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Thursday Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 02:08:41 PM EST
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We've now passed 150,000 deaths in the U.S. from Coronavirus. The virus is going to be with us for a long time. It's still unclear how much it will change our professional and personal lives in the future.

The virus mutates -- a new form is already spreading in Vietnam, and causing great concern. I'd like to know which of the virus vaccines the U.S. is financially backing, if any, will work on mutations of COVID-19.

Is it possible we will spend billions for a vaccine that works on the disease as it existed when the vaccine testing began, but not on the mutated disease that exists months or a year later when it's approved?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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    Lincoln Project hires real actors (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 08:35:52 PM EST
    a Republican wakes up after 3 1/2 years in a coma

    Inscribe these words (5.00 / 6) (#9)
    by Peter G on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 11:08:10 PM EST
    on your doorposts and in your heart. An essay written by John Lewis for publication on the day of his funeral.

    Morgan Freeman (none / 0) (#11)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 07:36:30 AM EST
    reads the Lewis statement

    Parent
    Lincoln Project & BBC present (5.00 / 2) (#19)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 03:27:47 PM EST
    Impotus Americanis

    These (none / 0) (#20)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 04:04:03 PM EST
    guys continue to amaze, one of their best yet. Comedy gold really.

    Parent
    Trump's Evil (none / 0) (#21)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 04:38:30 PM EST
    Plan.

    Parent
    Hurricane Isaias (5.00 / 2) (#27)
    by fishcamp on Sat Aug 01, 2020 at 01:29:45 PM EST
    Is just now passing my exact latitude, however thankfully, it is about 200 miles offshore.  We will get some wind, but not until it moves farther north near Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and the wind clocks around (anti- clockwise) and the outer wind and rain bands come close to the Florida keys.  This is hurricane number 19 or 20 for me, can't really remember since they were all a blur except for Irma which was quite memorable.  There are at least two more strong disturbances out in the Atlantic now, and I hope they turn away from us.  

    Hope all goes well. (5.00 / 2) (#28)
    by oculus on Sat Aug 01, 2020 at 01:40:12 PM EST


    Parent
    It's (none / 0) (#30)
    by FlJoe on Sat Aug 01, 2020 at 02:08:42 PM EST
    forecast to be almost directly overhead my location tomorrow evening.

    At least it appears to be weakening and on it's present course we will be on the weaker side of the storm.

    Parent

    Yes, I see that Joe, (none / 0) (#31)
    by fishcamp on Sat Aug 01, 2020 at 02:20:36 PM EST
    and you are correct in saying it is weakening  and hopefully will slow even more when it moves up your way.  You will definitely get some wind and rain as will everybody along the Atlantic coast.  Good luck.

    Parent
    Duck and cover (none / 0) (#32)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Aug 01, 2020 at 05:02:53 PM EST
    Looks like it's headed for New England.  The only time I was in a hurricane was Boston.  

    I guess that was Andrew. It was the last time I lived in an "apartment building".  I took the dog and went to the basement that had iron bars on the alley door and we sat there and watched trash cans and larger things flying down the alley.

    Parent

    made (none / 0) (#34)
    by FlJoe on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 07:47:53 AM EST
    a beach run this morning @ sunrise/high tide. Steady wind about 20 surf about 8 feet, tide was high but just about the same as yesterday.

    The sky was mostly clear over head except for a few squalls, dark and ominous to the SE. A mid level deck started to work it's way over us by the time I left.

    The storm is still struggling to wrap the heavy convection around the top and unless it does we will dodge the worst of it.

    Unless they close the causeway or it gets really bad I will make a few more trips out to check things out.


    Parent

    Just (none / 0) (#40)
    by FlJoe on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 04:28:37 PM EST
    passing my latitude right now, about 35 miles offshore. So far winds have been around 30 mph gusting to maybe 40 at the beaches.

    Had numerous short squalls with gusty winds but only sprinkly rainfall, the sun actually just peeked out for a few minutes.

    Parent

    Today is the day. (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by KeysDan on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 11:32:08 AM EST
    Trump announced in mid-July that he would be signing "a full and complete" health care plan within two weeks.  During the 2016 campaign he  pledged to repeal Obamacare and replace it "with something terrific".  So this may be Trump Terrific Care.  

    Trump still has until midnight, so we should not rush him.  Will work on an analysis of the plan overnight for tomorrow's reporting.

    Seriously Doubt (none / 0) (#37)
    by MO Blue on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 12:09:40 PM EST
    that you will be burning the midnight oil on that analysis.

    Parent
    Have to say (5.00 / 4) (#65)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:22:04 PM EST
    I'm getting a bit tired of the "Biden VP miniseries"

    It's starting to pit one group against.another and it will get nastier the longer it goes

    Just pick some one.

    I just had my first COVID test today. (5.00 / 2) (#106)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Aug 06, 2020 at 08:06:24 PM EST
    I was exposed last week to a counterpart in the City and County of Honolulu who tested positive but was asymptomatic. I was formally notified this morning, and got tested two hours later.

    If you must get a COVID test, I would recommend that you take a deep breath through your nose just as they insert the swab. This will open your nasal passages and it won't be nearly as uncomfortable. It'll likely make your eyes water, though.

    Please stay safe, everyone.

    UPDATE: Negative. (5.00 / 2) (#139)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 10:12:59 PM EST
    The result was reported to me less than 24 hours after the test was done. Now, if they can do such a quick turnaround for a county government official like me, why can't COVID testing be as efficient for everyone else?

    Parent
    Speaking of stacking the courts (5.00 / 2) (#108)
    by jondee on Thu Aug 06, 2020 at 09:11:43 PM EST
    in the U.S, fraud even at it's most egregious seems to be one of the hardest charges to make stick.

    As people like to bring up, "no one went to jail after 2007-2008."

    Possibly because the cunning preying upon the ill-informed and vulnerable is close to being a feature and not bug of the prevailing status quo.

    Atlantic (5.00 / 1) (#116)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 10:41:58 AM EST
    I've Witnessed the Decline of the Republican Party
    Over five decades, the GOP has transformed into something I no longer recognize.
    AUGUST 6, 2020
    Norm Ornstein

    Dr. Ornstein, a small island (none / 0) (#120)
    by KeysDan on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 03:15:33 PM EST
    of enlightenment in the sea of the American Enterprise Institute's Dark Ages, notes, sadly, that the idea that the Republican Party would be a force for ethnic and anti-immigrant animus and racial division would appall many of the of Republicans that he has known over the years.  And, that over five decades, the GOP has transformed into something he know longer recognizes.

    It seems to me, however, that he has romanticized the Republican Party that he knew, mining his memory to focus on such names as Rep. Jack Kemp and Senator Everett Dirksen. Or other Republican leaders who may have shown selective flashes that demonstrated the value of government, "albeit in a limited form." But, there have always been the Roman Hruskas of the Party, not to mention, the enablers of a Joe McCarthy, who dominated legislation and inquires. Robert Dole voted against Medicare and thirty years later was still proud of his vote. Ornstein points to environmental legislation under Nixon, but there was a Democratic Congress.  Indeed, Nixon vetoed the Clean Water Act, but it was over-ridden.

    Norman Ornstein ends his nostalgia as follows:  "Sadly if Donald Trump is defected in November, there is no sign that such a party (with the likes of a Kemp) will return anytime soon.  But, restoring the Republican Party to its traditional values is absolutely essential to preserve the core of our system of government."

    The current Republican Party is awful, but the change over time has been more of degree than of kind. We may need a strong two-party system, but it must be up to the Republican Party to want to change and then to do so. In my view, it is so contaminated that it is irredeemable. It needs to go the way of the Whigs and let a responsible political entity offer differing views and perspectives. And, particularly, one that adheres to the Constitution to "promote the general welfare."

     

    Parent

    Norm Ornstein (none / 0) (#121)
    by KeysDan on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 03:25:32 PM EST
    surely would prefer that I quote him (third paragraph) as follows: "Sadly, if Donald Trump is defeated in November,..."  Although, it may be that Donald Trump, some have speculated, if defeated in November, defect to Russia. However, Ornstein is not one of them.

    Parent
    Trump's tariffs today (5.00 / 1) (#119)
    by Natal on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 01:44:24 PM EST
    From Deputy PM Freeland:

    "We buy more goods off the United States than China, Japan, U.K. combined. Who does this? At times like this, who tries to go after your closest ally? Your closest trading partner? Your number one customer in the entire world? Who would do this?

    A traitor would do that. (5.00 / 3) (#122)
    by desertswine on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 03:44:57 PM EST


    Parent
    Christina Greer (5.00 / 1) (#127)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 07:43:11 PM EST
    Black Voters Know Biden Is Clumsy--and That Trump Is a Menace

    Biden is a type that Black people know well: Someone who is at times a bit too familiar and who has made missteps, but at the end of the day is learning from his mistakes.

    Tr*mp signs Executive Order attempting to (5.00 / 1) (#138)
    by Peter G on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 09:06:14 PM EST
    defund Social Security and Medicare. What a gift to the Biden campaign! I hope they can see this opportunity and run with it.

    Trump promises (5.00 / 2) (#140)
    by MO Blue on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 10:40:48 PM EST
    Trump promises permanent cut to payroll tax funding Social Security and Medicare if he's reelected

    The Dems need to run ads everyday from now to November against Trump and every member of the of the Republican Party on how they plan to eliminate Social Security, Medicare and healthcare. The sound bites are there and failure to use them nonstop would be sheer stupidity.

    Parent

    Kudlow was just on CNN (none / 0) (#142)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 08:13:41 AM EST
    Trying to walk this back.

    According to Larry what Trump meant to say was that the cuts now will NOT have to be paid back.   He did NOT, according to Larry, mean the cuts would be permanent.

    They know this is bad.

    Parent

    Why (none / 0) (#143)
    by FlJoe on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 08:26:13 AM EST
    does he always sound like he is half lit?

    he kept throwing out random numbers about unemployment and payroll tax cuts. $400, $800, $1200, the states will be kick in a bit or $100 or more if they want to or maybe not (but they have plenty of money!).

    Bash pushed back but not enough.

    Parent

    I would be fully lit (5.00 / 2) (#144)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 08:41:52 AM EST
    If I had his job.

    Parent
    Direct Quote (none / 0) (#145)
    by MO Blue on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 08:41:53 AM EST
    "If I'm victorious on November 3rd, I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax," Trump said at a news conference in Bedminster, N.J. "I'm going to make them all permanent."

    The Dems need to ignore Kudlow and use that sound bite with a story line of what life was like for seniors prior to implementing Social Security and Medicare.

    Parent

    As Joe said (none / 0) (#146)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 08:50:36 AM EST
    Bash did not push back enough but she did say almost exactly that.

    Parent
    Cans of cat food (none / 0) (#152)
    by Zorba on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 11:51:30 AM EST
    And all.
    Plus an ad or two with a very sweet-looking old lady (I'd volunteer, but I'm far from "sweet-looking") and the voice-over saying something about, does your Granny depend upon her Social Security?  What will she do if it's reduced?  Etc, etc.

    Parent
    This ain't the Land of the Free, Granny. (5.00 / 2) (#172)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Aug 10, 2020 at 03:59:42 PM EST
    But it is certainly the Land of the Heavily Subsidized. And we clearly have a significant difference of opinion with Republicans regarding who the real freeloaders are.

    "The most blatant involves the venerable old camera and film maker Kodak. On July 28, Trump announced a $765 million deal with the firm to bring drug production back to the United States. He called it 'one of the most important deals in the history of the U.S. pharmaceutical industries,' even though Kodak isn't even a pharmaceutical company.

    "Before the announcement, Kodak had handed its board of directors 240,000 stock options, and just the day before had given its CEO 1.75 million stock options. After Trump's announcement, Kodak shares shot up more than 2,757 percent. Suddenly, the board's stock options were worth about $4 million, and the CEO's, about $50 million.

    "Is this sort of insider trading against the law? You bet. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the deal, now temporarily on hold.

    "But the SEC's co-director of enforcement, Steven Peikin, who had been investigating several of the deals involving the White House and corporate insiders--including Kodak--resigned last week, without explanation. Another in the lengthening list of independent regulators and inspectors general forced out by Trump?"

    November 3 can't come soon enough for me.

    Parent

    Not (none / 0) (#173)
    by FlJoe on Mon Aug 10, 2020 at 06:11:11 PM EST
    so fast
    Kodak stock plunged 30% Monday after a $765 million loan from the US government to help make drug ingredients was put on hold, as regulators are reportedly looking into allegations of insider trading.

    The stock was temporarily halted after plunging as much as 43% earlier in the day.
    "Recent allegations of wrongdoing raise serious concerns," the US International Development Finance Corporation said in a tweet Friday afternoon. "We will not proceed any further unless these allegations are cleared."

    Somebody is paying attention, even if it is some obscure entity which somehow controls the money.

    Parent
    Not to mention, (none / 0) (#153)
    by Zorba on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 11:55:34 AM EST
    Similar ads about Granny's Medicare.
    And with both Social Security and Medicare, the implication being (subtly stated, however), that the kids and grandkids would be expected to help Granny out.

    Parent
    Not bloody likely (none / 0) (#167)
    by jmacWA on Mon Aug 10, 2020 at 05:16:04 AM EST
    that the kids and grandkids would be expected to help Granny out

    At least for those with Republican progeny, they will rant about having to chip in.


    Parent

    That's the point (none / 0) (#170)
    by Zorba on Mon Aug 10, 2020 at 11:48:50 AM EST
    They wouldn't want to do it, but they will also not be happy that people will judge them if they don't help Granny and Gramps.

    Parent
    The Democrats (5.00 / 1) (#154)
    by KeysDan on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 11:58:41 AM EST
    are on it.  Joe Biden assails Trump for a reckless attack on social security.

    Parent
    Personally (5.00 / 1) (#160)
    by MO Blue on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 04:10:32 PM EST
    I think Biden's statement is too academic. The response needs to actually address how up to 40% of seniors lived in abject poverty  prior to SS and how it would adversely affect individual seniors now. The cat food reference by Madam Zorba is closer to what is needed.

    Parent
    This is (none / 0) (#165)
    by KeysDan on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 11:40:54 PM EST
    Just the first salvo.   Trump got the news cycle for less than 24 hours, and will soon have it back, as in boomerang.

    Parent
    The Lincoln Project (none / 0) (#141)
    by MO Blue on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 12:22:26 AM EST
    Writes the ad for the Dems:

    This defunds Medicare.
    🤡 This defunds Social Security.
    🤡 Tax collection is just deferred.
    🤡 You'll still owe these taxes next year

    Repeat on every available source from now until November.

    Parent

    This is exactly what I said (none / 0) (#159)
    by Peter G on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 03:01:30 PM EST
    when I posted on it last night.

    Parent
    This Makes Me Uncomfortable (1.00 / 1) (#103)
    by RickyJim on Thu Aug 06, 2020 at 03:18:56 PM EST
    "Unlike the African American community, with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly diverse attitudes about different things," Biden said. "You go to Florida, you find a very different attitude about immigration than you do in Arizona. So it's a very diverse community."
    Link  I wish I could say something better than "Trump is even worse" to justify my vote this November.

    The occasional stupid or careless remark (5.00 / 4) (#105)
    by Peter G on Thu Aug 06, 2020 at 06:47:03 PM EST
    like this, is NOTHING compared to daily, incessant, malicious lying and stoking of divisiveness. In particular, it is not hard to figure out what Biden's point was -- that African Americans, despite their variety of subcultures and views on various issues, especially cultural and religious, have a very small representation of folks who would describe themselves as conservative, and vote 90+% Democratic, while Latinx folks include a significant number of professed conservatives and certainly cannot necessarily be counted on to vote Democratic in similar numbers.

    Parent
    Trump will save himself and make nosesides happy (5.00 / 2) (#112)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 08:44:53 AM EST
    By appealing to voters from ThighLand

    Parent
    A Source of Objective Information (none / 0) (#118)
    by RickyJim on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 01:17:17 PM EST
    Recently the Gallup organization set up a Center on Black Voices website designed to uncover the truth in such matters.  Here is a recent comparison: "Would you rather the police spend more time, the same amount of time or less time as they currently spend in your area?
    your area?
    More time    Same amount of time    Less time
                               %     %       %
    Black Americans    20    61    19
    White Americans    17    71    12
    Hispanic Americans    24    59    17
    Asian Americans    9    63    28
    U.S. adults    19    67    14

    Unlike PeterG, I don't know whether or not Biden was only focused on a single issue, voting Democrat or Republican, in making his comparison of Black and Hispanic diversity.  I just hope his vice presidential choice can project objectivity and competence better than he can.

    Parent

    Cool story (none / 0) (#148)
    by Yman on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 09:32:41 AM EST
    Apart from "spending time in your area", are there polls that ask Black Americans whether they prefer to be profiled more or less?  Whether they prefer to have excessive force used against them more or less?  Whether they prefer to have guns drawn on them and their children made to lie in the street more or less?

    Parent
    There is no excuse (1.60 / 5) (#111)
    by NoSides on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 06:35:15 AM EST
    for this idiotic and racist statement.

    Biden, who already pronounced himself the arbiter of who is or "ain't Black", has declared himself to be qualified to characterize the thoughts of the entire African-American community.

    I must say, that I do not think that Trump is "even worse". In fact, unless someone can post some actual quotes from Trump - which I would very much like to see - I have seen no statements from Trump on the subject of race that have reached the depths of racism and arrogance expressed by Joe Biden.

    Sad to say.
    It would be nice if the Democratic Party could offer us someone better than Joe as an alternative to the incumbent. Maybe it will resort to Hillary as it becomes increasingly obvious that Biden is off the deep end.

    Parent

    You cannot be serious (5.00 / 3) (#114)
    by CST on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 09:31:30 AM EST
    Google is your friend.  Trump is not.

    From shithole countries to declarong Mexicans are incapable of being unbiased judges, to saying he wants to kick out all Muslims, his constant referneces to "the blacks", his personal mistreatment and denigration of every minirity he comes in contact with, the list goes on.

    The man was literally sued for discriminationnin housing, he took out a full page ad asking for the death penalty of 5 innocent black men.

    He calls Covid the China Virus.

    But you want quotes?

    ""I have black guys counting my money. ... I hate it," Trump told John R. O'Donnell, the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino, according O'Donnell's account in his 1991 book "Trumped!" "The only guys I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes all day."

    Trump, according to O'Donnell, went on to say, "`Laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that.""

    Here's a link of some more.

    Parent

    Sorry for all the typos (5.00 / 4) (#115)
    by CST on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 09:32:16 AM EST
    Cell phone typing and rage are not a great combo.

    Parent
    "According to O'Donnell..." (1.00 / 1) (#123)
    by NoSides on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 07:15:29 PM EST
    is the operative word.

    What Biden has said, he has said in public.
    It is not a matter of hearsay. And this is current.

    "By the way, what you all know but most people don't know, unlike the African-American community with notable exceptions, the Latino community is an incredibly diverse community with incredibly different attitudes about different things," he told a group of Black and Latino journalists.

    "So it's a very diverse community," he said.

    That's what he said.
    In public.

    And then, comes the retraction:

    Thursday evening, Mr. Biden tried to walk the comments back after significant outcry.

    "In no way did I mean to suggest the African American community is a monolith--not by identity, not on issues, not at all," he said on Twitter.

    Mr. Biden said he's witnessed "diversity of thought, background, and sentiment" within the Black community throughout his career and said he will never stop fighting for African-Americans.

    Yes. His crime bill was very helpful.

    He also said that a Black American considering voting for Trump, "ain't Black". And he said it to a Black man interviewing him on the radio.
    It's on video. No hearsay about it.

    He also has a disturbing habit of saying, "man" to Black people. It just sounds so, to be charitable, clueless.

    It is obvious you would like Trump to be defeated. OK. No problem.
    To do that, you will have to vote for Biden.
    OK.
    That's what you're voting for. Biden.

    From my point of view, a leftist one, it is a shame that the Democratic Party could not come up with a better candidate.

    Parent

    If your point of view is (5.00 / 3) (#124)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 07:30:44 PM EST
    "A leftist one" Queen Elizabeth lives in my butt.

    You are known here.  

    Parent

    Which is why (5.00 / 1) (#125)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 07:34:39 PM EST
    Your ham handed attempts to "stir thing up" always fail so quickly and completely.

    Parent
    "You are known here" (none / 0) (#133)
    by KeysDan on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 10:31:25 AM EST
    And in Moscow, probably.

    Parent
    And I'm (none / 0) (#151)
    by Zorba on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 11:44:36 AM EST
    Queen Marie of Romania.

    Parent
    Your Royal Highness! (5.00 / 1) (#158)
    by Peter G on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 02:59:20 PM EST
    I had no idea. Honored to know you.

    Parent
    So you're a cherry picking (none / 0) (#136)
    by CST on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 12:43:41 PM EST
    gaslighter too.

    I'm voting for a Democratic executive branch.  Apparently you are cool with Bill Barr at the justice department along with a deranged fascist as head of state.

    That's not left, it's lazy.  You don't want to do the work of working within the bounds of Democracy so you walk away and pretend it leaves your hands clean.  You're the Neville Chamberland of politics.  An appeaser of fascists in your unwillingness to make difficult choices.

    Parent

    From my point of view (none / 0) (#147)
    by Yman on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 09:28:22 AM EST
    From my point of view, a leftist one, it is a shame that the Democratic Party could not come up with a better candidate.

    Which is reality, I couldn't care less that there are some deadenders still bitter because their candidate(s) couldn't beat Biden.  

    Too f'in bad.  Get over it.  Or don't.

    Parent

    NoSides (5.00 / 3) (#117)
    by MO Blue on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 12:04:09 PM EST
    must stand for the fact that you do not order fries, soup or a salad with your entree.

    Sad to say Republicans are left with nothing but lies, fake photos and attack ads that project their behavior and multiple shortcomings onto others.

    It would be nice if Republican operatives would recognize that people have been wise to their pitiful deceptive tactics for a while now and they tend to turn off people big time.

    Parent

    My (none / 0) (#1)
    by FlJoe on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 03:51:20 PM EST
    understanding is that this virus is fairly stable and any mutations are superficial, of course the science on this thing changes on a daily basis.

    This article seems alarmist, quoting "local doctors", not any kind of virologist or public health experts.

    Vietnam to there credit has done a great job keeping the total cases under 500 and this "new wave" has only 15 cases, not nearly enough to determine infection, hospitalization and mortality rates.

    Just my 2 cents.

    I thought it was from a US tv station (none / 0) (#5)
    by Jeralyn on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 07:39:34 PM EST
    I had no idea it was news from the Ukraine. It did cite a medical expert quoted in the Guardian. But I have swapped it out for a New York Times article.

    Parent
    Not my circus not my monkeys (none / 0) (#2)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 05:35:31 PM EST
    "President Trump indicated to associates during a flight on Air Force One on Wednesday that he would not intervene in the US Senate Republican primary in Kansas despite the fears among top Republicans that the state could elect a nominee who will lose the seat and thus the Senate," CNN reports.

    "While the GOP establishment has long been alarmed by the prospect that conservative firebrand Kris Kobach could win the primary on Tuesday only to lose the general election in November, Trump has so far not endorsed its favored candidate, Republican Rep. Roger Marshall."
    Calling Kobach a monkey in the circus (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Peter G on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 02:01:40 PM EST
    is an insult to the high intelligence and community spirit of most monkeys.

    Parent
    The pause (none / 0) (#3)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 07:20:51 PM EST
    "President Trump's campaign has virtually disappeared from the airwaves as it undertakes `a review and fine-tuning of the campaign's strategy' as an official put it after the replacement of campaign manager Brad Parscale," NBC News reports.

    "With less than 100 days until Election Day, the Trump campaign spent virtually nothing on television or radio ads on Wednesday and Thursday, according to data from Advertising Analytics. And it has effectively nothing booked through August."

    That link I put in the last thread about why he might quit  hardly mentioned the biggest reason I think Trump might cut his losses.

    The pandemic.  I really think it has him cornered.  He has no idea how to react.  He is incapable of even faking the empathy and compassion needed because he doesn't understand the concept.  

    All the rest he can deal with. Not this.   I really think he is beginning to understand it's completely out of control and as it get worse so will his prospects.  That must be a truly terrifying thing for a guy who has had as much control over the news as he has had.  He now controls nothing.   But he could walk away.

    I hope he does (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Jeralyn on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 07:34:59 PM EST
    And I won't be surprised if he does quit saying he sacrificed everything to become President and enough is enough -- he now needs to return to the business world and his personal empire.

    I don't think his heart is in this because he isn't getting the adulation he needs from enough camps. He only gets excited when thousands of people are clapping for him and yelling things like "lock her up".

    He's just a carnival barker who wants to be Marjoe, without the religion attached. (what a throwback that reference is, but it was a great movie in its day).

    Parent

    That too (none / 0) (#6)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 07:43:03 PM EST
    It's like the virus is conspiring against him.   Robbing him of everything including the adulation he requires.  And I really think he requires it.

    Why it's almost like....an act of god.

    Parent

    Five words, Jeralyn: (none / 0) (#67)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:53:00 PM EST
    "Possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct." And because this particular criminal case is filed in New York state court rather than federal court, it's out of AG William Barr's jurisdiction and he can't help Trump by placing his fat and grubby thumbs on the scales.

    And yeah, you're really dating yourself if you remember "Marjoe" and its faith-huckstering subject, Marjoe Gortner. His given name is a conjunction of the biblical names Mary and Joseph. I'd have killed my parents, had they done that to me. Anyway, the 1972 Oscar-winning documentary threw back the curtains on the big business of Pentecostal evangelism, and it was really not a good look.

    I never saw "Marjoe" until I was in college ten years later, but it didn't matter. I think that film is still wildly relevant today. As for Marjoe Gortner himself, the guy laughed all the way to the bank. He later enjoyed a TV and film career as a B-list Hollywood celebrity / actor in the 1970s and '80s, during which he often seemed to be cast as the psychopath. I have no idea what he's doing today, nor do I really care. I'm just thankful he never entered politics.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    Our numbers here in Hawaii are spiking, ... (none / 0) (#8)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Jul 30, 2020 at 09:41:07 PM EST
    ... leaving me to wonder if the coronavirus finally overcame our firewall and has reached the dreaded community spread stage. While our total case load of 1,989 may look low right now, 567 of those were diagnosed just in the last seven days, 504 on Oahu. Anyway, we're likely within a day or two of a re-shutdown.

    Nobody in this country will be safe until everybody starts taking this pandemic seriously.

    Looks (none / 0) (#10)
    by FlJoe on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 07:11:50 AM EST
    like we are going to have a Hurricane at our doorstep Sunday morning...this demon seed year continues apace.

    The official forecast has it as a high end cat1 about 60 miles offshore, if that holds it should be no big deal.

    The best news is it's moving quickly so the waiting will not be total agony and the worst effects will not last that long.

    Also for a weather nerd like me it is a perfect diversion from the tRumpdemic.

    Remember Jared Kushner's (none / 0) (#12)
    by KeysDan on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 09:33:43 AM EST
    national pandemic response team, way back in February?  Businessman and friends of Jared surprisingly hammered out a decent plan to coordinate efforts.  However, that plan ran into Trump.  Jared agreed and that was the end of that.

     Accordingly to Vanity Fair reporting     "The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy."

    Yes, the brain-trust of Trump and Jared, apparently, believed Covid-19 only infected Democrats and that it limited itself to Blue states, staying, say, in Illinois and never crossing over to Indiana.  But, the strategy of killing liberals must have been thought to be much better than just owning them.

    Normalized (none / 0) (#13)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 12:41:58 PM EST
    Most Don't Think Trump Will Accept Election Result

    July 31, 2020 at 12:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 133 Comments

    A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll finds that 52% of Americans now believe that President Trump will not accept the results of November's election if he loses to Joe Biden -- and an even larger majority of Trump voters say they too will refuse to accept a narrow loss if mail-in ballots contribute to Biden's victory.
    Regarding the bold text (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by CST on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 01:35:42 PM EST
    I wonder what "refuse to accept" looks like, functionally.

    Parent
    Honestly I think for most of them (none / 0) (#16)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 01:43:53 PM EST
    it would mean repeating the talking points.  But there is a subset.   There is that.

    Parent
    That is a remarkable number (none / 0) (#14)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 12:58:14 PM EST
    If you take a step back.  More than half the country does not expect the President to accept the election results if he loses.

    And it's not really even a headline

    Parent

    Well, apparently mailed (none / 0) (#25)
    by oculus on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 08:03:23 PM EST
    absentee ballots are not suspect.

    Parent
    Darren Wilson not charged... again (none / 0) (#18)
    by McBain on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 02:02:27 PM EST
    I didn't know there was there was another investigation.

    "Although this case represents one of the most significant moments in St. Louis' history, the question for this office was a simple one," Bell said. "Could we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that when Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown, he committed murder or manslaughter under Missouri law?"  
    "After an independent and in-depth review of the evidence, we cannot prove that he did," Bell said.

    This makes at least two investigations by the state of Missouri and one federal. I think it's time to let Wilson move on with his life.    

    Save yourself and good luck with that (none / 0) (#22)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 05:20:26 PM EST
    "Sen. Mitch McConnell is allowing Republican Senate candidates to do whatever it takes to salvage their campaigns ahead of what Republicans increasingly fear could be a devastating election for their party," CNN reports.

    "In recent weeks, the Senate majority leader has become so concerned over Republicans losing control of the Senate that he has signaled to vulnerable GOP senators in tough races that they could distance themselves from the President if they feel it is necessary."

    Huge caveat: "While this may give some senators the flexibility to draw a distinction between themselves and the President, it also forces them to walk a tightrope. Trump remains enormously popular with the Republican base, and any attempts to undercut him risks alienating those voters."

    What this illustrates is our real problem.  It's not really Trump and the republicans.   They are just a symptom.

    The real problem is the so called Republican base.  Between 30 an 40% of the voting population that still - still - blindly support Trump.  After all we have seen just since January.  After being shown undeniable evidence he is a dangerous crazy person.  They are the problem.  

    And no matter what happens to Trump they ain't goin no place.

    I almost want Trump to try to pull off a literal military type coup.  

    It certainly would not succeed.

    But if that happens all his shameless supporters will be exposed with no place to hide.  It might be the only hope for shutting them up and marginalizing them permanently.

    Trumpism is a thing.  And will be after Trump.

    Yeah, (none / 0) (#23)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 06:11:56 PM EST
    these people are scary. They don't believe facts. They only believe things that are told to them by approved sources. The GOP really created these monsters with talk radio and Fox News and now you can add OANN to the mix. How you get their media to do a cult deprogramming operation is beyond me. All those operations are making too much money grifting the cult.

    Parent
    Salon (none / 0) (#33)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Aug 01, 2020 at 05:07:51 PM EST
    On the de-Trumpification of America: It definitely won't be easy, but it must be done
    Defeating Donald Trump might be the easy part. Uprooting the toxic movement he represents could take decades



    Parent

    Alan Parker 2/14/44 - 7/31/20 (none / 0) (#24)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 06:13:13 PM EST
    as much as I love The Wall I think my favorite is Angel Heart

    This would be ironic if it wasn't so farcical. (none / 0) (#26)
    by desertswine on Fri Jul 31, 2020 at 09:27:56 PM EST
    The White House on Friday condemned Hong Kong's decision to postpone September legislative elections by a year because of the coronavirus, denouncing the action a day after President Trump floated the idea of delaying the U.S. presidential election in November.

    "We condemn the Hong Kong government's decision to postpone for one year its legislative council elections and to disqualify opposition candidates," White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at a news briefing. Reading from a prepared statement,she characterized the move as part of an effort by China to deny "promised autonomy and freedom to the Hong Kong people."

      --  Wash Post

    Sounding good (none / 0) (#29)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Aug 01, 2020 at 01:51:59 PM EST
    Countering G.O.P. on Courts, Democrats Will Call for `Structural' Change
    Progressives pushed for the platform language after President Trump's drive put 200 conservative judges on the federal bench and Senate Republicans blocked President Obama's nominees.

    Just saw my governor on CNN (none / 0) (#35)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 08:37:33 AM EST
    He said "in AR we are going to have expanded absentee ballot access"

    That's pretty vague but possibly meant to be.  It jives with the instructions I got from my county clerk that I left a comment about here a few days ago.

    When I asked she, to my surprise, basically told me how to vote by mail without any of the standard reasons for that.  Which is not what the law says.

    I would guess they have been instructed to make voting by mail more accessible.  Particularly for seniors.

    This governor has often found ways to work around the rabid right.  Our novel approach to Medicaid expansion under the ACA is a good example.

    This made me feel better (none / 0) (#38)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 01:35:20 PM EST
    Trump is Doomed and he knows it

    I'm quite sure that McCarthy and McConnell, along with many other prominent Republicans, cannot wait to be rid of Donald Trump and are already rehearsing various death-of-Stalin monologues that range from "well, he expressed the true greatness of America but" to "honestly, I never really knew the guy." What they may discover, however, is that the Republican Party after Trump is something like John Hurt's character in "Alien" after the face-hugger falls off. He seems fine and normal! But as the robot scientist knows, he's been impregnated with something awful, and once it gets a decent feed down there in the gummy darkness, it's bustin' out.
    RIP Wilford Brimley (none / 0) (#39)
    by McBain on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 02:16:51 PM EST
    Link

    Brimley died Saturday while hospitalized in St. George, Utah, his manager Lynda Bensky told CNN. He'd been at the ICU, where he was getting treatment for medical problems and was on dialysis.

    He was 85.   I think The Thing was my favorite of all the films he appeared in.  I also enjoyed The Natural.  

    My favorite was his (5.00 / 1) (#41)
    by Chuck0 on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 04:49:41 PM EST
    Attorney General character in Absence of Malice.

    Parent
    He was a great heavy (none / 0) (#42)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 05:20:43 PM EST
    Menacing Tom Cruise in The Firm.

    But like Joel Schumacher he won't be remember for his best work.

    Parent

    Short but great scene in Deliverance. (none / 0) (#62)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:17:02 PM EST


    Parent
    I really do not understand (none / 0) (#43)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 05:29:57 PM EST
    What republicans think they are doing.

    While there is enough suspense to torture the people who are depending on this stimulus to eat it would be hard to find anyone in politics who has not known for weeks that Nancy and Chuck were going to get most if not all of what they want.

    It's boggles the mind.  Not only do they look cruel and callous.  Making it clear they don't give a shi+ about what the country is suffering, doing it this way also makes them look weak and stupid.

    Next week they will be dragged pi$$ing and moaning across the finish line just like everyone knew they would.  Even most of their supporters.
     

    They (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by FlJoe on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 07:34:45 PM EST
    get away with it because of headlines like this
    Millions of people will see a sharp drop in their unemployment benefits because Congress failed to act
    They don't even begin to describe the fecklessness of McConnell and the Repugs until paragraph five
    Much of the recent delay, however, has actually been driven by disagreement among Republicans. Not only are Senate Republicans split over the need for more stimulus and concerns over additions to the national debt, the White House, too, has its own set of priorities.
    and even then they cannot lay the entire blame where it belongs.

    Parent
    I don't think they will get away with it (none / 0) (#46)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 07:47:15 PM EST
    I don't think there are many people unaware than the house passed theirs months ago and the senate just pi$$ed away months waiting till the last minute.

    This is not some arcane difficult to understand thing.  People are following this minute by minute like their lives depend on it because they do.

    Republicans are getting hammered fir this.

    Wonkette

    On the one hand, it's delightful to wake up to another news cycle of "Republicans in Disarray" stories. Just put that stuff directly in our veins! On the other hand, they're in disarray over the coronavirus stimulus package, and if they can't get their shit together, millions of Americans are going to lose their federal unemployment benefits. Which is not funny at all!

    But you take your joy where you can get it in this four-year waking nightmare. So pull up a chair, and let's dish about GOP senators racing out of their caucus meeting to call their own party's stimulus bill a stinking pile of dog crap.

    ---

    In plain English, we are literally nowhere with this stimulus package. Democrats want to help people, Republicans' priority is ensuring that no one gets sued for forcing employees to choose between infection and starvation, and the White House just cares about the stupid FBI headquarters -- they literally held the process up for four days to get it in there!

    And as with every other problem in Washington, Trump can and will make it worse.



    Parent
    Getting (none / 0) (#48)
    by FlJoe on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 08:24:41 PM EST
    hammered by Wonkette is not exactly getting hammered by the general public, no matter how righteous it is.

    By all logic there should be a political price for them to pay and I imagine they will. However they will get away with paying much less than full price, they always do.

    Parent

    I guess it depends on the price you expect (none / 0) (#49)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 08:32:59 PM EST
    They should be drawn and quartered but that won't happen so we will probably have to live with them becoming a minority party for a generation.

    Parent
    Call (none / 0) (#50)
    by FlJoe on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 08:53:00 PM EST
    me a pessimist but I will believe that when I see it .
    I have witnessed the "death" of the Republican party too many times already.


    Parent
    I didn't predict it's death (none / 0) (#51)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 07:05:41 AM EST
    Necessarily.  Only chronic infirmity.

    The major problems with passage of stimulus is said to be several republicans, Cruz, Cotton and some others, who understand Trump is over and see running for president in 24  against full democratic control of government, against a democratically controlled senate, in their interest.

    In other words they hope to make lemonade from the lemons that will be beaten out of them in Nov.  

    Personally I think this plan does not factor in the extent of the chaos and insanity their dear leader will unleash in the next 90 days.  It won't be forgotten in 4 years.  We will be in recovery from this for 10.  At least.

    PS
    Mitch was not in DC for these crucial discussions last weekend because he had to be in KY campaigning to save his hide.  And because, they say, he did not expect republicans to make any headway and expects to be forced to pass a stimulus package with democrat votes

    I don't care how pessimist one is you can't make that look good for the GOP.

    Parent

    I (none / 0) (#52)
    by FlJoe on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 09:27:50 AM EST
    agree with most of what you say, but it's not making it "look good" for the GOP so much as making it "stick".

    Judging by history Republicans  never suffer much long term electoral damage from their screw ups.

    I see you point about the 2024 contenders, saving the economy, or tRump for that matter is not really in their best interest.

    Republicans who see the writing on the wall would much prefer Biden facing a smoking wreck of an economy than something that is still afloat, that's just the way they roll.

    Parent

    They have not paid for past (none / 0) (#54)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 09:57:44 AM EST
    Screw ups.  But this is not a garden variety screw up.  It's the worst case of obvious complete inability to govern maybe in the history of the country.  Not just from Trump but every bit as much the republicans.  And they are making sure they are not JUST blamed for enabling him.

    Sometimes I think that even people like us who live and breath this stuff don't fully get the disaster we are actually in.  Right now.

    As you say about the frog.

    Or that it's going to get worse.  Maybe a lot worse.  They are saying there could be 40,000 more dead just in Aug.  there could easily be a quarter million dead by Election Day.

    Watching the Trumps it clear they have been planning this since he accidentally won.  They knew as well as anyone and better than most what a fluke it was and what would be necessary to win again.  And they had a plan.
    Trump himself has said this several times.

    "We, had an easy campaign.  And then the plague happened"

    Yeah.  The scariest part is I really really think it could have worked.  Without the plague.

    Parent

    Passed with democratic votes (none / 0) (#98)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 02:03:28 PM EST
    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell conceded that he will lack Republican support to pass further coronavirus aid and instead will rely on Democrats to fashion a deal with the White House, NBC News reports.

    Said McConnell: "If you're looking for total consensus among Republican senators, you're not going to find it. We do have division about what to do."



    Parent
    The thing is in this case (none / 0) (#47)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 07:59:44 PM EST
    The 1% who usually could care less about extended unemployment benefits really want this because everyone knows it's what has kept the economy alive this far and without it we are are in for a economic screwing rich and poor alike

    They are making enemies everywhere

    Parent

    Every day (none / 0) (#44)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Aug 02, 2020 at 07:34:13 PM EST
    they pretty much get on the TV and say most Americans are lazy and don't want to work. They don't even have a basic understanding of how unemployment works.

    Parent
    Alan Dershowitz threatens to sue ViacomCBS (none / 0) (#53)
    by McBain on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 09:34:58 AM EST
    if they don't apologize for episode of The Good Fight.

    The episode makes several references to Dershowitz in connection with Epstein. Ansari's letter focuses on one exchange that the Dafoe character has with lawyers Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) and Liz Reddick (Audra McDonald) about losing Epstein as a client. In the most meta-legal sense, the dialogue anticipates real-life legal action from Dershowitz.
    "Probably about the time he ditched me for Dershowitz. At least I didn't get a massage, like that shyster. And for the purposes of any potential lawsuit `shyster' is just my opinion not a statement of fact," the Dafoe character states.

    Not sure if Dershowitz has a legal case here and I've never seen The Good Fight, a spin off of The Good Wife, a show I enjoyed.

    Dershowitz vowed to press his case against ViacomCBS and "Good Fight" as a matter of principle.

    "I'm an honest and honorable lawyer who represents controversial clients that people don't like," Dershowitz said. "Nobody's going to call me a shyster and get away with it. If the people at CBS are decent people they will issue an apology and withdraw the episode or that part of the episode. If they don't I'll see them in court."
    "hit us" (none / 0) (#55)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 11:31:18 AM EST
    hit "us"

    Quote of the Day

    August 3, 2020 at 11:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 40 Comments

    "I don't have confidence in anyone who stands there while the President says swallow Lysol and it's going to cure your virus."

    -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, interviewed on CNN, doubling-down on criticism of Dr. Deborah Birx.

    Trump Blasts Birx for Grim Report on Virus

    August 3, 2020 at 11:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 92 Comments

    President Trump slammed Dr. Deborah Birx on Twitter after she said the pandemic was "extraordinarily widespread."

    Said Trump: "So Crazy Nancy Pelosi said horrible things about Dr. Deborah Birx, going after her because she was too positive on the very good job we are doing on combatting the China Virus, including Vaccines & Therapeutics. In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!"

    Damn.
    Could it be more about me please.

    I am sitting here (none / 0) (#56)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 12:22:07 PM EST
    Watching Trump sell hydroxychloroquine live.

    Same lines.  Many doctors.  Like none of the avalanche of information never happened.  He is shouting down reporters trying to tell him no one believes any of this.

    He really looks demented.

    But
    He has figured out, probably through satire and political cartoons, that if he's going to "bronze" he needs to bronze his eyelids.

    Or at least blend it a little.

     

    Parent

    Ummm (none / 0) (#73)
    by MO Blue on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 05:37:06 PM EST
    Sorry to say there are many people who buy into the "hydroxy" BS.  Just listened to a man sprout this nonsense a couple of hours ago and he is not alone.  


    Parent
    No confidence in Dr. Birx? (none / 0) (#57)
    by KeysDan on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 12:54:14 PM EST
    Trump's "been so attentive to the scientific literature and the details and the data." Dr.Birx said.  "I think his ability to analyze and integrate data that comes out of his long history in business has really been a real benefit during these discussions about medical issues."

    Parent
    He seriously (none / 0) (#63)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:17:38 PM EST
    gets worse every day. Crazier by the day. It is something to watch in shock and horror as the GOP stands by and lets it happen.

    Parent
    His (none / 0) (#58)
    by FlJoe on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 12:57:42 PM EST
    promotion of hydroxyclorquinine is one of the most obvious examples of his mental pathology.

    He again claims that the only reason tens of thousands lives are not being saved because doctors and scientists don't like him.

    How sick do you have to be to believe that?

    Big Fox investigating (none / 0) (#59)
    by KeysDan on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:03:40 PM EST
    Little Fox about that Chicken Coup incident:

    Deutsche Bank is investigating the long-time personal bank for Trump and Jared Kushner.  Apparently, banker Rosemary Vrablic and two colleagues bought, in 2013,  a $1.5 million apartment from a company Kushner had a stake in. A stake that seems to have been unreported until now.

    Here is a (none / 0) (#60)
    by KeysDan on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:04:32 PM EST
    link.

    Parent
    And Cy makes it clear (none / 0) (#61)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:15:12 PM EST
    It's absolutely NOT just about payments to pornstars

    The Manhattan district attorney's office suggested on Monday that it has been investigating President Trump and his company for possible bank and insurance fraud, a significantly broader inquiry than the prosecutors have acknowledged in the past, the New York Times reports.

    "The office of the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., made the disclosure in a new federal court filing arguing Mr. Trump should have to comply with its subpoena seeking eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns. Mr. Trump has asked a judge to declare the subpoena invalid."



    Parent
    I think (none / 0) (#64)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:20:39 PM EST
    his niece said insurance fraud was a regular way of doing business for Trump Inc.

    Parent
    Assuming Microsoft purchases Tik Tok from (none / 0) (#66)
    by oculus on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:45:52 PM EST
    Chinese owner, how/why does Trump expect the U.S. Treasury will get big $$?

    tariffs! (5.00 / 1) (#68)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 01:57:59 PM EST
    for every tik tok viewed, he will make the Chinese pay a tariff. You know, to go along with all those other tariffs THE CHINESE are paying.


    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#69)
    by FlJoe on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 04:18:07 PM EST
    this is embarrassing
    Jerry Falwell Jr. posted and then quickly deleted a strange vacation photo, leaving some to question what was actually going on.

    The photo, captured by Relevant Magazine, shows the Liberty University president on a yacht with his pants undone and his shirt hiked up. Next to him stands a young woman identified as a "friend" whose pants are similarly unzipped and Falwell was holding up her shirt to expose her abdomen. In his hand was a glass of dark liquid.

    after some denials
    O'Brien deleted that tweet and posted an update, confirming `it was Jerry.'"

    O'Brien claimed the photo was "taken out of context of the other photos w/ it."

    Like you heathens never heard of a bare belly baptism with black holy water
    "What it was was being used to imply is ungodly & seems to have been posted out of context for that reason," O'Brien tweeted.
    get you mind out of the gutter.

    Was the pool boy there? (none / 0) (#70)
    by KeysDan on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 05:04:21 PM EST
    Or, his physical trainer?

    Parent
    It (5.00 / 1) (#71)
    by FlJoe on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 05:12:27 PM EST
    was on a yacht, the are called cabin boys.

    Parent
    Gohmert's Daughter (none / 0) (#72)
    by MO Blue on Mon Aug 03, 2020 at 05:30:56 PM EST
    "Wearing a mask is a non-partisan issue. The advice of medical experts shouldn't be politicized. My father ignored medical expertise and now he has COVID. This has been a heartbreaking battle [because] I love my dad and don't want him to die. Please please listen to medical experts. It's not worth following a president who has no remorse for leading his followers to an early grave."

    Instagram

    If any of (none / 0) (#74)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 05:25:57 AM EST
    Gohmert's staff catches covid and dies Gohmert could be charged with negligent homicide.

    Parent
    Today (none / 0) (#75)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 08:07:26 AM EST
    Politico: "Republicans are about to learn if they have a serious problem in Kansas -- and another major threat to their teetering Senate majority."

    "In Tuesday's primary, GOP voters will decide between hard-line conservative Kris Kobach and Rep. Roger Marshall as their nominee for an open Senate seat. Democrats haven't won a Senate race in Kansas in nearly a century. But both parties think Kobach as the nominee would put the race squarely on the map, stretching Republican resources thinner as they're already spending to protect a half-dozen vulnerable incumbents."
    Oh well (none / 0) (#94)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 08:56:51 PM EST
    It would have been fun

    Roger Marshall (R) has won the Kansas Senate Republican primary by defeating Kris Kobach (R), according to Decision Desk.



    Parent
    Too (5.00 / 1) (#95)
    by FlJoe on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 05:24:39 AM EST
    bad, Kris Kobach for Kansas, would have made a great campaign slogan.

    Parent
    wtf is happening in Beirut?! (none / 0) (#76)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 11:44:43 AM EST


    The (none / 0) (#77)
    by FlJoe on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 12:57:37 PM EST
    videos look devastating

    Parent
    wow (none / 0) (#78)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 01:16:59 PM EST


    Parent
    Some (none / 0) (#79)
    by FlJoe on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 01:24:52 PM EST
    of the aftermath cars tossed around like toys, large buildings destroyed.


    Parent
    It was a bomb (none / 0) (#88)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 07:03:54 PM EST
    I suppose they will say something like "technically it was a bomb"

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday cast a massive explosion in Beirut as a possible attack, despite statements by Lebanese leaders that it was likely caused by highly explosive material that had been stored at warehouses in the capital for years.

    "The United States stands ready to assist Lebanon," Trump said at a White House briefing of Tuesday's explosion, which killed at least 78 people and injured thousands. "It looks like a terrible attack."



    Parent
    The (none / 0) (#89)
    by FlJoe on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 07:32:10 PM EST
    pieced together story I have been hearing is that 2.7 tons of ammonium nitrate, seized as illicit has been stored at the port for as long as six years. Who the fk thought that was a good idea in the first place? If terrorists didn't get there first, Murphy's law would eventually set that sucker off.

    Parent
    Per Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, ... (none / 0) (#90)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 07:35:23 PM EST
    ... who is the head of Lebanon's general security service, has confirmed that the government had been storing "highly explosive material" at the site of today's explosion in Beirut. No word yet as to what that material was, but Gen. Ibrahim did push back on suggestions that the initial catalyst was a fire at a nearby fireworks warehouse. As of this posting, at least 78 people are confirmed dead and another 4,000 were injured.

    The explosion looks to be eerily similar to the one in West, TX back in April 2013, when 540 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the West Fertilizer Company storage and distribution facility went up in a horrific blast, killing 15 people (including 12 firefighters) and damaging much of the town. Authorities later determined that the fire which had sparked the subsequent explosion had been deliberately set.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    FTR (none / 0) (#80)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 03:38:20 PM EST
    IMO Jonathan Swan is a tool but
    this interview will live forever

    I (none / 0) (#82)
    by FlJoe on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 04:19:11 PM EST
    agree, he was well prepared and he was persistent in his questioning. He called tRump on his BS better than anybody has.

    The way he pounced when tRump went into his usual many people are saying dodge was a thing of beauty.

    Between tRumps blather and Swans skeptical British demeanor it almost seemed like a Monty Python skit at times.


    Parent

    The weirdest (none / 0) (#84)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 05:00:22 PM EST
    was when Swan was trying to get him to acknowledge that many many people listen to him and no one else.

    He either didn't even understand the point or just tried to change the issue to crowd size.  Swan tries to tell him he is not talking about crowd size.

    No kidding.  Monty Python.  

    This parrot is dead.  No it's sleeping.

    Parent

    I (none / 0) (#85)
    by FlJoe on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 05:59:09 PM EST
    thought the answer about about G. Maxwell was bizzare, he goes here

    Jonathan Swan: (26:04)
    Epstein.

    President Donald J. Trump: (26:05)
    Was either killed or committed
     suicide in jail.     She's now in jail. Yeah, I wish you well, I'd wish you well, I'd wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty. I mean, you do know that she

    again
    Jonathan Swan: (26:17)
    Oh. So you're saying you hope she doesn't die in jail? Is that what you mean by wish her well?

    President Donald J. Trump: (26:20)
    Well, her boyfriend died in jail and people are still trying to figure out how did it happened? Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her. I'm not looking bad for anybody. And they took that and made it such a big deal and again

    and again
    Jonathan Swan: (26:32)
    I mean, she's a alleged child sex trafficker.

    President Donald J. Trump: (26:35)
    But all it is is her boyfriend died. He died in jail. Was he killed? Was it suicide? I do, I wish her well.

     For a second I thought he was going to to blurt out that "many people are saying the Clintons did it".


    Parent
    To me (none / 0) (#87)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 06:45:36 PM EST
    it seemed like he was trying to defend himself in that episode along with defending her. It was very strange and yeah I did expect him to also spit out some conspiracy theory about the Clintons. WaPo did an article that said Trump and Maxwell were really good friends for years like 20 years and traveled and partied together a lot during those 20 years. Today the Miami Herald reported that yes, Epstein actually was a member at Mar A Lago despite Trump lying for years that he wasn't.

    Parent
    Monty Python (none / 0) (#86)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 06:37:47 PM EST
    yeah, I was trying to remember what that whole interview reminded me of. Good catch.

    Parent
    Malevolent ignorance, or (none / 0) (#83)
    by KeysDan on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 04:27:21 PM EST
    ignorant malevolence?   Or both?  In any event, how awful.  And, yes, Swan is a tool but, in this case, a useful one.

    Parent
    Yo semite (none / 0) (#81)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 04:03:05 PM EST
    This is great.  A branch of my family tree lives in CA.  one of the cousins I grew up with recently retired from being a park ranger at Yosemite.  His child hood dream job.  No kidding.  But the thing is he always pronounced it "yo semite".  And still does.
    I just texted him.  He is enjoying this.  He is a democrat..

    President Trump pronounced Yosemite as `yo-Semites' at a White House event this morning.
    So long as Trump doesn't subsequently announce ... (none / 0) (#91)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 07:45:42 PM EST
    ... his intent to change the name of "Yo-Semite" Valley to Hey-Jew Ravine - "You know, just like the Beatles song 'Hey, Jew'" -I'll let this one pass. I'm suffering from Outrage Fatigue Syndrome as it is. Tuesday, November 3 can't come soon enough for me.

    Parent
    YooHoo Jew (none / 0) (#92)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 07:59:53 PM EST
    (That cracked me up in Jojo Rabbit)

    For the record my cousin did not intend his mispronunciation to suggest anything about semites or semitism

    Actually. Think it was from hearing a dumb tourist mispronounce the name. At the park when he was a child.

    I could not guess if Trump meant anything anti Semitic.

    Honestly I doubt it.  I think it was just straight up stupid.

    Parent

    Here's (none / 0) (#93)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Aug 04, 2020 at 08:04:32 PM EST
    the video.  Looks like stupid to me

    Parent
    Even better..Yo-seminites (none / 0) (#97)
    by jondee on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 07:42:09 AM EST
    they're fabulous Biblical people doing a tremendous job..

    Parent
    Endorsements (none / 0) (#96)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 07:03:12 AM EST
    The Lincoln Project recruited comic J-L Cauvin, who is known for his uncanny presidential impersonation, to "endorse" three Republican senators.

    Here are the videos for Susan Collins, Dan Sullivan and Steve Daines.

    link

    Different day, same babble. (none / 0) (#99)
    by Chuck0 on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 04:53:59 PM EST
    Orange bozo comes out and says the SAME thing everyday. Just record the thing Monday, then rewind and replay the rest of the week. MSNBC finally cut away today once they realized he was just regurgitating the same babble from every other day. 168 days to inaugeration.

    Ren & Stimpy redux (none / 0) (#100)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 05:26:07 PM EST
    As part of a major push into adult animation, Comedy Central has given a series green light to a reimagening of the cult Emmy-nominated The Ren & Stimpy Show.

    Comedy Central has been tapping into IP across ViacomCBS to build an original animated slate around stalwart South Park. The Ren & Stimpy Show will join the recently announced Beavis and Butt-Head reboot from Mike Judge and Daria spin-off Jodie on Comedy Central.
    Suspended from Twitter (none / 0) (#101)
    by CaptHowdy on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 07:44:47 PM EST

    Twitter spokeswoman Liz Kelley said the tweet "is in violation of the Twitter Rules on COVID-19 misinformation. The account owner will be required to remove the Tweet before they can Tweet again."

    link

    The Trump (none / 0) (#102)
    by KeysDan on Wed Aug 05, 2020 at 08:29:24 PM EST
    campaign is to lie , cheat  and steal.   This is the platform on how to make America great.  Re-elect Trump so he and his thuggish cohorts  can continue what they have been doing: corruption, ineptness, racism, sickness, and death. And, to maintain his junior partnership with Putin and other criminals.

    Parent
    Thoughts and prayers... (none / 0) (#104)
    by desertswine on Thu Aug 06, 2020 at 04:49:09 PM EST
    Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit seeking the NRA's dissolution and the removal of longtime chief Wayne LaPierre over fraud and corruption claims involving millions of dollars uncovered as part of an 18-month investigation.

    What a ray of sunshine (none / 0) (#107)
    by CaptHowdy on Thu Aug 06, 2020 at 08:23:59 PM EST
    This is.

    Parent
    I doubt that a NY court will order (none / 0) (#109)
    by Peter G on Thu Aug 06, 2020 at 10:57:29 PM EST
    the dissolution of the NRA. But the court may expel the four alleged wrongdoers (or some of them), order restitution, and put the Board in some sort of receivership with conditions to ensure reforms. There is a large membership that presumably supports the organization and its goals (or at least the idea of the organization). It's not like the NRA, in principle, is wholly illegitimate; I do not predict its complete dissolution.

    Parent
    How (5.00 / 1) (#113)
    by FlJoe on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 08:52:54 AM EST
    exactly would this play out? "I doubt that a NY court will order the dissolution of the NRA" Would there a trial to resolve the suit? Could a judge just unilaterally take that off the table?

    If I remember correctly the tRump foundation was dissolved but it was agreed to without a fight. What happens if both sides want to fight it out?

    I watched some of the AG's presser and they used that case as a precedent for this. During that conference  she seemed to indicate that the NRA is in fact illegitimate

    At a Manhattan news conference, James said the NRA has operated as "a breeding ground for greed, abuse and brazen illegality."


    Parent
    When asked the other day (none / 0) (#110)
    by NoSides on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 06:27:34 AM EST
    about debating Trump, Joe Biden said that he is "forward looking" to it.

    I too am.

    No doubt (5.00 / 1) (#149)
    by Yman on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 09:51:18 AM EST
    Big day at the Kremlin troll farm.

    Parent
    I'm kind of looking forward to it also (5.00 / 1) (#150)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 10:06:31 AM EST
    Biden will probably have a gaff or two but Trump has been running from reporters for months.  And he will continue to do that just like he did yesterday when he was called out for telling the same lie 150 times.

    That being Choice for vets.

    One thing about a debate, he won't be able to run.  He will be asked about that.  And bounties and many other things.
    Trump bullied his way thru the debates last time and he expects to again.

    Kind of looking forward to it.  Yes.

    Parent

    WIRED (none / 0) (#126)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 07:36:16 PM EST
    How Bloomberg's Digital Army Is Still Fighting for Democrats
    With expensive data and tech heavy hitters, Hawkfish is backing the former mayor's promise to take on Donald Trump.

    I get that Trump supporters (none / 0) (#128)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 08:21:22 PM EST
    Are stupid.  It's the price of admission.  But I have to wonder, because I know some of these people and they were not always this stupid, if at some point they might find the acceptable limit of how stupid he assumes them to be.

    Because this  here assumes some serious stupidity.

    President Trump announced on Friday he will pursue an executive order requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, something that is already law.

    Why it matters: The Affordable Care Act already requires insurers to cover pre-existing conditions. The Trump administration is currently arguing in a case before the Supreme Court to strike down that very law -- including its pre-existing condition protections.

    The big picture: Even if this wasn't already law, it's unclear what authority the president has to unilaterally require insurers to cover pre-existing conditions.

    What he's saying: "Over the next two weeks I'll be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all pre-existing conditions for all customers," the president said.

    "That's a big thing. I've always been very strongly in favor. We have to cover pre-existing conditions so we will be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all pre-existing conditions for all of its customers. This has never been done before."
    The bottom line: It has been done before -- in the exact law Trump is trying to overturn.

    BTW
    the "presser" at the exclusive club this afternoon where Trump walks out to cheers and Hail to the Chief, no kidding, and got cheers for congratulating them for not wearing masks or distancing was really something.

    I swear the guy doesn't plan to win.  No clue what he is planning but even he can't be stupid enough to think that was a smart campaign move.

    Well (5.00 / 1) (#130)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 07:52:47 AM EST
    since so many people don't seem to know the difference between Obamacare and the ACA I would not be surprised if they didn't know about preexisting conditions.

    Parent
    "Keep your (5.00 / 1) (#132)
    by KeysDan on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 10:08:49 AM EST
    godd@mned government hands off of my Medicare", is among my favorites.

    Parent
    Even better (5.00 / 1) (#137)
    by MO Blue on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 01:50:43 PM EST
    A large percentage of people who scream to the high heavens that they strongly oppose government involvement in heathcare/insurance are the same people who scream "Keep your godd@mned government hands off of my Medicare."

    Parent
    OTOH (none / 0) (#129)
    by CaptHowdy on Fri Aug 07, 2020 at 08:53:11 PM EST
    Does he even know the ACA does this?  
    How can you get to be 74 and not know how to pronounce Yosemite?

    does this man look Semitic to you?

    Parent

    Remember the summer of `20... (none / 0) (#131)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 09:25:07 AM EST
    ...when we went to Wrinkle Pallooza?

    What a weekend that was.  Pity so many died tho.

    I can't (5.00 / 1) (#135)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 11:10:45 AM EST
    unsee that. Proof of a cult I would say.

    Parent
    Young vs Trump (none / 0) (#134)
    by CaptHowdy on Sat Aug 08, 2020 at 10:52:07 AM EST
    According to Lawrence Iser, a leading intellectual property lawyer, Young's lawsuit will be breaking new ground that may benefit those other artists in the future.

    Noting, "One key difference involves the legal distinction between the licenses needed for TV commercials versus live performances," Iser explained to Hendler, "A sync license requires explicit permission of whoever owns the rights to the song--either the songwriter or publisher--in each individual case where their music will be `synchronized' with any other content."

    "In this arena of using songs in commercials, it's pretty well settled," Iser explained. "Campaigns understand that they will get sued and they will lose [if they use songs without permission]."

    Forbes

    USPS Friday Night Massacre. (none / 0) (#155)
    by Chuck0 on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 02:08:18 PM EST
    I realize that the orange buffoon wants to gut the postal service to circumvent mail in balloting but this ploy is head scratching.

    Old people love their mail. My 85 year old mother's highlight of the day was getting her mail. Her "women's" magazines, the jink mail, whatever. She would go through each piece, reading everything. Killing the USPS will not garner him fans among the same people he is trying to scare with the no one will answer 911 ads.

    There is no home delivery in my village so everyone has PO Box. Even here I have noticed a huge slow down of our mail. Stuff taking twice as long. Some not showing up at all.

    We got our primary ballots the Saturday before the election. Had to fill them out immediately and take them back the same day to ensure they would be received in time. PA does not go by postmark. The ballot has to be received by election day. I want to vote in the general by mail, but at this point, I am afraid I won't get the ballot in time to get it back in time.

    We do have lines at my polling station and I cannot stand for longer than a few minutes. I am going to have figure out some way to take a chair with me to sit on while I wait in line on November 3. PA has no early voting. That boggles my mind. When I lived in Texas, even in that backwards place, I could vote up to two weeks before election day.

    I agree (none / 0) (#169)
    by Zorba on Mon Aug 10, 2020 at 11:37:41 AM EST
    These are the people that still send letters and thank you notes, etc.
    Not to mention Christmas cards.  OMG!  Trump and DeJoy have declared a War on  Christmas because their Christmas cards will be delayed or disappeared!

    Parent
    Took a trip west to the fruit groves (none / 0) (#156)
    by Chuck0 on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 02:18:01 PM EST
    in Adams County (PA) yesterday. Every summer about this time I like to go to a produce stand outside Arendtsville for PA peaches. Got some nearly the size of softballs. Good harvest this year. The trees around there were full of apples coming in.

    The drive out was a little disturbing in the number of flags for the orange buffoon flying (not signs, mind you, freaking flags). And yes signs too. I lost the actual count. More than my fingers and toes. It is without a doubt, a cult. I cannot explain this continued support after the last 5 months. I just don't get it.

    The flipside is I counted exactly 3 Biden sign and one "any functioning adult" sign. That is disturbing. There seems to a genuine lack of excitement for the Joe. Much the same as it was in this area for Hillary in 2016.

    I have a Nope. Biden 2020 garden flag in the front of my house. The only one on my street.

    There is a very nice display down the main drag towards town however. A Biden sign backed up by an American flag and all the service flags. Prominently displayed out next the street. I've wanted to stop and knock on their door and thank them for the display.

    I have talked to people here (none / 0) (#157)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 02:35:24 PM EST
    Who worry about putting signs in their yard.  Or on their car.

    Which is really disturbing and also a little hopeful that there's are more Biden/Blue supporters than the signs and bumper stickers suggest.

    Parent

    I saw a good sign yesterday, (none / 0) (#161)
    by leap on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 04:16:06 PM EST
    on my daily walk:

    Vote Blue - Trump's Lies Matter

    It was along a fence line with: Biden 2020; Bees at Work; and three other signs for local Democrats (including our governor who is up for reëlection)


    Parent

    Why is it (none / 0) (#162)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 06:38:37 PM EST
    That men never turn their ankles in movies?  Always women.  
    Weird.

    Two great season finales tonight.  Perry Mason & The Alienist.

    Lovecraft Country starts next Sunday


    It's 100% (none / 0) (#163)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 07:36:10 PM EST
    on RT

    Parent
    The brilliant hook (none / 0) (#164)
    by CaptHowdy on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 07:47:50 PM EST
    Of Lovecraft and Jim Crow

    Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the mastermind of cosmic horror, brought madness and existential dread to new heights. He ruptured the imagination in tandem with history itself becoming unimaginable in the early 20th century. His mythologies seep into the works of Ridley Scott, Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro, Joss Whedon, and countless others, and his stories are rigorously dissected in academic schools ranging from speculative realism and object-oriented philosophy to posthumanism and human-animal studies. Video games are indebted to his cosmic universe and the grotesque monsters that within it abound. And cruder, yet ingenious, Lovecraftian appearances have been resurrected in popular culture, ranging from  South Park and heavy metal to  pornography and sex toys. But he is also a man whose virulent racism and bigotry induced in him a "poetic trance," as Michel Houellebecq once phrased it.

    -----

    And his contempt for blacks ran even deeper. In his 1912 poem entitled "On the Creation of Ni**ers," the gods, having just designed Man and Beast, create blacks in semi-human form to populate the space in between. Regarding the domestic terrorism of white minorities in the predominantly black Alabama and Mississippi, he excused them for "resorting to extra-legal measures such as lynching and intimidation [because] the legal machinery does not sufficiently protect them." He lamented these sullen tensions as unfortunate, but nevertheless says that "anything is better than the mongrelisation which would mean the hopeless deterioration of a great nation." Miscegenation permeates his letters and stories as his most corporeal fear; he insists that only "pain and disaster [could] come from the mingling of black and white."

    link

    Parent

    Lovecraft (none / 0) (#171)
    by jondee on Mon Aug 10, 2020 at 01:16:37 PM EST
    imo, is a classic case of the old Freudian/Jungian dynamic of banishing unacceptable fears and fantasies into the unconscious and then projecting them in distorted form onto the world and other people.

    It's like those old maritime maps you see from the 16th century: beyond this boundary lie monsters.

    There's been reams of psychoanalytic literature written about the roots of society's recurrent fantasies about "whiteness" and "blackness." Key names: Leslie Fiedler and Joel Kovel, but there are a bunch of others.

    Parent

    The Perry Mason (none / 0) (#166)
    by KeysDan on Sun Aug 09, 2020 at 11:42:58 PM EST
    finale was great.

    Parent
    So was (none / 0) (#168)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Aug 10, 2020 at 07:23:47 AM EST
    The Alienist

    Parent
    Thursday Open Thread | 173 comments (173 topical)

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