We All Saw The Real Donald Trump Last Night

What everyone saw last night was a Trump that was crazy, unhinged, lying, sweaty, disheveled, angry, petulant and completely incapable of making any argument about why he deserves four more years.

Even worse, Trump continued his support for white supremacists.  During the 2016 presidential campaign, he refused several times to disavow the endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. When white supremacists organized a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the following year, Trump responded by insisting there were “very fine people on both sides” of the event. Trump has defended 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two Black Lives Matter protesters, by saying he acted in self defense.   Federal law enforcement officials have repeatedly cited white supremacist violence as the top terror threat to the U.S.

Yet, when pressed during the debate to condemn white supremacist violence (and specifically the Proud Boys--a neo-fascist hate group), Trump said, "Proud Boys-- Stand back and stand by."  His statement shocked onlookers, who viewed it expressing support and encouragement to the neo-fascist group.  The Proud Boys were celebratory, posting online an image with its logo incorporating Trump's remark.  

CNN's Van Jones put it this way: 

"Only three things happened for me tonight. Number 1, Donald Trump refused to condemn white supremacy. Number 2, the president of the United States refused to condemn white supremacy. Number 3, the commander and chief refused to condemn white supremacy. On the global stage. In front of my children. In front of everybody’s families. He was given the opportunity multiple times to condemn white supremacy. And he gave a wink and a nod to a racist, Nazi, murderous organization that is now celebrating online. That is now saying we have got a go ahead. Look at what the Proud Boys are doing right now online because the president of the United States refused to condemn white supremacy. That’s the only thing that happened tonight!"

In a poll of debate watchers conducted by Social Science Research Solutions, 60% of those who watched the debate said that Biden won.  Only 28% rated Trump as the winner, even though 43% thought (beforehand) that Trump would win.  In that same poll, 60% said that Biden was more truthful in his answers (vs. 29% for Trump).  In addition, 69% of debate watchers said that Biden's attacks were fair, while only 32% said that Trump's attacks  were fair.

 

Now We Can Add "Tax Cheat" to Trump's Resume

By now everyone has heard about the New York Times blockbuster story on Trump's taxes.  We now know that Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency, and only $750 in his first year in the White House.  He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.

The article also states that Trump's businesses generated so much red ink that he requested and got a $72  million tax refund-- currently in dispute. He expensed exorbitant consulting fees paid to his daughter, table linens and silverware, aircraft fuel, and professional photograph- as well as thousands of dollars in haircuts and makeup.

If nothing else, Donald Trump’s tax returns prove that he is a business failure. Nothing summarizes the New York Times story better than this: Trump got a bunch of money from his daddy. He lost it all, but then he got paid hundreds of millions to play a billionaire on TV.  He tried to use that new money to become a real billionaire, but he lost it all again.  

Trump's short-lived career as a reality TV host brought him a total of $427.4 million.  He invested much of that in a collection of businesses, mostly golf courses, that in the years since have steadily devoured cash — much as the money he secretly received from his father financed a spree of quixotic overspending that led to his collapse in the early 1990s.

The Trump corporation has lost $134 million since 2000.  Trump's golf courses have lost a total of $316 million since 2000.  The Trump International hotel lost $55 million since it opened.   Trump is so deeply in debt that he is personally responsible for loans and other debts totaling $421 million, with most of it coming due within four years. And that doesn’t even include $72.9 million that he likely owes the IRS for a dubious tax refund he claimed in 2010. 

His massive indebtedness is not merely a legal and ethical failing, it makes him a national security threat as someone who is vulnerable to pressures from foreign adversaries. What's more, his failure to pay his fair share is an insult to the millions of Americans who are forced to pick up the slack. And it is monumentally hypocritical because it deprives the military, law enforcement, healthcare, and every other public service of scarce funding, while he's trying to take credit for supporting those services and simultaneously cutting their budgets.

Very few journalists are willing to confirm the obvious-- but not MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle. She understands that one can infer that Trump's tax dealings are a complete fraud.   She scorched Trump for claiming he would close loopholes for the rich-- he made it wider.  She spoke to other rich moguls who made it clear they do take on those selfish excesses.  She pointed out that some of his expenses look like a fraud.  Her take-down was complete.

 

Coronavirus Art - Glasgow, Scotland

Trump Strikes Out Again in Court-- BLM Appointment Ruled Illegal

 A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump's leading steward of public lands has been serving unlawfully, blocking him from continuing in the position in the latest push-back against the administration's practice of filling key positions without U.S. Senate approval.

U.S. Interior Department Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acting director William Perry Pendley served unlawfully for 424 days without being confirmed to the post by the Senate as required under the Constitution, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris concluded.  The ruling came after Montana´s Democratic governor sued to remove Pendley, saying the former oil industry attorney was illegally overseeing an agency that manages almost a quarter-billion acres of  land.

"[The] ruling is a win for the Constitution, the rule of law, and our public lands," Gov. Steve Bullock said. Environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers from Western states also cheered the judge's move after urging for months that Pendley be removed.   The agency will be required to abide by the judge's order during an appeal and will likely have to confront questions over the legitimacy of all decisions Pendley had made, including his approval of land use plans in Montana that Judge Morris said Pendley was not authorized to make.

BLM regulates activities ranging from mining and oil extraction to livestock grazing and recreation across the U.S.  Under Trump, BLM has been at the forefront in the administration's drive to loosen environmental restrictions for oil and gas drilling and other development on public lands.

Pendley has been one of several senior officials in the Trump administration running federal agencies and departments despite not having gone before the Senate for the confirmation hearings that are required for top posts.  Last month, the Government Accountability Office said acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and his acting deputy, Ken Cuccinelli, were improperly serving and ineligible to run the agency under the Vacancies Reform Act.  The two have been at the forefront of controversial and widely reviled initiatives on immigration and law enforcement.

Trump agencies have defended the avoidance of  Senate hearings for Trump nominees by claiming that  officials involved were only carrying out the duties of their acting position but were not actually filling that position, and thus did not require a Senate confirmation. Pendley had been formally nominated by Trump to direct BLM  in July, after being given several temporary authorizations to the acting position several times by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.  But the nomination was withdrawn after the confirmation process threatened to become contentious  Pendley continued to hang on to his post despite the withdrawal by creating a new deputy director position, and then announcing that as deputy director he would be performing the duties of the director while the office was vacant.  

After installing himself as Deputy Director, Pendley approved two sweeping land resource management plans in Montana that would open 95% of federal land in the state to oil and gas development.  Trump officials had insisted in public statements and court filings that Pendley was not in fact the acting director, but rather 'exercising the authority of the director.'

Morris rejected the administration's argument, saying it undermined the constitutional system of checks and balances.  'Under the federal defendant's theory, a president could ignore their constitutional appointment responsibility indefinitely and instead delegate authority directly or through cabinet secretaries to unconfirmed appointed officials. Such an arrangement could last for an entire presidential administration.

Venezuela Is Getting so Bad, Armed Forces Personnel Now Implicated in Violence and Murder

 Around midnight on February 23, Eulalio Bravo, a marine electrician, was dozing in his rack aboard the San Ramon, an oil tanker anchored off the coast of Venezuela.  Suddenly, he heard footsteps pounding along the passageway outside. His captain, Jaime Herrera, cried for help.  “Be still!” an unfamiliar voice ordered.  A gun fired.

By the time Bravo and eight other shipmates emerged to see what had happened, the captain lay dead, a gunshot in the back of his head. Herrera’s stateroom had been pillaged, drawers flung open, his bunk overturned. The killers were gone, as were thousands of dollars the captain kept under lock and key, according to crew members interviewed by Reuters.

The murder, one of a growing number of violent incidents that have roiled Venezuelan waters in recent years, is an extension of a bloody crime wave that has beset the country since its economy collapsed last decade.

But it is also part of a troubling trend in which state agents, from military officers to police to senior government officials, have been accused of complicity in the very crimes they are meant to prevent.  After an investigation of the Herrera killing by forensic police at the nearby port of Puerto La Cruz, a state court in March ordered the arrest of three sailors from the Venezuelan Navy and four soldiers from the National Guard.

Some of those arrested had spent time aboard the tanker in the weeks before the crime, according to six crew members who detailed the episode to Reuters. The accused face charges including murder, aggravated robbery and illegal possession of firearms for their alleged roles in the death of the captain, a 59-year-old Colombian.

Crime, both petty and organized, has been one of the most dire consequences of the social meltdown under President Nicolas Maduro. Gangs and paramilitary groups run much of Venezuela’s black-market economy. Now, the public sector is in on rackets ranging from drug trafficking to bribes and kickbacks that grease the wheels of Venezuela’s crucial oil industry.

Maduro himself has been indicted in the United States for charges that include narcoterrorism. His wife, as Reuters reported in May, is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for her alleged role in drug trafficking, an accusation the government called “slanderous.”

Further down the government payroll, police and military officials have grown infamous for theft and violence. Last week, a United Nations report said the country’s security forces have systematically committed extrajudicial killings, torture and other human rights abuses, likely under orders from senior government officials.  “The state is complicit in everything,” said Omar Gonzalez, an opposition lawmaker from Anzoategui, the eastern state where Puerto La Cruz is located.

Piracy off the coast has surged after Venezuela entered recession,  While attacks have tailed off more recently as cargo traffic has dropped off, Venezuelan authorities appear unable or unwilling to manage them.  Incident reports compiled by the International Maritime Bureau, an industry organization, show that the Puerto La Cruz port authority, after two separate tanker heists in 2018, failed to respond to captains’ calls for help.

 

Jennifer Lopez & Maluma - Pa'Ti and Lonely

Believe What You See and Hear-- Trump is a Racist

Maya Angelou once said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important to stop expecting them to be something other than who they are." 

According to interviews with more than two dozen current and former officials in the Trump administration, Donald Trump in private is...exactly what you seems to be-- if not worse. 

Greg Miller of Wapo is reporting that in unguarded moments with senior aides, Donald Trump has maintained that Black Americans have mainly themselves to blame in their struggle for equality, hindered more by lack of initiative than societal impediments.

After phone calls with Jewish lawmakers, Trump has muttered that Jews “are only in it for themselves” and “stick together” in an ethnic allegiance that exceeds other loyalties, officials said.  Trump’s private musings about Hispanics match the vitriol he has displayed in public, and his antipathy to Africa is so ingrained that when first lady Melania Trump planned a 2018 trip to that continent he railed that he “could never understand why she would want to go there.

None of this comes as a surprise.  Trump said at a private White House meeting in June 2017, Haitians “all have AIDS” and Nigerians would never “go back to their huts” once they came to the United States.  His attacks on women of color, specifically elected Democratic women of color, his exhortations that they should “go back to where they came from” and his characterization of poor African nations as “shithole” countries should have been no surprise, either.

No matter what Trump's apologists say, the outspoken racism of this president and the administration he controls could never be mistaken for “‘posturing.”  As detailed by Ibram X. Kendi, writing this month in The Atlantic, racism has been the guidepost of nearly all of Trump’s domestic policies from day one. With a constant and obvious goal of eliminating all of the achievements of the nation’s first Black President (as Kendi describes it) Trump “would make it seem as if a Black man had never been president, erasing him from history by repealing and replacing his signature accomplishments."

 

KY Fails To Bring Charges for Killing of Breonna Taylor

 There is no justice for Breonna Taylor.

Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky Attorney General who conducted the grand jury that failed to bring charges for the killing of Breonna Taylor, gave a shameless performance in an attempt to justify his lack of action.   Cameron is a black Republican who spoke at the Republican National Convention last month, saying that "Republicans will never turn a blind eye to unjust acts."  Yeah, right.

Cameron admittedly did not allow the grand jury to consider charges related to the issuance of the questionable search warrant that led to Breonna's death.  Cameron also failed to present the testimony of twelve witnesses who said that the officers Mattingly and Cosgrove did not announce themselves prior to breaking down the door.  Cameron relied only upon one witness-- and that witness initially claimed that no one identified themselves as police (the witness changed his story only after being interviewed twice by the police).  In addition, Officer Mattingly admitted in his initial report: "No-- the first banging on the door did not announce.  I think after that we did."  You THINK!  Did you or did you not?  Someone was killed here!

Morgan State University Journalism professor Dr. Jason Johnson (like many of us) completely lost it, telling MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace (on air), “I’m so disgusted by this. I’m so disgusted by Daniel Cameron’s performance. I am so sick and tired of Black people going on the air and performing for violence and white supremacy and state-sponsored violence against Black people and claiming their mamas and claiming because they’re a Black man, they care about it — This woman got shot in her house! When she was asleep!”

“I’m sitting right here in my house right now,” Johnson said. “If cops busted into my house right now and shot me on the air, what Daniel Cameron basically told America is that that would be legal!. If they thought that there was something wrong, I could be shot in broad daylight, on national television, in my house, because the cops can break in and shoot whoever they want! That is why people are upset.”

Trump Shockngly Voices Eugenics Principles at Minnesota Rally

Critics continue to call out Donald Trump's shocking praise for Minnesota's “good genes” as chillingly reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s murderous eugenics policy.

Holocaust historian Steve Silberman called Trump’s determination of who possesses worthy genes “indistinguishable from the Nazi rhetoric that led to Jews, disabled people, LGBTQ, Romani and others being exterminated.”  Logan Bayroff, spokesperson for the Jewish advocacy organization J Street, told reporters, “Again and again, Trump and his allies publicly, gleefully embrace incredibly dangerous white nationalist tropes and ideas.”

It’s “clear the president’s far-right worldview poses an unprecedented threat to refugees, immigrants and vulnerable minorities in this country ― one of the many reasons why he faces vehement opposition from the large majority of American Jewish voters,” he added. 

At a Minnesota campaign rally last week Trump praised Minnesotans’ genes during his speech.  Minnesota is a state that’s 84% white and where German and Scandinavian ancestry dominates.  “You have good genes, you know that, right?” Trump told a crowd of overwhelmingly white supporters. “A lot of it is about the genes, isn’t it, don’t you believe?” he added. “The racehorse theory. You think we’re so different? You have good genes in Minnesota.” 

The “racehorse theory” of genetics holds that some human beings are born genetically superior to others.  Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, characterized Trump’s remarks as “eugenics” — basing a human being’s worth on genes. “It was used by Nazis to justify genocide,” she said. “Today, it’s used by white nationalists — & apparently the @POTUS— to justify hate.”

Coronavirus Art - Gland, Switzerland

Mystery Surrounding Mass Bird Deaths in New Mexico

Biologists in New Mexico have sounded the alarm after thousands of song birds were recently found dead.

New Mexico State University Professor Martha Desmond told media that the reason for the mass die off is a mystery but could be tied to smoke from wildfires.  The number of birds that have died may now be in the "millions", she said.  Scientists have reported North American bird populations have declined massively in recent years.

State biologists have asked people to report sightings of dead birds for further research to be conducted,  Some birds-- including migratory warblers, swallows and bluebirds - were seen acting strangely before their deaths, according to witnesses.  "It's devastating. I don't think I've ever seen anything this horrible in my life," Prof Desmond, who works for the university's department of fish, wildlife, and conservation ecology, said.

"When you're there, you know, picking them up off the ground and seeing the extent of it and then looking at all these carcasses come in," she continued.  Neighboring states such as Colorado, Arizona, and Texas have also reported increased numbers of bird deaths.

Smoke from wildfires is thought to have affected the birds lungs, or forced them to change migratory routes. Recent snows in Colorado could also be a culprit, Prof Desmond said, adding that more will not be known until the animals carcasses can be studied.  Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service in the Santa Fe National Forest have appealed for public help. In a tweet, the agency wrote that "unexplained songbird mortality has wildlife biologists in NM very concerned," and asked people to collect data from birds that they find.

 

Homeland Security to Invade the Privacy of U.S. Citizens in its Assault on Immigrants

As the 2020 elections approach, Donald Trump is continuing his attack on immigrants by demonizing and intimating Americans who want to help immigrants.  The Trump administration is now proposing to collect DNA data from not only detained migrants but U.S. citizens and any others who sponsor immigrants. The proposal looks to expand Homeland Security's ability to collect DNA, eye scans, voice prints, and palm prints, as outlined n the proposed rule published in the Federal Register.

The proposal intends to “provide DHS with the flexibility to change its biometrics collection practices and policies.”  At the time of the proposal’s initial announcement, DHS officials expressed that the move would allow the department to utilize new technologies as they become more available, CNN reported.  The proposal states that “any applicant, petitioner, sponsor, beneficiary, or individual filing or associated with an immigration benefit or request, including United States citizens, must appear for biometrics collection without regard to age unless DHS waives or exempts the biometrics requirement.”

It also proposes that regardless of age, anyone arrested or in the “care” of the department be subject to DNA collection.  The proposal directly affects applications taken by USCIS, which processes green cards and visas for family members, workers, refugees, and asylum seekers.  By collecting biometric data from those who wish to sponsor immigrants the administration claims it can verify whether the genetic relationship of the individuals is legitimate in addition to checking criminal histories. 

This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has attempted to collect DNA from immigrants and those supporting them.  Last year the administration argued it had the ability to collect DNA from migrants detained by authorities under a 2005 law, Reuters reported.  In May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began a pilot project to collect DNA samples from undocumented immigrants who were arrested and in February it began fingerprinting 14 and older unaccompanied migrant children in immigration shelters.  The agency claimed both moves would better protect both migrants and the country from what it called “fraud” and help solve cold cases. These prints were collected and shared with law enforcement agencies.

The overreaching proposal was first reported by BuzzFeed News and has received great criticism since.  "Collecting a massive database of genetic blueprints won't make us safer—it will simply make it easier for the government to surveil and target our communities and to bring us closer to a dystopian nightmare," Andrea Flores, deputy director of immigration policy for the American Civil Liberties Union, said.  “Trump’s goal is clear: to shut down the legal immigration system and make immigration as difficult as possible," she added.

While it is unclear whether the administration will finalize the rule prior to the election, the proposal calls for public comments until October 13.  Despite Trump’s consistent xenophobic policies and speech, recent polling research has found that Americans have become more welcoming of immigrants and refugees since 2016, Daily Kos reported.  As more Americans see through Trump’s lies and blatant hate for immigrants, we can only hope America makes the right decision this November.

RIP to an American Icon

Maluma - Hawai

ICE Revealed to be Performing Forced Hysterectomies on Detainees

A new whistleblower complaint has been filed against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency charging "jarring medical neglect" inside the Irwin County Detention Center, in Georgia. The facility is a private prison, run by LaSalle Corrections.

The whistleblower complaint charges facility management with refusing to test detained immigrants for COVID-19 infection, with hiding COVID-19 infections from detainees and from staff, and with other patterns of neglect, but the most shocking claim is of "high rates" of medical sterilizations of detained women. According to the complaint, ICDC nurses report "high rates of hysterectomies done to immigrant women," from "a particular gynecologist outside the facility."

From a nurse and whistleblower at the facility: "Everybody he sees has a hysterectomy—just about everybody. [...] We've questioned among ourselves like goodness he's taking everybody's stuff out. ... That's his specialty, he's the uterus collector. [...] Everybody he sees, he's taking all their uteruses out or he's taken their tubes out. What in the world."

The complaint charges that the immigrant women are not fully informed of the procedures before they are performed, with non-Spanish speaking staff "googling Spanish" to try to convey what will be done or giving conflicting justifications for it. One detainee was reportedly given three separate, conflicting explanations for what procedure was to be done, from draining a cyst to "scraping tissue" to falsely claiming the woman was suffering from "heavy bleeding"—though the women herself told them she was not.

The attorneys behind the complaint would not confirm the identity of the doctor referenced in the complaint, but other news organizations have learned it is gynecologist Mahendra Amin, based in Douglas, Georgia. The doctor, also an immigrant, is affiliated with Coffee Regional Medical Center and Irwin County Hospital in Georgia. 

The reasons for the "high rates" of hysterectomies are not speculated on, but the sterilization of prisoners without their informed consent has a notorious history, both in this nation and in others. Whether the procedures are being done through faulty or "neglectful" diagnosis, or in an attempt to inflate medical billing, or for racial motives is not known.

According to the complaint, it appears as if detention center officials transfer women to an outside gynecologist, now believed to be Amin, and that detained women told Project South they do not trust the doctor.  Dawn Wooten, a licensed practical nurse employed by ICDC, later emerged as the whistleblower. “I’ve had several inmates tell me that they’ve been to see the doctor and they’ve had hysterectomies and they don’t know why they went or why they’re going,” the nurse said in the complaint, noting that other ICDC nurses also expressed concern about the gynecologist, whom she referred to as “the uterus collector.”

A spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that has represented people detained at ICDC, confirmed to Prism that Amin has seen multiple women represented by the organization. The spokesperson could not currently confirm the extent of those appointments.

The Trump administration has become known for its inhumane treatment of migrant women, pregnant people, and other vulnerable populations in the detention system.

Federal agencies specifically targeted pregnant migrants as part of the “zero tolerance” policy, setting off a chain of events in which hospitals separate mothers from their newborns. Former Office of Refugee Resettlement Director Scott Lloyd forced teen migrants to remain in federal custody because they wanted to access abortion care. He took the battle all the way to the Supreme Court, fighting migrants’ constitutional right to abortion because abortion did not gel with his staunch religious beliefs. Lloyd even blocked teens from accessing care when their pregnancies were the result of rape. ICE also covertly changed its policy regarding pregnant people requiring they be detained instead of released, and Border Patrol has pushed doctors to “clear” pregnant migrants for detention.

The allegations of medical neglect and human rights abuses at ICDC are longstanding. However, conditions have worsened during the pandemic. Immigrants experience “jarring” and “life-threatening” medical neglect inside the Georgia detention center, according to the complaint, which also alleges the facility falsifies medical records, shreds immigrants’ requests for health care, denies detained people lifesaving HIV and cancer medications, and provides almost no protections against COVID-19. Women detained at the Irwin County Detention Center released a video in April pleading to be released and expressing fear they would die in the facility.

 

Trump HHS Appointee Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Over the weekend, multiple news outlets broke the story that Trump's appointed assistant secretary of public affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services and his assistants have been watering down or blocking key CDC reports known as the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports.  Not only have Michael Caputo and aide Paul Alexander been engaged in ongoing battle with CDC scientists over findings that contradict Trump's own rosy claims, during the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic, but they have done so while accusing CDC scientists of writing "hit pieces" meant to damage the administration— and the claims both men have made, in confronting CDC scientists, have been so broadly conspiratorial in nature as to raise questions about both men's fitness for their jobs.

Caputo, who incredibly is in charge of HHS communications, has responded to the allegations against him with an absolutely batshit Facebook video in which Caputo accuses CDC scientists of "sedition" for the content of their reports, claims an anti-Trump "resistance unit" is operating inside the CDC, claims he is in real personal danger of being killed by anti-Trump forces, and launched into a string of off-the-rails conspiracy theories that culminated in him urging Trump supporters to "buy ammunition" in preparation for a Biden attempt to seize the presidency from Trump.

As reported by The New York Times, the core of Caputo's rant was an extended conspiracy theory premised around the "deep state." In response to the release of emails showing his and Alexander's conspiracy-laced interference in the CDC's scientific reports, Caputo confirms he believes there is a "resistance unit" of the CDC that is writing [accurate] reports on the severity of the pandemic in order to undermine Donald Trump.  Caputo then went the full Alex Jones, saying:  "You understand that they’re going to have to kill me, and unfortunately, I think that’s where this is going."

"I don’t like being alone in Washington." There are "shadows on the ceiling in my apartment," shadows that are "so long,"  Caputo added.  Crazy Caputo then claimed that the Trump supporter killed during a confrontation with protesters in Portland, Oregon, "was a drill," and that "when Donald Trump refuses to stand down at the inauguration, the shooting will begin. The drills that you’ve seen are nothing. If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it’s going to be hard to get."

Congressional Democrats have already announced that there will be a full investigation of Caputo and Alexander's interference in the Morbidity and Mortality reports.  It's also evident that one of the key reasons for 200,000 American deaths during the pandemic is because Caputo and allies have fraudulently hindered and delayed the pandemic response due to an underlying belief that scientists were not trying to save lives, in warning plainly of COVID-19 risks, but trying to damage conservatism's bizarre, indifferent, and dysfunctional leader.

 

Coronavirus Art - Gaza City, Palestine

 

Iran Executes Wrestling Champion Despite International Outcry

 

Iran executed a wrestler accused of murder, defying international appeals for him to be spared.  27-year-old Navid Afkari was sentenced to death over the murder of a security guard during a wave of anti-government protests in 2018.  He said he had been tortured into making a confession.  Afkari was executed by hanging in the southern city of Shiraz, according to Iran state media.  Afkari was a national champion in wrestling, a sport that has a long history and is hugely popular in Iran.

 

Human rights organization Amnesty International described Afkari's execution as a "travesty of justice".  In a leaked recording released by the group, Afkari says: "If I am executed, I want you to know that an innocent person, even though he tried and fought with all his strength to be heard, was executed."  His lawyer, Hassan Younesi, said his client had been prevented from seeing his family before his death, as required under Iranian law.  "Were you in such a hurry to carry out the sentence that you deprived Navid of a last visit?" Younesi said on Twitter.

 

There had been many calls to stop the execution, including from a union representing 85,000 athletes worldwide.  The World Players Association said he had been "unjustly targeted" for taking part in the protests, and called for Iran's expulsion from world sport if it went ahead with the execution.  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) called his execution "very sad news" and said their thoughts were with his family and friends.  "It is deeply upsetting that the pleas of athletes from around the world and all the behind-the-scenes work of the IOC... did not achieve our goal," their statement said.

 

Afkari's brothers Vahid and Habib were sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison in the same case.  In an audio recording leaked from the prison where he was being held, Afkari had said he had been tortured.  According to his mother, Afkari's brothers were forced to testify against each other.  According to Afkari's lawyer, there was no video of the moment of the security guard's killing-- contradicting Iranian news reports.  Afkari's lawyer added that the footage used as evidence in the case was taken an hour before the crime took place.

Trump Doesn't Care About Schools or Kids

Trump has repeatedly insisted that young people are “virtually immune” to COVID-19. “They don’t have a problem,” said Trump. “They just don’t have a problem.” Trump’s official White House statements indicated that schools could “reopen safely” because “children are at an extremely low risk for a serious illness or death,” while Trump insisted that children “don't bring it home easily” to give to parents or others. That ignored 570 children who had already come down with COVID-19–Associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome by July, as well as studies that showed COVID-19 was spread by children just as well as by adults. 

Just this week, 20-year-old California University of Pennsylvania football player Jamain Stephens died from COVID-19. This tragedy came less than a week after the medical director for the Big 10 revealed that a third of college athletes who had contracted COVID-19 showed lasting heart damage. That was true even with student athletes who had an asymptomatic case of the disease. It’s not just the blood clots caused by COVID-19 that are causing damage. The virus directly damages heart muscle along with lung tissue.

This tragic news comes on the heels of news that Trump called the commissioner of the Big 10 and callously pressured him to have the athletes play football. “We're pushing very hard,” said Trump. “I think they want to play, and the fans want to see it, and the players have a lot at stake, including possibly playing in the NFL.” As the sad story of Jamain Stephens shows, the players have a lot more at stake than NFL careers that are waiting for only a small fraction of those who take the fields in college.

But the pressure that Trump put on student athletes and colleges is only a fraction of what he’s applied to schools in an attempt to force them to open. That includes threats to withhold federal funds from schools that do not reopen “fully” and “in person.” The last pointless effort of Senate Republicans to put together a bill they had no intention of passing reflected this desire by restricting two-thirds of school funding only to schools that “physically” reopened. 

Trump doesn't care about anyone's kids-- he only cares about his own.

 

 

Trump Administration Secretly Stealing from NY Firefighters

 

On 9/11, many political officials—people like Donald Trump and Mike Pence—make appearances around the country. They make speeches and take solemn photographs near memorials. They make it a point to remind people how brave our country’s police and fire departments and other first responders are. Now The New York Daily News has a depressingly explosive story about the Trump administration’s way of remembering.

According to the report, millions of dollars have been withheld from the Fire Department of New York’s (FDNY) World Trade Center Health Program, a program that was set up exclusively for them and which “tracks and treats FDNY firefighters and medics suffering from 9/11 related illnesses.” How much money? Where has it gone? Why have they done it? All of these questions have been pursued since the beginning of the Trump administration when the program’s director, Dr. David Prezant, first started seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars being “docked” by the U.S. Treasury.

Prezant says there has never been an explanation, never even a warning that this money, which goes to serve the men and women who have suffered and continue to suffer from serious medical issues on behalf of serving our country, was being withheld. It is important to note here that more people have died from 9/11-related illnesses than died on 9/11. No fewer than 200 firefighters have died due to their exposure to the tragedies of 9/11.

The program has been able to continue running as the funds have been floated by the Fire Department, which has been handing over the money with the understanding that the federal government must give it back to the people it was allotted for at some point. According to Prezant, the only partial and mysterious explanation he’s been able to get after years of silence is that the Trump administration has been in some sort “unrelated feud” with “some other agency in the city” over Medicare bills.

New York Rep. Max Rose tweeted: “There is not a single excuse that can justify defunding medical treatment for our heroes suffering from 9/11-related illnesses.” He’s right, but the current administration is such a con at this point that all one needs to do is read about how Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin have handled the majority of the COVID-19 stimulus, at the expense of people like disabled veterans. Calls from Republican Rep. Peter King and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for answers and action have not yet been answered.

The president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, Jake Lemonda, told the Daily News: ‘”I’m not sure what quite what to make of this other than it’s despicable. We’ve fought very hard for many years for these funds to provide proper medical treatment for our sick and injured. The withholding of these funds without a legitimate explanation is inexcusable.”

 

Jawsh 685 feat. Lauv & Tyga - Sweet and Sour

Bob Woodward Proves Trump to Be a Liar - What a Surprise!

Trump was lying to the nation in February, and he's still lying to the nation now. He lied to the nation every month, every week, every day, and every hour in between. He knew that COVID-19 was far deadlier than flu.  He knew it was easily spread and highly contagious. He knew that a national system of testing, case tracing, and isolation was vital to effectively managing the pandemic.  He knew all that. He just decided it would be better if more Americans died.

Now we have solid evidence that Trump was lying to the nation from the very beginning about COVID-19.  At the beginning of the outbreak, Trump publicly downplayed the virus as no more dangerous than the flu.  But in reality, he secretly admitted to Bob Woodward-- in newly disclosed secret recordings-- that he was lying to the public about the danger we all faced.

“You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed,” Trump said in a February 7 call with Woodward. “And so that’s a very tricky one. That’s a very delicate one. It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu.  This is deadly stuff.”

“I wanted to always play it down,” Trump told Woodward on March 19, according to a copy of the book obtained by CNN. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

But by ignoring reality in public, the president didn’t prevent panic, he provoked it. Many statements Trump made as the virus spread in the U.S. were outright falsehoods:

“We have it very much under control in this country.” “It’s going to be just fine.” “It’s one person coming in from China.” “We’re doing a great job with it.” “It’s going to have a very good ending for us.” “We’re in great shape.” “We have 12 cases — 11 cases, and many of them are in good shape now.” “Just stay calm. It will go away.” “And again, when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.” “It’s going to disappear. One day it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” 

Responding to the bombshell on Wednesday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump “has never lied to the American public on COVID” and also claimed he “never downplayed the virus.”  Looks like Krazy Kayleigh is just as bad a liar as her predecessor Sarah Huckster.

Coronavirus Art - Depok, Indonesia

 

Suspicious Death of National Intelligence Analyst Generates Little U.S. News Coverage

 

In a story that has seen suspiciously little reporting, one of the nation’s highest-ranking intelligence officials died by suicide at his home in the Washington, D.C., area a few months ago, but the U.S. intelligence community has remained publicly silent about the incident even as the CIA has conducted a secret investigation of his death.

52-year-old Anthony Schinella, a U.S. national intelligence officer, shot himself on June 14 in the front yard of his Arlington home.  A Virginia medical examiner’s report lists Schinella’s cause of death as suicide from a gunshot wound to the head.  His Sara Corcoran, who had just married him weeks earlier, said that she was in her car in the driveway, trying to distance herself from Schinella during a domestic dispute when she witnessed his suicide. At the time of his suicide, Schinella was only weeks away from retirement.

Soon after his death, an FBI liaison to the CIA entered Schinella’s house and removed his passports, his secure phone, and searched through his belongings, according to his wife, Sara Corcoran, a Washington journalist.  The CIA has declined to comment on the incident.

As NIO for military issues, Schinella was the highest-ranking military affairs analyst in the U.S. intelligence community, and was also a member of the powerful National Intelligence Council, which is responsible for producing the intelligence community’s most important analytical reports that go to the president and other top policymakers.

The National Intelligence Council is now under the control of the Director of National Intelligence, and has recently gained greater public prominence as its analytical work has been caught up in political controversies surrounding the Trump administration, including this summer’s public firestorm over intelligence reports about Russian bounties to kill American troops.

On June 26,  the New York Times reported that Russia paid bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, and President Donald Trump quickly faced criticism for having failed to do anything in response to protect American troops. Within days, the National Intelligence Council produced a memo that claimed that the intelligence about the bounties wasn’t conclusive. While the memo was not made public, it was quickly picked up in the press and seemed designed to placate Trump by raising doubts about the original news story about the Russian bounties. The NIC memo appears to have been generated at the urging of John Ratcliffe, the former Republican Texas congressman and Trump supporter who became director of national intelligence in May.

But at the time that the memo became public, there was no mention of the fact that the one member of the NIC who should have had the most input into the analysis concerning military operations in Afghanistan — had killed himself just days earlier.  In fact, Schinella was considered an expert on the Taliban and its military capabilities.  Though he was an analyst, Schinella had deployed to four different war zones during his career.

After his death, Schinella’s wife discovered a large collection of bondage and S&M gear that had been hidden in his house, along with 24 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.  His wife said that one of Schinella’s CIA colleagues contacted her recently and said the CIA has completed an investigation into Schinella’s death, but didn’t provide her with any details.

Schinella's wife, Sara Corcoran is a Washington D.C.-based journalist, author of a column called DC Dispatch for City Watch, and publisher for National Courts Monitor.  In an interview, Corcoran said that she thought her husband may have killed himself because he didn't want to retire, even though some of his colleagues may have believed he was looking forward to it.   “I would say, maybe he was sad about leaving the agency," she said. "Somebody [else] would say, ‘Wait, he was so happy, he was going to do his own consulting business, join the board of a private equity firm, and be head of research British think tank’ … I don’t know.” 

 

Touching Tribute to a Cultural Icon

 

Renting a U-Haul While Being Black

 

Charles McMillon Jr., his 10-year-old son, and Kendrick Clemons had just dropped off a U-Haul van at Fountain Plaza parking lot, in Tallahassee, Florida, when suddenly bullets began whizzing around them. McMillon and the two others were sitting in their own vehicle, typing mileage numbers into the U-Haul  app, the way rentals like this work, when Wallace Fountain and his wife, Beverly Fountain, began shooting at them.  Luckily, McMillon quickly drove off before anyone got hurt.

According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the Fountains are the owners of the strip mall and had decided to set up a vigilante sting, hiding inside of another U-Haul vehicle. The couple told authorities that they were trying to stop people from syphoning off and stealing gas. Of course, McMillion, his son, and his friend weren’t doing anything illegal-- in fact, they were sitting in their own car, not anywhere near the gas tank of a U-haul vehicle.  Wonder what made the Fountains think the McMillons were suspicous?  Hmmm.  

 The fact is, the McMillons seem to have been the only people in that parking lot following the law.  As it turns out,  a Tallahassee police officer was parked in the same strip mall when he heard the shots and was able to verify that nothing out of the ordinary was happening between McMillon, his child, and their family friend.  The Fountains are now facing charges of aggravated assault.

The Fountains claimed they were not shooting at the family, but in the air, “only to scare the individuals they suspected were stealing gasoline." According to the police, the Fountains were carrying three pistols in hand at the time, with a shotgun in their stakeout U-Haul, along with an additional two magazines of ammo.   Beverly Fountain said this wasn’t a race issue. “Were they Black? We weren’t going off on that at all," she said.  So let me get this-- if the Fountains couldn't see that the three people they were shooting at were black, they're essentially admitting they fired their weapons without looking first-- which endangers countless others. 

McMillon and Clemons are now suing both U-Haul and the Fountains over the ordeal, saying they hoped to bring more light to how Black citizens are living. Clemons told reporters that “We’re hopeful now more than ever that this country finally sees that Black lives do matter. This isn’t just a movement. This is a way of life for millions of minorities, a way of life in which we are targeted by police, the justice system and civilians all because we ‘fit the description.’"

Clemons also pointed out that the Fountains are out on bail-- something that exposes the two different justice systems for whites and blacks.  “If we’re the ones shooting at them, we would still be in jail right now, probably with no bond, probably with intent to kill. But they got to walk free," said Clemons

The reason we have laws against vigilantism is because it is dangerous. But it is important to understand that there is no such thing as a black vigilante in America-- only white ones. A Black person taking “the law into their own hands” is simply a criminal, a felon, or a “thug.” 

Coronavirus Art - Denver, Colorado

 

Bizarre Indonesian Ritual of the Dead

In August of each year, the Torja community of Indonesia's South Sulawesi province, re-dress their relatives' bodies, clean them, speak with them and even light them cigarettes.

The Toraja Death Rituals are considered the biggest celebration of life by people who believe the link between life and death is infinite.   In a ritual called Ma'Nene, the bodies of the deceased are exhumed to be washed, groomed and dressed in new clothes.

Families gather to raise their dead loved ones from their tombs and clean and re-dress the corpses in a ritual honoring the spirits of their mummified ancestors.

The tradition is entrenched in the Toraja people's culture even though they are actually a largely Protestant Christian community in a Muslim-majority country.

When loved ones die families keep their bodies for months, sometimes years, in their own homes or in  a 'Tongkonan' which is a specific building designed to house the dead.

While families mourn, prepare for burials and save for the funeral they often interact with the bodies as if they were alive by talking to them and including them in family meals.

The Torjan community consider death to be the most important aspect of life and often get into crippling debt from paying for funerals.  The annual visit to their loved ones is considered a second funeral where they also clean or replace coffins to prevent the bodies from decomposing.

After relatives have spent time with the dead and re-dressed their bodies and coffins they are usually reinterred with gifts in their ornate, colorful coffins.  

Head of the Torajan branch of AMAN Eric Crystal Rante Allo said while it might seem strange to outsiders, it is a key part of the culture.  "Toraja people believe the spirit of the dead lives among us, the living, looking out for us, blessing us," he said. 

"That's why, before the ritual of the burial is performed, they are called to'makula, or just sick, not yet dead. Toraja's people highly respect their dead."  Visitors are welcome to visit the area during the ritual month of August and are encouraged to take part in the festivities.    

Dua Lipa, Madonna & Missy Elliott - Levitating

India Presses Ahead to Re-Opening Despite Surge in COVID Cases - Sound Familiar?

India is entering a new phase of reopening that will see subway trains running for the first time in months, despite skyrocketing daily coronavirus infections that are showing no sign of slowing down.

The country of 1.3 billion people has reported more than 75,000 infections for five consecutive days -- the fastest growing caseload of any country in the world.  Last week, India recorded 85,687 new Covid-19 infections, the world's highest single-day spike since the pandemic began, surpassing the previous record of 77,255 cases set by the United States on July 16.

India's infection rate has increased exponentially in recent weeks. It took almost six months for the country to record 1 million cases, another three weeks to hit 2 million, and only 16 more days to hit 3 million.  At this rate, India's total number of cases, now at over 3.6 million, is on track to outnumber that of Brazil to become the second highest in the world, behind the U.S.

A lifeline for millions of people living in the country's major cities, the metro rail networks were shut down in late March when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a "complete" lockdown that required residents to stay home and brought the country to a standstill.  But the strict lockdown -- imposed with little warning or planning -- also exacerbated India's inequality and economic woes. In urban areas, millions of daily wage earners were left without jobs or food -- and many made lengthy and sometimes fatal trips home to far away states, often on foot. 

 

Under pressure to resuscitate the battered economy, Modi's government started to roll back nationwide lockdown measures in May. "Corona will remain part of our lives for a long time, but we cannot allow our lives to be confined only around corona," Modi said in a national televised address at the time.

Since then, nationwide restrictions have been eased progressively, although some hard-hit parts of the country have enforced their own restrictions. But the number of infections has soared, from just over 180,000 cases on May 30 to hit a million by mid-July.

 

After initially appearing to have curbed the spread of the virus, India, the world's second most populous nation, has struggled to cope with the fast-expanding outbreak.  Across the country, critically ill virus patients have been turned away from public and private hospitals for lack of beds, staff and equipment. Earlier this month, a state minister died of the virus while two Indian cabinet ministers checked into hospital after testing positive.

 

The Indian health authorities have said that part of the reason for the soaring cases is an increase in testing. As of Saturday, the country has tested more than 41.4 million people, almost doubling the amount of tests conducted by early August.  Yet some experts believe cases are still being under-reported.   Modi has pointed to the country's widespread testing, high recovery rate and low death rates to highlight its success in handling the coronavirus. But others argue the pandemic has revealed the country's shortcomings in providing widespread accessible basic needs like health care, education, and electricity.

 

Coronavirus Art - Dakar, Senegal

 

Trump's Visit to Kenosha a Complete Failure

Over the objections of the mayor and the governor, Trump went ahead with a visit to Kenosha Wisconsin.  He hasn't visited Portland, Oregon which has seen larger protests-- but then again, Oregon isn't a battleground state for the upcoming election. 

During his visit Trump didn't visit Jacob Blake's family or even mention Jacob's name.  He seemed more interested in property damage made by BLM protesters than the human toll levied by Trump supporter Kyle Rittenhouse, who actually killed people.

Trump was so callous, he shockingly compared the cop shooting Blake in the back seven times to a golfer who chokes and misses a 3-foot putt.

He also lied about the federal government sending in the national guard-- the troops were authorized by the Wisconsin governor and were under the state's command the entire time.

Trump claimed his goal for visiting Kenosha was to unite people, but when asked if there is systemic racism, he instead attacked protesters.

Dr. Death on Call at the White House

Last month, Dr. Scott Atlas of the Hoover Institution was selected by Donald Trump to serve as an advisor on the COVID-19 pandemic, though he has no specialist expertise in infectious disease or epidemiology.   

Atlas, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank and frequent commentator on Fox News, has frequently advocated for eliminating Obamacare, and also has called for eliminating Medicare and Medicaid and replacing them with private insurance and health savings accounts.

Atlas was initially active in Trump's efforts to reopen schools against the advice of a consensus of health professionals, saying, "We know that the risk of the disease is extremely low for children, even less than that of seasonal flu."   In actuality, researchers are still studying the effects of the virus on children and their rate of transmission.  However, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics last month found infected children have at least as much of the coronavirus in their noses and throats as infected adults.

And now, the Washington Post is reporting that Atlas is among the leading White House proponents for a proverbial "death cult"-- urging the White House to embrace a controversial “herd immunity” strategy to combat the pandemic, which would entail allowing the coronavirus to spread through most of the population to quickly build resistance to the virus,

The Trump administration has already begun to implement some policies along these lines, particularly with regard to testing.  Atlas is also advocating  that the United States adopt the model Sweden has used to respond to the virus outbreak, according to these officials, which relies on lifting restrictions so healthy people can build immunity to the disease rather than limiting social and business interactions to prevent the virus from spreading.

Sweden’s disastrous handling of the pandemic has been heavily criticized by public health officials and infectious-disease experts as reckless — the country’s infection and death rates are among the world’s highest, and up to five times worse than its neighbors.  Sweden was also unable to avoid the deep economic problems resulting from the pandemic.

Atlas has argued that an increased case count will move the nation more quickly to herd immunity and won’t lead to more deaths if the vulnerable are protected. But infectious-disease experts strongly dispute that, noting that more than 25,000 people younger than 65 have died of the virus in the United States. In addition, the United States has a larger number of vulnerable people of all ages because of high rates of heart and lung disease and obesity, and millions of at-risk people live outside nursing homes — many in households with children, whom Atlas believes should return to school in person.

 Under pressure from the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also updated its testing guidance last week to say that those who are asymptomatic do not necessarily have to be tested. That prompted an outcry from medical groups, infectious-disease experts and local health officials, who said the change meant that asymptomatic people who had contact with an infected person would not be tested. The CDC estimates that about 40 percent of people infected with covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, are asymptomatic, and experts said much of the summer surge in infections was due to asymptomatic spread among young, healthy people.

Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said that given the transmissibility of the novel coronavirus, it is likely that about 65 to 70 percent of a population would need to become infected to achieve herd immunity.  In the United States, with a population of 328 million, reaching a 65 percent threshold for herd immunity may require 2.13 million deaths, assuming the virus has a 1 percent fatality rate, according to an analysis made by the Post.

It also remains unclear whether people who recover from COVID-19 have long-term immunity to the virus or can be reinfected, and scientists are still learning who is vulnerable to the disease. And from a practical standpoint, it is nearly impossible to sufficiently isolate people most at risk of dying of covid-19 from the healthier population, according to public health experts.

Atlas has argued that the country should be testing only people with symptoms, despite the fact that asymptomatic carriers spread the virus. He has also repeatedly pushed to reopen schools and has advocated for college sports to resume. Atlas has said, without evidence, that children do not spread the virus and do not have any real risk from COVID-19, saying that more children die of influenza.

 

Atlas’s appointment comes after Trump earlier this summer asked his White House advisers to find a new doctor who would argue an alternative point of view from Birx and Fauci, with whom the president has grown increasingly annoyed for public comments that he believes contradict his own assertions that the virus’s threat is receding.  To many, the key to Atlas' appointment was his frequent appearances on Fox News in recent months.

Atlas has said he is unsure “scientifically” whether masks make sense, despite broad consensus among scientists that they are effective.

Dr. Deborah Birx has been at odds with Atlas on several occasions, with one disagreement growing so heated at a recent coronavirus meeting that other administration officials grew visibly uncomfortable.  One of the main points of tension between the two is school reopenings. Atlas has pushed to reopen schools, and Birx is more cautious.

“This is really unfortunate to have this fellow Scott Atlas, who was basically recruited to crowd out Tony Fauci and the voice of reason,” said Eric Topol, a cardiologist and head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego. “Not only do we not embrace the science, but we repudiate the science by our president, and that has extended by bringing in another unreliable misinformation vector.”