Trump presses debate commission and Biden for debate advantages. - The Washington Post

President Trump’s efforts to influence the timing and makeup of this fall’s presidential debates, some of the last planned events with the power to shift the trajectory of the campaign, have been rejected, with both the independent debate commission and the Biden campaign showing no interest in altering course. But that has not stopped Trump from trying to gain advantage by making the debates a top-tier issue, as he and his advisers circulate unfounded claims that Joe Biden may try to dodge the events and suggest that the Democrat may try to cheat by using notes if the sessions are held virtually. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-tries-to-muscle-through-changes-in-presidential-debates-to-gain-advantage/2020/08/07/367ffbb8-d8b7-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html

97,000 children reportedly test positive for coronavirus in two weeks as schools gear up for instruction - CBS News

Nearly 100,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July, a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics finds. Just over 97,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus from July 16 to July 30, according to the association. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-kids-schools-in-person-instruction/

'An insidious ploy': Trump admin's decision to cut census short could have dire consequences

Undercounting populations like Black Americans and Native tribes could skew the balance of power in the U.S. for years to come.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/insidious-ploy-trump-admin-s-decision-cut-census-short-could-n1236156

Complaint Filed Against Lawyer Working for Kanye West and Trump Campaigns

Watchdog group Campaign for Accountability filed a grievance on Friday against a lawyer who may be working for President Donald Trump's reelection campaign and the presidential campaign of performer Kanye West simultaneously.
https://www.newsweek.com/complaint-filed-against-lawyer-working-kanye-west-trump-campaigns-1523757

Unwanted Truths: Inside Trump’s Battles With U.S. Intelligence Agencies - The New York Times

In early July of last year, the first draft of a classified document known as a National Intelligence Estimate circulated among key members of the agencies making up the U.S. intelligence community. N.I.E.s are intended to be that community’s most authoritative class of top-secret document, reflecting its consensus judgment on national-security matters ranging from Iran’s nuclear capabilities to global terrorism. The draft of the July 2019 N.I.E. ran to about 15 pages, with another 10 pages of appendices and source notes.....
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/08/magazine/us-russia-intelligence.html

Trump hosted press conference filled with falsehoods at NJ golf club - Business Insider

President Donald Trump hosted a press conference at his golf club in New Jersey — filled with a number of falsehoods delivered to dozens in a non-socially-distanced crowd. Trump addressed reporters and patrons in the ballroom of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, on Friday in a wide-ranging press conference that touched upon the US coronavirus response. ....
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-press-conference-falsehoods-new-jersey-golf-club-2020-8

White House reportedly asked about adding Trump to Mount Rushmore - Business Insider

It's not possible to carve a fifth president's face into South Dakota's Mount Rushmore national memorial — there's no secure surface left, according to the National Park Service. But that didn't stop the Trump administration from asking.
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-gov-noem-trumps-desire-carved-into-mt-rushmore-2020-8

'This already exists': Democrats seize on potential Trump executive order on preexisting conditions | TheHill

Democrats pounced on President Trump’s announcement Friday that he may sign an executive order to require that health insurers cover all preexisting conditions, claiming that the president is trying to run under accomplishments from the Obama administration. Critical lawmakers were quick to point out that such protections for preexisting conditions were already implemented under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Obama administration’s signature health care law that Trump and Republicans are currently trying to repeal.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/511177-this-already-exists-democrats-seize-on-trump-executive-order-on-preexisting

Trump aides exploring executive actions to curb voting by mail - POLITICO

This past spring, President Donald Trump began a full-fledged assault on voting by mail, tweeting, retweeting and railing about massive fraud and rigged elections with scant evidence. Then the Republican apparatus got to work backing up the president. ....
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/08/trump-wants-to-cut-mail-in-voting-the-republican-machine-is-helping-him-392428

Biden: Trump can't be allowed to open Grand Canyon for uranium mining - Business Insider

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden condemned plans to mine uranium around Arizona's Grand Canyon and said President Trump's nuclear energy plan would "drive a drill into the heart of one of Arizona's cultural and economic cornerstones." https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-trump-cant-be-allowed-open-grand-canyon-uranium-mining-2020-8

Civil death: how millions of Americans lost their right to vote

Voter disenfranchisement is an American tradition – we look at the historical roots of civil death https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/07/americans-voting-rights-disenfranchisement

What Are The Most Atheist Countries? | NowThis World

Religion has played a major role in the development of the culture and society, but in recent years, more and more countries have turned their backs on the whole idea of believing in a central diety. So, which countries are the most atheist, and why? ....
https://youtu.be/uEDObDdOPTA

36 Easy Questions for Atheists

https://youtu.be/pO3NlygMCOA

John Roberts’ stealth attack on abortion rights in June Medical v. Russo just paid off.

A federal appeals court will allow Arkansas to create degrading new hurdles for people seeking abortions.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/john-roberts-8th-circuit-abortion-rights-arkansas.html

Russia, China and Iran meddling in US elections, top intelligence official says

Russia is backing Donald Trump, China is supporting Joe Biden and Iran is seeking to sow chaos in the US presidential election, a top intelligence official has warned in a sobering assessment of foreign meddling.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/07/us-election-interference-russia-china-iran-intelligence

Facebook takes down troll farm posing as Black support for Trump | TheHill

Facebook said Thursday that it has taken down a number of fake accounts and pages associated with a Romanian-based troll farm that pretended to represent Black Americans who support President Trump.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/510948-facebook-takes-down-troll-farm-posing-as-black-support-for-trump

Michigan GOP official refuses calls to resign while continuing to publicly use n-word - The Hill

A Republican official in Leelanau County, Mich., is rejecting calls for his resignation after he used the n-word at a public meeting and is also refusing to stop using the racist language....
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/511020-michigan-gop-official-refuses-calls-to-resign-while-continuing-to

Trump exempts Arizona, California, Connecticut from National Guard coronavirus deployment payments - POLITICO

Earlier this week, the administration announced it would cover the full deployment costs only for Florida and Texas.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/07/trump-national-guard-deployment-payment-exemptions-392583

Trump earns a new title: Terrorist-in-Chief - Raw Story

OK, we've managed to find ourselves in another governmental tempest in a substantial teacup. Donald Trump is working overtime to undercut the U.S. Postal Service just as he is railing on mail ballots.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/trump-earns-a-new-title-terrorist-in-chief/

Republicans Go All-In on Kanye West Campaign To Sink Biden | Time

The most offensive thing about Republicans with ties to President Donald Trump’s re-election efforts openly working to put rapper Kanye West on swing states’ ballots isn’t that they’re trying to pull votes away from Joe Biden. It’s that they’re doing so with very little effort to hide their true intention: to chip away at Biden’s support among Black voters. ....
https://time.com/5877482/republicans-kanye-west-campaign/

“Mr. President, What Are Your Priorities?” Is Not a Tough Question | The New Yorker

Trump is running for reëlection, but, unlike four years ago, he can’t even say why. https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/mr-president-what-are-your-priorities-is-not-a-tough-question

Trump advisers hesitated to give military options and warned adversaries over fears he might start a war - CNNPolitics

Amid escalating tensions with both North Korea and Iran, President Donald Trump's advisers hesitated to give him military options fearing the President might accidentally take the US to war and deliberately informed their counterparts in both countries that they did not know what the President would do next, multiple former administration officials tell me. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/politics/trump-advisers-fears-military-options/index.html

Opinion | Sally Yates blows up Republican conspiracies and falsehoods - The Washington Post

Former deputy attorney general Sally Yates provided as definitive an account as you are going to get regarding former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the Russia investigation and the politicization of the Justice Department during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Republicans have been so immersed in a false account of events and in conspiracy-mongering for a failed president that they seemed startled when Yates corrected them again and again. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/06/truth-telling-sally-yates-testifies-about-flynn-russia-barr/

At least 6 Republican operatives, some tied to Trump camp, working to get Kanye West on the 2020 ballot - ABC News

It raises questions about their motives to put West’s name on the ballot. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/republican-operatives-tied-trump-camp-working-kanye-west/story

Opinion | Trump said, ‘Read the books! Read the manuals!’ Here is what they contain. - The Washington Post

Located in a secret alcove in the White House is a set of manuals. They explain in simple language and with illustrations every matter the president might encounter. Everyone knows about them, so that you can allude to them in conversation and people know what you are talking about: The Manuals, The Books. You might as well say “the Constitution” for how recognizable these are to the average listener. (Although the interviewer in this situation does not understand the reference, this is because he is from Australia; everyone in America knows about the presidential Manuals, Books.) But only the president has access to the wisdom they contain, which is why his decisions are always so opaque and baffling to all those around him. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/06/trump-said-read-books-read-manuals-here-is-what-they-contain/

Commissioner blames Black people for virus, uses racial slur - ABC News

A northern Michigan county official was heard using a racial slur prior to a pubic meeting to describe African Americans in Detroit whom he blamed for spreading the coronavirus in the state. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/commissioner-blames-black-people-virus-racial-slur-72222104

New report finds high closure rates for charter schools over time - The Washington Post

A comprehensive examination released Thursday of charter school failure rates between 1999 and 2017 found that more than one-quarter of the schools closed after operating for five years, and about half closed after 15 years, displacing a total of more than 867,000 students. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/08/06/new-report-finds-high-closure-rates-charter-schools-over-time/

GOPers Keep Falsely Implying A Protester Killed A Federal Officer In Oakland | Talking Points Memo

In fact, the FBI alleged, the murderer had no intention of joining the protests: He "came to Oakland to kill cops."
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/gopers-keep-falsely-implying-a-protester-killed-a-federal-officer-in-oakland

Longtime GOP strategist says he’ll ‘work with Democrats’ to defeat Trump | PBS NewsHour

" ...It — really, the party clearly doesn't believe in what it said it believed in. I think that, you know, you go back a few years ago, we would have said there's a core set of beliefs, personal responsibility, character counts, strong on Russia, fiscal sanity, free trade, pro-legal immigration. All of these were bedrock principles. And now it's not that the party has drifted away from these. The party is actively against each of these principles..."
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/longtime-gop-strategist-says-hell-work-with-democrats-to-defeat-trump

Opinion | Our nation is in a free fall. But sure, let’s talk about Hillary’s emails again. - The Washington Post

Nearly 5 million covid-19 cases in the United States. One-hundred fifty-seven thousand dead. Thirty-two million out of work. Tens of millions facing eviction, foreclosure and hunger. What do we do now? Simple: We talk about Hillary Clinton’s emails! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/05/how-do-we-handle-5-million-covid-19-cases-us-talk-about-hillarys-emails/

Pence’s hyped-up claims of ‘voter fraud’ in Indiana - The Washington Post

“Make no mistake about it. The reality of voter fraud is undeniable. We’ve seen case after case around the country where there have been prosecutions. … In my own state of Indiana in 2012, there was a Democrat super PAC that was involved in our elections, that literally, there was a group of people that were prosecuted for falsifying ballots. This happens, Martha.” ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/05/pences-hyped-up-claims-voter-fraud-that-took-place-indiana/

Opinion | Trump is freaking out about Florida. Here’s why. - The Washington Post

After spreading endless lies about vote-by-mail’s supposed susceptibility to fraud, President Trump and his family members — who often double as his propagandists — are suddenly scrambling to reassure voters that mail-balloting is actually tremendously secure and reliable. Yet they are mainly doing this in one particular state — Florida, which just happens to be an absolute must-win for Trump. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/05/trump-his-spinners-are-suddenly-freaking-out-about-florida-heres-why/

NEW AD: Republican Vets Against Trump

https://youtu.be/jUBwxpDfLok

Cartoon: A tale from the Crypt of Murder: 'Death by Donald'

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/8/6/1966931/-Cartoon-A-tale-from-the-Crypt-of-Murder-Death-by-Donald

Donald Trump’s Donors Receive Ominous Warning About Becoming 'Don's Next Con' | HuffPost

Progressive PAC MeidasTouch spelled out where some Trump campaign funds are being spent in its new ad.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-donors-meidas-touch-warning_n_5f2bf85fc5b6e96a22aeb7b8

Shining City on a Hill?

Ronald Reagan spoke often of America as a shining city on a hill: a prosperous, free, and virtuous model for the nations of the world. Is Trump's Republican Party living up to that vision of our potential? Has your party left you? Republican Voters Against Trump is a coalition of Republicans, former Republicans, conservatives, and former Trump voters who can’t support Trump for president this fall.....
https://youtu.be/ObqBtoz_fRA

Secretary Of Failure

Jared Kushner is just like his father-in-law: a failure.
https://youtu.be/xcxt7gUCgKY

Faith, Justice, And Freedom For The Wrongly Convicted (Terry Gross, Fresh Air)

Jim McCloskey, a lay minister, has devoted the past 40 years of his life to seeking justice and exoneration for men and women on death row or serving life sentences for crimes they didn't commit. "I saw firsthand how police and prosecutors manipulate evidence, coerce witnesses into giving false testimony," he says. His memoir is 'When Truth is All You Have.'
Interview:
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/21/893488656/faith-justice-and-freedom-for-the-wrongly-convicted

Trump’s Bank Was Subpoenaed by N.Y. Prosecutors in Criminal Inquiry - The New York Times

The subpoena, sent to Deutsche Bank, suggests that the inquiry into President Trump’s business practices is more wide-ranging than previously known. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/nyregion/trump-taxes-vance-deutsche-bank.html

Opinion | What will Trump do to win? Here are nine possible October surprises — and one November surprise. - The Washington Post

If the presidential election were held 91 days early (i.e., today), Joe Biden probably would amass 297 electoral votes — 27 more than he needs to win. No wonder Trump suggested that the vote be delayed. He’s desperate to avoid an ego-crushing defeat. He can’t postpone the election, but there are many other October surprises he could pull off. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/04/what-will-trump-do-win-here-are-nine-possible-october-surprises-one-november-surprise/

Susan is a former GOP State Legislator from Wisconsin who is voting Joe

https://youtu.be/qF5TSCJOTjo

Rising temperatures will cause more deaths than all infectious diseases – study

The growing but largely unrecognized death toll from rising global temperatures will come close to eclipsing the current number of deaths from all the infectious diseases combined if planet-heating emissions are not constrained, a major new study has found. ....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/04/rising-global-temperatures-death-toll-infectious-diseases-study

How The Pandemic And Trump's Efforts To Exclude Undocumented Immigrants Could Complicate The 2020 Census (On Point)

On Tuesday, President Trump signed a memorandum calling for the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the census count that determines House representation. But the power to make that decision, according to the Constitution, belongs to Congress. So what impact will his demand have?
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/07/23/trump-immigrants-census-complication

Could Baby Bonds Help Reduce Wealth Inequality In America? (On Point)

At the birth of this nation, Thomas Paine called for government baby bonds — savings bonds for every child. The idea has been given a fresh coat of paint, and is being proposed as a low-cost government program to tackle the vast inequality in today’s America.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/07/21/baby-bonds-inequality

Top U.S. & World Headlines — August 5, 2020

https://youtu.be/osiPjf2xa70

Those surges in coronavirus cases in other countries that Trump keeps talking about? They aren’t like ours. - The Washington Post

To hear the president tell it, the reason the media reports on the massive number of new coronavirus cases in the United States each day is simply to make him look bad. What the media should be doing instead, President Trump said Monday, is talking about how well the pandemic has gone here. After all, many countries besides the United States “are now having a major second wave,” he said. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/04/those-surges-coronavirus-cases-other-countries-that-trump-keeps-talking-about-they-arent-like-ours/

Ron DeSantis admits GOP sabotaged unemployment with ‘pointless roadblocks’ so fewer people would sign up – Raw Story

In an interview with CBS4 Miami’s Jim DeFede, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) admitted that Florida Republicans, led by his predecessor, deliberately crippled the state’s unemployment system so that fewer out-of-work people would apply for benefits.....
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/ron-desantis-admits-gop-sabotaged-unemployment-with-pointless-roadblocks-so-fewer-people-would-sign-up/

Unemployment benefits aren't creating a disincentive for job seekers - Axios

The extra $600 a week of unemployment insurance isn't creating a disincentive for job seekers, per a new study by Yale economists. ....
https://www.axios.com/unemployment-benefits-jobs-coronavirus-d6ec8105-2abe-4382-81a1-646d17ee17cb.html

Care

In the midst of the worse economic crisis in decades and with COVID’s death toll rising, Republicans have delayed vital economic support for American families. ....
https://youtu.be/LjKAp20Wr9s

Democrats, Republicans dig in on virus relief bill | PBS NewsHour

Negotiators on a huge coronavirus relief bill reported slight progress after talks resumed in the Capitol, with issues like food for the poor and aid to schools struggling to reopen safely assuming a higher profile in the talks. Multiple obstacles remain, including an impasse on extending a $600-per-week pandemic jobless benefit, funding for the U.S. Postal Service and aid to renters facing eviction. Democratic negotiators spoke of progress Monday but Republicans remain privately pessimistic. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democrats-republicans-dig-in-on-virus-relief-bill

Protesters across country oppose ‘unsafe’ school openings during covid-19 - The Washington Post

With some public schools reopened and coronavirus cases already being reported, protesters in at least three dozen school districts across the country took to the streets Monday to demand that science and health concerns rule decisions about when and how to resume in-person learning.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/08/04/with-coronavirus-cases-reported-some-reopened-schools-protesters-take-streets-with-fake-coffins/

Confused Trump can't understand how many Americans are dying of coronavirus in shocking interview

Several of the moments in Donald Trump’s interview with Jonathan Swan of Axios have gone viral for good reason, but the extended clip where the two men argue about how well the U.S. is doing when it comes to coronavirus cases is especially jaw-dropping—and informative. As Swan presses Trump on the terrible outcomes in the U.S., we get to to see how Trump’s mind works, beat by beat. It is, of course, terrifying. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/8/4/1966399/-Trump-says-You-can-t-do-that-as-reporter-tries-to-talk-about-number-of-COVID-19-deaths

I voted for Trump and I won't do it again.

https://youtu.be/XgqOD7BECNc

Donald Trump on the ropes in interview over US Covid-19 death toll

Donald Trump visibly floundered in an interview when pressed on a range of issues, including the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the US, his claims that mail-in voting is fraudulent, and his inaction over the “Russian bounty” scandal.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/04/donald-trump-on-the-ropes-in-interview-over-us-covid-19-death-toll

President Trump and his Company Investigated for Possible Fraud, Filing Suggests - The New York Times

The office of the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., made the disclosure in a new court filing arguing Mr. Trump’s accountants should turn over his tax returns. ....
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/nyregion/donald-trump-taxes-cyrus-vance.html

Opinion | Republican Leaders Couldn’t Care Less About the Unemployed - The New York Times

The cruelty and ignorance of Trump and his allies are creating another gratuitous disaster. ....
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/opinion/republicans-unemployed-coronavirus.html

QAnon supporters are winning some primaries. So who supports QAnon? - The Washington Post

Its appeal is not really based on traditional left-right, Democratic-Republican politics.....

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/08/03/who-supports-qanon-heres-what-our-new-poll-finds/

Married couple charged with hate crime after yelling 'white power' in road rage incident - The Washington Post

Itzel Lopez and her boyfriend were sitting at a red light on July 22 in Torrance, Calif., when a White couple stormed out of their pickup truck. “Only White lives matter,” the woman said, according to an Instagram video Lopez shot of the incident. The woman stood on the passenger side, flipping dual middle fingers at Lopez and her boyfriend, who is Black. The man, who was standing on the driver’s side, fluttered his hand in a wave then yelled “white power!” and made a Nazi salute. Then he grabbed a shovel and slammed it against the car as Lopez’s boyfriend backed up and sped away. On Friday, the married couple in the video, Gregory and Rachel Howell, both 29, were arrested on hate crime and vandalism charges, police said.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/03/hate-crime-racism-torrance-california/

The Trump Administration Is Making It More Difficult To Seek Asylum. Is That Legal? (The 1A)

In June, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration, and made it more difficult for immigrants seeking asylum in the United States to appeal their decisions and to speed their subsequent deportation if they are denied the protection.

The opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, claimed that the decision to uphold a law that limits a federal court’s ability to review asylum cases would ease the strain asylum claims put on the immigration system in America.

This decision is based off the case of Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam, a Sri Lankan farmer and member of the Tamil ethnic group. Thuraissigiam sought asylum in the U.S. after he was kidnapped and beaten in a pattern of violence that has traditionally targeted Tamil people. His request was denied and he was deported back to Sri Lanka.

This development comes as the Trump administration has consistently sought to make it more difficult for migrants to seek asylum. This American Life reported about one element: the “Remain In Mexico” policy, which requires those who want asylum to wait in dangerous camps over the border.

Will this decision truly ease the burden on the U.S. immigration system? How will this affect those seeking asylum now? And what’s behind the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail asylum?
Interview:
https://the1a.org/segments/the-trump-administration-is-making-it-more-difficult-to-seek-asylum-is-that-legal/

Sociologist Michael Sierra-Arévalo On Why Police Expect Danger And How It Drives Brutality (On Point)

Sociologist Michael Sierra-Arévalo spent 1,000 hours with police officers in the field. Ride-alongs, high speed chases, patrols. He says they’re taught to expect danger at every moment on the job. And that expectation is a major driver of police brutality.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/07/16/sociologist-michael-sierra-arevalo-on-how-police-expectation-of-danger-drives-brutality

Former DC and Philly Police Chief Charles Ramsey Talks Police Reform (The Al Franken podcast)

Al in conversation with the co-chair of Obama’s police reform commission.
Interview:
https://alfranken.com/listen/charles-ramsey