{"id":8685,"date":"2020-12-01T17:15:10","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T17:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/pandemicbook\/?page_id=8685"},"modified":"2022-02-01T18:35:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T18:35:00","slug":"12-01","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/adhc.lib.ua.edu\/pandemicbook\/12-01\/","title":{"rendered":"12-01"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Tuesday, December 1<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUS Cases 13.86 million
US Deaths 273,557<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Nov 24: Pennsylvania and Nevada certify<\/a> Biden election wins. Nearly 2,100 people die<\/a> of COVID today. Essential worker, then healthcare workers, will get<\/a> the vaccine first.<\/p>

Nov 25: Supreme Court blocks<\/a> NY from enforcing Covid limits on churches. Pennsylvania state judge sides<\/a> with GOP, halting election certification. Trump Pardons<\/a> Michael Flynn.<\/p>

Nov 26: We surpass<\/a> 13 million coronavirus cases. Trump’s Wisconsin recount results in Biden showing<\/a> a net gain.<\/p>

-Nov 27: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismisses<\/a> the GOP’s election lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p>

Nov 28: Trump Paid<\/a> $3 Million For Wisconsin Recount\u00a0. U.S. counts<\/a> 13M Covid-19 cases, its fourth million-milestone of November. Ohio certifies<\/a> presidential election results, Trump win.<\/p>

Nov 29: Health officials warn<\/a> of a post-Thanksgiving coronavirus spike.<\/p>

Nov 30: COVID-19 hospitalizations hit<\/a> a record, 96,039. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warns that the state could run out of hospital beds by mid-December, and hit 112 percent intensive-care bed capacity by Christmas. Arizona and Wisconsin certify<\/a> Biden election wins. Legislators meet<\/a> to avoid a government shutdown that will happen on December 11 if they don’t avert it. The first U.S. coronavirus infections probably occurred <\/a>in mid-December 2019, about a month before public health officials confirmed the first U.S. case, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. President Trump has\u00a0raised<\/a> more than $150 million in political donations since Election Day,\u00a0<\/p>

Dec 1: Attorney General William Barr admits to the Associated Press<\/i> that the Justice Department has uncovered<\/a> no evidence of widespread voter fraud\u00a0that would reverse President Trump’s loss to President-elect Joe Biden.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFrom the Cutting Room Floor...\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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December opens with something many of us feel like we haven\u2019t felt in a long while: hope<\/em>. The CDC is meeting today to decide how the vaccine, when it arrives, will be distributed. With AstraZeneca also announcing a reliable set of tests, there are now multiple vaccine candidates that will soon be available. Who will receive it first, though no doubt contentious, is a \u201clight at the end of the tunnel\u201d conversation.[1]<\/a> And some members of the GOP are, however belatedly, turning against Trump\u2019s continued self-pitying accusations that the election was somehow stolen.[2]<\/a> Arizona\u2019s Republican Governor Greg Ducey was in the act of signing<\/em> his state\u2019s election results for Biden\/Harris when Trump called him on his cell phone. Ducey took the phone from his pocket, silenced it after noting that it was the President of the United States calling\u2014Ducey’s ringtone for POTUS is literally “Hail to the Chief,” so we could all hear who was calling\u2014and then went on with the signing ceremony.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump attacked Governor Ducey, of course. He has attacked everyone who did not uphold his baseless accusations. Party loyalty makes no difference. Ducey responded with a description not only of how rigorous the voting process is in Arizona, but with a final statement that might be anathema to Trump and his followers: \u201cThat\u2019s the law. I\u2019ve sworn an oath to uphold it, and I take my responsibility seriously.\u201d[3]<\/a> Later\u2014in a space that was not either version of the Four Seasons\u2014Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis continued their tour of lies allowing the president to continue his baseless assertions. The highlight of each of these appearances is the Trump call-in, which Ellis puts on speakerphone and holds up to a mic. Now Ducey is the target.<\/span> [read_more id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]<\/p>\n

Importantly, these events are not even carried on Fox News anymore. Instead, it\u2019s the One America Network (OAN), an even more extreme right-wing infotainment channel, that is airing the president\u2019s disinformation campaign. This presidential grousing has real consequences. In Georgia, Republican election officials are being harassed by gun-toting Trumpians spouting QAnon conspiracy nonsense and placing nooses in public spaces with the names of low-level ballot employees on them.[4]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Yet Trump\u2019s increased reliance on OAN signals a kind of desperation. Much like his steak business, airline, clothing line, boardgame, television show, and university, his time in government is unraveling rapidly. And he\u2019s demonstrating he will go anywhere and do anything to stay in the limelight. His advisors say he sees the \u201cwriting on the wall,\u201d but he is not letting up on his accusations of fraud.[5]<\/a> He once claimed his followers would still follow even if he murdered someone on 5th<\/sup> Avenue in New York City. We assumed that said something about the unwavering devotion of his fans\u2014that they would engage in the kinds of weaponized devotion that they\u2019re exhibiting in Georgia presently. Perhaps an even more important issue was whether Trump, too, would go to such lengths just to keep their attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is surely why today marks the unofficial beginning of the Trump 2024 campaign. Last night, the president tweeted, \u201cA lot of Senators and House Members are very happy that I came along. Think I’ll stick around for awhile!\u201d[6]<\/a> His son just opened up another Political Action Committee to siphon funds from donors.[7]<\/a> Shockingly, over $170 million has flowed Trump\u2019s way since losing the election last month\u2014the precise amount his campaign has been accused of illegally laundering<\/em>, interestingly.[8]<\/a> Much of whatever the sum is will likely be spent on “legal fees,” which is perhaps why Giuliani and Ellis keep representing this lost cause.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Notes<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Selena Simmons-Duffin, \u201cCDC Panel To Vote On Who\u2019s 1st In Line For COVID-19 Vaccine,\u201d NPR.org, December 1, 2020, https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/12\/01\/940418718\/cdc-panel-to-vote-on-whos-1st-in-line-for-covid-19-vaccine<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Darragh Roche, \u201cGOP Rep. Says Trump FBI Claim Is \u2018Flooding the Zone with Baseless Conspiracies,\u2019\u201d Newsweek, November 30, 2020, https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/gop-rep-trump-fbi-claim-flooding-zone-baseless-conspiracies-1551079<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> https:\/\/twitter.com\/dougducey\/status\/1333605208983621635?s=20<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Stephen Fowler, \u201c\u2018Someone\u2019s Going To Get Killed\u2019: Ga. Official Blasts GOP Silence On Election Threats,\u201d NPR.org, December 1, 2020, https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/biden-transition-updates\/2020\/12\/01\/940961602\/someones-going-to-get-killed-ga-official-blasts-gop-silence-on-election-threats<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Jim Acosta and Caroline Kelly, \u201cTrump Sees \u2018the Writing on the Wall\u2019 despite What He Maintains Publicly about the Election, Advisers Say,\u201d CNN, December 1, 2020, https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/11\/30\/politics\/trump-writing-on-the-wall-election-advisers\/index.html<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1333614815533817856<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Alex Isenstadt, \u201cDonald Trump Jr. Aides Launch Super PAC as Georgia Worries Mount,\u201d Politico<\/i>, November 30, 2020, https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2020\/11\/30\/donald-trump-jr-super-pac-georgia-worries-mount-441205<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Russ Choma, \u201cThe Trump Campaign Is Accused of Laundering $170 Million,\u201d Mother Jones<\/em> (blog), July 28, 2020, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/2020-elections\/2020\/07\/trump-campaign-accused-of-laundering-170-million\/<\/a>; Jeremy Diamond, Fredreka Schouten, and Betsy Klein, \u201cPresident Donald Trump Raises More than $170 Million since Election Day as He Pushes Baseless Fraud Claims,\u201d CNN, December 1, 2020, https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/12\/01\/politics\/president-donald-trump-raises-more-than-170-million-since-election-day\/index.html<\/a>.<\/span> [\/read_more]<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Trump tweet about Arizona and OANN<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Democracy Now. Firing Squads, Poison Gas, Electric Chair: Trump Moves to Expand Ways to Kill Prisoners. Democracy Now!<\/em>, 2020. https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2020\/11\/30\/trump_admin_federal_executions<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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“Arizona Gov. Dodges Trump Call While Certifying Election Results,” NowThis News, December 1, 2020, https:\/\/youtu.be\/lyyWz3uzRik<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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“Georgia Election Official Condemns Threats Of Violence, Slams Trump, GOP For Not Speaking Out,” NBC News, December 1, 2020, https:\/\/youtu.be\/nH9FnY0qvNI<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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John Brownstein, “The race for a COVID-19 vaccine,” ABC News, December 1, 2020, https:\/\/youtu.be\/GccK0aUBcp0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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