Russia, Russia, Rus...shhhh

"Uhhh, we'll talk about that at another time." That was President Trump's response on Monday to a reporter's question about the poisoning of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny. It's the latest in a long string of instances when the president has run interference for Russian President Vladimir Putin. So is it any surprise that the CIA—which in August assessed that Putin and other top Russian officials are "probably" directing a Russian operation to intervene in the presidential election by discrediting Joe Biden—has made it harder for intelligence about Russia to reach the White House?

• — You won't like him when he's angry. Nine current and former officials say that CIA Director Gina Haspel has become extremely cautious about which, if any, Russia-related intelligence products make their way to Trump's desk, stoking fears that information is being suppressed to please a president known to erupt in anger whenever he is confronted with bad news about Moscow. —Politico
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• — Deepfake Donald. A bizarre deepfake video ad released by Russia's state-controlled RT network depicts a faked Trump joining the channel as an anchor. The video superimposes Trump's face onto a chubby body and plays real clips of him denigrating CNN and lavishing praise on "amazing" Russia. In a press release celebrating the video, RT wrote, "If all doesn't go well for Donald Trump at the polls on November 3, then don't worry, Mr. President, just hop on a plane to Moscow because there's a job waiting for you." Yikes. —The Daily Beast
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• — A new START? All of this is backdrop as the administration scurries to secure an arms control deal with Russia ahead of the election. U.S. officials presented a proposal to the Russians two weeks ago as part of negotiations that began in June. Under the deal, the two nations would extend the soon-to-expire New START pact for a limited time while negotiating a replacement treaty. But as of yet, no word from Putin. —The Washington Post

Victories for voting

There have been several key victories for voting rights and reform this week at the state and national levels. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero sided with several people across the country, including candidates for public office, who claimed in a lawsuit that President Trump, the U.S. Postal Service, and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy were endangering election mail. Marrero said a nationwide order is necessary to ensure mail for November's election is delivered on time, and gave both sides until noon Friday to settle the case in a manner consistent with his findings. —NBC News

• — Florida. Weeks after after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won a court victory to keep felons in the state from voting until they have paid off fines, restitution, and court fees, former Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg has stepped in to help pay off their debts. The Florida Rights Restitution Council had already raised about $5 million before the billionaire helped raise almost $17 million more. —The Guardian
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• — Maine. Ranked-choice voting wins! RCV will be used in the presidential election in the state this fall after the state's high court ruled that Republicans did not gather enough valid signatures to put forward a people's veto effort. The decision comes after months of legal challenges and an initial ruling from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court earlier this month that allowed the state to begin printing ballots without it. —The Piscataquis Observer
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• — New York. For years, there's been talk of customers wanting an "experience" when they shop. So how about a day of shopping with a side of democracy? Starting yesterday, National Voter Registration Day, through Oct. 9, shoppers at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store can register to vote. Not an NYC-dweller? Visitors to the Saks website can also register to vote, complete an absentee-ballot application, and check their registration status. Nice. —The Cut

MORE: 2.5 million US users register to vote using Facebook, Instagram, Messenger —The Hill

LeTourneau: Is the GOP dying?

"Since the mid-nineteenth century, politics in the U.S. has been dominated by two parties: Republicans and Democrats. While we have many examples of how those parties fought back from minority status, we have no history to inform us about what happens when one of them retreats from seeking a majority and thus begins to die. Fighting back has always meant building a coalition large enough to win elections. The reason the Republican Party faces its demise is that, ever since Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in 2012, it has rejected any attempt to reach out to a changing America. Instead, Republicans have relied on firing up their existing base." —Washington Monthly

MORE: Petri: The principled conservatism of...Attila the Hun? —The Washington Post

'She's telling us how to run our country'

From claiming that COVID-19 affects "virtually nobody" to questioning the veracity of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's dying words, as reported by her granddaughter, President Trump has made some comments in recent days that are particularly insensitive, even for him. Now, he's back to a familiar target—Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

• — Making a play for Minnesota voters yesterday, Trump complained that Omar should not be giving input on how to run the U.S., asking, "How did you do where you came from? How is your country doing?" Omar, who immigrated to the U.S. with her family after fleeing war-torn Somalia, is a U.S. citizen.
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• — The latest attacks on Omar are part of a broader diatribe against a group of first-term congresswomen known as "the squad," which consists of Omar and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley—all women of color.
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• — Omar shot back on Twitter, "Firstly, this is my country & I am a member of the House that impeached you. Secondly, I fled civil war when I was 8. An 8-year-old doesn't run a country even though you run our country like one." —The Hill

WaPo Ed Board: Democracy in peril

"A president's core responsibility is to use the awesome power of his office fairly and with neutrality. Trump has shown that he has a different understanding: The law is a weapon with which to reward loyalists, punish enemies, and frighten everyone else to fall in line." —The Washington Post

MORE: GOP senators' anti-Biden report repackages old claims —Politico

Challenges from China mount

Facebook has removed a network of fake accounts and pages that originated in China and focused on influencing the upcoming presidential election. Beijing has been expanding its influence operations ahead of the 2020 election but, so far, has not mounted a campaign on par with Russian operations. The fake accounts posted content that alternately favored and opposed President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden as well as former Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg. —USA Today

• — U.S. vs. China at UN. Laying down the diplomatic gauntlet, Trump referred to the "fierce battle against the invisible enemy—the China virus" in a full throttle attack on China yesterday, as he spoke by video to the United Nations General Assembly's general debate. "We must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: China," Trump said. —CBS News
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• — Government critic convicted. An outspoken critic of Chinese President Xi Jinping was jailed for 18 years yesterday for "corruption, bribery, and embezzlement of public funds," a court statement said. Ren Zhiqiang disappeared from the public eye in March, shortly after penning an essay that was fiercely critical of Xi's response to the coronavirus outbreak.
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• — Corruption...or dissent? The verdict said Ren embezzled almost 50 million yuan ($7.4 million) of public funds and accepted bribes worth 1.25 million yuan, according to a statement from the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court. But human rights campaigners accuse Xi and the Communist Party of manufacturing corruption charges as a way to silence dissent. —France24

Bittner: Human rights need a global comeback

"As authoritarian leaders oversee economic success, the importance of civil liberties—ensuring freedom from arbitrary punishment and harassment—may dwindle. The abstract notion of human rights may be much less appealing than the reality of being lifted from hardship, insecurity, and hunger. The 'freedom to be free,' as Hannah Arendt put it, is a privilege that, globally, very few have the pleasure to enjoy: The world is full of people who are economically advanced, but politically repressed. That's why it's vital to make a renewed case for human rights." —The New York Times

This nun runs for a good cause

When the Chicago Marathon was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sr. Stephanie Baliga decided to put on her sneakers and run the standard 26.2 miles anyway—in her convent's basement. Running since the age of 9, Baliga, now 32, launched the Our Lady of Angels running team to raise funds for the poor after she joined the order of the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago.

• — It started as a promise. Baliga had told her running team that in the event of a cancellation, she'd run a treadmill marathon to raise money for the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels food pantry. She planned to do it alone, starting at 4 a.m., to music from a boom box.
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• — But a friend convinced her to go public, because "most people don't run marathons on their treadmill in their basement," she said. And so her Aug. 23 run was livestreamed on Zoom and posted on YouTube. Her treadmill marathon raised a whopping $130,000 for her mission's community outreach.
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• — "All of us play this really important role. All of our actions are connected," she said. "It's so important, especially right now, when a lot of people feel isolated and far away, that people continue to sacrifice for each other and to be kind." —Associated Press

Nice to see all the books coming out NOW about Trump and the people around him. Mind you, I cannot, nor never could (going back decades), stand the stable genius. I was a Republican (now Independent) until the party got behind the carnival barker.

The GOP has been an enabler, and is just like Trump. He has been their enabler, enabling them to "come out of the closet" of disgust and disgrace. They are now free to take off their masks and hoods because of Trump.

Yet these so-called patriots who are writing books, imho, are enablers as well. The information they reveal now has been known to them for many months, if not years. Yet they stayed silent until their books came out. They could have spoken out in real-time when it may have had more impact. Many were on various shows over the months prior to the release of their books. They have excuses galore. But let's cut to the chase; it's because of money. They would make more money by being silent until their books were published.

Think what you may of Michael Cohen, but he went on the record, many times over, long before his book was published. The others, some who were in government and some who were not, said zilch. —Bill T., Arizona

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