thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Florida Teacher Writes Her Own Obituary To Protest Reopening Schools Amid COVID-19

Whitney Reddick , who teaches special education in Jacksonville , Florida , posted the mock death notice to Facebook Aug. 4 .
In it , she proclaims that she died “ while alone in isolation and on a ventilator at a Duval county hospital ” last week at age 33 .
“ Even though she shouted from the rooftops , attempted to be unemotional , and educated herself in facts and science , she succumbed to the ignorance of those in power , ” the obituary reads .
“ She returned to work , did her best to handle all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ educator , COVID-security guard , human shield , firefighter , social worker , nurse , and caregiver but the workload weakened her , and the virus took hold.
” “ Whitney was taken from us , ” it continues .
“ Yes , of course too soon , but we are the ones left with holes in our hearts , missing how big hers was.
” According to its website , Duval County public schools are slated to reopen next Thursday with both in-person and remote learning options for students .
Though Reddick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return to her classroom as scheduled , she added that she ’ d prefer her district keep classes for all students remote , given that coronavirus cases in Florida continue to surge .
“ I felt the gravity of the situation and the obit took that on , ” she told “ The Today Show ” last week .
She said that in the debate over reopening schools , educators “ no longer became people who had families and loved ones , we became a tool in restarting an economy .
I wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people and have families and loved ones.
” And Reddick , the mother of a 1-year-old boy , said she ’ s mostly concerned about what would happen to her family if she were to contract COVID-19 .
“ I love my job so much , ” she told CBS Jacksonville .
“ What if I go on a ventilator ?
What if my husband gets sick ?
... Who takes care of our son ?
What if I pass away ?
What if he passes away ?
” In an email , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she and her staff planned to “ rise to the challenge ” of teaching amid the pandemic .
“ Teaching is a public service , but it is unlikely any of us thought about a long-term global pandemic when we chose this path to serve children , ” she said .
“ I empathize with the fears some teachers have expressed , and I also empathize with the needs of 130,000 children and their families.
” “ With the resources and guidance available to us , we must move forward with every feasible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serve those students who need us in classrooms , ” she added .
As of Thursday , more than 550,901 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in Florida .
The state had a testing positivity rate of 13.45 % , according to Johns Hopkins University .
The university ’ s statistics on Thursday showed almost 9,000 deaths in Florida attributed to the coronavirus , fifth-most in the U.S .

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A Florida teacher responded to her district’s plans to reopen for in-person classes during the coronavirus pandemic by writing her own obituary.
Whitney Reddick, who teaches special education in Jacksonville, Florida, posted the mock death notice to Facebook Aug. 4. In it, she proclaims that she died “while alone in isolation and on a ventilator at a Duval county hospital” last week at age 33.
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“Even though she shouted from the rooftops, attempted to be unemotional, and educated herself in facts and science, she succumbed to the ignorance of those in power,” the obituary reads. “She returned to work, did her best to handle all the roles placed on her shoulders; educator, COVID-security guard, human shield, firefighter, social worker, nurse, and caregiver but the workload weakened her, and the virus took hold.”
“Whitney was taken from us,” it continues. “Yes, of course too soon, but we are the ones left with holes in our hearts, missing how big hers was.”
Mourners are then encouraged to send “condolences” to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry (R) and the Duval County school board and superintendent.
According to its website, Duval County public schools are slated to reopen next Thursday with both in-person and remote learning options for students. Though Reddick said in an interview she’ll return to her classroom as scheduled, she added that she’d prefer her district keep classes for all students remote, given that coronavirus cases in Florida continue to surge.
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“I felt the gravity of the situation and the obit took that on,” she told “The Today Show” last week. She said that in the debate over reopening schools, educators “no longer became people who had families and loved ones, we became a tool in restarting an economy. I wanted it to hit home that teachers are people and have families and loved ones.”
And Reddick, the mother of a 1-year-old boy, said she’s mostly concerned about what would happen to her family if she were to contract COVID-19.
“I love my job so much,” she told CBS Jacksonville. “What if I go on a ventilator? What if my husband gets sick? ... Who takes care of our son? What if I pass away? What if he passes away?”
In an email, Duval County Superintendent Diana Greene told HuffPost she and her staff planned to “rise to the challenge” of teaching amid the pandemic.
“Teaching is a public service, but it is unlikely any of us thought about a long-term global pandemic when we chose this path to serve children,” she said. “I empathize with the fears some teachers have expressed, and I also empathize with the needs of 130,000 children and their families.”
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“With the resources and guidance available to us, we must move forward with every feasible precaution to support our employees and to serve those students who need us in classrooms,” she added.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Drops Lawsuit Against Atlanta's Mask Order

ATLANTA — Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp says he ’ s dropping a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta in @ @ @ @ @ ’ s requirement to wear masks in public and other restrictions related to the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the City Council in July to block them @ @ @ @ @ local level , even as case counts and hospitalizations in the state soared .
Kemp @ @ @ @ @ ’ t impose measures that are more or less restrictive than those in his statewide @ @ @ @ @ strongly urged people to wear masks but not required them .
He has sought to @ @ @ @ @ orders requiring that masks be worn , but several cities , including Atlanta , have @ @ @ @ @ conversations are happening now .
Add your voice !
Join HuffPost Today !

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ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he’s dropping a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta in a dispute over the city’s requirement to wear masks in public and other restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Republican governor sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the City Council in July to block them from implementing restrictions at the local level, even as case counts and hospitalizations in the state soared.
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Kemp argued that local governments can’t impose measures that are more or less restrictive than those in his statewide executive orders, which have strongly urged people to wear masks but not required them.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Trump Scraps Rule On Potent Greenhouse Gas As Climate Disasters Mount

On a call with reporters Thursday afternoon , two senior administration officials defended the changes as a more “ balanced ” approach to regulating methane .
One official , whom the EPA declined to name on the record , told HuffPost “ emissions are going to continue to go down ” despite the rollback and “ the notion that it ’ s going to change that trajectory is inaccurate.
” The rule comes as emissions of methane , which traps 90 times more heat in the atmosphere over a two-decade period than carbon dioxide , reach record levels .
Since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States increased by close to 5 million tons per year , equivalent to adding 35 million cars to the road , according to a study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters .
The spike reflects the drilling boom , driven by hydraulic fracturing , that made the United States a top exporter of gas and oil , said Rob Jackson , a co-author of the study .
“ Our increases in the U.S. are coming mostly from oil and gas companies , not because the industry is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re producing almost twice as much as we were a decade ago , ” said Jackson , an earth scientist who leads Stanford University ’ s Global Carbon Project .
“ Simply increasing production leads to greater methane emissions .
We ’ re drilling more wells and moving more natural gas around.
” The new rule is only the latest regulatory change the administration has pushed through amid the coronavirus pandemic and ahead of November ’ s election .
In April , the EPA loosened rules on mercury emissions from power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rewrote a rule to give pipeline companies more power over skeptical state regulators .
In July , President Donald Trump weakened the National Environmental Policy Act , limiting infrastructure reviews and making it harder for polluted communities to challenge harmful new highways or pipelines under the bedrock public health law .
The EPA ’ s own calculations show the rollback will increase emissions of methane by 336,000 metric tons per year and unleash close to 9,100 metric tons of toxic organic compounds such as benzene into the air around oil and gas operations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the EPA ’ s changes .
Last year , Exxon Mobil Corp. , Royal Dutch Shell and BP publicly urged the agency to maintain regulations of methane .
But industry groups lobbied on behalf of the rollback , which most directly benefited smaller producers .
The Independent Petroleum Association of American said the methane rule was an example of the Obama-era EPA ’ s “ ‘ one-size-fits-all ’ approach to regulating this industry , ” which it called “ inappropriate ” and complained “ disproportionately impacts conventional operations and small businesses.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s most powerful lobby , said producers would still control emissions under the modified rule .
That progress isn ’ t enough to keep global temperatures from rising another half-degree to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial averages , beyond which scientists project catastrophic human suffering .
Methane , a colorless and odorless gas that ’ s virtually invisible without infrared cameras , hit a new global high in 2017 .
Scientists fear the gas ’ s potency could bring the world to a tipping point at which the thawing Arctic starts releasing carbon and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manage to get a grip on human-caused emissions like those from fossil fuels .
This summer has offered a taste of that future .
The U.S. Drought Monitor shows three entire U.S. states ― Colorado , Nevada and New Mexico ― are in drought , as is most of Arizona , Oregon , Utah and Wyoming and a large swath of California .
Federal forecasters last week updated their outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season , predicting an “ extremely active ” period with up to 25 named storms .
A derecho , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ havoc across the Midwest this week , destroying 10 million acres of crops in Iowa and leaving 600,000 without power .
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden , who has vowed to pursue a more ambitious climate agenda than the previous administration in which he served as vice president , would likely attempt to reinstate the rule if he wins in November .
But the legal timeline could be challenging .
Crafting more stringent regulations would take years .

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The Trump administration rescinded regulations on methane Thursday, allowing oil and gas companies to keep emitting a powerful climate-changing gas even as a wave of droughts, powerful storms and extreme heat hit the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s long-anticipated changes to the rule scrap federal requirements that producers install technology and establish procedures to detect, disclose and plug methane leaks from most wells, pipelines and storage facilities.
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The agency argued that the regulation the Obama administration put in place in 2016 failed to meet legal standards under the Clean Air Act, and unfairly punished small producers with onerous requirements.
On a call with reporters Thursday afternoon, two senior administration officials defended the changes as a more “balanced” approach to regulating methane. One official, whom the EPA declined to name on the record, told HuffPost “emissions are going to continue to go down” despite the rollback and “the notion that it’s going to change that trajectory is inaccurate.”
The rule comes as emissions of methane, which traps 90 times more heat in the atmosphere over a two-decade period than carbon dioxide, reach record levels. Since 2000, scientists estimate methane emissions from the United States increased by close to 5 million tons per year, equivalent to adding 35 million cars to the road, according to a study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters. The spike reflects the drilling boom, driven by hydraulic fracturing, that made the United States a top exporter of gas and oil, said Rob Jackson, a co-author of the study.
“Our increases in the U.S. are coming mostly from oil and gas companies, not because the industry is doing a poor job, but because we’re producing almost twice as much as we were a decade ago,” said Jackson, an earth scientist who leads Stanford University’s Global Carbon Project. “Simply increasing production leads to greater methane emissions. We’re drilling more wells and moving more natural gas around.”
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A fracking well. Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
The new rule is only the latest regulatory change the administration has pushed through amid the coronavirus pandemic and ahead of November’s election. In April, the EPA loosened rules on mercury emissions from power plants. In June, the agency rewrote a rule to give pipeline companies more power over skeptical state regulators. In July, President Donald Trump weakened the National Environmental Policy Act, limiting infrastructure reviews and making it harder for polluted communities to challenge harmful new highways or pipelines under the bedrock public health law.
The EPA’s own calculations show the rollback will increase emissions of methane by 336,000 metric tons per year and unleash close to 9,100 metric tons of toxic organic compounds such as benzene into the air around oil and gas operations.
Major oil and gas producers opposed the EPA’s changes. Last year, Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell and BP publicly urged the agency to maintain regulations of methane. But industry groups lobbied on behalf of the rollback, which most directly benefited smaller producers.
The Independent Petroleum Association of American said the methane rule was an example of the Obama-era EPA’s “‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to regulating this industry,” which it called “inappropriate” and complained “disproportionately impacts conventional operations and small businesses.” The American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s most powerful lobby, said producers would still control emissions under the modified rule.
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“We support this revision,” Frank Macchiarola, a senior vice president of policy and regulation at API, said in an emailed statement. “The industry continues to make progress in reducing methane emissions through new technologies.”
“Simply increasing production leads to greater methane emissions. We’re drilling more wells and moving more natural gas around.” - Rob Jackson, Stanford University earth scientist
That progress isn’t enough to keep global temperatures from rising another half-degree to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial averages, beyond which scientists project catastrophic human suffering. Methane, a colorless and odorless gas that’s virtually invisible without infrared cameras, hit a new global high in 2017. Scientists fear the gas’s potency could bring the world to a tipping point at which the thawing Arctic starts releasing carbon and methane at an uncontrollable rate before policymakers manage to get a grip on human-caused emissions like those from fossil fuels.
“We worry about runaway methane release, especially from the Arctic,” Jackson said. “But my biggest concern is greater emissions from human activities. We’re just not getting the job done.”
This summer has offered a taste of that future. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows three entire U.S. states ― Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico ― are in drought, as is most of Arizona, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming and a large swath of California. Federal forecasters last week updated their outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season, predicting an “extremely active” period with up to 25 named storms. A derecho, or typically rare inland hurricane, wreaked havoc across the Midwest this week, destroying 10 million acres of crops in Iowa and leaving 600,000 without power.
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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who has vowed to pursue a more ambitious climate agenda than the previous administration in which he served as vice president, would likely attempt to reinstate the rule if he wins in November. But the legal timeline could be challenging. Crafting more stringent regulations would take years.
To weaken the existing rule now, Jackson said, is “misguided and a lost opportunity.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Here Are The Best And Worst States To Have A Baby In 2020

Having a baby always comes with many costs and challenges , but the difficulty of the experience can vary depending on where you live .
Personal finance website WalletHub released its annual report this week ranking the best and worst states to have a baby in 2020 .
The rankings are based on 32 metrics related to cost , health care quality and accessibility , and baby- and family-friendliness .
According to the report , the best states for parents and their newborns are Massachusetts , Minnesota , Vermont , North Dakota and Rhode Island .
The lowest-ranked are Alabama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Georgia .
In addition to the usual factors like hospital delivery charges , maternal mortality rates , infant care costs and pediatricians per capita , this year ’ s report also took into account a few coronavirus-related metrics ― including health infrastructure ’ s ability to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and positive testing rates .
WalletHub ’ s analysis gave Massachusetts the highest score for its parental leave policy .
Alaska has the lowest share of babies with low birth weight at 5.85 % ; Mississippi has the highest share at 12.12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average annual cost for early childcare ( $ 4,060 ) , while costs in the District of Columbia are the highest ( $ 15,860 ) .
Visit WalletHub for the full rankings and more information about the methodology behind this report .

KidStock via Getty Images The challenges you face as a new parent depend in part on where you live.
Having a baby always comes with many costs and challenges, but the difficulty of the experience can vary depending on where you live.
Personal finance website WalletHub released its annual report this week ranking the best and worst states to have a baby in 2020. The rankings are based on 32 metrics related to cost, health care quality and accessibility, and baby- and family-friendliness.
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According to the report, the best states for parents and their newborns are Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, North Dakota and Rhode Island. The lowest-ranked are Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia.
In addition to the usual factors like hospital delivery charges, maternal mortality rates, infant care costs and pediatricians per capita, this year’s report also took into account a few coronavirus-related metrics ― including health infrastructure’s ability to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and positive testing rates.
WalletHub’s analysis gave Massachusetts the highest score for its parental leave policy. Alaska has the lowest share of babies with low birth weight at 5.85%; Mississippi has the highest share at 12.12%. Mississippi also has the lowest average annual cost for early childcare ($4,060), while costs in the District of Columbia are the highest ($15,860).
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Is It Safe To Drink From A Water Fountain During The COVID-19 Pandemic?

There ’ s no evidence you can get COVID-19 from the water itself .
But since the virus may linger on surfaces , experts say to avoid fountains if you can or to limit any direct contact when using them .
In New York City , for example , posters instruct people to use gloves or a tissue to turn on water fountains .
If you don ’ t have those handy and need to touch the fountain , experts recommend you wash your hands afterward and avoid touching your face until you do .
And you shouldn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaning in for a drink .
Filling a water bottle is also better than drinking directly from the fountain , says Angela Rasmussen , a virus researcher at Columbia University .
That helps ensure you don ’ t leave saliva on the fountain , making it safer for others .
The precautions are recommended because surfaces are believed to contribute to the spread of COVID-19 , even though experts say the main way the virus spreads is through droplets people spray when they talk , cough or sneeze .
To minimize direct contact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ encourage everyone to bring their own water from home , says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Fountains should still be cleaned and sanitized for those who need to use them , the agency says .
The CDC also says schools and businesses should check fountains for other safety issues before they reopen .
Prolonged closures could increase the risk for Legionnaires ’ and other diseases associated with water , since standing water in plumbing systems can cause bacteria to grow .
Experts are still learning about the novel coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what was known or available as of press time , but it ’ s possible guidance around COVID-19 could change as scientists discover more about the virus .
Please check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the most updated recommendations .

Joseph Thomas Photography via Getty Images There are a few things you should know before slurping from a water fountain during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Is it safe to drink from a water fountain during the pandemic?
There’s no evidence you can get COVID-19 from the water itself. But since the virus may linger on surfaces, experts say to avoid fountains if you can or to limit any direct contact when using them.
In New York City, for example, posters instruct people to use gloves or a tissue to turn on water fountains. If you don’t have those handy and need to touch the fountain, experts recommend you wash your hands afterward and avoid touching your face until you do. And you shouldn’t let your face touch the spout when leaning in for a drink.
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Filling a water bottle is also better than drinking directly from the fountain, says Angela Rasmussen, a virus researcher at Columbia University. That helps ensure you don’t leave saliva on the fountain, making it safer for others.
The precautions are recommended because surfaces are believed to contribute to the spread of COVID-19, even though experts say the main way the virus spreads is through droplets people spray when they talk, cough or sneeze.
To minimize direct contact with fountains, schools and businesses should encourage everyone to bring their own water from home, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fountains should still be cleaned and sanitized for those who need to use them, the agency says.
The CDC also says schools and businesses should check fountains for other safety issues before they reopen. Prolonged closures could increase the risk for Legionnaires’ and other diseases associated with water, since standing water in plumbing systems can cause bacteria to grow.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Birthers Are Already Going After Kamala Harris

On Tuesday , a day after the former vice president announced that the California senator would be his running mate , Newsweek ran an op-ed questioning Harris ’ eligibility .
The argument by John Eastman , a law professor at Chapman University and a failed GOP candidate , centers around the status of Harris ’ parents .
“ Her father was ( and is ) a Jamaican national , her mother was from India , and neither was a naturalized U.S. citizen at the time of Harris ’ birth in 1964 , ” he wrote .
Another post that received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also said Harris can not become president if Biden is unable to serve out his term , because she is “ an anchor baby , mother is from India , father is Jamaican , and neither were American citizens at time of her birth.
” The president of the right-wing group Judicial Watch tweeted Chapman ’ s piece , and it has been picked up by President Donald Trump ’ s campaign .
Jenna Ellis , a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign , retweeted that post .
It is not an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black person to be nominated by a major party for vice president , and the first Asian American person to be nominated by a major party at all .
It doesn ’ t seem to be a coincidence that the other person birthers went after was Barack Obama , the first Black president .
Biden , Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are not facing any such questions .
Sen. Kamala Harris ( D-Calif. ) was named Joe Biden 's running mate earlier this week .
Birthers are already questioning whether she — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a major party 's ticket — would be constitutionally eligible to become president .
“ One of the hallmarks of the U.S. Constitution , by virtue of the 14th Amendment , is that it directly grants citizenship to those born in the United States , regardless of the ancestry of their parents , ” said Richard Pildes , a constitutional law professor at New York University School of Law .
“ Donald Trump was the national leader of the grotesque , racist birther movement with respect to President Obama and has sought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apart on every single day of his presidency , ” said Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates .
“ So it ’ s unsurprising , but no less abhorrent , that as Trump makes a fool of himself straining to distract the American people from the horrific toll of his failed coronavirus response that his campaign and their allies would resort to wretched , demonstrably false lies in their pathetic desperation.
” “ I can ’ t believe people are making this idiotic comment , ” Laurence Tribe , a Harvard University professor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time .
“ She is a natural born citizen and there is no question about her eligibility to run.
” “ And hopefully there will be no games where the issue keeps changing for righty accusers…and…the legit info abt Harris comes out to deal with the allegation ASAP .
The longer there is no proof either way , the deeper the effect , ” he wrote in a tweet .
He later deleted it .
A spokesman claimed that Trump Jr. hadn ’ t known that Harris was half-Indian , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweet .
At the time , Biden tweeted in Harris ’ defense .
Birthers ― including Trump ― also went after Obama for years , arguing that he wasn ’ t a legitimate president .
As with Harris , their claims had no basis in reality .
They claimed he was born in Kenya ( he was born in Hawaii ) and insisted that his birth certificate was a forgery .

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Kamala Harris has been Joe Biden’s running mate for less than a week, but the birthers are already questioning whether she’s constitutionally eligible to ever be president.
On Tuesday, a day after the former vice president announced that the California senator would be his running mate, Newsweek ran an op-ed questioning Harris’ eligibility. The argument by John Eastman, a law professor at Chapman University and a failed GOP candidate, centers around the status of Harris’ parents.
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“Her father was (and is) a Jamaican national, her mother was from India, and neither was a naturalized U.S. citizen at the time of Harris’ birth in 1964,” he wrote.
Harris’ parents met as graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley. Her father, an economist, immigrated from Jamaica; her mother, a cancer researcher, immigrated from India.
Harris was born in California and is therefore a U.S. citizen.
Another post that received a couple of thousand shares on Facebook also said Harris cannot become president if Biden is unable to serve out his term, because she is “an anchor baby, mother is from India, father is Jamaican, and neither were American citizens at time of her birth.”
The president of the right-wing group Judicial Watch tweeted Chapman’s piece, and it has been picked up by President Donald Trump’s campaign. Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign, retweeted that post.
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“It’s an open question, and one I think Harris should answer so the American people know for sure she is eligible,” Ellis told ABC News.
And on Thursday afternoon, Trump himself leaned into the conspiracy.
“I heard it today, that she doesn’t meet the requirements,” Trump told reporters. He praised Chapman, saying, “the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer.”
It is not an open question. Harris is the first Black person to be nominated by a major party for vice president, and the first Asian American person to be nominated by a major party at all.
It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that the other person birthers went after was Barack Obama, the first Black president. Biden, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are not facing any such questions.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) was named Joe Biden's running mate earlier this week. Birthers are already questioning whether she — the first Black and Asian American woman on a major party's ticket — would be constitutionally eligible to become president. David Becker via Getty Images
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“One of the hallmarks of the U.S. Constitution, by virtue of the 14th Amendment, is that it directly grants citizenship to those born in the United States, regardless of the ancestry of their parents,” said Richard Pildes, a constitutional law professor at New York University School of Law.
He said that some countries directly grant citizenship based only on ancestry, but the United States does not.
“The U.S. follows the principle of ‘jus solis’ (citizenship flows from birth ‘on the soil’); the alternative is known as ‘jus sanguinis’ (citizenship flows from blood),” he added.
“Donald Trump was the national leader of the grotesque, racist birther movement with respect to President Obama and has sought to fuel racism and tear our nation apart on every single day of his presidency,” said Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates. “So it’s unsurprising, but no less abhorrent, that as Trump makes a fool of himself straining to distract the American people from the horrific toll of his failed coronavirus response that his campaign and their allies would resort to wretched, demonstrably false lies in their pathetic desperation.”
Some birther conspiracies also popped up during Harris’ presidential run last year.
“I can’t believe people are making this idiotic comment,” Laurence Tribe, a Harvard University professor of constitutional law, told The Associated Press at the time. “She is a natural born citizen and there is no question about her eligibility to run.”
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CNN host Chris Cuomo faced swift backlash after he seemed to suggest that Harris should prove her citizenship in order to rebut the criticism.
“And hopefully there will be no games where the issue keeps changing for righty accusers…and…the legit info abt Harris comes out to deal with the allegation ASAP. The longer there is no proof either way, the deeper the effect,” he wrote in a tweet.
Cuomo later deleted the post, saying his comments were misconstrued and Harris has “no duty to justify any such accusation, let alone a birtherism attack.”
Donald Trump Jr. also retweeted a post shared by a right-wing activist, which said Harris was not “an American Black” because she is “half Indian and half Jamaican.”
He later deleted it. A spokesman claimed that Trump Jr. hadn’t known that Harris was half-Indian, and that’s why he shared the tweet. At the time, Biden tweeted in Harris’ defense.
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The same forces of hatred rooted in 'birtherism' that questioned @BarackObama's American citizenship, and even his racial identity, are now being used against Senator @KamalaHarris. It’s disgusting and we have to call it out when we see it. Racism has no place in America. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 29, 2019
Birthers ― including Trump ― also went after Obama for years, arguing that he wasn’t a legitimate president. As with Harris, their claims had no basis in reality. They claimed he was born in Kenya (he was born in Hawaii) and insisted that his birth certificate was a forgery.
Dinesh D’Souza, a far-right political commentator and conspiracy theorist, also claimed on Fox News this week that Harris may not even truly be Black because her father had traced his ancestry to a slave owner.
Newsweek’s editors responded to the backlash they received for running Eastman’s piece in a note Thursday, claiming the piece was not racist at all.
“His essay has no connection whatsoever to so-called ‘birther-ism,’ the racist 2008 conspiracy theory aimed at delegitimizing then-candidate Barack Obama by claiming, baselessly, that he was born not in Hawaii but in Kenya,” wrote Nancy Cooper, the editor-in-chief, and Josh Hammer, the opinion editor. “We share our readers’ revulsion at those vile lies.”
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Trump Seemingly Admits Why He's Blocking Postal Service Funding

“ They don ’ t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting .
So therefore , they can @ @ @ @ @ I guess , right ?
” Trump said .
“ Are they going to do @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t have the money ?
” He also claimed the election would “ @ @ @ @ @ in history ” and “ one of the greatest frauds in history .
”

“They don’t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting. So therefore, they can’t do it, I guess, right?” Trump said. “Are they going to do it, even if they don’t have the money?”
He also claimed the election would “be the great rigged election in history” and “one of the greatest frauds in history.”


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Herman Cain Tweets 2 Weeks After Death, Slams Joe Biden And Kamala Harris

Sure , Herman Cain freaked out Twitter on Wednesday , but that ’ s to be expected when you post a tweet two weeks after your death .
So it was quite a shock for many Twitter users when Cain ’ s Twitter account posted a tweet attacking Joe Biden and Kamala Harris .
Just in case you thought Biden 's candidacy was going to be anything other than completely nuts , team Trump has released a new video .
# JoeBiden # KamalaHarris https : //t.co/GjAC8VDaVF — The Cain Gang ( @ THEHermanCain ) August 12 , 2020 Initially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming from Cain himself , but the people managing the account later changed the name to The Cain Gang though the Twitter handle remains @ THEHermanCain .
There was a bit of warning : Cain ’ s daughter , Melanie Cain Gallo , posted on his website Tuesday that the family will continue to use the platform “ to share the information and ideas he believed in.
” Still , before the Twitter handle changed , many people were understandably freaked out by what looked like a dead man ’ s tweet .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
You think the Biden candidacy is going to be nuts and you 're saying this FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE SINCE YOU DIED TWO WEEKS AGO https : //t.co/ONCLj6fBxF — Sarah Cooper ( @ sarahcpr ) August 13 , 2020 Dead and tweeting Herman Cain is the most unexpected twist of 2020 and a lot of shit has gone down .
https : //t.co/KkkfxfHzta — Mike Birbiglia ( @ birbigs ) August 13 , 2020 I do n't know what 's worse : That Herman Cain 's staff wants us to think he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people should listen to the political opinions of the undead .
Either way , what a bunch of ghouls , especially since Trump got their boss killed .
https : //t.co/hf1rHGTcgD — Amanda Marcotte ( @ AmandaMarcotte ) August 13 , 2020 Others wondered when the Trump campaign would take advantage of Cain ’ s Twitter resurrection .
obviously Trump is going to say Cain ’ s tweet is evidence that hydroxychloroquine , Lysol , and UV light actually work , and you ’ re going to do the video — George Conway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 The Trump campaign needs to show black support so badly they are using dead people 's Twitter accounts .
https : //t.co/fpyc8nv5G9 — Gregg Housh ( @ GreggHoush ) August 13 , 2020 Still others were just there to make puns .
Some worried about the moral issues of tweeting from beyond the grave .
Is it just me or is tweeting from a dead person 's account at the very least creepy https : //t.co/384EBLYHcC — Steve Chenevey FOX5 ( @ stevechenevey ) August 13 , 2020 And one person suggested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more tasteless things to come .
If you think this is tasteless .
Wait till you see the marionette they made so he could give an RNC speech https : //t.co/DuV5psuHus — Wenzler Powers ( @ WenzlerPowers ) August 13 , 2020 CORRECTION : A previous version of this story stated incorrectly that the tweets were posted on Thursday .
They posted on Wednesday .

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Sure, Herman Cain freaked out Twitter on Wednesday, but that’s to be expected when you post a tweet two weeks after your death.
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So it was quite a shock for many Twitter users when Cain’s Twitter account posted a tweet attacking Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Just in case you thought Biden's candidacy was going to be anything other than completely nuts, team Trump has released a new video. #JoeBiden #KamalaHarris https://t.co/GjAC8VDaVF — The Cain Gang (@THEHermanCain) August 12, 2020
Initially, the tweet was posted as if coming from Cain himself, but the people managing the account later changed the name to The Cain Gang though the Twitter handle remains @THEHermanCain.
There was a bit of warning: Cain’s daughter, Melanie Cain Gallo, posted on his website Tuesday that the family will continue to use the platform “to share the information and ideas he believed in.”
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Still, before the Twitter handle changed, many people were understandably freaked out by what looked like a dead man’s tweet.
So, let me get this straight. You think the Biden candidacy is going to be nuts and you're saying this FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE SINCE YOU DIED TWO WEEKS AGO https://t.co/ONCLj6fBxF — Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) August 13, 2020
Dead and tweeting Herman Cain is the most unexpected twist of 2020 and a lot of shit has gone down. https://t.co/KkkfxfHzta — Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) August 13, 2020
I don't know what's worse: That Herman Cain's staff wants us to think he's undead, or that they think people should listen to the political opinions of the undead. Either way, what a bunch of ghouls, especially since Trump got their boss killed. https://t.co/hf1rHGTcgD — Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) August 13, 2020
Others wondered when the Trump campaign would take advantage of Cain’s Twitter resurrection.
obviously Trump is going to say Cain’s tweet is evidence that hydroxychloroquine, Lysol, and UV light actually work, and you’re going to do the video — George Conway (@gtconway3d) August 13, 2020
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The Trump campaign needs to show black support so badly they are using dead people's Twitter accounts. https://t.co/fpyc8nv5G9 — Gregg Housh (@GreggHoush) August 13, 2020
Still others were just there to make puns.
Some worried about the moral issues of tweeting from beyond the grave.
Is it just me or is tweeting from a dead person's account at the very least creepy https://t.co/384EBLYHcC — Steve Chenevey FOX5 (@stevechenevey) August 13, 2020
One man gave credit where credit was due.
But more importantly, that is some impressive WiFi https://t.co/nf6c49QefY — Ian Young (@ianjamesyoung70) August 13, 2020
And one person suggested the Cain tweet was a sign of more tasteless things to come.
If you think this is tasteless. Wait till you see the marionette they made so he could give an RNC speech https://t.co/DuV5psuHus — Wenzler Powers (@WenzlerPowers) August 13, 2020
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Mika Brzezinski Drops The Hammer On 'Pathetic' Donald Trump's ‘Ditzy Airhead’ Tweet

I just wonder what ditzy means ?
Because if I ’ m ditzy , you ’ re disastrous .
This @ @ @ @ @ 167,000 people are dead , Donald Trump .
Stop tweeting about Morning Joe and Morning @ @ @ @ @ job .
Try once to think about getting some testing to the American people .
@ @ @ @ @ your scientists .
Try once to be a man that actually wants to lead this @ @ @ @ @ who ’ s scared of women and likes to call them names and scurries off @ @ @ @ @ a question .
Pathetic .
You really should stop watching and get over your problem @ @ @

I just wonder what ditzy means? Because if I’m ditzy, you’re disastrous. This has been a disaster. 167,000 people are dead, Donald Trump. Stop tweeting about Morning Joe and Morning Mika and do your damn job. Try once to think about getting some testing to the American people. Try once to listen to your scientists. Try once to be a man that actually wants to lead this country and not a man who’s scared of women and likes to call them names and scurries off the stage if they ask a question. Pathetic. You really should stop watching and get over your problem with women.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Donald Trump Can Do More Than Attack Post Office Funding. He’s Mounting A Legal War Against Mailed B

Donald Trump Can Do More Than Attack Post Office Funding. He’s Mounting A Legal War Against Mailed Ballots.

But starving the Postal Service of funding is just one tool at the president ’ s disposal to slow or stop the counting of ballots sent by mail .
Trump ’ s campaign and the Republican National Committee are already engaged in litigation to prevent voters from easily casting absentee or mail-in ballots .
In Pennsylvania , they are trying to block the implementation of ballot drop boxes ― curbside boxes where voters can drop their absentee ballots to be picked up by election officials .
In California , the RNC tried to stop the mailing of ballots to all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump campaign is also challenging a new Nevada law that would mail ballots to all active voters .
The coronavirus will simply cause “ a quantum leap in the magnitude of these shifts , ” Rick Pildes , a professor at New York University School of Law , wrote in an article for Lawfare , as almost every state has adopted no-excuse absentee voting in response to the pandemic .
States already saw radical increases in absentee balloting in primary elections this spring and summer , a trend that is only expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ To Come Trump can ’ t exactly wave a wand and stop absentee ballots from being counted .
He would likely need to file lawsuits in each state that he wanted to challenge , and the suits would need to target some aspect of that state ’ s election laws that were theoretically being violated .
While post-election litigation over ballots is a long-standing bipartisan affair , an effort like this would be unprecedented in scope — essentially a nationwide challenge to mailed or otherwise delayed ballots , seeking to either count or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steve Sisolak ( D ) signed legislation on Aug. 3 that would authorize the mailing of absentee ballots to all active Nevada voters .
Trump called the bill ’ s passage “ an illegal late night coup ” in a tweet .
The next day , Trump ’ s reelection campaign sued to overturn the new law .
The lawsuit argued that mailing absentee ballots to voters would make fraud “ inevitable , ” and sought to overturn provisions , like the acceptance of ballots with unclear postmarks received up to three days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nevada law before the bill was enacted .
Nevada ’ s Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske has asked the judge overseeing the case to dismiss the suit .
The Trump campaign and the RNC are suing every county election office in Pennsylvania to stop them from allowing voters to return absentee ballots to drop boxes .
Ballot drop boxes are exactly what they sound like : secure , sealed mailboxes solely to be used by voters dropping off their ballots .
Those ballots are then collected by election officials and sorted and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used drop boxes in the 2018 election , mostly in states like Oregon and Utah that conduct their elections solely through the mail .
The judge overseeing the case ordered the Trump campaign on Thursday to produce any evidence it has of voter fraud linked to drop boxes .
( There is no existing evidence linking drop boxes to fraud . )
But those are just small previews of the true legal dogfight that looks likely to happen on Election Day , and in the days and weeks that follow .
The hotly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide a template for such suits .
In Arizona , local Republican Party organizations sued county recorders to challenged whether those officials could contact absentee ballot voters who dropped off their ballots on Election Day to provide them an opportunity to correct errors on their ballots .
Arizona officials allow voters to correct ballot errors like signature mismatches , but not all county offices provide this opportunity to voters who drop off their ballots on Election Day .
The lawsuit sought to force all counties to adopt a uniform policy for letting voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specify whether that meant the counties that did allow it should stop or other counties should be forced to adopt the practice .
A settlement was ultimately reached where all county recorders would allow Election Day absentee voters to cure their ballots of errors .
Whether Trump is on strong legal footing if he chooses to challenge absentee ballot rules will depend on each state and how its rules for absentee ballots were implemented .
Courts are likely to defer to election rules when they were established by laws passed by a state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Emergency orders issued by a governor or other election official due to the pandemic may face more scrutiny and a tougher hearing from judges .
Court rulings that order changes to election laws prior to the election will also be a harder sell .
The Supreme Court ’ s conservative majority has already shot down at least two changes ordered by federal judges to help voters cast absentee ballots .

President Donald Trump stunned even hardened observers when he admitted on national television Thursday morning that he would not agree to additional U.S. Postal Service funding because it would make mail-in balloting easier.
“Now they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” he said. “But if they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”
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Later Thursday, Vice reported that the Postal Service is removing machines that sort mail ― including ballots ― from offices without an explanation, further raising alarms that Trump will degrade the post office to hurt mail-in voting.
But starving the Postal Service of funding is just one tool at the president’s disposal to slow or stop the counting of ballots sent by mail. Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are already engaged in litigation to prevent voters from easily casting absentee or mail-in ballots. In Pennsylvania, they are trying to block the implementation of ballot drop boxes ― curbside boxes where voters can drop their absentee ballots to be picked up by election officials. In California, the RNC tried to stop the mailing of ballots to all voters, but failed. And the Trump campaign is also challenging a new Nevada law that would mail ballots to all active voters.
Trump administration figures are also discussing potential executive actions that could curb mail-in balloting in an effort to undermine democratic elections, according to Politico. These include directing the Postal Service not to deliver mailed ballots and ordering state officials to stop counting absentee ballots on Election Day, even though the president doesn’t have legal authority to do either of these things.
The plot is simple: Trump hopes to emerge from Election Day with a slim lead, but with millions of absentee ballots still left to count. Then he will fight tooth and nail to stop those ballots, which he has long painted as “fraudulent,” from ever being counted.
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The ‘Blue Shift’
President Donald Trump frequently falsely accuses his opponents of voter fraud with no evidence. Dennis Van TIne/STAR MAX/IPx
Something called the “blue shift” has happened in all of the recent election cycles ― but is expected to be more pronounced than ever this November. That’s the name Ned Foley, an election law professor at Ohio State University’s Moritz School of Law, gave in 2014 to an emerging trend where votes counted after Election Day heavily favored Democrats.
These legally cast post-election votes came from both provisional ballots ― which are cast by voters whose eligibility is uncertain and needs to be verified ― and absentee or mail-in ballots, the use of which increased in many states in recent years.
For example, on Election Day 2016, Hillary Clinton was ahead of Trump nationally by 236,000 votes, but her eventual popular vote lead ended up close to 3 million. (The shift was not pronounced enough in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and so she narrowly lost those deciding states.)
In 2018, Arizona Republican Martha McSally ended election night ahead of Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema by 15,000 votes. But Sinema won 71,000 more of the ballots not yet counted on election night and won by nearly 56,000 votes.
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Numerous California House races in 2018 ended the same way: soon-to-be Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, Gil Cisneros, Josh Harder and Harley Rouda, among others, overcame Election Day deficits by winning votes counted afterward.
In each of these cases, Trump falsely claimed that Democrats won by committing fraud.
“Electoral corruption — Call for a new Election? We must protect our Democracy!” Trump tweeted after Sinema took the lead from McSally two days after the election as mailed ballots were being counted.
The coronavirus will simply cause “a quantum leap in the magnitude of these shifts,” Rick Pildes, a professor at New York University School of Law, wrote in an article for Lawfare, as almost every state has adopted no-excuse absentee voting in response to the pandemic. States already saw radical increases in absentee balloting in primary elections this spring and summer, a trend that is only expected to increase in November.
Polls already show that Democratic Party voters will likely cast a high proportion of provisional ballots. An ABC/Washington Post poll conducted in July found that 51% of Democrats plan to cast their vote by absentee ballot in November compared to 20% of Republicans. A Marquette University Law School poll found a similar split among voters in Wisconsin, a key swing state.
This means that Trump could come out ahead on Election Day with millions, or tens of millions, of absentee and provisional ballots still left to count.
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“The position that [Trump] takes and that some others have taken is transparently driven by who they think is going to vote and how they think they’re going to vote,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, deputy director for voting rights and elections at the Brennan Center for Justice.
The Legal War To Come
Trump is trying to stop Pennsylvania from using drop boxes, like the one seen here in Ohio, to accept absentee ballots. AP Photo/Tony Dejak
Trump can’t exactly wave a wand and stop absentee ballots from being counted. He would likely need to file lawsuits in each state that he wanted to challenge, and the suits would need to target some aspect of that state’s election laws that were theoretically being violated. While post-election litigation over ballots is a long-standing bipartisan affair, an effort like this would be unprecedented in scope — essentially a nationwide challenge to mailed or otherwise delayed ballots, seeking to either count or discount certain ballots.
Already, the Trump campaign is trying to preemptively hamper the mail-in balloting process.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) signed legislation on Aug. 3 that would authorize the mailing of absentee ballots to all active Nevada voters. Trump called the bill’s passage “an illegal late night coup” in a tweet. The next day, Trump’s reelection campaign sued to overturn the new law. The lawsuit argued that mailing absentee ballots to voters would make fraud “inevitable,” and sought to overturn provisions, like the acceptance of ballots with unclear postmarks received up to three days after Election Day, that existed as Nevada law before the bill was enacted. Nevada’s Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske has asked the judge overseeing the case to dismiss the suit.
The Trump campaign and the RNC are suing every county election office in Pennsylvania to stop them from allowing voters to return absentee ballots to drop boxes. Ballot drop boxes are exactly what they sound like: secure, sealed mailboxes solely to be used by voters dropping off their ballots. Those ballots are then collected by election officials and sorted and counted. Approximately 16% of voters used drop boxes in the 2018 election, mostly in states like Oregon and Utah that conduct their elections solely through the mail. The judge overseeing the case ordered the Trump campaign on Thursday to produce any evidence it has of voter fraud linked to drop boxes. (There is no existing evidence linking drop boxes to fraud.)
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In California, the RNC withdrew its lawsuit challenging Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May 8 executive order to mail every active voter in the state an absentee ballot after the Legislature passed a bill that did the same thing as Newsom’s order.
But those are just small previews of the true legal dogfight that looks likely to happen on Election Day, and in the days and weeks that follow. The hotly contested Arizona Senate race in 2018 could provide a template for such suits. In Arizona, local Republican Party organizations sued county recorders to challenged whether those officials could contact absentee ballot voters who dropped off their ballots on Election Day to provide them an opportunity to correct errors on their ballots.
In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court! https://t.co/cNSPINgCY7 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2020
Arizona officials allow voters to correct ballot errors like signature mismatches, but not all county offices provide this opportunity to voters who drop off their ballots on Election Day. The lawsuit sought to force all counties to adopt a uniform policy for letting voters correct their ballots, but did not specify whether that meant the counties that did allow it should stop or other counties should be forced to adopt the practice. A settlement was ultimately reached where all county recorders would allow Election Day absentee voters to cure their ballots of errors.
The Trump campaign can be expected to use similar tactics if it wants to sue to stop absentee ballots from being counted. It would also likely use the courts to discount individual ballots by nitpicking for minor errors, and prevent efforts by state and local officials to fix them.
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“You will see more of these kinds of lawsuits about the technical deficiencies related to the absentee or mail ballots,” said Sophia Lin Lakin, deputy director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project. “You know, a lot of times they have things like you have to put the birthday, and sometimes people put the date they’ve signed the document, or they forget to check a particular box.”
This type of challenge is common in recounts and recanvasses in close elections. The most famous example of this was the debate over whether to count ballots with “hanging chads,” or partially or unevenly punctured ballot holes, during Florida’s infamous 2000 presidential election recount.
Whether Trump is on strong legal footing if he chooses to challenge absentee ballot rules will depend on each state and how its rules for absentee ballots were implemented. Courts are likely to defer to election rules when they were established by laws passed by a state legislature and signed by the governor. Emergency orders issued by a governor or other election official due to the pandemic may face more scrutiny and a tougher hearing from judges. Court rulings that order changes to election laws prior to the election will also be a harder sell. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has already shot down at least two changes ordered by federal judges to help voters cast absentee ballots.
On the other side, Democrats may wind up looking to file lawsuits if the Postal Service is manipulated in such a way that disrupts the delivery of ballots either to voters or to election officials.
The system will be severely tested by Trump’s legal assault. Already, it is showing signs of strain under the unprecedented number of absentee ballots and existing problems with the Postal Service’s capacity. Thousands of absentee ballots have already been thrown out this year due to postal delivery delays or problems. In Michigan, 10,000 ballots postmarked before election day weren’t counted in the state’s August primary election simply because they arrived after election day. The same was true of 7,700 votes in the 2018 Florida Senate race. Then-Sen. Bill Nelson (D) lost his bid to have those votes counted.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Internal Documents Circulated To DNC Delegates Hint At Why Biden Picked Harris

Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate because she ’ s popular with suburban women and has shown “ she can take on Donald Trump and Mike Pence , ” among other things , according to internal Biden campaign talking points obtained by HuffPost .
The documents were distributed to delegates this week ahead of the Democratic National Convention , which is set to begin on Monday .
They outline how to promote Harris , how to describe her relationship with Biden and hint at why he chose her as his running mate .
In one section , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the Biden campaign outlines five talking points about why the former vice president picked the senator from California and what her presence on the ticket can do to help win the election in November .
“ Senator Harris enjoys especially high popularity among suburban women , who constitute one of the most important swing constituencies in the country , and may well determine the outcome in every major swing state , ” one bullet point reads .
Another talking point details how she was a “ tough questioner ” in Judiciary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widely publicized takedown of Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings .
“ She was a tough opponent during the primary campaign , and she ’ ll fight for the American people every step of the way.
” Delegates are also instructed to discuss Harris as “ a deeply respected member of the Black community , ” whose presence on the ticket will “ drive turnout and enthusiasm in communities of color.
” Additionally , the document encourages surrogates to discuss Harris ’ track record fighting for immigrant rights .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drive turnout across the battleground states , particularly in Arizona , Florida , and Texas , ” the memo reads .
The talking point about suburban women voters is likely in response to President Donald Trump ’ s recent claim that he will be better for “ suburban housewives ” because , if elected , Biden and Harris would reinstate low-income housing programs that would create “ safety ” concerns for suburban communities — a poorly veiled racist statement that assumes low-income housing means more crime .
Trump and right-wing media have wasted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her as his pick to be his vice president on Tuesday .
The Trump campaign and conservative media have already used racist and sexist attacks in an attempt to smear Harris , with Trump calling her “ very , very nasty ” and multiple talking heads concocting a new , bizarre birtherism claim that Harris is not actually Black .
The document ’ s talking points do not include guidance on how to push back against criticism of Harris ’ early work as a prosecutor , which was a flashpoint during her run @ @ @

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Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate because she’s popular with suburban women and has shown “she can take on Donald Trump and Mike Pence,” among other things, according to internal Biden campaign talking points obtained by HuffPost.
The documents were distributed to delegates this week ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which is set to begin on Monday. They outline how to promote Harris, how to describe her relationship with Biden and hint at why he chose her as his running mate.
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In one section, titled “intended for surrogate use only,” the Biden campaign outlines five talking points about why the former vice president picked the senator from California and what her presence on the ticket can do to help win the election in November.
“Senator Harris enjoys especially high popularity among suburban women, who constitute one of the most important swing constituencies in the country, and may well determine the outcome in every major swing state,” one bullet point reads.
Another talking point details how she was a “tough questioner” in Judiciary Committee hearings, likely referring to her widely publicized takedown of Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. “She was a tough opponent during the primary campaign, and she’ll fight for the American people every step of the way.”
Delegates are also instructed to discuss Harris as “a deeply respected member of the Black community,” whose presence on the ticket will “drive turnout and enthusiasm in communities of color.” Additionally, the document encourages surrogates to discuss Harris’ track record fighting for immigrant rights. “We expect her popularity among Latino voters to drive turnout across the battleground states, particularly in Arizona, Florida, and Texas,” the memo reads.
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A spokesperson for the Biden campaigned declined to comment to HuffPost.
The talking point about suburban women voters is likely in response to President Donald Trump’s recent claim that he will be better for “suburban housewives” because, if elected, Biden and Harris would reinstate low-income housing programs that would create “safety” concerns for suburban communities — a poorly veiled racist statement that assumes low-income housing means more crime.
Trump and right-wing media have wasted no time attacking Harris since Biden announced her as his pick to be his vice president on Tuesday. The Trump campaign and conservative media have already used racist and sexist attacks in an attempt to smear Harris, with Trump calling her “very, very nasty” and multiple talking heads concocting a new, bizarre birtherism claim that Harris is not actually Black.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--White House, Congress Flirting With A Double-Dip Recession

Republicans have claimed that the added $ 600 a week in unemployment benefits , which expired July 31 , was doing more harm than good .
With Republicans and Democrats unable to reach a sweeping deal to extend the benefits , Republicans are about to see if they were right to think the country ’ s economic problems will go away on their own .
″There is no more effective way to support an economy in a downturn than providing help to the hard-pressed unemployed , who spend any money they receive as quickly as they receive it , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Analytics , said in an email .
Before it lapsed at the end of last month , at least 25 million people were receiving the extra $ 600 on top of their state benefits , which typically pay a little more than $ 300 .
That means letting the federal boost expire collapsed incomes for a huge number of people ― roughly one out of every six workers ― which is bad news not just for them , but also the various businesses that count on their spending .
A University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if Congress did nothing , unemployed people would cut their spending by a third .
Since unemployment benefits represented about 15 % of total wages , dropping the federal supplement “ could cause substantial declines in aggregate demand and potentially negative effects on the macro-economy.
” But Republicans have been more concerned about employers than the broader economy , complaining that for many workers , the combined state-federal benefit amounted to more than their previous wage .
With the federal portion gone , employers are able to keep wages low and force people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Further complicating matters , President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum ordering the Labor Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency to try to replace the lapsed benefit with a weekly $ 300 “ lost wage assistance ” payment .
The proposed scheme would pay half of the previous benefit , and likely suffer from major logistical problems , but Trump has given Republicans cover to claim the unemployed are being taken care of .
“ The existing unemployment program expired at the end of July after Democrats played politics and blocked efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email , referring to Republican motions to reauthorize the benefits after they had already lapsed .
“ President Trump acted where no one would to provide relief to the American people which will help continue our economic recovery that is already well underway.
” The problem is , it ’ s not clear how soon Trump ’ s initiative would actually pay anyone .
State workforce agencies could have to erect shadow payment systems to distribute the money , since the wage assistance technically isn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far , 45 states have either declined to participate or are waiting for more guidance , according to a tally by Rep. Don Beyer ( D-Va. ) , who is a member of the House committee that oversees unemployment .
“ I ’ m ready to be on the next flight to D.C. if there ’ s a COVID deal , ” Rep. Jared Huffman ( D-Calif. ) told HuffPost on Thursday .
“ And I think all of my colleagues are similarly on standby .
Given how much we pushed through in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up in the Senate , the main reason for being in D.C. would be to vote on that kind of deal , and it looks like Trump and [ Senate Majority Leader Mitch ] McConnell are just not serious about making that happen.
” There has been no progress in talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the administration , with the two sides unable to agree even on an overall dollar figure .
Democrats have offered to reduce the total cost of their demands using the same budgetary gimmick Republicans used for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now dismiss the tactic .
Logue said Nevada ’ s Department of Employment , Training and Rehabilitation determined her benefit amount based on wages from her call center job instead of the income from her housekeeping business , which is substantially higher .
But she ’ s been unable to get through to anybody at the department , a common problem unemployed people have reported across the country .
The same state workforce agencies Trump wants to set up a new payment system can ’ t even answer the phone .
Even before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Logue , 35 , struggled to cover expenses for herself and her kids .
The manager of her apartment complex reminded her in a July 30 letter about the expiration of federal and state eviction moratoriums enacted at the outset of the pandemic .

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When the coronavirus pandemic first started spreading in the United States, Congress sprang into action, creating unprecedented relief programs for businesses and workers, sending out stimulus checks to more than 150 million people, and temporarily blocking evictions for millions of renters.
But now ― with the national unemployment rate still above 10%, more than a million people losing their jobs every week, and the coronavirus still claiming a thousand lives per day ― lawmakers have left town.
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Republicans have claimed that the added $600 a week in unemployment benefits, which expired July 31, was doing more harm than good. With Republicans and Democrats unable to reach a sweeping deal to extend the benefits, Republicans are about to see if they were right to think the country’s economic problems will go away on their own.
But monthly job gains have been slowing down and economists warn that cutting benefits to force people back to their jobs won’t work.
″There is no more effective way to support an economy in a downturn than providing help to the hard-pressed unemployed, who spend any money they receive as quickly as they receive it,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in an email.
“If lawmakers don’t come through and quickly pass another fiscal rescue package, including more unemployment insurance, the economy is likely to backslide into recession,” Zandi said.
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Before it lapsed at the end of last month, at least 25 million people were receiving the extra $600 on top of their state benefits, which typically pay a little more than $300. That means letting the federal boost expire collapsed incomes for a huge number of people ― roughly one out of every six workers ― which is bad news not just for them, but also the various businesses that count on their spending.
A University of Chicago analysis said in July that if Congress did nothing, unemployed people would cut their spending by a third. Since unemployment benefits represented about 15% of total wages, dropping the federal supplement “could cause substantial declines in aggregate demand and potentially negative effects on the macro-economy.”
But Republicans have been more concerned about employers than the broader economy, complaining that for many workers, the combined state-federal benefit amounted to more than their previous wage. With the federal portion gone, employers are able to keep wages low and force people back to work ― coronavirus be damned.
“It’s all about the people in the high end and the ones that have the most money and the corporations.” - Amber Logue
Further complicating matters, President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum ordering the Labor Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency to try to replace the lapsed benefit with a weekly $300 “lost wage assistance” payment. The proposed scheme would pay half of the previous benefit, and likely suffer from major logistical problems, but Trump has given Republicans cover to claim the unemployed are being taken care of.
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“The existing unemployment program expired at the end of July after Democrats played politics and blocked efforts to renew it several times,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in an email, referring to Republican motions to reauthorize the benefits after they had already lapsed. “President Trump acted where no one would to provide relief to the American people which will help continue our economic recovery that is already well underway.”
The problem is, it’s not clear how soon Trump’s initiative would actually pay anyone. State workforce agencies could have to erect shadow payment systems to distribute the money, since the wage assistance technically isn’t an unemployment benefit. So far, 45 states have either declined to participate or are waiting for more guidance, according to a tally by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who is a member of the House committee that oversees unemployment.
Democratic leaders in the House sent members home for the August recess two weeks ago, but they said that, should they reach a deal with Republicans on another coronavirus stimulus package, they’d bring members back.
“I’m ready to be on the next flight to D.C. if there’s a COVID deal,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told HuffPost on Thursday. “And I think all of my colleagues are similarly on standby. Given how much we pushed through in July, and how everything is piled up in the Senate, the main reason for being in D.C. would be to vote on that kind of deal, and it looks like Trump and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell are just not serious about making that happen.”
There has been no progress in talks between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the administration, with the two sides unable to agree even on an overall dollar figure. Democrats have offered to reduce the total cost of their demands using the same budgetary gimmick Republicans used for their 2017 tax bill, but Republicans now dismiss the tactic.
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The situation has grown so dire that a senior White House aide, anonymous and free to speak candidly about negotiations, only offered that the president was taking an “all hands on deck approach” and “evaluating every possible option to bring relief to the American people.”
The missing benefits and bad economic numbers reflect real material deprivation for millions of people.
Amber Logue of Las Vegas, Nevada, said her unemployment income shrank to $108 and her landlord wants her to pay up or get out. She said Congress has been “disrespectful” of working people.
“It’s all about the people in the high end and the ones that have the most money and the corporations,” she said.
Logue said Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation determined her benefit amount based on wages from her call center job instead of the income from her housekeeping business, which is substantially higher. But she’s been unable to get through to anybody at the department, a common problem unemployed people have reported across the country. The same state workforce agencies Trump wants to set up a new payment system can’t even answer the phone.
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Even before she lost the extra $600, Logue, 35, struggled to cover expenses for herself and her kids. The manager of her apartment complex reminded her in a July 30 letter about the expiration of federal and state eviction moratoriums enacted at the outset of the pandemic.
“This means that Nevada courts will allow evictions for non-payment of rent cases to resume in September 2020,” the letter said.
She’s applied for jobs and had interviews at call centers, but hasn’t heard back yet. She didn’t think they seemed safe anyway.
“The three interviews I’ve had since the pandemic, it’s ridiculous,” she said. “There’s no six feet of distancing, there’s no masks in the call centers.”
On top of all that, a reckless driver killed Logue’s mother Monday night in Chicago. In addition to figuring out how she’ll maintain shelter, Logue has to grieve and make funeral arrangements.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Trump Already Leaning Into Kamala Harris Birther Conspiracy Theories

It only took two days from the time Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate for President Donald Trump to begin entertaining a racist birther conspiracy about her .
A Newsweek reporter asked Trump at a Thursday news conference for his thoughts on a recent claim about Harris , who Biden , the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee , on Tuesday tapped to be his running mate .
Harris , who will be the first black woman and first Asian American on a major party ticket , now faces right-wing attacks on her eligibility to serve as vice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents ’ citizenship status when she was born in Oakland , California , and are akin to birthplace conspiracy theories Barack Obama confronted .
“ I just heard that , ” Trump said of the baseless legitimacy issue about Harris , published Wednesday in a Newsweek op-ed by a California-based law professor .
“ I heard it today , that she doesn ’ t meet the requirements , ” Trump continued , adding , “ And by the way , the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified , very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questioning Obama ’ s eligibility for the presidency , repeatedly claiming evidence existed that Obama wasn ’ t born in the U.S. , that his Hawaii birth certificate might be fake and that there was no proof to the contrary .
Trump ’ s role in keeping the false “ birther ” movement alive helped fuel his political rise .
“ I have no idea if that ’ s right , ” Trump said of the Harris attacks .
“ I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But that ’ s very serious .
You ’ re saying that they say that she doesn ’ t qualify because she wasn ’ t born in this country.
” The reporter from Newsweek , which has taken on a conservative bent after the owner gutted most of the staff in 2018 , corrected Trump : “ No , she was born in this country , but ... opponents say that her parents did not receive their permanent residency at that time.
” The argument promoted in Newsweek and by other right-wing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ natural-born citizen , ” as defined in the 14th Amendment , because her parents ― an economist who immigrated from Jamaica and a cancer researcher who immigrated from India ― were not .
But the argument is hollow .
The United States grants citizenship to anyone born in the country , regardless of their parents ’ status .
“ One of the hallmarks of the U.S. Constitution , by virtue of the 14th Amendment , is that it directly grants citizenship to those born in the United States , regardless of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pildes , a constitutional law professor at New York University School of Law , told HuffPost earlier on Thursday .
In publishing the piece by Eastman , a Republican , Newsweek did not note that he was a failed primary contender for the Calfornia attorney general ’ s post that Harris first won in 2010 .

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It only took two days from the time Joe Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate for President Donald Trump to begin entertaining a racist birther conspiracy about her.
A reporter asked Trump at a Thursday news conference for his thoughts on a recent claim about Harris, who Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, on Tuesday tapped to be his running mate. Harris, who will be the first black woman and first Asian American on a major party ticket, now faces right-wing attacks on her eligibility to serve as vice president. Those attacks stem from her parents’ citizenship status when she was born in Oakland, California, and are akin to birthplace conspiracy theories Barack Obama confronted.
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“I just heard that,” Trump said of the baseless legitimacy issue about Harris, published Wednesday in a Newsweek op-ed by a California-based law professor. “I heard it today, that she doesn’t meet the requirements,” Trump continued, adding, “And by the way, the lawyer that wrote that piece is a very highly qualified, very talented lawyer.”
Trump spent his years questioning Obama’s eligibility for the presidency, repeatedly claiming evidence existed that Obama wasn’t born in the U.S., that his Hawaii birth certificate might be fake and that there was no proof to the contrary. Trump’s role in keeping the false “birther” movement alive helped fuel his political rise.
“I have no idea if that’s right,” Trump said of the Harris attacks. “I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president. But that’s very serious. You’re saying that they say that she doesn’t qualify because she wasn’t born in this country.”
The reporter corrected Trump: “No, she was born in this country, but ... opponents say that her parents did not receive their permanent residency at that time.”
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The argument promoted in Newsweek and by other right-wing groups is that Harris is not a “natural-born citizen,” as defined in the 14th Amendment, because her parents ― an economist who emigrated from Jamaica and a cancer researcher who emigrated from India ― were not.
But the argument is hollow. The United States grants citizenship to anyone born in the country, regardless of their parents’ status.
“One of the hallmarks of the U.S. Constitution, by virtue of the 14th Amendment, is that it directly grants citizenship to those born in the United States, regardless of the ancestry of their parents,” Richard Pildes, a constitutional law professor at New York University School of Law, told HuffPost earlier on Thursday.
In publishing the piece by Eastman, a Republican, Newsweek did not note that he was a failed primary contender for the Calfornia attorney general’s post that Harris first won in 2010.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story identified the reporter as a Newsweek employee. It is not clear what outlet the reporter works for.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Trump's Response When Asked If He Regrets All The Lies He's Told America: None

Donald Trump , a president whose persistent untruths and obfuscation led to a disastrous pandemic response that has left more than 165,000 people dead in the U.S. , was asked if he regrets all the lies he ’ s told to the American people .
He skipped the question .
HuffPost senior White House correspondent S.V .
Dáte asked the president during Thursday ’ s coronavirus task force briefing if , after 3½ years , “ do you regret at all all the lying you ’ ve done to the American people ?
All the dishonesties ?
” “ You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who wrote at length about Trump ’ s “ Ministry of Untruth ” earlier this year .
In his report , Dáte noted that Trump ’ s stream of falsehoods across nearly every topic and in any setting is corroding America ’ s democracy as it normalizes lies coming from the nation ’ s highest office .
According to a running fact-check database by The Washington Post , Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims since taking office .
Last month , as the tracker passed the shocking milestone , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kessler , and fact-check reporters Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly wrote , “ The notion that Trump would exceed 20,000 claims before he finished his term appeared ludicrous when The Fact Checker started this project during the president ’ s first 100 days in office.
” In that time , its authors noted , Trump on average made fewer than five false claims a day .
“ But the tsunami of untruths just keeps looming larger and larger , ” they said .
The events of the past 15 months ― including Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic that ’ s infected millions and shattered the economy , and nationwide anti-racism protests over the death of George Floyd and other Black men and women in police custody ― have filled an entirely new ballpark of falsehoods from the president , and the tally continues to climb .
According to the database , he reached nearly a thousand false claims about coronavirus alone in just a matter of months .
His persistent downplaying of the virus , suppression of warnings from experts and repeated pushes to prematurely reopen businesses , speculating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away , ” has contributed to a resurgence of COVID-19 in the U.S. that ’ s killing more than a thousand people each day .

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Donald Trump, a president whose persistent untruths and obfuscation led to a disastrous pandemic response that has left more than 165,000 people dead in the U.S., was asked if he regrets all the lies he’s told to the American people. He skipped the question.
HuffPost senior White House correspondent S.V. Dáte asked the president during Thursday’s coronavirus task force briefing if, after 3½ years, “do you regret at all all the lying you’ve done to the American people? All the dishonesties?”
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“That who has done?” Trump replied.
“You have done,” said Dáte, who wrote at length about Trump’s “Ministry of Untruth” earlier this year.
Trump paused and then moved on to the next question.
Question: Do you regret at all the lying you’ve done to the American people? pic.twitter.com/FUh5jYHs0o — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) August 13, 2020
In his report, Dáte noted that Trump’s stream of falsehoods across nearly every topic and in any setting is corroding America’s democracy as it normalizes lies coming from the nation’s highest office.
According to a running fact-check database by The Washington Post, Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading claims since taking office. Last month, as the tracker passed the shocking milestone, the project’s editor, Glenn Kessler, and fact-check reporters Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly wrote, “The notion that Trump would exceed 20,000 claims before he finished his term appeared ludicrous when The Fact Checker started this project during the president’s first 100 days in office.”
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In that time, its authors noted, Trump on average made fewer than five false claims a day. “But the tsunami of untruths just keeps looming larger and larger,” they said.
The events of the past 15 months ― including Trump’s impeachment trial, the coronavirus pandemic that’s infected millions and shattered the economy, and nationwide anti-racism protests over the death of George Floyd and other Black men and women in police custody ― have filled an entirely new ballpark of falsehoods from the president, and the tally continues to climb.
According to the database, he reached nearly a thousand false claims about coronavirus alone in just a matter of months. His persistent downplaying of the virus, suppression of warnings from experts and repeated pushes to prematurely reopen businesses, speculating that the virus will just “go away,” has contributed to a resurgence of COVID-19 in the U.S. that’s killing more than a thousand people each day.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--White House Adviser Larry Kudlow: 'We Don't Want To Have Voting Rights' In Stimulus

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow made an eyebrow-raising statement Thursday that President Donald Trump is not interested in voting rights protections in the next pandemic relief package .
Democrats are “ asking too much money ― $ 3.5 trillion .
We ’ ve already spent over $ 3 trillion , ” Kudlow told CNBC .
He added : “ So much of the Democratic asks are really liberal left wish lists .
We don ’ t want to have voting rights and aid to aliens and so forth .
That ’ s not our game , and the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deal.
” Many Americans are looking to mail-in ballots for a safer alternative to waiting in line at crowded polling places .
The U.S. hit its deadliest summer day of coronavirus deaths on Wednesday with less than three months to the general election .
In recent weeks , the White House fueled fears that it will seek to disrupt and delay the mail-in voting process .
Trump has repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories linking mail-in voting to rampant voter fraud , despite a lack of evidence .
Kudlow ’ s comments echoed those of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he was in favor of shortchanging the U.S .
Postal Service in order to kneecap mail-in voting during the pandemic .
Negotiations on a fresh round of aid have been stalled for days .
Millions of Americans live under the threat of eviction as a $ 600-per-week enhanced unemployment benefit expired , as did the Paycheck Protection Program and housing protections .
Over the weekend , Trump touted executive actions that he said would provide some aid , but they effectively slash the enhanced unemployment benefit to $ 300 and merely encourage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evictions .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that the two sides remain “ miles apart ” on a new package .

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White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow made an eyebrow-raising statement Thursday that President Donald Trump is not interested in voting rights protections in the next pandemic relief package.
Democrats are “asking too much money ― $3.5 trillion. We’ve already spent over $3 trillion,” Kudlow told CNBC.
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He added: “So much of the Democratic asks are really liberal left wish lists. We don’t want to have voting rights and aid to aliens and so forth. That’s not our game, and the president can’t accept that kind of deal.”
Many Americans are looking to mail-in ballots for a safer alternative to waiting in line at crowded polling places. The U.S. hit its deadliest summer day of coronavirus deaths on Wednesday with less than three months to the general election.
In recent weeks, the White House fueled fears that it will seek to disrupt and delay the mail-in voting process. Trump has repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories linking mail-in voting to rampant voter fraud, despite a lack of evidence.
Kudlow’s comments echoed those of Trump himself, who appeared to admit that he was in favor of shortchanging the U.S. Postal Service in order to kneecap mail-in voting during the pandemic.
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Negotiations on a fresh round of aid have been stalled for days. Millions of Americans live under the threat of eviction as a $600-per-week enhanced unemployment benefit expired, as did the Paycheck Protection Program and housing protections.
Over the weekend, Trump touted executive actions that he said would provide some aid, but they effectively slash the enhanced unemployment benefit to $300 and merely encourage states and federal agencies to consider suspending evictions.
The eviction crisis may compound voting problems if some Americans are suddenly required to register in a new area or lack reliable transportation.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Trump's Push To Cut Payroll Taxes Would Gut Social Security. He Has No Plan To Fix It.

President Donald Trump ’ s vow to suspend the payroll tax for the rest of the year and permanently eliminate it if he is reelected in November would , absent additional action , result in disastrous revenue losses for the Social Security trust fund .
The scheme is clearly designed to aid his bid for another term .
But Trump says millions of Americans receiving Social Security benefits shouldn ’ t fret because the massive budget gap created by slashing payroll taxes would somehow be offset with “ tremendous growth ” in the economy , which is currently in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into another one because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic .
“ We ’ re taking it out of the general fund , ” Trump told reporters at a White House news conference Wednesday when asked how he would fund Social Security .
He acknowledged that would require congressional support to enact , which he currently doesn ’ t have and likely won ’ t even if reelected .
Like a homeowner trying to fix his sink and flooding his kitchen in the process , Trump ’ s plan would create an entirely new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a public health crisis that has required Congress to pass trillions in new spending to help struggling businesses or those without a job or money to pay rent .
It would also undercut what his top aides and Republicans have been saying in response to demands from congressional Democrats for a larger stimulus package .
Among other things , the two sides have been unable to agree on a top-line number for another round of fiscal relief , partly because the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers have ― after years of spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about federal debts and deficits .
Trump ’ s proposed payroll tax cut would eliminate about $ 350 billion to $ 450 billion in payroll tax revenue in 2021 alone and more in later years , according to the Center for American Progress .
The idea of cutting payroll taxes in order to stimulate the economy never had much support among Republicans even before Trump announced over the weekend that he was sidestepping Congress on the matter by taking executive action .
“ I understand why the president would like to waive the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can do that , and the executive order makes that clear , so it ’ s not a , not the kind of solution he would like to have , I ’ m sure , ” Sen. Roy Blunt ( R-Mo . )
said this week .
Republicans are also worried that by messing with the financing of Social Security ― the infamous “ third rail ” of American politics ― Trump is giving Democrats an attack line on a silver platter just months away from the November election .
Appearing in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running mate , Sen. Kamala Harris , presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday slammed Trump over his response to the coronavirus pandemic , saying he ’ s “ issuing executive orders and making promises that in the end will defund the Social Security system while insisting that this virus will disappear.
” Biden ’ s campaign also began airing an ad in the battleground state of Florida this week ― a state with a large share of elderly retirees ― attacking Trump over Social Security and his frequent golfing trips .

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President Donald Trump’s vow to suspend the payroll tax for the rest of the year and permanently eliminate it if he is reelected in November would, absent additional action, result in disastrous revenue losses for the Social Security trust fund. The scheme is clearly designed to aid his bid for another term.
But Trump says millions of Americans receiving Social Security benefits shouldn’t fret because the massive budget gap created by slashing payroll taxes would somehow be offset with “tremendous growth” in the economy, which is currently in a recession and is in danger of sliding into another one because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
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“We’re taking it out of the general fund,” Trump told reporters at a White House news conference Wednesday when asked how he would fund Social Security. He acknowledged that would require congressional support to enact, which he currently doesn’t have and likely won’t even if reelected.
Like a homeowner trying to fix his sink and flooding his kitchen in the process, Trump’s plan would create an entirely new fiscal mess for the country on top of a public health crisis that has required Congress to pass trillions in new spending to help struggling businesses or those without a job or money to pay rent.
It would also undercut what his top aides and Republicans have been saying in response to demands from congressional Democrats for a larger stimulus package. Among other things, the two sides have been unable to agree on a top-line number for another round of fiscal relief, partly because the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers have ― after years of spending like drunken sailors ― rediscovered their concern about federal debts and deficits.
“From my standpoint, the breakdown in the talks is very good news. It’s very good news for future generations,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) said this week. “I hope the talks remain broken down.”
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Trump’s proposed payroll tax cut would eliminate about $350 billion to $450 billion in payroll tax revenue in 2021 alone and more in later years, according to the Center for American Progress.
The scheme also faces significant logistical challenges. Many employers may simply decide to continue withholding taxes from their employees’ paychecks absent a guarantee Congress will actually forgive deferred payments, for example.
The idea of cutting payroll taxes in order to stimulate the economy never had much support among Republicans even before Trump announced over the weekend that he was sidestepping Congress on the matter by taking executive action.
“I understand why the president would like to waive the payroll tax, but only the Congress can do that, and the executive order makes that clear, so it’s not a, not the kind of solution he would like to have, I’m sure,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said this week.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), meanwhile, said he could only support making Trump’s payroll tax holiday permanent if it was coupled with larger reforms to Social Security.
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“We’ve got to make sure that we keep our promises to senior citizens,” Grassley told The Hill.
Republicans are also worried that by messing with the financing of Social Security ― the infamous “third rail” of American politics ― Trump is giving Democrats an attack line on a silver platter just months away from the November election.
Appearing in public for the first time with his new running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday slammed Trump over his response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying he’s “issuing executive orders and making promises that in the end will defund the Social Security system while insisting that this virus will disappear.”
Biden’s campaign also began airing an ad in the battleground state of Florida this week ― a state with a large share of elderly retirees ― attacking Trump over Social Security and his frequent golfing trips.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-08-13--Jimmy Fallon's Viewers Have Some Truly Bizarre Campaign Slogan Ideas

So far , President Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the big names running for president ― sorry Kanye !
@ @ @ @ @ t mean other Americans haven ’ t considered their own possible White House quests .
@ @ @ @ @ Show ” host Jimmy Fallon asked viewers to tweet the campaign slogan they ’ d @ @ @ @ @ president , using the hashtag , # mycampaignslogan .
It 's Hashtags time !
Make @ @ @ @ @ slogan and tag it with # MyCampaignSlogan .
Could be on the show !
Here @ @ @ @ @ suggestions , though it remains to be seen whether these slogans will resonate like past @ @ @ @ @ and informal ― such as , “ Tippecanoe and Tyler Too , ” “ Return @ @ @ @ @ Happy Days Are Here Again , ” “ It ’ s Morning Again in America @ @ @ @ @ s the economy , stupid , ” and “ Make America Great Again .
”

So far, President Donald Trump and Joe Biden are the big names running for president ― sorry Kanye! ― but that doesn’t mean other Americans haven’t considered their own possible White House quests.
On Thursday, “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon asked viewers to tweet the campaign slogan they’d use if they ran for president, using the hashtag, #mycampaignslogan.
It's Hashtags time! Make up your own funny campaign slogan and tag it with #MyCampaignSlogan . Could be on the show!
Here are some of the funnier suggestions, though it remains to be seen whether these slogans will resonate like past campaign slogans ― both formal and informal ― such as, “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too,” “Return to Normalcy,” “Happy Days Are Here Again,” “It’s Morning Again in America,” “It’s the economy, stupid,” and “Make America Great Again.”