hotair--2020-10-28--CNN's Blitzer: Why did Philly police "shoot to kill" and not "shoot to injure"?

Because police don ’ t get their lethal-force training from Joe Biden or Hollywood ?
Given that CNN ’ s Wolf Blitzer asked this question to the network ’ s own law enforcement analyst Charles Ramsey , one could make the argument that the Situation Room anchor was simply teeing up the issue for Ramsey to answer .
CNN doesn ’ t have video of this exchange handy , but Reason ’ s Robby Soave saw it live : Here ’ s the transcript , in which Blitzer provides this as commentary on the shooting of Walter Williams by Philadelphia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on police despite repeated orders to stop and drop his weapon , and witnesses confirm Williams was armed with a knife .
Why not just shoot to injure rather than “ shoot to kill , ” Blitzer asks .
Ramsey explains that police do neither : CHARLES RAMSEY , CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST : Well , first of all , every shooting is concerning , and a tragedy in its own — in its own right .
We have to take a careful look at this , and in will be a thorough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the use of deadly force was justified .
This was a call for a man with a knife .
The officers were seen backing up , the individual was coming toward them with a knife .
Neither of these officers were armed with Tasers , which would be a less lethal weapon .
I know that Philly is in the process of trying to get Tasers for all of their patrol officers .
That ’ s 4,500 .
Right now , they ’ ve got slightly more than 2,300 that have been deployed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a Taser at the time .
BLITZER : The victim , Walter Wallace , had a knife , as you saw .
One witness said , though , he had mental health issues .
The district attorney said a report was a medical call was consistent with what they know so far.So could these officers have escalated the situation if they obviously could have used Tasers if they had them , but they didn ’ t have Tasers .
But why shoot to kill opposed to shoot to injure and just prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Well , officers are trained to shoot at what we call center mass .
Despite what you may see on TV , it ’ s not easy to hit extremities and so forth ( ph ) , especially under stress .
So officers are trained to shoot center mass , not shoot to kill .
But , unfortunately , that does happen .
The Taser issue might have been moot under these circumstances anyway .
Tasers aren ’ t designed to end a lethal threat , but are more for those resisting arrest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t always work , and they are too iffy in close proximity when someone has a lethal weapon in their hands .
But even aside from that , the framing of the question was ignorant , at the very least , even if Blitzer wanted to use it as a springboard for Ramsey .
But was that the case ?
Blitzer has a track record of asking this question , as it turns out .
Note the date and the context , which was right after the Ferguson shooting of Michael Brown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for six years , and apparently never listening to the answer .
The Mediaite link is dead , but TPM Livewire noted the August 2014 exchange with Toobin , in which Blitzer posed the question even more ignorantly : “ They often shoot to kill , ” Blitzer said of police .
“ Why do they have to shoot to kill ?
Why can ’ t they shoot a warning shot in the air , scare someone off if they think they ’ re in danger .
Why can ’ t they shoot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Why do they have to shoot to kill ?
” Toobin said police are trained to “ never fire a warning shot ” and to “ never fire a shot to injure.
” He explained that if police fire their guns , they must “ accept the risk ” that they are “ gon na kill somebody.
” Adding that : “ If you are not prepared to kill someone , don ’ t fire the gun.
” For those who are brain-dead enough not to realize that which goes up must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the air means sending a bullet in an unknown direction , which will come back to earth at a lethal velocity .
Every year , people get killed because morons shoot guns up in the air without considering that consequence .
Shooting at the ground has similar consequences with ricochets ; shooting at arms and legs vastly increases the chances of a miss , which means that bullet continues to travel and could hit a bystander .
The safest choice is to aim for center mass at the actual target , if police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not “ shoot to kill , ” it ’ s “ shoot to stop the threat while minimizing all other risks.
” One would think Blitzer would have learned that by now .
Update : Robby Soave also linked to his own piece at Reason from two weeks ago in his Twitter thread , responding to Joe Biden ’ s nonsensical declaration at ABC ’ s town hall event .
Read the whole thing .

Because police don’t get their lethal-force training from Joe Biden or Hollywood? Given that CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked this question to the network’s own law enforcement analyst Charles Ramsey, one could make the argument that the Situation Room anchor was simply teeing up the issue for Ramsey to answer. CNN doesn’t have video of this exchange handy, but Reason’s Robby Soave saw it live:
Wolf Blitzer asks why the Philadelphia officers didn’t choose to “shoot to injure” instead of shooting to kill. The answer is because cops aren’t expert marksmen: None are trained to “shoot to injure” because it’s impossible to do consistently. — Robby Soave (@robbysoave) October 27, 2020
Here’s the transcript, in which Blitzer provides this as commentary on the shooting of Walter Williams by Philadelphia police. The video shows Wallace advancing on police despite repeated orders to stop and drop his weapon, and witnesses confirm Williams was armed with a knife. Why not just shoot to injure rather than “shoot to kill,” Blitzer asks.
Ramsey explains that police do neither:
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, first of all, every shooting is concerning, and a tragedy in its own — in its own right. We have to take a careful look at this, and in will be a thorough investigation to find out whether or not the use of deadly force was justified. This was a call for a man with a knife. The officers were seen backing up, the individual was coming toward them with a knife. Neither of these officers were armed with Tasers, which would be a less lethal weapon. I know that Philly is in the process of trying to get Tasers for all of their patrol officers. That’s 4,500. Right now, they’ve got slightly more than 2,300 that have been deployed, but those two officers did not have a Taser at the time. BLITZER: The victim, Walter Wallace, had a knife, as you saw. One witness said, though, he had mental health issues. The district attorney said a report was a medical call was consistent with what they know so far.So could these officers have escalated the situation if they obviously could have used Tasers if they had them, but they didn’t have Tasers. But why shoot to kill opposed to shoot to injure and just prevent anything from going further? RAMSEY: Well, officers are trained to shoot at what we call center mass. Despite what you may see on TV, it’s not easy to hit extremities and so forth (ph), especially under stress. So officers are trained to shoot center mass, not shoot to kill. But, unfortunately, that does happen.
The Taser issue might have been moot under these circumstances anyway. Tasers aren’t designed to end a lethal threat, but are more for those resisting arrest and presenting non-lethal threats. Tasers don’t always work, and they are too iffy in close proximity when someone has a lethal weapon in their hands.
But even aside from that, the framing of the question was ignorant, at the very least, even if Blitzer wanted to use it as a springboard for Ramsey. But was that the case? Blitzer has a track record of asking this question, as it turns out. Note the date and the context, which was right after the Ferguson shooting of Michael Brown:
08/14/2014: Mediaite: Blitzer to Toobin: Why Can’t Police Just ‘Shoot to Injure’ Instead of ‘Shoot to Kill’? http://t.co/jczcax4hT1 — Charlotte L Coolidge (@C_Coolidge) July 3, 2015
Blitzer has been asking the question for six years, and apparently never listening to the answer. The Mediaite link is dead, but TPM Livewire noted the August 2014 exchange with Toobin, in which Blitzer posed the question even more ignorantly:
“They often shoot to kill,” Blitzer said of police. “Why do they have to shoot to kill? Why can’t they shoot a warning shot in the air, scare someone off if they think they’re in danger. Why can’t they shoot to, injure, shall we say? Why do they have to shoot to kill?” Toobin said police are trained to “never fire a warning shot” and to “never fire a shot to injure.” He explained that if police fire their guns, they must “accept the risk” that they are “gonna kill somebody.” Adding that: “If you are not prepared to kill someone, don’t fire the gun.”
For those who are brain-dead enough not to realize that which goes up must come down. Shooting a gun in the air means sending a bullet in an unknown direction, which will come back to earth at a lethal velocity. Every year, people get killed because morons shoot guns up in the air without considering that consequence. Shooting at the ground has similar consequences with ricochets; shooting at arms and legs vastly increases the chances of a miss, which means that bullet continues to travel and could hit a bystander.
The safest choice is to aim for center mass at the actual target, if police have to shoot at all. It’s not “shoot to kill,” it’s “shoot to stop the threat while minimizing all other risks.” One would think Blitzer would have learned that by now.
Update: Robby Soave also linked to his own piece at Reason from two weeks ago in his Twitter thread, responding to Joe Biden’s nonsensical declaration at ABC’s town hall event. Read the whole thing.


hotair--2020-10-28--What happened at Trump's Omaha rally last night?

A few days ago Amanda Carpenter described Trump ’ s packed , largely maskless rallies as rituals conducted by “ a loyalty cult , where members risk coronavirus infection as a feat of strength.
” There ’ s no reason why COVID should be the only physical test of loyalty , though .
Why not hypothermia too ?
He held a rally last night at Eppley Airfield in Omaha , Nebraska .
It wasn ’ t brutally cold , but it was cold — around freezing temperatures when the rally began .
If you ’ re wondering what he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stronghold like Nebraska , remember that that state awards a single electoral vote to the winner of each of its congressional districts .
It ’ s not a statewide winner-take-all .
And that ’ s potentially very important , because Nebraska ’ s Second District is leaning blue this year .
If Biden were to win Michigan , Wisconsin , and Arizona , he ’ d land at 269 electoral votes , needing just one more for the presidency .
Omaha could decide who governs the country .
Anyway , because the rally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had to park some distance away and were shuttled in by bus .
Trump wrapped up a bit before 9 p.m. local time and was in the air sometime within the following hour .
Rallygoers queued up to wait for the shuttles back to their cars ; some buses arrived quickly , taking a lucky few back to the parking lot .
The remainder waited behind .
And waited .
And waited .
In the cold .
Some didn ’ t get on a bus until 12:40 a.m. , some four hours after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rally , The World-Herald saw two people receive help from Omaha police — an elderly woman who was warming up in the back of a police cruiser and a boy to whom an officer lent a blanket .
Trump campaign officials said they had enough buses ready nearby to shuttle people back to their cars , but said a larger-than-expected crowd , estimated by a reporter at 6,000 but by rally organizers as 29,000 , slowed the buses ’ return… That left masses of people huddled in 31-degree weather along two-lane Lindbergh @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their cars , pouring into the street , which slowed exiting traffic as well… “ We were all parked over at Eppley , ” [ one rallygoer ] said .
“ We were 3½ miles through darkness to get there .
There was no direction given .
I expected at the end of the rally somebody will say , ‘ Go this way and there will be buses waiting . '
” Traffic slowed the buses ’ return , but traffic was foreseeable at a packed rally .
How ’ d they manage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ correspondent Jeff Paul was on the scene : The “ Omaha Scanner ” Twitter account was following police and EMT chatter all evening .
Click here and scroll down about halfway to read what happened after the event ended .
A taste : I ’ d do it all again , said one Trump supporter to the Omaha World-Herald after freezing her ass off due to the campaign ’ s incompetence .
“ I would go up early and stand there all those hours , ” she said .
“ It was an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” You ’ re not really MAGA unless you ’ re willing to risk bodily harm to show your fealty .
Speaking of which , it turns out that Omaha ( and Nebraska more broadly ) is one of the many parts of the midwestern and central U.S. posting record case counts right now .
COVID , not just the cold , was another threat to attendees last night .
One of the hardest-hit states remains Wisconsin , where Trump also held a rally yesterday : “ The president ’ s decision to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late October rallies in Wisconsin might be the biggest display of tone-deafness I ’ ve ever seen , and I cover hundreds of campaigns a cycle , ” said Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report yesterday .
Ed has a post coming later about an outlandish outlier poll out today showing Trump down 17 points in Wisconsin , which of course is nowhere near the true margin in the state .
But it wouldn ’ t surprise me if he ’ s lost ground there lately because of his cavalier COVID messaging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to put themselves at physical risk because you want to have a big rally may make sense to those who are already MAGA , but if you ’ re outside the tent it ’ s inconceivably reckless .
And people do seem to be getting infected at these things : The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting three Covid-19 outbreaks related to Trump campaign events held in the state in September… Trump ’ s Bemidji rally took place in an airport hanger .
According to a CNN producer who attended the event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attendance .
Based on contact tracing by the state Department of Health , at least 16 cases , including two hospitalizations , were identified among attendees .
In the month preceding the rally , the seven-day average of new cases in Beltrami County , where Bemidji is located , was 2.85 new cases a day , according to Johns Hopkins University .
On the day of the rally it had climbed up slightly to 3 new cases a day .
But four weeks after , the average rate of new cases in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaching an average of 14.57 new cases a day .
Here he is last night snickering at Sleepy Joe for his lame-ass socially distanced Georgia rally yesterday , where no one even had to risk dying to listen to their candidate speak .

A few days ago Amanda Carpenter described Trump’s packed, largely maskless rallies as rituals conducted by “a loyalty cult, where members risk coronavirus infection as a feat of strength.”
There’s no reason why COVID should be the only physical test of loyalty, though. Why not hypothermia too?
He held a rally last night at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska. It wasn’t brutally cold, but it was cold — around freezing temperatures when the rally began. If you’re wondering what he’s doing spending time in a red stronghold like Nebraska, remember that that state awards a single electoral vote to the winner of each of its congressional districts. It’s not a statewide winner-take-all. And that’s potentially very important, because Nebraska’s Second District is leaning blue this year. If Biden were to win Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona, he’d land at 269 electoral votes, needing just one more for the presidency.
Omaha could decide who governs the country.
Anyway, because the rally was held at an airport, attendees had to park some distance away and were shuttled in by bus. Trump wrapped up a bit before 9 p.m. local time and was in the air sometime within the following hour. Rallygoers queued up to wait for the shuttles back to their cars; some buses arrived quickly, taking a lucky few back to the parking lot. The remainder waited behind. And waited. And waited. In the cold.
Some didn’t get on a bus until 12:40 a.m., some four hours after the rally ended.
Walking out of the rally, The World-Herald saw two people receive help from Omaha police — an elderly woman who was warming up in the back of a police cruiser and a boy to whom an officer lent a blanket. Trump campaign officials said they had enough buses ready nearby to shuttle people back to their cars, but said a larger-than-expected crowd, estimated by a reporter at 6,000 but by rally organizers as 29,000, slowed the buses’ return… That left masses of people huddled in 31-degree weather along two-lane Lindbergh Plaza. Some tried walking back to their cars, pouring into the street, which slowed exiting traffic as well… “We were all parked over at Eppley,” [one rallygoer] said. “We were 3½ miles through darkness to get there. There was no direction given. I expected at the end of the rally somebody will say, ‘Go this way and there will be buses waiting.'”
Traffic slowed the buses’ return, but traffic was foreseeable at a packed rally. How’d they manage not to foresee it?
President Trump took off in Air Force One 1 hr 20 minutes ago, but thousands of his supporters remain stranded on a dark road outside the rally. “We need at least 30 more buses,” an Omaha police officer just said, shaking his head at the chaotic cluster that is unfolding. — Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) October 28, 2020
Fox News correspondent Jeff Paul was on the scene:
The above video & this one were taken around 10:15pm. The #Trump rally ended around 8:45pm. Some just gave up and walked from the airfield, back to wherever they parked. It was about 32° out at the time. Many had already spent hours outside as they waited for POTUS to arrive. pic.twitter.com/JYXCLypTQl — Jeff Paul (@Jeff_Paul) October 28, 2020
The “Omaha Scanner” Twitter account was following police and EMT chatter all evening. Click here and scroll down about halfway to read what happened after the event ended. A taste:
One officer advising 8 to 9 elderly people who are struggling. Seperate officer advising they have located an elderly party who is frozen cold unable to move with an altered mental status. — Omaha Scanner (@omaha_scanner) October 28, 2020
#MedicalBranch of #TACAirIC reports at least 30 patient contacts and 7 patient transports to hospital. — Omaha Scanner (@omaha_scanner) October 28, 2020
Waterloo Medic 811 enroute to Lil’ Creighton Code 2 with a 68 y/o male who’s initial complaint was possible hypothermia and altered mental status. He is alert and oriented and shivering. Unable to obtain a temp. due to a broken thermometer. — Omaha Scanner (@omaha_scanner) October 28, 2020
I’d do it all again, said one Trump supporter to the Omaha World-Herald after freezing her ass off due to the campaign’s incompetence. “I would go up early and stand there all those hours,” she said. “It was an adventure. It was absolutely an adventure.” You’re not really MAGA unless you’re willing to risk bodily harm to show your fealty.
Speaking of which, it turns out that Omaha (and Nebraska more broadly) is one of the many parts of the midwestern and central U.S. posting record case counts right now. COVID, not just the cold, was another threat to attendees last night. One of the hardest-hit states remains Wisconsin, where Trump also held a rally yesterday:
'It's a nightmare scenario:' Wisconsin reports more than 5,200 cases, 64 deaths in worst day of pandemic yet https://t.co/Dc314qQNKg https://t.co/HXrItTlI2f — Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) October 27, 2020
“The president’s decision to downplay the severity of COVID at multiple late October rallies in Wisconsin might be the biggest display of tone-deafness I’ve ever seen, and I cover hundreds of campaigns a cycle,” said Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report yesterday. Ed has a post coming later about an outlandish outlier poll out today showing Trump down 17 points in Wisconsin, which of course is nowhere near the true margin in the state. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s lost ground there lately because of his cavalier COVID messaging amid a spiraling local outbreak. Asking people to put themselves at physical risk because you want to have a big rally may make sense to those who are already MAGA, but if you’re outside the tent it’s inconceivably reckless. And people do seem to be getting infected at these things:
The Minnesota Department of Health is reporting three Covid-19 outbreaks related to Trump campaign events held in the state in September… Trump’s Bemidji rally took place in an airport hanger. According to a CNN producer who attended the event, at least 2,000 people were in attendance. Based on contact tracing by the state Department of Health, at least 16 cases, including two hospitalizations, were identified among attendees. In the month preceding the rally, the seven-day average of new cases in Beltrami County, where Bemidji is located, was 2.85 new cases a day, according to Johns Hopkins University. On the day of the rally it had climbed up slightly to 3 new cases a day. But four weeks after, the average rate of new cases in the county had increased more than fourfold, reaching an average of 14.57 new cases a day.
Here he is last night snickering at Sleepy Joe for his lame-ass socially distanced Georgia rally yesterday, where no one even had to risk dying to listen to their candidate speak.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1321314892150935552


hotair--2020-10-28--Melania in Pennsylvania: Biden's socialist agenda will destroy America

First Lady Melania Trump traveled to Atglen , Pennsylvania Tuesday for her first solo campaign appearance during this election cycle .
Her appearance came the day after President Trump held three campaign events in Pennsylvania .
Melania was introduced by former Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway .
Kellyanne noted that Melania made a similar appearance in Pennsylvania five days out before the 2016 election .
The event venue was a converted barn decorated with a large Make America Great Again sign and American flags .
She drew a large crowd .
Just as President Trump ’ s crowds do , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four more years ” and “ we love you ” .
What was striking about her speech is that in her own soft-spoken way , she tore into the Democrats and Joe Biden , as well as the media .
She isn ’ t loud or shrill in her campaign speech delivery , she just calmly lets the criticism rip .
She didn ’ t hold back .
She thanked well-wishers for their support when she , the president , and their son Barron were diagnosed with COVID-19 .
She said they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that the Trump administration is moving forward and not looking backward in their handling of the coronavirus .
And , she brought up the fact that Democrats in Congress were concentrated on the “ sham ” impeachment instead of the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S .
The first lady , who along with her husband was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early October , extended condolences to those who have lost loved ones due to the coronavirus , before pivoting to a rosy assessment of the Trump administration ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Administration chooses to keep moving forward during this pandemic , not backward , ” she said in prepared remarks .
“ Our Administration remains 100 percent supportive of ensuring our nation is equipped with all the medical supplies we need , and getting a vaccine developed and distributed as safely and quickly as possible.
” The first lady accused Democrats of divisive and confusing rhetoric on vaccines and the pandemic .
She also criticized them for focusing on a “ sham impeachment ” earlier this year when COVID-19 first began to spread across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she targeted the media , accusing outlets of bias and overly negative coverage that relies on “ anonymous sources or angry ex-employees.
” She spoke of her husband ’ s determination to keep Americans calm and focused on protecting the economy .
If I ’ m not mistaken this was the most she has spoken about the impeachment of the president and the Democrats ’ criticism of his handling of the coronavirus .
“ While the president was taking decisive actions to keep the American people safe , the Democrats were wasting American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Mrs. Trump said at an event in Atglen , Pa. “ They cared more about removing our elected president.
” During the impeachment trial last winter , she said , “ I watched Donald continue to work hard to keep people informed and calm , to protect our economy , and make hard and unpopular decisions to do all he could to keep us all safe.
” This sham was led by opposition , and their display of hatred is on display to this day , ” the first lady said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our country deserved a better display of political responsibility and respect for our sacred institutions.
” She said Democrats “ have chosen to put their own agendas ahead of the American people ’ s well-being .
Instead , they attempt to create a divide – a divide on something that should be non-partisan and non-controversial .
A divide that causes confusion and fear instead of hope and security .
That is not leadership.
” She only spoke for about 15 minutes but she included all the important points she needed to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden ’ s “ socialist agenda ” .
“ Joe Biden ’ s policies and socialist agenda will only serve to destroy America and all that has been built in the past four years.
” She correctly said that Biden has very little to show for his 36 years in the Senate and 8 years in the White House as vice-president .
She criticized the media for focusing on gossip and palace intrigue while covering the White House and noted the fact that before Trump ran as a Republican , the press covered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ When he decided to run for president as a Republican , the media created a different picture of my husband , one I don ’ t recognize , and treated all of his supporters with equal disdain , ” she said .
Democrats and Biden himself often focus on trashing Trump supporters instead of the candidate himself .
Remember all the free air time Trump received when he ran in the 2015 Republican primary ?
He would call cable news networks and they would gladly put him on-air to talk about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Then , when he won the GOP nomination , suddenly he was treated just as the press treats any other Republican presidential candidate , which is always less favorably than the Democrat candidate .
For example , no two show hosts have been more hypocritical than Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough who were cheerleaders for Trump and socialized with him before his election .
Then they turned into members of The Resistance .
In contrast to Melania ’ s reserved personality and campaigning for her husband , Jill Biden has been on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not do .
She was in Maine on Tuesday but her crowd was only one of about 50 people in Bangor .
She embraces the attention of supporters and seems to thrive on it .
Maine ’ s second district receives a lot of attention in presidential campaigns because it can swing the electoral votes of the state .
Maine can split its electoral votes .
For example , Hillary Clinton won three of Maine ’ s electoral college votes in 2016 , and Trump won the fourth .
Maine is one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electoral college votes – Nebraska is the other state .
Jill ’ s visit to Maine was reported as a “ low key event ” with the state ’ s governor and Sara Gideon , the Democrat running against Republican Senator Susan Collins .
It was her second visit to Maine in a little more than a month .
“ Joe couldn ’ t be more different than the man who holds office right now , ” Biden said .
True that , Jill .
While the focus is on Joe ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scandal is breaking which , if true , shows that Biden is compromised by China and the family grifting operation ( alleged ) includes several foreign countries .
According to the whistleblower , a Navy veteran and a person who holds a top security clearance , Joe Biden himself was right in the midst of the foreign dealings , despite his denials that he knows anything about it all .
President Trump made a surprise stop in Maine last week and Mike Pence has traveled to the state in recent days , too @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large crowds of several hundred people .
Jill doesn ’ t attract such crowds .
Just six more days to go until Election Day .

First Lady Melania Trump traveled to Atglen, Pennsylvania Tuesday for her first solo campaign appearance during this election cycle. Her appearance came the day after President Trump held three campaign events in Pennsylvania. Melania was introduced by former Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway. Kellyanne noted that Melania made a similar appearance in Pennsylvania five days out before the 2016 election.
The event venue was a converted barn decorated with a large Make America Great Again sign and American flags. She drew a large crowd. Just as President Trump’s crowds do, Melania’s audience frequently yelled “four more years” and “we love you”. What was striking about her speech is that in her own soft-spoken way, she tore into the Democrats and Joe Biden, as well as the media. She isn’t loud or shrill in her campaign speech delivery, she just calmly lets the criticism rip. She didn’t hold back.
She thanked well-wishers for their support when she, the president, and their son Barron were diagnosed with COVID-19. She said they are all recovered now and segued into the fact that the Trump administration is moving forward and not looking backward in their handling of the coronavirus. And, she brought up the fact that Democrats in Congress were concentrated on the “sham” impeachment instead of the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.
The first lady, who along with her husband was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early October, extended condolences to those who have lost loved ones due to the coronavirus, before pivoting to a rosy assessment of the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic. “This Administration chooses to keep moving forward during this pandemic, not backward,” she said in prepared remarks. “Our Administration remains 100 percent supportive of ensuring our nation is equipped with all the medical supplies we need, and getting a vaccine developed and distributed as safely and quickly as possible.” The first lady accused Democrats of divisive and confusing rhetoric on vaccines and the pandemic. She also criticized them for focusing on a “sham impeachment” earlier this year when COVID-19 first began to spread across the globe. Echoing her husband, she targeted the media, accusing outlets of bias and overly negative coverage that relies on “anonymous sources or angry ex-employees.”
She spoke of her husband’s determination to keep Americans calm and focused on protecting the economy. If I’m not mistaken this was the most she has spoken about the impeachment of the president and the Democrats’ criticism of his handling of the coronavirus.
“While the president was taking decisive actions to keep the American people safe, the Democrats were wasting American taxpayer dollars in a sham impeachment,” Mrs. Trump said at an event in Atglen, Pa. “They cared more about removing our elected president.” During the impeachment trial last winter, she said, “I watched Donald continue to work hard to keep people informed and calm, to protect our economy, and make hard and unpopular decisions to do all he could to keep us all safe.” This sham was led by opposition, and their display of hatred is on display to this day,” the first lady said. “Children watching and learning about politics in our country deserved a better display of political responsibility and respect for our sacred institutions.” She said Democrats “have chosen to put their own agendas ahead of the American people’s well-being. Instead, they attempt to create a divide – a divide on something that should be non-partisan and non-controversial. A divide that causes confusion and fear instead of hope and security. That is not leadership.”
She only spoke for about 15 minutes but she included all the important points she needed to make. She even included a dig at Biden’s “socialist agenda”. “Joe Biden’s policies and socialist agenda will only serve to destroy America and all that has been built in the past four years.” She correctly said that Biden has very little to show for his 36 years in the Senate and 8 years in the White House as vice-president.
“Joe Biden attacked President Trump’s decision to put the American people first and close travel from China. He called it xenophobic hysteria. Now, he suggests that he could have done a better job,” she said. “Well, the American people can look at Joe Biden’s 36 years in Congress and eight years in the vice presidency and determine whether they think he will finally be able to get something done for the American people,” she said to cheers.
She criticized the media for focusing on gossip and palace intrigue while covering the White House and noted the fact that before Trump ran as a Republican, the press covered him very differently than they do now. “When he decided to run for president as a Republican, the media created a different picture of my husband, one I don’t recognize, and treated all of his supporters with equal disdain,” she said. Democrats and Biden himself often focus on trashing Trump supporters instead of the candidate himself. Remember all the free air time Trump received when he ran in the 2015 Republican primary? He would call cable news networks and they would gladly put him on-air to talk about whatever he wanted to talk about. Then, when he won the GOP nomination, suddenly he was treated just as the press treats any other Republican presidential candidate, which is always less favorably than the Democrat candidate. For example, no two show hosts have been more hypocritical than Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough who were cheerleaders for Trump and socialized with him before his election. Then they turned into members of The Resistance.
In contrast to Melania’s reserved personality and campaigning for her husband, Jill Biden has been on the campaign trail doing the work her husband will not do. She was in Maine on Tuesday but her crowd was only one of about 50 people in Bangor. She embraces the attention of supporters and seems to thrive on it. Maine’s second district receives a lot of attention in presidential campaigns because it can swing the electoral votes of the state. Maine can split its electoral votes. For example, Hillary Clinton won three of Maine’s electoral college votes in 2016, and Trump won the fourth. Maine is one of only two states which splits its electoral college votes – Nebraska is the other state.
Jill’s visit to Maine was reported as a “low key event” with the state’s governor and Sara Gideon, the Democrat running against Republican Senator Susan Collins. It was her second visit to Maine in a little more than a month. “Joe couldn’t be more different than the man who holds office right now,” Biden said. True that, Jill. While the focus is on Joe’s character and moral superiority, a huge scandal is breaking which, if true, shows that Biden is compromised by China and the family grifting operation (alleged) includes several foreign countries. According to the whistleblower, a Navy veteran and a person who holds a top security clearance, Joe Biden himself was right in the midst of the foreign dealings, despite his denials that he knows anything about it all.
President Trump made a surprise stop in Maine last week and Mike Pence has traveled to the state in recent days, too. Both of their events brought out large crowds of several hundred people. Jill doesn’t attract such crowds.
The Maine Republican Party mocked the small Bangor event in a statement, with Chair Demi Kouzounas saying it was a sign Biden “has no momentum in Maine.” However, he has led Trump consistently in polls of the Democratic-leaning state while the two have polled closely in the more conservative 2nd District, which was won easily by Trump in 2016. Trump’s visit came a day after the husband of Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, Biden’s vice presidential nominee, made a stop in Presque Isle. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, is expected to make a repeat visit to the Bangor area on Thursday.
Just six more days to go until Election Day.


hotair--2020-10-28--Judge: Post Office must reverse mail "collection limits"

The United States Postal Service received yet another tongue lashing last night from a judge on the DC District Court .
In the latest in a series of emergency orders , the judge ordered the USPS to put an end to any “ collection limits ” when handling mail from now until the election .
Of course , there aren ’ t really “ collection limits ” in place and the changes being discussed were in the works long before all of the brouhaha over mail-in voting erupted .
Judge Emmet Sullivan , a Clinton appointee , wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , however , He ’ s further ordering that the USPS provide him and the plaintiffs with daily updates on mail delivery statistics until further notice .
( Politico ) A federal judge on Tuesday night ordered the U.S .
Postal Service to reverse limitations on mail collection imposed by Trump-backed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy , giving the agency until Wednesday morning to inform workers of the court ’ s changes as more mail-in ballots continue to flood in .
In a highly detailed order , Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District Court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency motion by plaintiffs against President Donald Trump to enforce and monitor compliance with Sullivan ’ s previous injunction tied to USPS services .
No later than 9 a.m. Wednesday , the judge said , agency workers must be told that a USPS leader ’ s July guidelines limiting late and extra trips to collect mail are rescinded .
This is the sort of ruling that ’ s sure to generate plenty of headlines favorable to Democrats as they attempt to play both sides of the mail-in voting debate against the middle .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ very first sentence of their article that these “ limitations on mail collection ” were put in place by the “ Trump-backed ” Postmaster General .
But the limits in question ( if you want to call them that ) were cost-saving measures intended to help deal with the endless budget shortfalls the Post Office is plagued by .
Sending carriers and vehicles out for late deliveries and extra trips every day drives up both overtime costs and fuel/vehicle usage .
Delivering the mail that arrives on time for sorting and distribution and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scheduled delivery adds a single day to the delivery time for any affected pieces of mail .
The anti-Trump groups behind these lawsuits ( and there are more than a few ) are obfuscating the issue with a mixed message .
On one hand , their lawsuits make it sound as if some evil cabal is working to undermine mail delivery so people ’ s ballots won ’ t arrive in time .
But these same activists simultaneously insist that mail-in voting is “ safe and reliable ” so as many people as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our minds for us , would you ?
Another odd thing about the judge ’ s order was the requirement that he be provided with “ daily updates on the number of extra and late trips occurring every day at national , regional and local levels.
” Does Judge Sullivan have any idea how much data that is ?
There are more than 30,000 post offices in the United States .
And he wants daily updates on how many of them had to make extra delivery trips for late mail ?
Good luck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Post Office has repeatedly said that while the greater volume has posed challenges , they are delivering more than 85 % of first-class mail on time , with the rest experiencing only minor delays .
On top of that , they have already implemented rules requiring them to prioritize election mail until all of the ballots have been delivered .
Of course , the Post Office can ’ t control instances where people are literally setting mailboxes on fire or other incidents of vandalism .
And some of their lazy carriers still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dumpsters .
But none of those crazy scenarios appear to have anything to do with the agency ’ s total capacity and routine delivery practices .
At this point in the cycle it ’ s a bit late to start making procedural changes , isn ’ t it ?
In the end , this will likely produce little more in terms of changes than a couple of paychecks where your postal carriers will get some fat overtime pay just in time for early Christmas shopping .

The United States Postal Service received yet another tongue lashing last night from a judge on the DC District Court. In the latest in a series of emergency orders, the judge ordered the USPS to put an end to any “collection limits” when handling mail from now until the election. Of course, there aren’t really “collection limits” in place and the changes being discussed were in the works long before all of the brouhaha over mail-in voting erupted. Judge Emmet Sullivan, a Clinton appointee, wasn’t satisfied with a general order of compliance, however, He’s further ordering that the USPS provide him and the plaintiffs with daily updates on mail delivery statistics until further notice. (Politico)
A federal judge on Tuesday night ordered the U.S. Postal Service to reverse limitations on mail collection imposed by Trump-backed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, giving the agency until Wednesday morning to inform workers of the court’s changes as more mail-in ballots continue to flood in. In a highly detailed order, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District Court for the District of Columbia granted an emergency motion by plaintiffs against President Donald Trump to enforce and monitor compliance with Sullivan’s previous injunction tied to USPS services. No later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, the judge said, agency workers must be told that a USPS leader’s July guidelines limiting late and extra trips to collect mail are rescinded.
This is the sort of ruling that’s sure to generate plenty of headlines favorable to Democrats as they attempt to play both sides of the mail-in voting debate against the middle. Notice how Politico points out in the very first sentence of their article that these “limitations on mail collection” were put in place by the “Trump-backed” Postmaster General. But the limits in question (if you want to call them that) were cost-saving measures intended to help deal with the endless budget shortfalls the Post Office is plagued by. Sending carriers and vehicles out for late deliveries and extra trips every day drives up both overtime costs and fuel/vehicle usage. Delivering the mail that arrives on time for sorting and distribution and holding the late mail for the next scheduled delivery adds a single day to the delivery time for any affected pieces of mail.
The anti-Trump groups behind these lawsuits (and there are more than a few) are obfuscating the issue with a mixed message. On one hand, their lawsuits make it sound as if some evil cabal is working to undermine mail delivery so people’s ballots won’t arrive in time. But these same activists simultaneously insist that mail-in voting is “safe and reliable” so as many people as possible should use it. Make up our minds for us, would you?
Another odd thing about the judge’s order was the requirement that he be provided with “daily updates on the number of extra and late trips occurring every day at national, regional and local levels.” Does Judge Sullivan have any idea how much data that is? There are more than 30,000 post offices in the United States. And he wants daily updates on how many of them had to make extra delivery trips for late mail? Good luck with that.
For their part, the Post Office has repeatedly said that while the greater volume has posed challenges, they are delivering more than 85% of first-class mail on time, with the rest experiencing only minor delays. On top of that, they have already implemented rules requiring them to prioritize election mail until all of the ballots have been delivered.
Of course, the Post Office can’t control instances where people are literally setting mailboxes on fire or other incidents of vandalism. And some of their lazy carriers still seem to be ditching their deliveries in dumpsters. But none of those crazy scenarios appear to have anything to do with the agency’s total capacity and routine delivery practices.
At this point in the cycle it’s a bit late to start making procedural changes, isn’t it? In the end, this will likely produce little more in terms of changes than a couple of paychecks where your postal carriers will get some fat overtime pay just in time for early Christmas shopping.


hotair--2020-10-28--Bobulinski: I personally met with Joe Biden twice to discuss 2017 China deal

“ The Cold War is over , ” Tony Bobulinski tells Tucker Carlson , expressing his frustration with allegations that he ’ s an instrument of Russian intelligence .
Hunter Biden ’ s former business partner says all he really wants in coming forward are retractions from people who made those allegations , and a clear acknowledgment of the e-mails involving their deal-making in China and other countries .
If that ’ s truly what Bobulinski wants , then his interview with Tucker was a smashing success .
As advertised , Bobulinski brought audio recordings of a couple of conversations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the details of those deals .
Bobulinski makes a clear case for plausibility , and in doing so indicts Adam Schiff and others of McCarthyism .
That is a point well worth remembering , especially as the Senate takes testimony today from social-media platform leaders on how they choked this story in a coordinated effort to discredit Bobulinski .
If the idea was to sell the failed Sinohawk-CEFC China Energy proposal as an issue of official corruption , though , it still stumbles over the main obstacle … the year in which it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former business partner of Hunter Biden , on Tuesday described his two brief , face-to-face meetings with former Vice President Joe Biden in May 2017 .
“ There was no other reason for me to be in that bar meeting Joe Biden than to discuss what I was doing with his family ’ s name and the Chinese CEFC.
” ( CEFC is a Chinese company with ties to the communist government ) .
Bobulinski also said he “ almost stood up and screamed ‘ liar ' ” when former Vice President Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with President Trump , denied taking money from foreign countries ; denied doing anything “ unethical ” ; and acted like he knew nothing about his son Hunter making millions of dollars by using the Biden family name in China .
… Bobulinski said his second meeting with Joe Biden happened the following day , backstage at the investment conference where Joe Biden had just spoken .
“ We joked around for 10 minutes , and then I walked him out to his car .
I think they referenced he was off to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ There were ten people running around , getting him something to drink , and we were backstage in a cramped space and he asked me to walk with him out to the car .
And he just asked , you know , how I did and what I thought of his speech .
And I thought he did a great job in the speech … and then he just sort of asked me to keep an eye on his son and his brother.
” The problem with this reveal is pretty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a private citizen , not Vice President .
At that point , it wasn ’ t even clear that he ’ d run for office again , as Democrats obsessed over identity politics in the wake of their shocking loss to Donald Trump .
If Joe wanted to help out his son and his brother by taking some meetings with investors , it wouldn ’ t have even been an ethical violation in May 2017 .
As long as Joe properly reported any income off of the deals he helped grease , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ordinary about this .
There are some threads with Hunter ’ s businesses that are worth tugging , but those involve activities while Biden was vice-president .
The Air Force Two ride in 2013 to China that netted Hunter a large investment from a state-owned firm in China is one of those threads .
Hunter ’ s work in Ukraine for big dollars despite not having any background in energy or in Ukraine while Joe conducted an intervention that may have benefited Hunter ’ s firm is another .
And just how did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supervised by Sheriff Joe himself , make its way into the coffers of firms connected to Hunter Biden anyway ?
Those questions might mine real gold in terms of oppo-research bombs in the last days of a campaign .
The Bobulinski deal , however , is a nothingburger in relation to Joe , except to suggest that Joe ’ s too friendly with China , and that ’ s a point that doesn ’ t even come up much in Bobulinski ’ s narrative .
Did Beijing run CEFC China Energy as an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and then bail out when Democrats unexpectedly lost the election ?
That might be an interesting hypothesis to pursue , but Joe ’ s flacking for fellow Bidens on a deal as a private citizen isn ’ t a story that will move the needle .
Here ’ s the full segment with Bobulinski .
He comes across as very believable and mostly concerned about disposing of the nonsensical “ Russian disinformation ” claims from Adam Schiff and others .
The Bidens , or at least Hunter and Jim , come across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exploit Joe ’ s name for every last red cent they can grab .
However , there ’ s nothing actually illegal about leveraging a family name , nor would it have been illegal for Joe to be part of it when he was out of office … even if it looks sleazy as hell .
Which it does , of course .

“The Cold War is over,” Tony Bobulinski tells Tucker Carlson, expressing his frustration with allegations that he’s an instrument of Russian intelligence. Hunter Biden’s former business partner says all he really wants in coming forward are retractions from people who made those allegations, and a clear acknowledgment of the e-mails involving their deal-making in China and other countries.
If that’s truly what Bobulinski wants, then his interview with Tucker was a smashing success. As advertised, Bobulinski brought audio recordings of a couple of conversations and briefed the Fox News audience on the details of those deals. Bobulinski makes a clear case for plausibility, and in doing so indicts Adam Schiff and others of McCarthyism. That is a point well worth remembering, especially as the Senate takes testimony today from social-media platform leaders on how they choked this story in a coordinated effort to discredit Bobulinski.
If the idea was to sell the failed Sinohawk-CEFC China Energy proposal as an issue of official corruption, though, it still stumbles over the main obstacle … the year in which it took place:
Tony Bobulinski, a former business partner of Hunter Biden, on Tuesday described his two brief, face-to-face meetings with former Vice President Joe Biden in May 2017. “There was no other reason for me to be in that bar meeting Joe Biden than to discuss what I was doing with his family’s name and the Chinese CEFC.” (CEFC is a Chinese company with ties to the communist government). Bobulinski also said he “almost stood up and screamed ‘liar'” when former Vice President Joe Biden, at his Oct. 22 debate with President Trump, denied taking money from foreign countries; denied doing anything “unethical”; and acted like he knew nothing about his son Hunter making millions of dollars by using the Biden family name in China. … Bobulinski said his second meeting with Joe Biden happened the following day, backstage at the investment conference where Joe Biden had just spoken. “We joked around for 10 minutes, and then I walked him out to his car. I think they referenced he was off to see lieutenant governor,” Bobulinski said. “There were ten people running around, getting him something to drink, and we were backstage in a cramped space and he asked me to walk with him out to the car. And he just asked, you know, how I did and what I thought of his speech. And I thought he did a great job in the speech … and then he just sort of asked me to keep an eye on his son and his brother.”
The problem with this reveal is pretty obvious. In 2017, Joe Biden was a private citizen, not Vice President. At that point, it wasn’t even clear that he’d run for office again, as Democrats obsessed over identity politics in the wake of their shocking loss to Donald Trump. If Joe wanted to help out his son and his brother by taking some meetings with investors, it wouldn’t have even been an ethical violation in May 2017. As long as Joe properly reported any income off of the deals he helped grease, there would be nothing out of the ordinary about this.
There are some threads with Hunter’s businesses that are worth tugging, but those involve activities while Biden was vice-president. The Air Force Two ride in 2013 to China that netted Hunter a large investment from a state-owned firm in China is one of those threads. Hunter’s work in Ukraine for big dollars despite not having any background in energy or in Ukraine while Joe conducted an intervention that may have benefited Hunter’s firm is another. And just how did $130 million in stimulus funding, supervised by Sheriff Joe himself, make its way into the coffers of firms connected to Hunter Biden anyway?
Those questions might mine real gold in terms of oppo-research bombs in the last days of a campaign. The Bobulinski deal, however, is a nothingburger in relation to Joe, except to suggest that Joe’s too friendly with China, and that’s a point that doesn’t even come up much in Bobulinski’s narrative. Did Beijing run CEFC China Energy as an attempt to penetrate Washington via the Bidens, and then bail out when Democrats unexpectedly lost the election? That might be an interesting hypothesis to pursue, but Joe’s flacking for fellow Bidens on a deal as a private citizen isn’t a story that will move the needle.
Here’s the full segment with Bobulinski. He comes across as very believable and mostly concerned about disposing of the nonsensical “Russian disinformation” claims from Adam Schiff and others. The Bidens, or at least Hunter and Jim, come across as greedy and grasping, looking to exploit Joe’s name for every last red cent they can grab. However, there’s nothing actually illegal about leveraging a family name, nor would it have been illegal for Joe to be part of it when he was out of office … even if it looks sleazy as hell. Which it does, of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pg8yFvUD8I


hotair--2020-10-28--"Total loss" from looting in Philly

"Total loss" from looting in Philly

We ’ re now on day three of the rioting in Philadelphia after the shooting death of Walter Wallace , Jr. Thankfully , last night didn ’ t produce the same types of physical attacks on the Philadelphia Police that we saw on Monday night and early Tuesday morning .
But that doesn ’ t mean that the rioting agenda wasn ’ t still in full swing .
Rather than going directly after the police , last night the mobs appeared to concentrate far more on looting and property destruction .
As the local CBS News outlet reports , some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the scene as a “ total loss ” for their businesses .
Storefronts are smashed , shelves are emptied of easily portable goods and fires continue to break out .
Scores of West Philadelphia businesses were looted and a number of stores across Philadelphia have started boarding up their windows Tuesday in anticipation of more looting .
“ I do not want to see my city tore down .
We don ’ t need that .
You ’ re not resolving anything for our family .
Don ’ t do this in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not what he would ’ ve wanted , ” said Rodney Everett , Wallace ’ s uncle .
Wallace Jr. , 27 , was killed on Monday afternoon by two officers after , police say , he walked towards them and refused to drop the weapon .
For a good look at just how prepared the looters in the mob were , Andy Ngo posted this video of a guy who brought an appliance dolly with him so he could nab some of the big-ticket items without any help .
The police made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t dampen the enthusiasm of the smash and grab crowd .
The cops put out a warning on their Twitter account describing a crowd of up to 1,000 people who were engaged in looting at the local Walmart , Foot Locker and other retail outlets .
The police put out warnings to residents not inclined to loot in six different neighborhoods across the city to remain indoors overnight to avoid potential violence .
I ’ m going to ask the same question I posed yesterday in light of this new information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have anything at all to do with Walter Wallace , racial justice or alleged police violence ?
If you ’ re going out into the streets to raise awareness of injustice , you bring a sign or a bullhorn or something like that .
You don ’ t show up with an appliance dolly and sledgehammer .
These are not protesters .
They are a combination of anarchists and opportunistic criminals that are destroying their own communities and shutting down the businesses that provide jobs along with vital goods and services .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full investigation into the death of Walter Wallace taking place and the public will be updated with the results as they become available .
But these maniacs didn ’ t even allow enough time for Wallace ’ s body to be examined before they were burning Philadelphia down .
The Governor has already sent in hundreds of National Guard troops at the request of the County government .
They need to be out in the streets quickly to begin restoring order or we ’ re going to have another Portland on our hands @

We’re now on day three of the rioting in Philadelphia after the shooting death of Walter Wallace, Jr. Thankfully, last night didn’t produce the same types of physical attacks on the Philadelphia Police that we saw on Monday night and early Tuesday morning. But that doesn’t mean that the rioting agenda wasn’t still in full swing. Rather than going directly after the police, last night the mobs appeared to concentrate far more on looting and property destruction. As the local CBS News outlet reports, some retail stores in the city are describing the scene as a “total loss” for their businesses. Storefronts are smashed, shelves are emptied of easily portable goods and fires continue to break out.
Scores of West Philadelphia businesses were looted and a number of stores across Philadelphia have started boarding up their windows Tuesday in anticipation of more looting. “I do not want to see my city tore down. We don’t need that. You’re not resolving anything for our family. Don’t do this in the name of my nephew because this is not what he would’ve wanted,” said Rodney Everett, Wallace’s uncle. Wallace Jr., 27, was killed on Monday afternoon by two officers after, police say, he walked towards them and refused to drop the weapon.
For a good look at just how prepared the looters in the mob were, Andy Ngo posted this video of a guy who brought an appliance dolly with him so he could nab some of the big-ticket items without any help.
At the BLM riot in Philadelphia, a looter wheels a large appliance out of the store. https://t.co/gmcsebGLDJ — Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) October 28, 2020
The police made dozens of arrests, but that clearly didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the smash and grab crowd. The cops put out a warning on their Twitter account describing a crowd of up to 1,000 people who were engaged in looting at the local Walmart, Foot Locker and other retail outlets.
*Alert* A large crowd of appx 1000 is looting businesses in the area of Castor and Aramingo. Avoid the area — Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) October 28, 2020
The police put out warnings to residents not inclined to loot in six different neighborhoods across the city to remain indoors overnight to avoid potential violence.
I’m going to ask the same question I posed yesterday in light of this new information. How does all of this mayhem have anything at all to do with Walter Wallace, racial justice or alleged police violence? If you’re going out into the streets to raise awareness of injustice, you bring a sign or a bullhorn or something like that. You don’t show up with an appliance dolly and sledgehammer. These are not protesters. They are a combination of anarchists and opportunistic criminals that are destroying their own communities and shutting down the businesses that provide jobs along with vital goods and services.
I’m sure there is already a full investigation into the death of Walter Wallace taking place and the public will be updated with the results as they become available. But these maniacs didn’t even allow enough time for Wallace’s body to be examined before they were burning Philadelphia down. The Governor has already sent in hundreds of National Guard troops at the request of the County government. They need to be out in the streets quickly to begin restoring order or we’re going to have another Portland on our hands.


hotair--2020-10-29--Philly police ordered to not arrest looters

As John pointed out yesterday , the Mayor of Philadelphia imposed a curfew last night in an attempt to quell the ongoing rioting and looting .
Shockingly , many of the people who were already in the process of breaking any number of laws didn ’ t follow his orders and set out to continue the mayhem .
So why would the looters continue emptying the shelves of all the city ’ s stores after they ’ d been put on notice by the municipal government ?
Perhaps it ’ s because they ’ d heard that the cops had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Yes… you heard that correctly .
The cops were told to simply “ disperse ” the looters and not take them into custody .
This comes from one of the local Fox News reporters who heard it directly from multiple police sources .
Steve Keeley ’ s wording is significant in a couple of ways .
First of all , he ’ s not just hearing complaints about this order from rank and file officers out on the streets .
He ’ s also hearing carping from police commanders .
So who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sort of a “ stand down ” order to the entire Philadelphia Police force ?
The announcement says that it came from “ CAR-2 ” but that ’ s Melvin Singleton , the Deputy Police Commissioner .
Does anyone honestly think the Deputy would issue an order like that on his own ?
No , that order had to come from the Commissioner herself , Danielle Outlaw , who we ’ ve discussed here on many occasions .
It had to be either her or Mayor Jim Kenney , possibly a joint decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you may recall , Danielle Outlaw took the office of Police Commissioner on a promise to “ put an end to the incarceration nation ” that we all supposedly live in .
She ’ s been one of the biggest proponents of the “ empty the jails ” movement in the country .
When the pandemic hit , she quickly used that as an excuse to speed up her efforts to put as many convicts back out on the streets as possible .
Oh , and just in case you weren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Philadelphia , do you know where her last gig as Chief of Police was ?
In Portland , Oregon .
It sounds like she was paving the way for the chaos and mayhem in Portland long before she brought those same theories of “ law enforcement ” to the City of Brotherly Love .
You can probably tell how on the ball she is by one comment she gave during yesterday morning ’ s press conference .
She said she “ had no idea that 1,000 people would be swarming the Port @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been watching what ’ s been going on in the other large cities around the country ?
This chaos caught you totally off guard ?
With all of this history as context , should we really be shocked to learn that she ordered her cops to stand down and not arrest the looters when her new city began going up in flames ?
Heaven forbid we should put the guy carrying away five flatscreens behind bars for a few hours .
Steve Keeley further clarified that all looting was being classified as burglary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be responded to during this crisis .
Philadelphia is in a lot of trouble .
Violent hoodlums have taken over the streets under the false pretense of protesting the death of Walter Wallace .
At least the Governor has sent in the National Guard , but they have thus far been held back in “ supporting roles.
” The Mayor ’ s efforts at declaring a curfew are failing .
And the police are under the command of someone who sees the idea of arresting criminals as a problem in our society .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ flee Philadelphia for a while if you have the means to do so .

As John pointed out yesterday, the Mayor of Philadelphia imposed a curfew last night in an attempt to quell the ongoing rioting and looting. Shockingly, many of the people who were already in the process of breaking any number of laws didn’t follow his orders and set out to continue the mayhem.
A citywide curfew aimed to calm unrest after Philly police shot and killed Walter Wallace Jr. didn't stop some looters and protesters overnight. Here's the latest. https://t.co/UdsIskuXx4 pic.twitter.com/UqnAXNRrmX — NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) October 29, 2020
So why would the looters continue emptying the shelves of all the city’s stores after they’d been put on notice by the municipal government? Perhaps it’s because they’d heard that the cops had been ordered not to arrest any looters. Yes… you heard that correctly. The cops were told to simply “disperse” the looters and not take them into custody. This comes from one of the local Fox News reporters who heard it directly from multiple police sources.
Breaking: OBTAINED BY FOX29 NEWS. Directive from @PhillyPolice executive team. Extremely frustrated officers, both patrol&commanders told me overnight they were”ordered to NOT arrest looters just disperse them”. ‘CAR-2’ is Deputy Police Commissioner Melvin Singleton @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/HVjryECnrv — Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) October 28, 2020
Steve Keeley’s wording is significant in a couple of ways. First of all, he’s not just hearing complaints about this order from rank and file officers out on the streets. He’s also hearing carping from police commanders. So who would have the authority to give this sort of a “stand down” order to the entire Philadelphia Police force? The announcement says that it came from “CAR-2” but that’s Melvin Singleton, the Deputy Police Commissioner. Does anyone honestly think the Deputy would issue an order like that on his own?
No, that order had to come from the Commissioner herself, Danielle Outlaw, who we’ve discussed here on many occasions. It had to be either her or Mayor Jim Kenney, possibly a joint decision between the two of them.
As you may recall, Danielle Outlaw took the office of Police Commissioner on a promise to “put an end to the incarceration nation” that we all supposedly live in. She’s been one of the biggest proponents of the “empty the jails” movement in the country. When the pandemic hit, she quickly used that as an excuse to speed up her efforts to put as many convicts back out on the streets as possible.
Oh, and just in case you weren’t aware of her history prior to coming to Philadelphia, do you know where her last gig as Chief of Police was? In Portland, Oregon. It sounds like she was paving the way for the chaos and mayhem in Portland long before she brought those same theories of “law enforcement” to the City of Brotherly Love. You can probably tell how on the ball she is by one comment she gave during yesterday morning’s press conference. She said she “had no idea that 1,000 people would be swarming the Port Richmond area.” Seriously? Have you been watching what’s been going on in the other large cities around the country? This chaos caught you totally off guard?
With all of this history as context, should we really be shocked to learn that she ordered her cops to stand down and not arrest the looters when her new city began going up in flames? Heaven forbid we should put the guy carrying away five flatscreens behind bars for a few hours. Steve Keeley further clarified that all looting was being classified as burglary, and no calls regarding burglary would be responded to during this crisis.
Philadelphia is in a lot of trouble. Violent hoodlums have taken over the streets under the false pretense of protesting the death of Walter Wallace. At least the Governor has sent in the National Guard, but they have thus far been held back in “supporting roles.” The Mayor’s efforts at declaring a curfew are failing. And the police are under the command of someone who sees the idea of arresting criminals as a problem in our society. This might be a good time to flee Philadelphia for a while if you have the means to do so.


hotair--2020-10-28--Trump: Hopefully courts won't let states take a lot of time to count ballots after November 3

A lot depends on the meaning of the phrase “ a lot ” here .
No one wants weeks of uncertainty after Election Day about who won .
The country can ’ t take it ; everyone ’ s on edge .
But there ’ s also no reason to think that the count will take weeks .
And I don ’ t recall Trump complaining about the possibility of delay four years ago , when he won by the skin of his teeth in the Rust Belt and his victory wasn ’ t formally certified until late November .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough for him to declare victory .
We ’ ll see if he applies the same standard next Tuesday night if the projections this year are going the other way .
His complaints about delay remind me of him saying last month that it ’ s important to have a ninth justice on the Court to decide any election disputes .
In theory that ’ s also a disinterested call for certainty .
We don ’ t want an evenly divided SCOTUS forced to punt to a lower court on a ballot case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t reach a consensus .
But Trump doesn ’ t do “ disinterested.
” If certainty will help him — as it will in the case of a ninth justice , since that justice happens to be one of his own appointees — then he ’ s for certainty .
If uncertainty will help him , then he ’ s for that .
Trump doesn ’ t care about principles ; Trump is for Trump .
The reason he doesn ’ t want states taking “ a lot ” of time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isn ’ t because he ’ s worried about “ uncertainty , ” or fraudulent votes trickling in .
He ’ s worried about valid votes trickling in , knowing that mail-in ballots will trend heavily Democratic and might erase whatever same-day advantage he ’ s built up when the polls close on November 3 .
No hyperbole : His strategy is to win by disenfranchising anti-Trump voters in swing states to the greatest legal extent possible , with Amy Coney Barrett administering the coup de grace if need be .
Plan A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida and Pennsylvania .
Plan B , if he ’ s trailing , is to get enough votes for Biden disqualified that Trump wins via the back door .
Whether the grounds for disqualification are technicalities involving placing the ballot in the right envelope or whatever or trying to impose some court-mandated deadline to stop counting , by hook or by crook he ’ ll try to stop Biden ballots from being counted .
And here ’ s the key point .
In Pennsylvania , which might decide the election , efforts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide a more certain outcome on election night are being blocked by … Republicans .
If Trump wants certainty then he should be all for faster counting .
But he ’ s not , because the polling right now is showing him that the most likely result from a quick count will be public certainty that Biden has won .
So Republicans are going to play for time .
Instead of agreeing to let Pennsylvania start counting mail-in ballots early , they ’ re standing by a state law that would delay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ morning of Election Day , guaranteeing that counting will spill over into the days following .
The plan is to hope that Trump is ahead after however many ballots have been counted as of , say , midnight , and then to start screaming the next day as Biden cuts into his lead that the vote is being rigged .
It ’ s a con , essentially .
There are other efforts going on all over the map to get valid votes thrown out if they arrive after polls have closed .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fault if a ballot arrives late — or at least , it isn ’ t in every case .
( If you drop your ballot in the mail an hour before polls close , it ’ s your fault .
If you drop it in the mail five days early and the Postal Service drags its feet in delivering it , it ’ s their fault . )
And there ’ s no reason to think that a ballot that was mailed a few days before Election Day and arrives the day after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a ballot that arrived weeks before November 3 .
So why the GOP scramble to get them thrown out ?
Answer : Because the strategy is to win by disenfranchising anti-Trump voters to the greatest legal extent possible .
The argument for a rule that the ballot must arrive *by* Election Day is certainty .
America needs to know who won , as much as feasibly possible , by November 3 !
But again , if that ’ s the guiding principle then the Pennsylvania GOP should also be all-in on letting mail-in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certainty .
Don ’ t we ?
Pennsylvania and Michigan both expect to have full counts done no later than Friday , November 6 .
Whether that qualifies as “ a lot ” of time for Trump ’ s purposes probably depends on whether he ’ s ahead or behind at close of business on November 3 .
Meanwhile , SCOTUS ruled just a few hours ago that it won ’ t interfere — yet — with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ’ s ruling allowing the counting of ballots that arrive within three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t participate . )
The state court ’ s ruling appears to contradict a state statute ; the court justified its decision by claiming that the “ natural disaster ” caused by COVID required a bit of leeway this year .
Where that leaves us , though , is with the possibility that Pennsylvanians will send in ballots that arrive on November 4 , 5 , and 6 , which they have every reason to believe are valid , only to have SCOTUS turn around and invalidate them after the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Having the rug pulled out from them that way after SCOTUS passed on a chance to provide guidance before the election would be a catastrophe for the country , delegitimizing the outcome and the Court .
Clarity for voters requires the resolution of this issue ASAP .

A lot depends on the meaning of the phrase “a lot” here.
TRUMP: "We'll see what happens [on Election Day]. Hopefully it won't go longer than that. Hopefully the few states remaining that want to take a lot of time after Nov. 3 to count ballots that won't be allowed by the various courts, because as you know we’re in courts on that." pic.twitter.com/oKcaYE20K8 — JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) October 28, 2020
No one wants weeks of uncertainty after Election Day about who won. The country can’t take it; everyone’s on edge. But there’s also no reason to think that the count will take weeks. And I don’t recall Trump complaining about the possibility of delay four years ago, when he won by the skin of his teeth in the Rust Belt and his victory wasn’t formally certified until late November.
The projections on election night were solid enough for him to declare victory. We’ll see if he applies the same standard next Tuesday night if the projections this year are going the other way.
His complaints about delay remind me of him saying last month that it’s important to have a ninth justice on the Court to decide any election disputes. In theory that’s also a disinterested call for certainty. We don’t want an evenly divided SCOTUS forced to punt to a lower court on a ballot case that might decide the presidency because it can’t reach a consensus.
But Trump doesn’t do “disinterested.” If certainty will help him — as it will in the case of a ninth justice, since that justice happens to be one of his own appointees — then he’s for certainty. If uncertainty will help him, then he’s for that. Trump doesn’t care about principles; Trump is for Trump. The reason he doesn’t want states taking “a lot” of time counting ballots after Election Day next week isn’t because he’s worried about “uncertainty,” or fraudulent votes trickling in. He’s worried about valid votes trickling in, knowing that mail-in ballots will trend heavily Democratic and might erase whatever same-day advantage he’s built up when the polls close on November 3.
No hyperbole: His strategy is to win by disenfranchising anti-Trump voters in swing states to the greatest legal extent possible, with Amy Coney Barrett administering the coup de grace if need be. Plan A is to get more votes than Biden in Florida and Pennsylvania. Plan B, if he’s trailing, is to get enough votes for Biden disqualified that Trump wins via the back door. Whether the grounds for disqualification are technicalities involving placing the ballot in the right envelope or whatever or trying to impose some court-mandated deadline to stop counting, by hook or by crook he’ll try to stop Biden ballots from being counted.
And here’s the key point. In Pennsylvania, which might decide the election, efforts to speed up the counting in order to provide a more certain outcome on election night are being blocked by … Republicans. If Trump wants certainty then he should be all for faster counting. But he’s not, because the polling right now is showing him that the most likely result from a quick count will be public certainty that Biden has won. So Republicans are going to play for time. Instead of agreeing to let Pennsylvania start counting mail-in ballots early, they’re standing by a state law that would delay the start of the count until the morning of Election Day, guaranteeing that counting will spill over into the days following. The plan is to hope that Trump is ahead after however many ballots have been counted as of, say, midnight, and then to start screaming the next day as Biden cuts into his lead that the vote is being rigged. It’s a con, essentially.
There are other efforts going on all over the map to get valid votes thrown out if they arrive after polls have closed. It’s not the voter’s fault if a ballot arrives late — or at least, it isn’t in every case. (If you drop your ballot in the mail an hour before polls close, it’s your fault. If you drop it in the mail five days early and the Postal Service drags its feet in delivering it, it’s their fault.) And there’s no reason to think that a ballot that was mailed a few days before Election Day and arrives the day after is more likely to be fraudulent than a ballot that arrived weeks before November 3. So why the GOP scramble to get them thrown out? Answer: Because the strategy is to win by disenfranchising anti-Trump voters to the greatest legal extent possible.
Solid and astonishing roundup in the @nytimes morning briefing of the many GOP efforts underway explicitly to make it harder for people to vote in this election. Not the GOP campaigning for its issues and candidates, but trying to stop people from voting altogether. pic.twitter.com/SqPqIQb4tB — Aaron Hanlon (@AaronRHanlon) October 28, 2020
The argument for a rule that the ballot must arrive *by* Election Day is certainty. America needs to know who won, as much as feasibly possible, by November 3! But again, if that’s the guiding principle then the Pennsylvania GOP should also be all-in on letting mail-in ballots be counted early. We need certainty. Don’t we?
Pennsylvania and Michigan both expect to have full counts done no later than Friday, November 6. Whether that qualifies as “a lot” of time for Trump’s purposes probably depends on whether he’s ahead or behind at close of business on November 3. Meanwhile, SCOTUS ruled just a few hours ago that it won’t interfere — yet — with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s ruling allowing the counting of ballots that arrive within three days after Election Day. (Barrett didn’t participate.) The state court’s ruling appears to contradict a state statute; the court justified its decision by claiming that the “natural disaster” caused by COVID required a bit of leeway this year. Where that leaves us, though, is with the possibility that Pennsylvanians will send in ballots that arrive on November 4, 5, and 6, which they have every reason to believe are valid, only to have SCOTUS turn around and invalidate them after the election by overruling the Pennsylvania Supreme Court then. Having the rug pulled out from them that way after SCOTUS passed on a chance to provide guidance before the election would be a catastrophe for the country, delegitimizing the outcome and the Court. Clarity for voters requires the resolution of this issue ASAP.


hotair--2020-10-28--Luntz: Dodgers win the World Series, Is a Trump victory imminent?

In case you don ’ t follow baseball , the L.A. Dodgers won the World Series Tuesday .
I ’ m not a Dodgers fan , but , whatever .
They beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the championship title , the Dodgers first such win in decades .
The Rays beat the Houston Astros in the play-off series , so there may be a little residual disappointment around the World Series this year on my part .
Moving on… Dodgers fans began assembling in downtown L.A. after the 3-2 win in the Texas Rangers new ballpark in Arlington .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the stadium on Sunset Boulevard .
They honked and cheered from their vehicles , according to the Los Angeles Times .
Some people lit fireworks , some climbed traffic lights .
As the crowd became rowdy , police declared an “ Unlawful Assembly ” and issued a Dispersal Order .
They were still trying to disperse the crowd in the early hours of Wednesday morning .
Earlier in the evening , Vin Scully , the legendary broadcaster for the Dodgers , issued a message in support of a calm celebration .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Dodgers are world champions , and I know you want to celebrate like everybody else but let ’ s do it properly , ” Scully said in the video .
“ Let ’ s do it the way the Dodgers did with pride in themselves and pride in our great city .
Let ’ s show the rest of the country that we know how to celebrate the proper way .
So , congratulations to the ball club .
Congratulations to you , and , together , let ’ s celebrate the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and of the Dodgers .
Go Dodgers.
” The Los Angeles Sheriff ’ s Department delivered a message , too , calling for COVID-19 guidelines to be followed .
There is concern the celebration could turn into a super spreader event .
The World Series title was the second championship title celebrated in a matter of weeks for a Los Angeles team .
Los Angeles County ’ s Department of Public Health said Monday it was “ highly likely that Lakers fans gathered weeks ago for watch parties and other maskless events ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ win , and that may have contributed to the recent spike in coronavirus cases.
” LAPD is also preparing for election-related protests , as other spots around the country are as November 3 approaches .
About 2,000 people had crowded the streets outside the Staples Center to celebrate the victory against the Miami Heat in Orlando , and at least 76 people were arrested in alleged instances of vandalism , unlawful assembly and failure to disperse , according to the Times .
The LAPD earlier Tuesday received approval to start recording and saving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gatherings taken by its helicopters , something the local chapter of Black Lives Matter called the “ height of state repression and surveillance.
” Los Angeles , like other major metropolitan cities , is preparing for election-related protests , civil unrest and possible violence on or around Nov. 3 .
Pollster Frank Luntz had a quirky take on the Dodgers win .
He noted that every time the Dodgers win the World Series , the Republican candidate wins the presidency .
Will this year provide the same result ?
Luntz essentially says , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact .
Luntz also confirms that enthusiasm for Trump with Republican voters is still higher than that of Democrats for Biden .
“ Every time the Los Angeles Dodgers have won the World Series in the last 35 years… Republicans have won the White House , ” Luntz said on “ Mornings with Maria ” reacting to the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the World Series in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday .
“ I don ’ t know if that is a correlation , ” Luntz said adding that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Luntz went on to explain the latest polling numbers that show only two-thirds of former Vice President Joe Biden voters think that he will win .
By comparison , Luntz said 81 % of Trump voters think that their candidate will win .
“ So , on election night , the assumption on both sides is that they are going to be successful .
So , how the votes are counted , how quickly they are counted is going to have a tremendous impact on those first hours right after the polls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what the expectations will be as the night goes on , as the days go on , and I emphasize days in what they expect to happen in the final count , ” he said .
It ’ s 2020 , after all .
Anything can and probably will happen .
Polling still favors a Biden win but Trump is experiencing some momentum during the last days of the campaign .
Now is the last push for making his case for re-election and Trump is taking full advantage .
Despite recently fighting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the country , holding several events a day and flying back to Washington for such events as watching the swearing-in of his latest choice for the Supreme Court .
He is still the Energizer Bunny in full campaign mode .
Contrast that with Sleepy Joe who looks frail and speaks in a soft raspy voice but somehow manages to sound angry all the time .
His is a campaign of doom and gloom and a very dark winter approaching while Trump tells his supporters that the best is yet to come .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ breaking for Trump in recent polling .
That is very good news for Trump .
I ’ ll end with these tweets from an angry old actor/director in Hollywood .
Rob Reiner , 73 years old , thinks that between ‘ his ’ sports teams winning championships this year and the upcoming Biden landslide victory ( his words , not mine ) , that 2020 may be salvaged after all .
The self-centered Hollywood guy also accuses Trump of “ killing ” Americans , as other leftists are prone to do .

In case you don’t follow baseball, the L.A. Dodgers won the World Series Tuesday. I’m not a Dodgers fan, but, whatever. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the championship title, the Dodgers first such win in decades. The Rays beat the Houston Astros in the play-off series, so there may be a little residual disappointment around the World Series this year on my part. Moving on…
Dodgers fans began assembling in downtown L.A. after the 3-2 win in the Texas Rangers new ballpark in Arlington. The fans formed an impromptu parade downhill from the stadium on Sunset Boulevard. They honked and cheered from their vehicles, according to the Los Angeles Times. Some people lit fireworks, some climbed traffic lights. As the crowd became rowdy, police declared an “Unlawful Assembly” and issued a Dispersal Order. They were still trying to disperse the crowd in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
An Unlawful Assembly has been declared and a Dispersal Order has been given in the Downtown L.A. area of 8th to Pico & Broadway to Figueroa. The area has been closed. — LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) October 28, 2020
Earlier in the evening, Vin Scully, the legendary broadcaster for the Dodgers, issued a message in support of a calm celebration.
“Well, the word is out. The Dodgers are world champions, and I know you want to celebrate like everybody else but let’s do it properly,” Scully said in the video. “Let’s do it the way the Dodgers did with pride in themselves and pride in our great city. Let’s show the rest of the country that we know how to celebrate the proper way. So, congratulations to the ball club. Congratulations to you, and, together, let’s celebrate the right way in honor of our city and of the Dodgers. Go Dodgers.”
A message to all Angelenos from @TheVinScully pic.twitter.com/3vsib2ciC4 — LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) October 28, 2020
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department delivered a message, too, calling for COVID-19 guidelines to be followed. There is concern the celebration could turn into a super spreader event. The World Series title was the second championship title celebrated in a matter of weeks for a Los Angeles team. Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Health said Monday it was “highly likely that Lakers fans gathered weeks ago for watch parties and other maskless events ahead of the team’s NBA championship win, and that may have contributed to the recent spike in coronavirus cases.” LAPD is also preparing for election-related protests, as other spots around the country are as November 3 approaches.
About 2,000 people had crowded the streets outside the Staples Center to celebrate the victory against the Miami Heat in Orlando, and at least 76 people were arrested in alleged instances of vandalism, unlawful assembly and failure to disperse, according to the Times. The LAPD earlier Tuesday received approval to start recording and saving aerial footage of protests and other large gatherings taken by its helicopters, something the local chapter of Black Lives Matter called the “height of state repression and surveillance.” Los Angeles, like other major metropolitan cities, is preparing for election-related protests, civil unrest and possible violence on or around Nov. 3.
Pollster Frank Luntz had a quirky take on the Dodgers win. He noted that every time the Dodgers win the World Series, the Republican candidate wins the presidency. Will this year provide the same result? Luntz essentially says, Who knows? It is an interesting fact. Luntz also confirms that enthusiasm for Trump with Republican voters is still higher than that of Democrats for Biden.
“Every time the Los Angeles Dodgers have won the World Series in the last 35 years… Republicans have won the White House,” Luntz said on “Mornings with Maria” reacting to the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the World Series in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. “I don’t know if that is a correlation,” Luntz said adding that the game was “quite an evening.” Luntz went on to explain the latest polling numbers that show only two-thirds of former Vice President Joe Biden voters think that he will win. By comparison, Luntz said 81% of Trump voters think that their candidate will win. “So, on election night, the assumption on both sides is that they are going to be successful. So, how the votes are counted, how quickly they are counted is going to have a tremendous impact on those first hours right after the polls close and will have an impact on what the expectations will be as the night goes on, as the days go on, and I emphasize days in what they expect to happen in the final count,” he said.
It’s 2020, after all. Anything can and probably will happen. Polling still favors a Biden win but Trump is experiencing some momentum during the last days of the campaign. Now is the last push for making his case for re-election and Trump is taking full advantage. Despite recently fighting the coronavirus, he’s out campaigning across the country, holding several events a day and flying back to Washington for such events as watching the swearing-in of his latest choice for the Supreme Court. He is still the Energizer Bunny in full campaign mode. Contrast that with Sleepy Joe who looks frail and speaks in a soft raspy voice but somehow manages to sound angry all the time. His is a campaign of doom and gloom and a very dark winter approaching while Trump tells his supporters that the best is yet to come. It is being reported that Independents are breaking for Trump in recent polling. That is very good news for Trump.
I’ll end with these tweets from an angry old actor/director in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, 73 years old, thinks that between ‘his’ sports teams winning championships this year and the upcoming Biden landslide victory (his words, not mine), that 2020 may be salvaged after all. The self-centered Hollywood guy also accuses Trump of “killing” Americans, as other leftists are prone to do.
Trump’s closing strategy: Blanket the country with super spreader rallies and kill as many Americans as possible. — Rob Reiner (@robreiner) October 27, 2020
My Lakers won the NBA title. My Dodgers won the World Series. Now a Biden landslide will begin to salvage 2020. — Rob Reiner (@robreiner) October 28, 2020
What a meathead.


hotair--2020-10-29--Report: Elizabeth Warren will lobby Biden to become Treasury secretary

They don ’ t seem to think so

Bernie Sanders at Labor and Elizabeth Warren at Treasury?
I didn’t think President Sleepy Joe would be ready to go full communist so quickly.
I thought he’d sort of ease into it, like when Democrats slap a new tax on the rich and then start creeping their way down the income scale.
“This election is a choice between the AMERICAN DREAM and a SOCIALIST NIGHTMARE,” Trump tweeted earlier today. Free advice: He should make that a little more concrete in swing states by noting that Sanders and Warren want key economic positions in a Biden administration. The anti-socialist pitch is especially potent in Florida among Cuban-Americans and Venezuelan-Americans, who have firsthand experience with socialism red in tooth and claw.
Elizabeth Warren wants to be Joe Biden’s Treasury secretary and will make her case for it if he wins next week, according to three Democratic officials who have spoken with her inner circle… Warren allies say that the job is appealing because it is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to enact some of the “big structural change” she talked about during the presidential primary, rather than just pressuring Cabinet officials from her Senate perch. Much of her life’s work has revolved around the intricate rules and levers of power in the executive branch. Warren also sees an opportunity amid the economic crisis wrought by Covid-19 to rectify what she thinks were mistakes in the Obama administration’s response to the Great Recession — namely, not doing enough to change the underlying systemic problems or focus on the most vulnerable.
As Trump might say: This country can’t tolerate a socialist Treasury secretary, especially a female.
I don’t think she’ll get it, as there are too many barriers. Wall Street would treat it as a declaration of war by the new administration, which a President Warren or President Sanders would welcome but a President Biden would not. (Financiers are bullish about Joe at the moment because he’d deliver something to them that Trump never could, stability and certainty.) Even if Biden were willing to antagonize them by nominating Warren, it’s an open question whether she could be confirmed. There’s no chance if Republicans hold the Senate majority, which admittedly is unlikely if Biden wins on Tuesday, but even a narrow Democratic majority might be skittish about Warren. If it’s 51/49, which way do Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema go, knowing that conservatives back home will vociferously oppose Warren? What about if, say, Theresa Greenfield pulls the upset in Iowa over Joni Ernst? Does she vote for a hard leftist in one of her first official acts?
Even a biggish Democratic Senate majority would see its margins padded by purple-state freshmen who won’t want to get off on the wrong foot with Republican voters. I think they might be persuaded to support Bernie or Warren for the cabinet, but both is a lot to ask.
Then again, they have progressive voters who need to be appeased too. And progressives will be very excited about Sanders and Warren gaining control over a huge chunk of the federal government’s regulatory machinery. Maybe Biden could “balance” them by adding a Republican or two to the cabinet, or at least reserve all remaining top positions for Dems who are ostentatiously centrist. The freshmen senators might be able to have their arms twisted into voting for Bernie and Warren if they have plenty of cover from the center on all other major nominations.
Here’s Ilhan Omar dreaming some big dreams for progressives inside the Biden administration. Exit question via Peter Hamby: Why the hell are Warren allies leaking this news now, at a moment when it can only hurt Biden? For that matter, why did Bernie allies leak his interest in the Labor slot last week? Sleepy Joe isn’t struggling to consolidate progressive support. He doesn’t need anyone giving lefties a reason to turn out for him. They’re all-in on ousting Trump. Only the president benefits from these leaks, by having specific examples to cite the next time he accuses Biden of being a pawn of the left.


hotair--2020-10-29--Collins' opponent: I might just support court-packing

They don ’ t seem to think so

A strange move for a challenger whose main mission is to convince voters in Maine that she’s a reasonable alternative to Susan Collins. In a debate last night, the moderator asked Sara Gideon whether she favors changing the number of Supreme Court justices, pointedly avoiding the term “court packing.” Gideon replied that she would be open to any proposal that would “help us restore an independent judiciary,” although she claimed that none of the current proposals passes that test.
“I’ll give you a straightforward answer,” Collins replied, “and not beat around the bush.” Collins adamantly opposed changing the Supreme Court:
👀 So this is a yes –> Democrat Sara Gideon in Maine dodges about her support for the far-left's plan to pack the U.S. Supreme Court. Absolutely stunning and dangerous. #MEpolitics #MEsen pic.twitter.com/hLrW7Xd9Gs — Nathan Brand (@NathanBrandWA) October 29, 2020
This is a very strange position for Gideon to take in an evenly divided state, and an evenly divided race. Collins has trailed in every poll this cycle against Gideon, but the margins have been narrow and polling infrequent at best. It’s the fight of Collins’ political life, having won her seat by 37 points in 2014 and 23 points in the 2008 Democratic wave. Two polls this month put Collins either behind by seven (Pan Atlantic) or four (Colby College), the latter being more recent with a much larger sample.
All Gideon has to do to close out is not to look extreme. And yet here she is, pandering to the hard-progressive Left by staking out openness to a deeply unpopular proposition like court-packing. Every poll on that issue shows opposition by a majority of voters. The most recent from Siena and the New York Times breaks out fairly consistently on the issue in partisan terms: Democrats support it but only 57/28, while Republicans (6/89) and independents (25/65) oppose it in stronger numbers.
Collins’ answer is the appeal to the mainstream. And that might be enough to convince waverers who haven’t yet cast their ballots that Collins is still the safe choice.