1. Ammo good, pandemic restrictions bad

If you're feeling a bit like white is black, up is down, and wrong is right in the executive branch these days, you're not alone. Now we're learning from a Department of Defense whistleblower, D.C. National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco, that before law enforcement forcibly cleared protesters from Lafayette Square in early June, amid protests over the killing of George Floyd, federal officials began to stockpile ammunition and seek devices that could emit deafening sounds and make anyone within range feel like their skin is on fire.

• — Unsuitable for war, but just right for protesters? DeMarco testified this week as part of Congress' ongoing investigation into law enforcement and military officers' use of force against D.C. protesters. He told lawmakers that officials were searching for crowd-control technology deemed too unpredictable to use in war zones and had authorized the transfer of about 7,000 rounds of ammunition to the D.C. Armory as protests against police brutality and racial injustice roiled the city. —The Washington Post
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• — Pandemic restrictions are just a step below slavery? At an event hosted by Hillsdale College, where Attorney General Bill Barr delivered a speech yesterday, he remarked, "You know, putting a national lockdown, stay-at-home orders, is like house arrest. It's—you know, other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history."
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• — And DOJ staffers are like preschoolers? The attorney general also belittled Justice Department prosecutors who had made charging and sentencing decisions with which he disagreed. "Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it's no way to run a federal agency," Barr said. If you're asking yourself what in blazes is going on, you're in good company. —Politico

2. WaPo Ed Board: 'Drain the swamp'...or fill it?

"Trump has made clear that he believes 'my generals,' the Justice Department, and the rest of U.S. government are there to serve his private and personal interests. If voters do not take their government back, they can expect it to have been remade into a second Trump Organization four years from now." —The Washington Post

3. Russia isn't Ridin' with Biden

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the House Homeland Security Committee today that Russia is seeking to hurt Democrat Joe Biden's presidential campaign. Moscow is carrying out efforts to sow discord in the U.S., "primarily to denigrate Vice President Biden and what the Russians see as an anti-Russia establishment," Wray told lawmakers during a hearing on threats to the nation. It's an assessment sharply at odds with the White House, which still dismisses as a hoax the intelligence community's finding that Russia worked to help Donald Trump win the presidency in 2016.

• — "This year's election cycle, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, provides ample opportunity for hostile foreign actors to conduct disinformation campaigns and foreign influence operations in an effort to mislead, sow discord, and ultimately, undermine confidence in our democratic institutions and values," Wray said.
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• — National security agencies haven't yet seen Russia trying to break into election infrastructure as it did in 2016, when it hacked voting databases. But "Russia continues to try to influence our elections, primarily through what we call malign foreign influence," Wray said.
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• — In addition to Russia, China is among the adversaries trying to interfere in the presidential campaign through disinformation on social media, Wray testified. The FBI is "widening its aperture" leading into the Nov. 3 election "to confront malign foreign operations of China, Iran, and other global adversaries," he said. —Bloomberg

MORE: US charges Russian disinformation group leader with wire fraud —Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project

4. US indicts China-backed hackers

A hacking group known as "Panda Spider" has been indicted by the Department of Justice for hacking into more than 100 universities, businesses, and nonprofits around the world. The group's five members used sophisticated hacking techniques to steal intelligence, hijack networks, and extort victims.

• — Years ago, the group was known as "Wicked Spider," and mostly focused on hacking video game companies, proliferating malware for profit. Sometime in 2016, the group shifted its focus, targeting organizations around the world, at the behest of the Chinese government.
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• — The main purpose of the group's hacking efforts is to steal intellectual property for the Chinese government in different areas, including agriculture, hospitality, chemicals, manufacturing, and technology.
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• — "The Chinese government has made a deliberate choice to allow its citizens to commit computer intrusions and attacks around the world because these actors will also help the [People's Republic of China]," Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said during a DOJ press conference yesterday. —The New York Times

5. Bauer & Turkel: Religious persecution is growing in Russia

"While the evidence is abundant, the consequences have been minimal and Russia has only accelerated its persecution in recent years. As the December deadline to designate countries approaches, it is long past time for the State Department to recognize the extent and severity of Russia's violations, name it a Country of Particular Concern, and subsequently impose temporary sanctions that incentivize reform, expiring on the release of religious prisoners or the reform of religion and extremism laws." —Newsweek

Ed. Note: Gary Bauer and Nury Turkel are commissioners of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

6. 'I believe he was confused'

President Trump suggested that the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "made a mistake" when he testified to a Senate panel yesterday that a coronavirus vaccine might not be widely available until next year and that face masks are a more effective way of fighting COVID-19.

• — Dr. Robert Redfield testified that a limited supply of vaccine may be available between November and December, but that it was unlikely to be available to the general public until the summer or fall of 2021. He also testified that wearing a face mask might offer more protection against the spread of coronavirus than a vaccine.
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• — "I called him—I said, 'What did you mean by that?'" Trump told reporters at a press conference. He insisted the U.S. is ready to distribute the vaccine to much of the country whenever it is available, possibly as early as next month. He also has consistently questioned the efficacy of masks, doing so as recently as Tuesday, at a town hall event in Philadelphia.
   
• — "I 100% believe in the importance of vaccines and the importance in particular of a #COVID19 vaccine," Redfield clarified after the press conference. "The best defense we currently have against this virus are the important mitigation efforts of wearing a mask, washing your hands, social distancing, and being careful about crowds." —USA Today

7. Garber: Fox News has its own language

"Critics might talk about Fox as an 'information silo.' They might dismiss the network's skewed stories as alternative realities. But even the insults, in their way, inoculate. They imply that Fox can do what it does in isolation. It cannot. Its outrages are atmospheric. Its definitions of the world are communal, even if they aren't commonly shared. The events of 2020 have been tragic reminders of that. When cruelty is refigured as 'free speech,' and when expertise becomes condescension—and when compassion is weakness and facts are 'claims' and incuriosity is liberty and climate change is a con and a plague is a hoax—the new lexicon leaps off the screen. It implicates everyone, whether they speak the language or not." —The Atlantic

MORE: Harris: Reviving democracy requires reviving local journalism —Columbia Journalism Review

8. All roads lead to Q

A viral phishing scheme is targeting people across the country with scam text messages claiming to be from the U.S. Postal Service. But for those who subscribe to the QAnon conspiracy theory, it's much more than that. QAnon-ers are claiming the scheme is tied to human trafficking, despite there being no evidence to suggest this is true. The rumor has spread on Facebook and Instagram, echoing the Wayfair conspiracy theory that went viral earlier this summer. Unlike the Wayfair conspiracy, however, the USPS myth is obfuscating a real phishing threat being used to steal people's credentials. —The Verge

• — Aside from being just plain creepy, QAnon is causing a variety of real-world problems. Experts worry the conspiracies are overshadowing legitimate efforts to fight against child trafficking, for example. Advocates say a recent hashtag-inspired movement sensationalized depictions of random kidnappings, preyed on fear, and used exaggerated and out-of-context statistics to undercut the efforts already underway and distort public perceptions of the realities of trafficking. —The San Diego Union-Tribune
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• — "This was definitely a dramatic change." QAnon is also changing people. Reporter Daniel Walters wrote a story about Washington state Rep. Jenny Graham, in which he wrote that she shared on Facebook QAnon-linked posts about vaccines and children being imprisoned and raped by demons. Afterwards, the Republican lawmaker left him an explicit and threatening minute-and-a-half voicemail. Before the Aug. 27 story, for which Graham was interviewed for 80 minutes, Walters says his relationship with Graham was positive, and she was a source he checked in with regularly. —The Spokesman-Review
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• — One less Q site. Last week, a popular website for posts about QAnon abruptly shut down after a fact-checking group identified the "developer and mouthpiece" for the site as Jason Gelinas of New Jersey. Qmap.pub is among the largest websites promoting the conspiracy, with more than 10 million visitors in July. Gelinas had no comment, other than to say that QAnon is a "patriotic movement to save the country." Gotcha. —Bloomberg

9. Packer: How can American democracy be saved?

"[C]hange the political culture: make voting easier..., connect voters with their representatives, train community leaders around the country, rebuild social media as a more constructive public space, shape an active citizenry through civic education and universal national service. The aim is not to realize any partisan cause, but to set Americans into motion as civic actors, not passive subjects." —The Atlantic

10. An American Story: Good deeds don't go unnoticed

David Hendon and Marc Gervais may have thought no one recognized the work they were doing. For the last four years, the two friends have woken up at the crack of dawn every day to pick up litter for free on Ocean Beach in San Diego, Calif. Little did they know they had a secret admirer from afar.

• — New Jersey resident Mark Pacana, who wants to move to San Diego, likes to watch the Ace Tattoo Surf Cam in Ocean Beach, where the two men caught his eye. He contacted the local news to thank them.
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• — Reporter Jeff Zevely headed to the beach before sunrise to meet the men. Hendon and Gervais are homeless and live in a van with their dog, Pico. They both beat addiction and figured if they were going to be clean, the beach should be too.
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• — "We are homeless, not moral-less. My dad taught me the first time I went fishing you always make a place look better than when you got there," said Gervais. Informed of their plight, Pacana has initiated a GoFundMe for the men that has raised nearly $30,000. A win-win-win situation. —CBS News

Consider this: Of 33 million acres of forest in California, roughly 57%, is owned and managed by the U.S. Forest Service or federal Bureau of Land Management. The federal government also owns 60% of Oregon's forests as well. With these facts in mind, what are President Trump and his administration doing to preserve and protect these priceless natural resources?

Is he going to turn his back on this tragic life-altering event for millions of folks as he turned his back when it came time to speak truth to the American people about the severity of COVID-19?

Once again, it appears the only interests Trump is concerned about preserving and protecting are his own. I suggest he get out and rake! —Leah H., Ohio

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.