Wednesday, September 16, 2020

And another day of something we all need to understand, reversed decisions, doctored videos, transformations, other places on fire, asking Putin for weapons, and birds falling from the sky across the West comes to a close:

“Even if you differ with Biden on the issues, you have to admit he is no threat to our democracy. Trump is." — Max Boot

Deaths

US: 201,348 (+1151)

World: 945,066 (+5926)

Cases

US: 6,828,301 (+40,154)

World: 30,031,976 (+307,859)

Countdown: 48 days.

“People need to understand that this is different than traditional fascism.” — Read the entire thread. It’s short, but there’s a lot to digest.

The President of the Red States of America.

Trump blames 'blue states' for increasing nation's coronavirus death rates, ignores high rates in red states.

Scholars say they see this week's allegations about hysterectomies in ICE custody as the latest chapter in a long and troubling history of forced sterilizations in the US.

Trump's intelligence chief reverses decision to halt in-person election briefings for congressional committees.

Trump campaign seeks to stop NJ early vote count pending lawsuit.

Trump tweets doctored video of Biden, prompting flag by Twitter. President Trump shared a tweet late Tuesday featuring a doctored video of former Vice President Joe Biden during a campaign event in Florida that replaced the song "Despacito" with the anti-police anthem by N.W.A. — No, NWA’s “Fuck tha Police” did not play from Biden’s phone.

National postal mail handlers union endorses Biden, slams Trump's treatment of USPS.

Second QAnon supporter wins Republican Senate primary. Ms Witzke, who was pictured wearing QAnon t-shirts and tweeting with the QAnon hashtag, has tried to distance herself from the far-right conspiracy theory, saying it was “hype”.

Transgender activist Sarah McBride won a Democratic state Senate primary in Delaware on Tuesday and is poised to make history as the first transgender person elected to the state's General Assembly.

New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States. — These aren’t for the fainthearted.

It's Not Just the West. These Places Are Also on Fire. This year, other countries have also experienced their worst wildfires in decades, if not all of recorded history. In each case, the contributing factors are different, but an underlying theme runs through the story: Hotter, drier seasons, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, have made the world more prone to erupt in flames.

The world set a 2020 deadline to save nature but not a single target was met, UN report says. “We've reached the deadline -- and the world has collectively failed to fully achieve a single goal.” — My children’s future is bleak. Our grandchildren’s future looks much worse. My generation and the generation before mine have fucked them over. I’m sorry. 

Top HHS official takes leave of absence after Facebook rant about CDC conspiracies. -- This guy is a nutjob.

U.S. consumer spending losing steam as fiscal stimulus ebbs.

CDC Director Says COVID-19 Vaccine Likely Won't Be Widely Available Until Next Year.

Twitter suspends account of Chinese virologist who claimed coronavirus was made in a lab.

Big Ten reverses course, announces plan to resume fall football season in October. Officials with the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday announced plans to resume the fall football season beginning the weekend of Oct. 23, reversing course one month after announcing the cancellation of the college football season. — But nothing has really changed from a month ago. So why this decision now? Don’t watch the games. The schools are only using student athletes to make money. 

If coronavirus trends hold, Tacoma Public Schools could send kindergarten and first and second grade students back into the classroom Sept. 28.

As schools spend big on temperature check tech, experts warn: They won't work.

Madrid to toughen COVID-19 measures on Friday with targeted lockdowns.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Wednesday he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply Belarus with weapons as he faces mass protests over a disputed election...He did not specify which weapons he had requested from Putin.

Military Police Leaders Weighed Deploying 'Heat Ray' Against D.C. Protesters. The ADS was developed by the military some twenty years ago as a way to disperse crowds. There have been questions about whether it worked, or should be deployed in the first place. It uses millimeter wave technology to essentially heat the skin of people targeted by its invisible ray. -- They also stockpiled ammunition.

UW student files lawsuit against school, seeks repayment for tuition, fees amid COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trump administration is trying to keep thousands of census documents secret.

Sally drenched parts of Florida with '4 months of rain in 4 hours,' officials say.

Climate Change Is Now Killing Birds in Midair. In late August, biologists got word about dozens of birds falling from the sky at the White Sands Missile Range and White Sands National Monument, both in southern New Mexico. Since then, people throughout Colorado, Texas, Arizona, and as far north as Nebraska have discovered the dead creatures scattered along hiking paths, golf courses, and even their own driveways. Finches, flycatchers, swallows, warblers, and bluebirds are among the species that have been reported. It’s not uncommon for some birds to die during their autumn migration, but not in these numbers and certainly not plummeting out of the sky in droves.

Japanese company successfully tests a manned flying car for the first time.

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

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