“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” -- George Santayana
Deaths
US: 251,256 (+1258)
World: 1,318,241 (+6707)
Cases
US: 11,226,038 (+159,492)
World: 54,325,757 (+471,386)
Countdown: 67 days.
How Trump Sold Failure to 70 Million People. The president convinced many voters that his response to the pandemic was not a disaster. The psychology of medical fraud is simple, timeless, and tragic. Like any competent quack, Trump focuses on a winning vibe, not a factual case. He positions himself as an alternative to “the scientists” and “the doctors” such that followers have to choose between trusting them or him. This process, in extreme forms, leads to what some psychologists refer to as identity fusion. William Swann, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, coined the term in 2009 while studying theories of individual identity. Once fused with a group or leader, he noticed, followers seem tied to them in such a way that things are true because the leader said them. Dystopian as that may seem, it can be a coping mechanism: Orienting your sense of truth around a person can be more comforting than doing so around a nebulous, uncertain, or otherwise threatening reality. Fusion is not appealing because it makes sense; it is appealing because it alleviates the cognitive and emotional burden of thinking. — Read the rest. Interesting and informative.
The Work of Saving Democracy Must Go On After Trump. The election results reinforce just how entrenched the country’s partisan divisions have become. The nation’s most fundamental racial, ethnic, religious, geographic, and cultural divisions are now interwoven with the identities of its two major political parties. The G.O.P. has become increasingly reliant on voters in America today that resent the ways the country is changing around them. They are overwhelmingly white, religious conservatives, people without college degrees, and residents of small towns and rural areas of the country. By contrast, groups that support the Democratic Party—the young; African-Americans; immigrants; gay, lesbian, and transgender people; the college-educated; and city dwellers—largely celebrate these social and cultural shifts. Exacerbating matters, the members of the opposing parties are increasingly cut off from one another. They live in different neighborhoods; they get their news from different sources; they spend their Sundays differently. Voting preferences today are driven as much by intense loathing for the opposing party as they are by genuine policy differences. This combustible situation resembles the manner in which the country was riven by disagreements over slavery prior to the Civil War...This is how liberal democracies have crumbled around the world.
The pandemic has become a humanitarian disaster in the United States. According to the United Nations, a humanitarian disaster is defined as "a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope with using its own resources." The pandemic and its impact on the US so far fits the bill.
'Breakthrough finding' suggests why some COVID-19 infection become severe. Results from an initial study appear to support this theory: researchers found that 10.2 percent of 987 examined patients who experience a severe COVID-19 infection had an inborn genetic error where autoantibodies--cells that erroneously attack the body--interfere with IFNs meant to help stimulate an immune reaction to fight an infection. Other patients with less severe or asymptomatic COVID-19 illnesses did not present the same autoantibody counts, meaning their IFNs could fight the virus properly.
Study: 40 percent are likely to attend a gathering of more than 10 this holiday season. A new poll conducted by Ohio State University has found that 38 percent of Americans say they are likely to participate in gatherings of more than 10 family members this holiday season, and a third would not ask others to wear masks at holiday gatherings.
Minnesota GOP sent virus alert only to its side of the aisle. — No, the two parties are not the same.
Microsoft warns Russian, North Korean hackers targeting groups researching COVID-19 vaccines.
America, we've missed you. Now please get your act together on climate change. Time is running out. So are our options.
Federal judge rules acting DHS head Chad Wolf unlawfully appointed, invalidates DACA suspension. -- So he is not legally serving as acting Homeland Security secretary.
America is exceptional in the nature of its political divide. A month before the election, roughly eight-in-ten registered voters in both camps said their differences with the other side were about core American values, and roughly nine-in-ten – again in both camps – worried that a victory by the other would lead to “lasting harm” to the United States.
Trump Became President Because of Racism. The Next Trump Could Too. It’s clear that many Americans have rejected Trump and his personal attacks. What about the system that gave us Trump in the first place, one that more than 70 million Americans believe is working?
Stop the Steal's massive disinformation campaign connected to Roger Stone. But while Stop the Steal may sound like a new 2020 political slogan to many, it did not emerge organically over widespread concerns about voting fraud in President Donald Trump's race against Joe Biden. It has been in the works for years.
Even without the Senate, Democrats can get a lot done.
Vietnam orders 460,000 to evacuate ahead of Typhoon Vamco.
New Jersey legislature amends marijuana decriminalization bill to soften penalties on hallucinogenic mushrooms.
After 14 boys, Michigan parents welcome a girl. On Thursday, Jay and Kateri Schwandt, both 45, welcomed into the world Maggie Jayne, their 15th child and first daughter. — Fifteen.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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