hotair--2020-11-23--Why did Team Trump dump Sidney Powell?

Why did Team Trump dump Sidney Powell?

There are two possibilities .
One , which is kicking around today , is that Powell ’ s theory of a grand conspiracy to rig the vote involving Venezuelan communists was too nutty even for Trump and Giuliani .
Which is unlikely .
The president and his lawyer are not known for being overly discerning , shall we say , about the quality of information they consume , especially when that information flatters the president ’ s ego .
If Powell claimed that Democrats are lizard people wearing skin suits who are trying to take over the planet by engineering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would say , “ You know , Biden does look a lot different now than he did 20 years ago.
” Nonetheless , the “ too crankish even for Trump ” theory has its adherents .
Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy was told that even Trump ’ s team hasn ’ t seen the , ahem , “ kraken ” that she keeps promising to produce : Sources close to the president told the Washington Examiner neither the White House nor the Trump campaign have seen any of the evidence she claims to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millions of votes from President Trump to President-elect Joe Biden .
They argued that her claims overshadowed what they see as legitimate concerns about the mail-in ballot process… A source close to the Trump family told the Washington Examiner that “ Tucker isn ’ t the only one that has asked Sidney for evidence only to get stiff-armed by her — lawyers in the White House and on the campaign , White House advisers , and advisers to the first family have been asking and all got the same response as Tucker.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ folks were nodding and cheering when Tucker described his experience with her.
” … “ Based on everything I ’ ve seen — which is a lot more than Sidney Powell , to say the least — there is no basis for what she is saying , ” a senior national security official told the Washington Examiner .
“ At this point , it would be more believable that she ’ s a Democratic plant designed to overshadow legitimate voter fraud issues with insanity.
” You can ’ t con a con .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ layers of crankishness in the legal effort to Russian nesting dolls , where each layer disclaims the nuttiness of the layer underneath .
The outside layer is the “ respectable ” lawyers who were leading the court battle initially , before Rudy took over and crazied it up .
The next layer is Rudy himself and Jenna Ellis , who ’ ve now distanced themselves from the “ Kraken on steroids ” hysteria of Sidney Powell underneath .
There ’ s no telling which layer lurks underneath Powell , ready to be blamed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wood , maybe ?
I ’ d say it ’ s 50/50 at this point on whether she ends up accusing Giuliani , Ellis , possibly even Trump himself of being part of the communist plot to rig the election .
After all , if you were willing to do anything to see Democrats in charge of the United States , you might offer the sitting president a secret yet exorbitant cash bribe to tank the race .
Like , say , by not even pretending to care about COVID in his public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deliver a new round of stimulus relief in time for Election Day .
The flaw in the “ too crankish even for Trump ” theory is that the president himself had been tweeting a bunch about Dominion voting systems , the company at the heart of Powell ’ s grand conspiracy .
WaPo reported a week ago that he was “ personally obsessed ” with the claims involving Dominion .
In all the reporting about him over the past five years , I can ’ t remember a single instant when a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too zealous in telling him what he wanted to hear .
The far , far more likely reason why Powell was booted is that she went too far for Senate Republicans , not for Trump — specifically , by demagoging the upcoming Senate races in Georgia : The whole reason Senate GOPers are biting their tongues about Trump ’ s attempt to overturn the election is that they ’ re trying to keep the base onside in Georgia .
They ’ re stuck between two constituencies they ’ re trying to appease , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the election was rigged and the suburbanites who voted for Biden in the general election but might be willing to come back to the party provided it doesn ’ t seem too crazy .
Powell was alienating both groups .
Tying Trump ’ s legal effort to a conspiracy theory that somehow involved Hugo Chavez was a WTF moment for everyone outside the most activist parts of the populist base , including suburbanites .
But accusing Brian Kemp , Brad Raffensperger , and even Kelly Loeffler — who ’ s on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involved was destined to torch populist support for turning out on January 5 by convincing MAGA fans that the fix was in and that voting is pointless .
Remember , Lin Wood is already openly calling for Republican voters in the state to boycott the runoffs in protest : I can absolutely believe that Mitch McConnell and his caucus would let the country burn if they knew that it would lead somehow to a more Republican Senate .
But letting the country burn knowing it might mean a *less* Republican Senate ?
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Once Powell started attacking Republicans in Georgia , vowing that it ’ s “ going to be the first state I ’ m going to blow up and Mr Kemp and the secretary of state need to go with it , ” the risk that she would cost the party control of the Senate became a five-alarm fire .
I ’ d guess there was a lot of chatter between Trump and party leaders , possibly including McConnell , over the weekend about solving their “ Powell problem ” in Georgia ASAP .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of .
Powell ’ s still going to be out there ranting about the Kraken , which explains why influencers like Don Jr now have to counterprogram her : She ’ s Frankenstein wrecking the lab .
It ’ d be just desserts for the establishment GOP after quietly enabling Trump ’ s coup attempt if Powell ended up costing them the Senate by depressing turnout with conspiratorial insanity .
Exit question : Was she ever technically part of Trump ’ s legal team ?
Yesterday ’ s statement from Giuliani and Jenna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law on her own and “ is not ” a lawyer for Trump .
But was she ?
She was at the press conference last week , of course , and the president identified her as a member of the team nine days ago .
But yesterday Powell herself emphasized that she never signed a retainer or billed Trump for any services .
The answer of whether she was ever his attorney is kind of important potentially…

There are two possibilities. One, which is kicking around today, is that Powell’s theory of a grand conspiracy to rig the vote involving Venezuelan communists was too nutty even for Trump and Giuliani.
Which is unlikely. The president and his lawyer are not known for being overly discerning, shall we say, about the quality of information they consume, especially when that information flatters the president’s ego. If Powell claimed that Democrats are lizard people wearing skin suits who are trying to take over the planet by engineering the president’s defeat, Trump would say, “You know, Biden does look a lot different now than he did 20 years ago.”
Nonetheless, the “too crankish even for Trump” theory has its adherents.
Trump told allies that Sidney Powell was too much, even for him, after Thursday. He sees the fight as uphill but fleeting and doesn’t see her as helpful anymore, per several advisers. — Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) November 22, 2020
Explanation of Sydney Powell's sacking by an anonymous Trump campaign official: “She was too crazy even for the president.” — Harry Litman (@harrylitman) November 23, 2020
“She was too conspiratorial even for him,” said one Trump adviser. Other advisers note there’s little daylight between what Giuliani and Powell have been serving up. — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 23, 2020
Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy was told that even Trump’s team hasn’t seen the, ahem, “kraken” that she keeps promising to produce:
Sources close to the president told the Washington Examiner neither the White House nor the Trump campaign have seen any of the evidence she claims to have related to assertions about voting machines switching millions of votes from President Trump to President-elect Joe Biden. They argued that her claims overshadowed what they see as legitimate concerns about the mail-in ballot process… A source close to the Trump family told the Washington Examiner that “Tucker isn’t the only one that has asked Sidney for evidence only to get stiff-armed by her — lawyers in the White House and on the campaign, White House advisers, and advisers to the first family have been asking and all got the same response as Tucker.” The source added, “Lots of folks were nodding and cheering when Tucker described his experience with her.”… “Based on everything I’ve seen — which is a lot more than Sidney Powell, to say the least — there is no basis for what she is saying,” a senior national security official told the Washington Examiner. “At this point, it would be more believable that she’s a Democratic plant designed to overshadow legitimate voter fraud issues with insanity.”
You can’t con a con. A Twitter pal last night compared the layers of crankishness in the legal effort to Russian nesting dolls, where each layer disclaims the nuttiness of the layer underneath. The outside layer is the “respectable” lawyers who were leading the court battle initially, before Rudy took over and crazied it up. The next layer is Rudy himself and Jenna Ellis, who’ve now distanced themselves from the “Kraken on steroids” hysteria of Sidney Powell underneath. There’s no telling which layer lurks underneath Powell, ready to be blamed by her for straining credulity. Lin Wood, maybe?
I’d say it’s 50/50 at this point on whether she ends up accusing Giuliani, Ellis, possibly even Trump himself of being part of the communist plot to rig the election. After all, if you were willing to do anything to see Democrats in charge of the United States, you might offer the sitting president a secret yet exorbitant cash bribe to tank the race. Like, say, by not even pretending to care about COVID in his public remarks. Or not doing anything meaningful to deliver a new round of stimulus relief in time for Election Day.
The flaw in the “too crankish even for Trump” theory is that the president himself had been tweeting a bunch about Dominion voting systems, the company at the heart of Powell’s grand conspiracy. WaPo reported a week ago that he was “personally obsessed” with the claims involving Dominion. In all the reporting about him over the past five years, I can’t remember a single instant when a crony ran afoul of him by being too zealous in telling him what he wanted to hear. The far, far more likely reason why Powell was booted is that she went too far for Senate Republicans, not for Trump — specifically, by demagoging the upcoming Senate races in Georgia:
"We don't know who bought their election.. I'm sure it crosses party lines.. I'm reasonably certain John James was ripped out of his seat, and he was entitled to have won that election by the real vote, and the same thing is true for Doug Collins in Georgia." — @SidneyPowell1 — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 22, 2020
The whole reason Senate GOPers are biting their tongues about Trump’s attempt to overturn the election is that they’re trying to keep the base onside in Georgia. They’re stuck between two constituencies they’re trying to appease, the Trump fans who want to believe that the election was rigged and the suburbanites who voted for Biden in the general election but might be willing to come back to the party provided it doesn’t seem too crazy. Powell was alienating both groups. Tying Trump’s legal effort to a conspiracy theory that somehow involved Hugo Chavez was a WTF moment for everyone outside the most activist parts of the populist base, including suburbanites. But accusing Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensperger, and even Kelly Loeffler — who’s on the ballot on January 5 — of being involved was destined to torch populist support for turning out on January 5 by convincing MAGA fans that the fix was in and that voting is pointless. Remember, Lin Wood is already openly calling for Republican voters in the state to boycott the runoffs in protest:
https://twitter.com/LLinWood/status/1330218328225353735
I can absolutely believe that Mitch McConnell and his caucus would let the country burn if they knew that it would lead somehow to a more Republican Senate. But letting the country burn knowing it might mean a *less* Republican Senate? They won’t stand for that. Once Powell started attacking Republicans in Georgia, vowing that it’s “going to be the first state I’m going to blow up and Mr Kemp and the secretary of state need to go with it,” the risk that she would cost the party control of the Senate became a five-alarm fire. I’d guess there was a lot of chatter between Trump and party leaders, possibly including McConnell, over the weekend about solving their “Powell problem” in Georgia ASAP. So the president solved it.
Sort of. Powell’s still going to be out there ranting about the Kraken, which explains why influencers like Don Jr now have to counterprogram her:
I’m seeing a lot of talk from people that are supposed to be on our side telling GOP voters not to go out & vote for @KLoeffler and @PerdueSenate. That is NONSENSE. IGNORE those people. We need ALL of our people coming out to vote for Kelly & David.#MAGA #GASEN — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 23, 2020
She’s Frankenstein wrecking the lab. It’d be just desserts for the establishment GOP after quietly enabling Trump’s coup attempt if Powell ended up costing them the Senate by depressing turnout with conspiratorial insanity.
Exit question: Was she ever technically part of Trump’s legal team? Yesterday’s statement from Giuliani and Jenna Ellis said Powell “is” practicing law on her own and “is not” a lawyer for Trump. But was she? She was at the press conference last week, of course, and the president identified her as a member of the team nine days ago. But yesterday Powell herself emphasized that she never signed a retainer or billed Trump for any services. The answer of whether she was ever his attorney is kind of important potentially…


hotair--2020-11-23--Stop listening to conspiracy theories and go vote in Georgia, says ... Donald Trump Jr?

Kudos to Donald Trump Jr , who ’ s recovering from COVID-19 at the moment , for grasping the stakes rather than grasping at straws .
In a tweet this morning , Don Jr blasted calls for a boycott of the runoff elections in Georgia as “ NONSENSE , ” and urged his followers to “ IGNORE those people.
” Does Don Jr know the calls are coming from inside the house , so to speak ?
Well , who exactly is it calling for a boycott of the runoffs ?
Lin Wood for one , whose most famous client @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sr : President Trump ’ s attorney has suggested to voters in Georgia , where two Senate runoff elections are due to take place in January , they should hold off voting for two Republican Senators until they are seen to be doing more to help the president fight to overturn the 2020 election result .
Lawyer Lin Wood stated in a tweet that Georgia senators , David Perdue ( R-GA ) and Senator Kelly Loeffler ( R-GA ) , did not deserve the backing of voters in the forthcoming special election until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ voter fraud ’ in the state of Georgia .
‘ Politicians love votes & money ( not necessarily in that order ) .
Want to get @ SenLoeffler & @ sendavidperdue out of their basements to demand that action must be taken to fix steal of the 11/3 GA election ?
Threaten to withhold your votes & money .
Demand that they represent you , ’ Wood tweeted on Sunday .
It seems odd to credit someone for restraining the impulse to carve off one ’ s nose to spite one ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where we are at the moment .
Both Wood and Sidney Powell have done their level best to undermine Georgia ’ s electoral system and MAGA-friendly Republican administration at just the time when Republicans need a yuuuuuuge turnout in Georgia to keep a restraint on a Biden administration .
They are casting Trump-friendly Republican candidates as crypto-Deep State operatives , which if successful would have the effect of … [ checks notes ] putting Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer in charge of the Senate .
How does that help keep the swamp at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House ?
Seriously , though , kudos to Don Jr for a rare bit of common sense and sanity out of the Trump campaign .
Perhaps he could have a word with his father about linking up with Wood and Powell , or for that matter Giuliani too .
It ’ s time to focus on what can still be won , not burn it down out of spite .
I ’ ll give my pal and Townhall colleague Kurt Schlichter the last word .
Best wishes to Don Jr and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too .

Kudos to Donald Trump Jr, who’s recovering from COVID-19 at the moment, for grasping the stakes rather than grasping at straws. In a tweet this morning, Don Jr blasted calls for a boycott of the runoff elections in Georgia as “NONSENSE,” and urged his followers to “IGNORE those people.”
Does Don Jr know the calls are coming from inside the house, so to speak?
I’m seeing a lot of talk from people that are supposed to be on our side telling GOP voters not to go out & vote for @KLoeffler and @PerdueSenate. That is NONSENSE. IGNORE those people. We need ALL of our people coming out to vote for Kelly & David.#MAGA #GASEN — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 23, 2020
Well, who exactly is it calling for a boycott of the runoffs? Lin Wood for one, whose most famous client at the moment is Donald Trump, Sr:
President Trump’s attorney has suggested to voters in Georgia, where two Senate runoff elections are due to take place in January, they should hold off voting for two Republican Senators until they are seen to be doing more to help the president fight to overturn the 2020 election result. Lawyer Lin Wood stated in a tweet that Georgia senators, David Perdue (R-GA) and Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), did not deserve the backing of voters in the forthcoming special election until they started to demand action for apparently ‘voter fraud’ in the state of Georgia. ‘Politicians love votes & money (not necessarily in that order). Want to get @SenLoeffler & @sendavidperdue out of their basements to demand that action must be taken to fix steal of the 11/3 GA election? Threaten to withhold your votes & money. Demand that they represent you,’ Wood tweeted on Sunday.
It seems odd to credit someone for restraining the impulse to carve off one’s nose to spite one’s face, but that’s where we are at the moment. Both Wood and Sidney Powell have done their level best to undermine Georgia’s electoral system and MAGA-friendly Republican administration at just the time when Republicans need a yuuuuuuge turnout in Georgia to keep a restraint on a Biden administration. They are casting Trump-friendly Republican candidates as crypto-Deep State operatives, which if successful would have the effect of … [checks notes] putting Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer in charge of the Senate.
How does that help keep the swamp at bay? Especially with a Democrat in the White House?
Seriously, though, kudos to Don Jr for a rare bit of common sense and sanity out of the Trump campaign. Perhaps he could have a word with his father about linking up with Wood and Powell, or for that matter Giuliani too. It’s time to focus on what can still be won, not burn it down out of spite.
I’ll give my pal and Townhall colleague Kurt Schlichter the last word. Best wishes to Don Jr and his family for a quick recovery, too.


hotair--2020-11-23--National Guard deployed to El Paso as morgues are overwhelmed by COVID-19 deaths

The Texas National Guard has been deployed to El Paso to help manage the number of bodies at morgues due to the coronavirus pandemic .
El Paso is a hot spot with a spike in cases .
The border city has received the help of a 36-member team from the Texas National Guard to help out in the morgues .
The Texas National Guard team replaces jail inmates who were being used , volunteers who helped move bodies .
In El Paso , 855 people have died since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic , 300 since October .
Local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and recruit more morgue workers .
Temporary morgue assistants are being offered $ 27.20 an hour to move bodies , which is both physically and emotionally taxing work .
Public notices are being posted with a job description .
The job description reads : “ The Morgue Attendants will be provided maximum PPE [ personal protective equipment ] , and will receive a COVID test prior to starting.
” The public notice continues : “ All Morgue Attendants will be tasked with physically moving Decedents [ … ] Not only is this assignment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emotionally taxing as well.
” This is a grim story made more so during a holiday week known as a special time for families and friends to gather together and celebrate our blessings .
New cases of the coronavirus are soaring in some areas of Texas .
On Saturday the Texas health department announced a daily record of 12,597 new cases statewide .
For perspective , since the pandemic began , more than 20,500 people have died in the state after contracting coronavirus .
More than 8,200 patients have been hospitalized with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a large family birthday party earlier this month that resulted in fifteen family members being infected with the coronavirus .
There is a concern now that the Thanksgiving holiday will produce a further escalation of cases as families get together .
The El Paso County Judge ( not a judicial position but a CEO-type position ) and Governor Abbott have clashed over shutdowns and curfews in El Paso as the city has battled a rise in cases .
Governor Abbott says he will not allow another statewide shutdown , that local officials have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decisions , but his orders trump those of local officials .
He reminded viewers of his orders currently in place in Texas during an interview on Fox and Friends this morning – most gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited , there is a statewide mask mandate , bars are held to a 50 % occupancy limit , restaurants are at 75 % capacity limits , and there are no capacity limits on houses of worship .
El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego wrote to Governor Abbott over the weekend to ask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. due to overwhelmed morgues .
He reported that there were 247 bodies being held at the main morgue and nine mobile morgues , according to the local medical examiner .
He said : “ With the upcoming Holiday season I am concerned that without some additional measures , we will continue in a downward spiral , therefore , I am once again seeking your assistance in this emergency situation .
“ The curfew I intend to impose will be limited in nature and is designed to stem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he said .
A curfew had been imposed in the area from October 26 for two weeks .
An extension has not been confirmed by Abbott since Samaniego ’ s request .
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo addressed the situation in social media after the National Guard was deployed , keeping the city ’ s residents up to date .
The Texas National Guard will provide much-needed personnel to morgues .
“ We have been working closely with funeral homes and mortuaries to assist with increased capacity and coordination of resources @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us with the critical personnel to carry out our fatality management plan and we are very grateful to them for their ongoing support.
” Margo said that El Paso city and county have secured a central morgue location to add additional capacity , but he would not reveal its exact location citing privacy concerns .
Judge Samaniego told reporters that the Texas National Guard is supporting morgue workers .
“ Right now they ’ re helping us with the overflow of transporting where the trailers are , trying to get some movement so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We ’ ve got a lot of loved ones waiting for relatives and moms and dads .
”

The Texas National Guard has been deployed to El Paso to help manage the number of bodies at morgues due to the coronavirus pandemic. El Paso is a hot spot with a spike in cases. The border city has received the help of a 36-member team from the Texas National Guard to help out in the morgues.
The Texas National Guard team replaces jail inmates who were being used, volunteers who helped move bodies. In El Paso, 855 people have died since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, 300 since October. Local leaders are offering increased pay to try and recruit more morgue workers. Temporary morgue assistants are being offered $27.20 an hour to move bodies, which is both physically and emotionally taxing work. Public notices are being posted with a job description.
The job description reads: “The Morgue Attendants will be provided maximum PPE [personal protective equipment], and will receive a COVID test prior to starting.” The public notice continues: “All Morgue Attendants will be tasked with physically moving Decedents […] Not only is this assignment physically taxing, but it may be emotionally taxing as well.”
This is a grim story made more so during a holiday week known as a special time for families and friends to gather together and celebrate our blessings. New cases of the coronavirus are soaring in some areas of Texas. On Saturday the Texas health department announced a daily record of 12,597 new cases statewide. For perspective, since the pandemic began, more than 20,500 people have died in the state after contracting coronavirus. More than 8,200 patients have been hospitalized with the virus. There is a report of a large family birthday party earlier this month that resulted in fifteen family members being infected with the coronavirus. There is a concern now that the Thanksgiving holiday will produce a further escalation of cases as families get together.
The El Paso County Judge (not a judicial position but a CEO-type position) and Governor Abbott have clashed over shutdowns and curfews in El Paso as the city has battled a rise in cases. Governor Abbott says he will not allow another statewide shutdown, that local officials have the tools necessary to make their own decisions, but his orders trump those of local officials. He reminded viewers of his orders currently in place in Texas during an interview on Fox and Friends this morning – most gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited, there is a statewide mask mandate, bars are held to a 50% occupancy limit, restaurants are at 75% capacity limits, and there are no capacity limits on houses of worship.
El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego wrote to Governor Abbott over the weekend to ask for his support in reimposing a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. due to overwhelmed morgues. He reported that there were 247 bodies being held at the main morgue and nine mobile morgues, according to the local medical examiner.
He said: “With the upcoming Holiday season I am concerned that without some additional measures, we will continue in a downward spiral, therefore, I am once again seeking your assistance in this emergency situation. “The curfew I intend to impose will be limited in nature and is designed to stem recreational and international traffic after 10:00 p.m.,” he said. A curfew had been imposed in the area from October 26 for two weeks. An extension has not been confirmed by Abbott since Samaniego’s request.
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo addressed the situation in social media after the National Guard was deployed, keeping the city’s residents up to date. The Texas National Guard will provide much-needed personnel to morgues.
2/ The Texas Military will provide us with the critical personnel to carry out our fatality management plan and we are very grateful to them for their ongoing support. #ElPasoTX — Dee Margo (@mayor_margo) November 21, 2020
“We have been working closely with funeral homes and mortuaries to assist with increased capacity and coordination of resources. “The Texas Military will provide us with the critical personnel to carry out our fatality management plan and we are very grateful to them for their ongoing support.” Margo said that El Paso city and county have secured a central morgue location to add additional capacity, but he would not reveal its exact location citing privacy concerns.
Judge Samaniego told reporters that the Texas National Guard is supporting morgue workers. “Right now they’re helping us with the overflow of transporting where the trailers are, trying to get some movement so we don’t have any backup. We’ve got a lot of loved ones waiting for relatives and moms and dads.”


hotair--2020-11-23--Carl Bernstein: I have in my hand a list of 21 GOP senators who've expressed "extreme contempt" for

Carl Bernstein: I have in my hand a list of 21 GOP senators who've expressed "extreme contempt" for Trump privately

The funniest thing you ’ ll see online all day .
*Every* Republican in the Senate and possibly every Republican in the House has expressed “ extreme contempt ” for Trump privately at times , I ’ m sure .
( Probably not QAnon ally Marjorie Taylor Greene , but remember that she ’ s not a congresswoman yet . )
Why , some of the president ’ s most loyal devotees lambasted him as a lowlife when they ran against him in the 2016 primaries .
His own lawyer called him an “ unethical , corrupt , lying , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for cripes sake .
I didn ’ t realize that anyone in either wing of the party was unaware of how pre-Trump Republicans felt , and continue to feel , about him .
But these tweets are getting a bit of buzz this morning so I must be mistaken .
The charitable view of their persistent public silence about his unfitness is that speaking out wouldn ’ t do much good and could potentially do harm .
That ’ s because , as we ’ re about to see in the cases of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , crossing Trump too directly might earn you a serious primary challenge and that primary challenge is apt to come from a crank .
Greene herself is from Georgia , and not only did she win her race easily , her endorsement was eagerly courted by both Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins in their Senate battle .
Crankishness sells in the modern GOP .
So if you ’ re Marco Rubio or Rick Scott or one of the other 51 members of the Senate caucus , your rationale for biting your tongue about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ namely , if you make an enemy of the president , your seat will probably end up in the hands of either a Democrat or a right-wing yahoo a la Roy Moore who has no business holding a high government position .
But by the same token , there *are* moments when Trump ’ s Trumpishness becomes so damaging to the country that you ’ re obliged to fall on the grenade even if it puts you , and your seat , at risk .
We ’ ve reached that point as his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legislatures contemplate voiding their elections , and his lawyers set about immolating what little trust is left in American institutions by pushing conspiracy theories to explain his defeat .
More Senate Republicans have begun speaking up in the last few days : Toomey is retiring and Murkowski ’ s already proved she can win a statewide election without the nomination of her party so both are insulated from Trump ’ s pressure tactics to a degree .
More interesting is the fact that North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer , whose state is ruby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to begin the formal transition process for Biden as the legal effort continues to play out .
According to the Times , pressure on McConnell and his caucus to get Trump to back down is being brought to bear by outside forces : Concerned that President Trump ’ s refusal to accept the election results is hurting the country , more than 100 chief executives plan to ask the administration on Monday to immediately acknowledge Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the winner and begin the transition to a new administration .
As a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some of the executives have also discussed withholding campaign donations from the two Republican Senate candidates in Georgia unless party leaders agree to push for a presidential transition , according to four people who participated in a conference call Friday in which the notion was discussed… At least one participant [ in a Friday conference call ] , Rob Speyer , the chief executive of Tishman Speyer , suggested that some wealthy donors had already been considering withholding support , according to four people with knowledge of his comments .
Even some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Blackstone chief Steve Schwarzman , are now asking Trump to give up .
“ I ’ m a fan of good process , ” Schwarzman told Axios .
“ In my comments three days after the election , I was trying to be a voice of reason and express why it ’ s in the national interest to have all Americans believe the election is being resolved correctly .
But the outcome is very certain today , and the country should move on.
” Partly business leaders are turning against Trump because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s on the wall and want to ingratiate themselves to Biden as soon as possible .
But I ’ d guess they ’ re also sincerely worried about instability and what it might do to their bottom lines , let alone the country , if things go much further .
It ’ s an open question as I write this whether Michigan ’ s state board of canvassers , divided 2-2 among Democrats and Republicans , will certify the state ’ s results today despite Biden having won there by several percentage points @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make an earnest play to try to hand their electors to Trump , the cool heads that have prevailed so far in most quarters will turn hot .
It ’ s time for McConnell , the 21 senators on Bernstein ’ s list , and the 31 senators who aren ’ t on his list but also disdain Trump privately to make their move .
Especially since , the longer the charade drags on , the more it endangers the party ’ s chances in the Georgia runoffs .
That ’ s another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choke off donations — it ’ s a power play designed to balance the cries coming from some populists that Georgia Republicans should boycott the runoffs in protest of Biden ’ s “ theft.
” The more Senate Republicans feel obliged to pander to their base there to keep turnout high , the more they ’ ll indulge Trump as he continues to resist a transition .
CEOs are warning them that there are constituencies on the other side of this equation that need to be pandered to as well .
If Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have six weeks to come to terms with it and reconcile themselves to electing Loeffler and David Perdue as a check Biden .
If Trump fights on and they don ’ t start to come to terms with his defeat until after the electoral college votes , that ’ s riskier .
Sore feelings may keep voters home on January 5 in that scenario .
Here ’ s Bernstein on CNN this morning with something closer to a real scoop , claiming that there ’ s been movement behind the scenes by McConnell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours to try to put an end to all this .
We ’ ll see about that , especially if Michigan chokes on certification today .
Exit quotation from Jake Tapper about the pretend “ constitutionalists ” in the GOP caucus : “ Interesting to contemplate the future when GOP senators — silent now about trump literally trying to overturn the election results — in February and March [ object ] to President Biden overreaching on an executive order they think goes too far… ”

The funniest thing you’ll see online all day. *Every* Republican in the Senate and possibly every Republican in the House has expressed “extreme contempt” for Trump privately at times, I’m sure. (Probably not QAnon ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, but remember that she’s not a congresswoman yet.) Why, some of the president’s most loyal devotees lambasted him as a lowlife when they ran against him in the 2016 primaries.
His own lawyer called him an “unethical, corrupt, lying, criminal, dirtbag” in 2016, for cripes sake.
I didn’t realize that anyone in either wing of the party was unaware of how pre-Trump Republicans felt, and continue to feel, about him. But these tweets are getting a bit of buzz this morning so I must be mistaken.
The 21 GOP Senators who have privately expressed their disdain for Trump are: Portman, Alexander, Sasse, Blunt, Collins, Murkowski, Cornyn, Thune, Romney, Braun, Young, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Rubio, Grassley, Burr, Toomey, McSally, Moran, Roberts, Shelby. (2/3) — Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) November 23, 2020
The charitable view of their persistent public silence about his unfitness is that speaking out wouldn’t do much good and could potentially do harm. That’s because, as we’re about to see in the cases of Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger in Georgia, crossing Trump too directly might earn you a serious primary challenge and that primary challenge is apt to come from a crank. Greene herself is from Georgia, and not only did she win her race easily, her endorsement was eagerly courted by both Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins in their Senate battle. Crankishness sells in the modern GOP. So if you’re Marco Rubio or Rick Scott or one of the other 51 members of the Senate caucus, your rationale for biting your tongue about Trump is self-serving but also plausible — namely, if you make an enemy of the president, your seat will probably end up in the hands of either a Democrat or a right-wing yahoo a la Roy Moore who has no business holding a high government position.
But by the same token, there *are* moments when Trump’s Trumpishness becomes so damaging to the country that you’re obliged to fall on the grenade even if it puts you, and your seat, at risk. We’ve reached that point as his court fight drags out aimlessly, state legislatures contemplate voiding their elections, and his lawyers set about immolating what little trust is left in American institutions by pushing conspiracy theories to explain his defeat. More Senate Republicans have begun speaking up in the last few days:
Read my statement on today’s Pennsylvania federal court decision, and congratulating President-Elect Biden: https://t.co/tCCXWxIUoR pic.twitter.com/MaxfHCtK1x — Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) November 22, 2020
Toomey is retiring and Murkowski’s already proved she can win a statewide election without the nomination of her party so both are insulated from Trump’s pressure tactics to a degree. More interesting is the fact that North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, whose state is ruby red, also called on him yesterday to begin the formal transition process for Biden as the legal effort continues to play out. According to the Times, pressure on McConnell and his caucus to get Trump to back down is being brought to bear by outside forces:
Concerned that President Trump’s refusal to accept the election results is hurting the country, more than 100 chief executives plan to ask the administration on Monday to immediately acknowledge Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the winner and begin the transition to a new administration. As a way of gaining leverage over the G.O.P., some of the executives have also discussed withholding campaign donations from the two Republican Senate candidates in Georgia unless party leaders agree to push for a presidential transition, according to four people who participated in a conference call Friday in which the notion was discussed… At least one participant [in a Friday conference call], Rob Speyer, the chief executive of Tishman Speyer, suggested that some wealthy donors had already been considering withholding support, according to four people with knowledge of his comments.
Even some loyal Trumpists within the CEO class, like Blackstone chief Steve Schwarzman, are now asking Trump to give up. “I’m a fan of good process,” Schwarzman told Axios. “In my comments three days after the election, I was trying to be a voice of reason and express why it’s in the national interest to have all Americans believe the election is being resolved correctly. But the outcome is very certain today, and the country should move on.” Partly business leaders are turning against Trump because they’ve concluded the writing’s on the wall and want to ingratiate themselves to Biden as soon as possible. But I’d guess they’re also sincerely worried about instability and what it might do to their bottom lines, let alone the country, if things go much further. It’s an open question as I write this whether Michigan’s state board of canvassers, divided 2-2 among Democrats and Republicans, will certify the state’s results today despite Biden having won there by several percentage points and 150,000 votes. If Michigan Republicans make an earnest play to try to hand their electors to Trump, the cool heads that have prevailed so far in most quarters will turn hot. It’s time for McConnell, the 21 senators on Bernstein’s list, and the 31 senators who aren’t on his list but also disdain Trump privately to make their move.
Especially since, the longer the charade drags on, the more it endangers the party’s chances in the Georgia runoffs. That’s another reason why the CEOs are threatening to choke off donations — it’s a power play designed to balance the cries coming from some populists that Georgia Republicans should boycott the runoffs in protest of Biden’s “theft.” The more Senate Republicans feel obliged to pander to their base there to keep turnout high, the more they’ll indulge Trump as he continues to resist a transition. CEOs are warning them that there are constituencies on the other side of this equation that need to be pandered to as well. If Trump gives up soon, Georgia GOPers will have six weeks to come to terms with it and reconcile themselves to electing Loeffler and David Perdue as a check Biden. If Trump fights on and they don’t start to come to terms with his defeat until after the electoral college votes, that’s riskier. Sore feelings may keep voters home on January 5 in that scenario.
Here’s Bernstein on CNN this morning with something closer to a real scoop, claiming that there’s been movement behind the scenes by McConnell and the caucus within the last 24-48 hours to try to put an end to all this. We’ll see about that, especially if Michigan chokes on certification today. Exit quotation from Jake Tapper about the pretend “constitutionalists” in the GOP caucus: “Interesting to contemplate the future when GOP senators — silent now about trump literally trying to overturn the election results — in February and March [object] to President Biden overreaching on an executive order they think goes too far…”


hotair--2020-11-23--Team Trump: Wisconsin must toss all absentee ballots delivered in person; <span class='red'>Update:

Team Trump: Wisconsin must toss all absentee ballots delivered in person; Update: The law says ...

Perhaps this explains the curious decision last week from Team Trump to request recounts in the two largest Wisconsin counties — both Democratic strongholds .
As I noted at the time , the idea that Donald Trump would find 20,000 or more votes in Dane and Milwaukee counties through recounts was risible , and it might have been better to recount everywhere else but Dane and Milwaukee .
As it turns out , the strategy wasn ’ t addition on its own , but addition through subtraction : President Trump ’ s campaign is seeking to use a recount of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to invalidate tens of thousands of votes in the state , making sweeping challenges to whole categories of ballots cast in the state ’ s two Democratic-leaning counties in his last-gasp effort to reverse President-elect Joe Biden ’ s win .
As a recount began on Friday in Dane and Milwaukee counties — home to the cities of Madison and Milwaukee — Trump lawyers argued that officials should not merely retabulate all the votes cast in the Nov. 3 election to reconfirm they ’ d been counted properly .
Instead , they argued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ improperly accepted and counted in the first place .
In both Dane and Milwaukee , they sought to disqualify all absentee ballots that had been cast before Election Day in person , rather than by mail .
So far , their efforts have been rejected by the Democratic-majority boards of canvassers in both counties , which have denied attempts to set aside large categories of ballots and instead proceeded to a slow-moving process to retabulate all the votes .
At least this is a rational argument , but it ’ s still a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots can be identified separately from the mail-in ballots for counting purposes , over 175,000 voters walked in their ballots in Dane and Milwaukee ( according to the Washington Post , anyway ) .
If two-thirds of those were Biden voters , which is a fairly reserved estimate , there would be enough subtraction to wipe out the difference between Biden and Trump .
There are a number of problems with this strategy , not the least of which is that a recount is not the place for a broad classification challenge to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In order to get massive numbers of ballots disqualified , Team Trump would have to go to court in order to exclude those ballots from a recount , or any other count .
That runs into another problem — a Bush v Gore problem regarding equal treatment .
If Team Trump goes to court and successfully argues that walk-ins are invalid under Wisconsin law , then all such ballots would have to be invalidated state-wide in every county , not just the counties that Trump wants recounted .
It ’ s very likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than Biden voters , especially given Trump ’ s months-long campaign that fueled that mistrust , which would likely mean that statewide invalidation would add to Biden ’ s lead rather than subtract from it .
The biggest problem with this idea is that courts are not going to invalidate hundreds of thousands of ballots statewide over a technical issue such as this .
If the Trump campaign had an issue with walk-in ballots , they would have had to raise it in court before the election .
Voters relied on instructions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots into their precincts in person , and there isn ’ t a court in the land that will punish voters for doing that .
That ’ s especially true when the technical issue isn ’ t prejudicial to one side or another on its face .
Amusingly , the attorney heading up the recount walked in his absentee ballot in the election : The attorney leading President Donald Trump ’ s recount effort in Wisconsin voted illegally according to his own legal argument that in-person absentee ballots should be thrown out .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a former Dane County judge and Cross Plains attorney who is representing the Trump campaign , would not answer questions about why he and his wife voted that way .
Troupis and his wife voted early using the state ’ s in-person absentee option — one of a group of voters whose ballots the Trump campaign has asked election officials to deem illegal .
Their names appeared on exhibits Troupis submitted to the Dane County Board of Canvassers on Sunday , during the county ’ s third day of retallying ballots .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ voted in a manner the campaign alleges is illegal , an argument the Board of Canvassers has rejected .
The information was provided by Dane County to both campaigns .
Did Troupis commit fraud , or did he get defrauded ?
Anyway , don ’ t expect this challenge to matter much in the end .
It has the same chances that the Team Trump efforts in Pennsylvania , Michigan , and Georgia have in changing the outcome of the election — vanishingly slim and none .
Update : So much for ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wisconsin statute does allow for in-person delivery of absentee ballots .
Emphasis mine : That seems to address the objection , which wasn ’ t going anywhere regardless .
Note too that there is no specific prohibition to submitting absentee ballots in person before Election Day , so there seems to be no basis for this objection .
Did Trump ’ s attorneys miss this ?
Update : One more point on delivery : There might be an argument for excluding ballots delivered after the deadline , but not before .
And I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivered afterward .

Perhaps this explains the curious decision last week from Team Trump to request recounts in the two largest Wisconsin counties — both Democratic strongholds. As I noted at the time, the idea that Donald Trump would find 20,000 or more votes in Dane and Milwaukee counties through recounts was risible, and it might have been better to recount everywhere else but Dane and Milwaukee.
As it turns out, the strategy wasn’t addition on its own, but addition through subtraction:
President Trump’s campaign is seeking to use a recount of the presidential election in Wisconsin to attempt to invalidate tens of thousands of votes in the state, making sweeping challenges to whole categories of ballots cast in the state’s two Democratic-leaning counties in his last-gasp effort to reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s win. As a recount began on Friday in Dane and Milwaukee counties — home to the cities of Madison and Milwaukee — Trump lawyers argued that officials should not merely retabulate all the votes cast in the Nov. 3 election to reconfirm they’d been counted properly. Instead, they argued that large batches of ballots had been improperly accepted and counted in the first place. In both Dane and Milwaukee, they sought to disqualify all absentee ballots that had been cast before Election Day in person, rather than by mail. So far, their efforts have been rejected by the Democratic-majority boards of canvassers in both counties, which have denied attempts to set aside large categories of ballots and instead proceeded to a slow-moving process to retabulate all the votes.
At least this is a rational argument, but it’s still a long shot. Assuming that the walk-in ballots can be identified separately from the mail-in ballots for counting purposes, over 175,000 voters walked in their ballots in Dane and Milwaukee (according to the Washington Post, anyway). If two-thirds of those were Biden voters, which is a fairly reserved estimate, there would be enough subtraction to wipe out the difference between Biden and Trump.
There are a number of problems with this strategy, not the least of which is that a recount is not the place for a broad classification challenge to eliminate an entire category of ballots. In order to get massive numbers of ballots disqualified, Team Trump would have to go to court in order to exclude those ballots from a recount, or any other count. That runs into another problem — a Bush v Gore problem regarding equal treatment. If Team Trump goes to court and successfully argues that walk-ins are invalid under Wisconsin law, then all such ballots would have to be invalidated state-wide in every county, not just the counties that Trump wants recounted. It’s very likely that Trump voters mistrusted the Post Office more than Biden voters, especially given Trump’s months-long campaign that fueled that mistrust, which would likely mean that statewide invalidation would add to Biden’s lead rather than subtract from it.
The biggest problem with this idea is that courts are not going to invalidate hundreds of thousands of ballots statewide over a technical issue such as this. If the Trump campaign had an issue with walk-in ballots, they would have had to raise it in court before the election. Voters relied on instructions from the state of Wisconsin in walking ballots into their precincts in person, and there isn’t a court in the land that will punish voters for doing that. That’s especially true when the technical issue isn’t prejudicial to one side or another on its face.
Amusingly, the attorney heading up the recount walked in his absentee ballot in the election:
The attorney leading President Donald Trump’s recount effort in Wisconsin voted illegally according to his own legal argument that in-person absentee ballots should be thrown out. So did his wife. Jim Troupis, a former Dane County judge and Cross Plains attorney who is representing the Trump campaign, would not answer questions about why he and his wife voted that way. Troupis and his wife voted early using the state’s in-person absentee option — one of a group of voters whose ballots the Trump campaign has asked election officials to deem illegal. Their names appeared on exhibits Troupis submitted to the Dane County Board of Canvassers on Sunday, during the county’s third day of retallying ballots. The exhibits include lists of voters who voted in a manner the campaign alleges is illegal, an argument the Board of Canvassers has rejected. The information was provided by Dane County to both campaigns.
Did Troupis commit fraud, or did he get defrauded?
Anyway, don’t expect this challenge to matter much in the end. It has the same chances that the Team Trump efforts in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia have in changing the outcome of the election — vanishingly slim and none.
Update: So much for ‘vanishingly slim.’ Via Alan Windham, Wisconsin statute does allow for in-person delivery of absentee ballots. Emphasis mine:
or delivered in person, to the municipal clerk issuing the ballot or ballots. If the envelope is mailed from a location outside the United States, the elector shall affix sufficient postage unless the ballot qualifies for delivery free of postage under federal law. Failure to return an unused ballot in a primary does not invalidate the ballot on which the elector’s votes are cast. Return of more than one marked ballot in a primary or return of a ballot prepared under s. The envelope shall be mailed by the elector,, to the municipal clerk issuing the ballot or ballots. If the envelope is mailed from a location outside the United States, the elector shall affix sufficient postage unless the ballot qualifies for delivery free of postage under federal law. Failure to return an unused ballot in a primary does not invalidate the ballot on which the elector’s votes are cast. Return of more than one marked ballot in a primary or return of a ballot prepared under s. 5.655 or a ballot used with an electronic voting system in a primary which is marked for candidates of more than one party invalidates all votes cast by the elector for candidates in the primary. or a ballot used with an electronic voting system in a primary which is marked for candidates of more than one party invalidates all votes cast by the elector for candidates in the primary. Wis. Stat. § 6.87
That seems to address the objection, which wasn’t going anywhere regardless. Note too that there is no specific prohibition to submitting absentee ballots in person before Election Day, so there seems to be no basis for this objection. Did Trump’s attorneys miss this?
Update: One more point on delivery:
A quick review of this statute, section 6, suggests that an absentee ballot must merely be “delivered” to the clerk by 8 PM on Election Day. https://t.co/ISTLboMmiy — adub (@AlanWindham) November 23, 2020
There might be an argument for excluding ballots delivered after the deadline, but not before. And I believe Wisconsin already excluded those that got delivered afterward.


hotair--2020-11-23--AstraZeneca for the bronze medal -- or the gold?

They ’ re number three on the COVID-19 vaccine depth chart , but they may be # 1 in your hearts … or at least your wallets .
AstraZeneca became the third pharmaceutical manufacturer to claim a vaccine with at least 90 % effectiveness when delivered in two doses .
If they can get emergency-use authorization , the Oxford-based vaccine might take the lead in both distribution and cost — or so the company claims .
There ’ s only one catch , and it ’ s an odd one .
In order to get to 90 % effectiveness , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half-dose rather than a full dose .
No one ’ s quite sure why : To quote the old beer commercial , why ask why ?
Just deliver this in the manner that gets the best results .
At any rate , this is excellent news , especially for poorer nations that might have otherwise had to wait longer for the other vaccines : The coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is up to 90 percent effective when administered at a half dose and then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , scientists said Monday .
The announcement follows upbeat results from two other front-running vaccine candidates , by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna , in the last two weeks .
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is likely to be cheaper than those made by Pfizer and Moderna , and it does not need to be stored at subzero temperatures but can be kept in ordinary refrigerators in pharmacies and doctor ’ s offices .
AstraZeneca executives said the vaccine is already being manufactured .
The first 4 million doses could be ready in December , and 40 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quarter of 2021 , they said .
By the spring , the company and its global partners in India , Brazil , Russia and the United States could be cranking out 100 million to 200 million doses a month .
That ’ s a bit slower than Pfizer and Moderna , who have been manufacturing all along and have tens of millions of doses at the ready .
However , if the manufacturing costs are lower , that would explain how they can ramp up quickly to those levels of production — globally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US .
The other two , with their boosts from Operation Warp Speed , are still the most likely to be the front line for the US .
This could still alleviate pressure on American distribution , even if AstraZeneca is a secondary player here .
The US has been under pressure to share its vaccine production globally , and Joe Biden has pledged to put the US into the global partnership on vaccine development and distribution .
( Donald Trump refused , preferring the America First approach . )
This would allow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Speed production from Pfizer and Moderna while helping to supply the AZ vaccine in surplus for global distribution .
That suits Oxford and AstraZeneca just fine : Oxford researchers and AstraZeneca stressed that they aren ’ t competing with other projects , and that multiple vaccines will be needed to reach enough of the world ’ s population and end the pandemic .
“ We ’ re not thinking about vaccinations working in terms of one person at a time .
We have to think about vaccinating communities , populations , reducing transmission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really get on top of this pandemic , ″ said Sarah Gilbert , a leader of the Oxford research team .
“ And that ’ s what it now looks like we ’ re going to have the ability to contribute to in a really big way.″ Their vaccine might make it easier to penetrate in poorer countries , too .
The lower cost will make a big difference in those areas : Those are remarkably inexpensive for a new drug with this kind of life-saving potential .
The cost differences matter in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses in the billions or perhaps tens of billions .
If the effectiveness is the same , the cheaper vaccine might be better directed to where resources are the most strained .
Plus , the far-easier handling of the AZ vaccine makes it much easier to distribute in places where refrigeration of any kind is scarce , let alone the specialized refrigeration that the Pfizer vaccine will require : Storage presents challenges for all three drugmakers when it comes to the distribution of the vaccines .
According to AstraZeneca , its COVID-19 vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handled at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit – normal refrigerator conditions – for at least six months .
It can also be administered in a traditional healthcare environment .
Moderna ’ s COVID-19 vaccine can be stored at negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months or at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 30 days .
Pfizer and BioNTech ’ s COVID-19 vaccine requires a temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit , which would require special storage equipment for storage and transportation , which the companies say they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for up to five days refrigerated at 35 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit .
It ’ s almost a Godsend for underdeveloped nations , in other words .
The vaccines for Pfizer and even Moderna aren ’ t well suited for that kind of distribution .
That will take pressure off of both economic strata , and hopefully spread herd immunity far more rapidly around the planet than otherwise might have been the case .
If this holds up under review , maybe everyone gets a gold medal .

They’re number three on the COVID-19 vaccine depth chart, but they may be #1 in your hearts … or at least your wallets. AstraZeneca became the third pharmaceutical manufacturer to claim a vaccine with at least 90% effectiveness when delivered in two doses. If they can get emergency-use authorization, the Oxford-based vaccine might take the lead in both distribution and cost — or so the company claims.
There’s only one catch, and it’s an odd one. In order to get to 90% effectiveness, the first injection has to be a half-dose rather than a full dose. No one’s quite sure why:
To quote the old beer commercial, why ask why? Just deliver this in the manner that gets the best results. At any rate, this is excellent news, especially for poorer nations that might have otherwise had to wait longer for the other vaccines:
The coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is up to 90 percent effective when administered at a half dose and then a full booster dose a month later, scientists said Monday. The announcement follows upbeat results from two other front-running vaccine candidates, by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, in the last two weeks. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is likely to be cheaper than those made by Pfizer and Moderna, and it does not need to be stored at subzero temperatures but can be kept in ordinary refrigerators in pharmacies and doctor’s offices. AstraZeneca executives said the vaccine is already being manufactured. The first 4 million doses could be ready in December, and 40 million could be delivered in the first quarter of 2021, they said. By the spring, the company and its global partners in India, Brazil, Russia and the United States could be cranking out 100 million to 200 million doses a month.
That’s a bit slower than Pfizer and Moderna, who have been manufacturing all along and have tens of millions of doses at the ready. However, if the manufacturing costs are lower, that would explain how they can ramp up quickly to those levels of production — globally, mind you, not in the US. The other two, with their boosts from Operation Warp Speed, are still the most likely to be the front line for the US.
This could still alleviate pressure on American distribution, even if AstraZeneca is a secondary player here. The US has been under pressure to share its vaccine production globally, and Joe Biden has pledged to put the US into the global partnership on vaccine development and distribution. (Donald Trump refused, preferring the America First approach.) This would allow the US to keep its Operation Warp Speed production from Pfizer and Moderna while helping to supply the AZ vaccine in surplus for global distribution.
That suits Oxford and AstraZeneca just fine:
Oxford researchers and AstraZeneca stressed that they aren’t competing with other projects, and that multiple vaccines will be needed to reach enough of the world’s population and end the pandemic. “We’re not thinking about vaccinations working in terms of one person at a time. We have to think about vaccinating communities, populations, reducing transmission within those populations, so that we really get on top of this pandemic,″ said Sarah Gilbert, a leader of the Oxford research team. “And that’s what it now looks like we’re going to have the ability to contribute to in a really big way.″
Their vaccine might make it easier to penetrate in poorer countries, too. The lower cost will make a big difference in those areas:
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is also cheaper. AstraZeneca, which has pledged it won’t make a profit on the vaccine during the pandemic, has reached agreements with governments and international health organizations that put its cost at about $2.50 a dose. Pfizer’s vaccine costs about $20 a dose, while Moderna’s is $15 to $25, based on agreements the companies have struck to supply their vaccines to the U.S. government.
Those are remarkably inexpensive for a new drug with this kind of life-saving potential. The cost differences matter in bulk, however, especially with needed doses in the billions or perhaps tens of billions. If the effectiveness is the same, the cheaper vaccine might be better directed to where resources are the most strained. Plus, the far-easier handling of the AZ vaccine makes it much easier to distribute in places where refrigeration of any kind is scarce, let alone the specialized refrigeration that the Pfizer vaccine will require:
Storage presents challenges for all three drugmakers when it comes to the distribution of the vaccines. According to AstraZeneca, its COVID-19 vaccine can be stored, transported, and handled at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit – normal refrigerator conditions – for at least six months. It can also be administered in a traditional healthcare environment. Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine can be stored at negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit for up to six months or at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 30 days. Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine requires a temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit, which would require special storage equipment for storage and transportation, which the companies say they have developed. The vaccine can be stored for up to five days refrigerated at 35 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s almost a Godsend for underdeveloped nations, in other words. The vaccines for Pfizer and even Moderna aren’t well suited for that kind of distribution. That will take pressure off of both economic strata, and hopefully spread herd immunity far more rapidly around the planet than otherwise might have been the case. If this holds up under review, maybe everyone gets a gold medal.


hotair--2020-11-23--Biden's reported SecState pick is about as vanilla as they come

Joe Biden is expected to announce his first few cabinet picks tomorrow and , as usual , the names are already leaking out in advance to spoil the surprise .
Most of the attention will likely be focused on his choice for Secretary of State .
Despite having promised the progressives in his party ’ s base one of the “ most diverse administrations ” ever seen , the reported choice for the head of the State Department is yet another cisgender straight white male .
Antony “ Tony ” Blinken is a familiar name around the swamp , being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of state , according to multiple people familiar with the Biden team ’ s planning .
Blinken , 58 , served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden .
If nominated and confirmed , he would be a leading force in the incoming administration ’ s bid to reframe the U.S. relationship with the rest of the world after four years in which President Donald Trump questioned longtime alliances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sidestep potentially thorny issues that could have affected Senate confirmation for two other candidates on his short list to be America ’ s top diplomat : Susan Rice and Sen. Chris Coons .
It looks like Biden is aiming to go with what ’ s perceived as a “ safe ” choice in this case .
If you ’ re looking for someone with the requisite experience and qualifications , it ’ s hard to complain much about Blinken , at least if you ’ re a Democrat .
He ’ s served @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also as a national security adviser .
Diplomats from other countries are already familiar with him , so he won ’ t have all that much of a learning curve upon stepping into the role .
Blinken also shouldn ’ t run into too much trouble in the confirmation process .
Biden is clearly aware that there ’ s a very good chance he will be dealing with a GOP majority in the Senate so he ’ s no doubt looking to avoid any food fights that could result in the awkward prospect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
One of the other names that was being tossed around for the State Department was Susan Rice , but given her lengthy record under Obama , there might not have been a single Republican that would have voted for her .
( Aside from Mitt Romney , of course . )
It wasn ’ t all wine and roses for Blinken among the Democrats , however .
Rashida Tlaib immediately popped up expressing worries that he ’ s insufficiently antisemitic .
We could be seeing some early signs of the sort of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ s sworn in as the next president .
Unlike Donald Trump , who entered the office beholden to virtually no one , Biden has lengthy ties to far too many people in the swamp , and many of them will be expecting to be repaid for their former loyalty .
Going that route could result in some very status quo picks by Status Quo Joe .
But with Biden ’ s noisiest progressive supporters already laying out their demands in terms of what they expect in return for their votes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an uprising from the left flank of Biden ’ s own party .
If Biden veers too far toward the radical socialist end of the spectrum to satisfy “ The Squad ” and their supporters and Cocaine Mitch is still running the show in the upper chamber , Uncle Joe could wind up with a bunch of “ acting ” department heads just like Trump did .
Wouldn ’ t that be a kick in the pants after we were promised a “ return to normality ” if Biden was elected ?

Joe Biden is expected to announce his first few cabinet picks tomorrow and, as usual, the names are already leaking out in advance to spoil the surprise. Most of the attention will likely be focused on his choice for Secretary of State. Despite having promised the progressives in his party’s base one of the “most diverse administrations” ever seen, the reported choice for the head of the State Department is yet another cisgender straight white male. Antony “Tony” Blinken is a familiar name around the swamp, being an alum of the Obama administration.
President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of state, according to multiple people familiar with the Biden team’s planning. Blinken, 58, served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden. If nominated and confirmed, he would be a leading force in the incoming administration’s bid to reframe the U.S. relationship with the rest of the world after four years in which President Donald Trump questioned longtime alliances. In nominating Blinken, Biden would sidestep potentially thorny issues that could have affected Senate confirmation for two other candidates on his short list to be America’s top diplomat: Susan Rice and Sen. Chris Coons.
It looks like Biden is aiming to go with what’s perceived as a “safe” choice in this case. If you’re looking for someone with the requisite experience and qualifications, it’s hard to complain much about Blinken, at least if you’re a Democrat. He’s served as a Deputy Secretary of State and also as a national security adviser. Diplomats from other countries are already familiar with him, so he won’t have all that much of a learning curve upon stepping into the role.
Blinken also shouldn’t run into too much trouble in the confirmation process. Biden is clearly aware that there’s a very good chance he will be dealing with a GOP majority in the Senate so he’s no doubt looking to avoid any food fights that could result in the awkward prospect of having his early picks shot down. One of the other names that was being tossed around for the State Department was Susan Rice, but given her lengthy record under Obama, there might not have been a single Republican that would have voted for her. (Aside from Mitt Romney, of course.)
It wasn’t all wine and roses for Blinken among the Democrats, however. Rashida Tlaib immediately popped up expressing worries that he’s insufficiently antisemitic.
So long as he doesn't suppress my First Amendment right to speak out against Netanyahu's racist and inhumane policies. The Palestinian people deserve equality and justice. https://t.co/SLhT3yYc4i — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 23, 2020
We could be seeing some early signs of the sort of unrest that Biden could run into if he’s sworn in as the next president. Unlike Donald Trump, who entered the office beholden to virtually no one, Biden has lengthy ties to far too many people in the swamp, and many of them will be expecting to be repaid for their former loyalty. Going that route could result in some very status quo picks by Status Quo Joe. But with Biden’s noisiest progressive supporters already laying out their demands in terms of what they expect in return for their votes, too many vanilla appointments could lead to an uprising from the left flank of Biden’s own party.
If Biden veers too far toward the radical socialist end of the spectrum to satisfy “The Squad” and their supporters and Cocaine Mitch is still running the show in the upper chamber, Uncle Joe could wind up with a bunch of “acting” department heads just like Trump did. Wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants after we were promised a “return to normality” if Biden was elected?


hotair--2020-11-23--Kenosha shooter Rittenhouse free on bail thanks to... Ricky Schroder?

On Friday afternoon , we learned that Kyle Rittenhouse of the Kenosha shooting incident fame had been released on two million dollars bail .
I ’ ll first note that you didn ’ t hear a single one of the social justice warriors who have been screaming about eliminating cash bail and how unfair it is to suspects arguing for that sort of generosity in Rittenhouse ’ s case .
But that ’ s probably fodder for a separate article at some point .
No matter the politics , Rittenhouse was set loose to prepare for his trial on homicide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kyle made bail have added a new twist to the story , however .
It turns out that a couple of high-profile individuals provided significant inputs of cash to help Rittenhouse reach his goal and be freed from jail .
One of them was former child actor and Silver Spoons star , Ricky Schroder .
The unlikely duo posed for photos along with a few attorneys once Kyle was out of the slammer .
( Yahoo News ) The attorney of Kyle Rittenhouse , an Illinois teen charged with killing two people during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jacob Blake , is thanking Silver Spoons actor Ricky Schroder for his support .
Atlanta-based attorney Lin Wood tweeted a Friday photo featuring the teen , Schroder and Rittenhouse lawyer John Pierce .
“ Free at last !
!
” wrote Wood… Rittenhouse , 17 , was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide for the deaths of two men who participated in an Aug. 25 protest over the police shooting of a 29-year-old Black man in Kenosha named Jacob Blake .
Lin Wood isn ’ t Kyle ’ s attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the case from the beginning .
He ’ s already threatened to sue Joe Biden ’ s campaign for calling Rittenhouse a “ white supremacist.
” Having a presidential candidate , if not President-elect saying such things could easily poison the jury pool and Biden should have known better .
Schroder wasn ’ t the only one chipping in to help Rittenhouse make bail .
A generous donation was also kicked in by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell .
It ’ s not much of risk for either of them since Rittenhouse is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this point , given his national profile and widely distributed image .
While Rittenhouse ’ s legal team still has its work cut out for them , the more we ’ ve learned about this shooting , the more it seems like the prosecutors rushed into filing very heavy charges against him before all the facts were known .
This was very likely done in an effort to stem the anticipated wave of violent riots in response to the shooting .
( That plan didn ’ t exactly go very well , did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the charges were hastily filed , we ’ ve learned quite a bit more about the frantic activity taking place on the night of the shooting .
There was plenty of pushing , shoving and fighting going on involving both rioters and those trying to defend local businesses from destruction .
We know that a shot was heard just before Rittenhouse fired and it sounded like it came from somewhere in close proximity .
Another video taken by someone close to the action seems to clearly indicate that Rittenhouse had been attacked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally turning and firing .
Here ’ s that video again from Tucker Carlson ’ s show in case you missed it originally .
The more we see of these events , the more it looks like Kyle Rittenhouse has a fairly solid argument that he fired in self-defense .
And his attorneys don ’ t have to convince the entire jury of that to see the most serious charges against him tossed out .
That would leave the prosecutors looking like reactionary zealots who were playing the politics surrounding this case more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will still have to answer for the fact that was illegally in possession of a rifle when he was too young to own one , but that sort of trouble is far less serious than going down for a homicide charge .
Exit question : What sort of message is being sent when you charge someone like Rittenhouse as an adult in a homicide investigation while simultaneously charging him for possessing a weapon as a child ?

On Friday afternoon, we learned that Kyle Rittenhouse of the Kenosha shooting incident fame had been released on two million dollars bail. I’ll first note that you didn’t hear a single one of the social justice warriors who have been screaming about eliminating cash bail and how unfair it is to suspects arguing for that sort of generosity in Rittenhouse’s case. But that’s probably fodder for a separate article at some point. No matter the politics, Rittenhouse was set loose to prepare for his trial on homicide charges.
The details of precisely how Kyle made bail have added a new twist to the story, however. It turns out that a couple of high-profile individuals provided significant inputs of cash to help Rittenhouse reach his goal and be freed from jail. One of them was former child actor and Silver Spoons star, Ricky Schroder. The unlikely duo posed for photos along with a few attorneys once Kyle was out of the slammer. (Yahoo News)
The attorney of Kyle Rittenhouse, an Illinois teen charged with killing two people during a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, is thanking Silver Spoons actor Ricky Schroder for his support. Atlanta-based attorney Lin Wood tweeted a Friday photo featuring the teen, Schroder and Rittenhouse lawyer John Pierce. “Free at last!!” wrote Wood… Rittenhouse, 17, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide for the deaths of two men who participated in an Aug. 25 protest over the police shooting of a 29-year-old Black man in Kenosha named Jacob Blake.
Lin Wood posted the photo on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/LLinWood/status/1329966680991264769
Lin Wood isn’t Kyle’s attorney, but has been heavily involved in the case from the beginning. He’s already threatened to sue Joe Biden’s campaign for calling Rittenhouse a “white supremacist.” Having a presidential candidate, if not President-elect saying such things could easily poison the jury pool and Biden should have known better.
Schroder wasn’t the only one chipping in to help Rittenhouse make bail. A generous donation was also kicked in by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell. It’s not much of risk for either of them since Rittenhouse is highly unlikely to attempt to flee at this point, given his national profile and widely distributed image.
While Rittenhouse’s legal team still has its work cut out for them, the more we’ve learned about this shooting, the more it seems like the prosecutors rushed into filing very heavy charges against him before all the facts were known. This was very likely done in an effort to stem the anticipated wave of violent riots in response to the shooting. (That plan didn’t exactly go very well, did it?)
Keep in mind that since the charges were hastily filed, we’ve learned quite a bit more about the frantic activity taking place on the night of the shooting. There was plenty of pushing, shoving and fighting going on involving both rioters and those trying to defend local businesses from destruction. We know that a shot was heard just before Rittenhouse fired and it sounded like it came from somewhere in close proximity. Another video taken by someone close to the action seems to clearly indicate that Rittenhouse had been attacked first and was attempting to flee before finally turning and firing. Here’s that video again from Tucker Carlson’s show in case you missed it originally.
The more we see of these events, the more it looks like Kyle Rittenhouse has a fairly solid argument that he fired in self-defense. And his attorneys don’t have to convince the entire jury of that to see the most serious charges against him tossed out. That would leave the prosecutors looking like reactionary zealots who were playing the politics surrounding this case more than the facts in evidence. Rittenhouse will still have to answer for the fact that was illegally in possession of a rifle when he was too young to own one, but that sort of trouble is far less serious than going down for a homicide charge.
Exit question: What sort of message is being sent when you charge someone like Rittenhouse as an adult in a homicide investigation while simultaneously charging him for possessing a weapon as a child?


hotair--2020-11-24--PA's Thanksgiving liquor sales mandate is just bizarre

I first saw this announcement on Twitter yesterday afternoon and initially thought it might be some satire that had gotten out of control .
We ’ ve already seen plenty of heavy-handed mandates being handed down by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf , but the latest edict sounded like too much to believe .
With a spike in new cases of COVID taking place in his state , some tighter restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather , including in private residences , were put in place .
That ’ s pretty much par for the course for Wolf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much of a surprise .
But he then followed that up with an order for all bars and restaurants to stop selling alcohol for a specific 15-hour period .
That period runs from 5 pm tomorrow ( the day before Thanksgiving ) until 8 am the following morning .
( CBS Pittsburgh ) On Wednesday , Nov. 25 , restaurants and bars are ordered to suspend alcohol sales at 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. on Thursday , Nov. 26 .
Gov .
Wolf says the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the “ biggest day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restaurants have been hit hard by the pandemic , but this one-night ban is needed… Gathering limits have also been reduced , with the state ’ s calculator for indoor and outdoor event occupancy updated .
“ Orders already in place and those announced today will be enforced , and law enforcement and state agencies will be stepping up enforcement efforts , issuing citations and fines and possible regulatory actions for repeat offenders , ” says Dr. Levine .
Tom Wolf is once again specifically targeting bars and restaurants to the exclusion of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hardest-hit businesses in the country , including in Pennsylvania , and they are once again being singled out for “ special treatment ” under these orders .
In his remarks , Wolf admitted that he knew precisely how hard things have been on these businesses and then lamely attempted to say that it wasn ’ t his fault .
“ The thing that we can ’ t do is ignore reality and say ‘ yeah you folks , for no fault of your own , have been hit hardest by this virus.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s doing this .
It ’ s not me .
It ’ s not the administration .
It ’ s not the government , ” said Gov .
Wolf .
That ’ s blatantly untrue .
It ’ s absolutely the government and specifically the Governor who is doing this .
He ’ s the one issuing the orders .
The virus is basically everywhere and any business that ’ s open and funneling customers through creates some level of risk .
But it ’ s always the bars and the restaurants that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Making all of this worse is the nonsensical nature of this order .
He ’ s not saying that the bars and restaurants have to close at 5 pm , provided they ’ re following the social distancing orders that are already in place .
Just that they have to stop serving alcohol .
Are people who are having a beer or a cocktail somehow more at risk than non-drinkers ?
Is it somehow safer for the same number of people to gather around a table in a restaurant if they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And if alcohol is the problem , why isn ’ t he shutting down the state liquor stores and packaged goods outlets where beer is sold ?
What he ’ s really doing is just providing additional incentives for people to go pick up some booze and head out to drink together elsewhere .
The Governor offered no explanation for why this bizarre order was issued .
No rationale was provided .
He simply mandated the crackdown , admitted that he knew it would further damage the bar and restaurant industry , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have to suck it up .
Surely there ’ s a limit to how much of this garbage people are going to tolerate before they just openly revolt .

I first saw this announcement on Twitter yesterday afternoon and initially thought it might be some satire that had gotten out of control. We’ve already seen plenty of heavy-handed mandates being handed down by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, but the latest edict sounded like too much to believe. With a spike in new cases of COVID taking place in his state, some tighter restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather, including in private residences, were put in place. That’s pretty much par for the course for Wolf, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. But he then followed that up with an order for all bars and restaurants to stop selling alcohol for a specific 15-hour period. That period runs from 5 pm tomorrow (the day before Thanksgiving) until 8 am the following morning. (CBS Pittsburgh)
On Wednesday, Nov. 25, restaurants and bars are ordered to suspend alcohol sales at 5 p.m. until 8 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26. Gov. Wolf says the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the “biggest day for drinking” and acknowledged bars and restaurants have been hit hard by the pandemic, but this one-night ban is needed… Gathering limits have also been reduced, with the state’s calculator for indoor and outdoor event occupancy updated. “Orders already in place and those announced today will be enforced, and law enforcement and state agencies will be stepping up enforcement efforts, issuing citations and fines and possible regulatory actions for repeat offenders,” says Dr. Levine.
Tom Wolf is once again specifically targeting bars and restaurants to the exclusion of everyone else. These are some of the hardest-hit businesses in the country, including in Pennsylvania, and they are once again being singled out for “special treatment” under these orders.
In his remarks, Wolf admitted that he knew precisely how hard things have been on these businesses and then lamely attempted to say that it wasn’t his fault.
“The thing that we can’t do is ignore reality and say ‘yeah you folks, for no fault of your own, have been hit hardest by this virus.’ But the virus is what’s doing this. It’s not me. It’s not the administration. It’s not the government,” said Gov. Wolf.
That’s blatantly untrue. It’s absolutely the government and specifically the Governor who is doing this. He’s the one issuing the orders. The virus is basically everywhere and any business that’s open and funneling customers through creates some level of risk. But it’s always the bars and the restaurants that are lashed to the stocks first.
Making all of this worse is the nonsensical nature of this order. He’s not saying that the bars and restaurants have to close at 5 pm, provided they’re following the social distancing orders that are already in place. Just that they have to stop serving alcohol. Are people who are having a beer or a cocktail somehow more at risk than non-drinkers? Is it somehow safer for the same number of people to gather around a table in a restaurant if they’re drinking soda? This is nonsense.
And if alcohol is the problem, why isn’t he shutting down the state liquor stores and packaged goods outlets where beer is sold? What he’s really doing is just providing additional incentives for people to go pick up some booze and head out to drink together elsewhere.
The Governor offered no explanation for why this bizarre order was issued. No rationale was provided. He simply mandated the crackdown, admitted that he knew it would further damage the bar and restaurant industry, and then told everyone they were just going to have to suck it up. Surely there’s a limit to how much of this garbage people are going to tolerate before they just openly revolt.


hotair--2020-11-25--Alyssa Milano extends an olive branch to Trump supporters - It doesn't go well.

What was she thinking ?
Hollywood actress/activist Alyssa Milano decided to extend an olive branch to Trump supporters with a call for unity .
The responses to her tweet produced exactly the reactions you would assume it would .
Sorry , Alyssa , America isn ’ t ready to just move on .
This is just all so absurd , of course , but to a liberal bubble dweller , she is offering a magnanimous gesture .
She ’ s ready to move on , you see , and she wants everyone to come together and sing kumbaya , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her tweet were fast and strong is an understatement .
It wasn ’ t just Trump voters who told her she ’ s barking up the wrong tree , either .
Plenty of her fellow travelers on the left and far-left aren ’ t having any part of it .
Trump supporters are racists and bigots and just refuse to change .
This guy is a blue check fighting to end “ capitalistic oppression ” , according to his bio .
Alyssa understands his opinion .
Oh , yeah , he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too .
He later tweeted : “ Some of y ’ all trying to extend olive branches to people who would have strange fruit from a poplar tree.
” The Billie Holiday song “ Strange Fruit , ” about the lynching of Black Americans , begins with the line : “ Southern trees bear a strange fruit.
” Milano took note of Clark ’ s comments and responded : “ I accept this criticism .
And understand it .
Thanks , Anthony.
” There has not been a change in Alyssa ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going full speed ahead in cheerleading all thing liberal and Team Biden .
She just wants to do some virtue signaling and feel good about herself after four solid years of some very hideous behavior towards President Trump and the GOP in general .
Remember , in September she called for the entire Republican Party to be tried for treason over mostly unsubstantiated claims made by Bob Woodward in his most recent anti-Trump book .
“ Trump knew the virus was deadly when he called it ‘ the Democrat ’ s new hoax.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ he knew taking it seriously would mean closing down the economy which would hurt his rich friends , ” she wrote on Twitter at the time .
“ We must elect Joe Biden .
He is our only hope .
# BuildBackBetter.
” “ The entire @ GOP should be tried for treason .
# TrumpKnewVoteBlue , ” she continued .
There is no way in the world that Trump supporters are willing to just unite now with the left , people who have voiced hatred and threatened violence against them for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losing the last election and their refusal to accept its results immediately began The Resistance and it ’ s still going strong .
Memories are long and tempers are short .
That isn ’ t going to change any time soon .
The crazy left may as well expect four years of some payback from Trump supporters .
You get the picture .
It ’ s too little , too late from Ms. Milano .
Joe Biden was a partner to Barack Obama in dividing the country for their eight years in office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his presidency .
Now that the Democrats have won the presidency , suddenly the hate-filled left expects everyone to magically come together .
This country hasn ’ t been together in years .
Not that I ’ m cynical of Milano ’ s grand gesture or anything but could all this have to do with her promotion of a new movie she ’ s produced and will be streamed on Netflix this holiday season ?
There ’ s a tweet pinned to the top of her timeline that advertises it .
We @ @ @ @ @

What was she thinking? Hollywood actress/activist Alyssa Milano decided to extend an olive branch to Trump supporters with a call for unity. The responses to her tweet produced exactly the reactions you would assume it would. Sorry, Alyssa, America isn’t ready to just move on.
This is just all so absurd, of course, but to a liberal bubble dweller, she is offering a magnanimous gesture. She’s ready to move on, you see, and she wants everyone to come together and sing kumbaya, or something.
We’re going to need a lot of humility and compassion right now. Anger and triumphalism is less helpful. — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) November 24, 2020
To say the responses to her tweet were fast and strong is an understatement. It wasn’t just Trump voters who told her she’s barking up the wrong tree, either. Plenty of her fellow travelers on the left and far-left aren’t having any part of it. Trump supporters are racists and bigots and just refuse to change. This guy is a blue check fighting to end “capitalistic oppression”, according to his bio. Alyssa understands his opinion. Oh, yeah, he’s a teacher and a Democrat candidate, too.
I accept this criticism. And understand it. Thanks, Anthony. https://t.co/Tt0TfWfsxp — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) November 25, 2020
He later tweeted: “Some of y’all trying to extend olive branches to people who would have strange fruit from a poplar tree.” The Billie Holiday song “Strange Fruit,” about the lynching of Black Americans, begins with the line: “Southern trees bear a strange fruit.” Milano took note of Clark’s comments and responded: “I accept this criticism. And understand it. Thanks, Anthony.”
There has not been a change in Alyssa’s Twitter feed. She’s still going full speed ahead in cheerleading all thing liberal and Team Biden. She just wants to do some virtue signaling and feel good about herself after four solid years of some very hideous behavior towards President Trump and the GOP in general. Remember, in September she called for the entire Republican Party to be tried for treason over mostly unsubstantiated claims made by Bob Woodward in his most recent anti-Trump book.
“Trump knew the virus was deadly when he called it ‘the Democrat’s new hoax.’ He politicized a f–king pandemic because he knew taking it seriously would mean closing down the economy which would hurt his rich friends,” she wrote on Twitter at the time. “We must elect Joe Biden. He is our only hope. #BuildBackBetter.” “The entire @GOP should be tried for treason. #TrumpKnewVoteBlue,” she continued.
There is no way in the world that Trump supporters are willing to just unite now with the left, people who have voiced hatred and threatened violence against them for the last four years. Their anger over losing the last election and their refusal to accept its results immediately began The Resistance and it’s still going strong. Memories are long and tempers are short. That isn’t going to change any time soon.
Will you apologize for this?https://t.co/M35t3xpjmL — Phineas Fahrquar (@irishspy) November 25, 2020
Hell will freeze over first. You reap what you sow… — Robert Barnes (@barnes_law) November 25, 2020
The crazy left may as well expect four years of some payback from Trump supporters.
You can't shit on people for 4 years then suddenly reach across the aisle when you think you've won something. You deserve the same amount of crazy and hate you've contributed to the world. — Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) November 25, 2020
You get the picture. It’s too little, too late from Ms. Milano. Joe Biden was a partner to Barack Obama in dividing the country for their eight years in office. Those divisions brought forth Donald Trump and his presidency. Now that the Democrats have won the presidency, suddenly the hate-filled left expects everyone to magically come together. This country hasn’t been together in years.
Not that I’m cynical of Milano’s grand gesture or anything but could all this have to do with her promotion of a new movie she’s produced and will be streamed on Netflix this holiday season? There’s a tweet pinned to the top of her timeline that advertises it. We see you, Alyssa.