COVID cases top 4 million as Trump and his base reject experts, science

People who refuse to wear a mask are bolstering their sore egos. Their national motto is not 'E Pluribus Unum,' it's 'You're not the boss of me.' ....
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/07/25/covid-cases-top-4-million-trump-base-reject-experts-column/5500345002/

Unidentified Federal Officers Are Scooping Up Protesters In Portland. Are Other Cities Next? (On Point)

Unidentified federal law enforcement officers are scooping up protesters in Portland and detaining them in unmarked vehicles. They were sent to quell protests, but many say their presence is only fanning the flames. We'll discuss the legality of a president using federal force in U.S. cities, and what it means for our democracy.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/07/23/federal-officers-detain-protesters-portland

Everything Mike Pompeo touches turns to sh*t (Pod Save the World podcast)

Democrats sound the alarm about foreign election interference. Experts say Israel and the US are responsible for mysterious explosions across Iran. Mike Pompeo uses taxpayer dollars to run for President. A fire on a US Navy ship has major implications. Lebanon’s economy nears collapse. The UAE launched a space craft. The White House threatens to prevent 92 million Chinese citizens from entering the US. A coronavirus update and some baseball news. Then Bernie Sanders’s foreign policy advisor Matt Duss joins to talk about lessons from the 2020 campaign and how to push for a smarter, more progressive foreign policy.
Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9513168/everything-mike-pompeo-touches-turns-to-

Dems in Congress push for a more progressive foreign policy (Pod Save the World podcast)

A leadership fight in Congress that could help make the Democratic Party’s foreign policy more progressive. A far-right nationalist wins reelection in Poland. How other countries are reopening schools during COVID. Egypt cracks down on press freedom. China, the NBA and why ESPN suspended a reporter. Turkey tries to silence critics abroad. China sanctions Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and may sign a strategic deal with Iran. And the US keeps its border closed.
Interview:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/9513168/dems-in-congress-push-for-a-more-progres

“The John Lewis Voting Rights Act.” (Pod Save America podcast)

Donald Trump’s 40-minute interview with Fox News’s Chris Wallace is perfection, the Administration is sending unidentified paramilitary troops to crack down on protesters in Portland, and America says goodbye to Congressman John Lewis and CT Vivian, two giants of the Civil Rights Movement. Then Voto Latino’s María Teresa Kumar talks to Tommy about organizing the Latino community ahead of November.
Interview:

https://www.spreaker.com/user/9513168/the-john-lewis-voting-rights-act

Local TV stations across US to air conspiracy theory on Fauci

Sinclair stations to run interview with Plandemic researcher who claims infectious disease expert created the coronavirus ....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/25/sinclair-tv-stations-fauci-plandemic-conspiracy-theory

The federal police in Portland don’t even understand what ‘arrests’ are - The Washington Post

The government cannot lawfully exercise its power of arrest if it doesn’t realize it is, in fact, arresting people in the first place.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/portland-fourth-amendment-arrests/2020/07/24/c7e9822c-cceb-11ea-91f1-28aca4d833a0_story.html

Made-for-TV fascism: how Trump’s ‘crime explosion’ ploy could backfire

Trump is facing a big election with an even bigger need for a political masterstroke – enter a surge of federal agents to fight supposed violence
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/25/trump-federal-agents-portland-ploy-election

Social Security is back on McConnell's chopping block with his latest COVID-19 'relief' plan

There is an awful lot of bad in the coronavirus relief package Sen. Mitch McConnell is struggling to put together with his divisive Republican conference. One bright spot seemed to be that the extremely bad idea from Donald Trump of a payroll tax cut has been finally put to rest. It seems that laying the groundwork for eventual big cuts to Social Security and Medicare by starving the trust fund in this bill was too controversial and too transparent for Republicans. So they decided to do it a much sneakier way. ....
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2020/7/24/1963490/-Social-Security-is-back-on-McConnell-s-chopping-block-with-his-latest-COVID-19-relief-plan

Are Seeds of Fascism Being Sown in the United States? | Amanpour and Company

Jason Stanley is a professor of philosophy at Yale University, and in his new book "How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them," he explores the inner mechanics of fascism and the forces that drive dictatorships. Stanley joins Hari Sreenivasan to explain his concern at signs of fascism on the rise in the U.S.
https://youtu.be/nHFt7Ov0JNs

US push for global alliance against China hampered by years of 'America first'

Beijing is flexing its muscles on multiple fronts but Trump’s retreat from world leadership leaves it ill-placed to helm a fightback
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/24/us-china-mike-pompeo-america-first

'That’s an illegal order': veterans challenge Trump's officers in Portland

Two veterans asked federal agents if they understood their oath to defend the constitution as teargas was fired ....
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/24/portland-trump-order-federal-officers-veterans-protests

Covid-19 puts workers in danger. It's another reason we need unions

At one US meat plant, 890 workers contracted Covid-19. At another, eight people died. Only organized labor will protect us
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/24/covid-19-workers-dangers-unions

Opinion | Stop fretting about Trump and do something about it. Right now. - The Washington Post

Do this now.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/24/stop-fretting-about-trump-do-something-about-it-right-now/

Opinion | Small-business owners are realizing they are the victims of another Trump con - The Washington Post

Last summer, Scott Richardson renovated Occasionally Yours, his 30-year-old cafe in Swarthmore, Pa., and revamped the menu. Business more than doubled. “Putting avocado on things is a really positive thing,” he told me. Then, the novel coronavirus struck. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/24/small-business-owners-are-realizing-they-are-victims-another-trump-con/

Voting Tips for Republicans

https://youtu.be/pCYTVW_nNgI

Take it from a historian. We don't owe anything to Confederate monuments

Trump spends so much time defending statues not because he cares about history, but precisely because he doesn’t
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jul/23/trump-portland-confederate-monuments-racism-history

New Jersey lawsuit alleges ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick orchestrated abuse involving other clerics - The Washington Post

Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, already laicized and the subject of a Vatican investigation, is accused in a newly filed lawsuit of orchestrating the abuse of minor boys by multiple other clerics at his New Jersey beach house in the early 1980s. https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2020/07/22/new-accuser-theodore-mccarrick-alleges-ex-cardinal-orchestrated-abuse-involving-other-clerics/

Bill Zuersher - Seeing Through Christianity - A Critique of Beliefs and Evidence

Based on his book Bill Zuersher provides a critical overview of Christian beliefs and the evidence for them. Where did these beliefs come from? Are there good reasons to believe Christianity is true? He looks at Christianity's major beliefs and the significant difficulties with each of them. Mr. Zuersher also examines the evidence for Christianity namely religious writings and the historical fact of the early Jesus movement. He makes the case that this evidence does not support the religion's claims and he provides naturalistic alternative explanations for how its core beliefs arose. https://youtu.be/_AdPoHDebjU

Week In The News: Feds Deployed In Chicago, Coronavirus Spikes, John Lewis' Passing (On Point)

It’s our weekly news roundup. The president orders Federal law enforcement to Chicago and changes his mind on mask-wearing, Washington orders China’s Houston consulate shut, and civil rights icon John Lewis' passing. Plus, the latest on the pandemic and the 2020 election.
Interview:
https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2020/07/24/week-in-review-feds-pandemic-lewis