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SaturdayMay16,2020at1:09PM

A serious fault line is developing in Randolph County, like the crooked line in Western California where the tectonic plates rip the Earth under communities. Our county is ripped apart by beliefs, by income status, by politics, by race and now by age.

Have you ever noticed where the lines are drawn between those who need to go back to work and those who are retiring?

As the cracks develop, the pandemic opens up enmity where we thought the surface was healed over. I want to speak about where the working healthy folks under 60 are opposed to the vulnerable aged people and dont want to talk about it.

I see it in the arguments among elected officials and more in the stores and around the restaurant take-out counters. Younger working adults with or without children are becoming more vehemently split against the older people who just happen to be the biggest group being killed by the C-virus. How do I know? Just go to a store in Randolph County and watch.

Two restaurants I have visited recently do not make their employees wear any gloves or masks and I assure you the many patrons circulating there to pick up food have no concern. No wonder theres no change in the infection number increase. Randolph County is the land of the brave and the foolish.

The American health care system relies on employer generosity and the fee for service model. Medicare waddles along behind taking advantage of the workers who are able to keep the system afloat. Specialists are doing well off of the latest procedures and medicines to keep the old people going into their 70s and 80s and comprises a huge percentage of those people with pre-existing conditions. Its the pre-existing conditions that make the coronavirus so effective among the elderly.

I have to wonder when the great loss of vulnerable people will be welcomed by the mega crowd and the cost-conscious Tea Party types. Oh yes, thats another division. Political pollsters are trying to figure the odds.

John C Miller

Randleman

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Randolph, home of the foolish and the brave - Opinion - Asheboro Courier Tribune

Marie Curies famous Blooming Great Tea Party is going virtual this year and the charity needs tea party hosts more than ever before to make up for the devastating effect the coronavirus crisis has had on the charitys income.

The end-of-life charity is calling on you to throw a Blooming Virtual Tea Party from home this summer.

"While staying indoors is the new normal, throwing a virtual tea party is a fun way to stay connected to the ones you love during this time and a great way to support nurses working on the frontline of the crisis," says popular TV hostess Mel Giedroyc on behalf of the charity.

In peoples homes across Scotland Marie Curie is caring for people with terminal illnesses, as well as people with Covid-19, and is protecting the NHS by keeping patients away from hospital.

However, as the charity has stepped up its support for the nation, its fundraising income has been devastated by the impact of lockdown measures it had to cancel its Great Daffodil Appeal in March and closed all its charity shops shortly after.

The charity needs to raise a quarter of a milllion pounds to fund its Scottish services.

That is why the charity and its celebrity ambassador, Mel Giedroyc, are encouraging everyone to connect virtually with friends and family while raising some money at the same time.

Cake lover and tea party extraordinaire, Mel says: You can bake it, fake it, brew it or stew it whatever your cup of tea, Marie Curies Blooming Great Tea Party is going virtual this year andits a simple way to keep in touch with your chums, while raising money for a wonderful cause, which, I think youll agree, we all need right now".

Marie Curie needs to raise a massive 2.5million each week to care for the tens of thousands of people who need its nursing and hospice care. This year, the amazing nurses and frontline staff need you more than ever, as the fundraising events they rely on have all been cancelled.

Ive met their nurses before. They are inspiring, kind, caring and loving people who are currently caring for people at the end of their lives and keeping people out of hospital,helping the NHS cope with the coronavirus crisis.

Every last crumb of the money you raise will help people at the end of their lives. So please join me by raising a cuppa, and some money, in your lounge or garden for the Marie Curie Nurses on the front line.

Vonnie Stevenson, community fundaiser, said: Our Blooming Great Tea Party looks a little different this year but I think everyone needs an excuse to meet up with their friends and family online of course and check in on the people they love. If you can do that while raising some money for Marie Curie, then your generous donations will enable us to help even more people at the end of their lives get the care they need in this time of uncertainty.

We rely on the support of the amazing public to ensure our nurses can keep caring for people. And while the coronavirus crisis has badly impacted our fundraising events, we hope by going virtual well be able to raise the vital funds we need to keep supporting people in our communities across the North of Scotland.

To register as a Blooming Virtual Tea Party host visit http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/teaparty or call 0800 716 146.

Click for news

In these testing times, your support is more important than ever. Thank you.

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Sutherland Marie Curie backers urged to take Blooming Great Tea Party online - Northern Times

Donald Trump, Jr., the Presidents eldest son, thinks that his father is getting a raw deal. In a recent appearance on Team Trump Onlinea nightly video series that serves as a substitute for campaign rallies and often attracts more than a million viewershe complained that his father is having to wage war against the deep-state guys and unchecked attacks from influencers on the other side. He said that each reporter at the White House briefings has an agenda, and that is to destroy Donald Trump. Joe Biden cant remember where he is fifty per cent of the time, Trump, Jr., said, but he can count on the media lackeys who are the marketing wing of the Democrat Party. The Democrats, he added, are becoming the party of socialism and communism. That includes Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaibyou know, the Hamas caucus in Congress. As for the COVID-19 outbreak, which has caused more than eighty thousand deaths in the U.S. to date, he said, China basically screwed the whole world.

Venom and victimization largely define the Presidents public persona, and the same holds true for the online campaign. Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee in early March, and the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to barnstorming a few weeks later, but the rhetoric of Trumps campaign has barely budged. On March 12th, as the coronavirus crisis was taking hold in the United States, it e-mailed its supporters a photograph of Trump, ruddy face fully made up, a flag pin in his lapel, sitting behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, looking steely. The e-mail said that there is no room for partisanship, and the President is calling on both parties in Congress to unite. The very next day, when Trump declared a national emergency, the campaign reverted to form, blasting Sleepy Joe and Crazy Bernie. Last weekend, after the Justice Department dropped its charges against Michael Flynn, Trumps former national-security adviser, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I., the campaign crowed, in a fund-raising text, Justice for Gen Flynn! A WITCH HUNT from day 1! ALL GIFTS TRIPLED TO DRAIN THE SWAMP.

Anyone who has attended Trumps rallies, where thousands of fans in MAGA hats whoop and cheer at his insults and diatribes, can attest that the President, ever a showman, knows how to play to his target audiences. And, yet, as Biden edges into the lead in key states, such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Florida, pollsters and political strategists are questioning whether Trumps perennial pitch can carry him to victory on November 3rd. His political base is loyal but narrow. When Democrats scored heavily in the suburbs in the 2018 midterms, and captured a majority in the House of Representatives, it was women voters who made the difference. A recent Quinnipiac poll in Florida showed Trump lagging behind Biden among women, and also among two groups that delivered crucial support in 2016: voters over the age of sixty-five and voters who dislike both candidates. When I asked Douglas Schwartz, the director of the Quinnipiac poll, about the survey, he said that Biden does better among both groups on honesty, leadership, and empathy. These numbers are a warning sign for his campaign, Schwartz said of the President.

The Trump campaign brags about an army of field organizers, the cell-phone numbers of tens of millions of supporters, and a new app that connects voters to news, virtual events, and volunteer opportunities, from fund-raising to voter registration. Each is a significant upgrade from Trumps 2016 effort, which relied on his outsized personality, his televised rallies, and the power of social media. The current operation, led by Brad Parscale, who ran Trumps successful Facebook marketing campaign in 2016, has raised more than seven hundred and thirty million dollars. In cash-on-hand, Biden lags tens of millions of dollars behind. Its not like a campaign of grievance and anger and fear hasnt been a pillar of American politics since there was an American politics, Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster who worked on Barack Obamas Presidential campaigns, said. Thats exactly how Trump won. Republicans are right to be worried, Belcher added, but even as Trump struggles to expand his base COVID-19 and the plunging economy are making predictions difficult. Given that environment, where people are afraid and anxiousand understandably socan you count out a candidate peddling grievance and fear?

In hundreds of different versions of its standard pitch, Trumps campaign complains, boasts, and beseeches. The President, his surrogates, and the campaign staff spray a familiar buckshot of belittling nicknames and insults at a cast that includes Sleepy Joe, Crazy Bernie, and Crooked Hillary, who were recently joined by Cheatin Obama. An e-mail on Monday, targeting Biden, asked supporters to show the Left that you REJECT their corrupt candidate, while one on Friday called Biden a certified CROOK. During a recent Team Trump Online broadcast, Parscale bragged about a roll of Hillary Clinton toilet paper that I use every time Im in a bad mood. I have boxes of it, and I take it into the bathroom, and its just enjoyable.

Another regular target is the Lamestream media, the enemy of the people, ever in cahoots with the Radical Left-wing MOB. Together, Trump warned in an e-mail earlier this year, these elements are pushing a non-stop propaganda campaign of LIES to try and destroy me. With nary a mention of his own wealthy backers, Trump slams the establishment, along with the Hollywood elite and foreign enemies, declaring, in one solicitation, They all HATE you, and thats why they want to steal your vote. Its US against THEM. The April 27th Team Trump Online session was led by Katrina Pierson, a former Tea Party activist, whose guests included Representative Dan Crenshaw, a military veteran from Texas. She described Barack Obama as a faint-hearted Commander-in-Chief, while Crenshaw told viewers that Democrats will lie through their teeth. Theyre doing it all the time.

In its texts and e-mails, the campaign seeks donations and valuable voter contact information by offering a steady supply of Trump-branded merchandise, from football jerseys, Christmas ornaments, and doormats to plastic straws, a swipe at liberal locales that have been banning them to help the environment. The offers have continued unabated during the COVID-19 crisis. Last Saturday, the campaign wrote supporters to say Trump knows that recent weeks have been extremely difficult for Americans from all across the Nation. The e-mail said that the President is grateful for your unwavering support and wants to do something special for you to show how much your loyalty means to him. The message continued, Hes asked us to give you EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to get our Official Trump-Pence Pint Glasses. The cost for a set: thirty-one dollars. But, we have an extremely limited supply, so we can only hold them until 11:59 PM TONIGHT.

I asked David Sable, the former head of the marketing agency Y. & R., to assess the Trump campaign as a marketing effort. His base loves it, said Sable, who explained that Trump has brand power derived from what he called the brand experience, which is part show, part substance. The key is to get those people to recruit other people. If you can do that, youre way ahead of the game. Thats basically the way the guy operates, Sable said. According to Sable, Trumps team, to its credit, understands simplicity. The Make America Great Again message, in 2016, was straightforward, and so is the Keep America Great message in 2020, according to Sable: At the end of the day, Ive done a great job, I will continue to do a great job, and I will fix this to get back to the great job I was doing.

Read this article:
The Trump Campaign Brings Its Angry Tone to the Coronavirus Era - The New Yorker

MUSTARD!? Dont lets be silly! Lemon, thats different, thats yes! That should do it Mad Hatter

With a dash of lemon and plenty of jam, this Mad Hatter Loungefly Mini Backpack takes the tea cake! Spotted on Instagram on @GentlemansDisney, user Miguel Vargas has several photos of the upcoming release. Unlike previous teasers, these photos are not of Loungefly concept art, but of the real deal! Check out all the details that are making us sing, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat!

This Mad Hatter Loungefly release is the CUTEST thing! Styled much like the 2018 Cheshire Cat backpack that went to shopDisney, with the Wonderland character peeking over the top of the front pocket. The die cutout hair and hat, complete with 10/6 card really bring his joie de vivre forth and make us clink some Wonderland teacups.

As for the nitty-gritty sugarcube details, the mini backpack offers a soft heathered suede faux leather back (and tux front) with the padded straps weve come to know and love. The hardware for this Loungefly bag is a plain hammered metal zipper tab, with the colored and themed Loungefly Disney plate. There are two side pockets on the exterior of the backpack, helping us tote our goods back and forth from tea parties.

The interior for this Mad Hatter Loungefly bag is ADORABLE! Reminiscent of the Mad Tea Party at both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Park, the white material is dotted with large teacups in bright colors. Its easy to find your pocket watch in the belly of this cute bag! There is also a Loungefly Mini Backpack version of the White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts if youre looking to expand your Wonderland collection!

Loungefly announced on their Instagram just this week that they are experiencing delays, much like the rest of us. They are working hard to answer all questions, process shipping of orders, and launch new products, but be aware they are operating at a much slower pace (and slower delivery time) than normal. That may be why we havent yet seen the Tres Caballeros Mini Backpack that was supposed to come out in May 2020. Were still keeping our eyes peeled for a new window of merchandise!

Though we might not see the Mad Hatter backpack hitting shelves tomorrow, hes being produced, and were VERY happy to say that well have a spot of tea while we wait. According to other concept art, there may be a March Hare wallet and Dormouse keychain that accompanies this collection (ooh will we see a pin, too?) sit tight and move down until we hear about an estimated delivery date!

Have you been waiting for a Mad Hatter Loungefly Alice in Wonderland release? Leave us a comment below!

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Lift A Cup of Tea To The New Mad Hatter Loungefly Mini Backpack - Inside the Magic

May 16th 2020

Editors note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hub

FOR A MAN acknowledged to be highly intelligent, Mike Pompeo has a long history of talking nonsense. As a greenhorn House member, brought to Congress by the Tea Party wave of 2010, he made his name by pushing conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton. He claimed, without evidence, that she was complicit in the murder of four Americans at an outpost in Benghazi, Libya, to a degree that was worse, in some ways, than Watergate. As Donald Trumps secretary of state, he has encouraged a comparison, popular with Trump-loving evangelicals, between the irreligious president and the Jewish heroine Esther. His recent insistence that covid-19 probably emerged from a Chinese laboratorya conclusion American spies appear not to sharewas of this pattern.

The world has taken that into account. While Mr Pompeo has enraged the Chinese, hardly anyone else outside the Republican base seems to have taken his allegation all that seriously. The other half of America discounted it on the basis that Mr Pompeo said it. Officials in Australia, Germany and elsewhere similarly cast doubt on it. It is hard to think the words of any previous American chief diplomat, a role traditionally considered supra-partisan to a degree, have carried less weight.

Yet, in an administration of mediocrities, Mr Pompeo remains a substantial figure. He is one of its last significant talents. Even his critics note his smartsfamously displayed in a stellar record at West Point and Harvard Law Schooland policy seriousness. His articulation of an America First foreign policy that engages with the world consistently but sceptically is a fair stab at making Trumpism coherent. Mr Pompeo, contrary to the impression he sometimes gives, is a serious grown-up, who has at least grudging respect from many in the foreign-policy establishment. His basic vision, of a confident America working with allies, is pretty standard foreign policy, suggests Leon Panetta, a former Democratic CIA director and defence secretary.

At the same time, almost uniquely among those who are neither related to the president nor rich, he has managed to retain Mr Trumps confidence. Since the sacking of John Bolton eight months ago, he has been the administrations foreign-policy tsar. Mark Esper and Robert OBrien, the defence secretary and national security adviser, are nonentities by comparison.

Hence his recent prominence, haranguing China and Afghanistans feuding leaders and this week flying to Israel to discuss annexation and Iran. Along the way he has secured a few small but worthwhile successes. Americas capitulation to the Taliban would have been even more hasty had Mr Pompeo not opened a diplomatic effort with Pakistan to slow it. This is a more nuanced record than Mr Pompeos conspiracy-theorising might suggest.

At the root of this is that he holds, and on occasion pushes, fairly conventional conservative views, yet is more willing to defer to Mr Trump than were Mr Bolton or any of the presidents other discarded advisers. Like Jim Mattis and John Kelly, the secretary of state has a bullish military manner that the president loves. But unlike the generals, Mr Pompeo, who served in the army for only a few years, is always ready to take orders. His China-baiting, an obvious effort to distract from Mr Trumps struggles with the pandemic, was a case in point. So, too, the many times he has found the words to defend presidential impulses he clearly abhorred: such as Mr Trumps threatened troop withdrawal from Syria.

Two particular reasons seem to explain Mr Pompeos flexibility. One is personal. After a promising early career, he spent 12 years in Kansas on a series of undistinguished business ventures. He then came to Washington, DC, hungry to make up for lost time. His attacks on Mrs Clinton were a statement of intent. Yet his subsequent climb is mainly due to Mr Trumps need for fresh faces for an administration that many Republicans were unwilling to join or, because of past criticism of the president, unwelcome in. Mr Pompeo could not otherwise have soared from a little-known congressman to a front-ranker with realistic presidential ambitions. No one in the administration owes Mr Trump more than he does.

The other explanation is that Mr Pompeo represents a broader politicisation of foreign policy, which predates Mr Trump. In 2013 he and Tom Cotton, then a fellow House member but since elected to the Senate, wrote a column urging Republicans to grant Barack Obamas request for congressional support for an attack on Syria. It is hard to imagine themtwo ultra-partisan Republicanssupporting any Democratic initiative now. This seepage of partisanship into one of the few remaining holdouts was perhaps inevitable. Yet it has accelerated under Mr Trump, in part because blaming the other side is the easiest way for establishment Republicans to justify his protectionism and other offences against conservative orthodoxy. It is no coincidence that Mr Pompeos signature concern, his extreme hostility to the Iranian regime and the nuclear deal Mr Obama made with it, is one of the most polarising there is. This makes it an issue the secretary of state might privately cite, if he ever felt the need back in Kansas one day, to justify any number of compromises for Mr Trump.

The hyper-partisanship of foreign policy Mr Pompeo has come to represent is a dreadful lookout, unworthy of his talents. It carries a risk of endless instability, with successive administrations seeking to undo their predecessors legacy, just as Mr Trump has sought to dismantle Mr Obamas. It also introduces a new rationale for American diplomacy as far removed from its expansive, globally minded strengths as it is possible to imagine. This wretched moment exemplifies that. On current form, Mr Pompeo will not be remembered for squeezing Iran. He will be remembered for undercutting the worlds reasonable case against Chinas handling of the virus by throwing mud for his boss in the midst of a pandemic. That is not American leadership.

Editors note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hub

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline "Mike Pompeos followership"

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Mike Pompeos politicisation of foreign policy is unworthy of him - The Economist