theguardian--2020-09-03--What the Salongate outrage is really about | Moira Donegan

The newest scandal in rightwing media is that Nancy Pelosi got her hair done .
A security video time-stamped from Monday afternoon Pacific time , emerged on Tuesday showing the House speaker walking through an empty eSalon , a business in her San Francisco district .
In the grainy , overhead shot , Pelosi can be seen wearing a papery black spa robe and blue pumps .
Her hair is wet , and she is not wearing a mask .
A stylist follows behind her , who is masked .
The visit evidently violated San Francisco ’ s coronavirus procedures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be conducted outdoors .
The video has been replayed giddily by Fox News and covered with fervor by outlets like the New York Post , which have lambasted the congresswoman for her hypocrisy in failing to comply with the now politically charged mask mandates she has encouraged others to follow .
“ Crazy Nancy Pelosi is being decimated for having a beauty parlor opened , ” tweeted Donald Trump , “ and for not wearing a Mask – despite constantly lecturing everyone else.
” The right has also implied that to visit the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with the president ’ s son , Donald Trump Jr , calling her “ Mary Antoinette ” ( yes , he misspelled it ) , in reference to the queen of France whose life of excess became a parable of the moral repugnance of elite obliviousness generally and female vanity in particular .
For her part , Pelosi dismissed the scandal as manufactured , saying that her assistant was told that the salon was routinely scheduling individual appointments .
“ I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said at a press briefing in San Francisco .
“ It was a set-up .
I take responsibility for falling for a set-up.
” It would perhaps be tedious to catalog the numerous hypocrisies that characterized the Republican response to the scandal .
There is the way that Fox News rushed to book Erica Kious , the salon ’ s owner , who appeared on Tucker Carlson ’ s TV show to express her supposed outrage at the violation of the coronavirus restrictions .
And the fact that Kious reminded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Dallas ’ s Salon a la Mode , who opened her shop to serve clients in defiance of her own city ’ s coronavirus restrictions , and who also became a darling of rightwing media , with Carlson defending her at length on his show in May .
And it would be unnecessary , too , to point out that the Trump family ’ s attempts to depict Pelosi as vain , decadent , elite and out of touch for getting her hair done draws attention to their own conspicuous lifestyles and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for instance , is the son of a rich man who is the son of a rich man , and his comparison of Pelosi ’ s salon visit to the indulgences of hereditary royalty has the quality of a pot calling a kettle black .
Meanwhile Donald Trump ’ s signature skin tone appears to require the intervention of one or more professionals to achieve , and women and men alike in the Trump orbit never appear publicly without their own elaborate coiffures .
But the attack on Pelosi for the salon visit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of these realities : after all , one of the Trump family ’ s primary means of asserting their power is to emphasize the brazenness of their own hypocrisy .
Instead , Salongate seems less like a genuine outrage and more like a fabricated one , intended to distract from a presidential race that remains heavily favored for Joe Biden even in the aftermath of the Republican national convention .
New polls released this week show Biden with a sizable lead in many swing states , including Arizona , once a Republican stronghold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump camp ’ s messaging might have difficulty forgetting how much their lives have been altered and narrowed by the coronavirus pandemic , and experts have blamed America ’ s uniquely poor handling of the disease on incompetent executive leadership and the framing of commonsense public health measures , like mask-wearing , as statements of political allegiance .
If Donald Trump wasn ’ t such a bad president , no one would have to weigh the public health risks of getting their hair cut in the first place .
If anything , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s failure to respond to a central shift in the political dynamic between 2016 and now : Trump , for the first time , is running against a white man .
Entering the political scene with the racist birther conspiracy theory he leveled against Barack Obama , and framing his 2016 presidential run as an reassertion of masculine prerogatives against the uppity ambitions of the first major female presidential nominee , Trump has previously made his political case as a defense of white male power against the forces of equality .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , another white male , this argument has less potency .
Instead of finding another way to attack Biden , the Trump campaign has attempted to frame him , and the Democratic party more broadly , as too comfortable and too proximate to female power .
An awkward attempt was made to revive the racist birther conspiracy by suggesting that Biden ’ s running mate , Kamala Harris , was not eligible to be vice-president ( Harris was born in California ) .
Mailers sent out by pro-Trump groups have tried to cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provided pictures of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar to illustrate the point .
The reality of Joe Biden – a paragon of white American masculinity in all its privileges and absurdities – makes attempts like Salongate to make the 2020 election into a referendum on female power seem somewhat desperate and sad .
Of course , that doesn ’ t mean they won ’ t work .

The newest scandal in rightwing media is that Nancy Pelosi got her hair done. A security video time-stamped from Monday afternoon Pacific time, emerged on Tuesday showing the House speaker walking through an empty eSalon, a business in her San Francisco district. In the grainy, overhead shot, Pelosi can be seen wearing a papery black spa robe and blue pumps. Her hair is wet, and she is not wearing a mask. A stylist follows behind her, who is masked. The visit evidently violated San Francisco’s coronavirus procedures, which mandate that salon treatments should be conducted outdoors.
The video has been replayed giddily by Fox News and covered with fervor by outlets like the New York Post, which have lambasted the congresswoman for her hypocrisy in failing to comply with the now politically charged mask mandates she has encouraged others to follow. “Crazy Nancy Pelosi is being decimated for having a beauty parlor opened,” tweeted Donald Trump, “and for not wearing a Mask – despite constantly lecturing everyone else.” The right has also implied that to visit the salon was decadent and selfish of Pelosi, with the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, calling her “Mary Antoinette” (yes, he misspelled it), in reference to the queen of France whose life of excess became a parable of the moral repugnance of elite obliviousness generally and female vanity in particular.
For her part, Pelosi dismissed the scandal as manufactured, saying that her assistant was told that the salon was routinely scheduling individual appointments. “I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon that I’ve been to many times,” she said at a press briefing in San Francisco. “It was a set-up. I take responsibility for falling for a set-up.”
It would perhaps be tedious to catalog the numerous hypocrisies that characterized the Republican response to the scandal. There is the way that Fox News rushed to book Erica Kious, the salon’s owner, who appeared on Tucker Carlson’s TV show to express her supposed outrage at the violation of the coronavirus restrictions. And the fact that Kious reminded one of Shelley Luther, the owner of Dallas’s Salon a la Mode, who opened her shop to serve clients in defiance of her own city’s coronavirus restrictions, and who also became a darling of rightwing media, with Carlson defending her at length on his show in May.
And it would be unnecessary, too, to point out that the Trump family’s attempts to depict Pelosi as vain, decadent, elite and out of touch for getting her hair done draws attention to their own conspicuous lifestyles and effortful personal appearances. Donald Jr, for instance, is the son of a rich man who is the son of a rich man, and his comparison of Pelosi’s salon visit to the indulgences of hereditary royalty has the quality of a pot calling a kettle black. Meanwhile Donald Trump’s signature skin tone appears to require the intervention of one or more professionals to achieve, and women and men alike in the Trump orbit never appear publicly without their own elaborate coiffures. But the attack on Pelosi for the salon visit is not necessarily meant to belie any of these realities: after all, one of the Trump family’s primary means of asserting their power is to emphasize the brazenness of their own hypocrisy.
If Donald Trump wasn’t such a bad president, no one would have to weigh the public health risks of getting their hair cut in the first place
Instead, Salongate seems less like a genuine outrage and more like a fabricated one, intended to distract from a presidential race that remains heavily favored for Joe Biden even in the aftermath of the Republican national convention. New polls released this week show Biden with a sizable lead in many swing states, including Arizona, once a Republican stronghold. Even those voters most amenable to the Trump camp’s messaging might have difficulty forgetting how much their lives have been altered and narrowed by the coronavirus pandemic, and experts have blamed America’s uniquely poor handling of the disease on incompetent executive leadership and the framing of commonsense public health measures, like mask-wearing, as statements of political allegiance. If Donald Trump wasn’t such a bad president, no one would have to weigh the public health risks of getting their hair cut in the first place.
If anything, Salongate is evidence of the Trump campaign’s failure to respond to a central shift in the political dynamic between 2016 and now: Trump, for the first time, is running against a white man. Entering the political scene with the racist birther conspiracy theory he leveled against Barack Obama, and framing his 2016 presidential run as an reassertion of masculine prerogatives against the uppity ambitions of the first major female presidential nominee, Trump has previously made his political case as a defense of white male power against the forces of equality.
But when he is running against Joe Biden, another white male, this argument has less potency. Instead of finding another way to attack Biden, the Trump campaign has attempted to frame him, and the Democratic party more broadly, as too comfortable and too proximate to female power. An awkward attempt was made to revive the racist birther conspiracy by suggesting that Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, was not eligible to be vice-president (Harris was born in California). Mailers sent out by pro-Trump groups have tried to cast Biden as a radical leftist, and provided pictures of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar to illustrate the point. The reality of Joe Biden – a paragon of white American masculinity in all its privileges and absurdities – makes attempts like Salongate to make the 2020 election into a referendum on female power seem somewhat desperate and sad. Of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t work.


theguardian--2020-09-03--Anohni on her new track R.N.C. 2020: 'It's me, screaming in the past, for the present'

I watched the Republican National Convention last week .
It ’ s becoming harder to put into words the dread that many of us feel .
What ’ s really happening ?
Toxic levels of corruption and collusion are devouring the US .
Christian extremists want to turn the country into a religious state straight out of The Handmaid ’ s Tale .
After bombarding us with media campaigns pressuring us not to wear masks in March and April , the US now accounts for 22 % of all Covid-19 deaths worldwide .
I personally know three New Yorkers who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a result of this official guidance .
Trump has stoked racist police violence in the US to even more atrocious heights .
Scaring voters with fake tales of impending anarchy and “ dark shadows ” , he then promises that if re-elected he will crush BLM protesters and “ restore law and order ” .
Is he getting this stuff from Steve Bannon or Mein Kampf ?
Probably both .
Trump is hosting federal executions in the countdown to the election as another prong of his racist , fake “ law and order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US government defied Navajo tribal sovereignty and executed Lezmond Mitchell , injecting him with a massive quantity of pentobarbital in a death chamber in Indiana .
Behind this curtain of carefully orchestrated chaos , the network of corporate lobbyists that form the core of the GOP pillage the US Treasury and dismantle scores of environmental regulations , driving the country and the world even more hopelessly into global boiling and mass extinction .
Australian-born Rupert Murdoch blares his obscene propaganda into American homes , hypnotising viewers with lies , rage and fear-mongering .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ wilderness burned last summer , killing over a billion animals .
More than half of the Great Barrier Reef has collapsed in the last five years due to rapidly increasing ocean temperatures .
The same kinds of awful , permanent losses are engulfing nature on every continent .
For many people , economic suffering looms while Amazon , Facebook , Google , Tesla , Apple and others expand their global footprints , sucking dry local economies .
Some of the CEOs pour the wealth of the world into colonial space programs .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dependence upon Mother Earth and become the heroic creators and patent-holders of life on Mars .
Unlike the Koch brothers , who paid for the malevolent spread of climate change denial , today ’ s tech billionaires scent themselves with a pheromone of liberal philanthropy while monetising the dismantling of checks and balances that once helped to protect us .
They take meetings with Trump , provide him with the viral platforms he needs to retain the presidency , advertise themselves as having done the opposite , and then hedge their bets in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s ancient redwood forests continue to burn around the perimeter of Silicon Valley .
Incessant , nihilistic assaults on truth , empathy and the biosphere ensure that life on earth will become much , much worse .
On the campaign trail in 2016 , Trump ’ s team described him as the first presidential candidate since Harry Truman with “ the guts ” to “ drop the bomb ” .
Trump stood there , grinning with pride , and a wave of nausea spread through me .
I had the same feeling a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump utter the words “ the Chinese virus ” .
What waits for us on the other side of this is a world undone by endless cataclysm and aching with senseless loss .
The sound of this track , RNC 2020 , is pretty rough .
The loop is from a concert I did at a club in New York City in my early 20s .
So that ’ s me screaming in the past … for the present .
Can you visualize a different path forward ?
We all have to focus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve got .

I watched the Republican National Convention last week. It’s becoming harder to put into words the dread that many of us feel.
What’s really happening? Toxic levels of corruption and collusion are devouring the US. Christian extremists want to turn the country into a religious state straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale.
After bombarding us with media campaigns pressuring us not to wear masks in March and April, the US now accounts for 22% of all Covid-19 deaths worldwide. I personally know three New Yorkers who died in April, I believe as a result of this official guidance.
Trump has stoked racist police violence in the US to even more atrocious heights. Scaring voters with fake tales of impending anarchy and “dark shadows”, he then promises that if re-elected he will crush BLM protesters and “restore law and order”. Is he getting this stuff from Steve Bannon or Mein Kampf? Probably both.
Trump is hosting federal executions in the countdown to the election as another prong of his racist, fake “law and order” platform. Last Wednesday, the US government defied Navajo tribal sovereignty and executed Lezmond Mitchell, injecting him with a massive quantity of pentobarbital in a death chamber in Indiana.
Behind this curtain of carefully orchestrated chaos, the network of corporate lobbyists that form the core of the GOP pillage the US Treasury and dismantle scores of environmental regulations, driving the country and the world even more hopelessly into global boiling and mass extinction.
Australian-born Rupert Murdoch blares his obscene propaganda into American homes, hypnotising viewers with lies, rage and fear-mongering. Meanwhile, 40,000 square miles of Australian wilderness burned last summer, killing over a billion animals. More than half of the Great Barrier Reef has collapsed in the last five years due to rapidly increasing ocean temperatures. The same kinds of awful, permanent losses are engulfing nature on every continent.
For many people, economic suffering looms while Amazon, Facebook, Google, Tesla, Apple and others expand their global footprints, sucking dry local economies. Some of the CEOs pour the wealth of the world into colonial space programs. They fantasise that they might finally shed their dependence upon Mother Earth and become the heroic creators and patent-holders of life on Mars.
Unlike the Koch brothers, who paid for the malevolent spread of climate change denial, today’s tech billionaires scent themselves with a pheromone of liberal philanthropy while monetising the dismantling of checks and balances that once helped to protect us. They take meetings with Trump, provide him with the viral platforms he needs to retain the presidency, advertise themselves as having done the opposite, and then hedge their bets in private. Huge swaths of California’s ancient redwood forests continue to burn around the perimeter of Silicon Valley.
Incessant, nihilistic assaults on truth, empathy and the biosphere ensure that life on earth will become much, much worse.
On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump’s team described him as the first presidential candidate since Harry Truman with “the guts” to “drop the bomb”. Trump stood there, grinning with pride, and a wave of nausea spread through me. I had the same feeling a few months ago, when I heard Trump utter the words “the Chinese virus”.
What waits for us on the other side of this is a world undone by endless cataclysm and aching with senseless loss.
The sound of this track, RNC 2020, is pretty rough. The loop is from a concert I did at a club in New York City in my early 20s. So that’s me screaming in the past … for the present.
Can you visualize a different path forward? We all have to focus on this now, with everything we’ve got.


theguardian--2020-09-04--US unemployment fell to 8.4% last month as Covid-19 slows recovery

The pace of recovery in the US jobs market slowed again in August as the coronavirus ’ s impact on the economy appeared to be broadening .
Employers added 1.4m new jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.4 % last month , dropping below 10 % for the first time since the pandemic took hold , the labor department announced on Friday .
The number of new jobs was markedly lower than in recent months .
US employers added 1.8m jobs in July , 4.8m in June and 2.5m jobs in May .
August ’ s figure was also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to conduct the 2020 Census .
The racial disparities in unemployment remained .
The unemployment rate for Black Americans ( 13 % ) was almost double the rate for whites ( 7.3 % ) .
The rate for Latinx Americans was 10.5 % and for Asians , 10.7 % .
The news comes as Congress returns from its summer recess next week amid a heated debate over a new round of stimulus payments and signs that the pandemic recession is unlikely to fade away anytime soon .
Weeks of negotiations have failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already breaking down with top Democrats attacking Republican proposals for a “ skinny ” stimulus package that will cost far less than the $ 2.2tn signed by Donald Trump in March .
“ Republicans may call their proposal ‘ skinny ’ , but it would be more appropriate to call it ‘ emaciated ’ , ” Chuck Schumer , the Democratic Senate minority leader , wrote Thursday to his members .
“ Their proposal appears to be completely inadequate and , by every measure , fails to meet the needs of the American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ falling there are worrying signs that the rout in the jobs market is shifting .
Temporary layoffs due to quarantine measures are being replaced with permanent cuts , and losses are spreading beyond the entertainment , leisure and hospitality sectors that were hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic .
Global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger , Gray & Christmas has been compiling a survey of job cut announcements since 1993 .
As opposed to the monthly jobs figures , which are historical , the survey gives some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Just through August we have seen more job cuts announced than any other entire year since we started recording these numbers , ” said Andy Challenger , the senior vice-president .
“ It ’ s pretty clear that , at least from a labor standpoint , there is still extreme turmoil.
” US-based employers announced jobs cuts of 115,762 in August , 116 % higher than the August 2019 total of 53,480 .
While August ’ s total is 56 % lower than the 262,649 job cuts announced in July , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when 118,067 job cuts were announced .
So far this year , employers have announced over 1.9m cuts , 231 % higher than the 592,556 cuts tracked in January-August of 2019 and surpassing the previous record annual total of 1,956,876 recorded in 2001 .
“ The bomb that went off at the beginning of the pandemic was centered around entertainment , leisure , hotels , bars , small businesses retail .
Now we have started to see that shift to other sectors of the economy as the crisis has shifted from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Challenger .
For the first time in August transportation led the industry announcing the most cuts as airlines announced massive cuts .
Such a move might be expected as the coronavirus continues to spread and dampen demand for travel .
But the services sector – jobs in accounting , administration , recruitment and legal – made the third highest number of layoff announcements .
“ Those are jobs that could have been done remotely , ” said Challenger .
“ Those jobs were safe for a while but over the last couple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the chopping block as companies face some real economic headwinds and a darker outlook for future revenues.
” Government jobs too are set to go as states and cities cope with sharp drops in tax revenues and rising expenses .
Some 11,800 government job cuts were announced in the first nine months of 2019 , so far this year that figure has risen more than fivefold to 61,400 .

The pace of recovery in the US jobs market slowed again in August as the coronavirus’s impact on the economy appeared to be broadening.
Employers added 1.4m new jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.4% last month, dropping below 10% for the first time since the pandemic took hold, the labor department announced on Friday.
The number of new jobs was markedly lower than in recent months. US employers added 1.8m jobs in July, 4.8m in June and 2.5m jobs in May. August’s figure was also boosted by the temporary hiring of 238,000 people to conduct the 2020 Census.
The racial disparities in unemployment remained. The unemployment rate for Black Americans (13%) was almost double the rate for whites (7.3%). The rate for Latinx Americans was 10.5% and for Asians 10.7%.
Donald Trump celebrated the fall in the unemployment rate on Twitter. “Great Jobs Numbers! 1.37 Million Jobs Added In August. Unemployment Rate Falls To 8.4% (Wow, much better than expected!),” he wrote.
The news comes as Congress returns from its summer recess next week amid a heated debate over a new round of stimulus payments and signs that the pandemic recession is unlikely to fade away anytime soon.
Weeks of negotiations have failed to reach a consensus and discussions are already breaking down with top Democrats attacking Republican proposals for a “skinny” stimulus package that will cost far less than the $2.2tn signed by Donald Trump in March.
“Republicans may call their proposal ‘skinny’, but it would be more appropriate to call it ‘emaciated’,” Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, wrote Thursday to his members. “Their proposal appears to be completely inadequate and, by every measure, fails to meet the needs of the American people.”
While the unemployment rate is falling, there are worrying signs that the rout in the jobs market is shifting. Temporary layoffs due to quarantine measures are being replaced with permanent cuts, and losses are spreading beyond the entertainment, leisure and hospitality sectors, which were hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic.
Global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has been compiling a survey of job cut announcements since 1993. As opposed to the monthly jobs figures, which are historical, the survey gives some insight into likely future cuts. “Just through August we have seen more job cuts announced than any other entire year since we started recording these numbers,” said Andy Challenger, the senior vice-president. “It’s pretty clear that, at least from a labor standpoint, there is still extreme turmoil.”
US-based employers announced jobs cuts of 115,762 in August, 116% higher than the August 2019 total of 53,480. While August’s total is 56% lower than the 262,649 job cuts announced in July, it is the highest total in August since 2002, when 118,067 job cuts were announced.
So far this year, employers have announced over 1.9m cuts, 231% higher than the 592,556 cuts tracked in January-August of 2019 and surpassing the previous record annual total of 1,956,876 recorded in 2001.
“The bomb that went off at the beginning of the pandemic was centered around entertainment, leisure, hotels, bars, small businesses retail. Now we have started to see that shift to other sectors of the economy as the crisis has shifted from a health to an economic crisis,” said Challenger.
For the first time in August transportation led the industry announcing the most cuts as airlines announced massive cuts. Such a move might be expected as the coronavirus continues to spread and dampen demand for travel. But the services sector – jobs in accounting, administration, recruitment and legal – made the third highest number of layoff announcements. “Those are jobs that could have been done remotely,” said Challenger. “Those jobs were safe for a while but over the last couple of months they have been put back on the chopping block as companies face some real economic headwinds and a darker outlook for future revenues.”
Government jobs too are set to go as states and cities cope with sharp drops in tax revenues and rising expenses. Some 11,800 government job cuts were announced in the first nine months of 2019, so far this year that figure has risen more than fivefold to 61,400.


theguardian--2020-09-04--Trump doesn’t seem to understand how voting works. Here’s what you need to know

The presidential election is officially on 3 November , but you can request your mail-in ballot in many states today .
North Carolina even begins mailing out ballots today .
This year , understanding the voting process is as crucial as ever .
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic , the election is fraught with confusion and fear .
Donald Trump has consistently railed against vote by mail , falsely citing voter fraud , though he uses the system himself .
And there is heightened concern that the US Postal Service will not be able to deliver ballots in a timely manner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump-appointed postmaster , and chronic underfunding .
To help clarify the voting process , and ensure ballots are counted , the Guardian has created a guide to the election in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice , a voting rights not-for-profit .
Here ’ s what you need to know .
So you want to register to vote… Earlier this year there was a stark drop in voter registrations because Covid hampered outreach efforts to sign up voters .
It ’ s especially important this year to register to vote on time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before an election , particularly if you ’ ve moved or are temporarily living elsewhere because of the pandemic .
States may have purged you from their voter rolls if they think you moved .
To check if you are already registered or eligible to register in a state , you can call your local elections office , or see if they have a database online .
So you want to vote by mail… Experts expect about 50 % of Americans to vote by mail this year , though states have different rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by mail .
In general , if you request and submit a ballot on time and fill it out correctly , it is a safe and secure way to have your vote counted .
This year , election officials are recommending that voters mail in their ballots as soon as possible to avoid any USPS delays .
But mail-in ballots can be rejected because of small errors on the ballot or envelope .
In this year ’ s primary elections , upwards of 500,000 ballots were rejected because they were postmarked too late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ states require that you have a witness or notary present when signing your ballot .
Be sure to leave ample time to read instructions carefully and ask an election official if you ’ re unsure how to prepare your ballot to cast a vote .
In some states you can also track your ballot to see if it has reached an elections office .
Some states will compare the signature you give on your mail-in ballot to your voter registration record , so it ’ s important that you sign carefully and use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election officials have on file ( you can call your election office to find out what that is if you are unsure ) .
Some states require voters to put their ballot in a secrecy envelope that then goes into another envelope before they return it .
Be sure to sign and date where noted on both envelopes .
If your ballot is destroyed or lost , contact your election official to find out how to get a new ballot .
If you decide that you would like to vote in person after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local election official to find out what the process for that is .
The USPS recommends putting your ballot in the mail at least a week ahead of the election to make sure it gets to an election office on time .
If you think it won ’ t arrive on time , some election offices are setting up secure dropboxes where people can leave their ballots without having to rely on the mail .
Call your local election office to find out what options might be available .
So you want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , and a lack of poll workers , there are likely to be far fewer polling locations than usual .
This could contribute to long lines on election day , as we saw during the primary elections across the country , as well as curtailed social distancing measures .
Depending on where you live , you can try to avoid the long lines by voting during the early voting period , which can span a few days or weeks before the election , with the earliest dates starting in mid-September .
Business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting dates here .
Whether or not you are voting early or on election day , it is recommended that you wear a mask , and sanitize your hands before and after touching any pens , ballots or stickers .
When you get to your polling station be sure to practice physical distancing by trying to keep at least a 6ft distance between you and other people .
There is a risk of voting in person – voters contracted Covid-19 during the primary elections in several states , as did poll workers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as age or underlying health problems , when deciding whether to vote in person or by mail .
When will we know the election results ?
While Americans are accustomed to finding out their next president on election night , that ’ s not likely to happen this year .
Mail-in ballots can take days to count , and election offices are already understaffed and underfunded .
Experts say we should be prepared to wait for election results unless there ’ s a landslide victory on 3 November .
• If the polls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , you have the right to stay in line until you vote .
• If there ’ s a voting machine error or breakdown at the polling station , you can cast a paper ballot .
• Voter intimidation is illegal , including if someone is aggressively questioning your citizenship or criminal record .
• There is no language requirement to vote .
• If a poll worker says your name is not on the voter roll , you can request that they check the statewide system or on a list of supplemental @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t find it , you can cast a provisional ballot .
• Every polling station should be accessible to people with disabilities , under federal law .
The ACLU has a comprehensive list of voter rights here , including hotlines and phone numbers you can call on site if you run into an issue .

The presidential election is officially on 3 November, but you can request your mail-in ballot in many states today. North Carolina even begins mailing out ballots today.
This year, understanding the voting process is as crucial as ever. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the election is fraught with confusion and fear. Donald Trump has consistently railed against vote by mail, falsely citing voter fraud, though he uses the system himself. And there is heightened concern that the US Postal Service will not be able to deliver ballots in a timely manner because of poor management by the new Trump-appointed postmaster, and chronic underfunding.
To help clarify the voting process, and ensure ballots are counted, the Guardian has created a guide to the election in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice, a voting rights not-for-profit. Here’s what you need to know.
So you want to register to vote …
Earlier this year there was a stark drop in voter registrations because Covid hampered outreach efforts to sign up voters. It’s especially important this year to register to vote on time, and to check your voter registration before an election, particularly if you’ve moved or are temporarily living elsewhere because of the pandemic.
States may have purged you from their voter rolls if they think you moved. To check if you are already registered or eligible to register in a state, you can call your local elections office, or see if they have a database online.
So you want to vote by mail …
Experts expect about 50% of Americans to vote by mail this year, though states have different rules on whether or not someone can vote by mail. In general, if you request and submit a ballot on time and fill it out correctly, it is a safe and secure way to have your vote counted. This year, election officials are recommending that voters mail in their ballots as soon as possible to avoid any USPS delays.
But mail-in ballots can be rejected because of small errors on the ballot or envelope. In this year’s primary elections, upwards of 500,000 ballots were rejected because they were postmarked too late or had an error. And some states require that you have a witness or notary present when signing your ballot. Be sure to leave ample time to read instructions carefully and ask an election official if you’re unsure how to prepare your ballot to cast a vote. In some states you can also track your ballot to see if it has reached an elections office.
05:32 Voter suppression: how Trump is undermining the US election – video explainer
Some states will compare the signature you give on your mail-in ballot to your voter registration record, so it’s important that you sign carefully and use the signature that looks like the one election officials have on file (you can call your election office to find out what that is if you are unsure). Some states require voters to put their ballot in a secrecy envelope that then goes into another envelope before they return it. Be sure to sign and date where noted on both envelopes.
If your ballot is destroyed or lost, contact your election official to find out how to get a new ballot. If you decide that you would like to vote in person after requesting a mail-in ballot, contact your local election official to find out what the process for that is.
The USPS recommends putting your ballot in the mail at least a week ahead of the election to make sure it gets to an election office on time. If you think it won’t arrive on time, some election offices are setting up secure dropboxes where people can leave their ballots without having to rely on the mail. Call your local election office to find out what options might be available.
So you want to vote in person …
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a lack of poll workers, there are likely to be far fewer polling locations than usual. This could contribute to long lines on election day, as we saw during the primary elections across the country, as well as curtailed social distancing measures.
Depending on where you live, you can try to avoid the long lines by voting during the early voting period, which can span a few days or weeks before the election, with the earliest dates starting in mid-September. Business Insider has a great chart on early voting dates here.
Whether or not you are voting early or on election day, it is recommended that you wear a mask, and sanitize your hands before and after touching any pens, ballots or stickers. When you get to your polling station be sure to practice physical distancing by trying to keep at least a 6ft distance between you and other people. There is a risk of voting in person – voters contracted Covid-19 during the primary elections in several states, as did poll workers. Consider your own risk factors, such as age or underlying health problems, when deciding whether to vote in person or by mail.
When will we know the election results?
While Americans are accustomed to finding out their next president on election night, that’s not likely to happen this year. Mail-in ballots can take days to count, and election offices are already understaffed and underfunded. Experts say we should be prepared to wait for election results unless there’s a landslide victory on 3 November.
Know your rights
If the polls close while you’re in line, you have the right to stay in line until you vote.
If there’s a voting machine error or breakdown at the polling station, you can cast a paper ballot.
Voter intimidation is illegal, including if someone is aggressively questioning your citizenship or criminal record.
There is no language requirement to vote.
If a poll worker says your name is not on the voter roll, you can request that they check the statewide system or on a list of supplemental voters. If they still can’t find it, you can cast a provisional ballot.
Every polling station should be accessible to people with disabilities, under federal law.
The ACLU has a comprehensive list of voter rights here, including hotlines and phone numbers you can call on site if you run into an issue.


theguardian--2020-09-04--'It's not the same': How Trump and Covid devastated an Arizona border town

When Francis Glad was a child growing up in Nogales , Arizona , the US-Mexico border near her home was nothing like it is now .
“ It was more like a neighbor fence , like you have at your house , ” she remembers .
“ It was very symbiotic .
Just people coming back and forth.
” But today , a towering 30ft border wall , made of dizzying steel bollards , slices through the Nogales sister cities .
The economies of the two Nogaleses have always been intrinsically linked and mutually dependent on cross-border commerce , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do their daily shopping or to visit with friends and family .
Years ago , Glad ’ s mother ran a hotel in downtown Nogales , Arizona , which was almost always packed with businesspeople and tourists .
But , she says , the bustle has stopped .
In part , Glad blames the Trump administration ’ s anti-immigrant rhetoric and lies about the borderlands .
“ Outsiders believe that Nogales is a war zone , ” she says , “ with ‘ murdering , rapist , ’ undocumented [ people ] climbing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World War Z , when it ’ s far from the truth.
” More recently , Covid-19 restrictions on “ nonessential ” border crossings have turned downtown Nogales into a ghost of its formerly busy self .
In a small town with a $ 28,000 median income and a poverty rate of 33.9 % , the slowing of traffic comes with potentially dire economic consequences for workers and small business owners .
But even before Covid-19 , Glad says , “ The parking lots [ were ] empty .
And that was not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moved away several times in early adulthood , but always returned home to Nogales .
Every visit back , she noticed changes : new sections of wall .
A larger border patrol presence .
Today , Glad says that border militarization has changed her community – and the lives of the people in it .
As defined by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights , border militarization is “ the systematic intensification of the border ’ s security apparatus , transforming the area from a transnational frontier to a zone of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Over the past three decades , US administrations have enacted federal policy with lasting consequences for border residents .
In 1994 , the Clinton administration launched a border patrol strategy called “ prevention through deterrence ” , aimed at curbing undocumented immigration by sealing off urban ports of entry .
Towns along the US-Mexico border were transformed by the addition of walls , surveillance towers , motion and thermal sensors , helicopters and drones , federal agents and roving border patrol checkpoints .
Today border peoples are hugely affected by militarization .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stop at border patrol checkpoints just to go to the gas station or get groceries .
Tohono O ’ odham tribal members – whose nation is literally severed by the US-Mexico border – report racial profiling by border agents ; drone and tower surveillance ; and disruptions to their traditional hunting and ceremonial practices .
And tragically , militarization created a death trap for migrants , who now must navigate by foot through remote , dangerous terrain in order to cross the border .
In the last two decades , nearly 8,000 migrants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ border , but the real number of fatalities is certainly much higher .
Thousands are missing .
There is perhaps no more tangible symbol of border militarization than the wall , which roils and alters landscapes and communities all along the border .
Donald Trump campaigned on the promise to build a “ big , beautiful wall ” – after his predecessors had already completed 654 miles , ranging from steel panels to vehicle barriers .
As president , Trump ’ s obsession with the wall has only intensified .
One hundred and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tiny town of Ajo , Arizona ( population 3,300 ) , has been inundated by a flurry of border wall construction .
Despite concerns about Covid-19 transmission , out-of-state workers arrived in droves , hired to build a section of wall – part of a $ 524m federal contract awarded to Southwest Valley Constructors .
This summer , construction has seen contractors blasting through indigenous ceremonial sites , using so much water that a sacred spring is drying up , and chain-sawing through saguaro cacti , a protected species that can live up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the wall snakes further across the pristine Organ Pipe Cactus national monument , cutting off wildlife migratory corridors and access to water sources .
August brings record-breaking , triple-digit temperatures to southern Arizona .
Heat hovers in visible waves over the pavement .
Any metal item left outside becomes a branding iron .
Arizona has also become a political hotspot , with national groups pouring millions of dollars into the newly recognized battleground state .
Analysts say Trump is far less likely to win the 2020 presidential election without winning Arizona .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have their eyes on a key voting bloc : Arizona ’ s estimated 1.2 million Latino voters .
Trump won 28 % of the national Latino vote in 2016 .
Today , an estimated 24 % of Latino voters favor him – despite Trump ’ s overwhelmingly anti-immigrant stance .
In addition to doubling down on the promise to build the wall over the last four years , the Trump administration has attacked Daca , carried out aggressive raids and deportations , and separated asylum-seeking parents from their children .
Amid the raging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is courting that vote .
Between June and July , the Trump campaign spent more than $ 1.4m in Spanish-language TV and radio ads to bolster his Latinos for Trump initiative .
Both he and the vice-president , Mike Pence , have made multiple campaign visits to Arizona .
On 18 August , Trump visited Yuma for the second time this summer , speaking for 45 minutes in the 104F heat .
Yuma county , known for its winter vegetable production and seasonal population of migrant farm workers , has been hit particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the border better than Hispanics , ” Trump said .
“ They know what ’ s good , what ’ s bad .
They don ’ t want bad people coming into our country , taking their jobs , taking their homes , causing crime .
Hispanic Americans are the people who are most in favor of what we are doing at the border.
” But in her work as a volunteer with the Santa Cruz county Democrats , Francis Glad has spoken with hundreds of fellow Latino voters weighing the decision this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again hold a pattern , ” she says .
“ I do not like what has become of our city and country , our border .
If anything , militarization of our border and the anti-immigrant stance has motivated many like me to become more involved … and to vote.
” It was a combination of factors that inspired Glad to become politically active .
But near the top of that list was Trump ’ s racist rhetoric , referring to Mexicans as “ criminals ” and “ rapists ” .
Even Glad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not allowed to watch the news , has absorbed that sentiment .
“ Well , yes , baby , ” she responded .
“ You are part-Mexican because of me.
” He paused , thinking , and then asked , “ So , Trump doesn ’ t like me ?
” “ Oy , baby , ” she managed , and wrapped him in a hug .
In 2018 , Trump sent national guard troops to Nogales and other border towns in a show of force against the unarmed migrant families traveling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On election day 2018 , troops installed razor-sharp concertina wire on the border wall , and in February 2019 , additional wire was added , covering some parts of the wall from top to bottom .
More than one year later , that wire is still there in Nogales – six coils high and within reach of playing children – despite outrage from local officials , who have demanded that it be removed .
“ When they put up the concertina wire , it was a low blow , ” says Glad .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ours .
And they went and did it without thinking about how it would affect us.
” She hopes such actions by the Trump administration will encourage fellow border residents and Latinos to vote for Biden in November .
Last year , the Biden campaign launched Todos Con Biden , an initiative aimed at wooing Latino voters across the country .
Of course , there is an elephant in the room : Biden ’ s role in the more than 5m deportations that took place during the Obama administration .
While Biden has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order as evidence of the administration ’ s pro-immigrant policy , he was hesitant to address the deportations .
But in February , Biden finally expressed regret in an interview with Univision .
“ We took far too long to get it right , ” he said .
“ I think it was a big mistake.
” Now he promises a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants , and to address a spate of issues most important to Latino voters – expanding access to affordable healthcare , increasing the federal minimum wage to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ education and passing commonsense gun legislation .
Plenty of progressives wonder if that will be enough .
“ If Mr Biden takes a conventional approach and talks to the same little sliver of older Latinos in Arizona everyone talks to , he could be in trouble , ” wrote Chuck Rocha , who served as senior adviser for Bernie Sanders ’ s presidential campaign , in a New York Times op-ed .
“ But if he taps into the culture of activism in Arizona that registered 138,000 Latinos since Mr Trump was elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working to ensure Mr Trump is next , Mr Biden can reshape the electoral map and win.
” On 4 August , Arizonans cast their ballots in the primary election .
The following day , Glad admitted she was feeling “ a bit disappointed ” at the voter turnout , a number she ’ s been focused on for months now .
“ My goal is to make that voter turnout number go up , ” says Glad .
“ I have actually put off having a regular job for that purpose.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Santa Cruz county than any other primary election in the past 10 years – 30.2 % , up from previous primary elections that typically hover between 22 % and 25 % – the countywide numbers were still lower than the 33.9 % of voters statewide .
With her son home learning remotely , Glad is juggling her political volunteer work with the new realities imposed by Covid-19 .
While her son signs into his online classes , she makes phone calls to voters and joins her own virtual meetings .
Most of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Santa Cruz county Democrats to her cellphone .
Glad speaks with Latino voters of all ages , many of whom will be casting a vote for the first time in November .
One Nogales resident in his 60s , a veteran , shared with her that he had never bothered to vote until now .
“ He was disgusted with what was happening to his country and to Nogales , ” says Glad .
An elderly woman sought help in filling out her voter registration form .
An immigrant to Nogales @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Glad that “ the country she immigrated to , the one who had given her food to eat when she was hungry and sheltered her when she needed it most , was not the same .
That now immigrants are not welcomed and children are locked up.
” Glad says , “ She told me she wanted to remain alive long enough to vote Trump out of office .
”

When Francis Glad was a child growing up in Nogales, Arizona, the US-Mexico border near her home was nothing like it is now. “It was more like a neighbor fence, like you have at your house,” she remembers. “It was very symbiotic. Just people coming back and forth.”
But today, a towering 30ft border wall, made of dizzying steel bollards, slices through the Nogales sister cities.
The economies of the two Nogaleses have always been intrinsically linked and mutually dependent on cross-border commerce, with residents from each side passing through to do their daily shopping or to visit with friends and family. Years ago, Glad’s mother ran a hotel in downtown Nogales, Arizona, which was almost always packed with businesspeople and tourists.
But, she says, the bustle has stopped. In part, Glad blames the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and lies about the borderlands. “Outsiders believe that Nogales is a war zone,” she says, “with ‘murdering, rapist,’ undocumented [people] climbing the border wall like the zombies from World War Z, when it’s far from the truth.”
More recently, Covid-19 restrictions on “nonessential” border crossings have turned downtown Nogales into a ghost of its formerly busy self. In a small town with a $28,000 median income and a poverty rate of 33.9%, the slowing of traffic comes with potentially dire economic consequences for workers and small business owners.
But even before Covid-19, Glad says, “The parking lots [were] empty. And that was not the case prior to 2016.”
A storefront in Nogales, Arizona, on 3 August 2020. Photograph: Bryan Smith/Zuma Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
Glad moved away several times in early adulthood, but always returned home to Nogales. Every visit back, she noticed changes: new sections of wall. A larger border patrol presence. Today, Glad says that border militarization has changed her community – and the lives of the people in it.
As defined by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, border militarization is “the systematic intensification of the border’s security apparatus, transforming the area from a transnational frontier to a zone of permanent vigilance, enforcement and violence”.
Over the past three decades, US administrations have enacted federal policy with lasting consequences for border residents. In 1994, the Clinton administration launched a border patrol strategy called “prevention through deterrence”, aimed at curbing undocumented immigration by sealing off urban ports of entry. Towns along the US-Mexico border were transformed by the addition of walls, surveillance towers, motion and thermal sensors, helicopters and drones, federal agents and roving border patrol checkpoints.
Today border peoples are hugely affected by militarization. In some places, rural residents must stop at border patrol checkpoints just to go to the gas station or get groceries. Tohono O’odham tribal members – whose nation is literally severed by the US-Mexico border – report racial profiling by border agents; drone and tower surveillance; and disruptions to their traditional hunting and ceremonial practices. And tragically, militarization created a death trap for migrants, who now must navigate by foot through remote, dangerous terrain in order to cross the border. In the last two decades, nearly 8,000 migrants have been found dead along the southern border, but the real number of fatalities is certainly much higher. Thousands are missing.
Outsiders believe that Nogales is a war zone Francis Glad
There is perhaps no more tangible symbol of border militarization than the wall, which roils and alters landscapes and communities all along the border. Donald Trump campaigned on the promise to build a “big, beautiful wall” – after his predecessors had already completed 654 miles, ranging from steel panels to vehicle barriers. As president, Trump’s obsession with the wall has only intensified.
One hundred and 30 miles west of Nogales, the tiny town of Ajo, Arizona (population 3,300), has been inundated by a flurry of border wall construction. Despite concerns about Covid-19 transmission, out-of-state workers arrived in droves, hired to build a section of wall – part of a $524m federal contract awarded to Southwest Valley Constructors. This summer, construction has seen contractors blasting through indigenous ceremonial sites, using so much water that a sacred spring is drying up, and chain-sawing through saguaro cacti, a protected species that can live up to 200 years. Day by day, the wall snakes further across the pristine Organ Pipe Cactus national monument, cutting off wildlife migratory corridors and access to water sources.
August brings record-breaking, triple-digit temperatures to southern Arizona. Heat hovers in visible waves over the pavement. Any metal item left outside becomes a branding iron.
Arizona has also become a political hotspot, with national groups pouring millions of dollars into the newly recognized battleground state. Analysts say Trump is far less likely to win the 2020 presidential election without winning Arizona. And both the Trump and Biden campaigns have their eyes on a key voting bloc: Arizona’s estimated 1.2 million Latino voters.
Trump won 28% of the national Latino vote in 2016. Today, an estimated 24% of Latino voters favor him – despite Trump’s overwhelmingly anti-immigrant stance. In addition to doubling down on the promise to build the wall over the last four years, the Trump administration has attacked Daca, carried out aggressive raids and deportations, and separated asylum-seeking parents from their children.
Amid the raging pandemic and spiking summer temperatures, Trump is courting that vote. Between June and July, the Trump campaign spent more than $1.4m in Spanish-language TV and radio ads to bolster his Latinos for Trump initiative. Both he and the vice-president, Mike Pence, have made multiple campaign visits to Arizona.
Donald Trump attends a campaign rally at the Defense Contractor Complex on 18 August 2020 in Yuma, Arizona. Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images
On 18 August, Trump visited Yuma for the second time this summer, speaking for 45 minutes in the 104F heat. Yuma county, known for its winter vegetable production and seasonal population of migrant farm workers, has been hit particularly hard by Covid-19.
“Nobody understands the border better than Hispanics,” Trump said. “They know what’s good, what’s bad. They don’t want bad people coming into our country, taking their jobs, taking their homes, causing crime. Hispanic Americans are the people who are most in favor of what we are doing at the border.”
But in her work as a volunteer with the Santa Cruz county Democrats, Francis Glad has spoken with hundreds of fellow Latino voters weighing the decision this November. “The stories again and again hold a pattern,” she says. “I do not like what has become of our city and country, our border. If anything, militarization of our border and the anti-immigrant stance has motivated many like me to become more involved … and to vote.”
It was a combination of factors that inspired Glad to become politically active. But near the top of that list was Trump’s racist rhetoric, referring to Mexicans as “criminals” and “rapists”. Even Glad’s own six-year-old son, who is not allowed to watch the news, has absorbed that sentiment.
“Am I Mexican, Mommy?” he asked her recently.
“Well, yes, baby,” she responded. “You are part-Mexican because of me.”
He paused, thinking, and then asked, “So, Trump doesn’t like me?”
“Oy, baby,” she managed, and wrapped him in a hug.
In 2018, Trump sent national guard troops to Nogales and other border towns in a show of force against the unarmed migrant families traveling from Central America to request asylum. On election day 2018, troops installed razor-sharp concertina wire on the border wall, and in February 2019, additional wire was added, covering some parts of the wall from top to bottom. More than one year later, that wire is still there in Nogales – six coils high and within reach of playing children – despite outrage from local officials, who have demanded that it be removed.
“When they put up the concertina wire, it was a low blow,” says Glad. “It’s our community. Ours. And they went and did it without thinking about how it would affect us.”
She hopes such actions by the Trump administration will encourage fellow border residents and Latinos to vote for Biden in November. Last year, the Biden campaign launched Todos Con Biden, an initiative aimed at wooing Latino voters across the country. Of course, there is an elephant in the room: Biden’s role in the more than 5m deportations that took place during the Obama administration.
While Biden has frequently cited Obama’s Daca executive order as evidence of the administration’s pro-immigrant policy, he was hesitant to address the deportations. But in February, Biden finally expressed regret in an interview with Univision. “We took far too long to get it right,” he said. “I think it was a big mistake.”
US army troops place additional concertina wire to the border fence on a hillside above Nelson Street in downtown Nogales in 2019. Photograph: Jonathan Clark/AP
Now he promises a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and to address a spate of issues most important to Latino voters – expanding access to affordable healthcare, increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, investing in education and passing commonsense gun legislation. Plenty of progressives wonder if that will be enough.
“If Mr Biden takes a conventional approach and talks to the same little sliver of older Latinos in Arizona everyone talks to, he could be in trouble,” wrote Chuck Rocha, who served as senior adviser for Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, in a New York Times op-ed. “But if he taps into the culture of activism in Arizona that registered 138,000 Latinos since Mr Trump was elected, helped oust Joe Arpaio and is working to ensure Mr Trump is next, Mr Biden can reshape the electoral map and win.”
On 4 August, Arizonans cast their ballots in the primary election. The following day, Glad admitted she was feeling “a bit disappointed” at the voter turnout, a number she’s been focused on for months now. “My goal is to make that voter turnout number go up,” says Glad. “I have actually put off having a regular job for that purpose.”
While the election turned out more voters in Santa Cruz county than any other primary election in the past 10 years – 30.2%, up from previous primary elections that typically hover between 22% and 25% – the countywide numbers were still lower than the 33.9% of voters statewide.
With her son home learning remotely, Glad is juggling her political volunteer work with the new realities imposed by Covid-19. While her son signs into his online classes, she makes phone calls to voters and joins her own virtual meetings.
Most of the calls from Spanish-speaking voters get routed by the Santa Cruz county Democrats to her cellphone. Glad speaks with Latino voters of all ages, many of whom will be casting a vote for the first time in November. One Nogales resident in his 60s, a veteran, shared with her that he had never bothered to vote until now. “He was disgusted with what was happening to his country and to Nogales,” says Glad.
An elderly woman sought help in filling out her voter registration form. An immigrant to Nogales and a career nurse, she told Glad that “the country she immigrated to, the one who had given her food to eat when she was hungry and sheltered her when she needed it most, was not the same. That now immigrants are not welcomed and children are locked up.”
Glad says, “She told me she wanted to remain alive long enough to vote Trump out of office.”
This article is published in partnership with the award-winning non-profit publication Capital and Main, as part of a year-long series on inequality in the US, ahead of the 2020 election.


theguardian--2020-09-04--Could western Pennsylvania win Trump a second term?

Beaver county in rural western Pennsylvania is dotted with red , white and blue Vote Trump banners along its winding country roads and on shopfronts of local businesses closed by the pandemic .
It ’ s a predominantly white , working-class , socially conservative county hit hard by the demise of the steel industry and the opioid epidemic .
Now it is also bearing the brunt of Covid-19 unemployment , which has caused unprecedented demand for food aid , and yet also seems to have bolstered support for Trump among once-loyal Democrats .
“ This country needs to come back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only one who can pull us out of this insanity .
It was an overreaction .
It ’ s no worse than the flu .
You can ’ t keep the country locked down indefinitely , ” said Diana Renda , 61 , a registered Democrat who works at a senior citizens ’ independent living facility .
Renda , an avid hunter and climate crisis sceptic , supports the recent rollback of emission standards for methane , a potent greenhouse gas produced in vast quantities by the oil and gas industries , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I ’ m very much in favor of capitalism and job creation .
I didn ’ t leave the Democratic party , my party left me … 20 years ago , ” Renda said .
Beaver county , situated 40 miles north-west of Pittsburgh and bordering Ohio and West Virginia , is a former Democratic stronghold that Trump won by a staggering 19 percentage points in 2016 – even though more than half of all voters were registered Democrats .
The Democratic demise didn ’ t start with Trump .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was John Kerry in 2004 , who beat the incumbent George W Bush 51 % to 48 % , since when residents have increasingly voted Republican .
Republican voter registrations in the county , which is 90 % white and 76 % non-college-educated – key Trump demographics – are up from 39 % to 44 % since the last election .
In 2016 , the polls before election day were too close to call in Pennsylvania , though most experts expected Hillary Clinton to hold on to the state won twice by both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end , Trump collected Pennsylvania ’ s 20 electoral college votes after winning by 44,292 votes out of more than 6m cast .
Clinton held on to the urban centers , including Pittsburgh ; the state capital , Harrisburg ; and much of Philadelphia .
But Trump carried 57 of the state ’ s 67 counties , all predominantly rural or semi-rural areas .
Analysts agree that Pennsylvania is a must-win battleground state this November if the Democrats are to win back the White House , which means Joe Biden clawing back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beaver county .
Biden needs the backing of people like Mike Wooley , 55 , who in 2016 was swayed by Trump ’ s promise of putting America first .
“ I voted for him because he promised life would be better for blue-collar workers , and I totally regret it .
Look at us , we ’ re not living , we ’ re surviving , ” said Wooley , who lost his cash-in-hand restaurant job in March .
He doesn ’ t qualify for unemployment benefits and has no health insurance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , not a politician .
I ’ ll be voting for Biden , ” he added .
But for many , it ’ s not all about Trump .
Quina Price , 67 , a lifelong registered Democrat , believes the party abandoned rural communities after the decline in manufacturing industries like steel and coal .
“ They need to get back to the grassroots , come and listen , not just talk , to what our needs and concerns are … it ’ s not racism .
We don ’ t see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assistant director of the Families Matter food pantry .
Price , who describes herself as an anti-abortion conservative Christian , is convinced that the Democrats , led by the House speaker , Nancy Pelosi , have surreptitiously tried pushing through gun control and open access to abortion in the latest coronavirus stimulus bills – which is not true .
She has also heard that Kamala Harris , the Democratic vice-presidential candidate , supports legalizing abortion at any time before birth – also untrue .
Echoing an insult frequently used by Trump , Price @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nasty woman , dishonest … There ’ s no chance I ’ ll vote for the Democrats until she goes.
” After watching Biden ’ s televised speech at the virtual DNC , Price added : “ I ’ m sticking with Trump .
He ’ s the lesser of two evils , and he cares for working people , that ’ s the bottom line .
Joe Biden is not qualified for the job and doesn ’ t seem sincere .
The whole party has become unethical.
” Trump ’ s poll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disapproval of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and protests against systemic racism .
He is also facing an opponent in Biden who is substantially more popular than Hillary Clinton .
With both parties ’ conventions now over , Biden enters the home stretch with a healthy lead .
But winning the popular national vote is no guarantee he will win the White House : the US electoral system is more complicated than that .
Biden must win back votes in the so-called blue wall states Trump won ( Pennsylvania , Wisconsin and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victories – rather than simply increase the party ’ s dominance in solidly Democratic states like California and New York .
With just over two months to go , the battleground states are very much in play .
An average of national polls on Wednesday showed Biden leading Trump by about 7.5 percentage points , but only 4.2 in Pennsylvania , according to the website FiveThirtyEight .
An education and race divide appears to be key .
Pennsylvania ’ s electorate , like those of Michigan and Wisconsin , which Trump also won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than average share of non-college-educated whites – who are twice as likely to vote for Trump as Biden , according to a recent Pew Research Centre poll .
And while party registration doesn ’ t guarantee votes , Republican activists have been doing their bit in Pennsylvania : 57 counties have shifted more Republican , while only 10 have become more Democratic , according to analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer .
Every county with fewer than 100,000 voters has become more Republican , at least in registration numbers .
The Democrats still maintain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s down from 936,000 in 2016 , when Trump won the state by less than 1 % .
Still , if Biden and Harris can increase voter turnout significantly in the cities , it could be enough to win back the state .
They ’ ll need people like Naela Shuman , 42 , who owns a popular eatery in Homewood – a poor majority-black neighborhood in Pittsburgh .
Shuman , who is originally from Palestine , has never voted , but her son , Mohammed , 20 , has convinced her that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Trump .
“ This president talks too much , I don ’ t know how he can be president of the biggest country in the world .
I have to vote , ” she said .

Beaver county in rural western Pennsylvania is dotted with red, white and blue Vote Trump banners along its winding country roads and on shopfronts of local businesses closed by the pandemic.
It’s a predominantly white, working-class, socially conservative county hit hard by the demise of the steel industry and the opioid epidemic. Now it is also bearing the brunt of Covid-19 unemployment, which has caused unprecedented demand for food aid, and yet also seems to have bolstered support for Trump among once-loyal Democrats.
“This country needs to come back to life, and Trump is the only one who can pull us out of this insanity. It was an overreaction. It’s no worse than the flu. You can’t keep the country locked down indefinitely,” said Diana Renda, 61, a registered Democrat who works at a senior citizens’ independent living facility.
Renda, an avid hunter and climate crisis sceptic, supports the recent rollback of emission standards for methane, a potent greenhouse gas produced in vast quantities by the oil and gas industries, as it could help the nearby petrochemical plant.
“I’m very much in favor of capitalism and job creation. I didn’t leave the Democratic party, my party left me … 20 years ago,” Renda said.
Beaver county, situated 40 miles north-west of Pittsburgh and bordering Ohio and West Virginia, is a former Democratic stronghold that Trump won by a staggering 19 percentage points in 2016 – even though more than half of all voters were registered Democrats.
The Democratic demise didn’t start with Trump. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win here was John Kerry in 2004, who beat the incumbent George W Bush 51% to 48%, since when residents have increasingly voted Republican.
Republican voter registrations in the county, which is 90% white and 76% non-college-educated – key Trump demographics – are up from 39% to 44% since the last election.
In 2016, the polls before election day were too close to call in Pennsylvania, though most experts expected Hillary Clinton to hold on to the state won twice by both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
In the end, Trump collected Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes after winning by 44,292 votes out of more than 6m cast. Clinton held on to the urban centers, including Pittsburgh; the state capital, Harrisburg; and much of Philadelphia. But Trump carried 57 of the state’s 67 counties, all predominantly rural or semi-rural areas.
Mike Wooley, 55, was swayed by Trump’s 2016 promise of putting America first but now regrets voting for him. Photograph: Nina Lakhani/The Guardian
Analysts agree that Pennsylvania is a must-win battleground state this November if the Democrats are to win back the White House, which means Joe Biden clawing back votes in former blue-collar rural heartlands like Beaver county.
Biden needs the backing of people like Mike Wooley, 55, who in 2016 was swayed by Trump’s promise of putting America first.
“I voted for him because he promised life would be better for blue-collar workers, and I totally regret it. Look at us, we’re not living, we’re surviving,” said Wooley, who lost his cash-in-hand restaurant job in March. He doesn’t qualify for unemployment benefits and has no health insurance.
“Trump’s a businessman, not a politician. I’ll be voting for Biden,” he added.
But for many, it’s not all about Trump. Quina Price, 67, a lifelong registered Democrat, believes the party abandoned rural communities after the decline in manufacturing industries like steel and coal.
“They need to get back to the grassroots, come and listen, not just talk, to what our needs and concerns are … it’s not racism. We don’t see that here,” said Price, assistant director of the Families Matter food pantry.
Price, who describes herself as an anti-abortion conservative Christian, is convinced that the Democrats, led by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, have surreptitiously tried pushing through gun control and open access to abortion in the latest coronavirus stimulus bills – which is not true. She has also heard that Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, supports legalizing abortion at any time before birth – also untrue.
Quina Price, 67, a registered Democrat, says she plans to vote for Trump for a second time. Photograph: Nina Lakhani/The Guardian
Echoing an insult frequently used by Trump, Price said: “Nancy Pelosi is a nasty woman, dishonest … There’s no chance I’ll vote for the Democrats until she goes.”
After watching Biden’s televised speech at the virtual DNC, Price added: “I’m sticking with Trump. He’s the lesser of two evils, and he cares for working people, that’s the bottom line. Joe Biden is not qualified for the job and doesn’t seem sincere. The whole party has become unethical.”
Trump’s poll numbers have floundered in recent months amid disapproval of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and protests against systemic racism. He is also facing an opponent in Biden who is substantially more popular than Hillary Clinton. With both parties’ conventions now over, Biden enters the home stretch with a healthy lead.
But winning the popular national vote is no guarantee he will win the White House: the US electoral system is more complicated than that.
Biden must win back votes in the so-called blue wall states Trump won (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan) after 20 years of Democratic victories – rather than simply increase the party’s dominance in solidly Democratic states like California and New York.
With just over two months to go, the battleground states are very much in play.
An average of national polls on Wednesday showed Biden leading Trump by about 7.5 percentage points, but only 4.2 in Pennsylvania, according to the website FiveThirtyEight.
An education and race divide appears to be key. Pennsylvania’s electorate, like those of Michigan and Wisconsin, which Trump also won by a whisker, has a larger than average share of non-college-educated whites – who are twice as likely to vote for Trump as Biden, according to a recent Pew Research Centre poll.
Naela Shuman, 42, and her son Mohammed, 20, will both vote for the first time in November’s presidential elections. Photograph: Nina Lakhani/The Guardian
And while party registration doesn’t guarantee votes, Republican activists have been doing their bit in Pennsylvania: 57 counties have shifted more Republican, while only 10 have become more Democratic, according to analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Every county with fewer than 100,000 voters has become more Republican, at least in registration numbers. The Democrats still maintain an 800,000-voter edge, but it’s down from 936,000 in 2016, when Trump won the state by less than 1%.
Still, if Biden and Harris can increase voter turnout significantly in the cities, it could be enough to win back the state. They’ll need people like Naela Shuman, 42, who owns a popular eatery in Homewood – a poor majority-black neighborhood in Pittsburgh.
Shuman, who is originally from Palestine, has never voted, but her son, Mohammed, 20, has convinced her that this year she must help get rid of Trump. “This president talks too much, I don’t know how he can be president of the biggest country in the world. I have to vote,” she said.


theguardian--2020-09-04--Trump called American war dead ‘suckers’ and ‘losers', report alleges

A new report details multiple instances of Donald Trump allegedly making disparaging remarks about members of the US military who have been captured or killed , including referring to the American war dead at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018 as “ losers ” and “ suckers ” .
The allegations were first reported Thursday in the Atlantic .
A senior Defense Department official with firsthand knowledge of events confirmed some of the remarks to the Associated Press , including the 2018 cemetery comments .
The defense official said Trump made the comments as he declined to visit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ following his presidential daily briefing on the morning of 10 November 2018 .
Staffers from the National Security Council and the Secret Service told Trump that rainy weather made helicopter travel to the cemetery risky , but they could drive there .
Trump responded by saying he didn ’ t want to visit the cemetery because it was “ filled with losers ” , the official said , speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss it publicly .
The White House blamed the canceled visit on poor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conversation on the trip , the Atlantic said , Trump referred to the 1,800 Marines who died in the first world war battle of Belleau Wood as “ suckers ” for getting killed .
“ This report is patently false , ” said White House strategic communications director Alyssa Farah .
“ President Trump holds the military in the highest regard .
He ’ s demonstrated his commitment to them at every turn : delivering on his promise to give our troops a much needed pay raise , increasing military spending , signing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spouses .
These nameless anecdotes have no basis in fact and are offensive fiction.
” Trump himself told reporters on Thursday the story was false .
“ To think that I would make statements negative to our military and fallen heroes when nobody has done what I ’ ve done , ” for the US armed forces , Trump said .
“ It ’ s a total lie ...
It ’ s a disgrace.
” Joe Biden , the Democratic presidential nominee , issued a statement on the allegations : “ If the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are true , then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the President of the United States.
” The Defense official also confirmed to the AP reporting in The Atlantic that Trump on Memorial Day 2017 had gone with his chief of staff , John Kelly , to visit the Arlington Cemetery gravesite of Kelly ’ s son , Robert , who was killed in 2010 in Afghanistan , and said to Kelly : “ I don ’ t get it .
What @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Atlantic , citing sources with firsthand knowledge , also reported that Trump said he didn ’ t want to support the August 2018 funeral of Republican senator John McCain , a decorated Navy veteran who spent years as a Vietnam prisoner of war , because he was a “ loser ” .
It also reported that Trump was angered that flags were flown at half-staff for McCain , saying : “ What the fuck are we doing that for ?
Guy was a fucking loser.
” In 2015 , shortly after launching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McCain , saying “ He ’ s not a war hero.
” He added , “ I like people who weren ’ t captured.
” Trump only amplified his criticism of McCain as the Arizona lawmaker grew critical of his acerbic style of politics , culminating in a late-night “ no ” vote scuttling Trump ’ s plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act .
Trump has continued to attack McCain for that vote , even posthumously .
The magazine said Trump also referred to former President George HW Bush as a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Japanese as a Navy pilot in World War II .
Keith Kellogg , national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence , tweeted Thursday : “ The Atlantic story is completely false .
Absolutely lacks merit .
I ’ ve been by the President ’ s side .
He has always shown the highest respect to our active duty troops and veterans with utmost respect paid to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice and those wounded in battle .
”

Donald Trump canceled a visit to pay respects at an American military cemetery outside Paris in 2018 because he thought the dead soldiers were “losers” and “suckers” and he did not want the rain to mess up his hair, according to an explosive new report.
At the time, Trump explained the cancellation by saying his helicopter could not fly in the rain and the Secret Service would not drive him to Aisne-Marne American cemetery, where 1,800 US marines who lost their lives in the first world war battle at Belleau Wood are buried.
Neither public claim was true, according to “four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day” quoted in a new report by Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic.
“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers,” the report quotes Trump as saying. Trump also called the war dead “suckers” for getting killed, the report says.
Trump also asked aides, “Who were the good guys in this war?” and did not understand why the United States would intervene on the side of the Allies, the Atlantic report says.
Trump denied the report on Twitter Thursday evening. “I never called our great fallen soldiers anything other than HEROES,” he wrote. “This is more made up Fake News given by disgusting & jealous failures in a disgraceful attempt to influence the 2020 Election!”
On Friday, Trump attacked the Atlantic magazine, and accused it of “mak[ing] up a fake story in order to gain some relevance.”
But the report was supplemented on Friday morning by the Washington Post, which quoted “a former senior administration official” as saying that Trump “frequently made disparaging comments about veterans and soldiers missing in action, referring to them at times as ‘losers.’”
The Post quoted “a person familiar with the discussion” as saying that Trump told senior advisers he did not understand why the US government valued finding soldiers missing in action “because they had performed poorly and gotten caught and deserved what they got.”
03:06 'My son wasn't a sucker': Joe Biden reacts to report that Trump denigrated soldiers – video
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, issued a statement on the allegations: “If the revelations in today’s Atlantic article are true, then they are yet another marker of how deeply President Trump and I disagree about the role of the president of the United States.”
Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both legs as a helicopter pilot in Iraq, tweeted that “If [Trump] can’t bear to witness those who have sacrificed for our nation, perhaps he should avert his cowardly eyes.”
“I’m not shocked but I am appalled,” Duckworth separately told reporters. “Of course he thinks about war selfishly. He thinks about it as a transactional cost.”
“I think the American people certainly believe these stories,” Duckworth added. “This is something the president has been doing all along. He has consistently from the time he was running for office denigrated veterans.”
Support for Trump among service members had already appeared to be slipping before the new report. Trump has a minus-12 (38-50) favorability rating among members of the military, according to a recent Military Times poll – down from plus-9 (46-37) at the start of his term.
Trump at Andrews air force base on Thursday night after a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. He said the report was ‘a total lie’. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP
Trump avoided service in Vietnam through a diagnosis of bone spurs by a late doctor whose daughters told the New York Times that the diagnosis was granted as a favor to Trump’s father, Fred Trump, who was the doctor’s landlord.
Trump has a long history of making dismissive or insulting comments about members of the military and insulting family members of fallen soldiers. After his impeachment hearings earlier this year, Trump attacked a star Democratic witness, Lt Col Alexander Vindman, as having “problems with judgment” and “leaking information” – charges a Vindman lawyer denied. Vindman was ousted from the national security council after testifying at the impeachment hearings.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump attacked the gold star family of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son Cpt Humayun Khan was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004. The couple spoke at that year’s Democratic national convention in protest of the president’s attacks on Muslims, saying Trump did not understand their son’s service or their sacrifice.
And Trump clashed publicly with the late senator John McCain, a navy pilot who was taken prisoner of war and tortured in a Vietnamese prison, where he was held for more than five years. Trump was enraged that McCain criticized him publicly and voted down a Republican effort to overturn Barack Obama’s health care law.
“He was a war hero because he was captured,” Trump said during his presidential run. “I like people who weren’t captured.”
“He lost and let us down,” Trump added. “I’ve never liked him as much after that. I don’t like losers.”
That disdain escalated to fury after McCain’s death in 2018. “We’re not going to support that loser’s funeral,” Trump said, according to the Atlantic report.
When Trump saw flags lowered to half-staff, he reportedly said: “What the fuck are we doing that for? Guy was a fucking loser.”
On Thursday night Trump tweeted, “I never called John a loser,” and denied objecting to the patriotic arrangements for McCain’s funeral. “The lowering of our Nations American Flags, and the first class funeral he was given by our Country, had to be approved by me, as president, and I did so without hesitation or complaint,” Trump tweeted.
But Trump tweeted news coverage in 2015 of his calling McCain a “loser”. Trump also referred to former president George HW Bush as a “loser” for being shot down by the Japanese as a navy pilot in the second world war, the Atlantic reported.
Former members of Trump’s sphere went public on Friday to say that his denials were a lie.
Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff for two Trump department of homeland security (DHS) secretaries, tweeted: “Mr President, this is not true. You were angry that DHS notified federal buildings to lower the flags for Senator McCain. I would know because your staff called and told me.”
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, said that Trump had faked bone spurs to avoid military service in Vietnam.
“The Atlantic article is accurate,” Cohen tweeted. “I testified, Trump claimed it was because of a bone spur. When I asked for medical records, he gave me none and said there was no surgery. He finished with: ‘You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam’.”
A defence official also confirmed to the AP reporting in the Atlantic that Trump on Memorial Day 2017 had gone with his chief of staff, John Kelly, to visit the Arlington cemetery gravesite of Kelly’s son, Robert, who was killed in 2010 in Afghanistan, and said to Kelly: “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”
Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, defended the president on Friday morning. Speaking to radio host Hugh Hewitt, Pompeo said he had not read the Atlantic article, but insisted that the description did not comport with what he knew about Trump.
“I’ve never heard that. Indeed, just the opposite,” Pompeo told the radio host. “This is a man who had the deepest respect for their service, and he always, he always interacted with them in that way. He enjoys those times. He values those people.”
Keith Kellogg, national security adviser to Vice-President Mike Pence, tweeted Thursday: “The Atlantic story is completely false. Absolutely lacks merit.”


theguardian--2020-09-04--What kind of conspiracy theorist is Trump? – Politics Weekly Extra

In our new US Politics Weekly Extra , Jonathan Freedland chats with some of the Guardian ’ s best reporters @ @ @ @ @ about a single question prompted by the 2020 presidential election campaign .
This week , @ @ @ @ @ reporter Lauren Gambino about Donald Trump ’ s history with conspiracy theories , and the @ @ @ @ @ , after Donald Trump went on Fox News to claim there was a mysterious flight @ @ @ @ @ , a crack force of troublemakers jetting from city to city to cause trouble , @ @ @ @ @ the question : “ What kind of conspiracy theorist is Donald Trump ?
” Does @ @ @ @ @ , or is it a pose , designed to stir up his base ?
• @ @ @ @ @ think of the podcast : send your feedback to podcasts @ theguardian.com • Help support @ @ @ @ @ gu.com/supportpodcasts

Presented by Jonathan Freedland, with Lauren Gambino. Produced by Danielle Stephens.

In our new US Politics Weekly Extra, Jonathan Freedland chats with some of the Guardian’s best reporters and columnists in the US about a single question prompted by the 2020 presidential election campaign. This week, he speaks with senior political reporter Lauren Gambino about Donald Trump’s history with conspiracy theories, and the motives behind them
This week, after Donald Trump went on Fox News to claim there was a mysterious flight carrying thugs dressed in black, a crack force of troublemakers jetting from city to city to cause trouble, Jonathan and Lauren mull over the question: “What kind of conspiracy theorist is Donald Trump?” Does he truly believe in conspiracies, or is it a pose, designed to stir up his base?
Let us know what you think of the podcast: send your feedback to podcasts@theguardian.com
Help support the Guardian by going to gu.com/supportpodcasts