thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Trump Campaign Assumed Easy Georgia Win And Appears to Have Left Millions Unspent

WASHINGTON – The campaign of President Donald Trump was so focused on not overspending that it turned down a $ 3 million request to help get out the vote in Georgia , and it appears to have headed into election night with tens of millions of dollars left unspent in the bank .
“ Trying not to win , I guess , ” said one top Republican fundraiser who spoke to HuffPost on condition of anonymity .
The fundraiser added that campaign manager Bill Stepien turned down spending extra money in Georgia , believing Trump would win there comfortably , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Bill was hellbent to not wind up in debt , but what the fuck ?
” The Trump campaign denied it left money unspent .
“ We didn ’ t have millions of uncommitted dollars in the bank on Election Day , and anyone who says otherwise has no idea what the situation was , ” deputy campaign manager Justin Clark said .
“ Every dollar we had was matched to an outstanding expense.
” Stepien , meanwhile , called the allegation he rejected the get-out-the-vote request “ false , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoke on condition of anonymity , said no such request was made .
“ Door-knocking funding is generally [ a Republican National Committee ] expenditure , not the campaign .
But when the RNC asked for assistance for that kind of thing , the campaign agreed every time .
The RNC never communicated to the campaign that there was a request for Georgia door-knocking money , ” the official said .
Determining precisely when money was available to the campaign is impossible using Federal Election Commission filings because so much of Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Their contributions are listed in the aggregate and not broken out by amount and date until a donor ’ s cumulative total reaches a $ 200 threshold .
But a HuffPost review of itemized donations to the Trump campaign and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee — the two entities that collected the most small-dollar donations for Trump ’ s reelection — in the latest FEC filings Thursday showed that the majority of them were made on or before Nov. 3 .
That means a large chunk of the money the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and which the campaign points to as proof of Trump ’ s continued hold on the Republican voting base , actually came in before the election .
Of the 524,023 small-dollar donations recorded by the Trump campaign between Oct. 15 and Nov. 23 , only 182,938 — 35 % ― came in after Election Day .
And of the 928,981 contributions to Trump MAGA , 447,014 , or 48 % , came in after Nov. 3 .
“ We raise the money to spend the money , ” said Jennifer Horn , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Party and a Trump critic .
“ There ’ s no heroism to having the money in the bank after the election if you lose.
” One possible explanation may be Trump himself .
Although federal law does not permit candidates to use leftover campaign money for their personal use , that is not Trump ’ s understanding of it .
Trump was infuriated in 2016 when he learned that he was obliged under the law to set up a transition office and pay employees to prepare for a possible victory , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that purpose .
“ He saw it as his money , ” one top aide on that earlier run told HuffPost on condition of anonymity .
The Trump campaign boasted in a press release Thursday evening that $ 207.5 million had been raised across the various Trump committees and the RNC since Nov. 3 , but declined to reveal how much of that had been raised after Nov. 23 , the closing date for the latest FEC filings .
Of the resulting donations , 75 % of the first $ 6,667 goes to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committee .
And because it was created last month as a so-called “ leadership ” PAC , rather than a campaign committee , Trump can use the money pretty much however he wants — including for personal expenses such as travel and meals and even a salary for himself .
Or even to make hush money payments .

President Donald Trump stands with campaign manager Bill Stepien aboard Air Force One on Aug. 28, 2020. SAUL LOEB via Getty Images
WASHINGTON – The campaign of President Donald Trump was so focused on not overspending that it turned down a $3 million request to help get out the vote in Georgia, and it appears to have headed into election night with tens of millions of dollars left unspent in the bank.
“Trying not to win, I guess,” said one top Republican fundraiser who spoke to HuffPost on condition of anonymity. The fundraiser added that campaign manager Bill Stepien turned down spending extra money in Georgia, believing Trump would win there comfortably, and seemed overly concerned about the budget. “Bill was hellbent to not wind up in debt, but what the fuck?”
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Trump wound up losing Georgia by 12,000 votes to Democrat Joe Biden, now the president-elect. It was the first time since 1992 that a Democratic presidential candidate won the state.
The Trump campaign denied it left money unspent. “We didn’t have millions of uncommitted dollars in the bank on Election Day, and anyone who says otherwise has no idea what the situation was,” deputy campaign manager Justin Clark said. “Every dollar we had was matched to an outstanding expense.”
Stepien, meanwhile, called the allegation he rejected the get-out-the-vote request “false,” and another top campaign official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no such request was made.
“Door-knocking funding is generally [a Republican National Committee] expenditure, not the campaign. But when the RNC asked for assistance for that kind of thing, the campaign agreed every time. The RNC never communicated to the campaign that there was a request for Georgia door-knocking money,” the official said.
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Determining precisely when money was available to the campaign is impossible using Federal Election Commission filings because so much of Trump’s money came from small-dollar donors. Their contributions are listed in the aggregate and not broken out by amount and date until a donor’s cumulative total reaches a $200 threshold.
But a HuffPost review of itemized donations to the Trump campaign and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee — the two entities that collected the most small-dollar donations for Trump’s reelection — in the latest FEC filings Thursday showed that the majority of them were made on or before Nov. 3.
That means a large chunk of the money the Trump operation has in the bank now, and which the campaign points to as proof of Trump’s continued hold on the Republican voting base, actually came in before the election.
Of the 524,023 small-dollar donations recorded by the Trump campaign between Oct. 15 and Nov. 23, only 182,938 — 35% ― came in after Election Day. And of the 928,981 contributions to Trump MAGA, 447,014, or 48%, came in after Nov. 3.
Those two committees accounted for $109 million of the $119 million held by Trump’s three fundraising entities as of Nov. 23. The Republican National Committee had an additional $59 million.
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It’s unclear why the Trump campaign would leave any money unspent, particularly since polls showed that the president was likely to lose.
“We raise the money to spend the money,” said Jennifer Horn, a former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party and a Trump critic. “There’s no heroism to having the money in the bank after the election if you lose.”
One possible explanation may be Trump himself. Although federal law does not permit candidates to use leftover campaign money for their personal use, that is not Trump’s understanding of it.
Trump was infuriated in 2016 when he learned that he was obliged under the law to set up a transition office and pay employees to prepare for a possible victory, even though he could use campaign funds for that purpose. “He saw it as his money,” one top aide on that earlier run told HuffPost on condition of anonymity.
The Trump campaign boasted in a press release Thursday evening that $207.5 million had been raised across the various Trump committees and the RNC since Nov. 3, but declined to reveal how much of that had been raised after Nov. 23, the closing date for the latest FEC filings.
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Trump’s campaign has aggressively solicited money from its small-donor list in recent weeks, with multiple emails and text messages per day.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Bernie Sanders Vows To Oppose COVID-19 Relief Package Over Lack Of Stimulus Checks

Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) , Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ( D-N.Y. ) and other progressive members of Congress are demanding another round of stimulus checks for all Americans , and Sanders is threatening to oppose compromise legislation if it doesn ’ t include direct assistance .
The bipartisan proposal currently gaining momentum among both Republicans and Democrats would allocate $ 908 billion dollars in COVID-19 relief , including funding for unemployed Americans , financial aid to states and localities with massive budget holes and additional funds for business loans .
Sanders said he would vote against the current proposal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between centrist lawmakers Sens .
Joe Manchin ( D-W.Va. ) , Mitt Romney ( R-Utah ) and Susan Collins ( R-Maine ) , among others , without significant revisions .
“ Given the enormous economic desperation facing working families in this country today , I will not be able to support the recently announced Manchin-Romney COVID proposal unless it is significantly improved , ” Sanders said in a statement , adding that he could support the bill with serious revisions , including direct payments to Americans .
“ At a time when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has ever been in the U.S. with record-breaking levels of hospitalization and death , the Manchin-Romney proposal not only provides no direct payments to working families , it does nothing to address the health care crisis and has totally inadequate financial assistance for the most vulnerable .
That is wrong morally and it is wrong economically if we hope to rebuild the economy , ” Sanders continued .
Sanders also balked at the “ liability shield ” provision in the bill , designed to protect businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits — something Republicans have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib ( D-Mich. ) positioned themselves similarly Friday , signaling growing frustration within the left flank of the Democratic Party .
They have not said how they would vote on the current proposal .
This latest proposal , negotiated between Manchin , Collins , Romney , and Sens .
Mark Warner ( D-Va. ) , Jeanne Shaheen ( D-N.H. ) , Lisa Murkowski ( R-Alaska ) and Bill Cassidy ( R-La . )
, was seen as a last-ditch effort to get some aid passed and signed into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For the first time in months , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) expressed optimism about negotiations , suggesting the relief package could be tied to the spending bill Congress must pass by Dec. 11 to avert another government shutdown .
But as it stands , the current proposal is likely to lose support on the flanks of both parties .
Already , conservative members of Congress have voiced opposition to the inclusion of nearly $ 200 billion in state and municipal aid included in the package .
That said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot to complain about , too .
This latest proposal is half the size of a $ 1.8 trillion bill the Trump administration proposed just two months ago .
Democratic leadership turned down that offer saying it did not go far enough .
Rep. Ro Khanna ( D-Calif. ) , a close ally of Sanders , was among the few Democrats that spoke out early against Pelosi ’ s decision to walk away from negotiations in October .
This latest bipartisan proposal , he says , is a significantly less desirable outcome @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have taken the $ 1.8 [ trillion ] ― and I worried about this , ” Khanna added .
“ I said , ‘ Let ’ s take this or after the election it ’ s going to be far less.
’ ” House Democrats passed a $ 3.4 trillion relief package , dubbed the Heroes Act , over the summer , which Republicans blocked entirely , claiming the price tag was too high .
The pandemic has reached its worst levels this month , which is forcing cities and states to implement @ @ @ @ @ @

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. called the current bipartisan proposal "wrong morally." (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other progressive members of Congress are demanding another round of stimulus checks for all Americans, and Sanders is threatening to oppose compromise legislation if it doesn’t include direct assistance.
The bipartisan proposal currently gaining momentum among both Republicans and Democrats would allocate $908 billion dollars in COVID-19 relief, including funding for unemployed Americans, financial aid to states and localities with massive budget holes and additional funds for business loans.
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It notably does not include a second round of the extremely popular $1,200 stimulus payments.
Sanders said he would vote against the current proposal, which was the outcome of negotiations between centrist lawmakers Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), among others, without significant revisions.
“Given the enormous economic desperation facing working families in this country today, I will not be able to support the recently announced Manchin-Romney COVID proposal unless it is significantly improved,” Sanders said in a statement, adding that he could support the bill with serious revisions, including direct payments to Americans.
“At a time when the COVID crisis is the worst that it has ever been in the U.S. with record-breaking levels of hospitalization and death, the Manchin-Romney proposal not only provides no direct payments to working families, it does nothing to address the health care crisis and has totally inadequate financial assistance for the most vulnerable. That is wrong morally and it is wrong economically if we hope to rebuild the economy,” Sanders continued.
Sanders also balked at the “liability shield” provision in the bill, designed to protect businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits — something Republicans have long pushed for. Other progressives, including Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) positioned themselves similarly Friday, signaling growing frustration within the left flank of the Democratic Party. They have not said how they would vote on the current proposal.
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“The public should be able to see who is holding stimulus checks hostage & demanding immunity for big corporations exposing workers to COVID,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, demanding more transparency in the negotiations.
COVID relief needs to directly help everyday people.
People need stimulus checks & UI. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 4, 2020
So far, COVID-19 relief negotiations have been held up at the highest levels of government, between House and Senate Leadership and top White House officials and Cabinet members.
This latest proposal, negotiated between Manchin, Collins, Romney, and Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), was seen as a last-ditch effort to get some aid passed and signed into law before the end of the year.
For the first time in months, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed optimism about negotiations, suggesting the relief package could be tied to the spending bill Congress must pass by Dec. 11 to avert another government shutdown.
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But as it stands, the current proposal is likely to lose support on the flanks of both parties. Already, conservative members of Congress have voiced opposition to the inclusion of nearly $200 billion in state and municipal aid included in the package.
It’s still too early in the negotiations to know whether opposition among progressives and conservatives is enough to tank a deal.
That said, the most liberal members of Congress have a lot to complain about, too. This latest proposal is half the size of a $1.8 trillion bill the Trump administration proposed just two months ago. Democratic leadership turned down that offer saying it did not go far enough.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a close ally of Sanders, was among the few Democrats that spoke out early against Pelosi’s decision to walk away from negotiations in October. This latest bipartisan proposal, he says, is a significantly less desirable outcome.
“It’s worse by almost every metric,” Khanna told HuffPost. “What is the metric that it’s better than?”
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“It shows that we should have taken the $1.8 [trillion] ― and I worried about this,” Khanna added. “I said, ‘Let’s take this or after the election it’s going to be far less.’”
House Democrats passed a $3.4 trillion relief package, dubbed the Heroes Act, over the summer, which Republicans blocked entirely, claiming the price tag was too high. The pandemic has reached its worst levels this month, which is forcing cities and states to implement even more stringent lockdown orders.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Mitt Romney Blasts Trump For 'Heartbreaking' Loss Of Life Caused By Poor Leadership

Mitt Romney on Thursday decried the “ great human tragedy ” that has resulted from Donald Trump ’ s lack of leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and criticized fellow Republicans for politicizing mask-wearing .
“ The extraordinary loss of life is heartbreaking , ” the Utah senator told CNN ’ s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday evening .
“ And in some cases unnecessary .
... We ’ ve relaxed our standards as individuals , some states haven ’ t had mask mandates , and from Washington we have not had a constant , consistent plan and plea for people to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take all the measures that would reduce the spread of this disease.
” When asked about Republican governors dragging their feet on instituting mask mandates or social distancing measures , Romney said they needed to take the pandemic “ very seriously and communicate that this is not a political matter ; this is not a matter of liberty .
This is a matter of safety and public health.
” Touching on the monthslong struggle within the Senate to approve a COVID-19 relief bill , Romney said he was “ quite confident ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be passed before the end of the year .
On Tuesday , the senator backed a bipartisan $ 908 billion proposal as a compromise between the $ 500 billion package supported by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) and the $ 2.2 trillion one pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ( D-Calif. ) .
McConnell reportedly shot down the compromise proposal , but Romney still said he was still optimistic that portions of it would be utilized .
“ We ’ ll see what [ McConnell ] incorporates in the final @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have a $ 900 billion bill ; whether it becomes 800 or 700 or what the final number is uncertain .
...
But I do believe that key provisions extending unemployment insurance , extending support for small businesses , vaccine distribution funds ― these elements are going to be included.
” Before the interview ended , Romney ― who was the sole Republican senator who voted to convict Trump for abuse of power in February ― added that the president ’ s unproven claim of widespread election fraud “ strikes at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world.
” “ People watch America , ” Romney said .
“ If we can ’ t have a free and fair election , how can they have it in other nations of the world ?
This is critical for the whole cause of democracy .
Russia and China have to be just laughing , smiling from ear to ear.
” '' This has n't been the focus of his rhetoric apparently and I think it 's a great human tragedy , '' says Sen. Mitt Romney of Trump 's approach to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loss of life is heartbreaking ... From Washington , we have not had a constant , consistent plan.
” pic.twitter.com/pmHsJjykxw — CNN ( @ CNN ) December 4 , 2020

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Mitt Romney on Thursday decried the “great human tragedy” that has resulted from Donald Trump’s lack of leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and criticized fellow Republicans for politicizing mask-wearing.
“The extraordinary loss of life is heartbreaking,” the Utah senator told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday evening. “And in some cases unnecessary. ... We’ve relaxed our standards as individuals, some states haven’t had mask mandates, and from Washington we have not had a constant, consistent plan and plea for people to wear masks, to social distance, to take all the measures that would reduce the spread of this disease.”
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When asked about Republican governors dragging their feet on instituting mask mandates or social distancing measures, Romney said they needed to take the pandemic “very seriously and communicate that this is not a political matter; this is not a matter of liberty. This is a matter of safety and public health.”
Touching on the monthslong struggle within the Senate to approve a COVID-19 relief bill, Romney said he was “quite confident” that a package of some sort would be passed before the end of the year.
On Tuesday, the senator backed a bipartisan $908 billion proposal as a compromise between the $500 billion package supported by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the $2.2 trillion one pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). McConnell reportedly shot down the compromise proposal, but Romney still said he was still optimistic that portions of it would be utilized.
“We’ll see what [McConnell] incorporates in the final proposal,” Romney said. “We have a $900 billion bill; whether it becomes 800 or 700 or what the final number is uncertain. ... But I do believe that key provisions extending unemployment insurance, extending support for small businesses, vaccine distribution funds ― these elements are going to be included.”
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Before the interview ended, Romney ― who was the sole Republican senator who voted to convict Trump for abuse of power in February ― added that the president’s unproven claim of widespread election fraud “strikes at the very foundation of democracy here and around the world.”
“People watch America,” Romney said. “If we can’t have a free and fair election, how can they have it in other nations of the world? This is critical for the whole cause of democracy. Russia and China have to be just laughing, smiling from ear to ear.”
Watch Romney’s full interview with Blitzer below:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Surveillance Tape Of Vote Counting Breeding False Fraud Claims In Georgia

Surveillance footage of ballot processing on election night in Atlanta is fueling a false social media narrative of “ suitcases filled with ballots ” hidden under a cloth-covered table and tallied without supervision , even as top state officials confirm election workers followed standard procedure .
The video showed regular ballot containers on wheels — not suitcases — and both a state investigator and an independent monitor observed counting until it was done for the night , finding no evidence of improper ballots , state and county officials said on Friday .
That hasn ’ t stopped President Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his supporters from sharing the video with false fraud accusations in a spate of Facebook and Twitter posts that have racked up millions of views in less than 24 hours .
CLAIM : Poll workers and partisan observers were told to leave Atlanta ’ s State Farm Arena on election night , but four election workers stayed behind , pulled suitcases full of ballots out from under a table , and scanned them after hours without any supervision .
No one told observers they had to leave , and both an independent monitor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to state and county officials .
Confusion arose when election workers thought they were done for the night , but then were instructed to continue scanning ballots .
But investigators who reviewed the entire surveillance tape confirmed it showed “ normal ballot processing , ” according to Gabriel Sterling , a top official in the secretary of state ’ s office .
The video , which shows clips of surveillance footage from a room where ballots were counted , began gaining traction online on Thursday after volunteer Trump attorney Jackie Pick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hearing at the state Capitol .
Pick claimed it showed a staff member telling partisan observers to leave the facility for the night about 10:30 p.m. After observers were “ cleared out , ” she said , four election workers stayed behind , pulled suitcases of ballots out from underneath a table , and counted them for two hours with no witnesses present .
Other election workers started to pack up , Sterling told The Associated Press in an interview .
They put prepared ballots back in boxes and away under a table @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Members of the media and Republican observers began to leave the building too .
Then , the supervisor onsite got a call from Barron , who instructed the team to continue scanning the ballots that had already been prepared .
They pulled the same boxes of ballots back out , and resumed scanning , Sterling said .
After a short period when observers weren ’ t present , an independent state election board monitor arrived to oversee the scanning at 11:52 p.m. , Barron said .
A state investigator arrived at 12:15 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facility until the count concluded for the night , he said .
The Georgia secretary of state ’ s office said it was aware of the late-night counting , and confirmed that both its investigator and an independent monitor observed scanning “ until it was halted for the night .
”

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Surveillance footage of ballot processing on election night in Atlanta is fueling a false social media narrative of “suitcases filled with ballots” hidden under a cloth-covered table and tallied without supervision, even as top state officials confirm election workers followed standard procedure.
The video showed regular ballot containers on wheels — not suitcases — and both a state investigator and an independent monitor observed counting until it was done for the night, finding no evidence of improper ballots, state and county officials said on Friday.
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That hasn’t stopped President Donald Trump, his campaign, his lawyers and his supporters from sharing the video with false fraud accusations in a spate of Facebook and Twitter posts that have racked up millions of views in less than 24 hours.
Here’s a look at the facts around this viral video:
CLAIM: Poll workers and partisan observers were told to leave Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on election night, but four election workers stayed behind, pulled suitcases full of ballots out from under a table, and scanned them after hours without any supervision.
THE FACTS: The video doesn’t show evidence of fraud, much less the “SMOKING GUN” evidence that Trump’s legal team claims on social media.
No one told observers they had to leave, and both an independent monitor and an investigator oversaw the vote count, according to state and county officials. Confusion arose when election workers thought they were done for the night, but then were instructed to continue scanning ballots. But investigators who reviewed the entire surveillance tape confirmed it showed “normal ballot processing,” according to Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the secretary of state’s office.
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The video, which shows clips of surveillance footage from a room where ballots were counted, began gaining traction online on Thursday after volunteer Trump attorney Jackie Pick presented it for state senators during a hearing at the state Capitol.
Pick claimed it showed a staff member telling partisan observers to leave the facility for the night about 10:30 p.m. After observers were “cleared out,” she said, four election workers stayed behind, pulled suitcases of ballots out from underneath a table, and counted them for two hours with no witnesses present.
Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron refuted those claims on Friday, saying in a public meeting that no observers were ever told to leave the facility.
According to Barron, staff members who had been opening and flattening ballots for scanning started leaving the facility as their duties concluded.
Other election workers started to pack up, Sterling told The Associated Press in an interview. They put prepared ballots back in boxes and away under a table “to close out for the night.” Members of the media and Republican observers began to leave the building too.
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Then, the supervisor onsite got a call from Barron, who instructed the team to continue scanning the ballots that had already been prepared. They pulled the same boxes of ballots back out, and resumed scanning, Sterling said.
“These aren’t magical ballots,” Sterling told the AP. “They didn’t show up out of some other room.”
Georgia law § 21-2-408 permits observers to stay in the room the whole time, but doesn’t require it for counting to take place.
After a short period when observers weren’t present, an independent state election board monitor arrived to oversee the scanning at 11:52 p.m., Barron said. A state investigator arrived at 12:15 a.m. Both individuals remained at the facility until the count concluded for the night, he said.
The Georgia secretary of state’s office said it was aware of the late-night counting, and confirmed that both its investigator and an independent monitor observed scanning “until it was halted for the night.”
The office said it had launched an investigation into why partisan poll observers left before scanning ended.
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The president’s team is “intentionally misleading the public about what happened at State Farm Arena on election night,” Sterling tweeted Friday. “They had the whole video too and ignored the truth.”
___


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--We’re Thinking About Unemployment All Wrong. Biden’s Team Could Change That.

And that is not unusual .
Since the government began tracking Black unemployment in 1972 , the rate has steadily remained about double the overall number .
Black workers are typically the first fired and last hired in any crisis , including in the pandemic .
After COVID-19 initially threw millions out of work , white workers were hired back at about twice the rate of Black workers .
This past week , Biden announced his economic team , and Bernstein joined a diverse group of economists ― including Heather Boushey , the former head of the economic think tank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on policies like child care and paid leave .
Cecilia Rouse , dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and Biden ’ s pick to chair the Council of Economic Advisers , has long done research focused on inequalities in education and race .
And his pick for treasury secretary , Janet Yellen , got her start as a labor economist considering how to make jobs better for everyone .
They are all known for careers in studying and advocating for a more inclusive economy .
This paper points to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has for getting there .
“ It ’ s a straightforward proposal that would have serious implications for Black workers but also the economy in general , ” said Jones , who is managing director at the Groundwork Collaborative , a progressive group focused on economic policy .
Bernstein , a former economic adviser in the Obama administration , was a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities when they put out their research .
The point of their work was to figure out how to avoid one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Jones said .
In the years after the 2008 financial crisis , political leaders declared the economy recovered when Black workers were still in crisis .
“ We ’ d see the reports about the longest economic recovery in the history of the country .
That was false , ” she said .
For the Black community during that period there was a massive loss of wealth ― through the housing bust ― and there was still high unemployment , even at a time when on average the economy looked improved .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy from the vantage point of those who are typically far behind , Jones said .
Historically , Black unemployment rates have been high ; but you could also drill into the numbers for Hispanic people or , say , Indigenous groups .
Disaggregating the unemployment rate would be key to doing it differently this time .
And , unlike some other moves the administration could make in the fight against inequality ( think erasing student debt ) , it wouldn ’ t be a difficult policy to put in place , Jones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the idea back in June . )
Right now , the Fed has a dual mandate of keeping unemployment relatively low while also making sure inflation ( the price of stuff ) doesn ’ t get too high .
Typically , the central bank will start raising interest rates to “ cool ” a hot economy when the country gets close to something called full employment .
For Black workers , this hasn ’ t been great .
Because what looks like “ full employment ” overall is still not great for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , the Fed started raising rates again even though the Black unemployment rate was still in double digits .
One thing that ’ s important to understand , Ajilore said , is that the U.S. has always had a race-conscious way of looking at unemployment .
The focus just happened to be on the white unemployment rate .
But that ’ s left a broad swath of people out .

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The unemployment rate is not as good as it seems.
On Friday, the Labor Department announced the overall jobless rate ticked down slightly to 6.7% in November. That’s much improved from the early days of the pandemic in April, when the overall rate was 14.7%.
But that number hides a crisis. The Black unemployment rate remains stubbornly high: At 10.3%, it is similar to what the overall jobless rate was at the height of the Great Recession. The unemployment rate for Black men is 11.2%.
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In other words, Black unemployment is at a level that economists and policymakers have historically considered catastrophic for white workers.
And that is not unusual. Since the government began tracking Black unemployment in 1972, the rate has steadily remained about double the overall number. Black workers are typically the first fired and last hired in any crisis, including in the pandemic. After COVID-19 initially threw millions out of work, white workers were hired back at about twice the rate of Black workers.
Typically, policymakers haven’t paid all that much attention to the Black unemployment rate. If the jobless numbers are low overall, then most economists and lawmakers think the economy is doing pretty well.
That could change in President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. This summer, one of Biden’s top economic advisers, Jared Bernstein, co-authored a paper that points to a fresh way of looking at this information.
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This past week, Biden announced his economic team, and Bernstein joined a diverse group of economists ― including Heather Boushey, the former head of the economic think tank Equitable Growth. She has long focused on policies like child care and paid leave. Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and Biden’s pick to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, has long done research focused on inequalities in education and race. And his pick for treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, got her start as a labor economist considering how to make jobs better for everyone. They are all known for careers in studying and advocating for a more inclusive economy. This paper points to just one of the ideas this team has for getting there.
Instead of calibrating economic policy to the overall unemployment rate, Bernstein and co-author Janelle Jones suggest looking at the Black unemployment rate instead. The wonky term they use is “disaggregating” the data.
“It’s a straightforward proposal that would have serious implications for Black workers but also the economy in general,” said Jones, who is managing director at the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive group focused on economic policy. Bernstein, a former economic adviser in the Obama administration, was a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities when they put out their research.
President-elect Joe Biden's economic team at The Queen Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 1. Top, left to right: Chair of Council of Economic Advisers nominee Cecilia Rouse, Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury nominee Adewale "Wally" Adeyemo. Bottom, left to right: Council of Economic Advisers nominee Jared Bernstein, Office of Management and Budget nominee Neera Tanden, Council of Economic Advisers nominee Heather Boushey. CHANDAN KHANNA via Getty Images
The point of their work was to figure out how to avoid one of the key mistakes of the last financial downturn, Jones said. In the years after the 2008 financial crisis, political leaders declared the economy recovered when Black workers were still in crisis.
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“We’d see the reports about the longest economic recovery in the history of the country. That was false,” she said. For the Black community during that period there was a massive loss of wealth ― through the housing bust ― and there was still high unemployment, even at a time when on average the economy looked improved.
The point is to look at the economy from the vantage point of those who are typically far behind, Jones said. Historically, Black unemployment rates have been high; but you could also drill into the numbers for Hispanic people or, say, Indigenous groups.
“We’re saying we still need to do more as long as this group needs it,” she said.
Jones and Bernstein wanted to avoid a rerun of the last recession during the COVID-19 economic crisis. “How do we make sure we haven’t declared success while Black workers are still suffering?” said Jones.
Disaggregating the unemployment rate would be key to doing it differently this time. And, unlike some other moves the administration could make in the fight against inequality (think erasing student debt), it wouldn’t be a difficult policy to put in place, Jones said. (The Washington Post wrote about the idea back in June.)
First of all, we already have the data. The Labor Department breaks out these numbers every month.
The pitch would be to have the Federal Reserve, the folks responsible for keeping the economy in check, to keep the Black unemployment rate in mind when making policy decisions.
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Right now, the Fed has a dual mandate of keeping unemployment relatively low while also making sure inflation (the price of stuff) doesn’t get too high. Typically, the central bank will start raising interest rates to “cool” a hot economy when the country gets close to something called full employment.
For Black workers, this hasn’t been great. Because what looks like “full employment” overall is still not great for Black workers. In 2015, for example, the Fed started raising rates again even though the Black unemployment rate was still in double digits.
Practically speaking, it’s a policy that has left millions of Black workers and other disadvantaged groups out of any kind of economic recovery.
It seems counterintuitive, but focusing on the Black jobless rate would make economic policy more inclusive, said Gbenga Ajilore, a senior economist at the Center for American Progress.
“When we target the most marginalized, that brings everybody in,” he said.
One thing that’s important to understand, Ajilore said, is that the U.S. has always had a race-conscious way of looking at unemployment. The focus just happened to be on the white unemployment rate. But that’s left a broad swath of people out.
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“We’ve always had race-conscious policies, but we’ve targeted the wrong race,” Ajilore said.
Bernstein speaks during an event to name Biden’s economic team at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 1. Alex Wong via Getty Images
Monetary policy would be one piece of it, but not all of it. Focusing on the groups hit hardest by the economy would also help reorient Congress toward more fiscal stimulus.
In the Great Recession, Congress started cutting back as soon as the overall rate started falling.
So far, it looks like that’s what’s happening now. Testifying before Congress this week, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin — though conceding the U.S. needs more relief money now — also painted the economic picture as fairly rosy, describing the unemployment rate as bouncing back from its depths in the spring.
The prevailing wisdom that unemployment has been getting better, even as millions of people are out of work, has played a role in Congress’ failure to pass further stimulus.
The aid from the CARES Act, the multitrillion-dollar package passed in March to deal with the pandemic, is mostly gone. But all the problems that legislation addressed are still with us: Evictions are expected to pick up, hunger is at historic highs, states and local governments are facing massive budget shortfalls.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--A New Coronavirus Relief Deal Is Finally Gaining Momentum In Congress

WASHINGTON ― After months of little to no movement , Congress is finally making strides toward another coronavirus relief package ― and all it took was Democrats embracing half of a deal that was already on the table .
Pelosi said she spoke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) on Thursday , noting they both agreed on the path ahead .
That path seems to involve including coronavirus relief with a bill Congress needs to pass by Dec. 11 in order to avert a partial government shutdown .
It was the first time the Kentucky Republican has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another coronavirus stimulus package , and it signaled the first real movement since before the election .
The source of renewed optimism is a $ 908 billion bipartisan package that includes new unemployment assistance , money for vaccine distribution , and more aid for businesses and state governments .
It has picked up support from over a dozen senators from both parties and seems to have the support of most Democrats in the House .
“ It ’ s not too far off from what the Republican plan is , so I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t involve any of the extraneous material , you ’ re gon na get pretty broad support , ” Sen. Mike Braun ( R-Ind . )
told HuffPost on Wednesday .
Hopes are running high , but no one has seen a bill yet .
The group of senators drafting the measure are hoping to unveil legislative text early next week .
The details of the most contentious issues that held up talks for months have yet to be resolved ― namely a liability shield for businesses and hospitals that Democrats oppose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in assistance to state and local governments that Republicans have derided as “ blue state bailouts.
” McConnell has already begun casting doubt on the deal , issuing a statement on Wednesday saying the only proposal President Donald Trump was prepared to sign was McConnell ’ s $ 500 billion package .
Coronavirus stimulus could also break down if appropriators aren ’ t able to finish writing an omnibus bill before next week , forcing Congress to instead pass a continuing resolution just to keep the lights on , and Republicans insist that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of government funding .
But , for now , the prospect of Congress providing more aid to those struggling amid the pandemic is brighter than ever ― even if , for some Democrats , the $ 908 billion package is a major step down from the $ 1.8 trillion package that the Trump administration offered Pelosi less than two months ago .
“ It shows that we should have taken the $ 1.8 [ trillion ] ― and I worried about this , ” said Rep. Ro Khanna ( D-Calif. ) , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pelosi to take the deal in October .
“ I said , ‘ Let ’ s take this or after the election it ’ s going to be far less.
’ ” He noted that it wouldn ’ t provide as much money for expanded unemployment , or for state and local governments .
It would also give more money to the GOP-favored Paycheck Protection Program , which has had little stimulative effect and has mostly gone to support larger businesses .
“ That was not a mistake .
That was a decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where we can do the right things without , should we say , ‘ other considerations ’ in the legislation that we don ’ t want , ” Pelosi said .
“ I ’ m very proud of where we are.
” Democrats , including Pelosi , are banking on the idea that there may yet be another bill under a new president .
Even Biden has called the new bipartisan effort “ just a start , ” and has urged Congress to act again in January .

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WASHINGTON ― After months of little to no movement, Congress is finally making strides toward another coronavirus relief package ― and all it took was Democrats embracing half of a deal that was already on the table.
As lawmakers prepare to adjourn this month, party leaders on both sides of the aisle are signaling optimism about reaching a compromise they’ve struggled with since before expanded unemployment benefits ended in July.
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“There is momentum,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday at a news conference, calling any bill passed “just a start” and expressing confidence about further legislative action under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration next year.
Pelosi said she spoke to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday, noting they both agreed on the path ahead. That path seems to involve including coronavirus relief with a bill Congress needs to pass by Dec. 11 in order to avert a partial government shutdown. It was the first time the Kentucky Republican has directly engaged with Democrats in talks over another coronavirus stimulus package, and it signaled the first real movement since before the election.
The source of renewed optimism is a $908 billion bipartisan package that includes new unemployment assistance, money for vaccine distribution, and more aid for businesses and state governments. It has picked up support from over a dozen senators from both parties and seems to have the support of most Democrats in the House.
Even some conservative deficit hawks have signaled they’re open to the proposal.
“It’s not too far off from what the Republican plan is, so I think as long as it stays targeted doesn’t involve any of the extraneous material, you’re gonna get pretty broad support,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) told HuffPost on Wednesday.
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Hopes are running high, but no one has seen a bill yet. The group of senators drafting the measure are hoping to unveil legislative text early next week. The details of the most contentious issues that held up talks for months have yet to be resolved ― namely a liability shield for businesses and hospitals that Democrats oppose, as well as billions of dollars in assistance to state and local governments that Republicans have derided as “blue state bailouts.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Caif.) speaks during her weekly press briefing at Capitol Hill on Friday. She said "there is momentum” for passing a coronavirus relief bill. NICHOLAS KAMM via Getty Images
Time is extremely tight, and things could still fall apart in the coming days as more details trickle out.
McConnell has already begun casting doubt on the deal, issuing a statement on Wednesday saying the only proposal President Donald Trump was prepared to sign was McConnell’s $500 billion package. Coronavirus stimulus could also break down if appropriators aren’t able to finish writing an omnibus bill before next week, forcing Congress to instead pass a continuing resolution just to keep the lights on, and Republicans insist that the CR simply be a clean extension of government funding.
But, for now, the prospect of Congress providing more aid to those struggling amid the pandemic is brighter than ever ― even if, for some Democrats, the $908 billion package is a major step down from the $1.8 trillion package that the Trump administration offered Pelosi less than two months ago.
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“It shows that we should have taken the $1.8 [trillion] ― and I worried about this,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who was perhaps the most vocal Democrat urging Pelosi to take the deal in October. “I said, ‘Let’s take this or after the election it’s going to be far less.’”
Khanna said it wasn’t an opinion that this incoming proposal from the bipartisan group of senators would be worse than the $1.8 trillion offer; it was a fact.
“It’s worse by almost every metric,” he said. “What is the metric that it’s better than?”
He noted that it wouldn’t provide as much money for expanded unemployment, or for state and local governments. It would also give more money to the GOP-favored Paycheck Protection Program, which has had little stimulative effect and has mostly gone to support larger businesses.
Khanna said the decision to turn down that earlier offer was obviously a mistake. “Now we need to do the best we can,” he said.
Pelosi sees the situation much differently.
She defended her approach on Friday when asked whether her monthslong insistence on a larger stimulus package was a mistake, citing rapid vaccine development and Biden’s election as reasons why dynamics on Capitol Hill have changed.
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“That was not a mistake. That was a decision that has taken us to a place where we can do the right things without, should we say, ‘other considerations’ in the legislation that we don’t want,” Pelosi said. “I’m very proud of where we are.”
Democrats have long pushed for a larger stimulus. In May, House Democrats passed a $3 trillion package. And in October, they passed a $2.2 trillion measure.
But Democratic leaders are trying to convince their members to get behind the $900 billion deal, arguing that it may not be the final stimulus.
“Things change on January 20th,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), the chief deputy whip for House Democrats, told HuffPost on Thursday night, referring to Biden’s Inauguration Day.
Democrats, including Pelosi, are banking on the idea that there may yet be another bill under a new president. Even Biden has called the new bipartisan effort “just a start,” and has urged Congress to act again in January.
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But Democrats have made this mistake before.
When Barack Obama entered office in early 2009, Democrats knew they needed an economic stimulus larger than $1 trillion to lift the economy out of a recession. Republicans, however, insisted that the package not enter into the 13 figures.
So Democrats went along with a $787 billion stimulus, assuring themselves that they could always pass another round. It never happened. Republicans took the House back in the first midterm elections and insisted on actually cutting spending in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.
When HuffPost pressed Kildee on the idea of a second stimulus, even he acknowledged it might not happen.
“There’s never a guarantee, that’s for sure,” he said.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Judge Orders Trump Administration To Restore DACA Immigrant Program

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program , which provides protection from deportation to many undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children .
A federal judge in New York ordered the Department of Homeland Security to post publicly on its website within three days that it is accepting new applicants and renewals to the DACA program , restoring the program to how it was before the Trump administration changed it in 2017 .
President Donald Trump moved to end the DACA program in 2017 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenges ever since .
This summer , the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration had wrongly ended the program , leaving it in place and keeping protections for existing Dreamers .
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf later restricted the program to only those already enrolled , disallowing new applicants , and changed the policy to require recipients to renew every year instead of every two years .
There were over 645,000 young immigrants who were recipients of the DACA program as of this June .
Now up to 300,000 more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this ruling , reports The New York Times .
The DACA program , which was started under former President Barack Obama in 2012 , allows qualified undocumented immigrants to live without threat of deportation and to legally work here .
The permits must be renewed every two years .
The program still faces another challenge in an ongoing court case in Texas , where several Republican attorneys general are seeking to end the program , claiming it is unlawful .
President-elect Joe Biden says he intends to fully restore the program soon after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hoping for a permanent legislative solution rather than leaving it up to presidential orders .
“ Although this is a victory for immigrant youth , loved ones and allies who have fought every step of the way , DACA does not give us permanent protection from deportation , ” Juliana Macedo do Nascimento , a DACA recipient and organizer with the immigrant group United We Dream , said in a statement .
“ Living from court to court ruling , on the whims of politicians or which way the wind is blowing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ group urged the Biden administration to not only protect young Dreamers but also the more than 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. , saying , “ We won ’ t wait.
” STATEMENT : In response to today 's victory for # DACA recipients , our @ javierhvaldes said : '' Since its inception , the Trump admin has tried to terminate DACA and has left hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients and DACA-eligible youth in limbo .
We have now defeated them again . ''
pic.twitter.com/pE3NzzMlev — Make the Road @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5 , 2020

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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to restore the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provides protection from deportation to many undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
A federal judge in New York ordered the Department of Homeland Security to post publicly on its website within three days that it is accepting new applicants and renewals to the DACA program, restoring the program to how it was before the Trump administration changed it in 2017.
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President Donald Trump moved to end the DACA program in 2017, and it has been caught up in legal challenges ever since. This summer, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration had wrongly ended the program, leaving it in place and keeping protections for existing Dreamers. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf later restricted the program to only those already enrolled, disallowing new applicants, and changed the policy to require recipients to renew every year instead of every two years.
There were over 645,000 young immigrants who were recipients of the DACA program as of this June. Now up to 300,000 more immigrants could apply to the program under this ruling, reports The New York Times.
Read the ruling here:
DACA ruling by Mollie Reilly on Scribd
The DACA program, which was started under former President Barack Obama in 2012, allows qualified undocumented immigrants to live without threat of deportation and to legally work here. The permits must be renewed every two years.
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The program still faces another challenge in an ongoing court case in Texas, where several Republican attorneys general are seeking to end the program, claiming it is unlawful.
President-elect Joe Biden says he intends to fully restore the program soon after he takes office. Immigrant advocates are hoping for a permanent legislative solution rather than leaving it up to presidential orders.
“Although this is a victory for immigrant youth, loved ones and allies who have fought every step of the way, DACA does not give us permanent protection from deportation,” Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, a DACA recipient and organizer with the immigrant group United We Dream, said in a statement. “Living from court to court ruling, on the whims of politicians or which way the wind is blowing, is cruel and dehumanizing.”
The immigrant group urged the Biden administration to not only protect young Dreamers but also the more than 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S., saying, “We won’t wait.”
STATEMENT: In response to today's victory for #DACA recipients, our @javierhvaldes said:
"Since its inception, the Trump admin has tried to terminate DACA and has left hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients and DACA-eligible youth in limbo.
We have now defeated them again." pic.twitter.com/pE3NzzMlev — Make the Road NY 🦋 (@MaketheRoadNY) December 5, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Trump's Niece Says 'Cruel And Traitorous' President Belongs Behind Bars

“ It ’ s quite frankly insulting to be told time after time that the American people can handle it and that we just need to move on , ” Mary Trump told The Associated Press in an interview this week .
“ If anybody deserves to be prosecuted and tried , it ’ s Donald , ” she added .
” ( Otherwise ) we just leave ourselves open to somebody who , believe it or not , is even worse than he is.
” Mary Trump , the daughter of the president ’ s elder brother , Fred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writing a follow-up to this summer ’ s scathing bestseller about her uncle , “ Too Much and Never Enough , How My Family Created The World ’ s Most Dangerous Man.
” Her new book , “ The Reckoning , ” from publisher St. Martin ’ s Press won ’ t be out until next July .
It will trace what she says is America ’ s collective trauma from its founding on the backs of enslaved Africans to the burgeoning economic and mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic .
America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an explosion of psychological disorders ” from the “ trauma of living in a country in which the pandemic didn ’ t just strike , but it was completely mishandled , ” Mary Trump told the AP .
With a doctorate in clinical psychology , she argues that the U.S. needs to reimagine how it deals with mental health and mental illness , treating them with the same vigor as physical maladies .
In September , Mary Trump sued the president , Robert Trump and their sister Maryanne Trump Barry , a retired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her out of millions of dollars while squeezing her out of the family business .
Robert Trump died in August and the lawsuit is pending .
When her book about the family was published in July , Trump tweeted that Mary Trump was “ a seldom seen niece who knows little about me , says untruthful things about my wonderful parents ( who couldn ’ t stand her ! )
and me , ” and violated a non-disclosure agreement .
The announcement of Mary Trump ’ s second book came as her uncle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but that the vote was rigged in favor of Democratic rival Joe Biden .
The president has spent the better part of the last month complaining about the results , dispatching a band of lawyers led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to mount futile legal challenges .
“ This is somebody who ’ s never won legitimately in his life , ” she said .
“ But he ’ s never lost either .
Because in his view , winning is so important .
And he always deserves to win @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , cheat and steal.
” Mary Trump said the president inherited his acerbic behavior from his father , Fred Trump , a real estate developer who died in 1999 .
She called her grandfather “ a horrible human being who just reveled in other people ’ s humiliation.
” “ It ’ s not simply that Donald is horrible and incompetent and cruel , it ’ s that he ’ s been allowed to be , ” she said .
“ Every transgression that ’ s gone on unpunished has been an opportunity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further .
That ’ s partially why we ’ re going to see him smashing as much stuff on his way out the door as he can.
” Mary Trump acknowledges that she has seen the president only sporadically over the last 20 years — she wrote in “ Too Much and Never Enough ” that he invited her to a family dinner at the White House in 2017 — but , she argues , “ he hasn ’ t changed at all .
”

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President Donald Trump’s niece says her uncle is “criminal, cruel and traitorous” and belongs in prison after he leaves the White House.
Mary Trump, a psychologist, author and outspoken critic of her estranged relative, rejects the notion that putting a former president on trial would deepen the nation’s political divisions.
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“It’s quite frankly insulting to be told time after time that the American people can handle it and that we just need to move on,” Mary Trump told The Associated Press in an interview this week.
“If anybody deserves to be prosecuted and tried, it’s Donald,” she added. ”(Otherwise) we just leave ourselves open to somebody who, believe it or not, is even worse than he is.”
Asked about her comments, a spokesperson for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign emailed a one-sentence response: “Did she mention she has a book to sell?”
Mary Trump, the daughter of the president’s elder brother, Fred Jr., announced this week she is writing a follow-up to this summer’s scathing bestseller about her uncle, “Too Much and Never Enough, How My Family Created The World’s Most Dangerous Man.”
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Her new book, “The Reckoning,” from publisher St. Martin’s Press won’t be out until next July. It will trace what she says is America’s collective trauma from its founding on the backs of enslaved Africans to the burgeoning economic and mental health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
America is “looking down the barrel of an explosion of psychological disorders” from the “trauma of living in a country in which the pandemic didn’t just strike, but it was completely mishandled,” Mary Trump told the AP.
With a doctorate in clinical psychology, she argues that the U.S. needs to reimagine how it deals with mental health and mental illness, treating them with the same vigor as physical maladies.
Mary Trump’s critical writings come amid legal fights with her family.
Her uncle, Robert Trump, sued to block “Too Much and Never Enough” from hitting store shelves, citing a family agreement not to publish stories about core family members without their approval, but a court rejected that.
In September, Mary Trump sued the president, Robert Trump and their sister Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge, alleging that they cheated her out of millions of dollars while squeezing her out of the family business. Robert Trump died in August and the lawsuit is pending.
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When her book about the family was published in July, Trump tweeted that Mary Trump was “a seldom seen niece who knows little about me, says untruthful things about my wonderful parents (who couldn’t stand her!) and me,” and violated a non-disclosure agreement.
The announcement of Mary Trump’s second book came as her uncle continued to falsely insist he won reelection but that the vote was rigged in favor of Democratic rival Joe Biden.
The president has spent the better part of the last month complaining about the results, dispatching a band of lawyers led by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to mount futile legal challenges.
Mary Trump said the president’s post-election behavior “makes perfect sense,” given his personality, psychology, and lifelong disdain for losers.
“This is somebody who’s never won legitimately in his life,” she said. “But he’s never lost either. Because in his view, winning is so important. And he always deserves to win that it’s okay to lie, cheat and steal.”
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Mary Trump said the president inherited his acerbic behavior from his father, Fred Trump, a real estate developer who died in 1999. She called her grandfather “a horrible human being who just reveled in other people’s humiliation.”
“It’s not simply that Donald is horrible and incompetent and cruel, it’s that he’s been allowed to be,” she said. “Every transgression that’s gone on unpunished has been an opportunity for him to push the envelope even further. That’s partially why we’re going to see him smashing as much stuff on his way out the door as he can.”
Mary Trump acknowledges that she has seen the president only sporadically over the last 20 years — she wrote in “Too Much and Never Enough” that he invited her to a family dinner at the White House in 2017 — but, she argues, “he hasn’t changed at all.”
“I’m essentially looking at the same person I knew when I was growing up,” she said.
Donald Trump is facing at least one pending criminal investigation, a probe into his business dealings by the Manhattan district attorney that has been slowed by a legal fight over access to his tax returns.
No ex-president has ever been arrested after leaving office, but Mary Trump argues that shielding powerful people from punishment has historically harmed the country. She used Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s post-war absolution as an example.
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“I think it would be a tragedy if Donald and everybody who’s enabled him and committed crimes with him is not held accountable,” Mary Trump said. “It would make it impossible for this country to recover in the long term.”
___


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Kamala Harris Reveals Formal Moniker For Her Husband, And Her Personal One

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has revealed how her husband , Doug Emhoff , will be addressed once she takes office .
CNN ’ s Jake Tapper asked Harris what Emhoff ’ s formal moniker will be during a wide-ranging interview with the future veep and President-elect Joe Biden that aired Thursday .
“ Is he the second gentleman ?
” Tapper asked about Emhoff , who will leave his job at law firm DLA Piper before Biden ’ s inauguration .
“ Is he the second dude ?
What should we be calling him ?
” Harris laughed before responding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the term has evolved into the second gentleman.
” “ The second gentleman .
OK .
I like second dude , but I will defer , ” Tapper replied .
Harris said : “ I think some of his friends are inclined to say that.
” When Tapper asked if Harris could call him by the title , Harris responded : “ No , I ’ ll call him honey.
” “ Second gentleman and “ second lady ” are the conventional forms of address for the spouse of the vice president .

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Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has revealed how her husband, Doug Emhoff, will be addressed once she takes office.
CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Harris what Emhoff’s formal moniker will be during a wide-ranging interview with the future veep and President-elect Joe Biden that aired Thursday.
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“Is he the second gentleman?” Tapper asked about Emhoff, who will leave his job at law firm DLA Piper before Biden’s inauguration. “Is he the second dude? What should we be calling him?”
Harris laughed before responding: “Well, I think that the term has evolved into the second gentleman.”
“The second gentleman. OK. I like second dude, but I will defer,” Tapper replied.
Harris said: “I think some of his friends are inclined to say that.”
When Tapper asked if Harris could call him by the title, Harris responded: “No, I’ll call him honey.”
“Second gentleman and “second lady” are the conventional forms of address for the spouse of the vice president.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Congress Will Decide How Much The Unemployed Suffer

Lawmakers continue to negotiate over what federal unemployment policy will look like , and what they decide will determine the level of financial suffering for millions of Americans this winter .
The simplest question is whether to extend the current federal benefit programs for the long-term jobless and gig workers , who aren ’ t usually covered by state unemployment systems .
If those programs are allowed to expire at the end of December , nearly 12 million beneficiaries will lose that income .
The second question is whether to give the unemployed extra money .
In March , Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state and federal benefits recipients .
But that lapsed at the end of July , and politicians are deciding what , if any , extra money to provide going forward .
A bipartisan compromise proposal that ’ s gained momentum in Congress this week would preserve the federal benefits for the long-term jobless and gig workers for four more months while reviving the former supplement , though at $ 300 instead of $ 600 .
These benefits are part of a broader package that includes small business aid , money for state governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The senators and representatives who worked on the benefits deal over Thanksgiving have not introduced it as legislation or even summarized it in any detail .
They simply announced Tuesday that they had agreed on overall numbers for categories of relief , with the unemployment provisions coming in at $ 180 billion .
Still , there are trickier questions that Congress may wish to address .
In the past , when the legislature has reauthorized a federal unemployment benefit that it previously allowed to lapse , beneficiaries received lump-sum payments accounting for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be retroactive only to the first of December .
And the proposal apparently leaves out more support for people who have been unemployed so long that they will soon or have already run out of the standard six months of state benefits plus the three months of extra federal benefits .
In response to the last economic crisis ― the Great Recession of 2007-2009 ― the combination of state benefits and ad-hoc federal extensions added up to nearly two years of aid .
The number of workers currently unemployed for at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considered “ long-term unemployed ” ― has risen sharply to 3.9 million , or 36.9 % of the unemployed population , the Labor Department reported on Friday .
Many of these workers are people whose past jobs either can ’ t or shouldn ’ t exist with a highly contagious and deadly virus going around .
Senate Democrats are pushing for extra weeks and have said that , instead of having an arbitrary deadline , federal benefits should remain in place so long as the unemployment rate exceeds 5.5 % .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ falling , though job growth has slowed and the rate could rise again in the coming months .
“ Around 4.4 million workers will have already run out of benefits by the end of the year , regardless of their surrounding economic situation , and millions more will exhaust them next year if Congress does not add additional weeks of eligibility ” to federal programs , a group of Senate Democrats led by Ron Wyden ( D-Ore. ) said in a letter to Senate leadership this week .
Dean lost her job as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t take a new job if it ’ s not safe .
She has lupus and rheumatoid arthritis , meaning she ’ s at high risk for severe illness if she catches COVID-19 .
The 48-year-old has obsessively followed news of another possible relief deal as she searches for a new place to live with her teenage daughters , since their landlord wants them out .
For months , lawmakers have said a deal is within easy reach if only the other side would drop its foolish demands .
Dean has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefits , but an extra $ 300 per week would help a lot ― if it happens .

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Lawmakers continue to negotiate over what federal unemployment policy will look like, and what they decide will determine the level of financial suffering for millions of Americans this winter.
The simplest question is whether to extend the current federal benefit programs for the long-term jobless and gig workers, who aren’t usually covered by state unemployment systems. If those programs are allowed to expire at the end of December, nearly 12 million beneficiaries will lose that income.
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The second question is whether to give the unemployed extra money. In March, Congress added $600 per week for both state and federal benefits recipients. But that lapsed at the end of July, and politicians are deciding what, if any, extra money to provide going forward.
A bipartisan compromise proposal that’s gained momentum in Congress this week would preserve the federal benefits for the long-term jobless and gig workers for four more months while reviving the former supplement, though at $300 instead of $600. These benefits are part of a broader package that includes small business aid, money for state governments and a clampdown on coronavirus lawsuits.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested Friday that the package could be tacked onto a broader funding bill that Congress has to pass by Dec. 11 to prevent a partial government shutdown.
The senators and representatives who worked on the benefits deal over Thanksgiving have not introduced it as legislation or even summarized it in any detail. They simply announced Tuesday that they had agreed on overall numbers for categories of relief, with the unemployment provisions coming in at $180 billion.
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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said that figure accounts for 18 weeks of the federal unemployment programs plus the extra $300. “That includes gig workers and people that basically we covered under the first CARES Act,” Manchin said.
The Congressional Budget Office has not scored the proposal, but Marc Goldwein, an expert with the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said that number sounded “about right.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that additional unemployment benefits could be tacked onto a broader funding bill that Congress has to pass by Dec. 11 to prevent a partial government shutdown. Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images
Still, there are trickier questions that Congress may wish to address. In the past, when the legislature has reauthorized a federal unemployment benefit that it previously allowed to lapse, beneficiaries received lump-sum payments accounting for the missed weeks. Manchin said this proposal would be retroactive only to the first of December.
And the proposal apparently leaves out more support for people who have been unemployed so long that they will soon or have already run out of the standard six months of state benefits plus the three months of extra federal benefits. In response to the last economic crisis ― the Great Recession of 2007-2009 ― the combination of state benefits and ad-hoc federal extensions added up to nearly two years of aid.
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The number of workers currently unemployed for at least six months ― the threshold for being considered “long-term unemployed” ― has risen sharply to 3.9 million, or 36.9% of the unemployed population, the Labor Department reported on Friday. Many of these workers are people whose past jobs either can’t or shouldn’t exist with a highly contagious and deadly virus going around.
Senate Democrats are pushing for extra weeks and have said that, instead of having an arbitrary deadline, federal benefits should remain in place so long as the unemployment rate exceeds 5.5%. It’s currently 6.7% and has been falling, though job growth has slowed and the rate could rise again in the coming months.
“Around 4.4 million workers will have already run out of benefits by the end of the year, regardless of their surrounding economic situation, and millions more will exhaust them next year if Congress does not add additional weeks of eligibility” to federal programs, a group of Senate Democrats led by Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a letter to Senate leadership this week.
“Many workers need additional weeks of eligibility in these programs because demand for their services or industry has cratered during the pandemic,” the letter said.
Many unemployed workers are closely following the developments on Capitol Hill.
Wendy Dean of Naples, Florida, receives $494 every two weeks from one of the federal programs that’s expiring this month.
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Dean lost her job as a dental assistant in March and she can’t take a new job if it’s not safe. She has lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, meaning she’s at high risk for severe illness if she catches COVID-19.
The 48-year-old has obsessively followed news of another possible relief deal as she searches for a new place to live with her teenage daughters, since their landlord wants them out. For months, lawmakers have said a deal is within easy reach if only the other side would drop its foolish demands. Dean has given up hope of receiving significant back benefits, but an extra $300 per week would help a lot ― if it happens.
“It’s like teasing your kid you’re going to take them to Disney World,” she said.
Dean noted that she and her daughters used to have annual passes to Disney World. Not anymore. She said she accidentally dropped an egg carton last week and broke down in tears.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Time Magazine's First-Ever 'Kid Of The Year' Is 15-Year-Old Scientist Gitanjali Rao

The publication made the announcement on Thursday , noting that it created the Kid of the Year title to recognize the positive impact younger generations are making in the world .
Time has named an annual Person of the Year – once called Man of the Year – since the 1920s .
In a wide-ranging interview with actor and activist Angelina Jolie for Time , Rao shared that she ’ s researched and worked on ways to use technology to address issues like contaminated drinking water , opioid addiction and cyberbullying .
The Colorado teenager told Jolie that her motivation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ desire to make others happy .
“ That was my everyday goal , just to make someone happy , ” she said .
“ And it soon turned into , ‘ How can we bring positivity and community to the place we live ?
’ ” She later explained that when she was younger , she started to explore ways she could use science and technology to create social change .
During the interview , Rao shared that she created a service called Kindly to help end cyberbullying ; she is working on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and she has worked with organizations and schools across the world to host workshops to support young people to nurture their own projects and inventions .
But the list of accomplishments and accolades that she ’ s earned over the years doesn ’ t stop there .
Humbled , honored , and excited !
Special thanks to all my mentors , teachers , family , and friends who believed in me and supported me .
Congrats to all the finalists and many of them are my friends @ jordanjustright from @ TheSTEAM_Squad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
https : //t.co/wr8EPhauw9 — Gitanjali Rao ( @ gitanjaliarao ) December 4 , 2020 Rao was named “ America ’ s Top Young Scientist ” in 2017 by the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for inventing a lead-testing device for drinking water ― an invention she said was motivated by the Flint Water crisis .
In 2019 , she was chosen for Forbes ’ 30 under 30 list for accomplishments in science .
The teenager published her first self-illustrated book titled “ Baby Brother Wonders ” at age 9 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next year titled “ A Young Innovator ’ s Guide to STEM : 5 Steps To Problem Solving For Students , Educators , and Parents.
” Rao tweeted her excitement on Twitter Friday after being named Kid of the Year , thanking her mentors , teachers , family and friends who “ believed in me and supported me.
” The 15-year-old was selected by Time as one of the five finalists for Kid of the Year out of 5,000 young people in the U.S. ages 8 to 16 .
The other four finalists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ magazine , are Tyler Gordon , 14 ; Jordan Reeves , 14 ; Bellen Woodard , 10 ; and Ian McKenna , 16 .

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The publication made the announcement on Thursday, noting that it created the Kid of the Year title to recognize the positive impact younger generations are making in the world. Time has named an annual Person of the Year – once called Man of the Year – since the 1920s.
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In a wide-ranging interview with actor and activist Angelina Jolie for Time, Rao shared that she’s researched and worked on ways to use technology to address issues like contaminated drinking water, opioid addiction and cyberbullying.
The Colorado teenager told Jolie that her motivation to tackle these issues stemmed from her desire to make others happy.
“That was my everyday goal, just to make someone happy,” she said. “And it soon turned into, ‘How can we bring positivity and community to the place we live?’”
She later explained that when she was younger, she started to explore ways she could use science and technology to create social change.
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During the interview, Rao shared that she created a service called Kindly to help end cyberbullying; she is working on ways to test bio-contaminants in water; and she has worked with organizations and schools across the world to host workshops to support young people to nurture their own projects and inventions.
But the list of accomplishments and accolades that she’s earned over the years doesn’t stop there.
Humbled, honored, and excited! Special thanks to all my mentors, teachers, family, and friends who believed in me and supported me. Congrats to all the finalists and many of them are my friends @jordanjustright from @TheSTEAM_Squad @MightyRebekah @ElijahLee07. They inspire me! https://t.co/wr8EPhauw9 — Gitanjali Rao (@gitanjaliarao) December 4, 2020
Rao was named “America’s Top Young Scientist” in 2017 by the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge for inventing a lead-testing device for drinking water ― an invention she said was motivated by the Flint Water crisis.
In 2019, she was chosen for Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for accomplishments in science.
The teenager published her first self-illustrated book titled “Baby Brother Wonders” at age 9, and she’s releasing a new book next year titled “A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM: 5 Steps To Problem Solving For Students, Educators, and Parents.”
Rao tweeted her excitement on Twitter Friday after being named Kid of the Year, thanking her mentors, teachers, family and friends who “believed in me and supported me.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--Trump Loves Winning But Keeps Losing His Election Lawsuits

He ’ s managed to lose not just once to Democrat Joe Biden at the ballot box but over and over again in courts across the country in a futile attempt to stay in power .
The Republican president and his allies continue to mount new cases , recycling the same baseless claims , even after Trump ’ s own attorney general declared the Justice Department had uncovered no widespread fraud .
“ This will continue to be a losing strategy , and in a way , it ’ s even bad for him : He gets to re-lose the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Greenfield , a professor at Boston College Law School .
“ The depths of his petulance and narcissism continues to surprise me.
” In an Associated Press tally of roughly 50 cases brought by Trump ’ s campaign and his allies , more than 30 have been rejected or dropped .
About a dozen are awaiting action .
Trump has notched just one small victory , a case challenging a decision to move the deadline to provide missing proof of identification for certain absentee ballots and mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania .
In Wisconsin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hear Trump ’ s lawsuit seeking to disqualify more than 221,000 ballots in the state ’ s two biggest Democratic counties , alleging irregularities in the way absentee ballots were administered .
The case echoed claims that were earlier rejected by election officials in those counties during a recount that barely affected Biden ’ s winning margin of about 20,700 votes .
Trump filed a similar lawsuit in federal court late Wednesday .
Meanwhile , in Arizona , a judge heard arguments Thursday in a case contesting the election results brought by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ward ’ s lawyers say an inspection of 100 ballots found two problems : one person ’ s vote for Trump was ultimately recorded as a Biden vote and another person ’ s vote for Trump was canceled when the reproduced ballot contained votes for both the Republican incumbent and a write-in candidate .
Linda Brickman , front left , vice chair of the Maricopa County Republicans , Dr. Kelli Ward , back left , chair of the Arizona Republican Party , talk with Rey Valenzuela , right , Maricopa County Elections Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as the department conducts a post-election logic and accuracy test for the general election Wednesday , Nov. 18 , 2020 , in Phoenix .
( AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin ) Judges in battleground states have repeatedly swatted down legal challenges brought by the president and his allies .
Trump ’ s legal team has vowed to take one Pennsylvania case to the U.S. Supreme Court even though it was rejected in a scathing ruling by a federal judge as well as an appeals court .
After recently being kicked off Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Powell filed new lawsuits in Arizona and Wisconsin this week riddled with errors and wild conspiracies about election rigging .
One of the plaintiffs named in the Wisconsin case said he never agreed to participate in the case and found out through social media that he had been included .
The same lawsuit asks for 48 hours of security footage from the “ TCF Center , ” which is in Detroit .
The issues Trump ’ s campaign and its allies have raised are typical in every election : problems with signatures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots , as well as the potential for a small number of ballots miscast or lost .
Election officials from both parties have said the election went well , and Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Justice Department uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the election ’ s outcome .
Failing to gain any traction in court , Trump and his allies are now turning to events with Republican lawmakers and rallies in states like Pennsylvania , Georgia , and Michigan where they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incite the president ’ s loyal base .
At a rally in Georgia on Wednesday , Powell and another pro-Trump attorney , Lin Wood , suggested that Republican voters sit out of the two January runoff elections that will decide control of the Senate because of the potential for fraud .
And in Michigan , Rudy Giuliani , Trump ’ s personal lawyer , urged Republican activists to pressure , even threaten , the GOP-controlled Legislature to award the state ’ s 16 electoral votes to Trump despite Biden ’ s 154,000-vote victory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump said there were facts and evidence of a mass conspiracy created by Democrats to steal the election , a similar argument made by Giuliani and others before judges that have been largely unsuccessful .
Most of their claims are rooted in conspiracy theories about voting machines that are not true , and affidavits by partisan poll watchers who claimed they didn ’ t get close enough to see ballots being tallied because of safety precautions in the coronavirus pandemic .
Because they couldn ’ t see , they argued , something untoward @ @ @ @

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For a man obsessed with winning, President Donald Trump is losing a lot.
He’s managed to lose not just once to Democrat Joe Biden at the ballot box but over and over again in courts across the country in a futile attempt to stay in power. The Republican president and his allies continue to mount new cases, recycling the same baseless claims, even after Trump’s own attorney general declared the Justice Department had uncovered no widespread fraud.
“This will continue to be a losing strategy, and in a way, it’s even bad for him: He gets to re-lose the election numerous times,” said Kent Greenfield, a professor at Boston College Law School. “The depths of his petulance and narcissism continues to surprise me.”
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In an Associated Press tally of roughly 50 cases brought by Trump’s campaign and his allies, more than 30 have been rejected or dropped. About a dozen are awaiting action. Trump has notched just one small victory, a case challenging a decision to move the deadline to provide missing proof of identification for certain absentee ballots and mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania.
Another legal blow came Thursday, the day after Trump posted a 46-minute speech to Facebook filled with conspiracies, misstatements, and vows to keep up his fight to subvert the election.
In Wisconsin, a split state Supreme Court refused to hear Trump’s lawsuit seeking to disqualify more than 221,000 ballots in the state’s two biggest Democratic counties, alleging irregularities in the way absentee ballots were administered. The case echoed claims that were earlier rejected by election officials in those counties during a recount that barely affected Biden’s winning margin of about 20,700 votes. Trump filed a similar lawsuit in federal court late Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, a judge heard arguments Thursday in a case contesting the election results brought by Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward. Ward’s lawyers say an inspection of 100 ballots found two problems: one person’s vote for Trump was ultimately recorded as a Biden vote and another person’s vote for Trump was canceled when the reproduced ballot contained votes for both the Republican incumbent and a write-in candidate.
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Linda Brickman, front left, vice chair of the Maricopa County Republicans, Dr. Kelli Ward, back left, chair of the Arizona Republican Party, talk with Rey Valenzuela, right, Maricopa County Elections Department Director of Early Voting and Election Services, as the department conducts a post-election logic and accuracy test for the general election Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Judges in battleground states have repeatedly swatted down legal challenges brought by the president and his allies. Trump’s legal team has vowed to take one Pennsylvania case to the U.S. Supreme Court even though it was rejected in a scathing ruling by a federal judge as well as an appeals court.
After recently being kicked off Trump’s legal team, conservative attorney Sidney Powell filed new lawsuits in Arizona and Wisconsin this week riddled with errors and wild conspiracies about election rigging. One of the plaintiffs named in the Wisconsin case said he never agreed to participate in the case and found out through social media that he had been included. The same lawsuit asks for 48 hours of security footage from the “TCF Center,” which is in Detroit.
The issues Trump’s campaign and its allies have raised are typical in every election: problems with signatures, secrecy envelopes, and postmarks on mail-in ballots, as well as the potential for a small number of ballots miscast or lost. Election officials from both parties have said the election went well, and Attorney General William Barr told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Justice Department uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the election’s outcome.
Trump’s lawyers responded by criticizing Barr, who has been one of the president’s biggest allies.
Greenfield says their criticism speaks volumes. “It goes to show how vehement their ability to overlook reality is,” he said.
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Failing to gain any traction in court, Trump and his allies are now turning to events with Republican lawmakers and rallies in states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan where they can use unfounded claims of fraud to incite the president’s loyal base.
At a rally in Georgia on Wednesday, Powell and another pro-Trump attorney, Lin Wood, suggested that Republican voters sit out of the two January runoff elections that will decide control of the Senate because of the potential for fraud. And in Michigan, Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, urged Republican activists to pressure, even threaten, the GOP-controlled Legislature to award the state’s 16 electoral votes to Trump despite Biden’s 154,000-vote victory.
In his video posted Wednesday, Trump said there were facts and evidence of a mass conspiracy created by Democrats to steal the election, a similar argument made by Giuliani and others before judges that have been largely unsuccessful.
Most of their claims are rooted in conspiracy theories about voting machines that are not true, and affidavits by partisan poll watchers who claimed they didn’t get close enough to see ballots being tallied because of safety precautions in the coronavirus pandemic. Because they couldn’t see, they argued, something untoward must have happened.
“No, I didn’t hear any facts or evidence,” tweeted Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, after watching the video Wednesday night. “What I did hear was a sad Facebook rant from a man who lost an election.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-04--House Passes Historic Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to federally decriminalize marijuana , marking the first time either chamber of Congress has voted to end federal prohibition of the drug .
The Democrat-controlled House , which voted 228-164 mostly along party lines in favor of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement ( MORE ) Act , celebrated the vote as a “ historic ” milestone for cannabis reform .
It ’ s expected , however , to be a largely symbolic move , as the bill will almost certainly fail in the Senate .
Nevertheless , supporters say the vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The drug is now legal in 15 states , and polling indicates that the majority of Americans support decriminalization .
“ We need to catch up with the rest of the American people , ” Rep. Earl Blumenauer ( D-Ore. ) , a co-sponsor of the MORE Act , said in a statement .
Rep. Matt Gaetz ( R-Fla. ) , the only House Republican to co-sponsor the legislation , said the time had come to end the so-called war on drugs .
“ If we were measuring the success of the war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he said , according to Axios .
“ Because the American people do not support the policies of incarceration , limited research , limited choice and , particularly , constraining medical application.
” Other than removing marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances , the MORE Act provides for the expungement of some federal marijuana convictions and prohibits the denial of federal public benefits based solely on marijuana offenses .
It would also place a 5 % excise tax on marijuana that would help fund programs such as job training and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impacted by the war on drugs.
” “ The continued enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws results in over 600,000 arrests annually , disproportionately impacting people of color who are almost four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than their white counterparts , despite equal rates of use across populations , ” the statement said .
“ Too often , cases of low-level cannabis possession escalate to police violence .
For many , the selective enforcement of cannabis prohibition becomes a matter of life and death.
” Blumenauer said that by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has “ failed three generations of Black and Brown young people , whose lives can be ruined , or lost , by selective enforcement ” of marijuana laws .
He said the MORE Act “ will end that disaster.
” “ The House of Representatives is spending this week on pressing issues like marijuana .
You know , serious and important legislation befitting this national crisis , ” McConnell said in a statement .
“ But here in the Senate , I put forward a serious and highly targeted relief proposal including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ready and willing to sign into law .
Why should these impactful and non-controversial life preservers be delayed one second longer ?
”

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The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to federally decriminalize marijuana, marking the first time either chamber of Congress has voted to end federal prohibition of the drug.
The Democrat-controlled House, which voted 228-164 mostly along party lines in favor of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, celebrated the vote as a “historic” milestone for cannabis reform. It’s expected, however, to be a largely symbolic move, as the bill will almost certainly fail in the Senate.
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Nevertheless, supporters say the vote reflects shifting public opinion on marijuana. The drug is now legal in 15 states, and polling indicates that the majority of Americans support decriminalization.
“We need to catch up with the rest of the American people,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a co-sponsor of the MORE Act, said in a statement.
We did it! 228 – 164.
Onward! #EndCannabisProhibition — Earl Blumenauer (@repblumenauer) December 4, 2020
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the only House Republican to co-sponsor the legislation, said the time had come to end the so-called war on drugs.
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“If we were measuring the success of the war on drugs … drugs have won,” he said, according to Axios. “Because the American people do not support the policies of incarceration, limited research, limited choice and, particularly, constraining medical application.”
Rep. @MattGaetz: "The federal government has lied to the people of this country about marijuana for a generation." pic.twitter.com/47r06h2Gps — The Hill (@thehill) December 4, 2020
Other than removing marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances, the MORE Act provides for the expungement of some federal marijuana convictions and prohibits the denial of federal public benefits based solely on marijuana offenses. It would also place a 5% excise tax on marijuana that would help fund programs such as job training and reentry services for “individuals most adversely impacted by the war on drugs.”
As the House noted in a statement, these individuals include a disproportionately large number of Black and brown people.
“The continued enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws results in over 600,000 arrests annually, disproportionately impacting people of color who are almost four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than their white counterparts, despite equal rates of use across populations,” the statement said. “Too often, cases of low-level cannabis possession escalate to police violence. For many, the selective enforcement of cannabis prohibition becomes a matter of life and death.”
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Blumenauer said that by not acting over the years, Congress has “failed three generations of Black and Brown young people, whose lives can be ruined, or lost, by selective enforcement” of marijuana laws. He said the MORE Act “will end that disaster.”
Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have scoffed at the bill, characterizing it as a trivial issue used by Democrats to divert attention from ongoing coronavirus stimulus bill negotiations.
“The House of Representatives is spending this week on pressing issues like marijuana. You know, serious and important legislation befitting this national crisis,” McConnell said in a statement. “But here in the Senate, I put forward a serious and highly targeted relief proposal including the elements which we know the President is ready and willing to sign into law. Why should these impactful and non-controversial life preservers be delayed one second longer?”
Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), said Wednesday that they would support a bipartisan $908 billion pandemic response bill.
Schumer also expressed his support for the MORE Act on Friday.
“Draconian marijuana laws contribute to racial inequality,” he said. “The House just took a historic step towards finally ending the federal prohibition on marijuana, advancing criminal justice reform, and helping level the economic playing field.”