hotair--2020-11-15--Sunday morning talking heads

Sunday morning talking heads

As the government prepares to transition — eventually — from one administration to the next , so too do the Sunday shows .
With the election behind them , this morning ’ s programs will highlight some of the major players on Biden ’ s team with an emphasis on the pandemic .
The most major is incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain , who ’ ll chat with “ Meet the Press ” about what Americans should be doing to contain COVID and when he thinks Team Trump will bow to reality on who won the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about this tweet from February as well : In fairness , a lot of people underestimated the threat from coronavirus early on .
But only one of those people is about to become the most powerful advisor to the world ’ s most powerful person .
Elsewhere this morning , members of Biden ’ s COVID task force will try to put the fear of God into viewers about how bad things might get if we don ’ t start aggressively limiting personal interactions , including on Thanksgiving .
Michael Osterholm , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national lockdown , will follow Klain on “ Meet the Press ” while Atul Gawande speaks with “ This Week.
” And Anthony Fauci , who ’ s not yet part of Team Biden but will be soon , will talk to “ State of the Union.
” I don ’ t know that there ’ s anything left to say at this point beyond “ wear a mask whenever you ’ re around someone from a different household ” and “ don ’ t be around someone from a different household in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urgently necessary.
” We ’ ll find out .
Both Democrats running in Georgia ’ s Senate runoffs are also booked today , with Jon Ossoff sitting down with “ This Week ” while Raphael Warnock chats with “ State of the Union.
” Why they feel obliged to do national TV is unclear to me unless there ’ s a ( very unlikely ) fundraising shortfall they ’ re facing .
Warnock in particular is exposing himself to tough questions in a big spot about some of his more radical pronouncements from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll see how it works out for him .
Finally , Ken Starr will appear on “ Fox News Sunday ” to — in all likelihood — mislead Trump fans about the president ’ s chances of overturning the election in court .
The full line-up is at the AP .

As the government prepares to transition — eventually — from one administration to the next, so too do the Sunday shows. With the election behind them, this morning’s programs will highlight some of the major players on Biden’s team with an emphasis on the pandemic. The most major is incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who’ll chat with “Meet the Press” about what Americans should be doing to contain COVID and when he thinks Team Trump will bow to reality on who won the election. Hopefully he’ll be asked about this tweet from February as well:
We don’t have a #COVIDー19 epidemic in the US but we are starting to see a fear epidemic. Kudos to @NYCMayor (and others) for standing against that. https://t.co/mULErCXKsH — Ronald Klain (@RonaldKlain) February 13, 2020
In fairness, a lot of people underestimated the threat from coronavirus early on. But only one of those people is about to become the most powerful advisor to the world’s most powerful person.
Elsewhere this morning, members of Biden’s COVID task force will try to put the fear of God into viewers about how bad things might get if we don’t start aggressively limiting personal interactions, including on Thanksgiving. Michael Osterholm, who recently speculated about a four- to six-week national lockdown, will follow Klain on “Meet the Press” while Atul Gawande speaks with “This Week.” And Anthony Fauci, who’s not yet part of Team Biden but will be soon, will talk to “State of the Union.” I don’t know that there’s anything left to say at this point beyond “wear a mask whenever you’re around someone from a different household” and “don’t be around someone from a different household in the first place unless it’s urgently necessary.” We’ll find out.
Both Democrats running in Georgia’s Senate runoffs are also booked today, with Jon Ossoff sitting down with “This Week” while Raphael Warnock chats with “State of the Union.” Why they feel obliged to do national TV is unclear to me unless there’s a (very unlikely) fundraising shortfall they’re facing. Warnock in particular is exposing himself to tough questions in a big spot about some of his more radical pronouncements from the pulpit over his career. We’ll see how it works out for him.
Finally, Ken Starr will appear on “Fox News Sunday” to — in all likelihood — mislead Trump fans about the president’s chances of overturning the election in court. The full line-up is at the AP.


hotair--2020-11-16--Gov. Newsom announces 94% of Californians under 'purple tier' which means indoor businesses must clo

Gov. Newsom announces 94% of Californians under 'purple tier' which means indoor businesses must close (Update)

Last week California became the second state to pass one million cases of COVID-19 .
Today , with the infection rate on the rise , Gov .
Newsome announced he was putting most of the state into the so-called purple tier with the tightest restrictions on businesses .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom announced Monday that most California counties will soon be in the state ’ s most restrictive COVID-19 tier amid a surge in cases and that the state is considering a curfew .
“ California is pulling an emergency brake , ” he said in announcing that 41 counties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state ’ s population , will be in the purple tier , effective Tuesday .
Last week , 13 counties were in the state ’ s most restrictive tier .
“ We are sounding the alarm , ” Newsom said in a statement .
“ California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet — faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer .
The spread of COVID-19 , if left unchecked , could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 4-tier system for ranking how counties are doing in terms of the number of cases and the positivity rate .
Each color coded tier indicates the degree to which businesses can remain open .
• Yellow means most indoor businesses are open with some social distancing in place .
• Orange means some indoor businesses can open up to 50 percent capacity .
• Red means some businesses can open at 25 % capacity and can operate outside .
• Purple means all non-essential indoor businesses must close , those some businesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one week we ’ ve gone from just 13 counties in the purple tier to 41 in that tier .
Only two counties in the state remain in the yellow tier and four more are in the Orange tier as of today .
Newsome also said he was considering a state curfew .
The secretary of California ’ s HHS said the goal was to avoid overwhelming the health system : Dr. Mark Ghaly , secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency , said the state is acting swiftly now to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ghaly said the state expects roughly 12 % of all infected patients will wind up in hospital beds within two to three weeks .
He added , “ We must keep transmission low , and that ’ s to avoid flooding the health-care delivery system.
” Last Friday , Gov .
Newsom asked people coming into the state to quarantine themselves for 14 days .
He also asked that Californians consider not leaving the state over the holidays .
Those are still voluntary at this point .
Here ’ s Gov .
Newsom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ backwards not forwards.
” Update : Gov .
Newsom also discussed his own attendance at a fancy dinner party which made news last week .
Newsom apologized , saying he should have gotten up and gone home when he realized the party was bigger than he had expected .

Last week California became the second state to pass one million cases of COVID-19. Today, with the infection rate on the rise, Gov. Newsome announced he was putting most of the state into the so-called purple tier with the tightest restrictions on businesses.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that most California counties will soon be in the state’s most restrictive COVID-19 tier amid a surge in cases and that the state is considering a curfew. “California is pulling an emergency brake,” he said in announcing that 41 counties, which comprise over 94% of the state’s population, will be in the purple tier, effective Tuesday. Last week, 13 counties were in the state’s most restrictive tier. “We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet — faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes.”
California currently has a 4-tier system for ranking how counties are doing in terms of the number of cases and the positivity rate. Each color coded tier indicates the degree to which businesses can remain open.
Yellow means most indoor businesses are open with some social distancing in place.
Orange means some indoor businesses can open up to 50 percent capacity.
Red means some businesses can open at 25% capacity and can operate outside.
Purple means all non-essential indoor businesses must close, those some businesses can still operate outside.
So in one week we’ve gone from just 13 counties in the purple tier to 41 in that tier. Only two counties in the state remain in the yellow tier and four more are in the Orange tier as of today. Newsome also said he was considering a state curfew. The secretary of California’s HHS said the goal was to avoid overwhelming the health system:
Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, said the state is acting swiftly now to prevent the surge from overwhelming hospitals. Ghaly said the state expects roughly 12% of all infected patients will wind up in hospital beds within two to three weeks. He added, “We must keep transmission low, and that’s to avoid flooding the health-care delivery system.”
Last Friday, Gov. Newsom asked people coming into the state to quarantine themselves for 14 days. He also asked that Californians consider not leaving the state over the holidays. Those are still voluntary at this point.
Here’s Gov. Newsom announcing that the state is “moving backwards not forwards.”
Update: Gov. Newsom also discussed his own attendance at a fancy dinner party which made news last week. Newsom apologized, saying he should have gotten up and gone home when he realized the party was bigger than he had expected.


hotair--2020-11-16--Will a Biden administration give Trump tax returns to Democrats?

What — you mean the Joe Biden Hearts-n-Flowers Unity Feelz Administration ?
Theoretically , sure , a change in control of the White House gives Democrats an opportunity to get their hands on Donald Trump ’ s tax returns .
Realistically , however , this seems more like a pre-election warning than a post-election probability ( via Newsmax ) : President Donald Trump ’ s defeat will make it a lot easier for Democrats to finally get his tax returns , and some prominent lawmakers plan to keep the heat on the incoming Biden administration and House leaders to deliver @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his administration could simply hand over the long-sought records to its allies in Congress , who have been fighting in court to force Trump to turn them over , so far unsuccessfully .
But Biden is casting himself as a moderate uniter , and releasing Trump ’ s returns risks looking like a vindictive investigation of his predecessor .
Before we address this specifically , it was answered more generally last week by Bloomberg , which wondered whether a Biden Department of Justice would attempt to prosecute Trump .
Probably not , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up with an actual crime for its hypothetical : Although Biden has said that prosecuting a former president would be a “ very unusual thing and probably not very good for democracy , ” he also vowed in an NPR interview in August that he wouldn ’ t “ interfere with the Justice Department ’ s judgment of whether or not they think they should pursue the prosecution of anyone that they think has violated the law.
” With Republicans likely to retain control of the Senate , Biden ’ s nominee for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tough questioning during confirmation hearings about the new administration ’ s intentions toward Trump .
And Republican-led committees could strike back by amping up the investigations of Biden and his family ’ s finances that they ’ d already begun .
It ’ s a real question because on Jan. 20 Trump will lose the immunity from federal criminal indictment that sitting presidents are granted under Justice Department policy .
Prosecutors could revive the investigation into campaign-finance violations that resulted in a three-year sentence for Trump ’ s former lawyer and fixer Michael @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obstruction of justice that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller uncovered in his probe into Russia ’ s 2016 election interference .
There ’ s a problem with that specifically , in that Mueller himself didn ’ t push “ instances of possible obstruction of justice.
” He famously let it sit for William Barr to decide with no small amount of pusillanimity on Mueller ’ s part , even though he had plenary authority to at least recommend those charges .
That alone makes it rather difficult to prosecute Trump on those charges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
( “ If Mueller wouldn ’ t charge Trump … ” ) As for the campaign-finance violations case , that strategy flopped when used against John Edwards under almost the same exact circumstances .
Does the Biden administration want a flop like that in a high-profile case , especially with Edwards case as precedent ?
Doubtful .
The tax return issue is a somewhat different matter , but it ’ s subject to the same political and legal realities .
If Trump decides to run again in 2024 , or if he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will demand that kind of action from the Biden administration .
However , as Politico notes , courts will take a dimmer view of official political prying into Private Citizen Donald Trump ’ s tax returns .
With Trump out of office , there simply isn ’ t any legitimate legislative reason to scrutinize his tax returns .
Plus , don ’ t forget that it would still be illegal to release them to anyone else but the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee .
Any leak after such access would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ethical cloud of its own .
That brings us to the main point , which is Biden ’ s ability to get his agenda through Congress .
Democrats will have only a handful more votes in the House than Republicans will , plus it ’ s very likely that Mitch McConnell will control the Senate floor .
Even if Democrats get a miracle in Georgia and end up with a 50/50 Senate , Joe Manchin has already emphatically declared to vote against any attempt to get rid of the filibuster .
Biden will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show any success at all before the midterms , when presidents traditionally lose seats .
If he can ’ t push any significant legislation through Congress by that time , or if the Biden administration gets painted as extremist and vindictive , Democrats will likely suffer a bloodbath in 2022 and likely lose both control of the House and any chance of regaining the Senate .
Prosecuting Trump is a luxury Biden can ’ t afford , and neither can Democrats .
Plus , that kind of action would set a very bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of comprehending long-term consequences from those .
If Democrats use their House majority in 2021 to go after Trump ’ s tax returns , Republicans could very well do the same in 2023 if they win control of the House back .
Rather than go after Joe Biden , though , they could go after the tax returns of Hunter Biden , and James Biden , both of whom seem to have prospered from connections to Joe , while claiming legislative privilege on ethics enforcement .
They might also start looking at tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tax returns of progressive PACs and mega-donors on the same basis .
Balance all of the potential damage to be done against any estimation of value received by exposing Trump ’ s tax returns .
What ’ s the gain ?
Revenge , sure , but only of the most vain and corrupt style possible , and the best they would get out of it is to ensure Trump can ’ t run again in 2024 .
Talk about a briar-patch strategy for the GOP !
They ’ d get the Deep State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paranoid behavior .
Meanwhile , Democrats would have set fire to Biden ’ s opportunities to get some accomplishments through Congress , plus make themselves look more obsessed with sabotaging their opponents than taking care of their constituents .
After watching Harry Reid detonate the nuclear option in 2013 , it ’ s tough to entirely scoff at the odds of Democrats employing stupidly self-destructive strategies .
This idea , however , would really take the nuclear cake .

What — you mean the Joe Biden Hearts-n-Flowers Unity Feelz Administration? Theoretically, sure, a change in control of the White House gives Democrats an opportunity to get their hands on Donald Trump’s tax returns. Realistically, however, this seems more like a pre-election warning than a post-election probability (via Newsmax):
President Donald Trump’s defeat will make it a lot easier for Democrats to finally get his tax returns, and some prominent lawmakers plan to keep the heat on the incoming Biden administration and House leaders to deliver. Once Biden controls the Treasury Department, his administration could simply hand over the long-sought records to its allies in Congress, who have been fighting in court to force Trump to turn them over, so far unsuccessfully. But Biden is casting himself as a moderate uniter, and releasing Trump’s returns risks looking like a vindictive investigation of his predecessor.
Before we address this specifically, it was answered more generally last week by Bloomberg, which wondered whether a Biden Department of Justice would attempt to prosecute Trump. Probably not, especially since Bloomberg couldn’t come up with an actual crime for its hypothetical:
Although Biden has said that prosecuting a former president would be a “very unusual thing and probably not very good for democracy,” he also vowed in an NPR interview in August that he wouldn’t “interfere with the Justice Department’s judgment of whether or not they think they should pursue the prosecution of anyone that they think has violated the law.” With Republicans likely to retain control of the Senate, Biden’s nominee for attorney general will be sure to face tough questioning during confirmation hearings about the new administration’s intentions toward Trump. And Republican-led committees could strike back by amping up the investigations of Biden and his family’s finances that they’d already begun. It’s a real question because on Jan. 20 Trump will lose the immunity from federal criminal indictment that sitting presidents are granted under Justice Department policy. Prosecutors could revive the investigation into campaign-finance violations that resulted in a three-year sentence for Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and re-examine the instances of possible obstruction of justice that former Special Counsel Robert Mueller uncovered in his probe into Russia’s 2016 election interference.
There’s a problem with that specifically, in that Mueller himself didn’t push “instances of possible obstruction of justice.” He famously let it sit for William Barr to decide with no small amount of pusillanimity on Mueller’s part, even though he had plenary authority to at least recommend those charges. That alone makes it rather difficult to prosecute Trump on those charges without it looking like a railroad job. (“If Mueller wouldn’t charge Trump …”) As for the campaign-finance violations case, that strategy flopped when used against John Edwards under almost the same exact circumstances. Does the Biden administration want a flop like that in a high-profile case, especially with Edwards case as precedent? Doubtful.
The tax return issue is a somewhat different matter, but it’s subject to the same political and legal realities. If Trump decides to run again in 2024, or if he even starts organizing for it, Democrats will demand that kind of action from the Biden administration. However, as Politico notes, courts will take a dimmer view of official political prying into Private Citizen Donald Trump’s tax returns. With Trump out of office, there simply isn’t any legitimate legislative reason to scrutinize his tax returns. Plus, don’t forget that it would still be illegal to release them to anyone else but the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. Any leak after such access would immediately put the House majority under an ethical cloud of its own.
That brings us to the main point, which is Biden’s ability to get his agenda through Congress. Democrats will have only a handful more votes in the House than Republicans will, plus it’s very likely that Mitch McConnell will control the Senate floor. Even if Democrats get a miracle in Georgia and end up with a 50/50 Senate, Joe Manchin has already emphatically declared to vote against any attempt to get rid of the filibuster. Biden will therefore need Republican cooperation and negotiation to show any success at all before the midterms, when presidents traditionally lose seats. If he can’t push any significant legislation through Congress by that time, or if the Biden administration gets painted as extremist and vindictive, Democrats will likely suffer a bloodbath in 2022 and likely lose both control of the House and any chance of regaining the Senate. Prosecuting Trump is a luxury Biden can’t afford, and neither can Democrats.
Plus, that kind of action would set a very bad precedent — although Democrats seem chronically incapable of comprehending long-term consequences from those. If Democrats use their House majority in 2021 to go after Trump’s tax returns, Republicans could very well do the same in 2023 if they win control of the House back. Rather than go after Joe Biden, though, they could go after the tax returns of Hunter Biden, and James Biden, both of whom seem to have prospered from connections to Joe, while claiming legislative privilege on ethics enforcement. They might also start looking at tax returns of other Democrats, or the tax returns of progressive PACs and mega-donors on the same basis.
Balance all of the potential damage to be done against any estimation of value received by exposing Trump’s tax returns. What’s the gain? Revenge, sure, but only of the most vain and corrupt style possible, and the best they would get out of it is to ensure Trump can’t run again in 2024. Talk about a briar-patch strategy for the GOP! They’d get the Deep State argument without Trump’s alienating and paranoid behavior.
Meanwhile, Democrats would have set fire to Biden’s opportunities to get some accomplishments through Congress, plus make themselves look more obsessed with sabotaging their opponents than taking care of their constituents. After watching Harry Reid detonate the nuclear option in 2013, it’s tough to entirely scoff at the odds of Democrats employing stupidly self-destructive strategies. This idea, however, would really take the nuclear cake.


hotair--2020-11-16--Georgia county finds 2,600 ballots that had gone uncounted as GOP wages civil war

It won ’ t be the nastiest civil war that ’ s ever been fought in Georgia .
But it ’ s not optimal when the party ’ s trying to unify before two crucial Senate runoff elections .
Here ’ s the best development Trump ’ s had yet during the post-election process .
It ’ s not going to change the results statewide , and the fact that the ballots were discovered in a heavily Republican county leads one to wonder why the GOP powers that be there might be “ hiding ” pro-Trump votes , as will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not really trying to get the results in any state overturned so much as he ’ s trying to get his fans to see Biden ’ s victory as illegitimate and this is a gift-wrapped present in that effort .
How many more uncounted votes are out there ?
Probably none , if they ’ re doing a thorough enough recount statewide to have detected these .
But Trump wants to raise doubt and this ’ ll help a bunch : A recount in Georgia ’ s presidential race found more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hadn ’ t originally been tallied , likely helping President Donald Trump reduce his 14,000-vote deficit to Joe Biden… The problem occurred because county election officials didn ’ t upload votes from a memory card in an ballot scanning machine , according to the secretary of state ’ s office .
The previously uncounted votes were cast during in-person early voting at the Floyd County Administration Building , which includes the county ’ s elections office , [ Floyd County Republican chair Luke ] Martin said .
Over half of 5,000 printed-out ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t initially recorded .
“ It ’ s very concerning , ” Martin said .
“ But this doesn ’ t appear to be a widespread issue .
I ’ m glad the audit revealed it , and it ’ s important that all votes are counted.
” Martin estimated Trump would net about 800 votes from the uncounted ballots , which would cut Biden ’ s lead from a little more than 14,000 statewide to around 13,500 .
Not a gamechanger but obviously embarrassing for the state .
Imagine if those ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and they had conveniently broken overwhelmingly for Trump .
As I say , that ’ s the good news for POTUS today .
The bad news is that election law expert Rick Hasen surveyed the landscape of court challenges to Biden ’ s victory and declared that there effectively are no challenges at this point , at least none that would matter in any way .
It ’ s all over , he insists .
Soon key states will start certifying their numbers , which should trigger another burst of denialist presidential tweeting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try to buy time .
But assuming the certifications happen , either the GSA will finally relent and begin the official transition or Team Joe will go to court to compel the GSA to formally “ ascertain ” that he ’ s the winner .
( The GSA official who ’ s refusing to release transition resources to Biden is reportedly job-hunting in the expectation that there ’ ll be a new administration soon . )
What do you do when the legal ground beneath your feet , never sturdy to begin with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You look for a scapegoat .
Unfortunately for the GOP , all the relevant state officials in Georgia who presided over Biden ’ s narrow victory are themselves Republican .
Gov .
Brian Kemp is , of course , as is Lt. Gov .
Geoff Duncan , who continues to insist that he ’ s seen no evidence of meaningful fraud despite pressure from Washington .
The main target of complaints is heretofore unknown secretary of state Brad Raffensperger , who ’ s presiding over the hand recount .
I ’ m surprised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump much cover on his “ rigged !
” allegations and then finding myself surprised that I ’ m surprised , as state officials should be expected to defend the results of an election in their state against smears when there ’ s no evidence of fraud .
But undermining Trump just doesn ’ t happen much in the modern GOP , even when it ’ s in the public interest .
If forced to choose between a fair process that resulted in a Democrat winning and an array of threadbare lies to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expected to at least show some solicitousness towards the latter .
Trump ’ s not getting much from Raffensperger , though .
And he and his friends are putting a *lot* of pressure on right now : In reality , says Erick Erickson , Georgia was unusually thorough this year in matching signatures .
It wasn ’ t just the mail ballot itself that was verified , it was the application for a mail ballot : Henry Olsen wonders why , if Team Trump was so concerned about the signature verification process , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that process — or suing to block it — before the election .
The answer is obvious : Trump thought he would win Georgia and no one on his team had an earnest objection to Georgia ’ s procedures .
The complaints now are just a case of the campaign grasping at straws to delegitimize a costly defeat after the fact .
Raffensperger is the most intriguing figure in all of this because he ’ s been especially dogged in not giving Trump rhetorical cover for his smears .
Whether that ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defend the integrity of the state ’ s process or because he ’ s just righteously angry at the demagoguery , I don ’ t know .
But this guy seems to be done with taking sh*t from the president and his allies : Raffensperger told WaPo this afternoon that he and his wife are getting death threats from some of Trump ’ s more fanatic followers because he insists on claiming that this was a fair election .
He also dropped a bombshell , claiming that Lindsey Graham dialed him up and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots : Graham has also publicly entertained the idea of state legislatures declaring their elections void and awarding their electors to Trump .
This cretin really does seem willing to condone a coup against the elected incoming government on the thinnest possible pretenses , from excluding legal ballots to just ignoring the result of a state election on the theory that fraud must have occurred to taint it .
There ’ d be nothing left of the country ’ s civic culture if he succeeded , but so long as Lindsey Graham gets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains in power , that ’ s a detail .
A question to ask yourself : Why did he call up Raffensperger in first place , especially now instead of waiting until the recount is over and speaking to him then ?
If he was speaking in his role as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee , because the committee is investigating election procedures , there ’ s no reason why that can ’ t wait until the more important work of counting the votes is finished .
The obvious suspicion is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really was trying to lean on him on Trump ’ s behalf to start throwing out ballots in hopes of changing the outcome illicitly , before the result is certified .
In a better world , the DOJ would open a corruption case on him tonight .
Maybe Raffensperger ’ s made of sterner stuff than the average Republican pol or maybe his odds as secretary of state of winning higher office were sufficiently slim before this process that he has less to lose than Kemp does , but he ’ s obviously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s narrative .
And my sense of him is that the more he ’ s threatened and demagogued , the more resolute he ’ s going to get .
I ’ ll leave you with one more quote from his WaPo interview about the GOP civil war in Georgia , an ominous one for the runoffs : “ I don ’ t think it ’ s helpful when you create doubt in the election process .
People might throw up their arms and say , ‘ Why vote ?
’ ”

It won’t be the nastiest civil war that’s ever been fought in Georgia. But it’s not optimal when the party’s trying to unify before two crucial Senate runoff elections.
Here’s the best development Trump’s had yet during the post-election process. It’s not going to change the results statewide, and the fact that the ballots were discovered in a heavily Republican county leads one to wonder why the GOP powers that be there might be “hiding” pro-Trump votes, as will inevitably be alleged. But the president’s not really trying to get the results in any state overturned so much as he’s trying to get his fans to see Biden’s victory as illegitimate and this is a gift-wrapped present in that effort. How many more uncounted votes are out there?
Probably none, if they’re doing a thorough enough recount statewide to have detected these. But Trump wants to raise doubt and this’ll help a bunch:
A recount in Georgia’s presidential race found more than 2,600 ballots in Floyd County that hadn’t originally been tallied, likely helping President Donald Trump reduce his 14,000-vote deficit to Joe Biden… The problem occurred because county election officials didn’t upload votes from a memory card in an ballot scanning machine, according to the secretary of state’s office. The previously uncounted votes were cast during in-person early voting at the Floyd County Administration Building, which includes the county’s elections office, [Floyd County Republican chair Luke] Martin said. Over half of 5,000 printed-out ballots cast on an optical scanner weren’t initially recorded. “It’s very concerning,” Martin said. “But this doesn’t appear to be a widespread issue. I’m glad the audit revealed it, and it’s important that all votes are counted.”
Martin estimated Trump would net about 800 votes from the uncounted ballots, which would cut Biden’s lead from a little more than 14,000 statewide to around 13,500. Not a gamechanger but obviously embarrassing for the state. Imagine if those ballots had been found in a Democratic-run county and they had conveniently broken overwhelmingly for Trump.
As I say, that’s the good news for POTUS today. The bad news is that election law expert Rick Hasen surveyed the landscape of court challenges to Biden’s victory and declared that there effectively are no challenges at this point, at least none that would matter in any way. It’s all over, he insists. Soon key states will start certifying their numbers, which should trigger another burst of denialist presidential tweeting and maybe a few desperation lawsuits to try to buy time. But assuming the certifications happen, either the GSA will finally relent and begin the official transition or Team Joe will go to court to compel the GSA to formally “ascertain” that he’s the winner. (The GSA official who’s refusing to release transition resources to Biden is reportedly job-hunting in the expectation that there’ll be a new administration soon.) What do you do when the legal ground beneath your feet, never sturdy to begin with, suddenly begins to cave in?
You look for a scapegoat. Unfortunately for the GOP, all the relevant state officials in Georgia who presided over Biden’s narrow victory are themselves Republican. Gov. Brian Kemp is, of course, as is Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who continues to insist that he’s seen no evidence of meaningful fraud despite pressure from Washington. The main target of complaints is heretofore unknown secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, who’s presiding over the hand recount. I’m surprised that none of the three is giving Trump much cover on his “rigged!” allegations and then finding myself surprised that I’m surprised, as state officials should be expected to defend the results of an election in their state against smears when there’s no evidence of fraud. But undermining Trump just doesn’t happen much in the modern GOP, even when it’s in the public interest. If forced to choose between a fair process that resulted in a Democrat winning and an array of threadbare lies to delegitimize that result, you’re expected to at least show some solicitousness towards the latter.
Trump’s not getting much from Raffensperger, though. And he and his friends are putting a *lot* of pressure on right now:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1328338241284616193
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1328382287331856384
https://twitter.com/LLinWood/status/1328440521312907266
In reality, says Erick Erickson, Georgia was unusually thorough this year in matching signatures. It wasn’t just the mail ballot itself that was verified, it was the application for a mail ballot:
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1328449371919314944
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1328449373278244865
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1328449374909837313
https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/1328449376486895617
Henry Olsen wonders why, if Team Trump was so concerned about the signature verification process, they didn’t insist on observing that process — or suing to block it — before the election. The answer is obvious: Trump thought he would win Georgia and no one on his team had an earnest objection to Georgia’s procedures. The complaints now are just a case of the campaign grasping at straws to delegitimize a costly defeat after the fact.
Raffensperger is the most intriguing figure in all of this because he’s been especially dogged in not giving Trump rhetorical cover for his smears. Whether that’s because he thinks leadership requires him to defend the integrity of the state’s process or because he’s just righteously angry at the demagoguery, I don’t know. But this guy seems to be done with taking sh*t from the president and his allies:
Republican infighting in Georgia intensifies as Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger goes after Doug Collins, who leads Trump’s recount efforts in the state: “Failed candidate Doug Collins is a liar— but what’s new?” he writes on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/Earo0Fff9L — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) November 16, 2020
Raffensperger told WaPo this afternoon that he and his wife are getting death threats from some of Trump’s more fanatic followers because he insists on claiming that this was a fair election. He also dropped a bombshell, claiming that Lindsey Graham dialed him up and … inquired about excluding some perfectly valid ballots:
In their conversation, Graham questioned Raffensperger about the state’s signature-matching law and whether political bias could have prompted poll workers to accept ballots with nonmatching signatures, according to Raffensperger. Graham also asked whether Raffensperger had the power to toss all mail ballots in counties found to have higher rates of nonmatching signatures, Raffensperger said. Raffspenger said he was stunned that Graham appeared to suggest that he find a way to toss legally cast ballots. Absent court intervention, Raffensperger doesn’t have the power to do what Graham suggested, as counties administer elections in Georgia. “It sure looked like he was wanting to go down that road,” he said.
Graham has also publicly entertained the idea of state legislatures declaring their elections void and awarding their electors to Trump. This cretin really does seem willing to condone a coup against the elected incoming government on the thinnest possible pretenses, from excluding legal ballots to just ignoring the result of a state election on the theory that fraud must have occurred to taint it. There’d be nothing left of the country’s civic culture if he succeeded, but so long as Lindsey Graham gets to remain a senator and his party remains in power, that’s a detail. A question to ask yourself: Why did he call up Raffensperger in first place, especially now instead of waiting until the recount is over and speaking to him then? If he was speaking in his role as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, because the committee is investigating election procedures, there’s no reason why that can’t wait until the more important work of counting the votes is finished. The obvious suspicion is that Graham called Raffensperger this week because he really was trying to lean on him on Trump’s behalf to start throwing out ballots in hopes of changing the outcome illicitly, before the result is certified. In a better world, the DOJ would open a corruption case on him tonight.
Maybe Raffensperger’s made of sterner stuff than the average Republican pol or maybe his odds as secretary of state of winning higher office were sufficiently slim before this process that he has less to lose than Kemp does, but he’s obviously not going to bend to Trump’s narrative. And my sense of him is that the more he’s threatened and demagogued, the more resolute he’s going to get. I’ll leave you with one more quote from his WaPo interview about the GOP civil war in Georgia, an ominous one for the runoffs: “I don’t think it’s helpful when you create doubt in the election process. People might throw up their arms and say, ‘Why vote?’”


hotair--2020-11-16--Biden: If Trump doesn't start coordinating with us on COVID, more people may die

As predicted this morning , the deepening pandemic will make Trump ’ s petulance in refusing to cooperate with Biden increasingly costly politically .
Normally the incoming administration would complain about lack of coordination on national security , insisting that the president-elect needs to be briefed so that his team isn ’ t caught unawares by emerging threats after January 20 .
But this year there ’ s a less abstract argument for cooperation : COVID is spreading uncontrollably , Biden ’ s about to inherit the vaccine machinery , and his team needs to be familiar with the logistics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deployed next year .
Moncef Slaoui and Anthony Fauci have each already said publicly that the two administrations should be coordinating .
As Trump ’ s court challenges go up in smoke , the case for resisting reality becomes less defensible and more heinously reckless .
So , rather than browbeat him about being a man-baby who can ’ t accept defeat , Biden ’ s going to twist his arm about the risk he ’ s creating for Americans .
That ’ s smart in that it exacts more of a political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provides Biden with an excuse next year if his team is sloppy in distributing the vaccine .
“ Don ’ t blame me , ” he ’ ll say .
“ I told you in November that Trump ’ s ego was going to get innocent people killed.
” Here he is this afternoon : Reporter Gabriel Debenedetti asked his sources in the Biden campaign if they ’ re worried about Trump ’ s stonewalling .
Not really , they told him : Trump is doing civic damage to the country but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s going to be a coup .
They are , however , sincerely worried about being too far behind the curve on COVID and the vaccine to catch up quickly : Biden has been very public about his preparations on the virus management and vaccine front : He has an advisory committee , he ’ s constantly briefed on it all , etc .
And it ’ s true that he and those around him know how government works intimately .
But if there ’ s no coordination on something like vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have to learn a lot about what the Trump administration , local governments , pharmaceutical companies , etc.
, are planning in an extremely tight window — ideally , they wouldn ’ t have to worry about something like this , because they could be looped in .
It ’ s a logistics problem , but it ’ s especially infuriating because it ’ s purely based on intransigence .
And people are dying !
My guess , which may be wishful thinking , is that the doctors in Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon if they haven ’ t already started .
These people didn ’ t work this hard on a vaccine and containment messaging to watch the distribution process fly off the rails next year , delaying the country ’ s recovery by months and killing thousands needlessly , because they felt duty-bound to indulge Trump in a humiliating tantrum .
No doubt Scott Atlas would happily keep Biden in the dark until noon on January 20 but Slaoui , Fauci , Birx , Redfield , maybe even Alex Azar , plus a variety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know aren ’ t going to bite their tongues when the stakes are this high for fear of the president being angry at them .
For all we know , they ’ re quietly cooperating behind the scenes as I write this and Biden ’ s public complaints are just a smokescreen to give them cover .
He needs them on the job right now , after all .
They ’ re useless to him as sources of information if they ’ re fired .
Speaking of Atlas , Biden was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Atlas calling on Michiganders to “ rise up ” against Gretchen Whitmer ’ s new social-distancing restrictions on a day when even Sweden is shifting towards more draconian tactics to keep people physically apart .
If Team Trump wants to maneuver Biden into a dispute over the urgency of pandemic control at a moment when cases are rising towards 200,000 daily , Sleepy Joe will let himself be maneuvered : Michael Gerson calls Trump ’ s obstruction of the transition “ U.S .
history ’ s deadliest-ever sulk.
” We ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are certified , the transition might begin with or without Trump ’ s acquiescence due to court action .
Jared or Ivanka should pull the president aside and try explaining to him that if he ’ s serious about running again in 2024 , leaving office now by doing everything in his power to kneecap Biden on vaccine preparation is the single dumbest , most damaging move he could make .
When in doubt , talk to him in terms of self-interest .
That ’ s the language he speaks .

As predicted this morning, the deepening pandemic will make Trump’s petulance in refusing to cooperate with Biden increasingly costly politically. Normally the incoming administration would complain about lack of coordination on national security, insisting that the president-elect needs to be briefed so that his team isn’t caught unawares by emerging threats after January 20. But this year there’s a less abstract argument for cooperation: COVID is spreading uncontrollably, Biden’s about to inherit the vaccine machinery, and his team needs to be familiar with the logistics of it so that resources are efficiently deployed next year. Moncef Slaoui and Anthony Fauci have each already said publicly that the two administrations should be coordinating. As Trump’s court challenges go up in smoke, the case for resisting reality becomes less defensible and more heinously reckless.
So, rather than browbeat him about being a man-baby who can’t accept defeat, Biden’s going to twist his arm about the risk he’s creating for Americans. That’s smart in that it exacts more of a political cost from the GOP and also handily provides Biden with an excuse next year if his team is sloppy in distributing the vaccine. “Don’t blame me,” he’ll say. “I told you in November that Trump’s ego was going to get innocent people killed.”
Here he is this afternoon:
Q: "What do you see as the biggest threat to your transition right now given President Trump's unprecedented attempt to obstruct and delay a smooth transfer of power?" President-Elect Biden: "More people may die if we don't coordinate." Full video: https://t.co/WANwvEyYLg pic.twitter.com/ZvJ6FiCi1s — CSPAN (@cspan) November 16, 2020
Reporter Gabriel Debenedetti asked his sources in the Biden campaign if they’re worried about Trump’s stonewalling. Not really, they told him: Trump is doing civic damage to the country but it’s not like they think there’s going to be a coup. They are, however, sincerely worried about being too far behind the curve on COVID and the vaccine to catch up quickly:
Biden has been very public about his preparations on the virus management and vaccine front: He has an advisory committee, he’s constantly briefed on it all, etc. And it’s true that he and those around him know how government works intimately. But if there’s no coordination on something like vaccine distribution, presumably they’re going to have to learn a lot about what the Trump administration, local governments, pharmaceutical companies, etc., are planning in an extremely tight window — ideally, they wouldn’t have to worry about something like this, because they could be looped in. It’s a logistics problem, but it’s especially infuriating because it’s purely based on intransigence. And people are dying!
My guess, which may be wishful thinking, is that the doctors in Trump’s administration will start secretly briefing Team Biden soon if they haven’t already started. These people didn’t work this hard on a vaccine and containment messaging to watch the distribution process fly off the rails next year, delaying the country’s recovery by months and killing thousands needlessly, because they felt duty-bound to indulge Trump in a humiliating tantrum. No doubt Scott Atlas would happily keep Biden in the dark until noon on January 20 but Slaoui, Fauci, Birx, Redfield, maybe even Alex Azar, plus a variety of lower-ranking officials whose names we don’t know aren’t going to bite their tongues when the stakes are this high for fear of the president being angry at them. For all we know, they’re quietly cooperating behind the scenes as I write this and Biden’s public complaints are just a smokescreen to give them cover. He needs them on the job right now, after all. They’re useless to him as sources of information if they’re fired.
Speaking of Atlas, Biden was asked about him today too — specifically, Atlas calling on Michiganders to “rise up” against Gretchen Whitmer’s new social-distancing restrictions on a day when even Sweden is shifting towards more draconian tactics to keep people physically apart. If Team Trump wants to maneuver Biden into a dispute over the urgency of pandemic control at a moment when cases are rising towards 200,000 daily, Sleepy Joe will let himself be maneuvered:
Biden slams Scott Atlas: "What the hell is the matter with these guys?" pic.twitter.com/aHfBPgjHFH — TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 16, 2020
Michael Gerson calls Trump’s obstruction of the transition “U.S. history’s deadliest-ever sulk.” We’ll see. Once the state election results are certified, the transition might begin with or without Trump’s acquiescence due to court action. Jared or Ivanka should pull the president aside and try explaining to him that if he’s serious about running again in 2024, leaving office now by doing everything in his power to kneecap Biden on vaccine preparation is the single dumbest, most damaging move he could make. When in doubt, talk to him in terms of self-interest. That’s the language he speaks.


hotair--2020-11-16--Democrat concedes House race in New York and another race is looking good for the GOP (Update: Anoth

Democrat concedes House race in New York and another race is looking good for the GOP (Update: Another concession)

The NY Times results page for House races is not very useful at this point .
There are two races in which Democrats have conceded the race but the Times still hasn ’ t updated the page .
I believe that ’ s because they are following AP calls and the AP hasn ’ t called those races .
But again , the Democrats have conceded so , barring some unexpected change , these races are over .
One of the two is the race for NY-11 which in which Democrat Max Rose conceded last week .
The other is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Katko and Democratic challenger Dana Balter .
Balter conceded that race on Friday afternoon : Balter said she called Katko , R-Camillus , on Friday afternoon to congratulate him , a day after Katko clinched the election .
Balter did not win enough of the early absentee ballots to overcome the 20 percentage point lead that Katko had on Election Day .
Katko led by 55,102 votes on Election Day , and had a lead of 44,729 votes ( 55.6-40.5 % ) Thursday night after more than 30,000 absentee ballots had been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ count makes it clear that our campaign does not have a path forward , ” Balter said in a statement Friday .
Balter also challenged Katko in 2018 and that time it was a closer race , just five points .
This time it ’ s more of a blowout .
And there ’ s another New York race that is looking good for the GOP .
In NY-22 , Democratic incumbent Anthony Brindisi is being challenged by Republican Claudia Tenney .
As of now , Tenney is still up in the race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absentee ballots that favor Brindisi : Brindisi , D-Utica , is winning the absentee count 73-27 % ( 25,998-7,787 ) , according to unofficial returns through Saturday from election officials in the eight-county district .
Brindisi has now cut Tenney ’ s lead to 10,294 votes , down from 28,422 votes on Election Day .
There are at least 20,000 ballots remaining to be counted across the district .
Brindisi will have to win at least 77 % of those ballots to overtake Tenney , a Republican from New Hartford .
There ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will turn out but if Brindisi needs 77 % to win and he ’ s been getting 73 % then it sounds like he ’ s not going to quite make it .
If Tenney holds on that would be another pickup for the GOP which would bring them to a net gain of nine seats .
We ’ ll have to wait and see if that happens as two weeks is apparently not enough time for New York to count votes .
Update : Another Democrat has conceded a close House race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s only Democrat in Congress , Rep. Ben McAdams , is conceding Monday to Republican Burgess Owens , a former NFL player , author and frequent Fox News guest making his first run for public office in a race that had been too close to call since Election Day on Nov. 3 .
McAdams , 45 , who returned to Washington , D.C. , Monday , left a voicemail with Owens and is scheduled to hold an online news conference on his concession at 3:30 p.m. Mountain time .
Owens , 69 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress from Utah , is also in the nation ’ s capital , meeting with other newly elected members of Congress and GOP leaders .
Ben McAdams won the seat from Republican Mia Love in 2018 .
Now Burgess Owens is taking it back .
So this puts the GOP at +9 in the House ( +10 if Tenney , mentioned above , wins ) and thee are still a couple more close races where the GOP could pick up additional seats .

The NY Times results page for House races is not very useful at this point. There are two races in which Democrats have conceded the race but the Times still hasn’t updated the page. I believe that’s because they are following AP calls and the AP hasn’t called those races. But again, the Democrats have conceded so, barring some unexpected change, these races are over.
One of the two is the race for NY-11 which in which Democrat Max Rose conceded last week. The other is the race in NY-24 between Republican incumbent John Katko and Democratic challenger Dana Balter. Balter conceded that race on Friday afternoon:
Balter said she called Katko, R-Camillus, on Friday afternoon to congratulate him, a day after Katko clinched the election. Balter did not win enough of the early absentee ballots to overcome the 20 percentage point lead that Katko had on Election Day. Katko led by 55,102 votes on Election Day, and had a lead of 44,729 votes (55.6-40.5%) Thursday night after more than 30,000 absentee ballots had been counted. “The current absentee ballot count makes it clear that our campaign does not have a path forward,” Balter said in a statement Friday.
Balter also challenged Katko in 2018 and that time it was a closer race, just five points. This time it’s more of a blowout.
And there’s another New York race that is looking good for the GOP. In NY-22, Democratic incumbent Anthony Brindisi is being challenged by Republican Claudia Tenney. As of now, Tenney is still up in the race though it has tightened significantly thanks to absentee ballots that favor Brindisi:
Brindisi, D-Utica, is winning the absentee count 73-27% (25,998-7,787), according to unofficial returns through Saturday from election officials in the eight-county district. Brindisi has now cut Tenney’s lead to 10,294 votes, down from 28,422 votes on Election Day. There are at least 20,000 ballots remaining to be counted across the district. Brindisi will have to win at least 77% of those ballots to overtake Tenney, a Republican from New Hartford.
There’s no telling how those remaining ballots will turn out but if Brindisi needs 77% to win and he’s been getting 73% then it sounds like he’s not going to quite make it. If Tenney holds on that would be another pickup for the GOP which would bring them to a net gain of nine seats. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens as two weeks is apparently not enough time for New York to count votes.
Update: Another Democrat has conceded a close House race, this time in Utah-4:
Utah’s only Democrat in Congress, Rep. Ben McAdams, is conceding Monday to Republican Burgess Owens, a former NFL player, author and frequent Fox News guest making his first run for public office in a race that had been too close to call since Election Day on Nov. 3. McAdams, 45, who returned to Washington, D.C., Monday, left a voicemail with Owens and is scheduled to hold an online news conference on his concession at 3:30 p.m. Mountain time. Owens, 69 and the second Black Republican elected to Congress from Utah, is also in the nation’s capital, meeting with other newly elected members of Congress and GOP leaders.
Ben McAdams won the seat from Republican Mia Love in 2018. Now Burgess Owens is taking it back. So this puts the GOP at +9 in the House (+10 if Tenney, mentioned above, wins) and thee are still a couple more close races where the GOP could pick up additional seats.


hotair--2020-11-16--Is Biden going to cancel some student loan debt via executive order?

Reading this story , I ’ ve had a sudden change of heart .
Democrats did rig the polls to get Sleepy Joe elected .
Congratulations on your second term , President Trump !
I don ’ t support student-loan forgiveness , as I ’ ve explained before , and I really don ’ t support doing it by executive order .
And the caliber of people whom I find on the other side of the debate isn ’ t shaking my conviction : On Election Day , before the votes had even been counted , Chuck Schumer chattered to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 50,000 of each student debtor ’ s outstanding loans with the stroke of a pen .
That number came from Elizabeth Warren ’ s primary campaign — a weird idea for a populist given that it would disproportionately benefit the credentialed professional class , people who ’ ll eventually earn enough to pay those loans back .
Biden ’ s primary campaign countered with a cap of $ 10,000 in forgiveness and tied it to COVID , along with forgiveness for anyone earning less than $ 125,000 who amassed their loans at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to start handing out free candy to the relatively well-off , at the very least we should insist that members of Congress take ownership of the policy via a floor vote .
Letting a president who ’ s probably only going to serve a single term do it by fiat will only deepen the ferocious resentment that a move like this will cause : Forgiving debt—as opposed to suspending payments—through executive action would likely face a court challenge from Republicans , Mr. Kantrowitz said .
Mr. Biden ’ s plan faces other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specified how he would pay for debt forgiveness , although he has separately called for tax increases of about $ 4 trillion over a decade to pay for a variety of programs… There are also potential tax consequences .
Generally , forgiven debt of any kind is considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service .
Forgiving huge portions of debt could lead to thousands of dollars in tax bills for individual households .
And without restrictions on new lending , the U.S. would risk another run-up in student debt .
The story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggressive executive action this past summer , in which he postponed student loan payments due to the pandemic , was itself attacked as illegal because the power of the purse is supposed to belong to Congress .
Imagine Biden trying to do something far more draconian , effectuating a permanent loan forgiveness of hundreds of billions of dollars , without legislative input .
Which makes me wonder : Is this idea just “ gesture politics ” ?
I.e .
Biden signs the order forgiving debt , Republicans leap to their feet in outrage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order as a violation of separation of powers .
Then Biden and the Dems get to boo-hoo over how mean the right is in insisting that younger Americans who are still carrying debt fulfill their obligations .
In theory , that could help cement Democrats ’ appeal to the suburban voters who put Biden over the top this year .
Many of them are college grads , many of them are carrying student loans past their 30s .
President Joe wanted to give them free candy and the evil GOP took it away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half .
If you ’ re a college grad who ’ s already paid off their debt — or if you ’ re *not* a college grad and want to know where your free candy is — you ’ ll be furious .
The polling on this issue is mixed but it boggles my mind that Biden might waltz into office in the midst of a pandemic , having positioned himself during the campaign as a healing , unifying figure , and pull a move as bitterly divisive as this to start his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not part of a package in to reform how higher education is financed , which would also require congressional buy-in .
Loan forgiveness without a way to control costs going forward means we ’ re destined to do this again in five years or 10 .
In fact , as Brian Riedl says , a massive loan forgiveness program might actually incentivize universities to hike tuition further in the expectation that Uncle Sam will pick up the next tab too .
We ’ ll end up in a cycle of de facto “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools are sitting on exorbitant endowments .
The strongest argument for near-term student loan forgiveness is the stimulus effect of letting debtors keep more of their money each month instead of paying it back to creditors .
The U.S. economy is in a hole because of COVID and having extra cash in circulation could help dig us out .
But there are problems .
Jason Furman , who worked under Obama , notes that the tax liability incurred in debt forgiveness would itself have to be forgiven or else the benefit is lost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says lefty Matt Bruenig , “ if we are being honest about things , student debt forgiveness is possibly the least effective stimulus imaginable on a dollar-for-dollar basis ” : We already got the stimulus benefit from loan forgiveness via Trump ’ s order postponing repayments .
I understand why Warren and AOC might want class warfare on day one of the Biden administration but I can ’ t imagine why Biden would .
His agenda should be COVID , COVID , and nothing but COVID until the vaccination machinery is really rolling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pull the pin on the resentment grenade by forgiving student loans after that , knowing that it ’ s all but certain his order will be tossed out in court and he ’ ll have gained nothing by it , that ’ s up to him .
It ’ s not like Republicans tend to do well in midterms running against Democratic fiscal policy .

Reading this story, I’ve had a sudden change of heart. Democrats did rig the polls to get Sleepy Joe elected.
Congratulations on your second term, President Trump!
I don’t support student-loan forgiveness, as I’ve explained before, and I really don’t support doing it by executive order. And the caliber of people whom I find on the other side of the debate isn’t shaking my conviction:
Student loan forgiveness is good, actually — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 16, 2020
On Election Day, before the votes had even been counted, Chuck Schumer chattered to reporters about Biden canceling the first $50,000 of each student debtor’s outstanding loans with the stroke of a pen. That number came from Elizabeth Warren’s primary campaign — a weird idea for a populist given that it would disproportionately benefit the credentialed professional class, people who’ll eventually earn enough to pay those loans back. Biden’s primary campaign countered with a cap of $10,000 in forgiveness and tied it to COVID, along with forgiveness for anyone earning less than $125,000 who amassed their loans at a public university.
If we’re going to start handing out free candy to the relatively well-off, at the very least we should insist that members of Congress take ownership of the policy via a floor vote. Letting a president who’s probably only going to serve a single term do it by fiat will only deepen the ferocious resentment that a move like this will cause:
Forgiving debt—as opposed to suspending payments—through executive action would likely face a court challenge from Republicans, Mr. Kantrowitz said. Mr. Biden’s plan faces other challenges. The campaign hasn’t specified how he would pay for debt forgiveness, although he has separately called for tax increases of about $4 trillion over a decade to pay for a variety of programs… There are also potential tax consequences. Generally, forgiven debt of any kind is considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service. Forgiving huge portions of debt could lead to thousands of dollars in tax bills for individual households. And without restrictions on new lending, the U.S. would risk another run-up in student debt.
The story notes that Trump’s much less aggressive executive action this past summer, in which he postponed student loan payments due to the pandemic, was itself attacked as illegal because the power of the purse is supposed to belong to Congress. Imagine Biden trying to do something far more draconian, effectuating a permanent loan forgiveness of hundreds of billions of dollars, without legislative input. Which makes me wonder: Is this idea just “gesture politics”? I.e. Biden signs the order forgiving debt, Republicans leap to their feet in outrage, and a conservative SCOTUS squashes the order as a violation of separation of powers. Then Biden and the Dems get to boo-hoo over how mean the right is in insisting that younger Americans who are still carrying debt fulfill their obligations.
In theory, that could help cement Democrats’ appeal to the suburban voters who put Biden over the top this year. Many of them are college grads, many of them are carrying student loans past their 30s. President Joe wanted to give them free candy and the evil GOP took it away! But that seems too clever by half. If you’re a college grad who’s already paid off their debt — or if you’re *not* a college grad and want to know where your free candy is — you’ll be furious. The polling on this issue is mixed but it boggles my mind that Biden might waltz into office in the midst of a pandemic, having positioned himself during the campaign as a healing, unifying figure, and pull a move as bitterly divisive as this to start his presidency.
Especially if it’s not part of a package in to reform how higher education is financed, which would also require congressional buy-in. Loan forgiveness without a way to control costs going forward means we’re destined to do this again in five years or 10. In fact, as Brian Riedl says, a massive loan forgiveness program might actually incentivize universities to hike tuition further in the expectation that Uncle Sam will pick up the next tab too. We’ll end up in a cycle of de facto “bailouts” of academia even though many schools are sitting on exorbitant endowments.
The strongest argument for near-term student loan forgiveness is the stimulus effect of letting debtors keep more of their money each month instead of paying it back to creditors. The U.S. economy is in a hole because of COVID and having extra cash in circulation could help dig us out. But there are problems. Jason Furman, who worked under Obama, notes that the tax liability incurred in debt forgiveness would itself have to be forgiven or else the benefit is lost:
Student loan debt forgiveness likely has a multiplier close to zero. Forgiveness is taxable. If this negative cash flow effect outweighs interest savings would even be net negative. And wealth effect small in short run. Arbitrary/regressive $1T for ~$0 GDP, not a great idea. — Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) November 16, 2020
Even without the tax effect, says lefty Matt Bruenig, “if we are being honest about things, student debt forgiveness is possibly the least effective stimulus imaginable on a dollar-for-dollar basis”:
Normal stimulus measures try to put money in people’s pockets so that they can spend it. But student debt forgiveness does not do this. It’s like giving out $1+ trillion that is then immediately garnished by creditors, leaving households with no extra liquid cash to spend. To the extent that student debt forgiveness could provide a short-term stimulus, it would be through keeping people’s monthly student loan payments in their pockets. But student debtors only pay a small fraction of the outstanding student loan balance each month and student loan payments have already been suspended.
We already got the stimulus benefit from loan forgiveness via Trump’s order postponing repayments. I understand why Warren and AOC might want class warfare on day one of the Biden administration but I can’t imagine why Biden would. His agenda should be COVID, COVID, and nothing but COVID until the vaccination machinery is really rolling sometime next summer. If he wants to pull the pin on the resentment grenade by forgiving student loans after that, knowing that it’s all but certain his order will be tossed out in court and he’ll have gained nothing by it, that’s up to him. It’s not like Republicans tend to do well in midterms running against Democratic fiscal policy.


hotair--2020-11-16--Is cloning meat from human cells cannibalism? Um...

I was looking for some news to share with you that ’ s a bit off of the beaten path and not part of the usual political circus .
Unfortunately , I wound up falling down a rabbit hole that I never saw coming , but I suppose in the interest of team spirit I ’ ll drag you all down along with me .
It started with a press release that came out on Friday dealing with a new “ scientific advancement ” in the creation of artificial meat .
We ’ ve dealt with plenty of stories here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being served at fast-food chains , but this is something different .
And I mean really different .
Those with sensitive digestive tracts may want to skip ahead to the next article .
The subject in question is a product that may soon allow you to grow your own meat at home .
Ouroboros Steaks are featured at The Design Museum in London .
Those of you who love history may have a sense of where this is going because Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent eating its own tail .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ process that starts with your own human tissue .
But as Paul Seaburn points out at Mysterious Universe , you have nothing to worry about .
The creators of this process want to assure you that this isn ’ t cannibalism .
Perish the thought .
When is eating the flesh of humans not cannibalism ?
According to scientists at a company specializing in regenerative medicine and developing biomaterial for spinal cord treatments , it ’ s not cannibalism if the ‘ steaks ’ are grown from the consumer ’ s own cells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a way to reduce the consumption of animal flesh and all of the environmental and health issues associated with it .
Before you dismiss this as some futuristic dystopian fantasy , these human ‘ steaks ’ have a ‘ brand name ’ – Ourboros Steak – and prototypes are on display at a museum in London .
Yikes !
… Grace Knight tries to reduce the ‘ Ewww !
’ factor by pointing out that lab-grown meat uses fetal bovine serum ( FBS ) – an expensive protein-rich growth supplement derived from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pregnant mothers are slaughtered by the meat or dairy industry .
The team sees growing Ourboros Steaks as do-it-yourself project – not-cannibals will be able to buy a DIY kit containing swabs for collecting cheek cells , pre-grown scaffolds made from mushroom mycelium for growing them , human serum for feeding them and instructions on the proper temperature for growing them ( like a warm oven ) for three months until you have your tray of human amuse-bouche .
You can click through and read about the details of the process if that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re into .
But I ’ d just like to begin by saying that if your first press release announcing your new discovery has to include a disclaimer along the lines of , ‘ oh , by the way .
This isn ’ t cannibalism , ’ your marketing team might need a few new members .
Knowing the number of people that are going to be immediately grossed out by this , one of the developers sweetens the deal by assuring you the process uses ( wait for it ) … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a nickel for every time I was getting ready to make dinner and realized that I was completely out of fetal bovine serum… Let ’ s get to the obvious question here .
Is this cannibalism ?
Pardon my French , but how in hell could this not be cannibalism .
The product is made from human cells swabbed from the inside of your mouth .
Just because the cells are cloned over and over again until a “ steak ” grows in your home laboratory at room temperature , that doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When I initially read about this process I was positive that the story must have been a hoax meant to drag the meatless burger industry , but it ’ s apparently a real thing .
People have already done it .
People have already eaten it .
I realize that it ’ s 2020 and everything is supposed to be totally weird and awful , but come on , man .
Nobody saw this coming .
Would you actually try this ?
Do you even know anyone that you think would try it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end of a five day LSD binge ?
If this is the future of food , I ’ m heading out to look for one of those breakaway civilization cultures to see if they ’ ll let me join .

I was looking for some news to share with you that’s a bit off of the beaten path and not part of the usual political circus. Unfortunately, I wound up falling down a rabbit hole that I never saw coming, but I suppose in the interest of team spirit I’ll drag you all down along with me. It started with a press release that came out on Friday dealing with a new “scientific advancement” in the creation of artificial meat. We’ve dealt with plenty of stories here about “meat” made from plants being served at fast-food chains, but this is something different. And I mean really different. Those with sensitive digestive tracts may want to skip ahead to the next article.
The subject in question is a product that may soon allow you to grow your own meat at home. Ouroboros Steaks are featured at The Design Museum in London. Those of you who love history may have a sense of where this is going because Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent eating its own tail. And these steaks are created using a process that starts with your own human tissue. But as Paul Seaburn points out at Mysterious Universe, you have nothing to worry about. The creators of this process want to assure you that this isn’t cannibalism. Perish the thought.
When is eating the flesh of humans not cannibalism? According to scientists at a company specializing in regenerative medicine and developing biomaterial for spinal cord treatments, it’s not cannibalism if the ‘steaks’ are grown from the consumer’s own cells at home … and they see this as a way to reduce the consumption of animal flesh and all of the environmental and health issues associated with it. Before you dismiss this as some futuristic dystopian fantasy, these human ‘steaks’ have a ‘brand name’ – Ourboros Steak – and prototypes are on display at a museum in London. Yikes!… Grace Knight tries to reduce the ‘Ewww!’ factor by pointing out that lab-grown meat uses fetal bovine serum (FBS) – an expensive protein-rich growth supplement derived from the blood of calf fetuses after their pregnant mothers are slaughtered by the meat or dairy industry. The team sees growing Ourboros Steaks as do-it-yourself project – not-cannibals will be able to buy a DIY kit containing swabs for collecting cheek cells, pre-grown scaffolds made from mushroom mycelium for growing them, human serum for feeding them and instructions on the proper temperature for growing them (like a warm oven) for three months until you have your tray of human amuse-bouche.
You can click through and read about the details of the process if that’s the sort of thing you’re into. But I’d just like to begin by saying that if your first press release announcing your new discovery has to include a disclaimer along the lines of, ‘oh, by the way. This isn’t cannibalism,’ your marketing team might need a few new members. Knowing the number of people that are going to be immediately grossed out by this, one of the developers sweetens the deal by assuring you the process uses (wait for it)… fetal bovine serum.
If I had a nickel for every time I was getting ready to make dinner and realized that I was completely out of fetal bovine serum…
Let’s get to the obvious question here. Is this cannibalism? Pardon my French, but how in hell could this not be cannibalism. The product is made from human cells swabbed from the inside of your mouth. Just because the cells are cloned over and over again until a “steak” grows in your home laboratory at room temperature, that doesn’t miraculously turn it into chicken.
When I initially read about this process I was positive that the story must have been a hoax meant to drag the meatless burger industry, but it’s apparently a real thing. People have already done it. People have already eaten it. I realize that it’s 2020 and everything is supposed to be totally weird and awful, but come on, man. Nobody saw this coming.
Would you actually try this? Do you even know anyone that you think would try it that wasn’t on the tail end of a five day LSD binge? If this is the future of food, I’m heading out to look for one of those breakaway civilization cultures to see if they’ll let me join.


hotair--2020-11-16--Portland anarchists attacked a Democratic Party HQ and suddenly vandalism isn't cool anymore

The LA Times published a story today highlighting a growing divide between two strains of activists in Portland .
On one hand you have the mostly white Antifa groups who have adopted Black Lives Matter as their own cause and are holding protests/riots nearly every night .
On the other hand you have black activists who sometimes hold their own protests and who increasingly believe the anarchists are doing more harm than good .
But the most revealing thing about this story may be the tone and the timing .
For most of the summer , Portland anarchists were cool @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us to know that maybe these anarchists are just in it for the wanton destruction : The day after President-elect Joe Biden delivered his victory speech , telling the nation it was time to heal and unite , a clandestine Twitter account — @ safePDXprotest — summoned Portland anarchists… Word spread through the group that the target tonight would be the local headquarters of the Democratic Party .
Somebody started beating a drum as a chant broke out : “ F— Joe Biden !
” Then the anarchists marched into the upscale neighborhood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the LA Times : These anarchists are bent on destruction !
Yes , and it ’ s curious that prior to the election President Trump was saying so and I didn ’ t see a lot of articles agree with him .
I guess this is one of those now it can be told situations .
Suddenly the anarchists just aren ’ t cool anymore : Black activists and community leaders , who generally view the defeat of Trump as an opportunity for change within the system , said the anarchists are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for racial justice by continuing to commit violence .
“ When people set fire to a building , it really does not liberate me one bit , ” said Mingus Mapps , a Black resident who won a seat on the Portland City Council this month .
“ It does the opposite .
It fuels the political culture that makes racism possible.
” There ’ s a section of the article which focuses on what the anarchists actually believe .
LA Times Seattle bureau chief Richard Read , who wrote the piece , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anarchists are giving out .
There ’ s a pamphlet about abolishing mayors and one that describes breaking windows as a way to “ contest all the boundaries that cut through this society.
” It all sounds pretty thin .
Why hasn ’ t the LA Times reported on this before ?
The anarchists have been handing out the same literature for months .
Why is it only now being given a skeptical eye ?
Here ’ s how Richard Read was writing about the nightly protests back in July : Momtifa and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then .
Everyone wanted to be Antifa .
Now suddenly , it ’ s a bunch of white people who don ’ t really represent the cause .
What changed ?
Well , there was an election and then Antifa made it clear they hate Joe Biden almost as much as Donald Trump .
Here ’ s what they did to a Democratic Party HQ about a week ago : Here ’ s how Read describes it in his piece today .
Suddenly breaking windows and painting “ ACAB ” on other people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( even though they ’ ve been doing both things for months ) .
Plus the LA Times wants us to know the violence is ultimately pointless and possibly without end : There ’ s more of this but you get the idea .
The anarchists are doing the same things they have been doing since May .
But now it ’ s senseless and worthy of criticism whereas before now it was just another kind of resistance that was often praised in various ways by the same author .
The shift in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sudden that some of the people quoted in the story haven ’ t caught on yet .
A white small business owner in Portland whose windows were broken by anarchists tells the LA Times , “ Black lives matter more than my business.
” Maybe after she reads this piece , she ’ ll realize the correct answer was something like I support BLM but I don ’ t think these anarchists really care about black lives .
And , hey , maybe there ’ s some truth to that .
Maybe the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and breaking windows than they did about BLM all along .
If so , it would have been nice if we could have heard some doubts about the wisdom of the mob prior to this week .

The LA Times published a story today highlighting a growing divide between two strains of activists in Portland. On one hand you have the mostly white Antifa groups who have adopted Black Lives Matter as their own cause and are holding protests/riots nearly every night. On the other hand you have black activists who sometimes hold their own protests and who increasingly believe the anarchists are doing more harm than good.
But the most revealing thing about this story may be the tone and the timing. For most of the summer, Portland anarchists were cool. But suddenly the LA Times wants us to know that maybe these anarchists are just in it for the wanton destruction:
The day after President-elect Joe Biden delivered his victory speech, telling the nation it was time to heal and unite, a clandestine Twitter account — @safePDXprotest — summoned Portland anarchists… Word spread through the group that the target tonight would be the local headquarters of the Democratic Party. Somebody started beating a drum as a chant broke out: “F— Joe Biden!” Then the anarchists marched into the upscale neighborhood, intent on destruction.
News flash from the LA Times: These anarchists are bent on destruction! Yes, and it’s curious that prior to the election President Trump was saying so and I didn’t see a lot of articles agree with him. I guess this is one of those now it can be told situations. Suddenly the anarchists just aren’t cool anymore:
Black activists and community leaders, who generally view the defeat of Trump as an opportunity for change within the system, said the anarchists are hijacking the movement and undermining the push for racial justice by continuing to commit violence. “When people set fire to a building, it really does not liberate me one bit,” said Mingus Mapps, a Black resident who won a seat on the Portland City Council this month. “It does the opposite. It fuels the political culture that makes racism possible.”
There’s a section of the article which focuses on what the anarchists actually believe. LA Times Seattle bureau chief Richard Read, who wrote the piece, looks over some of the literature the anarchists are giving out. There’s a pamphlet about abolishing mayors and one that describes breaking windows as a way to “contest all the boundaries that cut through this society.” It all sounds pretty thin. Why hasn’t the LA Times reported on this before? The anarchists have been handing out the same literature for months. Why is it only now being given a skeptical eye? Here’s how Richard Read was writing about the nightly protests back in July:
In predawn hours Wednesday, a group of women in bike helmets and goggles calling themselves the “Wall of Moms” linked arms to form a barrier between federal agents and protesters… The women are variously known as “Moms against police brutality,” or “Momtifa,” a play on antifa, the anti-fascist movement. Like participants in the “Dad Bloc,” many followers say they are suburbanites who had been uninvolved but now want to make their voices heard.
Momtifa and the Dad Bloc. Antifa was cool then. Everyone wanted to be Antifa. Now suddenly, it’s a bunch of white people who don’t really represent the cause. What changed? Well, there was an election and then Antifa made it clear they hate Joe Biden almost as much as Donald Trump. Here’s what they did to a Democratic Party HQ about a week ago:
https://twitter.com/econbrkfst/status/1325606901162258434
Here’s how Read describes it in his piece today.
Two activists approached the building, one holding an umbrella to conceal the other, who spray-painted an anti-Biden epithet on a wall, adding an anarchist symbol. In red, he wrote “ACAB” — short for “all cops are bastards.” Six more protesters pounded on the windows, shattering 13 of them before rejoining the group keeping watch in the parking lot.
Suddenly breaking windows and painting “ACAB” on other people’s property isn’t cool (even though they’ve been doing both things for months). Plus the LA Times wants us to know the violence is ultimately pointless and possibly without end:
Shirley Jackson, a Portland State University professor of Black studies, said the violence seems senseless. “With the BLM protests there were clear demands, but it’s very difficult to see an end to something when it’s not clear what the demands are,” she said…
There’s more of this but you get the idea. The anarchists are doing the same things they have been doing since May. But now it’s senseless and worthy of criticism whereas before now it was just another kind of resistance that was often praised in various ways by the same author.
The shift in tone from the LA Times is so sudden that some of the people quoted in the story haven’t caught on yet. A white small business owner in Portland whose windows were broken by anarchists tells the LA Times, “Black lives matter more than my business.” Maybe after she reads this piece, she’ll realize the correct answer was something like I support BLM but I don’t think these anarchists really care about black lives.
And, hey, maybe there’s some truth to that. Maybe the mob cared more about fighting with police and breaking windows than they did about BLM all along. If so, it would have been nice if we could have heard some doubts about the wisdom of the mob prior to this week.