The Commentariat -- November 16, 2020

Late Morning Update:

Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: ">The White House's national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, on Monday promised president-elect Joe Biden an orderly transfer of power, a departure from other Trump administration officials who have shunned any perception that ... Donald Trump lost the election. 'If the Biden-Harris ticket is determined to be the winner -- and obviously things look that way now -- we'll have a very professional transition from the National Security Council,' O'Brien said in a virtual interview at the Global Security Forum.... O'Brien couched his statements, as Trump's campaign is still pursuing legal challenges to the election results, and he said the transition would commence 'if the current lawsuits don't work out for the president.... If there is a new administration, they deserve some time to come in and implement their policies,' O'Brien said.... [MEANWHILE,] 'The Radical Left Democrats, working with their partner, the Fake News Media, are trying to STEAL this Election,' Trump tweeted [Monday morning]. 'We won't let them!'"

Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Georgia's Republican secretary of state posted several fact checks on his official Facebook page Sunday correcting misinformation about the election promoted by ... Donald Trump and his campaign. Brad Raffensperger, for example, shared an Associated Press story that fact-checked Trump’s false claim that Georgia election officials were unable to verify signatures on absentee ballots because of a legal settlement.... Raffensperger also wrote that his office strengthened the absentee ballot process for the first time since 2005, and, in another post, said one of the first things he did as secretary of state was to ban ballot harvesting after the Legislature passed his proposal in 2019. 'Truth matters. Integrity matters,' he wrote."

Death in De Nile. Kathryn Krawczyk of the Week: "After a Twitter thread of her experiences started circulating, [South Dakota nurse Jodi] Doering appeared on CNN's New Day on Monday to describe how South Dakota hospitals are overwhelmed with coronavirus patients -- and yet some of them don't believe the virus they have is real.... Some COVID-19 patients spend their last moments refusing to call family and friends because they're convinced they're going to be fine, Doering said. 'Their last dying words are, "This can't be happening. It's not real,'" Doering recalled. In some cases, patients even insist they have the flu or lung cancer to avoid acknowledging the coronavirus." ~~~

     ~~~ Marina Watts of Newsweek: "'The ones that stick out are those who still don't believe the virus is real. The ones who scream at you for a magic medicine and that Joe Biden is Going to ruin the USA. All while gasping for breath on 100% Vapotherm,' [Jodi Doering] wrote. 'They tell you there must be another reason they are sick. They call you names and ask why you have to wear all that "stuff" because they don't have COVID because it's not real. Yes. This really happens.'" Mrs. McC: These stories harken back to a comment contributor Jeanne wrote in Sunday's thread. Anyway, thanks, Trump!

Elizabeth Cohen of CNN: "The Moderna vaccine is 94.5% effective against coronavirus, according to early data released Monday by the company, making it the second vaccine in the United States to have a stunningly high success rate. 'These are obviously very exciting results,' said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor. 'It's just as good as it gets -- 94.5% is truly outstanding.' Moderna heard its results on a call Sunday afternoon with members of the Data Safety and Monitoring Board, an independent panel analyzing Moderna's clinical trial data."

The Washington Post's live election updates Monday are here. They are free to non-subscribers. President-elect Joe "Biden plans to forge ahead Monday with his transition to the presidency, delivering remarks from Delaware on the economic recovery, his latest in a series of speeches on key issues confronting the country. According to his transition team, both Biden and Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), the vice president-elect, will receive a briefing on the economy, in Wilmington, in advance of a scheduled afternoon address. ~~~

~~~ [POUTUS.] "Trump continued to refuse to accept defeat, tweeting in all caps shortly before midnight on Sunday, 'I WON THE ELECTION.' He repeated his baseless claim on Monday morning, tweeting, 'I won the election,' amid a spate of other tweets airing grievances about the process. Twitter responded by a slapping a warning on the Sunday tweet, reading, 'Official sources called this election differently,' with a link to multiple news accounts of Biden winning the presidency.... Trump, meanwhile, has no public events on Monday." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Which one of these is more like a president? The one practicing to be president or the one who, theoretically, has held the job for almost four years?

Fall of the House of Javanka. Frank Bruni of the New York Times: "Just five short years ago Jared and Ivanka were dinner-party royalty here in Manhattan.... They had money, they had youth, they had celebrity. They were thin. I'm told that their manners were impeccable, so you'd never know that his father was an actual felon and her father a de facto one.... [But now.] Jared and Ivanka are about to be held accountable.... They are the Faustian poster couple of the Trump presidency, the king and queen of the principle-torching prom at which so many danced alongside them, although in less exquisitely tailored attire.... Down there, near the border: migrant children in cages. Over here, near the Potomac: Javanka in their gilded tableaux.... They have made their bed. Lucky for them, the sheets have a serious thread count."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Real Presidencies, Past & Future

... Vaccines don't save lives: vaccinations save lives. -- Ron Klain, Sunday ~~~

~~~ Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar & Will Weissert of the AP: "Joe Biden's scientific advisers will meet with vaccine makers in coming days as the presidential transition remains stalled because of ... Donald Trump's refusal to acknowledge that he lost the election.... 'We're going to start those consultations this week,' said Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klain, citing Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies.... Klain said Biden's experts also need a detailed understanding of distribution plans being finalized by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Pentagon. In some ways, that's the more critical issue, he said. 'We need to be talking to them as quickly as possible,' Klain said. 'It's great to have a vaccine, but vaccines don't save lives: vaccinations save lives. And that means you've got to get that vaccine into people's arms all over this country. It's a giant logistical project.'"

Arlette Saenz of CNN: "As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in January, nearly half of the transition team laying the groundwork for his administration is made up of people of color, and women are in the majority. Forty-six percent of the transition staff are people of color, according to new diversity data of the transition team provided to CNN, and 41% of the senior staff are people of color. The majority of transition staff -- 52% -- are women, and 53% of the senior staff are women.... The transition team's diversity also extends to its advisory board -- where 43% are people of color and 52% are women. Nine of the 13 members of Biden's Covid-19 advisory board are people of color and five of the members are women, according to the data."

Andrew Van Dam & Heather Long of the Washington Post: "The parts of America that have seen strong job, population and economic growth in the past four years voted for Joe Biden, economic researchers found. In contrast, President Trump garnered his highest vote shares in counties that had some of the most sluggish job, population and economic growth during his term. Trump fared well among voters who said the economy was their top concern.... To be sure..., education and race most strongly explained voting patterns, but they were followed closely by a county's economic performance. The economy often decides elections, but the surprise in this case was that good economic performance didn't appear to favor the incumbent."

     ~~~ The transcript of Scott Pelley's interview of President Obama is here.

The Farce

** Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump's refusal to concede the election has entered a more dangerous phase as he stokes resistance and unrest among his supporters and spreads falsehoods aimed at undermining the integrity of the American voting system. More than a week after President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. was declared the winner, Mr. Trump continues to block his successor's transition, withholding intelligence briefings, critical information about the coronavirus pandemic and access to the vast machinery of government that Mr. Biden will soon oversee. Some former top advisers to Mr. Trump have said that his refusal to cooperate is reckless and unwise. John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump's former chief of staff, called it 'crazy' on Friday. John R. Bolton, the president's former national security adviser..., said the refusal 'harms the country.' The president's attempt to cling to power played out against a backdrop of protests by Trump supporters and opponents late Saturday, with sporadic clashes near the White House. The police arrested 21 people as one protester was stabbed and four officers were injured. Rather than seek to calm tensions, Mr. Trump lashed out. 'ANTIFA SCUM ran for the hills,' he posted on Twitter on Saturday as he urged the police to move in aggressively. 'DC Police, get going -- do your job and don't hold back!!!'"

Donald Trump's Twitter feed doesn't make Joe Biden president or not president. The American people did that. -- Ron Klain on NBC's "Meet the Press" ~~~

~~~ The Most Pathetic Loser. David Cohen of the Politico: "... Donald Trump has yet to concede the presidential election, but on Sunday he briefly came close to acknowledging that he lost in a tweet. 'He won because the Election was Rigged,' Trump tweeted. 'NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn't even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!' But an hour or so later, Trump made it clear he was not conceding, tweeting 'RIGGED ELECTION. WE WILL WIN!' and following it up with 'He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!' In the 12 days since the election, Trump has consistently claimed victory, while baselessly asserting that Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats had cheated to make it appear that he won. Trump and his legal team have lost numerous court cases trying to prove their theories due to a lack of evidence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "While Trump's flurry of litigation over the election has made little headway, the president insisted Sunday that more lawsuits are about to be unveiled and he suggested they'd be more spectacular than those already before judges. 'Our big cases showing the unconstitutionality of the 2020 Election, & the outrage of things that were done to change the outcome, will soon be filed!' the president wrote on Twitter."

Eleanor Mueller of Politico: "Public health officials, members of Joe Biden's transition team, and elected Democrats and Republicans urged ... Donald Trump on Sunday to begin the transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden, warning that continuing to waylay the process amid a spiking pandemic could endanger American lives. 'Of course it would be better' if public health officials could begin working with Biden's transition team right now, Dr. Anthony Fauci ... said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'That is obvious.'... [Ron Klain, Biden's chief of staff, said on NBC,] 'Joe Biden's going to become president of the United States in the midst of an ongoing crisis.... That has to be a seamless transition.'... Asked on ABC';s 'This Week' whether the Biden transition team should be allowed contact with health officials, the Trump administration's coronavirus testing czar, Brett Giroir, replied: 'This is an issue of public health and saving American lives. There&'s nothing more important than that.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

** The Trump Conspiracy. Jim Rutenberg & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "... in the fact-twisting narrative of Mr. Trump, his political allies and his supporters, the Detroit counting center was a crime scene where Democrats stole an election, a miscarriage demanding that outrage be channeled through the courts, presidential Twitter posts and cable news stemwinders. And that was the plan envisioned by the pro-Trump forces all along. Like similar episodes in Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the scene in Detroit was the culmination of a yearslong strategy by Mr. Trump to use the power of the executive branch, an army of lawyers, the echo chamber of conservative news media and the obedience of fellow Republicans to try out his most audacious exercise in bending reality: to turn losing into winning. Obscured by the postelection noise over the president's efforts to falsely portray the election system as 'rigged' against him has been how much Mr. Trump and his allies did ahead of time to promote a baseless conspiracy devised to appeal to his most passionate supporters, providing him with the opportunity to make his historically anomalous bid to cling to power in the face of defeat.... A presidency that began with a lie -- that President Barack Obama was not a citizen -- is now ending with one, too." Read on. ~~~

~~~ Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is ending as it began: with a lie about crowd size. On Saturday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted two overhead photos of President Trump supporters who had gathered for a pro-Trump march in Washington, writing, 'AMAZING! More than one MILLION marchers for President @realDonaldTrump descend on the swamp in support.' McEnany was off by many orders of magnitude -- the crowd of thousands was a notable show of force, perhaps, but a far cry from the million marchers she claimed.... Nearly four years ago, [another Trump press secretary,] Sean Spicer stepped behind the briefing room lectern on his first full day on the job and, at the president's urging, told falsehoods about the size of Trump's inauguration crowds.... Trump began his political career with the mendacious claim of birtherism ... as part of an effort to delegitimize his predecessor. And he is ending his political career amid false allegations that President-elect Joe Biden won the election only because it was somehow rigged or stolen -- part of an effort to delegitimize his successor." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Undergirding Trump's political career -- and missing from these analyses -- is one true thing: virulent racism. Birtherism is obviously racist, but so are Trump's claims of a "stolen" election. The "thieves," not surprisingly, are concentrated in large urban centers -- Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta -- which have large populations of Black voters. Trump isn't alone, of course. There's a reason Trump's Republican enablers across the country have tried, often successfully, to suppress the votes of Black & Hispanic Americans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott limited the number of ballot drop boxes to one per county: the largest counties are home to huge numbers of Black & Hispanic voters. Trump believes only white people are legitimate Americans who have a right to participate in government. A non-white person cannot be president; non-whites can't even vote. The thousands of people who showed up for the Million MAGA March get that, too. They know exactly who "stole" the election.

Jon Swaine & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "The federal government's chief information security officer [Carlos Sandoval] is participating in an effort backed by supporters of President Trump to hunt for evidence of voter fraud in the battleground states where President-elect Joe Biden secured his election victory.... Sandoval is one of several Trump appointees in the federal government -- some in senior roles -- who are harnessing their expertise for the project, according to the group's leader.... Officials with [Trump's] Voter Integrity Fund said the political appointees participating in the project are doing it in their personal time.... A spokeswoman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, where Sandoval works, said Friday that Sandoval was on leave, but she did not respond when asked whether he was continuing to receive his government salary."

Pennsylvania. Jon Swaine & Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "President Trump's campaign on Sunday scrapped a major part of its federal lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania. Trump's attorneys filed a revised version of the lawsuit, removing allegations that election officials violated the Trump campaign's constitutional rights by limiting the ability of their observers to watch votes being counted. Trump and Rudolph W. Giuliani ... have said repeatedly that more than 600,000 votes in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh should be invalidated because of this issue. Trump's pared-down lawsuit now focuses on allegations that Republicans were illegally disadvantaged because some Democratic-leaning counties allowed voters to fix errors on their mail ballots. Counties have said this affected only a small number of votes.Cliff Levine, an attorney representing the Democratic Party in the case, said on Sunday evening that Trump's move meant his lawsuit could not possibly change the result." The Politico story, by Josh Gerstein, is here; it's also linked above. ~~~

     ~~~ "A Non-zero Number of People." Mrs. McCrabbie: Mind you, Trump's lawyers didn't drop this portion of the suit because their evidence was shaky. They dropped it because their allegation was patently false. When federal Judge Paul Diamond last week "pressed the Trump campaign lawyer if there were observers in the room from the campaign, the lawyer, Jerome Marcus, said, 'There's a non-zero number of people in the room.'" Marcus apparently could not bring himself to give the correct answer, which was "yes." "After the judge confirmed the parties would have the same number of observers in the room, he dismissed the Trump campaign's request because it was moot."

Georgia. AP: "... Donald Trump has wrongly claimed that Georgia election officials are unable to verify signatures on absentee ballot envelopes because of a legal settlement known as a consent decree.... Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said that not only is it entirely possible to match signatures, but that the state requires it."

Michigan. Best Headline: "Republican Convicted of Election Fraud Helps Lead Trump Rally Baselessly Claiming Election Fraud." Susan Demas of Michigan Advance: "Another pro-President Trump rally was held at the Michigan Capitol on Saturday.... One of the speakers is blogger and GOP activist Brandon Hall, who says he's running for Michigan Republican Party chair. That position is currently held by former state Rep. Laura Cox (R-Livonia), who Trump announced at a pre-election rally in Grand Rapids would 'be fired' if he lost the state, which he did.... In 2013, Hall was charged with 10 counts of election law forgery, which is a felony. In December 2016, Hall was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 18 months probation for election fraud, the Grand Haven Tribune, FOX-17 and MLive reported."

Georgia Senate Runoffs. Donald Judd, et al., of CNN: "Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue has declined an invitation to debate Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff ahead of the January runoff election for his seat.... The Atlanta Press Club ... is hosting two separate debates for both Senate runoffs. Ossoff's campaign told CNN they have accepted the Press Club's invitation.... Ossoff [said] during a Sunday rally in the Atlanta suburbs [that] ... a debate 'the bare minimum' voters should expect from candidates.... The senior senator from Georgia drew fire after withdrawing from a debate just before Election Day, following a debate that saw Ossoff label Perdue a 'crook' and Perdue accuse Ossoff of profiting off China.... [Perdue] has thrown himself behind ... Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud, joining fellow Georgia Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in calling on Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign. But in interviews, Perdue has acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden's victory, warning that retaining the two Georgia Senate seats headed for a runoff would serve as 'the last line of defense against this liberal socialist agenda the Democrats will perpetrate.'"

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live updates Monday are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here: "Officials in the United States have reported more than 11 million total cases of coronavirus as of Sunday, as the country's outbreaks lead to agonizing new levels of hospitalizations.... The country logged more than 159,100 new cases on Saturday, the third highest total of the pandemic, raising the new seven-day average to more than 145,000, with upward trends in 48 states and an 80 percent increase in new cases from the average two weeks ago.... Deaths nationwide remain at lower levels than in spring's peak, but they are rising rapidly and approaching 250,000. More than 1,200 new deaths were reported on Saturday, pushing the seven-day average to more than 1,120 a day, a 38 percent increase from the average two weeks ago.... The pandemic continues to take a disproportionate toll on Americans of color, who have been hospitalized at rates roughly four times higher than non-Hispanic whites since the start of the epidemic." ~~~

~~~ John Bowden of the Hill: "The U.S. passed 11 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday as the country saw a surge of roughly a million new cases in the past week, according to figures tabulated by Johns Hopkins University."

Michigan. Craig Mauger of the Detroit News: "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced wide-ranging new restrictions limiting gatherings at high schools, colleges and restaurants Sunday night to combat what she described as the 'worst moment' yet in the COVID-19 pandemic. The new policies will temporarily halt in-person instruction at high schools and colleges, indoor dine-in service at restaurants and bars, and high school athletics as well as close some businesses, including movie theaters, bowling alleys and casinos." ~~~

~~~ Paul LeBlanc & Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Scott Atlas criticized Michigan's new Covid-19 restrictions in a tweet shortly after they were announced Sunday evening.... 'The only way this stops is if people rise up,' Atlas said. 'You get what you accept. #FreedomMatters #StepUp'.... Responding to Atlas' tweet Sunday evening, [Gov. Gretchen] Whitmer told CNN's Wolf Blitzer, 'We know that the White House likes to single us out here in Michigan, me out in particular. I'm not going to be bullied into not following reputable scientists and medical professionals.' Instead, Whitmer said, she consults 'people that actually have studied and are well respected worldwide on these issues, not the -- not the individual that is doing the President's bidding on this one.'" Mrs. McC: An excellent slapdown, but I'd like to physically slap down Atlas. He is killing people, inciting violence & fomenting revolution. And he's damned arrogant about it.

New York. Bill Mahoney of Politico: "Gov. Andrew Cuomo is promising to 'mobilize an army' to ensure that Black and brown New Yorkers have equal access to any coronavirus vaccines, and threatened a lawsuit against the Trump administration if its distribution plan isn't overhauled to make that possible. 'The Trump administration is designing the distribution plan, and their plan basically has private health care companies administer the vaccines,' Cuomo said in a speech delivered during services in Manhattan's Riverside Church on Sunday morning.... 'The president talks about CVS and Walgreens and national chains. Sure. But they are mainly located in rich communities, not in poor communities. My friends, we cannot compound the racial injustice that Covid has already created. And let me be clear -- the Black and brown communities that were first on the list of who died cannot be last on the list of who receives the vaccines, period.'"

Washington State. Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "Washington Gov. Jay Inslee D) announced Sunday new restrictions to mitigate surging COVID-19 cases, as he warned the state is 'in a more dangerous position than we were in March, when our first stay-at-home order was issued.'... The state has seen 'consistent increasing daily case counts, with over 2,000 cases a day over the weekend and average cases in the state doubling over the past two weeks,' per a statement from the governor's office."

The Commentariat -- November 15, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Eleanor Mueller of Politico: "Public health officials, members of Joe Biden's transition team, and elected Democrats and Republicans urged ... Donald Trump on Sunday to begin the transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden, warning that continuing to waylay the process amid a spiking pandemic could endanger American lives. 'Of course it would be better' if public health officials could begin working with Biden's transition team right now, Dr. Anthony Fauci ... said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'That is obvious.'... [Ron Klain, Biden's chief of staff, said on NBC,] 'Joe Biden's going to become president of the United States in the midst of an ongoing crisis.... That has to be a seamless transition.'... Asked on ABC's 'This Week' whether the Biden transition team should be allowed contact with health officials, the Trump administration's coronavirus testing czar, Brett Giroir, replied: 'This is an issue of public health and saving American lives. There's nothing more important than that.'"

Donald Trump's Twitter feed doesn't make Joe Biden president or not president. The American people did that. -- Ron Klain on NBC's "Meet the Press" ~~~

~~~ The Most Pathetic Loser. David Cohen of the Politico: "... Donald Trump has yet to concede the presidential election, but on Sunday he briefly came close to acknowledging that he lost in a tweet. 'He won because the Election was Rigged,' Trump tweeted. 'NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn't even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!' But an hour or so later, Trump made it clear he was not conceding, tweeting 'RIGGED ELECTION. WE WILL WIN!' and following it up with 'He only won in the eyes of the FAKE NEWS MEDIA. I concede NOTHING! We have a long way to go. This was a RIGGED ELECTION!' In the 12 days since the election, Trump has consistently claimed victory, while baselessly asserting that Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats had cheated to make it appear that he won. Trump and his legal team have lost numerous court cases trying to prove their theories due to a lack of evidence."

~~~~~~~~~~

Oliver Milman of the Guardian: "Joe Biden is piecing together what he has promised to be a diverse cabinet, with Michele Flournoy reportedly top choice for US defence secretary and Susan Rice considered a frontrunner for secretary of state. Flournoy was previously a senior defense adviser in Bill Clinton and Barack Obama's administrations and is considered a political moderate. Since leaving government she has been involved in various consultancy roles around military contracts. The appointment, if confirmed by the US Senate, would end a tumultuous period under Donald Trump, who has had five male defense secretaries during his presidency. The latest, Mark Esper, was unceremoniously fired on Monday for, among other issues, disagreeing with the president over the use of force against civilian protesters."

The Farce Still Be with Us

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Trump, the Republican party, their voters & supporters have made the U.S. the laughingstock of the world. Fascism & other sorts of dictatorships have never been satisfactory forms of government. What would make the supposedly intelligent people on the right think that re-enacting a failed scheme now was a good idea eludes me.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Poor, pitiful baby Donnie is beginning to try to face facts. Breakthrough 1! Friday Trump said he didn't know what administration would be in power after Jan. 20. Breakthrough 2! This morning Trump tweeted, "He won because the Election was Rigged." "He," we presume, is Joe Biden, the President-elect. The tweet goes on with more lies, and Twitter flagged it. But, wow!, we did read the independent clause "He won" on Donald Trump's Twitter account. Is that an official concession? What an embarrassment!

Doing His Best Nero Imitation, Trump Golfed While Americans Died. The New York Times' live post-election updates are here: "President Trump in his motorcade drove by hundreds of his supporters who showed up in Washington, D.C., on Saturday for demonstrations protesting the outcome of the 2020 election.... The president drove by in the motorcade on his way to his private golf club in Sterling, Va., and was greeted, according to a pool report, by applause and cheers. People who watched him go by carried signs reading 'Best prez ever' and 'Stop the steal.'" ~~~

~~~ Julie Zauzmer, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump's supporters had celebrated for hours on Saturday, waving their 'MAGA' flags and blaring 'God Bless the USA' as they gathered in Washington to falsely claim that the election had been stolen from the man they adore.... But ... the mood shifted, growing angrier as 300 or so counter protesters delivered a message the president's most ardent backers were unwilling to hear: The election is over. Trump lost.... In brief but intense clashes, activists spewed profanity and shouted threats, threw punches and launched bottles. On both sides, people were bloodied, and at least 10 were arrested, including four on gun charges.... After a week in which more than 750,000 Americans were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, almost none of his backers was wearing masks. Among their ranks were white nationalists, conspiracy theorists and far-right activists carrying signs demanding action that was already being taken: 'Count the legal votes.'"

David Fahrenthold, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump lost his reelection bid at the ballot box. But he said he could win it back in court.... It's not going well. Rather than revealing widespread -- or even isolated -- fraud, the effort by Trump's legal team has so far done the opposite: It's affirmed the integrity of the election that Trump lost. Nearly every GOP challenge has been tossed out. Not a single vote has been overturned.... Part of the problem is that Trump's approach has been backward: Declare crimes first, then look for proof afterward. Again and again, the president or his allies said they'd found evidence that would stun the public and swing the election. But, when Trump and his team revealed that evidence, it often was far less than they had promised. A 'dead' voter turned out to be alive. 'Thousands' of problematic ballots turned out to be one."

My Cousin Vinny Meets Marx Bros., LLC. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Senior [Trump] campaign aides scurried to urge organizers to kill the ... infamously staged [Giuliani press briefing] at the wrong 'Four Seasons' -- a landscaping business adjacent to an adult bookstore and a crematorium. But Giuliani plowed ahead anyway, delivering a conspiracy-filled rant that undercut the legal strategy the president's advisers had meticulously mapped out in the run-up to the election. Campaign officials described the episode as disastrous, saying it scared off many of the lawyers they spent months recruiting.... Yet Giuliani is taking on a heightened role. The president on Friday appointed him to oversee any new post-election litigation.... Republican officials said they viewed Trump's decision to promote Giuliani as an implicit acknowledgment that his legal options are closing and a sign that he's determined to go out guns blazing." Mrs. McC: In this story, the right-wing flame-thrower David Bossie comes out as the "rational" one. Tuck in your shirt, Rudy.

Pennsylvania. Nicholas Reimann of Forbes: "President-elect Joe Biden now officially has a big enough lead in Pennsylvania that the state will not conduct a recount, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar announced Friday, as ... Donald Trump's claims of fraud and lawsuits concerning the election keep falling flat as Biden's victory looks increasingly decisive. Trump can still request a recount, but in doing so would need to allege a miscount in the official vote tally. On Friday, Trump's legal team withdrew from representing his campaign in a legal challenge looking to block vote certification in Pennsylvania. In the unlikely event Trump were to be granted a recount, his campaign would have to pay for it and the recount would have to be finished by November 24." ~~~

Bob Christie & Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: "Republican leaders in four critical states won by President-elect Joe Biden say they won't participate in a legally dubious scheme to flip their state's electors to vote for ... Donald Trump. Their comments effectively shut down a half-baked plot some Republicans floated as a last chance to keep Trump in the White House. State GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors, who ultimately cast the votes that secure a candidate's victory. Such a move would violate state law and a vote of the people, several noted.... Still, it has been promoted by Trump allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is an example of misleading information and false claims fueling skepticism among Trump supporters about the integrity of the vote. The theory is rooted in the fact that the U.S. Constitution grants state legislatures the power to decide how electors are chosen. Each state already has passed laws that delegate this power to voters and appoint electors for whichever candidate wins the state on Election Day."

Walter Shaub in the New York Review of Book: "Trump's absurd insistence that he 'WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!' is easy enough to ignore. What is harder to ignore is what his appointee who runs the General Services Administration (GSA) is doing.... Congress ... does not appear to have contemplated the risk that a partisan loyalist appointed by a corrupt president would refuse to fulfill [her] duty when the outcome of the election was clear. Enter GSA Administrator Emily Murphy. Murphy is refusing to ascertain the apparent winner of the 2020 election as the president who appointed her disputes the clear outcome.... Murphy's refusal comes as great news to hostile foreign powers. Murphy has a sordid history in the Trump administration.... She cancelled a long-planned relocation of the FBI's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Circumstances suggest she may have been satisfying a desire on the part of President Trump to avoid opening real estate near his Washington, D.C., hotel that a competing hotel could acquire.... Murphy also appears to have been complicit in President Trump's assault on the civil service...."

Dennis Romero of NBC News: "A federal judge in New York City on Saturday said Chad Wolf has not been acting lawfully as the chief of Homeland Security and that, as such, his suspension of protections for a class of migrants brought to the United States illegally as children is invalid. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the Trump administration wrongly tried to shut down protections under the Obama-era legislation known as DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. On July 28, Wolf nonetheless suspended DACA pending review.... Karen Tumlin, a lawyer in the case and director of the Los Angeles-based Justice Action Center, said ... the ruling applies to more than a million people, including more recent applicants and those seeking two-year renewals for protection under DACA." ~~~

~~~ Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "Attorneys at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday notified a federal judge that a previous claim relied upon to justify the controversial and likely unlawful appointment of Chad Wolf as Acting Secretary was not true." Mrs. McC: Are these lawyers -- sick of defending Trumpian lies -- growing bolder as Trump exits right?

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Josh Kovensky of TPM: "The official in charge of the Trump administration's bid to speed up vaccine development wants permission from the White House to begin briefing the Biden transition, the Financial Times reported. Moncef Slaoui heads Operation Warp Speed, the joint Health and Human Services-Department of Defense program to spur the creation of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. Slaoui told the newspaper that he would need approval from the Trump administration before he could reach out to the transition team led by President-elect Joe Biden. 'I hope nothing interferes with [Operation Warp Speed]. It is a matter of life and death for thousands of people,' he said. The FT reported that, when asked if the vaccine program's success was contingent on access to the Biden team, Slaoui replied: 'I would assume, yes.'"

Minnesota. Selfish, Irresponsible Bastards. Minneapolis Star Tribune: "A day after it was revealed that GOP state Sen. Dave Senjem tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a Nov. 5 party caucus, news broke that Republican senators and staffers were informed in a Tuesday memo that 'a number of [GOP Senate] members and staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19.' DFLers [Democrats] were not informed of the rash of cases on the other side of the aisle."

As the Halo Slips. Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: “... after more than a decade of doubts, Pope John Paul II's reputation has fallen under its darkest cloud yet, after the very Vatican that rushed to canonize him released an extraordinary report this week that laid at the saint's feet the blame for the advancement of the disgraced former prelate Theodore E. McCarrick. The investigation, commissioned by Pope Francis, who canonized John Paul in 2014, revealed how John Paul chose not to believe longstanding accusations of sexual abuse against Mr. McCarrick, including pedophilia, allowing him to climb the hierarchy's ladder.... [The report] provides searing proof that the church moved with reckless speed to canonize John Paul and now it is caught in its own wreckage.... Citing John Paul's 'calamitous, callous decision-making,' which it said put children around the world at risk, an editorial Friday in the National Catholic Reporter urged American bishops meeting next week for their annual conference to 'discuss requesting that the Vatican formally suppress John Paul's cult,' or cease celebrating him. 'Abuse victims deserve no less.'"

News Lede

AP: "SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company. The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center with three Americans and one Japanese, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top -- named Resilience by its crew in light of this year's many challenges, most notably COVID-19 -- reached orbit nine minutes later. It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring."

The Commentariat -- November 14, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Bob Christie & Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: "Republican leaders in four critical states won by President-elect Joe Biden say they won't participate in a legally dubious scheme to flip their state's electors to vote for ... Donald Trump. Their comments effectively shut down a half-baked plot some Republicans floated as a last chance to keep Trump in the White House. State GOP lawmakers in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have all said they would not intervene in the selection of electors, who ultimately cast the votes that secure a candidate's victory. Such a move would violate state law and a vote of the people, several noted.... Still, it has been promoted by Trump allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and is an example of misleading information and false claims fueling skepticism among Trump supporters about the integrity of the vote. The theory is rooted in the fact that the U.S. Constitution grants state legislatures the power to decide how electors are chosen. Each state already has passed laws that delegate this power to voters and appoint electors for whichever candidate wins the state on Election Day."

Doing His Best Nero Imitation, Trump Golfs While Americans Die. The New York Times' live post-election updates are here: "President Trump in his motorcade drove by hundreds of his supporters who showed up in Washington, D.C., on Saturday for demonstrations protesting the outcome of the 2020 election.... The president drove by in the motorcade on his way to his private golf club in Sterling, Va., and was greeted, according to a pool report, by applause and cheers. People who watched him go by carried signs reading 'Best prez ever' and 'Stop the steal.'" Washington Post reporters have a story here.

Josh Kovensky of TPM: "The official in charge of the Trump administration's bid to speed up vaccine development wants permission from the White House to begin briefing the Biden transition, the Financial Times reported. Moncef Slaoui heads Operation Warp Speed, the joint Health and Human Services-Department of Defense program to spur the creation of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. Slaoui told the newspaper that he would need approval from the Trump administration before he could reach out to the transition team led by President-elect Joe Biden. 'I hope nothing interferes with [Operation Warp Speed]. It is a matter of life and death for thousands of people,' he said. The FT reported that, when asked if the vaccine program's success was contingent on access to the Biden team, Slaoui replied: 'I would assume, yes.'"

Minnesota. Selfish, Irresponsible Bastards. Minneapolis Star Tribune: “A day after it was revealed that GOP state Sen. Dave Senjem tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a Nov. 5 party caucus, news broke that Republican senators and staffers were informed in a Tuesday memo that 'a number of [GOP Senate] members and staff have been diagnosed with COVID-19.' DFLers [Democrats] were not informed of the rash of cases on the other side of the aisle."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Presidency, Ctd.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. demanded on Friday that President Trump do more to confront the coronavirus infections exploding across the country, calling the federal response 'woefully lacking' even as Mr. Trump broke a 10-day silence on the pandemic to threaten to withhold a vaccine from New York. In a blistering statement, Mr. Biden said that the recent surge, which is killing more than 1,000 Americans and hospitalizing almost 70,000 every day, required a 'robust and immediate federal response.... I will not be president until next year,' Mr. Biden said. 'The crisis does not respect dates on the calendar, it is accelerating right now. Urgent action is needed today, now, by the current administration -- starting with an acknowledgment of how serious the current situation is.' Mr. Biden released his statement less than an hour before the president appeared in the Rose Garden at the White House, where he announced no new measures to slow the virus's long-anticipated autumn surge, which he hardly acknowledged." More on the Trumpidemic linked below.

Simon Lewis of Reuters: "U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will be briefed by national security experts next week, Biden transition official Jen Psaki said on Friday, amid concerns that being out of the loop due to delays to the transition could be a national security risk.... Psaki did not name the national security experts who would be briefing the former vice president.... Psaki called on the [GSA]'s Trump-appointed administrator, Emily Murphy, to sign off on the transition, but said Biden's team was still hoping it would not have to take legal action to make it happen."

Christopher Cadelago, et al., of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden's return to 'normalcy' will include restoring the daily press briefing -- and at least two women are under consideration to lead the new post-Trump show, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Kate Bedingfield is seen as having the inside track to become either White House communications director or press secretary. Symone Sanders could be offered the role of incoming press secretary, or slot into another position before winding up 'at the podium' down the line, Biden aides and other people in and around the transition said."

Matthew Green & Kate Abnett of Reuters: "French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday welcomed the prospect of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden rejoining the Paris climate accord, saying countries now had a chance to 'make our planet great again'.... In 2017, Macron launched an initiative called 'Make our planet great again' which offered U.S. climate scientists multi-year grants to relocate and conduct climate research in France.... Biden has pledged to convene world leaders for climate talks within his first 100 days in office. Already, climate change has been a featured topic in his first calls with U.S. allies and Pope Francis since being elected." --s

CNN has called Georgia for Joe Biden & North Carolina for the other guy: ~~~

~~~ Gregory Krieg of CNN: "Joe Biden will win Georgia, CNN projected Friday, striking at the heart of what has been a Republican presidential stronghold for nearly three decades. The former vice president is the first Democratic nominee to triumph in Georgia since Bill Clinton did it in 1992. Biden's victory adds 16 electoral votes to his tally, bringing him to 306 -- matching ... Donald Trump's 2016 total. With CNN's projection that Trump will win North Carolina, the final tally is 306-232. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post has now also called Georgia & North Carolina. So has NBC News. Also too CBS News. ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In 2016, Trump called his win over Clinton by exactly the same number -- 306 - 232 -- a MASSIVE Electoral College landslide victory! So Congratulations, Mr. President-elect on your MASSIVE landslide victory! Biden, BTW, has already bested Trump in the popular vote by more than 5.3 million votes and counting, while Trump lost the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 2.9 million votes.

The Farce, Ctd.

Susan Rice, in a New York Times op-ed: "In the week since Joe Biden's victory became clear, President Trump and his administration have taken no steps toward starting the process of transition. The risks to our national security are mounting.... The Biden-Harris agency review teams are constituted but have been denied access to every element of the executive branch. Vital exchanges of information and expertise that would help combat Covid-19 and jump-start the economy remain stalled.... Without access to critical threat information, no incoming team can counter what it can't see coming.... Tragically, but not surprisingly, Mr. Trump appears determined to take a final wrecking ball to our democracy and national security on his inevitable way out the door." Rice's description of the Obama-Trump transition is illuminating. The Trumpies didn't want to know what they didn't know. Mrs. McC: Trump must have heard half of the famous line from Thomas Gray's baleful poem "Igorance is bliss" ... and gone with it.

Here's what passes for a Trump concession speech: ... hopefully the, the, whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration will be, I guess time will tell.... -- Donald Trump, during Friday's White House misinformation briefing

“Donald Trump v. USA.” Marc Caputo of Politico: "Lawsuits in Arizona and Nevada were dropped. A Georgia challenge was quickly rejected for lack of evidence. [Donald Trump's] Pennsylvania legal team just threw in the towel. The president's legal machine -- the one papering swing states with lawsuits and affidavits in support of Trump's unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud -- is slowly grinding to a halt after suffering a slew of legal defeats and setbacks.... One hapless Michigan lawyer ... filed an election challenge Thursday evening in a federal claims court in Washington, D.C., the wrong venue, and bizarrely titled it, 'Donald Trump v. USA,' as if the president was suing the nation." The report is a catalog of pathetic Trumpian misfires. ~~~

     ~~~ And there's stuff like this: Brendan Keefe of WXIA-TV Atlanta: "11Alive confirmed that two of the four Georgia voters the president's campaign accused of fraudulently voting while 'dead' are alive." ~~~

~~~ Biggest Loser Keeps on Losing. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "President Trump suffered multiple legal setbacks in three key swing states on Friday, choking off many of his last-ditch efforts to use the courts to delay or block President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory. In quick succession, Mr. Trump was handed defeats in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan, where a state judge in Detroit rejected an unusual Republican attempt to halt the certification of the vote in Wayne County pending an audit of the count.... [Despite the losses, Trump] posted on Twitter on Friday evening that he would win in Pennsylvania, making a baseless assertion about vote counting in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh."

Pennsylvania. Maryclaire Dale & Mark Scolforo of the AP: "... a federal appeals court rejected an effort to block about 9,300 mail-in ballots that arrived after Election Day in Pennsylvania. The judges noted the 'vast disruption' and 'unprecedented challenges' facing the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic as they upheld the three-day extension. Chief U.S. Circuit Judge D. Brooks Smith said the panel kept in mind 'a proposition indisputable in our democratic process: that the lawfully cast vote of every citizen must count.' The ruling involves a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision to accept mail-in ballots through Friday, Nov. 6, citing the pandemic and concerns about postal service delays. Republicans have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the issue. However, there are not enough late-arriving ballots to change the results in Pennsylvania, given President-elect Joe Biden's lead." Mrs. McC: Smith is a Reagan & Bush I appointee.

Michigan. Judge Dismisses Suit Targeting Black People's Votes. Olivia Rubin of ABC News: "A Michigan judge has denied a petition to block the certification of the 2020 election results in the heavily Democratic county that is home to Detroit, another legal setback for the Trump campaign, which has similar cases in several states. The Michigan lawsuit, brought by two Republican poll challengers who leveled unfounded allegations of fraud -- not the campaign itself -- had also sought an independent audit of the election, which the judge also rejected. The campaign did, however, attach this entire lawsuit as evidence of fraud in its own lawsuit filed in the state this week.... Chief Judge Timothy M. Kenny described the plaintiff's 'interpretation' of events on Election Day as 'incorrect and not credible.... In a not-so-subtle slap on the wrist, Kenny suggested the challengers should have attended the training session in October, so they could have known what they were witnessing during the counting process was standard practice."

Arizona. Another One Bites the Dust. Harper Neidig of the Hill: "The Trump campaign dropped its lawsuit on Friday in Arizona seeking a review of ballots cast in the state's biggest county in the presidential race just hours after multiple outlets projected President-elect \Joe Biden to carry the state. The campaign, which filed the complaint Saturday, said in a new filing that it would no longer seek a court order for a review of presidential votes over its allegation that poll workers had mishandled ballots rejected by tabulation machines. 'Since the close of yesterday's hearing, the tabulation of votes statewide has rendered unnecessary a judicial ruling as to the presidential electors,' Trump campaign lawyers wrote Friday in the filing." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Enrich, et al., of the New York Times: "Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, the law firm leading the Trump campaign's efforts to cast doubt on the presidential election results in Pennsylvania, abruptly withdrew from a federal lawsuit that it filed days earlier on behalf of President Trump.... The law firm on Monday filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on behalf of the Trump campaign. The suit, which is pending, alleged that there were 'irregularities' in the presidential vote across the state, which President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. won by more than 50,000 votes. The Democratic National Committee has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Previously, Porter Wright had filed a number of other actions in Pennsylvania courts challenging aspects of the state's voting process. It isn't clear if the firm will continue to represent Mr. Trump's campaign on those cases." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Apparently these lawyers are averse to losing their licenses to practice or being fined for bringing frivolous suits.

Career Prosecutors Blast Barr. Katie Benner & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Career Justice Department prosecutors pushed back this week against a memo by Attorney General William P. Barr that opened the door to politically charged election fraud investigations, saying in a pair of messages that Mr. Barr thrust the department into politics and falsely overstated the threat of voter fraud.The protests were the latest rebuke of Mr. Barr by his own employees, who have in recent months begun criticizing his leadership both privately and publicly.... On Friday, 16 federal prosecutors across the country who were assigned to monitor elections for signs of fraud wrote to Mr. Barr that they had found no evidence of 'substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities.' They also asked him to rescind the memo, saying it thrust the department into partisan politics and was unnecessary because no one has identified any legitimate suspicions of mass voter fraud. The memo 'is not based in fact,' the monitors wrote."

     ~~~ Lawrence O'Donnell called the pair of letters "the most audacious act of insubordination in the history of the Justice Department" (slight paraphrase). The authors are not U.S. attorneys but assistant U.S. attorneys.

Does This Orange Jumpsuit Go with My Hair? William Rashbaum & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "President Trump lost more than an election last week. When he leaves the White House in January, he will also lose the constitutional protection from prosecution afforded to a sitting president. After Jan. 20, Mr. Trump ... will be more vulnerable than ever to a pending grand jury investigation by the Manhattan district attorney into the president's family business and its practices, as well as his taxes. The two-year inquiry, the only known active criminal investigation of Mr. Trump, has been stalled since last fall, when the president sued to block a subpoena for his tax returns and other records, a bitter dispute that for the second time is before the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling is expected soon.... [Trump's] pardon power does not extend to state crimes, like the possible violations under investigation by [the Manhattan DA's] office.... In addition to [the DA's] inquiry, Mr. Trump also faces continuing scrutiny by New York State's attorney general -- who he has also claimed has targeted him out of partisan rancor." (Also linked yesterday.)

Really? Steven Nelson of the New York Post: "Department of Homeland Security acting Secretary Chad Wolf is defying President Trump's order to terminate election cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs, multiple sources tell The Post. The White House on Wednesday evening instructed Wolf to fire Krebs after Krebs openly dismissed claims of voter fraud in the Nov. 3 election. 'He gave us a bunch of reasons why he didn't want to do it and he said no,' a senior White House official told The Post about Wolf's refusal.... Foes [of Krebs] claim he's close to former DHS chief of staff Miles Taylor, who recently outed himself as 'Anonymous.'"

Andrew Kaczynski & Em Steck of CNN: "A new senior adviser at the Pentagon repeatedly said the United States' support for Israel was the result of 'Israeli lobby' money and accused prominent officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, of becoming 'very very rich,' from their support for Israel. Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, who was appointed as senior adviser to newly installed acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller this week, made the comments in two media appearances in 2012 and 2019. 'You have to look at the people that donate to those individuals,' Macgregor said in a September 2019 interview when asked if then-national security adviser John Bolton and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wanted war with Iran. 'Mr. Bolton has become very, very rich and is in the position he's in because of his unconditional support for the Israeli lobby. He is their man on the ground, in the White House.... The same thing is largely true for Mr. Pompeo, he has aspirations to be president,' he added. 'He has his hands out for money from the Israeli lobby, the Saudis and others.'...Macgregor was nominated to become the US ambassador to Germany this summer, but his nomination stalled in the Senate Foreign Relations committee after CNN's KFile reported he disparaged immigrants and refugees, called for martial law and lethal force at the US-Mexico border, and attacked Germany's military power and culture. He also has been a vocal opponent of the US military's presence in Afghanistan." Bolton called Macgregor an anti-Semite.

Rob Kuznia, et al., of CNN: "... Stop the Steal has swept across inboxes, Facebook pages and Twitter like an out-of-control virus, spreading misinformation and violent rhetoric -- and spilling into real life, like the protest planned for DC this weekend. But while Stop the Steal may sound like a new 2020 political slogan to many..., it has been in the works for years. Its origin traces to Roger Stone.... Stone's political action committee launched a 'Stop the Steal' website in 2016 to fundraise ahead of that election, asking for $10,000 donations by saying, 'If this election is close, THEY WILL STEAL IT.'... [Also,] a Stop the Steal Facebook group was managed by a loose coalition of right wing operatives, some of whom have worked with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. The group amassed hundreds of thousands of followers in little more than a day before Facebook shut it down on November 5 -- the day after it was launched. Also on November 5, Bannon started his own 'Stop the Steal' Facebook group; he changed the name to 'Own Your Vote' the following day." ~~~

Katie Paul of Reuters: "Facebook FB.O Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told an all-staff meeting on Thursday that former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon had not violated enough of the company's policies to justify his suspension when he urged the beheading of two senior U.S. officials [including Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray], according to a recording heard by Reuters." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Because inciting acts of terrorism against public officials -- including brutal murders -- is not so bad if white people do it.

Tommy Tuberville Is Dumber than a Rock, Plans to Break Law, Too. Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "In his first big interview as a senator-elect, Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, misidentified the three branches of the federal government, claimed erroneously that World War II was a battle against socialism and wrongly asserted that former Vice President Al Gore was president-elect for 30 days.... 'Our government wasn't set up for one group to have all three branches of government -- wasn't set up that way,' Mr. Tuberville said. 'You know, the House, the Senate, and the executive.'... Mr. Tuberville said[,] 'I tell people, my dad fought 76 years ago in Europe to free Europe of socialism.' World War II was a global battle against fascism. Mr. Tuberville also said he planned to use his Senate office to raise money for two Republican senators in Georgia who are facing runoff elections that will determine control of the chamber. Senate ethics rules bar the use of official resources for campaign purposes." (Also linked yesterday.)

New Congressmen Are Dumber than Rocks. Say Her Name. Dartunorro Clark of NBC News: "Representative-elect Cori Bush, a Missouri Democrat, said Friday that several of her Republican colleagues mistakenly called her Breonna Taylor due to a face mask she was wearing during the new House members orientation. Bush said some of those Republican colleagues appeared to be unfamiliar with Taylor, whose killing by police during a botched drug raid in Kentucky sparked massive protests across the country this past summer. 'It's Day One, so I'm wearing my "Breonna Taylor" mask. A few of my Republican colleagues have called me Breonna, assuming that's my name. It hurts. But I'm glad they'll come to know her name & story because of my presence here. Breonna must be central to our work in Congress,' Bush said in a tweet."

** Florida. Glenn Milberg of Local 10 News: "Why would candidates for Florida Senate seats do no campaigning, no fundraising, have no issue platforms, nor make any effort to get votes? Local 10 News has found evidence to suggest three such candidates in three Florida Senate district races, two of them in Miami Dade County, were shill candidates whose presence in the races were meant to syphon votes from Democratic candidates. Comparisons of the no-party candidates' public campaign records show similarities and connections that suggest they are all linked by funding from the same dark money donors, and part of an elaborate scheme to upset voting patterns. In one of those races, District 37, a recount is underway because the spread between the Democratic and Republican candidates is only 31 votes. The third party candidate received more than 6300 votes." --s

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "Governors and public health officials across the United States are pleading with Americans to change their behavior and prepare for a long winter as the country shatters record after record on coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Both records fell yet again Friday, as more than 181,100 new cases were reported nationwide. It was only eight days ago that the U.S. reported its first 100,000-case day. Now the seven-day average of new daily cases is more than 140,000. Sixteen states also set single-day case records on Friday, and 30 states added more cases in the last week than in any other seven-day period. In a reversal, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, which has critically understaffed hospitals and the highest rates of new cases and deaths per person in the nation, announced several measures late Friday, including a mask mandate, a limit on indoor dining of 50 percent capacity or 150 people and a suspension of high school winter sports and extracurricular activities until Dec. 14." Emphasis added.

Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "... recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now ... [are] hewing more closely to scientific evidence, often contradicting the positions of the Trump administration. In scientific briefs published on Tuesday, the C.D.C. described the benefits of masks to wearers, not just to those around them. Agency researchers also urged people to celebrate Thanksgiving only with others in their households or, failing that, to wear a mask with two or more layers.... The guidance was only the latest in a series of newly assertive bulletins from the C.D.C. In recent weeks, agency officials have issued strict requirements for cruise lines; updated the science on coronavirus infections in children; re-evaluated the risk from airborne virus indoors; and released recommendations for labs investigating viral reinfections in patients."

Zeke Miller, et al., of the New York Times: "Gliding over significant challenges still to come..., Donald Trump on Friday offered a rosy update on the race for a vaccine for the resurgent coronavirus as he delivered his first public remarks since his defeat by President-elect Joe Biden. He still did not concede the election. Trump spoke from the the Rose Garden as the nation sets records for confirmed cases of COVID-19, and as hospitalizations near critical levels and fatalities climb to the highest levels since the spring. He said a vaccine would ship in 'a matter of weeks' to vulnerable populations, though the Food and Drug Administration has not yet been asked to grant the necessary emergency approvals.... In fact, there's no guarantee that Pfizer's shot, the front-runner, will get rapid authorization for emergency use. Even if it does, there's no information yet indicating if the vaccine works in older adults or just younger, healthier adults. Nor does Pfizer have a large commercial stockpile already poised to ship; initial batches of shots would be small and targeted to certain still-to-be-determined populations. Trump took no questions Friday from reporters. He hasn't answered questions since before Election Day." ~~~

~~~ Hope Yen, et al., of the AP: "... Donald Trump on Friday wrongly claimed full credit for Pfizer Inc.'s announcement that its COVID-19 vaccine was robustly successful and suggested without evidence that a separate state review will cause a protracted delay for New York residents waiting for a vaccine." The authors lay out the facts. ~~~

~~~ Dareh Gregorian, et al., of NBC News: "Trump -- snapping the longest stretch of silence in his presidency -- began his remarks [Friday] in the White House Rose Garden by touting the effectiveness of Operation Warp Speed, his administration's initiative to spur production of a vaccine, before taking aim at his home state. 'As soon as April the vaccine will be available to the entire general population, with the exception of places like New York State, where for political reasons the governor decided to say -- and I don't think it's good politically, I think it's very bad from a health standpoint -- but he wants to take his time on the vaccine,' Trump said. He was referring to comments [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo made in September, where he said he planned to have a panel of experts review a vaccine because he was concerned that Trump was trying to rush one out ahead of the presidential election.... 'I hope he doesn't handle this as badly as he's handled the nursing homes. But we're ready to provide it as soon as they let us know that they'll actually use it,' Trump said.... Asked about Trump's comments, Cuomo told MSNBC, 'None of what he said is true.'"

Trump Sickens His Security Details. Carol Leonnig & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "More than 130 Secret Service officers who help protect the White House and the president when he travels have recently been ordered to isolate or quarantine because they tested positive for the coronavirus or had close contact with infected co-workers, according to three people familiar with agency staffing. The spread of the coronavirus -- which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency's core security team -- is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election, according to the people.... Trump went on a travel blitz in the final stretch of the campaign, making five campaign stops on each of the last two days. On Nov. 2, Trump's campaign schedule required five separate groups of Secret Service officers -- each numbering 20 to several dozen -- ... to screen spectators and secure the perimeter around the president's events. President-elect Joe Biden made two campaign stops that day that also required Secret Service protection, but in smaller numbers. The agency is also examining whether some portion of the current infections are not travel-related..., but instead trace back to ... the White House." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Turns out Trump isn't shooting people on Fifth Avenue in plain sight; he's figuratively doing it all over the country, including in the White House. These officers may have signed up to "take a bullet for the president," but surely they never anticipated the bullet would come from Trump's own gun.

Annie Gowan & Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "As coronavirus cases grow across the United States -- up 70 percent on average in the past two weeks, with an average of 130,000 cases per day nationally -- the situation is particularly acute now in the Upper Midwest and Plains states, with North and South Dakota leading the nation in new cases and deaths per capita over the past week, according to Washington Post data. Experts say that cases are surging in the region as the weather has turned colder and more people are forced inside -- into more poorly ventilated indoor spaces where transmission thrives -- with the virus arriving even in remote areas in largely conservative states where Republican leaders have resisted mask mandates or business closures, asking their residents to rely instead on personal responsibility.... Doctors and health-care providers across the Upper Midwest grappling with rising caseloads and staff shortages continue to urge leaders in their states to do more to stem the tide of the virus, as many in these hardy, wind-swept states where independence is prized still refuse to wear masks." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sam Metz of the AP: "Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday said he has tested positive for COVID-19 as the virus surges to record levels in the state and across the U.S.The 66-year-old Democrat is the fifth governor to report testing positive for the coronavirus this year..... Sisolak's announcement comes on a day that Nevada reported 1,857 additional coronavirus cases, the highest single-day total since the start of the pandemic."

Guardian: "Al-Qaida's second-in-command was killed in Iran in August by Israeli operatives acting at the behest of the United States, the New York Times has 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 Tehran, the NYT reported. He was accused of helping to mastermind the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa.... It was unclear what, if any, role the United States had in the killing.... Iran's foreign ministry [denied the report saying] in a statement that there were no al Qaeda 'terrorists' on Iranian soil.... Masri was killed along with his daughter, the widow of Osama bin Laden's son Hamza bin Laden, the Times reported." --s  The New York Times story is here.

Time-out for a Feel-good Story. Courtney Kube of NBC News: "When a bystander collapsed at the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery Wednesday, a nurse happened to be nearby and rushed to his aid. She ... was the wife of the nation's top military officer, Gen. Mark Milley.... 'When I first got there, he was breathing in a very erratic way that he wasn't really taking air into his lungs as he should have been,' [Hollyanne Milley] said. 'And then he stopped breathing.' The man had no pulse. Milley said she directed someone to call 911 and started chest compressions. 'I did about two cycles of CPR, and then he just took a big, deep breath and kind of groaned a little bit and then started moving around.'... Milley spoke with him the next morning and said he was doing very well. She said the man, a veteran who asked to remain anonymous, has since been discharged [from a local hospital]." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

U.K. Peter Walker, et al. of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson has ordered Dominic Cummings to leave Downing Street with immediate effect, in a dramatic end to a tumultuous era which leaves a void at the heart of Downing Street. Cummings and his ally Lee Cain -- both ardent Brexiters blamed by MPs for a macho culture and a series of communications crises -- were asked to step down on Friday instead of staying in place until Christmas. One source said the prime minister told Cummings to go following accusations he had briefed against Johnson." --s