hotair--2020-06-26--Facebook changes policy after Unilever, Verizon pull ads

In the past 24 hours two major corporations announced they would no longer advertise on Facebook until the social media giant changes its approach to political statements and ads that appear on its site .
Verizon joined an ongoing boycott yesterday .
Today , European conglomerate Unilever joined as well , saying it won ’ t advertise on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram for the rest of 2020 .
Unilever , whose many household brands include Dove soap , Hellmann ’ s mayonnaise and Lipton tea , joins a growing list of companies that are boycotting Facebook for varying lengths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Patagonia Inc. , VF Corp. , North Face , Eddie Bauer and Recreational Equipment Inc. “ Based on the current polarization and the election that we are having in the U.S. , there needs to be much more enforcement in the area of hate speech , ” said Luis Di Como , Unilever ’ s executive vice president of global media , in an interview .
“ Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society , ” the company said .
Its Facebook @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an hour after that announcement , Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a change in policy : Under its new policies , Facebook will ban ads that claim people from a specific race , ethnicity , nationality , caste , gender , sexual orientation or immigration origin are a threat to the physical safety or health of anyone else , Zuckerberg said .
“ I am committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues , ” Zuckerberg said .
“ But I also stand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or suppresses voting , and we ’ re committed to removing that content too , no matter where it comes from.
” Additionally , Zuckerberg said Facebook will do more to protect immigrants , migrants , refugees and asylum seekers from ads that suggest they are inferior to other groups of people or from ads that express contempt , dismissal or disgust directed at them .
You can read Zuckerberg ’ s full statement here but his conclusion attempts to straddle a line between allowing for free speech online and taking a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies we ’ re implementing today are designed to address the reality of the challenges our country is facing and how they ’ re showing up across our community .
I ’ m committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues , because I believe we can make more progress when we hear each other .
But I also stand against hate , or anything that incites violence or suppresses voting , and we ’ re committed to removing that no matter where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under intense pressure from progressives since last year .
During a speech at Georgetown University last year he said , “ I believe that when its not absolutely clear what to do , we should err on the side of greater expression.
” That was considered insufficient by people like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who tried to create a gotcha moment during her questioning of Zuckerberg .
“ Would I be able to run advertisements on Facebook targeting Republicans in primaries saying that they voted for the Green New Deal ?
” Ocasio-Cortez asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if you ’ re not fact-checking political advertisements , I ’ m just trying to understand the bounds here , what ’ s fair game.
” “ I think probably , ” Zuckerberg replied .
Asked if he saw a problem with that , he added , “ Well , Congresswoman , I think lying is bad , and I think if you were to run an ad that had a lie in it , that would be bad .
That ’ s different from it being … in our position , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your constituents or people in an election from seeing that you had lied.
” Earlier this year , Zuckerberg once again defended free speech .
During a keynote speech at a tech event in Utah he said , “ In Georgetown last year I gave this speech around our principles around free expression .
You know that ’ s just one of the areas that I really feel like is under attack right now .
Increasingly we ’ re getting called to censor a lot of different kinds of content that makes me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like the list of things that you ’ re not allowed to say socially keeps on growing .
And I ’ m not really okay with that.
” That was before the coronavirus shutdowns and the George Floyd protests .
Now the pressure on Zuckerberg and Facebook to change their stance has intensified .
The current boycott is being organized by a coalition of left-wing groups : The partisan nature of the boycott is clear from the press release which states : So it appears a pressure campaign against Facebook which has involved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has finally succeeded in forcing some concessions from Mark Zuckerberg just in time for the election .
And that ’ s what this is really about .
Right-wing outlets have been given a platform on Facebook that the left wants to silence .
They aren ’ t going to take the win and go home .
On the contrary , this quick reaction from Zuckerberg is bound to encourage more pressure for more concessions around free speech .

In the past 24 hours two major corporations announced they would no longer advertise on Facebook until the social media giant changes its approach to political statements and ads that appear on its site. Verizon joined an ongoing boycott yesterday. Today, European conglomerate Unilever joined as well, saying it won’t advertise on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for the rest of 2020.
Unilever, whose many household brands include Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Lipton tea, joins a growing list of companies that are boycotting Facebook for varying lengths of time, including Verizon Communications Inc., Patagonia Inc., VF Corp., North Face, Eddie Bauer and Recreational Equipment Inc. “Based on the current polarization and the election that we are having in the U.S., there needs to be much more enforcement in the area of hate speech,” said Luis Di Como, Unilever’s executive vice president of global media, in an interview. “Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society,” the company said. Its Facebook ban also will cover Instagram.
About an hour after that announcement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a change in policy:
Under its new policies, Facebook will ban ads that claim people from a specific race, ethnicity, nationality, caste, gender, sexual orientation or immigration origin are a threat to the physical safety or health of anyone else, Zuckerberg said. “I am committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues,” Zuckerberg said. “But I also stand against hate or anything that incites violences or suppresses voting, and we’re committed to removing that content too, no matter where it comes from.” Additionally, Zuckerberg said Facebook will do more to protect immigrants, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from ads that suggest they are inferior to other groups of people or from ads that express contempt, dismissal or disgust directed at them.
You can read Zuckerberg’s full statement here but his conclusion attempts to straddle a line between allowing for free speech online and taking a “stand against hate.”
Overall, the policies we’re implementing today are designed to address the reality of the challenges our country is facing and how they’re showing up across our community. I’m committed to making sure Facebook remains a place where people can use their voice to discuss important issues, because I believe we can make more progress when we hear each other. But I also stand against hate, or anything that incites violence or suppresses voting, and we’re committed to removing that no matter where it comes from.
Facebook has been under intense pressure from progressives since last year. During a speech at Georgetown University last year he said, “I believe that when its not absolutely clear what to do, we should err on the side of greater expression.” That was considered insufficient by people like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who tried to create a gotcha moment during her questioning of Zuckerberg.
“Would I be able to run advertisements on Facebook targeting Republicans in primaries saying that they voted for the Green New Deal?” Ocasio-Cortez asked. She added, “I mean, if you’re not fact-checking political advertisements, I’m just trying to understand the bounds here, what’s fair game.”
“I think probably,” Zuckerberg replied. Asked if he saw a problem with that, he added, “Well, Congresswoman, I think lying is bad, and I think if you were to run an ad that had a lie in it, that would be bad. That’s different from it being … in our position, the right thing to do to prevent your constituents or people in an election from seeing that you had lied.”
Earlier this year, Zuckerberg once again defended free speech. During a keynote speech at a tech event in Utah he said, “In Georgetown last year I gave this speech around our principles around free expression. You know that’s just one of the areas that I really feel like is under attack right now. Increasingly we’re getting called to censor a lot of different kinds of content that makes me really uncomfortable. It kind of feels like the list of things that you’re not allowed to say socially keeps on growing. And I’m not really okay with that.”
That was before the coronavirus shutdowns and the George Floyd protests. Now the pressure on Zuckerberg and Facebook to change their stance has intensified. The current boycott is being organized by a coalition of left-wing groups:
In response to Facebook’s repeated failure to meaningfully address the vast proliferation of hate on its platforms, six organizations today announced a new campaign, #StopHateforProfit, that asks large Facebook advertisers to show they will not support a company that puts profit over safety. ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), the NAACP, Sleeping Giants, Color Of Change, Free Press and Common Sense have created a coalition of the nation’s most storied civil rights organizations calling for some of the world’s largest corporations to pause advertising on Facebook during the month of July 2020.
The partisan nature of the boycott is clear from the press release which states:
Over the last few years, Facebook has: Allowed incitement to violence against protestors fighting for racial justice in America in the wake of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and many others; Made Breitbart News a “trusted news source” and made The Daily Caller a “fact checker” despite both publications having records of working with known white nationalists and neo-Nazis;
So it appears a pressure campaign against Facebook which has involved elected officials like AOC and Elizabeth Warren has finally succeeded in forcing some concessions from Mark Zuckerberg just in time for the election. And that’s what this is really about. Right-wing outlets have been given a platform on Facebook that the left wants to silence. They aren’t going to take the win and go home. On the contrary, this quick reaction from Zuckerberg is bound to encourage more pressure for more concessions around free speech.


hotair--2020-06-26--"Myth" busted? NJ AG indicts four over "hundreds" of fraudulent mail-in ballots

And here I thought we had it on the highest authority that mail-in balloting didn ’ t have more risk for fraud and manipulation .
Don ’ t tell that to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal , who just indicted four men for voter fraud connected to hundreds of fraudulent mail-in ballots .
Two of suspects are city council members in Paterson , in fact : Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced voting fraud charges against 1st Ward Councilman Michael Jackson , 3rd Ward Council-Elect Alex Mendez and two other men , weeks after the May 12 local election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Elections decided not to count 800 city ballots found scattered across different municipalities .
Both Jackson , 48 , and Mendez , 45 , were charged with fraud in casting mail-in votes , unauthorized possession of ballots , tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records , according to the statement .
Mendez was additionally charged with election fraud and false registration or transfer .
Along with Jackson and Mendez , two Passaic County men , Shelim Khalique , 51 , of Wayne , and Abu Razyen , 21 , of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The investigation was sparked by reports that hundreds of mail-in ballots were found in a mailbox in Paterson and in a mailbox in Haledon .
The coronavirus pandemic has forced voters to mail in their ballots , as voting sites are no longer open .
This can ’ t be !
We have been assured repeatedly by our elite that mail-in balloting doesn ’ t create more risks for voter fraud than normal voting .
If that ’ s really the case , it might be the most depressing part of this story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem may have been in the thousands — and that it came close to 20 % of all voting in the election : In the City Council election , 16,747 vote-by-mail ballots were received , but only 13,557 votes were counted .
More than 3,190 votes , 19 % of the total ballots cast , were disqualified by the board of elections .
Due to the pandemic , Paterson ’ s election was done through vote-by-mail .
Community organizations , such as the city ’ s NAACP chapter , are calling for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reporting by NBC further uncovered citizens of Paterson who are listed as having voted , but who told the news outlet they never received a ballot and did not vote .
One woman , Ramona Javier , after being shown the list of people on her block who allegedly voted , told the outlet she knew of eight family members and neighbors who were wrongly listed .
“ We did not receive vote-by-mail ballots and thus we did not vote , ” she said .
“ This is corruption .
This is fraud.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers of mail-in ballots were left on the lobby floors of apartment buildings and not delivered to residents ’ individual mailboxes , further casting doubt on the integrity of the election .
It ’ s not the first time we ’ ve seen this kind of fraud , either .
North Carolina needed to hold a special election to deal with “ ballot harvesting ” fraud that took place in its 9th CD election in the 2018 midterms .
Remember that the operative at the center of that fraud had over 800 mail-in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election , and might have manipulated the primary that defeated the sitting GOP incumbent .
Republican Dan Bishop won the special election , but the entire mess pointed up the risk factors of massive mail-in ballots .
This provides a more on-point warning .
This was just a municipal election , but it still resulted in “ hundreds ” of fraudulent ballots that may well have changed the outcome of the race had they been used .
Multiply that into the scale of voting needed for House , Senate , and presidential elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outcomes for those offices — and it ’ s not difficult at all to see a potentially massive nightmare coming in November .
The only reliable and secure method for voting is in-person casting of paper ballots , preferably using scan technology for efficient counting .
That not only allows for better voting security , it also means that we can get the results quickly enough for confidence in the system and a proper transition period if necessary .
Putting tens of millions of ballots into a mode of non-secure transmission via mailboxes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ individual voter and the counting is practically an invitation for fraud — as Paterson and New Jersey discovered .
One last note : The charges won ’ t stop Jackson or Mendez from getting sworn into office on July 1 , PIX11 news notes .
Both men are protesting their innocence , so don ’ t expect them to resign in disgrace in the next few days .

And here I thought we had it on the highest authority that mail-in balloting didn’t have more risk for fraud and manipulation. Don’t tell that to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, who just indicted four men for voter fraud connected to hundreds of fraudulent mail-in ballots. Two of suspects are city council members in Paterson, in fact:
Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced voting fraud charges against 1st Ward Councilman Michael Jackson, 3rd Ward Council-Elect Alex Mendez and two other men, weeks after the May 12 local election in which the Passaic County Board of Elections decided not to count 800 city ballots found scattered across different municipalities. Both Jackson, 48, and Mendez, 45, were charged with fraud in casting mail-in votes, unauthorized possession of ballots, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records, according to the statement. Mendez was additionally charged with election fraud and false registration or transfer. Along with Jackson and Mendez, two Passaic County men, Shelim Khalique, 51, of Wayne, and Abu Razyen, 21, of Prospect Park, were also charged. The investigation was sparked by reports that hundreds of mail-in ballots were found in a mailbox in Paterson and in a mailbox in Haledon. The coronavirus pandemic has forced voters to mail in their ballots, as voting sites are no longer open.
This can’t be! We have been assured repeatedly by our elite that mail-in balloting doesn’t create more risks for voter fraud than normal voting. If that’s really the case, it might be the most depressing part of this story arc.
Mark Hemingway says the actual problem may have been in the thousands — and that it came close to 20% of all voting in the election:
In the City Council election, 16,747 vote-by-mail ballots were received, but only 13,557 votes were counted. More than 3,190 votes, 19% of the total ballots cast, were disqualified by the board of elections. Due to the pandemic, Paterson’s election was done through vote-by-mail. Community organizations, such as the city’s NAACP chapter, are calling for the entire election to be invalidated. … Reporting by NBC further uncovered citizens of Paterson who are listed as having voted, but who told the news outlet they never received a ballot and did not vote. One woman, Ramona Javier, after being shown the list of people on her block who allegedly voted, told the outlet she knew of eight family members and neighbors who were wrongly listed. “We did not receive vote-by-mail ballots and thus we did not vote,” she said. “This is corruption. This is fraud.” There were multiple reports that large numbers of mail-in ballots were left on the lobby floors of apartment buildings and not delivered to residents’ individual mailboxes, further casting doubt on the integrity of the election.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen this kind of fraud, either. North Carolina needed to hold a special election to deal with “ballot harvesting” fraud that took place in its 9th CD election in the 2018 midterms. Remember that the operative at the center of that fraud had over 800 mail-in ballots in his possession for the general election, and might have manipulated the primary that defeated the sitting GOP incumbent. Republican Dan Bishop won the special election, but the entire mess pointed up the risk factors of massive mail-in ballots.
This provides a more on-point warning. This was just a municipal election, but it still resulted in “hundreds” of fraudulent ballots that may well have changed the outcome of the race had they been used. Multiply that into the scale of voting needed for House, Senate, and presidential elections — and the increasing stakes of the outcomes for those offices — and it’s not difficult at all to see a potentially massive nightmare coming in November.
The only reliable and secure method for voting is in-person casting of paper ballots, preferably using scan technology for efficient counting. That not only allows for better voting security, it also means that we can get the results quickly enough for confidence in the system and a proper transition period if necessary. Putting tens of millions of ballots into a mode of non-secure transmission via mailboxes and the hands of others between the individual voter and the counting is practically an invitation for fraud — as Paterson and New Jersey discovered.
One last note: The charges won’t stop Jackson or Mendez from getting sworn into office on July 1, PIX11 news notes. Both men are protesting their innocence, so don’t expect them to resign in disgrace in the next few days.
Correction: The headline on this was incorrect, and conflated two different aspects of this case. The hundreds of ballots discovered after the election were not necessarily themselves fraudulent, but appear to have been fraudulently collected and held. The charges against the four men relate to mail-in ballot fraud and voter fraud, but not (yet) with the hundreds of ballots discovered. I have changed the headline accordingly. Thanks to Alex Wingate and Whey Standard on Twitter for pointing this out.


hotair--2020-06-26--Hannity to Trump: What are you hoping to achieve in your second term?

It may be that his train of thought got derailed here when Hannity interrupted him .
Either way , he doesn ’ t answer the question .
It ’ s an important question too , and not just Trump critics think so .
Hours before this interview with Hannity aired , the normally Trump-friendly Wall Street Journal dropped this editorial on him : As of now Mr. Trump has no second-term agenda , or even a message beyond four more years of himself .
His recent events in Tulsa and Arizona were dominated by personal grievances .
He resorted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immigration and denouncing the press , but he offered nothing for those who aren ’ t already persuaded .
Mr. Trump ’ s advisers have an agenda that would speak to opportunity for Americans of all races—school choice for K-12 , vocational education as an alternative to college , expanded health-care choice , building on the opportunity zones in tax reform , and more .
The one issue on which voters now give him an edge over Mr. Biden is the economy .
An agenda to revive the economy after the pandemic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his first three years , would appeal to millions .
Perhaps Mr. Trump lacks the self-awareness and discipline to make this case .
He may be so thrown off by his falling polls that he simply can ’ t do it .
If that ’ s true he should understand that he is headed for a defeat that will reward all of those who schemed against him in 2016 .
Those suggestions couldn ’ t hurt , although they ’ re hallmarks of the sort of old-guard Republicanism that fared poorly in recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trumpism in 2016 .
WaPo notes that Trump ’ s campaign page doesn ’ t even have a section on a second-term agenda .
Rather , it has a “ Promises Kept ” page where you can view his accomplishments .
( Listed among them : Making school choice a priority . )
The “ Promises Kept ” page is misleading in one sense , though : Virtually all of the promises Trump made in 2016 that got populists excited about him remain momentarily unkept .
The wall ?
Still in progress .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on it .
ObamaCare repeal ?
Got close , but McCain killed it .
Judges ?
Many solid wins there , although his prize pony , Neil Gorsuch , is less prized lately .
Crackdown on China ?
Partially achieved , although POTUS ’ s desperation to undo his trade war with a deal that would juice the economy before Election Day may have led him to go softer on Beijing over the pandemic and human rights than a different Republican might have .
He did get tax cuts done .
That ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his first term .
But ironically , that was more a vestige of Paul Ryan Republicanism than Trumpism .
Populists typically don ’ t cry about taxes on the rich .
The rich are “ elites , ” their sworn enemy .
His unspoken second-term agenda is simply to let him finish trying to do the stuff he wanted to do in 2016 but couldn ’ t accomplish .
He ’ ll build the wall .
He ’ ll bring the troops home .
He ’ ll repeal O-Care .
He ’ ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll appoint phenomenal judges to the Supreme Court , not like that squishy Gorsuch character .
“ Trump 2020 : It ’ ll work this time.
” Is that enough for 270 electoral votes ?
It got him 306 four years ago but that was against a deeply unlikable opponent and after a campaign that presented Trump as a man of action who ’ d bulldoze right through Washington to achieve his agenda via sheer force of will .
Four years later , he ’ s stuck having to explain why the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hannity in the clip is that he has “ experience ” in governing now , replete with many relationships on Capitol Hill which , he implies , he ’ ll be able to leverage to fulfill his priorities .
But that ’ s sort of the opposite of what made Trump appealing in 2016 .
He had no experience in government then .
He was an outsider untainted by the system and could “ shake things up.
” Now he ’ s running as an old pro ?
And the “ experience ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the GOP in total control of government again , which was a long longshot even before his recent poll slide and seems unthinkable now .
His relationship with Democrats is so utterly poisoned that if they control either chamber of Congress he ’ ll accomplish nothing until at least 2022 ( and probably 2024 since midterms tend to favor the out-party ) .
He won ’ t even be able to get a judge confirmed if Schumer takes over the Senate — although , admittedly , the scenario in which Dems end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reelected is remote .
If he insists at the debates that he can get his policy wish list through if only voters will give him a Republican Congress , Biden ’ s going to turn to him and remind him that he had that for two years and all he managed was tax cuts .
What will he say ?
Part of me thinks it ’ s silly to analyze Trump ’ s appeal in terms of policy agendas , though .
The GOP is more of a cultural coalition now than a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ change through federal power .
For many righties , the reason to elect Republicans is to keep Democrats out of power , plain and simple .
Trump isn ’ t just the leader of that coalition , he ’ s a creation of it , so naturally he ’ d believe that a second-term agenda is largely beside the point .
Relatedly , Jonathan Last is baffled by this Peggy Noonan column today and so am I : He doesn ’ t understand his own base .
I ’ ve never seen that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , maybe half , are amused by his nonsense decisions and statements—let ’ s ban all Muslims ; let ’ s end this deadbeat alliance ; we have the biggest , best tests .
But they are half of 40 % , and they would stick with him no matter what .
He doesn ’ t have to entertain them !
He had to impress and create a bond with others .
The other half of his base is mortified by his antics and shallowness .
I hear from them often .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s rough and uncouth and unpolished , but only a rough man can defeat the swamp .
Now they say I hate him and what he represents but I ’ ll vote for him because of the courts , etc .
How a lot of Trump supporters feel about the president has changed .
The real picture at the Tulsa rally was not the empty seats so much as the empty faces—the bored looks , the yawning and phone checking , as if everyone was re-enacting something , hearing some old song and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few years ago , when you heard it the first time .
Trump understands his base a lot better than Noonan does , says Last , correctly .
Despite the terrible numbers he ’ s had in polling lately , his support among Republicans remains remarkably strong .
There ’ s a small but significant number that momentarily prefer Biden to him in horse-race surveys but there ’ s no evidence that a large share of Republicans are “ mortified by his antics and shallowness.
” Rather , says Last , the antics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of perpetual grievance ” — are what the base likes about him .
His skepticism about masks and testing , his disinterest in racial reconciliation amid the George Floyd protests and flirtation with using troops against looters , his wild roundhousing at political enemies , that ’ s the stuff that helped him capture the party .
It may be true that that ’ s only 40 percent of the electorate and that he needs something like 48 percent to win , but it ’ s silly to expect him to become a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
” ) in hopes of winning that last eight percent .
The sense of grievance that he thrives on will inevitably lead him to try to get that eight percent by turning Biden into the greater of two evils .
That ’ s a much harder task than it was with Hillary , but if he ends up winning , that ’ s how he ’ ll do it .
Noonan herself admits in the excerpt that all of the Republicans who are supposedly telling her they loathe Trump now will vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ because of the courts ” ) .
They don ’ t really have a problem with how he behaves apart from some light pearl-clutching .
So why should he offer them anything , including a second-term agenda ?
All he needs to do is identify the eight percent out there susceptible to believing that Biden is the devil and make that case .

It may be that his train of thought got derailed here when Hannity interrupted him. Either way, he doesn’t answer the question.
Asked what his top priorities for a second term are, Trump can’t name a single thing pic.twitter.com/fF6xXaDAy0 — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 26, 2020
It’s an important question too, and not just Trump critics think so. Hours before this interview with Hannity aired, the normally Trump-friendly Wall Street Journal dropped this editorial on him:
As of now Mr. Trump has no second-term agenda, or even a message beyond four more years of himself. His recent events in Tulsa and Arizona were dominated by personal grievances. He resorted to his familiar themes from 2016 like reducing immigration and denouncing the press, but he offered nothing for those who aren’t already persuaded. Mr. Trump’s advisers have an agenda that would speak to opportunity for Americans of all races—school choice for K-12, vocational education as an alternative to college, expanded health-care choice, building on the opportunity zones in tax reform, and more. The one issue on which voters now give him an edge over Mr. Biden is the economy. An agenda to revive the economy after the pandemic, and restore the gains for workers of his first three years, would appeal to millions. Perhaps Mr. Trump lacks the self-awareness and discipline to make this case. He may be so thrown off by his falling polls that he simply can’t do it. If that’s true he should understand that he is headed for a defeat that will reward all of those who schemed against him in 2016.
Those suggestions couldn’t hurt, although they’re hallmarks of the sort of old-guard Republicanism that fared poorly in recent presidential elections before the GOP switched to Trumpism in 2016. WaPo notes that Trump’s campaign page doesn’t even have a section on a second-term agenda. Rather, it has a “Promises Kept” page where you can view his accomplishments. (Listed among them: Making school choice a priority.) The “Promises Kept” page is misleading in one sense, though: Virtually all of the promises Trump made in 2016 that got populists excited about him remain momentarily unkept.
The wall? Still in progress. Withdrawal of U.S. troops abroad? Working on it. ObamaCare repeal? Got close, but McCain killed it. Judges? Many solid wins there, although his prize pony, Neil Gorsuch, is less prized lately. Crackdown on China? Partially achieved, although POTUS’s desperation to undo his trade war with a deal that would juice the economy before Election Day may have led him to go softer on Beijing over the pandemic and human rights than a different Republican might have.
He did get tax cuts done. That’s the most unambiguous policy victory from his first term. But ironically, that was more a vestige of Paul Ryan Republicanism than Trumpism. Populists typically don’t cry about taxes on the rich. The rich are “elites,” their sworn enemy.
His unspoken second-term agenda is simply to let him finish trying to do the stuff he wanted to do in 2016 but couldn’t accomplish. He’ll build the wall. He’ll bring the troops home. He’ll repeal O-Care. He’ll bring China to its knees. He’ll appoint phenomenal judges to the Supreme Court, not like that squishy Gorsuch character. “Trump 2020: It’ll work this time.”
Is that enough for 270 electoral votes? It got him 306 four years ago but that was against a deeply unlikable opponent and after a campaign that presented Trump as a man of action who’d bulldoze right through Washington to achieve his agenda via sheer force of will. Four years later, he’s stuck having to explain why the bulldozer broke down. His half-answer to Hannity in the clip is that he has “experience” in governing now, replete with many relationships on Capitol Hill which, he implies, he’ll be able to leverage to fulfill his priorities. But that’s sort of the opposite of what made Trump appealing in 2016. He had no experience in government then. He was an outsider untainted by the system and could “shake things up.” Now he’s running as an old pro?
And the “experience” logic works only if he ends up with the GOP in total control of government again, which was a long longshot even before his recent poll slide and seems unthinkable now. His relationship with Democrats is so utterly poisoned that if they control either chamber of Congress he’ll accomplish nothing until at least 2022 (and probably 2024 since midterms tend to favor the out-party). He won’t even be able to get a judge confirmed if Schumer takes over the Senate — although, admittedly, the scenario in which Dems end up with 51 seats while Trump gets reelected is remote. If he insists at the debates that he can get his policy wish list through if only voters will give him a Republican Congress, Biden’s going to turn to him and remind him that he had that for two years and all he managed was tax cuts. What will he say?
Part of me thinks it’s silly to analyze Trump’s appeal in terms of policy agendas, though. The GOP is more of a cultural coalition now than a political party that seeks to achieve substantive change through federal power. For many righties, the reason to elect Republicans is to keep Democrats out of power, plain and simple. Trump isn’t just the leader of that coalition, he’s a creation of it, so naturally he’d believe that a second-term agenda is largely beside the point. Relatedly, Jonathan Last is baffled by this Peggy Noonan column today and so am I:
He doesn’t understand his own base. I’ve never seen that in national politics. Some of them, maybe half, are amused by his nonsense decisions and statements—let’s ban all Muslims; let’s end this deadbeat alliance; we have the biggest, best tests. But they are half of 40%, and they would stick with him no matter what. He doesn’t have to entertain them! He had to impress and create a bond with others. The other half of his base is mortified by his antics and shallowness. I hear from them often. They used to say yes, he’s rough and uncouth and unpolished, but only a rough man can defeat the swamp. Now they say I hate him and what he represents but I’ll vote for him because of the courts, etc. How a lot of Trump supporters feel about the president has changed. The real picture at the Tulsa rally was not the empty seats so much as the empty faces—the bored looks, the yawning and phone checking, as if everyone was re-enacting something, hearing some old song and trying to remember how it felt a few years ago, when you heard it the first time.
Trump understands his base a lot better than Noonan does, says Last, correctly. Despite the terrible numbers he’s had in polling lately, his support among Republicans remains remarkably strong. There’s a small but significant number that momentarily prefer Biden to him in horse-race surveys but there’s no evidence that a large share of Republicans are “mortified by his antics and shallowness.” Rather, says Last, the antics and shallowness — the “cathartic performance of perpetual grievance” — are what the base likes about him. His skepticism about masks and testing, his disinterest in racial reconciliation amid the George Floyd protests and flirtation with using troops against looters, his wild roundhousing at political enemies, that’s the stuff that helped him capture the party.
It may be true that that’s only 40 percent of the electorate and that he needs something like 48 percent to win, but it’s silly to expect him to become a policy-minded politician now (“school choice!”) in hopes of winning that last eight percent. The sense of grievance that he thrives on will inevitably lead him to try to get that eight percent by turning Biden into the greater of two evils. That’s a much harder task than it was with Hillary, but if he ends up winning, that’s how he’ll do it. Noonan herself admits in the excerpt that all of the Republicans who are supposedly telling her they loathe Trump now will vote for him anyway on lesser-of-two-evil grounds (“because of the courts”). They don’t really have a problem with how he behaves apart from some light pearl-clutching. So why should he offer them anything, including a second-term agenda? All he needs to do is identify the eight percent out there susceptible to believing that Biden is the devil and make that case.


hotair--2020-06-26--Seattle sent trucks to remove CHOP barricades this morning, then the city decided to give them 72 mo

Seattle sent trucks to remove CHOP barricades this morning, then the city decided to give them 72 more hours

Remember Monday when Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said it was time for CHOP protesters to go home ?
This morning the city tried to make good on that promise by sending trucks to the CHOP to dismantle barriers , but things didn ’ t go as planned : The SDOT workers arrived around 6:00 a.m. Friday with trucks and heavy machinery .
An hour later no work had started , but workers were staging on 12th Ave. at the edges of the protest .
But by 8:00 a.m. , SDOT crews and the few police officers at the scene appeared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one protester was seen laying in the street , but moved a short time later .
Another protester kept saying “ no agitating.
” Several cars were also parked in the street on 12th Ave .
The city also planned to clear out Cal Anderson Park which is filled with tents .
But it appears the city has not given the protesters another 72 hours to negotiate over the removal of the barriers .
“ We have heard them in recognizing that some of the establishments are wanting more through traffic , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We want to work with the city , but we require that our demands are met.
” It ’ s too little , too late to think about allowing more traffic now .
As Ed wrote yesterday , a group of business owners has filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the city is complicit in allowing CHOP to shut down the streets to traffic and thereby damage their ability to continue working .
The protesters have already said they don ’ t intend to leave until their demands are met , so it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hours is going to do to change their minds .
The whole reason Mayor Durkan announced Monday that it was time to move on because last weekend three people were shot , one of whom died .
There was another shooting in which a person was injured on Tuesday .
But the sense of urgency the mayor expressed Monday seems to have evaporated .
Now she has apparently granted the protesters another weekend without police .
Are we going to see more violence this weekend ?
Thanks to Mayor Durkan , we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ find out .
Here ’ s a report from KING 5 on what happened this morning .

Remember Monday when Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said it was time for CHOP protesters to go home? This morning the city tried to make good on that promise by sending trucks to the CHOP to dismantle barriers, but things didn’t go as planned:
The SDOT workers arrived around 6:00 a.m. Friday with trucks and heavy machinery. An hour later no work had started, but workers were staging on 12th Ave. at the edges of the protest. But by 8:00 a.m., SDOT crews and the few police officers at the scene appeared to leave the area. At least one protester was seen laying in the street, but moved a short time later. Another protester kept saying “no agitating.” Several cars were also parked in the street on 12th Ave.
The city also planned to clear out Cal Anderson Park which is filled with tents. But it appears the city has not given the protesters another 72 hours to negotiate over the removal of the barriers.
A group known as Black Collective Voices said they will continue to hold space in the CHOP if the people choose to do so. David Lewis, one of the CHOP organizers, said Friday the city will give organizers 72 hours to confer with demonstrators before the barriers are moved. One of the barriers on 13th Ave. is expected to be moved Friday, and the rest will be negotiated after the waiting period. “We have heard them in recognizing that some of the establishments are wanting more through traffic,” said Lewis. “We get it. We want to work with the city, but we require that our demands are met.”
It’s too little, too late to think about allowing more traffic now. As Ed wrote yesterday, a group of business owners has filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the city is complicit in allowing CHOP to shut down the streets to traffic and thereby damage their ability to continue working. The protesters have already said they don’t intend to leave until their demands are met, so it’s not clear what another 72 hours is going to do to change their minds.
The whole reason Mayor Durkan announced Monday that it was time to move on because last weekend three people were shot, one of whom died. There was another shooting in which a person was injured on Tuesday. But the sense of urgency the mayor expressed Monday seems to have evaporated. Now she has apparently granted the protesters another weekend without police. Are we going to see more violence this weekend? Thanks to Mayor Durkan, we’ll have to wait 72 hours to find out.
Here’s a report from KING 5 on what happened this morning.


hotair--2020-06-26--Florida bans on-site drinking at bars statewide as cases skyrocket

I don ’ t instantly grasp why bars would be barred from in-house service but not restaurants .
It has to do with age , presumably .
Florida ’ s cases of COVID-19 have been trending younger , proof that it ’ s young adults who have been most cavalier about social distancing since the state reopened .
If you want to give that group a reason to stay home instead of socializing en masse , your next move is simple : Shut down bars — or at least force them to provide takeout service only , as is happening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ron DeSantis is grasping for the least intrusive means of tamping down the current outbreak .
A total lockdown is unthinkable ( for the moment ) but doing nothing is unthinkable as well given the increasing scale of the outbreak in Florida .
So he ’ s going to shut in-house service at bars and hope young adults take the hint to stop going out .
Except … won ’ t they just go to restaurants and drink there ?
And isn ’ t that actually more dangerous potentially since they ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cohort inside restaurants ?
Got ta try something , though .
If this doesn ’ t work , restaurants are surely next .
Why the drastic action today ?
It ’ s because the latest case count is especially gory .
A record week of surging coronavirus numbers was only heightened on Friday , as state health officials confirmed 8,942 cases , nearly doubling the previous record of cases reported in a single day , two days earlier .
Florida ’ s Department of Health on Friday morning confirmed the cases , bringing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state also announced at least 137 new deaths , bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths north of 3,400 .
Over the last seven days , Florida has reported 29,163 new cases .
That ’ s nearly a quarter of all the confirmed cases in the state so far .
If you want to see what that looks like in graph form , feast your eyes .
Not great .
Florida ’ s rolling seven-day average of new cases is now around seven times higher than it was on May 4 , when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ caveats .
Although hospitalizations and deaths are increasing , it ’ s at a much more modest rate than cases — 1.5 percent and 1.2 percent , respectively .
That ’ s what we ’ d expect from a raft of infections among younger adults .
They get sick , but few of them get really sick and fewer still die .
Behold : More than half of the state ’ s cases , 54 percent , have come from people aged 44 or younger .
But just 17 percent of hospitalizations have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three percent of deaths .
*If* infections could be limited to young ( ish ) adults , the pandemic could be managed .
What DeSantis and his team are obviously worried about are secondary infections .
Let the 21-year-olds keep partying at the bars and they ’ ll eventually bring the virus home to grandma .
There ’ s another caveat .
Although cases in the state skyrocketed yesterday , testing skyrocketed too .
There were more than 71,000 tests conducted in the past 24 hours , roughly double the number that had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That means , to some extent , Florida ’ s garish record day of new cases is a byproduct of more testing .
Here ’ s what the positivity rate for new cases looks like over the last week : Yesterday wasn ’ t the state ’ s best positivity rate recently but it wasn ’ t the worst either .
On the other hand , two weeks ago Florida was recording rates consistently in the mid-single digits .
Now they ’ re fairly consistently at 10 percent or better .
Infections really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than testing capacity is .
The phenomenon of outbreaks among younger adults isn ’ t specific to Florida , by the way .
It ’ s showing up in Arizona and Texas too , which explains why Abbott issued his own order closing bars .
These are surgical strikes aimed at a particular demographic , believing that if we can deter the young from socializing we can get a handle on the epidemic again .
There are , however , certain cultural and political complications that are unique to Florida in taking a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here ’ s one flagged by Benjy Sarlin : The NBA is set to play out the rest of its season in Orlando .
NBA management is already “ tense ” about the rising cases in Florida .
If they continue to climb and DeSantis ends up taking more aggressive measures to shut things down , the league might call off the whole season as too risky .
Colleges and universities are already considering canceling college football , and not just in Florida .
There ’ s also the small matter of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s nomination speech in Jacksonville , a decision opposed by 58 percent of that city ’ s residents .
The reason Trump moved his acceptance speech there from Charlotte in the first place was because he felt confident that DeSantis and the mayor wouldn ’ t be sticklers about social distancing .
And of course Florida is home to Mar-a-Lago , which is now Trump ’ s official residence for voting purposes .
If there ’ s any state in the country that the president won ’ t want to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this one .
Florida ’ s supposed to be a success story on reopening that proves his wisdom on getting back to business ASAP .
If DeSantis complicates that narrative by locking down , it ’ ll complicate his relationship with Trump and his potential presidential candidacy in 2024 .
Remember that DeSantis won the gubernatorial primary in Florida by positioning himself as the biggest Trump fan in the race .
No doubt he ’ d like to duplicate that and earn the president ’ s favor four years from now in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against politicians who disappoint him , as Jeff Sessions could tell us .
So DeSantis really needs a good outcome on the outbreak right now , not just for obvious humane reasons but for the sake of his own career .
Being forced to choose between staying open recklessly as the virus spreads and pissing off Trump royally by locking down shortly before the convention would be a nightmare for him .
Here ’ s Malcolm Jenkins of the Saints being asked a few days ago about the prospects for football this fall @ @ @ @

I don’t instantly grasp why bars would be barred from in-house service but not restaurants. It has to do with age, presumably. Florida’s cases of COVID-19 have been trending younger, proof that it’s young adults who have been most cavalier about social distancing since the state reopened. If you want to give that group a reason to stay home instead of socializing en masse, your next move is simple: Shut down bars — or at least force them to provide takeout service only, as is happening here. Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is grasping for the least intrusive means of tamping down the current outbreak. A total lockdown is unthinkable (for the moment) but doing nothing is unthinkable as well given the increasing scale of the outbreak in Florida. So he’s going to shut in-house service at bars and hope young adults take the hint to stop going out.
Except … won’t they just go to restaurants and drink there? And isn’t that actually more dangerous potentially since they’re likely to mix with an older cohort inside restaurants?
Gotta try something, though. If this doesn’t work, restaurants are surely next.
Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide. — Florida DBPR (@FloridaDBPR) June 26, 2020
Why the drastic action today? It’s because the latest case count is especially gory.
A record week of surging coronavirus numbers was only heightened on Friday, as state health officials confirmed 8,942 cases, nearly doubling the previous record of cases reported in a single day, two days earlier. Florida’s Department of Health on Friday morning confirmed the cases, bringing the state total to 122,960. The state also announced at least 137 new deaths, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths north of 3,400. Over the last seven days, Florida has reported 29,163 new cases. That’s nearly a quarter of all the confirmed cases in the state so far.
If you want to see what that looks like in graph form, feast your eyes. Not great. Florida’s rolling seven-day average of new cases is now around seven times higher than it was on May 4, when the state began reopening.
But there are caveats. Although hospitalizations and deaths are increasing, it’s at a much more modest rate than cases — 1.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. That’s what we’d expect from a raft of infections among younger adults. They get sick, but few of them get really sick and fewer still die. Behold:
More than half of the state’s cases, 54 percent, have come from people aged 44 or younger. But just 17 percent of hospitalizations have come from that group and a mere three percent of deaths. *If* infections could be limited to young(ish) adults, the pandemic could be managed. What DeSantis and his team are obviously worried about are secondary infections. Let the 21-year-olds keep partying at the bars and they’ll eventually bring the virus home to grandma.
There’s another caveat. Although cases in the state skyrocketed yesterday, testing skyrocketed too. There were more than 71,000 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, roughly double the number that had been conducted just two days before. That means, to some extent, Florida’s garish record day of new cases is a byproduct of more testing. Here’s what the positivity rate for new cases looks like over the last week:
Yesterday wasn’t the state’s best positivity rate recently but it wasn’t the worst either. On the other hand, two weeks ago Florida was recording rates consistently in the mid-single digits. Now they’re fairly consistently at 10 percent or better. Infections really are growing, at a rate faster than testing capacity is.
The phenomenon of outbreaks among younger adults isn’t specific to Florida, by the way. It’s showing up in Arizona and Texas too, which explains why Abbott issued his own order closing bars. These are surgical strikes aimed at a particular demographic, believing that if we can deter the young from socializing we can get a handle on the epidemic again. There are, however, certain cultural and political complications that are unique to Florida in taking a halting step towards locking down again. Here’s one flagged by Benjy Sarlin:
Florida posted almost 9,000 new cases today, does anyone still expect this to go on as planned? https://t.co/7xHxNlPeyj — Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) June 26, 2020
The NBA is set to play out the rest of its season in Orlando. NBA management is already “tense” about the rising cases in Florida. If they continue to climb and DeSantis ends up taking more aggressive measures to shut things down, the league might call off the whole season as too risky. Colleges and universities are already considering canceling college football, and not just in Florida.
There’s also the small matter of the RNC having only recently arranged to host Trump’s nomination speech in Jacksonville, a decision opposed by 58 percent of that city’s residents. The reason Trump moved his acceptance speech there from Charlotte in the first place was because he felt confident that DeSantis and the mayor wouldn’t be sticklers about social distancing. And of course Florida is home to Mar-a-Lago, which is now Trump’s official residence for voting purposes. If there’s any state in the country that the president won’t want to see reverting to lockdowns, it’s this one. Florida’s supposed to be a success story on reopening that proves his wisdom on getting back to business ASAP.
If DeSantis complicates that narrative by locking down, it’ll complicate his relationship with Trump and his potential presidential candidacy in 2024. Remember that DeSantis won the gubernatorial primary in Florida by positioning himself as the biggest Trump fan in the race. No doubt he’d like to duplicate that and earn the president’s favor four years from now in a national primary. But Trump holds grudges against politicians who disappoint him, as Jeff Sessions could tell us. So DeSantis really needs a good outcome on the outbreak right now, not just for obvious humane reasons but for the sake of his own career. Being forced to choose between staying open recklessly as the virus spreads and pissing off Trump royally by locking down shortly before the convention would be a nightmare for him.
Here’s Malcolm Jenkins of the Saints being asked a few days ago about the prospects for football this fall. Not encouraging.


hotair--2020-06-26--China to US: Keep pushing us on human rights and the trade deal will suffer

It was always going to come down to this at some point .
The Wall Street Journal reports that China has begun delivering a clear message to the U.S .
Either we let them have their way in Xinjiang , Hong Kong and Taiwan or we can kiss the Phase One trade deal goodbye .
Chinese leaders have accused Washington of meddling in areas such as Hong Kong , where China is imposing a sweeping national-security law , and Taiwan , which Beijing considers as part of China .
On Thursday , the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials , businesses and banks that undermine Hong Kong ’ s limited autonomy from Beijing .
During a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week in Hawaii , China ’ s top diplomat , Yang Jiechi , listed such actions , according to Beijing ’ s official account of the meeting , as well as China ’ s “ strong dissatisfaction ” with a bill President Trump signed last week mandating sanctions against Chinese officials and entities deemed responsible for mass detention of Uighur Muslim in China ’ s northwestern Xinjiang @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s commitment to carrying out the trade deal , he stressed that both sides had to “ work together , ” said people familiar with the conversations .
A Chinese official said that meant “ the U.S. side should refrain from going too far with meddling.
” The official added , “ Red lines shouldn ’ t be crossed.
” The Chinese position was summed up this way by an analyst : But it appears , at least for now , the U.S. isn ’ t interested in continuing to wink at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday of this week , national security adviser Robert O ’ Brien said the days of American passivity toward China were over .
“ Together with our allies and partners , we will resist the Chinese Communist Party ’ s efforts to manipulate our people and our governments , damage our economies , and undermine our sovereignty , ” Mr. O ’ Brien told a small , socially-distanced audience of more than two dozen business executives at the Arizona Commerce Authority .
“ The days of American passivity and naivety regarding the People @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Mr. O ’ Brien condemned Beijing for intellectual-property theft , its crackdown on human rights , its aggressive expansionism , its “ coverup ” of the coronavirus pandemic ’ s origin in Wuhan province , its use of social media in propaganda and misinformation campaigns , and the ideology that drives it all .
China , Mr. O ’ Brien said , is making an alarming play for a more dominant role at other nations ’ expense .
China is clearly in an expansionist mood right now .
Not only did it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crime to oppose the mainland government in Hong Kong , it is also doubling down on efforts to claim new territory along its border with India .
After brutal hand-to-hand fighting that left 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers dead , China has now fortified its position according to new satellite photos .
This is the dangerous game China is playing right now .
Xi Jinping clearly feels emboldened by the worldwide coronavirus crisis .
Unless and until China meets some resistance , it is going to continue trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ territory .
That ’ s too high a price to pay for a few tons of soybeans .
But it is an election year , so the temptation to go along and get along will be pretty strong for the next few months .

It was always going to come down to this at some point. The Wall Street Journal reports that China has begun delivering a clear message to the U.S. Either we let them have their way in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan or we can kiss the Phase One trade deal goodbye.
Chinese leaders have accused Washington of meddling in areas such as Hong Kong, where China is imposing a sweeping national-security law, and Taiwan, which Beijing considers as part of China. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent a bill that would put sanctions on Chinese officials, businesses and banks that undermine Hong Kong’s limited autonomy from Beijing.
During a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week in Hawaii, China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, listed such actions, according to Beijing’s official account of the meeting, as well as China’s “strong dissatisfaction” with a bill President Trump signed last week mandating sanctions against Chinese officials and entities deemed responsible for mass detention of Uighur Muslim in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. While Mr. Yang reiterated Beijing’s commitment to carrying out the trade deal, he stressed that both sides had to “work together,” said people familiar with the conversations. A Chinese official said that meant “the U.S. side should refrain from going too far with meddling.” The official added, “Red lines shouldn’t be crossed.”
The Chinese position was summed up this way by an analyst:
“You can’t keep asking us to buy your stuff and at the same time keep beating up on us,” said Mei Xinyu, an analyst at a think tank affiliated with China’s Commerce Ministry. “That’s not how it works.”
But it appears, at least for now, the U.S. isn’t interested in continuing to wink at China’s authoritarian expansionism. On Wednesday of this week, national security adviser Robert O’Brien said the days of American passivity toward China were over.
“Together with our allies and partners, we will resist the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to manipulate our people and our governments, damage our economies, and undermine our sovereignty,” Mr. O’Brien told a small, socially-distanced audience of more than two dozen business executives at the Arizona Commerce Authority. “The days of American passivity and naivety regarding the People’s Republic of China are over.” Mr. O’Brien condemned Beijing for intellectual-property theft, its crackdown on human rights, its aggressive expansionism, its “coverup” of the coronavirus pandemic’s origin in Wuhan province, its use of social media in propaganda and misinformation campaigns, and the ideology that drives it all. China, Mr. O’Brien said, is making an alarming play for a more dominant role at other nations’ expense.
China is clearly in an expansionist mood right now. Not only did it pass a new law making it a crime to oppose the mainland government in Hong Kong, it is also doubling down on efforts to claim new territory along its border with India. After brutal hand-to-hand fighting that left 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers dead, China has now fortified its position according to new satellite photos.
Satellite imagery from the Galwan Valley on June 22nd shows that 'disengagement' really isn't the word that the government should be using. This gif shows the small outpost that sparked the June 15th clashes. It has grown hugely in size. Indian troops aren't dismantling this one. pic.twitter.com/8Q78ftr3uW — Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) June 24, 2020
This is the dangerous game China is playing right now. Xi Jinping clearly feels emboldened by the worldwide coronavirus crisis. Unless and until China meets some resistance, it is going to continue trying to expand its power over people and territory. That’s too high a price to pay for a few tons of soybeans. But it is an election year, so the temptation to go along and get along will be pretty strong for the next few months.


hotair--2020-06-26--Between a rock and a hard place: Gov. Abbott shuts down Texas bars, some outdoor activities, too

It ’ s a tough time in the Lone Star State .
Governor Abbott is making some hard decisions in order to manage the spike in new cases of the coronavirus in Texas .
Whether we like it or not doesn ’ t matter at this point – the governor has to keep public safety foremost in his decision-making process and that means Texans have to step it up in their mitigation efforts .
The virus isn ’ t done with us yet .
Up until the past week or so , things were going pretty well in Texas .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ younger , healthy people becoming infected have changed the matter .
Fortunately , though there is an increase in positivity , there is not an increase in deaths from the virus .
That ’ s good news .
The bad news is that though Texans did what the experts told us to do in the beginning – stay home as much as you can , wear a mask in public , social distance , avoid large gatherings , and wash your hands – and the numbers showed that it worked , the re-opening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of urgency to continue those guidelines .
Texas has a much lower death rate than other states from the pandemic .
However , as predicted , as the state has opened back up , the cases have increased .
Now the governor has to find the magic spot of balancing business concerns and the state economy with the health of its residents .
The writing was on the wall , frankly .
After warning Texas residents , he pulled the trigger on re-closing businesses Friday .
The state is going to have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the coronavirus hotspots .
Today the governor closed all the bars , effective at noon , in the state .
Restaurants will have to fall back into Stage 2 position with only allowing 50 % capacity for inside dining .
And he is cracking down on large gatherings .
In addition , he is giving local governments new authority to regulate gatherings of over 100 people , which would allow them to order groups to get a permit before having an event .
And finally , he is shutting down river rafting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surge in cases in Hays and Comal counties .
In just over a week , cases in those two counties have doubled .
“ As I said from the start , if the positivity rate rose above 10 percent , the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 , ” Abbott said .
“ At this time , it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities , including Texans congregating in bars.
” He is still not mandating facial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need for Texans to wear them in public , as well as the other standard recommendations – hand washing , social distancing , and staying home as much as possible .
There is no getting around the fact that since June 1 , the hospital system has been under increased stress .
The number of COVID-19 cases in Texas has more than doubled and the state ’ s lab-confirmed hospitalizations have nearly tripled .
Texas Children ’ s Hospital announced it would admit adults , for the first time , in order to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 patients .
Governor Abbott eased restrictions on elective surgeries but yesterday had to shut them down again when it looked like the ICU capacity in Houston hospitals would be overrun with COVID-19 patients .
The Texas Medical Center leaders sounded the alarm about the spike and the hospital system ’ s ability to handle it but then yesterday , just like that , the Texas Medical Center eased off its dire warnings .
The hospitals are ready to handle what comes since the elective surgeries are on hold again .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery , especially here in Houston .
The city and county and surrounding areas have a population of over seven million people .
The concern is that Houston will become the next New York City of the pandemic .
That is why some more tough decisions are being made .
The governor opened up outdoor activities like carnivals and amusement parks just last week .
Now he is shutting down river-rafting trips and banned outdoor gatherings of over 100 people unless local officials approve .
Governor Abbott is trying to keep a positive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Texas to get back to the business of doing business as much as anyone .
The state ’ s economy – and his political future – depend on it .
Everyone sounds like a broken record in reciting the safety guidelines in mitigating the pandemic .
But , they have shown to be helpful .
I haven ’ t stopped wearing a mask in public and stay home as much as possible until this fades or a vaccine becomes available .
We can get through this .
It ’ s just going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @

It’s a tough time in the Lone Star State. Governor Abbott is making some hard decisions in order to manage the spike in new cases of the coronavirus in Texas. Whether we like it or not doesn’t matter at this point – the governor has to keep public safety foremost in his decision-making process and that means Texans have to step it up in their mitigation efforts. The virus isn’t done with us yet.
Up until the past week or so, things were going pretty well in Texas. Increased testing, increased hospitalizations, and younger, healthy people becoming infected have changed the matter. Fortunately, though there is an increase in positivity, there is not an increase in deaths from the virus. That’s good news. The bad news is that though Texans did what the experts told us to do in the beginning – stay home as much as you can, wear a mask in public, social distance, avoid large gatherings, and wash your hands – and the numbers showed that it worked, the re-opening of the state has lessened the feelings of urgency to continue those guidelines. Texas has a much lower death rate than other states from the pandemic. However, as predicted, as the state has opened back up, the cases have increased. Now the governor has to find the magic spot of balancing business concerns and the state economy with the health of its residents.
The writing was on the wall, frankly. After warning Texas residents, he pulled the trigger on re-closing businesses Friday. The state is going to have to shut down again to get a handle on the coronavirus hotspots. Today the governor closed all the bars, effective at noon, in the state. Restaurants will have to fall back into Stage 2 position with only allowing 50% capacity for inside dining. And he is cracking down on large gatherings.
In addition, he is giving local governments new authority to regulate gatherings of over 100 people, which would allow them to order groups to get a permit before having an event. And finally, he is shutting down river rafting activities that have been linked to a surge in cases in Hays and Comal counties. In just over a week, cases in those two counties have doubled. “As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10 percent, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said. “At this time, it is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars.”
He is still not mandating facial masks but he is strongly emphasizing the need for Texans to wear them in public, as well as the other standard recommendations – hand washing, social distancing, and staying home as much as possible.
There is no getting around the fact that since June 1, the hospital system has been under increased stress. The number of COVID-19 cases in Texas has more than doubled and the state’s lab-confirmed hospitalizations have nearly tripled. Texas Children’s Hospital announced it would admit adults, for the first time, in order to free up beds at other hospitals for COVID-19 patients. Governor Abbott eased restrictions on elective surgeries but yesterday had to shut them down again when it looked like the ICU capacity in Houston hospitals would be overrun with COVID-19 patients. The Texas Medical Center leaders sounded the alarm about the spike and the hospital system’s ability to handle it but then yesterday, just like that, the Texas Medical Center eased off its dire warnings. The hospitals are ready to handle what comes since the elective surgeries are on hold again.
It’s a long, rugged road to recovery, especially here in Houston. The city and county and surrounding areas have a population of over seven million people. The concern is that Houston will become the next New York City of the pandemic. That is why some more tough decisions are being made.
The governor opened up outdoor activities like carnivals and amusement parks just last week. Now he is shutting down river-rafting trips and banned outdoor gatherings of over 100 people unless local officials approve.
As for outdoor gatherings, Abbott’s decision Friday represents his second adjustment in that category this week. Abbott on Tuesday gave local governments the choice to place restrictions on outdoor gatherings of over 100 people after previously setting the threshold at over 500 people. Now outdoor gatherings of over 100 people are prohibited unless local officials explicitly approve of them.
Governor Abbott is trying to keep a positive spin on the situation. He wants Texas to get back to the business of doing business as much as anyone. The state’s economy – and his political future – depend on it.
“We want this to be as limited in duration as possible. However, we can only slow the spread if everyone in Texas does their part,” Abbott said. “Every Texan has a responsibility to themselves and their loved ones to wear a mask, wash their hands, stay six feet apart from others in public, and stay home if they can.”
Everyone sounds like a broken record in reciting the safety guidelines in mitigating the pandemic. But, they have shown to be helpful. I haven’t stopped wearing a mask in public and stay home as much as possible until this fades or a vaccine becomes available. We can get through this. It’s just going to be more difficult than we hoped.


hotair--2020-06-26--Radical nihilism's next cancel target ... Abraham Lincoln?

At first , attacks on monuments memorializing Abraham Lincoln looked like collateral damage in the current nihilistic meltdown taking place in American cities .
However , the sixteenth president , considered to be either the greatest or second-greatest of American leaders , has become a prime target of radicals determined to cleanse the landscape of any history at all .
The Great Emancipator no longer has the woke credentials to survive , apparently .
Not in Madison , Wisconsin , anyway : Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are demanding that the university remove and replace a statue of Abraham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take their picture on the lap of the Abe Lincoln statue atop Bascom Hill when they graduate , ” a Change.org petition states .
“ However , few know how this statue got to the top of the hill , and who put it there.
” The petition , which has more than 300 signatures , goes on to take issue not necessarily with the statue depicting Lincoln , who the author says had a “ questionable ” history when it came to race relations , despite the fact that Lincoln , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aimed at freeing slaves .
Instead , the author takes issue with the people who paid to construct the statue , one of whom “ was well-known for holding ultra-racist beliefs , ” and the other who was “ a known member of the KKK.
” The petition states that the Lincoln statute “ was merely a git of political capital ” and unimportant to “ the creation and continuation of education ” at the university .
UW-Madison should not put up statutes “ as a reminder of racist legacies that contributed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ahem .
It seems a bit far-fetched that a member of the KKK paid money to create statue of Lincoln .
Not to belabor the point too much , but Lincoln was a specific target of hate for that domestic-terror organization for his role in defeating the South as well as emancipating all of its slaves .
The KKK was much more interested in building monuments to its “ Lost Cause ” heroes than to the man who crushed them .
And even if the money came from supposed “ racists , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to make all people free and equal — which is its obvious and apparent point .
You ’ d think that point would resonate most in Washington DC , but … not so much , not even for a monument that freed slaves made to honor Lincoln .
Protesters have threatened to pull it down , calling its imagery “ racist ” and demanding its destruction .
Those demands continued last night , with an announcement of violent revolution as the aim : The effort to remove statues continues in the District Thursday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again at Lincoln Park with a previously stated intent to tear down the Emancipation Memorial .
“ To achieve true justice , we are not working with the police , nor will we seek any relationship with them , ” the Freedom Neighborhood , who organized the June 23 effort , wrote in an Instagram post .
“ In order to create change , we will do so by any means necessary .
If you want a revolution , it won ’ t happen by being peaceful.
” The memorial , erected in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Emancipation Proclamation over a kneeling newly freed African American man who is still shackled .
Some argue that while the Emancipation Proclamation changed the course of history , the statue oversimplifies the violent history that came before it , instead of memorializing Lincoln and not the many enslaved .
Beyond the depiction of a freedman at the feet of the former president , critics also say formerly enslaved Americans did not have any say in how it was built and fails to note the degree which enslaved African Americans pushed for their own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the goal here isn ’ t anti-racism as much as it is violent revolution and utter nihilism .
Lincoln ’ s just an excuse , or perhaps even worse for them , a symbol that America can improve and change to embrace more equality .
They need to erase Lincoln in order to sell nihilism and despair .
Oddly enough , that puts them in common ground with the KKK in this narrow case .
How serious is this threat ?
Serious enough that Frederick Douglass biographer David Blight appealed to the mob @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Memorial .
Writing in the Washington Post yesterday afternoon , Blight conceded that the imagery may seem racist , but the meaning is anything but : Do not tear down this monument .
I fully understand that protests are not forums for complexity ; current demonstrations are the results of justifiable passion and outrage .
It is reasonable to clear our landscape of public commemoration of the failed , four-year slaveholders ’ rebellion to sustain white supremacy known as the Confederacy , even if it doesn ’ t erase our history .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ another matter .
For those contemplating the elimination of this monument , including D.C. ’ s delegate to Congress , Eleanor Holmes Norton ( D ) , please consider the people who created it and what it meant for their lives in a century not our own .
We ought not try to purify their past and present for our needs .
A huge parade involving nearly every black organization in the city preceded the dedication of the monument on April 14 , 1876 .
The procession included cornet bands , marching drum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and fraternal orders .
Horse-drawn carriages transported master of ceremonies and Howard University law school dean , John Mercer Langston , and the orator of the day , Frederick Douglass , a resident of that neighborhood .
Representatives of the entire U.S. government sat in the front rows at the ceremony ; the occasion had been declared a federal holiday .
President Ulysses S. Grant , members of his Cabinet , members of the House and Senate and justices of the Supreme Court all attended .
The $ 20,000 used to build the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , most of them former slaves .
A former slave woman , Charlotte Scott , had donated the first $ 5 .
The sculptor , Thomas Ball , lived and worked in Italy .
The model for the kneeling slave , Archer Alexander — a former slave — was photographed numerous times and had his pictures sent to Ball .
Ball believed he depicted Alexander as an “ agent in his own resistance , ” an assumption of course roundly debated to this day .
A young black poet from D.C. , Cordelia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Lincoln.
” Grant , who did not speak , pulled the cords and unveiled the statue .
Douglass then took the podium and delivered one of the greatest speeches of his life .
No African American speaker had ever faced this kind of captive audience of the full government , and none would do so again until Barack Obama ’ s inauguration as president in 2009 .
Blight had me at “ do not tear down this monument.
” Put simply , these monuments belong to the entire community , not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DC mayor Muriel Bowser scolded the crowd , saying that a “ reasonable conversation ” about memorials should take place with everyone ’ s input , not violent solutions imposed on communities by mobs : The revolutionaries don ’ t want a “ reasonable conversation.
” They want to usurp the role of “ the people ” by claiming that mantle for themselves alone , and burn down everything else in their path .
The nature of these protests have become apparent even to Bowser and others , and it ’ s not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in November , either .
Addendum : Ken Masugi , a Johns Hopkins University lecturer , writes Power Line to scold Blight for his intellectual cowardice : Distinguished Frederick Douglass biographer David Blight should be ashamed of himself .
His op-ed “ Yes , the Freedmen ’ s Memorial uses racist imagery .
But don ’ t tear it down ” ( June 25 ) contradicts what he writes about the Memorial in the first pages of his fine biography .
In his column , Blight asserts : “ It was and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , historian Blight provides one of the best defenses of the image of the rising ( not kneeling ! )
freedman .
Quoting the head of the Memorial Commission , Blight explains that the sculptor had altered his conception from a “ ’ kneeling slave … represented as perfectly passive ’ ( freedom given ) , to an ‘ emancipated slave [ as ] agent in his own deliverance ’ ( freedom seized ) , … the monument as an ‘ ideal group … [ was ] converted into the literal truth of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In fact , the sculptor changed his creation from what Blight now attributes to it !
Moreover , this spirit of freedom is evident to any unbiased observer , when one takes account of the totality of the imagery of the statue–from Lincoln ’ s Promethean , life-giving gesture ( “ the new birth of freedom ” aimed at all Americans , not just the freedman ) to the image of George Washington on the column .
Here is a muscular man , who seconds before had been prostrate on his face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course have never been a slave !
There has been a pandemic of intellectual cowardice this season .

At first, attacks on monuments memorializing Abraham Lincoln looked like collateral damage in the current nihilistic meltdown taking place in American cities. However, the sixteenth president, considered to be either the greatest or second-greatest of American leaders, has become a prime target of radicals determined to cleanse the landscape of any history at all. The Great Emancipator no longer has the woke credentials to survive, apparently.
Not in Madison, Wisconsin, anyway:
Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are demanding that the university remove and replace a statue of Abraham Lincoln. “Many UW-Madison students wait to take their picture on the lap of the Abe Lincoln statue atop Bascom Hill when they graduate,” a Change.org petition states. “However, few know how this statue got to the top of the hill, and who put it there.” The petition, which has more than 300 signatures, goes on to take issue not necessarily with the statue depicting Lincoln, who the author says had a “questionable” history when it came to race relations, despite the fact that Lincoln, as president, issued the Emancipation Proclamation aimed at freeing slaves. Instead, the author takes issue with the people who paid to construct the statue, one of whom “was well-known for holding ultra-racist beliefs,” and the other who was “a known member of the KKK.” The petition states that the Lincoln statute “was merely a git of political capital” and unimportant to “the creation and continuation of education” at the university. UW-Madison should not put up statutes “as a reminder of racist legacies that contributed to this campus,” the petition argues.
Ahem. It seems a bit far-fetched that a member of the KKK paid money to create statue of Lincoln. Not to belabor the point too much, but Lincoln was a specific target of hate for that domestic-terror organization for his role in defeating the South as well as emancipating all of its slaves. The KKK was much more interested in building monuments to its “Lost Cause” heroes than to the man who crushed them. And even if the money came from supposed “racists,” the monument itself signifies the fight to make all people free and equal — which is its obvious and apparent point.
You’d think that point would resonate most in Washington DC, but … not so much, not even for a monument that freed slaves made to honor Lincoln. Protesters have threatened to pull it down, calling its imagery “racist” and demanding its destruction. Those demands continued last night, with an announcement of violent revolution as the aim:
The effort to remove statues continues in the District Thursday night, with protesters planning to gather again at Lincoln Park with a previously stated intent to tear down the Emancipation Memorial. “To achieve true justice, we are not working with the police, nor will we seek any relationship with them,” the Freedom Neighborhood, who organized the June 23 effort, wrote in an Instagram post. “In order to create change, we will do so by any means necessary. If you want a revolution, it won’t happen by being peaceful.” The memorial, erected in 1876, depicts Abraham Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation over a kneeling newly freed African American man who is still shackled. Some argue that while the Emancipation Proclamation changed the course of history, the statue oversimplifies the violent history that came before it, instead of memorializing Lincoln and not the many enslaved. Beyond the depiction of a freedman at the feet of the former president, critics also say formerly enslaved Americans did not have any say in how it was built and fails to note the degree which enslaved African Americans pushed for their own emancipation.
This pretty clearly shows that the goal here isn’t anti-racism as much as it is violent revolution and utter nihilism. Lincoln’s just an excuse, or perhaps even worse for them, a symbol that America can improve and change to embrace more equality. They need to erase Lincoln in order to sell nihilism and despair. Oddly enough, that puts them in common ground with the KKK in this narrow case.
How serious is this threat? Serious enough that Frederick Douglass biographer David Blight appealed to the mob not to take down the Freedmen’s Memorial. Writing in the Washington Post yesterday afternoon, Blight conceded that the imagery may seem racist, but the meaning is anything but:
Do not tear down this monument. I fully understand that protests are not forums for complexity; current demonstrations are the results of justifiable passion and outrage. It is reasonable to clear our landscape of public commemoration of the failed, four-year slaveholders’ rebellion to sustain white supremacy known as the Confederacy, even if it doesn’t erase our history. But the Freedmen’s Memorial is another matter. For those contemplating the elimination of this monument, including D.C.’s delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), please consider the people who created it and what it meant for their lives in a century not our own. We ought not try to purify their past and present for our needs. A huge parade involving nearly every black organization in the city preceded the dedication of the monument on April 14, 1876. The procession included cornet bands, marching drum corps, youth clubs in colorful uniforms and fraternal orders. Horse-drawn carriages transported master of ceremonies and Howard University law school dean, John Mercer Langston, and the orator of the day, Frederick Douglass, a resident of that neighborhood. Representatives of the entire U.S. government sat in the front rows at the ceremony; the occasion had been declared a federal holiday. President Ulysses S. Grant, members of his Cabinet, members of the House and Senate and justices of the Supreme Court all attended. The $20,000 used to build the monument had been raised among black Americans, most of them former slaves. A former slave woman, Charlotte Scott, had donated the first $5. The sculptor, Thomas Ball, lived and worked in Italy. The model for the kneeling slave, Archer Alexander — a former slave — was photographed numerous times and had his pictures sent to Ball. Ball believed he depicted Alexander as an “agent in his own resistance,” an assumption of course roundly debated to this day. A young black poet from D.C., Cordelia Ray, recited an original poem, “Lincoln.” Grant, who did not speak, pulled the cords and unveiled the statue. Douglass then took the podium and delivered one of the greatest speeches of his life. No African American speaker had ever faced this kind of captive audience of the full government, and none would do so again until Barack Obama’s inauguration as president in 2009.
Blight had me at “do not tear down this monument.” Put simply, these monuments belong to the entire community, not the mobs present at any one time. DC mayor Muriel Bowser scolded the crowd, saying that a “reasonable conversation” about memorials should take place with everyone’s input, not violent solutions imposed on communities by mobs:
Mayor Muriel Bowser said Thursday the District must “have a reasonable conversation” when deciding how and when to take down statues and historical monuments as protests continue around D.C. “I think what we need to do with statues is to have a reasonable conversation,” Bowser said during a press conference Thursday. “Not have a mob decide they want to pull it down, and certainly not destroy anything in the District and set anything on fire.”
The revolutionaries don’t want a “reasonable conversation.” They want to usurp the role of “the people” by claiming that mantle for themselves alone, and burn down everything else in their path. The nature of these protests have become apparent even to Bowser and others, and it’s not going to escape the notice of voters in November, either.
Addendum: Ken Masugi, a Johns Hopkins University lecturer, writes Power Line to scold Blight for his intellectual cowardice:
Distinguished Frederick Douglass biographer David Blight should be ashamed of himself. His op-ed “Yes, the Freedmen’s Memorial uses racist imagery. But don’t tear it down” (June 25) contradicts what he writes about the Memorial in the first pages of his fine biography. In his column, Blight asserts: “It was and is a racist image.” In his biography, historian Blight provides one of the best defenses of the image of the rising (not kneeling!) freedman. Quoting the head of the Memorial Commission, Blight explains that the sculptor had altered his conception from a “’kneeling slave … represented as perfectly passive’ (freedom given), to an ‘emancipated slave [as] agent in his own deliverance’ (freedom seized), … the monument as an ‘ideal group … [was] converted into the literal truth of history.’” Blight imputes no racism. In fact, the sculptor changed his creation from what Blight now attributes to it! Moreover, this spirit of freedom is evident to any unbiased observer, when one takes account of the totality of the imagery of the statue–from Lincoln’s Promethean, life-giving gesture (“the new birth of freedom” aimed at all Americans, not just the freedman) to the image of George Washington on the column. Here is a muscular man, who seconds before had been prostrate on his face, now rising up. He should of course have never been a slave!
There has been a pandemic of intellectual cowardice this season.