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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
July 8, 2020
more...
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/mike-pence-the-best-expert-i-know-on-coronavirus-school-policy-is-my-wife-karen/
Mike Pence: 'The best expert I know' on coronavirus school policy 'is my wife Karen'
Explains so much...
Mike Pence: ‘The best expert I know’ on coronavirus school policy ‘is my wife Karen’
Published 2 hours ago
on July 8, 2020
By Travis Gettys
Vice President Mike Pence cited his wife, a teacher, as an expert on reopening schools during a deadly pandemic.
The White House has purposefully politicized the decision to send the nation’s children back to school, with President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos threatening to cut funding for districts that don’t reopen.
snip//
“I have to tell you,” he said, “the best expert I know on this topic is my wife, Karen, and she spoke at the summit yesterday very compellingly about how a lot of our kids are hurting out there. They’re struggling with loneliness, with social isolation. The American Academy of Pediatrics spoke about that, a very forceful statement from pediatricians across the country that said we got to get our kids back into school.”
more...
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/mike-pence-the-best-expert-i-know-on-coronavirus-school-policy-is-my-wife-karen/
July 8, 2020
39 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Cook Political Report says Biden has Electoral College edge
Fadel Allassan
The Cook Political Report on Wednesday updated its Electoral College forecast to give Joe Biden a decisive edge in the presidential contest, suggesting that November could bring more of "a Democratic tsunami than simply a blue wave."
Why it matters: Cook's forecast, which says 279 electoral votes are at least leaning toward the former vice president, ponders that Trump may be "close to the point of no return," with some analysts the group spoke to wondering if the president now faces "a permanent loss of trust and faith of the majority of voters."
Cook's latest moves:
Worth noting: It's only July — and Cook says as much — but Trump has recently dug in with his law-and-order approach that caters to his base.
Cook: November could bring more of "a Democratic tsunami than simply a blue wave."
https://www.axios.com/cook-political-report-biden-trump-electoral-college-70dbf3e3-981f-4e00-9f7c-0fd7ee212ff3.html39 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Cook Political Report says Biden has Electoral College edge
Fadel Allassan
The Cook Political Report on Wednesday updated its Electoral College forecast to give Joe Biden a decisive edge in the presidential contest, suggesting that November could bring more of "a Democratic tsunami than simply a blue wave."
Why it matters: Cook's forecast, which says 279 electoral votes are at least leaning toward the former vice president, ponders that Trump may be "close to the point of no return," with some analysts the group spoke to wondering if the president now faces "a permanent loss of trust and faith of the majority of voters."
Cook's latest moves:
Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district went from "toss up" to "lean Democrat." It similarly moved Michigan, a center of Trump's white, working-class base, to "lean Democrat" last month.
Maine moved from "lean Democrat" to "likely Democrat." And its 2nd congressional district, which grants its electoral vote separately, moved from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican."
Georgia moved from "lean Republican" to "toss up."
Maine moved from "lean Democrat" to "likely Democrat." And its 2nd congressional district, which grants its electoral vote separately, moved from "likely Republican" to "lean Republican."
Georgia moved from "lean Republican" to "toss up."
Worth noting: It's only July — and Cook says as much — but Trump has recently dug in with his law-and-order approach that caters to his base.
It also notes the uncertainty surrounding the actual act of voting in November amid the coronavirus pandemic, as the president continues to push against the idea of mail-in voting with unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
July 8, 2020
Trump Threatens to Cut School Funding If Not Open
Quid pro quo?
https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/08/trump-threatens-to-cut-school-funding-if-not-open/
Trump Threatens to Cut School Funding If Not Open
July 8, 2020 at 9:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
President Trump threatened to cut off funding to schools if they do not open in the fall.
Said Trump: “In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!”
Said Trump: “In Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and many other countries, SCHOOLS ARE OPEN WITH NO PROBLEMS. The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families. May cut off funding if not open!”
July 8, 2020
Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intelligence to Kremlin
Is it treason yet?
https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/08/trump-pushed-cia-to-give-intelligence-to-kremlin/
Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intelligence to Kremlin
July 8, 2020 at 9:43 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Just Security: “Why would the Russian government think it could get away with paying bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers? One answer to that question may be the extraordinary response that Moscow received when the Trump administration learned of a precursor to the bounty operation…”
“First, President Trump decided not to confront Putin about supplying arms to the terrorist group. Second, during the very times in which U.S. military officials publicly raised concerns about the program’s threat to US forces, Trump undercut them. He embraced Putin, overtly and repeatedly, including at the historic summit in Helsinki.”
“Third, behind the scenes, Trump directed the CIA to share intelligence information on counterterrorism with the Kremlin despite no discernible reward, former intelligence officials who served in the Trump administration told Just Security.”
“First, President Trump decided not to confront Putin about supplying arms to the terrorist group. Second, during the very times in which U.S. military officials publicly raised concerns about the program’s threat to US forces, Trump undercut them. He embraced Putin, overtly and repeatedly, including at the historic summit in Helsinki.”
“Third, behind the scenes, Trump directed the CIA to share intelligence information on counterterrorism with the Kremlin despite no discernible reward, former intelligence officials who served in the Trump administration told Just Security.”
July 8, 2020
Brazil’s Bolsonaro Is Guzzling Trump’s Unproven Malaria Drug to Treat COVID-19 Infection
TRIBUTE ACT
Jamie Ross, Reporter
Published Jul. 08, 2020 5:37AM ET
Brazil's Bolsonaro Is Guzzling Trump's Unproven Malaria Drug to Treat COVID-19 Infection
https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-hits-record-high-daily-jump-in-coronavirus-cases-yet-again?ref=homeBrazil’s Bolsonaro Is Guzzling Trump’s Unproven Malaria Drug to Treat COVID-19 Infection
TRIBUTE ACT
Jamie Ross, Reporter
Published Jul. 08, 2020 5:37AM ET
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said he’s using the unproven malaria drug touted by President Trump as a treatment after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Bolsonaro, whose positive test was confirmed Tuesday, said he’s confident he’ll survive his brush with the disease thanks to treatment with hydroxychloroquine. Bolsonaro has spent months downplaying the severity of the pandemic as thousands died in his country. “I’m, well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can’t due to medical recommendations,” Bolsonaro said, according to AP. He posted a video to Facebook of him taking hydroxychloroquine Tuesday, and said: “I’m a lot better, so certainly it’s working... We know today there are other remedies that can help fight the coronavirus. We know none of them have their efficacy scientifically proven, but I’m one more person for whom this is working.” There is no solid evidence that hydroxychloroquine offers clinical benefit to patients who have COVID-19.
July 8, 2020
Democrats Are Extraordinarily United Behind Biden
July 8, 2020 at 7:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Democrats Are Extraordinarily United Behind Biden
https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/08/democrats-are-extraordinarily-united-behind-biden/Democrats Are Extraordinarily United Behind Biden
July 8, 2020 at 7:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Nate Cohn: “Over all, voters in the battleground states who said Bernie Sanders was their top choice for president said they backed Mr. Biden over President Trump, 87% to 4%. If there was a Bernie-or-Bust movement, it has either faded with the conclusion of the Democratic race, or it never existed in serious numbers in the battleground states.”
“Mr. Biden commands even more significant support from voters who supported Elizabeth Warren in the primary. The Democrats who said she was their top choice to be the Democratic nominee backed Mr. Biden over Mr. Trump by a staggering margin of 96% to 0% — even wider than Mr. Biden’s 96-1 lead among those who said he was their top choice in the Democratic primary.”
“Mr. Biden commands even more significant support from voters who supported Elizabeth Warren in the primary. The Democrats who said she was their top choice to be the Democratic nominee backed Mr. Biden over Mr. Trump by a staggering margin of 96% to 0% — even wider than Mr. Biden’s 96-1 lead among those who said he was their top choice in the Democratic primary.”
July 8, 2020
17 hours ago
Donald Trump Listens to His Gut. And It’s the Gut of a Racist.
Slipping in the polls, Trump ratchets up the racism.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
snip//
As he aims to whip up his extremist base—apparently believing that is his only chance of victory in November—Trump realizes that his Confederate flag–waving loyalists and other of his supporters resent being called racists. In fact, much of the conservative movement for decades has sucked at the teat of anti-anti-racism, insisting that liberals and many Black critics have been too quick to hurl the charge of discrimination. With his blast on Wallace and his untrue depiction of the noose incident as a “hoax” that Wallace somehow cooked up—as if this episode was similar, as White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany actually said, to the Jussie Smollett case—Trump was signaling to his devotees that, yes, you see, all these charges of racism are phony-baloney. That is, racism is not the problem; the real threat to the nation is false accusations of racism. So when you are called a racist, well, that’s just another hoax.
Trump does try to have it both ways. He constantly asserts he has done more for Black Americans than any president since Abraham Lincoln. (Fact-check: LOL.) When Trump held his first post-pandemic campaign rally at a Tulsa arena, his campaign flew in two dozen members of its Black Voices for Trump group and displayed them prominently at the event. (Herman Cain, the 74-year-old co-chair of this outfit who attended the rally without wearing a mask, was subsequently hospitalized for COVID-19.) And Trumpworld does push back whenever Trump’s racism arises as an issue. As reporters at the Washington Post were examining Trump’s recent attempts at “amplifying racism and stoking culture wars,” they reached out to Armstrong Williams, a Black conservative and Trump supporter, who defended Trump with this curious statement: “President Trump has been more exposed to black people, black leaders and black culture than most previous presidents. He doesn’t see the implications of his tweets in the way that his critics do. He just loves his supporters.” So the president doesn’t understand what it means to tweet out a video of a supporter yelling “white power”? Williams then deployed the some-of-his-best-friends defense: “This is someone who spoke at length on the phone to Don King on election night—I was with Trump when he took the call. This is someone who welcomed Kanye West at the White House. That’s who Trump is.” Williams was scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Trump’s latest weaponizing of racism is an audacious move: he is embracing white supremacy (or its most powerful symbols) and absolving racists of being racists. Most political strategists would tell a candidate slipping in the polls because of his divisiveness and incompetence to be less divisive and more competent. But as Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, recently remarked, “He’s really the campaign manager at the end of the day.”
At the start of this week, Trump’s White House was prepping to promote talking points hailing the economy. But Trump had another plan. He blew that up with one racist tweet. His fans, advisers, and apologists often say Trump follows his own instincts and calls his own shots. As his presidency heads toward bankruptcy—as thousands of Americans continue to die in the pandemic and as tens of millions remain out of work—Trump is holding on to what he knows best: demagoguery and hate. He is indeed listening to his gut, and it’s a cauldron of racist bile.
David Corn: Donald Trump Listens to His Gut. And It's the Gut of a Racist.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/07/donald-trump-listens-to-his-gut-and-its-the-gut-of-a-racist/17 hours ago
Donald Trump Listens to His Gut. And It’s the Gut of a Racist.
Slipping in the polls, Trump ratchets up the racism.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
snip//
As he aims to whip up his extremist base—apparently believing that is his only chance of victory in November—Trump realizes that his Confederate flag–waving loyalists and other of his supporters resent being called racists. In fact, much of the conservative movement for decades has sucked at the teat of anti-anti-racism, insisting that liberals and many Black critics have been too quick to hurl the charge of discrimination. With his blast on Wallace and his untrue depiction of the noose incident as a “hoax” that Wallace somehow cooked up—as if this episode was similar, as White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany actually said, to the Jussie Smollett case—Trump was signaling to his devotees that, yes, you see, all these charges of racism are phony-baloney. That is, racism is not the problem; the real threat to the nation is false accusations of racism. So when you are called a racist, well, that’s just another hoax.
Trump does try to have it both ways. He constantly asserts he has done more for Black Americans than any president since Abraham Lincoln. (Fact-check: LOL.) When Trump held his first post-pandemic campaign rally at a Tulsa arena, his campaign flew in two dozen members of its Black Voices for Trump group and displayed them prominently at the event. (Herman Cain, the 74-year-old co-chair of this outfit who attended the rally without wearing a mask, was subsequently hospitalized for COVID-19.) And Trumpworld does push back whenever Trump’s racism arises as an issue. As reporters at the Washington Post were examining Trump’s recent attempts at “amplifying racism and stoking culture wars,” they reached out to Armstrong Williams, a Black conservative and Trump supporter, who defended Trump with this curious statement: “President Trump has been more exposed to black people, black leaders and black culture than most previous presidents. He doesn’t see the implications of his tweets in the way that his critics do. He just loves his supporters.” So the president doesn’t understand what it means to tweet out a video of a supporter yelling “white power”? Williams then deployed the some-of-his-best-friends defense: “This is someone who spoke at length on the phone to Don King on election night—I was with Trump when he took the call. This is someone who welcomed Kanye West at the White House. That’s who Trump is.” Williams was scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Trump’s latest weaponizing of racism is an audacious move: he is embracing white supremacy (or its most powerful symbols) and absolving racists of being racists. Most political strategists would tell a candidate slipping in the polls because of his divisiveness and incompetence to be less divisive and more competent. But as Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, recently remarked, “He’s really the campaign manager at the end of the day.”
At the start of this week, Trump’s White House was prepping to promote talking points hailing the economy. But Trump had another plan. He blew that up with one racist tweet. His fans, advisers, and apologists often say Trump follows his own instincts and calls his own shots. As his presidency heads toward bankruptcy—as thousands of Americans continue to die in the pandemic and as tens of millions remain out of work—Trump is holding on to what he knows best: demagoguery and hate. He is indeed listening to his gut, and it’s a cauldron of racist bile.
July 7, 2020
GOP 'unnerved' by Trump's racism, but not for the right reasons
Republicans are concerned about Trump's racism, not for its moral or societal implications, but because it might interfere with the GOP's quest for power.
July 7, 2020, 9:20 AM EDT
By Steve Benen
snip//
Many Americans have come to expect a degree of routine racism from the incumbent president, but recently, Trump has abandoned any sense of subtlety, making what was implicit far more overt.
And according to a Washington Post report, it's making some Republicans nervous.
Motivations are relevant in a situation like this. On the one hand, we see GOP officials who are increasingly "unnerved" by Trump's racism, but on the other, we see their concern rooted not in the president's reprehensible beliefs, but in their affects on the party's electoral prospects.
Indeed, the article was explicit on this point, adding that on Capitol Hill, some Republicans -- who, naturally, aren't prepared to speak on the record -- are concerned that "Trump’s fixation on racial and other cultural issues leaves their party running against the currents of change. Coupled with the coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis, these Republicans fear he is not only seriously impairing his reelection chances but also jeopardizing the GOP Senate majority and its strength in the House."
more...
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-unnerved-trump-s-racism-not-right-reasons-n1233056
GOP 'unnerved' by Trump's racism, but not for the right reasons
GOP 'unnerved' by Trump's racism, but not for the right reasons
Republicans are concerned about Trump's racism, not for its moral or societal implications, but because it might interfere with the GOP's quest for power.
July 7, 2020, 9:20 AM EDT
By Steve Benen
snip//
Many Americans have come to expect a degree of routine racism from the incumbent president, but recently, Trump has abandoned any sense of subtlety, making what was implicit far more overt.
And according to a Washington Post report, it's making some Republicans nervous.
President Trump’s unyielding push to preserve Confederate symbols and the legacy of white domination, crystallized by his harsh denunciation of the racial justice movement Friday night at Mount Rushmore, has unnerved Republicans who have long enabled him but now fear losing power and forever associating their party with his racial animus.
Motivations are relevant in a situation like this. On the one hand, we see GOP officials who are increasingly "unnerved" by Trump's racism, but on the other, we see their concern rooted not in the president's reprehensible beliefs, but in their affects on the party's electoral prospects.
Indeed, the article was explicit on this point, adding that on Capitol Hill, some Republicans -- who, naturally, aren't prepared to speak on the record -- are concerned that "Trump’s fixation on racial and other cultural issues leaves their party running against the currents of change. Coupled with the coronavirus pandemic and related economic crisis, these Republicans fear he is not only seriously impairing his reelection chances but also jeopardizing the GOP Senate majority and its strength in the House."
more...
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-unnerved-trump-s-racism-not-right-reasons-n1233056
July 7, 2020
Graham challenger Harrison raises record-shattering $13.9 million for SC Senate bid
By Max Greenwood - 07/07/20 09:54 AM EDT
Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison's campaign to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) in South Carolina pulled in nearly $14 million in the second quarter of the year, setting a statewide fundraising record in the process.
Harrison’s campaign said on Tuesday that it had raised more than $13.9 million in the period covering April through June, nearly doubling its first-quarter fundraising haul of $7.4 million and marking the second consecutive quarter in which Harrison has set a quarterly record in South Carolina.
Graham hasn’t yet disclosed his full second-quarter fundraising numbers and isn’t required to do so until July 15. But the most recent filings available, which cover the pre-primary period in South Carolina spanning April 1 to May 20, showed Harrison out-raising Graham by about $600,000.
Harrison also raised more than Graham in the first quarter of 2020, bringing in about $7.4 million to Graham’s $5.7 million.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/506148-graham-challenger-harrison-raises-record-shattering-139-million-for-sc
Graham challenger Harrison raises record-shattering $13.9 million for SC Senate bid
Graham challenger Harrison raises record-shattering $13.9 million for SC Senate bid
By Max Greenwood - 07/07/20 09:54 AM EDT
Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison's campaign to unseat Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) in South Carolina pulled in nearly $14 million in the second quarter of the year, setting a statewide fundraising record in the process.
Harrison’s campaign said on Tuesday that it had raised more than $13.9 million in the period covering April through June, nearly doubling its first-quarter fundraising haul of $7.4 million and marking the second consecutive quarter in which Harrison has set a quarterly record in South Carolina.
“Our campaign's record-breaking fundraising reflects the grassroots energy behind Jaime's movement, and will allow this campaign to make the investments necessary to send Lindsey home for good,” Guy King, a spokesperson for Harrison’s campaign, said in a statement.
Graham hasn’t yet disclosed his full second-quarter fundraising numbers and isn’t required to do so until July 15. But the most recent filings available, which cover the pre-primary period in South Carolina spanning April 1 to May 20, showed Harrison out-raising Graham by about $600,000.
Harrison also raised more than Graham in the first quarter of 2020, bringing in about $7.4 million to Graham’s $5.7 million.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/506148-graham-challenger-harrison-raises-record-shattering-139-million-for-sc
July 7, 2020
As Rachel noted on the show last night, we've reached the point at which "Mexico is hardening its border against Americans," which is a curious twist on Donald Trump's vision.
There are also related developments with our neighbor to the north.
more...
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/wh-s-mcenany-world-looking-us-leader-pandemic-n1233063
WH's McEnany: 'The world is looking at us as a leader' on pandemic
Didn't she say she'd never lie? 
WH's McEnany: 'The world is looking at us as a leader' on pandemic
In a way, the world is looking at the U.S. "as a leader" on the pandemic, but probably not in the way Kayleigh McEnany intended.
July 7, 2020, 10:07 AM EDT
By Steve Benen
A reporter asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany yesterday, "How do you think the world is looking at the United States right now?" She replied, "I think the world is looking at us as a leader in COVID-19."
In a way, there's some truth to that -- but probably not in the way the president's spokesperson intended. By all appearances, the world is looking at the United States as leading the world in the number of coronavirus cases. Around the globe, observers are also marveling at the number of American fatalities, which also leads the world. Internationally, officials have also struggled to comprehend how our response has been so much worse than other advanced nations' handling of the pandemic.
But when it comes to the world looking to the United States "as a leader" in a more conventional sense, it appears McEnany had it backwards yesterday. For example, consider this Arizona Daily Star report from a few days ago:
Mexican authorities are closing the U.S-Sonora border to nonessential travel this holiday weekend, when Arizonans would normally flock to Mexican beach towns like Rocky Point and San Carlos for the Fourth of July. Starting Saturday, July 4, southbound travelers without essential business in Sonora will be turned away at border checkpoints in Nogales, Agua Prieta and San Luis Rio Colorado, said Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich’s office.
As Rachel noted on the show last night, we've reached the point at which "Mexico is hardening its border against Americans," which is a curious twist on Donald Trump's vision.
There are also related developments with our neighbor to the north.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has turned down a White House invitation to celebrate the new regional free trade agreement in Washington with U.S President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Trump and López Obrador are due to meet Wednesday Washington, but Trudeau spokesperson Chantal Gagnon said Monday that while Canada wishes the U.S. and Mexico well, Trudeau won’t be there.
more...
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/wh-s-mcenany-world-looking-us-leader-pandemic-n1233063
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Current location: Florida
Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
Number of posts: 171,059
