alternet--2020-12-31--Trump’s racism kills 1 in 1,000 Americans

Covid has now killed 1 in 1000 Americans in less than a year .
How is it that in Australia it 's 3 out of every 100,000 people , and in New Zealand it 's 1 out of every 200,000 people , but here in America we 're dropping like flies ?
Chalk it up to Republican racism and a libertarian indifference to the notion of society .
Trump 's official emergency declaration came on March 11th , and most of the country shut down or at least went part-way toward that outcome .
The Dow collapsed and millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lives was , after all , the number one consideration .
Trump put medical doctors on TV daily , the media was freaking out about refrigerated trucks carrying bodies away from New York hospitals , and doctors and nurses were our new national heroes .
And then came April 7th .
I remember that week vividly ; it was as if a light switch had been flipped , and I commented on it on my radio show at the time ( and many times since ) .
April 7th was the day that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who were dying from COVID19 were either elderly , black or Hispanic .
Not so many white guys , after all .
Exactly one month earlier , on March 7th , Trump had played golf at his club in West Palm Beach , met with Brazilian strongman Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-a-Lago , and visited the CDC headquarters in Atlanta .
Over the previous week , US deaths had risen from 4 to 22 .
In March , Jared Kushner even put together an all-volunteer task force of mostly preppie 20-something white men @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Then came April 7th , when the New York Times ran a front-page story with the headline : Black Americans Face Alarming Rates of Coronavirus Infection in Some States .
Other media ran similar headlines across the American media landscape , and it was heavily reported on cable news and the network news that night .
As the New York Times noted that day : `` In Illinois , 43 percent of people who have died from the disease and 28 percent of those who have tested positive are African-Americans , a group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state 's population .
African-Americans , who account for a third of positive tests in Michigan , represent 40 percent of deaths in that state even though they make up 14 percent of the population .
In Louisiana , about 70 percent of the people who have died are black , though only a third of that state 's population is . ''
American conservatives responded with a collective , `` What the hell ?
!
? ''
Limbaugh declared that afternoon that `` with the coronavirus , I have been waiting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here it was .
`` The coronavirus now hits African Americans harder – harder than illegal aliens , harder than women .
It hits African Americans harder than anybody , disproportionate representation . ''
Claiming that he knew this was coming as if he was some sort of a medical savant , Limbaugh said , `` But now these — here 's Fauxcahontas , Cory Booker , Kamala Harris demanding the federal government release daily race and ethnicity data on coronavirus testing , patients , and their health outcomes .
So they want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caring enough about African Americans… '' It did n't take a medical savant , of course .
African Americans die disproportionately from everything , from heart disease to strokes to cancer to childbirth .
It 's a symptom of a racially rigged economy and a healthcare system that only responds to money , which America has conspired to keep from African Americans for over 400 years .
Of course they 're going to die more frequently from coronavirus .
But the New York Times and the Washington Post simultaneously publishing front-page articles about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both on April 7th , echoed across the rightwing media landscape like a Fourth of July fireworks display .
Tucker Carlson , the only primetime Fox News host who 'd previously expressed serious concerns about the death toll , changed his tune the same day , as documented by Media Matters for America .
Now , he said , `` we can begin to consider how to improve the lives of the rest , the countless Americans who have been grievously hurt by this , by our response to this .
How do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vulnerable citizens back to work ?
That 's our task . ''
White people were out of work , and black people were most of the casualties , outside of the extremely elderly .
And those white people need their jobs back !
Brit Hume joined Tucker 's show and , using his gravitas as a `` real news guy , '' intoned , `` The disease turned out not to be quite as dangerous as we thought . ''
Left unsaid was the issue of to whom it was `` not quite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Fox viewers are anything but unsophisticated when it hearing dog-whistles on behalf of white supremacy .
Only 12,677 Americans were dead by that day , but now that we knew most of the non-elderly were black , things were suddenly very , very different .
Now it was time to quit talking about people dying and start talking about getting people back to work !
It took less than a week for Trump to get the memo , presumably through Fox and Stephen Miller .
On April 12th , he retweeted a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declared , in another tweet , that he had the sole authority to open the US back up , and that he 'd be announcing a specific plan to do just that `` shortly . ''
On April 13th , the ultra-rightwing , nearly-entirely-white-managed US Chamber of Commerce published a policy paper titled Implementing A National Return to Work Plan .
Unspoken but big on the agenda of corporate America was the desire to get the states to rescind their stay-home-from-work orders so that companies could cut their unemployment tax costs .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are ultimately paid by the companies themselves , so when a company has a lot of claims they get a substantial increase in their unemployment insurance premiums/taxes .
If the `` stay home '' orders were repealed , workers could no longer , in most states , file for or keep receiving unemployment compensation .
The next day , Freedomworks , the billionaire-founded and -funded group that animated the Tea Party against Obamacare a decade earlier , published an op-ed on their website calling for an `` economic recovery '' program including an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new law to `` shield '' businesses from lawsuits .
Three days after that , Freedomworks and the House Freedom Caucus issued a joint statement declaring that `` [ I ] t 's time to re-open the economy . ''
Freedomworks published their `` # ReopenAmerica Rally Planning Guide '' encouraging conservatives to show up `` in person '' at their state capitols and governor 's mansions , and , for signage , to `` Keep it short : ' I 'm essential , ' 'Let me work , ' 'Let Me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Keep [ the signs looking ] homemade . ''
One of the first # OpenTheCountry rallies to get widespread national attention was April 19th in New Hampshire .
Over the next several weeks , rallies had metastasized across the nation , from Oregon to Arizona , Delaware , North Carolina , Virginia , Illinois and elsewhere .
One that drew particularly high levels of media attention , complete with swastikas , confederate flags and assault rifles was directed against the governor of Michigan , rising Democratic star Gretchen Whitmer .
When Rachel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ epicenters of mass infection , the conservative Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court pointed out that the virus flare was n't coming from the `` regular folks '' of the surrounding community ; they were mostly Hispanic and Black .
The conservative meme was now well established .
About a third of the people the virus killed were old folks in nursing homes .
Which , commentators on the right said , could be a good thing for the economy because they 're just `` useless eaters '' who spend our Medicaid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death 's door anyway .
For example , Texas 's Republican Lt .
Governor Dan Patrick told Fox News , `` Let 's get back to living ... And those of us that are 70-plus , we 'll take care of ourselves . ''
A conservative town commissioner in Antioch , CA noted that losing many elderly `` would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System…and free up housing… '' He added , `` We would lose a large portion of the people with immune and other health complications .
I know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But that would once again reduce our impact on medical , jobs and housing . ''
Then came news that the biggest outbreaks were happening in prisons along with the meatpacking plants , places with few white people ( and the few whites in them were largely poor and thus disposable ) .
Trump 's response to this was to issue an executive order using the Defense Production Act ( which he had refused to use to order production of testing or PPE equipment ) to order the largely Hispanic and Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ processing plants .
African Americans were dying in our cities , Hispanics were dying in meatpacking plants , the elderly were dying in nursing homes .
But the death toll among white people , particularly affluent white people in corporate management who were less likely to be obese , have hypertension or struggle with diabetes , and more likely to work from home was relatively low .
And those who came through the infection were presumed to be immune to subsequent bouts , so we could issue them `` COVID Passports '' and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` expert '' member of Jared Kushner 's team of young , unqualified volunteers supervising the administration 's PPE response to the virus noted to Vanity Fair 's Katherine Eban , `` The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states , that they could blame those governors , and that would be an effective political strategy . ''
It was , after all , exclusively Blue states that were then hit hard by the virus : Washington , New York , New Jersey and Connecticut .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jr , 26 , was one of the volunteers and blew the whistle to Congress on Kushner and Trump .
As Jane Mayer wrote for The New Yorker , `` Kennedy was disgusted to see that the political appointees who supervised him were hailing Trump as ' a marketing genius , ' because , Kennedy said they 'd told him , 'he personally came up with the strategy of blaming the states . '
'' So the answer to the question of why , at year 's end , the United States has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid deaths , but only 4.5 % of the world 's population , is pretty straightforward : Republicans were just fine with Black people dying back in April , particularly since they could blame it on Democratic Blue-state governors .
And once they put that strategy into place in April , it became politically impossible to back away from it , even as more and more red-state white people became infected .
Everything since then – right down to Trump 's December 26th tweet ( `` The lockdowns in Democrat-run states are absolutely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - Far more than the damage that would be caused by the China Virus . ''
) – has been a double-down on death and destruction , now regardless of race .
Thom Hartmann is America 's number one progressive talk-show host and the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden History of American Oligarchy and more than 30 other books in print .
His online writings are compiled at HartmannReport.com .
He is a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute .
This article was produced by Economy for All , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Covid has now killed 1 in 1000 Americans in less than a year.
How is it that in Australia it's 3 out of every 100,000 people, and in New Zealand it's 1 out of every 200,000 people, but here in America we're dropping like flies?
Chalk it up to Republican racism and a libertarian indifference to the notion of society.
Trump's official emergency declaration came on March 11th, and most of the country shut down or at least went part-way toward that outcome. The Dow collapsed and millions of Americans were laid off, but saving lives was, after all, the number one consideration.
Trump put medical doctors on TV daily, the media was freaking out about refrigerated trucks carrying bodies away from New York hospitals, and doctors and nurses were our new national heroes.
And then came April 7th.
I remember that week vividly; it was as if a light switch had been flipped, and I commented on it on my radio show at the time (and many times since).
April 7th was the day that America learned that the majority of the people who were dying from COVID19 were either elderly, black or Hispanic. Not so many white guys, after all.
Exactly one month earlier, on March 7th, Trump had played golf at his club in West Palm Beach, met with Brazilian strongman Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-a-Lago, and visited the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. Over the previous week, US deaths had risen from 4 to 22.
In March, Jared Kushner even put together an all-volunteer task force of mostly preppie 20-something white men to coordinate getting PPE to hospitals.
Then came April 7th, when the New York Times ran a front-page story with the headline: Black Americans Face Alarming Rates of Coronavirus Infection in Some States. Other media ran similar headlines across the American media landscape, and it was heavily reported on cable news and the network news that night.
As the New York Times noted that day: "In Illinois, 43 percent of people who have died from the disease and 28 percent of those who have tested positive are African-Americans, a group that makes up just 15 percent of the state's population. African-Americans, who account for a third of positive tests in Michigan, represent 40 percent of deaths in that state even though they make up 14 percent of the population. In Louisiana, about 70 percent of the people who have died are black, though only a third of that state's population is."
American conservatives responded with a collective, "What the hell?!?"
Limbaugh declared that afternoon that "with the coronavirus, I have been waiting for the racial component." And here it was. "The coronavirus now hits African Americans harder – harder than illegal aliens, harder than women. It hits African Americans harder than anybody, disproportionate representation."
Claiming that he knew this was coming as if he was some sort of a medical savant, Limbaugh said, "But now these — here's Fauxcahontas, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris demanding the federal government release daily race and ethnicity data on coronavirus testing, patients, and their health outcomes. So they want a database to prove we are not caring enough about African Americans…"
It didn't take a medical savant, of course. African Americans die disproportionately from everything, from heart disease to strokes to cancer to childbirth. It's a symptom of a racially rigged economy and a healthcare system that only responds to money, which America has conspired to keep from African Americans for over 400 years. Of course they're going to die more frequently from coronavirus.
But the New York Times and the Washington Post simultaneously publishing front-page articles about that disparity with regard to COVID19, both on April 7th, echoed across the rightwing media landscape like a Fourth of July fireworks display.
Tucker Carlson, the only primetime Fox News host who'd previously expressed serious concerns about the death toll, changed his tune the same day, as documented by Media Matters for America.
Now, he said, "we can begin to consider how to improve the lives of the rest, the countless Americans who have been grievously hurt by this, by our response to this. How do we get 17 million of our most vulnerable citizens back to work? That's our task."
White people were out of work, and black people were most of the casualties, outside of the extremely elderly. And those white people need their jobs back!
Brit Hume joined Tucker's show and, using his gravitas as a "real news guy," intoned, "The disease turned out not to be quite as dangerous as we thought."
Left unsaid was the issue of to whom it was "not quite as dangerous," but Limbaugh listeners and Fox viewers are anything but unsophisticated when it hearing dog-whistles on behalf of white supremacy.
Only 12,677 Americans were dead by that day, but now that we knew most of the non-elderly were black, things were suddenly very, very different. Now it was time to quit talking about people dying and start talking about getting people back to work!
It took less than a week for Trump to get the memo, presumably through Fox and Stephen Miller. On April 12th, he retweeted a call to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci and declared, in another tweet, that he had the sole authority to open the US back up, and that he'd be announcing a specific plan to do just that "shortly."
On April 13th, the ultra-rightwing, nearly-entirely-white-managed US Chamber of Commerce published a policy paper titled Implementing A National Return to Work Plan.
Unspoken but big on the agenda of corporate America was the desire to get the states to rescind their stay-home-from-work orders so that companies could cut their unemployment tax costs.
When people file unemployment claims, those claims are ultimately paid by the companies themselves, so when a company has a lot of claims they get a substantial increase in their unemployment insurance premiums/taxes. If the "stay home" orders were repealed, workers could no longer, in most states, file for or keep receiving unemployment compensation.
The next day, Freedomworks, the billionaire-founded and -funded group that animated the Tea Party against Obamacare a decade earlier, published an op-ed on their website calling for an "economic recovery" program including an end to the capital gains tax and a new law to "shield" businesses from lawsuits.
Three days after that, Freedomworks and the House Freedom Caucus issued a joint statement declaring that "[I]t's time to re-open the economy."
Freedomworks published their "#ReopenAmerica Rally Planning Guide" encouraging conservatives to show up "in person" at their state capitols and governor's mansions, and, for signage, to "Keep it short: 'I'm essential,' 'Let me work,' 'Let Me Feed My Family'" and to "Keep [the signs looking] homemade."
One of the first #OpenTheCountry rallies to get widespread national attention was April 19th in New Hampshire. Over the next several weeks, rallies had metastasized across the nation, from Oregon to Arizona, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois and elsewhere.
One that drew particularly high levels of media attention, complete with swastikas, confederate flags and assault rifles was directed against the governor of Michigan, rising Democratic star Gretchen Whitmer.
When Rachel Maddow reported on meatpacking plants that were epicenters of mass infection, the conservative Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court pointed out that the virus flare wasn't coming from the "regular folks" of the surrounding community; they were mostly Hispanic and Black.
The conservative meme was now well established.
About a third of the people the virus killed were old folks in nursing homes. Which, commentators on the right said, could be a good thing for the economy because they're just "useless eaters" who spend our Medicaid and Social Security money but are on death's door anyway.
For example, Texas's Republican Lt. Governor Dan Patrick told Fox News, "Let's get back to living... And those of us that are 70-plus, we'll take care of ourselves."
A conservative town commissioner in Antioch, CA noted that losing many elderly "would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System…and free up housing…" He added, "We would lose a large portion of the people with immune and other health complications. I know it would be loved ones as well. But that would once again reduce our impact on medical, jobs and housing."
Then came news that the biggest outbreaks were happening in prisons along with the meatpacking plants, places with few white people (and the few whites in them were largely poor and thus disposable). Trump's response to this was to issue an executive order using the Defense Production Act (which he had refused to use to order production of testing or PPE equipment) to order the largely Hispanic and Black workforce back into the slaughterhouses and meat processing plants.
African Americans were dying in our cities, Hispanics were dying in meatpacking plants, the elderly were dying in nursing homes.
But the death toll among white people, particularly affluent white people in corporate management who were less likely to be obese, have hypertension or struggle with diabetes, and more likely to work from home was relatively low. And those who came through the infection were presumed to be immune to subsequent bouts, so we could issue them "COVID Passports" and give them hiring priority.
As an "expert" member of Jared Kushner's team of young, unqualified volunteers supervising the administration's PPE response to the virus noted to Vanity Fair's Katherine Eban, "The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy."
It was, after all, exclusively Blue states that were then hit hard by the virus: Washington, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Robert F. Kennedy's grandson Max Kennedy Jr, 26, was one of the volunteers and blew the whistle to Congress on Kushner and Trump. As Jane Mayer wrote for The New Yorker, "Kennedy was disgusted to see that the political appointees who supervised him were hailing Trump as 'a marketing genius,' because, Kennedy said they'd told him, 'he personally came up with the strategy of blaming the states.'"
So the answer to the question of why, at year's end, the United States has about 20% of the world's Covid deaths, but only 4.5% of the world's population, is pretty straightforward: Republicans were just fine with Black people dying back in April, particularly since they could blame it on Democratic Blue-state governors.
And once they put that strategy into place in April, it became politically impossible to back away from it, even as more and more red-state white people became infected.
Everything since then – right down to Trump's December 26th tweet ("The lockdowns in Democrat-run states are absolutely ruining the lives of so many people - Far more than the damage that would be caused by the China Virus.") – has been a double-down on death and destruction, now regardless of race.
Thom Hartmann is America's number one progressive talk-show host and the New York Times bestselling author of The Hidden History of American Oligarchy and more than 30 other books in print. His online writings are compiled at HartmannReport.com. He is a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute.
This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.


alternet--2020-12-30--'We did it!': Crowd erupts with joy as Argentine Senate passes bill to legalize abortion

Thousands of women gathered in Buenos Aires erupted with joy early Wednesday after Argentina 's Senate voted to approve legislation that would legalize abortion , the culmination of a years-long grassroots fight for reproductive rights in the Latin American nation .
The bill permitting elective abortions up to the 14th week of a pregnancy passed by a vote of 38 to 29 , and President Alberto Fernández has vowed to sign the measure into law—a move that would make Argentina the largest Latin American country to scrap its strict anti-choice laws .
News of the vote was met with jubilant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's capital city in support of the legalization bill .
As The Guardian reported , `` Women screamed with delight , sweeping their friends into tight hugs and jumping in ecstasy .
Many wept tears of joy .
Victory music kicked in and green smoke filled the air .
A triumphant message flashed up on a big screen above the joyful crowd : 'We did it ! '
it said .
'ES LEY ! '
( IT 'S LAW ! )
. ''
`` I 'm very emotional , '' a 25-year-old demonstrator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no words to describe what your body feels after fighting for something for so long .
I cried a lot , which I was n't expecting . ''
Mariela Belski , executive director of Amnesty International Argentina , said in a statement that Wednesday 's vote is a landmark `` victory for the women 's movement in Argentina , which has been fighting for its rights for decades . ''
`` Now , people who decide to terminate their pregnancy will have a safe , high-quality service , '' said Belski .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Amnesty International is going to work to ensure that the state guarantees compliance with legal abortion throughout the country . ''
Amnesty summarized the key elements of the newly passed bill : • Abortion is freely available until the 14th week of pregnancy ; • After that time , abortion is legal in case of danger to the life or health of the pregnant woman or in cases of rape ; • Terminations can be accessed through either the public or private health system , no more than 10 days after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over have full capacity to give their own consent ; girls aged 13 to 16 are presumed to have sufficient ability and maturity to decide on the practice and give due consent unless a procedure involving serious risk to their health or life is to be used ( as set out in Article 26 of the National Civil and Commercial Code ) ; • Healthcare workers must provide dignified treatment , guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of information , and respect autonomy of will ; and • Any public official or health worker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perform an abortion in legally authorized cases may be criminally sanctioned and disqualified from practice .
Erika Guevara-Rosas , Americas director at Amnesty International , said Argentine lawmakers ' passage of the legalization bill sends `` a strong message of hope to our entire continent that we can change course against the criminalization of abortion and against clandestine abortions , which pose serious risks to the health and lives of millions of people . ''
According to the latest data from Argentina 's Health Ministry , around 40,000 women were hospitalized in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Human Rights Watch noted in an August report that `` in 2018 , Argentina 's National Health Ministry reported 35 deaths resulting from abortion , including ectopic pregnancies , miscarriages , medical abortion , and failed attempt of abortion , representing more than 13 percent of all maternal deaths that year . ''
The New York Times reported early Wednesday that `` the effects of the legalization vote are likely to ripple across Latin America , galvanizing reproductive-rights advocates elsewhere in the region and leaving them hopeful that other socially conservative nations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Cuba , and Guyana are the only other countries in Latin America to allow abortion on request , '' the Times noted .
`` Argentina , like a number of other countries in the region , had previously permitted abortion in cases of rape or if the pregnancy posed a risk to a woman 's health ; other Latin American countries have stricter limits or total prohibitions . ''
In a tweet following the vote , Fernández—who campaigned for the presidency on a platform that included reproductive rights—wrote that `` today , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights to women and guarantees public health . ''

Thousands of women gathered in Buenos Aires erupted with joy early Wednesday after Argentina's Senate voted to approve legislation that would legalize abortion, the culmination of a years-long grassroots fight for reproductive rights in the Latin American nation.
The bill permitting elective abortions up to the 14th week of a pregnancy passed by a vote of 38 to 29, and President Alberto Fernández has vowed to sign the measure into law—a move that would make Argentina the largest Latin American country to scrap its strict anti-choice laws.
News of the vote was met with jubilant celebration among those who rallied in Argentina's capital city in support of the legalization bill. As The Guardianreported, "Women screamed with delight, sweeping their friends into tight hugs and jumping in ecstasy. Many wept tears of joy. Victory music kicked in and green smoke filled the air. A triumphant message flashed up on a big screen above the joyful crowd: 'We did it!' it said. 'ES LEY!' (IT'S LAW!)."
"I'm very emotional," a 25-year-old demonstrator told The Guardian. "There are no words to describe what your body feels after fighting for something for so long. I cried a lot, which I wasn't expecting."
Mariela Belski, executive director of Amnesty International Argentina, said in a statement that Wednesday's vote is a landmark "victory for the women's movement in Argentina, which has been fighting for its rights for decades."
"Now, people who decide to terminate their pregnancy will have a safe, high-quality service," said Belski. "Today we have grown as a society. Amnesty International is going to work to ensure that the state guarantees compliance with legal abortion throughout the country."
Amnesty summarized the key elements of the newly passed bill:
Abortion is freely available until the 14th week of pregnancy;
After that time, abortion is legal in case of danger to the life or health of the pregnant woman or in cases of rape;
Terminations can be accessed through either the public or private health system, no more than 10 days after a request;
People aged 16 or over have full capacity to give their own consent; girls aged 13 to 16 are presumed to have sufficient ability and maturity to decide on the practice and give due consent unless a procedure involving serious risk to their health or life is to be used (as set out in Article 26 of the National Civil and Commercial Code);
Healthcare workers must provide dignified treatment, guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of information, and respect autonomy of will; and
Any public official or health worker who delays, obstructs or refuses to perform an abortion in legally authorized cases may be criminally sanctioned and disqualified from practice.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said Argentine lawmakers' passage of the legalization bill sends "a strong message of hope to our entire continent that we can change course against the criminalization of abortion and against clandestine abortions, which pose serious risks to the health and lives of millions of people."
According to the latest data from Argentina's Health Ministry, around 40,000 women were hospitalized in 2016 for complications related to unsafe clandestine abortions. Human Rights Watch noted in an August report that "in 2018, Argentina's National Health Ministry reported 35 deaths resulting from abortion, including ectopic pregnancies, miscarriages, medical abortion, and failed attempt of abortion, representing more than 13 percent of all maternal deaths that year."
The New York Timesreported early Wednesday that "the effects of the legalization vote are likely to ripple across Latin America, galvanizing reproductive-rights advocates elsewhere in the region and leaving them hopeful that other socially conservative nations could follow suit."
"Uruguay, Cuba, and Guyana are the only other countries in Latin America to allow abortion on request," the Times noted. "Argentina, like a number of other countries in the region, had previously permitted abortion in cases of rape or if the pregnancy posed a risk to a woman's health; other Latin American countries have stricter limits or total prohibitions."
In a tweet following the vote, Fernández—who campaigned for the presidency on a platform that included reproductive rights—wrote that "today, we are a better society that expands rights to women and guarantees public health."


alternet--2020-12-30--Here's why experts are spooked by Trump's vaccine rollout: 'This is a massive policy failure'

If the Trump administration 's coronavirus vaccine distribution effort continues at its current sluggish pace , it would take nearly a decade for the United States to inoculate an adequate number of Americans to rein in the deadly pandemic .
That 's according to an analysis released Tuesday by NBC News , which found that the U.S. is nowhere near on track to meet the Trump administration 's stated goal of vaccinating around 80 % of the population by late June of 2021 .
`` To meet that goal , a little more than three million people would have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBC noted .
`` But so far , only about two million people—most of them frontline healthcare workers and some nursing home residents—have gotten their first shots of the 11.5 million doses that were delivered in the last two weeks . ''
President-elect Joe Biden took aim at the Trump administration 's slow and chaotic vaccine rollout in a speech Tuesday , declaring that the `` plan to distribute vaccines is falling behind , far behind . ''
Warning it will `` take years , not months , to vaccinate the American people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Biden promised `` a much more aggressive effort , with more federal involvement and leadership , to get things back on track . ''
`` We 'll find ways to boost the pace of vaccinations , '' said Biden , who vowed to invoke the Defense Production Act to speed up the manufacture of necessary materials .
In response to Biden 's remarks , outgoing President Donald Trump characteristically refused to take responsibility for the lagging distribution effort , instead placing the blame on crisis-ravaged states .
`` It is up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brought to the designated areas by the federal government , '' Trump tweeted .
`` We have not only developed the vaccines , including putting up money to move the process along quickly , but gotten them to the states . ''
While there is plenty of evidence indicating that state officials are moving too slowly—Texas ' health commissioner , for instance , warned last week that a `` significant portion '' of the state 's vaccine supply is sitting on shelves—critics have argued that the Trump administration failed to lay the groundwork @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , effectively guaranteeing that states would struggle getting vaccine doses out the door .
`` This is warp speed ? ''
Dean Baker , co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research ( CEPR ) , asked in a blog post Monday , pointing to the relatively small number of people in the U.S. who have received shots since the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) authorized the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for emergency use earlier this month .
`` We should have had major warehouses located around the country so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a vaccine , it could quickly be delivered to hospitals and clinics in every corner of the country , '' Baker argued .
`` We should have been prepared to start inoculating millions of people the day a vaccine was approved .
This is a massive policy failure . ''
Ashish Jha , a physician and dean of the Brown University School of Public Health , echoed Baker 's criticism of the Trump administration in a series of tweets on Monday .
`` The worst part is no real planning on what happens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan , no money , just hope that states will figure this out , '' Jha wrote .
`` [ State health departments ] are trying to stand up a vaccination infrastructure .
Congress had given them no money .
States are out of money , so many are passing it on to hospitals , nursing homes . ''
`` Public health has always been a state/federal partnership , '' Jha added .
`` States are stretched .
Feds are supposed to help .
But the same folks who blamed states for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the vaccine slowdown .
They are again setting states up to fail . ''
Growing fears about the lagging pace of vaccinations come as Colorado on Tuesday reported the first U.S. case of a more contagious coronavirus variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom .
Experts said it is possible that the variant has spread in the Colorado patient 's community and possibly elsewhere in the U.S. , which has the highest Covid-19 death toll in the world .
As the New York Times reported , `` Scientists are worried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It is normal for viruses to mutate , and most of the mutations of the coronavirus have proved minor .
There 's no evidence that an infection with the variant—known as B.1.1.7—is more likely to lead to a severe case of Covid-19 , increase the risk of death or evade the new vaccines . ''
`` But the speed at which the variant seems to spread , '' the Times added , `` could lead to more infections—and therefore more hospitalizations , '' heightening the urgency of the vaccine rollout .
Leana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and management at the George Washington University 's Milken School of Public Health , wrote in a column for the Washington Post on Tuesday that the speed of vaccinations thus far `` should set off alarms . ''
`` Remember , the first group of vaccinations was supposed to be the easiest : It 's hospitals and nursing homes inoculating their own workers and residents , '' Wen wrote .
`` If we ca n't get this right , it does n't bode well for the rest of the country . ''
Wen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ task for repeatedly shifting the goal posts as it failed to meet its initial targets for the mass inoculation campaign .
`` When states learned they would receive fewer doses than they had been told , the administration said its end-of-year goal was not for vaccinations but vaccine distribution , '' Wen noted .
`` It also halved the number of doses that would be available to people , from 40 million to 20 million .
( Perhaps they hoped no one would notice that their initial pledge was to vaccinate 20 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or that President Trump had at one point vowed to have 100 million doses by the end of the year . )
'' `` Instead of muddying the waters , the federal government needs to take three urgent steps .
First , set up a real-time public dashboard to track vaccine distribution , '' Wen wrote .
`` Second , publicize the plan for how vaccination will scale up so dramatically ... Third , acknowledge the challenges and end the defensiveness .
The public will understand if initial goals need to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to learn from missteps and immediately course-correct . ''

If the Trump administration's coronavirus vaccine distribution effort continues at its current sluggish pace, it would take nearly a decade for the United States to inoculate an adequate number of Americans to rein in the deadly pandemic.
That's according to an analysis released Tuesday by NBC News, which found that the U.S. is nowhere near on track to meet the Trump administration's stated goal of vaccinating around 80% of the population by late June of 2021.
"To meet that goal, a little more than three million people would have to get the shots each day," NBC noted. "But so far, only about two million people—most of them frontline healthcare workers and some nursing home residents—have gotten their first shots of the 11.5 million doses that were delivered in the last two weeks."
President-elect Joe Biden took aim at the Trump administration's slow and chaotic vaccine rollout in a speech Tuesday, declaring that the "plan to distribute vaccines is falling behind, far behind." Warning it will "take years, not months, to vaccinate the American people" if significant changes aren't made, Biden promised "a much more aggressive effort, with more federal involvement and leadership, to get things back on track."
"We'll find ways to boost the pace of vaccinations," said Biden, who vowed to invoke the Defense Production Act to speed up the manufacture of necessary materials.
In response to Biden's remarks, outgoing President Donald Trump characteristically refused to take responsibility for the lagging distribution effort, instead placing the blame on crisis-ravaged states.
"It is up to the states to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the federal government," Trump tweeted. "We have not only developed the vaccines, including putting up money to move the process along quickly, but gotten them to the states."
While there is plenty of evidence indicating that state officials are moving too slowly—Texas' health commissioner, for instance, warned last week that a "significant portion" of the state's vaccine supply is sitting on shelves—critics have argued that the Trump administration failed to lay the groundwork for a speedy and effective distribution effort, effectively guaranteeing that states would struggle getting vaccine doses out the door.
"This is warp speed?" Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), asked in a blog post Monday, pointing to the relatively small number of people in the U.S. who have received shots since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for emergency use earlier this month.
"We should have had major warehouses located around the country so that as soon as the FDA green-lighted a vaccine, it could quickly be delivered to hospitals and clinics in every corner of the country," Baker argued. "We should have been prepared to start inoculating millions of people the day a vaccine was approved. This is a massive policy failure."
Ashish Jha, a physician and dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, echoed Baker's criticism of the Trump administration in a series of tweets on Monday.
"The worst part is no real planning on what happens when vaccines arrive in states. No plan, no money, just hope that states will figure this out," Jha wrote. "[State health departments] are trying to stand up a vaccination infrastructure. Congress had given them no money. States are out of money, so many are passing it on to hospitals, nursing homes."
"Public health has always been a state/federal partnership," Jha added. "States are stretched. Feds are supposed to help. But the same folks who blamed states for the testing mess now ready to blame states for the vaccine slowdown. They are again setting states up to fail."
Growing fears about the lagging pace of vaccinations come as Colorado on Tuesday reported the first U.S. case of a more contagious coronavirus variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom. Experts said it is possible that the variant has spread in the Colorado patient's community and possibly elsewhere in the U.S., which has the highest Covid-19 death toll in the world.
As the New York Timesreported, "Scientists are worried about variants but not surprised by them. It is normal for viruses to mutate, and most of the mutations of the coronavirus have proved minor. There's no evidence that an infection with the variant—known as B.1.1.7—is more likely to lead to a severe case of Covid-19, increase the risk of death or evade the new vaccines."
"But the speed at which the variant seems to spread," the Times added, "could lead to more infections—and therefore more hospitalizations," heightening the urgency of the vaccine rollout.
Leana Wen, visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University's Milken School of Public Health, wrote in a column for the Washington Post on Tuesday that the speed of vaccinations thus far "should set off alarms."
"Remember, the first group of vaccinations was supposed to be the easiest: It's hospitals and nursing homes inoculating their own workers and residents," Wen wrote. "If we can't get this right, it doesn't bode well for the rest of the country."
Wen proceeded to take the Trump administration to task for repeatedly shifting the goal posts as it failed to meet its initial targets for the mass inoculation campaign.
"When states learned they would receive fewer doses than they had been told, the administration said its end-of-year goal was not for vaccinations but vaccine distribution," Wen noted. "It also halved the number of doses that would be available to people, from 40 million to 20 million. (Perhaps they hoped no one would notice that their initial pledge was to vaccinate 20 million people, which is 40 million doses, or that President Trump had at one point vowed to have 100 million doses by the end of the year.)"
"Instead of muddying the waters, the federal government needs to take three urgent steps. First, set up a real-time public dashboard to track vaccine distribution," Wen wrote. "Second, publicize the plan for how vaccination will scale up so dramatically... Third, acknowledge the challenges and end the defensiveness. The public will understand if initial goals need to be revised, but there must be willingness to learn from missteps and immediately course-correct."


alternet--2020-12-30--Watch: Jon Ossoff brilliantly turns the tables on a Fox News reporter who tried to corner him

Here 's a day-brightener if you needed one : Jon Ossoff flipping the script on Fox News ' nepotism hire , Peter Doocy , turning the would-be `` gotcha '' interview into a campaign ad for himself and his colleague , Rev .
Raphael Warnock .
Doocy 's aim , clearly , was to paint Ossoff as inexperienced and unqualified .
What he actually achieved was giving Ossoff a platform to talk about what 's at stake in this election for Georgians—even those watching Fox News—and the very serious ethical problems of the two Republicans in the race .
Doocy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporters about the pain and suffering he is seeing around the state .
`` Folks have credit cards maxed out and ca n't make rent payments , car payments , ca n't afford prescriptions or afford child care .
People are in dire straits , '' Ossoff said , explaining how Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue were standing in the way of help .
`` We are live on Fox right now , '' Doocy says , pulling Ossoff away .
And at this point , check out the look on Ossoff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do next .
Too bad for Doocy he could n't see what was coming .
Instead , he stupidly barges in with `` you talk [ … ] about health and jobs and justice all .
Why not talk more about your relevant experience ? ''
Doocy asks .
`` I 've made my career fighting injustice , exposing war crimes and injustice , '' Ossoff replied .
`` I run a business that 's exposed terrorism , that exposed sexual slavery by ISIS , that 's exposed judicial corruption .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of corruption in American politics . ''
That corruption , he continues , is why he 's running .
`` And since we 're live on Fox , '' Ossoff continued , `` let me take this opportunity to address directly the Fox audience .
We have two United States senators in Georgia who have blatantly used their offices to enrich themselves .
This is beyond partisanship . ''
He continues , turning back to Doocy , `` the reason , to your question , that I talk so much about health and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is that we can unite behind that program . ''
He goes on to talk about the closure of nine rural hospitals in the state , the need for an investment in infrastructure , living wage jobs , and for `` civil rights and voting rights legislation to secure equal justice for all . ''
Then he turns back to the audience and owns Doocy .
`` I humbly and respectfully request the support of everyone who is tuned in on Fox right now , and I 'd love for you to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' that 's 'elect j-o-n dot com ' make a contribution to our efforts here in Georgia . ''
Boom .
Doocy , stupidly , just could n't leave well enough alone , having just participated in cutting a television ad for Jon Ossoff live on Fox News .
Nope—he continued , creating a huge opening for Ossoff to deliver the coup de grace on behalf of his co-Democratic campaigner , Rev .
Raphael Warnock .
`` One more quick one while we 've got you , '' Doocy says .
`` Any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rev .
Warnock could possibly be a drag on the Democratic ticket ? ''
`` None whatsoever , '' Ossoff responded .
`` Here 's the bottom line : Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman .
Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman .
And so she is stooping to these vicious personal attacks to distract from the fact that she 's been campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan .
I mean , we deserve better than that here in Georgia . ''
That 's for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it , yes , Loeffler posed with not just any klansman at a campaign rally , but with Chester Doles , a former KKK leader who runs the white supremacist American Patriots USA . )
Watch this for the look on Ossoff 's face when Doocy introduces himself .
It 's just so good .

Here's a day-brightener if you needed one: Jon Ossoff flipping the script on Fox News' nepotism hire, Peter Doocy, turning the would-be "gotcha" interview into a campaign ad for himself and his colleague, Rev. Raphael Warnock. Doocy's aim, clearly, was to paint Ossoff as inexperienced and unqualified. What he actually achieved was giving Ossoff a platform to talk about what's at stake in this election for Georgians—even those watching Fox News—and the very serious ethical problems of the two Republicans in the race. Doocy tried to interrupt Ossoff's discussion with reporters about the pain and suffering he is seeing around the state. "Folks have credit cards maxed out and can't make rent payments, car payments, can't afford prescriptions or afford child care. People are in dire straits," Ossoff said, explaining how Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue were standing in the way of help.
"We are live on Fox right now," Doocy says, pulling Ossoff away. And at this point, check out the look on Ossoff's face for what he's planning to do next. Too bad for Doocy he couldn't see what was coming. Instead, he stupidly barges in with "you talk […] about health and jobs and justice all. Why not talk more about your relevant experience?" Doocy asks. "I've made my career fighting injustice, exposing war crimes and injustice," Ossoff replied. "I run a business that's exposed terrorism, that exposed sexual slavery by ISIS, that's exposed judicial corruption. And right now, we have a crisis of corruption in American politics."
That corruption, he continues, is why he's running. "And since we're live on Fox," Ossoff continued, "let me take this opportunity to address directly the Fox audience. We have two United States senators in Georgia who have blatantly used their offices to enrich themselves. This is beyond partisanship." He continues, turning back to Doocy, "the reason, to your question, that I talk so much about health and jobs and justice for all the people, is that we can unite behind that program." He goes on to talk about the closure of nine rural hospitals in the state, the need for an investment in infrastructure, living wage jobs, and for "civil rights and voting rights legislation to secure equal justice for all." Then he turns back to the audience and owns Doocy. "I humbly and respectfully request the support of everyone who is tuned in on Fox right now, and I'd love for you to log on to 'elect jon—elect j-o-n—dot com' that's 'elect j-o-n dot com' make a contribution to our efforts here in Georgia." Boom.
Doocy, stupidly, just couldn't leave well enough alone, having just participated in cutting a television ad for Jon Ossoff live on Fox News. Nope—he continued, creating a huge opening for Ossoff to deliver the coup de grace on behalf of his co-Democratic campaigner, Rev. Raphael Warnock. "One more quick one while we've got you," Doocy says. "Any concern that the allegations of wrongdoing against Rev. Warnock could possibly be a drag on the Democratic ticket?"
"None whatsoever," Ossoff responded. "Here's the bottom line: Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. And so she is stooping to these vicious personal attacks to distract from the fact that she's been campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. I mean, we deserve better than that here in Georgia." That's for sure. (In case you missed it, yes, Loeffler posed with not just any klansman at a campaign rally, but with Chester Doles, a former KKK leader who runs the white supremacist American Patriots USA.)
Watch this for the look on Ossoff's face when Doocy introduces himself. It's just so good.


alternet--2020-12-30--Ted Cruz is reportedly raising funds off the Georgia runoff — but sending the money to his own campa

Ted Cruz is reportedly raising funds off the Georgia runoff — but sending the money to his own campaign

In January , the outcome of two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia will determine whether or not Republicans maintain their Senate majority .
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has been using the runoffs for fundraising , warning his donors that Democrats will control the Senate if they win both races .
But journalist Lachlan Markay , this week in an article for the Daily Beast , reports that none of the money Cruz is bringing in is actually going to the incumbent Republican candidates in the runoffs : Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue .
And Markay emphasizes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes to invoking the Georgia runoffs without raising funds directly for the candidates .
Markay notes that in 15 Facebook ads that his campaign purchased , Cruz is seen `` dramatically hyping the need to hold two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia runoff contests '' — and the Texas senator says melodramatic things like `` gun-grabbing , tax hikes , open borders and stacking the Supreme Court — that 's the radical Democrat agenda if they win the Georgia Senate elections . ''
But according to Markay , none of the $ 5 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Keep Georgia Red Fund '' are going directly to Loeffler or Perdue .
`` Facebook users who clicked through to the online donation page — and read the fine print at the bottom — would see that the actual beneficiary was Cruz 's own campaign committee , not Sens .
Kelly Loeffler or David Perdue , the two Republicans running for reelection in Georgia , '' Markay explains .
Cruz , according to Markay , `` is just one of a number of elected officials of both parties using the competitive — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raise money for themselves . ''
`` Increasingly , those officials are doing so on Facebook , where a political ad ban instituted in late October was lifted this month , but only for ads in Georgia , '' Markay explains .
`` That 's led to a rash of Facebook ads invoking the Senate contests in the state on behalf of out-of-state political candidates .
On some occasions , the ads do n't even mention the runoff contests , but are targeted at users in Georgia in an effort to exploit Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In November , Markay observes , the National Republican Senatorial Committee `` encouraged its members to use grassroots donor enthusiasm surrounding the runoffs to help build their own fundraising programs . ''
`` Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has led the way for his caucus , '' Markay observes .
`` His campaign has been sending some text messages and running Georgia-focused Google ads linking to a page on the GOP fundraising platform WinRed that says donations will benefit McConnell 's own campaign committee . ''
Markay points out that some Democrats have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' by invoking the Georgia Senate runoffs without actually raising funds for the Democratic candidates , Jon Ossoff and the Rev .
Raphael Warnock .
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York , for example , has run some Facebook ads telling Democratic voters that if they `` want to take back the Senate and retire Mitch McConnell , '' they need to support Ossoff and Warnock — although the ads , according to Markay , `` link to a donation page that specifies that the funds will go not to Ossoff or Warnock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committee , Off the Sidelines PAC . ''
`` Gillibrand 's PAC largely exists to steer funds to other Democratic candidates , '' Markay notes .
`` So , it 's not inconceivable that some of the money raised through those ads will support Democrats in Georgia .
Indeed , the PAC donated to both Ossoff and Warnock ahead of the general election .
But by law , it can only give each of them $ 5000 before the runoff contest in January , likely less than what the PAC is raising with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''

In January, the outcome of two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia will determine whether or not Republicans maintain their Senate majority. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has been using the runoffs for fundraising, warning his donors that Democrats will control the Senate if they win both races.
But journalist Lachlan Markay, this week in an article for the Daily Beast, reports that none of the money Cruz is bringing in is actually going to the incumbent Republican candidates in the runoffs: Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue. And Markay emphasizes that Cruz is hardly alone when it comes to invoking the Georgia runoffs without raising funds directly for the candidates.
Markay notes that in 15 Facebook ads that his campaign purchased, Cruz is seen "dramatically hyping the need to hold two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia runoff contests" — and the Texas senator says melodramatic things like "gun-grabbing, tax hikes, open borders and stacking the Supreme Court — that's the radical Democrat agenda if they win the Georgia Senate elections." But according to Markay, none of the $5 donations Cruz is requesting for his "Keep Georgia Red Fund" are going directly to Loeffler or Perdue.
"Facebook users who clicked through to the online donation page — and read the fine print at the bottom — would see that the actual beneficiary was Cruz's own campaign committee, not Sens. Kelly Loeffler or David Perdue, the two Republicans running for reelection in Georgia," Markay explains.
Cruz, according to Markay, "is just one of a number of elected officials of both parties using the competitive — and extremely expensive — Georgia runoff contests to raise money for themselves."
"Increasingly, those officials are doing so on Facebook, where a political ad ban instituted in late October was lifted this month, but only for ads in Georgia," Markay explains. "That's led to a rash of Facebook ads invoking the Senate contests in the state on behalf of out-of-state political candidates. On some occasions, the ads don't even mention the runoff contests, but are targeted at users in Georgia in an effort to exploit Facebook's state-specific political advertising policy."
In November, Markay observes, the National Republican Senatorial Committee "encouraged its members to use grassroots donor enthusiasm surrounding the runoffs to help build their own fundraising programs."
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has led the way for his caucus," Markay observes. "His campaign has been sending some text messages and running Georgia-focused Google ads linking to a page on the GOP fundraising platform WinRed that says donations will benefit McConnell's own campaign committee."
Markay points out that some Democrats have been "getting in on the act" by invoking the Georgia Senate runoffs without actually raising funds for the Democratic candidates, Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, for example, has run some Facebook ads telling Democratic voters that if they "want to take back the Senate and retire Mitch McConnell," they need to support Ossoff and Warnock — although the ads, according to Markay, "link to a donation page that specifies that the funds will go not to Ossoff or Warnock, but to Gillibrand's political action committee, Off the Sidelines PAC."
"Gillibrand's PAC largely exists to steer funds to other Democratic candidates," Markay notes. "So, it's not inconceivable that some of the money raised through those ads will support Democrats in Georgia. Indeed, the PAC donated to both Ossoff and Warnock ahead of the general election. But by law, it can only give each of them $5000 before the runoff contest in January, likely less than what the PAC is raising with appeals to the Peach State Senate contests."


alternet--2020-12-30--'The danger has not passed': Conservative warns the GOP is still  a threat after Trump's defeat

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has announced that when the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate meet for a joint session of Congress on January 6 , he will contest President-elect Joe Biden 's Electoral College certification .
Never Trump conservative Jonathan V. Last lambasts Hawley for this political stunt in his column for The Bulwark , stressing that it underscores the grip President Donald Trump still has on the Republican Party despite losing the election .
`` Josh Hawley announced that he is going to buck Mitch McConnell and join House Republicans to force a roll-call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Electoral College votes , '' Last writes .
`` This was completely predictable .
I 've literally been telling anyone who would listen that this was where we were headed since forking October . ''
Last goes on to say that Hawley is responding to a `` loyalty test '' — that is , loyalty to Trump .
`` Hawley coming out this far in advance makes it likely that he 'll be joined in his objection by at least Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz and probably a few others — which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : actually voting to reject the Electoral College votes , '' Last laments .
`` That , my friends , is the future of the Republican Party .
Loyalty tests , all the way down . ''
Those who have been reading Last 's articles and columns for The Bulwark know that although he is conservative , he believes that Trumpism has been incredibly toxic for the Republican Party — which , he writes , now values loyalty to Trump more than it values constitutional norms .
`` While you can probably be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and get along by mumbling about how 'we have to move on ' or 'we 'll never really know who won 2020 , ' to have any future in national Republican politics , you will have to have voted to overturn the election on January 6 , '' Last warns .
`` Think about that : The price of admission for advancement in Republican politics is now participating in an attempt to overthrow a free and fair election . ''
The Never Trumper adds , `` Donald Trump was defeated , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Josh Hawley .
Stand up for America . ''

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has announced that when the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate meet for a joint session of Congress on January 6, he will contest President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College certification. Never Trump conservative Jonathan V. Last lambasts Hawley for this political stunt in his column for The Bulwark, stressing that it underscores the grip President Donald Trump still has on the Republican Party despite losing the election.
"Josh Hawley announced that he is going to buck Mitch McConnell and join House Republicans to force a roll-call vote on whether or not to accept the Electoral College votes," Last writes. "This was completely predictable. I've literally been telling anyone who would listen that this was where we were headed since forking October."
Last goes on to say that Hawley is responding to a "loyalty test" — that is, loyalty to Trump.
"Hawley coming out this far in advance makes it likely that he'll be joined in his objection by at least Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz and probably a few others — which only sets up the next loyalty test: actually voting to reject the Electoral College votes," Last laments. "That, my friends, is the future of the Republican Party. Loyalty tests, all the way down."
Those who have been reading Last's articles and columns for The Bulwark know that although he is conservative, he believes that Trumpism has been incredibly toxic for the Republican Party — which, he writes, now values loyalty to Trump more than it values constitutional norms.
"While you can probably be a senator from a 'safe' state and get along by mumbling about how 'we have to move on' or 'we'll never really know who won 2020,' to have any future in national Republican politics, you will have to have voted to overturn the election on January 6," Last warns. "Think about that: The price of admission for advancement in Republican politics is now participating in an attempt to overthrow a free and fair election."
The Never Trumper adds, "Donald Trump was defeated, but the danger has not passed. Stand up to Josh Hawley. Stand up for America."


alternet--2020-12-30--Rudy Giuliani announces the Trump campaign’s new effort to throw out Wisconsin's election results

Although Joe Biden 's inauguration is only three weeks away , President Donald Trump and many of his loyalists have yet to acknowledge the president-elect 's victory .
And that includes the president 's personal attorney , Rudy Giuliani , who has announced yet another election-related lawsuit challenging Biden 's win in Wisconsin .
Making debunked and totally baseless claims of widespread voter fraud , Trump and his allies have filed one lawsuit after another in the hope of overturning the 2020 presidential election results — and most have already been dismissed or rejected in the federal courts .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to even consider a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton , who asked the High Court to throw out the election results in four states that Biden won : Wisconsin , Pennsylvania , Michigan and Georgia .
Giuliani , according to Independent reporter Justin Vallejo , is challenging a December 14 ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court — which rejected the Trump campaign 's efforts to get more than 50,000 ballots thrown out in Wisconsin .
The former New York City mayor is hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court will invalidate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vallejo notes that Trump 's campaign `` says its petition will present claims that ballots were counted by voters without identification , incomplete absentee ballots were counted , and ballots were collected by hand at events held before the election . ''
Previously , a lawsuit from the Trump campaign asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the election results in Pennsylvania , but it refused to consider that case .
And the justices later rejected Paxton 's widely condemned lawsuit out of Texas .
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was a 4-3 decision — and Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote , `` Our laws allow the challenge flag to be thrown regarding various aspects of election administration .
The challenges raised by the campaign in this case , however , come long after the last play or even the last game ; the campaign is challenging the rulebook adopted before the season began . ''
During a recent appearance on the podcast of former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon — who is facing criminal fraud charges for allegedly defrauding donors to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn insisted that the campaign will continue to fight the election results in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and claimed that there will be `` action out of Georgia '' as well .
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are scheduled to officially count the Electoral College results during a joint session of Congress on January 6 .
Some far-right House Republicans , including Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri , have vowed to challenge the election results that day .
But Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as president-elect and Sen. Kamala Harris of California as vice president-elect and is urging other Senate Republicans to do the same .
Since Democrats still control the House of Representatives , and a majority of the Senate acknowledges Biden 's win , Trump has no path to overturn the election in Congress , despite his hopes .

Although Joe Biden's inauguration is only three weeks away, President Donald Trump and many of his loyalists have yet to acknowledge the president-elect's victory. And that includes the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, who has announced yet another election-related lawsuit challenging Biden's win in Wisconsin.
Making debunked and totally baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, Trump and his allies have filed one lawsuit after another in the hope of overturning the 2020 presidential election results — and most have already been dismissed or rejected in the federal courts. That includes the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to even consider a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who asked the High Court to throw out the election results in four states that Biden won: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.
Giuliani, according to Independent reporter Justin Vallejo, is challenging a December 14 ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court — which rejected the Trump campaign's efforts to get more than 50,000 ballots thrown out in Wisconsin. The former New York City mayor is hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court will invalidate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision.
Vallejo notes that Trump's campaign "says its petition will present claims that ballots were counted by voters without identification, incomplete absentee ballots were counted, and ballots were collected by hand at events held before the election."
Previously, a lawsuit from the Trump campaign asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the election results in Pennsylvania, but it refused to consider that case. And the justices later rejected Paxton's widely condemned lawsuit out of Texas.
When the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled against the Trump campaign on December 14, it was a 4-3 decision — and Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote, "Our laws allow the challenge flag to be thrown regarding various aspects of election administration. The challenges raised by the campaign in this case, however, come long after the last play or even the last game; the campaign is challenging the rulebook adopted before the season began."
During a recent appearance on the podcast of former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon — who is facing criminal fraud charges for allegedly defrauding donors to the We Build the Wall campaign — Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn insisted that the campaign will continue to fight the election results in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and claimed that there will be "action out of Georgia" as well.
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are scheduled to officially count the Electoral College results during a joint session of Congress on January 6. Some far-right House Republicans, including Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, have vowed to challenge the election results that day. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has acknowledged Biden as president-elect and Sen. Kamala Harris of California as vice president-elect and is urging other Senate Republicans to do the same. Since Democrats still control the House of Representatives, and a majority of the Senate acknowledges Biden's win, Trump has no path to overturn the election in Congress, despite his hopes.


alternet--2020-12-30--Former supreme allied commander sounds the alarm on Trump's efforts to sabotage Biden

President-elect Joe Biden has accused President Donald Trump and his loyalists of obstructing the new administration 's incoming national security team .
When retired Adm. James G. Stavridis — former supreme allied commander of NATO — appeared on MSNBC 's `` Morning Joe '' on Wednesday morning , he made it clear that he shares Biden 's concerns and warned that there could be `` real-world consequences '' if the president-elect 's team is n't adequately prepared from a national security standpoint .
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire and `` Way Too Early '' host Kacie Hunt were filling in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hosts , Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski , during the December 30 broadcast .
And when Lemire asked Stavridis if he agreed that the Trump Administration 's `` stonewalling '' of Biden could be `` dangerous '' and `` taken advantage of and exploited by our adversaries , '' the retired U.S. Navy admiral responded , `` The right word , Jonathan , is dangerous… .
There are tactical problems , operational problems and strategic problems . ''
The 65-year-old Stavridis , who served as supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , China and Iran as three major foreign policy concerns for the incoming Biden Administration .
And he warned that the last thing the U.S. needs after Biden is sworn in as president on January 20 , 2021 is for his national security team to be `` blinded . ''
`` At the strategic level , '' Stavridis explained , `` the incoming team needs to understand — at least a snapshot of — what the outgoing team is thinking about and how they 're connecting the dots on how we face China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China sea… .
So , there are real-world consequences here .
And I absolutely call on the Pentagon officials who are indeed Trump loyalists — who walked in the door less than a month ago at the very senior levels , including the acting secretary of defense — let 's do the right thing here for the nation . ''

President-elect Joe Biden has accused President Donald Trump and his loyalists of obstructing the new administration's incoming national security team. When retired Adm. James G. Stavridis — former supreme allied commander of NATO — appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday morning, he made it clear that he shares Biden's concerns and warned that there could be "real-world consequences" if the president-elect's team isn't adequately prepared from a national security standpoint.
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Lemire and "Way Too Early" host Kacie Hunt were filling in for the usual "Morning Joe" hosts, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, during the December 30 broadcast. And when Lemire asked Stavridis if he agreed that the Trump Administration's "stonewalling" of Biden could be "dangerous" and "taken advantage of and exploited by our adversaries," the retired U.S. Navy admiral responded, "The right word, Jonathan, is dangerous…. There are tactical problems, operational problems and strategic problems."
The 65-year-old Stavridis, who served as supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from 2009-2013, cited North Korea, China and Iran as three major foreign policy concerns for the incoming Biden Administration. And he warned that the last thing the U.S. needs after Biden is sworn in as president on January 20, 2021 is for his national security team to be "blinded."
"At the strategic level," Stavridis explained, "the incoming team needs to understand — at least a snapshot of — what the outgoing team is thinking about and how they're connecting the dots on how we face China, for example, in the South China sea…. So, there are real-world consequences here. And I absolutely call on the Pentagon officials who are indeed Trump loyalists — who walked in the door less than a month ago at the very senior levels, including the acting secretary of defense — let's do the right thing here for the nation."
Watch the clip below:


alternet--2020-12-30--Manhattan DA’s office hires forensic accounting experts, ramping up probe of Trump’s finances

Legal and constitutional experts have been debating President Donald Trump 's ability to grant himself a preemptive pardon before he leaves office on January 20 , 2021 .
But presidential pardons only exist at the federal level , not at the state level — which means that they would not affect any investigations being conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. , whose office has been aggressively probing Trump 's finances .
And Washington Post journalists Shayna Jacobs and Jonathan O'Connell are reporting that according to sources , Vance 's office `` has retained forensic accounting specialists to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his business operations , as prosecutors ramp up their scrutiny of his company 's real estate transactions . ''
`` Vance has contracted with FTI Consulting to look for anomalies among a variety of property deals , and to advise the district attorney on whether the president 's company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks , according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who , like others , spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ probe is believed to encompass transactions spanning several years . ''
The Post reporters note that in 2018 , Vance 's office launched an investigation `` to examine alleged hush-money payments made to two women who , during Trump 's first presidential campaign , claimed to have had affairs with him years earlier '' — adding that the investigation `` has since expanded and now includes the Trump Organization 's activities more broadly . ''
`` Vance 's office has suggested in court filings that bank , tax and insurance fraud are areas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explain .
FTI Consulting , according to the Post reporters , `` provides a range of financial advisory services to clients worldwide in public and corporate sectors . ''
`` The analysts hired by Vance probably have already reviewed various bank and mortgage records obtained from Trump 's company as part of the ongoing grand jury investigation , and they could be called on to testify about their findings should the district attorney eventually bring criminal charges , said the person familiar with the arrangement , '' according to Jacobs and O'Connell .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's tax returns and probing his relationship with Deutsche Bank and the insurance broker Aon , and the president has argued that the probes amount to harassment .
Trump and his allies have also accused Vance , a Democrat , of investigating him for partisan reasons .
`` It is possible Vance could find evidence that the Trump Organization , as a business entity , has broken the law , without attaching personal liability to Trump or other individuals at his company , '' Jacobs and O'Connell explain .
`` To bring criminal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to prove there was an intent to break the law — which probably would require the testimony of an insider witness , experts have said . ''

Legal and constitutional experts have been debating President Donald Trump's ability to grant himself a preemptive pardon before he leaves office on January 20, 2021. But presidential pardons only exist at the federal level, not at the state level — which means that they would not affect any investigations being conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., whose office has been aggressively probing Trump's finances. And Washington Post journalists Shayna Jacobs and Jonathan O'Connell are reporting that according to sources, Vance's office "has retained forensic accounting specialists to aid its criminal investigation of President Trump and his business operations, as prosecutors ramp up their scrutiny of his company's real estate transactions."
"Vance has contracted with FTI Consulting to look for anomalies among a variety of property deals, and to advise the district attorney on whether the president's company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter remains highly sensitive," Jacobs and O'Connell report. "The probe is believed to encompass transactions spanning several years."
The Post reporters note that in 2018, Vance's office launched an investigation "to examine alleged hush-money payments made to two women who, during Trump's first presidential campaign, claimed to have had affairs with him years earlier" — adding that the investigation "has since expanded and now includes the Trump Organization's activities more broadly."
"Vance's office has suggested in court filings that bank, tax and insurance fraud are areas of exploration," Jacobs and O'Connell explain.
FTI Consulting, according to the Post reporters, "provides a range of financial advisory services to clients worldwide in public and corporate sectors."
"The analysts hired by Vance probably have already reviewed various bank and mortgage records obtained from Trump's company as part of the ongoing grand jury investigation, and they could be called on to testify about their findings should the district attorney eventually bring criminal charges, said the person familiar with the arrangement," according to Jacobs and O'Connell.
Vance's office has been pursuing Trump's tax returns and probing his relationship with Deutsche Bank and the insurance broker Aon, and the president has argued that the probes amount to harassment. Trump and his allies have also accused Vance, a Democrat, of investigating him for partisan reasons.
"It is possible Vance could find evidence that the Trump Organization, as a business entity, has broken the law, without attaching personal liability to Trump or other individuals at his company," Jacobs and O'Connell explain. "To bring criminal charges, the district attorney must be able to prove there was an intent to break the law — which probably would require the testimony of an insider witness, experts have said."


alternet--2020-12-30--'Err on the side of helping people': AOC slams Blue Dog Democrat for opposing $2,000 relief checks

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York pilloried Rep. Kurt Schrader after the Oregon Democrat voted against an amendment to increase one-time direct payments to most Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000 , which passed the House on Monday when 44 Republicans joined 231 Democrats in supporting the bill now awaiting action in the Senate .
Schrader opposed the Caring for Americans With Supplemental Help ( CASH ) Act because , according to the lawmaker—whose net worth hovered close to $ 8 million in 2018— '' people who are making six figure incomes and who have not been impact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need checks . ''
Just over an hour after voicing his disapproval of bigger relief checks for the majority of U.S. households , Schrader voted in favor of overriding President Donald Trump 's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act ( NDAA ) , greenlighting more than $ 740 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2021—and perfectly encapsulating what the ostensibly centrist , national security-minded Blue Dog Coalition , a caucus of Democratic lawmakers to which Schrader belongs , means by `` fiscal responsibility . ''
`` First of all , aid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Ocasio-Cortez began in her rebuttal to Schrader 's statement , which was riddled with erroneous assertions .
`` It 's already tied to outdated income information , do n't make it worse , '' she continued , alluding to the fact that eligibility is based on 2019 tax returns .
Although individuals with incomes in the six-figure range are in fact not eligible for a full relief check , contrary to what Schrader suggested , Ocasio-Cortez reminded the Blue Dog Democrat that people who made $ 100,000 or more `` also had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked , `` Is this really a good reason to block aid for millions ? ''
According to Schrader , the CASH Act `` is an ineffective and poorly targeted approach to aiding Americans in distress . ''
He described the measure as `` clearly a last-minute political maneuver by the president and extremists on both sides of the political spectrum , who have been largely absent during months of very hard negotiations . ''
Schrader was one of two House Democrats to vote against the amendment to increase relief checks from $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ joined by outgoing Rep. Daniel Lipinski of Illinois and both voted to override Trump 's NDAA veto , along with 210 other Democratic representatives .
As Common Dreams reported Tuesday , Rep. Ro Khanna ( D-Calif. ) on Monday night applauded the 20 House Democrats who `` had the courage ... to vote no on the bloated defense budget , '' which he said contributes to `` changing the culture of endless war and calling for more investment instead in the American people . ''
Schrader took a misleading jab at left-leaning lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweet their opinions instead of coming to the table to get aid in the hands of Americans and small businesses that need it most , '' a bizzare claim given that direct payments to struggling people were `` not even on the table '' prior to the efforts of Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus to which Ocasio-Cortez belongs .
In addition to correcting the false information underlying Schrader 's stated reasons for opposing the CASH Act , Ocasio-Cortez told the conservative lawmaker : `` If you 're @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side of helping people . ''

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York pilloried Rep. Kurt Schrader after the Oregon Democrat voted against an amendment to increase one-time direct payments to most Americans from $600 to $2,000, which passed the House on Monday when 44 Republicans joined 231 Democrats in supporting the bill now awaiting action in the Senate.
Schrader opposed the Caring for Americans With Supplemental Help (CASH) Act because, according to the lawmaker—whose net worth hovered close to $8 million in 2018—"people who are making six figure incomes and who have not been impact[ed] by Covid-19 do not need checks."
Just over an hour after voicing his disapproval of bigger relief checks for the majority of U.S. households, Schrader voted in favor of overriding President Donald Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), greenlighting more than $740 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2021—and perfectly encapsulating what the ostensibly centrist, national security-minded Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of Democratic lawmakers to which Schrader belongs, means by "fiscal responsibility."
"First of all, aid starts phasing out at $75,000," Ocasio-Cortez began in her rebuttal to Schrader's statement, which was riddled with erroneous assertions. "It's already tied to outdated income information, don't make it worse," she continued, alluding to the fact that eligibility is based on 2019 tax returns.
Although individuals with incomes in the six-figure range are in fact not eligible for a full relief check, contrary to what Schrader suggested, Ocasio-Cortez reminded the Blue Dog Democrat that people who made $100,000 or more "also had income disrupted." Besides, she asked, "Is this really a good reason to block aid for millions?"
According to Schrader, the CASH Act "is an ineffective and poorly targeted approach to aiding Americans in distress." He described the measure as "clearly a last-minute political maneuver by the president and extremists on both sides of the political spectrum, who have been largely absent during months of very hard negotiations."
Schrader was one of two House Democrats to vote against the amendment to increase relief checks from $600 to $2,000. He was joined by outgoing Rep. Daniel Lipinski of Illinois and both voted to override Trump's NDAA veto, along with 210 other Democratic representatives.
As Common Dreamsreported Tuesday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Monday night applauded the 20 House Democrats who "had the courage... to vote no on the bloated defense budget," which he said contributes to "changing the culture of endless war and calling for more investment instead in the American people."
Schrader took a misleading jab at left-leaning lawmakers, accusing them of choosing "to tweet their opinions instead of coming to the table to get aid in the hands of Americans and small businesses that need it most," a bizzare claim given that direct payments to struggling people were "not even on the table" prior to the efforts of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus to which Ocasio-Cortez belongs.
In addition to correcting the false information underlying Schrader's stated reasons for opposing the CASH Act, Ocasio-Cortez told the conservative lawmaker: "If you're going to err, err on the side of helping people."


alternet--2020-12-30--Pro-Trump Missouri senator announces he will contest Biden’s certification

Acknowledging Joe Biden as president-elect , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been urging Senate Republicans not to voice objections when a joint session of Congress meets on January 6 to certify the Electoral College results .
But Sen. Josh Hawley , a far-right Trump loyalist , has announced that he will contest the certification .
With Biden 's inauguration only three weeks away , President Donald Trump continues to make debunked claims that he was the victim of widespread voter fraud .
The Electoral College certified the election results when it met on December 14 , but Hawley , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ At the very least , Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections .
But Congress has so far failed to act . ''
Any member of the U.S. House of Representatives can contest the Electoral College results if joined by a member of the U.S. Senate , and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama has announced that he plans to contest Biden 's certification on January 6 .
If Brooks in the House and Hawley in the Senate both object to Biden 's certification @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed by a vote in the House and the Senate .
The Washington Post 's John Wagner explains , `` Trump will inevitably lose that vote , given that Democrats control the House and a number of Senate Republicans have publicly recognized Biden 's victory , including Sen. Mitt Romney ( Utah ) , who has called Trump 's refusal to accept the election dangerous .
Even in the unlikely event that Trump were to prevail in the Senate , where Vice President Pence would be in position to cast a tie-breaking vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fail given the House vote . ''
Alabama Sen.-elect Tommy Tuberville , who defeated incumbent Sen. Doug Jones in November , has said that he is considering objecting to Biden 's certification on January 6 .

Acknowledging Joe Biden as president-elect, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been urging Senate Republicans not to voice objections when a joint session of Congress meets on January 6 to certify the Electoral College results. But Sen. Josh Hawley, a far-right Trump loyalist, has announced that he will contest the certification.
With Biden's inauguration only three weeks away, President Donald Trump continues to make debunked claims that he was the victim of widespread voter fraud. The Electoral College certified the election results when it met on December 14, but Hawley, in his statement, said, "At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act."
Any member of the U.S. House of Representatives can contest the Electoral College results if joined by a member of the U.S. Senate, and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama has announced that he plans to contest Biden's certification on January 6. If Brooks in the House and Hawley in the Senate both object to Biden's certification, a floor debate would take place followed by a vote in the House and the Senate.
The Washington Post's John Wagner explains, "Trump will inevitably lose that vote, given that Democrats control the House and a number of Senate Republicans have publicly recognized Biden's victory, including Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), who has called Trump's refusal to accept the election dangerous. Even in the unlikely event that Trump were to prevail in the Senate, where Vice President Pence would be in position to cast a tie-breaking vote if needed, the challenge still would fail given the House vote."
Alabama Sen.-elect Tommy Tuberville, who defeated incumbent Sen. Doug Jones in November, has said that he is considering objecting to Biden's certification on January 6.


alternet--2020-12-30--Georgia audit of absentee ballots finds no evidence of voter fraud

After President-elect Joe Biden won Georgia in the 2020 presidential election , two recounts in that state confirmed Biden as the winner — and now , with an audit of more than 15,000 voter signatures , President Donald Trump 's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud have once again been debunked in the Peach State .
On Tuesday , December 29 , the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger released a report on that audit — which , according to Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Mark Niesse , `` contradicted allegations that absentee ballots were rife with fraud .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 absentee ballots that had been accepted , but voter signatures did n't match or signatures were missing '' — and when Raffensperger 's office contacted those voters , they confirmed that they had , in fact , submitted the ballots .
`` Eight voters had mismatched signatures , but the voters told investigators the signatures were legitimate , '' Niesse explains .
`` Raffensperger , a Republican , said the audit results confirmed the election outcome again after two recounts — both by hand and machine — of all 5 million ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Raffensperger 's office said that `` no fraudulent absentee ballots were identified during the audit . ''
According to Raffensperger , `` The secretary of state 's office has always been focused on calling balls and strikes in elections — and in this case , three strikes against the voter claims , and they 're out .
This audit disproves the only credible allegations the Trump campaign had against the strength of Georgia 's signature match process . ''
Although Raffensperger and Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp are both right-wing Republicans , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acknowledging that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the Peach State and that Biden won Georgia 's electoral votes fairly .
Twitter , however , flagged Trump 's tweet as misleading and noted , `` Election officials have certified Joe Biden as the winner of the U.S. presidential election . ''

After President-elect Joe Biden won Georgia in the 2020 presidential election, two recounts in that state confirmed Biden as the winner — and now, with an audit of more than 15,000 voter signatures, President Donald Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud have once again been debunked in the Peach State.
On Tuesday, December 29, the office of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger released a report on that audit — which, according to Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Mark Niesse, "contradicted allegations that absentee ballots were rife with fraud." Niesse notes that "there were 10 absentee ballots that had been accepted, but voter signatures didn't match or signatures were missing" — and when Raffensperger's office contacted those voters, they confirmed that they had, in fact, submitted the ballots.
"Eight voters had mismatched signatures, but the voters told investigators the signatures were legitimate," Niesse explains. "Raffensperger, a Republican, said the audit results confirmed the election outcome again after two recounts — both by hand and machine — of all 5 million ballots cast in Georgia's presidential election."
Raffensperger's office said that "no fraudulent absentee ballots were identified during the audit."
According to Raffensperger, "The secretary of state's office has always been focused on calling balls and strikes in elections — and in this case, three strikes against the voter claims, and they're out. This audit disproves the only credible allegations the Trump campaign had against the strength of Georgia's signature match process."
Although Raffensperger and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp are both right-wing Republicans, Trump has been furious with them for acknowledging that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the Peach State and that Biden won Georgia's electoral votes fairly.
On December 29, Trump tweeted:
Twitter, however, flagged Trump's tweet as misleading and noted, "Election officials have certified Joe Biden as the winner of the U.S. presidential election."


alternet--2020-12-30--House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy under fire after newly elected Republican dies from COVID-19

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy ( R-CA ) was blasted with criticism after he offered thoughts and prayers to a @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 just days before being sworn in .
Rep.-elect Luke Letlow ( R-LA ) died @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus infection at age 41 , less than a week before he was set to @ @ @ @ @ House minority leader offered his condolences on Twitter .
`` Our hearts break tonight as @ @ @ @ @ Congressman-elect Luke Letlow 's passing , '' McCarthy tweeted .
`` I spoke with his @ @ @ @ @ and I are praying for her and their two young children during this terrible time @ @ @ @ @ statement angered many social media users who felt that McCarthy could have done more to @ @ @ @ @ highly contagious virus and its spread , rather than pushing to reopen the economy and @ @ @ @ @ politicized safety measures .

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was blasted with criticism after he offered thoughts and prayers to a Republican congressman-elect who died from COVID-19 just days before being sworn in.
Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-LA) died Tuesday of complications from a coronavirus infection at age 41, less than a week before he was set to join Congress, and the House minority leader offered his condolences on Twitter.
"Our hearts break tonight as we process the news of Congressman-elect Luke Letlow's passing," McCarthy tweeted. "I spoke with his wife, Julia. Judy and I are praying for her and their two young children during this terrible time."
However, his statement angered many social media users who felt that McCarthy could have done more to promote public concern about the highly contagious virus and its spread, rather than pushing to reopen the economy and standing by while fellow Republicans politicized safety measures.