All kinds of screwed up If you took a time-out from the noise last night (good for you!), here’s one of the big scoops you missed, from Amy Gardner of The Washington Post: Georgia’s secretary of state says fellow Republicans are pressuring him to find ways to exclude legal ballots. In an interview, Brad Raffensperger expressed exasperation over a string of baseless allegations coming from Trump and his allies and said that he and his wife have received death threats. Raffensperger had some choice words for Doug Collins, calling him a “liar” and a “charlatan.” Oh, and “Raffensperger said he was stunned that [Lindsey] Graham appeared to suggest that he find a way to toss legally cast ballots.”  For the analysis, we turn to Ernie Smith: “This is all kinds of screwed up.” Steve Inskeep points out, “Disenfranchising people is, of course, how elections were won in Georgia, and in Lindsey Graham’s South Carolina, and other southern states from roughly 1876-1965. Now they can decide in 2020 if they want to go back.”
At the New Civil Rights Movement, David Badash reports that Marc Elias, a top attorney for the Democratic Party who has spent decades defending voting rights, is calling on the Ethics Committee to investigate Graham. The Georgia blues (and purples)  Another Post scoop, this time from Robert Costa and Tom Hamburger, who report that Republican leaders are increasingly alarmed about the party’s ability to stave off Democratic challengers in Georgia’s two Senate runoff elections — and they privately described President Trump on a recent conference call as a political burden who despite his false claims of victory was the likely loser of the 2020 election. (“Likely”?) That piece also includes “Karl Rove warning R’s about potential Bloomberg money, which is not in Georgia, at least yet!” notes Terri Rupar.
Alex Howard recites, “Now is the winter of our discontent Made inglorious bummer by this son of Queens; And all his tweets that low’r’d upon the House Impeachment charges by the Senate buried. Plots has he laid, inductions dangerous, By online conspiracies, lies & dreams.” That’s not exactly how I remember it, but it has been a few years.  Meanwhile, Nate Cohn, Matthew Conlen and Charlie Smart of The New York Times take a look at detailed turnout data that shows how Georgia turned blue. Matthew Yglesias points out, “You of course don’t ‘have to’ choose between mobilization and persuasion strategies. But what specifically happened in Georgia is the Black share of the electorate fell but Biden got a lot of white people to switch sides and back him.”
Charles Bethea suggests, “Let’s be clearer about the difference between a ‘Blue State’ (ie. California) and ‘A Formerly Red State That just Voted For a Democrat Presidential Candidate By ~14K Votes’ (ie. Georgia). Conflating the two isn’t helpful.” Still, Kevin Quealy says, “This map, of the shift in Georgia from 2016 to 2020, is one of the most striking election maps I’ve ever seen, and know that I am old and have seen many maps.” How much longer Other than, for example, Lindsey Graham, it appears that Republicans are starting to relent: ‘It looks like it will be President Biden.’ As Burgess Everett, Melanie Zanona and Andrew Desiderio write at Politico, there are signs that Republicans are starting to accept reality. Zanona puts it this way: “How much longer can the GOP refuse to recognize Biden as president-elect? With Trump’s legal challenges crumbling, states closer to certifying, and Biden's transition in limbo, the answer appears to be: not much longer.”  But you’ll still want to read that story, because as Ryan Lizza says, “These quotes are amazing: Wicker (R-MS) after Trump’s ‘I WON THE ELECTION’ tweet: ‘I wouldn’t have advised he put it that way.’ Cornyn (R-TX): he has ‘every confidence on Jan. 20 we’re going to inaugurate a president. And it will probably be Joe Biden.’” Brian Beutler agrees: “The quotes in here are so comically chickenshit.”
Torching the apartment on his way out In the meantime, the lame duck administration forges on, and we’re learning from new reporting by Eric Schmitt, Maggie Haberman, David Sanger and Helene Cooper of The New York Times that Trump Sought Options for Attacking Iran to Stop Its Growing Nuclear Program. But Pence, Pompeo, acting defense secretary Christopher Miller and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley warned him that a strike against Iran’s facilities could easily escalate into a broader conflict in the last weeks of Trump’s presidency. (So Pompeo admits these are the last weeks of the Trump presidency?) As Brian Katulis says, “There’s something's happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear.” This kind of story is why “December worries me,” says Erika Smith. “Trump is like an evicted tenant who’s trying to torch his old apartment on the way out.” And then there’s this story, from Juliet Eilperin of The Washington Post: Trump officials rush to auction off rights to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before Biden can block it. As Alex Leo tweets, “What evil shits.” Lorna Garey says, “We will be watching what companies take advantage and judging those actions with our wallets,” but Heidi Vella notes, “I'm not sure there is even much industry appetite for this. It really is going against the global trend.” She’ll be just fine So what’s the deal with Emily Murphy? Does she really believe Joe Biden’s not the president-elect? Well, according to a message obtained by ABC News, the GSA official blocking Biden’s transition appears to be looking for a new job. Katherine Faulders, Anne Flaherty and Benjamin Siegel report that Murphy “recently sent that message to an associate inquiring about employment opportunities in 2021, a move that some in Washington interpreted as at least tacitly acknowledging that the current administration soon will be gone.”  Put another way: “The woman who is singlehandedly responsible for deciding whether the federal government can start preparing for the new administration has been looking for a new job of her own, even as she holds off on letting others prepare for new jobs,” tweets Edward-Isaac Dovere.
His most consequential Cabinet pick Sources tell Kristen Welker, Mike Memoli and Carol Lee of NBC News that President-elect Biden doesn’t want his presidency to be consumed by Trump-focused investigations, and before you comment on that, Daniel Drezner points out, “Seeing a lot of folks tweeting out this story without actually reading the story.” One adviser told NBC News, “He can set a tone about what he thinks should be done.” But “he’s not going to be a president who directs the Justice Department one way or the other.” Matt Ford says, “I’ve said it before but Biden’s AG choice will probably be his most consequential Cabinet pick.” The pandemic’s devastating effects Here’s a headline that doesn’t mince words, or as Ryan Gabrielson says, “This headline not f-ing around”: After Big Thanksgiving Dinners, Plan Small Christmas Funerals, Health Experts Warn. That’s from the story by Ashton Pittman at the Mississippi Free Press, which also includes this quote from Mississippi State Medical Association President Dr. Mark Horne: “We don’t really want to see Mamaw at Thanksgiving and bury her by Christmas.” “This is how you do journalism. Every state needs a @MSFreePress,” tweets Anthony Pignataro. Meanwhile, “We asked, you answered: The results of a survey in which over 800 young people told us about their experiences during the pandemic. @FT teams working together. Beautifully written @federicacocco and produced @AdrienneKlasa.” Lucy Warwick-Ching links to The kids aren’t alright: How Generation Covid is losing out, by Federica Cocco, detailing the results of a global Financial Times survey that shows resentment is brewing among the under-30s. Cocco shares, “The pandemic & the associated lockdowns have had a devastating effect on younger generations. Many wrote to us saying they felt like sacrificial lambs for a generation that is more financially secure and politically powerful.” Unsurprisingly... Guess what? Facebook Knows That Adding Labels To Trump’s False Claims Does Little To Stop Their Spread. According to internal data that Craig Silverman and Ryan Mac of BuzzFeed News have seen, the labels decrease reshares by about 8%, but they still account for some of the most engaging posts on the platform. “The takeaway is, after years of planning, Facebook doesn’t have a way to escalate if Trump makes the same big false election win/fraud claim over&over, getting massive engagement. He keeps lying, his posts are at the top of FB, and the labels don’t work,” tweets Silverman. Next, scoop from Joseph Cox of Motherboard reveals How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps. The most popular app among a group Motherboard analyzed connected to this sort of data sale is a Muslim prayer and Quran app that has more than 98 million downloads worldwide. “This is wild,” tweets Imtiaz Tyab. “And, unsurprisingly, Muslim/Islam-oriented apps are the main targets.” In a Twitter thread, Cox notes, “But it's not just about the brokers. It's about the apps, developers, and users too. And app devs I spoke to had no idea X-Mode, who they sell data to, in turn worked with military contractors. The location industry is a black box even for ppl in it.” A story that gets under your skin “This is a jaw-dropping investigation by @bbcafricaeye. Among the revelations: they caught a Kenyan hospital official selling babies for £2,000 pounds and he seems to have kept his job. Top work by @petemurimi @joelmgunter and many others.” Kevin Ponniah links to the BBC News Africa Eye investigation by Peter Kinuthia Murimi, Joel Gunter and Tom Watson on Buying a baby on Nairobi’s black market. As they report, babies are being stolen to order in Kenya to feed a thriving black market. Africa Eye infiltrated the trafficking rings selling children for as little as £300. “Every shift there’s a story that gets under your skin & you can’t shake it off. It changes you and the way you see the world. It will live with you & stalk your thoughts. Today it was this,” says Victoria Fritz. “Horrific,” tweets Dickens Olewe. “Those exposed are still in business but after this expect a spectacle raid.” Gorgeous + sad  In case you missed it, check out David Hill’s piece for The Ringer on The Man Who Brought ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ to Life. Sarah Weinman says, “This is such a good piece on Walter Tevis, whose novel THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT is the basis for the Netflix series, one of my absolute favorites, and closer to autobiography than we realized.” Judy Berman sums it up: “gorgeous + sad.” But “What a life-story,” tweets GD Dess.
Ken Plume shares, “While it didn’t surprise me that the same novelist who wrote THE HUSTLER and THE COLOR OF MONEY also wrote THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, it did surprise me that he also wrote THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. Here’s a solid article about that author, Walter Tevis.” George Clooney still has the answers  Take a break with Zach Baron’s profile of GQ Icon of the Year George Clooney, which gives us George Clooney When We Need Him Most. “Good morning to my mom who refers to George Clooney as ‘my boyfriend,’” tweets Joseph Longo.
“How do you survive a violent motorcycle crash, then convince your mind that pain isn’t real? How do you pack a million dollars cash into a modest piece of Tumi luggage? To these and other questions, George Clooney still has the answers,” tweets Baron. Marc Istook notes that “The story George Clooney tells @zachbaron about giving $1 million each to his closest friends is so good it should be made into a movie starring George Clooney.” Oli Franklin-Wallis reveals, “I too would like George Clooney to come to my house and hand me a Tumi suitcase containing $1million.” Who knows. Maybe it will happen. As Rachel Simon points out, “George Clooney is, and always has been, the best Hollywood Chris.” Tuesday round-up - Damian Carrington of The Guardian reports on a new study that finds 1% of people cause half of global aviation emissions. Researchers say the Covid-19 hiatus is a moment to tackle these elite “super emitters.” Phoebe Weston says, “In my experience there’s a massive blind spot about this issue - this research gives a v clear picture of the significant environmental impact of frequent flying.”
- More depressing news for you: Hate crimes in the US have reached their highest level in more than a decade. AP’s Michael Balsamo has details on a new FBI report that was released yesterday, which also shows federal officials recorded the highest number of hate-motivated killings since the FBI began collecting that data in the early 1990s.
- “Give me strength,” says Dave Hill. A new investigation by Phil Kemp of BBC News reveals that a go-between paid £21m in taxpayer funds for NHS PPE. Lesley Riddoch says, “Today must be Boris Johnson’s dies horribilis. On top of his ‘disaster of devolution’ comment, the death of the union response fm ex-Tory adviser & ‘state corruption’ attack by BMJ over Covid, BBC says a US jewellery designer was paid £21m for NHS PPE.”
- Sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN that after turning down the chance to become the first $50 million per year player in league history, Houston Rockets All-NBA guard James Harden has made it clear to ownership that he’s singularly focused on a trade to the Brooklyn Nets.
- The NCAA announced that the 2021 NCAA Tournament will be held in one geographic area to enhance the safety and well-being of the event.
- “Quite some piece of writing this,” tweets Rom Preston-Ellis, of Jonathan Liew’s piece in The Guardian on the Mail on Sunday v Marcus Rashford: a sinister attack on a young black man. Randeep Ramesh points out, “.@MarcusRashford is the populist right’s worst nightmare: a young, black, working-class campaigner who bases his appeal not on culture war or tribal loyalty or fiery invective, but on unity, consensus, the common ground.”
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One of the more common mistakes members of the media and the communications business make is to use Twitter as a barometer for public sentiment. On the Muck Rack Blog today, 
Today’s featured journalist is 
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