Thursday, September 10, 2020

And another day of things not worth saving, active Russian agents, McConnell maneuvers, changing the Constitution, an “overtly political” Supreme Court list, hunkering down, persistent symptoms, and the global climate crisis all comes to an agonizing close:

“I ain’t no fortunate one.” -- John Fogerty

“So never mind the darkness, we still can find a way. ‘Cause nothing lasts forever. Even cold November rain.” -- Guns N’ Roses

Deaths

US: 196,328 (+1089)

World: 913,908 (+5926)

Cases

US: 6,588,163 (+38,688)

World: 28,323788 (+302,293)

Countdown: 54 days.

This Republican Party Is Not Worth Saving. No one should ever get a second chance to destroy the Constitution. “I was a Republican for most of my adult life...I understand the attachment to that GOP, even among those who have sworn to defeat Donald Trump, but the time for sentimentality is over. That party is long gone. Today the Republicans are the party of “American carnage” and Russian collusion, of scams, plots, and weapons-grade contempt for the rule of law. The only decent, sensible, and conservative position is to vote against this Republican Party at every level, and bring the sad final days of a once-great political institution to an end. Then build the party back up again—from scratch.”

Three times Trump told Woodward one thing and the public something else.

Legendary journalist Carl Bernstein reacts to Bob Woodward's conversation with President Trump. "We are listening to the President of the United States, on tape, deliberately undermining the... national security of the United States... It is the smoking gun of his negligence."

How McConnell is maneuvering to keep the Senate in GOP hands -- and navigating Trump. — Vote all Republicans out. At every level.

Treasury imposes sanctions on Ukrainian lawmaker who worked with Rudy Giuliani. The Treasury Department, in announcing the sanctions, said that Ukrainian lawmaker, Andrii Derkach, “has been an active Russian agent for over a decade.” Derkach worked with Giuliani, who serves as a private attorney to President Donald Trump, to smear Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Russian group which hacked 2016 Democratic campaign are again targeting US election, says Microsoft.

U.S. appeals court rejects bid to expand voting by mail in Texas.

POTUS: “I watched Fox Business. I watched ‘Lou Dobbs’ last night. I watched ‘Sean Hannity’ last night. ‘Tucker’ last night. ‘Laura’. I watched ‘Fox & Friends’ in the morning.” -- He does nothing but watch television. America is being run by Fox News.

Cohen claims Trump will try to change Constitution to get third term. “Donald Trump believes that he should be the ruler - the dictator of the United States of America. He actually is looking to change the Constitution. When Donald Trump jokes about 12 more years ... he is not joking. Donald Trump does not have a sense of humor," Cohen said on "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon."

President Trump's latest Supreme Court shortlist is overtly political. It contains 3 U.S. Senators who have directly or indirectly criticized Chief Justice John Roberts for not being conservative enough. -- Trump should not be allowed to get any of these judges on the Supreme Court. They don’t represent the majority of Americans. They represent only a loud few. Vote Trump and all Republicans out this November.

The first absentee ballots for the 2020 election have already been mailed. Now, the spotlight is on the U.S. Postal Service as it prepares for a surge of election mail this fall. — Vote. Early. 

Fauci says U.S. needs to 'hunker down' for fall and winter. “We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter, because it’s not going to be easy.” ... “We've been through this before,” Dr. Fauci said. “Don't ever, ever underestimate the potential of the pandemic. And don't try and look at the rosy side of things."

Experts are seeing persistent symptoms in some people recovering from COVID-19. Some COVID-19 patients are paying for something they didn't ask for: a long-term illness that affects their day-to-day life. These COVID-19 sufferers, dubbed "long-haulers," experience a multitude of long-term symptoms, which has created a new unknown for doctors trying to combat the virus -- and new challenges for patients trying to return to work or school, or just live their lives in a normal fashion.

With Washington silent, states are torn between saving bars and stopping coronavirus. Without a national plan, stopping the spread of the virus competes with economic survival for the industry. With America struggling to get the coronavirus under control and Washington deadlocked over new relief measures, states face a difficult choice: open the businesses most likely to spread the coronavirus, especially bars and restaurants, or keep them closed and risk a wave of bankruptcies.

Teacher, 28, dies of Covid-19 as US schools prepare for return to classrooms.

We're striking: French teachers walk out of college after coronavirus cases.

Adults with Covid-19 about 'twice as likely' to say they have dined at a restaurant, CDC study suggests.

A migrant mother saw her disabled son walk into the U.S. Then he disappeared. On Aug. 24, after waiting for five months in the violent Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez for a U.S. asylum hearing, Elida, a Guatemalan migrant, decided to send her disabled 12-year-old son Gustavo into the United States alone...She took him to a park near the bridge connecting Ciudad Juarez to the Texan city of El Paso, gave him his birth certificate, tucked scraps of papers with family phone numbers into his clothes, hugged him goodbye and then watched him walk into the United States. — These people are desperate to help their children. And Trump has fucked them.

Climate change largely missing from campaign as fires rage.

At least seven dead as dozens of wildfires rage across western US.

Wildfire north of Sacramento is now largest in California history — and it may not be done growing. Six of the 20 largest on record have taken place this year.

2 of Oregon’s biggest fires likely to combine, say officials, who hope for weather shift to slow march.

The global climate crisis could see more than a billion people displaced from their homes in the next 30 years, as ecological disasters drive mass migrations and greater armed conflict, according to a new report released Wednesday.

Portland Mayor bans use of tear gas by police.

Federal judges rule Trump can't exclude people in U.S. illegally from congressional redistricting.

Indianapolis Catholic school should be able to fire gay teacher, Trump admin says. At least three gay employees have been terminated by Catholic schools affiliated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis since 2018.

Twitter expands rules against election-related misinformation, setting up showdown with Trump. The social media giant rolled out the new policies in a blog post, which said that Twitter (TWTR) will either add fact-check labels to or hide altogether tweets that contain "false or misleading information that causes confusion" about election rules, or posts with "unverified information about election rigging."

A critically endangered baby gorilla died six days after being born at Audubon Zoo. Just days after a New Orleans zoo celebrated the first gorilla to be born there in 24 years, the infant has passed away...The cause of death is undetermined, but zoo officials plan to perform a necropsy to determine why the baby died.

UK mathematician wins richest prize in academia. His major work, a 180-page treatise that introduced the world to “regularity structures”, so stunned his colleagues that one suggested it must have been transmitted to Hairer by a more intelligent alien civilisation.

COVID robocop: the droid that reminds you to wear your mask. Engineers have developed a robot that can detect whether people are wearing a mask to guard against COVID-19 and, if not, politely remind them to put one on.

The 1918 flu caused Halloween cancellations across the US. It could happen again.

NASA sets out to buy moon resources mined by private companies.

A scan of 10.3 million stars turns up no sign of aliens - yet. -- 10.3 million is nothing. The Universe is huge.

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

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