Wiser people are publishing about the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg so I won’t be focusing on that here. Virtually no one has had a larger effect on US law and this is obviously now an election issue, but the news cycle doesn’t stop so here are the other stories from the week:

• Another woman has publicly accused the president of sexual assault. Amy Dorris says Trump forced his tongue into her mouth and groped “my butt, my breasts, my back, everything.” There are credible witnesses saying Dorris told them about the assault when it happened. Dozens of women have accused Trump of sexual assault of various forms up to and including rape. Trump himself bragged about walking in on his underage pageant contestants while they were nude and getting away with it.

• Michael Caputo, who runs communications for HHS, is stepping down until after the election. His science adviser is leaving entirely. Caputo recently posted a video talking about how scientists are trying to keep the pandemic going until after the election and that “they” are tryi

• The president continues to insist the vaccine will be available in a short period of time, this time saying 4-8 weeks. This is a lie.

• A group called Democrat [sic] Voters Against Joe Biden is run by Republicans. An easy tell is the use of “Democrat” instead of “Democratic” which mirrors Trump’s constant error, but we know who several of the members of the group are. So far it includes zero Democrats.

The atrocities predicted when Trump withdrew US forces from Syria’s border with Turkey happened as predicted – rape, torture, looting, and hostage-taking done by Turkish backed forces.

• Joe Biden played “Despacito” at an event from his cell phone. Continuing a streak of using doctored media, Trump tweeted out a version of the clip with the song replaced by NWA’s “Fuck the Police.” Trump is using doctored video and images on an almost daily basis. Republican politicians and voters are fine with this.

• Attorney General Barr has been exploring whether protesters can be charged with sedition (incitement of rebellion). Additionally, he considered bringing CRIMINAL charges against the mayor of Seattle for not cracking down harder on protesters. Barr recently said the Covid-19 restrictions are the worst civil liberties violation in the history of the United States aside from slavery. He thinks people being asked to stay at home is worse than attempted genocide, forced sterilizations, undisclosed medical experimentation on minorities, Jim Crow laws, etc…

• A National Guardsman testified that the government was considering using a microwave weapon against peaceful protesters in DC so that Trump could have his photo-op holding a Bible in front of the church next to the White House. This is the same weapon DHS was considering deploying against immigrants on the border.

• Trump’s FBI director testified about the ongoing danger of Russian interference in the election. Trump publicly contradicted him saying China is a larger threat and will target mail-in voting. This is a lie.

• The White House was close to a deal to lower drug prices. It was undone by Trump’s insistence on sending $100 gift cards to seniors before the election. It wanted to brand them “Trump Cards.”

• Trump this morning said it was “beautiful” when MSNBC reporter was hit with a tear gas canister by police and taken to the ground. He said this was an example of “law and order.” Velshi was hit by a rubber bullet and remained standing. Trump has frequently advocated violence and said police need to be rougher in addition to saying the media are “enemies of the people.”