It is so heartening to see the streets filled with youth and people of color cheering and dancing in cities across America.

Congratulations, America. You won. The witch is gone.

Let's all take a few days to breathe our sighs of relief.

Yes, the vote tallies in the four critical states can change, but probably not enough to make Donald Trump anything but a loser. Two of the lawsuits he filed yesterday have already been dismissed. I'm not celebrating yet, but this song has been popping into my head since yesterday:

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
All your reindeer armies, are all going home
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all her blankets from the floor
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
Strike another match, go start anew
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update 7:40 pm: CNN just interviewed Richard Barrett, the head of vote counting somewhere in Georgia. He was the best, most composed, intelligible guest all night (even though the guy interviewing him was a jerk. He asked, "Are all of these ballots legal?" Like the guy would say no?) He was also very nice looking. And he managed to keep repeating the word "adjudcated" like it was sexy or something. I hope he gets promoted.

New numbers in Maricopa, AZ increase Joe Biden's lead the state.

Biden is also ahead in Nevada, and those two states are all he needs,according to John King. Biden does not need PA. And he may take Georgia for good measure.

[More...]

Update 8:06 p.m. MT: The latest numbers are not encouraging. Trump is now ahead in Ohio, PA, NC, and GA. Trump is on the rails in Arizona. John King keeps comparing Biden's numbers to Hillary's 2016 numbers. I'm not sure they mean that much. He also keeps talking about the "suburban revolt" against Trump. And the changing demographics. But if Trump takes PA, FL, Ohio, WI, NC and MI, I don't see a Democrat win, no matter what Arizona does.

Update 7:31 pm MT: Biden takes Colorado! Hickenlooper wins the U.S. Senate seat, dethroning Trump ally Cory Gardner. John King is talking faster than I can listen. But I suspect Trump will take Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas. I don't know about Ohio or PA.

Update: John King on CNN says Trump is out if Biden takes Ohio. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio.

Update: 6:30 pm MT: Donald Trump has won Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana; West Virginia; Democrat Joe Biden has won Connecticut, Delaware, Vermont, the District of Colombia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Ohio, PA and Florida are still in play. Trump is currentlhy ahead in Michigan. Biden is ahdead in Ohio including the suburbs of Cleveland. Polls close in Colorado in 30 minutes.[More...]

There are other things happening in the world, besides the presidential election.

Here's a place to discuss them, all topics welcome.

If you want escapism, I recommend Tehran on Apple TV (only 8 episodes) and as always, Money Heist and Reign on Netflix.

Like many of you, I have been on edge for days. I don't know what is going to happen. No one does. Watching Donald Trump's rallies this weekend, with lie after lie on everything from COVID to the economy to why minorities should love him, and watching them mindlessly cheer him, leaves me little hope.

And there's Biden, with no charisma at all. Only die hard Democrats and Trump haters will come out for him.

I do believe one of them will win decisively and we will have a winner in short order, although perhaps not on Tuesday night.

And a special Bronx cheer for the idiot son of Donald Trump who said on Fox on Thursday that Covid-deaths have been declining to almost nothing. The very day he said that, more than 1,000 Americans died.

The horrendous storm created by Donald Trump in all his infamy better end soon. The toll to the United States if he is not dethroned decisively is unimaginable.

My current prediction: Trump will lose in a landslide. But that will only matter to him if the popular vote difference is huge. So no matter where you live, even if it's in a blue state, please VOTE against Donald Trump. Any popularily shown to Trump will be taken as a sign by his undeserving children that they are heirs to his current position.

I am busy all afternoon -- time for a new open thread, all topics welcome.

The Washington Post has a new report analyzing expense money Donald Trump directed be paid to his properties since he got his desk in the oval office. Saying it is the tip of the iceberg, it has tracked at least $2.5 million in taxpayer funds, and $5.5 million from his campaign and fundraising committee to his properties.

Since his first month in office, Trump has used his power to direct millions from U.S. taxpayers — and from his political supporters — into his own businesses. The Washington Post has sought to compile examples of this spending through open records requests and a lawsuit.

In all, he has received at least $8.1 million from these two sources since he took office, those documents and publicly available records show.

He’s visited his hotels and clubs more than 280 times now, making them a familiar backdrop for his presidency. And in doing so, he has turned those properties into magnets for GOP events, including glitzy fundraisers for his own reelection campaign, where big donors go to see and be seen.

Some examples [More....]

With the fast Senate approval of Amy Coney Barrett, Unpresident Donald Trump has accomplished what conservatives have only dreamed of since the 1930's -- created a true conservative majority on the Supreme Court. (WSJ, paywall).

Like Justice Scalia, Justice Barrett is known as an originalist and a textualist—that is, she applies the Constitution according to her understanding of what its language meant when adopted, and when interpreting statutes she zeroes in on the text of legislation rather than the purpose lawmakers were trying to achieve.

Another sobering thought:

In the last 40 years, more Supreme Court justices have served after age 80 than in the previous 190 years combined.

We get the government we elect. Please vote and help deny Donald Trump another undeserved opportunity to sit at a desk in the oval office.

Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's Chief of Staff, made quite the admission Sunday when he said during an interview that the U.S. can't control the coronavirus.

The numbers are getting grimmer by the day: Yesterday, the total number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. hit 8,575,000. Deaths now exceed 224,000.

Several states are running out of hospital rooms. More than 41,000 people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19.

Donald Trump has run this country into the ground with his ineffectiveness and lack of ability to prepare for and meet emergencies. If he is re-elected, Americans have only themselves to blame.

We get the government we elect. VOTE!

I can't wait until Donald Trump is no longer headline news. I'd also like to believe that there will come a day when those over 65 are released from COVID-19 house arrest.

Here is a new open thread, all topics welcome.

Personally, I would have kept the 2016 deposition transcript of Ghislaine Maxwell sealed. The appeals court decided differently and released the transcript today. Ms. Maxwell is facing criminal charges and is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The only effect of the unsealing will be to further pollute the possible jury pool with the salacious questions asked by the accuser's lawyer (virtually all of which Maxwell denied.)

Deposition transcripts in federal civil cases are not routinely filed with the court, they remain with the lawyers for the parties. It is usually excerpts rather than entire depositions that are admitted at hearings and trial.

The defamation case that was the genesis of this deposition is over. Why should the deposition transcripts be released now as opposed to a year from now? I think they should have remained sealed until after Ms. Maxwell's trial.

The transcript is available here.