Hooray, the computer is working. In a synoptic nutshell:
~ From CNN: (videos enclosed on the links)
Trump Mocks Virus As He Launches Potential Superspreader Sprint To Win Reelection
Updated 12:39 AM ET, Tue October 13, 2020
"CNN)Donald Trump on Monday launched a three-week quest to save his presidency, behaving as though the pandemic that has killed 215,000 Americans was already a memory in front of a packed-in crowd -- even amid chilling new warnings about the resurgent virus.
In
his first rally since his own bout with Covid-19, Trump painted a
deeply dishonest picture of the nation's battle with the disease, mocked
Biden over social distancing and vowed victory on November 3 as he
began a frantic push to Election Day, marked by multiple rallies a day
that could act as superspreader events.
"I
feel so powerful, I'll walk into that audience. I'll walk in there,
I'll kiss everyone in that audience," Trump said in Sanford, Florida,
showing his illness did not teach him to respect his own government's
pandemic guidelines. "I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and the
-- everybody. I'll just give everybody a big, fat kiss."
The President's return to the campaign trail coincided with rising alarm among Republicans about Trump's sliding poll numbers and after CNN reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently warned Democrats are "on fire." Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Monday seized on the start of confirmation hearings from Trump's Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett to warn that the GOP was ramming through the nomination in a last ditch bid to destroy the Affordable Care Act.
At
his Florida rally, Trump fed off the large crowd's energy during his
hour-long performance and ran through his demagogic list of favored
political attacks, from law and order to his false claims of voting
irregularities. He took the stage hours after the White House physician
said he posted negative Covid-19 tests in consecutive days.
"(Biden)
may be the worst presidential candidate in history and I got him,"
Trump said, despite a flurry of recent polls showing him down by double
digits to the former vice president and trailing in most swing states.
Biden
campaigned Monday in Ohio, a state once seen as a sure fire bet for
Trump that Democrats think is now in play, and synchronized his message
with Capitol Hill colleagues using the Barrett nomination to supercharge
claims that she would be a vessel to finally kill off Obamacare, which
faces its next date with destiny in the court a week after the election.
"In
the middle of this pandemic, why do Republicans have time to hold a
hearing on the Supreme Court instead of providing the significant
economic need for localities?" Biden asked. "I'll tell you why. It's
about finally getting his wish to wipe out the Affordable Care Act."
Biden
also rebuked Trump for his "reckless" conduct since his diagnosis,
saying: "The longer Donald Trump is president the more reckless he seems
to get."
Trump says his crowds are 'the real polls'
Taken
in isolation, Trump's rally looked like any other big campaign event
three weeks before an Election Day. While some supporters wore masks
behind him in the camera shot, many people in the big, outdoor crowd did
not.
And despite presiding over a
botched pandemic response, Trump claimed he had saved millions of lives.
After turning his White House into a superspreader that caused multiple
infections, the President also criticized Biden for holding socially
distanced events in which attendees sit in designated circles.
"They
only have the circles because that's the only way they can fill up the
room," the President said, before gazing out at his own large and
raucous crowd that contravenes every government recommendation on
combating the virus and saying: "These are the real polls."
But
medical experts expressed despair at Trump's decision to gather huge
crowds during a worsening pandemic, ahead of a swing that Trump aides
said Monday would involve multiple rallies each day in the coming weeks.
"I
promise you, the virus is there, whether it is an indoor event or an
outdoor event in these large gatherings," said Dr. William Schaffner,
professor of health policy and preventive medicine at Vanderbilt
University on CNN's Erin Burnett "OutFront," who added that the images
of Trump's rally made him "weep."
"Some
of those people will become sick, they will spread it to others when
they get home and they will become sick. These are accelerator events
that promote the distribution of the virus," Schaffner said.
Trump's
mockery of his own government's recommendations -- his rallies are
almost the only mass participation events taking place in the world
right now -- came amid fast darkening warnings about the months ahead.
The
government's top infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci,
warned that rallies like the one Trump held on Monday night are "asking
for trouble."
"Because when you look at what is going on in the United States, it is really very troublesome," Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper.
Later,
Fauci delivered an even more dire warning about a pandemic that is
seeing rising cases in 31 one states as a fall spike -- that is
effectively being ignored by a negligent White House -- begins to gather
pace.
"I think we're facing a
whole lot of trouble," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, referring to coronavirus infections
which have recently climbed back above 50,000 a day.
"That's
a bad place to be when you're going into the cooler weather of the fall
and the colder weather of the winter," Fauci said.
US doing worse that other nations in virus deaths
Trump's
claim to have saved millions of lives is based on the presumption that
there would have been many more deaths had no counter-measures been
taken against the disease -- a scenario no one was seriously advocating.
New
research on Monday exposed the President's misinformation and showed in
staggering clarity how the US has done far worse than many other
industrialized nations in saving lives during the pandemic. After May
10, the US had more deaths per 100,000 people than other high mortality
countries featured in a study published in the medical journal JAMA.
Countries
including South Korea, Japan and Australia recorded fewer than five
deaths per 100,000 people. If the US had comparable death rates to
Australia since the beginning of the pandemic, it would have had 187,661
fewer deaths, according to the study conducted by Alyssa Bilinski, a
PhD candidate at Harvard University, and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, vice
provost of global initiatives and professor at the University of
Pennsylvania.
If the US had
comparable death rates to Canada it would have had 117,622 fewer deaths.
And it would have recorded 96,763 fewer deaths if it had comparable
death rates to France.
GOP alarm over Trump's prospects
In the CNN Poll of Polls on Monday, Biden led Trump by 11 points. Fresh New York Times/Siena surveys in battlegrounds Michigan and Wisconsin released Monday showed the Democrat up 6 points and 10 points, respectively.
Trump
is hoping to use his return to the campaign trail to portray himself as
triumphing over Covid-19 and to solidify his assurances to Americans
there is nothing to fear from the disease, despite its rising nationwide
threat.
The President -- who has
rarely tried to reach beyond his political base -- is counting on a
massive turnout not just from his 2016 supporters but also from new
working class white voters who identify with him culturally but who have
rarely cast a vote in previous elections. Trump's rally on Monday was
for instance peppered with comments about the "Panhandle," the portion
of northern Florida where he performed especially strongly in 2016.
CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak reported
Monday that Trump is pressing his advisers to organize multiple rallies
in the next few weeks as he tries to unleash a late wave of momentum to
overhaul Biden.
The President is
pining for two and three events a day -- which in the circumstances
could turn into multiple superspreader events -- to revive the spirit of
his push up to his shock victory over Hillary Clinton four years ago.
But
there are signs that the GOP hierarchy in Washington is not seeing the
similarities with 2016, with some seeing Trump's antics, including a
boorish performance at the first presidential debate, as giving
Democrats a golden opportunity to grab both the White House and Senate.
McConnell
delivered his warning about Democrats being "on fire" in a call with
lobbyists recently, according to someone familiar with the remarks.
Senate
Republicans who never expected to have a serious challenge, such as
Lindsey Graham in South Carolina and Joni Ernst in Iowa, are at serious
risk. Graham, who as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman is leading the
Barrett hearings, is facing a challenger, Jaime Harrison, who just
shattered the single quarter fundraising record for a Senate race with
$57 million.
And Trump's itinerary
for later this week also indicates a campaign playing defense as he
travels to Iowa, Pennsylvania and North Carolina -- all states he won
four years ago and where he is in danger of losing now."
~~~~~
Everyone knows we're going to lose this round to Amy Coney Barrett, but the tickle will be if Lindsay Graham loses his Senate seat and is sent back to the Plantation; that upset and a few more will put us in the position to override the arch conservative votes of the Supreme Court, right ?
So hang on to yer seats and stay calm (if you can). Vons has this great organic popcorn with white cheddar cheese, check it out, you may need it.
Lots more here, including the confirmation hearings:
~~~~~~
The " Democrats are on fire !"
 |
| They're waitin for ya Mitch... |
So says the Turtleman; but not in the sense of burning up and burning out as Trump is doing. More like gaining momentum at a rapid and feverish pace in every possible direction.
There are so many "fire" songs...I thought this one was the best - Scorcese used it in one of his scenes as background for his frenetic anti-hero with helicopters flying overhead (hilarious) and it's very hyper. When I hear it I envision lots of energy with thousands of robust and pissed off donkeys on a stampede chasing Mitch The Turtleman out of the Senate chamber from all directions...wow, I must need sleep.
Anyway, Nilsson was a completely cool guy ..you might remember him from years ago on the Smothers Brothers. This is the longer version.
Stay Safe Y'all !
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