July 17, 2020

Welcome to the next phase of rising authoritarianism

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1284064720820023296?s=21



Welcome to the next phase of rising authoritarianism. Anyone who says the republic can survive four more years of this is lying to him/herself or lying to you.


Oregon Public Broadcasting confirms tweets today that federal officers in camouflage but no agency identification or badges, driving unmarked non-government rental cars, are grabbing protestors off streets in Portland and not talking w local authorities



Walt Shaub
and Mary Trump are right. Our Democracy won’t survive 4 more years of Trump.

July 12, 2020

You Trump skells didn't think we noticed? New Lincoln Project ad

https://twitter.com/therickwilson/status/1282108422494867458?s=21



https://twitter.com/bettemidler/status/1282119814325174272?s=21


https://twitter.com/projectlincoln/status/1282121964895731712?s=21

July 10, 2020

Facebook considers political-ad blackout ahead of U.S. election

https://twitter.com/bpolitics/status/1281669291625140224



I've reached my free article limit on Bloomberg so can't post content. This would put a crimp in the Trump campaign's shenanigans but they'd probably find a way around it.

July 10, 2020

A plasma shot could prevent coronavirus. But feds and makers won't act, scientists say

It might be the next best thing to a coronavirus vaccine. Scientists have devised a way to use the antibody-rich blood plasma of COVID-19 survivors for an upper-arm injection that they say could inoculate people against the virus for months.

Using technology that’s been proven effective in preventing other diseases such as hepatitis A, the injections would be administered to high-risk healthcare workers, nursing home patients, or even at public drive-through sites — potentially protecting millions of lives, the doctors and other experts say.

The two scientists who spearheaded the proposal — an 83-year-old shingles researcher and his counterpart, an HIV gene therapy expert — have garnered widespread support from leading blood and immunology specialists, including those at the center of the nation’s COVID-19 plasma research.


But the idea exists only on paper. Federal officials have twice rejected requests to discuss the proposal, and pharmaceutical companies — even acknowledging the likely efficacy of the plan — have declined to design or manufacture the shots, according to a Times investigation. The lack of interest in launching development of immunity shots comes amid heightened scrutiny of the federal government’s sluggish pandemic response. There is little disagreement that the idea holds promise; the dispute is over the timing. Federal health officials and industry groups say the development of plasma-based therapies should focus on treating people who are already sick, not on preventing infections in those who are still healthy.

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-07-10/injection-prevent-coronavirus-feds-manufacturers-fail-to-act

July 8, 2020

" We have to be prepared for Trump losing" - Laura Ingraham at dinner party

“WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR TRUMP LOSING”: AS CHAOS ENGULFS TRUMP CAMPAIGN, INGRAHAM, OTHER LOYALISTS LOOK FOR THE NEXT THING


BY GABRIEL SHERMAN

JULY 8, 2020

A couple of weeks ago, Roger Ailes’s widow, Elizabeth, invited Fox News host Laura Ingraham and a few others for dinner at her $36 million Palm Beach home. The political conversation around the table was melancholy, a person familiar with the gathering recalled. With COVID cases hitting record highs and Donald Trump’s poll numbers going in the opposite direction, guests agreed that Trump is probably incapable, or unwilling, to take steps to turn things around. “We have to be prepared for Trump losing,” Ingraham told her dinner companions, according to the source. Perhaps anticipating that Fox News could pivot in a post-Trump media environment, Ingraham said she’s been in talks to take over for Rush Limbaugh, who recently revealed his Stage 4 lung cancer might force him off the radio. “Laura’s really interested in Rush’s job,” a person close to Ingraham said. (Ingraham did not respond to a request for comment.)

In the days since the Palm Beach dinner, Trump’s political standing has slipped further. On Tuesday, Trump’s favorite pollster, Scott Rasmussen, released a poll showing Trump at 39% approval, the lowest number Rasmussen has ever recorded for Trump. Trump’s popularity among Republicans dropped four points since mid-June, to 80%. The dismal polling is one reason why visible cracks in Trump’s Republican firewall are increasing. Staunch Trump ally Lindsey Graham, facing a tough reelection, broke with Trump this week over the president’s Twitter attack on Black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and Trump’s defense of the Confederate flag. Yesterday aides to Senators Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski said the three senators would not be attending the Republican convention next month in Jacksonville (if the convention even takes place, as Trump has backed away from his plan to deliver an indoor convention speech in front of 15,000 people).

At a moment when he needs to calm restive Republicans, Trump may antagonize them further by commuting Roger Stone’s 40-month sentence. According to sources, Trump has told people he wants to commute Stone’s sentence before Stone reports to prison on July 14. Rumors swirled over the weekend that Trump would announce it on Sunday night. Sources say the West Wing is at war over a possible Stone commutation. White House counsel Pat Cipollone is against the move, and even Attorney General Bill Barr is opposed. “Barr has told Trump not to do it, and if he does there will be a mutiny at DOJ,” said a source briefed on the internal debates. People close to Trump fear he won’t listen. “You can’t underestimate how hard it is to get information through to him,” a Republican close to the White House said. “When you talk to him, he just talks at you. He doesn’t like to read memos, so there’s not really a way to get through to him. Everyone agrees.” (The White House declined to comment).

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/chaos-engulfs-trump-campaign

July 8, 2020

Kanye West takes anti-vaccine, anti-abortion stance in US presidential bid

Kanye West has given more details about the policy platform he will adopt in his bid to become US president in November, declaring himself anti-abortion, sceptical about a Covid-19 vaccine and keen to return “fear and love of God” to education.

In an interview with Forbes, he announced that he would run under the banner of the Birthday party, “because when we win it’s everybody’s birthday”. His campaign slogan is a leaner version of Barack Obama’s “Yes we can” message, reading simply “YES”.

West has missed the deadline to appear on the ballot in a number of states, but he argued that he could be added as a latecomer due to the coronavirus.He said he was “going to speak with Jared Kushner, the White House, with Biden” to make his bid a reality – although he was also critical of the presumptive Democratic nominee.

West’s campaign advisers are his wife, the TV star Kim Kardashian-West, and the Tesla founder Elon Musk, both of whom have endorsed him. Speaking about Musk, West said: “I proposed to him to be the head of our space programme.”

West said that if he were to win – either in 2020 or 2024, the year in which he previously hinted he would run – it would be “God’s appointment”. He praised Donald Trump as “the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation”.


https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jul/08/kanye-west-takes-anti-vaccine-anti-abortion-stance-in-us-presidential-bid?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The rapper intends to run for election under the banner of “the Birthday Party.”

“I would run as a Republican if Trump wasn’t there. I will run as an independent if Trump is there,” West told Forbes

West says he believes he was sick with Covid-19 in February and is suspicious of a potential vaccine, according to Forbes.

West denied that his announcement was a publicity stunt for his upcoming album

West has selected Michelle Tidball, a preacher from Wyoming, to be his running mate, according to the report

NOTE: West has taken almost no concrete steps toward a presidential bid, including filing papers officially declaring a candidacy, qualifying for ballot access or building out a campaign infrastructure

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-08/rapper-kanye-west-says-he-no-longer-supports-trump-forbes


Who is Michelle Tidball, his running mate?

In a wide-ranging interview with Forbes — in which Kanye West confirmed he is serious about running for president—the famed billionaire rapper said he plans to tap as his running mate Michelle Tidball, who describes herself as a “biblical life coach,” and who once said on one of her bible teleconferences that she doesn’t “watch news.”

In Cody, the 57-year-old Tidball runs her own online bible study program under the nonprofit name “Abundant Ministries.”

On her biography page, Tidball touts “various degrees in mental health and criminal justice” and says she previously “worked as a mental health therapist for ten years” before transitioning into life coaching.

Tidball previously served as an executive director of Bright Futures Mentoring Program, a nonprofit that helped mentor students in Cody https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/07/08/who-is-michelle-tidball-kanye-wests-proposed-presidential-running-mate/#7cb4b1341ee1

June 24, 2020

The odious track record of Trump's Pentagon pick (Anthony Tata) is too long to recant

Anthony Tata is a combat veteran. But the retired Army brigadier general and Fox News commentator — now a nominee for the No. 3 post at the Defense Department — does not have the courage of his odious convictions.

CNN’s KFile team, led by ace Internet sleuth Andrew Kaczynski, has unearthed a long trail of deranged comments from Tata, many of which he recently deleted from Twitter in an unsuccessful attempt at cleanup. The first CNN story, on June 12, reported that Tata had called Islam the “most oppressive violent religion I know of” and that he had described President Barack Obama as a “terrorist leader” who did more to “help Islamic countries than any president in history.” Tata argued that Obama negotiated the Iranian nuclear deal because he had “Islamic roots” and wanted “to help Iranians and the greater Islamic state crush Israel.” In addition, he lashed out at Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), calling them “violent extremists” and accusing Waters of being a “vicious race baiting racist.”

Part II of the Tata chronicles appeared on CNN’s website on June 15. This time, KFile revealed that Tata had called Obama “a manchurian candidate” — i.e., a sleeper agent — for “Hamas & Muslim brotherhood.” In other tweets, Tata accused the Obama administration of “sedition and/or treason” and threatened former CIA director John Brennan: “Might be a good time to pick your poison: firing squad, public hanging, life sentence as prison b*tch, or just suck on your pistol. Your call. #Treason #Sedition #crossfirehurricane #Obamagate.”

Part III was published on Tuesday. This time, CNN revealed that Tata had spread conspiracy theories about a “deep state cabal” seeking to undermine President Trump and accused the Obamas of “borderline treasonous” behavior. He also accused Brennan of supporting “the overthrow” of Trump. After Brennan quoted Cicero in a tweet, Tata purported to see this as a coded signal for Trump’s assassination: “As incompetent as @JohnBrennan was as a #CIA analyst (failure at Khobar Towers), we must assume he knows spy tradecraft. This is a signal to someone, somewhere. Cicero was assassinated for political reasons. This is a clear threat against @POTUS.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/24/odious-track-record-trumps-pentagon-pick-is-too-long-recant/

June 24, 2020

This is not getting attention proportionate to the damage it is causing.

https://twitter.com/froomkin/status/1275842654312583170


Mitch McConnell has refused to hold vote on restoring Voting Rights Act for 200 days but Senate GOP just confirmed anti-voting rights extremist Cory Wilson of Mississippi to 5th Circuit as Trump’s 200th federal judge




Thank god, the election is near. If Trump gets enough of these judges appointed, it won't matter if we have a Dem President, House, and Senate. All Republicans will have to do to make legislation they don't like go away is challenge it in court. Judges control everything. Will Democratic voters ever start taking this seriously?



Edit to add: No more places left on appeals courts .


https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1275830823611174915

NEWS: Trump notches his 200th lifetime federal judge and fills the very last appeals court vacancy nationwide.

He's filled the nation’s appeals courts (mini Supreme Courts, if you will) with dozens of white men — and zero Black judges.

June 24, 2020

The Lincoln Project endorsed Steve Bullock and did a nice ad that's running on NBC in Montana

https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1275746528100061184

June 23, 2020

There's only one polling place open in Louisville, KY . Guess who's there feeding those waiting ?

https://twitter.com/Goodable/status/1275497674704400384



Voters in Louisville, Kentucky have only one polling station in the entire city where they can cast their ballot in today's election.

Chef Jose Andres is feeding them all.





Joe Biden needs to award Chef Andres the Presidential Medal of Freedom.



https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/1275558813232480257

Crazy scene in Louisville, with doors closed at 6 pm with more than a hundred people waiting to vote, but doors have been reopened and people will get to vote