Night Owls, a themed open thread, appears at Daily Kos seven days a week

Rachel Ramirez at Vox writes—“A multi-year fight”: Activists say passing local ballot measures on policing is just the first step:

In the weeks after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, calls to defund the police could be seen on protesters’ signs, read in etchings on sidewalks, and heard in chants in America’s streets.

Our project to calculate the 2020 presidential results for all 435 congressional districts nationwide makes its second stop in South Carolina, where Team Red enjoyed a stronger-than-expected year. You can find our complete data set here, which we’re updating continuously as the precinct-level election returns we need for our calculations become available. You can also click here to learn more about why this data is so difficult to come by.

In North Dakota, COVID-19 hospitalizations have risen so far that the state will “allow” asymptomatic, COVID-19-positive healthcare workers to keep working, Gov. Doug Burgum announced this week. Allowed. The lucky ducks.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in South Dakota increased by 26.5% last week, but Gov. Kristi Noem is still rejecting a mask mandate, and her spokesman points to the fact that 34% of the state’s hospital beds remain vacant.

Imagine being accused of hunting down and murdering a man in broad daylight, sending blatantly racist text messages, then having the audacity to have your friends argue you should be released on bond because you’re a good person. If you can’t even imagine it, it’s likely because white privilege hasn’t served you with the same optimistic audacity as it has Travis McMichael.

Donald Trump’s extended refusal to accept the results of last week’s election is making other Republicans nervous, but as usual, no one has the nerve to tell him to get over it, even as Trump’s tantrum undermines democracy and national security.