The Commentariat -- August 17, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has agreed to House Democrats' request for him to testify next week about his controversial Postal Service changes that have raised hackles around the nation, according to two people familiar with the matter. On Sunday, Democrats moved up a request for DeJoy to testify to Monday, Aug. 24, calling it an 'urgent' matter.'... [House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn] Maloney [D-NY] also has requested the testimony of Mike Duncan, chairman of the Postal Service's Board of Governors. Duncan also agreed to testify, according to a person familiar with the matter. Duncan is a former chairman of the Republican National Committee.... The House is also expected to vote as early as this Saturday on a proposal to block DeJoy's plans to overhaul the Postal Service." Mentioned on MSNBC: The Oversight Committee has also asked the USPS for production of documents.

Brad Plumer & Henry Fountain of the New York Times: "Overturning five decades of protections for the largest remaining stretch of wilderness in the United States, the Trump administration on Monday finalized its plan to open up part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas development. The decision sets the stage for what is expected to be a fierce legal battle over the fate of this vast, remote Alaska habitat. The Interior Department said it had completed its required reviews and would start preparing to auction off leases to companies interested in drilling inside the refuge's coastal plain, which is believed to sit atop enough oil to fill billions of barrels but is prized by environmentalists for its pristine landscapes and wildlife. While the agency has not yet set a date for the first auction, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said on Monday, 'I do believe there could be a lease sale by the end of the year.'"

Digby in Salon: "One of the more tedious tasks in writing about politics is that every single election year it's necessary to discuss the latest cheating schemes cooked up by the Republican Party to suppress the votes of minorities, challenge the legality of perfectly legal votes and otherwise make all elections they do not win look suspect in the eyes of American voters. Needless to say, this year is worse than usual because Donald Trump makes everything worse than usual.... At some point, this country is going to have to come to terms with the fact that the Republican Party is fundamentally hostile to democracy and do something about it."

~~~~~~~~~~

Presidential Race, Etc.

An Unconventional Convention. Astead Herndon & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... the stretch of downtown Milwaukee where Democrats were supposed to hold their nominating convention this week was quiet and sparsely populated -- another reminder of a summer lost.... And the Democratic Party, shamed for not adequately investing in Wisconsin during the 2016 election, was to showcase its commitment to an all-important Electoral College state [here].... Some realities have not changed: The convention, which begins Monday and ends with a speech from [Joe] Biden on Thursday evening, marks the beginning of the formal general election between Mr. Biden and President Trump. Mr. Biden's running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, will have her largest audience yet, in a speech on Wednesday evening. A who's who of Democratic Party politics will also deliver addresses to the nation -- including former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Hillary and Bill Clinton. Aside from the five major speeches from Mr. Biden, his wife, Jill Biden, Ms. Harris and the Obamas, the average length for remarks will be just two minutes, convention organizers said.... Mr. Sanders and Ms. Obama are the headline speakers for the opening night." ~~~

~~~ Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "Faced with a complex problem, Democrats decided to go big, aiming for a solution that has more in common with Netflix, Facebook Live and the cheering fan screens courtside in Orlando's NBA bubble than the C-Span-style cattle call typical of past national party gatherings. Over four nights starting Monday, a behind-the-scenes crew of about 400 with operation centers in New York, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Wilmington, Del., plans to broadcast to the nation hundreds of live video feeds from living rooms, national monuments and stages around the country.... That includes dozens of speakers who have been mailed video-production kits, with basic equipment such as microphones, lighting and advanced routers, so they can produce and transmit their own shots. Other homebound delegates will be dialed in to quick feeds of the live speeches, so their real-time reactions can be broadcast ... as if they were in the same room as the speakers.... For a typically antiquated and long-winded event, the remade unconventional convention could set a new standard for national political gatherings, which have evolved since the 1960s from their roots as actual smoke-filled rooms...." ~~~

~~~ Terri Rupar & Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "The [DNC's] public events start at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Speakers on the first day include some big Democratic names, notably Michelle Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and one prominent never-Trump Republican, former Ohio governor John Kasich. Democrats' plan on this first night seems to be to convey just how big their tent is for any voter who does not like President Trump: from the far left to the center of the Democratic establishment to Republicans.... Monday night will also feature governors whose star has risen in the party while fighting the coronavirus, such as Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer and New York's Andrew M. Cuomo." Mrs. McC: I've read elsewhere that the broadcast networks will carry only one hour; in the past that's been the 10-11 pm ET hour. I assume that CNN & MSNBC will carry the 9 pm hour, too. The Post says it will have live coverage beginning at 8 pm ET, so maybe that will include a video feed.

Jeffrey Gettleman & Suhasini Raj of the New York Times: "Although [Kamala] Harris has been more understated about her Indian heritage than her experience as a Black woman, her path to U.S. vice-presidential pick has also been guided by the values of her Indian-born mother, her Indian grandfather and her wider Indian family who have provided a lifelong support network that endures even from 8,000 miles away. Her grandfather [P.V. Gopalan], wearing Coke-bottle glasses and often a necktie during strolls, may have looked like many other upper-crust Indian gentlemen. But he defied the conservative stereotypes of his era, embodying a progressive outlook on public service and unswerving support for women, especially in terms of their education, that was years ahead of his time. He instilled great confidence in Ms. Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who came to America in the late 1950s young and alone and made a career as a breast cancer researcher before dying of cancer in 2009." Mrs. McC: The sepia-toned photo of Harris' maternal family is ridiculous; Harris is 55 years old, not 155.

Ali Vitali of NBC News: "Sen. Kamala Harris said she is 'very clear-eyed' about the kinds of attacks ... Donald Trump will lodge against her in the coming months, telling The Grio in an interview out Sunday that she expects the president and his allies to engage in 'lies' and 'deceptions.' The interview -- Harris' second publicly release since being announced as Joe Biden's running mate last week -- comes on the heels of Trump fanning false conspiracy theories about whether Harris is eligible to run as vice president." (Also linked yesterday.)

Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "Bernie Sanders praised Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's pick for his running mate on Sunday, as the Democratic party attempted to project an image of unity ahead of this week's national convention, where Biden is set to be officially nominated as the party's presidential candidate. Sanders, the progressive Vermont senator who clashed with both Biden and Harris earlier this year when the three were vying for their party's presidential nomination, lauded Harris as 'an asset'. 'I believe that Kamala, as somebody who has known her for a number of years, is incredibly smart, tough, and I would not want to be Vice-President [Mike] Pence in a debate with her,' Sanders said in an appearance on ABC's This Week."

Robert McCartney of the Washington Post: "There's a plausible way that independent voting experts worry President Trump could try to steal the election: by blocking the counting of mail-in ballots. Democrats are much more supportive of voting by mail than Republicans, according to recent polls. That's partly because Trump has falsely smeared mail-in voting as subject to widespread fraud.... So, on election night, initial returns based on in-person voting could show Trump winning, even though large numbers of mailed ballots remain uncounted. At that point, the experts warn, Trump could declare himself the victor, saying the mailed ballots should be ignored.... In states where Republicans control the voting process, he might get away with it." Mrs. McC: Good to see that a major American newspaper is now putting on its front page the concerns of a former Republican-appointed FEC Chairman -- Trevor Potter -- that Trump could try to flat-out steal the election.

Yes, You Should Be Horrified. Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "Joe Biden's lead over Donald Trump among registered voters has significantly narrowed since June, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, even as the former vice president maintains an advantage over the President on several top issues and his choice of California Sen. Kamala Harris as a running mate earns largely positive reviews.... Overall, 50% of registered voters back the Biden-Harris ticket, while 46% say they support Trump and Pence, right at the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points." ~~~

~~~ You Should Still Be Very, Very Worried. Mark Murray of NBC News: According to "the latest national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll..., Biden leads Trump nationally by 9 points among registered voters, 50 percent to 41 percent, and the former vice president holds double-digit advantages over Trump on the coronavirus, immigration, health care, race relations and uniting the country.... Still, Trump maintains his lead over Biden on the economy -- which the poll finds is voters' top issue heading into the election -- and the president's overall numbers have improved from last month...." ~~~

~~~ Don't Stop Worrying. Dan Balz, et al., of the Washington Post: A new Washington Post/ABC News poll shows "Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), leading Trump and Vice President Pence by 53 percent to 41 percent among registered voters."

Emily Cochrane & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California announced on Sunday that she would call the House back from its annual summer recess for a vote this week on legislation to block changes at the Postal Service that voting advocates warn could disenfranchise Americans casting ballots by mail during the pandemic. The announcement came after the White House chief of staff on Sunday signaled openness to providing emergency funding to help the agency handle a surge in mail-in ballots, and as Democratic state attorneys general said that they were exploring legal action against cutbacks and changes at the Postal Service.... Senator Chuck Schumer ... demanded on Sunday that Senator Mitch McConnell bring senators back to Capitol Hill to take up the House measure...." An AP story is here.

Jacob Bogage & Joseph Marks of the Washington Post: "The House Oversight Committee will hold an emergency hearing on mail delays and concerns about potential White House interference in the U.S. Postal Service, inviting Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Postal Service board of governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan to testify Aug. 24, top Democrats announced on Sunday. Democrats have alleged that DeJoy, a former Republican National Committee chairman, is taking steps that are causing dysfunction in the mail system and could wreak havoc in the presidential election. The House had earlier not planned a hearing until September.... On Thursday and Friday, [the USPS] began removing public collection boxes in parts of California, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Montana. The agency said Friday that it would stop mailbox removals, which it said were routine, until after the election.... The Postal Service is in the process of removing 671 high-speed mail-sorting machines nationwide.... White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on CNN’s 'State of the Union' on Sunday that it would also halt sorting-machine removals. Meadows also said the White House is open to Congress passing a stand-alone measure to ensure the U.S. Postal Service is adequately funded to manage a surge in mail voting in November...." (Also linked yesterday.) Mediaite has a story here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: My, my. It does sound as if there's panic in the White House following the public uproar over Trump/DeJoy's cavalier moves to "kneecap" the postal service. ~~~

~~~ Justine Coleman of the Hill: "White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Sunday denied reports that several U.S. Postal Service (USPS) letter sorting machines were decommissioned after orders from the postmaster general. Meadows told CNN's 'State of the Union' that reports about hundreds of postal service sorting machines being taken out of service are a 'political narrative' and 'not based on fact.' NBC News reported on Friday that an internal document showed that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is decommissioning 671 of USPS's letter sorting machines across the U.S." Read on for Meadows' exchange with Jake Tapper. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Kevin Bohn & Sarah Westwood of CNN: "Chris Bentley, president of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 297, which covers Kansas and part of Missouri, previously told CNN that postal management had already taken out four machines in Kansas City, two machines in Springfield, Missouri, and one machine in Wichita, Kansas. [Mark] Meadows told CNN that was not part of a new initiative but was part of a pre-planned reallocation. Documents obtained by CNN last week indicated 671 machines used to organize letters or other pieces of mail are slated for 'reduction' in dozens of cities this year. The USPS's own document calls the move a 'reduction' of equipment. A letter sent Wednesday from the National Postal Mail Handlers Union to the Postal Service headquarters asked, 'Why are these machines being removed?'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Zeeshan Aleem of Vox tries to figure out WTF Mark Meadows was claiming: After citing news reports about downed sorting machines and recounting the exchange between Meadows & Jake Tapper of CNN, Aleem asks, "If Meadows is claiming that a new machine removal initiative doesn't exist when in fact it does, then his promise that new ones won't be taken offline is, at best, questionable. How can the White House reverse a policy it claims doesn't exist?" Mrs. McC: Oh, and if you want to know how a former member of the Freedumb Caucus "reasons," there's this: ";When CNN's Tapper pointed out to Meadows on Sunday that there's 'no evidence of widespread voter fraud,' Meadows retorted: 'There's no evidence that there&rsquos not either. That's the definition of fraud, Jake.'" IOW, if you can't prove a negative, then the positive is true, or "Absence of evidence is evidence of absence." Yeesh! This is sometimes called an argumentum ad ignorantiam or argumentum ex silentio. But whatever you want to call it, it's a logical fallacy, and one that should be inherently obvious even to someone who hasn't taken Logic 101. Unless he's a Republican, I guess.

~~~ New York. Matthew Rink of the Erie Daily Times-Morning News: "The U.S. Postal Service in recent weeks unplugged two of its six delivery bar code sorters from its East 38th Street processing facility in Erie. The machines read addresses, apply bar codes where there are none and sort mail -- 36,000 pieces per hour with 99 percent accuracy -- by the locations to where they will be delivered. The loss of the equipment in Erie is part of a larger purge of hundreds of sorting machines at Postal Service processing facilities across the country.... During the June 2 primary, 29,559 ballots -- half of all votes cast in Erie County — were by mail. Democrats outvoted Republicans nearly 3-to-1 in mail-in voting, while more Republicans cast their ballot at their polling places on Election Day." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Generally speaking, reports from smaller newspapers are not as well-written as those from big-city papers like the NYT & WashPo. Rink's story is one of the best I've read covering the background of the USPS's problems. A pleasant surprise.

Adm. William McRaven, in a Washington Post op-ed, compares Trump to General Bethlehem in the 1997 Kevin Costner film "The Postman." "... Costner plays a drifter trying to restore order to the United States by providing one essential service, mail delivery. In the story, hate crimes, racially motivated attacks and a plague have caused the breakdown of society as we know it.... But Costner's character is opposed by the evil General Bethlehem, who is fighting to suppress the postal carriers so he can establish a totalitarian government. Fortunately, our hero ... fights on against Bethlehem and saves the country.... The movie was panned by critics [largely because the plot seemed so unrealistic. But now!]... President Trump is actively working to undermine every major institution in this country. He has planted the seeds of doubt in the minds of many Americans that our institutions aren't functioning properly."

North Carolina. Fernando Alfonso of CNN: "Given the crisis facing the United States Postal Service before a presidential election, the last thing John Herter expected to receive in the mail Saturday was an absentee ballot request form with ... Donald Trump's face on it.... Herter ... is among a group of voters in North Carolina to receive the mailer over the past few days after Trump said that he opposed crucial USPS funding because he doesn't want to see it used for mail-in voting this November.... The mailer was sent out by the North Carolina Republican Party, press secretary Tim Wigginton told CNN." N.C. voter Chandler Carranza is so confused. ~~~

Got my mail in absentee ballot request form from @realDonaldTrump that will allow me to mail in my vote if I need to... but I can’t remember if this is a good thing or bad thing. Mail in is bad but absentee is good??? 🙄🙄🙄 pic.twitter.com/fbdgiq4hwc

— Chandler Carranza (@ChandlerC226) August 13, 2020

Puerto Rico. AP: "Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vázquez on Sunday acknowledged losing the primary of her pro-statehood party to Pedro Pierluisi, who briefly served as the U.S. territory's governor last year amid political turmoil. With more than 66% of electoral colleges reporting, Pierluisi received more than 58% of the vote compared with nearly 42% for Vázquez.... Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado, mayor of the northwest town of Isabela for 20 years, was poised to win by a landslide the nomination of the main opposition Popular Democratic Party. Conceding defeat was Puerto Rico Sen. Eduardo Bhatia and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, known for her public spats with ... Donald Trump."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live coronavirus updates Monday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here: "Amid alarm over the inadequacy of coronavirus testing across the nation, Los Angeles schools on Monday will begin a sweeping program to test hundreds of thousands of students and teachers, as the nation's second-largest school district goes back to school -- online. The program, which will be rolled out over the next few months by the Los Angeles Unified School District, will test nearly 700,000 students and 75,000 employees as the district awaits permission from public health authorities to resume in-person instruction, said Austin Beutner, the district's superintendent."

Dave Lawler of Axios: "Over the past several weeks, the coronavirus has killed Americans at six times the average rate in other rich countries. And we're recording about eight times more infections.... The virus burned through the rich world like wildfire in the spring, but this new data confirms that the U.S. is one of very few wealthy countries that have failed to suppress it since then."

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "To the alarm of some government health officials, President Trump has expressed enthusiasm for the Food and Drug Administration to permit an extract from the oleander plant to be marketed as a dietary supplement or, alternatively, approved as a drug to cure COVID-19, despite lack of proof that it works.... The experimental botanical extract, oleandrin, was promoted to Trump during an Oval Office meeting in July. It's embraced by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, a big Trump backer, who recently took a financial stake in the company that develops the product. Lindell told Axios that in the meeting, Trump 'basically said: ...'The FDA should be approving it."' ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Seems like a good idea: "The oleander, or Nerium oleander, is considered by many to be the most poisonous plant in the world. All parts of the beautiful oleander contain poison -- several types of poison. Two of the most potent are oleandrin and neriine, known for their powerful effect on the heart. An oleander's poison is so strong, in fact, that it can poison a person who simply eats the honey made by bees that have digested oleander nectar.... A single ingested oleander leaf can kill a child. Ingestion of oleander results in diarrhea, vomiting, intense stomach pain, drowsiness, dizziness, an irregular heartbeat, and often, death."

Jill Colvin of AP: "Trump last week announced that Dr. Scott Atlas, a frequent guest on Fox News Channel, has joined the White House as a pandemic adviser. Atlas, the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a fellow at Stanford's conservative Hoover Institution, has no expertise in public health or infectious diseases. But he has long been a critic of coronavirus lockdowns and has campaigned for kids to return to the classroom and for the return of college sports, just like Trump.... Atlas, the sole doctor to share the stage at Trump's pandemic briefings this past week..., has called it a 'good thing' for younger, healthy people to be exposed to the virus.... In an April op-ed in The Hill newspaper, Atlas bemoaned that lockdowns may have prevented the development of 'natural herd immunity.'" --s ~~~

     ~~~ ** Mrs. McCrabbie: Although it's impossible to know with any certainty, scientists estimate that nearly 3 million Americans would have to die for the country to have developed herd immunity. So thanks to Dr. Atlas for his brilliant suggestions. Shutting out Fauci & bringing in Atlas is like rejecting a neurosurgeon & asking your dentist to perform brain surgery.

Aishvarya Kavi of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Saturday that he would consider pardoning Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who faced criminal charges after leaking classified documents about vast government surveillance. 'There are many, many people -- it seems to be a split decision -- many people think that he should be somehow be treated differently and other people think he did very bad things,' Mr. Trump said during a news conference at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. 'I'm going to take a very good look at it.' The remarks signal a shift for the president, who repeatedly denigrated Mr. Snowden as a 'traitor' and a 'spy who should be executed' in the years before his election. The disclosures by Mr. Snowden, who sought asylum in Russia in 2013, set off a broad debate about surveillance and privacy." Mrs. McC: This is weird for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Trump goes batshit when someone in his own administration leaks something fairly inconsequential. (Also linked yesterday.)

Caitlin Dickerson of the New York Times: "The Trump administration has been using major hotel chains to detain children and families taken into custody at the border, creating a largely unregulated shadow system of detention and swift expulsions without the safeguards that are intended to protect the most vulnerable migrants. Government data obtained by The New York Times, along with court documents, show that hotel detentions overseen by a private security company have ballooned in recent months under an aggressive border closure policy related to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 100,000 migrants, including children and families, have been summarily expelled from the country under the measure. But rather than deterring additional migration, the policy appears to have caused border crossings to surge.... The increase in hotel detentions is likely to intensify scrutiny of the policy, which legal advocacy groups have already challenged in court, saying it places children in an opaque system with few protections and violates U.S. asylum laws by returning them to life-threatening situations in their home countries."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Belarus. Ivan Nechepurenko< & Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: “Minutes after President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus vowed to stand firm against protesters he reviled as 'rats,' 'trash' and 'bandits,' antigovernment demonstrators staged their biggest protest yet on Sunday to oppose a fraud-tainted presidential election a week earlier. Tens of thousands of protesters -- some estimates put their number at well over 200,000 -- turned out in the center of Minsk, the capital, dwarfing a rally of Mr. Lukashenko's supporters earlier in the day. It appeared to be the largest protest in the history of Belarus, a former Soviet republic that Mr. Lukashenko has led since 1994.... The protest had a festive air, in stark contrast to the tense moods of far smaller rallies last week that were violently suppressed by security forces, leaving at least two people dead, many injured and more than 6,000 under arrest." A Guardian story is here. ~~~

~~~ Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post: "With mass protests calling for his ouster and workers at major factories, enterprises and state television on strike, embattled Belarusan President Alexander Lukashenko issued a plea for help over the weekend, saying he urgently needed to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. That request was granted with phone calls between the two leaders on Saturday and Sunday. Lukashenko then claimed that Moscow is willing to dispatch 'full assistance' at 'first request' -- a veiled threat directed at an opposition movement that has accused Lukashenko of rigging last week's election results to say he garnered more than 80 percent of the votes. But Russia's promise of intervention appears to be limited to an external military threat, and after months of Lukashenko turning down closer ties with Russia, Putin's backing isn't a certainty.... Cracks in the typically close relations between Belarus and Russia started late last year, after Lukashenko resisted the Kremlin's push for the two countries to form a unified state -- something they agreed to in 1999." The Guardian's story is here.

New Zealand. Emanuel Stoakes of the Washington Post: "Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday postponed New Zealand's general election, scheduled for Sept. 19, for four weeks as authorities grapple with a new wave of coronavirus cases that has set back the country's pandemic recovery. The decision follows confirmation last Tuesday that several members of a family in Auckland had tested positive for the virus, ending the Ardern government's record of more than 100 days without a known case of community transmission. Ardern's move followed calls from leaders of other parties, including Winston Peters, deputy leader of her ruling coalition, to postpone the vote.... Judith Collins, leader of the main opposition National party and Ardern's rival for the top job, welcomed the move...."

Thailand. Shibani Mahtani of the Washington Post: "Student-led protests gained momentum in Thailand on Sunday, as thousands gathered in Bangkok in the biggest anti-government political rally in years to demand the prime minister's resignation and changes to the constitution. The protests, which have been going on almost daily for the past month, are for some demonstrators also now morphing into a repudiation of a long-untouchable institution -- the monarchy, and its constitutional role in politics in Thailand. On Sunday, thousands rallied at Bangkok's Democracy Monument..., periodically bursting into chants of 'Prayuth, get out!', a reference to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha who, after taking power in a 2014 coup, won disputed elections last year." Mrs. McC: No news of what's happening in Thighland.

Larry Elliott of the Guardian: "Developing nation debt has more than doubled in the past decade and left more than 50 countries facing a repayment crisis, according to a campaign group. Data from the Jubilee Debt Campaign shows that even without taking full account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a sharp jump in the number of poor countries in debt distress since 2018. Debt relief was provided for poor countries at the end of the 1990s and in the mid-2000s, but the JDC said external debt payments as a share of government revenue had more than doubled from 6.7% to 14.3% since 2010 and were at their highest level since 2001." --s

Comments

[Akhilleus]

Oh...that’s why they’re laughing...

The Orange Menace has cleared it up. He sez mail-in voting will make the US a laughing stock to the rest of the world.

Yeah. Got it. It has nothing to do with the fact that we have a spray tanned buffoon who thinks Frederick Douglass is still alive, that people should gargle with Clorox, that Yo Semite is a real place, that the solution to hurricanes is to nuke them, that no one will notice a crudely drawn Sharpie outline extending the range of a storm front, that Greenland is for sale, or that absentee ballots—that you put in the mail, are different than regular ballots—that you put in the mail.

Couldn’t be any of that.

Thanks for clearing that up, donnie. You fucking clown.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53795876

[Akhilleus]

But hey, don’t ever say that president* clown shoes and his ignoramus anti-science sycophants never gave us anything real to laugh at:

https://youtu.be/eA9mXxB40AI

[Akhilleus]

And another thing...

Wingnut idiot and frequent Fox guest (but I repeat myself) Matt Schlapp, husband of Mercedes Schlapp, who was a something, something, something communications something for the fat man sitting in a darkened room of the White House trying to find his navel, has a great idea. No, really!

The way to really stick it to evil, commie libtards who want to defund the police? Go out and park illegally. Every day. Amass a boatload of parking tickets, then...ready? This is the genius part...PAY THEM!!

This will re-fund the police. Boy, those wingers are just wicked smaht, aren’t they? I guarantee you, kids, if you locked me in a room and told me I couldn’t get out until I came up with an idea like this, I’d be there forevah! Why?

Because I’m not a FUCKING IDIOT, that’s why.

Of course, when it was pointed out that he was encouraging fellow imbeciles to break the law, Schlapp-happy claimed it was just a joke. “Sarcasm. You know sarcasm, right?” Yeah. We do. And this ain’t it.

These morons always say they were just joking when they’re caught saying something lampshade-on-the-head stoopid. Except they’re never actually funny.

And leave us not forget that parking ticket fines almost universally go into a city or town’s general municipal fund to pay for a lotta stuff that isn’t police related. Another R who doesn’t have the first clue about how government works.

But the whole world is laughing at us because of mail-in ballots.

Got it.

https://www.mediaite.com/news/matt-schlapp-urges-fans-to-get-parking-tickets-to-re-fund-the-police-park-illegally-get-a-ticket-and-pay-it/

[Marie Burns]

@Akhilleus: I love Matt Schlapp's plan. As long as Republicans aren't parking in places that could create a hazard -- like in front of a hospital emergency room -- I'm all for Republicans purposely parking illegally, then paying the fines. Having Republicans fund most municipal services is good with me.

[Ken Winkes]

It’s not a poll tax, but will have the same effect.

If you can keep poor people from becoming citizens, you’re making sure they’ll never vote;

Or see it as another ladder for poor immigrants to climb, with rungs set far enough apart to keep them at ground level, where they belong.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/16/us/politics/us-citizenship-fee-increase.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

From this administration, top to bottom, "nasty" is pure projection.

[Ken Winkes]

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/trump-scott-atlas-coronavirus-doctor-396741

Doctors aren't supposed to give you the creeps, but this one does.

So much for a bedside manner. More of a casket-side, I'd say.

I'd note Boskin, who in the article praises Atlas, has long been another rattus Republicus.

[safari]

A few people in Twittersphere have overlaid maps of districts heavily voting for Democrats with those areas having their mail drop boxes disappear in the dead of night, postulating that it's to suppress the vote to swing states to Drumpf & pence or even to lower the popular vote low enough that maybe Donny could even claim Total and Complete Victory (popular & electoral college).

I'll propose a third option: Given that power-hungry Moscow Mitch McConnell has placed his political insider at the head of the USPS board, I'm betting McConnell, through seven cut-outs to ensure deniability, has passed on a game plan to the DeJoy goon squad to pinpoint target areas that will swing elections to a few Republican Senators, thereby ensuring McConnell continued access to his golden throne once Kentuckians shoot off their last toes to send a man who doesn't give two shits about them back to the Senate. Mitch is the current brains of the whole GOP reelection operation, and his desire to hold on to power is more important to him than Dotard's reelection. Why has he not produced nary a peep in defense of the USPS? Because he's actively promoting sabotage.

[Akhilleus]

So the new plan to kill more Americans is this abs-herd immunity idea. Herd immunity works in certain instances, like kids in schools who develop it against things like the common cold. But here we see Fatty and his new pal, Dr. Death, promoting the plan that we should let millions die in order to achieve herd immunity from Covid-19. Brilliant plan, dudes.

Then!...the virus will mutate, and next year, 3 million more can croak from Covid-20, or whatever it will be called. Of course, if we’re gonna use actual science (oh, shit, not that!) we have to plan on about 100 million people being infected in order to knock off those 3 million lucky duckies.

That means hospitalizations in the range of about 9 or 10 million. Great idea! Hospitals aren’t working hard enough as it is. Besides, if it will get Fatty four more years, those 100 million helpers should be happy to do their part in aiding the Party of Traitors continue their mission of destroying the country.

Too.Much.Winning.

[PD Pepe]

A LITTLE DAB WILL DO YOU:

Given that we are living in a bizzaro world right now the introduction of the beautiful Oleander flower, the ones Faulkner describes in many of his novels with its heavy scent permeating the South's claustrophobic atmosphere , is now touted by this country's three experts on healthy living: Ben Carson, Fatty and the Pillow guy who claim it's essence and oils can be extracted to cure the virus. Another miracle cure that can kill you softly and slowly in a most delightful way. So if these three jamokes actually partake of the Oleandrin then perhaps there will be three less persons of snake oil sales to contend with? We wait in anticipation.

The sky has cleared now, to a flawless lapis blue and the flowers of the oleander nod in the slight breeze we feel at our necks.

[Jeanne]

PD: maybe a renowned chef can think up a delightful summer soup-- Cream of Oleander...to be eaten chilled, of course, with a floating flower, during this time of extreme heat and extreme pandemic. Maybe the chef of Marred de Lardo? Or Bedding-for-Mister?

I hope the nation's best novelists are keeping copious notebooks of fiction ideas-- Maybe a new movie, coming not soon to a closed theater near you--

Talk about desperation--

[Victoria]

On the Johns Hopkins site, it says that 70-90% percent of a completely unexposed population - that would be us - must have been exposed to and gotten the virus before herd immunity is achievable.
That looks like about 225 million, at least, have to get the infection. So at about 3% CFR, that means we have to let 6.75 million die of the direct effects of the illness. These numbers are at the low end of the scale, and do not count the serious post infectious morbidity.
The Brits thought about trying herd immunity and rapidly found that the mortality was too high, and people were getting too sick, so they dropped the idea.
Dr. Death is a good name for that guy, although the willingness to experiment on people does bring Dr. Mengele to mind.

[Akhilleus]

Language Tells All

We've just finished our latest binge-fest, "Manhunt: Unabomber" (very well done...you know a show is good if you know how it ends but you're still on the edge of your seat). Ted Kaczynski was caught because of his language. Yeah, his ideology was a giveaway as well, but the employment of a new analytical tool (well, new for law enforcement, anyway), linguistic forensics, helped do him in (that, and his brother and sister-in-law read his manifesto and said "Holy shit. This could be Ted").

At one point, a judge recounts how language helped save his life. During WWII, standing guard at a US encampment on Okinawa, he saw dark figures approaching him. He asked for the password (which was "liberty"). A voice called out "riberty". He opened fire. "That soldier's use of language told us who he was" he recalled.

We can say the same thing about the Orange Menace. Sure, his vocabulary is about as expansive as a not very bright third grade bully, but it's his expressions that indicate what a scared little boy he truly is.

In addition to the usual--limited--array of insults (you'll never hear him pointing out the questionable nature of an opponent's position by opining that it's as "...thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death"...nope. That would require creativity, smarts, and a knack for language several parsecs removed from "nasty woman"), a common fear of Big Brave Donald, the Dear Leader, is that "everyone is laughing at us". Meaning, of course, laughing at him, a situation, real or imagined that Big Brave Donald simply cannot handle.

So far he's whined that...Mexico, Iran, Russia, Europe, natives of Bongo Bong, and alien lifeforms on several of Jupiter's moons, are ALL LAUGHING AT US.

You know who doesn't give a shit if you're doing the right thing (mail-in voting, eg) and someone is laughing at you?

Mature adults, that's who.

You know who really, really, really cares if someone is laughing at you, for just about anything?

The immature and psychologically weak-minded, that's who.

His use of language tells us who he is.

Ready? Open fire!

[PD Pepe]

From the NYRB's daily comes Ruth Ben-Ghiat's excellent piece on "Co-opt & Corrupt: How Trump bent & broke the GOP.
https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/08/12/co-opt-corrupt-how-trump-bent-and-broke-the-gop/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NYR%20Daily%20Ruth%20Ben-Ghiat&utm_content=NYR%20Daily%20Ruth%20Ben-Ghiat+CID_057c2d0a9a4a8a7af78c73e4db2b4b88&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_term=Co-opt%20%20Corrupt%20How%20Trump%20Bent%20and%20Broke%20the%20GOP

Ben-Ghiat explains "Co-optation" as the term political scientists use for the way authoritarians bind individuals and groups to them through buy=offs or intimidation. It can also be considered a form pf corruption and changes in personal and professional practices that cooperating with amoral individuals entails.

[Akhilleus]

Polling and Trolling

Should we be worried about polls showing an ignorant, incompetent monster gaining dramatically on a good, qualified candidate?

Absolutely. Remember, this ignorant monster has already been "elected" once, even if Putin had his thumb on the scale.

This time around, Russia might slam a brick on the scale. And now that the ignorant monster is using the entirety of the federal government as an extension of his election stealing campaign, he could win again. The trolling of the Biden-Harris team (mostly against Harris, the perfect boogie monster for misogynistic, racist confederates), could have an effect as well. But it might not redound to Fatty's success.

No one knows. Polls go up, polls go down. Most polls were wrong in 2016. But they likely didn't take into account Democratic laziness and fevered Republican ratfucking.

I'm not going to get too crazy about polls just yet. There's a lot of time left. But Democrats simply CANNOT be complacent. It will likely take an enormous outpouring at whatever polling places R's in charge of the most states, allow to remain open. I have zero faith that the clusterfucking of the USPS will be straightened out by November. That battle is lost. Whatever the House comes up with, Mitch McConnell and the Traitor Administration will ignore. I'm glad Pelosi is going after Fatty's henchman at the Post Office, but it might just turn out to be too little, too late.

It's hard to say what kind of "convention bounce" Democrats will get from a virtual convention, but we can all be sure that Trump will continue to attack Harris (ad hominem attacks are all they have, really) with lies and misogyny. And that might help to galvanize parts of the voting public that traditionally don't show up on election day.

We'll see.

[Keith Howard]

Re: USPS. NakedCapitalism.com today links this useful corrective on the state of the Post Office:
https://medium.com/@nharpermn/stop-panicking-about-the-post-office-8bcd689b9601
About the writer, Nick Harper:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nharpermn

[Akhilleus]

Things just got worse...

Any of you kids ever hear of PEAD's?

No? Me neither.

There's a reason for that. In a package that aired yesterday on CBS, Ted Koppel brought up the issue of Presidential Emergency Action Documents. Trump has repeatedly bragged about his pretty much unlimited powers. "I have an Article Two!!" he sez, with his classic Mussolini chin jut.

He's got more than that, apparently. In March, the would-be dictator sniffed that he has powers that no one is even aware of. has never heard of.

That's true, it seems. PEAD's allow for the SUSPENSION OF THE CONSTITUTION. Yeah, let's say that again: suspension of the Constitution. Suspension of habeas corpus. Martial law. The immediate, secret round up of people the president deems a threat to him. And there is only one person who could possibly say no to the claims of a would-be dictator. And it ain't anyone in Congress. It's the AG. Trump's crime family lawyer, Billy Barr.

This is some scary shit. We have an unstable authoritarian who can, if he wants, suspend the election, arrest his enemies, and not worry about providing any evidence because the only person he has to convince about the necessity for such measures is an authoritarian boot licker.

Here's Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the national security program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, talking to Koppel:

"'They [PEAD's] originated in the Eisenhower administration as part of an effort to try to plan for a potential Soviet nuclear attack,' ... 'But since then, they've expanded to address other types of emergencies as well. No presidential emergency action document has even been released, or even leaked. Not even Congress has access to them, which is really pretty extraordinary when you consider that even the most highly-classified covert military and intelligence operations have to be reported to at least eight Members of Congress, the 'Gang of Eight.'

'You're saying they are not consulting with Congress?' Koppel asked.

'Exactly,' said Goitein. 'Congress is not aware of these documents, and from public sources we know that at least in the past these documents have purported to do things that are not permitted by the Constitution – things like martial law and the suspension of habeas corpus and the roundup and detention of people not suspected of any crime.'"

Fatty's mushroom weenie must have twitched when they told him about these things. A dictator's wet dream.

Will he use these action documents if he thinks he'll lose the election? Would you put it past him?

[joynone]

I live in the Milwaukee area and I think Biden is making a big PR mistake by not coming here for his acceptance speech. In fact, all those big speeches should be given here ... the convention forum is less than 20 minutes from the airport. Would have been easy peasy to fly in, speak & then fly out. As it is, those brave Trumpies are all over the place this week while "cowardly Joe" appears to be hiding in his basement. Short-shrifting a swing state was a bad move in 2016, can't believe they are repeating it again. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!