Tracker

Trump implores ‘forensic geniuses’ to investigate former GOP congressman for murder President Donald Trump on Saturday urged “forensic geniuses” to investigate one of his critics for murder. Earlier in the month, Trump asked, “When will they open a Cold Case on the Psycho Joe Scarborough matter in Florida? Did he get away with murder? Some people think so. Why did he leave Congress so quietly and quickly? Isn’t it obvious? What’s happening now?” Trump tweeted. “A total nut job!” https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/trump-implores-forensic-geniuses-to-investigate-former-gop-congressman-for-murder/

A couple of things: it is quite possible that there will never be a vaccine, and even if there is, a poll last week of Trump supporters indicated that 24% would not take the vaccine for one reason and another. Also, there has never been a pandemic where there was not a second wave. It ain't over til its over.

Husband of Reopen NC leader ‘willing to kill people’ in resistance to emergency orders Written by Jordan Green / Raw Story May 25, 2020 The husband of the woman who leads the Reopen NC movement says people should be willing to kill, if necessary, to resist the “New World Order” and emergency orders imposed by state government to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Adam Smith posted a string of Facebook Live videos on Facebook on Friday, May 22, 2020 that culminated with a chilling threat. https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/husband-of-reopen-nc-leader-willing-to-kill-people-in-resistance-to-emergency-orders/ (Such is the level of social discourse in the US)

Trump’s Five Simple Tricks for Stealing the Election Sure, he could use ordinary cheating to eke out another narrow Electoral College win and popular vote loss. But he has other cards up his sleeve if that doesn't work out this time. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-fifth-simple-trick-for-stealing-the-election-will-give-you-nightmaresand-tear-america-apart?ref=home (Bottom Line: the US electoral system is so screwed up that Trump could still resume his presidency even of he loses the election again)

If they voted en masse for Trump, they are not bad, they have the collective IQ of a turnip.

There will always be the those who are willing to sell out their principles in exchange for perceived gain- it happened with Jews in Hitler's Germany, French in France, and doctors in Jonestown gave poison to their own children. In my experience, abusers and megalomaniacs have an uncanny instinct for finding both vulnerable victims and enablers.

It will also depend on social gatherings where precautions have not been taken, and the US has a lot of gospel meetings where masks are discouraged, so that is also a flashpoint.

This is, by definition, a global pandemic. Damned few countries and economies are or will be free of the effects, and governments will have to choose between massive death rates or deficits, and I think that most people will choose the deficits with the attendant higher taxes. But then, that's socialism, isn't it? Unless taxpayer moneys are used to prop up businesses, some of whom have managed to avoid paying any sort of taxes but still line up at the trough.

We have not seen the worst out of the US yet. There is an unholy alliance there of the fundamentalist preachers, neo-nazis and business to push for a relaxing of pretty much all restrictions, and these are Trump/GOP core supporters. Even before now, there was a lot of disregarding of restrictions in Trump's heartland. Moreover, the pandemic is set to ravage the deep south and poor white communities as the health services are rudimentary at best- did you know that Doctors Without Borders have set up tent clinics in west Virginia where the life expectancy hovers in the 50's and the infant mortality is that of a third world. And these clinics were met with hostility and even threats. Someone described the US as a third-world country with Iphones.

This would explain why some clusters of fatalities have occurred: ‘Up to a Dozen’ COVID-19 Variants in the United States As the lockdown settled in, so did the coronavirus. And then it began mutating into all sorts of local strains. Six months after the novel coronavirus first leaped from animals to people in Wuhan, China, and three months after the virus began spreading across the United States, scientists are finally beginning to understand the overall shape of the pandemic. Drawing samples from tens of thousands of COVID-19 patients and decoding the samples’ genomes, scientists are making so-called “phylogenetic” maps of the pandemic over time. The maps help researchers start to answer some important questions.

Out of boredom and desperation, I watched the 2017 CFL Riders at Ticats game this evening and was struck by several things: Henich Muamba was darned good, Brandon Bridge didn't look all that bad, and Jeff Hecht (a Rider then) was as bad or worse than he was as a Bomber. Still, it was entertaining and welcome. TSN should do more of this sort of thing.

Biden has been a champion of the black communities since way back, but geez, he needs to pick someone as a VP who doesn't keep saying dumb things. Oh, Elizabeth Warren, you are sorely missed.

Betsy DeVos openly admits she's using the pandemic to impose her private school choice agenda “Yes, absolutely,” DeVos replied when asked if she was trying to "utilize" the crisis to help "faith-based schools" IGOR DERYSH MAY 23, 2020 3:32AM (UTC) Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos admitted that she was trying to use the ongoing coronavirus crisis to push through her private school choice agenda during a Tuesday radio interview. DeVos made the comments during an interview with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, on his Sirius XM show. The interview was first flagged by the nonprofit education news outlet Chalkbeat. https://www.salon.com/2020/05/22/betsy-devos-openly-admits-shes-using-the-pandemic-to-impose-her-private-school-choice-agenda/

It may also be stoopid.

You don't want to know.

Only 48 hours after Trump did much the same in the US. Could it be that Kenney worships at the feet of Trump?

This is a celebration?

And a supporter of the Nazi party along with Charles Lindbergh.

It appears that the Trump "strategy" is to offload the responsibility for coping with the pandemic to the individual states and cities and to hold financial aid conditional upon them being "nice" to Trump. That way he can deny any responsibility for the rapidly growing body count while encouraging the nutty fringe to resist any restrictions. And when things really go to hell in a handcart, he can wring his hands and say, "If only they had listened to me". All the while he can flail around for someone to blame: China, the WHO, the Democrats, Obama, and the CDC on the theory that if you throw enough **** at a wall, some of it is bound to stick and make you look like you are actually doing something. None of this is likely to work, and then we are going to see how ugly things can get.

If you are into body language, a forward lean is supposed to convey an aggressive stance. No doubt someone told Trump that he looks more powerful if he leans like that.

Tara Reade Dropped as Client by Douglas Wigdor, a Trump-Friendly #MeToo Lawyer Pilar Melendez, Reporter Published May. 22, 2020 12:00PM ET Tara Reade, the former Senate aide who has accused former Vice President Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, no longer has legal representation. On Friday, lawyer Douglas Wigdor, who took Reade on as a client just two weeks ago, said Friday that he is not representing her. https://www.thedailybeast.com/tara-reade-dropped-as-client-by-douglas-wigdor-a-trump-friendly-metoo-lawyer

Alabama Is Packing Graduation Ceremonies and Overloading ICUs Several high schools in Alabama—where coronavirus cases have been steadily increasing since lockdown restrictions were first loosened last month—went ahead with ceremonies this week, provoking the ire of protesters and dismay among some public health officials. Even as local Montgomery officials warned this week that major hospitals had completely run out of available intensive care unit beds due to an outbreak in the area, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Thursday that statewide bans on large entertainment venues, athletic activities, and childcare facilities would end on Friday at 5 p.m. In other words, one of the states with the most alarming COVID-19 dynamics in the country was plowing ahead with a uniquely brazen reopening. https://www.thedailybeast.com/alabama-is-packing-graduation-ceremonies-and-overloading-icus

Trump’s creepy praise of an anti-Semite’s ‘good bloodlines’ triggers furious backlash Written by David Badash / The New Civil Rights Movement May 22, 2020 President Donald Trump once again is dog-whistling to his base. While delivering a campaign-style speech at a Michigan Ford auto plant that’s been retooled to manufacture personal protective gear, Trump decided to take a walk into history and praise the company’s founder, the infamous anti-Semite Henry Ford. https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/trumps-creepy-praise-of-an-anti-semites-good-bloodlines-triggers-furious-backlash/