Saturday, September 5, 2020

And another day of a “star witness,” election meddling, “permission structure,” the “most persistent and lethal threat,” threats toward members of Congress, a rusty moon, and sinking boats comes to a close:

“There were never 'adults in the room'. There were accomplices in the room. Stop pretending otherwise.” — Sarah Kendzior

“This is not survival of the fittest. This is survival of the heartless.” — Andy Slavitt

Deaths

US: 192,818 (+707)

World: 883,740 (+4755)

Cases

US: 6,431,152 (+42,095)

World: 27,062,744 (+270,497)

Countdown: 59 days.

Cohen memoir casts him as ‘star witness’ against Trump. Michael Cohen’s tell-all memoir makes the case that President Donald Trump is “guilty of the same crimes” that landed his former fixer in federal prison, offering a blow-by-blow account of Trump’s alleged role in a hush money scandal that once overshadowed his presidency.

Racial tensions roiling US pose target for election meddling. The tensions in the United States over racism and policing are likely targets for efforts to interfere in the 2020 election. Lawmakers and experts say there are signs that Russia is seeking to exploit the divide. It’s a troubling but familiar pattern from Russia, as the IRA overwhelmingly focused on race and the Black Lives Matter Movement when targeting the U.S. in 2016. The goal, part of the Russian playbook for decades, was to sow chaos by posting content on both sides of the racial divide. Indeed, “no single group of Americans was targeted by IRA information operatives more than African-Americans,” concluded a report from the Senate intelligence committee. — Stop following political pages/accounts on Facebook. You don’t know if they’re legit or run by foreign adversaries.

Ignoring warnings from election officials, Trump again suggests supporters should try to vote twice.

President Trump's campaign is trying to construct a “permission structure” — a clunky catchphrase for creating an emotional and psychological gateway to help disenchanted voters feel comfortable voting for the president again. Both the GOP convention and the president’s recent “law and order” mantra have been aimed squarely at former Trump supporters who’ve grown unhappy with his inflammatory rhetoric and handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The goal is to humanize Trump and demonize Biden so that these voters, particularly women and suburbanites, feel that they can vote for Trump again anyway. — Battered person syndrome.

Barr gives false recounting of Texas voter fraud case in effort to cast doubt on mail-in voting. But Barr's description was not even close to what happened in the case, which was never under the Justice Department's purview in the first place. — In other words, he lied. 

USPS police barred Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz from entering two mail sorting facilities in Florida in the early morning hours on Friday, threatening to escort her from the property if she didn't leave...The Postal Service maintained Wasserman Schultz was stopped from entering because she did not provide enough notice of her visit. — Which means they needed more time to hide the evidence.

Trump referred to Marines buried at cemetery in France in crude and derogatory terms, a former senior administration official says.

AP Fact Check: President Trump said he never called John McCain a loser — he did — and Democratic rival Joe Biden claimed to have been the first person to have called for the use of emergency production powers in the pandemic, when he was not.

Trump has repeatedly questioned why Americans who served in Vietnam went to war. The President, who received a draft deferment for bone spurs, has suggested in those conversations that Vietnam veterans didn't know how to exploit the system to get out of serving.

Joe Biden names Pete Buttigieg, Susan Rice, Sally Yates to transition team

Trump admin to label white supremacists as the "most persistent and lethal threat" to the US: report.

Facebook removes GOP candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene image of herself with gun next to members of "Squad". Posting a photo with an assault rifle next to the faces of three women of color is not advertising. It’s incitement,” Omar tweeted. “There are already death threats in response to this post."...In the Facebook post, Greene said she was “tired of seeing weak, Establishment Republicans play defense.”...“We need strong conservative Christians to go on offense against these socialists who want to rip our country apart,” Green wrote in the caption of the photo, which included two Muslim lawmakers. — Incitement. An explicit threat. This is the future of the Republican Trump Party.

NFL won't test for COVID-19 on game days, but will every other day.

Trump promised a health care plan before the end of August. It never came. — Oh, come on! You’re not surprised!

Fact check. Trump cited the Veterans Choice health care program on Thursday as evidence that he has done more for veterans than the late Sen. John McCain. There are two big problems here. One: Choice was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014. Two: It was McCain's bill.

Log on, chill out: holiday resorts lure remote workers to fill gap left by tourists.

The moon is getting rusty. Scientists had the same reaction you probably did when they reached this conclusion. It shouldn't be possible -- after all, there's no oxygen on the moon, one of the two essential elements to create rust, the other being water. But the evidence was there...One major clue was the rust was more concentrated on the side of the moon that faces Earth -- suggesting it was somehow linked to our planet.

Several boats sank during a "Trump Boat Parade" on Lake Travis in Texas where crowds had gathered to show support for President Trump's re-election. — Life imitates politics. (I know. I tried not to laugh, as well.)

Are Your Texts Passive-Aggressive? The Answer May Lie In Your Punctuation. — Really?

‘World’s loneliest elephant’ okayed to quit zoo for new life. An elephant who has become a cause celebre for animal rights activists around the world will be allowed to leave his Pakistani zoo and transferred to better conditions, the animal welfare group helping with the case said Saturday.

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

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