Saturday, August 8, 2020

And another day in the unraveling of America comes to a close:

“If you can’t say ‘Fuck’ you can’t say, ‘Fuck the government.’” -- Lenny Bruce

Deaths

US: 165,070 (+976)

World: 729,586 (+5511)

Cases

US: 5,149,723 (+54,199)

World: 19,804,408 (+260,875)

Countdown: 87 days.

The Unraveling of America. Odious as he may be, Trump is less the cause of America’s decline than a product of its descent. As they stare into the mirror and perceive only the myth of their exceptionalism, Americans remain almost bizarrely incapable of seeing what has actually become of their country...The American cult of the individual denies not just community but the very idea of society. No one owes anything to anyone. All must be prepared to fight for everything: education, shelter, food, medical care. What every prosperous and successful democracy deems to be fundamental rights — universal health care, equal access to quality public education, a social safety net for the weak, elderly, and infirmed — America dismisses as socialist indulgences, as if so many signs of weakness. How can the rest of the world expect America to lead on global threats — climate change, the extinction crisis, pandemics — when the country no longer has a sense of benign purpose, or collective well-being, even within its own national community? Flag-wrapped patriotism is no substitute for compassion; anger and hostility no match for love...The measure of wealth in a civilized nation is not the currency accumulated by the lucky few, but rather the strength and resonance of social relations and the bonds of reciprocity that connect all people in common purpose...Evidence of such terminal decadence is the choice that so many Americans made in 2016 to prioritize their personal indignations, placing their own resentments above any concerns for the fate of the country and the world, as they rushed to elect a man whose only credential for the job was his willingness to give voice to their hatreds, validate their anger, and target their enemies, real or imagined. One shudders to think of what it will mean to the world if Americans in November, knowing all that they do, elect to keep such a man in political power. But even should Trump be resoundingly defeated, it’s not at all clear that such a profoundly polarized nation will be able to find a way forward. For better or for worse, America has had its time.

Trump signs executive orders on coronavirus economic relief. Democrats promised last week to file a legal challenge if the president acted through executive order to circumvent Congress, which has the constitutional authority to determine federal spending.

Coronavirus has already dealt a blow to Social Security's finances. Trump's payroll tax holiday could make it worse. A big fan of payroll tax cuts, Trump signed an executive action Saturday deferring the employee portion of payroll taxes -- 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare -- for workers making less than $100,000 a year through the rest of 2020. If he's reelected, Trump said, he plans to forgive the taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll taxes. "I'm going to make them all permanent," he said. -- He is trying to fuck us all over. Vote him out.

Biden says Trump executive order is 'a reckless war on Social Security'. “He is laying out his roadmap to cutting Social Security,” Biden said. “Our seniors and millions of Americans with disabilities are under enough stress without Trump putting their hard-earned Social Security benefits in doubt.”

Trump walks out of news conference after reporter asks him about Veterans Choice lie he's told more than 150 times. -- We need more of journalists calling him out on his lies.

‘We chose to be here’: Thousands defy coronavirus to attend annual motorcycle rally in South Dakota's Sturgis. — See above about “No one owes anything to anyone.” We are such a selfish country.

Trump’s promised breakthrough in health care coverage looks like it could be insurance protection for preexisting conditions. One sticking point: It’s already guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act,  which he is fighting to kill in the Supreme Court.

Biden risks alienating young Black voters after race remarks. Most Black voters view Trump as someone who exacerbates racial tensions and are unlikely to support his campaign in large numbers. But those who sit out the presidential election could sway the outcome in closely contested states.

Donald Trump's Long History Of Racism Laid Bare In New Ad.

Amid a racial reckoning, teachers are reconsidering how history is taught.

The reality of the US jobs rebound: Part-time work and less pay.

1 out of 3 kids hospitalized for the coronavirus was admitted to the ICU, a CDC analysis finds. Hispanic children were about 8 times as likely as white children to be hospitalized, while Black children were 5 times as likely.

Researchers created a test to determine which masks are the least effective.

The arguments anti-mask advocates use are nearly identical to what anti–seat belt lobbyists used.

A group of 34 former employees of Twin Peaks, a restaurant chain featuring scantily clad waitstaff, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging their uniforms and a system for grading their bodies amounted to sex discrimination and harassment.

Indian food delivery company Zomato said it would give women employees up to 10 days of 'period leave' per year, as part of an effort to combat what it said was stigma around the issue.

Passports for purchase: How the elite get through a pandemic. This is the elite world of investment migration, where passport applications are based not on nationality or citizenship, but on wealth and the willingness to move it around the planet.

NASA is adding celestial bodies to the on-going list of racially insensitive names being removed and those names include "Eskimo Nebula" and "Siamese Twins Galaxy."

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.