News Day, written by Mary Turck, analyzes, summarizes, links to, and comments on reports from news media around the world, with particular attention to immigration, education, and journalism. Fragments, also written by Mary Turck, has fiction, poetry and some creative non-fiction.
Mary Turck edited TC Daily Planet, www.tcdailyplanet.net, from 2007-2014, and edited the award-winning Connection to the Americas and AMERICAS.ORG, in its pre-2008 version. She is also a recovering attorney and the author of many books for young people (and a few for adults), mostly focusing on historical and social issues.
Misinformation about voting is everywhere this year. Despite that, voting has never been easier in Minnesota.
Each state, not the federal government, sets up voting rules. Some states encourage voting by mail. For example, Oregon mails a ballot to every registered voter, as there is no in-person voting. Vote-by-mail has been Oregon’s only voting for 22 years.
Some states limit absentee or mail voting. In Texas, you can only vote by mail if you are unable to vote in person. If you are afraid of long lines and crowded polling places in Texas: tough luck! That’s your only option.
Today, Trump admitted that he deceived the American people about COVID. But that’s not even the worst news of the day. A whistleblower complaint from a senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official says he was ordered to conceal evidence of Russian interference in the 2020 election because it “made the President look bad.” Top DHS officials also tried to alter a report to cover up white supremacist violence.
Maybe I should feel happy that today’s news shows Trump’s lies so clearly. That’s not what I feel. Instead, I am deeply afraid for the future of my country.
Last week’s story was about Trump using more than $50 million in campaign funds to pay for legal fees related to defense of his aides, family members, and campaign. Today, he is using the Department of Justice to defend him in a civil suit in New York. That means you and I are paying for his personal legal defense.
This image was originally posted to Flickr by Becker1999 at https://flickr.com/photos/21426642@N07/50267630941. It was reviewed on 26 August 2020 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.
It’s only September 1, but Trump is already snowing the electorate with a blizzard of lies and distortions. Here’s a fact check on just his most recent statements about Kenosha:
“If I didn’t INSIST on having the National Guard activate and go into Kenosha, Wisconsin, there would be no Kenosha right now,” Trump tweeted early on Aug. 31, 2020. “Also, there would have been great death and injury.”
Our tax dollars—$250 million of them—are going to pay for a pre-election public relations campaign to “defeat despair and inspire hope” on COVID-19. The Department of Health and Human Services has asked for bids from communications firms for that amount. They will be paid for “harnessing the power of traditional, digital and social media, the sports and entertainment industries, public health associations, and other creative partners.”
In other words, for producing propaganda about public health. Continue reading →
The Office of the Chief Actuary of the Social Security system looked at Trump’s promise to end the dedicated payroll taxes that pay for Social Security on January 1. The conclusion: this would bankrupt the Social Security system by 2023. The fund for disability payments would be empty by mid-2021. The fund for Social Security benefits would be gone by mid-2023. To make it personal: my social security check would be gone as of June 2023. My 94-year-old mother’s social security check would be gone. If you are over 65, your social security check would be gone. Continue reading →
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For all the Trump-eting about post office failure, fraudulent ballots, and “twelve more years,” voting can still work—unless we give in to his hype and give up on the election. That may be the real goal of the shock tactics employed against the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) over the past two months. I’m not going to give in to this nonsense. I’m going to vote, I’m going to mail in my ballot, and I’m going to make sure that it is counted. Continue reading →
Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times by a Kenosha police officer. In front of his children. All captured on video. He is alive, but will probably never walk again. I could say a lot, but I will not say anything today. Instead, I urge you, my friends and family: Listen to the voices of Jacob Blake’s family and of Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers. Continue reading →
Black Minnesotans are more than five times more likely than White Minnesotans to be infected with COVID-19, more than three times more likely to be hospitalized, and three or four times more likely to die. Similar disparities affect other communities of color. COVID-19 hits Latino, Asian, and Native American Minnesotans harder than White Minnesotans.
These numbers should surprise no one. They are just the latest in a long parade of disparities. Continue reading →
Trump flat-out lies so often that it is hard to keep up with rebuttals. He lies even when you can see and hear the truth. Today’s egregious example is his tweet claiming that Democrats “took the word GOD out of the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democrat National Convention.” That’s a lie. 100 percent false.
Here are links to video from the Pledge at the Democratic National Convention each night. Click and you can see for yourself. Continue reading →
Bombing schools and hospitals is a war crime. Deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime. Yesterday’s fulminations from the Führer in the White House go beyond war crimes to announce that he intends genocide: the wiping out of an entire people and civilization.
ICE is only one of the federal agencies surveilling people. Federal surveillance reaches far beyond immigrants. Federal agents use massive databases, facial recognition, cell phone photos, and license plate records. Beyond surveillance, they target and threaten people involved in protests, bringing the full weight of federal power to bear on individuals. Their actions often remain […]
Five years after the violent attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, the attacks on democracy and on elected officials continue. Yesterday, two politicians currently under attack by the Trump administration spoke out with anger and eloquence.
The New York Times today has plenty of coverage of who, how, when, and where the United States illegally attacked Venezuela and abducted its president and first lady. But that’s far from the whole story. A few easily overlooked but essential facts: For informed insights on the consequences of Trump’s attack on Venezuela, see:
50 USC Ch. 33: WAR POWERS RESOLUTION §1541. Purpose and policy (a) Congressional declaration It is the purpose of this chapter to fulfill the intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States and insure that the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply to the introduction of United […]
Mary Turck is a writer, editor, and blogger. She is also the former editor of theTC Daily Planet and of the award-winning Connection to the Americas and AMERICAS.ORG and a recovering attorney.
Mary Turck