Thursday, August 13, 2020

And another day of Trump sabotaging America and spouting misogynistic ramblings at strong women while also, with others, saying the quiet parts out loud, thankfully comes to a close:

“Now they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots...But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting...” — Donald Trump, August 13, 2020.

"Trump does not care if he gets caught. He cares if he is punished." — Sarah Kendzior

Deaths

US: 170,415 (+1284)

World: 753,479 (+6221)

Cases

US: 5,415,666 (+55,364)

World: 21,091,079 (+284,125)

Countdown: 82 days.

The 42 most shocking lines from Donald Trump's Fox Business interview. -- Read them all. Seriously. Just wow.

Trump says he opposes funding USPS because of mail-in voting. By directly linking USPS funding to mail-in voting, Trump is fueling allegations that he is trying to manipulate the postal system for political gain. The pandemic has led to record-shattering levels of voting-by-mail, but Trump has tried to restrict the voting method because he says it will hurt his re-election and Republicans across the board.

Trump says he'd sign bill funding USPS but won't seek changes to help mail voting. The president's comments at a White House press conference capped a day that started with him signaling opposition to USPS funding because he didn't want the money to be used to broaden access to mail-in voting.

The Post Office Is Deactivating Mail Sorting Machines Ahead of the Election. The United States Postal Service is removing mail sorting machines from facilities around the country without any official explanation or reason given, Motherboard has learned through interviews with postal workers and union officials. In many cases, these are the same machines that would be tasked with sorting ballots, calling into question promises made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that the USPS has “ample capacity” to handle the predicted surge in mail-in ballots.

The U.S. Postal Service Was Never a Business. Stop Treating it Like One.

Editorial: And remember, the post office is in The Constitution. You know, that document that Trump keeps shitting on while the GOP cheer him on. 

Vote by mail works, despite what Donald Trump says.

“I’m going to scream this again: House doesn’t have the power to stop voter suppression by Post Office without the consent of @POTUS. So what is the best response? Get voters to understand Oct 22 is when they need to mail their ballot to ensure it arrives by Nov 3.” -- Rep. Ted Lieu

Editorial: Read the above again. Mail your ballot no later than October 22. Mark it on your calendar. Set a reminder. You and a friend make a pact to mail your votes together. Do whatever to help you remember to vote, then vote  Trump and Republicans out of office!

USPS removes mailboxes in Portland and Eugene, cites “declining mail volume”.

Michael Cohen book claims Trump colluded with Russia and will 'never leave office peacefully'. In his upcoming memoir, Cohen calls Trump "a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man."...Cohen wrote that he is convinced Trump "will never leave office peacefully."...“From golden showers in a sex club in Vegas, to tax fraud, to deals with corrupt officials from the former Soviet Union, to catch and kill conspiracies to silence Trump’s clandestine lovers, I wasn’t just a witness to the president’s rise—I was an active and eager participant,” he wrote.

Trump echoes fringe birther attack on Harris. President Donald Trump on Thursday gave credence to a false and racist conspiracy about Kamala Harris’ eligibility to be president, fueling an online misinformation campaign that parallels the one he used to power his rise into politics. -- The man is disgusting. Vote him and his Republican enablers out.

Kamala Harris crystallizes Trump's view of women: They're 'nasty' or housewives. In the hours since Sen. Kamala Harris joined the Democratic presidential ticket, President Donald Trump has responded by sorting women into two categories: the good “suburban housewife” he believes will vote for him, and nasty women who have not shown him or his political allies a sufficient amount of respect.

Left wing rankled by choice of Harris for VP. Already Kamala Harris is being described as the frontrunner in the next open Democratic primary, whether it’s in 2024 or 2028. Progressives said that means they could be locked out of the White House for more than a decade.

President Trump requests mail-in ballot for upcoming Florida primary, despite rhetoric. For the second time as a Palm Beach County voter, President Donald Trump has requested a vote-by-mail ballot ahead of Florida's primary election on Tuesday. — I can do it! You can’t! Leave me alone, peasants!

“So much of the Democratic asks are really liberal left wishlists we don't want to have -- voting rights, and aid to aliens, and so forth. That's not our game." — Larry Kudlow

Editorial: And they continue to say the quiet parts out loud. 

Beginning Thursday, U.S. Facebook users who post about voting may start seeing an addendum to their messages — labels directing readers to authoritative information about the upcoming presidential election.

Besieged on all sides, Ron Johnson says his probe 'would certainly' help Trump win reelection.

See Who Has Donated to a Political Campaign With These Tools. One way to sneakily learn more about someone’s politics and the issues they truly care about is to figure out which campaigns they’ve backed financially...If you want to know whether (and how much) your family member, neighbor, employer or favorite company has contributed to various political candidates, you can easily find this information by searching publicly available financial disclosure records. Here are the best tools for the job.

Trump on Thursday again attacked his own FBI director, whom he appointed, and pushed Attorney General William Barr to pressure the Justice Department's investigation of the Russia probe.

U.S. logs highest number of COVID-19 deaths in 2 weeks, data show, with “a startling surge" in children and teens diagnosed. Most of these deaths were in the Southern and Sun Belt states like Florida, Texas and Arizona that began reopening in May and June at the urging of President Donald Trump despite warnings from public health experts that the coronavirus was starting to crest.

Europe is giving the world a glimpse at what happens when the coronavirus epidemic is brought under control and the economy reopens: the virus bounces back.

1,193 Quarantined for COVID. Is This a Successful School Reopening? — Um, no. 

Chinese officials say chicken wings imported from Brazil tested positive for Covid-19. A sample of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, authorities said Thursday, the latest in a series of reports of contaminated imported food products.

Why you shouldn't be worried about getting the coronavirus from food. Here's the bottom line: Doctors and health experts have repeatedly said the coronavirus is not likely to be transmitted by food.

Joe Biden called on all U.S. governors to mandate mask-wearing to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

A new US CDC survey found that almost 41% of respondents are struggling with mental health issues stemming from the pandemic — both related to the pandemic itself and the measures used to contain it, including physical distancing and stay-at-home orders.

Trump’s suggestion to eliminate payroll tax doesn’t add up.

Report: 59 Confederate Symbols Removed Since George Floyd's Death.

Players kneeling for anthem booed before MLS game in Texas. Players from FC Dallas and Nashville SC were booed when they collectively took a knee during the national anthem before their MLS game on Wednesday night in Frisco, Texas. Dallas defender Reggie Cannon said he was disgusted by the boos at Toyota Stadium when players and officials knelt to call attention to racial injustice. He said teammate Ryan Hollingshead turned to him afterward and said he was sorry. "You can't even have support from your own fans in your own stadium. It's baffling to me.” — Racist are going to do what they do. Keep fighting the good fight.

Why Did “WAP” Make Them So Mad? Conservatives have made it clear: The bodies of Black people are for labor, not for their own enjoyment.

U.S. Justice Department says Yale illegally discriminates against Asians, whites.

Rise in far-right threats against Justin Trudeau, police warn.

China cracks down on 'big stomach kings' in fight against food wastage. China’s biggest short-video and social media platforms said they will punish users seen to be wasting food in their broadcasts, cracking down on so-called “big stomach kings” as the government urges against food wastage in the middle of a pandemic.

How China uses facial recognition to control human behavior. When facial recognition is everywhere, anything you do is fair game for public shaming and punishment.

New Jobless Claims Dip Below 1 Million For 1st Time Since March.

Eagles And Mockingbirds Catch A Break As Judge Strikes Down Trump Bird Opinion.

AMC to open 100 theaters next week, majority of locations in early September. -- Fifteen cent tickets on the first day; $1 for a mask.

Wildfires have destroyed more than 73,000 acres across 3 states and are spreading fast. Evacuations orders have been issued in areas threatened by the Lake Fire in California's Los Angeles County, the Mosier Creek Fire in central Oregon, and the Pine Gulch and Grizzly Creek fires in Colorado.

Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain tweeted from beyond the grave to attack Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

This dangerous 'party drug' has been everywhere — even on Amazon. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, is making a comeback as a new generation of recreational users rediscovers it through online marketplaces.

Birds and reptiles cry similar tears to humans, says new research.

Pentagon to launch task force to investigate UFO sightings. Members of Congress and Pentagon officials have long expressed concerns about the appearance of the unidentified aircraft that have flown over US military bases, posing a risk to military jets. There is no consensus on their origin with some believing they may be drones potentially operated by earthly adversaries seeking to gather intelligence rather than extraterrestrials.

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

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