A continuation of events surrounding the drug war and related social issues of Baja California and Mexico. Keeping an eye on Seig Heil Trump. We are still trying to restore all blogs from 2006 which were hacked by Linton Robinson and his team, famous for supporting the Baja Trump Towers on one of his real estate sites. Highlights of Paris-Simone's favorite music !!
My knee completely popped and went out, so I've been down for the last few days. Luckily, Mike is cooking tonight. Up in San Diego (at least in the South Bay area) we noticed we were the only ones with "Ridin with Biden" bumper stickers and our pins on.; in fact no where to be seen were Trump bumper stickers. It's eerie not seeing any campaigning happening...are people terrified ? Maybe.
November the third seems like an eternity away yet it is so close. Catching some of the news when I could limp to the living room, I did watch a portion of one of Trump's rallies, and it made me furious. This was in Florida for the elderly folks. So, there are all these little old people (older than me) shoulder to shoulder in a crowd, no social distancing , no masks. I could forgive them for cheering Trump on (most likely dementia - thinking that Trump would transport them back to the days of Ronnie Reagan, their only hero) but I can never forgive Trump for deliberately not protecting them from harm, illness and in many cases, death. What a fuckin bastard.
So he is on one hell of a lying rampage ; I'll be back with that, more fact checkins', Amy has been seated (OMG), another black man (Walter Wallace) shot in Philly by the Police (no PERT Squad obviously dumb shits) with demonstrations the last two nights, oh and Trump's continual repugnant attacks on Governor Whitmer. Oh, and I ordered the Raccoon book from Australia !
Going to have dinner, finish watching "Better Call Saul" and try to soak my knee so I'll be back later tonight.
~~~~~
I did everything except soak my knee. Let's start off with the fact-checks:
"One week after the 2016 presidential election, white nationalists gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate. “Hail Trump! Hail our people!” the far-right leader Richard Spencer said from the podium to cheers and Nazi salutes. The Atlantic’s cameras captured exclusive footage of this moment, and the clip was shared widely, on news networks and social-media platforms around the world.
That was just the beginning of the story.
White Noise, The Atlantic’s first feature documentary, is the result of a four-year commitment to investigating and exposing the roots of rising white nationalism in the U.S. and abroad. The magazine has covered race in America for the better part of two centuries. White Noise brings The Atlantic’s long tradition of reporting on justice and equality, and the rigor of long-form magazine reporting, to the big screen through immersive, cinematic storytelling.
The result is a deeply reported journey through the underbelly of the alt-right, bringing viewers an unfiltered, clear-eyed look at a powerful extremist movement. The past four years have shown that even as the alt-right fractures and reinvents itself, the ideas it has unleashed have succeeded in infiltrating mainstream political discourse and shaping the direction of America. White Noise is essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand this urgent reality."
My knee completely popped and went out, so I've been down for the last few days. Luckily, Mike is cooking tonight. Up in San Diego (at least in the South Bay area) we noticed we were the only ones with "Ridin with Biden" bumper stickers and our pins on.; in fact no where to be seen were Trump bumper stickers. It's eerie not seeing any campaigning happening...are people terrified ? Maybe.
November the third seems like an eternity away yet it is so close. Catching some of the news when I could limp to the living room, I did watch a portion of one of Trump's rallies, and it made me furious. This was in Florida for the elderly folks. So, there are all these little old people (older than me) shoulder to shoulder in a crowd, no social distancing , no masks. I could forgive them for cheering Trump on (most likely dementia - thinking that Trump would transport them back to the days of Ronnie Reagan, their only hero) but I can never forgive Trump for deliberately not protecting them from harm, illness and in many cases, death. What a fuckin bastard.
So he is on one hell of a lying rampage ; I'll be back with that, more fact checkins', Amy has been seated (OMG), another black man (Walter Wallace) shot in Philly by the Police (no PERT Squad obviously dumb shits) with demonstrations the last two nights, oh and Trump's continual repugnant attacks on Governor Whitmer. Oh, and I ordered the Raccoon book from Australia !
Going to have dinner, finish watching "Better Call Saul" and try to soak my knee so I'll be back later tonight.
~~~~~
I did everything except soak my knee. Let's start off with the fact-checks:
"One week after the 2016 presidential election, white nationalists gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate. “Hail Trump!
Hail our people!” the far-right leader Richard Spencer said from the podium to cheers and Nazi salutes. The Atlantic’s
cameras captured
exclusive footage of this moment, and the clip was shared
widely, on news networks and social-media platforms around the world.
That was just the beginning of the story.
White Noise, The Atlantic’s first feature documentary,
is the result of a four-year commitment to investigating and exposing
the roots of rising white nationalism in the U.S. and abroad.
The magazine has covered race in America for the better part of two
centuries.
White Noise brings The Atlantic’s long tradition of reporting on justice and equality, and the rigor of long-form magazine reporting, to the
big screen through immersive, cinematic storytelling.
The result is a deeply reported journey through the underbelly of the
alt-right, bringing viewers an unfiltered, clear-eyed look at a
powerful extremist movement. The past four years have shown
that even as the alt-right fractures and reinvents itself, the ideas it
has
unleashed have succeeded in infiltrating mainstream political
discourse and shaping the direction of America.
White Noise is essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand this urgent reality."
So, here's a little something to hold you over. Have to run up to the states again early...have a nice weekend, see ya in a few days.
~ From Reliable Sources (Some snippets, also a link to the Masters Fact Checker and at the very end you can subscribe)
"Fewer interruptions, more lies
The very first sentence President Trump uttered at Thursday's debate was false. Moderator Kristen Welker invoked the "dangerous new phase" of the coronavirus and the 16,000 deaths that were recorded since the first debate. "So as you know," Trump responded, "2.2 million people, modeled out, were expected to die."
CNN's Daniel Dale flagged the comment and pointed out, "That was an estimate for *what would happen if no government or person in the US took any mitigation efforts at all.* An extreme-worst-case scenario." In other words, no one "expected" such an agonizing outcome. The AP called this out too: "This was his first line in the debate, and it is false. The U.S. death toll from the pandemic was not expected to be that high."
Fact-checkers won't have a complete count of all the dishonesty until Friday or Saturday, but "from a lying perspective, Trump is even worse tonight than in the first debate," Dale said after 45 minutes of debating.
What about Joe Biden? Well, "Biden was again imperfect from a fact check perspective," Dale said. "He made at least a few false, misleading, or lacking-in-context claims. Trump was, as usual, a serial liar." There's simply no equivalency between the two and never has been. Dale told Wolf Blitzer on CNN, "With Trump you're like 'I Love Lucy' at the chocolate factory. You just don't know which one to pick up."
>> Earlier in the day, on Twitter, Jay Rosen hit on the "political method" behind all the smearing and lying: "Saturate your speech with things the establishment press can't verify. Maximize conflict with their evidentiary standards. Whichever way they react -- not covering, fact checking -- makes for grievances you can bring to market."
The conclusion
Trump "didn't set himself on fire like he did at the first debate," Jake Tapper said on CNN. And/but "I don't see anything that will change the trajectory of the race in a significant way."
Similarly, Judy Woodruff on PBS: "This was much closer to a real debate than what we saw the last time... A much more valuable debate for the American people than what we heard in the first debate."
Trump, at times, went full Fox
Oliver Darcy writes: "At times during the debate, Trump spoke the language of Fox News. This was particularly evident when he went after the 'phony' Mueller probe. While consumers of right-wing media probably ate up the moment, those who do not tune into Fox or talk radio might have had a hard time following along. Joshua Greenput it well: 'Trump might as well be speaking Swahili -- no one but the most devoted Fox watcher can possibly follow what he's saying.'"
Biden v. the Fox narrative about him
"Biden's senile." "He's fading." "He's in hiding."That's been the message about the former VP from Fox's most popular talk shows. Yet every time Biden takes the stage in front of tens of millions of viewers, he blows up that narrative.
Earlier this month, in a phoner on Fox, Trump said "he's mentally gone." Sean Hannity fixated on a boring live shot of Biden's home to imply that the candidate is too weak to campaign. And Laura Ingraham said Wednesday night that "he's losing it." Yet Biden stood up straight and spoke straight to camera and rebutted Trump almost every minute. He had a couple of gaffes, like calling the Proud Boys the "Poor Boys," but nothing eye-popping that I heard. He countered the Fox narrative...
Did the Hunter Biden attack fizzle?
That's what Oliver Darcy thinks. He writes: "Fox has been in overdrive attacking Biden's son this week, but when Trump brought up the issue at the debate, his attack did not land. Biden instead turned the allegation of foreign business practices back on Trump, bringing up the Chinese bank account Trump had, according to a recent NYT report. As Tim Albertatweeted, 'the Hunter/China issue fizzled without a memorable moment.' That said, expect this narrative to continue dominating right-wing media through the election..."
~~~~~
Wait, here's a gem from Business Insider: Priceless:
"Expensify's approximately 10 million customers received an email on Thursday evening from CEO David Barrett with the subject line "Protect democracy, vote for Biden."
"We are facing an unprecedented attack on the foundations of democracy itself. If you are a US citizen, anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy," Barrett said in the email, adding that "a vote for Trump is to endorse voter suppression, it really is very basic."
The email went on to criticize the Trump administration's efforts to suppress voter turnout and its false claims about voter fraud. It urged Americans to vote for Biden on November 3.
"I wouldn't be sending this email if this election were just about 'normal issues' — taxes, legislative priorities, healthcare, etc.," Barrett wrote. "But it isn't. This election is a referendum on what limits, if any, we place on our elected leaders to govern us in a fair and representative way. This election will decide if widespread voter suppression is an acceptable governing tactic."
But while Barrett initially proposed the email, actually sending it was a mini democratic process.
He told Business Insider that several of Expensify's 130 or so employees provided input on the letter's content and that more than two-thirds, a "supermajority," ultimately voted to hit send.
"We've always been a very strongly values-driven organization, and we talk a lot about what we stand for, what we believe in, what we'll put our money and efforts behind," Barrett said.
"It might seem kind of, like, out of the blue, if you don't really know much about Expensify," he said, adding that the company has previously gotten involved in social issues such as subsidizing low-income families' groceries during the pandemic and engaging with local Black Lives Matter leaders in Portland, Oregon, where the company is based.
Barrett said that while there wasn't universal consensus on sending the letter, "the real world is messy and complicated."
"These are not radical ideas," he said, adding that it was important to take a stand on them nonetheless.
Expensify's decision to weigh in on the 2020 presidential race — and political and social issues more broadly — stands in stark contrast to some other tech companies, such as Facebook and Google, that have sought to limit internal discussion on hot-button issues. In a recent memo, the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase declared an "apolitical culture" at the company and urged dissenters to leave, leading about 60 employees to do exactly that.
Barrett criticized Coinbase's approach as pretending to be apolitical while actually just supporting the status quo.
"If you are a member of a democratic society, you can't opt out of that. Choosing not to participate is also a choice — that is a political decision," he said. "If you are a company that chooses not to engage, that either means, one, our official company stance is that we like the status quo and want to keep it, or two is we don't like the status quo, but we're too cowardly to do anything about it."
Read the full email from Expensify CEO David Barrett below:
Subject: Protect democracy, vote for Biden.
I know you don't want to hear this from me. And I guarantee I don't want to say it. But we are facing an unprecedented attack on the foundations of democracy itself. If you are a US citizen, anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy.
That's right, I'm saying a vote for Trump, a vote for a third-party candidate, or simply not voting at all — they're all the same, and they all mean:
"I care more about my favorite issue than democracy. I believe Trump winning is more important than democracy. I am comfortable standing aside and allowing democracy to be methodically dismantled, in plain sight."
If the polls are accurate, there's a roughly 50% chance that you agree Trump needs to go. You know what to do: show up on November 3rd and vote for Biden. Or even better, don't wait until then: vote today. Go to Vote.org if you need help figuring out how.
The rest of this email is intended to address the concerns of those who disagree, and I'll try to take the most likely questions in turn:
Q: Why do you care so much about democracy?
Democracy is core to our business success, in a variety of ways. Internally, we are a famously "flat" organization — nobody reports to anyone else, and advancement is the result of meeting well defined criteria as judged by the vote of those who have already advanced. How we compensate each other is left up to a team vote as well. Even our external business model depends on individual employees "electing" to adopt Expensify as individuals, and then "campaigning" internally to get it adopted companywide. At every layer, democracy is our core competitive advantage — both as a company, and as a nation. But that advantage is only as strong as the clarity of our rules and the fairness of their application. Any attempt to disrupt the rules or apply them unfairly is a direct threat to the strength of our company, and the strength of our nation.
Q: What gives you the right to tell me what to do?
The first amendment. To be clear, you don't need to listen. But the first amendment exists to encourage people like you and me to find some way to talk about the issues that matter, set aside our differences, and find a common ground on which to collectively govern 331 million citizens. Yes democratic self-rule can be inconvenient. But a burden of democracy is that this is literally our job, so I'm asking all of us to take it seriously.
Q: But you're a company, shouldn't you remain neutral?
Expensify depends on a functioning society and economy; not many expense reports get filed during a civil war. As CEO of this business, it's my job to plot a course through any storm — and all evidence suggests that another 4 (or as Trump has hinted — 8, or more?) years of Trump leadership will damage our democracy to such an extent, I'm obligated on behalf of shareholders to take any action I can to avoid it. I am confident our democracy (and Expensify) can survive a Biden presidency. I can't say the same about Trump. It's truly as simple as that.
Q: Don't you think you're… exaggerating a bit?
I truly wish I was. I wouldn't be sending this email if this election were just about "normal issues" — taxes, legislative priorities, healthcare, etc. But it isn't. This election is a referendum on what limits, if any, we place on our elected leaders to govern us in a fair and representative way. This election will decide if widespread voter suppression is an acceptable governing tactic.
Q: Doesn't everyone suppress votes?
Not like Trump. This is the most heavily litigated election in history, with over 300 lawsuits rushing through the courts before election day. And in every case, Biden is pushing to enable voters while Trump is pushing to suppress them. The trend couldn't be more clear: Biden wants democracy, Trump does not. A vote for Trump is to endorse voter suppression, it really is very basic. This isn't about party politics: if Biden were advocating for half of the voter suppression that Trump is actively doing, then I'd be fighting against Biden, too. This is bigger than politics as usual: this is about the very foundation of our nation.
Q: Isn't Trump just trying to prevent voter fraud?
Voter fraud is virtually nonexistent, as overwhelmingly shown by data showcased by the White House itself. That data comes from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank counting every single known case of voter fraud since 1948, which adds up to only 1,290 distinct votes over 78 years. In 2016 alone there were 138 million votes. There is just no credible argument that voter fraud is significant, even based on Trump's own data.
Q: Isn't Biden just using more widespread voting to get elected?
Absolutely. This is the heart of the issue. Biden believes that enabling more people to vote will help him win. Biden wins by promoting democracy; Trump wins by suppressing it. A vote for Biden is a vote for democracy.
Q: So what if Trump gets elected by voter suppression, all's fair right?
Well that's what we're going to decide, on November 3rd. Do you want your elected official to win based on the merits of their ideas? Or based on the ruthlessness of their voter suppression? And if you're ok with "just a little suppression" — where do you draw the line?
Q: Why send me this when the polls say Biden is going to win?
The polls said Trump was going to lose last time, and he didn't. But even if the polls can be trusted, that might still not be enough. Trump has stated repeatedly he will only honor an election that he personally feels is fair. So much depending on his personal judgement is worrying, because he has rejected the overwhelming expert consensus that voter fraud has been negligible historically, and has also said he believes it would be impossible to lose a fair election. Accordingly, the only way to ensure a peaceful transition of power is to ensure this election is an overwhelming, undeniable landslide in favor of Biden. Any excuse to question the election is an opportunity for Trump to refuse to leave the White House, plunging this country into a Constitutional crisis bordering on civil war. No matter how slight that risk might be, the consequences of it happening would be so catastrophic to society and the economy, we need to do all we can to prevent it.
So one final plea. As a fellow citizen, I fully support and respect your Constitutional right to disagree — and as an avid supporter of democracy, I value that disagreement. Constructive, well-informed debate (hopefully using the most accurate, least biased news source available) is what makes this nation so exceptional.
But the Constitution is only as strong as the respect we give it. I'm asking you to cherish it close to your heart, and demand that those you elect do the same.
-david Founder and CEO of Expensify
PS: Agree or disagree? Reply to this email to share your thoughts with Concierge, or hit me up on Twitter @dbarrett to discuss!
PPS: Want to do even more? Support the National Popular Vote to make every vote count equally toward the presidential election, even if you aren't in one of the 12 states deciding this election.
PPPS: Are you annoyed that you received this as a non-US citizen? If you're lucky enough to live in a democracy, then I'd encourage you to protect it and be willing to do uncomfortable things — like emailing millions of customers — to defend it."
PRICELESS !!!! Wow, that's what i like about you, Portland !!
~~~~~
Stay Safe Ya'll.
Oh what the heck...here's the Sisters , a fave of the Raccoons !
So, here's a little something to hold you over. Have to run up to the states again early...have a nice weekend, see ya in a few days.
~ From Reliable Sources (Some snippets, also a link to the Masters Fact Checker and at the very end you can subscribe)
"Fewer interruptions, more lies
The very first sentence President Trump uttered at Thursday's debate was false. Moderator Kristen Welker invoked the "dangerous new phase" of the coronavirus and the 16,000 deaths that were recorded since the first debate. "So as you know," Trump responded, "2.2 million people, modeled out, were expected to die."
CNN's Daniel Dale flagged the comment and pointed out, "That
was an estimate for *what would happen if no government or person in
the US took any mitigation efforts at all.* An extreme-worst-case
scenario." In other words, no one "expected" such an agonizing outcome. The AP
called this out too: "This was his first line in the debate, and it is
false. The U.S. death toll from the pandemic was not expected to be that
high."
Fact-checkers won't have a complete count of all the dishonesty until Friday or Saturday, but "from a lying perspective, Trump is even worse tonight than in the first debate," Dale said after 45 minutes of debating.
What about Joe Biden?
Well, "Biden was again imperfect from a fact check perspective," Dale
said. "He made at least a few false, misleading, or lacking-in-context
claims. Trump was, as usual, a serial liar." There's simply no
equivalency between the two and never has been. Dale told Wolf Blitzer on CNN, "With Trump you're like 'I Love Lucy' at the chocolate factory. You just don't know which one to pick up."
>> Earlier in the day, on Twitter, Jay Rosen
hit on the "political method" behind all the smearing and lying:
"Saturate your speech with things the establishment press can't verify.
Maximize conflict with their evidentiary standards. Whichever way they
react -- not covering, fact checking -- makes for grievances you can
bring to market."
The conclusion
Trump "didn't set himself on fire like he did at the first debate," Jake Tapper said on CNN. And/but "I don't see anything that will change the trajectory of the race in a significant way."
Similarly, Judy Woodruff on PBS:
"This was much closer to a real debate than what we saw the last
time... A much more valuable debate for the American people than what we
heard in the first debate."
Trump, at times, went full Fox
Oliver Darcy writes:
"At times during the debate, Trump spoke the language of Fox News. This
was particularly evident when he went after the 'phony' Mueller probe.
While consumers of right-wing media probably ate up the moment, those
who do not tune into Fox or talk radio might have had a hard time
following along. Joshua Greenput it well: 'Trump might as well be speaking Swahili -- no one but the most devoted Fox watcher can possibly follow what he's saying.'"
Biden v. the Fox narrative about him
"Biden's senile." "He's fading." "He's in hiding."That's
been the message about the former VP from Fox's most popular talk
shows. Yet every time Biden takes the stage in front of tens of millions
of viewers, he blows up that narrative.
Earlier this month, in a phoner on Fox, Trump said "he's mentally gone." Sean Hannity fixated on a boring live shot of Biden's home to imply that the candidate is too weak to campaign. And Laura Ingraham said Wednesday night that "he's losing it." Yet Biden stood up straight and spoke straight to camera and rebutted Trump almost every minute.
He had a couple of gaffes, like calling the Proud Boys the "Poor Boys,"
but nothing eye-popping that I heard. He countered the Fox narrative...
Did the Hunter Biden attack fizzle?
That's what Oliver Darcy thinks. He writes:
"Fox has been in overdrive attacking Biden's son this week, but when
Trump brought up the issue at the debate, his attack did not land. Biden
instead turned the allegation of foreign business practices back on
Trump, bringing up the Chinese bank account Trump had, according to a
recent NYT report. As Tim Albertatweeted,
'the Hunter/China issue fizzled without a memorable moment.' That said,
expect this narrative to continue dominating right-wing media through
the election..."
~~~~~
Wait, here's a gem from Business Insider: Priceless:
"Expensify's approximately 10 million customers received an email on
Thursday evening from CEO David Barrett with the subject line "Protect
democracy, vote for Biden."
"We are facing an unprecedented attack
on the foundations of democracy itself. If you are a US citizen,
anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy,"
Barrett said in the email, adding that "a vote for Trump is to endorse
voter suppression, it really is very basic."
The email went on to
criticize the Trump administration's efforts to suppress voter turnout
and its false claims about voter fraud. It urged Americans to vote for
Biden on November 3.
"I wouldn't be sending this email if this
election were just about 'normal issues' — taxes, legislative
priorities, healthcare, etc.," Barrett wrote. "But it isn't. This
election is a referendum on what limits, if any, we place on our elected
leaders to govern us in a fair and representative way. This election
will decide if widespread voter suppression is an acceptable governing
tactic."
But while Barrett initially proposed the email, actually sending it was a mini democratic process.
He
told Business Insider that several of Expensify's 130 or so employees
provided input on the letter's content and that more than two-thirds, a
"supermajority," ultimately voted to hit send.
"We've always been a
very strongly values-driven organization, and we talk a lot about what
we stand for, what we believe in, what we'll put our money and efforts
behind," Barrett said.
"It might seem kind of, like, out of the blue, if you don't really
know much about Expensify," he said, adding that the company has
previously gotten involved in social issues such as subsidizing low-income families' groceries during the pandemic and engaging with local Black Lives Matter leaders in Portland, Oregon, where the company is based.
Barrett said that while there wasn't universal consensus on sending the letter, "the real world is messy and complicated."
"These are not radical ideas," he said, adding that it was important to take a stand on them nonetheless.
Expensify's
decision to weigh in on the 2020 presidential race — and political and
social issues more broadly — stands in stark contrast to some other tech
companies, such as Facebook and Google,
that have sought to limit internal discussion on hot-button issues. In a
recent memo, the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase declared
an "apolitical culture" at the company and urged dissenters to leave, leading about 60 employees to do exactly that.
Barrett criticized Coinbase's approach as pretending to be apolitical while actually just supporting the status quo.
"If
you are a member of a democratic society, you can't opt out of that.
Choosing not to participate is also a choice — that is a political
decision," he said. "If you are a company that chooses not to engage,
that either means, one, our official company stance is that we like the
status quo and want to keep it, or two is we don't like the status quo,
but we're too cowardly to do anything about it."
Read the full email from Expensify CEO David Barrett below:
Subject: Protect democracy, vote for Biden.
I
know you don't want to hear this from me. And I guarantee I don't want
to say it. But we are facing an unprecedented attack on the foundations
of democracy itself. If you are a US citizen, anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy.
That's
right, I'm saying a vote for Trump, a vote for a third-party candidate,
or simply not voting at all — they're all the same, and they all mean:
"I
care more about my favorite issue than democracy. I believe Trump
winning is more important than democracy. I am comfortable standing
aside and allowing democracy to be methodically dismantled, in plain
sight."
If the polls are accurate, there's a roughly 50% chance that you agree Trump needs to go. You know what to do: show up on November 3rd and vote for Biden. Or even better, don't wait until then: vote today. Go to Vote.org if you need help figuring out how.
The
rest of this email is intended to address the concerns of those who
disagree, and I'll try to take the most likely questions in turn:
Q: Why do you care so much about democracy?
Democracy
is core to our business success, in a variety of ways. Internally, we
are a famously "flat" organization — nobody reports to anyone else, and
advancement is the result of meeting well defined criteria as judged by
the vote of those who have already advanced. How we compensate each
other is left up to a team vote as well. Even our external business
model depends on individual employees "electing" to adopt Expensify as
individuals, and then "campaigning" internally to get it adopted
companywide. At every layer, democracy is our core competitive advantage
— both as a company, and as a nation. But that advantage is only as
strong as the clarity of our rules and the fairness of their
application. Any attempt to disrupt the rules or apply them unfairly is a
direct threat to the strength of our company, and the strength of our
nation.
Q: What gives you the right to tell me what to do?
The
first amendment. To be clear, you don't need to listen. But the first
amendment exists to encourage people like you and me to find some way to
talk about the issues that matter, set aside our differences, and find a
common ground on which to collectively govern 331 million citizens. Yes
democratic self-rule can be inconvenient. But a burden of democracy is
that this is literally our job, so I'm asking all of us to take it
seriously.
Q: But you're a company, shouldn't you remain neutral?
Expensify
depends on a functioning society and economy; not many expense reports
get filed during a civil war. As CEO of this business, it's my job to
plot a course through any storm — and all evidence suggests that another
4 (or as Trump has hinted — 8, or more?) years of Trump leadership will
damage our democracy to such an extent, I'm obligated on behalf of
shareholders to take any action I can to avoid it. I am confident our
democracy (and Expensify) can survive a Biden presidency. I can't say
the same about Trump. It's truly as simple as that.
Q: Don't you think you're… exaggerating a bit?
I
truly wish I was. I wouldn't be sending this email if this election
were just about "normal issues" — taxes, legislative priorities,
healthcare, etc. But it isn't. This election is a referendum on what
limits, if any, we place on our elected leaders to govern us in a fair
and representative way. This election will decide if widespread voter suppression is an acceptable governing tactic.
Q: Doesn't everyone suppress votes?
Not
like Trump. This is the most heavily litigated election in history,
with over 300 lawsuits rushing through the courts before election day.
And in every case, Biden is pushing to enable voters while Trump is
pushing to suppress them. The trend couldn't be more clear: Biden wants
democracy, Trump does not. A vote for Trump is to endorse voter suppression, it really is very basic.
This isn't about party politics: if Biden were advocating for half of
the voter suppression that Trump is actively doing, then I'd be fighting
against Biden, too. This is bigger than politics as usual: this is
about the very foundation of our nation.
Q: Isn't Trump just trying to prevent voter fraud?
Voter fraud is virtually nonexistent, as overwhelmingly shown by data showcased by the White House itself.
That data comes from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank
counting every single known case of voter fraud since 1948, which adds
up to only 1,290 distinct votes over 78 years. In 2016 alone there were
138 million votes. There is just no credible argument that voter fraud
is significant, even based on Trump's own data.
Q: Isn't Biden just using more widespread voting to get elected?
Absolutely.
This is the heart of the issue. Biden believes that enabling more
people to vote will help him win. Biden wins by promoting democracy;
Trump wins by suppressing it. A vote for Biden is a vote for democracy.
Q: So what if Trump gets elected by voter suppression, all's fair right?
Well
that's what we're going to decide, on November 3rd. Do you want your
elected official to win based on the merits of their ideas? Or based on
the ruthlessness of their voter suppression? And if you're ok with "just
a little suppression" — where do you draw the line?
Q: Why send me this when the polls say Biden is going to win?
The
polls said Trump was going to lose last time, and he didn't. But even
if the polls can be trusted, that might still not be enough. Trump has
stated repeatedly he will only honor an election that he personally
feels is fair. So much depending on his personal judgement is worrying,
because he has rejected the overwhelming expert consensus that voter
fraud has been negligible historically, and has also said he believes it
would be impossible to lose a fair election. Accordingly, the only way
to ensure a peaceful transition of power is to ensure this election is
an overwhelming, undeniable landslide in favor of Biden. Any excuse to
question the election is an opportunity for Trump to refuse to leave the
White House, plunging this country into a Constitutional crisis
bordering on civil war. No matter how slight that risk might be, the
consequences of it happening would be so catastrophic to society and the
economy, we need to do all we can to prevent it.
So one final
plea. As a fellow citizen, I fully support and respect your
Constitutional right to disagree — and as an avid supporter of
democracy, I value that disagreement. Constructive, well-informed debate
(hopefully using the most accurate, least biased news source available) is what makes this nation so exceptional.
But
the Constitution is only as strong as the respect we give it. I'm
asking you to cherish it close to your heart, and demand that those you
elect do the same.
-david Founder and CEO of Expensify
PS: Agree or disagree? Reply to this email to share your thoughts with Concierge, or hit me up on Twitter @dbarrett to discuss!
PPS: Want to do even more? Support the National Popular Vote
to make every vote count equally toward the presidential election, even
if you aren't in one of the 12 states deciding this election.
PPPS:
Are you annoyed that you received this as a non-US citizen? If you're
lucky enough to live in a democracy, then I'd encourage you to protect
it and be willing to do uncomfortable things — like emailing millions of
customers — to defend it."
PRICELESS !!!! Wow, that's what i like about you, Portland !!
~~~~~
Stay Safe Ya'll.
Oh what the heck...here's the Sisters , a fave of the Raccoons !
I love these guys: " Trump isn't just a liar- he is literally fighting a war against reality. and winning."
But you see, Trump spooked me more than ever this past weekend and last couple of days. He has been completely unhinged living in an unreality at his insane rallies screaming and holding his arms out as if he were Christ crucified, or at least the last savior on earth. If you would see a person acting in this fashion on the street, you would instinctively duck and cover or fuckin run.
I kept asking Mike, '...do you think our Intelligence is keeping an eye on him? Do they know something we don't ?' Which may alas, sound a tad conspiratorial but give me a break, he is unbalanced and dangerous. Lucky for me I read an opinion piece tonight which eased my mind, a bit. But still...
~ How about him stealing CCR's tune ? I mean, how stupid can he be? How egotistical is he to think the song is actually about him ? Talk about grandiose delusions.
~ From Vanity Fair and note the video, Trump has them playing 'Fortunate Son' as he disembarks AFI...as an entrance theme, as though the lyrics describe him, unfucking real: (I linked it for ya last sentence in case it doesn't come up, get barf bag ready.)
"John Fogerty, the singer and principal songwriter from Woodstock-era swamp rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival, has joined the growing list of musicians demanding that President Donald Trump stop blasting their tunes at his pep rallies. The fact that the song in question is "Fortunate Son" is particularly egregious, as would be obvious to anyone who listened to the words. It ain't me? Nay, it is thee!
In a tweet, Fogerty wrote "I object to the President using my song, ‘Fortunate Son’ in any way for his campaign. He is using my words and my voice to portray a message that I do not endorse."
The message continued, "Therefore, I am issuing a ‘cease and desist’ order. I wrote this song because, as a veteran, I was disgusted that some people were allowed to be excluded from serving our country because they had access to political and financial privilege. I also wrote about wealthy people not paying their fair share of taxes. Mr. Trump is a prime example of both of these issues. The fact that Mr. Trump also fans the flames of hatred, racism and fear while rewriting recent history, is even more reason to be troubled by his use of my song."
Fogerty served for two years in the Army Reserves during the height of the Vietnam War. Donald Trump, the world's most famous sufferer of bone spurs, thinks soldiers who die fighting to protect the nation are losers.
Rolling Stone reports that the cease and desist argues that Trump's continued use of "Fortunate Son" will "likely to cause confusion, mistake and deceive the public as to the affiliation, connection, sponsorship or association of President Trump by or with John Fogerty."
Fogerty is no stranger to litigation, as he is possibly the only person in entertainment who was once sued for sounding too much like himself."
~~~~~
~ How about the insults hurled at Dr. Fauci? I'm speechless. Absolutely horrifying. From Democracy Now :
"As the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 tops 220,000 — by far the highest in the world — President Trump has escalated his attack on the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. During a campaign phone call, Trump described Fauci as an idiot.
President Donald Trump: “People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots, these people, these people that have gotten it wrong. Fauci’s a nice guy. He’s been here for 500 years. He’s a disaster.”
Dr. Fauci responded by saying he just wants to focus on combating the virus, saying, “That’s the only thing I really care about. That other stuff, it’s like in 'The Godfather': Nothing personal, strictly business as far as I’m concerned. I just want to do my job and take care of the people of this country.”
While Trump is attacking Fauci, his campaign continues to run an ad that uses Fauci’s words out of context, falsely giving the impression that he endorses the president’s handling of the pandemic.
This comes as COVID-19 cases are surging again across the country. On Monday, nearly 60,000 people in the United States tested positive, and 445 people died.
In Kansas, a coronavirus outbreak in a nursing home has killed 10 people and infected all residents and an unspecified number of staff.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday warned in a tweet, “If COVID-19 continues to exponentially spread like last week, New Mexico will not have the health care and hospital capacity for every New Mexican who needs care.”
Meanwhile, in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the state will conduct its own review of any COVID-19 vaccine before it is distributed in California.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans are planning to move forward a measure on the Paycheck Protection Program today before a larger vote Wednesday on a $500 billion bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are still in talks over a larger coronavirus relief package. Democrats are pushing for a $2.2 trillion aid bill."
~~~~~
Still, there are observers who really don't believe that Trump will hit all the red buttons should he lose the election:
"CNN)President Trump has repeatedly refused to commit to leave office peacefully if he loses the election. Instead he rails about voter fraud and a rigged election. His untruths and obstinacy are by now an old story, but they remain both dangerous to our democracy and maybe to our lives if the President continues on this path.
Many law enforcement and homeland security experts have raised the alarm about possible violence after a contested election. Nothing in the President's words or behavior suggests that he will be a calming force or will leave the White House without a fight, either in the courthouse or the streets. We all know, after four years of this, that it's a pretty good bet he will make a bad situation worse.
I share many of these worries. But I'm not expecting the worst. Not because Trump will have an attack of conscience -- I don't think he has a conscience. And not because he will put the country ahead of his own personal interests -- that fantasy is no longer even debatable.
I simply assume, as you should, that if he loses next month, the President will put his own interests ahead of the country's, as he always does. And that may actually guarantee a peaceful transition of power.
Donald J. Trump has a powerful survival instinct.
Recent news reports have exposed what a terrible businessman he is, over many decades. His presidency has been an international calamity, alienating our allies and empowering dictators and other enemies. America is stumbling through the worst pandemic in 100 years, with an economy that is teetering on the brink.
At the center of these tragedies is our President, a member of the survival Hall of Fame. He has survived multiple bankruptcies of his companies, massive legal judgments and a business instinct that can best be described as "How to lose money without even trying."
But somehow, every time, after every colossal failure, he has always been able to repackage himself and sell the next version of Donald Trump to the public. Real estate developer. Casino mogul. Reality TV star. President of the United States.
This pattern has been noted by the President's biographer Michael D'Antonio, who says that Trump in times of peril has always found a way to protect the thing he values most -- his self-image. "It's not success as others see it, or achievement as others define it," D'Antonio told me recently. "What matters to him is the story he can tell himself, or sell to himself, in order to feel like he prevailed. That instinct is one of many that allows him second, third and fourth chances at escape and reinvention."
And it's those very instincts that may lead a defeated Trump to just leave town.
Trump is good at recognizing the personal risks he faces and staying one step ahead of his personal demise. That skill seems likely to kick in right about now, because Trump has a lot to be really worried about.
First, even if he pardons himself for all federal crimes, the state of New York and the district attorney of Manhattan are reportedly well along in investigations into his business practices. And since pardoning himself is not yet a tested constitutional right, the Department of Justice could drop a legal anvil on his head next year on multiple issues including obstruction of justice, tax fraud and defrauding the Treasury through payments to the Trump Organization.
The second worry is purely financial. He owes hundreds of millions of dollars, according to The New York Times. He will need some flexibility from his creditors and a new business venture to make that money quickly Paid speeches will help, but won't generate a billion dollars.
Here's where the survival instinct will kick in. What can Trump give prosecutors, creditors and potential investors to allow him to live his life freely and build the kind of media empire he so craves?
What he can give them is -- wait for it -- a peaceful transition of power. Freedom for peace.
To avoid violence in the streets, prosecutors of all stripes may decide it is in their -- and the country's -- interest to cut a deal. Trump may agree to go quietly to save his own skin. There is the basis of the win-win.
And the same goes for creditors and investors. There is not a bank in the world whose shareholders would allow any renegotiation of credit terms with a man who's promoting violence on the American streets and creating international instability in the capital markets. No one is going to bankroll the Trump media network if our cities are burning and Trump is lighting the match.
So, all sides in theory will have incentive to make a deal. As much as it might pain our new president, peace may be better for the country than revenge. The same goes for politicians of both parties and every institution involved with Trump.
In the end, the one thing that has severely damaged this country from Day One -- Trump's utter devotion to himself -- may serve all of us in the end. We know he only cares about himself and will believe whatever he tells himself. That form of narcissism may just be the disease that allows all of us, especially our democracy, to survive this grave threat."
Okay, the big debate coming up, computer and tv working, but the phone is not working. Carumba.
I hope Joe is right, but I still think Trump is even more psychotic than any of us can even guess... he's one these silent "functioning" psychotic types who leads you to believe he's not all that dangerous...
