August 20, 2020

Trump Admin Reverses Course, Says CDC WILL Regain Control Of COVID Data Collection

(Talking Points Memo) The Trump administration appears to be reversing course and giving COVID-19 hospital data collection duties back to the the Centers for Disease Control, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing comments from White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah Birx.

For the past month hospitals have been submitting data to TeleTracking, a private firm based in Pittsburgh, rather than the CDC. But the abrupt change to the company and lack of clear communication from the administration led to weeks of chaos, as TPM has reported.

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“This decision took some by surprise and raises a lot of questions going forward about how this private company is going to achieve that additional speed,” Kates told TPM when the switch was made.

TeleTracking, and the CDC before it, is collecting data on metrics such as hospital bed use, ICU capacity and patient turnover. Whereas the CDC’s NHSN has a years-old track record with its surveys tracking health-care associated infections, the TeleTracking survey was new and led to some confusion. In Missouri and elsewhere, for example, states lost out on days or weeks of hospitalization because the numbers coming through the TeleTracking survey were not yet reliable enough. (Read More)

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/wsj-admin-reverses-says-cdc-will-regain-control-of-covid-data

August 20, 2020

Elizabeth speaks!

There is something so special about teachers - when they go into public service they bring that beautiful "teacher heart" with them, they really do! Love you and thank you Elizabeth & Jill

August 18, 2020

Post Office Chief Suspends Controversial Changes Until After Election!

(NPR) Updated 2:00 p.m. ET

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has announced he will suspend the controversial changes he instituted to the U.S. Postal Service until after the November election. "To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded," DeJoy said in a statement.

He went on to say that between now and Election Day, retail hours at post offices will not change, no mail processing facilities will be closed, mail processing equipment and collection boxes will remain in place and that overtime for workers will be approved when needed. DeJoy also announced he would "engage standby resources" as of Oct. 1 "to satisfy any unforeseen demand."

It's not clear from his statement whether the post office will replace sorting equipment that has already been taken offline or transferred but DeJoy emphasized that existing processing and collection equipment will not be affected until after the election and that the post office will be able to handle the volume of mail expected as many more Americans cast votes by mail this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

DeJoy's statement comes after the news that he will testify Friday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

(Read More) https://www.npr.org/2020/08/18/903477948/postmaster-general-will-testify-at-senate-hearing-friday

August 18, 2020

Some fantastic, positive & hopeful news!

The Dems are not playing!

This is the official list for my county here in Florida - look at the number of Dems who signed up to be poll watchers today (just a local election not even a major one) so they can fight the repug shenanigans as it happens in real time: over a 100! Compare this to the repugs - only 15.

Repugs are underestimating our strength behind the scenes because they are only eyeballing us on TV or social media.

https://www.browardsoe.org/Portals/Broward/Documents/Election%20Day%20Voting%20Poll%20Watchers%20List.pdf

August 18, 2020

Senate report finds Manafort passed campaign data to Russian intelligence officer

(Axios) The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday released the fifth and final volume of its report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, which details "counterintelligence threats and vulnerabilities."

Why it matters: The Republican endorsed, 996-page report goes farther than the Mueller report in showing the extent of Russia's connections to members of the Trump campaign, and how the Kremlin was able to take advantage of the transition team's inexperience to gain access to sensitive information.

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The bottom line: "Taken as a whole, Manafort's high level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services, particularly Kilimnik and associates of Oleg Deripaska, represented a grave counterintelligence threat," the committee wrote.

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Senate Intelligence ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.): “At nearly 1,000 pages, Volume 5 stands as the most comprehensive examination of ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign to date – a breathtaking level of contacts between Trump officials and Russian government operatives that is a very real counterintelligence threat to our elections. ... This cannot happen again."

Read More: https://www.axios.com/senate-intelligence-russia-interference-971619a8-a806-470a-9de6-1416220ab35b.html

August 16, 2020

200 Mormons sign letter breaking away from Republican Party and supporting Biden

(Daily Mail) Donald Trump is losing ground among typically Republican-voting Mormons in Arizona, as some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints take a surprising turn and put their support behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Yasser Sanchez, who twice worked to defeat Biden's bids for vice presidency by building support for Republican candidates among fellow Mormons, now says he'll vote for Biden in the upcoming election. Sanchez finds himself in a surprising position as he's become repelled from his party and by President Donald Trump. 'We're taught to be steady, to be basically the opposite of the way he's lived his life,' Sanchez said.

On Wednesday more than 200 people identifying themselves as Republicans who belong to the church published an open letter declaring their opposition to Trump and calling him 'the antithesis of so much the Latter-day Saints community believes.

In a bid to recapture votes, the Trump campaign launched its Latter-day Saints for Trump Coalition this past week and sent Vice President Mike Pence to Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, for the kickoff on Tuesday. While many conservative-leaning religious voters warmed to him long ago, Trump has struggled to win over Latter-day Saints.

His penchant for foul language clashes with the church's culture teaching modesty and self-restraint, and his isolationist foreign policy is anathema to a faith spreading rapidly around the world. Trump's fued with Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah and one of the best known members of the church, has further tarnished his reputation among believers.

Trump's relative weakness with Latter-day Saints is now a growing political liability. (Read More)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8632581/Mormons-cool-Trump-finding-new-influence-Arizona.html

August 15, 2020

Florida Voters: please remember to check your voting status ASAP

I live in South FL so I will provide the links in my tri-county area but please feel free to add your own from other parts of the state, we must help one another get through and win this election. Between Trump, DeSantis & S.O.S. Lee - they are going to try their very best to steal our 29 electoral votes, but together we will stand up and say HELL NO to them.

Miami-Dade County: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser151187731708822

Broward County: https://www.browardsoe.org/Voter-Information/Voter-Lookup-Free-Access-System

Palm Beach County: https://www.pbcelections.org/Voters/My-Status

General Look up for the State of FL: https://registration.elections.myflorida.com/CheckVoterStatus

August 14, 2020

Trump's Brother Hospitalized in New York

*the last time a brother was hospitalized, trumpy went to the movies....

(ABC News) Robert Trump, the younger brother of President Donald Trump, has been hospitalized in New York, sources told ABC News, a development confirmed by the White House.

The details of his condition remain unknown though he is described by several sources as "very ill."

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed the hospitalization to ABC News, adding that the president and his brother "have a very good relationship" and that the president would be providing more details later.

Sources told ABC News the president is expected to visit his brother today, though final details were still being worked out.

In June, Robert Trump was hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Mount Sinai hospital in New York for more than a week.
Read More: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-brother-hospitalized-york-sources/story?id=72374353

August 13, 2020

Justice Department seizes millions in cryptocurrency from terror groups

(CNN)The Justice Department seized $2 million worth of cryptocurrency from terror groups in the Middle East, federal prosecutors announced Thursday, marking the largest ever US government takeover of online terrorist financing.

The funds from ISIS, al Qaeda and the al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, would likely have been used by the groups to buy weapons and train would-be attackers, Justice Department officials said.

"Two million dollars is a lot of equipment that they can buy, a lot of weapons a lot of training that they can fund, a lot of tickets to fly people around the world," said John Demers, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's national security division. "This is going to make a big difference in their operation."

The seizure, which also included 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four websites, and four Facebook pages, underscores how terrorist groups have modernized their fundraising tactics in recent years, and how law enforcement has adapted as they've continued to target criminals in their wallets. Officials said that the terror groups issued both transparent public messages to solicit the digital funds as well as schemes designed to dupe unwitting donors, including a website allegedly set up by ISIS in February that purported to sell personal protective equipment to protect against the spread of the coronavirus.

At a news conference on Thursday, law enforcement officials described the terror groups as "nimble" and opportunistic fundraisers who regularly exploit new technologies for moving money. (Read More)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/justice-department-cryptocurrency-terror-groups/index.html

August 12, 2020

Kamala, this song is for you - we are Overjoyed you will be our Veep!