Wheeeee!!!
«Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee have raised over $100 million in the second quarter. A large portion of that haul came from wealthy donors who gave to their joint fundraising committee, Trump Victory. In August, the RNC raised just over $23 million and has $53 million on hand.
The Democratic National Committee have struggled to keep up. The DNC finished August bringing in $7.9 million and has $7.2 million in debt.»
https://www.umnews.org/en/news/n-e-w-plan-would-create-4-denominations
Oy, vey.
«UM-Forward is proposing legislation that would dissolve The United Methodist Church and form different global churches in its wake.»
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-moderate-middle-is-a-myth/
Interesting article. The middle really is all over the place.
But… these aren’t perfect little fixed points; they can move a bit. And, given two candidates, voters will need to pick one of the two*, so it’s a matter of whoever can position themselves such that the most votes (weighted by the Electoral College, so a rural Wyoming vote counts way more than an urban Los Angeles vote) come to them.
*Yeah, yeah. Two candidates positioned exactly in the middle with either no discernible difference or too many un-discerning voters. Whatever.
Someday, a robot will be able to do this, but I don’t think this is that day.
Anti-vaxxing for profit:
«Since 2015, Cook has made a business out of the anti-vaccination narratives of distressed parents. He has raised over $100,000 through multiple GoFundMe campaigns and then via other platforms after GoFundMe banned him in March. Cook has his own Amazon storefront, where he promotes anti-vaccine books and films, taking a cut of the sales, and raises an unknown amount through his website, accepting donations through PayPal that “go directly to me,” according to his website.
“I and I alone decide how to use the funds,” says the site. Cook says the money has funded anti-vaccine ads, advocacy and “secret projects.” He’s currently weighing the launch of a dating site for people with anti-vaccine views. Cook did not respond to multiple requests for comment.»
https://twitter.com/MZanona/status/1176675878442586113?s=17
Republicans becoming less enamored of term limits.
Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) Tweeted:
Some non-impeachment news from me & @BresPolitico tonight:
House Republicans are considering easing their term limits for committee leaders, which could help stem the tide of GOP retirements.
One idea is to let rankers serve more time in the minority: https://t.co/BjjMrknNhw
This is interesting:
https://twitter.com/SamWangPhD/status/1176625613194575873?s=20
Absolutely critical. Cognitive science research shows that repeating a lie reinforces it, *even if you are trying to debunk the lie.*
Instead, lead with a true statement, then give details as needed.
The research:
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/opinion/29iht-edwang.1.14069662.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-postal-idUSKBN1W91JX
This president* is amazing.
[Peter] Navarro said Washington could quit without problems.
“We have prepared for a seamless transition. There will be absolutely no disruption in military mail, election mail, or holiday mail,” he said.
Another article (https://www.dw.com/en/pexit-us-prepares-to-pull-out-of-universal-postal-union/a-50569818):
It is not, however, the first international body to draw the ire of the current US administration. Donald Trump has already withdrawn the US from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Human Rights Council. He has also threatened to withdraw the US from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The US initially announced its intention to leave the UPU within one year’s time on October 17, 2018.
https://hbr.org/2017/07/stop-using-the-excuse-organizational-change-is-hard
Interesting. Now I can cite an HBR article to invalidate other HBR articles.
