August 22, 2020

"It was great" in leaked audio trump hails low black turnout

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/21/trump-black-voters-turnout-2016-398520

In a private meeting inside Trump Tower days before his inauguration, Donald Trump told a group of civil rights leaders something most Republicans wouldn’t dare publicly acknowledge: lower turnout among Black voters did, in fact, benefit him in the 2016 presidential election.

"Many Blacks didn’t go out to vote for Hillary ‘cause they liked me. That was almost as good as getting the vote, you know, and it was great,” the president-elect said, according to an audio recording of the meeting shared with POLITICO.


Three-and-a-half years later, those comments take on new weight, as Democrats and Republicans battle over restrictions on voting amid an historic pandemic.

August 21, 2020

Senator yells 'f---, f---, f---' on live television during DeJoy testimony thinking he was muted

https://twitter.com/ForAmerica/status/1296807936153522177

Senator yells 'f---, f---, f---' on live television during DeJoy testimony as Congress still learns how to use videoconferencing tech

Sen. Tom Carper seemingly thought he was on mute during Friday's virtual Senate hearing for the testimony of US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
A visibly frustrated Carper could be heard saying "f---, f---, f---" on live television after struggling with his livestream for the hearing, which was conducted with Cisco's videoconferencing software Webex.

https://www.businessinsider.com/usps-hearing-congress-senator-carper-curses-dejoy-post-office-webex-2020-8

August 21, 2020

some rural residents worried that the damage to their livelihoods / USPS credibility has been done

But the same survey found some risk in attacking what has been among the best-loved government agencies. Rural Democrats and Republicans in the survey were leery of privatizing the Postal Service, an aim of Mr. Trump’s conservative allies, or cutting its budget. Mr. Trump opposes a Democratic effort to provide the post office with $25 billion in emergency aid.

Amid the uproar, some rural residents worried that the damage to their livelihoods and the credibility of the Postal Service had already been done. They wondered whether they could still trust the mail to handle their packages, animals and ballots.

“I’ve always counted on the post office,” said Carrie Sparrevohn, 64, who raises merino sheep and sells wool and yarn from her ranch outside Auburn, Calif. “Now, I don’t know if I should be mailing anything.”

n Fort Benton, Mont., Leone Cloepfil, 75, started worrying about her mail in July, when her Visa payment was not delivered and she was charged a $35.04 late fee. She had to stop driving recently after the numbness in her foot got so bad that she could no longer feel the pedals, so she said she had no choice but to trust her ballot to the mail.

“I can’t say I’m 100 percent sure,” she said. “It’s a mess.”

Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat in rural Montana, has received 4,800 calls about the Postal Service since the pandemic began. One of the complaints was from a neighbor in the 600-person town of Big Sandy who ran out of medication while waiting for a refill to come in the mail. (Mr. Tester’s Republican counterpart in Montana, Senator Steve Daines, also objected to the postmaster’s new policies but did not respond to an interview request.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/21/us/postal-service-mail-rural.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

August 21, 2020

25 days until voting starts in Pennsylvania. early voting start dates for all 50 states

https://www.businessinsider.com/when-is-early-voting-in-each-state-2020-8

When early voting starts and ends for the 2020 election
Highlighted states are sending mail ballots to all or most registered voters.
Search in table
STATE EARLY VOTING STARTS EARLY VOTING ENDS
Alabama N/A N/A
Alaska October 19 November 2
Arizona October 7 October 30
Arkansas October 19 November 3
California October 5 November 2
Colorado October 19 November 2
Connecticut N/A N/A
DC October 27 November 2
Delaware N/A N/A
Florida October 24 October 31
Georgia October 12 October 30
Hawaii October 24 November 2
Idaho October 19 October 30
Illinois September 24 November 2
Indiana October 6 November 2
Iowa October 5 November 2
Kansas October 14 November 2
Kentucky October 13 November 2
Louisiana October 20 October 27
Maine October 4 October 29
Maryland October 22 October 29
Massachusetts October 17 October 30
Michigan Sep.19 November 2
Minnesota September 18 November 2
Mississippi N/A N/A
Missouri N/A N/A
Montana October 4 November 2
Nebraska October 4 November 2
Nevada October 17 October 30
New Hampshire N/A N/A
New Jersey September 19 November 2
New Mexico October 6 October 31
New York October 24 November 1
North Carolina October 15 October 30
North Dakota October 19 November 2
Ohio October 6 November 2
Oklahoma October 29 October 31
Oregon N/A N/A
Pennsylvania September 14 Ballot must be returned by November 3
Rhode Island N/A N/A
South Carolina N/A N/A
South Dakota September 19 November 2
Tennessee October 14 October 29
Texas October 13 October 30
Utah October 20 October 30
Vermont September 19 November 2
Virginia September 19 October 31
Washington N/A N/A
West Virginia October 21 October 31
Wisconsin October 20 November 1
Wyoming September 24 November 2

August 21, 2020

'They like me': Trump asked about QAnon during briefing

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump did something incredibly dangerous.

Asked by a reporter about QAnon, a conspiracy group that has been labeled a potential domestic terrorism threat by the FBI, Trump said this:
"Well, I don't know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate. But I don't know much about the movement. I have heard that it is gaining in popularity and from what I hear it's -- these are people that -- they watch the streets of Portland -- when they watch what happened in New York City in just the last six or seven months, but this was starting even four years ago when I came here. Almost four years, can you believe it?

"These are people that don't like seeing what's going on in places like Portland, and places like Chicago, and New York and other cities and states. And I've heard these are people that love our country and they just don't like seeing it."


https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/20/politics/donald-trump-qanon/index.html

August 21, 2020

Denver Realtor Dumped by Re/max After Taking Black Lives Matter Signs

Denver Realtor Dumped After Taking Black Lives Matter Signs

Denice Reich, a prominent Denver-area realtor, has been dumped by RE/MAX Alliance after a post on Nextdoor accusing her of removing Black Lives Matters signs from yards in the Hilltop neighborhood.

When reached by phone on August 19, Reich, who pronounces her last name "Rich," told Westword that she would send a statement about the situation that afternoon, adding, "We want the truth out, not the bullshit." While no statement has yet arrived, Reich subsequently told Denver7 that she removed two BLM placards, not the six to eight claimed on Nextdoor, because "the signs were as offensive as 'KKK' signs," and insisted she returned them a few hours later. She also called Black Lives Matter "a 'terrorist organization' out to destroy America."

https://www.westword.com/news/denver-realtor-denice-reich-dumped-black-lives-matter-signs-11778648

---------------------

Denver realtor fired for removing Black Lives Matter signs in neighborhood where she sells homes
Neighbors on NextDoor said Denice Reich was removing Black Lives Matter signs in the Hilltop neighborhood.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/denver-realtor-fired-removing-black-lives-matter-signs-hilltop-neighborhood/73-6d9c3973-dc97-41ec-8844-2f1b80eb918a

A realtor who has been with RE/MAX for nearly 50 years has been fired for removing Black Lives Matter signs in an affluent neighborhood where she sells homes.

Denice Reich has been a prominent real estate agent in Denver for decades, and has worked for RE/MAX since 1973, specializing in luxury homes.

Posts on the Hilltop neighborhood’s NextDoor accused Reich of taking Black Lives Matter signs, prompting RE/MAX Alliance Owner Chad Ochsner to make the decision to terminate her on August 3.

Ochsner confirmed the decision to Next.

“We’re not a company that can condone trespassing on people’s private property and theft,” Ochsner said. “For us, it doesn’t matter what the politics is.”

Ochsner acknowledged Reich’s long history in Denver’s real estate market, which Reich herself bills as unparalleled.

August 21, 2020

Drudgereport headers: "crushed expectations" "fox news raves" "enormously effective"

August 21, 2020

Build the wall scammer wanted to sue blm/nfl for "fueling racist attacks""

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8648539/We-Build-Wall-scammer-launched-second-GoFundMe-raise-500k-suit-against-BLM.html

August 21, 2020

Work dried up during the pandemic. So this commercials director pivoted to planter boxes - sold 171

beautiful boxes... check out pics at the links


In March, when the pandemic closed down the economy, commercials director Raúl B. Fernández used the free time to build his wife a pair of planter boxes for their Mount Washington home. Friends on his soccer team asked for some, and he built a few more.

Then he put a picture of the boxes on the neighborhood app Nextdoor to see what would happen, and the response was dozens of orders, far beyond his expectations, all fueled by the sudden boom in gardening that has occurred since so many of us found ourselves cooped up at home during the pandemic, anxious for something to do.

https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-08-14/commercials-director-raul-fernandez-began-building-planter-boxes-during-covid-19

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/human-interest/2020/07/02/out-of-work-commercial-director-builds-garden-boxes-during-pandemic

On April Fools’ Day he and his business partner, producer Colin Hakes, officially started Victory Garden L.A., offering customized planter boxes made out of cedar and redwood. The boxes continue to evolve.

Hakes, a neighbor, had farming experience and suggested adding a veggie-flower growing soil, weed barrier fabric lining and drip-line irrigation. Hinged covers to keep out pests came next, plus wheels, and now in the latest iteration, trellises. They also build stand-alone covers for existing boxes as well as containers for odd shaped spaces: triangles, hexagons, terraces. The boxes range from 2-by-4 feet to 3-by-8 feet and start at $250.



Fernández is a “carpenter by chance” but grew up building things in the garage with his engineer dad. For help in meeting demand — 171 boxes delivered so far — they hired former industry colleagues.

August 20, 2020

Excellent analysis of trump nonsense filled press conference