hotair--2020-12-30--Cancel culture strikes again and the NY Times is fine with it

The day after Christmas the NY Times published a story about another incident of cancel culture .
This one involves a teenage girl named Mimi Groves who , back when she was 15-years-old , used the N-word in a snapchat video .
The context is important here : Granted this is not a smart thing to say but we ’ re talking about a 15-year-old who listens to rap music .
She ’ s not directing this toward a person as a slur .
She ’ s using it the way it would be used in a rap video .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Groves and was apparently friendly with her at the time , didn ’ t see the clip when she posted it .
He saw it 3+ years later when someone sent it to him .
Galligan had been upset that the N-word was routinely heard in the school hallways at his high school in Leesburg , VA .
He decided he was going to hold on to the video and republish it when it would do maximum damage : “ I wanted to get her where she would understand the severity of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , whose mother is Black and father is white , said of the classmate who uttered the slur , Mimi Groves… Mr. Galligan , who had waited until Ms. Groves had chosen a college , had publicly posted the video that afternoon .
Within hours , it had been shared to Snapchat , TikTok and Twitter , where furious calls mounted for the University of Tennessee to revoke its admission offer .
The consequences were swift .
Over the next two days , Ms. Groves was removed from the university ’ s cheer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school under pressure from admissions officials , who told her they had received hundreds of emails and phone calls from outraged alumni , students and the public .
Groves had specifically applied to UT because they had the nation ’ s leading cheer team .
She was kicked off the team and then told if she refused to withdraw from the school she would have her admission revoked anyway .
She is now taking classes at a local community college .
Ironically , Groves first learned of the backlash after she posted a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and someone responded by commenting about her use of the N-word .
In other words , she was not someone harboring anti-black or even anti-BLM views .
She was just a teenage who ’ d said something dumb as a 15-year-old .
In fact , one of Grove ’ s defenders was a black student to whom she had apologized for the video prior to its re-publication by Galligan : Meanwhile , Galligan is very proud of himself : This is cancel culture in action .
There is no nuance and no sense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do maximum damage to someone ’ s future , either their career or in this case their schooling .
And as Robby Soave pointed out at Reason , the NY Times recounts all of this without any sense that something unjust is happening : Levin connects the outcry from aggrieved students to the broader Black Lives Matter movement and protests that occurred this summer following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police .
But nowhere does his article reckon with a very basic fact : The New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teenager ’ s desperate quest to ruin the life of a young woman who said something stupid when she was 15 .
Everyone roughly 25 and older should thank their lucky stars that they completed adolescence before the age of social media and ubiquitous camera phones , because the country ’ s most important newspaper apparently thinks it is appropriate to shame teenagers over their juvenile behavior .
This is the very worst aspect of cancel culture—the burning desire to hold people accountable for mistakes they made as kids , even if they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grown past them—and the Times has fully embraced it .
To be clear , it sounds like Galligan really did have a bad time in his school , including ( according to him ) being mocked in class by other students when the N-word came up during the reading of a novel .
I don ’ t fault Galligan for being upset by that kind of treatment or for wanting to hold people responsible for it in some way .
But Mimi Groves wasn ’ t one of those people .
Her offhand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ directed at him .
Indeed he didn ’ t hear it for several years .
Even if you think she contributed in some small way to normalizing this at her school , it ’ s pretty clear this wasn ’ t coming from her or her family but from music she listened to created by black artists .
What Galligan should have done , instead of plotting revenge on someone who did nothing to him , was talk to his former friend and let her know the clip bothered him .
If he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him as she had to her friend .
Maybe Galligan would have learned she ’ d grown up a lot since age fifteen .
Instead he made this a seek and destroy mission with no chance for any real justice .
Quite a few NY Times ’ readers think he took this too far .
The most liked comment on the piece as I write this is from a black student who identifies with the bad treatment Galligan faced in school but thinks his attempt at public shaming was a mistake : I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as one of the only black kids in my nearly all-white high school in the 90 ’ s .
I wouldn ’ t wish my experiences on anyone , but I still think it serves no purpose to premeditatedly ruin a single kid ’ s future over isolated adolescent behavior .
Particularly because in her case , her sin was a moment of ignorance and insensitivity – something all kids are guilt of – rather than intentional malice .
She was flippantly and ignorantly mimicking the chatter of popular music and culture , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This was not truly handled as a useful teaching moment .
It reflects a descent into a new puritanism .
As evidence , other bad and anti-social behavior kids and young adults do – including outright criminal behavior ( look up Justin Bieber or Donny Wahlberg ) – does not ignite the entire social media mob against them .
This all could have been done in private , but because the intent was to shame , brand , and destroy , the kid who posted deliberately waited for the most damaging time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to college , to do this .
I think one day he ’ ll regret acting out this way .
And I think one day we ’ ll look at targets of the social network mob the way we look at Hester Prynne in a Scarlett Letter .
Here ’ s the second most liked reply : And the third most liked : I didn ’ t go into this above but the full story includes a vingette where Galligan corrects his own father for using the N-word in a joking manner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family .
However in that case he did it by quietly taking his father aside : There ’ s a lot more like this : I don ’ t want to be too hard on Galligan because he ’ s exactly what Mimi Groves was , i.e .
a dumb kid who got some bad information from her immediate culture .
The difference is that she came to regret her mistake and he has yet to do that .
But hopefully he will one day .
And in the meantime it wouldn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NY Times would make it clear this kind of cancel culture is not heroic .

The day after Christmas the NY Times published a story about another incident of cancel culture. This one involves a teenage girl named Mimi Groves who, back when she was 15-years-old, used the N-word in a snapchat video. The context is important here:
Ms. Groves had originally sent the video, in which she looked into the camera and said, “I can drive,” followed by the slur, to a friend on Snapchat in 2016, when she was a freshman and had just gotten her learner’s permit. It later circulated among some students at Heritage High School, which she and Mr. Galligan attended, but did not cause much of a stir.
Granted this is not a smart thing to say but we’re talking about a 15-year-old who listens to rap music. She’s not directing this toward a person as a slur. She’s using it the way it would be used in a rap video. Jimmy Galligan who went to school with Groves and was apparently friendly with her at the time, didn’t see the clip when she posted it. He saw it 3+ years later when someone sent it to him. Galligan had been upset that the N-word was routinely heard in the school hallways at his high school in Leesburg, VA. He decided he was going to hold on to the video and republish it when it would do maximum damage:
“I wanted to get her where she would understand the severity of that word,” Mr. Galligan, 18, whose mother is Black and father is white, said of the classmate who uttered the slur, Mimi Groves… Mr. Galligan, who had waited until Ms. Groves had chosen a college, had publicly posted the video that afternoon. Within hours, it had been shared to Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter, where furious calls mounted for the University of Tennessee to revoke its admission offer. The consequences were swift. Over the next two days, Ms. Groves was removed from the university’s cheer team. She then withdrew from the school under pressure from admissions officials, who told her they had received hundreds of emails and phone calls from outraged alumni, students and the public.
Groves had specifically applied to UT because they had the nation’s leading cheer team. She was kicked off the team and then told if she refused to withdraw from the school she would have her admission revoked anyway. She is now taking classes at a local community college.
Ironically, Groves first learned of the backlash after she posted a message in support of Black Lives Matter and someone responded by commenting about her use of the N-word. In other words, she was not someone harboring anti-black or even anti-BLM views. She was just a teenage who’d said something dumb as a 15-year-old. In fact, one of Grove’s defenders was a black student to whom she had apologized for the video prior to its re-publication by Galligan:
One of Ms. Groves’s friends, who is Black, said Ms. Groves had personally apologized for the video long before it went viral. Once it did in June, the friend defended Ms. Groves online, prompting criticism from strangers and fellow students. “We’re supposed to educate people,” she wrote in a Snapchat post, “not ruin their lives all because you want to feel a sense of empowerment.”
Meanwhile, Galligan is very proud of himself:
For his role, Mr. Galligan said he had no regrets. “If I never posted that video, nothing would have ever happened,” he said. And because the internet never forgets, the clip will always be available to watch.
This is cancel culture in action. There is no nuance and no sense of proportion. The goal is to do maximum damage to someone’s future, either their career or in this case their schooling. And as Robby Soave pointed out at Reason, the NY Times recounts all of this without any sense that something unjust is happening:
Levin connects the outcry from aggrieved students to the broader Black Lives Matter movement and protests that occurred this summer following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police. But nowhere does his article reckon with a very basic fact: The New York Times has opted to assist a teenager’s desperate quest to ruin the life of a young woman who said something stupid when she was 15. Everyone roughly 25 and older should thank their lucky stars that they completed adolescence before the age of social media and ubiquitous camera phones, because the country’s most important newspaper apparently thinks it is appropriate to shame teenagers over their juvenile behavior. This is the very worst aspect of cancel culture—the burning desire to hold people accountable for mistakes they made as kids, even if they have long since learned their lesson and grown past them—and the Times has fully embraced it.
To be clear, it sounds like Galligan really did have a bad time in his school, including (according to him) being mocked in class by other students when the N-word came up during the reading of a novel. I don’t fault Galligan for being upset by that kind of treatment or for wanting to hold people responsible for it in some way. But Mimi Groves wasn’t one of those people. Her offhand comment when she was 15 was not directed at him. Indeed he didn’t hear it for several years. Even if you think she contributed in some small way to normalizing this at her school, it’s pretty clear this wasn’t coming from her or her family but from music she listened to created by black artists.
What Galligan should have done, instead of plotting revenge on someone who did nothing to him, was talk to his former friend and let her know the clip bothered him. If he had, she could have apologized to him as she had to her friend. Maybe Galligan would have learned she’d grown up a lot since age fifteen. Instead he made this a seek and destroy mission with no chance for any real justice.
Quite a few NY Times’ readers think he took this too far. The most liked comment on the piece as I write this is from a black student who identifies with the bad treatment Galligan faced in school but thinks his attempt at public shaming was a mistake:
I was the target of anti-black racial slurs as one of the only black kids in my nearly all-white high school in the 90’s. I wouldn’t wish my experiences on anyone, but I still think it serves no purpose to premeditatedly ruin a single kid’s future over isolated adolescent behavior. Particularly because in her case, her sin was a moment of ignorance and insensitivity – something all kids are guilt of – rather than intentional malice. She was flippantly and ignorantly mimicking the chatter of popular music and culture, not actually using the slur on someone. This was not truly handled as a useful teaching moment. It reflects a descent into a new puritanism. As evidence, other bad and anti-social behavior kids and young adults do – including outright criminal behavior (look up Justin Bieber or Donny Wahlberg) – does not ignite the entire social media mob against them. This all could have been done in private, but because the intent was to shame, brand, and destroy, the kid who posted deliberately waited for the most damaging time, and after knowing where she was going to college, to do this. I think one day he’ll regret acting out this way. And I think one day we’ll look at targets of the social network mob the way we look at Hester Prynne in a Scarlett Letter.
Here’s the second most liked reply:
I guess I’m the only one bothered by the fact that Galligan purposely waited for years to release this video, with the express purpose of destroying her college chances. This goes far beyond wanting to “educate” her — this is vindictive and chilling behavior.
And the third most liked:
She did say she was sorry. She apologized and openly supported anti-racism on social media. It says that in this article. Yet, this boy who had to explain to his own adult father who married into a Black family that using this particular racial slur is unacceptable, is proud for punishing a girl who used the slur as a 15-year-old who listens to rap music where the word is used all the time. She did not know better, she apologized, but cancel culture says that’s not good enough.
I didn’t go into this above but the full story includes a vingette where Galligan corrects his own father for using the N-word in a joking manner with members of his wife’s family. However in that case he did it by quietly taking his father aside:
I’m disturbed that Mr. Galligan took his father – a grown man – quietly aside to talk to him about the slur, but held on to a video of a child for years before posting it online.
There’s a lot more like this:
So, if an immature, privileged, basically inexperienced and slightly dumb kid says something foul and racist at one age and then apologizes and encourages people to contribute to BLM later, she must be judged and punished for her past sins. I hope Mr. Galligan feels good about himself, in spite of the fact that he clearly does not believe in second chances.
I don’t want to be too hard on Galligan because he’s exactly what Mimi Groves was, i.e. a dumb kid who got some bad information from her immediate culture. The difference is that she came to regret her mistake and he has yet to do that. But hopefully he will one day. And in the meantime it wouldn’t hurt if the alleged adults at the NY Times would make it clear this kind of cancel culture is not heroic.


hotair--2020-12-30--Trump: Look, it's not my problem that vaccinations are happening slowly

In fairness , the long hours he ’ s devoting to promoting incoherent theories of election-rigging leaves him very little time to focus on something like the national COVID vaccination program .
When he says that getting people vaccinated is the states ’ job , not the federal government ’ s , he ’ s half right .
No one expects him to deploy federal agents to staff vaccination centers .
Plus , he already delivered blockbuster results with Operation Warp Speed by distributing a highly effective vaccine before the end of the year .
At some point this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s baffling that he and his staff didn ’ t press harder to help states build an infrastructure to administer the vaccine as we got closer to V-Day with Pfizer and Moderna .
Testing was a shambles back in March but at least then the feds had the excuse of the virus being brand new to help explain why they were caught flat-footed .
( “ I don ’ t take responsibility at all , ” Trump famously said at the time about the dearth of COVID tests . )
This time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vaccine might arrive in December and that we were apt to be stuck in a ferocious second wave of the pandemic when it did .
Efficient vaccination on a mass scale would be a matter of life and death for thousands .
He doesn ’ t take responsibility at all : They did put up a little money to get the states going on this — emphasis on “ a little.
” “ It had to go this way , ” Paul Offit , a professor of pediatrics at Children ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We had to trip and fall and stumble and figure this out.
” … The logistics of the rollout have been largely left up to states to navigate .
States and local public health officials have warned for months that they would need more than $ 8 billion in additional funding to stand up the infrastructure needed to administer vaccines .
The Trump administration instead provided states $ 340 million in funding to prepare for vaccinations .
Congressional lawmakers also balked for months at appropriating additional funding for vaccine distribution , although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump on Sunday included $ 8 billion in funding for that effort .
“ We ’ re trying to do everything on a shoestring , when really we need vast amounts of money invested .
It ’ s been phenomenal , the needs that should have been taken care of six months ago , so we ’ re not continuing to build the system as we ’ re rolling it out , ” said Ann Lewandowski of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative .
It ’ s the public-health equivalent of the great $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the last six months POTUS could have done what he ’ s doing right now , putting pressure on Congress to act urgently by taking his case to the public .
“ We need $ 2,000 payments and we need them now .
Any member of Congress , including Republicans , who resists is putting lives in danger.
” If he had said that in September , he might be preparing for his second inauguration today and millions of people on the edge of destitution would be somewhat more secure .
Instead he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inexplicably .
Same goes for vaccine infrastructure .
He could have grabbed deficit hawks like Ron Johnson by the lapels months ago and said , “ The Trump vaccine is coming .
I want states ready to roll on day one .
I don ’ t care where you get the money , just get it.
” Why didn ’ t he ?
Officials from Operation Warp Speed and the CDC are trying to calm the public today about the pace of vaccinations .
“ We are really doing well , in my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gen. Gus Perna to reporters , citing the fact that 14 million doses have already gone out the door .
“ I really expect those [ vaccination ] numbers are going to increase fast next week , ” CDC immunologist Nancy Messonier added .
Let ’ s hope so , as we ’ re racing an opponent here who ’ s gaining speed as the race goes on .
The first person in the U.S. known to be infected with a new and apparently more contagious [ British ] variant of the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak .
And health officials said a second Guard member may have it , too… The variant is probably still rare in the U.S. , but the Colorado patient ’ s lack of travel history means it is spreading , perhaps seeded by visitors from Britain in November or December , said scientist Trevor Bedford , who studies the spread of COVID-19 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle .
“ Now I ’ m worried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the variant , ” Bedford said .
“ It ’ s a race with the vaccine , but now the virus has just gotten a little bit faster.
” Interestingly , the Guardsman may not have picked up the British variant of the virus at the nursing home .
Of the samples taken from residents and staff at that facility , tests so far show that no one was infected with that particular strain .
Hmmmm .
Scientists still haven ’ t confirmed yet that the British virus is more easily transmitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ravaging the U.S. for the past nine months , but Bedford ’ s been looking at the data gathered so far and thinks it ’ s very likely .
It makes sense that a higher viral load would make for a more transmissible strain but it ’ s curious that the new strain isn ’ t also more deadly .
One still unproven hypothesis for why some people get severe cases of COVID and others don ’ t is that severe cases involve higher viral loads .
The more viral particles are in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more rapidly it spreads throughout the body before your immune system kicks into gear , or so the theory goes .
But if the British strain involves a greater amount of virus , why isn ’ t it killing people at a higher rate than COVID 1.0 ?
One noteworthy aspect of the slow vaccine rollout is that it doesn ’ t seem to be more common among red or blue states .
Everyone ’ s struggling with getting the process up to a more acceptable clip .
Yesterday Texas Gov .
Greg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quickly provide ” all available doses as more is coming each week .
Not coincidentally , yesterday was also the worst day for new cases and hospitalizations in Texas since the start of the pandemic .
Meanwhile in New York : That ’ s super , but that ’ s a 15-day total amounting to an average of just 13,500 vaccinations per day .
Even if that rate were to triple , it would take more than a year to get New York State ’ s residents vaccinated .
( Longer , actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each require two doses . )
Joe Biden ’ s benchmark of 100 million doses administered by his 100th day in office is ambitious , but that could mean as few as 50 million Americans vaccinated by late April .
This program will stretch way into summer and presumably fall of next year .
Those of us who ’ ve been counting the hours for the past nine months until we can get vaccinated might be only halfway or so through our wait time .
Maybe the smart move at this point is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They seem to know what they ’ re doing .
Update : News from California .
I ’ m wondering now if the shocking surge in cases in SoCal lately has an obvious explanation , namely , a much more transmissible version of the virus spreading widely .

In fairness, the long hours he’s devoting to promoting incoherent theories of election-rigging leaves him very little time to focus on something like the national COVID vaccination program.
When he says that getting people vaccinated is the states’ job, not the federal government’s, he’s half right. No one expects him to deploy federal agents to staff vaccination centers. Plus, he already delivered blockbuster results with Operation Warp Speed by distributing a highly effective vaccine before the end of the year. At some point this is out of his hands.
But it’s baffling that he and his staff didn’t press harder to help states build an infrastructure to administer the vaccine as we got closer to V-Day with Pfizer and Moderna. Testing was a shambles back in March but at least then the feds had the excuse of the virus being brand new to help explain why they were caught flat-footed. (“I don’t take responsibility at all,” Trump famously said at the time about the dearth of COVID tests.) This time, they knew months in advance that the vaccine might arrive in December and that we were apt to be stuck in a ferocious second wave of the pandemic when it did. Efficient vaccination on a mass scale would be a matter of life and death for thousands.
He doesn’t take responsibility at all:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1344051613216993281
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1344262826261676032
They did put up a little money to get the states going on this — emphasis on “a little.”
“It had to go this way,” Paul Offit, a professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told STAT. “We had to trip and fall and stumble and figure this out.”… The logistics of the rollout have been largely left up to states to navigate. States and local public health officials have warned for months that they would need more than $8 billion in additional funding to stand up the infrastructure needed to administer vaccines. The Trump administration instead provided states $340 million in funding to prepare for vaccinations. Congressional lawmakers also balked for months at appropriating additional funding for vaccine distribution, although the coronavirus stimulus package signed by President Trump on Sunday included $8 billion in funding for that effort. “We’re trying to do everything on a shoestring, when really we need vast amounts of money invested. It’s been phenomenal, the needs that should have been taken care of six months ago, so we’re not continuing to build the system as we’re rolling it out,” said Ann Lewandowski of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative.
It’s the public-health equivalent of the great $2,000-check debate. At any point in the last six months POTUS could have done what he’s doing right now, putting pressure on Congress to act urgently by taking his case to the public. “We need $2,000 payments and we need them now. Any member of Congress, including Republicans, who resists is putting lives in danger.” If he had said that in September, he might be preparing for his second inauguration today and millions of people on the edge of destitution would be somewhat more secure. Instead he waited until it was too late, inexplicably. Same goes for vaccine infrastructure. He could have grabbed deficit hawks like Ron Johnson by the lapels months ago and said, “The Trump vaccine is coming. I want states ready to roll on day one. I don’t care where you get the money, just get it.” Why didn’t he?
Officials from Operation Warp Speed and the CDC are trying to calm the public today about the pace of vaccinations. “We are really doing well, in my opinion, in distribution,” said Gen. Gus Perna to reporters, citing the fact that 14 million doses have already gone out the door. “I really expect those [vaccination] numbers are going to increase fast next week,” CDC immunologist Nancy Messonier added. Let’s hope so, as we’re racing an opponent here who’s gaining speed as the race goes on.
The first person in the U.S. known to be infected with a new and apparently more contagious [British] variant of the coronavirus was identified Wednesday as a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak. And health officials said a second Guard member may have it, too… The variant is probably still rare in the U.S., but the Colorado patient’s lack of travel history means it is spreading, perhaps seeded by visitors from Britain in November or December, said scientist Trevor Bedford, who studies the spread of COVID-19 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “Now I’m worried there will be another spring wave due to the variant,” Bedford said. “It’s a race with the vaccine, but now the virus has just gotten a little bit faster.”
Interestingly, the Guardsman may not have picked up the British variant of the virus at the nursing home. Of the samples taken from residents and staff at that facility, tests so far show that no one was infected with that particular strain. Hmmmm.
Scientists still haven’t confirmed yet that the British virus is more easily transmitted than the version that’s been ravaging the U.S. for the past nine months, but Bedford’s been looking at the data gathered so far and thinks it’s very likely.
For point 1 (increase in frequency) we have pretty much the same data as of a week ago, where we see increasing frequency of variant over wildtype across the UK. This can be readily seen in this analysis by @TWenseleers. 3/10https://t.co/mGGxtdqRR0 pic.twitter.com/lWu5kTDWgo — Trevor Bedford (@trvrb) December 29, 2020
This translates to an estimated 10 to 100-fold increase in average viral load of variant cases. This gives a hypothesized mechanism for increased transmissibility, ie individuals infected by the variant will on average expel more virus and be consequently more infectious. 8/10 — Trevor Bedford (@trvrb) December 29, 2020
It makes sense that a higher viral load would make for a more transmissible strain but it’s curious that the new strain isn’t also more deadly. One still unproven hypothesis for why some people get severe cases of COVID and others don’t is that severe cases involve higher viral loads. The more viral particles are in your system to start with, the more rapidly it spreads throughout the body before your immune system kicks into gear, or so the theory goes. But if the British strain involves a greater amount of virus, why isn’t it killing people at a higher rate than COVID 1.0?
One noteworthy aspect of the slow vaccine rollout is that it doesn’t seem to be more common among red or blue states. Everyone’s struggling with getting the process up to a more acceptable clip. Yesterday Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that vaccination authorities should “quickly provide” all available doses as more is coming each week. Not coincidentally, yesterday was also the worst day for new cases and hospitalizations in Texas since the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile in New York:
Vaccination Update: Approximately 203,000 New Yorkers to date have received one dose of the #COVID vaccine. — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 30, 2020
That’s super, but that’s a 15-day total amounting to an average of just 13,500 vaccinations per day. Even if that rate were to triple, it would take more than a year to get New York State’s residents vaccinated. (Longer, actually, since the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines each require two doses.) Joe Biden’s benchmark of 100 million doses administered by his 100th day in office is ambitious, but that could mean as few as 50 million Americans vaccinated by late April. This program will stretch way into summer and presumably fall of next year. Those of us who’ve been counting the hours for the past nine months until we can get vaccinated might be only halfway or so through our wait time.
Maybe the smart move at this point is to convert and make aliyah to Israel. They seem to know what they’re doing.
Update: News from California. I’m wondering now if the shocking surge in cases in SoCal lately has an obvious explanation, namely, a much more transmissible version of the virus spreading widely.


hotair--2020-12-30--Pelosi will seat Miller-Meeks at start of new congress but Democrat's challenge will continue

Earlier today I wrote about the still contested race in NY-22 .
But there is one other race in the country that hasn ’ t been decided , at least not finally .
The race in Iowa-2 was the closest in the country this cycle .
Republican Marianette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Rita Hart had several lead changes last month .
Miller-Meeks was eventually certified the winner with a lead of just 6 votes .
Hart decided not to challenge the narrow victory in court .
Instead , she appealed directly to the House of Representatives which has the ability to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over who is seated in a given race .
Since Democrats control the chamber , that means the outcome is ultimately up to Speaker Nancy Pelosi .
Today , Politico reports that Pelosi will seat Miller-Meeks as the currently certified winner of the race , however a House investigation of the race will continue .
Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed Wednesday that she plans to seat the GOP winner of a contested race in Iowa on Jan. 3 , despite a pending challenge from the Democratic contender in the razor-thin election… Pelosi made the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when she succinctly replied “ yes ” when asked if she planned to seat Miller-Meeks before moving on to another question .
“ Every vote counts and that ’ s why the Committee on House Administration is conducting a thorough and fair review of this election to make sure every vote was counted and counted as cast , ” Pelosi ’ s spokesperson , Drew Hammill , elaborated in a statement following the press conference .
“ Pending the outcome of the Committee ’ s review and consistent with House practice , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Sunday.
” In Hart ’ s challenge she argued that 22 rejected ballots should have been counted and , if they had , she would have been certified the winner .
The House Administration Committee chaired by Democrat Zoe Lofgren will now investigate those claims .
Politico notes that Democrats could have refused to seat Miller-Meeks until the review , which could include a recount , was complete but “ many Democrats were privately worried about the optics.
” Yes , it does look bad to be openly rejecting the certified winner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrat .
The Des Moines Register ’ s Editorial Board published an editorial earlier this month calling on Rita Hart to concede : Hart could have granted a powerful endorsement to Iowa ’ s election system by conceding .
She should reconsider and do that now , for the sake of her party and all Iowans .
Iowa doesn ’ t need more partisan bile infecting its politics , especially at a time when state government and its congressional delegation should be focused on helping Iowans stay safe in the COVID-19 pandemic and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hart should run again .
She needs only to look at Miller-Meeks , a first-time winner in her fourth bid for Congress , to recognize the virtue of persistence .
My own guess , which I ’ ve stated before , is that Democrats don ’ t want to make waves while the special elections in Georgia are still taking place .
Those are Senate races of course but news of Democrats refusing to seek Miller-Meeks would have reflected badly on the party and they can ’ t afford to take that chance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over next week , Democrats could start to gear up to make a case for flipping the seat .
We may have to wait several weeks to find out what House Democrats decide to do if there is going to be a full recount first .

Earlier today I wrote about the still contested race in NY-22. But there is one other race in the country that hasn’t been decided, at least not finally. The race in Iowa-2 was the closest in the country this cycle. Republican Marianette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Rita Hart had several lead changes last month. Miller-Meeks was eventually certified the winner with a lead of just 6 votes.
Hart decided not to challenge the narrow victory in court. Instead, she appealed directly to the House of Representatives which has the ability to investigate races and give the final say over who is seated in a given race. Since Democrats control the chamber, that means the outcome is ultimately up to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Today, Politico reports that Pelosi will seat Miller-Meeks as the currently certified winner of the race, however a House investigation of the race will continue.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed Wednesday that she plans to seat the GOP winner of a contested race in Iowa on Jan. 3, despite a pending challenge from the Democratic contender in the razor-thin election… Pelosi made the announcement during a press conference Wednesday, when she succinctly replied “yes” when asked if she planned to seat Miller-Meeks before moving on to another question. “Every vote counts and that’s why the Committee on House Administration is conducting a thorough and fair review of this election to make sure every vote was counted and counted as cast,” Pelosi’s spokesperson, Drew Hammill, elaborated in a statement following the press conference. “Pending the outcome of the Committee’s review and consistent with House practice, we intend to provisionally seat the Republican candidate on Sunday.”
In Hart’s challenge she argued that 22 rejected ballots should have been counted and, if they had, she would have been certified the winner. The House Administration Committee chaired by Democrat Zoe Lofgren will now investigate those claims.
Politico notes that Democrats could have refused to seat Miller-Meeks until the review, which could include a recount, was complete but “many Democrats were privately worried about the optics.” Yes, it does look bad to be openly rejecting the certified winner of the election in favor of the Democrat. The Des Moines Register’s Editorial Board published an editorial earlier this month calling on Rita Hart to concede:
Hart could have granted a powerful endorsement to Iowa’s election system by conceding. She should reconsider and do that now, for the sake of her party and all Iowans. Iowa doesn’t need more partisan bile infecting its politics, especially at a time when state government and its congressional delegation should be focused on helping Iowans stay safe in the COVID-19 pandemic and weather its financial hardships. And then Hart should run again. She needs only to look at Miller-Meeks, a first-time winner in her fourth bid for Congress, to recognize the virtue of persistence.
My own guess, which I’ve stated before, is that Democrats don’t want to make waves while the special elections in Georgia are still taking place. Those are Senate races of course but news of Democrats refusing to seek Miller-Meeks would have reflected badly on the party and they can’t afford to take that chance. However, once those elections are over next week, Democrats could start to gear up to make a case for flipping the seat. We may have to wait several weeks to find out what House Democrats decide to do if there is going to be a full recount first.


hotair--2020-12-30--McConnell to Trump: Sorry, but there's no realistic quick path for $2,000 checks to pass the Senate

Not true .
There is a quick path , it ’ s just that McConnell doesn ’ t want to take it .
Simply put the House bill authorizing $ 2,000 checks on the floor and let the Senate hold an up-or-down vote on it .
That ’ s the path .
It ’ s not a sure thing that it ’ ll get 60 votes , but six Republicans are already on record as saying they ’ re in favor and the political cover provided by Trump could probably get another six over the line .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t do it even though it ’ s conceivable that Senate Republicans thwarting Trump and the Dems on bigger checks will cost Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue their Senate seats on Tuesday .
For all the hype during the tea-party era about McConnell being a RINO , this guy is willing to risk his own majority and the wrath of you-know-who in order to block another $ 500 billion in spending after Congress has already pushed trillions in COVID relief out the door this year .
He ’ s more of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which , admittedly , isn ’ t saying much .
I ’ m dying to know : Does the president realize that McConnell is trying to kill his proposal for bigger checks in the guise of doing Trump ’ s bidding ?
Trump wants $ 2,000 for most adults and Section 230 repeal and an investigation into voter fraud .
Great , says McConnell , we ’ ll do all three in one bill , knowing full well that Senate Dems aren ’ t going to legitimize Trump ’ s voter-fraud complaints by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rather see all three of his proposals go down in flames , which is what ’ s about to happen ?
Or would he rather sacrifice Section 230 repeal and the voter-fraud probe in the name of getting $ 2,000 checks ?
All he has to do to turn the heat waaaaay up on Cocaine Mitch is tweet that McConnell should pass the House bill on checks and then offer the other two issues in a separate bill .
Instead he ’ s tweeting generic stuff like this : “ I ’ m @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” McConnell could say , “ along with the two other things you asked for .
What more can I do ?
” Trump ’ s answer is right there for the taking if he wants it : Split them into separate bills .
Does he want that , or would he rather he see his push for bigger checks fail ?
Newt Gingrich is trying to feed Trump the answer , like a smart kid helping a less smart one cheat on an exam : “ On this one , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confused different things , ” Gingrich said .
“ The long-term control of the U.S. Senate lies in Georgia .
Both Georgia senators have endorsed the $ 2,000 payment that President Trump has proposed , and Mitch ought to bring it up in a clean vote.
” “ But I really am very worried that if he plays it a clever parliamentary game , it may look good inside the Senate , but it could cost us two senate seats and control of the senate , ” he added .
“ So I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 2,000 payment as a free-standing , independent vote.
” Bernie Sanders is trying to lead the president to the answer too by appealing to his vanity : No doubt McConnell ’ s looking at the prospect of voting on the House bill as another no-win proposition for his caucus .
He ’ s already facing one of those votes next week thanks to Josh Hawley , with Senate Republicans forced to choose between MAGA fans and the rest of the country in deciding whether to accept the election results from swing states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clean ” bill to boost stimulus payments to $ 2,000 would be another tough one , with Trump supporters demanding that the bill pass while old-school fiscal conservatives bristle at more spending .
Whatever happens , some segment of the GOP base would walk away unhappy , muttering to themselves about why they ever bothered to support this party to begin with .
If Trump does end up endorsing a standalone bill on bigger checks , would McConnell cave and put the House bill on the floor or would he continue to defy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down in Georgia on January 4 , the night before the big vote , telling the audience what a lousy , treacherous skinflint the Republican Senate majority leader is — before adding that of course Georgia voters should support Loeffler and Perdue to extend Mitch ’ s hold on power for a few more years .
Here ’ s Bernie with a little straight talk about the importance of repealing Section 230 relative to the economic crisis facing Americans right now .

Not true. There is a quick path, it’s just that McConnell doesn’t want to take it. Simply put the House bill authorizing $2,000 checks on the floor and let the Senate hold an up-or-down vote on it. That’s the path. It’s not a sure thing that it’ll get 60 votes, but six Republicans are already on record as saying they’re in favor and the political cover provided by Trump could probably get another six over the line. That’s all Schumer needs.
Cocaine Mitch won’t do it even though it’s conceivable that Senate Republicans thwarting Trump and the Dems on bigger checks will cost Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue their Senate seats on Tuesday. For all the hype during the tea-party era about McConnell being a RINO, this guy is willing to risk his own majority and the wrath of you-know-who in order to block another $500 billion in spending after Congress has already pushed trillions in COVID relief out the door this year. He’s more of a fiscal conservative than the populists are — which, admittedly, isn’t saying much.
I’m dying to know: Does the president realize that McConnell is trying to kill his proposal for bigger checks in the guise of doing Trump’s bidding?
Trump wants $2,000 for most adults and Section 230 repeal and an investigation into voter fraud. Great, says McConnell, we’ll do all three in one bill, knowing full well that Senate Dems aren’t going to legitimize Trump’s voter-fraud complaints by approving a probe. Would the president rather see all three of his proposals go down in flames, which is what’s about to happen? Or would he rather sacrifice Section 230 repeal and the voter-fraud probe in the name of getting $2,000 checks? All he has to do to turn the heat waaaaay up on Cocaine Mitch is tweet that McConnell should pass the House bill on checks and then offer the other two issues in a separate bill.
Instead he’s tweeting generic stuff like this:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1344272069727555586
“I’m offering $2,000 checks, Mr. President,” McConnell could say, “along with the two other things you asked for. What more can I do?” Trump’s answer is right there for the taking if he wants it: Split them into separate bills. Does he want that, or would he rather he see his push for bigger checks fail?
Newt Gingrich is trying to feed Trump the answer, like a smart kid helping a less smart one cheat on an exam:
“On this one, I think, [McConnell has] frankly confused different things,” Gingrich said. “The long-term control of the U.S. Senate lies in Georgia. Both Georgia senators have endorsed the $2,000 payment that President Trump has proposed, and Mitch ought to bring it up in a clean vote.” “But I really am very worried that if he plays it a clever parliamentary game, it may look good inside the Senate, but it could cost us two senate seats and control of the senate,” he added. “So I would beg him to bring up the $2,000 payment as a free-standing, independent vote.”
Bernie Sanders is trying to lead the president to the answer too by appealing to his vanity:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): “We have a very unlikely ally in President Trump … amazingly enough, the president of the United States is right.” pic.twitter.com/8ndbdXKihN — The Recount (@therecount) December 30, 2020
No doubt McConnell’s looking at the prospect of voting on the House bill as another no-win proposition for his caucus. He’s already facing one of those votes next week thanks to Josh Hawley, with Senate Republicans forced to choose between MAGA fans and the rest of the country in deciding whether to accept the election results from swing states or not. Voting on a “clean” bill to boost stimulus payments to $2,000 would be another tough one, with Trump supporters demanding that the bill pass while old-school fiscal conservatives bristle at more spending. Whatever happens, some segment of the GOP base would walk away unhappy, muttering to themselves about why they ever bothered to support this party to begin with.
If Trump does end up endorsing a standalone bill on bigger checks, would McConnell cave and put the House bill on the floor or would he continue to defy POTUS? I’m imagining Trump down in Georgia on January 4, the night before the big vote, telling the audience what a lousy, treacherous skinflint the Republican Senate majority leader is — before adding that of course Georgia voters should support Loeffler and Perdue to extend Mitch’s hold on power for a few more years.
Here’s Bernie with a little straight talk about the importance of repealing Section 230 relative to the economic crisis facing Americans right now.


hotair--2020-12-30--NRSC: Imagine what Warnock will do to Georgia if he treats his family like this

It ’ s kitchen-sink time for both parties and in both Georgia runoffs .
With just days to go before election day , it ’ s now open season for all of the mud left to be slung , even that which could be less substantial than it seems .
This morning , for instance , the NRSC released its new ad , “ Phony Raphael Warnock , ” by framing it as a revelation about Warnock ’ s radical nature and record .
The ad itself , however , has nothing to do with Warnock ’ s politics or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a police video from a domestic-disturbance call .
Just in case no one gets the point , the NRSC includes the hotline number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline : Yikes .
This took place last year , and Warnock has denied ever since that he abused his wife .
He did acknowledge the incident in a March interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , but says that paramedics found no injury at the time .
The police have taken a res ipsa loquitur approach to the incident : According to the report , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s home on Monday they began arguing about whether Raphael Warnock would allow his wife to apply for passports so that she could take their children to West Africa for her grandfather ’ s funeral .
Warnock told police that he had previously denied the request and that he didn ’ t have time to talk about it again , according to the report .
He told police that his wife refused to close the right rear passenger door of his car so that he could leave .
He told authorities he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and then heard his wife accuse him of driving over her foot .
The report said Ouleye Warnock was able to wiggle her toes and that Grady Hospital first-responders were “ not able to locate any swelling , redness , or bruising or broken bones.
” The NRSC wants to get this out over the heads of media outlets in Georgia , which haven ’ t covered this story much at all since the primaries .
This ad will certainly do that much , but given all of the early voting ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might be a little like preaching to the remaining choir , if you ’ ll pardon the metaphor .
Democrats are taking the same tack , although that has the same potential impact problem .
Jon Ossoff took advantage of a live Peter Doocy question to accuse Kelly Loeffler of “ campaigning with a Klansman , ” which is also a questionable accusation at best : If you ’ re unfamiliar with this charge , it arose a couple of weeks ago after two pictures of Loeffler and Chester Doles emerged .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ member of a neo-Nazi group , attended Loeffler ’ s events and stood in line for pictures with the candidate .
Anyone familiar with this process would know that candidates rarely know who ’ s posing with them , let alone offer any approvals of them or their agendas .
The Loeffler campaign addressed the issue by insisting that Loeffler didn ’ t know who Doles was , which is almost certainly the case — he ’ s hardly a household name or face , after all ( and thank goodness for that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believe his good fortune when Doocy handed him that golden opportunity this morning .
It ’ s a cheap shot , but cheap shots are in season this week , as both sides will inevitably complain while delivering them .

It’s kitchen-sink time for both parties and in both Georgia runoffs. With just days to go before election day, it’s now open season for all of the mud left to be slung, even that which could be less substantial than it seems. This morning, for instance, the NRSC released its new ad, “Phony Raphael Warnock,” by framing it as a revelation about Warnock’s radical nature and record. The ad itself, however, has nothing to do with Warnock’s politics or record, but instead consists entirely of a police video from a domestic-disturbance call.
Just in case no one gets the point, the NRSC includes the hotline number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline:
New NRSC ad in #GASen@ReverendWarnock is a phony who's trying to hide who he really is from Georgians, when in reality, he is the most radical candidate and has the record to prove it. Georgia deserves better. #gapol pic.twitter.com/HDArhA8ira — Senate Republicans (@NRSC) December 30, 2020
Yikes. This took place last year, and Warnock has denied ever since that he abused his wife. He did acknowledge the incident in a March interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but says that paramedics found no injury at the time. The police have taken a res ipsa loquitur approach to the incident:
According to the report, shortly after Warnock arrived at his wife’s home on Monday they began arguing about whether Raphael Warnock would allow his wife to apply for passports so that she could take their children to West Africa for her grandfather’s funeral. Warnock told police that he had previously denied the request and that he didn’t have time to talk about it again, according to the report. He told police that his wife refused to close the right rear passenger door of his car so that he could leave. He told authorities he began to “slowly” drive forward — and then heard his wife accuse him of driving over her foot. The report said Ouleye Warnock was able to wiggle her toes and that Grady Hospital first-responders were “not able to locate any swelling, redness, or bruising or broken bones.”
The NRSC wants to get this out over the heads of media outlets in Georgia, which haven’t covered this story much at all since the primaries. This ad will certainly do that much, but given all of the early voting (and its apparent Democratic lean), it might be a little like preaching to the remaining choir, if you’ll pardon the metaphor.
Democrats are taking the same tack, although that has the same potential impact problem. Jon Ossoff took advantage of a live Peter Doocy question to accuse Kelly Loeffler of “campaigning with a Klansman,” which is also a questionable accusation at best:
If you’re unfamiliar with this charge, it arose a couple of weeks ago after two pictures of Loeffler and Chester Doles emerged. Doles, a former Klan leader and member of a neo-Nazi group, attended Loeffler’s events and stood in line for pictures with the candidate. Anyone familiar with this process would know that candidates rarely know who’s posing with them, let alone offer any approvals of them or their agendas. The Loeffler campaign addressed the issue by insisting that Loeffler didn’t know who Doles was, which is almost certainly the case — he’s hardly a household name or face, after all (and thank goodness for that). Ossoff probably couldn’t believe his good fortune when Doocy handed him that golden opportunity this morning.
It’s a cheap shot, but cheap shots are in season this week, as both sides will inevitably complain while delivering them.


hotair--2020-12-30--Louisiana Congressman-elect dies of COVID-19

The news began breaking last night that Congressman-elect Luke Letlow passed away .
Elected on December 5 in a run-off race , Letlow was just days away from being sworn in as Louisiana ’ s 5th Congressional District ’ s representative .
It is a shocking and tragic story .
Letlow is the first member of Congress ( or Congressman-elect ) to die of COVID-19 complications .
Luke Letlow ’ s battle with COVID-19 came on my radar several days ago when he was transferred to Shreveport as his illness grew worse .
Shreveport is my hometown and Letlow ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What caught my eye was his age , only 41 years old .
He is a Republican from Start , Louisiana .
He and his wife Julia have two very young children – a son , Jeremiah who is 3 years old and a daughter Jacqueline who is 11 months old .
Julia , according to her LinkedIn page is an “ Executive Assistant to the President for External Affairs and Community Outreach at University of Louisiana at Monroe.
” She has a Ph.D. in Communication .
( No one refers to her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested positive for COVID-19 and made the announcement on December 18 .
He quarantined at his home and was admitted to St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe , the largest hospital in Northeast Louisiana .
When his illness grew worse , he was transferred to the Ochsner LSU Health ICU in Shreveport on Dec. 23 .
His death was ruled as a heart attack following a procedure .
He had no underlying conditions .
Governor John Bel Edwards made an announcement on social media last night .
He ordered flags to be flown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s funeral .
Tragically , Letlow died at age 41 , the Louisiana governor has confirmed .
According to LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor G.E .
Ghali , Letlow died “ from a heart attack following a procedure related to the infection , ” the News Star reported .
“ He had no underlying conditions , ” Ghali said .
“ It was just COVID.
” “ It is with heavy hearts that @ FirstLadyOfLA and I offer our condolences to Congressman-elect Luke Letlow ’ s family on his passing after a battle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Governor John Bel Edwards wrote on Twitter on December 29 .
“ Louisiana has lost more than 7,300 people to COVID-19 since March , and each one of them leaves a tremendous hole in our state.
” Letlow was to succeed his former boss Congressman Ralph Abraham who didn ’ t seek reelection after honoring a pledge to serve a limit of three terms .
Letlow had been Abraham ’ s chief of staff .
He previously worked for former Governor Bobby Jindal .
Louisiana ’ s 5th District is the largest geographically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parishes .
He won the election with 62 % of the vote .
Just two days before his death , Julia posted on Facebook that Luke was recovering and the doctors were hopeful he was on the road to recovery .
He was in stable condition .
The hospital reports that he was being treated with the antiviral remdesivir and steroids .
“ Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and well wishes , ” Julia Barnhill Letlow wrote on Facebook .
“ While Luke continues his treatment and remains in stable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the road to recovery and the length of time is hard to predict and different for everyone .
We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of support we have received and feel truly blessed to be touched by the prayers of so many .
However , we are now asking for your patience as we face this battle privately as a family in order to give Luke the rest he needs to ensure his recovery .
We will do our best to keep everyone informed on Luke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appreciate your understanding as we navigate this journey.
” She also wrote , “ Please keep Luke lifted and all those who are facing covid❤🙏 ” In the aftermath of the shocking announcement of Letlow ’ s death , political ghouls were quick to blame President Trump for Letlow ’ s death .
Trump has duped people , you know , about the coronavirus that came from China .
There was a poorly timed press release from the White House about the distribution of vaccines that collided with Letlow ’ s death announcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , too .
All of the deaths from COVID-19 are tragic , of course , but let ’ s not lose sight of the fact that the coronavirus came from China .
The Trump administration has made some mistakes and the federal government is a slow-moving behemoth that is never as efficient as we ’ d like it to be .
All that aside , to continue to blame Trump personally for COVID-19 deaths is partisan political hackery .
Letlow was , by all accounts , a 41-year-old man in good health when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not a doctor but it seems that the steroids or the remdesivir caused damage to his heart that led to his heart attack .
We are accustomed to hearing about lung damage with COVID-19 but heart attacks happen , too .
There is a lot to still be learned about how this virus attacks the human body .
Letlow ’ s spokesman confirmed his death and said a statement from the family will come later .

The news began breaking last night that Congressman-elect Luke Letlow passed away. Elected on December 5 in a run-off race, Letlow was just days away from being sworn in as Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District’s representative. It is a shocking and tragic story. Letlow is the first member of Congress (or Congressman-elect) to die of COVID-19 complications.
Luke Letlow’s battle with COVID-19 came on my radar several days ago when he was transferred to Shreveport as his illness grew worse. Shreveport is my hometown and Letlow’s home is in Richland Parish. What caught my eye was his age, only 41 years old. He is a Republican from Start, Louisiana. He and his wife Julia have two very young children – a son, Jeremiah who is 3 years old and a daughter Jacqueline who is 11 months old. Julia, according to her LinkedIn page is an “Executive Assistant to the President for External Affairs and Community Outreach at University of Louisiana at Monroe.” She has a Ph.D. in Communication. (No one refers to her as Dr. Julia.)
Letlow tested positive for COVID-19 and made the announcement on December 18. He quarantined at his home and was admitted to St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, the largest hospital in Northeast Louisiana. When his illness grew worse, he was transferred to the Ochsner LSU Health ICU in Shreveport on Dec. 23. His death was ruled as a heart attack following a procedure. He had no underlying conditions. Governor John Bel Edwards made an announcement on social media last night. He ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on the day of Letlow’s funeral.
Tragically, Letlow died at age 41, the Louisiana governor has confirmed. According to LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor G.E. Ghali, Letlow died “from a heart attack following a procedure related to the infection,” the News Star reported. “He had no underlying conditions,” Ghali said. “It was just COVID.” “It is with heavy hearts that @FirstLadyOfLA and I offer our condolences to Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s family on his passing after a battle with COVID-19. #lagov,” Governor John Bel Edwards wrote on Twitter on December 29. “Louisiana has lost more than 7,300 people to COVID-19 since March, and each one of them leaves a tremendous hole in our state.”
Letlow was to succeed his former boss Congressman Ralph Abraham who didn’t seek reelection after honoring a pledge to serve a limit of three terms. Letlow had been Abraham’s chief of staff. He previously worked for former Governor Bobby Jindal. Louisiana’s 5th District is the largest geographically in the state. It covers 24 parishes. He won the election with 62% of the vote.
Just two days before his death, Julia posted on Facebook that Luke was recovering and the doctors were hopeful he was on the road to recovery. He was in stable condition. The hospital reports that he was being treated with the antiviral remdesivir and steroids.
“Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and well wishes,” Julia Barnhill Letlow wrote on Facebook. “While Luke continues his treatment and remains in stable condition, the doctors have told us the road to recovery and the length of time is hard to predict and different for everyone. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of support we have received and feel truly blessed to be touched by the prayers of so many. However, we are now asking for your patience as we face this battle privately as a family in order to give Luke the rest he needs to ensure his recovery. We will do our best to keep everyone informed on Luke’s progress through posts here and appreciate your understanding as we navigate this journey.” She also wrote, “Please keep Luke lifted and all those who are facing covid❤🙏”
In the aftermath of the shocking announcement of Letlow’s death, political ghouls were quick to blame President Trump for Letlow’s death. Trump has duped people, you know, about the coronavirus that came from China.
So so sad. And saddest of all is that the President of the United States of America duped him, his constituents, most all in the GOP, many of my family members, and millions of our collective neighbors into brushing aside the advice of health experts as a political charade pic.twitter.com/SN1tnA5woB — Matt Laslo (@MattLaslo) December 30, 2020
There was a poorly timed press release from the White House about the distribution of vaccines that collided with Letlow’s death announcement so that was fodder for the Trump-deranged, too.
From the White House, moments after news broke that Congressperson-elect Luke Letlow died with COVID-19— "While partisan critics offer nothing but empty rhetoric to frighten Americans for political ends, President Trump delivers results." pic.twitter.com/w0PhnlbIyV — Zach Everson (@Z_Everson) December 30, 2020
All of the deaths from COVID-19 are tragic, of course, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that the coronavirus came from China. The Trump administration has made some mistakes and the federal government is a slow-moving behemoth that is never as efficient as we’d like it to be. All that aside, to continue to blame Trump personally for COVID-19 deaths is partisan political hackery. Letlow was, by all accounts, a 41-year-old man in good health when he became infected. I’m not a doctor but it seems that the steroids or the remdesivir caused damage to his heart that led to his heart attack. We are accustomed to hearing about lung damage with COVID-19 but heart attacks happen, too. There is a lot to still be learned about how this virus attacks the human body.
Letlow’s spokesman confirmed his death and said a statement from the family will come later.
Letlow spokesman Andrew Bautsch confirmed the congressman-elect’s death at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport on Letlow’s Facebook page. “The family appreciates the numerous prayers and support over the past days but asks for privacy during this difficult and unexpected time,” Bautsch said. “A statement from the family along with funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time.”
Devastated to hear of my friend Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s passing. Luke had such a positive spirit and a tremendously bright future. Join me in praying for his young family during this incredibly difficult time. Statement from the Louisiana Congressional Delegation: pic.twitter.com/cB5RNd6uew — Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) December 30, 2020


hotair--2020-12-30--Louisville PD attempt to fire police involved in Breonna Taylor shooting

Just when you thought the saga of the tragic shooting of Breonna Taylor was coming to a close there ’ s yet another development .
This time it involves the same group of officers who conducted the raid on Taylor ’ s apartment leading to her death .
Two of the officers who were not charged with anything directly related to her death following the grand jury investigation have now been informed that they will be losing their jobs barring some change in plans following a pre-termination hearing .
( Not a very nice Christmas present . )
There may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of them , while the other dismissal appears a bit more dubious .
( NBC News ) The Louisville , Kentucky , officer who obtained the no-knock warrant and the officer who fired the fatal bullet in the raid of the home of Breonna Taylor both received notice on Tuesday that the police department intends to fire them .
Det .
Joshua Jaynes was informed that the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department intends to terminate his employment , a department spokesperson confirmed to NBC News , and a lawyer for Det .
Myles Cosgrove @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the department .
Officers still have the right to a pre-termination hearing before the are officially fired , the spokesperson said .
Detective Joshua Jaynes is the officer who obtained the no-knock warrant from a judge for the raid on Taylor ’ s apartment .
Detective Myles Cosgrove is the officer who was determined to have fired the fatal shot that ended Taylor ’ s life .
As I mentioned above , there is at least one legitimate complaint regarding Jaynes , but whether it rises to the level of warranting a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when Jaynes filed for the warrant , he included a sworn statement that he had “ verified through a U.S .
Postal Inspector ” that Jamarcus Glover ( Taylor ’ s former boyfriend and the primary subject of the multiple raids that took place that night ) had been receiving packages through the mail at Taylor ’ s address .
As it turns out , there was no record of Jaynes actually speaking to a postal inspector .
He had actually verified the information through other police officials .
Granted , entering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But in this case , did it really matter ?
The real question is whether or not the information presented to the judge was accurate .
Glover himself had been recorded saying that he sent packages to Taylor ’ s apartment and that she sometimes “ held money ” for him , supposedly in excess of $ 10,000 .
We have no way of knowing whether that drug dealer was telling the truth or not , but when you ’ re getting the information directly from the horse ’ s mouth , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request the warrant .
Without some significant previous history of filing false statements or other serious malfeasance , firing Jaynes seems excessive to say the least .
As for Myles Cosgrove , we ’ ve yet to hear anything about his part in these events that violated any rules .
He was operating under a warrant from a judge .
When the door to Taylor ’ s apartment was forced open , he and his fellow officers immediately came under gunfire from the darkened hallway of the apartment .
One officer was struck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Taylor , who had not fired the shot , was killed in the exchange was a tragic accident , but that ’ s all it was .
What is the justification for firing Cosgrove now after all this time ?
The attorney for one of the officers told reporters that he believes “ they ’ re looking for people to throw under the bus.
” That sounds about right .
The city has been rocked with crippling riots since word of Taylor ’ s shooting went viral .
The people tearing down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be charged with murder and those calls continued even after the grand jury found no wrongdoing on the part of the police officers involved in the raid .
From all appearances , this is a misguided effort to throw a bone to the mobs in the streets at the expense of these two officers .
But firing them without any charges being filed is almost certainly not going to be enough to satisfy the protesters and quell the unrest .
It ’ s just going to wreck the careers of two police officers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The pre-termination hearing may offer the opportunity to turn this decision around , assuming that the attorneys for the two men can offer a compelling defense .
Given the way Louisville has handled this whole debacle from the beginning , don ’ t be surprised if they try to split the loaf and wind up firing Jaynes and keeping Cosgrove on the force .
And that ’ s an outcome that will definitely satisfy nobody .

Just when you thought the saga of the tragic shooting of Breonna Taylor was coming to a close there’s yet another development. This time it involves the same group of officers who conducted the raid on Taylor’s apartment leading to her death. Two of the officers who were not charged with anything directly related to her death following the grand jury investigation have now been informed that they will be losing their jobs barring some change in plans following a pre-termination hearing. (Not a very nice Christmas present.) There may indeed be grounds for dismissal for one of them, while the other dismissal appears a bit more dubious. (NBC News)
The Louisville, Kentucky, officer who obtained the no-knock warrant and the officer who fired the fatal bullet in the raid of the home of Breonna Taylor both received notice on Tuesday that the police department intends to fire them. Det. Joshua Jaynes was informed that the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department intends to terminate his employment, a department spokesperson confirmed to NBC News, and a lawyer for Det. Myles Cosgrove confirmed he received a letter of termination from the department. Officers still have the right to a pre-termination hearing before the are officially fired, the spokesperson said.
Detective Joshua Jaynes is the officer who obtained the no-knock warrant from a judge for the raid on Taylor’s apartment. Detective Myles Cosgrove is the officer who was determined to have fired the fatal shot that ended Taylor’s life.
As I mentioned above, there is at least one legitimate complaint regarding Jaynes, but whether it rises to the level of warranting a dismissal is questionable at best. Apparently, when Jaynes filed for the warrant, he included a sworn statement that he had “verified through a U.S. Postal Inspector” that Jamarcus Glover (Taylor’s former boyfriend and the primary subject of the multiple raids that took place that night) had been receiving packages through the mail at Taylor’s address. As it turns out, there was no record of Jaynes actually speaking to a postal inspector. He had actually verified the information through other police officials.
Granted, entering sworn testimony that is inaccurate carries penalties. But in this case, did it really matter? The real question is whether or not the information presented to the judge was accurate. Glover himself had been recorded saying that he sent packages to Taylor’s apartment and that she sometimes “held money” for him, supposedly in excess of $10,000. We have no way of knowing whether that drug dealer was telling the truth or not, but when you’re getting the information directly from the horse’s mouth, that seems like a fair basis to request the warrant. Without some significant previous history of filing false statements or other serious malfeasance, firing Jaynes seems excessive to say the least.
As for Myles Cosgrove, we’ve yet to hear anything about his part in these events that violated any rules. He was operating under a warrant from a judge. When the door to Taylor’s apartment was forced open, he and his fellow officers immediately came under gunfire from the darkened hallway of the apartment. One officer was struck and Cosgrove returned fire. The fact that Taylor, who had not fired the shot, was killed in the exchange was a tragic accident, but that’s all it was. What is the justification for firing Cosgrove now after all this time?
The attorney for one of the officers told reporters that he believes “they’re looking for people to throw under the bus.” That sounds about right. The city has been rocked with crippling riots since word of Taylor’s shooting went viral. The people tearing down the city were demanding that the officers be charged with murder and those calls continued even after the grand jury found no wrongdoing on the part of the police officers involved in the raid. From all appearances, this is a misguided effort to throw a bone to the mobs in the streets at the expense of these two officers. But firing them without any charges being filed is almost certainly not going to be enough to satisfy the protesters and quell the unrest. It’s just going to wreck the careers of two police officers who were trying to do their jobs.
The pre-termination hearing may offer the opportunity to turn this decision around, assuming that the attorneys for the two men can offer a compelling defense. Given the way Louisville has handled this whole debacle from the beginning, don’t be surprised if they try to split the loaf and wind up firing Jaynes and keeping Cosgrove on the force. And that’s an outcome that will definitely satisfy nobody.


hotair--2020-12-30--Josh Hawley: I'll object to certifying the election results on January 6

I feel a selfish impulse and a civic impulse upon reading this : My selfish impulse is that it ’ s fantastic .
For two months , the creatures in McConnell ’ s caucus have bitten their tongues as the president of the United States hamhandedly tries to overturn an election , and not just in court .
He ’ s leaned on state legislators to stage a soft coup on his behalf by rejecting the results of their states ’ elections on November 3 on a pretense of fraud that he can ’ t prove .
Now , thanks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be president someday by pandering relentlessly to MAGA fans , every one of his colleagues will be forced to go on the record in a floor vote on January 6 .
No more hiding .
That ’ s what McConnell ’ s been fearing , knowing that anyone who votes to accept a state ’ s results will enrage MAGA fans while anyone who votes to reject them will enrage everyone else .
Too bad , I say .
We elect them to take votes , so let ’ em vote .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a position on Trump ’ s final travesty .
Republican politics in 2020 is mostly an exercise in making enemies ’ lists and now , thanks to Hawley , all sides will have a new list of enemies at the ready .
Trump and his supporters will resolve to primary any GOPer who accepts Biden ’ s victory .
The rest of us will resolve that anyone willing to coopt congressional certification of a presidential election to cater to conspiracy theorists is unfit for office .
What ’ s not to like about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it ’ s terrible .
“ It ’ s sad that Hawley is doing this .
It ’ s scary that he ’ ll be rewarded for it .
You can ’ t fix a country whose political incentive systems are so grossly out of whack , ” says Tim Alberta , efficiently .
Hawley knows that there ’ s no evidence that Biden won because of fraud .
Read his statement carefully and you ’ ll see that he doesn ’ t even allege it .
He ’ s objecting on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether Pennsylvania followed its own statutes and complaining about Twitter ’ s suppression of the Hunter Biden story in October .
It ’ s kabuki in the same way that Trump ’ s legal effort was kabuki , not designed to win so much as to impress Trump fans by showing a “ fighting spirit , ” assured that someone else will be blamed for the effort ’ s inevitable failure .
It ’ s bad for the country by delegitimizing the new president without reason and by setting a precedent in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in which ambitious members of the losing party cater to dead-enders , but it ’ s rational from a standpoint of nihilistic self-interest .
It ’ s vice-signaling , essentially .
Hawley calculated , correctly , that signaling a little vice on a big stage would advance his career in the new GOP , so he ’ s going to do it regardless of what it might mean for his colleagues and for America ’ s civic culture .
That ’ s the incentive system Alberta means .
You can ’ t fix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ move politically .
Hawley ’ s excuse is that Democrats have done this too , the all-purpose , can ’ t-fail justification for any Republican who wants to behave badly to the detriment of his country in 2020 .
And he ’ s right — to a point .
Democrats have objected on process grounds to the January 6 certification in the past .
What they haven ’ t done is objected while a sitting Democratic president attempts an autogolpe based on phantom claims of vote-rigging and asks his supporters to mass for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capital while Congress is deliberating .
That part is new , and that context is essential .
Hawley ’ s going to try to play the “ good government ” guy by insisting that he ’ s merely raising process questions , not challenging the election result , when what he ’ s really doing is lending congressional legitimacy to an unprecedented , if dunderheaded , coup attempt .
And that ’ s why MAGA will reward him .
It ’ s not because they ’ re desperate to hear some Republican senator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They want to know who ’ s onboard with the coup and who isn ’ t , and here ’ s Hawley telling them that he ’ s so onboard that he ’ s willing to elbow past Tommy Tuberville and Kelly Loeffler to be the first senator who objects to the results on January 6 .
He ’ s calculated that being seen as aggressively pro-coup will be of great help to him in the 2024 primaries .
And he ’ s right .
Again , this is what “ grossly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like .
Now that Hawley has bitten the bullet and defied McConnell by forcing a floor vote on the 6th , I assume various other ambitious Republicans will join him .
There ’ s no reason for Tom Cotton not to object now .
Ditto Ted Cruz , although Ted arguably already earned his pro-coup stripes by offering to argue the disgraceful Texas lawsuit before the Supreme Court earlier this month .
Rarely will Republican presidential hopefuls have an opportunity to vice-signal as showy as this one so they ’ ll take full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colleagues can ’ t resist laughing about how transparent it is : “ Beyond any clear policy , the defining feature of Trumpism is an inability to feel shame or embarrassment .
Hawley has learned that lesson well , ” sniffs Philip Klein .
The funniest and most satisfying outcome here would be if Trump ended up turning against Hawley once he realizes that his new favorite senator isn ’ t going to go balls-to-the-wall on claiming election fraud .
The MAGA types in the House like Mo Brooks and Marjorie Taylor Greene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s going to try to keep one foot in the pro-coup camp and one foot in the respectable “ I ’ m just pointing out flaws in the process ” camp .
Trump doesn ’ t care at all about the latter .
The process could be flawed in every way imaginable and as long as he emerged from it as the winner he ’ d think it was the greatest electoral system on earth .
What he wants to hear from Hawley is that the election was stolen , not that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania expanded mail-in voting this year , and if he doesn ’ t get that from him then POTUS might feel let down .
In fact , Cotton and Cruz will be tempted to steal Hawley ’ s MAGA thunder by going a step further and boldly asserting ( or at least strongly implying ) that the result of the election was crooked .
A party with malign incentives demands nothing less .

I feel a selfish impulse and a civic impulse upon reading this:
Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf pic.twitter.com/kTaaPPJGHE — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 30, 2020
My selfish impulse is that it’s fantastic. For two months, the creatures in McConnell’s caucus have bitten their tongues as the president of the United States hamhandedly tries to overturn an election, and not just in court. He’s leaned on state legislators to stage a soft coup on his behalf by rejecting the results of their states’ elections on November 3 on a pretense of fraud that he can’t prove. Now, thanks to Hawley’s blind ambition to be president someday by pandering relentlessly to MAGA fans, every one of his colleagues will be forced to go on the record in a floor vote on January 6. No more hiding. That’s what McConnell’s been fearing, knowing that anyone who votes to accept a state’s results will enrage MAGA fans while anyone who votes to reject them will enrage everyone else. Too bad, I say. We elect them to take votes, so let ’em vote. They don’t get to avoid taking a position on Trump’s final travesty.
Republican politics in 2020 is mostly an exercise in making enemies’ lists and now, thanks to Hawley, all sides will have a new list of enemies at the ready. Trump and his supporters will resolve to primary any GOPer who accepts Biden’s victory. The rest of us will resolve that anyone willing to coopt congressional certification of a presidential election to cater to conspiracy theorists is unfit for office. What’s not to like about this outcome?
My civic impulse is that it’s terrible. “It’s sad that Hawley is doing this. It’s scary that he’ll be rewarded for it. You can’t fix a country whose political incentive systems are so grossly out of whack,” says Tim Alberta, efficiently. Hawley knows that there’s no evidence that Biden won because of fraud. Read his statement carefully and you’ll see that he doesn’t even allege it. He’s objecting on process grounds, he stresses, questioning whether Pennsylvania followed its own statutes and complaining about Twitter’s suppression of the Hunter Biden story in October. It’s kabuki in the same way that Trump’s legal effort was kabuki, not designed to win so much as to impress Trump fans by showing a “fighting spirit,” assured that someone else will be blamed for the effort’s inevitable failure. It’s bad for the country by delegitimizing the new president without reason and by setting a precedent in which the January 6 certification becomes a circus in which ambitious members of the losing party cater to dead-enders, but it’s rational from a standpoint of nihilistic self-interest.
It’s vice-signaling, essentially. Hawley calculated, correctly, that signaling a little vice on a big stage would advance his career in the new GOP, so he’s going to do it regardless of what it might mean for his colleagues and for America’s civic culture. That’s the incentive system Alberta means. You can’t fix a country where vice-signaling is the smart move politically.
Hawley’s excuse is that Democrats have done this too, the all-purpose, can’t-fail justification for any Republican who wants to behave badly to the detriment of his country in 2020. And he’s right — to a point. Democrats have objected on process grounds to the January 6 certification in the past. What they haven’t done is objected while a sitting Democratic president attempts an autogolpe based on phantom claims of vote-rigging and asks his supporters to mass for a “wild” demonstration in the capital while Congress is deliberating. That part is new, and that context is essential. Hawley’s going to try to play the “good government” guy by insisting that he’s merely raising process questions, not challenging the election result, when what he’s really doing is lending congressional legitimacy to an unprecedented, if dunderheaded, coup attempt.
And that’s why MAGA will reward him. It’s not because they’re desperate to hear some Republican senator articulate the conflicts in Pennsylvania election statutes. They want to know who’s onboard with the coup and who isn’t, and here’s Hawley telling them that he’s so onboard that he’s willing to elbow past Tommy Tuberville and Kelly Loeffler to be the first senator who objects to the results on January 6. He’s calculated that being seen as aggressively pro-coup will be of great help to him in the 2024 primaries. And he’s right. Again, this is what “grossly out of whack” political incentives looks like.
Now that Hawley has bitten the bullet and defied McConnell by forcing a floor vote on the 6th, I assume various other ambitious Republicans will join him. There’s no reason for Tom Cotton not to object now. Ditto Ted Cruz, although Ted arguably already earned his pro-coup stripes by offering to argue the disgraceful Texas lawsuit before the Supreme Court earlier this month. Rarely will Republican presidential hopefuls have an opportunity to vice-signal as showy as this one so they’ll take full advantage. Even one of their own colleagues can’t resist laughing about how transparent it is:
Internal monologue: “I want to be President so I decided to try to get POTUS tweet saying I’m great even though I know this isn’t going anywhere, but hey… I’ll blame someone else when it fails.” https://t.co/2YuSFZ1RSk — Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) December 30, 2020
“Beyond any clear policy, the defining feature of Trumpism is an inability to feel shame or embarrassment. Hawley has learned that lesson well,” sniffs Philip Klein. The funniest and most satisfying outcome here would be if Trump ended up turning against Hawley once he realizes that his new favorite senator isn’t going to go balls-to-the-wall on claiming election fraud. The MAGA types in the House like Mo Brooks and Marjorie Taylor Greene will do that, but Hawley’s going to try to keep one foot in the pro-coup camp and one foot in the respectable “I’m just pointing out flaws in the process” camp. Trump doesn’t care at all about the latter. The process could be flawed in every way imaginable and as long as he emerged from it as the winner he’d think it was the greatest electoral system on earth. What he wants to hear from Hawley is that the election was stolen, not that there’s a legal dispute over how Pennsylvania expanded mail-in voting this year, and if he doesn’t get that from him then POTUS might feel let down. In fact, Cotton and Cruz will be tempted to steal Hawley’s MAGA thunder by going a step further and boldly asserting (or at least strongly implying) that the result of the election was crooked. A party with malign incentives demands nothing less.


hotair--2020-12-30--Tenney back in the lead as review of ballots continues in NY-22

The review of ballots continues in NY-22 even thought Judge DelConte is on vacation this week .
We still don ’ t know what the final unofficial tally is but we do know that as of yesterday the lead in the race had shifted once again .
A few days ago , there was a report that Democrat Anthony Brindisis had taken the lead in the race by 14 votes .
Now further counting of disputed ballots in the same county has given Republican challenger Claudia Tenney the lead .
Republican Claudia Tenney has re-taken the lead , albeit a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of New York ’ s 22nd Congressional District election , according to her campaign .
Tenney has a lead of about 30 votes , according to her campaign spokesman Sean Kennedy .
That figure was also confirmed by an attorney familiar with the count .
I ’ ve honestly lost track but I think this is the 5th time the lead has shifted since election day .
Before the current recanvas began , Tenney has a 12-vote lead .
That lead grew to 19 votes and then dropped to 3-5 votes before Brindisi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Most of this has been driven by the recanvas of nearly 1,800 affidavit ballots in Oneida County .
The final counting of those ballots should be complete as I write this but the unofficial tally hasn ’ t been released yet .
Both camps are getting daily updates on the totals and the 30 vote lead for Tenney was the result after Monday ’ s counting ( since the article about it was published Tuesday morning ) .
However nothing is official until Judge DelConte returns to work next Monday and rules on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not .
The process to review ballots in Oneida and Broome counties will mirror the process in the other six counties contained in-part or entirely within the congressional district .
Ballots will be presented to DelConte , with the reason they ’ re contested and if the ballot was counted in the preliminary tally .
Attorneys for both campaigns will argue their sides , while DelConte asks questions and seeks consistency in the arguments .
Some of the objections or challenges will be withdrawn by the campaigns .
DelConte has not made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he will do in writing at the conclusion of the review .
Even if Tenney holds on to her lead after today , that could still change when the lawyers get going next week .
Last week it was clear that the attorney for Democrat Anthony Brindisi was getting on Judge DelConte ’ s nerves .
Hopefully the judge will return from his break determined not to let Brindisi ’ s camp get away with anything .
Bottom line : It ain ’ t over yet but there ’ s still a good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this out and be another pickup for the GOP .
We ’ ll know more next Monday .

The review of ballots continues in NY-22 even thought Judge DelConte is on vacation this week. We still don’t know what the final unofficial tally is but we do know that as of yesterday the lead in the race had shifted once again. A few days ago, there was a report that Democrat Anthony Brindisis had taken the lead in the race by 14 votes. Now further counting of disputed ballots in the same county has given Republican challenger Claudia Tenney the lead.
Republican Claudia Tenney has re-taken the lead, albeit a small one, in the continuing saga of New York’s 22nd Congressional District election, according to her campaign. Tenney has a lead of about 30 votes, according to her campaign spokesman Sean Kennedy. That figure was also confirmed by an attorney familiar with the count.
I’ve honestly lost track but I think this is the 5th time the lead has shifted since election day. Before the current recanvas began, Tenney has a 12-vote lead. That lead grew to 19 votes and then dropped to 3-5 votes before Brindisi took the lead by 14 votes. Most of this has been driven by the recanvas of nearly 1,800 affidavit ballots in Oneida County. The final counting of those ballots should be complete as I write this but the unofficial tally hasn’t been released yet. Both camps are getting daily updates on the totals and the 30 vote lead for Tenney was the result after Monday’s counting (since the article about it was published Tuesday morning).
However nothing is official until Judge DelConte returns to work next Monday and rules on which ballots will be accepted and which will not.
The process to review ballots in Oneida and Broome counties will mirror the process in the other six counties contained in-part or entirely within the congressional district. Ballots will be presented to DelConte, with the reason they’re contested and if the ballot was counted in the preliminary tally. Attorneys for both campaigns will argue their sides, while DelConte asks questions and seeks consistency in the arguments. Some of the objections or challenges will be withdrawn by the campaigns. DelConte has not made any judgment on contested ballots, which he will do in writing at the conclusion of the review.
Even if Tenney holds on to her lead after today, that could still change when the lawyers get going next week. Last week it was clear that the attorney for Democrat Anthony Brindisi was getting on Judge DelConte’s nerves. Hopefully the judge will return from his break determined not to let Brindisi’s camp get away with anything.
Bottom line: It ain’t over yet but there’s still a good chance Claudia Tenney is going to pull this out and be another pickup for the GOP. We’ll know more next Monday.