1. Caputo pushes the limits

Just when you thought things were about as mind-numbingly disordered as they could get, revelations that broke yesterday about Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, pushed the limits yet again. Caputo was already facing criticism for leading efforts to warp weekly bulletins from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fit President Trump's pandemic narrative. On Sunday, he publicly claimed on Facebook Live that the agency is harboring a "resistance unit" determined to undermine Trump, and accused government scientists of engaging in "sedition" in their handling of the pandemic. —The New York Times

• — Emergency staff meeting. Today, Caputo held a meeting with staffers to apologize for the accusations, telling them the remarks reflected poorly on HHS' communications office. He also blamed his recent behavior on a combination of physical health issues and the toll of fielding death threats against his family.
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• — An investigation launched. House Democrats are commencing a probe into how Trump appointees like Caputo have pressured CDC officials to change or delay scientific reports on COVID-19. "During the pandemic, experts have relied on these reports to determine how the virus spreads and who is at greatest risk," Rep. Jim Clyburn, chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, and colleagues wrote in a letter to HHS. "Yet HHS officials apparently viewed these scientific reports as opportunities for political manipulation." —Politico
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• — What is the data telling us now? Nationally, new coronavirus cases reported daily dropped to fewer than 40,000 in mid-September from a peak of more than 66,000 cases in late July. But that trend overlooks the pandemic's complicated geography. Improvement in one region can come amid increased suffering in another. Through Friday, North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, and Iowa had added more recent cases per capita than all other states, as the virus roars across the Midwest. —The New York Times

2. A nation on the brink

In the past 16 weeks, more than 50 drivers have plowed into peaceful protesters around the country. Armed militants shut down Michigan's legislature. Unidentified law enforcement officers heaved demonstrators into unmarked vans. Security forces in Washington used low-flying helicopters to harass citizens decrying police brutality. Protesters and police alike have brutalized journalists. Ideologues from left and right have been accused of killing political opponents. So writes Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Should Americans be worried about widespread political violence? In a word, yes. —The Washington Post

• — Exhibit A: Michael Scheuer. Scheuer, a former CIA official who once led the hunt for Osama bin Laden, has turned his sights toward his fellow Americans. On his blog and podcast, he rages against a widespread, treasonous conspiracy targeting not only President Trump but the fundamental character of the American republic that, according to him, deserves "punishment...we've not seen before in this country." In July, he wrote that "loyal Americans know their domestic enemies, as well as their locations, in detail, and will be able to act swiftly to eliminate them and the threat they pose." —The Daily Beast
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• — The problem isn't limited to the right. Months of civil unrest have coincided with a significant rise in social media posts critical of police that sometimes are laced with violent themes, including calls to destroy property and attack officers, according to a report released yesterday by the Network Contagion Research Institute. The group, which also has studied right-wing violence from groups such as the "boogaloo boys," warns that some left-wing groups have embraced similar social media tactics, including memes and humorous catchphrases, to spread their messages and possibly help coordinate offline activity. —The Washington Post
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• — And it sure doesn't help when POTUS takes sides. Scheuer publicly pledged his allegiance to QAnon, the far-right conspiracist group, back in December. Per usual, Trump retweeted a post just this morning featuring the hashtag "PedoBiden," pushing a fringe theory promoted by QAnon against his 2020 Democratic opponent, Joe Biden. Trump has peddled in conspiracies, boosted extremists, and demonized his political opponents for years, as a public figure, candidate, and president. —Business Insider

3. Tierney: How Putin got in our heads

"Russia seeks to weaken a foreign adversary from the inside, paralyzing its ability to resist. It partners with a range of allies, such as oligarchs and journalists, and uses a diverse toolbox, including propaganda and cyber attacks. Moscow begins by locating the target country's weakest point, whether it's an ethnic, religious, or partisan cleavage. Then Russia manufactures a sense of distrust to destroy the social contract. Whereas the Stasi might break into a man's apartment in the middle of the night and turn on his electric razor—just to freak him out—Moscow uses hackers and trolls to propagate conspiracy theories and cultivate a skepticism of authority." —The Atlantic

MORE: 'I have blood on my hands': A whistleblower says Facebook ignored global political manipulation —BuzzFeed News

4. Judge halts 'misleading' USPS mailer

A federal judge has temporarily banned the U.S. Postal Service from sending election mailers after Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said they contained "false statements." The temporary restraining order, approved by Judge William Martinez, will last through Sept. 22, unless extended by the court. Griswold says the mailers could have started with good intentions but were "suspect" due to President Trump's "pattern of voter suppression." As the USPS complies with the order, state election officials are scrambling to undo the damage. —Reuters

• — First signs of trouble in Nevada. Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske triggered alarms on Saturday when she said voters in Nevada were receiving postcards from the USPS with inaccurate voting recommendations. The postcards tell voters to request a mail-in or absentee ballot 15 days before the election and to add postage to the ballot return envelope. However, all active registered voters in Nevada will automatically get a ballot in the mail for the 2020 general election, and all ballots come with prepaid return envelopes. —KVVU
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• — Colorado took it a step further. Griswold filed the lawsuit against the USPS on Saturday and was granted the temporary restraining order after she and other state officials made the case that in Colorado, as in Nevada and several other states, the USPS postcards—sent to voters without the officials' approval—feature misinformation about mail-in voting policies. —Forbes
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• — Biden prepares for legal battles too. The former vice president's campaign is establishing a major legal operation, bringing in two former solicitors general and hundreds of lawyers in what the campaign is calling the largest election protection program in presidential campaign history. Legal battles are already raging over how people will vote—and how ballots will be counted—during the pandemic, and senior Biden officials described the ramp-up as necessary to guard the integrity of an election already clouded by Trump's accusations of widespread fraud. —The New York Times

5. Vindman: If we're not careful, democracy can slip away

"Authoritarianism is able to take hold not because you have a strong set of leaders who are forcing their way. It's more about the fact that we can give away our democracy. In Hungary and Turkey today, in Nazi Germany, those folks gave away their democracy, by being complacent." —The Atlantic

Ed. Note: This excerpt is from an in-depth interview by Atlantic writer Jeffrey Goldberg with Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (Ret.), who served on the National Security Council as the director for Eastern European, Caucasus, and Russian affairs.

6. 'The treatment of people in ICE custody is horrifying'

If a whistleblower's account is accurate, conditions for migrants in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be even worse than we thought. Far worse. Dawn Wooten, a nurse at an ICE detention center in Georgia, is accusing the facility of allowing an unusual number of hysterectomies to be performed on immigrants detained there, often without their consent. The complaint, sent by Project South to the Department of Homeland Security and its inspector general, also describes poor treatment of migrants detained at the center, including limited and negligent medical care and minimal testing for COVID-19. —Business Insider

• — A court win for the Trump Administration. A 2-1 decision yesterday by a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel has effectively greenlighted the administration's plan to expel more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Sudan from the U.S. The ruling ends the "temporary protected status" in place for as long as two decades due to natural disasters, wars, or other upheavals in the migrants' homelands. —Politico
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• — And a court loss. A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that Chad Wolf is likely unlawfully serving as acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security due to a violation of order-of-succession rules. Subsequently, Wolf didn't have the authority to impose new asylum restrictions that are currently being challenged in court. The judge has temporarily barred the Trump Administration from enforcing the new rules. —CNN
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• — Will Biden make a difference? Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has pledged to dismantle Trump's immigration changes if elected. It will be a tough road. Overall, the Trump Administration has undertaken more than 400 executive actions on immigration. "Because of the intense volume and pace of changes the Trump Administration enacted while in office, even if we have a new administration, Trump will continue to have had an impact on immigration for years to come," says Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. —NPR

7. Drakos: Military sacrifices should be honored and respected

"Electing a leader who understands the privilege of serving, the honor of that sacrifice, and the somber responsibility of sending our loved ones into harm's way is critical. The honor of our fallen heroes, our wounded warriors, our veterans, and our beloved military Gold Star and Blue Star families depend on it." —The Fayetteville Observer

Ed. Note: Margo Drakos, an active-duty U.S. military spouse and mom, is the founder and CEO of ArtistYear, a National Service AmeriCorps Program.

MORE: Russian jets identified in Trump campaign ad calling for support for the troops —The Hill

8. Climate changes, but Trump does not

While meeting with California officials yesterday to discuss the catastrophic wildfires currently afflicting several western states, President Trump openly expressed his view that climate change is not playing a role in the fires, which he believes are the result of poor forest management. His comments went against everything scientists have reported about the fires.

• — "It'll start getting cooler. You just watch," the president said to Wade Crowfoot, secretary of California's Natural Resources Agency, at a roundtable. When Crowfoot objected, saying science doesn't agree, Trump laughed and responded, "I don't think science knows, actually."
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• — "Climate change is real," California Gov. Gavin Newsom bluntly told Trump. "We come from a perspective, humbly, where the science is in, and observed evidence is self-evident that climate change is real, and that is exacerbating this."
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• — The devastating wildfires have engulfed California in smoke and have led to tens of thousands of evacuations. At least 24 people have died from the fires in California alone. —CNN

9. Holloway: Let's not sell out the soul of our nation

"Instead of holding substantive discussions on the best way to defend against COVID-19, the president led us into a useless culture war over masks. Instead of offering a unifying hand amid this year's race riots, we got 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts,' and defending vigilante shooters. Instead of being a force for good in the world, our president cowers while Russian President Vladimir Putin poisons dissidents and tries ruining our elections. The corruption, lies, and chaos can stop whenever we want them to. The time for calm, steady leadership is now. Chaos and destruction may be interesting in an action movie, but it is no way to lead a country." —The Salt Lake Tribune

Ed. Note: Bryant Holloway is a program associate for Stand Up Republic.

10. An American Story: For the love of reading

Jennifer Martin, an elementary-school reading teacher in Texas, has spent the past several years adding more than 1,500 books to her personal collection. All of those books, and hundreds more that have been recently donated, are now available to children in Martin's neighborhood, thanks to a free library she opened in the garage of her home.

• — Martin teaches in a school district outside of Austin that draws in students from many remote neighborhoods. Because of the school district's location, the closest public library is at least 15 miles away, and it's difficult for her students to access it.
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• — Martin's library operates on an honor system that allows children to check out two books at a time for any amount of time. When they have read those books, they may return them and get two more. The library is currently following pandemic rules, including masks and social distancing.
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• — "Reading is the crux of everything," Martin said. "It doesn't even matter what you're doing or what you're teaching if you haven't helped bridge the gap between a student and the world of literature, and access to books is the first way to do that." —ABC News

It is an outrage that President Trump is going back to the idea of a third term! Apparently our historic memory is fading quickly. Hitler was voted into power. Hopefully it won't take living through a dictatorship for us to wake up and stand up for our constitutional democracy. —Rebekah P., Colorado

The art of the great deception. Trump, masks, distancing, testing, and the coronavirus. Trump gets to downplay masks and distancing because anyone who may come in close proximity to him has to be tested, with negative test results, prior to doing so. And if they are not tested, they do not get anywhere near him, and he gets nowhere near them. Fox-watchers will never hear about the measures taken to protect him from the hoax. Note that he doesn't glad-hand anyone at rallies, walk a rope line, etc.

The MAGA hats then see him with no mask, talking tough, saying it is a hoax. And heck, with him being their hero, they won't wear masks either. Why should they? The genius isn't sick, he doesn't wear a mask, and people who meet with him (many) don't either (though they've been tested if within six feet of him). So sitting with folks in the White House for photo ops is a ruse of deception. But unknown (count on it) to the MAGA hats is the protocol put in place to protect the stable genius from the coronavirus. —Bill T., Arizona

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.