I think, that Trump is trying to kill as many Americans as possible. He is especially intent on killing the elderly. Why not phrase it this way instead of begging for his help? Is this not clear in his actions and decisions? We must consider it a genuine possibility. Why would he do this, apparently intentionally? No intention of being CT here, but off the top of my head i can only think he wants to mangle our elections somehow...

anyway, grist for the mill.

From a recent poll that is being touted as showing poor "youth" turnout. This youngest age grouping is for 12 years, the middle grouping for 14 years, the third for 19 years and the fourth for an indeterminate amount. How do they devise these groupings? Would the numbers be significantly different if it were 17-32, 33-48, 49-64, 65-80, etc? What percentage of the voting population does each group represent? My 18 yo daughter faced multiple stumbling blocks trying to vote in the primary in MA while attending college in CT. I imagine that affects turnout numbers somehow...


Age 17-29 were 13% of voters: 58% for Sanders v. 21% for Biden
Age 30-44 were 23% of voters: 33% for Sanders v. 30% for Biden
Age 45-64 were 39% of voters: 21% for Sanders v. 51% for Biden
Age 65+ were 25% of voters: 8% for Sanders v. 71% for Biden

Excellent article in a series by Vox...

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/15/21054083/elizabeth-warren-2020-democratic-primary

just a taste:

It was Warren, in her 2004 book The Two-Income Trap, who recast the state of the American middle class. Those rising incomes? The result of families sending women into the workforce, which meant they now needed to pay for child care and had fewer options for rescue if anything happened to the primary breadwinner. Those cheap consumer goods? They didn’t make up for the rising cost of housing, health insurance, and child care. And that informational plenty? It hadn’t stopped predatory industries from bilking ordinary Americans.

a little more:

In 2010, the Roosevelt Institute held a conference at which Warren spoke, and the think tank released an e-book, with the stirring title “Make Markets Be Markets.” Warren was, at this point, pushing for the creation of a consumer protection agency. Willing a new federal agency into being is the kind of political project that can take generations. Congressional chairs and even US presidents spend their careers fighting, and failing, to achieve more modest institutional reforms. Warren faced yet longer odds. Her power was informal. She wasn’t a US senator, a Cabinet secretary, or the president. She controlled no committees, commanded no voting blocs, owned no budgets, was the key vote on no legislation.

A long but good read... Enjoy!

An absolutely brutal dissection of Trump's psyche and the dangers of his Presidency.

A few snippets, it's long...

The Mayo Clinic describes narcissistic personality disorder as “a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others.” Mayo further explains that “beneath this mask of extreme confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that’s vulnerable to the slightest criticism.”

Does any of that sound familiar?

Then compare Mayo’s list of symptoms to the multi- faceted demands of democratic leadership in a dangerous and complex world. Those afflicted with NPD “have an exaggerated sense of self-importance”; “have a sense of entitlement”; and “require constant, excessive admiration.” They “expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it.”

a little more...

As a result, he entered office unable to appreciate America’s objective strengths in conducting our foreign relations. These matchless blessings included friendly neighbors; peerless economic vitality; our leadership of important global institutions; the strength of our alliances and multilateral relationships; and a reputation, for all our faults, as a democracy which embraces political freedom and human rights. Encased in his feral inner landscape, Trump saw these assets as vulnerabilities.

Long and comprehensive takedown...


https://thebulwark.com/trumps-personal-pathology-is-americas-foreign-policy/

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a28067879/two-penguin-chicks-40-000-colony-climate-change-birds/

Here's a cheery thought to start the week. All over the world, for the past few years, birds have been starving to death. Some of it is attributable to those clever Chinese climate hoaxsters. Some of it also is attributable to general and casual environmental vandalism. But birds are starving to death all over the world.

(H/t to Ben See—@ClimateBen—on the electric Twitter machine for collecting all the stories.)

uggh...

And that the shutdown will continue? I'm certainly not going to watch or listen, but I will be checking DU and TPM and DailyKos this afternoon...

No, seriously... I'm freaking out a little, because it was caught in a photo.

https://www.axios.com/trump-takes-action-on-border-wall-2214601243.html

It's the pic at the signing of the border wall EO. I couldn't figure out how to link to the photo in particular... but it's there. Demon hand, left one even. No joke.

Come to think of it, i'm looking around the circle of those people... they could all be demons.

on how to stream audio for tonight's debate?

My satellite bandwidth can't keep up with live video...

I'm on a satellite dish and streaming video is a mess. I can't seem to find an audio link at CBS... anyone know if NPR will be broadcasting? Should i just turn on my radio and toodle around for it?

Source: RT

A string of attacks in several parts of Iraq killed 46 and injured almost 300 on Monday. The upsurge of violence came as Iraqis prepare to go to polls for their first election since the withdrawal of US troops.

Officials said bombings hit 12 different areas of Iraq, leaving 46 people dead and making Monday the country's deadliest day since March 19, AFP reported.

According to Itar-Tass, the death toll has already risen to 55 people.

Ten casualties were reported in Baghdad, and insurgents also targeted areas north and south of the capital. The oil-rich city of Kirkuk, where tensions over resources have recently been particularly high, saw nine of its residents killed. The western Sunni city of Fallujah, the former Al-Qaeda stronghold of Baqouba and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit also saw attacks.

Read more: http://rt.com/news/iraq-election-attack-killed-876/

---

12 different incidents in Iraq today...