Thursday, August 27, 2020

And another day of Trump destroying America comes to a close:

“The Trump re-election strategy seems to be to argue that only Donald Trump can save America from Donald Trump’s America.” -- Dan Rather

Deaths

US: 184,796 (+1143)

World: 835,627 (+5962)

Cases

US: 6,046,634 (+46,269)

World: 24,624,981 (+292,874)

Countdown: 68 days.

Things to not forget: Russian bounties. Bipartisan Senate Intelligence Report. Covid-19 Deaths.

Editorial: The Trump Party is telling us that if they don’t win in November, then we should be afraid of literally everything that has already happened under their tenure. If a person tells you they’re the only who can save the country, then they are not to be trusted.

Republican convention takeaways: What virus? Fear motivates. Trump demanded a show for the final night of the Republican National Convention, a spectacle never before seen, an American president using the White House as the official backdrop for such overtly political activity. The federal guidelines about keeping distance, avoiding crowds and wearing masks to fight the spread of the coronavirus were emphatically ignored.

Egregious false claims and careless inaccuracies: fact-checking the third night of the RNC. Like nights one and two, Wednesday's proceedings featured false claims related to the coronavirus pandemic, Democrats, the economy, immigration and other important subjects.

Republicans Have Organized a Backlash Convention, and It’s Tearing This Country Apart. There’s a reason for this. President Trump and his partisans are well aware that he cannot win an election based on his record of mismanaging the response to a pandemic and mass unemployment, and of dividing the country against itself with racism and xenophobia. So they are amplifying those divisions in hopes of identifying a narrow, ugly, and exceptionally dangerous path to victory.

The Republican convention is proof that traditional Republicans have given up. In many ways, this convention is a call-back to the old Republican party of dog-whistle politics. The intended audience knows who they won’t be safe from – Black people – and knows that no one is so powerless as a white man. But they don’t explicitly mention race, as their audience still feels a bit awkward when the racism is too overt...And by now, even the Post should know what Trump stands for: authoritarianism, corruption, egocentrism, nativism and populism. As I’ve argued before, US democracy is not dying in darkness. It is dying in plain sight … if it is dying at all, but that is up to the American people and its vote.

During the Republican National Convention, the Trump campaign and GOP have been airing the President Donald Trump-boosting content on Twitch, a popular, Amazon-owned livestreaming website renowned for its massive gaming community...And thanks to the campaign’s apparent choice to leave the comments unmoderated, the site provides an unedited, real-time window into the base instincts of some of Trump’s youngest, most fervent supporters. The remarks range from absurdists tweeting profanity over and over, to overt fetishization of female speakers, QAnon theories and racist tropes; all while battling anti-Trump trolls spamming their comments with cruel jokes about Republicans in wheelchairs.

Trump says election workers, not USPS, could lead to 2020 miscount. President Donald Trump is shifting his focus from the U.S. Postal Service in his concerns about potential fraud in mail-in voting, claiming problems with mailed ballots lie with local elections officials who are "going to count them wrong." — Because if he was the one counting the votes, he would count them wrong. He’s telling us exactly what he would do if he had the opportunity. 

New Hot-Mic Video: What Trump Told His Lawyer When He Didn’t Know a Camera Was Rolling. The revealing footage was shot during a deposition in the Trump University fraud case. On December 10, 2015, Donald Trump took time off from campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination to spend hours sitting for a videotaped deposition in a lawsuit alleging that he and Trump University had defrauded people who had plunked down thousands of dollars to learn the secrets of his financial success as a developer. During a break in the proceedings, the camera continued to roll. And Trump and his attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, apparently unaware they were being recorded, were captured discussing the case.

White House says it is creating a 'very large' dossier on Washington Post journalist and others. -- Trump destroys America.

“All you need to know about Eric Trump is that he stole charity money from kids with cancer.” — Eugene Gu

What Conservatives Really Mean When They Call for Law and Order. Hint, it has nothing to do with white vigilantes.

As Nation Reckons With Race, Poll Finds White Americans Least Engaged. Though advocates believe true equality will not be achieved until all Americans are willing to grapple with racism, the survey showed that just 36% of those polled said they had taken concrete action to better understand racial issues after George Floyd's killing. White people were the least likely to have done so, at just 30%. That compares with 51% of Latinos, 49% of Asians, and 41% of Black people who answered "Yes" when asked: "Since the death of George Floyd in May, have you personally taken any actions to better understand racial issues in America?"

Jacob Blake handcuffed to hospital bed, father says. Blake had another question about his son, as well: What was he arrested for?

Lakers, Clippers vote to boycott season in wake of Jacob Blake shooting.

Vice President Pence's chief of staff calls NBA boycott "absurd" and "silly". “If they want to protest, I don't think we care," he said. — The fight against racial injustice is always “absurd” and “silly” to racists.

Facebook chose not to act on militia complaints before Kenosha shooting. Multiple users reported the account for inciting violence, but were told it did not violate platform policy.

Megyn Kelly was making racist comments long before 'blackface.' NBC hired her anyway. Megyn Kelly is reportedly on her way out of the Today Show and maybe NBC. Her past racial demagoguery should have disqualified her in the first place.

Kamala Harris delivers rebuke of Trump's COVID-19 response. "Donald Trump froze. He was scared. He was petty and vindictive," Harris said of his early response to the outbreak in the US. "Even now, some eight months into this crisis, Donald Trump still won't take responsibility. He still won't act," Harris said. -- And the followers of the Trump cult don’t give a shit.

CDC director walks back testing guidance, but does not alter recommendations on website. Public health experts say that testing anyone who has been exposed to COVID-19 is crucial to controlling the pandemic.

Abbott Laboratories granted authorization for a COVID-19 portable antigen test that can deliver results within 15 minutes and will sell for $5.

TCU asks sorority houses to quarantine as school becomes one of the nation’s COVID-19 collegiate hotbeds.

A far-right terrorist who killed 51 Muslim worshipers in New Zealand's worst mass shooting in modern history will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole, the first time such a sentence has been handed down in the country's courts.

LG unveils a battery-powered air purifying mask. The battery life will range from 8 hours on low settings to 2 hours on high.

Middle school para-educator in Forks arrested for rape of child.

Stressed elephants at Warsaw zoo to be given medical marijuana.

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

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