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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
Welcome back to Donald Trump CovidWatch. The president abruptly left Walter Reed Medical Center on Monday evening, announcing in a tweet that he was quote “feeling really good.” We’ll see how that goes for him!
Meanwhile, leaked documents show that Exxon Mobile is quietly planning to increase its carbon dioxide output by as much as the _entire output of the country of Greece_ in the next few years, in flagrant disregard for the lives of, well, pretty much everyone who will be affected by global climate change.
And lastly, after the courts side with the Trump administration, Iowa invalidates 100,000 ballots, which could throw a major wrench into absentee voting in the state.
THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Trump Huffs and Puffs Out of Hospital
After just three nights in Walter Reed hospital, Trump is free -- headed back to the White House to most likely continue infecting anyone he comes in contact with.
On Monday afternoon, Trump fired off the following tweet announcing he would be leaving the hospital. Quote: “Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”
Sure, that might have something to do with the insane cocktail of steroids and drugs he’s been injected with over the past three days, but it’s enough to get the big man out of the big house, despite the fact that he’s almost certainly still contagious and could very easily relapse.
In a press conference outside of Walter Reed, Trump’s medical team claimed that the president was doing fine, saying quote: “Over the past 24 hours, the president has continued to improve. He’s met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria.” endquote.
Later, at the White House, Trump appeared to breath heavily after removing his mask while standing on a balcony to wave to cameras. Clearly doing great!
The President is still on anti-viral redemsivir [RE DEM SEE VEER] and the steroid he was taking to manage the disease, and three days doesn’t really seem like enough time to completely beat COVID-19, but sure, we’ll just have to take their word for it. Trump also claimed he’d be
participating in the October 15 Presidential debate, which is almost laughable, as the Biden campaign would probably want their guy in a hazmat suit to come within 100 feet of Trump at this point. But who knows! October 15th feels like a year away.
Meanwhile, the list of infected White House staffers continues to grow -- press secretary Kayeligh McEnany and two other aides tested positive on Monday. And according to the New York Times, the White House is not doing contact tracing.
But hey, at least their extremely contagious, completely remorseless boss is back in the office!
Exxon Creates New Greece (in CO2)
Leaked documents show that Exxon Mobile plans to increase its carbon dioxide output over the next few years by a truly staggering amount.
The documents, obtained by Bloomberg News, show that Mobile’s internal projections estimate that it’s CO2 output will jump at least 17 percent by 2025. Given how massive the company is, that increase is as large as the output of the entire nation of Greece.
As Bloomberg notes, this isn’t exactly hypocrisy from Exxon, which has never even bothered to pretend it was interested in changing its business model to something that wouldn’t destroy the entire planet.
What the documents show is that Exxon’s investment plan for the foreseeable future includes and readily accepts this massive uptick. Essentially, Exxon has decided to double down on its oil and natural gas investments, to the extent that it’s token green energy initiatives will be drowned in a flood of CO2.
And Bloomberg reports that the internal numbers don’t tell the full story: they only track the greenhouse gases released by the company’s direct operations. The company’s full impact, when you consider the eventual impact of all of the oil and gas they’re shipping and selling, is expected to be five times that number, for a total that equals the same output of an entire small nation.
Iowa Ballot Blooper
An absentee ballot blunder in Iowa could screw over as many as 100,000 voters in the state, the Intercept reports.
What happened is back in July, election officials in two Iowa counties sent out requested absentee ballots with the Voter ID number already filled in, as most voters don’t know theirs. The GOP promptly threw a fit, arguing that doing so violated a directive from the Iowa Secretary of State.
The end result is that the ballots were invalidated, but not before they’d already gone out to tens of thousands of voters across multiple counties. The GOP has been filing similar lawsuits across Iowa and the country as a whole, which creates a massive headache for voters. Many of them will have received an invalidated ballot, but the Intercept reports that their vote won’t count unless they start the process again and request a new ballot.
What this means, obviously, is that anyone from Iowa who isn’t up to date on this story or doesn’t pay super close attention to their mail has a good chance of being out of luck when it comes to mail-in voting come election time. If that sounds like you, check your ballot now. Democrats in the state are working to get in touch with affected voters in case their county’s communication’s don’t get through, which is burning a lot of campaign cash and work hours -- and there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to get to everyone.
AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:
Chuck Schumer’s quest to slow down the GOP’s Supreme Court nomination is still going slowly, as GOP senators vow to vote in person to confirm Coney Barrett even if they’re infected with Coronavirus.
One thing getting lost in all of the White House coronavirus panic: some of the people most at risk aren’t the ghouls in the Trump administration, but the working staff who comprise the buildings’ valets, butlers, housekeepers, engineers and cooks.
After a strange website error last month, the CDC website now acknowledges that people can be infected with COVID-19 through airborne transmission. Glad to know things are working on a quick schedule over there!
And finally, one good piece of voting news: in Florida, where a landmark ballot measure restored the right to vote for as many as 1.4 million Felons two years ago, a massive voter registration drive is underway to find those voters and let them know their rights have been restored.
That’s all for the Majority Report’s AM Quickie today! Stay tuned for the full show with Sam this afternoon.
Oct 6, 2020 - AM Quickie
HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner
WRITER - Jack Crosbie
PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn