Sunday, January 3, 2021

And another day of “Look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes” comes to a close. 

“Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is the data you have is wrong.” -- Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Secretary of State.

Editorial: Trump needs to be immediately removed from office and arrested. Anyone who still supports him is a traitor.

Deaths

US: 360,078 (+1396)

World: 1,850,646 (+7280)

Cases

US: 21,113,528 (+208,827)

World: 85,504,375 (+526,803)

Countdown 1: 2 days.

Countdown 2: 17 days.

Trump begs Georgia secretary of state to overturn election results in remarkable hourlong phone call. President Donald Trump begged Georgia's secretary of state to overturn the election results in an astounding hourlong phone call obtained Sunday by NBC News in which the president offered a smorgasbord of false claims about voter fraud and repeatedly berated state officials. "So look," Trump told Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. "All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state."

Listen to the full audio of Trump's phone call with the Georgia secretary of state. -- No, it was not edited. It’s the entire call from start to finish. Don’t fall for the misinformation and downright lies that are beginning to spread.

Or if you’re like me and can’t stand to listen to his voice, read the transcript.

AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s made-up claims of fake Georgia votes. President Donald Trump put forth a dizzying array of fuzzy accounting and outright false claims in an extraordinary phone call to Georgia’s secretary of state seeking a reversal of his election defeat, fabricating a slew of votes that he said should’ve been counted in his favor.

“The entire call is astonishing. The bullying, the threats, the insults, the credulous embrace of discredited conspiracy theories. Like a crime boss, Trump occasionally says that all he wants is the truth. But he doesn't -- he wants the win. It's pathetic.” -- Michael R. Bromwich

“For those that don't understand Brad Raffensperger did his job honorably and ethically but he did something much more important. He DOCUMENTED that crook BEING a CROOK.” -- Don Winslow

“Can you imagine how many calls like this he might have made over the past four years that we don’t yet know about?” -- Michael Beschloss

“The audio of Trump with the Georgia secretary of state. Wow. It’s like telling the Nixon tapes to “hold my beer.” -- Dan Rather

Republicans condemn GOP ‘scheme’ to undo election for Trump. The extraordinary Republican effort to overturn the presidential election was condemned Sunday by an outpouring of current and former GOP officials warning the effort to sow doubt in Joe Biden’s win and keep President Donald Trump in office is undermining Americans’ faith in democracy.

All 10 living former defense secretaries declare election is over in forceful public letter.

Pelosi wins re-election as House speaker with slim majority.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Sunday challenged the seating of lawmakers from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Roy — one of the few conservatives not backing the effort to challenge the results of the presidential election on Jan. 6 — argued that if there was widespread voter fraud to the level that it would change the presidential election results, as many of his colleagues claim, the legitimacy of results down ballot are also called into question.

Texas hospitalizations hit yet another record. State health officials reported 12,563 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals on Sunday, an increase of more than 240 from Saturday. It was the sixth time in seven days that the state reported record-breaking hospitalizations.

India has approved emergency use of two Covid-19 vaccines to kick off one of the world's biggest inoculation drives, while the European Union offered to help drug companies expand production to ease distribution bottlenecks.

What you need to know about Section 230.

Trump to award Medal of Freedom to GOP Reps. Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan. Before he leaves office, President Donald Trump will award the nation's highest civilian honor to two of his most vocal political allies who defended him throughout his impeachment, Rep. Devin Nunes of California and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, as the White House has been inundated with requests for others. -- He knows no shame.

A wing and a prayer: how birds are coping with the climate crisis. Some of our best-loved species are changing their breeding cycles and heading north in their fight for survival in a warmer world.

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

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