hotair--2020-07-18--A lot of people with hybrid incomes were left out of the relief program

Since we still haven ’ t managed to get our unemployment numbers under control while waiting for the country to reopen , Congress is debating yet another stimulus package .
Unlike the first massive round of stimulus spending , there ’ s a possibility that our friends in the swamp may actually fix an issue that was overlooked when they arranged the initial tranche of federal enhancements to unemployment benefits .
A couple of months ago , Politico reported on a shortcoming in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ( PUA ) program , one that particularly affected the music industry , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Recording Industry Association of America , along with a host of other companies and related trade groups , sent a letter to senior congressional leaders saying that the PUA program “ has overlooked workers with mixed-income… In almost all cases that we see in every state , a minimum amount of W-2 income disqualifies a self-employed individual for PUA and significantly lowers the amount of assistance they receive .
PUA must be updated to recognize these different income streams and allow individuals to show their mixed sources of revenue for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In other words , if your primary line of work is mostly part-time and you supplement your income with a bunch of side gigs , contract work or self-employment ( think Uber drivers or delivery app workers ) your total income on record could fail to qualify you for the enhanced federal unemployment benefits .
This winds up leaving workers out in the cold when they actually earned enough money to have qualified for the benefits .
The music industry—especially the country music industry— is pushing for this change because a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , W2 work but bolster their income with contract work when they don ’ t have a music industry gig available .
Why does this specific industry matter in terms of all the lobbying going on ?
Because Senator Marsha Blackburn , who represents Tennessee with its massive country music industry—is one of the Senators pushing for this fix : It ’ s not that massive of a change to the existing PUA program either .
Congress just needs to allow mixed-income earners to choose which part of their income ( the independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they want to list when applying for enhanced unemployment benefits .
Unfortunately for them , more than two months after the question first started coming up , this issue still hasn ’ t been resolved .
But it looks as if Congress is going to try to shove through another round of COVID stimulus funding in the coming weeks .
Assuming there are enough votes to shovel another several trillion dollars of debt onto the bonfire of our federal finances , this might be a good provision to include .
This wouldn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McConnell to take up in terms of the political optics .
Democrats are busy spouting off about how the GOP is only looking to help their fat cat , big business friends on Wall Street , and leaving the “ little people ” to eat cake .
This specific “ fix ” to the PUA would be directed at the comparatively small number of people with hybrid incomes who are more vulnerable than most to the effects of the shutdown .
And if the Democrats dared to oppose it just because the idea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t put it past them ) , McConnell and Blackburn could eat their lunch over it .
I ’ m not here advocating for even more massive rounds of spending , but it almost looks unavoidable at this point .
And if we ’ re going to do it anyway , we might as well help out some people who were particularly damaged by government decisions to shut down their income stream and score a few political points in the process .

Since we still haven’t managed to get our unemployment numbers under control while waiting for the country to reopen, Congress is debating yet another stimulus package. Unlike the first massive round of stimulus spending, there’s a possibility that our friends in the swamp may actually fix an issue that was overlooked when they arranged the initial tranche of federal enhancements to unemployment benefits.
A couple of months ago, Politico reported on a shortcoming in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, one that particularly affected the music industry, but plenty of other works as well. The Recording Industry Association of America, along with a host of other companies and related trade groups, sent a letter to senior congressional leaders saying that the PUA program “has overlooked workers with mixed-income… In almost all cases that we see in every state, a minimum amount of W-2 income disqualifies a self-employed individual for PUA and significantly lowers the amount of assistance they receive. PUA must be updated to recognize these different income streams and allow individuals to show their mixed sources of revenue for a full accounting of their annual income.”
The music industry, meanwhile, sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer this morning outlining a number of asks, including changes to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Many musicians and others in the industry “work from project to project and gig to gig, not only in multiple jobs but in various capacities,” receiving a combination of wages and income as independent contractors, the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Independent Venue Association and dozens of other companies and trade groups write in the letter.
In other words, if your primary line of work is mostly part-time and you supplement your income with a bunch of side gigs, contract work or self-employment (think Uber drivers or delivery app workers) your total income on record could fail to qualify you for the enhanced federal unemployment benefits. This winds up leaving workers out in the cold when they actually earned enough money to have qualified for the benefits.
The music industry—especially the country music industry— is pushing for this change because a lot of people who work in it do part-time, W2 work but bolster their income with contract work when they don’t have a music industry gig available. Why does this specific industry matter in terms of all the lobbying going on? Because Senator Marsha Blackburn, who represents Tennessee with its massive country music industry—is one of the Senators pushing for this fix:
It’s not that massive of a change to the existing PUA program either. Congress just needs to allow mixed-income earners to choose which part of their income (the independent contractor side or the employee side) they want to list when applying for enhanced unemployment benefits.
Unfortunately for them, more than two months after the question first started coming up, this issue still hasn’t been resolved. But it looks as if Congress is going to try to shove through another round of COVID stimulus funding in the coming weeks. Assuming there are enough votes to shovel another several trillion dollars of debt onto the bonfire of our federal finances, this might be a good provision to include.
This wouldn’t be a bad move for Mitch McConnell to take up in terms of the political optics. Democrats are busy spouting off about how the GOP is only looking to help their fat cat, big business friends on Wall Street, and leaving the “little people” to eat cake. This specific “fix” to the PUA would be directed at the comparatively small number of people with hybrid incomes who are more vulnerable than most to the effects of the shutdown. And if the Democrats dared to oppose it just because the idea was brought up by a Republican (don’t put it past them), McConnell and Blackburn could eat their lunch over it.
I’m not here advocating for even more massive rounds of spending, but it almost looks unavoidable at this point. And if we’re going to do it anyway, we might as well help out some people who were particularly damaged by government decisions to shut down their income stream and score a few political points in the process.


hotair--2020-07-19--Sunday morning talking heads

Sunday morning talking heads

I can ’ t remember the last time we had a POTUS interview on the Sunday shows , but we ’ re getting one today .
Normally he sticks to friendly fare like “ Hannity ” but his electoral predicament leaves him with no choice but to aim beyond the usual Fox News primetime fan base , whose votes aren ’ t enough to get him out of the hole he ’ s in .
He ’ ll visit with the “ hard news ” side of the network to try to reach swing voters when he sits down with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fox News Sunday.
” Wallace was so eager to show the world that he wouldn ’ t go easy on Trump that he sneak-previewed a clip on Friday of him fact-checking the president in real time .
Their discussion should be … lively , especially when Wallace inevitably confronts him about the latest polling .
Elsewhere , a smorgasbord of local officials will mull the question of when , and whether , to reopen schools in the thick of an epidemic that shows no signs of abating .
Colorado Gov .
Jared Polis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Ohio Gov .
Mike DeWine will speak to “ Meet the Press , ” Mississippi Gov .
Tate Reeves will chat with “ State of the Union , ” and Maryland Gov .
Larry Hogan will sit with “ Face the Nation.
” Hogan has been on a Trump-bashing spree this week for reasons I don ’ t understand .
There ’ s chatter about him eyeing a presidential run in 2024 , in which case his criticism might be viewed as an early effort to establish himself nationally .
But he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ primary even if Trump gets destroyed this fall and righties are left searching for a new political identity .
He ’ s far too liberal .
Maybe he ’ s thinking of forming a centrist third party ?
Atlanta mayor and Biden VP longshot Keisha Lance Bottoms will also be on this morning , speaking to “ Face the Nation ” about Georgia ’ s epidemic and her legal battle with Gov .
Brian Kemp about a mask mandate for her city .
And of course all five shows will pay tribute to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passed away from cancer late Friday night .
No one was scheduled yet as of Saturday morning to discuss his life and legacy but that will have been remedied by the time these shows go to air .
I wouldn ’ t be surprised to see Joe Biden turn up to address the subject .
The full line-up is at the AP .

I can’t remember the last time we had a POTUS interview on the Sunday shows, but we’re getting one today. Normally he sticks to friendly fare like “Hannity” but his electoral predicament leaves him with no choice but to aim beyond the usual Fox News primetime fan base, whose votes aren’t enough to get him out of the hole he’s in. He’ll visit with the “hard news” side of the network to try to reach swing voters when he sits down with Chris Wallace for a chat on “Fox News Sunday.” Wallace was so eager to show the world that he wouldn’t go easy on Trump that he sneak-previewed a clip on Friday of him fact-checking the president in real time. Their discussion should be … lively, especially when Wallace inevitably confronts him about the latest polling.
Elsewhere, a smorgasbord of local officials will mull the question of when, and whether, to reopen schools in the thick of an epidemic that shows no signs of abating. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis will talk with “This Week,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine will speak to “Meet the Press,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves will chat with “State of the Union,” and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will sit with “Face the Nation.” Hogan has been on a Trump-bashing spree this week for reasons I don’t understand. There’s chatter about him eyeing a presidential run in 2024, in which case his criticism might be viewed as an early effort to establish himself nationally. But he has no hope of surviving a Republican primary even if Trump gets destroyed this fall and righties are left searching for a new political identity. He’s far too liberal. Maybe he’s thinking of forming a centrist third party?
Atlanta mayor and Biden VP longshot Keisha Lance Bottoms will also be on this morning, speaking to “Face the Nation” about Georgia’s epidemic and her legal battle with Gov. Brian Kemp about a mask mandate for her city. And of course all five shows will pay tribute to the late Rep. John Lewis, who passed away from cancer late Friday night. No one was scheduled yet as of Saturday morning to discuss his life and legacy but that will have been remedied by the time these shows go to air. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Joe Biden turn up to address the subject. The full line-up is at the AP.


hotair--2020-07-19--Can the NYPD's supporters paint "Blue Lives Matter" near City Hall?

After the latest rounds of protests and riots broke out , elected officials in many major cities rushed to try to be the first ones to “ out-woke ” the rest by allowing massive “ Black Lives Matter ” and “ Defund the Police ” murals to be painted on their municipal streets .
One showed up almost immediately outside of Trump Tower in the Big Apple , with the Mayor promising five more to “ decorate ” every borough of Gotham .
The fact that this was all being done by executive decree rather than having the City Council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requisite permits to be issued didn ’ t seem to bother anyone .
But as we ’ ve discussed here before , these actions clearly set a new precedent .
The streets of New York ( and Chicago and Minneapolis and too many others to name here ) were now established as allowable venues for publicly created artwork rather than just the requisite lines and characters needed to direct the flow of traffic and parking .
And if one group is allowed to do this , anyone with a partisan message to spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , right ?
That question will once again be put to the test now that some groups who wish to show their support for and gratitude to New York ’ s men and women in blue have sent Hizzoner a letter requesting permission to paint an equally large mural reading “ BLUE LIVES MATTER ” near Police Square .
So will this project get the thumbs up as well ?
( CBS New York ) In response to the Black Lives Matter mural painted on Fifth Avenue , two police advocacy groups are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chance to make a statement .
Blue Lives Matter NYC and Standing Up For NYC have asked to paint a “ Blue Lives Matter ” mural on Madison Street near One Police Plaza .
The groups say the mural would raise awareness and honor the memories of officers killed in the line of duty .
The mayor ’ s office says they are reviewing the letter .
Seems like a simple enough request , doesn ’ t it ?
If the streets are fair game for the painting of massive murals carrying politically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fallen among our law enforcement officers certainly couldn ’ t be seen as offensive .
Or could it ?
In today ’ s hotbed of anger out in the streets , with much of the violence being directed toward the police themselves , it ’ s a fair bet that plenty of people will be angry .
For his part , the Mayor has only said that he ’ s “ reviewing the letter.
” Really ?
He didn ’ t seem to spend much time “ reviewing ” anything when somebody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In fact , Bill de Blasio rolled up his sleeves and went out into the streets to help paint it himself .
I ’ m sure that was a great photo op , but perhaps he didn ’ t realize the precedent he was setting by doing it .
Of course , this isn ’ t even the first time we ’ ve seen this trend begin to spread .
Regular readers may recall that Judicial Watch has a lawsuit pending against the Mayor of the District of Columbia , asking that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mural in the streets of DC reading “ Because No One Is Above the Law !
” Yet again , you might think that such an obvious truism , enshrined in our own Constitution , would be one of the least controversial slogans imaginable .
And yet Mayor Muriel Bowser has similarly said she needed time to “ consider the request ” and has completely failed to get back to the plaintiffs in a timely fashion .
It ’ s a complicated web we weave when municipal executives decide to break out their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the normal rules of order without going through the legislature first .
Such rash actions have a tendency to come back and bite them , particularly when their feel-good efforts aren ’ t thought through very carefully .
Break out the popcorn and stay tuned .
There may be some petard-hoisting on the way in the near future .

After the latest rounds of protests and riots broke out, elected officials in many major cities rushed to try to be the first ones to “out-woke” the rest by allowing massive “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund the Police” murals to be painted on their municipal streets. One showed up almost immediately outside of Trump Tower in the Big Apple, with the Mayor promising five more to “decorate” every borough of Gotham. The fact that this was all being done by executive decree rather than having the City Council amend the appropriate codes and order the requisite permits to be issued didn’t seem to bother anyone.
But as we’ve discussed here before, these actions clearly set a new precedent. The streets of New York (and Chicago and Minneapolis and too many others to name here) were now established as allowable venues for publicly created artwork rather than just the requisite lines and characters needed to direct the flow of traffic and parking. And if one group is allowed to do this, anyone with a partisan message to spread should be eligible to do the same, right? That question will once again be put to the test now that some groups who wish to show their support for and gratitude to New York’s men and women in blue have sent Hizzoner a letter requesting permission to paint an equally large mural reading “BLUE LIVES MATTER” near Police Square. So will this project get the thumbs up as well? (CBS New York)
In response to the Black Lives Matter mural painted on Fifth Avenue, two police advocacy groups are asking Mayor Bill de Blasio for their chance to make a statement. Blue Lives Matter NYC and Standing Up For NYC have asked to paint a “Blue Lives Matter” mural on Madison Street near One Police Plaza. The groups say the mural would raise awareness and honor the memories of officers killed in the line of duty. The mayor’s office says they are reviewing the letter.
Seems like a simple enough request, doesn’t it? If the streets are fair game for the painting of massive murals carrying politically charged messages, having one to honor the fallen among our law enforcement officers certainly couldn’t be seen as offensive. Or could it? In today’s hotbed of anger out in the streets, with much of the violence being directed toward the police themselves, it’s a fair bet that plenty of people will be angry.
For his part, the Mayor has only said that he’s “reviewing the letter.” Really? He didn’t seem to spend much time “reviewing” anything when somebody suggested the Black Lives Matter mural. In fact, Bill de Blasio rolled up his sleeves and went out into the streets to help paint it himself. I’m sure that was a great photo op, but perhaps he didn’t realize the precedent he was setting by doing it.
Of course, this isn’t even the first time we’ve seen this trend begin to spread. Regular readers may recall that Judicial Watch has a lawsuit pending against the Mayor of the District of Columbia, asking that they be allowed to paint an equally large mural in the streets of DC reading “Because No One Is Above the Law!” Yet again, you might think that such an obvious truism, enshrined in our own Constitution, would be one of the least controversial slogans imaginable. And yet Mayor Muriel Bowser has similarly said she needed time to “consider the request” and has completely failed to get back to the plaintiffs in a timely fashion.
It’s a complicated web we weave when municipal executives decide to break out their executive order pens and issue sweeping changes to the normal rules of order without going through the legislature first. Such rash actions have a tendency to come back and bite them, particularly when their feel-good efforts aren’t thought through very carefully. Break out the popcorn and stay tuned. There may be some petard-hoisting on the way in the near future.


hotair--2020-07-19--Yes, Joe Biden "absolutely" said we should defund the police

This is an item in the current presidential election food fights that ’ s been simmering since early last month and it once again popped up in a number of media outlets this week .
Has Joe Biden endorsed the idea of “ defunding the police ” during this campaign ?
The mainstream media has been doing backflips recently , trying to claim that Joe has never said this .
CNN ’ s “ Facts First ” fact-checker jumps through so many hoops to try to make this point that they should be entered in the Westminster Dog Show .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that a Trump campaign advertisement “ falsely suggests ” that he said it .
The Associated Press just flatly states that Biden “ did not call for ” defunding the police .
Sadly for all of them , this comes down to a classic case of asking who you ’ re going to believe .
Them or your own lying , dog-faced pony soldier ears ?
To get to the bottom of this , let ’ s look at one of the more recent comments Biden has tossed out for his progressive followers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Uncle Joe did with Ady Barkan .
Let ’ s go to the video .
Biden is talking about a variety of things here , including the idea that the police don ’ t need any surplus military equipment or “ weapons of war.
” But he ’ s talking about more than that as well .
Barkan interrupts him at one point to flatly ask if they can “ agree that we can redirect some of the funding ” from the cops .
Our industrious fact-checkers continue to attempt to insist that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorizing funds for police departments to purchase surplus military equipment then it doesn ’ t count .
How does that work ?
You either give them the funding or you don ’ t .
If you don ’ t , you ’ re defunding them .
We should also go back to PolitiFact ’ s own definition of what defunding the police means .
“ While some protesters want to eliminate police departments entirely , others want to reexamine the functions of police departments and redirect some of their funding to other services.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ departments ” is a meaningless phrase .
That ’ s a separate conversation about restructuring police forces .
But “ redirecting some of their funding ” to other services means precisely what it says .
You ’ re taking some of their current funding and sending it elsewhere .
Would anyone in the class like to earn a cookie for identifying another way of saying “ redirecting some of their funding ?
” That ’ s right , kids .
Defunding .
Here ’ s another interesting footnote from the CNN “ fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this article .
While valiantly paddling upstream against the current to defend Joe Biden , they note the following : ( Emphasis added ) In June , when calls to “ defund the police ” gained prominence on the left amid the national protests that followed the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police , Biden said , “ No , I don ’ t support defunding the police.
” Rather , he said , he supports conditioning federal money to police “ based on whether or not they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ honorableness.
” Biden also said in early June that it “ makes sense ” for “ some places ” to reallocate some funding away from their police departments , since some places do not have enough officers but others “ have a lot more than they need.
” He said the decision depends on the particular community .
Excuse me , but if you ’ re in the middle of an effort to claim that Biden never said we should defund the police , why would you go out of your way to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said precisely that ?
“ Conditioning federal money… based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards ” means that you will defund them if they fail to meet the criteria you set from on high .
And not for nothing , but would Joe Biden care to show us some of these communities who “ have a lot more officers ” than they need ?
Inquiring minds want to know .
So why are Team Biden and his media supporters so desperate to convince voters that he didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ almost nobody wants to defund the police .
Again… why ?
Because that ’ s insanity and everyone knows it.. We ’ ll close with an interesting video that popped up in my feed last night .
It shows a group of white liberals in low crime areas being asked if we should get rid of the police .
That ’ s followed by some Black residents of higher crime areas answering the same question .
The results may come as a surprise to some .

This is an item in the current presidential election food fights that’s been simmering since early last month and it once again popped up in a number of media outlets this week. Has Joe Biden endorsed the idea of “defunding the police” during this campaign? The mainstream media has been doing backflips recently, trying to claim that Joe has never said this. CNN’s “Facts First” fact-checker jumps through so many hoops to try to make this point that they should be entered in the Westminster Dog Show. The Washington Post ran with a claim that a Trump campaign advertisement “falsely suggests” that he said it. The Associated Press just flatly states that Biden “did not call for” defunding the police.
Sadly for all of them, this comes down to a classic case of asking who you’re going to believe. Them or your own lying, dog-faced pony soldier ears? To get to the bottom of this, let’s look at one of the more recent comments Biden has tossed out for his progressive followers. It stems from an interview that Uncle Joe did with Ady Barkan. Let’s go to the video. Biden is talking about a variety of things here, including the idea that the police don’t need any surplus military equipment or “weapons of war.” But he’s talking about more than that as well. Barkan interrupts him at one point to flatly ask if they can “agree that we can redirect some of the funding” from the cops.
Joe Biden says police have "BECOME THE ENEMY" and calls for CUTTING police funding: "Yes, absolutely!" pic.twitter.com/PKXvz3zobe — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) July 8, 2020
Ady Barkan: “Can we agree that we can redirect some of the funding [from the police]?” Joe Biden: “Yes, absolutely”
Our industrious fact-checkers continue to attempt to insist that if Biden was only talking about not authorizing funds for police departments to purchase surplus military equipment then it doesn’t count. How does that work? You either give them the funding or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re defunding them.
We should also go back to PolitiFact’s own definition of what defunding the police means. “While some protesters want to eliminate police departments entirely, others want to reexamine the functions of police departments and redirect some of their funding to other services.”
“Reexamining the functions of police departments” is a meaningless phrase. That’s a separate conversation about restructuring police forces. But “redirecting some of their funding” to other services means precisely what it says. You’re taking some of their current funding and sending it elsewhere. Would anyone in the class like to earn a cookie for identifying another way of saying “redirecting some of their funding?” That’s right, kids. Defunding.
Here’s another interesting footnote from the CNN “fact check” I linked at the top of this article. While valiantly paddling upstream against the current to defend Joe Biden, they note the following: (Emphasis added)
In June, when calls to “defund the police” gained prominence on the left amid the national protests that followed the killing of George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police, Biden said, “No, I don’t support defunding the police.” Rather, he said, he supports conditioning federal money to police “based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness.” Biden also said in early June that it “makes sense” for “some places” to reallocate some funding away from their police departments, since some places do not have enough officers but others “have a lot more than they need.” He said the decision depends on the particular community.
Excuse me, but if you’re in the middle of an effort to claim that Biden never said we should defund the police, why would you go out of your way to provide yet another two examples of when he said precisely that? “Conditioning federal money… based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards” means that you will defund them if they fail to meet the criteria you set from on high. And not for nothing, but would Joe Biden care to show us some of these communities who “have a lot more officers” than they need? Inquiring minds want to know.
So why are Team Biden and his media supporters so desperate to convince voters that he didn’t say what he clearly said? Because almost nobody wants to defund the police. Again… why? Because that’s insanity and everyone knows it..
We’ll close with an interesting video that popped up in my feed last night. It shows a group of white liberals in low crime areas being asked if we should get rid of the police. That’s followed by some Black residents of higher crime areas answering the same question. The results may come as a surprise to some.
https://twitter.com/ArtValley818/status/1284566482249060352


hotair--2020-07-19--Portland organizer calls for "abolition of the United States", silence from mainstream media

The protests that began with Black Lives Matter in Portland , Oregon have turned into Antifa riots .
There is nothing peaceful about them , only destruction and chaos .
This is the plan .
Saturday one organizer clearly stated the goal – the abolition of the United States as we know it .
It doesn ’ t get much clearer than that .
A woman named Lilith Sinclair who describes herself as “ an Afro-Indigenous non-binary local organizer ” in Portland spoke to demonstrators and announced the mission .
Her little rant first became known to me on Twitter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show host and from Andy Ngo ’ s account .
I ’ m not the only one who noticed it .
Interestingly enough , there was no noticeable reaction from any mainstream media Twitter accounts over something that was clearly a call for treason from Sinclair .
While Jazz noted the lack of media attention , I noticed the member of the clergy standing behind Sinclair who was nodding in agreement with her .
We all know that Portland is a dangerous mess .
Once a beautiful city , formerly known as Rose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the radical far-left .
The mayor of the city , Ted Wheeler , has lost control of governing the city and shows no will to end the nightly riots .
For more than 50 consecutive nights , riots have been carried out by barbarians whom the media describe as peaceful protesters .
It would be laughable if it weren ’ t so tragically sad .
Businesses downtown and in the surrounding areas are hostage to the nightly destruction , with the downtown area shops boarded up as protection from the rioters and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unwilling and/or unable to get the violence and destruction in Portland under control .
She and Wheeler are too busy criticizing President Trump for sending in some help from Homeland Security to assist local police .
On CNN this morning , Wheeler told Sunday show host Jake Tapper that he wants them out of the city .
He blames Homeland Security officers , not Antifa , for the escalation in violence .
“ What they are doing is sharply escalating the situation .
Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not helping the situation at all .
They ’ re not wanted here , ” Wheeler told host Jake Tapper on CNN ’ s “ State of the Union.
“ The mayor added : “ In fact , we want them to leave.
” “ The tactics that the Trump administration are using on the streets of Portland are abhorrent , ” Wheeler said , adding that people were being deprived of due process and being detained without probable cause .
“ As far as I can see , this is completely unconstitutional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weak , feckless man .
Antifa has taken over a 12-block area while Black Lives Matter protests take place in other parts of the city .
A fire was set at the Portland Police Association on Saturday , requiring police to deploy tear gas to clear the area .
Governor Brown wants the federal officers out of Portland , too .
Also feckless .
I truly feel for the ordinary citizen of Portland , the hard-working taxpayers who pay the salaries of these idiots .
I also ponder why these idiots are elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but that discussion is for another day .
Right now the city is burning and Antifa is feeling empowered .
The two Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate by Oregonians also support the mayor and governor .
Ms. Sinclair tweeted out some life-endangering information , too .
She tweeted out the hotel and the car rental agency the federal officers are using while in Portland .
Local activists posted a press release demanding a boycott and included the information and how to contact executive offices for both companies .
It is disgraceful , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mainstream media to continue .
Antifa and other anarchists are diligently working to destroy the country that allows them the freedom to do what they are doing .
Police officers are injured , beaten , and some are killed as they try to protect the public , yet elected officials in the Democrat party remain silent or come out strongly in support of the rioters .
This is treasonous behavior .
As Bob Dole once said , “ Where ’ s the outrage ?
” The media must be held accountable for its @ @ @ @ @ @ @

The protests that began with Black Lives Matter in Portland, Oregon have turned into Antifa riots. There is nothing peaceful about them, only destruction and chaos. This is the plan. Saturday one organizer clearly stated the goal – the abolition of the United States as we know it. It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
A woman named Lilith Sinclair who describes herself as “an Afro-Indigenous non-binary local organizer” in Portland spoke to demonstrators and announced the mission. Her little rant first became known to me on Twitter from the account of a Blaze TV show host and from Andy Ngo’s account. I’m not the only one who noticed it. Interestingly enough, there was no noticeable reaction from any mainstream media Twitter accounts over something that was clearly a call for treason from Sinclair. While Jazz noted the lack of media attention, I noticed the member of the clergy standing behind Sinclair who was nodding in agreement with her.
Clergy behind speaker applauds. *smh* https://t.co/i7bW82O2yD — Karen Townsend (@penguinponders) July 18, 2020
"… the abolition of the United States as we know it." Nobody is reporting on this in the MSM but you should take them at their word. These are not protesters. These are criminals. https://t.co/VNorooYZtl — Jazz Shaw (@JazzShaw) July 18, 2020
We all know that Portland is a dangerous mess. Once a beautiful city, formerly known as Rose City, Portland has been taken over by the radical far-left. The mayor of the city, Ted Wheeler, has lost control of governing the city and shows no will to end the nightly riots. For more than 50 consecutive nights, riots have been carried out by barbarians whom the media describe as peaceful protesters. It would be laughable if it weren’t so tragically sad. Businesses downtown and in the surrounding areas are hostage to the nightly destruction, with the downtown area shops boarded up as protection from the rioters and looters.
Governor Kate Brown is also unwilling and/or unable to get the violence and destruction in Portland under control. She and Wheeler are too busy criticizing President Trump for sending in some help from Homeland Security to assist local police. On CNN this morning, Wheeler told Sunday show host Jake Tapper that he wants them out of the city. He blames Homeland Security officers, not Antifa, for the escalation in violence.
“What they are doing is sharply escalating the situation. Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism. And it’s not helping the situation at all. They’re not wanted here,” Wheeler told host Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.“ The mayor added: “In fact, we want them to leave.” “The tactics that the Trump administration are using on the streets of Portland are abhorrent,” Wheeler said, adding that people were being deprived of due process and being detained without probable cause. “As far as I can see, this is completely unconstitutional,“ Wheeler said.
What a weak, feckless man. Antifa has taken over a 12-block area while Black Lives Matter protests take place in other parts of the city. A fire was set at the Portland Police Association on Saturday, requiring police to deploy tear gas to clear the area.
Governor Brown wants the federal officers out of Portland, too.
I told Acting Secretary Wolf that the federal government should remove all federal officers from our streets. His response showed me he is on a mission to provoke confrontation for political purposes. He is putting both Oregonians and local law enforcement officers in harm’s way. — Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) July 16, 2020
Also feckless. I truly feel for the ordinary citizen of Portland, the hard-working taxpayers who pay the salaries of these idiots. I also ponder why these idiots are elected into office in the first place, but that discussion is for another day. Right now the city is burning and Antifa is feeling empowered. The two Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate by Oregonians also support the mayor and governor.
Ms. Sinclair tweeted out some life-endangering information, too. She tweeted out the hotel and the car rental agency the federal officers are using while in Portland. Local activists posted a press release demanding a boycott and included the information and how to contact executive offices for both companies.
It is disgraceful, journalistic malpractice for the silence from the mainstream media to continue. Antifa and other anarchists are diligently working to destroy the country that allows them the freedom to do what they are doing. Police officers are injured, beaten, and some are killed as they try to protect the public, yet elected officials in the Democrat party remain silent or come out strongly in support of the rioters. This is treasonous behavior. As Bob Dole once said, “Where’s the outrage?” The media must be held accountable for its role in this story, too.


hotair--2020-07-19--Upstate NY councilman issues travel advisory for New York City due to violence

While this is more of a local news story , I thought some of you might get a kick out of it .
By this time you are doubtless aware of the total crap show that New York City has turned into lately , with shootings and violent crime seeing spikes to levels not seen in decades .
Meanwhile , City Hall is busy defunding the police and closing down the NYPD ’ s plainclothes violent crime unit .
( How ’ s that working out for you ? )
But another thing to know about New York if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that there ’ s a lot more to the state than just the Big Apple .
The upstate region is vastly larger by raw landmass , though only accounting for less than 40 % of the state ’ s population .
It ’ s in one of those smaller , upstate burgs in the Hudson Valley , Fishkill by name , that this story takes place .
Fishkill is a village of barely 2,000 people , best known for the prison found out in the even less-populated township .
But the Village @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the safety of the hamlet ’ s residents .
Having kept track of all the mayhem engulfing New York City , one of their councilmen decided to take action by issuing a travel advisory for anyone considering going to Gotham because the place is simply too violent for tourists to safely visit .
( Westchester News 12 ) East Fishkill Councilman Anil Beephan is warning his constituents about visiting New York City due to the recent uptick in violence .
Beephan released a statement on Facebook saying , “ it is recommended that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York City.
” According to the NYPD , there were 205 shootings last month , compared to 89 in June last year – a 130 % jump .
“ I just thought it would be important for residents in my town to know that there is an uptick in crime and they should be careful when they go down there , ” Beephan told News 12 .
“ Keep their wits about them , try not to go into the city and travel down dark areas by yourself.
” Here ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s official Facebook page .
As you can see , councilman Beephan is providing all of the specific information that travelers should require .
Rather than declaring all of New York City to be a danger zone , he identifies specific “ hotspots ” to avoid .
Those are The Bronx , Manhattan , Brooklyn and Queens .
Presumably , Staten Island and parts of Long Island are okay if you want to visit .
And to be fair , the Hamptons still tend to be lovely this time of year , assuming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your prison guard salary .
All joking aside , this isn ’ t the first time that United States cities have fallen under travel advisories and some of them have come from much larger areas than Fishkill .
The entire nation of Uruguay issued a travel advisory for the City of Baltimore last year .
During the same period , Amnesty International issued a travel warning for all major cities in the United States because of our “ gun crisis.
” Other countries , including Germany , France and Denmark have issued similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going abroad .
With all that in mind , is it really so unusual ( or such a joke ) for someone to warn people about going into the Big Apple while the mobs control significant portions of the streets ?
It may sound like some snarky humor , but I personally wouldn ’ t book a trip to Brooklyn right now if my life depended on it .

While this is more of a local news story, I thought some of you might get a kick out of it. By this time you are doubtless aware of the total crap show that New York City has turned into lately, with shootings and violent crime seeing spikes to levels not seen in decades. Meanwhile, City Hall is busy defunding the police and closing down the NYPD’s plainclothes violent crime unit. (How’s that working out for you?)
But another thing to know about New York if you’re not familiar with the region is that there’s a lot more to the state than just the Big Apple. The upstate region is vastly larger by raw landmass, though only accounting for less than 40% of the state’s population. It’s in one of those smaller, upstate burgs in the Hudson Valley, Fishkill by name, that this story takes place. Fishkill is a village of barely 2,000 people, best known for the prison found out in the even less-populated township. But the Village Council still needs to look out for the safety of the hamlet’s residents. Having kept track of all the mayhem engulfing New York City, one of their councilmen decided to take action by issuing a travel advisory for anyone considering going to Gotham because the place is simply too violent for tourists to safely visit. (Westchester News 12)
East Fishkill Councilman Anil Beephan is warning his constituents about visiting New York City due to the recent uptick in violence. Beephan released a statement on Facebook saying, “it is recommended that area residents exercise increased caution while visiting New York City.” According to the NYPD, there were 205 shootings last month, compared to 89 in June last year – a 130% jump. “I just thought it would be important for residents in my town to know that there is an uptick in crime and they should be careful when they go down there,” Beephan told News 12. “Keep their wits about them, try not to go into the city and travel down dark areas by yourself.”
Here’s the advisory posted to Anil Beephan’s official Facebook page.
As you can see, councilman Beephan is providing all of the specific information that travelers should require. Rather than declaring all of New York City to be a danger zone, he identifies specific “hotspots” to avoid. Those are The Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Presumably, Staten Island and parts of Long Island are okay if you want to visit. And to be fair, the Hamptons still tend to be lovely this time of year, assuming you can afford to go there on your prison guard salary.
All joking aside, this isn’t the first time that United States cities have fallen under travel advisories and some of them have come from much larger areas than Fishkill. The entire nation of Uruguay issued a travel advisory for the City of Baltimore last year. During the same period, Amnesty International issued a travel warning for all major cities in the United States because of our “gun crisis.” Other countries, including Germany, France and Denmark have issued similar gun-related warnings to their tourists thinking of going abroad.
With all that in mind, is it really so unusual (or such a joke) for someone to warn people about going into the Big Apple while the mobs control significant portions of the streets? It may sound like some snarky humor, but I personally wouldn’t book a trip to Brooklyn right now if my life depended on it.


hotair--2020-07-19--Trump gains four points on Biden over past month in latest Fox News poll

An interesting shift , made more interesting by the fact that Trump has also gained — a little — on Biden in the national average despite the spate of polls lately showing Biden with a gory 12- or 15-point lead .
On June 23 , he trailed the Democrat by an average of 10.2 points .
Today it ’ s 8.6 points .
Not great , but at least there ’ s movement in the right direction for him .
It makes me wonder if his effort to rebrand Biden as a pawn of left-wing radicals has gotten him some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today , down from 50/38 a month ago .
The big change has come among a demographic Trump badly needs to win this fall but which had slipped away from him in recent months , namely , senior citizens .
Suddenly they ’ re back in the fold : “ Whites with a college degree ( +3 ) and without a degree go for Trump ( +9 ) .
He ’ s also the choice among White evangelical Christians ( +43 ) , rural voters ( +9 ) and seniors ( +1 ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden by 10.
” News reports this week about the Biden/Bernie Unity Task Force may have convinced some seniors that Trump is right , that Sleepy Joe will become Antifa Joe once he ’ s elected and under the left ’ s thumb .
The coverage of the CHAZ in Seattle and the anarchist vandalism in Portland may be contributing to senior angst as well .
So why is Trump still trailing by eight , the same deficit he faced when Fox measured the race in May ?
You know why .
[ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a better job than Trump on race relations ( +21 ) and coronavirus ( +17 points ) .
Last month , more trusted Biden on the virus by 9 points .
The two are trusted about equally on the economy ( Biden +1 ) .
It was a 3-point Trump edge in May .
Twenty-nine percent rank coronavirus the No .
1 problem facing the country .
That tops the 15 percent who cite the economy and 10 percent who say race relations .
Eighty-six percent are concerned about coronavirus spreading , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not at all ” under control jumped 18 points since last month , from 33 percent to 51 percent .
COVID ’ s going to sink him if the epidemic doesn ’ t slow down by November .
Trump has a puncher ’ s chance in November if either the virus “ burns out ” somehow a la New York and , against all odds , doesn ’ t reemerge for a fall second wave or if the pharmaceutical industry comes up with a game-changing treatment that knocks down the number of hospitalizations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In either of those scenarios , Trump could plausibly say “ the worst is behind us ” and voters might turn their attention to other issues , like the economy , in which he fares better against Biden .
If he can ’ t plausibly say “ the worst is behind us ” on Election Day , he loses .
I think the election really is as simple as that at this point .
Which is not to say that if the worst is behind us on November 3 that Trump definitely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that scenario , but he ’ s done himself a ton of damage with his messaging over the last few months , both on COVID and beyond .
Fox finds Biden ahead on all sorts of personality metrics , including — wait for it — mental soundness .
Yes , granted , it says right there in the excerpt that Trump has improved on “ judgment ” since 2016 , an election he won .
He had the good luck to run against a widely disliked opponent that year , though .
Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s 43/56 .
He ’ s going to need to figure out a different way to win this fall besides “ lesser of two evils.
” There ’ s another national poll out this morning from a well-regarded pollster that isn ’ t as encouraging for him as Fox ’ s .
ABC/WaPo has it Biden 55 , Trump 40 among registered voters and Biden 54 , Trump 44 among likely voters .
ABC/WaPo is rated A+ for its quality by FiveThirtyEight and nailed Clinton ’ s popular-vote margin in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A 10-point deficit among likely voters in their polling is a big hole to have to climb out of .
Among Trump ’ s base of rural voters , his lead over Biden on who would handle the epidemic better has dropped from 47 points in March to 18 points now .
Biden also leads on various personal attributes ( like “ understanding the problems of people like you ” ) by wide margins in this poll too , another reflection of his higher favorability and empathetic style .
In both surveys , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump is women , specifically suburban women .
The president leads among men in both polls , but only by a few points ; meanwhile , Biden ’ s blitizing him among the opposite sex .
Fox has him up by 19 among women while ABC has him ahead by 25 .
Among suburban men specifically , Trump leads by four .
Among suburban women , Biden leads by … 36 .
Soccer moms are poised to make him a one-term president .
The craziest number of all : ABC finds Biden ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leads Trump by nine points currently when voters are asked whom they trust more to handle crime and safety .
That ’ s not as much of an outlier as you may think , either .
Harry Enten of CNN wrote a piece yesterday , before ABC ’ s poll was published , noting that “ law and order ” hasn ’ t been the sort of winning issue for Trump that we might expect .
In June , Biden led Trump in polls by Pew and the Kaiser Family Foundation when people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ maintain law and order .
Maybe that ’ s a reaction to the fact that the current wave of crime in cities like New York and Portland is , after all , happening on Trump ’ s watch as president .
It ’ s not his fault , but presidents have a way of being blamed for things that happen on their watch .
Another possibility is that it ’ s a function of his overall poll deterioration .
The less “ sound ” Americans think the president is , the less likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything .
( His recent slide in questions about who ’ d best handle the economy may be due to that too . )
Enten suggests a third possibility .
Questions about “ handling crime ” may be viewed by some in the context of race relations because of the civil unrest over George Floyd ’ s death and demands for police reform , and Biden reliably wins by big margins on who ’ d handle race relations better .
Voters may feel that Trump ’ s strongman approach towards vandals and protesters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This detail from a recent interview with Democratic analyst David Shor caught my eye : Public polls seem to bear that out .
Look back at the trends and you ’ ll find that Biden ’ s lead really did start to take off at the beginning of June , right after the Lafayette Park incident .
Trump had the Park Police go in and push out demonstrators as a show of strength , to “ reclaim ” the park for the forces of law and order .
But it was so heavy-handed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front of the church so cynical , that it may have driven some undecideds into Biden ’ s camp .
If that ’ s what happened , with people recoiling at the police action in the park that day , then yeah , go figure that some might rate him lower on how he “ handles ” crime now than they did a few months ago .
It ’ ll be interesting to see how DHS ’ s crackdown on protesters in Portland ends up moving those numbers in next month ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will convince undecideds that Trump was right after all to favor a “ tough ” approach in Lafayette Park , which may further close the gap between him and Biden .
One last point .
Look back at the last month of polling on RCP ’ s scoreboard and you ’ ll find Trump reliably topping out at 40-41 percent among registered voters .
Biden ’ s numbers move around but the president ’ s don ’ t .
He ’ s stuck there .
He does a bit better in polls of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but 41 is a very low ceiling for an incumbent in polls of registereds .
Overall he ’ s averaging just 40.7 percent against Biden even though his job approval average is a bit higher at 41.8 percent .
We see the same thing on a smaller scale in today ’ s Fox poll : Trump ’ s job approval is at 45 percent but he only manages to win 41 percent of the vote head-to-head against Sleepy Joe .
There ’ s a small but meaningful share of voters who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing but prefer Biden nonetheless .
He ’ s got to flip them back his way to have any shot at 270 .

An interesting shift, made more interesting by the fact that Trump has also gained — a little — on Biden in the national average despite the spate of polls lately showing Biden with a gory 12- or 15-point lead. On June 23, he trailed the Democrat by an average of 10.2 points. Today it’s 8.6 points. Not great, but at least there’s movement in the right direction for him.
It makes me wonder if his effort to rebrand Biden as a pawn of left-wing radicals has gotten him some traction. Fox has the race 49/41 today, down from 50/38 a month ago. The big change has come among a demographic Trump badly needs to win this fall but which had slipped away from him in recent months, namely, senior citizens. Suddenly they’re back in the fold: “Whites with a college degree (+3) and without a degree go for Trump (+9). He’s also the choice among White evangelical Christians (+43), rural voters (+9) and seniors (+1). Last month, seniors went for Biden by 10.” News reports this week about the Biden/Bernie Unity Task Force may have convinced some seniors that Trump is right, that Sleepy Joe will become Antifa Joe once he’s elected and under the left’s thumb. The coverage of the CHAZ in Seattle and the anarchist vandalism in Portland may be contributing to senior angst as well.
So why is Trump still trailing by eight, the same deficit he faced when Fox measured the race in May? You know why.
[M]ore trust Biden to do a better job than Trump on race relations (+21) and coronavirus (+17 points). Last month, more trusted Biden on the virus by 9 points. The two are trusted about equally on the economy (Biden +1). It was a 3-point Trump edge in May. Twenty-nine percent rank coronavirus the No. 1 problem facing the country. That tops the 15 percent who cite the economy and 10 percent who say race relations. Eighty-six percent are concerned about coronavirus spreading, and the number saying the virus is “not at all” under control jumped 18 points since last month, from 33 percent to 51 percent.
COVID’s going to sink him if the epidemic doesn’t slow down by November. Trump has a puncher’s chance in November if either the virus “burns out” somehow a la New York and, against all odds, doesn’t reemerge for a fall second wave or if the pharmaceutical industry comes up with a game-changing treatment that knocks down the number of hospitalizations and deaths over the next three months. In either of those scenarios, Trump could plausibly say “the worst is behind us” and voters might turn their attention to other issues, like the economy, in which he fares better against Biden.
If he can’t plausibly say “the worst is behind us” on Election Day, he loses. I think the election really is as simple as that at this point.
Which is not to say that if the worst is behind us on November 3 that Trump definitely wins. He has a chance in that scenario, but he’s done himself a ton of damage with his messaging over the last few months, both on COVID and beyond. Fox finds Biden ahead on all sorts of personality metrics, including — wait for it — mental soundness.
Voters believe Trump lacks the key traits for the Oval Office: less than half think he has the mental soundness (43 percent), intelligence (42 percent), and judgment (40 percent) to serve effectively as president. For reference, 36 percent felt he had the necessary judgment in October 2016, less than a month before his election victory. Biden bests Trump on each measure: 47 percent are confident in his mental soundness, 51 percent believe he has the intelligence and 52 percent say he has the judgment.
Yes, granted, it says right there in the excerpt that Trump has improved on “judgment” since 2016, an election he won. He had the good luck to run against a widely disliked opponent that year, though. Biden scores a 54/43 favorable rating here versus Trump’s 43/56. He’s going to need to figure out a different way to win this fall besides “lesser of two evils.”
There’s another national poll out this morning from a well-regarded pollster that isn’t as encouraging for him as Fox’s. ABC/WaPo has it Biden 55, Trump 40 among registered voters and Biden 54, Trump 44 among likely voters. ABC/WaPo is rated A+ for its quality by FiveThirtyEight and nailed Clinton’s popular-vote margin in 2016 in its final poll that year. A 10-point deficit among likely voters in their polling is a big hole to have to climb out of.
Three and a half months ago the two candidates were virtually even in trust to handle the pandemic, Trump +2 percentage points, 45-43%. Today, with COVID-19 cases surging around the nation, Biden leads Trump on the issue by a 20-point margin, 54-34%… As reported Friday, approval of his handling of the pandemic has fallen from 51% in late March to 38% now, with disapproval up 15 points. He’s lost 7 points in approval of his handling of the economy, to 50%, with disapproval up 9… Indeed, in a statistical analysis called regression, being worried about catching the coronavirus is a significant independent predictor of vote preference, controlling for other factors including partisanship, ideology and demographics.
Among Trump’s base of rural voters, his lead over Biden on who would handle the epidemic better has dropped from 47 points in March to 18 points now. Biden also leads on various personal attributes (like “understanding the problems of people like you”) by wide margins in this poll too, another reflection of his higher favorability and empathetic style.
In both surveys, the demographic group that’s killing Trump is women, specifically suburban women. The president leads among men in both polls, but only by a few points; meanwhile, Biden’s blitizing him among the opposite sex. Fox has him up by 19 among women while ABC has him ahead by 25. Among suburban men specifically, Trump leads by four. Among suburban women, Biden leads by … 36. Soccer moms are poised to make him a one-term president.
The craziest number of all: ABC finds Biden ahead on the issue of crime. He leads Trump by nine points currently when voters are asked whom they trust more to handle crime and safety. That’s not as much of an outlier as you may think, either. Harry Enten of CNN wrote a piece yesterday, before ABC’s poll was published, noting that “law and order” hasn’t been the sort of winning issue for Trump that we might expect. In June, Biden led Trump in polls by Pew and the Kaiser Family Foundation when people were asked whom they trusted more to maintain law and order. Maybe that’s a reaction to the fact that the current wave of crime in cities like New York and Portland is, after all, happening on Trump’s watch as president. It’s not his fault, but presidents have a way of being blamed for things that happen on their watch. Another possibility is that it’s a function of his overall poll deterioration. The less “sound” Americans think the president is, the less likely they are to trust him to handle anything. (His recent slide in questions about who’d best handle the economy may be due to that too.)
Enten suggests a third possibility. Questions about “handling crime” may be viewed by some in the context of race relations because of the civil unrest over George Floyd’s death and demands for police reform, and Biden reliably wins by big margins on who’d handle race relations better. Voters may feel that Trump’s strongman approach towards vandals and protesters is actually making the situation worse. This detail from a recent interview with Democratic analyst David Shor caught my eye:
This is significant: "The real inflection point in our polling was the Lafayette Park incident, when Trump used tear gas on innocent people. That’s when support for Biden shot up and it’s been pretty steady since then."https://t.co/8cwg9gKqLA — Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) July 17, 2020
Public polls seem to bear that out. Look back at the trends and you’ll find that Biden’s lead really did start to take off at the beginning of June, right after the Lafayette Park incident. Trump had the Park Police go in and push out demonstrators as a show of strength, to “reclaim” the park for the forces of law and order. But it was so heavy-handed, and his Bible-waving photo op in front of the church so cynical, that it may have driven some undecideds into Biden’s camp. If that’s what happened, with people recoiling at the police action in the park that day, then yeah, go figure that some might rate him lower on how he “handles” crime now than they did a few months ago.
It’ll be interesting to see how DHS’s crackdown on protesters in Portland ends up moving those numbers in next month’s polling. Maybe the sustained vandalism there will convince undecideds that Trump was right after all to favor a “tough” approach in Lafayette Park, which may further close the gap between him and Biden.
One last point. Look back at the last month of polling on RCP’s scoreboard and you’ll find Trump reliably topping out at 40-41 percent among registered voters. Biden’s numbers move around but the president’s don’t. He’s stuck there. He does a bit better in polls of likely voters, rising to 44 percent, but 41 is a very low ceiling for an incumbent in polls of registereds. Overall he’s averaging just 40.7 percent against Biden even though his job approval average is a bit higher at 41.8 percent. We see the same thing on a smaller scale in today’s Fox poll: Trump’s job approval is at 45 percent but he only manages to win 41 percent of the vote head-to-head against Sleepy Joe. There’s a small but meaningful share of voters who are basically content with how he’s doing but prefer Biden nonetheless. He’s got to flip them back his way to have any shot at 270.


hotair--2020-07-19--Chutzpah: CBC chair tells Trump to remain silent on John Lewis' death, "Let us mourn in peace"

The chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus ( CBC ) , Rep. Karen Bass , tweeted Saturday morning that President Trump should clam up and not respond to the death of Rep. John Lewis .
Lewis passed away Friday night after a battle with pancreatic cancer .
Imagine that .
A member of the House of Representatives , a Democrat from California , posted a tweet that instructed the president on how to react to Lewis ’ death .
That takes some nerve to show such arrogance but in 2020 , she likely thinks it is perfectly acceptable behavior .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of division , as the CBC often does for political gain , and playing on their narrative that President Trump is a racist , and a white supremacist .
On Saturday morning , White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted out a statement : “ Rep .
John Lewis was an icon of the civil rights movement , and he leaves an enduring legacy that will never be forgotten .
We hold his family in our prayers , as we remember Rep. John Lewis ’ incredible contributions to our country.
” That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump at the time had not released a personal statement via Twitter .
Karen Bass told Trump to just let the press secretary ’ s statement stand and he didn ’ t need to say anything .
As you would expect , her tweet brought criticism from Trump supporters .
Frankly , she was out of line and deserved the criticism .
It wasn ’ t for her to tell Trump about how to acknowledge or not acknowledge the death of Congressman Lewis .
Imagine if Trump did as she asked and didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The headlines would scream that the bad Orange Man ignored a civil rights movement icon .
He ignored her request and acted as a president does , with respect , and expressed his sadness about the loss .
His tweet was simple and to the point : “ Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing .
Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.
” Here ’ s the thing – Karen Bass is up for consideration as Joe Biden ’ s running mate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the BLM protests began because she often tries to sound like a reasonable person when so many others sound as though they have lost their minds .
By publicly lobbing an uncalled for a slap at Trump was meant to bring her into the moment .
It was petty and not productive .
This is why the calls for unity from Team Biden and other Democrats fall upon deaf ears – they are empty words .
John Lewis had a long political career , including seventeen terms in the House of Representatives .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is no denying that on either side of the aisle .
He wasn ’ t a perfect man , though , as none of us are perfect .
He and Trump didn ’ t have a working relationship and that was of Lewis ’ own making .
Lewis referred to Trump as an illegitimate president and he refused to attend his inauguration .
He did the same to George W. Bush in 2000 , too , by the way .
The point being , Lewis could act badly .
Trump and Lewis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was in office .
Lewis accused Trump of not being a “ legitimate president , ” leading Trump to fire back that the Democrat should worry about his own “ horrible ” district instead .
“ Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district , which is in horrible shape and falling apart ( not to mention crime infested ) rather than falsely complaining about the election results .
All talk , talk , talk – no action or results .
Sad !
” Trump wrote in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s ire when he declined to attend his inauguration .
John Lewis called Trump a racist and didn ’ t attend the opening of a civil rights museum in Mississippi in 2017 because Trump attended .
He couldn ’ t find it in himself to rise above petty politics or his personal feelings .
While he often spoke of Trump ’ s character flaws , perhaps he should have looked at his own from time to time .
Politicians from both sides of the aisle released statements to honor Lewis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ – he made his statement about himself .
George W. Bush did as he does , too .
He rose above petty politics .
The leadership of the Democrat party is comprised of elderly politicians .
The next generation of Democrat leadership is more divisive and is moving the party farther left , often openly embracing socialism and even Marxism , as the BLM movement does .
The Congressional Black Caucus , by its very existence , separates the party into racial identity .
How does it unite people if the CBC doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ King ’ s words of not judging people by the color of their skin ?
John Lewis has a place in American history and that is being acknowledged .
As it should .
I ’ ll not hold my breath for kind words from the CBC when Republicans who are now noting the death of Lewis pass away .

The chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Rep. Karen Bass, tweeted Saturday morning that President Trump should clam up and not respond to the death of Rep. John Lewis. Lewis passed away Friday night after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Imagine that. A member of the House of Representatives, a Democrat from California, posted a tweet that instructed the president on how to react to Lewis’ death. That takes some nerve to show such arrogance but in 2020, she likely thinks it is perfectly acceptable behavior. No doubt she was stoking the flames of division, as the CBC often does for political gain, and playing on their narrative that President Trump is a racist, and a white supremacist.
On Saturday morning, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted out a statement: “Rep. John Lewis was an icon of the civil rights movement, and he leaves an enduring legacy that will never be forgotten. We hold his family in our prayers, as we remember Rep. John Lewis’ incredible contributions to our country.” That’s a good statement, right? Trump at the time had not released a personal statement via Twitter. Karen Bass told Trump to just let the press secretary’s statement stand and he didn’t need to say anything.
.@realDonaldTrump while the nation mourns the passing of a national hero, please say nothing. Please don’t comment on the life of Congressman Lewis. Your press secretary released a statement, leave it at that. Please let us mourn in peace. — Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) July 18, 2020
As you would expect, her tweet brought criticism from Trump supporters. Frankly, she was out of line and deserved the criticism. It wasn’t for her to tell Trump about how to acknowledge or not acknowledge the death of Congressman Lewis. Imagine if Trump did as she asked and didn’t respond to his death. The headlines would scream that the bad Orange Man ignored a civil rights movement icon. He ignored her request and acted as a president does, with respect, and expressed his sadness about the loss. His tweet was simple and to the point: “Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family.”
Here’s the thing – Karen Bass is up for consideration as Joe Biden’s running mate. She has received some national attention since the BLM protests began because she often tries to sound like a reasonable person when so many others sound as though they have lost their minds. By publicly lobbing an uncalled for a slap at Trump was meant to bring her into the moment. It was petty and not productive. This is why the calls for unity from Team Biden and other Democrats fall upon deaf ears – they are empty words.
John Lewis had a long political career, including seventeen terms in the House of Representatives. He is a civil rights icon. There is no denying that on either side of the aisle. He wasn’t a perfect man, though, as none of us are perfect. He and Trump didn’t have a working relationship and that was of Lewis’ own making. Lewis referred to Trump as an illegitimate president and he refused to attend his inauguration. He did the same to George W. Bush in 2000, too, by the way. The point being, Lewis could act badly.
Trump and Lewis had a contentious relationship while the president was in office. Lewis accused Trump of not being a “legitimate president,” leading Trump to fire back that the Democrat should worry about his own “horrible” district instead. “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad!” Trump wrote in a series of tweets. Lewis also drew Trump’s ire when he declined to attend his inauguration.
John Lewis called Trump a racist and didn’t attend the opening of a civil rights museum in Mississippi in 2017 because Trump attended. He couldn’t find it in himself to rise above petty politics or his personal feelings. While he often spoke of Trump’s character flaws, perhaps he should have looked at his own from time to time.
Politicians from both sides of the aisle released statements to honor Lewis. Barack Obama did as he always does – he made his statement about himself.
George W. Bush did as he does, too. He rose above petty politics.
“As a young man marching for equality in Selma, Alabama, John answered brutal violence with courageous hope. And throughout his career as a civil rights leader and public servant, he worked to make our country a more perfect union. America can best honor John’s memory by continuing his journey toward liberty and justice for all.”
The leadership of the Democrat party is comprised of elderly politicians. The next generation of Democrat leadership is more divisive and is moving the party farther left, often openly embracing socialism and even Marxism, as the BLM movement does. The Congressional Black Caucus, by its very existence, separates the party into racial identity. How does it unite people if the CBC doesn’t even adhere to Martin Luther King’s words of not judging people by the color of their skin? John Lewis has a place in American history and that is being acknowledged. As it should. I’ll not hold my breath for kind words from the CBC when Republicans who are now noting the death of Lewis pass away.


hotair--2020-07-19--Spring cleaning, in our hearts and lives: Sunday reflection

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds , saying : “ The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field .
While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat , and then went off .
When the crop grew and bore fruit , the weeds appeared as well .
The slaves of the householder came to him and said , ‘ Master , did you not sow good seed in your field ?
Where have the weeds come from ?
’ He answered , ‘ An @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said to him , ‘ Do you want us to go and pull them up ?
’ He replied , ‘ No , if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them .
Let them grow together until harvest ; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters , “ First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning ; but gather the wheat into my barn.
” ’ ” He proposed another parable to them .
“ The kingdom of heaven is like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and sowed in a field .
It is the smallest of all the seeds , yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants .
It becomes a large bush , and the ‘ birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.
’ ” He spoke to them another parable .
“ The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.
” All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables .
He spoke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fulfill what had been said through the prophet : I will open my mouth in parables , I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world .
Then , dismissing the crowds , he went into the house .
His disciples approached him and said , “ Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.
” He said in reply , “ He who sows good seed is the Son of Man , the field is the world , the good seed the children of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the evil one , and the enemy who sows them is the devil .
The harvest is the end of the age , and the harvesters are angels .
“ Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire , so will it be at the end of the age .
The Son of Man will send his angels , and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers .
They will throw them into the fiery furnace , where there will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father .
Whoever has ears ought to hear.
” Unfortunately , this weekend did not give me much opportunity to prepare for this week ’ s reflection .
In fact , I have been spending most of my weekends this spring and summer doing something I have rarely done … clean out the clutter in my house .
Just to give people an idea of how unusual this is for me , I have sent pictures of the various areas on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they have replied , “ Who are you and what have you done with Ed ?
” It ’ s not much of an exaggeration to say that some of these areas haven ’ t been this clean since we moved into the house 22 years ago .
A few weeks ago , I started with the garage , throwing out a vast amount of junk , and only salvaging a few items I had stored there .
I built new storage shelves so that I could clean out other areas of my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out from the inside and put away efficiently .
The laundry-room subbasement was next , which took me most of a week to accomplish , although there is still a small amount of organizing left .
This weekend , it ’ s the office .
This one will take me several weeks to truly organize , and it might just be the end of me .
I don ’ t know if I can truly exist in a clean office .
Some of my former bosses might turn over in their graves if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ones who are still alive .
That ’ s how bad it gets .
What got into me this year ?
In part , it ’ s the COVID-19 spring fever , but only in part .
This year I felt a great need to purge , finally catching up with my long-suffering wife who felt this need years ago .
In some way , though , there is a spiritual sense to this work , and today ’ s Gospel captures this for me .
The parable of weeds among the harvest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ apparent .
It talks about the encroachment of sin in the world , and how it saps the strength from the wheat .
Unfortunately , it accomplishes that theft by tying itself so closely to the goodness of the crop that to kill the weeds would mean to kill the wheat , too .
The Farmer Himself could choose to do that , but He loves the crop and wants to keep it safe , and so waits for the harvest to cull the weeds while helping the wheat to survive .
Sin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It binds us by binding itself to our very natures , so much so that an intervention to end all sin would damage us , probably eternally , if we are not prepared for it .
This is the role of the scriptures and the apostles — to help us to separate from sin as much as possible , and to love and rely on the Good Farmer to help us along the way to that final harvest — salvation .
The parallels of this process to my 2020 project has occurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well .
I ask myself , How did I collect and keep all this junk , to the point where it interferes with my life in this house ?
And the answer is that it was just too easy to toss it aside than to make the real choices necessary to clean up .
Sin is like this as well ; it is part of our nature to be predisposed to sin and disobedience .
If we do not make a concerted effort to dispense with sin , it collects all around us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our new normal .
Sin is the weed in our own lives , not just in the world as in Jesus ’ parable , and the more weeds we allow to grow around us , the harder it is to resist the process of getting choked out from them .
Even worse , being surrounded by the weeds of sin can make us forget our true nature and convince us that we are nothing but weeds ourselves .
We have to constantly try to reject the weeds and keep ourselves strong as children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wheat .
The longer we wait to do this , the tougher it becomes to clean out .
It is very easy to look at the task ahead in those situations and simply despair , just as it was in each phase of my clearing-out project .
In the case of sin , however , the good news is that it ’ s never too late to get started .
As long as we live , we can recover ourselves and our true natures in the Lord , because the Good Farmer will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to reject the weeds and strengthen ourselves for His service .
It ’ s never too late , and always the right season , for a good spring cleaning in our hearts .
As for my office , well … hope to see you next Sunday in this same space .
The front-page image is a detail from “ Appearance on the Mountain in Galilee , ” Duccio di Buoninsegna , c. 1308-11 .
On display at the Museo dell ’ Opera Metropolitana del Duomo .
Via Wikimedia Commons .
“ Sunday Reflection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the specific readings used in today ’ s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world .
The reflection represents only my own point of view , intended to help prepare myself for the Lord ’ s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion .
Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here .

This morning’s Gospel reading is Matthew 13:24–43:
Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world. Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Unfortunately, this weekend did not give me much opportunity to prepare for this week’s reflection. In fact, I have been spending most of my weekends this spring and summer doing something I have rarely done … clean out the clutter in my house. Just to give people an idea of how unusual this is for me, I have sent pictures of the various areas on which I’ve worked, and they have replied, “Who are you and what have you done with Ed?”
It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that some of these areas haven’t been this clean since we moved into the house 22 years ago. A few weeks ago, I started with the garage, throwing out a vast amount of junk, and only salvaging a few items I had stored there. I built new storage shelves so that I could clean out other areas of my house and get anything really worth keeping out from the inside and put away efficiently. The laundry-room subbasement was next, which took me most of a week to accomplish, although there is still a small amount of organizing left.
This weekend, it’s the office. This one will take me several weeks to truly organize, and it might just be the end of me. I don’t know if I can truly exist in a clean office. Some of my former bosses might turn over in their graves if it comes to pass, even the ones who are still alive. That’s how bad it gets.
What got into me this year? In part, it’s the COVID-19 spring fever, but only in part. This year I felt a great need to purge, finally catching up with my long-suffering wife who felt this need years ago. In some way, though, there is a spiritual sense to this work, and today’s Gospel captures this for me.
The parable of weeds among the harvest has a core meaning that is readily apparent. It talks about the encroachment of sin in the world, and how it saps the strength from the wheat. Unfortunately, it accomplishes that theft by tying itself so closely to the goodness of the crop that to kill the weeds would mean to kill the wheat, too. The Farmer Himself could choose to do that, but He loves the crop and wants to keep it safe, and so waits for the harvest to cull the weeds while helping the wheat to survive.
Sin is like this for us, too. It binds us by binding itself to our very natures, so much so that an intervention to end all sin would damage us, probably eternally, if we are not prepared for it. This is the role of the scriptures and the apostles — to help us to separate from sin as much as possible, and to love and rely on the Good Farmer to help us along the way to that final harvest — salvation.
The parallels of this process to my 2020 project has occurred to me from time to time as well. I ask myself, How did I collect and keep all this junk, to the point where it interferes with my life in this house? And the answer is that it was just too easy to toss it aside than to make the real choices necessary to clean up.
Sin is like this as well; it is part of our nature to be predisposed to sin and disobedience. If we do not make a concerted effort to dispense with sin, it collects all around us. When it does, it becomes our new normal. Sin is the weed in our own lives, not just in the world as in Jesus’ parable, and the more weeds we allow to grow around us, the harder it is to resist the process of getting choked out from them. Even worse, being surrounded by the weeds of sin can make us forget our true nature and convince us that we are nothing but weeds ourselves. We have to constantly try to reject the weeds and keep ourselves strong as children of God, to be the good wheat.
The longer we wait to do this, the tougher it becomes to clean out. It is very easy to look at the task ahead in those situations and simply despair, just as it was in each phase of my clearing-out project. In the case of sin, however, the good news is that it’s never too late to get started. As long as we live, we can recover ourselves and our true natures in the Lord, because the Good Farmer will give us the grace and love necessary to reject the weeds and strengthen ourselves for His service.
It’s never too late, and always the right season, for a good spring cleaning in our hearts. As for my office, well … hope to see you next Sunday in this same space.
The front-page image is a detail from “Appearance on the Mountain in Galilee,” Duccio di Buoninsegna, c. 1308-11. On display at the Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana del Duomo. Via Wikimedia Commons.
“Sunday Reflection” is a regular feature, looking at the specific readings used in today’s Mass in Catholic parishes around the world. The reflection represents only my own point of view, intended to help prepare myself for the Lord’s day and perhaps spark a meaningful discussion. Previous Sunday Reflections from the main page can be found here.


hotair--2020-07-19--Portland's Mayor is still on the side of the rioters

While I ’ d have loved to come to you this morning with some good news out of Portland , Oregon , I ’ m afraid that there isn ’ t much in that category to be found .
The situation on the streets there continued to deteriorate last night , with rioters once again attempting to seize control of public property , both state and federal , eventually setting fire to the Portland Police Association building .
The federal building in downtown Portland was similarly attacked , with rioters tearing down barricades that were constructed to prevent the mob @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as shown in one of the more underwhelming headlines to be seen at CNN in recent memory , the police “ asked the protesters to leave ” or face possible arrest .
Presumably , they are still acting under the direction of Mayor Ted Wheeler .
( CNN ) Authorities asked protesters near the Portland Police Association office to leave Saturday night or risk arrest .
“ This event has been declared a riot .
Move to the east now .
If you do not move to the east you will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to include crowd control munitions .
Leave the area now , ” the Portland Police Bureau tweeted .
It said protesters broke into the Portland Police Association office and set it on fire .
In a separate protest near the federal building downtown , protesters could be seen dismantling a heavy metal fence set up around the building earlier as a barricade .
Shouting “ this event has been declared a riot ” through a bullhorn while standing outside the Portland Police Association building as it ’ s going up in flames is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ character Chip Diller in Animal House shouting “ all is well ” shortly before the mob flattens him into the sidewalk .
By the time the events of the evening have reached that stage , it ’ s probably a bit late to be politely asking people if they wouldn ’ t mind just going home .
There ’ s also a very large element of “ Blame it All on Trump ” in most of these events .
As recently as Friday night , federal authorities from multiple agencies were out on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police to restore order .
Then the media got hold of some footage of federal agents arresting some of the rioters for assaulting them and damaging federal property .
So how did Mayor Wheeler respond ?
By demanding that the federal officers be withdrawn and having the police announce that federal agents would no longer be welcome to use their command center .
In other words , Wheeler immediately took a knee and sided with the rioters over federal law enforcement agents .
Of course , none of this is actually Wheeler ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t have the final say in the matter .
As with any other city , there are federal offices and agencies in Portland and the government has not only the right but the responsibility to ensure that their facilities are protected and their employees are kept safe .
The CBP responded to CNN in a statement saying that “ the willful intent to damage and destroy federal property , as well as , injure federal officers and agents are criminal actions and will not be tolerated.
” Caught in the middle of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves and all of the citizens who are not running wild and trying to burn the city down .
The cops are supposed to follow the directives of Mayor Wheeler and his police chief , but that ’ s got to be a heavy burden to carry when you ’ ve taken an oath to protect and serve the public .
Being told to fall back and stand down as vandals and rioters wreck your city is surely a hard pill to swallow .
And the law-abiding citizens of the city must feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As for the cops themselves , John talked about what it ’ s like to be a Black police officer in Portland during all of this madness .
It ’ s not a pretty picture .
One Black police officer described being assaulted with beer cans , frozen water bottles and fireworks .
He talked about how every time any Black residents try to engage him in conversation during the protests , some white rioter inevitably shouts him down so the conversation can ’ t continue .
It ’ s very ugly out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after the events described above unfolded , someone detonated a pyrotechnic charge in the lobby of the federal building .
Only blocks away , Mayor Ted Wheeler was telling reporters that he “ demanded ” that Donald Trump pull all federal troops out of the city because that ’ s “ not the America we want.
” I would compare this to some sort of Fellini movie , but even Fellini never dreamed up anything this bizarre .

While I’d have loved to come to you this morning with some good news out of Portland, Oregon, I’m afraid that there isn’t much in that category to be found. The situation on the streets there continued to deteriorate last night, with rioters once again attempting to seize control of public property, both state and federal, eventually setting fire to the Portland Police Association building. The federal building in downtown Portland was similarly attacked, with rioters tearing down barricades that were constructed to prevent the mob from overwhelming the facility. In response, as shown in one of the more underwhelming headlines to be seen at CNN in recent memory, the police “asked the protesters to leave” or face possible arrest. Presumably, they are still acting under the direction of Mayor Ted Wheeler. (CNN)
Authorities asked protesters near the Portland Police Association office to leave Saturday night or risk arrest. “This event has been declared a riot. Move to the east now. If you do not move to the east you will be subject to arrest or use of force to include crowd control munitions. Leave the area now,” the Portland Police Bureau tweeted. It said protesters broke into the Portland Police Association office and set it on fire. In a separate protest near the federal building downtown, protesters could be seen dismantling a heavy metal fence set up around the building earlier as a barricade.
Shouting “this event has been declared a riot” through a bullhorn while standing outside the Portland Police Association building as it’s going up in flames is somewhat reminiscent of Kevin Bacon’s character Chip Diller in Animal House shouting “all is well” shortly before the mob flattens him into the sidewalk. By the time the events of the evening have reached that stage, it’s probably a bit late to be politely asking people if they wouldn’t mind just going home.
There’s also a very large element of “Blame it All on Trump” in most of these events. As recently as Friday night, federal authorities from multiple agencies were out on the streets working in cooperation with the police to restore order. Then the media got hold of some footage of federal agents arresting some of the rioters for assaulting them and damaging federal property. So how did Mayor Wheeler respond? By demanding that the federal officers be withdrawn and having the police announce that federal agents would no longer be welcome to use their command center. In other words, Wheeler immediately took a knee and sided with the rioters over federal law enforcement agents.
Of course, none of this is actually Wheeler’s decision to make and he doesn’t have the final say in the matter. As with any other city, there are federal offices and agencies in Portland and the government has not only the right but the responsibility to ensure that their facilities are protected and their employees are kept safe. The CBP responded to CNN in a statement saying that “the willful intent to damage and destroy federal property, as well as, injure federal officers and agents are criminal actions and will not be tolerated.”
Caught in the middle of this tug-of-war are both the Portland Police themselves and all of the citizens who are not running wild and trying to burn the city down. The cops are supposed to follow the directives of Mayor Wheeler and his police chief, but that’s got to be a heavy burden to carry when you’ve taken an oath to protect and serve the public. Being told to fall back and stand down as vandals and rioters wreck your city is surely a hard pill to swallow. And the law-abiding citizens of the city must feel somewhat abandoned in all of this.
As for the cops themselves, John talked about what it’s like to be a Black police officer in Portland during all of this madness. It’s not a pretty picture. One Black police officer described being assaulted with beer cans, frozen water bottles and fireworks. He talked about how every time any Black residents try to engage him in conversation during the protests, some white rioter inevitably shouts him down so the conversation can’t continue. It’s very ugly out there on the streets.
Not long after the events described above unfolded, someone detonated a pyrotechnic charge in the lobby of the federal building. Only blocks away, Mayor Ted Wheeler was telling reporters that he “demanded” that Donald Trump pull all federal troops out of the city because that’s “not the America we want.” I would compare this to some sort of Fellini movie, but even Fellini never dreamed up anything this bizarre.