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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: Once again Trump and the Republican Senate makes it clear they care nothing for ordinary folk, and particularly children. I find this unbelievably disgusting. The richest nation in the world and one out of every five children in the country at some time this year will face hunger. What kind of country is that?
Millions of low-income children are likely to miss out on special benefits that help their families buy groceries this month because the Trump administration has imposed eligibility requirements that prevent some states from getting the payments out before the money expires.
Congress created the program earlier this year to help make up for free and subsidized meals that children were missing while schools were either shut down or virtual due to coronavirus.
States were able to figure out who should get the payments in the spring and summer, when schools nationwide were fully closed for in-person learning. But now, as some schools re-open with a mix of virtual and in-person classes, the Agriculture Department says states must also tackle the complex job of figuring out how many days each student is not physically in school and distribute the aid to all who are spending all or part of their weeks learning virtually. That decision came the first week of September, too late for many state agencies to determine who’s eligible before the money runs out on Sept. 30.
Stephan: Donald Trump doesn't like the truth of American history anymore he likes the truth about anything. So he has decreed that American public schools teach a false history that glosses over slavery, the genocide of Native Americans, or the exploitation of workers. This is the kind of thing I saw in the Soviet Union, or that one sees in North Korea. If we don't get rid of this man on November 3rd, in four more years the United States will not be a country any of you recognize. We are sliding in fascist authoritarianism faster than I would have believed possible five years ago.
Slave sale Credit: History.com
At the White House Conference, President Trump said history teachers’ focus on slavery has taught children to hate their country and announced a national commission to promote “patriotic” education.
DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Many educators say schools in our country need to do a better job teaching students about white supremacy and systemic racism. President Trump is arguing for the opposite. Yesterday, he again went out of his way to portray protests in American cities as more violent than they really are. This time, though, he blamed what he called left-wing indoctrination in schools and universities. Trump said he wants to create a commission to promote, quote, “patriotic education.”
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Patriotic moms and dads are going to demand that their children are no longer fed hateful lies about this country. American parents are not going to accept indoctrination in our schools.
GREENE: For more on this, let’s turn to NPR education correspondent Cory Turner. Good morning, Cory.
CORY TURNER, BYLINE: Good morning, David.
GREENE: Tell us more about the president’s argument […]
Stephan: Here is further confirmation of what I said in my previous article. Trump has promised his cult "he will make America White again," and this is one of the ways he plans to do it. This is a lead article in the Guardian a newspaper and site read worldwide. No wonder the rest of the world now sees the United States as a sad and increasingly fascist nation. November 3rd, folks. It is all up to us.
‘Trump has made a promise to his base that he will Make America White Again.’ Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
Can we use the F word yet? Can we finally admit that America is dipping its feet in fascism? Armed militias are roaming the streets; Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to discredit the results of the 2020 election; the press has been labelled the “enemy of the people”; there are credible allegations that migrant women in detention camps are being coerced into having their uteruses removed; “anti-fascists” have been branded public enemy number one. And now Trump has announced a “national commission to support patriotic education” – in other words, a racist propaganda program.
“Leftwing rioting and mayhem are the direct result of decades of left-wing indoctrination in our schools,” Trump declared in a speech on Thursday. He went on to condemn critical race theory and the 1619 Project, the New York Time’s Pulitzer-prize winning initiative to reframe American history by placing the consequences of slavery at the center. “[T]he crusade against American history is toxic propaganda [that] will destroy our country,” […]
Stephan: The fascist disinformation operations like FOX, Infowars, Limbaugh, and Beck are gearing up to try and call into question a Biden victory. And there will be millions who listen, read, and watch them. The only thing that defuses such a disinformation campaign is a victory for Biden so large it cannot be challenged. Please make sure everyone you know votes, and votes to get rid of Trump and his senate orcs.
The fascist Fox disinformation operation
On Wednesday night, Fox’s Tucker Carlson aired an interview with Darren Beattie — a disgraced former Trump administration speechwriter who was fired for associating with alt-right racists. In the interview, Beattie accuses Democrats of using a CIA playbook to launch a “coup” against the elected government.
“It’s a regime change model favored by many in our national security apparatus, particularly against Eastern European countries, to overthrow target regimes they don’t like,” Beattie said, describing this as an “operation” designed by “literally the same people … who have a long history of using these tactics against foreign regimes they don’t like.”
That same night, Glenn Beck released a 50-minute special on YouTube and his news website, the Blaze, titled “How America Ends.” In one of his classic chalkboard presentations, Beck outlined what he sees as a plan to overthrow Trump that grew from the experience of Eastern European revolutions in the mid-2000s (so-called “color revolutions”). This scheme supposedly involves Democrats, Hollywood, a group of economists called modern monetary theorists, unions, and “the Marxist deep state.” If […]
Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul, Reporters - The New York Times
Stephan: Quite predictably the Trump cult does not like democracy in theory or practice. In Virginia, as this story describes, they are trying to disrupt voters and polling places.
Trumpers in Fairfax, Virginia try to disrupt voting
A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting “four more years” as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site.
County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts.
Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building. But they acknowledged that some voters and polling staff members felt intimidated by what some saw as protesters.
“Citizens coming into and leaving the building did have to go by them,” Gary Scott, the general registrar of Fairfax County, said in a statement. “Those voters who were in line outside of the building were moved inside and we continued operations. Some voters, and elections […]
Stephan: This is how crazy the Trump campaign has gotten. Trump lives in a fantasy of his power.
Trump at Fayetteville, North Carolina rally. Note crowd packed in, all White, no masks. Credit: Heavy.com
Donald Trump spoke in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday night where he told voters that he might sign an executive order disqualifying Joe Biden from running as his opponent in the upcoming 2020 race. As video posted to YouTube by Trump’s team shows, the president also accused Biden of getting performance-enhancing drugs shot into his rear.
“We can joke, we can play games, we can have fun. You can’t have this guy as your president,” Trump said. “You can’t have — maybe I’ll sign an executive order, you cannot have him as your president.”
The crowd cheered loudly at the suggestion.
Trump also expanded on his often-repeated suggestion that Biden is taking drugs to enhance his mental performance before giving a speech.
“I got a debate coming up with this guy,” Trump said. “You never know. They gave him a big fat shot in the a**… and for two hours, he is better than ever before. Problem is, what happens after that?”
Stephan: Because he is a White supremacist racist to the bone, Trump does not understand that immigrants are essential to America's wellbeing. Neither he nor is factotum Stephen Miller have a clue, I don't think that, as a recent American economy study found immigrants and the children of immigrants founded 45 percent of U.S. Fortune 500 companies, Nor do they realize that rural hospitals are collapsing because they can not get the staff -- immigrant doctors and nurses -- that normally fill their ranks. I have five doctors, and not a one of them is a Caucasian. And farmers are going bankrupt because they cannot get the immigrant workers who harvest the food they feeds you and your family. America is a nation of immigrants; the Whites alone are not enough to make the economy work.
The immigrant medical personnel who keep you and your family healthy
America’s cities are facing a historic shortage of two vital resources: money and immigrants.
Why it matters: Cities drive American economic growth, and immigrants drive cities. The coronavirus pandemic has effectively stanched the main source of talent that municipal economies have long relied upon.
The big picture: As Axios’ Stef Kight reports, COVID-19 has slammed the door on highly skilled foreign workers — and the restrictions and bottlenecks may outlast the pandemic, especially if President Trump wins reelection. Economists warn that could slow the U.S. recovery and reduce competitiveness.
By the numbers: The U.S. issued more than 61,000 skilled visas in January. That number fell to just 494 in April and remained very low through July. Don’t expect the numbers to pick up meaningfully anytime soon.
New York alone has some 3.1 million immigrants, who fill 45% of the city’s jobs, according to the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs. But that population was declining even pre-pandemic. Tougher immigration restrictions caused a decline of 75,000 immigrant residents in 2018.
Stephan: Here is another aspect -- civic bonds -- that are being affected by sea rise.
Florida, Miami, Aerial view of beach restoration to fight climate change. Credit: Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty
As if COVID-19 had not affected states’ and municipalities’ finances adversely enough, numerous states and municipalities and investors in their bonds, also need to worry about the economic impact of rising sea levels. According to a Moody’s MCO-0.7% Investors Services report released yesterday afternoon, “More frequent and severe flooding from high tides and storm surges from major weather events threaten coastal economies, property values and critical infrastructure.” According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in the last two decades, the Atlantic and Gulf coasts experiences anywhere from 100-150% increase in annual days of high-tide flooding.
Flooding during high tide will increase for decades to come. GRAPH BY MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICES
Four Twenty Seven, a Moody’s affiliate that provides data and market intelligence related to physical climate and environmental, risks estimates that by 2040, increased sea level rise will significantly affect every coastal […]
