|
Reaffirming his status as the “law and order” candidate, Donald Trump spent his weekend defying state coronavirus restrictions and praising extrajudicial killings. The order is palpable.
- Trump held an indoor rally for thousands of mostly unmasked, tightly-packed supporters in Nevada on Sunday night—a likely superspreading event that violated a statewide order limiting gatherings to 50 people, which was based on the White House’s own guidance. Earlier this summer Trump’s indoor rally in Tulsa caused a dramatic spike in cases there (and most likely the death of Herman Cain), but Trump doesn’t fear for his own safety, because he’s socially distanced from the masses, so his supporters, staff, and their communities can get bent: “I'm on a stage and it's very far away. And so I'm not at all concerned.”
- The rally’s content was no less disturbing than its format. Trump once again “joked” about staying in the White House for more than two terms, and for the second time in two days, endorsed the idea of summary executions by law enforcement officers. On September 3, U.S. Marshals shot and killed Michael Forest Reinoehl, a self-described Antifa supporter who was suspected of fatally shooting a member of the far-right Patriot Prayer group in Portland, OR. One witness to the incident said that Reinoehl wasn’t obviously armed, and that the officers opened fire without making any attempt to arrest him. Both at his Nevada rally and in a Fox News interview on Saturday, Trump sickeningly described Reinoehl’s killing as “retribution”: “There has to be retribution when you have a crime like that.”
- Meanwhile, Trump’s ally/felon Roger Stone has had some abhorrent ideas of his own to kick around. During an appearance on The Alex Jones Show, Stone claimed that the only legitimate outcome to the election would be a Trump victory, and called for Trump to have federal authorities seize ballots in Nevada, mobilize federal officers and GOP state officials to “physically” block voting, and carry out widespread arrests.
|
|
|
Perhaps even more alarmingly (and that “perhaps” is doing a lot of work), Trump has stacked the government with people who will spread these poisonous conspiracy theories, including a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Michael Caputo, a Stone acolyte and the HHS communications chief, claimed in a Facebook video that left-wing hit squads were preparing for armed insurrection after the election, and accused CDC scientists of “sedition” in their response to the pandemic. Caputo complained that he was being attacked by the media, said (quite believably) that his “mental health has definitely failed,” and suggested that he personally was in danger: “You understand that they’re going to have to kill me, and unfortunately, I think that’s where this is going.”
- Caputo’s Facebook meltdown followed reports that he and another political appointee at HHS had routinely pushed CDC officials to alter language in the agency’s weekly scientific reports on the coronavirus so that they wouldn’t undermine Trump’s message that everything was under control. In response, Caputo parroted Trump’s baseless claim that scientists “deep in the bowels of the CDC have given up science” and were acting as a “resistance unit” bent on undermining Trump’s coronavirus response.
With 50 days to go until the election, it’s important to be very clear about what Donald Trump and his allies are positing: The only valid election results are those that reinstall him, the only valid science is that which supports his political message, and the only valid laws are those that serve his purposes. Get involved in this election if for no other reason than to make sure there’s a next one.
|
|
|
In a terrific new episode of Hall of Shame, Rachel and Rachna dive into one of the most notorious scandals in football, The New England Patriots' Spygate. They explore why the world sees the New England Patriots as dirty cheats, and dissect the integrity of America’s favorite love-to-hate team. Listen to this week’s Hall of Shame to hear more, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts →
|
|
|
A nurse at an ICE detention center in Georgia has filed a whistleblower complaint about “jarring medical neglect” at the facility. The nurse, Dawn Wooten, alleged that the Irwin County Detention Center had underreported coronavirus cases, knowingly put staff and detainees at risk of exposure, and refused to test symptomatic detainees. Beyond the dangerous coronavirus practices, Wooten and multiple other women described an inordinate number of hysterectomies performed at the detention center. Wooten said of the facility’s consistently-used gynecologist, “Everybody he sees has a hysterectomy—just about everybody.” Many of the detained women told Wooten they didn’t understand why they were being forced to have the surgery. One detained immigrant told the advocacy group Project South, “When I met all these women who had had surgeries, I thought this was like an experimental concentration camp. It was like they’re experimenting with our bodies.”
|
|
- At least 33 people have died in the west coast wildfires, and we’ve only just begun to learn their heartbreaking stories. On his visit to Sacramento, CA, today, President Trump had this assessment of climate change and the resulting devastation: “It'll start getting cooler. You just watch...I don't think science knows, actually.”
- A Trump-appointed federal judge has struck down Pennsylvania’s coronavirus restrictions, deeming them unconstitutional on the basis of discredited right-wing legal theories.
- South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg reported hitting a deer with his car on Saturday night, but in fact fatally hit a person, whose body wasn’t discovered until the next morning. Ravnsborg has gotten six speeding tickets in the last six years.
- Two Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies were shot and critically injured in an ambush on Saturday night.
- The same night, other Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies tackled and arrested journalist Josie Huang, whose video of the arrest revealed the officers lied in their incident report when they claimed Huang didn’t have press credentials and ignored demands to leave the area.
- Michael Bloomberg will spend at least $100 million in Florida to help elect Biden, where polls have recently tightened and Latino voters have been inundated with disinformation and QAnon conspiracy theories. (Cool, but let’s not leave this up to Bloomberg.)
- Coronavirus cases have surged in 460 counties that are home to Sturgis bikers. 🎸Like a true nature's child/We were born, born to be wild(ly contagious) 🎸
- Canada reported no new coronavirus deaths on Friday for the first time since March, a thing that is possible for countries to achieve. Israel will begin a second nationwide lockdown, a thing that is possible for even countries with crappy leaders to achieve.
- Oracle beat out Microsoft in the bidding for U.S. operations of TikTok, which probably has nothing to do with Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s hefty donations to the Trump campaign.
- No longer content to ruin everyone’s day with a transphobic tweet, J.K. Rowling appears to have gone ahead and written a transphobic book.
- Scientists have found traces of a gas on Venus which on Earth is only produced by living microorganisms, but could have some other explanation on Venus, which is a risk we will simply have to take as we are already en route.
|
|
|
An NPR and PBS Frontline investigation found that even while oil and gas companies were spending millions to sell Americans on the idea that most plastic could and would be recycled, the industry knew it was a lie. The recycling process is much more expensive than manufacturing new plastic, and plastic degrades quickly, meaning it can only be reused once or twice. Documents show that the industry has known since the ‘70s that plastic recycling wasn’t feasible on a broad scale—most of it gets buried, burned, or dumped in the ocean—but paid for ads touting plastic recycling and lobbied for a mandated recycling symbol on all plastic products to make consumers feel better about buying them.
|
|
|
If there is one thing that health experts agree on, it’s that the perfect diet doesn’t exist.
Even when we eat super well, our daily nutritional needs are constantly changing due to depleted nutrients in the food we eat, stress, environmental toxins and more.
As a result our digestive systems may be compromised and struggle to absorb as efficiently as they should in order to support our immune system, gut health and energy levels.
Enter a multivitamin Athletic Greens.
Developed from a complex blend of 75 vitamins, minerals and whole food sourced ingredients, Athletic Greens is a comprehensive all-in-one greens powder formulated to help fill the nutritional gaps in your diet.
Packed with adaptogenic herbs for recovery, pre- and probiotics and digestive enzymes for gut health, Vitamin C and zinc citrate for immune support, a high quality B vitamin complex for energy, and much more - Athletic Greens is an easy, nutritional insurance to help your body meet its nutritional needs.
When you use Athletic Greens, you know you’re putting the highest quality ingredients in your body that exclude any synthetic ingredients or nasty fillers. And–unlike a lot of green drinks–Athletic Greens actually tastes good (just ask our PSA hosts)!
Building a consistent health routine doesn’t get any easier. Try Athletic Greens now and receive 20 free servings with your first purchase delivered straight to your door.
|
|
|
Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh have found that a tiny antibody component holds promise for the development of a potential coronavirus treatment.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has blocked Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins from appearing on the ballot, which clears the way for election officials to begin mailing ballots out to voters. (Hawkins, incidentally, had admitted that Republicans were funding the party’s legal effort, and the party’s petition was filed by a law firm with a history of representing Wisconsin Republicans.)
Liberal philanthropist Susan Sandler has announced a $200 million investment in racial justice groups that are combating systemic inequality and working to boost voter turnout in battleground states.
Orchestra Save America.
|
|
|
|
|
