alternet--2020-10-30--Win or lose — Trump is about to unleash hell

With poll numbers staying put and the odds of a Joe Biden win in Tuesday 's election looking good — possibly by a decisive margin — there 's mounting dread about how Donald Trump will behave after a defeat .
After all , Trump is a sociopathic narcissist with the emotional control of a — well , I wo n't insult toddlers with the comparison — and he lives in mortal terror of being viewed as a loser .
He 's already made clear that he will refuses to concede , no matter what , and he 's grasping desperately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thrown out so he can steal the election .
No wonder people are afraid Trump will go completely apes**t if his efforts to steal this fail and he actually loses .
As Salon 's Matthew Rozsa recently explained in a popular piece , psychologists worry that the narcissistic injury to Trump will result in him lashing out `` in his vindictive rage to punish an America which he may believe has consigned him to 'loser ' status . ''
On Friday , Ron Suskind of the New York Times published an article based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials and aides , several of whom are still serving in the Trump administration , '' who worried that `` the president could use the power of the government '' to lash out at enemies , try to steal the election or otherwise wreak havoc on the nation .
`` Trump could do real damage to the country , his successor or presidential traditions , '' Garrett Graff wrote Wednesday at Politico , adding that `` there 's reason to wonder if a Trump transition might actually be the start of the wildest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' `` We May Need the Twenty-Fifth Amendment if Trump Loses , '' blares a headline at the New Yorker .
Of course we should be worried that Trump , a vindictive man whose only true pleasures come from sadism , will abuse his power to punish Americans if he loses .
But let 's be honest : He 's also going to do that if he wins .
Heads or tails , Trump will be angry at Americans for not worshipping him in the way he believes is his due , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are going to be hell .
Moreover , win or lose , Trump supporters will continue to believe they are victims of the `` liberal elite '' and the `` deep state , '' and will keep on being resentful , angry and aggrieved , stocking up on guns and screeching on social media about how poorly they believe they 're being treated .
But at least if Biden wins the election , there will be light at the end of the tunnel .
We know that Trump and his supporters will act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 've acted for the past four years .
After all , it was less than a day after Trump 's inauguration that the grievance politics and play-acting began .
Trump insisted — and pressured his supporters and press secretary into insisting — that his inauguration was way , way bigger than Barack Obama 's , and that all the photos showing otherwise were somehow `` fake news . ''
He obsessed for months about how the election had been `` rigged '' against him — even though he won !
— because Hillary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since then , the running theme of Trump 's presidency is that he 's a nonstop victim of shadowy liberal forces trying to take him down .
Robert Mueller , Adam Schiff , Nancy Pelosi , the media ( especially female journalists ) , the `` Democrat governors '' and on and on : Trump 's conflicts are always about a conspiracy against him .
They are never , ever his own fault for corruption , criminality , incompetence or just flat-out being the worst .
Trump even views the coronavirus , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with no real agency , as a plot to destroy him , as if all those people decided to get sick and die just to make him look bad .
Meanwhile , if there was one word to describe Trump 's supporters — who , let 's remember , were on the winning side in 2016 — it would be `` bitter . ''
Turn on Fox News any random night , and it 's a full blown whine-fest about how alleged `` elites '' are trying to control them and ruin their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ controls most state governments , the White House , the Senate and the federal courts never factors in .
The narrative is one of perpetual victimhood .
Witness , for instance , this recent piece from National Review editor Rich Lowry , an alleged adult , entitled `` The Only Middle Finger Available , '' which argues that a Trump vote is `` a gigantic rude gesture directed at the commanding heights of American culture . ''
Of course , Trump is quite literally the `` commanding height '' of American culture right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most powerful person in the world but because his severe personality disorders have made him a black hole of attention .
But in the warped imagination of Trump-loving conservatives , they 're perpetual losers , even and especially when they 're winning .
So they always imagine they are justified in lashing out and punishing liberals .
Winning elections does n't mean trying to govern , just amassing more power to act out their revenge fantasies .
This is why the debates over whether Trump is `` really '' a fascist are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political science terms of government organization , he is not a fascist dictator .
But the rhetoric , ideology and affect of modern conservatism have tipped strongly toward authoritarianism in recent years .
In more normal historic condition , conservatism is inherently a protectionist ideology , an attempt to preserve the current social order , with all its hierarchies and inequalities .
But modern right-wingers imagine themselves as having already lost nearly all of that .
They claim to be trying to restoring the lost ( and mostly imaginary ) `` greatness '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's a lot closer to fascism than conservatism .
That 's why the Trumpian slogan is `` Make America Great Again . ''
There was a tepid effort by the 2020 Trump campaign , after four years in power , to update that to `` Keep America Great . ''
But that reboot pretty much fell to the wayside and the campaign reverted to MAGA sloganeering .
Trumpism always requires imagining that its adherents are the underdogs struggling against an all-powerful elite .
Admitting the fact that they 've been in power for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do anything constructive — is not on the table .
Trump is likely to throw a massive tantrum if he loses this election , no doubt .
But there 's also a possibility that the blow to his ego will be such that he and his supporters will slink away in shame , especially if the election is a rout .
In the face of real defeat , Trump 's `` bunker boy '' side tends to show itself .
He 's already canceled his appearance at the election-night party at Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a possible defeat is to hide away in the White House .
If Trump wins by whatever means , however , we 're looking at another long four years of him whining , playing the victim and abusing his power of office to punish anyone who did n't vote for him .
His followers will go right along with it , nursing endless grievance because , while they control most of the power in Washington , they still have to put up with `` RuPaul 's Drag Race '' and women talking back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right will never stop casting themselves as the wounded victims of any and all social change .
The most we can hope for from this election is that they 're handed a humiliation so big that it stuns them into silence , at least temporarily .

With poll numbers staying put and the odds of a Joe Biden win in Tuesday's election looking good — possibly by a decisive margin — there's mounting dread about how Donald Trump will behave after a defeat. After all, Trump is a sociopathic narcissist with the emotional control of a — well, I won't insult toddlers with the comparison — and he lives in mortal terror of being viewed as a loser. He's already made clear that he will refuses to concede, no matter what, and he's grasping desperately for any way to get legal ballots thrown out so he can steal the election.
No wonder people are afraid Trump will go completely apes**t if his efforts to steal this fail and he actually loses. As Salon's Matthew Rozsa recently explained in a popular piece, psychologists worry that the narcissistic injury to Trump will result in him lashing out "in his vindictive rage to punish an America which he may believe has consigned him to 'loser' status."
On Friday, Ron Suskind of the New York Times published an article based on interviews with "some two dozen officials and aides, several of whom are still serving in the Trump administration," who worried that "the president could use the power of the government" to lash out at enemies, try to steal the election or otherwise wreak havoc on the nation.
"Trump could do real damage to the country, his successor or presidential traditions," Garrett Graff wrote Wednesday at Politico, adding that "there's reason to wonder if a Trump transition might actually be the start of the wildest chapter of an already controversial presidency."
"We May Need the Twenty-Fifth Amendment if Trump Loses," blares a headline at the New Yorker.
Of course we should be worried that Trump, a vindictive man whose only true pleasures come from sadism, will abuse his power to punish Americans if he loses.
But let's be honest: He's also going to do that if he wins.
Heads or tails, Trump will be angry at Americans for not worshipping him in the way he believes is his due, and the next two and a half months are going to be hell. Moreover, win or lose, Trump supporters will continue to believe they are victims of the "liberal elite" and the "deep state," and will keep on being resentful, angry and aggrieved, stocking up on guns and screeching on social media about how poorly they believe they're being treated.
But at least if Biden wins the election, there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
We know that Trump and his supporters will act this way because that's how they've acted for the past four years. After all, it was less than a day after Trump's inauguration that the grievance politics and play-acting began. Trump insisted — and pressured his supporters and press secretary into insisting — that his inauguration was way, way bigger than Barack Obama's, and that all the photos showing otherwise were somehow "fake news." He obsessed for months about how the election had been "rigged" against him — even though he won! — because Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.
Ever since then, the running theme of Trump's presidency is that he's a nonstop victim of shadowy liberal forces trying to take him down. Robert Mueller, Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, the media (especially female journalists), the "Democrat governors" and on and on: Trump's conflicts are always about a conspiracy against him. They are never, ever his own fault for corruption, criminality, incompetence or just flat-out being the worst.
Trump even views the coronavirus, which is, you know, a virus with no real agency, as a plot to destroy him, as if all those people decided to get sick and die just to make him look bad.
Meanwhile, if there was one word to describe Trump's supporters — who, let's remember, were on the winning side in 2016 — it would be "bitter." Turn on Fox News any random night, and it's a full blown whine-fest about how alleged "elites" are trying to control them and ruin their lives. The fact that their party controls most state governments, the White House, the Senate and the federal courts never factors in. The narrative is one of perpetual victimhood.
Witness, for instance, this recent piece from National Review editor Rich Lowry, an alleged adult, entitled "The Only Middle Finger Available," which argues that a Trump vote is "a gigantic rude gesture directed at the commanding heights of American culture."
Of course, Trump is quite literally the "commanding height" of American culture right now, not just because he's the most powerful person in the world but because his severe personality disorders have made him a black hole of attention.
But in the warped imagination of Trump-loving conservatives, they're perpetual losers, even and especially when they're winning. So they always imagine they are justified in lashing out and punishing liberals. Winning elections doesn't mean trying to govern, just amassing more power to act out their revenge fantasies.
This is why the debates over whether Trump is "really" a fascist are somewhat missing the point. In the political science terms of government organization, he is not a fascist dictator. But the rhetoric, ideology and affect of modern conservatism have tipped strongly toward authoritarianism in recent years.
In more normal historic condition, conservatism is inherently a protectionist ideology, an attempt to preserve the current social order, with all its hierarchies and inequalities. But modern right-wingers imagine themselves as having already lost nearly all of that. They claim to be trying to restoring the lost (and mostly imaginary) "greatness" of the past, a narrative that's a lot closer to fascism than conservatism.
That's why the Trumpian slogan is "Make America Great Again." There was a tepid effort by the 2020 Trump campaign, after four years in power, to update that to "Keep America Great." But that reboot pretty much fell to the wayside and the campaign reverted to MAGA sloganeering. Trumpism always requires imagining that its adherents are the underdogs struggling against an all-powerful elite. Admitting the fact that they've been in power for four years — and squandered every opportunity to do anything constructive — is not on the table.
Trump is likely to throw a massive tantrum if he loses this election, no doubt. But there's also a possibility that the blow to his ego will be such that he and his supporters will slink away in shame, especially if the election is a rout.
In the face of real defeat, Trump's "bunker boy" side tends to show itself. He's already canceled his appearance at the election-night party at Trump International Hotel, suggesting his reaction to a possible defeat is to hide away in the White House.
If Trump wins by whatever means, however, we're looking at another long four years of him whining, playing the victim and abusing his power of office to punish anyone who didn't vote for him. His followers will go right along with it, nursing endless grievance because, while they control most of the power in Washington, they still have to put up with "RuPaul's Drag Race" and women talking back to them on the internet. The right will never stop casting themselves as the wounded victims of any and all social change. The most we can hope for from this election is that they're handed a humiliation so big that it stuns them into silence, at least temporarily.


alternet--2020-10-30--Voting wars: Inside the Republican Party's most overt voter suppression effort in years

Two countervailing forces are competing to determine the outcome of the 2020 elections ' highest-stakes contests before the close of voting on November 3 .
President Trump and his Republican allies are pursuing a full-court press where their success hinges less on winning popular vote majorities and more on disqualifying volumes of absentee ballots via lawsuits to be filed after Election Day—if preliminary results in a few key states are close .
The Democratic Party and their allies , meanwhile , have been pushing their party 's more highly motivated voter base to continue their turnout lead seen in early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not gain traction when they turn to the courts to disqualify late-arriving absentee ballots , or cite other technicalities to disqualify votes .
`` We are targeting 8.8 million students , faculty and staff in universities in Alabama , Arizona , Florida , Georgia , Mississippi , North Carolina , South Carolina and Texas .
We have state-specific ads for every one of our campaigns , '' said Andrea Miller , executive director of People Demanding Action , which has been turning out voters in communities of color .
`` And then we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 'See Something , Say Something'… We have done outreach to nearly 20 million people and the election is n't over . ''
More than 85 million people have already voted as of Friday , October 30 , according to the U.S .
Elections Project early voting tracking website .
So far , more than 55 million absentee ballots have been received by local election officials , 30 million people have voted in person , and another 35.5 million absentee ballots have yet to be returned .
According to those voters ' party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the in-person voting , but Democrats lead in absentee ballots—where sizable numbers of voters registering as independents have cast ballots .
Whether or not the apparent enthusiasm gap continues through Election Day—or shifts via what the Republicans hope will be a large in-person turnout on November 3—is an open question .
However , the Trump campaign and its allies are not counting on popular vote victories to secure a winning margin among state Electoral College delegations .
Their litigation strategy arguably has been the Republican Party 's most overt voter suppression effort in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attacks on the legitimacy of absentee balloting .
The voting wars are legal fights over technicalities in processes that can end up disqualifying—or empowering—blocs of voters to tilt close-margin contests .
The 2020 election has seen more litigation over these technicalities , especially surrounding the use of mailed-out ( or absentee ) ballots , than any recent presidential election .
While Democrats secured many early victories , especially in state and federal district courts , Republicans in recent days have won notable decisions—and legal arguments—in the Supreme Court and federal appeals court .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ these decisions that appears to give Republicans an opening to initiate post-Election Day litigation .
In rulings affecting Wisconsin , Pennsylvania , North Carolina and Minnesota , conservatives have highlighted a way to disqualify what may become thousands of absentee ballots that were properly mailed and postmarked ( by Election Day ) , but are received by election officials days later via mail delivery .
Various judges—including a likely Supreme Court majority among the high court 's conservatives without Chief Justice John Roberts—have said that only state legislatures have the authority to regulate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is based on the U.S. Constitution , whose opening articles delegate no power to state supreme courts , state constitutions , secretaries of state or statewide election boards to run elections .
These non-legislative actors took steps this year to issue regulations to assist voters and election officials in response to COVID-19 .
Thus , in Wisconsin , the Supreme Court said absentee ballots that were not received by November 3 would not be counted—because the state 's ( Republican majority ) legislature did not extend the deadline .
Justice Brett Kavanaugh also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by election night , which mirrors Trump 's rhetoric but does not reflect the reality of states like Wisconsin where local clerks will only start processing 1.1 million ballots that morning .
In Pennsylvania and North Carolina , the Supreme Court said one week before Election Day that it was too late to overturn ballot-return deadlines that went past Tuesday .
( In Pennsylvania , it 's Friday , November 6 .
In North Carolina , it 's Thursday , November 12 . )
While much national press coverage said those two rulings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over statements , concurrences and dissents from four conservative justices that basically said that ballots arriving after Election Day could be disqualified if a legislature did n't extend the return deadline .
Newly seated Justice Amy Coney Barrett did n't participate in those cases .
In response , Pennsylvania 's attorney general told the Supreme Court that the secretary of state was directing all county election officials to `` segregate '' all absentee ballots arriving after November 3 and through the November 6 deadline .
Election law experts said that Pennsylvania 's move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenges—because late-arriving ballots would not be mixed in with those earlier batches of ballots when counted .
North Carolina 's state election board is not following Pennsylvania 's lead—as a precautionary measure .
It issued a statement urging all voters to return absentee ballots as soon as possible , but said the final deadline was on November 12 .
A day after the Supreme Court ruling in the Pennsylvania and North Carolina suits , a federal appeals court in Minnesota threw out its week-long absentee ballot-return deadline extension—issued this summer by the secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ settlement with Republicans .
`` The Secretary and his respective agents… are ordered to identify , segregate , and otherwise maintain and preserve all absentee ballots , '' the Eighth Circuit Court 's decision said , `` in a manner that would allow for their respective votes [ for president and vice president ] … to be removed from vote totals in the event a final order is entered by a court . ''
Taken together , the highest rungs of the federal courts have given the Republicans an opening to seek to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ North Carolina and Minnesota .
( All other states with extended absentee ballot-return deadlines resulted from legislation . )
How many votes could be implicated should post-Election Day legal challenges arise ?
Former Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling , a Democrat who oversaw its shift to all-mail balloting , said that 90 percent of voters who apply to vote with absentee ballots return those ballots .
According to the U.S .
Elections Project , which gets its data from state election officials , as of Friday , October 30 , hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play .
• In North Carolina , 883,000 ballots have been returned , out of 1.45 million requested ballots , a return rate of 61 percent .
Nearly 600,000 absentee ballots have not yet been received .
• In Pennsylvania , 2.1 million ballots have been returned , out of 3.1 million requested ballots , a return rate of 68 percent .
Nearly 985,000 absentee ballots have not yet been received .
• In Minnesota , nearly 1.6 million people voted early and returned their absentee ballots .
The state does n't further @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.97 million absentee ballots were requested .
While there may yet be more federal litigation before Election Day , the big picture is that the Republicans appear to be placing little stock in popular vote victories and are on track to try to win some swing states via challenging late-returning absentee ballots—and as the opening move in post-Election Day litigation .
Democrats , on the other hand , are continuing to push voters to return their absentee ballots in person , vote early or vote on Election Day .
Under any scenario , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winner would be known until later in the week—at the earliest .
The U.S. Senate 's majority will take longer , as some states such as Georgia are likely to see runoffs .
And control of state legislatures may take longer still , if the balance comes down to a few contests where recounts are triggered .
Steven Rosenfeld is the editor and chief correspondent of Voting Booth , a project of the Independent Media Institute .
He has reported for National Public Radio , Marketplace , and Christian Science Monitor Radio , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressive publications including Salon , AlterNet , the American Prospect , and many others .
This article was produced by Voting Booth , a project of the Independent Media Institute .

Two countervailing forces are competing to determine the outcome of the 2020 elections' highest-stakes contests before the close of voting on November 3.
President Trump and his Republican allies are pursuing a full-court press where their success hinges less on winning popular vote majorities and more on disqualifying volumes of absentee ballots via lawsuits to be filed after Election Day—if preliminary results in a few key states are close. The Democratic Party and their allies, meanwhile, have been pushing their party's more highly motivated voter base to continue their turnout lead seen in early and absentee voting, so Republicans cannot gain traction when they turn to the courts to disqualify late-arriving absentee ballots, or cite other technicalities to disqualify votes.
"We are targeting 8.8 million students, faculty and staff in universities in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. We have state-specific ads for every one of our campaigns," said Andrea Miller, executive director of People Demanding Action, which has been turning out voters in communities of color. "And then we are also advertising our election protection tool, 'See Something, Say Something'… We have done outreach to nearly 20 million people and the election isn't over."
More than 85 million people have already voted as of Friday, October 30, according to the U.S. Elections Project early voting tracking website. So far, more than 55 million absentee ballots have been received by local election officials, 30 million people have voted in person, and another 35.5 million absentee ballots have yet to be returned. According to those voters' party registrations, Democrats and Republicans have split the in-person voting, but Democrats lead in absentee ballots—where sizable numbers of voters registering as independents have cast ballots.
Whether or not the apparent enthusiasm gap continues through Election Day—or shifts via what the Republicans hope will be a large in-person turnout on November 3—is an open question. However, the Trump campaign and its allies are not counting on popular vote victories to secure a winning margin among state Electoral College delegations. Their litigation strategy arguably has been the Republican Party's most overt voter suppression effort in years—building on Trump's ongoing and baseless attacks on the legitimacy of absentee balloting.
The voting wars are legal fights over technicalities in processes that can end up disqualifying—or empowering—blocs of voters to tilt close-margin contests. The 2020 election has seen more litigation over these technicalities, especially surrounding the use of mailed-out (or absentee) ballots, than any recent presidential election. While Democrats secured many early victories, especially in state and federal district courts, Republicans in recent days have won notable decisions—and legal arguments—in the Supreme Court and federal appeals court.
There's a common thread running through these decisions that appears to give Republicans an opening to initiate post-Election Day litigation. In rulings affecting Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Minnesota, conservatives have highlighted a way to disqualify what may become thousands of absentee ballots that were properly mailed and postmarked (by Election Day), but are received by election officials days later via mail delivery.
Various judges—including a likely Supreme Court majority among the high court's conservatives without Chief Justice John Roberts—have said that only state legislatures have the authority to regulate elections with federal candidates. That construction is based on the U.S. Constitution, whose opening articles delegate no power to state supreme courts, state constitutions, secretaries of state or statewide election boards to run elections. These non-legislative actors took steps this year to issue regulations to assist voters and election officials in response to COVID-19.
Thus, in Wisconsin, the Supreme Court said absentee ballots that were not received by November 3 would not be counted—because the state's (Republican majority) legislature did not extend the deadline. Justice Brett Kavanaugh also commented that election results should be known by election night, which mirrors Trump's rhetoric but does not reflect the reality of states like Wisconsin where local clerks will only start processing 1.1 million ballots that morning.
In Pennsylvania and North Carolina, the Supreme Court said one week before Election Day that it was too late to overturn ballot-return deadlines that went past Tuesday. (In Pennsylvania, it's Friday, November 6. In North Carolina, it's Thursday, November 12.) While much national press coverage said those two rulings were Democratic victories, those assessments glossed over statements, concurrences and dissents from four conservative justices that basically said that ballots arriving after Election Day could be disqualified if a legislature didn't extend the return deadline. Newly seated Justice Amy Coney Barrett didn't participate in those cases.
In response, Pennsylvania's attorney general told the Supreme Court that the secretary of state was directing all county election officials to "segregate" all absentee ballots arriving after November 3 and through the November 6 deadline. Election law experts said that Pennsylvania's move would insulate absentee ballots arriving earlier from challenges—because late-arriving ballots would not be mixed in with those earlier batches of ballots when counted.
North Carolina's state election board is not following Pennsylvania's lead—as a precautionary measure. It issued a statement urging all voters to return absentee ballots as soon as possible, but said the final deadline was on November 12.
A day after the Supreme Court ruling in the Pennsylvania and North Carolina suits, a federal appeals court in Minnesota threw out its week-long absentee ballot-return deadline extension—issued this summer by the secretary of state as part of a legal settlement with Republicans.
"The Secretary and his respective agents… are ordered to identify, segregate, and otherwise maintain and preserve all absentee ballots," the Eighth Circuit Court's decision said, "in a manner that would allow for their respective votes [for president and vice president]… to be removed from vote totals in the event a final order is entered by a court."
Taken together, the highest rungs of the federal courts have given the Republicans an opening to seek to disqualify any late-arriving ballots in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Minnesota. (All other states with extended absentee ballot-return deadlines resulted from legislation.)
How many votes could be implicated should post-Election Day legal challenges arise? Former Oregon Secretary of State Phil Keisling, a Democrat who oversaw its shift to all-mail balloting, said that 90 percent of voters who apply to vote with absentee ballots return those ballots. According to the U.S. Elections Project, which gets its data from state election officials, as of Friday, October 30, hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots are still in play.
In North Carolina, 883,000 ballots have been returned, out of 1.45 million requested ballots, a return rate of 61 percent. Nearly 600,000 absentee ballots have not yet been received.
In Pennsylvania, 2.1 million ballots have been returned, out of 3.1 million requested ballots, a return rate of 68 percent. Nearly 985,000 absentee ballots have not yet been received.
In Minnesota, nearly 1.6 million people voted early and returned their absentee ballots. The state doesn't further break down those figures. Statewide, 1.97 million absentee ballots were requested.
While there may yet be more federal litigation before Election Day, the big picture is that the Republicans appear to be placing little stock in popular vote victories and are on track to try to win some swing states via challenging late-returning absentee ballots—and as the opening move in post-Election Day litigation. Democrats, on the other hand, are continuing to push voters to return their absentee ballots in person, vote early or vote on Election Day.
Under any scenario, it's not likely a presidential election winner would be known until later in the week—at the earliest. The U.S. Senate's majority will take longer, as some states such as Georgia are likely to see runoffs. And control of state legislatures may take longer still, if the balance comes down to a few contests where recounts are triggered.
Steven Rosenfeld is the editor and chief correspondent of Voting Booth, a project of the Independent Media Institute. He has reported for National Public Radio, Marketplace, and Christian Science Monitor Radio, as well as a wide range of progressive publications including Salon, AlterNet, the American Prospect, and many others.
This article was produced by Voting Booth, a project of the Independent Media Institute.


alternet--2020-10-30--Trump is on a final crime spree of negligent homicide

Germany and France just imposed nationwide lockdowns in response to a new wave of Covid-19 cases and deaths .
Donald Trump mocked them and refused to follow suit , even though the U.S. has more deaths per 100,000 people and record daily cases continuing to surge in 44 states .
Trump exposing Americans to death from Covid-19 is not only a reason to vote him out of office ; it also fits the definition of criminal negligent homicide .
That crime occurs when a person who is aware of the risk causes the death of another by a careless or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perform a duty .
The crime does not require an intent to cause death .
It is punishable by imprisonment for six months to ten years , depending on the state .
Trump was well aware of the risk of death from his brazen actions , omissions , and failure to fulfill his acknowledged duty to keep Americans safe .
The upward trajectory of Covid cases and deaths , now at 8.93 million and 228,000 respectively , has been a siren alerting everyone to the risk that many people would die .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Indeed , Trump admitted on February 7 that he knew Covid was a deadly threat .
Today it 's estimated that another 250,000 to 300,00 Americans will die from the virus in the coming months .
Not even President Trump , with his penchant for dismissing inconvenient facts and fake news and conspiracy theories , can claim he was or is unaware of Covid 's risk of death .
In fact , he was aware of our vulnerability to deadly pandemics even before he took office .
President Obama presented a simulation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ team and warned that the U.S. could face shortages of ventilators , anti-viral drugs , and other medical essentials .
Trump was told we would need to mount a unified national pandemic response .
Trump was also told that unless he invested more in biodefense now , we 'd pay much more in `` human and economic costs '' later .
Trump ignored those warnings and never prepared for a pandemic .
He fired Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert , who advocated strengthening our pandemic defenses , and did n't replace him until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Security Council adviser disbanded the entire U.S. pandemic response team .
As a result , we were not prepared for the onslaught of Covid-19 and suffered more deaths that we otherwise would have .
This year , the U.S. experienced such acute shortages of protective equipment that Trump had to ask to ask other countries for supplies , even while he boasted , `` We have millions of masks being done .
We have respirators .
We have ventilators . ''
Trump underplayed the virus 's risk and encouraged Americans to abandon caution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ causing additional casualties .
He predicted the death rate `` within a couple of days is going will be close to zero , '' and that the virus would `` disappear like a miracle . ''
He falsely claimed we were `` very close to a vaccine , '' and falsely assured the public that COVID-19 was `` totally under control . ''
Trump 's Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah Birx hobbled the CDC 's collection of hospital data by handing it over to a private company , despite the objections and advice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporting understated the number of reported cases – a result Trump cherished because it obfuscated the damage he 's wreaked upon America .
Trump discouraged wearing masks and social distancing , both by personal example and through his aides .
His inexperienced science adviser Scott W. Atlas claimed that masks were ineffective and that children could not contaminate others .
Many Americans believed him and chose not to wear masks or social distance , which may have added as many as 130,000 deaths .
Unlike previous Presidents , Trump failed to fulfill his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic .
President Obama coordinated a 10,000-person international team to stop Ebola in West Africa and prepared U.S. states- for a possible outbreak .
As a result only two people contracted Ebola while on American soil and neither died .
Obama also led distribution of respirators , protective masks , gowns and gloves to U.S. states to combat the H1N1 virus in 2009 .
Trump has disgracefully abandoned the global leadership role the U.S. played over seven decades in fighting infectious diseases , including Ebola , tuberculosis , malaria , yellow fever , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He also failed to meet his responsibility under the Defense Production Act , which authorizes the President to force production and distribution of materials needed in a crisis .
Instead , he admonished governors that the federal government is `` not a shipping clerk '' and that states should procure their own supplies , even while governors pleaded for national leadership .
Trump may not be the only elected official who should worry about being charged with negligent homicide .
All 24 Democratic governors and 19 of 26 Republican governors issued stay-at-home orders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , despite rising covid numbers .
State officials responsible for putting their citizens at risk are n't immune from the risk of being held criminally responsible .
Negligent homicide is a state , not a federal , crime , so Trump could not interfere with prosecutions or pardon state officials convicted of it .
They should ask themselves if currying Trump 's favor is worth the risk .
*Neil Baron is an attorney who has represented many institutions involved in the international markets and advised various parts of the federal government on economic @ @

Germany and France just imposed nationwide lockdowns in response to a new wave of Covid-19 cases and deaths. Donald Trump mocked them and refused to follow suit, even though the U.S. has more deaths per 100,000 people and record daily cases continuing to surge in 44 states. Trump exposing Americans to death from Covid-19 is not only a reason to vote him out of office; it also fits the definition of criminal negligent homicide.
That crime occurs when a person who is aware of the risk causes the death of another by a careless or reckless act, or by failure to perform a duty. The crime does not require an intent to cause death. It is punishable by imprisonment for six months to ten years, depending on the state.
Trump was well aware of the risk of death from his brazen actions, omissions, and failure to fulfill his acknowledged duty to keep Americans safe. The upward trajectory of Covid cases and deaths, now at 8.93 million and 228,000 respectively, has been a siren alerting everyone to the risk that many people would die. Even 70% of Republicans were alarmed. Indeed, Trump admitted on February 7 that he knew Covid was a deadly threat.
Today it's estimated that another 250,000 to 300,00 Americans will die from the virus in the coming months. Not even President Trump, with his penchant for dismissing inconvenient facts and fake news and conspiracy theories, can claim he was or is unaware of Covid's risk of death.
In fact, he was aware of our vulnerability to deadly pandemics even before he took office. President Obama presented a simulation of a global pandemic to Trump's transition team and warned that the U.S. could face shortages of ventilators, anti-viral drugs, and other medical essentials. Trump was told we would need to mount a unified national pandemic response. Trump was also told that unless he invested more in biodefense now, we'd pay much more in "human and economic costs" later.
Trump ignored those warnings and never prepared for a pandemic. He fired Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert, who advocated strengthening our pandemic defenses, and didn't replace him until February, 2020. Trump's National Security Council adviser disbanded the entire U.S. pandemic response team.
As a result, we were not prepared for the onslaught of Covid-19 and suffered more deaths that we otherwise would have. This year, the U.S. experienced such acute shortages of protective equipment that Trump had to ask to ask other countries for supplies, even while he boasted, "We have millions of masks being done. We have respirators. We have ventilators."
Trump underplayed the virus's risk and encouraged Americans to abandon caution while he knew it was deadly, causing additional casualties. He predicted the death rate "within a couple of days is going will be close to zero," and that the virus would "disappear like a miracle." He falsely claimed we were "very close to a vaccine," and falsely assuredthe public that COVID-19 was "totally under control."
Trump's Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Deborah Birx hobbled the CDC's collection of hospital data by handing it over to a private company, despite the objections and advice of her staff. The company's reporting understated the number of reported cases – a result Trump cherished because it obfuscated the damage he's wreaked upon America.
Trump discouraged wearing masks and social distancing, both by personal example and through his aides. His inexperienced science adviser Scott W. Atlas claimed that masks were ineffective and that children could not contaminate others. Many Americans believed him and chose not to wear masks or social distance, which may have added as many as 130,000 deaths.
Unlike previous Presidents, Trump failed to fulfill his duty to lead the fight against a pandemic. President Obama coordinated a 10,000-person international team to stop Ebola in West Africa and prepared U.S. states- for a possible outbreak. As a result only two people contracted Ebola while on American soil and neither died. Obama also led distribution of respirators, protective masks, gowns and gloves to U.S. states to combat the H1N1 virus in 2009.
Trump has disgracefully abandoned the global leadership role the U.S. played over seven decades in fighting infectious diseases, including Ebola, tuberculosis, malaria, yellow fever, AIDS, avian influenza and Zika.
He also failed to meet his responsibility under the Defense Production Act, which authorizes the President to force production and distribution of materials needed in a crisis. Instead, he admonished governors that the federal government is "not a shipping clerk" and that states should procure their own supplies, even while governors pleaded for national leadership.
Trump may not be the only elected official who should worry about being charged with negligent homicide. All 24 Democratic governors and 19 of 26 Republican governors issued stay-at-home orders, but seven GOP-controlled states never did, despite rising covid numbers. State officials responsible for putting their citizens at risk aren't immune from the risk of being held criminally responsible. Negligent homicide is a state, not a federal, crime, so Trump could not interfere with prosecutions or pardon state officials convicted of it. They should ask themselves if currying Trump's favor is worth the risk.
*Neil Baron is an attorney who has represented many institutions involved in the international markets and advised various parts of the federal government on economic issues.


alternet--2020-10-30--Horrifying video shows Philadelphia cops assaulted a family in a car — then tried to use it as propa

Horrifying video shows Philadelphia cops assaulted a family in a car — then tried to use it as propaganda

The conduct of Philadelphia police officers and the nation 's largest law enforcement association this week amounted to what one journalist called `` an extraordinary mix of police violence and disinformation , '' after it was revealed Friday that officers beat a young mother who had accidentally driven into a protest and then snatched her toddler from the car and later used his image in pro-police propaganda .
Along with several posts urging voters to support President Donald Trump , the Fraternal Order of Police on Thursday night posted a photo of a toddler who the union falsely claimed had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around barefoot '' amid the `` lawlessness '' of the fourth night of demonstrations over the killing of Walter Wallace , Jr .
But the union soon deleted the post after being confronted by the Philadelphia Inquirer and lawyers for the two-year-old boy 's mother , Rickia Young , said the officers forcibly removed the toddler from his mother 's vehicle after smashing the car 's windows and violently arresting Young after she accidentally drove into an area where protesters were being confronted by lines of riot police .
The reality of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ryan J. Reilly , offers `` a tremendously valuable lesson in why you always need to treat initial police narratives with intense skepticism .
According to attorneys Riley H. Ross III and Kevin Mincey , Young attempted to turn around immediately after she turned down a street where police were clashing with protesters Thursday night , while her son and teenage nephew were in the car with her .
While she was trying to make a three-point turn as directed by officers , the police suddenly surrounded her SUV , smashing Young 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back seat .
The police violently dragged Young out of the car , beat her with batons , and then threw her to the ground .
While Young was left with a bloodied head and badly bruised left side from the police attack and was detained and separated from her son for hours , a female police officer was photographed holding the toddler in what was later used for what Ross called `` propaganda . ''
`` Using this kid in a way to say , 'This kid was in danger and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ' when the police actually caused the danger , '' Ross told the Washington Post .
`` That little boy is terrified because of what the police did . ''
The child was also hurt during the attack and was taken to Children 's Hospital to be treated for a head injury after being reunited with his mother .
According to the Post , the family still has not been able to locate the SUV or their belongings , including the toddler 's hearing aids , which were inside .
Observers on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with filmmaker Peter Ramsey tweeting that accounts like that of Young and her child are evidence of a police force that is `` begging to be defunded . ''

The conduct of Philadelphia police officers and the nation's largest law enforcement association this week amounted to what one journalist called "an extraordinary mix of police violence and disinformation," after it was revealed Friday that officers beat a young mother who had accidentally driven into a protest and then snatched her toddler from the car and later used his image in pro-police propaganda.
Along with several posts urging voters to support President Donald Trump, the Fraternal Order of Police on Thursday night posted a photo of a toddler who the union falsely claimed had been found by Philadelphia police "wandering around barefoot" amid the "lawlessness" of the fourth night of demonstrations over the killing of Walter Wallace, Jr.
But the union soon deleted the post after being confronted by the Philadelphia Inquirer and lawyers for the two-year-old boy's mother, Rickia Young, said the officers forcibly removed the toddler from his mother's vehicle after smashing the car's windows and violently arresting Young after she accidentally drove into an area where protesters were being confronted by lines of riot police.
The reality of what the photo shows, tweeted HuffPost reporter Ryan J. Reilly, offers "a tremendously valuable lesson in why you always need to treat initial police narratives with intense skepticism.
According to attorneys Riley H. Ross III and Kevin Mincey, Young attempted to turn around immediately after she turned down a street where police were clashing with protesters Thursday night, while her son and teenage nephew were in the car with her.
While she was trying to make a three-point turn as directed by officers, the police suddenly surrounded her SUV, smashing Young's windows while the toddler sat in the back seat. The police violently dragged Young out of the car, beat her with batons, and then threw her to the ground.
A nearby resident, Aapril Rice caught the police violence on video:
While Young was left with a bloodied head and badly bruised left side from the police attack and was detained and separated from her son for hours, a female police officer was photographed holding the toddler in what was later used for what Ross called "propaganda."
"Using this kid in a way to say, 'This kid was in danger and the police were only there to save him,' when the police actually caused the danger," Ross told the Washington Post. "That little boy is terrified because of what the police did."
The child was also hurt during the attack and was taken to Children's Hospital to be treated for a head injury after being reunited with his mother. According to the Post, the family still has not been able to locate the SUV or their belongings, including the toddler's hearing aids, which were inside.
Observers on social media expressed shock at the story, with filmmaker Peter Ramsey tweeting that accounts like that of Young and her child are evidence of a police force that is "begging to be defunded."
"This is state sanctioned terror," tweeted Vox journalist Kainaz Amaria.


alternet--2020-10-30--Here's how Barack Obama is brilliantly getting under Trump's skin on the campaign trail

Former President Barack Obama is having fun and getting under Donald Trump 's skin .
Obama is campaigning for his former vice president , Joe Biden , and saying some of the things we 've all known he thought about Trump , but had to keep under wraps for the sake of the decorum and norms Trump shatters every day .
`` What 's his closing argument ?
That people are too focused on COVID ? ''
Obama said on Tuesday in Orlando .
`` He said this at one of his rallies .
'Covid , Covid , Covid , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jealous of COVID 's media coverage . ''
Obama 's speech at that event stung Trump into a tweet whining about Fox News covering it , so , yeah , Obama knows how to hit Trump where it hurts .
At another Florida rally , on Saturday , Obama listed some of Trump 's greatest hits , like suggesting bleach injections to cure coronavirus .
`` Florida Man would n't even do this stuff ! ''
Obama said .
`` Why do we accept it from the president of the United States ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ about that speech , too .
Obama is a high-profile surrogate who draws media coverage in a way few others would .
He is a great speaker .
And he has another advantage : One traditional role of a vice presidential nominee is to serve as an attack dog , dealing out the hard hits a presidential candidate ca n't .
Sen. Kamala Harris , though , would face outsized backlash if she did that on a regular basis , since she 's a woman—a Black woman .
Obama is taking over that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Biden 's unity-focused theme .
And Obama is using some of the political capital he accumulated through more than a decade now of preternatural control of the anger he has to have felt at the racism he 's faced throughout his career and at Trump 's systematic efforts to dismantle his legacy , and allowing himself to show some of that anger , in carefully controlled doses .
For years , Obama had to work to deny anyone the chance to stick `` angry Black man '' stereotypes on him , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who he is by now , we know how much it takes to get him to show anything but cool , calm control , and a little bit of anger showing through the sardonic mockery and the disbelieving tone at Trump 's failures is now going to work for him , not against him .
And boy does it enrage Trump .

Former President Barack Obama is having fun and getting under Donald Trump's skin. Obama is campaigning for his former vice president, Joe Biden, and saying some of the things we've all known he thought about Trump, but had to keep under wraps for the sake of the decorum and norms Trump shatters every day.
"What's his closing argument? That people are too focused on COVID?" Obama said on Tuesday in Orlando. "He said this at one of his rallies. 'Covid, Covid, Covid,' he's complained. He's jealous of COVID's media coverage." Obama's speech at that event stung Trump into a tweet whining about Fox News covering it, so, yeah, Obama knows how to hit Trump where it hurts.
At another Florida rally, on Saturday, Obama listed some of Trump's greatest hits, like suggesting bleach injections to cure coronavirus. "Florida Man wouldn't even do this stuff!" Obama said. "Why do we accept it from the president of the United States?"
And yeah, Trump immediately tweeted about that speech, too.
Obama is a high-profile surrogate who draws media coverage in a way few others would. He is a great speaker. And he has another advantage: One traditional role of a vice presidential nominee is to serve as an attack dog, dealing out the hard hits a presidential candidate can't. Sen. Kamala Harris, though, would face outsized backlash if she did that on a regular basis, since she's a woman—a Black woman. Obama is taking over that role while Harris meshes her tone more with Biden's unity-focused theme.
And Obama is using some of the political capital he accumulated through more than a decade now of preternatural control of the anger he has to have felt at the racism he's faced throughout his career and at Trump's systematic efforts to dismantle his legacy, and allowing himself to show some of that anger, in carefully controlled doses. For years, Obama had to work to deny anyone the chance to stick "angry Black man" stereotypes on him, and he did that work. We know who he is by now, we know how much it takes to get him to show anything but cool, calm control, and a little bit of anger showing through the sardonic mockery and the disbelieving tone at Trump's failures is now going to work for him, not against him.
And boy does it enrage Trump.


alternet--2020-10-30--Here's why the most determined tracker of Trump's lies finally had to give up

At CNN , President Donald Trump has had a very aggressive and tireless fact-checker in Daniel Dale — who , time and time again , has called out the president 's lies and distortions .
The Canadian reporter discussed his fact-checking of Trump during a Q & A interview with the Los Angeles Times , noting that Trump lies so much that keeping up with all the lies has been a never-ending task .
Friday on Twitter , Dale tweeted the Times ' article and posted , `` So ... in September , I had to abandon my 3.75-year count @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he 's talking so much and telling so many important lies that I do n't have the time to research all the little ones .
It was fun while it lasted .
( No it was n't . )
'' The Times ' Meredith Blake notes that Dale 's fact-checking of Trump started in 2016 , when he was a Washington , D.C. correspondent for the Toronto Star .
On September 21 , 2016 , progressive activist and filmmaker Michael Moore praised Dale for fact-checking Trump so thoroughly , writing , `` This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Toronto Star , lists all the lies that Donald Trump spoke that day .
Shames the US media . ''
Blake asked Dale , `` What 's the tally of Trump 's false claims as of right now ? ''
— to which he responded , `` I do n't know because I 've fallen behind during the campaign .
I had to make a decision to stop updating over the last month and just focus on the big stuff .
Because the president is talking so much — just the sheer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large , and so many of them are false that if I tried to keep up comprehensively as I have for the past four years , I would n't have found time to write the most important stories about the most egregious stuff he 's saying .
So , I 've had to make an executive decision to put it on hold for now .
My tally for his presidency is over 9,000 false claims . ''
Blake asked Dale if there was a `` most egregious '' lie from Trump that stood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , `` Some of the claims of the pandemic I would put on the most egregious list .
The claim that it 's disappearing , which he 's made 40-plus times since February .
This is a national crisis where millions of people respond to the president 's words , and he 's constantly reassuring them , 'It 's fine , it 's going away ' — and it is just not .
The other claim he 's emphasized this week is that the increase in cases is simply a result of more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just not true . ''
When Blake asked Dale how effective fact-checking is at a time when politics in the U.S. are `` so polarized '' and there is so much `` disinformation on social media , '' he responded , `` I feel that there are obvious limitations to our work , and there are people we can not currently reach .
That 's just a fact .
There are people who will never click on a CNN article or never watch CNN… .
My role is to put as much factual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and what people do with that is up to them . ''

At CNN, President Donald Trump has had a very aggressive and tireless fact-checker in Daniel Dale — who, time and time again, has called out the president's lies and distortions. The Canadian reporter discussed his fact-checking of Trump during a Q&A interview with the Los Angeles Times, noting that Trump lies so much that keeping up with all the lies has been a never-ending task.
Friday on Twitter, Dale tweeted the Times' article and posted, "So...in September, I had to abandon my 3.75-year count of every Trump false claim. Because he's talking so much and telling so many important lies that I don't have the time to research all the little ones. It was fun while it lasted. (No it wasn't.)"
The Times' Meredith Blake notes that Dale's fact-checking of Trump started in 2016, when he was a Washington, D.C. correspondent for the Toronto Star. On September 21, 2016, progressive activist and filmmaker Michael Moore praised Dale for fact-checking Trump so thoroughly, writing, "This Canadian journalist, every single day in the Toronto Star, lists all the lies that Donald Trump spoke that day. Shames the US media."
Blake asked Dale, "What's the tally of Trump's false claims as of right now?" — to which he responded, "I don't know because I've fallen behind during the campaign. I had to make a decision to stop updating over the last month and just focus on the big stuff. Because the president is talking so much — just the sheer volume of words right now is very large, and so many of them are false that if I tried to keep up comprehensively as I have for the past four years, I wouldn't have found time to write the most important stories about the most egregious stuff he's saying. So, I've had to make an executive decision to put it on hold for now. My tally for his presidency is over 9,000 false claims."
Blake asked Dale if there was a "most egregious" lie from Trump that stood out the most, and he replied, "Some of the claims of the pandemic I would put on the most egregious list. The claim that it's disappearing, which he's made 40-plus times since February. This is a national crisis where millions of people respond to the president's words, and he's constantly reassuring them, 'It's fine, it's going away' — and it is just not. The other claim he's emphasized this week is that the increase in cases is simply a result of more tests being done, and that's just not true."
When Blake asked Dale how effective fact-checking is at a time when politics in the U.S. are "so polarized" and there is so much "disinformation on social media," he responded, "I feel that there are obvious limitations to our work, and there are people we cannot currently reach. That's just a fact. There are people who will never click on a CNN article or never watch CNN…. My role is to put as much factual information out there as I can, and what people do with that is up to them."


alternet--2020-10-30--Republican judges are stomping on their own espoused values to defend Donald Trump's lies

I 'm tired .
I 'm sure you are , too .
The upside is there 's only five days to go until Election Day .
The downside is those five days are going to age all of us by a decade .
Making the hours crawl by even more is a series of federal court cases making it clear that Republican jurists are inventing law to stop citizens from voting or to invalidate their votes .
There may be a time , perhaps sooner than you think , for unorthodox politics .
When it comes to legal theory , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here and here ) .
Correct me if I 'm wrong , but this is how I see things .
`` Conservative '' federal jurists ( note the quotes ) are sticking their noses where they do n't belong .
It 's one thing for them to overturn a state law violating the US Constitution .
It 's another to overturn a state Supreme Court 's interpretation of state law according to that state 's constitution .
That 's what happened with Pennsylvania , North Carolina and Minnesota .
`` Conservative '' jurists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supreme Court , overruled court-ordered extensions of mail-in deadlines .
My friend , if this looks like a betrayal of conservatism , that 's because it is .
It gets worse .
Justices appeared to accept as true a jaw-dropping lie , which is that tinkering with election deadlines somehow compromises the integrity of the vote .
The extensions , of course , are entirely reasonable .
We are smack in the middle of a covid pandemic .
More than 234,000 Americans are dead .
Infections are spiking , especially in rural and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new cases Thursday alone , according to data from Johns Hopkins . )
Easing deadlines is what you 'd expect from state officials honoring the letter and the spirit of their state constitutions .
Yet Justice Neil Gorsuch questioned whether the pandemic were a true `` natural disaster '' ( a criteria for extensions ) .
Justice Samuel Alito said Pennsylvania 's election will be `` conducted under a cloud . ''
Officials should , therefore , throw away votes received after Election Day .
What 's going on seems pretty straightforward .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` voter fraud . ''
It 's the only thing , Donald Trump says , that will make him lose to Joe Biden .
The only outcome he will accept , therefore , is victory .
This is not only extortion ( vote for me or say goodbye to a peaceful transfer of power ) , it is extortion based on a whopper .
Voter fraud on the scale he suggests is fictional .
When it happens , it 's in dribs and drabs , not anywhere close to wholesale .
( When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters committing the crime . )
And yet the president keeps lying , and now , evidently , Republican jurists are listening .
By accepting as true a categorical falsehood , they make the lie real .
( Their rulings , after all , constitute the common law . )
By overturning a state court 's interpretation of state law , they push the Big Lie all the way down to the level of local affairs .
Dear Leader 's Big Lie is everyone else 's Big Reality .
My friend , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that 's because it is .
Some might look at this and despair .
Do n't .
There 's plenty we can do .
This is a time for unorthodox politics , creative thinking , and moral guts .
For me , I 'd suggest Democratic secretaries of states ( the elected officials ultimately responsible for elections in their states ) ignore federal court orders .
Keep counting votes pursuant to state election law or state court rulings .
Count the votes as a form of civil disobedience .
Count the votes as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ votes in order to honor the obligations of elected officials to state residents .
Count the votes in defense of states rights .
North Carolina , Pennsylvania and Minnesota all have Democratic secretaries of state .
They should all risk being held in contempt .
Our republican democracy demands no less .
I 'm not encouraging lawlessness .
I 'll cite Martin Luther King , Jr. 's `` Letter from a Birmingham Jail . ''
In it , he said : `` In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That would lead to anarchy .
One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly , lovingly , and with a willingness to accept the penalty .
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust , and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice , is in reality expressing the highest respect for law . ''
My suggestion is , in reality , expressing the highest respect of a state 's sovereignty , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't just stomping federalism .
They are making state elected officials complicit in the disenfranchisement of their constituents .
State residents , if they choose to , would be right in punishing the complicit .
If you 're going to err in a republican democracy , do you err on the side of judges or the side of the people ?
That 's a moral as well as a legal question .
The answer should be plain .

I'm tired. I'm sure you are, too. The upside is there's only five days to go until Election Day. The downside is those five days are going to age all of us by a decade. Making the hours crawl by even more is a series of federal court cases making it clear that Republican jurists are inventing law to stop citizens from voting or to invalidate their votes. There may be a time, perhaps sooner than you think, for unorthodox politics.
When it comes to legal theory, I defer to authorities (here, here and here). Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is how I see things. "Conservative" federal jurists (note the quotes) are sticking their noses where they don't belong. It's one thing for them to overturn a state law violating the US Constitution. It's another to overturn a state Supreme Court'sinterpretation of state law according to that state's constitution. That's what happened with Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Minnesota. "Conservative" jurists, including five sitting on the US Supreme Court, overruled court-ordered extensions of mail-in deadlines. My friend, if this looks like a betrayal of conservatism, that's because it is.
It gets worse. Justices appeared to accept as true a jaw-dropping lie, which is that tinkering with election deadlines somehow compromises the integrity of the vote. The extensions, of course, are entirely reasonable. We are smack in the middle of a covid pandemic. More than 234,000 Americans are dead. Infections are spiking, especially in rural and swing states. (There were 88,521 new cases Thursday alone, according to data from Johns Hopkins.) Easing deadlines is what you'd expect from state officials honoring the letter and the spirit of their state constitutions. Yet Justice Neil Gorsuch questioned whether the pandemic were a true "natural disaster" (a criteria for extensions). Justice Samuel Alito said Pennsylvania's election will be "conducted under a cloud." Officials should, therefore, throw away votes received after Election Day.
What's going on seems pretty straightforward. The president has been yammering nonstop about "voter fraud." It's the only thing, Donald Trump says, that will make him lose to Joe Biden. The only outcome he will accept, therefore, is victory. This is not only extortion (vote for me or say goodbye to a peaceful transfer of power), it is extortion based on a whopper. Voter fraud on the scale he suggests is fictional. When it happens, it's in dribs and drabs, not anywhere close to wholesale. (When it happens, it's often Republican voters committing the crime.) And yet the president keeps lying, and now, evidently, Republican jurists are listening. By accepting as true a categorical falsehood, they make the lie real. (Their rulings, after all, constitute the common law.) By overturning a state court's interpretation of state law, they push the Big Lie all the way down to the level of local affairs. Dear Leader's Big Lie is everyone else's Big Reality. My friend, if this looks like what authoritarians do, that's because it is.
Some might look at this and despair. Don't. There's plenty we can do. This is a time for unorthodox politics, creative thinking, and moral guts. For me, I'd suggest Democratic secretaries of states (the elected officials ultimately responsible for elections in their states) ignore federal court orders. Keep counting votes pursuant to state election law or state court rulings. Count the votes as a form of civil disobedience. Count the votes as an expression of patriotism. Count the votes in order to honor the obligations of elected officials to state residents. Count the votes in defense of states rights. North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Minnesota all have Democratic secretaries of state. They should all risk being held in contempt. Our republican democracy demands no less.
I'm not encouraging lawlessness. I'll cite Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." In it, he said: "In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law."
My suggestion is, in reality, expressing the highest respect of a state's sovereignty, too. Remember the Republican jurists aren't just stomping federalism. They are making state elected officials complicit in the disenfranchisement of their constituents. State residents, if they choose to, would be right in punishing the complicit. If you're going to err in a republican democracy, do you err on the side of judges or the side of the people? That's a moral as well as a legal question. The answer should be plain.


alternet--2020-10-30--Donald Trump Jr. showed his true colors when caught in a disgusting lie about COVID-19 deaths

This week , Dr. Anthony Fauci — discussing recent coronavirus surges in the United States and fears that the pandemic could become even worse this winter — warned , `` There 's going to be a whole lot of pain in this country . ''
But despite the warnings of Fauci and other medical experts , Donald Trump , Jr. has downplayed the severity of the autumn surge .
And on Thursday — a day in which almost 1000 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S. and a record of near 90,000 people tested positive for it — the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ count has fallen to `` almost nothing . ''
During an appearance on Fox News ' `` The Ingraham Angle '' on Thursday night , Trump , Jr. told far-right host Laura Ingraham , `` I went through the ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ) data because I kept hearing about new infections , but I was like , 'Well , why are n't they talking about deaths ? '
Oh , oh , because the number is almost nothing .
Because we 've gotten control of this thing .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the therapeutics to be able to deal with this . ''
Trump , Jr. insisted that the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. had `` gone to almost nothing . ''
And he ridiculed Democrats who continue to stress the importance of social distancing , saying , `` Why do n't we shut down for 10 or 15 years ? ''
President Donald Trump 's son , not surprisingly , did n't say anything about how overwhelmed hospitals are becoming in many parts of the U.S. because of all the new COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News aired a segment on the challenges that some hospitals are having staying on top of the surge — and an ICU nurse at St. Vincent Health Care in Billings , Montana said , `` It 's been shocking to me how fast it 's accelerated in the last couple weeks . ''
When the nurse was asked how close the hospital was to being `` at capacity , '' she replied , `` We 're close .
We 're very close .
We can find beds , but it 's probably going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients . ''
NBC News ' Rebecca Shabad noted that Johns Hopkins University reported on Thursday that almost 1,000 people died from COVID-19 — far more than `` almost nothing '' in single day .
According to the university , the COVID-19 death count had passed 229,000 in the U.S. by Friday afternoon and more than 1.1 million worldwide .

This week, Dr. Anthony Fauci — discussing recent coronavirus surges in the United States and fears that the pandemic could become even worse this winter — warned, "There's going to be a whole lot of pain in this country." But despite the warnings of Fauci and other medical experts, Donald Trump, Jr. has downplayed the severity of the autumn surge. And on Thursday — a day in which almost 1000 people died from COVID-19 in the U.S. and a record of near 90,000 people tested positive for it — the president's son claimed that the COVID-19 death count has fallen to "almost nothing."
During an appearance on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" on Thursday night, Trump, Jr. told far-right host Laura Ingraham, "I went through the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) data because I kept hearing about new infections, but I was like, 'Well, why aren't they talking about deaths?' Oh, oh, because the number is almost nothing. Because we've gotten control of this thing. We understand how it works. They have the therapeutics to be able to deal with this."
Trump, Jr. insisted that the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. had "gone to almost nothing." And he ridiculed Democrats who continue to stress the importance of social distancing, saying, "Why don't we shut down for 10 or 15 years?"
President Donald Trump's son, not surprisingly, didn't say anything about how overwhelmed hospitals are becoming in many parts of the U.S. because of all the new COVID-19 patients. That same Thursday, NBC News aired a segment on the challenges that some hospitals are having staying on top of the surge — and an ICU nurse at St. Vincent Health Care in Billings, Montana said, "It's been shocking to me how fast it's accelerated in the last couple weeks." When the nurse was asked how close the hospital was to being "at capacity," she replied, "We're close. We're very close. We can find beds, but it's probably going to be at the expense of non-COVID patients."
NBC News' Rebecca Shabad noted that Johns Hopkins University reported on Thursday that almost 1,000 people died from COVID-19 — far more than "almost nothing" in single day. According to the university, the COVID-19 death count had passed 229,000 in the U.S. by Friday afternoon and more than 1.1 million worldwide.


alternet--2020-10-30--Steve Bannon's darkest plot yet is starting to implode

During the final days of President Donald Trump 's reelection campaign , former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has been desperately fighting to remain relevant in Trumpworld .
Bannon 's ideas for getting Trump reelected range from firing FBI Director Christopher Wray to smearing former Vice President Joe Biden 's son , Hunter Biden .
And in his desperation , Bannon has even been attacking major Trump allies like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani , Attorney General William Barr and former New Jersey Gov .
Chris Christie .
Vice 's Emanuel Maiberg is reporting that `` a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to show Hunter Biden having sex are going viral on a Chinese-language news and video sharing website '' co-founded by Bannon .
Maiberg notes that `` the videos are often narrated by users in English with a Chinese accent , and claim that the explicit photos and videos of Hunter Biden are proof that he 's compromised by the Chinese government . ''
So far , however , efforts by Bannon and Giuliani to smear Hunter Biden have n't made a difference in the presidential election .
And even the far-right Sen. Ted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Swan that the e-mails and videos on a hard drive allegedly belonging to the former vice president 's son are n't having an impact .
Cruz told Swan , `` I do n't think it moves a single voter . ''
Reporter Madeline Peltz describes Bannon 's recent attacks on fellow Trump supporters in an article published by Media Matters this week .
`` Poor Steve Bannon , '' Peltz writes .
`` As the Hunter Biden hard drive story is lowered into the grave of failed October surprises , he 's run @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' into the election media cycle .
Having failed to recreate his media manipulation successes of 2016 , the former White House chief strategist is melting down and attacking his would-be allies . ''
Peltz notes how obsessed Bannon has been with getting Wray fired as FBI director .
On October 25 in Axios , Swan and his colleague Alayna Treene reported that Trump , according to sources , plans to fire Wray as well as CIA Director Gina Haspel and Defense Secretary Mark Esper if he is reelected .
But as Bannon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after Wray aggressively enough — and he wants to see Wray fired right away , not after the election .
`` In the past few days , '' according to Pentz , Bannon has `` lambasted Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani , Attorney General William Barr and even Donald Trump himself — calling them 'weak ' for not pushing for , or bringing about , the immediate firing of FBI Director Christopher Wray . ''
Trump has clearly been increasing angry with Wray in recent months , stemming from disagreements over multiple issues .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wray has n't gone after the president 's political enemies , has emphasized the serious threats of right-wing violence and white supremacy , diminished the significance of antifa and left-wing violence , and failed to provide support for Republicans ' attacks on the integrity of mail-in voting .
The contents of a hard drive that supposedly belonged to Hunter Biden were first reported by the New York Post , and Bannon and Giuliani collaborated on that story .
But Bannon , according to Peltz , has lashed out at Giuliani for not being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ October 29 , '' Peltz reports , `` Bannon attacked Giuliani even though they 've been working together to launder the bogus story that first appeared in the New York Post , calling him 'one of the weak guys around ' Trump . ''
In a transcript of that October 29 conversation , according to Peltz , Bannon declared , `` Wray must be fired this morning '' — and Giuliani agreed with firing Wray , but not until after the election .
Bannon , in response , told Giuliani , `` You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him .
You 're getting weak on me , Rudy .
No , you 're weak .
You sort of sound like Chris ; you spent too much time with Chris Christie .
You 're getting weak . ''
Bannon also slammed Barr as `` another weak link in this chain . ''
In an October 29 broadcast of `` War Room , '' Bannon ranted against Wray as well as Trump allies who he believes have n't done enough to get him fired .
`` Fire him today , '' Bannon declared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show weakness — the president is showing weakness by waiting .
There 's not one person in this country , not one voter that will not vote for you by firing Wray .
And do n't let the weak people around you convince you of that .
Be strong , be who you are , be what your presidency is about . ''

During the final days of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has been desperately fighting to remain relevant in Trumpworld. Bannon's ideas for getting Trump reelected range from firing FBI Director Christopher Wray to smearing former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. And in his desperation, Bannon has even been attacking major Trump allies like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Attorney General William Barr and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Vice's Emanuel Maiberg is reporting that "a series of videos and photos which appear to show Hunter Biden having sex are going viral on a Chinese-language news and video sharing website" co-founded by Bannon. Maiberg notes that "the videos are often narrated by users in English with a Chinese accent, and claim that the explicit photos and videos of Hunter Biden are proof that he's compromised by the Chinese government."
So far, however, efforts by Bannon and Giuliani to smear Hunter Biden haven't made a difference in the presidential election. And even the far-right Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told Axios' Jonathan Swan that the e-mails and videos on a hard drive allegedly belonging to the former vice president's son aren't having an impact. Cruz told Swan, "I don't think it moves a single voter."
Reporter Madeline Peltz describes Bannon's recent attacks on fellow Trump supporters in an article published by Media Matters this week.
"Poor Steve Bannon," Peltz writes. "As the Hunter Biden hard drive story is lowered into the grave of failed October surprises, he's run out of options to insert his 'influence' into the election media cycle. Having failed to recreate his media manipulation successes of 2016, the former White House chief strategist is melting down and attacking his would-be allies."
Peltz notes how obsessed Bannon has been with getting Wray fired as FBI director. On October 25 in Axios, Swan and his colleague Alayna Treene reported that Trump, according to sources, plans to fire Wray as well as CIA Director Gina Haspel and Defense Secretary Mark Esper if he is reelected. But as Bannon sees it, Trumpworld isn't going after Wray aggressively enough — and he wants to see Wray fired right away, not after the election.
"In the past few days," according to Pentz, Bannon has "lambasted Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Attorney General William Barr and even Donald Trump himself — calling them 'weak' for not pushing for, or bringing about, the immediate firing of FBI Director Christopher Wray."
Trump has clearly been increasing angry with Wray in recent months, stemming from disagreements over multiple issues. Most notably, Trump is outraged that Wray hasn't gone after the president's political enemies, has emphasized the serious threats of right-wing violence and white supremacy, diminished the significance of antifa and left-wing violence, and failed to provide support for Republicans' attacks on the integrity of mail-in voting.
The contents of a hard drive that supposedly belonged to Hunter Biden were first reported by the New York Post, and Bannon and Giuliani collaborated on that story. But Bannon, according to Peltz, has lashed out at Giuliani for not being hard enough on Wray.
"On October 29," Peltz reports, "Bannon attacked Giuliani even though they've been working together to launder the bogus story that first appeared in the New York Post, calling him 'one of the weak guys around' Trump."
In a transcript of that October 29 conversation, according to Peltz, Bannon declared, "Wray must be fired this morning" — and Giuliani agreed with firing Wray, but not until after the election. Bannon, in response, told Giuliani, "You're one of the weak guys around him. You're getting weak on me, Rudy. No, you're weak. You sort of sound like Chris; you spent too much time with Chris Christie. You're getting weak."
Bannon also slammed Barr as "another weak link in this chain."
In an October 29 broadcast of "War Room," Bannon ranted against Wray as well as Trump allies who he believes haven't done enough to get him fired.
"Fire him today," Bannon declared. "Do not wait. You show weakness — the president is showing weakness by waiting. There's not one person in this country, not one voter that will not vote for you by firing Wray. And don't let the weak people around you convince you of that. Be strong, be who you are, be what your presidency is about."