Proud Boys: who are the far-right group that backs Donald Trump?

 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/30/proud-boys-who-are-far-right-group-that-backs-donald-trump

 During the debate, Trump was asked repeatedly by the moderator, Chris Wallace, to condemn violence by white supremacists and rightwing groups, such as armed militias.

When Trump asked specifically who he should be addressing, Biden prompted him by saying the Proud Boys.

Trump then addressed the Proud Boys, saying: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.”

Members of the group immediately celebrated the president’s comment in posts on social media and rightwing discussion-board platforms such as Telegram and Parler. One Proud Boys group added the phrase “Stand Back, Stand By” to their logo. Another post was a message to Trump: “Standing down and standing by sir.”

 

 

I'm Smart

The First 2020 Presidential Debate Was Nasty, Brutish and Long

 https://time.com/5894588/presidential-debate-analysis-chaos/

It did not take long for the first presidential debate of the 2020 general election to spiral totally out of control. President Donald Trump simply would not stop talking—badgering, heckling, taunting and sniping at both his opponent and the moderator. Finally, Joe Biden could only blurt, “Man, would you shut up?”

Trump, of course, did nothing of the sort.

It was, in a way, a perfect metaphor for the Trump presidency: two professionals sighed and remonstrated and strained to enforce the rules, while Trump gleefully ignored them and refused to back down, putting on a show of dominance and creating a fact-free haze that made substance hard to discern. It wasn’t pretty, but had you landed fresh from Mars knowing nothing about American politics—lucky you!—you would have gotten an accurate sense of both candidates’ dispositions, if not their policy positions.

“That is simply not true,” Biden kept insisting, as Trump called him an idiot, smeared his family and concocted wild conspiracy theories about everything from the Obama administration to the upcoming election. “It’s been totally discredited.” Yet neither the Democratic nominee nor Wallace managed to wrest back control of the proceedings, and Biden struggled to land sharp attacks on Trump’s weaknesses.

Trump Declared War On Decency, Democracy Last Night | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Judge Sullivan Hears Flynn Case. Flynn's Lawyer Says She Met with Trump and Discussed Pardon!

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-september-30-2020/

Israel’s virus czar Ronni Gamzu tells cabinet ministers that Haredi Israelis are 2.5 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus, indicating an incredibly high rate of infection in their communities.

Some 28.6 percent of virus tests administered in Haredi communities returned a positive answer in recent days, he tells the coronavirus cabinet, compared to 13.4% in Arab communities and 11.9% in the rest of the country.

 

 

Daniel Dale: 'Almost every single thing Trump said during last segment of debate was inaccurate'

ABC News’ Powerhouse Politics roundtable breaks down 1st presidential debate

Nicolle Wallace: Trump's Debate Performance Felt Like 'An Assault' On American Politics | MSNBC

Project Veritas alleges election fraud, evidence scant

 https://www.fox9.com/news/project-veritas-alleges-election-fraud-evidence-scant

 James O’Keefe, of the conservative propaganda operation Project Veritas, was back in the public spotlight and once again making an incendiary allegation: There was major election fraud in Minneapolis.

One problem: The hard evidence of cash in exchange for votes was lacking, and some of the other conduct of collecting ballots might be perfectly legal.  

 

 

 

 

NYT Details Damning Trump Business Woes Just Before First Debate | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Our Moment

'It's Frightening All Around.' Former Intelligence Officials Warn Trump's Debt Is a National Security Threat

 https://time.com/5894199/trump-debt-national-security-threat/

 One of the fastest ways to be denied a security clearance, current and former intelligence officials will tell you, is to carry a load of debt. And then there’s President Donald Trump.

New revelations in a New York Times report show Trump allegedly has $421 million of debt coming due over the next four years. An audit fight with the IRS could cost him another $100 million. At the same time, he reportedly paid taxes to foreign nations far larger than the $750 he paid in the United States the year he won the presidency and his first year in office.

For a sitting president, with the power to impose fear or favor across the country and around the world, not to mention access to the nation’s most closely held secrets, such financial exposure is more than embarrassing, former intelligence officials and ethics lawyers say: it makes Trump a national security threat.

 

 

Many ultra-Orthodox flouting virus rules entirely, reports indicate

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/many-ultra-orthodox-flouting-virus-rules-entirely-reports-indicate/

 The Haaretz daily reported that tens of thousands of yeshiva students were sent home for vacation Tuesday after weeks of study together, without receiving test results showing them to be negative for coronavirus — as had been required by the government as part of the so-called “capsule program” for yeshivas.