Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

When chaos turns into accomplishment in 20 days.

This is what Progressives are all about

Barack Obama did a great job in the White House, considering he had the entire Republican Congress against him led by the scourge of the Senate, Moscow Mitch McConnell. Among his major accomplishments: The Affordable Care Act; doubled Pell grants; signed the Paris climate accords; negotiated a decent nuclear deal with Iran. On the other hand, Democrats have regularly maintained...

"right-wing policies with a friendlier face were the only way Democrats could win or maintain power, and prevent another Reagan-like figure from seizing control of the country."

In my mind, that is centrism at its worst. Salon sums up the last four years...

"Over the past few weeks, the Republican Party has proven itself hostile to freedom and democracy; its merciful incompetence the only thing saving whatever remains of our republic from the fascist insurrection of a con man. The absurdity of the cast members — from Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell to their incoherent Michigan "witness" and of course Donald Trump himself — have made the entire fiasco seem more like a satirical film than political reality."

Now that's what we should have been fighting during the Donald Trump nightmare, not creating animosity among ourselves, denying a large faction of liberals an equal input, which could have well won bigger numbers last November. With Progressives branded as Socialists, and many Americans afraid of this political philosophy, the leftist movement has not had its chance. But it will, and it very well could be during Joe Biden's administration. 

This is what The Nation has to say...

"Too many congressional Democrats are making a potentially fatal political miscalculation about the reason the party lost several seats in this year’s elections. And those incorrect interpretations of why Democrats lost at least 12 seats could lead to grievous missteps that will imperil their majority in 2022."

According to Data for Progress, although the overall positive attitude toward Socialism is less than half that of negative approval, those neutral are almost equal to the negative. There are several more interesting data in this article that seem to illustrate that the U.S. public is warming up to Socialism. And I want to emphasize that this is Democratic Socialism that supports change through legislation, not Socialist change through revolution which advocates violence.

Some defeated centrists claim that their association with Progressives, or any of their causes like Black Lives Matter, "damaged their contests this year." Not so says The Nation...

"The truth behind the unexpected losses, however, is exactly the opposite of what those members believe."

And the real reason is that...

"It was their failure to inspire progressive and Democratic voters to the same extent that Donald Trump galvanized his supporters to turn out in extraordinarily large numbers to defend him and his race-baiting presidency."

Progressives will not give up and the sooner Democrats learn this, the better off the Party will be.  

Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

Only 22 days until the world, yes, the world, can rest easily.

Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

Only 23 days until lies are banned from the White House.

Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

Only 28 days until the White House maniac is history.

Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

Only 29 days until we're rid of Herr Trump,

Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

Only 33 days until we're rid of the Oval Office lunatic

Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

Only 34 days until we dump Donald Trump.

Countdown to January 20, 2021

 

Only 35 days until Donald Trump is sent packing

Another top Republican disowns his party in disgust

The exit of the latest Republican to dump the party is further evidence of the decline of the GOP. The good ones are departing, leaving only those with the mentality of their mentor, Donald Trump. Thankfully, the Trump era is almost over, putting an end to one of the most appalling White House administrations this country has ever known. Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) even laid it out in a letter in The Hill's piece for his leaving. Reason: "President Trump's efforts to dispute the presidential election."

This is his thinking...

"If Republican leaders collectively sit back and tolerate unfounded conspiracy theories and 'stop the steal' rallies without speaking out for our electoral process, which the Department of Homeland Security said was 'the most secure in American history, our nation will be damaged."

"Will be damaged?" It is already beyond belief the damage Donald Trump and his minions have done to this country. The most important is his inattention to the COVID-19 pandemic, letting it run wild while calling it a hoax and exclaiming it would go away soon. Because of this there have been 310,331 deaths in the United States, leading the world. 7,098,109 cases of the virus, also leading the world. It might also be noted that Mitchell voted 95% for Trump's agenda. Not admirable.

Karl Rove started it all in 1977 when he joined George W. Bush to turn the GOP into a fear-mongering party of corruption and misinformation. GWB enjoyed two terms using this strategy, but Donald Trump turned all three into an art that has prevailed and almost brought down America. It will take Joe Biden at least one full term to dig out if this disordered anarchy. It will also require the removal of Moscow Mitch McConnell to realize the U.S.'s full potential.

Who is to blame for Democrats' poor performance in Tuesday's election?

 

Here's a quote from an AlterNet article by Meaghan Ellis...

"The strong voter turnout for Trump, which stands at more than 68 million voters as of Thursday, October 5, proves that bigotry, white supremacy, and racial division are still alive and well in the United States."

Even with all three of the above Donald Trump abhorrent idiosyncrasies prevalent both in the 2020 campaign and in the last four years of the White House maniac's administration, the Democrats could not convince Trump supporters to get rid of this cancer that is destroying our country. Don't know if it was the ineptitude of the Democratic Party or the fact that this 68 million is mentally retarded and/or misinformed. Probably a combination.

Owen Jones from the Guardian says this...

"How could the electoral circumstances for the US Democrats have been more favourable? A quarter of a million Americans have died in a pandemic bungled by the incumbent president, and at least 6 million have consequently been driven into poverty."

Remember Brandy Lee, the Yale psychiatrist, who has been telling us for most of Trump's time in office that he is completely unfit for the presidency, and definitely mentally unstable? She now adds that, "Trump’s mental illness infected 48% of the electorate," the percentage that voted for him. Yet, somehow, the Dems were unable to turn all these horrendous flaws into the kind of message that says, 'You must get rid of this loser.' Which should have brought a landslide, but did not.

As a Progressive I am worried, very concerned, over the run-down state that liberals are in. Look at what happened in the House and Senate. We had a chance at Bernie Sanders, and I again wonder what would be our state of affairs today if the Bern had won in 2016, again in 2020???

Mary Trump exposes uncle Donald as "World's Most Dangerous Man"

 

George Orwell predicted Donald Trump

 

Orwell's classic, 1984, was published in 1949, one year before his death in 1950. He died of Tuberculosis, another respiratory disease, which is rare today but can still be spread by anyone who is infected. There is a vaccine for TB but isn't normally given in the United States because of the low risk of infection. When I was in my teens, I remember a neighbor who caught TB, was quarantined, and the neighborhood went on about its business. 

The above is given based on the fact that we are currently going through the coronavirus pandemic, also a respiratory disease, that as of today has spawned 8,380,969 cases and 224,643 deaths, with 60,000 of those preventable by Donald Trump in a grossly mismanaged campaign to control the virus. Most of this is attributable to the Oval Office lunatic's authoritarianism which is so similar to similar to Orwell's dystopia.

Ken Abramowitz, writing for the Jewish News Syndicate, says...

"It [1984] dealt with the consequences of a totalitarian government, mass surveillance, unending propaganda to distort the truth, and the suppression of freedom, including even the freedom of thought. The totalitarian state, which is at the heart of the story, perpetuates its rule by continuously spying on its citizens, systematically manipulating the truth, and rewriting history.

Sound familiar? Trump is not a fan of George Orwell but was compared to 1984 when making the statement in 2018, “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” Abramowitz added...

For some, the quote immediately recalled a line from Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

The big difference here would be Donald Trump "told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears." And, of course, the poor souls who follow Trump have done just as he told them to do. There are some quotes in this article that are downright terrifying when compared to the real Donald Trump. Like...

• The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.
• Free speech is my right to say what you don’t want to hear.
• It’s frightful that people who are so ignorant should have so much influence.
• A society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes flagrantly artificial: that is, when its ruling class has lost its function but succeeds in clinging to power by force or fraud.

Abramowitz had one last shot...

"One of Orwell’s observations is particularly appropriate today. He warned of the authoritarian enemies who, driven by an intoxication of power, will be waging a campaign of fear, rage and loyalty only to their party. Already in 1949, Orwell foresaw the budding of dystopia in the world."

For those of you who haven't read 1984, Remember Orwell’s warning: “Don’t let it happen; it depends on you!” VOTE DONALD TRUMP AND ALL HIS REPUBLICAN CRONIES OUT NEXT MONTH!

American public has right to know Donald Trump's condition

 

Let's see, this is what we know so far. Donald Trump announced late Thursday that he and Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19. There are reports he knew he had been exposed when Hope Hicks reported she had the virus earlier, but Trump still attended a fundraiser in New Jersey, potentially exposing several Republican donors. T-rump, of course, rarely wears a mask. Then he was mysteriously whisked away to Walter Reed Hospital. 

The White House doctor Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley reported that things were going well, although "a source familiar with the President's health," said

"The President's vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care. We are still not on a clear path to a full recovery."

As usual, it is hard to believe those closest to Donald Trump because of all the misinformation and lies that have come from him in the last four years. Conley stated flatly Trump is not receiving oxygen, yet, again...

"a source close to the White House said Trump has received supplemental oxygen since his illness began. Trump 'definitely has had oxygen,' the source said, adding that it was on Friday."

Conley couldn't even get the reported date of the announcement correct and commented, "that the President had a fever at one point, but refused to say what it was." Although Trump proclaims that he feels fine, "the treatments administered to the President in the past 24 hours have raised concerns about his condition." While still in the White House, he was given...

"the experimental Regeneron polyclonal antibody cocktail, a promising treatment that has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration."

Then after arriving at Walter Reed, he was administered the antiviral drug remdesivir. In the case of both of these drugs, experts have said that they are normally given to the more serious coronavirus patients. And then a rash of notices of the virus from former aide Kellyanne Conway and Trump campaign manager, Bill Stepian, both in close contact with T-rump. Add to that a third Republican Senator plus former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie. 

But Donald Trump is still in charge, not yet turning control of the White House over to his second in command, Mike Pence. And this probably wouldn't happen unless he suffers the ultimate. Like the earlier source said, "the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care." The world is watching and one can only hope that the White House gang will put misinformation aside just this once and give us the truth on Donald Trump's condition.

Read more here.

White House nixed coronavirus masks in West Wing

 

Okay, it was early, in February, when the "first masks arrived on the White House grounds by special order of the National Security Council." Followed by, "Job One in their [WH staff] emergency response was to take personal precautions, preparing for the critical work at hand." But wait, the word got out this was happening and the higher-ups, assuming all the way up to Trump, decided this would not look good so the following decisions were made...

"If you have the whole West Wing running around wearing masks, it wasn't a good look," one administration official recalled of the directive that came down from senior staff and lawyers.

The West Wing wanted to "portray confidence and make the public believe there was absolutely nothing to worry about," the official said, revealing the image-conscious reason for the opposition to masks for the first time.

What this "confidence" got them was 7,489,417 cases of COVID-19, resulting in 212,506, mostly unnecessary, American deaths. The United States leads the world in these dismal statistics, all because Donald Trump was completely incompetent in the handling of the virus. Officials wanted to talk about Trump's ineptness but could not for fear of reprisals. But anonymously they...

"tell a consistent story of how White House attempts to deal with the virus were dogged by President Donald Trump's fixation on one thing: optics."

CNN reports...

"The radical polarization that now grips the country traces back to the very first workplace where it really sank in, at the West Wing of the White House."

As usual, the administration blamed its failures on Democrats. There's more...

"We lost so much time," a former administration official said, looking back. "The whole thing was mind-blowing. This could have been so different."

But it wasn't different and Donald Trump will have to live with those 212,506 American lives lost as long as he lives. Unfortunately, we know he doesn't care. 

Hard to believe? No! Donald Trump has 3,400 conflicts of interest

 

Yes, Donald Trump has had 3,400 conflicts of interest, and, yes, all while he has been in the Oval Office. CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has labeled him the most corrupt president in history. My gut tells me that T-rump doesn't give a damn since multiple authors have books on the market that document his corruption over the years. If they were truly lies, like he is famous for, he would have quashed them with his legal team.

This is how CREW describes their study...

"Today’s report details some of the most glaring examples of presidential corruption and conflicts of interest ever raised by a president, all of which stem from his refusal to divest from his businesses."

You see, with Donald Trump it is all about money and power, and as he has indicated now, he won't give up his position in the White House because that is the doorway to his keeping that money coming in and holding on to the beloved power. Since Trump's election, CREW has...

"tracked interactions between the president, the Trump Organization, and those trying to influence government decisions and public policies, including members of Congress, industry groups, lobbyists and cabinet officials. These interactions have continued to blur the lines between where President Trump’s public responsibilities end and his private financial interests begin, and between his loyalty to the Trump Organization and his obligations to the American public."

There has been no separation, and quite the opposite, he has used his position to influence deals for the Trump brand in the United States and even throughout the world. This is how CREW characterizes it...

"The extraordinary numbers in this report paint a picture of a president who is fixated on the personal financial benefits he might derive from his public service—and a whole ecosystem of officials, special interests and governments that exploit that fixation in order to curry favor and advance their own interests,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder."

Here are some of the report's focal points...

• President Trump has made more than 500 visits to the properties he owns and profits from. The president’s frequent travel to and from his properties has cost American taxpayers well over $100 million.
• 141 members of Congress have patronized Trump properties. These visits often coincide with events held by special interests or wealthy political donors that rake in millions of dollars for his properties. 
• Special interest groups, many of which have business before the Trump administration, have hosted or sponsored 130 events at Trump properties since he took office. Political groups have held another 88 events at Trump properties. 

Remember, there 3,397 more conflicts you can see at the CREW report here. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page.  

200,000+ COVID-19 deaths should beat Donald Trump in November

 

Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. are the highest in the world. Add to that the over 7 million cases in this country, also the most worldwide. We are second in new cases and new deaths and number one in serious/critical cases. Faring better in cases per 1,000 population, number 11, deaths per 1,000 pop. at number 10, and number two, behind China, for total tests completed. You can see this all for yourself on Worldometer, which is updated regularly. 

And yet another ghastly figure reported by the New York Times, the 200,000+ figure is...

"nearly two and a half times the number of U.S. service members to die in battle in the Vietnam and Korean Wars"

There is no reason for this other than the ineptness of Donald Trump in the running of this country and his hassling of the CDC, which is contradicted regularly by T-rump. If Barack Obama had been this incompetent--and he never would have--the political system would have erupted against him. But that is total hindsight and what we have today is a maniac in the White House who has lied about the seriousness of coronavirus from the beginning.

With around 40,000 new cases a day...

"Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said he worries about the country entering the cooler months without having a handle on the virus."

Fauci is Trump's favorite whipping guy because the doc tells the truth, something Donald Trump does not understand. Just consider that all this could at least be slowed down if the population would wear masks and practice social distancing. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, said "wearing face masks may be more effective at protecting against COVID-19 than a vaccine.

The second major problem--Donald Trump is, of course, the first--is the anti-everything group, vaccines, facemasks, the pandemic. An August study provides that only 65% of the U.S. population use face masks; that leaves 35% who are actively passing around potential COVID-19 contamination. Here's the scenario...

"Still, the persistently high death numbers in the United States stand in stark contrast to mortalities in other high-income countries. Italy, once the center of the pandemic, reported 17 deaths on Monday; Germany reported 10 deaths the same day. In the United States that day, 428 people were reported to have died of the virus."

In the annual UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump once again blamed China's Xi for the coronavirus in the United States. In Xi's reply he, "described China’s response as scientific, generous and responsible," adding..."

“Any attempt at politicizing or stigmatizing this issue must be rejected.”

Donald Trump agonizes over the fact that China has done a much better job of controlling the COVID-19 virus than he did. Much, much! As an example, with a much larger population, China is 43rd in total cases where the U.S is number one. In total deaths China is number 30, the U.S. number one. Once again available on Worldometer. Joe Biden might very well want to study all the numbers and consider whether this might be a leading point in November.  

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and who will take her place on the Court

 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was famous for her quotes. They ranged from men and women on the Court to abortion rights. Here are a few...

"When I'm sometimes asked 'When will there be enough (women on the Supreme Court)?' and my answer is: 'When there are nine.' People are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that."

"My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent."

"This [abortion rights] is something central to a woman's life, to her dignity. It's a decision that she must make for herself. And when government controls that decision for her, she's being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices."

This is an idea on how she voted on the issues over the years, while she always had the respect of Court members and the American public. Her body was no doubt still warm when Republicans began positioning to fill her chair with the Court, with hardly a mention of this woman's commendable career. The GOP is desperate and they have already mounted a campaign on behalf of Trump's choice, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. But Democrats are playing their cards and they are strong.

Nancy Pelosi says she will even consider impeachment, if necessary. From my September 19, post, "there are already three Republican Senators who have voiced opposition with filling Ginsburg's position prior to the election. They are: Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Another step would be Democrat Mark Kelly's win in Arizona (currently ahead 6.7 points). Here's the Kelly/McSally outcome...

“Two Republican and two Democratic election attorneys agree that state law and Senate practices would make Kelly eligible to take over the seat once held by Sen. John McCain as soon as Nov. 30, when the state election results are expected to be canvassed.”

The Daily Beast added...

"Tomasky had 3 ways McConnell could be stopped. One, to threaten expansion of the Court after the election; Two, Moscow Mitch may decide the polls are against it enough that proceeding could damage the GOP even more; and three, McConnell may just feel Democrats have the numbers to win and not want to rock the boat. This would be based on the three Republican Senators, above, and Mark Kelly's win in Arizona."

You can see where more Senators stand on the Ginsberg replacement in this New York Times article. It doesn't look good for Republicans but, then, we all know you cannot depend on Donald Trump nor Moscow Mitch to play fair. Dems beware!

At least 3 ways to stop Trump/McConnell Ginsburg replacement

 

DOES IT LOOK LIKE A SINKING SHIP, ABOVE? First of all, there are already three Republican Senators who have voiced opposition with filling Ginsburg's position prior to the election. They are: Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Another step would be Democrat Mark Kelly's win in Arizona (currently ahead 6.7 points). Here's the Kelly/McSally outcome...

“Two Republican and two Democratic election attorneys agree that state law and Senate practices would make Kelly eligible to take over the seat once held by Sen. John McCain as soon as Nov. 30, when the state election results are expected to be canvassed.”

Daily Beast columnist Michael Tomasky remarked...

“Place yourself in the White House private residence, or down in Louisville, at Chez Mitch, when the news about Ginsburg was conveyed Friday. Do you think either of them took even 30 seconds to reflect on her service to her nation?”

The answer to that, of course, is a resounding no! 

Tomasky had 3 ways McConnell could be stopped. One, to threaten expansion of the Court after the election; Two, Moscow Mitch may decide the polls are against it enough that proceeding could damage the GOP even more; and three, McConnell may just feel Democrats have the numbers to win and not want to rock the boat. This would be based on the three Republican Senators, above, and Mark Kelly's win in Arizona. 

Returning to the November election and the control of the Senate, there are more vulnerable candidates. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina (he is tied with Jaime Harrison); Cal Cunningham (D) leads incumbent Thom Tillis (R) by 3.6 pts; and in Georgia, David Perdue (R) v. Jon Ossoff (D) (Perdue ahead by 4.3 pts.) plus a runoff election. More you can see here. My point is there are several chances for the left to take the Senate, made more positive by the current state of affairs.

And now a GOP Governor, Charlie Baker (R-MA)...

"issued a statement on Twitter urging Senate Republicans to hold off on filling Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat until after the November election."

So it would appear the damn is breaking with Moscow Mitch's support, accompanied by the realization by many, on both sided of the aisle, that this corrupt, conniving, bogus head of the United States Senate is not to be trusted or listened to. He'll get even less attention after Joe Biden enters the White House. That is, if McConnell beats Amy McGrath. 

Joe Biden has support of young Hispanic voters

 

The ex-Vice President has the Latino age group 18-34 solidly behind him, but trails Donald Trump in older Hispanics. The younger ones number 14,588,994 and Biden's supporters of 60% total 8,753,396. But he still needs that almost 20 million Latinos who are 35+. And US Today reports he isn't doing as well with this profile as Hillary Clinton did in 2016. Here's the scenario...

"This year, a record 32 million Latinos across the country will be eligible to vote, making them the largest minority electorate for the 2020 election. According to the survey, nearly two-thirds (64%) of young Latinos say they definitely will vote in November, and another 22% say they probably will."

Still: " When asked who they expected to win the election, 53% of the young Latinos surveyed said Biden would while 52% said Trump would be re-elected," which is troubling because it shows a somewhat lack of confidence in Joe Biden. There are a lot of first-time-voters and the fear of being deported if outed appears to be lessening. I've said it before; it's time to bring in Kamala Harris and use her advocacy to win over the Hispanic vote.

Read more...

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Donald Trump demeans U.S. troops, including former senator John McCain

 

James Mattis, Donald Trump's former Sec. of Defense denounced Trump saying

 

that he was "a threat to the Constitution." John Kelly, a retired four-star general and former White House chief of staff, was not on speaking terms with Donald Trump when he left the White House and is purported to be able to confirm the disparities against American troops. And Trump's obsession with John McCain produced comments like this re. his funeral...

“We’re not going to support that loser’s funeral,” and he became furious, according to witnesses, when he saw flags lowered to half-staff. “What the fuck are we doing that for? Guy was a fucking loser,” the president told aides.

Not exactly the kind of comment one might expect from the person sitting in the Oval Office. Knowing sources within the White House said...

"he seems to genuinely not understand why Americans treat former prisoners of war with respect. Nor does he understand why pilots who are shot down in combat are honored by the military."

That could be because he was a draft dodger who connived through his doctor an exemption from the draft over a bogus health problem. Once at Arlington Natl' Cemetery to celebrate the death of Kelly's son in Afghanistan, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” One of Kelly's friends added...

“He can’t fathom the idea of doing something for someone other than himself,” one of Kelly’s friends, a retired four-star general, told me. “He just thinks that anyone who does anything when there’s no direct personal gain to be had is a sucker. There’s no money in serving the nation.” Kelly’s friend went on to say, “Trump can’t imagine anyone else’s pain. That’s why he would say this to the father of a fallen marine on Memorial Day in the cemetery where he’s buried.”

Yes, this is, tragically, Donald Trump. And there is much more in the Atlantic article I recommend reading.

Read even more here.

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Are police cozy with far right?

Mark of the White Supremacist

A former FBI agent speaks, "Too many local police don’t take the far right seriously – or actively sympathize." The Brennan Center for Justice says there is, "Racism, White Supremacy, and Far-Right Militancy in Law Enforcement." A couple of observations from Brennan...

"many have concluded that a structural or institutional bias against people of color, shaped by long-standing racial, economic, and social inequities, infects the criminal justice system."

"These systemic inequities can also instill implicit biases — unconscious prejudices that favor in-groups and stigmatize out-groups — among individual law enforcement officials, influencing their day-to-day actions while interacting with the public."

Mike German, the former FBI agent has been warning of this enigma for years, but the problems have escalated in the last couple of years as Donald Trump spews racism and white supremacy from the Oval office. In an undercover assignment in California against neo-Nazi groups in Los Angeles, California, in 1992, there were routine warnings...

"A redacted version of a 2006 FBI intelligence assessment, White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement, alerted agents to 'both strategic infiltration by organized groups and self-initiated infiltration by law enforcement personnel sympathetic to white supremacist causes,'"

There's more from German...

"A leaked 2015 counter-terrorism policy guide made the case more directly, warning agents that FBI 'domestic terrorism investigations focused on militia extremists, white supremacist extremists, and sovereign citizen extremists often have identified active links to law enforcement officers.'"

The former agent says that "white supremacists have engaged in deadly rampages in Charleston, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and El Paso, Texas." It gets worse...

"More ominously, neo-Nazis obtained radiological materials to manufacture 'dirty' bombs in separate cases in Maine in 2009 and Florida in 2017, which were only avoided through chance."

The point is we have been lucky when it comes to the discovery of nuclear threats before they occur. What we don't need is law enforcement standing in the way or even aiding and abetting in these events. Police are basically honest and dedicated to their jobs to protect the public. The problem is identifying those who aren't. Mike German's article here.

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CNN's Daniel Dale highlights Trump RNC convention lies

Anderson Cooper-Daniel Dale

Of course we expected a parade of deceit from Donald Trump at his RNC speech on the last night of the Republican convention. It was a big show for the morons packed close together, most without masks, on the south lawn of the White House, a group of around 2,000 with the potential of turning into another super spreader of COVID-19. Why not...everyone else is doing it. But it gave the Oval Office lunatic another shot at adding to his collection of over 20,000 lies.

Right after the convention ended, Daniel Dale, an expert fact checker with CNN talked to CNN's Anderson Cooper about Trump's ongoing clash with the truth. Here's what he said to Cooper...

“Anderson, this president is a serial liar, and he serially lied tonight,” Dale told anchor Anderson Cooper, and then—over the course of three dizzying minutes—ticked off 21 instances of Trump assaulting the truth, everything from his erroneous claims that Joe Biden wants to take down the border wall and confiscate guns to his bogus boast that no president has done more for the African-American community.

Dale finished and Anderson Cooper jokingly asked: "That’s it?” Dale replied: “There’s more. How much time do you have?” But it really wasn't funny, as both men must have agreed, the leader of the greatest nation in the free world feels it is okay to lie about most everything that comes out of his mouth. It is a character trait most would agree not appropriate for the position. That is, of course, except for Trump's double-digit supporters.

There's lots more to the Daily Beast article you can read here. And Daniel Dale's rattling off of Donald Trump mistruths is a must-watch!

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Trump shuts down briefings on election security

The noose tightens around the neck of the November election with Donald Trump eliminating a source of critical information from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It seems they are afraid to do live briefings to "avoid the risk of saying something that might incur the wrath of the President," according to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Here's the scenario...

"With a written release or a written report, you avoid the back-and-forth of questions, some of which could be quite probing. And I think, I think the DNI would like to avoid that and avoid the risk of saying something that might incur the wrath of the President," former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Saturday.

There's more...

"I think this is a terrible thing with respect to the need to inform the electorate about what foreign nations are doing to interfere in our political process, most notably the Russians," added Clapper, a CNN contributor.

Apparently, the committee hasn't replied to CNN requests for qualification. There is back and forth within the Trump administration that China wants Biden to win but Russia wants Trump to win. My assumption is the White House is afraid the intelligence will lean too heavily with China's desires than with Putin's Russia. The irony is that so far I have seen no indication Biden wants help from China, but plenty that Trump will take anything he can get from Russia.

READ MORE...

Controlling the use of your name and personal data

Back in 2005, when I was still a part of the junk mail business, I began seriously questioning whose property an individual's name, address and other personal data was. I came to the conclusion, and it also seemed common sense to me, that the individual should own this data and be paid for its use. I created a formula for how the American public should be compensated and publicized it nationally. It was met by resistance by the entire industry, even privacy organizations.

My proposal, which was introduced on July 4, 2006, "Independence is Control Over your Name and Personal Data," was met with hostility from junk mailers, the Direct marketing Assn., and many privacy groups whose purported purpose was to protect your name and personal data. Here's an excerpt...

"There is only one answer to protecting our names and personal data, and holding Big Brother at bay when it comes to business and government usurping individual privacy. Orwell’s 1984 predicted it, and we are very close to fulfilling his prophesy, but Americans are beginning to see the light and the need to protect their inner sanctum."

That led to...

"(2 In the case of compensation in the sale of consumer names and personal data, this same system would calculate revenue by individual, and maintain an accounting of what is due. Based on the junk mail industry’s annual take of $4 billion for the selling of names and private information, I feel the name-holder should receive one-half. Ideally, it could be placed in an account bearing simple interest of 3 percent, and the person could eventually draw around $607 a month to supplement their retirement, or take the proceeds in cash."

And then I did a follow-up piece some two weeks later, "Junk Mail Industry Continues to Rob Customers," which reassessed my earlier post of July 4, remarking how junk mailers seemed to ignore the individual's privacy, selling your name repeatedly...

"Yet, the very culprits responsible for the conspiracy are whining over how to get even more results from your names and private information. In a recent article, “Marketers Feel Data-Challenged,” from Direct, a junk mail industry publication, a survey reveals a general unhappiness by companies of not realizing the highest return from your personal data. They want more and more of it, but don’t know how to use it. Pathetic."

There's more...

"In keeping with the inaccuracy of ChoicePoint and Acxiom data from another survey ( 73% and 67%, respectively), junk mail marketers seem to fare no better, with only 30% reporting their data as reliable. Have you ever known of an industry selling its product—mailing lists—for $4 billion a year with an average error rate of 70%? I think not."

Well, the American public, a bunch of lazy apathetics I call them, didn't respond to my proposal, but apparently California sees the idea of the protection of this private information very important. Important enough to pass California Consumer Protection Act, or CCPA, and I look forward to seeing its effect on the use of our names and private information. Read more here...

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