Posts on Tuesday, April 28, 2020
US health experts who worked in the Trump, Obama, and Bush administrations have called on Congress to introduce new measures worth billions of dollars they say would ease the coronavirus crisis–including daily stipends of $50 (£40) for people to isolate at home. In a letter addressed to Congress on Monday, the bipartisan group of experts outlined a four-point plan worth $46.5bn (£37.2bn) that could re-open the US economy after prolonged closure caused by the pandemic.(Snip) Andy Slavitt, the former Obama administration director of Medicare and Medicaid and Scott Gottlieb, the ex-Food and Drug Administration head under Donald Trump, said
Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan said Tuesday that he is launching an exploratory committee for the 2020 Libertarian Party's presidential nomination. The Republican-turned-independent said on Twitter that the U.S. was ready for new leadership. He also posted a link to a new campaign website.
“Americans are ready for practical approaches based in humility and trust of the people,” Amash said. (snip)He drew ire from President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans when he said the president had engaged in impeachable conduct as described in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.
As events across the nation continue to be canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, one is back on for this year.After 11 years of fireworks-free Fourth of Julys, Mount Rushmore’s celebration will return to South Dakota this year. The change was announced Tuesday and comes after an environmental assessment found that the fireworks display would not have a major impact, according to KOTA.Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt called the display an “incredible spectacle.”“President Trump and I believe that our nation's founding should be celebrated with the same pomp and parade that John Adams described in 1776,
New Jersey’s two biggest toll roads took a multi-million hit in lost revenue last month due to coronavirus travel restrictions. Revenue on the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway were down in March, as traffic dropped due to more employees working from home to avoid exposure to COVID-19.
New Jersey Turnpike Authority earnings dipped by $21 million for the first three months of 2020, said Donna Manuelli, Turnpike Authority chief financial officer on Tuesday. Toll revenue, which is the authority’s biggest revenue source, was down $23 million than what was budgeted for, she said. The authority earned more than expected from interest
New York — New York City and Newark were among dozens of city public schools asking for Congress to allocate $200 billion for schools in upcoming relief packages. The letter was sent on behalf of The Council of the Great City Schools which calls itself "the nation's primary coalition of large, urban public school districts." The coalition is asking for $175 billion allocated in educational stabilization funds, $13 billion for IDEA, $12 billion in additional Title I program funding and $2 billion for E-Rate, as well as emergency infrastructure funds. So far, Congress has allocated $13.5 billion for public schools in the CARES act,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hit back at President Trump after he mocked her for showing off an expensive freezer full of ice cream while millions of people across the United States suffer during the coronavirus pandemic.“He makes a big fuss about my having ice cream in my freezer,” Pelosi told MSNBC on Tuesday. “I have ice cream in my freezer. I guess that's better than having Lysol in somebody’s lungs, as he’s suggesting.” (Video) Her retort referenced Trump floating the idea of using disinfectants and sunlight to treat coronavirus patients.
On Tuesday, as President Trump and Dr. Deborah Birx conducted a news conference joined by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Yahoo News reporter seemingly targeted Trump, arguing, “Overall, South Korea has done five times more tests than the U.S. per capita. Why is that?” t’s why you’re ‘Yahoo’ and nobody knows who the hell you are. Nobody knows who you are, including me.”When Trump disputed the assumption, the Yahoo News reporter defiantly insisted his information was accurate, prompting Trump to ask Birx for the accurate information. After Birx noted that the reporter was factually incorrect, Trump turned back to the reporter, snapping, “Are you going to apologize, Yahoo?
President Donald Trump proposed from the White House on Tuesday that any bailout funds for Democrat-run states should include required changes to their sanctuary city policies. “We’d want certain things also, including sanctuary city adjustments,” Trump said. “Because we have so many people in sanctuary cities, which I don’t even think are popular by radical left folks.” The president spoke about the idea after he was asked by a reporter about providing rescue funds for states like New York and Illinois, run by Democrats. “That’s one of the things I think about,” Trump continued.
The Trump administration notified Congress this week that it will try to refill the money it took from Pentagon accounts to use to build the border wall by cutting European defense assistance. The move angered Democrats on Capitol Hill, who said President Trump is playing games with the Defense Department’s money, moving money to further his own ends and ignoring what Congress intended. To make matters worse, they said, is the European Defense Initiative is a signal of support for U.S. allies against Russian aggression, and cutting the money is dangerous. “Once again, the Trump administration is putting domestic political considerations ahead of national security,
Hillary Clinton: Coronavirus ‘Would
Be a Terrible Crisis to Waste’; Need
‘Universal Health Care’ replies
Be a Terrible Crisis to Waste’; Need
‘Universal Health Care’ replies
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic “would be a terrible crisis to waste” by not creating “universal health care.” Clinton, the Democratic Party nominee in the 2016 presidential election, was speaking to former Vice President Joe Biden in a virtual women’s “town hall” meeting, during which she endorsed him for president. Biden nodded in agreement as Clinton spoke about exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to bring about the left’s dream of “universal health care”: This is a high-stakes time, because of the pandemic. But this is also a really high-stakes election.
Did Joe Biden fall asleep while Hillary Clinton endorsed him during a live town hall on Tuesday?Hillary Clinton endorsed Joe Biden on Tuesday despite overwhelming evidence he sexually assaulted his former staffer Tara Reade in 1993.It wouldn’t be the first time Hillary Clinton endorsed a pervert and sexual abuser though. It appeared Joe Biden fell asleep during his live town hall with Hillary Clinton.In old Joe’s defense, nobody wants to listen to Hillary Clinton’s drivel. WATCH: (Tweet/Video)
No experts are remotely advocating for people to take up smoking to prevent COVID-19, but some researchers have theorized nicotine may be playing some role in keeping the virus at bay, Vice reports. That's because there's a surprisingly low rate of smokers among coronavirus hospitalizations. In France, for example, 25 percent of the population smokes, but only 5.3 percent of coronavirus patients have been recorded as smokers, and studies have found low rates in China and New York City, as well.
Greek cardiologist and tobacco harm-reduction specialist Konstantinos Farsalinos thinks nicotine (crucially, not tobacco) might be lessening the intensity of
A new Michael Moore-produced documentary that takes aim at the supposed hypocrisy of the green movement is “dangerous, misleading and destructive” and should be removed from public viewing, according to an assortment of climate scientists and environmental campaigners. The film, Planet of the Humans, was released on the eve of Earth Day last week by its producer, Michael Moore, the baseball cap-wearing documentarian known for Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine. Describing itself as a “full-frontal assault on our sacred cows”, the film argues that electric cars and solar energy are unreliable and rely upon fossil fuels to function. It
(CNN)Hillary Clinton endorsed Joe Biden during a virtual town hall on Tuesday, putting the support of the Democratic standard bearer from four years ago behind the former vice president and current presumptive presidential nominee.
Clinton touted Biden as a "friend" and a figure who has been "preparing for this moment his entire life," as she lambasted President Donald Trump as someone who is so ill prepared to be commander in chief that he appears to be just playing the role on television.
"I want to add my voice to the many who have endorsed you to be our president," Clinton said.
Say what you want about the Trump kids, none of them have been found with a crack pipe on them. The same can’t be said for Hunter Biden. I picked up the New York Post yesterday morning and found an informative reprint from The Intercept by Ryan Grim, who details Hunter’s dirtbaggery, including this revealing tidbit: “One particularly out-of-control bender, which included a crack pipe found in a rental car, took place while Biden was
Fifty years ago, women were still fighting for their legal right to an abortion. Now, it can all be arranged online.
A new service called TelAbortion connects women looking to terminate their pregnancies with a doctor who can virtually prescribe miscarriage-inducing pills to take at home, the New York Times reports.
And as the coronavirus lockdown stretches into its third month, women are looking to use the telemedicine option more than ever because of limited access to clinics, especially in conservative states.
Throughout March and April, TelAbortion — which is offered in 13 states — helped twice as many women obtain abortions than in January and February, the report states.
Expert: Working From Home Likely
Remain More Of A Norm Even
After Coronavirus Pandemic Subsides replies
Remain More Of A Norm Even
After Coronavirus Pandemic Subsides replies
With so many people now working from home, many employees and employers alike are now wondering if it will become permanent or semi-permanent. Andy Challenger of the executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas joined CBS 2’s Brad Edwards and Irika Sargent on “Hour 18” Sunday to explore what the future of work might look like given the changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.(Snip) about 28 percent of companies that we surveyed said they are going to make some of their positions; some of their employees permanently work from home employees. So they’ve invested in the infrastructure, the hardware, the software; created the policies, and companies
The mayor of a small New Mexico city warned there would be a “confrontation” between his police and the state if his order to reopen businesses was blocked.
Grants Mayor Martin Hicks allowed his town to reopen for limited business on Monday, in direct defiance of the statewide order in place by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in response to the coronavirus pandemic. He joined a few dozen supporters on Monday to rally in support of businesses in the city of about 9,000 people.
“The governor is killing the state over a little bug,” Hicks said Monday, according to CBS News.
The Democrat mayor encouraged businesses to open their doors on Monday,
Conservative activist and #Blexit founder Candace Owens has called out doctors and nurses for posing in a “blasphemous” image emulating Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic, 15th-century Last Supper mural painting.
On Twitter, Owens described the photo of healthcare workers imitating Jesus and the apostles apparently taken at a Paris hospital, as “nauseating” and “sacrilegious.”
She strongly disagreed with the implication that healthcare workers on the job during the coronavirus pandemic are comparable to what Jesus went through.
According to Summit News, the Da Vinci re-creation was posted to the Instagram page of the Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, with a caption that read “Huge thanks to our daily heroes!” as translated from French.
Crowds of people ignored social distancing rules to watch the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels soar over New York City's skies Tuesday. Pilots from the US Navy teamed up with the Air Force for the dazzling display over the Big Apple at around noon local time to pay tribute to the healthcare workers fighting COVID-19 on the frontlines.The Blue Angels had earlier issued a warning, telling people to 'refrain from traveling to see the flyover', tweeting: 'Residents should observe the flyover from the safety of their home-quarantine. Social distancing should be practiced at all times. Stay home and stay safe!'
Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fly over the
skies in salute to frontline workers.
See the photos. replies
skies in salute to frontline workers.
See the photos. replies
The Navy and Air Force have commissioned their respective air squadrons — the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds — to fly over Philadelphia, Trenton, N.J. and New York City as a tribute to healthcare workers and other essential workers in the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.The flyover is part of President Donald Trump’s Operation America Strong salute, which he announced last Wednesday.Residents within the flight path can expect to hear jet noise as the 12 high-performance aircraft fly, in precise formation, overhead. It should be visible from people’s homes, and the Blue Angels stated that people
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the federal government is on the hook for billions in payments to health insurers who sold coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.The eight to one decision clears the way for insurers to collect upwards of $12 billion via an Obamacare program designed to help insurers manage risks they took by participating in ACA exchanges. Congress has refused to appropriate federal money for the program since 2014, leaving insurers in the lurch.The decision is a blow to congressional Republicans and the Trump administration,
The cynic in me thinks the press will urge a nationwide lockdown unless and until a Democrat sits in the White House at which time they will take a harder look at the diminishing Covid-19 fatalities and the increasing cost of the lockdowns. In the meantime frustrated, increasingly broke Americans are asking what happened to such rights as free speech, assembly, worship, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, right to bear arms, right to due process in criminal cases and privacy.
Former Vice President Joe Biden ripped President Donald Trump’s policies Monday night, saying the U.S. needs to engage in more “economic intercourse” across the world.The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee told CBS 4 in Miami on Tuesday night that the Trump administration has reduced America’s standing in the world.“I would get much more engaged in the world. We can’t step back,” Biden said.The former vice president lamented the possibility of long-term travel bans being imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Small Business Administration's (SBA) emergency lending program reopened Monday to a crush of applications as business owners hit by coronavirus restrictions scramble to secure aid before the new round of funding runs dry.
The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) began accepting new applications this week for an additional $310 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses with new rules and money set aside for certain groups in order to broaden the initiative's reach.
But the agency's electronic filing system crashed within minutes of the program reopening, as a week-plus of backlogged applications poured through, raising concerns about how long the second round of funding may last.
“MAGA May Day” freedom rallies are slated to pop up across America Friday, May 1, aimed to send a message to “local and state government tyrants” that it is time to safely and responsibly reopen the country.
The “drive-in” rallies for freedom encourage participants to head to their state capitol or local government building to protest the nationwide lockdowns and demand independence from China, not allowing the country to “control trade, supply chains, or anything else that affects the daily life, health, happiness of American citizens.”
A schedule shows events slated to pop up in Honolulu, Hawaii; Phoenix, Arizona; Northampton, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; Huntington Beach, California;
Spring has arrived and nature’s “holy plan” brings back life, optimism and hope. It’s no ordinary spring as we collectively begin to emerge from imposed sequestration and economic standstill. As the productive engines of our economy begin to slowly grind again and we start to return to the normalcy of social interaction and daily routines, the 2020 political campaign will again move to center stage.
Books have always played a central role in presidential races. Barry Goldwater’s epic “Conscience of a Conservative,” written in 1960, revived the American conservative movement, galvanized its foot soldiers and made Goldwater its leader. It propelled him to the GOP nomination for president four years later.
NYC Hospital System ‘Quietly’ Testing Over-
the-Counter Heartburn Drug Pepcid Against
Coronavirus replies
the-Counter Heartburn Drug Pepcid Against
Coronavirus replies
Famotidine, the active compound in the over-the-counter heartburn drug Pepcid, has shown promise in treating the novel coronavirus, prompting New York to “quietly” examine the benefits of the medicine in combatting the highly contagious disease, Science Magazine reported over the weekend.
“If we talked about this to the wrong people or too soon, the drug supply would be gone,” Kevin Tracey, a former neurosurgeon in charge of the research at New York City’s Northwell Health hospital system, declared, according to Science Magazine, a peer-reviewed academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
“If it does work, we’ll know in a few weeks,” he added,
The latest statistics on the coronavirus pandemic have revealed that more men than women are dying from the disease. So what is it that makes women so much better equipped? Hormones, doctors say. Men make up nearly 75 percent of the coronavirus patients in intensive care or on ventilators at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Dr. Sara Ghandehari, a pulmonologist, told the New York Times. Meanwhile, infected men in NYC were dying at close to twice the rate of COVID-infected women as of early April, NPR reports. Estrogen and progesterone are critical to the reproductive system, but scientists have recently learned
Democratic leaders Tuesday backtracked on a plan to reconvene the House next week after rank-and-file lawmakers called the move “dangerous.” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told reporters Tuesday the decision was based on several factors, including a recommendation from healthcare officials. “The House physician's view is that there is a risk to members that is one he would not recommend taking,” Hoyer said. Hoyer told reporters leaders will wait until a second economic aid package is ready for a vote. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, and the House had planned to return. Now, its next
Indian Migrant Tests Positive for Coronavirus
After Illegally Crossing Border into California replies
After Illegally Crossing Border into California replies
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials report that an illegal alien from India tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) after he illegally crossed the border with a group of Mexican nationals.
CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan reported that Border Patrol agents patrolling near Calexico, California, apprehended a group of three Mexican nationals and an Indian national after they illegally crossed the border from Mexico. Border Patrol agents quickly returned the Mexican nationals to their home country under anti-coronavirus policies.
“On Thursday, April 23, a U.S. Border Patrol agent apprehended three Mexican nationals and one Indian national suspected of having illegally crossed the border along the U.S.-Mexico border near Calexico, California.
Police over the weekend broke up rowdy house parties in Chicago and said they were aware of video of one party that went viral, CBS Chicago reports. The violations of the stay-at-home order to fight the coronavirus outbreak came as Illinois reported 2,126 new COVID-19 cases and 59 additional deaths Sunday. Chicago is at the center of one of the worst outbreaks in the U.S. One video posted online shows a packed house at an undisclosed location, apparently in Chicago. The party appeared so crowded that the person recording the footage chose not to wade into the crowd on the
Progressives and employers encouraged many low-skilled foreigners to migrate illegally into U.S. cities, and now those migrants are being hit hard by China’s coronavirus because their low wages force them to live in dense, close-packed communities.
“We have have been officially declared as having the worst outbreak of Covid-19 case in the entire state,” Chelsea City Councilor Judith Garcia told Rebel Radio April 10. “A lot of the folks are undocumented,” she said:
We are a 1.8 mile-square city [in Boston]. We’re the second to third densest city in the state … We have working families that are living in apartments with up to sometimes 15 people in a three-bedroom apartment.
As Congress weighs another relief package amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has many small businesses closed until stay-at-home orders are lifted, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) floated out the possibility of a minimum guaranteed income for workers.
Pelosi said on “MSNBC Live” a minimum guaranteed income is “perhaps” now “worthy” of getting looked at being added into the next funding package.
“[A]s we go forward, let’s see what works,” Pelosi outlined. “What is operational, and what needs other attention? Others have suggested a minimum … guaranteed income for people. Is that worthy of attention now?
President Trump’s wall is the most aggressive border construction project in U.S. history — but it just got 22 miles shorter. The latest calculations for how much wall can be built with the $15 billion Mr. Trump has won from Congress or siphoned from other Pentagon accounts works out to 731 miles, which would be more border fence than every previous president combined has built. But it’s also 22 miles shorter than the Department of Homeland Security and the Army Corps of Engineers were projecting at the beginning of April. Officials said a certain pot of Defense Department money can’t stretch as far as they originally thought.
Some people might take issue with Facebook’s decision to remove posts attempting to organize protests against shelter-in-place orders, Twitter’s stance against presumed misinformation, and major news outlets acting as mouthpieces for the Chinese government. But by now, most people hardly blink at these heavy-handed moves to control public speech. They are told that dissent is either misinformation or hate speech, and, in the midst of a pandemic, such freedoms are positively dangerous.
(Snip)To understand how and why this happened, consult the story behind the last great (and now conveniently forgotten) coup of Big Tech censorship before Wuhan virus: the slow removal of the popular pro-Trump subreddit The_Donald.
On Saturday two California doctors of Immunology went on with KERO News 23 in California and made a video disputing the official state coronavirus policy in California.Doctors Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi said their facilities have tested over 5,200 patients for the coronavirus throughout the county, making up for over half of all testing in Kern County. According to their data, the death rate of the coronavirus is similar in prevalence to the flu. And they believe only the sick and elderly should be quarantined and that businesses should open. They also revealed that the state of California is pressuring doctors to pad the COVID-19 numbers.
The criminal case against Michael Flynn imploded Friday. First, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia provided Flynn’s legal team with documents discovered by an outside review of the Flynn prosecution — documents withheld for years. Then, Sidney Powell, the attorney who took over Flynn’s defense nearly a year ago, filed new documents in the case, revealing a secret “lawyers’ understanding” not to prosecute Flynn’s son if the retired lieutenant general pleaded guilty.
The criminal case against Flynn began when President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2017, to lying to the FBI about conversations he’d had with the Russian ambassador following Trump’s election.
The Democrats are taking their stand on the coronavirus crisis in an untenable position. It is like building a defensive redoubt in a valley surrounded by hills in the hands of the enemy (like the French at Dien Bien Phu in 1955, as President Eisenhower warned them). Whether this is tactical stupidity by the president’s enemies or strategic genius by the president or — more likely — a bit of both, is not clear except to insiders.
Readers will recall that the Democrats charged out of the gate on the issue of taking science seriously and reacting comprehensively; the president picked up the gauntlet
With more than 55,000 deaths attributed to it, COVID-19 would seem to remain a major U.S. health threat, justifying the closure of the U.S. economy. But if so, why is the overall U.S. death rate declining in the midst of a deadly pandemic?
It’s a curious thing. In recent weeks, despite a growing COVID-19 infection rate (due mostly to a jump in testing) and rising fatalities, the overall U.S. crude death rate (total deaths per 100,000 population from all causes) is falling.
That’s right, falling.
“Despite the panic over the Wuhan virus, it now appears that the overall U.S. death
A KHQ investigation has identified another convicted sex offender on the list of prisoners up for early release, as the state seeks to stop the spread of COVID-19 behind bars.
The Department of Corrections website indicates that Milo M. McCune was scheduled to be released yesterday to the community under the commutation program. (snip) includes:
- Eight repeat offenders
- Two people who have committed, been involved in homicides
- Eight confirmed gang members
At first glance, Las Vegas Public Radio (LVPR) looks like any other local FM radio station. It has local community sponsors, vaguely right-wing talk show hosts, and a website begging for a makeover. But there's a disclaimer on the bottom of that website noting that, contrary to the name, the station is not an NPR affiliate. That disclaimer makes no mention of the fact that LVPR, the self-proclaimed "People's Voice of Las Vegas," is registered to lobby for Huawei Technologies, a Chinese company widely considered a national security threat to the United States.
It looks like the next round of congressional battles over restarting the economy will involve Federal aid to cities and states. While Speaker Pelosi and the Senate Majority leader, Mitch McConnell, battle over money for the states, Mayor de Blasio is pleading for $7.4 billion. This is by no means the first time the Big Apple has asked for a Federal bailout. The fiscal collapse of 1975 is the occasion that most commonly comes to mind.
It turns out, though, just over a century ago, a now-forgotten New York crisis ended up establishing a remarkable precedent in American finance
On Monday during his daily coronavirus press conference his final question was from a liberal hack who asked him if the man who lost 50,000 Americans should be re-elected. What a disgrace. The reporter is Olivia Nuzzi from New York Magazine. President Trump masterly responded that the “experts” originally estimated over 2 million deaths so he saved lives. This is going to be the new liberal media line.
Public universities, state workers
expected to feel brunt of $700
million cuts in Missouri budget replies
expected to feel brunt of $700
million cuts in Missouri budget replies
Raises for Missouri’s low-paid state workers and funding for public colleges and universities are on the chopping block as lawmakers begin piecing together a revamped spending plan.
With the rest of the state’s residents under a stay-at-home order, lawmakers returned to the Capitol Monday with an eye on sending Gov. Mike Parson a budget blueprint by May 8 reflecting a steep drop in revenue because of the coronavirus.
In all, the plan advancing in the House is about $700 million less than what was in the pipeline earlier this year, before the global pandemic sent the economy into a free-fall.
Three days before Super Bowl LIV in February, a reporter asked what I thought about the coronavirus. Crazy, right? Back then, I had read a little and knew what type of virus it was and that there were a few thousands cases in China. I told the reporter as much, but added that I was trying to focus on football going into the biggest game of my life.
After my team triumphed, I went back to the parade in Kansas City, which is totally inconceivable right now. Adding a million people in the streets? Piled up on top of each other?
Despite endorsing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) criticized New York's decision to cancel its June presidential primary.
The twice-failed presidential contender called the decision "a blow to American democracy." The cancellation, which state officials say is necessary to stem the spread of the coronavirus, would also be a blow to Sanders's influence on the future of the Democratic Party.
"What the Board of Elections is ignoring is that the primary process not only leads to a nominee but also the selection of delegates which helps determine the platform and rules of the Democratic Party," Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver said in a statement Monday.
Peugeot car–owners in the 1980s came in two varieties. The first group owned their lovable lemons fewer than six months. The second group owned their mistakes for ten years or longer. There were no Peugeot-owners in between, except me.
In former times, Peugeot motorcars were well designed but their construction horribly executed. Manufacturing defects were legion, from crossed electrical terminals, where turning on the headlights also activated the electric windows; where adjusting the electric seats popped open the tailgate; where gas tank vents weren’t installed, so as the fuel level dropped, the resulting vacuum would collapse the tank, stalling the engine;
Why Illinois Is In Trouble – 109,881
Public Employees With $100,000+
Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $14B replies
Public Employees With $100,000+
Paychecks Cost Taxpayers $14B replies
Illinois could soon be the first state in history to have its bonds rated as “junk.” Last month, both Moody’s MCO and Standard & Poor’s downgraded Illinois debt to just one notch above junk status.
Last week, the Illinois State Senate President Don Harmon (D-Chicago) wrote a letter to Congress requesting a $41.6 billion bailout. Critics balked.
In many ways, Illinois may have already crossed the Rubicon.
Our analysis at OpenTheBooks.com shows that an Illinois family of four now owes more in unfunded pension liabilities ($76,000) than they earn in household income ($63,585). In a state of 13 million residents, every man, woman, and child owes
In the span of a week, and no thanks to the mainstream press, the accusation by Tara Reade that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s gained infinitely more credibility than any of the accusations lodged against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
There are now four people who say that Reade told them about Biden’s assault around the time it happened in 1993. And a tape of “Larry King Live,” during which Reade’s mother apparently phoned in to talk about the abuse, has emerged.
The story Reade tells is that while working in Biden’s Senate office, she was told to deliver a duffel bag to the once and future presidential hopeful.
Two exultant, full-throated voices in support of President Trump apparently have been banished from the airwaves of Fox News, Fox Business Network, and the Fox Nation subscription video streaming service that is endlessly promoted in place of advertising during commercial breaks on the cable news channels. The last time the duo uploaded commentary to Fox Nation was April 7, but no official Fox voice even whispered a word of their eviction from the largest conservative television platforms. But over the weekend, Oliver Darcy of CNN noted their absence on Twitter, and yesterday, Lachlan Cartwright and Justin Baragona of the painfully progressive Daily Beast broke the story of their expulsion
Will Kamala Harris Sink Biden?
replies
Let us return to September 2019.
There in Elle magazine was this article by California’s Democrat Sen. Kamala Harris.
The article was headlined this way:
Equal Justice Under Law? Prove It. Investigate Kavanaugh.
By this point, Brett Kavanaugh had been confirmed for a seat on the Supreme Court and sworn in for almost a year. But Harris was still fuming about his confirmation amidst a charge of sexual assault from his high school days. So the senator took to the pages of Elle and said this, with bold print supplied:
Our society is littered with glaring examples of the rich and powerful facing minimal consequences for their actions —
Mary and I live in a tiny town in West Virginia. Our grocery shopping options are 26 miles away in Maryland and 45 miles away in Virginia. Maryland stores refused to allow us to enter because we did not have masks. We drove to Virginia. It was refreshing seeing Virginians free to wear masks or not. I noticed that the majority of shoppers wearing masks were young people. Do they believe fake news media more that we older Americans?Stopping for gas, the gas-pump TV monitor showed the propaganda commercial we see plastered all over TV. “Stay home. Stay Alive.” With fake news media promoting their lie 24/7
Disinfecting the Left-Wing Media
replies
As well as President Trump has done in those daily press briefings discussing the federal government’s fight against the Wuhan ChiCom virus, it might be time to put those to bed.
The reason? He’s beaten the Democrat activists in the White House press corps to a pulp, he’s destroyed their credibility, and he’s captured as much of the confidence of the American people as he can in those press conferences. And at this point the Dem activists are simply going to report what they want to report, the facts and reality be damned. Trump has noticed that, skipping the briefing on Saturday
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is expected to introduce a provision to prevent President Trump’s signature from appearing on stimulus checks as part of the next coronavirus relief package, he announced this week.
Schumer plans to introduce the “No PR Act,” which would effectively prevent federal dollars from going toward “any material that promotes the names or signatures of Trump or Vice President Mike Pence,” according to Politico.
“President Trump unfortunately appears to see the pandemic as just another opportunity to promote his own political interests,” Schumer said in a statement.
“The No PR Act puts an end to the president’s exploitation of taxpayer money for promotional material
The invisible coronavirus has infected thousands of people, the country’s economy and financial stability, killed jobs and stalled the daily lives and educations of millions while corrupting political campaigns for choosing government’s next leaders at all levels. [Snip] But this nonstop saturation of body counts, unqualified speculation and unremitting gloom has also obscured a global rash of foreign events that collectively pose more serious long-lasting threats to
Like many Americans, I have watched too many movies during this seemingly unending stretch of glorified house arrest. (snip) Called Gabriel Over the White House, this 1933 liberal wet dream proved to be the most unapologetic celebration of fascism ever put on film.
I watched it wide-eyed. The movie opens with the inauguration of Jud Hammond. A laissez-faire back-slapper, Hammond sees the White House as a way to enrich himself and reward his cronies, Depression be damned. The audience assumes Hammond is a Republican.
The news about Joe Biden has taken on a completely surreal quality. For a long time, the headlines were about his declining mental state, which is becoming hard to ignore. This was bizarre enough in a presumptive Democrat candidate for the presidency.
Then, Tara Reade dropped a bombshell, alleging that the same politician known for publicly groping and sniffing women and children had sexually assaulted her. The media assiduously ignored Reade's allegations as long as they could and eventually reported on them only to dismiss both Reade and the allegations.
The media’s worst nightmare came true, though
As leaders prepared the public for what would turn into widespread shutdowns of business and leisure activities, they made it abundantly clear that the point was to “flatten the curve” of growth in coronavirus cases. That is, when it was clear that the virus could not be contained, the strategy shifted to an effort to space out inevitable infections over a longer period, so there were as few cases as possible at the peak. The idea was to prevent the number of cases from exceeding the capacity of the hospital system and thus saving the system from collapse.
Preparing for a hog hunt is like preparing for the end of the world. You need a reliable rifle and ammunition, of course, but you also need a bunch of other stuff—a sidearm, maps, binoculars, compass, flashlight, knife, raingear, boots, food and water, two-way radios. Once you’re all geared up, you can’t help but think that if the end came, you’d be ready.
The feeling is even more intense when you go hog hunting during a global pandemic. It might not be the apocalypse, but when it comes to buying guns and ammo—or toilet paper—it might as well be.
I know, because I recently went on a hog hunt in East Texas.
President Donald Trump’s legal counsel, Rudy Giuliani, in a recent chat on “The Cats Roundtable” on New York AM 970 radio, suggested a good U.S. attorney general move about now would be to investigate key members of the past Barack Obama administration on the Wuhan, China, laboratory, to see what they knew and when they knew it.
And then he mentioned Dr. Anthony Fauci specifically.
And then he accused the prior Team Obama of sending $3.7 million to the lab in 2014 — at a time when that same Team Obama had banned the funding of any lab that was involved in virus experimentation.
The Biden Trap
replies
In the world of political reporting on the presidential race, two seemingly divergent stories are taking shape and blowing up, respectively. And it’s the stuff of feminist nightmares.
The first is about the “veepstakes”: Because the world is topsy-turvy and former vice-president Joe Biden cleared the Democratic field in March, we’re in an earlier-than-usual frenzy of speculation about who his running mate will be. Biden, who has long been dogged by criticism on feminist grounds (stemming from his history of bad stances on abortion, his having permitted the ill treatment of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings, and allegations that he has spent a career touching women
A Rant against the Media
replies
Why is the first inclination of Donald Trump’s supporters to lash out at the press when he says something ridiculous? Part of it is political expediency, of course. Most of it, though, is completely understandable.
Even when Trump badly mangles science, journalists, who spend vast amounts of their time chasing gotchas, offer a misleading and histrionic rendering of his comments. Trump doesn’t want Americans to inject themselves with disinfectants or ingest bleach and die. Journalists know this.
The media are a collection of well-funded outlets that set the agenda, narrative, tone, and focus of coverage while conspiring with a major political party. Reporters don’t openly collude with Democrats
Mary Beth Pagnella, who has lived with profound hearing loss most of her life, prides herself on being an excellent lip reader.
But,amid the coronavirus outbreak, reading lips has become more difficult with state and federal officials recommending, and some requiring, people to wear masks in public.
"I feel so lost and out of place because [people] are wearing masks and I cannot read their lips," Pagnella told USA TODAY. "Not being able to hear is hard enough. Now, lip reading is hard, too."
We do not know whether the accusations that Tara Reade has leveled against Joe Biden are true or false. That is a question of evidence and of inquiry that might be answered as time rolls on. We do know, by contrast, that the double standard that has been exhibited by Biden’s campaign and by the political press in tandem is a national disgrace. Both culturally and legally, due process must be habitually applied to nobody or to everyone. If, upon the most frivolous and protean of pretexts, it is routinely accorded to one faction while being denied to another, it is effectively lost.
Though he has not deigned to address
What gives in the Flynn case?
replies
Those of us who have longed to see the vindication General Flynn in the case brought against him by Team Mueller have instead repeatedly been let down by the course of the proceedings. The case is complicated by General Flynn’s guilty plea to the false-statements charge and his reaffirmation of the plea before Judge Emmet Sullivan. Let it be noted that General Flynn is now represented by Sidney Powell. She has filed a motion seeking permission to withdraw Flynn’s guilty plea. I believe it is pending before Judge Sullivan.
This past February Attorney General Bar appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri Jeffrey Jensen to review
The Washington Monthly recently singled out yours truly as a typically deluded Republican, “desperately hoping” that Donald Trump’s presidency can be saved by anti-quarantine protests, which we envision as “a renewal of the Tea Party spirit.” This fatuous nonsense is presumably based on a hasty perusal of a column warning the Democrats not to belittle the lockdown protestors lest they provoke an electoral backlash similar to that which they endured a decade ago. The author of the article, Nancy LeTourneau, predictably deploys every demeaning cliché ever circulated about the Tea Party movement and the current protests that she can conjure, including the tired canard
Respectfully? Pretty much, yes, but the subtext of this request from the New Democrat Coalition leadership to Nancy Pelosi clearly questions the wisdom of her strategy, if not her leadership. With the COVID-19 crisis stretching out more than a month without any significant oversight in Congress, Pelosi appears to be facing a backbench revolt as House Democrats begin to wonder why Pelosi keeps them sidelined. Politico noted the frustration this morning, as well as the Washington Post, which reported on it first. “We’re basically ill-prepared,” one House Democrat lamented, but so was everyone else. Other essential businesses figured out a way
Lawyers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told a federal court in Miami that it has “no basis” for any oversight of “ICE’s administration of its sound policies.”
The Miami Herald reported Monday that the agency’s response was to a recommendation by Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman who said earlier that the agency should prove that it is working to speed up the release of non-criminal detainees during the coronavirus pandemic.
Goodman wrote a 69-page report and determined that the court could not grant the petitioners’ request for an immediate release of the “1,400 noncitizen detainees,” but called on steps to be implemented to speed up the process, Law 360 reported.
The Washington Post was slammed late Monday night for its bizarre framing of the latest developments that emerged surrounding the allegations made by Biden accuser Tara Reade.
Reade, who came forward last month accusing former Vice President Joe Biden of sexual assault as a Senate staffer in 1993, has had more corroborating evidence surface in recent days.
A clip from "Larry King Live" back in 1993 purportedly showing Reade's mother calling into the show anonymously and alluded to her daughter's "problems" she had with a "prominent senator" was brought to light on Friday. And on Monday, two more people, a former neighbor and a former colleague of Reade's, came forward to back
Former Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan spoke about the pandemic-stricken economy, the future of the Republican party, and U.S.-China relations to a digital audience at an Institute of Politics Fast Forum Monday.
The Fast Forums are a shorter virtual continuation of JFK Jr. Forums — formerly hour-long conversations with elected officials, political operatives, journalists, and activists.
Public leadership professor and former president of the American Enterprise Institute Arthur C. Brooks co-hosted the forum with Ryan, who currently teaches at the University of Notre Dame and is an AEI fellow.
A study released Monday by the Boston-based Pioneer Institute reveals a historic drop in national reading and math scores among U.S. students since the adoption of the Common Core Curriculum Standards a decade ago.
“Nearly a decade after states adopted Common Core, the empirical evidence makes it clear that these national standards have yielded underwhelming results for students,” said Pioneer executive director Jim Stergios in a statement. “The proponents of this expensive, legally questionable policy initiative have much to answer for.”
The study, titled “The Common Core Debacle” and authored by education policy researcher Theodor Rebarber, asserts the “shocking trends” in American student performance in critical math and reading skills
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba (D) of Jackson, Mississippi, issued an order over the weekend temporarily prohibiting law-abiding citizens from openly carrying handguns during the coronavirus crisis.
The Clarion-Ledger reports that Mississippi adopted open carry in 2013 and Y’all Politics quotes Lumumba claiming that “child deaths by firearms in the South have increased 72 percent.”
In issuing the order, Lumumba said:
The Open Carry law interferes with law enforcement’s ability to take illegal guns off of the streets. Prior to the Open Carry law, when Jackson police officers saw a gun in plain view, it gave them the probable cause to seize the weapon and determine whether it was an illegal weapon or not.
Byron Donalds, a Florida state representative and 19th congressional district Republican candidate, told Breitbart News Saturday that President Donald Trump will “reap the benefits” of voter outreach to blacks.
Donalds is running for the Republican nomination in Florida’s 19th district to replace the outgoing Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL). Donalds touted himself as the most conservative Republican in the primary.
Donalds told Breitbart News Saturday host Matthew Boyle, “Southwest Florida is a very conservative area and without question I am the most conservative candidate in this race. Like you said, I’m A-rated by the NRA, I’m a strong constitutional conservative, and I think that our voters want a voice in Washington
A lawyer representing the DNC and Clinton campaign provided Christopher Steele with information in 2016 regarding an alleged secret communications channel between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank, the former spy told a British court last month.That now-debunked tip, from Perkins Coie lawyer Michael Sussmann, set off a chain of events that led to Steele publishing a Sept. 14, 2016 memo accusing the founders of the bank, Alfa Bank, of having “illicit” ties to Vladimir Putin, according to a court transcript obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.A week after Steele wrote that memo, he had another meeting with Sussmann’s colleague, Marc Elias, according to the transcript.
A viral video made the rounds Sunday featuring Dr. Jill Biden speaking about “leadership” while her husband, presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, looked on silently, frowning oddly, as if unable to speak.The former second lady said:And together, we’re just getting started. This moment reminds us that the presidency is about true leadership: having the forethought to prepare for the worst, the backbone to lead through chaos, the character to move beyond politics, and serve every American no matter where they live or what they believe.
Every workday at Lenovo’s tablet and phone factory on the outskirts of Wuhan, arriving employees report to a supervisor for the first of at least four temperature checks. The results are fed into a data collection system designed by staff. Anyone above 37.3C (99.1F) is automatically flagged, triggering an investigation by an in-house “anti-virus task force.”