The Los Angeles Times’ Janet Hook assesses the status of the non-transition transition from Joe Biden to Donald Trump, noting that Trump is making more of an effort to stay in power than actually do the job he already has.
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America’s 250,000 COVID-19 deaths: People die, but little changes
The Washington Post has published a discomforting report about America’s ineffective response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which details the resistance to mask wearing and physical distancing in many parts of the country.
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Biden did better in parts of America with strong economies
“In 2020, Biden won 477 counties that account for seventy percent of the U.S. economy, while Trump won 2,497 counties amounting to just shy of thirty percent of the economy, according to an analysis by Mark Muro, senior fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, and his team.”
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Far-right groups are behind most U.S. terrorist attacks, report finds
“White supremacist groups have carried out a majority of ‘terrorist plots and attacks’ this year, according to a report by a think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies,” the New York Times reports.
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President Barack Obama shreds Donald Trump in major speech from Philadelphia
On October 21st, 2020, President Barack Obama delivered a scathing and unsparing indictment of Donald Trump’s disastrous presidency from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Right wing terrorists who plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer arrested, FBI announces
A group of militant right wing extremists who were plotting to harm Governor Gretchen Whitmer have been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the federal government announced today.
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The New York Times has Donald Trump’s tax returns. Here’s what’s in them.
Unsurprise: The paper’s reporters write that based on what the data shows, Trump “has been more successful playing a business mogul than being one in real life.”
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“I feel sorry for Americans”: A baffled world watches the U.S.
The New York Times reports on the concern and consternation many people feel around the world as the 2020 presidential election enters its final weeks.
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Federal intelligence sent to Oregon and Portland indicates right-wing extremists pose biggest lethal threat
Via The Oregonian, confirmation of what we already knew: “Racially motivated extremists and ad-hoc citizen militias appear to present the most pronounced threat of violence to human life, according to a Joint Intelligence Bulletin circulated to law enforcement in June by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center.”
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Why experts are overwhelmingly skeptical of online voting
Ars Technica’s Timothy B. Lee has put together an incredibly good article that reiterates what security researchers and election integrity advocates have known for a long time: online voting is a terrible idea and should not be used for any elections for public office.
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Wildfire devastates Big Basin Redwoods State Park
A wildfire has destroyed all the historic structures in California’s first state park, leaving conservation advocates like Sam Hodder in mourning.
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Kristin Urquiza delivers searing indictment of Donald Trump on Day One of 2020 DNC
Urquiza made one of the first night’s most memorable appearances, ripping Donald Trump for his refusal to step up and take on COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.
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Political commentator and analyst David Roberts offers a theory on why the Republican Party is self-destructing
“No one, even McConnell can herd these cats. The party – from top electeds to think tankers to party officials to voters — has become one big swarming mass of hack pundits competing to go viral.”
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Russia working to damage Joe Biden’s White House bid, U.S. intelligence agencies say
“The disclosure is the most detailed yet from U.S. intelligence agencies about foreign efforts to interfere in the 2020 election between presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Trump,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Trump’s racism won’t win the suburbs… but it may diversify them
Donald Trump’s recent comments “could serve to nudge more passive supporters of discriminatory housing policy toward a ‘come to density’ moment,” Eric Levitz argues.
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A harsh lesson in the reality of COVID-19
An enthusiastic Donald Trump backer who trusted Trump and Pence instead of public health experts and lost family members as a result has a warning for people who still think like he once did.
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Watch Pramila Jayapal take Trump’s AG Bill Barr apart on Capitol Hill
When it was her turn to spar with Trump’s enforcer, Pramila Jayapal made the most of it. Watch her take Bill Barr apart in this three minute video.
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A summer vacation during coronavirus? Experts weigh in
It’s the summer of COVID-19. BuzzFeed wonders: “How safe is it to take a trip? And what summer activities are less risky than others?”
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has signed into law a police accountability bill that prohibits neck restraints
“The bill, passed by the Legislature earlier this week, also bans chokeholds and fear-based or ‘warrior-style’ training, which critics say promotes excessive force,” The Associated Press reports. “It imposes a duty to intercede on officers who see a colleague using excessive force and changes rules on the use of force to stress the sanctity of life.”
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Coronavirus resurgence is killing America’s small businesses
“More owners are permanently shutting their doors after new lockdown orders, realizing that there may be no end in sight to the crisis,” reports The New York Times’ Emily Flitter.
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July 4th: An opportunity to celebrate the idea of progressive freedom, which is dynamic
Feeling conflicted about celebrating Independence Day and honoring America’s founders this year? Take a few minutes to read this excerpt from Whose Freedom.
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