The Denver Nuggets begin their second-round playoff series tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers. Let’s Get More Smarter. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of an audio learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter.
*Register to vote or get other election-related information: GoVoteColorado.com
► President Trump told voters in North Carolina on Wednesday — TWICE — that they should vote by mail AND in person. You, uh, can’t do that.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Bill Barr is totally on board with whatever election security nonsense President Trump dreams up. From The Washington Post:
For example, claiming that expanding mail-in balloting is “changing the rules” is like saying that restaurants moving to outdoor service is “changing the rules.” There’s a reason for the shift: limiting the risk posed by the coronavirus. Admittedly, it’s not ideal, but it’s also something that could have been done all along.
Then there’s Barr’s citing “logic” to dismiss mail balloting as risky. He did so again at another point in his interview with Blitzer:
BLITZER: You’ve said you were worried that a foreign country could send thousands of fake ballots, thousands of fake ballots to people that it might be impossible to detect. What are you basing that on?
BARR: I’m basing — as I’ve said repeatedly, I’m basing that on logic.
BLITZER: Pardon?
BARR: Logic.
You know who else falls back on “logic” as a defense of their beliefs? QAnon adherents.
Chris Cillizza of CNN calls Barr’s “defense” of scaring people about ballots “indefensible.” Barr repeatedly claimed that he wasn’t sure if it was legal to vote twice in the United States, but what would he know? He’s only THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
► As The Nation reports, the coronavirus response among major health-related agencies in Washington D.C. is a full-on “clusterfuck.” POLITICO can confirm said “clusterfuck.”
► The real killer of police officers in the United States? COVID-19. As The Washington Post explains:
In a speech this week in Pittsburgh, Joe Biden linked the Trump administration’s mismanagement of the coronavirus to its handling of protests and riots with a surprising statistic: “More cops have died from covid this year than have been killed on patrol,” he said.
The Democratic presidential nominee’s claim is true, according to data compiled by the Officer Down Memorial Page and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, two nonprofits that have tracked law enforcement fatalities for decades.
As of Sept. 2, on-the-job coronavirus infections were responsible for a least 100 officer deaths, more than gun violence, car accidents and all other causes combined, according to the Officer Down group.
NLEOMF reported a nearly identical number of covid-related law enforcement deaths. It also noted that fatalities due to non-covid causes are actually down year-over-year, undermining President Trump’s claims that “law enforcement has become the target of a dangerous assault by the radical left.” [Pols emphasis]
More political (and coronavirus) news is available right after the jump…
Now Only Partially Coronavirus-Related…
► Here’s some good news: The coronavirus pandemic is generally not stopping Coloradans from volunteering to be election workers.
►The Denver Post updates Colorado’s wildfire situation, which is considerably better than it was a few weeks ago.
► Denver7 explains what President Trump’s payroll tax deferral means for you (other than the fact that you’re still going to owe that money in 6 months).
► Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush, seeking an open congressional seat in CO-3, is having a good week. On Monday her campaign was named to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” list. On Wednesday, the Mitsch Bush campaign announced that it had reserved $1.8 million in advertising time — an amount equal to the entire budget from her 2018 campaign.
► Democrat John Hickenlooper and Republican Sen. Cory Gardner have agreed on at least one upcoming debate — sponsored by Colorado Public Radio, Denver7, and The Denver Post. As CPR reports:
The two candidates for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat will meet at 5 p.m. on Oct. 9 for a 90-minute debate. CPR News will broadcast the debate across the state.
Denver 7 will broadcast the first hour live and all three news organizations will stream it online.
The debate will be held live at the Denver 7 studios, but with no audience for health precautions.
►Colorado Public Radio gives Democrat Ike McCorkle some love in his quest to unseat Rep. Ken Buck (R-Greeley).
► As The Colorado Times Recorder reports, the Catholic Church is playing a significant role in promoting an anti-abortion ballot measure in Colorado.
►Fox 31 fact checks a new ad from Democrat John Hickenlooper pointing out that Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) left Washington D.C. for a month without making any progress on another coronavirus relief package:
CLAIM #2
Since the August recess began, Congress has not passed bills that give help the unemployed, expand COVID-19 testing or help ranchers and small businesses
Exact quote in ad: “No relief passed for the unemployed. No expansion of COVID testing. No more help for struggling ranchers and small businesses.”
Verdict: True
► Governor Jared Polis says he hopes Colorado will have a 30-minute coronavirus test available in the next month.
► Colorado has done fairly well with getting coronavirus cases under control, but officials are worried about what the Labor Day holiday will manifest. As Colorado Public Radio explains, the re-opening of schools, bars, and restaurants has been accompanied by new COVID-19 cases. 9News is still tracking coronavirus outbreaks at specific locations in Colorado.
► As The New York Times reports, a former top official at the National Rifle Association (NRA) is making a hard break from his former employer:
The National Rifle Association’s former second-in-command is breaking with the group’s orthodoxy and calling for universal background checks and so-called red flag laws in a new book assailing the organization as more focused on money and internal intrigue than the Second Amendment, while thwarting constructive dialogue on gun violence.
The former executive, Joshua L. Powell, who was fired by the N.R.A. in January, reinforces the kind of criticism made of the organization by gun control groups and state regulators, but it is the first critical look at its recent history by such a high-ranking insider.
He describes the N.R.A.’s longtime chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, as a woefully inept manager, but also a skilled lobbyist with a deft touch at directing President Trump to support the group’s objectives, and who repeatedly reeled in the president’s flirtations with even modest gun control measures.
The book, “Inside the N.R.A.: A Tell-All Account of Corruption, Greed, and Paranoia Within the Most Powerful Political Group in America,” is to be published next week, the latest public calamity for an organization that has faced years of headlines detailing allegations of corruption, infighting and even its infiltration by a Russian agent.
► Rick Snyder, the former Republican Governor of Michigan, is endorsing Democrat Joe Biden for President. Snyder says Trump is “a bully who lacks a moral compass.”
►
The Dow Jones Industrial just closed above 29,000! You are so lucky to have me as your President😉With Joe Hiden’ it would crash😧
One thought on “Get More Smarter on Thursday (September 3)”
John Fogle, incumbent and candidate for reelection to Loveland City Council, had an ugly Facebook post. He reposted a meme suggesting that looters should be shot.
People wonder why Loveland is nicknamed “Hateland”. Now you know.
September 03, 2020 10:31 AM UTC
1 Comments
John Fogle, incumbent and candidate for reelection to Loveland City Council, had an ugly Facebook post. He reposted a meme suggesting that looters should be shot.
People wonder why Loveland is nicknamed “Hateland”. Now you know.