Monday, September 26, 2016

Hey, Friends -

I was planning to watch the debate (urk!) this evening but just don't have the energy...due to family and work and health concerns, I've run myself into the ground the last three out of four days. I'm about to do a faceplant into this laptop keyboard, so I'm just going to tidy up what I've got going here already, and I'll post comments on the debate Wednesday. Boy, I sure hope Hillary hands Trump his pasty orange ass on a silver platter!

- Dot Calm's shadow (ready for a Fireball and a faceplant)

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Greetings, fellow Dot Calm Readers, Freedom Fighters, and Truth Crusaders!

I'm still just completely bemused that so many of us in this once-great nation of ours are so deluded that we still think that snakes and donkeys talk, you can hit a rock and make water come out, chemicals change into each other because god, and Donald Trump is in any way qualified for public office.

So many of us believe that the way to get rich ourselves is to give the already-rich more of our money. If you give bigger, more lavish meals to the already morbidly obese, why, they'll drop more crumbs for us to lick off the floor!

So many of us disbelieve that evidence, observation, experimentation, and hard work drive progress, giving us everything from cell phones and CD players to radars and GPS and increasingly automated and safer cars to vaccines and endoscopic surgeries and the rest of life-saving modern medicine.

Instead, we believe that All Good Things flutter down magically from the clouds because of a magic wand we call "prayer."

We as a society insist on being gullible. We consider gullibility a feature, not a bug. We demand gullibility of ourselves and throw tantrums whenever we happen upon the rare individual who is not gullible.

It took me 50 years to realize I was gullible and stop it. I envy those who either weren't exposed to indoctrination or for whom it didn't take. They have no idea how rare and fortunate they are! The latter, especially--just because you grow up without indoctrination doesn't make you immune to it later.

If you've been following this blog since Dot Calm's untimely and much lamented passing in October 2015, you know that, when I speak of gullibility, I mean religion.

Think about it.

We teach our kids that some imaginary friends are nonsense but that others are real. Specifically, we teach them that children's imaginary friends are not real but that adults' imaginary friends are real.

After they realize that one Santa Claus isn't real, we insist that the other Santa Claus is very real and far more powerful--and that, unlike the kindly Christmas legend, the "real" one also punishes, torturing his beloved children by pitilessly roasting them alive for all eternity.

And if they believe it, we praise them for having faith--for believing that for which there is no evidence--which we consider to be good.

If they question it because it sounds like bullshit--because they apply critical thinking skills and draw appropriate conclusions from the evidence--we denounce them as evil, heretics, monsters.

And don't forget how deeply we drill into their little heads how broken and wrong they are just for being human. And we demand they apologize daily to their supposed creator for creating them to be exactly as they are.

This is what religion is. It warps minds young and old to reject obvious, provable, objective reality--and to dismiss the only life we all know we have--in favor of fantasies of unimaginable pleasure or torment in some unproven, unprovable afterlife.

And we teach them to organize their lives not around reality but around these demented fantasies.

To me, this is what drives our gullibility to the point that so many of us believe Donald Trump's obvious lies--as my Tea Party Christian friend does. It's how so many of us wave our hands and dismiss his obvious crimes and scandals, calling him godly and raised up by god to save the nation (blerch!). It's why so many of us are so willing to vote against our own best interests and enrich the already-rich at our own expense--because we believe that we too are already multi-millionaires and billionaires, even though god hasn't cut us our check yet.

And it isn't just the fundamentalists, like my Tea Party Christian friend, and extremists, like he wishes he were except that he believes a little too much high school science. Even religious moderates buy into the fantasy and the bullshit. Even if they don't all believe the same book of ancient fables literally, they are all influenced by it, whether they admit it or not. Just look at Catholics, for example. They don't claim to believe the Bible literally, but they believe that, as the Bible says, homosexuality is bad and women are lesser than men and just plain evil...as in, men are inherently saintly and would be perfectly godlike if it weren't for women, and women cannot be trusted to speak the truth, keep their promises, or even think straight.

Although Catholics by and large do not seem to support Trump, evangelicals clearly do--even though he goes against everything they so loudly claim they stand for.

Now that there is some mighty fancy compartmentalization, friends, brought to you by societally-mandated gullibility, courtesy of religion.

Then again, maybe Trump only needs to appeal to one of the evangelicals' pet priorities: bringing the apocalypse. Perhaps Trump's lust to nuke everything in sight outweighs evangelicals' other priorities. Like Jesus.

And that there is another piece of...wait for it...societally-mandated gullibility, courtesy of religion.

This is why we need to go back to Ike's 90% tax rate on top earners: we would reclaim our middle class, take decent care of our working and nonworking poor, rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, and restore our public schools, which in Ike's day were the envy of the developed world. This is why we need to teach our children science and critical thinking.

If we don't, we will end up exactly like the Muslim theocracies--refusing to learn science but happily buying its voodoo fruit, technology, from those who do understand science. Right now, Saudi Arabia--which teaches creationism in its schools instead of science, just like evangelicals want to do here-- buys a lot of its technology from us. But if--or when--we abdicate science for superstition and stop solving problems, we'll all be buying technology from China. Medicine, too--which is dangerous, considering the laxity of their regulations (remember the melamine in the infant formula?). And, like all the Muslim theocracies, we will have willfully deprived the world of an entire population's best and brightest minds along with all the progress they would have produced had they been trained and valued in the sciences. If Muslims hadn't given up science, they might have cured cancer decades ago. If we give up science, we may also be giving up cures for cancer and countless other technologies that save and prolong healthy life. Only we don't have the kind of oil reserves and natural resources to support us indefinitely as a nation only of consumers. Once we give up our ability to invent and innovate because god, we will have given up our ability to support ourselves as a first world nation.


And the gullible and the religious are blind to the danger and heedless of the consequences.

As Dot Calm would say, banana republic, here we come.

Don't forget to read Dot Calm's shadow's favorite independent sources of news and information:

Daily Kos
AlterNet

Peas, friends. Take care of yourselves for me. Trust me--you're worth it! And don't forget to keep the Fireball handy while you watch the debate tonight--we'll all need a little something to numb the horror of watching Donald Trump!
  
- Dot Calm's shadow

Consider the preemptive Blogger phuqued-up phormatting disclaimer to be in effect. Grrr.
-- Dot Calm's shadow

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What's left of my 401k lurves Obama.
Before that, baby Bush eated it.
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Headlines

No choo-choo time this time, friends, but here are a few articles to keep you well-informed 'til next time.
-- Dot Calm's shadow

From Daily Kos: Donald Trump lied—like always—but this one might be a felony

It took until this week before the word lie began appearing in major newspapers when it comes to statements by Donald Trump. That’s despite earning a record number of "pants on fire" ratings from Politifact. Apparently the press has used all the euphemisms for lying so much, that the phrases have worn off their computers, though actually saying “lie” still makes the keepers of the flame uncomfortable.

But it’s hard to find another word for this one.
Donald Trump committed perjury. Or he looked into the faces of the Republican faithful and knowingly lied. There is no third option.
It has become an accepted reality of this presidential campaign that Trump spins a near-endless series of falsehoods. For months, the media has struggled with this unprecedented situation—a candidate who, unlike other politicians who stretch the truth, simply creates his own reality. Trump regularly peddles “facts” that aren’t true, describes events that never happened or denies engaging in actions that everyone saw him do. He utters his falsehoods so fast that before reporters have the chance to correct one, he has tossed out five or six more.
In this case, what Donald Trump told Republican voters when he was on the debate stage, which was quite different from what he told a judge when he was under oath.

Confronting Jeb! on the debate stage, Trump was all bluster.
"The one guy that had some special interests that I know of that tried to get me to change my views on something—that was generous and gave me money—was Donald Trump,” Bush said. “He wanted casino gambling in Florida."
Trump: I didn’t—
Bush: Yes, you did.
Trump: Totally false.
Bush: You wanted it, and you didn’t get it, because I was opposed to—
Trump: I would have gotten it.
Repeatedly, Trump denied that he had tried to get Bush to approve gambling, and said that had he asked for it, he would have gotten it.
But that’s not what Trump said when he was under oath. In 2007, Trump hired Richard Fields to work on bringing casino gambling to Florida. When Fields quit, Trump sued him. His claim then was that he would have gotten casino gambling, but Fields ruined it. In his testimony, Trump claimed that he had tried to persuade Bush by throwing a lavish fundraiser where he could take Bush aside and press him on the gambling issue ...
Lawyer: You knew that Governor Bush, Jeb Bush at that time, was opposed to expansion of gaming in Florida, didn't you?
Trump: I thought that he could be convinced otherwise.
Lawyer: But you didn't change his mind about his anti-gaming stance, did you?
Trump: Well, I never really had that much of an opportunity because Fields resigned, telling me you could never get what we wanted done, only to do it for another company.
So on one hand, Trump claims he never tried to get gambling in Florida—because he doesn’t want to admit that Bush didn’t buckle to his demands. On the other hand, Trump told the court that he wasn’t able to convince Bush, blaming Fields for the failure.
If the version Trump told in court was the truth, then he lied repeatedly and forcefully on the debate stage. If the version Trump told on the stage was the truth …
Now consider the other option, that Trump committed perjury in the 2007 testimony. There, he admitted pushing for casino gambling in Florida, but said he would have gotten what he wanted if he hadn’t been tricked by Fields. The rationale for the perjurious testimony is simple—Trump wants money from a man who stopped working for him and, once again, the story lets him deny he is anything less than perfect.
It’s an absolute fact that Trump lied (it was a day with a “y” in it, so that’s expected), but if Trump holds onto the “I never tried” version that he maintained in the debate …
Is the Republican nominee a perjurer or just a liar? If he refuses to answer—just as he has refused to address almost every other question about his character and background—Trump supporters must carefully consider whether they want to vote for a man who at best has treated them like fools over the past year, and who at worst, committed a crime.
    
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From AlterNet: How to Flip a Trump Voter Without Pushing Too Hard 

Curiosity is a simple, non-adversarial communication change. And it's worth trying.

By
Erica Etelson / AlterNet 
September 17, 2016


The only way to talk someone out of voting for Trump is to stop trying to talk them out of voting for Trump. To all my fellow progressives who’ve been busily browbeating supporters of this dangerous demagogue, you’re invited to become an early adopter of a far more rewarding, non-adversarial approach called "powerful non-defensive communication."

According to most commentators, the prototypical Trump supporter is an uneducated, narrow-minded bigot with legitimate grievances against the faltering economy which Trump has skillfully alchemized into violent rage toward non-whites, Muslims and successful women. The Trump voter is a patriarchal authoritarian primed since early childhood to fearfully submit to a bullying father who always knows best. In the circular logic of the authoritarian mindset, might makes right—and so Trump, as the strongman, is necessarily the winner in a competition against losers.

While there is some truth to this profile, it doesn’t capture the nuances of experience, emotion and belief that are about to lead tens of millions of voters to pull the lever for Trump, including, as of July, 11 percent of Muslims, 13 percent of Latinos, 34 percent of women and significant numbers of professionals. Progressives tend to react to such information with groaning disbelief, at which point we either give up or rededicate ourselves to enlightening the ignorant dupes with scads of facts that contradict the false narrative spun by Trump.

As anyone who’s ever tried to reason someone out of their core beliefs knows, the mind filters out contradictory information, particularly the mind of an authoritarian whose panic button is stuck in the On position. Debating them and trying to convince them to dump Trump will make them dig in deeper—that’s what people do when they feel threatened. Also, as Newt Gingrich makes woefully clear in a John Oliver clip, everyone’s got their own set of “facts” these days, so flinging more facts back and forth is futile.

So what should we do instead? To answer this question, I contacted communication guru Sharon Ellison, creator of powerful non-defensive communication and author of Taking the War Out of Our Words. Ellison has trained thousands of educators, government officials and corporate and non-profit leaders, including me, in a novel, straightforward style of communication that avoids the pitfalls of the conventional adversarial approach. She was credited with turning around a trailing gubernatorial campaign by training the candidate in powerful non-defensive communication, and her website teems with testimonials from trainees who’ve achieved communication and relationship breakthroughs they’d never imagined.

I asked Ellison for tips on engaging Trump supporters in ways that encourage them to drop their mental defenses and rethink their position. The starting place, she says, is curiosity.

Instead of blasting Trump or insulting the morality or intelligence of his supporters, first, just get curious. You don’t have to agree; you’re simply gathering information and trying to understand where they’re coming from, even if you believe they’re deeply misguided.

Make it a dialogue, not a debate or an inquisition. No matter how true and rational your analysis is, force-feeding it will not go down well. Nor will a premeditated series of sugar-coated questions designed to subtly lead the person to “get it.” The right question, skillfully and non-aggressively posed, could prompt someone to gain unexpected insights, and when they realize something for themselves, they can more easily accept it.

Your questions should be very specific but posed in a non-judgmental way. (Note that I’m calling the questions “specific” rather than “pointed,” which implies that a question is a weapon.)

Ellison cautions against using general, open-ended questions—some of us gravitate toward these because they feel softer, but they can wind up serving as an invitation to rant. For example, my instinct was to ask Trump supporters what makes them feel afraid and how Trump makes them feel safe. I was envisioning a heartwarming scene in which the person shares his deepest fears, and I empathize so beautifully he then realizes that Trump poses an existential threat to the future of life on this planet. But the more likely outcome of my question, Ellison says, is that he goes off on a tirade about a racial or religious minority and I angrily storm out.

Below is a list of options for curiosity-based questions you could ask. It doesn’t matter how the person answers your question(s)—the answer gives you important information as a basis for asking either another question or making your own statement. Later on, I’ll show you how to follow up with position statements that express your beliefs in ways that can also disarm defensiveness.

The article goes on to list specific questions and suggested responses you can try with the Trump supporter of your choice. It's yuge, so I suggest you click through to read it for yourself if you're interested. In short, she starts with opening questions to make sure the Trump supporter is open to talking with you. Then she recommends specific questions about what draws the supporter to Trump and about Trump's bullying, bigotry, and fraudulence. She also suggests how to respond--including staying relaxed and curious and not making cynical gestures. Unfortunately, my Tea Party Christian friend is already way too far gone even to have a polite conversation with. He knows what a train wreck Trump is, so, in his defensiveness, he'll even make shit up on the spot to defend his golden boi. I wonder how many more like my poor friend are out there--unreaching and unreachable. He restores my faith in David, my true conservative friend, who nonetheless plans to vote for Trump. At least David and I can have intelligent, curious, respectful conversations about it!
-- Dot Calm's shadow
   
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Mailbag

ColorOfChange.org--Charlotte, NC, has released some but not all police video from Keith Lamont Scott's shooting...it's devastating; it's not enough; and they want to forever ban releasing any police video to the public

BREAKING: Charlotte Police Chief, Kerr Putney, just made a partial release of dash cam and body cam footage of Keith Lamont Scott's murder.1 And it's devastating to watch. 

Keith slowly exits his car and turns around with his hands at his sides and within seconds police shoot him down. Neither of the videos show definitive evidence of Keith holding a gun as police have claimed--and after police shot and kiled him, they handcuffed his lifeless body. To make matters worse, Putney has still refused to release the full video, claiming it is not relevant to the shooting. A partial video release is not enough, but if this killing happened a week from today, even this would be impossible. 

A new North Carolina law goes into effect on October 1st, and will prohibit any body-cam or dash-cam footage from being released to the public. It's infuriating and a slap in the face to Black people who've been in the streets demanding transparency and reform.

In just a few hours, over 33,000 Color of Change members have signed a petition calling on the Department of Justice to take action against this law--will you join them?

We have to make sure North Carolina police can't hide behind a blue wall of silence any longer.

-Arisha
   
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The following sponsored email was sent by AlterNet on behalf of Tammy Duckworth for Senate





Dear Friend,


If you have been waiting to get involved, now is the time. Will you add your name to help me defeat Mark Kirk on November 8th?

POLITICO has called my opponent, incumbent Senator Mark Kirk, “The most endangered Republican in the country.” Our race is Democrats' best chance in the nation to turn a Republican Senate seat blue in November.

There is simply too much at stake to sit on the sidelines.

We’re still waiting for legislation on commonsense measures to prevent gun violence. A Supreme Court seat is still vacant. Congressional Republicans are still refusing to pass a bill to address Zika that doesn’t prohibit funding for Planned Parenthood. 

And across the country, working families are still counting on us to make college more affordable and retirements secure.

The only way to make progress on these issues, and many more, is to win back the Democratic Senate majority this November.

I need you on my team. Add your name to join our grassroots campaign now and let’s take back the Senate.

Thank you for all that you do,

Tammy Duckworth
    
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Annie, this is for you!
     
Techalert header


Sep 22, 2016
Image

Hackers Offer a DIY Alternative to the $600 EpiPen
Earlier this week, a group of pharma hackers released a video and instructions showing DIYers how to make a generic EpiPen using materials that can be bought online for about US $30. They call it the EpiPencil. Its creators say that anybody can use it, no special training required. The group is now hard at work on a machine that will let people manufacture their own medicines.
   
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In 2012, women made up over half of all voters. This year, women have an even greater opportunity to influence a historic election and shape a progressive future for America.

Women voters have the power to spark true change by electing pro-choice Democratic women at the local, state, and national levels – including the opportunity to elect the first woman President of the United States.

By helping pro-choice Democratic women win races at all levels, women voters can make 2016 the year we take back the Senate, send even more women to the House, champion greater diversity in our government, and finally shatter the biggest glass ceiling of them all.

In an election year where the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has said that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions, it’s more important than ever for women to flex their voting power and make sure their point of view is represented.

Women make up about 53 percent of voters in this country, but less than 20 percent of the U.S. Congress. If our government looked more like the people it represents, we wouldn’t be caught in uphill battles over issues like paid family and medical leave, equal pay, or a woman’s right to make choices about her own health.

This year, women voters can play a historic role in one of the most important elections of our time – because when women vote, women and families win. Join EMILY’s List to support pro-choice Democratic women and make history this year.
    
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Donald Trump just named Rick Santorum as the latest advisor to his campaign. Will you chip in $15 to help defend choice and keep Donald Trump out of the White House?
Donate Now
Dear Friend,
BREAKING: Donald Trump has just named Rick Santorum—one of the most virulently anti-choice U.S. senators we've ever seen—as a senior advisor.1
In case you've forgotten, Santorum is the guy who warned about "the dangers of contraception" because it allows sex "that's not for purposes of procreation."2
He compared same-sex marriage to "man on child, man on dog."3
He compared abortion to the death penalty and argued that banning abortion would help stabilize Social Security.4
The idea of Rick Santorum advising Donald Trump in the White House is simply terrifying. Will you chip in $15 to make sure that NEVER happens?
Trump's announcement of Rick Santorum joining his campaign comes on the heels of his hiring Marjorie Dannenfelser, the head of the Susan B. Anthony List and, perhaps, the #1 anti-abortion lobbyist in Washington.
Trump is not only committing to supporting the radical anti-abortion movement's platform, he's literally importing it into his campaign.
That's why we're going all-out for the final push to stop Trump, including:
  • thousands of door-to-door conversations to educate voters,
  • mobilizing swing-state millennials to get out to the polls, and
  • conducting rapid-response media outreach to call out Trump on his increasingly radical anti-choice agenda.
But with so much at stake, we're counting on you. Will you chip in $15?
Thank you for helping to make reproductive freedom real for all women.
Ilyse G. Hogue
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
DONATE NOW


Sources:

1. Trump Campaign Announces Catholic Advisory Group, Donald J. Trump for PResident, Inc., September 22, 2016
3. Excerpt from Santorum interview, USA Today, April 23, 2003
4. 10 Completely Vile Things Rick Santorum Has Said, Rolling Stone, May 28, 2015
   
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Cartwright for Congress

I bet we all know someone who carries an EpiPen. These auto-injectors are literally lifesavers for so many Americans – especially children.
But the pharmaceutical company Mylan has been consistently increasing the price of EpiPens for almost a decade now – and today a pack of two sells for more than $600. That is insane. Since parents need multiple EpiPens to keep their kids safe at home, in school and on the go, affording this medication becomes a huge financial burden on top of the already constant worry for their children’s safety.
As a member of Congress, and more importantly as a father, I’m disgusted that Mylan places profits over people’s lives. That’s why I’m standing up against Mylan’s price gouging, which keeps lifesaving EpiPens out of the hands of far too many. Will you join me in telling Mylan to stop its price gouging?
Mylan has regularly increased EpiPen prices every year to the point that too many families can no longer afford them. It’s not a matter of production expenses: Industry insiders estimate an EpiPen’s actual cost is no more than $30.
So what causes this massive price increase? Corporate greed. Mylan is overpricing lifesaving drugs to make more money, leaving families who can’t afford EpiPens defenseless against potentially fatal allergic reactions.
It’s wrong in more ways than I can count, and I’m hoping you’ll stand up with me now to call for an end to this dangerous price gouging.
Thanks for your help,
Matt
    
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VoteVets


The first presidential debate is in just a few days and as sure as you are reading this email right now, Donald Trump is going to say something dangerous and stupid about our foreign policy, our veterans, or their families.

When Trump scammed veterans' charities, we were there to make him pay. We ran a huge ad buy in swing states featuring Major General (ret.) Paul Eaton on the stakes of this election. Our campaign organizing Gold Star family members and our television ad featuring one of them moved the needle.

Foreign policy is Trump's achilles heel in this race -- the only thing that's really hurt him the polls -- and we need to be ready to make him pay after Monday's debate.
Contribute $3 to VoteVets today to help us elevate the voices of veterans and their families in the campaign to ensure Donald Trump NEVER becomes our country's next Commander in Chief.

Donald Trump is not fit to lead our military. He pays lip service to veterans, has smeared a Gold Star family, insulted POWs, stiffed veterans' groups of money until he was caught, threatened NATO, and made our troops' jobs harder with his racist and xenophobic rhetoric. We can make him pay, and that's why your contribution is so important.

- The team at VoteVets
CONTRIBUTE
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When Khizr and Ghazala Khan stood up at the Democratic National Convention in July, they made national headlines -- but more importantly they gave us all a reminder of how much Gold Star Families like the Khans have sacrificed for our country.

Nothing can compare with the pain of losing a child. So today, on Gold Star Mother’s Day, we hope all Virginians take a moment for the mothers and families who have lost children on the battlefield, defending our country and our freedom.

Add your name to say you stand with Gold Star Mothers today and every day.

Too many mothers across Virginia, and across America, have suffered the loss of a service member child, and when they see attacks on military families they are not being shown the respect they deserve.

Join us today, A.J., as we send a message to the Gold Star Mothers in our Commonwealth, our communities, and our families: We stand with you.

Thanks,

Team DPVA
   
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This is the only way most of us will be able to watch Trump debate without barfing...


Trump Debate Bingo Card: 

Will you be watching the debate on Monday night? Reduce your tension level with our Trump Debate Bingo game. Print out the cards and when you get 5 in a row, yell "Bingo!" You win, America loses. Download your card on our Facebook page 


   
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Daily Kos--Stop Trump!

National polls have shown Hillary Clinton's lead over Donald Trump tightening over the past month. But the race simply isn't that close.

Clinton is outperforming Trump in crucial swing states -- and some traditionally red states like Arizona and Georgia. Even if the race were to narrow several points more on a national basis, Clinton's swing-state advantage would keep her on track to win.

Voter turnout will ultimately determine whether she secures enough electoral votes to eclipse Trump come November.

Daily Kos and NextGen Climate aren't focused on the polls though. We are already mobilizing volunteers to help turn out voters in critical swing states -- like Pennsylvania, Nevada and New Hampshire -- where we could not only defeat Trump but also win important senate races. In just the last two weeks, more than 5,000 members of the Daily Kos community have already signed up to volunteer.

Join the Daily Kos members that are already volunteering for Get Out The Vote. Click here to sign-up and get more information about turning out critical, swing state voters.

Can't volunteer? Click here to chip in $3 to the Daily Kos Get Out The Vote Fund.

Turning out voters in key swing states from the comfort of home is easy -- no matter where you live. There are multiple volunteer opportunities available -- anything from making calls from home to texting supporters to social media outreach. You are also invited to join regularly scheduled national organizing calls where you can learn more about the campaign and the volunteer teams. If you have questions during your volunteer shift, you can speak to a real person who is ready to help via chatbox or phone.

There are only 46 days until the election. The commitment and drive from the Daily Kos community to defeat Trump and take back the Senate is astounding. Will you join us in ensuring our voters turn in their ballots by election day?

Click here to be redirected to NextGen Climate and Daily Kos' volunteer sign-up page. Once you are signed-up, you will receive information about how to connect and who you are calling.

Keep fighting,
Monique Teal, Daily Kos
    
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Kamala Harris for Senate


The deaths of Terence Crutcher in Oklahoma and Keith Scott in North Carolina were devastating and familiar.
Trust between law enforcement and too many communities of color is broken. There is no easy fix. It’s up to all of us to come together and tackle what is broken in our criminal justice system. Only then can we heal and address criminal justice reform.
We have to focus on implicit bias in law enforcement with better training and expand the use of body-worn cameras. That’s just a place to start, but sadly not enough politicians are even talking about that.
Which brings me to Donald Trump, who responded to these tragic and unnecessary shootings by suggesting our country needs a national “stop-and-frisk” policy.
Trump is wrong. Studies show “stop-and-frisk” policies are both discriminatory and ineffective. It overburdens our law enforcement while violating equal justice under the law. We cannot allow “stop-and-frisk” to go nationwide.
There is no easy solution to officer-involved shootings or violence in our communities. Politicians like Trump are simply attempting to sell us a bill of goods.
Here’s what we need to do instead:
  • Increase transparency by collecting standard policing data for every community in America to ensure accountability. In fact, just this week, my office unveiled a new digital tool to collect police use of force data from over 800 police departments in California, which I’m hoping will be a model for the nation.
     
  • Build trust by providing law enforcement officers with the tools they need, such as trainings on implicit bias, crisis response, and procedural justice, as well as ensure our law enforcement agencies look like the communities they serve.
     
  • Get smart on crime by eliminating the harsh lifetime consequences for non-violent offenders that fuel mass incarceration and focusing on preventing crime and reducing recidivism — not just reacting to crime after the fact.
We have a responsibility to fight for fair and impartial police practices across America, and continue to reform our broader criminal justice system regardless of who the next president is.
Real change isn’t going to come from short-minded politicians trying to score cheap points in an election. It will only happen when all of us come together to demand criminal justice reforms that are fair and increase truth, transparency, and trust in our broken system.
This is what our campaign has been about since day one, and I’m eager to get to work. Now is the time for action.
Thanks for everything you do.
- Kamala

    
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From Daily Kos--Support the highest impact Senate races!

Did you see Michael's email from Thursday?

The race for the Senate is a coin toss right now, and six races will decide who controls the Senate. Five of them feature Democrats running strong against vulnerable incumbent Republicans—a sign of just how strong are Democrats are running nationwide right now. We can win back the Senate if our candidates have the resources to Get Out The Vote.

Can you chip in $1 to each of Daily Kos' Top Six Picks in must-win Senate races?

Thanks,
Amanda McKay, Daily Kos
    
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Click here for the article
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Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! Expanding the Debate

Watch Democracy Now!'s LIVE Special Expanding the Debate Coverage

 

LIVE 3-hour coverage of the U.S. presidential debate

Monday, Sept 26 / 8:30 pm - 11:30 pm ET

  • 8:30-9:00pm Pre-debate roundtable discussion hosted by Amy Goodman.
  • 9:00-10:30pm Live feed of the official debate from Hofstra University.
  • 10:30-11:00pm Post-debate discussion with scholars, activists, and analysts you won't hear anywhere else.

Stream LIVE starting at 8:30pm ET at democracynow.org/debate.

Or tune in live on:

Free Speech TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 & DirecTV Ch. 348)

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MNN in Manhattan (Time Warner Cable 1993 and Verizon FiOS 38)
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LIVE 2-hour special Expanding the Debate broadcast

Tuesday, Sept 27 / 8:00 am - 10:00 am ET

Tune in on Tuesday, September 27th for a special 2-hour broadcast of Democracy Now! from 8–10am ET.
As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump square off in a series of debates in one of the most polarized U.S. elections to date, Democracy Now! has broken the sound barrier by expanding the debate—including major third party candidates shut out by the corporate-sponsored Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD).

We’ve invited Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson to participate in a special expanded presidential debate.
                                                                      
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Daily Kos

  • Seven lies to watch for from Donald Trump in Monday night's debate
  • The Commission on Presidential Debates finds facts uncomfortable
  • RIGHT NOW: Live blog of the first debate, including real-time Trump fact check
  • Add your name to stand with Hillary: Stop Donald Trump in his tracks. sponsored
  • Reince Priebus: Trump is debate-ready because he's done 14 'season finales' of that reality show
  • Donald Trump's week: 'One untruth every 3.25 minutes.' 'A blizzard of falsehoods.'
  • Will Donald Trump's lies go unchecked at debate?
  • The great moderator debate: Would you rather be remembered as Candy Crowley or Matt Lauer?
  • The big debate challenge: Don't let Trump 'win' thanks to grading on a curve
           
  • Trump camp gets touchy-touchy about all the pre-debate coverage of Trump's compulsive lying
  • New Trump Ohio county chair deletes 17,000 tweets
  • Kentucky governor who said his children's 'blood might be needed' to fight Clinton can't cut school budgets
  • Millennial voters are key at defeating Donald Trump, and NextGen Climate Change has a way to reach them in swing states. Click here to volunteer to make phone calls, texts and other ways to help out.
  • Can't volunteer? Chip in $3 to the Daily Kos Get Out The Vote Fund now.
  • The Commission on Presidential Debates finds facts uncomfortable
  • NRA strangely silent over Donald Trump's gun-grabbing policy
  • The Trump campaign is terrified that the debate moderators will tell the truth about his lies
  • Dear white people: It's time that we talked seriously about this Trump noise
  • What's the matter with Maine?
  • Scott Walker sold Wisconsin out to the highest bidders
  • Sign if you agree with the Democratic Governors Association (DGA): Republicans are disenfranchising voters. We must fight to to protect and restore voting rights, from automatic registration to vote-by-mail. sponsored
  • Cincinnati Enquirer: 'Trump is a clear and present danger to our country'
  • North Carolina Congressman says protesters 'hate white people because white people are successful'
  • Trump wants to destroy democracy by dismantling the Bill of Rights
  • I am incredibly enthusiastic about voting for Hillary Clinton. Here's why.
  • We must inflict economic pain on those in power in order to usher in a new civil rights movement
  • We still have birtherism to contend with regardless of Donald Trump
  • This photo of Hillary may surprise you, but it really shouldn't
  • The most thorough, profound and moving defense of Hillary Clinton I have ever seen
  •    
  • Hillary is Flawed.
  • ABC News Report: Trump Suffers Another Bout of Russian Amnesia
  • White Georgia police officer will be arrested for claiming a black man shot her
  • Attention, Lester Holt: Hillary campaign releases 19-page list of FACT-CHECKED Trump Lies!
  • Want to help Get Out The Vote for Democrats? Chip in $3 to Daily Kos now.
  • Wonderful Stinging NY Times article: "A Week of Whoppers From Donald Trump"
  • Charlotte police release video of Keith Scott shooting
  • Almost 100, a movie legend's pride in being American - and his hope for the election
  • Bruce Springsteen has some choice thoughts about Donald Trump
  • Our First Lady Michelle Obama wins the "Biggest Heart In The Universe" award
  • Add your name to stand with Hillary: Stop Donald Trump in his tracks. sponsored
  • When no one is looking
  • New York Times strongly endorses Hillary Clinton, praising her 'intellect, experience, and courage'
  • Trump wants to destroy democracy by dismantling the Bill of Rights
  • "How should we report on a duplicitous demagogue?"
  • The Coming Separation Of Conservatives From The Republican Party
  • 1,200 archeologists denounce desecration of Standing Rock burial grounds by DAPL, UN agrees
  •     
  • Donald Trump lied—like always—but this one might be a felony
  • Dan Rather: 'I felt a shudder down my spine yesterday watching Donald Trump'
  • Poll: Far from being Hillary's '47 percent' moment, 'deplorables' struck nerve, sticks to Donald
  • An 'education gap' is emerging in the polls, and it's massive
  • Add your name: I support weekend voting. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) wants to increase voter participation and this could do it. sponsored
  • Kneel before Trump!
  • Just what has Hillary done?
  • Cartoon: Lord, save us from the pundits
  • Clinton keeps Trump under 40% in six battleground states. Trump cannot win without at least one
  • Cincinnati Enquirer endorses Democrat for first time in nearly a century: 'Trump is a clear and present danger to our country'
  • Donald Trump: 'there's a lack of spirit between the white and black'
  • Cartoon: Black on Black Crime
  • Sign the petition: Stand with PFAW and tell Congress you support the reforms laid out in the "We the People Act" and want to see it passed! sponsored
  • Family of Keith Scott releases video of police shooting
  • Every girl, woman, and the men who love and support us should see this new Hillary Clinton ad
  • Ted Cruz caves, endorses Donald Trump
  • Are you registered to vote? You still have time ... but maybe not a lot of it.
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    I can confirm, too,
    that these were the rules of engagement.
    My whole career, I've worked for DoD.
    From 2009 to 2011,
    I was in the thick of the counter-IED effort
    (IED, or improvised explosive device,
    is just governmentese
    for homemade roadside bomb).
    I worked with active duty military
    and veterans
    every day of that effort,
    and they all confirmed
    shoot to kill
    as the LAST, not first, resort...
    not just officially but in practice.
    ***
    When Donald Trump says that
    Afghanistan is safer than our inner cities,
    he's right if you're Black and cops are close by.
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    AlterNet
    By Kali Holloway, AlterNet
    The size of various things seems to be a sore spot for Trump. READ MORE»

    By Janet Allon, AlterNet
    Ummm, hello? READ MORE»

    By Ilana Novick, AlterNet
    Hmmm, could the ubiquity of guns have anything to do with the scary news about murder? READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    After delving into both candidate's scandals, Oliver comes to an inescapable conclusion. READ MORE»

    By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog
    Hollering at them won't work; Congress needs to take action. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    GQ special correspondent Keith Olbermann admits he's having trouble keeping track of Donald Trump's outrageous behavior just since September 9, 2016.  READ MORE»

    By Ilana Novick, AlterNet
    Gains were across racial lines, though poverty remains a scourge for African Americans and Hispanics, and for many southern and southwestern states.  READ MORE»

    By Nico Lang, Salon
    The streaming giant is banking on originals like "The Ridiculous 6" while cutting down on licensed films. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    Three Walmart workers in McDonough, Ga. refused to make the controversial cake for a cop's retirement party. READ MORE»

    By David Edwards, Raw Story
    “Racist, fascist, anti-gay!” the crowd chanted, “Right-wing bigot go away!” READ MORE»
       
    By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
    The first of the three debates will set the tone. READ MORE»

    By Adele M. Stan, The American Prospect
    To succeed in her first match-up with Trump, she must meet his simian displays with the finesse of a ballerina. READ MORE»

    By April M. Short, AlterNet
    Lainey Morse found an innovative way to alleviate the stress and debt of chronic illness.  READ MORE»

    By Rebecca Gordon, TomDispatch
    It's hard to fathom even the basics of the American urge to lock people away in vast numbers. READ MORE»

    By Amanda Marcotte, Salon
    Trump's speeches this week had a common theme: African Americans don't deserve the same rights as whites. READ MORE»

    By Kovie Biakolo, AlterNet
    It’s time to set the record straight on why it’s not OK to borrow culture rather than exchange it. READ MORE»

    By Alexandra Rosenmann, AlterNet
    In other news, the pressure cooker is empty.  READ MORE»

    By Tirumalai Kamala, Medical Daily
    "If you can avoid taking in more food, does diet soda still somehow make you gain weight?' READ MORE»

    By Peter Rugh, The Indypendent
    Not all revolutions are for the better. READ MORE»

    By Sarah K. Burris, Raw Story
    Montreal police Commander Danik Guerrero verified the incident and said that he spoke with the officer involved. READ MORE»

    By Thom Hartmann, AlterNet
    Our corporate media are salivating over the possibility of a Trump presidency reality show.  READ MORE»

    By Jonathan Cook, AlterNet
    Netanyahu continues his violent campaign, this time with impunity and lots of U.S. hardware.  READ MORE»

    By Mistress Kay, Kinkly
    We've made shopping for your first dildo easier, with these 8 steps. READ MORE»
       
    By Marty Kaplan, AlterNet
    The media just won't call out Trump for what he is. READ MORE»

    By George Lakoff, AlterNet
    Why we're thinking 'Thwimpie'—a spoiled brat named Little Donnie Thwimp. READ MORE»

    By Silpa Kovvali , Salon
    Fallon cozying up to Donald Trump on "The Tonight Show" is a political act—not to mention selfish and cruel. READ MORE»

    By April M. Short, AlterNet
    Another reason to keep the stress out of your life.  READ MORE»

    By Chip Ward, TomDispatch
    The Dakota Access Pipeline showdown is a trip back to the future. READ MORE»

    By Valerie Tarico, AlterNet
    Prolife leaders trying to convince the world that they are actually pro-woman have failed to convince even their own followers. READ MORE»

    By Patrick Michels, Texas Observer
    Once tranquil Hawkins finds itself at the center of religious controversy.  READ MORE»

    By Khaled A. Beydoun, Al Jazeera
    Rami Malek, an Egyptian American, was the first non-white actor in 18 years to win the Emmy for best actor in a drama series. READ MORE»

    By Andrew O'Hehir, Salon
    Donald Trump is a deadly drug for white folks, promising an endless, self-destructive high. There is a better way. READ MORE»

    By Pascal Baudar, AlterNet
    Nature is teeming with edibles. You just need to look. READ MORE»

    By Tom Boggioni, Raw Story
    “They really were supposed to be there to get him to the nearest healthcare facility.” READ MORE»

    By Ed Cara, Medical Daily
    Ever wonder what the most bizarre sexual conditions are? READ MORE»

    By Julaine Allen, The Conversation
    Here's a primer on the drug that began the psychedelic revolution.  READ MORE»
       
    By Bruce Levine, AlterNet
    Fighting “nonscience with scientific pretensions.”  READ MORE»

    By Chauncey DeVega, Salon
    It was billed as black outreach, but Trump's embrace of racist policing tactics is a terrifying master plan. READ MORE»

    By Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch
    He retired fewer nuclear weapons than his predecessors; and is presiding over a trillion-dollar modernization of our super weaponry.  READ MORE»

    By Sarah Lazare, AlterNet
    Role of anti-Muslim pundit Sebastian Gorka in police conference is raising eyebrows. READ MORE»

    By Elizabeth Preza, AlterNet
    Can we stop with all the carping about my generation, please? READ MORE»

    By Teesta Setalvad, AlterNet
    Dynamics of caste, religion, food and cultural rights reflect a harsh reality of Indian politics today. READ MORE»

    By Alexa Garcia-Ditta, Texas Observer
    “Patients want this choice that they’re making to not impact everything else going on in their lives.” READ MORE»

    By Jesse Jarnow, The Influence
    “Flower power is no substitute for integrity.” READ MORE»

    By Angelo Young, Salon
    Fast-food companies tried the healthy route and failed—now there's nowhere left for them to go but upscale. READ MORE»

    By Carrie Weisman, AlterNet
    Bath time has never been so fun.  READ MORE»

    By Willy Blackmore, TakePart
    Food security has improved in the years following the Great Recession, but anti-hunger groups say too many kids are still at risk. READ MORE»

    By David Ferguson, Raw Story
    Trump’s economic policies, if implemented, would cause the budget deficit to swell to $5.3 trillion by 2026. READ MORE»

    By Keith Knight, AlterNet
    A favorite of racists avoiding conversations about police brutality.  READ MORE»
       
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    Movies!

    Keith Olbermann on Trump's "secret" plan to "fix" terrorism: the not so secret secret is that he has no plan. If he had had a plan, then what kind of sadist would he have to have been not to run and give it straight to the generals? The not so secret secret is that Trump is not just a sadist but also a lying piece of shit. And we need to flush him NOW.

    Here's Stephen Colbert with Trump's "secret" "plan" to "clean up" Chicago. If you're really astute...ok, if you have at least two two firing neurons between your ears...then you'll see some amazing...well, not so amazing but quite expected, actually...similarities between Trump's two "plans." The funny part? (How do I pick? There are so many!) Trump claims to have spoken to "the top policeman" in Chicago and told him he'd tell Rahm Emanuel to hire him. Huuuurrrrrrrp?!??

    Keith Olbermann again on Trump's TWO-TWO-TWO-count 'em-TWO unambiguous demands for his peeps to assassinate Hillary. And yet Trump is still walking the streets, a free man...free to keep spewing his lies and filth. Could you imagine what would happen if some Black man called for Trump's assassination? Do you really think he would go unchallenged and apprehended? Fuck, they'd probably shoot the poor guy just for being Black. They shoot Blacks, don't they?

    This makes me so phuquen angry. I don't want to wish ill on anyone, not even that piece of human filth that calls itself Donald John Trump, but I can't say I'd be upset if someone were to kick him in the nuts so hard he doubles over and barfs up his taco bowl. Dog-whistle, anyone?

    Grrr!!!!

    Back to Trae to brighten my day.

    More Stephen Colbert. I'm sorry, but Sarah Palin is not aging well. Poor girl aged rather quickly and looks and sounds rather brain damaged. She looked very fetching and sounded a little more coherent when John McCain first inflicted us with her. I used to enjoy looking at her--muted, of course. Now she just creeps me out. I wonder what's happened to her since that makes her look and sound so...off. Poor thing.

    John Oliver on the refugee crisis. I've posted memes quoting actual, fact-based statistics on immigrant-refugee terror attacks in this country: you are more likely to get struck by lighting than to be killed by an immigrant-refugee terrorist. John explains the 18-24 MONTH vetting process that refugees, especially from Syria, have to undergo before they even enter this country. I wish my Tea Party Christian friend could understand this...just as I wish he could understand that, no, Virginia, "illegals" do NOT get free hand-outs of everything: he's thinking of the fascist corporations and the top 1%.

    Dot Calm luuuurved her some Randi Rhodes, so, naturally, I do, too. And if you really want some chocolate in your peanut butter (or peanut butter in your chocolate), here's Randi interviewing Trae Crowder. I love this interview because you get some brief but great back-story on boffem. Theyz awesome!!! Y'know, I've worked my entire ~30-year career in DoD in some capacity. Not ONE of the people I've ever worked with ever even once--and I'm including some pretty far right ideologues--questioned my patriotism because I'm a liberal progressive. Oh, sure--we've had some wonderful lively debates and have all said stupid things and all learned from each other. That's how real people refine themselves over time, no matter which side of the aisle they're on. It's the difference between education and ignorance. For example, my uneducated Tea Party Christian friend--like the rednecks Trae mentions--thinks I'm some sort of commie traitor to my country. It's so crazy...their moronic worldview has enough coherence that they're convinced they're 100% right 100% of the time. But when you see it from the outside and see where all the big gaping holes are...!

    Another Randi Rhodes: "All in all, it's just another prick in the wall." Oh, Atheist God, I LOVE this woman!!!!!

    Here's a critically timely, critically important two-hour program from Randi Rhodes: Keith Lamont Scott's wife releases her cell phone video. How was Keith supposed to drop a gun he DIDN'T EVEN HAVE when he was STILL IN THE CAR AND THERE WAS NO PLACE TO DROP THE GUN HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE?!??!?? They shoot Blacks, don't they? The only reason the cops wanted Keith out of the car was just so they could shoot him. Fucking cops. I can't even call them pigs because pigs are intelligent, clean-minded, and sweet to be around--I wouldn't want to insult actual pigs. Randi's investigation into what's wrong with our cops spells out why they're terrorizing Blacks: it's a breeding ground for Klansmen and other white supremacists, and the DAs are Klansmen and white supremacists, too...which means that the cops get to beat up and kill as many Blacks as they like, knowing they'll NEVER face prosecution. And they get paid, too! If you haven't read the FBI report--or even if you have and have not yet done all the research Randi did--this video will open your eyes. (I'm trying to pull up a copy of the report for you--no dice yet.) I was horrified when Trump received endorsements from the police; now I know why: the white supremacists have taken over our police forces...and Trump is their boi, and this is why my Tea Party Christian friend lurves him some po-po and sheriffs over the rest of the state and federal governments. Atheist God help us all.

    Here's an amazing video from Mr. Deity himself--Brian Keith Dalton--on luck. I wish my Tea Party Christian friend could see and understand it.

    'Til next time, check out these great channels:
    ...or, if you just want something mindless and fun, try Tested
      
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    Here's the article.
     
    Courtesy of a commenter on FB God's page:



    So true!
    A lovely lady I once knew
    told me a wonderful story
    about her daughter, Lynn.
    Lynn's family is white
    and lived in Georgia when she was little.
    When Lynn brought home her first
    friend from kindergarten,
    Lynn's mom got misty-eyed...
    the sweet little girl was Black,
    and it had never occurred to Lynn
    to notice or remark on her friend's
    skin color.
    "If only all the kids thought like Lynn did,"
    Lynn's mom remarked.