alternet--2020-10-05--Trump's Fifth Avenue killing spree and the real American carnage

Yes , when he was running for president , he did indeed say : `` I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody , and I would n't lose any voters , OK ?
It 's , like , incredible . ''
Then he won -- and this November 3rd ( or thereafter ) , whether he wins or loses , we 're likely to find out that , when it comes to his base , he was right .
He may not have lost a vote .
Yes , Donald Trump is indeed a murderer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fell desperately short : as president , he 's proven to be anything but a smalltime killer .
It was n't as if he went out one day , on New York City 's Fifth Avenue or even in Kenosha , Wisconsin , and shot a couple of people .
Nothing so minimalist for The Donald !
Nor is it as if , say , he had ploghed `` the Beast '' ( as his presidential Cadillac is known ) into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters , as so many other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's face it : that 's for his apprentices , not the showman himself .
After all , Donald J. Trump has proven to be America 's twenty-first-century maestro of death and destruction , the P.T .
Barnum of , as he put it predictively enough in his Inaugural Address , `` American carnage . ''
In fact , he 's been a master of carnage in a way no one could then have imagined .
Back in 2016 , he was way off when it came to the scale of what he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the killing has n't just taken place on Fifth Avenue , or even in his ( now hated ) former hometown , but on avenues , streets , lanes , and country roads across America .
He was , however , right about one thing : he could kill at will and no one who mattered ( to him at least ) would hold him responsible , including the attorney general of the United States who has been one of his many handymen of mayhem .
His is indeed proving to be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ different form than even he might have anticipated .
Still , a carnage-creator he 's been ( and , for god knows how long to come , will be ) and here 's the remarkable thing : he 's daily been on `` Fifth Avenue '' killing passersby in a variety of ways .
In fact , it 's worth going through his methods of murder , starting ( where else ? )
with the pandemic that 's still ripping a path from hell across this country .
We know from Bob Woodward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own strange way , in February Donald Trump evidently grasped the seriousness of Covid-19 and made a conscious decision to `` play it down . ''
There have been all sorts of calculations since then , but by one modest early estimate , beginning to shut down and social distance in this country even a week earlier in March would have saved 36,000 lives ( the equivalent of twelve 9/11s ) ; two weeks earlier and it would have been a striking 54,000 in a country now speeding toward something like 300,000 dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president had moved quickly and reasonably , instead of worrying about his reelection or how he looked with a mask on ; if he had followed the advice of actual experts ; if he had championed masking and social distancing as he 's championed the Confederate flag , military bases named after Confederate generals , and the Proud Boys , we would have been living in a different and less wounded country -- and that 's only the beginning of his Fifth Avenue behavior .
After all , no matter what the scientific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Protection and elsewhere were then saying about the dangers of gathering in mask-less crowds indoors , it was clear that the president just could n't bear a world without fans , without crowds cheering his every convoluted word .
That would have been like going on the diet from hell .
As a result , he conducted his first major rally in June at the Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa .
Admittedly , that particular crowd would be nowhere near as big as he and his advisers had expected .
Still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and many in close proximity , cheered on their commander-in-chief there .
It was visibly a potential pandemic super-spreader of an event , but the commander-in-chief , mask-less himself , could n't have cared less .
About three weeks later , when Tulsa experienced a striking rise in coronavirus cases ( likely linked to that rally ) and former presidential candidate and Trump supporter Herman Cain who had attended unmasked died of Covid-19 , it did n't faze him in the slightest .
He kept right on holding rallies and giving his patented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As Rolling Stone correspondent Andy Kroll put it after attending one of his outdoor rallies in North Carolina , the president 's `` remarks '' that day ( which ran to 37 pages and 18,000 words ) were `` practically a novella , albeit a novella that makes Finnegan 's Wake look like See Spot Run ! ''
Nothing , certainly not a pandemic , was going to stop Donald J. Trump from sucking up the adoration of his base .
Though in the first presidential debate with Joe Biden , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his rallies outdoors , in September in Nevada , a state whose governor had banned indoor gatherings of more than 50 people , he held a typically boisterous , adoring indoor rally of 5,000 largely unmasked , jammed-together Trumpsters .
When questioned on the obvious dangers of such a gathering , he classically responded , `` I 'm on a stage and it 's very far away .
And so I 'm not at all concerned '' -- i.e .
not at all concerned about ( or for ) them .
If that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bazooka on Fifth Avenue , what is ?
And it summed up perfectly Trump 's response to the choice of pursuing his own reelection in the way he loves ( and seems so desperately to need ) or keeping Americans healthy .
During these unending pandemic months , he regularly downplayed every danger and most reasonable responses to them , while at one point even tweeting to his followers to `` LIBERATE '' ( possibly in an armed fashion ) states that had imposed stay-at-home orders .
He needed what he 's long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history of America '' back and reopening everything was naturally the way to go .
Mimicking his boss 's style , Attorney General William Barr would even essentially compare lockdowns to slavery .
As he put it , `` A national lockdown .
Stay-at-home orders .
It 's like house arrest .
Other than slavery , which is a different kind of restraint , this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history . ''
Clearly at the president 's behest , `` top White House officials '' would , according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this summer to play down the risk of sending children back to school , a strikingly political intervention in one of the most sensitive public health debates of the pandemic . ''
( As the president would tweet in a similar spirit : `` The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election , but it is important for the children and families .
May cut off funding if not open ! ''
) In other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might be endangered -- his best fans or the nation 's school children -- when his reelection , his future wellbeing , was at stake .
Murder on Fifth Avenue ?
A nothing by comparison .
And his response to the pandemic only launches us on what should qualify as an all-American killing spree from hell .
In the end , it could even prove to be the most modest part of it .
For the rest of that death toll , you might start with health care .
It 's already estimated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lost their health insurance in the Trump years ( and that figure , according to the U.S. Census Bureau , includes 726,000 children , some of whom may now be headed back to school under pandemic conditions ) .
That , in turn , could prove just a drop in the bucket if his administration 's ongoing assault on Barack Obama 's Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) finally succeeds .
And after November 3rd , it indeed might if Mitch McConnell is successful in hustling Amy Coney Barrett onto the Supreme Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ginsburg ( who twice upheld the constitutionality of that act ) .
A supposedly `` pro-life '' Trump version of the Supreme Court -- unless the pandemic were to sweep through it -- would undoubtedly turn out to be murderous in its own fashion .
Think of them as potential Supreme Assassins .
Barrett , in particular , is known to hold negative views of the ACA and the Court will hear the Trump administration 's case for abolishing that act within a week of Election Day , so you do the math @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least 23 million more Americans would simply lose their health insurance and it could , in the end , leave tens of millions of Americans with `` pre-existing medical conditions '' in an uninsured hell on earth .
Death ?
I guarantee it , on and off Fifth Avenue -- and it will have been the Donald 's doing .
All of the above should be considered nothing more than warm-up exercises for the real deal when it comes to future presidential slaughter .
All of it precedes the truly long-term issue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the name of climate change .
It 's hardly news that Donald Trump long ago rejected global warming as a Chinese `` hoax . ''
And as he withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord and , like the child of the fossil-fuelized 1950s that he is , proclaimed a new policy of `` American Energy Dominance '' ( `` the golden era of American energy is now underway '' ) , he 's never stopped rejecting it .
He did so again recently on a brief visit to burning California amid a historic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it would soon get `` cooler . ''
The only exception : when he suddenly feels in the mood to criticize the Chinese for their release of greenhouse gases .
As he said in a September 22nd speech to the U.N. General Assembly , `` China 's carbon emissions are nearly twice what the U.S. has , and it 's rising fast .
By contrast , after I withdrew from the one-sided Paris Climate Accord , last year America reduced its carbon emissions by more than any country in the agreement . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ place at the Environmental Protection Agency and elsewhere in his administration have spent his presidency in a remarkably determined fashion trying to destroy the American and global environment .
So far , they have rolled back ( or are trying to roll back ) 100 environmental protections that were in place when he arrived in the Oval Office , including most recently limits on a pesticide that reportedly can stunt brain development in children .
Air pollution alone was , according to one study , responsible for 9,700 more deaths in this country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all , at the service of a still expanding American fossil-fuel industry , he and his crew have done their damnedest to open the way for oil , gas , and coal development in just about any imaginable form .
In a season in which the West coast has burned in a previously inconceivable fashion , leaving a historic cloud of smoke in its wake , while fierce storms have flooded the Gulf Coast , he 's continued , for instance , to focus on opening the Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have , in a rather literal fashon , proven to be pyromaniacs of the first order .
They 've been remarkably intent on ensuring that , in the future , the world will continue to heat in ways certain to unsettle humanity , creating almost unimaginable forms of death and destruction .
Despite the fact that Joe Biden called him a `` climate arsonist '' as the West coast burned , somehow the potentially murderous nature of his environmental policies has barely sunk in this election season .
If the legend was true @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually , he was probably playing the cithara -- while the capital of his empire , Rome , burned for six days .
He did n't personally set the fire , however .
Trump and his crew are , it seems , intent on setting fire not just to Rome , or New York , or Washington , D.C. , but to the Alaskan wilderness , the Brazilian rain forest , and that giant previously iced in landmass he could n't figure out how to purchase , Greenland .
He 's helping to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their own fashion , be on fire ; that storms will grow ever more intense and destructive ; that the temperature will rise ever higher ; and that the planet will become ever less habitable .
Meanwhile , intently maskless and socially undistanced , even he ( and his wife Melania ) have now contracted the coronavirus , officially becoming part of his own American carnage .
The White House , Air Force One , and the president and his aides became the equivalent of Covid-19 superspreaders , as senators and reporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come down with the disease .
It 's now proving a visible all-American nightmare of the first order .
Donald Trump has , of course , hardly been alone when it comes to burning the planet , but it 's certainly eerie that , at this moment , such an arsonist would stand any chance at all , if he recovers successfully , of being reelected president of the United States .
His urge is visibly not just to be an autocrat , but to commit mass murder nationwide and on a planetary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he said , and murder it was , and Fifth Avenue was the least of it .
Tom Engelhardt is a co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author of a history of the Cold War , The End of Victory Culture .
He runs TomDispatch and is a fellow of the Type Media Center .
His sixth and latest book is A Nation Unmade by War .
Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook .
Check out the newest Dispatch Books , John Feffer 's new dystopian novel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Frostlands , Beverly Gologorsky 's novel Every Body Has a Story , and Tom Engelhardt 's A Nation Unmade by War , as well as Alfred McCoy 's In the Shadows of the American Century : The Rise and Decline of U.S .
Global Power and John Dower 's The Violent American Century : War and Terror Since World War II .

Yes, when he was running for president, he did indeed say: "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK? It's, like, incredible."
Then he won -- and this November 3rd(or thereafter), whether he wins or loses, we're likely to find out that, when it comes to his base, he was right. He may not have lost a vote. Yes, Donald Trump is indeed a murderer, but here's where his prediction fell desperately short: as president, he's proven to be anything but a smalltime killer. It wasn't as if he went out one day, on New York City's Fifth Avenue or even in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and shot a couple of people.
Nothing so minimalist for The Donald! Nor is it as if, say, he had ploghed "the Beast" (as his presidential Cadillac is known) into a crowd of Black Lives Matter protesters, as so many other drivers have done this year. Let's face it: that's for his apprentices, not the showman himself. After all, Donald J. Trump has proven to be America's twenty-first-century maestro of death and destruction, the P.T. Barnum of, as he put it predictively enough in his Inaugural Address, "American carnage." In fact, he's been a master of carnage in a way no one could then have imagined.
Back in 2016, he was way off when it came to the scale of what he could accomplish. As it happens, the killing hasn't just taken place on Fifth Avenue, or even in his (now hated) former hometown, but on avenues, streets, lanes, and country roads across America. He was, however, right about one thing: he could kill at will and no one who mattered (to him at least) would hold him responsible, including the attorney general of the United States who has been one of his many handymen of mayhem.
His is indeed proving to be a murderous regime, but in quite a different form than even he might have anticipated. Still, a carnage-creator he's been (and, for god knows how long to come, will be) and here's the remarkable thing: he's daily been on "Fifth Avenue" killing passersby in a variety of ways. In fact, it's worth going through his methods of murder, starting (where else?) with the pandemic that's still ripping a path from hell across this country.
Death by Disease
We know from Bob Woodward's new book that, in his own strange way, in February Donald Trump evidently grasped the seriousness of Covid-19 and made a conscious decision to "play it down." There have been all sorts of calculations since then, but by one modest early estimate, beginning to shut down and social distance in this country even a week earlier in March would have saved 36,000 lives (the equivalent of twelve 9/11s); two weeks earlier and it would have been a striking 54,000 in a country now speeding toward something like 300,000 dead by year's end. If the president had moved quickly and reasonably, instead of worrying about his reelection or how he looked with a mask on; if he had followed the advice of actual experts; if he had championed masking and social distancing as he's championed the Confederate flag, military bases named after Confederate generals, and the Proud Boys, we would have been living in a different and less wounded country -- and that's only the beginning of his Fifth Avenue behavior.
After all, no matter what the scientific experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Protection and elsewhere were then saying about the dangers of gathering in mask-less crowds indoors, it was clear that the president just couldn't bear a world without fans, without crowds cheering his every convoluted word. That would have been like going on the diet from hell. As a result, he conducted his first major rally in June at the Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa.
Admittedly, that particular crowd would be nowhere near as big as he and his advisers had expected. Still, perhaps 6,000 fans, largely unmasked and many in close proximity, cheered on their commander-in-chief there. It was visibly a potential pandemic super-spreader of an event, but the commander-in-chief, mask-less himself, couldn't have cared less. About three weeks later, when Tulsa experienced a striking rise in coronavirus cases (likely linked to that rally) and former presidential candidate and Trump supporter Herman Cain who had attended unmasked died of Covid-19, it didn't faze him in the slightest.
He kept right on holding rallies and giving his patented, wildly cheered rambles in the brambles. As Rolling Stone correspondent Andy Kroll put it after attending one of his outdoor rallies in North Carolina, the president's "remarks" that day (which ran to 37 pages and 18,000 words) were "practically a novella, albeit a novella that makes Finnegan's Wake look like See Spot Run!"
Nothing, certainly not a pandemic, was going to stop Donald J. Trump from sucking up the adoration of his base. Though in the first presidential debate with Joe Biden, he claimed that he's only been holding his rallies outdoors, in September in Nevada, a state whose governor had banned indoor gatherings of more than 50 people, he held a typically boisterous, adoring indoor rally of 5,000 largely unmasked, jammed-together Trumpsters. When questioned on the obvious dangers of such a gathering, he classically responded, "I'm on a stage and it's very far away. And so I'm not at all concerned" -- i.e. not at all concerned about (or for) them.
If that isn't the Covid-19 equivalent of a bazooka on Fifth Avenue, what is? And it summed up perfectly Trump's response to the choice of pursuing his own reelection in the way he loves (and seems so desperately to need) or keeping Americans healthy. During these unending pandemic months, he regularly downplayed every danger and most reasonable responses to them, while at one point even tweeting to his followers to "LIBERATE" (possibly in an armed fashion) states that had imposed stay-at-home orders. He needed what he's long called the "greatest economy in the history of America" back and reopening everything was naturally the way to go.
Mimicking his boss's style, Attorney General William Barr would even essentially compare lockdowns to slavery. As he put it, "A national lockdown. Stay-at-home orders. It's like house arrest. Other than slavery, which is a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history."
Clearly at the president's behest, "top White House officials" would, according to the New York Times, pressure "the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this summer to play down the risk of sending children back to school, a strikingly political intervention in one of the most sensitive public health debates of the pandemic." (As the president would tweet in a similar spirit: "The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but it is important for the children and families. May cut off funding if not open!")
In other words, it didn't matter who might be endangered -- his best fans or the nation's school children -- when his reelection, his future wellbeing, was at stake. Murder on Fifth Avenue? A nothing by comparison.
Supreme Assassins?
And his response to the pandemic only launches us on what should qualify as an all-American killing spree from hell. In the end, it could even prove to be the most modest part of it.
For the rest of that death toll, you might start with health care. It's already estimated that at least 2.3 million Americans have lost their health insurance in the Trump years (and that figure, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, includes 726,000 children, some of whom may now be headed back to school under pandemic conditions). That, in turn, could prove just a drop in the bucket if his administration's ongoing assault on Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) finally succeeds. And after November 3rd, it indeed might if Mitch McConnell is successful in hustling Amy Coney Barrett onto the Supreme Court in place of the dead Ruth Bader Ginsburg (who twice upheld the constitutionality of that act). A supposedly "pro-life" Trump version of the Supreme Court -- unless the pandemic were to sweep through it -- would undoubtedly turn out to be murderous in its own fashion. Think of them as potential Supreme Assassins.
Barrett, in particular, is known to hold negative views of the ACA and the Court will hear the Trump administration's case for abolishing that act within a week of Election Day, so you do the math. Wiping it out reportedly means that at least 23 million more Americans would simply lose their health insurance and it could, in the end, leave tens of millions of Americans with "pre-existing medical conditions" in an uninsured hell on earth.
Death? I guarantee it, on and off Fifth Avenue -- and it will have been the Donald's doing.
A Murderous Future
All of the above should be considered nothing more than warm-up exercises for the real deal when it comes to future presidential slaughter. All of it precedes the truly long-term issue of death and destruction that goes by the name of climate change.
It's hardly news that Donald Trump long ago rejected global warming as a Chinese "hoax." And as he withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord and, like the child of the fossil-fuelized 1950s that he is, proclaimed a new policy of "American Energy Dominance" ("the golden era of American energy is now underway"), he's never stopped rejecting it. He did so again recently on a brief visit to burning California amid a historic wildfire season, where he predicted that it would soon get "cooler." The only exception: when he suddenly feels in the mood to criticize the Chinese for their release of greenhouse gases. As he said in a September 22nd speech to the U.N. General Assembly, "China's carbon emissions are nearly twice what the U.S. has, and it's rising fast. By contrast, after I withdrew from the one-sided Paris Climate Accord, last year America reduced its carbon emissions by more than any country in the agreement."
He and those he's put in place at the Environmental Protection Agency and elsewhere in his administration have spent his presidency in a remarkably determined fashion trying to destroy the American and global environment. So far, they have rolled back (or are trying to roll back) 100 environmental protections that were in place when he arrived in the Oval Office, including most recently limits on a pesticide that reportedly can stunt brain development in children. Air pollution alone was, according to one study, responsible for 9,700 more deaths in this country in 2018 than in 2016. Above all, at the service of a still expanding American fossil-fuel industry, he and his crew have done their damnedest to open the way for oil, gas, and coal development in just about any imaginable form.
In a season in which the West coast has burned in a previously inconceivable fashion, leaving a historic cloud of smoke in its wake, while fierce storms have flooded the Gulf Coast, he's continued, for instance, to focus on opening the Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling. In short, he and his administration have, in a rather literal fashon, proven to be pyromaniacs of the first order. They've been remarkably intent on ensuring that, in the future, the world will continue to heat in ways certain to unsettle humanity, creating almost unimaginable forms of death and destruction. Despite the fact that Joe Biden called him a "climate arsonist" as the West coast burned, somehow the potentially murderous nature of his environmental policies has barely sunk in this election season.
If the legend was true, the Roman emperor Nero fiddled -- actually, he was probably playing the cithara -- while the capital of his empire, Rome, burned for six days. He didn't personally set the fire, however. Trump and his crew are, it seems, intent on setting fire not just to Rome, or New York, or Washington, D.C., but to the Alaskan wilderness, the Brazilian rain forest, and that giant previously iced in landmass he couldn't figure out how to purchase, Greenland. He's helping to ensure that even the oceans will, in their own fashion, be on fire; that storms will grow ever more intense and destructive; that the temperature will rise ever higher; and that the planet will become ever less habitable.
Meanwhile, intently maskless and socially undistanced, even he (and his wife Melania) have now contracted the coronavirus, officially becoming part of his own American carnage. The White House, Air Force One, and the president and his aides became the equivalent of Covid-19 superspreaders, as senators and reporters, among others, also began to come down with the disease. It's now proving a visible all-American nightmare of the first order.
Donald Trump has, of course, hardly been alone when it comes to burning the planet, but it's certainly eerie that, at this moment, such an arsonist would stand any chance at all, if he recovers successfully, of being reelected president of the United States. His urge is visibly not just to be an autocrat, but to commit mass murder nationwide and on a planetary scale deep into the future.
Murder, he said, and murder it was, and Fifth Avenue was the least of it.
Tom Engelhardt is a co-founder of the American Empire Project and the author of a history of the Cold War, The End of Victory Culture. He runs TomDispatchand is a fellow of the Type Media Center. His sixth and latest book is A Nation Unmade by War.
Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Books, John Feffer's new dystopian novel (the second in the Splinterlands series) Frostlands, Beverly Gologorsky's novel Every Body Has a Story, and Tom Engelhardt's A Nation Unmade by War, as well as Alfred McCoy's In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power and John Dower's The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II.


alternet--2020-10-05--‘He let his guard down’: GOP senator criticizes Trump on COVID-19 as the party takes a hit

Many Republicans are afraid to publicly criticize President Donald Trump , who was hospitalized at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda , Maryland after testing positive for COVID-19 last week .
But Republican Sen. John Cornyn was overtly critical of Trump 's response to the pandemic during an interview with the Houston Chronicle , essentially acknowledging the president 's carelessness .
Cornyn told the Chronicle , `` I think he let his guard down , and I think in his desire to try to demonstrate that we are somehow coming out of this and that the danger is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got out over his skis .
And frankly , I think it 's a lesson to all of us that we need to exercise self-discipline . ''
Reporter Benjamin Wermund notes that the Texas Republican made that comment when the Chronicle asked him about `` Trump rarely wearing a mask , holding Make America Great Again rallies and hosting a Supreme Court nomination ceremony at the White House where at least eight people , including two senators — who have since tested positive for the virus — were in attendance . ''
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positive for COVID-19 range from the president 's long-time adviser , Kellyanne Conway , to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel to former New Jersey Gov .
Chris Christie to Trump 's campaign chairman , Bill Stepien .
So far , Vice President Mike Pence and former Vice President Joe Biden have not testified positive for the novel coronavirus , although Biden appeared on a debate stage with the president only a few days before he tested positive , and Pence has been around the president frequently .
Cornyn spoke to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ light red Texas , the incumbent senator is being challenged by Democrat M.J. Hegar — who is trailing Cornyn in polls , but mostly by single digits .
Polls released during the second half of September found Cornyn ahead of Hegar by 2 % ( Data for Progress ) , 5 % ( CBS News/YouGov ) , 6 % ( New York Times/Siena and Morning Consult ) or 8 % ( Quinnipiac ) .

Many Republicans are afraid to publicly criticize President Donald Trump, who was hospitalized at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. But Republican Sen. John Cornyn was overtly critical of Trump's response to the pandemic during an interview with the Houston Chronicle, essentially acknowledging the president's carelessness.
Cornyn told the Chronicle, "I think he let his guard down, and I think in his desire to try to demonstrate that we are somehow coming out of this and that the danger is not still with us — I think he got out over his skis. And frankly, I think it's a lesson to all of us that we need to exercise self-discipline."
Reporter Benjamin Wermund notes that the Texas Republican made that comment when the Chronicle asked him about "Trump rarely wearing a mask, holding Make America Great Again rallies and hosting a Supreme Court nomination ceremony at the White House where at least eight people, including two senators — who have since tested positive for the virus — were in attendance."
The prominent Republicans in Trumpworld who have tested positive for COVID-19 range from the president's long-time adviser, Kellyanne Conway, to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to Trump's campaign chairman, Bill Stepien. So far, Vice President Mike Pence and former Vice President Joe Biden have not testified positive for the novel coronavirus, although Biden appeared on a debate stage with the president only a few days before he tested positive, and Pence has been around the president frequently.
Cornyn spoke to the Chronicle during his reelection campaign. In light red Texas, the incumbent senator is being challenged by Democrat M.J. Hegar — who is trailing Cornyn in polls, but mostly by single digits. Polls released during the second half of September found Cornyn ahead of Hegar by 2% (Data for Progress), 5% (CBS News/YouGov), 6% (New York Times/Siena and Morning Consult) or 8% (Quinnipiac).


alternet--2020-10-05--Trump is not 'entirely out of the woods yet' — but his doctor is already engaged in a cover-up

President Donald Trump will be leaving Walter Reed Medical Center after his admission for COVID-19 , a team of his doctors led by White House physician Sean Conley explained on Monday .
`` Though he may not be entirely out of the woods yet , the team and I agree that all our evaluations and most importantly his clinical status support the president 's safe return home , '' Conley said .
Trump has met all the hospital 's criteria for being discharged , he said , and the White House itself has a fully staffed medical unit to monitor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experts were skeptical of this decision .
Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN said , for example , that the steroids Trump has been prescribed are meant to reduce inflammation and can therefore mask his symptoms , even if he has n't made genuine progress against the disease .
It 's also not clear how likely it will be that the president could continue to spread the disease when at the White House , and Conley would not go into details about the precautions that will be taken once Trump returns home .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everything Conley was unwilling to say .
Citing HIPAA , a law that protects patients ' privacy , Conley refused to answer a series of questions .
He would n't say , for example , when the president 's last negative COVID-19 test was taken .
He would n't say what scans of the president 's lungs have shown .
He would n't say if the president has pneumonia .
He would n't answer questions about other potentially concerning test results .
All of this information could be crucial to understanding the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear the president wo n't disclose it .
The point about the date of the president 's last negative test is critical for multiple reasons.The White House has said the president was tested daily for COVID-19 as a part of it precautions .
They may be refusing to answer questions about the tests now because the president was not , in fact , tested daily , showing the White House to be negligent and lying .
Or perhaps they 're refusing to answer the question because Trump tested positive earlier than we knew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infection and risked spreading it to others .
It 's hard to believe that if , say , the president was tested negative for the virus Wednesday or early Thursday , only to test positive Thursday night , then they would be unwilling to say that publicly .
So the silence on this point suggests they have something to hide .
Finding out the last time Trump tested negative could also be important for tracing his contacts .
Conley said , however , that others were involved in the contact tracing effort and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
The condition of Trump 's lungs and the possibility that he has pneumonia are also critical to understanding his decision to return home and the potential future course of his illness .
Some patients experience debilitating and enduring effects from the virus , including scarring of the lungs .
It 's in the public interest to know whether the president 's case is this serious , especially given that he is currently spreading dangerous misinformation about the virus and claiming he feels better than he has in two decades .
Conley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and scans the president may have undergone , citing the president 's privacy .
This is unacceptable , and it 's not a role a doctor should agree to play .
Trump is using HIPAA as a shield to spin the the public about his health .
A president should be complete transparent about the condition of their health as it could impact their ability to perform their job , especially when faced with an acute medical crisis like COVID-19 .
But instead of committing to transparency , the president has authorized his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants to be public and concealed the information that he wants to keep secret .
It 's akin to the way the president has used other authorities .
His director of national intelligence recently released a document spreading an attack that is likely Russia disinformation again Hillary Clinton , while the administration is apparently concealing information about the Russian government 's current attempts to influence the 2020 election .
This is , undoubtedly , an abuse of power ; he 's using government authorities to selectively reveal information and mislead the public , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's what Conley is doing , too .
His selective briefings about the president 's health are designed to paint a rosy picture for Trump while concealing information that , for whatever reason , he does n't want the public to hear .
It is , in other words , a cover-up .
And no respectable doctor should play a part in it .
A doctor should agree to be completely transparent with the public or instead keep quiet .

President Donald Trump will be leaving Walter Reed Medical Center after his admission for COVID-19, a team of his doctors led by White House physician Sean Conley explained on Monday.
"Though he may not be entirely out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our evaluations and most importantly his clinical status support the president's safe return home," Conley said. Trump has met all the hospital's criteria for being discharged, he said, and the White House itself has a fully staffed medical unit to monitor his progress at home.
Some medical experts were skeptical of this decision. Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN said, for example, that the steroids Trump has been prescribed are meant to reduce inflammation and can therefore mask his symptoms, even if he hasn't made genuine progress against the disease. It's also not clear how likely it will be that the president could continue to spread the disease when at the White House, and Conley would not go into details about the precautions that will be taken once Trump returns home.
But perhaps more notable than these concerns was everything Conley was unwilling to say.
Citing HIPAA, a law that protects patients' privacy, Conley refused to answer a series of questions. He wouldn't say, for example, when the president's last negative COVID-19 test was taken. He wouldn't say what scans of the president's lungs have shown. He wouldn't say if the president has pneumonia. He wouldn't answer questions about other potentially concerning test results.
All of this information could be crucial to understanding the president's health, but Conley made it clear the president won't disclose it.
The point about the date of the president's last negative test is critical for multiple reasons.The White House has said the president was tested daily for COVID-19 as a part of it precautions. They may be refusing to answer questions about the tests now because the president was not, in fact, tested daily, showing the White House to be negligent and lying. Or perhaps they're refusing to answer the question because Trump tested positive earlier than we knew, suggesting he recklessly traveled with the infection and risked spreading it to others. It's hard to believe that if, say, the president was tested negative for the virus Wednesday or early Thursday, only to test positive Thursday night, then they would be unwilling to say that publicly. So the silence on this point suggests they have something to hide.
Finding out the last time Trump tested negative could also be important for tracing his contacts. Conley said, however, that others were involved in the contact tracing effort and that he wasn't a part of it.
The condition of Trump's lungs and the possibility that he has pneumonia are also critical to understanding his decision to return home and the potential future course of his illness. Some patients experience debilitating and enduring effects from the virus, including scarring of the lungs. It's in the public interest to know whether the president's case is this serious, especially given that he is currently spreading dangerous misinformation about the virus and claiming he feels better than he has in two decades. Conley also declined to address other potential tests and scans the president may have undergone, citing the president's privacy.
This is unacceptable, and it's not a role a doctor should agree to play. Trump is using HIPAA as a shield to spin the the public about his health. A president should be complete transparent about the condition of their health as it could impact their ability to perform their job, especially when faced with an acute medical crisis like COVID-19. But instead of committing to transparency, the president has authorized his doctor to reveal the information that he wants to be public and concealed the information that he wants to keep secret.
It's akin to the way the president has used other authorities. His director of national intelligence recently released a document spreading an attack that is likely Russia disinformation again Hillary Clinton, while the administration is apparently concealing information about the Russian government's current attempts to influence the 2020 election. This is, undoubtedly, an abuse of power; he's using government authorities to selectively reveal information and mislead the public, which is not their function.
That's what Conley is doing, too. His selective briefings about the president's health are designed to paint a rosy picture for Trump while concealing information that, for whatever reason, he doesn't want the public to hear. It is, in other words, a cover-up. And no respectable doctor should play a part in it. A doctor should agree to be completely transparent with the public or instead keep quiet.


alternet--2020-10-05--In 2020, undecided voters are dangerous radicals

I wrote last Wednesday that Joe Biden demonstrated ways of saving the republic from the mistake of electing a demi-despotic goon like Donald Trump .
During the first of three scheduled debates , the president was a fire-hose of bullying , pouting and puling , rarely giving the former vice president a couple of quiet minutes to speak .
He tested his rival until Biden decided at last to stop tolerating the intolerable : `` Will you shut up , man ? ''
Then something amazing happened .
As I was writing Wednesday 's edition , the Commission on Presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the debates and set the rules , said `` that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues , '' according to the Post .
Implicit in this change was a remarkable consensus : that Trump is to blame for the chaos .
Changes include cutting off the candidate 's microphones while the other speaks .
The commission , in so many words , will be forcing the president to shut up .
Later on the same day , something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tapper , who was the subject of Wednesday 's Editorial Board , followed suit .
His guest was Trump campaign Director of Communication Tim Murtaugh .
In a clip shared widely , Tapper asks why the president refuses to condemn armed white-power groups .
Murtaugh answers with accusations that Biden `` palled around with '' segregationists decades ago .
It 's a maneuver aiming to `` prove '' the president is no more racist than his opponent .
Tapper grows impatient with the nonsense .
Murtaugh increases the volume , running over Tapper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ camera operator to shut Murtaugh up .
Telling authoritarians to shut up is n't the only way , or even the best way , of dealing with them .
But it 's one of the tools the rest of us can use on confederates who have told us who they are when they exploit the rights and privileges of a free and open society to undermine a free and open society , even destroy it .
Do n't argue with them .
Do n't reason with them .
Do n't debate with them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the table of civilization for renegades ready to flip the table over if they do n't get their way .
They will never respect you .
Therefore , be sparing with your respect in return .
The only thing they truly respect is a majority flexing its democratic power .
For the same reasons , we should be exceedingly wary of what I 'll call the Nice Undecided Voters ( NUVs ) .
The NUVs are almost always super-white .
They are almost always rural .
They are almost always middle class @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of attention from the press corps in light of a vast majority of Americans making up their minds about 2020 way back in 2017 .
( This is why the president 's aggregated job approval rating has rarely changed since he took office . )
To reporters , the NUVs appear to be deeply concerned about the fate of the nation , conflicted about the decision facing them , and symbolic of the divisions riving the United States .
Most importantly , the NUVs are people who care about their reputations in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for ways forward in accordance with their genuinely held principles .
Truth is , the NUVs are dangerous radicals .
No other serious conclusion can be drawn from the Post 's Wednesday report on the NUVs ' reaction to the debate .
The president encouraged white-power vigilantes to `` stand back and stand by . ''
He repeatedly tried extorting the electorate , musing about bad trouble if he loses .
This is what someone says when he sits at the head of the table of American civilization , expects everyone else to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rules , but reserves the absolute right to hold himself above the law in case he needs to flip the table over to get his way .
Trump was telling us clearly who he is , but the NUVs interviewed by the Post either refused to see the truth , accepted the truth secretly , or lied about accepting the truth .
In all cases , seeing evil but ignoring it or joining it is another form of evil made more sinister by the appearance of being nice , respectable , concerned , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not undecided .
They are undeclared .
They fear making their preference for fascism known .
They fear it will get in way of their nice respectable lives at the office , at church , at the bowling alley .
This fear of social sanction is more powerful than their fear of Americans being taken out and shot .
Or they want the freedom to dominate those they believe deserve domination without being held responsible for their behavior .
They want to punch down without the possibility of being punched back .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , however , if the rest of us deny them what they need to get it .
If you revoke your respect , if you take back your welcome to participate into the public square of a free and open society—if that happens , you in effect shut them down .
The intolerant are only as strong as our willingness to tolerate them .

I wrote last Wednesday that Joe Biden demonstrated ways of saving the republic from the mistake of electing a demi-despotic goon like Donald Trump. During the first of three scheduled debates, the president was a fire-hose of bullying, pouting and puling, rarely giving the former vice president a couple of quiet minutes to speak. He tested his rival until Biden decided at last to stop tolerating the intolerable: "Will you shut up, man?"
Then something amazing happened. As I was writing Wednesday's edition, the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonpartisan nonprofit that organizes the debates and set the rules, said "that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues," according to the Post. Implicit in this change was a remarkable consensus: that Trump is to blame for the chaos. Changes include cutting off the candidate's microphones while the other speaks. The commission, in so many words, will be forcing the president to shut up.
Later on the same day, something else amazing happened. CNN's Jake Tapper, who was the subject of Wednesday's Editorial Board, followed suit. His guest was Trump campaign Director of Communication Tim Murtaugh. In a clip shared widely, Tapper asks why the president refuses to condemn armed white-power groups. Murtaugh answers with accusations that Biden "palled around with" segregationists decades ago. It's a maneuver aiming to "prove" the president is no more racist than his opponent. Tapper grows impatient with the nonsense. Murtaugh increases the volume, running over Tapper's follow-ups until he signals to the camera operator to shut Murtaugh up.
Telling authoritarians to shut up isn't the only way, or even the best way, of dealing with them. But it's one of the tools the rest of us can use on confederates who have told us who they are when they exploit the rights and privileges of a free and open society to undermine a free and open society, even destroy it. Don't argue with them. Don't reason with them. Don't debate with them. Debating them civilly is making room at the table of civilization for renegades ready to flip the table over if they don't get their way. They will never respect you. Therefore, be sparing with your respect in return. The only thing they truly respect is a majority flexing its democratic power.
For the same reasons, we should be exceedingly wary of what I'll call the Nice Undecided Voters (NUVs). The NUVs are almost always super-white. They are almost always rural. They are almost always middle class and up. They get a lot of attention from the press corps in light of a vast majority of Americans making up their minds about 2020 way back in 2017. (This is why the president's aggregated job approval rating has rarely changed since he took office.) To reporters, the NUVs appear to be deeply concerned about the fate of the nation, conflicted about the decision facing them, and symbolic of the divisions riving the United States. Most importantly, the NUVs are people who care about their reputations in their communities, and appear to be searching for ways forward in accordance with their genuinely held principles.
Truth is, the NUVs are dangerous radicals. No other serious conclusion can be drawn from the Post'sWednesday report on the NUVs' reaction to the debate. The president encouraged white-power vigilantes to "stand back and stand by." He repeatedly tried extorting the electorate, musing about bad trouble if he loses. This is what someone says when he sits at the head of the table of American civilization, expects everyone else to behave according to a set of established rules, but reserves the absolute right to hold himself above the law in case he needs to flip the table over to get his way. Trump was telling us clearly who he is, but the NUVs interviewed by the Post either refused to see the truth, accepted the truth secretly, or lied about accepting the truth. In all cases, seeing evil but ignoring it or joining it is another form of evil made more sinister by the appearance of being nice, respectable, concerned, and patriotic undecided voters.
The NUVs are not undecided. They are undeclared. They fear making their preference for fascism known. They fear it will get in way of their nice respectable lives at the office, at church, at the bowling alley. This fear of social sanction is more powerful than their fear of Americans being taken out and shot. Or they want the freedom to dominate those they believe deserve domination without being held responsible for their behavior. They want to punch down without the possibility of being punched back. They cannot get what they want, however, if the rest of us deny them what they need to get it. If you revoke your respect, if you take back your welcome to participate into the public square of a free and open society—if that happens, you in effect shut them down. The intolerant are only as strong as our willingness to tolerate them.
So don't.


alternet--2020-10-05--National security experts fear the United States’ ‘vulnerability’ as Trump falls ill: report

With President Donald Trump hospitalized with COVID-19 at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda , Maryland and many of his Republican allies also having tested positive for the novel coronavirus , the words `` security '' and `` vulnerability '' are coming up a lot .
Reporters Greg Miller and Karen DeYoung use those words in an article published in the Washington Post this week , warning that the president 's hospitalization — along with the chaos in the U.S. in general — is a major concern to national security experts .
`` The U.S. president is hospitalized with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a grave threat , in the final weeks of an election whose results he will not pledge to accept , as the nation confronts a struggling economy , an unyielding pandemic and racial unrest , '' Miller and DeYoung explain .
`` The combination of these crises has plunged the United States into a vortex of potential vulnerability that national security experts said is probably without precedent . ''
Nick Rasmussen , who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center under Trump and before that , President Barack Obama , believes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about national security while Trump is hospitalized .
`` I see weakness and division and , above all else , distractedness , '' Rasmussen told the Post .
`` Any problem anywhere else is just a third- or fourth-order problem right now because we are so self-absorbed , inward looking and consumed with our own toxicity .
And when you 're distracted , you make mistakes . ''
The infection of Trump and many other prominent Republicans , Miller and DeYoung note , came at a time when `` members of Trump 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were using their positions to ensure his reelection . ''
For example , the Post journalists point out , National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe `` was excoriated by his predecessors last week for declassifying discredited intelligence reports supposedly implicating Hillary Clinton in an effort to 'stir up a scandal ' against Trump in 2016 involving Russia '' — adding that `` Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was rebuffed in his effort to secure a meeting with the Pope by Vatican officials who reportedly regarded his approach as an election ploy to please Catholics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McLaughlin told the Post , `` In a normal government , you could probably absorb some of this dysfunction .
But this government , on national security policy , has had a very sketchy — to say the least — process for making foreign policy decisions . ''
Stephen J. Hadley , who served as national security adviser under President George W. Bush , explained that the United States ' `` adversaries may think that America may be distracted , so that they can get away with something . ''
But Hadley quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those adversaries might fear that if Trump attacks them in some way , it `` could give Trump an opportunity to be presidential , to be commander in chief — and that strengthens his hand with the American people . ''
`` I think that is probably the thinking of China , '' Hadley told the Post .
`` I think it 's probably the thinking even of ( Russian President Vladimir ) Putin .
I think it 's true for the Iranians .
They 're just going to hunker down and get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected . ''
Hadley also told the Post that the United States ' greatest vulnerability might be after the election and before the inauguration in January .
`` In many ways , that 's the more serious time of vulnerability and distraction , '' Hadley warned .
`` I 'm more worried about that right now . ''

With President Donald Trump hospitalized with COVID-19 at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and many of his Republican allies also having tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the words "security" and "vulnerability" are coming up a lot. Reporters Greg Miller and Karen DeYoung use those words in an article published in the Washington Post this week, warning that the president's hospitalization — along with the chaos in the U.S. in general — is a major concern to national security experts.
"The U.S. president is hospitalized with a virus he refused to treat as a grave threat, in the final weeks of an election whose results he will not pledge to accept, as the nation confronts a struggling economy, an unyielding pandemic and racial unrest," Miller and DeYoung explain. "The combination of these crises has plunged the United States into a vortex of potential vulnerability that national security experts said is probably without precedent."
Nick Rasmussen, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center under Trump and before that, President Barack Obama, believes that there is good reason to be concerned about national security while Trump is hospitalized.
"I see weakness and division and, above all else, distractedness," Rasmussen told the Post. "Any problem anywhere else is just a third- or fourth-order problem right now because we are so self-absorbed, inward looking and consumed with our own toxicity. And when you're distracted, you make mistakes."
The infection of Trump and many other prominent Republicans, Miller and DeYoung note, came at a time when "members of Trump's national security team faced accusations that they were using their positions to ensure his reelection." For example, the Post journalists point out, National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe "was excoriated by his predecessors last week for declassifying discredited intelligence reports supposedly implicating Hillary Clinton in an effort to 'stir up a scandal' against Trump in 2016 involving Russia" — adding that "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was rebuffed in his effort to secure a meeting with the Pope by Vatican officials who reportedly regarded his approach as an election ploy to please Catholics."
Former Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin told the Post, "In a normal government, you could probably absorb some of this dysfunction. But this government, on national security policy, has had a very sketchy — to say the least — process for making foreign policy decisions."
Stephen J. Hadley, who served as national security adviser under President George W. Bush, explained that the United States' "adversaries may think that America may be distracted, so that they can get away with something." But Hadley quickly added that on the other hand, those adversaries might fear that if Trump attacks them in some way, it "could give Trump an opportunity to be presidential, to be commander in chief — and that strengthens his hand with the American people."
"I think that is probably the thinking of China," Hadley told the Post. "I think it's probably the thinking even of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. I think it's true for the Iranians. They're just going to hunker down and get through this period and see who's elected."
Hadley also told the Post that the United States' greatest vulnerability might be after the election and before the inauguration in January.
"In many ways, that's the more serious time of vulnerability and distraction," Hadley warned. "I'm more worried about that right now."


alternet--2020-10-05--Trump just sent what may have been his most dangerous tweet yet

On Monday afternoon , President Donald Trump sent a remarkably dangerous tweet announcing that he 'll be leaving Walter Reed Medical Center later in the day after being admitted for COVID-19 .
`` I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. , '' he said .
Then the tweet verged into truly dangerous territory , trampling on the administration health experts ' extensive messaging campaigns warning people to take the extremely deadly virus seriously .
`` Feeling really good ! ''
he said .
`` Do n't be afraid of Covid .
Do n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have developed , under the Trump Administration , some really great drugs & knowledge .
I feel better than I did 20 years ago ! ''
In case anyone needs a reminder , COVID-19 has already killed more than 210,000 people in the United States and 1 million people globally since the beginning of this year .
This entirely new health threat is on pace to be the third most common cause of death in the United States this year , and its spread and severity has been sharply curtailed by the extensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to endure .
It also can cause long-lasting and debilitating effects in individuals who survive it , and it can incapacitate people for weeks on end .
Now , even as many states are seeing record increases of infection , Trump is trying to undo so much of the work that has been done to warn people about the virus .
It 's likely to encourage his supporters to behave more recklessly and could arguably be his single-most dangerous tweet yet .
There 's something particularly pernicious about his talk of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while undergoing top-tier treatment that no one else in the country would get .
Much of the country is still without health insurance , despite his promises to overhaul health care .
And even if the treatments — many of the experimental and only marginally effective — were as good as he said , one of the dangers if people stop taking precautions around COVID-19 is that it will spread so quickly that health care systems will be overwhelmed .
Under that scenario , which took hold in New York City in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if existing treatments are effective as long as the hospitals are too burdened to administer them to everyone .
And of course , Trump may be acting extremely recklessly with his own health .
As far as we can tell , he was only recently diagnosed with COVID-19 , and many patients face their worst symptoms about seven to 10 days into the disease 's course .
Before then , they can often experience ups and downs .
Reports suggest he is desperate to leave the hospital , perhaps for political reasons , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best medical advice .
Medical professionals weighed in with dismay at the president 's tweet :

On Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump sent a remarkably dangerous tweet announcing that he'll be leaving Walter Reed Medical Center later in the day after being admitted for COVID-19.
"I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M.," he said.
Then the tweet verged into truly dangerous territory, trampling on the administration health experts' extensive messaging campaigns warning people to take the extremely deadly virus seriously.
"Feeling really good!" he said. "Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"
In case anyone needs a reminder, COVID-19 has already killed more than 210,000 people in the United States and 1 million people globally since the beginning of this year. This entirely new health threat is on pace to be the third most common cause of death in the United States this year, and its spread and severity has been sharply curtailed by the extensive and costly mitigation efforts the country has had to endure. It also can cause long-lasting and debilitating effects in individuals who survive it, and it can incapacitate people for weeks on end.
Now, even as many states are seeing record increases of infection, Trump is trying to undo so much of the work that has been done to warn people about the virus. It's likely to encourage his supporters to behave more recklessly and could arguably be his single-most dangerous tweet yet.
There's something particularly pernicious about his talk of the "really great drugs" he received while undergoing top-tier treatment that no one else in the country would get. Much of the country is still without health insurance, despite his promises to overhaul health care. And even if the treatments — many of the experimental and only marginally effective — were as good as he said, one of the dangers if people stop taking precautions around COVID-19 is that it will spread so quickly that health care systems will be overwhelmed. Under that scenario, which took hold in New York City in the spring, it may not matter much if existing treatments are effective as long as the hospitals are too burdened to administer them to everyone.
And of course, Trump may be acting extremely recklessly with his own health. As far as we can tell, he was only recently diagnosed with COVID-19, and many patients face their worst symptoms about seven to 10 days into the disease's course. Before then, they can often experience ups and downs. Reports suggest he is desperate to leave the hospital, perhaps for political reasons, so he may be acting against the best medical advice.
Medical professionals weighed in with dismay at the president's tweet:


alternet--2020-10-05--'I need to get out of here': Trump is reportedly desperate to leave the hospital

President Donald Trump is desperate to leave Walter Reed Medical Center after being admitted last Friday over concerns about his case of COVID-19 , CNN 's Dana Bash reported .
`` A source familiar with POTUS phone calls from the hospital today tells me he said ' I need to get out of here , ' '' she said in a tweet .
She added : `` He 's being warned that if he rushes to leave the hospital and has a setback it would be bad for not just his health , but his re-election campaign . ''
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' one of the sources said of Trump 's mood yesterday .
Trump is concerned the sight of him being hospitalized `` makes him look weak , '' the other source said .
This comports with other reports we 've heard and what we know about Trump .
He cares about image and public relations above almost everything else , and he hates appearing weak .
In 2016 , his campaign used images of Hillary Clinton fainting to portray her as unfit to be president .
So it should be no surprise that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital .
The Washington Post reported Sunday of the president 's much-criticized decision to ride in a car to wave to his supporters : Trump told advisers on Sunday that he was getting bored being in the hospital and was tiring of watching coverage of his hospitalization .
The ride past supporters was so impromptu that officials in charge of assembling the White House press pool were not even told .
Trump 's doctors said on Saturday that he told them : `` I feel like I could walk out of here today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were hopeful he could be discharged Monday .
At the time of this writing his doctors had announced a new press conference would be held at 3 p.m. on Monday .
But as Bash reported , leaving prematurely poses risks .
If Trump ended up having to be readmitted to the hospital , his initial choice to leave could look reckless .
And it may be dangerous for his health if his condition deteriorates rapidly before he 's able to get thorough medical treatment .

President Donald Trump is desperate to leave Walter Reed Medical Center after being admitted last Friday over concerns about his case of COVID-19, CNN's Dana Bash reported.
"A source familiar with POTUS phone calls from the hospital today tells me he said 'I need to get out of here,'" she said in a tweet.
She added: "He's being warned that if he rushes to leave the hospital and has a setback it would be bad for not just his health, but his re-election campaign."
CNN's Jim Acosta reported earlier in the day:
"He is done with the hospital," one of the sources said of Trump's mood yesterday.
Trump is concerned the sight of him being hospitalized "makes him look weak," the other source said.
This comports with other reports we've heard and what we know about Trump. He cares about image and public relations above almost everything else, and he hates appearing weak. In 2016, his campaign used images of Hillary Clinton fainting to portray her as unfit to be president. So it should be no surprise that he'd be anxious to leave the hospital.
The Washington Post reported Sunday of the president's much-criticized decision to ride in a car to wave to his supporters:
Trump told advisers on Sunday that he was getting bored being in the hospital and was tiring of watching coverage of his hospitalization. The ride past supporters was so impromptu that officials in charge of assembling the White House press pool were not even told.
Trump's doctors said on Saturday that he told them: "I feel like I could walk out of here today." They also said Sunday they were hopeful he could be discharged Monday. At the time of this writing his doctors had announced a new press conference would be held at 3 p.m. on Monday.
But as Bash reported, leaving prematurely poses risks. If Trump ended up having to be readmitted to the hospital, his initial choice to leave could look reckless. And it may be dangerous for his health if his condition deteriorates rapidly before he's able to get thorough medical treatment.


alternet--2020-10-05--Virologist maps out how White House press secretary has been putting people at risk for days

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has been putting lives at risk since her exposure to the coronavirus last week , a virologist explained in an extensive Twitter thread .
McEnany , who has been testing herself since Thursday , finally tested positive Monday upon arriving at the White House .
Despite extensive exposure to the virus , McEnany worked at the White House over the weekend , saying that she is considered `` essential '' and came up `` negative '' multiple times .
So , she was considered `` safe . ''
Experts explain that it 's important @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because it 's unknown at what point in the process the virus takes hold and can continue to infect others .
Post-doc virologist K. Taylor , Ph.D , M.S .
explained as much in a thread where she noted , `` we do not yet know what the infectious dose ( how many virus particles you need to become infected ) is so I 'm going to use hypothetical numbers for the sake of this explanation . ''
She said that the most common test is the PCR test , which is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RNA `` up to a certain threshold .
The test the White House has been using is the rapid test which detects virus proteins .
Both meant to be surrogate for infection . ''
So , if the dose of the virus was , say 10 , it means you need 10 virus particles to become infected .
`` Let 's say PCR requires a minimum of 1,000 particles to be detected and antigen test requires 1.5k , '' she said , noting that these numbers are arbitrary and only being used to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` On day 0 when I contract SARS-CoV2 there are 10 particles so I would not test positive , '' she explained .
`` Let 's say for every 1 particle it produce [ s ] 5 more particles every 24 hours that means I would n't be at detectable levels until day 3 for PCR and day 5 for antigen test . ''
That would mean that McEnany , Hope Hicks , even President Donald Trump could have the virus but still be testing negative .
It 's also why after being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Joe Biden multiple times .
`` Let 's also say that I start shedding at 600 virus particles .
That means at some point on day 2 I start shedding virus and being able to infect other people , '' Dr. Taylor continued .
`` I 'm asymptomatic until I have 4K particles ( reminder , made up numbers ) .
So I 'm walking around asymptotic , shedding virus and not wearing a mask because I tested negative day 1 and day 2 .
This is why a negative test is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ She noted it 's also why people need to be wearing masks despite being tested .
Her example also does n't even take into account the antigen test , which can be inaccurate and is n't meant to be used by asymptomatic people .
`` In real life , we know the incubation period can be 2-12 days , '' she closed .
`` So until you get to the last day with a negative test you can still be infected .
This quarantine and wear a mask if you have been exposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is n't in the clear , despite his three negative tests .
Indeed , it 's also why anyone who attended the Rose Garden super-spreader event at the White House should be tested frequently and why they should all have been wearing masks , she explained .

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has been putting lives at risk since her exposure to the coronavirus last week, a virologist explained in an extensive Twitter thread.
McEnany, who has been testing herself since Thursday, finally tested positive Monday upon arriving at the White House. Despite extensive exposure to the virus, McEnany worked at the White House over the weekend, saying that she is considered "essential" and came up "negative" multiple times. So, she was considered "safe."
Experts explain that it's important to self-quarantine for 14 days after exposure because it's unknown at what point in the process the virus takes hold and can continue to infect others.
Post-doc virologist K. Taylor, Ph.D, M.S. explained as much in a thread where she noted, "we do not yet know what the infectious dose (how many virus particles you need to become infected) is so I'm going to use hypothetical numbers for the sake of this explanation."
She said that the most common test is the PCR test, which is the nasal swab, can detect the virus RNA "up to a certain threshold. The test the White House has been using is the rapid test which detects virus proteins. Both meant to be surrogate for infection."
So, if the dose of the virus was, say 10, it means you need 10 virus particles to become infected.
"Let's say PCR requires a minimum of 1,000 particles to be detected and antigen test requires 1.5k," she said, noting that these numbers are arbitrary and only being used to explain how the virus is detected.
"On day 0 when I contract SARS-CoV2 there are 10 particles so I would not test positive," she explained. "Let's say for every 1 particle it produce[s] 5 more particles every 24 hours that means I wouldn't be at detectable levels until day 3 for PCR and day 5 for antigen test."
That would mean that McEnany, Hope Hicks, even President Donald Trump could have the virus but still be testing negative. It's also why after being exposed, doctors are testing former Vice President Joe Biden multiple times.
"Let's also say that I start shedding at 600 virus particles. That means at some point on day 2 I start shedding virus and being able to infect other people," Dr. Taylor continued. "I'm asymptomatic until I have 4K particles (reminder, made up numbers). So I'm walking around asymptotic, shedding virus and not wearing a mask because I tested negative day 1 and day 2. This is why a negative test is only good for one day."
She noted it's also why people need to be wearing masks despite being tested. Her example also doesn't even take into account the antigen test, which can be inaccurate and isn't meant to be used by asymptomatic people.
"In real life, we know the incubation period can be 2-12 days," she closed. "So until you get to the last day with a negative test you can still be infected. This quarantine and wear a mask if you have been exposed.
It's also why Biden still isn't in the clear, despite his three negative tests. Indeed, it's also why anyone who attended the Rose Garden super-spreader event at the White House should be tested frequently and why they should all have been wearing masks, she explained.
Read the full thread on Twitter.


alternet--2020-10-05--Trump campaign aggressively pushing local election officials to ignore voting rules: 'Openly trying

Trump campaign aggressively pushing local election officials to ignore voting rules: 'Openly trying to cheat'

President Trump 's campaign is waging a behind-the-scenes effort to threaten low-profile county officials into ignoring election rules and sowing doubt in the mail voting process .
Trump 's campaign launched an `` unusually aggressive '' push on the local level , sending 100 county election officials in North Carolina `` threatening letters '' and `` misinformation '' to urge them to disregard a new rule that makes it easier for voters to fix mistakes on their mail ballots , according to the Associated Press .
The warnings came after the state Board of Elections settled a lawsuit after ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were disproportionately rejected .
The campaign also sent letters to more than 1,800 municipal clerks in states like Wisconsin and Georgia that raised questions about the security of mail voting , according to CNN .
The campaign also threatened to sue officials in Pennsylvania for blocking `` poll watchers '' from observing election offices where people register to vote and apply for mail ballots , according to the AP .
Trump 's team has repeatedly filed lawsuits in response to states easing access to mail ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic but such litigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has suggested that he aims to fight the expansions all the way to the Supreme Court as he hopes to add Amy Coney Barrett , his third conservative justice in four years , to the high court before November .
Less visible has been the campaign 's quiet efforts to undermine voting rules on the local level , where his team has bombarded officials with letters that have raised alarm among election experts .
`` Through threatening letters , lawsuits , viral videos and presidential misinformation , the campaign and its GOP allies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election procedures county-by-county across battleground states , '' the AP reported , highlighting a `` blizzard of voting-related complaints '' from the campaign .
In North Carolina , a key swing state that Trump carried by just three points in 2016 , Black voters have had their mail ballots rejected at four times the rate of white voters .
It 's even worse in certain areas .
Guilford County , which includes Greensboro , has a rejection rate six times higher than the rest of the state .
Officials say ballots there are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ await further guidance .
Last week , a judge approved a settlement between the state 's Board of Elections and voting rights groups allowing voters to fix missing signatures or addresses on their ballots without filling out a new ballot .
The Trump campaign told local officials simply to ignore the new rule .
`` The NC Republican Party advises you to not follow the procedures , '' Trump campaign operative Heather Ford told officials last week in an email obtained by the AP .
`` It 's clearly based on an overall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as possible , '' attorney Barry Richard , who represented George W. Bush 's campaign in the 2000 Florida recount , told the AP .
`` You 're really seeing a broad-based , generalized strategy to suppress the vote by the Republican Party . ''
S.V .
Dáte , HuffPost 's White House correspondent , argued that the effort showed the campaign was `` openly trying to cheat in the coming election . ''
Trump 's campaign argued that it was simply trying to `` ensure a fair election '' — apparently by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ settlement .
`` Since when is fairness a bad thing ? ''
campaign spokesperson Thea McDonald said in a statement to the AP .
`` County board members need guidance on how to proceed in the wake of these unelected Democrats ' attempt to radically rewrite the law 40 days out from Election Day . ''
But North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein , a Democrat , included the campaign 's email to officials in court documents to show that the `` party was improperly undermining an official state directive , '' according @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Board of Elections have quit in protest against the new rule and the panel 's Democratic majority has since told counties to hold off on allowing voters to fix their ballot errors , pending further court battles .
`` What we 're talking about is an effort to deliberately place these barriers in front of people .
And many may be discouraged from trying to cure , or making it impossible for them to cure , a deficiency , '' Irving Joyner , a law professor at North Carolina Central University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ another key swing state that Trump narrowly carried in 2016 , has also become a focal point in the Republican effort to torpedo new rules making it easier to vote by mail .
The campaign has sued the city of Philadelphia in order to gain access for Republican `` poll watchers '' to election offices , which are not polling places .
The state 's Republican leaders are also fighting a state Supreme Court decision that allowed mail ballots to be counted up to three days after the election as long as they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` poll watchers '' from monitoring polling places in areas where they do not reside .
Republicans have long planned to deploy an `` army '' of some 50,000 poll watchers nationwide for the election , which critics argue would amount to voter intimidation .
Republicans have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a lower court ruling that blocked a South Carolina witness signature requirement for mail ballots , due to the risk of COVID infection from person-to-person contact .
These efforts have not been limited to ballot issues .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Madison against holding a `` Democracy in the Park '' event , arguing that it could be used for the illegal collection of ballots .
City officials ignored the cease and desist letter but a day later Republicans warned the city of Milwaukee that it would be illegal for its sports teams to have mascots present while their venues are used as makeshift polling places , arguing that would violate laws against `` electioneering '' at voting locations .
A recent voter registration event at Miller Park , home stadium of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ famous Racing Sausage mascots , the Trump campaign noted .
`` It would be ludicrous to think that that was electioneering , '' Claire Woodall-Vogg , executive director of the city Election Commission , told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel .
Although most of the Trump campaign 's efforts have been petty and ineffective , election experts say they offer an insight into a coordinated behind-the-scenes efforts to `` work the refs . ''
`` All of this conduct is so beyond the pale , '' Rick Hasen , a law professor at the University @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AP .
`` It 's hard to put in context because there 's been nothing like it in modern American campaigns . ''

President Trump's campaign is waging a behind-the-scenes effort to threaten low-profile county officials into ignoring election rules and sowing doubt in the mail voting process.
Trump's campaign launched an "unusually aggressive" push on the local level, sending 100 county election officials in North Carolina "threatening letters" and "misinformation" to urge them to disregard a new rule that makes it easier for voters to fix mistakes on their mail ballots, according to the Associated Press. The warnings came after the state Board of Elections settled a lawsuit after ballots cast by Black voters in the state were disproportionately rejected.
The campaign also sent letters to more than 1,800 municipal clerks in states like Wisconsin and Georgia that raised questions about the security of mail voting, according to CNN. The campaign also threatened to sue officials in Pennsylvania for blocking "poll watchers" from observing election offices where people register to vote and apply for mail ballots, according to the AP.
Trump's team has repeatedly filed lawsuits in response to states easing access to mail ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic but such litigation has so far beenunsuccessful. Trump has suggested that he aims to fight the expansions all the way to the Supreme Court as he hopes to add Amy Coney Barrett, his third conservative justice in four years, to the high court before November. Less visible has been the campaign's quiet efforts to undermine voting rules on the local level, where his team has bombarded officials with letters that have raised alarm among election experts.
"Through threatening letters, lawsuits, viral videos and presidential misinformation, the campaign and its GOP allies are going to new lengths to contest election procedures county-by-county across battleground states," the AP reported, highlighting a "blizzard of voting-related complaints" from the campaign.
In North Carolina, a key swing state that Trump carried by just three points in 2016, Black voters have had their mail ballots rejected at four times the rate of white voters. It's even worse in certain areas. Guilford County, which includes Greensboro, has a rejection rate six times higher than the rest of the state. Officials say ballots there are currently "in limbo" as they await further guidance.
Last week, a judge approved a settlement between the state's Board of Elections and voting rights groups allowing voters to fix missing signatures or addresses on their ballots without filling out a new ballot. The Trump campaign told local officials simply to ignore the new rule.
"The NC Republican Party advises you to not follow the procedures," Trump campaign operative Heather Ford told officials last week in an email obtained by the AP.
"It's clearly based on an overall strategy to disrupt the election as much as possible," attorney Barry Richard, who represented George W. Bush's campaign in the 2000 Florida recount, told the AP. "You're really seeing a broad-based, generalized strategy to suppress the vote by the Republican Party."
S.V. Dáte, HuffPost's White House correspondent, argued that the effort showed the campaign was "openly trying to cheat in the coming election."
Trump's campaign argued that it was simply trying to "ensure a fair election" — apparently by encouraging local officials to ignore a court-approved settlement.
"Since when is fairness a bad thing?" campaign spokesperson Thea McDonald said in a statement to the AP. "County board members need guidance on how to proceed in the wake of these unelected Democrats' attempt to radically rewrite the law 40 days out from Election Day."
But North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, included the campaign's email to officials in court documents to show that the "party was improperly undermining an official state directive," according to the report.
Two Republican members of the Board of Elections have quit in protest against the new rule and the panel's Democratic majority has since told counties to hold off on allowing voters to fix their ballot errors, pending further court battles.
"What we're talking about is an effort to deliberately place these barriers in front of people. And many may be discouraged from trying to cure, or making it impossible for them to cure, a deficiency," Irving Joyner, a law professor at North Carolina Central University, told the AP.
Pennsylvania, another key swing state that Trump narrowly carried in 2016, has also become a focal point in the Republican effort to torpedo new rules making it easier to vote by mail.
The campaign has sued the city of Philadelphia in order to gain access for Republican "poll watchers" to election offices, which are not polling places. The state's Republican leaders are also fighting a state Supreme Court decision that allowed mail ballots to be counted up to three days after the election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and blocked "poll watchers" from monitoring polling places in areas where they do not reside.
Republicans have long planned to deploy an "army" of some 50,000 poll watchers nationwide for the election, which critics argue would amount to voter intimidation.
Republicans have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a lower court ruling that blocked a South Carolina witness signature requirement for mail ballots, due to the risk of COVID infection from person-to-person contact.
These efforts have not been limited to ballot issues. The Wisconsin Republican Party recently warned the city of Madison against holding a "Democracy in the Park" event, arguing that it could be used for the illegal collection of ballots. City officials ignored the cease and desist letter but a day later Republicans warned the city of Milwaukee that it would be illegal for its sports teams to have mascots present while their venues are used as makeshift polling places, arguing that would violate laws against "electioneering" at voting locations.
A recent voter registration event at Miller Park, home stadium of the Milwaukee Brewers, featured the team's famous Racing Sausage mascots, the Trump campaign noted.
"It would be ludicrous to think that that was electioneering," Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the city Election Commission, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Although most of the Trump campaign's efforts have been petty and ineffective, election experts say they offer an insight into a coordinated behind-the-scenes efforts to "work the refs."
"All of this conduct is so beyond the pale," Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, told the AP. "It's hard to put in context because there's been nothing like it in modern American campaigns."


alternet--2020-10-05--Houston newspaper slams Texas Gov. Abbott for blatant ‘voter suppression’ in scathing op-ed

With polls showing the presidential race to be surprisingly close in Texas — which , historically , has been a red state — Republican Gov .
Greg Abbott has resorted to a sleazy attempt at voter suppression .
Abbott has ordered that in sprawling Texas , the number of locations for dropping off completed absentee ballots can be no more than one per county .
And the Houston Chronicle 's editorial board , in a scathing editorial published on October 2 , calls out the Texas governor 's brazen voter suppression move .
`` Texas Gov .
Greg Abbott framed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ location for collecting completed mail ballots as a way to enhance 'ballot security protocol ' and ensure COVID-19 safety measures , '' the Chronicle 's editorial board argues .
`` We need to call it what it is : voter suppression .
Clear and simple . ''
The Chronicle points out that thanks to Abbott , Harris County — which includes Houston — has gone from having 12 drop-off locations for absentee ballots to only having one .
Harris County just happens to be one of the most Democratic counties in Texas .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ down drop-off sites will do anything to protect the integrity of the election , '' the Chronicle explains in its editorial .
`` If anything , the Harris County collection sites make voting even more secure , as they require voters to deliver their own ballots , sign in , speak with an assistant clerk and provide identification .
Abbott 's order will only make it harder and riskier for vulnerable Texans — the elderly and those with underlying health conditions — to cast ballots amid the pandemic . ''
Harris County Clerk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has been highly critical of Abbott 's move , saying , `` Our office is more than willing to accommodate poll watchers at mail ballot drop-off locations , but to force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location in a county that stretches over nearly 2000 square miles is prejudicial and dangerous . ''
Similarly , in Travis County — which includes Austin — the number of drop-off locations for completed ballots has gone from four to only one .
And Travis County is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Texas .
If former Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Democrat M.J. Hegar — who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in Texas ' 2020 U.S. Senate race — win in the Lone Star State in November , it will require a strong turnout in places likes Harris County and Travis County .
Abbott , of course , would never admit it , but an unspoken reason for his actions is a fear that Biden might win Texas ' 38 electoral votes in November .
Polls released in September showed Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much .
According to recent polls , Biden was trailing Trump by 1 % ( Data for Progress and Public Policy Polling ) , 3 % ( University of Massachusetts , Lowell and Siena College/New York Times ) , 2 % ( YouGov ) or 5 % ( Quinnipiac ) .
A Morning Consult poll released in September found Biden and Trump in a dead heat in Texas , and a Tyson Group poll found Biden ahead by 4 % in the Lone Star State .
`` Abbott 's rationale for ordering the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be almost laughable , '' the Chronicle 's editorial board writes .
`` On Wednesday , Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins told the state Supreme Court that his July 27 proclamation allowed voters to drop off mail ballots any time before Election Day and that state law permitted county clerks to designate multiple locations to do so . ''
The Chronicle concludes its editorial by urging Abbott to do the right thing and `` rescind his order , '' although the editorial board probably wo n't be holding its breath .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't wait for the courts to make right , '' the editorial stresses .
`` He should rescind his order immediately — and pledge to do everything he can to make it easier for everyone to vote .
That 's what common decency and the U.S. Constitution require .
No one , not even Abbott , is above that . ''

With polls showing the presidential race to be surprisingly close in Texas — which, historically, has been a red state — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has resorted to a sleazy attempt at voter suppression. Abbott has ordered that in sprawling Texas, the number of locations for dropping off completed absentee ballots can be no more than one per county. And the Houston Chronicle's editorial board, in a scathing editorial published on October 2, calls out the Texas governor's brazen voter suppression move.
"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott framed his order limiting counties to only one location for collecting completed mail ballots as a way to enhance 'ballot security protocol' and ensure COVID-19 safety measures," the Chronicle's editorial board argues. "We need to call it what it is: voter suppression. Clear and simple."
The Chronicle points out that thanks to Abbott, Harris County — which includes Houston — has gone from having 12 drop-off locations for absentee ballots to only having one. Harris County just happens to be one of the most Democratic counties in Texas.
"There is no proof that shutting down drop-off sites will do anything to protect the integrity of the election," the Chronicle explains in its editorial. "If anything, the Harris County collection sites make voting even more secure, as they require voters to deliver their own ballots, sign in, speak with an assistant clerk and provide identification. Abbott's order will only make it harder and riskier for vulnerable Texans — the elderly and those with underlying health conditions — to cast ballots amid the pandemic."
Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, the Chronicle points out, has been highly critical of Abbott's move, saying, "Our office is more than willing to accommodate poll watchers at mail ballot drop-off locations, but to force hundreds of thousands of seniors and voters with disabilities to use a single drop-off location in a county that stretches over nearly 2000 square miles is prejudicial and dangerous."
Similarly, in Travis County — which includes Austin — the number of drop-off locations for completed ballots has gone from four to only one. And Travis County is another one of the most Democratic counties in Texas. If former Vice President Joe Biden and Texas Democrat M.J. Hegar — who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in Texas' 2020 U.S. Senate race — win in the Lone Star State in November, it will require a strong turnout in places likes Harris County and Travis County.
Abbott, of course, would never admit it, but an unspoken reason for his actions is a fear that Biden might win Texas' 38 electoral votes in November. Polls released in September showed Trump ahead in Texas, but not by much. According to recent polls, Biden was trailing Trump by 1% (Data for Progress and Public Policy Polling), 3% (University of Massachusetts, Lowell and Siena College/New York Times), 2% (YouGov) or 5% (Quinnipiac). A Morning Consult poll released in September found Biden and Trump in a dead heat in Texas, and a Tyson Group poll found Biden ahead by 4% in the Lone Star State.
"Abbott's rationale for ordering the drop-off locations closed is so thin as to be almost laughable," the Chronicle's editorial board writes. "On Wednesday, Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins told the state Supreme Court that his July 27 proclamation allowed voters to drop off mail ballots any time before Election Day and that state law permitted county clerks to designate multiple locations to do so."
The Chronicle concludes its editorial by urging Abbott to do the right thing and "rescind his order," although the editorial board probably won't be holding its breath.
"This is one mistake that Abbott shouldn't wait for the courts to make right," the editorial stresses. "He should rescind his order immediately — and pledge to do everything he can to make it easier for everyone to vote. That's what common decency and the U.S. Constitution require. No one, not even Abbott, is above that."