Trump administration pressured CDC to play down risks of reopening schools: report | TheHill

Top officials at the White House pressured leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to downplay the risk of the coronavirus to children as President Trump's administration pushed to reopen schools this fall, according to a new report. Citing documents and interviews with current and former government officials, The New York Times reported Tuesday the push included an effort to find data suggesting the pandemic was weakening and the coronavirus did not threaten children.....
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/518692-trump-administration-attempted-to-play-down-the-risks-of-returning

Michigan Republican fighting to block governor’s public health orders tests positive for COVID – Raw Story

On Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press reported that Michigan state Rep. Beau LaFave, a Republican and a fierce critic of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s public health measures, has tested positive for COVID-19. In a Facebook post, LaFave said, “Thankfully, the worst of my symptoms came and went this weekend, and I’m feeling much better. I am following the doctor’s orders and working from home through at least the middle of next week.”....
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/michigan-republican-fighting-to-block-governors-public-health-orders-tests-positive-for/

3rd Rock From the Sun Reunion with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and John Lithgow...

Beyond my family, perhaps the most influential people in my whole life were the kind souls who guided me through a blessed and weird adolescence as I acted on 3rd Rock From The Sun. John Lithgow taught me so much about being funny, being an artist, being a leader, and just being a good human. Now we’re doing a HITRECORD project inspired by his new book, #TrumptyDumpty Wanted A Crown, so if you feel like doing some acting, reading some rhymes, delivering some dark political satire against a despotic president that deserves to be dethroned, come jump in...
https://youtu.be/dcvd4WhXDw8

Why Trump Has No Real Health-Care Plan - The Atlantic

Republicans Are Trapped on Preexisting Conditions....

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/why-trump-has-no-real-health-care-plan/616523/

90 percent of coronavirus patients experience side effects after recovery, study finds | TheHill

An online survey of 965 recovered COVID-19 patients found 9 in 10 reported experiencing symptoms such as fatigue, loss of taste and smell and psychological issues.....
https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/longevity/518751-90-percent-of-coronavirus-patients-experience-side

Hours Before the Debate, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Spreads an Unverified Russian Claim – Mother Jones

The “disinformation” was immediately seized on by Republicans to defend the president.....
https://www.motherjones.com/2020-elections/2020/09/ratcliffe-letter/

Our Moment

11 years ago, Sully was called for his moment. Now, we are all called to this moment. Join Sully in regaining control of this nation's destiny by voting Donald Trump out....
https://youtu.be/9mzcW0zUSKg

Trump Secretly Mocks His Christian Supporters - The Atlantic

One day in 2015, Donald Trump beckoned Michael Cohen, his longtime confidant and personal attorney, into his office. Trump was brandishing a printout of an article about an Atlanta-based megachurch pastor trying to raise $60 million from his flock to buy a private jet. Trump knew the preacher personally—Creflo Dollar had been among a group of evangelical figures who visited him in 2011 while he was first exploring a presidential bid. During the meeting, Trump had reverently bowed his head in prayer while the pastors laid hands on him. Now he was gleefully reciting the impious details of Dollar’s quest for a Gulfstream G650. Trump seemed delighted by the “scam,” Cohen recalled to me, and eager to highlight that the pastor was “full of shit.” “They’re all hustlers,” Trump said....
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-secretly-mocks-his-christian-supporters/616522/

Cartoon: A flock of fanatics

And at least 3 of these are Catholic.
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/9/29/1981639/-Cartoon-A-flock-of-fanatics 

ICE And The History Of Forced Sterilization In America (The 1A)

Last week, a nurse working at a detention center for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Georgia made some startling allegations about the treatment of the women detained there.

“I had several detained women on numerous occasions that would come to me and say, ‘Ms. Wooten, I had a hysterectomy. Why?’ I had no answer as to why they had those procedures, and one lady walked up to me here and she said, ‘What is he? Is he the uterus collector? Does he collect uteruses?’ And I asked her, what does she mean? And she says, ‘Everybody that I talk to has had a hysterectomy,'” said Dawn Wooten, in a whistleblower complaint filed against the agency last Monday.

The allegations weren’t only about medical abuse, but also how the facility failed to take the proper precautions against the spread of coronavirus among detainees.

ICE has announced it’s taking the whistleblower complaint seriously.

The agency said in a statement:

The recent allegations by the independent contracted employee raise some very serious concerns that deserve to be investigated quickly and thoroughly. ICE welcomes the efforts of both the Office of Inspector General as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s parallel review. As a former prosecutor, individuals found to have violated our policies and procedures should be held accountable. If there is any truth to these allegations, it is my commitment to make the corrections necessary to ensure we continue to prioritize the health, welfare and safety of ICE detainees.

There’s been a lot of focus on this specific complaint, but immigrant rights advocates say this just a small piece of a larger problem.

What’s going on at ICE? And how does this fit into the broader history of forced sterilization in America?
Interview:
https://the1a.org/segments/ice-and-the-history-of-forced-sterilization-in-america/

In 'Mr. 80 Percent,' An Intimate Portrayal Of Surviving Prostate Cancer (On Point)

The story of a Boston Globe reporter who decided to document his life with prostate cancer via a new — and very personal — podcast.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/09/25/prostate-cancer-an-all-too-common-disease-thats-rarely-talked-about

In Baltimore, Corrupt Police Show Limits of Reform - Bloomberg

As President Donald Trump spins a narrative of citizen-led chaos in cities, a new book about the Baltimore cops who flagrantly robbed people offers a different one.....
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-28/in-baltimore-corrupt-police-show-limits-of-reform

A Criminal Tax Cheat? Bombshell NYT Report Shows Trump Paid No Federal Income Tax for 10 of 15 Years

In a bombshell report a month before November’s presidential election, The New York Times reveals Donald Trump paid no federal income taxes in 10 of the last 15 years, and just $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016 and 2017. “We don’t have to just take his word for the fact that he paid lots of taxes. We can see in the documents that he didn’t,” says Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation who has written about the legal fight over Trump’s tax returns. “If those documents are wrong, Donald Trump can release his taxes and show us what he claims is the real truth.”....
https://youtu.be/1qhMRSiJ4Qc

Donald Trump and Kyle Rittenhouse: GOP embraces “kill the libs” as policy.

If Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gets his way, people who merely attend a protest that results in property damage will be prosecuted for felonies. Yelling at someone in a restaurant as part of such a protest will be a criminal offense. And a driver who kills demonstrators with his car will not be liable for their deaths, as long as he is “fleeing for safety from a mob.” These are just a few of the policies proposed by DeSantis in a package meant to chill dissent and punish those in the streets demanding an end to racist police violence.....
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/09/kyle-rittenhouse-trump-own-the-libs-kill-the-libs.html

14 most common words and phrases you're probably saying wrong

Many times, especially in business settings, people use words that they think they know — but don’t. Although they do this in an effort to sound intelligent and sophisticated, it backfires badly, because even one small slipup can cause an audience to focus on only that, not the speaker’s ideas. As writers of several grammar books, here are some of the most commonly confused and misused words and phrases in American English:....
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/28/14-words-and-phrases-you-probably-been-saying-wrong-this-whole-time.html

How “Extremist” Amy Coney Barrett Could Reshape the Supreme Court & Hand Trump the Election

As President Trump nominates conservative federal judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat, we look at how an emboldened 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court could dramatically loosen gun laws, hurt immigrant communities and play a possibly central role in deciding a close presidential election. “Her religious conservatism is not what’s extreme about her. It’s her actual judicial opinions,” says Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation. “She does not use her religion to guide her through her decisions; she uses her extremist conservative views.”

https://youtu.be/fDuY0R2XOuQ 

CDC director takes aim at Trump's Covid adviser: 'Everything he says is false'

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was overheard on a phone conversation aboard a commercial flight saying a lead member of Donald Trump’s coronavirus taskforce has been spreading misinformation about the pandemic. Robert Redfield was overheard by an employee of NBC News on a flight from Atlanta to Washington. According to NBC, Redfield criticized Scott Atlas, a radiologist and Fox News talking head added to the taskforce last month.....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/28/covid-coronavirus-cdc-director-robert-redfield-trump-adviser-scott-atlas

Alarming COVID-19 Data Shows Third Wave Brewing for U.S. | Time

There are few things as powerful as avoidance learning. Touch a hot stove once and you’re not likely to do it again. Cross against the light and almost get hit by a car and you’re going to be a lot more careful the next time. But when it comes to the U.S. response to COVID-19? Not so much.....
https://time.com/5893916/covid-19-coronavirus-third-wave/ 

What's at stake if the Supreme Court rules against ObamaCare | TheHill

Just one week after the Nov. 3 elections, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit backed by President Trump that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ....While the ACA's fate is still uncertain — many legal experts in both parties think the lawsuit’s arguments are so weak that even conservative justices would uphold the law — the consequences of it being struck down would reverberate through almost every corner of the health care system.....
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/518639-whats-at-stake-if-the-supreme-rules-against-obamacare

Post Office Failed to Update 1.8 Million Addresses Ahead of Mail-in Voting | Time

For three weeks in August, as election officials across the country were preparing to send out mail-in ballots to tens of millions of voters, the U.S. Postal Service stopped fully updating a national change of address system that most states use to keep their voter rolls current, according to multiple officials who use the system. A USPS spokesperson acknowledged the failure in response to questions from TIME, and said that at least 1.8 million new changes of address had not been registered in the database.....
https://time.com/5893881/exclusive-as-states-prepared-mail-in-ballots-postal-service-failed-to-update-at-least-1-8-million-addresses/

Biden Campaign Shreds Trump With New Ad, Snarky Merch After Stunning Tax Report | HuffPost

... Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed billionaire, received a $72.9 million tax refund from the IRS while not paying a nickel in federal income taxes in 10 out of 15 years," tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). "Yep. Trump l-o-v-e-s corporate socialism for himself, rugged capitalism for everyone else."...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-trump-tax-report_n_5f71684bc5b64deddeefdd5c

18 Revelations From a Trove of Trump Tax Records

Times reporters have obtained decades of tax information the president has hidden from public view. Here are some of the key findings....
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/us/trump-taxes-takeaways.html

Trump’s Taxes Show Chronic Losses and Years of Income Tax Avoidance - The New York Times

The Times obtained Donald Trump’s tax information extending over more than two decades, revealing struggling properties, vast write-offs, an audit battle and hundreds of millions in debt coming due.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html

Trump tax returns: We now know what he was trying to hide - Vox

The New York Times’ major new story reveals that Trump had political, legal, and financial reasons to hold the returns back....
https://www.vox.com/2020/9/27/21458945/trump-tax-returns-new-york-times-ivanka

Biden campaign sells 'I paid more income taxes than Trump' stickers | TheHill

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's campaign is selling stickers that mock President Trump over a bombshell New York Times report that finds he avoided paying income taxes for 10 years of the 15 years before he was elected president. According to The New York Times, Trump also paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.....
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/518523-biden-campaign-sells-i-paid-more-income-taxes-than-trump-stickers

Biden campaign issues hilarious smackdown on Trump’s demand for debate drug test – Raw Story

Joe Biden “intends to deliver his debate answers in words. If the president thinks his best case is made in urine, he can have at it,” the campaign said in a statement. “We’d expect nothing less from Donald Trump, who pissed away the chance to protect the lives of 200K Americans when he didn’t make a plan to stop COVID-19.”....
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/biden-campaign-issues-hilarious-smackdown-on-trumps-demand-for-debate-test/

If your friends or family have fallen for an internet conspiracy cult, here's what you should do

How do you rescue someone you love from the clutches of an internet conspiracy cult? Do you maybe tell them that the operator of the “most prominent” website devoted to the unhinged, fact-free QAnon conspiracy theory was recently rumbled as a senior vice-president at Citibank?....
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/28/if-your-friends-or-family-have-fallen-for-an-internet-conspiracy-cult-heres-what-you-should-do

'Not by accident': False 'thug' narratives have long been used to discredit civil rights movements

... "This is not innocuous and it's not by accident. It's deliberate and strategic and used to undermine the very movement for racial justice and civil rights by creating a particular narrative of resistance, disturbance and even criminality," Melancon explained. "No one feels comfortable siding with violence, so when people hear this, even well-intentioned people, this creates a particular type of fear and hysteria." And using the term "thug" is part of the tactic, she added Part of the narrative of violence is written with optics and playing up a threat, Shaw of the University of South Carolina added. If you say there is a threat, then you have to back it up, he said...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/not-accident-false-thug-narratives-have-long-been-used-discredit-n1240509

McMaster: Trump suggestion he might not cede power is ‘gift to our adversaries’

Donald Trump’s suggestion that he might not cede power if he loses the presidential election to Joe Biden is “a gift to our adversaries”, the former national security adviser HR McMaster said on Sunday, though he added that “even talking about” the US military removing the president if necessary was “irresponsible”....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/27/trump-election-cede-power-hr-mcmaster

Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017 - Axios - NYT:

The New York Times has obtained more than two decades' worth of tax-return data from Trump and the companies that make up his business, writing in an explosive report that the documents "tell a story fundamentally different from the one [the president] has sold to the American public."....
https://www.axios.com/nyt-trump-paid-750-in-federal-income-taxes-in-2016-and-2017-b15150cd-1a05-4e6e-8f0d-7dfd2c2fa1ac.html

Assassin-in-Chief (Pod Save the World podcast)

Tommy and Ben discuss the latest on Russian election interference, the case for dismantling DHS, a setback for LGBTQ+ rights and US military accountability in the Philippines, domestic terrorism in Australia, the new interim government in Mali, reports that Trump considered assassinating Bashar al-Assad, and much more. Then, Washington Post Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief Susannah George joins to break down the latest on the Afghan Republic-Taliban peace talks.
Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9513168/assassin-in-chief

White Collar Crime Explained, with Randall Eliason (Opening Arguments podcast OA423)

*note that this episode was recorded before RBG’s death and the resulting tenfold increase in existential doom feelings*

If you’re a keen listener, you might remember last time we had Prof. Randall Eliason on, he teased his forthcoming Great Courses Course! Well, it has now forth-come. Here’s his new course! It’s on White Collar Criminal Law, and boy does that sound relevant to.. *gestures broadly at the entire current administration*.

In the first segment we answer whether or not Trump could be charged with manslaughter for all the slaughtering of man he did by lying about COVID-19.
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa423-white-collar-crime-explained-with-randall-eliason/

What Would Satan Do: Religion, Moral Panic, and the Devils in the Dark (with Lucien Greaves)

Lucien Greaves, founder of http://www.thesatanictemple.com, joins Seth Andrews for a conversation about the continuing Satanic Panic in the United States, the utility of non-theistic religions, and how the icon of Satan might approach today's evangelicals in power.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/e-eCSJGZAEk

As Many True Things & As Few Ham Things (feat. Matt Dillahunty) - (Ken) Ham & AiG News

Ken Ham and his team have a bi-weekly "news" show, reacting to the news stories of the day from a Christian young-earth creation perspective from the Answers in Genesis staff at his Creation Museum.

Matt Dillahunty and I join Ken Ham, Dr. Georgia Purdom, and Bodie Hodge as they discuss the Ark Encounter, Bill Nye debate, secular humanist chaplains, ultimate meaning and more in this episode of Answers News hosted in front of a live audience at the Creation Museum.
Interview:
https://youtu.be/LLUBxFjoT5o

Debate Prep Vets James Carville and Philippe Reines on the Upcoming Debate + Al on RGB (The Al Franken podcast)

Carville and Reines (who played Trump in Hillary’s debate prep) game out the Most Important Event in the History of the World. Plus Al shares some thoughts on the great Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Interview: 

https://alfranken.com/listen/debate-prep-vets-james-carville-and-philippe-reines-on-the-upcoming-debate

How Donald Trump Turned The Presidency Into A Business (Terry Gross, Fresh Air podcast)

'Forbes' senior editor Dan Alexander examines President Trump's sprawling business interests in his new book, 'White House, Inc.' Alexander says the president has broken a number of pledges he made about how he would conduct business while in office. We talk about Trump's holdings and potential conflicts of interest, and what Alexander found when he looked closely at the numbers.
Interview:
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/22/915674694/how-donald-trump-turned-the-presidency-into-a-business

Political Meddling In The Fight Against COVID-19 (Terry Gross, Fresh Air podcast)

'Politico' reporter Dan Diamond describes efforts by Trump loyalist and HHS spokesperson (currently on leave) Michael Caputo to alter weekly CDC reports and have scientists change their findings on the course of the coronavirus pandemic. "Caputo walked in the door of the health department in the middle of this once-in-a-century pandemic, having been personally recruited by the president, and the goal was very much to execute the president's agenda and to knock down any messaging, any communications that were seen as conflicting with what President Trump was saying about coronavirus."
Interview:
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916092154/political-meddling-in-the-fight-against-covid-19

Anderson Cooper: Why the lie Trump is pushing matters

President Donald Trump continued to attack mail-in voting as full of widespread fraud, a claim for which there is no evidence. CNN's Anderson Cooper breaks down why the Trump administration's justification for his rhetoric is alarming.....
https://youtu.be/203nJN4_7Dw

The Supreme Court's Devastating Rightward Shift (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Athiest podast #341)

— What does the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg mean for church/state separation? (0:54)
— Democrats do not have an anti-Catholic bias. (23:41)
— A Republican state representative from Illinois was caught on tape saying racist, homophobic things about her opponent. (28:03)
— A Baptist preacher yelled “White Power!” after a Trump rally. (36:00)
— This bizarre ad from a Wisconsin GOP group falsely claims Joe Biden‘s religious beliefs are unknown. (39:00)
— How much praise should we give an evangelical who only ditched the label now? (42:44)
— What is a “militant secularist,” Attorney General William Barr? (56:20)
— Germany’s largest, richest archdiocese is planning on massive shrinkage. (59:33)
Interview:
https://soundcloud.com/friendly-atheist-podcast/ep-341-the-supreme-courts-devastating-rightward-shift

Friendly Atheist Podcast · Ep. 341 - The Supreme Court's Devastating Rightward Shift

Trump and U.S. in COVID-19 Crisis is 'Like Watching The Decline of The Roman Empire': Canadian Mayor

...In an article titled, 'I Feel Sorry for Americans': A Baffled World Watches the U.S., U Aung Thu Nyein, a political analyst in Myanmar, told the newspaper: "The U.S.A. is a first-world country but it is acting like a third-world country."...

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-coronavirus-roman-empire-1534423

No Charges for Breonna’s Killer (Opening Arguments podcast OA424)

The law worked... how it's designed to work. Andrew gives us the breakdown on what happened, and what didn't happen.

After that, Andrew has the deepest of dives on Amy Coney Barrett, the odds-on favorite to be the next fundamentalist Justice on the Supreme Court.
Interview:
https://openargs.com/oa424-no-charges-for-breonnas-killer/

The Choice

The @SenateGOP is willing to tear this country apart to remake America in Trump's image. Their loyalty is to power, not us.

https://youtu.be/GPXATItZtBw

News anchor loses it

https://youtu.be/LV4d-wWqy7I

Liberal Groups Fear James O’Keefe Election Sting

"... In reality, according to beleaguered Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Deva Marie Proto, the election documents in the dumpster didn't have anything to do with 2020. Proto tells The Daily Beast that the "ballots" in the trash can were in fact extra mail-in ballot envelopes from 2018, rather than ballots or envelopes for 2020. "They have no relation to the current election at all," Proto said. That hasn't stopped the trashed envelopes from becoming more grist for the right's quest for ballot fraud. While the Gateway Pundit story gains traction on the right, The Blaze personality Elijah Schaffer's own post about the supposed destroyed ballots has received nearly 8,000 retweets. "These are original photos sent to me," Schaffer tweeted. "Big if true."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/liberal-groups-fear-james-okeefe-election-sting

Father James Martin on Truly Being 'Pro-Life'

This priest explains how the phrase ‘pro-life’ is often misunderstood....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y35-R1y3W00&ab_channel=NowThisNews 

Week In The News: RBG, Supreme Court, Breonna Taylor (On Point)

How Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death and the grand jury decision about Breonna Taylor’s killing shaped this week – and might shape years to come.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/09/25/week-in-the-news-rbg-supreme-court-breonna-taylor

The News Roundup — Domestic (The 1A) 2020-09-25

Some 200,000 Americans have died due to COVID-19. But White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany responded by saying that number paled in comparison to the 2 million deaths some doctors on the administration’s task force were predicting.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he believes that he has the votes to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court despite President Donald Trump’s nominee for the seat not having even been announced. The move is in direct conflict with the previous rationale Republicans put forward to keep former President Barack Obama from filling Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat before the 2016 presidential election.

And a grand jury in Louisville, Kentucky, failed to file any charges that were directly connected to the death of Breonna Taylor against the three officers at the scene of her death. Instead, one of the officers was charged for firing bullets in such a way that they entered the apartment next to Taylor’s. Protests erupted around the country following the verdict.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/segments/news-roundup-trump-ginsburg-breonna/

The News Roundup — International (The 1A) 2020-09-25

The Chinese government announced this week that it will be carbon neutral by 2060. President Xi Jinping made a surprise commitment to drastically reduce its emissions to zero, after sustained pressure to take action on climate change. But experts have warned that the country offered few specifics about how it would reach this goal. Still, the news adds to increased pressure for the U.S. to commit to a similar goal.

After weeks of civil unrest in Belatrus over an illegitimate re-election, President Alexander Lukashenko held a secret inauguration ceremony. Reports of the ceremony sparked new protests throughout the country and global condemnation. Both the European Union and the U.S. State Department are no longer recognizing Lukashenko as the legitimate president of the country.

Alexei Navalny has been released from a German hospital after weeks of intensive care. The political rival of Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to have been poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent. According to the German government and French and Swedish laboratories, the toxin used to poison the political leader was similar to those used in previous poisonings. The Kremlin has denied that Navalny was poisoned.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/segments/news-roundup-belarus-coronavirus-china/

Trump's former Coast Guard chief: 'Our constitutional rights are being infringed upon' | TheHill

The former head of the Coast Guard under President Trump is defending his decision to join nearly 500 former national security officials in endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday, saying he is “concerned that our constitutional rights are being infringed upon from within."
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/518231-trumps-former-coast-guard-chief-our-constitutional-rights-are-being

Former intelligence agency director Robert Cardillo speaks out against 'erratic' Trump | TheHill

Robert Cardillo, former deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and ex-director of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, spoke out against President Trump on Friday in an op-ed published in The Denver Post. “Since I have been eligible to vote, I have never registered with a political party. I remain an independent with a history of voting for candidates I believe in — I focused on their policy and not their party,” wrote Cardillo, who served as an intelligence official for six different presidents.
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/518233-former-intelligence-agency-director-robert-cardillo-speaks-out-against-erratic

Immigrants in US custody died after 'inadequate' medical care, congressional investigation finds - CNNPolitics

Immigrants in US custody faced widespread failures in medical care, including some issues that resulted in death, according to a new congressional investigation released Thursday. At US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities operated by for-profit contractors, detainees "often do not receive critical treatment or face delays," the inquiry found. Additionally, the review found that many of the for-profit facilities lack sufficient medical staff and failed to provide necessary care for chronic medical conditions.....
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/24/politics/immigrants-ice-inadequate-medical-care/index.html

Sanders issues stark warning on Trump and calls for election commission

Senator accuses Trump and Republicans of ‘sowing the seeds of chaos’ by ‘casting doubt’ on election
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/24/bernie-sanders-trump-election-commission

Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: 'It's not worth the paper its signed on' | TheHill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday took aim at an executive order from President Trump which he has claimed will ensure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. “President Trump’s bogus executive order on pre-existing conditions isn’t worth the paper it’s signed on. It is an insult to every family with someone with a pre-existing condition that President Trump thinks he can get away with this farce while he races a justice onto the Supreme Court to strike down the lifesaving protections enshrined into law by the Affordable Care Act,” Pelosi said in a statement.....
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/518134-pelosi-slams-trump-executive-order-on-preexisting-conditions-its-not-worth-the

'His abuses have escalated': Barr's kinship with Trump fuels election fears

The attorney general has been giving misleading statements on election integrity, and, critics say, has a deep sense of mission about re-electing the president....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/25/bill-barr-donald-trump-election-steal-fears

Michele Bachmann Says That The Equality Act Will Punish Christians - RWW News

Former Rep. Michele Bachmann warns that the Equality Act "gives special rights to certain people who practice certain behaviors" and that Christians will "be punished for what the Bible says....
https://youtu.be/kXdxZMdiSjk

FBI director casts doubt on concerns over mail-in voting fraud | TheHill

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday cast doubts on concerns raised by some conservatives that mail-in voting could pose an increased chance of voter fraud, with Wray telling a Senate committee that widespread voter fraud would be a “major challenge” for a foreign adversary to pull off. “We have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election whether it’s by mail or otherwise,” Wray testified to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during a hearing on threats to the homeland. “We have seen voter fraud at the local level from time to time, so my comments should in no way be construed as minimizing how seriously we take our responsibility to investigate such incidents.”

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/518095-fbi-director-casts-doubt-on-concerns-over-mail-in-voting-fraud

Trump Wants To Undermine Your Faith In The Election So You Don't Vote Him Out

As the President reveals his intention to subvert the will of the people, refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after Election Day, it is important to remember one thing: Donald Trump can not remain President if the people vote him out.....
https://youtu.be/yepeRvgtrbk

Trump makes 'law-and-order' pitch but rhetoric on crime at variance with reality

In Brooklyn, locals say their everyday experience is far removed from the narrative being espoused by the president – and criminologists agree....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/25/trump-law-and-order-crime-reality

Trumpists Interviewed, It's REALLY BAD

--Trump supporters are interviewed by Michael Shure, and it's absolutely horrifying....
https://youtu.be/zFeYLKbsyJM

Confessions, Cameo, and Conversations with Satan (Seth Andrews, The Thinking Atheist podcast)

In this free audio chapter from Seth Andrews' new book, we explore the Christian Nationalism, fearmongering, bigotry, and near-constant rage blasting daily out of American conservative radio.
Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/thethinkingatheist/podcast519-therushtoanger

Trump Campaign Is Reportedly Plotting to “Bypass” a Biden Win | Vanity Fair

How Republican-controlled state legislatures could be used to circumvent the results of the election and ensure a Trump victory.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/09/trump-campaign-election-coup-bypass-biden-win

 

Melting Antarctic ice will raise sea level by 2.5 metres – even if Paris climate goals are met, study finds

Research says melting will continue even if temperature rises are limited to 2C....
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/23/melting-antarctic-ice-will-raise-sea-level-by-25-metres-even-if-paris-climate-goals-are-met-study-finds

Racism has cost the US $16 trillion, says Citigroup | TheHill

An economic impact report reveals the wide-ranging socioeconomic disparities Black Americans face — and how it costs the U.S.....
https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/518007-racism-has-cost-the-us-16-trillion-says-citigroup

Revealed: pro-Trump activists plotted violence ahead of Portland rallies

Leaked chat logs show Portland-area pro-Trump activists planning and training for violence, sourcing arms and ammunition and even suggesting political assassinations ahead of a series of contentious rallies in the Oregon city, including one scheduled for this weekend.....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/23/oregon-portland-pro-trump-protests-violence-texts

Mike Pompeo Brought His Backward View of Human Rights to the UN. Europe Wasn’t Buying It. – Mother Jones

France, Germany, and Great Britain declined to support the State Department’s new vision.....

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/09/mike-pompeo-human-rights-un-lgbtq-eu/

Fauci finally loses his patience with Rand Paul - The Washington Post

Whenever Sen. Rand Paul and Anthony S. Fauci appear at the same hearing together, they are bound to clash. In May, they tangled over children’s susceptibility to the coronavirus. In June, Paul attacked Fauci for not being more optimistic about the coronavirus, saying that Fauci wasn’t the “end-all” and that he should be more humble about what he didn’t know. Through it all, Fauci has been characteristically diplomatic. But on Wednesday, he seemed to reach his breaking point.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/23/fauci-finally-loses-his-patience-with-rand-paul/

The Best TV Shows and Movies Coming to Netflix in October 2020 | Vanity Fair

Netflix may have scuffled at this year’s Emmy Awards, but the streaming platform is once again set to dominate the cultural conversation in October. The service will debut major film and television originals in the coming weeks, including new movies from Adam Sandler (the horror comedy Hubie Halloween on October 7) and Aaron Sorkin (the prestige drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 on October 16), premiere episodes of The Haunting of Bly Manor and Emily in Paris, and a surfeit of flashy library content, including the final season of Emmy Award-winning juggernaut Schitt’s Creek.....
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/09/new-on-netflix-october-2020