, the newly promoted deputy campaign manager and granddaughter of civil rights icon Cesar Chavez, was brought on this Spring to grow the small ranks of influential, senior Latino staffers within the campaign, like senior advisor Cristobal Alex, who was an early campaign hire and liaison to many of the Latino leaders reaching out to the campaign.
"The Latino vote is core to our path to victory, which is why we are focused on mobilizing Latino voters and showing them Joe Biden's solutions for our community," Rodriguez told Newsweek. "We have hired directors focusing on turning out the Latino vote in every major battleground state, and expanded our Latino paid media program to include North Carolina, Minnesota, and Nevada because we know how important it is that we communicate with Latinos where they live and congregate online to tell them about Joe Biden, and ask for their vote."
It is not a reach to predict that Donald Trump is not going to win the Latino vote, but he doesn't need to—he's looking to expand his base support marginally, while denying Biden the wide support past Democrats have enjoyed in bounding to victory. Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller confidently predicted on a call with the reporters on September 1 that the president will garner 40 percent of Hispanic support, which itself would be a sea change, and a figure not seen by a Republican presidential nominee since George W. Bush in 2004.
Biden's support from Latinos hasn't inspired confidence among Democrats, many of whom are gloomily sharing the latest troubling polls in group chats, precisely because it has alternated between looking suspiciously like Clinton's support four years ago or worse. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll conducted September 13 to 16 showed Biden at 62 percent Latino support, with Trump at 26 percent.
Biden is also only up by 28 points in an average of live interview polls, according to a September 15 analysis by CNN, while Clinton was up 37 percent in an average of final pre-election polls.
Pew Research Center has found in the past that about three in 10 Latino voters are conservative, so Trump's 28 percent support in 2016 was not terribly shocking—but election day support in the mid-thirties, as his campaign believes he can attain, would be unexpected for a president who has been described as anti-immigrant and anti-Latino by his opponents. Bush, widely considered the gold standard for "compassionate conservative" outreach to Hispanics, attained 35 percent support in 2000 and 40 percent in 2004.
The issues Latinos care about and have been affected by, like the global pandemic, represent an opportunity for Biden with the community, but he has yet to capitalize on them.
The economy, jobs and healthcare costs have long been three top issues for Latino voters, with immigration a passion point, but lower on the list. As Pew Research Center wrote in August, in a piece entitled "Coronavirus Economic Downturn Has Hit Latinos Especially Hard," Hispanics felt "downbeat" about their finances, and that was before the pandemic.
In addition to being battered economically, Latinos have been disproportionately affected both in terms of infections and death rates, according to government data and polls in recent months. Another Pew Research Center survey released in September found that the number of Latino registered voters who cited the virus as a "very important" election issue was 10 percent higher than U.S. adults broadly.
Voters who didn't take the pandemic seriously had no choice once it hit their communities, friends and families, or invaded their own bodies. Here, Trump's handling of the outbreak has cost him support among hard-hit Latinos.
"With the coronavirus all he cares about is reopening the economy," 74-year-old Atala Suarez, a Cuban-American from Miami who voted for Trump in 2016, but now supports Biden, told Newsweek. "I don't like how he's handled the coronavirus."
Kristin Urquiza, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention, grew up in Maryvale Village in Arizona, which was 70 percent Hispanic, and number one in per capita cases of coronavirus. She told Newsweek her father was still on board with Trump before he got sick. But before he died, after three weeks of battling the virus, Mark Urquiza told her "he had really trusted this guy and he had led him astray."
The Trump campaign recognizes that the pandemic is working against them.
"I think it's our number one impediment to winning," said Trump campaign senior advisor Steve Cortes, of the pandemic's effect on all voters.
But as of yet, the outbreak has not been enough to create a mass movement of Latinos away from the president. Consider that polls have not yet shown the big margins among Latinos that Obama won in his re-election, when he received 71 percent of Latino support, compared to 27 percent for Mitt Romney. Obama's recent high-water mark aside, Biden's numbers also haven't consistently shown the support the Democratic Party garnered from Latino voters in 2018, when they backed Democratic candidate 69 percent to 29 percent for Republicans, according to exit polls.
These uncomfortable truths have led to perhaps the central question keeping Democrats fearful of a second Trump term up at night: If Latinos have been slammed during a pandemic, why isn't Biden's support among Latinos higher?
"I think the Latino community has been so devastated economically, and in terms of their health, that there hasn't been much else on people's minds in the immediate moment," Representative Joaquin Castro told Newsweek. "I'm confident that Latino voter turnout will break records in 2020 and that Joe Biden will do very well with the Latino community."
According to another expert observer, the pandemic and the Latino vote are inseparable.
"The story of what is happening with COVID-19 and what is happening with the Latino vote is the same story, and to treat them as separate phenomena is missing the big picture," said Kristian Ramos, a Latino vote expert in Washington.
He noted that the same community that is facing food and economic anxiety because of the virus is also being asked to learn the ins and outs of vote by mail and early voting. The Latino community has traditionally been harder to reach because general market, English-language messaging isn't enough for robust, targeted outreach.
This new climate has come amid evidence that Hispanics have largely been ignored by campaigns, as the poll revealed.
"It's simply not true to say Latinos don't support Joe Biden," Ramos said. "There is wide support. But the bigger question is are they being reached out to? They have to be wooed and they have to be turned out."
The former vice president's investment in the Latino community has been a persistent source of criticism for his campaign, annoying staffers who feel every story about their level of outreach is negative. Headlines in the spring and summer blared that Biden's Latino outreach is under fire, from "I can't tell what their strategy is'" from Politico to "Crucial Latino voters seek more attention from Biden" from Reuters.
But Newsweek has learned that the concern was not just the province of journalists, and was raised with Biden himself this spring by former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. According to a source with knowledge of the call, it included Reid expressing concern with the state of the Latino vote in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by police, which inflamed the nation.
A second Democratic source, who has spoken with Reid, said that he has been concerned about mobilization efforts to reach Latino voters, including those of the campaign, as well as outside groups and super PACs.
More recently, several Nevada elected officials, including Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto, the first Latina to serve in the U.S. Senate, also expressed concern to the campaign about the state of Latino outreach, two sources close to her team said.
The Latino community is a diverse one, encompassing voters of different ethnicities, immigration background, and language preference. For example, Biden can garner more support from Latinos in the southwest, who are predominantly Mexican-American, but still need to improve his support among other ethnicities.
While Cuban-Americans are a small portion of the Latino electorate nationally, the traditionally more conservative bloc plays an outsized role in Florida. Puerto Ricans, who have been long been considered Democratic stalwarts, turned out at a lower rate than Cubans in 2016 and 2018, and their propensity to register with no party affiliation makes the outlook in the state murky.
The unique makeup of the state's Latino community, which comprises 20 percent of the state electorate, is a reason why some Democrats say the issue of outreach and investment is most concerning in the critical Sunshine state. In Florida, where the winner has been decided by less than 2 percent since 2000, former New York City mayor and presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg pledged $100 million with Latinos as the "centerpiece," after recent polls showed the former vice president underperforming as compared to Clinton in populous Miami-Dade county, and among Hispanics.
A September Bendixen & Amandi/Miami Herald poll showed that while Obama beat Romney by 24 points in Miami-Dade county in 2012, and Clinton beat Trump by 29 points, 63 percent to 34 percent, Biden was only beating Trump by 17 points, 55 percent to 38 percent. Lackluster performance in the county with the most Democratic voters in the state would be an ominous sign for the campaign and is something it's looking to stave off.
September polling by EquisLabs, a political research firm founded by Obama alums Stephanie Valencia and Carlos Odio, found that Biden's numbers are also still not approaching Clinton's 2016 Hispanic support in the state. Biden is at 53 percent Latino support to 37 percent for Trump, a drop from the 62 percent to 35 percent showing four years ago.
The Real Clear Politics polling average, which had Biden up 3.3 percent in Florida in early September is now down to just 1.5 percent, taken with his dip in statewide Latino support and in Miami-Dade as compared to four years ago, it represents an ongoing concern for Democrats and Latino strategists, in spite of the increased investment by party figures like Bloomberg.
But there is another concern for Latino Biden supporters in Florida that lies outside traditional outreach methods: disinformation campaigns on the airwaves and social media.
"Our challenge continues to be a lot of disinformation that is happening in Florida targeting the Latino community," Maria Teresa Kumar, the founder of Voto Latino, told Newsweek., noting that she's seen interviews over the last year of Latinos in Florida who are "parroting" Trump ads. "They have to figure out how to disarm that disinformation," she said of the Biden team.
"I'm worried about it in Florida," said Jose Parra, a former senior advisor to Reid, of Latino investment. "I've heard that we're bleeding voters in Miami-Dade and we're getting hammered on the airwaves in Hispanic media."
That disinformation doesn't just come on traditional media like Spanish-language radio stations, but also on WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube where Latino voters whose families came from Cuba and Venezuela, have been repeatedly told that Biden is a socialist in the mold of Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez. To many, often white Democrats, the idea is silly and dismissed out of hand. Biden is seen as a centrist by many—which led to a rash of criticism from voters on the left—so of course he isn't a socialist, right?
"If you don't believe that the socialism attacks against Democrats work in places like Florida, just ask Governor Andrew Gillum and Senator Bill Nelson," said Florida pollster Fernand Amandi in a tongue-in-cheek response about the two Democrats at the top of the ticket in the Sunshine state in 2018.
Amandi, who was the top consultant for Obama's Latino voter polling during both campaigns, and whose firm conducted the Miami Herald poll, said Democrats dismiss the potency of the word socialism at their own peril. "Those candidacies should have been successful in a massive blue wave year for Democrats, but were tripped up by overperformance by the Republicans with Hispanic voters that used the 'socialism' attack as one of the centerpieces of opposition."
While the Trump campaign doesn't need to prioritize Hispanics in the same way as Biden does, the campaign is also not ceding the voting bloc, seeing the opportunity in Florida and beyond. The campaign told Newsweek it held 45,000 grassroots events in English and Spanish, as well as a "Day of Action Against Socialism" MAGA meet-up "to discuss horrors of socialism and phone bank into Latino communities." It also has 16 field offices targeting Latinos in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Texas.
The campaign said it has held dozens of zoom MAGA meet-ups to discuss the July White House Executive Order on the Hispanic Prosperity Initiative in states like Florida, Nevada and Texas. Trump's executive order, which was unveiled at the White House with fanfare among Hispanic Republican Leaders, created the Hispanic Prosperity Initiative within the Department of Education, to "improve access by Hispanic-Americans to educational and economic opportunities" around school choice and an improved focus on workforce development for students.
The Trump campaign often touts their digital events—like a weekly Latinos for Trump women's meeting every Wednesday, which includes women watching "The Right View," a YouTube show with Lara Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Mercedes Schlapp.
The campaign said it also registered dozens of voters at events in Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, while collecting items to be donated to food banks, evidence that the Trump campaign also recognizes the ways the community has suffered this year. Despite the economic downturn, Latinos for Trump has focused on a "Promises Made, Promises Kept" message.
On September 14, Trump also sat in on a Latinos for Trump roundtable in Phoenix, Arizona, of nearly a dozen community members talking about their American dream.
But Cortes told Newsweek there is also a measure of telling Latino voters why Biden is bad for them, and failing that, at least keeping them home even if they won't vote for Trump, citing the example of disenchanted supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders.
"I don't know that we can win over a lot of those Hispanic Bernie supporters but we can convince them not to vote for Biden," Cortes said. "They're not enthusiastic and Biden's not winning them over. I would rather win them over, but we'll take the half-win of them not voting for Biden."
The Biden campaign has tried outlining Latino-specific policy plans, but it's unclear how much awareness of those plans has penetrated the community. A 2018 report by Stanford University revealed that the number of Hispanic small businesses grew 34 percent over the last decade, while it was just 1 percent for all U.S. business owners.
So when the Biden campaign unveiled a Latino agenda in August, it made sure to include an injection of capital to small businesses of more than $50 billion "in additional public-private venture capital to Latino entrepreneurs and other entrepreneurs of color by funding successful state and local investment initiatives and making permanent the highly effective New Markets Tax Credit."
It also highlighted its support of a $15 minimum wage, a push for a Smithsonian National American Latino Museum, and appointments of Latinos in a future Biden administration.
But one way in which the Clinton campaign appears to have surpassed the Biden Latino operation is in how much it used Latino and Spanish-language media to spread the message of how its policies would impact the community. The Clinton campaign touted then, and former staffers told Newsweek, it had the most "candidate time" given to Latino outlets ever, with Clinton granting interviews to national Univision and Telemundo audiences six times, and speaking to Spanish-language radio hosts across the country from Miami to a small station in Arizona getting a ten-minute interview with Clinton.
A source close to the Biden campaign said staffers have tried to get Biden on Spanish-language television like Univision and Telemundo more often, only to have the idea nixed by other staffers. One possibility is that the campaign was avoiding having Biden get boxed in by questions on immigration, where he is quick to defend his old boss Obama, scoffing at comparisons of his deportation policies and Trump's, but which takes him away from discussing his own plans and policies.
Biden, for example, did not grant an interview to influential Univision host Jorge Ramos until a week before the Nevada caucuses, where he was forced to defend Obama immigration policies, and negative headlines followed.
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment on their Spanish-language and Latino media outreach, compared to the Clinton campaign's, but it did have him sit down with Telemundo's Jose Diaz-Balart, a veteran Cuban-American anchor from Florida, on September 15. Biden used the opportunity to message to Latinos in Florida, saying Trump is treating Puerto Ricans like "second-class citizens," and the University of Puerto Rico "should get the same kind of assistance that historic black colleges and minority universities get."
Asked about Trump's charges that he aligns with the "extreme left," Biden said it is the president who cozies up to dictators.
"He's more like Castro than he is like Churchill," Biden said.
But while there are obstacles with Latinos, there is also promise, and the campaign is banking it can lead to growth of support in the final weeks. Beyond Florida, there are Latino-heavy states like Arizona, where Hispanic voters make up 24 percent of eligible voters that could go a long way towards helping Biden win a state that hasn't gone blue since Bill Clinton in 1996.
In Arizona, Representative Ruben Gallego, a Biden surrogate, said Hispanics, including young Latinos, are activated like never before.
"There was apprehension at the beginning, as the primary wrapped up, because the Biden campaign hadn't ramped up yet," he said. "But there's no way you can say they're not investing enough money in Arizona and Florida now." Gallego predicted that as was the case with the blue wave in 2018, young Latinos would break for Democrats in the end.
Voto Latino, which specializes in courting young Latino voters, says the enthusiasm among young people, particularly Latinas, is real. The group has registered 310,000 people this year, 80 percent of whom are under 33, and 75 percent who are Hispanic women, which could help Biden.
Kumar, who penned an op-ed for CNBC in August calling out Biden's enthusiasm issue with Latinos, said she has seen a "marked difference among enthusiasm with the announcement of Kamala Harris," tying it to her immigrant roots, which resonates in the Latino community.
The Biden campaign has sought to supplement its Spanish-language ads with a clear appeal to young Latinos, using a song from gender-bending, reggaeton and Latin trap superstar Bad Bunny in an anti-Trump ad. The song, which translates to "But Not Anymore," gives voice to Latinos who may have supported Trump, but don't any longer.
While young Latino Biden staffers giddily shared the ad on their Instagram and Twitter accounts, it was also one of the most viewed Biden ads on YouTube the week it was released. The Trump campaign followed with their own Bad Bunny ad, but fans of the artist know he has blasted Trump, including in his latest freestyle song where he insulted Trump and declared "Black Lives Matter."
"His voice is very supportive of causes I support like LGBTQ rights and fighting political corruption in Puerto Rico," Joel Maysonet, director of Latino paid media for the Biden campaign, told Newsweek. "That's why I thought it made sense even though it looked unconventional to have Joe Biden and Bad Bunny."
But the Biden campaign is clearly still looking for ways to get its policies and message in front of more Latino voters. While pollsters this cycle say there are fewer undecided voters than in 2016, the Biden campaign itself believes undecided Latino voters will break for the former vice president in October, according to two sources close to the campaign.
The theory of the case is that Latino voters are late deciders, and as Castro argued, they've been too inundated with health and financial concerns to focus fully on the battle for the White House. "It's a culture—whether campaign culture or the culture of Latino voters—that they're generally responsive later in the cycle," a source close to the campaign said.
One addition the Biden campaign made at the end of July was bringing on Saenz to coordinate direct mail campaigns within states, an operative that brings expertise from the successful Obama campaigns as national Latino vote director, where he helped implement its Hispanic voter program. EquisLabs' Valencia, who worked with Saenz, said that in addition to his work for Obama, he has run campaigns in diverse communities in New Mexico, Texas and Florida, and "understands the diversity and nuance of the Latino electorate."
Saenz is said to be working on a massive direct mail campaign now, Democrats told Newsweek. The campaign also hired Obama veteran Jorge Neri, who helped deliver the virtual convention for Democrats this summer, as senior advisor, and also was an architect of Clinton's 2016 primary win over Sanders in Nevada, with a heavy emphasis on Latinos.
In this final phase, the effort to identify more Latino voters undertaken by Saenz and the other Latino staffers, is being fueled by a newly cash-flush operation. While the campaign won't release specific budgets, the "spending numbers would blow people away—how much we're spending on TV, radio, and digital," a source close to the campaign said.
The campaign is also using its cash advantage to go deeper than it was previously able to when it comes to the sentiments of Latinos across the country. In Florida, it told NBC News it had a new 1,800 Latino voter sample for September—but wouldn't share the findings. That poll followed a robust 3,800 person national Latino poll conducted in August, with a new jumbo-sized 4,200 person poll in the field in nine states, Newsweek has learned.
The spending leads to more data at the campaign's finger tips, which unlocks the capability to do micro-targeted digital outreach, like pieces targeting men, immigrants, or people under the age of 30, a source close to the campaign added.
It's a genuine effort to grow Latino outreach, one the campaign argues it's been doing all along, and Democratic detractors have worried is too little—and now hopefully—not too late. But more than anything, for a party that saw Clinton come up short four years ago, ushering in the age of Trump, it's an effort to identify and reach more Latino voters—before time runs out.
In the campaign's view, however, the muscular rollout is right on schedule.
"You want to hit people when they're paying attention," a campaign source said. "It's like showing a trailer two years before the movie. Instead, you want to ramp up before the premiere day."
__________________________________
the president is saying clearly that part of why he wants to have his allies in the Senate rush confirmation for his choice for the Supreme Court is so that the new justice would potentially be able to turn around and help give him a second term
https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/1308879712450736130
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-23/trump-says-supreme-court-needs-ninth-justice-to-decide-election
The American legal system as currently constructed and the laws it enforces as currently written are not designed to criminally charge police officers who kill people — no matter the circumstance
The former Democratic governor of Oklahoma appears to have a black belt in tweeting.
Down pointing backhand index: My fake, rigged, illegal, dishonest mail in ballot arrived today. It apparently is disguised to look exactly like my normal convenient and safe absentee ballot.
https://twitter.com/DavidLWalters/status/1308590482184900608
Virginia voters do NOT have to have a witness signature on their absentee ballots this fall.
ACB's full comments to CBS News on filling a Supreme Court vacancy following Justice Scalia's death in 2016 (seat should be filled by election winner: Amy Coney Barrett, when asked in 2016 whether a Obama should be able to appoint a Supreme Court justice in a presidential year, said it's inappropriate to replace a conservative justice with one who would "dramatically flip the balance of power."
https://twitter.com/OrganizingPow3r/status/1308769093865156611
here's the full interview. By far the most embarrassing bit is at the beginning when she says Antonin Scalia was always "the smartest [person] in the room"
https://twitter.com/OrganizingPow3r/status/1308787564741091328
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQcsR-hPkLg
RHP, Joe Kelly will start for the #Dodgers tonight instead of LHP Julio Urías.
https://twitter.com/alannarizzo/status/1308884902042107906
Morton showing off "The Stable" T-shirt some Rays pitchers are wearing, a reference to Cash's comments after Yankees game when pitch was thrown at Brosseau's head
https://twitter.com/TBTimes_Rays/status/1308867554849574931
That Hunter Biden Republican Senate Report Reports That Donald Trump Is Unfit For Office
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/biden-ukraine-report-hunterjohnson-republican-burisma-trump.html
Trump announces new sanctions on Cuba to win Florida's Cuban-American voters
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/517786-trump-announces-new-sanctions-on-cuba
Just to let everyone know that the Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron speaking on behalf of the Breonna Taylor case was a guest speaker at the Republican National Convention (giving kudos to Trump) the second night. Recusal? This is just going to hurt Trump and Republicans even more. It certainly won't help him. Seeing the Kentucky AG literally say they can't charge the cops who killed an innocent woman in her own home will not boost Trump/Republican supporters' enthusiasm or give them anymore reasons to vote. However, someone who is undecided, independent or wasn't going to vote, could see this and realize that this is the type of people Trump likes (had him at the RNC) and make them go vote for someone who actually wants this nonsense to stop. This will probably spark more protests and calls for police reform and justice, and we all know Trump cannot handle that.
Iranian tanker violates U.S. sanctions again, carrying Venezuelan crude on the return trip.
https://www.worldoil.com/news/2020/9/23/iranian-tanker-violates-us-sanctions-again-carrying-venezuelan-crude-on-the-return-trip
Go for it, @TheJusticeDept, determine that it's illegal to pay someone else's criminal fines. Oh, one little thing: that would instantly criminalize 8 Del. C. § 145 and the indemnification agreements for directors and officers at every major corporation in America. No biggie: Florida AG just sent this letter to the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement asking them to look into "potential violations of election law." Bloomberg's effort to pay off fines and fees of people w/ felony convictions is the target.
https://twitter.com/TooMuchMe/status/1308849621041590276
Pretty much accurate. I mean—the President spews bigotry and racism at his outdoor events. The crowd cheers when he does so. I would think people who don't hate immigrants or poor people or their neighbours of color would say "yikes. what has this person unleashed?": Joe Biden, speaking in Charlotte, on race relations in America right now: "Average people have gone, 'My lord, holy mackerel. I didn't know it was this bad.'"
https://twitter.com/mviser/status/1308816512006926336
National Park Service is illegally and unconstitutionally allowing for the killing of native elk to appease ranchers
https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/517720-national-park-service-allows-for-the-killing-of
Reminder: E.P.A. Rejects Its Own Findings That a Pesticide Harms Childrens' Brains | The agency's new assessment directly contradicts federal scientists' conclusions five years ago that chlorpyrifos can stunt brain development in young children.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/climate/epa-pesticide-chlorpyrifos-children.html
156 countries joined a major, WHO-led effort to develop and distribute coronavirus vaccines. The US and China aren't among them.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-refusal-to-join-who-vaccine-effort-hurts-us-2020-9
McCarthy threatens long-shot bid to oust Pelosi if Dems impeach over SCOTUS | But even though impeachment is a highly unlikely scenario, McCarthy's warning could help diffuse a potential internal conflict with conservatives, who have been pushing the California Republican to offer a "motion to vacate" the speaker's chair — a procedural move that would require Republicans to get a majority of House members (LOL) to remove Pelosi. And their support will be crucial for McCarthy.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/23/mccarthy-oust-pelosi-democrats-scotus-420556
The Federal Election Commission is asking Mitch McConnell's reelection campaign to answer a number of questions about suspected accounting errors.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1308888879487832066
Republicans are going to try to force electors to vote for him, even if he loses that elector's popular vote.
The Donald Trump civilian militia is on-patrol in Louisville tonight.
https://twitter.com/ChadKMills/status/1308831863977504772
Trump: "Get rid of the ballots... there won't be a transfer" of power
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/trump-refuses-commit-peaceful-transfer-of-power-get-rid-of-ballots.html
Pro-Trump activists plotted violence ahead of Portland rallies | Patriots Coalition members suggested political assassinations and said 'laws will be broken, people will get hurt', leaked chats show | The chats on the GroupMe app, shared with the Guardian by the antifascist group Eugene Antifa, show conversations between Oregon members of the Patriots Coalition growing more extreme as they discuss armed confrontations with leftwing Portland activists, and consume a steady diet of online disinformation about protests and wildfires.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/23/oregon-portland-pro-trump-protests-violence-texts
Reminder: Trump defended Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old supporter of his charged with murdering 2 people in Kenosha
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-defends-kyle-rittenhouse-charged-with-homicide-in-kenosha-2020-8
Worse than that, Proud Boys dressed up as Kyle Rittenhouse before they drove through downtown Portland (with taped off license plates)
https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1308172523012386816
https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1299910947901812737
- Assaulting random people from behind
https://twitter.com/justadog/status/1299906190713913344
- Driving through crosswalks with people in them spraying bear mace at random
https://twitter.com/therealcoryelia/status/1299908378810957825
- Going full speed through crowds
https://twitter.com/david_leavitt/status/1299928007939952641
-They are actively fundraising new weapons while encouraging each other to use explosives.
https://twitter.com/hungrybowtie/status/1308890166476648448
Bryce Harper muscles out his second opposite field home run of the night, and his 13th of the year.
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/c06b8132-16f1-416b-b122-bce878e3a4b1.mp4
Jesus Aguilar and Brian Anderson go back-to-back off Braves ace Max Fried - who hadn't given up a homer all season
Vladimir Guerrero Jr fake-steals from 1st in an attempt to draw... something. Buck Martinez the commentator advises he does not try that again. Vladdy does it again, draws a bad throw and gets a run to score.
https://streamable.com/9afqgj
Joey Votto, 0-22 against the Brewers this year, opens the game up with two run HR to give reds an early lead
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/eac7f4fc-96d3-4a9d-a54f-6cdd22a0ca33.mp4
Mike Trout secures the Angels win and sweep of the Padres with a diving catch
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/58984432-ef36-4b2e-be01-7c19cce8c037.mp4
Fried just walked back to the clubhouse. Luke Jackson is warming. Will provide an update when the Braves provide a reason for Fried's exit.
https://twitter.com/mlbbowman/status/1308913604763299842
Biden on Louisville protests: "they should be peaceful. Do not sully her memory or her mother's by engaging in any violence. It's totally inappropriate for that to happen. She wouldn't want it nor would her mother so I hope they do that."
https://twitter.com/IsaacDovere/status/1308915161751851009
FAUCI to Sen. Paul: "You are not listening ... If you believe that 22% is 'herd immunity', I believe you're alone in that."
https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1308796748190621696
Former QAnon Followers Explain What Drew Them In And Got Them Out
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ex-qanon-followers-cult-conspiracy-theory-pizzagate-1064076/
Shane Bieber's Cy Young Campaign is over: 77.2 IP, 122 SO, 21 BB, 1.63 ERA
Shane Bieber had a decent 2020 regular season: 1.63 ERA, 122 strikeouts, 21 walks, 77 1/3 innings
Trevor Bauer strikes out 3 Brewers in a row with runners on 1st and 3rd, screams for each one.
https://streamable.com/wa4v9w
Holy hell Garrett Crochet is nasty. Drafted in June. Now sitting 100 left-handed with his fastball, dropping 93-mph changeups and flinging 86-mph sliders to show off. He'll be a weapon for the White Sox this October and should be a big part of the reason if they make a deep run.
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1308930612338798598
Biden on Trump declining to commit to peaceful transfer of power: "What country are we in? I'm being facetious. I said what country are we in? Look, he says the most irrational things. I don't know what to say."
https://twitter.com/madeleinerivera/status/1308932660543320065
And Democratgs seal their loss: Louisville police say officer has been shot as protests grow over lack of charges for officers in Breonna Taylor's death.
https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/1308932152185303042
Biden is repeatedly pressed to respond to and denounce looting and riots that happen at these protests while Kyle Rittenhouse becomes a folk hero on the right and militias now roam the streets of cities.
Trevor "Connor McGregor" Bauer strikes out Yelich on three pitches and struts off the field
https://streamable.com/lbaokt
Lucas Giolito final pitching line: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K’s, off of 119 pitches
Trevor Bauer makes a strong final case for the NL Cy Young Award with 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 12 SO on 104 pitches
Garrett Crochet has now thrown 62 pitches in the Majors. 30 of them have been 100+ MPH
https://twitter.com/ckamka/status/1308934975278977026
Jaylen Brown swipes Goran Dragic in the face
https://streamable.com/rt9vfw
Bam Adebayo drains the fadeaway jumper
https://streamable.com/4caz0d
Herro get's stripped but makes the jumper anyways
https://streamable.com/rqflyh
Lakers have issued a complaint to the NBA that Lebron is not getting enough free throws
https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-present-case-nba-regarding-000628370.html
The Miami Heat defeat the Boston Celtics 112-109 behind a heroic 37/6/3 performance by Tyler Herro to take a commanding 3-1 series lead
The Angels, amazingly, will go into the final weekend in a freeway series vs. the Dodgers still alive — 2 1/2 games behind the Astros at 26-31. Jared Walsh, Max Stassi, Griffin Canning and of course Mike Trout have been instrumental in the late run.
https://twitter.com/jonheyman/status/1308960899865206785
For the third time in franchise history and the first time since 2010, the Tampa Bay Rays are the Al East Champions
More than 200 retired generals, admirals endorse Biden, including some who served under Trump
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/more-200-retired-generals-admirals-endorse-biden-including-some-who-n1240842
Ross Stripling records a save in a game where the Blue Jays beat the Yankees 14-1
Kenta Maeda has finished the season with the second best WHIP in MLB history
Zach Greinke with an uneaven season as the vast major-majority of the batters he's facing, he's facing for the first time because he went from NL to AL. Won 3, Lost 3, era 4.03 (35th overall), whip, 1.13 (22nd overall)
Sen. Tammy Duckworth introduces bill to ban camouflage for federal agents (because it makes them look like military when they're not, and scares everybody into staying indoors because they think deranged military soldiers are running loose through their streets gunning people down)
https://www.newsweek.com/sen-tammy-duckworth-introduces-bill-ban-camouflage-federal-agents-1533978
The Pentagon Illegally And Unconsitutionally Spent Its $1 Billion Coronavirus19 Budget On Body Armor And Planes
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/09/22/covid-funds-pentagon/
______________________
Here's why military establishment, including Trump's own appointees, endorsed Biden over Trump:
And here's why:
• Trump referred to to the Marines killed in WWI at the Battle of Belleau Wood as "suckers"
• Trump rejected a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in France because he feared the rain would mess up his hair and referred to America's military dead and injured as "losers"
• Trump knew since Mar 2020 that Russia paid bounties to kill American troops, yet he has done nothing.
• In May 2020, the White House ended National Guard deployments one day before they could claim benefits
• The Trump admin seized 5 million masks intended for VA hospitals. Kushner distributes these masks to private entities for a fee, who then sells the masks to the government
• Trump fired the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt after he warned superiors that COVID19 was spreading among his crew. The virus subsequently spread amongst the crew.
• After Iran's retaliatory strike, 109 US troops suffered brain injuries. Trump dismissed these as "headaches"
• On July 20, 2017, in room 2E924 of the Pentagon, Trump told a room full of Generals, "You're a bunch of dopes and babies"
• Said 26,000 military sexual assaults were to be 'expected' bc America lets women serve
• Invited the Taliban to Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11
• Claimed that his military budget made up for his lack of military experience
• Claimed if a Humvee was hit by an IED, soldiers "go for a little ride upward & they come down."
• Pardoned multiple war criminals, which was a crushing betrayal to the men of the 1st Platoon who helped convict him for violating long standing military values, discipline, and command. (May&Nov, 2019)
• Trump mocked Lt. Col. Vindman for his rank and uniform. He threatened said purple heart officer, resulting in the Army providing him protection
• Trump's Chief of Staff worked—in secret—to deny comprehensive health coverage to Vietnam Vets who suffered from Agent Orange.
• Russia took control of the main U.S. military facility in Syria abandoned on Trump's orders. Russia now owns the airstrip we built
• On Oct 7, 2019, Trump abruptly withdrew support from America's allies in Syria after a phone call with Turkey's president (Erdogan). Turkey subsequently bombed US Special Forces.
• In Sept 2019, he made an Air Force cargo crew to refuel at a commercial airport so they could stay overnight at a Trump property
• In Aug, 2019, emails revealed that three of Trump's Mar-a-Lago pals, who are now running Veterans Affairs, are rampant with meddling.
• Children of deployed US troops are no longer guaranteed citizenship. This includes US troops posted abroad for years at a time (August 28, 2019)
• On Aug 2, 2019, Trump requisitioned military retirement funds towards border wall
• On July 31, 2019, Trump ordered the Navy rescind medals to prosecutors who were prosecuted war criminals
• Trump demanded US military chiefs stand next to him at 4th of July parade (reported July 2, 2019)
• Trump used his D-Day interview at a cemetery commemorating fallen US soldiers to attack a Vietnam veteran (June 6, 2019)
• Trump started his D-Day commemoration speech by attacking a private citizen (Bette Midler, of all people) (reported on June 4th, 2019)
• Trump made his 2nd wife, Marla Maples, sign a prenup that would have cut off all child support if Tiffany joined the military (reported June 4th, 2019)
• On May 27, 2019, Trump turned away US military from his Memorial Day speech bc they were from the destroyer USS John S. McCain
• Trump ordered the USS John McCain out of sight during his visit to Japan (May 15, 2019). The ship's name was subsequently covered. (May 27, 2019)
• Trump purged 200,000 vets' healthcare applications (due to known administrative errors within VA's enrollment system) (reported on May 13, 2019)
• Trump deported a spouse of fallen Army soldier killed in Afghanistan, leaving their daughter parentless (April 16, 2019)
• On March 20, 2019, Trump complained that a deceased war hero didn't thank him for his funeral
• Between 12/22/2018, and 1/25/2019, Trump refused to sign his party's funding bill, which shut down the government, forcing the Coast Guard to go without pay
• He banned service members from serving based on gender identity (1/22/2019)
• He denied female troops access to birth control to limit sexual activity (on-going. Published Jan 18, 2019)
• He increased privatization of the VA, leading to longer waits and higher taxpayer cost (2018)
• He finally visited troops 2 years after taking office, but only after 154 vacation days at his properties (Dec 26, 2018)
• He revealed a covert Seal Team 5 deployment, including names and faces, on Twitter during his visit to Iraq (Dec 26, 2018)
• Trump lied to deployed troops that he gave them a 10% raise (12/26/2018).
• He tried to slash disability and unemployment benefits for Veterans to $0, and eliminate the unemployability extrascheduler rating (Dec 17, 2018)
• He called troops on Thanksgiving and told them he's most thankful for himself (Thanksgiving, 2018)
• He urged Florida to not count deployed military votes (Nov 12, 2018)
• He canceled an Arlington Cemetery visit on Veterans Day due to light rain (Nov 12, 2018)
• While in Europe commemorating the end of WWI, he didn't attend the ceremony at a US cemetery due to the rain -- other world leaders went anyway (Nov 10, 2018)
• He used troops as a political prop by sending them on a phantom mission to the border and made them miss Thanksgiving with their families (Oct-Dec, 2018)
• He stopped using troops as a political prop immediately after the election. However, the troops remained in muddy camps on the border (Nov 7, 2018)
• Trump changed the GI Bill through his Forever GI Act, causing the VA to miss veteran benefits, including housing allowances.(reported October 7, 2018)
• Trump doubled the rejection rate for veterans requesting family deportation protections (July 5, 2018)
• Trump deported active-duty spouses (11,800 military families face this problem as of April 2018)
• He forgot a fallen soldier's name (below) during a call to his pregnant widow, then attacked her the next day (Oct 23-24, 2017)
• said he knows more about ISIS than American generals (Oct 2016)
• On Oct 3, 2016, Trump said vets get PTSD because they aren't strong
• Trump accepted a Purple Heart from a fan at one of his rallies and said: "I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier." (Aug 2, 2016)
• Trump attacks Gold Star families: Myeshia Johnson (gold star widow), Khan family (gold star parents) etc. (2016-present)
• In January 2016, Trump sent funds raised from a veterans benefit to the Donald J Trump Foundation (the foundation was subsequently ordered shut down)
• Trump said he has "more training militarily than a lot of the guys that go into the military" because he went to a military-style academy (2015 biography)
• Trump said he doesn't consider POWs heroes because they were caught. He said he prefers people who weren't caught (July 18, 2015)
• Trump said having unprotected sex was his own personal Vietnam (1998)
• For a decade, Trump sought to kick veterans off of Fifth Avenue because he found them unsightly nuisances. 1991
• Trump dodged the draft 5 times by having a doctor diagnose him with bone spurs.
• No Trump in America has ever served in the military; this spans 5 generations
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Reminder; Excellent News, I need to move to California: California Governor Signs Order Banning Sales Of New Gasoline Cars By 2035
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916209659/california-governor-signs-order-banning-sales-of-new-gasoline-cars-by-2035
Amy Coney Barrett Worked On Bush II v. Gore LOL
https://abovethelaw.com/2020/09/of-course-amy-coney-barrett-worked-on-bush-v-gore/
Bernie Sanders: "If Donald Trump is re-elected, all the progress we've made will be in jeopardy. The future of our Democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake. We must come together to defeat Trump & elect Biden." #ListenToBernie
https://twitter.com/i/status/1308842564271902721
Venezuelan and Cuban expatriates that are now citizens of the US, should be educated on the parallels between the dictators they left behind and Trump. This is a voting block in Florida that should be solidly pro-Biden if they are educated about the blatantly authoritarian character of Donald Trump. Biden or Bloomberg needs to flood Cuban Florida areas with parallels of Trump and Castro.
Biden's child tax-credit plan is a big clue that his agenda could be more progressive than thought
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/24/bidens-child-tax-credit-plan-points-to-progressive-agenda.html
Texas has once again shattered vote registration records, adding more than 1.5 million voters since the last presidential election.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Texas-voter-registration-surges-trump-biden-record-15586286.php
When the president says he wants to "get rid of the ballots," he's saying he does not want to count your vote. 173,000 absentee ballots were reported cast yesterday in North Carolina alone. Those votes matter. Trumpists chanted "lock her up." The Democratic chant should be #CountTheVotes.
Police in Louisville, Ky., respond to vandalism, looting with close to 100 arrests; wounded officers expected to recover.
https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1309098785914654721
Texas is a state where turnout is particularly uncertain and the upside is likely on the side of Mr. Biden. It's something we may think about tailoring a bit more in the future
https://twitter.com/Nate_Cohn/status/1309074392677330946
Covid19 cases are surging again across Europe, and leaders fear a replay of the swamped ICU's in Italy and Spain. For now, countries are betting they can suppress hospital admissions and deaths without imposing more lockdowns, even as case numbers approach peak levels from last spring.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/world/europe/covid-europe-hospitals-lockdowns.html
Throughout this series Jaylen Brown is constantly matched with Crowder or Robinson? He is their best defender by FAR this series and should be matched-up with Butler and Dragic. While the stats.nba.com defensive data isn't perfect, it shows that he allows only 4.0/13.8 shots to opponents If we look at matchups he allows only 3/11 to Butler and 2/10 to Dragic. I'm know the situation isn't as simple as "put Brown on Butler and/or Dragic and Celtics win" but the Celtics would profit a lot by putting Brown on one of those two guys, because whenever that happened in this (and previous) game(s), it yielded a defensive stop.
https://stats.nba.com/player/1627759/head-to-head/?sort=MATCHUP_FGA&dir=1
Tatum has been outmuscled by Butler and Kemba has been outmuscled by both Butler (when they switch) and Dragic.
Regardless, the Miami Heat are locked in and I have no problem with that despite wanting the Celtics to win, for the Brad Stevens vs LeBron match-up. The Miami heat are playing by far better basketball than the Celtics, and clearly have a far far far better mindset during the game. Butler, Iguadala, Herro, Adebayo, Dragic, Robinson, Crowder, etc, they are Finals bound and they earned it. Butler is a major MVP.
After 14 years of hard work and dedication to the #Royals, Alex Gordon is retiring from baseball. Thank you for always giving it your all, Gordo. #4EverRoyal
https://twitter.com/royals/status/1309160888579100672
Full text (English and Spanish) here: "We are 489 retired Generals, Admirals, Senior Noncommissioned Officers, Ambassadors and Senior Civilian National Security Officials supporting Joe Biden for President."
https://www.nationalsecurityleaders4biden.com/
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For anyone that has been paying attention to the rise of authoritarians around the world, the parallels in the US were evident from the beginning. As can be seen in this 2016 article from Francisco Toro (a Venezuelan ex-pat that has been writing about Chavez since he came into power):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2016/10/18/donald-trump-is-no-hugo-chavez-hes-more-like-nicolas-maduro/
Before 2016, no explanation I could give my American friends was enough. Now, every explanation is superfluous. There's no need to go into involved accounts of the way know-nothing populism and us-vs.-them conspiranoia have destroyed the Venezuelan republic since 1998. Now, my American friends can just turn on CNN and watch it happening live.
If anything, though, I think this approach is too harsh on Venezuela. Hugo Chávez, for all his faults, was a much cannier politician than Donald Trump. Whereas Trump has become notorious for his lack of impulse control, Chávez knew how to bide his time. The work of dismantling the previous regime's institutions and assuming dictatorial control of society was carried out in a slow, patient, stepwise fashion. It's hard to imagine Trump having the mastery over his own passions to pull something like that off.
A man who can be provoked by a tweet is not a man with the patience to dismantle the American republic.
For all the obvious similarities, the Trump-Chávez parallel is overplayed. Chávez wove a complicated coalition that brought together civilian leftists, military officers, disenchanted middle-class people and the disenfranchised poor. Trump, by contrast, has taken a complicated, diverse coalition with a record of winning elections … and wrecked it.
Listen to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump discuss some of his foreign policy positions with The Washington Post editorial board. (Photo: Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)
And that's when it hit me: The South American demagogue whom Trump really resembles isn't Chávez. It's his handpicked successor, Nicolás Maduro.
....
For all the differences between the American real estate tycoon and the Marxist bus driver, the thing that makes leaders such as Maduro and Trump genuinely dangerous is their obvious contempt for norms, both formal and informal, of constitutional government. Nothing rings more warning bells to this Venezuelan than hearing Trump promise to do things he plainly lacks the constitutional authority to do. Witness his barely concealed attacks on fundamental freedoms, such as the call to "open up" the libel laws — another area that finds Maduro and Trump in close alignment.
This is in 2016, so let's move ahead until February 2020, before the Coronavirus and the blatant anti-democratic rhetoric (Clifton Ross, a writer in Francisco Toro's blog) writes:
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2020/02/15/beware-your-friend-trump/
Imagine my surprise to hear that my Venezuelan friend's parents like Trump. I suppose that "distance makes the heart grow fonder," since for many years it had the same effect on me vis a vis Chávez. But while we're at trite (but true) aphorisms, let's try "familiarity breeds contempt." It's another way of saying that utopias, heroes and mountains always seem so much nicer at a distance.
It took me years (nearly a decade, in fact) to recognize in Chávez all the disgusting traits I've always seen in Trump: the intellectual laziness, the arrogance, self-righteousness, narcissism; the clownish entertainer's need for attention; the admiration for dictators and autocrats which always indicates a hunger for power; the tolerance for corruption, which always evinces moral laxity and personal corruption. Indeed, it's almost as if Chávez was the prototype for Trump, his inverted image, the left-wing version of the man occupying the US White House today.
...
But allow me a note of caution here, one I never imagined I'd have to mention to Venezuelans, of all people: populism will never get you what you want, and this is true across the political spectrum, left to right.
As the Kurds can tell you, there are hells beneath hells reserved for those who put their faith in saviors from saviors, and there are greater dangers awaiting people who elected a left-wing populist and then look to a right-wing populist for salvation (or vice versa, in the case of the USA). There's only one way out of such hells, and it's nothing glorious: The only true salvation is in the hard work of rebuilding a liberal society from the ruins of populism.
But the allure of authoritarian populism leads many a nationalized Venezuelan or second-generation Cuban to see Trump as the panacea they are looking for, despite all indications to the contrary. And with the threat of losing their new adopted country in the process.
https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2020/07/01/the-real-weight-of-trumps-words-on-venezuela/
...Hope isn't a strategy, and much less when it's being delivered by a person who's morally incompetent. "Tough on Venezuela" will likely play well in Florida where Cuban voters next to Venezuelan, Colombian, and Argentine minorities will find in it a reassuring policy stance. But for those in Venezuela, the same message will carry other meanings that might instill a false hope of foreign intervention that's dangerous.
It's that false hope that someone else will come and remedy our faults which has led in part to Venezuela's current social and political crisis. And by November's end, many Venezuelans are likely to be convinced that "someone" is coming, purely because of bloated electoral rhetoric delivered by a candidate who has a vested interest in himself, not in 28 million people living across the Caribbean.
These misinformed latino voters in Florida should be made to realize the authoritarian vs. democracy choice they have in front of them. A relatively inexpensive campaign that simply puts the images of Trump, Maduro, Chavez, and Castro with the question "Who did this?:" followed by a quote or action from Trump might be all that is needed. You don't have to search too deep, here are plenty to choose from (just from one article):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/fascist-dictatorship-trump-second-term/2020/07/10/63fdd938-c166-11ea-b4f6-cb39cd8940fb_story.html
Uses military power and federal law enforcement to suppress peaceful political protest.
Persistently lies about voter fraud, setting the stage for him to use emergency powers to seize control of the election or challenge the results if he loses.
Repeatedly suggested that he might remain in office after a second term and has offered reason to doubt he'd leave peacefully after this first term
Believes he has the power to outlaw speech critical of him, and he calls the free press "the enemy of the people."
Calls for the execution of journalist that report on the facts of his presidency.
Has control over one of the most powerful propaganda machines ever created (Fox News).
Believes that he has the power to do what he wants, regardless of Congress or the courts.
Acts as if he owns our government and can fire any official who defends the law.
Uses federal prosecutorial powers to investigate his opponents and anyone who dares scrutinize him or his allies for the many crimes they may have committed.
Viciously attacks his critics and has publicly stated that whistleblowers should be hanged for treason.
Has messianic delusions that are supported with religious fervor by millions of his supporters.
Subscribes to a doctrine of genetic superiority and incites racial hatred to scapegoat immigrants and gain power.
Finds common ground with the world's most ruthless dictators while denigrating America's democratic allies.
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China has built 380 internment camps in Xinjiang
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/china-has-built-380-internment-camps-in-xinjiang-study-finds
Vladimir Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize | The request to recognize the president was made on September 10 by a group of Russian writers led by Sergey Komkov, TASS reported. As yet, the reason for the nomination has not been given.
https://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-nobel-peace-prize-kremlin-dmitry-peskov-1534021
North Korea government killed and burned South Korean official
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/23/asia/north-korea-south-korea-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54275649
UN Fears Decaying Oil Tanker Already Spilling: The oil tanker stranded for over five years off the coast of Yemen has begun to leak and is in clear and present danger of causing a historic environmental disaster in the Red Sea, Saudi officials warned Wednesday.
https://themedialine.org/mideast-daily-news/un-fears-decaying-oil-tanker-already-spilling/
"Hunter biden has been linked to an Eastern European prostitution ring. Why is this not trending right now?" Because it's a lie. The report claims unspecified records show that Biden "has sent funds to non-resident alien women in the United States who are citizens of Russia and Ukraine and who have subsequently wired funds they have received from Hunter Biden to individuals located in Russia and Ukraine." And because he has nothing to do with our government. Trump's kids all hold positions in Trump's office and everything they do doesn't seem to matter. And because once again the report in which he was supposedly linked failed to mention that these supposed links have been debunked time and time again. Because he hasn't been linked to anything. The report doesn't provide any evidence, just pure, partisan speculation. You want to find connections to child sex trafficking? Look no further than the more than two dozen accusations of rape against Donald Trump.
In the last 8 Chiefs-Chargers games, the Chargers have outgained the Chiefs 7 times. The Chiefs are 7-1 in these games
Adam Gase said his plan entering Week 2 vs 49ers was to give Frank Gore the first 2 drives. Then, rotate in Perine & Josh Adams. But Gore convinced Gase to keep him in 1 more drive. Gore had 15 carries in 1st half. Josh Adams had 1. Perine had none.
https://twitter.com/mmehtanydn/status/1309163684149841924
And that is the secret to Adam Gase's previous success. Even if he has shit ideas, he is easily swayed, so its all about who you have doing the swaying. I just don't understand why you would give a RB 21 carries at 3 yards a pop when you're down my multiple scores all game. Are you even trying to win? I fundamentally don't understand how the Jets played against this guy for THREE YEARS and thought "This is a guy we really like."
Just got done with the @nyjets tape. Trying to be respectful:
-their off game plan was built around fear. Fear of mistakes-from everyone.
-again completely unprepared for SF D
-never tried to win game
-situational coaching is awful
-SF down people-they never threatens the backups
https://twitter.com/danorlovsky7/status/1308766806912401413
One third of Seahawks roster on injury report
https://www.seahawks.com/team/injury-report/
Yesterday, reps from the NFL, NFLPA, MetLife Stadium, #Giants & #Jets, Field Turf & independent field inspector conducted another review of the field surface at MetLife Stadium. The group again verified the field meets all applicable standards & protocols for NFL field surfaces.
https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/1309165014272675840
Yeah because it has nothing to do with the field and more to do with players not being able to train at their high tech stadium facilities for most of off season (covid19) and cancelling the pre-season games.
He builds Lego sets and Transformers, collects World War II figurines and recreates the Battle of the Bulge. He wears Rec Specs under his helmet. He went 4-4 on Sunday. The story of the Rodrigo Blankenship — who is anything but your average NFL kicker
https://twitter.com/zkeefer/status/1308919291920748545
YIKES: The Chargers' team doctor accidentally punctured his own quarterback Tyrod Taylor's lung just before kickoff Sunday while trying to administer a pain-killing injection to the quarterback's cracked ribs, league and team sources told ESPN.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1308793001213394944
The Chargers doctor before this one was also a huge problem.
-2 DUIs
-raided by DEA for writing himself 108 prescriptions
-malpractice for severing a patients artery
-malpractice lawsuits for multiple career ending misdiagnoses
-loses surgery license in 2013.
https://twitter.com/zachzachzach/status/1308802436992086016
"No rebounds – no rings."
Pat Riley
"Board man gets paid."
Kawhi Leonard
The Celtics have shot better than the HEAT in every single game this series and the HEAT are still up 3-1. A testament to creating more shooting chances through offensive rebounds and turnovers and rebounding on the defensive side to limit Celtics opportunities. Crowder had his worst offensive game in a heat uniform, couldn't buy a wide open 3. Interestingly, Spo opted for no KO this game, which worked when the Celtics went small ball. It's getting really frustrating having to watch the refs in the last two minutes consistently make wrong calls (or no calls) that go against the HEAT. The last six L2M reports have all had mistakes that are more against the HEAT than against their opponents (Bucks and Celtics). Some of Boston's turnovers looked like carelessness, but a lot of them were the result of Boston not having much of a plan on offense.
In case anyone is unclear on the concept, in the United States of America, we do not "get rid of" ballots. We count them. Counting the ballots – *all* the ballots – is the way we determine who leads our country after our elections. The only way.
https://twitter.com/EllenLWeintraub/status/1308915739202650112
Christopher Wray: FBI has not seen evidence of national voter fraud effort by mail
https://www.axios.com/mail-in-voting-2020-election-christopher-wray-8ba5f3dc-1e5d-4c48-a0c1-4a5fd2ece3aa.html
Trump and Melania booed, greeted with 'vote him out' and 'honor her wish' chants as they visit Ruth Bader Ginsburg's casket at the Supreme Court
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-boos-vote-him-out-chants-visits-rbg-casket-video-2020-9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcqBD8512u8
Alaska mining executive resigns a day after being caught on tape boasting of his ties to Republican politicians
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/23/pebble-mine-secret-tapes/
Mary Trump Sues President and Family, Claiming Fraud of Millions
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/nyregion/mary-trump-suing-trump-family.html
White House on 200,000 Coronavirus Deaths: Call Us When 2 Million of You Are Dead | Asked by CNN's Jim Acosta on Tuesday, "What do you say to Americans who are outraged about [the country hitting 200,000 deaths] and blame this administration for so many lives lost?" McEnany, who cut her teeth shilling for the Republican National Committee, responded: "As you've heard several doctors in the task force note from this podium we were looking at the prospect of 2 million people potentially perishing from the coronavirus in this country. We grieve when even one life is lost, but the fact we have come nowhere near that number is a testament to this president taking immediate action." In other words, 1.8 million more people are going to have to die before the Trump administration entertains the prospect of taking this virus seriously and maybe taking a shred of responsibility for allowing it to gain a foothold in the country and run rampant thereafter. (Just fucking with you—they'll never do that.) Also, the 2 million projected deaths were if the government did absolutely nothing to stop the coronavirus—luckily for the country, various governors and local officials did—so it's not really something to brag about.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/white-house-coronavirus-deaths
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1308458028203675648
No, Really??? Internal USPS documents link changes behind mail slowdowns to top Pro-Trump MAGA executives | Newly obtained records appear in conflict with months of DeJoy's assertions that blamed lower-level managers for strategies tied to delivery delays.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/09/24/usps-delays-dejoy-documents/
Slain Kenosha protester's partner sues Facebook over militia posts
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-sued-kenosha-protests-militia-posts/
Prosecutor tapped by Barr to investigate Russia probe is investigating Hillary Clinton and Clinton Foundation instead LOL
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/24/politics/durham-investigation-clinton-foundation/index.html
Judges propose making disclosure of their personal details a crime: Esther Salas is blinded by her personal tragedy, the only possible answer is greater protection for judges, not secret judges who can hide their corruption. If you're too scared to be a judge then you should refuse the appointment, not have your existence erased from the world and (quite unconstitutionally) considered beyond free speech. Secret courts with secret motives aren't fair or legal courts, even though it's tragic that someone could come after your family for your official actions.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/judges-disclosure-personal-detailscrime-420894
Clinton Foundation is open and accepting donations:
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/
The Trump Foundation was a criminal money-laundering scheme (Trump pocketed all the money and oftentimes used the money as bribes to stop investigations into him and lawsuits against him) that was shut down
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_J._Trump_Foundation
Former Scott Taylor campaign staffer pleads guilty to election fraud
https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/politics/former-scott-taylor-campaign-staffer-pleads-guilty-of-election-fraud/291-126947be-fd7a-42ae-9b72-0500ba6c96b6
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https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/jay-inslee-wildfires-washington-climate-crisis-1065359/
Gov. Jay Inslee on the Climate Crisis: 'We Cannot Give in to Defeat and Pessimism'
The Washington state governor writes about the wildfires that have ravaged the West Coast, the importance of this election, and why we have no more time to lose
Climate Week this year coincides with clear skies in Washington state for the first time in almost two weeks.
In just a few days in early September, Washington state saw enough acres burned – more than 600,000 – to reach our second-worst fire season on record. Our worst fire season came only five years ago. Wildfires aren't new to the west, but their scope and danger today is unlike anything firefighters have seen. People up and down the West Coast – young and old, in rural areas and in cities – were choking on smoke for days on end, trapped in their homes.
Fires like these are becoming the norm, not the exception.
That's because as the climate changes, our fires change. Climate scientists tell us that if greenhouse gas emissions continue on their current path, later this century the average year in Washington will eventually be warmer than the single hottest year of the 20th century. The heat leaves our land and vegetation dry and primed for ignition, with blazes for which our landscapes are not evolved to cope. We're seeing more acres burned, and more days with our state swathed in hazardous smoke and ash.
Rain, cooler weather, and heroic firefighting efforts have finally tamped down the fires and poor air quality; but the burn scars remain, and they are most acutely felt by those who lost homes, businesses, and loved ones in fires this year.
I have seen the chaos firsthand in recent visits to burned areas both east and west of the Cascade Mountains. As communities in Malden, Bonney Lake, and Graham, Washington, recover from the damage done this month, it's not enough for us as leaders to help our towns recover from one devastating event after another. We need a plan to stop these increasingly ferocious natural disasters from becoming uncontrollable. The situation demands that climate change be front and center in this plan – because it is the root and stem of the new challenges we face in disaster response.
While wildfires are the most recent, and some of the most visceral images of climate change, they are unfortunately just one manifestation of a climate crisis with far-reaching implications.
From the woods and prairies to the oceans, rivers and streams, we see the damaging effects of climate change. West Coast marine waters are acidifying at twice the global rate, our streams are becoming too warm to support salmon, and our agricultural productivity is falling as a result of record heat.
But we cannot give in to defeat and pessimism. This is not a lost cause.
There is broad consensus on what we need to do to slow and turn back the effects of human-driven climate change: all hands on deck for a global decarbonization that grows jobs and protects communities.
Every year, Climate Week gives us the opportunity to highlight this urgent need. But we need every week to be Climate Week. Given the science, knowledge and tools at our disposal, it is unacceptable that more has not been done to address the terrifying implications of climate change in the 21st century. We have no more time to waste.
We face a powerful oil and gas industry that has sunk its claws into Congress and numerous state governments, and a presidential administration backed by a major political party dedicated to protecting polluters and spreading lies and confusion about the science. On the flip side is the urgent and painfully clear scientific consensus, coupled with the fact that the majority of Americans support action now on climate change.
This is a battle that we can – and must – win, beginning with our votes in November.
And winning the fight won't just protect our communities from the dangerous effects of climate change. It will create enormous new economic opportunity.
The latest jobs report from E2, a national nonpartisan group of business leaders and investors focused on sustainable energy policies, shows there are already more than 3 million clean energy jobs in America today. If we can find the will to massively accelerate the development of renewable resources, we can create millions of more jobs.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that facts are stubborn things, and denial can be fatal. The federal government's failure to accept the reality of the Covid-19 crisis once again demonstrated why aloofness is no replacement for proactive leadership.
While we know this administration would be wise to change its destructive path – by bringing our country back into the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, by putting in place strong clean car standards, or by restoring key environmental protections razed by Trump's cronies – we know they won't. However, public opinion is clear even after years of misinformation and downright lies. There is not enough oil money in the world to stop the American people from rising up for what's right, and it's time to hit back.
Let this Climate Week be a reminder not merely of the long road ahead, but of our own power to make that journey together. Start now, so that in Climate Week 2021 we'll have a little less distance to cover.
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New WA law helps Native voters this election. Is it enough?
https://crosscut.com/equity/2020/09/new-wa-law-helps-native-voters-election-it-enough
Suspect charged in shooting that injured 2 LMPD officers downtown
https://www.wlky.com/article/lmpd-officer-wounded-in-downtown-shooting/34133637
Trump Signed an Executive Order Claiming That Fighting Racism Is the Real Racism
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/y3z8m5/trump-just-signed-an-executive-order-claiming-that-anti-racism-is-the-real-racism
____________________________
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/upshot/pre-existing-conditions.html
Trump Says He Will 'Always' Protect Those With Pre-Existing Conditions. He Hasn't.
The president's promises on health care stand in stark contrast with his legislative, regulatory and legal record.
Margot Sanger-Katz
By Margot Sanger-Katz
Sept. 24, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET
In speeches, in tweets, in media interviews, President Trump keeps promising that he will preserve protections for Americans with pre-existing health conditions. It's a crowd-pleaser of a policy, but one entirely at odds with his administration's legislative, regulatory and legal record to date.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/us/politics/trump-rnc-speech-transcript.html
https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1276868870037540865
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-abc-news-town-hall-full-transcript/story?id=73035489
In the final weeks of the election season, expect to see the words "pre-existing conditions" again and again. Mr. Trump makes the promise so consistently that it is likely to appear in television ads, the presidential debates and possibly in an oft-teased, ever forthcoming executive order on the subject. Vice President Pence said Tuesday that the president would "take action" in the days ahead.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/us/politics/trumps-health-care.html
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1291900469325987842
https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/1308482211000262661
But rather than enshrine the ability of Americans with health problems to buy insurance, the Trump administration has, at every turn, pursued policies that have tended to do the opposite.
Some of the efforts to weaken protections have been successful — like an expansion of cheap, lightly regulated health plans that insurers are not required to offer when customers are sick. Others, like multiple attempts to "repeal and replace Obamacare" in 2017, failed to attract enough Republican votes in Congress to pass. The Justice Department's quest to overturn the Affordable Care Act, while no replacement is being offered, is still underway, with oral arguments scheduled at the Supreme Court in November.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/us/politics/trump-short-term-health-insurance.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/us/politics/what-to-watch-for-nail-biter-on-repealing-health-law.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/us/politics/senate-votes-repeal-obamacare.html
"We will always and very strongly protect patients with pre-existing conditions," Mr. Trump said in his speech at the Republican National Convention. "We will protect your pre-existing conditions," he said at a recent campaign rally in Las Vegas. In January, he went as far as to say he "saved pre-existing conditions."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/upshot/trump-tweets-health-care.html
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1216716337822695425
Yet despite a record to the contrary, these repeated statements seem to be having an impact. A recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 84 percent of Republicans believe President Trump has a better approach for "maintaining protections for people with pre-existing conditions." (Over all, 38 percent of American adults said they thought Mr. Trump had the better approach.)
https://www.kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/5-charts-about-public-opinion-on-the-affordable-care-act-and-the-supreme-court/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/upshot/voters-trump-virus-projection.html
Before Obamacare, Americans with a history of both serious and trivial diseases had trouble buying health insurance. Health plans could omit coverage for addiction, could charge customers higher prices because of a history of acne, or could simply decline to sell insurance altogether to someone who'd had a cancer diagnosis. All of those practices were eliminated as part of Obamacare, which requires insurance companies to offer the same, comprehensive health plans to everyone in a geographic area, varying the prices based only on the customer's age.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/upshot/new-republican-health-proposal-evokes-the-old-days.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/23/upshot/late-gop-proposal-could-mean-plans-that-cover-aromatherapy-but-not-chemotherapy.html
This provision has long been one of the Affordable Care Act's most popular features. Even when a majority of Americans disliked the law over all, most supported this part of it. Over time, as Obamacare has become more popular and more embattled, pre-existing-condition protections have become so popular that any politician who declines to support them is likely to pay a political price. In 2018, Democrats retook control of the House of Representatives, after campaigning heavily on pre-existing conditions as an issue.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/upshot/democratic-candidates-midterms-health-care.html
"I think it's gotten to the point where every politician has to say they're for protecting people with pre-existing conditions," said Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "And then the question is: How far are they wiling to go in providing those protections?"
That popularity probably explains why President Trump keeps repeating the words "pre-existing conditions." But saying that he will support these rules doesn't make it true. His policies to date have slightly weakened the Obamacare framework, providing some escape hatches where healthier customers can buy unregulated, cheaper insurance. Because Obamacare is also on the books, people with pre-existing conditions can buy plans, too. But President Trump has repeatedly pressed to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. The Justice Department filed a brief asking for the wholesale erasure of the law as recently as June.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/upshot/trump-tweets-health-care.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/us/politics/obamacare-trump-administration-supreme-court.html
"If there's any merit in the president's record on pre-existing conditions, it is purely by accident," said Michael Cannon, the director of health care policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institution. Mr. Cannon, who favors a less regulated health insurance market, is no fan of Obamacare, but says that Mr. Trump has little to support his claims.
Defenders of the president's health policies point to the ways he has worked to lower the cost of care and expand consumer choice. The skimpier plans his policy expanded did lower prices for Americans who are fortunate enough to qualify and want coverage with limited benefits, and they did expand the ability of people who bought them to keep them longer. His expansion of health reimbursement accounts may pave the way for people who currently get work-based coverage to select their own plans. His new rules expanding the transparency of hospital prices may come to lower those prices over time. Recent executive orders may lead the way to new policies regulating prescription drug prices.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/upshot/buying-short-term-health-insurance-what-to-know.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/upshot/transparency-medical-prices-could-backfire.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/us/politics/trump-drug-prices-coronavirus.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/13/us/politics/trump-executive-order-drug-prices.html
But none of the president's health policies have offered new consumer protections for the sick who seek health insurance.
Recent reports that the president will release an executive order to protect pre-existing conditions are puzzling, since such protections are already the law. If Obamacare were overturned, such an order would be toothless. Major new regulations of the health insurance industry would require legislation, which is why the Trump administration pursued Obamacare replacement in Congress in the first place.
The structure of the Affordable Care Act, of course, is not the only way to protect people with pre-existing conditions. Obamacare sets up one system with highly regulated private insurance markets and a system of federal tax credits to help low- and middle-income Americans buy insurance.
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But other systems could also offer some level of protection for the sick. A single-payer system, like the "Medicare for all" plans championed by Senator Bernie Sanders and other progressives in Congress, would provide standardized government health insurance to Americans of all health histories. And there are other possible approaches that may appeal more to conservatives, such as well-funded high-risk pools, which would offer special coverage to the sick while keeping it affordable.
https://galen.org/assets/ACA_at_10_huge_expansion_of_welfare.pdf#page=30
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/22/business/president-donald-trump-health-insurance-high-risk-pool.html
President Trump may have some other policy idea in mind to protect Americans with pre-existing health conditions. But there is no evidence from his record. Nearing four years into his presidential term, he has repeatedly promised to release a comprehensive health plan, then declined to do so. He and his staff are often asked about how he will fulfill this promise, and have offered no specific reply. If protecting pre-existing conditions is a priority of the president, it's not clear why his strategy is still a secret.
Margot Sanger-Katz is a domestic correspondent and writes about health care for The Upshot. She was previously a reporter at National Journal and The Concord Monitor and an editor at Legal Affairs and the Yale Alumni Magazine. @sangerkatz • Facebook
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Who needs to campaign when your opponent set the day's news cycle for the day by being booed at a funeral? Anything Biden does would be unnecessary after that. Trump is doing Biden's campaigning for him, and both campaigns know it. They're trying to bait Biden out. It's hilarious to see them flail.
Video Shows NC pastor yells "white power" from truck during weekend Trump parade
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article245926935.html
Diagnosis after Clevinger departed Wednesday's game early is sprained elbow
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2020-09-24/padres-mike-clevinger-october-elbow-injury
The Dodgers have activated RHP Walker Buehler from the 10-day injured list and have optioned RHP Mitch White.
https://twitter.com/dodgers/status/1309184088171929600
The Cubs lose 7-0 today, and have scored just 10 runs in their last seven games, while magic number remains at 3 to win the NL Central with upcoming weekend series vs the Whitesox
Heat vs Celtics Game 4 L2M report. 2 incorrect calls (Tatum travel and Kemba "foul") against the Heat and 1 against the Celtics (Bam defensive 3 seconds). This SHOULD impact foster and brothers' participation in the Finals (one can hope). The last few minutes didn't have to be 15 minutes long. The incorrect calls against the Heat led to 6 points from the Celtics with under a minute left in the 4th in a close game.
https://official.nba.com/l2m/L2MReport.html?gameId=0041900304
Since the onside kick rules changed in 2018, only 7 out of 109 onside kicks were successful. One of the more underrated moves in the off-season is the #Cowboys snagging special teams maven John Fassel from the #Rams - he created the "Watermelon Kick" that help beat the #Falcons
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1309215715258511368
Prosecutors drop charge against Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who raped a minor. The child is victim of a sex trafficking ring. PROSECUTORS HAVE THE VIDEO PROVING KRAFT RAPED A CHILD. We clearly know they committed crimes, but how the evidence was gathered charges can't be pressed.
https://www.nfl.com/news/prosecutors-drop-charge-against-patriots-owner-robert-kraft-in-solicitation-case
Republicans eliminate aid for pro-democracy groups in Belarus, Hong Kong and Iran
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/24/trump-open-technology-fund-hong-kong-belarus-iran
Good: Spotify Employees Threaten to Strike If Joe Rogan Podcasts Aren't Edited or Removed. He very obviously panders to the lowest alt-right audience and give a platform to many scumbags.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2020/09/22/joe-rogan-spotify-strike/
Rand Paul Says Senate Panel Will Refer Report That Exonerates Hunter Biden And Indicts Trump And Republicans To DOJ For Criminal Investigation
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-biden-ukraine-report-rand-paul-doj
Actually the plan calls on Congress to protect pre-existing conditions and the PPACA already does that.......: Trump Finally Laid Out His Healthcare Plan. It Doesn't Do Anything. Thursday's announcement was billed as "President Trump's Healthcare Vision for America" but contained no tangible action. Trump has long promised a "beautiful" and "phenomenal" healthcare plan that provides everyone with better coverage for a lower cost, but his administration never unveiled any comprehensive reform plan, even as it was trying to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Both key planks of Trump's healthcare vision Thursday essentially boil down to directing Congress — which has repeatedly failed to repeal Obamacare or offer a consensus replacement plan — to figure it out. Asked how people with preexisting conditions will be protected if the ACA is overturned, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said, "we will work with Congress or otherwise to ensure that they're protected." The plan also promises to ban surprise medical billing, but only after the election. The executive order directs Congress to pass legislation to end the practice of surprise billing — when a person goes to a hospital inside their insurance network but is nonetheless hit with medical bills because workers in the hospital are out of network — by Jan. 1. | Given Congress's past failures to act on surprise medical billing, the proximity of the election, the need to keep the government from shutting down at the end of September, and the coming fight over a Supreme Court nominee in the Senate, a Jan. 1 deadline is, at best, optimistic. If Congress fails to meet the deadline, Azar will be tasked with exploring other options. Azar did not say what those might be. When asked why they are not taking action now, Azar said the plan "is what it is."
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/paulmcleod/trump-preexisting-conditions-health-care-surprise-billing
This is an important video to watch. The misinformation machine is real and it's getting too much help from social media.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/24/tech/trump-supporters-facebook-misinformation/index.html
Support for racial injustice protests declines
https://apnews.com/article/breonna-taylor-race-and-ethnicity-shootings-police-new-york-24af876f135f529d95c9c857ad9aaa0e
This is big in Michigan: The legislature just passed a package of bills ('Clean Slate') to *automatically* expunge people's criminal records for misdemeanors & some felonies after some period of time. There'd be no more need to file/petition for relief. On to the governor.
https://twitter.com/Taniel/status/1309235897456562178
Too little 3.8 years too late: The White House must provide sign language interpreters at public Covid-19 briefings, federal judge rules.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/judge-orders-white-house-provide-sign-language-interpreter-covid-briefings-n1240954
Knowing that PA hasn't sent out ballots to all voters & that the UOCAVA deadline was only 5 days ago, I have to believe these ballots are federal write-in absentee ballots. It's very easy to mistake the 1st page of a FWAB for a federal postcard application (which is just an app).
https://twitter.com/badachie/status/1309228565158862848
Facebook is a Russian disinformation network....: Facebook has shut down two Russian disinformation networks operated by Russian intelligence services and a third by people affiliated with a notorious troll farm that interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/24/facebook-removes-russian-networks-tied-intelligence-services-that-interfered-us-2016/
Americans will now be wondering: Did the president or his attorney general corruptly order the U.S. attorney to issue this extraordinary statement?....: An investigation here may be reasonable. But there is NO legit reason for:
1) a DOJ press release on a pending investigation, that
2) announces a partial list of unconfirmed facts, including
3) the identity of one of the candidates on specific ballots.
https://twitter.com/_justinlevitt_/status/1309209402889576448
YEP AGREED: Some House Dems warn their leaders against moving a messaging bill that has no chance of becoming law. "If it's a messaging exercise, it's worthless," freshman Rep. Dean Phillips says. "Many of us are getting sick of that."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/24/politics/stimulus-negotiations-house-democrats-consider-options/index.html
Trump has long had deeply felt concerns about the mail:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/189730577518309376
In 2014, 74 Republicans sponsored legislation to "STOP" Obama's use of executive orders. "You cannot rule by fiat". Now they cheer the hundred executive orders Trump signs
https://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/gop-wants-to-stop-obama-102814
Several tweets (1) misrepresent what Trump's orders can do or (2) parrot Trump lies without fact-checking them. Trump's executive order does not have the weight of law. Obamacare protects pre-existing conditions. Trump's admin is in court fighting to repeal Obamacare. That's it.
Twenty-one candidates are running in a special election for U.S. Senate in Georgia on November 3, 2020. Eight Democrats, six Republicans, five independents, one Green Party candidate, and one Libertarian are running. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote on November 3, a runoff between the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will take place January 5, 2021. | A Redfield & Wilton poll from September showed Loeffler with 26%, Warnock with 21%, Collins with 19%, and Lieberman with 15%. A SurveyUSA poll from August showed Loeffler with 26%, Collins and Warnock each with 17%, and Lieberman with 13%. | Donald Trump (R) won Georgia in the 2016 presidential race, defeating Hillary Clinton (D) 51% to 46%. In the 2016 race for U.S. Senate, Isakson defeated Jim Barksdale (D) 55% to 41%. Sen. David Perdue (R) defeated Michelle Nunn (D) 53% to 45% in 2014. In Georgia's 2018 gubernatorial election, Kemp defeated Stacey Abrams (D) 50% to 49%.
https://ballotpedia.org/Matt_Lieberman
DeJoy Tells Judge Mail-Sorting Machines Can't Be Reassembled Because They Were Intentionally Destroyed. 72% of the machines that were removed came from areas where Hillary Clinton won by large numbers. I'm curious where the rest came from...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-24/dejoy-tells-judge-mail-sorting-machines-can-t-be-reassembled
Democrats prepare bill limiting U.S. Supreme Court justice terms to 18 years
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-termlimits/democrats-prepare-bill-limiting-u-s-supreme-court-justice-terms-to-18-years-idUSKCN26F3L3
AP Sources: The Pac-12 will play football this fall, reversing an August decision to postpone until spring.
https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/1309267944157970432
"Coronavirus sounds like a beautiful place in Italy" - Donald Trump
Lawyers for Fox News have successfully argued that you should not believe everything you hear on Fox News.
https://nytimes.com/2020/09/24/business/media/tucker-carlson-karen-mcdougal-lawsuit.html
Trump repeats his new thing about how the word coronavirus "sounds like a beautiful place in Italy."
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1309272699370438657?s=20
On CNN, Mark Meadows said that Pharma would be paying for this program and that checks would be arriving in October. A senior administration official said the money would come from the "most-favored nation" drug plan, which has not been designed or enacted yet.
https://twitter.com/sangerkatz/status/1309270407476908032
The Trump Administration is pledging to borrow almost $7b in potential future savings from a program that does not yet exist to send $200 prescription drug discount cards to some Medicare beneficiaries "in the coming weeks."
https://www.statnews.com/2020/09/24/seniors-200-gift-certificates-prescription-drug/
Trump boasts as usual about the "record" 10.6 million jobs added over the last four months, declining to mention that this was immediately preceded by a record loss of 22.2 million jobs over the previous two months.
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1309278581135212545
Republican Senator Rick Scott Proposes Bill That Would Make It Illegal to Count Votes
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/republican-senator-bill-illegal-mail-vote-count-deadline.html
Pelosi Statement on President Trump's Bogus Pre-Existing Condition Protection Executive Order | "President Trump's bogus executive order on pre-existing conditions isn't worth the paper it's signed on. It is an insult to every family with someone with a pre-existing condition that President Trump thinks he can get away with this farce while he races a justice onto the Supreme Court to strike down the lifesaving protections enshrined into law by the Affordable Care Act. "For his entire Administration, President Trump has used every tool and every chance he gets to weaken or rip away protections for people with pre-existing conditions. If President Trump cared at all about people with pre-existing conditions, he would drop his lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic. "Democrats will continue our fight to defend and strengthen pre-existing condition protections from Congress to the Courts."
https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/92420-1
Trump bashes Biden over Puerto Rico, then, exasperated, adds, "Then they'll vote -- because automatically, I don't know -- they vote for a Democrat." (Puerto Rico has elected a whole bunch of Republicans.)
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1309279667942236160
Trump is baselessly accusing unnamed people (the FDA? not sure) of trying to delay a vaccine to hurt him: "They're trying to do a little bit of a political hit, 'let's delay it just a little bit.' You notice that? 'Let's delay the vaccine just a little bit.'"
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1309278923021258753
Jimmy goes to practice today with Herro high school jersey
https://streamable.com/1p0taj
Heat's Tyler Herro Has NBA's Top-Selling Jersey After 37-Point Game vs. Celtics
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2910532-heats-tyler-herro-has-nbas-top-selling-jersey-after-37-point-game-vs-celtics
I fear our collective outrage reserves are critically depleted. But in this most awful of election years, we have to keep paying attention -- and writing it all down. Every last terrifying word of it.
https://newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/here-are-twenty-other-disturbing-awful-things-that-trump-has-said-this-month-and-its-not-over-yet?
Trump is telling his usual story about how there were "32,000" at his final Michigan rally (not even close), how both Obamas and both Clintons went there at the last minute (Michelle and Bill didn't), and how Hillary got 500 people at her last rally there (full house of 4,200).
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1309283394925273089
Trump, in Florida, repeats his lie that he was once named "Man of the Year in Michigan." (He says it was "12 years ago." In August, he said it was 11 years ago. In July, he said it was 10 years ago. Last year, he said it was around 10 years before the election.)
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1309282691544739841
Hyun Jin Ryu's first season as a Toronto Blue Jay: 12 GS, 67 IP, 72 K, 2.69 ERA
The Trump Administration says "the entire ACA must fall." They are arguing to strip millions of Americans of health care in the middle of a pandemic. We can't let him win.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1309254305346727941
Down in South East Missouri where it is deep red. I was shocked to see this. Maybe there is a little hope left in this state.
https://i.redd.it/jfkg2nrc76p51.jpg
USPS will be telling its employees tomorrow to undo nearly all of DeJoy's most controversial policies that slowed down mail and de-prioritized election mail.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4ayzap/usps-election-mail-leaked-speech-undo-changes
The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Denver Nuggets 114-108 behind 26/9/8 from LeBron James to take a 3-1 series lead
Jamal Murray with an incredible layup while in mid-airHighlights
https://streamable.com/ga61jk
Jamal Murray's excellent 32/3/8 with 12/20 shooting in vain as nuggets lose yet again
Gary Harris in this series (4 games) against the Lakers: 18 total points (4.5 PPG), 6-23 from the field, 4-13 from 3pt
Nikola Jokic in Game #4 loss vs LAL: 6/13, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 fouls and ZERO points in the 4th quarter
Foul trouble and the offense/defence subs at the end took Jokic out his rhythm completely.
Lakers had dominance rebounding
AD and LeBron are just flat out better than anybody the Nuggets have.That's the difference in the series so far. Lebron isnt even his usual self. Kept missing some easy shots, including his trademark jumper. Malone is using the same defensive scheme Popovich used in 2013 against the Lebran-led Miami Heat, took LeBron until the second half of game 6 in that series to figure it out
Nuggets coach Mike Malone: "I'm going to have to go through the proper channels like they did to get some more free throws."
https://twitter.com/MarkG_Medina/status/1309337568379625473
Malone said the Nuggets will be going to the league and making their points clear about the officiating but also said this game came down to the second-chance points the Lakers had; not officiating.
https://twitter.com/TJMcBrideNBA/status/1309338153841504256
Michael Malone says maybe the Nuggets should "go through the proper channels" like the Lakers did to see if they can get more favorable foul calls. Jamal Murray thought he was fouled a few times down the stretch.
https://twitter.com/NotoriousOHM/status/1309337809518383104
Murray with a filthy shot over Rondo as he falls down
https://streamable.com/5u2z4r
Murray somehow gets the off-balance shot to fall over ADHighlights
https://streamable.com/7c4qrl
Toronto Blue Jays return to MLB Playoffs for First Time Since 2016
LeBron James on guarding Jamal Murray: "Hell of a player. One of the hottest guys that we have in the bubble today out of the four teams remaining. I just wanted to try to take the challenge. He's a tough guard, very shifty. He's a triple threat." (TNT postgame interview)
https://twitter.com/MikeAScotto/status/1309337183678009344
Dwight Howard with 12/11/1 in 22 min on 5/6 shooting from the field (6 offensive rebounds)
After the Lakers submit a complaint to the league about Lebron not getting enough free throws, Lebron attempts 14 free throws tonight.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis and the NBA referees combine for 60 points to give the Lakers at 3-1 lead against Denver Nuggets in WCF Game 4
The Lakers win the second chance points game over the Nuggets 25-6
Playoff Rondo insane personal stretch on 5 straight possessions: 3-pointer, crazy inbound pass, scoop lay-up, draw foul, lay-up
https://streamable.com/hcngk4
Michael Porter Jr steps back a lot before making three-pointerHighlights
https://streamable.com/zzlf04
Jamal Murray hits the Lakers with the Kitchener Shuffle
https://streamable.com/fs1sew
AD has been unbelievably efficient in the 4th quarter in these playoffs. The tweet mentions AD has a TS% of 95.2% in the WCF during the 4th quarter so I decided to check out his splits. In the playoffs, AD in the fourth quarter has shooting splits of .667, .429 and .773. If you change it to only the games in september which only rules out the first three games vs the blazers, he has splits of .643, .600(!!), and .923(!!!).
He's been fuckin efficient in the last 9 games in the fourth. Unreal
https://twitter.com/fastbreakbreak/status/1309341236894072832
The fact he isn't complaining about it but just affirming that's how the NBA works, while true, is also something that shouldn't be accepted as a fact or the product will keep lose credibility. Draymond on LeBron constantly fouling Jamal in 4th and not getting called for it: He hasn't earned that call against Bron in that moment Man shrugging
https://twitter.com/Money23Green/status/1309332158079672325
Four wounded in Paris knife attack near former Charlie Hebdo offices
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-25/paris-knife-attack-charlie-hebdo-offices-arrest/12706132
Federal Judge Bars Trump Administration From Ending Census Early (Again)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/25/us/trump-census-deadline.html
Pentagon Brass Privately Discussing What To Do If Trump Invokes Insurrection Act | Such a move may cause resignations among military leadership, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley. | Trump gave officials no solace on Wednesday and Thursday when he again refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power no matter who wins the election, and on Thursday, he doubled down by saying he was not sure the election could be "honest." His hedging, along with his expressed desire in June to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act to send active-duty troops onto American streets to quell protests over the killing of George Floyd, has incited deep anxiety among senior military and Defense Department leaders, who insist they will do all they can to keep the armed forces out of the elections. | "I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical U.S. military," General Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in written answers to questions from House lawmakers released last month. "In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections, by law, U.S. courts and the U.S. Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the U.S. military. I foresee no role for the U.S. armed forces in this process." | On Aug. 11, John Nagl and Paul Yingling, both retired Army officers and Iraq war veterans, published an open letter to General Milley on the website Defense One. "In a few months' time, you may have to choose between defying a lawless president or betraying your constitutional oath," they wrote. "If Donald Trump refuses to leave office at the expiration of his constitutional term, the United States military must remove him by force, and you must give that order." Pentagon officials swiftly said such an outcome was preposterous. Under no circumstances, they said, would the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff send Navy SEALs or Marines to haul Mr. Trump out of the White House. If necessary, such a task, Defense Department officials said, would fall to U.S. Marshals or the Secret Service. The military, by law, the officials said, takes a vow to the Constitution, not to the president, and that vow means that the commander in chief of the military is whoever is sworn in at 12:01 p.m. on Inauguration Day. But senior leaders at the Pentagon, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged that they were talking among themselves about what to do if Mr. Trump, who will still be president from Election Day to Inauguration Day, invokes the Insurrection Act and tries to send troops into the streets, as he repeatedly threatened to do during the protests against police brutality and systemic racism. Both General Milley and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper opposed the move then, and Mr. Trump backed down. | The Air Force chief of staff, General Charles Q. Brown, the officials said, would also be unlikely to salute and carry out those orders. In the days after the killing of Mr. Floyd in police custody, General Brown released an extraordinary video in which he spoke in starkly personal terms about his experience as a Black man in America, his unequal treatment in the armed forces and the protests that gripped the country. "I'm thinking about protests in my country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, the equality expressed in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution that I have sworn my adult life to support and defend," General Brown said. "I'm thinking about a history of racial issues and my own experiences that didn't always sing of liberty and equality."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/25/us/politics/trump-military-election.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/us/politics/trump-power-transfer-2020-election.html
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2020/08/all-enemies-foreign-and-domestic-open-letter-gen-milley/167625/
https://www.stripes.com/news/air-force/air-force-s-top-black-general-offers-emotional-take-on-racial-unrest-over-floyd-killing-1.632658
Food production accounts for one-quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and takes up half of the planet's habitable surface. A taste for meat has had a particular impact on land. The mass of animals raised for slaughter on Earth now outweighs wildlife by a factor of 15-to-1. For example, for every person on the planet, there are approximately three chickens. Meat and dairy specifically accounts for around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). If the world is to meet its target of limiting global warming to "well below" 2C, some degree of diet shift will be necessary, scientists say. If it is to strive for the most optimistic target of keeping warming to 1.5C, changes to diet may be even more crucial. In this interactive Q&A, Carbon Brief explores how greenhouse gas emissions from meat, dairy and other diets compare, as well as whether changes to the production and transportation of meat could help to stem its climate impact.
https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/what-is-the-climate-impact-of-eating-meat-and-dairy/
'No One Can Live Off $240 A Week': Many Americans Struggle To Pay Rent, Bills
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/23/916036150/no-one-can-live-off-240-a-week-many-americans-struggle-to-pay-rent-bills
Republicans ask court to order Delaware not to count vote-by-mail ballots
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2020/09/24/republicans-ask-court-order-delaware-not-count-vote-mail-ballots/3503009001/
Lindsey Graham Finally Understands Righteous America's True Feelings About Him: 'They Hate My Guts'
https://www.theroot.com/lindsey-graham-finally-understands-righteous-america-s-1845179431
Moody's Analytics, an economic-research firm, has published an economic forecast weighing the effects of Joe Biden and Donald Trump's proposals. It finds Biden's plan would produce dramatically faster job growth and higher wages for most workers. Biden's proposals would lead to 18.6 million new jobs during his first term, and the average American's income (after taxes) would increase by $4,800. Trump's policies would lead to an increase of 11.2 million new jobs by 2025, with minimal real income gain for average households. The main reason Biden's plan would produce a faster recovery is that it would increase short-term deficit spending. With interest rates very low and demand depressed, an infusion of deficit spending can accelerate growth quickly. One might think there is a tradeoff between long-term and short-term growth inherent in Biden's plan to fire the money cannon. But the report does not support that assumption. It estimates Biden's plans would also yield higher long-term growth than Trump's. Biden's plans to spend more money on infrastructure would boost growth (more than Trump's plan to periodically declare "Infrastructure Week" as a quasi-holiday observed by morbid jokes by Washington political operators and the media). Likewise, paid family leave, elder care, and early childhood education would also increase the productivity and size of the workforce. Trump's restrictive immigration policies would have the opposite effect. | Given that Biden's proposals produce more prosperity in both the short term and the long term, why would anybody oppose them? People like prosperity, right? The analysis has a pretty simple explanation. For wealthy people, most of the gains would be taxes away: "Stock prices also rise, but the gains are limited. This is because of high current market valuations that limit prospects for near-term gains and the pedestrian growth in corporate profits under Biden's policies, as more of the benefits from the stronger economy under his policies go to workers." Biden's plan combines short-term stimulus to goose the recovery with long-term social spending. The latter is offset by a pretty big tax hike on the rich and owners of businesses. | Obviously, the richest one percent aren't a huge share of the population. (Roughly one percent, in fact.) But they do have an outsize influence on Republican policy, which has for decades made reducing the tax burden of the very affluent its preeminent policy goal. One of the deep ironies of the economic debate is that Trump is benefitting enormously from having followed a Biden-like program. As Josh Barro argues, the economic support from the CARES Act pumped trillions of dollars into household budgets, lifting incomes and preventing many small business owners from going under. That effect seems to have lifted Trump's economic approval, which is his only major source of campaign parity.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/economist-biden-plan-creates-7-million-more-jobs-than-trump.html
https://www.moodysanalytics.com/-/media/article/2020/the-macroeconomic-consequences-trump-vs-biden.pdf
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/biden-climate-green-new-deal-world-war-two.html
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/why-do-voters-seem-to-be-giving-trump-a-pass-on-the-economy.html
Why Do Voters Seem to Be Giving Trump a Pass on the Economy? | The best thing the president has going for him right now is the economy, which doesn't sound great for him, since the economy is terrible right now. But his approval ratings on the economy are not terrible. Even polls showing Trump far behind in the election often show him with an advantage on the economy — even the new Quinnipiac national poll, which finds Trump trailing Joe Biden by ten points among likely voters, finds that respondents are four points more likely to say Trump would be better at handling the economy than Biden. The obvious question is: Why? | But I want to focus on another reason voters would give the president a pass on the economy: While there is big trouble at the macroeconomic level, household finances are good on average and better than they were before the pandemic. American personal income rose sharply during the spring and early summer because of stimulus payments, enhanced unemployment insurance, and forgivable PPP loans to small businesses. At the same time, consumer spending fell sharply, as Americans adopted en masse the sort of practices that Suze Orman might suggest to a financially struggling caller: no restaurant meals, no vacations, no specialty coffee beverages. Americans spent 18 percent less than normal in April; by July, spending was still about 7 percent below what you would have expected if pre-pandemic trends had continued. Meanwhile, disposable personal income (that is, income minus taxes) was 13 percent above normal in April and still about 5 percent above the pre-pandemic trend in July, when the full $600-weekly enhancement to unemployment benefits was still being paid. Low consumer spending has been a huge problem for businesses, especially in sectors like travel and hospitality, but it combined with higher incomes to mean huge personal saving: Americans normally save about 7 to 8 percent of their disposable personal income, but that rate rose to 34 percent in April and was still 18 percent by July. As a result, American households set aside more than $1 trillion in additional savings from February through July, compared to what you would expect in a normal six months. Those additional savings showed up as healthier household finances in the Federal Reserve's survey on the economic well-being of U.S. households, conducted in July. One question the Fed routinely asks is how the respondent would pay an unexpected $400 expense — 70 percent of respondents said this July they would use cash or an equivalent payment method, up from 63 percent in October 2019. For people in households that had been making less than $25,000 as of last October, that figure rose from 34 percent to 45 percent — even though many of those households suffered job losses. "Improvements in preparedness for emergency expenses since 2019 were greatest among low- and middle-income families, for whom stimulus payments and enhanced unemployment insurance benefits reflect a larger share of incomes," the Fed noted. More subjective measures of financial well-being were about flat rather than improved: 77 percent of respondents this July said they were doing at least "okay" financially, up from 75 percent in October — not bad for the aftermath of a historically large drop in economic output and rise in unemployment. The trend in results on that question was about flat no matter what demographic you looked at — low or high income, rural or urban, and across ethnicities. Of course, the data I'm discussing here are through July; for most of the relevant data series, that's the most recent reading we have. Soon we will know how these numbers look in August, and incomes will surely have been down sharply, with the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits. (Though the ad hoc $300 enhancement the president pushed through executive action, now available to some unemployment recipients in some states, means the drop in income won't be as large as initially feared.) | There are some reasons the sanguine public views on the economy would survive the reduction in unemployment benefits. One is that all that saving during the spring and summer created a substantial financial cushion for many households now receiving lower benefits, especially as household spending continues to be below normal. Another is that many Americans are back at work: In that Fed survey, 40 percent of people who reported having been laid off at March said they were employed by July, while another 37 percent expected to eventually return to the job they had been laid off from. Job growth continued in August and is likely to do so in September also. A lot of people have worked all the way through the pandemic, while cutting back on consumption, and therefore have especially healthy finances. And those who own stock — about half of American adults — have seen their investments recover most of the losses suffered in the market crash that culminated in mid-March. Of course, a disconnect between household finances and the broader economy cannot persist forever. The last six months have been dire for many small and large businesses, and a significant subset of them will close or have closed permanently. Those businesses have owners and workers whose ability to spend will obviously be hurt by those closures. But the flip side of the disconnect is that strong household finances can be an engine for economic recovery that will save many of those businesses. All that saving means American consumers have the capacity to patronize those businesses when they feel it is safe and enjoyable to do so — although that spending capacity will somewhat diminish over time if high unemployment persists without robust benefits to protect household balance sheets. This is a reason for Congress to move another round of economic support legislation after the election if it is not possible to reach an agreement before. Finally, I would note that the economy is not everything politically. That same Iowa poll that found Iowans broadly satisfied with their household finances also found Trump and Joe Biden tied in the state — a state that Trump won by nine points in 2016. Voters are looking at their wallets, delivering a surprisingly satisfied verdict on their finances, and giving Trump some credit for his handling of the economy. But that doesn't necessarily mean they will vote to reelect him.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/why-do-voters-seem-to-be-giving-trump-a-pass-on-the-economy.html
Virginia officials try to block Trump rally: 'Severe public health threat'; 4,000 supporters are expected. The governor's order limits crowds to no more than 250 people.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/virginia-officials-try-block-trump-rally-severe-public-health-threat-n1241054
Judge rejects DOJ attempt to scrap McCabe lawsuit, orders discovery | A federal judge on Thursday rejected the Justice Department's attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe alleging that he was fired in 2018 as an act of political retribution at the behest of President Donald Trump.
https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/09/24/judge-lawsuit-discovery-421283
Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott, Who Authored Breonna's Law, Arrested at Louisville Protests
https://www.thedailybeast.com/attica-scott-who-authored-breonnas-law-arrested-at-louisville-protests
Republicans to Announce Illegal And Unconstituinal Plan to Open Tongass Forest to Logging
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/climate/tongass-logging.html
Republicans considering pack Supreme Court if Republican win re-election and hold Senate
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election/donald-trump-rally-florida-supreme-court-packing-b584729.html
Federal inmate illegally and unconstitutionally murdered executed instead of remaining in prison without parole for life after "abortion is murder" Republicans on Supreme Court clear the way
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/24/politics/supreme-court-federal-execution/index.html
Total incorrect calls against Miami in Playoff L2M reports: 11. Total incorrect calls in the rest of Playoff L2M reports: 16. Miami has also benefitted from 3 incorrect calls in L2M reports, for a total of 30 incorrect calls in playoff L2M reports. This means that 36% of all incorrect calls in all of the L2M reports this playoffs have detrimented Miami. For the record, I don't think this means there's some big conspiracy against Miami, just a lot of bad refereeing.
https://official.nba.com/2019-20-nba-officiating-last-two-minute-reports/
Michael Porter Jr started last night's game shooting 0-3. He then proceeded to make his next 5 shots including 2 big 3s to end the 3rd quarter. He was subbed out to begin the 4th and did not attempt a single shot when he checked back in, ending the game 5-8 from the field.
Racist Utah Company Not Renewing Jazz Suite After Racial Equality Protests | A Utah based company, SME Steel Contractors announced it will not be renewing its licensed suite with the Utah Jazz after the team's players knelt during the national anthem to draw attention to protests over racial equality.
https://kslsports.com/442405/sme-contractors-not-renewing-jazz-suite-after-racial-equality-protests/
Rebounding cost the Nuggets the game
In this series, Danny Green is shooting 6-21 (28.6%) from 3, but he's made up for that by shooting 3-13 (23.1%) from 2. Truly one of the most well rounded players we've ever seen in the NBA.
Judge Rules Tucker Carlson Is Not a Credible Source of News
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/judge-rules-fox-news-tucker-carlson-not-source-of-news-defamation-suit-mcdougal-trump.html
CEO of Philip Morris, the company that makes Marlboro, says cigarette sales may end within 10-15 years
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/no-smoking-ceo-of-philip-morris-the-company-that-makes-marlboro-says-cigarette-sales-may-end-within-10-15-years-5882601.html
A landmine detection rat has been awarded a gold medal for showing "lifesaving bravery and devotion to duty". The giant African pouched rat, named Magawa, has discovered 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia. Magawa has cleared more than 141,000 square metres of land, an effort that has earned him a PDSA Gold Medal, which is known as the animal equivalent of the George Cross. The George Cross recognises acts of heroism by British citizens and military personnel, and the PDSA Gold Medal honours such feats carried out by animals.
https://news.sky.com/story/rat-awarded-medal-for-lifesaving-bravery-after-detecting-dozens-of-landmines-in-cambodia-12080861
China's $490 Million Investment In Barbados Behind Snap Decision To Remove The Queen
https://vifreepress.com/2020/09/chinas-490-million-investment-in-barbados-behind-snap-decision-to-remove-the-queen-tory-mp/
Multiple people injured in knife attack outside former Charlie Hebdo offices
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/multiple-people-injured-in-knife-attack-outside-former-charlie-hebdo-offices/2020/09/25/a152d4ce-ff1d-11ea-b0e4-350e4e60cc91_story.html
Reminder: Kentucky's only Black female legislator arrested on felony rioting charge at Breonna Taylor protest
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/25/breonna-taylor-protest-scott-arrest/
I served under six presidents — four Republicans, two Democrats — only one has failed to serve U.S. national security interests | I spent over 300 mornings in the Oval Office briefing the president and his senior staff. I had the privilege to manage, edit and deliver the president's Daily Brief a summary of the most timely and critical intelligence threats to the U.S. from 2010 to 2014. As a Deputy on the National Security Council, I spent over 1,000 hours in the White House Situation Room providing the intelligence assessments which informed critical U.S. national security policy decisions — including the raid that rendered justice for the victims of 9/11. Since I have been eligible to vote, I have never registered with a political party. I remain an independent with a history of voting for candidates I believe in — I focused on their policy and not their party. Before this election, I have never spoken out for or against a candidate for any office. But I can be silent no longer. In the summer of 1976, I was 14 years old and new to Colorado, my father took command of the Western Region's National Guard. I enrolled in the brand-new Smoky Hill High School on what was then the far eastern boundary of Aurora. As a military brat, I was accustomed to moving around and not putting down roots — but as readers will know well, Colorado has a way of pulling on your heart and it became home. It remains so as my family spends as much time as possible in our Dillon residence. Upon graduating from Cornell University, I joined the intelligence community as an analyst during President Ronald Reagan's increasing investments in defense — a buildup that culminated in the collapse of the Soviet Union by the end of the decade. In my nearly four decades of service, I had the privilege of serving under six presidents — four Republican and two Democrat. The constant across all of those administrations was the oath I took to "protect and defend" the Constitution against "all enemies — foreign and domestic." I know what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of our government — intellectual curiosity, the strength of moral purpose and a commitment to selfless service. Broadly speaking, I can personally attest that Americans were very well served by those they elected to fill critical national security positions. There is one important exception to that statement — our current president. I have briefed him up close — and I have seen and felt the effect of his faults on our nation's security. Out of respect for the confidential nature of Oval Office conversations, I will not provide details. Suffice to say that the person you see presiding over COVID-19 press conferences is the same one in the privacy of his office. He has little patience for facts or data that do not comport with his personal world view. Thus, the conversations are erratic and less than fully thoughtful. While it is natural for there to be tension between the intelligence community and senior policymakers, President Donald Trump's decision to rely upon the word of dictators like Vladimir Putin is an unprecedented betrayal of his oath to the Constitution. Our current president bases his decisions on his instincts, and his instincts are based upon a personal value proposition — what's in it for me? As a Commander in Chief, President Trump comes up tragically short. He fails to protect our soldiers when bounties are placed on their heads by his friend Vladimir. And not only does he not respect their service, but President Trump also belittles combat heroes who were taken as prisoners of war. As a nation, we were fortunate that a true crisis did not occur during his first three years in office. Then 2020 happened. This has been an unprecedented year for which many of us were not prepared. In moments of crisis, the American people demand — and deserve — a leader who will put the country first. Full stop. Because the reality and the science of COVID-19 conflicted with his personal views, President Trump knowingly downplayed the pandemic. This is not about the economy, taxes, health care or any other normal ballot considerations. This is about American lives unnecessarily lost. This is about businesses unnecessarily closed. This is about being guided by service to all Americans. This is about centering decisions on a higher morality. President Trump's actions — and inaction — demonstrates that he is not concerned about any of this. And as damaging as his faulty leadership has been, four more years would be devastating. We must elect a thoughtful, moral, responsible, respectful leader on Nov. 3. Our current president is not that leader. Robert Cardillo retired as the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency after 36 years of public service that also included serving as deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Acting J2 — a first for a civilian — in support of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/09/25/donald-trump-fails-us-national-security-interests/
Trump Accused of 'Pathetic Attempt' to Bribe Seniors for Votes by Promising to Mail $200 Medicine Discount Cards
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/25/trump-accused-pathetic-attempt-bribe-seniors-votes-promising-mail-200-medicine
Police raid in Vietnam finds more than 300,000 used condoms being packed for resale
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vietnam-condom-recycling-police-raid-factory-used-resale/
Drivers Keep Running Over Protesters and Getting Away With It
https://www.thedailybeast.com/drivers-keep-running-over-protesters-and-getting-away-with-it
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tests positive for coronavirus
https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-northam-virginia-5ef5ec23-9ec7-4a30-be8d-b9da31430a12.html
All the President's Lawsuits: Fraud, Defamation, and the Westfall Act
https://www.justsecurity.org/72565/all-the-presidents-lawsuits-fraud-defamation-and-the-westfall-act-jean-carroll-mary-trump/
With Roe v. Wade, much more than abortion is at stake — The 1973 ruling has supported an expansive view of privacy rights, from the bedroom to our personal data, that now might be called into question.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/25/opinion/fight-over-roe-v-wade-much-more-than-abortion-is-stake/
House passes sweeping clean energy bill | The House on Thursday passed a broad bill that aims to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy sources as part of an attempt to combat climate change. The chamber approved the 900-page Clean Energy and Jobs Innovation Act in a 220-185 vote. The legislation would create research and development programs for solar, wind, advanced geothermal energy and hydroelectric power as well as lessening pollution from fossil fuel production. It would also establish more rigorous building codes and bolster energy efficiency requirements and weatherization programs.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/518102-house-passes-sweeping-clean-energy-bill
If Democrats win, everything they pass in the House will be re-passed and sent to the Senate. If Democrats control the Senate, all that legislation becomes law. The problem is, a 6-3 super-majority Supreme Court will nullify all of it.
Youth Action Gives Me Hope Amid Climate Crisis and Trump's Totalitarian Threat | The sun peeked over the rim of the trees here in my little corner of New Hampshire last week like a dusky gold coin, no shine, no glare, easy enough to look straight at. My daughter in the back seat rolled down her window and said, "Daddy, it smells like the beach!" when the air hit her face. The sky stayed eggshell white all day long though the forecast had called for straight blue, and my lungs — always a martyr to the allergens of the season — felt slightly heavier than usual. It smelled like the beach to my daughter because "the beach" for her is campfires on the sand, and the smell of woodsmoke in your clothes when the day is done. It smelled like the beach because the apocalyptic climate fires 3,000 miles to the West had found the slipstream of the Eastern winds and gone for a ride around the world. The Creek Fire in California, the largest single wildfire in the state's history, continues to burn today. It has devoured nearly 300,000 acres in and around Madera and Fresno counties. At present, it is only 36 percent contained. The Bobcat Fire near Los Angeles, the third-largest ever recorded in that region, was 38 percent contained on Wednesday. There are 50 other fires burning from Washington State to southern California, and at least 26 lives have been lost to the conflagration. "Oregon, Washington and other areas of the West will get a welcome break from dry weather Thursday and Friday, with some rain in the forecast," reports CNN. "But for the wildfire-weary, another bout of dry weather returns this weekend and could last weeks. Along with already dry fuel on the ground, the forecast will mean more hazardous fire conditions in a season that has already broken records." I lack the adequate vocabulary to describe my sorrow and horror at what has unfolded in Oregon, Colorado and California. For myself, and for so many, the places charred to ash by these climate-fueled conflagrations are holy in a way beyond any church, mosque or temple. I looked at that dull gold coin in the sky and wept within myself. That, at least, was familiar after so many months of sorrow. The frightening truth is no longer a theoretical model that will play out on some socially distanced tomorrow. "What strikes me is that the future we were really worried about and that us climate scientists talked about for decades, we're living through that now," Susan Prichard, a University of Washington research scientist, told NBC News. Looking at that soot-stained sun, I was reminded that, in the beginning and the end, we all share a collective fate. President Kennedy said in his 1963 "Peace speech" that, "We all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children's future, and we are all mortal." Today, we all breathe the same smoke, and in the face of climate disaster, are perhaps more mortal than ever before. The current president of the United States and his allies still refuse to acknowledge the common doom awaiting us all, because there is profit in that ignorance, and there are always people who will listen to ignorance if it lets them avoid the frightening truth. An exchange between climate scientists captured by MIT Technology Review is telling: " After years of watching the administration unravel climate policies, subvert the rule of law, stack courts, politicize a pandemic, undermine the election process, and hint about third and fourth terms, the people I asked are terrified of what the president may do if he remains in office for another four years or more. Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution, said: "Well, first of all, there's the question of 'Will the US become a dictatorial, totalitarian regime?'" Danny Cullenward, a lecturer at Stanford's law school, replied: "There's no climate policy angle to that story. The United States is then a failed state." Indeed, today's heated academic debates among climate experts over the most effective mix of US policies and technologies could soon seem quaint, and beside the point. New policies are effectively off the table. Old ones are very likely doomed. And climate change itself will only continue to accelerate as the time left to avoid extremely dangerous levels of warming ticks away." The frightening truth towers before us like a fast-rushing wall of drought-fed flames, like a monster hurricane born of the super-heated waters of the BP-sullied Gulf of Mexico, like failed crops stretching as far as the eye can see, like a still pool of murky floodwater where a town square used to be. The frightening truth is no longer a theoretical model that will play out on some socially distanced tomorrow. Fire, flood, drought and storm have combined simultaneously today in ways many climate scientists had anticipated, but not so soon, and certainly not with a democracy-destroying rogue president at the helm of the country. And yet here we are, inhabiting this small planet and breathing the same air as those who whistle past our collective graveyard with crumpled bills stuffed in their pockets. My daughter does not deserve this future, nor do her peers, and many of them have begun to push back hard. "Consider the meteoric rise of groups like the Sunrise Movement," reports Brian Khan for Gizmodo, "and the fact that we're even talking about if they could influence a presidential election. Sunrise and nearly the entire youth climate movement ecosystem didn't really exist during the 2016 presidential election and was nascent at best during the 2018 midterms. But in the two years since, it has exploded into a force with real political power." None too soon, and hopefully not too late. Keep breathing.
https://truthout.org/articles/youth-action-gives-me-hope-amid-climate-crisis-and-trumps-totalitarian-threat/
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/517835-california-fire-becomes-largest-in-state-history
https://deadline.com/2020/09/near-record-heat-winds-forecast-los-angeles-bobcat-fire-burns-1234582508/
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/wildfires-rage-climate-experts-warn-future-we-were-worried-about-n1240456
https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/24/1008848/climate-scientists-terrified-of-trump-victory-democracy/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/opinion/sunday/science-climate-change.html
https://earther.gizmodo.com/2020-really-belongs-to-us-how-the-youth-climate-move-1845110916
When I first saw the series of passes that led to this Goran Dragic dagger in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, two thoughts whipped through my brain (https://secure.espn.com/espn/gifs/embed?id=29962077): No. 1: Why are the Boston Celtics trapping Jimmy Butler on this pick-and-roll with Bam Adebayo? Boston closed with its center-less Best Five lineup of Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward. You play such a lineup to switch every two-man action that doesn't involve Walker. Why not have Tatum and Hayward -- sturdy, like-size defenders -- switch here? Why let one of the best passing big men alive ease into a 4-on-3? Ducking under Butler ball screens -- something Boston is barely doing, though Miami sets up some such actions in ways that make going under difficult -- is preferable to this all-out blitz. The Celtics played that lineup only five minutes in Game 4 after they went 13+ (+/-) in the seven minutes they deployed it in Game 3. They have had zero consistent answers for Adebayo running amok down the gut on the pick-and-roll. They have adjusted their coverages since Game 2, helping more from targeted places -- including some unconventional ones -- and even daring to lunge off of Duncan Robinson on the weak side when there is no better option. Nothing has worked for long. I wonder if switching more might be their default response in Game 5. Stretching out this Best Five group would enable that. Daniel Theis, the odd man out in this group, managed well switching onto both Butler and Dragic late in Game 4; Boston might choose to amp up its switching even with Theis on the floor in more traditional lineups. Alternatively, the Celtics have stashed Theis away from Adebayo, off to the side on a spot-up type -- Jae Crowder, perhaps Andre Iguodala. But sliding Theis there removes one hiding place for Walker. Boston has risked slotting Walker on Tyler Herro in an effort to keep him out of Miami's pick-and-roll game, and the Heat finally exploited that matchup with the right level of ruthlessness in Game 4. (Brad Stevens pivoted to Walker on Iguodala midway through the fourth quarter -- too late.) No. 2: I've seen that same Iguodala pass in crunch time before -- that inside-out, twisting-in-midair, full-body touch pass-slash-heave from underneath the rim all the way out to the arc. That is such a tough pass. The speed with which Iguodala turns his body and releases the ball all in one motion indicates he knew what he was going to do -- what options were available, and which was best -- before he even touched the ball. Iguodala is one of those spatial savants who sees everything a beat before everyone else. When he brings the ball up in transition, he sometimes hops mid-dribble, eyes wide and head tilting in a specific direction, begging a teammate to make some cut said teammate has not even registered as a possibility. (https://www.espn.com/espn/gifs/embed?id=26043213) The cut might not unlock a shot for the cutter. That cutter might never even touch the ball. That cut might distort the next layer of defense in a way that opens up a shot for another teammate -- a progression of events only Iguodala sees. Watch this clip (https://www.espn.com/espn/gifs/embed?id=26036664) from last season, in which Iguodala in full flight instructs Stephen Curry to veer toward the top of the 3-point arc because he knows that will draw the defense and free Alfonzo McKinnie for a layup. Iguodala points back at Curry after McKinnie's basket, acknowledging Curry's selfless act (https://www.espn.com/espn/gifs/embed?id=26036664). Iguodala in those moments vibrates with hyperactive impatience. He sees something you don't, and he really needs you to see it now. He was probably primed to redirect the ball to Dragic the second Boston trapped Butler. Turns out I had seen a very similar Iguodala pass in an even bigger postseason moment: the last minute of Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto last June. (https://www.espn.com/espn/gifs/embed?id=26947729) It's not precisely the same, but it's close. Iguodala jumps to meet Curry's pass in the air -- a method of getting more oomph on what is basically a long-distance inside-out touch pass to Draymond Green. You only jump like that if you know where you are going with the ball before it arrives. "That's what Andre does," Klay Thompson told me after the game. Iguodala was the headliner in Miami's deadline deal with the Memphis Grizzlies, but Crowder has turned into the more important player for the Heat so far. It has felt at times as if Iguodala never quite settled in with Miami after sitting out most of the season -- never made his imprint. He played 14 minutes combined over Games 2 and 3 of the conference finals. Iguodala's impact can be easy to miss. He doesn't score much. It sometimes seems as if he finds scoring unseemly -- that he's almost disdainful of points and their obviousness. It's as if he wants his contributions to be harder to notice, lest he draw too much attention. But his impact is always there -- quiet background noise. He's always doing something helpful. You know about his defense. (Iguodala is close now to yet another Finals clash with LeBron James -- a potential fifth head-to-head matchup between their respective teams in six seasons.) He spots transition opportunities, and runs the floor hard. When he doesn't have the ball, he stands in the right places -- and slides to more profitable ones when the defense isn't looking. Even when he passes up wide-open 3s, Iguodala turns those instances of frustrating non-aggression into positive next steps -- smart passes, a canny give-and-go, the handoff that becomes a screen, a running floater if the shot clock demands it. The lineup with which Miami closed Game 4 -- Dragic, Herro, Butler, Iguodala, and Adebayo -- played zero minutes together in the regular season. It includes three minimal threats from 3-point range -- a lineup construction Spoelstra has mostly avoided. It is now plus-23 in 42 postseason minutes, per NBA.com. Pristine spacing isn't everything, though it certainly helps against elite defenses. That lineup includes five high-IQ playmakers who all move well without the ball. Collective feel and smarts can compensate for an overall lack of shooting. That is Iguodala to a tee. Miami going into Game 4 had begun to look like a six-man team -- their five starters, plus Herro. Spoelstra in Game 4 benched three regular reserves -- Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk, Derrick Jones Jr. -- and even unearthed Solomon Hill. Iguodala gave them a seventh man -- enough to eke out another win, one game closer to an improbable Finals return. If Miami advances, it will need this Iguodala -- the one for whom the Heat traded -- even more.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/zachlowe29965352/nba-playoffs-key-play-andre-iguodala-tells-us-heat-celtics
Nuggets: There is absolutely no training like the grind of two 3-1 comebacks on such a young team. Truly battle-tested. The bubble has basically been their DBZ hyperbolic time chamber.
Jamal "Steph Curry" Murray is nuts. I knew he was a rising player but dude is playing like he's the best player on the court right now. You know you are a threat when Lebron says "Fuck it I'm guarding you now".
Dwight reduced the antics and amplified the basketball and he turned out to be one of game 4's heroes. Props for Vogel for reining him in and for Dwight for realizing that trying to punk Joker isn't sustainable over 7 games
The goonish behavior by Dwight Howard was by design. The enforcer role permeates across most professional sports (football/hockey/soccer/golf), if you can't beat them with skill, beat them. It's not pretty but it can work, I'm glad to see Howard can still play high level basketball.
I know the nuggets down 3-1 are magical, but they looked so tired towards the end last night. I bet all of these guys have their eyes towards home a little bit. That bubble must be getting old.
It is also no question that Miami is benefitting from the bubble. They were a poor road team and I feel the Milwaukee series would've at least gone seven had Miami been playing games with sold out arenas.
On a side note, Murray has had been guarded by Kawhi, PG, Lebron, and Pat Beverly in crunch time. These guys are mind blowing. As every ESPN guy/Denver staff said, being guarded by the top defender is the ultimate sign of respect. Can you imagine being picked up at half court in clutch time by your idol?
This was a "revenge game" by the Lakers' big men. After everyone talked about their poor rebounding in Game 3, they responded with 12 offensive rebounds which yielded 25 2nd chance points. Which means that they (probably) scored on each offensive rebound. And then again people talk about AD's lack of rebounds, and "lack of effort" on that segment. That is not true. Even when people over here talked about that after game 3 I was baffled. While there were moments where AD could have boxed out and set up his body down low a bit better, he did one hell of a job on other "defensive front", contesting shots. In both Game 3 and Game 4 he had 14 contested shots. Most by far among all other players. In game 3 he had 10 contested 3 point shots, and in game 4 he had 6 of them. So basically the gameplan was that he covers guards/wings and other players handle the rebounding... And even if they did allow some offensive rebounds to Nuggets, they only got 11 points out of that (Dwight alone scored 12 points today, and I'm pretty sure all of them came from offensive rebound). Back to game 4 again. Lakers didn't shoot the ball that well once again, apart from AD, who was perfect. But as mentioned, they managed to "correct" themselves thanks to off rebounds. Nuggets shot the ball really good throughout the game, they constantly had higher percentages than Lakers. But not being able to secure defensive rebounds cost them the game in the end. They managed to catch up on Lakers, managed to get GOOD defensive stops and they bottled it up on rebounds. Whenever I watch LeBron James play, I get the feeling that he has two modes. G/dlike and Cruising. I feel like he has been cruising through most parts of the game, then he just switches it on and drives to the hoop several attacks in a row. I disliked their attack when he was standing on top of the key and just waited for clock to run out and then take a tough long-range shot. But his teammates might be "guilty" in those situations as they didn't move without the ball, we can't really know what was the called play in that case. Kuzma could be the third guy for this Lakers' team, his off-ball movements and general playstyle fits well with AD's and LeBron's. Jamal Murray was once again amazing. He was creating bunch of shots for his teammates and scored some crazy shots in game 4, especially in fourth quarter. While those shots and layups are attractive and make a great highlight reel, I'm not sure that Nuggets want to depend on those crazy layups. Jokic didn't play that much down low, not sure why they didn't go to him in 2nd half that much. Jerami Grant has gained bunch of confidence in last two games... And in the end, a painful thing to talk about is that there were some really weird referee decisions, I didn't think I'd bring this up, but through discussion with some other folks I think that there were some crucial wrong calls in fourth quarter. Non-existent Shooting foul on Millsap (when Davis tweaked ankle), non-shooting foul called on Murray's 2+1, etc...
Jokic was hit with with 3 fouls entering 4th quarter, and then was hit with two really quick fouls, so that's probably why he basically dropped out of the 4th quarter.
There were a few bad calls throughout. AD and-1 in the first half, Murray and-1 in the 4th quarter, Murray getting a foul by pushing off LeBron and falling down, Murray not getting a foul when LeBron chopped him on the arm on that layup attempt, and then Murray getting a phantom foul when Caruso was perfectly vertical in front of him. Nothing that comes close to describing the game as refball. The Lakers clearly outhustled the Nuggets in key moments just generating extra opportunities. Difficult to win a game when you have so many fewer scoring opportunities.
Kuzma is getting roasted for Porter schooling him a couple times (it was funny), but for the most part he played a good game defensively, making a number of timely rim protection rotations to stop drives and playing well on switches. He was so bad at this stuff just a few months ago, when was the last time we saw a team repeatedly hunt him on switches on the perimeter? He could be a little more active off ball, but he made a couple good plays there, I was particularly impressed when he snuck away from Grant to the corner 3 when Lebron had the ball on top and when Lebron swung the ball to him, he had the vision to see both Plumlee and Grant ran at him, leaving AD open for the open dunk. He so would've taken that 3 last year. As for his 3 ball, I am worried about inconsistency returning to his footwork; he seemed to ckean it up after his first few misses, sinking a couple, but time will tell if he stays the course.
Danny Green obviously could hit more shots, but he delivered rebounding and defense. Yes, Murray cooked him and Caruso, but that dude was going to cook just about anyone last night. LBJ channeling some of his miami magic to limit Murray in the late 4th. Javale was once again shit in his small stint in the 1st half. Glad Vogel didn't give him any time in the 2nd half.
Jamal Murray seemed so broken during the presser after last night's game, so was I (I want Denver to win). I understand why, their team is probably really doubting if they can pull off another 3-1 comeback, they're all wrecked. If Denver was able to come back it would be fucking incredible to watch. They must be so tired at this point, they've gotten the least amount of breaks out of any remaining team since every series has gone to seven games. I have a shit ton of respect for this Denver team.
What a terrible thing for Paul George to say "it's not championship or bust"? Of course it is! They traded a hundred draft picks for you and you can opt out. I thought Lakers were lucky not facing them but now I think Lakers would've beat this Clippers, they are mentally weak.
Chris Paul Reacts To LeBron's Emotional Postgame Interview, "As Soon As That Clock Goes To Zero We Back To Being Who We Exactly Are... You Don't Walk Around With That Uniform On, You Walk Around As A Black Man."
https://streamable.com/9xozt9
Ron Paul has stroke during livestream video
https://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-hospitalized-stroke-live-stream-vide0-2020-9
FL governor suspends collection of fines for violating mask rules
https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/desantis-coronavirus-fine-mask/67-b658ebd7-c18e-49f0-8aa0-3efcfd68f39e
Trays of mail, including absentee ballots, found in a ditch in Wisconsin | "The United States Postal Inspection Service immediately began investigating, and we reserve further comment on this matter until that is complete," USPS spokesman Bob Sheehan told WLUK.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trays-of-mail-including-absentee-ballots-found-in-a-ditch-in-wisconsin
https://fox11online.com/news/local/mail-found-in-ditch-in-greenville
________________________________
https://www.newyorker.com/news/campaign-chronicles/the-new-republicans-of-pennsylvania
By Eliza Griswold
September 25,2020
The New Republicans of Pennsylvania
On a Wednesday afternoon in August, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Lance Stange, the chair of the local Republican Party, led a dozen volunteers and campaign staffers in an effort to assemble a thousand Donald Trump yard signs. Stange, who is forty-four and wears his white hair slicked back, was calm, though the mood in the office was frantic. The President was arriving the following afternoon to host a rally outside of Scranton, Joe Biden's home town, on the same day that Biden would accept his Presidential nomination, at the Democratic National Convention. The visit was spur of the moment. "It just came together in the last twenty-four hours, but we're working through it," Stange told me. He was hoping to line a two-mile stretch of road between the airport and the event space with boosterish messages, so that Trump would see them on his way to the rally and be pleased. Stange told me that he also uses the yard signs for another purpose: when someone orders one, he checks her voter registration, and if she isn't a Republican he tries to recruit her. He said that he has been flooded with requests for signs from disaffected Democrats. "If I'm delivering a Trump sign to a registered Democrat, believe me, they're going to hear from me," he said.
Stange, who was born and raised in Scranton, comes from a longtime Republican family, a rarity in the area. For decades, Scranton was a coal town dominated by labor unions, and almost everyone was a Democrat. Stange's family owned a chain of grocery and convenience stores, and kept quiet about politics—being outspoken would have been bad for business. At twenty, Stange called the local G.O.P. headquarters, asked to volunteer, and was told that he should try the Young Republicans. "I was a little disappointed," he told me. But, before long, he came to chair the group, went on to serve as secretary of the local Party, and is now the G.O.P. chair in Lackawanna County and the caucus chair for the nine counties that make up northeastern Pennsylvania.
For the past couple decades, he has worked to strengthen the Republican Party in Lackawanna County; his successes on the local level reflect a general trend in the state. Pennsylvania has been a battleground since the nineteen-thirties, but, in recent years, the state has appeared to shift rightward. Obama won Pennsylvania by a wide margin in 2008, and more narrowly in 2012. In 2016, however, Trump took Pennsylvania by forty-four thousand votes. Lackawanna County has followed a similar pattern. In 2008, it went to Obama by twenty-eight thousand votes. In 2016, Hillary Clinton—whose grandfather worked in a nearby lace factory, and whose grandparents are buried on the west side of town—managed to hold it by only three thousand votes. "Lackawanna County was blue on the map on CNN," Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, the mayor of Scranton, told me. "But that painted over the truth, which was a huge loss of votes."
Stange is hoping to turn the region red, primarily by recruiting and registering new Republicans. He focusses on white working-class voters in the area, a demographic that has historically belonged to the Democratic Party; he calls these people the "forgotten man or woman," and notes that they have been particularly sympathetic to Trump's message. To pinpoint them, Stange measures the registration figures of individual districts against their election performance. He recently located a precinct in Carbondale, in the north of Lackawanna County, where only twenty-eight per cent of residents are registered Republicans but where Trump won fifty-seven per cent of the vote in 2016. "Clearly, there are a number of Democrats and Independents ripe for recruitment," he told me.
Stange has established a large, visible G.O.P. office in a building in downtown Scranton that previously served as a sandwich shop. Taped to its walls are brightly colored signs that read "#BigGovSucks" and "Socialism: You Make It, They Take It." He set up the office's landline to forward to his cell phone, which he answers at all hours. The nearest Democratic Party office is in Peckville, a fifteen-minute drive away. "If Biden has an office here in Scranton, it's a secret," Stange told me. "I don't know where it is." He makes sure that his office posts on social media every day; he pointed out that the local Democratic Party often goes days without posting.
Stange had planned extensive outreach efforts in the lead-up to the election, but, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, he had to cancel them. Volunteers made calls from home, and their work, along with that of the rest of the Trump campaign, was coördinated on an app. Around May 1st, however, Stange led the campaign back into the physical world, to do "the more conventional grassroots stuff." His volunteers have since visited fifty thousand homes in northeastern Pennsylvania, knocking on doors and talking to residents. The local Democrats, by contrast, have assiduously avoided face-to-face contact; most of their home visits are limited to hanging flyers on closed doors. To compensate, they have tried to reach voters remotely, through phone calls, text messages, and postcards. Jenn Ridder, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, told me that going door to door during a pandemic is dangerous and unethical. She wrote in an e-mail that the local campaign's "full-scale organizing program" was "helping everyday people plug into our campaign in ways they're most comfortable with." Stange, referring to a Politico article, said that, in the past several months, the Trump campaign had knocked on roughly a million doors a week; the Biden campaign had knocked on none. "You can't win this state without knocking on doors," he told me.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/04/trump-joe-biden-campaign-door-knockers-391454
When I visited the G.O.P. office, the day before Trump's visit to Scranton, Stange stood behind a counter, wearing a gray wool suit. Campaign workers, mostly thick-waisted white men in MAGA hats and shorts, unpacked boxes of Trump-Pence placards. Owing to the pandemic, Tom Wolf, the state's Democratic governor, had placed limitations on public gatherings, which frustrated the campaign workers. "Typically, we'd have twenty thousand people," Stange said. "But we're only allowed to register two hundred and fifty." At the office, no one was wearing a mask, including Stange. When I asked about this, he pulled a red-white-and-blue "Trump" mask from his briefcase. "We respect the virus," he said. I asked what the policy was for door-knockers: Did the campaign leave it up to their volunteers to decide whether or not to wear a mask? "Yeah, um, we do," Stange said, though he added that he thought wearing one was the "respectful thing" to do. "Like I said, we respect the virus."
In Pennsylvania, Republican registration is outpacing that of Democrats. Since 2016, the G.O.P. has added more than a hundred thousand registered voters in the state, while the Democrats have lost eighty thousand. The precise meaning of these numbers is somewhat contentious. Democratic strategists point out that their party has registered more first-time voters, and that, over all, Democrats still have about seven hundred thousand more registered members in the state than Republicans do. Still, by any measure, local Republicans have eroded the traditional Democratic lead, mostly by picking off Democrats who have become disaffected. This pattern has been mirrored in other battleground states, such as North Carolina and Florida, where Republicans appear to be closing historic gaps in registration.
In Pennsylvania, the trend is most pronounced in its northeastern corner. In Lackawanna County, registered Democrats have historically outnumbered Republicans three to one, but, over the past several years, the margin has dwindled to two to one, according to Chris Patrick, the local Democratic chair. "To see this flip in this area is extraordinary," Christopher Borick, a political analyst at Muhlenberg College, in Allentown, told me. Many of the defectors are white voters without college educations. "Even before 2016, you have lifelong white working-class voters in both northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania who have a 'D' on their registration but have been voting for Republicans," Borick said. Catholic voters in the region are also leaving the Democratic Party, largely because of the Party's increasingly liberal stance on reproductive rights. "Now you've got an Irish Catholic Presidential candidate struggling to win his own town and his own county," Borick said. (He thought that the recent death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the possibility that a Trump appointee would move to restrict abortion access, might cause more Catholics to defect, though it might also motivate Democratic turnout. "For those voters concerned above all with reproductive rights on both sides, it's probably a reinforcing issue," he said.) Cognetti, the Scranton mayor, told me that residents have also become more skeptical of institutions and more sympathetic to Trump's self-presentation as an outsider. "Basically, every institution of authority in Pennsylvania has let people down in some way in the last decade," she said. "The sex scandals at Penn State and in the Catholic Church, along with elected officials all over the state going to jail. The absolute crumbling of trust in authority is real, and that can't be ignored."
In 2016, the Republican Party noticed that many of these voters, even those who remained registered as Democrats, voted for Trump in large numbers. After the election, the Party began an intensive outreach program, involving canvassing, mailers, and targeted advertising. "We have seen, over time, the Republican ground game be more effective in Pennsylvania," Borick told me, and this has resulted in an uptick in Republican registrations. Registration is a Party's most powerful tool, Borick added: the G.O.P. will now be able to remain in touch with these newly registered voters in the lead-up to the election, coördinate getting them to polling stations, and encourage them to vote for down-ballot Republicans. Local Party leaders also hope that, more subjectively, the registrations will shift residents' political identity, encouraging them to think of themselves not as independent-minded Democrats but as Republicans, and thus cementing their loyalty in the long term.
The day after I visited the Republican headquarters, I drove to Old Forge, fifteen minutes outside of Scranton, where Trump was holding his rally, at a building-supply store. Hundreds of people packed the streets outside. A d.j. spun "G-d Bless the U.S.A." at full volume on the side of the road. "I don't care who you are," he announced into a microphone. "President Trump, the most powerful man in the world, is coming to Old Forge." Stange, still in a suit, despite the August heat, stood nearby, sipping a Red Bull.
Outside Valley Auto Parts, I met a nineteen-year-old named Mackenzie Mitchko, who was attending the rally with her mother. She wore Gucci sunglasses and a tie-dyed "Make America Great Again" T-shirt, and waved a flag that featured a sketch of Trump and the slogan "Fuck your feelings." "A friend gave it to me, when he heard we were coming to this rally," she told me. Her family had been longtime Democrats, but, a decade ago, the factory where Mitchko's mother worked, making CDs and DVDs, moved to Mexico, and her job disappeared. In 2015, the family heard Trump speak, and was attracted to his promises to protect workers. Last fall, when Mitchko was attending college at Concordia, in Bronxville, New York, she felt that the other students there scorned her support for Trump. "I didn't talk much about how I felt about the President there, because people told me I was uneducated," she said. This only entrenched her beliefs. After finishing her first year, she left college, in part because she felt out of place politically, and decided to stay home and study to become a dental hygienist. Earlier this year, she switched her registration from Democrat to Republican. This is the first Presidential election in which she is old enough to vote.
Mitchko's father had recently become famous on social media for handing out fourteen thousand Trump yard signs from their garage. On the day of the rally, he had been asked to join the President's entourage, and his wife and daughter tried to spot him in the motorcade. The family's support hadn't wavered during the pandemic, and they were unimpressed by criticisms of how Trump had handled the crisis. "This disease is in a hundred countries," Mitchko told me. "Why is it his fault that we have it here?" A spike in infection rates in the U.S. over the summer seemed to them to be a Democratic ruse to scare people into voting by mail, so that Democrats who worked for the Postal Service could manipulate ballots. "We're voting in person," Mitchko told me.
Several new Republicans I spoke to, including the Mitchkos, had redoubled their support for Trump following this summer's Black Lives Matter protests. One woman, who preferred to be identified only by her first name, Cathy, hadn't voted since she registered as a Democrat, seventeen years earlier. "I'm voting for Trump because of safety," she told me. She thought that the way Democratic governors and mayors were yielding to social unrest signalled the disintegration of American order. "They're not allowing the President to bring in federal agents, and that's not what our forefathers wanted," she told me. Dave Elliott, Scranton's former police chief, told me that he, too, was concerned about the protests. "I supported Clinton because he was pro-police," he said. He had once liked Biden, too, because the senator spoke the language of law and order. "Now he has completely flipped," Eliott said. "He's vilifying police officers today and turning criminals into victims." He would be voting for Trump in the upcoming election.
One evening, I visited another new Republican, a carpenter named Mike Mazza, at his house, beside a highway about thirty minutes north of Scranton. Mazza is an amateur taxidermist, and in his home he had mounted several buck heads, from animals that he'd shot himself; on a table stood a lamp of braided antlers. We sat on the porch, which was painted pale green. Mazza had grown up as a Democrat, but, in 2019, a local township supervisor was indicted for violating the Clean Water Act, and the subsequent scandal made Mazza disillusioned about politics. (The supervisor pleaded not guilty, and the case is ongoing.) Mazza thinks that Trump is fighting this kind of corruption in Washington. He has also become a devotee of QAnon, a far-right conspiracy theory holding that a Democratic cabal of pedophiles is trying to take down Trump. He believes, among other things, that faith in G-d will protect QAnon followers from the coronavirus. Mazza had hung an oversized banner on his porch featuring a large "Q" and the QAnon slogan, "Where we go one, we go all." As we were talking, a woman he didn't know pulled into the driveway in a white Escalade and beeped. "Where we go one, we go all!" she shouted from the window. Mazza told me that this happens as often as three times in a day.
Democrats may have hope in Pennsylvania. The southeastern part of the state—Philadelphia and the suburbs immediately surrounding it—look increasingly blue. Ridder, the Biden spokesperson, told me that the campaign has been "building on the gains Democrats made in 2018 in the suburbs." This trend is good for the Party in the long term: the population of blue parts of the state is increasing, while the population of red parts is shrinking. Furthermore, Pennsylvania's young voters appear to be more involved in the political process in this cycle, perhaps motivated by the dangers of climate change and gun violence. "If young people continue that surge, then Republicans are in for a rout," Tom Bonier, the C.E.O. of TargetSmart, a Democratic data-analysis firm working for the Biden campaign, told me. Early-voting numbers are encouraging for Democrats. Sixty-nine per cent of mail-in ballots in the state have been requested by Democrats; only twenty-four per cent were requested by Republicans. It's not yet clear whether this reflects differing attitudes about mail-in voting or indicates something significant about turnout. "You might think that Democrats are just banking votes early," Bonier said. "But twenty-six per cent of those requests come from people who didn't vote in 2016."
One afternoon, I visited Patricia Healey, a seventy-year-old teacher and a new Democrat. Healey lives on Scranton's west side, in a white bungalow surrounded by trellises of anemones and roses. Around the corner, there were duelling signs. Most supported Trump: several large signs bearing his name were stapled to porches. One, against him, read "S.T.D.—Stop the Donald." There was no sign in front of Healey's house, though she supported Biden. "Here's the thing: I don't know anyone distributing Biden signs," she told me when I arrived, ushering me to a wicker chair on her wide front porch. "I thought I might get a Trump one and cross it out, but I thought better of it."
Healey ducked inside to get her face shield before sitting down and joining me. She'd been a Republican all her life, because that was the political party her grandparents had chosen, in the small, rural town of German, Pennsylvania. They were fiscal conservatives, and Healey, largely out of loyalty to them, remained a Republican. In 2016, she'd attended a Trump rally in nearby Wilkes-Barre, and was drawn to the energy of the unlikely candidate. She'd grown sick of the ways that both parties stymied each other, and of the resulting inaction. In the end, she voted for Trump, seeing it as a vote for change in Washington; she hadn't made up her mind until she'd tugged the curtain behind her in the voting booth. "It was last minute," she told me. "We'd had Clintons in the White House before, and it wasn't that I was against them. I just worried about all the baggage surrounding them."
The past four years, however, had dismayed her. "As soon as he started—the way he tweets all the time—I had my doubts," Healey said. "I wished he'd just shut up." Then, as Trump began to gut public programs and institutions in favor of corporations, she grew frightened. "I went from hope to disappointment to anger," she said. In Lackawanna County, Healey had taught high-school Spanish for thirty-two years. "What people don't realize is that he's going after public education," she said. "If he wins, he'll go after unions and pensions, along with social security." Healey considers herself an environmentalist, and was particularly appalled that Trump had sold off public lands to oil and gas companies. She believed that, if anyone had doubts that Trump was incompetent, they need only look at his Administration's failure in handling the pandemic. "I wish I'd done my homework before I voted," she said.
Healey had been watching local TV ads in which the Trump campaign promoted falsehoods about Biden. Several claimed that he wanted to ban fracking outright. "Yes, Biden's against fracking, but only on federal land," she told me. "When I see those ads, the fear comes in, because people aren't going to check into it." She worried that Trump was breaching political norms, and that four more years would give him enough time to unravel American democracy. "I know it might sound bizarre, but I really wouldn't put it past him to declare himself a dictator," she said.
Healey took little comfort in Biden's lead in national polls. She was concerned that people would stay home on Election Day, fearing the coronavirus or believing that Biden will win handily and underestimating Trump. "With this guy, you don't have it all sewn up. Trump's got every angle," she said. "He's a shark, and you probably can't even see what he's got going on. You can't be complacent." Despite the health risk, she and her husband, both in their seventies, were going to vote in person. "Yes, we are in that group that's supposed to exercise caution, but we want to make sure it's counted," she said. Healey had never paid much attention to politics before now. "I hate politics," she told me. "But we don't have a choice. We've got to get out there."
________________________________
Trump administration illegally and unconstitutionally rescinded "Courage Award" for woman who criticized Trump and gave false explanation for decision, watchdog finds
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-administration-rescinded-courage-award-for-woman-who-criticized-trump-and-gave-false-explanation-for-decision-watchdog-finds/2020/09/25/255bc880-fecd-11ea-830c-a160b331ca62_story.html
YEP: Yes, the Biden Campaign Should Be Canvassing Voters Right Now | While Joe Biden cedes the ground to Donald Trump, other campaigns are learning that canvassers, properly masked, can have safe conversation with voters more than six feet away. The Biden approach could help put the election in jeopardy. Last week, buried in a New York Times report on Joe Biden's front-running yet listless campaign, was a brief account of nervous Democrats in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Biden's limited presence had so unnerved Democratic leaders there that they had taken it upon themselves to go door-to-door distributing campaign signs, dropping off literature, and interacting with voters. "If you complain as much as I do and you beat on the doors of the national campaign, they're eventually going to respond to you," Ryan Bizzarro, a state representative from the county, told the Times. Across America, in the pivotal swing states that will determine the outcome of the 2020 election, the story is the same: Biden's campaign has abdicated the ground game to Donald Trump, largely forgoing door-knocking and in-person campaign events for a barrage of phone-banking and text-banking, as well as digital and TV ads. The approach, coming in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, is, at first blush, understandable. Two hundred thousand Americans have died from the coronavirus, and infections and death continue. In the context of this hellish year, door-knocking almost feels frivolous. That was the argument Amanda Litman, the founder of Run for Something, made on Twitter last week, calling door-knocking during a pandemic "dangerous and unethical." "I hope every Democrat doing so stops ASAP," she tweeted. Litman's tweet came in response to a Politico story about the genuine divide among Democrats when it comes to door-to-door canvassing. Democratic Senate candidates, including Steve Bullock and Sara Gideon, have resumed knocking on doors. The Biden campaign's refusal to engage in any kind of serious in-person campaign activity may soon make it an outlier, with a little over a month to go until Election Day. | Door-knocking carries the possibility of transmitting coronavirus. So does entering a supermarket, dining indoors, sitting in a movie theater, and meeting friends at the park. Mass protests against police brutality, as important as they are, can carry risks if masks aren't worn properly. It's unclear what makes in-person canvassing, when conducted with reasonable precautions, more dangerous than activities Americans have been engaging in for months now. | AND POLLUTED KILLS, CIGARETTES KILL, DRUGS KILL, THE MEAT AND DAIRY INDUSTRY ARE DESTROYING YOU, ALCOHOL KILLS, DIABETES AND HEART ATTACKS AND STROKES ETC KILLS, CAR FUMES KILL, INDUSTRY KILLS, POVERTY KILLS, THE AIR YOU BREATH IS KILLING YOU, WILDFIRE SMOKE DESTROYS HEALTH, PERFUME AND COSMETICS DESTROY HEALTH, INDUSTRIAL CLEANERS DESTROY HEALTH, GET BACK TO DOING CAMPAIGN RALLIES AND DOOR-TO-DOOR CAMPAIGNING YOU COWARD DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS ARE SHOWING AMERICA THEY ARE NOT SCARED OF COVID19, THEY ARE SHOWING AMERICA THEY WON'T LET A GARBAGE VIRUS SCARE THEM INTO HIDING, REPUBLICANS HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MADE THE POINT THAT COVID19 IS A JOKE COMPARED TO REALITY | Can the Biden campaign win with a virtually nonexistent ground game? Yes. Biden's polling lead has remained durable because so many Democrats despise Trump and are eager to vote against him. This is the apotheosis of negative polarization, an election hinging almost entirely on the resentment of one figure. But the Democratic Party, once again, is sleepwalking into longer-term defeat in exchange for a moral high ground. Counties like Erie must be organized for the future, when revulsion of Trump won't be enough to power Democrats to victory. Under a President Biden, the past specter of Trump can only be invoked for so long; at some point, voters will again need to be motivated, particularly in off years when turnout plummets and Republicans seize control of the House and Senate. Local Democratic Party organizations understand that presidential races are singular opportunities to organize new voters. Attention to politics reaches an apex that won't be matched again for four years. Every day that passes without a Biden volunteer or canvasser walking a neighborhood, safely masked, is a lost day to reach a person who has not engaged with the political process before and may never again. For years, Republicans have been out-organizing Democrats in counties like Erie. If Democrats are able to capture the White House and the Senate, there is still the possibility that Republicans will control a majority of statehouses in America. This remarkable fact directly correlates with the lackadaisical, self-satisfied approach Democratic elites took to campaigns in the Obama years and are again repeating with Biden 2020, which has become a plodding vessel devoid of any extant rationale beyond defeating Trump and pretending the savage forces that made his victory possible never existed in the first place. For now, Biden's tepid approach may land him in the White House. Some will accede to fresh cries that meeting voters face-to-face is overrated anyway, now that we're all trapped behind our screens, fidgeting in the glare of Zoom. Perhaps all of it is. But what if the election, somehow, is again decided by miniscule margins, as it was in 2016? What if it's a few thousand voters in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan who decide whether Trump has four more years to cement right-wing dominance of the United States for a generation? Biden is gambling on the fact that anti-Trump rage is enough. If it is not, every Democrat will be left to wonder how much more could have been done in the summer and fall, when local leaders finally took it upon themselves to campaign. Knocking on a door with a mask, standing six feet back, and having a conversation isn't an act of decadence or violence. The longer the Biden campaign pretends it is, the more Republicans can have counties like Erie to themselves.
https://jacobinmag.com/2020/09/joe-biden-trump-canvassing-door-knocking
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/us/politics/joe-biden-campaign.html
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/joe-biden-democrats-election-donald-trump
https://jacobinmag.com/2020/09/joe-biden-campaign-polls-volunteers-young-vote
https://twitter.com/amandalitman/status/1305846903947644928
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/14/down-ballot-democrats-canvassing-414715
https://jacobinmag.com/2020/09/trump-election-supreme-court-packing-filibuster
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/opinion/biden-campaign-canvassing.html
The felony charges are enough of a disruption to protester lives. Even if charges are dismissed the arrest record will stay until expunged, that arrest record can impact travel, education prospects, loans, military service, security clearance, and even a person's employment.
Steele always said his information came from sources inside Russian Intelligence. It is what spies do. It is why you hire an ex spy, so he can give you information from sources that you can not access. The source used in footnote 334 has already been looked into as a potential bad reference. The FBI knew it was possible that Steele had been fed misinformation, but still trusted him based on his reputation. We're sitting here arguing about sources within the Steele dossier, but that document WASN'T EVEN THE CAUSE FOR THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN TEAM INVESTIGATION. We've been flooded with so much shit that we lose sight of the overarching assessments concluded from the 2016 election interference. Quit trying to smear Danchenko, dude worked for years at Brookings as a research analyst.. He was offered a job, he provided services, he is was a regular in DC circles. Trump is a criminal. The Mueller Report lays out his instance's of obstruction of justice. The Senate report lays out his act of perjury. In a country where a cop can knock down a door and shoot a woman in her bed and be in the clear, then why are we arguing about how Trump was treated unfairly because some of the sources were possibly fed misinformation?
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/518138-steele-dossier-sub-source-was-subject-of-fbi-counterintelligence-probe
So Christopher Steele got information on a Russian spying operation from a Russian spy? I have some news for you: that's how this shit works. Steele always said his information came from sources inside Russian Intelligence. It is what spies do. It is why you hire an ex spy, so he can give you information from sources that you can not access.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/24/steele-dossier-russia-doj-421536
Trump's claim "that he's solved surprise medical billing is a lie:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/will-trumps-health-care-executive-orders-have-an-impact
Lots of people - in this case more than half are Democrats - can't follow the instructions to submit their vote-by-mail ballot properly in Florida. What does this say about our educational system that people can't read and follow directions? This is a 19% rate of deficient ballots (no signature) in just one county: As of this morning, 4,657 valid mail-in ballots cast in Florida. Another 101 with no signature on the return envelope & 28 with a voter-caused error. Plenty of time to cure you VBM ballot as long as you're informed by your SOE.
Of the 101 with no signatures, 58 Ds, 21 Rs, 17 NPAs
https://twitter.com/electionsmith/status/1309573328340955136
Of the 446 VBM ballots received by Miami-Dade as of yesterday, 85 are missing the return signature. That's nearly 1 in 5 !!
https://twitter.com/electionsmith/status/1309575715273179138
Each state has different rules governing how to 'cure' (fix) problems on absentee/mail ballots.
+ Will election boards notify all voters?
+ Will voters pro-actively check their ballot status?
+ Can parties get a list of voters with ballot submission issues?
THIS IS ABUSE. PLEASE RETIRE HIM. LET HIM LIVE OUT THE REST OF HIS LIFE INTACT. DITTO FOR WAR DOGS. A rat named Magawa has sniffed out 39 landmines and 28 unexploded munitions in his career as a mine-sniffing rat in Cambodia, earning him a gold medal from UK veterinary charity
https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1309578417650704386
One thing Democrats could do—with basically no strategic downside—is to hammer home the message that voters should ask for and return their mail ballots as early as possible, which makes it more likely they'll be included in tallies on election night.
Trump housing secretary Ben Carson is unhappy with the White House personnel office, according to notes seen on his podium as he spoke at an event in Atlanta. Carson was also supposed to leave two years ago.
https://twitter.com/bpolitics/status/1309576827749519363?s=20
The media must do a better job on this race. For example, instead of asking why Biden isn't doing rallies, they should be asking Trump why he is doing rallies in the midst of a deadly pandemic. Too many in the media are still operating upon old models of how campaigns work.
#MNTwins have DFA'd Homer Bailey and purchased the contract of Edwar Colina.
https://twitter.com/DanHayesMLB/status/1309573614774161408
The Miami Marlins have a chance to clinch a playoff spot today. The same day that Jose Fernandez tragically passed away.
This playoffs, Lakers never lost a 3-1 lead and Nuggets never lost a 1-3 deficit
LeBron's defense on Jamal Murray in Game 4 during the final minutes. 2 of these were fouls on the drives but it's interesting to see the plays where Jamal gives it up because LeBron is on him, that's always an aspect of defense that's underdiscussed. Also Lebron lost his legs at the start of the 4th and missed some pretty embarrassing shots. They actually should've kept attacking him in different ways but instead they gave him way too much respect.
https://streamable.com/8nlo2y
inspiring: a young boy somewhere is watching this game....and when he's drafted in ten years he's gonna have to wait on the bench for Ryan Fitzpatrick to give up a starting QB job
https://twitter.com/minakimes/status/1309309126992785408
Russell Wilson on Dak: "I love Dak's courage because most men are afraid to talk about some of the things that they've gone through and the challenges, especially in terms of mental health... He's a tremendous football player, and I think... a lot of people look up to him all over the country."
https://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41100298-4
Ryan Fitzpatrick is my favorite player hands down.
https://twitter.com/KDx32/status/1309299626873217027
George Kittle is officially out for Sunday, per Kyle Shanahan.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1309544581088804864
Gardner Minshew under pressure: 18 Dropbacks 4 Sacks 47.6 Passer Rating
https://www.twitter.com/PFF/status/1309338079895920642
Cam on completing over 71 percent of his throws: "that's cute, but we want to win." #Patriots"
https://twitter.com/ezlazar/status/1309245761289424903
Cam Robinson ejected from the game
https://www.clippituser.tv/c/wdblnk
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 18-of-20 passes (90.0 pct.), breaking the team's record for completion percentage with a minimum of 20 attempts. Previous record of 85.0 pct. (17-of-20) was set by QB Chad Pennington on Sept. 21, 2008, at New England.
https://twitter.com/gunnerhal/status/1309489157010489344
@KyleBrandt on @GMFB : "Ryan Fitzpatrick is our Bartolo Colon." Perfect.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1309451005743030272
Ryan Fitzpatrick now has a TD pass against the Jaguars with the Dolphins ... and with the Bengals, Bills, Titans, and Jets. He has extended his NFL record by throwing a TD pass against the Jaguars while playing for 5 different teams -- no other QB has done it with more than 3
https://twitter.com/NFLResearch/status/1309300805267156992
Attorney General Bill Barr Directly Implicated in Pennsylvania's Discarded Ballot Chaos Amplified by Trump and White House
https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/attorney-general-bill-barr-directly-implicated-in-discarded-ballot-chaos-amplified-by-trump-and-white-house
U.S. court lets House move forward with challenge to Trump's border wall
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-court-idUSKCN26G2DQ
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, UK's richest person, moves to tax-free Monaco - Ratcliffe, the founder and chief executive of petrochemicals company Ineos, was an ardent supporter of the vote leave campaign, declaring that the UK would thrive without red tape from Brussels.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/25/sir-jim-ratcliffe-uks-richest-person-moves-to-tax-free-monaco-brexit-ineos-domicile
China blocks Wikimedia Foundation's accreditation to World Intellectual Property Organization
https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2020/09/24/china-blocks-wikimedia-foundations-accreditation/
BMW fined $18 million for inflating sales figures
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/25/business/bmw-sales-figures-sec-fine/
Bah Ndaw sworn in as civilian leader after Mali Coup
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54292919
The seven discarded Pennsylvania ballots Trump keeps harping about were (1) in the June primary and (2) lacking secrecy envelopes. The Trump campaign was the one that sued to require secrecy envelopes and won. Therefore, the ballots were discarded because of Trump's lawsuit.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/25/what-we-know-about-those-discarded-trump-ballots-pennsylvania/
Vietnam vet has Joe Biden signs vandalized in Saukville; 'I've earned a right to say something' (Wisconsin)
https://www.cbs58.com/news/vietnam-vet-has-joe-biden-signs-vandalized-in-saukville-ive-earned-a-right-to-say-something
________________________________
https://theintercept.com/2020/09/24/memo-laying-out-delay-tactics-circulates-among-senate-democrats/
Memo Laying Out Supreme Court Delay Tactics Circulates Among Senate Democrats
A new memo spells out the myriad options available to Sen. Chuck Schumer to delay confirmation of a new Supreme Court justice.
Ryan Grim
September 24 2020, 10:24 p.m.
As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faces increasing pressure from Democrats around the country to use every tool at his disposal to oppose the Republican effort to push through a Supreme Court nominee before the election, one question has bedeviled activists: What exactly is possible?
https://twitter.com/es_indivisible/status/1308153489734987777
A memo circulating on Capitol Hill, put together by several people with knowledge of congressional procedure and obtained by The Intercept, lays out some of the options that could be available to Schumer even in the face of a determined Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Senators looking to obstruct in the Senate have a dizzying array of opportunities, but a majority leader with 50 votes, plus a tie-breaking vice president, also has an extraordinary amount of power in the upper chamber. Elements of the memo were first published earlier Thursday by the Daily Poster.
https://twitter.com/dailyposter/status/1309260233928134656
Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., put together a similar document as Republicans were working to block the Affordable Care Act in 2009 and 2010.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/judd-gregg-lays-out-maximally-obstructive-gop-game-plan-on-health-care
Dozens of Indivisible chapters recently sent Schumer a letter demanding he do everything in his power to block McConnell and President Donald Trump from filling the seat left vacant by Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death last week before a new president is sworn in. On Sunday evening, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, appearing alongside Schumer at a press conference, urged him to do the same.
https://twitter.com/es_indivisible/status/1308153489734987777/photo/1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoKKZXe4gXE&t=1211s
Trump has pledged to nominate a new justice by Saturday, and McConnell has vowed to move quickly forward on the nomination.
The memo does not claim that victory would be guaranteed by engaging in these dilatory tactics, but lays out why the scenario is different than the confirmations of Neil Gorsuch or Brett Kavanaugh, both of which came long before the presidential election. The memo:
Re: Safeguarding the Court
Democrats must act to delay action by Leader McConnell to fill Justice Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat. Denying action before the election could markedly increase the probability that the results of the election would change the vote in the Senate and thereby allow for the seating of a more progressive Justice. Failing that, moving forward with confirmation during a lame duck session, if consent of the governed had been denied, would buttress the case for structural Court reform.
Moreover, much of the broad electorate will want to see Congressional Democrats fighting to protect the Court and their Constitutional rights. Mere capitulation to what Washington insiders see as the inevitable will be viewed by many as abandonment of the Democratic base and could undermine enthusiasm.
At least two contextual considerations make the current circumstance more favorable to the use of dilatory tactics than were the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh confirmations, both of which took place during the 115th Congress: 1) The electorate might vote to change control of the Senate and/or the White House in a matter of weeks and 2) Democrats control the House of Representatives, which can play a part in compelling certain action in the Senate.
Engaging in such dilatory tactics would also likely force McConnell to keep the entire Republican Conference in the vicinity of the Senate, in order to maintain a quorum and to win various votes. This might become increasingly untenable because up to a dozen sitting Republicans are defending their seats in close races and will want to return home to campaign — including to participate in debates and other events they will be loath to miss.
As a threshold matter, the Congressional Democrats must enter a war-room posture and convene a group of the people most knowledgeable of Senate (and House) procedure who can work together and be mutually generative of relevant tactical ideas.
Suggestions contained herein, even if all acted upon in good faith, might not be dispositive of the outcome of the confirmation process — but we have reason to believe that not all potential options have been thoroughly explored.
Actions Congressional Democrats should consider include the following — but what follows is far from exhaustive. We do not purport to have considered every possibility, and this document intentionally omits discussion of certain creative tactics that rely upon the element of surprise.
Exercising Rights To Delay Senate Action Generally
Speaking at Length — In the absence of a unanimous consent agreement governing time to debate or cloture, a Senator who gets recognized to speak can speak at length.
Objecting to Routine Consent Agreements — Any Senator may object to routine unanimous consent agreements, such as those to adjourn, to recess, to approve the Journal, or to dispense with the Morning Hour. Forcing roll-call votes on routine motions to adjourn or recess would require Senators to come to the Capitol and also prevent the Senate from taking other action during the time that it would take for Senators to come to vote.
New Legislative Day — If the Senate adjourns without a unanimous consent agreement providing for the handling of routine business at the beginning of a new legislative day, a new legislative day starts with the morning hour, a 2-hour period with a number of required procedures. As part of the morning hour, any Senator could make a non-debatable motion to proceed to an item on the Senate calendar.
Objecting to Lifting Quorum Calls — Any Senator can object to unanimous consent to lifting a quorum call, forcing a recorded vote that would require Senators to come to the Capitol and also prevent the Senate from taking other action during the time it takes for Senators to come to vote.
Motions to Adjourn and Recess — Any Senator can move to adjourn, to adjourn to a day certain, or to take a recess. All of these motions take precedence over a motion to proceed to the consideration of a nomination. Senators could make a series of motions of this sort to force roll-call votes.
Layover Requirements — Senators can raise points of order if measures have not lain over sufficiently under Rule XIV or XVII.
Raising Points of Order — Any Senator who gets recognized by the Presiding Officer can raise a point of order making a procedural objection. Once the Presiding Officer rules, a Senator can appeal the ruling of the Chair, and Senators can demand a roll-call vote. One could imagine an extremely large number of procedural questions on which to vote.
Filing Cloture — If the Senate is not governed by a unanimous consent agreement or post cloture, a Senator who got recognized could move to proceed to a measure or series of measures and file cloture on the motion(s) to proceed. Two days later, the Senate would be required to vote on the cloture motion(s). The number of these motions is limited only by the number of items on the calendar.
Fast-Track Vehicles — Several fast-track statutes, including the Congressional Budget Act, the Congressional Review Act, the War Powers Act, and the Arms Export Control Act, give any Senator the right to move to proceed to a vehicle and force a roll-call vote and sometimes a period of debate. For example, any Senator could submit a concurrent resolution on the budget, and by precedent, if action has not yet been taken on a budget resolution for the coming fiscal year, then the resolution would be immediately placed on the calendar. Once on the calendar, any Senator could move to proceed to the resolution, forcing a roll-call vote on the motion to proceed. Meanwhile, resolutions of disapproval under the CRA can be petitioned out of committee with 30 signatures after 20 calendar days. Such measures could be filed en masse now.
Utilizing Rule XIV — Any Senator can have any legislative measure placed on the calendar in two legislative days under Rule XIV. Leader Schumer could ask every Democratic Senator to introduce bills on their favorite subjects en masse and seek to put them on the calendar via rule XIV. Once they were on the calendar two legislative days later, if Schumer could get the floor, he could move to proceed to each in turn, file cloture, withdraw his motion to proceed, move to another, file cloture, withdraw his motion to proceed, and continue to repeat, stacking up an almost endless series of votes on motions to invoke cloture on motions to proceed to Democratic priorities, until the Majority Leader shut the Senate down.
To prevent this strategy, the Majority Leader would have to keep the Senate locked down post cloture at all times and prevent the Democratic Leader from getting recognition, or continue to recess the Senate to prevent there ever being another legislative day. If the Majority Leader did the latter, the Democratic leader could still file serial motions to proceed to bills already on the calendar, so long as he could gain recognition to make the motions. This strategy requires there being an opportunity for motions to be made.
House Measures Requiring Senate Action
Impeachment — If the House of Representatives exercised its impeachment power, then the rules of the Senate require the Senate to immediately address that matter.
Amendments Between Houses — If the House of Representatives passed amendments to Senate-passed bills now pending in the House and sent those over to the Senate, those messages between Houses would be privileged in the Senate. Thus, in the absence of cloture or a unanimous consent agreement governing the Senate floor, a Senator could ask that such a message be laid before the Senate and make motions in connection with the message that would require immediate roll-call votes or offer a motion to concur (or concur with an amendment) and file cloture, once again forcing a roll-call vote after two days.
Short-Term Funding — The House of Representatives could insist on very short-term funding measures until the Leadership of both Houses came to agreement on proceedings for the balance of the year. Short-term funding measures would then require more-frequent roll-call votes.
War Powers Resolutions — Generally, within a certain number of days, the Senate has to take up WPRs or any Senator can move to proceed.
There are likely additional measures available that, if passed by the House, would demand action in the Senate.
Exercising Rights in the Judiciary Committee
Time for Review and Hearing — The Judiciary Committee customarily takes time to review the record of Supreme Court nominees. Democrats should demand that the Committee take this time before a hearing commences.
Objecting to Committees Meeting — Any Senator can object to unanimous consent for committees to meet more than two hours after the Senate convenes on a day in which the Senate is in session.
Full Hearings — Democratic Members of the Judiciary Committee could try to continue the proceedings of any hearing that the Chairman calls.
Hold Over Committee Action — Under Judiciary Committee rule I, paragraph 3, "At the request of any member . . . a . . . nomination on the agenda of the Committee may be held over until the next meeting of the Committee or for one week, whichever occurs later." A Democratic Senator on the Judiciary Committee should demand that the nomination be held over for the week.
Denying a Quorum — Republicans need to produce the presence of a quorum of Judiciary Committee Senators to report out the nomination. Democrats might choose not to help produce the necessary Senators.
________________________________
Trump to designate KKK, Antifa as terrorist groups in black empowerment plan
https://nypost.com/2020/09/25/trump-to-designate-kkk-antifa-as-terrorist-groups-in-black-empowerment-plan/
Feds air FBI agent's gripes about Flynn probe | The official public release of such candid assessments from inside a federal investigative team is extraordinarily rare
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/25/fbi-agents-michael-flynn-probe-421633
Trump pledges to make Juneteenth federal holiday in bid for Black voters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-juneteenth/trump-pledges-to-make-juneteenth-federal-holiday-in-bid-for-black-voters-idUSKCN26G326
LeBron this playoff averaging 26/10/9 shooting .54 FG% .35 3PT%, career best 2-pt FG% at 62%. However the optic it might look like he is having a subpar playoff, no doubt LeBron is having another absolutely monster postseason.
To prepare for possible return to NBA arenas for 2020-21 season, the league sent teams a 32-page manual with cleaning and disinfecting protocols to "reset" arenas, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1309595777505857538
The Lakers bench counted down "3, 2, 1" and Gary Harris launched a tough three-point jumper to beat the clock. Except their was 10 seconds left on it. After the miss, Jared Dudley, Alex Caruso and Rajon Rondo all high-fived. Dudley with better defense than Kuzma this game.
https://streamable.com/fkfi75
Kuzma jumping and Rondo in the first quarter getting called for the free throw violation so he tried to bait the ref into calling it again and he missed the rebound and Morris scored. I saw LeBron slam the call after that lmao. That one was at least 50% an unlucky rebound, plumlee bricked the shit out of that free throw and it bounced way back.
MPJ not even cooking Kuzma him, he's slow roasting him at this point because he just has to do the smallest shooting motion and Kuzma off his feet
From GM to assistant coach is.... interesting: Former New Orleans Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has agreed to join the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach, reuniting with Quin Snyder, sources tell ESPN.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1309590692126232580
The president and his campaign suggested it was part of a Democratic plot, but Luzerne County officials say discarded military ballots were "incorrectly" tossed by a newly-hired temp
https://nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/temp-tossed-pennsylvania-ballots-trump-complained-about-official-says-n1241128
Instilling fear or ambiguity is a classic authoritarian tactic, and there is some risk of amplifying Trump's message in a way that undermines trust in the electoral process
The perception that Trump will steal the election could cause strategic blunders by Democrats
Either side could have trouble accepting the result even if the election ends up being fair
A day after a judge denied DOJ effort to dismiss McCabe lawsuit, Judge Amy Berman Jackson denies DOJ effort to dismiss Strzok/Page lawsuits. Discovery to follow.
https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1309595324634271750
In book on 'the Lost Art of Manhood,' congressional candidate tells of exposing man's genitals to female officers https://jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/25/congressional-candidates-book-tells-exposing-man-female-officers/3512259001/
A lengthy statement from Luzerne County, Pa., laid out how they figured out ballots were discarded and when they contacted law enforcement — and that county officials were unaware of who the ballots were cast for until the DOJ said so publicly
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/25/pennsylvania-ballots-trump-421908
The participants in the Watergate meeting included Turkish FM Çavuşoğlu, LevParnas, a now-jailed oligarch and the "Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump's Washington," an investigation by OCCRP, CourthouseNews, NBCInvestigates
https://www.courthousenews.com/oligarchs-and-a-multimillion-dollar-lobbying-deal/
Trump did not attend today's memorial service for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Recall what Candidate Trump tweeted in 2016, when President Obama did not attend Justice Antonin Scalia's funeral. NB: Candidate Trump did not attend Justice Scalia's funeral either....: I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice Scalia if it were held in a Mosque? Very sad that he did not go!
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/701084443889381377
Trump will be the first president since Reagan to make three Supreme Court appointments, the first since Nixon to do so in a single term.
Why do people fall for things like QAnon? Because it's just one weird permutation of the nationwide sex-trafficking panic, which has been aided and abetted by not just law enforcement but breathlessly sensational "mainstream" media. This is just one example. Thread...
https://twitter.com/FranklinH3000/status/1309608928691589120
The U.S. Department of Education takes Princeton literally, but maybe not seriously. Education Secretary Betsy Devos is opening an investigation into Princeton University following the president's claim that racism persists at his university. Is Devos's civil rights investigation just trolling or is there a more serious point to be made about how careless statements can make civil rights enforcement difficult?
Turkey's top diplomat can be seen here trolling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and tagging the U.S. president. ICYMI: Read about how the Turkish FM MevlutCavusoglu broke into the Trump admin the day before Inauguration Day at a meeting at Watergate Hotel.
https://courthousenews.com/oligarchs-and-a-multimillion-dollar-lobbying-deal/
Turkey orders dozens arrested, including members of pro-Kurdish party, over deadly 2014 protests
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkey-arrests-dozens-including-members-of-pro-kurdish-party-in-connection-with-deadly-2014-protests/2020/09/25/fce83e9c-ff1c-11ea-830c-a160b331ca62_story.html
Turkish Islamic dictatorship regime attacks Nancy Pelosi for implying Turkey is not a democracy on a day Turkey issues warrants for arrest of 82 members of an opposition political party (that happened to be indigenous stateless minorities oppressed by Turkey) for protests in 2014
Reminder: House Democrats scored a victory for checks and balances Friday after the D.C. Circuit revived their challenge to billions of dollars that the Trump administration has diverted to build a border wall. "To put it simply, the Appropriations Clause requires two keys to unlock the Treasury, and the House holds one of those keys," Senior U.S. Circuit Judge David Sentelle wrote for a three-judge panel. "The Executive Branch has, in a word, snatched the House's key out of its hands."
https://www.courthousenews.com/house-suit-over-trump-emergency-to-fund-border-wall-gets-new-life/
YEP: He did, however, raise the looming 2014 midterm elections and how Democrats might lose control of the Senate. Implicit in that conversation was the concern motivating his lunch invitation — the possibility that if the Senate flipped, he would lose a chance to appoint a younger, liberal judge who could hold on to the seat for decades. But the effort did not work, just as an earlier attempt by Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who was then Judiciary Committee chairman, had failed. Justice Ginsburg left Mr. Obama with the clear impression that she was committed to continuing her work on the court, according to those briefed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/25/us/politics/rbg-retirement-obama.html
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https://www.courthousenews.com/oligarchs-and-a-multimillion-dollar-lobbying-deal/
The Oligarchs and the Watergate: Behind Trump's Turkey 'Bromance'
September 18, 2020 AUBREY BELFORD
Turkey's president has enjoyed an unusually powerful sway over the Trump administration. A new investigation reveals the relationship was built by a circle featuring Trump's favorite lobbyist as well as a key character in the Ukraine impeachment scandal, a Kremlin-linked oligarch and a shipping tycoon charged with terrorism.
It was the day before Donald Trump's inauguration and, over lunch at Washington's Watergate Hotel, a foreign government was trying to break into the new U.S. administration.
Meeting for the first time to talk business were Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey's foreign minister, and Brian Ballard, a powerful lobbyist then serving as vice chairman of Trump's inaugural committee.
Also present were the two men who set up the meeting. One was Lev Parnas, a Florida businessman whose backchannel dealings in Ukraine would, nearly three years later, lead to Trump's impeachment. The other was Mübariz Mansimov, a Turkish-Azerbaijani shipping magnate being tried in Turkey today on terrorism charges.
The January 19, 2017, meeting, which has never before been disclosed, was key to building a close relationship between the administrations of Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It has perhaps been the most successful foreign lobbying effort of the Trump presidency — no mean feat for an administration mired from the beginning in foreign influence scandals.
On the agenda were what would become two multimillion-dollar contracts to lobby for Turkey and its Islamist leader, Erdoğan, in the U.S. For Parnas, one of the middlemen, it represented a potential payday. (The firm did not deny the meeting.)
"There was a lot of bodyguards, Turkish bodyguards," Parnas recalled in a 90-minute interview. "It was in a little restaurant. We went in. [Çavuşoğlu] was sitting in the restaurant with a couple of other Turkish dignitaries."
"Mübariz introduced Brian Ballard as 'Trump's No. 1 guy,'" Parnas said of the top Trump fundraiser from Florida, whom Politico dubbed "The Most Powerful Lobbyist in Trump's Washington."
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/04/02/most-powerful-lobbyist-in-trump-washington-217759
The warm relationship that followed would see Trump administration officials, and the president himself, make decisions that baffled advisers who believed they put Erdoğan's interests over America's.
In a recent memoir, Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, described a "bromance" between the two leaders.
But behind that bromance is a deeper story — one that involves Russia-linked oligarchs, alleged crooks and key players in the Ukraine scandal that got Trump impeached, an investigation by OCCRP, Courthouse News Service and NBC News has found.
https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/behind-trumps-turkish-bromance-oligarchs-crooks-and-a-multi-million-dollar-lobbying-deal
Sitting down for 90 minutes for his first interview on this topic, Parnas also exclusively shared corroborating photographic, video and documentary evidence. Through independently gathered interviews, court records, flight records and other information, reporters discovered that Turkey built much of its relationship with the Trump administration via an international network of businessmen and oligarchs — most of whom are linked to the former Soviet republics, and nearly all of whom are now either in jail or facing serious criminal charges.
The lobbying contracts with Ballard were established with the help of both Parnas and the shipping tycoon Mansimov, as well as Farkhad Akhmedov, who is listed by the U.S. Treasury as a Russian oligarch closely tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Neither man replied to written questions.
https://assets.bwbx.io/documents/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/rJRW6xrdtLJE/v0
The contracts eventually included a $125,000-per-month deal for Ballard's firm to represent Halkbank, a Turkish state bank being prosecuted in the United States for fraud, money laundering and sanction offences, public records show. According to Bolton, Parnas, congressional investigators and multiple news reports, Trump has tried to quash the Halkbank case.
https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibit-AB-20170828-5.pdf
Parnas was paid $45,000 for setting up the deals. He now characterizes that money as a hush payment from Ballard. The firm denies this.
The Ballard contracts were part of a broader pattern of Turkish influence. The deal between Ballard and Turkey overlapped with earlier, widely reported efforts in which Turkish businessmen and ministers illegally hired another of Trump's former national security advisers, retired General Mike Flynn, as a lobbyist, and discussed a $10 million influence campaign with another Trump adviser.
Both the shipping magnate, Mansimov and one of the businessmen who had met Flynn were also during this time in partnerships with an Armenian-American gangster convicted in the United States of a $511 million fraud scheme with members of a Mormon polygamist sect. A federal agent with the IRS has alleged in court that the fraudsters were directly linked to Erdoğan and had bought the protection of Turkey's government.
In response to detailed questions, Turkey's ambassador to the United States, Serdar Kılıç, said: "Turkey has been working with a multitude of U.S. lobbying firms for decades. Contracts are naturally being constantly re-evaluated according to evolving needs and requirements. Turkey's dealings with U.S. lobbying firms have always been in total agreement with U.S. legal requirements."
https://i2.wp.com/www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ballard-parnas-payment.png?resize=1024%2C466&ssl=1
Talking Turkey
According to Parnas, his introduction to shipping tycoon Mansimov came via another figure who had worked with Giuliani on his Ukraine dirt-digging missions, Belarusian-born Florida businessman Igor Fruman. The encounter happened on December 5, 2016, during a rowdy night at Buddha Bar, a flashy, Asian-themed nightclub Fruman co-owned in the center of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Fruman did not respond to written questions.
https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/meet-the-florida-duo-helping-giuliani-dig-dirt-for-trump-in-ukraine
Awaiting trial on campaign-finance charges since late last year, Parnas and Fruman took different paths during the impeachment probe. Parnas started sharing thousands of texts, emails, photographs and other files with House Democrats. Fruman stayed silent and refused to comply with their subpoenas. Prosecutors filed additional charges Thursday against Parnas, alleging he misled investors in Fraud Guarantee, a company reportedly represented by Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Fruman is not named in the Fraud Guarantee charge, and Giuliani is not charged with any offenses.
Born in Soviet-era Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn, Parnas was at the time a relatively unknown businessman with a string of failed ventures and unpaid debts. From his home in South Florida, where he moved among the local Russian-speaking Jewish community, Parnas had managed to raise enough money to become a major donor to pro-Trump causes during the 2016 campaign. When Trump won in November 2016, Parnas found himself with an inside track to the next White House.
According to Parnas, his conversation with Mansimov at Buddha Bar turned to his relationship with Ballard, who was already seen as an influential power broker in Trump's world. That October, Parnas met Ballard at a South Florida function for VIP Trump donors, and the two men "clicked," he said. Mansimov wanted an introduction.
A photograph from the night out in Kyiv shows the men in high spirits, arm in arm as Mansimov throws the hand sign of the Grey Wolves, an ultra-right-wing Turkish militant group. According to Parnas, Mansimov touted his personal links to Erdoğan, including his reported gift of a $25 million oil tanker to the Turkish president's family.
https://theblacksea.eu/stories/malta-files/erdogan-family-in-secret-offshore-ship-deal/
"He used to brag that he was very well connected to Erdoğan," Parnas said.
"[Mansimov] told me that even Erdoğan and some of his people used his private planes to travel."
Mansimov now sits in a Turkish jail, facing what he says are trumped up charges of involvement with Fethullah Gülen. Members of Gülen's movement, formerly allied with Erdoğan's government, are now accused of belonging to a terrorist organization and hunted by Turkey. Gülen denies any role in the aborted putsch.
But on that winter night in Kyiv, Mansimov was still an influential figure. His company, Palmali, was a major shipper of oil across the Black Sea, and he enjoyed high-level connections in Turkey, Russia and his native Azerbaijan.
As with Ballard, Parnas clicked with Mansimov on their evening out, he said. Their next meeting would be in Washington.
With Mansimov on his way to the U.S. capital, Parnas asked Ballard for invitations for both of them to attend a string of VIP inauguration balls around the city. Parnas said Ballard handed them tickets for free, an assertion the firm disputes.
"Brian [Ballard] made it happen. He was remarkable," Parnas said.
Photographs published online by Mansimov and his firm, Palmali, show he attended at least two VIP. events. In one picture, he can be seen posing with Parnas; in another, he is standing in front of Trump.
'It Wasn't a Bad Gig'
Two days after Trump's inauguration, the world's second-largest expedition yacht, the Luna, pulled into a mooring in South Florida. The ship belonged to the Russian oligarch, Akhmedov.
Like Mansimov, Akhmedov was born in Azerbaijan and had risen in Russia to become a key businessman in the power structure of President Vladimir Putin.
The superyacht stayed at Miami's Museum Park for months as Akhmedov crisscrossed the country.
Akhmedov has publicly claimed to have helped resolve international disputes between Turkey and Russia at least twice. In a 2016 interview with Russian state media outlet Sputnik, Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu described Akhmedov as a valuable diplomatic go-between "who has worked closely with Putin and knows Putin well."
https://www.facebook.com/FTAkhmedov/posts/3258548827530594
https://tr.sputniknews.com/politika/201610081025196595-cavusoglu-sputnik-turkiye-rusya-suriye/
After arriving in Florida, he also took up a role in mediating relations between the U.S. and Turkey.
Parnas joined Akhmedov on his $500 million superyacht after being tasked by Mansimov with entertaining the oligarch.
"It wasn't a bad gig," Parnas recalled with a laugh. "I mean, 70 people on staff, four chefs, every toy in the book." (The yacht is listed in directories at 377 feet.)
https://www.superyachts.com/news/story/motor-yacht-luna-115m-delivered-to-roman-abramovich-535
Parnas said Akhmedov had high hopes for the start of a new relationship with Ballard. According to Parnas, he and Ballard then introduced Akhmedov to Steve Wynn, a casino billionaire and GOP megadonor. The firm denies "knowledge" of this.
Parnas said he made that introduction at a Republican National Committee retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 4. A photo obtained by reporters shows the three men embracing each other at the event. Trump had been there the day before for the first day of the event, where he reportedly pleaded for donations from well-heeled supporters. A lawyer for Wynn, Steptoe partner Reid Weingarten, said it was possible that the men took a photo together, but that Parnas and Akhmedov are "strangers" to Wynn.
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-donors-republican-senate-235678
Days later, on March 8, Parnas flew on Akhmedov's private jet to Washington, D.C., to meet Ballard.
On May 11, 2017 — just days before a notorious incident in which Erdoğan's bodyguards beat protesters on a Washington street — Ballard Partners signed its first Turkey-related lobbying contract, with the country's government. The second contract, with Halkbank, was signed in August. Combined, the two contracts brought in more than $4 million. (Ballard terminated the contract with the Turkish government on Nov. 15, 2018, a few days after the Trump administration gave sanctions relief letting Erdogan's regime purchase oil from Iran. The firm's Halkbank contract was terminated last October, after the bank was indicted by U.S. federal prosecutors.)
https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibit-AB-20170519-3.pdf
https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibit-AB-20170828-5.pdf
https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Amendment-20191016-21.pdf
In a statement, Ballard Partners noted its agreement with Turkey was signed seven months before Akhmedov was placed on the U.S. Treasury list in January 2018.
Text messages also show that Akhmedov played a role in discussions over a later Ballard Partners contract, signed in April 2018, to lobby on behalf of Azerbaijan's authoritarian government for $50,000 per month. Ballard Partners denies this.
Other text messages show that Akhmedov acted as a middleman between Ballard Partners and Azerbaijan's authoritarian government for a contract, signed in April 2018, to lobby on behalf of the country for $50,000 per month.
https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6415-Exhibit-AB-20180424-10.pdf
Even though Parnas had tried to make himself useful, he said he was soon iced out of the Turkey-Ballard relationship.
Parnas only found that Ballard and Turkey had signed a deal after reading a May 2017 article in Politico. Text messages seen by reporters showed that Parnas questioned Ballard and another of his employees about it in early June.
https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2017/05/22/amid-complicated-relations-with-us-turkey-hires-longtime-trump-lobbyist-brian-ballard-112221%20https://drive.google.com/file/d/19ML0Nmkl-Rnu3Y7P2LA-MbPYyVdj_KG6/view
Bank records obtained for this investigation show Ballard's lobbying firm, Ballard Partners, made two payments of $22,500 each to Parnas in 2018, over a year after he had helped set up the deal.
"He wanted to make sure that, you know, that [the story] gets, I guess, buried," Parnas said.
Ballard Partners told reporters that Parnas was paid in a "timely manner" and only for facilitating the contract with Turkish government, not Halkbank. Parnas said that the firm cited that reasoning to him too, but he knew that both Halkbank and the foreign ministry were effectively arms of the same Turkish government.
'A Convoy of Three Cars With Bodyguards'
Keeping things quiet was probably smart. As it turns out, some of those behind the lobbying deal were connected to a foreign influence scandal that had already hit the Trump administration.
In early 2017, it had been revealed that Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn — who was forced to resign on February 13 that year over undeclared contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. — had been secretly hired as an undeclared foreign agent by Erdoğan's government.
American federal prosecutors have since indicted a Turkish-Dutch businessman, Ekim Alptekin, over his alleged role in the scheme, which involved funneling over $500,000 in Turkish government money to Flynn's consultancy. Prosecutors allege the scheme was directed by two Turkish ministers. Lobbying documents show they were Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu and Erdoğan's son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, who at the time was energy minister.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1120621/download
https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6406-Supplemental-Statement-20170307-1.pdf
As part of that effort, Flynn and those same Turkish figures also discussed kidnapping Erdogan's cleric rival, Gülen, from his home in Pennsylvania and "whisking" him to Turkey to face charges, former CIA Director James Woolsey, who was at the September 2016 meeting, told The Wall Street Journal. Flynn has denied the report.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ex-cia-director-mike-flynn-and-turkish-officials-discussed-removal-of-erdogan-foe-from-u-s-1490380426
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41953464
In a meeting on September 20, 2016, Woolsey, then also a Trump campaign adviser, said he met Alptekin and his close associate, Sezgin Baran Korkmaz, to unsuccessfully pitch his own $10 million plan to help Turkey by discrediting Gülen.
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trump-woolsey-exclusive/exclusive-while-advising-trump-in-2016-ex-cia-chief-proposed-plan-to-discredit-turkish-cleric-idUKKBN1CV2S1
Korkmaz faces allegations that he played a key role in a half-billion-dollar fraud scheme orchestrated by Lev Aslan Dermen, an Armenian-American organized crime figure. Dermen was convicted earlier this year, and was alleged in court proceedings to be personally linked with Erdoğan.
Also closely tied to the two men was Mansimov. Photographs published online show all three — Mansimov, Dermen and Korkmaz — attended a wedding together in Turkey in early November 2016, within days of the U.S. election.
https://www.sabah.com.tr/akdeniz/2016/11/02/adina-yakisir-dugun
At the time they were involved in brokering U.S.-Turkey relations, both Mansimov and Korkmaz were also partners in business with Dermen.
Parnas also said he was vaguely aware of a business relationship between Dermen and Mansimov, and said Mansimov had introduced him to Dermen.
According to Parnas, he and Akhmedov, the Russian oligarch, flew to Las Vegas in early February 2017 and were put up by Dermen at the hotel owned by Wynn. There is no indication that Wynn had any involvement with Dermen. Parnas said Dermen was not present but sent his entourage to greet them instead.
Dermen then invited Parnas and his wife to Los Angeles where the businessman said he and his family were treated "like celebrities."
"He picked me up with a convoy of three cars with bodyguards," Parnas said of Dermen. "It's something I'm used to seeing in Ukraine and Russia and other places. Not in Beverly Hills, California."
'Best International Buddies'
The upshot of Turkey's outreach has been a Trump administration that has often been strikingly receptive to the interests of Erdoğan's authoritarian government.
Bolton wrote in his recent memoir that, in his time serving as Trump's national-security adviser, the U.S. president seemed to regard the Turkish leader as one of his "best international buddies."
Records filed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act show that Turkey's government and related agencies have spent more than $7.3 million on five U.S. lobbying firms in 2018 alone. Apart from Ballard, one major beneficiary has been Mercury Public Affairs, another outfit that enjoys close links to the administration.
Mercury has contracts with Turkey's government and the Turkish-U.S. Business Council, a semiofficial Turkish body that was previously headed by Alptekin, the businessman now indicted for his alleged role in secretly recruiting Flynn.
http://www.taik.org.tr/
The council today is headed by Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ, a Turkish businessman who partnered with the U.S. president in the Trump Towers Istanbul project. Trump described the development in 2015, without elaboration, as a "little conflict of interest". Yalçındağ reportedly enjoys a close relationship with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2015/12/01/trump-blasts-obama-warning-world-war-iii/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/politics/trump-erdogan-family-turkey.html
Among Trump's moves in Erdoğan's favor, according to Bolton, was a push to drop the prosecution of Ballard's client, Halkbank. The case, which involved laundering billions of dollars out of Iran, in violation of U.S. sanctions, implicates Erdoğan and his finance minister son-in-law, Albayrak.
https://www.courthousenews.com/money-launder-for-iran-was-ordered-by-turkey-president-gold-trader-says/
https://www.courthousenews.com/turkish-gold-traders-dramatic-testimony-ends-at-knifepoint/
"Turkish officials were fast learners when it came to dealing with the Trump administration," said Senator Ron Wyden, the Finance Committee's top Democrat who opened an investigation into the president's interference in the Halkbank case in October.
"They hired a favored Republican lobbyist right out of the gate, and pulled out all the stops in their efforts to avoid sanctions for Turkish state-owned Halkbank. Their work paid off, with President Trump doing President Erdogan's bidding in an effort to get Halkbank off the hook for its role in the largest sanctions evasion scheme in U.S. history. It's corruption, plain and simple."
The White House has denied the Halkbank allegations and has declined to comment for this story.
Bolton described one incident where Erdoğan handed Trump a dossier from the bank's lawyers absolving it of any wrongdoing. According to Bolton, Trump flipped through the document before declaring he believed Erdoğan.
Trump, Bolton wrote, "told Erdoğan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District [of New York] prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people."
According to media reports — and Parnas — members of the Trump administration had also earlier considered a deal to drop charges against the Turkish-Iranian money launderer in the case, Reza Zarrab, in return for the release of Andrew Brunson, a U.S. evangelical pastor jailed in Turkey. The prospective deal, which never went ahead, was negotiated in part through Giuliani, Zarrab's lawyer at the time, who traveled to Turkey to meet Erdoğan in February 2017.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/us/politics/giuliani-trump-rex-tillerson.html
Text messages supplied by Parnas also give a hint that the money launderer's case from the start a key area of interest for the Ballard contracts.
On January 22, 2017, just days after the meeting at the Watergate, Mansimov sent Parnas a text message that simply contained the words "Riza Zarrab," using another spelling for his name. According to Parnas, this was Mansimov restating what he saw as Turkey's key priority in the deal.
Erdoğan's persuasive power was also on display last October, when a phone call with Trump led the U.S. president to suddenly announce he was greenlighting a Turkish invasion of northern Syria. The chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal that resulted from that decision was criticized across the political spectrum, and many saw it as an abandonment of America's Kurdish allies.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/chaos-syria-washington-after-trump-call-erdogan-unleashed-turkish-military-n1063516
Carl Bernstein, a veteran journalist who helped break the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Nixon, reported in June that Erdoğan has enjoyed a level of telephone access to the U.S. president unrivaled by any other foreign leader.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/29/politics/trump-phone-calls-national-security-concerns/index.html
"By far the greatest number of Trump's telephone discussions with an individual head of state were with Erdogan, who sometimes phoned the White House at least twice a week and was put through directly to the president on standing orders from Trump," Bernstein wrote.
Additional reporting by Kelly Bloss, Dada Lyndell and Yanina Korniienko (OCCRP), and Andrew W. Lehren and Dan DeLuce (NBC News)
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Vulnerable Democratic senator Doug Jones, HERO: 'I will not support the confirmation' of Supreme Court pick ahead of Election Day
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/politics/doug-jones-supreme-court-nominee-position/index.html
Oregon governor declares state of emergency ahead of Proud Boys rally, counter-demonstrations
https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/518309-oregon-governor-declares-state-of-emergency-ahead-of-proud
Biden's campaign assures voters the U.S. 'is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House'
https://theweek.com/speedreads/939359/bidens-campaign-assures-voters-perfectly-capable-escorting-trespassers-white-house
Mike Clevinger has been diagnosed with an elbow posterior impingement. He received a cortisone shot today. A.J. Preller said they have not ruled him out for the first round of the postseason.
https://twitter.com/dennistlin/status/1309615168041545728
CLEARED TO WALK. Holy fuck: Roenicke says Eduardo Rodriguez consulted w/doctors and trainers involved in his myocarditis treatment. 'Really good news...He's been cleared to start just walking in a couple weeks. ... They're hoping his offseason will be normal and he'll be able to build himself up for ('21).'
https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/1309598905273856001
I thought this entire time they just didn't want to push him in a season that did not matter. It's great hes doing better, but I did not know he was that ill. Who knows how he will be going forward without a 2020, I just really hope his heart is better before he throws a baseball again.
Europe's second wave is here: France and the UK recorded their highest daily COVID-19 cases ever, and the EU warned that some countries have worse outbreaks than in March
https://www.businessinsider.com/europe-sees-new-coronavirus-peaks-countries-all-time-case-records-2020-9
Military "will not follow" unlawful Trump orders over election, House armed services chairman says | His opponents fear Trump is laying the groundwork for a challenge to the results that could involve the military. But Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) told CNN that defense leaders assured him they would not serve Trump after the inauguration on January 20 if he loses. | "The second thing is: Does he try to order the military to defy that? What the military has made clear to me is they will not follow an unlawful order. Period," Smith told CNN. "For instance, if the president had ordered them into a city, as he was threatening to do, they were prepared to say no, that is not a lawful order, we have no lawful reason to go there. "Their oath is to the Constitution. Much to Donald Trump's chagrin, it is not to him. It is to the laws and Constitution of our country and they will uphold that oath."
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-election-military-transfer-power-1534208
The county of Sonoma has said that this is a false report. Wonder if this post will be taken down. Here's Sonoma's statement: https://twitter.com/CountyofSonoma/status/1309588979545645056
https://twitter.com/NYTnickc/status/1309620154251333632
Despite the crude and inaccurate way this sentence reads, I'm going to say it: In many ways, White America needs Minority America far more than the opposite. Minority America is culturally rich and deeply rooted and indigenous and perpetual and self-renewing wheres there is no white culture and whites are not deeply rooted or indigenous or perpetual or self-renewing
A state panel has denied a request to grant a full pardon to Desmond Meade, the man who led the historic push for Florida's felon voting rights restoration. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis turned down Meade's request for full pardon.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1309628751379083264
Federal judge blocks Texas' elimination of straight-ticket voting
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/25/straight-ticket-voting-texas/
Looking for any edge to help him win in battleground North Carolina, Pres Trump signed an order barring offshore oil & gas drilling in ocean waters off NC. Takes effect June 22 and stays in effect for 10 years. He issued similar order this month doing same for FL, GA and SC.
https://twitter.com/markknoller/status/1309628450290962433
Sources familiar confirm to ABC the authenticity of this letter from current AUSA James Herbert publicly speaking out against AG Barr. "The current attorney general has brought shame on the department he purports to lead.
https://twitter.com/alex_mallin/status/1309623112342872064/photo/1
"By the way, he's staying in again today," President Trump said of Joe Biden. Here's Biden earlier today in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol.
https://twitter.com/mviser/status/1309576366615154688
It's part of the Democratic culture to constantly say the candidate is doing it wrong. You're obviously new to this: Hey, Republican for Biden here. Am I allowed to support Biden if I choose NOT to moan to reporters about how worried and concerned I am? What is wrong with Democrats? Do you lose your standing in the party if you express confidence in your candidate? 🤯🤷♂️
https://washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-trump-debate-attacks/2020/09/25/f2565f36-fd91-11ea-9ceb-061d646d9c67_story.html
https://twitter.com/jonathanchait/status/1309631538619920390
Rochester man charged with inciting a riot by federal authorities after he allegedly "agitated" 40 other protesters while RPD tried to take him into custody. Authorities cite the man's Facebook posts in the release.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eiy6U6dXYAA80P7?format=jpg
Judge removes Trump's public lands boss after governor sued
https://www.sltrib.com/news/nation-world/2020/09/25/judge-removes-trumps/
It's official: The Padres' first postseason series in 14 years will take place at Petco Park. They've clinched home-field advantage with the Cardinals' loss to Milwaukee.
Ump calls strike 3 on pitch below Aaron Judge's shin guard, Boone ejected for calling the umpire out. Funny how Boone compliments the pitcher before he verbally berates the ump.
https://streamable.com/7wvuyy
Taijuan Walker as a Blue Jay: 6 GS, 26.1 IP, 4 ER, 25 K, 1.37 ERA
Partisan showdown over voting likely tomorrow in Wisconsin, where Republicans are trying to shut down a giant registration/ballot witnessing event in Madison city parks. Anybody who's not following @patrickdmarley from the @journalsentinal should start now.
https://twitter.com/AmyEGardner/status/1309643347624177664
This is a terrible, clickbait headline. Biden jokingly says this DURING A SPEECH, at a podium, to a bunch of service members. They laugh and clap. It's not some hot mic moment as this tweet would lead you to believe: Joe Biden's campaign has confirmed the accuracy of a recently resurfaced video showing him jokingly calling military troops "stupid bastards" and "a dull bunch," but said that they were made in jest
https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1309634136328597507
Lakers-Nuggets G4 scores 4.6 million viewers, holds own against TNF's Jaguars-Dolphins (5.43 million)
https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2020/09/nba-nfl-ratings-battle-lakers-nuggets-tnf-dolphins-jaguars/
Kamala Harris isn't an extremist. if anything, she's pretty hated by the extreme left. The claim that she's some kind of Marxist (as Charlie Kirk tweeted) is just a far-right smear with no basis in reality. There's a lot of slander going around that they're far-left (or heck, people calling them the same as Trump), but both of them are really just moderate democrats, others suggesting otherwise is just populist nonsense.
Republican superPAC Congressional Leadership Fund is dropping another $18M into a number of Congressional seats. With the exception of FL-26, currently held by Democrat Debbie Murcasel-Powell, and NY-22, currently held by Democrat Anthony Brindisi, all of these seats are GOP held seats.
https://twitter.com/allymutnick/status/1309485307042181121
Former President Barack Obama has issued another round of endorsements. Most of these are the Democratic nominees of their respective seats, but notably, Obama has endorsed Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Special Senate election. In Georgia, all candidates regardless of party are eligible to participate in the special election and, if no candidate reaches 50%, the top two vote getters advance to a runoff election. Two other Democrats, Matt Lieberman (son of former Senator Joe Lieberman) and former US Attorney Ed Tarver were also competing in this special election.
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1309479802978676739
In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to tabulate (let alone release the results of) ballots before 7 a.m. on Election Day. It is this sort of low-level deceit and entirely inappropriate conduct that we can expect from Barr's Justice Department.
https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1309513783883239425
Bill Barr should be prosecuted for election tampering. He's not immune from state law.
I've treated Ohio as a swing red from now on. but hey, if it can flip, more power. Ohio will continue to be a red state, but high turnout can flip any state in the union if it eclipses a certain breakpoint. We saw it with multiple states in 2008. But I see Ohio as rustic red that sometimes inches over to blue.
Military people outside the US - everybody working for the military outside the US - need to return to the US and vote in person or have their absentee ballots thrown away because they're committing fraud by refusing to return to the US and show ID in person to vote
Go to http://amyconeybarrett.com for all the important info on Trump's nominee
Trump illegally and unconstitutionally took $300 million from the CDC to run an ad campaign to convince people that he did a good job.
https://politico.com/news/2020/09/25/trump-hhs-ads-coronavirus-421957
WHICH MEANS EVERYTHING HE'S SIGNED OFF ON IS ILLEGAL AND NEEDS TO BE REVERSED. Federal judge removes acting Bureau of Land Management director after finding he has served unlawfully for 424 days
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/politics/william-perry-pendley-ousted-federal-judge/index.html
The Boston Celtics wreck the Miami Heat 121-108 with Jayson Tatum's contributing 31 points to cut the series lead to 3-2. Celtics players played G-dlike perfect basketball the second half, taking themselves and the Heat by surprise, wiping out their deficit, at which point they became cold stone assassins, feeling nothing, no pain, no exhaustion, no heat, no sweat, adjusting constantly on the court to shut down a visibily wrecked Heat.
Daniel Theis with 15 points, 13 rebounds, & 3 blocks on 6-10 shooting in ECF game 5
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combine for 59 points in an elimination game
Frustrated Goran Dragic nails Theis right in the groin for his sixth foul, he should be heavily fined+suspended
https://streamable.com/p80taw
Jaylen Brown hits the corner 3 to give Celtics a 11 point lead and blows a kiss to Heat benchHighlight
https://streamable.com/a3jrip
Fatah and Hamas say they have agreed to hold first Palestinian elections in fourteen years in coming months
https://www.timesofisrael.com/fatah-hamas-say-theyve-agreed-to-hold-palestinian-elections-in-coming-months/
Clayton Kershaw in the 2020 Regular Season: 6-2, 2.16 ERA, 58.1 IP, 0.84 WHIP, 62 K
The Angels will not win a single playoff game while Mike Trout is in his 20s. Angels have been eliminated from playoff contention despite having a decent team.
Dusty Baker is the first manager in major league history to lead five different teams to the postseason as the Cheatsros made the playoffs.
Trent Grisham with a walk-off Bomb
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/48dd9878-45a8-41db-916e-d3cb78bfa5f7.mp4
SIGH....Dinelson Lamet has an elbow injury. Severity unknown. But certainly not good news.
https://twitter.com/sdutKevinAcee/status/1309708277001846784?s=20
The Molina catcher trio are 91 hits away from 4,000 combined (Yadi 2000, Bengie 1317, Jose 592)
SIGH....Byron Buxton gets hit in the head
https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2020/2020-09/25/fc0be9d1-68adca74-a499c00e-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4
The Cincinnati Reds are going to the playoffs. Entering today, the Reds only needed 3 things to happen in order to clinch a playoff berth: 1. A Brewers loss in either of the 2 games in the DH they played against the Cards. 2. A Phillies loss to the Rays 3. A win over the Twins. All 3 things have happened and the Reds are finally back in the postseason for the first time since 2013.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have clinched the #1 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft
Sandy Alcantara vs. NYY: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 9 SO, 2 BB
NO, REALLY? Paris knife attack suspect is a Muslim
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/26/europe/paris-knife-attack-suspect-charlie-hebdo-intl/index.html
Unbelievable the season Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves) is having considering he had a bad battle with covid19 right before the season started. Walks off the Red Sox in extra innings.
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/10a23e9a-7054-44c1-bfe7-4a08e8fbd9e5.mp4
Republicans inflicted irreparable irreversible damage on the US, they must NEVER hold office ever again
Missouri Governor And Wife To Maliciously Host Fall Festival Days After Covid19 Diagnosis
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/09/25/917072057/missouri-governor-and-wife-to-host-fall-festival-days-after-covid-diagnosis
I'm worried by a judge who'd accept a nomination under these circumstances.
When Trump makes his way to the first presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, he'll be greeted by a billboard featuring an artist rendering of his face screaming above a sea of graves. | "I felt that the Biden campaign and the DNC were missing the unique narrow lane of adding some additional art, culture and a little bit of harder edge messaging that was coming in the streets," one of the organizers, former Obama/Bernie digital guru Scott Goodstein, told Insider. | Nine billboards are strategically placed on major thoroughfares in Cleveland, site of Tuesday's first presidential debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
https://www.businessinsider.com/anti-trump-billboards-cleveland-presidential-debate-joe-biden-2020-9
First Evidence of a Planet in Another Galaxy
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/first-evidence-of-a-planet-in-another-galaxy
The unrelenting impact of climate change affects every single one of us. It requires action, not denial. It requires leadership, not scapegoating. It requires a president to meet the threshold duty of the office — to care, for everyone.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1309614908636409856
Mother of Kenosha murderer Kyle Rittenhouse received standing ovation at Repulican event in Wisconsin
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-kenosha-suspect-kyle-rittenhouse-mom-gets-ovation-gop-event-20200925-t72rkmyylzcftgaunqwr7rporu-story.html
Trump's 1776 education plan part of a decades-long, right-wing movement
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-1776-education-plan-part-decades-long-right-wing-ncna1241171
Montana judge tosses restricting Native voting rights
https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/montana-judge-tosses-law-saying-it-restricts-native-voting-rights-iL9S2mins02YwMxqE6lyxA
Native American tribes in Texas rally to increase voter turnout | Then, an electronic bingo facility run by the tribe, which employs over 700 locals, was threatened with being forced to close when conflicting federal laws raised questions about whether the game could be offered there. A federal bill was filed in July 2019 to protect the facility, but was opposed by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who is up for reelection in November. This isn't an isolated incident. Native American owned casino's around the country are being harassed and threatened with various closures, from street entrances to the games themselves.
https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2020/09/25/native-american-tribes-in-texas-rally-to-increase-voter-turnout/
House Chairs Demand Emergency Inspector General Investigation Into AG Barr's Efforts to Improperly Influence November Presidential Election
https://nadler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394424
Alaska Native Corporations ineligible for coronavirus19 funds
https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/alaska-native-corporations-ineligible-for-coronavirus-funds-FDCQe-2cikC9ie-r8bQ3iA
Voting early is by far the best thing you can do to help win in November. It frees up GOTV workers to follow up with people who are actual "maybe" voters. It frees you up to do GOTV.
New York reports more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since early June
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-25/n-y-c-wary-of-local-spike-while-florida-reopens-virus-update
They repeatedly raped their 12-year-old sister—not "had sex with" as this story says over and over—and the prosecutor said instead of going to jail they just have to write him a letter saying they won't let this happen to their own kids.
https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1309719624280399872
https://nypost.com/2020/09/25/amish-brothers-avoid-jail-time-for-sex-with-12-year-old-sister/
KYIV TO CLEVELAND: Ukraine oligarch secretly moved $750 million into the US -- through Deutsche Bank -- after siphoning the funds from a Ukraine bank. He then plowed the money into Cleveland skyscrapers to become the city's largest commercial landl-rd
https://icij.org/investigations/fincen-files/with-deutsche-banks-help-an-oligarchs-buying-spree-trails-ruin-across-the-us-heartland/#FinCENFiles
Luke Voit hits his 22nd homer of the year to put the Yanks up 10-3
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/3fe65359-5236-413a-9242-fea3f75082ba.mp4
Tyler Wade just executed the first sac bunt of the year by the Yankees
https://twitter.com/JackCurryYES/status/1309935665589747713
Yu Darvish vs. White Sox: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 1 BB; finishes season with 2.01 ERA, .960 WHIP, 91 K, 76 IP
Nothing can really prepare you for this part of your career when you have to say: I am retiring from baseball. Forever thankful and Gr8ful.
https://twitter.com/hunterpence/status/1309927840574447617
Jeff Samardzija designated for assignment and placed on unconditional release waivers. #SFGiants
https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/1309916879322923009
James Dolan donated $50,000 to a Republican PAC to try to get Rep. Max Rose (a Dem from Staten Island) out of Congress because Rose said Dolan should sell the Knicks, the NY Post reports. Dolan told Post it was wrong to politicize the team.
https://nypost.com/2020/09/26/james-dolan-cuts-check-for-malliotakis-amid-max-rose-trash-talk/amp/
I'm beginning to think Republicans are done: Over 860,000 Americans Have Already Voted, Compared to Fewer Than 10,000 by This Point in 2016.
https://www.newsweek.com/over-860000-americans-have-already-voted-compared-fewer-10000-this-point-2016-1534452
Republican canvasser caught on surveillance camera removing Democrat yard signs
https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/gop-canvasser-caught-on-surveillance-camera-removing-democrat-yard-signs/article_af7d5911-f7b1-5b44-8650-bcc5ca98122d.html
Trump went golfing 25 times as a virus that he and Republicans dismissed as a hoax swept across the US and killed over 200,000
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-golfed-25-times-covid-19-spread-killed-over-200000-2020-9
Repblicans points gun at Democrats at protesters outside Republican rally
https://www.startribune.com/man-points-gun-at-protesters-outside-gop-candidate-s-rally/572549441/
Confirmation hearing for Trump's Supreme Court pick to start Oct. 12. 2 weeks after the election has started. People are already voting.
Senate Democrats should have sued in federal court on the basis that McConnell set precedent with Merrick. They might not have won the case but they might have stalled the process long enough for Trump to leave office. They didn't even try.
Trevor Bauer's case for the NL Cy Young: 11 GS, 73 IP, 1.73 ERA, 0.795 WHIP, 100 K
The Padres are still optimistic Dinelson Lamet can start Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. He's playing catch today and likely to throw a bullpen at some point in the next two days.
https://twitter.com/ajcassavell/status/1309969201705041921
The New York Mets have been eliminated from postseason contention. Seemed like a really depressing way to go out as well. DeGrom vs Scherzer, but it didn't mean much at all and both gave up 3 runs. Such a stacked team AGAIN and such endless disappointment AGAIN.
Sonny Gray will start for the Reds Sunday. Bauer to pitch Game 1 of the postseason.
https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1309951209680384001
Sen. Blumenthal on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court: "I will oppose the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett ... I refuse to treat this process as legitimate and will not meet with Judge Barrett."
https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/1309979910178516995
Sen. Cortez Masto: "This is a lifetime appointment to the highest court in our nation and nothing less than access to quality, affordable health care is on the ballot. I will vote 'no' on this nomination to try to stop this latest Republican attempt to rip away health care."
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1309978558295613440
Sen. Elizabeth Warren: "The awesome power of the presidency is in the hands of a man who spits on our Constitution. We cannot stand down when Donald Trump tries to hand our highest court - and the rights and liberties of the American people - over to extremists."
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1309977341628735488
Angus King, Maine independent who caucuses with Dems: "In the 244-year history of our nation, the latest a Supreme Court nominee has ever been confirmed during an election year was July 26th. ... I will not vote to support her nomination before the election results are clear."
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1309976101830242307
Speaker Pelosi: "If this nominee is confirmed, millions of families' health care will be ripped away in the middle of a pandemic that has infected seven million Americans and killed over 200,000 people in our country."
Already annoyed about a potential Game 7 of the NBA Finals being the same night of the first day of the SCOTUS confirmation hearings
Councilor Andrew Johnson, one of the nine members who supported the pledge in June, said in an interview that he meant the words "in spirit," not by the letter. Another councilor, Phillipe Cunningham, said that the language in the pledge was "up for interpretation" and that even among council members soon after the promise was made, "it was very clear that most of us had interpreted that language differently." Lisa Bender, the council president, paused for 16 seconds when asked if the council's statement had led to uncertainty at a pivotal moment for the city. "I think our pledge created confusion in the community and in our wards," she said. The regrets formalize a retreat that has quietly played out in Minneapolis in the months since George Floyd was killed by the police and the ensuing national uproar over the treatment of Black Americans by law enforcement and the country at large. After a summer that challenged society's commitment to racial equality and raised the prospect of sweeping political change, a cool autumn reality is settling in. National polls show decreasing support for Black Lives Matter since a sea change of good will in June. In Minneapolis, the most far-reaching policy efforts meant to address police violence have all but collapsed. In interviews this month, about two dozen elected officials, protesters and community leaders described how the City Council members' pledge to "end policing as we know it" — a mantra to meet the city's pain — became a case study in how quickly political winds can shift, and what happens when idealistic efforts at structural change meet the legislative process and public opposition. The pledge is now no closer to becoming policy, with fewer vocal champions than ever. It has been rejected by the city's mayor, a plurality of residents in recent public opinion polls, and an increasing number of community groups. Taking its place have been the types of incremental reforms that the city's leftist politicians had denounced. In the meantime, "defunding the police" has become a talking point for state and national Republicans looking to paint liberals as anti-law-enforcement. It has been a thorn in the side of Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, even though he rejects the idea. And it has ignited a power struggle in Minneapolis that has, in some cases, pitted Democrat against leftist, young against old, and white against Black. | Though some activists said the pledge was to be taken literally — a commitment to working toward complete police abolition — elected officials said there was widespread disagreement about its meaning. Some believed that "defund the police" meant redirecting some money in the police budget to social programs. Others thought it was a vague endorsement of a police-free future. | She and others tried to negotiate changes, they said. When activists stood their ground, councilors were left with two options: embrace a forceful but vague call to dismantle the police department, or oppose activists in a time of civic chaos, possibly risking their leftist reputations. | But what looked like a united political front would soon be exposed as fractured. On a policy level, the councilors did not have the unilateral power to end the city's police department — as some residents believed. Politically, some of the elected officials were taken aback by the national attention their message attracted. | Andrea Rubenstein, a charter commission member and former civil rights lawyer, said she was inundated with emails saying: Pass the charter amendment — or else. Barry Clegg, the commission's president, said on one morning he woke up to expletive-laden graffiti outside his house. His home was also egged. | As the commission weighed its options, evidence mounted that the public wanted police reform, but did not support the actions of councilors or share the aims of influential leftists. A poll from The Minneapolis Star-Tribune found that a plurality of residents, including 50 percent of Black people, opposed reducing the size of the police department. Councilors said they repeatedly heard criticism from business owners and residents in more affluent areas of their wards who feared for their safety, as misinformation spread that the end of the police department was imminent. | In 2021, when the mayor and City Council members must all run for re-election, there is a chance the amendment to remove the police department from the city's charter could go in front of voters. For now, it is an exercise in finger-pointing, as Minneapolis's relationship with its police department looks largely identical to the way it was before Mr. Floyd's death.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/16/support-for-black-lives-matter-has-decreased-since-june-but-remains-strong-among-black-americans/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/10/upshot/black-lives-matter-attitudes.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/us/politics/polling-defund-the-police.html
Dear political press: There is bipartisan opposition to what McConnell is doing. You don't have to be the only people on the planet who buy his bullshit.
Draymond Green to Paul Pierce: "Enjoy retirement man... you still fear Bron... shut up already!
https://instagram.com/stories/money23green/2406990217175552262?igshid=ok4q8trtmpqq
Frank Vogel says Anthony Davis has some "minor soreness" in his ankle but he is "good to go" for Game 5 tonight.
https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1309995792992788482
Falcons' CB A.J. Terrell is being placed on the reserve COVID list and is out for Sunday's game against the Bears. He now becomes the first NFL player this season to miss a game due to COVID.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1309915756742705152
The very real cost of COVID denialism: Three Orthodox Jewish men die of COVID-19 hours after arriving at NYC hospital; sources say they arrived so sick they couldn't be saved --
https://nypost.com/2020/09/25/3-orthodox-jewish-men-die-of-covid-19-after-arriving-at-nyc-hospital/
DHS: White supremacists have become the "most persistent and lethal threat" to the U.S. from within the country.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-23/white-supremacists-top-terrorist-threats-within-u-s-wolf-says
Juan Soto bounces a ground-rule double into the Mets' bullpen in left-center. Why not? 113.3 mph off the bat. That was a laser. And it raised Soto's batting average to .346, his OPS to 1.177.
2020 just keeps on: Brain-eating amoeba may be in Houston-area tap water, health officials warn | Officials in the city of Lake Jackson, Texas, issued a disaster declaration on Saturday in response to drinking water contaminated with a brain-eating amoeba. The city is under a "do not use water order," and has requested an emergency declaration from the state. "The City of Lake Jackson, County of Brazoria, Texas, is facing significant threats to life, health and property due to contaminated drinking water," the city said in its emergency request to Governor Greg Abbott. "The impact of this threat is severe. The potential damages include: sickness and death." Mayor Bob Sipple wrote that the incident "is of such severity and magnitude" that the city cannot control the threat on its own.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-eating-amoeba-houston-area-tap-water-brazosport-water-authority/
https://www.lakejackson-tx.gov/
https://twitter.com/DavidGonzKHOU/status/1309927725851959306
AL MVP Jose Abreu hits a bases clearing double to take back the lead
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/b0aa4862-c02a-4e21-a859-eca6dd86a85a.mp4
Randal Grichuk hits another home run against the Orioles, his 7th against them this year, and 19th against them for his career
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/149729d8-76b8-43bf-8eff-ad4639491cb1.mp4
Kevin Kiermaier shows why you don't run on him by gunning down McCutchen at the plate
https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2020/2020-09/26/78991a06-1a76b327-9de26648-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4
Kris Bryant hits a long grand slam to try to salvage an injury-marred seaso
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/4412dcf9-cfe6-47fb-b8fd-3a249843fab0.mp4
Good: The Tampa Bay Rays have clinched the American League #1 seed
Vogelbach (decapitated) staying in game.
https://twitter.com/jessespector/status/1310022528929333249
Koalas set to become extinct as NSW government allows further 55 hectares of koala habitat to be destroyed
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-25/nsw-environment-minister-backs-down-brandy-hill-quarr-koala/12705640
We already know Trump/Republicans wanted X for the Supreme Court, I'm focused on the Democratic response, which will unfold soon
MPJ is a monster on offense but he is cheeks on defense. MPJ has all the talent but he doesn't seem to have the IQ that guys like KD had even at a young age. MPJ doesn't know how to take a charge.
The Dodgers have won 42 of their 59 games. They'll wrap up the season tomorrow having lost just one series all year.
The referees rigged the 4th quarter of the Lakers game to make sure the Lakers went to the finals. Everybody watched it happen. The referees allowed Lebron to commit serious assault and fouled all players who came within a foot of Lebron, allowing him to make a series of uncontested shots that put the Lakers back in the lead after the Nuggets tied the game.
The important thing is young players like Jamal and Jerami and Jokic not only had a once-in-a-lifetime experience battling LeBron in a Conference Finals series, they now have very deep hard-fought playoff experience and have that experience against a team of battlehardened NBA veterans, and they have the emotional fulfillment of having built and accomplished everything together because their team was built not bought (like the Lakers). We all saw the Nuggets play with class and professionalism and play offense like the Golden State Warriors, giving LeBron nightmare flashbacks on that court. The referees had to rig the 4th for the Lakers to win, proving the Nuggets really won that series. They wrecked the Lakers. Thank You Nuggets and I already miss you.
Jerami Grant absolutely fearless in the face of LeBron. THAT is playoff experience. Jerami turned into Kevein Duran halfway through the series. A menace all series long, played 45 minutes last night and gave it his all in the closing minutes of the game.
Nikola Jokic on Jamal Murray and the future of the Denver Nuggets: "He was our leader.. He was banged up. [..] He's a dog. He's a fighter. He's a competitor. He's an amazing shooter. He played amazing. Since when I came here five years ago, we had 33 wins that season. And today we're in the WCF.."
https://streamable.com/ji9hj2
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic now have the 1st and 2nd highest scoring single postseasons in Nuggets franchise history
Brandon Woodruff - 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 ER, 10 SO, 20 straight retired
Boris Johnson is reported to have offered jobs at the head of two of Britain's most important media organisations to two outspoken critics of the BBC. The provocative choice of two such hardline anti-BBC voices has prompted anger and dismay across the broadcasting and entertainment industry.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/sep/26/pm-offers-top-media-body-jobs-to-critics-of-bbc-say-reports
I was a Republican governor of Pa. I'm voting for Joe Biden
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/tom-ridge-trump-biden-election-2020-vote-20200927.html
Libertarian-Republican Dwayne Johnson Endorses Presidential Candidate for First Time, Supports Joe Biden and Kamala Harris | As a political independent & centrist, I've voted for both parties in the past. In this critical presidential election, I'm endorsing @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris. Progress takes courage, humanity, empathy, strength, KINDNESS & RESPECT. We must ALL VOTE: https://bit.ly/DJVote2020
https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1310198847835000834
Sen. Ed Markey says he will vote to expand Supreme Court if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed
https://www.wcvb.com/article/senator-ed-markey-says-he-will-vote-to-expand-supreme-court-if-amy-coney-barrett-is-confirmed/34174476
Michigan senators say they will vote against confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court
https://www.wzzm13.com/mobile/article/news/national/michigan-senators-amy-coney-barrett/69-80141fa9-92a0-4b16-87cf-029c37cd341e
Florida Congresswoman Supports Impeachment, Court Packing in Response to SCOTUS Nomination Clash
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-congresswoman-impeachment-court-packing-supreme-court-justice-1534435
"Three vaccine candidates are being injected into workers whom the government considers essential, along with many others, including employees of the pharmaceutical firms themselves...The companies have asked people taking the vaccines to sign NDAs."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/business/china-coronavirus-vaccine.html
Chargers' QB Tyrod Taylor expected to miss next Sunday's game against the Bucs as he continues to recover from a punctured lung and cracked ribs, per sources.
https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1310237930796003329
Las Vegas Raiders are now under investigation from the NFL for violating COVID-19 protocols and allowing unauthorized locker room access Monday night, league sources tell ESPN:
https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1310159089046114305
The #Falcons-#Bears game is officially on, despite ATL CB AJ Terrell being placed on the COVID-19 reserve list and contact tracing over the last more than 24 hours. All ATL players and personnel are cleared for today's game. No positives from testing conducted yesterday.
https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/1310196549994110977
Remember when "potatoe" ruined Dan Quayle
Remember when Howard Dean loudly rallying ruined his campaign
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley arrested and in police custody on charges of marijuana possession and concealing stolen property.
https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1310252871624151041
Republicans suing North Carolina over a change that would allow voters to more easily fix incomplete mail-in ballots
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-sues-to-block-mail-in-ballot-rule-changes-2020-9
Trump Supporter Arrested After Disturbance at Fairfield Democrats' HQ
https://www.ctpost.com/politics/article/Trump-supporter-arrested-after-disturbance-at-15599717.php
Bless The Child (2000)
Given the lineup of seats up in the Senate, chances are that Democrats will take the Senate if Joe Biden takes the presidency.
7th Circuit illegally and unconstituionally stays district court injunction allowing Wisconsin ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received up to 6 days later. No list or count of judges backing the order. No rationale given. Earlier: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-wisconsin-elections-courts-voting-2020-0a1dd66665dff0f338c1afe23f920f66
Official word from Red Sox: Ron Roenicke will not return as the club's manager for the 2021 season. A search for a new manager will begin immediately
https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1310267792889962497
This throw was called a Nick Foles touchdown on the field, official review overturned the TD and it was ruled an interception
https://streamable.com/z4zfbr
This has been called an interception for Josh Allen.
https://twitter.com/bradleygelber/status/1310293610257166336
Nick Foles is in at QB for the #Bears
https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1310293738867109888
Odell Beckham just did a finger wag after breaking up a potential interception on a bad Baker Mayfield pass. Not sure I've seen a wide receiver celebrate that before.
https://twitter.com/MichaelDavSmith/status/1310273535554789387
For the first time this nfl season there are only 8 games in the early window and 5 games in the afternoon window today and to be honest it should be like that every week.
Marcell Ozuna takes the sole home run lead in the national league with mammoth home run.
https://streamable.com/di62cs
Yikes what the hell: Fighting erupts between Armenia, Azerbaijan (Islamist country), 16 killed | On Sunday morning, Azerbaijani artillery, rockets, drones and combat aircraft began a series of attacks on Armenian positions in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, just two months after clashes in July left at least seventeen dead. The shelling and air strikes were apparently followed by ground attacks. A spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry claimed its forces shot down four Azerbaijani helicopters and 15 drones, and destroyed ten tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. The current attack was preceded by hostilities begun on July 12 on the northern end of the Armenian-Azerbaijan border, ostensibly after Armenian forces opened fired on an Azerbaijani UAZ jeep heading towards their position.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/fighting-erupts-between-armenia-azerbaijan-16-killed
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastienroblin/2020/09/27/tanks-ablaze-as-azerbaijani-forces-attack-armenian-troops-in-disputed-nagorno-karabakh/
Belarus police carried out mass arrests as tens of thousands of people again gathered for protests calling on leader Alexander Lukashenko to step down
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54316568
Yemen's warring parties agree to their largest prisoner swap as U.N. seeks ceasefire
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yemen-security-prisoners-un/yemens-warring-parties-agree-to-their-largest-prisoner-swap-as-u-n-seeks-ceasefire-idUKKBN26I064
As the tweeters do another debate over who in politics counts as faithful and respectful of faith and who does not, Donald Trump spent his Sunday at his golf course and Joe Biden just left mass again for the umpteenth time.
Danny Green had key plays during game 5 WCF: 11pt, 2ast, 2 blocks, 2/4 3 pt FG
A deflated Jamal Murray answers question about his leg injury: "I have a big bruise on my foot. Just hurt me all game. I changed shoes, and that didn't help.. I don't like to tell everybody what I got. I just like to play through it. I was in pain, but it's cool..."
https://streamable.com/32jbkx
Kostas Antetokounmpo clinches his family's first NBA finals appearance
Jamal Murray is playing with a limp due to a right knee injury. Nuggets are playing their 19th game of this playoffs with Murray logging over 700 minutes
https://streamable.com/duiw5r
Seven years after his disappointing exit from the team, Dwight Howard is the Lakers' starting center as they return to the NBA Finals
Michael Porter Jr. lobs it off the backboard to himself for the lay up
https://streamable.com/mmiyo7
Jamal Murray with 27/5/7/1 on 51/45/90 (63% TS) and Nikola Jokic with 24/10/6/1/1 on 52/43/84 (61% TS) with a post-season run for the ages
AD hits a long range bomb
https://streamable.com/fo4645
Jerami Grant is a tremendous defender, he also just finished the playoffs shooting 40.6% from the field, 32.6% from three, and averaged 3.5 rpg per 36
Chris Webb has to backtrack hard after seeing the replay
https://streamable.com/eisrhp
Jokic, a center, with the steal and assist...in the Lakers backcourtHighlight
https://streamable.com/zvfks7
Paul Millsap is now 1-12 against Lebron James in the playoffs
Trump's DHS plans to illegally and unconstitutionally impose 2 or 4-year time limits on International Students (including PhDs).
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/518036-dhs-proposing-time-limits-on-international-students-exchange
Jose Ureña blocks a 104mph comebacker from DJ LeMahieu with his bare hand, is taken out of the game
https://streamable.com/81zta0
Yan Gomes hit a HR with 2 outs in the 3rd to put the Nats up 12-3
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/8bc5d03f-dd0a-484f-a6b9-7ae9b19341db.mp4
Aaron Nola against the Rays on the last game of the season: 3.2 IP, 6H, 3R/ER, 3BB, 6SO
Harrison Bader hits Fredbird's painting in 3rd deck
https://bdata-producedclips.mlb.com/eb0b6d6e-4011-4cbc-be33-8d027c9daa8b.mp4
Kyler Murray floats the ball perfectly to the corner of the endzone for Andy Isabella.
https://twitter.com/azcardinals/status/1310323297247133696
NFC East is combined 2-9-1 through 3 games so far
Brutal sequence for the Cowboys: -- Forget to cover Tyler Lockett -- Muff ensuing kickoff and start your drive from your own 1-yard line -- Get tackled for a safety on the very next play 9-3, #Seahawks.
https://www.twitter.com/Joe_Fann/status/1310321385361686529
We Already Know, This Was Already Known, He Bragged About It All Campaign Season Long 2015-2016, Bragged During Those Republican Primary Debates About Not Paying Taxes, Admitted He Did Not Pay Any Taxes During Presidential Debate With Hillary, the whole point of his pitch was, "I spent my life attacking the swamp government and I won, fuck the government". The New York Times And Washington Post Relentlessly Reported On Trump's Financial And Business Corruption Between 2015-2016 And Won A Pulitzer For Their Reportage
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html
The Times obtained Donald Trump's tax information extending over more than two decades, revealing struggling properties, vast write-offs, an audit battle and hundreds of millions in debt coming due.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html
This is a heck of a pre Kol Nidre news dump
Also hanging over him is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html
The Atlanta Falcons had a 99.3% win probability with 6:24 left in the game before the Chicago Bears stormed back under Nick Foles. The last time the Falcons blew a 99%+ win probability in the 4th quarter was all the way back to last week against the Cowboys. Just insane.
https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/1310331652812529670
The Falcons have now lost games in which they had a 99.9% chance to win and a 99.1% chance to win, respectively. The chances of that happening are roughly 1 in 990,000.
Bills rally to beat Rams 35-32 after blowing 25-point lead. Josh Allen's five TDs help Bills stave off Rams' comeback. The Bills, who were dominant against the lowly Jets and Dolphins, needed every minute to beat the Rams and go to 3-0.
https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/34958/josh-allens-five-tds-help-bills-stave-off-rams-comeback
Sorry, can't tune in to his presser, busy going through his taxes, and watching nfl and mlb
In 2017, the president's $750 contribution to the operations of the U.S. government was dwarfed by the $15,598 he or his companies paid in Panama, the $145,400 in India and the $156,824 in the Philippines.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html
Transcripts of his main federal tax form, the 1040, from 1985 to 1994, were obtained by The Times in 2019. They showed that, in many years, Mr. Trump lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer. Three pages of his 1995 returns, mailed anonymously to The Times during the 2016 campaign, showed that Mr. Trump had declared losses of $915.7 million, giving him a tax deduction that could have allowed him to avoid federal income taxes for almost two decades. Five months later, the journalist David Cay Johnston obtained two pages of Mr. Trump's returns from 2005; that year, his fortunes had rebounded to the point that he was paying taxes.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/05/07/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/us/politics/donald-trump-taxes.html
He is the leader of the USA...and with ALL the issues going on, he just just rambles on and on about himself and the election voting ballot lies
I wonder if the orange spray coat acts as a sort of safety blanket for him, as in he feels protected behind it?
Federal income taxes pay soldiers' salaries.
Trump has spent a year building a legal network to fight the election. Dozens of lawyers from three major firms have been hired. Thousands of volunteer attorneys and poll watchers across the country have been recruited.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/27/trump-legal-network-election-day-fight-422035
Trump's most reliable income comes from real estate assets he lost the right to manage and therefore could not wreck
He exaggerates losses to avoid paying taxes then inflates his property values and profits to obtain loans. That's fraud
Federal income taxes paid in 2017 (jointly with spouse):
Joe Biden - $3,742,974
Kamala Harris - $516,469
Bernie Sanders - $343,882
Elizabeth Warren - $268,484
Donald Trump - $750 for the last few years and nothing for 13 years leading up to the last two years
He's not preparing because he's not planning on debating. He's going to say he won't debate unless there is a drug test.
"I'm busy running the country" Says the guy who's golfed like 300 times in four years and just returned from golfing to give the presser
Trump literally just said "check it out on the internet" when asked for proof that Biden is on drugs.
He scheduled the press conference to try to avoid the fact his tax returns were just released, he's trying to get the press to cover him and his conspiracy theories instead of his federal tax fraud
Hindsight is 20/20 but Carroll wishing he had those 40 second back right about now
He's still pushing the audit line... 4 years after the IRS said you can release your returns under audit and the same day the NYT publishes his tax records spanning 20 years
If I slapped the phone Trump uses to tweet out of his hands and it smashed on the floor, he would probably spend more money replacing it than he pays in taxes
He just said the Catholic Church is behind him on this, the Pope said that Trump is not a real Christian in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020....
As expected, general manager Billy Eppler will not return to the Los Angeles Angels, source tells ESPN. The question now for the Angels: Will Dave Dombrowski come to Anaheim to try to do what he did in Miami, Detroit and Boston? @Ken_Rosenthal first on the move with Eppler.
https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1310339727053262849
Marlins SP Jose Ureña has a fracture in his right forearm from the line drive and is out for the postseason.
https://twitter.com/craigmish/status/1310338871385878541
Red Sox legend Nick Pivetta against the Braves: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 K
The Chicago Cubs will finish the 60-game regular season as the only team in MLB without a single player testing positive for COVID-19. That's a pretty remarkable feat.
https://twitter.com/Russ_Dorsey1/status/1310297982127034369
This is Mike Trout's first time not leading the AL in any standard stats since his 2011 season.
Rays sweep Phillies and win an AL-best 40 wins for the 2020 season
The Philadelphia Phillies have been eliminated from postseason contention
Part of me wonders if trump doesn't even know what's in his tax records, and his bootlicking accountants just keep reassuring him that he's very rich and paying income tax like a big boy
Daniel Castano in relief of Jose Ureña: 6 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts/2 walks, 4 hits
100,000 March in Belarus Capital on 50th Day of Protests Over President Lukashenko
https://time.com/5893860/belarus-protest-lukashenko/
Edwin Díaz in 2020: 26 GP, 25.2 IP, 1.75 ERA, 243 ERA+, 50 K, 17.5 K/9, 2 HR, .7 HR/9
In their final 8 games, the Philadelphia Phillies needed only to go 2-6 to make the playoffs. They went 1-7.
The 2020 Houston Astros officially finish the season with a losing record
Hey just a reminder that Donald Trump is definitely a tax cheat and the right-wing Supreme Court helped him keep that secret until after the election.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html
Always a tweet
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/190866856624668672
A tax deduction for $70K in hairstyling? What a sucker. Who spends $70,000 on his hair?
John Edwards' $400 hair cut was a major campaign disaster.
Excessive debt is viewed as a national security vulnerability and generally means no security clearance allowed. Why? Not only because a debt ridden person is desperate, but because the entity loaning has undue influence over the person. #TrumpTaxReturns
Despite the 49ers missing QB1, RB1, RB2, TE1, TE2, WR1, CB1, CB2, CB4, DE1, DE3, DE4, DE5, LB2, WR4, WR5, and C1, they've scored 30 points two weeks in a row.
Doug Pederson punted with 19 seconds left in overtime. He decided not to even try to win.
Nick Mullens, the 49ers backup QB, playing without his No. 1 receiver, his top two running backs, and his all-pro tight end, has completed 24 of 35 passes for 325 yards.
https://twitter.com/RVacchianoSNY/status/1310304246663872520
Josh Allen has already thrown for 1,038 Yards through 3 games
Gostkowski drills 6/6 on the day including this go-ahead field goal with a minute left to give the Titans the lead
https://streamable.com/5nwb5z
Falcons owner, Arthur Blank can write all the books he like about not reacting out of anger or frustration, but Dan Quinn remaining as hd coach, is an ABSOLUTE failure on his part. Blowing 4th quarter leads of 15&16 pts in Bck2Bck weeks is unacceptable.
https://twitter.com/ShannonSharpe/status/1310316425857310720
Falcons' WR Julio Jones is out for today's game against the Chicago Bears due to his lingering hamstring injury.
Cam Newton steps up in the pocket, then avoids pressure and runs
https://streamable.com/anqe6u
Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu has won the AL and MLB batting title (.364 AVG) and Yankees infielder Luke Voit has won the AL and MLB home run crown (22 HR)
After the Astros' 8-4 loss to the Rangers today, the last 3 World Series champions have all finished 2020 with a record below .500
Averaging more than two conflicts of interest per day, Trump has engaged in more than 3,400 conflicts of interest since taking office, according to a new report released by CREW.
https://www.citizensforethics.org/president-trumps-3400-conflicts-of-interest/
Everything I have stated about @potus @realDonaldTrump has been proven100% #TRUE! On page 94 of my #1 book #Disloyal @nytbestsellers_ , #Trump showed me a 10 million dollar #IRS "refund" check and exclaimed, "Can you believe how fucking stupid the IRS is?"...they are so stupid!"
https://twitter.com/MichaelCohen212/status/1310346564582477824
Rams decry costly pass interference call that led to Bills go-ahead TD: 'Wasn't even a catchable ball'. The Rams were one play away from completing a historic comeback against the Bills on Sunday when a fourth-down pass interference penalty resulted in a go-ahead touchdown for Buffalo. Said Rams safety John Johnson III: 'It was the wrong call.'
Tarik Cohen of Chicago Bears feared to have suffered torn ACL. The Bears believe running back Tarik Cohen suffered a torn right ACL on a punt return Sunday against the Falcons.
Just remembered Igoudala is going for his 4th title 🤣
When the Celtics play Kanter, he feasts on anything near the rim. I don't know why he doesn't get more minutes. It's not like everybody on the Heat are shooters
Remember when Iguodala was silly for not wanting to play for Memphis? Now he may potentially be playing in the Finals.
Kentucky lawmaker, sponsor of 'Breonna's Law,' back on protest line after arrest
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-lawmaker-sponsor-breonna-s-law-back-protest-line-after-n1241173
Judge blocks TikTok ban in second ruling against Trump's efforts to curb popular Chinese services
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/09/27/tiktok-ban-injunction/
Florida denies Amendment 4 advocate Desmond Meade full pardon | Meade pushed to re-enfranchise more than a million Floridians convicted of felonies. The deferral of his pardon points to a clemency system that's been called "broken."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-amendment-4-advocate-desmond-meade-pardon-2020-09-27/
"Vice President Biden intends to deliver his debate answers in words. If the president thinks his best case is made in urine he can have at it. We'd expect nothing less from Donald Trump, who pissed away the chance to protect the lives of 200K Americans."
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/27/joe-biden-trump-debate-422328
Yikes....Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale hospitalized after he was armed and threatening to harm himself, Fort Lauderdale police say
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-ne-brad-parscale-incident-fort-lauderdale-20200928-g4bcine3fbb7jhjniiroo3yuse-story.html
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] - for free confidential emotional support 24/7. Even if it feels like it – you are not alone.
A thing I think about a lot is how I wish the entire country and the rest of the idiot planet would take a pause and chill and keep their mouths closed for entir week straight. Shut shut the fuck up about everything, say nothing, turn the television and computer and phones and all other internet-devices off, shut the fuck up and chill and go for long walks for a week straight.
One good thing about Joe Biden is he doesn't owe anyone 421 million dollars.
Regularly reminder that Reagan responded to his own epi/pandemic by completely ignoring it for years, his aides laughing about it openly. He popularized the myth of the welfare queen. He set mental health back decades. He enabled permanent homelessness.
In 2016 & '17, I paid thousands of dollars a year in taxes *as a bartender.* Trump paid $750. He contributed less to funding our communities than waitresses & undocumented immigrants. Donald Trump has never cared for our country more than he cares for himself. A walking scam. twitter.com/nytimes/status…
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1310384989524185093
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