What’s been going on in recent days is not an anomaly, but does represent a new apogee in a trend that has been building for nearly four years. Trump has been waging an internal war within his administration since his first days in office. Often the targets have been people with independent judgment or significant records of achievement before joining the administration.
With few exceptions, Trump has won this war, and now has the team he wants. But it’s a Pyrrhic victory: He finds himself surrounded by people whose resumes typically would not land them into jobs at senior levels of the White House or Cabinet. Never mind the A Team. At this point, even the B Team would represent a significant upgrade.
Can't see the mountains clearly, but the sky is mostly blue and the air quality index is only twenty-six! (As memory serves me it got up to nearly 300.)
The Church’s Black Exodus [Click] “Pastors’ silence on racism and COVID-19 is driving Black parishioners away from their congregations.” I am reminded of the old saying that only good wood splits.
I don't recall where I read it, but evidently acquired immunity to the older (and far less serious) coronaviruses that commonly infect humans has been shown to only last for months, not years or a lifetime.
Now that the mist has burnt off, we can see the Sierra foothills to the north fairly well--we can even make out the trees. It seems like it has been months since we could do that.
An article in last week's Economist notes that unlike Democrats, who tend to assume, Republicans get out and work for votes.
The article focused on Florida, where Repubs have been on the ground, going door to door, for months. Who carries the state may come down to who contacted more voters and thus earned their trust. The Economist feels Florida is a tossup, but thinks it may well decide the election. Since the results will probably be known Election Night, if it goes to bBiden, the result may well totally demoralize Trump. I dunno. It's all speculation except the undeniable fact of Republicans on the ground, and the correspondent's observation of them getting good receptions, even from putative Dems.
Political door knocking is foreign to my experience, and I just hang up on campaign phone calls like any other junk calls (usually with a "no thank you"), so I just can't see what the point is. I assume other people react as I do, since I am of course normal. And since we moved in here about 25 years ago (and perforce started voting by mail), hardly any campaign mailers have arrived before I voted. It's no different this year.
Prior to this year I had been knocking on doors for -- let's see -- 14 years. Starting in 2004. I don't know about Florida, but Democrats knock on doors in the Midwest. Although I admit that the only time anyone has ever knocked on my door was for an effectively nonpartisan municipal election.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/10/opinion/sunday/trump-election-authoritarianism.html
ReplyDelete"A final pre-election case for understanding the president as a noisy weakling, not a budding autocrat."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/amateur-hour-trump-white-house-110115806.html
ReplyDeleteWhat’s been going on in recent days is not an anomaly, but does represent a new apogee in a trend that has been building for nearly four years. Trump has been waging an internal war within his administration since his first days in office. Often the targets have been people with independent judgment or significant records of achievement before joining the administration.
With few exceptions, Trump has won this war, and now has the team he wants. But it’s a Pyrrhic victory: He finds himself surrounded by people whose resumes typically would not land them into jobs at senior levels of the White House or Cabinet. Never mind the A Team. At this point, even the B Team would represent a significant upgrade.
"A's hire B's, B's hire C's, . . ."
DeleteCan't see the mountains clearly, but the sky is mostly blue and the air quality index is only twenty-six! (As memory serves me it got up to nearly 300.)
ReplyDeleteThe Church’s Black Exodus [Click] “Pastors’ silence on racism and COVID-19 is driving Black parishioners away from their congregations.” I am reminded of the old saying that only good wood splits.
ReplyDeleteTrump Wanted to Wear a Superman T-Shirt [Click] Speaking from a balcony isn’t enough to make him another Mussolini.
ReplyDeleteJaime Harrison smashes Senate fundraising record in race with Lindsey Graham [Click]
ReplyDeleteNew Battleground State Polls
ReplyDeleteOctober 11, 2020 at 9:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
From Baldwin Wallace University:
MICHIGAN: Biden 50%, Trump 43%
OHIO: Trump 47%, Biden 45%
PENNSYLVANIA: Biden 50%, Trump 45%
WISCONSIN: Biden 49%, Trump 43%
From Public Policy Polling:
TEXAS: Biden 47%, Trump 46%
From CBS News:
MICHIGAN: Biden 52%, Trump 46%
NEVADA: Biden 52%, Trump 46%
IOWA: Biden 49%, Trump 49%
The Cerebellum Is Much More Important Than We Thought [Click]
ReplyDeleteThat article is fascinating. My youngest is on the autism spectrum so I found it particularly interesting.
DeletePeople have a tendency to think many things they don't pay attention to don't count...
Delete
ReplyDeleteStating the obvious, but still. . .
Trump May Offer Larger Relief Proposal Than Democrats [Click]
Which Has No Chance in the Senate [Click]
I don't recall where I read it, but evidently acquired immunity to the older (and far less serious) coronaviruses that commonly infect humans has been shown to only last for months, not years or a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteNow that the mist has burnt off, we can see the Sierra foothills to the north fairly well--we can even make out the trees. It seems like it has been months since we could do that.
ReplyDeleteOHIO: 168,749 cases and 4,999 deaths.
ReplyDeleteJoe Biden's polling better than any challenger since the beginning of scientific polling in 1936 [Click]
ReplyDeleteNot unrelated, I suppose:
DeleteTrump wants to hit campaign trail every day through election [Click] It seems some people think he isn’t up to it.
An article in last week's Economist notes that unlike Democrats, who tend to assume, Republicans get out and work for votes.
DeleteThe article focused on Florida, where Repubs have been on the ground, going door to door, for months. Who carries the state may come down to who contacted more voters and thus earned their trust. The Economist feels Florida is a tossup, but thinks it may well decide the election. Since the results will probably be known Election Night, if it goes to bBiden, the result may well totally demoralize Trump. I dunno. It's all speculation except the undeniable fact of Republicans on the ground, and the correspondent's observation of them getting good receptions, even from putative Dems.
Political door knocking is foreign to my experience, and I just hang up on campaign phone calls like any other junk calls (usually with a "no thank you"), so I just can't see what the point is. I assume other people react as I do, since I am of course normal. And since we moved in here about 25 years ago (and perforce started voting by mail), hardly any campaign mailers have arrived before I voted. It's no different this year.
DeletePrior to this year I had been knocking on doors for -- let's see -- 14 years. Starting in 2004. I don't know about Florida, but Democrats knock on doors in the Midwest. Although I admit that the only time anyone has ever knocked on my door was for an effectively nonpartisan municipal election.
DeleteMan’s Best Friend Once Made Nice Wool Blankets, Too [Click] “Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest once bred dogs in large numbers and sheared them for wool.”
ReplyDelete