• Anne Applebaum’s excellent piece in The Atlantic references the Cornell University misinformation study in laying it all out (italics are my own):

“…Trump’s super-spreading of disinformation has already changed America. Just a few days ago, Cornell University published a study showing that 38 percent of media stories containing misinformation about the virus refer to the president: Trump is literally, not metaphorically, the single most important reason so many Americans distrust information they receive about the disease. He is literally, not metaphorically, the reason so many Americans distrust our electoral system too. He is literally, not metaphorically, the reason so many Americans distrust one another…And we are all … unsurprised. This kind of obfuscation, this level of confusion, is exactly what we have come to expect from our national leader. Trump has destroyed our trust with wanton abandon—trust in our political system, trust in our institutions, trust in science, trust in America itself—simply because it benefits him, personally, to do so. Whatever happens to Trump over the next few weeks, that is the legacy that will outlast his presidency. It has already distorted and changed and altered the country just as profoundly as the coronavirus itself.”

• Barton Gellman, writing in the  Atlantic, lays out ways in which DJT could hijack the election.  Don’t read it before bedtime, the nightmares could be horrific.  This story, appearing in conjunction with the orange one’s response to questions about a peaceful White House transition should he lose the election, are most alarming. “We’re going to have to see what happens,” he told reporter Brian Karem during a news conference at the White House. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”, “Get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There will be a continuation,” The potential ways things could go sideways are terrifying.

• Featuring VP Pence’s former homeland security, counterterrorism and coronavirus staffer Olivia Troye, this is a powerful (and eminently believable) indictment of our current president’s character and empathy. Worth watching.

• Eric Topol does a wonderful takedown in his Medscape piece Dear Commissioner Hahn: Tell the Truth or Resign, calling out FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn’s derelict behavior re. several of his recent statements and Agency decisions, ones obviously in obeisance to political pressure. Worth a read.

I found Latif Nasser’s  exposition on Benford’s (also known as the Newcomb-Benford) Law in the Digits episode of his Connected Netflix series a fascinating exploration of the topic. Yes, it’s about the non-intuitive, nonrandom frequency distribution of leading digits in many real-world numerical datasets, but trust me, Latif makes it kinda fun and interesting.

Steve Rattner, writing in the the NY Times, once again delineates the facts rather than the distortions and untruths emanating from the White House. The Truth Behind Trump’s ‘Rocking’ Economy

I have to admit I really look forward to reading Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American. You can read archives and/or sign up or subscribe here: Letters from an American

• Richard North Patterson takes a good look at how Trump has fueled the increasing American tendency (at least in some circles) to disrespect expertise: Trump and the American Idiocracy

• A good opinion piece by Hacker and Pierson in the Times re. the truly confounding notion that Republicans still have a chance in national elections despite the relative unpopularity of their policy choices: Republicans Think They Can Get Away With It. They Might Be Right.