hotair--2020-08-24--Biden/Harris: Never mind all that stuff we said during the primary

It ’ s a tradition that dates back further than I can remember , and that ’ s quite a while .
The period following the naming of a presidential candidate ’ s running mate and the party ’ s convention is a magical time when the members of that party enter into a state of voluntary amnesia and beg the rest of the country to do the same .
During the heat of the primary , many things are said , frequently including unpleasant , biting attacks on the eventual winner .
But now that we ’ re officially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s all water under the bridge , spilled milk or whichever other metaphor you ’ d care to embrace .
Everyone is part of the same , big , happy team That ’ s clearly the case with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris now .
As the New York Times points out , Biden and Harris offered their first joint interview following the convention to ABC News on Sunday .
To the network ’ s credit , both of the candidates were asked about Harris ’ sharp attacks against Biden during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ record on school bussing back in the day .
And what did they have to say for themselves ?
That ’ s just a “ distraction ” at this point .
We ’ ve “ moved on.
” The two members of the Democratic ticket participated in a socially distanced interview on ABC that aired Sunday .
In the interview , both were pressed on Ms. Harris ’ s previous criticism of Mr. Biden ’ s record on busing .
That issue was the subject of one of the most dramatic moments on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a searing attack that also gave some of Mr. Biden ’ s allies pause about Ms. Harris during the vice-presidential search process .
A discussion of that issue now , Ms. Harris suggested , is “ a distraction from what we need to accomplish right now and what we need to do.
” Mr. Biden , for his part , stressed that both had moved on .
Kamala Harris is finding herself “ moving on ” from all sorts of things now and those topics cover a lot more territory than just some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Recall that she signed on to Bernie Sanders Medicare for All proposal .
Biden , conversely , wouldn ’ t endorse the elimination of private health insurance , preferring to build on and expand Obamacare .
So what did Harris have to say about that ?
She said ( and this is a direct quote ) , “ I signed on to that .
I signed on to a number of bills that were about great ideas to fix the problem.
” Hey , you guys .
I signed all sorts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this point , amirite ?
But now I ’ m 100 % onboard with Joe ’ s plan , whatever that might be .
There ’ s plenty more where that came from .
Perhaps one of the most explosive bits of their joint history has to do with the sexual assault allegations made against Biden by Tara Reade .
You may recall that Harris said on more than one occasion that she “ believed ” the women ( including Reade ) who had brought various accusations against Uncle Joe and wanted their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now she ’ s willing to serve as the second-in-command to someone she believes may be a serial sexual abuser ?
Reade hasn ’ t forgotten about it and she ’ s been coming after Harris demanding an explanation .
She ’ s getting some support from the entertainment industry , too .
Singer Meredith Brooks went directly after Harris on this score recently .
Okay , I ’ ll confess that I had to Google Meredith Brooks to find out who she is , but she ’ s apparently a pretty big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she ’ s not alone .
So will Harris be forced to address this issue anew as part of the general election parade ?
Don ’ t count on it .
As I said at the top , we ’ re in the season of voluntary amnesia now and the Democrats have to find a way to be one big , happy family if they hope to unseat Donald Trump .
Besides , what could Kamala Harris conceivably say about the Reade allegations at this point ?
Ya know , I supported all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abuse during the primary .
Who can even remember , amirite ?
But I ’ m sure that whatever Joe Biden may or may not have done in that dark hallway in Congress back then , well… I ’ m sure he had a good reason .

It’s a tradition that dates back further than I can remember, and that’s quite a while. The period following the naming of a presidential candidate’s running mate and the party’s convention is a magical time when the members of that party enter into a state of voluntary amnesia and beg the rest of the country to do the same. During the heat of the primary, many things are said, frequently including unpleasant, biting attacks on the eventual winner. But now that we’re officially into the general election season, that’s all water under the bridge, spilled milk or whichever other metaphor you’d care to embrace. Everyone is part of the same, big, happy team
That’s clearly the case with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris now. As the New York Times points out, Biden and Harris offered their first joint interview following the convention to ABC News on Sunday. To the network’s credit, both of the candidates were asked about Harris’ sharp attacks against Biden during the debates, focusing in particular on his record on school bussing back in the day. And what did they have to say for themselves? That’s just a “distraction” at this point. We’ve “moved on.”
The two members of the Democratic ticket participated in a socially distanced interview on ABC that aired Sunday. In the interview, both were pressed on Ms. Harris’s previous criticism of Mr. Biden’s record on busing. That issue was the subject of one of the most dramatic moments on the debate stage during the primary — a searing attack that also gave some of Mr. Biden’s allies pause about Ms. Harris during the vice-presidential search process. A discussion of that issue now, Ms. Harris suggested, is “a distraction from what we need to accomplish right now and what we need to do.” Mr. Biden, for his part, stressed that both had moved on.
Kamala Harris is finding herself “moving on” from all sorts of things now and those topics cover a lot more territory than just some ancient votes that Biden took on bussing. Recall that she signed on to Bernie Sanders Medicare for All proposal. Biden, conversely, wouldn’t endorse the elimination of private health insurance, preferring to build on and expand Obamacare. So what did Harris have to say about that? She said (and this is a direct quote), “I signed on to that. I signed on to a number of bills that were about great ideas to fix the problem.”
Hey, you guys. I signed all sorts of things. Who can even remember at this point, amirite? But now I’m 100% onboard with Joe’s plan, whatever that might be.
There’s plenty more where that came from. Perhaps one of the most explosive bits of their joint history has to do with the sexual assault allegations made against Biden by Tara Reade. You may recall that Harris said on more than one occasion that she “believed” the women (including Reade) who had brought various accusations against Uncle Joe and wanted their “voices to be heard.” But now she’s willing to serve as the second-in-command to someone she believes may be a serial sexual abuser?
Reade hasn’t forgotten about it and she’s been coming after Harris demanding an explanation. She’s getting some support from the entertainment industry, too. Singer Meredith Brooks went directly after Harris on this score recently.
I thought she believed #Tara @ReadeAlexandra So now it’s ok since he’s making her his running mate? Well that was easy! — MeredithBrooks (@MeredithBrooks) August 12, 2020
Okay, I’ll confess that I had to Google Meredith Brooks to find out who she is, but she’s apparently a pretty big deal in the music business. And she’s not alone.
So will Harris be forced to address this issue anew as part of the general election parade? Don’t count on it. As I said at the top, we’re in the season of voluntary amnesia now and the Democrats have to find a way to be one big, happy family if they hope to unseat Donald Trump. Besides, what could Kamala Harris conceivably say about the Reade allegations at this point?
Ya know, I supported all sorts of women who were victims of abuse during the primary. Who can even remember, amirite? But I’m sure that whatever Joe Biden may or may not have done in that dark hallway in Congress back then, well… I’m sure he had a good reason.


hotair--2020-08-24--Rumors abound: Is Kim Jong-un in a coma or not?

Here we go again .
Who is ready for a fresh round of speculation that North Korea ’ s lil ’ Rocketman , Kim Jong-un is in a coma ?
Tongues are wagging again thanks to Chang Song-min , the former aide to South Korea ’ s late president Kim Dae-jung , for some comments he made that were published Sunday .
“ I assess him to be in a coma , but his life has not ended , ” he told South Korean media .
The former aide added that the leader ’ s younger sister , Kim Yo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country .
“ A complete succession structure has not been formed , so Kim Yo-jong is being brought to the fore as the vacuum can not be maintained for a prolonged period , ” he said .
It is easy to believe that this is some standard propaganda coming from the Hermit Kindom , given the actions that have been reported over the past few days .
Lil ’ Kim likes to keep us guessing about the workings of his dictatorship .
North Korea is locked down so tight that the outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
Perhaps some information from North Korea was fed to Chang Song-min and he is using it to reach his conclusions .
On August 20 , Kim Jong-un delegated part of his authority to his close aides , including his younger sister Yo-jong , to have them oversee state affairs , according to South Korea ’ s spy agency .
The move is said to have been done to relieve stress on the North Korean dictator .
He ’ s still in charge , you see , but the transfer of power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have a plan in place and hasn ’ t named a successor should he die .
Kim Jong-un gave the majority of the delegated power to his little sis but not over the economy .
South Korean spies confirm that his 33-year-old sibling now serves as his “ de facto second-in-command.
” “ Currently , Kim Yo-jong , the first vice department director of the Workers ’ Party Central Committee , is steering overall state affairs based on the delegation , ” the National Intelligence Service was quoted as saying in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawmakers .
According to the NIS , Yo-jong has assumed the majority of the authority delegated by the national leader , but she is not the only one who has shared power with him .
Pak Pong-ju , vice chairman of the State Affairs Commission , and the new premier Kim Tok-hun have taken over power in controlling the economic sector , it added .
Kim Jong-un has only been seen a few times this year and rumors have circulated that he suffers from a botched heart operation .
On August 21 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to improve the country ’ s dismal economy haven ’ t succeeded .
His ruling party scheduled a rare congress in January to set development goals for the next five years .
It is highly unusual that Kim admitted economic failure .
The Workers ’ Party said North Korea ’ s economy has “ not improved in the face of the sustaining severe internal and external situations ” — a reference to a triple blow of U.S.-led sanctions , the coronavirus pandemic and devastating floods — and that development goals have been “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ living standard ( has ) not been improved remarkably.
” Kim announced his first five-year development plan with goals of improving North Korea ’ s power supply and agricultural and manufacturing production during the last Workers ’ Party congress in 2016 , its first in 36 years .
But at Wednesday ’ s meeting of the party ’ s decision-making Central Committee , Kim acknowledged economic “ shortcomings ” caused by “ unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects and the situation in the region surrounding the Korean Peninsula , ” the North @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported Thursday .
The South Korean agency , the National Intelligence Service , which has a mixed track record in reading developments in North Korea ’ s secretive ruling elite , held a closed-door meeting Thursday .
Lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said the agency assured them that Kim Jong-un is in good health and in charge .
Kim Byung-kee , another lawmaker who attended the briefing thinks North Korea ’ s foreign currency reserves are being depleted rapidly because of the coronavirus .
North Korea has experienced prolonged border controls under its anti-virus campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So , by Sunday , the rumor mill was in full swing .
To believe that Kim is in a coma , you ’ d have to believe that the dictator went from good health to a comatose state in a matter of a couple of days .
It ’ s possible but unlikely , given every time Kim Jong-un is reported to be on his death bed , it turns out to not be true .
It ’ s some kind of sick game he ’ s playing with the outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his confession about the poor economy , he vowed to keep the borders closed ( I thought the country was already sealed-up tight ) and said he ’ ll refuse any outside help .
Maybe he is having problems due to heart disease and he experienced a botched surgery .
We likely won ’ t know for a while , if ever , what is happening .
Back in April when his alleged heart surgery was first reported , Kim Jong-un was out of the public ’ s eye for several weeks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ factory .
His absence was never explained .

Here we go again. Who is ready for a fresh round of speculation that North Korea’s lil’ Rocketman, Kim Jong-un is in a coma? Tongues are wagging again thanks to Chang Song-min, the former aide to South Korea’s late president Kim Dae-jung, for some comments he made that were published Sunday.
“I assess him to be in a coma, but his life has not ended,” he told South Korean media. The former aide added that the leader’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, was poised to help lead the country. “A complete succession structure has not been formed, so Kim Yo-jong is being brought to the fore as the vacuum cannot be maintained for a prolonged period,” he said.
It is easy to believe that this is some standard propaganda coming from the Hermit Kindom, given the actions that have been reported over the past few days. Lil’ Kim likes to keep us guessing about the workings of his dictatorship. North Korea is locked down so tight that the outside world is in the dark about the country. Perhaps some information from North Korea was fed to Chang Song-min and he is using it to reach his conclusions.
On August 20, Kim Jong-un delegated part of his authority to his close aides, including his younger sister Yo-jong, to have them oversee state affairs, according to South Korea’s spy agency. The move is said to have been done to relieve stress on the North Korean dictator. He’s still in charge, you see, but the transfer of power is tricky. Kim Jong-un doesn’t have a plan in place and hasn’t named a successor should he die. Kim Jong-un gave the majority of the delegated power to his little sis but not over the economy. South Korean spies confirm that his 33-year-old sibling now serves as his “de facto second-in-command.”
“Currently, Kim Yo-jong, the first vice department director of the Workers’ Party Central Committee, is steering overall state affairs based on the delegation,” the National Intelligence Service was quoted as saying in a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly by lawmakers. According to the NIS, Yo-jong has assumed the majority of the authority delegated by the national leader, but she is not the only one who has shared power with him. Pak Pong-ju, vice chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and the new premier Kim Tok-hun have taken over power in controlling the economic sector, it added.
Kim Jong-un has only been seen a few times this year and rumors have circulated that he suffers from a botched heart operation. On August 21, a seemingly healthy Kim acknowledged his plans to improve the country’s dismal economy haven’t succeeded. His ruling party scheduled a rare congress in January to set development goals for the next five years. It is highly unusual that Kim admitted economic failure.
The Workers’ Party said North Korea’s economy has “not improved in the face of the sustaining severe internal and external situations” — a reference to a triple blow of U.S.-led sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and devastating floods — and that development goals have been “seriously delayed and the people’s living standard (has) not been improved remarkably.” Kim announced his first five-year development plan with goals of improving North Korea’s power supply and agricultural and manufacturing production during the last Workers’ Party congress in 2016, its first in 36 years. But at Wednesday’s meeting of the party’s decision-making Central Committee, Kim acknowledged economic “shortcomings” caused by “unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects and the situation in the region surrounding the Korean Peninsula,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday.
The South Korean agency, the National Intelligence Service, which has a mixed track record in reading developments in North Korea’s secretive ruling elite, held a closed-door meeting Thursday. Lawmaker Ha Tae-keung said the agency assured them that Kim Jong-un is in good health and in charge. Kim Byung-kee, another lawmaker who attended the briefing thinks North Korea’s foreign currency reserves are being depleted rapidly because of the coronavirus. North Korea has experienced prolonged border controls under its anti-virus campaign which has shutdown construction and other projects.
So, by Sunday, the rumor mill was in full swing. To believe that Kim is in a coma, you’d have to believe that the dictator went from good health to a comatose state in a matter of a couple of days. It’s possible but unlikely, given every time Kim Jong-un is reported to be on his death bed, it turns out to not be true. It’s some kind of sick game he’s playing with the outside world. At the time he delivered his confession about the poor economy, he vowed to keep the borders closed (I thought the country was already sealed-up tight) and said he’ll refuse any outside help.
Maybe he is having problems due to heart disease and he experienced a botched surgery. We likely won’t know for a while, if ever, what is happening. Back in April when his alleged heart surgery was first reported, Kim Jong-un was out of the public’s eye for several weeks, only to resurface to tour a fertilizer factory. His absence was never explained.


hotair--2020-08-25--German hospital has a different take on Navalny poisoning

The last time we checked in on Russian dissident Alexei Navalny , he had finally been transferred from a hospital in Siberia to Berlin ’ s Charite hospital at the request of his family .
While he was still in a coma , the German doctors were hopeful that he could remain in stable condition .
The Russians continued to insist that their tests showed no signs of any poisoning , suggesting that the outspoken Putin critic may have been suffering from hypoglycemia .
The Germans refused to comment until a full battery of tests could be conducted .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Putin isn ’ t going to like the results .
Far from writing this off as an episode of low blood sugar , the German doctors have concluded that Navalny ’ s system contains some unspecified cholinesterase inhibitors .
These point to poisoning , but an antidote is available and is being given to the patient .
( Associated Press ) Tests conducted on Russian dissident Alexei Navalny at a German hospital indicate that he was poisoned , but doctors said Monday he was being treated with an antidote and his life was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital said in a statement that the team of doctors who have been examining Navalny since he was flown from Siberia and admitted Saturday have found indications of “ cholinesterase inhibitors ” in his system .
Chancellor Angela Merkel , who had personally offered Germany ’ s assistance in treating Navalny before he was brought to Berlin , said in view of the findings and his “ prominent role in the political opposition in Russia , authorities there are now called upon urgently to investigate this crime in detail and in full transparency.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and held accountable , ” Merkel said .
I ’ ll confess that I ’ d never heard of cholinesterase inhibitors before .
Upon looking it up , I found that the chemical can “ prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine or butyrylcholine.
” ( I didn ’ t get much further than that because my eyes were glazing over . )
This compound is apparently most commonly found in certain pesticides and nerve agents .
But it ’ s also been used in clinical trials of drugs intended to treat dementia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rather young to be in treatment for dementia , but what else would result in this sort of diagnosis ?
I suppose it ’ s at least hypothetically possible that someone was spraying weedkiller near the airport .
The AP reports that there are thousands of cases of cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning every year , primarily seen in people using pesticides .
But if that were the case there should have been a lot of people dropping like flies .
Far more likely is the idea that a concentrated dose of the compound was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the airport .
Given the KGB ’ s highly successful history in poisoning people , the idea doesn ’ t seem like that much of a stretch , does it ?
For the time being , the Germans aren ’ t taking any chances .
They have stationed federal agents and municipal police at the hospital and are standing guard over Navalny ’ s room .
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already called on Russia to open an investigation into this matter as a possible assassination attempt , but as of this morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet to take any action .
Is anyone really surprised ?
Navalny isn ’ t out of the woods yet .
While listed as being in stable condition , he ’ s still in a coma .
And the doctors said they have prepared his family for the possibility that he could suffer long-term neurological damage even if he survives .
If we choose to assume that the Kremlin is behind this , Putin may have already succeeded in his goals by simply removing Navalny from the political field of play for the @ @ @

The last time we checked in on Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, he had finally been transferred from a hospital in Siberia to Berlin’s Charite hospital at the request of his family. While he was still in a coma, the German doctors were hopeful that he could remain in stable condition. The Russians continued to insist that their tests showed no signs of any poisoning, suggesting that the outspoken Putin critic may have been suffering from hypoglycemia. The Germans refused to comment until a full battery of tests could be conducted.
That work is now apparently finished and Vladimir Putin isn’t going to like the results. Far from writing this off as an episode of low blood sugar, the German doctors have concluded that Navalny’s system contains some unspecified cholinesterase inhibitors. These point to poisoning, but an antidote is available and is being given to the patient. (Associated Press)
Tests conducted on Russian dissident Alexei Navalny at a German hospital indicate that he was poisoned, but doctors said Monday he was being treated with an antidote and his life was not in immediate danger. The Charité hospital said in a statement that the team of doctors who have been examining Navalny since he was flown from Siberia and admitted Saturday have found indications of “cholinesterase inhibitors” in his system. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had personally offered Germany’s assistance in treating Navalny before he was brought to Berlin, said in view of the findings and his “prominent role in the political opposition in Russia, authorities there are now called upon urgently to investigate this crime in detail and in full transparency.” “Those responsible must be identified and held accountable,” Merkel said.
I’ll confess that I’d never heard of cholinesterase inhibitors before. Upon looking it up, I found that the chemical can “prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitters acetylcholine or butyrylcholine.” (I didn’t get much further than that because my eyes were glazing over.) This compound is apparently most commonly found in certain pesticides and nerve agents. But it’s also been used in clinical trials of drugs intended to treat dementia and Alzheimer’s. Navalny seems rather young to be in treatment for dementia, but what else would result in this sort of diagnosis?
I suppose it’s at least hypothetically possible that someone was spraying weedkiller near the airport. The AP reports that there are thousands of cases of cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning every year, primarily seen in people using pesticides. But if that were the case there should have been a lot of people dropping like flies. Far more likely is the idea that a concentrated dose of the compound was slipped into Navalny’s tea at the airport. Given the KGB’s highly successful history in poisoning people, the idea doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch, does it?
For the time being, the Germans aren’t taking any chances. They have stationed federal agents and municipal police at the hospital and are standing guard over Navalny’s room. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already called on Russia to open an investigation into this matter as a possible assassination attempt, but as of this morning, Russia’s Investigative Committee has yet to take any action. Is anyone really surprised?
Navalny isn’t out of the woods yet. While listed as being in stable condition, he’s still in a coma. And the doctors said they have prepared his family for the possibility that he could suffer long-term neurological damage even if he survives. If we choose to assume that the Kremlin is behind this, Putin may have already succeeded in his goals by simply removing Navalny from the political field of play for the foreseeable future.


hotair--2020-08-27--Various Bush, McCain '08, Romney '12 staffers say they're ... backing Biden

Not exactly a Muppet news flash here , but still worth noting .
Politico has snippets from open letters drafted by Bush and Romney alumni but this taste from Mark Salter ’ s op-ed in WaPo about Biden ’ s support among McCain staffers captures the general vibe well enough .
Salter was McCain ’ s right-hand man , chief speechwriter , and co-author for years .
President Trump ’ s inept leadership of the federal government ’ s response to the covid-19 pandemic has cost many more lives than it should have .
His divisive rhetoric and enmity toward @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political and social divisions at a time when Americans should be uniting to confront the serious challenges that threaten all of us .
His disinterest in American values , his tolerance for despots and his hostility to allies leave us uniquely vulnerable while our adversaries take every advantage of absent American leadership .
Last , it has become increasingly clear that Trump ’ s personal qualities — his lack of self-control , his chronic dishonesty , his inattention to his duties and his self-obsession — render him temperamentally unfit for the White House… @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s long history of seeking bipartisan solutions to serious national problems .
We are confident he will fulfill his promise to be a president for all Americans and act in what he believes are the best interests of us all .
We believe he will seek to temper the political polarization that impairs our government , not aggravate it , and try to repair the divisions besetting our society , be they racial , economic or political , not intentionally worsen them .
We trust that as president , Biden will take seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in addressing the worst public health crisis in a century , and not shift his responsibilities or the blame for his failures to others .
And while some of us might find fault with the foreign and defense policies a Biden administration would implement , we are confident that a President Biden would endeavor to act in accord with U.S. interests and ideals , and confront rather than acquiesce to threats to them — a confidence we do not have in the incumbent president .
Among populists and their media organs , what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be than the contempt of the Republican establishmentarians whose reign he overthrew ( and whose nominees they all passionately supported ) ?
This sums it up well : They ’ re not “ centrist Dems ” but it ’ s certainly true that they ’ re more comfortable with centrist Dems than they are with nationalist populists .
Partly that ’ s ideological , partly it ’ s a function of class and education , or at least the stereotypes about class and education that color perceptions of the two parties in 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ class resentments , some of them honestly believe Trump is temperamentally , intellectually , and morally unfit for office and will only become more so once he no longer has to worry about facing voters again .
Handing a second term to someone who already flaunts his impunity , who palpably cares little for American civic traditions , and who ’ s buffered by a personality cult willing to tell him that his every fart smells like roses , is arguably more of a risk to the country than having Biden falling asleep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Although I ’ ll grant you : A dark part of me does want to see how Trump would operate once he ’ s in a position where he can stage a Lafayette Park stunt every day and not have to care even a little about the reaction .
I just don ’ t want to see it until after I ’ ve arrived safely in Toronto .
It ’ s fair to read Salter ’ s piece and wonder , “ Who is this supposed to influence , exactly ?
” I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will obviously react much more strongly to it than swing voters .
I think the idea is to keep nudging the same people John Kasich was trying to nudge with his appearance at the Democratic convention , the wary Republicans who held their noses for Trump in 2016 and the suburbanites who ’ ve drifted away from him but might be thinking of drifting back as riots erupt in major cities .
It ’ s a form of reassurance that they ’ re not committing treason or whatever by supporting Biden over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to vote for Biden because of what Mark Salter thinks , but if they hear from a dozen different Republicans that Biden ’ s their guy this year , it might make them more comfortable with their inclination to vote for Biden too .
Salter ’ s just trying to be one of those dozen Republicans .
The revolt of the RINO staffers isn ’ t even the most enjoyable story today about Republican influencers breaking ranks with Trump .
That would be this one , about the business class ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over whether to switch to Biden this year .
If , like me , you ’ ve ever cursed the Chamber of Commerce for their support of lax immigration policies , this ’ ll make your day .
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is poised to endorse nearly two dozen freshmen House Democrats for reelection , triggering a revolt within the right-leaning organization and drawing fierce pushback from the group ’ s powerful GOP donors… [ T ] he group ’ s donors and members are up in arms , with some threatening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their frustration .
Some are raising the prospect that Chamber board members will quit in the weeks to come .
There is particular concern the Democrats in question do not have the pro-business record an endorsement would convey .
State Chamber of Oklahoma President Chad Warmington wrote a letter Tuesday to national Chamber leaders fervently opposing the proposal to back Rep. Kendra Horn , perhaps the most vulnerable House Democrat in the country .
“ Several of the Democratic lawmakers the Chamber is planning to endorse support a $ 15 minimum wage , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world fiercely oppose , ” Politico adds .
Hoo boy .
I can understand why an average joe might prefer a Democrat this year on balance , but it ’ s harder to understand why a single-issue pro-business lobbyist group might .
Is the idea to scare Republicans in Congress into taking the Chamber ’ s agenda more seriously lest the group start spreading cash around to the party ?
Or has Trump ’ s trade war actually alienated the Chamber to the point where they think Democrats are likely to be better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you ’ re hungry for cheap illegal labor from Mexico , you ’ re certainly more likely to get what you want from Team Blue than from a post-Trump populist GOP .
The amnesty lobby was always a liberal lobby at heart .
I ’ ll leave you with Elizabeth Neumann , who worked for Trump at DHS , explaining why she ’ s voting Biden .
Maybe it matters at the margins , maybe it doesn ’ t , but it ’ s worth noting that this clip has four million @ @ @ @ @

Not exactly a Muppet news flash here, but still worth noting.
Politico has snippets from open letters drafted by Bush and Romney alumni but this taste from Mark Salter’s op-ed in WaPo about Biden’s support among McCain staffers captures the general vibe well enough. Salter was McCain’s right-hand man, chief speechwriter, and co-author for years.
President Trump’s inept leadership of the federal government’s response to the covid-19 pandemic has cost many more lives than it should have. His divisive rhetoric and enmity toward those he perceives as adversaries have exacerbated political and social divisions at a time when Americans should be uniting to confront the serious challenges that threaten all of us. His disinterest in American values, his tolerance for despots and his hostility to allies leave us uniquely vulnerable while our adversaries take every advantage of absent American leadership. Last, it has become increasingly clear that Trump’s personal qualities — his lack of self-control, his chronic dishonesty, his inattention to his duties and his self-obsession — render him temperamentally unfit for the White House… We are … encouraged by Biden’s long history of seeking bipartisan solutions to serious national problems. We are confident he will fulfill his promise to be a president for all Americans and act in what he believes are the best interests of us all. We believe he will seek to temper the political polarization that impairs our government, not aggravate it, and try to repair the divisions besetting our society, be they racial, economic or political, not intentionally worsen them. We trust that as president, Biden will take seriously the federal government’s primary role in addressing the worst public health crisis in a century, and not shift his responsibilities or the blame for his failures to others. And while some of us might find fault with the foreign and defense policies a Biden administration would implement, we are confident that a President Biden would endeavor to act in accord with U.S. interests and ideals, and confront rather than acquiesce to threats to them — a confidence we do not have in the incumbent president.
Among populists and their media organs, what more ringing endorsement of Trump could there be than the contempt of the Republican establishmentarians whose reign he overthrew (and whose nominees they all passionately supported)? This sums it up well:
Bushies and Romney-McCainiacs voting Biden prove the GOP base's point: That they're actually Centrist Dems who are more interested in keeping the media and those to their Left happy than the people who actually vote for them. Which is why, when elected, they ignore their voters. — Melissa Mackenzie (@MelissaTweets) August 27, 2020
They’re not “centrist Dems” but it’s certainly true that they’re more comfortable with centrist Dems than they are with nationalist populists. Partly that’s ideological, partly it’s a function of class and education, or at least the stereotypes about class and education that color perceptions of the two parties in 2020.
But maybe, beyond ideology and class resentments, some of them honestly believe Trump is temperamentally, intellectually, and morally unfit for office and will only become more so once he no longer has to worry about facing voters again. Handing a second term to someone who already flaunts his impunity, who palpably cares little for American civic traditions, and who’s buffered by a personality cult willing to tell him that his every fart smells like roses, is arguably more of a risk to the country than having Biden falling asleep at the Resolute Desk every day.
Although I’ll grant you: A dark part of me does want to see how Trump would operate once he’s in a position where he can stage a Lafayette Park stunt every day and not have to care even a little about the reaction. I just don’t want to see it until after I’ve arrived safely in Toronto.
It’s fair to read Salter’s piece and wonder, “Who is this supposed to influence, exactly?” I’m not sure myself. Trumpers will obviously react much more strongly to it than swing voters. I think the idea is to keep nudging the same people John Kasich was trying to nudge with his appearance at the Democratic convention, the wary Republicans who held their noses for Trump in 2016 and the suburbanites who’ve drifted away from him but might be thinking of drifting back as riots erupt in major cities. It’s a form of reassurance that they’re not committing treason or whatever by supporting Biden over the GOP nominee. No one’s going to vote for Biden because of what Mark Salter thinks, but if they hear from a dozen different Republicans that Biden’s their guy this year, it might make them more comfortable with their inclination to vote for Biden too. Salter’s just trying to be one of those dozen Republicans.
The revolt of the RINO staffers isn’t even the most enjoyable story today about Republican influencers breaking ranks with Trump. That would be this one, about the business class’s favorite lobbyist group erupting into civil war over whether to switch to Biden this year. If, like me, you’ve ever cursed the Chamber of Commerce for their support of lax immigration policies, this’ll make your day.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is poised to endorse nearly two dozen freshmen House Democrats for reelection, triggering a revolt within the right-leaning organization and drawing fierce pushback from the group’s powerful GOP donors… [T]he group’s donors and members are up in arms, with some threatening to pull funding and others openly venting their frustration. Some are raising the prospect that Chamber board members will quit in the weeks to come. There is particular concern the Democrats in question do not have the pro-business record an endorsement would convey. State Chamber of Oklahoma President Chad Warmington wrote a letter Tuesday to national Chamber leaders fervently opposing the proposal to back Rep. Kendra Horn, perhaps the most vulnerable House Democrat in the country.
“Several of the Democratic lawmakers the Chamber is planning to endorse support a $15 minimum wage, a policy that many in the business world fiercely oppose,” Politico adds. Hoo boy. I can understand why an average joe might prefer a Democrat this year on balance, but it’s harder to understand why a single-issue pro-business lobbyist group might. Is the idea to scare Republicans in Congress into taking the Chamber’s agenda more seriously lest the group start spreading cash around to the party?
Or has Trump’s trade war actually alienated the Chamber to the point where they think Democrats are likely to be better for their bottom line going forward? If you’re hungry for cheap illegal labor from Mexico, you’re certainly more likely to get what you want from Team Blue than from a post-Trump populist GOP. The amnesty lobby was always a liberal lobby at heart.
I’ll leave you with Elizabeth Neumann, who worked for Trump at DHS, explaining why she’s voting Biden. Maybe it matters at the margins, maybe it doesn’t, but it’s worth noting that this clip has four million views in 24 hours.


hotair--2020-08-27--<span class='red'>GOP convention, night four: Rudy, Ivanka, Tom Cotton, and Trump, Trump, and more T

GOP convention, night four: Rudy, Ivanka, Tom Cotton, and Trump, Trump, and more Trump

Here ’ s the live feed for those watching on their computers .
Read on .
Tonight ’ s the big one , when the presidential mansion gets turned into the partisan campaign prop the Founders always dreamed it would be : Anyway .
Last night ’ s TV ratings were a surprise , and not in a way that ’ ll please the president .
Democrats won the ratings battle on nights one and two as well , but more narrowly .
On night one it was 19.7 million viewers for them versus 17 million for Republicans , although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Michelle Obama speaking in primetime .
Night two was closer , with Dems drawing 18.6 million to Republicans ’ 18 million .
Presumably a rare speech from Melania Trump brought some casual viewers in .
Last night … the bottom seems to have fallen out .
It was a tough match-up for the GOP , with low-energy Mike Pence pitted against not just Obama but Kamala Harris ’ s introduction to the country .
Things should turn around tonight , as Trump ’ s a much bigger draw than Biden .
For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Short of losing the election , nothing would demoralize the president like losing a ratings war to the ultimate generic Democrat .
This evening ’ s other speakers include Rudy Giuliani , Ivanka Trump , and Tom Cotton .
Why Ivanka on night four instead of Don Jr , you ask ?
Good question .
He ’ s the one who ’ s popular with Trump ’ s base , after all , and he ’ s the one capable of delivering a crowd-pleasing stemwinder .
To the extent the answer is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the favorite child , ” it ’ s probably a play for suburban voters .
The entire convention has been aimed at softening Trump ’ s image insofar as it can still be softened , replete with testimonials from Kellyanne Conway and Kayleigh McEnany about what a caring person he is .
There was even an honest-to-goodness uplifting naturalization ceremony .
Republicans are throwing everything they can think of at suburban voters , especially women , to get them to warm up to him .
Having the president ’ s moderate-Democrat daughter paint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he is serves that goal .
Why Tom Cotton instead of ( or in addition to ) Ted Cruz , you ask ?
Another good question .
To my great amusement , it looks like Cruz ’ s invite to the convention was lost in the mail this year : “ They didn ’ t ask me to participate , ” Mr. Cruz said in a phone interview from his home in Houston .
“ So , I ’ m not on the speakers ’ roster.
” … Asked in the interview to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s re-election on the spot , Mr. Cruz cited the “ remarkable policy successes ” of the last four years , paused for 12 seconds , then set off on an auditorium-ready , fully-composed celebration of tax cuts , deregulation and the “ historic economic boom ” that preceded the coronavirus .
Asked if Mr. Trump was making this argument effectively , the senator ruled : “ Sometimes.
” ( Mr. Cruz made clear that he “ would have been happy to ” step to a microphone this week , if invited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he famously declined to endorse Trump during his 2016 convention speech ?
It ’ s hard to believe Trump would still carry that grudge after all the time Cruz spent kissing his ass over the past four years .
He insulted the guy ’ s wife , he all but accused his father of conspiring in the Kennedy assassination , and this pitiful schlub still ended up being a loyal soldier for him .
Cruz has appeared at rallies with Trump in Texas since then .
Why wouldn ’ t Trump want him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show off how his loyal servant has now come around to endorsing him four years later ?
My pet theory , based on no evidence whatsoever , is that Cotton called in a favor from Trump by getting him to keep Cruz and Josh Hawley away from the convention .
They ’ re his main competition in the populist lane of the 2024 primaries , after all .
“ Remember how I backed you up after Lafayette Park , defending the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act ?
Well , there ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” As for why Giuliani ’ s speaking tonight , alas , no one knows the answer to that except Trump himself .
It ’ s probably as simple as sheer loyalty to one of his most devoted cronies .
Rudy clearly made a decision at some point in 2016 to go all-in on Trump because he saw it as his ticket back to political relevance .
Whether that meant lawyering for him ( badly ) on Russiagate or digging up dirt ( badly ) on the Bidens in Ukraine , he did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump could do as thanks is to give him a taste of that relevance he craves by putting him in front of a mic on night four .
If Biden goes on to win this fall , this may be the country ’ s last meaningful encounter with a man who , many lifetimes ago , was once a national hero .
Here ’ s live Twitter commentary during the proceedings .
The thread is open for comments .
Exit question : Why have we ended up with so many pre-taped Republican speeches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chance that something can go wrong live , but it seems so un-Trump-like .
( He actually mocked Democrats last week for using pre-taped speeches . )
And it deprived the GOP of fully leveraging the riots in Kenosha by reworking the evening ’ s speeches to include references to them .

Here’s the live feed for those watching on their computers. Read on.
Tonight’s the big one, when the presidential mansion gets turned into the partisan campaign prop the Founders always dreamed it would be:
This is some un-American shit right here. pic.twitter.com/pBIYKGLVX4 — Tim Miller (@Timodc) August 27, 2020
Anyway. Last night’s TV ratings were a surprise, and not in a way that’ll please the president.
Overnight ratings for night three of the conventions. Six networks combined, 10-11p ET: Democratic – 16.2
Republican – 10.5 In a matchup of VP nominees, Harris outrated Pence by +54% in America’s biggest markets. — Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) August 27, 2020
Democrats won the ratings battle on nights one and two as well, but more narrowly. On night one it was 19.7 million viewers for them versus 17 million for Republicans, although Dems had the advantage of Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama speaking in primetime. Night two was closer, with Dems drawing 18.6 million to Republicans’ 18 million. Presumably a rare speech from Melania Trump brought some casual viewers in. Last night … the bottom seems to have fallen out. It was a tough match-up for the GOP, with low-energy Mike Pence pitted against not just Obama but Kamala Harris’s introduction to the country.
Things should turn around tonight, as Trump’s a much bigger draw than Biden. For his sake, I hope they do: Short of losing the election, nothing would demoralize the president like losing a ratings war to the ultimate generic Democrat.
This evening’s other speakers include Rudy Giuliani, Ivanka Trump, and Tom Cotton. Why Ivanka on night four instead of Don Jr, you ask? Good question. He’s the one who’s popular with Trump’s base, after all, and he’s the one capable of delivering a crowd-pleasing stemwinder. To the extent the answer is more complicated than “Because Ivanka is the favorite child,” it’s probably a play for suburban voters. The entire convention has been aimed at softening Trump’s image insofar as it can still be softened, replete with testimonials from Kellyanne Conway and Kayleigh McEnany about what a caring person he is. There was even an honest-to-goodness uplifting naturalization ceremony. Republicans are throwing everything they can think of at suburban voters, especially women, to get them to warm up to him. Having the president’s moderate-Democrat daughter paint a portrait of what a loving dad he is serves that goal.
Why Tom Cotton instead of (or in addition to) Ted Cruz, you ask? Another good question. To my great amusement, it looks like Cruz’s invite to the convention was lost in the mail this year:
“They didn’t ask me to participate,” Mr. Cruz said in a phone interview from his home in Houston. “So, I’m not on the speakers’ roster.”… Asked in the interview to make a convention-style case for Mr. Trump’s re-election on the spot, Mr. Cruz cited the “remarkable policy successes” of the last four years, paused for 12 seconds, then set off on an auditorium-ready, fully-composed celebration of tax cuts, deregulation and the “historic economic boom” that preceded the coronavirus. Asked if Mr. Trump was making this argument effectively, the senator ruled: “Sometimes.” (Mr. Cruz made clear that he “would have been happy to” step to a microphone this week, if invited.)
Did Cruz get stiffed because he famously declined to endorse Trump during his 2016 convention speech? It’s hard to believe Trump would still carry that grudge after all the time Cruz spent kissing his ass over the past four years. He insulted the guy’s wife, he all but accused his father of conspiring in the Kennedy assassination, and this pitiful schlub still ended up being a loyal soldier for him. Cruz has appeared at rallies with Trump in Texas since then. Why wouldn’t Trump want him at the convention, if only to show off how his loyal servant has now come around to endorsing him four years later?
My pet theory, based on no evidence whatsoever, is that Cotton called in a favor from Trump by getting him to keep Cruz and Josh Hawley away from the convention. They’re his main competition in the populist lane of the 2024 primaries, after all. “Remember how I backed you up after Lafayette Park, defending the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act? Well, there’s something I’d like in return…”
As for why Giuliani’s speaking tonight, alas, no one knows the answer to that except Trump himself. It’s probably as simple as sheer loyalty to one of his most devoted cronies. Rudy clearly made a decision at some point in 2016 to go all-in on Trump because he saw it as his ticket back to political relevance. Whether that meant lawyering for him (badly) on Russiagate or digging up dirt (badly) on the Bidens in Ukraine, he did what he was asked. The least Trump could do as thanks is to give him a taste of that relevance he craves by putting him in front of a mic on night four. If Biden goes on to win this fall, this may be the country’s last meaningful encounter with a man who, many lifetimes ago, was once a national hero.
Here’s live Twitter commentary during the proceedings. The thread is open for comments. Exit question: Why have we ended up with so many pre-taped Republican speeches this week? Sure, that eliminates the chance that something can go wrong live, but it seems so un-Trump-like. (He actually mocked Democrats last week for using pre-taped speeches.) And it deprived the GOP of fully leveraging the riots in Kenosha by reworking the evening’s speeches to include references to them.
A Twitter List by allahpundit


hotair--2020-08-27--University of Arizona used wastewater testing to stop a possible coronavirus outbreak in one of its

University of Arizona used wastewater testing to stop a possible coronavirus outbreak in one of its dorms

There ’ s an entertaining thread about this on Twitter , which is where I heard about it .
This goes into a bit more detail : It seems like the key to making this work is first that the scale has to be fairly small .
It seems like a smart way to deal with possible outbreaks on college campuses where you can isolate individual dorms .
Would it work at a high school ?
You could test the wastewater coming from the entire school but if it ’ s a school of 3,000 that really doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it obviously wouldn ’ t help much to test the water at a waste treatement plant in a city of 100,000 because that doesn ’ t tell you anything about who has it .
You ’ d really need to do this building by building or at least block by block to make it worthwhile .
I can ’ t imagine how many people you ’ d need to try this in Los Angeles or San Francisco .
On the plus side , this is actually preventative .
It ’ s certainly not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be enough to make it politically palatable .

Dr. Robbins said those individuals are now in isolation, and they are conducting contact tracing. He said wastewater collected from the other dorms showed no traces of COVID-19.
There’s an entertaining thread about this on Twitter, which is where I heard about it. This goes into a bit more detail:
Some big news out of the University of Arizona (@uarizona): UA scientists & staff found a coronavirus outbreak on campus *before it happened* — and seem to have snuffed it out. How in the world do you do that? You use wastewater testing. — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
3/ As campus reopened, Arizona set up a system to test the wastewater leaving about 20 buildings on campus, including all the dorms that are occupied. Early work in Europe in the spring showed that people infected with coronavirus shed it into their stool very early. — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
5/ Those 2 Arizona undergrads are in isolation at UA's isolation dorm now (& their contacts being traced). The other 309 residents of Likins: Back to covid-life-on-campus. Mind you, all 311 of those residents had already been tested once, on arrival, and come up negative. — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
7/ Those two students would have wandered their dorm, asymptomatic, likely infecting their fellow students unknowingly. Then instead of 2 students in Likins being infected, you might have had 10. Those students would have been out and about on campus, and in Tucson. — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
9/ But wastewater testing is a reasonable surrogate. In Europe, it caught infections a week before anyone showed symptoms. In practice, at UArizona, that's exactly what happened: A dorm outbreak, detected, isolated, stopped in its tracks. This is how you do it. — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
11/ Wastewater testing is not common at all — here in the US, or anywhere else. It requires a consistent population (you wouldn't want to wastewater test a restaurant or a movie theater), it requires access to the pipes, & an understanding of the plumbing. — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
13/ Lots of *cities* don't have much in the way of quick-test ability on demand. But this is how it's done. This is how you find people who might get sick, isolate them, and get back to work. Imagine using wastewater testing at high schools, for instance, or workplaces. — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
15/ UArizona's most recent testing data: Total tests since reopening:
• 10,126 tests
–>46 positive Wednesday, 8/26 testing:
• 770 tests
–> 9 positive Note that yesterday's results are a small warning. Overall positive rate: 0.5%
Yesterday's positive rate: 1.2% — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
17/ But UArizona's wastewater testing is a smart, invaluable technique. Let's hope other colleges and universities, and lots of other organizations, jump in and put it to use as well. # — (((Charles Fishman))) (@cfishman) August 27, 2020
It seems like the key to making this work is first that the scale has to be fairly small. It seems like a smart way to deal with possible outbreaks on college campuses where you can isolate individual dorms. Would it work at a high school? You could test the wastewater coming from the entire school but if it’s a school of 3,000 that really doesn’t narrow things down very much.
And it obviously wouldn’t help much to test the water at a waste treatement plant in a city of 100,000 because that doesn’t tell you anything about who has it. You’d really need to do this building by building or at least block by block to make it worthwhile. I can’t imagine how many people you’d need to try this in Los Angeles or San Francisco.
On the plus side, this is actually preventative. It’s certainly not glamorous but if it works maybe that would be enough to make it politically palatable.


hotair--2020-08-27--Politico, Washington Post: The Trump administration is seizing on the unrest in Kenosha (Update)

The national media is always obsessed with one side of the aisle seizing on current events .
It never seems to occur to them that people have caught on to this partisan framing of issues as a way to avoid legitimate questions .
Anyway , here ’ s the opening of a story Politico published this afternoon : Trump administration officials on Thursday seized on the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake and the resulting unrest to argue that Democrats are encouraging lawlessness , leading Joe Biden to accuse the president of cravenly exploiting a national tragedy .
Top Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adjacent to peaceful protests over racial injustice would crystallize voters behind Trump ’ s “ law and order ” agenda .
Democrats , the president ’ s team contested , have failed for decades to address the issues that have roiled the country all summer .
Are the Republicans making the argument that Democrats aren ’ t doing a great job controlling the chaos that has at times has overwhelmed cities this summer ?
Yes , they definitely are doing that and here ’ s the reason : It ’ s true .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Portland , to Seattle ’ s mayor comparing CHAZ/CHOP to a block party until people are killed , to Chicago ’ s historic weekends of violence and looting , to the looting in New York , to the increase in violent crime and the rapid resignations of police officers , right up to the chaos in Kenosha this week—it ’ s really not that hard to make a case that left-wing mayors aren ’ t looking especially capable of dealing with this moment .
Listen , I ’ m aware that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made .
Mayor Durkan has blamed Seattle ’ s city council for some of the problems .
Mayor Lightfoot has blamed Cook County prosecutor Kim Foxx .
And nearly everyone has blamed President Trump at some point .
There ’ s plenty of blame to go around at this point and that ’ s really what has people worried .
As the NY Times pointed out today , some people in Kenosha are looking around and thinking maybe President Trump could do a better job than their Democratic mayor or governor .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bejeesus out of Democrats .
And it ’ s why people like CNN ’ s Don Lemon and Jonathan Chait are issuing public warnings : The underlying assumption , and I think it ’ s a correct one , is that BLM riots hurt Democrats .
That ’ s a message the party does not want to hear right now .
In fact , just a couple of months ago , a progressive data researcher was cancelled for saying almost exactly that .
And they still don ’ t want to hear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hear it at all is as dark machinations of people with bad intent .
Hence , another winner by the Washington Post ’ s Philip Bump today making the argument : What Conway said here isn ’ t a plot .
She ’ s saying that Democrats know the chaos is wearing thin on people and as it becomes a bigger issue , they ’ ll turn to the person seen as most likely to confront it .
What Bump takes from this is that Trump wants chaos .
But what Conway is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chaos and Democrats know it is hurting them .
Again , that ’ s what Chait said above and that ’ s what that NY Times story said today as well .
Conway is right about the dynamic .
So , yes , Trump ’ s campaign is arguing he and his party could do a better job restoring order which is currently lacking in many places .
Like Philip Bump , Joe Biden is unfairly framing this as Trump rooting for violence : Later in the same MSNBC interview , Biden said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the daily death toll .
Wait a minute , is Biden rooting for people to die from the virus because he ’ s highlighting the death toll ?
Are Democrats hoping the vaccines won ’ t get here until after November ?
That ’ s really the same exact argument Biden is making above , i.e .
Trump wants cities to burn so he can run on the issue .
But don ’ t hold your breath waiting for Philip Bump to write a piece taking that claim seriously .
I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seizing on the issues at hand while simultaneously accusing the other side of seizing on other issues with bad intent ( which coincidentally aren ’ t as good for them politically ) .
But it sure feels like the national media represents one side of that argument a lot more often than the other .
Update : I missed this earlier but Politico also published a piece today warning that the riots might hurt Democrats .
This went up about 2 hours before the ‘ Republicans are seizing ’ story : As this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some Democrats fear that the looting and rioting and clashes are feeding Trump ’ s argument that this is what life would be like under the so-called radical left .
The worry is that especially among suburban swing voters , the more upheaval and violence they witness , the more their sympathy for peaceful Black Lives Matters protesters will wane .
“ There ’ s no doubt it ’ s playing into Trump ’ s hands , ” said Paul Soglin , who served as mayor of Madison , on and off , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There ’ s a significant number of undecided voters who are not ideological , and they can move very easily from Republican to the Democratic column and back again.They are , in effect , the people who decide elections .
And they are very distraught about both the horrendous carnage created by police officers in murdering African Americans , and … for the safety of their communities.
” All of which reinforces my point about people raising an alarm because they ’ re worried .
And that ’ s why many in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ‘ dastardly Republicans seize ’ story , because they know this could hurt Dems and they want to blunt that impact if they can .

The national media is always obsessed with one side of the aisle seizing on current events. It never seems to occur to them that people have caught on to this partisan framing of issues as a way to avoid legitimate questions. Anyway, here’s the opening of a story Politico published this afternoon:
Trump administration officials on Thursday seized on the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake and the resulting unrest to argue that Democrats are encouraging lawlessness, leading Joe Biden to accuse the president of cravenly exploiting a national tragedy. Top Trump advisers argued rioting that has sprung up adjacent to peaceful protests over racial injustice would crystallize voters behind Trump’s “law and order” agenda. Democrats, the president’s team contested, have failed for decades to address the issues that have roiled the country all summer.
Are the Republicans making the argument that Democrats aren’t doing a great job controlling the chaos that has at times has overwhelmed cities this summer? Yes, they definitely are doing that and here’s the reason: It’s true.
From three straight months of nightly protests/riots in Portland, to Seattle’s mayor comparing CHAZ/CHOP to a block party until people are killed, to Chicago’s historic weekends of violence and looting, to the looting in New York, to the increase in violent crime and the rapid resignations of police officers, right up to the chaos in Kenosha this week—it’s really not that hard to make a case that left-wing mayors aren’t looking especially capable of dealing with this moment.
Listen, I’m aware that there are all sorts of counter-arguments to be made. Mayor Durkan has blamed Seattle’s city council for some of the problems. Mayor Lightfoot has blamed Cook County prosecutor Kim Foxx. And nearly everyone has blamed President Trump at some point.
There’s plenty of blame to go around at this point and that’s really what has people worried. As the NY Times pointed out today, some people in Kenosha are looking around and thinking maybe President Trump could do a better job than their Democratic mayor or governor. And frankly, I think that is scaring the bejeesus out of Democrats. And it’s why people like CNN’s Don Lemon and Jonathan Chait are issuing public warnings:
Democrats need to be extremely concerned about what's happening in Wisconsin, where support for BLM has gone from +25 to +0 in 2 months. https://t.co/2wNMWoW6it — Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) August 27, 2020
The underlying assumption, and I think it’s a correct one, is that BLM riots hurt Democrats. That’s a message the party does not want to hear right now. In fact, just a couple of months ago, a progressive data researcher was cancelled for saying almost exactly that. And they still don’t want to hear it. The only way they can hear it at all is as dark machinations of people with bad intent. Hence, another winner by the Washington Post’s Philip Bump today making the argument:
“There was a quote today from a restaurateur in Wisconsin, saying, ‘Are you protesters trying to get Donald Trump reelected?’ ” Conway said. “He knows, full stop, and I guess Mayor Pete knows, full stop, that the more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who’s best on public safety and law and order.” The better it is, indeed! But let’s stop for a moment and consider what’s happening.
What Conway said here isn’t a plot. She’s saying that Democrats know the chaos is wearing thin on people and as it becomes a bigger issue, they’ll turn to the person seen as most likely to confront it. What Bump takes from this is that Trump wants chaos. But what Conway is saying is people are getting tired of chaos and Democrats know it is hurting them. Again, that’s what Chait said above and that’s what that NY Times story said today as well. Conway is right about the dynamic.
So, yes, Trump’s campaign is arguing he and his party could do a better job restoring order which is currently lacking in many places. Like Philip Bump, Joe Biden is unfairly framing this as Trump rooting for violence:
Trump “views it as a political benefit,” Biden told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Thursday afternoon. “This is the same guy, when people came out of Charlottesville and a young woman gets killed, they’re spewing hate, and their veins bulging, carrying swastikas … he says there are very fine people on both sides. He just keeps pouring fuel on the fire. He’s encouraging this.”
Later in the same MSNBC interview, Biden said the riots were a distraction from COVID and the daily death toll. Wait a minute, is Biden rooting for people to die from the virus because he’s highlighting the death toll? Are Democrats hoping the vaccines won’t get here until after November? That’s really the same exact argument Biden is making above, i.e. Trump wants cities to burn so he can run on the issue. But don’t hold your breath waiting for Philip Bump to write a piece taking that claim seriously.
I think you could say that both campaigns are seizing on the issues at hand while simultaneously accusing the other side of seizing on other issues with bad intent (which coincidentally aren’t as good for them politically). But it sure feels like the national media represents one side of that argument a lot more often than the other.
Update: I missed this earlier but Politico also published a piece today warning that the riots might hurt Democrats. This went up about 2 hours before the ‘Republicans are seizing’ story:
As this battleground state grapples with social unrest, some Democrats fear that the looting and rioting and clashes are feeding Trump’s argument that this is what life would be like under the so-called radical left. The worry is that especially among suburban swing voters, the more upheaval and violence they witness, the more their sympathy for peaceful Black Lives Matters protesters will wane. “There’s no doubt it’s playing into Trump’s hands,” said Paul Soglin, who served as mayor of Madison, on and off, for more than two decades. “There’s a significant number of undecided voters who are not ideological, and they can move very easily from Republican to the Democratic column and back again.They are, in effect, the people who decide elections. And they are very distraught about both the horrendous carnage created by police officers in murdering African Americans, and … for the safety of their communities.”
All of which reinforces my point about people raising an alarm because they’re worried. And that’s why many in the media are trying to frame this as a ‘dastardly Republicans seize’ story, because they know this could hurt Dems and they want to blunt that impact if they can.


hotair--2020-08-27--NYT: Gunshot was heard moments before fatal encounter in Kenosha

What a mess this case is turning out to be .
Read this post from yesterday as background before proceeding or you ’ ll be lost .
The Times sifted through some of the same video clips I did and came to a conclusion about something that I missed .
The first gunshot heard in the new famous clip of Kyle Rittenhouse shooting a man in hot pursuit of him did *not* come from Rittenhouse ’ s gun , they believe .
I ’ m less sure than the Times is .
Something moves at the frame ’ s left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if it ’ s a muzzle flash or just someone passing in front of the police lights .
Here ’ s another angle .
The first gunshot comes at 0:06 in this one and Rittenhouse starts firing at 0:09 .
The first gunshot sounds similar to the shots fired by Rittenhouse .
If it was fired by someone else , they can ’ t have been very far away .
But on the right-hand side of the second clip above , it looks like Rittenhouse has his back to the man in pursuit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That makes it unlikely that he was the one who fired it — unless he was firing a warning shot in hopes of scaring the guy off .
Something also appears around Rittenhouse in the the right-hand view right around the time the first shot is fired .
It could be smoke from his muzzle , suggesting that he fired the shot after all .
But as I watch the clip more , I see it a split-second before we hear the noise of the shot , not after .
I think maybe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ backdrop .
Why does any of this matter ?
Because : If the first shot was fired by someone else , Rittenhouse may have heard it and believed that it was fired by the man pursuing him .
His self-defense claim suddenly looks stronger .
Whereas if Rittenhouse himself fired that shot , his belief that he was at risk of serious bodily harm from the guy gets weaker .
Sean Trende ’ s right : He ’ s right about this too , though : Was the guy who was chasing him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ass of one of the militia kids who showed up in town ?
Remember that other video taken that night apparently caught him beforehand taunting the guys with guns , daring them to “ shoot me , n*gga.
” Or did Rittenhouse threaten him or others before the fatal shooting , leading the guy to chase him and try to disarm him ?
Who ’ s the real aggressor here ?
Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree murder , which I assume means “ first-degree intentional homicide ” under Wisconsin law .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homicide , ” but that ’ s typically known as manslaughter . )
Intentional homicide is defined as causing ” the death of another human being with intent to kill that person or another.
” Did Rittenhouse intend to kill the man in pursuit or just stop an imminent attack ?
There are also mitigation factors under the statute ; importantly , if Rittenhouse presents evidence of any of these at trial , it ’ s up to the prosecution to prove that the facts *don ’ t* support mitigation .
The defense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they do .
Note well : Even if Rittenhouse succeeds in claiming one of those , that doesn ’ t mean he walks .
It simply means that the charge is reduced to second-degree intentional homicide .
The key part in subsections ( b ) and ( c ) is the idea that the defendant ’ s belief was unreasonable under the circumstances .
( This is known as “ imperfect self-defense ” under common law . )
If the jury decides that Rittenhouse sincerely believed he was in danger of great bodily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that belief was unreasonable since he had a rifle and the pursuing man didn ’ t , then they could convict him of murder two under this .
The mystery of the first gunshot may come into play here .
“ I thought the man chasing me fired at me !
” Rittenhouse might say .
It ’ s reasonable that that would put him in fear of his life — but since the man chasing him wasn ’ t the one who actually fired , it becomes unreasonable .
Of course , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reasonable for Rittenhouse to fear that the pursuing man would do great bodily harm to him anyway , either by beating the hell out of him or by seizing his gun and using it on him .
That ’ s self-defense .
If he can prove that , he walks : The section on “ provocation ” is relevant here too , though : A person who engages in unlawful conduct of a type likely to provoke others to attack him or her and thereby does provoke an attack is not entitled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attack , except when the attack which ensues is of a type causing the person engaging in the unlawful conduct to reasonably believe that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm .
In such a case , the person engaging in the unlawful conduct is privileged to act in self-defense , but the person is not privileged to resort to the use of force intended or likely to cause death to the person ’ s assailant unless the person reasonably believes he or she has exhausted every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ otherwise avoid death or great bodily harm at the hands of his or her assailant .
Rittenhouse *was* engaged in unlawful conduct .
He was carrying a rifle at age 17 .
In Wisconsin , you need to be 18 to do that .
Having a guy wandering around a tense scene carrying a gun unlawfully certainly could be seen as likely to provoke others .
But , so long as Rittenhouse believed reasonably that he was being threatened with great bodily harm , he can still claim self-defense if he can show @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Which , arguably , he did here .
He ran from the man in pursuit , at least at first .
What ’ s confounding about this case for a jury is that Rittenhouse never should have been there .
He wasn ’ t an adult defending his business in Kenosha , or even the child of a local business-owner protecting the family ’ s livelihood .
He lives in Illinois .
He went looking for a fight .
Two people are dead because of it .
Dana Loesch , one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amendment activists , is aghast that an underaged kid was wandering around with an AR-15 at the scene of a riot : Why the hell was a 17 year-old out on the streets at night during a riot ?
I ’ m not asking this as a Second Amendment advocate , I ’ m asking this as a mother who is also a Second Amendment advocate .
I see his 17 year-old age as the immediate issue .
He ’ s one year off from even being old enough to serve his country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more proficient in firearms than most adults and an excellent marksman ( to the point where he helps manage the range when we ’ ve taken large groups with us to shoot ) but I can guarantee you that there is no way in hell I would ever allow my minor offspring in the street at night during a violent riot .
Was Rittenhouse protecting his family ’ s business and they were short on people to help ?
I want to understand this .
I also bring it up because depending on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case , I ’ m curious as to whether or not they ’ ll try to lob charges at the parents .
The prosecution will end up telling the jury that if they let him off scot-free , it ’ s an open invitation for militias to show up anywhere there ’ s unrest in America and start intimidating locals with guns .
The defense will counter that Rittenhouse had every right to be there as a citizen , however ill-advised his decision might have been .
Except … that ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carrying illegally , there was a curfew in effect at 7 p.m .
He — and all of the other protesters — were in violation when the shootings happened .
How does that play into the eye-crossing calculus about who provoked whom here and whether what happened was “ reasonable ” under the circumstances ?
I think the prosecution ’ s going to get him to try to plead so that they don ’ t need to wrestle with all of this .
( Which may be why they charged him with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that they ’ d negotiate a lesser sentence . )
I don ’ t know if Rittenhouse , who ’ s quickly being turned into a folk hero by some on the right , will go along .

What a mess this case is turning out to be.
Read this post from yesterday as background before proceeding or you’ll be lost. The Times sifted through some of the same video clips I did and came to a conclusion about something that I missed. The first gunshot heard in the new famous clip of Kyle Rittenhouse shooting a man in hot pursuit of him did *not* come from Rittenhouse’s gun, they believe.
While Mr. Rittenhouse is being pursued by the group, an unknown gunman fires into the air, though it’s unclear why. The weapon’s muzzle flash appears in footage filmed at the scene. Mr. Rittenhouse turns toward the sound of gunfire as another pursuer lunges toward him from the same direction. Mr. Rittenhouse then fires four times, and appears to shoot the man in the head.
I’m less sure than the Times is. Something moves at the frame’s left edge but I can’t tell if it’s a muzzle flash or just someone passing in front of the police lights.
The muzzle flash of the first shot by the unknown gunman and the smoke rising from the handgun can be seen in this video capturing the first shooting from a different angle. pic.twitter.com/ddRjsgiMN7 — Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 27, 2020
Here’s another angle. The first gunshot comes at 0:06 in this one and Rittenhouse starts firing at 0:09.
The first gunshot sounds similar to the shots fired by Rittenhouse. If it was fired by someone else, they can’t have been very far away. But on the right-hand side of the second clip above, it looks like Rittenhouse has his back to the man in pursuit when the first shot is fired. That makes it unlikely that he was the one who fired it — unless he was firing a warning shot in hopes of scaring the guy off.
Something also appears around Rittenhouse in the the right-hand view right around the time the first shot is fired. It could be smoke from his muzzle, suggesting that he fired the shot after all. But as I watch the clip more, I see it a split-second before we hear the noise of the shot, not after. I think maybe it’s just something in the backdrop.
Why does any of this matter? Because: If the first shot was fired by someone else, Rittenhouse may have heard it and believed that it was fired by the man pursuing him. His self-defense claim suddenly looks stronger. Whereas if Rittenhouse himself fired that shot, his belief that he was at risk of serious bodily harm from the guy gets weaker. Sean Trende’s right:
Legally speaking, this is not as much of an open-and-shut case as it appeared yesterday AM. The defense will likely center around a self-defense argument. As of last evening, I thought that argument would fail. He might have had it for the second/third shootings 2/ — Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) August 27, 2020
This random gunshot right before he opens fire the *first* time complicates things. His defense now likely becomes that he was being pursued/retreating, heard a gunshot nearby, thought he was being fired upon, and returned fire. 4/ — Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) August 27, 2020
He’s right about this too, though:
Still a lot of unanswered questions! Why was he being chased? Had he discharged his weapon on rioters, and that’s why he was being chased the first time? Is there going to be a lot of evidence about him telling people he wanted to kill a bunch of protestors before he went up? 5/ — Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) August 27, 2020
Was the guy who was chasing him just hulking out and looking to kick the ass of one of the militia kids who showed up in town? Remember that other video taken that night apparently caught him beforehand taunting the guys with guns, daring them to “shoot me, n*gga.” Or did Rittenhouse threaten him or others before the fatal shooting, leading the guy to chase him and try to disarm him? Who’s the real aggressor here?
Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree murder, which I assume means “first-degree intentional homicide” under Wisconsin law. (There’s also “first-degree reckless homicide,” but that’s typically known as manslaughter.) Intentional homicide is defined as causing ” the death of another human being with intent to kill that person or another.” Did Rittenhouse intend to kill the man in pursuit or just stop an imminent attack? There are also mitigation factors under the statute; importantly, if Rittenhouse presents evidence of any of these at trial, it’s up to the prosecution to prove that the facts *don’t* support mitigation. The defense doesn’t need to prove that they do.
(a) Adequate provocation. Death was caused under the influence of adequate provocation as defined in s. 939.44.
(b) Unnecessary defensive force. Death was caused because the actor believed he or she or another was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that the force used was necessary to defend the endangered person, if either belief was unreasonable.
(c) Prevention of felony. Death was caused because the actor believed that the force used was necessary in the exercise of the privilege to prevent or terminate the commission of a felony, if that belief was unreasonable.
(d) Coercion; necessity. Death was caused in the exercise of a privilege under s. 939.45 (1).
Note well: Even if Rittenhouse succeeds in claiming one of those, that doesn’t mean he walks. It simply means that the charge is reduced to second-degree intentional homicide. The key part in subsections (b) and (c) is the idea that the defendant’s belief was unreasonable under the circumstances. (This is known as “imperfect self-defense” under common law.) If the jury decides that Rittenhouse sincerely believed he was in danger of great bodily harm from the pursuing man but that that belief was unreasonable since he had a rifle and the pursuing man didn’t, then they could convict him of murder two under this. The mystery of the first gunshot may come into play here. “I thought the man chasing me fired at me!” Rittenhouse might say. It’s reasonable that that would put him in fear of his life — but since the man chasing him wasn’t the one who actually fired, it becomes unreasonable.
Of course, the jury might find that it was reasonable for Rittenhouse to fear that the pursuing man would do great bodily harm to him anyway, either by beating the hell out of him or by seizing his gun and using it on him. That’s self-defense. If he can prove that, he walks:
A person is privileged to threaten or intentionally use force against another for the purpose of preventing or terminating what the person reasonably believes to be an unlawful interference with his or her person by such other person. The actor may intentionally use only such force or threat thereof as the actor reasonably believes is necessary to prevent or terminate the interference. The actor may not intentionally use force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm unless the actor reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself.
The section on “provocation” is relevant here too, though:
A person who engages in unlawful conduct of a type likely to provoke others to attack him or her and thereby does provoke an attack is not entitled to claim the privilege of self-defense against such attack, except when the attack which ensues is of a type causing the person engaging in the unlawful conduct to reasonably believe that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. In such a case, the person engaging in the unlawful conduct is privileged to act in self-defense, but the person is not privileged to resort to the use of force intended or likely to cause death to the person’s assailant unless the person reasonably believes he or she has exhausted every other reasonable means to escape from or otherwise avoid death or great bodily harm at the hands of his or her assailant.
Rittenhouse *was* engaged in unlawful conduct. He was carrying a rifle at age 17. In Wisconsin, you need to be 18 to do that. Having a guy wandering around a tense scene carrying a gun unlawfully certainly could be seen as likely to provoke others. But, so long as Rittenhouse believed reasonably that he was being threatened with great bodily harm, he can still claim self-defense if he can show that he tried to avoid the confrontation. Which, arguably, he did here. He ran from the man in pursuit, at least at first.
What’s confounding about this case for a jury is that Rittenhouse never should have been there. He wasn’t an adult defending his business in Kenosha, or even the child of a local business-owner protecting the family’s livelihood. He lives in Illinois. He went looking for a fight. Two people are dead because of it. Dana Loesch, one of the country’s most famous Second Amendment activists, is aghast that an underaged kid was wandering around with an AR-15 at the scene of a riot:
Why the hell was a 17 year-old out on the streets at night during a riot? I’m not asking this as a Second Amendment advocate, I’m asking this as a mother who is also a Second Amendment advocate. I see his 17 year-old age as the immediate issue. He’s one year off from even being old enough to serve his country in battle. My teenage son is more proficient in firearms than most adults and an excellent marksman (to the point where he helps manage the range when we’ve taken large groups with us to shoot) but I can guarantee you that there is no way in hell I would ever allow my minor offspring in the street at night during a violent riot. Was Rittenhouse protecting his family’s business and they were short on people to help? I want to understand this. I also bring it up because depending on how aggressive the prosecutor is in this case, I’m curious as to whether or not they’ll try to lob charges at the parents.
The prosecution will end up telling the jury that if they let him off scot-free, it’s an open invitation for militias to show up anywhere there’s unrest in America and start intimidating locals with guns. The defense will counter that Rittenhouse had every right to be there as a citizen, however ill-advised his decision might have been. Except … that’s not quite true. Not only was he carrying illegally, there was a curfew in effect at 7 p.m. He — and all of the other protesters — were in violation when the shootings happened. How does that play into the eye-crossing calculus about who provoked whom here and whether what happened was “reasonable” under the circumstances?
I think the prosecution’s going to get him to try to plead so that they don’t need to wrestle with all of this. (Which may be why they charged him with the unlikely crime of murder one, expecting that they’d negotiate a lesser sentence.) I don’t know if Rittenhouse, who’s quickly being turned into a folk hero by some on the right, will go along.


hotair--2020-08-27--WNBA players don shirts with bullet holes in support of Jacob Blake

Fashion is an easy way to make a political statement , especially if the wearer has a large audience .
I ’ ve written about the intersection of fashion and politics .
In the Trump era , it has become a normal way of expression .
Right now Black Lives Matter t-shirts are a requirement for the woke crowd .
Enter the WNBA ’ s Washington Mystics .
While the Black Lives Matter t-shirts are popular with professional athletes , this professional basketball team took their support to the next level .
In honor of Jacob Blake , the team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ painted on the back .
There ’ s no subtlety there .
Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha , Wisconsin on Sunday .
Professional athletes have been busy this week canceling games , including some playoff games , in response to police-involved deaths and injuries to black criminal suspects , most recently that of Jacob Blake .
Blake isn ’ t dead , but he is hospitalized and possibly paralyzed .
The WNBA has a history of political activism , the same as the men ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statements on social justice issues on their jerseys as the men do this year .
The women followed the lead of the men and canceled their games Wednesday .
In solidarity , the WNBA canceled all three of its games scheduled for Wednesday night .
Members of the Mystics , Atlanta Dream , Minnesota Lynx , and Los Angeles Sparks took a knee together on the court where they were slated to play in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton , Florida .
Games for the Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury were also canceled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the behalf of the team last night .
“ We wanted everybody to feel like they were supported , ” she said of the decision to postpone the games .
“ Understanding that this isn ’ t just about basketball .
We aren ’ t just basketball players and just because we are basketball players , doesn ’ t mean that ’ s our only platform .
We need to understand that when most of us go home , we still are Black , in the sense that our families matter.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she continued , “ We got this little guy right here .
… His life matters .
He needs to know that he can do what he wants to do whenever he leaves his house .
When he grows up .
Within reason , you don ’ t need to go out there crazy , but he matters .
And that ’ s what people need to understand .
We ’ re not just basketball players , and if you think we are , then don ’ t watch us .
You ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ’ re so much more than that .
We ’ re gon na say what we need to say .
And people need to hear that .
And if they don ’ t support that , I ’ m fine with that.
” Got it .
They aren ’ t “ just ” basketball players and they have a platform to use for their political activism .
Ok , but if they weren ’ t basketball players , they wouldn ’ t have the platform .
That ’ s how this works @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the women would be regular protesters who may or may not garner extra attention from the media .
It is “ just about basketball ” when fans tune in to watch a game .
They aren ’ t tuning in for political commentary – that ’ s what cable television is for .
Jacob Blake was shot after he walked back to his vehicle – his children were in that vehicle – and it looked to police that he was retrieving something .
It is reported that he was armed with a knife @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not yet known .
Kenosha police don ’ t have body cams but it is reported that they do have microphones .
It has been reported that Blake “ had a warrant for his arrest based on charges of third-degree sexual assault , trespassing , and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse.
” If nothing else , it was really bad judgment to endanger his children when he fled the police to return to his vehicle .
Police had to assume he was reaching for a weapon in the situation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jacob ’ s mother , by the way , is on record saying Blake would condemn the violence in the streets of Kenosha .
His mother has spoken to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris but she missed a call from President Trump , which she said is unfortunate because she respects him and would have liked to talk with him .
She apologized for missing the call .
The men have decided to play , after their night off , so their absence from the court will be short-lived .
I imagine it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They made their statement and now they can get back to what they are paid to do .

Fashion is an easy way to make a political statement, especially if the wearer has a large audience. I’ve written about the intersection of fashion and politics. In the Trump era, it has become a normal way of expression. Right now Black Lives Matter t-shirts are a requirement for the woke crowd.
Enter the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. While the Black Lives Matter t-shirts are popular with professional athletes, this professional basketball team took their support to the next level. In honor of Jacob Blake, the team donned white t-shirts with seven bullet holes painted on the back. There’s no subtlety there. Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday.
With 7 “bullet” holes in the back of their white t shirts. My goodness the WNBA is so powerful!!!! https://t.co/hjGG8CDASc — Alexis Johnson (@alexisjreports) August 26, 2020
WNBA players took to the court wearing t-shirts with bullet holes in them in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake. Full story: https://t.co/YgcMGLHJcs pic.twitter.com/8u6fSmnj09 — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 27, 2020
Professional athletes have been busy this week canceling games, including some playoff games, in response to police-involved deaths and injuries to black criminal suspects, most recently that of Jacob Blake. Blake isn’t dead, but he is hospitalized and possibly paralyzed.
The WNBA has a history of political activism, the same as the men’s teams. The women wear their statements on social justice issues on their jerseys as the men do this year. The women followed the lead of the men and canceled their games Wednesday.
In solidarity, the WNBA canceled all three of its games scheduled for Wednesday night. Members of the Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Minnesota Lynx, and Los Angeles Sparks took a knee together on the court where they were slated to play in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida. Games for the Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury were also canceled. The Mystics’ Ariel Atkins spoke on the behalf of the team last night. “We wanted everybody to feel like they were supported,” she said of the decision to postpone the games. “Understanding that this isn’t just about basketball. We aren’t just basketball players and just because we are basketball players, doesn’t mean that’s our only platform. We need to understand that when most of us go home, we still are Black, in the sense that our families matter.” Gesturing to a child beside her, she continued, “We got this little guy right here. … His life matters. He needs to know that he can do what he wants to do whenever he leaves his house. When he grows up. Within reason, you don’t need to go out there crazy, but he matters. And that’s what people need to understand. We’re not just basketball players, and if you think we are, then don’t watch us. You’re watching the wrong sport, because we’re so much more than that. We’re gonna say what we need to say. And people need to hear that. And if they don’t support that, I’m fine with that.”
Got it. They aren’t “just” basketball players and they have a platform to use for their political activism. Ok, but if they weren’t basketball players, they wouldn’t have the platform. That’s how this works. Without being in the WNBA, the women would be regular protesters who may or may not garner extra attention from the media. It is “just about basketball” when fans tune in to watch a game. They aren’t tuning in for political commentary – that’s what cable television is for.
Jacob Blake was shot after he walked back to his vehicle – his children were in that vehicle – and it looked to police that he was retrieving something. It is reported that he was armed with a knife. The full details of the story are not yet known. Kenosha police don’t have body cams but it is reported that they do have microphones. It has been reported that Blake “had a warrant for his arrest based on charges of third-degree sexual assault, trespassing, and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse.” If nothing else, it was really bad judgment to endanger his children when he fled the police to return to his vehicle. Police had to assume he was reaching for a weapon in the situation. His actions caused the police response.
Yesterday, Wisconsin’s Department of Justice identified the officer who fired his weapon as Rusten Sheskey and reported that “during the investigation following the initial incident, Mr. Blake admitted that he had a knife in his possession. [Division of Criminal Investigation] agents recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Mr. Blake’s vehicle. A search of the vehicle located no additional weapons.” It remains unclear whether Blake was carrying the knife during the altercation, or if he went to the vehicle to get it, or what.
Jacob’s mother, by the way, is on record saying Blake would condemn the violence in the streets of Kenosha. His mother has spoken to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris but she missed a call from President Trump, which she said is unfortunate because she respects him and would have liked to talk with him. She apologized for missing the call.
The men have decided to play, after their night off, so their absence from the court will be short-lived. I imagine it will be the same for women. They made their statement and now they can get back to what they are paid to do.