hotair--2020-08-28--Dropped: VP Pence disinvited as commencement speaker due to Kenosha unrest

Vice-President Mike Pence was scheduled to speak at a commencement address at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee , Wisconsin on Saturday .
Thursday those plans were canceled when Pence was dropped as the speaker after “ careful consideration of the escalating events in Kenosha.
” Wisconsin Lutheran College is an independent private Christian college .
It ’ s a small school with a student population of just over 1200 .
The commencement isn ’ t on campus , it is at Franklin Field in Franklin .
A substitute speaker , Rev .
Mark Jeske of St. Marcus Lutheran Church , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the disinviting Pence is the violent chaos in Kenosha .
It ’ s a convenient excuse , though , given the fact that the selection of Pence has been controversial on campus .
When the college announced it last week , it said the selection was not an endorsement of a political party and “ can not ” be viewed as a political event .
“ We believe it is possible within our context to leave partisan politics at the door and to celebrate America , our freedoms , Christian servant leadership @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the statement said .
Apparently the politically active faculty and students thought otherwise .
Obviously partisan politics dictate speakers on campus , frankly , like most colleges today .
How many times have you read a story about a well-known conservative speaker being run off or canceled because of that ’ s person ’ s conservative political views ?
Lots of times , we all have .
The days of young adults going to college to learn to think and reason for themselves by hearing and studying different points of view are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rising generation full of entitled , arrogant socialists , determined to destroy capitalism .
Going even further , the Black Lives Matter movement was co-founded by self-proclaimed Marxists .
“ The mere invitation of a Vice President of an incredibly divisive and controversial ticket to speak in a swing state months before an election is ignorant and deceptive , ” the letter said .
“ Speaking to young adults months before an election is a political move and not one that WLC can decide is apolitical.
” The alumni went so far as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s 2020 class .
“ Your commencement ceremony should not have been infected by toxic politics , ” they wrote .
“ You didn ’ t ask for this , and you should not have needed to ask for this not to happen .
Controversial political figures need to stay out of our academic celebrations.
” Did you read that ?
“ An incredibly divisive and controversial ticket ” .
We are talking about Mike Pence , though .
He ’ s about as vanilla of a politician as you can get .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ traditional values drives the left nuts but , still .
This is malarkey .
And , the social unrest in Kenosha is just being used as an excuse to cave to the melting snowflake liberals .
One possibility for the sudden cancelation is that a theme of Mike Pence ’ s speech to the Republican convention Wednesday was one of law and order .
Pence included Kenosha in his speech .
There is nothing even vaguely controversial in those words .
At the time Pence spoke those words , Biden had not uttered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the streets of cities across the country .
That made his words of support for law enforcement important .
This is a cave to a letter signed by 270 students and facility members in protest of the choice of Pence and posted online .
So , another conservative has been canceled on an American college campus .
Even the vice-president isn ’ t immune from the intolerance of liberals who insist only one way of thinking is allowable – and that isn ’ t conservative .

Vice-President Mike Pence was scheduled to speak at a commencement address at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday. Thursday those plans were canceled when Pence was dropped as the speaker after “careful consideration of the escalating events in Kenosha.”
Wisconsin Lutheran College is an independent private Christian college. It’s a small school with a student population of just over 1200. The commencement isn’t on campus, it is at Franklin Field in Franklin. A substitute speaker, Rev. Mark Jeske of St. Marcus Lutheran Church, has been named. The excuse given for the disinviting Pence is the violent chaos in Kenosha. It’s a convenient excuse, though, given the fact that the selection of Pence has been controversial on campus.
When the college announced it last week, it said the selection was not an endorsement of a political party and “cannot” be viewed as a political event. “We believe it is possible within our context to leave partisan politics at the door and to celebrate America, our freedoms, Christian servant leadership and our graduates’ immense accomplishments,” the statement said.
Apparently the politically active faculty and students thought otherwise. Obviously partisan politics dictate speakers on campus, frankly, like most colleges today. How many times have you read a story about a well-known conservative speaker being run off or canceled because of that’s person’s conservative political views? Lots of times, we all have. The days of young adults going to college to learn to think and reason for themselves by hearing and studying different points of view are long gone. Just look at the rising generation full of entitled, arrogant socialists, determined to destroy capitalism. Going even further, the Black Lives Matter movement was co-founded by self-proclaimed Marxists.
“The mere invitation of a Vice President of an incredibly divisive and controversial ticket to speak in a swing state months before an election is ignorant and deceptive,” the letter said. “Speaking to young adults months before an election is a political move and not one that WLC can decide is apolitical.” The alumni went so far as to express condolences to the college’s 2020 class. “Your commencement ceremony should not have been infected by toxic politics,” they wrote. “You didn’t ask for this, and you should not have needed to ask for this not to happen. Controversial political figures need to stay out of our academic celebrations.”
Did you read that? “An incredibly divisive and controversial ticket”. We are talking about Mike Pence, though. He’s about as vanilla of a politician as you can get. His strong religious faith and belief in traditional values drives the left nuts but, still. This is malarkey. And, the social unrest in Kenosha is just being used as an excuse to cave to the melting snowflake liberals.
One possibility for the sudden cancelation is that a theme of Mike Pence’s speech to the Republican convention Wednesday was one of law and order. Pence included Kenosha in his speech.
“Let me be clear: the violence must stop – whether in Minneapolis, Portland, or Kenosha,” Pence said. “Too many heroes have died defending our freedoms to see Americans strike each other down. We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and color.”
There is nothing even vaguely controversial in those words. At the time Pence spoke those words, Biden had not uttered one word against the violence and destruction in the streets of cities across the country. That made his words of support for law enforcement important. This is a cave to a letter signed by 270 students and facility members in protest of the choice of Pence and posted online.
Vice-President Pence’s office released a gracious statement.
Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley said the vice president “understands and supports” the school’s “decision to prioritize the safety and well-being of their students.” Pence “wishes the students well as they celebrate the accomplishment of graduating from college and as they embark on their next journey,” O’Malley said in a statement.
So, another conservative has been canceled on an American college campus. Even the vice-president isn’t immune from the intolerance of liberals who insist only one way of thinking is allowable – and that isn’t conservative.


hotair--2020-08-29--Portland Night 92: Mayor Wheeler's condo gets occupied plus riot declared after another attack on th

Portland Night 92: Mayor Wheeler's condo gets occupied plus riot declared after another attack on the PPA building

Wednesday night Mayor Wheeler made a speech saying “ enough is enough ” with the violence .
He went about as far as he ’ s ever going to go toward condemning Antifa and their nightly riots in the city .
Early Friday afternoon , the mayor published a letter he ’ d sent to President Trump saying he would not be accepting any help from the feds to deal with the situation .
Friday evening was apparently payback time for the condemnation of the riots he ’ d made earlier in the week .
A group of about 200 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s high rise condo and made demands .
The evening started with a bloc party featuring live music and speeches about defunding and abolishing police departments near NW Park and West Burnside .
About 200 people then set out on a march just after 6 p.m. , stopping at NW Glisan and 10th near Wheeler ’ s presumed residence .
During the next few hours , at least three people locked themselves inside the complex in the hopes of expressing several demands , including defunding Portland police .
It ’ s not clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was a “ coalition of groups ” but they were definitely part of it : That list of demands pictured above says the group wants “ a complete abolition of the Portland Police Bureau by 2022.
” It ’ s signed “ The People of Portland ” which is , of course , a lie .
I doubt this prospect gets majority support even in Portland .
Building security called police and then…nothing .
Well , they sent this guy : Maybe that was strategic to not rile up the protesters or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care what happens to Mayor Wheeler .
I ’ m hoping it was the latter .
An NBA executive claiming to be a friend of the Mayor came down and offered to set up a meeting and the protesters mocked him .
There was some vandalism of the property : While they waited outside the group had a concert/dancy party : They also shined lights in the windows : Mayor Wheeler never did come down to talk to them and that may be because he wasn ’ t there in the first place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the lobby gave up and went home because of…security concerns ?
Maybe that had to do with news crews showing up : Bottom line : They don ’ t like being identified .
All of the action at Wheeler ’ s condo wrapped up by around 11 pm and then there was a march to the Portland Police Association building .
This is not a police building but the home of the police union .
Rioters have attempted to set this building on fire so many times I ’ ve lost count @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partly succeeded .
They started by blocking off the street with flaming dumpsters : Then they put a lit palette in front of the building and sprayed it with accelerant : Gee , I wonder why he didn ’ t turn the camera on the face of the person committing this arson ?
Like everyone else in the crowd he “ didn ’ t see s**t. ” There was a photographer from the Oregonian there too .
She posted some photos from the fire and , guess what , she somehow missed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that bottom picture you can just see the arms of the person spraying lighter fluid on the building but that ’ s it .
A lot of the reporting in Portland is very selective like this .
Anyway , police came out to put out the fire : Police are well aware that the DA is not going to prosecute most people who get arrested .
You would think that maybe after Mayor Wheeler ’ s “ enough is enough ” speech this week that maybe he ’ d be attempting to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a discussion about it with the Portland Police Chief : We ’ ll have to wait and see if that goes anywhere or if the police chief in Portland will end up resigning like Chief Best did in Seattle .
Finally , I can ’ t close this out without noting that NPR published a story Thursday arguing that the declaration of a riot in Portland is essentially racist : Between May 29 and Aug. 27 , the Portland Police Bureau declared 23 riots and 22 unlawful assemblies ( that doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assemblies and were later declared riots ) .
But the laws governing those declarations are vague and have roots in Oregon ’ s deeply racist past… “ A lot of the riot and crowd control philosophy and statute was developed around the ’ 60s and ’ 70s when protests around some of the very same things … rights for Black people .
… were taking place in the state and particularly in Portland , ” Bynum said .
On some nights , police have declared unlawful assemblies within minutes of protesters arriving .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t really deal specifically with any of the riots that have been declared .
Instead it just vaguely suggests there ’ s no rhyme or reason to it .
For instance , I wrote about one recent instance when a riot was declared almost immediately .
Why ?
Because a large mob of 300 people marched to the Portland PPA building chanting “ burn it down ” and immediately tried to set the building on fire in two places at once .
How is it racist to declare a riot and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from burning down a building ?
NPR doesn ’ t have an answer for that so it just keeps everything vague .
Again , what utter garbage .

Wednesday night Mayor Wheeler made a speech saying “enough is enough” with the violence. He went about as far as he’s ever going to go toward condemning Antifa and their nightly riots in the city. Early Friday afternoon, the mayor published a letter he’d sent to President Trump saying he would not be accepting any help from the feds to deal with the situation.
Today, I sent this letter via email to @realDonaldTrump declining his recurring offer to aid Portland by sending federal enforcement to the city. https://t.co/W85EDfriyk pic.twitter.com/CC1IWTp5k8 — Mayor Ted Wheeler (@tedwheeler) August 28, 2020
Friday evening was apparently payback time for the condemnation of the riots he’d made earlier in the week. A group of about 200 people showed up at the mayor’s high rise condo and made demands.
The evening started with a bloc party featuring live music and speeches about defunding and abolishing police departments near NW Park and West Burnside. About 200 people then set out on a march just after 6 p.m., stopping at NW Glisan and 10th near Wheeler’s presumed residence. During the next few hours, at least three people locked themselves inside the complex in the hopes of expressing several demands, including defunding Portland police.
It’s not clear who organized this. Portland DSA said it was a “coalition of groups” but they were definitely part of it:
They have now locked themselves together. Here are the demands. pic.twitter.com/ylytE8Uy3J — Portland DSA (@PortlandDSA) August 29, 2020
That list of demands pictured above says the group wants “a complete abolition of the Portland Police Bureau by 2022.” It’s signed “The People of Portland” which is, of course, a lie. I doubt this prospect gets majority support even in Portland.
Protesters on the outside have prepared a bouquet made of spent crowd control munitions to deliver to @tedwheeler when he arrives pic.twitter.com/ON8yrxKUaS — Portland DSA (@PortlandDSA) August 29, 2020
Building security called police and then…nothing. Well, they sent this guy:
Likely undercover cop has entered the lobby. But no @tedwheeler pic.twitter.com/hdyqXqtuQ4 — Portland DSA (@PortlandDSA) August 29, 2020
Maybe that was strategic to not rile up the protesters or maybe the police just don’t care what happens to Mayor Wheeler. I’m hoping it was the latter. An NBA executive claiming to be a friend of the Mayor came down and offered to set up a meeting and the protesters mocked him.
ok buckle up…. former Minnesota Timberwolves executive David Kahn has come down to talk to the protesters…. claims to be a friend of Ted. pic.twitter.com/J6kyW6Q5GK — Portland DSA (@PortlandDSA) August 29, 2020
There was some vandalism of the property:
While they waited outside the group had a concert/dancy party:
Right now outside Mayor Ted Wheeler’s apartment building there’s an activist dance party going on with Childish Gambino booming out the speakers #BlackLivesMatter #PortlandProtests #pdxprotest pic.twitter.com/qj1VTRwMso — Jules Boykoff (@JulesBoykoff) August 29, 2020
They also shined lights in the windows:
Mayor Wheeler never did come down to talk to them and that may be because he wasn’t there in the first place. After a few hours the group in the lobby gave up and went home because of…security concerns? Maybe that had to do with news crews showing up:
Activists are using this banner to block the local TV crews from filming. They told me that they were fed up with TV stations airing the full names & photos of arrested activists #BlackLivesMatter #PortlandProtests #pdxprotest pic.twitter.com/4BhRrab7Rv — Jules Boykoff (@JulesBoykoff) August 29, 2020
Some of the people in the lobby of Ted Wheeler’s apartment left for safety reasons. — Garrison Davis (@hungrybowtie) August 29, 2020
Bottom line: They don’t like being identified.
One of the people who chained herself inside @tedwheeler’s condo lobby is Olivia Morgan. She was arrested just two days ago at an #antifa riot, charged with felony rioting, attempting escape, resisting arrest & more. She was quickly released & now she’s at Wheeler’s home. pic.twitter.com/ILlIhcuFBz — Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 29, 2020
All of the action at Wheeler’s condo wrapped up by around 11 pm and then there was a march to the Portland Police Association building. This is not a police building but the home of the police union. Rioters have attempted to set this building on fire so many times I’ve lost count. Last night they tried again and partly succeeded. They started by blocking off the street with flaming dumpsters:
After occupying area outside @tedwheeler’s condo, #antifa have returned to rioting. They have shut down the street in north Portland and started fires on the street again. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/bm367ufiOc — Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 29, 2020
Then they put a lit palette in front of the building and sprayed it with accelerant:
PPA on Fire pic.twitter.com/MoaVn0F6Tx — Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) August 29, 2020
Gee, I wonder why he didn’t turn the camera on the face of the person committing this arson? Like everyone else in the crowd he “didn’t see s**t.” There was a photographer from the Oregonian there too. She posted some photos from the fire and, guess what, she somehow missed the arsonist’s face too:
A mattress was lit against the PPA bldg, accelerant was used. Police quickly declared a riot, several arrests made pic.twitter.com/Je3Dqg7TEO — Beth Nakamura (@bethnakamura) August 29, 2020
In that bottom picture you can just see the arms of the person spraying lighter fluid on the building but that’s it. A lot of the reporting in Portland is very selective like this. Anyway, police came out to put out the fire:
After #antifa started multiple fires on the street & set the police union building on fire again tonight, Portland Police declared a riot & moved in. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/z9iPU5ejKu — Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 29, 2020
They made several arrests:
Portland police arrest a man who was about to escape on a motorcycle at the #antifa riot in north Portland. #PortlandRiots #antifa pic.twitter.com/8Q9nfbPXUp — Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 29, 2020
Police are well aware that the DA is not going to prosecute most people who get arrested. You would think that maybe after Mayor Wheeler’s “enough is enough” speech this week that maybe he’d be attempting to do something about that. Wheeler has apparently had a discussion about it with the Portland Police Chief:
On Friday, the mayor’s spokesman, Tim Becker, summarized the Wednesday meeting, citing accounts from Lovell that police need help and more support. Becker said the mayor and chief talked about police needing more support from elected officials. He said they also denounced the criminal activity and talked about further prosecution for those engaged in criminal behavior.
We’ll have to wait and see if that goes anywhere or if the police chief in Portland will end up resigning like Chief Best did in Seattle.
Finally, I can’t close this out without noting that NPR published a story Thursday arguing that the declaration of a riot in Portland is essentially racist:
Between May 29 and Aug. 27, the Portland Police Bureau declared 23 riots and 22 unlawful assemblies (that doesn’t include nights that started as unlawful assemblies and were later declared riots). But the laws governing those declarations are vague and have roots in Oregon’s deeply racist past… “A lot of the riot and crowd control philosophy and statute was developed around the ’60s and ’70s when protests around some of the very same things … rights for Black people. … were taking place in the state and particularly in Portland,” Bynum said. On some nights, police have declared unlawful assemblies within minutes of protesters arriving.
This is a garbage article. It doesn’t really deal specifically with any of the riots that have been declared. Instead it just vaguely suggests there’s no rhyme or reason to it. For instance, I wrote about one recent instance when a riot was declared almost immediately. Why? Because a large mob of 300 people marched to the Portland PPA building chanting “burn it down” and immediately tried to set the building on fire in two places at once. How is it racist to declare a riot and prevent (almost uniformly white) people from burning down a building? NPR doesn’t have an answer for that so it just keeps everything vague. Again, what utter garbage.


hotair--2020-08-29--UCLA: Chinese visiting college researcher arrested, charged with destroying evidence

Once again , a Chinese national has been arrested and detained in the United States for his alleged activities as a military scientist .
Guan Lei first came under investigation in July by the FBI .
He was under suspicion for visa fraud and possibly transferred “ sensitive software or technical data ” from UCLA .
Guan Lei studied machine-learning algorithms in UCLA ’ s mathematics department .
According to one FBI agent ’ s affidavit , he transferred information to “ high-ranking ” officials in the Chinese military .
He isn ’ t charged with that , though .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ FBI agents staked out his apartment , saw him pull a computer hard drive from his sock and throw it into a trash dumpster .
He tossed the damaged hard drive just days after he was interviewed by investigators and tried to board a plane back to China .
It sure sounds like he ’ s hiding something , right ?
He appeared in court on Friday afternoon .
It wasn ’ t clear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf .
A spokesman for UCLA said the university fully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the FBI ’ s radar on suspicion of visa fraud when he requested a transfer to Los Angeles from China .
Lei , originally a student at China ’ s National University of Defense Technology , reportedly told law enforcement officials under oath when applying for his transfer visa that he had never served in the military and denied any association with the People ’ s Liberation Army .
Investigators discovered , however , that there was more to the story .
After being further questioned over his involvement with the Chinese military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the National University of Defense Technology he not only dressed in Chinese military uniform , but also participated in some military training .
While Lei continued to maintain that this did not mean he served in the military , court documents say he also admitted that during his time at the Chinese university , his supervisors at the school were “ high-ranking ” officials in the Chinese military .
If he dresses like a soldier , and he is trained as a soldier , isn ’ t he a soldier ?
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the People ’ s Liberation Army .
When he was interviewed by the FBI in July , he allowed agents to search his computer but refused to let them take it and perform a more thorough search on it .
Two days later Lei was stopped and questioned at the Los Angeles International Airport .
He was trying to catch a flight to China .
Lei was questioned about his access to storage devices related to the investigation .
They also wanted to know if he had any contact with anyone from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States .
Lei said no , he had no such contact .
These statements by Lei were determined to be false by law enforcement officers and a criminal complaint was filed .
It was unsealed Friday .
According to the complaint , Google records obtained by a law enforcement search warrant showed that Lei reached out to the Chinese consulate numerous times during the summer , correspondence that seemed to largely center on flight options back to China .
Documents show that Lei ’ s girlfriend , while living together , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the nearby consulate in July .
Lei also allegedly tried to destroy evidence , with officials claiming that several days after attempting to hop on a plane to China , Lei tossed a destroyed hard drive into a nearby dumpster outside of his apartment .
Officials say that the hard drive was “ irreparably damaged ” and that the information on the drive appeared to have been forcefully and purposefully removed .
Lei has been charged with destroying evidence to obstruct an FBI investigation and is being investigated for possibly sending sensitive United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ university — the same school that , according to the complaint , has been suspected of “ procuring U.S.-origin items to develop supercomputers with nuclear explosive applications.
” During his appearance in court Friday , a magistrate judge ordered him to be detained .
An arraignment hearing has been set for Sept. 17 .
If this story is sounding familiar , there is a reason for that .
It is .
There have been many stories developing over the course of this year that feature a Chinese national and spying or information transfers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Communist Chinese government .
The Chinese Communist Party is using American universities and institutions like the NIH and NASA to acquire intellectual property and research information .
The FBI and DOJ have been busy with investigations and rounding up the bad guys .
All these stories may be just the tip of the iceberg .

Once again, a Chinese national has been arrested and detained in the United States for his alleged activities as a military scientist. Guan Lei first came under investigation in July by the FBI. He was under suspicion for visa fraud and possibly transferred “sensitive software or technical data” from UCLA.
Guan Lei studied machine-learning algorithms in UCLA’s mathematics department. According to one FBI agent’s affidavit, he transferred information to “high-ranking” officials in the Chinese military. He isn’t charged with that, though. He is accused of destroying evidence. FBI agents staked out his apartment, saw him pull a computer hard drive from his sock and throw it into a trash dumpster. He tossed the damaged hard drive just days after he was interviewed by investigators and tried to board a plane back to China. It sure sounds like he’s hiding something, right?
He appeared in court on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf. A spokesman for UCLA said the university fully cooperated with investigators. He came on the FBI’s radar on suspicion of visa fraud when he requested a transfer to Los Angeles from China.
Lei, originally a student at China’s National University of Defense Technology, reportedly told law enforcement officials under oath when applying for his transfer visa that he had never served in the military and denied any association with the People’s Liberation Army. Investigators discovered, however, that there was more to the story. After being further questioned over his involvement with the Chinese military, Lei admitted that during his time at the National University of Defense Technology he not only dressed in Chinese military uniform, but also participated in some military training. While Lei continued to maintain that this did not mean he served in the military, court documents say he also admitted that during his time at the Chinese university, his supervisors at the school were “high-ranking” officials in the Chinese military.
If he dresses like a soldier, and he is trained as a soldier, isn’t he a soldier? It sure sounds like he has an association with the People’s Liberation Army.
When he was interviewed by the FBI in July, he allowed agents to search his computer but refused to let them take it and perform a more thorough search on it. Two days later Lei was stopped and questioned at the Los Angeles International Airport. He was trying to catch a flight to China. Lei was questioned about his access to storage devices related to the investigation. They also wanted to know if he had any contact with anyone from the Chinese consulate while he was in the United States. Lei said no, he had no such contact. These statements by Lei were determined to be false by law enforcement officers and a criminal complaint was filed. It was unsealed Friday.
According to the complaint, Google records obtained by a law enforcement search warrant showed that Lei reached out to the Chinese consulate numerous times during the summer, correspondence that seemed to largely center on flight options back to China. Documents show that Lei’s girlfriend, while living together, also took a ride via Lyft to the nearby consulate in July. Lei also allegedly tried to destroy evidence, with officials claiming that several days after attempting to hop on a plane to China, Lei tossed a destroyed hard drive into a nearby dumpster outside of his apartment. Officials say that the hard drive was “irreparably damaged” and that the information on the drive appeared to have been forcefully and purposefully removed. Lei has been charged with destroying evidence to obstruct an FBI investigation and is being investigated for possibly sending sensitive United States software data to his previous Chinese university — the same school that, according to the complaint, has been suspected of “procuring U.S.-origin items to develop supercomputers with nuclear explosive applications.”
During his appearance in court Friday, a magistrate judge ordered him to be detained. An arraignment hearing has been set for Sept. 17.
If this story is sounding familiar, there is a reason for that. It is. There have been many stories developing over the course of this year that feature a Chinese national and spying or information transfers or just lying about connections to the Communist Chinese government. The Chinese Communist Party is using American universities and institutions like the NIH and NASA to acquire intellectual property and research information. The FBI and DOJ have been busy with investigations and rounding up the bad guys.
All these stories may be just the tip of the iceberg.


hotair--2020-08-29--You knew this was coming: "In defense of looting"

Since this was inevitable ever since Don Lemon noticed that the riots and looting were starting to affect Democratic polling numbers , we may as well get it out of the way .
The media was going to have to find someone to trot out and declare that looting really gets a bad rap in the press and all of you racist white people need to learn to appreciate the social significance of both massive organized theft and violent rioting as well .
Riding to the rescue is NPR , where they feature a lengthy interview with someone espousing just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s not some one-off bit of commentary , either .
The interview subject actually wrote a book titled “ In Defense of Looting ” back in May when most of this mayhem was breaking out .
The author is Vicky Osterweil and she has plenty to say on the subject .
( Actually , I ’ m pretty sure Osterweil is a male and trans , but I ’ m not feeling energetic enough to go research that or any transitional operation status , so I ’ ll just throw caution to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for today . )
The NPR reporter dives right into the subject , pointing out Osterweil ’ s contention that “ looting is a powerful tool to bring about real , lasting change in society.
” I obviously agree with that ( as we ’ ll get to in a moment ) though for very different reasons .
Still , let ’ s take a brief look at her overview of the question .
For people who haven ’ t read your book , how do you define looting ?
When I use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mass expropriation of property , mass shoplifting during a moment of upheaval or riot .
That ’ s the thing I ’ m defending .
I ’ m not defending any situation in which property is stolen by force .
It ’ s not a home invasion , either .
It ’ s about a certain kind of action that ’ s taken during protests and riots .
Right off the bat , we see the typical socialist/anarchist tactic of attempting to redefine language to fit an alternative and highly radical agenda .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ several occasions , this is a move straight out of the Karl Marx playbook .
You normalize repulsive behavior by attempting to force people to speak about it in conventional terms .
Looting isn ’ t some sort of naughty behavior that deprives others of their rightful property and leaves massive destruction in its wake .
It ’ s simply the “ mass expropriation of property.
” She would never defend stealing anything “ by force.
” Perish the thought .
Of course , when I look at the ravaged remnants of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help but feel that a little “ force ” was required to smash all of those huge plate-glass windows and break all of the anti-theft security locks .
Moving on , the NPR host inquires as to what the difference is between rioting and looting .
Osterweil cleverly challenges the premise of the question , pointing out that rioting and looting are both perfectly acceptable .
But looting is more of a sub-class of rioting .
During the uprisings of this past summer , rioting and looting have often gone hand in hand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you see between the two ?
“ Rioting ” generally refers to any moment of mass unrest or upheaval.Riots are a space in which a mass of people has produced a situation in which the general laws that govern society no longer function , and people can act in different ways in the street and in public .
I ’ d say that rioting is a broader category , in which looting appears as a tactic .
Often , looting is more common among movements that are coming from below .
It tends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a commercial space , maybe a government building—taking those things that would otherwise be commodified and controlled and sharing them for free .
Here we see even more corruption of the language on display .
The real purpose of rioting , you see , is to break down the “ general laws that govern society.
” Once you do that , you ’ re free to “ act in different ways.
” We could do this all day , but I would encourage you to force yourself to read the entire interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of the typical socialist/anarchist/Antifa points .
The entire idea of “ property ” is unfair and based on historic “ whiteness.
” ( Osterweil appears to be White , by the way . )
Things should be free , at least for those in underserved communities .
And much the same as the chef ’ s maxim about making an omelet , if a few eggs have to be broken , smashed or hit with a Molotov cocktail along the way , so be it .
It ’ s easy to think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an aspiring celebrity giving a series of audacious answers , each one more shocking than the last , in an attempt to attract attention .
But her book ( and this interview ) are not Osterwil ’ s first trip to the rodeo on this subject .
It didn ’ t take much digging to find a fairly recent article she published praising the burning down of the Third Police Precinct station in Minneapolis as a defining moment of the ongoing revolution .
And to the best of may ability to sort this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ satirist .
She ’ s being totally serious .
She also talks about defunding or reforming the police as tepid , weak measures .
The police need to be gone entirely .
Along with the jails .
Sure , you can read something like this and write it off as just the furthest edge of the lunatic fringe easily enough .
But I ’ m not so sure about that in 2020 , folks .
There are people out there who are soaking this anarchist garbage in like baby formula and acting out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day is dawning .
The one thing we know for certain is that we ’ re going to need a lot more cops and a lot more guns before all of this is over , or people like Osterweil will succeed in turning America into the same sort of lawless , impoverished , desolate wasteland that most socialist revolutions eventually produce .

Since this was inevitable ever since Don Lemon noticed that the riots and looting were starting to affect Democratic polling numbers, we may as well get it out of the way. The media was going to have to find someone to trot out and declare that looting really gets a bad rap in the press and all of you racist white people need to learn to appreciate the social significance of both massive organized theft and violent rioting as well. Riding to the rescue is NPR, where they feature a lengthy interview with someone espousing just such a position. And it’s not some one-off bit of commentary, either. The interview subject actually wrote a book titled “In Defense of Looting” back in May when most of this mayhem was breaking out.
The author is Vicky Osterweil and she has plenty to say on the subject. (Actually, I’m pretty sure Osterweil is a male and trans, but I’m not feeling energetic enough to go research that or any transitional operation status, so I’ll just throw caution to the wind and go with a female pronoun for today.) The NPR reporter dives right into the subject, pointing out Osterweil’s contention that “looting is a powerful tool to bring about real, lasting change in society.” I obviously agree with that (as we’ll get to in a moment) though for very different reasons. Still, let’s take a brief look at her overview of the question.
For people who haven’t read your book, how do you define looting? When I use the word looting, I mean the mass expropriation of property, mass shoplifting during a moment of upheaval or riot. That’s the thing I’m defending. I’m not defending any situation in which property is stolen by force. It’s not a home invasion, either. It’s about a certain kind of action that’s taken during protests and riots.
Right off the bat, we see the typical socialist/anarchist tactic of attempting to redefine language to fit an alternative and highly radical agenda. As we’ve discussed here on several occasions, this is a move straight out of the Karl Marx playbook. You normalize repulsive behavior by attempting to force people to speak about it in conventional terms. Looting isn’t some sort of naughty behavior that deprives others of their rightful property and leaves massive destruction in its wake. It’s simply the “mass expropriation of property.” She would never defend stealing anything “by force.” Perish the thought. Of course, when I look at the ravaged remnants of the Miracle Mile, I can’t help but feel that a little “force” was required to smash all of those huge plate-glass windows and break all of the anti-theft security locks.
Moving on, the NPR host inquires as to what the difference is between rioting and looting. Osterweil cleverly challenges the premise of the question, pointing out that rioting and looting are both perfectly acceptable. But looting is more of a sub-class of rioting.
During the uprisings of this past summer, rioting and looting have often gone hand in hand. Can you talk about the distinction you see between the two? “Rioting” generally refers to any moment of mass unrest or upheaval.Riots are a space in which a mass of people has produced a situation in which the general laws that govern society no longer function, and people can act in different ways in the street and in public. I’d say that rioting is a broader category, in which looting appears as a tactic. Often, looting is more common among movements that are coming from below. It tends to be an attack on a business, a commercial space, maybe a government building—taking those things that would otherwise be commodified and controlled and sharing them for free.
Here we see even more corruption of the language on display. The real purpose of rioting, you see, is to break down the “general laws that govern society.” Once you do that, you’re free to “act in different ways.”
We could do this all day, but I would encourage you to force yourself to read the entire interview. The author goes on to hit all of the typical socialist/anarchist/Antifa points. The entire idea of “property” is unfair and based on historic “whiteness.” (Osterweil appears to be White, by the way.) Things should be free, at least for those in underserved communities. And much the same as the chef’s maxim about making an omelet, if a few eggs have to be broken, smashed or hit with a Molotov cocktail along the way, so be it.
It’s easy to think that this is just an example of an aspiring celebrity giving a series of audacious answers, each one more shocking than the last, in an attempt to attract attention. But her book (and this interview) are not Osterwil’s first trip to the rodeo on this subject. It didn’t take much digging to find a fairly recent article she published praising the burning down of the Third Police Precinct station in Minneapolis as a defining moment of the ongoing revolution. And to the best of may ability to sort this out, the author is not a satirist. She’s being totally serious. She also talks about defunding or reforming the police as tepid, weak measures. The police need to be gone entirely. Along with the jails.
Sure, you can read something like this and write it off as just the furthest edge of the lunatic fringe easily enough. But I’m not so sure about that in 2020, folks. There are people out there who are soaking this anarchist garbage in like baby formula and acting out in the streets as if a new day is dawning. The one thing we know for certain is that we’re going to need a lot more cops and a lot more guns before all of this is over, or people like Osterweil will succeed in turning America into the same sort of lawless, impoverished, desolate wasteland that most socialist revolutions eventually produce.


hotair--2020-08-29--Morning Consult: Trump gains four net points on Biden after convention; <span class='red'>Update:</s

Morning Consult: Trump gains four net points on Biden after convention; Update: Second poll shows race tighter

Good news for the White House , although we ’ ll have to wait until later this week to see if this is part of a trend captured by other pollsters or an outlier .
Despite the endless soft-focus testimonials at the convention about what a swell guy Trump is , Morning Consult says his favorable rating didn ’ t improve at all .
He ’ s at 43/55 , same as last week .
It ’ s probably a fool ’ s errand at this point trying to convince people who don ’ t like him after three and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What the convention did succeed at doing is getting people to like Biden less : He went from 51/46 favorability last weekend to 49/47 now .
Trump ’ s gains came among white voters and suburbanites , cutting a 14-point Biden lead among the latter group to eight .
We can only speculate which convention message , specifically , resonated with them but an obvious possibility is the idea that America will see more violent unrest under a Biden presidency than it ’ s seeing now .
In fact , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is what moved the numbers towards Trump here , entirely apart from the convention itself .
Maybe he would have gained on the Democrat even if Republicans hadn ’ t been on TV this week .
Any post-convention bounce is a step in the right direction for him .
But : The sign of progress that Republicans are desperate to see is Biden consistently below 50 percent in polling .
That would mean that some people who are in his corner right now have switched back to undecided .
As it is , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or better in most surveys , which makes it hard to imagine a series of narrow Trump wins in battleground states again .
When he beat Hillary four years ago , she led him 48/46 in the national popular vote with third-party candidates chipping away at her margins .
Biden ’ s ceiling is higher than that , and he won ’ t have to worry about independents .
This point is also worth bearing in mind .
If Trump is -6 after days of a carefully stage-managed production on national TV aimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and hyper-competent , where will he be after he spends the next week reminding voters yet again that he ’ s not that guy at all ?
This comment , accusing his niece Mary of having never been loved by her grandfather , is extra special : Maybe it won ’ t matter .
As I say , Morning Consult found that his favorable rating didn ’ t change at all despite the sustained effort at the convention to humanize him .
People know who he is and formed an opinion about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long ago .
If Trump ’ s bounce really is a function of the GOP ’ s message about riots ( or a backlash to the riots themselves ) then he can behave like a jackass on Twitter all he wants and probably still expect to gain on Biden .
Speaking of post-convention numbers , he spent part of this morning declaring victory over Democrats in the convention ratings .
Didn ’ t he lose the TV ratings battle ?
you ask .
He did .
But he claims he won the overall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total number of views the GOP convention had is Fox News .
Fox ’ s source for the total number of views the GOP convention had is … a senior Trump campaign official .
He ’ s pointing to a number that he himself supplied , essentially .
Fox ’ s source could be telling the truth , or they could be deliberately calculating online views ( which are hard to measure ) in such a way as to favor Republicans over Democrats .
Or they could just be making it up .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to go to great lengths to manage the president ’ s mood , up to and including wasting money to run TV ads in the deep blue D.C. market just so that Trump himself will see them and feel cheered by them .
He ’ s so psychologically invested in ratings that some of his campaign staffers may have feared being fired yesterday after news broke that Democrats did better on TV .
Brad Parscale was sent packing as campaign manager after poor attendance at a single rally ; God only knows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if the convention turned out to be a ratings bust .
Voila : “ We won the online ratings battle , sir !
Take our word for it.
” Anyway , ratings don ’ t matter .
The polls matter ( a little ) and Trump ’ s trending in the right direction there .
He should be happy enough with that .
In lieu of an exit question , I ’ ll leave you with one more set of numbers via YouGov .
Update : Ah , and here comes YouGov with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the convention might have helped Trump .
I say “ might ” because this is a re-poll of a sample of registered voters who were polled at the end of July .
A lot has happened since then besides the conventions , from riots in major cities to an easing of the summer wave of COVID across the south .
YouGov had Biden ahead by nine in that July poll but finds him up by six points now .
The shift is due to “ roughly 1 percent of registered voters switching from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who previously said they would not vote now saying they will vote for Trump.
” Before you go assuming that Trump ’ s gains are being driven by a backlash to urban violence , though , chew on this : If the goal of the RNC was to tar Biden as a radical who will endanger Americans ’ safety , it was not a success .
One month ago , 37 percent of the public thought America would become more safe if Biden were elected ; 35 percent said the country would become @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those numbers were 39 percent to 38 percent — no real change in the margin .
Nor did Trump convince Americans that he will make them safer .
Today , 43 percent say the country will be less safe if Trump is reelected .
Just 32 percent say it will be safer .
One month ago , those numbers were nearly identical : 44 percent to 31 percent .
Asked who would have handled the protests better , 43 percent say Biden .
Only 35 percent say Trump .
Even more significant : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( 52 percent ) think a second Trump term will lead to more violence of the sort seen in Kenosha .
Only a quarter think Trump ’ s reelection will lead to less violence.
” Asked whether Trump will protect voters from chaos or is a source of the chaos , voters split 27/46 .
The idea that what happened in Wisconsin and Minneapolis this week will certainly help Trump looks shaky based on that .

Good news for the White House, although we’ll have to wait until later this week to see if this is part of a trend captured by other pollsters or an outlier.
Despite the endless soft-focus testimonials at the convention about what a swell guy Trump is, Morning Consult says his favorable rating didn’t improve at all. He’s at 43/55, same as last week. It’s probably a fool’s errand at this point trying to convince people who don’t like him after three and a half years to rethink their opinion. What the convention did succeed at doing is getting people to like Biden less: He went from 51/46 favorability last weekend to 49/47 now. Trump’s gains came among white voters and suburbanites, cutting a 14-point Biden lead among the latter group to eight. We can only speculate which convention message, specifically, resonated with them but an obvious possibility is the idea that America will see more violent unrest under a Biden presidency than it’s seeing now.
In fact, it’s possible that the news from Kenosha is what moved the numbers towards Trump here, entirely apart from the convention itself. Maybe he would have gained on the Democrat even if Republicans hadn’t been on TV this week.
Any post-convention bounce is a step in the right direction for him. But:
Being 6 points behind after your own convention is terrible news. It’s worse than McCain in 2008 or Romney in 2012. Its probably worse than Carter after the 1980 Democratic convention (which was not considered a very happy event at the time) but I would have to look that up. — Peter Spiliakos (@petespiliakos) August 29, 2020
The sign of progress that Republicans are desperate to see is Biden consistently below 50 percent in polling. That would mean that some people who are in his corner right now have switched back to undecided. As it is, the Democrat’s at 49-50 percent or better in most surveys, which makes it hard to imagine a series of narrow Trump wins in battleground states again. When he beat Hillary four years ago, she led him 48/46 in the national popular vote with third-party candidates chipping away at her margins. Biden’s ceiling is higher than that, and he won’t have to worry about independents.
This point is also worth bearing in mind. If Trump is -6 after days of a carefully stage-managed production on national TV aimed at making him seem cuddly, even-keeled, and hyper-competent, where will he be after he spends the next week reminding voters yet again that he’s not that guy at all?
The GOP convention folks did an effective job keeping the president filtered and on teleprompter. The Convention is now over. https://t.co/xfIGHM8aj7 — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 29, 2020
This comment, accusing his niece Mary of having never been loved by her grandfather, is extra special:
..Even whether it’s dumb warmongers like John Bolton, social pretenders like Bob Woodward, who never has anything good to say, or an unstable niece, who was now rightfully shunned, scorned and mocked her entire life, and never even liked by her own very kind & caring grandfather! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2020
Maybe it won’t matter. As I say, Morning Consult found that his favorable rating didn’t change at all despite the sustained effort at the convention to humanize him. People know who he is and formed an opinion about whether it’s disqualifying or not long ago. If Trump’s bounce really is a function of the GOP’s message about riots (or a backlash to the riots themselves) then he can behave like a jackass on Twitter all he wants and probably still expect to gain on Biden.
Speaking of post-convention numbers, he spent part of this morning declaring victory over Democrats in the convention ratings. Didn’t he lose the TV ratings battle? you ask. He did. But he claims he won the overall ratings war:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1299676445128765440
His source for the total number of views the GOP convention had is Fox News. Fox’s source for the total number of views the GOP convention had is … a senior Trump campaign official. He’s pointing to a number that he himself supplied, essentially. Fox’s source could be telling the truth, or they could be deliberately calculating online views (which are hard to measure) in such a way as to favor Republicans over Democrats. Or they could just be making it up. Remember, the Trump campaign is reportedly willing to go to great lengths to manage the president’s mood, up to and including wasting money to run TV ads in the deep blue D.C. market just so that Trump himself will see them and feel cheered by them.
He’s so psychologically invested in ratings that some of his campaign staffers may have feared being fired yesterday after news broke that Democrats did better on TV. Brad Parscale was sent packing as campaign manager after poor attendance at a single rally; God only knows how much house-cleaning would have been done if the convention turned out to be a ratings bust. Voila: “We won the online ratings battle, sir! Take our word for it.”
Anyway, ratings don’t matter. The polls matter (a little) and Trump’s trending in the right direction there. He should be happy enough with that. In lieu of an exit question, I’ll leave you with one more set of numbers via YouGov.
Update: Ah, and here comes YouGov with a poll of its own suggesting that the convention might have helped Trump. I say “might” because this is a re-poll of a sample of registered voters who were polled at the end of July. A lot has happened since then besides the conventions, from riots in major cities to an easing of the summer wave of COVID across the south. YouGov had Biden ahead by nine in that July poll but finds him up by six points now. The shift is due to “roughly 1 percent of registered voters switching from Biden to Trump and a smaller number who previously said they would not vote now saying they will vote for Trump.”
Before you go assuming that Trump’s gains are being driven by a backlash to urban violence, though, chew on this:
If the goal of the RNC was to tar Biden as a radical who will endanger Americans’ safety, it was not a success. One month ago, 37 percent of the public thought America would become more safe if Biden were elected; 35 percent said the country would become less safe. After both conventions, those numbers were 39 percent to 38 percent — no real change in the margin. Nor did Trump convince Americans that he will make them safer. Today, 43 percent say the country will be less safe if Trump is reelected. Just 32 percent say it will be safer. One month ago, those numbers were nearly identical: 44 percent to 31 percent. Asked who would have handled the protests better, 43 percent say Biden. Only 35 percent say Trump.
Even more significant: “[A] majority of Americans (52 percent) think a second Trump term will lead to more violence of the sort seen in Kenosha. Only a quarter think Trump’s reelection will lead to less violence.” Asked whether Trump will protect voters from chaos or is a source of the chaos, voters split 27/46. The idea that what happened in Wisconsin and Minneapolis this week will certainly help Trump looks shaky based on that.


hotair--2020-08-29--Bill Maher: Just stop using the postal service  until after the election

Bill Maher is back in the HBO studio for the first time since March when the coronavirus pandemic shut down normal television production .
He doesn ’ t have an in-studio audience yet due to current restrictions over mitigating the virus .
From the video clip I watched , it looks as though he is struggling a bit with the lack of instant response to his not-so-entertaining schtick but it ’ s notable that some progress is being made in the entertainment business to get back to almost normal .
Maher is worried .
He watched the Republican convention and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might be able to win re-election .
He is starting to feel as he did in 2016 and he ’ s nervous .
He went on Joy Reid ’ s show on MSNBC where he admitted to her that the convention was well-done and viewers at home likely had a favorable reaction to its programming .
Reid even agreed with Maher about the production and then she did her usual race-baiting against Republicans – she mocked the “ four black guys ” and the women who were speakers .
Maher attempted to set @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do have their own minds to make up about voting .
MSNBC host Joy Reid agreed that the GOP convention was a “ smoothly produced thing ” and suggested that the “ four Black guys ” and the “ women ” who were invited to speak were meant to sway voters as a “ permission slip ” for those who felt uncomfortable supporting President Trump again in 2020 .
Maher , however , called the strategy “ effective , ” highlighting Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron ’ s blistering attacks against Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden for saying , you know , if you vote for Trump , you ain ’ t Black and I don ’ t think that is a good thing for Joe Biden to have said , ” Maher told Reid .
“ He [ Cameron ] said ‘ I have my own mind . '
” Bill Maher is “ very nervous ” , just as he was four years ago .
A month ago he was feeling confident that Biden will win in November but now he isn ’ t feeling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asking people to stop using the USPS until after the election in order to free up postal workers .
He ’ s convinced himself , like other anti-Trumpers , that Trump is trying to use the postal service in order to cheat and win the election .
There ’ s no other way to explain another Trump election victory , you know , except that Trump wins by cheating .
A hashtag is born – # FreeUpTheMail .
It ’ s crazy but he ’ s serious .
“ If Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Office , we need to fight back , ” the host said , delivering his “ New Rules ” show-ending monologue from his familiar set at LA ’ s CBS Television City .
Starting in October , he added , “ Don ’ t use the mail for anything but ballots until the election is over ” on November 3 .
Trump and his supporters have attacked the legitimacy of mail-in voting , and as president he has taken action to put loyalists in charge and taken away funding and equipment .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system in order to have a better chance to beat Joe Biden in November , Maher maintained .
“ He wants it to fail .
It has to fail for his scheme to work .
It ’ s like a postal version of The Producers , ” he cracked .
In order to block that plan , he said , citizens should deliberately limit their use of mail and take full advantage of doing things online .
“ You know how we pull over for fire trucks ?
It ’ s time we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Maher said .
“ This can be our October surprise for Trump.
” Look , Bill Maher is a smart guy .
We don ’ t have to agree with his politics or his penchant to go all-in on conspiracy theories that affirm his opinions but he is doing this nonsense to rev up Biden ’ s base voters .
Maher ’ s show appeals to people that already agree with most of his brand of honesty .
He can go after both sides of the aisle but we know he doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He falls in line with Democrat voters .
The objection to universal mail-in voting is a legitimate one .
Mailing out ballots to every registered voter in states that are not equipped to handle mass mail-in voting is asking for voter fraud .
The problem is not with the postal service – they can handle an influx of mail-in ballots .
The USPS handles millions of pieces of mail during the holiday season every year ( and Mother ’ s Day , which is also huge for them ) .
The current conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election to “ cheat ” and win is absurd .
The new postmaster general is implementing more efficient ways of doing the job and replacing old pieces of machinery with new ones .
The need to revamp the USPS is not a new situation .
The postal service has been running in the red for years , a huge , inefficient money pit for the American taxpayer .
The Democrats in Congress have demanded that Postmaster General DeJoy stop what he is doing and let things remain as they are until after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to that .
On Thursday he told the nation ’ s top election officials that mailed ballots are his top priority .
On Thursday , DeJoy told the election officials that he is forming a task force to look at each mail processing plant and assess what it might need to process the quantity of election mail anticipated this year , said New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver , a Democrat , who is the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State , or NASS .
DeJoy alluded to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement earlier this month .
“ Over and over again , both [ DeJoy ] and his senior staff reiterated that the election is their highest priority , ” Toulouse Oliver said in an interview with NPR after the call .
“ And they are actively putting into place processes and procedures to make sure every single piece of election mail , especially ballots , are going to be treated like gold.
” Democrats and other anti-Trumpers are desperate to lay the groundwork for an excuse if Trump wins as he did so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or because he outright cheated .
There isn ’ t the level of enthusiasm for Biden that there is for Trump with his voters .
Even Michael Moore has noticed that .
He is sounding the alarm as he did in 2016 that Trump can win because there is enthusiasm for his re-election .
“ Sorry to have to provide the reality check again , but when CNN polled registered voters in August in just the swing states , Biden and Trump were in a virtual tie .
In Minnesota , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden had a big lead , Trump has closed the gap to 4 points , ” Moore began a Facebook post on Friday .
“ Are you ready for a Trump victory ?
Are you mentally prepared to be outsmarted by Trump again ?
Do you find comfort in your certainty that there is no way Trump can win ?
Are you content with the trust you ’ ve placed in the DNC to pull this off ?
” Moore continued , “ I ’ m warning you almost 10 weeks in advance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million in Trump ’ s base is OFF THE CHARTS !
For Joe , not so much .
Don ’ t leave it to the Democrats to get rid of Trump .
YOU have to get rid of Trump .
WE have to wake up every day for the next 67 days and make sure each of us are going to get a hundred people out to vote .
ACT NOW !
” He went on to chide Biden for announcing campaign trips to Wisconsin , Minnesota , Pennsylvania , and Arizona .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ familiar ?
” He is warning that the Democrats are doing the same as in 2016 – taking votes for granted and not paying attention to crucial states just like Hillary ’ s campaign did .
The GOP convention did what it needed to do – offer a positive , upbeat message of America ’ s greatness .
Trump ’ s accomplishments were highlighted and non-traditional GOP voters were featured .
The personal stories were powerful .
Suburban women and Independents that tuned in to see what was being offered by Republicans likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the doom and gloom and the Democrat ’ s message that America is horrible , that Democracy has been destroyed by Trump .
Maher and Moore noticed .

Bill Maher is back in the HBO studio for the first time since March when the coronavirus pandemic shut down normal television production. He doesn’t have an in-studio audience yet due to current restrictions over mitigating the virus. From the video clip I watched, it looks as though he is struggling a bit with the lack of instant response to his not-so-entertaining schtick but it’s notable that some progress is being made in the entertainment business to get back to almost normal.
Maher is worried. He watched the Republican convention and he now realizes that President Trump just might be able to win re-election. He is starting to feel as he did in 2016 and he’s nervous. He went on Joy Reid’s show on MSNBC where he admitted to her that the convention was well-done and viewers at home likely had a favorable reaction to its programming.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” Maher gave the RNC high marks, calling it “unique” and noting the inclusion of “people applauding” for some of the speakers. “I don’t know if this stuff works, but it might,” Maher said. “I am feeling less confident about this — maybe it’s just their convention bump got to me, but I’m feeling less confident than I was a month ago.”
Reid even agreed with Maher about the production and then she did her usual race-baiting against Republicans – she mocked the “four black guys” and the women who were speakers. Maher attempted to set her straight. He said that people do have their own minds to make up about voting.
MSNBC host Joy Reid agreed that the GOP convention was a “smoothly produced thing” and suggested that the “four Black guys” and the “women” who were invited to speak were meant to sway voters as a “permission slip” for those who felt uncomfortable supporting President Trump again in 2020. Maher, however, called the strategy “effective,” highlighting Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s blistering attacks against Joe Biden. “He was pushing back on Joe Biden for saying, you know, if you vote for Trump, you ain’t Black and I don’t think that is a good thing for Joe Biden to have said,” Maher told Reid. “He [Cameron] said ‘I have my own mind.'”
Bill Maher is “very nervous”, just as he was four years ago. A month ago he was feeling confident that Biden will win in November but now he isn’t feeling that way. So, he is asking people to stop using the USPS until after the election in order to free up postal workers. He’s convinced himself, like other anti-Trumpers, that Trump is trying to use the postal service in order to cheat and win the election. There’s no other way to explain another Trump election victory, you know, except that Trump wins by cheating. A hashtag is born – #FreeUpTheMail. It’s crazy but he’s serious.
“If Trump’s going to try to scuttle the Post Office, we need to fight back,” the host said, delivering his “New Rules” show-ending monologue from his familiar set at LA’s CBS Television City. Starting in October, he added, “Don’t use the mail for anything but ballots until the election is over” on November 3. Trump and his supporters have attacked the legitimacy of mail-in voting, and as president he has taken action to put loyalists in charge and taken away funding and equipment. He is deliberately trying to tank the postal system in order to have a better chance to beat Joe Biden in November, Maher maintained. “He wants it to fail. It has to fail for his scheme to work. It’s like a postal version of The Producers,” he cracked. In order to block that plan, he said, citizens should deliberately limit their use of mail and take full advantage of doing things online. “You know how we pull over for fire trucks? It’s time we do the equivalent for mail trucks,” Maher said. “This can be our October surprise for Trump.”
Look, Bill Maher is a smart guy. We don’t have to agree with his politics or his penchant to go all-in on conspiracy theories that affirm his opinions but he is doing this nonsense to rev up Biden’s base voters. Maher’s show appeals to people that already agree with most of his brand of honesty. He can go after both sides of the aisle but we know he doesn’t vote as a Republican. He falls in line with Democrat voters.
The objection to universal mail-in voting is a legitimate one. Mailing out ballots to every registered voter in states that are not equipped to handle mass mail-in voting is asking for voter fraud. The problem is not with the postal service – they can handle an influx of mail-in ballots. The USPS handles millions of pieces of mail during the holiday season every year (and Mother’s Day, which is also huge for them). The current conspiracy that Trump is dismantling the USPS before the election to “cheat” and win is absurd. The new postmaster general is implementing more efficient ways of doing the job and replacing old pieces of machinery with new ones. The need to revamp the USPS is not a new situation. The postal service has been running in the red for years, a huge, inefficient money pit for the American taxpayer.
The Democrats in Congress have demanded that Postmaster General DeJoy stop what he is doing and let things remain as they are until after the election. He’s agreed to that. On Thursday he told the nation’s top election officials that mailed ballots are his top priority.
On Thursday, DeJoy told the election officials that he is forming a task force to look at each mail processing plant and assess what it might need to process the quantity of election mail anticipated this year, said New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, who is the president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, or NASS. DeJoy alluded to such a task force in a public statement earlier this month. “Over and over again, both [DeJoy] and his senior staff reiterated that the election is their highest priority,” Toulouse Oliver said in an interview with NPR after the call. “And they are actively putting into place processes and procedures to make sure every single piece of election mail, especially ballots, are going to be treated like gold.”
Democrats and other anti-Trumpers are desperate to lay the groundwork for an excuse if Trump wins as he did so with the help of the postal service or because he outright cheated. There isn’t the level of enthusiasm for Biden that there is for Trump with his voters. Even Michael Moore has noticed that. He is sounding the alarm as he did in 2016 that Trump can win because there is enthusiasm for his re-election.
“Sorry to have to provide the reality check again, but when CNN polled registered voters in August in just the swing states, Biden and Trump were in a virtual tie. In Minnesota, it’s 47-47. In Michigan, where Biden had a big lead, Trump has closed the gap to 4 points,” Moore began a Facebook post on Friday. “Are you ready for a Trump victory? Are you mentally prepared to be outsmarted by Trump again? Do you find comfort in your certainty that there is no way Trump can win? Are you content with the trust you’ve placed in the DNC to pull this off?” Moore continued, “I’m warning you almost 10 weeks in advance. The enthusiasm level for the 60 million in Trump’s base is OFF THE CHARTS! For Joe, not so much. Don’t leave it to the Democrats to get rid of Trump. YOU have to get rid of Trump. WE have to wake up every day for the next 67 days and make sure each of us are going to get a hundred people out to vote. ACT NOW!”
He went on to chide Biden for announcing campaign trips to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. but not to Michigan. “Sound familiar?” He is warning that the Democrats are doing the same as in 2016 – taking votes for granted and not paying attention to crucial states just like Hillary’s campaign did.
The GOP convention did what it needed to do – offer a positive, upbeat message of America’s greatness. Trump’s accomplishments were highlighted and non-traditional GOP voters were featured. The personal stories were powerful. Suburban women and Independents that tuned in to see what was being offered by Republicans likely were struck by the contrast it presented from the doom and gloom and the Democrat’s message that America is horrible, that Democracy has been destroyed by Trump. Maher and Moore noticed.


hotair--2020-08-29--NYC residents angry they were "tricked" into saying what they really thought about Mayor... and Trum

NYC residents angry they were "tricked" into saying what they really thought about Mayor... and Trump

The latest story of dirty tricks by the Trump administration is making the rounds this weekend and it deals with one of the video segments featured during the final night of the Republican National Convention .
Midway through a series of testimonials about Trump ’ s policies and their positive effects on the lives of real Americans , a segment aired featuring four tenants ’ association leaders from New York City .
They spoke passionately about the shortcomings of the administration of Gotham Mayor Bill de Blasio and appreciatively on the subject of efforts by the White House to improve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ segment on issues directly affecting primarily minority communities in the Big Apple .
There was just one problem .
After the segment aired , three of the four participants claimed that they had been “ tricked ” into recording the videos by Lynne Patton , the head of HUD Region II which oversees New York and New Jersey .
One of the participants said that she was “ furious ” over the depiction and the fact that nobody told her that the videos would be used during the RNC .
( A fourth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was supportive of President Trump . )
This “ trickery ” was picked up by the New York Times with the usual blaring about whether or not this was a violation of the Hatch Act .
“ I am not a Trump supporter , ” said one of the tenants , Claudia Perez .
“ I am not a supporter of his racist policies on immigration .
I am a first-generation Honduran .
It was my people he was sending back.
” The episode represents another stark example of how President Trump has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ambitions .
Ms. Patton is head of the New York office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development , and under the Hatch Act is barred from using her government position to engage in political activities… The four tenants in the public housing video were all interviewed on Friday by The New York Times .
Three said they opposed President Trump and were misled about the video .
The fourth , reached late Friday night , said she was a Trump backer and knew the purpose of the video .
We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” situation here , as Patton claims that everyone was informed that the video would be aired on Thursday , but three of the participants disagree .
So on the surface , if we assume their story is true , you can understand how someone might feel a bit blindsided by suddenly seeing themselves being featured on national television in this fashion , particularly if they are lifelong Democrats .
But looking a bit deeper into the story , it ’ s tough to understand how any of them could say they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ let ’ s take a look at the segment .
This clip is tagged to start at the beginning of this segment from a much longer video , but it ’ s only two minutes long .
Check it out and then we ’ ll deal with what these four people actually said .
The four people being interviewed are Claudia Perez , Carmen Quiñones , Manny Martinez and Judy Smith .
One thing to note is that all four of them were told after the interviews that the video was being recorded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though they denied the convention was specifically mentioned .
Still , that should have at least given them some clue .
But what did they really say on camera when they clearly knew they were being recorded ?
( This was not some sort of secret , hidden camera scheme . )
Quiñones didn ’ t have much to say about Trump , but she unloaded on Mayor de Blasio , saying “ this mayor has made our lives here , and I think in every housing development , very uncomfortable.
” Martinez @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as being responsible for an influx of public housing funding “ not seen since 1997.
” He goes on to specifically praise Lynne Patton for the improvements they ’ ve seen .
Smith says she is “ grateful for the spotlight the Trump administration is putting on New York City housing.
” She goes on from there to say how it is “ wrong ” for Democrats to put illegal immigrants before Black Americans in gaining access to public housing .
Claudia Perez describes the way Bill de Blasio has dealt with public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ later says that she is “ very appreciative of this administration ” and that the Trump White House has “ opened their ears and listened ” to the needs of those in public housing , “ bringing real solutions to a real problem.
” All of these people were told that the video was being recorded as a Republican project .
They were being interviewed by a senior HUD official from the Trump administration .
And all but one of them had plenty of praise for Donald Trump ’ s accomplishments in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gun to their heads .
But now they are upset that the footage aired during the RNC ?
The liberal media is trying to make hay out of this by claiming that these four people were somehow “ tricked.
” But listening to their own voices and seeing the expressions on their faces , it certainly seems like they ’ ve been impressed by the job Donald Trump has done .
They just don ’ t want their friends to hear them saying it on national TV .

The latest story of dirty tricks by the Trump administration is making the rounds this weekend and it deals with one of the video segments featured during the final night of the Republican National Convention. Midway through a series of testimonials about Trump’s policies and their positive effects on the lives of real Americans, a segment aired featuring four tenants’ association leaders from New York City. They spoke passionately about the shortcomings of the administration of Gotham Mayor Bill de Blasio and appreciatively on the subject of efforts by the White House to improve the situation. It was a compelling segment on issues directly affecting primarily minority communities in the Big Apple.
There was just one problem. After the segment aired, three of the four participants claimed that they had been “tricked” into recording the videos by Lynne Patton, the head of HUD Region II which oversees New York and New Jersey. One of the participants said that she was “furious” over the depiction and the fact that nobody told her that the videos would be used during the RNC. (A fourth participant said she had been informed and was supportive of President Trump.) This “trickery” was picked up by the New York Times with the usual blaring about whether or not this was a violation of the Hatch Act.
“I am not a Trump supporter,” said one of the tenants, Claudia Perez. “I am not a supporter of his racist policies on immigration. I am a first-generation Honduran. It was my people he was sending back.” The episode represents another stark example of how President Trump has deployed government resources to further his political ambitions. Ms. Patton is head of the New York office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and under the Hatch Act is barred from using her government position to engage in political activities… The four tenants in the public housing video were all interviewed on Friday by The New York Times. Three said they opposed President Trump and were misled about the video. The fourth, reached late Friday night, said she was a Trump backer and knew the purpose of the video.
We have a “she said, she said” situation here, as Patton claims that everyone was informed that the video would be aired on Thursday, but three of the participants disagree. So on the surface, if we assume their story is true, you can understand how someone might feel a bit blindsided by suddenly seeing themselves being featured on national television in this fashion, particularly if they are lifelong Democrats.
But looking a bit deeper into the story, it’s tough to understand how any of them could say they were being unfairly characterized. Before continuing, let’s take a look at the segment. This clip is tagged to start at the beginning of this segment from a much longer video, but it’s only two minutes long. Check it out and then we’ll deal with what these four people actually said.
The four people being interviewed are Claudia Perez, Carmen Quiñones, Manny Martinez and Judy Smith. One thing to note is that all four of them were told after the interviews that the video was being recorded “for the Republican Party,” though they denied the convention was specifically mentioned. Still, that should have at least given them some clue. But what did they really say on camera when they clearly knew they were being recorded? (This was not some sort of secret, hidden camera scheme.)
Quiñones didn’t have much to say about Trump, but she unloaded on Mayor de Blasio, saying “this mayor has made our lives here, and I think in every housing development, very uncomfortable.”
Martinez specifically cites “the Trump administration” as being responsible for an influx of public housing funding “not seen since 1997.” He goes on to specifically praise Lynne Patton for the improvements they’ve seen.
Smith says she is “grateful for the spotlight the Trump administration is putting on New York City housing.” She goes on from there to say how it is “wrong” for Democrats to put illegal immigrants before Black Americans in gaining access to public housing.
Claudia Perez describes the way Bill de Blasio has dealt with public housing residents as “disgraceful.” She later says that she is “very appreciative of this administration” and that the Trump White House has “opened their ears and listened” to the needs of those in public housing, “bringing real solutions to a real problem.”
All of these people were told that the video was being recorded as a Republican project. They were being interviewed by a senior HUD official from the Trump administration. And all but one of them had plenty of praise for Donald Trump’s accomplishments in the public housing sector. Nobody had a gun to their heads. But now they are upset that the footage aired during the RNC?
The liberal media is trying to make hay out of this by claiming that these four people were somehow “tricked.” But listening to their own voices and seeing the expressions on their faces, it certainly seems like they’ve been impressed by the job Donald Trump has done. They just don’t want their friends to hear them saying it on national TV.


hotair--2020-08-29--General Mark Milley: The U.S. Military will not get involved in the election process

In case you haven ’ t noticed , the Democrats in Congress are convinced that if Joe Biden wins the presidential election in November , President Trump will refuse to leave office , specifically the White House .
A couple of congresswomen on the House Armed Services Committee let their Trump derangement out in full display by submitting written questions to General Mark Milley , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff .
Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey are worried about what they describe as the recent politicization of the military by Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. military against the violent protesters in cities around the country .
The general ’ s written responses to the congresswoman were released Friday .
“ I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical U.S. military , ” Milley said in written responses to questions from two Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee , according to AP .
“ In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections , by law U.S. courts and the U.S. Congress are required to resolve any disputes , not the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S armed forces in this process.
” When asked whether the armed forces would reject a presidential order to use military force for political gain , Milley said , “ I will not follow an unlawful order.
” The general is clearly educated on the responsibilities of the military and its role .
Joe Biden , however , is not .
Is that a sign to come ?
If Biden wins the election in November , will he politicize the military and allow his inner authoritarian to run wild ?
We already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national facial mask mandate and that he will shut down the country again if scientists tell him to do so .
Given the fact that the medical community is often at odds with each other over the coronavirus , Biden is telling us he will cherry-pick the information he wants and use it for political gain or power .
Democrat lawmakers continue to drop their masks and tell us who they really are in their desperation to get rid of Trump .
Trump was honest with reporters when he was asked about accepting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he ’ ll have to wait and see .
What he meant by that , as he explained , is that if the race is very close ( which it very well may be ) then Trump reserves the right to question the results .
There is a history of Democrats not accepting election results – recent examples are Hillary in 2016 and also Al Gore back in 2000 .
In June General Milley apologized for taking part in a photo op at St. John ’ s Episcopal Church with the president and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was dressed in military camouflage fatigues at the time he walked over to the church as part of Trump ’ s entourage .
“ I should not have been there , my presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.
” Two retired Army officers , adamant that Trump will lose the election , posing a domestic threat to the country , wrote a letter to General Milley .
They insist that the military “ must remove him by force ” and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We do not live in ordinary times .
The president of the United States is actively subverting our electoral system , threatening to remain in office in defiance of our Constitution .
In a few months ’ time , you may have to choose between defying a lawless president or betraying your Constitutional oath .
We write to assist you in thinking clearly about that choice .
If Donald Trump refuses to leave office at the expiration of his constitutional term , the United States military must remove him by force , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a dangerous confluence of circumstances , the once-unthinkable scenario of authoritarian rule in the United States is now a very real possibility .
First , as Mr. Trump faces near certain electoral defeat , he is vigorously undermining public confidence in our elections .
Second , Mr. Trump ’ s defeat would result in his facing not merely political ignominy , but also criminal charges .
Third , Mr. Trump is assembling a private army capable of thwarting not only the will of the electorate but also the capacities of ordinary law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ January 20 , 2021 , the U.S. military will be the only institution capable of upholding our Constitutional order .
Fortunately , the crazy stupid letter was criticized in the military community as provocative and impractical .
Not all of the military has gone off the deep end when it comes to their Commander-in-Chief .
Members of the House Armed Services Committee also sent written questions to Defense Secretary Mark Esper .
His responses haven ’ t been released yet if he has completed them .

In case you haven’t noticed, the Democrats in Congress are convinced that if Joe Biden wins the presidential election in November, President Trump will refuse to leave office, specifically the White House. A couple of congresswomen on the House Armed Services Committee let their Trump derangement out in full display by submitting written questions to General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey are worried about what they describe as the recent politicization of the military by Trump, including concern that he will use the U.S. military against the violent protesters in cities around the country. The general’s written responses to the congresswoman were released Friday.
“I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical U.S. military,” Milley said in written responses to questions from two Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee, according to AP. “In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections, by law U.S. courts and the U.S. Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the U.S. military. I foresee no role for the U.S armed forces in this process.” When asked whether the armed forces would reject a presidential order to use military force for political gain, Milley said, “I will not follow an unlawful order.”
The general is clearly educated on the responsibilities of the military and its role. Joe Biden, however, is not.
Joe Biden said in June that if Trump refused to accept the election results, he was “absolutely convinced soldiers [would] escort him from the White House with great dispatch.”
Is that a sign to come? If Biden wins the election in November, will he politicize the military and allow his inner authoritarian to run wild? We already know he is in favor of a national facial mask mandate and that he will shut down the country again if scientists tell him to do so. Given the fact that the medical community is often at odds with each other over the coronavirus, Biden is telling us he will cherry-pick the information he wants and use it for political gain or power. Democrat lawmakers continue to drop their masks and tell us who they really are in their desperation to get rid of Trump.
Trump was honest with reporters when he was asked about accepting the election results. He rightfully said he’ll have to wait and see. What he meant by that, as he explained, is that if the race is very close (which it very well may be) then Trump reserves the right to question the results. There is a history of Democrats not accepting election results – recent examples are Hillary in 2016 and also Al Gore back in 2000.
In June General Milley apologized for taking part in a photo op at St. John’s Episcopal Church with the president and others in the administration. The general was dressed in military camouflage fatigues at the time he walked over to the church as part of Trump’s entourage. “I should not have been there, my presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.”
Two retired Army officers, adamant that Trump will lose the election, posing a domestic threat to the country, wrote a letter to General Milley. They insist that the military “must remove him by force” and the general “must give that order.”
We do not live in ordinary times. The president of the United States is actively subverting our electoral system, threatening to remain in office in defiance of our Constitution. In a few months’ time, you may have to choose between defying a lawless president or betraying your Constitutional oath. We write to assist you in thinking clearly about that choice. If Donald Trump refuses to leave office at the expiration of his constitutional term, the United States military must remove him by force, and you must give that order. Due to a dangerous confluence of circumstances, the once-unthinkable scenario of authoritarian rule in the United States is now a very real possibility. First, as Mr. Trump faces near certain electoral defeat, he is vigorously undermining public confidence in our elections. Second, Mr. Trump’s defeat would result in his facing not merely political ignominy, but also criminal charges. Third, Mr. Trump is assembling a private army capable of thwarting not only the will of the electorate but also the capacities of ordinary law enforcement. When these forces collide on January 20, 2021, the U.S. military will be the only institution capable of upholding our Constitutional order.
Fortunately, the crazy stupid letter was criticized in the military community as provocative and impractical. Not all of the military has gone off the deep end when it comes to their Commander-in-Chief.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee also sent written questions to Defense Secretary Mark Esper. His responses haven’t been released yet if he has completed them.