So it's come down to this. With storefronts and office buildings boarded up and shut down and even a new fence surrounding the White House, America awaits uneasily the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The incumbent is strutting and spewing his messages of hate in the final hours before what all indications suggest will be his defeat by a large margin.
He whips up his frenzied crowds while the mentally unstable among them load their guns, attach their flags to pickup trucks, and head out on the road, hunting...
What are they hunting?
Democracy.
The fact is there are not enough guns, flags or pickup trucks to change the will of the American people. And what they fear today is that Joe Biden is going to win this election and Donald Trump is going to lose.
It's time for the cooler heads to prevail. No one should want to tear this country apart. The nation may be tattered around the edges but it will survive the attempts of this demagogue to destroy it.
The fringes will singe but the center will hold.
***
The news:
* Federal authorities are expected to put back into place a "non-scalable" fence around the entire perimeter of the White House on Monday as law enforcement and other agencies prepare for possible protests surrounding the election, a source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to CNN.The fence, the same type that was put up during protests this summer, will encompass the Ellipse and Lafayette Square. It will go down 15th Street to Constitution Avenue and then over to 17th Street. The fence will then run up to H Street and across by Lafayette, and then come down 15th Street, the source said. NBC News was first to report the new fencing. The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment. (NBC/CNN)
* Democrat Joe Biden declared President Donald Trump won't succeed with a plan to “steal” the election by prematurely declaring victory on election night if early counts show him ahead, despite a mountain of mail-in votes that may take days or weeks to count. Trump reportedly told those close to him he plans to declare victory if the results show him leading. That plan, Axios' Jonathan Swan reported, would go forward even if millions of ballots have yet to be counted. [HuffPost]
* Ahead of Election, Police Prepare for Violence and Disruption -- Many law enforcement officials have attempted to inject calm while warning of dire consequences for those who try to disrupt voting. (NYT)
* Boarded-Up Windows and Increased Security: Retailers Brace for the Election -- Stores are making plans for how to deal with potential civil unrest stemming from Tuesday’s election. (NYT)
* In Dash to Finish, Biden and Trump Set Up Showdown in Pennsylvania -- Both campaigns were intensifying their efforts in a state increasingly critical to victory, as the candidates and their surrogates planned a final blitz to make their closing arguments. (NYT)
* Inspiring Black Voters Is Key to Biden’s Prospects in Florida -- Democratic groups are pouring money into get-out-the-vote efforts in Black precincts to try to increase turnout from 2016, in a state that is critical to President Trump’s re-election chances. (NYT)
* Trump openly promoted people carrying out political violence on his behalf over the weekend. The president tweeted in response to reports that the FBI is investigating a caravan of Trump supporters surrounding a Biden campaign bus in Texas, nearly driving it off a stretch of highway, and ramming the car of a campaign worker. “In my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong,” Trump tweeted. “The FBI & Justice [Department] should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA, who run around burning down our Democrat run cities.” "Trump trains" are jamming roadways in several states. [HuffPost]
* Dishonesty Has Defined the Trump Presidency. The Consequences Could Be Lasting. -- Whether President Trump wins or loses on Nov. 3, the very concept of public trust in an established set of facts necessary for the operation of a democratic society has been eroded. (NYT)
* How Americans surmounted a pandemic and dizzying rule changes so their voices would be heard -- A record 93 million voters cast their ballots by Sunday — an enormous turnout that seemed inconceivable at the start of 2020. (WashPo)
* The U.S. Postal Service must remind senior managers they must follow its “extraordinary measures” policy to expedite ballots ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan’s order on Sunday, to which the USPS agreed, said the postal service must reinforce its “special procedures” to ensure it “delivers every ballot possible by the cutoff time on Election Day.” This comes as theTexas Supreme Court denied a Republican effort to throw out nearly 127,000 ballots. [Reuters]
* Poll of Polls: Biden wins 90%, Trump wins 10%. (538)
* Electoral College: Biden 368, Trump 170. (Electoral-Vote.com)
* At Least 19 People Killed In Attack On Kabul University -- Gunmen stormed the campus where a book fair had drawn senior Afghan and Iranian officials, though it wasn't immediately clear whether the group was the intended target of the attack. (NPR)
* How the Wealthy World Has Failed Poor Countries During the Pandemic -- Despite pledges for debt relief and expanded programs, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have delivered meager aid, say economists. (NYT)
* In San Francisco, Virus Is Contained but Schools Are Still Closed -- A debate over reopening classrooms pits the mayor against the Board of Education, cutting across class, party and racial lines. (NYT)
* Swiss city of Geneva locks down as COVID surges (Reuters)
***
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain
America, sweet America
You know, God done shed his grace on thee
He crowned thy good, yes he did, in brotherhood
From sea to shining sea
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