They're Everywhere

The big picture is that we are stuck. It is an in-between time between what has befallen our society and what, if anything, is going to be done about it.

Our economy is in tatters. Too many people are out of work with limited prospects for getting their old jobs back. Many renters face eviction. Single parents are struggling with how to support their children when they can't go to school.

The pandemic rages; science races to catch up. There are indications that the number of infections may be far greater than the official numbers reported by the CDC and WHO, but nobody seems to know for sure.

The political environment features a polarizing President who is frightened he will lose in his bid to be re-elected to a second four-year term, and a non-charismatic challenger with a reputation for compromise and getting things done.

Accordingly, many Republicans are defecting from Trump's team to support Biden. Whether enough voters follow this course to sway the election is unclear.

What is clear is that incumbent Presidents rarely lose. The only two in my lifetime to lose are Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush.

So Biden has his work cut out.

An additional complication is what many consider to be the outmoded Electoral College, which allowed two candidates in my lifetime -- Al Gore and Hillary Clinton -- to win the popular vote but lose the election.

Except for that antiquated electoral vote system, therefore, the Democrats would have won every election since 1992. But wait -- what about 2004? Didn't W win re-election?

That was due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks -- Gore as the incumbent would have won re-election also. A cat as President would have won re-election that year.

So from the perspective of simple mathematics, the Republicans have been a minority party for a long time now.

Another use of the term "minority" is one of the reasons for that. The Democratic Party has courted minoritie voters much more assiduously than Republicans for generations now. The Republicans have never run a minority candidate on the national ticket.

This year's election will test that strategy as never before.

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So what's happening this overnight?

* Facebook Braces Itself for Trump to Cast Doubt on Election Results --The world’s biggest social network is working out what steps to take should President Trump use its platform to dispute the vote. (New York Times)

* The 14-hour storm caused extensive damage. Now Iowans are trying to recover from the 'land hurricane' (CNN)

* Since she first ran for state attorney general in California a decade ago, Kamala Harris has forged close ties with the tech industry. [The New York Times]

* A series of lightning-sparked wildfires has devastated California's oldest state park.--Big Basin Redwoods State Park endured extensive damage from the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in Santa Cruz on Tuesday, according to a press release from the California Department of Parks and Recreation. (CNN)

* Cases rising again in Europe; crowded events in U.S. raise concerns--Large, crowded gatherings raised new worries among health authorities about possible super-spreader events in the U.S. and around the world. (Washington Post)

* Touting conspiracy theories, Trump welcomes fringe views into the political mainstream--Beyond being unfounded, many of the ideas Trump is bolstering are dangerous, according to intelligence officials, political scientists and, increasingly, members of the president’s own party. (Washington Post)

* How the impeachment inquiry laid bare Trump’s fixation on Biden--In “Trump on Trial,” which will be published Aug. 25, Washington Post reporters reveal how the president's alarm-raising request to a foreign country centered on one person — his political rival Joe Biden. (Washington Post)

* Trump retweeted Russian propaganda about Biden that the U.S. intelligence community recently announced was part of Moscow's ongoing effort to "denigrate" the Democrat ahead of November's election. (CNN)

* Trump remains largely silent on reported poisoning of Russian dissident (CNN)

* After World War II, thousands of Japanese-Americans returned to the West Coast from internment camps with nowhere to live. Poverty, restrictive housing covenants and racial prejudice led many to seek out housing wherever they could. [The New York Times]

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Personal updates:

(1) The mother quail has hatched a chick! This is a domesticated breed that supposedly ignores their eggs but she built a nest and has been sitting on four eggs for weeks.

(2) My youngest daughter may have found a house to rent with two friends for her senior year. in college. It's on the Jersey shore. We'll find out tomorrow.

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Smile:

A rabbi walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. The bartender says, “Where did you get that?” The parrot says, “Brooklyn, they’re everywhere!”      -- The Internet