Posts on Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. were sued by California for allegedly violating a new state law designed to give gig-economy workers the benefits of employees. While expected, the lawsuit filed Tuesday in state court marks a serious threat to the business model of an array of companies that save on labor costs by classifying workers as independent contractors. If the companies ultimately lose the suit, they could be forced to pay for overtime, health care and other benefits. The complaint “asserts that Uber and Lyft gain an unfair and unlawful competitive advantage by inappropriately classifying massive numbers of California
Prominent Journalist On Tara Reade:
‘I Don’t Want Justice’ Or ‘Investigation’.
Just Beat Trump. replies
‘I Don’t Want Justice’ Or ‘Investigation’.
Just Beat Trump. replies
A veteran journalist who worked at various left-wing publications wrote a letter to The New York Times’ Editorial Board this week criticizing their call for Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden to be investigated over allegations that he sexually assaulted his former Senate staffer, Tara Reade.The New York Times Editorial Board called on the Democratic National Committee to investigate Biden in an “unbiased” and “apolitical” manner — a move that was widely mocked by others in the media.Journalist Martin Tolchin responded to the op-ed by essentially saying that he did not want the truth to come out because it was more important that the Democrats beat President Donald Trump
Martin Tolchin, a founder of Politico and former New York Times correspondent in Washington, DC, published a letter to the editor of the Times Tuesday calling for a Joe Biden “coronation” regardless of claims of sexual assault.The letter came in response to a recent Times editorial calling for the Democratic National Committee to investigate claims by Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, who claims Biden assaulted her in 1993.Tolchin wrote that he did not want Reade’s claims investigated — or anything else about Biden — because all he wanted was to see Trump defeated in November.The letter, in full, follows
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Tuesday in Baltimore with an infection caused by a gallstone, the court announced Tuesday, adding that she's expected to remain in the hospital for a "day or two." This is a developing story; check back for updates.
Biden's edge evaporates as Trump
seen as better suited for economy,
coronavirus response, poll shows replies
seen as better suited for economy,
coronavirus response, poll shows replies
NEW YORK - Joe Biden's advantage over President Donald Trump in popular support has eroded in recent weeks as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee struggles for visibility with voters during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. (Snip) According to the poll, 45% of Americans said Trump was better suited to create jobs, while 32% said Biden was the better candidate for that. That pushed Trump's advantage over Biden in terms of job creation to 13 points, compared with the Republican president's 6-point edge in a similar poll that ran in mid-April. Thirty-seven percent said Trump
The Chinese Dilemma
replies
The immediate aftermath of the coronavirus epidemic will be characterized by increased Western hostility to the Chinese Communist Party that will result in reduced trade, the reshoring of manufacturing formerly produced there and military preparation to contain Beijing’s expansion in the region. Australia is gathering international support for an inquiry into the possible Chinese origins of the virus itself.
The U.S. military is openly transitioning from a post 9/11 “small wars” force to one capable of fighting China. “Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, seized a small island and airfield with elite special operations airmen and soldiers as part of a test of its future fighting
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. dumped its stakes in the four largest U.S. airlines but the billionaire investor remains deeply exposed to the collapse in air travel.
Berkshire still owns all of Precision Castparts Corp., a supplier of aerospace parts that’s bracing for lean times as Boeing Co. and Airbus SE cut jetliner production. Berkshire bought Precision Castparts in 2016 in a transaction valued at $37.2 billion, making it one of Buffett’s biggest deals. (Snip) With carriers predicting that flying won’t return to 2019 levels for as long as three years, aerospace suppliers are hunkering down for a protracted slump.
Three organizations are suing Florida over vote-by-mail requirements they claim limit people’s right to vote during the coronavirus pandemic, amid ongoing efforts from left-leaning groups to change mail voting in the state. Citing concerns of COVID-19 exposure during in-person voting, the groups — Priorities USA, Alianza for Progress and Florida Alliance for Retired Americans — filed suit Monday in federal court in Tallahassee, alleging in part that the postage required for a mail ballot in Florida amounts to “an unconstitutional poll tax,” and that a ban on voter assistance violates the Voting Rights Act.
The suit comes during a growing legal push from voting rights organizations to change the way Florida
Unhold Act
replies
“You don’t know what a welcome surprise it was to hear from you,” Irene Garza wrote in her graceful longhand, in a letter to an old friend postmarked April 9, 1960. As she filled five pages of unlined paper, the 25-year-old schoolteacher seemed content for the first time in a long while. “I’ve made quite a few friends this year and am much happier than I’ve ever been,” she wrote. Of her love life, she reported that she had been dating two men but was coy with her friend about one of them:
A father who was left quadriplegic after snapping his neck in a horrific surfing accident is facing deportation - and could be forced to leave his young daughter behind. Damion Miller, 35, was at Newport Beach in Sydney's north for a surf on February 21 when he dived over a wave and broke the C3 and C4 discs in his neck and severed his spine. The freak accident left the father-of-one paralysed from the neck down and confined to a wheelchair. Mr Miller, who has been in Australia since he was a teenager, met his partner Celeste and worked six-days a week, paid his taxes and took out a mortgage
Guatemalan officials said Monday they would begin routinely accepting U.S. deportation flights again after being promised that every passenger would first have to test negative for the novel coronavirus. The country halted the flights two weeks ago after scores of passengers turned out to be infected with COVID-19. As of Monday, 117 deportees on four flights from the U.S. had tested positive for the virus, according to the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry. They account for more than 15% of all infections in the country. Guatemala accepted one flight last week after U.S. immigration authorities said they had screened all 89 deportees for the virus.
A well-respected University of Pittsburgh Medical Center researcher was said to have been on the verge of 'very significant findings' related to the coronavirus when police say he was killed in an apparent murder-suicide. Dr Bing Liu, 37, was alone at his home in the 200 block of Elm Court in Ross Township on Saturday afternoon when another man—identified as 46-year-old Hao Gu—allegedly entered the residence through an unlocked door and opened fire. Liu was struck by bullets in the head, neck and torso, and died of his injuries. His wife was not home at the time of the homicide,
When hospital CT technologist Louise Rogenski scans patients known or suspected to have COVID-19, she’s close enough to see the fear in their eyes. She never lets it show that she’s anxious, too — and not only because of the coronavirus. In a matter of months, the Trump administration could end Rogenski’s work helping the sick, potentially deporting her and other immigrant health-care providers to homelands they barely remember. Rogenski is a DACA recipient, one of about 700,000 who as children were illegally brought to the United States by their parents, then permitted to live, learn, and work here under an Obama-era program. Trump ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
LORAIN — It took less than an hour, at about 1 a.m. Monday, for someone to damage 200 years of Lorain history. Someone ripped out and broke two headstones from the Charleston Cemetery on Sixth Street. To rehabilitate and/or replace each headstone normally costs $1,500, meaning at least $3,000 in damage was done to the markers in one of Lorain County's original burial grounds. Lorain blogger, historian and volunteer Loraine Ritchey, of the Charleston Village Society, said she was "absolutely disgusted" at the vandalism at a cemetery that has been "abused for years and years."
Senate Democrats are demanding that the Republican majority agree to a fourth federal spending bill that would supply $1 trillion to state and local governments suffering from lower revenues due to the coronavirus.“The state and local governments need huge amounts of money,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday.Schumer criticized a plan by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to postpone consideration of new federal spending in order to assess the distribution and effectiveness of billions in federal aid
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called on Texans this week to snitch on restaurants if they have a good crowd.The young Houston area politician is a committed socialist. Last year she defended her withholding of funds from flood victims based on the color of their skin. In April Hidalgo threatened 180 days in jail for those who opposed her stay at home orders. And now she’s going after business owners.
Walt Disney Co. has long treated its parks workforce like an extended family, calling them “cast members” to emphasize their importance to the team. That’s one reason why the company’s decision to furlough more than 100,000 employees amid the coronavirus crisis has become one of the most visible signs of the economic devastation from COVID-19. (Snip)
Since the outbreak, its resorts have been shuttered, its blockbuster productions have stalled, and there have been no live sports for cable channel ESPN to cover.
Texas Speaker: Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot
showing ‘disgusting disregard for the safety of others’ replies
showing ‘disgusting disregard for the safety of others’ replies
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen warned Monday morning that major retail stores may be hindering the ability of smaller businesses to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic by not following guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.
"These owners are the engine moving the reopening of Texas forward so they can pay their bills and employees,” Bonnen wrote. "It is time we start calling out the retail giants for their disgusting disregard for the safety of others and the well-being of their neighboring businesses.”
The CIA Inspector General has taken more than a year to clear the release of a House Intelligence Committee report which contradicts the key conclusion of the intelligence community assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to the former chief of staff of the National Security Council.
(Snip)
A separate, classified report holed up at the office of the CIA Inspector General (IG) sheds damning light on the role then-CIA Director John Brennan played in the preparation of the report, former National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz learned from House Intelligence Committee staff. A source familiar with the report’s fate would not deny
that the report went
Police have stepped up patrols outside a cardiologist's home after he was suspended from his job and targeted by vigilantes who exposed him on social media for not social distancing at an anti-lockdown rally in Wisconsin.
Dr. David Murdock, a cardiologist at Aspirus medical group, has been banned from seeing patients for the 'foreseeable future' after photos of him flouting social distancing rules and not wearing a mask at a protest last month went viral on Facebook.
The doctor of 33 years was exposed when Kevin Rusch spotted a photo of him in the crowds at the rally and shamed him for breaking the state's stay-at-home order and
As Florida lifted some of its coronavirus restrictions over the weekend, sunny weather beckoned crowds to gather at newly opened parks and beaches, where public officials approved the springtime outings as long as people wore masks and kept their distance. (Snip) The scofflaws in the southern Florida city are hardly alone. People in many states have resisted guidelines that encourage or require face masks in public spaces to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The masks are hot, uncomfortable and annoying for many. Others consider the mandate to cover their faces a government overreach. Escalating tension over the precaution
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) explained in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN on Monday what the goals ares that House Democrats are trying to accomplish through legislation in the fight against COVID-19.“The White House says there will be a pause right now before they consider spending any more money,” Blitzer said. “So, how far away are we from a possible fourth deal?” (Video) “Well, I think you have to look to the base of support that we have for what we are proposing,” Pelosi responded. “As I said: Testing, testing, testing, tracing, tracing, tracing, treatment, treatment, treatment, isolate,”
Among the greatest honors of my life was a trip I took to Memphis in October of 2018 to visit the National Civil Rights Museum and receive the institution’s annual Freedom Award. While I was there, I had a chance to stand on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was assassinated half a century earlier, and reflect on all of the progress we’d made — and that which we hadn’t — in the years since that unbearable day.
The motel balcony leads back into Dr. King’s room — a room preserved just as it was on the night he was taken from us. The bed is unmade.
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre’s name has surfaced in an alleged multimillion-dollar welfare fraud scheme in his home state of Mississippi.
An audit of funds intended to assist at-need Mississippi residents alleges that the state’s Department of Human Services oversaw more than $94 million in improperly spent federal money.
According to the state audit released on Monday, $1.1 million of those funds went to Favre for appearances he did not make.
The Mississippi Clarion Ledger and Associated Press both analyzed the documents and report that the Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC) was one of multiple nonprofits tasked by the DHS with spending money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
What was believed to be an impaired driver on I-15 Monday afternoon turned out to be a child trying to make his way to California to buy a Lamborghini sports car, authorities said. A Utah Highway Patrol trooper who was looking to pull over a speeding vehicle on the freeway happened to notice another vehicle struggling to maintain the I-15 lanes shortly after 12:15 p.m., UHP Lt. Nick Street said. The vehicle was also traveling a little over 30 mph on the freeway. "When they found the vehicle, they thought 'Oh yeah, this might be an impaired person' and when the car pulled over, it even seemed more like
In 2020 America, we should probably have expected that the eagerly-awaited prospect of a return to economic activity after the nationwide coronavirus lockdown would be greeted not with cheers but with widespread strife. [Snip] It was probably inevitable that the initial “we’re all going to die” pandemic panic would decline as two realities set in. One, while the
ELTOPIA, Franklin County – For farmer Mike Pink, spring is supposed to be a time of hope, when he can survey a green field of young potato plants and anticipate the bounty to be pulled from the sandy soils of the Columbia Basin.
This year, this is a season when dreams die. Due to an epic potato glut that imploded his market, he has decided to do what was once unthinkable — destroy part of his crop rather than sink more dollars into cultivation.
That grim task unfolded Friday as a diesel tractor began discing under 240 acres of Ranger Russets, (snip) 14 million pounds of tubers.
An acquaintance with a moderate Twitter following has observed in these CCP Virus times, that On my Twitter feed it’s the liberals (without a single exception) who are the most absolutist about quarantine behavior.Golly Gee Willikins, how could that be, considering that our liberal friends are the ones in our society that most fervently profess their faith in liberation from hegemony and oppression?
For instance, in my North Seattle neighborhood you can see lots of #WeBelieve yard-signs that sprouted right after Trump’s 2016 victory, you also can see “Hate has no Home Here” yard signs,
Much has been reported in recent days about the manner in which the FBI “trapped” President Trump’s former National Security Adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, into lying in an early 2017 interview. Under federal law, it is strikingly easy for unethical federal officials to successfully play a game of legal “gotcha” with individuals they decide to target. This is precisely why we must insist on maintaining the highest ethical standards for federal investigators and prosecutors, which tragically did not happen in Flynn’s case.What the FBI — then under the leadership of the since-discredited James Comey – did to Gen. Flynn constitutes a blatant violation of the most basic ethical
In the middle of a global health crisis, New York State government has told some of the most vulnerable people living in the state: Sorry, we can’t help you anymore.
In a letter dated April 23, the Department of Health informed a small number of people living with cystic fibrosis (CF) that they would no longer be given assistance with medical payments via the New York State Adult Cystic Fibrosis Assistance Program (ACFAP). The program must be reinstated.
Battle lines are getting drawn up between the two parties on the next round of "stimulus" for the economy. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are demanding as much as $1 trillion more in federal money to bail out state budgets. The blue states of California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York are lining up to be first at the trough. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said there should be "no blue state bailout," and he is right.
The whole idea of the federal government giving money to states is a foolish one. It is based on the fiscal illusion that the
When President Trump brought up hydroxychloroquine as a promising potential treatment for COVID-19, a huge upsurge of negative political publicity followed from it. It was strange stuff, because up until then, the treatment, which had been safely used to treat malaria, lupus and athritis, had been seeing promising results for COVID-19, too. Yet the condemnations from all sides poured for weeks. It wasn't just the political establishment blasting it, it seemed to be the medical establishment, too. And that raises questions as to whether financial interests might be involved here.
In the latest example clarifying that Michelle Obama sees the world through the lens of color was seen in the former first lady’s new Netflix documentary, “Becoming.”Revisiting a sore subject, Mrs. Obama talks about the pain she feels over black voters not turning out to vote for Hillary Clinton in the same numbers they did for husband Barack Obama, according to The Daily Beast. Touting all the hard work “we” put in to build a winning coalition, Obama called it a “slap in the face.” “It takes some energy to go high, and we were exhausted from it.
White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci threw cold water on the theory that the novel coronavirus was created in a Chinese lab—contradicting what President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been saying, according to a report. “If you look at the evolution of the virus in bats and what’s out there now, [the scientific evidence] is very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated,” Fauci told National Geographic in an exclusive interview. “Everything about the stepwise evolution over time strongly indicates that [this virus] evolved in nature and then jumped species,”
Could we see an Obama back in the White House in 2020? Former Vice President Joe Biden says it's not likely to happen, but the "Committee to Draft Michelle Obama for VP" is working to build "substantial grassroots support for a potential Michelle Obama candidacy and help garner media attention for a vice-presidential nominee who has the power to beat Donald Trump," according to the group's press release. "Ms. Obama, the most admired woman in America, will be a vital asset this November, when Vice President Biden will face an uphill battle to combat the lies and deceit emanating from
Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott announced that country music legend George Strait will be the special guest for Tuesday's Stars of Texas Storytime.At 10:00 AM, Strait will read Gareth Edwards’ “Never Ask a Dinosaur to Dinner” via Facebook Live on Governor Greg Abbott’s page .In early April, the First Lady announced Stars of Texas Storytime, a virtual story time program for children and families during the COVID-19 response. Every Tuesday and Friday at 10:00 AM, special guests from across Texas read children’s books via Facebook Live on Governor Greg Abbott’s page.
If we presume that Joe Biden’s pace of mental decline doe not reverse direction, the Democrats will be stuck with an embarrassment leading them into disaster in November. Unless there is vote fraud on a massive scale, Americans will not hand the fate of the Republic to Grandpa Simpson (snip) There are contributing factors, his flacking for China as his son reaped ten-figure backing from the Communists, and his sexual harassment issues most prominently (for now). But the wiser and wilier among the DNC’s power elite know that they will not be able to hide Biden’s mental infirmity all the way to November third.
Few living Americans have ever seen the troubles we’re going through now. We’re not at war, nor are we enduring the moral equivalent of war. But we’re in a struggle. And for many, it’s been made worse by governors who have gone too far.
Gretchen Whitmer, the Democrat who thinks she runs, rather than serves, Michigan, might be the worse of the lot.
“She has,” say Andrew Fillat and Henry Miller, both regular I&I contributors, “exhibited a stunning dumbness that, even among politicians, is extraordinary.”
Her “decrees in the name of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 have been both bizarre
The new boss of NBCUniversal announced a surprise shakeup Monday that will include the ouster of its longtime NBC News chairman Andy Lack.
Jeff Shell’s restructuring means Lack — who came under fire after Ronan Farrow’s book “Catch and Kill” accused NBC News executives including Lack’s right-hand man Noah Oppenheim of killing his Harvey Weinstein reporting — will leave at the end of the month, instead of after the 2020 presidential election as previously planned.
Lack, who has also been accused of downplaying an explosive rape allegation against former “Today” host Matt Lauer, will be replaced by Telemundo chief Cesar Conde, who will oversee NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC.
There is only one reliable metric that reveals how likely you are to die from COVID-19 in a given state, and it isn’t what you’re seeing in the legacy media. The number of new cases and deaths, for example, are staples of news stories about the pandemic. Neither of these factoids, however, tells us very much in the absence of sophisticated epidemiological data that just isn’t yet available. A far more predictive metric is “death rate per million.” Why? Testing is far more consistent for fatal cases. By this measurement, you are probably more likely to die from coronavirus if you live in a blue state rather than a red
James Comey must be prosecuted
replies
Andrew McCarthy, writing in the National Review, outlined the case that the FBI, under the direction of James Comey, working through Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Andrew McCabe, and others, set up General Michael Flynn for a perjury trap. (snip) Comey must be prosecuted.He violated the constitutional rights of General Flynn and tried to remove a duly elected U.S. president. He prosecuted and persecuted an innocent man, General Flynn, for political purposes because he believes he knows better than the American voters who elected President Trump.
A prosecution is necessary to get to the truth of whether Comey acted independently or was following explicit or implicit orders.
Two Arizona sheriffs have vowed that they will not arrest anyone for allegedly violating what amount’s to state-required house arrest amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb insist Ariz. Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order is unconstitutional and they won’t enforce it either through monetary penalties or taking anyone, including a small-business operator, into custody.
Even so, both sheriffs seem to be taking a measured approach to their dissent.
Ducey, a Republican, has extended the shelter-in-place mandate through May 15.
According to Ducey’s directive, violators could face up to six months behind bars if convicted for a class one misdemeanor along with a $2,500 fine.
“‘Believe the woman’ didn’t mean believe all women, all the time. But this is an era of slogans, and we’re paying the price for that.” So spoke an adviser to one of the women now being considered as Joe Biden’s running mate, quoted by Politico. In other words, "believe the woman" was a lie.
What they meant was, "Believe the woman when she’s with our party and the man she's accusing is a conservative who might vote against us on the Supreme Court." So Anita Hill was a saint, whereas Paula Jones (who got a nice hefty sum out of Bill Clinton), was "trailer-park trash."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees in Massachusetts rushed officers, barricaded themselves inside the facility and caused more than $25,000 worth of damage after being told they would be transferred to a medical wing of the facility and tested for coronavirus, authorities said.
Roughly 10 inmates at an immigration detention center in Dartmouth, Massachusetts reported symptoms of COVID-19 to medical personnel, according to a press release from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office.
However, when the detainees were told on Friday that they would be moved to a medical wing of the facility and tested for COVID-19, they “rushed violently” at Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson and other officers
Free O.C.
replies
California governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order closing the beaches of Orange County, Calif., is what you get when you govern by Twitter: A news photo showing a crowded Orange County beach makes the social-media rounds, provoking the predictable outrage storm; Governor Newsom, rather than investigate, issues an executive order to placate the social-media circus; that executive order is based on powers that the governor does not enjoy, and the Democratic governor singles out the historically Republican cities of Orange County.
It is not even clear that there was a real problem for Newsom to solve.
One photograph did indeed show an Orange County beach looking like spring break; other photographs
Democratic presidential nominee-apparent Joe Biden got hit with a double-whammy today from his one-time allies in the major media. “How will the Democrats pull a Torricelli and replace Biden on the ticket with someone who can win?” used to be a question limited to the comments sections on the right side of the blogosphere. Now it’s a question debated openly on the op-ed pages of the MSMDNC’s two biggest newspapers.
In the New York Times on Sunday, “Catholic Left” opinion writer Elizabeth Bruenig argued that “Tara Reade’s allegations against Joe Biden demand action,” and that she “can assert with firm conviction”
If there was any doubt that Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was Target Zero in the Russia Collision conspiracy or that President Barack Obama was an active co-conspirator, presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway put those doubts to bed last week. (snip) Flynn almost assuredly became Target Zero for his willingness to expose and undo what Obama considered his signature foreign policy achievement, the Iran nuclear deal. Obama may have suspected that the deal was fatally flawed, but there was one thing he knew, namely that the deal was built on a framework of lies and deceptions.
We are currently in the third wave of the left's attempts to totally deconstruct America into the image of the leftist utopia. There is no love of this country or its traditions or its Constitution among the left. Remaking it into a radical ideological hellhole is leftists' only objective.
The impoverished and criminals are sacrosanct and must be preserved. They enable the corruption and absolute power the left craves. Two classes, the rulers and the ruled, constitute the society that the left requires. This is absolute evil, and it is the way the world has functioned for centuries.
The far-Left anti-Trump propaganda organ masquerading as a news source and operating under the name the Washington Post on Thursday published an inspiring op-ed entitled “As American Muslims fast this Ramadan, maybe the rest of America should consider joining in.” The Post’s articles exhorting people to keep the Lenten fast or the Yom Kippur fast have not yet been published, but I’m sure that they will be when the appropriate times for them roll around again. Won’t they?
In the meantime, I’ll consider fasting for Ramadan, but I have a fairly good idea of what my conclusion will be. The article’s author, the imam Omar Suleiman, “founder and president
China's Pandemic Escape Clause
replies
Yet another indication that China knew it was about to release a deadly and destructive pandemic on the world is seen in its last minute insertion into the Phase 1 trade deal of a clause releasing it from its obligations under the deal in the event of a natural disaster. It is another reason why China pushes the wet markets story about the origin of the Wuhan virus and dismisses a leak from or accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology as some tinfoil-hat conspiracy theory. If the lab origin for the Wuhan virus is officially confirmed, China’s economy is fatally screwed.
Trump’s Prospects in November
replies
Right now all the best polls show Trump trailing Joe Biden by significant margins. Why is it no one seems to believe them? Past experience, no doubt: Trump in 2016 ran ahead of his polls in most of the Republican primaries, and then again in November. True, the nationwide polls had Hillary’s popular vote margin over Trump about right, but that accuracy depended on the lumpy Democratic vote mostly in just two states—California and New York. The state-by-state polls were mostly wrong, especially in the key swing states.
The clever pollsters in 2016 wondered if there might be “shy Trump voters,” like the “shy Tories” in England,
Schiff: If Trump Were Removed by
Impeachment, Coronavirus Deaths
Would Not Be at Daily 9/11 Levels replies
Impeachment, Coronavirus Deaths
Would Not Be at Daily 9/11 Levels replies
Monday on MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said had the Senate removed President Donald Trump as a result of his impeachment trial, coronavirus casualties in America would not be on some days the “equivalent of the number of people we lost on 9/11.”
Anchor Lawrence O’Donnell said, “We can’t act even slightly surprised by this because you told us this was going to happen in your argument in the Senate impeachment trial.”
Schiff said, “Well, we certainly told the senators that he was not going to change, and there was no way to constrain him. That he is who he is,
The CIA Inspector General has taken more than a year to clear the release of a House Intelligence Committee report which contradicts the key conclusion of the intelligence community assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to the former chief of staff of the National Security Council.
The January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), prepared at the behest of President Barack Obama, claimed that Russia interfered in the presidential election in order to help candidate Donald Trump. The House Intelligence Committee’s public report (pdf) on Russia had already challenged the analytic tradecraft behind this central claim and suggested that the process
A three-judge panel in California has blocked President Donald Trump’s October 2019 immigration reform that requires that would-be legal immigrants be able to pay for their own healthcare costs.
The nationwide legal block — a “stay” — will allow the continued entry of legal immigrants who cannot cover the cost of treatment during the coronavirus epidemic. One million legal immigrants are admitted each year, regardless of the economic impact on taxpayers, home buyers, and unemployed Americans.
But the block may be lifted if the administration can get a reversal from other judges in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals or the U.S. Supreme Court.
Even if the stay is not removed,
As it was designed to do, The New York Times’ woefully mistaken 1619 Project just won a Pulitzer Prize. Worse, the award for commentary actually went to Nikole Hannah-Jones for her essay introducing the series — that is, to the article that brought the most sustained criticism from historians across the spectrum for its naked errors of fact.
The project’s central conceit is that “out of slavery grew nearly everything that has truly made America exceptional: its economic might, its industrial power, its electoral system.” Hannah-Jones even argued that the main reason American Revolution was fought to preserve slavery — a claim so contrary to the truth
I try, each night here in England, to watch the Daily Briefings by President Trump’s Coronavirus Task Force. Not only to receive the president’s message directly, rather than through a tainted commentary by the morning papers that seems to pass themselves off as journalism nowadays, but also as a medical doctor, to find out why the USA is succeeding at keeping its mortality rate from COVID-19 so low compared to the UK.
At the time of writing, the deaths per million in the UK from the virus is 405, while in the USA it is half of this and in Germany it is a quarter.
Protesters on Monday flocked to the Massachusetts State House in Boston, calling on Gov. Charlie Baker (R) to reopen the state’s economy.
Photos and videos show protesters taking to the streets in Boston for the “Liberty Rally,” holding signs reading “End shutdown” and “Tyranny is not leadership,” according to WCVB: [tweets]
"Americans are suffering due to the unprecedented economic shutdown imposed by the government as a response to COVID-19,” the rally’s website reads.
It continues:
The politicians, bureaucrats, and media remain gainfully employed while they callously dismiss concerns about the impact their decisions have upon our jobs, wages, and well-being. Massachusetts is the cradle of liberty
Pete Rose, already banned from Major League Baseball for gambling, is now accused of breaking another of the sport’s rules.
A former groundskeeper for the Montreal Expos recently told the Montreal Gazette that Rose routinely had an Olympic Stadium staffer cork his bats in 1984. Rose played most of the 1984 season for the Expos before he was traded back to his original club, the Cincinnati Reds, that August.
Joe Jammer, then an Expos groundskeeper and now a musician in London, told the Gazette in a telephone interview, “Pete Rose would have his bats corked in the visitors’ clubhouse at Olympic Stadium. I found out he was corking bats. …
Rep. John Ratcliffe’s (R-TX) nomination to become the next Director of National Intelligence (DNI) earned high praise due to his experience in national security and intelligence and his commitment to public service.
The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Ratcliffe, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to become the next director of national intelligence on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump announced his pick for DNI in February, describing him as an “outstanding man of great talent!”
“I am pleased to announce the nomination of @RepRatcliffe (Congressman John Ratcliffe) to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI),” Trump wrote in February. “Would have completed process earlier,
A landslide forced the evacuation of several residents in upstate New York and left homes dangling dangerously close to the edge of a cliff on Sunday.
Photos were taken of the area in Waterford, located about 11 miles northeast of Albany, which saw trees uprooted, much of a driveway destroyed, and one home just inches away from falling into the massive crater.
Authorities were told 150 feet of land slid into the crater and there is concern that more will continue to fall.
Flynn bombshells cast doubt on Mueller prosecutor
Brandon Van Grack's compliance with court order replies
Brandon Van Grack's compliance with court order replies
Explosive, newly unsealed evidence documenting the FBI's efforts to target national security adviser Michael Flynn -- including a top official's handwritten memo debating whether the FBI's "goal" was "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired" -- calls into question whether Brandon Van Grack, a Justice Department prosecutor and former member of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Team, complied with a court order to produce favorable evidence to Flynn.
Since February 2018, Van Grack has been obligated to comply with D.C. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan's standing order in the Flynn case to produce all evidence in the government’s possession “that is favorable
Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden is enjoying the benefit of armed protection while campaigning on a platform of disarming his fellow Americans.
On March 17, 2020, Breitbart News reported Biden began receiving Secret Service protection. Not only does this mean he is surrounded by good guys 24 hours a day, but it also means he is protected with the very guns he is trying to take from average Americans.
For example, a source told Breitbart News the Secret Service will protect Biden with pistols, semiautomatic rifles–perhaps ARs and/or Sig Sauer MCX platform firearms–and that fully automatic firearms will most like be part of the equation too.
[Video] President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign released a new ad Sunday promising an American comeback from the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
The ad celebrates the president’s promise in his State of the Union address to defend America from the virus, noting he was attacked by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and the media for his travel ban against China.
The ad describes the fight to recover from the virus as the “greatest comeback story,” featuring the American people working to defeat the virus and Democrat governors praising the president for his help.
Rep. John Ratcliffe, a Republican from Texas, is the right person to serve as the next director of national intelligence. Ratcliffe appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee for a confirmation hearing on Tuesday, and I urge senators to confirm his nomination.Ratcliffe has the integrity and experience to restore the confidence the public needs. President Trump understands that we need someone we can trust in leading the intelligence community. As a victim of the politicization that occurred at the highest levels of the intelligence apparatus under former President Barack Obama and his henchman, James Clapper, Trump is bringing in a person who can clean out the riffraff.
WASHINGTON — President Trump has announced his unlikely pick for Joe Biden’s veep: Elizabeth Warren. In an interview with The Post in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he believed the presumptive Democratic nominee “owes” the Massachusetts senator the top spot on his ticket because he never would have gotten this far without her help. “I think Elizabeth Warren is responsible for Joe Biden’s win because she didn’t drop out and [Vermont Sen.] Bernie [Sanders] would have won every single state on Super Tuesday,” Trump said, claiming Warren split the progressive vote. “I think he should pick Elizabeth Warren because Elizabeth Warren, more than any other person,
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy admitted Congress “will look and feel different” but still needs to reopen as he revealed details of a plan to get the House of Representatives back to work. The California Republican and some of his GOP colleagues released details of the plan even as the Senate returns to work in the Capitol on Monday and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to delay the return of House members.(Video) “This pandemic has claimed too many lives and livelihoods already. We must not allow the institution we are tasked with safeguarding to be the next,” McCarthy, along with Reps.
NBC News Chairman Andy Lack will leave his post by the end of the month as part of a corporation-wide shake-up, NBCUniversal’s chief executive announced in a Monday memo to the news organization.NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell wrote that the company’s news organizations — NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC — will be folded into one group, which will be overseen by NBCUniversal International Group chairman Cesar Conde. Top executives who will now report to Conde include NBC News President Noah Oppenheim, MSNBC chief Phil Griffin, and CNBC chairman Mark Hoffman. Lack planed to depart from NBC News after the 2020 presidential election,
A woman killed by an alligator at a South Carolina pond told a friend she wanted to get close to the animal and didn’t scream as it attacked her and dragged her into the water, according to a police report.
Cynthia Covert, 58, died in the attack Friday afternoon on Kiawah Island, Charleston County deputies said.
A deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from the animal, according to the police report released Monday.
The woman Covert was staying with said she didn’t seem herself Friday and walked toward the alligator, which lunged and grabbed her in its mouth when she was about 4 feet away, deputies said.