Trust no one new … Don’t get muzzled.
–Sage words from former VPOTUS candidate to current VPOTUS candidate, Kamala Harris.

I’ve decided that Kamala Harris is the best person to help me take this fight to Donald Trump and Mike Pence and then to lead this nation starting in January 2021.
–Joe Biden, presumptive Dem nominee for POTUS, 2020, via mass email.

Didn’t you hear? Sturgis is on, baby!

More than 250,000 people are expected to rumble through western South Dakota, seeking the freedom of cruising the boundless landscapes in a state that has skipped lockdowns. The Aug. 7 to 16 event, which could be the biggest anywhere so far during the pandemic, will offer businesses that depend on the rally a chance to make up for losses caused by the coronavirus. But for many in Sturgis, a city of about 7,000, the brimming bars and bacchanalia will not be welcome during a pandemic.

(1) The perfect storm that isn’t a hurricane. (WaPo)

(2) COVID-19 has disproportionately affected persons of color in Twin Cities. (Strib)

(3) Renomination of POTUS to be held in private. (AP)

(4) POTUS searches in vain for adoration. (CNN)

(5) Impotus Americanus. (Lincoln Project)

The WI governor finally institutes a statewide mask mandate, strangely coincident with MN gov. Walz issuing a stepwise, graduated plan local in nature, and dependent on municipal, county, and regional prevalence data, as well as mask adoption rates, screening rates, and other data – all designed to give as much flexiblity to districts as possible in fashioning a safe reopening for public education this fall.

No sitting president has ever done this. Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed, they’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has. –Dem candidate for POTUS, former VP Joe Biden

In an expected move, Gov. Walz will announce today his executive order to mandate masks indoors (publicly), statewide.

If we can get 90 to 95% mask compliance over the next four to five weeks, we think the statistical numbers make it so we can maintain and continue to open.

Though the evidence is still evolving on the totality of the effect of masking on the spread of the novel coronavirus, all states which have issued mandates have demonstrated steeper declines in prevalence.

No re-election for you pic.twitter.com/cKkevBNYln

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 21, 2020

Erstwhile rising Florida Democratic star, former Tallahassee mayor, and former FL gubernatorial candidate, Andrew Gillum opens up – at least as far as he’s willing to go – about his fall from grace.

Andrew Gillum, the former Democratic rising star who was a hopeful for the Florida governorship, opened up for the first time Monday about his experiences battling alcoholism and depression since entering rehab.

In an 11-minute Instagram post, Gillum described the shame he endured after he was found drunk in a Miami Beach hotel room with a man, Travis Dyson, who had been suspected of overdosing on crystal meth. According to local news reports, Dyson worked as a gay porn actor and advertised himself as a male escort.

Question is, now, is he trying to sow the seeds of (political) redemption?

With a little over 100 days until the start of what is increasingly looking like a protracted election, the current administration is mulling over strategies to add heft to the party’s re-election chances. Could imposing federal invasions in multiple (blue) U.S. cities be the answer?

From The Lincoln Project (brand new):

The Lincoln Project today released a new video, “How It Starts”, a warning about how Trump, Bill Barr and Chad Wolf are ordering unnamed and unmarked agents into our streets.

Against a backdrop of falling poll numbers, rising COVID-19 infections, and a revealing Fox News interview, it’s clear that President Trump is rapidly losing control.

“The videos of masked, anonymous government officers attacking American citizens who pose no threat is shocking to watch. Federal agents with no badge are kidnapping civilians into unmarked vans. How is this America?” said Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen. He continued, “All Americans must be vigilant.”

It is unthinkable that today, in a major American city, there are unmarked vans driven by nameless, badgeless armed forces snatching people from the streets in a terrifying attempt to oppress peaceful protest. Trump may believe this is how his takeover starts, but on November 3rd, Americans will put his abuse of power to an end.

Portland is how it starts. pic.twitter.com/RgWWRujfqy

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 19, 2020