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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Stephan: This is one of those stories I wish were not true but, if you live in a fact-based world you have to acknowledge facts whether you like them or not. And the sad truth is that there is a large part of the American population who are White supremacist christofascists. The truth, as this report lays out, is that they are the reason a blatant, intellectually shoddy disinformation operation is the most-watched network in America, and a man like Donald Trump is the president of the United States. I think there is about a 40% chance Trump will be re-elected. The voter registration data is not encouraging, and it's not like the Republicans don't have a lot of money to advance their cause. And that doesn't even address voter suppression and the rest. November is going to tell us what America is made of.
In June and July, Fox News was the highest-rated television channel in the prime-time hours of 8 to 11 p.m. Not just on cable. Not just among news networks. All of television. The average live Fox News viewership in those hours outstripped cable rivals like CNN, MSNBC and ESPN, as well as the broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC, according to Nielsen.
That three-hour slotis a narrow but significant slice of TV real estate, and it is exceedingly rare for a basic-cable channel to outrank the Big Three broadcasters, which are available in more households and offer a wider variety of programming.
Stephan: And here we have Tuesday's Republic Scum Report. You couldn't make it up. If I wrote it as satire people would say I were being nasty and partisan.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — White House aides reached out to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem last year about the process of adding additional presidents to Mount Rushmore, the New York Times reported.According to a person familiar who spoke with the Times, Noem then greeted Trump when he arrived in the state for his July Fourth celebrations at the monument with a four-foot replica of Mount Rushmore that included his face.Noem has noted before Trump’s “dream” to have his face on Mount Rushmore, the Coolidge-era sculpture that features the 60-foot-tall faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.According to a 2018 interview with Noem, the two struck up a conversation about the sculpture in the Oval Office during their first meeting, where she initially thought he was joking. “I started laughing,” she said. “He wasn’t laughing, so he was totally serious.””He said, ‘Kristi, come on over here. Shake my hand, and so I shook his hand, and I said, ‘Mr. President, you should come to South […]
Haley Brink and Allison Chinchar,, Meteorologists - CNN Weather
Stephan: And the climate change band plays on while we stand around doing... well, doing little or nothing.
Milne Ice Shelf in Ellesmere Island, Canada. On the left taken on 30 July 2020, and on the right the same area on 4 August 2020 Credit: Canadian Ice service
The size of Canada’s last fully intact ice shelf was reduced by 43% over July 30 and 31 when the Milne Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island in the northern territory of Nunavut collapsed into the ocean.This large sheet of ice then drifted into the Arctic Sea, further breaking into two large chunks. This entire calving event — the scientific term for the breaking of ice chunks off glaciers — was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel satellite.
The piece that broke off was around 80 square kilometers — larger than the 60-square-kilometer Manhattan.”Above-normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up,” according to the Canadian Ice Service.
“Due to the presence of pre-existing fractures in the remaining Milne Ice Shelf, there is a potential for further destabilization,” the Water and Ice Research Laboratory (WIRL) said in […]
Stephan: Here is some good news about climate change. The Trump administration and many Repubicans may not even believe climate change is real, but other administrations, in other countries, as well as ordinary people and business entrepreneurs know it to be real and are trying to develop a response that fosters wellbeing.
Climate Launchpad 2019 green business start-up winners Credit: Climate Launchpad
Despite the current crisis, green entrepreneurs across the globe continue to create positive climate impact and economic opportunities. A record number of 3,000 startups from 56 countries entered this year’s edition of ClimateLaunchpad*, the global green business ideas competition. The 7th edition of its Global Grand Final will be an entirely digital 3-day event (September 30 – October 2).
Global Grand Final Will be Hosted Online
ClimateLaunchpad is part of the entrepreneurship offerings by EIT Climate-KIC, the EU’s main climate innovation initiative. Its mission is to unlock global cleantech potential and to accelerate innovations that address climate change.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 competition is now digitally available. Boot Camps, coaching sessions, and national and regional finals have all been brought to virtual environments. ClimateLaunchpad is now preparing to do the same for its annual Global Grand Final, which is no small feat as it is the largest green business event around. There will be 65 cleantech startups pitching, live keynotes, interactive masterclasses, networking, fun sessions, inspirational talks, and live discussions.
Stephan: While millions of Americans face the loss of their homes or apartments and are having to decide whether to pay a bill to preserve their credit or buy food for their children, there is another world out there. Here is a description of it.
Credit: Johannes Eiself/Getty
A “family life coach” position in Aspen pays between $80,000-$100,000—the ideal applicant “wins,” is willing to make time for “overnight stays,” and possesses the “3G’s: Grit, growth, gratitude.” A private teaching position in the Bay Area for a backyard school will net you $120,000 (and a $2,000 UberEats bonus for referrals). Are you a nanny with experience as a camp counselor willing to oversee scavenger hunts and an obstacle course for a family’s private summer camp? Then this Beverly Hills position is perfect for you.
The rich have always sought to create private worlds of their own, cordoned off from the rest of the country and insulated from the violence their resource hoarding inflicts on others. What the coronavirus has provided is a common denominator, a single ongoing event that has exacerbated every existing form of inequality and inspired among the elites a certain kind of brashness about getting what they believe is theirs to take: jumping to the front of the line to get tested, hiring
Stephan: You may be struggling with the pandemic and the collapse of the day-to-day economy, but the rich live in another world, and they are thinking ahead. Here's what they have in mind. You... well, you'll just have to take your chances.
Inside, vertical LED screens with outdoor scenes act as “windows’” to the outside, and a gas fireplace and comfortable seating make the condos places of respite during periods of lockdown. Credit: Bradley Garrett
Survivalists and doomsday preppers—once seen as fringe outliers—are increasingly going mainstream. In addition to a popular reality TV show about preppers, more and more “regular people” are preparing go-bags for events ranging from hurricanes to blackouts to civil unrest. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, people who have a well-stocked bug-out location already prepared are starting to seem prescient. In his new book, Bunker: Preparing for the End Times (Scribner, August), Bradley Garrett—worldwide adventurer and author—explores communities around the world preparing for the apocalypse and shares an inside perspective on why and how they are preparing for the unexpected—and a close-up look at their varied accommodations. In this excerpt, he shares what life is like inside one such bunker.
The Survival Condo in Kansas—the most lavish and sophisticated private bunker in the world—was once a Cold War U.S. government missile silo. Built in the early […]
Hannah Knowles, Reporter - Houston Chronicle/The Washington Post
Stephan: This is the largest and least intelligent gathering in the United States since the Coronavirus pandemic started. It will be interesting to see what kind of Covid case spike comes out of this. But, however ill-conceived this event is we should all still pay attention to what it is telling us about the country.
Bikers in Sturgis, South Dakota. Notice none of them are wearing masks. Credit: Jim Holland/AP
Health officials are still warning against even small gatherings, and states with relatively low spread are ordering visitors from hot spots to self-quarantine.
But come Friday, about 250,000 people from across the country are still expected to start descending on a roughly 7,000-person community in South Dakota for one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the world, a 10-day extravaganza so deeply rooted that Sturgis calls itself the City of Riders.
The mayor of Sturgis says there’s not much to do but encourage “personal responsibility,” set up sanitation stations and give out masks – though face coverings won’t be required.
“We cannot stop people from coming,” Mayor Mark Carstensen said Thursday on CNN.
Worried residents, however, say officials should have canceled the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in a state where Republican Gov. Kristi Noem resisted stay-at-home orders and mask rules – and last month welcomed another mass event, President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July weekend speech at the foot of Mount Rushmore. A city survey found that more than […]
Alan D. Blotcky, PhD David M. Reiss, MD, and John M. Talmadge, MD, Clinical Psychologist in Birmingham, Alabama | Psychiatrist in Rancho Santa Fe, California | Psychiatrist in Dallas, Texas. - Alter Net
Stephan: As I watched footage of thousands of bikers in Sturgis, South Dakota, packed together and, almost to a person, not wearing masks, and apparently overwhelmingly Trumpers, I thought: How do you get to that level of anti-science stupidity. How do you come to believe that wearing a mask is a political statement? Do you wear seat belts when you drive? Inevitably there will be a Covid-19 spike coming out of this assemblage. People will die. Well, here are three mental assessment specialists and their attempt to explain Trumpers, who they are, and why they are as they are. To me, they seem pathetic and sad, but also very dangerous to society as a whole.
A looming question in today’s political climate is: Why do Donald Trump’s devotees continue to support him despite the carnage of his well-documented failures? Although we are in the middle of a deadly pandemic that is surging and not contained, Trump seems to maintain a base support of 35% to 40%. What are the psychological factors that influence or underpin his supporters’ attraction to him? And might this provide some perspective on how to change these supporters’ minds?
Multiple psychological factors seem to influence and explain his supporters. We have divided these factors into four major categories: Rebelliousness and Chaos; Shared Irrationality; Fear; and Safety and Order.
Rebelliousness and Chaos
Some Trump supporters have a strong desire for rebelliousness and chaos, and view Trump as the perfect vehicle for achieving their personal goals. These supporters tend to become “anti-establishment and anti-government,” even when it is against their best interest. Many are unhappy with their station in life and believe chaos in the political system will bring them important gains. They seek immediate and sweeping changes and believe […]
