Wednesday, August 12, 2020

And another day of realizations, fretting, supporting, QAnon, nightmares, conflicts of interest, orders, confidence, rigged reelections, football with and without fans, a socially distanced concert, and shower heads comes to a close:

“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Deaths

US: 169,131 (+1382)

World: 747,258

Cases

US: 5,360,302 (+54,345)

World: 20,806,954 (+285,310)

Countdown: 83 days.

The Republican Party Is Racist and Soulless. Just Ask This Veteran GOP Strategist. Stuart Stevens says he now realizes the hatred and bigotry of Trumpism were always at the heart of the GOP. The modern GOP, he said, never truly cared about the ideas it claimed to care about. “Fair trade, balanced budgets, character, family values, standing up to foreign adversaries like Russia—we’re all against that now. You have to ask, ‘Does someone abandon deeply held beliefs in three or four years?’ No. It means you didn’t ever hold them.”

Republicans fret over Trump team's reaction to Harris pick. Despite plenty of time to prepare, the president's reaction to Biden's running mate is raising concerns among Republicans. “They struggled to attack her when she was running and will struggle now.”

Trump calls QAnon GOP primary winner a "future Republican Star". President Trump on Wednesday offered his full-throated support for a Georgia congressional candidate who has made incendiary comments about Black people and Muslims and believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory. — Is this really where Republicans want to go? Ugh.

The Republican Party just took another step toward a dangerous conspiracy theory. “If all of this doesn't concern you, it should. And for a Republican Party in Washington already worrying about what its decision to capitulate to Trump's hostile takeover of the GOP will mean for the future, Greene's victory is the worst nightmare come true. Here's a quick rundown of just some of the things Greene has said:”

It’s Way Too Soon To Count Trump Out. — Assume it’s close or that Biden is behind. But really, ignore the polls and vote.

Financial disclosures reveal the postmaster general's business entanglements and likely conflicts of interest, experts say. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to hold a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company XPO Logistics, a United States Postal Service contractor, likely creating a major conflict of interest, according to newly obtained financial disclosures and ethics experts... Raising further alarms, on the same day in June that DeJoy divested large amounts of Amazon shares, he purchased stock options giving him the right to buy new shares of Amazon at a price much lower than their current market price, according to the disclosures. -- Trump chose DeJoy to destroy the USPS. We can’t let that happen.

President Trump adds a new coronavirus adviser who echoes his unscientific claims to his team.

Texas is 'flying blind' as schools reopen amid decline in COVID-19 testing.

Florida sheriff orders deputies not to wear masks, bans civilians in masks from office. "Now, I can already hear the whining and just so you know I did not make this decision easily," Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in a memo to staff.

Americans' confidence in police falls to historic low, Gallup poll shows.

Thousands in Belarus decry president’s reelection as rigged. Thousands of protesters rallied in Belarus’ capital and other cities for a fourth straight night Wednesday, decrying an election they say was rigged to extend the 26-year rule of the country’s authoritarian leader and the crackdown on subsequent demonstrations.

NJ court says the Fifth Amendment doesn't protect your phone from the police.

Monday's derecho damaged 10M acres of crops in Iowa; 600K still without power in Midwest.

FDA says onions from Trader Joe's, salsa products included in salmonella outbreak. There have been 640 reported cases of salmonella in 43 states linked to red, white, yellow and sweet onions distributed by Thomson International.

The Washington Football Team will play home games during 2020 season without fans. The team announced fan-less games at FedEx Field, citing health and safety concerns.

Cowboys plan to play all their games in front of fans. Jones said the team will adhere to any local or state protocols regarding attendance and they don’t have a number of fans in mind at this point, but he said he thinks the size of the stadium and the number of suites make them capable of having people on hand while maintaining social distancing.

2020 Masters Will Be Held Without Fans in November, Per Augusta National.

Think your mask makes you invisible to facial recognition? Not so fast, AI companies say.

These Pictures Of The "World's First Socially Distanced Concert" May Be Our New Reality.

Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight' is back on the charts thanks to YouTubers.

A new species of dinosaur related to the Tyrannosaurus rex has been discovered in England.

The Trump Administration wants to change the definition of a showerhead to let more water flow, addressing a pet peeve of the president who complains he isn’t getting wet enough. — This is the lead paragraph from the AP. And this is where we are today. 

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

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