Midnight Meme Of The Day!

 

by Noah

Charlotte, South Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina, Charlottesville, Virginia, Pittsburgh, PA, even Oklahoma City; these are just a few of the recent shootings and killings with assorted ties to white supremacy groups. In the coming months or couple of years, we may get the definitive word on what associations accused Kenosha killer Kyle Rittnehouse had or didn't have. One thing's for sure, if you mention Kyle's name to Trump voters, they cheer him. You can see it on their FB pages right along with other disgusting sentiments. Ten days ago at a Wisconsin GOP rally, Rittenhouse's mom got a frenzied welcome and standing ovation when she was introduced on the stage by conservative commentator and FOX "News" loon Michelle Malkin. Malkin also spoke to Kyle Rittenhouse and thanked him for his "courage."

So the first thing I wondered when I saw President Psychopath at Tuesday's "debate" where he gave aid, comfort, endorsement, and a marketing slogan ("Stand Back, Stand By") to The Proud Boys, was, what will be the next city, the next church, the next synagogue, or maybe a mosque, or urban school or polling place to receive the kind of assault that The Orange Menace To Society is attempting to incite? Who is the next pipe bomber? You know it's coming. It's not a matter of if but when. Someone out there thinks he's gotten Dear Leader's message loud and clear. Someone out there is preparing to act. Do I even have to mention the amount of bad cops out there who think they have permission from the highest levels to murder the next black man they see? That's become as American as apple pie, an apple pie laced with strychnine.

On Tuesday, the whole world saw Trump as the completely out of control, emotionally unstable white supremacist mental case that he is. What a sad night for our country. He might as well have been an old demented, screaming crazy man that showed up off the street in his bathrobe. That was sad enough but even sadder is that we've heard not one peep of condemnation from any republicans anywhere. While The Proud Boys rejoiced, ran with their idol's words, upped their recruitment efforts, and made t-shirts with the new Trump-minted slogan he gave them, no republicans got on national TV and objected to the Dear Leader's words. Why would they? It's been obvious for a long time that they're Proud Boys, too. They'd just rather have others do the shooting.

A Proposal For Democratic Governors In States With Republican-Controlled Legislatures

 

My friend Jack Hannold came up with an interesting idea and he asked me to get it to swing state Governors Tom Wolf (D-PA), Gretchen Whitmer (MI), Tim Walz (D-MN), Steve Bullock (D-MT), Tony Evers (D-WI) and Roy Cooper (D-NC). Especially to Tom Wolf in Pennsylvania. After Trump's shout out to the violent, neo-fascist Proud Boys Tuesday night, it becomes even more salient. Even far right former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) recognized the disastrous tactical mistake Trump made. Trump never lies condemning his supporters, no matter how heinous. "For some reason," said Santorum of Trump's refusal to condemn the fascistic Proud Boys, "he didn’t and I think that was a huge gaffe. And it’s been typical of the president when he gets backed into a corner he doesn’t like to be forced to say something. He made a huge mistake."

Guest Post
-by Jack Hannold

Every Democratic governor in a state where the legislature is controlled by the GOP should quietly prepare to activate that state’s National Guard during the weekend before the November election.

In states with either “open carry” or “concealed carry” laws, such governors should issue emergency executive orders barring all persons, residents and visitors to the state alike, from carrying weapons on their persons during the week of the election-- and this order should clearly include all off-duty law enforcement personnel.

The National Guard should be used for two purposes during the first week of November. First, the Guard should protect polling places on Election Day, November 3, 2020, by (1) preventing armed persons from entering polling stations, (2) responding to complaints from citizens or election officials about dubious “poll watchers” intimidating voters and (3) enforcing any and all applicable laws against electioneering within, or illegally close to, a polling station.

Second, the Guard should be charged with ensuring the security both of voting machines and of all paper ballots (including absentee and provisional ballots) at least until the results of the presidential election, and possibly the results of all federal and state contests, are known. The Guard should also be used to protect officials counting the ballots from harassment techniques such as the infamous “Brooks Brothers Riot” that stopped the counting in Florida in 2000.

Democratic governors should also consider embargoing the public release of election results until a clear winner of the presidential race has been determined. As a practical matter, that means that the vote counters should keep an internal running tally of four categories of votes: (1 and 2) the raw number of votes for each of the two leading presidential candidates, (3) the aggregate number of votes for all third-party, independent and write-in presidential candidates and (4) the number of un- counted ballots. None of these figures should be released until the difference between the two top presidential candidates is greater than 50 percent of the number of uncounted votes.

That could make it impossible to release results on election night, or even by Friday, November 6, but it may well also make it impossible for Donald Trump to claim victory prematurely on the basis of the “red mirage” (i.e., the incomplete results from other states on the morning of November 4).

Republicans will certainly try to fight such actions. As a last resort, Democratic governors should consider a special, limited form of martial law which would not restrict any activities unrelated to the election, but which would allow the measures suggested above to be implemented.

Last Night Was Hard To Watch For Normal Americans-- But A Great Night For The Neo-Nazi Proud Boys

 

Trump/Biden Debate by Nancy Ohanian

Trump was a national embarrassment. That's what you get when you practice debating with Rudy Giuliani. And Biden was, at best... a weak foil. Instant polls and focus groups, though, showed Trump decisively losing the first-- and hopefully-- last debate of 2020. Republican focus group-meister asked his panel of 15 swing state undecided voters, "You just saw 90 minutes; how can you still be undecided?" 11 are still undecided; 4 are voting for Biden and two made up their lizard-minds to vote for Trump. One of the Biden converts described the debate as "trying to win an argument with a crackhead." Trump didn't grow his support. Politico:

Despite their indecisiveness, most described Trump in a negative light, including one of the participants who was leaning toward voting for the president. The voters characterized Trump as “unhinged,” “arrogant,” “forceful," a “bully,” “chaotic” and “un-American.”

When asked to describe Biden they offered: “better than expected,” “politician,” “compassion,” “coherent,” and a “nice guy lacking vision.”

John Harris termed the whole mess as an epic moment of national shame, "a new low in presidential politics," and "an embarrassment for the ages" that caused many viewers "at frequent intervals... [to] lower the sound, wince and look away." Maybe that's what Trump wanted, although I doubt it. He thinks he won. No one else does though. "Trump," wrote Harris, "plainly arrived to shred the official debate rules, and shed any pretense of decorum. At numerous points, his honking interruptions blared without interruption. So did his putdowns, including mocking Biden’s performance in college 56 years ago-- “You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class,” before adding, “There’s nothing smart about you, Joe.” He also brought up Hunter Biden’s drug problems and inaccurately said he received a dishonorable discharge from the Navy." Biden's best moments were when he called Trump a "clown."

Writing for the New Republic, Walter Shapiro noted that Donald's unhinged performance is a sign he knows he's losing. He concluded his column by writing that watching caused him to grieve for American democracy. "And I am frightened by the specter of two more presidential debates as moderators insist on playing by rules of civil discourse in the face of Trump the Termagant." NBC's Jonathan Allen agreed with Shapiro that Trump's performance was a sign that he fears Biden and knows he's losing. "In the end," he wrote, "what voters saw was a president who was deeply fearful of the result of a fair election determined on the actual positions and records of the two candidates. And yet, his desire to dominate the debate stage-- to talk over both his opponent and the moderator, Chris Wallace-- made it more likely that the race will be a referendum on him than a choice between him and Biden." BINGO! A referendum on Trump is exactly what's brewing... which is why as unsatisfactory a candidate as Joe Biden is going to win in a landslide and why Republicans are going to lose control of the Senate and lose dozens of House seats.





In her Washington Post OpEd, Karen Tumulty noted that "the nightmare that played out Tuesday evening on a debate stage in Cleveland served at least one useful purpose. It encapsulated, in a single 98-minute span, the entire presidency of Donald... All of the impulses that drive Trump were unleashed: The lying. The rage. The bluster. The incoherence. It is hard to imagine that anyone but the most obdurate of partisans could have watched the spectacle and thought, Gee, wouldn’t it be great to have four more years of this?"

Joe Biden spoke for the rest of us when he at one point blurted out: “Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential.”

Granted, this was not Biden’s finest hour either. He failed to achieve the most fundamental mission for a challenger, which is to present a vision of the alternate direction in which he would take the country.

Then again, it is hard to blame the former vice president, who had assumed that he was showing up for a debate, not a shipwreck. For the most part, Biden retained his composure. He in no way resembled the doddering and feeble old man that Trump and his compatriots have sought to portray him as.

Biden also resisted Trump’s efforts to align him with the more liberal members of his party and positions that fall to the left of where most Americans are on issues such as health care. “I am the Democratic Party right now," Biden said. "The platform of the Democratic Party is what I, in fact, approved of.”

Trump lied his way through the debate but did anyone expect he even knew how to do otherwise? Lying is what he does-- always; it comes as naturally as it does to Lindsey Graham when someone asks him if he's gay. I love the response Mike Reese, sheriff of Multnomah County (Portland, Oregon) gave after Trump lied about being endorsed by him:

Even after his catastrophic performance last night, Donald is going through with his super-spreader events in Green Bay and La Crosse, Wisconsin on Saturday, two cities where coronavirus cases are surging... Trump’s rallies, which are known for their size and lack of social distancing, will be held in two cities with some of the highest rates of coronavirus infections in the country. La Crosse has the second-highest rate of infection...and Green Bay has the sixth-highest number of cases per capita. Coronavirus cases around the state are skyrocketing and hospitalizations are at a record high. As of Monday, every county in the state has high virus activity, according to the state Department of Health Services. The Green Bay area, especially, is seeing high numbers of coronavirus patients in their health care centers. At Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, coronavirus patients occupy three-quarters of the hospital's intensive care unit beds and two-thirds of medical unit beds-- roughly double the number from two weeks ago. Last week, the Bellin Hospital emergency room was so overwhelmed that hospital workers had to tend to patients on gurneys in the hallway. Meanwhile, 150 Bellin Hospital employees are quarantining at home."

Reporting for the Washington Post on Trump's plans to kill more Cheeseheads, Lena Sun noted that during the debate, "Trump defended his events as opportunities for his supporters to gather to hear him and claimed that there has been 'no negative effect' from his rallies, even though health officials in Tulsa said a spike in covid-19 cases was 'likely' sparked by an indoor Trump gathering in June." [Herman Cain started trending on Twitter.] Señor T, lying again, said "he was 'okay with masks' but falsely claimed that scientists are divided over their value. Health experts have said mask-wearing, hand-washing, social distancing and being careful about crowds currently make up the best defense against the virus. Biden, by contrast, said Trump has been 'totally irresponsible' in the way he has handled social distancing and masks, and in holding large rallies. 'Basically he has been a fool on this,' Biden said of Trump."

“If you could get the crowds, you would have done the same thing,” the president responded. “But you can’t. Nobody can.”

In addition to the White House task force’s guidance, local concern has been growing in Wisconsin about Trump’s planned events, which are scheduled for outdoor airplane hangars without universal mask mandates. Gov. Tony Evers (D) said Tuesday in a news briefing that Trump should either cancel the events or require mask-wearing by everyone who attends.

“This virus is real, and it is devastating our communities, and it will continue to do so until we all get on the same team,” Evers said in a press call about the recent spike in the state’s cases.

He told Wisconsin residents that wearing a mask is not a substitute for social distancing or staying at home, and he asked them to cancel family barbecues, play dates or dinner parties, and make all large gatherings virtual.

Ryan Westergaard, the state’s chief medical officer, said Tuesday that Wisconsin is “in a crisis right now,” given the rate of community spread.

While Biden has made a point of keeping his events small and attendees distant from one another, Trump has largely dismissed the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention against holding mass gatherings during the pandemic.

The president has crisscrossed the country to hold rallies, mostly in outdoor spaces but sometimes indoors, where mask-wearing is optional. At the events, he regularly mocks virus mitigation efforts, like social distancing, as little more than political ploys by Democratic state leaders bent on punishing him.

“We don’t call these ‘rallies’ anymore, because in Dem states like where you have a governor who’s a Democrat, you’re not allowed to go to church and not allowed to go to a restaurant. You’re not allowed to go to your friend’s house. You can’t move from your house unless you’re related to the governor,” he said at a rally in Newport News, Virginia, on Friday.

“You can’t do anything, unless of course it’s a peaceful protest. Okay?” he continued. “So what we do is we call these peaceful protests, and we’re getting big crowds.”

For Biden, the only good outcome is that watching Trump act like last night that certainly got Democrats-- and perhaps others-- reaching for their wallets. His campaign and that of other Democrats-- had huge fundraising booms during and after the debate. ActBlue brought in around $8 million between 9 and 11, almost half of which went to Biden. I asked Twitter followers to consider contributing $5 to their favorite Democratic congressional candidates here every time Trump lied. Please consider doing that today by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer on the right.

David Frum asserted in his Atlantic column that Donald was a dead duck before he set foot on the stage. He explained that Trumpanzee "arrived at the first debate with a theory and a plan. The theory was that American voters crave dominance, no matter how belligerent or offensive. The plan was to hector, interrupt, and insult in hope of establishing that dominance. His theory was wrong and his plan was counter-productive."

Trump walked onto that stage in Cleveland seven or eight points behind, because the traditional Republican advantage among upper-income and educated voters has dwindled; because non-college-educated white women have turned against him; because he is losing older voters to his mishandling of COVID-19; because the groups he needs to be demobilized—African Americans, the young—are up-mobilized. On the present trajectory, nearly 150 million votes are likely to be cast in 2020. If Trump wins 43 percent of them and Joe Biden 50 percent, not even the Electoral College can convert that negative margin into a second Trump term.

He needed to do something to change that reality.

Instead, he talked to Facebook conspiracists, to the angriest of ultra-Republican partisans, and to violent white supremacists. He urged the Proud Boys to 'stand by' because 'somebody’s got to do something' about 'antifa and the left.' He refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power in the (likely) event that he loses. He threatened months and months of chaos if the election does not go his way.

Trump yelled, threatened, interrupted-- and changed nothing. All he did was confirm the horror and revulsion of the large American majority that has already begun to cast its ballots against him.

Correction, Trump did one thing. On the Cleveland stage, Trump communicated that he will seize any opportunity to disrupt the vote, and resist the outcome. He communicated more forcefully than ever that the only security the country has for a constitutional future is that Biden win by the largest possible margin.

...Who and what Trump is, could not have been more vividly displayed in all the psychological reality. Debate one was not Donald Trump versus Joe Biden, or red versus blue. It was zookeepers versus poop-throwing primates.

Biden may be faded from what he was: perhaps less crisp, less sharp, less fast. But when Biden spoke, he spoke to and about America. Trump spoke only about his wounded ego. Biden communicated: I care about you. Trump communicated: I hate everybody. Biden succeeded in putting his most important messages on record: your healthcare, your job, your right to equal respect regardless of race or creed-- all against Trump’s disregard and disrespect. Trump may have imagined he projected himself as strong. The whole world witnessed instead the destructive rage of a bully confronting impending defeat. Trump disgraced the presidency on that stage. He may just have delivered the self-incapacitating wound that pushes the country toward self-salvation.