LizzieB90

Author Archive for Auriandra Bonner

Feb

🔴 Script 8:8 Ogden Greeley 

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0808, 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force, 6th Amendment, 808, @NBCBlacklist, act of war, adultery, Alan Tuppert, Alfred Hitchcock, Ames, Anne, Anne (Dembe stops Red from seeing), assassination (aborted), Authorization to Use Military Force, birdwatching, Black Budget, black market, Blacklist, Brian Warwick, Cape May Warbler, Captain Andrew Ridge, Captain Ridge, CentCom, Central Command, Central Park, Charlene Cooper, chocolate shop, chocolate truffles, CIA, classified intelligence, computer code, contractor (government), Cooper, Cooper offered job as senator, Cooper saves Red from drone attack, corruption (political), credit score (criminal), criminal credit score, cyber warfare, Dembe stops Red from seeing Anne, Diane Hatch, Director of National Intelligence, Disposition Matrix (kill list), DNI, drone, drone attack (Cooper saves Red from), drone attack called off, due process, England, Episode 8, ethical ambiguity, ethics (situational), federal Kill List, fox sparrow, friends and family discount, FSB agent, General Ames, General Warren Ames, geolocation, government contractor, government secrets, greater good, greater good (I choose the), Greeley, Halloran, Harold Cooper, Harold Cooper saves Red, Hatch, highest bidder, Hitchcock, I choose the greater good, Iceland, intelligence (classified), James Halloran, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Keflavik Iceland, Kill List, Kurylenko, Legal Counsel, life (ordinary), London England, missile attack (fake), Mongolia, moral ambiguity, National Reconnaissance Office, national security, National Security Council, NATSEC, Navy, NBC, New York City, Nina Kurylenko, no-bid contract, normal life, North By Northwest, NRO, NSA, NSC, NYC, ODNI, Office of Legal Counsel, Office of the DNI, Ogden Greeley, ordinary life, ordinary life … really quite extraordinary, phantom ships, political corruption, Predator drone, radar systems, Reaper drone, reconnaissance, Red saved by Cooper, Red stopped from seeing Anne by Dembe, Red stops seeing Anne, Ridge, Russian spy, S08E08, S8E08, satellite security, satellites (spy), satellites (surveillance), script, Season 8, Secretary of State, secrets (government), secrets (state), security (satellite), selling state secrets, Senate [is] a wind tunnel of self-indulgence, senator (Cooper offered job as), Senator Brian Warwick, Senator Warwick, situational ethics, Sixth Amendment, sketchbook, space-based communications, spy, spy (Russian), spy satellites, State Department, state secrets, state secrets (stolen), stolen state secrets, STRATCOM, Strategic Command, surveillance satellites, The Blacklist, The Chi, Thorn (Paul), top secret, truffles (chocolate), Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, UN Charter, war (act of), Warwick, White House, without due process, word is your bond, your word is your bond

🔴 Script 8:8 Ogden Greeley (№ 40)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 2/26/2021 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aS7
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3aZfmAt
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/3soUd8S
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3aLZ4La
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:8 Ogden Greeley ’

Feb

🔴 Script 8:7 Chemical Mary 

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: $1000/hour, 0807, 807, @NBCBlacklist, abduction, adult entertainment, air traffic control, airliner, airplane crash (averted), airport (Charles de Gaulle), Aknoz, Alban Veseli, Alban Veseli re-arrested, Albania, Alina Park asks Red for help, Angela, Ankara Turkey, Archive (Sikorsky), Armenian Highlands, Assad, autopilot, averted airplane crash, averted mid-air collision, Back-Room Butcher, börek, Beluga caviar, biometric security, Blacklist, Boone, border, Bosnia, bounty hunter, Break Glass (In Case of Emergency), Bremmer, brute-force attack, Bujare, burek, burn scars, Butcher (Back-Room), caviar, Charles de Gaulle airport, Chemical Mary, chemical weapons, chlorine gas, cockpit, collision (mid-air) averted, Cooper (Sikorsky tells Red to eliminate), Cynthia Panabaker, daddygate, daughter/father, deportation, Dick the Butcher, Dieterle, Dr Grundig, Dr Mickey Grundig, Durres Albania, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 7, ethical misconduct, ethics, extradition, Farzin, father (I’m not her), father (Red says he’s not Liz’s), father/daughter, favor in return, fingerprint, fingerprint (Red’s), flash drive, flight deck, Fodor’s Guide, France, Freelancer, Freelancer re-arrested, Friedenberg, gender uncertainty, Gervais, ghost story, Grundig, guitarist, hacker, hacking, Hafez Assad, hog poisoned, hostel (youth), hot wings, House Intel Committee, HPSCI, Humvee, hypovolemic shock, I’m not her father, Idlib Province Syria, IED, In Case of Emergency Break Glass, incendiary device, Intel Committee (House), Interpol, Ismael Aknoz, James Spader, James Taylor wannabes, Keen, kidnapping, Kill all the lawyers, Killing’s never been easier, lawyers (Kill all the), Liz, Liz abducts Madeline Toussaint, Lizzie, Lizzy, Make it go away, Mary Bremmer, Mary Bremmer (Liz abducts), Mason Dieterle, masturbation, Megan Boone, Melissa Randall, Mickey Grundig, mid-air collision (averted), miracle, miracles (Will … never cease?), MIT, Moscow Russia, Mount Ararat, N-13, NATO, NBC, near-miss airplane collision, nerve agent, nickles to navy beans, No Ark, Novichok, NSA, obituary, Panabaker, Paris France, Park asks Red for help, passcode, Pi, pig poisoned, plastic surgery, poisoned pig, political correctness, porn movies, quinquadragintillion, Rakitin, Rakitin files, Randall, Raymond, Red, Red Notice, Red says he’s not Liz’s father, Red’s fingerprint, Red’s fingerprint on Scotch glass, Reddington, Rep Russell Friedenberg, retainer, return favor, Rogelio, Rovenpor, Russell Friedenberg, Russia, S08E07, S8E07, sabotage, Sarajevo, Sarin gas, scars (burn), Scooter Rovenpor, Scotch, Scotch glass, Scotch glass (Red’s fingerprint on), script, Season 8, shock (hypovolemic), Sikorsky, Sikorsky Archive, Sikorsky tells Red to eliminate Cooper, skin grafts, Spader, Stephan Gervais, Syria, teddy bear, The Blacklist, The Freelancer, The Freelancer re-arrested, thumb drive, Toussaint, Turkey, Turkish prison, unethical, USB traffic sniffer, Veseli, Veseli re-arrested, vodka, Volgograd Russia, VX gas, war crimes, Will miracles never cease?, you’ll have to eliminate him, youth hostel

🔴 Script 8:7 Chemical Mary (№ 143)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 2/19/2021 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aPm
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3asuc27
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/3scujFb
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3kaTq8N
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:7 Chemical Mary ’

Feb

🔴 Script 8:6 Wellstone Agency 

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0806, 806, @NBCBlacklist, Adin Markovic, Alexander Frayne, Alina Park asks Red for help, Alina Park loses control, American Sign Language, Aram knows eight languages, Aram translates, Aram under cover, Archive (Sikorsky), arson, ashes (Glen’s), ♫ We Are The World, ♫ We’re Not Here for a Long Time, beer pong, Blacklist, Boone, Bosnian bounty hunter, bounty hunter (Bosnian), bowling team, Bruce Hornsby, Carter (Glen), Carter (Glen) dies, Carter (Glen’s mother Paula), Carter (Glen’s) ashes, chicken wings, chili dogs, Colonel, crossword puzzle, deaf (The Colonel is), deafness, Department of Motor Vehicles, Dieterle, discreet, discretion, DMV, DMV (Rockville MD), Dupont Circle, dying wish, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 6, eulogy, eulogy for Glen Carter, family restaurant, Frayne, Freedom Tower, Glen Carter, Glen Carter dies, Glen Carter’s ashes, Glen Carter’s mother Paula, Glen transitioned, Glen was not afraid, Homan, Hornsby, hot dish, Huey Lewis, Huey Lewis’s muse, Human Rights Council (UN), James Spader, Jelly Bean, Jelly Bean dies, Jenna Randall, Jerry, Jessica, Jones (Quincy), Jorgensen, Keen, landlord troubles, languages (Aram knows eight), last wishes (Glen Carter’s), letter from Glen, Lewis (Huey), Liz, Liz hires bounty hunter, Lizzie, Lizzy, loan shark, Markovic, Mason Dieterle, matrix of tests, Megan Boone, Melissa Randall, Melissa Randall dies, memorial party, Miss Jessica, mole, moonlighting, muse, muse (Huey Lewis’s), NBC, New York City, New York Harbor, Nuremberg Trials, NYC, Park asks Red for help, Park loses control, party for Glen Carter at DMV, Paula Carter, pill (red), potluck, quid pro quo, Quincy Jones, Radley Jorgensen, Randall, Randall (Melissa) dies, Raymond, Red, red pill, Reddington, restaurant burns down, Rockville MD, Rockville MD DMV, S08E06, S8E06, scotcheroos, script, Season 8, sign language, Sikorsky, Sikorsky Archive, simultaneous translation, singer songwriter Huey Lewis, Spader, Spare Me bowling team, Statue of Liberty, Steve Homan, The Blacklist, The Colonel, The Wellstone Agency, thumb drive, tracker, translation (simultaneous), translation service for criminals, translation services, Trudy, UN Human Rights Council, unafraid (Glen was), virus (West Nile), weird and strange, Wellstone Agency, West Nile virus

🔴 Script 8:6 The Wellstone Agency (№ 127)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 2/12/2021 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aMp
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3p37nq0
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/3tTvQ4x
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3rDCTN1
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:6 Wellstone Agency ’

Feb

🔴 Script 8:5 Fribourg Confidence

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0805, 6th Amendment, 805, @NBCBlacklist, Abraham Moores, Alban Veseli, Alban Veseli freed, Anne (Birdwatcher), Aram plants bug, Archive (Sikorsky), Assistant US Attorney Navarro, AUSA Navarro, ♫ James Bond, bank heist, bank robbery, birdwatcher, Blacklist, Boone, Box C112, bug (Aram plants), Campo, Cape May Warbler, Cape Town, Carl Conway, Carolyn Givins, cigarette carton, coffee cup, Conway, Cooper gets thumb drive, Counsel (White House), Cvetko, Cynthia Panabaker, daddygate, daughter/father, double-edged sword, drop’s blown, Elizabeth Keen, Elizabeth Keen says Hello, Episode 5, Esi Jackson, father/daughter, Floriana Campo, Freelancer, Freelancer freed, Fribourg Confidence, Givins, Hadley, Hadley pays off Rovenpor, halfsies, handoff, handwriting analysis, heist (bank), homeless man, I’m not concerned. I’m offended, Jackson, James Spader, Jennifer Moores, Judge Steven Velchek, Keen, Liz, Liz delivers thumb drive to Cooper, Lizzi, Lizzy, Lloyd Wilke, lockbox, mass murderer, Megan Boone, Moores, My baby girl, Navarro (AUSA), NBC, note: Elizabeth Keen says Hello, Nurse, Panabaker, Park (Rock Creek), proffer, Raf, Raymond, Red, Red meets Anne (birdwatcher), Reddington, Rock Creek Park, Rosario, Rovenpor, Rovenpor (Hadley paid off by), Rovenpor paid by Liz, S08E05, S8E05, safe cracking, safe house, safety deposit box, Scooter Rovenpor, script, Season 8, Shakespeare, Shining Path, Sikorsky Archive, Silvina Rosario, Sins stones and glass houses, Sixth Amendment, Skip Hadley, Spader, Steven Velchek, The Blacklist, The Freelancer, The Freelancer freed, The Fribourg Confidence, The Sikorsky Archive, theft, thumb drive, thumb drive (Cooper gets), True Cafe, Velchek, Veseli, Veseli freed, Vlad Cvetko, Warbler (Cape May), wheelchair, White House Counsel, Wilke, with all due respect, Your drop’s blown

🔴 Script 8:5 The Fribourg Confidence (№ 140)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 2/5/2021 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aJA
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3pPkTyN
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2MxCP2y
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3pM1tuu’
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:5 Fribourg Confidence’

Jan

🔴 Script 8:4 Elizabeth Keen

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0804, 804, @NBCBlacklist, Agnes, Agnes Keen, airplane (Liz’s new), Allison Thomas, Any fingers crossed, AOC sightings, Aram connects with Agnes, ballet, billy goat, Blacklist, Boone, Brimley, CFSA, cherubs, Child and Family Services, Claflin, coffee (spilled), Comedy or tragedy? How this story ends is entirely up to you, computer files erased, computer server (erase), Danielle Steel, divided loyalties, Donald? Toes?, double life (Tom’s), drug cocktail, Elizabeth Keen, Elizabeth Keen (title), Elizabeth Keen is off limits, engagement ring (washer), Episode 4, erase computer server, fact no one knows is true, fingers crossed?, flat (Tom’s), friend in the East, Gerard (Marvin), goat, goat torture, Guinevere Claflin, Gutman Data Sanitizing Algorithm, hacking, Hadley (Skip), Hadley (Skip) turns, Hawkins, Heddie Hawkins, horned goat, House Intelligence Comttee, House Select Committee on Intelligence, I didn’t have a plan, I’m loyal to principle not country, Intelligence Committee, Ito, James Spader, Keen, Keen (Agnes), Keen played you both, Keenler, knight in shining armor, lawyer, lion in winter, Liz, Liz is Number One on the Blacklist, Liz look-alike, Liz raids one of Red’s accounts, Liz sleeps with Ressler, Liz tricks the team, Lizzie, Lizzy, look you in the eye, look-alike (Liz), love (Liz and Ressler make), loyalties (divided), loyalty, lucky socks, malware, Marks (Merritt), Marvin Gerard, Marvin Gerard (Red misjudges), Max Ruddiger, Megan Boone, Merritt Marks, Moscow Russia, N-13, N-13 (Red confirmed to be), NBC, novels (romance), Number One on the Blacklist is Liz, off limits (Elizabeth Keen is), our friend in the East, paper airplane contest, Rakitin, Raphael’s Two Cherubs, Raymond, recuse, Red, Red is N-13 (confirmed), Red is transactional not loyal, Red misjudges Marvin Gerard, Red’s will, Reddington, resignations offered, Ressler sleeps with Liz, romance novels, Ruddiger, Russia, S08E04, S8E04, scofflaw, script, Scuti Global, Season 8, server (erase computer), sex (Liz and Ressler have), Sikorsky, Sikorsky Archive, Silver Springs MD, Skip Hadley, Skip Hadley flips to Liz, Sleeping Beauty Waltz, socks (unicorn), Spader, spilled coffee, Steel (Danielle), Switzerland (tickets to), Tadashi Ito, tax evasion, The Blacklist, Thomas (Allison), thumb drive, tickets to Switzerland, Tom’s double life, Tom’s flat, Tom’s proposal, torture by goat, tragedy or comedy, train station, traitor, transactional (Red is … not loyal), treason, unicorn socks, unicorns are lucky, Waltz (Sleeping Beauty), washer (engagement ring), wild goose chase, will (Red’s)

🔴 Script 8:4 Elizabeth Keen (№ 1)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 1/29/2021 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aHR
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3csTPl7
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/36lTH2M
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2M7jx3T
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:4 Elizabeth Keen’

Jan

🔴 Script 8:3 16 Ounces

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0803, 16 Ounces, 16 ounces Semtex plastic explosive, 803, 86 bodies, @NBCBlacklist, Agnes, Allison Thomas, assessor, assets and liabilities, “That woman” was my mother, badge (Liz turns in her), Blacklist, Blacklist (Liz to top of), blast radius, blood (Red coughs up), bomb, bomb (Ressler throws … out window), bomb by Red’s bed, bomb in car handle, bomb squad, Boone, bulldoze it, cease-and-desist order, court order, credible tip, criminal (I’m here to arrest a … You’re protecting him), Cynthia Panabaker, Dawson, detonator, diversion, Dom’s ashes, Dom’s house, dot your I’s and cross your T’s, double speak, Dr Dawson, Dr Miles Dawson, dream (It’s just a), dull life, Elizabeth Keen, Elizabeth Keen at the top of the Blacklist, Elizabeth will never forgive you, Episode 3, Esi Jackson, ethics (professional), Everhart Memorial Hospital, explosion, explosives (military-grade), fake passport, flashbacks, forged signature, fugitive (Liz becomes a), gag order, Gerard, Gib Horn, half truths, Horn (Marshal Gib), Hospital (Everhart Memorial), hospital (not mobile), how dull life would be without me, I have all the evidence you need, I need a rest. Even if it’s just for one night, I’m here to arrest a criminal. You’re protecting him, I’m willing to kill you. You don’t have it in you to kill me, if I was you I couldn’t live with myself, Is that thing what I think it is?, It’s just a dream, it’s my life, Jackson, James Spader, JTTF, Katarina Rostova, Keen, liabilities and assets, Liz, Liz at the top of the Blacklist, Liz becomes a fugitive, Liz finds recording of Katarina’s execution, Liz sics Marshals on Red, Liz takes revenge, Liz to top of Blacklist, Liz tries to blow up Red, Liz turns in her badge, Lizzie, Lizzy, loves (he … you), Marks (Merritt), Marshal Gib Horn, Marshals (Liz sics … on Red), Marvin Gerard, McMansions, medevac, Megan Boone, Merritt Marks, Metro Motel, Miles Dawson, military-grade explosives, mortality, Motel (Metro), motel (seedy), mother (“That woman” was my), Munchkin, my life (it’s), NBC, NDA, non disclosure agreement, off book, one night (I need a rest. Even if it’s just for), one step ahead, over some kind of rainbow, Panabaker, passport (fake), plastic explosive, professional ethics, putting Elizabeth Keen at the top of the Blacklist, rainbow (over some kind of), Raymond, recording of Katarina’s execution, Red, Red (Liz tries to blow up), Red coughs up blood, Red goes to hospital, Red saved by Ressler, Red’s will, Reddington, requisition lockup, requisition slip, Ressler saves Red, Ressler throws bomb out window, revenge, Rostova, S08E03, S8E03, scene of your crime, script, Season 8, seedy motel, Semtex, serious juice, Sharpton, She was never here, Sixteen Ounces, sixteen ounces Semtex plastic explosive, Spader, spiritual advisor, Stays one step ahead, The Blacklist, Thomas (Allison), top of Blacklist (Liz to), US Marshal, warrant, we are somewhere over some kind of rainbow, Whatever happens – he loves you, Wing Yee, You don’t have it in you to kill me, You want to murder Reddington?, you’re old. You’re an easy target, You’re sick, you’ve got some serious juice

🔴 Script 8:3 16 Ounces

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 1/22/2021 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aEt
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2Y6a7ba
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: [No songs]
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3bZvWRT
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:3 16 Ounces’

Nov

🔴 Script 8:2 Katarina Rostova Pt 2

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0802, 802, @NBCBlacklist, abduction, answers (You needed … And now they’ve destroyed you), antipsychotic, Archive (Sikorsky … Katarina took but Red has per Dom), Archive (Sikorsky), Belgrade, better angel, Blacklist, blackmail File, Boone, bounty, bounty on Katarina, car keys, Clemons, cop a feel, death of Dom, death of Dominic Wilkinson, death of Katarina Rostova, delusions, Dom, Dom dies, Dom says Red is N-13, Dominic Wilkinson, Dominic Wilkinson dies, Dr Ed Clemons, Ed Clemons, Eduardo Martinez, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 2, felony kidnapping, full of surprises, ghost story, Grendel’s mother, hallucinations (Dom has), Heidegger, hijacking, James Spader, Katarina dies, Katarina Rostova, Katarina Rostova (Young), Katarina Rostova dies, Katarina Rostova killed by Red, Katarina Rostova Pt 2, Keen, kidnapping, Lena Volkova, Liz, Liz tricks Dembe, Lizzie, Lizzy, love (She loves you. She always has. Nothing can ever change that), Martinez, Megan Boone, My daughter. My Katarina, N-13, N-13 (Red is … per Dom), NBC, Paxron, Raymond, Red, Red is N-13 (per Dom), Red kills Katarina Rostova, Reddington, Reddington is N-13. He has the Archive, Ressler bugged, Ressler’s blind spot, Rostova, Rostova (Young), Rostova dies, Rostova Pt 2, S08E02, S8E02, safe house, Season 8, seizures, She loves you. She always has. Nothing can ever change that, Sikorsky Archive, Sikorsky Archive (Katarina took but Red has per Dom), Spader, The Blacklist, tire iron, Townsend Directive, Townsend Organization, Volkova, Wabash and Grant, warehouse district, Wilkinson, Wilkinson dies, William Heidegger, You don’t know a damn thing about Elizabeth, You needed answers … And now they’ve destroyed you, you’re full of surprises, Young Katarina Rostova

🔴 Script 8:2 Katarina Rostova – Pt 2 (№ 3)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 11/20/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aAN
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3pIiVk5
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/35U1KE9
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2KgnQZ3
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:2 Katarina Rostova Pt 2’

Nov

🔴 Script 8:1 Roanoke

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0801, 801, @NBCBlacklist, abduction, abduction (Dom), Agent Frederic, allegiance (Liz’s), ambulance (armor-plated), ankle monitor, Archive (Sikorsky), armor-plated ambulance, Bahar, Blacklist, blackmail File, Boone, cat (I want that), cat story, Clemons, coma (Dom wakes from), Cong Yang, daughter of a domineering spy master, Dead Letter Office, Deep Creek Lake, dementia (Vega has), destiny (Liz’s), Dom a mole?, Dom wakes from coma, Dom Wilkinson, Dom’s abduction, Dom’s kidnapping, domineering spy master, Donald Ressler, Dr Ed Clemons, Ed Clemons, Eduardo Martinez, education (What I have given her is an), Elizabeth Keen, EMT, Episode 1, flat-free tires, Frederic (Agent), Hawkins, Heddie Hawkins, His life depends on staying alive, Hong Kong, house arrest, I have things that are mine and no one else’s, I lost her, I want that cat, I’ll gut you like a fish and feed you to the lobsters, immigrants (undocumented), IRS, James Spader, Jerzy, Katarina is Roanoke, Katarina Rostova, Keen, KGB, KGB mole, kidnapping, kidnapping (Dom), kiss (Liz and Ressler), Kowloon City, Lev Pasternak, Li Qing Yuen, Liz, Liz kisses Ressler, Liz’s allegiance, Liz’s destiny, Lizzie, Lizzy, Lubyanka Square, Maddy Tolliver, Martinez, Megan Boone, mole, mole (Red? Dom?), monitor (ankle), N-13, NBC, neopoznanny, non-answer, oligarch (Russian), Parkinson’s (Vega has), Pasternak, photo of Liz as child with mother, Prison (Qincheng), Puerto Rico, Qincheng Prison, radiation exposure, Raymond, Red, Red a mole?, Reddington, Ressler, Ressler and Liz kiss, Roanoke, Roanoke is Santiago Vega, Rostova, Russian oligarch, S08E01, S8E01, San Juan Puerto Rico, Santiago Vega, Santiago Vega is disabled, script, Season 8, Season Premiere, Sikorsky Archive, sleep with the enemy, soft target, Spader, spy master (domineering), The Blacklist, Tolliver, Trojan Horse, undocumented immigrants, Vega, Vega is disabled, Vega is Roanoke, warehospital, What I have given her is an education, Why me?, wolfberries, work visas, Yang (Cong)

🔴 Script 8:1 Roanoke (№ 139)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 11/13/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-ay1
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/35rVCCX
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2IzkKP6
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3loHO1v
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 8:1 Roanoke’

Nov

🔴 Scribblings & Scuttlebutt 

By LizzieB90 1 Comment

Categories: 9.2 Comment and 9.99 Technical
Tags: 2019, 2020, @NBCBlacklist, apps (photo editing), Blacklist, blog, coronavirus, COVID-19, discussion, Elizabeth, impeachment, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, N-13, NBC, production notes, Red, Reddington, Scribblings, Scribblings and Scuttlebutt, status, technical notes, The Blacklist, Trump Russia, updates

🔴 Scribblings and Scuttlebutt Aug 2019 –

Link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-9NM

My little corner: musings, comments and personal notes. This is probably the closest thing on this blog to a “blog.” I post lots of notes on things not working or behind (with explanations and apologies!). Increasingly, that’s been mostly what it is. Reverse chronological. Comments are open.
– LizzieB90
Continue reading ‘🔴 Scribblings & Scuttlebutt ’

May

🔴 S7 Unanswered Questions

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 9.5 Unasnswered
Tags: @NBCBlacklist, Blacklist, NBC, questions, S7 Unanswered Questions, Season 7, The Blacklist, unanswered, unanswered questions

🔴 Season 7 Unanswered Questions

Last Updated: 5/22/2020
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-atq

Season 7 Unanswered ?s: ⇊ Page Down ⇊
Season 6 Unanswered ?s: (with comments)
Season 5 Unanswered ?s: (with comments)
Season 4 Unanswered ?s: (with comments)
Season 3 Unanswered ?s: (original version)
Season 2 Unanswered ?s: (original version)
Season 1 (I did not start watching until Season 2)

Continue reading ‘🔴 S7 Unanswered Questions’

May

🔴 Script 7:19 Kazanjian Brothers

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0719, 719, @NBCBlacklist, accountant, animated, Blacklist, Boone, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 19, James Spader, Katarina (Liz chooses), Kazanjian brothers, Keen, Liz, Liz chooses Katarina, Lizzie, Lizzy, Megan Boone, NBC, Raymond, Red, Reddington, S07E19, S7E19, script, Season 7, Season Finale, Spader, The Blacklist, The Kazanjian Brothers

🔴 Script 7:19 Kazanjian Brothers (№ 156-157)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 5/15/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-arR
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3fR3VeB
🎹 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2Z8W9qL
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2TaeJe7
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:19 Kazanjian Brothers’

May

🔴 Script 7:18 Roy Cain

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0718, 718, @NBCBlacklist, abuse (prisoner), Blacklist, Boone, Cain, corrupt warden, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 18, James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Megan Boone, NBC, prisoner abuse, Raymond, Red, Reddington, Roy Cain, S07E18, S7E18, script, Season 7, Spader, The Blacklist, warden (corrupt)

🔴 Script 7:18 Roy Cain (№ 150)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 5/8/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aqS
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3cdSsU9
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2YMef1r
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2zignDp
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:18 Roy Cain’

May

🔴 Script 7:17 Brothers

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0717, 717, @NBCBlacklist, backstory (Ressler), Blacklist, Boone, Brothers, dirty cop, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 17, James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Markin, Megan Boone, NBC, Raymond, Red, Reddington, Ressler (Robby), Ressler backstory, Robby Ressler, S07E17, S7E17, script, Season 7, Spader, The Blacklist, Tommy Markin

🔴 Script 7:17 Brothers

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 5/1/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aq9
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2W9Y2QA
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/3djeYvh
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2zOERo8
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3ePCKAA [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:17 Brothers’

Apr

🔴 Script 7:16 Nyle Hatcher

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0716, 716, @NBCBlacklist, artificial insemination, Blacklist, blackmail, Boone, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 16, Hatcher, James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Megan Boone, mortician, NBC, Nyle Hatcher, Raymond, Red, Reddington, S07E16, S7E16, script, Season 7, Spader, The Blacklist

🔴 Script 7:16 Nyle Hatcher (№ 149)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 4/24/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-apn
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3eB9L3a
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/355BvbV
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3cCBXRE
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/2vBh1ua [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:16 Nyle Hatcher’

Apr

🔴 Script 7:15 Gordon Kemp

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0715, @NBCBlacklist, Blacklist, Episode 15, Gordon Kemp, gun sales, Kemp, NBC, S07E15, script, Season 7, The Blacklist

🔴 Script 7:15 Gordon Kemp (№ 158)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 4/17/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aow
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2VBCkoD
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2RJTFKD
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2RJAm4s
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/2vBh1ua [dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:15 Gordon Kemp’

Apr

🔴 Script 7:14 Twamie Ullulaq

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0714, 714, @NBCBlacklist, addiction, Agent Alina Park, Alaska, Alaska Triangle, Alina Park, ambergris, Blacklist, Boone, Elizabeth Keen, Elodie Radcliffe, Episode 14, heroin, James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Megan Boone, Native Americans, NBC, Operation Washtub, Park (Agent), Park (Alina), Radcliffe, Raymond, Red, Reddington, S07E14, S7E14, script, Season 7, Spader, The Blacklist, Twamie Ullulaq, Ullulaq

🔴 Script 7:14 Twamie Ullulaq (№ 126)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 4/10/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-anN
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/34p5bAu
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/39YhJA0
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2XrbWjR
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/2vBh1ua [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:14 Twamie Ullulaq’

Apr

🔴 Script 7:13 Newton Purcell

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0713, 713, @NBCBlacklist, acute auditory distress, auditory distress, Blacklist, Boone, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 13, James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Megan Boone, NBC, Newton Purcell, Purcell, Raymond, Red, Reddington, S07E13, S7E13, script, Season 7, sound pollution, Spader, The Blacklist

🔴 Script 7:13 Newton Purcell (№ 144)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 4/3/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-an3
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2wOLDsZ
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/3dSRyh3
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2JBE5fR
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/2vBh1ua [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:13 Newton Purcell’

Mar

🔴 Script 7:12 Cornelius Ruck

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0712, 712, @NBCBlacklist, Blacklist, Boone, Cornelius Ruck, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 12, James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Megan Boone, murder mystery, NBC, old flame, Raymond, Red, Reddington, Ruck, S07E12, S7E12, script, Season 7, Spader, The Blacklist

🔴 Script 7:12 Cornelius Ruck (№ 155)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 3/27/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-amk
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/3dAZ4Np
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/39vDHKx
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/pDKwi-amk
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/2vBh1ua [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:12 Cornelius Ruck’

Mar

🔴 Script 7:11 Victoria Fenberg

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0711, 711, @NBCBlacklist, art forgery, art theft, Blacklist, Boone, counterfeits, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 11, Fenberg, forgery, forgery (art), James Spader, Keen, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Megan Boone, NBC, Raymond, Red, Reddington, S07E11, S7E11, script, Season 7, Spader, The Blacklist, theft (art), Victoria Fenberg

🔴 Script 7:11 Victoria Fenberg (№ 137)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 3/20/2020 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-alQ
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2J0Xzds
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2UbgTLk
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2U8hUnK
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/2vBh1ua [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:11 Victoria Fenberg’

Dec

🔴 Script 7:10 Katarina Rostova

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0710, 710, @NBCBlacklist, acupuncture, ADX Supermax Prison, Agent Alina Park, Agent King, Agent Park, Agent Rapione, Agnes Keen, Alina Park, altercation (signs of), anxiety and dread, Barbie, Beowulf, Berdy Chernov, Blacklist, Bloom (surname), Bogdan Krilov, Boone, Bosco, bounty, brain (scrambled my), butchering chickens, Chernov, chickens, Chinatown, Chinese healing, Chinese miracle worker, chocolate milk, Chocolate-chip pancakes, Chuck, coffee table, Dan Lynch. death faked, death faked (Katarina), Death must be so beautiful, Dom, Dom’s plan to kill Katarina, Dom’s plan to protect Masha, Dominic Wilkinson, Dr Bogdan Krilov, Dr Krilov, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 10, escape through tunnel, fake death, fake death (Katarina), Fall Finale, family, file missing, Florence CO, Flynn, Frank Bloom, gag, Gregory Flynn, Hawkins, Heddie Hawkins, Hershey’s, hunted, I did protect you, I'm your mother, I’m a Rostova, I’m on the side of the truth, Ilya keeps Red’s secret, Ilya Koslov, impersonation, James Spader, Katarina (Dom’s plan to kill), Katarina (Liz finds out Maddy is), Katarina fakes her death, Katarina is Maddy, Katarina Rostova, Katarina Rostova (episode), Kazanjian brothers, Keen, King (surname), Koslov, Krilov, like an egg (scrambled my brain), living in the moment, Liz, Liz finds out Maddy is Katarina, Liz/Katarina, Liz’s choice, Lizzie, Lizzy, Lynch (surname), Maddy, Maddy is Katarina (Liz finds out), Madeline Tolliver, Masha Rostova, Megan Boone, memories (suppressed), memory extraction, memory recall, memory recovery, missing file, Morgan, mother (I'm your), mother/daughter, mother/daughter reunion, nanny, NBC, Nesquik, Nshan Kazanjian, Park (surname), Pasha Kazanjian, plan to kill Katarina, plan to protect Masha, prison (Supermax), protect Masha (plan to), protect you (I did), Rapione, Raymond, Recovered Memory Therapy, Red, Reddington, Ressler plans revenge on Krilov, reunion (mother/daughter), rhetorical question, RMT, Rostova, Rostova (I’m a), S07E10, S7E10, scrambled my brain like an egg, script, Season 7, secret (Ilya keeps Red’s), signs of an altercation, Skovic, solitary confinement, Spader, SSG, Supermax prison, suppressed memories, The Blacklist, Tongji, Townsend, Townsend Directive, TRF, truth (I’m on the side of the), tunnel (escape through), Victor Skovic, Wilkinson, You tried to kill your own child

🔴 Script 7:10 Katarina Rostova (№ 3)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 12/13/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-ahG
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2E1khzS
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2PLIjUK
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2Yw4RNj
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:10 Katarina Rostova’

Dec

🔴 Script 7:9 Orion Relocation Srvcs

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0709, 1991, 709, @NBCBlacklist, abuse (physical), abusive relationship, Agent Alina Park, Agent Gentry, Agent Harris Gentry, Agent Park, Agnes Keen, Alina Park, all-seeing eye, Barbie (bugged), becoming Reddington, Belgrade, Berdy Chertov, birthday party in park, Bisset, Blacklist, Blakiston fish owl, Bloom, body and park, Boone, bounty, Brooklyn, bugged Barbie, Burke, Cabal, Cape May, Chateau d’Yquem, Chef Rasmus Ray, Chertov, Comestible, Dart (surname), death spectacle, Denise Young, diamond (Dresden Green), diamonds, dining in the dark, Dom’s plan to kill Katarina, Dom’s plan to protect Masha, Dominic Wilkinson, Dr Hans Koehler, Dr Koehler, Dr Quackenstein, Dresden Green, Elizabeth Keen, endangered owl, endangered species, Episode 9, Falls Church VA, fence (criminal), flashbacks, Flynn, Frank Bloom, Gentry, Gregory Flynn, Hans Koehler, Harris Gentry, hotel slippers, hump like rabbits, hunted like an animal, hypnosis, hypnotism, I'm your mother, identity theft, Ilya Koslov, In your dreams handsome, infamous Russian traitor, injection, interrogation resistance, James Spader, jewelry heist, jewelry theft, junk science, Katarina (Dom’s plan to kill), Katarina (Liz finds out Maddy is), Katarina is Maddy, Katarina Rostova, Katarina Rostova's a natural born killer, Keen, KGB, Koehler, Koslov, Lidocaine, lights out, Liz, Liz finds out Maddy is Katarina, Lizzie, Lizzy, lucid, lucid waking dream state, Lydia Dart, mace, Maddy, Maddy is Katarina (Liz finds out), Madeline Tolliver, marvel of overstatement, Masha, Masha (plan to protect), Megan Boone, memories (suppressed), memory extraction, memory recall, memory recovery, Monitor Moving Company, Morozov, mother (I'm your), mother/daughter, Motya Morozov, moving company, My nanny has to go, My uvula is quivering, nanny, nanny has to go, natural born killer, NBC, Neville Townsend, night vision goggles, non-binary pals, Orion, Orion Relocation Services, owl, Park (surname), pepper spray, Petrov, physical abuse, pipe, plan to kill Katarina, plan to protect Masha, plastic surgery, plastic wrap, Potash, protect Masha (plan to), Pyotr, Quakenstein, quivering (My uvula is), Rasmus Ray, Ray (surname), Raymond, Recovered Memory Therapy, Red, Red involved in plan to kill Katarina, Reddington, restaurant (underground), restraining order, Richard Potash, RMT, Rostova, Russian Embassy, Russian mob, Russian traitor, Russian Vory, S07E09, S7E09, science (junk), script, Season 7, secret, She has to die, shotgun, Skovic, Sofia Burke, Sofia Burke shoots Stella Bisset, Spader, spectacle of my death, Stella Bisset, Stella Bisset (Sofia Burke shoots), stupid hotel slippers, suicide, suppressed memories, surgery, syringe, target on her back, The Blacklist, theft (identity), theft (jewelry), Tolliver, Tommy Petrov, Townsend, Townsend Directive, typewriter, underground restaurant, uvula, Victor Skovic, video (birthday party), Vory, Vukov Station, waking dream state, war room, Wilkinson, You think I killed someone?, You want me to kill your daughter?, You were done! You were out!, Young (surname)

🔴 Script 7:9 Orion Relocation Services (№ 159)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 12/6/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-adV
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2rY3pqV
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2Yrdzwr
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/38aiFBz
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:9 Orion Relocation Srvcs’

Nov

🔴 Script 7:8 The Hawaladar

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0708, 708, @NBCBlacklist, Agent Alina Park, Agent Park, Agent Truax, Agnes draws body in park, Agnes Keen, Alfred Yang, Alina Park, always bet on Red, Arjun, Ashtapada, Atticus, banking, bath house, Belgrade, Berdy Chertov, bet on Red, Beth, Bhavish Ratna, Blacklist, blood on mirror, Bloom, body in park, Boone, Cantonese dialogue, Carter, casino night, Chertov, chess, Chinese crime syndicate, Chinese take out containers, Clay Elephant, Constance Drucker, contrition (nothing voices … better than silence), cracked mirror with blood, Crime Syndicate (Zhao), DEA, DEA Officer, dead man (picture of a), DMV, double cross, Drucker, Drug Enforcement Agency, drug trafficking, Eli Atticus, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 8, executioner (third), extraction expert (high value target), finder, Frank Bloom, free as a bird, gambling, Glen Carter, guardian angel, hanging, hawala, Hawaladar, high value target extraction expert, hospital, hospital ID badge, I always bet on Red, ID badge with tracking chip, Ilya Koslov, Indian restaurant, informant, IOU system, James Spader, judo, junk science, Katarina Rostova, Keen, kemosabe, Koslov, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, loan, London, Maddy Tolliver, masala chai, meal ticket (=million dollars), meatball sub, Megan Boone, Memory Extractor, mirror cracked with blood, money laundering, money transfer, moving company, Nations First Hospital, NBC, New York City, nothing voices contrition better than silence, Orion Relocation Services, Parallel parking is a lost art, Park (Rock Creek), Park (surname), picture of a dead man, PPR Global, prison break, protective detail, raspberry sherbet, Ratna, Raymond, Red, Red (I always bet on), Red throws sub sandwich, Red yells at Glen, Reddington, RICO, Rock Creek Park, Rostova, roulette, S07E08, S7E08, safe house, Sai, script, Season 7, sherbet, shopping bags, Skip Sutherland, Spader, stabbing, sub sandwich, suicide attempt, Sutherland, The Blacklist, The Hawaladar, third executioner, Tolliver, Townsend Directive, tracker, tracking chip in ID badge, Truax, Trudy’s raspberry sherbet party punch, undercover, vindaloo, witness protection for criminals, Yang, Zhao Crime Syndicate, Zhao Triad, Zhao Wing

🔴 Script 7:8 The Hawaladar (№ 162)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 11/22/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-aaP
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2CWHPoJ
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2pNeFFO
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2NZq66D
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:8 The Hawaladar’

Nov

🔴 Script 7:7 Hannah Hayes

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0707, 707, @NBCBlacklist, abduction, abortion, abortion laws, abstinence (sexual), Agent Alina Park, Agent Park, Agnes Keen, Alina Park, Andrew Darvis, baby formula, Baptist, bath house, Berdy, Blacklist, blood disease, Bloom (surname), Boone, c-section, camper, camping, casino bill, child custody, Cironato crime family, clinic, conservatism, conservatism (social), Constance Drucker, control over one’s body, courage of conviction, Daisy Hayes, Darvis, Devane, Drucker, drug regimen, election, Elizabeth Keen, embryo (fertilized), Episode 7, estrogen, Fairy Godmother, faith (test of), Faith family and freedom in America, false faith, family planning, family values, fertilization (in vitro), fertilized embryo, fetal heartbeat, fight in bath house, forced pregnancy, formula (baby), Frank Bloom, gangbangers, godmother (fairy), Governor Richard Sweeney, Governor Sweeney, guardian angel, Hannah Hayes, harness, Hayes, hoist, hostage, Ilya Koslov, Ilya Koslov is not Red, immunosuppressants, in vitro fertilization, IVF, James Robson, James Spader, Janey, Katarina Rostova, Keen, kidnapping, Koslov, Koslov is not Red, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, lobbyist, Maddy Tolliver, male pregnancy, mask (pig), Masked Man, Mason, Masuda, Megan Boone, men controlling women’s bodies, men having babies, MI6, miracle of life, mob (Russian), morality, Morozov, Motya Morozov, mud pies, NBC, Norman Devane, object lesson, parental rights, Park (Rock Creek), Park (surname), Pastor Andrew Darvis, Pastor Darvis, Patrick Masuda, Patty Sweeney, phone bank, picnic table, pig mask, pinky swear, politics, pregnancy, rape, Raymond, Red, Red is not Ilya Koslov, Reddington, religion, reproductive rights, Richard Sweeney, Robson, Robson Research, Rock Creek Park, Roe v Wade, Rostova, Russian mob, RV, S07E07, S7E07, script, Season 7, sex change, sexual abstinence, Simon Peter, Skip Sutherland, social conservatism, Spader, Speedy Linen Supplies, storage facility, Sutherland, Sweeney, test of faith, The Blacklist, The Stranger, theft, tire iron, Tolliver, transplant (uterus), uterus transplant, values, values (family), Wendell Willis, Willis (surname), women’s bodies (men controlling), women’s rights

🔴 Script 7:7 Hannah Hayes (№ 125)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 11/15/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-a8f
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2X4Vm74
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2Xlcx4A
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/33Dnelh
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:7 Hannah Hayes’

Nov

🔴 Script 7:6 Dr Lewis Powell

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0706, 4chan, 706, @NBCBlacklist, A.I., A.I. (seed), A.I. persona Clark, A.I. winter, Agent Alina Park, Agent Park, Agent Park bad timing, Aiden McCullough, Alexander (surname), Alexandria VA, Alina Park, AlmaCorp, ALS, Anchorage, Ann McCullough, apple brown betty, apples (Ribston Pippin), Aram and Elodie, artificial intelligence, artificial intelligence persona Clark, assassin, bad timing (Agent Park), Bagration (Prince Pyotr), Baldwin, betrayal, bio-digital fusion, Blacklist, bomb vest, bombing, Boone, botched interrogation, Bramante's Tempietto, breaking and entering, Brimley, brown betty, burden (you’re my … not hers), Campbell, Campbell killed by Red, Castro’s thermidor, catfight, cigar, Clark (A.I. persona), Communism … still produces a damn fine cigar, Cuban cigar, darkness inside, David Quentin, dealbreaker, death of me (You’re gonna be the), deepfake, disability, doctored video, Donato Bramante's Tempietto, Dr Alexander, Dr Lewis Powell, Dr Long, Dr Michael Alexander, Dr Powell, Dr Tracy Long, DXE Labs, Elizabeth Keen, Elodie and Aram, Elodie Radcliffe, Episode 6, EVAC system, fake video, Family God country, FleetAI, Francesca Campbell, Francesca Campbell killed by Red, Frankie Campbell, Frankie Campbell killed by Red, Glory of York, God Family country, GPS, hacker, hacking, Higgins, hitman, hoax, In peace sons bury their fathers, In war fathers bury their sons, interrogation (botched), ISP, Israeli espionage, It feels so wrong right?, Ito, Jaden Alexander, James Spader, Jones, Katarina Rostova, Katarina Rostova deepfake, Keen, Leo Tolstoy, Lewis and Clark, Lewis Powell, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Long (surname), loyalty test, machines (rise of the), Manhattan for a couple of beaver pelts, McCullough, Megan Boone, Michael Alexander, mitzvah, modulated voice, Mr Brimley, Mr-Rite, murder by cop, NBC, pacemaker, Park (Agent), Park (surname), Powell, Prince Pyotr Bagration, psycho computer, Pyotr Bagration (Prince), Quentin (surname), Radcliffe, Raymond, Red, Red executes Frankie Campbell, Red kills Frankie Campbell, Reddington, Reddit, respirator, Ressler gets hugged, Ribston Pippin apples, Richmond VA, rise of the machines, risk, risk taking, rootkit, Rostova, Rostova deepfake, S07E06, S7E06, script, Season 7, secret, seed A.I., Singularity, sniper, snitch, Spader, suicide by cop, suicide vest, taboo, Tadashi Ito, Tempietto (Donato Bramante's), Terminator, test of loyalty, test. You failed (This was a), The Blacklist, The Singularity, The Terminator, This was a test. You failed, Tolstoy, Tracy Long, trust, Trust is so fragile, utilidor, vetting new agent, video (doctored), video (fake), voice (GPS), voice (modulated), Vontae Jones, VPN, Walter Higgins, War and Peace, Washington Monument, wheelchair, Yes sir no sir. Family God country, York (Glory of), You’re far too brutal, You’re gonna be the death of me, you’re my burden not hers, zombie-bot

🔴 Script 7:6 Dr Lewis Powell (№ 130)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 11/8/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-a5K
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2WHlKDL
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2Q1ulQA [ No Songs ]
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/32bExrX
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:6 Dr Lewis Powell’

Nov

🔴 Script 7:5 Norman Devane

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0705, 705, @NBCBlacklist, Abbott Boarding School, aerosol (anesthetic), Ambati, Anatole Kuragin, anesthesia, anesthetic aerosol, anesthetic mist, antibiotics, Assad, assassin, B-negative blood, bacteria (Vibrio vulnificus), Berdy Chernov, biogenetics, biohazard suit, bioweapons, Blacklist, blisters, blood (B-negative), blood draw, blood panel, blood panel results, blood test results, Bloom (surname), boarding school, Boone, Burroughs, cancer, Castro, chaos (comfortable with), chart (medical), chart (Red’s), Chernov, children (experimenting on), Children of Mercy Hospital, comfortable with chaos consierge nurse, Constance Drucker, cosmic huh?, Crane (Mr), crashing a wedding, Cuba, death, Devane, disease (weaponized), disinfectant, DNA report, DNA sequencing, Dr Ambati, Dr Kelvin Mitchell, Dr Mitchell, Dr Who, drone strike, Drucker, drug resistance, drug resistant, dying (Red), Elizabeth Keen, Elodie Radcliffe, Episode 5, Episode 5 Norman Devane, everything happens for a reason, exclusive boarding school, experimenting on children, Falls Church VA, fatalist, Fidel Castro, Flynn, Frank Bloom, Frank Bloom aka The Stranger, Friend in Paris, futures market, Gansky, gas (This is gonna be a), gaucho, genetic profile, genetics, genius, genome sequencing, genomics, germ warfare, germophobia, goddaughter, Gregory Flynn, hacker, hacker (Ukrainian), hair trigger, Havana Cuba, hazmat suit, Headmaster, hospital, hot-boxing, Howard (Howie), immunotherapy, injection, James Spader, janitor freak, Katarina Rostova, Keen, Keller, Kelvin Mitchell, killer for hire, killing in hog futures, Kuragin, lab rat, laundry bin, Libyan bioweapons, Linda Bloom, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, lust, Masuda, meant to be, medical chart, medical record, medical record (Red’s), Megan Boone, Mitchell (surname), mobile hospital, name badges, National Diagnostics Lab (NDL), National Security Branch (NSB), NBC, NDL, Norman Devane, NSB, nurse (concierge), obstruction of justice, Our Friend in Paris, Patagonia, pathogens, Patrick Masuda, Paul Revere, pepper casters, pork bellies, Portuguese, prognosis (Red’s), Putin, Radcliffe, Raul Castro, Raymond, reason (everything happens for a), Red, Red is dying, Red terminally ill, Red’s chart, Red’s medical record, Red’s prognosis, Reddington, Revere, Rostova, S07E05, S7E05, salt and pepper shakers, scholarship, script, Season 7, sedation, Seven Deadly Sins, Skittish Man, Spader, Spalding Stark, Stark, Stark’s treatment was ineffective, Stranger, Stranger (aka Frank Bloom), syringe, terminally ill (Red), The Blacklist, The Stranger, The Stranger (aka Frank Bloom), Theo Wolf, things happen for a reason, This is gonna be a gas!, two-for-one sale, velour tracksuit, Vibrio vulnificus, Walter Reed Hospital, weaponized disease, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, wedding, wedding (goddaughter’s), wedding crashing, wedding reception, weed, weird stuff happens, William Burroughs, WMD, WMDD/NSB, Wolf (Theo)

🔴 Script 7:5 Norman Devane (№ 138)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 11/1/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-a3u
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2WkvlAg
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/32ai0M2
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2MTAYSP
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:5 Norman Devane’

Oct

🔴 Script 7:4 Kuwait

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0704, 1989, 704, @NBCBlacklist, abduction, Agnes Keen, Allspice, ambush, Arlington National Cemetary, backstory (Cooper), backstory (Harold Cooper), Berdy, betrayal, Blacklist, blow the whistle, bomb (bunker buster), Boone, bribes, bug, bunker buster bomb, cage (prisoner), Campbell, Captain Ross, captivity, chain of command, CIA, CIA outpost, coloring book, Cooper, Cooper (young), Cooper backstory, coordinates, cruise missile, Cynthia Panabaker, Daniel Hutton, Denora Mejia, died 30 years ago, dirty little war, dog tags, drone, drone strike, Dungeon Master, 💰, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 4, Farhad, flash drive, flash drive (incriminating), following orders, Francesca Campbell, Frankie Campbell, gaming store, gravestone (Daniel Hutton), H&K416, Harold Cooper, Harold Cooper (young), Harold Cooper backstory, He died 30 years ago, honor, Hutton, identity (true), illegal order, Ilya Koslov, Impossible odds. This’ll be fun, incriminating flash drive, incriminating thumb drive, intelligence leak, interesting Raymond Reddington, interesting Reddington, Iran, Iranian Guard, James Spader, Katarina Rostova, Keen, Khodah, kidnapping, Koslov, Kurds, Kuwait, Kuwait City, leak (intelligence), listening device, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Maddy Tolliver, MAGIC: The Gathering, Magnificent Seven, Megan Boone, Mejia, Middle East, militia, Minesweep One, nanny, Naval Intelligence, Navy Cross, NBC, operation (unsanctioned), opium den, opium smoking, order (following), orders (illegal), Ordinary Meeples, outpost (CIA), Panabaker, patriot treated like a traitor, poison wind, POW, princess coloring book, princess tent, prisoner cage, prisoner of war, Raymond, Raymond Reddington (interesting), Raymond Reddington (real), real Raymond Reddington, real Reddington, Red, Reddington, Reddington (interesting), Reddington (real), Revolutionary Guard, Ross (Captain), Rostova, S07E04, S7E04, sanctions, script, Season 7, secrets, Simoon, SIPRNet, slurping soft drink, smoking opium, soft drink (slurping), Spader, speaking truth to power, telling truth to power, The Blacklist, The Simoon, thumb drive, thumb drive (incriminating), Tolliver, traitor treated like a patriot, true identity, truth teller, truth to power, unsanctioned operation, urchin, water pipe, whistleblower, young Cooper, young Harold Cooper, Zahedan Iran

🔴 Script 7:4 Kuwait

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 10/25/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-a1i
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2o71e2v
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http:/bit.ly/348pgtv
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2W4w34p
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:4 Kuwait’

Oct

🔴 Script 7:3 Les Fleurs du Mal

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0703, 703, @NBCBlacklist, Agent Fields, Agnes Keen, alive (feeling), anniversary, Aram kisses Elodie, Aram undercover, arterial gas embolism, Ascot, ate her all up (The Wicked Wolf), Aubeelauck, Barbie, Barbies (princess), Baudelaire, Berdy, Big Bad Wolf, black seal, Blacklist, bombing, book banning, books, Boone, boredom, bracelets (glowing), bug, Campbell, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Radcliffe, corn chowder, danger exhilarating, death challenge, debauchery, decadence, decadence of wealthy, decadent misanthropes, Defiance, Ding-dong ditch, dolls (princess), drowning, Dubai Shergar Cup, 💦, ears (what big … you have), elites, Elizabeth Keen, Elodie kisses Aram, Elodie Radcliffe, ELT beacon, ennui, Episode 3, estrangement, exhilarating (danger), fairy tale, Farwell, feeling alive, fields, Fleurs du Mal, flotation noodle, Flowers of Evil, Francesca Campbell, Frankie Campbell, glowing bracelets, house key copied, I hope all your fairy tales come true, informant, Island, James Spader, Katarina Rostova, Katarina Rostova bugs Liz, Keen, Les Fleurs du Mal, listening device, Little Red Riding Hood, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, lottery, Louis T Steinhil, Louis T Steinhil killed, Maddy Tolliver, mafia (Russian), Megan Boone, mob (Russian), money can’t buy, Navabi, NBC, necklace, Nice noodle, noodle (flotation), numbness, Palmer, Paul Farwell, Peppermill (The), Player (The), Prackett, Prackett contracted Steinhil, Prince Charming, princess, princess Barbies, princess dolls, Radcliffe, Raymond, Red, Red Riding Hood, Reddington, risk, risk taking, Rostova, Rostova bugs Liz, Russian mafia, Russian mob, Russian Vor, S07E03, S7E03, Samar Navabi, script, Season 7, secret society, Shameel Aubeelauck, She's good – She is very good, snitch, Spader, Steinhil, Steinhil contracted by Prackett, Steinhil killed, stroganoff, swimming pool, teeth (what big … you have), The Blacklist, The Defiance, The Flowers of Evil, The Peppermill, The Player, The Wicked Wolf … ate her all up, Thelonius Prackett, Thelonius Prackett contracted Louis T Steinhil, thrill seeking, Tolliver, Townsend Directive, Truffaut, Vance Palmer, violent entertainment, wealth, wealthy debauchery, wealthy decadence, what big ears you have, what big teeth you have, Wicked Wolf, Wicked Wolf … ate her all up, Wolf (Big Bad), Wolf (Wicked), yacht, You’re good but I’m better. K

🔴 Script 7:3 Les Fleurs du Mal (№ 151)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 10/18/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-9X7
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2qhSMOO
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/33IExRu
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/2nOUpTf
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:3 Les Fleurs du Mal’

Oct

🔴 Script 7:2 Louis T Steinhil, Pt 2

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: (You raised an old), 0702, 68 whiskey, 702, @NBCBlacklist, abduction (Red), Agnes Keen, alternative narratives, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, as in – ghost, Belgrade, Berdy, Biel, Blacklist, bloody face (fake), Boone, Campbell, Campbell is Laporte, combat nurse, Con, con artist, control by narrative, costume store, Dembe befriends Mila, disguises, Dom betrayed Katarina, Dom is shot, Dom shot, Dominic Wilkinson, Elizabeth asking questions and telling ghost stories, Elizabeth Keen, Episode 2, Everything I cared about died that day, exsanguination, fake bloody face, fake shooting, fake suicide, families (happy), families (unhappy), family (I'm sorry my … is so — messy), family squabble, family vs relatives, field medic, Francesca Campbell, Francesca Campbell is Mila Laporte, Francesca saves Dom, Gerald Host. G. Host, ghost stories, halawadar, happy families, headband with ears, hypoxia, I'm sorry my family is so – messy, I'm too old to run – But too young to die, identity, illusionist, Illusionist (The), illusions, James Spader, Katarina cared about Red. Once., Katarina moves next door to Liz, Katarina Rostova, Katarina Rostova is Maddy Tolliver, Katarina was betrayed by Dom, Keen, kidnapping (Red), LaPorte, LaPorte is Campbell, Leo Tolstoy, Liz, Lizzie, Lizzy, Louis T Steinhil 2, Louis T Steinhil Pt 2, lumberyard, Maddy Tolliver, Maddy Tolliver is Katarina Rostova, Margaret Teague, medic (combat), medical examiner, Megan Boone, Mila helps Red escape, Mila LaPorte, Mila LaPorte is Francesca Campbell, Mila shoots guard (faked), mobile hospital, Monzewski, Mrs Monzewski, narrative to control, narratives alternative, NBC, next door neighbor, Oban, OCME, Paris, phantom, plasma, plastic explosives, platelets, pneumothorax, Protocol (The), Raymond, Raymond takes care of the people who take care of him, Red, Red cares about Katarina, Red takes care of the people who take care of him, Reddington, relatives vs family, Rene Oban, Rio Bravo, Rostov family, Rostov family can be rather eccentric, Rostova, Rostova is Tolliver, S07E02, S7E02, script, Season 7, Spader, Steinhil, Steinhil 2, Steven Biel, sublet, suicide (fake), Teague, Tension pneumothorax, The Blacklist, the con, The Illusionist, The Protocol, The Rostov family can be rather eccentric, The Townsend Directive, Tolliver, Tolliver is Rostova, Tolstoy, Townsend Directive, tracking chip, transfusion, triage cube, trust, unhappy families, warehouse, What I want – is my family back, wheelchair, who people are supposed to be is rarely who they are, Wilkinson, You raised an old ghost, You’re pretty

🔴 Script 7:2 Louis T Steinhil, Pt 2 (№ 27)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 10/11/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-9VO
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/2IKMXzF
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/2OHovmw
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/32k4J4C
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:2 Louis T Steinhil, Pt 2’

Oct

🔴 Script 7:1 Louis T Steinhil

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 1 Script
Tags: 0100 number, 0701, 701, @NBCBlacklist, A man I’ve come to like, abduction (Red), Abigail, acting, actors, alternative reality, anagram, Annapolis, attache, background checks, Berdy, Berdy shoots Joubert, Bergman movies, Betraying (Katarina Rostova) would be like betraying myself, Blacklist, blowfish, Boone, Briaux, bupivacaine, Busson, cell phone (Red lifts), chariot (My … arrives), chess with Death, Daniel Hutton, Death (playing chess with), devoted half his life to me, DGSI, Direction générale de la sécurité intérieure (DGSI), Dr Busson, Dutch masters, Elizabeth Keen, embassy (French), epidural, Episode 1, exsanguination, extradition, fake hospital, figment (Katarina), figment of the popular imagination, France, French embassy, French security service, Gerard (Marvin), Good to see you again Raymond, Hansen, he devoted half his life to me, hospital (fake), human smuggling, Hutton, I wish we lived in a world where kindness wasn't a liability, I'm paralyzed, illusionist, Illusionist is everywhere and nowhere, illusions, Ilya Koslov (Liz tells Cooper and Aram Red is), Ingmar Bergman movies, Inspector Oban, Inspector Rene Oban, It was a story, James Spader, Joubert, Joubert shot by Berdy, Katarina Rostova, Katarina Rostova (Betraying … would be like betraying myself), Katarina Rostova a figment, Katarina Rostova and Liz photo, Katarina Rostova bleeds Red, Katarina Rostova: Good to see you again Raymond, Keen, Ketamine, kidnapping (Red), kielbasa, Koslov (Liz tells Cooper and Aram Red is), La Porte, Liz, Liz and Katarina photo, Liz tells Cooper and Aram Red is Ilya Koslov, Lizzie, Lizzy, Louis T Steinhil, man I’ve come to like (A), Marvin Gerard, Megan Boone, Michael Hansen, Mila LaPorte, money laundering, Movers, My chariot arrives, nanny search, NBC, Oban, paralyzed, paralyzed by a blowfish, Paris France, Patrick Briaux, pharma-karma's a bitch, photo of Katarina and Liz, Pitcairn Island, playing chess with Death, Raymond, realiity (alternative), Red, Red bled, Red evades surveillance live feed, Red grabs syringe, Red is bled, Red kidnapped, Red lifts cell phone, Red on a cross, Red paralyzed, Red paralyzed by a blowfish, Red paralyzed by medication, Red taken, Reddington, Rene Oban, rose from the grave, Rostova, Rostova a figment, Rostova bleeds Red, Rostova: Good to see you again Raymond, Russian, S07E01, S7E01, scofflaw, script, Season 7, Season Premiere, security service (French), She's a figment – of the collective imagination, skeleton in closet, smuggling (human), soul mates, soulmates, Spader, Steinhil, story (It was a), surveillance live feed, syringe, tetracaine, The Blacklist, The Illusionist is everywhere and nowhere, the Movers, thugs, Townsend Directive, wheelchair, You're going to tell me everything I want to know

🔴 Script 7:1 Louis T Steinhil (№ 27)

NBC’s series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 10/4/2019 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-9Rj
Entertainment Weekly Recap: http://bit.ly/32Xpd34
🎶 Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/31MdZOx
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/33wd4lZ
Source: Raw Script from Springfield: http://bit.ly/2nnZ7XS [ dump of captioning ]
Continue reading ‘🔴 Script 7:1 Louis T Steinhil’

Oct

🔴 Trump Russia 2020

By LizzieB90 Leave a Comment

Categories: 3.9 Bibliography
Tags: 2020, bibliography, impeachment, Russia, Trump, Trump Russia, Trump Russia Ukraine, Ukraine

🔴 Trump & 🇷🇺Russia & 🇺🇦Ukraine

https://wp.me/pDKwi-aDS

With Tweets, Retweets, links to articles and excerpts, I’ve tried to document this national soap opera/tragedy we’re living through. The resources at the beginning are a mixed bag of timelines and documents and I provide a clickable cast of characters (Russians, mostly).

What does this have to do with The Blacklist? A lot, actually. Russian mob figures, spies and apparatchiks. Semion Mogilevich, the Smart Don, reminds me of Red, though Red is a lot nicer and much better-looking.

Featured are drawings (she calls them “maps”) by @Jzikah, and “Mueller, She Wrote” is the best podcast I’ve ever come across. The three women who do it are comedians, though they’re all super smart and A.J. (the lead) has a PhD and is a Veteran.

Caution: You may enjoy this feature a bit more if you’re of the liberal persuasion. This is the single place on this blog where *there are politics* though I tend to stick with MSM, specialized sources (ex-Intel Community, altGov, and reputable sleuths) and other people I’ve learned to trust.

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2021

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2020 Articles

🇷🇺 Press Here For 2019

🇷🇺 Press Here For 7/26/2017 through 2018

📀 Press Here For Impeachment Trial on Cspan

✅ Press Here For Biden/Burisma/Ukraine Fact Checks

💽Recommended⋙ Mueller She Wrote Podcast ⋙ http://bit.ly/2PgTKWs or Press ⇊ ⇊

Other Podcasts:

All The President’s Lawyers (J Barro, R Lowry)
The Asset (Center for American Progress) 🌟
The Dworkin Report (Scott Dworkin)
Gaslit Nation (Sarah Kendzior, Andrea Chalupa)
The Lawfare Podcast (Benjamin Wittes, Brookings)
The Josh Marshall Podcast (TPM)
The Mother Jones Podcast (David Corn)
Mueller Time (Eric Leval, Chris Carey)
The Oath (Chuck Rosenberg, MSNBC)
The Report (Lawfare)
On Topic (Renato Mariotti)
Skullduggery (Michael Isikoff, Yahoo)
Trump Inc (ProPublica)
Trumpcast (Slate)

🔊 PlayerFM: Best Trump Russia Investigation Podcasts (2019) http://bit.ly/2MKbtV8

Twitter List: INVESTIGATORS: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/lists/investigators
// Investigative reporters, Trump-Russia sleuths, Intelligence Community, Legislators, “alt-gov,” and Targets

Russian Intelligence Services:

Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) – The Foreign Intelligence Service reports directly to the President of Russia.
GRU – Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.
Federal Security Service (FSB) – The Federal Security Service is responsible for counter-intelligence, state security and anti-terrorist operations

🔄 ECFR , Mark Galeotti [EU] (2016): Introduction: Putin’s hydra: Inside Russia’s intelligence services http://bit.ly/2NZWN1h
// 5/11/2016, Intro
⋙ 📒 ECFR, Mark Galeotti [EU] (2016): Report: Putin’s Hydra: Inside Russia’s Intelligence Services [pdf] http://bit.ly/2NYjG5b 20p
// May 2016, Full report

Key People: Roman Abramovich, Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, Rinat Akhmetov, Rinat Akhmetshin, Yulya Alferova, Anatoly Antonov, Andrii Artemenko, Arron Banks, Andrey Baronov, Vitaly Bespalov, Leonid “Len” Blavatnik, Anna Bogacheva, David Bogatin, Victor Boyarkin, Wm Browder, Mariia Butina, Carole Cadwalladr, Michael Caputo, Yuri Chaika, Igor Chekunov, Michael Cohen, George Cottrell, Oleg Deripaska, Andrii Derkach, Igor Divyekin, Kirill Dmitriev, Aleksandr Dugin, Arkady Dvorkovich, Paul Erickson, Oleg Erovinkin, Nigel Farage, Dmitri Firtash, John Fotiadis, Gene (Evgeny) Friedman, Igor Fruman, Daniel Gelbinovich, Rob Goldstone, Sergei Gorkov, Henry Greenberg, Andrew Intrater, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Brittany Kaiser, Mikhail Kalugin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Saak Karapetyan, Eugene Kaspersky (Kaspersky Lab), Denis Katsyv, Irakly (“Ike”) Kaveladze, Michael Khodarkovsky, Konstantin Kilimnik, Sergey Kislyak, Artem Klyushin, Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Konstantin Kosachev, Aleksandra Krylova, Elena Khusyaynova, Simon Kukes, Alexander Litvinenko, Howard Lorber, Yuriy Lutsenko, Simona Mangiante, Alexander Mashkevich, Viktor Medvedchek, Josef Mifsud, Semion Mogilevich (Don Semyon), Konstantin Molofeev, George Nader, Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, Alexei Navalny, Eduard Nektalov, Konstantin Nikolaev, Vyacheslav Nikonov, Yevgeniy Nikulin, Alexander Nix, Isabel Oakeshoff, George Papadopoulos, Lev Parnas, Sam Patten, Alexander Perepilichnyy, Dmitry Peskov, Igor Pisarsky, Petro Poroshenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, George Ramishvili, Dmitry Rogozin, Alexander Rovt, Giorgi Rtskhiladze, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Konstantin Rykov, Mikheil Saakashvili, Felix Sater, Igor Sechin, Anastasia Shevchenko, Viktor Shokin, Oleg Solodukhin, Christopher Steele, Ruslan Stoyanov, Oleg Solodukhin, Peter Strzok, Taiwanchik (aka Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov), Andriy Telizhenko, Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov (aka Taiwanchik), Aleksandr Torshin, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, Yulia Tymoshenko, Anastasia Vashukevich (aka Nastya Rybka), Viktor Vekselberg, Natalia Veselnitskaya, Vyacheslav Volodin, Curt Weldon, Andy Wigmore, Alexander Yakovenko, Viktor Yanukovych, Ivan Yermakov, Viktor Yushchenko, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, Maria Zakharova, Joel Zamel, Volodymyr Zelensky

Bios w links (Wikipedia unless otherwise noted): Roman Abramovich, Aras Agalarov, Emin Agalarov, Rinat Akhmetov, Rinat Akhmetshin, Yulya Alferova (National Compass), Anatoly Antonov, Andrii Artemenko, Arron Banks, Andrey Baranov (Bloomberg), Vitaly Bespalov (NBC), Leonid “Len” Blavatnik, Anna Bogacheva (NYT), David Bogatin (NYT), Victor Boyarkin (TrumpRussia), William Browder, Mariia Butina, Carole Cadwalladr, Michael Caputo, Yuri Chaika, Igor Chekunov, Michael Cohen, George Cottrell, Oleg Deripaska, Andrii Derkach, Igor Divyekin, Kirill Dmitriev, Aleksandr Dugin, Arkady Dvorkovich, Paul Erickson, Oleg Erovinkin, Nigel Farage, Dmitri Firtash, John Fotiadis (Archinect), Gene (Evgeny) Friedman, Igor Fruman, Daniel Gelbinovich (Daily Beast), Rob Goldstone, Sergei Gorkov, Henry Greenberg (Miami Herald), Andrew Intrater, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Brittany Kaiser (Cambridge Analytica), Mikhail Kalugin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Saak Karapetyan, Eugene Kaspersky (Kaspersky Lab), Denis Katsyv, Irakly Kaveladze, Michael Khodarkovsky, Elena Khusyaynova, Konstantin Kilimnik, Sergey Kislyak, Artem Klyushin (National Compass), Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Konstantin Kosachev, Aleksandra Krylova (NYT), Simon Kukes, Alexander Litvinenko, Howard Lorber, Yuriy Lutsenko, Konstantin Malofeev, Simona Mangiante (Papadopoulos), Alexander Mashkevich, Viktor Medvedchek, Josef Mifsud, Semion Mogilevich (Don Semyon) …

Cover: KyivPost (10/18/2019): Shady Cast of Characters: Engineers of Trump-Ukraine Scandal http://bit.ly/2MZCilW

Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, Alexei Navalny, Eduard Nektalov (NYMag), Konstantin Nikolaev, Yevgeniy Nikulin, Vyacheslav Nikonov, Alexander Nix, Isabel Oakeshoff, George Papadopoulos, Lev Parnas ,Sam Patten, Alexander Perepilichny, Dmitry Peskov, Igor Pisarsky (RIM), Petro Poroshenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, George Ramishvili (Bloomberg), Dmitry Rogozin, Alexander Rovt, Giorgi Rtskhiladze (CNBC), Nastya Rybka (aka Anastasia Vashukevich) (WaPo), Dmitry Rybolovlev, Konstantin Rykov, Mikheil Saakashvili, Felix Sater, Igor Sechin, Anastasia Shevchenko (Amnesty Intl), Viktor Shokin, Oleg Solodukhin, Christopher Steele, Ruslan Stoyanov, Peter Strzok, Taiwanchik (aka Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov), Andriy Telizhenko (BuzzFeedNews), Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov (aka Taiwanchik), Aleksandr Torshin, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, Yulia Tymoshenko, Anastasia Vashukevich (aka Nastya Rybka) (WaPo), Viktor Vekselberg, Natalia Veselnitskaya, Vyacheslav Volodin, Curt Weldon, Andy Wigmore, Alexander Yakovenko, Viktor Yanukovych, Ivan Yermakov (Moscow Proj), Viktor Yushchenko, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, Maria Zakharova, Joel Zamel, Volodymyr Zelensky

By @WendySiegelman

Key Documents

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 LawfareBlog: Litigation Documents Related to the Mueller Investigation http://bit.ly/2OVch6n
// new November 2018, to be continually updated

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 JustSecurity: Public Document Clearinghouse: UKRAINE Impeachment Inquiry http://bit.ly/2CEsQ2F ‼️ Links to ALL documents ‼️

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 AmericanOversight: Trump-Ukraine Key Figures and Documents http://bit.ly/2C24bES
AmericanOversight: The Trump Administration’s Contacts with Ukraine http://bit.ly/2BYSY89 from FOIA requests

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 JustSecurity, Andy Wright: Just Security Launches the Russia Investigation Congressional Clearinghouse http://bit.ly/2L21uHz
// 8/22/2019

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 Lawfare: Full Text of the Mueller Report’s Executive Summaries http://bit.ly/2IFLewq
// 4/18/2019

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 Lawfare: Document: The Mueller Report http://bit.ly/2vcgNpN
// 4/18/2019

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: The Whistle-Blower Complaint: Read the Document [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2nq4FAD
// 9/26/2019

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo: Trump impeachment inquiry: Latest news and updates http://wapo.st/2P09WuE [Continually updated]

🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo, Kate Rabinowitz and Kevin Schaul: Who’s involved in the Trump impeachment inquiry http://wapo.st/2W673dg
// orig published 10/21/2019

By @jzikah has a new book! Cartoon President http://amzn.to/2QUeZhk @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 Court Filing (1/17/2019): Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-03501 [pdf] http://cnn.it/2CBddZy (111p) Democratic National Committee v.: Russian Federation, DJ Trump For President, Inc (and others)
// 1/17/2019

⋙ 💙💙🔄 TheAtlantic, Yoni Appelbaum: Impeach Donald Trump http://bit.ly/2FykFIP
//March 2019 cover story

⋙ 💙💙🔄 Politico Mag, Darren Samuelsohn: The Only Impeachment Guide You’ll Ever Need http://politi.co/2QHcJGi
// 1/11/2019, As talk of the I-word heats up, here’s POLITICO Magazine’s soup-to-nuts answers to all your questions about the politics—and the practical realities—of removing a president.

⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo, Max Boot: Here are 18 reasons Trump could be a Russian asset http://wapo.st/2D7IJQ9
// 1/13/2019

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄 TheAtlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg (Editor): UNTHINKABLE: 50 Moments That Define an Improbable Presidency http://bit.ly/2RvDFOn
// Jan 2019; Donald Trump’s 50 Most Unthinkable Moments ~ 50 Articles

⋙ 💙💙🔄 Wikipedia: Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2018) http://bit.ly/2Bh12jP

⋙ 💙💙🔄 Axios: Timeline: Every big move in the Mueller investigation http://bit.ly/2Euh3H9
// 12/12/2018

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄 Moyers&Co: Interactive Timeline: Everything We Know About Russia and President Trump http://bit.ly/2uVHc9j
// continually updated

⋙ 💙💙🔄📒 DocumentCloud: Steele Dossier [pdf] http://bit.ly/2y5ZhnF 35p

⋙ 💙💙🔄📒 FBIRecordsVault: Records Between FBI and Christopher Steele http://bit.ly/2KqLoF1

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ AP: Mueller Investigation documents http://bit.ly/2ihbK0l

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ CitJourno: Trump/Russian Mob Connections http://www.citjourno.org

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ CNN, Marshall Cohen, Tal Yellen & Liz Stark: Tracking the Russia investigations (documents) http://cnn.it/2hVCpU5

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Russian Hacking and Influence in the U.S. Election http://nyti.ms/2NqFXeY

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ BrennanCenter: Trump-Russia Investigations http://bit.ly/2yRKcu6

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Politico: The people connected to the Russia probes [ Interactive ] http://politi.co/2FUDhz2 //➔ Democrats, Prosecutors, Law Enforcement/Lobbyists/Media,Team Trump, Foreign Nationals

⋙ 💙💙🔄 TheMoscowProject: Trump’s Russia Cover-Up By the Numbers http://bit.ly/2ycY959
// Center for American Progress; 80+ contacts with Russia-linked operatives https://themoscowproject.org/about/ http://bit.ly/2ycY959

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NBCNews: Russia timeline: Key players, meetings and investigation details http://nbcnews.to/2vtR3YW

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ DailyBeast: Democrats Release the Fusion GPS Testimony on Trump and Russia http://thebea.st/2qMmH1d w attachment [pdf] ⋙ via Dianne Feinstein http://bit.ly/2FjtlPP

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Justice Department Gives Congress Comey’s Memos on Trump http://nyti.ms/2HdLe2Z
// 4/19/2018 ➔ DocumentCloud: http://bit.ly/2HOGC4z

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ DOJ: Indictment of Internet Research Agency LLC et al … [PDF] http://bit.ly/2CqdHzD 37p //➔ Mueller Investigation
// 2/16/2018

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Amy Siskind: The Weekly List ~ “This is How Democracy Ends” https://theweeklylist.org

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Mueller Has List of Questions for Trump http://nyti.ms/2rfDuqK + http://nyti.ms/2HExEKi
// 4/30/2018, Majority Relate to if Trump Obstructed Inquiry on Russia

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: The Trump Lawyers’ Confidential Memo to Mueller, Explained [ Document ] http://nyti.ms/2kKPgq9
// 6/2/2018, NYT article about document: http://nyti.ms/2swIZSc

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ TIME: The Arguments President Trump Has Made Against the Mueller Investigation http://ti.me/2MdeARX
// 6/8/2018

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ TIME: Wikipedia: Links between Trump associates and Russian officials http://bit.ly/2K42VDF

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ WaPo: Who has been charged in the Russia probe and why http://wapo.st/2toNwH2
// continually updated; WaPo Russia page

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ ForeignAffairs Anthology: A New Cold War? Russia and America, Then and Now 1947- http://fam.ag/2KEA4dF

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Justice.gov: Mueller Indictment of 12 Russians in the GRU for Election Hacking [pdf] http://bit.ly/2NbphV6 29p
// 7/13/2018

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ FactCheck.org: Timeline of Russia Investigation http://bit.ly/2KZ4qaQ
// posted 6/7/2018, updated 7/13/2018; Key moments in the FBI probe of Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election; Readable

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Legal Process Server: DNC Lawsuit vs Russia, Wikileaks, et al http://bit.ly/2KIOhBq

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT, Linda Qiu: Truth-Testing Trump’s 250-Plus Attacks on the Russia Inquiry http://nyti.ms/2MY609E
// 8/18/2018

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ Justice.gov: Manafort Plea Agreement [pdf] http://bit.ly/2CZiVb7 17p
// 9/14/2018

⋙ 💙💙🔄💽 NYT: Opinion | Operation Infektion: A three-part video series on Russian disinformation http://nyti.ms/2OHqSSV
// 11/12/2018

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ PasteMag, Jacob Weindling: A Year of Trump and Russia: The 75 Stories That Defined the Mueller Investigation in 2018 http://bit.ly/2QWN1SU
// 12/28/2018

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ LawFareBlog: Document: Indictment of Roger Stone [pdf] http://bit.ly/2UdQgmj 24p
// 1/25/2019

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄📋 NYT: Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2MAZCps
// 1/26/2019

⋙ 💙💙🔄 BuzzFeedNews: These Secret Files Show How The Trump Moscow Talks Unfolded While Trump Heaped Praise On Putin http://bit.ly/2DWQ2ed
// 2/5/2019; ⏳TIMELINE ⌛️

⋙ 💙💙🔄 WaPo: What we learned about Trumpworld outreach to Russia since Mueller’s investigation began http://wapo.st/2twkXYE
// 2/19/2019, And what we still don’t know.

⋙ 💙💙🔄 ◕📋 NYT, Larry Buchanan and Karen Yourish: Trump Has Publicly Attacked the Russia Investigation More Than 1,100 Times http://nyti.ms/2T2HSsN
// 2/19/2019

By @Jzikah
;
⋙ 💙💙🔄 ◕📋 WaPo, Philip Bump: The 81 people and organizations just looped into the Trump probe — and why they were included http://wapo.st/2SJrw41
// 3/4/2019

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: Full Document: Trump’s Call With the Ukrainian President [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2lfBkbC (Annotated)
// 9/25/2019″

⋙ 💙💙🔄≣ NYT: The Whistle-Blower Complaint: Read the Document [Interactive] http://nyti.ms/2nq4FAD
// 9/26/2019

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ HPSCI: Trump-Ukraine impeachment inquiry report http://bit.ly/2LlnJsX
// 12/3/2019; House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ Report: House Judiciary Committee report on their articles of impeachment against President Donald John Trump http://bit.ly/2Ek2rIa 658p
// 10/15/2019

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ Lawfare: House Releases Impeachment Trial Brief http://bit.ly/2ucCo3Y document 111p
// 1/18/2019

By @Jzikah

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ Trial Memorandum of the US House of Representatives in the Impeachment Trial of President Donald J Trump http://bit.ly/2uePNsc
// 1/18/2020

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ Trial Memorandum of President Donald J Trump http://bit.ly/2NGi2XK 171p
// 1/20/2020

By @Jzikah

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ Vox, Matthew Yglesias and Andrew Prokop: The ultimate guide to the Donald Trump impeachment saga http://bit.ly/2SoXpkm
// Updated: Feb 5, 2020, 8:06pm EST, Published: Nov 5, 2019, 8:06am EST

⋙ 💙💙🔄 📔 This❗️⋙ 📀 Press Here For Impeachment Trial on Cspan
// 1/20/2020-2/5/2020

⏳WaPo: The full Trump-Ukraine impeachment timeline http://wapo.st/35odsUl

By @Jzikah has a book! Cartoon President http://amzn.to/2QUeZhk

⭕ 31 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger Disappointed rules proposed for House do not sanction members seeking to overthrow democracy.

🐣 RT @SpyTalker [Jeff Stein] Very happy to announce our new partnership with @thedailybeast, starting with today’s cross-posted piece: Poisoner, Hacker, Meddler, Spy: How Russian Agents Ran Wild via @thedailybeast
⋙ DailyBeast/SpyTalk, Jeff Stein and Patricia Ravalgi: Poisoner, Hacker, Meddler, Spy: How Russian Agents Ran Wild in 2020 http://bit.ly/38WUlnO
// 12/31/2020; Some wins, some losses, but overall a record to be proud of—if you’re Vladimir Putin.

WaPo: Meet the Trump saboteur in charge of undermining Biden — and America http://wapo.st/3rK5MIb Trump’s budget director, Russell Thurlow Vought, “is very good at is sabotage. He’s sabotaging national security, the pandemic response and the economic recovery”

🐣 RT @stuartpstevens Hey @realDonaldTrump, know you’re up and Tweeting! Enjoy that last NY Eve before we kick you out of Our House. You lost. Here’s a special message just for you and yours. Happy New Year, loser.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln A #NYE2020 message made with love from @TheRickWilson to @realDonaldTrump. #NewYear 💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1344856023471972352?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @jgeltzer The Justice Department just filed its response to the lawsuit filed by Gohmert & more trying to force Pence to declare Trump the winner at the joint session of Congress on 1/6. ¤ DOJ—the same DOJ that reports to Trump—says the lawsuit should be tossed out of court. ¤ DOJ is right.

🐣 RT @mccaffreyr3 TRUMP PENTAGON putting US national security in great peril. Transition meetings turned off since 18 Dec. Political appointees are deliberately hiding issues. Russian hack? Mil Ops against Iran? Contract corruption? Jan 6 DC security?
⋙ NPR: Biden’s National Security Adviser: Pentagon Hasn’t Granted Meetings Since Dec. 18 http://n.pr/2KUkID1

Reuters: Iran’s foreign minister says Trump trying to fabricate pretext to attack Iran http://reut.rs/2L8h8F2 “Separately, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned Trump ‘not to turn the New Year into mourning for Americans’”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday accused U.S. President Donald Trump of attempting to fabricate a pretext to attack Iran, and said Tehran would defend itself forcefully.

Separately, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned Trump “not to turn the New Year into mourning for Americans”.

Zarif said in a tweet: “Instead of fighting Covid in US, @realDonaldTrump & cohorts waste billions to fly B52s & send armadas to OUR region. Intelligence from Iraq indicate plot to FABRICATE pretext for war.”

The U.S. military flew two nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Middle East in a message of deterrence to Iran on Wednesday, but the bombers have since left the region.

The Pentagon announced on Thursday that the Nimitz aircraft carrier, which was off the coast of Somalia, would be heading back to it’s homeport. Previously operating in the Middle East, some U.S. officials said the move could be seen an attempt to reduce tensions in the region.

In recent days there has been increased concern and vigilance about what Iranian-backed forces might do in the lead up to the anniversary of a Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, the official said.

Washington blames Iran-backed militia for regular rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq, including near the embassy. No known Iran-backed groups have claimed responsibility.

Iran is preparing to hold events marking the anniversary of Soleimani’s killing.

“Iran doesn’t seek war but will OPENLY & DIRECTLY defend its people, security & vital interests,” Zarif wrote.

Hossein Dehghan, a military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Twitter: “I saw on the news that the Americans are on alert for fear of the revenge (over Soleimani’s killing) and have flown two B-52 bombers over the Persian Gulf”.

“All their military bases in the region are covered by our missiles. I advise the White House evictee (Trump) not to turn the New Year into mourning for Americans,” said Dehghan, a former defence minister.

🧵 RT @BillKristol 1. A brief thread on why we should not panic but should worry, even be a bit…alarmed. ¤ I’ve been speaking with former Trump Administration officials and with other former senior national security types who remain plugged in to the Pentagon. 📌 https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1344655961445855232?s=20
// three I’s ~ Iran, Insurrection Act, Insanity

⭕ 30 Dec 2020

WSJ Editorial: Trump’s Embarrassing Electoral College Hustle http://on.wsj.com/3aYX9Ub
// It is doomed to fail but would still set a destructive precedent.

Reuters: Trump pardon of Blackwater Iraq contractors violates international law – UN http://reut.rs/3hxZnv1

Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter, over the incident in which U.S. contractors opened fire in busy traffic in a Baghdad square and killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians.

The four contractors, who worked for the private security firm Blackwater owned by the brother of Trump’s education secretary, were included in a wave of pre-Christmas pardons announced by the White House.

“Pardoning the Blackwater contractors is an affront to justice and to the victims of the Nisour Square massacre and their families,” said Jelena Aparac, chair of the U.N. working group on the use of mercenaries, said in a statement.

The Geneva Conventions oblige states to hold war criminals accountable for their crimes, even when they act as private security contractors, the U.N. experts said.

“These pardons violate U.S. obligations under international law and more broadly undermine humanitarian law and human rights at a global level.”

By allowing private security contractors to “operate with impunity in armed conflicts”, states will be emboldened to circumvent their obligations under humanitarian law, they said.

The pardons were strongly criticised by many in the United States. General David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, respectively commander of U.S. forces and U.S. ambassador in Iraq at the time of the incident, called Trump’s pardons “hugely damaging, an action that tells the world that Americans abroad can commit the most heinous crimes with impunity.”

WaPo, EJ Dionne: Republican ‘populism’ is a fraud http://wapo.st/3mXGwuh “McConnell’s maneuvers this week are the last gasp of his party’s hypocrisy, rooted in a burning desire for working-class votes unmatched by a will to do anything to earn them”

Republicans were only willing to embrace Trump’s “populism” as long as it was fake — or of a right-wing sort that elevated the politics of race and immigration. The moment Trump started talking about real money for non-elites, the GOP leadership threw its hands up in horror. McConnell’s maneuvers this week are the last gasp of his party’s hypocrisy, rooted in a burning desire for working-class votes unmatched by a will to do anything to earn them.

WaPo Editorial: Trump is inciting chaos on Jan. 6, both in and outside the Capitol http://wapo.st/381AHbd

Mr. Trump — who told the Proud Boys during the first presidential debate in September to “stand back and stand by” — issued his uncamouflaged summons to “Be there, will be wild!” So much for the law-and-order president. Just as hypocritical are the Republican members of Congress — the latest being Mr. Hawley — who plan to raise objections to the certification of electoral votes for Mr. Biden. They cite completely baseless allegations, uniformly rejected by the courts, of voter fraud. Their aim is not, as they profess, to ensure election integrity, but rather to cater to the whims of a would-be autocratic president and burnish their credentials as Trump loyalists for future elections.

Republican congressional leaders have acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s desperate efforts to stop Mr. Biden from being sworn in to office are bound to fail. Not, though, before more harm is done to the United States’ political system and its standing in the world. We can only hope the damage from the chaos Mr. Trump is inciting doesn’t extend to human lives.

🐣 RT @kyledcheney SASSE issues a lengthy midnight takedown of efforts by some Republicans to overturn Biden’s victory, labeling them “ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without doing any real, long-term damage.” http://bit.ly/3rIJ0k0 https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1344516142556184576?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 Democrats have won the popular vote in all but one election since 1992, and have generally acquiesced to the Electoral College outcome. There were legitimate concerns over the outcomes in 2000, 2004 and 2016. But Dems NEVER behaved in the unhinged way Trump & his minions are now.

🐣 RT @kasparov68 Putin has been busy signing laws with both hands. More laws criminalizing dissent, huge fines for “online libel,” and “foreign agents”. With other hand, more goodies for his pals, privatizing national parkland, handing more public assets to his mafia.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 It’s typical of authoritarian regimes to be obsessed with churning out new laws as a way of legitimizing their repression. As documented well by Kafka, the irony is that they ignore the law when it suits them and have no independent judiciary.

🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom I hope that’s all it is.
⋙ 🐣 RT @gtconway3d The president is cutting short his vacation in order to resume his critical and important work undermining the Constitution he swore to uphold.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @kaitlancollins President Trump is skipping his New Year’s Eve party, an unusual move that surprised guests who were told he’d be there. Instead he’s heading back to Washington early. W/ @Kevinliptakcnn [link]
⋙ 🐣 RT @ps9814 I’m certain this is about Iran war plans. See @RadioFreeTom’s article in The Atlantic.
⋙ 🐣 CNBC (2016): Trump asks why US can’t use nukes: MSNBC http://cnb.cx/3rGrJHY ● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1344487869637824513?s=20/photo/1

[8/3/2016:] “Several months ago, a foreign policy expert on the international level went to advise Donald Trump. And three times [Trump] asked about the use of nuclear weapons. Three times he asked at one point if we had them why can’t we use them,” Scarborough said on his “Morning Joe” program.

Scarborough made the Trump comments 52 seconds into an interview with former Director of Central Intelligence and ex-National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden.

Scarborough then asked a hypothetical question to Hayden about how quickly nuclear weapons could be deployed if a president were to give approval.

“It’s scenario dependent, but the system is designed for speed and decisiveness. It’s not designed to debate the decision,” Hayden said.

🐣 RT @TheRickWilson Not one of you dorks in the Senate will escape this politically. It will never, ever go away.

💽 MSNBC, Mitchell Reports: Sen. Murphy: Hawley is “engaged in the attempted overthrow of democracy” http://on.msnbc.com/393fFZ9
// Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) weighs in on expanding stimulus checks, telling Andrea Mitchell that “the legislative session ends in three days. So there is only one path to get $2,000 into the hands of Americans who are struggling today, and that is to pass the House legislation.” He also sharply criticizes Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) announcement that he would object to the Electoral College certification on January 6th, saying that “Josh Hawley and anyone who supports his effort are engaged in the attempted overthrow of democracy. There is no evidence that there was any fraud.”

🐣 RT @marceelias Looks like 2021 may be another busy year of suing states over restrictive voting laws.
⋙ USAToday: GOP seeks to roll back mail-in voting in states like Georgia and Pennsylvania that Trump is contesting http://bit.ly/38GwyZ6

TheAtlantic, Ed Yong: Where Year Two of the Pandemic Will Take Us http://bit.ly/392R1I7
// As vaccines roll out, the U.S. will face a choice about what to learn and what to forget.

TheAtlantic, Tom Nichols: Trump Could Still Start a Last-Ditch War With Iran http://bit.ly/3pHFp3X
// A final grand distraction before the president is forced to relinquish his office is a real danger that deserves serious attention.

🐣 RT @BillKristol OMB is in effect the White House and has been involved over the last couple of years in many of Trump’s illegalities and cover-ups, so that’s no surprise. On the other hand, DOD “opacity” is bad and worrisome.
⋙ 🐣 RT @lrozen Biden spox Yohannes Abraham warns of DoD & OMB “intentional opacity,” making transition harder, has security, health, economic repercussions

⭕ 29 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @harrylitman Pence’s constitutional role is to “open” the certificates. That’s it. Not to certify not even technically to count. He has no way even to purport to change the count. It’d be like saying the Oscar presenters get to decide who wins Best Picture.

🐣 RT @MSNBC “When candidates lose presidential elections it is a humiliating personal rejection … and they need family and friends around them to help them cope with that defeat. Donald Trump doesn’t have that,” Democratic strategist Chaitanya Komanduri says.
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, TheBeatWithAri: ‘Loser’: Dem Strategist says Trump ‘has nobody’ to console him, maybe a ‘hug from Lou Dobbs’ http://on.msnbc.com/
// As Trump wreaks havoc in his final days in office, Democratic strategist Chaitanya Komanduri joins MSNBC’s Ari Melber to discuss his inability to concede and why he’s a “loser.”

🐣 RT @michaelluo .@sbg1: “…unless there is a full accounting for what happened with Donald Trump, 2020 is not over and never will be. I still don’t want to remember, but I know that forgetting is not an option, either.”
⋙ NewYorker, Susan Glasser: The Trümperdämmerung Is a Fitting End to 2020 http://bit.ly/3nZFWh4

WaPo: N.Y. prosecutor hires forensic accounting experts as Trump criminal probe escalates http://wapo.st/34U1qnW
// Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance

⭕ 28 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @PhilLewis The Proud Boys have made Hotel Harrington their gathering spot when they’re in D.C. ¤ The hotel just put out a statement that they’ll close January 4th-6th, when thousands of Trump supporters are expected to come to the capitol for a last-ditch rally. Many just lost reservations https://twitter.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1343760802965286912?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @pbump This is not a joke.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @Bencjacobs INBOX: President Donald Trump issues Proclamation on 850th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket
⋙ 🐣 ‘Who will rid us of this meddlesome president?’

😅 RT @DonWinslow The first few weeks of January are going to feel a lot like the last 30 minutes of Goodfellas. 💽 https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1343777976710643712?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @PeterHotez We’ve learned in 2020 that our nation can’t implement complicated public health measures: we saw this with the diagnostic testing, virus detection, virus genome sequencing, we’re just not delivering at a high level, can’t understand why
⋙ 🐣 ♫ Well, this train carries saints and sinners
This train carries losers and winners
This train carries whores and gamblers … ¤
I said, this train carries broken-hearted
This train, thieves and sweet souls departed
This train carries fools and kings … ¤
~ Springsteen
⋙⋙ 🐣 lyrics aside, Fauci has said we need to study the difficulty of achieving public health goals in a complex society of non-conformists

🐣 RT @keplya https://twitter.com/keplyq/status/1343732280318164992?s=20/photo/1
// “Hope was never a thing with feathers” ~ Claudia Rankine
⋙ 🐣 “It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah” ~ Leonard Cohen

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Breaking: The House has voted to override Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act. It’s the first successful override vote of the Trump admin.

🐣 RT @JustSchmeltzer WOW, House passes $2000 checks in a suspension-of-the-rules vote, getting the 2/3rd vote needed. Impressive! ¤ Mitch won’t let a vote on that, cleanly, but gives Pelosi and Schumer another strong talking point, as well as GA Senate candidates.

WaPo: Biden accuses Trump appointees of obstructing transition on national security issues http://wapo.st/2Ky6oA3

TheGuardian: Russia admits to world’s third-worst Covid-19 death toll http://bit.ly/3aWn7Ye
// More than 186,000 Russians have died due to coronavirus, three times more than previously reported

But many Russians flout social distancing rules, and in recent weeks the country’s outbreak has overwhelmed poorly funded hospitals in the regions.

Russia has instead pinned its hopes on corralling its outbreak by vaccinating people with its Sputnik V jab, named after the Soviet-era satellite.

… Russia has not said how many people it has vaccinated so far, and according to recent surveys by state-run polling company VCIOM and the Levada polling agency only 38% of Russians plan to get the shot.

⋙ 🐣 MT @Laurie_Garrett [12/21] … Alexander “Sasha” Kagansky, age 45, supposedly stabbed himself & then leapt to his death from a 14th story window in St Petersburg Russia. He was a #COVID19 #vaccine researcher, collaborating w/US & UK scientists.
⋙⋙ MoscowTimes (12/21): Russian Scientist Who Worked on Coronavirus Vaccine Stabbed, Falls Out of Window http://bit.ly/3pygEH0

🐣 RT @duty2warn To reconfirm, Trump is pathologically aberrant and fiercely malignant. GOP Senators are enablers who put party and power over country and constitution. Trump’s lawyers are village idiots. His cabinet is criminal. Every Trump loyalist is a sycophant. And DeJoy deserves deJail.

🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger Our divisions are considerable, aggravated by the descent of one party into nuttery and by a Constitution that gives GOP disprop power. Lawmakers should reduce distortion (e.g., the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact) and deploy federalism.
⋙ WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: America isn’t ‘hopelessly divided.’ It only looks that way because of our Constitution. http://wapo.st/3nZnDsc

⭕ 27 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @StevenBeschloss If we just move on after Jan. 20, if we don’t confront both the criminality and the complicity of Trump and his regime, then America can’t really move on. This will be a festering wound of injustice that won’t heal.
⋙ 🐣 As Fintan O’Toole wrote of Trump today in The Irish Times: “[T]hose who want to rebuild American democracy will have to put a stake through his heart.” http://bit.ly/3hyPZYd
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @SykesCharlie “Democracy is not just about voting… Trump set out to lay waste to that whole system, from the bottom up, poisoning the groundwaters of respect for evidence, argument and rationality that keeps it alive.”
⋙ IrishTimes: Fintan O’Toole: Trump has unfinished business. A republic he wants to destroy still stands http://bit.ly/3hyPZYd
// 2020 in review: Donald Trump will continue to unleash racism, nativism and a fear of government

… [H]e got nearly 75 million votes in November, even while his malign incompetence was killing his own people. He got those votes, moreover, having made it abundantly clear that he would never accept the result of the election unless he won. They were votes for open autocracy.

This is his legacy: he has successfully led a vast number of voters along the path from hatred of government to contempt for rational deliberation to the inevitable endpoint: disdain for the electoral process itself.

In this end is his new beginning. Stripped of direct power, he will face enormous legal and financial jeopardy. He will have every reason to keep drawing on his greatest asset: his ability to unleash the demons that have always haunted the American experiment – racism, nativism, fear of “the government”.

Trump has unfinished business. A republic he wants to destroy still stands. It is, for him, not goodbye but hasta la vista. Instead of waving him off, those who want to rebuild American democracy will have to put a stake through his heart.

🐣 RT @AppropsDems NEW: @AppropsDems Chairwoman @NitaLowey on President Trump’s belated signing of HR 133: ¤ “The House Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over rescissions, and our Democratic Majority will reject any rescissions submitted by President Trump.” http://bit.ly/3mMPkDm

🐣 RT @stealthygeek Reminder that line-item veto is not a thing.
⋙ 🐣 RT @AndrewSolender Trump says he’s signing the stimulus bill “with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed.” ¤ “I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item… insisting that those funds be removed from the bill.” Text Block: https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1343365526198906882?s=20/photo/1-2

🐣 RT @ChrisMurphyCT The House will vote tomorrow on legislation increasing the checks from $600 to $2000. It will pass with likely universal Democratic support. ¤ Then it’s up to McConnell. The Senate could vote Tuesday and send it to the President’s desk. ¤ What will McConnell do?
⋙ 🐣 If Trump is serious and McConnell doesn’t allow a vote or doesn’t push caucus to support the $2000, Trump could screw up the GA election which McConnell needs Trump’s support for to keep his majority…🤔

🐣 RT @PreetBharara👇
⋙ 🐣 RT @kyledcheney NY Post cover/editorial: “Sidney Powell is a crazy person. Michael Flynn suggesting martial law is tantamount to treason.”
⋙ NYPost: The Post says: Give it up, Mr. President — for your sake and the nation’s http://bit.ly/3ryjo9u
// Mr. President, it’s time to end this dark charade. We’re one week away from an enormously important moment for the next four years of our country.

Mr. President, it’s time to end this dark charade. ¤ We’re one week away from an enormously important moment for the next four years of our country. ¤ On Jan. 5, two runoff races in Georgia will determine which party will control the Senate — whether Joe Biden will have a rubber stamp or a much-needed check on his agenda.

Unfortunately, you’re obsessed with the next day, Jan. 6, when Congress will, in a pro forma action, certify the Electoral College vote. You have tweeted that, as long as Republicans have “courage,” they can overturn the results and give you four more years in office. ¤ In other words, you’re cheering for an undemocratic coup.

You had every right to investigate the election. But let’s be clear: Those efforts have found nothing. To take just two examples: Your campaign paid $3 million for a recount in two Wisconsin counties, and you lost by 87 more votes. Georgia did two recounts of the state, each time affirming Biden’s win. These ballots were counted by hand, which alone debunks the claims of a Venezuelan vote-manipulating Kraken conspiracy. ¤ Sidney Powell is a crazy person. Michael Flynn suggesting martial law is tantamount to treason. It is shameful.

We understand, Mr. President, that you’re angry that you lost. But to continue down this road is ruinous. We offer this as a newspaper that endorsed you, that supported you: If you want to cement your influence, even set the stage for a future return, you must channel your fury into something more productive.

President Trump, your legacy is secure — stop the ‘stolen election’ rhetoric. Stop thinking about Jan. 6. Start thinking about Jan. 5. […]

🐣 I’ve seen different pov’s and I’m confused:
1. Was Trump defeated (on relief package)?
2. Did he get some substantive commitments?
3. Or ~ Was he played?
⋙ 🐣 RT @TSubtext Very much depends on the audience.

WaPo: Trump has indicated he will sign stimulus and government spending bill into law, averting shutdown http://wapo.st/2KYWaZ8
// The president had demanded changes to the stimulus bill but on Sunday signaled he would release the stimulus funds after all

CNN, Dean Obeidallah: Nero fiddled. Trump plays golf http://cnn.it/3mQhYmZ

🐣 RT @duty2warn In his final days, Trump finally now approaches the apex of his malignancy. There is nothing positive driving him at all. There is nothing he cares about that is beneficial to the electorate. He is driven purely by grievance, rage, fear and especially revenge.

😅 WaPo: Dave Barry’s Year in Review 2020 http://wapo.st/2KyfEnM
// And we thought past years were awful.

⭕ 26 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @TheLastWord .@tribelaw argues that Trump’s pardons to absolve the crimes of his friends might be crimes themselves if they’re issued to obstruct justice. He also explains why it’s important for the next admin. to investigate and prosecute those abuses of power. https://on.msnbc.com/37T6ZoK
// 12/28/2020
⋙ 🐣 RT @tribelaw My @FT op-ed explains the counter-intuitive fact that it’s the very breadth of the president’s pardon power — its “plenary” character— that enables an ex-president to be prosecuted for using that power as part of a criminal scheme to obstruct justice:
⋙⋙ FT, Lawrence Tribe: Donald Trump’s pardons must not obstruct justice http://on.ft.com/3mUkXLd
// Abuses of constitutional clemency power should be investigated and prosecuted

🚫 WaPo, David Ignatius: Until Biden’s win is certified, the U.S. remains vulnerable http://wapo.st/2WMorET
// alarmist

Law&Crime: Mike Pence Cannot Block the Certification of Joe Biden’s Victory When the Senate Formally Counts Electoral College Votes on Jan. 6th http://bit.ly/2M21Dik

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote Let me explain why he’s really mad. The NDAA forces shell companies to reveal money sources, putting a major crimp in the global money laundering scams donald and his family have been running for decades. It’s not a “gift” to Russia. It would cut off his ruble supply.

⭕ 25 Dec 2020 ✨✨

🐣 RT @GeorgeTakei He warned us four years ago how this would go. How do you think it all ends, friends? 💽 https://twitter.com/GeorgeTakei/status/1342540614030815233?s=20/photo/1
// Tony Schwartz, co-author of TAOTD, saying Trump will never accept his loss
⋙ 🐣 RT @Cleavon_MD You couldn’t pick a worse person to run America during a pandemic than Trump. 3,000 Americans dead per day because we have a mentally unstable President. Even more disturbing & sickening are Republicans that toe the party line and allow their constituents to die from COVID.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @sandzNJ That is truly the most disturbing part. Here we sit and watch and wonder who will save us. Another 60K +/- people will die before new leadership comes in! He’s done more damage than doing nothing with his lies, gatherings and subterfuge.

💙 🧵 RT @JYSexton This is one of the most important threads I’ll write. ¤ Trumpism is fascism. ¤ We are in a full-blown crisis. We must recognize we’re dealing with a religious death cult and warring over reality itself. ¤ Here’s what I discovered writing AMERICAN RULE. 1/-31 📌 https://twitter.com/JYSexton/status/1309895500200579073?s=20
// 9/26/2020

📋 RawStory: More than 2,900 health care workers died this year — and the government barely kept track http://bit.ly/38CVdOi

🐣 RT @CIAspygirl It’s not too late. Maybe Melania can be a Cover Girl for:
“Birther Monthly”
“Tone Deaf Daily”
“Enabler Enquirer”
“Crime Family Chronicle”
“Soulless Sentinel”
“Sexual Predator Apologist Gazette”
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @thedailybeast Melania’s lack of magazine covers as First Lady seems to have Trump a little grouchy on Christmas https://trib.al/JjaT6Mr
⋙ 🐣 ● 2500/day dying from COVID-19
● Unemployment insurance running out
● Eviction moratorium ending
● Government shutting down
● Defense bill vetoed
~ and we’re supposed to feel sorry for who? ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1342696749111119874?s=20/photo/1
// Melania eating jewelry like spaghetti

CNN, Gary Kasparov: It’s time to treat Putin’s Russia like the rogue regime it is http://cnn.it/37OoSoA

🐣 RT @GarrettHaake Graham golfed with President Trump today, and here suggests the President is dug in on boosting direct payments to $2000. Unless he can convince senate Republicans fast, we’re moving towards a shutdown on Monday.
⋙ 🐣 RT @LindseyGrahamSC After spending some time with President @realDonaldTrump today, I am convinced he is more determined than ever to increase stimulus payments to $2000 per person and challenge Section 230 big tech liability protection.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @PeterVroom1 Trump’s goal now is to intentionally create a crisis that will allow him to take extraordinary measures with respect to DOJ/DOD. Graham, as Sen Judiciary Chairman, can facilitate his last ditch efforts through committee hearings to lend some credibility.

🐣♫ RT @LawrenceTribe “Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin’
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’” — Bob Dylan

🐣 RT @DanRather I hope. I mourn. I pray. I love. I listen. I share. I resolve. I waver. Life is complicated. We need each other to shoulder the pain. And share the joy. Merry Christmas.

🐣 “The Dead of Winter” will have a different meaning this year

🐣 A survivor of World War II, a doctor, once tried to explain what life was like when Prague was bombed. ¤ He said, “Life had no value.” ¤ When I look at the death toll each day, numb, I think I finally understand what he was saying.

⭕ 24 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @davidaxelrod Of all the many reckless, thoughtless, selfish- even lawless- things @realDonaldTrump has done as president, throwing COVID aid to Americans in doubt on Christmas Eve has to rank near the top. ¤ This isn’t about getting them more money. ¤ It’s about getting himself more attention.
⋙ 🐣 trying to upstage the baby Jesus

🐣 RT @LincolnProject On #ChristmasEve in 1776, George Washington led his men across the Delaware River and changed the tide of history. On this eve in 2020, their #Legacy is under attack. We must unite & rise to meet this moment just as they did more than 200 years ago. #MerryChristmas✨ https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1342282252953255937?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @DelthiaRicks … No $2000 checks & no $600 ones, either
⋙ WaPo: Families on brink of eviction, hunger describe nightmare Christmas as $900 billion relief bill hangs in limbo http://wapo.st/34G11Fu
// About 14 million Americans will lose unemployment aid on Saturday after President Trump and Congress were unable to reach a deal.

😅 RT @gzeromedia ¤ #TopStories2020 ¤ Trump’s promising to be back by Christmas 2024 (maybe as Santa). ¤ More #PUPPETREGIME: https://gzeromedia.com/puppet-regime/
💽 https://twitter.com/gzeromedia/status/1342243660532908033?s=20/photo/1
// pseudo-Muppets

🐣 RT @joshtpm Manafort worked for Russia to attack the United States probably just for money in the final analysis. Trump knew. Trump helped. And now Trump has pardoned Manafort with full knowledge that he was part of a Russian conspiracy to sabotage a US election.

🐣 RT @WillieGeist Andrew Weissman, former senior prosecutor on the Mueller investigation, on President Trump’s pardons of Manafort and Stone: “What (Trump) did yesterday is proof of obstruction. It’s the final act.” @Morning_Joe

‼️ 🐣 RT @JakeSherman So let’s recap where we are on Christmas Eve.
— Unemployment expires Saturday.
— Government funding expires Monday.
— House Rs blocked Dem 2k check bill.
— Senate R leadership says 2k check bill cant get 60 in the Senate, unlikely to bring it up.
— No plan to keep govt open.

WaPo, Amber Philips: Could Trump declare martial law to try to steal the election? http://wapo.st/3rlzR0B
// That and other efforts his allies are floating won’t work, say legal and national security experts. Here’s why.

⭕ 23 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom If you don’t like the pardons, and the vetoes, and the general callousness of going to Florida while people suffer, you are really not going to like the war with Iran that he is clearly going to try and start in the next few weeks.

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood Trump’s pardons to shield Manafort and Stone – after dangling the idea to persuade them not to tell Mueller what they know about him – is open corruption ¤ the pardons don’t discredit the national security questions about Trump’s conduct w/Russia ¤ the pardons affirm them

🐣 RT @BillKristol The Manafort pardon was of course contemptible. But it was successful. The promise of pardons enabled just enough of a cover up that Trump was able to get away with the collusion and lying about it. In this sense, Trump won. Putin won. America lost, and justice was denied.

🐣 RT @Peter_Wehner To GOP lawmakers who declare Trump’s actions are “rotten to the core”: It’s better late than never, but his actions have been rotten to the core for four years. It would’ve been more courageous to speak out when it mattered, not 28 days before Trump leaves office.

NYT Editorial: Trump Corrupted the Presidential Pardon. Biden Must Repair It. http://nyti.ms/34IB7Rw
// There are clear ways to reform the pardon process to work as the founders intended.

NYT: Trump Gives Clemency to More Allies, Including Manafort, Stone and Charles Kushner http://nyti.ms/3rpk0hk
// It was the second wave of pardons and commutations by the president in two days, showing his willingness to use his power aggressively on behalf of loyalists.

WaPo: Trump’s last-minute outburst throws pandemic relief effort into chaos http://wapo.st/2KoPS5n

🐣 RT @chrislhayes All of this was clear during impeachment, of course. It’s the entire theme of Schiff’s final speech: The man is iredeemably venal and cannot be trusted to do the right thing ever. Ten months later 1 of every 1000 Americans is dead, & the president is desperate to pull off a coup

🐣 RT @duty2warn Kudos to those who commented, suggesting that the REAL source of Trump’s objection to the NDAA involved the proposed requirement of shell corporations to disclose ownership etc. – which is problematic for money launderers like him. Good accurate call.

WaPo: Trump vetoes defense bill, teeing up holiday override votes in Congress http://wapo.st/3mGeFic

NYT, Maggie Haberman and Michael Schmidt: A President Unhappy, Unleashed and Unpredictable http://nyti.ms/34EO2Em
// President Trump remains the most powerful man in the world, but powerless to achieve what he most wants: to avoid leaving office as a loser.

⭕ 22 Dec 2020

💙 WaPo, Edward Foley (12/22): It’s time for Mike Pence to choose: Trump, or the truth http://wapo.st/3n0cLJf

🐣 RT @BeschlossDC George Mason, delegate to Constitutional Convention, said in 1788 that a President should not be granted power to pardon because he might “pardon crimes which were advised by himself. It may happen, at some future day, that he will establish a monarchy, and destroy the republic.”

💙 NBC, Ben Collins: As Trump meets with QAnon influencers, the conspiracy’s adherents beg for dictatorship http://nbcnews.to/3pkLqmT
// With Trump’s days in office dwindling, QAnon influencers have become increasingly restless and militant, urging the president to “#crosstherubicon.”

WaPo: Trump grants clemency to 20, including ex-advisers and former lawmakers http://wapo.st/3haX54G
// The recipients of pardons and commutations included three Republican former members of Congress, people convicted of crimes as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and contractors convicted of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2007.

🐣 RT @thedailybeast Trump informed MAGA attorney Sidney Powell on Monday that he does not intend to appoint her “special counsel” to investigate “election fraud,” according to two people with knowledge of the matter and another source close to the White House.
⋙ DailyBeast, Asawin Suebsaeng and Erin Banco: Trump Tells Sidney Powell He Won’t Name Her ‘Special Counsel’ http://bit.ly/3hfpEya
// The president has met with the conspiracy theorist lawyer recently. But he is not yet buckling to one of her wishes.

🐣 RT @benjaminwittes What a genuinely disgusting set of clemency actions—from pardons for L’Affaire Russe figures to slates wiped clean for murderers of Iraqi civilians and corrupt congressmen!

NYT, Matthew Continetti: Is Trump Really All That Holds the G.O.P. Together? http://nyti.ms/2Ktw4xA
// The Republican Party has embraced reality-TV authoritarianism not out of strength but weakness.

🐣 RT @LaurieGarrett Mystery worthy of Le Carre: Alexander “Sasha” Kagansky, age 45, supposedly stabbed himself & then leapt to his death from a 14th story window in St Petersburg Russia. He was a #COVID19 #vaccine researcher, collaborating w/US & UK scientists. @MaxBoot
⋙ MoscowTimes (12/21): Russian Scientist Who Worked on Coronavirus Vaccine Stabbed, Falls Out of Window http://bit.ly/3pygEH0

RawStory: Michael Flynn should face court martial for ‘incitement to insurrection’: Ex-Colin Powell chief of staff http://bit.ly/2WD4oIZ

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is among the far-right Republicans saying President Donald Trump should declare martial law and reconduct the 2020 election because of widespread voter fraud. Many elections officials and national security experts, however, have stressed that there is no evidence that such fraud occurred or that President-elect Joe Biden didn’t win the 2020 presidential election fairly. And when Col. Lawrence B. Wilkerson, who served as chief of staff to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, spoke to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Monday night, December 21, he expressed his outrage over Flynn’s martial law suggestion and recommended that he face court martial.

Wilkerson told Hayes, “I have to commend all those people out there in every state who worked so hard to deliver a free and fair election. At the same time I saw that, I have to say my fears are somewhat significant with a former lieutenant general in the United States Army saying what Flynn said with regard to martial law and going to the battleground states and essentially reconducting the election. Were I the secretary of defense, I’d call him back to active duty — which is in the prerogative of the secretary of defense — and I’d court martial him.”

The former Colin Powell chief of staff, who considers Flynn a “disgrace to his uniform,” added, “at a minimum, I’d cite him for incitement to insurrection. This is not something that a military officer should do…. He needs to be rebuked. He needs to be reprimanded. And it needs to be done officially.”

⭕ 21 Dec 2020

CNN, Stephen Collinson: Trump threatens 30-day reign of destruction on the way out of office http://cnn.it/34yOh3y “‘We don’t know what he might do,’ one officer in the Pentagon said. Another added: ‘We are in strange times.’”

🐣 RT @GlennKesslerWP Noteworthy: Pat Robertson does a rundown of a bunch of Trump’s lies and notes Trump seems to believe this stuff. He “lives in an alternate reality…very erratic…it’s time to move on.” 💽 https://twitter.com/GlennKesslerWP/status/1341142630479114240?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @jeremyherb New statwment from Wyden following Treasury briefing on SolarWinds says Microsoft said “dozens of email accounts were compromised. Additionally the hackers broke into systems in the Departmental Offices division of Treasury, home to the department’s highest-ranking officials.” Text Block: https://twitter.com/jeremyherb/status/1341184949794320384?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: Undercutting Trump, Barr says there’s no basis for seizing voting machines, using special counsels for election fraud, Hunter Biden http://wapo.st/3nJp2TC

🐣 ◕ RT @D_Kuehn It’s really important for people to understand that what is happening now is much worse than the Great Recession. I understand it’s hard to process that we are living through a series of historic crises, but it’s imperative that we understand that’s what’s happening. https://twitter.com/D_Kuehn/status/1340872948765351937?s=20/photo/1
// overlaid unemployment recession
⋙ 🐣 RT @D_Kuehn The economic crisis is extraordinary. We have a public health crisis on top of that, an ongoing constitutional crisis and barely avoided threat to democracy. And we’re facing a climate crisis.
⋙ 🐣 RT @D_Kuehn The inflection point of capitalist prosperity that’s brought so many real benefits also brings problems and contradictions and we have to accept their reality.

🐣 RT @benpershing “Dominion has stated the company has no ownership relationship with the Pelosi family, the Feinstein family, the Clinton family, Hugo Chavez or the government of Venezuela.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @existentialfish Newsmax just aired this note to “clarify” its coverage of Smartmatic and Dominion. 💽 https://twitter.com/existentialfish/status/1341078245878472706?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @svdate […; full statement:] https://twitter.com/svdate/status/1341096656431923202?s=20/photo/1

📊 RT @Mediaite Polarized America: Fox News Poll Says 22 Percent Think Trump Was Best POTUS Ever And 42 Percent Say He Was The Worst [link]

CNN: Barr says no need for special counsels to investigate election or Hunter Biden http://cnn.it/3h4u3DW “On the SolarWinds cyber attack that affected several agencies in the US government, Barr said, ‘It certainly appears to be the Russians.’”

⭕ 20 Dec 2020

WaPo, Max Boot: Trump saved the worst for last http://wapo.st/3rgSsea “Never before in U.S. history has there been a record of a president discussing a military coup to stay in office”

🐣 RT @propublica “His GPA did not warrant it, his SAT scores did not warrant it. We thought for sure, there was no way this was going to happen. Then, lo and behold, Jared was accepted.”
⋙ ProPublica (2016): The Story Behind Jared Kushner’s Curious Acceptance Into Harvard http://bit.ly/2LV0IQR
// 11/18/2016; ProPublica editor Daniel Golden wrote a book a decade ago about how the rich buy their children access to elite colleges. One student he covered is now poised to become one of the most powerful figures in the country.

🐣 RT @kasparov68 It’s like the police watching a thief try to break into a bank vault but not stopping him because he has the wrong tools and can’t get it open. Do they wait until he blows it up or shoots the bank manager?
⋙ 🐣 RT @stuartpstevens If the president plotting a coup and seizing voting machines isn’t the greatest criminal conspiracy in US history, what beats it? Success is not necessary for conviction, only intent and planning.

WaPo: A frustrated Trump redoubles efforts to challenge election result http://wapo.st/2J6k6Ju

💙 Public officials and military leaders have refused to be drawn into Trump’s post-election maneuvering. On Friday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Gen. James C. McConville, the Army’s top officer, released a joint statement that said: “There is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election.”

💙 TheAtlantic, Peter Wehner: Trump Is Losing His Mind http://bit.ly/2WusPby “In the process, Trump has in too many cases turned his party into an instrument of illiberalism and nihilism”

The president is discussing martial law in the Oval Office, as his grip on reality falters. ¤ None of this should come as a surprise. Some of us said, even before he became president, that Donald Trump’s Rosetta Stone, the key to deciphering him, was his psychology—his disordered personality, his emotional and mental instability, and his sociopathic tendencies. It was the main reason, though hardly the only reason, I refused to vote for him in 2016 or in 2020, despite having worked in the three previous Republican administrations. Nothing that Trump has done over the past four years has caused me to rethink my assessment, and a great deal has happened to confirm it.

Even amid the chaos, it’s worth taking a step back to think about where we are: An American president, unwilling to concede his defeat by 7 million popular votes and 74 Electoral College votes, is still trying to steal the election. It has become his obsession.

In the process, Trump has in too many cases turned his party into an instrument of illiberalism and nihilism. Here are just a couple of data points to underscore that claim: 18 attorneys generals and more than half the Republicans in the House supported a seditious abuse of the judicial process.

And it’s not only, or even mainly, elected officials. The Republican Party’s base has often followed Trump into the twilight zone, with a sizable majority of them affirming that Joe Biden won the election based on fraud and many of them turning against medical science in the face of a surging pandemic.

… If any of his predecessors—Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, to go back just 40 years—had been president during this pandemic, tens of thousands of American lives would almost surely have been saved.

Our institutions, especially the courts, will have passed a stress test, not the most difficult ever but difficult enough, and unlike any in our history. Some local officials exhibited profiles in courage, doing the right thing in the face of threats and pressure from their party. And a preponderance of the American public, having lived through the past four years, deserve credit for canceling this presidential freak show rather than renewing it. The “exhausted majority” wasn’t too exhausted to get out and vote, even in a pandemic.

But the Trump presidency will leave gaping wounds nearly everywhere, and ruination in some places. Truth as a concept has been battered from the highest office in the land on an almost hourly basis. The Republican Party has been radicalized, with countless Republican lawmakers and other prominent figures within the party having revealed themselves to be moral cowards, even, and in some ways especially, after Trump was defeated. During the Trump presidency, they were so afraid of getting crosswise with him and his supporters that they failed the Solzhenitsyn test: “The simple act of an ordinary brave man is not to participate in lies, not to support false actions! His rule: Let that come into the world, let it even reign supreme—only not through me.”

For the foreseeable future, journalists will rightly focus on the pandemic. But once that is contained and defeated, it will be time to go back to focusing more attention on things like the Paris Accords and the carbon tax; the earned-income tax credit and infrastructure; entitlement reform and monetary policy; charter schools and campus speech codes; legal immigration, asylum, assimilation, and social mobility. There is also an opportunity, with Trump a former president, for the Republican Party to once again become the home of sane conservatism. Whether that happens or not is an open question. But it’s something many of us are willing to work for, and that even progressives should hope for.

There’s a lovely line in William Wordsworth’s poem “The Prelude”: “What we have loved, Others will love, and we will teach them how.”

There are still things worthy of our love. Honor, decency, courage, beauty, and truth. Tenderness, human empathy, and a sense of duty. A good society. And a commitment to human dignity. We need to teach others—in our individual relationships, in our classrooms and communities, in our book clubs and Bible studies, and in innumerable other settings—why those things are worthy of their attention, their loyalty, their love. One person doing it won’t make much of a difference; a lot of people doing it will create a culture.

Maybe we understand better than we did five years ago why these things are essential to our lives, and why when we neglect them or elect leaders who ridicule and subvert them, life becomes nasty, brutish, and generally unpleasant.

Just after noon on January 20, a new and necessary chapter will begin in the American story. Joe Biden will certainly play a role in shaping how that story turns out—but so will you and I. Ours is a good and estimable republic, if we can keep it.

🐣 RT @ OlgaNYC1211 So humiliating! Every Russian media outlet this morning is breaking with the news that Trump refused to publish a WH statement blaming Russia for the attacks. Bad enough trump and Republicans refuse to act but having this used as propaganda is infuriating @senatemajldr @SenateGOP

🐣 RT @gelles “Trump has visited golf courses on about 21% of the days of his presidency, or roughly 1 in 5 days. He has visited Trump properties on about 29% of the days of his presidency — nearly one-third of his days in office.”
⋙ 📋 CNN: Donald Trump’s presidency by the numbers http://cnn.it/3auV962
// 12/18/2020

🐣 RT @MSNBC Fmr. CIA and Pentagon Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash on the alleged Russian cyberattacks on US agencies: “I think Trump requested cyber hacking from Russia. He welcomed it, he benefited from it and I think he’s rewarded it.”
💙 ‼️ ⋙ 💽 MSNBC, AndreaMitchell: Former CIA and Pentagon Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash: This is an epic national security crisis http://on.msnbc.com/2Wwwi9B “I think Trump requested cyber hacking from Russia, he welcomed it, he benefited from it and I think he rewarded it”‼️ ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1340648927402586122?s=20/photo/1
// Former CIA and Pentagon Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash joins Peter Baker and Andrea Mitchell to comment on the Russian hack of federal agencies. “We have not had a cybersecurity breach like this in a long time, maybe even in our history,” Bash stated. Regarding President Trump’s silence, Peter Baker added that “this administration has taken a number of actions against Russia in the past; it’s expelled diplomats, imposed sanctions. What it’s not done is have the President…actually give voice to these kinds of actions. He does not criticize Russia.”

🐣 RT @MoscowTimes The United States confirmed Saturday that it is planning to close the two remaining U.S. consulates in Russia https://twitter.com/MoscowTimes/status/1340554032063102976?s=20

⭕ 19 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @OrinKerr In the old days they waited for a suspicious fire at the parliament building.
⋙ 🐣 RT @LLinWood Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pennsylvania are states in which martial law should be imposed & machines/ballots seized. ¤ 7 states under martial law. ¤ 43 states not under martial law. ¤ I like those numbers. ¤ Do it @realDonaldTrump! ¤ Nation supports you.

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood recorded speaking privately to fellow Republicans in 2016, Kevin McCarthy “joked” that Donald Trump was on Vladimir Putin’s payroll ¤ after he said it, then-Speaker Paul Ryan (unsuccessfully) swore those who heard it to secrecy: “no leaks. this is how we know we’re a real family”
⋙ 🐣 RT @GOPLeader I had a briefing from the FBI today to learn more about Eric Swalwell’s ties to a reported-spy from China, and one thing is now crystal clear: ¤ Swalwell should no longer be on the Intel Committee.

🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom If there were an ounce of decency left in the GOP, @senatemajldr would assemble a group of senior Republicans, call @MarkMeadows, go to the Oval, and together tell Trump to stop planning a coup or he’ll be removed from office in accordance with the Constitution. But there isn’t.

NYMag, Jonathan Chait: Trump Floats Coup Plan That’s So Wild Even Rudy Giuliani Is Terrified http://nym.ag/34uCzHc

🧵 RT @joshtpm It’s kind of buried in most of the reporting on this meeting Trump had with Sidney Powell, Rudes [Rudy?], etc. But the real detail I think is that Mike Flynn was at this White Hiuse meeting. Flynn is actively pushing a declaration of marital law that wld have the military force new … https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1340448349233803266?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm 2/ elections in the swing states Trump lost. Powell is, I think, best seen as a creature of Mike Flynn, at least inasmuch as their influence on Trump. Flynn has always had a unique hold over Trump. From 2015 through his notional cooperation to pardon. A former 3 star general …
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm 3/ pressing a defeated President to declare martial law to overturn the result of an election that is now formally and definitively over is needless to say a very grave matter. I have complete confidence that Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46 president in one …
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm 4/ month. But I think people are underestimating how chaotic and dangerous the next thirty days will be. What we are watching is a criminal conspiracy to overturn a certified, final election result involving the President and a handful of cronies including Flynn,
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm 5/ Giuliani, Powell and others.

💙 🧵 RT @tnicholsmd He came in by ambulance short of breath. Already on CPAP by EMS. Still, he was clearly working hard to breathe. He looked sick. Uncomfortable. Scared. ¤ As we got him over to the gurney and his shirt off to switch a a hospital gown, we all noticed the number of Nazi tattoos. 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/tnicholsmd/status/1333391178738274305?s=20

⋙ 🐣 RT @tnicholsmd All of us being a team that included a Jewish physician, a Black nurse, and an Asian respiratory therapist. ¤ We all saw. The symbols of hate on his body outwardly and proudly announced his views. We all knew what he thought of us. How he valued our lives. 4/
⋙ 🐣 RT @tnicholsmd Yet here we were, working seamlessly as a team to make sure we gave him the best chance to survive that we could. All while wearing masks, gowns, face shields, gloves. The moment perfectly captured what we are going though as healthcare workers as this pandemic accelerates. 5/
⋙ 🐣 RT @tnicholsmd Unfortunately, society has proven unwilling to listen to the science or to our pleas. Begging for people to take this seriously, to stay home, wear a mask, to be the break in the chain of transmission. 8/
⋙ 🐣 RT @tnicholsmd Instead, they’ve called the pandemic a hoax, called us liars and corrupt, told us we are being too political by worrying about patients dying and trying to save lives. ¤ They’ve stopped caring about our lives, our families, our fears, worried only about their own. 9/
⋙ 🐣 RT @tnicholsmd I’ve faced these situations countless times since medical school. Not the intubation – which is routine at this point for me and my team. The swastikas. The racist patients. Every single time I feel a bit shaken, but I went into this job wanting to save lives… 12/
⋙ 🐣 RT @tnicholsmd I run through the meds and plan with the nurse and RT. I pause. I see the SS tattoo and think about what he might think about having Jewish physician taking care of him now, or how much he would have cared about my life if the roles were reversed. 16/ […]

🧵 RT @ I don’t really want to boost Cohen, but I also don’t want to rip it off, so here it is, but I’ll tell you what he said @emilyjanefox is the interviewer here. [link to Vanity Fair] 📌 https://twitter.com/DirkSchwenk/status/1340507936733470726?s=20
// Interview with Michael Cohen, Trump’s former “fixer”

🐣 RT @ @DirkSchwenk Starts at noting that Cohen said at the beginning that Trump wouldn’t transition peacefully … and granted that’s true. Cohen on Trump – “pure narcissism.”

This interviewer Emily Jane Fox says she is a long time friend of Cohen – which is a bit of a pause. Cohen is a bit inconsistent as to whether Trump knows he lost – seems to be on the bottom line that Trump is working on his next steps – to rip off Fox News and do a TV network

Trump TV, per Cohen, will be “one fucking infomercial after another and there are 20 Million stupid people out there … that are willing to part with their money…. Educated people, too.”

Cohen – he fell for the emotional appeal, his white power base falls for the same appeal.

PARDONS: Cohen says he does not expect a lot of pardons … Trump cares for no one except for Trump … won’t pardon Giuliani, Jared, Ivanka, Jr., etc. That would waive 5th Amendment, and that wouldn’t be good for DJT … so … no.

Cohen expects many cases out of DOJ and the States, and in light of that, DJT won’t pardon, because they would then testify against Trump.

STEP DOWN AND GET PARDONED? “No, that’s not going to happen, DJT will never step down” because that would be little people forcing him to do so.

Are you still assisting in any investigations? COHEN: I can partially answer, part that I can’t…. I have provided them (Tish James) her entire investigation stems from my (Cohens) testimony to them…. They’re VERY WELL PREPARED … to bring justice to the crimes

Civil Litigation … You (cohen) are out all this money … I (cohen) owe millions … wants reimbursed for money he laid out for Stormy Daniels. Trump called me, said stop this … Stormy sued me (cohen) … deposed General Counsel and Eric Trump … they are too dumb to settle

Cohen is ready to take it all to trial, because that is the only way to beat Trump. Trump never settles, and will take advantage of any weakness shown.

Will you ever talk to Trump again? Cohen – No, I can’t the damage he caused is too significant … he destroyed my family’s happiness. I will never forgive him for what he did… He did himself for himself, without me knowing, at my expense.

Cohen: The court held me responsible for Trump’s dirty deeds … and I can never forgive it. EJF: you really believed he would be loyal? C: DJT is “one way”, but he still somehow believed that he had 5% loyalty … but he had zero.

EJF: Will he jump back in and campaign for Trump 2024? C: he’s desperate for the money… when IRS looks at tax returns, they’re going to find he owes 100s of millions even before penalties … which makes the company worthless…

C: He WILL counterprogram the Biden election [inauguration?]… Obama had the dignity and patriotism to sit in the front row in a peaceful transition … Trump has no humbleness, decency … so he’ll counterprogram the inauguration … so he’ll raise money on it

Alan Weisselberg… is as much in it as Trump, but in my case they gave that fucknut…immunity. I just don’t get it. EJC: We’ll see what he gets. @emilyjanefox I really questioned your decision to put Cohen on, but I think this is a valuable interview, and I hope people boost

Cohen – my book “Disloyal” is currently being adapted for a full length feature film (so he’s getting paid big), and he has a second book coming out (which kinda makes me doubt a little of my tweet above).

Next Cohen book – how people get sucked into Trump. DJT doesn’t care about anyone except for himself, and will steal everything out of the Trump PACs that he can possibly take. He’s already thinking about how to “take money for the little guy.” ¤ Cohen: he’s racist, homophobic, a fraud, etc.

Closes out. Still not sure if Cohen should be boosted at all. I know @marykerry thinks not. He’s definitely a NYer, and has some mobbed up family ties. Enemies of my enemies? Not sure at all.

🐣 RT @atrupar John Bolton did a CNN interview earlier today where he called the Oval Office discussion of martial law “appalling” and said Trump is “unfit for the job.” 💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1340526191107854338?s=20/photo/1

🚫🧵 RT @RonGOPVet4Biden What a surprise, it looks like the “mastermind” behind QAnon, Jim Watkins, had connections to child porn sites going back to the 1990s. So, when the whole purpose of your cult is to fight against child porn and your leader … 📌 https://twitter.com/RonGOPVet4Biden/status/1340453502330556416?s=20
⋙ MotherJones, Al Vincens and: QAnon Is Supposed to Be All About Protecting Kids. Its Primary Enabler Appears to Have Hosted Child Porn Domains. http://bit.ly/37zRtOr
// 10/29/2020; [not posted because old article] Archives document Jim Watkins’ links to domains suggestive of underage sexual material.

🐣 RT @SpyTalker Spies on Flynn-Trump #Coup Talk: ‘Horrifying..embarrassing.’ It’s ‘white knuckle’ time, says one former top #CIA officer by .@talk_spy .@spytalker
⋙ SpyTalk, Jeff Stein: Spies on Flynn-Trump Coup Talk http://bit.ly/38lRAfx
// ‘Horrifying..embarrassing.’ It’s ‘white knuckle’ time, says one former top CIA officer

Reports that disgraced former Army General Michael Flynn urged President Trump to declare martial law and “re-run” the election drew harsh reactions Saturday from intelligence veterans, who worry that foreign adversaries could use the chaos at the top of the government to “take advantage of us,” as one former top CIA spy put it.

“It was heated, people were really fighting it out in the Oval,” a source told CNN.

Veteran intelligence officers told SpyTalk they were appalled at the coup talk.

“Many former intelligence officers, myself included,” retired CIA presidential briefer David Priess told SpyTalk, “are shocked that the using-the-military-to-interfere-in-democratic-processes, things we used to collect on and analyze regarding other countries, are reportedly being discussed by the U.S. president about the US political process!”

Former CIA chief of staff Larry Pfeiffer called the coup talk “very disturbing.” He virtually cringed at the thought of foreign embassies in Washington filing reports on the possibility of martial law in the United States.

“This is the kind of behavior that gets intelligence officers at embassies writing cables home about impending coup plotting,” he told SpyTalk. “Usually those are Americans writing the cables. Not this time.”

Even before the coup talk, said former senior CIA operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos, foreign diplomats at embassy receptions in Washington were openly worrying about the president’s mental state. “The subject was, is the American president acting like Kurtz,” he told SpyTalk. ¤ (Kurtz is the fictional mad colonel in the 1979 Vietnam War drama Apocalypse Now, adapted from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.)

And now the CIA’s foreign counterparts are bringing it up in bilateral meetings with others around. “My friends overseas are embarrassed,” he said. “We represent America.” It looks like “we’re crazy town.”

“The bottom line is Trump’s nuttiness is super embarrassing. There is not so much worry that this is real coup plotting, as we know the U.S. military is loyal, but ultimately a president acting like Kurtz is dangerous for America,” Polymeropoulos said. “And our adversaries see this crystal clear.”

A member of Congress who said he had been talking with career intelligence agency employees said they are “horrified. But they believe Trump lacks the competency to carry out a coup.”

“We are so lucky they are idiots,” tweeted former senior CIA executive John Sipher.

But Polymeropoulos, who served as a CIA station chief battling terrorist insurgents and Russians alike during his 28-year career, worries that “our adversaries going to take advantage” of the apparent chaos at the top of the government. He calls it “white knuckle” time.

Amid all this, Trump, backed by many congressional Republicans, is still rallying his followers in a campaign to invalidate the presidential election.

But Flynn’s advocacy of a military coup will go nowhere, even if he and Trump tried to set the ball rolling, intelligence veterans agree. He’s already shooting himself in the foot by refusing to sign the national defense budget, passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Congress, noted a member of Congress. “Not exactly the way to get military support,” he said on terms of anonymity in exchange for freely discussing national security issues.

“Certainly the fact that the President would even briefly consider using the military to overturn an election is appalling,” says former State Department and CIA officer and historian Mark Stout.

“But those of us who have worked for and alongside the military know that he is barking up the wrong tree. The U.S. military is not going to do this sort of thing for any President, ever.”

🐣 RT @talk_spy If Pat Cipollone and Mark Meadows are so worried by the coup plotting that they’re sending up flares via the press, maybe it’s time for them to walk out, hold an impromptu press conference in the White House driveway and beg a delegation of Republican leaders to confront Trump.

🐣 RT @RepKinzinger [R] One of the Q conspiracies includes that GITMO is going to house the deep state when “the storm” happens. So this guy is implying that I’m nervous cuz Its going to get me. Ill expose these theories, and shine the light into the darkness. #RestoreOurGOP […]
🐣 RT @RepKinzinger [R] No. The military will not be “deployed” to re-run an election. It’s time for this to be shut down, and now. Gen. Flynn has lost his moral authority to be taken seriously, and the GOP needs to stand up to it. #RestoreOurGOP
// 12/18/2020

🐣 RT @Scaramucci Can’t hide the money. It will be traced. He knows they are all going to jail

🐣 RT @BrendanNyhan Dangerous how the goalposts are shifting. Imagine telling yourself in 2014 that people will think everything is fine because the next President won’t *successfully* pull off a coup
⋙ 🐣 RT @holden It’s amazing how the “Watch what Trump does, not what he says” folks moved to “Watch what Trump *successfully* does, not what he *attempts* to do” without missing a beat.
⋙⋙ 🧵RT @BrendanNyhan The Wall Street Journal editorial board mocked me for warning of the threat Donald Trump posed to American democracy back in 2017. People were still suggesting that the threat had been overblown just a few weeks ago. And here we are. 📌 https://twitter.com/BrendanNyhan/status/1340489535063547906?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @holden It’s like someone shows you a gun, and says “I’m going to shoot those people” and all the Very Serious People say, oh, he just talks that way, he’ll never shoot.”

🐣 RT @john_sipher This is a terrible breach. Any public retaliation will not be in direct response but we be [sic] necessary push back for years of Russian malign activity against the US and its allies. We’ve mishandled Putin for over a decade. He’s now clearly shown his stripes.
🐣 RT @BrianStelter “Privately, the president has called the hack a ‘hoax’ and pressured associates to downplay its significance and push alternate theories for who is responsible, two people familiar with the exchanges said.”
⋙ NYT: Trump Contradicts Pompeo Over Russia’s Role in Hack http://nyti.ms/3h1XeaC
// Hours after the secretary of state said that Moscow was behind the vast cybersecurity breach, the president suggested it might have been China and downplayed the severity of the attack.

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews “Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma responded with an ominous threat: “We’re going to use their computers to make sure that people like Biden & his entire team will never again imagine that they have the right to world domination. Just wait and see””
⋙⋙ 🐣 1. “Deputy” Speaker
2. The Duma has no power
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Asylum for Trumpusha: ¤ Russian lawmakers are concerned about the future of the Kremlin’s favorite U.S. president.
⋙⋙ DailyBeast: Russian Media Wants Moscow to Grant Asylum to Trump http://bit.ly/
// 12/10/2020; Russian media and lawmakers are concerned about the future of the Kremlin’s favorite U.S. president.

🐣 RT @jennycohn1 I hadn’t thought of that.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @cre8tiverenewal What about Erik Prince’s mercenaries? With Flynn in DoD I fear anything is possible… 32 days is a long time for them to do significant damage
⋙ 🐣 I think in that event, the US military would get involved

🐣 RT @swin24 Since 2017, Trump has on again off again talked about wanting Mike Flynn back in his admin and/or advising him, despite the cloud of scandal around the ex- national security adviser. Come the very end of the trump era, the president got what he wanted in the dumbest way possible
⋙ 🐣 RT @swin24 Also, for some Trumpworld connective tissue: Mike Flynn is now been in direct contact on “election fraud” issues with MyPillow ceo Mike Lindell, who is a major funder of Lin Wood and Sidney Powell’s legal work, the latter of whom was also at the Trump meeting with Flynn
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @swin24 Turns out, MyPillow ceo Mike Lindell is a major funder of a number of the pro-Trump efforts to overturn the 2020 election that you’ve been seeing. He’s given handsomely to Trumpist attorneys Lin Wood/ Sidney Powell in weeks since the election, for instance [link]
⋙ 🐣 RT @swin24 If you had told me a year ago that in the wake of the 2020 race, Trump would bring back Gen. Flynn to consult & egg on & work w/ QAnon peddling lawyers to try to steal the election & cancel democracy, & that the MyPillow creator would also be a player in the saga I woulda said… ….Yea ok that sounds right

🐣 RT @stuartpstevens Not since US Army officers became traitors and joined the Confederacy, has a group so betrayed their oath of office as the majority of Republican Senators and Members of Congress. Their children & grandchildren will study their weakness and anti-American cowardice.

🐣 RT @Porter_Anderson Media: @sam_vinograd to @biannagolodryga on the cyberattack: “What @realDonaldTrump did today was cement his own legacy as a national security threat to the homeland. By undercutting his experts, he’s helping #Russia’s mission to sow confusion in the #UnitedStates.”
// on CNN

🐣 RT @ScottMStedman One of the biggest financial scandals in the world is how Deutsche Bank time and time again acted as a conduit for the Russian government, Russian intelligence, and Russian oligarchs to expand their influence around the world, and particularly, in the US.

🐣 RT @RichardHaass smart piece on the hack. essential to distinguish among 1) political influence operations; 2) espionage; 3) disruptive attacks/sabotage; & 4) unconstrained warfare to understand what occurred & to decide whether to go beyond instituting better protection.
⋙ WIRED: Russia’s Hack Wasn’t Cyberwar. That Complicates US Strategy http://bit.ly/37w3fct
// To evaluate whether cybersecurity tactics are working, you need to first establish what the SolarWinds hack really was.

🐣 RT @kasparov68 Are you kidding? His own Secretary of State, a full loyalist, already admitted it was Russia! When I said in 2017 that Trump had more Russian connections than Aeroflot, this is what I was worried about. [re: Trump tweet]
⋙ NYMag, Jonathan Chait: Trump Won’t Denounce Russia’s Hack Because He’s Still Subservient to Putin http://nym.ag/3mEe1S9
⋙⋙ 🐣 “RT @real The Cyber Hack is far greater in the Fake News Media than in actuality. I have been fully briefed and everything is well under control. Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when anything happens because Lamestream is, for mostly financial reasons, petrified of…. … discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!). There could also have been a hit on our ridiculous voting machines during the election, which is now obvious that I won big, making it an even more corrupted embarrassment for the USA. @DNI_Ratcliffe @SecPompeo”

🐣 RT @benjaminwittes It is, shall we say, unusual for the President of the United States to meet in the Oval Office with a felon to discuss the appointment of the criminal’s lawyer as a special counsel.
⋙ RT @benjaminwittes I chose my word very carefully. He pled guilty to a felony. His motion to withdraw that plea was never granted. The Justice Department’s motion to dismiss was granted because—and only because—of the pardon, which he accepted. Pardon or not, he is a felon.
// Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell

🐣 RT @RenatoMariotti The mere fact that the President of the United States is considering a military coup is alarming. That would mean the end of America as we know it. ¤ Let’s not mince words here. Using “martial law” to overturn the election is a coup. It’s beyond unconstitutional. It’s evil.
🐣 RT @SykesCharlie Folks, at this point we probably should begin to consider the possibility that the president is insane.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT During the meeting, the president asked about Flynn’s suggestion of deploying the military, those briefed said. That was also shot down.
⋙ 🐣 RT @gtconway Let’s not be hasty
↥ ↧
🧵 RT @maggieNYT SCOOP – Sidney Powell was in Oval Office last night as POTUS discussed making her special counsel for election fraud. @KannoYoungs and me 📌 https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1340349856574038017?s=20
⋙⋙ NYT: Trump Discussed Naming Campaign Lawyer as Special Counsel on Election Fraud http://nyti.ms/3mzWs5U
// In a meeting at the White House on Friday, the president weighed appointing Sidney Powell, who promoted conspiracy theories about rigged voting machines, to probe voter fraud.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT Among those pushing back on the idea was Pat Cipollone, Meadows and even Giuliani. But Giuliani separately pushed DHS this week to seize control of voting machines to examine them for possible fraud. DHS said it has no authority to do that.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT The meeting got raucous, with various administration members drifting in and out and different people arguing. Powell told others they were quitters, people people briefed on the meeting
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT The fact of the meeting – and Giuliani hope of seizing the voting machines – has alarmed some of the president’s advisers, who see his desire to take his refusal to accept the election results as in a dangerous new place
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT Meadows and Cipollone strenuously and repeatedly objected to these suggestions, saying there was no constitutional basis, according to the people briefed.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT One person floated an executive order to seize the voting machines. That was also shot down by Cipollone, per the people briefed.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT Adding to the story but two people briefed said Flynn was there as well for this meeting.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT During the meeting, the president asked about Flynn’s suggestion of deploying the military, those briefed said. That was also shot down.
⋙ 🐣 RT @maggieNYT MORE – POTUS asked about possibility of Powell being given security clearances to pursue her theories, per people briefed on the meeting.

President Trump on Friday discussed naming Sidney Powell, who as a lawyer for his campaign team unleashed conspiracy theories about a Venezuelan plot to rig voting machines in the United States, to be a special counsel overseeing an investigation of voter fraud, according to two people briefed on the discussion. ¤ It was unclear if Mr. Trump will move ahead with such a plan.

Most of his advisers opposed the idea, two of the people briefed on the discussion said, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer. In recent days Mr. Giuliani has sought to have the Department of Homeland Security join the campaign’s efforts to overturn Mr. Trump’s loss in the election. ¤ Mr. Giuliani joined the discussion by phone, while Ms. Powell was at the White House for a meeting that became raucous and involved people shouting at each other at times, according to one of the people briefed on what took place.

Ms. Powell’s client, retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser whom the president recently pardoned, was also there, two of the people briefed on the meeting said. Some senior administration officials drifted in and out of the meeting. ¤ During an appearance on the conservative Newsmax channel this week, Mr. Flynn pushed for Mr. Trump to impose martial law and deploy the military to “rerun” the election. At one point in the meeting on Friday, Mr. Trump asked about that idea.

The White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, repeatedly and aggressively pushed back on the ideas being proposed, which went beyond the special counsel idea, those briefed on the meeting said. Mr. Cipollone told Mr. Trump there was no constitutional authority for what was being discussed, one of the people briefed on the meeting said.

Mr. Trump was defeated in the election by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. by more than 7 million votes. The states have confirmed Mr. Biden’s Electoral College victory by a margin of 306-232. ¤ But Mr. Trump, egged on by supporters like Ms. Powell, has never conceded and, holed up inside the White House, he continues to assert that he actually won — even though the baseless claims Ms. Powell and others have made of widespread fraud have been thoroughly debunked and even many of Mr. Trump’s closest allies have dismissed as preposterous her tale of an international conspiracy to rig the vote.

Mr. Trump tends to think of Justice Department appointees when he describes special counsels, but those briefed on the meeting said the idea was for Ms. Powell to serve as a special counsel within the White House, appointed by the president, according to those briefed on it. ¤ Mr. Trump also asked about Ms. Powell being given security clearances to pursue her work, two of the people briefed on the meeting said.

Ms. Powell accused other Trump advisers of being quitters, according to the people briefed. ¤ But the idea that Mr. Trump would try to install Ms. Powell in a position to investigate the outcome sent shock waves through the president’s circle. She has repeatedly claimed there was widespread fraud, but several lawsuits she filed related to election fraud have been tossed out of court. …

Mr. Trump has been in contact with Ms. Powell at other times in recent days, even though his campaign last month sought to distance itself from her as she aired wild and baseless claims about Dominion Voting Systems machines, which were used in some states, somehow being connected to a Venezuelan plot to control the election. ¤ Dominion officials have demanded that Ms. Powell retract her claims. The Trump campaign on Saturday sent a memo to campaign officials telling them to preserve documents related to Ms. Powell and Dominion in case of legal action by the company against Ms. Powell, according to a report by CNN that a campaign official confirmed.

Since the election, Mr. Trump had pushed the outgoing attorney general, William P. Barr, to appoint a special counsel to look into election fraud, as well as one to investigate Hunter Biden, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son. Mr. Barr, people briefed on the matter, has been unwilling to do what Mr. Trump wanted.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani have been pushing for data that would provide evidence of widespread election fraud. Mr. Barr has said the Justice Department has found no evidence of fraud on a scale that would change the outcome of the election. ¤ Part of the White House meeting on Friday night was a discussion about an executive order to take control of voting machines to examine them, according to one of the people briefed on the discussion. ¤ Mr. Giuliani has separately pressed the Department of Homeland Security to seize possession of voting machines as part of a push to overturn the results of the election, three people familiar with the discussion said. Mr. Giuliani was told the department does not have the authority to do such a thing. ¤ The conversation between Mr. Giuliani and Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, the acting deputy secretary of the Homeland Security Department, took place in the past week, according to the people familiar with the discussion, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the conversation.

The department oversees the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the agency responsible for safeguarding critical systems, such as elections and hospitals. ¤ Mr. Cuccinelli is said to have told Mr. Giuliani that there is no authority by which the agency, which spent the year working with state election officials to prepare for the election, could assert control over voting machines in those states. ¤ Mr. Giuliani called Mr. Cuccinelli this week to push the department to re-examine the machines to find evidence of what the Trump campaign has called widespread fraud, two of the people briefed on the discussion said.

The effort by Mr. Trump’s campaign to use the cybersecurity agency in the push to overturn the results of the election comes after the president last month fired the head of that agency, Christopher C. Krebs. Before he was ousted, Mr. Krebs joined other top election officials in calling the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.”
State and local governments take the lead in managing elections in the United States while cybersecurity agency primarily provides support, guidance and intelligence with the local leaders on potential threats to the voting system.

“We don’t own those networks and we do not have independent legal authority to go in and start combing through those networks,” said Suzanne Spaulding, an under secretary for cybersecurity and critical infrastructure in the Obama administration. “Efforts that appear to be driving a partisan agenda, particularly completely unfounded allegations, significantly undermine the hard work these men and women have been engaged in for years.’

🐣 RT @JonLemire “Officials at the White House had been prepared to put out a statement Friday afternoon that accused Russia of being ‘the main actor’ in the hack, but were told at the last minute to stand down”
⋙ AP: Trump downplays Russia in first comments on cyberattack http://bit.ly/34wBkHE
//➔ coulda been China; he forgot to mention the 400lb man in his basement

🐣 RT @ianbassin The former top intelligence official at DHS has reported to Congress as part of a whistleblower complaint that he was pressured by the Admin to exaggerate the role of far left agitators in violent acts.
⋙ Reuters: DHS whistleblower was pressed to exaggerate leftist role in urban protests, lawyer says http://reut.rs/3ha0vF2

⭕ 18 Dec 2020

💙 📋 NYT, Timothy Eagan: The Next 3 Months Are Going to Be Pure Hell http://nyti.ms/3rfObHF “The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects that more than 500,000 Americans likely will have died from Covid-19 by the end of March” ⋙ We were at 314,000 on 12/18
// Biden margin; Lessons from Lewis and Clark on living through the darkest days and longest nights.

‼️ 📋 It’s equally troubling that Biden won the popular vote by 7 million, but came within 43,000 votes of losing the election because of the anti-democratic relic of the Electoral College.

🐣 RT @k_eichensehr My latest for @just_security: some thoughts on the still unfolding Russia hacks and why the US should depart from its usual “Strategic Silence” in the face of espionage to try to prevent these hacks from escalating into destruction/disruption
⋙ JustSecurity, Kristen Eichensehr: “Strategic Silence” and State-Sponsored Hacking: USG and SolarWinds http://bit.ly/37uMoH8
// Is the failure to date to attribute the SolarWinds intrusion and condemn Russia a purposeful tactic?

🐣 RT @AlexWardVox How the US government hack happened, and what it means, explained by @Jason_Healey
⋙ Vox, Alex Award: How the US government hack happened, and what it means, explained by an expert http://bit.ly/37tDJVk
// “This has only started,” Columbia University’s Jason Healey told Vox.

🧵 RT @anneapplebaum Time for Christmas shopping 2020! So many good books were published this year, despite everything. Everyone should read Putin’s People by @CatherineBelton, on the deep roots of Russia’s current ruling class. I reviewed it for @TheAtlantic here: 📌 https://twitter.com/anneapplebaum/status/1340042528318517248?s=20
⋙⋙ TheAtlantic: A KGB Man to the End http://bit.ly/34pd3D8
// The origins of Putin’s worldview—and the rise of Russia’s new ruling class

🐣 RT @dnvolz A full SolarWinds damage assessment and recovery operation for the U.S. government “is a months, if not yearslong, ordeal,” a senior intelligence official said.
⋙ WSJ, Warren Strobel: Computer Hack Blamed on Russia Tests Limits of U.S. Response http://on.wsj.com/2LRf2d5
// It appears spying, not destruction, was the aim; U.S. officials have yet to define precise impact of the suspected Kremlin intrusion

🐣 RT @mviser The formation of the Biden Cabinet began much earlier and has been far more comprehensively planned than previously known. ¤ By Election Day, they had a database of 9,000 potential hires, with 2,500 already vetted. (It now has more than 45,000 entries).
⋙⋙ WaPo: 45,000 names, 130 packets of information, and gut instincts: How Biden is managing his transition http://wapo.st/3apPKNu
⋙ 🐣 RT @mviser “The Biden transition team is the most organized, best resourced, most effective transition team ever” said David Marchick at @publicservice. “Future transition teams, Republican and Democratic will be studying their model. They’re just wickedly organized”

🐣 RT @edwardlucas This is utterly brilliant by @ClaireBerlinski
⋙ Substack, Claire Berlinski: The Hack http://bit.ly/38eYoM8
// How to write about attacking the United States: The Cosmopolitan Globalists’ Guide to Style

🐣 RT @anneapplebaum “Rather than deter the Kremlin, the president has repeatedly refused to acknowledge previous Russian actions—basically giving Vladimir Putin an invitation to continue and amplify attacks” From @GrahamDavidA, on why the US has been hacked
⋙ TheAtlantic, David Graham: Trump’s Weakness Invited Russian Cyberattacks http://bit.ly/34mnhEr
// The president’s failure to push back aggressively against Putin’s meddling seems only to have encouraged it.

🐣 RT @petestrzok Untrue. The investigation opened July 31. ¤ 199 criminal charges followed. ¤ @realDonaldTrump, be like Sen McCain: spend your last days in office standing up to Putin’s cyberattacks and fighting the virus that’s killed 315k Americans, not diverting from your defeat and corruption.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real New Peter Strzok Texts Undermine Official Narrative on Start of ‘Russia Collusion‘ Investigation [link] via @BreitbartNews. Check out last in his class John McCain, one of the most overrated people in D.C.

TheDispatch, Jack Goldsmith: Self-Delusion on the Russia Hack http://bit.ly/38aQEug
// The U.S. regularly hacks foreign governmental computer systems on a massive scale.

🐣 RT @laraseligman Just in: @SecArmy Ryan McCarthy and @ArmyChiefStaff Gen. McConville respond to former Gen. Flynn’s remarks urging Trump to declare martial law to overturn the election results: “There is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election.”

🐣 RT @mccaffreyr3 On MSNBC. CHRIS HAYES. 8 pm ET. Today. Friday. Pentagon ends coordination with Biden transition. The top four political operatives are Trump squirrels who are hiding incompetence. There is no coup coming. This is just incompetence and political warfare.

🧵 RT @McFaul On Russian power, a few sentences from “Putin, Putinism, and the Domestic Determinants of Russian Foreign Policy.” THREAD/ 1. 📌 https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1340013745146191872?s=20
⋙⋙ IntlSecurity, Michael McFaul: Putin, Putinism, and the Domestic Determinants of Russian Foreign Policy http://bit.ly/2KHGrNR
// 10/19/2020

🐣 RT @thedailybeast The shell company, which sucked almost half of the Trump campaign’s funds, had a board stacked with family members and confidantes
⋙ DailyBeast/BI: Kushner OK’d Trump Campaign Shell Company That Secretly Paid Inner Circle: Report http://bit.ly/2J1pj5k
// The shell company, which sucked almost half of the Trump campaign’s funds, had a board stacked with family members and confidantes.

Jared Kushner approved the creation of a shell company that operated like a “campaign within a campaign” and secretly funneled millions of dollars in campaign cash to Trump family members, Business Insider reports. The company, American Made Media Consultants Corporation and American Made Media Consultants LLC, took more than half of the Trump campaign’s massive $1.26 billion war chest and was largely shielded from having to publicly report financial details. However, a source told Business Insider that Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump was the company’s president, Vice President Mike Pence’s nephew was its VP, and Trump campaign CFO Sean Dollman was treasurer and secretary.

The mysterious company caused consternation among other campaign staffers, who had no idea how it was spending money, and the Campaign Legal Center filed a civil complaint with the FEC in June accusing the Trump campaign of laundering $170 million largely through it. A campaign spokesperson denied that AMMC paid Lara Trump or Pence’s nephew for being on its board.

⭕ 17 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @AWeissman_ Trump leaves office saying not a word about the devastating Russian cyber attack on our nation. He began 4 years ago by undermining Obama’s Russia sanctions and then rewarded the man who helped him, Michael Flynn, with a full pardon. ¤ Why is he so afraid to condemn Russia?

🐣 RT @NatashaBertrand SCOOP/BREAKING NEWS: The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networks, officials directly familiar with the matter said.
⋙⋙ Politico: Nuclear weapons agency breached amid massive cyber onslaught http://politi.co/3npPFgi
// Hackers accessed systems at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NatashaBertrand Investigators found suspicious activity in networks belonging to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico and Washington, the Office of Secure Transportation and the Richland Field Office of the DOE.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NatashaBertrand DOE and NNSA officials have begun coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies. Officials at DOE still don’t know whether the attackers were able to access anything, the people said—and may not know “for weeks”

NYT, Thomas P. Bossert: I Was the Homeland Security Adviser to Trump. We’re Being Hacked. http://nyti.ms/37pHATf Mr. Bossert was the homeland security adviser to President Trump and deputy homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush.
// The magnitude of this national security breach is hard to overstate.

The logical conclusion is that we must act as if the Russian government has control of all the networks it has penetrated. But it is unclear what the Russians intend to do next. The access the Russians now enjoy could be used for far more than simply spying.

The actual and perceived control of so many important networks could easily be used to undermine public and consumer trust in data, written communications and services. In the networks that the Russians control, they have the power to destroy or alter data, and impersonate legitimate people. Domestic and geopolitical tensions could escalate quite easily if they use their access for malign influence and misinformation — both hallmarks of Russian behavior.

On Dec. 13, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a division of the Department of Homeland Security — itself a victim — issued an emergency directive ordering federal civilian agencies to remove SolarWinds software from their networks.

The removal is aimed at stopping the bleeding. Unfortunately, the move is sadly insufficient and woefully too late. The damage is already done and the computer networks are already compromised.

The remediation effort alone will be staggering. It will require the segregated replacement of entire enclaves of computers, network hardware and servers across vast federal and corporate networks. Somehow, the nation’s sensitive networks have to remain operational despite unknown levels of Russian access and control. A “do over” is mandatory and entire new networks need to be built — and isolated from compromised networks.

President Trump is on the verge of leaving behind a federal government, and perhaps a large number of major industries, compromised by the Russian government. He must use whatever leverage he can muster to protect the United States and severely punish the Russians.

President-elect Joe Biden must begin his planning to take charge of this crisis. He has to assume that communications about this matter are being read by Russia, and assume that any government data or email could be falsified.

At this moment, the two teams must find a way to cooperate. ¤ President Trump must get past his grievances about the election and govern for the remainder of his term. This moment requires unity, purpose and discipline. An intrusion so brazen and of this size and scope cannot be tolerated by any sovereign nation. ¤ We are sick, distracted, and now under cyberattack. Leadership is essential.

🐣 RT @CharlesPPierce Do you think he knows that his veto can be overridden? Have they explained that to him yet?
⋙ 🐣 RT @real I will Veto the Defense Bill, which will make China very unhappy. They love it. Must have Section 230 termination, protect our National Monuments and allow for removal of military from far away, and very unappreciative, lands. Thank you!
// Translation: Section 230 = Ability for Social Media to label his posts as misinformation; “our” National Monuments = Confederate monuments, rename bases; removal of military from “far away” = Germany

⭕ 16 Dec 2020

WaPo, Dana Milbank: We’ve finally identified the source of fraud in the 2020 election. It’s Ron Johnson. http://wapo.st/34kMZJo //➔ Basically, the hearing was an opportunity to air the accusations Rudy Inc lost in court but without a judge to look at the evidence and rule on the case

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “Do we need a special counsel for Hunter Biden right now? Obviously not… An investigation has already been opened. There is no need for recusal of this Justice Dept. The only reason… is to try and stick it to the incoming president” – Chuck Rosenberg w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1339359574235766785?s=20/photo/1

💙 Politico, Dan Diamond: ‘We want them infected’: Trump appointee demanded ‘herd immunity’ strategy, emails reveal http://politi.co/2Kcr3JB
// Then-HHS science adviser Paul Alexander called for millions of Americans to be infected as means of fighting Covid-19.

🐣 ❣ RT @ProjectLincoln Americans have always said, “It can’t happen here.” But it can, and it will, unless we stand united and fight for our #democracy. 💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1339306575278698496?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @annieisi “This is not the America I recognize. It’s got to stop. … I would appreciate more support from my own party, the Republican Party, to call this stuff out and move on … We have to move on.” –Chris Krebs on baseless election fraud claims
⋙ USAToday: Ex-election security chief Christopher Krebs confronts GOP on false fraud claims: ‘It’s got to stop’ http://bit.ly/38aq5pg

WaPo, Amber Philips: How Republicans are spinning their election fraud falsehoods now that many are acknowledging Biden’s win http://wapo.st/3r2hJsr
// The message seems to be: Okay, Biden won, but here are reasons we should still maybe doubt it

🧵 RT @atrupar This is pretty rich coming from a guy whose baseless claims have undermined public confidence in elections 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1339225647424688130?s=20
// Senate Homeland Security Committee on election, Chain Ron Johnson; former CISA chief Chris Krebs testifies (after having been fired by Trump for saying election was secure)

🐣 RT @real Poll: 92% of Republican Voters think the election was rigged!
⋙ 🐣 ◕ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1339205790826176515?s=20/photo/1
// Statistica/Gallup: Party Affiliation Sees Major Shift http://bit.ly/3mtz5L3
// 7/17/2020; chart through June; Jan: D ~45%, R ~47% ➔ Jun: Jan: D ~50%, R ~39%
⋙⋙ 🐣 If you include non-voters, Republicans are about 22% of all Americans

NYT: Trump Appointees Describe the Crushing of the C.D.C. http://nyti.ms/34gr0mO “‘Every time that the science clashed with the messaging, messaging won,’ Mr. McGowan said.” The WH squelched anything ‘they thought could be viewed as criticism of Trump’
// Kyle McGowan, a former chief of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, go public on the Trump administration’s manipulation of the agency.

⭕ 15 Dec 2020

NewYorker, Masha Gessen: The Overlooked Hallmark of the Trump Administration—and Other Autocracies http://bit.ly/2WromX0 ‘We have to understand Trump’s failures through two traits: cruelty and militant incompetence. But there is a third one: indifference’

We have come to expect this President to fail Americans, catastrophically, and we have become accustomed to understanding these failures through two traits of his Administration: cruelty and militant incompetence. But there is a third one, characteristic of many, if not all, autocracies: indifference.

One of the best-remembered and most useful phrases from twentieth-century political theory is Hannah Arendt’s “the banality of evil,” born of her attempt to understand the motivations of Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Holocaust. The phrase has been interpreted to mean that Eichmann, despite his high position, was merely a cog in a wheel that would have churned with or without him—that he was normal for his time, a shapeless man who would have conformed to any era. All of this is accurate. But what perhaps struck Arendt most when she was reporting on the Eichmann trial, for The New Yorker, was Eichmann’s indifference. She notes that he didn’t seem to remember some of his most consequential, murderous actions, not because he had a poor memory—and not, she assumed, because he was dissembling—but because he didn’t care, and hadn’t cared at the time. Eichmann had an excellent recollection of two things: perceived injustices perpetrated against him—during his trial in Jerusalem he showed himself to be a first-class whiner—and events that advanced his own career, as when important people noticed him and, say, took him bowling.

The parallels offer themselves. From what we know about Donald Trump, he will remember 2020 as a year when he was unfairly treated by the voters, the courts, and the media, and also a year when he golfed. In this year of the coronavirus, Trump has oscillated between holding briefings and acting like the pandemic was over, while recommending bleach and bragging about his own tremendous recovery. But what he has demonstrated consistently, while three hundred thousand people in this country have died and millions became sick, is that he couldn’t be bothered. Memorable news stories have focussed on the cruel and self-serving ways in which the Administration has addressed the pandemic, as when the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, reportedly found it to be politically advantageous that the virus was disproportionately affecting states with Democratic governments, or when Trump withheld resources from states whose governors had criticized him. Trump apparently wanted to lift covid-19 restrictions because he wanted the short-term economic boost that might have helped his reëlection chances. But he also demonstrably, passionately, even desperately wanted a vaccine, and he wanted to take credit for it. His Administration poured money into Operation Warp Speed. And then they dropped the ball, for no reason that we can now see—likely because there is no real reason. Someone might have thought that it wasn’t his job. Someone might have wanted to spite Pfizer for refusing the money that Trump was so generously bestowing. Someone else might have assumed, overconfidently, that Pfizer could always be coerced later into producing the additional doses. Trump himself was most likely golfing.

Nothing has reminded me of Russia quite so much as the Trump Administration’s belated effort to encourage Americans to vaccinate. It will build on an earlier effort to “defeat despair” about the pandemic, which either wasted or simply failed to spend more than a quarter of a billion dollars, because the officials involved tried to ideologically vet two hundred and seventy-four celebrities who may or may not have been asked to take part. Many, according to documents released by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, appeared to have been disqualified because they had been critical of Trump. Several said no, and only a handful, Dennis Quaid among them, accepted; Quaid then apparently backed out, and the campaign went dormant. Had it all been a scam? A particularly dumb version of a Hollywood witch-hunt? Probably not. It was probably another story about a President and an Administration that cares about slights but not about people.

🐣 RT @thereidout “At the end of the day, there’s now one pro-democracy political party in the United States of America and that’s the Democratic Party. ¤ And I am a member of that party because of that. I’m a single issue voter. I believe in democracy.” @SteveSchmidtSES
on #thereidout. 💽 https://twitter.com/thereidout/status/1338999604654862345?s=20/photo/1

WaPo, Aaron Blake: McConnell sets up a clash with Trump over who’s in charge in the GOP http://wapo.st/385aXJS //➔ In the mix is whether Trump will react to McConnell’s rebuke by gumming up the Georgia runoffs

WaPo: Judge orders Trump Organization to give more records to N.Y. attorney general http://wapo.st/3mpJcR4
// re: tax evasion

🐣 RT @SennBlumenthal Stunning. Today’s classified briefing on Russia’s cyberattack left me deeply alarmed, in fact downright scared. Americans deserve to know what’s going on. Declassify what’s known & unknown.

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews “This is probably going to be one of the most consequential cyberattacks in U.S. history,” one U.S. official said, after the NSC held its second meeting in three days about the attacks, which security experts have linked to Russian intelligence.
⋙ Politico: ‘Massively disruptive’ cyber crisis engulfs multiple agencies http://politi.co/34gL88h
// The hacks also placed new pressure on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has been without a permanent leader since November.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance I wrote what’s been on my mind & my heart: Barr will go down in history as the worst attorney general of our lifetimes. He consistently chose to enable a president who did not believe in the rule of law, regardless of the damage it did to the country.
⋙ MSNBC, Joyce Vance: Barr’s escape hatch isn’t enough to shake Trump’s stigma http://on.msnbc.com/3r3Fksu
// Barr’s legacy is one of dishonesty and steadfast refusal to understand his duty to serve justice and the people.

DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: Trump’s Axis of Assholes Just Completed Its Hostile Takeover of the Republican Party http://bit.ly/37jZK8S “The Republican Party’s wholesale moral, ideological, and political collapse is the most shocking ideological betrayal in our nation’s history”
// He lost the election, but his true believers, denying that defeat to the bitter end and already preparing to sabotage everything the Biden administration does, are the party now.

The Republican Party’s wholesale moral, ideological, and political collapse is the most shocking ideological betrayal in our nation’s history. From a devotion (at least a stated devotion) to the Constitution, federalism, and limits on the power of government over its citizens, the Trump GOP has gone full authoritarian, pleading “Meine Ehre heisst Treue” to ensure Donald Trump’s continuing affection. That they believe this won’t come without political and moral consequences is beyond logic and reason, but here we are.

This week’s legal temper tantrums, insane demands, and alt-reich violence on the streets of Washington, D.C., proved that, except for a tiny handful, Republicans are just as awful as Trump. They are peerless when it comes to raging contempt for the will of the voters, the Constitution, and the fundamental underpinnings of the republic. The ludicrous, last-gasp Texas legal argument that the Supreme Court summarily rejected last week was not simply doomed to fail from a legal perspective. It was so politically and morally corrosive and dangerous that only in the era of Trumpian collapse would they have allowed their names to be attached to it.

Once 17 Republican attorney generals—and if you’re new to politics, “AG” also stands for “Aspiring Governor”—put ambition over the Constitution and the rule of law to co-sign the Lone Star State’s hot garbage, to use the legal term, we’re no longer in a functioning republic.

All authoritarian movements seek to purify their ranks, to weed out the unbelievers, the apostates, the poseurs. Trumpism is no different. You’ll see more and more GOP members tested in the dark and difficult days ahead. Don’t be shocked when they fail; as a close observer of the GOP’s transformation into the party of Trump-fluffers, I’ve seen it more closely than most and know how this story ends. They’ll make every excuse, but fear of Trump and the wretched lust for power are all they have left.

🐣 📋 RT @Redistrict Fact: in 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.9 million and came within 77,744 votes of winning the presidency. ¤ In 2020, Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 7.1 million and came within 65,009 votes of winning reelection.
// margins in Swing States
⋙ 🐣 RT @Lee__Drake This analysis looks at the tipping point to 270. A small number of votes in AZ, GA, WI, NV, and NE-2 could have done it
⋙ 🐣 RT @CjgbVictoria As devil’s advocate, I’ll make a pro-EC argument I haven’t seen elsewhere. Over the last 20 years, ignoring 3rd parties, the presidential vote has averaged D 52% & R 48%. Each party won the EC 50% of the time. Under a pop vote system, the D’s wd win 83% & the R’s 17% of the time.

🐣 RT @kaitlancollins Biden says he had “a good conversation” with McConnell today. “I called him to thank him for the congratulations.” He said they have “always been straight with one another” and agreed to get together “sooner than later.” “I’m looking forward to working with him.”

🐣 RT @mkraju Barry Black, the esteemed Senate chaplain, says in his morning prayer: “We accept the results of the Electoral College and ask that you bless President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.” His prayer comes before McConnell’s speech on the floor

🐣 RT @atrupar “Our country has officially a President-elect and a Vice President-elect … the Electoral College has spoken” — here’s Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor congratulating Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their victory over Donald Trump 💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1338866857734856705?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote He must have fallen down multiple times like the others.
⋙ 🐣 RT @BillBrowder Shocking news. Paul Behrends, ex-staffer to Dana Rohrabacher and one of the key people behind the anti Magnitsky campaign in DC in 2016 died suddenly from head trauma last weekend in Washington
⋙⋙ DailyBeast: Ex-Hill Staffer Linked to Veselnitskaya Dies Suddenly After Fall Near His Home http://bit.ly/2LE0CwP “The longtime aide to ‘Putin’s Congressman’ Dana Rohrabacher died suddenly from a head injury over the weekend”
// Paul Behrends, who lost his job on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee after links to Russia were reported, suffered a head injury close to his home on Friday night.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @ThomasS4217 timing is interesting..8th anniversary of Magnitsky Act

🐣 RT @Reuters Putin congratulates Joe Biden on U.S. election victory – Kremlin http://reut.rs/3abf5KN

⭕ 14 Dec 2020

💙 ✅ WaPo, Ann Gerhart: Election results under attack: Here are the facts http://wapo.st/2IY9cWg ⋙ with excerpts from various court rulings and links to all of The Post’s reporting on each false claim
// tags: rigged election rigging stolen election stolen; A compilation of the misinformation, disinformation and many rejected legal challenges by Trump and his allies to try to overturn votes

🐣 RT @RepJerryNadler Attorney General Barr will be remembered for misleading the public, politicizing DOJ, and callously disregarding civil rights. I look forward to working with whomever President-elect Biden chooses as the new AG to repair the integrity of the Department of Justice. Text Block: https://twitter.com/RepJerryNadler/status/1338638516415311877?s=20/photo/1

💙 NYT, Michelle Goldberg: Just How Dangerous Was Donald Trump? http://nyti.ms/3gOot8n “Both the Trump and Bush presidencies concluded with America a smoking ruin. Only Trump has ensured that nearly half the country doesn’t see it”
// He failed to bend the state to his will, but he still broke the country.

Fascism is obsessed with fears of victimization, humiliation and a decline, and a concomitant cult of strength. Fascists, wrote Robert O. Paxton in “The Anatomy of Fascism,” see “the need for authority by natural chiefs (always male), culminating in a national chieftain who alone is capable of incarnating the group’s historical destiny.” They believe in “the superiority of the leader’s instincts over abstract and universal reason.” This aptly describes Trump’s movement.

… Trump’s ability to envelop his followers in a cocoon of lies is unparalleled. The Bush administration deceived the country to go to war in Iraq. It did not insist, after the invasion, that weapons of mass destruction had been found when they obviously were not. That’s why the country was able to reach a consensus that the war was a disaster.

No such consensus will be possible about Trump — not about his abuses of power, his calamitous response to the coronavirus, or his electoral defeat. He leaves behind a nation deranged.

🐣 RT @inhoungk Analysts said it was hard to know which was worse: that the federal government was blindsided again by Russian intelligence agencies, or that when it became clear what was happening, White House officials said nothing. @SangerNYT @nicoleperlroth
⋙ NYT: Scope of Russian Hack Becomes Clear: Multiple U.S. Agencies Were Hit http://nyti.ms/3gM8Leb
// The Pentagon, intelligence agencies, nuclear labs and Fortune 500 companies use software that was found to have been compromised by Russian hackers. The sweep of stolen data is still being assessed.

🐣 RT @nytimes Joe Biden’s 306 Electoral College votes make his victory official. https://nyti.ms/3a9Zv1Y [Map:] https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1338650030576689152?s=20/photo/1

💽 WaPo: Joe Biden’s speech to America: ‘It is time to turn the page’ http://wapo.st/3oPDrhi

President-elect Joe Biden reaffirmed his faith in the integrity of American elections and the legitimacy of his presidency after the electoral college formalized his November win Monday, ridiculing President Trump for claiming victory despite multiple failed efforts to overturn the election results.

In sweeping and sometimes agitated comments 37 days after he was projected the winner, Biden attempted to unify a polarized and skittish country with direct appeals to the more than 74 million Americans who voted for Trump.

“In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed,” Biden said. “We the people voted. Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact. And now it is time to turn the page, as we’ve done throughout our history. To unite. To heal.”

The speech represented, to date, Biden’s most forceful defense of the election as well as his most complete denunciation of Trump’s fraudulent claims. Biden noted that he received 7 million more popular votes, and the same number of electoral votes, 306, as Trump did in 2016 when he claimed “a landslide.”

“President Trump was denied no course of action he wanted to take,” Biden said. “He took his case to Republican governors and Republican secretaries of state . . . to Republican state legislatures, to Republican-appointed judges at every level. Even President Trump’s own cybersecurity chief overseeing our elections said it was the most secure election in American history.”

Biden praised judges and election workers, both Democrats and Republicans, who withstood Trump’s criticism and defended the integrity of the election. ¤ “They knew this election was overseen, overseen by them — it was honest, it was free, and it was fair,” Biden said. “They saw it with their own eyes, and they wouldn’t be bullied into saying anything different. It was truly remarkable.”

“It is my sincere hope we never again see anyone subjected to the kind of threats and abuse we saw in this election,” he added. “It’s simply unconscionable. We owe these public servants a debt of gratitude … our democracy survived because of them.”

Biden expressed particular contempt for a Texas-based legal challenge — which was joined by 17 Republican attorneys general and 126 congressional Republicans — that sought to overturn results in four states that Biden won: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“Thankfully, a unanimous Supreme Court immediately and completely rejected this effort,” Biden said. “The court sent a clear signal to President Trump that they would be no part of an unprecedented assault on our democracy.”

The meeting of the electoral college has been, in recent history, a formality often unnoticed by the public, rather than an event carried live on cable television and prompting a major address by a president-elect. It was only Trump’s defiance that prompted Biden to decide to give another valedictory speech.

💽 ≣ PBS: Biden speaks after Electoral College certification results [transcript, video] http://to.pbs.org/2LDSpJ5

🧵 RT @atrupar Biden: “In the start of this pandemic, this crisis, many were wondering how many Americans would actually vote at all, but those fears proved proved to be unfounded. We saw something very few predicted, even thought possible — the biggest voter turnout in the history.” 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1338643429434208256?s=20
// Biden speech after Electoral Votes counted (pending Hawaii)

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: William Barr Is Out as Attorney General http://nyti.ms/34aXvTo “Barr’s resignation allows him to avoid any confrontation with the president over his refusal to advance Mr. Trump’s efforts to rewrite the election results”
// Mr. Barr was one of the most powerful members of President Trump’s cabinet and faced widespread criticism over his willingness to advance Mr. Trump’s political agenda.

🐣 RT @marceelias 🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have officially cross the 270 margin in the Electoral College voting necessary to become President and Vice-President on January 20th. ¤ Donald Trump and his allies lost a record breaking 59 lawsuits between Election Day and today.

🐣 We reached 300K verified deaths from COVID-19 today ~ the same day thd first vaccines were administered. ¤ But we’re not out of the woods yet. IHME projects another 200K deaths by April 1. ¤ So stay safe: mask up, keep your distance, wash your hands and avoid gatherings. ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1338608858915278850?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @nytimes Breaking News: More than 300,000 people with the coronavirus in the U.S. have died, a wrenching toll that comes on the heels of the nation’s first vaccine shots.
‼️ ⋙ NYT: The number of people with the virus who died in the U.S. passes 300,000. http://nyti.ms/34fd38C

WaPo, Karen Tumulty: President Trump has become a delusional character out of Monty Python http://wapo.st/3gMR8L3

😅 ♫ RT @ReesusP GOODBYE Perhaps it would be easier to hear from some white kids?
💽 https://twitter.com/ReesusP/status/1338507387888537600?s=20/photo/1
// The Sound of Music parody Auf Wiedersehen to Trump

🐣 RT @BeschlossDC President’s legal team has just been rejected by Wisconsin Supreme Court in effort to overturn 2020 election: https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/1338530371990941697?s=20/photo/1
// Three Stooges

🐣 📋 I take some comfort in the fact that, of the entire US pop. of 331M, just 74.2M voted for Trump. That’s only 22.5%. ¤ 81.3M voted for Biden. That leaves 175.5M who did not vote. Some are too young to vote, of course, some too busy, some uninterested. I’m grateful they’re there.

⭕ 13 Dec 2020

💙 WaPo: Tracking the 2020 electoral college vote http://wapo.st/3gIg9ap //➔ Times when each state’s electors will cast their votes are given, along with the link to each state’s livestream
// Follow along as states cast their votes for president and finalize Joe Biden’s win

🐣 ”The yeoman is the backbone of the nation.” “Cowards are born in towns, heroes in the country.” – Heinrich Himmler ¤ ⋙ The ideology that says cities are “corrupt” and the countryside brave and pure has a history

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 In a remarkable show of near-unanimity across the nation’s judiciary, at least 86 judges — ranging from the lowest levels of state court systems to the U.S. Supreme Court — have rejected at least one post-election lawsuit filed by Trump or his supporters.
⋙ WaPo: ‘The last wall’: How dozens of judges across the political spectrum rejected Trump’s efforts to overturn the election http://wapo.st/3qNZyXr
// 38 appointed by Republicans

🐣 RT @HowardMortman 20 years ago today. ¤ Gore: “Supreme Court has spoken. While I strongly disagree with court’s decision, I accept the finality of this outcome, which will be ratified Monday in Electoral College. For sake of our unity as a people and strength of our democracy, I offer my concession” 💽 https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1338092915135049729?s=20/photo/1

⭕ 12 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @brhodes These goons in the streets of DC would have been SA in early 1930s Berlin. And the vast majority of elected Republicans won’t say a word about it.

🐣 RT @davidplouffe The battle to save our country is not Democrats vs Republicans. It is pro-democracy forces vs. pro-autocracy forces. It won’t go away on Jan. 20. It won’t be won easily and it will take a big tent to include all those who disagree on a bunch of things but agree on the big thing.

🧵 RT @SteveSchmidtSES In all the years I worked in GOP politics, from local races to the White House it never occurred to me that it was even remotely possible that there were people sitting in rooms with me that would one day be in favor of overturning a Presidential election and making the loser […] America’s first dictator. 📌 https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1337848568661598212?s=20

🐣 RT @jamiegangel What Attorney General Bill Barr really thinks of @realDonaldTrump tweets according to a source familiar with the dynamic: “it’s the deposed king’s ranting…” my reporting with @Kevinliptakcnn @cnn
⋙ 🐣 RT @LisaMirandoCNN Great new reporting from @jamiegangel: A source familiar with the dynamic between AG Barr and Trump right now says Barr cannot be intimidated by Trump, “none of this matters— it’s the deposed King ranting. Irrelevant to the course of justice and to Trump’s election loss..” #CNN

🐣 RT @kasparov68 Don’t dare say “But the system worked” when a majority of Republicans in Congress support the overturning of a free and fair election. You don’t celebrate a cancer not having killed you yet. You celebrate when you’re cancer free.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 The system isn’t working when so many of its participants and supposed defenders are trying to destroy it. That’s the crisis, and it’s not going away because this time some judges threw out cases prepared by idiots.

🐣 RT @ RepKinzinger [R] I want to be clear: the Supreme Court is not the deep state. The case had no merit and was dispatched 9-0. There was no win here. Complaining and bellyaching is not a manly trait, it’s actually sad. Real men accept a loss with grace.

🐣 RT @davidplouffe The fight to save our Democracy is just beginning. It’s a scary thought. But if this cast of seditionists gains control of the Senate, House and the White House anytime this decade it’s lights out for America. They are all must-win elections.

🐣 RT @StevenBeschloss Never again wonder how it could have happened in Germany. Never again think it couldn’t happen here. The authoritarian impulse in America is a cancer that must be confronted and overcome.
⋙ 🐣 RT @brianklaas The person representing Trump’s campaign in court just retweeted a call for Joe Biden & Kamala Harris to “confess their crimes on national TV” or be executed. ¤ The authoritarian radicalization of the Republican Party and the Republican base is the defining story of the Trump era.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @brianklaas Here’s the tweet, which was retweeted by Sidney Powell, who has been closely affiliated with Trump’s legal team during the post-election process. https://twitter.com/brianklaas/status/1337791310481289218?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @jennycohn1 They planned their coup starting in February at the latest.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @ “Newly Surfaced Recording Reveals ALEC and GOP Election Attorneys [and the CNP] Working with State Legislators to Question Validity of Election” — in February, long before the election took place. By @JamieMCorey 1/
⋙⋙⋙ 💽 Documented.net: Newly Surfaced Recording Reveals ALEC and GOP Election Attorneys Working with State Legislators to Question Validity of Election http://bit.ly/342XCjZ
// 10/26/2020; CNP: Council for National Policy

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) CEO Lisa Nelson told a room full of conservative activists that ALEC had been working with three GOP attorneys on “action items that legislators can take to question the validity of an election.” The comments were made during a strategy session about elections at the Council for National Policy in February 2020.

Nelson, who runs the legally non-partisan charity (ALEC) and is a member of CNP, told the group, “obviously we all want President Trump to win and win the national vote. But it’s very clear from all the comments and all the suggestions up front that really what it comes down to is the states and the state legislators.” She added that they’ve been working with former Federal Election Commission (FEC) Member and Heritage Foundation attorney Hans Von Spakovsky, former FEC member Brad Smith, and GOP attorney Cleta Mitchell “trying to identify what are those action items that legislators can take in their states.”

🚫 WaPo: Multiple people stabbed after thousands gather for pro-Trump demonstrations in Washington http://wapo.st/2KowlkM

WaPo Editorial: Republicans faced a simple choice: For or against democracy. http://wapo.st/3qQ4Ql2 “Their recklessness raises the once-unthinkable possibility that a Congress controlled by one party might one day flip a presidential election … in defiance of the voters’ will”

🐣 RT @Edsall “America under Trump became less free, less equal, more divided, more alone, deeper in debt, swampier, dirtier, meaner, sicker, and deader,” George Packer writes. “It also became more delusional.”
⋙ TheAtlantic, George Packer: A Political Obituary for Donald Trump http://bit.ly/3gHgMkj
// Jan-Feb 2021; The effects of his reign will linger. But democracy survived.

NYT: ‘An Indelible Stain’: How the GOP Tried to Topple a Pillar of Democracy http://nyti.ms/3qS4cDK “[M]uch of the GOP leadership now shares responsibility for the quixotic attempt to ignore the nation’s founding principles and engineer a different verdict from the one voters cast in November”
// by Jim Rutenberg and Nick Corasaniti; The Supreme Court repudiation of President Trump was also a blunt rebuke to Republican leaders who had put their interests ahead of the country’s.

🐣 RT @SanhoTree Live coverage from the White House Führerbunker. 💽 https://twitter.com/SanhoTree/status/1324370210636390400?s=20/photo/1
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @atrupar Overwhelming “Downfall” vibes from Trump’s tweets this morning. The city is crumbling around him and from the bunker he’s hysterically turning on his former allies.

WaPo, Dan Balz: Republican officials have followed Trump along his dangerous and destructive path http://wapo.st/3gGt64l

⭕ 11 Dec 2020

🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this unlawful & undemocratic GOP lawsuit have brought dishonor to the House and must once and for all end their election subversion – immediately.
⋙ Speaker.gov: Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit http://bit.ly/37eeAh9

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to reject the sham GOP lawsuit demanding that Electoral College votes in four states be overturned and awarded to Donald Trump:

“The Court has rightly dismissed out of hand the extreme, unlawful and undemocratic GOP lawsuit to overturn the will of millions of American voters.

“The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions.

“The pandemic is raging, with nearly 300,000 having died and tens of millions having lost jobs. Strong, unified action is needed to crush the virus, and Republicans must once and for all end their election subversion – immediately.”

NYT, Jamelle Bouie: The ‘Trump Won’ Farce Isn’t Funny Anymore http://nyti.ms/3nboYfa “[T]he events of the past month make me worry that we’re following a script the climax of which requires a disaster”
// Republicans are now seriously arguing that elections are legitimate only when their side wins.

WaPo, Greg Sargent: Chris Murphy’s surprise floor speech raises tough questions for Democrats http://wapo.st/3qPQH7p “This is a party that has a whole bunch of enemies of democracy inside its top ranks. That’s bone-chilling.” ~ Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

🐣 RT @AdamSerwer Never forget that the majority of Republicans sought to overthrow the results of a presidential election and install their unelected candidate, the majority of their supporters approved, and their sniveling apparatchiks concocted post hoc rationalizations justifying it.
⋙ 🐣 RT @AdamSerwer None of the people who supported that document—not a one—can ever again honestly claim to believe in freedom, democracy, individual rights, or constitutional government. All they believe in is their own divine right to rule, no matter what the people say.

WaPo, Amanda Bennett: I was Voice of America’s director. Trump’s latest pick to run the organization is dangerous. http://wapo.st/3mbAg1N

HuffPo: Trump Named ‘Loser Of The Year’ By German News Magazine Der Spiegel http://bit.ly/3a4YgRW
// “Trump’s presidency ends as it began: Without decency and without dignity,” Der Spiegel declared.

🐣 RT @ICEINTERN Wake up GOP. ¤ “Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President.” Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States. ¤ With this rejection, GOP is a DEAD Party. ¤ People will feel shameful to be called “republican”. #GOPIsOver
⋙ 🐣 RT @nytopinion “What is left to say about a political party that would throw out millions of votes? The substance of a lawsuit filed by the State of Texas, and backed by more than 17 other states, would be laughable were it not so dangerous,” writes the editorial board.
⋙⋙ NYT Editorial: The Republicans Who Embraced Nihilism http://nyti.ms/3qS0zNV
// The Supreme Court thwarts the latest Trumpist attack on American democracy.

🐣 RT @TWreninator This is excellent. Madam Speaker please do this!! @TeamPelosi @SpeakerPelosi
⋙ 🐣 RT @BillPascrell Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was written after the Civil War to bar from government any traitors who would seek to destroy the Union. ¤ My letter to House leadership today demands that 126 Republicans (and counting) are violating the Constitution. https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1337482904545464325?s=20/photo/1-2
// letter

🐣 RT @real The Supreme Court really let us down. No Wisdom, No Courage!

🐣 RT @C_C_Krebs Here’s how I see it: plenty of people are telling you who they are right now. Go ahead and take them at their word.

🐣 RT @robertjdenault Just to be clear, this morning Trump found out his loan officers and insurance company have been subpoenaed by criminal investigators not subject to his pardon power and this evening his last gasp at election subversion was killed by a conservative SCOTUS.

🐣 RT @sgurman New w/@aviswanatha @rebeccaballhaus: Trump in a meeting Friday fumed about a @WSJ report that said Barr knew about the Hunter Biden investigation and kept it private during the heated election campaign, and openly considered firing the attorney general.
⋙ ‼️ WSJ: Trump Pursues Appointing Special Counsel to Probe Election, Hunter Biden http://on.wsj.com/3qQATRO
// President has expressed frustration with Attorney General William Barr as efforts to overturn election have failed

🐣 RT @neal_katyal “Any attorney…admitted to conduct cases in any court of the US…who so multiplies the proceedings in any case unreasonably&vexatiously may be required by the court to satisfy personally the excess costs, expenses&attorneys fees reasonably incurred” 28 USC 1927

SCOTUSblog, Amy Howe: Justices throw out Texas lawsuit that sought to block election outcome http://bit.ly/2W6Pevj

🐣 RT @chrislhayes This is bad rhetoric! Bad bad bad!
⋙ 🐣 RT @adamkelsey The @TexasGOP is out with a statement in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, all but calling for secession: ¤ “Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution.”

🐣 RT @ArietteSaenz .@MichaelJGwin, spox for @JoeBiden, reacts to SCOTUS rejecting Texas’ & President Trump’s bid to overturn the election: “This is no surprise” Text Block: https://twitter.com/ArletteSaenz/status/1337553116334612481?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @DavidAFrench There were zero votes for the TX AG on the merits, including zero votes from Trump appointees. It was a clown suit from the beginning, and 126 representatives, 18 state AG’s, and a host of prominent right-wing activists beclowned themselves by supporting it.

🐣 RT @eliehonig In a way, Alito and Thomas smacked this down hardest of all. ¤ The other 7 Justices said essentially: we wouldn’t even let Texas in the door. ¤ Alito and Thomas said: we *would* let Texas in the door, and then we’d throw them out.

Reason, Jonathan Adler: Supreme Court Unanimously Denies Texas Emergency Relief, Refuses to Grant Motion for Leave to File http://bit.ly/3mathpK “The #Kraken may have been released. Tonight’s Supreme Court order should also have put it out of its misery.”

🐣 RT @gtconway3d “No constitutional provision, no statute and no principle of law gives one state the standing to challenge another state’s handling of an election.”
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @PostOpinions In our system, Texas isn’t the boss of Pennsylvania, @gtconway3d writes. ¤ “Allowing such suits would invite a multistate free-for-all every time a presidential election is held.”
⋙⋙⋙ WaPo, George Conway III: Trump’s last-ditch effort to steal the election is the biggest farce of all http://wapo.st/3oJyGWr

🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @deepakguptalaw BREAKING: The Supreme Court has flatly rejected Texas’s insane bid to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election. The case is over. Texas has no say how other states conduct their elections. https://twitter.com/deepakguptalaw/status/1337543152996126726?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: Congress bans anonymous shell companies after long campaign by anti-corruption groups http://wapo.st/2W3W8kT “The legislation has limitations. The general public won’t have access to the ownership data, a disappointment to anti-corruption campaigners”
// LLCs; tagged onto Defense bill; Bipartisan measure requires companies established in the U.S. to disclose their real owners

🐣 RT @emptywheel 126 Republicans want to help Donald Trump steal the election even though he lost even worse than Mitt Romney did in 2012.

SCOTUSblog, Tom Goldstein: Editorial: Don’t just deny Texas’ original action. Decimate it. http://bit.ly/379NJmA “A simple five-page per curiam opinion genuinely could end up in the pantheon of all-time most significant rulings in American history”

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Republicans record their names on a list of shame http://wapo.st/2LtsKTi (w links to lists of Seditionists)

🐣 RT @McFaul One group of states trying to overturn the election results in a another group of states is an outrageously anti-democratic, anti-federalism act. Since 1861, is there any comparable anti-democratic, anti-American act in our history? I can’t think of any, but maybe I’m wrong.

Law&Crime: Manhattan DA’s Office Reportedly ‘Escalating’ Investigation of Trump ‘Significantly,’ Recently Interviewed Deutsche Bank Employees http://bit.ly/2W4WJTt

⭕ 10 Dec 2020

WaPo: With time running out, Trump and GOP allies turn up pressure on Supreme Court in election assault http://wapo.st/3gDPAD3 We are only “a few democracy-conscious representatives away” from Republicans in Congress overturning an election

Joshua A. Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky, said Trump’s pressure will have no effect with the justices, calling it “a loser of a case” that he expect the court to “reject quite easily — probably with a one-sentence order.”

But he warned that the effort from Trump and his GOP allies has, in his view, made clear that Republicans in Congress, if they held big enough majorities in both chambers, would plausibly attempt to “undo the will of the voter when they count the electoral college votes on Jan. 6.”

With Democrats controlling the House, he added, such a scenario is impossible this year, “but we are only a few democracy-conscious representatives away from that potentially occurring. That itself is extremely concerning for the longer-term health of our democracy.”

TheBulwark, Jonathan Last: The Republican Party As Totalitarian State http://bit.ly/381dTqW “It’s important to understand that this is all new to American politics. We have not been down this road before. And so we should not assume that we know with certainty where it leads”
// One of our two major political parties has become an autocracy.

💙 TheAtlantic, Adam Serwer: If You Didn’t Vote for Trump, Your Vote Is Fraudulent http://bit.ly/2JTyAwE “It’s no accident that the Trump campaign’s claims have focused almost entirely on jurisdictions with high Black populations”
// The president’s supporters believe that the votes of rival constituencies should not count—even though they understand, on some level, that they do.

Trumpism demands the profession of beliefs that are neither strictly literal nor exactly figurative, but instead statements of ideological values that don’t fit neatly in either category. These statements are not amenable to journalistic fact-checking, because they are not factual claims; they are assertions of identity and political legitimacy that are incontestable on their own terms. To announce loudly that you accept the proclamations of the Church of Trump, no matter how false, contradictory, or exaggerated, is to identify yourself as a member of that faith community; to deny them is to risk excommunication. As long as devotion to the Trumpian creed remains a central tenet of membership in the Republican Party, precious few elected officials will risk the brand of the heretic.

To Trump’s strongest supporters, Biden’s win is a fraud because his voters should not count to begin with, and because the Democratic Party is not a legitimate political institution that should be allowed to wield power even if they did. ¤ This is why the authoritarian remedies festering in the Trump fever swamps—martial law, the usurpation of state electors, Supreme Court fiat—are so openly contemplated. Because the true will of the people is that Trump remain president, forcing that outcome, even in the face of defeat, is a fulfillment of democracy rather than its betrayal.

The Republican base’s fundamental belief, the one that Trump used to win them over in the first place, the one that ties the election conspiracy theory to birtherism and to Trump’s sneering attack on the Squad’s citizenship, is that Democratic victories do not count, because Democratic voters are not truly American. It’s no accident that the Trump campaign’s claims have focused almost entirely on jurisdictions with high Black populations.

“Detroit and Philadelphia—known as two of the most corrupt political places anywhere in our country, easily—cannot be responsible for engineering the outcome of a presidential race,” Trump said on November 5. Since then, Trump’s legal challenges have targeted cities with large Black populations—not just Philadelphia and Detroit, but also Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Atlanta. Trump improved his vote margin slightly in these places, while getting destroyed in nearby suburbs. But because the outdated popular perception of suburbs is that they are white, they lack the assumption of illegitimacy that Trumpists attach to cities.

The absence of not only evidence of any systemic fraud, but even compelling anecdotes that might be misleadingly trumpeted throughout right-wing media, has not deterred the president or his supporters. Republican legislators are already scheming to put new restrictions on the franchise, justified by claims of fraud so baseless that not even their handpicked judges can find a foothold to sustain them. The necessary ingredient is not actual voter fraud, but Democratic victory at the ballot box, real or potential.

According to a 2020 survey by the political scientist Larry Bartels, three-quarters of Republican voters believe that “it is hard to trust the results of elections when so many people will vote for anyone who offers a handout.” Because Republicans believe, as Mitt Romney put it after his defeat in 2012, that Black people vote for Democrats only because they are offered “free stuff,” Black votes are considered illegitimate even if they are legally cast. Those votes could be legitimate if more of them were cast for Republicans, the party of true Americans, but as long as they are cast for Democrats, they can be dismissed as the result of Democratic brainwashing. Demanding that Black votes be tossed out is not antidemocratic, because they should not have counted in the first place.

In the early days of Reconstruction, Democrats hoped that Black men, if enfranchised, would vote for those who had fought to keep them enslaved, understanding that their subordinate position in southern society was in the best interests of both races. Some northern Republicans similarly feared that Black men would vote as their former masters demanded. But when the emancipated chose their own path based on their own interests, Democrats concluded that they had to be excised from the polity, by force. ¤ In that era, Democrats and their paramilitary allies used their claims of fraud and conviction that Black participation had fatally corrupted democracy to justify a campaign of murder and terrorism.

The conviction that the rival political constituency cannot, under any circumstances, legitimately hold power has not yet resulted in widespread violence. But it remains incompatible with democracy, which requires the assent of its losers and the peaceful transfer of power between factions. ¤ When they say the 2020 election was stolen, Trumpists are expressing their view that the votes of rival constituencies should not count, even though they understand, on some level, that they do. They are declaring that the nation belongs to them and them alone, whether or not they actually comprise a majority, because they are the only real Americans to begin with.

WaPo, Aaron Blake: The Trump team throws in the towel on proving voter fraud http://wapo.st/3gyJELM

🐣 RT @marceelias I am shaken by this Texas case. Not because it will prevail (it won’t) but because something is seriously wrong with our democracy that these elected leaders, who know better, are using the courts to spread lies and undermine our elections. ¤ That makes me very worried.
⋙ 🐣 RT @jaketapper The Kraken Caucus — 106 House Republicans (and 18 state attorneys general) who signed onto a anti-democracy lawsuit to disenfranchise millions of their fellow Americans, based on lies and conspiracy theories.

💙💽 MSNBC, LastWord: Steve Schmidt: ‘106 members of Congress broke faith with American democracy’ http://on.msnbc.com/3gBEUEX
// Fmr. Republican strategist Steve Schmidt joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss how some House Republicans refusing to accept that Biden won means “we’re one election away from losing the country to people who do not believe in democracy.”
↥ ↧
💙💽 MSNBC, DeadlineWH: Steve Schmidt: We are ‘one election away… from losing our democracy’ http://on.msnbc.com/3m8TAwG
// 12/9/2020; Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt says congressional Republicans are to blame for the ‘poisoning of democracy’ by not acknowledging President Trump’s election loss
↥ ↧
💙🐣 RT @AmanpourCoPBS: The Republican Party “has become America’s first autocratic party,” says Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt. @MichelMcQMartin @SteveSchmidtSES @ProjectLincoln 💽 https://twitter.com/AmanpourCoPBS/status/1336416649017233408?s=20/photo/1
// extended clip of Steve Schmidt w captions

🐣 The neofascist “Republican” party is willing to give up democracy altogether rather than share it with nonwhite people

🐣 RT @ .@JoyAnnReid: “106 House Republicans signed on in support of killing democracy – in Trump’s Hail Mary attempt to overturn the election and save himself from the consequences of returning to civilian life without the legal protections of the presidency”
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, ReidOut: 106 House Republicans, 17 State AGs back anti-democracy lawsuit to try and overturn 2020 election http://on.msnbc.com/2JU2yRh
// 106 House Republicans signed a court filing supporting the Texas lawsuit that seeks to overturn the 2020 election results by overturning millions of votes in four battleground states that President-elect Joe Biden won.

🐣 RT @JoshShapiroPA I know we’ve grown numb over time to Trump’s corrosive conduct but we shouldn’t ignore the fact that the sitting president is petitioning our nation’s highest court to throw out millions of legal votes of our fellow Americans in order to change the results of the election.

🐣 RT @johnkruzel JUST IN: New amicus brief from 106 Republican House members in support of Texas’ bid to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the Supreme Court. Here they are 👇
https://twitter.com/johnkruzel/status/1337135543373733889?s=20/photo/1-4✛

CNN: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris named Time Person of the Year http://cnn.it/39YTaq2 https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/1337245574337269761?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: U.S. military dispatches B-52 bombers to Middle East as show of force against Iran http://wapo.st/2W4Og2E

🐣 RT @brhodes During Susan Rice’s tenure as NSA, the blending of domestic and natsec policy accelerated – immigration, health security, technology, R/D, diversity in workforce were prominent issues. Susan knows how to make govt work and is always the best prepared person in the room

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote The ONLY reason the Supreme Court should hear the Texas lawsuit is to publicly humiliate the people who filed and and help amplify the clear message that the election stands.

🐣 RT @rickhasen Ben Ginsberg quote in piece: The GOP “used to be a party for states’ rights,” Ginsberg said. “I can’t imagine something that is less faithful to the principle of states’ rights than a Texas attorney general trying to tell other states how to run their elections.”

🐣 RT @marceelias Trump and his allies won 1 case–shortening the time in PA to cure certain mail ballots from 9 days to 6 days after the election. ¤ It is true that neither Rudy nor Ellis were involved in that case. ¤ Trump and his allies have lost 55 cases in the post election.
⋙ 🐣 RT @rickhasen In the end Rudy and Jenna made a lot of money, helped Trump raise a lot of money for a post-presidential leadership PAC slush fund, and helped delegitimize the election in the eyes of millions of Trump supporters, without a single legal victory.

🐣 RT @tribelaw This should be decisive. It’s over. Except that Trump still has allies willing to assist him in his attempted coup. Let’s call it what it is. It is an attempt to overthrow not just the Popular Vote but the Electoral Vote. He says “Stop the Steal.” We should say “Stop the Coup.”
🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @wolfblitzer This Just In. All 50 States and DC have now officially certified their presidential election results. The @JoeBiden national popular vote lead over @realDonaldTrump is more than 7 million votes – 51.3% to 46.8%. Biden has 306 Electoral Votes; Trump has 232. (270 needed to win.)

🐣 CISA: “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.”
@AGEricSchmitt ¤ @AGSteveMarshall ¤ @AGRutledge ¤ @AGAshleyMoody ¤ @AGDougPeterson ¤ @StenehjemForGov ¤ @AGMikeHunter ¤ @AGCurtisHill ¤ #SeditionSeventeen ¤ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1337078444664922113?s=20/photo/1
// cartoon: “MAGA Show”

🐣 CISA: “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” @KSAGOffice ¤ @JeffLandry ¤ @LynnFitchAG ¤ @foxforgovernor ¤ @AGAlanWilson ¤ @SDAttorneyGen ¤ @TNattygen ¤ @SeanReyesUT ¤ @MorriseyWV ¤ #SeditionSeventeen ¤ #Shame #Treason ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1337078886467825668?s=20/photo/1
// drawing: Trump w autocrats

🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln The #SeditiousSeventeen state AGs should hear from all of us today. Find their contact information in our thread above and let them know what you think about their failure to uphold democracy and the Constitution on behalf of @realDonaldTrump
🧵 @ProjectLincoln #SeditiousSeventeen 📌 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1337064180629852162?s=20
// Phones and Twitter for State AGs signing on to TX lawsuit to overturn election

Trump Griping (rev chron)
🐣 RT @real Great. Most corrupt Election in history, by far. We won!!!
🐣 RT @real Voter Fraud!
🐣 RT @real “People are upset, and they have a right to be. Georgia not only supported Trump in 2016, but now. This is the only State in the Deep South that went for Biden? Have they lost their minds? This is going to escalate dramatically. This is a very dangerous moment in our history….
🐣 RT @real ….The fact that our Country is being stolen. A coup is taking place in front of our eyes, and the public can’t take this anymore.” A Trump fan at Georgia Rally on @OANN Bad!
🐣 RT @real “Donald Trump won by a landslide, and they stole it from him!” @seanhannity
🐣 RT @real How does Governor @BrianKempGA allow certification of votes without verifying signatures and despite the recently released tape of ballots being stuffed? His poll numbers have dropped like a rock. He is finished as governor! @RepDougCollins
🐣 RT @real How can you give an election to someone who lost the election by hundreds of thousands of legal votes in each of the swing states. How can a country be run by an illegitimate president?
🐣 RT @real The Supreme Court has a chance to save our Country from the greatest Election abuse in the history of the United States. 78% of the people feel (know!) the Election was RIGGED.
⋙ 🐣 68% of Republicans

TIME: Who Will Be TIME’s Person of the Year for 2020? See the Shortlist http://bit.ly/3oBzHzZ
// Essential Workers (incl Dr Fauci), Biden, BLM (w George Floyd), Trump

⭕ 9 Dec 2020

TheAtlantic, James Fallows (12/9): How Biden Should Investigate Trump http://bit.ly/3mra9DW
// The misdeeds and destructive acts are legion. The new president should focus on these three.

🐣 🖼 RT @Gabrielle_Corno And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in #storm 💽 https://twitter.com/Gabriele_Corno/status/1336635374819553283?s=20/photo/1
// amazing tornado video

NYT: 17 Republican Attorneys General Back Trump in Far-Fetched Election Lawsuit http://nyti.ms/3qJeJkw
// The move is an attempt to bolster a baseless legal effort by Texas that seeks to delay certification of the presidential electors in four battleground states that Mr. Trump lost.

🐣 RT @MSNBC “We are now one election away…from losing our democracy because one party doesn’t believe in it,” political strategist Steve Schmidt says as congressional Republicans continue to not acknowledge Pres. Trump’s election loss.
⋙ 💽 MSNBC, DeadlineWH: Steve Schmidt: We are ‘one election away… from losing our democracy’ http://on.msnbc.com/2K7bYc2
// Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt says congressional Republicans are to blame for the ‘poisoning of democracy’ by not acknowledging President Trump’s election loss

🐣 RT @clearing_fog Think about this. ¤ The 17 state AGs who are trying to overturn the election, are members of RAGA. ¤ RAGA’s biggest donor – at $2.7 million – is the Judicial Crisis Network, who also spent $30 million supporting Trump judges. ¤ JCN’s address is nothing more than a UPS store.

🐣 RT @mrbromwich The Supreme Court should sanction the lawyers who filed this case, as well as the chief legal officers for the states who are listed as plaintiffs. No lawyer could file this in good faith.
⋙ 🧵 RT @bradheath Seventeen states filed a brief in the Supreme Court just now in support of Texas’ request that the justices throw out the results of the presidential election in four other states that didn’t support President Trump. 📌 https://twitter.com/bradheath/status/1336763665580765187?s=20

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Trump’s lawyer in the Texas case is the man who questioned whether Kamala Harris was eligible to serve as vice president. That opinion was condemned for being wrong and racist. Now, he’s helping Trump in his doomed effort to overturn the election results.
⋙ CNBC: Trump says he will join Texas in long-shot Supreme Court bid to undo Biden White House win http://cnb.cx/3ozTDmP
// Joe Biden is projected to defeat President Trump in the Electoral College. Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani are frantically trying to avoid that outcome.

💙 NYT, Thomas Edsall: The Resentment That Never Sleeps http://nyti.ms/3m3oyGz
// Rising anxiety over declining social status tells us a lot about how we got here and where we’re going.

🐣 RT @marceelias To answer everyone’s questions — no, this filing does NOT change my answer. ¤ This lawsuit is still going nowhere.
⋙ 🐣 RT @marceelias Seventeen states have filed a brief supporting the Texas’ political stunt in the US Supreme Court. ¤ Sad. https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1336777108941647872?s=20/photo/1
⋙🔆 This❗️⋙ DemocracyDocket: Texas SCOTUS Decertification Challenge http://bit.ly/3n34a9J
// links to docs:
● Read the motion to file bill of complaint here. http://bit.ly/37PbI9y
● Read the amicus brief filed by 17 states in support of Texas’ request here. http://bit.ly/37MY2Mp
● Read Trump’s motion to intervene here. http://bit.ly/3724q3l

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 18 red states want the Supreme Court to overturn the will of the people.

🐣 RT @JohnBrennan Those who continue to deny & fight against the election of Joe Biden are advocating for authoritarianism. They want their bully dictator to remain in power. Full stop. ¤ Yes, democracy is messy & at times uncomfortable, but, as oft quoted, it beats all the alternatives.

🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @Steve_Vladeck Missouri (and 16 other states Trump won) has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Texas’s crazy #SCOTUS lawsuit against 4 states Trump lost. The brief doesn’t actually say TX is right, and it doesn’t address the many defects in TX’s claims. It just says “this case is important.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @Steve_Vladeck Read the brief for yourself, but it’s not going to move the needle: ¤ http://bit.ly/3guihCq ¤ I still expect #SCOTUS to issue a single order getting rid of this, either denying TX’s motion for leave to file, or granting it while simultaneously dismissing the suit on the merits.

🐣 RT @McFaul The President of the United States of America is calling for a coup. Outrageous. (& that so many elected “leaders” in our country are remaining silent in response to this attack on our democracy is deeply disappointing.)
🐣 RT @jonfavs When you’re 1-51 in court and can’t find enough Republican legislators to break the law, always go with the hashtag. The hashtag will get you the rest of the way there.
🐣 RT @Noahpinion At least now he admits he’s just trying to overturn an election, rather than “win” one he already lost.
🐣 RT @rorycooper It’s embarrassing how many Republicans are humoring or encouraging this Keystone Coup.
🐣 RT @brianklaass The president of the United States is trying to overturn the certified results of a democratic election in order to seize power like a tinpot despot. And most elected officials in his own party refuse to denounce him for it either because they are political cowards.
🐣 RT @BillKristol “The technical term for attempting to stay in power illegitimately—such as after losing an election—is self-coup or autocoup, sometimes autogolpe…The term autogolpe comes from the Spanish because there have been so many such attempts in Latin America.” https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1336715573997219841?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @real #OVERTURN

🐣 RT @rebeccaballhaus A sweeping multistate legal effort by Trump and his supporters to override Biden’s victory has reached the end of the line, after at least 35 losses in courts at all levels including the U.S. Supreme Court.
⋙ WSJ: Trump’s Challenges to Election Results Face End of the Legal Road http://on.wsj.com/33Y0pLd
// Courts across the U.S. have rejected the president and his supporters, citing lack of proof and other shortcomings

🐣 RT @JohnJHarwood this is deranged
⋙ 🐣 RT @real We will soon be learning about the word “courage”, and saving our Country. I received hundreds of thousands of legal votes more, in all of the Swing States, than did my opponent. ALL Data taken after the vote says that it was impossible for me to lose, unless FIXED!

🐣 RT @gtconway3d You need a very different kind of intervention
⋙ 🐣 RT @real We will be INTERVENING in the Texas (plus many other states) case. This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!

EmptyWheel, Marcy Wheeler: In His Mike Flynn Opinion, Emmet Sullivan Made a Finding of Fact Against Billy Barr’s New Reality http://bit.ly/37J93ye

This post shows that Sullivan laid out evidence that DOJ’s motion to dismiss was pretextual. He declined to rule that the motion itself was pretextual, because the question is moot. But he made it clear he thinks DOJ’s excuses for blowing up the Flynn prosecution are bullshit.

And this post notes that, before Sullivan started mooting the shit out of DOJ’s interest in his docket, he struck some documents that Sidney Powell had submitted to his docket because the government had not authenticated them, without at the same time striking another document that the government didn’t rely on but had not authenticated. It’s a tactical step, I think, that leaves everything else in his docket as authenticated, even though DOJ stopped short of standing by all those exhibits. … …

One way to think about this (language) is that Billy Barr attempted to create a new set of facts by submitting documents from the Jeffrey Jensen investigation to Sullivan’s docket and making false claims about them, thereby attempting to annul the set of facts that led DOJ (even DOJ under Bill Barr, repeatedly) to argue that Mike Flynn’s lies were serious. Judge Sullivan is having none of Billy Barr’s new reality, in significant part because DOJ has not explained what changed from its prior assertions of fact and partly because none of the claims it has made about the so-called new evidence refutes DOJ’s prior representations.

These findings of fact may have a more specific effect, though. Billy Barr has served up his different set of facts and based off those, John Durham is attempting to criminalize the decisions of the people that prosecuted Mike Flynn for telling the FBI material lies. DOJ generally has no basis to appeal Sullivan’s findings, because its position in the docket is (as Sullivan notes repeatedly) moot. But Durham has even less ability to contest Sullivan’s findings of fact; he has no standing.

So unless DOJ finds a way around the fact that they themselves have mooted any further involvement before Judge Sullivan, then, any further investigation into the circumstances of Flynn’s prosecution will have to contend with the fact that a judge has already found a number of key premises entertained by those pushing the investigation to be false.

At least as of right now, it is not relevant to Trump’s pardon of Mike Flynn. But one thing Sullivan did in his opinion was to reject Billy Barr’s new reality in a way that may be invoked for any related matters before DC District courts.

⭕ 8 Dec 2020

NYT (12/8): Here’s when Biden’s win becomes official — and how Trump has been trying to prevent that http://nyti.ms/2Hut7vg Calendar of Key Dates ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1338367174377877504?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @MatthewSteigler Important point Trump’s lawyer is missing: they haven’t filed a cert petition.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @JennaEllisEsq IMPORTANT POINT REPORTERS ARE MISSING IN PA SUIT: ¤
The Supreme Court only denied emergency injunctive relief. In the order, it did NOT deny cert. @MikeKellyPA’s suit is still pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.
⋙⋙⋙ SCOTUS: http://bit.ly/3oCIq4R
⋙ 🐣 RT @MatthewSteigler Was feeling fairly clever til I discovered @steve_vladeck said it an hour before I did.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @ Important point @JennaEllisEsq is missing in PA suit: ¤ @MikeKellyPA hasn’t even *filed* a petition for certiorari in his case; he had sought an injunction pending a *future* appeal. So there was nothing else for #SCOTUS to deny. ¤ Other than that though…

WaPo: Supreme Court denies Trump allies’ bid to overturn Pennsylvania election results http://wapo.st/36WlVSy Also includes updates on other efforts to overturn election results

🐣 RT @nicnimh JUST IN: #SCOTUS denies Mike Kelly et al legal challenge to Pennsylvania election results. https://twitter.com/nicninh/status/1336426852982939650?s=20/photo/1
// one sentence “injunctive relief … is denied”
⋙ 🐣 RT @sungirl914 Look more closely… the case is still pending.

🐣 RT @scotusreporter BREAKING: Supreme Court denies request to stop certification of Pennsylvania vote, with no noted dissents.

WaPo, Paul Waldman: Who’s going to tell the GOP base that they’re being scammed? http://wapo.st/36Yuufm “The GOP base’s eagerness to fall for every new iteration of this con is limitless, and nobody knows that better than the party’s leaders.”

🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @marceelias 🚨NEW: Texas has filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan in the US Supreme Court seeking to invalidate their election results.
My answers to your questions:
✓ No, I am not worried.
✓ No, this won’t succeed.
✓ I have no idea.
⋙ DemocracyDocket: TX v PA VA GA WI http://bit.ly/37PbI9y

WaPo: Safe harbor law locks Congress into accepting Biden’s win http://wapo.st/3qA9aVs “Happy Safe Harbor Day, America. … ‘What federal law requires is that if a state has completed its post-election certification by Dec. 8, Congress is required to accept those results’”
// said Rebecca Green, an election law professor at the William & Mary law school

⭕ 7 Dec 2020

🚫😅 HuffPo [UK]: How Fart Jokes Took Over The Final Days Of Trump’s Presidency http://bit.ly/3qCF8QW
// The president’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani just can’t catch a break.

🐣 RT @CNNPolitics Georgia reaffirms Joe Biden’s victory for the third time following recounts, dealing a major blow to Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the results https://cnn.it/3m4g5mx

WaPo: Trump asks Pennsylvania House speaker for help overturning election results, personally intervening in a third state http://wapo.st/33TFn0g

WaPo: Conservative nonprofit group challenging election results around the country has tie to Trump legal adviser Jenna Ellis http://wapo.st/39Us2Zk

Senior Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis serves as special counsel to the Thomas More Society, which has filed lawsuits through the newly formed Amistad Project alleging problems with the vote in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Amistad’s lawsuits have asked courts to allow the Republican-controlled legislatures in battleground states to appoint presidential electors — a strategy Trump and his legal team have urged state lawmakers around the country to embrace. Amistad sought to justify the plan in a paper published Friday that railed against the conduct of election officials in “urban Democrat strongholds.”

For Trump, the Amistad Project has served a key role in helping to keep alive his baseless claims that fraud corrupted the 2020 presidential race. The group’s efforts serve as a third front in the assault against the election results, alongside Trump’s own legal challenges and lawsuits filed by attorney Sidney Powell.

🚫 JerusalemPost: Former Israeli space security chief says aliens exist, humanity not ready http://37LFfRw
// article seems credible but I’m still not posting; This “Galactic Federation” has supposedly been in contact with Israel and the US for years, but are keeping themselves a secret to prevent hysteria until humanity is ready.

🐣 RT @MaddowBlog “After a parade of sheep and charlatans posing as White House-endorsed public health officials, Joe Biden’s selection of Rochelle Walensky to head up the CDC suggests that conviction and competence are back in vogue in the Beltway.”
⋙ BostonGlobe: Rochelle Walensky and the return of competence http://bit.ly/37IMhGT
// After a parade of sheep and charlatans posing as White House-endorsed public health officials, Joe Biden’s selection of Rochelle Walensky to head up the CDC

🧵 RT @GeoRebekah 1/ There will be no update today. ¤ At 8:30 am this morning, state police came into my house and took all my hardware and tech. ¤ They were serving a warrant on my computer after DOH filed a complaint. ¤ They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids.. 📌 https://twitter.com/GeoRebekah/status/1336065787900145665?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @GeoRebekah 2/ ¤ They took my phone and the computer I use every day to post the case numbers in Florida, and school cases for the entire country. ¤ They took evidence of corruption at the state level. ¤ They claimed it was about a security breach. ¤ This was DeSantis. ¤ He sent the gestapo.
⋙ 🐣 RT @GeoRebekah This is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly. ¤ This is what happens to people who speak truth to power. ¤ I tell them my husband and my two children are upstairs… and THEN one of them draws his gun. ¤ On my children. ¤ This is Desantis’ Florida. […]

💙 TheAtlantic, Zeynep Tufekci: ‘This Must Be Your First’ http://bit.ly/37Lxefg “The U.S. president is trying to steal the election, and, crucially, his party either tacitly approves or is pretending not to see it. This is a particularly dangerous combination”
// Only one widely understood word captures what Donald Trump is trying to do, even though his acts do not meet its technical definition.

⭕ 6 Dec 2020

WaPo: As Trump rants over election, his administration accelerates push to lock in policy and staffing gains http://wapo.st/3oA0JI1

🐣 RT @richarddeitsch “The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” — Garry Kasparov.

🐣 RT @BeschlossDC Vice President Al Gore presided over Congressional certification of electoral votes on January 6, 2001, and declared George W. Bush’s victory, adding, “May God bless our new President.” #Getty https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/1335789721981775874?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin Senators Perdue and Loeffler received intel warnings about the coming pandemic and told the public that everything was okay while quietly moving their money so they’d benefit from the crisis. It’s blatant and deadly corruption that simply cannot be tolerated no matter who it is.
⋙ 🐣 RT @EvanMcMullin At a minimum, we have to be able to trust that our representatives in Congress won’t deceive us about a major threat to our lives so that they can profit on it. But that’s exactly what Perdue and Loeffler did. It’s an incredibly inhumane abuse of the public trust.

🐣 RT @BillKristol If we had a president, he’d be assisting in a smooth transition to his successor, speaking about the honor of having served in our highest office, denouncing any threats of violence, and telling people to wear masks and behave responsibly in a pandemic. ¤ But we have no president.

💙🧵 RT @ASlavitt COVID Update December 6: I understand how hard it is to want to believe in an unpleasant reality. ¤ I really do. 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1335763841360130048?s=20

🔄 Google: AP: Latest 2020 Presidential Election Results
or https://abcnews.go.com/Elections

💙 🔄 WaPo: Who Joe Biden is picking to fill his White House and Cabinet http://wapo.st/2JPg2gO
// continually updated; tags: Biden Cabinet picks Biden Cabinet nominees under consideration Cabinet options possible Cabinet nominees

⭕ 5 Dec 2020

DailyBeast, David Perry and Matthew Gabriele: History Will Judge Trump but We’ve Got to Do It First http://bit.ly/3lR1NFq A plea by two historians to investigate and expose (if not prosecute) the travesties committed by the Trump administration
// Trump may feel like an aberration now, but give it time and he’ll blend right in with other recent Republicans whose regimes broke the law and got away with it.

🌎 AP: Biden officially secures enough electors to become president http://bit.ly/2VHKmfQ “California certified its presidential election Friday and appointed 55 electors pledged to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, officially handing him the Electoral College majority needed to win”
● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1335575381454303237?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @davidmweissman When I was a conservative watching @JudgeJeanine, I always wanted her to take down President Obama & wondered why she never did. I understand why that never happened. One, she’s kind of crazy, and two, they had nothing on President Obama. When you lose hate, you see clearly.
// NeverTrumper

🐣 RT @RichardHaass This sentence still stuns even tho we know it: “The president barely shows up to work, ignoring the health & economic crises afflicting the nation & largely clearing his schedule of meetings unrelated to his desperate bid to rewrite the election results.”
⋙ NYT, Peter Baker: Trump’s Final Days of Rage and Denial http://nyti.ms/37KVHBM
// Shakespearean; The last act of the Trump presidency has taken on the stormy elements of a drama more common to history or literature than a modern White House.

On Saturday night, Mr. Trump took his unreality show to Georgia for his first major public appearance since the Nov. 3 election. A rally to support two Republican senators in a runoff next month offered a high-profile opportunity to vent his grievances and promote his false claims that he was somehow cheated of a second term by a vast conspiracy.

“You know we won Georgia, just so you understand,” he told supporters in a state that he lost by 12,000 votes, adding that he actually won other states where in fact he lost too. “They cheated and they rigged our presidential election, but we will still win it,” he declared as he pressured Republican state officials to overturn the results. “We just need somebody with courage to do what they have to do.”

[W]hile he will leave office in 46 days, the last few weeks may only foreshadow what he will be like after he departs. Mr. Trump will almost certainly try to shape the national conversation from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and his relentless campaign to discredit the election could undercut his successor, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. Although many Republicans would like to move on, he appears intent on forcing them to remain in thrall to his need for vindication and vilification even after his term expires.

At times, Mr. Trump’s railing-against-his-fate outbursts seem like a story straight out of William Shakespeare, part tragedy, part farce, full of sound and fury. Is Mr. Trump a modern-day Julius Caesar, forsaken by even some of his closest courtiers? (Et tu, Bill Barr?) Or a King Richard III who wars with the nobility until being toppled by Henry VII? Or King Lear, railing against those who do not love and appreciate him sufficiently? How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless electorate.

“This is classic Act V behavior,” said Jeffrey R. Wilson, a Shakespearean scholar at Harvard who published the book “Shakespeare and Trump” this year. “The forces are being picked off and the tyrant is holed up in his castle and he’s growing increasingly anxious and he feels insecure and he starts blustering about his legitimate sovereignty and he starts accusing the opposition of treason.” …

As the circle around Mr. Trump shrinks and even allies like Mr. Barr distance themselves, the president resists any suggestion that he stand down. “I’m never, ever going to concede,” he told one ally who urged him to prepare to do so. And if he is not listening to advisers, many are no longer listening to him. ¤ At one point, Mr. Trump appeared to telephone Mr. Ducey even as he was certifying Arizona’s results on live television and the governor refused to take the president’s call, which was announced by a “Hail to the Chief” ring tone. …

Top Republican lawyers have dropped off his election lawsuits, which have been dismissed by the dozens and even in one case declared “bizarre” by a judge appointed by Mr. Trump. Five courts in five battleground states rejected his latest legal challenges to the election in a little more than three hours on Friday, with a Wisconsin judge warning that “this is a dangerous path we are being asked to tread.”

Sliding further from the mainstream, the president has aligned himself more with fringe news outlets like One America News Network and the conspiracy theorists of QAnon, who believe the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles plotting against Mr. Trump. In a meeting with Republican senators, according to an official confirming a report in The Post, Mr. Trump said QAnon followers “basically believe in good government,” a comment that left the room silent until his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, volunteered that he had never heard them described that way.

With six weeks until he leaves office, Mr. Trump remains as unpredictable and erratic as ever. He may fire Mr. Barr or others, issue a raft of pardons to protect himself and his allies or incite a confrontation overseas. Like King Lear, he may fly into further rages and find new targets for his wrath. ¤ “If there are these analogies between classic literature and society as it’s operating right now, then that should give us some big cause for concern this December,” said Mr. Wilson, the Shakespearean scholar. “We’re approaching the end of the play here and that’s where catastrophe always comes.”

DailyBeast, Will Sommer: The GOP’s QAnon Faction Is Waging War on Republicans http://bit.ly/2JQsflx
// It’s the conspiracy theories versus those who want to keep a toe, at least, in the world of the real.

DailyBeast, Sam Brodey: Trump Uses Georgia Rally to Urge His Supporters to Avenge Him http://bit.ly/3lOEegq
// The president, and the crowd that gathered to see him in Valdosta on Saturday night, were clearly most invested in the election that just happened rather than the one ahead.

🧵 RT @ASlavitt COVID Update December 5: There’s a common real estate expression Trump is very familiar with called “other people’s money.” ¤ It means if a bank lends you their money, you can take any risk you want. ¤ Trump’s presidency has been guided by the principle “other people’s lives.”1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1335395470609244160?s=20

🐣 RT @thedailybeast “One of the big challenges that Joe Biden is going to have is to figure out how to puncture that information bubble that, not just Republican officials, but a sizable portion of voters are in right now,” says Obama
DailyBeast, Matt Wilstein: Obama Tells Colbert That Trump ‘Exceeded’ His Worst Nightmares http://bit.ly/2Lbxahw
// The former president revealed to Stephen Colbert what was going through his mind when he first sat down with the newly elected Donald Trump at the White House

“You couldn’t make up some of the stuff that you’re seeing,” Obama said. “And it is to the detriment of the country, but it also runs contrary to what would have been smart politics if the Republicans wanted to maintain the White House.”

“And that in some ways is more troubling because now it’s no longer even strategic,” he continued. “You’re drinking your own Kool-Aid in a way that I think is troublesome. And one of the big challenges that Joe Biden is going to have is to figure out how to puncture that information bubble that, not just Republican officials, but a sizable portion of voters are in right now.”

As Trump continues to deny that he legitimately lost to Biden, Colbert reminded Obama about the gracious way he invited his successor into the White House for a meeting and photo-op shortly after the 2016 election. The host said it was a “chilling moment” to watch because he had an “emotional flash” of all the ways Trump could abuse the “dignity of the office” over his first term. “Were you having a similar feeling in that moment?” he asked.

“Yeah, it was a concern,” Obama answered. When Colbert asked if those concerns were “borne out,” Obama said they were “exceeded.”

🧵 RT @atrupar Trump is about to hold a rally (ostensibly for Loeffler and Perdue) in Valdosta, Georgia. It will be his first since losing the presidential election to Joe Biden. Follow for a video thread. 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1335374464377352193?s=20

WaPo: Trump calls Georgia governor to pressure him for help overturning Biden’s win in the state http://wapo.st/36LDXqr

🧵 RT @McFaul Here’s my @JoeBiden foreign policy “to do” list in the first year. ¤ Day One: rejoin the Paris climate agreement. THREAD. 📌 https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1335280325157535744?s=20

⭕ 4 Dec 2020

TheDispatch, Jonah Goldberg: Screwtape Went Down to Georgia http://bit.ly/3mT2TBV
// ‘The safest road to Hell is the gradual one.’

For the last few years, a certain subset of the right has convinced itself that the Democrats aren’t just wrong or even bad, but that they are singularly evil and lethally dangerous enemies of America, hell-bent on destroying all that is sacred by imposing godless socialism on us all.

I’ll skip the usual structural reasons for this development—the Big Sort, media balkanization, and, yes, the behavior of some Democrats—and focus instead on the part relevant to my point. The president of the United States said this sort of thing a lot.

A second data point: The president is a deeply flawed and crude person with a thumbless grasp of the Constitution, the duties of his office, and the most rudimentary tenets of religion and traditional morality. Because this is so incandescently obvious, casting the Democrats as an existential threat to All We Hold Dear makes it a lot easier to overlook these things. Hence all of that “He’s our King David” gibberish from the early days of the Trump presidency. When you’re in a Manichean existential battle with the unholy Forces of Darkness, it’s much easier to overlook the adultery, greed, deceit, and corruption of your anointed champion.

Now, normally I’m not one to leap to the defense of Democrats, but I think offering the faint praise that they are not all evil incarnate is literally the least I can do. …

For nearly five years now, it has been obvious that Trump was unfit for the job and the arguments marshaled in his defense were cynical rationalizations that, for some, eventually mutated into sincerely held delusions. Sure, some deluded themselves from the beginning, but I’ve talked to too many Republican politicians and conservative media darlings who admitted it in private. And even the griftier gibbons going full Gorka as they fling their own feces for fun and profit in Trump’s defense knew it. …

Now, America isn’t in Hell, but the people who did nothing, or far too little, are daily beset by lesser, fresher, hells of their own making—and I’m making popcorn. The gloriously entertaining spectacle of Trump and his ambitious progeny suddenly having to deal with their own mini-Trumps in the form of Wood, Powell, and their minions is enough to turn their home-brewed dumpster juice into a delicious elixir sweeter even than liberal tears. …

I understand that this all sounds awfully self-righteous. But I’ll tell you, I feel like I deserve my gloating. I’m not alone in my right to it, but I deserve my share. I’ve been saying “don’t do this” for five years and I’ve been mocked and shunned for it. So forgive me if I enjoy my I-told-you-so moment. Or don’t forgive me. I’m used to it.

NewYorker, Steve Coll: Donald Trump, George Wallace, and the Influence of Losers http://bit.ly/2VJvVrX
// The outgoing President may find himself stunned by the speed at which former loyalists distance themselves. But his ideological imprint on the G.O.P. is likely to remain.

DailyBeast, Justin Baragona: CNBC Hosts Get in Off-the-Rails Shouting Match Over Masks and COVID Restrictions http://bit.ly/39VhSYi Rick Santelli, “a godfather of the tea-party movement” has also embraced herd immunity
// Andrew Ross Sorkin told Rick Santelli he was doing a “disservice” to their viewers by denying masks work, prompting Santelii to yell: “You are! You are!”

🐣 RT @RachelBitecofer I KNOW. I’m loving the soothing banality of Biden. ¤ He’s so sane and orderly. And coherent. God I missed coherent. ¤ I wanted it back so badly. I’ll never taken it for granted again. I will work tirelessly every day to defend our hard-fought return to boring!
⋙ 🐣 RT @LarrySabato I’m watching President-elect @JoeBiden’s press conference. It’s so refreshingly NORMAL. After 4 years of the bizarre and the disturbing, we really are going to have a return to normalcy.

WaPo, Beverly Gage: McCarthyism was never defeated. Trumpism won’t be either. http://wapo.st/37DWh3V
// Censure brought down a crusading anti-communist senator but fired up his followers.
tags: William F Buckley, Army McCarthy, Eisenhower, National Review, Roy Cohn, Edward R Murrow, paranoid style, Trumpism

ScienceNews: 50 years ago, scientists caught their first glimpse of amino acids from outer space http://bit.ly/3qqwGEe
// Excerpt from the December 5, 1970 issue of Science News

WaPo: Pentagon blocks visits to military spy agencies by Biden transition team http://wapo.st/3gaYQhM “[T]he delays have impaired the Biden team’s ability to get up to speed on espionage operations against Russia, China, Iran and other U.S. adversaries”

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: The size of Joe Biden’s victory matters. And it is huge. http://wapo.st/3qucotr Biden “cleared 51 percent — the largest vote percentage obtained against an incumbent president since 1932 … If there is such a thing as a mandate, Biden has one”

Biden not only received a majority of the popular vote, but also cleared 51 percent — the largest vote percentage obtained against an incumbent president since 1932 and a bigger percentage of the popular vote than any Republican president since George H.W. Bush in 1988, when Bush was essentially running for a third Ronald Reagan term. In the process, Biden amassed the largest total number of ballots in U.S. history. He pummeled Trump by more than 7 million votes (and exceeded Barack Obama’s 2008 vote total by more than 11 million). That margin is bigger than Massachusetts’ entire population; in fact, only 14 states have a population of more than 7 million. Biden’s popular vote margin by percentage (4.4 percent) far surpasses Obama’s 2012 victory over Mitt Romney.

Why is it important to emphasize the magnitude of Biden’s victory? Because, far from narrow, it represents the overwhelming verdict of the voters. If there is such a thing as a mandate, Biden has one. He has been explicit about the things he intends to do: preserve and expand Obamacare, pass child-care and sick-leave legislation, pursue police reform, push through a massive infrastructure bill and tackle climate change.

… That it is of such an enormous magnitude should earn at the very least a measure of consideration and deference from senators who were given their seats by a comparatively tiny portion of the electorate. Treating Biden as anything but the president-elect and denying him ample latitude to compile the Cabinet and senior staff of his choosing represents an outlandish attempt to preempt the will of more than 80 million Americans.

NYT, Michelle Goldberg: The MAGA Revolution Devours Its Own http://nyti.ms/33LwyFJ “The Republican establishment, and also the conservative establishment, has always made this bet that it could open Pandora’s box and close it on command” ~ historian Rick Perlstein
// Republicans encouraged Trumpist havoc. Now it’s coming for them.

“The Republican establishment, and also the conservative establishment, has always made this bet that it could open Pandora’s box and close it on command,” Rick Perlstein, a historian of American conservatism, told me. They could activate tribalism to achieve power, while maintaining a modicum of respectability. They could create an alternative reality but keep people enclosed within it. But with Trump “having pried Pandora’s box open, that becomes impossible,” Perlstein said. ¤ Republicans helped Trump unleash countless civic evils. They shouldn’t be surprised when those evils don’t spare them.

IHME: COVID-19 Projection for US http://bit.ly/2QuOKfB Daily Deaths are expected to peak at ~2971 on 1/13/2021.

🐣 ◕ 🔆 This❗️⋙ The new IHME projections are dire. Their early projections were off, but lately they have been right on the mark. THE NEXT 3 MONTHS ARE DIRE. Vaccines will be too late to help most us. Hospitals will need help. ¤ IHME: COVID-19 Projection for US http://bit.ly/2QuOKfB ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1334940595643625479?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @TheTweetOfGod No.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RightWingWatch Former congresswoman Michele Bachmann has a personal request for God: “Lord, would you allow Donald Trump to have a second term as president of the United States.” 💽 https://twitter.com/TheTweetOfGod/status/1334889119290335235?s=20/photo/1

⭕ 3 Dec 2020

WSJ, Peggy Noonan: Who’ll Be 2020’s Margaret Chase Smith? http://on.wsj.com/3oI71p9 “When history hands you a McCarthy—reckless, heedlessly manipulating his followers—be a Margaret Chase Smith … You’d likely pay some price. But years later you’d still be admired“
// Seventy years ago, Maine’s first female senator distinguished herself for her courage and integrity.

WaPo, Aaron Rappaport: It might not be so simple for Trump to pardon his children and Giuliani http://wapo.st/3mODnxQ “[I]f the issue were to arise, there is a significant possibility that [SCOTUS], dominated by … originalists, would invalidate the use of blanket pardons”

[B]ased on the Framers’ original understanding of the pardon authority, … while the pardon power grants the president expansive authority, that power is not unlimited. Most importantly, the Framers would have understood that pardons must be issued for specific crimes. They were not intended to be broad grants of immunity, get-out-of-jail-free cards bestowed by presidential grace.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that the scope of the pardon clause should be interpreted in light of its meaning at the time of the founding. This originalist methodology means looking to 18th-century English law. …

Since English law informs our own understanding of the pardon power, there is a strong argument that the specificity requirement is part of our Constitution and serves as a constraint on the president’s authority. That would not prevent the president from issuing pardons to anyone for any reason, but it does require that each pardoned crime be listed.

In the case of his family and personal lawyer, such a list might prove embarrassing to the president — and edifying to the public. In this way, specificity raises the political costs of issuing such pardons. It also reduces the pardon’s effectiveness. Should a relevant offense be left off the list, the pardon’s recipient would be vulnerable to prosecution.

The Supreme Court has never ruled on the specificity requirement, and the question of the validity of any blanket pardon by Trump would come up only if a federal prosecutor seeks to indict a pardon recipient who raises the pardon as a barrier to prosecution.

But if the issue were to arise, there is a significant possibility that a court, dominated by self-identified originalists, would invalidate the use of blanket pardons. This possibility should make Trump pause before offering such pardons to friends and family. But it also leaves him in a bind. Should he attempt to specify each and every federal crime committed by his children or lawyer? Or is that a gift too costly even for Trump to consider?

NYT, Neal Katyal: I Wrote the Special Counsel Rules. Barr Has Abused Them. http://nyti.ms/36EjsMp
// There is no reason for the outgoing attorney general to appoint his preferred prosecutor for the continuing Trump-Russia inquiry.

🐣📋 RT @davidfrum Share of vote 21st c. presidential candidates
1) Obama 2008 52.9
2) Biden 2020 51.3
3) Obama 2012 51.1
4) Bush 2004 50.7
5) Gore 2000 48.4
6) Kerry 2004 48.3
7) Clinton 2016 48.2
8) Bush 2000 47.9
9) Romney 2012 47.2
10) Trump 2020 46.9
11) Trump 2016 46.1
12) McCain 2008 45.7

NewYorker, Susan Glasser: President Trump Is Acting Crazy, so Why Are We Shrugging It Off? http://bit.ly/39M9Z7P “Either the President actually believes what he is saying or he is engaged in the most cynical attack on American democracy ever to come from the White House”
// The dangerous “yeah, whatever” phase of Trump’s lame-duck Presidency.
// caption: Either the President actually believes what he is saying or he is engaged in the most cynical attack on American democracy ever to come from the White House.

🐣 RT @thedailybeast When even Rudy Giuliani thinks you’re too much
DailyBeast: Rudy Attempts to Shush Unhinged ‘Witness’ During Election Fraud Hearing http://bit.ly/36Cnvsl
// The Trump legal team presented Melissa Carone for testimony despite a judge already declaring her allegations as “simply not credible.”

Politico: Pro-Trump legal crusade peppered with bizarre blunders http://politi.co/33KGEH0
// Spelling errors, misplaced states and client mix-ups are the main results so far of Sidney Powell’s legal efforts to overturn the election.
// Sidney Powell released the Kraken. And it turns out the mythological sea beast can’t spell, is terrible at geography and keeps mislabeling plaintiffs in court.

🐣 RT @Angry_Staffer The official serving as Trump’s eyes and ears at DOJ has been banned from the building after trying to pressure staffers to give up sensitive information about election fraud and other matters she could relay to the White House, per 3 sources
⋙ AP: Trump aide banned from Justice after trying to get case info http://bit.ly/3g5F73b

⭕ 2 Dec 2020

WaPo, Paul Waldman: What’s the future of the GOP? You’re looking at it — and it’s bonkers. http://wapo.st/3qpiDPo

While he might have a change of heart, at this point it looks unlikely that Trump will merely retire to Mar-a-Lago and fill his days playing golf. He’ll keep saying he might run again, so the media and the party keep paying attention to him. As a consequence he’ll retain his position as leader of the GOP, shaping its agenda, keeping it focused on bitter attacks and conspiracy theories, and receiving the fealty of every ambitious Republican.

↥ ↧
🐣 RT @semperdiced Is this SNL? 💽 https://twitter.com/semperdiced/status/1334374454181289990?s=20/photo/1
// Rudy’s witness

🐣 RT @justinbaragona Here’s Lin Wood telling Georgia Republicans NOT to vote for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue next month. ¤ “They have not earned your vote. Don’t you give it to them. Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election for god’s sake! Fix it! You gotta fix it!” 💽 https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1334227769115484161?s=20/photo/1

WaPo Editorial: The GOP’s push to slime its own honest members is just a grab for cash and political advantage http://wapo.st/2I2RIr8

🐣 RT @Alt_uscis Sydney power [Powell] keeps telling her MAGA crowd not to vote in the runoff. Keep going Sydney 💽 https://twitter.com/ALT_uscis/status/1334220486574739458?s=20/photo/1
// rally with @llinwood

NYT, Thomas Edsall: Honestly, This Was a Weird Election http://nyti.ms/2I39Fpy //➔ While voters soundly rejected Trump, in down-ballot races in the suburbs they also rejected the progressive extreme, with progressive appeal concentrating in already-Democratic city strongholds
// Biden soared among crucial suburban voters. Democrats? Not so much.

🧵 🌎 RT @DrEricDing NEW—Dire warnings in WH Coronavirus Task Force’s confidential state report warns “#COVID19 risk to all Americans is at a historic high” and that “we are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity.” 📌 https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1334306978248724481?s=20/photo/1

🐣 🌎 RT @madremiarosalia democracy! https://twitter.com/madremiarosaIia/status/1334314474015236097?s=20/photo/1
// “The 28 senators from these 14 states represent fewer people than the 2 senators from California”; tags: the 10 percent rules, the ten percent rules, the 10% rules

TheBulwark, Mark Becker: My Call With Ron Johnson: He Knows Biden Won But Won’t Admit It http://bit.ly/2I2VkJK
// The Wisconsin senator says it would be “political suicide.”

WaPo, Philip Rucker: Trump escalates baseless attacks on election with 46-minute video rant http://wapo.st/3mtXD7H

🐣 RT @gtconway3d it’s as though he’s in the bunker, his days numbered, directing ministers to destroy bridges and factories, and ordering generals to attack with armies that no longer exist

Esquire, Charles Pierce: My God, He’s Completely Insane http://bit.ly/3oh9oPh “He does everything except rub dirt in his hair”
// With “the most important speech he’s ever made,” the president announced he will bring the temple down on his own head.
// He does everything except rub dirt in his hair. Me? I have a very brief tolerance for sedition in high places.

WaPo, Philip Bump: The most petulant 46 minutes in American history http://wapo.st/2VAh2rD

🔆 This❗️⋙ YahooNews, David Knowles (Ed.): Trump rehashes bogus vote-fraud claims for 46 minutes in his ‘most important speech’ ever http://yhoo.it/2VuPvrF
↥ ↧
💽 Facebook: Trump’s 46-minute speech http://bit.ly/3qmIxmG

💙 NYT, Thomas Friedman: Biden Made Sure ‘Trump Is Not Going to Be President for Four More Years’ – Interview http://nyti.ms/36vNQIE “We got to figure out how to work together,” he said. Otherwise, “we’re in real trouble.”
// Here’s what Joe Biden had to say about the future in our interview.

🐣 RT @TheAtlantic “Trump’s veneer of invincibility is fading. He lost his bid for reelection, and staged the most incompetent coup attempt since Woody Allen’s ‘Bananas,'” @Yascha_Mounk writes:
⋙ TheAtlantic: Why Trump Might Just Fade Away http://bit.ly/3lvsjnS
// Americans will soon grow tired of the president, despite his efforts to stay in the limelight.

🐣 RT @marceelias Here is the clearest articulation of Powell’s Kraken conspiracy theory, complete with Iran, China, Chavez, and Kemp. Text Block: https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1334208646771773446?s=20/photo/1

💙 NYT, Frank Bruni: The Deep State Is on a Roll http://nyti.ms/3qnBiLi “These officials and servants are distinguished by a professionalism that survives and edges out their partisan bearings”
// Three cheers for Anthony Fauci and all the other glorious cogs.

🐣 RT @cnni “Attorney General William Barr dealt the most credible blow to Trump’s lies about a stolen election, precisely because he previously often came across more as the President’s personal lawyer than a neutral arbiter of justice.” | Analysis by @StCollinson
⋙ CNN, Stephen Collinson: William Barr breaks with Trump’s election fantasy http://cnn.it/3qjb50v

⭕ 1 Dec 2020

WaPo, Christopher Krebs: Trump fired me for saying this, but I’ll say it again: The election wasn’t rigged http://wapo.st/3mHxCle Details the steps taken by CISA to make the 2020 election “the most secure in US history” esp in the change to auditable paper-based systems

With the advantage of time to prepare for the 2020 election, we got to work. My team at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, had primary responsibility for working with state and local election officials and the private sector to secure their election infrastructure — including the machines, equipment and systems supporting elections — from hacking. (Other agencies handle fraud or other criminal election-related activity.) The Russian assault in 2016 had not included hacking voting machines, but we couldn’t be sure that Moscow or some other bad actor wouldn’t try it in 2020.

A key development was the establishment of the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center to share security-related information with people who can act on it for defensive purposes. By the 2018 midterm elections, all 50 states and thousands of jurisdictions had joined the center.

We offered a range of cybersecurity services, such as scanning systems for vulnerable software or equipment, and conducting penetration tests on networks. Election officials across the country responded by markedly improving cybersecurity, including upgrading to more modern systems, hardening user accounts through additional log-on measures and being quicker to share suspicious-event information.

But there was a critical weak spot. Voting machines known as Direct Recording Electronic machines, or DREs, do not generate paper records for individual votes. And paper ballots are essential pieces of evidence for checking a count’s accuracy. With DREs, the vote is recorded on the machine and combined with voting data from other machines during the tabulation process. If those machines were compromised, state officials would not have the benefit of back-up paper ballots to conduct an audit.

In 2016, five states used DREs statewide, including Georgia and Pennsylvania, with a handful of others using DREs in multiple jurisdictions. Fortunately, by 2020, Louisiana was the last one with statewide DRE usage. Congress provided grant funding in 2018, 2019 and 2020 to states to help them retire the paperless machines and roll out auditable systems. As the 2020 election season began, Delaware, Georgia, Pennsylvania and South Carolina all swapped over to paper-based systems. ¤ The combined efforts over the past three years moved the total number of expected votes cast with a paper ballot above 90 percent, including the traditional battleground states.

The secretaries of state in Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania, as well officials in Wisconsin, all worked overtime to ensure there was a paper trail that could be audited or recounted by hand, independent of any allegedly hacked software or hardware.

That’s why Americans’ confidence in the security of the 2020 election is entirely justified. Paper ballots and post-election checks ensured the accuracy of the count.

The 2020 election was the most secure in U.S. history. This success should be celebrated by all Americans, not undermined in the service of a profoundly un-American goal.

NYT, Susan Rice: Our Democracy’s Near-Death Experience http://nyti.ms/3qh0pzn “For now, our democracy has held. Still, the lesson we must learn is not a reassuring one”
// Now is no time for complacency. The next Congress must shore up our institutions.

Mr. Trump and his political allies have been employing nearly every weapon at their disposal to try to retain the White House, notwithstanding the will of the people.

First, the Trump campaign labored (largely in vain) to concoct bogus conspiracy theories to discredit Mr. Biden by falsely smearing his son Hunter. To do so, Mr. Trump and his associates solicited foreign assistance from Ukraine and China and relied on Russian agents to disseminate disinformation.
Second, Trump supporters worked assiduously to suppress the vote by denigrating the legitimacy of mail-in ballots during a pandemic, limiting access to ballot drop-boxes and polling stations, flooding social media with messaging to dampen minority voter turnout, blasting robocalls to deceive voters about where and when to vote and manipulating the postal system to delay ballot delivery.

Third, some of Mr. Trump’s most ardent supporters intimidated voters at the polls. Heeding calls to “stand by” and “go into the polls and watch very carefully,” they deployed, sometimes armed, in Black and brown communities under the guise of ensuring no fraudulent votes were cast.

Fourth, in the run-up to Election Day, Mr. Trump dispatched an army of litigants to enlist the courts in curtailing access to the polls. Since the election, his legal team has tried repeatedly to halt ballot counting and toss out legitimately cast votes that most likely favored Mr. Biden. Ultimately, Mr. Trump summoned Michigan’s Republican leaders to the White House, apparently in an attempt to coax the state’s Legislature into unilaterally appointing Trump electors.

Despite these machinations, the worst fears about this election failed to materialize. Defying the combined challenges of the pandemic, a chaotic primary season, foreign interference and presidential sabotage, the 2020 election proved to be one of the cleanest and, according to senior U.S. officials, the “most secure” in our nation’s history. The American people voted in unprecedented numbers, risking their health and foiling efforts in many states to make voting as difficult as possible. African-Americans, especially, braved countless barriers to casting their ballots.

There is no proof, nor even credible evidence, of significant voting irregularities, much less fraud. Republican and Democratic state and local officials largely adhered to their legal responsibilities, conducting the tabulation and certification processes honestly and transparently. Federal officials, sometimes collaborating with the private sector, effectively minimized the impact of Russian electoral interference.

For now, our democracy has held. ¤ Still, the lesson we must learn is not a reassuring one: A determined autocrat in the White House poses a grave threat to our democratic institutions and can severely undermine faith in our elections, particularly when backed by partisans in Congress.

[B]olstering our democracy depends in large part on the people of Georgia voting out their incumbent senators on Jan. 5. If the Senate flips to Democratic control, Congress will be able to apply the lessons of our democracy’s near-death experience.
It would enact the For the People Act to combat corruption, strengthen ethics rules and improve voter access as well as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the protections of the 1965 legislation. Congress would pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act to constrain the power of future presidents who deem themselves above the law and finally adopt long-stalled legislation to shore up our election infrastructure against adversaries, foreign or domestic.

Now is no time for self-congratulation or complacency. We must act with the unique urgency and courage of those who know they are living on borrowed time.

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “I think we’ll look back on this as one of the most historic months of the last hundred years… It was the month where American democracy was poisoned intentionally, deliberately with lies” – @SteveSchmidtSES w/ @NicolleDWallace 💽 https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1333914325682171904?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @Redistrict Breaking: Donald Trump’s share of the U.S. vote just fell to 46.9%. He’s now failed to crack 47% in either of his runs for president (for perspective, Mitt Romney got 47.2% in 2012 and Hillary Clinton got 48.2% in 2016).

🐣 RT @AshaRangappa The pardon power is practically unfettered: The President may generally *grant* a pardon to whomever he wants. But 1) “dangling” a pardon — offering it as an enticement for personal benefit (as detailed in Mueller Report) or 2) offering/accepting money for a pardon is a crime.

🐣 RT @ScottMStedman Oh man. I wonder who this is
⋙ 🐣 RT @ShimonPro NEW: Unsealed court document in DC reveals DOJ investigating an alleged “secret lobbying scheme” and a bribery conspiracy that offered “a substantial political contribution in exchange for a presidential pardon or reprieve of sentence.” @kpolantz
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @ We don’t know who it involves. We don’t know who the person seeking the pardon is. All of that is redacted. Appears to still be an active investigation.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @ Search warrants were executed: ¤ 50 digital devices including iPhones, iPads, laptops, thumb drives and computer drives were seized after investigators raided offices.

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote Unbelievable. Barr has made Durham Special Counsel so he can continue to investigate the 2016 Russia probe even after Biden takes office. What a dick.

AP: Interview: Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud http://bit.ly/2KPLMmo

Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. ¤ His comments in an interview with The Associated Press come despite President Donald Trump’s repeated baseless claims that the election was stolen, Trump’s effort to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election and his refusal to concede his loss to President-Elect Joe Biden.

Barr said U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but they’ve uncovered no evidence that would change the outcome of the election. Barr was headed to the White House later for a previously scheduled meeting. ¤ “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” Barr told the AP.

Shortly after Barr’s statement was published, Trump tweeted out more baseless claims of voter fraud. And his attorney Rudy Giuliani and his campaign issued a scathing statement claiming that, “with all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn’t been any semblance” of an investigation.

The issues Trump’s campaign and its allies have pointed to are typical in every election: Problems with signatures, secrecy envelopes and postal marks on mail-in ballots, as well as the potential for a small number of ballots miscast or lost.

But they’ve also requested federal probes into the claims. Attorney Sidney Powell has spun fictional tales of election systems flipping votes, German servers storing U.S. voting information and election software created in Venezuela “at the direction of Hugo Chavez,” – the late Venezuelan president who died in 2013. Powell has since been removed from the legal team after an interview she gave where she threatened to “blow up” Georgia with a “biblical” court filing.

Barr didn’t name Powell specifically but said: “There’s been one assertion that would be systemic fraud and that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election results. And the DHS and DOJ have looked into that, and so far, we haven’t seen anything to substantiate that,” Barr said.

🐣 RT @mattyglesias Yes.
⋙ NYMag, Jonathan Chait: ‘White Women Voted for Trump’ Is the Worst Election Trope http://nym.ag/3qf0kw5
// If you voted against Trump, Trump’s not your fault.
⋙ 🐣 Three times as many white women as Black women voted for Biden. A lower % of Blacks voted for Biden than for Clinton. This particular election was won by whites in the suburbs, particularly: white men, both with AND without college education (vs 2016) http://brook.gs/37bYO5q

🐣 RT @brianklaas One of the most sinister aspects of Trump’s lies about the election are that they are being pushed by people who know better – people who know they are lying, but also know that the lies will be widely believed by millions. It is beyond disqualifying and must never be forgotten.

⭕ 30 Nov 2020

WaPo, Brian Klaas: How to protect our democracy from a future Donald Trump http://wapo.st/2VxzBg1 “Trump’s efforts to undermine the system have an unintended benefit. He found the hidden cracks that always existed in American democracy and exposed them for all to see”

NewStatesman: Anne Applebaum on Donald Trump: “History has always hung in the balance. We just imagine that it didn’t” http://bit.ly/33xH3MM
// The historian and author of Twilight of Democracy on the meaning of the US election result and whether the age of progress is over.

… A lot depends on how Trump comes to be perceived over the next few weeks and months. It may be that as he leaves office, and power slips away from him, and he continues to say that the election was stolen, which he will – people may begin to find him ridiculous. [Though] I imagine there will be some cult following.

… the existence of a third of the population that is no longer interested in following the rules, and no longer believes in the system – it’s toxic. And it has all these implications. It makes future elections hard to resolve, it might make laws difficult to pass, and it may polarise the other side as well. Because every time they vote for a Democrat, the Democrat is blocked and can’t do anything. And that is going to create a disappointment with democracy on the other side of the spectrum, which would also eventually be very dangerous.

I suppose we have several hopes. One is that the contradiction between what they’re seeing on their news feeds and real life will begin to bother some of them.

It’s the same thing that happened to Soviet propaganda: it eventually became so jarring, and so far away from reality, that people could see through it. [Although] Soviet propaganda worked for a long time, and was very effective. We now remember it retrospectively as having been a joke, but it didn’t feel that way, if you were living in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. But it ceases to portray reality. That’s what we have to hope for in any case.

There is also the reality of other people. Even people who watch Fox all the time, and watch Newsmax, eventually encounter people who don’t. And they have to cope with the idea that there’s an alternative epistemological system. One of the tasks of politics from now on – not just for the left, but for the centrist Democrats and the Republicans and the centre-right – is to try and find ways of reaching those people. … …

Every day there are a huge range of radical options open to us. Every day history could go one direction or another. Our societies could be on a road to steep decline and disaster – or we could recover, and America will lead a new democratic coalition and we’ll create a better world. But neither one of those outcomes is for sure. And both of them depend on the decisions of many different people.

History has always hung in the balance. We just imagined that it didn’t, but it always does. And, by the way, the people who invented American democracy knew that. That’s what they were talking about when they were writing the constitution. What they were all remembering was the fall of Rome. They were reading Cato and Cicero, or popularised, bowdlerised versions of them.

Aristotle said that democracy leads to tyranny, and they had that in their heads. They wrote the constitution in order to seek to avoid that, but they always knew it was possible. There’s the famous quote from Alexander Hamilton, in which he says, one day a demagogue will come along, and people will believe him, and he’ll lead them astray with false promises. They always knew that.

It’s the illusion of the last several decades, because of the incredible success of our democracies since the 1940s, through the 1980s and 1990s. It didn’t always look that way. There were some bad moments in the Sixties and Seventies, but it felt like democracy was constantly triumphing and spreading and there was something inevitable. It was a major and important success, but there is no law of history that meant it had to be a success. ¤ … It’s up to people in their 20s and 30s. What’s the world going to look like in 2050? They’ll decide.

NationalReview Editorial: Trump’s Disgraceful Endgame http://bit.ly/3qeyS1v “Flawed and dishonest assertions … pollute the public discourse and mislead good people who make the mistake of believing things said by the president of the United States”

The idea, as the Trump team stalwartly maintains, that the Supreme Court is going to take up this case and issue a game-changing ruling is fantastical. Conservative judges have consistently rejected Trump’s flailing legal appeals, and the justices are unlikely to have a different reaction.

Trump’s most reprehensible tactic has been to attempt, somewhat shamefacedly, to get local Republican officials to block the certification of votes and state legislatures to appoint Trump electors in clear violation of the public will. This has gone nowhere, thanks to the honesty and sense of duty of most of the Republicans involved, but it’s a profoundly undemocratic move that we hope no losing presidential candidate ever even thinks of again.

Getting defeated in a national election is a blow to the ego of even the most thick-skinned politicians and inevitably engenders personal feelings of bitterness and anger. What America has long expected is that losing candidates swallow those feelings and at least pretend to be gracious. If Trump’s not capable of it, he should at least stop waging war on the outcome.

NatRev, Jim Geraghty: The Stolen-Election Narrative Needs to End http://bit.ly/2HUav7Y

Sunday morning, President Trump called in to Maria Bartiromo’s program on Fox News and laid out his account of what happened in the 2020 presidential election:

A glitch is supposed to be when a machine breaks down. Well, no, we had glitches where they moved thousands of votes from my account to Biden’s account. And these are glitches. So, they’re not glitches. They’re theft. They’re fraud, absolute fraud. And there were many of them, but, obviously, most of them tremendous amounts, got by without us catching. We got lucky to catch them. I think we caught four or five glitches of about 5,000 votes each, and different states. And, again, they’re not glitches . . . This election was over. And then they did dumps. They call them dumps, big, massive dumps, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and all over. If you take a look at — you just take a look at just about every state that we’re talking about, every swing state that we’re talking about. And they did these massive dumps of votes. And, all of a sudden, I went from winning by a lot to losing by a little.

. . . We’re talking — there are a lot of dead people that so-called voted in this election. But dead people were, in some cases, in many, many cases, thousands of cases, voted, but, also, dead people made application to vote. They were dead 10 years, 15 years, and they actually made application. This is total fraud. And how the FBI and Department of Justice — I don’t know. Maybe they are involved. But how people are allowed to get away from this stuff — with this stuff is unbelievable. This election was rigged. This election was a total fraud. And it continues to be, as they hide. And the problem we have, we go to judges, and people don’t want to get involved . . .

. . . they had judges making deals. And they had electoral officials making deals, like this character in Georgia, who is a disaster. And the governor’s done nothing. He’s done absolutely nothing. I’m ashamed that I endorsed him. But you — I look at what’s going on. It’s so terrible. They stuffed the ballot boxes. You know, I have been hearing that expression, for many years. You have too, stuffed the ballot — they stuffed the ballot boxes. And they used COVID as a means to stuff the ballot boxes. Joe Biden did not get 16 million more votes than Barack Hussein Obama. He didn’t get it.

Since Election Day, President Trump has repeatedly insisted that the election was a fraud, rigged, or stolen, and that massive numbers of votes for him were secretly switched to Biden by the voting machines or by the officials running the elections in the counties. Yet his legal team has not made these assertions in court, nor have they presented any evidence in court that persuaded any judges. The legal team’s much more limited efforts, disputing much smaller numbers of votes, have almost entirely failed.

President Trump also wants his supporters to go out and vote for incumbent Republican Georgia senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the runoff elections in January. It is hard to see why. If Democrats, along with corrupt Republicans, along with every election official in the state, and every county official and local volunteer, and the management of the Dominion voting machines, and perhaps the Venezuelan government, and perhaps the Department of Justice and FBI and whatever other co-conspirators all worked together to steal the state from Trump . . . why would they not also steal the election for the Democrats running for Senate? ¤ What is the point of voting if the elections are rigged, as the president insists?

If the president is telling the truth, why should Georgia Republicans participate in the charade of an election scheduled for January 5? ¤ And if the president isn’t telling the truth . . . why shouldn’t Georgia Republicans — or anyone else — come out and say that he isn’t telling the truth?

🐣 RT @Marmel Took the liberty of making @draiochta14’s fantastic “who’s leaving” card set into a tik tok. Full credit to her… and, of course, @NSYNC.#ByeByeTrump 💽 https://twitter.com/Marmel/status/1333427743170576384?s=20/photo/1

WaPo Editorial: Trump’s latest Fox News rant was one of his most dangerous. Republicans can’t ignore it. http://wapo.st/37lZIwe //➔ Sure they can. And they will.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S Sunday Fox News rant ranks as one of the most dangerous of his presidency, and that is saying something. Mr. Trump issued claim after incoherent claim about vote rigging — machines switched thousands of votes, dead people voted, mail-in ballots were “phony,” poll watchers “weren’t allowed.” The United States just conducted probably the most secure, transparent presidential vote in its history; Mr. Trump calls it “the most messed-up election we have ever seen.” Proving there is no core national institution he will not besmirch, Mr. Trump attacked the judicial system for failing to ratify his lies and suggested that the Justice Department and the FBI are in on the conspiracy.

Either the president is delusional, or he is willing to knowingly tear down the democracy to deny that he is a loser. Either way, everyone else in a position of trust has a responsibility to defend the nation’s democratic system against Mr. Trump’s sustained assault. Some Republicans, mostly at the state and local levels, have done so, at times under extreme public scrutiny, counting the votes and refusing to manipulate the electoral process to overturn the popular will. For conscientiously overseeing the vote in his state — and standing up for its integrity against baseless attacks from Mr. Trump and the state’s two U.S. senators — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his family have received threats. He and other election officials have had to accept security details.

“It’s time to stand up and be counted,” Mr. Raffensperger said. “Are you going to stand for integrity? Or are you going to stand for the wild mob? You wanted to condemn the wild mob when it’s on the left side. What are you going to do when it’s on our side?” …

For weeks, Republicans dodged by saying Mr. Trump was entitled to make his case in court. Well, he has had his chance. He has failed. Judges, including those appointed by Mr. Trump, have made clear the election was not stolen. The dodge has run its course.

🐣 RT @DrLeanaWen Scott Atlas is not just “highly controversial” but is a widely discredited purveyor of anti-science disinformation and conspiracy theories that have actively caused harm. To be clear: Masks work. #covid19 is real. Herd immunity kills.
⋙ 🐣 RT @CNN Dr. Scott Atlas, a highly controversial member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, has resigned, a person who works with the task force says
⋙⋙ CNN: Dr. Scott Atlas resigns from Trump administration http://cnn.it/3qg6egB

WaPo: Wisconsin and Arizona make it official as Trump fails to stop vote certification in all six states where he contested his defeat http://wapo.st/39vRHri

WaPo, Eugene Robinson: Trump is an ego monster. Republicans, don’t let him consume you. http://wapo.st/3qdI7Pz “The GOP officials who enabled and abetted Trump will ultimately have to ask what they’re willing to put up with if they can’t bring themselves to marginalize him”

With Trump, it’s generally wise to assume the basest motives. Maybe he is actually trying to bully Republicans into nullifying the election and helping him stage what would amount to an authoritarian coup d’etat. Maybe he is spitefully trying to make life as difficult as possible for the new administration by delegitimizing Biden’s victory in the eyes of many voters. Maybe he is reinforcing his cult-leader control over his followers in what amounts to a massive act of hostage-taking, hoping to use them as human shields against potential criminal investigations or prosecutions — or as sources of ongoing profit.

But perhaps, on some level, Trump simply cannot accept that in an election that saw Republicans do well overall — gaining seats in the House, retaining control of statehouses, winning Senate seats that polls indicated they would almost surely lose — the man at the top of the ticket got creamed by more than 6 million votes.

“So I led this great charge, and I’m the only one that lost?” Trump tweeted Sunday. “No, it doesn’t work that way. This was a massive fraud, a RIGGED ELECTION!”

But yes, it does work that way. And no, of course the election wasn’t rigged. What happened was that voters turned out in record numbers for the specific purpose of kicking Trump out of the White House. It was a massive act of rejection, a clear message sent by more than 80 million of Trump’s fellow citizens: Go away.

🐣 RT @chrislhayes Some of the discourse grooves of the impeachment story are being repeated in Trump’s post election attempt to overturn the election. You can say “well it’s not really come to much of anything” or you can say “this is an extremely dangerous abuse of power, even if it didn’t work”
⋙ 🐣 RT @chrislhayes And obviously there’s a huge connection between impeachment and now. The whole point of the case was that a man who abused his office to attempt to cheat in an election couldn’t be trusted as the head of a democratic government.

🧵 RT @AshaRangappa Wow. Flynn’s pardon extends to any crimes within the “investigatory authority” of the Special Counsel, including crimes *arising* out of facts “known to” the SC within the scope of its investigation. Kinda suggests that his criminal liability wasn’t just lying to the FBI 📌 https://twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1333547087024115712?s=20/photo/1-2

DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: We Won’t Forget and We Won’t Forgive What Trumpists Did to America http://bit.ly/3fOTuc0 “Only exposure, pain, humiliation, and (inshallah) incarceration will lead to a moment of reckoning for the GOP”
// It’s not enough to merely enjoy their agony and humiliation. It’s not enough to hope they’ll be shamed and correct their behavior. Have you not met these people?

🐣 RT @ForeignAffairs Washington and its partners are threatened less by rival great powers than by emergent, interconnected, and cascading transnational dangers, G. John Ikenberry writes. Confronting these dangers will require more cooperation, not less.
⋙ ForeignAffairs, G. John Ikenberry: The Next Liberal Order http://fam.ag/3q6AYAu
// Instead of embracing great-power competition, the United States should double down on the liberal international project.

🐣 RT @IrnaEnglish [Iran] Defense minister says idiot acts, assassinations not to go unanswered https://bit.ly/3qfFLzy #Fakhrizadeh

⭕ 29 Nov 2020

NYT, Ben Smith: The King of Trump TV Thinks You’re Dumb Enough to Buy It http://nyti.ms/33K4d2L “[N]obody I’ve ever covered treats an audience with the blithe disdain of Mr. Ruddy”
// Chris Ruddy, the C.E.O. of Newsmax, has found a business opportunity in feeding Trump supporters the fantasy that the president could still win the election.

🐣 RT @60Minutes “We can go on and on with all the farcical claims alleging interference in the 2020 election, but the proof is in the ballots. The recounts are consistent with the initial count,” says Krebs. “The American people should have 100% confidence in their vote.” https://cbsn.ws/3o2rT9W

⭕ 28 Nov 2020

NYT: In Key States, Republicans Were Critical in Resisting Trump’s Election Narrative http://nyti.ms/3fMqfGE
// They refuted conspiracy theories, certified results, dismissed lawsuits and repudiated a president of their own party.

WaPo: 20 days of fantasy and failure: Inside Trump’s quest to overturn the election http://wapo.st/3mirm3b “Trump was, in the telling of one close adviser, like “Mad King George, muttering, ‘I won. I won. I won.’ ”

NYT: Israel’s Gamble: If Assassination Fails to Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Program, Blowing Up Deal Is Easy http://nyti.ms/3fKNMYq
// The killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist is likely to impede the country’s military ambitions. Its real purpose may have been to prevent the president-elect from resuming diplomacy with Tehran.

🐣 RT @C_C_Krebs Fact Check: Even if the nonsense claims of hacked voting systems and tallies were true – they’re decidedly NOT & ppl propagating the claims are doing democracy great harm – every canvass, audit, or recount conducted by hand has been consistent. Can’t hack paper. #WeArePerseus

⭕ 27 Nov 2020

WaPo, Elliot Williams: Emmet Sullivan’s handling of the Michael Flynn case is vindicated http://wapo.st/2VduQbE “In the end, the judge’s steadfastness saved the Justice Department from itself — or at least from its attorney general”

🐣 RT @60Minutes See the interview with the man President Trump ousted after he said the election was secure, Sunday night on 60 Minutes. https://cbsn.ws/3fFIJIK 💽 https://twitter.com/WylieNewmark/status/1332542639388942336?s=20/photo/1
// @C_C_Krebs

🐣 RT @paulkrugman So Trump lost, but we’re still talking about why so many people voted for him. And story seems to be that millions thought “We feel disrespected by liberal elites, who think we’re stupid. So we’re going to own them by … 1/ https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1332338636516454404?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @paulkrugman voting for a corrupt, dishonest, incompetent guy who barely conceals his contempt for his own supporters.” I honestly have no idea how we’re supposed to deal with this 2/
⋙ 🐣 RT @paulkrugman To say that many Trump supporters basically engaged in a massive self-own sounds condescending; yet what could be more condescending than pretending that this isn’t exactly what happened? 3/ […]
⋙⋙ 🐣 people vote on abortion, guns, judges and some vote because they consider themselves “conservative”; some are simply racist and anti-immigrant ~ the “self-owners” are likely 40-50% of those who voted for Trump. I think of them as the cultists

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Milwaukee County’s recount of the presidential election vote tally has come to an end, with President-elect Joe Biden adding 132 votes to his margin of victory over Trump in Milwaukee County.
⋙ MilwaukeeJS: Milwaukee County presidential recount wraps up with Biden adding to his margin over Trump http://bit.ly/39nZqHx

WaPo: In a scathing opinion, appeals court rejects Trump request to block Pa. certification http://wapo.st/3o6OPVR “The Trump campaign said it would take the case to the Supreme Court, where legal experts have said it has little chance of success” ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1332503376341463041?s=20/photo/1
// The Trump campaign said it would take the case to the Supreme Court, where legal experts have said it has little chance of success.
// FP title ⇈ Inside title: Federal appeals court panel rejects Trump request to block certification of Pennsylvania’s election results

In a scathing 21-page opinion, the 3rd Circuit Court said that the Trump campaign’s challenge of the district court’s decision had “no merit.” The opinion was written by Judge Stephanos Bibas, who was appointed to the court by President Trump. Bibas was joined by two other Republican-appointed judges in a unanimous vote by the three-member panel.

“Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here,” Bibas wrote. “Voters, not lawyers, choose the President. Ballots, not briefs, decide elections.”

🐣 RT @JohnBrennan This was a criminal act & highly reckless. It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict. ¤ Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JohnBrennan I do not know whether a foreign government authorized or carried out the the murder of Fakhrizadeh. Such an act of state-sponsored terrorism would be a flagrant violation of international law & encourage more governments to carry out lethal attacks against foreign officials.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JohnBrennan These assassinations are far different than strikes against terrorist leaders & operatives of groups like al-Qaida & Islamic State, which are not sovereign states. As illegitimate combatants under international law, they can be targeted in order to stop deadly terrorist attacks.

🧵 RT @ Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, one of Iran’s most important nuclear officials, has been assassinated in Tehran. This is what we know /THREAD/: ¤ 1. Israel has assassinated numerous Iranian nuclear scientists in the past but have never been able to get to the highly protected Fakhrizadeh. 📌 https://twitter.com/tparsi/status/1332343037268291585?s=20
⋙ 🐣 […] RT @tparsi Whatever Iran’s response, the assassination of Fakhrizadeh will change Iranian politics and reduce its openness to compromise with the US, not just on nuclear matters, but on regional issues as well. ¤ That’s why the real target here was Biden’s forthcoming diplomacy w/ Iran.

NYT: Gunmen Assassinate Iran’s Top Nuclear Scientist in Ambush, Provoking New Crisis http://nyti.ms/3qg4zI3
// Iran expressed fury over the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, blaming it on Israel and the United States. His death may complicate President-elect Biden’s intention to restore the Iranian nuclear deal.

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Prominent Iranian nuclear scientist killed in attack outside Tehran http://wapo.st/36a4Ioe ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1332431045724135430?s=20/photo/1

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, described the attack on the scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, as the work of “state terror” and implicated Israel as having a possible role. Officials in Israel had no comment.
v
“The operation reflects thinking of those in the Netanyahu government — and/or the Trump administration — who see these next few weeks as their last chance to make relations with Iran as bad as possible, in an effort to spoil the Biden administration’s efforts to return to diplomacy with Tehran,” said Pillar*, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

*Paul Pillar, a 28-year veteran of the CIA and a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies

⭕ 26 Nov 2020 🦃

NYT, David Brooks: The Rotting of the Republican Mind http://nyti.ms/36gpvGE
// When one party becomes detached from reality.

My analysis begins with a remarkable essay that Jonathan Rauch wrote for National Affairs in 2018 called “The Constitution of Knowledge.” Rauch pointed out that every society has an epistemic regime, a marketplace of ideas where people collectively hammer out what’s real. In democratic, nontheocratic societies, this regime is a decentralized ecosystem of academics, clergy members, teachers, journalists and others who disagree about a lot but agree on a shared system of rules for weighing evidence and building knowledge.

People need a secure order to feel safe. Deprived of that, people legitimately feel cynicism and distrust, alienation and anomie. This precarity has created, in nation after nation, intense populist backlashes against the highly educated folks who have migrated to the cities and accrued significant economic, cultural and political power. Will Wilkinson of the Niskanen Center calls this the “Density Divide.” It is a bitter cultural and political cold war.

Under Trump, the Republican identity is defined not by a set of policy beliefs but by a paranoid mind-set. He and his media allies simply ignore the rules of the epistemic regime and have set up a rival trolling regime. The internet is an ideal medium for untested information to get around traditional gatekeepers, but it is an accelerant of the paranoia, not its source. Distrust and precarity, caused by economic, cultural and spiritual threat, are the source.

What to do? You can’t argue people out of paranoia. If you try to point out factual errors, you only entrench false belief. The only solution is to reduce the distrust and anxiety that is the seedbed of this thinking. That can only be done first by contact, reducing the social chasm between the members of the epistemic regime and those who feel so alienated from it. And second, it can be done by policy, by making life more secure for those without a college degree.

WaPo: Fact-checking Trump’s cellphone rant of election falsehoods http://wapo.st/36avVY3

WaPo: Trump commits to stepping down if electoral college votes for Biden http://wapo.st/3fGohYc

⭕ 25 Nov 2020

🐣 RT @LukeBrussel Pompeo, a proponent of making US policy on the Middle East based around a belief that the State of Israel is a Sign that the Rapture and End Days are near when all sinners will be killed, says Biden cabinet picks live in “fantasy world”.
⋙ Politico: ‘Fantasy world’: Pompeo knocks Biden administration picks as out of touch on foreign policy http://politi.co/33hIXB3
// The secretary of State cited incoming officials’ approach to Iran as an example of having “led from behind.”

Vice, Ben Mathis-Lilley (Dec 2018): William Barr Pushed for Iran-Contra Pardons. Will He Do the Same With Mueller’s Convictions? http://bit.ly/3o1YzRb
// 12/7/2020
↥ ↧
NPR Fresh Air, Dave Davies (Jan 2020): Attorney General William Barr’s Unwavering Support Of Trump, Explained: Interview with David Rohde [Audio ✛ Transcript] http://n.pr/3fyV69w
// 1/23/2020
↥ ↧
CommonDreams, Will Bunch (Dec 2019): Reagan’s Forgotten Iran-Contra Escape May Reveal More About Trump’s Fate Than Watergate http://bit.ly/3m88GDq “The attorney general then is the attorney general now: William Barr”
// 12/4/2019; The principles first laid bare in Iran-Contra—a deference to the raw exercise of power, including a willingness to overlook the rule of law—have become America’s cruel guiding spirit in the 21st century.

🐣 RT @thedailybeast While Trump publicly tries to get momentum for his push to “turn the election over,” he has fretted privately about prosecutors wanting to “f*ck with” him post-presidency.
⋙ DailyBeast: Trump Literally Phones It in for Voter Fraud ‘Hearing’ as He Frets Privately About Prosecutors Ready to Pounce http://bit.ly/2V5iu53
// While Trump publicly tries to get momentum for his push to “turn the election over,” he has fretted privately about prosecutors wanting to “f*ck with” him post-presidency.

🐣 RT @dfriedman33 In 2017, a Trump lawyer left Flynn’s attorney a message that seemed to hint Flynn could get a pardon even if he cooperated with Mueller as long as Flynn didn’t implicate Trump in wrongdoing. Flynn didn’t implicate Trump. And Trump just pardoned him.
⋙ MotherJones, Dan Friedman: Was Trump’s Pardon of Flynn Part of a Deal? http://bit.ly/33i2Bwy
// An old voicemail message may provide a clue.

🐣 RT @TimKaine In February, a majority of both Houses of Congress told Trump—no war with Iran unless you come and justify to us and the American people and get the Congressional approval the Constitution requires.
⋙ 🔥🐣 RT @TimKaine In February, a majority of both Houses of Congress told Trump—no war with Iran unless you come and justify to us and the American people and get the Congressional approval the Constitution requires.
⋙ 🔥Axios (11/25): Scoop: Israeli military prepares for possibility Trump will strike Iran http://bit.ly/3l9bZZw //➔ According to Bret McGurk on @MSNBC on 11/26, the assassination of Fakhrizadeh was likely carried out by Israel with help from US Intelligence ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1332431385030762496?s=20/photo/1

● Last Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. One of the main issues discussed was Iran, Israeli officials say.

● Pompeo visited Israel and several Gulf countries last week to discuss Iran. State Department officials traveling with Pompeo told reporters “all options are on the table.”

● While Pompeo was in the Gulf, U.S. Central Command announced that B-52 strategic bombers conducted a “short-notice, long-range mission into the Middle East to deter aggression and reassure U.S. partners and allies.” That was seen as another signal to Iran.

● Hossein Dehghan, an adviser to Iran’s leader and a possible candidate in Iran’s upcoming presidential elections, told AP last week that a U.S. military strike against Iran could set off a “full-fledged war” in the Middle East.

🐣 RT @marceelias There are lots of things in the world to worry about right now but the Pennsylvania election result is not one of them. ¤ The governor has certified the results pursuant to federal law. Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20th.

🐣 RT @rgoodlaw When the pardon itself is part of an ongoing crime (conspiracy to obstruct justice) it may be ineffective. ¤ @SamBerger_DC’s analysis from 2019Down pointing backhand index #FlynnPardon
⋙ JustSecurity, Sam Berger (2019): When the Pardon Furthers the Conspiracy: Limits to the Pardon Power http://bit.ly/3q3FeRq
// 1/9/2019

🐣 RT @DavidCornDC “This election has to be turned around.” ¤ That’s what @realDonaldTrump just said, when he phoned into a GOP election hearing in Pennsylvania. ¤ This is a dangerous statement.
⋙ 🐣 RT @msfunsun Sedition is a serious felony punishable by fines and up to 20 years in prison and it refers to the act of inciting revolt or violence against a lawful authority with the goal of destroying or overthrowing it.

🐣 RT @BillKristol Giving thanks to the hundreds of thousands of (mostly volunteer) election officials, observers, poll watchers, etc., who pulled off a free and fair election despite the pandemic and the president. How superior our state and local officials have proved than our national ones!

🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln The Lincoln Project Gives Thanks 💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1331756305409839105?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @davidaxelrod Let’s be clear: the pardon of Flynn and others to follow are not about righting wrongs. They’re about rewarding silence.

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Trump pardons former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI http://wapo.st/2V0gPOn

⭕ 24 Nov 2020

🐣 😅 RT @RobMajor4 💽 https://twitter.com/RobMajor4/status/1330714026939183105?s=20/photo/1
// Trump dancing on sinking ship

🐣 RT @JohnFugelsang Hunter Biden’s laptop ¤ discarded & forgotten; ¤ has gone to dwell w/
● Migrant Caravans
● Hillary’s Emails
● The Fake Birth Certificate
● Benghazi
● Ground Zero Mosque
● Obamacare Death Panels
● Swiftboaters for Draft Dodgers &
● “Threats To Traditional Marriage”
on @GOP’s Island of Misfit Smears

‼️🐣 📋 RT @JasonLeopold Reminder that Mark Meadows signed a sworn declaration that said Trump told him he doesn’t mean what he tweets ¤ (Via my/@BuzzFeedNews #FOIA case) https://twitter.com/JasonLeopold/status/1327701545618612225?s=20/photo/1
// Trump’s Tweets not commands re: declassification of Mueller docs

🐣 RT @TheHill Brennan takes final shot at Trump: “I leave his fate to our judicial system, his infamy to history, & his legacy to a trash heap” http://hill.cm/n0Y1kT9

🧵 RT @ErikWempel There’s notice of a settlement in the suit of Joel and Mary Rich against Fox News et al. for infliction of emotional distress over the network’s retracted promotion of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory. 📌 https://twitter.com/ErikWemple/status/1331309423189487623?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @JoeBiden America is back.

🐣 🌎 RT @votesaveamerica Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania coming in hot with certification for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. These states put their victory well over 270.
Reminder, Joe is projected to win: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OR, RI, VT, VA, WA, WI https://twitter.com/votesaveamerica/status/1331298342253391878?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @tribelaw The rollout of this breathtakingly capable, experienced, diverse national security team was truly splendid. I found myself standing at attention throughout it. America is back. Public service is back. Dedication is back. Truth is back. I felt so proud of my adopted country. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

⭕ 23 Nov 2020

NBCNews, Dean Obeidallah: Trump’s election lies are an attempted coup. Biden and other Democrats should say so. http://nbcnews.to/3pP4RFk
// Regardless of how you define the word, now is not the time for academic debates.

President Donald Trump is not trying to simply undermine President-elect Joe Biden’s presidency, nor is he primarily trying to position himself for a 2024 presidential run, as many have suggested. No, Trump’s No. 1 goal is to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It’s time for Biden and other Democratic leaders to describe his actions in the most forceful and universally understandable language possible. And that means, in this case, calling them part of an attempted coup to illegally overthrow the Biden presidency. …

Regardless of how you define the word, now is not the time for academic debates. Trump’s wildly effective communications strategy proves that sometimes simpler is better. Biden’s response, in contrast, has been far too careful and far too polite. On Thursday, Biden called Trump’s efforts to undermine the election results “totally irresponsible,” adding that his message to immigrants worried about Trump’s electoral attacks was “Hang on. I’m on my way.” Other leading Democrats have, for the most part, followed Biden’s lead.

This message is not surprising given Biden’s campaign strategy, which emphasized unity. Such sentiment was also at the heart of Biden’s victory speech Nov. 7. But it is nevertheless a very bad strategy.

Italy’s Benito Mussolini and Russia’s Vladimir Putin amassed power through bullying. These types of leaders treat silence or muted responses as a sign of weakness, emboldening them to push further with their authoritarian goals.

… A Reuters poll released Wednesday found that only 73 percent of Americans said Biden won the election, while 52 percent of Republicans say Trump “rightfully won.” This is incredibly disturbing, and probably unprecedented.

Team Biden must also repeatedly highlight Trump’s lack of credible evidence of voter fraud. Common sense tells us that if the assertions by Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani of a “national conspiracy” to rig the election were true, the Trump effort would have more to show for it. It has been nearly three weeks since Election Day. Instead, Trump’s lawyers lashed out at reporters when pressed for details or data. …

Biden, as president-elect, is rightfully focused on trying to facilitate an effective transition of power between Trump’s outgoing administration and his incoming one. But he must simultaneously be spending the weeks until Inauguration Day vocally defending our democratic elections against authoritarian attacks from within. By standing up to Trump’s attempted coup, Biden will be proving to those millions of Americans who voted freely and fairly for him that they made the right choice.

WaPo: Trump relents on transition as Republicans join mounting calls for him to acknowledge Biden’s win http://wapo.st/3l5sV3q

Though procedural in nature, Trump’s acceptance of the General Services Administration starting the transition amounted to a dramatic capitulation and capped an extraordinary 16-day standoff since Biden was declared the winner on Nov. 7. ¤ On Monday, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified Biden’s win there, while earlier in the day dozens of business leaders and Republican national security experts had urged Trump to accept the result because refusing to begin the transition was endangering the country’s security, economy and pandemic response.

A senior Trump campaign adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid, said Monday night: “He basically just conceded. That’s as close to a concession as you will probably get.”

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance It’s a .gov website. We’re back, America.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoeBiden buildbackbettter.gov

🐣 RT @BradMossEsq If the fall of Trump has shown anything it is how many prominent conservative political and legal pundits are complete frauds, scam artists and charlatans selling snake oil to gullible lemmings.

🐣 RT @DeanObeidallah Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election is a COUP-and Joe Biden/Democrats should be vocally denouncing it as such. History proves taking the high road is the very worst response to a fascist like Trump. ¤ My new @NBCNewsTHINK article:
⋙ NBCNews: Trump’s election lies are an attempted coup. Biden and other Democrats should say so. http://nbcnews.to/3pP4RFk
// Regardless of how you define the word, now is not the time for academic debates.
⋙ 🐣 RT @crackthemessage Along these lines I encourage folks to read the attached piece about Thucydides. His writings in 427 BCE about the corruption of political leaders and the role of passion in political discourse are striking for their application to 2016. @MelissaJPeltier
⋙⋙ GetPocket/NYRB: What Thucydides Knew About the US Today http://bit.ly/3pZfWnA
// Everyone who reads Thucydides knows him as the most profound and convincing historian of empire, not only in his own age but also in his explicit and implicit predictions of later ages.

🐣 RT @davidfrum Now onto the corrupt pardons phase of the presidential transition

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Sen. Dianne Feinstein: “After serving as the lead Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for four years, I will not seek the chairmanship or ranking member position in the next Congress.”

🐣 RT @real I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good…
⋙ 🐣 RT @real …fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.

🐣 RT @MSNBC BREAKING: GSA Admin. Emily Murphy has informed President-elect Biden that the administration is ready to begin the formal transition process, according to letter obtained by @GeoffRBennett. https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1331016584752754692?s=20/photo/1-2

🐣 RT @sbg1 I look forward to no longer having the word ‘ascertainment’ in my current events vocabulary…
⋙ 🐣 RT @BeschlossDC @GSAEmily has let President-elect Biden know that transition process will now begin, says CNN.

WaPo: Republican national security experts call on Trump to concede, begin transition http://wapo.st/339dlNQ

WaPo: Michigan board votes to certify the state’s election results, dealing Trump another blow http://wapo.st/3l5sV3q

WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: The Republican Party has split in two. Let’s keep it that way. http://wapo.st/33a93G5 ‘Romney, Collins, Murkowski, Toomey and Sasse hold the balance of power in a narrowly divided Senate’

🐣 RT @JoeBiden Today, I’m announcing the first members of my national security and foreign policy team. They will rally the world to take on our challenges like no other—challenges that no one nation can face alone. ¤ It’s time to restore American leadership. I trust this group to do just that. 💽 https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1330967606585593857?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff Dear @GSAEmily, ¤ Your refusal to recognize Biden’s win will do serious long-term harm. ¤ To national security, our fight against COVID, and more. ¤ Trump’s frivolous lawsuits and baseless conspiracies to overturn the people’s mandate will not succeed. ¤ Do your duty. Right now. https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1330968740142444546?s=20/photo/1-2

⭕ 22 Nov 2020

🐣 RT @5_2blue Michael Conway says Biden should do the unthinkable and pardon Trump to unite the nation. ¤ How do you feel about this?
⋙ 🐣 No pardon. It would in fact be divisive (Dems would ignite). He should pick a good AG, one known for integrity and fairness, and restore the wall between the DOJ and the White House. If Trump tries to pardon himself, we should get a SCOTUS opinion on that.

🐣 RT @kaitlincollins Chris Christie: “I have been a supporter of the president’s. I voted for him twice. But elections have consequences & we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn’t happen.” He says an unwillingness to present evidence “must mean the evidence doesn’t exist.”

🐣 RT @stuartpstevens It was all a lie.
⋙ 🐣 RT @StuartEtc Trumpism’s hold on the GOP has made it clear that there were maybe two dozen actual conservative pols in the GOP before 2016. The rest were pretenders who when you scratched the surface revealed themselves as a motley crew of grifters, fascists, racists, and sociopaths.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TRobinsonAlst2 The GOP sold its birthright as the party of Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Teddy Roosevelt, Coolidge and Eisenhower to become the party of Limbaugh, David Duke & The Proud Boys. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” has produced its inevitable result.

🐣 RT @carlbernstein I’m not violating any pledge of journalistic confidentially in reporting this: 21 Republican Sens–in convos w/ colleagues, staff members, lobbyists, W. House aides–have repeatedly expressed extreme contempt for Trump & his fitness to be POTUS. (1/3)
⋙ 🐣 RT @carlbernstein The 21 GOP Senators who have privately expressed their disdain for Trump are: Portman, Alexander, Sasse, Blunt, Collins, Murkowski, Cornyn, Thune, Romney, Braun, Young, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Rubio, Grassley, Burr, Toomey, McSally, Moran, Roberts, Shelby. (2/3)
⋙ 🐣 RT @carlbernstein With few exceptions, their craven public silence has helped enable Trump’s most grievous conduct—including undermining and discrediting the US the electoral system. ¤ More from my appearance earlier on @cnn 💽 https://twitter.com/carlbernstein/status/1330710307052814336?s=20/photo/1

🧵 RT @MuellerSheWrote THREAD. ‘Twas the night before Christmas
The year: 2020
Giuliani had lost foolish lawsuits a-plenty
Michigan lawmakers tried to be bought
When sedition was offered as trump’s evil plot
And even though Biden and Harris had won
Transition of power still hadn’t begun 1/
📌 https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1330368238702694402?s=20

🐣 RT @ABlinken Sigh. This pains me in light of my admiration for Robert Wright. The Moral Animal is among the most brilliant books I’ve read. Well, maybe I’ll evolve…https://twitter.com/ABlinken/status/1327412079666540555?s=20
⋙ 🐣 I think you can be progressive to your bones and still be a political and policy realist. “Politics ~ The Art of the Possible”

🐣 RT @MaryLTrump Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN Ambassador, Michele Flournoy as SecDef, and @ABlinken as SecState? This is great news. But I’m afraid we’re going to have to get used to expertise, professionalism, competence, and decency again. I think we can do it.

NYT Editorial: A Great Election, Against All Odds http://nyti.ms/35SyUnK “In the face of a raging pandemic and the highest turnout in more than a century, Americans enjoyed one of the most secure, most accurate and most well-run elections ever”
// Democracy is hard work. That work paid off.

Democracy is a fragile thing, and it requires constant tending and vigilance to survive. Americans were lucky this time. They were also well prepared. When pushed to the brink, they mobilized to protect their democracy. For this moment, at least, tune out the president, his flailing dishonesty and his bottomless disregard for the American experiment. Instead, express gratitude to the millions of Americans who still believe in that experiment, and who did all they could to make this election succeed in the face of daunting odds. Then help make sure they don’t have to do it by themselves again.

NYT: Biden Chooses Antony Blinken, Defender of Global Alliances, as Secretary of State http://nyti.ms/3nK4yKf
// Formerly the State Department’s No. 2, Mr. Blinken is expected to try to re-establish the United States as a trusted ally ready to rejoin global agreements and court multilateral efforts to confront China.

WaPo: Here’s when Biden’s win becomes official — and how Trump is trying to prevent that http://wapo.st/2Hut7vg With key deadlines looming, derailing the certification of results is part of the president’s strategy ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1330697907545268227?s=20/photo/1

WaPo: Chris Christie calls the conduct of Trump’s legal team a ‘national embarrassment’ http://wapo.st/35Upnwo

⭕ 21 Nov 2020

WaPo: In scathing opinion, federal judge dismisses Trump campaign lawsuit in Pennsylvania http://wapo.st/35Pe090

Brann wrote that Trump’s campaign had used “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations” in its effort to throw out millions of votes. ¤ “In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state,” Brann wrote.

Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) said in a statement after Brann’s decision that Trump had “exhausted all plausible legal options” in the state and acknowledged that Biden won the election. “I congratulate President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris on their victory,” said Toomey.

⭕ 20 Nov 2020

NewYorker, John Cassidy: Rudy Giuliani Is a Hot Mess http://bit.ly/334rWKC

Barely stopping to draw a breath, Giuliani claimed that Biden operatives, working in cahoots with big-city Democratic machines, corrupt judges, and a voting-software company tied to Communist governments abroad (I kid you not), contrived to reverse the early leads that Trump held on Election Night in states such as Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. “What I am describing to you is a massive fraud,” Giuliani insisted at one point. At another, he said that the evidence he and his colleagues had gathered was “enough to overturn any election.”

And what is that evidence? Giuliani claimed that Trump’s legal team had gathered hundreds of affidavits from poll watchers and election officials alleging perfidious acts. But when reporters asked him to release these documents, he replied, “I can’t do it. I can’t put a witness’s life in jeopardy.” Much of the evidence Giuliani did point to has already been discredited, including claims from Republican poll watchers of malfeasance in Wayne County, Michigan, which includes the city of Detroit. Last week, a Wayne County judge dismissed the case to which these witnesses’ affidavits were attached. He said that the witnesses did not attend a session on the ballot-counting process hosted by election officials and their statements were “rife” with speculation.

⭕ 19 Nov 2020

🐣 RT @LeeFuell This is what we are seeing from Trump, Giuliani, and their enablers:
⋙ Rand: The Russian “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model http://bit.ly/2o8DlqR
// Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It
↥ ↧
🧵 RT @kasparov68 It’s comforting to call Trump, Giuliani, and the rest clowns, but clowns with power are not funny at all. They won’t overturn the election, but they are doing tremendous damage, which was always the goal. 📌 https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1329492749314363398?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @NicoleGoodkind This is Trump’s argument: George Soros, Biden, the Clinton Foundation & the antifa worked with the Venezuelan government to rig the election by making big Dem cities vote for the Democratic candidate. But they also let Republicans win Senate, Congressional and local races.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @NicoleGoodkind The most insane thing is that this an accurate description of what Trump’s personal lawyers are telling the American people uninterrupted on Fox News and that very few GOP Senators or Congressman will refute these claims in any way.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 As I wrote in 2018, Trumpism’s goal is to split the country, to carve out enough supporters who believe whatever he says, no matter the evidence. Attacking the media and discrediting elections were always part of it.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 When Trump continued to insist that the 2016 was fraudulent, many wrote it off as childishness and ego. Yes, but discrediting the system also had a point, preparing for an election he didn’t win.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 Trump’s outrageous attacks on the US election process, and the refusal of the GOP to challenge them, will result in many similar attacks in future elections, in the US and elsewhere. Democracy discredited, Putin’s dream.

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Sen. Sasse; “Trump lost Michigan by more than 100,000 votes, and the campaign and its allies have lost in or withdrawn from all five lawsuits in Michigan for being unable to produce any evidence. Wild press conferences erode public trust … We are a nation of laws, not tweets.”

HuffPo: Republican Senators Push Back Against Trump For Trying To Overturn The Election http://bit.ly/330DZIB
// Plus Sasse and Ernst (sort of); “It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said of Trump.

DailyBeast: Desperate Rudy’s Latest Pennsylvania Gambit Is Wilder Than His Sweaty Press Conference http://bit.ly/35KbSiS
// No, he says, he doesn’t have to provide any evidence of fraud in the state. Instead, it’s Pennsylvania that must prove its mail-in ballots were legal.

🐣 RT @McFaul Letting Rudy become the face of the GOP is really not a good look. Hard to see how this helps in Georgia or the longer game. But Im no expert.

🧵 RT @atrupar Giuliani and company are about to give us a Total overview of the Landscaping 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1329472200898994181?s=20

🐣 RT @C_C_Krebs That press conference was the most dangerous 1hr 45 minutes of television in American history. And possibly the craziest. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re lucky.
↥ ↧
🐣 Is there anything in Q iconography having to do with hair dye dripping down both sides of your face? Is it like stigmata? A secret signal to the bearers of arms? Or could it just be a way of subtly signifying that someone is a drooling idiot?

💙 WaPo, Dan Zak and Josh Dawsey: Rudy Giuliani’s post-election meltdown starts to become literal http://wapo.st/3lRiVf9

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Trump uses power of presidency to try to overturn the election and stay in office http://wapo.st/2IUIEog

WaPo: Wayne County Republican who asked to ‘rescind’ her vote certifying election results says Trump called her http://wapo.st/2UKmsQB “Trump has also invited leaders from Michigan’s Republican-controlled state legislature to meet with him on Friday afternoon in Washington”

🐣 RT @prahme The thing that is most worrisome is there seems to be no time limit attached to his being unable to back up his claims of widespread fraud or lack of frivolous or wreckless suits & suggestions
⋙ 🐣 Trump will never concede. He fully intends to continue to tear apart our democracy, every shred. There’s already a law saying the “apparent winner” must be allowed to transition, but Trump refuses to allow it. The people in DHS who are breaking that law will get a pardon.
⋙ 🐣 Biden will be sworn in and become president, but he’ll have to spend much of his term trying to repair the damage. It remains to be seen how much the GOP will cooperate with him because Trump can get behind [the] primary challenger [of anyone] who steps out of line. Sad!

🐣 RT @prahme I don’t know if you are in Insta, but Neal Katyal’s breakdowns of where the legal stuff stands on a daily are fantastic https://instagram.com/tv/CHtvCYzHRJk/?igshid=f8h10dnnojy3…
⋙ 🐣 It turns out I had set up an account a long time ago. Yes, I love @Neal_Katyal. He’d make a great AG. The problem is there are still going to be 30% who Trump will now be able to convince [the courts] are part of the “deep state.” He’s even messaged his appointees on Scotus to stick w him.

⭕ 18 Nov 2020

😅 RT @Alyssa_Milano Trump’s concession speech. #TransitionNow #EmilyDoYourJob 💽 https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/1329261615120670723?s=20/photo/1

WaPo, Philip Bump: What the fired director of federal cybersecurity actually said about the election http://wapo.st/35Odok9 What Chris Krebs “said” was actually a statement put out by two working groups made of numerous officials in fed, state and outside agencies

🐣 RT @McFaul 2 weeks after losing the election, Trump continues to deliver for Putin. No greater gift the outgoing incumbent could deliver to Putin than delegitimizing our democracy by failing to recognize the results.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews “That’s how you delegitimize a nation.” ¤ Discrediting the crown jewel of Western democracy remains one of Russia’s top priorities—& while he failed to come through on other fronts, Trump delivered a parting gift above & beyond the Kremlin’s wildest dreams.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews While pro-Kremlin mouthpieces are in mourning over Joe Biden’s victory, they managed to make lemonade out of the shriveled lemons of Trump’s waning presidency, by claiming that at least half of America is now disappointed in the country’s electoral system. https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1325157225887801344?s=20

🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “If you take out [Chris Krebs] and the number two guy resigns, now you’ve got no leadership at the helm to stop the propaganda that people are buying into that this whole election was rigged” – @FrankFigliuzzi1 w/ @NicolleDWallace https://twitter.com/DeadlineWH/status/1329195585489018881?s=20/photo/1

DailyBeast, Michael Tomasky: The Only Way for Biden to ‘Move the Country Forward’ Is To Hold Trump To Account for his Crimes http://bit.ly/35Juhw3
// No, the 45th president probably isn’t going to prison. But that doesn’t mean that the 46th president should just move on from the crimes his predecessor committed.

🔄💙 Track the Legal actions Dems are taking here 🔆❗️⋙: DemocracyDocket: 2020 Post-Election War Room http://bit.ly/2INeSSC

🐣 RT @MollyJongFast This is fucked up
⋙ 🐣 RT @aabramson “Rudy told people he was trying to get the legislatures to flip,” one source familiar says. “Rudy’s view of the world is if he does a good enough job inflaming the results, Pennsylvania won’t certify, Wisconsin won’t certify”
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @aabramson This is viewed as “ludicrous” among dems, gop, and election law experts. But that seems to be besides the point. If Rudy/Trump’s goal is to wreak havoc, its working.
⋙⋙⋙ TIME: ‘People will stop believing in the process.’ Why Donald Trump’s Legal Strategy Is Dangerous Even If It’s Likely to Fail http://bit.ly/35GZ0d6
⋙⋙ 🐣 🔆 This❗️⋙ AP (11/14): GOP leaders in 4 states quash dubious Trump bid on electors http://bit.ly/2UHvFcu “State GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors”

🐣 RT @BillKristol The lawsuits are idiotic and the lies embarrassing. But Trump’s getting much of what he wants. He’s still in charge of the GOP and he’s laying the groundwork to stay in charge. In a defeated Administration (e.g. 1992) that behaves normally, power ebbs away quickly. Not so here.

🐣 RT @ There you have it. Trump official told CNN the goal is to “set so many fires that it will be hard for the Biden administration to put them all out.” ¤ This is scorched earth foreign policy.
⋙ CNN: Trump team looks to box in Biden on foreign policy by lighting too many fires to put out http://cnn.it/3fgrk9p

It’s a strategy that radically breaks with past practice, could raise national security risks and will surely compound challenges for the Biden team — but it could also backfire. Analysts and people close to the Biden transition argue the Trump team may act so aggressively that reversing some of its steps will earn Biden easy goodwill points and negotiating power with adversaries.

🐣 RT @C_C_Krebs In defending democracy, do or do not, there is no try. This is the way. #Protect2020 @HamillHimself @PedroPascal1
⋙ 🐣 RT @HamillHimself Translation: The recent statement by Chris Krebs was highly accurate, in that there were no improprieties or fraud, confirmed by all credible 2020 Election officials sworn under oath to be truthful. Therefore, he has been terminated for refusing to lie for me, your #LiarInChief. [Att: Trump’s tweets firing Krebs:] https://twitter.com/C_C_Krebs/status/1328953421882413056?s=20

🐣 RT @girlsreallyrule Statement from @SpeakerPelosi on Trump’s decision to fire top election security official, Chris Krebs: Text Block: https://twitter.com/girlsreallyrule/status/1329018891281035269?s=20/photo/1

⭕ 17 Nov 2020

WaPo: In reversal, GOP officials in key Michigan county certify ballot count after striking a compromise with Democrats http://wapo.st/3kHG4iA State Democrats say Trump has no hope of overturning Biden’s 148,000-vote lead.

“If the state board follows suit, the Republican state legislator will select the electors. Huge win for @realDonaldTrump,” Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis tweeted Tuesday night after the initial Wayne County deadlock.

But experts said such a move would have been on shaky legal ground, and key GOP lawmakers have acknowledged Biden’s win and said they do not plan to attempt to intervene.

After the initial deadlock in Wayne County was met with an outpouring of condemnation, the board recessed Tuesday night and returned with a new agreement to certify the results, along with a request that the secretary of state’s office conduct a comprehensive audit of the vote tallies.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in an interview on CNN that “it appears that the truth won in this scenario.”

“The evidence is clear — there were no irregularities, there was no evidence of widespread fraud, and in fact there were simply minor clerical errors,” she said, adding: “So I think they did the right thing, they performed their duty, and they certified the election for the voters in Wayne County.”

On Fox News late Tuesday, Ellis decried the board’s change of heart as “mob rule.”

The reversal in Michigan came as the Trump campaign has faced a string of failures in its beleaguered effort to overturn the result of the election through the courts. In the latest defeat on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the campaign’s claim that GOP observers did not have sufficient access to the vote count, underscoring how the president’s claims of voting irregularities have repeatedly run aground before judges.

The argument marked Giuliani’s most direct involvement yet in Trump’s post-election litigation. A federal prosecutor during the 1980s, he won plaudits for securing convictions of major mob figures. But according to the federal court system’s public records system, he last entered an appearance in a federal case in 1992. In a text message, Giuliani estimated that it had been “four or five years” since he tried a case in court.

“Rudy is calling the shots, and we are following,” one senior Republican involved in the campaign said. “I wouldn’t have organized it this way, but that’s the way the president wants it.”

Referring to the withdrawal of former Trump attorneys in Pennsylvania, an official said, “Rudy wants to make arguments in court that other lawyers are not willing to make. It’s not that they weren’t willing to represent us. When they intersect with Rudy’s world, they don’t want to make those arguments that Rudy wants to make.”

One Republican lawyer close to the campaign said they too quickly jumped to accusations without proof of fraud and instead should have asked for examinations in states to glean evidence first. ¤ This Republican said the campaign also should have engaged higher-power lawyers earlier on, instead of hiring “TV show lawyers.” ¤ “The lawyers on the outside, none of them are supportive of the Rudy strategy,” this person said. “Rudy is not advancing the cause of the law.”

Reuters: U.S. Senate leader McConnell warns against troops quickly leaving Iraq or Afghanistan http://reut.rs/2UEDnE9

CISA Rumor Control: https://www.cisa.gov/rumorcontrol
// will likely be taken down soon

🐣 RT @suemgordon22 @CISAKrebs delivered for the Nation. With others across government and in the private sector, he built not only new capability, but strong foundation for the future. Proud to call him my colleague and friend. You did good, pal, and served your turn with honor and dignity.

🧵 RT @RepSlotkin Today the acting Sec. Def. announced a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan & Iraq. Whatever one’s views, making such a quick move without coordination with our NATO, Iraqi and Afghan allies, after so much blood has been shed, hurts us in both the short and long-term. 📌 https://twitter.com/RepSlotkin/status/1328882526425935872?s=20

🧵 RT @jimsciutto Mark Aronchick, who argued against Rudy Giuliani today in PA court, tells me tonight: “Giuliani was outrageous in the things he was saying. He called Philadephia election workers ‘a little mafia group’. Many things he said were not related to what the complaint actually said.” 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/jimsciutto/status/1328883102467371009?s=20

🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Trump fires top DHS official who refuted his claims that the election was rigged http://wapo.st/3lH2wde

🐣 RT @BillKristol I’m told DOD has been ordered to plan further troop withdrawals, from Somalia, South Korea and Germany. Trump is doing his best to weaken America, our friends, and allies on his way out the door.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TalhaMAwais Intervention is not the answer to everything, Mr. Warmonger.
⋙⋙ 🐣 Troops are in Germany and South Korea for stabilization, not intervention. Pulling troops out of Germany advantages Russia; pulling them out of SoKo opens them up for invasion by NoKo. Trump is breaking things in a tantrum.

🐣 RT @kylegriffin In the incoming Senate, Democratic senators will represent at least 20,314,962 more people than their Republican counterparts. If the two Georgia seats go to the Democrats, the Democratic half will represent 41,549,808 more people than the Republican half.
⋙ Vox, Ian Milhauser: America’s anti-democratic Senate, by the numbers http://bit.ly/36HHFjC
// 11/6/2020; If the United States chose its leaders in free and fair elections, Republicans would be firmly out of power.

🐣 RT @BillKristol It’s not just that the anti-mask, anti-distancing, anti-testing Republicans are wrong as a matter of public policy. It’s not even that they lack empathy for those who suffer. They relish their lack of empathy. They glory in their callousness. They are proud of their inhumanity.

⭕ 16 Nov 2020

💙 NYT Mag, Jonathan Mahler: Can America Restore the Rule of Law Without Prosecuting Trump? http://nyti.ms/3nzbyJK

✅ WaPo, Ann Gerhart and Tyler Remmel: Election results under attack: Here are the facts http://wapo.st/3kFKczI ‘The facts about prominent efforts to question the fairness and integrity of the election, as well as updates on litigation’
// A compilation of the misinformation, disinformation and many rejected legal challenges by the Trump campaign to try to overturn votes.

🐣 RT @EamonJavers Biden on Trump’s refusal to concede: “I find this more embarrassing for the country than debilitating for my ability to get started.”

💙 NYT, Frank Bruni: Was It Worth It, Jared and Ivanka? http://nyti.ms/3f3FVF8 “They are the Faustian poster couple of the Trump presidency, the king and queen of the principle-torching prom at which so many danced alongside them, although in less exquisitely tailored attire” ● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1328444315182505985?s=20/photo/1
// The glossiest grifters become Vuitton vagabonds.

They are Mitch McConnell after a makeover, Ted Cruz gone to charm school, Mike Pompeo with a more rigorous fitness regimen, Lindsey Graham with less time on the links. They are Mike Pence and Nikki Haley and scores of others in and out of office, so entranced by power, so enchanted by perks, so primed for future prizes that they junked values that they once supposedly held and downgraded decency to something ornamental, a sprig of parsley on a fish fillet.

🐣 RT @CSIS Falling confidence in vaccines is a U.S. national security risk. A new report recommends five urgent actions to bolster public acceptance for a Covid-19 vaccine. Learn more: http://cs.is/calltoaction.

WaPo: Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine found to be nearly 95 percent effective in a preliminary analysis http://wapo.st/35CxT2W This mRNA vaccine, co-developed with Dr Fauci’s NAIAD, does not require storage at hypercold temps like Pfizer’s

🐣 Updated my header photo and avatar. I had had an image of Stonehenge, feeling we were heading backwards. Now I am focused on science, beauty and optimism, but the scars remain. A brief respite as many more battles will come. ¤ ‘Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty.’

💙 TheAtlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg: Why Obama Fears for Our Democracy http://bit.ly/3lCsePX
// In an exclusive interview, the former president identifies the greatest threats to the American experiment, explains why he’s still hopeful, and opens up about his new book.

⭕ 15 Nov 2020

🐣 RT @McFaul If I were to become this delusional in the future, I would hope that my children would intervene, and help to reduce the embarrassment. cc @IvankaTrump .
⋙ 🐣 RT @real I WON THE ELECTION!
⋙ [Twitter:] (!) Official sources called this election differently

🐣 RT @KTharase This what one million looks like. ¤ Police estimate you pity party at 5 to 6 thousand. https://twitter.com/KTharase/status/1327689791752716288?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES They are disloyal Americans. They are sewing conspiracy theories and undermining the legitimacy of an election they know full well was won by Biden. There is no evidence of fraud. It is a con masquerading as an idiots coup. Nevertheless, it is poisonous for our Republic
🐣 RT @stuartpstevens Every Republican who hasn’t acknowledged the winner of 2020 election is hurting America. What’s wrong with these people? Are they not Americans?
⋙ 🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln It’s time for Republicans to put America first. 💽 https://twitter.com/stuartpstevens/status/1327607996776665089?s=20/photo/1
// The Lincoln Project ad❣

💙 🐣 RT @60Minutes “Our adversaries have seen us weakened, not just as a consequence of this election, but over the last several years. We have these cleavages in the body politic that they’re convinced they can exploit,” former President Obama tells Scott Pelley. https://cbsn.ws/3pvlshp

🐣 RT @AnandWrites I feel myself approaching a strange, thrilling milestone: I’m starting not to care about Donald Trump anymore. Not to be interested. Not to wonder about the latest thing. Not to retweet the recent tweet. Just not to care.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance I’ve been thinking that same thing all weekend and it’s absolutely tremendous. Trump is about to be irrelevant.

🐣 RT @Reuters WATCH: From Al Gore in 2000 to Hillary Clinton in 2016, here’s a look back at some historic presidential concession speeches 💽 https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1328175961670524930?s=20/photo/1

💙 WaPo: The federal government’s chief information security officer is helping an outside effort to hunt for alleged voter fraud http://wapo.st/3eZxwTe

🐣 RT @JohnBrennan Trump will never acknowledge he lost the election. Honesty & accepting reality are not in a despot’s DNA. ¤ Despite his tantrum, Inauguration Day will arrive, and President Biden & VP Harris will immediately restore dignity, competence, & honesty to the White House. ¤ Can’t wait.

🧵 RT @joshtpm On the @SWAtlasHoover front, there’s a fascinating story to be told that @Stanford and particularly the @HooverInst has been a hot spot of covid misinformation from basically the beginning of the pandemic. It’s not just Atlas. 📌 https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1328159514319867909?s=20
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @thehowie His last tweet, targeting the sitting Governor of Michigan said:
[‼️] “The only way this stops is if people rise up. ”
If he represents the President and is telling people to rise up against the Governor, that really is not a good look.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SWAtlasHoover Just to clarify the obvious.
US pandemic policy is:
Federally supported (massive resources, OWS, personnel, beds, logistics);
State managed; &
Locally implemented.
Want more mandates & lockdown? Contact your governor. That’s state controlled. Not federal. Period.
#Federalism

⭕ 14 Nov 2020

AP (11/14): GOP leaders in 4 states quash dubious Trump bid on electors http://bit.ly/2UHvFcu “State GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors”

💙 WaPo, David Boies and Theodore B Olson: We opposed each other in Bush v. Gore. Now we agree: Biden won. http://wapo.st/3kAD4oe “The nation’s laws and shared values dictate that Americans now unite to support democracy, national security, [and) public trust in institutions…”

WaPo: Trump greets hundreds of supporters in D.C. to falsely claim he won election http://wapo.st/2IuDvnk

⭕ 13 Nov 2020

WaPo (11/13): The votes that won Joe Biden the presidency http://wapo.st/36LFVFX “Flipping just a little more than 81,139 votes in four states would have changed the winner of this election” ~ even though Biden won the popular vote by almost 6 million and counting ● /photo/1
// 6M is from today (7/17); Americans cast a historic number of votes in the presidential election. A handful of them gave Democrats the edge.

🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln It’s time for Republicans to put America first. 💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1327370658712608769?s=20/photo/1
// The Lincoln Project ad❣ America First

🐣 RT @ChrisAlbertoLaw I’m sorry, I love this clip of John F Kennedy, so I’m posting it again not only for its content but also to show that our faith in democracy producing the best leaders is well-founded. 💽 https://twitter.com/ChrisAlbertoLaw/status/1327321078369308673?s=20/photo/1
// JFK on the role of the free press

NYT: Federal Prosecutors Push Back on Barr Memo on Voter Fraud Claims http://nyti.ms/35zo6KV
// The prosecutors, assigned to monitor this month’s elections, said they had found no evidence to back any “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities.

CNN: John Kelly blasts Trump for not helping with the transition: ‘The downside to not doing so could be catastrophic’ http://cnn.it/36zm5hl

WaPo: More than 130 Secret Service officers are said to be infected with coronavirus or quarantining in wake of Trump’s campaign travel http://wapo.st/2Iuq9qF //➔ Trump Really Doesn’t Care. Do U?

⭕ 12 Nov 2020

🐣 RT @BradBeauregardJ There’s nothing grand about the GOP, they’re the party of Authoritarianism now. The Republicans represent the top 1% and the only way they can stay in power is through voter suppression and attacking our Democracy. ¤ Watch @mehdirhasan @chrislhayes & @JRubinBlogger break it down 💽 https://twitter.com/BradBeauregardJ/status/1327115680148303874?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 ◕ RT @BradBeauregardJ This is the graph from the video above that shows how rapidly the Republican Party is sliding towards Authoritarianism. It’s nothing new for Mitch McConnell and his ilk, but it’s happening at an alarming rate with Trump https://twitter.com/BradBeauregardJ/status/1327126110979706883?s=20/photo/1
// Source V-Dem Institute; WaPo
⋙ 🐣 RT @BradBeauregardJ This is the article from @_cingraham that they discussed in the video ¤ The article covers the GOP’s rapid shift towards Authoritarianism, specifically the 2 Republican Senators from Georgia who need to be defeated on 1/5/2021
💙 ⋙⋙ WaPo, Christopher Ingraham: GOP leaders’ embrace of Trump’s refusal to concede fits pattern of rising authoritarianism, data shows http://wapo.st/3ppgpyT
// Research by a team of international scholars shows the Republican Party’s shift away from democratic norms predates Donald Trump but has accelerated since
⋙⋙⋙ (V-DemInstitute: New Global Data on Political Parties: V-Party) ⇊ http://bit.ly/2IzfFWS ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1327142536473956354?s=20/photo/1

Now, according to data released by an international team of political scientists just before the Nov. 3 election, it’s possible to quantify the extent to which the Republican Party no longer adheres to such principles as the commitment to free and fair elections with multiple parties, the respectful treatment of political opponents and the avoidance of violent rhetoric.

“The Republican Party in the U.S. has retreated from upholding democratic norms in recent years,” said Anna Lührmann, a political scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and a former member of the German parliament. “Its rhetoric is closer to authoritarian parties, such as AKP in Turkey and Fidesz in Hungary.”

↥ ↧
⋙ 🐣 RT @prahme I’ve had a different opinion about Trump Congressional sycophants (sickelephants)when people say what has he done to them-I think it’s reversed-they are using him, milking him for all he’s worth politically to increase their fascist base of power to use the minute he’s gone…
⋙⋙ 🐣 I think it started under Gingrich which is when they realized they couldn’t win on policies, so they started to lie and use “truthy” language. Of course, before that, Nixon’s Southern Strategy set the dominoes up for people to self-sort.
⋙⋙ 🐣 Then Fox and talk radio created echo chambers that were then weaponized by the Internet. Trump was gasoline thrown onto a smoldering fire, just waiting. I hope Biden will be more than a brief interlude in the craziness and vitriol.

🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @MSNBC BREAKING: Joe Biden wins Arizona, NBC News projects. https://on.msnbc.com/3eSYnAe2UpzbrQ
// For years, we’ve been living inside a story defined by Donald Trump’s reality-TV worldview. America finally changed the channel.

🐣 RT @BillKristol “In WI counties where RVAT spent the most Trump underperformed Republican House candidates by 7 points. In PA counties where RVAT spent the most Trump underperformed Republican House candidates by 5 points. Those are decisive margins in such close states.”
⋙ WaPo: Never Trumpers played a critical role in beating him. The numbers prove it. http://wapo.st/3pp0JM3

NYT: Election Officials Directly Contradict Trump on Voting System Fraud http://nyti.ms/2GViilt
// A group of federal, state and local officials working with a Department of Homeland Security agency declared flatly that the election was the most secure in the nation’s history.

WaPo: As Trump stews over election, he mostly ignores the public duties of the presidency http://wapo.st/36zyIcb //➔ what was that thing they said about Nero? 🎻
// He has been mostly absent from view, focused on purging disloyal aides and tweeting grievances and misinformation even as the pandemic rages.

🐣 RT @PeterHotez In my 40 yrs as a physician-scientist committed to halting neglected diseases I’ve visited nations where “life is cheap”, it’s horrifying to witness it firsthand. I never envisioned this could happen in USA where now fake ideologies pseudoscience take precedence over human life

📊 WaPo: Exit poll results and analysis for the 2020 presidential election (preliminary) http://wapo.st/36tgsRL ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1327070879650615297?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @FranklinFoer I’ve tracked DHS’s election efforts. They were heroic. Without any real money or new authority, they bolstered the safety of election infrastructure markedly and made local officials sharper. Of course, Trump is now rewarding their efforts by pushing their leaders out the door.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JakeTapper Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees: ¤ “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.“
⋙⋙ CISA: Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees http://bit.ly/3nhzlOg

🐣 RT @jaketapper “Oh this national security official just told the truth and didn’t kowtow to the president pushing a deranged & debunked conspiracy theory, sure hope he doesn’t get fired for it!” is not something people should find themselves saying in the US of A and yet… here we are

💙💙🧵 RT @ifindkarma How will history remember Trump? ¤ “The narrative that will become widely understood is that Donald Trump did not sit atop a global empire. He was not an intuitive genius and tough guy who created billions of dollars of wealth through fearlessness. He had a small, sad operation…” 📌 https://twitter.com/ifindkarma/status/985647147545538560?s=20
// mega MEGA thread of videos etc starting in 2018 by Adam Rifkin ~ fan favorites

⭕ 11 Nov 2020

WaPo, John Bolton: Time is running out for Trump — and Republicans who coddle him http://wapo.st/3pqseES “[A]ny aggrieved candidate must at some point produce valid legal arguments and persuasive evidence. Trump has so far failed to do so, and there is no indication he can”

🐣 There’s a movie about @RonaldKlain: HBO’s “Recount.” He’s played by Kevin Spacey. Klain spear-headed the Gore campaign during the 2000 Recount. The movie won a ton of Emmys. ¤ And if you’re into @NicolleDWallace or @SteveSchmidtSES, they’re major characters in “Game Change”

🐣 RT @marceelias The day ends as it began, with Trump still searching for his first court victory. He and his allies remain 0-12. 🙃 ¤ Goodnight. 😴

🐣 RT @davidplouffe Arizona done. Recounts don’t erase 14K vote leads. So Georgia will be too. 306 EV, most Presidential votes ever and 5-6 pt national vote lead when all is said and done. Well done @JoeBiden, @KamalaHarris and @jomalleydillon.

🐣 RT @sebgorka These men have utterly failed in their duty to America and our chief law enforcement officer, @realDonaldTrump. ¤ Time for @POTUS to declassify ALL Crossfire Hurricane documents. ¤ NOW.
// photos of Durham and Barr
⋙ 🐣 and to think *certain people* still think Hillary should be “locked up” over three (3) c-word “confidential” (the lowest level of classified) emails

WSJ, Karl Kove (‼️): This Election Result Won’t Be Overturned http://on.wsj.com/32B9vgk
// Recounts occasionally change margins in the hundreds, never in the tens of thousands.

🧵 RT @BillKristol Short thread. FWIW, my takeaway from conversations last night with recent DOD senior officials:
1) DOD under Esper has pushed back more than many people realize against many Trump ideas, ranging from use of troops here at home, to Afghan withdrawal, to military options re Iran. 📌 https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1326526284625743872?s=20
4) A sign of the loyalty-oath atmosphere now at DOD: When Jim Anderson was fired yesterday as Acting Under Secretary for Policy, he was given a “clap-out” as he left the building. The WH called to request names of any political appointees who joined in so they could be fired. END
↥ ↧
🧵 RT @BillKristol Another thread. More on DOD, based on further conversations with well-informed former Trump officials:
1. NSA Robert O’Brien also key; he urged removal of Esper, putting in Miller and Patel.
2. Having total loyalists not just at Sec Def but at DOD Policy and Intel is a big deal.
📌 https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/1326536862765252613?s=20

🧵 RT @thedailybeast NEW: President Trump continues to refuse to cede the election. His national security adviser Robert O’Brien is enabling the mayhem, four senior officials told The Daily Beast. 📌 https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1326700251302998016?s=20
⋙⋙ DailyBeast: Trump’s National Security Adviser Tells Staff: Don’t Even Mention Biden’s Name http://bit.ly/36qa79D
// No one around Trump is willing to tell him he lost the election. Into the “fucking clown show” stepped Robert O’Brien.

🧵 RT @SteveSchmidtSES The Trump Coup rolls on. Fueled by Trump’s brittle ego, idiocy, malice and the political cowardice of most all elected Republicans, this sad spectacle seems like the perfect ending to the reality show Presidency. It feels more like “Moon over Parador” than any type of real 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1326652663979765761?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @karinanniebell But friends in Europe and other expats are warning that from the outside looking in, we’re missing the really important pieces of the landscape that suggest we are facing a soft, slow roll coup, and we’re not prepared. My inbox is blowing up with warnings about what they see.

DailyBeast: Infamous MAGA Figures Rush Into Purged Pentagon http://bit.ly/38FIf4d
// The senior Defense Department leadership now includes aides to Mike Flynn and Devin Nunes, as well as someone who called Barack Obama a “terrorist leader.”

🐣 RT @RonaldKlain I’ve seen so many kind wishes tonight on this website. Thank you – and I’m sorry I can’t reply to each of you. ¤ I’m honored by the President-elect’s confidence and will give my all to lead a talented and diverse team in a Biden-Harris WH.
// will be Biden’s Chief of Staff

🐣 RT @Kasparov63 Everything must be done to keep as many people in the community of shared truth and shared sacrifice. This is why Biden’s message of unity is crucial, even if rejected by most GOP. Society cannot survive too much fragmentation, which is what Putin is betting on.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Kasparov63 A unity message also rejected by many on the left, btw, and unwisely so. You do not have to have empathy for those who hate you, but you have to recognize their humanity and the need for their participation in society or there will be no society.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Kasparov63 But you can never make peace with extremists who would destroy you and your society, who would bring down the institutions that protect all. Reducing their number is paramount, and it can only be done by breaking through the walls they have built against truth.

🐣 RT @TheRickWilson They did. You lost. You’re leaving. It’s all over but the weeping.
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Nobody wants to report that Pennsylvania and Michigan didn’t allow our Poll Watchers and/or Vote Observers to Watch or Observe. This is responsible for hundreds of thousands of votes that should not be allowed to count. Therefore, I easily win both states. Report the News!
// Trump tweet flagged by Twitter

WaPo, Kathleen Parker: Be very afraid of a post-defeat Trump http://wapo.st/3llo4fm

🐣 RT @McFaul Yes.
⋙ 🐣 RT @mgalyan @McFaul You think we’ll get a peaceful transition?

⭕ 10 Nov 2020

💙 WaPo Mag, David Montgomery (11/10): The Abnormal Presidency http://wapo.st/2KdtQSF
// Trump dramatically changed the presidency. Here’s a list of the 20 most important norms he broke — and how Biden can restore them.

Politico: ‘Devastating’: Top Pentagon leadership gutted as fears rise over national security http://politi.co/3eOzCoN
// Trio of resignations follow defense secretary’s firing.

WaPo: Why GOP superlawyer Ben Ginsberg is bucking his party and blasting Trump’s baseless election claims http://wapo.st/3kmszox

🧵 RT @jennycohn1 Rs blocked efforts 2 assess the legitimacy of their own “wins” (2000, 2002, 2004, 2016), many of which defied polls or involved glitches. They killed the #SAFEAct, which wld have required robust manual audits this year. Rs have unclean hands on the issue of election integrity. 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/jennycohn1/status/1326356331054342145?s=20
// tags: history of GOP on election recounts election integrity

NYT: The Times Called Officials in Every State: No Evidence of Voter Fraud http://nyti.ms/3kkT9yq
// The president and his allies have baselessly claimed that rampant voter fraud stole victory from him. Officials contacted by The Times said that there were no irregularities that affected the outcome.

🧵 RT @TimothyDSnyder 1/20. Democracy is precious and exceptional. 📌 https://twitter.com/TimothyDSnyder/status/1326319545427107840?s=20

🐣 RT @AndrewSolender New @Reuters/@Ipsos poll of 1,363 U.S. adults (Nov. 7-10):
Who won the 2020 election?
Biden – 79%
Trump – 3%
Not yet decided – 13%
72% say the loser should concede defeat, 60% believe there will be a peaceful transition.
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @WWIPhD ~6 in 10 Republicans said Trump had lost. Only 3% of all respondents said that Trump had won.
⋙ Reuters/Ipsos Poll: Nearly 80% of Americans say Biden won White House, ignoring Trump’s refusal to concede http://reut.rs/38tE6zZ “[A]bout six in 10 Republicans and almost every Democrat said Biden won”

💙 DailyBeast, Rick Wilson: Trump’s Final Hissy Fit Is Petty, Illegal and Stupid http://bit.ly/3llxqaH
//. Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States. We’re done. It’s all over but the weeping and rending of MAGA garments.

DailyBeast, Julia Davis: ‘Milk Him Like a Cow’: Russian State Media Mulls How to Take Advantage of Trump Before He’s Gone http://bit.ly/3phqMVu
// Russian lawmakers want Putin to take advantage of Trump in the remaining weeks he’s in office.

🐣 RT @AVindman In the last 24 hours, the Secretary of Defense (SecDef), the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD-P), and the Under Secretary of Defense for Intell (OUSD-I) have been sacked. Trump loyalist now sit in the 1, 3, and 4 slots at DOD. Kash Patel is DOD Chief of Staff. Why?
⋙ 🚫 🐣 RT @DickesonPeter 45 expects massive protests when he makes his grab to stay in power. He needs people in the DoD who will put troops on the streets to crush protests, something Esper didn’t want to do. The US military chiefs need to decide right now, whose side their on, The People or 45?
⋙ 🚫 🐣 RT @thedawnwestlake According to @JuliaDavisNews, Russian State TV is demanding “the cow be milked” before he leaves (the cow being trump), so those folks are being installed to spy/communicate/steal defense secrets? Meanwhile, Gina Haspel was in @senatemajldr’s office this afternoon. WHY?

🧵 RT @atrupar .@ChrisMurphyCT: “There’s an epidemic of delusion that is spreading out from the WH & infecting the entire Republican Party in the wake of this election, & it presents a real threat to this country. Trump didn’t win the election. Every single one of my colleagues knows this.” 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1326267249372618757?s=20
// Chris Murphy floor speech

🐣 RT @jaketapper The WH is firing top leaders at the Pentagon while the president denies the election results
⋙ 🐣 RT @JenGriffinFNC US defense official confirms: chief of staff Jen Stewart replaced by Kash Patel, a former Devin Nunes staffer who worked to discredit the Russia investigation. Also out, Vice Admiral Joseph Kernan, ret Navy SEAL who was Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.

🐣 RT @ezraklein Biden’s discipline and tonal control through this whole thing has been extraordinary. ¤ Or maybe the better word is: presidential. https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1326261433458331649?s=20

🧵 RT @atrupar Biden downplays Trump refusing to concede: “I’m confident that the fact they’re not willing to acknowledge we won at this point is not of much consequence in our planning and what we’re able to do.” 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1326250434923802626?s=20
// Biden presser Q&A

🐣 Stay off the streets people. Trump is staffing up to invoke the Insurrection Act. ¤ We’re winning. Victory is inevitable if we keep our cool.

🐣 RT @joshtpm As his presidency dies, Trump is stocking the staffers most involved in the Ukraine extortion effort and the Nunes ‘unmasking’ nonsense into key positions in the intel and defense infrastructure. some he’s reclassifying as career officials to make them harder to fire. https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1326255828828041216?s=20

🐣 RT @BillKristol Be alarmed.
⋙ 🧵 RT @John_Hudson Pompeo just now: “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” 📌 https://twitter.com/John_Hudson/status/1326225961738772491?s=20

NBCNews: DOJ’s election crimes chief resigns after Barr allows prosecutors to probe voter fraud claims http://nbcnews.to/2JQK2sB
// Barr on Monday issued a memo authorizing prosecutors “to pursue substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities prior to the certification of elections.”

Richard Pilger, who was director of the Election Crimes Branch of the DOJ, sent a memo to colleagues that suggested his resignation was linked to Barr’s memo, which was issued as the president’s legal team mount baseless legal challenges to the election results, alleging widespread voter fraud cost him the race.

“Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications, and in accord with the best tradition of the John C. Keeney Award for Exceptional Integrity and Professionalism (my most cherished Departmental recognition), I must regretfully resign from my role as Director of the Election Crimes Branch,” Pilger’s letter said, according to a copy obtained by NBC News.

⭕ 9 Nov 2020

🐣 RT @ChrisMurphyCT This is simple: my colleagues don’t think they can win if the vote is fair. They need a stooge to run the special election or they are in big trouble.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kyledcheney LOEFFLER and PERDUE jointly attack the Republican secretary of state in Georgia. Text Block: https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1325892732355817473?s=20/photo/1
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @kyledcheney Georgia’s secretary of state rejects the attacks, says election was a “resounding success” and that even if “illegal votes” are uncovered, they won’t be enough to change the results.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @bluestein The response from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger: “Let me start by saying that is not going to happen. The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me.” #gapol Text Block: https://twitter.com/bluestein/status/1325910990735740928?s=20/photo/1-3

TheBulwark, Bill Kristol: Be Alarmed http://bit.ly/35djhXt
// Things are probably going to work out okay. But complacency in the defense of democracy is not a virtue.

🐣 RT @RVAT2020 Trump is acting contrary to basic Republican constitutional values and threatening the integrity of the election – @AmbJohnBolton 💽 https://twitter.com/RVAT2020/status/1325986200264585216?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @EJDionne Republicans are fostering cynicism about the constitutional order on a massive scale. They are stumbling toward sedition.” ¤ Great column from @MJGerson in which he also accuses the GOP of “bad faith and poltroonery.” ¤ Wonderful word: poltroonery.
⋙ WaPo: The election is over, but there’s no end to Republican bad faith http://wapo.st/3khI1lP

🐣 RT @BradMossEsq Lawyers Sound the Alarm as ‘Off the Rails’ AG Barr Caters to President Trump’s Baseless Fraud Narrative: ‘A Straightforward Abuse of Power’
⋙ Law&Crime, Matt Naham: Lawyers Sound the Alarm as ‘Off the Rails’ AG Barr Caters to President Trump’s Baseless Fraud Narrative: ‘A Straightforward Abuse of Power’ http://bit.ly/2Uf3ZuY

🐣 RT @AshaRangappa_ I also suspect that there is some reflexive control going on: To get people “protesting in the streets” in order to validate their narrative that this is close call and a toss-up. (There’s a time for protest, it’s not now — these challenges won’t make it through the courts)

🐣 RT @LincolnsBible We’re entering the ugly part. ¤ Hang on.

🐣 RT @brhodes It’s pathetic and doomed to fail, but we shouldn’t ignore or forget that much of the Republican Party is publicly advocating overturning the will and votes of the people based on false conspiracy theories and fealty to an autocrat. This is no different from Belarus.

🐣 RT @neal_katyal Even Bill “Teargas” Barr can’t stop the truth. It’s over.
⋙ 🐣 RT @jaketapper Sen. Ben Sasse congratulates President-elect Joe Biden on his win | Politics | http://omaha.com http://bit.ly/2UhDtkF

WaPo: Facebook takes down a large network of pages tied to Stephen Bannon for pushing misinformation http://wapo.st/3kiGXOu
// The pages, which pushed the ‘Stop the Steal’ effort and other misleading messages, were removed over the weekend, while the former top Trump strategist’s account was frozen

🐣 RT @ezraklein If we saw the head of the ruling regime, and his party, react to the election results this way in any other country, we’d know exactly what we are looking at. ¤ And I’d say here, too, it’s time to be honest and say we know exactly what we are looking at.
⋙ Vox, Ezra Klein (11/7): Trump is attempting a coup in plain sight http://bit.ly/36oNbaV
// How do we cover it when it’s happening here?

🐣 RT @karoli Stop being doom and gloomy. We knew the next 2 months were going to suck. It’s all sound and fury, signifying nothing. Mail in ballots are perfectly legal.

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote Shocking yet unsurprising. There is no evidence of voting irregularities. Also, Barr, be careful what you ask for. Someone might look into how republicans senators in Kentucky, Maine, and South Carolina won their elections.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JonLemireWASHINGTON (AP) — Barr authorizes DOJ to probe ‘substantial allegations’ of voting irregularities despite little evidence of fraud.
⇈ ⇊
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom So now we know what that homunculus was up to
‼️ 🐣 RT @MCJalonick WASHINGTON (AP) _ Barr authorizes DOJ to probe ‘substantial allegations’ of voting irregularities despite little evidence of fraud

🐣 RT @SykesCharlie “By refusing to concede, Trump is establishing yet another loyalty test for Republicans, yet another gangland initiation rite. And so far, Republicans are lining up to demonstrate just how loyal they can be.” –@JVLast
⋙ TheBulbark, Jonathan Last: The Warning Lights Are Still Flashing Red http://bit.ly/3n3DW6o
// It’s the day after tomorrow, finally.

MSN/Reuters, Makini Brice and Jan Wolfe: Citizen Trump will face legal woes http://bit.ly/3eHNjpy

NYT: Growing Discomfort at Law Firms Representing Trump in Election Lawsuits http://nyti.ms/3ljhrKn
// Some lawyers at Jones Day and Porter Wright, which have filed suits about the 2020 vote, said they were worried about undermining the electoral system.

🐣 RT @vemontgmg We are watching the Republican Party willingly burn the trust and legitimacy of our democratic system to the ground to avoid hurting the feelings of the president who just lost, badly. This damage will be hard to undo.

Stars&Stripes/Bloomberg: A look at who is being mentioned for top posts in a Biden administration http://bit.ly/3eJFoIm

🐣 RT @anneapplebaum Former Supreme Allied Commander, Nato
⋙ 🐣 RT @stavridisj If Trump moves on to fire the head of the CIA and the head of the FBI, both true professionals and patriots, we are going to be in uncharted waters for the next 90 days. It all has terrible “burn it down” on the way out feeling. It is playing with fire with our nations security

🐣 RT @swingleft Trump got mad at Mark Esper because he opposed using US troops to attack protesters (which Trump did for a photo op). ¤ Christopher Miller refused to answer whether counterterrorism resources would be used on U.S. protesters. https://twitter.com/swingleft/status/1325865454510944256?s=20

🐣 RT @sbg1 The kicker to this Esper interview is chilling. ¤ ‘Who’s going to come in behind me? It’s going to be a real ‘yes’ man. And then God help us.’
⋙ MilitaryTimes: Exclusive: Esper, on his way out, says he was no yes man http://bit.ly/35bAnVI

🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @Acosta Trump has fired the Secretary of Defense.

NYT: Pfizer’s Early Data Shows Vaccine Is More Than 90% Effective http://nyti.ms/3eF9Bs5 “By the end of the year it will have manufactured enough doses to immunize 15 to 20 million people, company executives have said”
// Pfizer announced positive early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, cementing the lead in a frenzied global race that has unfolded at record-breaking speed.

⭕ 8 Nov 2020

‼️ 💙 🧵 RT @DavidManel THREAD: I’m still very interested in Trump’s remarkable success in Miami-Dade and Rio Grande Valley/Texas border. The explanations given in the press… 📌 https://twitter.com/DavidManel/status/1325631543021359105?s=20
⋙ […] 🐣 RT @ Before the election, Kellyanne Conway was quoted as saying: “The person who coined the term, ‘hidden, undercover Trump voter in 2016,’ there are even more of them, and they’re even more committed now, and they’re going to surprise you as to who they are this time.”

WaPo: A little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn’t budging http://wapo.st/2IiKGhX “‘No agency head is going to get out in front of the president on transition issues right now,’ said one senior administration official”

🐣 RT @60Minutes “Donald Trump can say whatever he wants. But we just had an election, an election that was secure, an election where the votes were tallied,” says PA’s Democratic AG Josh Shapiro, who’s defending the state against Republican lawsuits he calls frivolous. https://cbsn.ws/3n6mFcO

WaPo: Trump continues to defy election results as world and some in GOP begin to move on http://wapo.st/358iPKf “Trump has told others that he is never going to admit that he lost the race”

🐣 RT @blakehounshell The AP has been calling races since 1848
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Since when does the Lamestream Media call who our next president will be? We have all learned a lot in the last two weeks!

🐣 RT @WSJ “The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear,” former President George W. Bush said in a statement from Dallas
⋙ WSJ: George W. Bush Congratulates Joe Biden http://on.wsj.com/3n52EU1
// Former President George W. Bush said Sunday he had spoken to President-elect Joe Biden. “I extended my warm congratulations and thanked him for the patriotic message he delivered last night”

Former President George W. Bush said Sunday he had spoken to President-elect Joe Biden. ¤ “I extended my warm congratulations and thanked him for the patriotic message he delivered last night,” Mr. Bush said in a statement from Dallas. “I also called Kamala Harris to congratulate her on her historic election to the vice presidency.”

“Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unity our country,” Mr. Bush said. “The president-elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat, he will govern for all Americans. I offered him the same thing I offered Presidents Trump and Obama: my prayers for his success, and my pledge to help in any way I can.”

“I want to congratulate President Trump and his supporters on a hard-fought campaign.” the former president added. “He earned the votes of more than 70 million Americans–an extraordinary political achievement. They have spoken and their voices will continue to be heard through elected Republicans at every level of government.”

Mr. Bush expressed confidence in the ballot-counting process that the Trump campaign is challenging in several closely fought states. “President Trump has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, and any unresolved issues will be properly adjudicated,” he said. “The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear.”

“We must come together for the sake of our families and neighbors, and for our nation and its future,” Mr. Bush said. “There is no problem that will not yield to the gathered will of a free people.”

🐣 RT @BarackObama Congratulations to my friends, @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris — our next President and Vice President of the United States. Text Block: https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1325136780396437507?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @MalcolmNance We did.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TravisAllen02 The crowds would make you think the US just overthrew a dictator.

🐣 RT @ktumulty Editorial In the Murdoch-owned @nypost implores Trump: “It undermines faith in democracy, and faith in the nation, to push baseless conspiracies. Get Rudy Giuliani off TV. Ask for the recounts you are entitled to, wish Biden well, and look to the future.”
⋙ NYPost Editorial: President Trump, your legacy is secure — stop the ‘stolen election’ rhetoric http://bit.ly/2JIWkmJ

🐣 RT @Transition46 The President-elect spoke with former President Bush this morning.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TheBushCenter Statement by President George W. Bush: Text Block: https://twitter.com/TheBushCenter/status/1325492912122114050?s=20/photo/1
⋙⋙ BushCenter: Statement by President George W. Bush http://bit.ly/2U64t6H
// President Bush congratulates President-elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris

⭕ 7 Nov 2020

Politico: Inside Donald Trump’s 2020 undoing http://politi.co/2IbpryZ
// How Biden prevailed and Trump fell short in an unforgettable election, according to conversations with 75 insiders.

🐣 RT @TheRickyDavila If you missed the awesome drone fireworks display, here it is, enjoy. 💽 https://twitter.com/TheRickyDavila/status/1325298618492874754?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @PreetBharara I had to explain to my kids just now that this is not the normal level of celebration after an election in America
⋙ 🐣 RT @marija24 My mom called me from Serbia and said: “You’re celebrating like we did in 2000 when we overthrew Milosevic’s regime”. ¤ Those who survived autocracy and dictatorship know what it feels like when somebody else does.

😅 RT @H_MitchellPhoto Rudy Giuliani accidentally booking Four Seasons Total Landscaping for a press conference instead of the Four Seasons Hotel may be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. https://twitter.com/H_MitchellPhoto/status/1325281257346002945?s=20/photo/1
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @JohnFellinBmore Great location. It’s the best location. Best location for any press conference. No other President has had this location. I’m the first. Me. I have that location. Big news coming. Big news. The country is doing better than ever. I did that. Great, great location. https://twitter.com/JohnFellInBMore/status/1325161460444524544?s=20/photo/1-3
// 1. landscaping, 2. adult book store, 3. cremation services

🐣 RT @HarryAlford3 This is how Ireland ended its newscast tonight 💽 https://twitter.com/HarryAlford3/status/1325220150497464320?s=20/photo/1
// video montage with voiceover of Biden reading Seamus Heaney

🐣 RT @telesurenglish President-Elect of the United States Joe Biden addressed the nation with a message of unity. ¤ Watch the full speech here: 💽 https://youtu.be/QDrsGSiK1YY

🐣 RT @tedlieu On Eagle’s Wings has lifted me and many others during our low moments. You can tell when a @POTUS actually believes in God. As a Catholic, I’m so proud @JoeBiden will be the second Catholic in our history to sit behind the Resolute Desk.
⋙ 🐣 RT @HeidiNBC On Eagle’s Wings is a Catholic hymn
“And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of his hand.”

🐣 RT @ScottMStedman Not lost on me is the moment of embrace between Hunter Biden and his father. The dude has some horrible demons but the attacks they levied against father and son should go down as some of the most disgraceful acts of political malfeasance in US history. https://twitter.com/ScottMStedman/status/1325257492851380224?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @FaceTheNation In the midst of the ongoing and devastating #coronavirus pandemic, @joebiden tells supporters: “This is a time to heal in America.” @NorahODonnell reflects on Biden’s appeal for unity in the wake of #Election2020 💽 https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1325267708615798787?s=20/photo/1
// Biden Victory Celebration; fireworks and mini-drones

🐣 RT @joshtpm Coming back from golf to see the city awash in celebrations https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1325198750931775488?s=20/photo/1
// Trump, scowling

🐣 RT @RegSprecher Kanzlerin #Merkel gratuliert @JoeBiden und @KamalaHarris. https://twitter.com/RegSprecher/status/1325135945977405445?s=20/photo/1

🧵 RT @EvanMcMullin A note to my fellow conservatives and Republicans: I hope you won’t view this electoral loss as setback, but rather as an opportunity to move forward and beyond the darkness of the last four years. https://twitter.com/EvanMcMullin/status/1325162695042068480?s=20

🐣 RT @HeaneyDaily
History says, don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.

🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa Congratulations to @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris! #Ukraine is optimistic about the future of the strategic partnership with the #UnitedStates. and have always collaborated on security, trade, investment, democracy, fight against corruption. Our friendship becomes only stronger!
↥ ↧
🧵 RT @NBCNews US allies send messages of congratulations to US President-elect Joe Biden and VP-elect Kamala Harris. 📌 https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1325144046839296001?s=20
// Macron, Johnson [UK], Trudeau, Kurz [Austria], Martin [Ireland], Stoltenberg [NATO], Kahn [London]

😅 RT @TheRealHoarse Just got in some fresh data since this morning:
– Cursing at the TV – down 78%
– Google searches for “moving to Canada” – down 65%
– Google searches for “Mooving to Kanadia” – up 82%

🐣 RT @aliaena BELLS ringing across PARIS!! ¤ 17h45 November 7, 2020 ¤ Biden/Harris ¤ The world has been watching. 💽 https://twitter.com/aliaena/status/1325121977917403139?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @mathieuvonrohr A tale of two @derspiegel covers https://twitter.com/mathieuvonrohr/status/1325133192341254144?s=20/photo/1-2
// Trump decapitates Statue of Liberty; Biden restores it (same artist)

🐣 RT @MittRomney Ann and I extend our congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. We know both of them as people of good will and admirable character. We pray that God may bless them in the days and years ahead.

🐣 RT @JohnBrennan President-elect Biden: ¤ Congratulations on your hard-fought victory. Your poise, professionalism, & patriotism have been in abundant evidence over the past several days, as they have been throughout your career. ¤ You are a good & wise man. ¤ Our country needs you. ¤ Thank you.

NBCNews: After Joe Biden win over Donald Trump, relief sweeps U.S.’s traditional allies http://nbcnews.to/357ResL
// We want to invest in our cooperation for a new transatlantic beginning, a new deal,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

🐣 RT @SpeakerPelosi We kept the republic! Congratulations to Joe Biden on his victory for the soul of our country. Congratulations to Kamala Harris for making history. It’s a time to heal and a time to grow together. E Pluribus Unum.

🐣 RT @BernieSanders I want to congratulate all those who worked so hard to make this historic day possible. Now, through our continued grassroots organizing, let us create a government that works for ALL and not the few. Let us create a nation built on justice, not greed and bigotry.

🐣 RT @AdamRifkin “There’s a humility to the randomness of tragedy that brings about caring that cannot be faked. Grief humbles you. In this moment our country needs a leader of humility. We are in pain. It gives us hope that Joe Biden is #ManOfTheMoment.” @ReallyAmerican1 💽 https://twitter.com/ifindkarma/status/1315069614691282944?s=20/photo/1

‼️ 🐣 RT @JoeBiden America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country. ¤ The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not. ¤ I will keep the faith that you have placed in me. 💽 https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1325118992785223682?s=20/photo/1
// 10:52am 11/7/2020

~~~~~~~~
🐣 My patience is running thin. CALL IT ‼️@AP @cnn @FoxNews @ABC @CBSNews @PBS @NPR @NBCNews @MSNBC @DecisionDeskHQ

🐣 RT @jmeacham Take a breath: President Biden would come to office with a pop vote % LARGER than Truman, JFK, Nixon, Clinton, Bush 43, and Trump. And roughly the same as Reagan, Bush 41, and Obama.

🐣 Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Rep Matt Gaetz both diagnosed w COVID-19 ~ @MSNBC
⋙ Couldn’t happen to a couple of more deserving guys

🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump [Meltdown]
[Twitter warning:] Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process. Learn more
// X4 ✛ ✛ ✛ ‼️

🐣 RT @MollyJongFast That New York Post cover is proof positive Rupert is done with Trump.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Azi Today’s tabs. https://twitter.com/Azi/status/1325076323107266560?s=20/photo/1-2
// NYDailyNews: “Come On, already”; NYPost: “Ready, Set … Joe?”

🐣 RT @BillKristol “After four years of turning a blind eye to the president’s rhetoric and behavior…the test for the GOP was whether it would accommodate the president’s rebellion against this country’s democratic norms or denounce it. The GOP has failed that test.”
⋙ Politico Mag: The Election That Broke the Republican Party http://politi.co/32lBctn
// By lashing themselves to the president’s desperate conspiracies of fraud, GOP officials have undermined their own legitimacy.

⭕ 6 Nov 2020

TheAtlantic, Anne Applebaum (11/6): Trump Won’t Accept Defeat. Ever. http://bit.ly/3pbWC69
// His forever campaign is just getting started.

🐣 🌎 RT @theglobalist How did Pennsylvania vote in 2020 compared to 2016? #UnitedStates #USElection2020 #Pennsylvania2020 https://twitter.com/theglobalist/status/1325512381951320064?s=20/photo/1

NPR: Trump Dumps 3 Agency Leaders In Wake Of Election http://n.pr/2IfAM0E including Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, a move criticized by GOP Senator Jim Inhofe who called her “an exemplary public servant”

Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a statement criticizing Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, who he said “effectively demanded” the resignation of Gordon-Hagerty. (The National Nuclear Security Administration is a semi-autonomous agency that is part of the Energy Department.)

Inhofe called Gordon-Hagerty “an exemplary public servant and remarkable leader” and said Brouillette’s decision “during this time of uncertainty demonstrates he doesn’t know what he’s doing in national security matters and shows a complete lack of respect for the semi-autonomous nature of NNSA.”

🐣 RT @real Incredibly stated Jim! 💽 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324927258679767042?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES Donald Trump has lost. He is defeated. He is attempting to poison American democracy and the nest of Republican cowards in the Senate and House are happy to let him do it.

⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES .@realDonaldTrump YOU HAVE LOST. IT IS OVER. YOUR ACTIONS IN THIS HOUR ARE A DISGRACE FOR THE AGES. IT WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES It is essential to understand what we are watching. (1) Joseph Robinette Biden of Delaware has been elected the President of the United States of America. (2) American democracy is under attack by the defeated President. (3) He is not acting alone. He is supported in his attack
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES by his White House and campaign staff. He is also supported by several Law firms. All of these people are complicit in the assault against American democracy. None of them should ever be forgiven. All of them should pay a brutal price for betraying the American ideal. (4) The
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES Elected leaders of the country have an absolute moral and constitutional obligation to defend the country from Trump’s authoritarian delusions and illiberal ravings. (5) There is no middle ground in this moment. (6) The American people have spoken.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES It is time for the Decision desks to call this race. Networks and other news organizations should not be intimidated from declaring reality. The Trump team has lost. It’s over. @ProjectLincoln . The threshold for calling these races has been met and then some.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES Goodbye @IvankaTrump. You will be loved by the people you disdain and disdained by the people you want to be loved by. There will never be a Met Ball for you again. You are fated to live out your years as an aging, corrupt, villainous Barbie; paying the price for what you did.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES Good Bye @DonaldJTrumpJr. Decency has been restored. Your father once worried about giving you his name because you might turn out to be a loser. Turns out it was the perfect name for you both. Trust me on this , your name will be synonymous with disgrace forever and ever.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES It is quite a thing to watch @mschlapp, a leading voice of American fascism and authoritarianism dress up his sedition in the cloak of American democracy. Yes, they have lost, but their extremism and insanity will deepen. @matthewjdowd
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES .@BillStepien History is watching. It’s time to talk to King Lear. Don’t be on the side of Trump’s coup. Leave Trump and his scumbag pack behind. You are a party guy who did a job. Trump lost. Sedition doesn’t suit you. Don’t do it @ProjectLincoln
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES Here is a piece of advice for the deflated White House Staffers. If you ever want to work for any institution other than the RNC, Breitbart, NY Post. Wash Examiner, Sinclair, OAN, RT ect.. write a letter of resignation, right now, on the basis of Trump’s remarks last night.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SteveSchmidtSES Every person who goes on Television saying Trump won an election he has lost is desecrating the sacrifice of every American Patriot from the birth of the Republic through today. The statements are an attempt to murder American democracy and end the American experiment.

💙 😅 🐣 RT @_gh0stn LMAOOO IM NEVER DELETING THIS APP 💽 https://twitter.com/_gh0stn/status/1324801623781122048?s=20/photo/1
// Biden w Obama other Dems as Superheroes battling Trump ~ Black Panther? All Votes Matter Mail-in ballots

🐣 RT @atrupar Is there a reason TV stations aren’t calling this race beyond that they don’t want to hurt Trump’s feelings?
⋙ 🐣 Acc to the guys at @msnbc, there are some new questions about the number and party of provisional ballots, ie they may be more Republican than mail-in ballots. ¤ Oh yeah ~ and that Supreme Court challenge

NBCNews: 2 men detained after police learn of possible threat to Philadelphia vote counting center http://nbcnews.to/355dSC0
// The FBI is investigating the possible threat.

WaPo, Max Boot: Thank goodness Trump is too incompetent to properly organize a coup http://wapo.st/3l4FX1S

🐣 RT @LaurieGarrett The placeholder is live. ¤ Many pages are ready to launch, as soon as @JoeBiden is declared the next President of the United States of America. ¤ Stay tuned here for transition team lists and plans:
⋙ 💙 🔄 Biden-Harris Transition Team Official Website https://buildbackbetter.com

NYT, Timothy Egan: American Democracy Survives Its Brush With Death http://nyti.ms/3euLYlW “The violent fringe on the left helped Mr. Trump. The violent fringe on the right, sadly, did not appear to hurt him”
// I’m badly shaken by what happened in this election.

… Democrats were done in by extreme voices that Mr. Trump was able to link to their party. Defunding the police will never be popular outside a few lefty precincts. The whiff of socialism helped kill Democrats in Florida. ¤ The violent fringe on the left helped Mr. Trump. The violent fringe on the right, sadly, did not appear to hurt him.

… A presidential candidate could win the popular vote by nearly five million votes, but depending on where those votes are cast, he or she could still lose in the archaic Electoral College, the fortress for the tyranny of the minority. Only once in the last 30 years have Republicans won the popular vote.

California, where nearly one in eight Americans live, with 53 members in the House, would have the same power as Wyoming, a state with a lone representative in the House and a declining population. ¤ The obvious flaw here — that the person who gets the most votes does not necessarily win — could be neutralized by the National Popular Vote Compact, in which all of a participating state’s electoral votes are pledged to the winner of the national popular vote. … [F]or now, it’s the best vehicle for bringing the American system closer to one that reflects the will of the people.

Ah, the will of people. Who knows what the hell that is. Yes, it’s karmic justice that three of the states pivotal in electing Mr. Trump — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — now look like three that will fire him. And for that slim majority, and the rest of us, may mourning in America soon turn to morning in America.

🐣 RT @clairecmc The Lt Gov of PA said this am that the segregated ballots (those arriving after Tuesday-today) have not been counted. If margin is big enough they won’t matter, and that closes off the only legal case with a whisper of merit.

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 Pennsylvania GOP Sen. Pat Toomey to NBC: “I saw the president’s speech last night. It was very hard to watch. The president’s allegations of large-scale fraud and theft of the election are just not substantiated. I’m not aware of any significant wrongdoing here.”

🐣 RT @BillKristol Every decent Republican elected official should speak up today against the lies, the conspiracy theories, and violence, and for counting every vote. But one person in particular who could make a difference and partly redeem himself after four years of bending the knee: VP Pence.

🚫🐣 RT @ KellyO Statement from the Trump campaign this morning. Text Block: https://twitter.com/KellyO/status/1324722227342880771?s=20/photo/1
// denial

🔆 This❗️⋙ 🐣 RT @Vox BREAKING: Joe Biden is projected to win the #2020Election, per Decision Desk. ¤ The former two-term vice president and 36-year Senate veteran will be the 46th president of the United States. https://twitter.com/voxdotcom/status/1324711652957315080?s=20/photo/1
⋙ Vox: Joe Biden has won. Here’s what comes next. http://bit.ly/2IepWYK
// Biden will have to overcome a surging pandemic, an economic crisis, and a hostile Republican Party.

🐣 RT @atrupar BOOM!
⋙ 🐣 RT @DecisionDeskHQ Decision Desk HQ projects that @JoeBiden has won Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral college votes for a total of 273. ¤ Joe Biden has been elected the 46th President of the United States of America. ¤ Race called at 11-06 08:50 AM EST
⋙ All Results: http://bit.ly/2JLXNZP

🐣 I’m hoping AP announces Biden win once PA results are clear. ¤ Then people of good will ~ not just Democrats but Republicans, too ~ call to congratulate him. ¤ That will get the message through to Trump.🤞

🐣 I expect Biden to be more Eisenhower than FDR.

🐣 Who comes up with phrases like “Defund the police,” anyway? It’s a shibboleth, intended to distinguish the “woke” from the rubes. People insist it doesn’t REALLY mean what it says, ie “defund” means send shrinks with police sometimes, training, etc. Use plain English, people.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RGanley That is one of the failures of Dems, we are terrible at naming things. Rep have perfected naming things for decades, mostly naming thing the opposite of what it actually is, like right to work law.

⭕ 5 Nov 2020

ForeignAffairs, Larry Diamond: A New Administration Won’t Heal American Democracy http://fam.ag/3kkTgK8
// The rot in U.S. political institutions runs deeper than Donald Trump.

NYT: James Baker, a veteran of the 2000 Florida recount, says Trump should not try to stop vote counting. http://nyti.ms/2TYfFm3 ● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1324677437976961024?s=20/photo/1

“We never said don’t count the votes,” Mr. Baker said. “That’s a very hard decision to defend in a democracy.” …

“There are huge differences,” Mr. Baker said of the Florida battle and the brewing fights over this week’s election. “For one thing, our whole argument was that the votes have been counted and they’ve been counted and they’ve been counted and it’s time to end the process. That’s not exactly the message that I heard on election night. And so I think it’s pretty hard to be against counting the votes.”

🧵 RT @TimAlberta The dishonesty here is breathtaking. ¤ Cruz claims repeatedly that poll watchers have been denied access in Philly. OK. What’s his source? ¤ People on the scene there say poll watchers have had access all along. Here’s a statement from Philly’s bipartisan commission on elections: 📌 https://twitter.com/TimAlberta/status/1324561121567789056?s=20/photo/1-2
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @TedCruz I am angry. ¤ The American people are right to be angry. ¤ We need observers. ¤ Now.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TimAlberta The last 3 hours on Fox News has been a parade of fire-breathing Republicans ranting and raving about dark rooms and troves of ballots and a lack of transparency… and it’s obvious that none of them have any actual knowledge about the specifics of what’s happening on the ground.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ The funny thing? For months I’ve heard Trump/GOP officials in MI/WI/PA boast about their poll-watcher system, how sophisticated it is, how they’ve taken steps to ensure eyes & ears in the big precincts. And now the national know-nothings swoop in and scream about lack of access.

NYT, Paul Krugman: Is America Becoming a Failed State? http://nyti.ms/3mXBrCF
// Mitch McConnell may make the nation ungovernable.

🐣 RT @McFaul Is this what you want President Trump? Senator Graham? Senator Cruz? Because if not, you better make it clear right now. Your followers are confused.
⋙ 🐣 RT @perez4az Alex Jones casually attempting to instigate a Civil War at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. ¤ America, 2020. 💽 https://twitter.com/perez4az/status/1324559557918556161?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @brhodes Newt Gingrich has done as much as any person to damage American democracy over the last three decades. This fascist loser rant is a logical endpoint of a cynical and destructive career.
⋙ 🐣 RT @joshtpm Here Gingrich describes the (non-existent) crimes for which Bill Barr should send in federal agents to arrest election workers in Pennsylvania. 💽 https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1324574366185738240?s=20/photo/1

WaPo, Edward Foley: Trump wants the courts to stop the counting. He’s going to be disappointed. http://wapo.st/3l2KFwR

🐣 RT @JaneMayerNYer This is a great and important report just in case…
⋙ 🐣 RT @rgoodlaw National Task Force on Election Crises report blows [Mark] Levin idea out of the water. ¤ Even well-grounded claims of vote counting problems would not allow Legislature to select Trump electors. ¤ @ElectionTask is highly respected cross-partisan expert group. Text Block: https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1324430155343929346?s=20/photo/1-2
⋙ NTFEC: A State Legislature Cannot Appoint Its Preferred Slate of Electors to Override the Will of the People After the Election http://bit.ly/3mXuO3n

WaPo: Trump turns angry and despondent as possible defeat looms http://wapo.st/2I6OJ0A

WaPo: Biden renews call for patience as Trump assails vote-counting process http://wapo.st/3l4loCH

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote Trump is freaking the fuck out because not only is he watching his presidency disintegrate, but he’s watching the only protection he has from being criminally prosecuted dissolve as each vote is counted. #CountEveryVote

🐣 RT @McFaul Republicans need to signal clearly right now that they value the democratic process over Trump. Silence is not an option.

🐣 RT @JoeBiden No one is going to take our democracy away from us. Not now, not ever. ¤ America has come too far, fought too many battles, and endured too much to let that happen.

🐣 RT @NYMag “That is the most powerful person in the world, and we see him, like an obese turtle on his back, flailing in the hot sun, realizing his time is over. But he just hasn’t accepted it, and he wants to take everybody down with him, including this country.”
⋙ Vulture, Halle Kiefer: Anderson Cooper Has Snapped and He’s Taking the Good Name of Turtles With Him http://bit.ly/32jrQhM
// Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not bring our good friends, the chelonians, into this.

🐣 RT @danpfeiffer It’s true that many Republicans have not parroted Trump, some have even said vaguely good things, but let’s not pretend the party of voter suppression, gerrymandering, misinformation and court rigging care deeply about American democracy.

🐣 RT @ZerlinaShow .@Scaramucci on Trump’s presser: “That was a disaster…if you needed more evidence about how deranged he is and what a complete liar and fraud he is, you got it on full display tonight.” 💽 https://twitter.com/ZerlinaShow/status/1324518829012168704?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @scottbudman #Breaking: Steve Bannon’s Twitter and YouTube accounts have been suspended.

🐣 RT @JoeBiden [7:25pm] Keep the faith, folks.

🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff What we just saw was the most dishonest and anti-democratic moment in the history of the presidency. ¤ Donald Trump lied incessantly about our election and undermined the very foundation of our democracy. ¤ We will count every vote. No matter what he says.

🐣 RT @JRehling BREAKING: A federal judge has just denied the Trump campaign’s injunction to stop vote counting in Philadelphia. The count goes on.

🐣 RT @BeschlossDC Alexander Hamilton warned us against choosing any leader who was a “daring usurper” of “avarice,” who would try to grab power by aggravating and exploiting the “jealousies and apprehensions” of the American people.

🐣 RT @Acosta CNN: So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 114,876 new cases and 1,159 reported deaths.

🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln Republicans, now is the time to defend American democracy.
History will remember what you do in this moment of crisis.
Speak up or stay silent. Both are a choice and a statement.

🐣 RT @JeffFlake Fellow Republicans, don’t wait until the election is called to defend our elections and our democratic institutions. The time is now.

🐣 RT @marceelias I hope every Republican voting/election lawyer watched that spectacle on TV so they understand who and what they are fighting for.

🐣 RT @Acosta Don’t get exhausted.

🐣 RT @stuartpstevens Is anyone still seriously asking why it is important to defeat the Trump enablers? ¤ @ProjectLincoln

🐣 RT @MJGerson My one consolation tonight? This is exactly how history will always remember Trump — as a pathetic, lying whiner who cared nothing for this country.

‼️ TPM: Trump Declares War On American Democracy http://bit.ly/3k4x72J

🐣 RT @sullydish Trump just proved that all our fears about his utter indifference to liberal democracy were and are valid. Pathological narcissism and delusion. Unfit. Always was.

WaPo, Aaron Blake: Trump blames Democrats for late-counted mail ballots. He should blame the GOP. http://wapo.st/367f8nj

🐣 RT @oliverdarcy MSNBC immediately cuts off Trump when he moves to undermine the integrity of US election system. ¤ “Here we are again in the unusual position of not only interrupting the President of the United States but correcting the President of the United States…”
⋙ 🐣 RT @oliverdarcy NBC News has cut away. ABC News has cut away as well. CBS News is fact-checking right now.
⋙ 🐣 RT @oliverdarcy “What a sad night for the United States of America to hear their President say that,” @jaketapper says on CNN. “To falsely accuse people of trying to steal the election, to try to attack democracy that way with his feast of falsehoods. Lie after lie after lie.”

WaPo Editorial: Losing an election, Trump chooses to slander American democracy http://wapo.st/350FMPk

WaPo, Philip Bump: In a speech of historic dishonesty, Trump tried to reinforce his long-planned effort to retain power http://wapo.st/32fsixh

✅ WaPo Factchecker, Glenn Kessler: Trump’s White House statement: Falsehood upon falsehood http://wapo.st/3k7ORKy

NYT: In Torrent of Falsehoods, Trump Claims Election Is Being Stolen http://nyti.ms/2I9tgo8
// Most television networks cut away from the statement President Trump gave Thursday night from the White House briefing room on the grounds that what he was saying was not true.

💙 🧵 RT @atrupar Trump opens his news conference by saying “if you count the legal vote, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.” This is a lie. There is no evidence of election fraud. 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1324498834941239297?s=20

💙 💽 CSPAN: Campaign2020: President Trump News Conference http://cs.pn/3oWkURr
// tags: trump presser trump says he won election trump meltdown trump treason

President Trump held a briefing at the White House two days after Election Day and without a declared winner in the presidential race. “This is a case where they’re trying to steal an election. They’re trying to rig an election and we can’t let that happen,” said the president without providing evidence to back his assertions. President Trump claimed that mail-in ballots inherently led to “corruption” and election workers “finding” these ballots during the counting process amounted to election fraud. The president said his campaign would pursue legal action, including going to the Supreme Court.

‼️ ⋘ 5:45pm Trump declares he has won ‘when legal votes are counted’ ⋙

🐣 RT @BradMossEsq “Alexa, show me what NRA’s finance officials say to its senior leadership whenever they want a blank check for use on vacation.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @NRA COME AND TAKE IT

🐣 RT @alt_uscis I am just going to leave this here 💽 https://twitter.com/ALT_uscis/status/1324482903468871682?s=20/photo/1
// snippet from Trump/Hillary Clinton debate: “most dangerous”

🐣 RT @peltzmadeline Steve Bannon calls for Dr. Fauci and FBI Director Wray to be beheaded “as a warning to federal bureaucrats”@youtube prohibits “inciting others to commit violent acts against individuals” 💽 https://twitter.com/peltzmadeline/status/1324471538310127618?s=20/photo/1
⋙ MMFA: Steve Bannon and his co-host discuss beheading Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray http://bit.ly/351N9pV
// Bannon: “I’d put their heads on pikes, right, I’d put them at the two corners of the White House as a warning to federal bureaucrats”

🐣 RT @AshaRangappa_ Today my positive thought that gives me faith in democracy is that the media has handled the delay in election results very well. In particular, they did a good job of setting expectations in advance that this wouldn’t be a “night of” affair, and it is paying off now

🧵 RT @JakeTapper Conservative GOP veteran of several presidential campaigns: “Very concerned about what I’m seeing from GOP activists. They are attacking the integrity of the electoral system but don’t seem to have any particular expertise about what they are criticizing. We all lose… 📌 https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1324468023126798336?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 hmmmmm … James Baker?
⋙ 🐣 RT @JakeTapper 2/ “… if we turn voting integrity into another political football. And what I’m seeing isn’t the usual gamesmanship around contested elections like we saw in 2000. They are attacking the the system itself. It’s increasingly clear to me that Trump lost this thing….
⋙ 🐣 RT @JakeTapper 3/“…. We cannot be the party attacking a system as being unfair when we just took a 3 million vote loss.”

🐣 RT @brianklaas I’m really up for four years of normal tweets like this. Conspicuous absence of typos, conspiracy theories, racist dog whistles, or lies – and no covfefe to be found.
💙 ⋙ 🐣 RT @JoeBiden [3:45pm] I ask people to stay calm.
The process is working.
The count is being completed.

🐣 RT @JoeBiden Democracy is sometimes messy, so sometimes it requires a little patience. ¤ But that patience has been rewarded now for more than 240 years with a system of governance that has been the envy of the world.

🐣 RT @JoeBiden Be patient, folks. Votes are being counted, and we feel good about where we are.

🐣 RT @MaryLTrump Every vote must be counted. Donald is lying.

WaPo, Cat Zakrzewski: Technology 202: Trump’s Twitter feed is covered in warning labels http://wapo.st/3mXqm4B fun times

🐣 RT @atrupar Following the news for the past two days has been like watching a chess match where one side has lost all of its good pieces and is just scrambling to avoid checkmate

🐣 RT @brhodes The images of Trump trying to shut down a democratic election and his supporters chanting “stop the count” are being broadcast around the globe. A gift to autocrats everywhere.

🐣 RT @joshtpm My understanding of where we are.
Nevada: basically done. Biden’s gonna win.
PA: It’s just math. Biden’s gonna win.
AZ: Biden solid favorite. But a Trump comeback possible.
Georgia: razor thin margin but decent odds for Biden.
NC: Very likely Trump; not impossible for Biden.

🐣 RT @jrubinblogger Please identify any other Democrat who could have won Wis, Mich, PA, Ariz, GA and Nevada. I’ll wait.
⋙ 🐣 Rep Clyburn saved us

WaPo: Trump and his allies boost bogus conspiracy theories in a bid to undermine vote count http://wapo.st/34Xjo9E
// The campaign also sent an estimated 9 million text messages between midnight and midday Wednesday, according to an anti-robocall firm, with some messages seeking money to launch voting challenges.

NYT: With His Path to Re-election Narrowing, Trump Turns to the Courts http://nyti.ms/3514Wxt
// The president pursued lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Michigan, and his campaign said it would demand a recount in Wisconsin.

🐣 RT @DavidCornMD The Trump family is now calling on GOP-controlled state legislatures to nullify the actual vote and push for Trump electors. This is a dangerous moment. https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/1324415365439463424?s=20/photo/1
// screenshot: MarkLevin; RT’d by DonJr
⋙ ⇈ 🐣 RT @marklevinshow REMINDER TO THE REPUBLICAN STATE LEGISLATURES, YOU HAVE THE FINAL SAY OVER THE CHOOSING OF ELECTORS, NOT ANY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, SECRETARY OF STATE, GOVERNOR, OR EVEN COURT. YOU HAVE THE FINAL SAY — ARTICLE II OF THE FED CONSTITUTION. SO, GET READY TO DO YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @MaxKennerly No, they don’t. The legislatures already decided to choose electors by popular vote, and Congress decided—as Article II says they can—the manner of appointing electors had to be in place by November 3. It’s done. ¤ BTW, retroactively removing the franchise violates Bush v. Gore.

🚫🐣 RT @ddale8 That is not true. Even in pre-pandemic elections, it was routine for states to accept ballots – including ballots from overseas military members – postmarked by (or before) Election Day but received after. The states that do so include states governed by conservative Republicans.
🚫 ⋙ 🐣 RT @real ANY BALLOT THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED
// screenshot; blocked by Twitter; not RT’d to not spread the craziness
⋙ 🐣 RT @ddale8 That was fast

🐣 RT @pithywidow His legal strategies are only ever PR strategies
⋙ 🧵 RT @ariberman Important point by Biden lawyer Bob Bauer: Trump’s lawsuits challenging vote counting not designed to win in court, but spread misinformation & encourage thuggish behavior by his supporters to undermine legitimacy of election

🐣 RT @business [Bloomberg] WATCH: The Trump campaign speaks outside of the Philadelphia Convention Center as protests happen around the ballot-counting site #Election2020 https://trib.al/n1oFnYv

😅 RT @RightWingWatch Presidential spiritual adviser Paula White is currently leading an impassioned prayer service in an effort to secure Trump’s reelection. 💽 https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1324175651515949056?s=20/photo/1
// ‘old-time religion’

🐣 RT @russperez56 If @PeteButtigieg isn’t MVP of the @JoeBiden campaign, I don’t know who is. He is on Fox News non-stop, making their jaw drop every time. Like a teacher talking to students. #BidenHarris2020ToSaveAmerica
⋙ HuffPo: Pete Buttigieg Schools Fox News Viewers In Testy Interview On Trump’s Economy http://bit.ly/2TVPcWf
// The former Democratic presidential contender basically told viewers to Google it.

🐣 RT @kasparov68 Counting every vote is the foundation upon which every democratic process and principle is built. If the voting process is shaken, the rest will fall. Count every vote!

🚫🐣 RT @jacobsoboroff Answering my questions would have been a good start at transparency. Where’s *any* evidence of thousands of fraudulent ballots, as you alleged? You ignored everything I asked you.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RichardGrenell We just finished a press conference announcing a federal lawsuit to stop counting illegal ballots in Nevada. ¤ Clark County officials must start answering questions as to why. ¤ We demand transparency.
// what a charade!

🐣 RT @ShalomLipner “Joe,” @algore] said, “I’ve decided to end it… An appeal and recount in FL.. could spark a constitutional crisis and raise serious questions about the continuity of our govt.. I believe it is right and best for our country.”@JoeLieberman via @WSJ.
⋙ WSJ, Joe Lieberman: A Disputed Election: My Lesson From 2000 http://on.wsj.com/3er3iZ2
// Al Gore showed me the importance of accepting an adverse outcome.

🐣 RT @EricGarland So Louis DeJoy’s people meet tomorrow at 11am with Judge Sullivan to discuss just how many votes might have been lost…in TEXAS. Text Block: https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1324185392527024128?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 🌎 RT @SeniorsAction Missing ballots: ¤ We will keep tweeting this image until #DeJoy is in jail. #USPS #MailInBallots https://twitter.com/SeniorsAction/status/1324197008651898880?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @JoeLockhart Game on. The runoffs will be nationalized and a first big test of President elect Biden’s ability to turn out Democrats in Georgia, again.
⋙ 🐣 RT @travisakers David Perdue has now fallen below the 50% mark. With outstanding ballots to be counted coming from primarily Democratic-leaning precincts, it is likely that Georgia will have two runoff races for U.S. Senate.

🐣 RT @AnaCabrera Trump feels like the election is “being stolen from him”, a Trump campaign adviser tells @Acosta. The adviser says Trump is the driving force behind the rhetoric coming from the campaign questioning the legitimacy of the election and ballot counting process.

🐣 RT @RusEmbUSA #Lavrov: dialogue between our countries so far remains hostage to the US domestic political struggle we realistically assess the prospects of bilateral cooperation and do not expect too much. ¤ https://bit.ly/32dPJHi https://pic.twitter.com/P34y5jCA9g

🐣 Carville thinks Alaska Senate in play and that Perdue won’t breach 50%, so the Senate may still be in play ¤ Fired up?

🐣 RT @BillKristol I think it’s very possible, maybe likely, that Biden is the only Democrat who could have beaten Trump.
⋙ 🐣 good move on his part to appeal to working/middle class whites and labor; hope he tamps down the p.c. crowd a tad

🐣 RT @emptywheel What a pity, then, that McConnell has spent the last 4 years making it clear he doesn’t mind if there are long-term Acting Secretaries, even ones who are ridiculously unqualified. ¤ Be less credulous, please, pool boy @JimVandeHei.

🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger “Only 3 pres campaigns have defeated an incumbent president.” What he did not say is that he had to do this in face of multiple abuses, including serial Hatch Act violations, attack on post office and extorting a foreign power to manufacture dirt on him
⋙ WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Joe Biden ran a historic race http://wapo.st/32fBPEB
// Polls may not be real, but Biden’s big win sure is.

🐣 RT @chrisinsilico Only if it involves confessions.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kayleighmcenany Who would want to join a LIVE prayer group tomorrow?
🇺🇸 🙏 🇺🇸 🙏

💙 🐣 RT @LincolnsBible Land does not vote. ¤ People do. 💽 https://twitter.com/LincolnsBible/status/1324312949100478465?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @Redistrict Of course, there are plenty of other PA counties besides Philly where Biden is still poised to gain a *lot* of ground w/ mail ballots. Delaware, Lehigh, Cumberland, Bucks, Monroe, Centre, Allegheny to name a few. This isn’t a nail-biter, imo.

YahooNews: Eric Trump Busted For Fake Video Of Someone ‘Burning 80 Trump Ballots’ http://yhoo.it/32exyS7
// he RT’d a video from an account that has now been suspended; the video was of sample ballots (no barcodes)

🐣 RT @feliciasonmez Chinese state media doing its thing. Although I love how it kind of ends up being a civics lesson on how American democracy works — a whole section on the Electoral College! — even as they run headlines like “One-person-one-vote is an illusion.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @austinramzy Chinese state-controlled Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong today: “So-called US-style democracy has descended into a joke.” https://twitter.com/austinramzy/status/1324213965056925697?s=20/photo/1

⭕ 4 Nov 2020

💙❤️ TheAtlantic, George Packer: Face the Bitter Truth http://bit.ly/2TX5OwC
// We are two countries, and neither of them is going to be conquered or disappear anytime soon.

🐣 RT @NBCNews BREAKING: More than 100,000 Covid-19 cases recorded in the U.S. today, marking the latest single-day record high. https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1324161586114809860?s=20/photo/1
// 1000+ deaths

🐣 RT @USPoliticsPoll PENNSYLVANIA: Biden needs just 61-63% of the outstanding mail in ballots to win state, which isn’t hard because he’s been winning them by a 78-22% margin so far. ¤ The Blue wall is coming back together.

🐣 RT @pbump If this holds for the rest of what’s out in Maricopa, Trump gains about 80k in Maricopa vs. the original 93k deficit. Not nothing!
⋙ 🐣 RT @greggiroux
Maricopa County update: Trump netted 13,644 votes
Biden 887,457 (+30,322)
Trump 802,160 (+43,966)
https://recorder.maricopa.gov/electionresults/general2020.aspx…
Biden’s lead in Arizona now 79,173 votes, down from 92,817 votes before.
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @pbump I think it’s 430k. 13,600 times 5.8.
⋙ 🐣 RT @AkaMotherto3 Replying to @pbump So PA is back in play. ¤ Why would 2020 be easy.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @pbump This is Arizona.
🐣 RT @TracyViselli @pbump Still have 40,000 plus in Pima which will favor Biden as well, probably a bit more than Maricopa.

🧵 RT @kyledcheney JUST IN: Postal Service files a new explanation in court explaining its failure to comply with Judge SULLIVAN’s order but says it complied in spirit anyway. 📌 Text Block: https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1324028292815618051?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @brhodes Maybe, just maybe, voter suppression and sabotaging the USPS had something to do with the discrepancy between the polls and the result (in which Biden will still win).

⭕ 3 Nov 2020 Election Day ‼️

🐣 RT @real VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! 💽 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1323534663453913093?s=20/photo/1
// Trump dancing to “YMCA”

🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrotePodcast If trump loses, he can be indicted for federal crimes going back five years. And don’t even get me started on state charges post-election. THIS IS IT! WE are the Muellers we’ve been waiting for. #Vote2020

🐣 RT @AnaChech WOW! U.S. District Judge Sullivan ordered USPS personnel to sweep 27 facilities identified by its IG by 3:30 p.m. on Election Day to check for any ballots that hadn’t been delivered, and ensure they arrived at their destination before polls closed
⋙ RawStory: Judge orders postal service to sweep facilities for unsent ballots — and deliver them http://bit.ly/2GsHXBW
// A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to check its facilities for any unsent ballots and deliver them immediately. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan

🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Sex, Lies and Videotape: ¤ Concerned with Trump lagging in the polls, Moscow is pulling out all the stops in a continued effort to help “Russia’s candidate” with Hunter kompromat. ¤ Putin himself stepped out of the shadows in a coy effort to shade Biden.
⋙ 🚫 🐣 DailyBeast: Russian Media’s Final Election Push For Trump: Primetime Hunter Biden ‘Sex Videos’ http://bit.ly/2JzEX83
// Russian state media is making a final push for Trump by airing excerpts of the so-called “Hunter Biden sex tapes” during primetime, almost daily.

President Donald J. Trump remains Russia’s preferred candidate for a number of reasons, many of which are frequently articulated by pro-Kremlin analysts, pundits, and foreign policy specialists. Appearing on Russia’s state TV show The Evening with Vladimir Soloviev, the deputy dean of world politics at Moscow’s State University, Andrey Sidorov, explained that Trump’s re-election would undoubtedly benefit Russia. Sidorov concluded that the election of former Vice President Joe Biden would lead to the consolidation of the West—restoring NATO alliances badly undermined by Trump—and thus resulting in a united front, with additional sanctions against Russia for its ongoing malign activities.

Sidorov surmised that Moscow can’t help but be concerned with the outcome of the U.S. election, since it will directly affect the Kremlin. The host of the popular state TV show 60 Minutes, Evgeny Popov, worried out loud that the Biden presidency would mean “the administration and the White House filled with Russophobes.” Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris is viewed through the same lens and a potential Harris presidency, following the Biden years, is another unwelcome prospect for the Kremlin.

🐣 RT @djrothkopf It’s not even noon on Election Day. We don’t know the results. Disappointment may loom. Or success. But the commitment of so many for so long to combatting a malevolent president and GOP who are actively attacking our government has been deeply inspiring.
⋙ 🐣 RT @djrothkopf You all are fighting for your country. You all are doing what is essential to preserve a democracy. You all are what makes America a country that is so much greater than its many flaws and likely in the end to triumph over our enemies and continue growing and evolving.
⋙ 🐣 RT @djrothkopf Some of you have been engaged in this battle for years & years. All of you know it does not end today. But the sacrifices and brilliance and resolve of so many millions should be a source of hope for us all. And I, like so many others I know, am deeply grateful for your efforts.
⋙ 🐣 RT @djrothkopf Thank you. ¤ And vote. And help and encourage others to vote.

🐣 RT @duty2warn There is not much data on how malignant narcissists confront losing. This is a unique case in many ways, and circumstances will dictate much of it. It can be very messy, or not so much. Emotionally, he has three basic thoughts that rotate – malice, grievance, and begging. (more)
⋙ 🐣 RT @duty2warn It can easily turn messy because he still has power and a bully pulpit for a time. Unknown what his enablers will do, likely they cover themselves. Malice is fixation on revenge. We’ll see some. Grievance is spinning lies. We’ll see a lot. Begging is private, we won’t see much.
⋙ 🐣 RT @duty2warn Staying out of jail is a process that stretches over time. It’s really not his greatest fear. His greatest fear is humiliation. If he loses, and it’s by a lot, and he can’t spin anything anyone believes, it’s humiliation. Then his secrets get uncovered. That’s the big humiliation
⋙ 🐣 RT @duty2warn Hitler in the bunker. Jim Jones and Kool-Aid. But it’s not a lot of data considering how different the circumstances were for each. Trump speaks for fifty million people who choose not to see truth. How that plays, is crucial.

🐣 RT @tribelaw This election is unique. At stake is not just the outcome of the vote, but whether we will retain the constitutional right to vote. At stake is truth itself and the future of all that matters. If Trump holds into power, it’s possible we’ll recover someday. But not likely.

⭕ 2 Nov 2020

⭕ 1 Nov 2020

NewYorker, Susan Glasser: Why Trump Can’t Afford to Lose http://bit.ly/32lMvBK
// The President has survived one impeachment, twenty-six accusations of sexual misconduct, and an estimated four thousand lawsuits. That run of good luck may well end, perhaps brutally, if Joe Biden wins.

OpenDemocracy: The dangerous psychology of Donald Trump http://bit.ly/353dhAs
// The last four years provide a roadmap that shows how the personal and the political can combine to disastrous effect.

🐣 RT @.JoeBiden Vote for America. ¤ 💽 http://iwillvote.com https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1316513615373987840?s=20/photo/1
// Joe Biden ad❣ Vote for America

💙 TheGuardian, Lois Beckett: Scholars warn of collapse of democracy as Trump v Biden election looms http://bit.ly/3kP0kzH
// Dozens of experts on fascism warn of global danger, calling for action from ordinary people: ‘It is not too late’
⋙ 💙 NewFascism: How to Keep the Lights On in Democracies: An Open Letter of Concern by Scholars of Authoritarianism http://bit.ly/3kOWk2n

We must boldly and unapologetically safeguard critical thinking based on evidence. This includes demonstrating the virtues of entertaining a wide array of positions and perspectives, and support, both in word and deed, for investigative journalism, science and the humanities, and freedom of the press. We need swift and tangible commitments from corporate media organizations and governments to tackle the dangers of misinformation and media concentration. We must encourage coalitions organized across differences of race, class, gender, religion and caste, while respecting the perspectives and experiences of others. We need to reveal and denounce any and all connections between those in power and those vigilante and militia forces using political violence to destabilize our democracies. Much like the active democratic movements across the globe from Nigeria to India, Belarus to Hong Kong, we must be prepared to defend pluralism and democracy against the growing dangers of communal violence and authoritarianism at the ballot box but, if necessary, also through non-violent protest in the streets. We must defend the integrity of the electoral process and ensure the widest possible voter turnouts, not just in this election but in every election large and small in all of our hometowns. And we must re-commit to a global conversation on support for democratic institutions, laws, and practices both within and between our respective countries. This includes directly confronting the unfettered greed that drives global inequality, which has unleashed geopolitical rivalries over access to resources, international migrations, and collapsed state sovereignties all over the world.

We need to turn away from the rule by entrenched elites and return to the rule of law. We must replace the politics of “internal enemies” with a politics of adversaries in a healthy, democratic marketplace of ideas. And above else, we need to work together to find ways to keep the light of democracy shining in our countries and all over the world. Because if we don’t, we will indeed face dark days ahead.

🚫 TheMarcusReader: The Acceleration of the Authoritarianism of Trump and Trumpism in 2020 http://bit.ly/3kOVeUj with timeline
// ⏳ uncertain of author; It may be too late for the election but I want to get it into the record.
We should worry when:
1. A politician rejects, in words or action, the democratic rules of the game,
2. denies the legitimacy of opponents,
3. tolerates or encourages violence, or
4. indicates a willingness to curtail the civil liberties of opponents, including the media.

🐣 RT @NYCAntifa The truck that side-swiped the Biden/Harris campaign bus was driven by a Trump supporter who drove into a crowd of BLM protesters in September. ¤ Like we’ve been saying–far right violence doesn’t just stick with one group. Esp when given a green light to go ahead w/ impunity https://twitter.com/NYCAntifa/status/1323146292365873153?s=20

🧵 RT @Kasparov63 Trump always outdoes himself in sinking to new lows, but after praising dictators, attacking veterans, demeaning women, and surrendering to a pandemic, we can hope that he has also undone himself. My new op-ed at CNN. 📌 https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1322640109569773568?s=20
⋙⋙ CNN: Win or lose, with Trump, prepare for the unimaginable after the election http://cnn.it/3oMH1cW
⋙ 🐣 RT @Kasparov63 Trying to play “what if?” with autocratic types like Trump rarely works because such people are capable of violating every norm to serve their own interests. But we can be prepared to fight like hell, and we must be.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Kasparov63 If Trump calls on his zealots to “LIBERATE AMERICA!” and there is violence, what then? Stop thinking, “Trump would never..” Normal people don’t like to imagine terrible events, which is why autocrats consistently surprise them.

🐣 RT @WilDonnelly Trump tried to do business with Castro during embargo, wanted to give Putin a $50M condo, had secret bank acct for deals with Chinese communist party, shared love letters with Kim & turned US farmers into govt-subsidized socialists. He sure likes to project his love for commies!
⋙ 🐣 RT @real Biden is a proven Castro puppet! Vote TRUMP

🐣 RT @lawfareblog The right-wing threat is fracturing—with a wide range of overlapping groups and radical individuals posing a risk of political violence that may overwhelm counterterrorism officials. ¤ Here’s Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware:
🔆 This❗️⋙ Lawfare, Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware: The Terrorist Threat from the Fractured Far Right http://bit.ly/2TLu2tQ

● White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis
● “Boogaloo” and Anti-government Extremism
● QAnon
● Neo-Luddites
● “Salad Bar” Ideologies

Confronting the Fracturing Far-Right Terrorism Threat

The fracturing far-right is not necessarily new. The United States has always faced a diffuse militia and anti-government threat, and throughout the latter parts of the 20th century, the extreme right’s efforts to unify unraveled under intense law enforcement pressure. The result was a disparate, splintered movement, with skinheads, national socialist movements, and militias all competing for recruits and attention. But today’s atomized movement is different—not least because of the connectivity afforded by the internet and social media. It is also fueled to a greater extent than before by increasingly widespread populist discontent in the United States and in other Western countries that has been increasingly legitimized by political leaders and thus entered into the mainstream of national politics and discourse. We are not just seeing several factions energized; we are also seeing them unusually vocal, unnervingly popular and, in some cases, unconventionally public in their promises of violence.

Until a few months ago, far-right violence was mostly predictable. Instances tended to be tragic but otherwise largely contained shootings randomly perpetrated by lone-actor white supremacists against soft targets—typically places of worship or shopping centers—along with sporadic militia or sovereign citizen attacks on law enforcement. We now face a cacophony of violence, growing louder and perpetrated by multiple collectives or groups of actors that are similar in their ideologies and strategies, but just distinct enough in their differing approaches and targeting to complicate counterterrorism efforts.

Although these groups have so far inflicted a limited number of fatalities, their violence has the potential to escalate suddenly. And there seems to be no clearly articulated strategy from either the federal government or law enforcement to wrench back control. The 2020 election provides the most dangerous potential trigger, particularly in the event of a contested outcome. Several of these groups, including QAnon adherents, are highly motivated by President Trump; any appearance of voting irregularities that favor the Biden campaign against Trump, whether legitimate or not, may spark widespread violence—especially if the president chooses to amplify such concerns. But predicting which of these groups is most likely to attack and what targets would be most in danger is not possible. In the absence of a clear, comprehensive national strategy, fear and anxiety is increasingly fueled by uncertainty and discord.

💙🐣 ♫ RT @ProjectLincoln The Lincoln Project is proud to present our music video for “Commander in Chief” by @ddlovato. ¤ Watch and pitch in here: 💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1316891143989321731?s=20/photo/1
// The Lincoln Project ad❣ Commander in Chief

🐣 RT @crooks&liars Here’s Trump’s Faux doctor saying lockdowns don’t help, and bashing Fauci. On Russian TV, no less. #Trump #ScottAtlas #DrFauci #COVID19 #Lockdowns #Pandemic Watch now on #CLTV 💽 https://twitter.com/crooksandliars/status/1322949911554318337?s=20/photo/1

🧵 RT @atrupar Trump, currently complaining about the weather in Dubuque, Iowa, complains about the weather wherever he goes 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1322989910563893249?s=20

🧵 RT @atrupar This is the stuff of Nazi rallies 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1322946242763202560?s=20

USAToday: Lincoln Project: We’re fighting for a better America. A Biden era would be a good start. http://bit.ly/34KUHwT By Reed Galen, Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson and Stuart Stevens

🐣 RT @joshchaffetz now we’re only allowed to do RT with comment
⋙ 🐣 RT @SWAtlasHoover I recently did an interview with RT and was unaware they are a registered foreign agent. I regret doing the interview and apologize for allowing myself to be taken advantage of. I especially apologize to the national security community who is working hard to defend us.
// oops!
↥ ↧
DailyBeast: Trump’s Favorite COVID Adviser Goes on Kremlin-Backed RT to Blast Lockdowns as ‘Epic Failure’ http://bit.ly/3eevT3H “Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist, was introduced … as ‘one of the only two men the U.S. president apparently listens to on the pandemic’”
// Scott Atlas also made a point to complain about criticism he’s faced for his coronavirus guidance, calling it a “sad statement” that the media “destroyed” him.

NYT Editorial: Why Are Republicans So Afraid of Voters? http://nyti.ms/34QAUMV

🐣 RT @AliVelshi “If all the votes are added up in Pennsylvania, Trump is going to lose,” says AG @JoshShapiroPA. He’s already defeated 6 different lawsuits restricting voting access in his state. He joins me 8aET to share how he’ll prevent interference on Election Day. #VelshiAcrossAmerica

🐣 RT @JohnWDean There is a reason Trump is campaigning like his freedom depends on winning. It does. If he loses he faces state and federal criminal charges. Likely prison. It seems Donald’s big motivator! So the great con continues…

NYT: Their First Try Backfired, but Giuliani and Allies Keep Aiming at Biden http://nyti.ms/3edcZKx
// The former New York mayor’s dirt-digging effort on Hunter Biden in 2019 ended with President Trump’s impeachment. Now he is back with new associates. So far it is not going exactly as planned.

🎃 31 Oct 2020

🐣 ♫ RT @springsteen This is @joebiden’s hometown. This is more than where he’s from. This is who he’s for. 💽 https://twitter.com/springsteen/status/1322582291453861890?s=20/photo/1

🧵 RT @atrupar Trump is about to deliver his fourth rally speech of the day in Pennsylvania, this one in Montoursville. Follow for a video thread. 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1322705991696322561?s=20

🐣 RT @TeamPelosi Democrats believe voters should pick the President of the United States. Trump and his Republican enablers disagree. #Vote accordingly.
⋙ 🐣 RT @BeschlossDC Trump just said it at Reading PA rally: “If we win on Tuesday or — thank you very much, Supreme Court — shortly thereafter…”
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @therecount Here’s the clip from Trump’s Reading, PA rally: “If we win on Tuesday or — thank you very much, Supreme Court — shortly thereafter…” 💽 https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1322636317252030471?s=20/photo/1

😅 RT @ProjectLincoln Dear Donald… https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1322599215357337601?s=20/photo/1
// Lincoln Project ad❣ Closer: missteps, stumbles and stupidity

🐣 RT @petestrzok RT is registered with the Department of Justice as an agent of the Government of Russia. ¤ A WH advisor providing Covid advice to @realdonaldtrump is giving interviews to a propaganda arm of Russia. ¤ Our election is three days away. Imagine what four more years would look like.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SWAtlasHoover New interview. Lockdowns, facts, frauds … if you can’t handle truth, use a mask to cover your eyes and ears https://youtu.be/4qKti8V4-uc #FactsMatter #LockdownsKill
// Scott Atlas gives interview on RT

🐣 RT @tribelaw For the worst traitor ever to hold the presidency to say he’d jail his opponent and his predecessor for treason if he wins is disqualifying in itself
⋙ PoliticusUSA: Trump Threatens To Jail Obama And Biden For Treason If He Wins http://bit.ly/35P3Nby

🐣 RT @stonecold2050 Trumpanzees driving a funeral hearse brandish weapons & attempted to drive Biden’s campaign bus off the I-35 highway in Texas. Their hearse is emblazoned with the message, “Collecting votes one DEAD Democrat at a time”. How in the world is this not terrorism? #LockThemUp

🐣 RT @BradMossEsq This incitement to vigilantism isn’t new. History is replete with examples of authoritarians doing this to intimidate dissent. https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/status/1322714425644691458?s=20

🐣 RT @therecount Here’s the clip from Trump’s Reading, PA rally: “If we win on Tuesday or — thank you very much, Supreme Court — shortly thereafter…” 💽 https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1322636317252030471?s=20/photo/1

DailyBeast: Biden Team Cancels Texas Event After Highway ‘Ambush’ by MAGA Cavalry http://bit.ly/2TILA9G
// Dozens of pickup trucks, many with Trump flags, surrounded a Biden campaign bus as it traveled from San Antonio to Austin.

🐣📋 RT @carlquinanilla New @Stanford study estimates that 18 Trump rallies have led to 30,000 COVID cases and 700 deaths (via @AaronBelkin) https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1322527556126605313?s=20/photo/1
⋙ ★ Stanford, B Bergheim et al: The Effects of Large Group Meetings on the Spread of COVID-19: The Case of Trump Rallies http://bit.ly/3oJhMrY “[W]e conclude that these 18 rallies ultimately resulted in more than 30,000 incremental confirmed cases of COVID-19 [and] 700 deaths” ● https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1322570903461498881?s=20/photo/1

⭕ 30 Oct 2020

💙 🐣 RT @TheDailyShow Here it is. The definitive list of Trump’s 100 Most Tremendous Scandals. 💽 https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1322327675948576768?s=20/photo/1

SeattleTimes: Judge in Portland cites Trump tweets in restricting feds at protests http://bit.ly/2HIIXTd
// A federal judge found Friday that tweets by President Donald Trump helped incite improper conduct by federal officers responding to racial justice demonstrations in Portland, Oregon.

AMA: American Medical Association statement on ongoing attacks on physicians treating COVID patients http://bit.ly/3oJYTVW ● Text Block: https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1322511068518907904?s=20/photo/1

The following statement is attributable to:
Susan R. Bailey, M.D.
President, American Medical Association

“Throughout this pandemic, physicians, nurses, and frontline health care workers have risked their health, their safety and their lives to treat their patients and defeat a deadly virus. They did it because duty called and because of the sacred oath they took. The suggestion that doctors—in the midst of a public health crisis—are overcounting COVID-19 patients or lying to line their pockets is a malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided charge. COVID-19 cases are at record highs today. Rather than attacking us and lobbing baseless charges at physicians, our leaders should be following the science and urging adherence to the public health steps we know work—wearing a mask, washing hands and practicing physical distancing.”

MSNBC, Steve Benen: Trump delivers a curious pre-election pitch to the Supreme Court http://on.msnbc.com/3kK3k0h
// Supreme Court justices should help Trump win, the argument goes, because they’ll be happier with him than with his opponent.

At 2:57 a.m. (E.T), while much of the country was asleep, Donald Trump was tweeting. In fact, the president was specifically publishing this:

[Tweet:] “If Sleepy Joe Biden is actually elected President, the 4 Justices (plus1) that helped make such a ridiculous win possible would be relegated to sitting on not only a heavily PACKED COURT, but probably a REVOLVING COURT as well. At least the many new Justices will be Radical Left!”

I think in Republican circles, it’s seen as wild-eyed nonsense when Democrats express concern that Donald Trump intends to turn to the Supreme Court to help him stay in power. But the president himself keeps giving the public — friend and foe alike — reason to believe this is precisely his plan.

His early-morning tweet is strangely written, but the point seems clear enough: Trump is effectively trying to lobby the high court. As the president sees it, a Biden victory would be “ridiculous,” and he hopes a majority of the Supreme Court — or in this case, “4 Justices (plus1)” — can be counted on to prevent this from happening.

For Trump, it doesn’t seem to occur to him to make appeals based on right and wrong, constitutional or unconstitutional, principled or unprincipled. He thinks in self-interested terms, and the president seems to assume everyone else does, too.

🐣 RT @BillMoyers Trump has begun to muse about losing the election, saying he would like simply to drive away, or fly away, from the burden of the presidency. Yesterday, retired Brigadier General Peter B. Zwack wrote that “Trump appears to be a classic flight risk.”
⋙ MoyersOnDemocracy, Heather Richardson: It’s Happening Whether They Like It Or Not http://bit.ly/3kKfBSz
// A record number of 80 million early ballots have already been cast, and we are all parsing the polls for clues about who will emerge as the winner of the 2020

🐣📊RT @SykesCharlie Fat lady hasn’t sung yet. But the lights are on in the dressing room … and she’s clearing her throat .. https://twitter.com/SykesCharlie/status/1322377425859301377?s=20/photo/1
// FoxNews Poll: Biden 52% Trump 44% (10/27-29, LV)
⋙ 🐣 I’m waiting for Biden to say, “Folks, our long national nightmare is over” ¤ He won’t. It’s too divisive. But it’s what I’ll hear

🐣 RT @Yamiche American Medical Association is now pushing back on Trump’s false claim that doctors & hospitals are jacking up death tolls to make more money saying, “The suggestion is … a malicious, outrageous, and completely misguided charge.” Text Block: https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1322284418686439424?s=20/photo/1

💙 🐣 RT @MaddowBlog Here is that powerful testimony from Montana ICU nurse Joey Traywick (with a little bit of perspective from Dr. Kris Spanjian at the beginning). ¤ Reporting by NBC News’ @gabegutierrez from @StVincentMT 💽 https://twitter.com/MaddowBlog/status/1322365300021600256?s=20/photo/1

🐣 Biden Team’s on it. Our job:
1. #VOTE
2. Check and make sure your vote counted
3. GOTV: door knock, phone bank, texts, drive others to polls
4. It’s still not too late to donate: http://ActBlue.com
💙 NYT, Ron Suskind: The Day After Election Day http://nyti.ms/34Gk8Qh
// Current and former Trump administration officials are worried about what might happen on Nov. 4.

WaPo: Republicans shift from challenging rules to preparing to challenge individual ballots http://wapo.st/2THNWWx

WaPo: DHS plans largest operation to secure U.S. election against hacking http://wapo.st/3jKs87b
// A 24/7 war room will operate from Election Day until local officials are confident in the results. It shows just how far DHS’s cybersecurity agency has come since 2016.

WaPo: The unseen machine pushing Trump’s social media megaphone into overdrive http://wapo.st/31XFh6I
// Researchers say the online feedback loop between Trump, high-profile influencers and rank-and-file followers is a danger to the election.

WaPo: Five Reagan White House lawyers endorse Biden, saying Trump has ‘fomented hatred’ http://wapo.st/3ebX4vT

⭕ 29 Oct 2020

NewYorker, Susan Glasser: Denialism, Dishonesty, Deflection: The Final Days of the Trump Campaign Have It All http://bit.ly/2TF8EXa “[T]his fall’s campaign may well go down as one of the most scandalous periods of his norm-shattering Presidency”

WaPo, Alan Alda: I cannot remain silent as Trump rejects science and endangers lives http://wapo.st/2HRedid “Trump’s deceitful assurances that covid-19 is nothing to worry about have laid untold dead at the feet of this president.”

🐣 RT @MSNBC .@FrankFigliuzzi1: When the president fires and threatens to terminate consecutive FBI directors for not doing his political bidding, he doesn’t erode one agency’s credibility and trust, he jeopardizes public perception of law enforcement writ large
⋙ MSNBC, Frank Figiuzzi: When Trump attacks the FBI, he’s inadvertently attacking the police he says he supports. http://on.msnbc.com/3jExtwU
// Trump’s pre-election threats to the FBI director is part of a larger pattern.

🐣 RT @MaddowBlog “We are experiencing the most significant cyber security threat we’ve ever seen in the United States”
⋙ AP: FBI warns ransomware assault threatens US healthcare system http://bit.ly/3mGQ1yx

Federal agencies warned that cybercriminals are unleashing a wave of data-scrambling extortion attempts against the U.S. healthcare system designed to lock up hospital information systems, which could hurt patient care just as nationwide cases of COVID-19 are spiking.

In a joint alert Wednesday, the FBI and two federal agencies warned that they had “credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.” The alert said malicious groups are targeting the sector with attacks that produce “data theft and disruption of healthcare services.”

The cyberattacks involve ransomware, which scrambles data into gibberish that can only be unlocked with software keys provided once targets pay up. Independent security experts say it has already hobbled at least five U.S. hospitals this week, and could potentially impact hundreds more.

The offensive by a Russian-speaking criminal gang coincides with the U.S. presidential election, although there is no immediate indication they were motivated by anything but profit. “We are experiencing the most significant cyber security threat we’ve ever seen in the United States,” Charles Carmakal, chief technical officer of the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, said in a statement.

Alex Holden, CEO of Hold Security, which has been closely tracking the ransomware in question for more than a year, agreed that the unfolding offensive is unprecedented in magnitude for the U.S. given its timing in the heat of a contentions presidential election and the worst global pandemic in a century.

The federal alert was co-authored by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The cybercriminals launching the attacks use a strain of ransomware known as Ryuk, which is seeded through a network of zombie computers called Trickbot that Microsoft began trying to counter earlier in October. U.S. Cyber Command has also reportedly taken action against Trickbot. While Microsoft has had considerable success knocking its command-and-control servers offline through legal action, analysts say criminals have still been finding ways to spread Ryuk.

The U.S. has seen a plague of ransomware over the past 18 months or so, with major cities from Baltimore to Atlanta hit and local governments and schools hit especially hard.

In September, a ransomware attack hobbled all 250 U.S. facilities of the hospital chain Universal Health Services, forcing doctors and nurses to rely on paper and pencil for record-keeping and slowing lab work. Employees described chaotic conditions impeding patient care, including mounting emergency room waits and the failure of wireless vital-signs monitoring equipment.

“One of the comments from the bad guys is that they are expecting to cause panic and, no, they are not hitting election systems,” Holden said. “They are hitting where it hurts even more and they know it.” U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern about major ransomware attacks affecting the presidential election, even if the criminals are motivated chiefly by profit.

Mandiant’s Carmakal identified the criminal gang as UNC1878, saying “it is deliberately targeting and disrupting U.S. hospitals, forcing them to divert patients to other healthcare providers” and producing prolonged delays in critical care.

He called the eastern European group “one of most brazen, heartless, and disruptive threat actors I’ve observed over my career.”

While no one has proven suspected ties between the Russian government and gangs that use the Trickbot platform, Holden said he has “no doubt that the Russian government is aware of this operation — of terrorism, really.” He said dozens of different criminal groups use Ryuk, paying its architects a cut.

WaPo: Appeals court panel rules Minnesota must set aside ballots received after Election Day in case they are invalidated http://wapo.st/2HIlqRQ

💙 🐣 RT @duty2warn He is losing in the suburbs. He’s losing with women. He’s losing with seniors. He is losing with the young vote. He loses big with African Americans. Also loses a bit with Hispanics. He’s also losing among military families. How many non-college educated white males can there be?

💙 JustSecurity, Dakota Rudesill: Preventing a Military Decision About Who Won a Disputed Election http://bit.ly/2HLHoDT “A self-interested Trump administration instruction declaring the current president the winner would put the military in an impossible situation”

Unfortunately, the norm-shattering step of a self-serving “I won” executive order from President Trump is conceivable, as is a legal opinion to that same effect from a Justice Department run by an Attorney General who has prioritized protection of the president over the non-partisan, fair, and impartial administration of justice. Trump and his team have demonstrated their willingness to abuse the presidency for personal and political benefit. Trump has repeatedly indicated intent to contest the election if he is not declared the winner. And, serious gaps and ambiguities in election law could leave a disputed election unresolved through inauguration day. In this context, it is prudent to anticipate that Trump and his political appointees might take norm-shredding, legally dubious administrative steps to hold onto power.

WaPo: Gen Z, Millennial voters embrace activism and voting, as youth turnout surges ahead of Election Day http://wapo.st/3ekBJRf

Major social movements driven by young activists around climate change, gun safety and Black Lives Matter protests have led to an explosion of civic awareness among younger Americans, who are on track to turn out to vote in record numbers this election and could play a pivotal role in some key battleground states.

Data on early voters and recent polling suggest eligible voters under 30 could break their historic 2008 turnout, when it peaked at 48 percent when Barack Obama was elected. New data suggest they may be on track to sustain their dramatic turnout in the 2018 midterms, when they more than doubled their rate of voting compared to the prior midterm election.

NYT, Michelle Goldman: Four Wasted Years Thinking About Donald Trump http://nyti.ms/3mxCyJ9

ChristianPost, Joe Biden: The greatest commandment has guided my politics http://bit.ly/34FsMOV

🐣 Any family that has suffered the horror of family separation should be reunited and allowed to stay in the US. Their healthcare should be paid for, including for the psychological trauma they have suffered. This can be appended to a law to make DACA permanent.

NYT: ‘Perception Hacks’ and Other Potential Threats to the Election http://nyti.ms/3jGJQsi
// In the final days of voting, election officials and cybersecurity experts are keeping a close eye on a range of possible ways foreign governments and other hackers could interfere.

[F]rom the sprawling war room at United States Cyber Command to those monitoring the election at Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft, experts are watching closely for more “perception hacks.” Those are smaller attacks that can be easily exaggerated into something bigger and potentially seized upon as evidence that the whole voting process is “rigged,” as President Trump has claimed it will be.

The phrase comes up every time Christopher Krebs, the Department of Homeland Security official responsible for making sure voting systems are secure, talks about the biggest vulnerabilities in this election. His worry is not a vast attack but a series of smaller ones, perhaps concentrated in swing states, whose effect is more psychological than real.

Perception hacks are just one of a range of issues occupying election officials and cybersecurity experts in the final days of voting — and their concerns will not end on Election Day.

One theory gaining ground inside American intelligence agencies is that the Russians, having made the point that they remain inside key American systems despite bolstered defenses and new offensive operations by Cyber Command, may sit out the next week — until it is clear whether the vote is close.

The Russian play, under this theory, would be to fan the flames of state-by-state election battles, generating or amplifying claims of fraud that would further undermine American confidence in the integrity of the election process. …

🧵 RT @atrupar Melania Trump in Tampa: “In a time when hate, negativity, & fear are the messages the media streams into our homes & the large tech companies are protecting political censorship, we need to remember what is really important: my husband’s administration is focused on the future.” 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1321876095826907136?s=20
// Trump rally in Tampa

🐣 RT @theminorchords Trump has a closer relationship with Kim Jong-un than Angela Merkel.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ddale8 Trump rails against US allies as in many ways “worse than the enemy,” telling a story about how Germany came out this week and said they like “Barack Hussein Obama” more than him. (?) He says their Obama love shows he’s doing his job by calling them out over their NATO failings

🐣 RT @MeidasTouch NEW VIDEO ¤ Those who know Trump best, know he is the worst. #AlumniAgainstTrump 💽 https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1321864529383313411?s=20/photo/1
// Meidas Touch ad❣ Alumni Against Trump

FSIStanford/Medium, Michael McFaul: To Foster a Free and Fair Election, American Voters Must Stay Calm and Patient http://bit.ly/2TAyaN1
// Even after casting their ballots, American voters still have a role to play in helping to foster a free and fair election.

🐣 RT @ForeignAffairs Donald Trump has shown more sympathy for far-right groups, many of them armed, than any president in recent memory, @matanock and @pstanpolitics write. How will this affect U.S. electoral politics in the weeks, months, and years to come?
⋙ ForeignAffairs: The Militarization of U.S. Politics http://fam.ag/2JjJ1co
// Regardless of who wins on November 3, Trump’s presidency has opened the door to electoral violence in the future.

TPM: 5 Points On The Huge Story About Trump And A Turkish Bank That’s Flying Under The Radar http://bit.ly/3e5IpT4
↥ ↧
NYT: Turkish Bank Case Showed Erdogan’s Influence With Trump http://nyti.ms/3jJqC5c
// New details of the Justice Department’s handling of the accusations against Halkbank reveal how Turkey’s leader pressured the president, prompting concern from top White House aides.

Reuters: White House advisers warn of ‘unrelenting’ COVID-19 spread http://reut.rs/2HItodQ “If things do not change, if they continue on the course we’re on, there’s gonna be a whole lot of pain in this country” Dr Anthony Fauci said in an interview

WaPo, Greg Sargent: Trump’s effort to steal the election, explained by a Democrat fighting against it http://wapo.st/3myF8hX “Pennsylvania is Ground Zero for this experiment. … Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) shed some light on what this could look like“

The claim is belied by the extraordinary extent to which Trump has gone to corrupt this election — that is, to avoid escaping the judgment of majorities of Americans. He and his allies have engaged in an unprecedentedly concerted effort to suppress the vote, while also placing large swaths of the government at the disposal of his reelection in a manner that defies recent memory.

Pennsylvania is Ground Zero for this experiment. It is the tipping-point state and the place where Trump’s corrupt machinations could have their most palpable impact. ¤ In an interview, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) shed some light on what this could look like in coming days.

“We have a sitting president who’s actively trying to undermine this election,” Shapiro told me. “He’s doing that because he knows that if all legal eligible votes are counted, he’s more likely than not going to come out on the losing side here in Pennsylvania.”

Pennsylvania state officials are in the extraordinary position of actively taking defensive steps to preempt a situation in which the Supreme Court helps Trump suppress untold numbers of lawfully cast ballots — as Trump has openly declared he expects it to do.

Shapiro is at the center of this effort. One main worry concerns the untold numbers of ballots that are mailed before Election Day but arrive after. The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a ruling allowing for Pennsylvania ballots arriving up to three days afterward to be accepted.

But Shapiro bluntly warned that Trump and Republicans will still likely try to use those late-arriving ballots “as a hook to challenge all mail-in ballots.”

What might this look like? The fear among many Democrats is that, despite the Supreme Court ruling, the Trump campaign and Republicans could still challenge those late ballots — and use that to ask the court to halt the count of all mail ballots until that’s sorted out.

The counting of mail ballots will go on for days after the election. If Trump is ahead in the initial count of in-person Election Day votes — and far more Republicans intend to vote on the day itself — he could declare victory while seeking to invalidate uncounted mail ballots.

It doesn’t matter that much what Trump declares. What matters is whether the court is willing to halt the count. ¤ Pennsylvania officials tried to preempt this by announcing that they will segregate all late-arriving ballots. The idea is to prevent Republicans from challenging those ballots and then using that to challenge all mail ballots, by claiming they’ve all been commingled and can’t be separated from one another, requiring a halt to the count until the legal dispute over the late ballots is resolved.

But the U.S. Supreme Court only declined to nix those late-arriving ballots for now, just before the election. And three conservatives — Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch — indicated that after the election, they may revisit the question.

Worse, the justices said there’s a “strong likelihood” that the state Supreme Court’s ruling is unconstitutional, because if state courts can “override” the legislature on setting election rules, that renders its authority over those rules “meaningless.”

In short, three justices believe state legislatures wield near-absolute authority over election rules — and state courts cannot intervene to ensure that those rules don’t infringe on voting rights as outlined in state constitutions.

If Amy Coney Barrett and Brett M. Kavanaugh subscribe to this — and Kavanaugh already has, in a related decision in Wisconsin — five justices could invalidate untold numbers of late-arriving ballots after the election.

So we know the Supreme Court is open to hearing a dispute over those late ballots after the election and could invalidate them. But does that mean the court would also halt the count of the larger pool of mail ballots?

We don’t know. Probably not: In the Pennsylvania ruling, even the three conservative justices indicated reluctance, clarifying that if the late ballots are segregated, that would allow a “targeted remedy” against them. ¤ But we know Trump and Republicans will try to make this happen.

A Politico piece aptly summed up the moment with this line: “Never before in modern presidential politics has a candidate been so reliant on wide-scale efforts to depress the vote as Trump.”

On top of that, Trump’s open effort to conscript the Supreme Court is only the latest in a long line of efforts to bend the government and the machinery of justice toward his reelection. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented. But, with a massive enough effort, it can be defeated.

WaPo: How Trump waged war on his own government http://wapo.st/37Qnjqv “Beyond [the] recognizable faces, employees across the government were banished to basement offices, denied promotions and excluded from decision-making”
// ‘The 45th President’: One in a series looking back at the Trump presidency
// Twitter subtitle: Career employees have come under siege as a president and his political appointees have attacked bureaucrats they view as resistant.

The president went even further last week, signing an executive order that removes job protections for an estimated tens of thousands of civil servants, allowing them to be dismissed with little cause or recourse. The sweeping effort to crack the foundation of government employment probably would be rescinded if Joe Biden is elected president. But it shows the mistrust at the core of Trump’s worldview.

“It’s not how the enormous enterprise we call the federal government works,” said Donald Kettl, a public-affairs professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “Bending the apparatus of the state to his own will — there’s an authoritarian tint to that that is impossible to escape.”

⭕ 28 Oct 2020

CNN, Dan Berman: Vermont secretary of state formally asks Kavanaugh to correct opinion http://cnn.it/35FjXUQ

NYT, Thomas Edsall: How Far Might Trump Go? http://nyti.ms/3e9ES63
// No one is quite sure.
↥ ↧
🔆 This❗️⋙ TheAtlantic, Barton Gellman: The Election That Could Break America http://bit.ly/2FTvxTj
// Nov issue; If the vote is close, Donald Trump could easily throw the election into chaos and subvert the result. Who will stop him?

🐣 RT @michikokakutani As Election Nears, Trump Makes a Final Push Against Climate Science: The Trump admin recently removed the chief scientist at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric agency, and installed new political staff who question accepted facts about climate change.
NYT: As Election Nears, Trump Makes a Final Push Against Climate Science http://nyti.ms/3jD11Ll
// The administration is imposing new limits on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that would undercut action against global warming.

⭕ 27 Oct 2020

FutureOfLife: 55 Years After Preventing Nuclear Attack, Vasili Arkhipov Honored With Inaugural Future of Life Award http://bit.ly/3oz1qSz
// Cuban Missile Crisis Cold War

On October 27, 1962, a soft-spoken naval officer named Vasili Arkhipov single-handedly prevented nuclear war during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Arkhipov’s submarine captain, thinking their sub was under attack by American forces, wanted to launch a nuclear weapon at the ships above. Arkhipov, with the power of veto, said no, thus averting nuclear war.

It is sobering that very few have heard of Arkhipov, although his decision was perhaps the most valuable individual contribution to human survival in modern history. PBS made a documentary, The Man Who Saved the World, documenting Arkhipov’s moving heroism, and National Geographic profiled him as well in an article titled – You (and almost everyone you know) Owe Your Life to This Man.

The Cold War never became a hot war, in large part thanks to Arkhipov, but the threat of nuclear war remains high. Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and this year’s recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, hopes that the Future of Life Award will help draw attention to the current threat of nuclear weapons and encourage more people to stand up to that threat. Fihn explains: “Arkhipov’s story shows how close to nuclear catastrophe we have been in the past. And as the risk of nuclear war is on the rise right now, all states must urgently join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to prevent such catastrophe.”

Of her father’s role in preventing nuclear catastrophe, Elena explained: “We must strive so that the powerful people around the world learn from Vasili’s example. Everybody with power and influence should act within their competence for world peace.”

🐣 THIS is why you shouldn’t trust the mail to return your ballot. It’s too late. Fill out your mail-in ballot and drop it off, or else vote early in person (taking safety precautions).
⋙ 🐣 🌎 RT @ How’s the mail doing? Not great. https://twitter.com/UpshotNYT/status/1321081482505523200?s=20/photo/1
// mail delays
⋙⋙ NYT: One Week Before Election, the Mail Is Still Slow http://nyti.ms/2J5h8EG

🐣 RT @BrunoAmato_1 Wall Street wants Trump gone. They are banking on a Blue Wave. 🌊 🇺🇸
⋙ Politico, Ben White: As Trump warns of economic disaster, Wall Street grows giddy about Biden http://politi.co/3e54WPQ
// Many investors are betting on a Democratic sweep. But some other scenarios could create an unsettling environment for markets

🐣 RT @FlossObama I will never forget that moment. A man unafraid to be vulnerable. A man filled with kindness. A man who could connect, and deeply so.
⋙ NYT, Thomas Friedman: When My President Sang ‘Amazing Grace’ http://nyti.ms/3e0anzy
// caption: President Barack Obama helped ease the nation’s pain after a mass shooting at a South Carolina church in 2015.
// subtitle: We’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a truth-teller and a healer in the White House.

NYT, Kevin Roose: The Year in Misinformation, So Far http://nyti.ms/3oywuSx
↥ ↧
🔄 NYT: Tracking Viral Misinformation Ahead of the 2020 Election http://nyti.ms/3jBGJ4T
// Every day, Times reporters will chronicle and debunk false and misleading information that is going viral online.

💙 🐣 RT @RVAT2020 NEW AD: Trump Administration Officials for Biden. ¤ Never before have high-ranking staffers of an incumbent president opposed his reelection and endorsed his opponent. ¤ 💽 Heed their warning. https://twitter.com/RVAT2020/status/1320828657414348800?s=20
// Republican Voters Against Trump ad ❣ Trump ex-officials

🧵 RT @FinancialTimes Donald Trump’s debt totals at least $1.1bn. Should he win re-election, about $900m of it will come due during his second term https://on.ft.com/3oqPFNT 📌 https://twitter.com/FinancialTimes/status/1320646374556344322?s=20/photo/1
⋙⋙ FinancialTimes: All the president’s debts: who Donald Trump owes money to http://on.ft.com/34yJQpZ
// Debts of more than $1bn are tied to the Covid-struck commercial real estate market
⋙ 🐣 RT @FinancialTimes Donald Trump’s biggest bank lender, Deutsche Bank, has financed his hotels in Chicago and Washington, and his Miami golf resort. ¤ The US president owes the bank $340m

⭕ 26 Oct 2020

✅ NYT Factcheck: Rallies Are the Core of Trump’s Campaign, and a Font of Lies and Misinformation http://nyti.ms/35xiwaQ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1320962196948557824?s=20/photo/1
// A recent rally in Wisconsin was typical. In 90 minutes, President Trump made 131 false or inaccurate statements.

WaPo: Trump appointee resigns over the president’s order removing job protections for many civil servants http://wapo.st/ Trump’s order “seeks to make loyalty to him the litmus test for many thousands of career civil servants, and that is something I cannot be part of”

The Trump administration-appointed head of a key advisory council on the civil service has resigned over an executive order to strip away protections against political interference in hiring and firing for a large portion of the career federal workforce.

The order, which could affect tens of thousands or more career positions involved in making or carrying out policy, “is nothing more than a smoke screen for what is clearly an attempt to require the political loyalty of those who advise the President, or failing that, to enable their removal with little if any due process,” Ronald Sanders wrote in his letter of resignation Sunday from the Federal Salary Council.

“I simply cannot be part of an Administration that seeks . . . to replace apolitical expertise with political obeisance. Career Federal employees are legally and duty-bound to be nonpartisan; they take an oath to preserve and protect our Constitution and the rule of law . . . not to be loyal to a particular President or Administration,” he wrote.

🐣📋 RT @AriBerman Crazy fact: 52 GOP senators who voted to confirm Amy Coney Barrett represent 17 million fewer people than 47 Dems & Collins who voted no

WaPo, Dana Milbank: It’s up to John Roberts to save his court http://wapo.st/2HDQ7b1 “If Roberts and his conservative allies on the court don’t do at least some of this in the next few months, they can count on being joined next year by a whole batch of new colleagues“

WaPo: Supreme Court rejects request to extend Wisconsin’s deadline for counting mail-in ballots http://wapo.st/34yz3Mx “The most powerful rebuke to Republican judicial activism is to defeat Trump & elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a landslide,” WI Dem Party Chair Wikler said

🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger To be clear, if the conservative justices rip up precedent, advance partisan agenda and engage in election mischief the court’s jurisdiction, size and life tenure will be altered. It needs to be innocuous for a long while or face a popular movement to severely limit its reach

🔆 This❗️⋙ Vox, Ian Milhiser: The radical implications of the Supreme Court’s new ruling on Wisconsin mail-in ballot http://bit.ly/35GqfUd
// The Supreme Court’s new decision on Wisconsin mail-in ballots threatens a century of voting rights law.

🧵 RT @kasparov68 Democrats participated in McConnell’s charade of a confirmation instead of boycotting because they didn’t want to “politicize” it. Now Trump has a party with Barrett, proudly desecrating the separation of powers. 📌 https://twitter.com/Kasparov63/status/1320919451441762309?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 The GOP wants tribalism, with no separation between Republican presidents and GOP in Congress and in the courts. This is not politics as usual at all. It’s an attempt at one-party rule, a minority party at that, and it’s dangerous.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 Turning parliament and the courts into loyal servants of the president is the goal of every would-be autocrat. From Russia to Turkey to Hungary, this has been the roadmap. The US is far stronger, but not immune.
⋙ 🐣 RT @kasparov68 There will be many crises in the coming weeks. Trump and his dictator backers abroad have much at stake and they aren’t going to play by rules Americans recognize. We will see who is only role-playing at democracy and who is willing to fight for it.

WaPo, George Conway: I believe in the president, now more than ever http://wapo.st/2HFZEhn omg! 😅

💙 🐣 RT @RonaldKlain Take it from me: the only way to avoid Bush v Gore II is to win by enough votes that 2020 never gets to the Supreme Court. Don’t let the Court have this power: all of us, at the ballot box, need to decide this election.
⋙ 🧵 RT @mjs_dc Holy shit—Brett Kavanaugh just endorsed Rehnquist’s concurrence in Bush v. Gore, which was too extreme for Kennedy or O’Connor. ¤ This is a red alert. I can’t believe he put it in a footnote. This is terrifying. Text Block: 📌 https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1320873994032205824?s=20/photo/1
⋙ ⋙ 🐣 RT @mjs_dc This is VERY BAD NEWS for voting rights. Appallingly bad. Brett Kavanaugh used a footnote to throw his support behind an extreme theory that would severely limit state courts’ ability to protect voting rights. It’s the revenge of Bush. v. Gore. Actually, it’s much worse. […]

🐣 RT @ kylegriffin1 Ex-Mueller deputy Andrew Weissmann: “I suspect strongly that if the president does not win reelection, that he is going to pardon a lot more people related to the Trump Organization, his family, people who work there, and even himself.”
⋙ NPR: Andrew Weissmann, Ex-Mueller Deputy, On Pardons, Barr And Investigating Trump http://n.pr/3e1O8cv

🐣 So, now we have a Justice whose son was Trump’s banker in a seat stolen from Obama because March was too close to an election, a Justice who ia rapist who likes beer, and another confirmed 8 days before an election who thinks women should have rapists’ babies. So much winning.

🐣 📋 ◕ RT @imrankhan Whoever wins the US election, it looks impossible for Trump to win the popular vote. ¤ Which will mean that the last time the Republicans won the popular vote will have been in 2004. And the last time before that, in 1988. ¤ Twice! In nine elections! https://twitter.com/imrankhan/status/1320678085407186944?s=20/photo/1
// w link to Wikipedia; GOP won popular vote ONCE since 1988 ‼️

⭕ 25 Oct 2020

🐣 RT @McFaul In democracies, journalists are supposed to ask tough questions. In autocracies, journalists working for the regime toss softballs. Trump obviously prefers the latter over on another network (& no one forced him to do this interview!)
💙 🐣 RT @PoliticusSarah This was Trump’s epic meltdown on 60 Minutes and it was even worse than reported. Trump literally ran away because he didn’t like the questions. 💽 https://twitter.com/PoliticusSarah/status/1320519094295240712?s=20

WaPo: Tumult at home, ailing alliances abroad: Why Trump’s America has been a ‘gift’ to Putin http://wapo.st/2HBpOSs “National security experts say Putin’s greatest triumph in the Trump years has been on the foreign policy front, and [Trump’s] methodical denigration of NATO”
// by Philip Rucker and Shane Harris; ‘The 45th President’: One in a series looking back at the Trump presidency

🐣 RT @PorterAnderson Media: @JohnJHarwood to @AnaCabrera on the new positive diagnoses of @VP’s top staffers: Not only chief of staff @marcshort45 but also Zach Bauer, “Mike Pence’s body man, tested positive — an indication that the vice-president may have had serious, serious exposure to #COVID19.”

🐣 RT @InTheNoosphere Trump plans to fire heads of FBI, CIA and Pentagon if he wins re-election
⋙ Axios: Scoop: Trump’s post-election execution list http://bit.ly/2TnWaTF

🚫 🐣 RT @McFaul Putin rejects Donald Trump’s criticism of Biden family business
⋙ Reuters: Putin rejects Donald Trump’s criticism of Biden family business http://reut.rs/3dWvmTH
// hmmm

🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Trump Had One Last Story to Sell. The Wall Street Journal Wouldn’t Buy It. http://nyti.ms/37FMYC9
// by Ben Smith; Inside the White House’s secret, last-ditch effort to change the narrative, and the election — and the return of the media gatekeepers.

By early October, even people inside the White House believed President Trump’s re-election campaign needed a desperate rescue mission. So three men allied with the president gathered at a house in McLean, Va., to launch one.

The host was Arthur Schwartz, a New York public relations man close to President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr. The guests were a White House lawyer, Eric Herschmann, and a former deputy White House counsel, Stefan Passantino, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

The three had pinned their hopes for re-electing the president on a fourth guest, a straight-shooting Wall Street Journal White House reporter named Michael Bender. They delivered the goods to him there: a cache of emails detailing Hunter Biden’s business activities, and, on speaker phone, a former business partner of Hunter Biden’s named Tony Bobulinski. Mr. Bobulinski was willing to go on the record in The Journal with an explosive claim: that Joe Biden, the former vice president, had been aware of, and profited from, his son’s activities. The Trump team left believing that The Journal would blow the thing open and their excitement was conveyed to the president.

As the Trump team waited with excited anticipation for a Journal exposé, the newspaper did its due diligence: Mr. Bender and Mr. Beckett handed the story off to a well-regarded China correspondent, James Areddy, and a Capitol Hill reporter who had followed the Hunter Biden story, Andrew Duehren. Mr. Areddy interviewed Mr. Bobulinski. They began drafting an article.

Then things got messy. Without warning his notional allies, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and now a lawyer for President Trump, burst onto the scene with the tabloid version of the McLean crew’s carefully laid plot. Mr. Giuliani delivered a cache of documents of questionable provenance — but containing some of the same emails — to The New York Post, a sister publication to The Journal in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Mr. Giuliani had been working with the former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who also began leaking some of the emails to favored right-wing outlets. Mr. Giuliani’s complicated claim that the emails came from a laptop Hunter Biden had abandoned, and his refusal to let some reporters examine the laptop, cast a pall over the story — as did The Post’s reporting, which alleged but could not prove that Joe Biden had been involved in his son’s activities.

… Or was this yet another story of the younger Mr. Biden trading on his family’s name — a perfectly good theme, but not a new one or one that needed urgently to be revealed before the election.

Mr. Trump and his allies expected the Journal story to appear Monday, Oct. 19, according to Mr. Bannon. That would be late in the campaign, but not too late — and could shape that week’s news cycle heading into the crucial final debate last Thursday. An “important piece” in The Journal would be coming soon, Mr. Trump told aides on a conference call that day.

His comment was not appreciated inside The Journal. ¤ “The editors didn’t like Trump’s insinuation that we were being teed up to do this hit job,” a Journal reporter who wasn’t directly involved in the story told me. But the reporters continued to work on the draft as the Thursday debate approached, indifferent to the White House’s frantic timeline.

Finally, Mr. Bobulinski got tired of waiting. ¤ “He got spooked about whether they were going to do it or not,” Mr. Bannon said. ¤ At 7:35 Wednesday evening, Mr. Bobulinski emailed an on-the-record, 684-word statement making his case to a range of news outlets. Breitbart News published it in full. He appeared the next day in Nashville to attend the debate as Mr. Trump’s surprise guest, and less than two hours before the debate was to begin, he read a six-minute statement to the press, detailing his allegations that the former vice president had involvement in his son’s business dealings.

When Mr. Trump stepped on stage, the president acted as though the details of the emails and the allegations were common knowledge. “You’re the big man, I think. I don’t know, maybe you’re not,” he told Mr. Biden at some point, a reference to an ambiguous sentence from the documents.

As the debate ended, The Wall Street Journal published a brief item, just the stub of Mr. Areddy and Mr. Duehren’s reporting. The core of it was that Mr. Bobulinski had failed to prove the central claim. “Corporate records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden,” The Journal reported.

And if you’d been watching the debate, but hadn’t been obsessively watching Fox News or reading Breitbart, you would have had no idea what Mr. Trump was talking about. The story the Trump team hoped would upend the campaign was fading fast.

[I]t’s also about a larger shift in the American media, one in which the gatekeepers appear to have returned after a long absence.

It has been a disorienting couple of decades, after all. It all began when The Drudge Report, Gawker and the blogs started telling you what stodgy old newspapers and television networks wouldn’t. Then social media brought floods of content pouring over the old barricades.

By 2015, the old gatekeepers had entered a kind of crisis of confidence, believing they couldn’t control the online news cycle any better than King Canute could control the tides. Television networks all but let Donald Trump take over as executive producer that summer and fall. In October 2016, Julian Assange and James Comey seemed to drive the news cycle more than the major news organizations. Many figures in old media and new bought into the idea that in the new world, readers would find the information they wanted to read — and therefore, decisions by editors and producers, about whether to cover something and how much attention to give it, didn’t mean much.

But the last two weeks have proved the opposite: that the old gatekeepers, like The Journal, can still control the agenda. It turns out there is a big difference between WikiLeaks and establishment media coverage of WikiLeaks, a difference between a Trump tweet and an article about it, even between an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal suggesting Joe Biden had done bad things, and a news article that didn’t reach that conclusion.

Perhaps the most influential media document of the last four years is a chart by a co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, Yochai Benkler. The study showed that a dense new right-wing media sphere had emerged — and that the mainstream news “revolved around the agenda that the right-wing media sphere set.”

And the fact that Mr. Bobulinski emerged not in the pages of the widely respected Journal but in a statement to Breitbart was essentially Mr. Bannon’s nightmare, and Mr. Benkler’s fondest wish. And a broad array of mainstream outlets, unpersuaded that Hunter Biden’s doings tie directly to the former vice president, have largely kept the story off their front pages, and confined to skeptical explanations of what Mr. Trump and his allies are claiming about his opponent.

President Trump himself hit a wall when he tried to push the Hunter Biden narrative onto CBS News. ¤ “This is ‘60 Minutes,’ and we can’t put on things we can’t verify,” Lesley Stahl told him. Mr. Trump then did more or less the same thing as Mr. Reynolds, posting a video of his side of the interview to his own blog, Facebook.

The media’s control over information, of course, is not as total as it used to be. The people who own printing presses and broadcast towers can’t actually stop you from reading leaked emails or unproven theories about Joe Biden’s knowledge of his son’s business. But what Mr. Benkler’s research showed was that the elite outlets’ ability to set the agenda endured in spite of social media.

But I admit that I feel deep ambivalence about this revenge of the gatekeepers. I spent my career, before arriving at The Times in March, on the other side of the gate, lobbing information past it to a very online audience who I presumed had already seen the leak or the rumor, and seeing my job as helping to guide that audience through the thicket, not to close their eyes to it. “The media’s new and unfamiliar job is to provide a framework for understanding the wild, unvetted, and incredibly intoxicating information that its audience will inevitably see — not to ignore it,” my colleague John Herrman (also now at The Times) and I wrote in 2013. In 2017, I made the decision to publish the unverified “Steele dossier,” in part on the grounds that gatekeepers were looking at it and influenced by it, but keeping it from their audience.

The schemes of Mr. Herschmann, Mr. Passantino and Mr. Schwartz weren’t exactly WikiLeaks. But the special nervousness that many outlets, including this one, feel about the provenance of the Hunter Biden emails is, in many ways, the legacy of the WikiLeaks experience.

I’d prefer to put my faith in Mr. Murray and careful, professional journalists like him than in the social platforms’ product managers and executives. And I hope Americans relieved that the gatekeepers are reasserting themselves will also pay attention to who gets that power, and how centralized it is, and root for new voices to correct and challenge them.

⋙ 🐣 @benyt New media have always been disruptive: printing press::Reformation; pamphlets::French/Amer Revs; radio::Hitler but also Roosevelt; TV::McCarthy, but also Civil Rights/Nam War. The social media rev is full of promise as well as pitfalls. It took CV19 to get us back to facts

⭕ 24 Oct 2020

NYT Editorial: R.I.P., G.O.P. http://nyti.ms/35qOAgk
// The Party of Lincoln had a good run. Then came Mr. Trump.

🐣 RT @davidfrum If Trump had believed that until the pandemic he was on the way to beating Joe Biden, he would not have spent the summer of 2019 committing the crimes that got Trump impeached.

🚫 🐣 RT @AJentleson Reid says Biden should end the filibuster after 3 weeks. He’s right! If Dems take back the WH and the Senate we have a narrow window to pass the bills necessary to save our democracy. McConnell strung us along for a year on ACA. Fool me twice, shame on me.
⋙ AP: Reid says Biden should end Senate filibuster after 3 weeks http://bit.ly/3dSUefh
// mixed feelings about this

Former Senate leader Harry Reid says if Democrats win the presidency and the Senate, Joe Biden should take “no more than three weeks” to test bipartisanship before ending the filibuster so Democrats can overcome what they call Republican obstruction and pass bills.

The retired Nevada Democrat told The Associated Press in an interview that he understands Biden wants to work with Republicans, as the former vice president and Delaware senator has in the past. But Reid said there is just too much that needs to be done in the country to wait around trying to reach agreements under the decades-old Senate practice of requiring 60 votes to advance legislation.

Obama has since joined the effort for change. During the funeral this year for Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights leader, Obama announced his support for ending the filibuster, calling it a Jim Crow-era relic that was used to stall voting advances for Black people.

🐣 RT @maggieNYT UPDATE: The total of aides around Pence in the coronavirus outbreak is up to FIVE people. Short, Obst and 3 additional VP office staff, per ppl briefed
⋙ NYT: Members of Pence’s Inner Circle Test Positive for Coronavirus http://nyti.ms/3mjBxnR
// Along with Marc Short, the vice president’s chief of staff, three additional staff members and a Pence adviser have also tested positive, according to people briefed on the developments.

The decision by Mr. Pence, who leads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, to continue campaigning is certain to raise new questions about how seriously the White House is taking the risks to their own staff members and the public from the pandemic that has killed more than 224,000 people in the United States. Mr. Short has been among those within the White House who have questioned the extensive lockdowns across the country.

🐣 RT @davidplouffe Powerful World Series ad narrated by Brad Pitt, @BarackObama dropping truth bombs in S. Florida and Joe and Kamala making their case vs. Trump super spreader events with no closing argument in the penultimate Saturday of Campaign 2020.

🐣 RT @matthewamiller I think we’re done here.
🐣 RT @danielsgoldman This additional information, combined with the illogical and suspicious story of the computer store owner, casts even more doubt on the laptop story. ¤ Most importantly, according to Parnas, the Russian security services had the materials in 2019.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NatashaBertrand Exclusive: Ex Giuliani associate Lev Parnas tells me Giuliani was offered salacious Biden photos/emails in May 2019 by associate of Burisma founder Zlochevsky, who wanted to curry favor w/Trump admin. Material was also for sale in Kyiv in Sept ‘19. Latest:
⋙⋙ Politico: Former Giuliani associate raises questions about Hunter Biden’s ‘hard drive from hell’ http://politi.co/34ptsI1
// Salacious documents supposedly belonging to Hunter Biden were circulating in Ukraine in May 2019, Lev Parnas says.

WaPo, Max Boot: Trump may be running the sleaziest presidential campaign ever http://wapo.st/3dXRWeW Starting with Gingrich, the Republican Party “has become the party of pseudo-scandals”

🐣 RT @ForeignAffairs Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, read @apolyakova on the threat from disinformation campaigns, emanating from Russia and beyond:
⋙ ForeignAffairs, Alina Polyakova: The Kremlin’s Plot Against Democracy http://fam.ag/3dWzzGU
// Sep-Oct issue; How Russia Updated Its 2016 Playbook for 2020

🐣 ◕ RT @Greg_Palast The GOP’s running against the demographic tide; the only way they can win is by suppressing the vote. https://instagram.com/p/CGtJ885AiN6/ https://twitter.com/Greg_Palast/status/1320027778494959618?s=20/photo/1
// shrinking GOP base shrinking Trump base
1976 2018
11% 27% Minority Voters
17% 34% Whites with College Degrees
71% 39% Whites without College Degrees

⭕ 23 Oct 2020

🐣 RT @nytpolitics A Russian state hacker group started prowling around American state and local government computer systems just two months before the Nov. 3 election, setting off concern inside private security firms, law enforcement and intelligence agencies
⋙ NYT (10/23): Russians Who Pose Election Threat Have Hacked Nuclear Plants and Power Grid http://nyti.ms/37AVX7Q The group “It appears to be casting a wide net to find useful targets ahead of the election, experts said”
// The hacking group, Energetic Bear, is among Russia’s stealthiest. It appears to be casting a wide net to find useful targets ahead of the election, experts said.

Forbes: Forbes Estimates China Paid Trump At Least $5.4 Million Since He Took Office, Via Mysterious Trump Tower Lease http://bit.ly/37Gq8uq
// Donald Trump maintained a stake in Trump Tower when he became president, and with it, a financial connection to the Chinese government.

🐣 RT @gtconway3dg ohh he just gave it all away — Trump’s pushing to reopen so he can raise the GDP as much as possible before the report comes out on November 1st.
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar Trump still thinks that public health measures to slow the spread of coronavirus are the fruit of a Democratic hoax meant to hurt him politically 💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1319796535136296962?s=20/photo/1

🐣 RT @TVietor08 Trump “has participated in nearly three dozen rallies since mid-August…analysis shows COVID-19 cases grew at a faster rate than before after at least five of those rallies in…Blue Earth, MN; Lackawanna, PA; Marathon, WI; Dauphin, PA; Beltrami, MN”
⋙ USAToday: Trump’s campaign made stops nationwide. Coronavirus cases surged in his wake in at least five places. http://bit.ly/34nO5V1

🐣 RT @NeverTrumpTexan In case you didn’t catch the historic reference, when the Germans demanded Allied forces surrender during the Battle of the Bulge, the American General responded:
⋙ 🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln Nuts! https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1319801126363951104?s=20/photo/1-2
// Letter threatening to sue Project Lincoln from lawyer Marc Kasowitz; Double billboard in Times Square: 1) Ivanka applauding w NY and US death tolls; 2) Jared w quotation (VF?): “[New Yorkers] are going to suffer and that’s their problem” [VanityFair: http://bit.ly/3hHJPmV%5D

🐣 RT @bradheath This, from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, is a pretty remarkable show of distrust for the Justice Department. https://twitter.com/bradheath/status/1319631557238378496?s=20/photo/1
// Minute order on Michael Flynn

🐣 RT @tribelaw AXIOS: U.S. hits highest daily COVID-19 case count since pandemic began. At least 81,010 cases were confirmed today, surpassing the previous record set July 17 when 76,842 cases were recorded. Record levels of death lie ahead. And yesterday Trump said we’re doing just fine.

🐣 RT @donwinslow MY NEW VIDEO: #OpenLetterToRepublicans SOUND UP!! […]
💽 https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1300191230328856576?s=20/photo/1
// Don Winslow ad❣ Open Letter To Republicans

🐣 RT @nytopinion “This debate gave Trump and his team reason to hope that, despite everything, lightning might strike twice.” ¤ Our opinion writers watched the last Trump-Biden debate. Here’s what they thought.
⋙ NYT: Biden and Trump’s Final Debate: Who Won? http://nyti.ms/35GdCZl
// How their last clash looked to Times Opinion writers.

🐣 I caught Biden misspeaking a couple of times (“poor boys”) (I think he meant 2035 not 2025 on carbon neutral goal) plus some things I wished he’d said. ¤ Trump, OTOH, was lying, exaggerations, and conspiracy theories (some old, some new). So: vintage Trump.

🧵 Here are the major Fact Checks of the Final Presidential Election Debate, held in Nashville Tennessee, moderated by Kristin Welker of NBC News ~ (alphabetical) ⋙ 📌 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1319566809629138944?s=20
✅ ABCNews: Fact-checking Trump and Biden during 2nd 2020 presidential debate http://abcn.ws/3mfHylG
// The two candidates faced off in Nashville, Tennessee.
✅ AP FACT CHECK: Falsehoods and fumbles in Trump-Biden debate http://bit.ly/3dTZ102
✅ BBC: US election 2020: Trump and Biden final debate fact-checked http://bbc.in/35nP6fa
✅ Bloomberg: Fact Check: Trump and Biden’s Final Presidential Debate http://bloom.bg/2TpyUUZ
✅ BusinessInsider: Fact-checking the final Trump-Biden debate http://bit.ly/2HtzgHK
✅ CBSNews: Final presidential debate: Fact checking Trump and Biden http://cbsn.ws/3dQcUMq
✅ CNN: Fact check: Toned-down Trump continues his onslaught of falsehoods http://cnn.it/3koFdEf w 💽 Daniel Dale video
✅ Factcheck.org: Bogus Claims of Debate Moderator Bias http://bit.ly/31y8FR1
✅ TheGuardian: Biden slams Trump on coronavirus response, family separations and racism in final debate – as it happened http://bit.ly/34oUOOO
✅ LATimes: Fact-checking the final Trump-Biden presidential debate http://lat.ms/35lH3Q2
✅ NBCNews: Debate fact check: Trump and Biden face off in final debate http://nbcnews.to/3dY6Th2
✅ NYT: Fact-Checking the Final Presidential Debate http://nyti.ms/3jjRLvv
✅ Politifact: Fact-checking Donald Trump, Joe Biden in the final presidential debate http://bit.ly/34l3mpB
✅ WaPo: Fact-checking the second Trump-Biden debate http://wapo.st/3mes80N
~
✅ ✛ Heard on MSNBC (Fact-check): COVID-19 and young people (through 34yo): 21% hospitalized, 10% need ventilators, 2.7% die (on Ari Melber post-debate)

⭕ 22 Oct 2020

🧵 RT @NickMiroff Trump is right that Obama “built the cages.” But the “kids in cages” trope has become so completely divorced from context and history that it has left the public even more confused about how the American immigration enforcement system works. A quick thread: 📌 https://twitter.com/NickMiroff/status/1319485799918936064?s=20
[ … ]
⋙ 🐣 RT @NickMiroff All of this underscores the fact that administrations from both parties have struggled to cope with migration pressures using detention and deterrence. But the separation system Trump carried out under “Zero Tolerance” had no precedent, and did not occur under Obama.

🐣 RT @AWeissman Trump added a new spin to his false claim that he would release his taxes but they are “under audit.” There is no such prohibition, as we know. Trump added that there is nothing to see there since the Special Counsel had the financials and saw no wrongdoing. That’s false.

🐣 📋 RT @stuartstevens Before anybody gets excited about Trump going after Biden on energy, might look at some polling on subsidies for oil industry. Last numbers I saw had it at 87% against issue.

🐣 RT @NoahShachtman WHOA. Wall Street Journal’s news side just released a debunking of WSJ opinion side.
🐣 RT @Anthony Corporate records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show no role for Joe Biden
🐣 RT @WSJ Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner alleged Joe Biden was part of talks around his son’s efforts to form a venture with a Chinese oil company. Biden’s campaign denied the former vice president’s involvement, and records reviewed by WSJ show no role for him.
⋙ WSJ: Hunter Biden’s Ex-Business Partner Alleges Father Knew About Venture http://on.wsj.com/34iMsrQ
// An ex-business partner of Hunter Biden said he consulted his father about a planned venture with a Chinese oil company. Joe Biden denied any involvement

🐣 RT @Acyn Does it look like he thinks he won? 💽 https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1319471599901310978?s=20/photo/1
// post-debate Trump

⋙ FINAL Debate ⇈ ⇊

🧵 RT @atrupar Trump enters without a mask. Biden enters with one. And the final 2020 presidential debate is under way. 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1319444920697049088?s=20
// two segments, linked

🧵 RT @jentaub Here we go. Anything could happen tonight. Final debate, moderated by Kristin Welker. #Debates2020 📌 https://twitter.com/jentaub/status/1319444655398932480?s=20

~~~~~~~~~~

To family: Why I keep saying: top off your gas tanks, charge up your power blocks, make sure you have bottled water and toilet paper, batteries, candles etc. Be careful online.

(Molly McKew is an expert on information warfare. She has been interviewed on PBS’s Frontline and for the documentary “Active Measures”:)

🧵 RT @MollyMcKew Today, more detail was revealed by CISA about extensive Russian cyber intrusions in US election/critical systems ¤ The indictment of GRU hackers released Monday is a roadmap to understanding what Russian can do on Election Day ¤ New on @RenewGreatPower /1 Text Block: 📌 https://twitter.com/MollyMcKew/status/1319427015242584065?s=20/photo/1
⋙⋙ GreatPower, Molly McKew: The newest GRU indictment is a roadmap for Election Day disruption http://bit.ly/3joafL6
// The US fired a warning shot at the Kremlin before the election — or maybe it’s a signal flare to alert Americans what may be coming

⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew On Monday, DoJ unsealed the indictment of 6 hackers from Russia’s GRU for “worldwide deployment of destructive malware and other disruptive actions in cyberspace.” /2
⋙⋙ Justice.gov: Six Russian GRU Officers Charged in Connection with Worldwide Deployment of Destructive Malware and Other Disruptive Actions in Cyberspace http://bit.ly/2FRYX4h
// Defendants’ Malware Attacks Caused Nearly One Billion USD in Losses to Three Victims Alone; Also Sought to Disrupt the 2017 French Elections and the 2018 Winter Olympic Games

⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew It connected the dots between a wide array of cyberattacks over the past 5 years, which happened in France, Ukraine, Georgia, South Korea, the US, and the UK. ¤ The indictment made clear that a multi-nation intelligence effort helped attribute these attacks to the GRU /3

⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew The broad range of activities attributed to Sandworm shows how much leeway these units are given by the Kremlin to probe and beta-test and operationalize different kinds of cyber weapons to expansively contribute to Russia’s strategic (and petty) objectives within parameters. /4

⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew Key takeaways of the new GRU indictment:
1) tracking Russian activity is a top priority
2) Russia is willing to use disproportionate responses to retaliate against perceived slights
3) Russian behavior has not been deterred or altered by any response they have met thus far /5

4) The list of operational targets is a road map for what could happen on Election Day (or beyond)
5) private-sector & individual targets are seen as interchangeable with national targets
6) They tried to look like other hackers to hide the attribution of their attacks /6

7) far-right US media/personalities keep finding themselves as the amplification network for GRU-obtained materials — but how?
8) so much for the “patriotic hackers” bullsh*t

⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew What are the potential targets for Russian hackers, based in the details in the indictment?
– Low-level elex interference (last minute hack-and-leak operations etc)
– Disrupting govt information systems, which could relate directly to elections or not … /8

– Disrupting power grids
– Disrupting banking systems/payment systems
– Disrupting govt services and systems, or creating the perception of system vulnerabilities
– Creating the perception of widespread internet disruption
– Targeted technical attacks on media organizations … /9

– Disrupting hospital databases, which can disrupt or delay the delivery of care
– Disrupting shipping, transportation, aviation, and other essential infrastructure
– the CISA announcement today mentioned education systems, which would be a remote learning nightmare, no doubt /10

⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew We know Russian interference efforts are ongoing, we know how much importance they put in the cyber toolkit, and we should have every expectation that at least some of these options are well-prepared for use on US targets. /11

⋙ 🐣 RT @MollyMcKew Americans are wound pretty tight. We’re prepped to believe that someone will do something to disrupt the conduct of the elex, tallying of results, transition of power. It wouldn’t take very much to create the perception, or reality, of chaos /12 (end)

↥ ↧
🐣 RT @NatashaBertrand “Officials did not make clear what Russia planned to do, but they said its operations would be intended to help President Trump, potentially by exacerbating disputes around the results.” Really seems like THIS should have been the focus of last night’s emergency briefing.
⋙ 🐣 RT @nicoleperlroth BREAKING: U.S. administration officials have been watching Russia’s FSB penetrate state and local systems in recent weeks and believe they have pieced together Russia’s plans for election interference. It is far worse than Iran. w/ @julianbarnes @SangerNYT
⋙⋙ NYT: Russia poses a bigger election threat than Iran, many U.S. officials say. http://nyti.ms/31uDUw8

NYT: Iran and Russia Seek to Influence Election in Final Days, U.S. Officials Warn http://nyti.ms/2FRQXQN
// Iran is behind threatening, spoofed emails sent to voters, the officials said, but there was no indication that any votes themselves had been altered.

⭕ 21 Oct 2020

🧵 RT @atrupar Obama: “[Trump] has not shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself & his friends or treating the presidency like a reality show he can use to get attention..the only people truly better off than they were 4 years ago are billionaires who got his tax cuts” 📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1319040222517207040?s=20
↥ ↧
💽 RollingStone: Watch Obama Absolutely Torch Trump During His Debut Campaign Event for Biden http://bit.ly/31sBNco
// Obama debut; “He did inherit the longest streak of job growth in American history, but just like everything else he inherited, he messed it up,” the former president said

🧵 RT @.danielsgoldman Thread on “Russian disinformation.” ¤ Recently@DNI_Ratcliffe asserted that Hunter Biden’s laptop is not part of a Russian disinformation campaign. But Radcliffe misses the point. It is part of Russia’s efforts to interfere in the election. ¤ Let me explain. ¤ 1/ 📌 https://twitter.com/danielsgoldman/status/1318944825505447938?s=20

🐣 RT @Yamiche President Obama: “Our Democracy is not going to work if the people who are supposed to be our leaders lie everyday and just make things up. And we’ve become just numb to it. We’ve become immune to it. Every single day. Fact checkers can’t keep up.”

TheGuardian: Rudy Giuliani faces questions after compromising scene in new Borat film http://bit.ly/3odU7iW
// Trump’s personal attorney has indiscreet encounter with actor playing Borat’s daughter in hotel room during pandemic

🐣 RT @davidaxelrod This @BarackObama speech in Philly is a brutal takedown of @realDonaldTrump. The raging pandemic. The laggard economy. The assault on the ACA. The slights of the war heroes. The embrace of conspiracy theories and racist memes. “Why would we accept this from the @POTUS?”

WaPo: U.S. agencies mount major effort to prevent Russian interference in the election even though Trump downplays threat http://wapo.st/3omhQxN

Top security agencies are coordinating actions to thwart foreign hackers, prevent Russia-linked individuals from entering the United States and freeze any of their assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction. They are also passing intelligence to social media firms, and helping state and local election officials shore up their defenses.

For months American military cyber-operators, aided by intelligence from the National Security Agency, have been targeting Russian spies in order to disrupt their plans by repeatedly knocking them off the Internet, confusing their planners and depriving them of their hacking tools. The goal is to prevent them from attacking American voting systems, according to security officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

The State Department this year has revoked the visas of two Ukrainians deemed to be engaged in activities designed to influence the election and advance Russia’s interests. The Treasury Department imposed sanctions last month on four Russia-linked individuals — including one of the Ukrainians who was labeled an “active Russian agent” — to prevent them from interfering in the electoral process — the first time that the U.S. government has taken such an action before an election.

A vital missing ingredient, however, has been messaging from the top, such as a declaration from the president that the United States will not tolerate efforts — in particular from the Kremlin — to interfere in the election. …

But officials say even if Trump is not publicly voicing support for agencies’ efforts, he is not impeding them, and the NSA, FBI and Department of Homeland Security have made securing the election a top priority.

But this election year the FBI, also armed with NSA intelligence, has tipped Facebook, Twitter and other tech companies to networks of fake accounts created by Russian operatives, which have cut short the attempts of these actors to polarize voters and undermine support for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

With this improved relationship and other initiatives, the government is “light-years” ahead of where it was in 2016 — and even the midterms, said David Imbordino, the NSA’s Election Security lead …

In 2016, some state election officials were wary of allowing the federal government to help them safeguard their systems. Today, DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has relationships with officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and has installed malware-tracking sensors on every state election network to spot potential intrusions. In some states, like Florida, it has those sensors in every county.

The election is still threatened by domestic efforts to cast doubt on its integrity and by Russian efforts to amplify those messages, experts say. The U.S. intelligence community’s head of counterintelligence, William Evanina, this month said that Russia, China and Iran have sought to “amplify divisive messages put forth by Americans, to include the president.”

In March 2018, DHS helped launch the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which serves more than 8,800 election jurisdictions by providing cyberthreat alerts and running CISA’s remote security monitoring. Also that year Trump signed an executive order permitting the imposition of sanctions in the event of foreign interference, and he also signed a national security memo that streamlined approval for offensive cyber operations.

U.S. Cyber Command ran a campaign to keep Russian trolls off the Internet for several days around the midterm elections in 2018. And today, CyberCom and the NSA are undertaking broader and more sophisticated actions, including against the Russian military spy agency, the GRU, and a botnet run by Russian-speaking criminals, U.S. officials said. …

Treasury’s sanctions have enabled social media firms to take more aggressive action against foreign influence. Shortly after Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach was added to a sanctions list last month, Google removed 14 accounts linked to him, including a Gmail account and a YouTube channel, which he used to spread disinformation involving the Ukraine and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Google was able to remove the accounts as violations of their terms of service that require customers to obey U.S. law, a Google spokeswoman said.

Noting the strides taken by the federal, state and local governments and social media companies, CyberCom’s Hartman urged Americans to refrain from “giving a foreign adversary more credit than they’re actually due.”

In the end, McMaster said, the biggest threat to the election is not Russia. “It’s what we’re doing it to ourselves,” he said. “The Russians cannot create these fissures in our society, but they can widen them.”

WaPo: Study finds no crime increase in cities that adopted ‘sanctuary’ policies, despite Trump claims http://wapo.st/3kjUxSz

WaPo, Greg Sargent: Why Trump’s endgame is to rage at Lesley Stahl http://wapo.st/

Politico: White House looks at cutting Covid funds, newborn screenings in ‘anarchist’ cities http://politi.co/2FNKR3T “New York, Portland, Ore., Washington, D.C., and Seattle could lose funding for a wide swath of programs that serve their poorest, sickest residents”
// Documents show funding for a host of health programs is at risk under the president’s order targeting liberal strongholds.

New York, Portland, Ore., Washington, D.C., and Seattle could lose funding for a wide swath of programs that serve their poorest, sickest residents after the president moved last month to restrict funding, escalating his political battle against liberal cities he’s sought to use as a campaign foil.

The Department of Health and Human Services has identified federal grants covering those services, which are among the nearly 200 health programs that could be in line for cuts as part of a sweeping government-wide directive the administration is advancing during the final weeks of the presidential campaign and amid an intensifying pandemic Trump has downplayed.

Trump in a Sept. 2 order called on federal agencies to curtail funding to jurisdictions that “disempower” police departments and promote “lawlessness.” The memo argued that the cities haven’t done enough to quash riots stemming from this summer’s protests over systemic racism and police violence.

The HHS list offers the most detailed picture yet of the administration’s efforts to quickly comply with the Trump directive and the potentially large cuts facing these cities even as the pandemic strains local budgets. It isn’t immediately clear what criteria the budget office will use to evaluate the grants — or how or when cuts may be made.

But while the White House pores over existing funds, at least one department has already moved to implement Trump’s directive for new funding. The Department of Transportation earlier this month said Trump’s “anarchy” memo would factor into the department’s review of applications for a new $10 million grant program supporting Covid-19 safety measures.

The HHS list, which was sent Friday to the White House budget office, represents the 1,500-plus funding awards that have gone to the four cities since 2018. Each federal department also faced a Friday deadline to submit their own lists to the Office of Management and Budget, which will make the final decisions about funding.

Officials from New York City and Seattle — as well as the United States Conference of Mayors — have already threatened legal action if the administration moves to block funds.

“This is nothing more than political retribution,” said Laura Feyer, a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

🐣 RT @JoyceWhiteVance Apparently Senator McConnell believes Kentuckians sent him to the Senate, not to look out for them in tough times, but to consolidate his personal legacy of stealing judgeships.
⋙ WaPo: McConnell warns White House against making stimulus deal as Pelosi and Mnuchin inch closer http://wapo.st/3oecPXF
// GOP leader suggests Democrats are not negotiating in good faith and could disrupt Supreme Court nomination

TheGuardian: Trump’s false ‘Russian spy’ claims put me in danger, says Steele dossier source http://bit.ly/34g7186
// Exclusive: New York-based analyst Igor Danchenko did gather intelligence about Trump but he is certainly not a spy, he says

⭕ 20 Oct 2020

NYMag, Jonathan Chait: Alleged China-Fighter Donald Trump Has Secret Chinese Bank Account http://nym.ag/2Hp3POw

NYT: Trump Calls on Barr to ‘Act’ Against Biden Before Election http://nyti.ms/3kjYSFn //➔ doesn’t seem to get that having all the career lawyers in the DOJ resign would be a “bad look”
// The president is increasingly fixated on seeing criminal action against his political opponents.

🐣 RT @kylegriffin1 The Associated Press, while investigating how Trump plowed through a billion dollars during the campaign, found this interesting detail: A web of limited liability companies hid more than $310 million in spending from disclosure, records show.
⋙ AP: How Trump plowed through $1 billion, losing cash advantage http://bit.ly/2TeIDNU “‘You could literally have 10 monkeys with flamethrowers go after the money, and they wouldn’t have burned through it as stupidly’”

President Donald Trump’s sprawling political operation has raised well over $1 billion since he took the White House in 2017 — and set a lot of it on fire.

Trump bought a $10 million Super Bowl ad when he didn’t yet have a challenger. He tapped his political organization to cover exorbitant legal fees related to his impeachment. Aides made flashy displays of their newfound wealth — including a fleet of luxury vehicles purchased by Brad Parscale, his former campaign manager.

Meanwhile, a web of limited liability companies hid more than $356 million in spending from disclosure, records show.

“They spent their money on unnecessary overhead, lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous activity by the campaign staff and vanity ads,” said Mike Murphy, a veteran Republican consultant who advised John McCain and Jeb Bush and is an outspoken Trump critic. “You could literally have 10 monkeys with flamethrowers go after the money, and they wouldn’t have burned through it as stupidly.”

🐣 Better yet, contact the @FBI
⋙ 🐣 RT @KimberlyLofgren This afternoon, I received the following email pur