Trump’s Plan Isn’t Merely Cheating. It’s a Hijacking.

The president*'s campaign is stating, flatly, that it intends to pretend he won re-election because only votes cast on Election Day are legitimate votes. If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.       Chat Live with Charles P. Pierce After the 2020 Election   The Esquire Politics team is thrilled to invite you to our next live conference call with Charles P. Pierce, available only to annual subscribers of The Politics Blog or our new program, Esquire Select. On Thursday, November 5 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET Charlie and Politics Editor Jack Holmes will be hosting a call with members to check in on all the swirling currents in American politics right now: including, of course, the results of the 2020 election—should we have them settled by then. Jack will have some questions for Charlie, but more importantly, we'll be taking your questions live throughout the call, as well as picking from questions submitted when you sign up. We're excited to open up the shebeen again to you and all the regulars to chat with Charlie. If you're already a member of Esquire Select or The Politics Blog, keep an eye on your email for a registration link. If not, learn more here, and sign up by Wednesday at Noon ET to join. Read More           Trump's Plan Isn't Merely Cheating. It's a Hijacking.   The president*'s campaign is saying right out loud what it plans to do. There is brownshirt thuggery in the streets and a remarkable number of local police seem to be on board with vigilante electioneering. On the more polite side of things, the infrastructure of partisan finagling in the courts is in place. (The idea that there even is a hearing in a federal court on Monday that may result in over 100,000 legitimate votes in Houston being thrown out is a towering outrage, especially now that the Texas Supreme Court, which never has been a fraternal organization for democratic socialists, has for the third time declared that it wants no part of this decision.) This part of the operation, of course, was born when Chief Justice John Roberts declared the Day of Jubilee. Since that day in 2013, over 1,000 polling places have been closed in the states previously covered by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. After four years of installing Federalist Society bots at all levels of the federal judiciary, the architecture of a mockery is all in place. It is no wonder the president*'s campaign can announce so plainly that it intends to bumrush the entire process. Charles P. Pierce explains why this isn't simply "cheating." It's more violent than that. It's a hijacking. Read More           Donald Trump Is the Chaos. It Will Define Every Day of Our Lives as Long as He Is in Power.   As long as Donald Trump is in power, every waking minute will be defined by the swirling tumult of his relentless present. There is no future, only another day to lie and cheat his way through. Tomorrow does not exist until it's today. At the root of the turbulence that forms the undercurrent of every day now, the sense that we spend every second of every day on the edge of a cliff looking down at the surf buffeting the rocks of our own destruction, is the president. He did not create many of this country's problems, but given the chance, he has made them worse. And of course, he has invented a few of his own. We are all captives to the venal impulse that is the electricity of his twisted mind. It will not end until he is removed from power, a scenario he now seeks to prevent by marshaling the chaos for another great escape, the greatest-ever conman's One Last Job. Politics Editor Jack Holmes why there is only one solution, and it is available to us, at long last, on Tuesday. Read More           Florida's COVID Grim Reaper Isn't Finished Yet   Daniel Uhlfelder is a 48-year-old trial attorney. "Lawyer, husband, father, and budding activist" is how he introduced himself recently. He divides his time between his beachside law office—litigating divorces, shoring up property sales; his family, including an 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter; and, lately, touring Florida as the Grim Reaper, urging people to wear masks and social distance. This is new for him. Before the 2016 election, Uhlfelder used his wife's Facebook account. Now he's got 178,000 Twitter followers. He recently bought eight billboard ads ("The Grim Reaper Urges You to Vote"). His Grim Reaper activities now occupy many hours of a typical week. As COVID surges on, Rachel Wilkinson caught up with Uhlfelder about why his job isn't finished yet—and what he plans on doing next. Read More           30 Photos That Show the Eternal Cool of Sean Connery   In 1962, a tuxedo-clad Sean Connery pulled a cigarette from a silver case, placed it between his lips, and, while lighting his smoke, said three of the most iconic words in film history: "Bond, James Bond." Even if you've never seen Dr. No, the first Bond film, and, by the way, you should absolutely see Dr. No, you can hear that line. Connery's velvety delivery is part of our cultural canon, and through seven Bond films he came to define not only the 007 character but also the very idea of mid-century cool. Of course, Connery did more than play Bond. His career spanned decades and included an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1988's The Untouchables. He earned knighthood in 2000. Connery died in his sleep at his home in the Bahamas. He was 90. Read More           The 44 Best Books of 2020 (So Far)   Ladies and gentlemen, it's officially The Dark Time. As the clock falls back during one of the most singularly unusual years on record, evenings feel longer and darker than ever, like a yawning chasm between one day and the next. You may be wondering: how the hell will I fill all this time? Fortunately, there's a glimmer of hope for us all: these long evenings don't have to feel lonely or purposeless, if you have the company of a good book. After all, surely that hour before bed would be better spent enjoying a good book than doomscrolling while watching your thousandth House Hunters rerun. Our favorite books of 2020 are the ideal place to start building your reading list. Whether you're looking to lose yourself in a novel that will transport you to another place or explore the multifaceted world of short stories, there's something here for you. Our favorite reads of the year range from incisive reporting on hot button subjects like Silicon Valley and the housing crisis to exemplary, absorbing fiction about such diverse subjects as family, identity, and romance. With a slate of books this good, you'll have your evening dance card full in no time. Watch this space—we'll be adding more as the year progresses. Read More         Read More on Esquire.com       Follow Us     Unsubscribe  Privacy Notice   esquire.com ©2020 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019