Fort Apache Minneapolis

Yesterday , the Washington Post took a moment off from Trump bashing and Biden promoting to run an actual news story on its front page .
The story had a surprisingly ( for the Post ) honest and direct headline : “ Minneapolis violence surges as police officers leave department in droves.
” Here are some excerpts from Holly Bailey ’ s report : The sound of gunfire has become so familiar across North Minneapolis that Cathy Spann worries she has grown numb to it .
Day and night , the bullets zip through this predominantly Black neighborhood , hitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scores of victims have included a 7-year-old boy , wounded in a drive-by shooting ; a woman who took a bullet that came through her living room wall while she was watching television with her family ; and a 17-year-old girl shot in the head and killed .
Spann , a longtime community activist who works for the Jordan Area Community Council , can not recall another time when things were this bad — not even when the city was branded “ Murderapolis , ” during a spike in violence in the mid-1990s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a presence as they used to be , Spann said , noting that sometimes when neighbors call 911 , officers are delayed in responding or don ’ t come at all .
“ If you want to talk about pandemics , we ’ re dealing with a pandemic of violence , ” Spann said on a recent afternoon , just as word came of two more nearby shootings .
“ We ’ re under siege .
You wake up and go to bed in fear because you don ’ t know what ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
.
And our city has failed to protect us.
” Homicides in Minneapolis are up 50 percent , with nearly 75 people killed across the city so far this year .
More than 500 people have been shot , the highest number in more than a decade and twice as many as in 2019 .
And there have been more than 4,600 violent crimes — including hundreds of carjackings and robberies — a five-year high .
Most of the violence has happened since Floyd ’ s killing on Memorial Day , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lingering anger over the slaying and the effects of the coronavirus , including job losses and the closure of community centers and other public spaces .
With that last passage , the Post finally strikes a false note .
Jobs had been lost and community centers closed months before Floyd ’ s death .
And the suggestion that Blacks are terrorizing other Blacks due to anger over Floyd ’ s death is ludicrous .
The cause of the spike in violent crime , as Spann recognizes , is the reduced presence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have left the force so far this year .
That ’ s more than double the number in a typical year .
The department has about 735 sworn officers — down from the city ’ s budgeted 888 positions .
At a recent city council meeting , one resident of South Minneapolis blamed the crime wave , including bullets sprayed into her living room , on the council for pursuing what she described as a “ sociology experiment that obviously doesn ’ t work.
” She and others called for a surge of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the left-wing mayor and city council are beginning to understand the problem .
Last week , the council voted 7-6 to allocate nearly $ 500,000 for the police department to temporarily hire officers from neighboring law enforcement agencies to help patrol city streets from Nov. 15 until the end of the year .
Why officers from other jurisdictions would want to come to Fort Apache Minneapolis even temporarily is not clear .
And those who come will be far less qualified for the work than those who have left .
They won ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked to police .
To make matters worse , a lawyer who represents police officers says he has met with 100 additional officers who are thinking about leaving the force .
Some cite mental exhaustion and fear of further unrest , including protests linked to the trial of the four former police officers charged with killing Floyd , which is scheduled for March .
It ’ s unrealistic for the city government that ’ s responsible for the crime spike through non-stop demonization of the police to come to grips with the problem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reached out to state officials and federal prosecutors to ask what law enforcement agencies can do for them .
But the real remedy won ’ t come until there is regime change in Minneapolis .

Yesterday, the Washington Post took a moment off from Trump bashing and Biden promoting to run an actual news story on its front page. The story had a surprisingly (for the Post) honest and direct headline: “Minneapolis violence surges as police officers leave department in droves.”
Here are some excerpts from Holly Bailey’s report:
The sound of gunfire has become so familiar across North Minneapolis that Cathy Spann worries she has grown numb to it. Day and night, the bullets zip through this predominantly Black neighborhood, hitting cars and homes and people. The scores of victims have included a 7-year-old boy, wounded in a drive-by shooting; a woman who took a bullet that came through her living room wall while she was watching television with her family; and a 17-year-old girl shot in the head and killed. Spann, a longtime community activist who works for the Jordan Area Community Council, cannot recall another time when things were this bad — not even when the city was branded “Murderapolis,” during a spike in violence in the mid-1990s. The police are not as much a presence as they used to be, Spann said, noting that sometimes when neighbors call 911, officers are delayed in responding or don’t come at all. “If you want to talk about pandemics, we’re dealing with a pandemic of violence,” Spann said on a recent afternoon, just as word came of two more nearby shootings. “We’re under siege. You wake up and go to bed in fear because you don’t know what’s going to happen next. . . . And our city has failed to protect us.”
The numbers support this assessment:
Homicides in Minneapolis are up 50 percent, with nearly 75 people killed across the city so far this year. More than 500 people have been shot, the highest number in more than a decade and twice as many as in 2019. And there have been more than 4,600 violent crimes — including hundreds of carjackings and robberies — a five-year high. Most of the violence has happened since Floyd’s killing on Memorial Day, and some experts attribute it in part to the lingering anger over the slaying and the effects of the coronavirus, including job losses and the closure of community centers and other public spaces.
With that last passage, the Post finally strikes a false note. Jobs had been lost and community centers closed months before Floyd’s death. And the suggestion that Blacks are terrorizing other Blacks due to anger over Floyd’s death is ludicrous.
The cause of the spike in violent crime, as Spann recognizes, is the reduced presence of police officers. More than 100 officers have left the force so far this year. That’s more than double the number in a typical year. The department has about 735 sworn officers — down from the city’s budgeted 888 positions.
At a recent city council meeting, one resident of South Minneapolis blamed the crime wave, including bullets sprayed into her living room, on the council for pursuing what she described as a “sociology experiment that obviously doesn’t work.” She and others called for a surge of law enforcement into the city.
Even the left-wing mayor and city council are beginning to understand the problem. Last week, the council voted 7-6 to allocate nearly $500,000 for the police department to temporarily hire officers from neighboring law enforcement agencies to help patrol city streets from Nov. 15 until the end of the year.
Why officers from other jurisdictions would want to come to Fort Apache Minneapolis even temporarily is not clear. And those who come will be far less qualified for the work than those who have left. They won’t know the communities they will be asked to police.
To make matters worse, a lawyer who represents police officers says he has met with 100 additional officers who are thinking about leaving the force. Some cite mental exhaustion and fear of further unrest, including protests linked to the trial of the four former police officers charged with killing Floyd, which is scheduled for March.
It’s unrealistic for the city government that’s responsible for the crime spike through non-stop demonization of the police to come to grips with the problem. That’s why Spann has reached out to state officials and federal prosecutors to ask what law enforcement agencies can do for them.
But the real remedy won’t come until there is regime change in Minneapolis.


powerlineblog--2020-11-19--Will Gun Owners Swing Georgia Senate Races to GOP?

Democrats are pouring into Georgia from across the country , trying to wrest control of the Senate away from Republicans .
Some are talking about establishing fake residence so they can vote , others are going door to door , manning phone banks and so on .
But one issue they probably won ’ t talk about much is gun control .
With good reason .
The Washington Free Beacon calculates that Joe Biden ’ s gun proposals would amount to a $ 34 billion tax on lawful firearm owners : American gun owners could face tens of billions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guns they already own under Democrat Joe Biden ’ s gun ban and tax plan .
At least 20 million rifles and 150 million ammunition magazines would be caught up in the sales ban and registration scheme Biden touted on the campaign trail , according to a National Shooting Sports Foundation ( NSSF ) report .
The new taxes would cost Americans more than $ 34 billion , according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis .
*** Biden wants to ban new sales of AR-15 rifles and similar firearms as well as any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that come standard on most modern rifles and handguns .
He would pay some owners to surrender the affected guns they legally own and force everyone else to register the guns under the National Firearms Act .
The proposal would require owners to pay a $ 200 tax stamp for each item .
The NSSF report is here .
A few basic points should be made .
First , modern sporting rifles–absurdly referred to as “ assault weapons ” by the Left–are the most popular rifles sold in America , accounting for , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all rifles sold .
Second , firearms are more popular than ever with Americans : * An interim 2019 estimate showed a total of 6 million total firearms were produced in the United States .
Of those , 3.6 million were pistols and revolvers , 2 million were rifles and 480,000 were shotguns .
… * There are approximately 71.2 million pistol magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds [ Ed .
: Of which , I own several ] , and 79.2 million rifle magazines capable of holding 30 or more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there were approximately 3.3 million firearms imported into the United States which included 2.3 million pistols and revolvers , 301,000 rifles and 678,000 shotguns .
Currently , Americans own approximately 434 million firearms .
I own five and am looking to buy a sixth .
Democrats have died on the gun control hill over and over again .
Al Gore said that his advocating more restrictive gun laws cost him the 2000 election .
He could well be right .
Fast forward to 2020 .
Firearms ownership in Georgia is ubiquitous .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is home to the fifth-largest active duty military community of any state .
Memo to GOP : If all Georgians understand that the Democrats want to deprive them of their constitutional rights where possible , and charge them their share of $ 34 billion for the privilege of exercising their rights where those rights survive , most of them will not vote Democrat in the runoff Senate election .

Democrats are pouring into Georgia from across the country, trying to wrest control of the Senate away from Republicans. Some are talking about establishing fake residence so they can vote, others are going door to door, manning phone banks and so on. But one issue they probably won’t talk about much is gun control. With good reason.
The Washington Free Beacon calculates that Joe Biden’s gun proposals would amount to a $34 billion tax on lawful firearm owners:
American gun owners could face tens of billions of dollars in new taxes to keep the guns they already own under Democrat Joe Biden’s gun ban and tax plan. At least 20 million rifles and 150 million ammunition magazines would be caught up in the sales ban and registration scheme Biden touted on the campaign trail, according to a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) report. The new taxes would cost Americans more than $34 billion, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.
***
Biden wants to ban new sales of AR-15 rifles and similar firearms as well as any ammunition magazine holding more than 10 rounds—sizes that come standard on most modern rifles and handguns. He would pay some owners to surrender the affected guns they legally own and force everyone else to register the guns under the National Firearms Act. The proposal would require owners to pay a $200 tax stamp for each item.
The NSSF report is here.
A few basic points should be made. First, modern sporting rifles–absurdly referred to as “assault weapons” by the Left–are the most popular rifles sold in America, accounting for, according to NSSF, around one-half of all rifles sold.
Second, firearms are more popular than ever with Americans:
* An interim 2019 estimate showed a total of 6 million total firearms were produced in the United States. Of those, 3.6 million were pistols and revolvers, 2 million were rifles and 480,000 were shotguns. … * There are approximately 71.2 million pistol magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds [Ed.: Of which, I own several], and 79.2 million rifle magazines capable of holding 30 or more rounds in circulation. * In 2019, there were approximately 3.3 million firearms imported into the United States which included 2.3 million pistols and revolvers, 301,000 rifles and 678,000 shotguns.
Currently, Americans own approximately 434 million firearms. I own five and am looking to buy a sixth.
Democrats have died on the gun control hill over and over again. Al Gore said that his advocating more restrictive gun laws cost him the 2000 election. He could well be right. Fast forward to 2020. Firearms ownership in Georgia is ubiquitous. Carry laws are permissive, and Georgia is home to the fifth-largest active duty military community of any state.
Memo to GOP: If all Georgians understand that the Democrats want to deprive them of their constitutional rights where possible, and charge them their share of $34 billion for the privilege of exercising their rights where those rights survive, most of them will not vote Democrat in the runoff Senate election.


powerlineblog--2020-11-19--Black legislator skates on conspiracy to damage monument charge

A local Virginia prosecutor has dropped charges against Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas , who was caught by the Portsmouth , Virginia police conspiring to topple a Confederate monument last summer .
There was evidence from social media that Lucas encouraged people to attend a demonstration and help tear down the statute .
And video taken by police showed Lucas telling officers that they could not arrest the demonstrators for what they were about to do .
Lucas wasn ’ t the only local bigwig charged in connection with this incident .
Police also a school board member and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who is Black , was the most prominent member of the gang .
And her daughter is the vice mayor of Portsmouth .
The prosecutor , Stephanie Morales , had texted Lucas expressing support for the demonstration the day it occurred .
Morales also contributed to Lucas ’ political campaign fund .
Yet , Morales refused to recuse herself from the potential prosecution .
A court upheld her refusal .
Lucas clearly has an inflated view of herself .
She called the charges against her a “ national embarrassment ” ( emphasis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are 55 percent African American .
But one of those African-American residents is Angela Greene , the chief of police who brought the charges against Lucas .
The city fired Greene , pretty clearly for daring to bring charges against the head of the its leading political family and for not siding with the BLM mob .
I call that an embarrassment .
And while we ’ re on the subject of embarrassments , how about the Washington Post ’ s story on this affair ?
Nowhere in his report does Antonio Olivo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He mentions Lucas ’ race twice and the story is full of racial themes .
Perhaps Olivo considers Greene inauthentically Black for trying to enforce the law against BLM protesters .
Or maybe it ’ s just that Greene ’ s race interferes with the narrative the Post wants to peddle — the race-based persecution of a Black leader .
Greene says she will file a wrongful termination case against the city .
She probably has a good claim , although perhaps not as open-and-shut as the case the city had against Lucas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law , first by spray painting public property and then by tearing it down .
Unfortunately , in many American jurisdictions these days it doesn ’ t matter what the facts are .
It doesn ’ t even matter what your race is .
What matters is whether you ’ re on BLM ’ s side ( or the left ’ s in general ) .
If so , you ’ re probably going to skate .
If not , you might well lose your job , as Angela Greene did .

A local Virginia prosecutor has dropped charges against Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas, who was caught by the Portsmouth, Virginia police conspiring to topple a Confederate monument last summer. There was evidence from social media that Lucas encouraged people to attend a demonstration and help tear down the statute. And video taken by police showed Lucas telling officers that they could not arrest the demonstrators for what they were about to do.
Lucas wasn’t the only local bigwig charged in connection with this incident. Police also a school board member and the president of the Portsmouth NAACP
But Lucas, who is Black, was the most prominent member of the gang. And her daughter is the vice mayor of Portsmouth.
The prosecutor, Stephanie Morales, had texted Lucas expressing support for the demonstration the day it occurred. Morales also contributed to Lucas’ political campaign fund. Yet, Morales refused to recuse herself from the potential prosecution. A court upheld her refusal.
Lucas clearly has an inflated view of herself. She called the charges against her a “national embarrassment” (emphasis added) for a city whose residents are 55 percent African American. But one of those African-American residents is Angela Greene, the chief of police who brought the charges against Lucas.
The city fired Greene, pretty clearly for daring to bring charges against the head of the its leading political family and for not siding with the BLM mob. I call that an embarrassment.
And while we’re on the subject of embarrassments, how about the Washington Post’s story on this affair? Nowhere in his report does Antonio Olivo mention that Greene is African American. He mentions Lucas’ race twice and the story is full of racial themes.
Perhaps Olivo considers Greene inauthentically Black for trying to enforce the law against BLM protesters. Or maybe it’s just that Greene’s race interferes with the narrative the Post wants to peddle — the race-based persecution of a Black leader.
Greene says she will file a wrongful termination case against the city. She probably has a good claim, although perhaps not as open-and-shut as the case the city had against Lucas and the others who plainly violated the law, first by spray painting public property and then by tearing it down.
Unfortunately, in many American jurisdictions these days it doesn’t matter what the facts are. It doesn’t even matter what your race is. What matters is whether you’re on BLM’s side (or the left’s in general).
If so, you’re probably going to skate. If not, you might well lose your job, as Angela Greene did.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--A conspiracy so immense

A conspiracy so immense

I think that voter fraud had a lot to do with the outcome of the electoral results in Michigan , Pennsylvania , and elsewhere .
It ’ s a staple of Democratic Party politics .
Democrats have long protected illegal voters like they are a core constituency of the party , as I believe they are .
The vast expansion of mail-in voting predicated on the COVID-19 epidemic considerably widened the playing field , to say the least .
So the Trump campaign ’ s allegations of fraud are certainly plausible .
Have they got the goods ?
The Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conference advertising the fraud claims supposedly at the heart of lawsuits now on file .
I watched the press conference live yesterday .
Full video is posted here on YouTube and here on C-SPAN .
We seemed to be in the territory of “ a conspiracy so immense.
” Where are the lawsuits in which the affidavits cited by Rudy Giuliani are actually filed ?
Where in the lawsuits on file is the evidence that the voting machines were manipulated as attorney Sidney Powell described ?
I ’ m not clear on that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Michigan lawsuit , which the Trump campaign has withdrawn allegedly “ as a direct result of achieving the relief we sought : to stop the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified before residents can be assured that every legal vote has been counted and every illegal vote has not been counted.
” How so ?
It ’ s an important point .
Although 90 minutes should have been sufficient to clarify it , we await further explanation .
Last night John elaborated his own issues here .
They too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watched the press conference .
He devoted his monologue to it last night .
He watched with an open mind and clearly remains sympathetic to the claims of fraud ( or “ rigging ” ) .
FOX News has posted his column adapted from the monologue along with the video here .
Tucker provided background that tended to belie attorney Sidney Powell ’ s comments at the briefing .
Powell ’ s remarks are clipped here in a 14-minute C-SPAN video .
Tucker commented : All of which brings us to the bombshell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ press conference that was delivered by Powell , who also serves as Gen. Mike Flynn ’ s lawyer .
For more than a week , Powell has been all over conservative media with the following story : This election was stolen by a collection of international leftists who manipulated vote tabulating software in order to flip millions of votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden .
The other day on television , Powell said of Trump that when the fraud is finally uncovered , “ I think we ’ ll find he had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other words , rigged software stole about seven million votes in this election .
On Sunday night , “ Tucker Carlson Tonight ” texted her after watching one of her segments .
What Powell was describing would amount to the single greatest crime in American history .
Millions of votes stolen in a day , democracy destroyed , the end of our centuries-old system of self-government .
Not a small thing .
Now , to be perfectly clear , we did not dismiss any of it .
We don ’ t dismiss anything @ @ @ @ @ @ @ related to technology .
We ’ ve talked to too many Silicon Valley whistleblowers and we ’ ve seen too much after four years on the air .
We literally do UFO segments , not because we ’ re crazy or even been interested in the subject , but because there is evidence that UFOs are real and everyone lies about it .
There ’ s evidence that a lot of things that responsible people dismiss out of hand as ridiculous are in fact real .
The louder the Yale political science department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scream “ conspiracy theory , ” the more interested we tend to be .
That ’ s usually a sign you ’ re over the target .
A lot of people with impressive-sounding credentials in this country are frauds .
They have no idea what they ’ re doing .
They ’ re children posing as authorities .
And when they ’ re caught , they lie and then they blame you for it .
We see that every day .
It ’ s the central theme of our show and will continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a long way of saying we took Sidney Powell seriously with no intention of fighting with her .
We ’ ve always respected her work , we simply wanted to see the details .
How could you not want to see them ?
So we invited Sidney Powell on the show .
We would have given her the whole hour .
We would have given her the entire week , actually , and listened quietly the whole time at rapt attention .
But she never sent us any evidence , despite a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pressing , she got angry and told us to stop contacting her .
When we checked with others around the Trump campaign , people in positions of authority , they also told us Powell had never given them any evidence to prove anything she claimed today at the press conference .
Powell did say that electronic voting is dangerous , and she ’ s right , but she never demonstrated that a single actual vote was moved illegitimately by software from one candidate to another .
Not one .
Video of Tucker ’ @ @ @ @ @

I think that voter fraud had a lot to do with the outcome of the electoral results in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. It’s a staple of Democratic Party politics. Democrats have long protected illegal voters like they are a core constituency of the party, as I believe they are. The vast expansion of mail-in voting predicated on the COVID-19 epidemic considerably widened the playing field, to say the least. So the Trump campaign’s allegations of fraud are certainly plausible. Have they got the goods?
The Trump campaign legal team held a 90-minute press conference advertising the fraud claims supposedly at the heart of lawsuits now on file. I watched the press conference live yesterday. Full video is posted here on YouTube and here on C-SPAN.
We seemed to be in the territory of “a conspiracy so immense.” Where are the lawsuits in which the affidavits cited by Rudy Giuliani are actually filed? Where in the lawsuits on file is the evidence that the voting machines were manipulated as attorney Sidney Powell described? I’m not clear on that.
The affidavits aren’t filed in the Michigan lawsuit, which the Trump campaign has withdrawn allegedly “as a direct result of achieving the relief we sought: to stop the election in Wayne County from being prematurely certified before residents can be assured that every legal vote has been counted and every illegal vote has not been counted.”
How so? It’s an important point. Although 90 minutes should have been sufficient to clarify it, we await further explanation. Last night John elaborated his own issues here. They too require further clarification.
Tucker Carlson also watched the press conference. He devoted his monologue to it last night. He watched with an open mind and clearly remains sympathetic to the claims of fraud (or “rigging”). FOX News has posted his column adapted from the monologue along with the video here.
Tucker provided background that tended to belie attorney Sidney Powell’s comments at the briefing. Powell’s remarks are clipped here in a 14-minute C-SPAN video. Tucker commented:
All of which brings us to the bombshell at the center of today’s press conference that was delivered by Powell, who also serves as Gen. Mike Flynn’s lawyer. For more than a week, Powell has been all over conservative media with the following story: This election was stolen by a collection of international leftists who manipulated vote tabulating software in order to flip millions of votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. The other day on television, Powell said of Trump that when the fraud is finally uncovered, “I think we’ll find he had at least 80 million votes.” In other words, rigged software stole about seven million votes in this election. On Sunday night, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” texted her after watching one of her segments. What Powell was describing would amount to the single greatest crime in American history. Millions of votes stolen in a day, democracy destroyed, the end of our centuries-old system of self-government. Not a small thing. Now, to be perfectly clear, we did not dismiss any of it. We don’t dismiss anything anymore, particularly when it’s related to technology. We’ve talked to too many Silicon Valley whistleblowers and we’ve seen too much after four years on the air. We literally do UFO segments, not because we’re crazy or even been interested in the subject, but because there is evidence that UFOs are real and everyone lies about it. There’s evidence that a lot of things that responsible people dismiss out of hand as ridiculous are in fact real. The louder the Yale political science department and the staff of The Atlantic magazine scream “conspiracy theory,” the more interested we tend to be. That’s usually a sign you’re over the target. A lot of people with impressive-sounding credentials in this country are frauds. They have no idea what they’re doing. They’re children posing as authorities. And when they’re caught, they lie and then they blame you for it. We see that every day. It’s the central theme of our show and will continue to be. So that’s a long way of saying we took Sidney Powell seriously with no intention of fighting with her. We’ve always respected her work, we simply wanted to see the details. How could you not want to see them? So we invited Sidney Powell on the show. We would have given her the whole hour. We would have given her the entire week, actually, and listened quietly the whole time at rapt attention. But she never sent us any evidence, despite a lot of polite requests. When we kept pressing, she got angry and told us to stop contacting her. When we checked with others around the Trump campaign, people in positions of authority, they also told us Powell had never given them any evidence to prove anything she claimed today at the press conference. Powell did say that electronic voting is dangerous, and she’s right, but she never demonstrated that a single actual vote was moved illegitimately by software from one candidate to another. Not one.
Video of Tucker’s monologue is below.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--Thoughts from the ammo line

Thoughts from the ammo line

Ammo Grrrll is all in on SCORCHED EARTH , BABY !
She writes : In the run-up to the 2020 election , I delighted at the sight of 57,000 patriots in Pennsylvania , a 90 mile long Trump car parade in Arizona , YUGE rallies wherever President Trump went .
I commented to Mr. AG that it was terribly odd that Biden/Harris had NO rallies .
A couple of “ gatherings ” about the size of an AA meeting , if AA meetings were held in cars .
Now , granted , Joe could not be trusted , unsupervised , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But all of Hollywood was backing Dementia Boy and the giggling beige trollop .
SURELY they could organize a Super-Bowl sized lineup of stars and give out thousands of free tickets .
But it never happened .
Curious .
So why not ?
Not for lack of money .
They were awash in it .
At first , I thought they were stickin ’ with the “ It ’ s COVID ” theme .
Now it is crystal clear : There was no need to rally .
THE FIX WAS IN !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Can you say RICO , boys and girls ” ?
Seventy-three million of us ( minimum ) voted for Donald J. Trump on the rotten Dominion software .
After all the astonishing election irregularities , the very next day , Unity Unicorns came out to admonish us troglodytes to knuckle under and accept the results .
For the “ good of the country ” which they hate .
Yeah , I ’ ll get right ON that .
To review : since 2007 , we had been called smelly Other-haters , gun nuts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hate the name “ Barack Hussein ” ; sexists , xenophobes and homophobes .
Oh , I almost forgot transphobes and Islamophobes .
Just all round “ phobey.
” But especially , racists , none more racist than black and Hispanic Trump supporters .
Our President has been treated worse than any president in history – cursed during the Oscars , repeatedly slandered as a racist , called Literally Hitler by a woman with the IQ and good looks of a ferret , investigated for three years for somehow conspiring with Putin to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the united focus should have been on COVID , a stupid and fruitless attempt to impeach him .
Then he was BLAMED for COVID .
Donald J. Trump could not catch a break no matter what .
Record employment for blacks and Hispanics ?
Pshaw…just residue from the fabulous economy of Obama which we all remember so fondly .
He could have announced a cure for cancer in time to save RBG and the first question at the presser proclaiming the miracle would have been from CNN : “ Why won ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Next , from Fox : “ Why did you choose to cure cancer when so many people of color have diabetes ?
Why do you hate people of color ?
And , if I may ask a follow-up question , why won ’ t you condemn the Nazis in Charlotte ?
” Freedom of speech .
What is it good for ?
– absolutely nuthin ’ – if you have no avenue to get the truth out .
FDR could have his Fireside Chats with the American public , on the radio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden , via television , not yet invented .
These chats were broadcast without interference .
Americans could hear what he had to say without being filtered .
The networks even cut away during the Republican Convention whenever a non-white person spoke .
But even that was not enough .
Trump spoke directly to Americans through Tweeting .
The totalitarians couldn ’ t abide access with no gatekeeper .
Jack Dorsey decided to CANCEL the Twitter account of the President .
It boggles the mind .
And Facebook blocks anybody trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election .
Game .
Set .
Match .
Obama said in his Sixty Minutes slobberfest that it ’ s just wrong to allow “ misinformation.
” Hillary – who wasn ’ t even the first or second female Secretary of State and will NEVER be the first woman President – slimed 50 percent of us Trump supporters as inhabiting the famous Basket of Deplorables .
We remember .
The good news is we are improving .
Now deranged D-List actor John Cusack thinks that only a THIRD of us are actual Nazis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nazis in the entire USA .
The brand got a little bit tarnished when The Greatest Generation kicked their asses some 75 years ago .
But no matter .
A mediocre actress/crone famous for Barbarella , exercise tapes and also consorting with the enemy during the Vietnam war , joked that COVID was God ’ s gift to the Democrats .
A quarter million dead — what a knee-slapper .
Michelle Obama believes we should now all unite around Joe “ Hairy Legs ” Biden despite the “ fact ” that WE “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Yup .
All those shrieking pussy hat marches , all those riots and lootings , all those mostly threatening marches to the suburbs .
That was us .
NOT !
!
Unite ?
Not just NO .
HELL , NO .
No respect , no quarter .
I will “ unite ” when Jussie Smollett is forced to pay back every cent spent for the investigation of his bogus “ bleach and noose ” attack AND then made to go on Robin Roberts ’ show and admit that he lied .
I don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison .
He would probably like it .
I will “ unite ” when SOMEBODY , ANYBODY , goes to prison for the Russia Hoax and attempted coup right here on our soil .
I will “ unite ” when every single news outlet has to hire 50 percent conservative journalists and opinion makers that I get to pick !
And I don ’ t mean the likes of Jennifer Rubin and Ana “ Churro ” Navarro and all the other wretched fake “ Republicans , ” none of whom has voted for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four election cycles .
We are full up with those .
I will “ unite ” when The View is forced to either change its name to “ One Tedious , Biased View ” or to hire Candace Owens and Sarah Palin for balance .
I will “ unite ” when True the Vote comes in and certifies every single voter registration list in every single precinct .
I will “ unite ” when armed U.S. marshals monitor vote counting in every precinct and guarantee a true count .
If there aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , like they do for Christmas in department stores .
Or use the National Guard .
My mother was a poll watcher for the Republican side every election for decades .
She served with one other Republican and two Democrat neighbors and they guaranteed that their total was accurate .
But if partisans can not behave in an honest , patriotic fashion , then somebody will have to monitor them .
Though Jewish by religion , I am Irish by ethnicity .
A joke definition of Irish Alzheimers is “ forgetting everything but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Donald J. Trump is my President until he says he isn ’ t .
Joe Biden is a mean , bullying , corrupt unindicted influence peddler , fraudulent charity runner , lying , racist , creepy plagiarist who is just a stand-in for Obama 2.0 .
He will NEVER be my President , just a nasty Resident-Elect for a Memory Care Unit .

Ammo Grrrll is all in on SCORCHED EARTH, BABY! She writes:
In the run-up to the 2020 election, I delighted at the sight of 57,000 patriots in Pennsylvania, a 90 mile long Trump car parade in Arizona, YUGE rallies wherever President Trump went. I commented to Mr. AG that it was terribly odd that Biden/Harris had NO rallies. A couple of “gatherings” about the size of an AA meeting, if AA meetings were held in cars. Now, granted, Joe could not be trusted, unsupervised, at a mic for even 5 minutes. But all of Hollywood was backing Dementia Boy and the giggling beige trollop. SURELY they could organize a Super-Bowl sized lineup of stars and give out thousands of free tickets. But it never happened.
Curious. So why not? Not for lack of money. They were awash in it. At first, I thought they were stickin’ with the “It’s COVID” theme. Now it is crystal clear: There was no need to rally. THE FIX WAS IN! And they all knew it! “Can you say RICO, boys and girls”?
Seventy-three million of us (minimum) voted for Donald J. Trump on the rotten Dominion software. After all the astonishing election irregularities, the very next day, Unity Unicorns came out to admonish us troglodytes to knuckle under and accept the results. For the “good of the country” which they hate. Yeah, I’ll get right ON that.
To review: since 2007, we had been called smelly Other-haters, gun nuts with bad teeth, religious lunatics who hate the name “Barack Hussein”; sexists, xenophobes and homophobes. Oh, I almost forgot transphobes and Islamophobes. Just all round “phobey.” But especially, racists, none more racist than black and Hispanic Trump supporters.
Our President has been treated worse than any president in history – cursed during the Oscars, repeatedly slandered as a racist, called Literally Hitler by a woman with the IQ and good looks of a ferret, investigated for three years for somehow conspiring with Putin to steal the election, and right when the united focus should have been on COVID, a stupid and fruitless attempt to impeach him. Then he was BLAMED for COVID.
Donald J. Trump could not catch a break no matter what. Record employment for blacks and Hispanics? Pshaw…just residue from the fabulous economy of Obama which we all remember so fondly. He could have announced a cure for cancer in time to save RBG and the first question at the presser proclaiming the miracle would have been from CNN : “Why won’t you condemn the Nazis in Charlotte?”
Next, from Fox: “Why did you choose to cure cancer when so many people of color have diabetes? Why do you hate people of color? And, if I may ask a follow-up question, why won’t you condemn the Nazis in Charlotte?”
Freedom of speech. What is it good for? – absolutely nuthin’ – if you have no avenue to get the truth out. FDR could have his Fireside Chats with the American public, on the radio, or, according to not-at-all impaired Joe Biden, via television, not yet invented. These chats were broadcast without interference. Americans could hear what he had to say without being filtered.
The networks even cut away during the Republican Convention whenever a non-white person spoke. But even that was not enough. Trump spoke directly to Americans through Tweeting. The totalitarians couldn’t abide access with no gatekeeper. Jack Dorsey decided to CANCEL the Twitter account of the President. It boggles the mind. And Facebook blocks anybody trying to question obvious, egregious irregularities in the election. Game. Set. Match. Obama said in his Sixty Minutes slobberfest that it’s just wrong to allow “misinformation.”
Hillary – who wasn’t even the first or second female Secretary of State and will NEVER be the first woman President – slimed 50 percent of us Trump supporters as inhabiting the famous Basket of Deplorables. We remember. The good news is we are improving. Now deranged D-List actor John Cusack thinks that only a THIRD of us are actual Nazis. There probably aren’t 15 card-carrying Nazis in the entire USA. The brand got a little bit tarnished when The Greatest Generation kicked their asses some 75 years ago. But no matter.
A mediocre actress/crone famous for Barbarella, exercise tapes and also consorting with the enemy during the Vietnam war, joked that COVID was God’s gift to the Democrats. A quarter million dead — what a knee-slapper. Michelle Obama believes we should now all unite around Joe “Hairy Legs” Biden despite the “fact” that WE “supported nothing but chaos and division.” Yup. All those shrieking pussy hat marches, all those riots and lootings, all those mostly threatening marches to the suburbs. That was us. NOT!!
Unite? Not just NO. HELL, NO. No respect, no quarter. I will “unite” when Jussie Smollett is forced to pay back every cent spent for the investigation of his bogus “bleach and noose” attack AND then made to go on Robin Roberts’ show and admit that he lied. I don’t even insist he goes to prison. He would probably like it. I will “unite” when SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, goes to prison for the Russia Hoax and attempted coup right here on our soil.
I will “unite” when every single news outlet has to hire 50 percent conservative journalists and opinion makers that I get to pick! And I don’t mean the likes of Jennifer Rubin and Ana “Churro” Navarro and all the other wretched fake “Republicans,” none of whom has voted for anything but a Democrat for at least four election cycles. We are full up with those.
I will “unite” when The View is forced to either change its name to “One Tedious, Biased View” or to hire Candace Owens and Sarah Palin for balance. I will “unite” when True the Vote comes in and certifies every single voter registration list in every single precinct.
I will “unite” when armed U.S. marshals monitor vote counting in every precinct and guarantee a true count. If there aren’t enough, hire more, seasonally, like they do for Christmas in department stores. Or use the National Guard. My mother was a poll watcher for the Republican side every election for decades. She served with one other Republican and two Democrat neighbors and they guaranteed that their total was accurate. But if partisans cannot behave in an honest, patriotic fashion, then somebody will have to monitor them.
Though Jewish by religion, I am Irish by ethnicity. A joke definition of Irish Alzheimers is “forgetting everything but the grudges.” Works for me! Donald J. Trump is my President until he says he isn’t. Joe Biden is a mean, bullying, corrupt unindicted influence peddler, fraudulent charity runner, lying, racist, creepy plagiarist who is just a stand-in for Obama 2.0. He will NEVER be my President, just a nasty Resident-Elect for a Memory Care Unit.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--Fort Apache Minneapolis, Part Two

Fort Apache Minneapolis, Part Two

Last night , I wrote about the dramatic rise of violent crime in Minneapolis .
I based my post on an article in the Washington Post called “ Minneapolis violence surges as police officers leave department in droves.
” The Post ’ s article cited statistics that show how drastically violence in Minneapolis has surged .
It also highlighted the impact of the surge on the lives of Black residents of Minneapolis — residents who blame the mayor and city council and who have pleaded for help .
I forgot to mention that last month the Trump Justice Department offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I wrote about this here .
As I reported : The program includes creating a new national coordination center run by the International Association of Chiefs of Police for training and technical assistance .
Federal officials say the partnership could involve anything from reviewing a police department ’ s use-of-force policies to supporting the mental health and well-being of officers and community members .
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo [ who is Black ] is excited about the DOJ ’ s offer to assist .
He made this clear during an appearance with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights .
Arradondo said the national coordination center could provide important support for his department , which has seen staffing levels decline by 130 officers in the last year .
He noted that lack of resources has meant the department has had to become “ one-dimensional ” in its activities , focusing more on patrol and investigation to the detriment of other police department responsibilities .
“ What this offer would do is it would provide that additional support for us , in terms of training , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Arradondo explained .
I also reported that Minneapolis ’ mayor and leftist city council were quite unenthusiastic about receiving help from the Justice Department .
This was unfortunate , but not surprising .
After all , this Summer , the city council president and some of her colleagues promised to abolish the Minneapolis police department .
A month has passed since Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband flew to Minneapolis and announced the DOJ ’ s offer to assist the city cope with its devastating wave of violent crime .
The city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is studying the offer .
The offer consists of a two-page memorandum of understanding .
In October , there were two plausible explanations for the city ’ s refusal to receive the help from the DOJ that its police chief and many Black residents desire so much : ( 1 ) unwillingness to accept help from the big bad Trump administration and ( 2 ) raw anti-police animus and sympathy for violent criminals .
We still can ’ t rule out the first explanation .
However , now that the election is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down , the second explanation seems like the more plausible one .

Last night, I wrote about the dramatic rise of violent crime in Minneapolis. I based my post on an article in the Washington Post called “Minneapolis violence surges as police officers leave department in droves.”
The Post’s article cited statistics that show how drastically violence in Minneapolis has surged. It also highlighted the impact of the surge on the lives of Black residents of Minneapolis — residents who blame the mayor and city council and who have pleaded for help.
I forgot to mention that last month the Trump Justice Department offered help through a special partnership program. I wrote about this here. As I reported:
The program includes creating a new national coordination center run by the International Association of Chiefs of Police for training and technical assistance. Federal officials say the partnership could involve anything from reviewing a police department’s use-of-force policies to supporting the mental health and well-being of officers and community members. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo [who is Black] is excited about the DOJ’s offer to assist. He made this clear during an appearance with DOJ officials, including Eric Dreiband, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights. Arradondo said the national coordination center could provide important support for his department, which has seen staffing levels decline by 130 officers in the last year. He noted that lack of resources has meant the department has had to become “one-dimensional” in its activities, focusing more on patrol and investigation to the detriment of other police department responsibilities. “What this offer would do is it would provide that additional support for us, in terms of training, in terms of looking at our policies,” Arradondo explained.
(Emphasis added)
I also reported that Minneapolis’ mayor and leftist city council were quite unenthusiastic about receiving help from the Justice Department. This was unfortunate, but not surprising. After all, this Summer, the city council president and some of her colleagues promised to abolish the Minneapolis police department.
A month has passed since Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband flew to Minneapolis and announced the DOJ’s offer to assist the city cope with its devastating wave of violent crime. The city still has not agreed to participate. It is studying the offer.
The offer consists of a two-page memorandum of understanding.
In October, there were two plausible explanations for the city’s refusal to receive the help from the DOJ that its police chief and many Black residents desire so much: (1) unwillingness to accept help from the big bad Trump administration and (2) raw anti-police animus and sympathy for violent criminals. We still can’t rule out the first explanation. However, now that the election is over and the Trump administration is winding down, the second explanation seems like the more plausible one.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--Can Trump trust Biden enough to keep him fully briefed?

There are reports that President Trump wanted to launch a strike on Iran ’ s main nuclear facility last week .
According to these reports , Trump ’ s advisers talked him out it .
I don ’ t know whether these reports are true , but let ’ s say they are .
And let ’ s suppose , hypothetically , that Trump had decided to go through with the attack .
Finally , let ’ s say , again hypothetically , that Trump or his team had briefed Biden about the attack before launching it .
What would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have opposed the strike .
He didn ’ t even agree with the strike that took out Qasem Soleimani , the thuggish Iranian general responsible for so many American deaths .
Biden accused Trump of “ throwing a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox.
” Wrong again , Slow Joe .
However , an attack on Iranian soil against a nuclear facility might fit the cliche Biden applied to the killing of Soleimani .
And the last thing Biden wants is to inherit any kind of war with Iran .
Therefore , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve described , Biden would have tried to undermine the contemplated attack on Iran ’ s nuclear facility by leaking word of it .
That ’ s assuming that members of the Trump administration didn ’ t first do the leaking .
Therein lies a problem for those urging Trump to brief Biden during the transition period .
In theory , of course , the president-elect ( which Biden soon will be ) should be kept apprised of all important elements of the outgoing administration ’ s foreign and national security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as at times during the era of bipartisan foreign policy , the incumbent and the successor are on the same page .
But when the president and his successor hold diametrically opposing views of what our policy should be , the successor will be tempted to subvert the president ’ s final initiatives .
That danger is particularly acute when the president-elect is a slippery character like Joe Biden , who participated in efforts to undermine him during his transition to the office .
If Trump doesn ’ t intend to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , then there ’ s no harm in keeping Biden fully apprised during the transition period .
But if Trump plans to do anything bold , as is his right until January 20 , he would be better advised to try to keep Biden in the dark about it — unless , somehow , he trusts Biden not to interfere .

There are reports that President Trump wanted to launch a strike on Iran’s main nuclear facility last week. According to these reports, Trump’s advisers talked him out it.
I don’t know whether these reports are true, but let’s say they are. And let’s suppose, hypothetically, that Trump had decided to go through with the attack. Finally, let’s say, again hypothetically, that Trump or his team had briefed Biden about the attack before launching it.
What would Biden have done?
We know Biden would have opposed the strike. He didn’t even agree with the strike that took out Qasem Soleimani, the thuggish Iranian general responsible for so many American deaths. Biden accused Trump of “throwing a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox.” Wrong again, Slow Joe.
However, an attack on Iranian soil against a nuclear facility might fit the cliche Biden applied to the killing of Soleimani. And the last thing Biden wants is to inherit any kind of war with Iran.
Therefore, I believe that in the hypothetical situation I’ve described, Biden would have tried to undermine the contemplated attack on Iran’s nuclear facility by leaking word of it. That’s assuming that members of the Trump administration didn’t first do the leaking.
Therein lies a problem for those urging Trump to brief Biden during the transition period. In theory, of course, the president-elect (which Biden soon will be) should be kept apprised of all important elements of the outgoing administration’s foreign and national security policy. The theory applies nicely when, as at times during the era of bipartisan foreign policy, the incumbent and the successor are on the same page.
But when the president and his successor hold diametrically opposing views of what our policy should be, the successor will be tempted to subvert the president’s final initiatives. That danger is particularly acute when the president-elect is a slippery character like Joe Biden, who participated in efforts to undermine him during his transition to the office.
If Trump doesn’t intend to do anything controversial during the next two months, then there’s no harm in keeping Biden fully apprised during the transition period. But if Trump plans to do anything bold, as is his right until January 20, he would be better advised to try to keep Biden in the dark about it — unless, somehow, he trusts Biden not to interfere.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--Do Trump’s Lawyers Know What They Are Doing?

Today several of President Trump ’ s lawyers , including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell , held a press conference in which they alleged that they have convincing if not conclusive evidence that the presidential election was rigged , and that in addition to garden variety voter fraud , hundreds of thousands of votes were added to Joe Biden ’ s totals through electronic manipulation .
This is the familiar issue that involves Dominion and SmartMatic software .
Here is the press conference ; it begins around an hour into the video .
There is circumstantial evidence of more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this year ’ s election , but Trump ’ s lawyers have not yet presented most of the evidence supporting the electronic claims that they must rely on to have any hope of reversing the outcome of the election .
So we can only reserve judgment for now .
It is hard to understand what motive lawyers like Sidney Powell and Lin Wood might have to make explosive claims that they can not prove , which would be career-destroying .
But how strong their evidence will ultimately be , we don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ turn out to be well-founded and provable .
However : I got an email today from a Minnesota resident , a conservative and a smart guy who is the CEO of a company , and later talked with him on the phone .
He has taken the trouble to read the filings that have been made so far by Trump ’ s lawyers .
He directed my attention to an affidavit signed by Russell Ramsland , a Texas resident who is an expert on cyber security .
The affidavit was filed by Lin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it relates entirely to Michigan , and it is a safe bet that it has been filed in one or more cases in that state as well .
The Ramsland affidavit is part of the Trump team ’ s case relating to Dominion .
In paragraph 9 , the affidavit states : What are those anomalies and red flags ?
Paragraph 11 explains : This is a screen shot of the list of 19 precincts : Paragraph 17 , continuing in the same vein , says : This list of 25 precincts or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obviously fit with the preceding language ) follows : Here ’ s the problem : the townships and precincts listed in paragraphs 11 and 17 of the affidavit are not in Michigan .
They are in Minnesota .
Monticello , Albertville , Lake Lillian , Houston , Brownsville , Runeberg , Wolf Lake , Height of Land , Detroit Lakes , Frazee , Kandiyohi–these are all towns in Minnesota .
I haven ’ t checked them all , but I checked a lot of them , and all locations listed in paragraphs 11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Minnesota , with no corresponding township in Michigan .
This would have been obvious to someone from this state , but Mr. Ramsland is a Texan and the lawyers are probably not natives of either Minnesota or Michigan .
Evidently a researcher , either Mr. Ramsland or someone working for him , was working with a database and confused “ MI ” for Minnesota with “ MI ” for Michigan .
( The postal code for Minnesota is MN , while Michigan is MI , so one can see how this might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which addresses “ anomalies and red flags ” in Michigan , is based largely , and mistakenly , on data from Minnesota .
This is a catastrophic error , the kind of thing that causes a legal position to crash and burn .
Trump ’ s lawyers are fighting an uphill battle , to put it mildly , and confusing Michigan with Minnesota will at best make the hill steeper .
Credibility once lost is hard to regain .
Possibly Trump ’ s lawyers have already discovered this appalling error , and have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ramsland Affidavit was filed in Georgia just yesterday .
A postscript : has Mr. Ramsland inadvertently stumbled across evidence of voter fraud in Minnesota ?
I seriously doubt it .
The venues in question are all in red Greater Minnesota , not in the blue urban areas where voter fraud is common .
Trump ’ s lawyers have not yet had their day in court , but they will have to do a great deal better than this if they hope to succeed .

Today several of President Trump’s lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, held a press conference in which they alleged that they have convincing if not conclusive evidence that the presidential election was rigged, and that in addition to garden variety voter fraud, hundreds of thousands of votes were added to Joe Biden’s totals through electronic manipulation. This is the familiar issue that involves Dominion and SmartMatic software. Here is the press conference; it begins around an hour into the video.
There is circumstantial evidence of more than a normal amount of voter fraud in this year’s election, but Trump’s lawyers have not yet presented most of the evidence supporting the electronic claims that they must rely on to have any hope of reversing the outcome of the election. So we can only reserve judgment for now. It is hard to understand what motive lawyers like Sidney Powell and Lin Wood might have to make explosive claims that they cannot prove, which would be career-destroying. But how strong their evidence will ultimately be, we don’t yet know. I hope their claims turn out to be well-founded and provable.
However: I got an email today from a Minnesota resident, a conservative and a smart guy who is the CEO of a company, and later talked with him on the phone. He has taken the trouble to read the filings that have been made so far by Trump’s lawyers. He directed my attention to an affidavit signed by Russell Ramsland, a Texas resident who is an expert on cyber security. The affidavit was filed by Lin Wood in the Georgia lawsuit, but it relates entirely to Michigan, and it is a safe bet that it has been filed in one or more cases in that state as well.
The Ramsland affidavit is part of the Trump team’s case relating to Dominion. In paragraph 9, the affidavit states:
Based on the significant anomalies and red flags that we have observed, we believe there is a significant probability that election results have been manipulated within the Dominion/Premier system in Michigan.
What are those anomalies and red flags? Paragraph 11 explains:
Another statistical red flag is evident is evident in the number of votes cast compared to the number of voters in some precincts. A preliminary analysis using data obtained from the Michigan Secretary of State pinpoints a statistical anomaly so far outside of every statistical norm as to be virtually impossible. … There were at least 19 precincts where the Presidential Votes Cast compared to the Estimated Voters based on Reported Statistics exceeded 100%.
This is a screen shot of the list of 19 precincts:
Paragraph 17, continuing in the same vein, says:
Wayne County uses Dominion equipment, 46 out of 47 precincts/townships display a highly unlikely 96%+ as the number of votes cast, using the Secretary of State’s number of voters in the precinct/township; and 25% of those 47 precincts/townships show 100% turnout.
This list of 25 precincts or townships (a number that does not obviously fit with the preceding language) follows:
Here’s the problem: the townships and precincts listed in paragraphs 11 and 17 of the affidavit are not in Michigan. They are in Minnesota. Monticello, Albertville, Lake Lillian, Houston, Brownsville, Runeberg, Wolf Lake, Height of Land, Detroit Lakes, Frazee, Kandiyohi–these are all towns in Minnesota. I haven’t checked them all, but I checked a lot of them, and all locations listed in paragraphs 11 and 17 that I looked up are in Minnesota, with no corresponding township in Michigan. This would have been obvious to someone from this state, but Mr. Ramsland is a Texan and the lawyers are probably not natives of either Minnesota or Michigan.
Evidently a researcher, either Mr. Ramsland or someone working for him, was working with a database and confused “MI” for Minnesota with “MI” for Michigan. (The postal code for Minnesota is MN, while Michigan is MI, so one can see how this might happen.) So the affidavit, which addresses “anomalies and red flags” in Michigan, is based largely, and mistakenly, on data from Minnesota.
This is a catastrophic error, the kind of thing that causes a legal position to crash and burn. Trump’s lawyers are fighting an uphill battle, to put it mildly, and confusing Michigan with Minnesota will at best make the hill steeper. Credibility once lost is hard to regain. Possibly Trump’s lawyers have already discovered this appalling error, and have undertaken to correct it. But the Ramsland Affidavit was filed in Georgia just yesterday.
A postscript: has Mr. Ramsland inadvertently stumbled across evidence of voter fraud in Minnesota? I seriously doubt it. The venues in question are all in red Greater Minnesota, not in the blue urban areas where voter fraud is common.
Trump’s lawyers have not yet had their day in court, but they will have to do a great deal better than this if they hope to succeed.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--A word with Elise Stefanik

A word with Elise Stefanik

After noting the strong women candidates who contributed to the Republican pickups in the House when I wrote about them this past weekend , I thought it might make sense to speak with Rep. Elise Stefanik .
She had a hand in all those races and kindly gave me a telephone interview this afternoon .
Indeed , she stayed on with me until she had answered all my questions .
Do you have anything more , she asked as I wound up .
I didn ’ t .
Rep. Stefanik was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York ’ s 21st District in 2014 .
I believe her record stands today .
I had intended to ask her what made her think she could win that race in 2014 , but most of my questions along that line were answered by my daughter Eliana ’ s 2014 NR story on her race just before she won her election that year .
Rep. Stefanik ’ s national profile was enhanced by her performance on the House Intelligence Committee during the impeachment proceedings .
I contributed to her myself at the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one .
As the contributions came in , Rep. Stefanik set up E-PAC to support the election of strong conservative Republican women to Congress .
Stefanik told me she became intensely interested in assisting the election of good Republican women candidates to Congress following the 2018 mid-term elections .
The ranks of Republican women were thinned to 13 after the mid-terms — the lowest since 1980 .
For background see the Rachael Bade/Sarah Ferris Politico story “ ‘ I wasn ’ t asking for permission ’ : GOP women put leaders on notice.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for talent .
E-PAC ’ s candidates went 19 for 20 in their primaries and E-PAC maxed out to all of them .
Moreover , E-PAC supported all the Republican women in GOP pickups so far .
Rep. Stefanik thought that Claudia Tenney in NY-22 and Marianne Miller-Meeks in IA-2 would win their races as well .
( She is also optimistic that David Valadao and Mike Garcia will win their races in CA-21 and CA-25 , respectively . )
She projects the final GOP House tally at 212-214 .
I asked Rep. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support was a function of identity politics .
She said the depleted ranks of Republican women in Congress did not reflect the party ’ s support by women voters .
She looks for strong conservative Republican women candidates and stays out of races where they are lacking or where the a Republican man is the superior candidate to a woman .
She thinks that her emphasis on quality represents a recipe for success .
“ You can look at the proof , ” she said , citing the number of seats flipped by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
She gave President Trump “ huge credit ” for his work in broadening the Republican coalition and energizing voters of all stripes to turn out to vote this year , but pointed “ number 1 ” to the quality of the candidates .
She noted their fire in the belly and will to serve .
She emphasized the sexist abuse directed at Republican women from the Pelosi PAC and others on the left as sexist smears are heaped on them .
Such smears are indulged on the left when aimed right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speaking from personal experience .
She was the target of a smear campaign originated by George Conway during the impeachment proceedings .
Conway called her “ lying trash.
” See the unedifying exchanges documented here by USA Today .
I ’ d like to save the rest of my notes for a concluding post tomorrow .
Please check back for more in the morning .

After noting the strong women candidates who contributed to the Republican pickups in the House when I wrote about them this past weekend, I thought it might make sense to speak with Rep. Elise Stefanik. She had a hand in all those races and kindly gave me a telephone interview this afternoon. Indeed, she stayed on with me until she had answered all my questions. Do you have anything more, she asked as I wound up. I didn’t.
Rep. Stefanik was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she won her first election to represent New York’s 21st District in 2014. I had intended to ask her what made her think she could win that race in 2014, but most of my questions along that line were answered by my daughter Eliana’s 2014 NR story on her race just before she won her election that year.
Rep. Stefanik’s national profile was enhanced by her performance on the House Intelligence Committee during the impeachment proceedings. I contributed to her myself at the time and I wasn’t the only one. As the contributions came in, Rep. Stefanik set up E-PAC to support the election of strong conservative Republican women to Congress.
Stefanik told me she became intensely interested in assisting the election of good Republican women candidates to Congress following the 2018 mid-term elections. The ranks of Republican women were thinned to 13 after the mid-terms — the lowest since 1980. For background see the Rachael Bade/Sarah Ferris Politico story “‘I wasn’t asking for permission’: GOP women put leaders on notice.”
Stefanik must have a good eye for talent. E-PAC’s candidates went 19 for 20 in their primaries and E-PAC maxed out to all of them. Moreover, E-PAC supported all the Republican women in GOP pickups so far.
Rep. Stefanik thought that Claudia Tenney in NY-22 and Marianne Miller-Meeks in IA-2 would win their races as well. (She is also optimistic that David Valadao and Mike Garcia will win their races in CA-21 and CA-25, respectively.) She projects the final GOP House tally at 212-214.
I asked Rep. Stefanik whether singling out women candidates for support was a function of identity politics. She said the depleted ranks of Republican women in Congress did not reflect the party’s support by women voters. She looks for strong conservative Republican women candidates and stays out of races where they are lacking or where the Republican man is the superior candidate to a woman. She thinks that her emphasis on quality represents a recipe for success. “You can look at the proof,” she said, citing the number of seats flipped by outstanding women candidates in targeted races this year.
She gave President Trump “huge credit” for his work in broadening the Republican coalition and energizing voters of all stripes to turn out to vote this year, but pointed “number 1” to the quality of the candidates. She noted their fire in the belly and will to serve. She emphasized the sexist abuse directed at Republican women from the Pelosi PAC and others on the left as sexist smears are heaped on them.
Such smears are indulged on the left when aimed right, she said, and she was speaking from personal experience. She was the target of a smear campaign originated by George Conway during the impeachment proceedings. Conway called her “lying trash.” See the unedifying exchanges documented here by USA Today.
I’d like to save the rest of my notes for a concluding post tomorrow. Please check back for more in the morning.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--A vast international leftist conspiracy?

I doubt that voter fraud and irregularities cost President Trump the presidential election , and I ’ ll be shocked if Trump ’ s lawyers prove they did .
However , Trump has every right to litigate the matter .
Indeed , litigation , responsibly conducted , offers several benefits even if it fails to overturn what appears to the outcome of the election .
If Team Trump gets a fair hearing and falls short , the litigation can make sane people less suspicious about the fairness of the election .
And to the extent that litigation reveals fraud and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t affect the outcome , it can provide guidance on how to minimize fraud and irregularities going forward .
Our election procedures changed substantially this year .
The stated reason was the pandemic , but the new procedures are likely to remain when the pandemic is over .
They need to be vetted .
Litigation is one way partially to vet them .
For these reasons , I believe Team Trump is doing the nation a service by litigating .
However , Team Trump does the nation a great disservice if it makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Scott ’ s post from this morning , with its quotation from Tucker Carlson , raises the possibility that this is what Team Trump is doing , in part .
It is alleging that the election was stolen by a collection of international leftists who manipulated vote tabulating software in order to flip millions of votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden .
One of the lawyers , Sidney Powell , asserts that when the fraud is finally uncovered , “ I think we ’ ll find [ Trump ] had at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seven million more than have been counted for him .
According to Powell , “ Trump won in a landslide.
” If Powell has evidence to back this up , have at it .
But so far , she hasn ’ t produced evidence .
And she declined Carlson ’ s invitation to go on his show or to provide him with any .
Powell has no obligation to litigate on television .
But she ’ s already doing so to some degree .
With her various utterances , including the highly dubious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , she ’ s made , in effect , her opening statement .
It would be nice if she offered some evidence to back it up .
If it turns out that Team Trump doesn ’ t have the goods to back up the claim of an international leftist conspiracy , the allegation will have to be considered demagoguery .
And it will have caused profound damage to the nation .
The nation was damaged when Democrats tried to blame their loss in the 2016 election on Russian interference in the election .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ because they undermined America ’ s faith in its system of government .
Putin surely was delighted by the chaos the Democrats inflicted on America .
If millions of Americans believe that Trump was deprived of election victory — and a landslide victory , at that — the damage will be worse than that caused by the Democrats after the 2016 election .
The Democrats ’ claim that Trump conspired with Russia was investigated and found to be unsubstantiated .
All that was left was the ridiculous claim that Russian involvement in our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump .
By contrast , the claim that foreigners can deprive candidates of millions of votes by manipulating machines is truly frightening .
If true , it means that we can never be confident in the outcome of an election , and certainly not one that a conservative loses .
It means our democracy is a sham .
If millions of people believe this , the American experiment will be all but dead .
Another problem with pursuing a wild and baseless conspiracy ( if that ’ s what this turns out to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discredit legitimate election fraud claims in the public ’ s mind .
The problem of voter fraud is real .
Its existence shouldn ’ t be controversial , but it is .
Irresponsible claims of such fraud made it too easy for Democrats and their media allies to dismiss well founded claims .
Finally , pursuing a baseless conspiracy theory would impede , if not prevent , an honest inquiry into why Trump lost this election .
When a party ’ s presidential candidate loses , he or she lets down not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of supporters .
That ’ s why every such loss is followed by an inquest of sorts .
It happened with Mitt Romney , whose showing in 2012 may have been , when all is said and done , not that much worse than Trump ’ s this year .
It happened with Hillary Clinton , whose electoral defeat in 2016 may well have been comparable to Trump ’ s this time .
There ’ s no reason for a Trump exception .
If his challenges to the outcome of this year ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be fair to ask why he didn ’ t get more votes .
In fact , it will be important to do so .
But claims that , far from falling short , Trump actually defeated ( and , indeed , crushed ) Biden stand in the way of an inquiry into the question of why Trump didn ’ t get more votes .
If these claims are baseless , they will harm the GOP .
Self-delusion is almost always a recipe for future failure .

I doubt that voter fraud and irregularities cost President Trump the presidential election, and I’ll be shocked if Trump’s lawyers prove they did. However, Trump has every right to litigate the matter.
Indeed, litigation, responsibly conducted, offers several benefits even if it fails to overturn what appears to the outcome of the election. If Team Trump gets a fair hearing and falls short, the litigation can make sane people less suspicious about the fairness of the election. And to the extent that litigation reveals fraud and irregularities, albeit ones that didn’t affect the outcome, it can provide guidance on how to minimize fraud and irregularities going forward.
Our election procedures changed substantially this year. The stated reason was the pandemic, but the new procedures are likely to remain when the pandemic is over. They need to be vetted. Litigation is one way partially to vet them.
For these reasons, I believe Team Trump is doing the nation a service by litigating.
However, Team Trump does the nation a great disservice if it makes wild allegations it can’t support. Scott’s post from this morning, with its quotation from Tucker Carlson, raises the possibility that this is what Team Trump is doing, in part.
It is alleging that the election was stolen by a collection of international leftists who manipulated vote tabulating software in order to flip millions of votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. One of the lawyers, Sidney Powell, asserts that when the fraud is finally uncovered, “I think we’ll find [Trump] had at least 80 million votes” — about seven million more than have been counted for him. According to Powell, “Trump won in a landslide.”
If Powell has evidence to back this up, have at it. But so far, she hasn’t produced evidence. And she declined Carlson’s invitation to go on his show or to provide him with any.
Powell has no obligation to litigate on television. But she’s already doing so to some degree. With her various utterances, including the highly dubious one that Trump won in a landslide, she’s made, in effect, her opening statement. It would be nice if she offered some evidence to back it up.
If it turns out that Team Trump doesn’t have the goods to back up the claim of an international leftist conspiracy, the allegation will have to be considered demagoguery. And it will have caused profound damage to the nation.
The nation was damaged when Democrats tried to blame their loss in the 2016 election on Russian interference in the election. These claims were a boon to Russia because they undermined America’s faith in its system of government. Putin surely was delighted by the chaos the Democrats inflicted on America.
If millions of Americans believe that Trump was deprived of election victory — and a landslide victory, at that — the damage will be worse than that caused by the Democrats after the 2016 election. The Democrats’ claim that Trump conspired with Russia was investigated and found to be unsubstantiated. All that was left was the ridiculous claim that Russian involvement in our social media somehow swung the election to Trump.
By contrast, the claim that foreigners can deprive candidates of millions of votes by manipulating machines is truly frightening. If true, it means that we can never be confident in the outcome of an election, and certainly not one that a conservative loses. It means our democracy is a sham. If millions of people believe this, the American experiment will be all but dead.
Another problem with pursuing a wild and baseless conspiracy (if that’s what this turns out to be) is that it tends to discredit legitimate election fraud claims in the public’s mind. The problem of voter fraud is real. Its existence shouldn’t be controversial, but it is. Irresponsible claims of such fraud made it too easy for Democrats and their media allies to dismiss well founded claims.
Finally, pursuing a baseless conspiracy theory would impede, if not prevent, an honest inquiry into why Trump lost this election. When a party’s presidential candidate loses, he or she lets down not just the party, but tens of millions of supporters.
That’s why every such loss is followed by an inquest of sorts. It happened with Mitt Romney, whose showing in 2012 may have been, when all is said and done, not that much worse than Trump’s this year. It happened with Hillary Clinton, whose electoral defeat in 2016 may well have been comparable to Trump’s this time.
There’s no reason for a Trump exception. If his challenges to the outcome of this year’s election fall short, it will be fair to ask why he didn’t get more votes. In fact, it will be important to do so.
But claims that, far from falling short, Trump actually defeated (and, indeed, crushed) Biden stand in the way of an inquiry into the question of why Trump didn’t get more votes. If these claims are baseless, they will harm the GOP.
Self-delusion is almost always a recipe for future failure.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--Georgia on not enough minds

Georgia on not enough minds

“ Arise and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.
” Winston Churchill “ Proclaim Liberty throughout @ @ @ @ @ the Inhabitants Thereof.
” Inscription on the Liberty Bell

“Arise and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.” Winston Churchill
“Proclaim Liberty throughout All the land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof.” Inscription on the Liberty Bell


powerlineblog--2020-11-21--Rumor:  Merrick Garland on short list for Attorney General

Federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland reportedly is among the people Joe Biden is seriously considering for the job of Attorney General .
Others said to be on Biden ’ s short list include Sally Yates , Deval Patrick , and Doug Jones , fresh off of his defeat in the Alabama Senate race .
( For what it ’ s worth , I ’ d be surprised if Jones were selected . )
Judge Garland was painted as a moderate by the mainstream media when Barack Obama nominated him to succeed Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court .
Garland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that doesn ’ t make him a moderate .
He ’ s a liberal .
However , from a conservative perspective , Biden could do worse than Garland for an Attorney General , assuming Garland proved to be more than a figurehead in that job .
Indeed , I expect that Biden will do worse .
I think he will select someone to the left of Garland ( again , for it ’ s worth ) .
If Biden goes with Garland , the Democratic base won ’ t be pleased .
Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just below AG with true believing leftists .
In that sense , it ’ s a lose-lose situation for those who would prefer a non-hard left DOJ .
Short lists like the one Garland is said to be on aren ’ t always credible , even if they come directly from the president-elect .
Bill Clinton ’ s short list in 1992 including two men .
One of them was former Virginia governor Gerald Baliles , who died last year .
Baliles worked at the law firm I was with at the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as former Attorney General of Virginia , a good candidate for the top DOJ position .
However , there was no way Clinton was going to select Baliles .
Clinton was determined to give the job to a women .
Baliles and the other fellow were on the short list for show .
This became painfully obvious when Clinton ’ s first two nominees — Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood — fell by the wayside due to nanny issues .
Instead of picking a male from his short list , Clinton departed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from obscurity .
The rest is history .
Merrick Garland probably has a better shot at the AG job than Jerry Baliles had back in the day , but I ’ m not sure he has a good shot .
Stay tuned .

Federal appeals court Judge Merrick Garland reportedly is among the people Joe Biden is seriously considering for the job of Attorney General. Others said to be on Biden’s short list include Sally Yates, Deval Patrick, and Doug Jones, fresh off of his defeat in the Alabama Senate race. (For what it’s worth, I’d be surprised if Jones were selected.)
Judge Garland was painted as a moderate by the mainstream media when Barack Obama nominated him to succeed Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court. Garland isn’t a radical, but that doesn’t make him a moderate. He’s a liberal.
However, from a conservative perspective, Biden could do worse than Garland for an Attorney General, assuming Garland proved to be more than a figurehead in that job. Indeed, I expect that Biden will do worse. I think he will select someone to the left of Garland (again, for what it’s worth).
If Biden goes with Garland, the Democratic base won’t be pleased. Biden will then have to populate the positions just below AG with true believing leftists. In that sense, it’s a lose-lose situation for those who would prefer a non-hard left DOJ.
Short lists like the one Garland is said to be on aren’t always credible, even if they come directly from the president-elect. Bill Clinton’s short list in 1992 including two men. One of them was former Virginia governor Gerald Baliles, who died last year.
Baliles worked at the law firm I was with at the time. He was a good man and, as former Attorney General of Virginia, a good candidate for the top DOJ position.
However, there was no way Clinton was going to select Baliles. Clinton was determined to give the job to a woman. Baliles and the other fellow were on the short list for show.
This became painfully obvious when Clinton’s first two nominees — Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood — fell by the wayside due to nanny issues. Instead of picking a male from his short list, Clinton departed from the list and plucked Janet Reno from obscurity. The rest is history.
Merrick Garland probably has a better shot at the AG job than Jerry Baliles had back in the day, but I’m not sure he has a good shot. Stay tuned.


powerlineblog--2020-11-20--Podcast: A Guest Seat with Ricochet

Podcast: A Guest Seat with Ricochet

The great folks at the flagship Ricochet podcast kindly invited me to sit in today for the galavanting Rob Long ( which means I had to perform Rob ’ s role of interrupting and heckling James Lileks ’ s patented segues ) , and .
.
.
well , here are the official show notes : Two weeks after the election and we ’ re still deep into re-counts , ballot challenges , and other legal machinations .
To help us sort it all out , we asked Powerline ’ s Steve Hayward to sit in for Rob Long and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give us some truth .
And to give us even more truth , we welcome Sean Trende , Real Clear Politic ’ s Senior Elections Analyst .
He takes us through many of the legal cases and we try to get some explanation for much of the polling that turned out to be dead wrong .
Then , a gear shift as welcome Antonin Scalia .
No , it ’ s not a supernatural event ( talk about burying the lede ) , Nino ( as he likes to be called ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and he works in the James Madison Program at Princeton and hosts Madison ’ s Notes , a terrific new podcast that coincidentally is carried right here on Ricochet .
Finally , several of us on this podcast are residents of California .
Last week , our Governor Newsom attended a dinner that gave him indigestion .
But not for the reasons you might think .
And yes , we ’ ve got , a new Lileks Post of The Week , courtesy of Ricochet member Ekosj .
Say that three times fast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Meanwhile , I ’ ll be back tomorrow along with “ Lucretia ” with another edition of our own Three Whisky Happy Hour .

The great folks at the flagship Ricochet podcast kindly invited me to sit in today for the galavanting Rob Long (which means I had to perform Rob’s role of interrupting and heckling James Lileks’s patented segues), and . . . well, here are the official show notes:
Two weeks after the election and we’re still deep into re-counts, ballot challenges, and other legal machinations. To help us sort it all out, we asked Powerline’s Steve Hayward to sit in for Rob Long and (as John Lennon famously said) give us some truth. And to give us even more truth, we welcome Sean Trende , Real Clear Politic’s Senior Elections Analyst. He takes us through many of the legal cases and we try to get some explanation for much of the polling that turned out to be dead wrong. Then, a gear shift as welcome Antonin Scalia. No, it’s not a supernatural event (talk about burying the lede), Nino (as he likes to be called), is the great jurist’s grandson and he works in the James Madison Program at Princeton and hosts Madison’s Notes, a terrific new podcast that coincidentally is carried right here on Ricochet. Finally, several of us on this podcast are residents of California. Last week, our Governor Newsom attended a dinner that gave him indigestion. But not for the reasons you might think. And yes, we’ve got, a new Lileks Post of The Week, courtesy of Ricochet member Ekosj. Say that three times fast.
You know what to do now. Meanwhile, I’ll be back tomorrow along with “Lucretia” with another edition of our own Three Whisky Happy Hour.


Shutdown Blues

Today the latest shutdown order by Governor Tim Walz took effect in Minnesota .
COVID cases have been rising across the Upper Midwest , so our “ emergency ” continues .
This time , the shutdown applies to restaurants , bars , gyms and youth sports .
Of course , that COVID cases are rising is no mystery , even apart from the fact that vastly expanded testing naturally generates more cases .
COVID is a seasonal flu bug .
When it declined during the Summer in Northern states , it wasn ’ t because shutdowns and mask mandates were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got hot .
It was entirely predictable that the disease , like any seasonal flu , would come back strongly when the weather got colder , and it has .
Minnesota ’ s current shutdown is to last 30 days , but it almost certain to stay in effect well beyond next month , likely until a combination of warm weather and a vaccine brings about a steep reduction in COVID infections .
The current shutdown has several noteworthy features .
First is the fact that it does not apply to retail establishments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that small businesses must close down while big businesses ( Target , Costco , Walmart , Home Depot , Total Wine ) remained open .
As a result , thousands of small businesses were devastated , and many went bankrupt .
The Walz administration has now stated that retail establishments are not a source of COVID spread .
So , sorry about that , small businesspeople .
And one wonders : what was the scientific basis for the retail shutdown last Spring ?
Obviously , there wasn ’ t one .
Second , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the current restaurant and bar shutdown , either .
My colleague John Phelan points out that the Minnesota Department of Health ’ s own numbers indicate that restaurants and bars account for only 1.7 % of the cases diagnosed since June 10 .
In fact , these numbers are largely meaningless since the state admits that the source of something like 69 % of cases is unknown .
But from any perspective , there is no reason to single out restaurants and bars for closure .
The case is even worse with respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with fewer than 1/2 of 1 % of cases .
On Wednesday , the founder of LifeTime Fitness , the largest chain of fitness centers in this area , sent an email to members objecting to the contemplated closure of gyms .
He pointed out the infinitesimal number of COVID infections that have been traced to gyms , and argued : He also urged LifeTime ’ s many thousands of members to contact the governor and other officials to protest the gym closure order .
This was the context in which , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , “ It ’ s not about numbers .
It ’ s not about data .
It ’ s about neighborliness.
” That must be one of the stupidest utterances by any public official in history .
But it ’ s nice to know that data have nothing to do with Minnesota ’ s draconian shutdown orders .
Third , it is noteworthy that Indian-owned gambling casinos are not being closed down : I can ’ t imagine on what basis gambling casinos can be distinguished from bars and restaurants .
Well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can .
The Indian tribes are among the largest donors to the DFL party .
[ See Update below . ]
Fourth , high school and youth sports are also being shut down .
This actually isn ’ t surprising , since the schools are pretty much all closed down already , and you can ’ t play football or basketball via Zoom .
But the manner in which America ’ s youth are being sacrificed , as the least efficient possible method of protecting elderly people in nursing homes , isn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sin .
Once again , this has nothing to do with “ science.
” See , for example , the recent Swedish study that found “ that closing schools does practically nothing to save lives or stop the spread of Covid.
” Rather , it has much to do with the political power of the teachers ’ unions .
One wonders when citizens will rise up in rebellion against the proto-fascist regimes of self-appointed dictators like Tim Walz , particularly now that they have abandoned any pretense of empirical or scientific support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our freedoms .
Is there a silver lining ?
I suppose it could be worse .
We could be like Australia , for instance : And here I always thought that Australians were freedom-loving people .
Evidently not .
UPDATE : My son , who knows a lot about this topic because of his involvement in professional boxing , points out that Indian casinos are on sovereign land over which the State of Minnesota lacks jurisdiction , so that Governor Walz could not have included them in his latest shutdown order .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not the end of the story .
Minnesota ’ s government collaborates with the tribes in many ways , and to my knowledge , there have been no reports of any efforts to persuade the tribes to go along with the supposedly life-saving measures that the state ’ s government has implemented , i.e.
, shutting down restaurants and bars .
Further , the Walz administration has never been a respecter of jurisdictional boundaries .
Thus , it has complained endlessly about the Sturgis , South Dakota , motorcycle rally , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the Sturgis rally is responsible for the failure of the Walz administration ’ s anti-COVID measures .
If the Sturgis rally , 400 miles from Minnesota , could frustrate the governor ’ s schemes , so could the Indian casinos , which are located just outside the Twin Cities metro area and are open 365 days a year , not for just a few days like the Sturgis rally .
But you will not hear a single word from the governor , urging Minnesotans to stay away from these popular , non-compliant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away .
I don ’ t think that fact is coincidental .

Today the latest shutdown order by Governor Tim Walz took effect in Minnesota. COVID cases have been rising across the Upper Midwest, so our “emergency” continues. This time, the shutdown applies to restaurants, bars, gyms and youth sports.
Of course, that COVID cases are rising is no mystery, even apart from the fact that vastly expanded testing naturally generates more cases. COVID is a seasonal flu bug. When it declined during the Summer in Northern states, it wasn’t because shutdowns and mask mandates were working. It was because the weather got hot. It was entirely predictable that the disease, like any seasonal flu, would come back strongly when the weather got colder, and it has. Minnesota’s current shutdown is to last 30 days, but it almost certain to stay in effect well beyond next month, likely until a combination of warm weather and a vaccine brings about a steep reduction in COVID infections.
The current shutdown has several noteworthy features. First is the fact that it does not apply to retail establishments. Last Spring, Governor Walz decreed that small businesses must close down while big businesses (Target, Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Total Wine) remained open. As a result, thousands of small businesses were devastated, and many went bankrupt. The Walz administration has now stated that retail establishments are not a source of COVID spread. So, sorry about that, small businesspeople. And one wonders: what was the scientific basis for the retail shutdown last Spring? Obviously, there wasn’t one.
Second, there is no significant empirical basis for the current restaurant and bar shutdown, either. My colleague John Phelan points out that the Minnesota Department of Health’s own numbers indicate that restaurants and bars account for only 1.7% of the cases diagnosed since June 10.
In fact, these numbers are largely meaningless since the state admits that the source of something like 69% of cases is unknown. But from any perspective, there is no reason to single out restaurants and bars for closure.
The case is even worse with respect to gyms, which have been associated with fewer than 1/2 of 1% of cases. On Wednesday, the founder of LifeTime Fitness, the largest chain of fitness centers in this area, sent an email to members objecting to the contemplated closure of gyms. He pointed out the infinitesimal number of COVID infections that have been traced to gyms, and argued:
Health clubs are NOT the problem, THEY ARE THE SOLUTION to maintaining public health. They are, in fact, the safest environments people may visit as compared with other forms of retail, entertainment, or any other place, at this time.
He also urged LifeTime’s many thousands of members to contact the governor and other officials to protest the gym closure order.
This was the context in which, as Scott noted earlier today, Governor Walz said, “It’s not about numbers. It’s not about data. It’s about neighborliness.” That must be one of the stupidest utterances by any public official in history. But it’s nice to know that data have nothing to do with Minnesota’s draconian shutdown orders.
Third, it is noteworthy that Indian-owned gambling casinos are not being closed down:
I can’t imagine on what basis gambling casinos can be distinguished from bars and restaurants. Well, no, on second thought I can. The Indian tribes are among the largest donors to the DFL party. [See Update below.]
Fourth, high school and youth sports are also being shut down. This actually isn’t surprising, since the schools are pretty much all closed down already, and you can’t play football or basketball via Zoom. But the manner in which America’s youth are being sacrificed, as the least efficient possible method of protecting elderly people in nursing homes, isn’t just a scandal, it is a sin. Once again, this has nothing to do with “science.” See, for example, the recent Swedish study that found “that closing schools does practically nothing to save lives or stop the spread of Covid.” Rather, it has much to do with the political power of the teachers’ unions.
One wonders when citizens will rise up in rebellion against the proto-fascist regimes of self-appointed dictators like Tim Walz, particularly now that they have abandoned any pretense of empirical or scientific support for their arbitrary and capricious infringements on our freedoms.
Is there a silver lining? I suppose it could be worse. We could be like Australia, for instance:
And here I always thought that Australians were freedom-loving people. Evidently not.
UPDATE: My son, who knows a lot about this topic because of his involvement in professional boxing, points out that Indian casinos are on sovereign land over which the State of Minnesota lacks jurisdiction, so that Governor Walz could not have included them in his latest shutdown order. That is an excellent point.
But it is not the end of the story. Minnesota’s government collaborates with the tribes in many ways, and to my knowledge, there have been no reports of any efforts to persuade the tribes to go along with the supposedly life-saving measures that the state’s government has implemented, i.e., shutting down restaurants and bars.
Further, the Walz administration has never been a respecter of jurisdictional boundaries. Thus, it has complained endlessly about the Sturgis, South Dakota, motorcycle rally, and has gone so far as to imply that the Sturgis rally is responsible for the failure of the Walz administration’s anti-COVID measures. If the Sturgis rally, 400 miles from Minnesota, could frustrate the governor’s schemes, so could the Indian casinos, which are located just outside the Twin Cities metro area and are open 365 days a year, not for just a few days like the Sturgis rally. But you will not hear a single word from the governor, urging Minnesotans to stay away from these popular, non-compliant venues, located just a few miles away. I don’t think that fact is coincidental.