News Day

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.”

Nope: not at all true. Continue reading →

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 →

Coronavirus from Wikimedia Commons

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 →

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A month ago, I wrote about the Trump administration’s moves against the U.S. Postal Service. Now it is much worse. Here are the latest developments:

Yesterday (August 13), Trump said he is not going to fund the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) because he does not want them to have enough money to handle absentee/mail-in ballots for the November election. Yes—he actually said that out loud. Just as, back in March, he said that allowing more people to vote would mean that Republicans could not win the election.

While Trump continues to bloviate about fraud in mail-in voting, that is a pack of lies. He has cited zero evidence. Five states have had all-mail-in voting for years, with no problems. Continue reading →