bonginoreport--2020-10-06--Eddie Van Halen Dies at 65

Eddie Van Halen Dies at 65

Sources directly connected to the rock star tell us ... he died at St. John 's Hospital in Santa Monica Tuesday .
His wife , Janie , was by his side , along with his son , Wolfgang , his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli , and Alex , Eddie 's brother and drummer .
We 're told in the last 72 hours , Eddie 's ongoing health battle went massively downhill -- doctors discovered his lung cancer had moved to his brain as well as other organs .
As you know , Eddie has been battling cancer for well over a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been in and out of the hospital over the past year -- including last November for intestinal issues -- and recently underwent a round of chemo .
Last year we reported ... Eddie was flying between the US and Germany for 5 years to get radiation treatment .
Though he was a heavy smoker for years , he believes he developed throat cancer from a metal guitar pick he used to frequently hold in his mouth more than 20 years ago .
Nevertheless , he continued to attend concerts and rehearse music with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do n't know -- became Van Halen 's bassist in 2006 .
Wolfgang mourned his father online , writing ... `` He was the best father I could ever ask for .
Every moment I ’ ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift .
My heart is broken and I don ’ t think I ’ ll ever fully recover from this loss . ''
He added , `` I love you so much , Pop . ''
Of course , Eddie himself was considered one of the best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... who first made a name for himself with his solo on Van Halen 's `` Eruption . ''
Eddie formed the classic rock group in Pasadena in 1972 with his brother , Alex , on drums , Michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth singing .
Eddie served as the main songwriter on their self-titled debut album in 1978 ... which launched the group into rock superstardom in the '80s .
They went on to pump out hit after hit , including `` Runnin ' with the Devil , '' `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' `` Panama '' and `` Jump '' ... and continued their success with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals after the departure of Roth in 1985 .
While the band had already achieved hard rock superstardom , Eddie became a pop culture icon with the 1983 release of Michael Jackson 's `` Beat It '' ... which featured Eddie 's iconic guitar solo .
Though some members of Van Halen have changed , Eddie and Alex were the constants in the band ... with Eddie 's acclaimed guitar work being the focal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 , and Eddie is widely considered one of the greatest guitar players of all time .

Eddie Van Halen -- the legendary guitarist and co-founder of Van Halen -- has died after a long battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned.
Sources directly connected to the rock star tell us ... he died at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica Tuesday. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli, and Alex, Eddie's brother and drummer.
We're told in the last 72 hours, Eddie's ongoing health battle went massively downhill -- doctors discovered his lung cancer had moved to his brain as well as other organs.
As you know, Eddie has been battling cancer for well over a decade. Our sources say he's been in and out of the hospital over the past year -- including last November for intestinal issues -- and recently underwent a round of chemo.
Last year we reported ... Eddie was flying between the US and Germany for 5 years to get radiation treatment. Though he was a heavy smoker for years, he believes he developed throat cancer from a metal guitar pick he used to frequently hold in his mouth more than 20 years ago.
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Nevertheless, he continued to attend concerts and rehearse music with his son, who -- if ya don't know -- became Van Halen's bassist in 2006.
Wolfgang mourned his father online, writing ... "He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss." He added, "I love you so much, Pop."
Of course, Eddie himself was considered one of the best and most influential guitarists of all time ... who first made a name for himself with his solo on Van Halen's "Eruption."
Eddie formed the classic rock group in Pasadena in 1972 with his brother, Alex, on drums, Michael Anthony on bass and David Lee Roth singing. Eddie served as the main songwriter on their self-titled debut album in 1978 ... which launched the group into rock superstardom in the '80s.
They went on to pump out hit after hit, including "Runnin' with the Devil," "Unchained," "Hot for Teacher," "Panama" and "Jump" ... and continued their success with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals after the departure of Roth in 1985.
While the band had already achieved hard rock superstardom, Eddie became a pop culture icon with the 1983 release of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" ... which featured Eddie's iconic guitar solo.
Though some members of Van Halen have changed, Eddie and Alex were the constants in the band ... with Eddie's acclaimed guitar work being the focal point of their legacy.
Van Halen was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, and Eddie is widely considered one of the greatest guitar players of all time.
He is survived by his wife, Janie, and his son.
Eddie was 65.
RIP


bonginoreport--2020-10-06--Netflix Indicted by Texas Grand Jury Over “Cuties” Film

A Texas grand jury has indicted Netflix on charges of depicting a `` lewd exhibition of pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 yrs of age which appeals to the prurient interest in sex , '' according to Texas Rep. Matt Schaefer .
The French film by a Senegalese filmmaker came under fire after it was released on Netflix because of its portrayal of young girls in sexually explicit scenarios .
Critics lambasted the film as pedophiliac in nature , as it showed young girls dancing in extremely provocative ways .
While some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ child pornography , left-wingers justified the footage as a `` thoughtful look at the intricacies of girlhood in the modern age '' that `` confronts its themes with poignancy nuance . ''
Numerous conservative pundits and disgusted viewers fed up with the streaming platform took to Twitter to display a surge of Netflix subscription cancellations .
The hashtag # CancelNetflix had reached the top trending topic on Twitter in the United States .
Several Change.org petitions have grown exponentially since launching with some started preemptively before the film 's premiere .
One fundraiser @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their memberships in solidarity to prove to Netflix that `` our children are more valuable than our entertainment , and our money is better spent else where ! ''
After days of prolonged silence following the initial backlash for the film 's release , Netflix defended the movie .
The Post Millennial had reached out for a responding statement at the time .
`` We have no plans to remove the film at this time , '' a Netflix representative stated in a phone call , asserting that the marketing material was not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purportedly is `` commentary on the negative effects of the sexualization of young girls in the press and on social media . ''
`` The artwork was not okay or representative of the French film , '' the spokesperson continued , referring to Netflix 's apologetic removal of the original promotional poster that featured the promiscuous dance scene on stage .

A Texas grand jury has indicted Netflix on charges of depicting a "lewd exhibition of pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 yrs of age which appeals to the prurient interest in sex," according to Texas Rep. Matt Schaefer.
Netflix, Inc. indicted by grand jury in Tyler Co., Tx for promoting material in Cuties film which depicts lewd exhibition of pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 yrs of age which appeals to the prurient interest in sex #Cuties #txlege pic.twitter.com/UJ1hY8XJ2l — Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) October 6, 2020
The French film by a Senegalese filmmaker came under fire after it was released on Netflix because of its portrayal of young girls in sexually explicit scenarios. Critics lambasted the film as pedophiliac in nature, as it showed young girls dancing in extremely provocative ways.
While some said the film was producing and promoting child pornography, left-wingers justified the footage as a "thoughtful look at the intricacies of girlhood in the modern age" that "confronts its themes with poignancy nuance." Numerous conservative pundits and disgusted viewers fed up with the streaming platform took to Twitter to display a surge of Netflix subscription cancellations.
The hashtag #CancelNetflix had reached the top trending topic on Twitter in the United States. Several Change.org petitions have grown exponentially since launching with some started preemptively before the film's premiere. One fundraiser has reached over 650,000 signatories who halted their memberships in solidarity to prove to Netflix that "our children are more valuable than our entertainment, and our money is better spent else where!"
After days of prolonged silence following the initial backlash for the film's release, Netflix defended the movie. The Post Millennial had reached out for a responding statement at the time.
"We have no plans to remove the film at this time," a Netflix representative stated in a phone call, asserting that the marketing material was not reflective of the movie's message which purportedly is "commentary on the negative effects of the sexualization of young girls in the press and on social media."
"The artwork was not okay or representative of the French film," the spokesperson continued, referring to Netflix's apologetic removal of the original promotional poster that featured the promiscuous dance scene on stage.


bonginoreport--2020-10-06--Ron Johnson Subpoenas Stefan Halper for Testimony and Documents

A top Senate Republican issued subpoenas for FBI informant and University of Cambridge professor Stefan Halper to provide documents and appear for testimony this month as part of a review of the Trump-Russia investigation .
Sen. Ron Johnson , chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee , issued the subpoenas to Halper , 76 , via the FBI informant ’ s lawyer Robert Luskin this week .
They were exclusively obtained by the Washington Examiner .
The documents subpoena asks Halper to “ produce all records related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ’ s Crossfire Hurricane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ General ’ s review of that investigation ; and the ‘ unmasking ’ of U.S. persons or entities affiliated , formally or informally , with the Trump campaign , Trump transition , or Trump administration ” by Oct. 14 .
The subpoena for Halper ’ s in-person testimony directs him to appear for a closed-door grilling about the same topics at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Oct. 20 .
If Halper complies , it would mean his records and testimony would be provided not long before the Nov. 3 election .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comment .
The Republican-led Senate Homeland Security Committee voted along party lines in September to reaffirm and broaden Johnson ’ s subpoena authority for witnesses in an inquiry into the Russia investigation .
The panel ’ s June business meeting had authorized subpoenas for 33 Trump-Russia figures , and after efforts by Democratic ranking member Sen. Gary Peters to throw up roadblocks , the September meeting reauthorized the subpoenas for all of them in an 8-6 vote .
The panel also approved subpoena authorization authority for seven more possible witnesses , including Halper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
U.S. Attorney John Durham is conducting a separate investigation into the origins and conduct of the Trump-Russia investigation .
A report on the FBI 's investigation released by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in December said the bureau concealed significant information provided by Halper , a confidential human source dubbed `` Source 2 . ''
Halper , a White House veteran of the Nixon , Ford , and Reagan administrations , worked as an FBI informant in 2016 and recorded discussions with at least three Trump 2016 campaign members : foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carter Page , and campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis .
While Halper worked for the FBI , he also received thousands of dollars from the Pentagon , ostensibly , for academic research .
When Halper ’ s role as an FBI informant was leaked to the media in May 2018 , it led to accusations from President Trump and Republicans that the Obama administration used Halper as part of an illegal effort to spy on the Trump campaign , dubbed “ Spygate ” and later “ Obamagate ” by allies of Trump , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Horowitz concluded the FBI “ omitted ” Papadopoulos ’ s recorded statements to Halper in September 2016 “ denying that anyone associated with the Trump campaign was collaborating with Russia or with outside groups like Wikileaks.
” The recorded denials of Russian collusion made by Papadopoulos and also by Page were never passed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as the FBI sought and received the authority to wiretap Page .
At Cambridge , Halper worked for years alongside Sir Richard Dearlove , who had spent decades with MI6 , the British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ director from 1999 to 2004 .
British ex-spy Christopher Steele , who was hired by Fusion GPS through Hillary Clinton 's 2016 campaign and authored the discredited dossier used to get Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants to target Page , was in MI6 from 1987 until 2009 .
Dearlove , who left in 2004 , called Steele 's reputation “ superb.
” Recently declassified information has shown a host of problems with Steele ’ s dossier , including that it may have been compromised by Russian disinformation .
MI5 historian Christopher Andrew founded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ series of Cambridge Intelligence Seminars that were attended by intelligence community members , academics , and researchers from around the world .
One such seminar in 2014 was attended by Michael Flynn , then-President Barack Obama ’ s Defense Intelligence Agency director , who played a prominent role in the Trump campaign beginning in early 2016 .
Svetlana Lokhova , a Russian-born British citizen , claimed in a 2019 lawsuit that Halper “ embroiled an innocent woman , ” Lokhova herself , “ in a conspiracy to undo the 2016 presidential election.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was also attended by Flynn and claimed Halper used this dinner as a pretext to spread false rumors about her and Flynn .
Halper demanded the federal court have claims labeling him a “ spy ” and “ rat f -- -er ” dismissed and his accuser sanctioned by the judge .
Halper claimed Lokhova ’ s accusations were “ spurious '' and referred to her accusations about a coup against Trump as “ implausible conspiracy theories.
” The lawsuit was dismissed in February , but Lokhova filed an appeal .
William @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Flynn case in 2016 and 2017 , was interviewed by the Justice Department last month and revealed he doubted that Flynn , who was briefly Trump 's first national security adviser , had committed any crimes .
He also said that he and others cast doubt on any Trump-Russia collusion and that he thought certain FBI investigators as well as prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s office , such as Andrew Weissmann , were single-minded and overly aggressive in their tactics in going after people in Trump 's orbit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get Trump '' attitude .
Mueller ’ s 2019 report said that Russians interfered in the 2016 election in a “ sweeping and systematic fashion ” but “ did not establish '' criminal conspiracy between Russians and anyone in Trump 's circle .
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has also pushed for information about Halper ’ s role getting paid tens of thousands of dollars by the Pentagon ’ s Office of Net Assessment while acting as a Trump-Russia FBI informant .

A top Senate Republican issued subpoenas for FBI informant and University of Cambridge professor Stefan Halper to provide documents and appear for testimony this month as part of a review of the Trump-Russia investigation.
Sen. Ron Johnson, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued the subpoenas to Halper, 76, via the FBI informant’s lawyer Robert Luskin this week. They were exclusively obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The documents subpoena asks Halper to “produce all records related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation; the Department of Justice Inspector General’s review of that investigation; and the ‘unmasking’ of U.S. persons or entities affiliated, formally or informally, with the Trump campaign, Trump transition, or Trump administration” by Oct. 14. The subpoena for Halper’s in-person testimony directs him to appear for a closed-door grilling about the same topics at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Oct. 20.
If Halper complies, it would mean his records and testimony would be provided not long before the Nov. 3 election. The Washington Examiner reached out to Luskin for comment.
The Republican-led Senate Homeland Security Committee voted along party lines in September to reaffirm and broaden Johnson’s subpoena authority for witnesses in an inquiry into the Russia investigation. The panel’s June business meeting had authorized subpoenas for 33 Trump-Russia figures, and after efforts by Democratic ranking member Sen. Gary Peters to throw up roadblocks, the September meeting reauthorized the subpoenas for all of them in an 8-6 vote. The panel also approved subpoena authorization authority for seven more possible witnesses, including Halper and his FBI handler, Stephen Somma.
U.S. Attorney John Durham is conducting a separate investigation into the origins and conduct of the Trump-Russia investigation.
A report on the FBI's investigation released by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in December said the bureau concealed significant information provided by Halper, a confidential human source dubbed "Source 2." Halper, a White House veteran of the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations, worked as an FBI informant in 2016 and recorded discussions with at least three Trump 2016 campaign members: foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, campaign associate Carter Page, and campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis. While Halper worked for the FBI, he also received thousands of dollars from the Pentagon, ostensibly, for academic research.
When Halper’s role as an FBI informant was leaked to the media in May 2018, it led to accusations from President Trump and Republicans that the Obama administration used Halper as part of an illegal effort to spy on the Trump campaign, dubbed “Spygate” and later “Obamagate” by allies of Trump, though Democrats downplayed the significance of the revelation. Horowitz concluded the FBI “omitted” Papadopoulos’s recorded statements to Halper in September 2016 “denying that anyone associated with the Trump campaign was collaborating with Russia or with outside groups like Wikileaks.” The recorded denials of Russian collusion made by Papadopoulos and also by Page were never passed to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court as the FBI sought and received the authority to wiretap Page.
At Cambridge, Halper worked for years alongside Sir Richard Dearlove, who had spent decades with MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, and was its director from 1999 to 2004. British ex-spy Christopher Steele, who was hired by Fusion GPS through Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and authored the discredited dossier used to get Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants to target Page, was in MI6 from 1987 until 2009. Dearlove, who left in 2004, called Steele's reputation “superb.” Recently declassified information has shown a host of problems with Steele’s dossier, including that it may have been compromised by Russian disinformation.
MI5 historian Christopher Andrew founded and Dearlove and Halper helped organize a series of Cambridge Intelligence Seminars that were attended by intelligence community members, academics, and researchers from around the world. One such seminar in 2014 was attended by Michael Flynn, then-President Barack Obama’s Defense Intelligence Agency director, who played a prominent role in the Trump campaign beginning in early 2016.
Svetlana Lokhova, a Russian-born British citizen, claimed in a 2019 lawsuit that Halper “embroiled an innocent woman,” Lokhova herself, “in a conspiracy to undo the 2016 presidential election.” Lokhova attended the Cambridge seminar in 2014 that was also attended by Flynn and claimed Halper used this dinner as a pretext to spread false rumors about her and Flynn. Halper demanded the federal court have claims labeling him a “spy” and “rat f---er” dismissed and his accuser sanctioned by the judge. Halper claimed Lokhova’s accusations were “spurious" and referred to her accusations about a coup against Trump as “implausible conspiracy theories.” The lawsuit was dismissed in February, but Lokhova filed an appeal.
William Barnett, the FBI agent who handled the Flynn case in 2016 and 2017, was interviewed by the Justice Department last month and revealed he doubted that Flynn, who was briefly Trump's first national security adviser, had committed any crimes. He also said that he and others cast doubt on any Trump-Russia collusion and that he thought certain FBI investigators as well as prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, such as Andrew Weissmann, were single-minded and overly aggressive in their tactics in going after people in Trump's orbit, including Flynn, complaining of a "get Trump" attitude.
Mueller’s 2019 report said that Russians interfered in the 2016 election in a “sweeping and systematic fashion” but “did not establish" criminal conspiracy between Russians and anyone in Trump's circle.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has also pushed for information about Halper’s role getting paid tens of thousands of dollars by the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment while acting as a Trump-Russia FBI informant.


bonginoreport--2020-10-06--Senior Pentagon Leadership in Quarantine After Coast Guard Official Tests Positive for Coronavirus

The nation ’ s top military leaders are now quarantining after potential exposure to the coronavirus , defense officials said on Tuesday .
The Joint Chiefs of Staff attended multiple meetings at the Pentagon with Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Charles Ray , who later tested positive for the virus on Monday , the Pentagon confirmed in a statement to American Military News .
As many as 14 officials involved in the meetings came into contact with Adm. Ray , the Associated Press reported .
A Department of Defense official told Washington Times that Chairman of the Joint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ along with eight other leaders : • General John Hyten , Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff • General Paul Nakasone , Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency The military leaders began quarantining at home , although they all tested negative for the virus at the time .
“ We are aware that Vice Commandant Ray has tested positive for COVID-19 and that he was at the Pentagon last week for meetings with other senior military leaders .
Some meeting attendees included other Service Chiefs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and taking appropriate precautions to protect the force and the mission .
Out of an abundance of caution , all potential close contacts from these meetings are self-quarantining and have been tested this morning .
No Pentagon contacts have exhibited symptoms and we have no additional positive tests to report at this time.
” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement to American Military News .
“ There is no change to the operational readiness or mission capability of the U.S. Armed Forces .
Senior military leaders are able to remain fully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an alternative work location , ” he said .

The nation’s top military leaders are now quarantining after potential exposure to the coronavirus, defense officials said on Tuesday.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff attended multiple meetings at the Pentagon with Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Charles Ray, who later tested positive for the virus on Monday, the Pentagon confirmed in a statement to American Military News.
As many as 14 officials involved in the meetings came into contact with Adm. Ray, the Associated Press reported.
A Department of Defense official told Washington Times that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley was quarantined, along with eight other leaders:
General John Hyten, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff
Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations
General James McConville, Army Chief of Staff
General Charles Brown, Air Force Chief of Staff
General John Raymond, Chief of Space Operations
General Daniel Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau
General Paul Nakasone, Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency
General Gary Thomas, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps
The military leaders began quarantining at home, although they all tested negative for the virus at the time.
“We are aware that Vice Commandant Ray has tested positive for COVID-19 and that he was at the Pentagon last week for meetings with other senior military leaders. Some meeting attendees included other Service Chiefs. We are conducting additional contact tracing and taking appropriate precautions to protect the force and the mission. Out of an abundance of caution, all potential close contacts from these meetings are self-quarantining and have been tested this morning. No Pentagon contacts have exhibited symptoms and we have no additional positive tests to report at this time.” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement to American Military News.
“There is no change to the operational readiness or mission capability of the U.S. Armed Forces. Senior military leaders are able to remain fully mission capable and perform their duties from an alternative work location,” he said.
Gen. Milley tested negative on Tuesday morning, defense officials said.


bonginoreport--2020-10-06--Court Orders Iran to Pay $1.4 Billion to Missing Former American FBI Agent’s Family

WASHINGTON - A U.S. court has ordered the government of Iran to pay more than $ 1.4 billion in punitive and compensatory damages to the family of a former FBI agent who disappeared during a visit to an Iranian island in March 2007 .
In a decision issued late last week , U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said he adopted a special expert 's recommendation that Robert Levinson 's family be awarded $ 107 million in compensatory damages .
The judge awarded punitive damages of $ 1.3 billion .
`` This judgment is the first step in the pursuit of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patriot , who was kidnapped and subjected to unimaginable suffering for more than 13 years , '' Levinson 's family said .
`` Until now , Iran has faced no consequences for its actions .
Judge Kelly ’ s decision won ’ t bring Bob home , but we hope that it will serve as a warning against further hostage-taking by Iran , '' the family said , adding , `` We intend to find any and every avenue , and pursue all options , to seek justice for Robert Levinson . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Earlier this year , Levinson 's family said they believed he died in Iranian custody , based on information from U.S. officials .
Iran denied that and said the former FBI agent had left the country `` years ago . ''
Levinson disappeared after flying from Dubai to Iran-controlled Kish Island in the Gulf in March 2007 .
There , he met with Daoud Salahuddin , an American Islamic militant who fled to Iran while facing charges in the murder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington .
Months after he disappeared , U.S. government sources acknowledged that before his trip , Levinson had maintained an unorthodox contractual relationship with the analytical branch of the Central Intelligence Agency .
A handful of CIA officials were forced out of the agency and several more were disciplined after an internal investigation .

A U.S. court has ordered the government of Iran to pay more than $1.4 billion in punitive and compensatory damages to the family of a former FBI agent who disappeared during a visit to an Iranian island in March 2007.
In a decision issued late last week, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said he adopted a special expert's recommendation that Robert Levinson's family be awarded $107 million in compensatory damages. The judge awarded punitive damages of $1.3 billion.
In a statement, Levinson's family welcomed the judge's ruling.
"This judgment is the first step in the pursuit of justice for Robert Levinson, an American patriot, who was kidnapped and subjected to unimaginable suffering for more than 13 years," Levinson's family said.
"Until now, Iran has faced no consequences for its actions. Judge Kelly’s decision won’t bring Bob home, but we hope that it will serve as a warning against further hostage-taking by Iran," the family said, adding, "We intend to find any and every avenue, and pursue all options, to seek justice for Robert Levinson."
A spokesman for Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this year, Levinson's family said they believed he died in Iranian custody, based on information from U.S. officials. Iran denied that and said the former FBI agent had left the country "years ago."
Levinson disappeared after flying from Dubai to Iran-controlled Kish Island in the Gulf in March 2007. There, he met with Daoud Salahuddin, an American Islamic militant who fled to Iran while facing charges in the murder of an Iranian Embassy official based in Washington.
Months after he disappeared, U.S. government sources acknowledged that before his trip, Levinson had maintained an unorthodox contractual relationship with the analytical branch of the Central Intelligence Agency.
A handful of CIA officials were forced out of the agency and several more were disciplined after an internal investigation.


bonginoreport--2020-10-06--Antifa and BLM Burn American Flags While Rioting in L.A.

BLM and Antifa staged protests in Los Angeles on Monday night , marching through streets , destroying store fronts , baiting cops , and burning flags .
Militant activists ripped down fencing outside the LAPD headquarters while yelling curses and chanting against the `` racist system . ''
Independent journalist Kalen from Scriberr News caught the footage and posted it to Twitter .
As the flag burned , militants cheered , and a cadre of independent journalists shot the scene .
There were no officers in site as activists pose with their burning flag to be filmed .
An activist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with his skateboard , on Spring Street , reported Kalen .
The man then dares the police to kill him .
`` Do it !
Do it !
I f***in ' dare you !
Kill me ! ''
He yells angrily .
Another man , shooting the scene on cell phone , gingerly approached the police car and pulled open the drivers side door , then hopped back .
Still others destroyed empty storefronts where shops were no longer operating , presumably due to the lockdown measures that have taken so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
Things quieted down after a while and the area looked deserted .
Protests in Los Angeles have turned violent on many occasions this summer , including an incident where rioters slashed a woman 's tires because she had attempted to drive around their street blockade .
When they realized she was black , they clearly felt a little stupid .

BLM and Antifa staged protests in Los Angeles on Monday night, marching through streets, destroying store fronts, baiting cops, and burning flags.
US FLAG BURNING
Los Angeles: Antifa / BLM black bloc militants have taken over the intersection at Spring & 1st. pic.twitter.com/55A49cvqlH — Kalen From Scriberr (@FromKalen) October 6, 2020
Militant activists ripped down fencing outside the LAPD headquarters while yelling curses and chanting against the "racist system." Independent journalist Kalen from Scriberr News caught the footage and posted it to Twitter.
As the flag burned, militants cheered, and a cadre of independent journalists shot the scene. There were no officers in site as activists pose with their burning flag to be filmed.
An activist stood in front of a police car, with his skateboard, on Spring Street, reported Kalen. The man then dares the police to kill him.
"Do it! Do it! I f***in' dare you! Kill me!" He yells angrily.
Another man, shooting the scene on cell phone, gingerly approached the police car and pulled open the drivers side door, then hopped back.
Los Angeles: Approximately 22:00
A rioter begs LAPD to “do it” and screams “Kill me” while in the middle of Spring st. pic.twitter.com/VZVh5lYwFW — Kalen From Scriberr (@FromKalen) October 6, 2020
Still others destroyed empty storefronts where shops were no longer operating, presumably due to the lockdown measures that have taken so many of the nation's small businesses with it.
Los Angeles: Antifa / BLM black bloc militants breaking into empty store fronts in downtown LA. Police are following an blocking intersections. pic.twitter.com/7Tw1rYxY7b — Kalen From Scriberr (@FromKalen) October 6, 2020
The BLM and Antifa militants attacked sky scrapers.
Antifa / BLM radicals have begun destroying property here in LA. pic.twitter.com/WPtAPP981X — Kalen From Scriberr (@FromKalen) October 6, 2020
Things quieted down after a while and the area looked deserted.
Everything is back to “normal” outside the LAPDHQ pic.twitter.com/8JigOSv4ZS — Kalen From Scriberr (@FromKalen) October 6, 2020
Protests in Los Angeles have turned violent on many occasions this summer, including an incident where rioters slashed a woman's tires because she had attempted to drive around their street blockade. When they realized she was black, they clearly felt a little stupid.


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--Senator Ted Cruz and Mark Cuban Fight on Twitter Over NBA’s Plummeting Ratings

Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban launched into name-calling after Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz posted several tweets about the NBA ’ s historically low TV ratings .
“ You ’ re so full of sh*t , ” Cuban said to Cruz after the Senator remarked about the league ’ s ratings debacle .
On Monday and Tuesday , Cruz had retweeted several news stories about the league ’ s crashing ratings , including a Breitbart Sports story and one from Sean Hannity ’ s site : Indeed , the 2020 series is now in the record books as the lowest-rated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the 1960s .
In another tweet , Cruz slammed the league for “ insulting their fans ” with a constant stream of race baiting and brought Cuban into the discussion by noting how much he loves the Dallas Mavericks .
“ But @ mcuban , the NBA is engaged in a concerted effort to ( 1 ) insult their fans & ( 2 ) turn every game into a left-wing political lecture .
That ’ s dumb , ” Cruz tweeted .
But Cruz ’ s noting of the disastrous ratings and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuban to red-hot anger .
“ You are so full of sh*t. You haven ’ t watched a game of the finals , how would you know what is being said or done ?
” Cuban screeched .
“ Since when is a desire to end racism an insult to anyone or political ?
And you don ’ t think using # GetWokeGoBroke is a partisan insult ?
Again , this is who you are.
” Cruz didn ’ t ignore the left-wing billionaire ’ s attack and replied with another shot to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wish @ mcuban loved his fans as much as he loves Chinese money , ” Cruz tweeted .
To that , Cuban tried to make himself a martyr , writing , “ Shame on me for putting American Civil Rights and Justice , creating jobs , growing our economy and healthcare reform over twitter proclamations , ” he tweeted .

Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban launched into name-calling after Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz posted several tweets about the NBA’s historically low TV ratings.
“You’re so full of sh*t,” Cuban said to Cruz after the Senator remarked about the league’s ratings debacle.
On Monday and Tuesday, Cruz had retweeted several news stories about the league’s crashing ratings, including a Breitbart Sports story and one from Sean Hannity’s site:
Not surprising. Personally speaking, this is the first time in years that I haven’t watched a single game in the NBA Finals. #GoWokeGoBroke https://t.co/ygIp60EKHi — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 6, 2020
Indeed, the 2020 series is now in the record books as the lowest-rated since the NBA first began broadcasting games in the 1960s.
In another tweet, Cruz slammed the league for “insulting their fans” with a constant stream of race baiting and brought Cuban into the discussion by noting how much he loves the Dallas Mavericks.
“But @mcuban, the NBA is engaged in a concerted effort to (1) insult their fans & (2) turn every game into a left-wing political lecture. That’s dumb,” Cruz tweeted.
I love @HoustonRockets & have rooted for them my entire life. I happily cheer for the Spurs & Mavericks against any non-TX team. But @mcuban the NBA is engaged in a concerted effort to (1) insult their fans & (2) turn every game into a left-wing political lecture. That’s dumb. https://t.co/uKSgvPhEcq — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 6, 2020
But Cruz’s noting of the disastrous ratings and the league’s constant wokeness brought Cuban to red-hot anger.
“You are so full of sh*t. You haven’t watched a game of the finals, how would you know what is being said or done?” Cuban screeched. “Since when is a desire to end racism an insult to anyone or political? And you don’t think using #GetWokeGoBroke is a partisan insult? Again, this is who you are.”
You are so full of shit. You haven't watched a game of the finals, how would you know what is being said or done? Since when is a desire to end racism an insult to anyone or political? And you don't think using #GetWokeGoBroke is a partisan insult? Again, this is who you are. https://t.co/uKfHGV7IGc — Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 6, 2020
Cruz didn’t ignore the left-wing billionaire’s attack and replied with another shot to Cuban’s chops.
“I wish @mcuban loved his fans as much as he loves Chinese money,” Cruz tweeted.
To that, Cuban tried to make himself a martyr, writing, “Shame on me for putting American Civil Rights and Justice, creating jobs, growing our economy and healthcare reform over twitter proclamations,” he tweeted.
Shame on me for putting American Civil Rights and Justice, creating jobs, growing our economy and healthcare reform over twitter proclamations. https://t.co/MPMBPVKKgI — Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 6, 2020
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--NBA May Drop Social Justice Messages After This Season

Adam Silver sat down for an interview with Rachel Nichols on NBA Countdown earlier this week , and indicated that the social justice messaging that you see on the courts and the backs of players ’ jerseys will be “ largely left off the floor ” next season : Here is the relevant question and answer : Rachel Nichols : The NBA has certainly been the most visible billion-dollar organization championing social justice and civil rights .
As you noted in your press conference the other day , though , that has not been universally popular .
How committed are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Adam Silver : We ’ re completely committed to standing for social justice and racial equality and that ’ s been the case going back decades .
It ’ s part of the DNA of this league .
How it gets manifested is something we ’ re gon na have to sit down with the players and discuss for next season .
I would say , in terms of the messages you see on the court and our jerseys , this was an extraordinary moment in time when we began these discussions with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through this summer .
My sense is there ’ ll be somewhat a return to normalcy , that those messages will largely be left to be delivered off the floor .
And I understand those people who are saying ‘ I ’ m on your side , but I want to watch a basketball game.
’ The ratings have fallen precipitously throughout the playoffs and especially during the NBA Finals .
I understand that the NBA is out of season , other out-of-season sports like hockey and horse racing are down a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with no fans in the stands .
The NBA is competing against football games and MLB playoffs when it normally has national sports fans ’ attention mostly to themselves , and it ’ s a miracle how seamlessly they pulled off the bubble for their fans and TV partners .
On the other hand , the league ’ s biggest star , LeBron James , and sexiest franchise , the Los Angeles Lakers , are setting one all-time low after another after another for NBA Finals viewership .
Consequently , this is as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NBA Commissioner as you ’ ll ever see that embedding the social justice advocacy directly into the on-court product hurt the viewership .
What proportion you want to assign to that phenomenon can be a matter of opinion and conjecture .
You can ’ t deny , after watching that interview , that Silver believes it has contributed to the decline .

Videos by OutKick
Adam Silver sat down for an interview with Rachel Nichols on NBA Countdown earlier this week and indicated that the social justice messaging that currently displayed on the courts and the backs of players’ jerseys will be “largely left off the floor” next season:
Here is the relevant question and answer:
Rachel Nichols: The NBA has certainly been the most visible billion-dollar organization championing social justice and civil rights. As you noted in your press conference the other day, though, that has not been universally popular. How committed are you to being that going forward?
Adam Silver: We’re completely committed to standing for social justice and racial equality and that’s been the case going back decades. It’s part of the DNA of this league. How it gets manifested is something we’re gonna have to sit down with the players and discuss for next season. I would say, in terms of the messages you see on the court and our jerseys, this was an extraordinary moment in time when we began these discussions with the players and what we all lived through this summer. My sense is there’ll be somewhat a return to normalcy, that those messages will largely be left to be delivered off the floor.
And I understand those people who are saying ‘I’m on your side, but I want to watch a basketball game.’
The ratings have fallen precipitously throughout the playoffs and especially during the NBA Finals. It’s true that the NBA is out of season, other out-of-season sports like hockey and horse racing are down a lot too, and it’s weird with no fans in the stands. The NBA is competing against football games and MLB playoffs when it normally has national sports fans’ attention mostly to themselves, and it’s a miracle how seamlessly they pulled off the bubble for their fans and TV partners.
On the other hand, the league’s biggest star, LeBron James, and sexiest franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers, are setting one all-time low after another after another for NBA Finals viewership.
Consequently, this is as close to a direct acknowledgement from the NBA Commissioner as you’ll ever see that embedding the social justice advocacy directly into the on-court product hurt the viewership. What proportion you want to assign to that phenomenon can be a matter of opinion and conjecture. You can’t deny, after watching that interview, that Silver believes it has contributed to the decline.


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--New York Rangers Pick Alexis Lafreniere With First Pick in NHL Draft

OK , can we just say this about the runaway hype ...

Welcome to New York, Alexis Lafreniere.
The Rangers selected the widely considered crown jewel of the 2020 NHL Draft with the No. 1 pick Tuesday night, marking the first top-overall pick for the franchise since Andre Veilleux in 1965 before the universal draft was inaugurated four years later.
Veilleux never made it to the NHL, and Lafreniere is already considered NHL-ready, so the anticipation for the 18-year-old left winger has been booming since the moment Rangers fans recognized the corner of their crest on the draft lottery pingpong ball.
General manager Jeff Gorton said he knew Lafreniere was going to be a Ranger “when the ball came out of the machine.” And now Rangers fans can officially call him theirs.
“It was an unreal feeling,” Lafreniere said of hearing his name called. “Obviously the New York Rangers are a great organization, and for me, I’m really honored to join them. When I heard my name it was — we’ve been waiting for a long time, it was something very special for me and for my family. We’re all really excited.”
After an early exit in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs at the hands of the Hurricanes in the qualifying round led to scoring the No. 1 pick, the Rangers’ rebuild shaved off a few years. It made the unforgettable Feb. 8, 2018 letter from Gorton and Glen Sather appear a little bit further in the rearview mirror.
Because Lafreniere has been waiting to be a difference-maker for an NHL team for longer than the Rangers have been waiting for one. The Rangers had a 12.5 percent chance of garnering the first pick, and they did.
For the Rangers, one of the youngest teams in the league, an NHL-ready draft pick fits the bill. Asked why he thinks he’s ready to jump right onto Broadway’s big stage, Lafreniere pointed to the steps he’s taken in his game in recent years.
“I think, physically, I got a lot stronger and I think in my game, I can create some scoring chances a lot and I think that’s something I’ll try to bring to the next level,” he said. “For sure, it’s going to be a bit of an adjustment but I’ll keep getting ready and when the training camp starts, I’ll try to be as good as I can and try to make a difference.”
Lafreniere most recently made a difference for Canada, helping win a gold medal at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship and being named tournament MVP. Even after missing the two final preliminary games with a leg injury, Lafreniere racked up four goals and six assists in five games.
After leading the QMJHL with 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists) in 52 games with the Rimouski Oceanic this past season, Lafreniere was named CHL player of the year for the second consecutive season. The only other pre-draft prospect to accomplish those feats was Penguins superstar and future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby, who also played for Rimouski nearly two decades ago.
Lafreniere’s 42 goals during his rookie season were the most by a 16-year-old since Crosby scored 54 in 2003.
“For me, I’m really trying to focus on myself and on getting better as Alexis Lafreniere,” he said of the consistent comparison to the three-time Stanley Cup champion and eight-time All-Star. “I don’t think I’m Sidney Crosby.”
He’s Alexis Lafreniere, and he said the first time he realized he could potentially be the first-overall pick was a couple years ago when he first came to Rimouski.
“I told myself I had to work hard to keep getting better and that’s what I did,” he said. “We’re here today and I’m getting drafted with the New York Rangers, it was kind of a dream growing up just to be drafted and being drafted with such a great team it’s amazing for me.”
Lafreniere has never been to New York and he’s only somewhat familiar with Rangers winger Julien Gauthier, a fellow Canadian who he said he’s practiced with a handful of times. He’s unsure what number he’ll pick or what role he’ll take on, but to Lafreniere, it’s just an honor to be a New York Ranger.
Gorton said he hopes to see Lafreniere in a red, white and blue sweater as soon as next season begins — whenever that will be.
According to Hall of Famer Mike Bossy, whose namesake award for the best professional prospect in the QMJHL was given to Lafreniere this past season, Lafreniere has been preparing for this moment for a long time.
“He’s been on this trajectory for a while. He’s one of the faces of hockey in Quebec,” Bossy told The Post’s Larry Brooks in August. “He’s prepared for this. He’s ready.”
Can he be the face of New York next?
The Rangers dealt their Nos. 22 and 72 picks to the Flames in exchange for the 19th-overall selection, trading up to take defenseman Braden Schneider.
The Post’s Larry Brooks reported the Rangers believed the Devils were going to select Schneider with the No. 20 pick, which prompted them to leapfrog over New Jersey.
Meet the Rangers
Alex Lafreniere (Round 1, No. 1)
Age: 18
Shoots: Left
Position: Left wing
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 192 lbs.
From: Saint-Eustache, Quebec
The skinny: Widely considered the crown jewel of the 2020 draft class, Lafreniere has the potential to be a franchise-altering player. He led the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic from a 59-point low-tier team in 2016-17 to a back-to-back playoff contender with 90-plus points. He joins Sidney Crosby as the only two pre-draft prospects to win CHL MVP more than once. Best known as a dynamic scoring threat with a tremendous hockey IQ, Lafreniere elevates his game when the situation calls for it. He is considered to be NHL-ready with his superior playmaking abilities, ice vision and competitiveness. Also known to make his linemates better and take control of a game, Lafreniere can tailor his game to fit any style of play or system.
Braden Schneider (Round 1, No. 19)
Age: 19
Shoots: Right
Position: Defenseman
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 209 lbs.
From: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Skinny: Described as a “behemoth” of a player, Schneider can deliver hits, overpower his opponents and bring a difference-making physicality to the game. He has a knack for breaking up plays and being a disruptive defenseman. Known as a mobile two-way defenseman, Schneider plays the 200-foot game and is a menace in the neutral zone. He has good positioning and gap control for a defenseman and can defend against the rush and the cycle game.


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--Heather Mac Donald: Against Fear

Heather Mac Donald: Against Fear

The New York governor ’ s incorrect claim that his state can review FDA vaccine approval will lead to more @ @ @ @

The media and Democratic establishments are in a frenzy of Schadenfreude over President Trump’s Covid diagnosis. Trump’s contracting the disease, they argue, discredits any coronavirus policy short of lockdowns and mandatory mask-wearing, outdoors as well as in. Trump is now “exhibit No. 1 for the failure of his leadership on coronavirus,” Democratic pollster Geoff Garin told the New York Times.
By contrast, former Vice President Joe Biden’s basement-bunker response has been vindicated, such commentators allege. Biden drove home his status as the country’s premiere symbol of safetyism on Friday by giving a masked and muffled speech in the vast outdoors of Grand Rapids. No one was within yards of him; Biden could not possibly have become infected or infected anyone else, since transmission in well-ventilated outdoor spaces is virtually nonexistent. Yet such displays of coronavirus virtue-signaling will now multiply exponentially, especially from masked television reporters speaking en plein air to a camera yards away.
New York Times columnist Frank Bruni claims that Trump’s infection proves that the country has been lax in its coronavirus response. “It is time, at long last, to learn. To be smarter. To be safer. To be more responsible, to others as well as to ourselves,” he wrote on Saturday. “We cannot erase the mistakes made in America’s response to the coronavirus, but we can vow not to continue making them.”
“Be safer?” The United States has wiped out decades of hard-won prosperity by following the spirit-crushing injunction to “stay safe.” The lockdowns have destroyed the dreams of thousands of entrepreneurs and have put millions out of work, leaving cities like New York moribund ghost towns. The school closures are consigning millions of children worldwide to stunted lives due to delayed, if not now permanently deferred, acquisition of reading, writing, and socialization skills. Children are being inculcated into a culture of fear.
But in Frank Bruni’s world, Americans have been indifferent to risk and have insisted on plunging ahead with their ordinary lives in the face of it. Trump’s illness points out “another moral,” Bruni writes, “also obvious but apparently necessary to articulate: There is a real risk in being cavalier. The president is now the embodiment of that.”
The argument that Trump’s infection demonstrates anything about a proper coronavirus strategy entails a logical fallacy, however. It is neither a vindication nor a refutation of either man’s policy choices that Trump has gotten the coronavirus and Biden (so far) has not. Though Trump has not been entirely consistent in his position on lockdowns and social distancing, he has emphasized the need to reopen the economy and get people working again. Biden, on the other hand, has never stopped arguing that getting the virus under control through moratoria on ordinary human activity is the precondition to reopening the economy (even as he blames Trump for the unemployment caused by lockdowns). The fate of these two individuals tells us nothing about the overall wisdom of their respective positions, which must be evaluated in terms of larger populations and tradeoffs. Making policy based on Trump’s recent infection would, ironically, replicate his own oft-decried narcissism. And if Trump’s infection is determinative, why shouldn’t the death of someone who failed to get treatment for late-stage cancer during the medical shutdowns be determinative as well? The validity of any given policy choice that affects thousands must be judged based on averages, not individual cases.
We set highway speeding limits to maximize convenience at what we consider an acceptable risk to human life. It is statistically certain that every year, there will be tens of thousands of driving deaths. A considerable portion of those deaths could be averted by “following the science” of force and velocity and enforcing a speed limit of, say, 15 miles an hour. But we tolerate motor-vehicle deaths because we value driving 75 miles an hour on the highway, and up to 55 miles an hour in cities, more than we do saving those thousands of lives. When those deaths come—nearly 100 a day in 2019—we do not cancel the policy. Nor would it be logical to cancel a liberal highway speed because a legislator who voted for it died in a car accident.
We could reduce coronavirus transmission to zero by locking everyone in a separate cell until a vaccine was developed. There are some public-health experts who from the start appeared ready to implement such radical social distancing. The extent to which we veer from that maximal coronavirus protection policy depends on how we value its costs and the competing goods: forgone life-saving medical care and deaths of despair from unemployment and social isolation, on the one hand, and the ability to support one’s family through work and to build prosperity through entrepreneurship, on the other. The advocates of maximal lockdowns have rarely conceded such trade-offs, but they are ever-present.
It is not even clear that a more work-friendly policy would lead to more deaths. While the profile of the typical coronavirus decedent has been known for months—median age 80, suffering from co-morbidities that likely would have killed the person anyway—the exact path of transmission remains mysterious. There is no correlation globally between degree of lockdowns and coronavirus death rates. Countries such as Britain that imposed strict lockdowns have massively higher death rates than many countries, such as Japan, that mandated no lockdowns. Deaths and hospitalizations are going down in localities that were more commerce-friendly. There is still no uncontroverted evidence on mask-wearing. Thousands upon thousands of people who have assiduously worn masks have gotten the virus; thousands upon thousands who have not worn masks have not gotten it. Countries with extensive mask-wearing show no better results than several where people breathe free outdoors. What we do know is that transmission occurs overwhelmingly in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, between individuals who have been in close contact for a considerable period of time—15 minutes, in the CDC’s contact-tracing guidelines. The viral load in circulating outdoor air is too low to pose a risk to people passing one another in ordinary street interactions.
The long-known facts about the distribution of mortality risk from the coronavirus—relatively high at the upper age and illness range, negligible in the young—have made no difference to the tyranny of fear. On average, the coronavirus is, according to new WHO data, not more deadly than the flu, yet the conflation of cases with deaths is now absolute. When California State University, Long Beach, a campus of 37,000 students, shuts down because five students tested positive for the virus, we are in the realm of hysteria. When the New York Times portrays a 101-year-old military veteran as a coronavirus fatality, as opposed to someone who died of old age; when the Milwaukee coroner does the same for the death of an 89-year-old male with dementia, hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and chronic renal failure, you know that the media and public-health establishments are looking for any excuse to inflate the death numbers.
Lockdown proponents are hoping that Trump will follow the course of British prime minister Boris Johnson, who reversed his position on keeping the economy open after his own hospitalization for coronavirus. Trump should foreswear such a self-involved about-face. Either a policy is valid, or it is not; its impact on any given policymaker should not determine that judgment, even if the human mind works from personal experience outward.
Instead, Trump should tell the American public something that it has needed to hear from a political leader for months: we must go on with our lives. There will be more coronavirus cases; there will be, tragically, more deaths. But we cannot shut down our human interactions in order to prevent one kind of death. We have never done so before, and the consequences of having done so this year will cripple human life for generations to come if we do not overcome fear now.
Trump articulated as much in an address from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Saturday. He could not be “locked up in a room upstairs [trying to be] totally safe,” he said. “I had to be out there. This is America, this is the United States. . . . we have to confront problems. As a leader you have to confront problems.” The sentiment is exactly right. The effort in which we are currently engaging—to “stay safe” from one particular risk at whatever cost—is inimical to civilization. No matter Trump’s medical outcome, the strength of our governing institutions will carry us through, thanks to the sacrifices of countless people over the centuries who were willing to risk everything, even to die, for the expansion of justice and freedom.
Under today’s safetyism mentality, sacrifice and risk-taking become unthinkable. The martial virtues of courage and stoicism have been sidelined and pathologized. When Trump briefly left Walter Reed on Sunday in a motorcade to greet supporters, a doctor at the hospital complained that the Secret Service agents in Trump’s limousine “might get sick. They may die.” These are the same Secret Service agents who are expected to take a bullet for a president. They were behind a plexiglass barrier in the car; all occupants were masked. Under our feminized ethos, showing resoluteness during a crisis, reassuring the public about one’s well-being, are no longer positive traits in a leader; they are violations of maximal risk aversion. (Of course, medical information about a president’s condition should be transparent.)
Reopening is still the right policy. Mandatory outdoor mask-wearing is merely a way for government to turn citizens into walking billboards of fear, sending the false message that danger is everywhere. Infection rarely leads to death. Most of the infected recover. Given his governmental duties, the surprise is that Trump—as president, another kind of front-line worker—has not gotten sick before now.
Last week, Trump gave a debate performance embodying what the Left likes to call toxic masculinity. Today, anticipating his departure from the hospital, Trump tweeted: “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life.” The mainstream media blew its top, calling the tweet “dangerous,” “gross,” and “almost impossible to believe.” Let them fume. Trump is now modelling masculine leadership at its best: upbeat, rational, and unbowed.
Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian/The White House via Getty Images


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--Julie Strauss Levin: The Harris Administration’s Radical Agenda

Kamala Harris seeks the ( almost ) highest office in our great land , the most powerful position in the free world .
Freudian slip that Harris referred to a future “ Harris administration ” at a virtual roundtable in Arizona last month ?
Maybe she missed that her name is in the VP slot or maybe she doesn ’ t understand that “ me too ” refers to the movement advocating for sexual harassment victims and not “ she too ” for president .
Either way , no time like the present to explore who Kamala Harris is despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look critically at her record .
The media isn ’ t curious and dare anyone raise any questions , cries of misogyny abound .
So , does that mean democrats are misogynists ?
They resoundingly rejected Harris during the presidential primaries .
Her poll numbers dropped to single digits and even her native state of California rejected Harris for president when likely Democratic primary voters , by 61 % to 24 % , thought Harris should quit .
Harris ’ allegiance to “ me too ” is predicated on what is expedient for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rushed to judgment with Blasey-Ford ’ s unsubstantiated allegations , brutally attacking nominee Kavanaugh in front of the cameras while monetizing her performance by posting thousands of fundraising ads off the Kavanaugh hearings .
She even used an edited video to play “ gotcha ” with Kavanaugh except she got caught .
Then , lest we all forget , primary candidate Harris was unequivocally indignant when declaring she believed Biden ’ s sexual harassment accusers and said they should be heard .
“ I believe them , and I respect them being able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ courage to do it.
” There were at least eight in number , including Tara Reade , whose accusations against Joe Biden are too appalling to write here and apparently too much for 60 Minutes voters in the United States , but fine to air on 60 Minutes Australia .
Once selected as Biden ’ s VP running mate , voila , Harris abandoned Reade , sanctimoniously standing by her man Joe .
And speaking about changing positions when good for her , recall how Harris attacked Biden for his civil rights record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden kept , and calling out Biden ’ s objection to busing .
Not an issue now that Harris is Biden ’ s running mate .
Will the real Kamala Harris please stand up .
Harris touts her time as a prosecutor but she sides with the anarchists destroying our cities , intimidating and hurting innocent citizens , breaking the law and causing mayhem .
She refers to them as “ a movement that is fueled by the diversity , the beautiful diversity , of [ those ] demanding change and justice … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone beware because they aren ’ t going to stop before election day in November and they are not going to stop after election day … they should not let up and they should not.
” Not exactly the law and order , safety first leadership this country needs at the moment .
Let ’ s be honest , though , Harris isn ’ t worried since she has secret service protection and is well-protected by armed security when in the Capitol .
The demonstrators also happen to be Biden-Harris voters no doubt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ impact ” of BLM , claiming it “ has been the most significant agent for change within the criminal justice system.
” Yet , she ignores its violent and destructive actions , and she turns her back on the fact that BLM is an anti-Jewish hate group .
As Professor Dershowitz aptly stated , BLM engages in a “ war on the Jewish people.
” Recall Harris ’ visit with Jacob Blake , Sr. in Kenosha .
After the meeting , she called his an “ incredible family.
” Honestly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jews ; “ [ a ] Jew can ’ t tell me s*** period , ” “ [ t ] he Jewish media picks who is a terrorists and is not , ” “ I ’ m with Farrakhan 100 , ” “ [ w ] arning for Jews in Pittsburgh no warning for gunman in Kentucky ” an incredible family ?
More examples exist but you get the drift .
He also posted a photograph of a white Jesus floating in a toilet bowl .
It also doesn ’ t bother Harris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party of anti-Semites .
AOC , Omar , Talib , Pressley and others don ’ t even hide their prejudice .
Harris proudly stands with them as she did with the six speakers at the Democrat National Convention who are fans of Louis Farrakhan .
( He ’ s the one who calls Jews “ termites ” and Hitler a “ very great man.
” ) That her husband is Jewish is convenient but not probative .
Just look at the radical Jewish organization J Street .
Virulently anti-Israel , J Street held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Street , Harris supports the disastrous Obama-Biden Iran deal that gave the world ’ s largest sponsor of terrorism the path to nuclear weapons .
She said Trump ’ s shredding of the Iran deal was a “ huge misstep ” and that she would re-join it .
Like J Street , her Senate votes make clear she doesn ’ t oppose the Boycott , Divest , and Sanction ( BDS ) movement or place high priority on security assistance to Israel .
There ’ s a lot more about Harris that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American people .
Here are some additional highlights of what Harris has in store for our country if the Democrat party takes over .
Brace yourself because these are radical and destructive : significantly higher taxes ( referring to AOC ’ s 70-80 % top taxes rates as “ bold ideas ” ) , single payer socialized medicine ( aka the Bernie Sanders $ 32 trillion plan ) , the elimination of private insurance ( telling Americans , “ let ’ s move on ” ) , passage of the Green New Deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” version , as she says ) , the end of fracking , open borders with government-funded health care for illegal aliens , and sanctuary cities .
The list goes on and on .
Kamala Harris , whether as vice president or , as she “ faux paxed , ” at the top of the ticket , is unacceptable .
She is radical in her positions and cagey in hiding them .
She is driven by a radical agenda that is out of step with the values of our exceptional country .
Ours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anarchy and violence are acceptable , where the federal government engulfs us , dictates our health decisions , and governs our daily lives .
This is Kamala Harris and this is today ’ s Democrat party .
Rejecting her doesn ’ t amount to misogyny .
It means we wish to preserve the exceptionalism that is America .
Julie Strauss Levin is a proud American and attorney who loves her country .

by Julie Strauss Levin
Kamala Harris seeks the (almost) highest office in our great land, the most powerful position in the free world. Freudian slip that Harris referred to a future “Harris administration” at a virtual roundtable in Arizona last month? Maybe she missed that her name is in the VP slot or maybe she doesn’t understand that “me too” refers to the movement advocating for sexual harassment victims and not “she too” for president.
Either way, no time like the present to explore who Kamala Harris is despite that we’re not supposed to look critically at her record. The media isn’t curious and dare anyone raise any questions, cries of misogyny abound.
So, does that mean democrats are misogynists? They resoundingly rejected Harris during the presidential primaries. Her poll numbers dropped to single digits and even her native state of California rejected Harris for president when likely Democratic primary voters, by 61% to 24%, thought Harris should quit.
Harris’ allegiance to “me too” is predicated on what is expedient for her. She was outraged by and rushed to judgment with Blasey-Ford’s unsubstantiated allegations, brutally attacking nominee Kavanaugh in front of the cameras while monetizing her performance by posting thousands of fundraising ads off the Kavanaugh hearings. She even used an edited video to play “gotcha” with Kavanaugh except she got caught.
Then, lest we all forget, primary candidate Harris was unequivocally indignant when declaring she believed Biden’s sexual harassment accusers and said they should be heard. “I believe them, and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it.” There were at least eight in number, including Tara Reade, whose accusations against Joe Biden are too appalling to write here and apparently too much for 60 Minutes voters in the United States, but fine to air on 60 Minutes Australia. Once selected as Biden’s VP running mate, voila, Harris abandoned Reade, sanctimoniously standing by her man Joe.
And speaking about changing positions when good for her, recall how Harris attacked Biden for his civil rights record, offended by the segregationists whose company Biden kept, and calling out Biden’s objection to busing. Not an issue now that Harris is Biden’s running mate. Will the real Kamala Harris please stand up.
Harris touts her time as a prosecutor but she sides with the anarchists destroying our cities, intimidating and hurting innocent citizens, breaking the law and causing mayhem. She refers to them as “a movement that is fueled by the diversity, the beautiful diversity, of [those] demanding change and justice … They are not going to stop and everyone beware because they aren’t going to stop before election day in November and they are not going to stop after election day … they should not let up and they should not.” Not exactly the law and order, safety first leadership this country needs at the moment.
Let’s be honest, though, Harris isn’t worried since she has secret service protection and is well-protected by armed security when in the Capitol. The demonstrators also happen to be Biden-Harris voters no doubt.
Harris praises the “brilliance” and “impact” of BLM, claiming it “has been the most significant agent for change within the criminal justice system.” Yet, she ignores its violent and destructive actions, and she turns her back on the fact that BLM is an anti-Jewish hate group. As Professor Dershowitz aptly stated, BLM engages in a “war on the Jewish people.”
Recall Harris’ visit with Jacob Blake, Sr. in Kenosha. After the meeting, she called his an “incredible family.” Honestly, would you describe someone who said of Jews; “[a] Jew can’t tell me s*** period,” “[t]he Jewish media picks who is a terrorists and is not,” “I’m with Farrakhan 100,” “[w]arning for Jews in Pittsburgh no warning for gunman in Kentucky” an incredible family? More examples exist but you get the drift. He also posted a photograph of a white Jesus floating in a toilet bowl.
It also doesn’t bother Harris just a bit that hers is the party of anti-Semites. AOC, Omar, Talib, Pressley and others don’t even hide their prejudice. Harris proudly stands with them as she did with the six speakers at the Democrat National Convention who are fans of Louis Farrakhan. (He’s the one who calls Jews “termites” and Hitler a “very great man.”) That her husband is Jewish is convenient but not probative. Just look at the radical Jewish organization J Street. Virulently anti-Israel, J Street held a fundraiser for Biden-Harris. Like J Street, Harris supports the disastrous Obama-Biden Iran deal that gave the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism the path to nuclear weapons. She said Trump’s shredding of the Iran deal was a “huge misstep” and that she would re-join it. Like J Street, her Senate votes make clear she doesn’t oppose the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement or place high priority on security assistance to Israel.
There’s a lot more about Harris that is worrisome and should be worrisome to the American people. Here are some additional highlights of what Harris has in store for our country if the Democrat party takes over. Brace yourself because these are radical and destructive: significantly higher taxes (referring to AOC’s 70-80% top taxes rates as “bold ideas”), single payer socialized medicine (aka the Bernie Sanders $32 trillion plan), the elimination of private insurance (telling Americans, “let’s move on”), passage of the Green New Deal (the “most aggressive and progressive” version, as she says), the end of fracking, open borders with government-funded health care for illegal aliens, and sanctuary cities.
The list goes on and on. Kamala Harris, whether as vice president or, as she “faux paxed,” at the top of the ticket, is unacceptable. She is radical in her positions and cagey in hiding them. She is driven by a radical agenda that is out of step with the values of our exceptional country. Ours is not a country where thuggery, anarchy and violence are acceptable, where the federal government engulfs us, dictates our health decisions, and governs our daily lives. This is Kamala Harris and this is today’s Democrat party. Rejecting her doesn’t amount to misogyny. It means we wish to preserve the exceptionalism that is America.
– – –
Julie Strauss Levin is a proud American and attorney who loves her country.


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--Terry Jeffrey: Do Four People Have a Right to Marry One Another?

Justice Samuel Alito had a straightforward question , but the lawyer arguing on behalf of the petitioners in Obergefell v. Hodges did not have a coherent answer .
Her central argument in the case : The 14th Amendment 's command that the states shall not `` deprive any person of life , liberty , or property , without due process of law ; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws '' protected a `` right '' for people of the same sex to marry each other .
Alito did not buy it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this case and then after that , a group consisting of two men and two women apply for a marriage license , '' Alito said .
`` Would there be any ground for denying them a license ? ''
he asked .
`` I believe so , Your Honor , '' said the lawyer .
`` What would be the reason ? ''
Alito asked .
`` There 'd be two , '' she said .
`` One is whether the state would even say that that is such a thing as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there are definitely going to be concerns about coercion and consent and disrupting family relationships when you start talking about multiple persons . ''
To this , Justice Antonin Scalia responded succinctly , `` Well , I did n't understand your answer . ''
The court ended up ruling 5-to-4 that the 14th Amendment did create a right to same-sex marriage .
The dissenters included Scalia , Alito , Justice Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts .
In a dissent joined by Thomas , Scalia explained why the 14th Amendment did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` When the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868 , every state limited marriage to one man and one woman , and no one doubted the constitutionality of doing so , '' Scalia wrote .
`` That resolves these cases , '' he said .
Nonetheless , he was on the losing side in Obergefell because Justice Anthony Kennedy , who President Ronald Reagan nominated in 1987 , joined with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg , Stephen Breyer , Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan in ruling that the 14th Amendment did protect a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sex to marry .
Kennedy , in fact , wrote the majority opinion .
It was a study in incoherence .
`` It can not be denied that this court 's cases describing a right to marry presumed a relationship involving opposite-sex partners , '' Kennedy conceded .
`` In defining the right to marry these cases have identified essential attributes of that right based on history , tradition , and other constitutional liberties inherent in this intimate bond , '' Kennedy said .
`` This analysis compels the conclusion that same-sex couples @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he concluded .
In explaining his pro-same-sex marriage conclusion , Kennedy went on to say that one `` basis for protecting the right to marry is that it safeguards children and families and thus draws meaning from related rights of childbearing , procreation , and education . ''
In a dissent joined by Scalia , Thomas pointed directly to the threat the court 's decision posed to religious liberty .
`` In our society , marriage is not simply a governmental institution ; it is a religious institution as well , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might change the former , but it can not change the latter .
It appears all but inevitable that the two will come into conflict , particularly as individuals and churches are confronted with demands to participate in and endorse civil marriages between same-sex couples . ''
`` Had the majority allowed the definition of marriage to be left to the political process -- as the Constitution requires -- the people could have considered the religious liberty implications of deviating from the traditional definition as part of their deliberative process , '' wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , `` the majority 's decision short-circuits that process , with potentially ruinous consequences for religious liberty . ''
`` Today 's decision usurps the constitutional right of the people to decide whether to keep or alter the traditional understanding of marriage , '' he wrote in an opinion joined by Scalia and Thomas .
`` It will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy . ''
This week , the Supreme Court declined to take up Davis v. Ermold .
Lawyers representing Kim Davis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , explained this case in their petition to the court .
`` Respondents claim that Davis violated their right to marry when she raised a conscientious objection , according to her deeply held religious beliefs , to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under her name and authority , '' it said .
`` In the context of this case , however , and under well-established precedent , Davis is entitled to qualified immunity from respondents ' claims against her in her individual capacity . ''
Davis ' conscientious objection did not prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` Kentucky law , '' the petition noted , `` allows applicants to seek a Kentucky marriage license , which is effective throughout the state , in any county . ''
Alito joined Thomas in issuing a statement , indicating their agreement in the decision not to hear the Davis case -- but challenging the precedent of Obergefell .
`` This petition implicates important questions about the scope of our decision in Obergefell , but it does not cleanly present them , '' wrote Thomas .
`` As a result of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Davis found herself faced with a choice between her religious beliefs and her job , '' he said .
`` Davis may have been one of the first victims of this Court 's cavalier treatment of religion in its Obergefell decision , '' he said , `` but she will not be the last . ''
Terence P. Jeffrey is the editor in chief of CNSnews.com .

Justice Samuel Alito had a straightforward question, but the lawyer arguing on behalf of the petitioners in Obergefell v. Hodges did not have a coherent answer.
Her central argument in the case: The 14th Amendment's command that the states shall not "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" protected a "right" for people of the same sex to marry each other.
Alito did not buy it.
"Suppose we rule in your favor in this case and then after that, a group consisting of two men and two women apply for a marriage license," Alito said.
"Would there be any ground for denying them a license?" he asked.
"I believe so, Your Honor," said the lawyer.
"What would be the reason?" Alito asked.
"There'd be two," she said. "One is whether the state would even say that that is such a thing as a marriage, but then beyond that, there are definitely going to be concerns about coercion and consent and disrupting family relationships when you start talking about multiple persons."
To this, Justice Antonin Scalia responded succinctly, "Well, I didn't understand your answer."
The court ended up ruling 5-to-4 that the 14th Amendment did create a right to same-sex marriage. The dissenters included Scalia, Alito, Justice Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts.
In a dissent joined by Thomas, Scalia explained why the 14th Amendment did not create a right to same-sex marriage.
"When the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, every state limited marriage to one man and one woman, and no one doubted the constitutionality of doing so," Scalia wrote.
"That resolves these cases," he said.
Scalia was right.
Nonetheless, he was on the losing side in Obergefell because Justice Anthony Kennedy, who President Ronald Reagan nominated in 1987, joined with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan in ruling that the 14th Amendment did protect a right for two people of the same sex to marry.
Kennedy, in fact, wrote the majority opinion. It was a study in incoherence.
"It cannot be denied that this court's cases describing a right to marry presumed a relationship involving opposite-sex partners," Kennedy conceded.
"In defining the right to marry these cases have identified essential attributes of that right based on history, tradition, and other constitutional liberties inherent in this intimate bond," Kennedy said.
"This analysis compels the conclusion that same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry," he concluded.
In explaining his pro-same-sex marriage conclusion, Kennedy went on to say that one "basis for protecting the right to marry is that it safeguards children and families and thus draws meaning from related rights of childbearing, procreation, and education."
In a dissent joined by Scalia, Thomas pointed directly to the threat the court's decision posed to religious liberty.
"In our society, marriage is not simply a governmental institution; it is a religious institution as well," wrote Thomas. "Today's decision might change the former, but it cannot change the latter. It appears all but inevitable that the two will come into conflict, particularly as individuals and churches are confronted with demands to participate in and endorse civil marriages between same-sex couples."
"Had the majority allowed the definition of marriage to be left to the political process -- as the Constitution requires -- the people could have considered the religious liberty implications of deviating from the traditional definition as part of their deliberative process," wrote Thomas.
"Instead," he said, "the majority's decision short-circuits that process, with potentially ruinous consequences for religious liberty."
Alito agreed.
"Today's decision usurps the constitutional right of the people to decide whether to keep or alter the traditional understanding of marriage," he wrote in an opinion joined by Scalia and Thomas. "It will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy."
This week, the Supreme Court declined to take up Davis v. Ermold. Lawyers representing Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, explained this case in their petition to the court.
"Respondents claim that Davis violated their right to marry when she raised a conscientious objection, according to her deeply held religious beliefs, to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under her name and authority," it said. "In the context of this case, however, and under well-established precedent, Davis is entitled to qualified immunity from respondents' claims against her in her individual capacity."
Davis' conscientious objection did not prevent same-sex couples from getting licenses in Kentucky. "Kentucky law," the petition noted, "allows applicants to seek a Kentucky marriage license, which is effective throughout the state, in any county."
Alito joined Thomas in issuing a statement, indicating their agreement in the decision not to hear the Davis case -- but challenging the precedent of Obergefell.
"This petition implicates important questions about the scope of our decision in Obergefell, but it does not cleanly present them," wrote Thomas.
"As a result of this court's alteration of the Constitution, Davis found herself faced with a choice between her religious beliefs and her job," he said.
"Davis may have been one of the first victims of this Court's cavalier treatment of religion in its Obergefell decision," he said, "but she will not be the last."
Terence P. Jeffrey is the editor in chief of CNSnews.com.


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--Star Parker: New York – the Example America Should Not Follow

New York City is becoming an economic basket case .
`` 'We 're at war ' : New York City Faces a Financial Abyss , '' screams a New York Times headline .
New York City 's unemployment rate stands at 16 % , double the nation 's average .
Yet , even in the midst of a `` financial abyss , '' the animosity of New York 's liberal elite remains undeterred in its hostility toward free enterprise and entrepreneurship , the pillars of job creation and economic recovery .
In a latest example , commercial real estate development @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project , Industry City , that was estimated to bring 20,000 jobs and $ 100 million in tax revenue to New York City .
After several years of fighting opposition to get approval for rezoning that would have made the project possible , they threw in the towel .
The project was slated to bring `` a million square feet of commercial , retail and community space , '' according to Spectrum News NY1 .
The Brooklyn neighborhood where the development would have been located , Sunset Park , has a poverty rate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But liberal disdain for capitalism far exceeds alleged concerns about poverty .
The city council member who represents the district and led the fight against the project , Carlos Menchaca , celebrated the announcement of its demise .
`` What the community wants is not a private developer with private money to come in and bail out a neighborhood , '' he said .
`` They really want the city of New York to come in and say we 're gon na bring capital infrastructure funding to bring in the Green New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really bring jobs that are connected to our community and in the community 's vision . ''
This while current deficit projections for New York state and New York City are $ 14.5 billion and $ 9 billion , respectively .
Neither Gov .
Andrew Cuomo nor New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had a word in support of the project , while both turn to Washington looking for a bailout from U.S. taxpayers .
Democratic New York Reps. Nydia Velazquez , Jerrold Nadler , Yvette Clarke and Hakeem Jeffries weighed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ projections for the number of jobs that would be created .
One of the development firms behind the project , Jamestown , has an established track record of success .
It developed Chelsea Market in New York City 's Chelsea neighborhood .
According to reports , Chelsea Market attracts 500,000 locals and tourists every month .
In 2018 , Jamestown sold it to Google for $ 2.4 billion .
Appropriate comparisons are being made to the killing of Amazon 's initiative in 2019 to build a new headquarters in New York 's Long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ left included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez .
Like Menchaca , Ocasio-Cortez celebrated Amazon 's decision to kill the project and questioned Amazon 's projection of jobs that would have been created .
`` People are saying 25,000 jobs at $ 125,000 average , which has never happened anywhere , '' Ocasio-Cortez said then .
Just over recent weeks , Amazon announced it has 33,000 corporate and technology jobs open across the country offering `` a total annual compensation of $ 150,000 , including salary and stock awards , '' as widely reported in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expansion of its workforce by 100,000 , with pay beginning at $ 15 per hour plus benefits .
Amazon hired 175,000 temporary workers earlier in the year , at the beginning of the pandemic , and in May announced that 70 % would be retained permanently .
In contrast to New York , Detroit City Council member Roy McCalister Jr. writes exuberantly in Crain 's Detroit Business about Amazon 's plans to bring 1,200 jobs in a new development that will bring Detroit `` $ 43 million in tax revenue in the 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
New York should be a poster child for the nation about what not to do , about the path we should not take .
Anyone who cares about the poor , who cares about our nation 's recovery and growth , should fight to prevent the stifling of our system of free enterprise by confused , self-important political ideologues of the left .
Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and author of the new book `` Necessary Noise : How Donald Trump Inflames the Culture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for America . ''
Readers can respond to Star 's column by emailing star-parker @ urbancure.org .

New York City is becoming an economic basket case.
"'We're at war': New York City Faces a Financial Abyss," screams a New York Times headline.
New York City's unemployment rate stands at 16%, double the nation's average.
Yet, even in the midst of a "financial abyss," the animosity of New York's liberal elite remains undeterred in its hostility toward free enterprise and entrepreneurship, the pillars of job creation and economic recovery.
In a latest example, commercial real estate development firms have pulled out of a proposed project, Industry City, that was estimated to bring 20,000 jobs and $100 million in tax revenue to New York City. After several years of fighting opposition to get approval for rezoning that would have made the project possible, they threw in the towel.
The project was slated to bring "a million square feet of commercial, retail and community space," according to Spectrum News NY1.
The Brooklyn neighborhood where the development would have been located, Sunset Park, has a poverty rate of 29%, per 2018 statistics.
But liberal disdain for capitalism far exceeds alleged concerns about poverty.
The city council member who represents the district and led the fight against the project, Carlos Menchaca, celebrated the announcement of its demise.
"What the community wants is not a private developer with private money to come in and bail out a neighborhood," he said. "They really want the city of New York to come in and say we're gonna bring capital infrastructure funding to bring in the Green New Deal at a city level, to really bring jobs that are connected to our community and in the community's vision."
This while current deficit projections for New York state and New York City are $14.5 billion and $9 billion, respectively.
Neither Gov. Andrew Cuomo nor New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had a word in support of the project, while both turn to Washington looking for a bailout from U.S. taxpayers.
Democratic New York Reps. Nydia Velazquez, Jerrold Nadler, Yvette Clarke and Hakeem Jeffries weighed in against the project.
Menchaca questioned the projections for the number of jobs that would be created.
One of the development firms behind the project, Jamestown, has an established track record of success.
It developed Chelsea Market in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood. According to reports, Chelsea Market attracts 500,000 locals and tourists every month. In 2018, Jamestown sold it to Google for $2.4 billion.
Appropriate comparisons are being made to the killing of Amazon's initiative in 2019 to build a new headquarters in New York's Long Island City. High-profile opposition from the left included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Like Menchaca, Ocasio-Cortez celebrated Amazon's decision to kill the project and questioned Amazon's projection of jobs that would have been created.
"People are saying 25,000 jobs at $125,000 average, which has never happened anywhere," Ocasio-Cortez said then.
Just over recent weeks, Amazon announced it has 33,000 corporate and technology jobs open across the country offering "a total annual compensation of $150,000, including salary and stock awards," as widely reported in the press.
The company also recently announced expansion of its workforce by 100,000, with pay beginning at $15 per hour plus benefits.
Amazon hired 175,000 temporary workers earlier in the year, at the beginning of the pandemic, and in May announced that 70% would be retained permanently.
In contrast to New York, Detroit City Council member Roy McCalister Jr. writes exuberantly in Crain's Detroit Business about Amazon's plans to bring 1,200 jobs in a new development that will bring Detroit "$43 million in tax revenue in the 10 years following the opening of the facility."
New York should be a poster child for the nation about what not to do, about the path we should not take.
Anyone who cares about the poor, who cares about our nation's recovery and growth, should fight to prevent the stifling of our system of free enterprise by confused, self-important political ideologues of the left.
Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and author of the new book "Necessary Noise: How Donald Trump Inflames the Culture War and Why This is Good News for America." Readers can respond to Star's column by emailing star-parker@urbancure.org.


bonginoreport--2020-10-07--Stephen Moore: Just Who Is the Real Blue-Collar President?

One thing we learned from the debate in Cleveland last Tuesday , when Trump was n't interrupting , is that Joe Biden makes up numbers on the fly .
There was a lot of fibbing going on .
Consider this exchange between the two candidates : BIDEN : We handed ( Trump ) a booming economy .
He blew it .
He blew it .
WALLACE : Sir , wait .
Is it fair to say he blew it when ... there was record low unemployment before COVID ?
BIDEN : Yeah .
Yeah , because what he did , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hole .
Manufacturing went in the hole .
He went on to say that President Barack Obama created manufacturing jobs , but they fell under President Donald Trump .
The claim that Trump `` blew it '' when he became president is quite a claim given that the unemployment rate , the poverty rate , the interest rate and the inflation rate hit all-time lows in 2019 , according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Labor .
Employment , wages , median incomes and wealth hit an all-time high .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in real income in three years under Trump , compared with the approximately $ 4,000 increase made in eight years under Obama and Biden .
As one who served as an economic adviser for Trump , I can say definitively that these were exactly the results from our tax cuts , deregulation efforts and pro-America energy policies .
They worked like a charm .
One of our proudest results was the surge in blue-collar employment under Trump .
Here are the numbers for the eight years of Obama 's presidency and the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Yes , under the early months of the pandemic , when government-imposed shutdowns ground industrial production to a virtual halt , the factories were bolted shut .
That would have happened if Abraham Lincoln , George Washington , Mother Teresa or Hillary Clinton were president during this public health crisis .
What matters is the status of blue-collar jobs before the pandemic and since the economy has started to reopen .
Since the shutdowns ended , blue-collar jobs have been surging back .
Several hundred thousand manufacturing jobs have come back , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have `` for hire '' signs in the windows .
Biden is right that we still need to get hundreds of thousands of these high-paying blue-collar jobs back in Ohio , Pennsylvania , Michigan , Wisconsin and New Jersey , among other states .
Trump wants to do that by continuing to cut taxes and promote American energy production .
Biden wants to do it by raising taxes by $ 4 trillion .
Americans will have to decide which approach will work better .
Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He is the co-author of `` Trumponomics : Inside the America First Plan to Revive the American Economy . ''

One thing we learned from the debate in Cleveland last Tuesday, when Trump wasn't interrupting, is that Joe Biden makes up numbers on the fly. There was a lot of fibbing going on. Consider this exchange between the two candidates:
BIDEN: We handed (Trump) a booming economy. He blew it. He blew it.
TRUMP: It wasn't booming.
WALLACE: Sir, wait. Is it fair to say he blew it when ... there was record low unemployment before COVID?
BIDEN: Yeah. Yeah, because what he did, even before COVID, manufacturing went in the hole. Manufacturing went in the hole.
He went on to say that President Barack Obama created manufacturing jobs, but they fell under President Donald Trump.
The claim that Trump "blew it" when he became president is quite a claim given that the unemployment rate, the poverty rate, the interest rate and the inflation rate hit all-time lows in 2019, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Labor. Employment, wages, median incomes and wealth hit an all-time high. Median households saw a $6,400 gain in real income in three years under Trump, compared with the approximately $4,000 increase made in eight years under Obama and Biden. As one who served as an economic adviser for Trump, I can say definitively that these were exactly the results from our tax cuts, deregulation efforts and pro-America energy policies. They worked like a charm.
One of our proudest results was the surge in blue-collar employment under Trump.
Here are the numbers for the eight years of Obama's presidency and the first three years under Trump (prepandemic):
Manufacturing
Obama: -192,000
Trump: 475,000
Mining
Obama: -112,000
Trump: 63,000
Construction
Obama: 280,000
Trump: 746,000
Yes, under the early months of the pandemic, when government-imposed shutdowns ground industrial production to a virtual halt, the factories were bolted shut. That would have happened if Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Mother Teresa or Hillary Clinton were president during this public health crisis. What matters is the status of blue-collar jobs before the pandemic and since the economy has started to reopen.
Since the shutdowns ended, blue-collar jobs have been surging back. Several hundred thousand manufacturing jobs have come back, and many factories and construction sites now have "for hire" signs in the windows.
Biden is right that we still need to get hundreds of thousands of these high-paying blue-collar jobs back in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and New Jersey, among other states. Trump wants to do that by continuing to cut taxes and promote American energy production. Biden wants to do it by raising taxes by $4 trillion. Americans will have to decide which approach will work better.
Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economic consultant with FreedomWorks. He is the co-author of "Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive the American Economy."