I thought the above image illustrates the dire straights Earth is now in, hence the living beings calling this planet home. The image to the left is the temperatures across the planet for one month, October 2020. The image on the right is the average temperature for the years1951-1980. The difference is enormous and clearly illustrates how eliminating greenhouse gases is vital.

November 17, 2020
By Brett Anderson

NOAA and NASA (click here) have recently released their October global surface temperature data. Despite a strengthening La Nina, which typically has a cooling influence on the global average temperature, last month ranked as the fourth warmest October on record. Records go back to 1880.

As you can see by both images above, the greatest warming relative to normal was across the Arctic region where an extended period of open water, which allows more heat to be trapped near the surface, kept the region well above normal. Eastern Europe was also unusually warm, while a distinct area of abnormal cold was centered over central Canada.

The last seven years have brought us the seven warmest Octobers on record, according to NOAA.

October 2020 in the 44th consecutive October and the 430th consecutive month where the global average surface temperature was above the 20th century average....

The Democrats fail to show a strong man attitude toward Cuba and Venezuela.

November 5, 2020
By Christine Sexton

Floridians flock to the federal health-insurance exchange (click here) in higher numbers than any other state, but Obamacare-supporting political candidates, including incumbents and hopefuls, got beat in key state and federal races Tuesday.

Florida Democrats during the campaign tried unsuccessfully to paint President Donald Trump as the man who would repeal the Affordable Care Act and place millions of people with pre-existing conditions at risk, but Trump defeated Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the state, capturing more than 51 percent of the vote.

Also, Democratic U.S. House members Donna Shalala and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, both of whom were elected in 2018 mid-term elections following Trump’s attempt to repeal the federal health-care law, were defeated by Republican challengers Tuesday night in South Florida districts....

It's Sunday Night

West Side Story has been loved by the American people for decades. Perhaps it is too ethnic for the year 2020, but, it is still a great performance of dancers and singers.

The storyline is much different than today. Gangs. The Sharks and the Jets. Clashes between two different ethnic gangs. That comes through in the song "America."

Not so different are the appearances of gangs on the streets of the USA. Political gangs. That may be different in Chicago where guns are a real problem that contributes to disruption of life and longevity in all too many instances. But, there are gangs now, and guess what, it is mostly about racism yet in the 21st century. I think the year of the appearance of West Side Story was 1947. More than 70 years has passed by and there are still racial differences in the socio-economic balance of the USA. Half of the time since the end of the USA Civil War in 1865.

There is a lot of man-woman interaction throughout the entire play/movie. It is nearly palpable with plenty of joy thrown into the laughter in the dance scene. Men trying to make their way in a new country and women finding happiness in the freedom of expression. Both genders carry out their new awareness and joy between themselves and not expressing all they are to others.

How can people be a part of the same society and yet be separate? Assimilation is not needed, so much as acceptance and a bridge to understanding, appreciation, and solace this country is the greatest country on Earth.

West Side Story, Back story (click here)

Conceived in 1949, West Side Story has a serious message that pleads for racial tolerance, delivered in unforgettable song and dance. People have been listening to that message, and humming the songs, ever since the show premiered on Broadway in 1957 and debuted on the silver screen in 1961.

Composer Leonard Bernstein and his co-creators, Jerome Robbins (director, choreographer and original idea-man) Arthur Laurents (who wrote the book) and Stephen Sondheim (lyricist) aimed for lofty ideals in the show’s themes and every detail of its production. But West Side Story, winner of two Tony and 10 Academy Awards, has endured because it's also incredibly entertaining....

"I like to be in america" by Leonard Bernstein (click here for artist website) and Stephen Sondheim

Ok by me in america
Everything free in america
For a small fee in america

I like the city of san juan
I know a boat you can get on
Hundreds of flowers in full bloom
Hundreds of people in each room

Automobile in america
Chromium steel in america
Wire spoke wheel in america
Very big deal in america

I'll drive a buick in san juan -
If there's a road you can drive on
I'll give my cousins a free ride -
How you fit all of them inside

Immigrant goes to america
Many helloes in america
Nobody knows in america
Puerto rico's in america

When I will go back to san juan -
When will you shut up and get gone
I'll give them new washing machine -
What have they got there to keep clean

I like the shores of america
Comfort is yours in america
Knobs on the doors in america
Wall to wall floors in america

I'll bring a TV to san juan -
If there's a current to turn on
Everyone there will give big cheer -
Everyone there will have moved here

When a request is this stupid it is time for the Biden campaign to end the recourts.

Georgia has already certified it's election after an extensive hand count. It is time to call it what it is, manipulative infighting in the Republican Party in attempts to undercut democracy.

November 22. 2020
By Steven Fowler

Georgia's nearly 5 million votes (click here) in the presidential race will be counted for a third time, as President Trump's campaign has formally asked for a recount because his loss is within the legal margin for that request.

Of the 4,998,482 ballots cast in the race between Trump and President-elect Joe Biden, the president lost by 12,670 votes, or about 0.26%. State law allows a losing candidate within 0.5% to ask for a recount within two business days of certification.

While thousands of workers spent most of the last week hand-counting every vote as part of a newly required statewide risk-limiting audit, this recount will be different....

Thank you to the former Governor. He is the second Republican to take a real world view of Donald John Trump. It is time the rest of them stop playing games and stand up for the democracy they say they love. The extended crying over a lost election is an assault against the USA national security.

November 22, 2020

By Colin Campbell

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (click here) had harsh words for President Trump’s legal team as it pursues its increasingly quixotic quest to overturn the November election.

“Quite frankly, the conduct of the president’s legal team has been a national embarrassment,” Christie said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Trump lost the Nov. 3 election to President-elect Joe Biden, but has launched a series of lawsuits seeking to claim victory in states narrowly won by the Democrat. But the cases have been largely dismissed, and judges have consistently rejected Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud....

Harvard warns North Carolina

Harvard Key Metrics (click here) for a county by county awareness map.

November 21, 2020

Charlotte - Researchers with Harvard University (click here) say nearly half of North Carolina’s counties need to enact stay-at-home orders immediately.

The Harvard Global Health Institute maps the COVID-19 risk state-by-state and county-by-county.

States with more than 25 cases per 100,000 people are listed in the “red zone” a category researchers say requires immediate lockdowns.

Two-thirds of the counties in the greater Charlotte area are currently in the red zone.

Others, like Mecklenburg and Iredell, are listed in the “orange zone” which calls for rigorous test and trace programs to be implemented.

For small business owners, like the Bost family which owns Cabo Winery in Concord, who worry about public health and their own economic future, they find themselves in a tough spot.

“I think we do need to do a lockdown. But not to the extent we did the first time,” said Kendall Bost....

"The Path to Zero"

NOT the path to Herd Immunity!

The Lawbreakers.

The Ameican people need to come to terms with the Republican Party, their corruption, and lawlessness. This is absolutely ridiculous. Biden has won 306 electoral votes. Michigan has 16 electoral votes (click here). Their objection doesn't matter.

This is nothing but an attempt to prevent certification of the Michigan vote and force the conflict into the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is not going to throw the election to Trump who has only accumulated 232 electoral college votes. Michigan's 16 votes are not going to change anything.

The objection by the Republicans is based on racism. That alone will prevent any change in the Michigan delegates.

November 20. 2020
By Jonathan Oosting

Lansing - A key Republican (click here) on the Board of State Canvassers is threatening to refuse certification of Michigan election results until after an audit, but legal experts say he has no authority to demand a process that is not even allowed under Michigan law.

Norm Shinkle, one of two Republicans on the four-member board, has echoed President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of irregularities or fraud in the Michigan election, which Democrat Joe Biden won by more than 154,000 votes in unofficial results.

“I do think with all of the potential problems, if any of them are true, an audit is appropriate,” Shinkle told The Washington Post ahead of a Monday meeting where he’ll be asked to certify those unofficial results already certified by all 83 Michigan counties.

“I take one step at a time, and if we can get more information, why not?”...

There is no option to sabotage a presidential election. The electors vote the way the electorate voted.

The Rule of Law.

 MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW (EXCERPT) (click here)

Act 116 of 1954

168.47 Convening of presidential electors; time and place thereof; resignations; refusal or failure to vote; vacancies.

Sec. 47.

   The electors of president and vice-president shall convene in the senate chamber at the capitol of the state at 2 p.m., eastern standard time, on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following their election. At any time before receipt of the certificate of the governor or within 48 hours thereafter, an elector may resign by submitting his written and verified resignation to the governor. Failure to so resign signifies consent to serve and to cast his vote for the candidates for president and vice-president appearing on the Michigan ballot of the political party which nominated him. Refusal or failure to vote for the candidates for president and vice-president appearing on the Michigan ballot of the political party which nominated the elector constitutes a resignation from the office of elector, his vote shall not be recorded and the remaining electors shall forthwith fill the vacancy. The ballot used by the elector shall bear the name of the elector. If at the time of convening there is any vacancy caused by death, resignation, refusal or failure to vote, neglect to attend, or ineligibility of any person elected, or for any other cause, the qualified electors of president and vice-president shall proceed to fill such vacancy by ballot, by a plurality of votes. When all the electors appear and the vacancy shall be filled, they shall proceed to perform the duties of such electors, as required by the constitution and laws of the United States. If congress hereafter fixes a different day for such meeting, the electors shall meet and give their votes on the day designated by act of congress.

History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955 ;-- Am. 1971, Act 172, Eff. Mar. 30, 1972
Popular Name: Election Code

Brookings:

Jully 14, 2020
By Barry Fadem

In July 6, 2020, (click here) the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states have the power to require presidential electors to vote for their party’s candidate for president.

More specifically, the decision allows states to pass laws requiring presidential electors to cast their votes in a manner that faithfully reflects their commitment to vote for the person they promised to choose when they were nominated as an elector....

...The opinion goes on:

“The Constitution is barebones about electors. Article II includes only the instruction to each State to appoint, in whatever way it likes, [its presidential electors]. The Twelfth Amendment then tells electors to meet in their States, to vote for President and Vice President separately, and to transmit lists of all their votes to the President of the United States Senate for counting. … That is all.”.

Justice Thomas reached the same conclusion as the other justices, but he (and Justice Gorsuch) said that the 10th Amendment provided a basis for the decision. Thomas wrote that the “powers related to electors reside with States to the extent that the Constitution does not remove or restrict that power. Thus, to invalidate a state law, there must be ‘something in the Federal Constitution that deprives the [States of] the power to enact such a measure.’”...

Any person committing election falsification shall be guilty of a Class IV felony.

Rudy, who's skirt are you chasing? Rough being divorced, huh? The $3 dye job. Ya hafta know that working as Trump's personal lawyer only pays enough to get by. Afraid of being fired, Rudy?

What happened to all that Russian money, Rudy? It isn't easy being Rudy these days. 

November 19, 2020

By Jonah Engle Bromwich

Rudolph W. Giuliani (click here) gave a news conference on Thursday in which, as he continued to cast doubt on the results of the presidential election, it appeared he was starting to melt.

Speaking from the headquarters of the Republican National Committee in Washington, Mr. Giuliani grew increasingly agitated as he expanded on the debunked allegations of widespread voter fraud that he has pursued since the election was called for Joseph R. Biden Jr. earlier this month. About 40 minutes into his statement, his sweat began to drip in color.

By the time Mr. Giuliani began to take questions from reporters, the dark rivulets of liquid streaking down his face had become impossible to ignore, even as he pleaded with those present not to make light of his claims, for which he has yet to present evidence....

The status and dignity afforded every USA president hasn't touched Trump's groveling for power. He has no shame. He can't even imagine what most Americans are thinking right now. Trump still has the support of A SMALL NUMBER OF AMERICANS with big signs and voices. He is counting on a civil war to save his presidency. It isn't going to happen. 

November 19, 2020

By David E. Sangar

Washington - President Trump’s attempts (click here) to overturn the 2020 election are unprecedented in American history and an even more audacious use of brute political force to gain the White House than when Congress gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency during Reconstruction.

Mr. Trump’s chances of succeeding are somewhere between remote and impossible, and a sign of his desperation after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. won by nearly six million popular votes and counting, as well as a clear Electoral College margin. Yet the fact that Mr. Trump is even trying has set off widespread alarms, not least in Mr. Biden’s camp.

“I’m confident he knows he hasn’t won,” Mr. Biden said at a news conference in Wilmington, Del., on Thursday, before adding, “It’s just outrageous what he’s doing.” Although Mr. Biden dismissed Mr. Trump’s behavior as embarrassing, he acknowledged that “incredibly damaging messages are being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions.”

Mr. Trump has only weeks to make his last-ditch effort work: Most of the states he needs to strip Mr. Biden of votes are scheduled to certify their electors by the beginning of next week. The electors cast their ballots on Dec. 14, and Congress opens them in a joint session on Jan. 6....

November 19, 2020

By Craig Mauger and Mellisa Nann Burke

...The former mayor of New York City (click here) focused on allegations made in a case brought on behalf of Detroit poll challengers who sought to stop the certification of Wayne County's election results. The claims focused on purported restrictions on challengers, late arriving absentee ballots and Detroit clerk's office workers who supposedly encouraged early voters to cast their ballots for Democratic President-elect Joe Biden and Democrats. 

But city of Detroit officials have denied the allegations. And Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny said the plaintiffs'  "interpretation of events" was "incorrect and not credible."...

...Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, according to the current unofficial results. All 83 counties have already voted to validate their totals. The Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to meet Monday to consider statewide certification.

It's unclear what would cause a judge to throw out all of the votes in Wayne County, which has a population of about 1.7 million, 17% of Michigan's total population....

...U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell, a Dryden Republican who votes with Trump 96% of the time, said he’s “disgusted” with what Trump is doing, saying he’s damaging democracy and people’s trust that their vote matters in U.S. elections. 

“You can’t just throw out votes you don’t like. That’s a third-world nation. What’s the basis upon which these would be thrown out?” Mitchell said of Wayne County votes. 

Mitchell noted that former Michigan elections director Chris Thomas — with decades of experience in election administration — has signed affidavits saying there’s no indication of fraud or gross errors in absentee voting.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents parts of Wayne County and Detroit, said Trump’s strategy is a criminal scheme to “steal” the election he clearly lost.

“We must make sure that we push back against that kind of approach of taking away people’s voices via their vote. It’s important: You cannot choose your voters. This is not how democracy works,” Tlaib said. 

Mitt Romney, the moral man.

November 8, 2020
By Dennis Romboy

He has tried (click here) to be reasonable, tried to be patient. But Mitt Romney, with an earnest sigh, says he’s arrived reluctantly at a moment of unavoidable judgment: Donald Trump has bad character. Disrespectful. Divisive. Erratic. Yuck....

Salt Lake City - When asked Sunday about President Donald Trump (click here) claiming he won the election, Sen. Mitt Romney said the president has a “relaxed relationship with the truth.”

“You’re not going to change the nature of President Trump in these last days apparently of his presidency. He is who he is,” the Utah Republican said. “He has a relatively relaxed relationship with the truth. He’s going to keep on fighting until the very end.”

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, Romney said he expects Trump to accept the results of the election once he has exhausted any remedies to contest the “inevitable” outcome....

Why do Black Lives Matter? Because they are innocent people, quite possibly other African Americans, serving time for crimes they didn't commit.

"Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States" (2017) (click here)

November 19, 2020

By David Ovalle

Notorious American serial killer Samuel Little (click here) has been identified as the murderer of two more women in Miami-Dade County — including one case in which another man served 22 years in prison before he was exonerated.

Authorities recently concluded that Little murdered Karen O’Donoghue, whose body has never been discovered, in the early 1970s, and Dorothy Gibson, who was strangled outside a downtown Miami hotel in 1977. Detectives say Little, who confessed to 93 murders and has been dubbed the country’s most prolific serial killer, admitted to both cases and there’s enough evidence to corroborate his claims.

In all, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has officially identified Little as the killer of four women in the county, although he is suspected in several other South Florida cases....

November 27, 2018

By James Queally

Sam Little, (click here) the convicted murderer who earlier this year claimed he had killed at least 90 women across the U.S., has confessed to slayings in at least 37 cities stretching back decades, including more than a dozen in Southern California, according to an FBI timeline made public Tuesday.

Little, 78, had been a target of law enforcement for decades after he was linked to the strangulation deaths of prostitutes in Mississippi and Florida in the 1980s, but he eluded conviction.

In 2012, a cold-case investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department led to Little’s capture in Louisville, Ky., and his eventual conviction in 2014 in three murders. He stayed silent in a California prison until May, when Texas Ranger James Holland began to develop a rapport with him, investigators have said....

Trump is angry about the latest actions by Israel to end the presence of al Qaeda in the Middle East.

The deed is done. There is no reason for the Iranian people to suffer more than they already do under hideous sanctions after first experiencing relief. There is absolutely no reason to invade Iran.

November 16, 2020

Washington - Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, (click here) accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States, the New York Times reported, citing intelligence officials.

Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle in the streets of Tehran on Aug. 7, the Times reported on Friday.

The killing of Masri, who was seen as a likely successor to al Qaeda’s current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was kept secret until now, the newspaper said.

A senior Afghan security source told Reuters in October that Masri, who has long been on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted Terrorists list, had been killed in the Pasdaran area of Tehran. Reuters had been unable to corroborate that information.

It was unclear what, if any, role the United States had in the killing of the Egyptian-born militant, the Times said. U.S. authorities had been tracking Masri and other al Qaeda operatives in Iran for years, it said....

November 14, 2020

By Farnaz Fassihi

Iran’s Foreign Ministry (click here) on Saturday denied a report that Israeli agents had fatally shot Al Qaeda’s second-ranking leader on the streets of Tehran, likening it to a “Hollywood” scenario manufactured by “American and Zionist” officials.

The ministry issued the denial to Iranian reporters in the wake of a report Friday by The New York Times, which quoted intelligence officials as saying that Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, who went by the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was killed by two motorcycle-riding assassins on Aug. 7.

That day was the anniversary of the 1998 attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people. Mr. al-Masri was accused of being one of the masterminds of the attacks.... 

A quarter million people dead of COVID-19 in the USA are making headlines around the globe. During this pandemic the USA has maintained 19 to 20 percent of the infected and dead week after week. There is no doubt why people want a new president. They have paid the price of a power hungry madman long enough.

It is the last Hail Mary to rob the election from the American people.

Slate magazine has made the best speculation about Giuliani. "Giuliani Isn't Even Trying to Make Coherent Legal Arguments Anymore."

November 18, 2020

By Jeremy Stahl

On Wednesday, (click here) a federal judge in Pennsylvania rejected the Trump campaign’s request for an additional evidentiary hearing over its effort to invalidate the vote in the state over a set of technicalities. The rejection didn’t deter the Trump campaign, though, which a few hours later requested to file an amendment to its already amended complaint, asking the judge in the case to throw out the entire election in Pennsylvania and declare Donald Trump the winner, an argument that already failed in state court. The new request was signed by Rudy Giuliani, who just one day earlier had appeared on behalf of a client as a lawyer in court for the first time in nearly three decades.

You may have heard that Giuliani’s appearance before the court on Tuesday did not go well. “I’ve never seen worse lawyering in an election law case in my life,” University of California–Irvine School of Law professor and Slate contributor Richard Hasen tweeted....

Trump doesn't care about "the way" he stays in office, he simply expects to keep the presidency.

If I thought I had the Supreme Court in my back pocket what does the legal argument matter so long as it makes it to the court?

There is also the dreamscape of Trump that certification of the election will never be made, hence, the final decision will fall to the US House where there are more Red States than the Blue States when the states each have only one vote without any respect to the population of those states.

He is remaining quiet because he doesn't want to give himself away knowing how he talks with abandon.

I fully believe Giuliani is a full partner to stealing the election from the American people. He wants an evidentiary hearing.

An evidentiary hearing is a legal court proceeding that involves eyewitness testimony, given under oath, that's relevant to the case. The presiding judge will hear and take into consideration live eyewitness evidence presented during the hearing in order to make a fair ruling.

The Trump poll monitors have been providing complaints based on hearsay only. They make statements about what they believe is wrongful conduct within the election workers and "the count." That is testimony Giuliani wants to bankroll for the purpose of a hearing that can make it to the Supreme Court for them to disqualify the election. 

Trump and Giuliani are attempting both to prevent certification of election results and pursue an evidentiary hearing to have all those worthless statements by poll observers validated and canceling the election.

There simply is not that much corruption of the election anywhere EXCEPT when considering Lindsay Graham is advocating corruption by example in Georgia. 

Graham, Giuliani, and Trump are seeking ways to cancel the election.

The Deep State. 

Poor Trump is always so oppressed by the Deep State.

How do you successfully investigate war crimes by ISIS?

In recent years, (click here) Jon’s company has successfully investigated and exposed sexual slavery of women and girls by ISIS, crooked judges, foreign officials who steal U.S-funded food and medical aid, contract killers, human traffickers, war crimes, and bribery....

The Ossoffs are rather interesting people. She is an OB-GYN physician. The couple seems to take on the more difficult challenges in life. His wife, Alisha Kramer is working in one of the most difficult practices during this time of COVID-19. How do you keep a mother to be smiling and trusting while knowing there is a dangerous virus? She is admirable to say the least.

It would be interesting to find out how Jon's media company was actually able to compile enough evidence for documenting war crimes. The leaders of the Middle East have been diligent in the battle against ISIS. I can imagine they appreciated every bit of the information Jon's company brought forward to them. Very interesting person.

I wish I could hear them speak about their incredible life together. They are an exciting couple.

May 8, 2017
By Sarah Polus

After 12 years, Jon Ossoff, (click here) a Democrat running to fill Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s now empty House seat, is finally engaged to Alisha Kramer, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Friday night proposal comes a few weeks after CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota encouraged Ossoff, 30, to pop the question to his longtime girlfriend and fellow Georgetown undergrad classmate Kramer, 27, during an April 18 interview. While discussing why he couldn’t vote for himself in the special election, Ossoff explained although he grew up in the 6th District, he currently lives outside of it, closer to Emory University where Kramer is in medical school, to support her. Camerota replied back bluntly with, “So when are you going to marry her?”

“Well, I don’t want to give anything away,” Ossoff responded mid-laugh. “I’ll give you a call when I have something to announce.”...

Impressive. Very, very impressive.

Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger has a long-standing value of ethics. He wasn't going to be corrupted, so where did Lindsay Graham find the audacity to even approach him about changing the Georgia vote?

Raffensperger is impressive. I hope he and his family are okay, because, his dedication to the truth is admirable and they should not be suffering because of it.

The Republicans did their best to influence this man. There should be no surprise he has a strong backbone to even the idea of corruption. He loves this country and won't have it compromised.

Mr. Raffensperger is a breath of fresh air to this corrupted party that will go to any extent to maintain their base of power. The corruption within the Republican Party is chasing power, not governance. That is very worrisome. The wrongful use of power within any government leads to compromise of the well being of the people and their BEST INTERESTS.

I wish him and his family well. They never deserved any of the harassment and death threats are very scary. No doubt.

The investigation with Lindsay Graham needs to go forward. When people like Graham "even think" that level of corruption is possible it has to be stopped. Graham needs to understand in sincerely potent ways his actions and words are completely wrong in a way that could lead to a treasonist act.

"My God, Lindsay, Trump polishes Putin's boots." It isn't a joke. It isn't just politics. It is not a game that any one player is WINNING everything. This is about the governance of the USA and the lives of the people. There is no such thing as winning at any cost in this country. Graham and Trump are way over the line.

November 18, 2020

By Jessica Huseman and Mike Spies

Long before Republican senators (click here) began publicly denouncing how Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger handled the voting there, he withstood pressure from the campaign of Donald Trump to endorse the president for reelection.

Raffensperger, a Republican, declined an offer in January to serve as an honorary co-chair of the Trump campaign in Georgia, according to emails reviewed by ProPublica. He later rejected GOP requests to support Trump publicly, he and his staff said in interviews. Raffensperger said he believed that, because he was overseeing the election, it would be a conflict of interest for him to take sides. Around the country, most secretaries of state remain officially neutral in elections.

The attacks on his job performance are “clear retaliation,” Raffensperger said. “They thought Georgia was a layup shot Republican win. It is not the job of the secretary of state’s office to deliver a win — it is the sole responsibility of the Georgia Republican Party to get out the vote and get its voters to the polls. That is not the job of the secretary of state’s office.”...

There are public and private sites to be vaccinated.

November 17, 2020
By Joel Grover and Josh Davis

Public sites (click here) that have been giving COVID-19 tests to thousands of Los Angeles residents since April are gearing up to give COVID-19 vaccines, the company that helps run the sites--Curative--tells the NBC4 I-Team.

Curative says it plans to make it easy and free for people to get a vaccine, hopefully in the early months of 2021.

"People know where to go, they know where their community test sites are, and so, they know the drill," says Curative's General Manager for California Operations Agatha Bacelar....

November 16, 2020

Quincy - Quincy-based Stop & Shop (click here) has signed on to be among the first pharmacies in the country to administer future coronavirus vaccines when one is authorized by the FDA. The federal Department of Health and Human Services recently announced a list of chain and community-pharmacy networks that will be part of vaccine distribution.

Stop & Shop said it will be available to its customers for free at its more than 250 pharmacy locations in the northeast.

Other chains with Boston-area supermarkets joining the effort include Star Market, Shaws, Hannaford, Price Chopper, Market 32 and Wegmans.

“The vast majority of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy, and our new agreement with pharmacy partners across America is a critical step toward making sure all Americans have access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines when they are available,” HHS Sec. Alex Azar said in a statement.

There was promising vaccine news on Monday, as Cambridge-based Moderna announced that its shots appear to be 94.5% effective against the virus....

Physical labor during the COVID-19 CRISIS is not an option. ISOLATION is the only answer.

November 13, 2020
By Ben Winck

Congress's critical support (click here) for unemployed Americans expired just as US coronavirus cases surged in a daunting second wave.

The $2.2 trillion CARES Act is widely praised for buoying small businesses, households, and struggling sectors through the first months of the pandemic. The package also included critical aid for jobless Americans in direct relief payments and a $600-per-week expansion to unemployment benefits.

The unprecedented amount of fiscal support fueled a sharp initial rebound in economic activity, hiring, and consumer spending. Yet enhanced unemployment benefits ended in July, leaving jobless Americans with considerably less financial aid. Businesses were also forced to reopen as emergency relief loans dried up.

And just as the stimulus programs expired, a second wave of coronavirus cases emerged in the US. Economic reopening brought quarantined Americans back outside, and continued hiring pulled the unemployment rate lower through the summer....

This reflects the gross mismanagement of the Trump administration. July 23, 2020, was supposed to mean something. It was supposed to end the danger to Americans by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That didn't occur because Trump insisted the virus was a hoax. People have died because of the ranting madness of Donald John Trump. The most well known political figure that died because of Trump's madness is Herman Cain. Trump killed him at Cain's presence at his rally. 

The American people need a competent leader not one willing to gamble with their lives.

The growing number of people contracting the virus and the end of the economic support by Congress is no coincidence. The skyrocketing number of victims to this virus is directly related to the lack of Congressional support of the American people during an impossible time because of the lousy Republican president in the White House.

US House of Representatives

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, and Majority Whip James E. Clyburn were uncontested in US House leadership for the next two years.

...The highest-ranking contested race (click here) is for the No. 4 slot for assistant speaker. Current Democratic Caucus Vice Chairwoman Katherine M. Clark of Massachusetts, Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chairman David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC Chairman Tony Cárdenas of California are all running....

The new Assistant Speaker is Katherine M. Clark. Congratulations to her. 

October 24, 2020
By Katie Lannan

Boston - Congresswoman Katherine Clark (click here) says a lack of access to child care is "holding our economy hostage" and called for a shift in how the public views care and education of young children.

Speaking Thursday at an online Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event, Clark said child care should be thought of as a public good like transportation infrastructure rather than as a personal choice for parents.

"If the Zakim Bridge collapsed, the effects on the local economy would be immediate, devastating and obvious," Clark said. "Every one of us would leap into action. We would make the necessary investments in resources because we know our ability to function hinges on it. The pandemic has shown us this is true for child care."

Describing the current economic crisis as "the country's first she-cession," Clark said women have been especially hard hit by the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September, 865,000 women left the workforce, she said....