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by Wm. Steven Humphrey

Here’s your daily roundup of all the latest local and national news. (Like our coverage? Please consider making a recurring contribution to the Mercury to keep it comin’!)

• Portland Police have announced they’re preparing for two protests this Saturday (Sept 26) which feature, as they call it, “differing ideologies”: One is the Proud Boys (a clearly racist, homophobic, and misogynist group of white nationalists declared a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center) while the other are ordinary Portlanders who don’t want Proud Boys terrorizing our community. Yep, those are certainly “differing ideologies”! Wonder which group the cops will serve and protect?

I understand that the main focus of the article is on protesters’ tactics, not police, and that in itself is fine. But in all but eliminating the Portland police from the narrative, @nytimes is withholding crucial context its readers.

— Blair Stenvick (@BlairStenvick) September 22, 2020

• Small businesses in Portland are getting dangerously low on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money they received from the government in the spring, and unless something good happens quick, many businesses (particularly restaurants) will permanently close this fall.

• Related: If COVID wasn’t enough, the Oregon wildfires have destroyed seven cannabis businesses across the state, and damaged at least a dozen more.

• Federal agents were reportedly snooping on private cell phone communications during this summer’s protests in order to monitor alleged illegal activities—a clear abuse of protesters’ constitutional rights.

• Two of Oregon’s top Democrats are considering suing Gov. Kate Brown (you read that correctly) following her decision to veto parts of the state’s budget to free up money for wildfire recovery.

Today is National Voter Registration Day! Register in September to be ready to VOTE in November https://t.co/EEcT0X05hQ #MakeAPlanToVOTE #NationalVoterRegistrationDay

— Multnomah County Elections (@MultCoElections) September 22, 2020

• “Cleanup in aisle three!” (Sorry.): “Oregon man shoots self in groin while showing off gun in supermarket checkout line, cops say.”

IN NATIONAL NEWS:

• The US death toll for COVID-19 victims surpassed 200,000 yesterday, which equates to “roughly the size of Salt Lake City or Huntsville, Alabama,” and is by far the largest number of deaths worldwide. Just imagine the number of lives—friends, relatives, and loved ones—that would have been saved if Trump had done anything at all to stop it.

Young Americans favor Joe Biden over President Trump by 60% to 27%, according to a new Harvard poll.

The survey also found far more voters under the age of 30 say they’ll “definitely” be voting, compared to 2016. https://t.co/UuaTBIbNmh

— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) September 22, 2020

• Senator Mitt Romney has signaled that he’ll support a quick vote on Trump’s Supreme Court nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, even though she is not scheduled to be buried until next week. This gives Senate Majority Turtle Mitch McConnell the votes he needs to push the nominee through, and is a good reminder that ALL Republicans—regardless of whether or not they’ve complained about Trump—must be voted out of office. WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

• In also infuriating news: Instead of using the $1 billion that Congress allocated to them to shore up the nation’s medical supplies during COVID, the Pentagon spent the money on “jet engine parts, body armor, and dress uniforms.”

• A preemptive “state of emergency” has been declared in Louisville, Kentucky as the city waits for an announcement from the state’s attorney general on whether or not he will criminally charge the officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor.

Wells Fargo CEO: “While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of black talent to recruit from.” https://t.co/vKcWwUDBWd

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 22, 2020

• Unless Trump stops them (and he will certainly try), the FDA is expected to roll out tougher standards for any potential coronavirus vaccine, making it nearly impossible for one to be approved before election day (as Trump promised).

• Need some laughs? Then DO NOT MISS the upcoming Thursday Oct 1 livestream edition of the I, Anonymous Show, featuring a panel of nationally-beloved comedians riffing on the weirdest and wildest submissions from our famous I, Anonymous column and blog! It’s HILARIOUS, and you need that.

• Looking for food to go? Well HOLD YOUR HORSES until you read our Suzette Smith’s new takeout column, “Takeout Club!”

• The WEATHER REPORT: Lots of rain and wind tomorrow with a cool high of 66.

• And finally, while I generally find Ricky Gervais to be tiresome, I VERY MUCH APPROVE OF THIS.

Just in case you’re having a bad day, I added @rickygervais‘ laugh to this. 🔊

📹: Imgur user curedragon pic.twitter.com/lQauLy0pLa

— Paul Bronks (@SlenderSherbet) September 22, 2020

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