Trump's former national security adviser accused him of treasonous conduct. And no one cared.

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( October 7, 2020 I don't know if it's because I just moved to a new city, but I feel like my tether to reality is growing looser by the minute. The last four years felt dystopian. The last six months, doubly so. And the last week? Hoo, boy. Our president is infected with the deadly virus whose seriousness he has downplayed ever since the necessary shutdowns started tanking the economy on whose prosperousness his 2020 presidential campaign hinged. Now, we have no reliable source of information on Trump's health. His [untrustworthy physician]( claims that Trump has been "[symptom-free](" for 24 hours. Trump's (by my count) more than 50 original tweets in the last 24 hours appear symptomatic of, well, something. Is this what it feels like to live in a democracy sliding toward authoritarianism? If Biden is elected, what will Trump's time as a lame duck look like? Could 2021 be even worse than 2020? At least we can watch [this video]( of Hamlet the mini pig going down the stairs to get oatmeal. As my colleague Molly Schwartz says, "Seeing that pig jump with unadulterated joy into that oatmeal never fails to make me smile." —Abigail Weinberg P.S. You might've heard there's an election coming up and [one party in particular]( doesn't want certain voters to vote. Join our voting rights reporter Ari Berman for a [free livestream]( with former Attorney General Eric Holder tomorrow, Thursday, at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT, for a deep-dive on the mounting threats—all of them—to voting rights and the election, and how everyone can be prepared to push back. [Timber Press]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Trump’s Former National Security Adviser Accused Him of Treasonous Conduct. And No One Cared.]( Trump is still helping Russia's war on America. It's hardly a story. BY DAVID CORN [Trending] [The Justice Department may have violated Attorney General Barr’s own policy memo]( BY ROBERT FATURECHI AND JUSTIN ELLIOTT [Mike Pence’s debate strategy is simple: He lies a lot]( BY TIM MURPHY [Trump showed up at his debate infected. The Biden campaign is trusting that Pence won’t do the same.]( BY PEMA LEVY [Donald Trump wants you to think his COVID diagnosis is evidence of his "leadership." It's evidence of his failure.]( BY JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN [Timber Press]( [The Mother Jones Podcast] [Special Feature]( [Trump’s Biggest Florida Influencer: A Cuban YouTuber with a Pet Monkey]( He voted for Clinton in 2016. Now his fans could be Trump’s most important new base. [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [2 Days Away From the 100th Birthday Commemoration for Saxophonist Yusef Lateef]( Friday marks the centennial birthday of Yusef Lateef, the late legend of “jazz” who rejected the word as politically and musically “degrading” and “limiting,” he said, even after mentoring John and Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders in modal motifs. “The word ‘jazz’ is a meaningless term that too narrowly defines the music I play. If you look it up, you’ll see that its synonyms include ‘nonsense,’ ‘blather,’ ‘claptrap,’ and other definitions that reduce the music to poppycock and skulduggery.” He died at 93 after having coined “autophysiopsychic music” to describe the expressive sounds of the physical, mental, and spiritual realms. Friday’s [livestream]( honors him with five performances and clips of his concerts, along with a gallery of his drawings. Lateef heard in the word “jazz” a reduction and ridiculing of his life’s work, but origin stories abound: A 1960 study compiled and tested theories of derivation, from the names Jasbo, Jasper, Jess, and Chas of the 1920s to a 1910s group called Razz’s Band. The New York Times posited in 1935 that it derived from “the West Coast of Africa” and “became incorporated in the Creole patois as a synonym for ‘hurry up.’” A later theory traced it to the Arabic jaz, and yet another to the French jaser, meaning “to chatter,” “to prattle,” “a playful whispering of little nothings,” according to a 1926 linguistic theorist. It’s also, of course, the devil’s music. “The word has evil associations,” a 1924 [Musical Courier]( article [coughed up](. “Jazz presents to the mind disorder…things unpleasant, or atavistic leanings of which we are all properly ashamed, or borrowings from savages or near-orgies that have quite properly been combatted by those who have care of the young and the morals of youth.” A 1949 DownBeat issue ran a [contest]( to replace the word under the headline “New Word for Jazz Worth $1,000.” First prize: “crewcut music.” Second prize: “Amerimusic.” Runners-up: “jarb,” “le hot,” “hip,” “sock,” “blip,” “improphony,” “schmoosic,” and “reetbeat.” “All of the judges concurred on one thing,” DownBeat announced, “that none of the hundreds of words…[was] as a suitable substitute for jazz.” “Autophysiopsychic music” may be the most fitting alternative. Lateef’s ear for history, language, and sound was both acute and wide open. He was born William Emanuel Huddleston in Tennessee. He grew up in Detroit and got his start with Dizzy Gillespie, but he continually defied easy categorization as a musician, theorist of language, and philosopher of mind who, in his 80s, taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst—which is hosting Friday’s livestream—and nearby colleges. “I wish I could be more like Yusef,” Sonny Rollins once said. The [celebration begins]( at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday. Before then, listen to [“Like It Is”]( from 1968’s The Blue Yusef Lateef. —Daniel King Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755