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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
November 9, 2020
Pandemic On Course to Overwhelm U.S. Health System
November 9, 2020 at 6:21 am EST By Taegan Goddard
https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/08/a-terrifying-coronavirus-surge/
A ‘Terrifying’ Coronavirus Surge
November 8, 2020 at 9:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
Pandemic On Course to Overwhelm U.S. Health System
https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/09/pandemic-on-course-to-overwhelm-u-s-health-system/Pandemic On Course to Overwhelm U.S. Health System
November 9, 2020 at 6:21 am EST By Taegan Goddard
“The United States’ surging coronavirus outbreak is on pace to hit nearly 1 million new cases a week by the end of the year — a scenario that could overwhelm health systems across much of the country and further complicate President-elect Joe Biden’s attempts to coordinate a response,” Politico reports.
“Biden, who is naming his own coronavirus task force Monday, has pledged to confront new shortages of protective gear for health workers and oversee distribution of masks, test kits and vaccines while beefing up contact tracing and reengaging with the World Health Organization. He will also push Congress to pass a massive Covid-19 relief package and pressure the governors who’ve refused to implement mask mandates for new public health measures as cases rise.”
“Biden, who is naming his own coronavirus task force Monday, has pledged to confront new shortages of protective gear for health workers and oversee distribution of masks, test kits and vaccines while beefing up contact tracing and reengaging with the World Health Organization. He will also push Congress to pass a massive Covid-19 relief package and pressure the governors who’ve refused to implement mask mandates for new public health measures as cases rise.”
https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/08/a-terrifying-coronavirus-surge/
A ‘Terrifying’ Coronavirus Surge
November 8, 2020 at 9:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
New York Times: “The rate of new cases is soaring, and for the first time is averaging more than 100,000 a day in the United States, which has reported more Covid-19 cases than any other country. An astonishing number — one in 441 Americans — have tested positive for the virus just in the last week.”
November 9, 2020
Buttigieg once again hits it out of the park on Fox News, this time talking about Mitch McConnell
Marissa Higgins for Daily Kos
Daily Kos Staff
Sunday November 08, 2020 · 6:00 PM EST
Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg made yet another stellar appearance on Fox News Sunday. This time, Buttigieg talked to host Chris Wallace about what President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris plan to do for the United States, especially when it comes to the novel coronavirus pandemic, because, as we know, COVID-19 numbers are once again skyrocketing. Buttigieg also got real about the big decision Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will have to make in the coming months and the Georgia Senate special elections this January. Let’s check out the exchange below.
As my colleague, Hunter, noted, the Trump administration is not expected to make any major moves when it comes to handling the pandemic before Donald Trump leaves office in January. On the other hand, as we count down the days until he takes office, Biden is likely to urge the American people to listen to health and science expert recommendations (what a breath of fresh air, eh?), including wearing face masks and practicing social distancing amid a literal global pandemic.
Wallace opens the dialogue by saying that Biden claimed the American people gave him a “‘mandate for action.’” Wallace then referenced the House’s slimmer majority and what he describes as the “likelihood” of a Republican-controlled Senate. Wallace asked Buttigieg, “The question is: What mandate?”
Buttigieg’s answer is nothing short of refreshing.
Here’s that clip.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1325445236575899649
On the subject of the Senate, Wallace asked if the majority leader is Mitch McConnell, won’t that hurt some of the “boldest” parts of Biden’s election promises? Buttigieg first stressed that Georgia’s runoff Senate races are likely to be extremely competitive, and if Democrats don’t win, McConnell’s caucus will have a decision to make.
“Is his purpose in Washington to defy the American people? Who, along with the president and the House of Representatives, will believe in expanding, not taking away health care, ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes instead of slashing their taxes, no matter what, raising wages, treating climate change as real?” Basically, Buttigieg posited, does McConnell want to move forward with progress or stop progress?
Perhaps the biggest takeaway? Just how very important the Georgia Senate special election really is. The double runoff will be held on Jan. 5, 2021.
Buttigieg once again hits it out of the park on Fox News, this time talking about Mitch McConnell
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/11/8/1994116/-Buttigieg-once-again-hits-it-out-of-the-park-on-Fox-News-this-time-talking-about-Mitch-McConnellButtigieg once again hits it out of the park on Fox News, this time talking about Mitch McConnell
Marissa Higgins for Daily Kos
Daily Kos Staff
Sunday November 08, 2020 · 6:00 PM EST
Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg made yet another stellar appearance on Fox News Sunday. This time, Buttigieg talked to host Chris Wallace about what President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris plan to do for the United States, especially when it comes to the novel coronavirus pandemic, because, as we know, COVID-19 numbers are once again skyrocketing. Buttigieg also got real about the big decision Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will have to make in the coming months and the Georgia Senate special elections this January. Let’s check out the exchange below.
As my colleague, Hunter, noted, the Trump administration is not expected to make any major moves when it comes to handling the pandemic before Donald Trump leaves office in January. On the other hand, as we count down the days until he takes office, Biden is likely to urge the American people to listen to health and science expert recommendations (what a breath of fresh air, eh?), including wearing face masks and practicing social distancing amid a literal global pandemic.
Wallace opens the dialogue by saying that Biden claimed the American people gave him a “‘mandate for action.’” Wallace then referenced the House’s slimmer majority and what he describes as the “likelihood” of a Republican-controlled Senate. Wallace asked Buttigieg, “The question is: What mandate?”
Buttigieg’s answer is nothing short of refreshing.
“Well, I think he has a mandate to deliver on the winning campaign agenda that the Biden-Harris ticket offered the country. This not only earned us the support of the majority of Americans who voted for him to be the next president, but also, we should remember that those who supported him, and a remarkable number of President Trump supporters support the agenda that Joe Biden is going to lead our country forward with.
In other words, the idea of getting serious on COVID and having a science-led approach, which he’s already underway on. The idea of raising wages and protecting workers. And making sure corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes. Taking climate seriously. Doing something about racial justice. As we look forward, whether we have a divided government or not, I know this. What Joe Biden wants for the country is what most Americans believe is right for this country. And that, I think, is where the real propulsion of his administration will be. Just as it’s been the propulsion of this campaign and led to this win.”
In other words, the idea of getting serious on COVID and having a science-led approach, which he’s already underway on. The idea of raising wages and protecting workers. And making sure corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes. Taking climate seriously. Doing something about racial justice. As we look forward, whether we have a divided government or not, I know this. What Joe Biden wants for the country is what most Americans believe is right for this country. And that, I think, is where the real propulsion of his administration will be. Just as it’s been the propulsion of this campaign and led to this win.”
Here’s that clip.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1325445236575899649
On the subject of the Senate, Wallace asked if the majority leader is Mitch McConnell, won’t that hurt some of the “boldest” parts of Biden’s election promises? Buttigieg first stressed that Georgia’s runoff Senate races are likely to be extremely competitive, and if Democrats don’t win, McConnell’s caucus will have a decision to make.
“Is his purpose in Washington to defy the American people? Who, along with the president and the House of Representatives, will believe in expanding, not taking away health care, ensuring that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes instead of slashing their taxes, no matter what, raising wages, treating climate change as real?” Basically, Buttigieg posited, does McConnell want to move forward with progress or stop progress?
Perhaps the biggest takeaway? Just how very important the Georgia Senate special election really is. The double runoff will be held on Jan. 5, 2021.
November 9, 2020
Trump Advisers View Legal Challenges as Futile
November 8, 2020 at 8:48 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
Trump Advisers View Legal Challenges as Futile
https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/08/trump-advisers-view-legal-challenges-as-futile/Trump Advisers View Legal Challenges as Futile
November 8, 2020 at 8:48 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
“Recognition is growing in Donald Trump’s inner circle that efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s victory will be futile, though some advisers have urged the president to pursue focused legal challenges,” Bloomberg reports.
“Trump has given no indication he’s preparing to concede. His closest aide, son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, has recommended the president ask courts to ensure transparency around ongoing counts of ballots in several contested states.”
“Trump has given no indication he’s preparing to concede. His closest aide, son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, has recommended the president ask courts to ensure transparency around ongoing counts of ballots in several contested states.”
November 8, 2020
Politics
Goodbye, Ivanka
By Dahlia Lithwick
Nov 07, 2020
11:59 AM
Whereas once I expended anger upon you, now I am simply glad never to be forced to think of you again. Whereas many have contended over the years that you acted valiantly, if secretly, to mitigate and ameliorate the cruelty of your father, the evidence suggests that you instead acted corruptly, if secretly, to coat his viciousness in silky pink pearlescent influencer goo.
Surely it is unjust to have been born to perform one task: moving Trump product, hawking the Trump brand, filling the Trump coffers, endlessly pitching and selling and managing the Trump units that filled the Trump warehouses, and the Trump wine bottles, and the foreign Trump factory storerooms full to bursting. That was the destiny you should have been left to fulfill, with its empty slogans of feminism and faith, equality and motherhood, globalism and environmentalism. But of course, feminism and faith, equality and motherhood, globalism and environmentalism are real values. When not just being repurposed to help you hawk midpriced kitten heels, each demands the arduous work of justice. Humility, I understand, is not on brand for Trumps but attempts at any of these fundamentals of justice without humility is actually just shilling.
If and when you look back at your life, maybe you will realize that this is where it all went wrong: You were superb at the pitchman stuff, and maybe if your creepy dad hadn’t decided to run for president, you could have stayed in that branded plastic world of warehouses and factories and skyscrapers. But transactional justice words pressed through gauzy Instagram filters are not the stuff of democracy or morality, equality or faith. You’ve had great fun with this whole governance lark, to be sure, but frankly, the pain and suffering your dad so relishes make for bad influencer vibes. And in the end, when things became desperate, you committed fully to his side, changing your position on abortion and even voting itself. You would preserve your proximity to power at the expense of American democracy. Despite all the years of breathy talk of equality and dignity and empowerment, you—like your dad—think justice is the thing you alone are owed.
Unfortunately, the Trump™ brand now includes family separations, environmental denialism, global degradation, needless pandemic deaths, LGBTQ affronts, and petulant, truth-free grievance, none of which can just be shipped out and sold like last year’s sagging merch. The shattered shiny detritus is littered everywhere, and the cleanup work will take years. And though it may be a designer fragrance, the smell of complicity lingers. Even at its glossiest, the Trump™ catalog was never all that interesting. Please, oh please, take me off your list.
Goodbye, Ivanka By Dahlia Lithwick
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/11/goodbye-ivanka-forever.amp#aoh=16047709033479&referrer=https://www.google.com&_tf=From%20%251$sPolitics
Goodbye, Ivanka
By Dahlia Lithwick
Nov 07, 2020
11:59 AM
Whereas once I expended anger upon you, now I am simply glad never to be forced to think of you again. Whereas many have contended over the years that you acted valiantly, if secretly, to mitigate and ameliorate the cruelty of your father, the evidence suggests that you instead acted corruptly, if secretly, to coat his viciousness in silky pink pearlescent influencer goo.
Surely it is unjust to have been born to perform one task: moving Trump product, hawking the Trump brand, filling the Trump coffers, endlessly pitching and selling and managing the Trump units that filled the Trump warehouses, and the Trump wine bottles, and the foreign Trump factory storerooms full to bursting. That was the destiny you should have been left to fulfill, with its empty slogans of feminism and faith, equality and motherhood, globalism and environmentalism. But of course, feminism and faith, equality and motherhood, globalism and environmentalism are real values. When not just being repurposed to help you hawk midpriced kitten heels, each demands the arduous work of justice. Humility, I understand, is not on brand for Trumps but attempts at any of these fundamentals of justice without humility is actually just shilling.
If and when you look back at your life, maybe you will realize that this is where it all went wrong: You were superb at the pitchman stuff, and maybe if your creepy dad hadn’t decided to run for president, you could have stayed in that branded plastic world of warehouses and factories and skyscrapers. But transactional justice words pressed through gauzy Instagram filters are not the stuff of democracy or morality, equality or faith. You’ve had great fun with this whole governance lark, to be sure, but frankly, the pain and suffering your dad so relishes make for bad influencer vibes. And in the end, when things became desperate, you committed fully to his side, changing your position on abortion and even voting itself. You would preserve your proximity to power at the expense of American democracy. Despite all the years of breathy talk of equality and dignity and empowerment, you—like your dad—think justice is the thing you alone are owed.
Unfortunately, the Trump™ brand now includes family separations, environmental denialism, global degradation, needless pandemic deaths, LGBTQ affronts, and petulant, truth-free grievance, none of which can just be shipped out and sold like last year’s sagging merch. The shattered shiny detritus is littered everywhere, and the cleanup work will take years. And though it may be a designer fragrance, the smell of complicity lingers. Even at its glossiest, the Trump™ catalog was never all that interesting. Please, oh please, take me off your list.
November 8, 2020
Trump Isn’t Paying for Wisconsin Recount
November 8, 2020 at 11:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard
Trump Isn't Paying for Wisconsin Recount
https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/08/trump-isnt-paying-for-wisconsin-recount/Trump Isn’t Paying for Wisconsin Recount
November 8, 2020 at 11:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard
The Trump campaign has not committed to put up the $3 million required to pay for a recount in Wisconsin, the Washington Post reports.
It is an indication that they’re not super serious about pursuing one and that their announcements are mostly for show.
It is an indication that they’re not super serious about pursuing one and that their announcements are mostly for show.
November 8, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez Not Sure She Wants to Stay In Politics
November 7, 2020 at 11:17 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
Ocasio-Cortez Not Sure She Wants to Stay In Politics
https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/07/ocasio-cortez-not-sure-she-wants-to-stay-in-politics/Ocasio-Cortez Not Sure She Wants to Stay In Politics
November 7, 2020 at 11:17 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told the New York Times she isn’t sure if she still wants to “be in politics” anymore.
Said Ocasio-Cortez: “The last two years have been pretty hostile. Externally, we’ve been winning. Externally, there’s been a ton of support, but internally, it’s been extremely hostile to anything that even smells progressive.”
Said Ocasio-Cortez: “The last two years have been pretty hostile. Externally, we’ve been winning. Externally, there’s been a ton of support, but internally, it’s been extremely hostile to anything that even smells progressive.”
November 7, 2020
Posted on Fri, Nov 6th, 2020 by Reuters
Special Counsel Probing Trump Campaign’s Use Of White House
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into allegations that the Trump campaign’s use of the White House as an Election Day command center violated federal law, Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell said on Thursday.
In a statement, Pascrell said the federal watchdog responded on Thursday to his call for a probe, telling him a special unit “has opened an investigation into these allegations to determine if the Hatch Act was violated.”
President Donald Trump monitored election returns in the living room of the White House residence on Tuesday, later addressing some 200 supporters gathered in the East Room.
Pascrell had asked the special counsel, Henry Kerner, to investigate reports suggesting that Trump used space in the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building – on the grounds of the White House – as a campaign “war room.”
The New Jersey lawmaker said Trump was also expected to be briefed in the White House residence and the Oval Office throughout the day by campaign officials, which he said put executive branch officials at risk of violating federal law.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/11/06/special-counsel-probing-trump-campaigns-use-of-white-house.html
Special Counsel Probing Trump Campaign's Use Of White House
Posted on Fri, Nov 6th, 2020 by Reuters
Special Counsel Probing Trump Campaign’s Use Of White House
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into allegations that the Trump campaign’s use of the White House as an Election Day command center violated federal law, Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell said on Thursday.
In a statement, Pascrell said the federal watchdog responded on Thursday to his call for a probe, telling him a special unit “has opened an investigation into these allegations to determine if the Hatch Act was violated.”
President Donald Trump monitored election returns in the living room of the White House residence on Tuesday, later addressing some 200 supporters gathered in the East Room.
Pascrell had asked the special counsel, Henry Kerner, to investigate reports suggesting that Trump used space in the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building – on the grounds of the White House – as a campaign “war room.”
The New Jersey lawmaker said Trump was also expected to be briefed in the White House residence and the Oval Office throughout the day by campaign officials, which he said put executive branch officials at risk of violating federal law.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/11/06/special-counsel-probing-trump-campaigns-use-of-white-house.html
November 7, 2020
Aides Say Trump Has No Legal Strategy
Ha! 
https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/07/aides-say-trump-has-no-legal-strategy/
Aides Say Trump Has No Legal Strategy
November 7, 2020 at 7:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard
Wall Street Journal: “Some advisers have privately said they see little path forward, politically or legally, that would prevent Mr. Trump from becoming the first president to lose reelection since 1992.”
“Among the president’s advisers, finger-pointing over the campaign’s legal strategy has intensified in recent days, White House and campaign aides said. Aides have expressed acute frustration over what many see as a slapdash legal effort, complaining that—even though Mr. Trump spent months telegraphing his intent to fight the election outcome in the courts—there wasn’t enough planning ahead of Election Day and has been little follow-through on decisions made this week. For days after the election, advisers said they didn’t know who was in charge of the strategy.”
“Among the president’s advisers, finger-pointing over the campaign’s legal strategy has intensified in recent days, White House and campaign aides said. Aides have expressed acute frustration over what many see as a slapdash legal effort, complaining that—even though Mr. Trump spent months telegraphing his intent to fight the election outcome in the courts—there wasn’t enough planning ahead of Election Day and has been little follow-through on decisions made this week. For days after the election, advisers said they didn’t know who was in charge of the strategy.”
November 7, 2020
Republican clerk pushes back on GOP chair's 'categorically false' claim
By Cameron Jenkins - 11/06/20 09:32 PM EST
The City Clerk of Rochester Hills, Mich., Tina Barton, shot back at GOP chair Ronna McDaniel on Friday, refuting claims that 2,000 ballots previously marked for Republicans were given to Democrats.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1324868768342962183
Barton continued by voicing her confidence in the current ballot count in her state.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/524905-republican-clerk-pushes-back-on-gop-chairs-categorically-false-claim
Republican clerk pushes back on GOP chair's 'categorically false' claim
Republican clerk pushes back on GOP chair's 'categorically false' claim
By Cameron Jenkins - 11/06/20 09:32 PM EST
The City Clerk of Rochester Hills, Mich., Tina Barton, shot back at GOP chair Ronna McDaniel on Friday, refuting claims that 2,000 ballots previously marked for Republicans were given to Democrats.
"The accusation that 2,000 ballots were found is categorically false. As a Republican, I am disturbed that this is intentionally being mischaracterized to undermine the election process," Barton said in a video posted to Twitter. "This was an isolated mistake that was quickly rectified once realized."
https://twitter.com/i/status/1324868768342962183
Barton continued by voicing her confidence in the current ballot count in her state.
"Every voter should have complete confidence in our voting system. Every vote that was cast was counted accurately and there is a paper ballot back up. I stand by our reported results."
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/524905-republican-clerk-pushes-back-on-gop-chairs-categorically-false-claim
November 6, 2020
Why so gloomy, Democrats? You have a lot to celebrate
By Gregory J. Wallance, Opinion Contributor — 11/06/20 06:00 PM EST
snip//
In fact, there is a lot for Democrats (and the nation) to celebrate, assuming a Biden win.
The guard rails of our democracy held up for four years against a president who tried to drive a Mack truck through them. Thank you, Framers.
The strength and character of the nation was on majestic display in the long voting lines and in the vote counting centers. Voters voted and volunteer poll workers meticulously counted a record number of votes without major glitches and despite a deadly pandemic and concerns over violence. There hasn’t been anything like this since the 1944 election, when millions of men and women in uniform, many of them overseas and on the front lines, voted in the middle of a world war.
Explain to your children, if you haven’t already, what happened in the Great Pandemic Election of 2020. Celebrate Joe Biden. He ran a nearly flawless campaign against a wily, no-holds-barred, never-hit-above-the-belt opponent. Biden seems close to resurrecting the “blue wall” of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, plus winning, of all places, Georgia and Arizona. So, Democrats, please stop complaining about losing Texas and Florida. Biden is a politician, not a miracle worker.
Finally, celebrate the end of Donald Trump’s incompetent, divisive and morally bankrupt presidency.
more...
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/524836-why-so-gloomy-democrats-you-have-a-lot-to-celebrate
Gregory J. Wallance, a writer in New York City, was a federal prosecutor during the Carter and Reagan administrations. He is the author of “America’s Soul in the Balance: The Holocaust, FDR’s State Department, and The Moral Disgrace of an American Aristocracy.” Follow him on Twitter at @gregorywallance.
Why so gloomy, Democrats? You have a lot to celebrate
Why so gloomy, Democrats? You have a lot to celebrate
By Gregory J. Wallance, Opinion Contributor — 11/06/20 06:00 PM EST
snip//
In fact, there is a lot for Democrats (and the nation) to celebrate, assuming a Biden win.
The guard rails of our democracy held up for four years against a president who tried to drive a Mack truck through them. Thank you, Framers.
The strength and character of the nation was on majestic display in the long voting lines and in the vote counting centers. Voters voted and volunteer poll workers meticulously counted a record number of votes without major glitches and despite a deadly pandemic and concerns over violence. There hasn’t been anything like this since the 1944 election, when millions of men and women in uniform, many of them overseas and on the front lines, voted in the middle of a world war.
Explain to your children, if you haven’t already, what happened in the Great Pandemic Election of 2020. Celebrate Joe Biden. He ran a nearly flawless campaign against a wily, no-holds-barred, never-hit-above-the-belt opponent. Biden seems close to resurrecting the “blue wall” of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, plus winning, of all places, Georgia and Arizona. So, Democrats, please stop complaining about losing Texas and Florida. Biden is a politician, not a miracle worker.
Finally, celebrate the end of Donald Trump’s incompetent, divisive and morally bankrupt presidency.
more...
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/524836-why-so-gloomy-democrats-you-have-a-lot-to-celebrate
Gregory J. Wallance, a writer in New York City, was a federal prosecutor during the Carter and Reagan administrations. He is the author of “America’s Soul in the Balance: The Holocaust, FDR’s State Department, and The Moral Disgrace of an American Aristocracy.” Follow him on Twitter at @gregorywallance.
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Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
Number of posts: 171,059
