hotair--2020-07-23--Politico: Will a COVID-19 vaccine be Trump's October surprise?

Are we supposed to be suspicious of motives if the US produces a working and effective vaccine ?
Politico seems a bit suspicious of the Trump administration ’ s motives to fast-track a vaccine to end a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands and has brought economic activity to a near-standstill .
They worry that Trump ’ s trying to rush a vaccine before it can be proven safe , or perhaps will just claim one has been found even if nothing is ready to use by early November : While the race to find an effective vaccine for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world , it also carries political ramifications in the United States — with Trump banking heavily on finding a vaccine to quell both the pandemic and mounting unhappiness over his handling of the coronavirus response .
Buoyed by a series of encouraging early trial results , the administration is laying the groundwork for a high-profile rollout of initial coronavirus vaccines in as little as three months .
It ’ s a best-case timetable that also tracks with the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election .
The White House ’ s Operation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into developing a vaccine in record time , funding several efforts in parallel and buying up doses of the experimental shots in a wager that one will ultimately pay off .
… There is virtually no chance that the U.S. will have a proven vaccine by Election Day , several top vaccine experts told POLITICO .
It could also take well into 2021 to produce and distribute the hundreds of millions of shots needed to inoculate the entire country .
Yet at the same time , drugmakers ’ sprint through early clinical trials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show indications of their effectiveness by late October , offering Trump the opportunity to seize on them as a potential game-changer .
To be fair , it ’ s not just Trump skeptics that have been gaming out this possibility .
A couple of weeks ago , Fox Business also highlighted an argument that Trump could win in November with a game-changer in the fall .
And that game-changer is … “ There ’ s still a path for Trump to win , ” Valliere said .
“ But , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin told The Wall Street Journal that his company ’ s experimental COVID-19 vaccine is on track for regulatory approval by the end of the year .
Such developments would go a long way toward lowering the mortality rate and restoring economic confidence , which has been rattled by the sharpest slowdown of the post-World War II era .
Investors pulled into the market amid the calm would need to buy $ 400 billion of stocks to reach their historical median equity exposure , according to Kolanovic .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the high-flying momentum stocks and into value , helping drive the market to new highs .
The result would be an environment where investors who missed out on the rally off the March lows could get a second chance at bat , Kolanovic said .
“ If there ’ s some credible sign of a vaccine this fall , that could help Trump , ” said Valliere , of AGF Investments .
So yes , it ’ s permissible to calculate the political value of vaccine progress .
In fact , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sustainability of economic reopening is tied to finding a vaccine that at least allows for a significant period of immunity , and no one disputes that economic recovery will impact the election .
Trump has certainly made no secret of his desire to get a V-shaped recovery under way well before the election , or that re-election is at least part of his interest in that .
However , calling it an “ October surprise ” is rather silly .
We ’ ve been tracking vaccine progress since the search launched in March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well known ever since .
We have been fortunate thus far in that the leading candidates have succeeded in early trials at both immunity boosting and keeping side effects to a minimum in the limited experimental uses so far .
We also have known for weeks if not months that the Trump administration had committed to buying hundreds of millions of doses at stage 3 testing .
That was an explicitly stated step in Operation Warp Speed , just in case one or more vaccines work , in order to expedite their use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surprise ” at all ; it will just be really good news if indeed one or more vaccines do prove effective and safe by early autumn .
If we get a vaccine by October , people know it might not get into their arms by the first Tuesday in November but it will come shortly afterward , thanks to Operation Warp Speed .
Why wouldn ’ t that be a legitimate win for Trump ?
And shouldn ’ t we all hope that we succeed in the mission to find a vaccine , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it happens ?

Are we supposed to be suspicious of motives if the US produces a working and effective vaccine? Politico seems a bit suspicious of the Trump administration’s motives to fast-track a vaccine to end a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands and has brought economic activity to a near-standstill. They worry that Trump’s trying to rush a vaccine before it can be proven safe, or perhaps will just claim one has been found even if nothing is ready to use by early November:
While the race to find an effective vaccine for Covid-19 has crucial implications for nations around the world, it also carries political ramifications in the United States — with Trump banking heavily on finding a vaccine to quell both the pandemic and mounting unhappiness over his handling of the coronavirus response. Buoyed by a series of encouraging early trial results, the administration is laying the groundwork for a high-profile rollout of initial coronavirus vaccines in as little as three months. It’s a best-case timetable that also tracks with the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The White House’s Operation Warp Speed has poured billions of dollars into developing a vaccine in record time, funding several efforts in parallel and buying up doses of the experimental shots in a wager that one will ultimately pay off. … There is virtually no chance that the U.S. will have a proven vaccine by Election Day, several top vaccine experts told POLITICO. It could also take well into 2021 to produce and distribute the hundreds of millions of shots needed to inoculate the entire country. Yet at the same time, drugmakers’ sprint through early clinical trials means leading vaccine candidates could begin to show indications of their effectiveness by late October, offering Trump the opportunity to seize on them as a potential game-changer.
To be fair, it’s not just Trump skeptics that have been gaming out this possibility. A couple of weeks ago, Fox Business also highlighted an argument that Trump could win in November with a game-changer in the fall. And that game-changer is …
“There’s still a path for Trump to win,” Valliere said. “But, it’s a really narrow path.” … Additionally, BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin told The Wall Street Journal that his company’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine is on track for regulatory approval by the end of the year. Such developments would go a long way toward lowering the mortality rate and restoring economic confidence, which has been rattled by the sharpest slowdown of the post-World War II era. Investors pulled into the market amid the calm would need to buy $400 billion of stocks to reach their historical median equity exposure, according to Kolanovic. He believes that could cause a rotation out of the high-flying momentum stocks and into value, helping drive the market to new highs. The result would be an environment where investors who missed out on the rally off the March lows could get a second chance at bat, Kolanovic said. “If there’s some credible sign of a vaccine this fall, that could help Trump,” said Valliere, of AGF Investments.
So yes, it’s permissible to calculate the political value of vaccine progress. In fact, it’s been pretty clear that the sustainability of economic reopening is tied to finding a vaccine that at least allows for a significant period of immunity, and no one disputes that economic recovery will impact the election. Trump has certainly made no secret of his desire to get a V-shaped recovery under way well before the election, or that re-election is at least part of his interest in that.
However, calling it an “October surprise” is rather silly. We’ve been tracking vaccine progress since the search launched in March, and trial timetables have been fairly well known ever since. We have been fortunate thus far in that the leading candidates have succeeded in early trials at both immunity boosting and keeping side effects to a minimum in the limited experimental uses so far. We also have known for weeks if not months that the Trump administration had committed to buying hundreds of millions of doses at stage 3 testing. That was an explicitly stated step in Operation Warp Speed, just in case one or more vaccines work, in order to expedite their use. None of this is a “surprise” at all; it will just be really good news if indeed one or more vaccines do prove effective and safe by early autumn.
If we get a vaccine by October, people know it might not get into their arms by the first Tuesday in November but it will come shortly afterward, thanks to Operation Warp Speed. Why wouldn’t that be a legitimate win for Trump? And shouldn’t we all hope that we succeed in the mission to find a vaccine, no matter who’s president when it happens?


hotair--2020-07-23--COVID collapse: Trump way down in new Quinnipiac poll of Florida as DeSantis's approval slips

Do we trust a pollster who had Democrats ahead in both the Florida governor ’ s race and the Florida Senate race by a beefy seven points in its final polls of 2018 — only to have Republicans win both races by less than a point ?
But just because we don ’ t trust the topline numbers doesn ’ t mean we should ignore the trendline .
Trump ’ s not going to lose Florida by anything close to 13 points , assuming he loses it at all , but the evidence here is strong that the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of him and Ron DeSantis .
We see that in the RCP poll average too .
On June 10 , before the epidemic there began to rage , Biden ’ s lead was 3.9 points .
Today it ’ s 7.0 .
Every survey of the state taken over the past three weeks has him ahead by at least six points and two of the last three have had him up by double digits , an almost unthinkable margin in Florida .
The good news is that there ’ s evidence that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As the number of daily cases comes down , Biden ’ s lead may — may — come down with it .
One of the biggest mysteries of the election right now is whether the damage Trump has taken due to the summer “ second wave ” that the country has experienced is reversible or not .
If cases are clearly receding by late October , do Floridians say , “ We beat it , now it ’ s time to worry about the economy , ” and vote Trump ?
Or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll never forgive him and DeSantis for not taking this seriously enough , ” and vote Biden ?
It ’ s also worth bearing in mind that Trump routinely polls terribly in Quinnipiac surveys .
There may be a “ house effect ” here that helps explain Biden ’ s implausibly large lead .
In some ways the story of the election right now is simple .
Trump leads solidly with men but Biden is blowing out Trump with women .
Case closed .
Note too that he leads in every age demographic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 Trump won seniors in Florida by 17 points ; they were decisive in his upset victory in the state over Hillary .
If he ’ s not winning them comfortably there this year , his chances at reelection are hanging by a thread .
Again , though , it ’ s the trends that matter more than the raw numbers : It ’ s hard to digest but nonetheless true that Andrew Cuomo has a higher — much higher — job approval in the COVID mass grave known as New York than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s mostly a function of the two states ’ partisan demographics , I assume .
Cuomo ’ s state is deep blue , DeSantis ’ s is purple , so naturally DeSantis has less of a margin for error than Cuomo does .
But Cuomo made some big errors and still he soars along .
It may be that he ’ s being graded on a curve by New Yorkers because he was the first governor to have to manage coronavirus when it arrived in the U.S. whereas DeSantis had a few extra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to avert a major epidemic in Florida .
Or it may be that Cuomo ’ s being given a certain benefit of the doubt because he ’ s been more cautious about reopening than DeSantis has .
When Quinnipiac asked Floridians if they thought the state reopened too quickly , too slowly , or right on time , 61 percent said “ too quickly.
” The fact that Cuomo is moving so slowly on reopening gives him political cover to say , “ I ’ m doing everything I can to prioritize safety @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if there ’ s a new outbreak New Yorkers may be less inclined to blame him for it .
DeSantis , by being one of the first governors to urge reopening , doesn ’ t have that same cover .
Other numbers related to COVID in this poll are terrible for him and Trump .
Eighty-three percent say the virus is a “ serious problem ” ; 70 percent say it ’ s “ out of control.
” And the dimming views of DeSantis and Trump seem to be influencing how the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools as fully as possible too .
Both are underwater by 20 points or so on how they ’ re handling school reopenings , with 62 percent saying it ’ s unsafe to reopen elementary , middle , and high schools this fall .
In case you need further evidence that COVID-19 is hurting governors in hot-spot states , here ’ s what Quinnipiac found yesterday when it polled Greg Abbott ’ s approval in Texas : Interestingly , there ’ s been no slide in Trump ’ s job approval in Texas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeing in Florida .
Maybe , again , that ’ s because Florida is more of a true purple state than Texas is .
But I wonder if the fact that DeSantis is a Trump protege of sorts has bound his fortunes up more tightly with Trump ’ s in Florida than Abbott ’ s are in Texas .
DeSantis won the GOP gubernatorial primary by positioning himself as the most ardent Trumper in the race .
It paid off , and Trump was expecting him to help deliver Florida in the presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that either DeSantis is dragging down Trump or Trump is dragging down DeSantis .
Things may get … awkward between them before this is all over .
If you ’ re looking for more reasons to discount the Quinnipiac data , here ’ s an interesting one .
We don ’ t pay much attention to live-interview polls versus automated/online polls , but the pros do .
And they ’ ve noticed a trend : Maybe there really are a bunch of secret Trump voters out there who are embarrassed to tell live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but are more willing to reveal their true preferences when talking to a machine .
Quinnipiac ’ s poll is a live-interview survey — but interestingly , a second poll of Florida out today that uses automated phone calls found Biden ’ s lead to be more modest , at just six points .
Could there be six or seven percentage points ’ worth of “ shy Trumpers ” out floating around in the electorate ?
On the other hand , live-interview polls are generally considered to be more reliable than automated polls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ picking up blowout margins for Sleepy Joe .
I ’ ll leave you with this clip , which made the rounds on social media last night .
I don ’ t know why Trump continues to insist on not just talking about the cognitive test he took but boasting about it , with increasingly greater detail about the questions he was asked .
It does him no favors in prosecuting the case that Biden has “ lost a step ” ; if anything , him rambling about it here might leave the average @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a step himself .
Watching it was one of the few times I ’ ve felt genuinely sorry for him .

Do we trust a pollster who had Democrats ahead in both the Florida governor’s race and the Florida Senate race by a beefy seven points in its final polls of 2018 — only to have Republicans win both races by less than a point?
We shouldn’t trust them a lot.
But just because we don’t trust the topline numbers doesn’t mean we should ignore the trendline. Trump’s not going to lose Florida by anything close to 13 points, assuming he loses it at all, but the evidence here is strong that the state’s coronavirus surge is taking a bite out of him and Ron DeSantis. We see that in the RCP poll average too. On June 10, before the epidemic there began to rage, Biden’s lead was 3.9 points. Today it’s 7.0. Every survey of the state taken over the past three weeks has him ahead by at least six points and two of the last three have had him up by double digits, an almost unthinkable margin in Florida.
The good news is that there’s evidence that Florida’s COVID surge has peaked. As the number of daily cases comes down, Biden’s lead may — may — come down with it. One of the biggest mysteries of the election right now is whether the damage Trump has taken due to the summer “second wave” that the country has experienced is reversible or not. If cases are clearly receding by late October, do Floridians say, “We beat it, now it’s time to worry about the economy,” and vote Trump? Or do they say, “I’ll never forgive him and DeSantis for not taking this seriously enough,” and vote Biden?
It’s also worth bearing in mind that Trump routinely polls terribly in Quinnipiac surveys. There may be a “house effect” here that helps explain Biden’s implausibly large lead.
In some ways the story of the election right now is simple. Trump leads solidly with men but Biden is blowing out Trump with women. Case closed. Note too that he leads in every age demographic here, including senior citizens. In 2016 Trump won seniors in Florida by 17 points; they were decisive in his upset victory in the state over Hillary. If he’s not winning them comfortably there this year, his chances at reelection are hanging by a thread.
Again, though, it’s the trends that matter more than the raw numbers:
Voters give Governor DeSantis a negative job approval for his handling of the response to the coronavirus, as 38 percent approve, while 57 percent disapprove. In April, 50 percent approved, while 41 percent disapproved. Voters give President Trump a negative job approval for his handling of the response to the coronavirus; 37 percent approve, while 59 percent disapprove. In April, 46 percent approved, while 51 percent disapproved. Governor DeSantis receives a negative 41 – 52 percent job approval, a 31-point swing in the net approval from April when he received a positive 53 – 33 percent job approval rating. Today’s numbers are the lowest for DeSantis since taking office in 2019. President Trump receives a negative 40 – 58 percent job approval in Florida, down from a 45 – 51 percent approval rating in April.
It’s hard to digest but nonetheless true that Andrew Cuomo has a higher — much higher — job approval in the COVID mass grave known as New York than DeSantis does in Florida. That’s mostly a function of the two states’ partisan demographics, I assume. Cuomo’s state is deep blue, DeSantis’s is purple, so naturally DeSantis has less of a margin for error than Cuomo does. But Cuomo made some big errors and still he soars along. It may be that he’s being graded on a curve by New Yorkers because he was the first governor to have to manage coronavirus when it arrived in the U.S. whereas DeSantis had a few extra months to try to figure out how to avert a major epidemic in Florida.
Or it may be that Cuomo’s being given a certain benefit of the doubt because he’s been more cautious about reopening than DeSantis has. When Quinnipiac asked Floridians if they thought the state reopened too quickly, too slowly, or right on time, 61 percent said “too quickly.” The fact that Cuomo is moving so slowly on reopening gives him political cover to say, “I’m doing everything I can to prioritize safety over the economy,” such that if there’s a new outbreak New Yorkers may be less inclined to blame him for it. DeSantis, by being one of the first governors to urge reopening, doesn’t have that same cover.
Other numbers related to COVID in this poll are terrible for him and Trump. Eighty-three percent say the virus is a “serious problem”; 70 percent say it’s “out of control.” And the dimming views of DeSantis and Trump seem to be influencing how the public feels about their latest push to reopen schools as fully as possible too. Both are underwater by 20 points or so on how they’re handling school reopenings, with 62 percent saying it’s unsafe to reopen elementary, middle, and high schools this fall.
In case you need further evidence that COVID-19 is hurting governors in hot-spot states, here’s what Quinnipiac found yesterday when it polled Greg Abbott’s approval in Texas:
More than half of voters, 52 percent, say looking back, Governor Abbott reopened the economy “too quickly.” Thirty-three percent say he reopened the economy “at about the right pace,” and 13 percent say he did it “too slowly.”… Voters are split on the way Governor Abbott is handling the response to the coronavirus with 47 percent approving and 48 percent disapproving. It’s a 21-point swing in the net approval from early June when 56 percent of voters approved and 36 percent disapproved… Governor Abbott: Voters approve with a split 48 – 44 percent of the job Governor Abbott is doing, a 20- point swing in the net approval from June when voters approved 56 – 32 percent.
Interestingly, there’s been no slide in Trump’s job approval in Texas similar to the slide we’re seeing in Florida. Maybe, again, that’s because Florida is more of a true purple state than Texas is. But I wonder if the fact that DeSantis is a Trump protege of sorts has bound his fortunes up more tightly with Trump’s in Florida than Abbott’s are in Texas. DeSantis won the GOP gubernatorial primary by positioning himself as the most ardent Trumper in the race. It paid off, and Trump was expecting him to help deliver Florida in the presidential contest this year. Now it appears that either DeSantis is dragging down Trump or Trump is dragging down DeSantis.
Things may get … awkward between them before this is all over.
If you’re looking for more reasons to discount the Quinnipiac data, here’s an interesting one. We don’t pay much attention to live-interview polls versus automated/online polls, but the pros do. And they’ve noticed a trend:
If we only had live interview polling, we'd probably say these last ten days of results among RVs–Q+15, ABC/Post+15, NBC/WSJ+11, Monmouth+13 PA, Q+13 FL–we might say that's Biden's best period yet — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) July 23, 2020
Maybe there really are a bunch of secret Trump voters out there who are embarrassed to tell live interviewers that they’re supporting him but are more willing to reveal their true preferences when talking to a machine. Quinnipiac’s poll is a live-interview survey — but interestingly, a second poll of Florida out today that uses automated phone calls found Biden’s lead to be more modest, at just six points. Could there be six or seven percentage points’ worth of “shy Trumpers” out floating around in the electorate?
On the other hand, live-interview polls are generally considered to be more reliable than automated polls. And they’re the ones picking up blowout margins for Sleepy Joe.
I’ll leave you with this clip, which made the rounds on social media last night. I don’t know why Trump continues to insist on not just talking about the cognitive test he took but boasting about it, with increasingly greater detail about the questions he was asked. It does him no favors in prosecuting the case that Biden has “lost a step”; if anything, him rambling about it here might leave the average viewer wondering if he’s lost a step himself. Watching it was one of the few times I’ve felt genuinely sorry for him.


hotair--2020-07-23--Sec. Pompeo claims WHO Director was 'bought' by China

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a gathering of British Members of Parliament that World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus was “ bought ” by China during a private meeting Tuesday : The US secretary of state claimed yesterday that the director-general of the World Health Organisation had been “ bought ” by China ’ s government and his election had resulted in “ dead Britons ” .
Mike Pompeo made the allegation against Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a closed-door meeting with cross-party MPs during a visit to London .
The Telegraph published some actual quotes attributed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shove , when it really mattered most , when there was a pandemic in China , Dr Tedros , who was … bought by the Chinese government , ” The Telegraph quoted Pompeo as saying .
“ I can ’ t say more , but I can tell [ you ] I ’ m saying this on a firm intelligence foundation , a deal was made … there was a deal making [ Tedros ’ ] election and when push came to shove , you get dead Britons.
” Pompeo and President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ co-opted by China but this appears to be a reference to Dr. Tedros being selected as WHO Director General in 2017 , not a claim that he ’ d been bribed .
Obviously , since Pompeo didn ’ t say more , no one has a clear handle on what the foundation for this claim is , but assuming the quotes are accurate he ’ s obviously claiming there is some intelligence to back this up .
The NY Times published a story when Tedros was elected which noted their had been some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seemed to play a role in the choice of Tedros : Dr. Tedros — a malaria expert who campaigned under his first name — ultimately beat Dr. David Nabarro of Britain after three voting rounds .
The final tally was 133 votes to 50 , with three abstaining or not voting… The race , which began in 2015 , turned bitter in recent weeks as an adviser to Dr. Nabarro accused Dr. Tedros of having covered up repeated outbreaks of cholera in Ethiopia , which may have delayed the international response and , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cholera vaccine there .
Dr. Tedros was also accused of complicity in his country ’ s dismal human rights record , which includes massacring protesters and jailing and torturing journalists and political opponents… Amir Attaran , a University of Ottawa expert on law and global health , called Dr. Tedros “ a good choice because he was very diligent on malaria , ” but argued that geopolitics played a greater role than personalities in the election .
“ Choosing an African to head W.H.O .
was past time , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ for choosing Brexit and undermining global stability — it ’ s their Guantánamo , their Tiananmen.
” But the Times of London reported that China used its aid budget to help Tedros gain support : Tedros , a former Ethiopian foreign minister , beat Britain ’ s David Nabarro in the contest to become director-general of the WHO , winning the votes of more than half its 194 member nations .
Chinese diplomats had campaigned hard for the Ethiopian , using Beijing ’ s financial clout and opaque aid budget to build support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has praised the authoritarian development model of Ethiopia ’ s regime , which rules under emergency powers and has put down pro-democracy protests .
Dr. Tedros was asked about Sec .
Pompeo ’ s comments today and called them “ unacceptable.
” World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday rejected accusations from the U.S. that the public health body has been “ bought ” by the Chinese government , saying such claims were “ untrue and unacceptable.
” “ The focus of the entire organization is on saving lives , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ WHO will not be distracted by these comments and we don ’ t want the international community to be distracted .
”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a gathering of British Members of Parliament that World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus was “bought” by China during a private meeting Tuesday:
The US secretary of state claimed yesterday that the director-general of the World Health Organisation had been “bought” by China’s government and his election had resulted in “dead Britons”. Mike Pompeo made the allegation against Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a closed-door meeting with cross-party MPs during a visit to London.
The Telegraph published some actual quotes attributed to Pompeo:
“When push came to shove, when it really mattered most, when there was a pandemic in China, Dr Tedros, who was … bought by the Chinese government,” The Telegraph quoted Pompeo as saying. “I can’t say more, but I can tell [you] I’m saying this on a firm intelligence foundation, a deal was made … there was a deal making [Tedros’] election and when push came to shove, you get dead Britons.”
Pompeo and President Trump have suggested before that WHO had been co-opted by China but this appears to be a reference to Dr. Tedros being selected as WHO Director General in 2017, not a claim that he’d been bribed. Obviously, since Pompeo didn’t say more, no one has a clear handle on what the foundation for this claim is, but assuming the quotes are accurate he’s obviously claiming there is some intelligence to back this up.
The NY Times published a story when Tedros was elected which noted their had been some controversy about him but that global politics seemed to play a role in the choice of Tedros:
Dr. Tedros — a malaria expert who campaigned under his first name — ultimately beat Dr. David Nabarro of Britain after three voting rounds. The final tally was 133 votes to 50, with three abstaining or not voting… The race, which began in 2015, turned bitter in recent weeks as an adviser to Dr. Nabarro accused Dr. Tedros of having covered up repeated outbreaks of cholera in Ethiopia, which may have delayed the international response and, more recently, the use of a cholera vaccine there. Dr. Tedros was also accused of complicity in his country’s dismal human rights record, which includes massacring protesters and jailing and torturing journalists and political opponents… Amir Attaran, a University of Ottawa expert on law and global health, called Dr. Tedros “a good choice because he was very diligent on malaria,” but argued that geopolitics played a greater role than personalities in the election. “Choosing an African to head W.H.O. was past time,” he said. “And Britain is in the doghouse for choosing Brexit and undermining global stability — it’s their Guantánamo, their Tiananmen.”
But the Times of London reported that China used its aid budget to help Tedros gain support:
Tedros, a former Ethiopian foreign minister, beat Britain’s David Nabarro in the contest to become director-general of the WHO, winning the votes of more than half its 194 member nations. Chinese diplomats had campaigned hard for the Ethiopian, using Beijing’s financial clout and opaque aid budget to build support for him among developing countries. China has praised the authoritarian development model of Ethiopia’s regime, which rules under emergency powers and has put down pro-democracy protests.
Dr. Tedros was asked about Sec. Pompeo’s comments today and called them “unacceptable.”
World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday rejected accusations from the U.S. that the public health body has been “bought” by the Chinese government, saying such claims were “untrue and unacceptable.” “The focus of the entire organization is on saving lives,” Tedros said, adding that the “WHO will not be distracted by these comments and we don’t want the international community to be distracted.”
Here’s Dr. Tedros’ full response:


hotair--2020-07-23--"It's not the right time": Trump stuns by canceling GOP's Jacksonville convention

This is the right call , no doubt made reluctantly but a correct decision nonetheless .
I have a post coming up about today ’ s big Quinnipiac poll of Florida but let ’ s sneak-preview it with this : Apart from Republicans , every group on the board there including Trump ’ s core base of whites without a college degree thinks holding the convention in Jacksonville , with the virus raging , would be a bad idea .
If he had ignored that , went ahead with the event , and cases surged locally in the aftermath — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traced directly to the convention — the press would have been so toxic that it might have sealed his doom in Florida .
It would have been nutty to tempt fate by running a needless risk in a must-win battleground when coronavirus is already a major political liability for him there .
Like I say , stay tuned for that post .
In the meantime , here he is at today ’ s coronavirus briefing : We ’ ll need to wait for the reporting tomorrow for an idea of which White House @ @ @ @ @ @ @ switcheroo , but it ’ s impossible to believe that it was Trump himself .
His desire for an arena full of screaming fans is what drove the move from Charlotte to Jacksonville in the first place , as the governor of North Carolina wouldn ’ t guarantee that social-distancing rules would be relaxed for the convention .
Ever a Florida component was added to the RNC ’ s schedule , though , the effort has been snakebit .
COVID cases in Florida began to take off .
GOP donors grumbled that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Charlotte event and didn ’ t want to pony up again .
Poor turnout at Trump ’ s rally in Tulsa led the RNC to fear no one would show in Jacksonville .
The party began looking at outdoor venues to mitigate the risk from the virus , then at limiting attendance .
A few days ago the local sheriff announced that he was having trouble finding security for the event and it would take a herculean effort to get it done on such short notice .
If Trump had pressed ahead despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three risks .
There might have been an outbreak of infections among attendees .
There might have been few attendees to begin with .
Or there might have been a 1968-ish fiasco outside the arena as police struggled to control protesters .
The takeaway from Americans watching at home would have been , “ He just doesn ’ t care about people ’ s safety .
He ’ s too self-absorbed.
” That ’ s exactly the perception Trump ’ s trying to undo by restarting the daily coronavirus briefings .
If you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clip above to two words , it ’ d be “ safety first , ” the opposite of the message he ’ s spent the past three months preaching in pushing states to reopen for business .
It ’ s the right move — Americans routinely say they prioritize containing the virus over economic growth in polling — but it ’ s very unlike him .
I don ’ t know if this decision in isolation will do anything for him in polling but at least he ’ s on the right track @ @ @ @ @ @ @ message from now until Election Day will only help .
What it means for his big initiative to reopen schools remains to be seen .
Exit question : Who spearheaded this idea behind closed doors and convinced him to do it ?
Kellyanne Conway ?
Jared ?

This is the right call, no doubt made reluctantly but a correct decision nonetheless. I have a post coming up about today’s big Quinnipiac poll of Florida but let’s sneak-preview it with this:
Apart from Republicans, every group on the board there including Trump’s core base of whites without a college degree thinks holding the convention in Jacksonville, with the virus raging, would be a bad idea. If he had ignored that, went ahead with the event, and cases surged locally in the aftermath — even if they couldn’t be traced directly to the convention — the press would have been so toxic that it might have sealed his doom in Florida. It would have been nutty to tempt fate by running a needless risk in a must-win battleground when coronavirus is already a major political liability for him there.
Like I say, stay tuned for that post. In the meantime, here he is at today’s coronavirus briefing:
“We’re going to do some other things with tele-rallies and online the week that we’re discussing which will be really good” — Trump announces that the 2020 RNC that was scheduled to take place in Jacksonville will not be happening pic.twitter.com/gU2U1GE0ka — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 23, 2020
We’ll need to wait for the reporting tomorrow for an idea of which White House faction was the driving force behind this switcheroo, but it’s impossible to believe that it was Trump himself. His desire for an arena full of screaming fans is what drove the move from Charlotte to Jacksonville in the first place, as the governor of North Carolina wouldn’t guarantee that social-distancing rules would be relaxed for the convention. Ever a Florida component was added to the RNC’s schedule, though, the effort has been snakebit. COVID cases in Florida began to take off. GOP donors grumbled that they’d already kicked in for the Charlotte event and didn’t want to pony up again. Poor turnout at Trump’s rally in Tulsa led the RNC to fear no one would show in Jacksonville. The party began looking at outdoor venues to mitigate the risk from the virus, then at limiting attendance. A few days ago the local sheriff announced that he was having trouble finding security for the event and it would take a herculean effort to get it done on such short notice.
If Trump had pressed ahead despite all that, he would have run three risks. There might have been an outbreak of infections among attendees. There might have been few attendees to begin with. Or there might have been a 1968-ish fiasco outside the arena as police struggled to control protesters. The takeaway from Americans watching at home would have been, “He just doesn’t care about people’s safety. He’s too self-absorbed.” That’s exactly the perception Trump’s trying to undo by restarting the daily coronavirus briefings. If you had to distill his message in the clip above to two words, it’d be “safety first,” the opposite of the message he’s spent the past three months preaching in pushing states to reopen for business. It’s the right move — Americans routinely say they prioritize containing the virus over economic growth in polling — but it’s very unlike him.
I don’t know if this decision in isolation will do anything for him in polling but at least he’s on the right track now. A “safety first” message from now until Election Day will only help. What it means for his big initiative to reopen schools remains to be seen.
Exit question: Who spearheaded this idea behind closed doors and convinced him to do it? Kellyanne Conway? Jared?


hotair--2020-07-23--ISIS victim families: Charge the "Beatles" in the US -- and demand the evidence from UK

Remember Kayla Mueller ?
The young American woman went to Syria in 2013 to assist Doctors Without Borders , but ISIS abducted her almost immediately — and made her a slave to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi .
The four British ISIS members known as “ the Beatles ” extorted her family for money , as well as tortured and killed other Americans , including journalists James Foley , Steven Sotloff , and others in gruesome beheading videos .
The US now has custody of the two surviving “ Beatles , ” Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh , but they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s time that ended , the families declare in a Washington Post editorial today .
They want Donald Trump to order them moved to the US and charged in federal court — and to be subject to the death penalty for terrorism and murder : With the U.S. military reducing its presence in the Middle East , we worry that the detainees will never face trial , just as hundreds of terrorists who were detained on U.S. bases during the Iraq War were let go as the United States withdrew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many — including al-Baghdadi before his death — went on to form the Islamic State leadership .
Risking a repeat of this regrettable history is alarming enough .
But detaining suspects indefinitely without trial is also bad policy .
Terrorists use it as a recruiting tool and as an excuse for hostage-taking , accusing the United States of doing the same .
Islamic State propaganda makes heroes of its members in U.S. custody , portraying them as living martyrs — a message that is repellent to the loved ones of their victims .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ powerful message : It doesn ’ t matter who you are or where you are .
If you harm American citizens , you will not escape .
You will be hunted down .
And when you are caught , you will face the full power of American law .
… We implore the Trump administration : Please , for the sake of truth , for the sake of justice , order these Islamic State suspects transferred to the United States to face trial .
In one of her final letters home , Kayla @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everything.
” That is what Kayla , Jim , Peter and Steven are to us : our everything .
Obtaining justice for them would mean the world .
The timing of this plea is propitious , as new developments in the case have emerged today as well .
NBC reports that Kotey and Elsheikh have changed their stories and now admit being part of Mueller ’ s detention and extortion : Two of the British ISIS terrorists dubbed the “ Beatles ” further incriminated themselves in mistreating Western hostages in Syria , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exclusively by NBC News .
In the interviews , the two men , Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh , for the first time admitted their involvement in the captivity of Mueller , an aid worker who was held captive and tortured and sexually abused before her death in 2015 .
Kotey said , “ She was in a room by herself that no one would go in.
” Elsheikh got into more detail , saying , “ I took an email from her myself , ” meaning he got an email address @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the family .
“ She was in a large room , it was dark , and she was alone , and…she was very scared.
” If the US has the two terrorists in its custody , and they admit their connection to Mueller ’ s kidnaping and eventual rape and death , why haven ’ t they been charged yet ?
As it turns out , the United Kingdom has refused to cooperate in the prosecution — unless the US takes the death penalty off the table .
They have the most crucial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) to murders and torture of Americans , but they won ’ t part with it if US prosecutors seek execution .
The Muellers refuse to take anything off the table , they tell NBC : This is pretty much SOP in extradition issues with European countries .
The use of the death penalty in the US in civil prosecutions has long been a sore spot with our Western allies .
France refused for years to extradite Ira Einhorn because they feared Pennsylvania would seek the death penalty ; the state had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before he got sent back to the US .
This case is different , however , even if the UK wants to act like it isn ’ t .
This took place in a time of war , not in a civil context , and these people dealt death out to hostages on camera in the most brutal ways imaginable while fighting that war .
The families want them tried in civilian court rather than in a military tribunal , which is a complicating factor to this issue , but these aren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminals of the most brutal kind , and war crimes are different than civil crimes .
We have the rule of law to hold people accountable domestically , but the only way to make war criminals feel any compunction at all is what might await them if they are captured .
Three hots and a cot doesn ’ t quite cut it .
These two war criminals decided to forego civil niceties when they went to war and targeted American civilians , among others .
We should recognize that when dealing with them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to recognize it as well .

Remember Kayla Mueller? The young American woman went to Syria in 2013 to assist Doctors Without Borders, but ISIS abducted her almost immediately — and made her a slave to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The four British ISIS members known as “the Beatles” extorted her family for money, as well as tortured and killed other Americans, including journalists James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and others in gruesome beheading videos.
The US now has custody of the two surviving “Beatles,” Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, but they have yet to be charged with any crimes. It’s time that ended, the families declare in a Washington Post editorial today. They want Donald Trump to order them moved to the US and charged in federal court — and to be subject to the death penalty for terrorism and murder:
With the U.S. military reducing its presence in the Middle East, we worry that the detainees will never face trial, just as hundreds of terrorists who were detained on U.S. bases during the Iraq War were let go as the United States withdrew its forces. Having escaped justice, many — including al-Baghdadi before his death — went on to form the Islamic State leadership. Risking a repeat of this regrettable history is alarming enough. But detaining suspects indefinitely without trial is also bad policy. Terrorists use it as a recruiting tool and as an excuse for hostage-taking, accusing the United States of doing the same. Islamic State propaganda makes heroes of its members in U.S. custody, portraying them as living martyrs — a message that is repellent to the loved ones of their victims. The U.S. government should send a more powerful message: It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are. If you harm American citizens, you will not escape. You will be hunted down. And when you are caught, you will face the full power of American law. … We implore the Trump administration: Please, for the sake of truth, for the sake of justice, order these Islamic State suspects transferred to the United States to face trial. In one of her final letters home, Kayla signed off, “With all my everything.” That is what Kayla, Jim, Peter and Steven are to us: our everything. Obtaining justice for them would mean the world.
The timing of this plea is propitious, as new developments in the case have emerged today as well. NBC reports that Kotey and Elsheikh have changed their stories and now admit being part of Mueller’s detention and extortion:
Two of the British ISIS terrorists dubbed the “Beatles” further incriminated themselves in mistreating Western hostages in Syria, including American Kayla Mueller, in interviews obtained exclusively by NBC News. In the interviews, the two men, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, for the first time admitted their involvement in the captivity of Mueller, an aid worker who was held captive and tortured and sexually abused before her death in 2015. Kotey said, “She was in a room by herself that no one would go in.” Elsheikh got into more detail, saying, “I took an email from her myself,” meaning he got an email address ISIS could use to demand ransom from the family. “She was in a large room, it was dark, and she was alone, and…she was very scared.”
If the US has the two terrorists in its custody, and they admit their connection to Mueller’s kidnaping and eventual rape and death, why haven’t they been charged yet? As it turns out, the United Kingdom has refused to cooperate in the prosecution — unless the US takes the death penalty off the table. They have the most crucial evidence tying the two (and others) to murders and torture of Americans, but they won’t part with it if US prosecutors seek execution.
The Muellers refuse to take anything off the table, they tell NBC:
It's been five years since we learned about Kayla Mueller who was kidnapped by ISIS. She is believed to be killed while captive in Syria. New details have emerged about two men allegedly involved, this comes as her family continues to call for justice. @RichardEngel has more. pic.twitter.com/fuCngbFoKK — TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 23, 2020
This is pretty much SOP in extradition issues with European countries. The use of the death penalty in the US in civil prosecutions has long been a sore spot with our Western allies. France refused for years to extradite Ira Einhorn because they feared Pennsylvania would seek the death penalty; the state had to agree to seek a life sentence instead before he got sent back to the US.
This case is different, however, even if the UK wants to act like it isn’t. This took place in a time of war, not in a civil context, and these people dealt death out to hostages on camera in the most brutal ways imaginable while fighting that war. The families want them tried in civilian court rather than in a military tribunal, which is a complicating factor to this issue, but these aren’t normal criminals. They are war criminals of the most brutal kind, and war crimes are different than civil crimes. We have the rule of law to hold people accountable domestically, but the only way to make war criminals feel any compunction at all is what might await them if they are captured. Three hots and a cot doesn’t quite cut it.
These two war criminals decided to forego civil niceties when they went to war and targeted American civilians, among others. We should recognize that when dealing with them, and we should force the UK to recognize it as well.


hotair--2020-07-23--Chinese researcher accused of lying about military connections is now hiding out in Chinese consulat

Chinese researcher accused of lying about military connections is now hiding out in Chinese consulate

A Chinese researcher named Tang Juan was charged last month with lying about her military connections when she entered the country .
Tang was doing cancer research at the University of California , Davis and claimed on her visa application that she had no connections to the Chinese military .
But a simple search turned up a photo of her in uniform .
Tang has now fled to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco : Prosecutors allege that Tang — who was issued a visa in November and arrived at San Francisco ’ s international airport on Dec. 27 — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had ever served in the military or been a member of the Communist Party .
The affidavit presents evidence that Tang is in fact a member of China ’ s ruling Communist Party and a member of the military… Upon questioning by federal agents on June 20 , the affidavit alleges that Tang denied having ever served in the military , but agents later found further photos resembling her in military uniform , as well as an application for state benefits where Tang listed her status as a Communist Party member .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tang went to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco , where it says she remains .
Similar charges were filed Monday against another Chinese researcher named Song Chen who has been working at Stanford .
Song entered the country in 2018 by claiming on her visa that her service in the Chinese military had ended in 2011 .
In fact , it had not ended and investigators even found deleted documents on a hard drive admitting this was part of a cover story : The affidavit alleges that these were lies , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People ’ s Liberation Army ( PLA ) , the Chinese military , when she entered and while she was in the United States , and that the hospital she listed on her visa as her employer was a cover for her true employer , the PLA…In addition , as of July 13 , 2020 , a Chinese health care website listed Song as an attending physician of the Department of Neurology of the PLA Air Force General Hospital , a hospital that shared an address with the “ Xi Diaoyutai Hospital ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ listing allegedly included a photograph of Song wearing what appears to be a military uniform… Finally , according to the affidavit , a search of Song ’ s external hard drive , recovered pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant , found that , on June 21 , 2020 , Song had deleted a folder titled , in Chinese , “ 2018 Visiting School Important Information.
” The search recovered deleted documents from this folder .
The affidavit alleges that one of the recovered documents was a letter from Song to the Chinese Consulate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she was extending her time in the United States for another year , and wrote that her stated employer , Beijing Xi Diaoyutai Hospital , is a false front , and that , as a result , she had obtained approval for her extension from the PLA Air Force and FMMU .
Earlier this week the Trump administration gave the Chinese consulate in Houston 72 hours to clear out .
Tuesday night the fire department had to be called to the building after the , ahem , diplomats in the building got carried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside .
That came after the FBI announced charges against two Chinese hackers accused of stealing intellectual property from a number of U.S. companies .
China threatened to retaliate for the closure of the consulate : A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned it would retaliate if the U.S. did not reverse the decision .
“ The U.S. abruptly demanded that China ’ s Consulate General in Houston cease all operations and events , ” the spokesperson said .
“ China strongly condemns such an outrageous and unjustified move which will sabotage China-U.S. relations.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Chinese respond and also what happens to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco where Tang Juan has apparently been hiding out for several weeks .
Ultimately , Tang and Song are just the tip of the iceberg .
The AP reports that the FBI has recently interviewed 25 Chinese nationals believed to have concealed their connections to the Chinese military .

A Chinese researcher named Tang Juan was charged last month with lying about her military connections when she entered the country. Tang was doing cancer research at the University of California, Davis and claimed on her visa application that she had no connections to the Chinese military. But a simple search turned up a photo of her in uniform. Tang has now fled to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco:
Prosecutors allege that Tang — who was issued a visa in November and arrived at San Francisco’s international airport on Dec. 27 — answered “no” when asked if she had ever served in the military or been a member of the Communist Party. The affidavit presents evidence that Tang is in fact a member of China’s ruling Communist Party and a member of the military… Upon questioning by federal agents on June 20, the affidavit alleges that Tang denied having ever served in the military, but agents later found further photos resembling her in military uniform, as well as an application for state benefits where Tang listed her status as a Communist Party member. Following that questioning, the FBI believes Tang went to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, where it says she remains.
Similar charges were filed Monday against another Chinese researcher named Song Chen who has been working at Stanford. Song entered the country in 2018 by claiming on her visa that her service in the Chinese military had ended in 2011. In fact, it had not ended and investigators even found deleted documents on a hard drive admitting this was part of a cover story:
The affidavit alleges that these were lies, and that Song was a member of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese military, when she entered and while she was in the United States, and that the hospital she listed on her visa as her employer was a cover for her true employer, the PLA…In addition, as of July 13, 2020, a Chinese health care website listed Song as an attending physician of the Department of Neurology of the PLA Air Force General Hospital, a hospital that shared an address with the “Xi Diaoyutai Hospital” listed on her visa application. The listing allegedly included a photograph of Song wearing what appears to be a military uniform… Finally, according to the affidavit, a search of Song’s external hard drive, recovered pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant, found that, on June 21, 2020, Song had deleted a folder titled, in Chinese, “2018 Visiting School Important Information.” The search recovered deleted documents from this folder. The affidavit alleges that one of the recovered documents was a letter from Song to the Chinese Consulate in New York, which explained that she was extending her time in the United States for another year, and wrote that her stated employer, Beijing Xi Diaoyutai Hospital, is a false front, and that, as a result, she had obtained approval for her extension from the PLA Air Force and FMMU.
Earlier this week the Trump administration gave the Chinese consulate in Houston 72 hours to clear out. Tuesday night the fire department had to be called to the building after the, ahem, diplomats in the building got carried away burning all of the sensitive documents inside. That came after the FBI announced charges against two Chinese hackers accused of stealing intellectual property from a number of U.S. companies. China threatened to retaliate for the closure of the consulate:
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned it would retaliate if the U.S. did not reverse the decision. “The U.S. abruptly demanded that China’s Consulate General in Houston cease all operations and events,” the spokesperson said. “China strongly condemns such an outrageous and unjustified move which will sabotage China-U.S. relations.”
So the question now is will the Chinese respond and also what happens to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco where Tang Juan has apparently been hiding out for several weeks. Ultimately, Tang and Song are just the tip of the iceberg. The AP reports that the FBI has recently interviewed 25 Chinese nationals believed to have concealed their connections to the Chinese military.


hotair--2020-07-23--Today's hot topics on #TEMS: AOC bemoans, Minneapolis groans, gun-control's sad trombone, Washington

Today's hot topics on #TEMS: AOC bemoans, Minneapolis groans, gun-control's sad trombone, Washington Unknowns, and more!

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show ( 4 pm ET ) , we have another great lineup for the news of the day !
The show will be streamed on Hot Air ’ s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook .
Join us as we welcome : • Duane “ Generalissimo ” Patterson brings us up to date on the week ’ s top stories and gives us a preview of tomorrow ’ s Hugh Hewitt show .
We ’ ll talk about the AOC-Yoho kerfuffle , the latest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington WTFs , and lots more .
• Are our daughters and granddaughters getting caught up in a social-media transgender craze ?
Abigail Shrier discusses her new book Irreversible Damage : The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters ( Regnery ; June 30 , 2020 ) , which argues that pop culture and public schools are indoctrinating girls into gender confusion .
How can parents fight back ?
( Regnery is a division of Salem Media Group , which also owns this website through Townhall Media Group . )
The Ed Morrissey Show and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the permanent TEMS page .
Be sure to join us , and don ’ t forget to keep up with the debate on my Facebook page , too !
How can Republicans and conservatives keep winning after 2016 ?
Find out in GOING RED , published in April from Crown Forum !

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show (4 pm ET), we have another great lineup for the news of the day! The show will be streamed on Hot Air’s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook.
Join us as we welcome:
Duane “Generalissimo” Patterson brings us up to date on the week’s top stories and gives us a preview of tomorrow’s Hugh Hewitt show. We’ll talk about the AOC-Yoho kerfuffle, the latest idiocy from the Twin Cities, the Washington WTFs, and lots more.
Are our daughters and granddaughters getting caught up in a social-media transgender craze? Abigail Shrier discusses her new book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (Regnery; June 30, 2020), which argues that pop culture and public schools are indoctrinating girls into gender confusion. How can parents fight back? (Regnery is a division of Salem Media Group, which also owns this website through Townhall Media Group.)
The Ed Morrissey Show and its dynamic chatroom can be seen on the permanent TEMS page. Be sure to join us, and don’t forget to keep up with the debate on my Facebook page, too!
How can Republicans and conservatives keep winning after 2016? Find out in GOING RED, published in April from Crown Forum!


hotair--2020-07-23--Following Planned Parenthood's lead, Sierra Club denounces its founder as a racist and eugenicist

Wednesday , Planned Parenthood of New York decided it was finally time to admit that their founder was a racist and a eugenicist .
Today , the Sierra Club is taking a similar approach and denouncing founder John Muir for similar reasons : The executive director of the Sierra Club apologized Wednesday for its “ substantial role in perpetuating white supremacy , ” and said John Muir , the club ’ s founder and an icon of the environmentalist movement , was a racist .
In a post on the organization ’ s website , Michael Brune said that just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down monuments to Confederate leaders , the club must re-examine its past and “ take down some of our own monuments.
” That includes Muir , who Brune admitted was beloved by many of the club ’ s members and whose writings “ taught generations of people to see the sacredness of nature.
” But Muir also was close friends with paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn and others connected to the eugenics movement , which advocated sterilizing those whom white supporters pegged as “ deficient ” : the poor , physically and mentally disabled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” races , including Black and Latino people , as well as Jews .
You can read the full letter here .
John Muir isn ’ t the only leader of the group being denounced : Other early Sierra Club members and leaders — like Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan — were vocal advocates for white supremacy and its pseudo-scientific arm , eugenics .
Jordan , for example , served on the board of directors during Muir ’ s presidency .
A “ kingpin ” of the eugenics movement , he pushed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tens of thousands of women of their right to bear children — mostly Black , Latinx , Indigenous , and poor women , and those living with disabilities and mental illness .
He cofounded the Human Betterment Foundation , whose research and model laws were used to create Nazi Germany ’ s eugenics legislation .
David Starr Jordan was the first president of Stanford University .
The Sierra Club also promises it won ’ t overlook the intersectional nature of the struggle in the future .
It promises to have more to say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on racism , immigration and population as opposed to limiting itself to comments about the environment : The whiteness and privilege of our early membership fed into a very dangerous idea — one that ’ s still circulating today .
It ’ s the idea that exploring , enjoying , and protecting the outdoors can be separated from human affairs .
Such willful ignorance is what allows some people to shut their eyes to the reality that the wild places we love are also the ancestral homelands of Native peoples , forced off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before they became national parks .
It allows them to overlook , too , the fact that only people insulated from systemic racism and brutality can afford to focus solely on preserving wilderness .
It ’ ll be interesting to see how this impacts the group ’ s membership .
On the one hand , many of the people who are members are probably BLM supporters as well .
On the other hand , some of the people who signed up to fight the use of fossil fuels may find it odd when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shootings or whatever else .

Wednesday, Planned Parenthood of New York decided it was finally time to admit that their founder was a racist and a eugenicist. Today, the Sierra Club is taking a similar approach and denouncing founder John Muir for similar reasons:
The executive director of the Sierra Club apologized Wednesday for its “substantial role in perpetuating white supremacy,” and said John Muir, the club’s founder and an icon of the environmentalist movement, was a racist. In a post on the organization’s website, Michael Brune said that just as Black Lives Matter activists are pulling down monuments to Confederate leaders, the club must re-examine its past and “take down some of our own monuments.” That includes Muir, who Brune admitted was beloved by many of the club’s members and whose writings “taught generations of people to see the sacredness of nature.” But Muir also was close friends with paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn and others connected to the eugenics movement, which advocated sterilizing those whom white supporters pegged as “deficient”: the poor, physically and mentally disabled people, and those of “unfit” races, including Black and Latino people, as well as Jews.
You can read the full letter here. John Muir isn’t the only leader of the group being denounced:
Other early Sierra Club members and leaders — like Joseph LeConte and David Starr Jordan — were vocal advocates for white supremacy and its pseudo-scientific arm, eugenics. Jordan, for example, served on the board of directors during Muir’s presidency. A “kingpin” of the eugenics movement, he pushed for forced-sterilization laws and programs that deprived tens of thousands of women of their right to bear children — mostly Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and poor women, and those living with disabilities and mental illness. He cofounded the Human Betterment Foundation, whose research and model laws were used to create Nazi Germany’s eugenics legislation.
David Starr Jordan was the first president of Stanford University.
The Sierra Club also promises it won’t overlook the intersectional nature of the struggle in the future. It promises to have more to say about the group’s evolving stance on racism, immigration and population as opposed to limiting itself to comments about the environment:
The whiteness and privilege of our early membership fed into a very dangerous idea — one that’s still circulating today. It’s the idea that exploring, enjoying, and protecting the outdoors can be separated from human affairs. Such willful ignorance is what allows some people to shut their eyes to the reality that the wild places we love are also the ancestral homelands of Native peoples, forced off their lands in the decades or centuries before they became national parks. It allows them to overlook, too, the fact that only people insulated from systemic racism and brutality can afford to focus solely on preserving wilderness.
It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts the group’s membership. On the one hand, many of the people who are members are probably BLM supporters as well. On the other hand, some of the people who signed up to fight the use of fossil fuels may find it odd when the group starts issuing messages about police shootings or whatever else.


hotair--2020-07-23--Great news: Minneapolis city council decides not to pay armed vigilantes to replace police

Give credit where due for thinking outside of the box , I guess , although this idea belongs in a box … buried under the St. Anthony Falls .
In the Minneapolis city council ’ s haste to prove it doesn ’ t need a professional and trained police force to keep the peace , they nearly decided to pay ad hoc bands of armed citizens to patrol the streets .
Only late inquiries about this proposal from city residents and local media managed to change their minds : The Minneapolis City Council briefly considered diverting money from police to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s public safety chairwoman suggesting an armed group as one that could potentially benefit .
During a budget meeting last week , Council Member Alondra Cano proposed cutting $ 500,000 from the Minneapolis Police Department for the citizen groups .
She described it as an effort to “ respond to the hundreds of people who have formed their own community safety patrol systems to keep their blocks and their neighborhoods safe in this time of deep transition.
” She and nine of her colleagues voted in favor of adding the provision to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents and reporters contacted city officials seeking details about the proposal , the council walked it back .
Ahem .
I myself am a lawful owner of firearms , properly authorized to carry in public .
However , that does not make me a Junior G-Man , nor does it make thousands of other lawful gun owners in the state qualified to keep the peace .
We have the necessary training to use our firearms wisely and to understand the legalities of lawful self-defense , but that ’ s it .
None of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detaining suspects , understanding probable cause or distinguishing it from reasonable suspicion , nor any of the other legal niceties that protect civil rights while also protecting a community .
One has to go to law school to learn those — or a police academy .
Not to mention , attempting to navigate those issues as a private citizen would leave me personally liable for any mistakes made , even in good faith .
That would be true even if I was unarmed and attempting to patrol streets in Minneapolis , which would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who agreed to this kind of arrangement in replacing the police would have to be either certifiably insane or have staggeringly bad judgment … neither of which offers much hope for their ability to patrol neighborhoods .
When the city council first said that they would abolish the police , I warned at the time that the vacuum of legitimate law enforcement would promote vigilantism .
Little did I know that the city council would subsidize it .
The Star Tribune notes that the city council seems to be out of rational ideas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into reality , which is how vigilantism nearly got a $ 500,000 grant and endorsement : In other words , the city council is completely incompetent , and now obviously so .
This would qualify as satire if not for the lives that have already been lost and the lives that will be lost in the near future due to their failures to perform their basic duties as public officials .
The city council is responsible for the police department and its performance , but they do not want Minneapolis residents to realize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pretend that a modern city of 425,000-plus residents don ’ t need law enforcement , mainly because they want to abdicate their own responsibilities for managing it .
Minneapolis is a home-rule charter city , so the state doesn ’ t have too many options in dealing with this disaster .
The city ’ s voters will have to act to put an end to the circus they elected .
In the meantime , the cities around them will have to deal with the fallout — and business owners will start looking elsewhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

Give credit where due for thinking outside of the box, I guess, although this idea belongs in a box … buried under the St. Anthony Falls. In the Minneapolis city council’s haste to prove it doesn’t need a professional and trained police force to keep the peace, they nearly decided to pay ad hoc bands of armed citizens to patrol the streets. Only late inquiries about this proposal from city residents and local media managed to change their minds:
The Minneapolis City Council briefly considered diverting money from police to citizen patrols, with the council’s public safety chairwoman suggesting an armed group as one that could potentially benefit. During a budget meeting last week, Council Member Alondra Cano proposed cutting $500,000 from the Minneapolis Police Department for the citizen groups. She described it as an effort to “respond to the hundreds of people who have formed their own community safety patrol systems to keep their blocks and their neighborhoods safe in this time of deep transition.” She and nine of her colleagues voted in favor of adding the provision to the 2020 budget. On Wednesday, after residents and reporters contacted city officials seeking details about the proposal, the council walked it back.
Ahem. I myself am a lawful owner of firearms, properly authorized to carry in public. However, that does not make me a Junior G-Man, nor does it make thousands of other lawful gun owners in the state qualified to keep the peace. We have the necessary training to use our firearms wisely and to understand the legalities of lawful self-defense, but that’s it. None of that training had anything to do with detaining suspects, understanding probable cause or distinguishing it from reasonable suspicion, nor any of the other legal niceties that protect civil rights while also protecting a community.
One has to go to law school to learn those — or a police academy.
Not to mention, attempting to navigate those issues as a private citizen would leave me personally liable for any mistakes made, even in good faith. That would be true even if I was unarmed and attempting to patrol streets in Minneapolis, which would be an even crazier proposition. Anyone who agreed to this kind of arrangement in replacing the police would have to be either certifiably insane or have staggeringly bad judgment … neither of which offers much hope for their ability to patrol neighborhoods.
When the city council first said that they would abolish the police, I warned at the time that the vacuum of legitimate law enforcement would promote vigilantism. Little did I know that the city council would subsidize it.
The Star Tribune notes that the city council seems to be out of rational ideas about how to make their no-policy fantasy into reality, which is how vigilantism nearly got a $500,000 grant and endorsement:
The change reveals how the City Council is struggling to come up with alternatives to the Minneapolis Police Department, even as a majority has vowed to end it. Council members and city staffers have, at times, found themselves unclear about what various proposals mean, even after they have voted on them.
In other words, the city council is completely incompetent, and now obviously so. This would qualify as satire if not for the lives that have already been lost and the lives that will be lost in the near future due to their failures to perform their basic duties as public officials. The city council is responsible for the police department and its performance, but they do not want Minneapolis residents to realize that. Instead, they want to pretend that a modern city of 425,000-plus residents don’t need law enforcement, mainly because they want to abdicate their own responsibilities for managing it.
Minneapolis is a home-rule charter city, so the state doesn’t have too many options in dealing with this disaster. The city’s voters will have to act to put an end to the circus they elected. In the meantime, the cities around them will have to deal with the fallout — and business owners will start looking elsewhere for better environments in which to operate.


hotair--2020-07-23--AOC turns Ted Yoho's apology into a teachable moment, of course

This couldn ’ t have ended any other way .
I ’ m sure House Dem leaders were shocked when , after demanding an apology on the House floor from Yoho for how he spoke to AOC outside the Capitol on Monday , he actually offered one .
It must have been unimaginable to them that a populist Republican would yield so quickly in admitting fault in how he ’ d behaved towards Republicans ’ least favorite Democrat .
Yoho would inevitably tell them to screw off , they assumed , and then they could have a passion play about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and so forth , and get whatever benefit from voters that they might get from that .
“ He wouldn ’ t even apologize !
” But Yoho , no doubt under pressure from his own leadership to avert that scenario , decided to eat sh*t instead .
Which left Dems with a choice : Either accept the apology and miss that opportunity or conclude that the apology was insufficient and have the passion play anyway .
Guess what happened .
Needless to say , the takeaway from this episode for many will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fool apologizes.
” That ’ s not true — you should make an apology if you owe one regardless of how it ’ s received — but that ’ s the lesson that ’ ll be distilled in an age of negative hyperpartisanship .
You ’ ll be given no credit for expressing remorse , so why do it ?
Remember that the most sensational element of what allegedly happened between them , Yoho calling her a “ f***ing b*tch ” as he walked away , is uncorroborated by either him or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; AOC says she thought she heard him muttering something but couldn ’ t make out what it was .
It ’ s a reporter from The Hill who overheard it , although as far as I ’ m aware we still don ’ t know who that was , specifically .
And as we learned elsewhere this week , it ’ s easy to mishear something someone ’ s said if you have a motive to mishear it .
So no , Yoho didn ’ t apologize for any name-calling , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manner ” in which he spoke to her and said their policy disputes don ’ t justify being disrespectful .
Rather than just say “ you hurt my feelings ” like a normal human , Ocasio-Cortez spends 10 minutes doing a tiresome populist song-and-dance about how she ’ s standing up not for herself but for Womanhood .
I ’ m certainly not mad or unused to being treated this way , she says towards the start , a point she ’ ll also make on Twitter occasionally when she ’ s responding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for detractors to know that their slings and arrows can not wound her , never mind that she ’ s on the brink of tears halfway through the clip imagining her mom watching Yoho ’ s floor speech .
Whether she ’ s forced to do that “ nothing fazes me ” shtick because populist champions are expected to be indomitable or because their political personas are less as people than as tribunes for the masses they represent , I don ’ t know .
( It ’ s another way she ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on his toughness yet whines about his grievances endlessly . )
But it ’ s disingenuous , as is this part about Yoho ’ s apology : Reading that , you would think he had come to the House floor and called her a “ f***ing b*tch ” again , assuming he did in the first place .
He made a vague apology about being disrespectful , spoke briefly about how he and his wife experienced poverty when they were first married ( as that was the subject he had confronted AOC about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back-pat by saying he won ’ t apologize for being passionate about his views .
I didn ’ t begrudge her tweeting yesterday about how underwhelmed she was by it , but the idea that it was so offensive that it required a full hour of floor time today for her and other Democratic women like Ilhan Omar to rebuke it is farcical .
At one point Ocasio-Cortez even insists that she was prepared to let it drop until Yoho ’ s veddy , veddy bad apology left her no choice but to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have this “ teachable moment ” no matter what he said short of tearily begging for her forgiveness and very clearly they were going to find a pretext to have it that blamed Yoho himself for forcing them to do it rather than admit that they intended to do it for political gain .
The two of them deserve each other .
The paradox of AOC is that on the one hand she ’ s one of the most “ real ” people in Congress — she ’ s young !
she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like America !
— and on the other she ’ s one of the most remorseless talking-points robots in a body that consists of hardly anything but professional talking-points robots anymore .
Everything inevitably becomes a teachable moment with her , including the comments that Yoho took objection to initially .
Asked about rising crime in New York City , which includes a surge in murders , naturally she started riffing about desperate people going hungry and maybe needing to steal bread .
Her impulse always and everywhere is towards didacticism .
Of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a lecture .

This couldn’t have ended any other way. I’m sure House Dem leaders were shocked when, after demanding an apology on the House floor from Yoho for how he spoke to AOC outside the Capitol on Monday, he actually offered one. It must have been unimaginable to them that a populist Republican would yield so quickly in admitting fault in how he’d behaved towards Republicans’ least favorite Democrat. Yoho would inevitably tell them to screw off, they assumed, and then they could have a passion play about misogyny, the war on women, and so forth, and get whatever benefit from voters that they might get from that. “He wouldn’t even apologize!”
But Yoho, no doubt under pressure from his own leadership to avert that scenario, decided to eat sh*t instead. Which left Dems with a choice: Either accept the apology and miss that opportunity or conclude that the apology was insufficient and have the passion play anyway. Guess what happened. Needless to say, the takeaway from this episode for many will be, “This is why only a fool apologizes.” That’s not true — you should make an apology if you owe one regardless of how it’s received — but that’s the lesson that’ll be distilled in an age of negative hyperpartisanship. You’ll be given no credit for expressing remorse, so why do it?
Remember that the most sensational element of what allegedly happened between them, Yoho calling her a “f***ing b*tch” as he walked away, is uncorroborated by either him or her. Yoho flatly denies saying it; AOC says she thought she heard him muttering something but couldn’t make out what it was. It’s a reporter from The Hill who overheard it, although as far as I’m aware we still don’t know who that was, specifically. And as we learned elsewhere this week, it’s easy to mishear something someone’s said if you have a motive to mishear it. So no, Yoho didn’t apologize for any name-calling, but he did apologize for the “abrupt manner” in which he spoke to her and said their policy disputes don’t justify being disrespectful.
Rather than just say “you hurt my feelings” like a normal human, Ocasio-Cortez spends 10 minutes doing a tiresome populist song-and-dance about how she’s standing up not for herself but for Womanhood. I’m certainly not mad or unused to being treated this way, she says towards the start, a point she’ll also make on Twitter occasionally when she’s responding to criticism. She’s keen for detractors to know that their slings and arrows cannot wound her, never mind that she’s on the brink of tears halfway through the clip imagining her mom watching Yoho’s floor speech. Whether she’s forced to do that “nothing fazes me” shtick because populist champions are expected to be indomitable or because their political personas are less as people than as tribunes for the masses they represent, I don’t know. (It’s another way she’s like Trump, who prides himself on his toughness yet whines about his grievances endlessly.) But it’s disingenuous, as is this part about Yoho’s apology:
“I could not allow my nieces, I could not allow the little girls I go home, I could not allow the victims of verbal abuse and worse to see that, to see that excuse, and to see our Congress accept it as legitimate and accept it as an apology,” she said.
Reading that, you would think he had come to the House floor and called her a “f***ing b*tch” again, assuming he did in the first place. He made a vague apology about being disrespectful, spoke briefly about how he and his wife experienced poverty when they were first married (as that was the subject he had confronted AOC about), then gave himself a little back-pat by saying he won’t apologize for being passionate about his views. I didn’t begrudge her tweeting yesterday about how underwhelmed she was by it, but the idea that it was so offensive that it required a full hour of floor time today for her and other Democratic women like Ilhan Omar to rebuke it is farcical. At one point Ocasio-Cortez even insists that she was prepared to let it drop until Yoho’s veddy, veddy bad apology left her no choice but to speak up. Very clearly they intended to have this “teachable moment” no matter what he said short of tearily begging for her forgiveness and very clearly they were going to find a pretext to have it that blamed Yoho himself for forcing them to do it rather than admit that they intended to do it for political gain. The two of them deserve each other.
The paradox of AOC is that on the one hand she’s one of the most “real” people in Congress — she’s young! she’s got personality! she looks like America! — and on the other she’s one of the most remorseless talking-points robots in a body that consists of hardly anything but professional talking-points robots anymore. Everything inevitably becomes a teachable moment with her, including the comments that Yoho took objection to initially. Asked about rising crime in New York City, which includes a surge in murders, naturally she started riffing about desperate people going hungry and maybe needing to steal bread. Her impulse always and everywhere is towards didacticism. Of course this episode with Yoho would end with a lecture.


hotair--2020-07-23--Seattle: 'Massive' property damage, arson and looting last night

A mob of about 150 people gathered near the former CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle ’ s Capitol Hill neighborhood and spent several hours last night smashing windows , setting fires and looting stores .
The SPD police blotter has the full rundown : The group roamed about the Capital Hill neighborhood , doing massive amounts of property damage , looting , shooting fireworks , and committing arson .
Individuals from the group broke the windows of a business in the 1400 block of East Olive Way and then started a fire inside .
Seattle Fire was called to extinguish the fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1500 Block of 11 Avenue , breaking more businesses ’ windows along the way .
Individuals then broke into a business , took merchandise , and put it in middle of the street where they lit it on fire .
The group went to Broadway and Madison , where individuals used baseball bats and pipes to break windows at a store .
They threw fireworks into the store and then began looting .
The group headed to the area of Summit and Madison where they damaged property at two banks .
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The East Precinct is the one that was at the center of CHAZ/CHOP .
They targeted a store owned by the wife of a Seattle police officer .
smashing their way in and looting it to set a fire in the street .
A couple of banks were vandalized .
Note the graffiti : ‘ Capitalism kills.
’ This one is a shoe store : And they smashed the windows of a Whole Foods : The police were trailing the mob throughout the night but didn ’ t arrest anyone .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to hang back but I have a guess .
Just a few days ago 12 officers were injured after a clash with a similar mob ( maybe some of the same people ) outside the West Precinct .
When I wrote about that on Monday there wasn ’ t any clear video of that conflict but police have since released bodycam video showing officers were pelted with water bottles and multiple large fireworks .
At least one officer was burned and transported to the hospital .
Again , this footage is from Sunday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warned there is some NSFW language .
So this is what happens when officers confront the mob .
Why get confrontational and risk officers getting hurt when police can just monitor the damage from a distance .
It ’ s true there are only a handful of people in the group who are swinging bats and breaking windows , but everyone who is part of this group knows what the collective goal is .
They all participate by blocking cameras or simply providing a large mob for the real vandals to blend into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They should all be in jail together , but until Mayor Durkan musters the political will for that kind of confrontation , the mob has been given free rein to smash whatever it wants .

A mob of about 150 people gathered near the former CHAZ/CHOP in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and spent several hours last night smashing windows, setting fires and looting stores. The SPD police blotter has the full rundown:
The group roamed about the Capital Hill neighborhood, doing massive amounts of property damage, looting, shooting fireworks, and committing arson. Individuals from the group broke the windows of a business in the 1400 block of East Olive Way and then started a fire inside. Seattle Fire was called to extinguish the fire. The group then went to the 1500 Block of 11 Avenue, breaking more businesses’ windows along the way. Individuals then broke into a business, took merchandise, and put it in middle of the street where they lit it on fire. The group went to Broadway and Madison, where individuals used baseball bats and pipes to break windows at a store. They threw fireworks into the store and then began looting. The group headed to the area of Summit and Madison where they damaged property at two banks.
Here’s what some of that looked like. The East Precinct is the one that was at the center of CHAZ/CHOP.
Happening Now: Hundreds of Antifa Militants vandalizing and protesting against police brutality outside @SeattlePD East Precinct. Crowd is chanting “All Cops Are Bastards, A-C-A-B.”#seattleriots #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/es9ELLepL8 — Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸 (@KatieDaviscourt) July 23, 2020
Antifa Militants and protesters approached an entrance to @SeattlePD East Precinct. A smoke bomb was deployed. Unsure if Antifa Militants deployed the smoke bomb or SPD.#seattleriots #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/Cq1EW1kiuc — Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸 (@KatieDaviscourt) July 23, 2020
They targeted a store owned by the wife of a Seattle police officer. smashing their way in and looting it to set a fire in the street.
Antifa Militants and Rioters broke into “Rove” and started a fire using clothing from inside the store. #seattleprotests #seattleriots pic.twitter.com/6PNnUBA49N — Katie Daviscourt🇺🇸 (@KatieDaviscourt) July 23, 2020
Law enforcement near Pike and 11th as protesters move past intersection #seattleprotest #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/2NGrUxIng9 — Elizabeth Turnbull (@LizTurnbull5) July 23, 2020
A couple of banks were vandalized. Note the graffiti: ‘Capitalism kills.’
Uncle Ike’s is a pot shop:
Word “Gentrifier” written on Uncle Ike’s building on Cap Hill amidst broken windows (people outside are photographers not protesters) #seattleprotest #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/nCtYUicbUP — Elizabeth Turnbull (@LizTurnbull5) July 23, 2020
This one is a shoe store:
Windows of “Likelihood” shop broken into as protesters march on, SPD cars tail crowd #seattleprotest #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/hdsIdYHElm — Elizabeth Turnbull (@LizTurnbull5) July 23, 2020
And they smashed the windows of a Whole Foods:
Glass still crackling on Whole Foods building after protesters smashed the windows/doors, one cop car continues to tail protesters #seattleprotest #seattleprotests pic.twitter.com/4OT0fc8O8W — Elizabeth Turnbull (@LizTurnbull5) July 23, 2020
Someone just started a small fire outside Whole Foods on Broadway in Seattle where workers inside sweep and vacuum up glass from smashed windows -just 1 of a half dozen businesses hit overnight #komonews pic.twitter.com/CREt40OLFb — Denise Whitaker🏃♀ (@deniseonKOMO) July 23, 2020
The police were trailing the mob throughout the night but didn’t arrest anyone. It’s not clear why they decided to hang back but I have a guess. Just a few days ago 12 officers were injured after a clash with a similar mob (maybe some of the same people) outside the West Precinct. When I wrote about that on Monday there wasn’t any clear video of that conflict but police have since released bodycam video showing officers were pelted with water bottles and multiple large fireworks. At least one officer was burned and transported to the hospital. Again, this footage is from Sunday, not from last night and be warned there is some NSFW language.
So this is what happens when officers confront the mob. Why get confrontational and risk officers getting hurt when police can just monitor the damage from a distance. It’s true there are only a handful of people in the group who are swinging bats and breaking windows, but everyone who is part of this group knows what the collective goal is. They all participate by blocking cameras or simply providing a large mob for the real vandals to blend into as they roam through the city. They should all be in jail together, but until Mayor Durkan musters the political will for that kind of confrontation, the mob has been given free rein to smash whatever it wants.