bonginoreport--2020-08-24--Postal Justice Warriors: Dem Attempts to Compare USPS Workers to the Troops in Hearing

Rep. Greg Steube ( R-FL ) , a U.S. Army veteran of the Iraq war , criticized comparisons between U.S .
Postal Workers and military service members during a Monday hearing with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy .
Steube raised the complaint at the start of his speaking time during a hearing Monday in the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform .
Steube said , “ First of all , as a veteran who served in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom , to compare our postal workers to our service members in Iraq or Afghanistan , quite frankly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steube offered his remarks after a Democratic congressman made comparisons between men and women in uniform and the postal service workers .
Steube ’ s remarks came amid hearings over allegations President Donald Trump ’ s administration is seeking to slow the U.S .
Postal Service ahead of the November election .
“ Last time I checked the postal service drivers weren ’ t getting their vehicles blown up by IED ’ s or shot at as they drove around and delivered mail , ” Steube continued .
“ So to try to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the battlefields across this world to our postal service members is frankly offensive as a person who served.
” Steube ’ s comments came after Rep. Stephen Lynch ( D-MA ) praised the Postal Service ’ s work during major historic incidents such as the Civil War and the Sept. 11 , 2001 terror attacks and said “ but for the good of the country , the postal unions continue to send their members into the post office to do their job to keep the country running.
” Lynch went on to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , “ especially when it involves our sons and daughters in uniform .
In this moment , it is our postal workers who happen to be our men and women in uniform .
They are on the front lines of this pandemic .
Throughout this pandemic , they ’ ve risked their own health and safety to deliver or try to deliver mail , medicines , and mail-in ballots to every American home and business , six days a week.
” During the hearing , DeJoy was questioned about changes to the Postal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliberate sabotage to the mail system .
DeJoy took office in June as the new Postmaster General .
Following an initial controversy about the removal of the Postal Services decision to remove some mail sorting machines , DeJoy said last week that he would pause the removals , which he said were part of a Postal Service modernization plan , until after the November presidential election .
Despite his decision to pause the Postal Service changes , DeJoy has testified before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House committee on Monday .

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), a U.S. Army veteran of the Iraq war, criticized comparisons between U.S. Postal Workers and military service members during a Monday hearing with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
Steube raised the complaint at the start of his speaking time during a hearing Monday in the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Steube said, “First of all, as a veteran who served in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, to compare our postal workers to our service members in Iraq or Afghanistan, quite frankly to me is offensive.”
The Republican Steube offered his remarks after a Democratic congressman made comparisons between men and women in uniform and the postal service workers. Steube’s remarks came amid hearings over allegations President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking to slow the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the November election.
“Last time I checked the postal service drivers weren’t getting their vehicles blown up by IED’s or shot at as they drove around and delivered mail,” Steube continued. “So to try to compare our military service members who sacrificed on the battlefields across this world to our postal service members is frankly offensive as a person who served.”
Steube’s comments came after Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) praised the Postal Service’s work during major historic incidents such as the Civil War and the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and said “but for the good of the country, the postal unions continue to send their members into the post office to do their job to keep the country running.”
Lynch went on to note the House Oversight Committee investigates issues, “especially when it involves our sons and daughters in uniform. In this moment, it is our postal workers who happen to be our men and women in uniform. They are on the front lines of this pandemic. Throughout this pandemic, they’ve risked their own health and safety to deliver or try to deliver mail, medicines, and mail-in ballots to every American home and business, six days a week.”
During the hearing, DeJoy was questioned about changes to the Postal Service, which had prompted allegations of deliberate sabotage to the mail system. DeJoy took office in June as the new Postmaster General. Following an initial controversy about the removal of the Postal Services decision to remove some mail sorting machines, DeJoy said last week that he would pause the removals, which he said were part of a Postal Service modernization plan, until after the November presidential election.
Despite his decision to pause the Postal Service changes, DeJoy has testified before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday and was called again to testify before the House committee on Monday.


bonginoreport--2020-08-24--More Media Madness on Coronavirus

More Media Madness on Coronavirus

In a Washington Post op-ed titled “ More Republican Casualties From Trump ’ s Coronavirus Denial , ” columnist Jennifer Rubin claims that “ red states ” —specifically Texas , Arizona , and Arkansas—are “ paying the price ” for their “ arrogant and reckless disregard of expert advice.
” In concert with Rubin , multitudes of reporters and commentators have declared that Republican governors have worsened the effects of Covid-19 by “ denying science ” and reopening “ too early.
” Meanwhile , they have praised Democratic governors , like Andrew Cuomo of NY and Phil Murphy of NJ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By misusing anecdotes and stripping data of vital context , these media figures have woven a narrative that is at stark odds with reality .
As documented below with credible primary sources , the hard facts show that : • the C-19 death rates in Republican states regularly condemned by media outlets remain far lower than in NY and NJ after more than four months of doomsday projections for Republican states .
• Republican governors ridiculed by the media have acted in accord with the facts of science .
• Democratic governors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that flout some of the most important scientific facts about Covid-19 .
The Bottom Line is Deaths , Not Cases On a near-continual basis since the outset of the pandemic , Rubin and many of her media colleagues have cited rising numbers of C-19 cases to castigate Republican governors for mishandling the pandemic .
A small sampling of their rhetoric includes statements like these : • “ In Arkansas ( home to Trump sycophant Sen. Tom Cotton ) , a debacle is unfolding.
” – Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post • “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ test ; Republicans did….
” – Paul Krugman of the New York Times • Republicans “ continue to peddle denial for political reasons.
” – Fabiola Santiago of the Miami Herald • If “ coronavirus has revealed anything , it ’ s that proud ignorance and do-nothing dangerousness is largely a Republican problem.
” – Jill Filipovic writing at CNN • The “ president and his Republican allies had urged people to return to normal ” in TX , FL and AZ , and are therefore to blame for rising case numbers .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the New York Times • Because Republican governors like Florida ’ s Ron DeSantis “ largely ignored ” the “ road map to safety , ” cases are now “ exploding.
” – Joanne Kenen of Politico Yet , more than a month after the accusations above were leveled , the C-19 death rate—or the portion of the population killed by the disease—in the state of : • New York is 2.7 times greater than in Arizona , 3.8 times greater than in Florida , 4.8 times greater than in Texas , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • New Jersey is 2.8 times greater than in Arizona , 4.0 times greater than in Florida , 5.1 times greater than in Texas , and 8.9 times greater than in Arkansas .
Of course , death rates could rise in the future , but there is a lag of about 15 days between C-19 symptom onset and death—and after more than 120 days of persistent media alarmism—there is no indication that Florida or any other Republican state is in danger of reaching the level of carnage in NY and NJ .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t prove that Republicans have done a better job of handling C-19 than Democrats .
This is because association does not prove causation , and numerous other factors are at play .
However , preventing deaths is the ultimate goal of C-19 policies , and death rates undercut much of the media hysteria over rising cases in Republican states .
One key fact revealed by death rates is that there is not a fixed relationship between the number of C-19 cases and deaths .
For example , the people currently contracting C-19 in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they are far less likely to die from it .
During Florida ’ s first infection peak in April , about 25 % of reported C-19 cases were among people aged 65 and older , but this figure plunged to 13 % by August 5 .
Death rates can also cut through the noise caused by changes in testing capacity .
This is important because the vast majority of C-19 cases are mild or asymptomatic , and greater testing rates can detect such cases and distort trends .
Between April 1 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per day in Florida increased by 6.5 times .
This can create an illusion of “ exploding ” cases when , in fact , Florida ’ s tame death rate suggests that a sizeable portion of the rise in cases is from more testing , which is a positive development .
In addition to ignoring death rates , Rubin and others have smeared Republican governors by calling them “ science deniers ” who defied “ expert advice.
” In reality , these governors have acted in accord with science , which is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the “ systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation ” ( Webster ’ s College Dictionary ) .
States like Florida and Texas managed C-19 by focusing on the vulnerable and giving healthy people more flexibility to live their lives .
This strategy is rooted in the following scientific facts : • Younger people are far less likely to die from C-19 than the common hazards of life for which governments don ’ t lock them down : • Since the outset of the pandemic on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1.0 % of all deaths of U.S. children aged 5–14 years have involved C-19 .
Among 15–24 year olds , this figure is only 1.7 % , and among 25–34 year olds , it is just 3.9 % .
• People under age 49 who catch C-19 and show symptoms are about 26 times less likely to die of it than those aged 65 and older .
• Because C-19 is highly contagious , it will ultimately spread if lockdowns are relaxed in the absence of vaccines or herd immunity , regardless of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not : • Even the Imperial College , which provided the impetus for mass lockdowns , admitted that the “ more successful a strategy is at temporary suppression , the larger the later epidemic is predicted to be in the absence of vaccination , due to lesser build-up of herd immunity.
” • The explicit goal of lockdowns was to “ flatten the curve ” and “ slow the spread ” of the virus so that cases would “ stretch out across a longer period of time ” and not “ overwhelm ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ widely cited “ flatten the curve ” charts , which show that lockdowns don ’ t reduce the number of people who catch the virus but extend the timeframe over which they catch it .
• Second waves of infections are not limited to Republican states that opened “ early ” but have occurred in places like California ( a heavily Democratic state that has barely loosened its lockdown ) , Spain , France , Israel , and Australia .
• Absent a vaccine , the only way for people to become immune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and recover .
A 2012 paper in the journal PLoS One about “ Immunity in Society ” explains that once a high enough percentage of the population has become immune , an “ immune firewall ” is created , preventing further transmission to those who are vulnerable .
• Lockdowns cause enormous suffering and death via consequences like unemployment , social isolation , delayed medical care , depression , and anxiety : • The United Nations reported that C-19 lockdowns are creating lethal mental health problems through an array of mechanisms like separating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ vast numbers ” of lost livelihoods .
• A 2011 meta-analysis in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that “ unemployment is associated with a substantially increased risk of death among broad segments of the population.
” • Government-mandated and personal decisions to delay medical care because of C-19 have postponed tumor removals , cancer screenings , heart surgeries , and treatments for other ailments that can lead to early death if not addressed in a timely manner .
• To quantify just one element of the death tradeoff for lockdowns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that found anxiety related to C-19 will destroy at least seven times more years of life than can possibly be saved by lockdowns .
After reviewing this study , the accomplished psychiatrist Joseph P. Damore , Jr. concluded that it “ thoroughly answers the question about the cure being worse than the disease.
” Republican states that crafted their C-19 policies around the scientific facts above have drastically lower death rates than the oft-praised states of New York and New Jersey .
Again , this association does not prove that Republican governors managed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , it is flagrantly deceitful to report that Republican states “ peddle denial , ” put “ the economy over health , ” or failed “ the Covid-19 test , ” when in fact , their death rates are extremely low , and their actions align with crucial scientific facts .
In the same piece in which she vilifies “ science-denying Republican leaders , ” Rubin accuses them of having “ blood on their hands ” because they made “ premature , rash and uninformed ” decisions that led to “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually applies to the decisions of prominent Democrats , namely Phil Murphy and Andrew Cuomo ( who Rubin lauds ) .
Both Murphy and Cuomo forced nursing homes to admit and readmit people who were infected with C-19 .
This mandate was at direct odds with two essential scientific facts that were widely known since the outset of the pandemic : • Elderly people and those with chronic ailments—who are the very definition of nursing home residents—are extremely vulnerable to the virus .
• The virus is highly transmissible , and thus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sickly and/or aged people who live together .
Including an estimated 18 days between infection and death , over 5,900 nursing home patients in NY and 3,400 in NJ were lost by the time Cuomo and Murphy rescinded their policies .
Furthermore , the NY nursing home death toll is greatly understated because Cuomo ’ s Department of Health excludes residents who catch the disease in a nursing home but die “ outside of the facility.
” Thus , the official figure may undercount the actual number by thousands of deaths .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Cuomo has repeatedly blamed others for the nursing home carnage in his state , but none of his explanations hold water : • Cuomo first faulted nursing homes , stating that they were only required to readmit C-19 patients “ if they have the ability to provide the adequate level of care.
” However , Cuomo ’ s executive order : • unequivocally states in underlined text , “ No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH [ nursing home ] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it impossible for homes to know if they could provide appropriate care by banning them from “ requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.
” • never mentioned or implied that it is illegal under NY State law for nursing homes to accept someone they can not care for properly .
• Cuomo then claimed that his order “ followed President Trump ’ s CDC guidance , ” but the truth is that this guidance : • states that C-19 patients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adequate personal protective equipment supplies and an ability to adhere to infection prevention….
” • Cuomo ’ s top aide , Melissa DeRosa later said that his policy was “ in-line directly ” with directives from the Trump administration ’ s Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services ( CMS ) , but to the contrary : • 12 days before Cuomo ’ s order , CMS warned that homes must be “ vigilant in identifying any possible infected individuals ” and “ follow CDC guidance.
” • CMS administrator Seema Verma directly responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the CMS was “ clear and unmistakable ” in stating that nursing homes should reject people that they can not care for , and “ any insinuation to the contrary is woefully mistaken at best and dishonest at worst.
” • After that , Cuomo claimed that NY “ had more people die ” because the Trump administration “ missed the boat and never told us that this virus was coming from Europe and not from China.
” In reality , the Trump administration issued a near-total ban on travel from Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health Organization declared C-19 a pandemic ( March 11 ) .
Yet , Cuomo did not announce a stay-at-home order until more than a week later on March 20 .
• Finally , Cuomo ’ s Department of Health published a report that returned to blaming nursing homes while claiming that his policy was not a “ significant factor ” in fatalities .
However , the report : • misinterprets association as causation by arguing that a “ link between the timing of staff infection and nursing home fatalities ” proves the nursing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
• uses a false measure of timing based on the number of homes with an infected staff member instead of the actual number of infected staff members .
• uses grossly incomplete data that excludes residents who caught the virus in nursing homes but died “ outside of the facility , ” a figure that could number in the thousands .
So in the face of proven scientific facts and crystal clear guidance from the CDC and CMS , these Democrat governors forced C-19 carriers into the vicinity of the people who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Rubin , cheers Cuomo for taking “ responsibility , ” his “ remarkable success ” in battling C-19 , and his “ effective takedown ” of President Trump ’ s science “ denial.
” The impact of the media ’ s misinformation stretches well beyond politics and can have deadly consequences for American citizens .
For a prime example , NJ Advance Media published an article by reporter Steve Politi titled , “ ‘ I Hate Florida !
’ How the Coronavirus Convinced One NJ Snowbird to Fly Back Home.
” Politi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face it , who among us hasn ’ t shaken our heads in disgust at Florida during this pandemic ?
” • “ The hashtag # FloridaMorons was trending on Twitter over the weekend when—days after the state recorded its highest death toll—thousands of people flocked to the just-reopened beaches.
” Politi then applauds a NJ native ’ s rant against Florida and her decision to move back to NJ , thus implying that Jersey is much safer than Florida .
Yet , Politi fails to mention that the C-19 death rate was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida when he wrote this article .
Despite Florida ’ s large elderly population , who are at a much higher risk to die of C-19 , the state ’ s death rate is still 4.0 times lower than New Jersey .
This is nearly five months since the Miami Herald editorial board lectured Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to “ act like you give a damn ” about C-19 and “ quickly ” seek guidance from the governors of NY , CT , and CA .
Since the time that the Herald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 deaths rates have progressed as follows : Rather than painting an accurate picture of reality , Rubin and many other people in the media have spread a counter-factual narrative that Republican states , like FL and TX , have mishandled C-19 while Democratic states like NY and NJ and done wonderfully .
Masses of Americans make crucial life decisions based on what the media reports , and twisting facts is the worst possible way to ensure their health and safety .

By Anna Lynn and James Agresti
August 24, 2020
Overview
In a Washington Post op-ed titled “More Republican Casualties From Trump’s Coronavirus Denial,” columnist Jennifer Rubin claims that “red states”—specifically Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas—are “paying the price” for their “arrogant and reckless disregard of expert advice.”
In concert with Rubin, multitudes of reporters and commentators have declared that Republican governors have worsened the effects of Covid-19 by “denying science” and reopening “too early.” Meanwhile, they have praised Democratic governors, like Andrew Cuomo of NY and Phil Murphy of NJ, for their handling of the pandemic.
By misusing anecdotes and stripping data of vital context, these media figures have woven a narrative that is at stark odds with reality. As documented below with credible primary sources, the hard facts show that:
the C-19 death rates in Republican states regularly condemned by media outlets remain far lower than in NY and NJ after more than four months of doomsday projections for Republican states.
Republican governors ridiculed by the media have acted in accord with the facts of science.
Democratic governors cheered by the media have enacted policies that flout some of the most important scientific facts about Covid-19.
The Bottom Line is Deaths, Not Cases
On a near-continual basis since the outset of the pandemic, Rubin and many of her media colleagues have cited rising numbers of C-19 cases to castigate Republican governors for mishandling the pandemic. A small sampling of their rhetoric includes statements like these:
“In Arkansas (home to Trump sycophant Sen. Tom Cotton), a debacle is unfolding.”
– Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post
– Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post “Americans didn’t fail the Covid-19 test; Republicans did….”
– Paul Krugman of the New York Times
– Paul Krugman of the New York Times Republicans “continue to peddle denial for political reasons.”
– Fabiola Santiago of the Miami Herald
– Fabiola Santiago of the Miami Herald If “coronavirus has revealed anything, it’s that proud ignorance and do-nothing dangerousness is largely a Republican problem.”
– Jill Filipovic writing at CNN
– Jill Filipovic writing at CNN The “president and his Republican allies had urged people to return to normal” in TX, FL and AZ, and are therefore to blame for rising case numbers.
– Michael Shear and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times
– Michael Shear and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times Because Republican governors like Florida’s Ron DeSantis “largely ignored” the “road map to safety,” cases are now “exploding.”
– Joanne Kenen of Politico
Yet, more than a month after the accusations above were leveled, the C-19 death rate—or the portion of the population killed by the disease—in the state of:
New York is 2.7 times greater than in Arizona, 3.8 times greater than in Florida, 4.8 times greater than in Texas, and 8.4 times greater than in Arkansas.
New Jersey is 2.8 times greater than in Arizona, 4.0 times greater than in Florida, 5.1 times greater than in Texas, and 8.9 times greater than in Arkansas.
Of course, death rates could rise in the future, but there is a lag of about 15 days between C-19 symptom onset and death—and after more than 120 days of persistent media alarmism—there is no indication that Florida or any other Republican state is in danger of reaching the level of carnage in NY and NJ.
On their own, death rates don’t prove that Republicans have done a better job of handling C-19 than Democrats. This is because association does not prove causation, and numerous other factors are at play. However, preventing deaths is the ultimate goal of C-19 policies, and death rates undercut much of the media hysteria over rising cases in Republican states.
One key fact revealed by death rates is that there is not a fixed relationship between the number of C-19 cases and deaths. For example, the people currently contracting C-19 in Florida are relatively young, and thus, they are far less likely to die from it. During Florida’s first infection peak in April, about 25% of reported C-19 cases were among people aged 65 and older, but this figure plunged to 13% by August 5.
Death rates can also cut through the noise caused by changes in testing capacity. This is important because the vast majority of C-19 cases are mild or asymptomatic, and greater testing rates can detect such cases and distort trends. Between April 1 and July 13, the number of tests per day in Florida increased by 6.5 times. This can create an illusion of “exploding” cases when, in fact, Florida’s tame death rate suggests that a sizeable portion of the rise in cases is from more testing, which is a positive development.
The Scientific Approach
In addition to ignoring death rates, Rubin and others have smeared Republican governors by calling them “science deniers” who defied “expert advice.” In reality, these governors have acted in accord with science, which is not the claims of cherry-picked “experts” but the “systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation” (Webster’s College Dictionary).
States like Florida and Texas managed C-19 by focusing on the vulnerable and giving healthy people more flexibility to live their lives. This strategy is rooted in the following scientific facts:
Younger people are far less likely to die from C-19 than the common hazards of life for which governments don’t lock them down: Since the outset of the pandemic on March 11 through July 25, merely 1.0% of all deaths of U.S. children aged 5–14 years have involved C-19. Among 15–24 year olds, this figure is only 1.7%, and among 25–34 year olds, it is just 3.9%. People under age 49 who catch C-19 and show symptoms are about 26 times less likely to die of it than those aged 65 and older.
Because C-19 is highly contagious, it will ultimately spread if lockdowns are relaxed in the absence of vaccines or herd immunity, regardless of whether states open “early” or not: Even the Imperial College, which provided the impetus for mass lockdowns, admitted that the “more successful a strategy is at temporary suppression, the larger the later epidemic is predicted to be in the absence of vaccination, due to lesser build-up of herd immunity.” The explicit goal of lockdowns was to “flatten the curve” and “slow the spread” of the virus so that cases would “stretch out across a longer period of time” and not “overwhelm” hospitals. This is illustrated by the widely cited “flatten the curve” charts, which show that lockdowns don’t reduce the number of people who catch the virus but extend the timeframe over which they catch it.
Second waves of infections are not limited to Republican states that opened “early” but have occurred in places like California (a heavily Democratic state that has barely loosened its lockdown), Spain, France, Israel, and Australia.
Absent a vaccine, the only way for people to become immune to C-19 is to catch the virus and recover. A 2012 paper in the journal PLoS One about “Immunity in Society” explains that once a high enough percentage of the population has become immune, an “immune firewall” is created, preventing further transmission to those who are vulnerable.
Lockdowns cause enormous suffering and death via consequences like unemployment, social isolation, delayed medical care, depression, and anxiety: The United Nations reported that C-19 lockdowns are creating lethal mental health problems through an array of mechanisms like separating people “from loved ones” and “vast numbers” of lost livelihoods. A 2011 meta-analysis in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that “unemployment is associated with a substantially increased risk of death among broad segments of the population.” Government-mandated and personal decisions to delay medical care because of C-19 have postponed tumor removals, cancer screenings, heart surgeries, and treatments for other ailments that can lead to early death if not addressed in a timely manner. To quantify just one element of the death tradeoff for lockdowns, Just Facts conducted a rigorous study that found anxiety related to C-19 will destroy at least seven times more years of life than can possibly be saved by lockdowns. After reviewing this study, the accomplished psychiatrist Joseph P. Damore, Jr. concluded that it “thoroughly answers the question about the cure being worse than the disease.”
Republican states that crafted their C-19 policies around the scientific facts above have drastically lower death rates than the oft-praised states of New York and New Jersey. Again, this association does not prove that Republican governors managed the virus better than their Democratic counterparts. However, it is flagrantly deceitful to report that Republican states “peddle denial,” put “the economy over health,” or failed “the Covid-19 test,” when in fact, their death rates are extremely low, and their actions align with crucial scientific facts.
The Real Science Deniers
In the same piece in which she vilifies “science-denying Republican leaders,” Rubin accuses them of having “blood on their hands” because they made “premature, rash and uninformed” decisions that led to “unnecessary deaths.” Yet, this description actually applies to the decisions of prominent Democrats, namely Phil Murphy and Andrew Cuomo (who Rubin lauds).
Both Murphy and Cuomo forced nursing homes to admit and readmit people who were infected with C-19. This mandate was at direct odds with two essential scientific facts that were widely known since the outset of the pandemic:
Elderly people and those with chronic ailments—who are the very definition of nursing home residents—are extremely vulnerable to the virus. The virus is highly transmissible, and thus, it can easily sweep through large groups of sickly and/or aged people who live together.
Including an estimated 18 days between infection and death, over 5,900 nursing home patients in NY and 3,400 in NJ were lost by the time Cuomo and Murphy rescinded their policies.
Furthermore, the NY nursing home death toll is greatly understated because Cuomo’s Department of Health excludes residents who catch the disease in a nursing home but die “outside of the facility.” Thus, the official figure may undercount the actual number by thousands of deaths.
While rejecting calls for an independent investigation, Cuomo has repeatedly blamed others for the nursing home carnage in his state, but none of his explanations hold water:
Cuomo first faulted nursing homes, stating that they were only required to readmit C-19 patients “if they have the ability to provide the adequate level of care.” However, Cuomo’s executive order: unequivocally states in underlined text, “ No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19 .” often made it impossible for homes to know if they could provide appropriate care by banning them from “requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.” never mentioned or implied that it is illegal under NY State law for nursing homes to accept someone they cannot care for properly.
Cuomo then claimed that his order “followed President Trump’s CDC guidance,” but the truth is that this guidance: doesn’t recommend putting C-19 patients into nursing homes. states that C-19 patients “should go to a facility with adequate personal protective equipment supplies and an ability to adhere to infection prevention….”
Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa later said that his policy was “in-line directly” with directives from the Trump administration’s Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), but to the contrary: 12 days before Cuomo’s order, CMS warned that homes must be “vigilant in identifying any possible infected individuals” and “follow CDC guidance.” CMS administrator Seema Verma directly responded to DeRosa’s claims, stating that the CMS was “clear and unmistakable” in stating that nursing homes should reject people that they cannot care for, and “any insinuation to the contrary is woefully mistaken at best and dishonest at worst.”
After that, Cuomo claimed that NY “had more people die” because the Trump administration “missed the boat and never told us that this virus was coming from Europe and not from China.” In reality, the Trump administration issued a near-total ban on travel from Europe on the same day that the World Health Organization declared C-19 a pandemic (March 11). Yet, Cuomo did not announce a stay-at-home order until more than a week later on March 20.
Finally, Cuomo’s Department of Health published a report that returned to blaming nursing homes while claiming that his policy was not a “significant factor” in fatalities. However, the report: misinterprets association as causation by arguing that a “link between the timing of staff infection and nursing home fatalities” proves the nursing home staff transmitted the virus to residents. uses a false measure of timing based on the number of homes with an infected staff member instead of the actual number of infected staff members. uses grossly incomplete data that excludes residents who caught the virus in nursing homes but died “outside of the facility,” a figure that could number in the thousands.
So in the face of proven scientific facts and crystal clear guidance from the CDC and CMS, these Democrat governors forced C-19 carriers into the vicinity of the people who are most vulnerable to it. Yet, Rubin, cheers Cuomo for taking “responsibility,” his “remarkable success” in battling C-19, and his “effective takedown” of President Trump’s science “denial.”
Implications
The impact of the media’s misinformation stretches well beyond politics and can have deadly consequences for American citizens. For a prime example, NJ Advance Media published an article by reporter Steve Politi titled, “‘I Hate Florida!’ How the Coronavirus Convinced One NJ Snowbird to Fly Back Home.” Politi writes:
“Let’s face it, who among us hasn’t shaken our heads in disgust at Florida during this pandemic?”
“The partying spring-breakers. The slow-to-act governor. The science deniers.”
“The hashtag #FloridaMorons was trending on Twitter over the weekend when—days after the state recorded its highest death toll—thousands of people flocked to the just-reopened beaches.”
Politi then applauds a NJ native’s rant against Florida and her decision to move back to NJ, thus implying that Jersey is much safer than Florida. Yet, Politi fails to mention that the C-19 death rate was 15.3 times higher in New Jersey than in Florida when he wrote this article.
Despite Florida’s large elderly population, who are at a much higher risk to die of C-19, the state’s death rate is still 4.0 times lower than New Jersey. This is nearly five months since the Miami Herald editorial board lectured Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to “act like you give a damn” about C-19 and “quickly” seek guidance from the governors of NY, CT, and CA. Since the time that the Herald gave this advice on March 22, Covid-19 deaths rates have progressed as follows:
Conclusion
Rather than painting an accurate picture of reality, Rubin and many other people in the media have spread a counter-factual narrative that Republican states, like FL and TX, have mishandled C-19 while Democratic states like NY and NJ and done wonderfully. Masses of Americans make crucial life decisions based on what the media reports, and twisting facts is the worst possible way to ensure their health and safety.


bonginoreport--2020-08-24--Kim Jung Un Reportedly Comatose, According to Former Aide to President of South Korea

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has fallen into a coma as his sister seizes the reins of power in the communist country , according to a former aide to the South Korean president .
According to the Mirror , Chang Song-min , who served as an aide to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung , told South Korean media of the 36-year-old Kim Jong Un , “ I assess him to be in a coma , but his life has not ended.
” Song-min maintained that Kim ’ s sister , Kim Yo Jong , is assuming the mantle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absence .
“ A complete succession structure has not been formed , so Kim Yo Jong is being brought to the fore as the vacuum can not be maintained for a prolonged period , ” he said , adding that Kim ’ s death “ could spell disaster for the country.
” The Mirror went on to report that the National Intelligence Service ( NIS ) claimed Kim Jong Un will continue to “ exert absolute power , ” despite increasingly ceding his power to his sister “ to ease stress.
” Reports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have come before .
Rumors swirled last April that he had died after a botched heart operation , leading one North Korean defector to claim that he was “ 99 % sure ” the leader was dead .
Speaking with South Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency , Ji Seong-ho said that he has “ been informed ” Kim had died without saying where this important information came from .
“ I ’ ve wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery .
I ’ ve been informed that Kim died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outlet .
“ It is not 100 percent certain , but I can say the possibility is 99 % .
” As to why the world remains in the dark about his fate , Ji said he believes that North Korea is “ grappling with a complicated succession issue.
” Sen. Lindsey Graham ( R-SC ) told Fox News at the time , “ Well , it ’ s a closed society , I don ’ t know anything directly .
But I ’ d be shocked if he ’ s not dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society , which is really a cult , not a country , called North Korea.
” “ So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated , ” Graham continued .
“ And I hope the long-suffering North Korean people will get some relief if he is dead , and President Trump ’ s willing to do business with North Korea in a win-win fashion .
So , if this guy is dead , I hope the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with President Trump to make North Korea a better place for everybody.
” Kim Jong Un later made a public appearance , which sparked conspiracy theories alleging that the North Korean government was using a body double to cover up their leader ’ s death .
Related : North Korea Reportedly Confiscating Pet Dogs In Capital , Owners Fear They ’ ll Be Used For Food The Daily Wire is one of America ’ s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news , opinion , and entertainment .
Get inside access @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member .

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has fallen into a coma as his sister seizes the reins of power in the communist country, according to a former aide to the South Korean president.
According to the Mirror, Chang Song-min, who served as an aide to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, told South Korean media of the 36-year-old Kim Jong Un, “I assess him to be in a coma, but his life has not ended.”
Song-min maintained that Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, is assuming the mantle of leadership in her brother’s absence. “A complete succession structure has not been formed, so Kim Yo Jong is being brought to the fore as the vacuum cannot be maintained for a prolonged period,” he said, adding that Kim’s death “could spell disaster for the country.”
The Mirror went on to report that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) claimed Kim Jong Un will continue to “exert absolute power,” despite increasingly ceding his power to his sister “to ease stress.”
Reports of Kim Jong Un’s demise have come before. Rumors swirled last April that he had died after a botched heart operation, leading one North Korean defector to claim that he was “99% sure” the leader was dead.
As The Daily Wire reported:
Speaking with South Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency, Ji Seong-ho said that he has “been informed” Kim had died without saying where this important information came from. “I’ve wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery. I’ve been informed that Kim died last weekend,” Ji told the outlet. “It is not 100 percent certain, but I can say the possibility is 99%.” As to why the world remains in the dark about his fate, Ji said he believes that North Korea is “grappling with a complicated succession issue.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Fox News at the time, “Well, it’s a closed society, I don’t know anything directly. But I’d be shocked if he’s not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don’t let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society, which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea.”
“So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated,” Graham continued. “And I hope the long-suffering North Korean people will get some relief if he is dead, and President Trump’s willing to do business with North Korea in a win-win fashion. So, if this guy is dead, I hope the next person who takes over will work with President Trump to make North Korea a better place for everybody.”
Kim Jong Un later made a public appearance, which sparked conspiracy theories alleging that the North Korean government was using a body double to cover up their leader’s death.
Related: North Korea Reportedly Confiscating Pet Dogs In Capital, Owners Fear They’ll Be Used For Food


bonginoreport--2020-08-24--Hong Kong Researchers Say They’ve Identified First Coronavirus Reinfection Case

Researchers in Hong Kong have identified the first reported case of coronavirus reinfection , numerous sources reported .
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong said a patient was infected with coronavirus a second time four-and-a-half months after the initial infection , Reuters reported .
The patient was found to have contracted a different strain of the virus from the one he had initially contracted , and was asymptomatic for the second infection .
“ This case illustrates that reinfection can occur just after a few months of recovery from the first infection , ” the researchers said in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may persist in the global human population as is the case for other common-cold associated human coronaviruses , even if patients have acquired immunity via natural infection.
” The patient , a 33-year-old male who appeared previously healthy , was cleared of COVID-19 and discharged from a hospital in April , but tested positive the second time after returning from Spain via Britain in mid-August , Reuters reported .
( RELATED : ‘ Return To Normal ’ : Trump Releases His Second Term Agenda ) Experts say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the discovery .
“ This is interesting but not alarming , ” said Ashish Jha , director of the Harvard Global Health Institute , according to the Hill .
“ First , this appears to be rare , ” he added .
“ Though we don ’ t go looking often enough so unclear .
Second , person was asymptomatic during the re-infection .
This is exactly what one would want to see with immunity — that you can pick up virus again but that it won ’ t cause serious illness.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitals and testing positive again for COVID-19 have been reported in mainland China , but it wasn ’ t clear whether the patients had been reinfected after full recovery or still had the virus in their body from the initial infection .
The finding is included in a paper in international medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and does not mean vaccines will be useless , one of the paper ’ s authors told Reuters .
“ The finding does not mean taking vaccines will be useless , ” Dr. Kai-Wang told Reuters .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ different from those induced by natural infection , ” To said .
“ [ We ] will need to wait for the results of the vaccine trials to see if how effective vaccines are.
” The finding also touches on a commonly discussed question as researchers are learning more about coronavirus — namely , how long immunity lasts .
“ What is not completely clear yet is how strong that immune response is and for how long that immune response lasts , ” said Maria Van Kerkhove , an expert at the World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Monday according to The Hill .

Researchers in Hong Kong have identified the first reported case of coronavirus reinfection, numerous sources reported.
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong said a patient was infected with coronavirus a second time four-and-a-half months after the initial infection, Reuters reported.
The patient was found to have contracted a different strain of the virus from the one he had initially contracted, and was asymptomatic for the second infection.
“This case illustrates that reinfection can occur just after a few months of recovery from the first infection,” the researchers said in a press release according to The Hill. “Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may persist in the global human population as is the case for other common-cold associated human coronaviruses, even if patients have acquired immunity via natural infection.”
The patient, a 33-year-old male who appeared previously healthy, was cleared of COVID-19 and discharged from a hospital in April, but tested positive the second time after returning from Spain via Britain in mid-August, Reuters reported. (RELATED: ‘Return To Normal’: Trump Releases His Second Term Agenda)
Experts say there’s no need to panic about the discovery.
“This is interesting but not alarming,” said Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, according to the Hill.
A first case of #COVID19 reinfection from HKU, with distinct virus genome sequences in 1st and 2nd infection (142 days apart). Kudos to the scientists for this study. This is no cause for alarm – this is a textbook example of how immunity should work. (1/n) https://t.co/oekESn0Uhq — Prof. Akiko Iwasaki (@VirusesImmunity) August 24, 2020
“First, this appears to be rare,” he added. “Though we don’t go looking often enough so unclear. Second, person was asymptomatic during the re-infection. This is exactly what one would want to see with immunity — that you can pick up virus again but that it won’t cause serious illness.”
Other instances of people discharged from hospitals and testing positive again for COVID-19 have been reported in mainland China, but it wasn’t clear whether the patients had been reinfected after full recovery or still had the virus in their body from the initial infection.
The finding is included in a paper in international medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and does not mean vaccines will be useless, one of the paper’s authors told Reuters.
“The finding does not mean taking vaccines will be useless,” Dr. Kai-Wang told Reuters.
“Immunity induced by vaccination can be different from those induced by natural infection,” To said. “[We] will need to wait for the results of the vaccine trials to see if how effective vaccines are.”
The finding also touches on a commonly discussed question as researchers are learning more about coronavirus — namely, how long immunity lasts.
“What is not completely clear yet is how strong that immune response is and for how long that immune response lasts,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, an expert at the World Health Organization (WHO), said Monday according to The Hill.


bonginoreport--2020-08-25--Kurt Schlichter: Now Democrats Are Stuck With Biden

Contrary to much speculation on the right , Democrats stuck with the fast-failing , feeble Joe Biden through their hilariously inept convention – Stop !
Hey !
What ’ s that sound !
Look at this LP of my grandpa ’ s that I found !
– and they are now well and truly stuck with him .
Felonia Milhous von Pantsuit did not stagger in , waving her half-empty bottle of screw-top Trader Joe ’ s Chardonnay , and putsch him out of the way .
Michelle stayed put in her seaside villa from which she chides us for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the global warming hoax ’ s rising ocean threat seriously .
And Kamala failed to get that box of “ special ” chocolates past Oldfinger ’ s latest food taster .
Luckily , for the Democrats , Gropey J ’ s speech was the greatest speech in the history of speeching , according to reliable and objective mainstream media sources whose collective reaction to the teleprompter opus collectively evoked the sin of Onan .
After all , he only plagiarizes from the best .
That B-Dawg managed to read from a teleprompter without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on , fat !
” was a kind of achievement , just not the impressive kind .
But that did not stop the MSNBCNN pogue ’ s gallery of smart people of smartness from hailing him as Cicero reborn , though Cicero ended up with his head and hands nailed to the rostra .
While the 25th Amendment is a somewhat less severe fate , though the savvy observer would put nothing past his scheming sidekick , it ’ s his best-case scenario .
That hype is part of the problem with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where his handlers – in cahoots with their media transcriptionists – prop up this mumbling stiff and insist that all ’ s well even as they wrap him in Depends and mainline him Ensure to keep him upright .
It ’ s worked well so far , perhaps too well .
They did their level best to keep a manifestly senile old pervert in the race , and darned if they haven ’ t pulled it off .
They made it so he couldn ’ t be shuffled off the stage .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ warned , “ Hey , this guy doesn ’ t need the Big Red Button , he needs a bib , ” his handlers would point to the polls showing Biden with +10 , +20 , +30 points ahead of Donald Trump , though the numbers are like that only because their media pollsters massaged the numbers into the happiest ending this side of a lonely NFL owner .
They are the terrier that caught the Gran Torino – congratulations , suckers !
Now there ’ s no getting rid of Joe van @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when he should be locked up .
His first post-speech media confab , even with Kamala right by his side , super-friendly interviewer David Muir spoon-feeding him his mush , and a shock collar under his shirt , was a disaster .
The headline is that three months from now , he wants to order us into face thongs again .
Huh ?
So many unasked follow-up questions come to mind , like “ What about a guy alone hunting elk in Montana ?
” or “ What part of the Constitution gives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into cough burqas ?
” Biden insists he would do what the scientists tell him , and you have to wonder which scientists , since a bunch of them think this pandemic paranoia is stupid – you just have trouble finding that out since his Big Tech masters do their best to squelch dissent .
Does he disagree with Dr. Fauci ?
Dr. Fauci insists Trump has taken all his recommendations ( for better or worse ) .
So , we should ignore Dr. Fauci now ?
Why does Grandpa Badfinger hate science @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This crusty crustacean couldn ’ t have gotten lobbed easier pitches if he were running for the captain of a Dover pre-school nearsighted girls ’ softball league , which is another office he is too senile for .
One edge that this doddering campaign had was that people had zero expectations for Hoover ’ s stripper-baby ’ s grandpa .
Assuming he even shows up to debate – which is not a done deal – before the convention , if he had merely wandered out onto the stage with the President and didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he would win the expectations game .
Except they voided that edge with their ridiculous fawning over his ridiculous speech – my favorite part was the goofy blue checks swooning because Biden ’ s speechwriter cited some bumper-sticker sentiment from Kierkegaard .
“ Faith sees best in the dark ” – oh man , that ’ s heavy .
Like , whoa .
Really sums it up , huh ?
I ’ m totally slapping that on my Prius right next to the one that says “ COEXIST.
” What next ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , once wrote… ?
” Is he running to be elected Least Interesting Sophomore at Sarah Lawrence ?
So , now the bar is raised for the debates since Kierkegaard ’ s fanboy is the master of rhetoric and the font of all wisdom .
He can ’ t just come out , stand there , and win by not forgetting to zip up his fly or by foregoing groping a production assistant .
He ’ s going to have to deal with Trump , who is as vital and focused as Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe will have the moderators Candy Crowleying for him big time , trying to cover for his incoherence and take Trump off his game .
If Trump is cunning and bloodthirsty , which he is , he ’ ll ignore the media offensive line , blitz right at Biden , and smear him all over the field .
Trump has achievements , promises he ’ s kept , and if you listen to his speeches ( he ’ s back on the road with smaller crowds ) , he ’ s making more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What ’ s Mr. Jill got ?
His theme is “ I ’ m kind of nice , and pay no attention to the agenda of the communists pulling my strings.
” He ’ ll raise your taxes , ban fracking , suck up to the ChiComs , let rioters run rampant , defund the cops , and try to take your guns .
And the Dems ’ plan has worked so well that they literally have the worst possible candidate to defend this idiotic agenda against the best and most aggressive GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say , “ Oh man , you dudes are so hosed.
” Join Townhall VIP and fight the Dems by helping out Rep. Mike Garcia keep the California House seat he won when that weird “ throuple ” woman ’ s pics came out !
He ’ s Naval Academy , but help him anyway !
And fight the tsunami of lies with my hilarious new book The 21 Biggest Lies about Donald Trump ( and You ! )
, now in audiobook format as read by the great Tony Katz !

Contrary to much speculation on the right, Democrats stuck with the fast-failing, feeble Joe Biden through their hilariously inept convention – Stop! Hey! What’s that sound! Look at this LP of my grandpa’s that I found! – and they are now well and truly stuck with him. Felonia Milhous von Pantsuit did not stagger in, waving her half-empty bottle of screw-top Trader Joe’s Chardonnay, and putsch him out of the way. Michelle stayed put in her seaside villa from which she chides us for, among other things, not taking the global warming hoax’s rising ocean threat seriously. And Kamala failed to get that box of “special” chocolates past Oldfinger’s latest food taster.
Luckily, for the Democrats, Gropey J’s speech was the greatest speech in the history of speeching, according to reliable and objective mainstream media sources whose collective reaction to the teleprompter opus collectively evoked the sin of Onan. After all, he only plagiarizes from the best. That B-Dawg managed to read from a teleprompter without drooling and concluding by yelling “Come on, fat!” was a kind of achievement, just not the impressive kind.
But that did not stop the MSNBCNN pogue’s gallery of smart people of smartness from hailing him as Cicero reborn, though Cicero ended up with his head and hands nailed to the rostra. While the 25th Amendment is a somewhat less severe fate, though the savvy observer would put nothing past his scheming sidekick, it’s his best-case scenario.
That hype is part of the problem with the Weekend at Joey’s campaign strategy, where his handlers – in cahoots with their media transcriptionists – prop up this mumbling stiff and insist that all’s well even as they wrap him in Depends and mainline him Ensure to keep him upright. It’s worked well so far, perhaps too well. They did their level best to keep a manifestly senile old pervert in the race, and darned if they haven’t pulled it off. They made it so he couldn’t be shuffled off the stage. Anytime the Democrat Cassandras behind the scenes warned, “Hey, this guy doesn’t need the Big Red Button, he needs a bib,” his handlers would point to the polls showing Biden with +10, +20, +30 points ahead of Donald Trump, though the numbers are like that only because their media pollsters massaged the numbers into the happiest ending this side of a lonely NFL owner.
They are the terrier that caught the Gran Torino – congratulations, suckers! Now there’s no getting rid of Joe van Winkle; he’s locked in when he should be locked up. His first post-speech media confab, even with Kamala right by his side, super-friendly interviewer David Muir spoon-feeding him his mush, and a shock collar under his shirt, was a disaster. The headline is that three months from now, he wants to order us into face thongs again. Huh? So many unasked follow-up questions come to mind, like “What about a guy alone hunting elk in Montana?” or “What part of the Constitution gives the president the authority to order us into cough burqas?” Biden insists he would do what the scientists tell him, and you have to wonder which scientists, since a bunch of them think this pandemic paranoia is stupid – you just have trouble finding that out since his Big Tech masters do their best to squelch dissent. Does he disagree with Dr. Fauci? Dr. Fauci insists Trump has taken all his recommendations (for better or worse). So, we should ignore Dr. Fauci now? Why does Grandpa Badfinger hate science so much?
Biden blew it. This crusty crustacean couldn’t have gotten lobbed easier pitches if he were running for the captain of a Dover pre-school nearsighted girls’ softball league, which is another office he is too senile for.
One edge that this doddering campaign had was that people had zero expectations for Hoover’s stripper-baby’s grandpa. Assuming he even shows up to debate – which is not a done deal – before the convention, if he had merely wandered out onto the stage with the President and didn’t drown in his own slobber, he would win the expectations game. Except they voided that edge with their ridiculous fawning over his ridiculous speech – my favorite part was the goofy blue checks swooning because Biden’s speechwriter cited some bumper-sticker sentiment from Kierkegaard. “Faith sees best in the dark” – oh man, that’s heavy. Like, whoa. Really sums it up, huh? I’m totally slapping that on my Prius right next to the one that says “COEXIST.”
What next? “As my favorite poet, Rumi, once wrote…?” Is he running to be elected Least Interesting Sophomore at Sarah Lawrence?
So, now the bar is raised for the debates since Kierkegaard’s fanboy is the master of rhetoric and the font of all wisdom. He can’t just come out, stand there, and win by not forgetting to zip up his fly or by foregoing groping a production assistant. He’s going to have to deal with Trump, who is as vital and focused as Biden is desiccated and lost. Sure, Joe will have the moderators Candy Crowleying for him big time, trying to cover for his incoherence and take Trump off his game. If Trump is cunning and bloodthirsty, which he is, he’ll ignore the media offensive line, blitz right at Biden, and smear him all over the field. Trump has achievements, promises he’s kept, and if you listen to his speeches (he’s back on the road with smaller crowds), he’s making more promises that he’ll keep. What’s Mr. Jill got? His theme is “I’m kind of nice, and pay no attention to the agenda of the communists pulling my strings.” He’ll raise your taxes, ban fracking, suck up to the ChiComs, let rioters run rampant, defund the cops, and try to take your guns. And the Dems’ plan has worked so well that they literally have the worst possible candidate to defend this idiotic agenda against the best and most aggressive GOP politician in decades.
As Kierkegaard might say, “Oh man, you dudes are so hosed.”
Join Townhall VIP and fight the Dems by helping out Rep. Mike Garcia keep the California House seat he won when that weird “throuple” woman’s pics came out! He’s Naval Academy, but help him anyway! And fight the tsunami of lies with my hilarious new book The 21 Biggest Lies about Donald Trump (and You!), now in audiobook format as read by the great Tony Katz!


bonginoreport--2020-08-25--Karol Markowicz: Time to Seriously Loosen Lockdown Rules for Restaurants and Others

Every day there ’ s a new story about the death of New York , how we ’ re so broken , we can never be rebuilt .
And every day brings a new crazy piece of news to a New York already on the brink to prove those people right .
Our elected officials are crushing our city and state .
Enough .
A new rule , for instance , bans events “ where patrons buy tickets to see a performance , ” Don Cazentre reported at Syracuse.com last week .
“ It seems to have suddenly popped up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
How does charging a cover for music put us at risk for the coronavirus ?
Like every other dagger in the heart of small business , it doesn ’ t .
Enough .
We can ’ t live like this anymore .
The constant new rules , the continued dance around reopening .
New York City is failing .
Our governor and mayor are keeping us in a state of disarray .
Gov .
Andrew Cuomo says gyms can open ; Mayor Bill de Blasio says nope .
Officials are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re flexing their muscles just to prove they ’ re in charge .
Cuomo and de Blasio ’ s squabbles , perhaps entertaining in normal times , are destroying us in the age of COVID .
The rest of the state has had indoor dining for nearly two months but New York City has been stuck with tables in street parking spots .
Restaurants and bars in the city that never sleeps are forced to close at 11 p.m .
Yet the city infection rate , according to de Blasio , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatening to close restaurants again in the fall .
But NYC hasn ’ t even really opened yet !
If we can ’ t open restaurants now , we can ’ t open them ever , and our city dies .
Enough .
The real problem is limited outcry from New Yorkers .
Cuomo and de Blasio are destroying the fabric of our city , and people are too afraid of the virus to stop them .
Throughout this crisis , we ’ ve seen a division : One group , the pajama-wearers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never leaving their couches .
They happily collect their checks and spend their time smug in the satisfaction that they have handled this pandemic flawlessly .
They bake bread , buy a Peloton bike and post Instagram pictures of sunrises from vacation homes .
They ’ re happy to listen to every backward directive from elected officials .
They haven ’ t suffered like their fellow New Yorkers .
The second group has either worked through the lockdown or had sleepless nights wondering if their businesses will ever reopen .
They ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dates and constant attacks on their livelihoods .
I ’ m a pajama-wearer , but as a lifelong New Yorker , most of my world consists of people in the second group .
Many of these people compare their lives right now to living in a totalitarian regime , where rules make no sense but people are afraid to say so .
The East Village bar Lucky had its liquor license pulled , according to the website Eater , after the owner started a petition “ to reverse the state ’ s new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of food with any alcohol purchase.
” The Village Line bar in Erie County mocked Cuomo with its menu items , and it too had its liquor license suddenly pulled .
If you speak up , your pain could be extended , and every business owner in New York knows it .
You don ’ t have to think the coronavirus is a hoax — I don ’ t — to see these rules make no sense .
But what they highlight , more than anything else , is that we are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ small-business owners with nonsensical regulations and unfair enforcement .
Enough .
De Blasio and Cuomo love to celebrate how well New York handled the pandemic .
Please .
We didn ’ t cooperate and stay inside for so long so our kids could go to school , maybe , sometimes .
We did it to “ flatten the curve ” and not overwhelm hospitals for a few months — but then to be able to go to dinner , listen to live music and get a drink with a friend .
We did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want it back .
We want our lives back , all of us — not just the pajama class .
If you love New York , stand up for it now or don ’ t be surprised that when you finally change out of pajamas and leave the house , there will be no more New York to return to .

Enough.
Every day there’s a new story about the death of New York, how we’re so broken, we can never be rebuilt. And every day brings a new crazy piece of news to a New York already on the brink to prove those people right. Our elected officials are crushing our city and state. Enough.
A new rule, for instance, bans events “where patrons buy tickets to see a performance,” Don Cazentre reported at Syracuse.com last week. “It seems to have suddenly popped up in the rules this week,” he said.
How does charging a cover for music put us at risk for the coronavirus? Like every other dagger in the heart of small business, it doesn’t. Enough.
We can’t live like this anymore. The constant new rules, the continued dance around reopening. New York City is failing. Our governor and mayor are keeping us in a state of disarray.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says gyms can open; Mayor Bill de Blasio says nope. Officials are no longer keeping us safe; they’re flexing their muscles just to prove they’re in charge. Cuomo and de Blasio’s squabbles, perhaps entertaining in normal times, are destroying us in the age of COVID.
The rest of the state has had indoor dining for nearly two months but New York City has been stuck with tables in street parking spots. Restaurants and bars in the city that never sleeps are forced to close at 11 p.m. Yet the city infection rate, according to de Blasio, is 0.24 percent.
And Cuomo is already threatening to close restaurants again in the fall. But NYC hasn’t even really opened yet! If we can’t open restaurants now, we can’t open them ever, and our city dies. Enough.
The real problem is limited outcry from New Yorkers. Cuomo and de Blasio are destroying the fabric of our city, and people are too afraid of the virus to stop them.
Throughout this crisis, we’ve seen a division: One group, the pajama-wearers, can work from home indefinitely, never leaving their couches. They happily collect their checks and spend their time smug in the satisfaction that they have handled this pandemic flawlessly. They bake bread, buy a Peloton bike and post Instagram pictures of sunrises from vacation homes. They’re happy to listen to every backward directive from elected officials. They haven’t suffered like their fellow New Yorkers.
The second group has either worked through the lockdown or had sleepless nights wondering if their businesses will ever reopen. They’ve contended with ever-changing rules, ever-deferred opening dates and constant attacks on their livelihoods. I’m a pajama-wearer, but as a lifelong New Yorker, most of my world consists of people in the second group.
Many of these people compare their lives right now to living in a totalitarian regime, where rules make no sense but people are afraid to say so.
The East Village bar Lucky had its liquor license pulled, according to the website Eater, after the owner started a petition “to reverse the state’s new mandate that bars must serve substantial amounts of food with any alcohol purchase.” The Village Line bar in Erie County mocked Cuomo with its menu items, and it too had its liquor license suddenly pulled.
If you speak up, your pain could be extended, and every business owner in New York knows it.
You don’t have to think the coronavirus is a hoax — I don’t — to see these rules make no sense. But what they highlight, more than anything else, is that we are not all in this together.
Stop torturing small-business owners with nonsensical regulations and unfair enforcement. Enough.
De Blasio and Cuomo love to celebrate how well New York handled the pandemic. Please. We didn’t cooperate and stay inside for so long so our kids could go to school, maybe, sometimes.
We did it to “flatten the curve” and not overwhelm hospitals for a few months — but then to be able to go to dinner, listen to live music and get a drink with a friend.
We did it because we love New York and want it back.
We want our lives back, all of us — not just the pajama class.
If you love New York, stand up for it now or don’t be surprised that when you finally change out of pajamas and leave the house, there will be no more New York to return to.
@Karol


bonginoreport--2020-08-25--Senator Josh Hawley: What Will Biden Build Back Better?

At the Democratic Party ’ s convention last week , Joe Biden and Kamala Harris told us they want to “ Build Back Better.
” But that ’ s nonsense .
All they want to build back are big banks , big tech and Beijing .
Let ’ s be honest – after four years of President Trump upsetting the status quo on Wall Street , in Silicon Valley and Washington , D.C. , in favor of working people , the Biden-Harris ticket is all about the revenge of the elites .
Former Vice President Biden styles himself as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s really a corporate Democrat .
This should surprise nobody .
Look at his record .
CHRISTOPHER NIXON COX : TRUMP THE PEACEMAKER – NIXON OFFERS THIS BLUEPRINT FOR REELECTION It started with giveaways to the big banks .
Back in the 1990s , then Sen. Biden voted to deregulate the financial services industry , and giant mergers that made certain banks “ too big to fail ” followed soon after .
It ’ s not hard to imagine how this turbocharged risky , predatory and speculative activity eventually resulted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vice President Biden had the chance , with President Barack Obama , to make things right , he didn ’ t .
Virtually no senior executives of Wall Street firms were prosecuted for their role in our economy ’ s collapse , when it ’ s clear that those who played fast and loose with the securitization of home mortgages were the ones who brought it all crashing down .
The Obama-Biden administration made only a half-hearted attempt to help the millions of families who faced foreclosure during the crisis .
Their relief @ @ @ @ @ @ @ borrowers , propping up big banks at the expense of family homes and family farms .
When given a choice , the Obama-Biden administration chose wealth hoarders over wage earners .
Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner basically admitted as much .
These days Biden and Harris like to talk a lot about injustice .
But letting bad actors who destroyed the economy off the hook while ignoring millions of working families who suffered – that ’ s the real injustice .
And it ’ s not just Wall Street that is cheering for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Silicon Valley .
Big time .
Harris in particular has spent years cultivating close ties with Big Tech , and did next to nothing to stand up to these corporate behemoths during her time as attorney general of California .
In a Biden-Harris administration , these tech companies will have ever greater power to pry into our phones , into our families , into our lives .
With Wall Street and big tech lining up to write checks , it ’ s clear that this is the ticket for corporate consolidation and corporate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s another reason big business loves this ticket .
It ’ s because Beijing loves it too .
CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER President Trump has made cracking down on China a centerpiece of his economic agenda .
He ’ s levied tariffs on Chinese imports , an action the experts said would be cataclysmic .
Turns out the experts were wrong .
We are finally managing our trade in a way that protects our vital strategic industries and our manufacturing workers .
But Biden is weak on trade , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeatedly disenfranchised American workers .
Biden voted to join the World Trade Organization and also to normalize trade relations with China , disastrous policies that have cost this country at least two million good jobs , thanks to the endless flow of cheap Chinese goods .
To this day , Biden claims that China “ is not competition for us ” 1 and has mused about rolling back Trump ’ s tariffs should he be elected .
Beijing could not be happier .
With big banks , big tech and Beijing behind them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the corporate class and the Democratic elites who enable them .
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Over the next few months , pay attention to the speeches made by Biden and Harris .
You ’ ll hear lots about various social causes , no doubt , and the sins of America .
But what will they do for America , for the working Americans who built this country ?
What will they do to protect these Americans jobs , their financial security , raise their wages ?
The truth is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to today ’ s Democratic Party .
That ’ s because it ’ s run by America ’ s wealthiest and best-connected .
And they ’ re plotting their return to power .
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JOSH HAWLEY

At the Democratic Party’s convention last week, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris told us they want to “Build Back Better.” But that’s nonsense. All they want to build back are big banks, big tech and Beijing.
Let’s be honest – after four years of President Trump upsetting the status quo on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., in favor of working people, the Biden-Harris ticket is all about the revenge of the elites.
Former Vice President Biden styles himself as a friend of the working class, but he’s really a corporate Democrat. This should surprise nobody. Look at his record.
CHRISTOPHER NIXON COX: TRUMP THE PEACEMAKER – NIXON OFFERS THIS BLUEPRINT FOR REELECTION
It started with giveaways to the big banks. Back in the 1990s, then Sen. Biden voted to deregulate the financial services industry, and giant mergers that made certain banks “too big to fail” followed soon after. It’s not hard to imagine how this turbocharged risky, predatory and speculative activity eventually resulted in the financial crisis of 2008.
When Vice President Biden had the chance, with President Barack Obama, to make things right, he didn’t. Virtually no senior executives of Wall Street firms were prosecuted for their role in our economy’s collapse, when it’s clear that those who played fast and loose with the securitization of home mortgages were the ones who brought it all crashing down.
It doesn’t end there.
The Obama-Biden administration made only a half-hearted attempt to help the millions of families who faced foreclosure during the crisis. Their relief policies privileged creditors at the expense of borrowers, propping up big banks at the expense of family homes and family farms. When given a choice, the Obama-Biden administration chose wealth hoarders over wage earners. Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner basically admitted as much.
These days Biden and Harris like to talk a lot about injustice. But letting bad actors who destroyed the economy off the hook while ignoring millions of working families who suffered – that’s the real injustice.
With Wall Street and big tech lining up to write checks, it’s clear that this is the ticket for corporate consolidation and corporate power, not workers.
And it’s not just Wall Street that is cheering for this new Democratic ticket. So is Silicon Valley. Big time. Harris in particular has spent years cultivating close ties with Big Tech, and did next to nothing to stand up to these corporate behemoths during her time as attorney general of California. In a Biden-Harris administration, these tech companies will have ever greater power to pry into our phones, into our families, into our lives.
With Wall Street and big tech lining up to write checks, it’s clear that this is the ticket for corporate consolidation and corporate power, not workers.
And there’s another reason big business loves this ticket. It’s because Beijing loves it too.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER
President Trump has made cracking down on China a centerpiece of his economic agenda. He’s levied tariffs on Chinese imports, an action the experts said would be cataclysmic. Turns out the experts were wrong. We are finally managing our trade in a way that protects our vital strategic industries and our manufacturing workers.
But Biden is weak on trade, favoring instead ruinous trade agreements that have repeatedly disenfranchised American workers. Biden voted to join the World Trade Organization and also to normalize trade relations with China, disastrous policies that have cost this country at least two million good jobs, thanks to the endless flow of cheap Chinese goods. To this day, Biden claims that China “is not competition for us”1 and has mused about rolling back Trump’s tariffs should he be elected. Beijing could not be happier.
With big banks, big tech and Beijing behind them, the Biden-Harris ticket is deliverance for the corporate class and the Democratic elites who enable them.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Over the next few months, pay attention to the speeches made by Biden and Harris. You’ll hear lots about various social causes, no doubt, and the sins of America. But what will they do for America, for the working Americans who built this country? What will they do to protect these Americans jobs, their financial security, raise their wages?
The truth is, these issues no longer matter much to today’s Democratic Party. That’s because it’s run by America’s wealthiest and best-connected. And they’re plotting their return to power.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM JOSH HAWLEY


bonginoreport--2020-08-25--Lindsey Graham to Subpoena Bill Priestap

A top Senate Republican said he plans to subpoena Bill Priestap , a key leader in the FBI ’ s Trump-Russia investigation , after pushback from the former bureau official ’ s lawyer .
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina , the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee , told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News 's Sunday Morning Futures that he is escalating his effort to interview the FBI 's former head of counterintelligence .
The senator said he believes Priestap gave misleading information to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2018 about the reliability of British ex-spy Christopher Steele @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he expected to interview Priestap last week , but “ his lawyer contacted us and put conditions on the interview that are unacceptable.
” So , the senator said , “ I ’ m going to subpoena him , ” in part , because it was Priestap “ who gave the Senate Intel a briefing about the reliability of the subsource in 2018 that basically whitewashed the actual evidence . ''
“ I do n't know what Mr. Priestap did or did n't do , but I know the briefing given to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reliability of the subsource , '' the senator said .
`` It does sound to me like there was an effort to mislead the Senate Intel Committee , '' Graham said , adding , “ if they had told the Senate Intel Committee the truth about the reliability of the subsource , it would expose their lie to the FISA court.
” The senator contends the FBI misled the Senate Intelligence Committee in early 2018 about Steele ’ s primary subsource , recently revealed to be Russian-trained , Washington , D.C.-based lawyer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by then had undermined the credibility of many of Steele ’ s Trump-Russia allegations following multiple interviews with him in early 2017 .
Graham said U.S. Attorney John Durham is a “ good guy ” and pledged to “ turn over ” any evidence he unearths about the FBI ’ s 2018 Senate briefing to the prosecutor who is conducting a Justice Department inquiry into the Russia investigation .
Graham said that FBI Director Christopher Wray has been helpful but still `` needs to clean house over there.
” The senator said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out how that briefing was put together.
” Graham also has said a newly declassified FBI document appears to make a host of misleading claims about Danchenko .
In a letter sent on Monday , the senator told Wray that “ each of these statements is clearly inaccurate '' based on information uncovered through the senator ’ s inquiry and by DOJ Inspector General Horowitz ’ s investigation into the FBI 's Russia inquiry , which ended late last year .
Horowitz , who released his report in December , said FBI interviews @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant questions about the reliability of the Steele election reporting ” and cast doubt on some of its biggest claims .
The DOJ watchdog noted the primary subsource “ made statements during his/her January 2017 FBI interview that were inconsistent with multiple sections of the Steele reports , including some that were relied upon in the FISA applications ” and that Danchenko 's account `` was not consistent with and , in fact , contradicted the allegations of a ‘ well-developed conspiracy ’ '' in Steele ’ s dossier .
Priestap , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FBI Counterintelligence Division from December 2015 to December 2018 , was the leader of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Russian interference and allegations of Trump-Russia collusion .
Former special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s report , released in April 2019 , said Russians interfered in the 2016 election in a “ sweeping and systematic fashion , ” but it `` did not establish '' any criminal collusion between any Russians and anyone in President Trump 's orbit .
One revelation in Horowitz 's report was that now-fired FBI special agent Peter Strzok was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counterintelligence investigation into Trump and Russia , but it was his superior , Priestap , who made the actual authorization in late July 2016 .
A page of handwritten notes from Priestap , dated the day of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn ’ s FBI interview in January 2017 , were made public this spring .
They show that he asked , “ What is our goal ?
Truth/Admission or to get him to lie , so we can prosecute him or get him fired ?
” Flynn , also a target of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lying to FBI investigators about his conversations with a Russian envoy , but this year , he began to argue that he is innocent and was set up by the FBI .
The Justice Department then moved to drop the prosecution , but the judge overseeing the case has resisted immediately doing so .
Recently declassified FBI records show the FBI used a counterintelligence briefing given to then-candidate Trump and Flynn as a pretext to aid its investigation .
Priestap told Horowitz that he had considered whether the FBI should conduct defensive briefings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decided not to because “ if someone on the campaign was engaged with the Russians , he/she would very likely change his/her tactics and/or otherwise seek to cover-up his/her activities , thereby preventing us from finding the truth.
” During the compilation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment after Trump ’ s victory , Priestap and the FBI ’ s intelligence section chief both wrote to the CIA to describe Steele as “ reliable . ''
Horowitz ’ s lengthy December report criticized the Justice Department and the FBI for at least 17 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the FISA warrants against Trump campaign associate Carter Page and for the bureau 's reliance on Steele ’ s Democratic-funded and unverified dossier .
Declassified footnotes now show the FBI was aware that Steele ’ s dossier might have been compromised by Russian disinformation .

A top Senate Republican said he plans to subpoena Bill Priestap, a key leader in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation, after pushback from the former bureau official’s lawyer.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures that he is escalating his effort to interview the FBI's former head of counterintelligence. The senator said he believes Priestap gave misleading information to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2018 about the reliability of British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier.
Graham said he expected to interview Priestap last week, but “his lawyer contacted us and put conditions on the interview that are unacceptable.” So, the senator said, “I’m going to subpoena him,” in part, because it was Priestap “who gave the Senate Intel a briefing about the reliability of the subsource in 2018 that basically whitewashed the actual evidence."
“I don't know what Mr. Priestap did or didn't do, but I know the briefing given to the Intel Committee was an absolute lie about the reliability of the subsource," the senator said.
"It does sound to me like there was an effort to mislead the Senate Intel Committee," Graham said, adding, “if they had told the Senate Intel Committee the truth about the reliability of the subsource, it would expose their lie to the FISA court.”
The senator contends the FBI misled the Senate Intelligence Committee in early 2018 about Steele’s primary subsource, recently revealed to be Russian-trained, Washington, D.C.-based lawyer Igor Danchenko, who the FBI knew by then had undermined the credibility of many of Steele’s Trump-Russia allegations following multiple interviews with him in early 2017.
Graham said U.S. Attorney John Durham is a “good guy” and pledged to “turn over” any evidence he unearths about the FBI’s 2018 Senate briefing to the prosecutor who is conducting a Justice Department inquiry into the Russia investigation. Graham said that FBI Director Christopher Wray has been helpful but still "needs to clean house over there.” The senator said he would get documents Monday “to find out how that briefing was put together.”
Graham also has said a newly declassified FBI document appears to make a host of misleading claims about Danchenko. In a letter sent on Monday, the senator told Wray that “each of these statements is clearly inaccurate" based on information uncovered through the senator’s inquiry and by DOJ Inspector General Horowitz’s investigation into the FBI's Russia inquiry, which ended late last year.
Horowitz, who released his report in December, said FBI interviews with Steele's primary subsource “raised significant questions about the reliability of the Steele election reporting” and cast doubt on some of its biggest claims. The DOJ watchdog noted the primary subsource “made statements during his/her January 2017 FBI interview that were inconsistent with multiple sections of the Steele reports, including some that were relied upon in the FISA applications” and that Danchenko's account "was not consistent with and, in fact, contradicted the allegations of a ‘well-developed conspiracy’" in Steele’s dossier.
Priestap, who had been the assistant director of the FBI Counterintelligence Division from December 2015 to December 2018, was the leader of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Russian interference and allegations of Trump-Russia collusion. Former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, released in April 2019, said Russians interfered in the 2016 election in a “sweeping and systematic fashion,” but it "did not establish" any criminal collusion between any Russians and anyone in President Trump's orbit.
One revelation in Horowitz's report was that now-fired FBI special agent Peter Strzok was involved in the decision to initiate the counterintelligence investigation into Trump and Russia, but it was his superior, Priestap, who made the actual authorization in late July 2016.
A page of handwritten notes from Priestap, dated the day of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn’s FBI interview in January 2017, were made public this spring. They show that he asked, “What is our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?”
Flynn, also a target of the Russia investigation, pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his conversations with a Russian envoy, but this year, he began to argue that he is innocent and was set up by the FBI. The Justice Department then moved to drop the prosecution, but the judge overseeing the case has resisted immediately doing so.
Recently declassified FBI records show the FBI used a counterintelligence briefing given to then-candidate Trump and Flynn as a pretext to aid its investigation. Priestap told Horowitz that he had considered whether the FBI should conduct defensive briefings for Trump’s campaign but ultimately decided not to because “if someone on the campaign was engaged with the Russians, he/she would very likely change his/her tactics and/or otherwise seek to cover-up his/her activities, thereby preventing us from finding the truth.”
During the compilation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment after Trump’s victory, Priestap and the FBI’s intelligence section chief both wrote to the CIA to describe Steele as “reliable."
Horowitz’s lengthy December report criticized the Justice Department and the FBI for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the FISA warrants against Trump campaign associate Carter Page and for the bureau's reliance on Steele’s Democratic-funded and unverified dossier. Declassified footnotes now show the FBI was aware that Steele’s dossier might have been compromised by Russian disinformation.


bonginoreport--2020-08-25--RNC Day One Kicks Off – What You Missed

RNC Day One Kicks Off – What You Missed

The 2020 Republican National Convention kicked into full swing Monday night , complete with speeches from a slew of Republican politicians , conservative figures and frontline medical workers .
The convention officially began earlier in the day in Charlotte , North Carolina , the original scheduled site of the RNC .
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both flew in and gave speeches to the social distanced attendees .
( RELATED : Live From The White House : Take A Behind-The-Scenes Sneak Peak At Our Coverage Of Trump ’ s 2020 RNC ) Monday night ’ s theme @ @ @ @ @ @ @ portrayed actions taken by the Trump administration as instrumental in stemming the spread of the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Right to Try ” advocate Natalie Harp and West Virginia nurse Amy Johnson Ford both thanked Trump for his administration ’ s expansion of access to lifesaving treatments and telehealth services .
Trump is scheduled to deliver his keynote acceptance speech Thursday night , but he also spoke in two pre-taped segments , an unusual feature for a political convention .
The first featured a number of coronavirus frontline workers , while the second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being imprisoned abroad .
Two speakers , football star Herschel Walker and Democratic Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones , delivered impassioned remarks rebutting claims that Trump is racist .
Walker spoke on his 37-year-long friendship with Trump and claimed to be personally hurt by individuals who think he would carry on such a long relationship with a racist .
Jones praised Trump ’ s work on criminal justice reform and for putting “ black workers first … when Obama wouldn ’ t do it.
” Arguably the most talked about moment belonged to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Trump campaign fundraiser and girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. gave an impassioned speech denouncing socialism , but her at times over-the-top delivery raised eyebrows , including those belonging to Trump campaign officials .
According to the schedule released by the Trump campaign on Sunday , Tuesday night ’ s portion of the convention will include speeches from First Lady Melania Trump , Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul , Republican Iowa Gov .
Kim Reynolds , Nicholas Sandmann , and Eric and Tiffany Trump .
You can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below .

The 2020 Republican National Convention kicked into full swing Monday night, complete with speeches from a slew of Republican politicians, conservative figures and frontline medical workers.
The convention officially began earlier in the day in Charlotte, North Carolina, the original scheduled site of the RNC. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both flew in and gave speeches to the social distanced attendees. (RELATED: Live From The White House: Take A Behind-The-Scenes Sneak Peak At Our Coverage Of Trump’s 2020 RNC)
WATCH:
Monday night’s theme — “Land of Promises” — portrayed actions taken by the Trump administration as instrumental in stemming the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. “Right to Try” advocate Natalie Harp and West Virginia nurse Amy Johnson Ford both thanked Trump for his administration’s expansion of access to lifesaving treatments and telehealth services.
Trump is scheduled to deliver his keynote acceptance speech Thursday night, but he also spoke in two pre-taped segments, an unusual feature for a political convention. The first featured a number of coronavirus frontline workers, while the second featured Americans freed by the administration after being imprisoned abroad.
WATCH:
WATCH:
Two speakers, football star Herschel Walker and Democratic Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones, delivered impassioned remarks rebutting claims that Trump is racist. Walker spoke on his 37-year-long friendship with Trump and claimed to be personally hurt by individuals who think he would carry on such a long relationship with a racist.
Jones praised Trump’s work on criminal justice reform and for putting “black workers first … when Obama wouldn’t do it.”
WATCH:
Arguably the most talked about moment belonged to former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle. The Trump campaign fundraiser and girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. gave an impassioned speech denouncing socialism, but her at times over-the-top delivery raised eyebrows, including those belonging to Trump campaign officials.
WATCH:
I just noticed the text of Guilfoyle’s speech has a lot of exclamation points. — James Oliphant (@jamesoliphant) August 25, 2020
Nikki Haley’s quiet, measured tone makes her seem somnambulant following Kimberly Guilfoyle. #RepublicanNationalConvention — Bill Goodykoontz (@goodyk) August 25, 2020
From a technical standpoint, the audio mix on Kim Guilfoyle’s speech would make most people sound like a maniac. High volume speech in an empty chamber with no audience to muffle it. The fact that Guilfoyle looks like a maniac while giving the speech is on her, though. — Matthew Stinson (@stinson) August 25, 2020
Nobody ever messes up Kimberly Guilfoyle’s order at the drive-thru. #RNC2020 — Gerry Dee (@gerrydee) August 25, 2020
Monday night program also featured speeches from:
According to the schedule released by the Trump campaign on Sunday, Tuesday night’s portion of the convention will include speeches from First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Nicholas Sandmann, and Eric and Tiffany Trump.
You can watch Monday night’s entire program below.
WATCH:


bonginoreport--2020-08-27--Kyle Rittenhouse Hit With More Charges in Connection With Shooting Deaths of Two Rioters

The teen vigilante who allegedly gunned down two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha , Wisconsin , was hit with @ @ @ @ @ Thursday .
Kenosha County prosecutors charged Kyle Rittenhouse , 17 , with one count each @ @ @ @ @ first-degree reckless homicide and one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide , court records show @ @ @ @ @ with two counts of reckless endangerment , and with possessing a dangerous weapon as a @ @ @ @ @ nearby Antioch , Illinois , was arrested Wednesday in connection with a shooting that led @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Huber , and Joseph Rosenbaum , 36 , a dad to a young daughter @ @ @ @ @ to survive the bloodbath has been identified as Gaige Grosskreutz , 26 , a volunteer @ @ @ @ @ protests in Milwaukee over the summer .
The gunfire erupted Tuesday , during protests over @ @ @ @ @ .
Rittenhouse is being held at a Lake County juvenile detention facility .
He is @ @ @ @ @ on Friday morning to face extradition to Kenosha .

The teen vigilante who allegedly gunned down two Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was hit with a slew of charges on Thursday.
Kenosha County prosecutors charged Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, with one count each of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide and one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, court records show.
He was also charged with two counts of reckless endangerment, and with possessing a dangerous weapon as a minor.
The teenager from nearby Antioch, Illinois, was arrested Wednesday in connection with a shooting that led to the deaths of 26-year-old Anthony Huber, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, a dad to a young daughter.
The lone shooting victim to survive the bloodbath has been identified as Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, a volunteer medic for Black Lives Matter protests in Milwaukee over the summer.
The gunfire erupted Tuesday, during protests over the police-shooting of Jacob Blake.
Rittenhouse is being held at a Lake County juvenile detention facility. He is due to appear in court on Friday morning to face extradition to Kenosha.