Things seem a little brighter today than they have in a while. And oh, look:
Fox News's Chris Wallace praises Biden's speech: "I thought it was an enormously effective speech. Remember, Donald Trump has been talking for months about Joe Biden as mentally shot ... I thought that he blew a hole, a big hole in the characterization." pic.twitter.com/sChU4jBzw2
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 21, 2020
Chris Wallace on Fox News: "an enormously effective speech" that "blew a hole" in Trump's attempts to depict Biden as feeble.
"Donald Trump is gonna have to run against a candidate, not a caricature," Wallace said.— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) August 21, 2020
Fox News panel with Wallace, Hume, Rove, and others all pretty much unanimously agree that Biden excelled in his speech. (Of course, don't expect Fox talk show hosts such as Hannity and Ingraham to echo this.)
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) August 21, 2020
This was like when Trump was booed at the baseball game. Their faces give them away. https://t.co/qtLsEQcC71
— Michelangelo Signorile, subscribe to my newsletter (@MSignorile) August 21, 2020
“A home run.” — Fox News https://t.co/broir7ooEi
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) August 21, 2020
Except, of course, this has-been:
QUESTION: How do we know Biden's speech was live? Maybe he was doing different takes all day until they got one where he didn’t stumble all over himself.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 21, 2020
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“Biden’s advisers are preparing for the opening months of his administration almost as a rescue mission, with contingencies to address the coronavirus based on how severe it remains and on whether a vaccine is available.“ https://t.co/ZiARTOKUGh
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) August 21, 2020
.@NicolleDWallace gets it 💯: "I think that he changed the dynamics of this race. When he said, 'while I will be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president,' he now - as the challenger to an incumbent - is the guy running on the side of the whole country." pic.twitter.com/2N7x91dzdV
— Andrew Bates (@AndrewBatesNC) August 21, 2020
James Carville tonight to Brian Williams:
Today was a great day. It started with Trumps former campaign manager being arrested on a yacht for fleecing poor people and ended with Biden saying God bless the troops.— audubon (@audubon3514) August 21, 2020
Trump cabinet officials voted in 2018 meeting to separate migrant kids https://t.co/HkDUGtHM96 via @nbcnews
— Suburban Guerrilla Ω (@SusieMadrak) August 21, 2020
People take for granted that almost everyone in Trump world has been indicted. But they take for granted the sheer range of crimes. Espionage, perjury, threatening to assassinate a dog, tax fraud, mail fraud & getting pinched on a yacht by a mailman. You gotta work at that shit.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 21, 2020
Joe Biden quoting Kirkagard is a pretty “man of the people my ass!” moment.
— Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) August 21, 2020
Thinking working class folks don’t read a wide range of subjects/authors is way more elitist than quoting Kierkegaard.
— Katie MacBride (@msmacb) August 21, 2020
It was smart of Trump's team to have him be interviewed live during the DNC. It's a good distraction — not for Fox viewers, but for Trump himself. Otherwise, he would have been watching and tweeting, and almost certainly could not have resisted bullying that kid with a stutter.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) August 21, 2020
Trump says that on election day he's going to send law enforcement to polling locations pic.twitter.com/OpaYvUBY8P
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) August 21, 2020
Forcing USPS to prefund benefits in 2006, notes @thelisagraves, "would make the Postal Service more attractive to future investors as part of an initial public offering.... it was clearly designed with a view toward privatization in mind." https://t.co/6qKtqVixBz #USPSsabotage
— Tom Sullivan (@BloggersRUs) August 21, 2020
As long as I've been doing this, I'll admit my throat got a little tight last night when @JoeBiden offered condolences to the survivors of the 173K we've lost. Don't underestimate the power of that gesture. The contrast to "It is what it is," could not be more stark.
— ByJohnLMicek (@ByJohnLMicek) August 21, 2020
Donald Trump denies any involvement in “We Build The Wall,” but to no one’s surprise, it’s a lie. pic.twitter.com/9ShaJ2p7rd
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) August 21, 2020
America First truly has become America alone. Foreign policy unilateralism has isolated the US more than Iran. Cake & eat it diplomacy, withdrawing from the JCPOA then seeking its benefits, is a non starter. https://t.co/W3iD7EWhXk
— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) August 21, 2020
Basically, the people who led the "Lock her up!" campaign are now sitting in jail cells. @HillaryClinton, of course, is not. https://t.co/KhzHDZmMLl
— Mark Elliott (@markmobility) August 20, 2020
Double Trouble: Two newly formed tropical depressions at opposite ends of the Caribbean were expected to become tropical storms Friday. Forecasters projecting potential tracks for both that could take them toward the United States, possibly as hurricanes. https://t.co/CKcFdJoXr0
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) August 21, 2020
In a virtual rally with Stacey Abrams, Beto O'Rourke and Julian Castro, TX D Senate candidate @mjhegar defines her race vs @JohnCornyn as a contest between an "ass-kicker and a boot-licker."
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) August 21, 2020
‘Are you really going to impeach me?’: How the Ukraine bombshell unfolded over 48 hours and laid bare Trump’s fixation with Biden https://t.co/yE7IPqH1NT
— Steven Ginsberg (@stevenjay) August 21, 2020
Miles Taylor, a former senior Trump administration official, says the president directed officials to cut wildfire relief funding to California because voters there overwhelmingly opposed him in 2016. https://t.co/VRonscvpTR
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 17, 2020
Five Huge Tech Giants -- Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook & Microsoft -- Tighten Their Grip on the U.S. Economy
In 1929, Sears & A&P had 3% retail sales, causing concern & spurring anti-trust laws.
Today Walmart & Amazon control 15% of retail saleshttps://t.co/X2AGJRFFxx— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) August 21, 2020
Voting in the time of COVID-19: A federal judge in Indiana has blocked the state from tossing out mail-in ballots with signature match issues without first giving the voter notice and an opportunity to fix the issue https://t.co/1KEuDjVVew pic.twitter.com/FbJgJ9Vska
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) August 21, 2020
FreedomWorks promotes deceptive Facebook campaign about mail balloting - The Washington Post https://t.co/KSpZR08NVG
— Joshua Holland 🔥 (@JoshuaHol) August 21, 2020
This is truly heartbreaking. Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura from the original Star Trek TV series) needs help, after suffering thru elder abuse at the hands of Gilbert Bell. Nichelle Nichols is a national treasure and a trailblazer. She is our elder. https://t.co/L2WM1cDKNV
— Your staff is broken. (@DamoneWilliams_) August 19, 2020
What is your voting plan?
Seriously, share your plan so we have plenty of ideas to share.#MyVotingPlanpic.twitter.com/UlEnwP1gqc— Ted Corcoran (Red T Raccoon) (@RedTRaccoon) August 21, 2020
Children have largely been spared from COVID-19 mortality, but not completely so. Thinking of this child's family and community tonight. https://t.co/BQnXtRsDuW
— Dr. Tara C. Smith (@aetiology) August 21, 2020
I can confirm that @JoeBiden will immediately stop what he is doing to help a grieving family. In 2014 I was on a flight with him when I learned that my abuelita had passed. He came to the back of the plane & asked me to come up. He then asked for my Mom’s number & called her. pic.twitter.com/jC1HwRCyKH
— Cristóbal Alex (@CristobalJAlex) August 21, 2020
Front page of the Scranton Times-Tribune the day after @JoeBiden accepts the Democratic nomination and @realDonaldTrump paid a visit. pic.twitter.com/0o2ueqHlRd
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) August 21, 2020
Courts have accepted #DACA’s legality & have blocked attempts to abruptly cancel it, but some of the biggest co. are unilaterally refusing to hire #Dreamers including @ProcterGamble #Trump’s attacks on the program have fueled this discrimination. https://t.co/LTIgl3CELM
— @tiffanydcross (@TiffanyDCross) August 21, 2020
Also, in terms of a "false media narrative," it's not just reporters sounding the alarm. For the most part it's postal workers themselves. Here are several in Michigan who told me how alarmed and pissed off about this they are: https://t.co/dPEzEwaURZ
— AJ Vicens (@AJVicens) August 21, 2020
Under Trump, @USDOL has systematically weakened rules meant to protect workers’ pay, retirement, and safety.
A former OSHA policy adviser warns the administration is “starving” the agency of the staff it needs to keep workers safe. https://t.co/mL26BuVVEm— Vox (@voxdotcom) August 21, 2020
Magnus Carlsen wins richest and most-watched online chess event ever https://t.co/whK33cFhqU pic.twitter.com/jUbze48K1N
— CNN International (@cnni) August 21, 2020
She's an expert at spotting fake news. This is what she wants you to know.https://t.co/2Dyxj69O1G pic.twitter.com/eK4eKDmHkW
— Upworthy (@Upworthy) August 13, 2020
USPS email tells managers not to reconnect sorting machines - CNNPolitics https://t.co/Hl7jJUKGSm
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 21, 2020
why can't I find anything about showerheads on Joe Biden's website
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) August 21, 2020
On Wednesday, Facebook deleted groups and limited ads belonging to QAnon conspiracists, far-right militias, and in a stunning example of false equivalence, anti-fascists. https://t.co/EvFsDo37Ic
— VICE (@VICE) August 21, 2020
Senate Zoom issues: Sen. Tom Carper's video feed doesn't come up as it's his turn to question. They move on to the next senator.
Carper's feed goes live right as he says "fuck! fuck! fuck!"— Sam Brodey (@sambrodey) August 21, 2020
Julián Castro ---> Joe Biden
In this election, I started as a volunteer for Julián Castro, and now I’m an elected pledged delegate for Joe Biden.
I’m thankful there are people like @JulianCastro who show me that there’s a place for me in politics. pic.twitter.com/LrbfWVKVaF— Rachel R. Gonzalez (@RachelRGonzalez) August 21, 2020
DEPT. OF AT LEAST FOR NOW, THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
#BidenHarris 💛
pic.twitter.com/OLntZTopEo— 💛🐝 Lauren-Ashley Howard (@LaurenAshley087) August 21, 2020
🚨 Lincoln (4) and Quincy (2) from Scranton, PA have endorsed @JoeBiden
"We're two scrappy kids from Scranton who support Joe Biden." pic.twitter.com/Y46o6I5Ivw— Rosie Lapowsky (@rosielapowsky) August 16, 2020
Taking my big brother for a walk ♥️
🎥: jasperthegoldenboy (IG)#mydogiscutest pic.twitter.com/NtduUFTQms— My Dog Is Cutest (@mydogiscutest) August 20, 2020
Wait til he gets to Round 7! pic.twitter.com/WtR2BdlVoA
— The Dodo (@dodo) August 21, 2020
U.K. conservationists have successfully brought back butterflies declared extinct in 1979 - Upworthy https://t.co/swRGIaojlP
— CZEdwards (@ 🏠, with 🧰) (@CZEdwards) August 14, 2020
After a day of doing absolutely nothing 🐶 pic.twitter.com/lXjSNNQGHn
— Puppies 🐶 (@PopularPuppies) August 21, 2020
Man reunited with his dog pic.twitter.com/zkwlORbs3X
— Puppies 🐶 (@PopularPuppies) August 21, 2020
This video of pandas just being pandas while a zookeeper desperately tries to rake leaves is the best video on the internet https://t.co/XknWMhEMbk pic.twitter.com/pl1xPh19hP
— Kyle Hill (@Sci_Phile) August 19, 2020
Have a great weekend! Don't forget to wear your masks, and remember, make a plan to vote!