My current prediction: Trump will lose in a landslide. But that will only matter to him if the popular vote difference is huge. So no matter where you live, even if it's in a blue state, please VOTE against Donald Trump. Any popularily shown to Trump will be taken as a sign by his undeserving children that they are heirs to his current position.

I am busy all afternoon -- time for a new open thread, all topics welcome.

This was on the playlist of the Peloton class I took this morning. It's hard to find a clear video of all of the Byrds performing it live (as opposed to a lip synced version from an old 60's TV show or an out of focus 1970's reunion show), but it's still a great song and it made me think of Trump as I pedaled today:

"And I'll probably feel a whole lot better when you're gone"

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Some things not worth their own post:

Stephen Miller is the latest to follow a string of White House staff getting COVID-19. (His wife had been with Mike Pence, prepping him for the debate but she left when she got the news about her husband. She had the virus in May).

Kellyanne Conway, aka Ms. Most Unimportant Person in the World, is still fighting with daughter Claudia over Claudia's airing of the family's dirty laundry on TikTok. Claudia says her mom gave the virus to her. And in one TikTok, now deleted, you can hear Kellyanne screaming at Claudia and using the F word. I guess this is what goes for "more mama less drama" in the Conway household. At the Rose Garden ceremony, there were serveral photos of Kellyanne and Bill Barr, standing shoulder to shoulder, laughing and talking spiritedly, with their mouths just inches away from each other and neither wore a mask.

There's a debate tonight between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. I haven't decided whether to watch yet. I might choose to re-watch some episodes of Money Heist (casa de papel) or the 4th season of Reign, or the 4th episode of Tehran. I hate when streaming services release one episode a week. Don't they know we're all binge-watchers? Also good: Trackers (South African) and Departures. So many movies with bad CIA characters these days. [More...]

49 years ago today, I moved to Colorado.

I couldn't have made a better choice. On days when I see sunsets like the one above, the old tagline from the Denver Post always comes to mind: "'Tis a privilege to live in Colorado".

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Writing about Donald Trump is like listening to a broken record. Over and over the media exposes his lies and incompetence, his narcisism and delusions of grandeur, the danger he poses to the global stature of he United States and even to our democracy. At least since the start of COVID-19 (which is when I began watching cable news again after an absence of many years), every night on CNN, in broadcasts distributed around the world, not one, but three prime time hosts brand Donald Trump all these things and worse.

Everyone except his marginalized, fanatical base knows he's a charlatan. Everyone knows he lost the popular vote in 2016. Everyone knows he appoints unqualified people to key staff positions and his administration has the higest turnover rate of any recent occupant of the oval office. Everyone belittles his aides, his nepotism, his adult children, and his apathy to anything that doesn't line his own coffers or ego. Everyone knows he doesn't care about America.

Yet, every morning we wake up and he's still here. He's still dominating the news. He's still lying about COVID-19. Why isn't he gone?

It will take a generation or more to recover from the damage Donald Trump has inflicted on America at every level -- from our physical and economic health to our educational system, our personal and professional lives, the social fabric of our nation and our standing in the world. If we recover at all.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

We've now passed 150,000 deaths in the U.S. from Coronavirus. The virus is going to be with us for a long time. It's still unclear how much it will change our professional and personal lives in the future.

The virus mutates -- a new form is already spreading in Vietnam, and causing great concern. I'd like to know which of the virus vaccines the U.S. is financially backing, if any, will work on mutations of COVID-19.

Is it possible we will spend billions for a vaccine that works on the disease as it existed when the vaccine testing began, but not on the mutated disease that exists months or a year later when it's approved?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

There were 60,000 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday.
The United States is like a rudderless ship. Scientists now warn that it may result in permanent cognitive impairment (brain damage) even to young people. Also, the disease is linked to strokes, heart attacks and blood clots.

Are we getting to the point where masks, or even new lockdowns, will be too little too late?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I didn't celebrate the Fourth of July this year. Between the coronavirus and Donald Trump's incompetence, laziness and inability to express a truthful statement, on any topic, America can no longer say it is the leader of the free world. The day he was given a desk in the oval office, he became the laughing stock of the world. Since then, he's done nothing but drag us all down with him.

Today is another day. I am not going to worry about where Donald Trump and his under-informed, marginalized base are leading us. [More...]

Bob Dylan's new song, Murder Most Fowl, about the JFK assassination is really, really good. It's 16 minutes long and I listened to it twice in a row, the time flew.

Who is surprised that Jack Abramoff is headed back to prison for a new fraud crime? He's agreed to cooperate for a lesser sentence. (Documents here) [More...]

I have no idea where this week went but it's almost over.

What happens now that the protests are winding down?
If raising awareness of racism in this country was the goal, they certainly succeeded. If a change in police culture is what they are after, that's going to take a little longer.

Is there a police brutality database where identifying details of offending officers are publicized? The police didn't take well to the idea of "Who's a Rat" (one naming informants) but they have no problem with posting mug shots of those busted for prost*itution.

Back in 2019, USA Today published a database of 85,000 police officers charged with misconduct, including case documents. The searchable database is here. Maybe it should be updated. And limited to cases in which discipline was imposed, so as not to infringe on the most bedrock principle of our criminal justice system which is the presumption of innocence.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I hope everyone here is staying safe and healthy, and still wearing a mask in public.

It's time for a new open thread, all topics welcome.

This is a day to honor those who served in the military and made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.

In light of the 97,000 plus Americans who have lost their lives to COVID-19 in the last 90 days, I don't see any reason it can't also be a day to remember them. The New York Times clearly feels the same way -- here is the front page of their Sunday edition.

I also agree with the New York Times that it's an appropriate time to say "thank you" to the more than 144 million Americans who followed their state's stay at home orders for weeks on end, donned (and are still wearing) masks and who are still practicing "social distancing".

This is love of country at its best, generous and communal. And it’s all the more important to keep that spirit alive as we enter the warmer months and are tempted to forget all that we have learned in this dark and deadly spring. .

[More...]