And another day of shows, takeovers, Facebook manipulation, losing women voters, evangelical conspiracy theorists, protests and riots, swastikas, and disabilities all comes to a close:
"The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it." — George Carlin
Deaths
US: 149,849 (+451)
World: 652,057 (+3612)
Cases
US: 4,371,839 (+56,130)
World: 16,413,954 (+213,063)
Countdown: 100 days.
Trump Is Putting On a Show in Portland. Welcome to the world of performative authoritarianism, a form of politics that reached new heights of sophistication in Russia over the past decade and has now arrived in the United States. Unlike 20th-century authoritarianism, this 21st-century, postmodern influence campaign does not require the creation of a total police state. Nor does it require complete control of information, or mass arrests. It can be carried out, instead, with a few media outlets and a few carefully targeted arrests.
How the Republican Party opened itself up to the Trump takeover. Consider "It Was All A Lie," the forthcoming book by disillusioned Republican ad-maker Stuart Stevens. He casts Trump as not an aberration but rather the culmination of decades-long evolution within the GOP. Having advised four Republican presidential nominees and dozens of winning Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, Stevens blends diagnosis of the party's ills with confession for having fostered them. “Blame me when you look around and see a dysfunctional political system and a Republican Party that has gone insane," Stevens writes. "Many will argue that my view of the Republican Party is distorted by my loathing of Trump. The truth is that Trump brought it all into clarity and made the pretending impossible."...Taken together, Stevens concludes, these trends have made the GOP a "white grievance party." The grievances grow as demographic, cultural and economic changes move America closer to becoming a majority-minority nation and alter the balance of societal power.
If you’re not terrified about Facebook, you haven’t been paying attention. America, the idea of America, is on the brink. And at the cold, dead heart of the suicide mission it has set itself on, is Facebook. Facebook and America are now indivisible. Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, these are now the bloodstream of American life and politics. A bloodstream that is sick. And so the world is sick, because American capitalism has been the vector that has brought this infection across the globe. Algorithmically amplified “free speech” with no consequences. Lies spread at speed. Hate freely expressed, freely shared. Ethnic hatred, white supremacy, resurgent Nazism all spreading invisibly, by stealth beyond the naked eye...In a world without consequences, the bad man will be king.
Yaël Eisenstat: ‘Facebook is ripe for manipulation and viral misinformation’. The ex-CIA officer on why she lasted only six months at the tech giant and her fears about its role in the forthcoming US election. “I suspect that there’s a debate internally about this, because it’s politically convenient for Facebook to take down a Russian disinformation network – that is not going to anger anybody in the US – but for them to target a rightwing, domestic disinformation network becomes much more politically tricky because those groups align with the current administration. And that’s what I am concerned they are not doing.”
From Donald Trump to Ted Yoho, Republicans are losing with women voters. — Tired of being thought of as “lesser”? Don’t fear Democrats. We have compassion, empathy, and love. We think of everyone as equal and strive to make that a reality. So Come on over to what Republicans call “The Dark side.” We even have cookies.
Why ‘Respectable’ Evangelicals Can’t Rein In Evangelical Conspiracy Theorists. Furthermore, how can you expect evangelicals to listen to your exhortation to stop believing and spreading conspiracy theories when you simultaneously defend the very institutions that teach evangelical children to be suspicious of any and all experts from outside the evangelical community (at least on matters like evolution, psychology, gender and sexuality, abortion, and climate science), which would, of course, mean the majority of genuine experts in most fields? And yet this is precisely what evangelical schools (which usually brand themselves Christian schools or Christian academies) do, along with promoting a heavy dose of Christian nationalism.
From Teen Vogue. Tear Gas and Pepper Spray: What to Do if You're Exposed. Tear gas was developed during the first World War and has since been banned from wartime use by the Geneva convention, but is not banned from being deployed on civilians. — Good to see Teen Vogue addressing this.
Top Trump administration and White House officials on Sunday said they want to replace the soon-expiring expanded unemployment benefits with a system that pays those out of work 70 percent of lost wages because they feel the current system gives people a reason not to return to the job. — “Feel”?
The coronavirus recession has split America in two: those who are still financially intact, and others facing lasting scars.
Has child abuse surged under COVID-19? Despite alarming stories from ERs, there's no answer. Preliminary data shows reports of child abuse around the U.S. have plunged during the pandemic. Experts fear the amount of abuse has actually risen.
Vietnamese city reimposes distancing after first local infections in months.
Nova Scotia now free of known active COVID-19 cases. The province has gone 11 days without discovering a new case.
New Zealand PM Ardern's ratings sky high ahead of election. -- As they should be.
More federal officers deploying to Portland as protests gain momentum. “Anytime you shoot someone in the face and beat them with a baton, it’s going to be criticized,” said one federal law enforcement official. “That’s not a controversial statement.” — No. No it’s not.
Peaceful protests against police brutality and the presence of federal agents at demonstrations turned violent as police in several large cities across the country declared riots.
Oakland protesters set fire to courthouse, smash windows.
Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called out for remarks on slavery in criticism of 1619 Project. Sen. Tom Cotton faced criticism on Sunday after he claimed that the Founding Fathers viewed slavery as a "necessary evil" as part of the country's founding while discussing his bill that would reduce federal funding for any school that includes The New York Times's 1619 Project in its curriculum.
Swastika masks worn at my hometown Walmart. What's going on? -- Dude, those people have drunk the Kool Aid.
The news website ProPublica has published a database containing complaint information against thousands of New York City police officers, days after a federal judge paused the public release of the records after law enforcement unions sued the city.
The ADA is turning 30. It's time that it included digital accessibility.
Let Me Vote: My Voting Rights as a Blind Man are the Same as Everybody Else’s. There's still work to be done to make sure the right to vote applies to everyone, including people with disabilities.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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