Start learning German while you maintain social distancing this winter...

...so that you can enjoy the best COVID-19 videos; both of these new videos are from the German government: 

You can understand the story of these exceptional heroes of the winter of 2020 without English subtitles, can't you?

How Many Republicans Should Be Quarantining Rather Than Campaigning Right Now?

If contact tracing were taking place right now to find all the recent close contacts of Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Kellyanne Conway, Kayleigh McEnany, Ex-Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), Bill Stepien, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Hope Hicks, and other current #TrumpVirus sufferers, how many Republican Senators and Congresspeople would be caught in that net, especially after so many recent unmasked COVID-19 superspreading events to which Democrats were not invited? 

The C.D.C. page on contact tracing seems to be crystal clear about what to do if you were attending an event like the infamous Amy Coney Barrett #RoseGardenMassacre: "If you have been around someone with COVID-19, stay home and away from others for 14 days (self-quarantine) after your last contact with that person and monitor your health." 

So,

POLL:
If the C.D.C. were to begin actual #ContactTracing from the #RoseGardenMassacre and other recent Trump contacts, what percentage of GOP members of Congress (House and Senate) would currently be in #quarantine?

— True Blue Liberal - #BidenHarris2020 (@TrueBlueLiberal) October 5, 2020

This, of course, assumes that contact tracing is taking place. It's not. 

JUST NOW: @shearm, one of the WH reporters who has tested positive says he has received ZERO outreach, no contact tracing at all. ZERO.pic.twitter.com/TngXhKuDUc

— John Berman (@JohnBerman) October 5, 2020

The White House considers itself immune from the laws that govern the rest of us, sending VP Pence off to a debate and more MAGA rallies, and calling the Senate back to rush their right-wing replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg onto the Supreme Court bench before November 3rd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update 10/5/2020, 7:00pm

And now it's official, the White House will not be doing contact tracing of the Rose Garden superspreading event.

From The New York Times this evening : "The White House has decided not to trace the contacts of guests and staff members at the Rose Garden celebration 10 days ago for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, where at least eight people, including the president, may have become infected, according to a White House official familiar with the plans."

Karma Still Has Some Work To Do.

Last week was a heavy news week. OK, that's an understatement. There was a figurative open firehose of political news blasted at us all week long, and there's no indication that the pressurized flood of information overload will lessen between now and the election taking place in thirty days.

However, among the stories that need to be remembered are the actions of the #TrumpCrimeFamily at Tuesday's first (and possibly only) Biden/Trump Debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Anyone who was watching on television saw Trump's third wife, adult kids, spouses, and Junior's girlfriend, walk into the hall as a group, wearing masks, and saw them remove their masks in unison as soon as they sat down, breaking the rules of the Cleveland Clinic and the Commission on Presidential Debates that were being followed by everyone else inside and outside the hall. We were all told by masked television reporters that the only exceptions to this ironclad rule would be Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and the debate moderator Chris Wallace. The family obviously couldn't claim ignorance (even though ignorance runs in the family).

What we didn't see on live TV was the following video of a Cleveland Clinic employee offering the Trump team masks after they sat down. They declined.

Since then, we also found out that members of the Trump family, campaign team, and White House staff on the trip openly disobeyed a mask mandate at the InterContinental Suites Hotel Cleveland in advance of the debate. "ABC News spotted Eric and Lara Trump, White House adviser and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien -- who has since tested positive for COVID-19 -- walking around the hotel lobby without masks."

The "Law And Order" campaign obviously only believes that laws apply to other people.

In coming debates (if there are any) the Commission has strengthened their rules to address those who have shown that they never honor "honor systems," stating that “Those who don’t comply will be escorted out.”  That would be fun to see, but the real punishment for not wearing a mask should be administered by the laws of karma.

The October surprises are coming faster than usual this year...

It's entirely on message for this week that it would end with the announcement that the current couple living in the White House have both tested positive for COVID-19 (which will be known in future histories of 2020 as the #TrumpVirus).

Monday morning saw the detailed exposé of Trump's taxes in the print edition The New York Times (released online on Sunday), in which we learned that he paid $750/year in federal income taxes in the years when he wasn't paying absolutely nothing.

Tuesday night saw Trump's self-immolation at the first Presidential debate, a debate that will be remembered for his constant interruptions, his complete lack of empathy for Beau Biden, his mask-free family flouting debate rules, his sweaty orange complexion, and especially for his telling the Proud Boys to "Stand Back and Stand By" when asked if he would denounce those violent white supremacists. 

Wednesday saw the online release of the results of a five-month investigation from the Times' Magazine about the depth and breadth of Trump's "Voter Fraud" lies and how they fit into a continuing GOP project of voter suppression, which now seems to be Trump's only remaining election strategy.

Thursday night saw the release of a recording of First Lady Melania Trump saying "Who gives a fuck about Christmas stuff and decoration" and "they said 'Oh, what about the children that they were separated?' Give me a fucking break." Melania's war on Christmas and refugee children got approximately ten seconds of media attention before the news broke that Trump's closest aide Hope Hicks had tested positive for #TrumpVirus after spending all week traveling in close contact with her boss to the debate and Trump superspreader rallies.

Friday morning we woke up to the news that the POTUS and FLOTUS were positive for the virus named after them, which leads to our True Blue Liberal poll question of the day.

POLL:
Which of these other blockbuster stories of the week is Trump most happy to distract us from with his #TrumpVirus announcement?

— True Blue Liberal - #BidenHarris2020 (@TrueBlueLiberal) October 2, 2020

Trump's Approval Ratings Envy - "Nobody likes me; it can only be my personality."

Which does Trump care about more, his approval ratings or 150,000 American deaths from the #TrumpVirus?

Before you answer, watch this statement from this afternoon's press conference in which he whines about his approval rating vis-à-vis Dr. Anthony Fauci's:

 

...and he's got a high approval rating, so why don't I have a high approval rating with respect and the administration with respect to the virus? We should have a very high....

Now you can vote in this Twitter poll:

POLL:
Which of the following upsets Donald Trump more?
150,000 Americans dead from the #TrumpVirus or the fact that he is much less popular than Dr. Anthony Fauci?

— True Blue Liberal (@TrueBlueLiberal) July 29, 2020