When it comes to news summaries, there really is only one story worth noting today.
Ron Suskind of the Times brings us the nightmare scenario Trump's own officials fear the most -- that he will disrupt the election, as outlined below, and incite violence across the country.
These are not Democrats or leftist conspiracy bust speaking; these are those within the Trump administration.
Our country has not faced a crisis of that proportion since the Civil War.
This is where Trump's coded calls to the likes of the Proud Boys, Qanon, and the "militia" members who aimed to kidnap and kill Michigan's governor come into play. They are all "standing by," waiting for him to signal what to do next.
As he continues his desperate strategy of holding large, maskless rallies attacking or mocking anyone and everyone (even Laura Ingraham for heaven's sake) he perceives as not on his side, he is doing immeasurable harm to our democracy.
By goading on his twisted form of white grievance, he is abusing the very people who support him most. It is the under-educated, mainly rural white people who are being manipulated into believing they are victims because better-educated, urban-based people of color are succeeding in ways they are not.
This form of grievance overlooks the many people of color who are also left behind by the economic and technological forces shaping the edge of change sweeping our society.
In fact, a much larger problem is we are dividing into a two class country, with a few mega-rich and a large number of poor people. Trump may be able to convince his supporters they are victims, but he does not tell them that he -- and other wealthy people like him -- are those getting ahead while they fall behind.
It's a cruel joke and it is on those who vote for Trump.
Happy Halloween.
Those headlines...
* he Day After Election Day -- New York Times journalist Ron Suskind has talked with multiple current and former Trump administration officials who say they’re deeply concerned about what President Donald Trump will do the day after the election next week. In multiple interviews, these officials sketched out a scenario in which Trump would encourage his supporters to disrupt voting in cities in key swing states.“Disruption would most likely begin on Election Day morning somewhere on the East Coast, where polls open first,” Suskind writes. “Miami and Philadelphia (already convulsed this week after another police shooting), in big swing states, would be likely locations. It could be anything, maybe violent, maybe not, started by anyone, or something planned and executed by any number of organizations, almost all of them on the right fringe, many adoring of Mr. Trump.” The big danger, these officials tell Suskind, is that early news of unrest at polling places will spark further instances across the country.“News of even a few incidents could summon a violent segment of Mr. Trump’s supporters into action, giving foreign actors even more to amplify and distribute, spreading what is, after all, news of mayhem to the wider concentric circles of Mr. Trump’s loyalists,” he writes. Officials then say Trump will claim some kind of “victory” on November 4th even if the vote tallies show him behind. “If the streets then fill with outraged people, he can easily summon, or prompt, or encourage troublemakers among his loyalists to turn a peaceful crowd into a sea of mayhem,” Suskind writes. “They might improvise on their own in sparking violence, presuming it pleases their leader.” One FBI official tells Suskind that the agency has been gaming out how it will handle weeks of unrest that could come after the election. “We’ve been talking to our state and local counterparts and gearing up for the expectation that it’s going to be a significant law-enforcement challenge for probably weeks or months,” this official said. “It feels pretty terrifying.” (NYT/RawStory)
* With Election Day looming, an anxious nation hears rumblings of violence (WashPo)
* President Trump and his campaign have been calling for an army of poll watchers on Election Day. What is poll watching, and when does it cross the line? We look at how a federal consent decree restricted the Republican Party for decades, and why its expiration could make a difference in 2020. (NYT)
* GOP shifts from challenging rules to preparing to challenge ballots -- After largely failing to limit access to mail-in voting, Republicans now look to contest votes already cast. (WashPo)
* Videogames were already a multibillion-dollar industry. The pandemic is sending them to another level. The way we entertain ourselves may never be the same. (WSJ)
* The virus had spared Alaska’s most remote villages. Not anymore. (WashPo)
* Nursing Homes, Racked by the Virus, Face a New Crisis: Isolation (NYT)
* Trump Mocks Laura Ingraham’s Face Mask During Rally -- President Trump called Laura Ingraham, a Fox News host, “politically correct” for wearing a mask during his rally in Michigan on Friday. (AP)
* New lockdowns in England as restrictions return around Europe (WashPo)
* In Florida, voters of color and young voters have had ballots flagged for possible rejection at higher rates than others (WashPo) |
* Children from Central America are being sent across the border to Mexico, where they may not have any family. An internal email said the transfers violated the government’s own policies. (NYT)
* Canada’s oil patch has nearly 100,000 suspended wells, neither active nor capped, and they’re a worrying source of planet-warming methane. (NYT)
***
Well it's bound to take your life
There's a bad moon on the rise
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