Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 33,700,008 -- Total deaths: 1,008,874 -- Total recoveries: 23,426,047.
2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 a.m. ET: 7,191,406 -- Total deaths: 206,005 -- Total recoveries: 2,813,305 -- Total tests: 103,155,189.

Climate's surprise appearance in the debate
Axios | Ben Geman | 09/30/20

The debate was a mess as moderator Chris Wallace struggled with President Trump's interruptions. But let's analyze the climate parts anyway without normalizing the whole thing.

Why it matters: The contest provided a collision over the topic between Trump and Joe Biden, and underscored the two candidates' immense differences. ... Read more

Trump's 2 chilling debate warnings
Axios | Mike Allen | 09/30/20

One of the few groups in America with anything to celebrate after last night's loud, ugly, rowdy presidential "debate" was the violent, far-right Proud Boys, after President Trump pointedly refused to condemn white supremacist groups.

Why it matters: This was a for-the-history-books moment in a debate that was mostly headache-inducing noise. Trump failed to condemn racist groups after four months when millions marched for racial justice in the country's largest wave of activism in half a century.

Trump also telegraphed with clarity that there's unlikely to be a clean outcome to the Nov. 3 election: "We might not know for months, because these ballots are going to be all over. ... It's a fraud and it's a shame. ... It's a rigged election." ... Read more

Jerome Powell, Trump's re-election MVP
Axios | Dion Rabouin | 090/29/20

President Trump trails Joe Biden in most polls, has generally lower approval ratings and is behind in trust on most issues. Yet polls consistently give him an edge on the economy, which remains a top priority among voters.

Why it matters: If Trump wins re-election, it will largely be because Americans see him as the force rallying a still-strong U.S. economy, a narrative girded by skyrocketing stock prices and consistently climbing U.S. home values -- but the man behind booming U.S. asset prices is really Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

..What's got many voters feeling the "wealth effect" -- a greater belief in economic strength and confidence when the value of homes and investment portfolios rise -- despite the fact that only half of Americans own stocks and more than 80% of equities are held by the top 10% of households. ... Read more

Is America Zinnished?
ZeroHedge | staff | 09/29/20

About twenty years ago The Atlantic published a piece by Jeffrey Tayler named "Russia is finished" subtitled "The unstoppable descent of a once great power into social catastrophe and strategic irrelevance." Not a very successful prediction was it? But what he did was fashionable at the time -- he described what was happening in Russia in the nineties and made a straight-line projection from there. His error was assuming the continuation of the straight line -- and he made the error because he thought Russia was only "Zaire With Permafrost".

My purpose in this essay is to apply the points that the author made about Russia twenty years ago to the United States of America today and adopt a simple straight-line projection based on a corresponding view of American history. This is not so much because I think that America really is finished -- after all, as Adam Smith observed, there is a great deal of ruin in a nation, and America has seen hard times before -- but in order to illustrate the perilous position America is in today. As the author of the Atlantic piece must now understand, straight-line predictions are always risky because -- as happened in Russia -- other forces can appear to change the "unstoppable descent". But a straight-line prediction from the American situation as of the autumn of 2020 does point to an "unstoppable descent" into "social catastrophe and strategic irrelevance". ... Read more

It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America by David Cay Johnson

New York Times bestselling author and longtime Trump observer David Cay Johnston shines a light on the political termites who have infested our government under the Trump administration, destroying it from within and compromising our jobs, safety, finances, and more.

In It's Even Worse Than You Think, Johnston exposes shocking details about the Mexican border wall, and how American consumers will end up paying for it, if it ever gets built; climate change, and all about Scott Pruitt who spent much of his career trying to destroy the agency he now heads; stocking--not draining--the swamp, despite his promise to do the opposite, Trump has filled his cabinet with millionaires and billionaires; and the Kleptocracy, where Donald Jr. and Eric run an eyes-wide-open blind trust of Trump holdings to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest--but not the reality.

With story after story, It's Even Worse Than You Think "diagnoses the Trump administration as a...government by the least qualified and most venal among us" (The Washington Post). This is "a momentously thorough account of President Trump's alarmingly chaotic first year in office...a precise and fiery indictment of an unstable, unethical president that concludes with a call for us to defend our democracy"

Trump's Massive Hairstyling Bill Revealed In NYT Bombshell Tax Report
HP | Ed Mazza | 09/27/20

The New York Times's explosive report on President Donald Trump's years of alleged tax avoidance also exposed another secret: the cost of his coif.

The newspaper reports that when Trump hosted "The Apprentice," he wrote off $70,000 in hairstyling costs; and that nine Trump entities have written off payments of close to $95,000 for "a favorite hair and makeup artist of Ivanka Trump." ...

... The Times report says Trump paid $750 a year in taxes in 2016, another $750 in 2017, and, despite his claims of being a successful businessman, nothing at all in 10 of the previous years due to massive financial losses. ... Read more

Trump Holds $421 Million In Debt, Could Owe IRS $100 Million In Penalties, Times Says
HP | Nick Visser | 09/27/20/span>

President Donald Trump personally holds $421 million in debt and loans that are largely coming due in the next four years, The New York Times reported Sunday after obtaining more than two decades of his long-sought tax returns.

The Supreme Court: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | 09/28/20 | 21:12

Progressives bide time for a Biden victory
Axios | Alexi McCammond | 09/28/20

Progressive Democrats want to beat President Trump so badly that they're tabling their apathy about Joe Biden -- organizing hard to get him into office, only to fight him once elected.

Why it matters: That's a big difference from 2016, when progressives' displeasure with Hillary Clinton depressed turnout and helped deliver the White House to Trump. ... Read more

NYT Publishes 10,000 Word Summary Of 20 Years Of Trump Tax Returns; President Calls It "Totally Fake News"
ZeroHedge | staff | 09/28/20

... And without a blockbuster "gotcha" that would confirm that Trump had violated the law, the NYT simply concludes by noting that "in the end the financial picture for Mr. Trump is fraught" and that "as he approaches one of the most consequential elections in American history -- down in most polls, under I.R.S. audit and heavily in debt -- his businesses may not be well equipped to navigate what lies ahead."

While notable, and hardly unique to just the president, this is probably not the damning climax so many in the anti-Trump field were expecting in the 4-year-long crusade to get Trump's tax returns. Oh yes, and then there is the audit, the same audit Trump has said prevents him from publishing his tax filings: Read more

Republicans condemn Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power
Axios | Ursula Perano | 09/24/20

A number of prominent Republican lawmakers have condemned President Trump's refusal on Wednesday to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses November's presidential election.

Driving the news: Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), the House's #3 Republican, tweeted, "The peaceful transfer of power is enshrined in our Constitution and fundamental to the survival of our Republic. America's leaders swear an oath to the Constitution. We will uphold that oath." ...

... The big picture: Trump has baselessly claimed that the only way he will lose the election is if it's "rigged," claiming -- without evidence -- that mail-in ballots will result in widespread fraud. ... Read more

Trump booed and jeered on visit to Ruth Bader Ginsburg's casket
TheGuardian | Joan E Greve | 09/24/20

Donald Trump was greeted with jeers and boos on Thursday as he visited the late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's flag-draped coffin in Washington.

The crowd at the bottom of the steps to the famous supreme court building near the US Capitol, gathered to honor the liberal justice as she lies in repose, had a seemingly visceral reaction as the president turned up.

Trump, wearing a black face mask and accompanied by Melania Trump, stood near the casket at the marble court building amid clearly audible, loud booing from many assembled. As the president and the first lady paused at Ginsburg's casket, the crowd yelled, "Vote him out!" ... Read more

What Is Going On With Unemployment Claims?
HP | Arthur Delaney | 09/24/20

The U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday that 1.5 million American workers filed new unemployment claims last week, marking 27 consecutive weeks above a million ? a shocking streak.

Before this crisis, there had never been more than a million new unemployment claims in a single week, according to seasonally adjusted Labor Department data going back to 1967. ... Read more

FDA chief vows agency will not accept political pressure on coronavirus vaccine
Axios | Marisa Fernandez | 09/23/20

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn promised that "science will guide our decision" for a coronavirus vaccine at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

Why it matters: More Americans are expressing doubt about a first-generation vaccine, despite President Trump's efforts to push an unrealistic timeline that conflicts with medical experts in his administration. ... Read more

Zooming in on China's new energy plan
Axios | Ben Geman | 09/23/20

Major climate news arrived on Tuesday when Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would aim for "carbon neutrality" by 2060 and a CO2 emissions peak before 2030.

Why it matters: China is by far the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter. So its success or failure at reining in planet-warming gases affects everyone's future. ... Read more

A STUNNING Fact About The 2016 Election, That Should Get Out The Vote in 2020 | TYT | 09/23/20 | 9:07

Trump falls into the trap he set for Biden
Politico | Gabby Orr | 09/23/20

Donald Trump will face Joe Biden within days for the first of three presidential debates, and some of the president's supporters are already bracing for a humiliating loss.

White House allies, Republican donors and some of Trump's closest advisers worry that a recent, frenzied push by his top lieutenants to portray Biden as a seasoned debater -- with the goal of raising expectations for the Democratic presidential nominee -- is too late and too disingenuous to have an impact when the two meet on the debate stage next Tuesday. ... Read more

The price of Washington's stimulus failure
Axios | Alayna Treene | 09/22/20

America's elected representatives have failed America. Why it matters: The bipartisan inability to deliver economic stimulus could impede economic growth for months to come. It will create widespread damage across America -- from small businesses to large industries to schools and day cares -- and leave many Americans without jobs or homes.

State of play: The initial economic stimulus, called the CARES Act, was only designed to last through the summer. Since then, congressional leaders have become too entrenched in their partisan positions to reach a deal on anything else. ... Read more

Trump and Xi to give dueling speeches Tuesday at UN General Assembly
Axios | Dave Lawler | 09/22/20

President Trump and China's Xi Jinping will address the UN General Assembly just minutes apart on Tuesday morning -- with Russia's Vladimir Putin following soon thereafter.

The big picture: Trump has promised a "strong message on China." Xi, meanwhile, is expected to laud global cooperation -- with the clear implication that it can be led from Beijing.

Setting the scene: The 75th annual General Assembly will be unrecognizable, with more world leaders (173) than ever addressing the forum, but all of them doing so via pre-recorded videos. ... Read more

UNGA 2020: US President Donald Trump says UN "must hold China accountable" for COVD-19 pandemic | UN | 09/22/20 | 7:04

UNGA 2020: China - President Addresses General Debate, 75th Session | UN | 09/22/20 | 16:39

UNGA 2020: Russia President Putin's full speech at U.N. General Assembly | UN | 09/22/20 | 18:43

The top Republicans who aren't voting for Trump in 2020
Axios | Jacob Knutson | 09/18/20

Vice President Pence's former lead staffer on the White House coronavirus task force announced that she plans to vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, while accusing President Trump of costing lives with his pandemic response.

Why it matters: Olivia Troye, who described herself as a life-long Republican, joins other prominent Republicans who have publicly said they will either not vote for Trump's re-election this November or will back Biden. ...

Not voting for Trump:
Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah)
John Bolton
Jeff Flake
William H. McRaven
Voting for Biden:
Colin Powell
Carly Fiorina
John Kasich
Rick Snyder
Miles Taylor
On the fence:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)
Undecided publicly, but skeptical about Trump:
George W. Bush
Jeb Bush
Cindy McCain
Worth noting:
Jim Mattis
John Kelly
Read more

Woodward on his interviews with Trump: He's the wrong man for the job | FoxNews | 09/16/20 | 13:40

Scaramucci: Trump has sycophants who are willing to lie for him | 09/17/20 | 6:37

Trump holds campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin | 09/17/20 | 1:48:35

Betsy DeVos's Former Chief Of Staff Joins Anti-Trump Group
HP | Carla Herreria Russo | 09/17/20

Josh Venable, who worked for DeVos from 2017 to 2018, joined the Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform (REPAIR) as an adviser, Politico reported Thursday.

REPAIR is made up of current and former administration officials, according to the group's founders, Miles Taylor and Elizabeth Neumann, who both previously served in the Department of Homeland Security.

Taylor, a longtime Republican, served in the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. Last month, he officially endorsed Joe Biden for president in an op-ed in The Washington Post. Neumann left her post as assistant secretary of counterterrorism and threat prevention in the Department of Homeland Security in April after three years..... Read more

FBI director confirms "very, very active" Russian efforts to interfere in election
magazine | author | date

FBI Director Chris Wray on Thursday told Congress the bureau has seen "very active efforts by the Russians to influence our election in 2020," primarily to "denigrate Vice President Biden and what the Russians see as kind of an anti-Russian establishment."

Why it matters: It confirms previous statements from various intelligence officials about Russia's interference activities, which continue with less than 50 days until the election. ... Read more

Former DNI Dan Coats: "Every conceivable effort" must be made to protect election
Axios | Ursula Perano | 09/17/20

Dan Coats, who served as President Trump's director of national intelligence, wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday that "every conceivable effort" must be taken to safeguard November's election from claims of illegitimacy.

Why it matters: President Trump has repeatedly baselessly suggested that increased mail-in voting could lead to widespread voter fraud, and intelligence officials warn that foreign actors, including Russia, will continue to try to influence this year's election.

The big picture: While serving as DNI, Coats repeatedly affirmed the intelligence community's consensus that Russia had interfered in the 2016 elections, despite pushback from Trump.

What he's saying: "Our democracy's enemies, foreign and domestic, want us to concede in advance that our voting systems are faulty or fraudulent," Coats wrote, also citing the discourse around conspiracy theories, the news media and social media. ... Read more

Trump contradicts his CDC director over masks, vaccine timeline
Politico | Brianna Ehley | 09/16/20/span>

President Donald Trump on Wednesday twice contradicted his own CDC director -- on mask-wearing and vaccine distribution -- saying the country's top public health official misspoke while testifying under oath before a congressional committee earlier in the day.

Robert Redfield told the Senate Appropriations Committee that wearing a mask could be more effective than a coronavirus vaccine at keeping the pandemic at bay. "If I don't get an immune response [from a Covid-19] vaccine it's not going to protect me. This face mask will," he said. Redfield later tweeted a similar message -- after the president insisted that his top public health official was mistaken and "confused."

The exchange is only the latest example of the president publicly discrediting or pressuring his own appointees and government scientists at the major federal health agencies on the coronavirus pandemic response -- on testing, treatments, a vaccine timeline, even the severity of the threat from the virus itself. ... Read more

Exclusive: First full at-home COVID-19 test
Axios | Bryan Walsh | 09/16/20

Gauss, a computer vision startup, and Cellex, a biotech company that works on diagnostics, are announcing the first rapid COVID-19 test that can be fully performed by people at home without involving a laboratory.

Why it matters: Experts agree that the U.S. still needs far more widespread testing to help contain the coronavirus pandemic. An antigen test that could be performed and provide results rapidly at home could help reduce testing delays and allow people to quickly find out whether they need to isolate because of a COVID-19 infection.

How it works:

Trump Struggles With Tough Questions From Voters At Town Hall | The 11th Hour | MSNBC | 09/16/20 | 7:18

Hurricane Sally: slow-moving storm hits Gulf coast with conditions set to worsen
TheGuardian | Matthew Teague | 09/16/20

Hurricane Sally made landfall on the US Gulf coast early on Wednesday morning, with pounding rain and winds whipping above 100mph but with the huge category 2 storm system grinding along at just 2 mph -- a turtle's walking pace -- increasing the danger of flooding.

The slow-motion storm exhausted residents in Alabama who listened through the night to tornado-warning sirens, phone alerts and howling winds, many frightened, sheltering but also sweltering indoors after power failures, as the storm approached. ... Read more

Wildfires ignite Trump vs. Biden climate battle
Axios | Ben Geman | 09/15/20

The devastating West Coast wildfires have, at least for now, put a hot glare on the role of climate change in the 2020 presidential election.

Catch up fast: Joe Biden called President Trump a "climate arsonist" Monday in a speech that argued his dismissal of consensus climate science is a threat to people nationwide. ... Read more

Firefighters pushed to the limits as unprecedented infernos rage across US west coast
TheGuardian | Gabrielle Canon | 09/15/20

t was always going to be a hard year for California's firefighters. Even before freak summer lightning storms lit up the state weeks earlier than expected and Covid-19 and the climate crisis became dueling calamities, fire crews were bracing for a season of record-breaking infernos across the west.

Now, fatigued first responders are facing fires that are burning hotter, faster and more frequently than ever before -- and it's only expected to get worse as the season goes on. The strain is already starting to set in.

"I have never seen something at this level," said James Bowron, Oakland fire department's battalion chief. In nearly three decades on the job, he has never witnessed this many fires burning at once. ... Read more

Melinda Gates slams Trump's COVID-19 response
Axios | HBO | 09/14/20

Melinda Gates slams Trump's COVID-19 response | HBO | 09/14/20 | 1:35

Melinda Gates told "Axios on HBO" that the Trump administration has neutered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and continued to bungle its coronavirus response, concluding that only a "lack of leadership" explains why far more people have died in the U.S. than in other developed countries.

Why it matters: The comments mark the sharpest rebuke yet from the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has emerged as the largest funder of the World Health Organization after the U.S. yanked funding earlier this year. ... Read more

Trump to Woodward: "Nothing more could have been done" on coronavirus
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 09/14/20

Journalist Bob Woodward opened up to CBS' News' "60 Minutes" in an interview airing Sunday on the moment in August when President Trump told him, "nothing more could have been done" on the coronavirus.

Driving the news: Trump made the remarks, recorded by Woodward and broadcast by CBS, during one of their final interviews, as the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 was surging. "Does he remember what he told me, back in February, about it's more deadly than the flu?" Woodward said, in reference to an earlier interview with Trump on the virus' dangers. ...

... Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger, who'd been a reporter in China, said his contacts in the country told him, "This is going to be like the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed 675,000 people in this country." ... Read more

Donald Trump's conversations with Bob Woodward about coronavirus, Black Lives Matter and nuclear war | 60Minutes | 09/13/20 | 13:28

Infectious-disease expert: "Telling the truth never causes panic"
Axios | Staff | 09/14/20

Michael Osterholm, a renowned infectious-disease expert and the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that leaders must tell the truth when it comes to public health and that "telling the truth never causes panic."

Why it matters: Host Chuck Todd asked Osterholm if President Trump had made a mistake by not being upfront with the American people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the threat of a pandemic. In an interview for Bob Woodward's new book "Rage," Trump said that he was purposefully "playing it down" so as not to create a "panic." ... Read more

Infectious-disease expert: "Telling the truth never causes panic" | Meet the Press | 09/13/20 | 1:41

Meet The Press Broadcast (Full) - 09/13/20 | Meet The Press | NBC News | 09/13/20 | 47:27

Bob Woodward on "Fear" in the Trump White House | CBS Sunday Morning | 09/13/20 | 12:30

"The Social Dilemma:" Lies Spread 6x Faster Than Truth on Social Media | PBS | Amanpour and Company | 09/12/20 | 18:07

6 of 20 largest California wildfires were in 2020
Axios | staff | 09/11/20

Six of the 20 largest wildfires in modern California history have been this year, the N.Y. Times reports (subscription) in "A Climate Reckoning in Fire-Stricken California."

What they're saying: "It's really shocking to see the number of fast-moving, extremely large and destructive fires simultaneously burning," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, told The Times. "I've spoken to maybe two dozen fire and climate experts over the last 48 hours and pretty much everyone is at a loss of words. There's certainly been nothing in living memory on this scale."

The context: We can never remind you of this often enough: 18 of the warmest 19 years have occurred since 2001, according to NASA. ... Read more

Strzok: Trump's Financial Involvement With Russia Is Very Broad | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 09/10/20 | 7:39

Oregon fires force hundreds of thousands to flee as deaths rise
TheGuardian | Jason Wilson | 09/11/20

Deadly wildfires in heavily populated north-west Oregon continued to grow on Friday, turning the sky blood orange red and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee encroaching flames while residents to the south assessed their losses. Portland on Friday was deemed to have the worst air quality of any major city in the world.

... In Washington state, 600,000 acres have burned. Governor Jay Inslee, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination on a ticket that put the climate crisis as the No 1 issue facing America and the world, said the abnormally dry conditions and high temperatures fueled by climate change were making fires "so explosive". ... Read more

'A Fool': Trump Insider Backs Cohen, Putin Playing Trump Like A Sucker | MSNBC | 09/09/20 | 10:23

The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts by David Vine

The United States has been fighting wars constantly since invading Afghanistan in 2001. This nonstop warfare is far less exceptional than it might seem: the United States has been at war or has invaded other countries almost every year since independence. In The United States of War, David Vine traces this pattern of bloody conflict from Columbus's 1494 arrival in Guantanamo Bay through the 250-year expansion of a global US empire. Drawing on historical and firsthand anthropological research in fourteen countries and territories, The United States of War demonstrates how US leaders across generations have locked the United States in a self-perpetuating system of permanent war by constructing the world's largest-ever collection of foreign military bases--a global matrix that has made offensive interventionist wars more likely. Beyond exposing the profit-making desires, political interests, racism, and toxic masculinity underlying the country's relationship to war and empire, The United States of War shows how the long history of U.S. military expansion shapes our daily lives, from today's multi-trillion--dollar wars to the pervasiveness of violence and militarism in everyday U.S. life. The book concludes by confronting the catastrophic toll of American wars--which have left millions dead, wounded, and displaced--while offering proposals for how we can end the fighting.

**Why Trump talked to Woodward
Axios | Mike Allen | 09/10/20

President Trump, who rails about anonymous sources, is suddenly confronted with an extensive, unsparing, on-the-record account of his thinking about America's virus and race crises -- and he's the source. Instead of "Rage," Bob Woodward could have called his book: "Undeniable."

Why it matters: We get a torrent of tweeted and spoken words from Trump -- far more public musing, riffing and ranting than from any president, ever. But it's not always clear what to believe, what matters, or what will endure. Now, we can read and hear Trump free-associating for history.

Woodward tapped Trump's vanity and insecurity to secure an astonishing 18 interviews, totaling nine hours, with the most powerful man in the world. Woodward was allowed to record all the on-the-record sessions. Audio snippets were released yesterday along with extensive excerpts from the book, out Tuesday.... Read more

Bob Woodward TalkstoScott Pelley on "60 Minutes"

**Big companies can't lose with Fed money up for grabs
Axios | Dion Rabouin | 09/10/20

Business has entered its next evolution -- the can't lose market -- but only for large companies with access to public markets.

The state of play: Companies with enough size are starting to take advantage of the moment, and backed by a seemingly endless supply of free Fed money can go all-in on whatever they want.

Driving the news: Mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Property Group unveiled plans to acquire "substantially all of JCPenney's retail and operating assets" for $1.75 billion Wednesday. It's the biggest and riskiest of Simon's recent acquisitions through its joint venture with Authentic Brands Group that includes recently scooped-out-of-bankruptcy Brooks Brothers, Forever 21, Lucky Brand and a portfolio of brands known as SPARC. ... Read more

Western states pummeled by wildfires and extreme weather
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 09/09/20

The Western U.S. is being hit by wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres along the Pacific Coast, while Colorado has seen records for both hot and cold temperatures within three days.

Driving the news: California fighters are battling more than two dozen major fires, as PG&E cut power to 170,000 customers in a safety shutdown. In Oregon, thousands were forced to evacuate as several large wildfires ravage the state. In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) tweeted that 330,000 acres had burned in the state in a single day -- "more than 12 of the last 18 entire fire seasons."

In Colorado, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith said the sudden change from searing heat to snow would give firefighters battling the massive Cameron Peak Fire in the state's north some relief, but it's "certainly not going to stop this fire."

Of note: Denver on Tuesday tied with a 1962 record for the lowest temperature, as it hit 31 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. On Saturday, Denver hit a record high of 101°F. ... Read more

Trump says he knew Covid-19 was deadly even though he downplayed it | CNN | 09/09/20 | 6:00

Senate returns with a path to nowhere on coronavirus aid
Politico | Marianne Levine | 09/08/20

The Senate returns from its August recess Tuesday with no signs of progress on a new coronavirus relief package -- and only days to reach a deal before lawmakers head back home to campaign.

Despite weeks of high-level talks between the White House and Democratic congressional leaders, a bipartisan compromise is increasingly unlikely before the election even as millions of Americans remain unemployed and the coronavirus' death toll continues to rise. ...

... Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other top Senate Republicans have been scrambling to round up votes for a narrow economic stimulus package they could put on the floor and hammer Democrats for opposing. The $500 billion-plus proposal includes $300-per-week federal unemployment payments on top of regular state benefits, another round of funding to aid small and medium-sized businesses, liability protections for businesses, schools and charities, and $105 billion for education, among other provisions. ... Read more

NBC Nightly News Broadcast (Full) - September 8th, 2020 | NBC Nightly News | 09/08/20 | 20:59

Investors are talking the talk, but hedging the walk
Axios | Fadel Allassan | 09/08/20

Even after the pullback to end last week, U.S. stock prices are booming and fund managers have largely hitched their wagons to the idea that prices will continue rising for the foreseeable future. But many are hedging their bets, showing bullishness in words much more than in deeds.

What's happening: The vast majority of assets -- including currencies, bond prices, commodities and equities -- have risen notably in price since the start of the third quarter. It's a "buy anything" market.

Citigroup's panic/euphoria model -- tracking metrics such as options trading, short selling and client note bullishness, instead of stock buying -- has reached almost three times the level denoting euphoria and shows the longest run of extreme bullishness since the early 2000s. ... Read more

Michael Cohen book details Trump's racism and toxic family dynamic
TheGuardian | Martin Pengelly | 09/08/20

Trump's former lawyer publishes memoir Disloyal, prompting White House statement calling him a liar

Michael Cohen published his memoir of his time as Donald Trump's fixer on Tuesday, greeted by a White House statement calling him a "disgraced felon and disbarred lawyer", and a liar.

It was pointed out in return that Cohen was convicted of lying to Congress in order to protect Trump -- himself a well-catalogued liar -- over his links to Russia and payments to women which may have violated campaign finance law.

Cohen was also convicted of lying to a financial institution and tax fraud. He is still serving a three-year sentence, begun in a federal institution but now at home in New York because of the coronavirus. ... Read more

Where the Trump campaign's money went
Axios | staff | 09/08/20

In a deeply reported article on "How Trump's Billion-Dollar Campaign Lost Its Cash Advantage," the N.Y. Times' Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman found some unusual spending by the Trump campaign.

Why it matters: Money concerns are very real for President Trump's campaign -- an unusual predicament for a sitting president, and one that worries veteran Republican operatives. ... Read more

California hiker dies as record heat wave fuels massive wildfires
Axios | Rebecca Falconer | 09/07/20

Los Angeles County authorities announced Santa Monica Mountains trails will be closed this long weekend after a woman died hiking during California's record-breaking heat wave, as wildfires continue to ravage much of the state.

What's happening: Red flag warnings were issued across California, as scores of blazes burn nearly 2 million acres amid hot, dry conditions. Pacific Gas & Electric, the state's biggest utility, warned that it might cut power to some 103,000 customers Monday "to reduce the risk of wildfire from energized power lines." ... Read more

Senate Republicans to vote on skinny bill amid stimulus deadlock
Axios | Alayna Treene | 09/07/20

As Congress remains deadlocked on new stimulus funding, Senate Republicans are preparing to pass their own slimmed-down version of a bill this week -- without Democrats.

Why it matters: Several weeks have now passed since key relief programs from the CARES Act expired and millions of Americans continue to struggle under the enormous weight of the pandemic. ... Read more

Reformed Neo-Nazi Explains How People Fall Prey to QAnon Online | MSNBC | 09/06/20 | 9:22

White House on defense against barrage of tell-all books | CNN | 09/06/20 | 7:53

Barr interview gets tense when pressed on mail-in voting | CNN | 09/02/20 | 10:35

Bill Barr responds to what Trump said about him on Fox News | CNN | 09/02/20 | 10:44

Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are 'Losers' and 'Suckers'
TheAtlantic | Jeffrey Goldberg | 09/03/20

The president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic.

When President Donald Trump canceled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, he blamed rain for the last-minute decision, saying that "the helicopter couldn't fly" and that the Secret Service wouldn't drive him there. Neither claim was true.

Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as "suckers" for getting killed. ... Read more

Jeffrey Goldberg: I Think Trump Is Genuinely Confused By Service | Morning Joe | MSNBC | 09/04/20 | 9:03

James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution
TheAtlantic | Jeffrey Goldberg | older06/03/20

In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary backs protesters and says the president is trying to turn Americans against one another.

James Mattis, the esteemed Marine general who resigned as secretary of defense in December 2018 to protest Donald Trump's Syria policy, has, ever since, kept studiously silent about Trump's performance as president. But he has now broken his silence, writing an extraordinary broadside in which he denounces the president for dividing the nation, and accuses him of ordering the U.S. military to violate the constitutional rights of American citizens.

"I have watched this week's unfolding events, angry and appalled," Mattis writes. "The words 'Equal Justice Under Law' are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand--one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values -- our values as people and our values as a nation." He goes on, "We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution." ... Read more

How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley

As the child of refugees of World War II Europe and a renowned philosopher and scholar of propaganda, Jason Stanley has a deep understanding of how democratic societies can be vulnerable to fascism: Nations don't have to be fascist to suffer from fascist politics. In fact, fascism's roots have been present in the United States for more than a century. Alarmed by the pervasive rise of fascist tactics both at home and around the globe, Stanley focuses here on the structures that unite them, laying out and analyzing the ten pillars of fascist politics--the language and beliefs that separate people into an "us" and a "them." He knits together reflections on history, philosophy, sociology, and critical race theory with stories from contemporary Hungary, Poland, India, Myanmar, and the United States, among other nations. He makes clear the immense danger of underestimating the cumulative power of these tactics, which include exploiting a mythic version of a nation's past; propaganda that twists the language of democratic ideals against themselves; anti-intellectualism directed against universities and experts; law and order politics predicated on the assumption that members of minority groups are criminals; and fierce attacks on labor groups and welfare. These mechanisms all build on one another, creating and reinforcing divisions and shaping a society vulnerable to the appeals of authoritarian leadership.

By uncovering disturbing patterns that are as prevalent today as ever, Stanley reveals that the stuff of politics -- charged by rhetoric and myth -- can quickly become policy and reality. Only by recognizing fascists politics, he argues, may we resist its most harmful effects and return to democratic ideals.

RNC 2020 & Kenosha: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | John Oliver | 08/31/20 | 20:09

A Comparison Of America’s Presidents In Hours Of Crisis | Deadline | MSNBC | 08/31/20 | 11:41

Scoop: Zuckerberg, Chan invest $300 million in election infrastructure
Axios | Mike Allen | 09/01/20

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg are putting up $300 million to promote "safe and reliable voting in states and localities" amid the pandemic, the Center for Tech and Civic Life and Center for Election Innovation & Research will announce Tuesday.

What they're saying: "The more I've focused on this election, the more important I've felt it is both to make sure local counties and states have the resources they need to handle these unprecedented conditions, and that people are aware that the infrastructure is in place to make every vote count so they can accept the result of the election as legitimate," Zuckerberg told Axios. ... Read more