Californians are banned from traveling outside their homes, with a few exceptions, between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. in most counties. The curfew is in place now to deal with the coronavirus:
The Los Angeles Times reported that California recorded more than 13,000 new coronavirus infections in each of three days last week. The state recorded more than 20,000 cases in just one day on Monday:
While Trump is busy playing golf and tweeting, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that a total of 266,000 Americans may die from the coronavirus by Nov. 28:
A legal adviser for Trump called him a disgusting, boorish and arrogant “idiot” who “cannot be trusted to be consistent or accurate in anything.” She also said Trump is an “unethical, corrupt, lying, criminal, dirtbag”:
Trump can pardon his criminal henchmen, including his family members, for federal crimes, but he cannot issue pardons for state crimes. And he and his gang are being investigated for many serious state crimes:
Trump has ordered his cabinet to block the transition to President-elect Joe Biden. This decision may lead to thousands of Americans dying unnecessarily because they won’t get the vaccine in time to prevent infection with the coronavirus:
Of course, the reason Trump is refusing to cooperate is that he only cares about himself. He is willing to cause deaths while he takes his ball and goes home like a spoiled brat.
While Trump is busy playing golf and tweeting, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that 32,000 more Americans may die in the next two weeks from the coronavirus:
In another slash and burn reckless action, Trump is canceling the fund that has $455 billion available for small businesses and state and local governments as a lifeline to keep them afloat during the coronavirus pandemic:
In another slash and burn reckless action, Trump is canceling the fund that has $455 billion available for small businesses and state and local governments as a lifeline to keep them afloat during the coronavirus pandemic:
Trump just tweeted Sunday morning that “he won,” meaning Biden won, and then blamed losing the election on crazy conspiracy theories:
He won because the Election was Rigged. NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more! https://t.co/Exb3C1mAPg
Income inequality and racism have long led to widespread poverty in America. The coronavirus has deepened the suffering experienced by tens of millions of low-income Americans. A vaccine will help many, but the problem of poverty will remain unless Biden makes addressing it a very high priority.
Update: In an encouraging sign that help is on the way for struggling Americans, Biden is filling more positions in his upcoming administration with progressives than Obama did during his two terms as president:
The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump has asked his advisers about requesting pro-Trump electors in a few key state legislatures to ignore the vote of the people in the U.S. presidential election and instead cast their Electoral College votes for him:
Fascist Trump is meeting with Michigan Republicans today in a corrupt attempt to steal the election. A prominent Republican described the meeting as “the action of a third world dictator”:
Such a devious plan to manipulate the Electoral College would have the effect of destroying the nation’s representative democracy and replacing it with fascism led by Trump as the nation’s dictator.
Although the Times’ story states otherwise, Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he would do anything to stay in power, even if it meant destroying the nation’s system of government.
That the future of the nation’s representative democracy hinges on the good will of a tiny number of electors is unsettling and deeply disturbing. And these are the people in whose hands rests the nation’s fate.
The Guardian has an interesting analysis about Trump’s attempts to bully his way into staying in office as president:
Update: Trump just tweeted Sunday morning that “he won,” meaning Biden won, and then blamed losing the election on crazy conspiracy theories.
Update: Even after failing in his reelection bid, Trump and the Republicans are attempting to replace democracy with fascism through voter suppression and rigged elections:
“There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised,” the U.S. officials write in their report:
Viewpoints students received 12 awards at the online Journalism Association of Community Colleges Conference this past weekend:
I'm going to be annoying now and just brag about my incredibly dedicated @RCCViewpoints students who pulled in 12 awards at #jaccFall2020 while learning and networking throughout the week.
And Viewpoints’ assistant news editor Cheetara Piry was selected as the new JACC SoCal president:
To take a break from the awards haul: @CheetaraPiry is now the SoCal president of @jaccnews! I couldn't be more impressed by the guts it took to jump in and just go for it. This might be the thing I'm most proud of.
Many of the attendees at Trump’s rallies this week will be right wing extremists, white supremacists and militia group members. Some of them may continue to be armed at these rallies and at other events near vote counting locations. Trump may give dog whistles at his rallies and in his tweets this week to encourage his supporters to demonstrate their loyalty with violence:
MSNBC reported today that Trump’s fascist sons may lead some of the rallies.
The International Crisis Group is warning that Trump supporters may become violent.
“The 2020 U.S. presidential election presents risks not seen in recent history. It is conceivable that violence could erupt during voting or protracted ballot counts. Officials should take extra precautions,” the organization warned:
Disgraced Republican strategist Roger Stone encouraged Trump to declare martial law, seize ballots and arrest Hillary and Bill Clinton, Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg if he loses the election:
Other prominent Republicans called for violence. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon recommended that Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be beheaded. Twitter then permanently banned Bannon:
Shortly after taking office as president in January, Joe Biden plans to sign the Paris accord to address the climate crisis, protect young undocumented immigrants known as “Dreamers,” rejoin the World Health Organization to help deal with the coronavirus, and repeal the xenophobic ban on Muslims entering the U.S.:
The actions will reverse the cruel, reckless and stupid decisions made by Trump and restore confidence in the U.S. as a compassionate nation that cares about its people and the global environment.
Update: Biden has made environmental justice a priority with his picks to head the EPA and Interior Department:
Joe Biden has been elected as the next president of the United States after a vicious battle against his opponent in one of the most important elections since 1860:
USA Today: “They replaced a narcissistic, indecent person with one who is known for being unusually compassionate and caring. They replaced a divider with a uniter.”
As Van Jones just said on CNN as he choked up and fought back tears, now immigrants will not have to worry about being separated from their children. Now Muslims will not have to worry about the government banning them from entry into the U.S.
“Character matters,” Jones said. “Telling the truth matters. Being a good person matters.”
Now that goodness has triumphed over evil, we can put ignorance, pettiness and vindictiveness behind us and move forward as a nation to address the monumental crises of the coronavirus, racism, the economy and climate change.
“The purpose of our politics, the work of the nation, isn’t to fan the flames of conflict — but to solve problems,” Biden said Friday night in an address to the nation.
CNN’s website has so much traffic that it cannot be opened right now. Millions of people worldwide are searching for the story and in the internet is jammed!
Thank you to the campaign volunteers, grassroots organizations, the news media and the voters for choosing light over darkness. And thank you to the heroic poll workers who worked day and night to count more than 144 million ballots and the U.S. Postal Service workers who delivered them.
CNN reported that President-elect Biden is to address the nation at 5 p.m. Pacific time Saturday. Biden’s full speech:
To celebrate the election, everyone should blast this song, turn up the bass, set it on auto repeat and dance with triumphant and unabashed joy. Then, do it again in January when Trump is dragged, kicking and screaming, from the White House:
Tonight, as we celebrate Joe Biden’s apparent election victory, we understand that our struggle is not over. It has just begun. pic.twitter.com/8cnSnojXmm
Former vice president Joe Biden is on the verge this weekend of winning in a presidential election that has led to threats and calls for violence from the Trump family and prominent supporters.
The election is essentially over. The Associated Press and the TV networks will likely project by this weekend — after more vote counting — that Biden will be the next president of the United States, and our long national nightmare will be over. CNN is waiting to announce a winner until its experts can predict the outcome with a high degree of confidence.
CNN just reported at 9:41 p.m. Pacific time Friday that Biden is leading in Pennsylvania by 28,883 votes. This state’s 20 Electoral College votes would give the election to him with at least 273 votes. Biden is now leading in all of the remaining battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. He will probably finish with 306 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. A total of 270 votes is needed to win the election.
CNN’s banner on its cable TV channel Friday at 6:11 a.m. Pacific time: “BIDEN TAKES LEAD IN PA, ON VERGE OF PRESIDENCY.”
“We are witnessing democracy in action,” CNN reported Friday morning as the network nears its announcement that Biden has won the election. “We are witnessing history being made.”
The airspace over Biden’s home is now restricted, as it is almost certain that he will be the next president. Biden is preparing his transition team:
I am crying tears of relief and joy. It never should have been this close. And Trump should not have been elected in 2016. I will never forget fighting back tears as I told my students in 2016 that this would be a dark time for our nation. But soon it will be time for celebration.
Biden was leading by 4,395 votes in Georgia, 28,883 votes in Pennsylvania, 22,657 votes in Nevada and 29,861 votes in Arizona as of 9:41 p.m. Pacific time Friday.
Mail in and provisional ballots are being counted now, and they are mostly leaning toward Biden.
It is odd that Trump kept demanding that the vote counting must stop. Biden is leading in Nevada and Arizona, and so if the vote counting were to stop now in all states Biden would win the Electoral College. What Trump really wants is for the vote counting to stop only in the states where he is leading. Good grief!
Whiny Trump has vowed to challenge the results in court and to demand recounts. His fascist son called for “total war” Thursday over the election, which could encourage violence and apparently has already led to some incidents, including a bomb threat at one ballot counting location in Philadelphia. Republicans in Congress then criticized the president for his reckless and unfounded claims. And Trump’s comments were so shocking they caused Stephen Colbert to choke up as he fought back tears:
Other prominent Republicans called for violence. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon recommended that Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be beheaded. Twitter then permanently banned Bannon:
Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame just said on CNN that several Republican senators are pleased that Trump is about to lose the election and they are planning to meet with him to demand that he stop challenging the results of the vote counting. He also said that they will demand that Trump not attempt to have the House of Representatives decide the election, which would undermine the will of the people in the election and set a dangerous precedent. Such a meeting could save our representative form of democracy. After the election, Congress must eliminate the possibility that the House could use such an underhanded maneuver.
CNN just reported Friday at 5:45 a.m. Pacific time that discussions are underway among Republican leaders about the people who will break the news to Trump that he has no chance of winning and should concede the election to Biden. Trump, of course, being the stubborn egomaniac that he is, will ignore such advice and continue to act like an entitled ass.
Now that it is clear that they no longer need to fear Trump, many Republicans in the Senate and the House are criticizing him for making phony claims about winning the election and about voter fraud:
“Let the process work out as we count all the votes,” Biden said in his address to the nation. “The numbers tell us a clear and convincing story. We are going to win this race.”
In contrast to the rantings of psycho Trump, Biden provided reassurance that he will work to heal the nation.
“The purpose of our politics, the work of the nation, isn’t to fan the flames of conflict — but to solve problems,” Biden said. “To guarantee justice. To give everybody a fair shot. To improve the lives of our people.”
The importance of a Biden victory will be enormous. Biden may wind up literally saving the world by confronting the climate crisis and rejoining the Paris climate agreement, from which Trump recklessly withdrew Wednesday:
Reaction to the expected victory for Biden will focus on the relief that so many will feel from knowing that Trump will soon get the boot: “…this will be a moment to savour. A dark force is being expelled from the most powerful office in the world – and at long last, we can glimpse the light,” writes Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland.
These rich folk in Newport Beach will be so disappointed that their hero has lost the election. Oh, the indignity of it all, with rich, entitled people having to suffer like that. Why, it’s just too much to bear:
FiveThirtyEight is publishing interesting blog posts about the presidential election all day. The posts include analyses about what the election will mean if Biden is elected:
Reuters has live video and audio inside a voting station:
Here is a potential timeline for voting results. The first round of early exit polls could begin at 2 p.m. Pacific time Nov. 3. Some states, however, may not have their full voting results for several days:
Biden and Trump are expected to address the nation tonight. Trump will spew more lies and threats and babble on about nonsense as he always does. Who knows — maybe Trump will talk again about injecting bleach, improving dishwashers or why U.S. soldiers are “suckers” for dying in battle.
Biden just spoke on live TV. “It ain’t over till every vote is counted,” Biden said just now on CNN and other channels. In a comment meant to preemptively respond to Trump’s expected premature claim that he has won reelection, Biden said it is not up to Trump to determine who has won the election. And Biden claimed he feels good about his chances of winning.
Trump also spoke and said he wants the vote counting to stop. He claimed, as he always does, that he has won.
As of 5 a.m. Pacific time Wednesday, Biden is leading 224-213, in the projected results for the Electoral College, which determines the winner, but Trump is projected to be ahead in the partial results for the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as in North Carolina and Georgia.
Biden is now leading in Wisconsin, which has 10 Electoral College votes, as of 5 a.m. Wednesday.
A total of 270 Electoral College votes is required to win the presidency.
Unless the vote turns toward Biden, it appears that Trump could win reelection. CNN is reporting, however, that it is too early to call the election for Trump. Democratic strongholds in several states had not been counted as of 5 a.m. Wednesday, and so more states may still go to Biden. Nevada and Pennsylvania could continue to count votes for several days.
CNN is reporting that Biden leads in the popular vote, with 68 million for Biden and 66 million for Trump, as of 5 a.m. Pacific time Wednesday, but as we saw in 2016 a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election because of the Electoral College.
It is too early to call the election either way as of 5 a.m. Pacific time Wednesday. CNN is reporting that some totals in battleground states are expected to shift to Biden as mail in ballots and early votes are counted, which is what happened with Wisconsin this morning.
Biden must now win some combination of Maine, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina to get a total of at least 270 Electoral College votes and win the presidency. Biden is leading in Maine, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, and would have 254 Electoral College votes with these additional four states. Maine is one of two states that is not winner-take-all in the Electoral College, and so Biden may get three of its four votes while Trump could get one. Michigan, which several experts expect to shift to Biden, would add more Electoral College votes and inch him closer to winning the presidency.
This is huge: CNN just reported at 6:05 a.m. Wednesday that Biden is leading in Michigan. This development could give the presidency to Biden with a total of at least 270 Electoral College votes. If Biden can hang on with his leads in Maine, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan he will be the next president of the United States. Our long national nightmare would then be over! And now at 8:43 a.m. Biden’s lead has grown significantly in Michigan.
At 9:06 a.m. Wednesday, CNN projects that Biden has won three Electoral College votes from Maine. He now leads with 227 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 213.
CNN reported that Biden could end up winning the presidency with one Electoral College vote from Nebraska, which is one of two states that is not winner-take-all in the Electoral College. Depending on how the other states shake out, there could be a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College but that one vote from Nebraska could give 270 to Biden and the presidency. But it appears now at 9:11 a.m. that Biden will not need Nebraska’s vote.
CNN reported that after Trump said the vote count should stop, and then Biden took the lead in the battleground states and appears to be headed to victory, Republicans are now demanding that every vote be counted! The audacity of these flip flopping politicians who only do the right thing when it benefits them! What clowns.
This presidential election is a scary nail biter. It could rank up there with the 2000 election, when the winner was not determined for several weeks.
It was not looking good last night for Biden because Trump was leading in the battleground states that Biden had to win. I held out a small flicker of hope that things would change overnight, and then they did! Now Biden is leading in enough of the battleground states to be ahead so that it appears he will likely be the president.
Trump is already whining and threatening legal action to try to bully his way to winning reelection.
CNN has it at 253-213 in the Electoral College for Biden at this point Wednesday afternoon. If Biden maintains his lead in Arizona and Nevada, he wins the presidency:
The Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press on Wednesday evening have the Electoral College at 264 for Biden and 214 for Trump. Biden needs to just hang on with Nevada and Arizona, where he is leading, to get to 270 and win the presidency:
At a time when the planet’s climate, the free world and the nation are all at risk of collapse based on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election today, millions of Americans make the terrible mistake of getting their news entirely from social media. Here’s why that is an extremely bad idea:
Instead of relying on lie-filled social media, people should get their news from reputable news sources such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, the BBC, NPR, PBS, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC and their local newspapers. And instead of using search for news topics, people should bookmark these news websites or download their mobile apps and visit them every day.
Here is what you can do if Trump declares himself the winner before all votes are counted in the presidential election or is defeated but refuses to leave the White House:
Protect the Results has more than 450 events planned for Nov. 4 across the nation. You can type in your zip code and find an event near where you live: