westernjournal--2020-04-17--MSNBC’s Ruhle Floats Biden ‘Shadow Gov’t’ To Undermine Trump, Politicize Pandemic

MSNBC ’ s old slogan was “ Lean Forward , ” and to that end I ’ ll say they ’ re nothing if not a fertile ground for forward-leaning solutions .
In fact , it ’ s almost like a forward trust fall with a disinterested America on the other end , playing with their iPhones .
Stephanie Ruhle is supposed to be on the straight news end of the network , helming the desk weekdays after “ Morning Joe ” finishes .
The difference between straight news and commentary is merely an academic one on MSNBC , however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Wednesday morning promoting the idea that Joe Biden helm a “ shadow government ” to counteract President Donald Trump ’ s daily media briefings on coronavirus .
That not-at-all creepy comment , according to NewsBusters , came during a conversation with former Obama White House aide Jim Messina on Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren ’ s endorsement of Biden — an endorsement which was as surprising as predicting a mass of swallows would , indeed , return to San Juan Capistrano next year .
“ How big is this ?
” Ruhle asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsement and former President Barack Obama ’ s announcement that he was backing his former VP .
TRENDING : NYC Adds Thousands of People Who Never Tested Positive to Coronavirus Death Count “ When you see President Trump with his erratic leadership and his daily , you know , clown show press conferences , to have real , upstanding leaders like Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren talk about Joe Biden in personal terms , the kind of leader he would be.
” “ Then do they need to do it in a bigger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promotion of the kind of leadership Biden would provide .
“ What did you just call it , the president ’ s daily clown show , that ’ s his press briefing .
Should Joe Biden be counter-programming that ?
Should he be creating his own shadow government , shadow cabinet , shadow SWAT team and getting up there at a podium every night saying , ‘ Here ’ s the crisis we ’ re in , here ’ s what we need to do to address this ’ ?
” “ Well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that , right , he ’ s released the most comprehensive plan about what to do in this COVID crisis , ” Messina said .
“ If it was a plan Donald Trump was implementing right now , we ’ d all be OK. ” Biden was originally criticized for ripping off his pandemic response from Donald Trump ’ s , but this was MSNBC , so no one was going to interrupt Messina on that point .
“ As to , you know , his role in all of this , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not the leader yet .
It can look political , ” Messina continued .
“ You know , he ’ s doing what I think he should be doing , which is consolidating his base and getting ready for the general election .
I think that ’ s what he can do right now .
But I think he ’ s been very specific about his actions and what he would do as president of the United States .
“ And , you know , it ’ s a time that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
How do you campaign in a time when you can ’ t go see voters ?
” RELATED : After Biden Allegations , WaPo Columnist Who Took on Kavanaugh Decides 'Believe All Women ' Was 'Dumb' First , I ’ m going to assume that by “ shadow government , shadow cabinet , shadow SWAT team , ” Ruhle meant that Biden should assemble a team in a similar manner to how , in parliamentary systems , the opposition creates a “ shadow cabinet ” comprised of MPs who correspond to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power so they can provide a counterpoint to the actual cabinet .
( As for the terms “ shadow government ” and “ shadow SWAT team , ” I ’ m just going to assume Ruhle didn ’ t realize how deep state-y that sounded . )
However , those people are elected .
Joe Biden isn ’ t .
A shadow cabinet has official roles .
We don ’ t have those functions , having thrown off the yoke of a parliament in 1776 and never looked back .
Furthermore , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t view the actions taken by the conservative government with unmixed delight , you don ’ t have the shadow cabinet jumping in and holding their own counter-programming whenever Prime Minister Boris Johnson or ( at least for the moment , as Johnson recovers from coronavirus ) Foreign Minister Dominic Raab speaks in order to drown their message out .
The Labour Party can be assured there ’ s plenty of drowning-out in the U.K .
Guardian already .
Even Messina didn ’ t seem particularly keen on the idea , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can look political.
” Which was exactly Ruhle ’ s point , mind you , and it ’ s a bad one .
Turning media briefings into political footballs isn ’ t a great look when the argument is that Trump is turning media briefings into political footballs .
Second , the problem is that Messina was actually right at the beginning of this answer : Biden ’ s “ done some of that.
” However , when he has , it ’ s consisted of going on old-media TV shows and making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instance : “ We have to take care of the cure .
That will make the problem worse , no matter what.
” What would a Biden shadow media briefing look like ?
Would he be taking questions from the media ?
Would any of them be adversarial ?
I ’ m assuming they ’ d all be variations on the theme : “ Joe , why are you so great with dealing with information about the novel coronavirus when President Trump is hosting a clown show briefing at the White House ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ now ?
” However , assuming any contradictory voices manage to crash the Zoom briefings , I can just imagine the response .
“ Listen , corn-muffin , any more of that talk and I ’ m going to wally-bash you like like we did way back on the mean streets of Wilmington .
Lying dog-faced pony soldier.
” We can glimpse what a Biden briefing might look like , however , after he hosted a “ virtual happy hour ” in late March which managed to go badly , and not just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a teetotaler .
In addition to his stilted performance throughout and problematic gaffes like stating that Obamacare was “ the most important human right that anyone should have , and that is to be able to take care of your own , ” it struggled to garner viewership .
( “ There were about 2800 simultaneous viewers throughout the chat , ” according to CBS News reporter Bo Erickson . )
That ’ s utterly pathetic for a man who was almost certain to become the Democratic presidential nominee at that point .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ even worse when asked to think on his feet .
As creepy and deep state-ish as forming a “ shadow government , shadow cabinet ” sounds , go ahead and let him .
He can put together whoever he wants to compete with Trump , Fauci and Birx .
The fish rots from the head , after all , and even when you ’ re just viewing him through a series of tubes that eventually come out on your computer screen , you can still smell the blandness and diminishing returns on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bad idea .
Politicizing it with Joe Biden is a worse one .
The fact that a former Obama aide — someone who was in the White House and knows Joe Biden all too well — couldn ’ t get behind the idea should have told Ruhle all she needed to know .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

MSNBC’s old slogan was “Lean Forward,” and to that end I’ll say they’re nothing if not a fertile ground for forward-leaning solutions. In fact, it’s almost like a forward trust fall with a disinterested America on the other end, playing with their iPhones.
Stephanie Ruhle is supposed to be on the straight news end of the network, helming the desk weekdays after “Morning Joe” finishes. The difference between straight news and commentary is merely an academic one on MSNBC, however, which is why she was seen on Wednesday morning promoting the idea that Joe Biden helm a “shadow government” to counteract President Donald Trump’s daily media briefings on coronavirus.
That not-at-all creepy comment, according to NewsBusters, came during a conversation with former Obama White House aide Jim Messina on Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement of Biden — an endorsement which was as surprising as predicting a mass of swallows would, indeed, return to San Juan Capistrano next year.
“How big is this?” Ruhle asked, referring to both Warren’s endorsement and former President Barack Obama’s announcement that he was backing his former VP.
“It’s a really big contrast, right?” Messina said.
“When you see President Trump with his erratic leadership and his daily, you know, clown show press conferences, to have real, upstanding leaders like Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren talk about Joe Biden in personal terms, the kind of leader he would be.”
“Then do they need to do it in a bigger way?” Ruhle said regarding the promotion of the kind of leadership Biden would provide.
“What did you just call it, the president’s daily clown show, that’s his press briefing. Should Joe Biden be counter-programming that? Should he be creating his own shadow government, shadow cabinet, shadow SWAT team and getting up there at a podium every night saying, ‘Here’s the crisis we’re in, here’s what we need to do to address this’?”
“Well, he’s done some of that, right, he’s released the most comprehensive plan about what to do in this COVID crisis,” Messina said. “If it was a plan Donald Trump was implementing right now, we’d all be OK.”
Should Joe Biden form a "shadow government"? Yes No
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Biden was originally criticized for ripping off his pandemic response from Donald Trump’s, but this was MSNBC, so no one was going to interrupt Messina on that point.
“As to, you know, his role in all of this, it’s tough, right. He’s not the leader yet. It can look political,” Messina continued.
“You know, he’s doing what I think he should be doing, which is consolidating his base and getting ready for the general election. I think that’s what he can do right now. But I think he’s been very specific about his actions and what he would do as president of the United States.
“And, you know, it’s a time that none of us have ever gone through. How do you campaign in a time when you can’t go see voters?”
First, I’m going to assume that by “shadow government, shadow cabinet, shadow SWAT team,” Ruhle meant that Biden should assemble a team in a similar manner to how, in parliamentary systems, the opposition creates a “shadow cabinet” comprised of MPs who correspond to the actual cabinet ministers of the government in power so they can provide a counterpoint to the actual cabinet. (As for the terms “shadow government” and “shadow SWAT team,” I’m just going to assume Ruhle didn’t realize how deep state-y that sounded.)
However, those people are elected. Joe Biden isn’t.
A shadow cabinet has official roles. We don’t have those functions, having thrown off the yoke of a parliament in 1776 and never looked back.
Furthermore, even though there are plenty of Britishers who don’t view the actions taken by the conservative government with unmixed delight, you don’t have the shadow cabinet jumping in and holding their own counter-programming whenever Prime Minister Boris Johnson or (at least for the moment, as Johnson recovers from coronavirus) Foreign Minister Dominic Raab speaks in order to drown their message out.
The Labour Party can be assured there’s plenty of drowning-out in the U.K. Guardian already.
Even Messina didn’t seem particularly keen on the idea, saying that “[i]t can look political.” Which was exactly Ruhle’s point, mind you, and it’s a bad one. Turning media briefings into political footballs isn’t a great look when the argument is that Trump is turning media briefings into political footballs.
Second, the problem is that Messina was actually right at the beginning of this answer: Biden’s “done some of that.”
However, when he has, it’s consisted of going on old-media TV shows and making nonsensical statements like this one, for instance: “We have to take care of the cure. That will make the problem worse, no matter what.”
What would a Biden shadow media briefing look like? Would he be taking questions from the media? Would any of them be adversarial?
I’m assuming they’d all be variations on the theme: “Joe, why are you so great with dealing with information about the novel coronavirus when President Trump is hosting a clown show briefing at the White House? Why can’t you be president now?”
However, assuming any contradictory voices manage to crash the Zoom briefings, I can just imagine the response. “Listen, corn-muffin, any more of that talk and I’m going to wally-bash you like like we did way back on the mean streets of Wilmington. Lying dog-faced pony soldier.”
We can glimpse what a Biden briefing might look like, however, after he hosted a “virtual happy hour” in late March which managed to go badly, and not just because the former vice president’s a teetotaler.
In addition to his stilted performance throughout and problematic gaffes like stating that Obamacare was “the most important human right that anyone should have, and that is to be able to take care of your own,” it struggled to garner viewership. (“There were about 2800 simultaneous viewers throughout the chat,” according to CBS News reporter Bo Erickson.)
That’s utterly pathetic for a man who was almost certain to become the Democratic presidential nominee at that point.
Biden is terrible at digital engagement and even worse when asked to think on his feet.
As creepy and deep state-ish as forming a “shadow government, shadow cabinet” sounds, go ahead and let him. He can put together whoever he wants to compete with Trump, Fauci and Birx.
The fish rots from the head, after all, and even when you’re just viewing him through a series of tubes that eventually come out on your computer screen, you can still smell the blandness and diminishing returns on the other end.
Politicizing the pandemic is a bad idea. Politicizing it with Joe Biden is a worse one.
The fact that a former Obama aide — someone who was in the White House and knows Joe Biden all too well — couldn’t get behind the idea should have told Ruhle all she needed to know.
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westernjournal--2020-04-17--Trump Tricked the Media into Supporting the 10th Amendment Then Pulled the Rug Out from Under Them

After decades of arguing against limited government , Democrats and the establishment media found a new favorite subject this week : states ’ rights .
Did our friends on the other side of the aisle have a sudden epiphany and decide to embrace constitutional limits on the size and reach of the federal government ?
The simple answer , when looking at the Democratic Party ’ s platform , is probably not .
Earlier this week , President Donald Trump said , with regard to reopening the country ’ s economy as reported cases of the coronavirus decline , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the key and fire up the nation ’ s economic engine .
“ The president of the United States calls the shots , ” Trump said at Monday ’ s White House press briefing .
Regarding state and local governments , he added , “ They can ’ t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.
” TRENDING : NYC Adds Thousands of People Who Never Tested Positive to Coronavirus Death Count Of course , the words sent Democrats , media outlets and even many Republicans clamoring to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president of the United States does not have total authority over the states — something Trump knows and conceded a day later when he said individual governors would have the discretion to reopen their states when they see it fit to do so .
On Thursday , the president unveiled an 18-page letter of guidelines suggesting how governors can mitigate a resurgence in coronavirus cases as they decide when to open their states , The Hill reported .
But Trump ’ s letter was too late for many Democrats and far-left activist reporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support the 10th Amendment .
The New York Times declared that “ Trump ’ s total authority claim is rejected across ideological lines.
” NPR reported that “ Trump falsely claimed ‘ total ’ authority over states — now he ’ s backpedaling.
” Others weighed in on social media .
Don ’ t these Democrat and establishment media oafs think Trump knows that his power is not absolute ?
Of course he does , which leads to a theory : The president used reverse psychology to get the far-left media and Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to call the shots — which might lead to the economy opening up faster .
If there is one thing Trump has proved since the now-famous 2015 escalator ride in which he announced his candidacy , it ’ s that he knows what he ’ s doing and his words are more carefully calculated than they appear .
The president is a very intelligent man , and he ’ s shown himself to be quite politically savvy .
Trump did , after all , use the sensational and biased establishment media to give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and was , in turn , elected the country ’ s 45th president .
That was largely because he understands marketing and he knows how the establishment media operates .
CNBC estimated in September 2016 , weeks before the general election , that then-candidate Trump had received $ 4.6 billion in free advertising while spending a mere $ 78 million on ads .
So , it ’ s not a stretch to suggest he would use the establishment media ’ s opposition to everything Trump against itself in this scenario .
The president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run with the statement he made Monday .
Trump wants to get Americans working again .
He also knows that he will meet resistance to any plan he sets in place to reopen the economy .
What better way to challenge Democrats to support reopening the country and champion states ’ rights than by telling them he has complete authority over them ?
Some of these people are still claiming the man isn ’ t their president after more than three years .
The assertion that he might have some form of control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough to get some to suddenly support the Constitution , and particularly the 10th Amendment — which plainly reads , “ The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution , nor prohibited by it to the States , are reserved to the States respectively , or to the people.
” Is Trump simply playing an elaborate and genius political game ?
Many of the people criticizing his “ total ” control comment were supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ bid for the White House just weeks ago , or are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Both candidates are calling for more federal control over our lives with climate change and health care initiatives that would absolutely give the U.S. government greater power over citizens .
Perhaps Trump knows that the best way to get Democrats and the establishment media onboard with supporting states ’ rights and reopening the country is to suddenly appear to be opposed to the idea of letting the states govern themselves .
If so , well played .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our @ @ @

After decades of arguing against limited government, Democrats and the establishment media found a new favorite subject this week: states’ rights.
Did our friends on the other side of the aisle have a sudden epiphany and decide to embrace constitutional limits on the size and reach of the federal government? The simple answer, when looking at the Democratic Party’s platform, is probably not.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said, with regard to reopening the country’s economy as reported cases of the coronavirus decline, that he alone can decide when to turn the key and fire up the nation’s economic engine.
“The president of the United States calls the shots,” Trump said at Monday’s White House press briefing.
Regarding state and local governments, he added, “They can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.”
When asked about states’ rights to decide when to reopen schools and businesses, Trump said, “The president of the United States calls the shots.” https://t.co/Pp9pMVXkRl pic.twitter.com/OYmKd3aely — USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 15, 2020
Of course, the words sent Democrats, media outlets and even many Republicans clamoring to correct the record.
Indeed, the president of the United States does not have total authority over the states — something Trump knows and conceded a day later when he said individual governors would have the discretion to reopen their states when they see it fit to do so.
On Thursday, the president unveiled an 18-page letter of guidelines suggesting how governors can mitigate a resurgence in coronavirus cases as they decide when to open their states, The Hill reported.
But Trump’s letter was too late for many Democrats and far-left activist reporters who had already fumbled over themselves to support the 10th Amendment.
The New York Times declared that “Trump’s total authority claim is rejected across ideological lines.”
NPR reported that “Trump falsely claimed ‘total’ authority over states — now he’s backpedaling.”
The Week ran a story headlined “Trump’s frightening claim of ‘total’ authority.”
Others weighed in on social media.
President Trump retreats from “absolute authority” in whiplash move https://t.co/qS7Iy7iHMp pic.twitter.com/L1T19LLSDS — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 15, 2020
As trump maintains he has absolute authority to tell the states what to do, I can’t help but think back to the outrage conservatives had that Obama had Roman-like columns at his 2008 convention. — Sam Stein (@samstein) April 13, 2020
Governors are on their own when they need ventilators & medical supplies to keep people alive. But Trump also states he has “total power” over when states open businesses…so long as it’s politically and financially beneficial for him and his buddies. https://t.co/ONXQbSXPKs — Ana Kasparian (@AnaKasparian) April 14, 2020
“I don’t know why the president said it,” @NYGovCuomo said. “It’s not legal. It’s a total abrogation of the Constitution—10th Amendment specifically says power to the states.”#MangoMussolinihttps://t.co/sOlVIH3MFx — Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) April 14, 2020
The President who claimed to have “absolute authority” over state and local governments a few days ago now moves against the legislative branch. https://t.co/wOyTWTiaBe — Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) April 15, 2020
Don’t these Democrat and establishment media oafs think Trump knows that his power is not absolute?
Of course he does, which leads to a theory: The president used reverse psychology to get the far-left media and Democrats to support the rights of individual states to call the shots — which might lead to the economy opening up faster.
If there is one thing Trump has proved since the now-famous 2015 escalator ride in which he announced his candidacy, it’s that he knows what he’s doing and his words are more carefully calculated than they appear.
The president is a very intelligent man, and he’s shown himself to be quite politically savvy.
Trump did, after all, use the sensational and biased establishment media to give him endless coverage during the 2016 election and was, in turn, elected the country’s 45th president. That was largely because he understands marketing and he knows how the establishment media operates.
CNBC estimated in September 2016, weeks before the general election, that then-candidate Trump had received $4.6 billion in free advertising while spending a mere $78 million on ads.
So, it’s not a stretch to suggest he would use the establishment media’s opposition to everything Trump against itself in this scenario.
The president likely knew exactly how the media would run with the statement he made Monday.
Trump wants to get Americans working again.
Do you think this was a political ploy by President Trump? Yes No
Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Yes: 95% (5665 Votes) No: 5% (287 Votes)
He also knows that he will meet resistance to any plan he sets in place to reopen the economy. What better way to challenge Democrats to support reopening the country and champion states’ rights than by telling them he has complete authority over them?
Some of these people are still claiming the man isn’t their president after more than three years.
The assertion that he might have some form of control over their lives is probably more than enough to get some to suddenly support the Constitution, and particularly the 10th Amendment — which plainly reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Is Trump simply playing an elaborate and genius political game?
Many of the people criticizing his “total” control comment were supporting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bid for the White House just weeks ago, or are now supporting former Vice President Joe Biden.
Both candidates are calling for more federal control over our lives with climate change and health care initiatives that would absolutely give the U.S. government greater power over citizens.
Perhaps Trump knows that the best way to get Democrats and the establishment media onboard with supporting states’ rights and reopening the country is to suddenly appear to be opposed to the idea of letting the states govern themselves.
If so, well played.
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westernjournal--2020-04-17--Report: Instead of Firing Newly ID’d ‘Anonymous’ Leaker, WH Is Punishing Her with Transfer to Saudi

Report: Instead of Firing Newly ID’d ‘Anonymous’ Leaker, WH Is Punishing Her with Transfer to Saudi Arabia

A set of reports published Wednesday said the White House believes it has “ Anonymous , ” the senior White House official behind the infamous New York Times Op-Ed titled “ I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration ” and subsequent book dealing with much the same ground .
Victoria Coates was on the National Security Council and was promoted to the No .
2 position there last fall .
There ’ s been an abrupt shift in her fortunes , however , and she recently was demoted to a special assignment as a senior adviser in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s awaiting assignment to Saudi Arabia .
That , according to a report from Paul Sperry in RealClearInvestigations , is because the White House believes she ’ s the one behind the Op-Ed and book .
In a series of articles published Wednesday , Sperry revealed how sources inside the White House came to believe Coates was Anonymous , including textual analysis and curious coincidences between their lived experiences .
First , in case you ’ ve forgotten : Anonymous first published his or her Op-Ed back in September 2018 , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like The Most Important Thing That ’ s Ever Happened To Our Nation .
In retrospect , those were blessedly simple times for our country and the world , but we were gripped for at least a few news cycles by The Times ’ opinion piece in which the unnamed senior official declared that President Donald Trump was unaware “ many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.
” TRENDING : NYC Adds Thousands of People Who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I would know .
I am one of them , ” Anonymous declared .
That was one of plenty of mic-drop paragraphs that felt like they should have the “ Law & Order ” sound effect playing right after them .
For weeks , we were inordinately interested in who wrote the thing and scouring other Trump administration figures ’ oeuvres for uses of the word “ lodestar , ” a textual choice by Anonymous that seemed to stand out to everyone .
Again , in hindsight , the whole thing seems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ course there were people in the Trump administration who wanted to frustrate its efforts , given that the president was fighting upstream against not only the Democrats but a wide swath of his own party , an establishment that was convinced he too would pass and they ’ d be laughing this off at the country club sooner rather than later .
After more than a few news cycles , we all lost interest .
The book-length treatment of the subject , “ A Warning , ” was published roughly a year later @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who wasn ’ t inside the White House .
At 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. , however , the book provided important textual clues to a team involved in a National Security Council probe trying to suss out who Anonymous was .
Remember , Coates was promoted as recently as last autumn .
To go from a promotion to near the head of the NSC to a demotion to the Department of Energy and a long flight to Riyadh is an unusual set of circumstances , and no other reports of sturm und drang from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toward a reason for the move .
The establishment media have dismissed reports of Coates being Anonymous as “ unsubstantiated rumors ” that have been kicking around the internet .
A source from the NSC , however , told RealClearInvestigations that the White House was convinced of Coates ’ authorship .
“ It ’ s her , ” the source said .
“ That ’ s why she was shown the door.
” First , there ’ s the compelling evidence provided by computerized textual analysis of Anonymous ’ two known works and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Remember the WH Staffer Who Trashed POTUS to NYT ?
Trump Says They Know Who It Is This sort of thing is pretty easy to do nowadays since advanced software can compare word choice , turns of phrase , sentence structures and other indicators to create a sort of authorial fingerprint match .
For instance , in a 2012 column , Coates described Hong Kong businessmen as “ eager to curry favor with.
” In a 2015 speech , she talked of “ currying favor with Baghdad.
” A previous book on art @ @ @ @ @ @ @ artist had worked “ to curry favor with ” a rich family .
Meanwhile , in “ A Warning , ” the phrase “ curry favor with ” was used three times .
A list of other phrases that textual analysis found in common between Anonymous and Coates , as per RealClearInvestigations : “ first principles , ” “ classical liberalism , ” “ chilling effect , ” “ wreaking havoc , ” “ gone sideways , ” “ ad nauseum , ” “ hell-bent ” and “ tin-pot.
” It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sextant ” isn ’ t a word used much outside of nautical history books .
Coates and Anonymous both used it , though .
“ History doesn ’ t make us .
We make history , ” Anonymous wrote in “ A Warning , ” arguing for bending the arc of the Trump administration toward something more moral .
“ Its course is changed by the people themselves who , with their values as a sextant , navigate daily moral quandaries.
” A decade prior , Coates had used it in her book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pompeii and Herculaneum , ” albeit in a nonmetaphorical way : “ As several series of sextant angles taken from prominent vantage points show , his mission also entailed mapping the surrounding territory.
” There were a litany of these scattered throughout Anonymous ’ and Coates ’ work .
And , more importantly , both Coates and Anonymous seemed to have a different sextant than the president did in critical matters .
Coates was known to be a national security hawk , something at odds with the president ’ s aversion to getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be in places such as Syria and Afghanistan .
Sources say she ’ s privately dismissive of the president , and while friends say she was supportive of his run for Trump once he became the nominee , none of her tweets in the run-up to Election Day four years ago mentions her support for the president .
She ’ s also an ally of Sen. Ted Cruz , one who was “ livid when the Texas Republican endorsed Trump and cited national security as one of his reasons for supporting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 Politico article .
Beyond all that , she ’ s a member of the national security community , a corner of our government known to tolerate Trump with a grimace when they tolerate him at all .
She also has a history of writing anonymously , which would make her a good candidate to be , well , Anonymous .
Anonymous and Coates also share a prominent literary agent , an expedient curiosity , especially since that agent hosts what Sperry described as “ an author roster of disaffected ex-Trump officials.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Anonymous , however .
“ To be very clear , so there is no chance of any misunderstanding : Dr. Coates is not Anonymous , ” Javelin Literary Agency , which hosts both Coates and Anonymous , said .
“ She did not write it , edit it , see it in advance , know anything about it , or as far [ as ] we know ever read it.
” Firsthand accounts say that Coates and Anonymous experienced the same events in the White House , something only a handful of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; according to RealClearInvestigations , the others have been ruled out by the NSC team .
And then there are a handful of personal details that match the two .
Anonymous is fond of Philadelphia , reminding readers that it ’ s the birthplace of American liberty in one passage .
In another , she discusses a Pennsylvanian Founding Father , John Dickinson , one who ’ s not generally discussed by your sixth-grader over dinner when discussing his American history project but who ’ s well known in the lore of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owns a Victorian mansion in Philadelphia and is descended from a line of Pennsylvanians going back to 1709 , including Civil War-era Pennsylvania Gov .
Andrew Curtin .
Anonymous also quoted American historian Bernard Bailyn , generally unknown if you ’ re not in intellectual circles and scarcely known even then .
Coates would have been familiar with him , however : She received a master ’ s in art history from Williams College , which was Bailyn ’ s alma mater and which includes his works as required reading .
Coates declined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has retained a lawyer .
Many of her friends say that she didn ’ t author either the Op-Ed or book — and to be fair , there are good points to be made in that department .
“ The suggestion that Victoria is ‘ Anonymous ’ is preposterous , ” K.T .
McFarland , Trump ’ s first deputy national security adviser , said .
McFarland said she ’ d reached that conclusion not only because Coates had told it to her , but she ’ d also told it to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ herself has denied being ‘ Anonymous ’ during her routine security clearance review , ” McFarland said .
“ Anyone familiar with the security clearance process knows that it would have been a criminal offense , punishable by jail time , for her to lie about this.
” However , Sperry said her friends had issues explaining why she would accept a demotion just four months after being promoted to No .
2 on the National Security Council .
And it ’ s quite the demotion , being sent to a country that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights or women ’ s rights and is currently undergoing a painful , protracted proxy war with Iran in Yemen .
Have fun , I suppose .
Trump has told reporters he knows who Anonymous is , and the demotion seems to at least signal he believes it to be Coates .
Sources have said the administration didn ’ t want the distraction of a firing .
A bit of social distancing — roughly 7,000 miles worth of it — is one way to do it .
If Anonymous writes a third missive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brutal Middle Eastern Dictatorships Which Are Questionable Allies of the United States Aren ’ t Fun Places to Wait Out Pandemics , ” we ’ ll also have a better idea .
In short , despite the fact that the media has called these reports linking Coates and Anonymous “ unsubstantiated rumors , ” there ’ s plenty of evidence that the White House believes Coates is Anonymous .
Is she ?
If there ’ s any evidence to the contrary , the fact that Coates reportedly told officials she wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in my craw .
Despite a plethora of coincidences , I don ’ t quite believe anyone would be that stupid , particularly given how hard Washington was sleuthing to find out just who this person was .
On the other hand , I suppose it all depends on how seriously Anonymous meant what he or she said during the preface to “ A Warning ” : “ If asked , I will strenuously deny I am the author of this book.
” If it ’ s Coates and she said that during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was false , I ’ d have to say she meant it pretty darn seriously .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

A set of reports published Wednesday said the White House believes it has “Anonymous,” the senior White House official behind the infamous New York Times Op-Ed titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration” and subsequent book dealing with much the same ground.
Victoria Coates was on the National Security Council and was promoted to the No. 2 position there last fall. There’s been an abrupt shift in her fortunes, however, and she recently was demoted to a special assignment as a senior adviser in the Department of Energy, where she’s awaiting assignment to Saudi Arabia.
That, according to a report from Paul Sperry in RealClearInvestigations, is because the White House believes she’s the one behind the Op-Ed and book.
In a series of articles published Wednesday, Sperry revealed how sources inside the White House came to believe Coates was Anonymous, including textual analysis and curious coincidences between their lived experiences.
First, in case you’ve forgotten: Anonymous first published his or her Op-Ed back in September 2018, a time when the special counsel investigation seemed like The Most Important Thing That’s Ever Happened To Our Nation. In retrospect, those were blessedly simple times for our country and the world, but we were gripped for at least a few news cycles by The Times’ opinion piece in which the unnamed senior official declared that President Donald Trump was unaware “many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”
“I would know. I am one of them,” Anonymous declared.
That was one of plenty of mic-drop paragraphs that felt like they should have the “Law & Order” sound effect playing right after them. For weeks, we were inordinately interested in who wrote the thing and scouring other Trump administration figures’ oeuvres for uses of the word “lodestar,” a textual choice by Anonymous that seemed to stand out to everyone.
Again, in hindsight, the whole thing seems like a ridiculous parlor game; of course there were people in the Trump administration who wanted to frustrate its efforts, given that the president was fighting upstream against not only the Democrats but a wide swath of his own party, an establishment that was convinced he too would pass and they’d be laughing this off at the country club sooner rather than later.
After more than a few news cycles, we all lost interest. The book-length treatment of the subject, “A Warning,” was published roughly a year later to the interest of roughly no one who wasn’t inside the White House.
Do you think Victoria Coates is Anonymous? Yes No
Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Yes: 94% (2841 Votes) No: 6% (177 Votes)
At 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., however, the book provided important textual clues to a team involved in a National Security Council probe trying to suss out who Anonymous was. Remember, Coates was promoted as recently as last autumn. To go from a promotion to near the head of the NSC to a demotion to the Department of Energy and a long flight to Riyadh is an unusual set of circumstances, and no other reports of sturm und drang from inside the presidential manse seem to point toward a reason for the move.
The establishment media have dismissed reports of Coates being Anonymous as “unsubstantiated rumors” that have been kicking around the internet. A source from the NSC, however, told RealClearInvestigations that the White House was convinced of Coates’ authorship.
“It’s her,” the source said. “That’s why she was shown the door.”
So, why Coates?
First, there’s the compelling evidence provided by computerized textual analysis of Anonymous’ two known works and what Coates has authored.
This sort of thing is pretty easy to do nowadays since advanced software can compare word choice, turns of phrase, sentence structures and other indicators to create a sort of authorial fingerprint match.
For instance, in a 2012 column, Coates described Hong Kong businessmen as “eager to curry favor with.” In a 2015 speech, she talked of “currying favor with Baghdad.” A previous book on art and democracy talked about how an Italian artist had worked “to curry favor with” a rich family. Meanwhile, in “A Warning,” the phrase “curry favor with” was used three times.
A list of other phrases that textual analysis found in common between Anonymous and Coates, as per RealClearInvestigations: “first principles,” “classical liberalism,” “chilling effect,” “wreaking havoc,” “gone sideways,” “ad nauseum,” “hell-bent” and “tin-pot.”
It’s not just phraseology, either. “Sextant” isn’t a word used much outside of nautical history books. Coates and Anonymous both used it, though.
“History doesn’t make us. We make history,” Anonymous wrote in “A Warning,” arguing for bending the arc of the Trump administration toward something more moral. “Its course is changed by the people themselves who, with their values as a sextant, navigate daily moral quandaries.”
A decade prior, Coates had used it in her book “Antiquity Recovered: The Legacy of Pompeii and Herculaneum,” albeit in a nonmetaphorical way: “As several series of sextant angles taken from prominent vantage points show, his mission also entailed mapping the surrounding territory.”
There were a litany of these scattered throughout Anonymous’ and Coates’ work.
And, more importantly, both Coates and Anonymous seemed to have a different sextant than the president did in critical matters.
Coates was known to be a national security hawk, something at odds with the president’s aversion to getting bogged down more than he felt America should be in places such as Syria and Afghanistan. Sources say she’s privately dismissive of the president, and while friends say she was supportive of his run for Trump once he became the nominee, none of her tweets in the run-up to Election Day four years ago mentions her support for the president.
She’s also an ally of Sen. Ted Cruz, one who was “livid when the Texas Republican endorsed Trump and cited national security as one of his reasons for supporting the Republican nominee,” according to a 2017 Politico article.
Beyond all that, she’s a member of the national security community, a corner of our government known to tolerate Trump with a grimace when they tolerate him at all.
She also has a history of writing anonymously, which would make her a good candidate to be, well, Anonymous.
Anonymous and Coates also share a prominent literary agent, an expedient curiosity, especially since that agent hosts what Sperry described as “an author roster of disaffected ex-Trump officials.” The agency denies any link between Coates and Anonymous, however.
“To be very clear, so there is no chance of any misunderstanding: Dr. Coates is not Anonymous,” Javelin Literary Agency, which hosts both Coates and Anonymous, said. “She did not write it, edit it, see it in advance, know anything about it, or as far [as] we know ever read it.”
Firsthand accounts say that Coates and Anonymous experienced the same events in the White House, something only a handful of other people inside the Trump administration did; according to RealClearInvestigations, the others have been ruled out by the NSC team.
And then there are a handful of personal details that match the two.
Anonymous is fond of Philadelphia, reminding readers that it’s the birthplace of American liberty in one passage. In another, she discusses a Pennsylvanian Founding Father, John Dickinson, one who’s not generally discussed by your sixth-grader over dinner when discussing his American history project but who’s well known in the lore of the Keystone State. Coates, meanwhile, owns a Victorian mansion in Philadelphia and is descended from a line of Pennsylvanians going back to 1709, including Civil War-era Pennsylvania Gov. Andrew Curtin.
Anonymous also quoted American historian Bernard Bailyn, generally unknown if you’re not in intellectual circles and scarcely known even then. Coates would have been familiar with him, however: She received a master’s in art history from Williams College, which was Bailyn’s alma mater and which includes his works as required reading.
Coates declined to comment on the RealClearInvestigations pieces and has retained a lawyer. Many of her friends say that she didn’t author either the Op-Ed or book — and to be fair, there are good points to be made in that department.
“The suggestion that Victoria is ‘Anonymous’ is preposterous,” K.T. McFarland, Trump’s first deputy national security adviser, said. McFarland said she’d reached that conclusion not only because Coates had told it to her, but she’d also told it to a much more sensitive source.
“Victoria herself has denied being ‘Anonymous’ during her routine security clearance review,” McFarland said. “Anyone familiar with the security clearance process knows that it would have been a criminal offense, punishable by jail time, for her to lie about this.”
However, Sperry said her friends had issues explaining why she would accept a demotion just four months after being promoted to No. 2 on the National Security Council. And it’s quite the demotion, being sent to a country that isn’t known to respect human rights or women’s rights and is currently undergoing a painful, protracted proxy war with Iran in Yemen. Have fun, I suppose.
Trump has told reporters he knows who Anonymous is, and the demotion seems to at least signal he believes it to be Coates.
Sources have said the administration didn’t want the distraction of a firing. A bit of social distancing — roughly 7,000 miles worth of it — is one way to do it.
If Anonymous writes a third missive titled “A Warning 2: Unnamed Brutal Middle Eastern Dictatorships Which Are Questionable Allies of the United States Aren’t Fun Places to Wait Out Pandemics,” we’ll also have a better idea.
In short, despite the fact that the media has called these reports linking Coates and Anonymous “unsubstantiated rumors,” there’s plenty of evidence that the White House believes Coates is Anonymous.
Is she? If there’s any evidence to the contrary, the fact that Coates reportedly told officials she wasn’t Anonymous during her security clearance review sticks in my craw. Despite a plethora of coincidences, I don’t quite believe anyone would be that stupid, particularly given how hard Washington was sleuthing to find out just who this person was.
On the other hand, I suppose it all depends on how seriously Anonymous meant what he or she said during the preface to “A Warning”: “If asked, I will strenuously deny I am the author of this book.”
If it’s Coates and she said that during her security clearance interview knowing full well it was false, I’d have to say she meant it pretty darn seriously.
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westernjournal--2020-04-17--Elon Musk Fires Back at CNN Over Ventilator Story, Says What’s ‘Most Surprising Is that CNN Still Ex

Elon Musk Fires Back at CNN Over Ventilator Story, Says What’s ‘Most Surprising Is that CNN Still Exists’

Entrepreneur Elon Musk rocked the Twittersphere on Thursday responding to a CNN report that suggested he had not made good on his pledge to provide more than 1,000 ventilators to California hospitals .
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO shared verification that he had fulfilled his commitment last month , throwing mockery into the mix by tweeting at one point , “ What I find most surprising is that CNN still exists.
” Last month , Musk offered to donate more than 1,000 ventilators to California hospitals .
In late March , multiple news services carried a comment from California Gov @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Elon Musk : how about this ?
I told you a few days ago that he was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week , ” Newsom said during his March 23 media briefing .
“ They arrived in Los Angeles and Elon Musk is already working with the hospital association and others to get those ventilators out in real time .
It ’ s an heroic effort.
” TRENDING : NYC Adds Thousands of People Who Never Tested Positive to Coronavirus Death Count But CNN fired this shot at Musk on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEO Elon Musk said he had obtained more than 1,000 ventilators to help California hospitals treating patients infected with the coronavirus , the governor ’ s office says none of the promised ventilators have been received by hospitals , ” CNN tweeted .
Musk had a response at the ready .
“ What I find most surprising is that CNN still exists , ” Musk tweeted , posting documentation to prove he made good on his promise .
CNN executive Matt Dornic then suggested Musk should be angry at Newsom ’ s office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had done nothing wrong .
“ Weird to attack CNN for what the CA governor ’ s office said – especially when your own spokespeople at Tesla didn ’ t respond to requests for comment , ” Dornic , CNN ’ s head of strategic communications , wrote .
“ Seems like your outrage should , uh , be directed at the entity that made the claim , not the one that reported it .
U new to this ?
” “ Perhaps you are unaware that Twitter has a search function ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ *themselves* acknowledged receipt of ventilators.
” The entrepeneur tweeted additional evidence showing that the ventilators had been received by hospitals : Musk has also called upon Newsom ’ s office to clear up the misunderstanding .
In its Wednesday story , CNN had reported , that “ Elon Musk and his team told the state that he had procured ventilators and wanted to distribute them directly to hospitals with shortages , ” quoting a spokesperson for the California governor ’ s Office of Emergency Services .
“ The Administration is communicating every day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ventilator supply and to date we have not heard of any hospital system that has received a ventilator directly from Tesla or Musk , ” the spokesperson added .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

Entrepreneur Elon Musk rocked the Twittersphere on Thursday responding to a CNN report that suggested he had not made good on his pledge to provide more than 1,000 ventilators to California hospitals.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO shared verification that he had fulfilled his commitment last month, throwing mockery into the mix by tweeting at one point, “What I find most surprising is that CNN still exists.”
Last month, Musk offered to donate more than 1,000 ventilators to California hospitals.
In late March, multiple news services carried a comment from California Gov. Gavin Newsom concerning that promise.
“Elon Musk: how about this? I told you a few days ago that he was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week,” Newsom said during his March 23 media briefing. “They arrived in Los Angeles and Elon Musk is already working with the hospital association and others to get those ventilators out in real time. It’s an heroic effort.”
But CNN fired this shot at Musk on Thursday.
“Three weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he had obtained more than 1,000 ventilators to help California hospitals treating patients infected with the coronavirus, the governor’s office says none of the promised ventilators have been received by hospitals,” CNN tweeted.
Three weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he had obtained more than 1,000 ventilators to help California hospitals treating patients infected with the coronavirus, the governor’s office says none of the promised ventilators have been received by hospitals https://t.co/u3NNpxbvsN — CNN (@CNN) April 16, 2020
Musk had a response at the ready.
“What I find most surprising is that CNN still exists,” Musk tweeted, posting documentation to prove he made good on his promise.
What I find most surprising is that CNN still exists — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2020
These were based on direct requests from their ICU wards, with exact specifications of each unit provided before shipment — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2020
CNN executive Matt Dornic then suggested Musk should be angry at Newsom’s office, not CNN, which he suggested had done nothing wrong.
“Weird to attack CNN for what the CA governor’s office said – especially when your own spokespeople at Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment,” Dornic, CNN’s head of strategic communications, wrote. “Seems like your outrage should, uh, be directed at the entity that made the claim, not the one that reported it. U new to this?”
Weird to attack CNN for what the CA governor’s office said – especially when your own spokespeople at Tesla didn’t respond to requests for comment. Seems like your outrage should, uh, be directed at the entity that made the claim, not the one that reported it. U new to this? — Matt Dornic (@mdornic) April 16, 2020
“Perhaps you are unaware that Twitter has a search function?” Musk replied. “The hospitals *themselves* acknowledged receipt of ventilators.”
The entrepeneur tweeted additional evidence showing that the ventilators had been received by hospitals:
Musk has also called upon Newsom’s office to clear up the misunderstanding.
Do you think CNN cares about the truth? Yes No
Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Yes: 0% (4 Votes) No: 100% (1494 Votes)
In its Wednesday story, CNN had reported, that “Elon Musk and his team told the state that he had procured ventilators and wanted to distribute them directly to hospitals with shortages,” quoting a spokesperson for the California governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
“The Administration is communicating every day with hospitals across the state about their ventilator supply and to date we have not heard of any hospital system that has received a ventilator directly from Tesla or Musk,” the spokesperson added.
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westernjournal--2020-04-17--China Suddenly Raises Wuhan Coronavirus Death Toll by 50 Percent After Repeatedly Defending Data

In a further blow to China ’ s credibility surrounding the coronavirus pandemic , the communist nation on Friday suddenly jacked up the death toll in the city where the outbreak began .
The action came after weeks of external criticism that China had deliberately hidden the real impact of the virus , though the Chinese government had previously gone to great lengths to defend the coronavirus figures it was reporting .
The death toll in the city of Wuhan was increased by 1,290 to 3,869 — a jump of about 50 percent — while a slight adjustment of 325 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overall caseload to 50,333 , according to Fox News .
China attributed the increase to bureaucratic delays , saying that because medical facilities were overwhelmed during the peak of the virus , “ belated , missed and mistaken reporting occurred.
” “ Due to the insufficiency in admission and treatment capability , a few medical institutions failed to connect with the disease prevention and control system in time , while hospitals were overloaded and medics were overwhelmed with patients , ” the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported .
TRENDING : NYC Adds Thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coronavirus Death Count Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Friday that the change was simply part of the common practice of data revision that happens all the time .
“ There has never been any cover-up and we do not allow cover-ups , ” Zhao said , according to Bloomberg .
“ China , in response to COVID-19 , has done nothing that should be criticized.
” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas , who has long been skeptical of China ’ s numbers , was among those who tweeted some cynicism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said China has some explaining to do .
“ There absolutely needs to be a very very deep dive after-the-event review of the lessons , including on the outbreak of the virus … it needs to be driven by the science , ” British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said , according to Reuters .
RELATED : US Officials Reveal Major Investigation into Whether Outbreak Began at Wuhan Lab : Report “ There ’ s no doubt : we can ’ t have business as usual after this crisis , and we ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how it came about and about how it could ’ ve been stopped earlier , ” Raab said when asked about the possibility of a future “ reckoning ” with China .
In its reporting on China ’ s estimates of how many people died from the virus , The New York Times cited unnamed intelligence officials in saying that the “ Chinese government itself does not know the extent of the virus and is as blind as the rest of the world.
” “ Midlevel bureaucrats in the city of Wuhan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in China have been lying about infection rates , testing and death counts , fearful that if they report numbers that are too high they will be punished , lose their position or worse , ” The Times reported .
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Read our editorial standards .

In a further blow to China’s credibility surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the communist nation on Friday suddenly jacked up the death toll in the city where the outbreak began.
The action came after weeks of external criticism that China had deliberately hidden the real impact of the virus, though the Chinese government had previously gone to great lengths to defend the coronavirus figures it was reporting.
The death toll in the city of Wuhan was increased by 1,290 to 3,869 — a jump of about 50 percent — while a slight adjustment of 325 additional cases raised the city’s overall caseload to 50,333, according to Fox News.
China attributed the increase to bureaucratic delays, saying that because medical facilities were overwhelmed during the peak of the virus, “belated, missed and mistaken reporting occurred.”
“Due to the insufficiency in admission and treatment capability, a few medical institutions failed to connect with the disease prevention and control system in time, while hospitals were overloaded and medics were overwhelmed with patients,” the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Friday that the change was simply part of the common practice of data revision that happens all the time.
Do you trust that the numbers released by China are accurate? Yes No
Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Yes: 1% (62 Votes) No: 99% (5298 Votes)
“There has never been any cover-up and we do not allow cover-ups,” Zhao said, according to Bloomberg. “China, in response to COVID-19, has done nothing that should be criticized.”
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who has long been skeptical of China’s numbers, was among those who tweeted some cynicism to greet the revised count:
Well, well, well: After repeatedly defending the accuracy of their data, Chinese officials revise the coronavirus death toll in Wuhan to 3,869, 50% higher than previously reported https://t.co/aY0drUkKw2 via @WSJ — Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 17, 2020
Breaking News China revises Wuhan coronavirus death toll to 3,869 from 2,579. Not sure what’s motivating this but maybe greater international scrutiny. Some will be placated by this news others will say its still probably way too low. Put me on the latter camp. #JustSaying — Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) April 17, 2020
Others said China has some explaining to do.
“There absolutely needs to be a very very deep dive after-the-event review of the lessons, including on the outbreak of the virus … it needs to be driven by the science,” British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said, according to Reuters.
“There’s no doubt: we can’t have business as usual after this crisis, and we’ll have to ask the hard questions about how it came about and about how it could’ve been stopped earlier,” Raab said when asked about the possibility of a future “reckoning” with China.
French President Emmanuel Macron questions China’s handling of coronavirus, saying things “happened that we don’t know about”https://t.co/PoaYqfC6xd — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 17, 2020
Over 140K people have lost their lives around the world because of the #CoronavirusPandemic. If China had not deliberately covered up the initial outbreak in Wuhan, we could have prevented the vast majority of those deaths. pic.twitter.com/aLWz5gimgM — Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) April 17, 2020
China have revised the death count from #wuhan by 50%, from 2,579 to 3,869. I don’t believe either of those figures, nor the figures for the rest of China. The virus spreads across the planet like wildfire yet China contain it mostly to one city? Hmmm — Westy (@Westywwfc) April 17, 2020
In its reporting on China’s estimates of how many people died from the virus, The New York Times cited unnamed intelligence officials in saying that the “Chinese government itself does not know the extent of the virus and is as blind as the rest of the world.”
“Midlevel bureaucrats in the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, and elsewhere in China have been lying about infection rates, testing and death counts, fearful that if they report numbers that are too high they will be punished, lose their position or worse,” The Times reported.
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Made in China

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Branco cartoons , go to WesternJournal.com/opinion/cartoons .
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Steve Bannon argued on "War Room" that Fox News is doing everything that it can to create an anti-Trump narrative for the 2024 election.


westernjournal--2020-04-18--Florida Man Accused of Murder After Estranged Wife Sends Odd COVID Texts, Goes Missing

The coronavirus has been responsible for a horrific number of deaths across the globe .
One death associated with the virus , however , may not be all that it seems .
On March 25 , a witness told police in Jupiter , Florida , about strange , coronavirus-related text messages from her friend Gretchen Anthony , 51 .
March 23 was reportedly the last time the witness had heard from her .
Based on the witness ’ report , police launched an investigation that led them to Gretchen ’ s estranged husband , David Anthony .
Anthony , 43 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 31 and charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of Gretchen , WPEC reported .
She was last seen at her home in Jupiter on March 20 , according to the Jupiter Police Department .
Several of her other friends and family told police they also had received bizarre text messages from Gretchen explaining that she was hospitalized at the Jupiter Medical Center with COVID-19 .
Her messages explained that she was being held there by the CDC , according to WPEC .
TRENDING : NYC Adds Thousands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coronavirus Death Count NBC News reported that Gretchen ’ s mother received a strange message from her missing daughter , saying she was on a ventilator .
However , there were not any hospital or insurance records showing that Gretchen had ever been admitted for COVID-19 treatment .
According to iHeartRadio , a hospital surveillance video showed a “ taller white male ” driving her blue Mini Cooper into the parking lot of the hospital and leaving it there on March 24 .
WPEC reported that when police arrived at Gretchen Anthony ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their investigation , a neighbor told them that around 6 a.m. on March 21 , she had heard a “ blood-curdling scream.
” She also said she had heard a woman scream “ No !
No it hurts !
” from either the garage or the patio of the victim ’ s home .
Another neighbor said he had heard the same unsettling screams that morning , and noticed David ’ s black truck parked on the road with a tarp covering the bed .
He added that the next day somebody was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ garage .
He said that there was water “ mixed with an unknown chemical ” draining from the garage into a nearby alley .
A different neighbor gave the police video footage of what looks like David ’ s truck leaving and coming back to the residence multiple times that same day .
RELATED : Three Men Arrested for Gathering at Private Residence One of the witnesses told police that she had had a text conversation with David on March 25 and asked him if he had seen or heard from Gretchen .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ran into her randomly Sat am .
She mentioned something about going to the beach to ground herself bc she wasn ’ t feeling well .
Then she proceeded to tell me I should ‘ plead insanity ’ on some bogus police charges I ’ ve been dealing with.
” This information directly placed David with Gretchen the morning of her disappearance .
While police searched the house they discovered blood on the walls of the master bedroom , broken glass on the stairs , towels in the washing machine with a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supplies in the kitchen .
Police returned the next day with a K-9 that alerted them to blood on the garage floor — where officers had found bleach stains the previous day .
Investigators also noticed that David ’ s and Gretchen ’ s cell phone numbers were both pinging from the same geographic area in Texas .
Additionally , police received a phone call from a Pensacola man on March 30 who told them he had purchased some jewelry from David five days earlier .
David had apparently told him the jewelry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stepmother ” who had died from COVID-19 .
Based on the investigation , police felt they had adequate information to make an arrest .
“ On March 26 , 2020 the Jupiter Police Department responded to the residence of Gretchen Anthony after members of her family reported her missing .
As the investigation progressed and further evidence collected , it is believed David E. Anthony is responsible for her disappearance and related homicide which was determined to have occurred on March 21 , 2020 , ” The Jupiter Police Department wrote on Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being held in Las Cruces , New Mexico , at Doña Ana County Detention Center without bail where he is waiting to be extradited to Florida .
Gretchen ’ s body has not yet been located .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

The coronavirus has been responsible for a horrific number of deaths across the globe. One death associated with the virus, however, may not be all that it seems.
On March 25, a witness told police in Jupiter, Florida, about strange, coronavirus-related text messages from her friend Gretchen Anthony, 51. March 23 was reportedly the last time the witness had heard from her.
Based on the witness’ report, police launched an investigation that led them to Gretchen’s estranged husband, David Anthony.
Anthony, 43, was arrested in New Mexico on March 31 and charged with second-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of Gretchen, WPEC reported. She was last seen at her home in Jupiter on March 20, according to the Jupiter Police Department.
Several of her other friends and family told police they also had received bizarre text messages from Gretchen explaining that she was hospitalized at the Jupiter Medical Center with COVID-19. Her messages explained that she was being held there by the CDC, according to WPEC.
NBC News reported that Gretchen’s mother received a strange message from her missing daughter, saying she was on a ventilator.
However, there were not any hospital or insurance records showing that Gretchen had ever been admitted for COVID-19 treatment.
According to iHeartRadio, a hospital surveillance video showed a “taller white male” driving her blue Mini Cooper into the parking lot of the hospital and leaving it there on March 24.
WPEC reported that when police arrived at Gretchen Anthony’s residence on March 26 to continue their investigation, a neighbor told them that around 6 a.m. on March 21, she had heard a “blood-curdling scream.” She also said she had heard a woman scream “No! No it hurts!” from either the garage or the patio of the victim’s home.
Another neighbor said he had heard the same unsettling screams that morning, and noticed David’s black truck parked on the road with a tarp covering the bed.
He added that the next day somebody was cleaning up inside Gretchen’s closed garage. He said that there was water “mixed with an unknown chemical” draining from the garage into a nearby alley.
A different neighbor gave the police video footage of what looks like David’s truck leaving and coming back to the residence multiple times that same day.
One of the witnesses told police that she had had a text conversation with David on March 25 and asked him if he had seen or heard from Gretchen.
He told the witness that he “ran into her randomly Sat am. She mentioned something about going to the beach to ground herself bc she wasn’t feeling well. Then she proceeded to tell me I should ‘plead insanity’ on some bogus police charges I’ve been dealing with.”
This information directly placed David with Gretchen the morning of her disappearance.
While police searched the house they discovered blood on the walls of the master bedroom, broken glass on the stairs, towels in the washing machine with a “reddish substance” on them and cleaning supplies in the kitchen.
Police returned the next day with a K-9 that alerted them to blood on the garage floor — where officers had found bleach stains the previous day.
Investigators also noticed that David’s and Gretchen’s cell phone numbers were both pinging from the same geographic area in Texas.
Additionally, police received a phone call from a Pensacola man on March 30 who told them he had purchased some jewelry from David five days earlier. David had apparently told him the jewelry belonged to either his “mother or stepmother” who had died from COVID-19.
Based on the investigation, police felt they had adequate information to make an arrest.
“On March 26, 2020 the Jupiter Police Department responded to the residence of Gretchen Anthony after members of her family reported her missing. As the investigation progressed and further evidence collected, it is believed David E. Anthony is responsible for her disappearance and related homicide which was determined to have occurred on March 21, 2020,” The Jupiter Police Department wrote on Facebook on April 7.
David is currently being held in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at Doña Ana County Detention Center without bail where he is waiting to be extradited to Florida.
Gretchen’s body has not yet been located.
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westernjournal--2020-04-18--Reigning NFL MVP Responds After Trump Shows Him Respect: ‘Truzz Trump’

President Donald Trump exchanged some kind words Saturday with Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson .
It all started when Jackson retweeted a clip from the 2018 NFL draft in which his former teammate at Louisville , cornerback Jaire Alexander , had an ecstatic response upon finding out that Jackson had been chosen by the Ravens with the last pick in the first round .
Alexander , for his part , was chosen by the Packers with the 18th pick in the first round .
TRENDING : Man Tries Returning Hoard of TP and Hand Sanitizer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon caught the attention of the president , who retweeted it .
“ Really nice to see this and , what a great pick !
” the president wrote .
It was indeed a “ great pick.
” After an up-and-down rookie season , Jackson came into his own in 2019 , throwing for 3,127 yards with 36 passing touchdowns and just six interceptions .
He added 1,206 yards with seven scores on the ground , and was named league MVP following the conclusion of the regular season .
Jackson soon responded to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s use of the word “ Truzz ” was not random .
The quarterback has a tattoo of the word on his chest , which he got after the term “ Big Truss ” became a catchphrase for his team last season .
“ I really can ’ t explain it , ” Jackson told the Ravens team site last year , referring to the term .
“ ‘ I ’ m agreeing with you.
’ Truss , except with a ‘ t ’ at the end , it ’ s an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m with you . '
” According to Ravens.com : “ Jackson said a bunch of people where he ’ s from say it .
He didn ’ t come up with it , doesn ’ t know who did , but it ’ s just part of his regular vocabulary .
Now he ’ s brought it to Baltimore.
” CBS Sports reported that Jackson has filed a trademark for the word “ Truzz ” because someone in Nevada already owns the rights to “ Truss.
” Trump , meanwhile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the NFL , particularly after some players opted to kneel during the pregame playing of the national anthem to protest racial injustice .
“ Wouldn ’ t you love to see one of these NFL owners , when somebody disrespects our flag , to say , ‘ Get that son of a b—- off the field right now .
He is fired , ' ” Trump said during an Alabama rally in September 2017 , according to The Hill .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism @ @ @ @ @ @

President Donald Trump exchanged some kind words Saturday with Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson.
It all started when Jackson retweeted a clip from the 2018 NFL draft in which his former teammate at Louisville, cornerback Jaire Alexander, had an ecstatic response upon finding out that Jackson had been chosen by the Ravens with the last pick in the first round.
Alexander, for his part, was chosen by the Packers with the 18th pick in the first round.
The clip soon caught the attention of the president, who retweeted it.
“Really nice to see this and, what a great pick!” the president wrote.
Really nice to see this and, what a great pick! https://t.co/91104h0sd1 — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2020
Do you think Lamar Jackson is the best quarterback in the NFL? Yes No
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It was indeed a “great pick.”
After an up-and-down rookie season, Jackson came into his own in 2019, throwing for 3,127 yards with 36 passing touchdowns and just six interceptions. He added 1,206 yards with seven scores on the ground, and was named league MVP following the conclusion of the regular season.
Jackson soon responded to the president’s praise.
“Truzz Trump,” he wrote.
Jackson’s use of the word “Truzz” was not random. The quarterback has a tattoo of the word on his chest, which he got after the term “Big Truss” became a catchphrase for his team last season.
“I really can’t explain it,” Jackson told the Ravens team site last year, referring to the term. “‘I’m agreeing with you.’ Truss, except with a ‘t’ at the end, it’s an ‘s.’ Like ‘Truss. I’m with you.'”
According to Ravens.com: “Jackson said a bunch of people where he’s from say it. He didn’t come up with it, doesn’t know who did, but it’s just part of his regular vocabulary. Now he’s brought it to Baltimore.”
CBS Sports reported that Jackson has filed a trademark for the word “Truzz” because someone in Nevada already owns the rights to “Truss.”
Trump, meanwhile, has had an at-times turbulent relationship with the NFL, particularly after some players opted to kneel during the pregame playing of the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
…our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now. He is fired,'” Trump said during an Alabama rally in September 2017, according to The Hill.
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westernjournal--2020-04-18--Bill Maher Sends Warning to Media: Keep up Dishonest Virus Reporting, and Trump Will Win 2020

HBO host Bill Maher warned the establishment media on his show Friday that their dishonest and sensational reporting during the coronavirus pandemic might help President Donald Trump get reelected .
During the “ New Rule ” segment of his show , the “ Real Time ” host laid into journalists for pushing a sense of gloom and pessimism , which he said could lead to President Trump cruising to a second term .
“ Now that we ’ re staring to see some hope in all this , ” Maher said , while asking reporters , “ don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ non-stop doom and gloom is it gives Trump the chance to play the optimist , ” Maher said , “ and optimists tend to win American elections.
” The host then displayed a graphic of former President Barack Obama ’ s 2008 “ HOPE ” campaign poster , while also showing examples of establishment media headline , which he used as examples of news publications sensationalizing the pandemic .
TRENDING : Man Tries Returning Hoard of TP and Hand Sanitizer , Unamused Manager Tells Him Off WARNING : The following video contains graphic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Recalling former President Franklin Roosevelt ’ s “ the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ” quote , Maher said : “ As full of s—- as [ Trump ] is , I could see Trump riding that into a second term and then there will be no hope left for you to shame.
” “ News sources have to rein it in .
Everyone one knows [ COVID-19 ] is no walk in the park , because you literally can ’ t walk in the park , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point the daily drumbeat of depression and terror veers into panic porn , ” the liberal host said .
He then called out a common narrative from establishment news outlets , which he said are claiming that “ life will never be the same , ” and shamed reporters for constantly showing a zoomed in , microscopic graphic of the coronavirus .
“ Everything looks scary if you magnify it a one thousand times , ” he said .
Maher also called out The Washington Post and The New York Times for using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Just tell me millions are out of work without the flashlight under the chin and I ’ ll decide how I feel about it , ” he said .
“ Giving a proper perspective on the truth isn ’ t covering up the truth , it is the truth.
” RELATED : Even Bill Maher Says Biden Is ' A Little Cuckoo ' After Viral Confrontation Maher concluded that the establishment media reporters have not been treating Americans like “ adults ” and warned that their coverage of the coronavirus gives Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We need the news to calm down and treat us like adults .
Trump calls you fake news , don ’ t make him be right , ” Maher said .
Maher was heavily criticized last week for bucking his fellow liberals in describing the coronavirus as a “ Chinese virus.
” “ Scientists , who are generally pretty liberal , have been naming diseases after the places they came from for a very long time , ” Maher said .
“ This has nothing to do with Asian Americans , and it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We can ’ t afford the luxury anymore of non-judginess towards a country with habits that kill millions of people everywhere .
Because this isn ’ t the first time .
SARS came from China , and the bird flu , and the Hong Kong flu , the Asian flu , ” Maher said on April 10 , The Wrap reported .
Maher concluded that he was scared “ that there are people out there who would rather die from the virus than call it by the wrong name.
” We are committed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

HBO host Bill Maher warned the establishment media on his show Friday that their dishonest and sensational reporting during the coronavirus pandemic might help President Donald Trump get reelected.
During the “New Rule” segment of his show, the “Real Time” host laid into journalists for pushing a sense of gloom and pessimism, which he said could lead to President Trump cruising to a second term.
“Now that we’re staring to see some hope in all this,” Maher said, while asking reporters, “don’t hope-shame me.”
“The problem with non-stop doom and gloom is it gives Trump the chance to play the optimist,” Maher said, “and optimists tend to win American elections.”
The host then displayed a graphic of former President Barack Obama’s 2008 “HOPE” campaign poster, while also showing examples of establishment media headline, which he used as examples of news publications sensationalizing the pandemic.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
Recalling former President Franklin Roosevelt’s “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” quote, Maher said: “As full of s—- as [Trump] is, I could see Trump riding that into a second term and then there will be no hope left for you to shame.”
“News sources have to rein it in. Everyone one knows [COVID-19] is no walk in the park, because you literally can’t walk in the park,” he joked.
Do you think President Trump will be reelected in November Yes No
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“But at some point the daily drumbeat of depression and terror veers into panic porn,” the liberal host said.
He then called out a common narrative from establishment news outlets, which he said are claiming that “life will never be the same,” and shamed reporters for constantly showing a zoomed in, microscopic graphic of the coronavirus.
“Everything looks scary if you magnify it a one thousand times,” he said.
Maher also called out The Washington Post and The New York Times for using terminology describing the coronavirus as apocalyptic.
“Just tell me millions are out of work without the flashlight under the chin and I’ll decide how I feel about it,” he said. “Giving a proper perspective on the truth isn’t covering up the truth, it is the truth.”
Maher concluded that the establishment media reporters have not been treating Americans like “adults” and warned that their coverage of the coronavirus gives Trump credibility when he criticizes them.
“We need the news to calm down and treat us like adults. Trump calls you fake news, don’t make him be right,” Maher said.
Maher was heavily criticized last week for bucking his fellow liberals in describing the coronavirus as a “Chinese virus.”
“Scientists, who are generally pretty liberal, have been naming diseases after the places they came from for a very long time,” Maher said.
“This has nothing to do with Asian Americans, and it has everything to do with China. We can’t afford the luxury anymore of non-judginess towards a country with habits that kill millions of people everywhere. Because this isn’t the first time. SARS came from China, and the bird flu, and the Hong Kong flu, the Asian flu,” Maher said on April 10, The Wrap reported.
Maher concluded that he was scared “that there are people out there who would rather die from the virus than call it by the wrong name.”
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westernjournal--2020-04-18--Report: Loophole in $2 Trillion CARES Act Could See Money Sent to China

A loophole in the $ 2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act could send taxpayer funds to foreign workers in countries like China and Mexico , a new report says .
According to the Washington Free Beacon , the CARES Act does not place restrictions on how commercial airlines spend the $ 50 billion they were rewarded to help out with the cost of maintaining their planes .
According to a 2015 report by Vanity Fair , almost all major U.S. airlines “ have shifted heavy maintenance work on their airplanes to repair shops ” in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US Airways ( which has since merged with American Airlines ) and Southwest had maintenance done in El Salvador .
Delta flew its planes to Mexico and United used a maintenance shop in China , Vanity Fair said .
The airlines chose to ship their maintenance work offshore to cut labor costs .
TRENDING : Man Tries Returning Hoard of TP and Hand Sanitizer , Unamused Manager Tells Him Off Although it is unclear if this data is still accurate in 2020 , the Free Beacon reported that the CARES Act guidelines were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 50 billion bailout could be spent on .
The text of the bill outlines at least $ 32 billion to be used exclusively “ for the continuation of payment of employee wages , salaries , and benefits.
” It adds that $ 100 million of the funds can be used “ for costs and administrative expenses ” associated with providing assistance for workers .
The airline industry has seen a dramatic downturn as it faces the impact of the coronavirus pandemic .
“ Virtually every airline is parking planes , ” Aviation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seattle Times .
“ With the airlines in crisis , our work is at about 50 percent of where we thought we ’ d be in the next couple of weeks .
It ’ s pretty ugly.
” However , the potential loophole in funding is being scrutinized as the Trump administration works to help Americans and businesses in need rather than rely on China .
It is still possible for Congress and the Trump administration to implement new rules for how the airline industry can use the funds , according to an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Beacon .
“ The CARES Act is all about saving American jobs , yet there is a real likelihood that airlines could accept this taxpayer-backed relief , then turn around and pay foreign companies and workers to service their planes overseas while at the same time , thousands of American aircraft maintenance workers lose their jobs and the American [ firms ] they work for risk going out of business , ” the unnamed aviation industry source said .
RELATED : Ford Set To Produce Masks , Respirators , Gowns for Medical Personnel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ administration still has the authority to prevent this from happening as they provide additional guidance to airlines seeking relief in the days and weeks ahead.
” Yerbic added that it was important to take care of American workers first in an appearance this month on “ The Hugh Hewitt Radio Show Podcast.
” “ One of my missions … in all of this , whether it ’ s the aerospace and aviation or any others , is for — as the CEO of a business — for us to take charge of ourselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first , and bring them back to work as we start to fund this incredibly huge bill that is all about that , ” he said .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

A loophole in the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act could send taxpayer funds to foreign workers in countries like China and Mexico, a new report says.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the CARES Act does not place restrictions on how commercial airlines spend the $50 billion they were rewarded to help out with the cost of maintaining their planes.
According to a 2015 report by Vanity Fair, almost all major U.S. airlines “have shifted heavy maintenance work on their airplanes to repair shops” in foreign countries.
As of 2015, US Airways (which has since merged with American Airlines) and Southwest had maintenance done in El Salvador. Delta flew its planes to Mexico and United used a maintenance shop in China, Vanity Fair said.
The airlines chose to ship their maintenance work offshore to cut labor costs.
Although it is unclear if this data is still accurate in 2020, the Free Beacon reported that the CARES Act guidelines were not clear on what the airlines’ $50 billion bailout could be spent on.
The text of the bill outlines at least $32 billion to be used exclusively “for the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits.”
It adds that $100 million of the funds can be used “for costs and administrative expenses” associated with providing assistance for workers.
The airline industry has seen a dramatic downturn as it faces the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Do you think airlines should be required to allocate funds for U.S. maintenance workers only? Yes No
Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Yes: 96% (618 Votes) No: 4% (27 Votes)
“Virtually every airline is parking planes,” Aviation Technical Services CEO Matt Yerbic told The Seattle Times.
“With the airlines in crisis, our work is at about 50 percent of where we thought we’d be in the next couple of weeks. It’s pretty ugly.”
However, the potential loophole in funding is being scrutinized as the Trump administration works to help Americans and businesses in need rather than rely on China.
It is still possible for Congress and the Trump administration to implement new rules for how the airline industry can use the funds, according to an industry insider who spoke to the Free Beacon.
“The CARES Act is all about saving American jobs, yet there is a real likelihood that airlines could accept this taxpayer-backed relief, then turn around and pay foreign companies and workers to service their planes overseas while at the same time, thousands of American aircraft maintenance workers lose their jobs and the American [firms] they work for risk going out of business,” the unnamed aviation industry source said.
“Thankfully, the Trump administration still has the authority to prevent this from happening as they provide additional guidance to airlines seeking relief in the days and weeks ahead.”
Yerbic added that it was important to take care of American workers first in an appearance this month on “The Hugh Hewitt Radio Show Podcast.”
“One of my missions … in all of this, whether it’s the aerospace and aviation or any others, is for — as the CEO of a business — for us to take charge of ourselves and say we can put American workers first, and bring them back to work as we start to fund this incredibly huge bill that is all about that,” he said.
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westernjournal--2020-04-18--WHO Leader Tedros To Face Public Inquiry

World Health Organization leader Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week that he expects the nations that make up the global organization to investigate his actions in relation to the coronavirus pandemic .
“ In due course , WHO ’ s performance in tackling this pandemic will be reviewed by WHO ’ s Member States and the independent bodies that are in place , to ensure transparency and accountability .
This is part of the usual process put in place by our Member States , ” he said , according to Sky News Australia .
“ No doubt areas or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be lessons for all of us to learn but for now my focus is on stopping this virus , ” he said .
China , to which the WHO director-general has been accused of kowtowing in the early days of the outbreak there , is a member of WHO .
TRENDING : Man Tries Returning Hoard of TP and Hand Sanitizer , Unamused Manager Tells Him Off Taiwan , which tried to alert WHO in December that there was human-to-human transmission to the virus taking place inside China , is not a WHO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China ’ s instigation .
The United States is also a member , although President Donald Trump has said he will freeze funding to the group pending an investigation into its activities .
“ We regret the decision of the President of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization , ” Ghebreyesus said .
He called the U.S. a “ longstanding and generous friend ” but said WHO would “ work with our partners to fill any financial gaps we face and ensure our work continues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
WHO ’ s actions have been condemned as “ a litany of errors ” by Martyn Iles , Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby , who said that the WHO acted to avoid creating a stigma about China .
“ [ T ] he WHO lied , and people died , ” he said , according to Sky News Australia .
Congressional Republicans have called for investigations into what the WHO knew about the outbreak in the crucial days of late 2019 and early January .
“ We know how damaging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absolutely should be a review , ” Rep. Elise Stefanik , R-N.Y. , told the Glens Falls Post-Star .
RELATED : As US Begins Massive Study To Combat COVID-19 , WHO Begins Undermining Hope Sefanik said Trump ’ s call to stop funding WHO makes sense .
“ When we ’ re talking about taxpayer dollars and we are in such a crisis right now , we should not be funding an organization that is putting out misinformation that is having an impact not just on lives in the United States but loss @ @ @ @ @ @ @ globe , ” she said .
“ And I do think as we do a look back on this , it will continue to raise concerns about the Chinese government ’ s failure to be honest with the international community and their failure to be honest with their own people , ” she added .
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism .
Read our editorial standards .

World Health Organization leader Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week that he expects the nations that make up the global organization to investigate his actions in relation to the coronavirus pandemic.
“In due course, WHO’s performance in tackling this pandemic will be reviewed by WHO’s Member States and the independent bodies that are in place, to ensure transparency and accountability. This is part of the usual process put in place by our Member States,” he said, according to Sky News Australia.
“No doubt areas or improvement will be identified and there will be lessons for all of us to learn but for now my focus is on stopping this virus,” he said.
China, to which the WHO director-general has been accused of kowtowing in the early days of the outbreak there, is a member of WHO.
1. Who (no pun intended) is doing the public inquiry?
2. I doubt US funding will resume without the removal of him & other assets of China ?? WHO boss Tedros says he’ll face coronavirus inquiry, vows to ‘learn’ from deadly ordeal https://t.co/Mn0Alz3WhQ #FoxNews — George Pittman (@pittman_george) April 16, 2020
Taiwan, which tried to alert WHO in December that there was human-to-human transmission to the virus taking place inside China, is not a WHO member, having been booted out at China’s instigation.
The United States is also a member, although President Donald Trump has said he will freeze funding to the group pending an investigation into its activities.
“We regret the decision of the President of the United States to order a halt in funding to the World Health Organization,” Ghebreyesus said.
Do you think Dr. Tedros will eventually be held accountable? Yes No
Completing this poll entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use Yes: 65% (316 Votes) No: 35% (168 Votes)
He called the U.S. a “longstanding and generous friend” but said WHO would “work with our partners to fill any financial gaps we face and ensure our work continues uninterrupted,” according to Fox News.
WHO’s actions have been condemned as “a litany of errors” by Martyn Iles, Managing Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, who said that the WHO acted to avoid creating a stigma about China.
“[T]he WHO lied, and people died,” he said, according to Sky News Australia.
Congressional Republicans have called for investigations into what the WHO knew about the outbreak in the crucial days of late 2019 and early January.
“We know how damaging that misinformation was and I believe there absolutely should be a review,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., told the Glens Falls Post-Star.
Sefanik said Trump’s call to stop funding WHO makes sense.
“When we’re talking about taxpayer dollars and we are in such a crisis right now, we should not be funding an organization that is putting out misinformation that is having an impact not just on lives in the United States but loss of lives and economic wreckage across the globe,” she said.
“And I do think as we do a look back on this, it will continue to raise concerns about the Chinese government’s failure to be honest with the international community and their failure to be honest with their own people,” she added.
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